The Syndicate

USS Tempest NCC-1852-A Official Log - SCI LT JG Cameron Corcoran reporting - Stardate: 70932.10

All I could see, all on which I could focus was the dim, red glow of the emergency lighting - diffused all around me by the clouds of smoke that hung in the air. The red alert alarms continued to ring out all over the ship. While their piercing sound had become almost painful ringing in my ears, along with the hiss of escaping gas, they were a perfect cloak to conceal the sound of my clandestine movements.

I scrambled quickly down the companionway and into the ceiling above deck 6. I thought I knew this deck like the back of my hand from the countless hours spent down here in the Exobiology Lab but from this perspective, everything looked very different. I new precisely where Transporter Room 4 was, if only I could make it there in time. I still couldn't believe how quickly we were overcome. We were outmatched completely and now our only chance was to abandon the Tempest to its fate. With the Escape Pod release mechanism for the bridge inactive, the transporter was the only way off the ship for the Bridge crew. If I could just make it to the transporter, I might be able to rescue the Captain and the CMO and the rest from the clutches of the vicious Badombre who had boarded us and were taking over the ship ruthlessly and methodically, deck by deck.

I crawled through the ceiling as quickly as I could, I knew it couldn't be much further. Just another few minutes. Suddenly, I noticed a commotion on the deck below me. Explosions and phaser fire, running feet and orders being barked in a language I couldn't comprehend. Then, the sound of phaser fire followed immediately by a loud, pained scream from right under me. There was something strangely familiar about that scream but in this chaos, it didn't register right away.

I crawled over to the vent panel and there, right below me, through the acrid smoke lay Johnny, propped against the remains of a bulkhead that was now largely spread across the deck. Even through the smoke, I could see he looked dazed and confused. He'd been hit but just how bad I couldn't tell. He reached up with his left hand to grasp his shoulder and let out a loud groan. Within seconds, I could hear the sounds of deliberate footsteps approach and the sound was both sinister and threatening. My right hand reached down silently for my phaser.

As I looked down, I could see three of them - the Badombre unit leader and two of his men. They stood over Johnny and their leader yelled something at Johnny. Then, inexplicably the smoke seemed to clear just a fraction - just long enough for Johnny to see my shadowy face looking back at him from the ceiling above. In a fraction of a second, as the Badombre leader raised his weapon against the helpless Johnny sprawled on the floor in front of him, Johnny rolled suddenly to his left as his assailant felt the full force of a Starfleet phaser set to kill from close range. He fell to the floor as his legs crumpled beneath him, narrowly missing Johnny. In quick succession, I fired at the other two, still standing there in shock and caught by surprise. They too, fell where they stood.

Johnny slowly rose to his feet and looked up at me. We both knew what was about to happen. "Run, you fool, Johnny!" I yelled. Still dazed, he nodded and stumbled off in the direction of the Transporter Room. I started to crawl forward and then, once again, heard the menacing sound of those running footsteps. As I tried to pull myself forward, I heard a massive explosion, a flash of light, the sense of suddenly falling as the ceiling below me disintegrated and a searing pain through my entire body. With a start, I bolted upright in my bed and looked around, startled and perspiring heavily. I threw my legs over the side of my bunk and sat there for a few minutes. As I held my head in my hands, I prayed that I wouldn't be confined to these quarters too much longer...

USS Tempest NCC-1852-A Official Log - SCI LT JG Cameron Corcoran reporting - Stardate: 70931.19

I was very grateful to the Captain for giving me his permission to witness what was undoubtedly such an auspicious occasion - at least until I was summoned to my interview with Temporal Affairs. Watching the Selkie High Council debate how they were to deal with the discovery of their long lost sister civilisation (the Naradra) was sure to be an intriguing event. As I milled about the waiting lounge of the Observation Hall, I couldn't help but notice a curious thing. Along the eastern wall there was a long full height mural in a mixture of intertwining and brilliant blues and greens that swirled slowly together but remained distinctly separate. I pondered whether this motif would now become a metaphor for these two great nations - two peoples of the same ancient heritage that had developed completely independently of each other over more than a millenium.

There was a small group closest to the door dressed in deep blue uniforms with gold and crimson trim. Then one that had been standing with his back to me glanced over his shoulder at me with his cold black eyes. He parted from the group and strode purposefully over to where I was standing. I recognised him instantly. It was Senn, the adjutant to the Naradran Captain Darona in our encounter aboard the submarine on our initial away mission.
"Why are you here, Starfleet?" He enquired.
"For much the same reason you are, I'd imagine, Senn. And the name's 'Corcoran', Lieutenant JG Cameron Corcoran." I replied. He nodded in acknowledgement and then paused for a moment as deep in thought.
"You must sit with me and our delegation, Mr Corcoran - in a public display of support for the blossoming relationship between the Federation and my people."
I explained to him the nature of my visit here and that I could be called away at any time but he placed his arm around my shoulder and drew me over to where the remainder of his delegation were standing.

The Hall of the Selkie High Council was a place of extraordinary beauty. Formed in a remote, natural amphitheater high on the coastline and opening out over the Great Ocean of Pacifica it was a fitting venue for such an occasion. All technology had been disguised (even the cameras that would transmit the proceedings to the Observation Hall) and kept to a bare minimum to preserve the natural beauty of the place. As we sat waiting for proceedings to begin, I glanced across to my left at my new Naradran friends who sat in cold silence and pondered what they would make of this. The first address would be from the President on the the Naradrans - it was likely that whatever he said was going to be difficult for the Selkie to accept.

After a very generous invitation by the Chair of the High Council, the Naradran President approached the podium fittingly against the back drop of the sparkling ocean behind him. After thanking the Council Chair for the opportunity to address the Council, he launched into a history of his people, a history of which the majority of his audience knew nothing at all. He began at the point when their race was still one under the rule of King Rexis VIII. From my reading of Selkie history, I was familiar with his story. Coming to the throne at an early age (when the Selkie were a Monarchy) he was renowned as one of the great monarchs of the Selkie, uniting all of the known peoples of Pacifica for the first time and having done so with surprisingly little bloodshed. From my interpretation, it appears his achievement in this regard was more the product of opportunity than of any deliberate act. As the different nations of Pacifica experienced various famines and natural disasters, he would generously offer them assistance, at a high price.

As is so often the case in the history of all peoples, interpretations of the motivations and actions of individuals are always subject to a certain moral ambiguity and this was no exception. The Naradran president explained that from ancient lore handed down through the centuries, Rexis (in his later years) became so powerful that he began to threaten many of the basic freedoms of the people. Increasing his grasp on power however, was never going to go unchallenged. Dissenters (comprising the majority of academics and the more educated members of the population) led by one of his Chief Court advisors, (Marded) engaged in protests and a bitter struggle against Rexis and his laws. Economically, the Selkie continued to prosper under Rexis' reign so the the dissenter's numbers remained comparatively small.

Eventually after prohibitive taxation and other restrictions and a number of failed assassination attempts on Madred, Rexis expelled the declared or known followers of Madred (the Madré) from the Selkie lands. What was not clear from the Selkie archives was that the Madré were to settle in lands far from the Selkie. The reality was quite different however. The Madré were followed by covert elements from within the Selkie military and being largely unarmed, suffered heavy losses. It was at this point that the Madré discovered the Haven, a vast underground cavern that eventually would open to the ocean depths in which they made their new home.

The size of the Haven was immense, large enough to build and sustain the civilisation of the Naradran for generations to come. The fact that their number contained many of the scientists and brightest minds of the Selkie at that time explained how their civilisation flourished quickly whilst the remainder of the Selkie population and its allies remained stagnant for a very long time.

Just then, I heard the familiar chirp of my combadge.
"Sorry to interrupt you, Corky but you're up."
"No dramas, Captain. Beam me up." I replied. With a nod to my new friend Senn and his companions, I dematerialised and in seconds was back aboard The Tempest ready for ten rounds with our Temporal Affairs friends.