Zorkal/Emlott - Path of the Prophets - Water's Icy Embrace
Arys
((House by the Lake, Bajor))
Despite her extensive training, the events of the past hours had taken Ferri by surprise. She and Geleth had visited Unity Temple several times during their stay on Bajor, and while there was certainly a minority of locals who were apprehensive towards the Cardassian and the Hybrid, they had never experienced outright hostility.
And then Geleth had been taken, and Ferri had tried to get her back - only to misjudge the situation and get hit by a phaser blast.
The young woman didn’t remember much after that. She vaguely recalled being carried into the skimmer and overhearing the men’s discussion about what to do with her. Ditching her in the forest was on the table, but the pregnant woman - the one who had distracted Ferri so one of the men could snatch Geleth - advocated against it. And thus, they had decided to bandage her wound, keep her sedated, and let ‘Aaron’ make the decision.
Aaron. Ferri knew who that was.
Half a year ago, when Garo had tasked Ferri to investigate the death of Taril and Ria Zantett, Trovek Aaron and his sect had been her prime suspects. She had been able to gather enough information on him to learn that he had taken over from his mother, Sileah, and that his group’s tendency towards violence had escalated since then. There was certainly dirt on the man, but not enough to tie him to the Zantett’s murder. Until now.
Ferri grit her teeth. Whatever it was they had given her, it kept Geleth asleep and Ferri drifting in and out of consciousness. One moment they were in the skimmer, the next they were being dragged towards a brightly lit room, and the next moment she was pulled back to the here and now by someone screaming at her to tell them what she had to do with Starfleet.
They must have found the badge, Ferri thought to herself, and could only hope that they had discovered it late enough for someone to locate them. Her failure to reply was met with a blinding pain in her abdomen as the man’s boot met her skin, and Ferri was thankful for losing consciousness again.
The next time she woke, they were no longer inside the room. Instead, she found herself at a pier, surrounded by the crystal clear water of a small lake. The sun had set, and two of Bajor’s moons illuminated the water, giving it an almost magical appearance. But she wasn’t alone. She was being dragged by two men, and desperately trying to remain awake while a Bajoran in white robes and with a boyish face held Geleth, who didn’t move. Panic rose in Ferri - was she dead? Still sedated? She couldn’t understand what Trovek was saying as he addressed the crowd of people on the shore…
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He had seen them, those forms, and even if Lukin wouldn’t have recognised anyone else, he knew exactly which ones were Ferri and Geleth. There was no mistaking it. Behind him, Zumagi and Tito hovered and he murmured for them to move forward. They would make their way under cover of forest and brush and get as close to the lake as possible.
Silence. There was no such thing in a place like that. Despite the intruders, the sound of insects buzzed in the ear, mercifully helping to mask any motion on part of the trio headed toward the water. Lukin noted a distinct lack of bird call, but such a thing could be attributed to the unwanted presence of the people down at the lake, the stark white of their robes a contrast to the shadows of the night that surrounded them. Lights set a pallored glow upon them, thrusting their faces with a grim and ungainly vision that came into view as the men made their way closer.
In some places, the forest butted up right to the shore line, their jutting branches and leaves in abstract reflection on the surface of the water, as if painted with colours across a living canvas. Others had been cleared, leaving a way for visitors to traverse down a long, wide pier that stretched toward a deeper part of the lake and spread out into a T formation. One might expect a boat or two to be tied to it, but there was no such vessel there at that moment, only the forms that made their way toward the end.
They were dragging Ferri, her limp form between two others, uncaring about how they handled the young woman. Geleth was carried, but more like a sack of tubers rather than a child. There was no help for it - they could only sneak up so far. Lukin motioned for the others to follow his lead, and as soon as they got as far as they could under the cover of the forest, he set out for the pier.
What did they say? Lukin didn’t care. He paid no attention to any clipped remarks or shouted words. His eyes were for the two he’d come for, both in the clutches of evil. No one lingered or hesitated, they all moved quickly, feet pounding the ground, the rhythm deepening as they went from earth to stone.
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There was movement by the house, and Ferri could just about make out three forms that emerged from its shadow. Her vision was blurred, but the newcomers weren’t dressed in the same white clothing that the people around them wore, and neither did they hesitate as they rushed towards the lake. One of these men, Ferri was sure, was the Ambassador, but she couldn’t tell who the others were.
Trovek’s face contorted in anger as Zorkal’s arrival disturbed his sermon. Ferri hadn’t understood what he had said, and what his followers had chanted in return, but she could understand the orders he barked at his men.
Aaron: Get them! Kill them!
Even in her drugged state, Ferri could tell that Aaron hadn’t expected his endeavour to be disturbed, and that he knew that his group was unprepared for the onslaught. The men, women, and children dispersed, and only a few of them decided to put up a fight.
Aaron: The Prophets do not reward cowardice!
Trovek hissed, urging his followers to take up arms. The two men holding Ferri let go off her, and the young woman collapsed into a heap. Trovek Aaron himself glared at the unconscious little girl in his arms.
Emlott: Please just… let her go.
Ferri pleaded, her voice hoarse, but the man only regarded her with a disgusted expression.
Aaron: I am going to be Kai one day. The Prophets have chosen me. I will not allow my whore-mother’s stain to keep me from my destiny…
With a swift movement he turned towards the water, and discarded Geleth into it.
Emlott: No!
Ferri’s scream was almost inaudible, and more for her benefit than that of anyone else. As Trovek left she dragged herself towards the spot where he had dropped the child into the water. She had been tasked, specifically, to protect Geleth. With all the freedom Garo left her, he only expected that she kept Geleth safe.
She couldn’t disappoint him, and she couldn’t just let the little girl die - and so she jumped after her.
Ferri wasn’t a good swimmer, and in the darkness she could only vaguely make out the child's body in the water, and reached out for her. Geleth’s small body felt heavier than normal as Ferri pulled her closer and then swam up to the surface where she just about managing to lift the girl back onto the pier.
The girl coughed out some water, but after a moment her chest rose and fell regularly, and Ferri couldn’t help but smile. She had kept her promise.
Calm washed over her, numbing Ferri to the ice cold water, and to the fact that she had spent her energy on saving Geleth and was no longer able to pull herself up to the platform. If she could rest, if only for a moment, surely she would be able to climb back up.
Her fingernails dug into the wood until her muscles gave in and she slipped back into the lake.
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Trovek had tossed Geleth into the lake. As if she had been trash. He had simply dumped her into the water without any hesitation, discarding an unwanted piece of flotsam. Rage filled Lukin’s vision as he pressed forward, but others blocked his way. Without hesitation, he lifted his rifle and fired, one body collapsing before him. The second had been too close, and the man grabbed the phaser rifle, entering into a struggle with the Cardassian. Though not quite as tall as Lukin, the Bajoran was strong and there was a tug of war for a moment before Lukin managed to wrestle the gun free. There was too little room to shoot properly, but there were other ways to deal with a nuisance, and the Bajoran received a swift, decisive striked to the head with the butt of the rifle, and he crumpled to the floor of the pier.
Turning, Lukin rushed toward where Trovek had dropped the child, only to find her there. A dark splotch spread outward as water seeped from her clothes, and she coughed, water spewing from her mouth. And there was Ferri, clinging to the side of the pier, having just shoved the child back onto it, dragging her from the depths of the water. Lukin picked up his pace and dropped down next to the little girl. She was breathing! Turning, the Cardassian started to reach for Ferri, only to find her gone, the ripple of the water the only indication that the woman had been there. Growling, Lukin set the rifle down upon the pier, then jumped into the water.
It was dark. It was cold. The shadows of the night extended down into the watery depths, their tendrils merging into an infinite blackness much like space, but devoid of the beauty of the stars. Yet, there was something there, a paleness that interrupted the endless night of it, a grey figure that was barely visible and dropping down, down, down. Lukin kicked, his legs pumping and his arms thrusting through the water, his eyes upon that visage, barely visible in the gloom. The water welcomed them, it’s cold embrace calling to each of them. Stay. Stay with me.
Lukin ignored its hail, focused upon the body that drifted lower and lower, closing the distance between them. Her arms lifted up, as if she too were calling for him to join her, and he stretched out his hand. His fingers encircled her wrist and he stopped short as he worked no longer to go deeper, but pulled her arm to encircle one arm around her waist, then turned and aimed for the surface.
It took longer to go back. The body weighed him down, and he was hindered because he could only use one arm. Above, a bloody battle raged, but below, a different fight ensued. The water was not so eager to let go of her quarry, and she continued to tug at both of them. In the end, Lukin prevailed, and as his head broke the surface, he gulped and gasped for air.
The pier was too high for him to effectively get Ferri onto it, so he aimed for the shore, where the gentler slow was far more welcoming. Pulling her up, she got her out of the water, then lay her down, turned her over, and slapped her back.
Zorkal: Ferri.
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Ferri was only vaguely aware of what was happening around her. At first, she had fought against the painful sensation of the icy water entering her lungs. Her muscles had cramped up and no amount of willpower had been able to get her to move them. But once she had surrendered to the darkness around her, it had been almost peaceful. She had saved Geleth. She had served her purpose.
But there was no rest. She felt being dragged towards the surface and then the shoreline, and a moment later a shape pain in her back caused her to expel the water from her lungs.
She heard her name again, and it was Zorkal’s voice who said it. The older Cardassian wrapped both arms around her, likely to press into her stomach to help her cough up the rest of the water, but stopped.
The wound, Ferri remembered. It hurt - but then again, everything hurt.
Emlott: Is… is Geleth…?
Zorkal: She’s alive.
Ferri nodded, trying her best to stay conscious, and at the same time to blend out the sound of the Bajorans fighting whoever it was Zorkal had brought with him. She could spot Starfleet Uniforms rather than the Cardassians he had sent to assist them with the poachers.
Emlott: As long as she-... as long as she is okay. ::she replied hoarsely:: I can’t disappoint Garo..
Lukin frowned. She was more worried about disappointing Garo than she was about herself. Looking up, Lukin prepared to engage in a fight to fend off anyone who might try to come and harm either of them, but it seemed that the Starfleeters had managed to take care of the rest of the problem. It was over. That quickly. Crouching down, Lukin drew the woman into his arms and straightened, shifting her weight so that he could carry her more easily - not that she was heavy, even with the water. With long, purposeful strides, he angled up, then back onto the pier and over to Geleth. The child remained unconscious on the floor and Doctor Zumagi rushed over to help.
Lukin would have preferred for Arys to tend to them, but Arys wasn’t here, and he couldn’t take care of both of them on his own. So he would accept the help. For them. Because they needed to get back quickly, and he needed to make sure they were safe.
And from now on he would make sure they stayed safe.
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Dalin Lukin Zorkal
Cardassian Ambassador
Starbase 118 Ops
M239008AD0
And
Ferri Emlott
Ambassador Zorkal’s Aide
Starbase 118 Ops
J239809TA4