Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:33 pm by globalturbo
Starwalkers
Episode 3: "The Trouble with Boon'tek Filos"
by TS Caladan
At present time, in the positive universe of positive electrons, an inconceivable gathering of Klingons happened on the new and most powerful vessel ever constructed on Kronos: the Noc'Tar. The deep-space meeting was so secret that the individual heads of Klingon systems had no clue to the true origins of the other participants involved. Each tribe (or secret third) of representatives came as ordered, without question, by higher-ups in the chain-of-command. Each group appeared distinctly different in uniforms, physical appearance and attitude. It was assumed by the many uninformed warriors that the variations were due to isolated, renegade sects of Klingons who had not been in contact with other Klingons.
That was not the case. The ones at the top of the 'Darkness' were the only ones who knew the truth, what was happening and what the gathering was really about. The masses of warriors that surrounded the official stage with the large Klingon symbol were mere puppets. A particular third of the Klingon assembly only appeared on a gigantic screen in the auditorium. They seemed the most vocal and violent. All groups were in for a few big surprises...
[translation]: "Brothers in arms! We have a New Enemy!" Krak announced to thousands of fellow warriors within a type of massive auditorium on the mighty warship.
Most of the crowds roared with life and reacted to the strong, broadcasted statement.
"It is why we are here!"
Once more, the words generated intense reactions to an oddly divided audience of Klingons.
"Before we cut to the heart of the matter, see with our own eyes...the New Enemy, it is here; an enemy that now bonds us together [shouts, screams], everywhere: all tribes known as Klingon!"
More waves of war-cries were heard then died down. The audience wanted to hear the speaker.
Krak continued, "...We welcome our new warriors to the Order. I have been given information as to introduce our brothers and new sisters. First. My people and the planet of Kronos are very different from the newly-discovered 'parallel planet,' those you see on the widescreen before you..."
The hostile Klingons onscreen wore darker and more ominous uniforms. They had more weapons and reacted in supreme excitement when referred to. They had distinctive ridges up the center of their faces. They were also from a planet called Cronus. But situations there were considerably different than on the other Kronos.
"...We have put our differences away; they have put their differences away. We are only a few billions of miles from one another and can now join forces!" Another loud roar of screams.
Krak turned from the view-screen and directed his attention to the other distinctive group inside the walls of the great auditorium onboard the powerful Starship. He said, "I must tell my tribe as well as our parallel brothers from twin Cronos of an extremely different kind of Klingon. Maybe...just maybe, the most radical and unique Klingon of them all!"
Again. Klingons from a positive universe and Klingons from a negative universe (onscreen), wildly reacted, only this time: curiosity was also in many shouts.
"They are officials! Ha! They are bureaucrats! They are not WARRIORS!"
Crowds in the + and in the - laughed! The warriors laughed at what was considered weakness; brothers that would not fight? Thinkers? Doers? Not conquerors? Intolerable. Businessmen? Were they Ferengi?
The large contingent of different ones in the great hall wore soft clothes that only appeared as armor. The officials had no real protection from harm or any kind of weapons, apparently. They were stoic. In 'reality,' they were not the "weak" Klingons they appeared to be.
A Klingon yelled a question to the speaker: "From where? Another Kronus? Is there a third homeworld?"
The speaker bowed a little to those in both crowds. "I can only speak the data given me: They are...uh, from parts unknown."
The mysterious and passive Klingons were suddenly regarded as STRONG when the next words were spoken: "They own armies."
Now the crowd hushed to a silence~
The speaker had everyone's attention, even the hostiles on the screen. He said, "My people: The hundreds of officials who walk around you in fake armor...EACH...represent a vast network of tribes on another plane of existence. Limitless access to powerful weapons, some you've never seen before, eh? Fantastic! We need these bureaucrats. And their credits! Yes!"
At this moment the 'lame' Klingons had everyone's respect. They smiled and nodded.
The others slightly bowed back in return.
The 'businessmen' Klingons secretly organized and funded the meeting onboard the Noc'Tar as well as the hyperspace means for three universes to intersect~
The speaker raised his hands, slowly. He closed his eyes. He had their attention.
One voice in the crowd screamed: "The New Enemy!" Others joined in and the wave of sounds soon became a wall of sounds that shook the entire auditorium. "The New Enemy!"
He opened his eyes. "Quiet! The question is not: Should Klingons embrace honor or not? The question is, fellow Klingons, of different groups and sexes and ages...What will we do collectively in an alliance against an ultimate threat to our civilizations and Klingon way of life, whatever we choose that to be? We need each other, each tribe...to work together, merge forces...and defeat..."
"What?" More anger raged as half the crowd around the stage and those onscreen on another Cronos demanded to view the great danger, whatever it was? Was it a virus? A new weapon? A new specie?
It was all three.
Onto center stage, (+) Klingons carefully wheeled a protected/clear cage with a strange, dark 'fluid' inside.
Three officials left the balcony and also emerged onstage. Each pulled a rod-device from the back of their clothing and aimed it at the cage on wheels. The action surprised the aggressive Klingons in the auditorium and screen because the officials were thought not to have weapons.
The speaker attempted to calm the situation in the crowd and in front of fellow Klingons with the words: "Have no fear warriors of two worlds and bureaucrat brethren! Everything is controlled. There is no danger here!"
The clear cage completed its journey to the center. Three officials with "power-sticks," or whatever they were, maintained aim at the great unknown in captivity. All eyes examined the 'ultimate threat.' It wasn't fluid. I was a huge amount of individual, round, multi-colored things. They moved like crazy.
Speaker expressed, "They are called...Book'tek Filo! A single specimen of the small, furry and despicably cute creatures was confined within, only 20 erhgs ago. Now look inside. See how many there are! Check the computer read-out which tells you there are more than 11,000 Boons! See the number grow!"
The cubical confinement was unclear. It was filled to capacity with many thousands of little, brown, grey, beige and white creatures. They mixed, moved and reproduced together in a big CUBE. The creatures reproduced a hundred times faster than rabbits in heat.
Krak continued, "This is not a Science gathering or a strategic War Council. Why Klingons are personally involved will be revealed in time. Boon'tek Filos have a special...er, importance to Klingons in particular, I am told. We must thank our smaller, less aggressive branch of bureaucrats for knowledge and the means to permanently remove the threat. It will now be demonstrated by the governors. Warriors. Watch!" Krak motioned toward three officials with power-sticks in their hands.
The cage onstage was not force-field protected. The life-power pulsed and beat and beat against the sides of the clear walls. The Boon mass would explode and break through soon.
"If you will?"
Three of the passive 'businessmen' pressed buttons on the devices and wide, thin, Black Rays shot out and disintegrated the large cage! Few realized the disintegration was unlike any other blast, evaporation or destructive disappearance they had ever witnessed before.
Krak was sincere. He turned to the audience and told them, "We have the means to destroy them so they never return to this realm and, and, and threaten the stability of the Klingon Empire, ALL KLINGON EMPIRES! We also have the means to discover their nests, where they breed, whole planets they have consumed! We will find them! We will utterly DESTROY THEM!!"
A female finger pressed a button. A 'whirl' sound was heard. Then there were three clicks.
Onboard the Enlighten, inside the staff room with purple, high-back chairs around an unsymmetrical table, were: The Captain, the Commander, the Doctor, Engineer Randolph, Ensign Ito and geologist/specialist: Ensign Karla Davies. Stars whipped by at Warp 5 through the large windows. There have only been a few staff meetings in the early voyages of the starship. They met and discussed their initial assignment, the crew's first real challenge was on Sestiss 4.
Sestiss 4 was a carbonite mining colony. Hundreds of, mostly human, miners were under the protection of Starwalker Command. The operation ran smoothly for years until three weeks ago when workers busted down a large section of a cave wall. The surprise was the vast, newly found caverns held thousands of "egg-nodules" of what became known as the "Vorta." The mother Vorta attacked the miners, killed many, as any mother that protected her young. Commander Staak rigged a device that communicated with the "monster" and discovered it was no monster. Staak's device revealed her entire sad story. From that moment on, an arrangement was formed between the miners of carbonite and the Vorta family: They'd work together for mutual benefits.
Captain Church asked the geo-specialist, the pretty Ensign: "Ensign Davies. I want to hear your report...after your specific analysis of the Vorta. What was it? Why so different?"
"Yes, sir." Davies had long, black hair like an Indian. She was an important part of the Away Team that studied the creature for weeks. "We know it was not native to S-4. The Commander will confirm the fact, and the fact we have no idea of how such an odd thing could ever come to exist."
Staak added, "Indeed. A true alien species. It was as if it came from another dimension entirely."
"Yes." The brunette went on with, "As you know, no Tri-Corder recorded anything, anything about it. It was like the Vorta did not exist, was not there, not to our sensors and scans. Later, in-depth studies, we've only got the results now. Still a mystery, sir. Data shows a creature that should not exist in our universe. She moved very fast through solid, carbonite caves. They were like air to the mother."
Church asked, "Anyone have anything else to toss into the ring?"
Boots declared, "Sir. And, again, I'm sure the Commander will agree: Many dimensions to the universe beyond Time. Look how the thing dissolved the men. As if it moved in its dimension and virtually erased anything in its path in our world. Possibly."
"It was...certainly...bizarre. The way they, ah...went?" Church commented.
Ensign Ito stated, "I've never heard of such a disintegration before, Captain."
Ensign Davies said, "A lot of questions. Could it have been from another galaxy? Will more aliens come into our world from other dimensions? Will we develop the means to detect them? Can we reach their world? Travel there?"
Commander responded with, "Good questions, which may be answered in time."
"Well. Anything to say, Doctor?" the Captain asked. "You look bored."
Dr. O'Leary took his arm from his chin, no longer propped up by the table. "Well, Captain. I am bored. Are we going to have a staff meeting every time? It wasn't like a battle we were in. Anyway. Sorry some miners died. But we got here, there, as soon as we could. Thank goodness none of the crew were even scratched by the thing. Staak made a 'phone' to talk to it and all turned out sweetness and light. I think we were lucky."
"All right then. If no one has any more to say?"
No one had any more to say.
"You're dismissed. Have one on me, Ben."
Again, a female finger pressed a button. A 'whirl' sound was heard. Then there were three clicks.
The scene came from deep in the Gamma Quadrant: a secret transmission of low-quality resolution. The whole visual record slightly shook as if taken by a handheld recorder. The picture revealed a hallway of a spaceship. An asexual Changling in humanoid form stood and embraced new life in the galaxy. A Founder had found or formed a new type of slave. It was tall with grey-pink skin and had strange eyes. Its ears stretched up into a type of dark hair.
The Founder and creature undid their affectionate hug. It said to the thing: "Now the Vorta can walk and talk like solids. You are of this world now. You are the New Centurians, our secret sergeants and Controllers. You will manage your creations, your armies, vanguards in our movement. Vorta. Show me. Show me what you have created," the happy Changling ordered its silent servant.
A door opened.
A menacing, mindless, 2-legged creature walked through the door and approached the Founder and Vorta. It was grey and wore dark armor plating. It was mean. It breathed heavy. The monster appeared genetically based on the Earth rhinoceros and similar types of species on other planets. A black liquid was pumped through tubes and entered the creature's big, strong chest.
A button was pressed, a 'whirl' sound heard, followed by three clicks.
The program changed to a montage of "Changlings," the highest officials in Star Command and also the larger Galactic Union. One after another, from George Bush Walker to Centauri Admiral Varek to a few Constables and to other elites in this universe. They were seen for what they truly were, underneath the masks.
But. When the viewer of the display screen on Ralia, inside the Historical Holographic Archive, removed her visor, the view of the montage returned to what others viewed without the visor. The highest GU and SW elites appeared only human or in their normal alien form and certainly not as Changlings.
The woman was extremely beautiful for a 66-year old Remoran, who by 'coincidence' chose her right arm to house the metallic "makina," exactly like Commander Staak. Her name was T-Pal. She had previously encountered her counterpart in the other universe: T-Pol. They were virtually identical, except for a different past and a different future and a different name.
She had a stern expression on her perfect face. Her skin was flawless. Her dark hair was straight and long, unlike Remorans. Her muscular tone matched her mental acuity, which included a high degree of psychic abilities. T-Pal had ears that appeared human (no only earholes like other Remorans). She also possessed red blood, not purple. Not a trace of purple color was found on her fine skin or gorgeous lips.
T-Pal was from the future, in direct conflict with the Centauri Science Academy. Although the prestigious group knew of a means to view the past and future, they concluded (by force) 'one could not travel through time.' T-Pal was an outlaw that proved them wrong. She was also a keen detective on a very private/personal and very dark assignment of her own:
She was compelled to destroy every negative-Changling she found! She felt: Her next move will be to kill every - meta-morph that posed as good and righteous leaders. Her stunning, dark eyes had the look of Death. She would kill them all!
In her right-hand, T-Pal held the visor she had stolen from Geordi La Forge in the other universe...
T-Pal needed to return the visor to the Enterprise-D, back at that specific time period. She employed her extraordinary means of time travel on her belt, given by the local Care-Taker, and returned to the time and space, when and where, she "borrowed" the chief engineer's visor.
When she materialized in Giordi's dim quarters where he was fast asleep, T-Pal instantly knew the engineer was not asleep now. Neither were they alone.
"Lights!" Captain Picard shouted.
Overhead lights came on and revealed Captain Picard, beardless #1, the android Data, visor-less Giordi and two Security officers with phasers aimed at the intruder.
She was absolutely calm and expected the greeting from the men and robot. She was very pleased. She'd experienced it before. T-Pal believed a new tactic was in order, all so she could achieve her ultimate goal and do the right thing for the whole galaxy.
Casually, she suggested, "Don't you have a staffroom, Captain? Purple seats, high-backs? I would be...thrilled to sit down and explain, tell you all about it. Oh. It is different. Hey, Cap, where's Lieutenant Worf? Ha, ha." T-Pal asked and uncharacteristically laughed.
"Who?" Jean Luc asked.
"Ha. Uh. I'm not armed, sir."
"Mister" Data, with Tri-Corder, confirmed, "She's not armed, sir. In fact, she doesn't register at all. Unknown, sir, as far as the Alpha Quadrant parameters are concerned."
Number One declared, "We don't know if she is a she, Mister Data. What is she? Could be a Changling? Our sensors don't show that."
"Funny you said that, Number One." The beautiful Remoran girl spoke to herself: "That was different, too."
The Captain pointed at the exit. He expressed, "It's not far."
Before they marched toward the exit and the staffroom, she tossed the visor back to La Forge, who caught it.
"Thanks," he said. The Engineer was not happy. He put it on, reacted with sharp discomfort and yelled, "Ah! Ouch. Everything's different; can't see a thing!"
T-Pal said, "Don't worry, Giordi. It'll be fixed."
"Come."
The same group, along with two more Security officers, reformed inside the Enterprise's staffroom. The ship was parked in space, close to the Durani System. Through the windows, stars were stationary. A red sun was viewed about 50 million miles away.
When everything seemed settled and in place, Captain Picard earnestly asked the visitor: "What is this about, T-Pal? You said Changlings. We are extremely interested in new information on the whereabouts of meta-morphs. If you will? Is that what this is about?"
T-Pal sat seriously without any laughter. "You don't know my species. I'm from the future and not your universe." She touched her 9% machine parts in her right arm. "My motivation is hard to explain, Captain. Gentlemen. I have been aided in a quest by an incomprehensible life-force you are not familiar with..."
Jean Luc thought he knew what she meant. "A Q?"
She answered, "Not a Q. A Care-Taker, they birthed the Q."
Looks went around the staffroom. Many shook their heads in wonder. Care-Takers were, as yet, unknown in the positive universe.
"Your science and every scrap of tech you have, could never decipher what's wrong with the visor. Only now has the Care-Taker's spell been removed, like magic." She turned to the chief engineer, still blinded. "Giordi, I mean, Mr. La Forge. Try the visor again," she coolly suggested.
The special, one-of-a-kind device stood on the table, an arm's length away from the Engineer. Will Ryker slid it into Giordi's chest, gently.
La Forge had it on his eyes in one second [click]. He was amazed. "Ah."
T-Pal smiled.
Those at the table were interested in his comments.
He said, "I can't believe it."
"What do you see, Engineer?" T-Pal instructed him to tell the others.
"It's...the view is clearer than it's ever been! I see...further, into new realms, I can see. And, and the slight hum that drove me crazy after awhile, is, is gone. Ha. This is beautiful."
Then T-Pal got serious and directed her words to Picard. She confessed, "Sir. I have a job to do in the other world, but the truth is: It is really about...this..." She grabbed a computer chip from a hidden compartment in her clothes. She slid it across the table to the android who sat next to Jean Luc.
The cautious and fearful Captain immediately questioned, "Wait. How was that not detected? What is it?"
She answered, "Because it's not from your universe and can't be detected by your sensors, like the Horta and their counterparts: the Vorta. And what the Vorta will become and will do in the far future. That doesn't really involve your world, yet. I only needed the visor for a moment. It's unique."
The Captain asked again. He wanted a straight answer. "What's on the chip? If it's not about Changlings, what the hell is it about?" he nearly shouted.
"Huh. You know, Jean Luc? You don't really exist in the other world. None of you do. Play the chip," T-Pal told them.
The Captain didn't react.
Mister Data inserted the chip into the computer system and played it.
Everyone in the staffroom viewed the film of a single, small, soft, furry, cute, alien critter with no head, tail or appendages whatsoever.
T-Pal stated plainly: "It concerns this sweet creature. We call it a Boon'tek Filo. You'll have a different name for it."
Number One asked, "What is it?"
"It is a means to destroy the Klingon Empire and affiliates of other Klingon Empires. That animal, I can sensibly say, is the pure essence and soul...spirit of a Klingon warrior~"
"Seriously?" #1 exclaimed in awe.
"What? That tiny thing will take down the Klingons?" Picard gasped in disbelief.
On the screen, instead of one round, fuzzy thing...now there were three.
The film played the history of Boons for the top crew of Enterprise-D. It was a historical record that didn't apply to them. Yet it did. They were curious and watched:
[Boons were always Klingon 'war weapons' from the very beginning, before the Empire. Long ago, leader Sompek commissioned the most evil, despicable, destructive plan for domination of his own people ever conceived: the creation of innocence, the creation of goodness and purity. (Like a 'Jekyll and Hyde' experiment). The result was a small ball of fur that lived and breathed and ate and reproduced completely out of control.
Every modern Klingon forgot (made to forget) what occurred on the farthest planet in the Kronos System, an extremely dark and barren world called Qua. Qua was believed to be the ideal 'laboratory' because of its great distance, if anything went wrong with secret tests.
Boon'tek Filos were part Klingon! They were violent, hateful, war-obsessed, disorganized Klingons boiled down to one drop of furry goodness. It was the only part of a normal killer-Klingon that was decent and pure. In fact, at first, the experiments on Qua were feared (kept in check) by unwilling test subjects. But after the extraction process, the subject was even MORE violent! Klingons of High Command were enthralled at perfect Super-Soldier production. At first.
That fact was an added byproduct of the experiment on Qua. Sompek was not the fair, wise leader of disorganized conquerors, killers and criminals. He was a far, far worse tyrannical monster, secretly against his own people. He understood Power was Control. War-Weapons of Mass Destruction were possible and pacified the most evil and violent of warriors! Sompek's technicians on Qua worked for years to purge or extract the last bit of a tender, loving spirit: the small part of their nature that was soft, fuzzy and kind. Finally. Success was achieved...
The extraction had a reverse or passive effect on Klingons near a Boon.
On one hand, Sompek was beloved by his ruthless warriors because of the manufacture of horrendous, soulless Super-Soldiers. Garrisons were led by heartless SS brutes that only knew savagery because the last bit of love, light and hope had been drained out of them.
On the other hand, the extracted Boon had a calming/soothing effect on Klingons and soon destroyed their violent tendencies altogether.
Klingons on the lowest levels remained totally unaware how Super-Soldiers were produced or Sompek's Agenda to destroy their violent, primal nature.
Boons were needed for the Supreme Leader's Agenda. The Agenda was:
If dissident groups of rebels against the reign of Sompek rose to power in large numbers on a planet, moon or base...
They'd receive a specially-delivered package of thousands of Boons! In time, the surface of the planet, moon or base would be overrun by cute creatures that killed the very heart and soul of Klingon warriors~
Klingons were changed in two ways:
1. A complete attitude-reversal against violence, the military, war, conflict of any kind. They tended to be thoughtful, caring and believed in peace and love.
2. A more inexplicable phenomenon happened in the physical sense: Infected warriors changed appearance! They were less like animals on the outside as well. Fangs, claws, cranial bones and elsewhere were nonexistent.
Lab techs revolted against the "Will of Sompek" because of the physical and internal changes they'd witnessed again and again. Qua became overpopulated with Boons. They were out of control, as they were on any unfrozen world with their accelerated metabolisms.
Klingon High Command NUKED QUA!
Boons were not totally annihilated. A few techs, changed into human appearances, escaped at warp speed. Techs that fled, loved the soft, warm, furry creatures that only purred niceness. They kept the specimens frozen. One day a means might be discovered that slowed the rate of reproduction. What a wonderful world it would be if Boons multiplied very slowly?
A tech ship had an accident in space. An explosion killed the crew of two and a female pilot. Her Boon unfroze...
The open craft drifted for weeks. It was discovered by "Rano Joe," scavenger, trader, thief in a one-man vessel. He failed to report the dead crew and disabled craft. Rano Joe took what he could. He found a ball of fur that breathed a little. It was dazed. It seemed harmless enough. He put it in his pouch and sped off toward the closest base: Deep Space 7K.
Long story short...
A 'Klingon tech' (Darne Arvin), human in appearance, was not what he appeared. He wasn't a passive, changed tech that loved Boons. He was a spy for the Dominion. It was Boon-tek Filos that exposed poisoned grain and the mysterious spy, from parts unknown, to Starwalker Command.
All's well that ended well. Few knew...
~ Boons were commissioned by Sompek as an insidious Weapon of Mass Destruction that pacified soldiers and stopped any revolution against his corrupt reign.
~ It was the Boon that brought Revolution and resolution and collapsed the old regime known as the "Order." Boons paved the way for the existence of the present and powerful Klingon Empire. (And the other one).
~ Boons brought the ultimate Klingon into power, fame and fortune: Tahless, "the Unforgettable."
~ And most important: Boons gave Kronos Klingons their finest trait: a golden sense of Honor. ('Honor' was not shared by the parallel tribe on Cronos). Honor didn't exist among early, lawless Klingons. Honor originated, not from Tahless...Honor started from small, soft, good balls of hair. They were the sweet spirit of love, joy and happiness~].
The film on the screens was over.
Captain Picard turned toward her and asked, "So. What are we to make of it, T-Pal?"
T-Pal's quick answer was: "WAR."
"War?" a few in the room echoed.
"With the Klingons?" Jean Luc firmly asked.
Her response was: "Sir. With all the Klingons! More than one Empire, universe. They are amassing together as we speak. Klingons have merged as a United Front, on three levels, and could take the Alpha Quadrant." [some reacted] "Soon. That is, sir, if this timeline continues?"
Captain Picard seriously said, "Facts seem to indicate, our universe is certainly involved."
"Absolutely," Number One agreed.
Mister Data shook his mechanical head.
T-Pal tried to explain with, "My deal with the Care-Taker..."
Picard asked without hesitation: "What? What was that?"
She smiled. Then she ended the smile and was reminded of her personal quest. T-Pal answered, "If I help Him, He'll help me." The alien from the future and a different world smiled again. She thought positively. "Might work."
After a quiet few seconds, Number One asked, "And the Changlings?"
"Ah. That's where I come in."
The Captain was intrigued. What could this beautiful girl of an unknown species do? Unless she had help from a Care-Taker? "What? T-Pal? Wait. Where do you come in? What's your quest?"
She had everyone's attention...
She thought for three seconds. T-Pal coldly informed them: "I'm going to rid the worlds of the Changling problem. Once and for all! Sir."
"What?" Jean Luc asked in disbelief.
"Captain. I have the Care-Taker's permission...and power, ah, in a sense. I'm going to destroy all the bad Changlings." She was serious in the extreme.
In the negative universe, onboard the starship Enlighten, Captain John Church abruptly awoke from a lucid dream that he will not remember tomorrow...
"Haaaw!"
{Fade out. Storyline continues in next episode of "Starwalkers" on SBC entitled: "T-Pal's Quest"}.
Episode 3: "The Trouble with Boon'tek Filos"
by TS Caladan
At present time, in the positive universe of positive electrons, an inconceivable gathering of Klingons happened on the new and most powerful vessel ever constructed on Kronos: the Noc'Tar. The deep-space meeting was so secret that the individual heads of Klingon systems had no clue to the true origins of the other participants involved. Each tribe (or secret third) of representatives came as ordered, without question, by higher-ups in the chain-of-command. Each group appeared distinctly different in uniforms, physical appearance and attitude. It was assumed by the many uninformed warriors that the variations were due to isolated, renegade sects of Klingons who had not been in contact with other Klingons.
That was not the case. The ones at the top of the 'Darkness' were the only ones who knew the truth, what was happening and what the gathering was really about. The masses of warriors that surrounded the official stage with the large Klingon symbol were mere puppets. A particular third of the Klingon assembly only appeared on a gigantic screen in the auditorium. They seemed the most vocal and violent. All groups were in for a few big surprises...
[translation]: "Brothers in arms! We have a New Enemy!" Krak announced to thousands of fellow warriors within a type of massive auditorium on the mighty warship.
Most of the crowds roared with life and reacted to the strong, broadcasted statement.
"It is why we are here!"
Once more, the words generated intense reactions to an oddly divided audience of Klingons.
"Before we cut to the heart of the matter, see with our own eyes...the New Enemy, it is here; an enemy that now bonds us together [shouts, screams], everywhere: all tribes known as Klingon!"
More waves of war-cries were heard then died down. The audience wanted to hear the speaker.
Krak continued, "...We welcome our new warriors to the Order. I have been given information as to introduce our brothers and new sisters. First. My people and the planet of Kronos are very different from the newly-discovered 'parallel planet,' those you see on the widescreen before you..."
The hostile Klingons onscreen wore darker and more ominous uniforms. They had more weapons and reacted in supreme excitement when referred to. They had distinctive ridges up the center of their faces. They were also from a planet called Cronus. But situations there were considerably different than on the other Kronos.
"...We have put our differences away; they have put their differences away. We are only a few billions of miles from one another and can now join forces!" Another loud roar of screams.
Krak turned from the view-screen and directed his attention to the other distinctive group inside the walls of the great auditorium onboard the powerful Starship. He said, "I must tell my tribe as well as our parallel brothers from twin Cronos of an extremely different kind of Klingon. Maybe...just maybe, the most radical and unique Klingon of them all!"
Again. Klingons from a positive universe and Klingons from a negative universe (onscreen), wildly reacted, only this time: curiosity was also in many shouts.
"They are officials! Ha! They are bureaucrats! They are not WARRIORS!"
Crowds in the + and in the - laughed! The warriors laughed at what was considered weakness; brothers that would not fight? Thinkers? Doers? Not conquerors? Intolerable. Businessmen? Were they Ferengi?
The large contingent of different ones in the great hall wore soft clothes that only appeared as armor. The officials had no real protection from harm or any kind of weapons, apparently. They were stoic. In 'reality,' they were not the "weak" Klingons they appeared to be.
A Klingon yelled a question to the speaker: "From where? Another Kronus? Is there a third homeworld?"
The speaker bowed a little to those in both crowds. "I can only speak the data given me: They are...uh, from parts unknown."
The mysterious and passive Klingons were suddenly regarded as STRONG when the next words were spoken: "They own armies."
Now the crowd hushed to a silence~
The speaker had everyone's attention, even the hostiles on the screen. He said, "My people: The hundreds of officials who walk around you in fake armor...EACH...represent a vast network of tribes on another plane of existence. Limitless access to powerful weapons, some you've never seen before, eh? Fantastic! We need these bureaucrats. And their credits! Yes!"
At this moment the 'lame' Klingons had everyone's respect. They smiled and nodded.
The others slightly bowed back in return.
The 'businessmen' Klingons secretly organized and funded the meeting onboard the Noc'Tar as well as the hyperspace means for three universes to intersect~
The speaker raised his hands, slowly. He closed his eyes. He had their attention.
One voice in the crowd screamed: "The New Enemy!" Others joined in and the wave of sounds soon became a wall of sounds that shook the entire auditorium. "The New Enemy!"
He opened his eyes. "Quiet! The question is not: Should Klingons embrace honor or not? The question is, fellow Klingons, of different groups and sexes and ages...What will we do collectively in an alliance against an ultimate threat to our civilizations and Klingon way of life, whatever we choose that to be? We need each other, each tribe...to work together, merge forces...and defeat..."
"What?" More anger raged as half the crowd around the stage and those onscreen on another Cronos demanded to view the great danger, whatever it was? Was it a virus? A new weapon? A new specie?
It was all three.
Onto center stage, (+) Klingons carefully wheeled a protected/clear cage with a strange, dark 'fluid' inside.
Three officials left the balcony and also emerged onstage. Each pulled a rod-device from the back of their clothing and aimed it at the cage on wheels. The action surprised the aggressive Klingons in the auditorium and screen because the officials were thought not to have weapons.
The speaker attempted to calm the situation in the crowd and in front of fellow Klingons with the words: "Have no fear warriors of two worlds and bureaucrat brethren! Everything is controlled. There is no danger here!"
The clear cage completed its journey to the center. Three officials with "power-sticks," or whatever they were, maintained aim at the great unknown in captivity. All eyes examined the 'ultimate threat.' It wasn't fluid. I was a huge amount of individual, round, multi-colored things. They moved like crazy.
Speaker expressed, "They are called...Book'tek Filo! A single specimen of the small, furry and despicably cute creatures was confined within, only 20 erhgs ago. Now look inside. See how many there are! Check the computer read-out which tells you there are more than 11,000 Boons! See the number grow!"
The cubical confinement was unclear. It was filled to capacity with many thousands of little, brown, grey, beige and white creatures. They mixed, moved and reproduced together in a big CUBE. The creatures reproduced a hundred times faster than rabbits in heat.
Krak continued, "This is not a Science gathering or a strategic War Council. Why Klingons are personally involved will be revealed in time. Boon'tek Filos have a special...er, importance to Klingons in particular, I am told. We must thank our smaller, less aggressive branch of bureaucrats for knowledge and the means to permanently remove the threat. It will now be demonstrated by the governors. Warriors. Watch!" Krak motioned toward three officials with power-sticks in their hands.
The cage onstage was not force-field protected. The life-power pulsed and beat and beat against the sides of the clear walls. The Boon mass would explode and break through soon.
"If you will?"
Three of the passive 'businessmen' pressed buttons on the devices and wide, thin, Black Rays shot out and disintegrated the large cage! Few realized the disintegration was unlike any other blast, evaporation or destructive disappearance they had ever witnessed before.
Krak was sincere. He turned to the audience and told them, "We have the means to destroy them so they never return to this realm and, and, and threaten the stability of the Klingon Empire, ALL KLINGON EMPIRES! We also have the means to discover their nests, where they breed, whole planets they have consumed! We will find them! We will utterly DESTROY THEM!!"
A female finger pressed a button. A 'whirl' sound was heard. Then there were three clicks.
Onboard the Enlighten, inside the staff room with purple, high-back chairs around an unsymmetrical table, were: The Captain, the Commander, the Doctor, Engineer Randolph, Ensign Ito and geologist/specialist: Ensign Karla Davies. Stars whipped by at Warp 5 through the large windows. There have only been a few staff meetings in the early voyages of the starship. They met and discussed their initial assignment, the crew's first real challenge was on Sestiss 4.
Sestiss 4 was a carbonite mining colony. Hundreds of, mostly human, miners were under the protection of Starwalker Command. The operation ran smoothly for years until three weeks ago when workers busted down a large section of a cave wall. The surprise was the vast, newly found caverns held thousands of "egg-nodules" of what became known as the "Vorta." The mother Vorta attacked the miners, killed many, as any mother that protected her young. Commander Staak rigged a device that communicated with the "monster" and discovered it was no monster. Staak's device revealed her entire sad story. From that moment on, an arrangement was formed between the miners of carbonite and the Vorta family: They'd work together for mutual benefits.
Captain Church asked the geo-specialist, the pretty Ensign: "Ensign Davies. I want to hear your report...after your specific analysis of the Vorta. What was it? Why so different?"
"Yes, sir." Davies had long, black hair like an Indian. She was an important part of the Away Team that studied the creature for weeks. "We know it was not native to S-4. The Commander will confirm the fact, and the fact we have no idea of how such an odd thing could ever come to exist."
Staak added, "Indeed. A true alien species. It was as if it came from another dimension entirely."
"Yes." The brunette went on with, "As you know, no Tri-Corder recorded anything, anything about it. It was like the Vorta did not exist, was not there, not to our sensors and scans. Later, in-depth studies, we've only got the results now. Still a mystery, sir. Data shows a creature that should not exist in our universe. She moved very fast through solid, carbonite caves. They were like air to the mother."
Church asked, "Anyone have anything else to toss into the ring?"
Boots declared, "Sir. And, again, I'm sure the Commander will agree: Many dimensions to the universe beyond Time. Look how the thing dissolved the men. As if it moved in its dimension and virtually erased anything in its path in our world. Possibly."
"It was...certainly...bizarre. The way they, ah...went?" Church commented.
Ensign Ito stated, "I've never heard of such a disintegration before, Captain."
Ensign Davies said, "A lot of questions. Could it have been from another galaxy? Will more aliens come into our world from other dimensions? Will we develop the means to detect them? Can we reach their world? Travel there?"
Commander responded with, "Good questions, which may be answered in time."
"Well. Anything to say, Doctor?" the Captain asked. "You look bored."
Dr. O'Leary took his arm from his chin, no longer propped up by the table. "Well, Captain. I am bored. Are we going to have a staff meeting every time? It wasn't like a battle we were in. Anyway. Sorry some miners died. But we got here, there, as soon as we could. Thank goodness none of the crew were even scratched by the thing. Staak made a 'phone' to talk to it and all turned out sweetness and light. I think we were lucky."
"All right then. If no one has any more to say?"
No one had any more to say.
"You're dismissed. Have one on me, Ben."
Again, a female finger pressed a button. A 'whirl' sound was heard. Then there were three clicks.
The scene came from deep in the Gamma Quadrant: a secret transmission of low-quality resolution. The whole visual record slightly shook as if taken by a handheld recorder. The picture revealed a hallway of a spaceship. An asexual Changling in humanoid form stood and embraced new life in the galaxy. A Founder had found or formed a new type of slave. It was tall with grey-pink skin and had strange eyes. Its ears stretched up into a type of dark hair.
The Founder and creature undid their affectionate hug. It said to the thing: "Now the Vorta can walk and talk like solids. You are of this world now. You are the New Centurians, our secret sergeants and Controllers. You will manage your creations, your armies, vanguards in our movement. Vorta. Show me. Show me what you have created," the happy Changling ordered its silent servant.
A door opened.
A menacing, mindless, 2-legged creature walked through the door and approached the Founder and Vorta. It was grey and wore dark armor plating. It was mean. It breathed heavy. The monster appeared genetically based on the Earth rhinoceros and similar types of species on other planets. A black liquid was pumped through tubes and entered the creature's big, strong chest.
A button was pressed, a 'whirl' sound heard, followed by three clicks.
The program changed to a montage of "Changlings," the highest officials in Star Command and also the larger Galactic Union. One after another, from George Bush Walker to Centauri Admiral Varek to a few Constables and to other elites in this universe. They were seen for what they truly were, underneath the masks.
But. When the viewer of the display screen on Ralia, inside the Historical Holographic Archive, removed her visor, the view of the montage returned to what others viewed without the visor. The highest GU and SW elites appeared only human or in their normal alien form and certainly not as Changlings.
The woman was extremely beautiful for a 66-year old Remoran, who by 'coincidence' chose her right arm to house the metallic "makina," exactly like Commander Staak. Her name was T-Pal. She had previously encountered her counterpart in the other universe: T-Pol. They were virtually identical, except for a different past and a different future and a different name.
She had a stern expression on her perfect face. Her skin was flawless. Her dark hair was straight and long, unlike Remorans. Her muscular tone matched her mental acuity, which included a high degree of psychic abilities. T-Pal had ears that appeared human (no only earholes like other Remorans). She also possessed red blood, not purple. Not a trace of purple color was found on her fine skin or gorgeous lips.
T-Pal was from the future, in direct conflict with the Centauri Science Academy. Although the prestigious group knew of a means to view the past and future, they concluded (by force) 'one could not travel through time.' T-Pal was an outlaw that proved them wrong. She was also a keen detective on a very private/personal and very dark assignment of her own:
She was compelled to destroy every negative-Changling she found! She felt: Her next move will be to kill every - meta-morph that posed as good and righteous leaders. Her stunning, dark eyes had the look of Death. She would kill them all!
In her right-hand, T-Pal held the visor she had stolen from Geordi La Forge in the other universe...
T-Pal needed to return the visor to the Enterprise-D, back at that specific time period. She employed her extraordinary means of time travel on her belt, given by the local Care-Taker, and returned to the time and space, when and where, she "borrowed" the chief engineer's visor.
When she materialized in Giordi's dim quarters where he was fast asleep, T-Pal instantly knew the engineer was not asleep now. Neither were they alone.
"Lights!" Captain Picard shouted.
Overhead lights came on and revealed Captain Picard, beardless #1, the android Data, visor-less Giordi and two Security officers with phasers aimed at the intruder.
She was absolutely calm and expected the greeting from the men and robot. She was very pleased. She'd experienced it before. T-Pal believed a new tactic was in order, all so she could achieve her ultimate goal and do the right thing for the whole galaxy.
Casually, she suggested, "Don't you have a staffroom, Captain? Purple seats, high-backs? I would be...thrilled to sit down and explain, tell you all about it. Oh. It is different. Hey, Cap, where's Lieutenant Worf? Ha, ha." T-Pal asked and uncharacteristically laughed.
"Who?" Jean Luc asked.
"Ha. Uh. I'm not armed, sir."
"Mister" Data, with Tri-Corder, confirmed, "She's not armed, sir. In fact, she doesn't register at all. Unknown, sir, as far as the Alpha Quadrant parameters are concerned."
Number One declared, "We don't know if she is a she, Mister Data. What is she? Could be a Changling? Our sensors don't show that."
"Funny you said that, Number One." The beautiful Remoran girl spoke to herself: "That was different, too."
The Captain pointed at the exit. He expressed, "It's not far."
Before they marched toward the exit and the staffroom, she tossed the visor back to La Forge, who caught it.
"Thanks," he said. The Engineer was not happy. He put it on, reacted with sharp discomfort and yelled, "Ah! Ouch. Everything's different; can't see a thing!"
T-Pal said, "Don't worry, Giordi. It'll be fixed."
"Come."
The same group, along with two more Security officers, reformed inside the Enterprise's staffroom. The ship was parked in space, close to the Durani System. Through the windows, stars were stationary. A red sun was viewed about 50 million miles away.
When everything seemed settled and in place, Captain Picard earnestly asked the visitor: "What is this about, T-Pal? You said Changlings. We are extremely interested in new information on the whereabouts of meta-morphs. If you will? Is that what this is about?"
T-Pal sat seriously without any laughter. "You don't know my species. I'm from the future and not your universe." She touched her 9% machine parts in her right arm. "My motivation is hard to explain, Captain. Gentlemen. I have been aided in a quest by an incomprehensible life-force you are not familiar with..."
Jean Luc thought he knew what she meant. "A Q?"
She answered, "Not a Q. A Care-Taker, they birthed the Q."
Looks went around the staffroom. Many shook their heads in wonder. Care-Takers were, as yet, unknown in the positive universe.
"Your science and every scrap of tech you have, could never decipher what's wrong with the visor. Only now has the Care-Taker's spell been removed, like magic." She turned to the chief engineer, still blinded. "Giordi, I mean, Mr. La Forge. Try the visor again," she coolly suggested.
The special, one-of-a-kind device stood on the table, an arm's length away from the Engineer. Will Ryker slid it into Giordi's chest, gently.
La Forge had it on his eyes in one second [click]. He was amazed. "Ah."
T-Pal smiled.
Those at the table were interested in his comments.
He said, "I can't believe it."
"What do you see, Engineer?" T-Pal instructed him to tell the others.
"It's...the view is clearer than it's ever been! I see...further, into new realms, I can see. And, and the slight hum that drove me crazy after awhile, is, is gone. Ha. This is beautiful."
Then T-Pal got serious and directed her words to Picard. She confessed, "Sir. I have a job to do in the other world, but the truth is: It is really about...this..." She grabbed a computer chip from a hidden compartment in her clothes. She slid it across the table to the android who sat next to Jean Luc.
The cautious and fearful Captain immediately questioned, "Wait. How was that not detected? What is it?"
She answered, "Because it's not from your universe and can't be detected by your sensors, like the Horta and their counterparts: the Vorta. And what the Vorta will become and will do in the far future. That doesn't really involve your world, yet. I only needed the visor for a moment. It's unique."
The Captain asked again. He wanted a straight answer. "What's on the chip? If it's not about Changlings, what the hell is it about?" he nearly shouted.
"Huh. You know, Jean Luc? You don't really exist in the other world. None of you do. Play the chip," T-Pal told them.
The Captain didn't react.
Mister Data inserted the chip into the computer system and played it.
Everyone in the staffroom viewed the film of a single, small, soft, furry, cute, alien critter with no head, tail or appendages whatsoever.
T-Pal stated plainly: "It concerns this sweet creature. We call it a Boon'tek Filo. You'll have a different name for it."
Number One asked, "What is it?"
"It is a means to destroy the Klingon Empire and affiliates of other Klingon Empires. That animal, I can sensibly say, is the pure essence and soul...spirit of a Klingon warrior~"
"Seriously?" #1 exclaimed in awe.
"What? That tiny thing will take down the Klingons?" Picard gasped in disbelief.
On the screen, instead of one round, fuzzy thing...now there were three.
The film played the history of Boons for the top crew of Enterprise-D. It was a historical record that didn't apply to them. Yet it did. They were curious and watched:
[Boons were always Klingon 'war weapons' from the very beginning, before the Empire. Long ago, leader Sompek commissioned the most evil, despicable, destructive plan for domination of his own people ever conceived: the creation of innocence, the creation of goodness and purity. (Like a 'Jekyll and Hyde' experiment). The result was a small ball of fur that lived and breathed and ate and reproduced completely out of control.
Every modern Klingon forgot (made to forget) what occurred on the farthest planet in the Kronos System, an extremely dark and barren world called Qua. Qua was believed to be the ideal 'laboratory' because of its great distance, if anything went wrong with secret tests.
Boon'tek Filos were part Klingon! They were violent, hateful, war-obsessed, disorganized Klingons boiled down to one drop of furry goodness. It was the only part of a normal killer-Klingon that was decent and pure. In fact, at first, the experiments on Qua were feared (kept in check) by unwilling test subjects. But after the extraction process, the subject was even MORE violent! Klingons of High Command were enthralled at perfect Super-Soldier production. At first.
That fact was an added byproduct of the experiment on Qua. Sompek was not the fair, wise leader of disorganized conquerors, killers and criminals. He was a far, far worse tyrannical monster, secretly against his own people. He understood Power was Control. War-Weapons of Mass Destruction were possible and pacified the most evil and violent of warriors! Sompek's technicians on Qua worked for years to purge or extract the last bit of a tender, loving spirit: the small part of their nature that was soft, fuzzy and kind. Finally. Success was achieved...
The extraction had a reverse or passive effect on Klingons near a Boon.
On one hand, Sompek was beloved by his ruthless warriors because of the manufacture of horrendous, soulless Super-Soldiers. Garrisons were led by heartless SS brutes that only knew savagery because the last bit of love, light and hope had been drained out of them.
On the other hand, the extracted Boon had a calming/soothing effect on Klingons and soon destroyed their violent tendencies altogether.
Klingons on the lowest levels remained totally unaware how Super-Soldiers were produced or Sompek's Agenda to destroy their violent, primal nature.
Boons were needed for the Supreme Leader's Agenda. The Agenda was:
If dissident groups of rebels against the reign of Sompek rose to power in large numbers on a planet, moon or base...
They'd receive a specially-delivered package of thousands of Boons! In time, the surface of the planet, moon or base would be overrun by cute creatures that killed the very heart and soul of Klingon warriors~
Klingons were changed in two ways:
1. A complete attitude-reversal against violence, the military, war, conflict of any kind. They tended to be thoughtful, caring and believed in peace and love.
2. A more inexplicable phenomenon happened in the physical sense: Infected warriors changed appearance! They were less like animals on the outside as well. Fangs, claws, cranial bones and elsewhere were nonexistent.
Lab techs revolted against the "Will of Sompek" because of the physical and internal changes they'd witnessed again and again. Qua became overpopulated with Boons. They were out of control, as they were on any unfrozen world with their accelerated metabolisms.
Klingon High Command NUKED QUA!
Boons were not totally annihilated. A few techs, changed into human appearances, escaped at warp speed. Techs that fled, loved the soft, warm, furry creatures that only purred niceness. They kept the specimens frozen. One day a means might be discovered that slowed the rate of reproduction. What a wonderful world it would be if Boons multiplied very slowly?
A tech ship had an accident in space. An explosion killed the crew of two and a female pilot. Her Boon unfroze...
The open craft drifted for weeks. It was discovered by "Rano Joe," scavenger, trader, thief in a one-man vessel. He failed to report the dead crew and disabled craft. Rano Joe took what he could. He found a ball of fur that breathed a little. It was dazed. It seemed harmless enough. He put it in his pouch and sped off toward the closest base: Deep Space 7K.
Long story short...
A 'Klingon tech' (Darne Arvin), human in appearance, was not what he appeared. He wasn't a passive, changed tech that loved Boons. He was a spy for the Dominion. It was Boon-tek Filos that exposed poisoned grain and the mysterious spy, from parts unknown, to Starwalker Command.
All's well that ended well. Few knew...
~ Boons were commissioned by Sompek as an insidious Weapon of Mass Destruction that pacified soldiers and stopped any revolution against his corrupt reign.
~ It was the Boon that brought Revolution and resolution and collapsed the old regime known as the "Order." Boons paved the way for the existence of the present and powerful Klingon Empire. (And the other one).
~ Boons brought the ultimate Klingon into power, fame and fortune: Tahless, "the Unforgettable."
~ And most important: Boons gave Kronos Klingons their finest trait: a golden sense of Honor. ('Honor' was not shared by the parallel tribe on Cronos). Honor didn't exist among early, lawless Klingons. Honor originated, not from Tahless...Honor started from small, soft, good balls of hair. They were the sweet spirit of love, joy and happiness~].
The film on the screens was over.
Captain Picard turned toward her and asked, "So. What are we to make of it, T-Pal?"
T-Pal's quick answer was: "WAR."
"War?" a few in the room echoed.
"With the Klingons?" Jean Luc firmly asked.
Her response was: "Sir. With all the Klingons! More than one Empire, universe. They are amassing together as we speak. Klingons have merged as a United Front, on three levels, and could take the Alpha Quadrant." [some reacted] "Soon. That is, sir, if this timeline continues?"
Captain Picard seriously said, "Facts seem to indicate, our universe is certainly involved."
"Absolutely," Number One agreed.
Mister Data shook his mechanical head.
T-Pal tried to explain with, "My deal with the Care-Taker..."
Picard asked without hesitation: "What? What was that?"
She smiled. Then she ended the smile and was reminded of her personal quest. T-Pal answered, "If I help Him, He'll help me." The alien from the future and a different world smiled again. She thought positively. "Might work."
After a quiet few seconds, Number One asked, "And the Changlings?"
"Ah. That's where I come in."
The Captain was intrigued. What could this beautiful girl of an unknown species do? Unless she had help from a Care-Taker? "What? T-Pal? Wait. Where do you come in? What's your quest?"
She had everyone's attention...
She thought for three seconds. T-Pal coldly informed them: "I'm going to rid the worlds of the Changling problem. Once and for all! Sir."
"What?" Jean Luc asked in disbelief.
"Captain. I have the Care-Taker's permission...and power, ah, in a sense. I'm going to destroy all the bad Changlings." She was serious in the extreme.
In the negative universe, onboard the starship Enlighten, Captain John Church abruptly awoke from a lucid dream that he will not remember tomorrow...
"Haaaw!"
{Fade out. Storyline continues in next episode of "Starwalkers" on SBC entitled: "T-Pal's Quest"}.
