Star Trek:
15.
Movements of the Unseen Hand
by Charles Hackney
Arthur sat quietly in his cell in security. Gerard sat beside him. The rendezvous with Kira had been eventful, but predictable. She had reacted with disbelief and amazement at the sheer fact that they had succeeded. She did her duty and took all three inhabitants of the Jordan into custody, then took the runabout in tow and headed for home. Chief O�Brien and two other runabouts were at that very moment headed toward the battle zone to salvage what they could from the wreckage of Juggernaut, and to tow the lifeless Manticore back to the station. Mar Teshem lay in the infirmary under Dr. Bashir�s care. Comatose, Teshem had sustained no physical injury, and the doctor was, quite frankly, baffled.
Gerard turned toward Arthur and said to him: �You realize, of course, that my career in Starfleet is over.�
�Yup.�
�Any ideas what I should do now?�
�Nope.�
Gerard turned away. �Well, it was worth it.�
Arthur grinned. �Yup.�
Stone was furious. At one time, he had had a reputation for disregarding protocol and even occasionally disobeying orders to do what he thought was right, but now all he could think about was punishing Nagato. This isn�t like me, he thought, what happened to the maverick who bent the rules to do what was right? Am I becoming one of them? A martinet, like the rest? What it was, he finally decided, was their damned religion. If someone else under his command had circumvented protocol to get the job done, he probably would have slapped him on the back and winked as he said not to do it again. But Nagato had gone around the rules because of his faith, the same faith that so got under Stone�s skin.
He approached the security office. Inside, Odo was compiling the reports on the incidents in the promenade. As Stone entered, Odo nodded at him, and he proceeded into the holding cells. In one cell sat the two conspirators. They didn�t look remorseful, but then neither had he when he had faced Picard. Stone faced the two. They rose to stand before him.
�Ensign Nagato,� Stone began, �care to tell me why you didn�t let me in on your plan?�
�Well, sir, I� really didn�t think you�d believe me.�
�Because it was based on Mr. David�s so-called vision.�
�Yes, sir.�
�I see. You were correct, I would have ordered you to avoid this man and to ignore anything he said. Nevertheless, we are now left with the repercussions of your actions. That those actions were successful doesn�t matter to me in the slightest. However, a certain amount of slack will be given you because you and Mr. David eliminated a man who was endangering the lives of billions. Ensign, what would you consider an appropriate punishment for a crewman who disobeyed direct orders, stole Federation property, went absent without leave from the station, and helped cause the destruction of an incalculably expensive prototype vessel?�
�I expect I will spend a great deal of time on a rehab colony very far away, sir. I wouldn�t blame you if you��
Stone interrupted. �I�ll settle for your resignation.�
Nagato�s eyes doubled in size. �Sir? I��
�As I understand it, you disregarded the rules because you thought you were doing the right thing. In some circumstances, that is a fine thing. It does not, however, make for a dependable Starfleet officer. You are unfit to wear that uniform, mister; there�s no place in Starfleet for a�� Stone hesitated. This was more difficult than you can possibly understand. ��a maverick. I am willing to forego any court-martial proceedings or incarceration in light of the circumstances, but only if I have your resignation from Starfleet in my hand within the hour.�
Nagato�s head dropped. �Yes, sir.�
Stone leveled a look of cold contempt at Arthur, and left.
Arthur turned toward Nagato to comfort him. �Gerard? Are you okay?�
Nagato brought his head up. His face was split by a grin that stretched from ear to ear. �Yeah. I�m just fine.�
�I don�t get it. You just got fired. Why are you so happy?�
Nagato considered his words. Then he said �Arthur, I thought I was facing a stretch in some rehab colony. You don�t understand how the system works in this era. People who get sent to rehab aren�t sentenced to a certain amount of time there. Once you�re there, you never leave, not until they say you�re cured. Do you think they�d ever let me go while I continue to tell them that I acted on a direct command from God? I just got off real easy, Arthur. Real easy.�
At that, Odo entered the room and de-activated the forcefield. He regarded the prisoners with a suspicious look. �All right,� he said, �you�re free to go.� Arthur and Gerard left security, and were met by Bashir, Saavik, and Gerak.
�What happened?� asked Bashir?�
Gerard shrugged. �I�m resigning from Starfleet. In return, Captain Stone�s dropping the charges.�
�It sounds to me like you got off quite easy,� said Gerak. �It could have been much worse, believe me.�
�Yup,� said Arthur.
As the group began walking down the hall, I sensed the approach of a powerful spirit. The bulkhead of the station glowed as a figure passed through it. It was an angel, gleaming with power as he came to stand by my side. I knew the newcomer well. It was Ashalell, a fellow guardian.
Ashalell looked me up and down, and offered its opinion: �You look terrible.�
It was true. I was ragged and wounded, with a severed hand and torn abdomen. I had recovered somewhat after the struggle was over, but was still in need of healing. That was why Ashalell was here.
�I�ll take over for now, Vriaiel. I�ve been assigned to Gerard as his guardian, and I believe that you�re expected at the Throne.�
I placed my hand on Ashalell�s shoulder, gave it a look of profound gratitude, and departed.
Dr. Bashir left the group as they passed the infirmary, claiming the call of duty, but exacting from Arthur a promise to stop by soon to make sure that there were no aftereffects of his �experience.� Saavik also departed; she had a meeting with Captains Stone and Sisko to discuss the future.
Arthur, Gerard, and Gerak went to Quark�s. Gerak motioned Quark over and said �A round of drinks for me and my friends, on me.� Quark raised his eyebrows in surprise, but obligingly fetched the drinks.
The trio sat down, and Quark delivered the drinks. Nagato took a long sip, leaned forward, and said to Arthur �So� now what do we do?�
