[edit]

As the Away Team turned, prepared to enter the tunnel they were suddenly stopped as ten swift shadows exited the tunnel entrance and fanned out in front of them. Disruptor rifles were pointed at the Away Team.

Behind them came another seven or so forms. All were dressed in colonial/miner type clothes and all appeared to be a very pale form of Andorian. The last seven had disruptor pistols, also pointed at the Away Team. One in the middle did not look happy as a heavy scowl spread across his features.

“Stop, Starfleet! You trespass where you should not be!”

M’Mera scowled back and snarled. “How did you come out of therre without me hearring or smelling you?” She demanded in an accusing tone.

The head Andorian gave a sneering grin, “We’re telepathic, cat woman, we clouded your senses.”

M’Mera’s growl of disgust increased but she was smart enough to keep her hands well away from her weapon as she watched the Captain and this leader talk. She studied the group closely though. Definitely some type of Andorians, very pale blue skin, with antennae. But they had white eyes and was that brow ridge in their foreheads? They also were heavier set than any Andorians she had ever seen. They usually tall and lithe. These guys were shorter and bulkier.

Hunter wondered why the COS acted the way she did, they were outnumbered after all ‘’This doesn’t look good ‘’he whispered to the Captain ‘’ It would be suicide to retaliate our best bet is dialogue to discuss in order to reach an agreement or compromise.....hopefully ‘’.

Glen whispered back to Hunter, “if they are telepathic then they knew what she was thinking whether she spoke it out loud or not,” before wondering why he was now whispering himself.

“This mining facility is on a Federation planet, protected by Starfleet. We are on a peaceful mission. We mean no harm to you,” Glen replied. “Why do you say we trespass and have no business here?”

“Wrong Starfleet, this is disputed space along the Romulan border. It is not Federation or Romulan and we would like to keep it that way. It is outside of your so called Pioneer Fleet. Leave.” The Andorian leader’s voice was firm and uncompromising. “Tell those miners to leave or something worse will happen to them than bad dreams, missing or broken equipment and missing people.”

Hunter crossed his arms over his chest ‘’Didn’t we have a female Andorian crew member on the ship once ?’’ he asked not sure if he had dreamed it or not ‘’Don’t recall she had telepathic abilities ‘’ the doctor finished off.

“She wasn’t!” Glen replied. “I didn’t think they were,” although in the dark, they did seem to be some kind of pale Andorian relatives.

”…but Andoria is still mostly a hidden world to us, and come to think of it …I have heard of less mainstream Andorians; hybrids with another species, who do also serve in Starfleet, and who are paler and partially telepathic, and often blind because the other species are troglodytes …These must be some of those …but a long way from home,” Glen added, as if he was thinking out loud rather than to Hunter.

Hunter kept looking at these beings ‘’ Maybe they cannot see us if they live underground ,thus the telepathic abilities not to mention any movement we make they can detect ‘’.

The Captain replied to the Andorian leader, a little truth mixed with a little bluff, “No, you’re wrong! The ‘Pioneer Fleet’ is confined to the history books! You’ve been underground for too long! There is no longer any dispute over the Ardan sector ownership between the major galactic powers; not since the signing of the Khitomer Accords. The Romulans and the Klingons don’t care about this backwater. The Klingons have much better Dilithium deposits to mine. There are small interstellar governments around here who are in constant conflict, and there are pirates and other criminals who try to take advantage of that political instability. Does that adequately describe yourselves?”

Sharp was near the captain and over hearing the ongoing conversation ,he stood still not daring moving a muscle . The security wondered if they would make it out of there alive.

“No, we are not pirates. We are those who were abused and left here to die. This planet is ours by dint of our suffering. We just wish to be left alone here. We do not care about the riches of this planet but it is not for others to come strip it.”

If what they were saying was true ,then it was no wonder they were so hostile ‘’ Do those who are here for the rare metals such as Dithulium on this planet know of your existence ?’’ he asked in a soft tone ‘’ Two persons have been missing and we are rather worried about them ‘’ the doctor went on, putting the words in a way without directly accusing them.

The quasi Andorian shrugged in answer then his eyes flicked back to the Captain as he spoke.

Hunter figured to get out of this situation diplomacy was predominant .

“My Doctor is correct,” Glen replied to the Leader. “No one is aware of you existence, your history, or of your grievances …but I have heard of Aener, a kind of Andorian subspecies, blind ice-dwellers from an Andorian that I once had in my crew. You appear to share some ancestry with them and I am aware that you may have suffered violence, displacement, and the destruction of your culture.”

“We know we are what our parents called Aenar, but we were experimented on and genetically mutated.”

Glen continued, “As a Starfleet Captain, I am fully authorised to listen to your grievances and to negotiate with you. The USS Merrimack is on a mission of peace. I am independent of the miners here and of any commercial interests. I see the strength of the Federation in its diversity and ability to cooperate, and I believe in justice. I can highlight your case and promote your cause if it is genuine. However, if you attack us instead, only more will come after us; eventually the Starfleet Marine Corp. Rather than to continue with your aggressive attitude here, there has to be a diplomatic solution and a compromise to your problems or else you’ll never have peace.”

Glen added, “First of all though, you must stop intruding into the brains of these miners and meddling with their equipment and power, you must cease your attacks, make a truce, and free any hostages you are holding. You will have to account for your own actions, just as others must account for what they have done to you.”

Hunter was proud of how the Captain was handling the situation ,he knew that Glen carried years of experience .

“We have harmed no one. Only tried to scare them away like the others. They were not leaving so we took two of them to try and show them why they must leave. They are at our settlement. Can you truly negotiate for us? Would anyone believe us and help us?”

He asked as he appeared to be trying to scrutinize the Captain somehow. His antennae pointed at the Captain and his brow furrowed. He was probably scouring his mind though the Captain would feel nothing.

“As a Starfleet Captain, often working on the very fringes of known space, I do have some amount of autonomy, yes,” Glen replied. “Starfleet Captains are regularly tasked with diplomatic missions and are expected to represent Starfleet in a variety of situations. I have the capacity to make my own informed, uncoerced decisions …but I’m afraid that I know nothing about you, or even of the Aenar, merely that they shared the same satellite as Andorians, but that they were in very low numbers there. At least one Aenar has served in Starfleet, though. I think he was Chief Engineer aboard the first USS Enterprise under Captain Pike, but I think he is dead.”

”…but you also do have rights under Federation Laws …the reports of bogeymen and evil spirits coming out from Ardan V have been around for decades, since the Romulans were here, so if you have been here for that long then you will have historic settlement rights, which give you the right to remain here and of self-determination. If you also have proof of the experimentation and genetic mutation carried out on your people, then these are atrocities against persons, and classified as Genocide, which has been unlawful since before the UFP was first conceived. That applies no matter if you are Federation members or not. The planet Earth’s experience of Genocide under Colonel Phillip Green means that it would prosecute such crimes to their full extent, even against another founding member. So, you won’t require my advocacy, just as long as you can actually back up your accusations. Hearsay from your parents will not be enough, but genetic testing could be organised, and there must be records to uncover.”

Glen could see that Hunter was burning to ask about something, but he first added, “If you don’t trust me then read our minds. You probably already are. I’ve found that whenever low-grade telepathy is being employed, honesty is the best policy.”

‘’We know all too well what genetic modification can do,’’ Hunter replied, referring to Cross. ‘’Tell us was it a part from your side that there is an interference which we believe is coming from the planet and has effected our Comm system for we are unable to make contact with the rest of our crew?’‘

Some how the doctor believed someone or something else was at play .

Hunter Dr.

• Glen, CO