S01 E05: Kettirohm Sovereignty: Return of the Saviors

 

S01 E05: Kettirohm Sovereignty: Return of the Saviors

 

               Historian's Note: After the Bajdon--one of the races of the Kettirohm Sovereignty--had left their native Bajor over two thousand years ago (via the Orb of Empathy) and settled in a new part of space on a planet they called Adoroth, they slowly developed the technology to start colonizing the other planets in the star system they called Kettirohm. After they had sparsely spread out over the ten planets in their star system, they explored a little of the surrounding space and found it void of habitable planets. They lost interest in traveling any farther. They sometimes intercepted news feeds from other worlds, but treated the lives of outsiders more as stories than events they had any interest in. There had been twenty-five thousand in that initial group that left Bajor, and after two thousand years, they had grown to a population of a little over seven hundred fifty thousand people. The majority of the people were on eight planets. The other two planets in the system had been annexed for the use of their resources, and were populated by just enough people to take care of mining and farming. Kettian society was mostly peaceful, but with over seven hundred fifty thousand people, there was bound to be at least some criminal activity and some dissidents; enough to warrant a police force and a justice system.

               The ruling monarchs of Kettirohm were another race known as the Relamqu. They were originally members of a race known as the Q. They willingly left the Q to become humanoid. There are Relamqu who are not part of the ruling family; they live and work peacefully alongside the Bajdon. Though there are many physiological differences, the only outward physical difference between the two races is that the Bajdon (like Bajorans) have ridges on the upper part of their noses, and the Relamqu do not.

               The constitutional monarchy has worked well for the Kettians--both the Bajdon and the Relamqu. Only in the last decade or so have both races become restless. In an attempt to refresh Kettirohm society, the monarchs opened up the Kettian worlds to outsiders. Now, in the last few months, in order to breathe new life into a stale Kettian society, the monarchs have asked the United Federation of Planets for help in expanding their culture and society. The negotiations took place on the fourth planet, Phaleon, ruled by Tirinor Karese Deron. “Tirinor” was a title similar to “governor”. The ruler of the Kettirohm Sovereignty was Lor’Kael Jazen Tono, Karese’s brother. “Lor’Kael” was their term for supreme ruler.

 

 

“I now banish you from this land!” Trin said as she held up the round silver trinket.

          “We will come back. We will fight you. And we will beat you!” said Harai, Gonee, and Nilli, in unison.

          Then, silence. The four performers stood in a row and bowed. The small audience of seven applauded. “That was wonderful!” said Rayla. This was her first book club meeting on Phaleon. She had been in other book clubs, but never one where they performed a scene from the book. It was such a wonderful custom, she thought. She immersed herself in the discussion that followed.

          “Who thought the return of the Doray was too soon?” asked Trin to the group. Rayla said, “Oh, I thought it was just in time. The people needed the Doray.”

          “But the Zuiri should learn to fend for themselves,” said Possura. And so the discussion continued into the night.

          Afterwards, Rayla told Possura how much she enjoyed the meeting. “Do come back next month,” Possura said. “You’ll really enjoy the next book.”

“I will,” said Rayla. “And how is your new project going?” Yeta Possura was the Bajdon head of the Kettirohm Exploration Division.

“There’s soooo much work to do,” Possura told her. “But it’s going well. Our second ship is almost ready. And the Jarek has made some wonderful scientific discoveries. Everyone is very pleased and excited! I’m just thankful to have a little bit of leisure time now and then.” The KSV Jarek was the first exploration ship they had sent out. The Kettian’s new exploration project was one of the things Rayla had worked to get started. She was pleased by its success, but she still had a long way to go. There was still some unrest about perceived cultural influences of the Federation. She still had a long way to go. She was glad for her new friendship with Possura.

 

          “We are unable to trace the source, your majesty,” Braken, the chief of security, told Tirinor Karese. The audio transmission had been received an hour ago, after Braken had verified as much as he could. You don’t just tell the Tirinor her adult son has been kidnapped without first making sure it’s not a prank. Karese was notably shocked and upset. The Voreye were holding her son, Lancet, somewhere on Hekanta, the sixth planet (or so they said), but apparently the Voreye had shielded him from any scans.

          The Voreye were an ancient race known to the Q, and thus known to the Relamqu. The Voreye had once been humanoid, but had evolved into beings of pure energy. In an effort to be helpful, the Voreye of long ago had done what they could to save many races from the brink of extinction. But then, there was one race they saved, the Dhaugmuks, that went on to conquer many other races in the galaxy. After the Dhaugmuks had conquered almost half the galaxy, the Q intervened. Not that the Q had ever been interested in policing the galaxy, but they saw the unbelievable terror that the Dhaugmuks were causing, so they set a series of events in motion that led to the conquerers’ downfall. And to keep the Voreye from saving another race and potentially leading to the same events, the Q banished the Voreye to the MetVaor galaxy and contained them in a reverse neutrino field.

This all happened one hundred thousand years ago. Karese could not imagine how the Voreye had been able to come back. Karese was not expecting any help from the Q, not that she had any intention of asking. The Q had vowed to have no further contact with the Relamqu. And, as was typical for the Q, they had now lost interest in anything related to the Voreye or the Relamqu.

 

          United Federation of Planets special envoy Rayla Retaci entered Tirinor Karese’s office for their scheduled meeting. They were supposed to discuss more diplomatic plans with the Federation. Tirinor Karese was, of course, in no mood to discuss such things. She explained to Rayla what had happened. Rayla, was an El-Aurian--another ancient race--and knew about the Voreye.

          As Karese was speaking to Rayla, a swirl of red light suddenly appeared. They both knew immediately that it was a member of the Voreye. The light “spoke” to them: “We will send representatives in humanoid form to discuss terms.” Karese spoke authoritatively, “You have no power here. You will return my son immediately!” The Voreye disagreed, “Quite the contrary. I have ALL the power here. We will meet to discuss terms.” Karese knew she had no choice.

 

          The Voreye, when in humanoid form, appeared human, but with extra folds of skin over their cheeks that made them appear old and wrinkled. This had been their form before they had evolved into energy beings. Karese noticed that the two Voreye across the table from her seemed uncomfortable. They had not taken on a solid form in over one hundred thousand years. There was some kind of strange aura around them. The other people present were Rayla Retaci, Tirinor Daiel (Karese’s husband, and the father of her son) and Lor’Kael Jazen Tono (Karese’s brother and the supreme leader of Kettirohm). Daiel and Jazen had left their own planetary bases to come here to meet with the Voreye. Indeed, they showed as much concern for Lancet as Karese, as they were all family.

          The Voreye explained that their long-term exile had been tiresome and boring. They longed to come back home. They felt they had served their sentence long enough and swore they would not cause any more problems. When asked how they had managed to escape their imprisonment in the reverse neutrino field, they said it had dissipated over time. When asked how they had managed to come here, to Kettirohm, and snatch Lancet, they told a rather startling story.

          Only a few, the strongest of the Voreye, were able to re-enter the Milky Way. The majority were unable to re-enter. They had heard about the Relamqu and how they had left the Q Continuum. They knew that the Relamqu (by virtue of being former Q) had the power to let ALL of the Voreye back into the galaxy. The ones who could re-enter had come to an area just outside of the Kettirohm star system, where they monitored the status of Kettirohm and other sentient species of the Alpha and Beta quadrants They feared the Relamqu would be just like their predecessors, the Q, and not want them back in the galaxy. They learned that many cultures depended on a system of trade to survive. So they kidnapped Tirinor Karese’s son, Lancet, hoping to “trade” him for their freedom to re-enter the galaxy.

          Karese, who was frazzled and had to draw upon every bit of her diplomatic training and experience to remain calm, explained to the Voreye representatives that they had misunderstood how a trade worked. She proceeded to explain it to them.

***

          During a break in the meeting, Karese asked her sciences staff to scan the Voreye for radiation or anything out of the ordinary. The faint aura she had seen around them may have been some type of harmful radiation.

Upon discussing the kidnapping situation with Daiel, Jazen, and Rayla, they all agreed they could not negotiate any kind of trade, as it would set a bad precedent. They still had their people scanning all planets and moons of Kettirohm and the surrounding areas for any signs of Lancet or any other Voreye. They all agreed that the Voreye did not really intend any malice, so they would continue the talks to try to reason with them.

          Hoping to gain more insight, Rayla Retaci was able to speak privately with one of the Voreye—a being named Khaigmeid. The Voreye explained how he had felt so empty inside. His whole race had been in isolation for so long that they felt dead inside. They had forgotten how to feel excitement, sorrow, love, pain, or anything.

Rayla listened with empathy. As a child, she had heard that the Voreye were a very kind race. They had always tried to be friendly and helpful to others, much like the Federation. But the Voreye had not adopted anything like Starfleet’s Prime Directive. So when the Voreye encountered a race whose sun was about to go supernova, the Dhaugmuks, instead of letting them perish, saved their sun. But not with god-like powers. For, unlike the Q, they had no such powers. What they did have was advanced technology. But upon saving the sun and allowing the Dhaugmuks to live on, they quickly became advanced and powerful enough to conquer and enslave other races. Eventually, the Q felt a need to stop the Dhaugmuks and wipe them from existence, and then punished the Voreye by banishing them from the galaxy.

Rayla had felt that punishing the Voreye by exiling them to a prison in the MetVaor Galaxy had seemed harsh, and she said so to Khaigmied. His reply was that no one had really blamed the Q. They had just accepted their punishment. They certainly felt terrible about saving a race that had caused so much death and destruction. The Dhaugmuks had caused so much violence that not even the Voreye could save all the races they had conquered. That was also something the Voreye felt guilty about. They had taken it upon themselves to be saviors of the galaxy, but in the end, could not live up to their own standards.

Khaigmied then told Rayla that he knew about her race, the El-Aurians, as well. And he knew that she had done a lot of notable work to help Kettirohm. She admitted that she liked her work, but had always wondered if she was doing enough. Though most of the Bajdon did not feel they were oppressed by the Relamqu, the leaders still had a distinct advantage. If only the Bajdon could do more for themselves, so they could experience independence and pride like their sister race, the Bajorans, who had freed themselves from Cardassian occupation.

Khaigmied mentioned that Rayla had pushed for Kettians to have more elected leaders (as opposed to inherited positions) and encouraged more cultural support for some of the “minor” Bajdon religions on Kettirohm. And she had brought about the exploration division. These were major policies that could change their civilization for the better. Rayla appreciated his recognition of her hard work.

***

          One member of the Voreye, in humanoid form, brought Lancet a plate of food. Lancet knew who they were. It was instinctive for the Relamqu to remember the Voreye. “Why have you kidnapped me?” Lancet asked. “We want to re-enter your galaxy peacefully. A few of us have come, but for all of us to re-enter, only the Relamqu can arrange it by using their knowledge of spatial harmonies. The Q will not help us,” Melde said.

“You didn’t have to do this. My people are reasonable. They will listen to you, at least give you a chance.”

“Our representatives are speaking to your leaders now. They will offer a trade. They want to trade you for our freedom to go back to the Bri’an Nebula, our origin place in the Milky Way.”

“You kidnap me and then want to trade me? That’s not how it works.”

Melde said, “That is what your mother said.” Lancet knew that Melde had been in touch with the Voreye on Phaleon, so Melde knew what the others had said and heard.

“We know that many of you corporeal species have a trade-based system with each other. We are trying to work within your terms.”

“Look. You need to prove that you can be ethical. That’s the only way you will be let back in. And you’re not doing a very good job so far.”

Melde held his eyes down, a very sad expression on his face. “We are so lonely. We were confined inside a reverse neutrino field. We need to interact with others. We do not know death as you do. But our minds can shut off. Then another dormant mind can awaken after hundreds of years. Shutting off our minds is a temporary ease to the melancholy we feel. But we are all so familiar with one another, no one new to exchange thoughts with. No new ideas. We felt so powerless. We were trapped. We have left the prison, but still feel trapped if we can’t return home.”

Lancet could understand feeling trapped. He had been told how to think since he was born. He had been born into the royal family, as all Relamqu were considered royal. There were certain expectations of him. He had always been reserved, shy, not interested in entering the political arena as his parents had done. And not wanting to be a business leader, as were many of his cousins. He felt stilted, not being able to do what he wanted.

 

Karese’s chief scientist asked to scan a Voreye up close. The scientist had tried to research the aura that Karese and the other Relamqu had seen around the Voreye, but could only take minimal readings from a distance. Khaigmied submitted to a more thorough scan. The scientist studied Khaigmied in both his energy form and his humanoid form. After conducting several tests, the scientist said the Voreye had been embedded with a subspace radionic tag. The tag was not a natural part of his being. After more tests, it was determined that the tag had been implanted by the Q at the same time as the Voreye’s exile. It made the Voreye unstable as long as they were in this galaxy. And worse, it was discovered that they would only be able to stay in this galaxy another six hours, and then their life force would dissolve, and they would cease to exist.

They were all stunned by this news. Rayla told Karese that she had had a meaningful conversation with Khaigmied. Karese replied that she also felt sympathetic to the Voreye. She ordered the scientist to begin working on a way to either remove the subspace tag or to stabilize the Voreye.

          After all of the talks, Khaigmied and the other Voreye finally decided that they should free Lancet. They had misunderstood the concept of trade, and, furthermore, they now needed the help of the Kettians to be able to stay in the Milky Way. Khaigmied sent a private encoded message to Melde.

***

          Lancet was being held underground on the planet Hekanta, the sixth planet in the Kettirohm system. Melde was given the word to free him. She deactivated the dampening field that had prevented sensor scans. Melde led Lancet to an elevator that would take them up to the ground level.

Just after they got into the elevator, they felt it shake. Then it started moving up. After a few seconds, the elevator shook again, then stopped. Lancet and Melde both lost their footing and fell to the floor. They tried to push open the elevator door. It wouldn’t budge. Melde tried to use her portable communicator. She was able to call another Voreye and let him know that they were trapped in the elevator.

 

          As soon as Karese had been told that Lancet was going to be released, she had sent Donva, the chief of police on Hekanta, to retrieve him. When Donva got word that Lancet and Melde had been trapped in an underground elevator, she immediately set out to rescue them. Donva had received all the reports on what had happened on Phaleon – about the talks between the Relamqu and the Voreye and about the tags that the Q had instilled on the Voreye. She knew it must have been the subspace tag that had caused the elevator to collapse. It would also prevent her from beaming them out or anyone else in.

          From the main level of the building, Donva went to the elevator shaft and opened it. The trapped elevator was forty feet below ground. She used her repelling gear to go down the shaft. Her people waited for her at the shaft opening. With her rope attached, she went down the walls of the shaft. Fortunately, there was only one lift in the shaft, so she didn’t have to worry about getting out of the way of other lifts going up or down. When she made it to the lift, she saw that it had been turned at an angle, but not so much that she couldn’t open the top hatch. She opened the hatch and pulled both of the people out. In Melde’s weakened state, he could not change into his pure energy form. Donva was able to attach both Lancet and Melde to her rope and carry them both up at the same time. The rope was made of a strong duranium fiber that could more than carry the extra weight.

***

          By now, everyone thought the Voreye’s banishment should end. They seemed genuinely remorseful and promised not to make the same mistake of being TOO helpful. Karese and the other Relamqu had grown sympathetic to them, understanding that they had been punished too long for something that happened so long ago. And that they agreed to release Lancet also helped their case.

The Kettian scientists continued their research, but could not find a way to save the Voreye from having to leave the galaxy. There was now only thirty minutes left before they had to leave or they would dissolve into nothingness. Khaigmied said that now that they were free from the prison that the Q had created, they could still go to another galaxy. The subspace radionic tag only kept them from staying in the Milky Way. They could still travel to other galaxies. They preferred to come home. But they would not see home again. Not for awhile. Maybe some day they would find a way to return. But for now, they would search the universe for another home, and hopefully, new friends.

Rayla and Khaigmied exchanged their farewells. Rayla wished him well. “Safe travels,” she told him. “May you always reap the rewards of your hard work,” he replied. Then Khaigmied turned toward Karese and said to her, “Apologies for all the trouble we caused.” Karese said, “It was a travesty what the Q did to you. Perhaps someday we will travel beyond the galaxy and find you again.”

Lancet and Melde, who had joined them on Phaleon, also exchanged goodbyes. Lancet said, “Now you will be able to control your destiny. You are free to roam the universe.”

“Anywhere except home,” Melde said sadly. “But you are so much better off than where you were,” Lancet told him. “You are no longer trapped.”

Melde replied, “And you, Lancet, are also free to control your destiny. Your mother, Tirinor Karese has been kind to us. Surely she will show you the same kindness and support you no matter what you choose to do.”

And then, Melde was called by Khaigmied. The two of them, plus the other Voreye, morphed into their energy forms. Then the Kettians heard voices in unison say, “May you live in peace.” Then the energy beings were gone.

 

-by the Honorable Kavura

 

Thank you for reading my Star Trek Adventures: Captain’s Log mission report. Captain’s Log is a solo role-playing game by Modiphius Entertainment.