Star Traks: Banshee "Where Angels Fear to Tread, Part Two" "Divide and Conquer" By Brad Dusen "Yeah, okay, thanks." Officer Rellik said as he deactivated his desktop viewer. He stood up and shouted, "Where's that little gay twerp?" Vince, turning a shade of bright red, approached the desk. The Bolian behind it seemed very disgruntled. "What are you tryin' to pull?" Rellik asked. "Excuse me?" Vince asked, attempting to maintain a polite disposition. "There are no dead bodies along the beach near the Mirkwood cemetery. The patrol units checked two kilo- meters in each direction, and it the spot you specified, and all they found was that someone had been making out on the beach." Vince turned red with embarrassment. "Don't, uh, worry about that one." He chuckled nervously. "Look, officer, I know I saw that body there. Six other people saw it, too." "And that many people also claimed to have seen bigfoot. Doesn't mean it's happened." Rellik shrugged. Someone walked into the station , then glanced at Charlotte. He quickly ran over to the desk. "I'd like to report another bigfoot sighting!" He said in a nervous panic. "Scram!" Rellik shouted. "Officer, look," Vince said, "I know what I saw." "So do our patrols. Now unless you have any other phantom bodies to report, I suggest you go home." 'What happened?' Dan asked himself as he slowly woke up to a splitting headache. He quickly noticed that he was restrained to a large wooden table. 'Oh, this can't be good.' "You couldn't stay away, could you?" A woman asked as she walked into the chamber. She wore a dark gray robe. Dan recognized her in an instant. "For the sake of any of us. This whole thing could have been avoided." Dan looked at the woman as if he'd been betrayed. "You're in this cult?" "Without choice." The woman frowned. "The Deimos recruit through fear." "Where's Emily?" Dan demanded. "Elsewhere." The woman shrugged. "That is none of your concern." "How can you say that?" "I move my mouth to form the words and use my vocal cords to make the sound." The woman smiled. Dan was not amused. "Emily's safe." The woman said. "And I will keep her that way, so long as you don't cause any trouble. I will do everything in my power to keep you alive." She lowered her hood to reveal her Trill features. "Why are you doing this?" Dan asked. "Because I owe it to you, for being a friend of the one man I've ever really cared about." The Trill woman responded. Dan shook his head. "Illana, I don't know what you care about." Illana paused, looking down at a crystal pendent that Vince had bought for her before going to the police station. "I..." She was cut off as the doors opened. Kristina Mattice entered the room. A chill seemed to follow her. "He is awake, darkling?" Kristina asked coldly, not even looking at Illana, but keeping her eyes fixed on Dan. "Yes, mistress." Illana said with a submissive tone. "You may leave then." "Oh I can?" Dan said as he sat up, pulling on his restraints. "Not you." Kristina pushed Dan back down. "Sister Illana, you may depart." "It has been an honor being in your presence." Illana turned and left. Dan felt a sudden chill rush down his spine as Kristina turned back towards him. "Why are you here?" "Aren't you better suited to answer that question?" Dan retorted. "Why did you come to Mordor?" Kristina demanded. "Is Section Thirty-One after us?" "We came here on shore leave, to enjoy Mordor's beaches and its oh so hospitable inhabitants." "Your attempts at joking will not get you far." Kristina glared at Dan coldly. "Something tells me you weren't the laughing type." Dan muttered to himself. "Well I can find ways to amuse myself." Kristina walked over to a shelf and removed a Klingon pain stick. "And I do find this amusing." She barely rubbed it along Dan's side, causing him to jump up in pain. Kristina began to laugh as she jabbed him again. "Ouch!" She poked him in the abdomen. "Owww!!" She moved lower and touched the painstick to his crotch. "YEEEEEOWW WWW!!!!!!" Kristina stopped for a moment. "Is there a point to this?" Dan asked after the pain subsided. "It's fun." Kristina smiled. "Well can you find some other method of torture other than poking me with it?" Dan panted. Kristina held up the painstick. "I could always sodomize you with it?" "Keep poking." Dan pleaded. Ben groggily emerged from bed as the door chime rang for the seventeenth time. The door slid open to reveal a nervous looking Charlotte standing there. "I've been up all night, what do you want?" Ben asked. Charlotte paused for a moment, looking at Ben, whose hair was messed up and was currently wearing a shirt and boxer shorts reading "The Party's Inside." "Have you seen Dan or Emily?" Charlotte asked. "No, now leave me alone." Ben closed the door. Charlotte rang the bell again and the door slid open. "WHAT?" Ben snapped. "I think they're missing. Where is the Nile? I think we might need to contact the Banshee." "I put it in a parking tower near the spaceport. You can get inside with your access code. Now let me sleep!" Ben closed the door again. Charlotte rang the bell. The door slid open. "What the hell is it now?" "Thank you." Charlotte smiled, then walked away. "You know you undoubtedly have the wrong ideas about me." Kristina said as she changed the batteries in her painstick. "That you're a Satan-worshipping homicidal maniac?" Dan asked. "Okay, you have a few right ideas about me, but I'm not all bad." Kristina smiled. "And you also have fangs." Dan noticed. "A signature of my species." Kristina said. "My kind live apart from humanity, cast out because of our thirst for vital fluids." "Give me a break." Dan said. "You mean to tell me that you're a..." "Vampire, yes." Kristina nodded. "I am older than any civilization in the galaxy. I stopped counting at 4000." "Strange, you don't look a day over 3500." Dan smirked. "Use your pitifully weak sense of humor while you can." Kristina shrugged. "Trust me, you won't be in much of a mood to use it later." "I really don't want to know what you mean by that." Dan added. Kristina crawled up over Dan, staring him directly in the eyes. "The pain I can cause you is unimaginable." She whispered. Dan winced in pain. "What? I'm not trying to cause pain yet." "No..." Dan choked. "You knee's on my groin!" Kristina moved. "I can do worse." She hissed in his face, then walked out. "I take it mouth wash isn't something you've tried in the last 4000 years!" Dan called after her. Charlotte entered the darkened runabout. "Computer, lights." She ordered. They flickered on, along with several display panels. Sitting in the pilot's seat, Charlotte accessed the communication's array. "Computer, engage comlink." She said. "Specify base or vessel to engage comlink with using name and registry number." "USS Banshee, NCC-9561-C." Charlotte said. "Unable to comply. No ships named Banshee can be accessed from this location." "They're supposed to be in communications range. Try again!" Charlotte snapped. "No ships matching that description are within communications range." "Let me specify. USS Banshee. NCC-9561-C. Sovereign- Class. It was supposed to be doing scientific research near the Helix nebula. FIND IT!" "Unable to comply. The Helix nebula is not within communications range." "But Captain Vorezze said it was." Charlotte paused. "That bastard! He just wanted to get away from me!!!!" She stormed out of the runabout. "Unable to comply. No ships named USS Bastard are serving in Starfleet or Section Thirty-One." "May I ask exactly what you people do here?" Dan asked curiously as Kristina paced around him, giving him a piercing glare. "What does this little cult of yours do?" "We maintain the spiritual order, as well as the law and order, of Mordor." Kristina responded. "Use your practices to scare the crap out of people so they'll do whatever you want." "Pretty much." Kristina shrugged. "It's a good system, don't knock it!" "And we're the first to notice this going on? What about the planet's government?" "They're members." Kristina shrugged. "So this cult controls everything?" "The Deimos control all that there is to be controlled." Kristina said. "Sounds like my ex-girlfriend." Dan muttered. "But you are the first people who have ever attempted to go up against us." "We are?" "Yeah, making you the dumbest people in the galaxy right now." "Oh trust me, we didn't need to take on your little cult to be called the dumbest people in the galaxy." "I've heard of you." Kristina smiled as she paced around Dan's entrapments. "You have?" "Commander Dan Smith, chief of security aboard the Section Thirty-One starship Banshee. A former member of the Federation Society of Occult Studies. I even remember seeing you at a convention on Sopal Prime." "What, are you some deranged stalker?" "The fact that you're here is entirely coincidental." She assured him. "Oh, I'm sure." "But the fact is, you, of all the goody-two-or- three-shoed Starfleet officers are the one that fascinates me the most. "Oh lucky me." "I know you better than you'd like to admit, Dan." Kristina smiled. "I know what lurks in the dark recesses of your soul, what forces dwell inside you and are screaming to get out." "Well I do have to take a piss. What is it that you want with me, then?" Dan asked. "I want you by my side for eternity, us leading the Deimos together, forever." "Do I have a choice?" "That, or you, and everyone you care about will die. Our connections are vast. It would be a shame if your parents were assaulted by unknown assailents or if the Banshee fell victim to a mysterious explosion as a result of sabotage." "Ooooooh, scary." "Or I could torture you for eternity with the pain- stick set to maximum." "Going with you is good." Dan squeaked. "Am I doing something wrong or something?" Charlotte looked up from her cup of coffee. "The captain will not be happy if the Banshee comes to pick us up and we're missing Dan and Emily." Peter tried to offer his sympathies. "Well Dan he would get upset over, but Emily..." "That's not helping." Charlotte snapped. Ben was overly enjoying the amount of time that he and his newfound lover, Karenil, were spending together. "Oh man, that was good." Ben panted as he rolled over in bed. "I think that was my best ever." "It was okay." Karenil shrugged. "Could have been better." Ben rolled his eyes. "Hey, you know what would be fun?" Karenil smiled. "A trip to the national park in Mirkwood." "It would?" Ben asked. "Yes, it would." "Do I have to go?" Ben asked. "You'll go and you'll like it!" Kristina had left Dan with a number of her servants to get him ready to join the Deimos. She knew that, in his heart, Dan would make the perfect member, but his soul was tainted by his loyalty to his fellow officers. She took a break to confer with a woman who had close connections to the cult. "Is there a problem?" The woman asked with a tone in her voice that sounded almost annoyed. Kristina knew why. "You are aware of the Starfleet officers that have been causing trouble lately?" "Of course I know! It's all you've been grousing about for the past two days! 'Those damn Starfleet officers!' 'They'll ruin everything!' 'They will pay for coming here!' And so on." "You make it sound so ugly." Kristina sneered. "But there is another problem." "What now?" The woman asked with a tone of exasperation. "They were only due to remain here for two weeks. Their ship will be looking for them soon." "Great, more for you to bitch about!" "Look." Kristina snapped, "This... organization contracted you and your people so that the Deimos would have the firepower to take on any threat to us should it arrive in space." "I would certainly hope that's why I'm here. I really don't need to hear you rambling on about depraved sexual acts against figures of your religion during your sermons." The woman groaned. "Really? I thought last week's one entitled 'Sodomizing your Savior' was very interesting." "Is there a point to this?" "Eliminate the Banshee!" "That might not be as easy as you say. I've fought the Banshee in space combat before. It is one of the most heavily armed and defended ships in the Quadrant." "You'll manage." Kristina shrugged. "Fine, but if you find this temple under a bombardment of quantum torpedoes, don't come crying to me." The woman stormed out towards the door. Two figures flashed out of a personal cloak, her bodyguards, and followed her out. Kristina glanced at the two bodyguards in disgust. "I hate Jem'Hadar." "Isn't this beautiful?" Karenil asked Ben as the two walked between frost covered trees. "Oh yeah..." Ben shivered. "It's great." After taking a few more steps, Karenil and Ben found themselves surrounded. Karenil walked over to them and turned. "I'm really sorry, Ben." She said. "But this is my duty to the Deimos. Maybe if you were better in bed..." "I was good!" Ben shouted as he was hauled off. FEDERATION STARSHIP U.S.S. NAVAJO NCC-75116, INTREPID-CLASS, HELIX SECTOR "In still tracking them, Captain." Lt. Paul Stark said as he glanced between the display on the helm control panels and his captain's face. "Distance?" Captain Erin Philmore asked nervously while twiddling her thumbs. "Half a light year and closing. Destination: the Helix Nebula." Stark said. "Red alert, arm weapons." Philmore sat down. "Battle stations." On the viewer, a large warship surrounded by a swarm of raiders drew closer. "Prepare to at-" Philmore was cut off as the fleet of ships opened fire, obliterating the Navajo. BACK ON MORDOR Wanting to forget her worries, Charlotte decided to take a nice, warm bubble bath. She slipped into the tub and quickly submerged herself in bubbly wetness. Charlotte leaned back and breathed deep, the air perfumed by lit scented candles. "This is shore leave..." She muttered. "Commander!!!!!" Vince ran into the bath- room, looking frantic. "Don't you ever knock!" Charlotte shouted as she covered her body in mounds of bubbles to shield herself. "Oh please, like I haven't seen it before!" Vince groaned. "Look, I have bad news!" "What?" "Ben's gone." "And what's the bad news?" "Ben's gone!" "Okay, and what is the bad news!?" "That is the bad news!" Vince shouted. "Oh..." Charlotte thought for a moment as she sank further down into the water. "Who isn't missing at this point?" "You, Peter and myself." Vince said. "Take Peter and go look for him. He's got to be around here somewhere." "And what are you going to do?" Vince asked. "Sit here and relax!" "You can't just sit here, you have to do SOMETHING!!" "If you don't leave, I'm going to start cleaning my genitals." Charlotte sang as she reached for a washcloth. "Going, going!!" Vince hurried out of the bathroom. Charlotte savored the silence for a few moments, then said "Computer, play some music." An ominous sounding low-pitched music came on with constant chanting of "You will die..." In long, drawn out notes. "Umm, play something a little more relaxing, like a concerto." The same music came on. "Uhh, let's just turn off the music, then." Charlotte said nervously. The music continued. Charlotte looked up for a loudspeaker when she noticed a figure standing directly behind her. He wore a black and red robe and wielded a knife. "Uhh, I don't suppose you could opt to not kill me?" Charlotte said weakly. "So what do you think's going on?" Peter asked as Vince sorted through the supply hold of the Nile, removing two hand phasers, two phaser rifles and a number of other supplies. "I don't know. Everyone's being stalked by some kind of twisted satanic cult?" Vince laughed. Peter laughed, too. "Yeah right!" As Vince continued rummaging, Peter noticed a soft beeping sound coming from the cockpit. He went to investigate it. Opening a floor panel, he found the source. "Hey Vince?" "Yeah?" Vince called as he pulled out a box of photon grenades. "What's small, round, beeps and has a label reading I4-334?" "An Inferno-Class high powered explosive device." "Oh," Peter looked down as the beeping became more constant, now faster than a runner's pulse. "Uhh, Vince?" "Yeah?" "RUN!!!" Peter got up and ran from the cockpit, pulling Vince along with him out the door with only a few weapons in his hands. As the pulse became steady, a fireball erupted from inside the Nile, shattering the entire craft outwards and leaving only the burning frame behind. "You think this is a good thing?" Peter asked. "I doubt it." Vince said as he and Peter wandered from the Nile's burning wreckage. Now they were really trapped. "Do you pledge your eternal soul and undying loyalty to us?" Kristina asked, dressed in her ceremonial robes. Around her, the members of the Deimos stood gathered, their faces concealed in the shadows of the hoods they wore on their robes. They were at the site where Dan and Emily were originally capture, an open field in the forest. "Yes." Dan said from the center of the chamber. "And do you agree to give your life on demand, and to submit to our every whim?" Kristina asked. Dan could not help himself, as he felt himself controlled by some dark force. "Yes." "The final rite of initiation is this:" Kristina motion towards a large wooden table with leather straps on it. "No more sodomy, please!!" Dan begged. "It's not for you." Kristina said. Bring out the prisoner. Two bulky cult members emerged from the shuttle they had used to get there, restraining a shirtless man who had a burlap bag over his head. "Restrain him." Kristina ordered. The man was promptly strapped to the table. Kristina walked over to Dan and handed him a sharp, D shaped knife. "Earn your life with us by taking his and damning him to the demonic underworld." Dan felt a rush of power as he wielded the blade. Sharp and deadly with the face of a screaming skull carved into the end of the handle. All he could do was imagine himself driving it into his victim. "Unmask him." Kristina turned to the two by the table. The burlap bag came off and Dan almost gasped when he saw who it was. "Ben..." "Begin the ritual." Kristina shouted to the others. The tricorder was rapidly and wildly beeping as Vince and Peter entered one of the hotel suites. Vince walked over to it and opened it up. "Now what!?" He groaned. The display pointed to coordinates a few kilometers out- side Mordor. "This is an emergency combadge locator." Vince said. "That means someone's in trouble." "I could have told ya that." Peter shrugged. "Come on." Vince bolted out the door. "Can't we rest a little bit, we've been running around all day!?" "We'll take a cab!" "Okay." "Now let the ritual end..." Kristina said as she moved Dan towards Ben, "as we dispel this soul to the netherworld." "Uhh, Dan, what are you doing?" Ben asked nervously. Dan stood before Ben and raised the blade. "Shit!" Ben screamed as he saw a vacant glare in Dan's eyes. "Somebody, help me!" "Do it..." Kristina said to Dan. "That life is behind you." Dan's will collapsed as he threw the knife back, then thrust it down towards Ben, aiming for his heart. There was no turning back now... TO BE CONTINUED... NEXT: The saga begins to speed towards an end as we answer several questions, but bring up some new ones: Who was the woman Kristina was talking to? What's going on with the Banshee? How will Ben get out of this mess? Find out in "Where Angels Fear to Tread, Part Three: Death of Hope."