Intersection Point
Chapter 23 of Starfighter! The
Iconoclast
By: Tom Sczepkowski
With editing and clean-up
by: Frederick P. Kopetz
Copyrights:
STAR TREK is © 2004 by Paramount Pictures, Inc. STAR BLAZERS is © 2004 by
Voyager International, and, STAR WARS is © 2004 by Lucasfilm, Ltd. GARGOYLES is
© 2004 by Disney Entertainment. The Technomugar Empire is © 2004 by Frederick
P. Kopetz and is mentioned here by the author's permission. All original
elements of this tale are © 2004 by Tom Sczepkowski. All rights reserved, not
to be copied without the author's permission.
Queen Starsha was awakened by a beeping on a small console
by her bed, as her hand reached from the covers to shut it off.
She looked over to see if Alex was there. She was thankful
on this day of days he was not. He followed her suggestion and went on some
kind of sports outing with Volgarr. What was they called it again she wondered?
“Playing golf,” she whispered to herself remembering what
the game was called.
She was glad that the former Gamilon General and the former Earth
space destroyer Captain had befriended each other although the pairing of the
two would have seemed somewhat odd to most. However her mind quickly changed to
what the planet wide proximity wide warnings were alerting her to, as she
entered the main observatory of her castle. She hadn’t been in there since her
last communication with Desslok. To her, this was a room of dread and today was
no exception. She sat in a large comfortable lounge type chair that looked up
at the huge glass ceiling, which was actually a gigantic lens. Then, Starsha
looked into the sky and saw a peculiar looking ship pass.
Starsha sighed as she saw on the chair’s console that the
ship was attempting to make contact with her. She flipped a small switch as she
opened the channel. A small visual came up as the bridge crew, looking somewhat
astonished, looked to their right at something or someone not in view. Then, a
familiar face came into view. She immediately stood up and gently split her
fingers in the form of the Vulcan Hand Salute Ambassador Spock returned the
Salute and put his hands behind his back.
“What has happened to your neighbor world, Gamilon?” Spock
asked.
“Only what was due her,” Starsha said.
“And Iscandar, as well?”
Spock asked.
“Yes,” Starsha said sadly.
“I would like to discuss that portion of your problem,”
Spock said.
Starsha narrowed her eyes.
“Am I to assume that is the only purpose of your visit
here?” Starsha said.
“No,” Spock said dryly.
“I did not think so,” Queen Starsha said, as the bridge
doors on the ship opened and Admiral Necheav stepped onto the bridge of the
Starship
Necheav gave her an evil glare. The Admiral just wished that
she could choke her through the Force as she had seen Vaught do so many times.
Queen Starsha could tell the woman’s anger, as did Commander
Troi, as she straightened in her chair uncomfortably. She looked at Starsha
Corsair who never once raised her head from the ops station.
“What are your intensions?” Starsha asked.
“I think discussing these matters in person would be in the
best interests of all concerned. I know you do not like to leave your world…,”
said Spock.
“Nor will I, Ambassador Spock,” Queen Starsha said. “We will
look forward to having you as guests here.”
Queen Starsha ended the transmission before Spock could say
anything else.
“That’s a problem,” Necheav said, “She’s hiding something.”
“Perhaps she is just frightened of us,” Spock replied, “We
have to prove to her that we are not going to threaten her.”
“She has every reason to be frightened of us, Ambassador,”
Necheav retorted, “I
intend to make that perfectly clear.”
“To provoke her would only make her an enemy,” Spock said,
“That is exactly the situation I hope to avoid.”
“So your next step is to wait?” Necheav asked incredulously.
“We will at least listen to what she has to say,” Spock said.
“She’s a threat, Spock,” Necheav said. “While you are having lunch together…. I’m
conducting an investigation.”
“If your investigation proves
correct?” Spock asked.
Nechaev glanced at Starsha Corsair and gave a slight
sinister smile. Then, she turned and left the bridge of the
“There is more to this then stolen technology,
isn’t there?” Riker said.
“Perhaps,” Spock said as he looked again at Starsha. “May I
speak with you and Commander Troi?”
“Commander Data, you have the
“I believe your concerns are justified, Commander Riker,”
Spock said. “Admiral Necheav has ulterior motives.”
“Her involvement with Lt. Corsair’s father, for one,” Troi
said. “I sense great rage and jealousy floating around that relationship.”
“The two have a long history,” Spock said. “Since the
Troi and Riker looked at each other. “We know all about it,” Troi said.
“Some think of him as a hero,” “Riker said. “He’s routed out
a lot of Changeling founders. And it is rumored that he only answers to only
one Admiral in Starfleet who also is an operative in Section 31.”
“Necheav?”
Troi asked.
“Logical.” Spock replied. “And with Vaught Corsair missing,
Necheav cannot deal from her usual position of strength. With Corsair missing,
she does not have an iron hand present to enforce her edicts.”
“She’ll need someone else,” Riker said. “Namely,
someone with the same abilities as Vaught.”
There was a moment of silence when Troi exclaimed, “Starsha!
The Marine! She couldn’t possibly be…?”
“No?” Spock said as he sat down in a chair, “Nechaev knows, just
as I do that without Vaught Corsair at her side she doesn’t have the iron in
the fist. That is why according to Creighton; Vaught did not want Necheav and
his daughter to meet.”
“So that why we’ve been babysitting her all this time,”
Riker said. “She never did seem to need it, however.”
“Admiral Destine believes that Necheav has already made
contact with Starsha Corsair and has given her instructions.”
“What sort of instructions?” Riker asked.
Spock stood in silence for a moment. Then, he said, “Instructions
to find evidence of stolen Federation technology. If she does, she is to eliminate
Queen Starsha and all persons involved.”
“Would she kill her own family member?” Riker asked. “It
would be like killing Dr. Selar!”
“Selar is her father’s sister,” Troi said with a nod. “Her
father’s side of the family is the only family she knows. But, her anger with
her mother is so intense that she just might do it,” Troi said.
“Astra,” Spock said. “According to Selar, Starsha Corsair
feels that Astra seduced Vaught in order to get the technology.”
“Wait a minute!” Riker cried. “ I
thought Starfleet gave the Cosmo DNA and Wave motion technology to Iscandar!
Are you saying that wasn’t the case?”
Spock sighed, “It was not. I…. distorted this fact in order
to keep the Dantes family at bay…If they learned too quickly about what
transpired 18 years ago, they may have done something about it.”
“Maybe they should do something about it!” Riker exclaimed.
“Will!” Troi shouted.
“Look, we’re just about holding our own in this war!” Riker snapped.
“Sharing technology is one thing but it being stolen? Iscandar had its hands on
some very critical hardware. In the wrong hands it could overwhelm us!”
“I am aware of that, Commander,” Spock said.
“You’re also aware of General Order 24!” Riker said. “Well,
Spock, I have my orders, too!”
Spock glared up at him as Troi, with a look of astonishment on
her face, also looked at him.
“Her planet is already doomed,” Spock said. “She will not
leave it even though it means her death…they were trying to save Earth in this
dimension. Astra gave her life for people she didn’t know. This is how they are
repaid …to have their own world destroyed by the very species that she helped
save?”
“The world that they saved just had a mutiny where a starship
was stolen,” snapped Riker. “That ship is being escorted by one of our own
ships, a ship that has enough firepower to destroy a starship. How can that be
justified?”
Spock merely looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
“The facts are not all in,” Spock said. “Perhaps it is time
to evoke what your Captain Picard regards as Cowboy Diplomacy.”
Although Starsha dreaded the order to report to the
transporter room, she did not argue; she straightened her dress uniform and
attached her light saber to her belt as Belinda followed her out of her
quarters. Then, she went to sick bay, where she dropped the timber wolf off
with Selar, who agreed to watch her while she was on Iscandar. Dr Crusher
grimaced at the Wolf for a minute. However, she said nothing as she went back
to calibrating a scanner.
“I’ll be back in a couple of hours, Aunt Selar,” Starsha
said.
“I think it would be logical to assume that your Aunt Starsha
would want you to stay at the castle while the
“Don’t assume a damn thing!” Starsha said angrily. “That bitch
isn’t family to me!”
Starsha was totally taken off guard by what happened next,
as Selar slammed closed the door of the small storeroom that they were standing
in.
“Now you listen to me, young lady,” Selar scolded. “I’ve
lost my family, namely an older sister whom I have never met, and my brother
Vaught, who is into a possible fight for his life. I will not lose his
daughter. You have a very special power that your father did not want you to
waste killing people!”
“The same people that have pissed
all over him---and treated him like…“
“That’s between your father and them,” Selar said. “Think! If
your father wanted them killed would he have relied on you to do it? Given that
he is someone who has killed so frequently; he would have taken care of it
himself…. No, Starsha…He wanted you to embrace your family and heritage on
Iscandar…. He didn’t make you enemies with your mother, Astra. You did that
yourself and I know that broke his heart.”
Starsha said nothing as Selar gently grasped her shoulder.
“Forgive my outburst it is not the way of a Vulcan,” Selar said.
“Promise me that you will just keep an open mind.”
Starsha nodded as she opened the door and left quietly while
Dr. Crusher stared.
Crusher looked back at Selar who never took her eyes off of
Starsha as she disappeared around the corner.
“She even walks with his stride,” Selar said.
“She’s a lot like him?” Crusher asked.
“In many ways,” Selar
said trying to hide the great concern in her voice. “In far too many ways…”
Scotty and McCoy were waiting outside the transporter room
just as Starsha turned the corner.
“Hey Scotty…. Bones,” she said cheerfully.
“Ah, our armed escort has arrived,” McCoy said.
“Ye’ve got no phaser, lassie?” Scotty said jokingly knowing
full well that her light saber was her only weapon.
“All right kids, the sooner we get there the sooner we can
leave,” Starsha said. “Am I to assume the main contingent left?”
“Aye.
About a half hour ago,” Scotty said as they walked into the transporter room.
“How do you guys want to handle this?” Starsha asked.
“Good question,” McCoy said sarcastically to Scott.
“Well you are the ranking officer,” Starsha said.
“Well isn’t that a hoot,” McCoy said. “I wonder what Jim
would’ve said.”
“Probably would have laughed his ass off,” Scotty chided.
“Yes, he would’ve, at that,” McCoy said. “But actually, Miss
Corsair, you are the boss when we get down there.”
“You gotta cut off those Mint Juleps, Bones,” Starsha said
as her Southern accent slightly peaked out more than usual when she spoke with
Dr. McCoy.
The two broke out in laughter as Starsha quietly said, “OK;
I’ll bite; why will I be in charge?”
The two looked at each other then chuckled than
sarcastically bowed saying at the same time, “Princess Starsha.” Then they broke
into laughter. It was a little funny even to Starsha, who did not laugh. She
just rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, “This is like a damn cadet review,”
as she stood on the transporter pad.
Upon materializing on the surface of Iscandar, Starsha
immediately took an aggressive stance. She quickly brought her light saber over
her head and activated it; and then brought it down in front of her.
The humorous mood that McCoy and Scotty were both in quickly
diminished as they saw
Starsha spin around quickly looking for attack. Scotty and McCoy
didn’t laugh at her, and they didn’t dare make fun of her.
“I’m glad you’re on our side,” McCoy said nervously. Starsha
then deactivated her light saber and took a deep breath.
“You were on Argielus?” Scotty said.
“Yes,” Starsha said.
Scotty nodded as if he understood. McCoy looked at Scotty
and shrugged, as Scott waved his hand as if to say, “I’ll tell you later.”
Calming down, Starsha Corsair took in the atmosphere of
Iscandar. She was surprised to find that she was on a hot tropical world. There
was a cool ocean breeze coming in off the ocean as Starsha closed her eyes and
took in the sensations. She felt that there was something familiar about where
she was. She walked ahead of Scotty and
McCoy. The old doctor was on a form of electronic scooter so that he could keep
up.
“Why did you beam us down so far away?” McCoy grumbled as
Scotty shushed him.
“I wanted to take a look around,” Scott said. “I hate
beaming into buildings.”
“I hate beaming period! Getting your damn molecules scattered
around space; who knows where they’ll end up!” McCoy snarled. Starsha chuckled
as she opened her tricorder and began scanning.
“This just doesn’t add up,” Starsha said.
“What?” Scotty said as Starsha tossed him the tricorder.
“Look,” said Starsha. “Right there.”
“Traces of dilithum?” Scotty said. “Maybe remnants of that crystal
island over there?”
“I can’t localize the source,” Starsha said.
McCoy shook his head, “This makes no sense. You did a scan
from the
“We had a feeling that Queen Starsha might be shielding
Iscandar from the
“I see points starting to form on your ears, boy,” McCoy
chided. “I’ll bet your blood will go green, next!”
Scotty gave McCoy a stern look.
“I’m going to say this but I’ll probably hate myself in the
morning…,” McCoy began. “If she was hiding something and shielding it from us,
isn’t it a little illogical for her to invite us down here? We’ve run into this
before, Scotty.”
“Planet Gideon,” Scott said.
“Gideon?” Starsha said. “I did a portion of my basic training
there…they have a mock-up of a Constitution Class starship that we used for
anti-boarding training.
“Well it wasn’t back in our time,” McCoy said. "They
had a severe overpopulation problem and their people had extreme longevity.
They wouldn’t get sick; the entire planet was almost immortal.”
“And?”
Starsha asked with interest.
“They wound up making an application for entry into the Federation,”
Scott said. “They only wanted Captain Kirk to beam down and negotiate the
treaty. But they shielded themselves from our sensors.”
Starsha laughed aloud. “And, let me get this right; you let
him go down alone?”
“Well to tell you lass,” Scott said, “Captain Kirk went on
almost all the away missions personally.”
“A real hands-on kind of guy,
huh?” Starsha quipped.
“He would have liked you,” McCoy said.
“Oh I could imagine,” Starsha said.
“So could he,” McCoy retorted.
“I take it there was a damsel in distress as well?” Starsha
asked.
McCoy and Scotty looked at each other and smiled. “Yes. Odonna,” they said together,
looking up at the sky.
“Do tell,” Starsha said with interest.
“Well these laddies really pulled out all the stops on this
one,” Scotty said as they all sat down on a green well-maintained grassy field.
“Well your training mock up…,” said McCoy. “Scott said it was
used to trick Captain Kirk into thinking he hadn’t left the
“What did they want him for?” Starsha asked.
“Well like I said,” McCoy began. “They had this
overpopulation problem. No one got sick and almost no one died. But Jim a week
prior had struggled with a disease called Vegan choriomeningitis. The infection
is fatal, and the Gideons hoped to spread it across their world to reduce the
population.”
“So of course the lady is there to see if she can get
infected,” Starsha said, “Did Ambassador Spock bail him out?
“How did you know that?” McCoy asked.
“How else could it have ended?” Starsha asked, as for the
moment she had a troubled look on her face. She stood up and walked away a few
steps forward, with her eyes darting from side to side. It wasn’t the Force
sending warning signs it was her ears as she heard something rustling in the
grass. She unfastened her light saber as McCoy and Scotty stopped talking.
Then she thought she heard some yell the number “Four!” as a
small rounded white projectile headed straight for her. She quickly activated
her light saber and cut the object in half with a single strike. Scott walked over and picked up the remnants.
“Nice going,” Scotty said. “I feel safer already since you
rid the galaxy of invading Golf balls.”
“Maybe the PGA joined the Dominion,” McCoy said, “Everyone else is.”
She turned again to see two men wearing almost 20th
century golf shirts along with a small hovering platform caring two bags of
golf clubs. The first man that she saw was a blue-skinned older man that almost
looked like Scotty’s age. The second was a younger man of Japanese descent.
“Is that going to cost me a stroke?” The older blue skinned
man asked in a strangely accented voice.
“I think that’s the game,” replied the Japanese man.
As they both looked at Starsha, they stopped walking dead in
their tracks with a look of astonishment.
“I’m Alex Wildstar,” said the Japanese man, as he gestured
to his golfing companion. “This is my friend Volgarr of Gamilon.”
“I’m Montgomery Scott,” Scott said. “This is Doctor Leonard
McCoy…And Lieutenant Starsha Corsair of the Starfleet Marines.”
Alex and Volgarr looked at each other as Alex looked back at
Starsha.
“Starsha, huh?”
Alex said, “My wife’s name is Starsha. That’s not a common name.”
“My father’s name is Vaught,” Starsha said, while folding
her arms. Her stare was like hardened ice. Alex nodded as if he understood her
threat as Scotty and McCoy both stared at her.
Her stance didn’t seem to faze Alex, nor was he threatened
by her as he walked right up to her. His stance wasn’t threatening nor coarse and Starsha was immediately disarmed, as she felt
no anger or malice towards Alex.
“I guess that would make me your Uncle,” Alex said.
“I suppose it would, sir,”
Starsha said.
“Uncle Alex.”
he said, correcting her. Then, the three men chuckled as Alex gestured towards
the Grand Castle of Iscandar. “Come. We have much to talk about.”
Next Chapter: “ANOTHER FINE MESS”
To Return
to the Introduction to Starfighter: The
Iconoclasts, click here