NPC Father Edward Morgan - Divine Intervention

[David Hemming]

  ((Theta 122 - Outskirts of the Water Source))

The group of men and women secured their weapons in their holsters and looked at their handiwork. The smoke from their disruptor bolts still billowed from the bodies of the fallen Ferengi thieves and their co-conspirators; their equipment scattered around them in disarray. The Brotherhood had taken them completely by surprise and managed to overwhelm them. Now the wreckage of the fire-fight was strewn about the dusty dunes of the craters of the planet.

Father Edward Morgan stepped among the bodies quickly and checked pockets and uniforms for anything salvageable or incriminating. He found portable communicators, some identification insignia and small tools which would be pointless to keep. The larger drilling components would be difficult to move, but it could be done if they could use the Ferengi shuttle. It would just take some time to decipher the controls, but Gods be willing they would remove any evidence of this blasphemous encounter. If a search and rescue operation were to be launched they'd find little to no evidence of anything, and the Brotherhood would be back underground by then.

He discarded the things he found in the dead crew's pockets in the dirt and turned to his fellow Brother.

Morgan: Vaporize the bodies and anything remaining here. Get Charo and the others to get the bigger stuff into their shuttle.

Brept: Of course, Father. What should we do with the shuttle?

Morgan: I don't want it close by. It could contaminate the area, and I won't allow that. These encroachers have sullied the sacred land already. We must remove all evidence of their sin.

Brept: Yes, Father.

Brept nodded to the others in the group, who nodded in confirmation in return and set their weapons to maximum setting and immediately obliterated any presence that the Ferengi landing party had ever stepped foot on Theta 122. The only things left were the large drilling machines and the shuttle.

Morgan: Excellent work. The Gods will be pleased. Their Sacred Lake must not be disturbed.

Brept: There are many ships in the sky, Father. More trespassers might come. Even the Federation is here! Starfleet types tend to be nosey. What if they come?

Morgan nodded.

Morgan: Indeed, Brother. But the Federation values life. I'm sure if Starfleet comes here, they will be persuaded to listen to us. The Gods will reveal Themselves to them, as They did to us.

Brept: You'd let them into the Holy Cave!?

Morgan: The God's knowledge is universal! They will understand. These vermin... ::He swept his hands across the land which currently smoked from recent vaporization.:: Came here to steal and sully. The sanctity of the Gods must be kept pure. They were punished, which is Their will. Remember, Brother Brept. We live to serve. But if they refuse to listen to us, well, we are not so forgiving of blasphemy.

The younger man nodded and put up on the hood on his robes, shielding his head from the sun. He had been an engineer on Atlas Base before his Calling and so knew his way around command controls.

Brept: Yes, Father. ::Beat.:: We will set the shuttles auto-navigation to a low ascent, then program the self-destruct. It will look like the shuttle exploded while returning to the mothership.

Morgan: Excellent plan. ::He nodded in satisfaction.:: The Gods are pleased.

Suddenly, from behind a clearing of rocks, Charo came running into view, breathless, her robes billowing in the wind.

Charo: Father Morgan! I've just seen another group on the other side of the crater. Starfleet campers. They've come to take the Water of the Gods!

Morgan: ::giving a calming smile.:: Easy now, Sister Charo. Brother Brept and I were just discussing this. ::He gave a solemn, symbolic hand gesture to the sky.:: It seems the Gods of Thet have heard our prayers. Come, let's go introduce ourselves.

TBC...

NPC Father Edward Morgan

Head Cleric

The Brotherhood of Thet

as simmed by:

--

Lieutenant(jg) Regan Wilde

Security

USS Arrow

C237708DW0