Triphox sipped her morning tea as she read the summary of simulations they had run overnight on the quantum phase inhibitor. She tried to keep her attention focused, but she kept getting distracted, her thoughts turning to the argument she had with her husbands the night before.

It didn’t help that the simulations were exceedingly boring. The quantum phase inhibitor performed exactly to specifications in every single simulation they had run. But that never seemed to be enough for Kal Dano. And it wasn’t just his perfectionism. He seemed genuinely afraid of the technology he created.

With good reason.  He had created the quantum phase inhibitor for peaceful purposes.  Namely, a means to re-ignite a dying star. But, like the fabled Genesis Device of the 23^rd Century, the technology could be applied to sinister ends should it fall into the wrong hands.

Kal Dano came bursting into the laboratory, all smiles and good cheer. It was almost more than she could bear that morning. But she put on her best Denobulan affable smile and said, “Good morning, Kal.”

“Good morning, Triphox. What news from the simulations?”

“Same as yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that,” Triphox sighed.

“Do I detect a note of boredom? What happened to the vaunted Denobulan patience?” said Dano, with a smile.

“Even we have our limits,” she joked back.

“Well you are in luck today. I think we are ready for a field test.”

“Finally,” Triphox said, “Where are we going?”

“We have gotten approval to test the quantum phase inhibitor on a dead star in the Alpha quadrant, near the edge of Tholian space. The system is uninhabited and the star is a prime candidate for re-ignition.”

“Tholian space…so the Alpha Quadrant? Lukari is in the Alpha Quadrant, isn’t it? Planning on stopping by??” said Triphox.

“Not today. This is no pleasure voyage.”

“Right. I’ll get the instruments loaded onto the ship.”

“I’ll get the quantum phase inhibitor and begin the integration with the ship’s systems.”

Kal Dano walked down the hallway to the vault. He touched the sensor next to the door, which quickly read his DNA and lowered the security field. The door slid open and he walked into the antechamber. He held still while the sensors scanned him for nanotechnology, then matched his brainwave patterns to those on file. Some species could fool DNA-based scans, but brainwave patterns were notoriously hard to reproduce.

After the sensors completed their cycle, the inner door to the chamber holding the quantum phase inhibitor opened. Dano disabled the final security interlocks and took the inhibitor from its housing.

As he walked back out of the vault, he narrowly avoided a particle beam blast, purely by reflex, dodging back into the vault.

“That was a warning shot,” said an unfamiliar voice, “The next shot will kill you. Turn over the quantum phase inhibitor now and we’ll let you live.”

Dano slammed the emergency closure next to the outer door of the vault. But as the door started to close, he heard a weapons discharge from the hallway, and the door stopped, halfway open.  Two Vorgons ducked into the room, their energy weapons still trained on him.

“Don’t make this difficult,” said one of them, the female.

Dano desperately tried to think of a way out of the situation. If it was simply a matter of his own life, he would trade it in a second. But after they shot him they would still have the inhibitor. He decided there was no use in throwing his life away.  He reluctantly put the inhibitor on the ground and backed away.

“Pick it up, Boratus,” said the female Vorgon, and the male began to move towards the inhibitor.

A phaser blast shot in from the hallway, knocking the pistol from the female Vorgon’s hand. A second blast hit the Vorgon male in the leg. He fell to the side. The female rushed to his side and activated some kind of device. They both dematerialized in a swirl of light.

“Good timing, Triphox,” Kal Dano said, ducking under the door back into the hallway.

But instead of his Denobulan colleague, an unfamiliar human in an unfamiliar uniform stood in the hallway, holstering his pistol.

“Hello, Kal. My name is Daniels.”

Jaddua Ross
Content Designer
Star Trek Online

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