20 || The Ensign

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Ensign Elden stood in the same room as before, pacing back and forth. He had been unable to stop them from dragging Commander Spock away, and now he was alone.

Well mate, it's been worse than this, he reminded himself as he thought back to Altamid. But that was different. Even when he was there, being attacked by the swarm ships as they tried to escape the destroyed ship, being imprisoned in Krall's prison camp, he wasn't alone. There was always someone by his side, but now that they had taken the commander, he felt more alone than he ever did in his entire life.

Elden touched the pewter cross around his neck, trying to remember the prayers his mother would mumble under her breath. The ones she would gently whisper to him as a child before she put him to bed. But as always, the words wouldn't miraculously come to him.

With a frustrated sigh, he sank back down onto the cot. His stomach growled. The guards had given him crude protein rations earlier in the day, but they weren't exactly filling by any means.

He would have to find a way to escape. Get out of the cell, get a hold of a weapon and try to regroup with Commander Spock. The commander would know what to do, how to get back to the Enterprise and how to find the Captain. He would know how to get them out of the mess they inadvertently found themselves, because quite frankly, Elden had no idea what to do.

The door suddenly slid open. A guard entered, the dull black gleam of its helmet visor studying Elden carefully. Elden stood as the guard pushed someone into the room. A young girl tripped and fell. She looked at Elden with wide, terrified eyes. She gasped and stumbled to her feet, heading towards the now closed door. She pounded on it, begging for the guard to come back.

"It's okay," Elden said, holding out his hands to show her he meant no harm.

The turned girl and flattened herself against the wall. Her dress had ripped and the knitted shawl was slipping down her shoulders. She was younger than Elden, perhaps around sixteen, with wild blonde hair and a pale, pointed face. A strange tattoo was on her cheek, similar looking to a barcode.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Elden told her, slowly moving forward.

The girl slid to the floor, her chest heaving with stifled sobs of terror. She hugged her knees tightly, burying her face in the flowing white skirts of her dress. Elden stopped and as smoothly as he could, so as not to make any subtle movements, sat down in front of her. The girl peeked at him from under her messy blonde hair, but quickly hid her face again.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you," He tried to say in a soothing voice. "My name's Elden. What's yours?"

The girl sniffled, raising her head and wiping at her tear soaked cheeks with the back of her hand. "Grace," she said in a small voice.

Elden smiled. "It's good to meet you Grace."

Grace tried to smile back. She was silent for a long time, refusing to acknowledge his presence. Finally, after several long and awkward minutes, she turned to the young ensign.

"Are you from Earth?" She asked in a small voice.

Elden nodded.

"What does it look like?"

"Um...well it..." Elden hesitated, trying to think. Most of his time spent on earth was in a crowded apartment with his extended family in the heart of London. He had spent the majority of his days sitting at the cramped kitchen table behind a mountain of books and lost among the broken pieces of electronics he always fiddled with. As soon as he could, he left for Starfleet academy. He tried to think of his time there instead, since it was definitely more scenic than the home he left behind.

"There's a lot of water there..." He recounted, thinking of the view of the ocean from the steps of the main hall. "And it stretches into the distance and it sorta sparkles in the sunlight, I guess," He added, attempting to paint a mental image and failing miserably.

"I read that Earth is where my people fled from long ago. Is it true that there is only one sun?" She asked.

Elden nodded. "Yep. And only one moon too."

"Does the moon get lonely? Being in the sky all by itself?" Grace asked in her childish voice.

"Well...maybe..." Elden stammered, never having the opportunity before to think of it that way. "I guess it....could."

"Why is there so much water?" Grace asked.

"It's uh...it's just the way the world is," Elden shrugged. "But since there's so much water, there's a lot of green plants and trees there too."

Grace smiled. "We have plants and trees," She said proudly. "They grow in boxes in the city and in special buildings. Sidian brought them here."

"Who's that?" Elden asked.

Grace's smile wavered. "He is our Great Leader. He brought us here to this planet a long time ago." She shook her head, wanting to change the subject. "Tell me more about Earth."

Elden and the girl talked for a while, the young ensign recounting tales from Earth and from his travels on the Enterprise. Grace listened intently, her big blue eyes wide with childish wonder as he explained how Yorktown looked from space, how the cities different gravitational pulls worked, the different alien species and cultures he'd encountered. But most of all, she wanted to hear stories about Earth. Between satisfying Grace's inquiries, Elden was able to get some information from her about the city and the one they called the Great Leader.

Sidian was his name, and they believed he brought life to the planet, the plants, the water and his children. According to Grace, he built the city with his bare hands hundreds of years before. He established his new order, his own Federation in which all species would come to worship him. Grace claimed that the different species living in the city were brought there by him. The humans were brought from Earth by him the Ktarians from Ktaris, and so on. They were all brought there to serve the Great Leader.

"Do any new species show up?" Elden asked. "I mean, are there ever any ships that come here?"

Grace tilted her head curiously to the side. "What do you mean?"

"If you constantly have more species coming, then wouldn't they have ships coming in? I mean how do all the people get here?"

Grace contemplated this for a long moment. "He brings them," She said slowly, thinking it through herself.

"So does he transport them here using a machine, or in a space-ship?"

"No, the Great Leader. He brings them here to the city. He says they are to be here...and then they are here. He does not need a ship or a machine."

Elden realized it was futile. He leaned back and sighed.

Grace smiled at him. "I wish I could see  the Earth," She said in a wistful voice.

"Here," Elden reached around his neck and slid the chain over his head. The pewter cross gleamed in the soft light. He handed it to Grace. "I want you to have this." Grace looked at the cross, the metal still warm from being around Elden's neck. Elden smiled, ignoring the odd feeling of no longer having the comforting weight of the charm resting against his chest. He cleared his throat, pointing at it. "It'll be your own little piece of Earth."

Grace looked at it. "What is this?" She asked.

"It's called a cross," He told her. "It's..." He wasn't sure how to explain it to her. "It'll bring you luck," He said simply.

Grace smiled. "You are nice to me, Elden. No one has ever been this nice to me." She looked at the chain in her hand. She slid it over her head, the cross resting against her pale skin. She held the small piece of pewter in her hand and smiled.

Elden grinned  and was about to say something else when the door slid open. He and Grace both stood, Grace quickly hiding the cross in the bodice of her dress. Three guards entered, followed by the alien in the red suit. He gestured towards Grace and one of the guards crossed to her and grabbed her. She cried out.

"Let her go!" Elden yelled, rushing forward as she was dragged away. The alien in the red suit stepped in front of him, his clawed hand slicing through the air and sending Elden tumbling backwards across the hard stone floor. Grace stopped struggling as the guard took her away. She looked over her shoulder at Elden for a brief moment before she was taken from the room.

"If you hurt her..." Elden warned, holding a hand over the bleeding cut on his face.

"Where is he?!" The alien hissed, wrapping his long clawed fingers around Elden's throat. "Tell me where he is!"

"I...don't...know...who..." Elden struggled to breath.

The alien growled, holding Elden's body off the floor. His feet kicked, hanging several inches from the ground.

"The Vulcan! He has escaped! Tell me where he did he go!" The grip on Elden's throat tightened.

Elden's eyes went wide as he struggled for a breath. The alien hissed loudly, tossing him across the room. His body slammed into the far wall, his head hitting the marble with a loud crack. Stars flickered in his vision. He coughed and gagged, trying to breathe through a half crushed windpipe.

"He has murdered two of my men!" The alien hissed as he approached Elden. Elden held out his hand, helplessly trying to crawl away. "Tell me where!" A clawed hand grabbed his hair, pulling him to his knees.

"How...should I...know...?" Elden gasped. "Was...here...whole....time."

The alien let him drop to the ground. He growled as he turned to his men. "Grab him," He ordered.

The two guards marched towards Elden, roughly yanking him to his feet.

"He is coming with us."







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