Let the Rain Fall
Posted on Fri Nov 7th, 2025 @ 6:23pm by Commander Jenna Ramthorne
680 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
For Bajor!
Location: Bajor - Northern Province
The wind cut sideways across the tundra, cold enough to flay a man’s resolve. The northern portal glowed like an exposed wound, a ring of molten glass shimmering over cracked ice. Its pulse was steady now, locked open by some foreign hand, the energy held in place by invisible restraint.
Vekar Dane emerged from the transport’s shadow, cloak drawn tight, eyes reflecting the dying glow of his escape. He looked like a man holding his own reflection hostage. Behind him came the Nausicaan brute, carrying a crate of power cells in one hand and his disruptor in the other, dragging his boots through the mud like a disobedient child.
“Move faster,” Vekar snapped, his patience long burned away. “Each delay costs me.”
Bonnie appeared next, walking with that slow, deliberate grace that meant she’d already chosen violence. Her blades hung loose at her hips, catching stray shards of moonlight. “You mean costs us, don’t you?” she said, voice cutting through the wind like a knife. “Because from where I stand, we’re the ones who keep pulling your plans out of the fire.”
Vekar stood before the portal with his hood thrown back, face pale in the light of his own making.
He held the portable control array like a priest clutching a relic, watching the waves of power spiral through the ring.
Behind him, the others readied for departure. Mirror Coy checked her gauntlet computer and muttered a string of expletives. Her reflection rippled faintly in the frost, a flicker of irritation turned inward.
The Nausicaan brute, twice her size, slammed a crate shut and grunted. “You carry too much,” he rumbled. “You slow us down.”
Coy shot him a glare. “I carry your cut, remember? Maybe if you could count past ten, you’d understand what that means.”
The Nausicaan bared his teeth, low and animal. “You said payment when we reach other side. We are still here.”
“Because His Holiness hasn’t given the go-ahead,” she snapped, jerking a thumb toward Vekar. “So maybe growl at him if you’re that eager to die.”
That earned her a backhand, a sharp, meaty sound that echoed over the frozen plain. Coy staggered, blood trailing from her lip, but her eyes didn’t break contact. She smiled, cruelly. “Try that again, and I’ll vent your lungs through your neck.”
“Enough.” Vekar’s voice was calm, but the air around him seemed to tighten. The Nausicaan froze mid-breath.
“You two will not sully this threshold with your squabbling,” Vekar said. “The moment we cross, all debts are settled, one way or another.”
Coy spat blood into the snow. “You promise a lot of things, Vekar. The last guy who trusted your word is now fertilizer somewhere under Ashalla.”
He ignored her, turning back to the ring. “Patience, my dear. The portal will answer me, not you.”
He raised the control module, thumbed the activator, and the gateway flared. Light seared across the ice, throwing long shadows. The hum became a roar. They stepped forward together, silhouettes framed in the shimmer, and then, without warning, the portal repelled them.
A shockwave burst outward, hurling Coy to the ground and sending the Nausicaan sliding back on his heels.
Vekar barely moved, though his hand trembled on the control.
Then Bonnie clapped slowly, mock applause sharp against the wind. “Efficient as ever,” she said, her smirk equal parts admiration and warning.
“Locked,” Coy hissed, scanning. “Someone’s locked it open.”
Vekar’s eyes narrowed. “Federation meddlers,” he murmured.
And then, the sky broke open. Twin streaks of fire cut through the clouds, shuttles descending fast. The hum of their engines rolled like thunder across the tundra.
Coy pulled her disruptor, the Nausicaan hefted his cannon, Bonnie cross pulled a dagger with each of her hands and Vekar simply smiled, slow, deliberate, cruel. “So be it,” he said. “Let the rain fall.”
The first shuttle broke through the haze, emblazoned with Starfleet markings. And for the first time since the war began, Vekar looked truly alive.
TBC
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