Deep Space Guardian: Season II-Episode 22

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime

Ziona was uncermoniously dropped to the ground and it took her a few minutes to catch her breath. She breathed a few deep breathes and looked up at the figure from her place crouched on the ground. She then glanced at the temple doors.

Ziona stood, shaking slightly and headed towards the temple doors, swallowing and taking a deep breath before she walked through and into the temple.

Temple Interior

The bright lights blinded her for a moment and she stumbled for a moment. She stopped where she was and turned, looking around before she spoke, not yelling, but loud enough that it echoed.

"Captain Xavier...?"

[Republican_Man]

Kyle's attention turned towards the women who had just entered the temple. "Are you Ziona?" he inquired. But that was obvious. "Forget it." He turned his attention to the aliens. "As the Captain stated, what's going on here?"

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona headed over to the group, gingerly rubbing her neck and glancing around her. She stopped next to Katran and glanced from one end of the temple to the other. She wasn't sure what it was but it was magnificent.

She coughed, still trying to fully get air into her lungs. Ziona crouched down to the ground, balancing herself for a moment to catch her breathe.

[Founder]

-Elerra Prime, Temple Interior-

Ian rushed over to Ziona and grabbed her arms to steady her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, confused.

The cloaked humanoids lay in a submissive manner in front of the statues, not speaking.

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona half leaned against Ian and half held herself up. She shut her eyes against a wave of diziness.

"I... I asked for reinstation to Deep Space Guardian." She spoke, her voice raspy. "I came back in time to... to find out that you were here." She looked at Ian for a moment, her dark eyes locking with his. "I couldn't... leave you down here by yourself."

[Founder]

-Elerra Prime, Temple Interior-

Ian stared into her eyes and didn't see the old cold anger she used to harbor against him over Tidus. It was different, the same for him. He had recently gotten over having to kill his friend. It seemed Tidus had finally become part of the past. Ian had almost forgotten where he was until the sound of a loud gong rang out in the temple. The worshippers stood up and slowly began to crowd together. They pushed the away team towards this dark area. Ian stared into the darkness and waited. A few minutes passed and nothing happeend. He stepped forward tantively.

"My name is Captain-" He said, but was cut off.

A LOUD voice spoke directly into their minds and cut Ian off.

"IAN XAVIER OF THE FEDERATION SPACE STATION DEEP SPACE GUARDIAN." It said.

Ian groaned in pain and fell to one knee. The voice was so loud and made his brain literally quiver from the intensity of it. He could only imagine the pain Katran was feeling, being more susceptable to it. The worshippers dropped to their knees and began to chant as fire spread alongside of them. The temple became even brighter, alit in flames and the source of the voice came forward.



It looked like the same titan Zalbogian that even Fito had trouble fighting with. Ian stood up and clenched his jaw, fighting the mental pain. The being roared and lifted a hand. Ian, as did the other away team members, dropped to one knee by force.

"ALL WILL KNEEL BEFORE ME," It demanded, "JUST LIKE THOSE BEFORE YOU AND THOSE WHO WILL COME AFTER YOU."

Ian grimaced in pain, the voice was so loud.

"I have come seeking an alliance between us." He said.

The being roared in anger and the flames grew with him. Some of the worshippers began to burn, but they ignored it, continuing to pray. Talk about devout...

"YOU WISH AN ALLIANCE WITH US!?!" It screamed, "YOU TRAPPED US HERE AND NOW YOU RETURN SEEKING HELP?"

Ian had a bad feeling that he would have to adress that. He continued to speak, while looking at the ground.

"We did what we had to then," He reasoned, "You attacked us. We knew nothing about you, except what the Elerrans told us of."

The creature lifted Ian into the air with his telepathic abilities, holding him in place.

"YOU SIDED WITH OUR ENEMIES," It said, "WHY SHOULD WE WISH TO HELP YOU?

Ian groaned in pain, unable to struggle against it's incredible mental abilities.

"We didn't know they were your enemies," He explained quickly, "We didn't even know you were on this planet. Our sensors revealed nothing. Otherwise, we wouldn't have taken this planet. I am a member of the United Federation of Planets..."

The creature cocked it's head in curiosity. Almost recognizing that name.

"WE KNOW THIS NAME," It replied, "THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS WAS HERE IN THE PAST. BEFORE YOU."

Ian nodded his head slowly against the invisible force holding him.

"Yes," He said, "That was my father. Admiral Xavier."

The alien's green eyes glowed in the fire.

"NO," It said, "YOUR BIOLOGICAL CREATOR WAS NOT HERE. BEFORE HIM. BEFORE HIS BIOLOGICAL CREATOR FOR SEVERAL GENERATIONS. WE LEARNED OF THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS THEN. THEY MADE THE SAME MISTAKE AND PAID WITH THEIR SOULS."

Ian cringed at the sound of that. Whatever these things did to them must have been terrible. He feared the same thing would happen here to them.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?!" It demanded in anger.

Ian stared intently into the green eyes, a serious look on his face.

"Peace." He said simply.

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona dropped to one knee as the voice began. She lowered her head, not out of her free will but because the voice was so tremendous and powerful that she had no choice. She glanced over at Ian, who was also down on his knees. A wave of sheer pain rolled over her and she leaned forward, her hands supporting her weight as the pain intensified. It felt like she had a ton of pressure pushing down on her from her back and she couldn't raise her head to look at the being or Ian.

I've never... felt something this... powerful... before. She thought, struggling to get the thought to coherently follow.

The pain subsided a bit and Ziona listened to Ian speak.

"I have come seeking an alliance between us."

The being let out a roar and Ziona felt the flames lick past her, the heat almost unbearable. As the being roared the pain in her head intensified and Ziona nearly collapsed down, both her knees now on the ground and her hands clenched in fists.

She managed a glance to the side and noticed that Ian was now in the air, being held by the being. She gritted her teeth. Part of her wanted to stand up and speak out against this being and part of her knew that if she did, they would all die. Ziona looked at Ian from where he was raised, his body still, unable to fight and pain written across his face.

This is... insane. She thought.

Anger boiled inside of her as she watched Ian's pained expression. It was an anger she had not felt in quite some time but it was pure, unadultered hatred towards this being for hurting Ian.

Come on, Ian.Ziona thought. Say something... anything that will save us. You've saved us before, I'm sure you can save us again.

Pain rolled over her again as the being's eyes glowed with fire and he spoke about the United Federation of Planets. The being roared, damanding what it was that they wanted and Ziona choked back a cry of anguish.

"Peace." Ziona heard Ian say and she nodded, despite the pressure on her back.

"We just want peace." Ziona whispered to herself.

[Republican_Man]

--Elerra Prime, Temple Interior--
Kyle Katran, half-Betazoid, yet his powers enhanced to full Betazoid abilities by training from an old Nautolian monk years ago, collapsed onto the ground.
Wha...t's...happening? he thought to himself, revelling in pain. These beings were strong, powerful...Far more powerful than he had ever experienced in his life.
He looked around at Xavier and Andreas. They were in pain as well. Terrific pain. But suddenly Kyle couldn't take it anymore.
He knew that in all his training he had one weakness--attacks on the mind were stronger on him...incredibly strong.
He was in such pain and couldn't even remain on his knees.
He was distorted, in many senses. He collapsed in entirety, hardly hearing or understanding anything around him...

(g2g. I'll be back in several hours...)

[Founder]

-Elerra Prime, Temple Interior-

The massive beast remained frozen for a few moments, not speaking. It considered his words carefully.

"PEACE?" It asked, "YOU ONLY SEEK PEACE FOR A PURPOSE..."

The creature peered into Ian's mind, looking through his memories like an open book. Ian was forced to see the battle for Deep Space Guardian clearly. He saw OPS, torn apart by Fito and his lackeys. Fito was now all black and red, rather than a green hue. Suddenly it rushed forward to Ian jamming an open electrical wire into the eye of Fito's lieutenant to save Archer. Then it fast forward to Ian luring Fito into the holodeck, where their climatic battle raged. Ian used Kung Fu and Muay Thai against Fito's Tai Kwan Do and Nautolian martial arts training. He unleashed a flurry of electricity from the tips of his fingers and nearly killed Ian. Aurora lay dead on the holodeck floor and Fito was forced to flee as Robitaille stormed the room. The creature looked over at the others and tried to gain their perspective of the battle. Ziona was fighting in Guardian City, protecting the civilians. She had witnessed a lot of bloodshed. The creature looked into Kyle's mind now. Kyle had no part in the battle and the creature was intrigued by its poweful, but also frail mind. Finally, it looked into Blake's mind. Resistance was there, but not enough to fight against the Zalbogian titan. It made the mammoth alien curious as to how and why he was doing that. It pushed against the barrier by force, cause great mental anguish to blake. Visions of shadowy officers meeting with him, hundreds of codes, all black uniforms. Blake's mind disassembled all of that information and it was difficult to make sense out of any of it. The Zalbogian noticed something about Romulans and this temple. He thought maybe it had to do something with the Romulan refugees. It's grip around Ian's mind tightened, causing him to grimace.

"YOUR ROMULAN ALLIES ARE AT THE TEMPLE," It said, "WHY!?!!?"

Ian was confused. He hadn't ordered, much less even told the Romulans about this. He figured Jones sent them there in fear of the loss of contact.

"No!" He said, "They're only here because my crew is wondering what happened to us!"

Several smaller creatures appeared around the titan. They were still bigger than most humanoids, standing at 16 feet tall.



"YOU WISH FOR US TO FIGHT THE TELEPATHIC FISH, FITO," It said, "JOIN YOUR WAR TO MURDER. WE DO NOT GET INVOLVED IN SUCH PATHETIC LITTLE WARS."

Ian, still in mid-air, grew worried. This was not going well at all.

"Wait!" He said, "Fito wants the station and this planet. Its a resource haven for our peoples. He will try to conquer this world!"

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona raised her head and looked up at the being before her.

"Please..." She whispered. She wasn't even sure the being would be able to hear her voice. "We just want... we just want peace and to stop this fighting."

Ziona blinked back tears from her eyes from remembering the horror she had seen on the station when Fito had come through.

"We just want to help you as well. They will... they will try to come and take this planet. All we want..."

She lowered her head again, trying to fight back the pain and the tears but the tears came and the pain seemed so tremendous that she couldn't finish her sentence. She just glanced at Ian and tried to smile.

"He... he is a good man. You have to understand that. He wouldn't do this simply for his own means." Ziona looked down again, biting her lip in pain and choking back a cry that escaped only as a gasp.

[Founder]

-Elerra Prime, Temple Interior-

Ian heard Ziona speak to his right. She said kind words and he could only hope that the Zalbogian titan would listen to her. The creature looked down at her. One of the smaller ones scooped her up in it's large hand. Ian saw it and grew angry.

"Let her go!" He demanded.

The Zalbogian titan squeezed his mind even more.

"QUIET," It demanded, "I CAN SEE THE PURITY OF YOUR OFFER, BUT WE CAN HANDLE SIT FITO. WE DONT NEED YOU! WE NEED NOTHING!!!!"

Ian clenched his teeth in pain and looked up at the massive beast.

"If you do this," He said, "We'll leave your world, forever..."

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona felt herself lifted from the ground and she turned her eyes on the smaller, but still hideous, creature that was holding her. She struggled against his grip for a few seconds but her strength was waning.

Ziona looked down at Ian. A smile crossed her face despite her pain and she shut her eyes.

"Please." She whispered to the titan that was towering over them. She could see him clearly from her position, lying on her back in the creature's palm. "We will leave your world and let you continue living as you have lived but please... help us..."

Ziona shut her eyes against the pain and from sheer exhaustion.

"Ian..."She whispered. "I know that your request is out of good..." She turned her eyes on him again. "If we don't make it, I hope you know that...you're a good person and it's been a pleasure."

[Lord Borg]

DSG

Archer sighed and decided that he was done with recovering. He left his quarters and went to OPS. Uppon arrival, he found Jones.

"Report"

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

The smaller creature that was holding Ziona cocked his head slightly. He spoke into her mind.

Why?

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona looked at the creature, her dark eyes half shut and tears still lingering in the corners of her eyes. She watched the creature for a moment, ignoring the hideousness of the face.

"Because... I trust him and I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone." She shut her eyes and her body shuddered in pain. "He's a good person." She whispered.

[Lord Borg]

The Creature looked over to Ian and studdied him closly. The Creature looked back to Ziona. He studied the exspreasion on the humans face. He noticed how the humans kept clenching thier eyes when they spoke. He spoke in his normal voice, while loud, would not damage the humans.

"You would blindly follow this human?"

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime

Ziona opened her eyes and watched the creature, her dark eyes shining in the light. She nodded.

"I would die for him."

[Lord Borg]

The creature moved his head back slightly and looked to Ian again. He then looked to the titan, and back to the human female in his hand.

"One is willing to die for another on belief?"

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona nodded and shut her eyes.

"Yes... I would die for him. I would die for any of my friends."

[Founder]

-DSG, OPS-

Jones looked up at Archer who had just entered.

"Hello captain," He said, "We're still trying to find out what happened to the away team. We have been out of contact with them for nearly a half hour..."

-Elerra Prime, Temple Interior-

The Zalbogian titan looked down at the smaller creature.

"THEY ARE A STRANGE SPECIES," It said, "WE WILL NOT ALIGN OURSELVES WITH THEM. WE ALIGN WITH NO ONE. WE ARE THE ZALBOGIANS. WE ARE ETERNAL. CENTURIES WHEN IAN XAVIER AND SIT FITO ARE DEAD, WE WILL STILL BE HERE. LET SIT FITO COME TO OUR WORLD AND WE SHALL DESTROY HIM, LIKE WE WILL DESTROY THEM..."

Ian felt his mind being squeezed near the point of death...

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona felt a pressure in her mind and she glanced over at Ian.

"Ian..." She whispered. That was it... she was going to die here. "Please..." She pleaded once more with the creature holding her. "Please... let him go... let the rest of them. Take me. Kill me if you have to but let them go."

[Lord Borg]

The Creature looked to Ziona.

"No....."

The creature then looked up to the other, larger one.

These species.... they mean no harm. We saw into their minds. Why must we not take the chance to learn from them? The ones before were primitive., blood thirsty, unfeeling.

the Creature looked to Ziona's eyes.

These ones here, right now.... they know thier limits. We looked in thier minds... this.... Fito..... weather or not we could beat him.... that is not the question.

The creathure loosend his grip on Ziona. HE turned his hand up so that she was in his palm.

DSG, OPS

Archer went on aleart.

"A Half hour!"

Archer came over to the station and looked at the status display.

[Ziona]

Elerra Prime, Temple Interior

Ziona turned her eyes up to the larger being and then back on Ian again. She lay in the palm of the creatures hand, her breathing shallow from pain.

"Please... make the pain stop."

[Founder]

-Elerra Prime, Temple Interior-

Ian looked over at Ziona. He heard her offering herself as a sacrfice. This was something he wouldn't allow.

"Don't listen to her!" He yelled, "I am the captain. This is my idea, not their's. You can not hold them accountable! Please let them go!"

He was surprised to see one of the aliens actually resist against the larger one. Ian had no idea they could do that. The titanic alien looked down at the smaller one, who resisted.

"NO!?" It demanded, "THEY MUST BE TAUGHT. FOR IF THEY ARE NOT, THEY WILL SIMPLY RETURN IN GREATER NUMBERS. WE TIRE OF THEIR INCESSANT INCURSION INTO OUR SACRED TEMPLE. IT ENDS NOW!"

The fire grew in intensity and rose higher. Ian groaned in the air from the head.

"Please," He said, "We'll leave and never return, but I can not gurantee that Fito will not come to your world..."

The creature let Ian go and watched him land on the ground with a hard thud.

[Lord Borg]

The smaller creature balked slightly, then moved his fingers over Ziona in a protective manner. He spoke in voice, to protect the minds of the humans.

"When have they offered anything more then peace! Fito will not make such an offer... his mind will not cave in to our efforts so easily. The Humans say we can't fight alone, nor can they. An offer to leave forever is being made........Lest you forget your predicesors mistakes...."

The creature was of course refering to acient times in human standards, when the world was invaded by another species. they had.... unique abilities. The "titan" at the time, underestimated the "lower life"

[Ziona]

Ziona moaned and moved slightly in the creature's hands, her hand going to her head. Her head was throbbing and she couldn't compose a coherent thought.

"Ian..."She whispered, her eyes shut. All she wanted was for the pain to stop. "Please... stop the pain..."

Ziona rolled to her side in the palm of the creature's hand and raised herself on her elbows, glancing at the large titan before her. She noticed Ian had been dropped to the ground.