SEASON 2: EPISODE 07

INTO THE FIRE: Prologue

  Captain Jonathan Masters didn’t consider himself a religious or spiritual person, but the week he had spent at the monastery on Bajor was one of the most revealing, relaxing and pleasant times he had in a long time.  He didn’t believe the wormhole aliens or ‘Prophets’ as the Bajorans called them were gods anymore then he believed that Q was a god.  They appeared so but if he travelled back to Earth’s Dark Ages with technology from the present he would appear as a god.  He could heal the sick, instantly move from place to place and talk to unseen people all thanks to perfectly ordinary technology of his time.  It was all a matter of perspective as far as he was concerned.  The Bajorans did hold a lot of belief in the Prophets and he definitely would not begrudge them that.

  He had a quiet first week on Bajor before a Vedek from the Vedek Assembly had approached him and because of his history, the defence of Deep Space 9 when the Klingons had attacked and Operation Return, the Vedek Assembly decided he needed special treatment.  He got tours and they insisted he stay with the Vedek, instead of in a Bajoran Militia officer’s barracks.  He declined but they kept at him and so they compromised on the monastery where he could experience Bajoran faith firsthand.  He was given the robes of a low rank monk and allowed to wander the grounds.  No one questioned his presence or took offence when he observed their rituals.  He was allowed to experience the Bajoran faith with no boundaries.

  Well, almost no boundaries.  There was one aspect of Bajoran faith that particularly interested other species, the ‘Tears of the Prophets’.  The orbs were the ultimate symbol of Bajoran religion, ten orbs fell from the sky over a ten thousand year period which allowed the Bajorans to experience visions and even communicate with the Prophets.  Starfleet had the opportunity to study a few of the orbs since the Cardassians left and even the top scientist in the Federation had trouble just explaining exactly what they were and how they worked.

  As a Starfleet officer these devices obviously were of interest.  After a week he even broached the topic with Vedek Solin, who was his official guide to all things Bajoran at the monastery.  He had a stimulating discussion on what the Vedek believed the Tears of the Prophets were and the Vedek was equally interested in what he thought about the orbs.  The Vedek had then felt his pagh or as Masters understood it, his essence.  They did this by grasping the ear and apparently they could feel something deeper about the person then they could gleam from appearance or conversation.  The Vedek held his ear for a few seconds before asking Masters to follow him.

  The Vedek had led Masters to the main complex and down into the lower levels.  Masters had not visited this section before, but he was told that it contained religious texts, artefacts, and even the graves of those who came before.  He was led into a room and in the flickering candle light he spotted a familiar ark.  It was what the Bajorans used to store the Tears of the Prophets.

  He could hardly believe it.  He entered the room but the Vedek remained at the door.  He turned to Solin.  “What do I do?”

  “Just open the ark and ask the Prophets for guidance.”  The Vedek then went to leave and saw Masters’ questioning look.  “An orb experience is something that one must experience alone.”

  Vedek Solin closed the heavy doors behind him.  Masters turned back to the orb and slowly walked towards it.  He stepped carefully, trying not to make excess noise, he really didn’t know why.  The atmosphere was not oppressive, it was just silent.  He reached the ark a feeling of trepidation and excitement flowed through him.

  He cautiously opened the box and let out the bright green light that flooded the room.  It was a surreal light.  It was bright but not unpleasantly so, in fact it was calming.  It seemed to wash over him and enter his pours.  He breathed it in and it cycled through his blood system as it was as part of him as blood and oxygen.  It was beautiful.

  Nothing happened.  He had half expected to be struck by lightning as unbelievers had been in ancient Earth stories.  After a few seconds he decided to try speaking to it.  He could relate to it as been an advanced type of communication device rather then the tears of a god.

  “I know I am not a religious man, I’m not even a Bajoran so I don’t know if this will work but I’ll try anyway…my life has been a series of conflicts.  From my father to myself, from the Romulans to the Dominion, I can’t escape it.  I know now that this is my function, I am a warrior and I accept it.  Humanity – the Federation needs people like me to defend it, I am glad to do it.  But I can imagine a different path a path that was open to me earlier in life, but that is gone.  What of my future?  Am I to continue this path alone to my death?” Despite what he heard he still felt kind of silly talking to the hourglass shaped glowing orb.  “It was worth a try.  I guess the only thing left is to ask you to watch over the Bajorans, they deserve something for their faith.  It keeps them strong…”

  The green light suddenly grew brighter but not blinding.  It engulfed him in a way that felt more like a soft caress then light.  Before he could really think about what was happening it was already over…

  “Belief can be a powerful weapon.”

  Masters turns to face the new voice and there is a sudden flash of light and suddenly he is no longer where he was.

  Before him stands an older Starfleet officer, his pips denote him as a Starfleet Fleet Admiral.  He knows the man and recognises the voice, but cannot match them to a person from his memory.  He turns and looks out across a scene of destruction located at the heart of paradise.

  “Everyone needs something to believe in,” he replies.  The words come from his mouth but they are not his.  He is a mere passenger in his own mind and body.

  The admiral appears to read something in his reply.  “What do you believe in?”

  “…she believed in you.”

  Masters turns to face the new voice and there is a sudden flash of light and suddenly he is no longer where he was.

  He is standing over a standard Starfleet coffin draped in the Federation flag.  He doesn’t know who resides in there but he knows the person too well.

  A hand squeezes his shoulder.  “Jonathan, I’m so sorry,” says Commander Core.

  “She didn’t deserve to die.” He can feel the anger in himself that only grief can create.

  He feels Commander Core’s hand massage his shoulder as she replies, “Almost no one does.”

  “…you have to stop!”

  Masters turns to face the new voice and there is a sudden flash of light and suddenly he is no longer where he was.

  He stands on an unfamiliar bridge.  He stares at Commander…no, Captain Susan Core on the viewscreen.  “They have to pay for what they’ve done,” he replies.

  “Jonathan, this is wrong.”

  He shakes his head, “No, this is justice.”

  Deep down he felt a twinge of doubt surface, but it was quickly swamped by fury and rage.  He hated them.  He hated them and that was all that mattered.  He knew that he would make them pay for that they had done, no matter the cost.

  “…I can help.”

  He stares at Karak, though the Vulcan no longer wears the Starfleet uniform.

  “There is always a catch,” he sighs as he weighs up his options.

  Karak raises an eyebrow.  “Of course, nothing is given for free.”

  “So to end this all I have to do is sell my soul?” he asks.  Karak just stares impassively at him.  It has all been building up to this point; his quarry was just out of his reach.  He now had a way to force the final confrontation, to bring it all to an end.  The question was whether the gain was worth the price?

  “…I forgive you.”

  Masters turns to face the new voice and there is a sudden flash of light and suddenly he is no longer where he was.

  He stands exhausted, nearby a dead body of a Starfleet officer lays still smoking from the recent phaser blast that he knows he inflicted.

  “What have I done?” he asks.  He knows he isn’t talking about the death of the nearby person, but of the consequences of his actions to the unseen person he heard before.

  “…Your duty!”

  Masters turns to face the new voice and there is a sudden flash of light and suddenly he is no longer where he was.

  He stares down at the bloodied face of a furious blond woman, a phaser in his hand.  “Your duty?  Aren’t Starfleet officers meant to show mercy?  Killing an unarmed, helpless woman is the act of a murderer.”  He feels nothing but hatred towards this woman, he doesn’t know why but he knows that mercy is not in his heart at this moment.

  “I guess I’m just a murderer then,” he replies and begins to press the trigger.

  “…betrayer.”

  Masters turns to face the new voice and there is a sudden flash of light and suddenly he is no longer where he was.

  “That is what they will call me if I do what you ask,” explains the person before him.  The person is of an alien species he does not recognise but he knows them.

  “I’m asking you to help me end this war,” Masters clarified.  “To right the wrongs of the past and stop the flames of war reducing this galaxy to a cinder.”

  The alien stares directly into Masters’ eyes.  “Could you do it if you were in my place?  Could you doom your people?”

  “…I’m happy.”

  Masters turns to face his voice and there is a sudden flash of light and suddenly he is no longer where he was.

  He is suddenly staring at himself, but he is also staring at himself staring at himself.  He views two versions of him from each version simultaneously.  They are him but older.  One is still in Starfleet uniform; the other (the eldest) wears some type of civilian clothing.  He can feel the fact that they aren’t actually viewing each other, in fact they are no where near each other, they aren’t even on the same planet, but they see each other and they have said the same thing to the other and they stare at the other without seeing but with an understanding that cannot be explained in mere words.

  They are not alone, both are holding someone he cannot see but he knows that they are exactly who he should be with.  He is living perfectly.

  A voice comes out of nowhere but is everywhere, they don’t hear it but he does.  “The end!  My friends, this is just the beginning of an even greater adventure!”

  With a flash of green as when the vision started, it ended.  He closes the ark with wonder.  He could not explain what has happened, he can barely understand it!  What he saw was confusing but the last scene he witnessed seemed to at least give him an answer…he thought.

  “I trust the Prophets answered your request?”

  Masters turns to face the new voice.  “Yes, they did.  Thank you, Vedek Solin.  It wasn’t what I expected.”

  “Rarely is life what we expect, captain.  Otherwise it would not be life,” said the smiling Vedek.

  As they walk back up to the main floor Masters considers his visions.  There was two of him in the last one, which could only mean that he was looking at alternate universes or maybe different timelines.  Some of the other visions were confronting, maybe not visually but in terms of the emotions he felt.  Maybe they were showing him that he had much conflict to go through but in the end he would reach a level of peace.  The two versions of him still confused him.

  “What orb was that?” he asked.

  “It was the Orb of Time.”

  “So what I saw was the future?” he asked.

  “If that is what you wished to see, then it is possible for the Prophets to show it to you.”

  “I don’t understand.  If it was the future then why…”

  Solin stopped and held up his hand.  “As I said before, an orb experience is a deeply private and personal event.  I cannot decipher what you saw for you.  The meaning of what you saw might not be apparent now, but given time all things will be made clear.”

  Masters nodded his understanding and the Vedek continued walking.

  Vedek Solin had led him to one of the small grottos within the grounds of the monastery.  This particular one was Masters’ favourite spot.  It was shaded and had a small brook flowing by, there was nothing more relaxing then the gentle sounds of water. 

  “Maybe some time in nature by yourself will help focus what you have seen,” said Solin.

  Solin then stated he had other business to attend and that he was free to spend the rest of the day as he pleased.  Masters thanked Solin for his experience and watched the Bajoran leave.

  Masters sat down and closed his eyes so he could just absorb the wholly natural sounds of being on a planet.  It was something not many people appreciated, natural noise.  Space was very quiet and the bridge of a starship was too.  The only sounds other then people were faint beeps and the hum of various devices on the bridge, but it didn’t have the same affect as the sounds of nature.  Masters felt the rays from Bajor-B’hava’el radiate over his face as the wind shifted braches and leaves so that the light could sneak through.  This is how he spent much of his time here, sitting quieting absorbing nature and practicing the mediation techniques the monks had taught him on his arrival.

  Time seemed to lose all meaning as Masters sat there and he had no idea how long he had sat there for when he was finally disturbed.  A young Bajoran monk, who looked no older then sixteen was after his attention.

  “Captain Masters, I am sorry to disturb you but you have a visitor,” said the Bajoran with a voice that eradiated an aura that made the monk seem older and wiser then he appeared.

  “That’s fine.  Most likely someone from Starfleet.”

  The monk didn’t answer and led him to the main entrance.  Commander Susan Core was there waiting for him.  The Commander looked out of place among the reddish brick that made up the monastery in her dark blue uniform.  Starfleet uniforms were also much more form hugging then the thick layers that the Bajorans wore.  The commander’s smooth and attractive features beamed as she smiled widely at Masters.  He hadn’t seen the Commander since he came to Bajor and noted that she had cut her blonde hair shorter.

  “It is good to see you, Commander.  I hope you’re having a good time.”  Masters noticed that the Core had an air of excitement about her.  “What’s going on, Susan?”

  Commander Core looked as if she could blurt out what she was going to say, but she made a visible effort to calm herself down.  “Captain, I’m sorry to disturb you but it is important.”

  “Well, at least it isn’t bad news by the way you are acting.”

  “It definitely isn’t.  Captain, we’re invading Cardassian space!”