Stardate 76899.1; November 25, 2399
EPISODE
118
Edited by Shaun Hayes
Written by Chris Adamek
ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS
Administrator
Dra’venn
Angela
Christopher
Admiral Kathryn
Janeway
Commander
Jerras
General Ordikan
Ovdranus
Qevar
Justin Reinbold
Commander Amy
Robinson
Lieutenant
Courtney Rose
Praetor Tomalak
Lt. Commander
Jayla Trinn
High Overseer
Xi’Yor
Chapter 41
Qevar
was displeased. It took a great deal of
strife to sway her lethargic emotions.
Typically, she could tolerate even the most stressful of events, for it
was no easy task to exist within the limited confines of the entity known to lesser
beings as the universe. Only when Qevar
was forced to deal with him did she find her emotions running
rampant. And rampant they were.
She
clenched an angry mandible. “How did he
manage to fail us this time? We
virtually restored the weapon to full power and he still destroyed
himself!” A thick, gangly spine
throbbed in her forehead. “It is
unacceptable.”
“Agreed,”
said Ovdranus. In the material realm,
he was a curious entity, even amongst its own kind. Ovdranus was neither male nor female, though he aligned himself
with the male gender for simplicity’s sake.
A thick exoskeleton covered most of his body. Giant neural spines jutted from his back. He had three eyes, a huge vertically cleft
mouth, and a bubbly, vomit-like complexion that made even Qevar cringe on
occasion. She had little affinity for
the material realm…
“The
Hegemony is already growing tired of our activities,” noted Qevar. “Successful or not, they will soon recall us
to the Otherworldly Gate.”
Ovdranus
was not particularly concerned about the Hegemony. He journeyed forth into the material realm merely for scientific
purposes. Though he played along with
Qevar’s antics, atonement was quite possibly the last thing on his mind. “The Hegemony will grant us an extension,”
he said. “Our initiative has made
progress this time.”
“Not
nearly enough,” hissed Qevar. The
Hegemony might grant an extension, but they were just as likely to cease
all activity within the material realm.
“If the Hegemony is to grant us an extension, we need to show them
progress—where none has been made.”
Two
of Ovdranus’ eyes widened. The third
merely squinted, oblivious to the wonts of the other two. “The Phobians have made considerable
progress,” he stated. “Some of that
progress was indeed erased during the battle in the Rebena System, but the
Hegemony cannot truthfully state that our efforts have been ineffective.”
He
did have a point. The Phobian Republic
was still a far cry from the massive conglomeration that it had once been—but
it was no longer on the brink of extinction.
Qevar allowed for a bit more optimism.
“Then we shall proceed,” she decided.
“Summon him to the Otherworldly Gate.”
Ovdranus’
meaty fingers slowly tapped a short sequence of commands into his
workstation. The computer produced a
series of shrill tones in response, and moments later Ovdranus looked up and
said, “Summoning complete.”
Qevar
was eager to approach the Otherworldly Gate to speak with the new arrival, but
Ovdranus still seemed lost in the computer date. She called to him. “Our
time is not infinite in this realm,” she tersely reminded.
Ovdranus
grunted. He pulled himself away from
the computer and gracelessly approached Qevar.
“Make this quick,” he grumbled.
“I have been studying an unusual trinary star system in Grid 8-8-3. I would like to continue my analysis
sometime today.”
Though
she didn’t particularly care about the trinary star—or anything in the material
realm, for that matter—Qevar knew that the Hegemony was quite interested such
trivial matters. If she was going to
get her extension, Qevar knew that she would have to appease them in some
manner. “You will be back to your
computer station within the hour,” she insisted.
Within
the limited confines of the material realm, an hour was an incredibly meager measurement
of time. The notion summarily inspired
Ovdranus to move a bit faster—and Qevar prepared herself for the journey ahead.
With
one quick motion, Ovdranus ripped asunder the exoskeleton upon his giant
chest. A few wriggling organs dangled
in his exposed chest cavity, but for the most part, the cavernous expanse was
devoid of life.
But
not for long.
Ovdranus
quickly wrapped his hands around Qevar’s limbless torso and placed her within
the confines of his chest. Her neural
spines quickly fused with his system and in a few short seconds, they were
one. As Ovdranus replaced his craggy
exoskeleton, Qevar’s head poked through the flesh atop the behemoth’s
shoulders.
“Let
us proceed,” said Qevar once the fusion was complete.
“Agreed,”
said Ovdranus, and the monstrous two-headed leviathan summarily went to work.