WARNING: The following story contains graphic depictions of Satanic rituals, human sacrifice and other topics along the same lines. If such material offends you, please do not read this story. If there are any hardcore Christians reading this who are offended by Satanic material, please do not read this. Also, if there are any hardcore Satanists reading this who are offended by the mockery I will be making of their pracitices, please do not read this. Of course, somehow I doubt either are likely Traks fans. Star Traks: Banshee "Where Angels Fear to Tread, Part One" "Shore Leave From Hell" By Brad Dusen and Dylan Smith "These people have the power to shut up the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophecy; they also have power over water, to turn it to blood and to scourge the earth with every kind of plague as often as they desire." -Revelation 11:6 "Help me! Somebody please, help me!" A voice screamed through the vast meadows, bathed in the silvery glow of moonlight. "Please!" A figure ran, alone, through the fields, the dew on the weeds dampening his clothing. Another figure, this one wearing a robe, followed closely behind. Joe Dean had never been so frightened in his life as he ran. Safe in the Mordor Colony, deep inside Federation territory, things like this never happened. The figure behind him gained, desperate to put an end to the knowledge Joe had in his head. Joe cried out for help, but his attempts proved futile as the distance between the two lessened. Joe entered a forest and he could hear the person behind him making their way through the underbrush. Joe slowed as he lost strength. He knew he couldn't stop, but he knew even more that he couldn't keep going. Finally, he collapsed into a quivering heap on the ground, taking in every moment of rest. "Don't kill meƒ" Joe panted. "This won't hurt a bit!" The woman screamed as she drew a D-shaped dagger and lunged at Joe. He prepared for his final moment when he saw sheer and utter salvation: a light in the clearing ahead. Joe ran forward, using up every ounce of strength he could muster. He could see farther ahead. There were several people with numerous bon-fires burning. Each figure wore a black and crimson robe and held candles as they marched around a statue. "Hail the dark masters, true rulers of the universe." They sounded out each word in a collective unison. "The reign of the holy one is at an end. A new order shall be established. Hell where angels fear to tread." They repeated the same lines over and over again. Their voice seemed more ominous than that of the Borg's chanting. Joe hadn't realized that he'd stopped until he heard the woman's rapid footsteps from behind. Now it was either death, or whatever form of mutilation, sodomy, psychiatric conditioning or other torture the others might do. Pondering this, Joe found himself on the ground. Dew spashed on his face and his arm landed on something soft and moist. In the dim fire light, Joe saw his hand on the body of a dead boy, no older than three or four. The corpse had been bloodied with symbols and runes carved into the deceased's flesh. The boy's chest was torn open with entrails sprawled everywhere and if he wasnÍt circumcised, he was now. The figure had pinned Joe down to the grass, wet with either dew or blood... or both. What was odd was that the woman paid no attention to the ceremony going on only ten or so feet away. The chant grew louder. "Hail to the dark masters, true rulers of the universe!" They exclaimed, then continued. Joe, who was watching the ceremony, had his attention drawn back to his attacker as she drew a D-shaped knife. The blade flickered in the fire and moon light as she cut his shirt open. Still saying nothing, she slashed the knife into Joe's chest. He screamed out in pain as he felt the cold metal pierce his flesh for a second time. Blood spurted out like a rythmic geyser as the woman collected it in an ornate chalice. She threw her arms into the air and held the chalice triumphantly. "Oh dark master!" Her voice sounded familiar. "I offer thee this sacrifice in thy name! May it earn me a place by your side as I take the final journey!" Joe was too weak to struggle, from both pain, blood loss and fear. Then he saw a slightly shorter figure move towards him, weaing a different robe. Joe could see the figure's red eyes glowing out from inside the hood. Joe prayed it was a dream. "You have done well, darkling." Much to Joe's surprise, it was another woman. She moved her head to Joe's neck and bit into his jugular. Joe felt dizzy, then noticed the two wounds on his chest had stopped bleeding. Soon, an unbearable pain flooded his body, every nerve as if on fire. Joe let out one last bellow, as loud and as long as he could last. The cry echoed through the forest and meadows, but was drown out by the relentless chanting of the cult to their eternal dark lord and master. TWO WEEKS LATER "This is paradise?" Commander Dan Smith said as he walked out of the runabout Nile. "I'm guessing so." Counselor Emily Stokes said, looking around. "The travel guide says that this planet is like Risa for people in Section Thirty-One." Lieutenant Commander Rachow emerged from the Nile. "And what are we supposed to do here?" Two women in string bikinis walked by. "Never mind. Hey ladies!" Ben ran after them. "Ahh, sunlight!" Commander Burns emerged, shielding her pasty white skin from the sun. She walked back into the runabout and replicated a large sombrero. "Yahh!" Lieutenant Commander DiSanto shouted as he fell from the runabout, holding at least half a dozen bags. "Vince, we're here for two weeks and you took enough stuff for two YEARS!" Emily groused. "You're just mad because there wasn't enough room in the runabout's cargo hold to put your church- in-a-box." "I have to worship somewhere!" Emily protested. "I'm not seeing what your problem is." Peter, the final passenger of the Nile, said as he got out. "We have sunny, sandy beaches, crystal clear oceans at just the right temperature and an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord after 2200 hours on Thursdays." "For the last time, no!" A woman shouted, slapping Ben across the face. "If you want, I'll only make you wear the handcuffs!" Ben called after her hopefully, then walked back to the others. And overly cheerful looking woman walked over to them wearing a smile the size of the Great Barrier. "Hi, I'm Kathleen, you're tour guide!" She said happily. "My job is to make your stay at the fabulous Mordor Colony as enjoyable as possible." Ben walked over to the slender, young tour guide and smiled. "I can think of something that would make my stay a LOT more enjoyable." "Down boy." Dan said, pulling him off of Kathleen. "Thank you." Kathleen smiled. "If there's any- thing I can do for you," she glanced over to Ben, "within reason, let me know." She walked away. Ben watched her as she walked. "You could keep walking, that would make things better!" "Are you that desperate to get some this shore leave?" Peter asked. "Yup." Ben said. "Unfortunately for Vince, this planet doesn't have a gay resort." "Hey there." A young Trill, about 20 years old, walked up to Vince, smiling at him. "How about we get to know each other." She winked at him. "I'll catch up to you guys later." Vince said as he walked away with the Trill woman. "That's not fair!" Ben protested. "That should be ME that woman's hanging over, not Vince!" "You'll get over it." Dan patted Ben on the shoulder. "Come on, let's find our rooms. I'm roasting in this uniform." The Mordor Colony was one of the Federation's older colonies, dedicated to be a shore leave hot spot for Section Thirty-One officers. With a warm, temperate climate, beautiful, glittering cities and a population of around a billion, it was the closest thing to paradise. "Sweet!" Ben smiled as he and Dan opened the door to the suite they were sharing. Ben jumped up and landed with a crash on the water bed, bobbing up and down. "I'm puttin' this thing to good use tonight." "Odds are you'll be putting it to good use tonight by yourself." Dan mumbled as he walked through the bathroom and into his bedroom, identical to Ben's. There was a knock at the door. Dan walked over and opened it, finding Vince standing there with the Trill woman practically hanging off of him. "I just need my bags and my key." Vince smiled. Dan handed Vince his stuff. "You're sharing a suite with Peter just down the hall. It's next to Emily and Charlotte's suite." "Thanks." Vince and the Trill embarked down the hallway. Charlotte came storming up the hallway, still wearing the sombrero and being followed by a bunch of kids. "I'll tell you for the last time, I am NOT the Taco Bell Chihuahua!" Night fell and Mordor became alive for the long night ahead. The capital city, which happened to also be named Mordor, was alive with activity and light. The temperature and humidity drastically dropped to around 20 degrees C, making it comfortable for outside dining. "Wow!" Dan remarked as Charlotte emerged from her suite in her finest evening clothes: a sleek, dark blue satin dress that managed to be tasteful and sexy at the same time. "You almost look good!" "Thank you, Dan." Charlotte responded. "I think." Ben emerged from his and Dan's suite in a tuxedo, repeating the same line over and over: "I will get some tonight. I will get some tonight..." "You just keep telling yourself that, Commander." Dan said. The restaurant the Banshee crewmembers went to was an outdoor cafe along the beach. Peter sat at the bar, sipping on a margarita. "I miss my ship." He said to the bartender. "What ship was that?" The bartender moaned. "The Banshee. A Sovereign-Class Section Thirty- One ship. I have this great lounge there called the Twilight Zone." "Uh huh." The bartender said, uninterested. "I left it with my head waiter, Siruk." "Uhh, yeah." The bartender walked over to another customer. Peter paused. "Now I know how it feels to be on this side of the bar." "How about the lobster with spaghetti and wine sauce?" Dan asked, reading the menu and offering Emily suggestions. "Ooh, that sounds good." Emily said, sipping at her glass of synthaholic champagne. Ben skipped over from the bar, looking excited. "Oh yes, I'm getting laid tonight!" He said happily. "Oh, they have an inflatable woman outlet here in Mordor?" Dan asked as he set down his menu. "No, her!" Ben pointed to a slender Deltan woman standing near the bar. "Ahh, going for the hairless approach." Dan said as he looked at the bald young woman. "Smooth as a gay man's balls." Everyone looked at Dan. "I mean a baby's bottom." Dan quickly corrected himself. "Hey, where's Vince?" Emily asked looking around. "He's taking a walk with his new girlfriend." Peter said as he sat down at the table with the others. "That whore." Charlotte muttered. "You should talk." Ben laughed. "Commander Charlotte 'I've got a black hole between my legs' Burns." Charlotte looked offended. "That's a half truth!" "Yeah," Dan whispered to Peter, "No one really wants to go in, it's more of a curiosity and bravery issue." "I'm so happy I met you." The Trill woman, whose name was Illana, said as she walked along the moonlit beach with Vince, hand in hand. "So am I." Vince smiled back at her. "I've never met anyone like you before." He paused, "You're not really a hooker or a man or something like that." "I'm not a hooker." Illana smiled as they arrived at a secluded part of the beach, shielded by a patch of palm-like bushes. "And I'll be more than happy to prove that I'm not a man." She lay down on the sand. "Oooh!" Vince quickly joined her. "That was a great meal." Dan leaned back in his chair as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I know I saw my food moving." Charlotte ranted on. "Of course it was moving, it's a Klingon dish." Peter said. "Well I think I'll be going with my good friend, Karenil, now." Ben got up and walked over to the young Deltan woman, who was blowing kisses at him all through dinner. "Don't wait up." Dan smirked, "I'm sure that she'll have kicked you out long before I have to start waiting up." Vince and Illana were rolling around in the sand, their lips locked. Then they rolled over something wet and soft. Vince looked to see what it was. "OH MY GOD!" Vince screamed as he saw a dead body in the palm bushes, dead at least a week. He jumped up and backed away. "Well that certainly killed the mood." Illana said as she got up and zipped her top back up. "Mmm, this is great!" Emily said with her mouth full of chocolate cream pie. "This has to be real Thalian chocolate." Vince came running into the cafe, his clothes messed and covered with sand. "What have you been doing?" Emily asked. Dan made a noise that sounded bed springs creaking. "You guy's gotta come and see this." Vince gasped, having ran half a kilometer back to the cafe. "Oh great, Vince found another used condom and got all grossed out by it." Peter moaned. "And I'll tell you for the last time, I did not put that in your sandwich last week." Vince looked confused. "I didn't find a condom in my sandwich last week." "Then who did I..?" Peter was confused. Commander Axik opened the door to the cold storage compartment in her quarters on the Banshee. She removed a sandwich that she'd been meaning to eat. She took one bite when she realized that there was something other than lunch meat in her sandwich. She pulled out a condom. "Ewww!" Dan, Peter, Charlotte and Emily followed Vince across the beach. "So where is this 'thing' you have to show us." Vince pointed to the body that Illana was currently looking at with growing disgust. "Whoa, that's not good." Dan said. "This means that we might have to work on shore leave." Charlotte knelt down and removed a tricorder from her purse. "From this person's DNA signiture, the tricorder says he's Joseph Dean, a 15 year old Human male who is a resident of Mordor." Charlotte said. "You got all of that out of a DNA scan?" Dan asked. Charlotte nodded. "Tricorders, is there anything they can't do?" She punched up some more data as the tricorder linked the Federation database. "He was reported missing thirteen days ago and was believed to have run away from home." Dan looked down at the body. "To where, a slaughter- house?" "I'd say this man was murdered." Peter said. "I'll be the judge of that." Dan looked down for a cause of death. He found numerous stab wounds on the chest. "Oh yeah, it was murder." He stood up. Vince looked around. "Maybe we should contact the Mordor police. There might be more going on here than we realize." "I'll say." Charlotte replied as she looked down at the roll marks Vince and Illana had made in the sand. It wasn't until the next morning that the crew decided to figure out what was going on. Charlotte emerged from her suite holding a PADD that she'd taken from the Nile. "I think I might have figured something out." She said as she walked into Ben and Dan's suite. "What?" Dan asked uninterestedly as he looked up from another PADD in which he was filling out back security reports from his last shifts on the Banshee before shore leave. "I think I found a suspect in the Joe Dean murder." Charlotte handed the PADD to Dan, which had the profile and picture of a woman in her mid twenties. "Kristina Mattice." Dan shrugged. "What does a 26 year old woman have to do with a 15 year old boy?" "Two years ago she was in a relationship with Joe. Joe tried to call it off, but she wouldn't let him, so he brought her to court under the charges of statutory rape. Kristina was sentenced to a year in the Mordor Correctional facility. She was released three months ago." "Almost impressive." Dan read over Kristina's profile. "Hmm, what's this?" "What?" Charlotte looked down at the display. "Well according to this, Kristina was said to have been involved with something called the Deimos." "Deimos, where have I heard that word before?" Charlotte asked herself. "It's a moon of Mars. It is also one of the two servents to Ares, the Greek god of war. The name means panic. It had a sibling named Phobos, meaning fear." Dan explained. Charlotte looked around blankly for a second. "Okay." "I remember reading an article in the Federation Times about a cult on Earth that was disbanded twenty years ago called the Phobos cult." "You think that the Deimos might be some type of cult?" Charlotte laughed. "Everything about you somehow involves cults." "Don't laugh." Dan said. "Maybe we should also contact the Mordor Police Department. They should probably know about this." "What about Mattice?" Charlotte asked, insulted that her lead was being dismissed. "We'll check her out too. Where does she live?" "A suburb of Mordor, 3 kilometers from the city. It's called Mirkwood." The day seemed excessively gloomy, for some odd reason. The crystal clear blue skies that had first greeted the six crewmembers when they arrived on Mordor had been replaced by a thick blanket of clouds. The temperature had also been steadily dropping over the last few days. They had read that around this time, Mordor rapidly went from summer to winter. Soon snow would cover the beaches. Dan and Charlotte walked down a terrace walkway along an elevated street that ran at least 10 stories above the ground level street of the city. "Maybe we should ask around about the Deimos." Dan offered. "That might be a good idea." Charlotte said. Dan surveyed the crowd until he spotted someone who looked to be a clown street performer. "Excuse me, do you have any information on the Deimos?" Dan asked. The clown said nothing, just continued to dance. "Did you hear me? Do you have anything on the Deimos?" Still nothing. "Answer me!" Dan began to shake the clown. "Dan, that's a mime." Charlotte ran up to him. "Oh." Dan paused. He shook the mime harder. "Excuse me, sir." Charlotte pulled aside a man walking down the street. Dan set the mime down, who proceeded to run away. "We were wondering if you could tell me anything you know about the Deimos." The man looked shocked. "What would make you think that I knew anything?" He looked around nervously. "I'm not involved in them, and I don't want them coming after me!" He hustled down the street. "Did you see the look he gave us?" Dan said. "No, but I did see him just give us the finger." Charlotte said, then screamed, "SAME TO YOU!" "I might not be a counselor or a Betazoid, but I know when people are afraid." Dan said. "Most likely because you cause it." Charlotte glanced over to the mime, who was now standing a block down from them. "But I will admit, the moment we said the word Deimos, he practically wet himself." Dan glanced down at a puddle on the curb. "Practically?" "If Vince and Illana have detached themselves from one another, we'll head down to the police station to see if they know anything." Charlotte said. "I'll see if Emily will come with me to Kristina Mattice's house. I'd like to ask her a few questions." With a plan finally formed, the two departed. Finishing his eight hundred fiftieth game of solitaire, Peter looked up and saw that an light snow had started falling. Odd how only a day ago it was warm and sunny. They should have come before the rapid change to winter. It literally happened overnight. "So much for hitting the beaches today." Peter muttered as he dealt the deck for another game. "I wonder where everyone else is." He shrugged, then started a new game. Night fell and the temperature remained the same as it had during the day. Dan and Emily walked down a dark street of the Mirkwood suburbs. The stars were out that night, watching them like a million eyes as they walked. Dan occasionally glanced up at a fairly bright star near the horizon. Sol, Earth's star. "This is it." Emily said, glancing down at her PADD. "47 North Street, home of Kristina L. Mattice." The house was dark, but otherwise normal looking. "Looks like no one's home." Dan said. A light came on at the door. "Hide!" Dan said as he yanked Emily behind a line of snow covered hedges. Two figured, a male and female, emerged from the house. "Is the ritual on for tonight?" The male asked. "Yes, the prey is being rounded up as I speak." They hopped into a work shuttle, the rough equivalent of a hover- truck. As it powered up, Dan started to move. "What are you doing!?" Emily snapped, not wanting to see Dan hurt; though at this point she might be doing that herself. Dan hopped in the back section of the work shuttle. With an odd display of intrepidity, Emily hopped back there with him. As the shuttle took off down the road, the male looked at the female in the front and asked "Are they back there?" Dan and Emily could not hear, since they were in an isolated compartment. "Yes." The woman said. "They can be our... bonus." She smiled, revealing razor sharp fangs. The doors of Mordor's police precinct opened wide as Charlotte and an extremely frostbitten Vince entered. They walked over to a Bolian police officer whose nametag read "Rellik." "What can I do for you twos." The Bolian said with a surprising New York City accent. "We'd like to report a found body, please." Vince said. "We think he was murdered." "Whoa, slow down there, small fry." Rellik said. Vince tried to restrain himself. 5'10" was not short. "Where is this body?" Rellik asked. "The beach near the Oceanside Cafe, right next to the Mirkwood Cemetery." "We'll be the judge of that." Rellik picked up a communicator. "Yeah, it's Rellik. We got a possible murder victim near the Mirkwood Cemetery." He paused, listening to the people speaking on the other end. "No, stupid, above ground! Have the nearest patrol shuttle check it out." "Thank you officer." Vince sat down on a bench along the wall. "Vince, read the sign." Charlotte said. Vince looked up and saw "WET PAINT." "Aww, crap!" The ride lasted at least half an hour and led well out of Mirkwood. The normally dominant cityglow from Mordor, which could be well seen even from the suburb, had vanished from the horizon. They finally stopped in an empty field, bathed in pale, silvery moonlight. the two in the front emerged, then walked into the forest. "Where are they going?" Emily looked up once the two were far enough out of earshot. "I don't know." Dan said hauntingly, "But look what was back here with us." Dan moved aside a heavy tarp to show that it housed a body, dead at least a month. A sickly odor drifted off the corpse. The body itself was intact, though it looked as though it had been emptied of all vital fluids. Emily would have screamed if Dan hand't raised his hand to cover her mouth. "We should follow them." He whispered. "What if we're caught!?" Emily protested. "Then we should hope that we'll be dead by the time this happens to us." Dan motioned to the body. "Are you crazy!? We're not detectives. If you ask me, we should go home and contact the police!" Dan saw something on the shuttle's seat. He slid the window pane aside and picked it up. "Emily, I don't think that the police will be much help." "Why?" Emily suddenly didn't want to know. "Because the man in the front seat, who owns this shuttle, is the chief of police." Dan showed Emily that he held a police chief's badge. "I'm going to see what's going on. You can stay here if you want." "Fine, I will." Emily said definitively. "Just remember that there are razorbears around this area." Dan walked off. There was a sudden crash in a dumpster a ways away. "WAIT!" Emily ran after him. "Hail the dark masters, true rulers of the universe." Emily and Dan watched a group of people, about two dozen, circle around a large statue with several bonfires burning nearby. "The reign of the holy one is at an end. Hell lives on where angels fear to tread." "This answers a lot of our questions." Dan said as he and Emily sat concealed in the bushes around the forest clearing. "Emily..." Dan glanced over to the counselor, who had her ears plugged, her eyes closed and was singing "la la la la la..." "Stop that!" Dan de-plugged Emily. The chanting suddenly stopped as a woman stepped forward. "That's her!" Dan whispered. "That's Kristina Mattice." "Prepare for the next sacrifice!" She shouted loudly. "The prey is coming! Our masters shall be pleased." Robert Harlson ran through the forest as fast as he could go. He had known this was coming ever since some Starfleet woman had pulled him aside earlier to ask him about the Deimos. He knew that they would come for him. To silence him. The woman behind him maintained an increible speed. Rob desperately pushed himself farther. The woman gained speed, getting closer and closer to Rob as his energy grew lesser and lesser. Whatever self determination and self preservation he thought he had would do him no good now. Then he spotted what could only be salvation. Light. Light meant people; protection! "Help me, somebody!" Rob screamed at the top of his lungs. "Somebody please, help me!" Emily first heard the screaming, panicked and somewhat labored. Then she saw a figure enter the clearing where the cult stood. "Oh shit!" Rob screamed as several of the cult members advanced on him. Rob stepped backwards, not remembering who he was running from. He knew once she had him in her arms. "Prepare the table for the sacrifice!" The woman said. "I want him awake for the whole thing." "Let me go!" Rob screamed as he thrashed and fought against the two bulky men wearing robes who held him. "What are they going to do to him?" Emily whispered to Dan as they watched the ceremony with growing interest. Rob was now being strapped to a large, wooden table. "Ever see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?" Dan asked. "No." "In the movie, these wierd cult people capture this guy, dig into his chest, rip out his still beating heart and toss him into a pit of fire." "Gross!" Emily said. "Well won't people notice this guy's gone?" "I don't think too many people will be asking questions." Dan said. "Stop please!" Rob shouted. Kristina walked forward, weilding a knife. The blade glittered in the firelight as she slashed apart Rob's shirt. "Hey, that was my best shirt!" Rob protested. "Five strips of latinum!" "If that's the worst thing that happens to you tonight, consider yourself lucky." Kristina said coldly. "Here we go, heart ripping time." Dan offered commentary. Kristina set down the knife and opened a battered old book, then began reading phrases in Latin, then their English translations. "Dark masters, creatures of the night, lords of the damned, we give thou this sacrifice to feed your thirst and protect our lives in the final judgement!" Kristina exclaimed as she picked up the blade. "This could get messy." Dan said. Kristina thrust the blade into Rob's chest, cutting him open like a dissected frog. She drove the knife into his internal organs, slicing them apart. "I've heard the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but I didn't think they were serious." Dan gasped. "No!" Rob screamed, barely able to stay awake. Kristina picked up Rob's heart, still attached to the rest of his circulatory system. "May you burn in Hell for all eternity." With a mighty pull, she snapped the heart from Rob's chest. Blood ran in rivers down the table and onto the ground. "I offer this to you, masters!" Kristina shouted as she held up the heart. "Take it and be strong!" The heart burst into flames before Kristina threw it into the fire. She looked over to the rest of the cult with an expression of depraved satisfaction on her face. "Discard the body." She said. "Put it in the cemetery with the others." Two cultists removed Rob's body. "We'd better go." Emily said. Before they could start to move, they heard Kristina speak again. "Now bring the other two, still hiding in the bushes." She looked directly at Emily and Dan. "Somehow I think we should have left a long time ago." Dan said as several figures came running at them. TO BE CONTINUED... NEXT: It can only get worse as the Deimos launch a full scale campaign of terror at the crew. Can Dan and Emily escape? Is Peter ever going to get to do anything? Whatever happened to Vince and Ben's girlfriends? Find out as we continue with "Where Angels Fear to Tread Part Two: Divide and Conquer."