Unfolding Futures - The Final Push

Posted on Tue Mar 25th, 2025 @ 2:00am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Jennifer Baldric & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali & 2nd Lieutenant Connor McQueen & Remal Kajun

Mission: Ramant
Location: Ramant - USS Sunfire
Timeline: Current

~SNIP~
As the planetary shield dropped, Jenna turned to Connor and Dean, "Good job. Now, if you would, please escort our guests to the surface. Take your team, Mr. McQueen, and bring our people back in one piece. " She nodded then turned and sat int he big chair. "Stand down from yellow alert. I think it's safe to breathe now should anyone desire."
~SNIP~

At the tactical station, Tom heard Jenna's order and worked swiftly to carry it out, "Standing down from yellow alert Commander."

RAMANT MEDICAL BAY

Sometime later, he opened his eyes, acutely aware of a hand holding on to his tightly. So tightly there was noticeable wetness from sweat or tears, or a combination of both. "Hi." He said weakly. Which prompted a series of emotions he had never experienced before and wasn't sure how to handle.

There were tears that she had never felt before, and a constriction in her thoracic region that was a most peculiar experience. "I was concerned" she said simply, resting a hand on his shoulder. And I would request you do not attempt such things again"

He reached over and took her hands in his, "I was compelled to protect that which is mine. I cannot explain it yet, but should the situation arise I know that I would perform the same act again. You bring value to my being."

The young Technician would live. The Intern would live and go on to produce a healthy vibrant Ramant child, the first of natural birth in more than a millennium. The first of many.

SUNFIRE

McQueen gave a sharp nod to the Commander “Yes ma’am!” Connor turned and set toward the turbolift as he touched his throat mic, “QRF meet me in transporter bay one, we are mission green.” The response was quick and Connor nodded to himself as the doors slid shut. When they reopened he made his way to the bay where his QRF team was assembled and waiting on the pads. His voice was calm, but there was a razor-sharp edge to it. He knew the risks, the potential for an ambush, but there was no time for hesitation. The kidnappers had left a trail of destruction in their wake, and now it was time to end it.

Dr Sarah Wilson and her team stood on the transporter platform, laden with medical kits and as much equipment as they could carry. They were flanked by security and marines and waited for the go ahead.

“Weapons on heavy stun, apparently these captors are willing to let our people go, I’m not so sure, be ready.” The team nodded their affirmation, as Connor nodded to the transporter personnel. The bright shimmer of the transporter beam enveloped him, and in the blink of an eye, they were on the surface of the planet.

DELIVERY CHAMBERS

Commander Baldric's labor had come on hard and fast, a testament to the stress of the confinement. She felt unprepared and a little resentful having to go through this process in order to be free. Thus her body worked against her.

"Get it out!!" She screamed, throwing whatever was a hand towards the Ramant in the room. They had never experienced such raw emotion before. The looked at her with concern, unsure of how to calm the situation for everyone involved. By this stage the Sunfires medical staff were arriving and Dr Wilson stepped into the room, assessing this as the most urgent need of her attention.

"Has she been given pain relief?" Sarah asked the Ramant medical officers.

"Does she need it?" One of them asked innocently. "We were unsure as to the nature of her emotional outburst"

"Watch, you just might learn something" Sarah retorted hotly, wondering how many of the crew had gone through childbirth without the option of pain medication. She moved towards the devilish Baldric, who still had a handful of medical supplies she was threatening to throw.

"Easy there Commander, I'll give you something for the pain then we can work through this" Sarah's voice was calm and reassuring. She had a loaded hypo in one hand and advanced, injecting Baldric in between contractions. The results were immediate. Seeing the fight leave the Commander's eyes, she moved the ships CO into a comfortable position to progress the labour, explaining everything ss she did so.

Two hours later a healthy Ramant male was delivered and placed into the waiting hands of his people. Baldric slumped against the medical bed, exhausted but happy the end game had been achieved. "Look after him" she said wistfully as they vanished, leaving the two women alone. "We'll beam you back shortly and you can recover on the ship. They didn't trust us to let you return before the child was born" Sarah explained. Baldric nodded, too tired to care. Finally she was going home.

Inside RAMANT FACILITY

The stifling smell of filtered air and strange lighting hit him as he recovered quickly. His boots echoing loudly on the plated floor as he gathered his team and surveyed their surroundings.

"We move fast," McQueen said, scanning the room. "Stay sharp. If they want to play, we’ll make them regret it." With that, he led the team forward, each step echoing his resolve. The clock was ticking, but Connor wasn’t about to let anything — or anyone — stand in the way of bringing his crew home.

The rules were being enforced, those not with child were being housed in the cargo bays, those who still had to deliver were scattered around the ship. The rooms were now guarded, ensuring the safety of those inside, allowing only medical staff in.

One by one as the children were delivered, the women were moved to a recovery area for beam out.

Remal chipped in and assisted in any way he could. The Ramant had tech that advanced the growth of the fetus through it's growth cycle faster than he could have ever imagined. Their normal growth would have been a week, but they managed to condense the growth into a few hours. The birth process on the other hand was lacking finesse.

Instead of utilizing transporters or subdermal laser systems, the children were being birthed naturally in most situations. Therefore he was there and hands on to the best of his ability. One after another they popped.

Connor surveyed the scene as the Ramant ran around this way and that going about their business. The cry’s of young ones lingering in the air as they were rushed from one room to the next. He felt extremely out of place but found a familiar face as he spotted Commander Baldric, he called out for a medic as he knelt down beside her. “Commander… are you alright? Marine teams are assisting where they can to get out people back to the Sunfire as quickly as we can.” He was swiftly pushed aside by a Corp Medic as she scanned the Commander with a tricorder. “There are only a few personnel left here.”

"It's good to see you McQueen" Baldric replied, looking around the large room she was in with several other of the Sunfire crew who had recently delivered. "Can we go home now? All of us?"

He nodded as his eyes moved from the Medic to Baldric, “Preliminary reports are all of the Sunfire crew are making their way back onboard… they are all safe, let’s get you back with them.” Connor didn’t know the whole story about what had happened here, but he knew trauma… this felt like trauma. He helped the Commander to her feet and along side the Marine Medic escorted her to where the other crew were being transported back to the Sunfire and finally out of this nightmare.

RECOVERY AREA

Aurora was in recovery, her suspicion that she had conceived another child for the Ramant had been correct but she hadn’t been able to carry the child so soon after giving birth to her own. Her body had taken all it could stand, the resulting failure of the pregnancy the result.

Opening her eyes she was surprised to see Sidak, now a tall looking teenager. “Sidak?” She held out her hand.

“Mother” Sidak gently held her hand. “The doctors tell me you will be fine.” He offered a smile. “I cannot go with you, these are my people I have to stay and help them.”

Aurora nodded. “I understand, I always knew I’d have to say goodbye to you one day. If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Savar stood to one side as Aurora and Sidak shared a moment. He had heard Sidak's pronouncement of staying and helping his people and it made him proud to know that his and Aurora's son was responsible and ready to meet the challenges that awaited him.

A nurse overheard the interaction and approached. "I am not certain if I should share this information with you, however I suspect a complication might arise around this interaction." She started. "Your ship and crew will be subjected to a memory engram wipe in order to maintain the sanctity of our people. You will not remember Sidak, your offspring."

“What!?” Aurora looked at Sidak wide eyed, how could she face losing her memories of him?

Savar looked at the nurse and then to Sidak. "This unthinkable! How can you even conceive an idea such as this? Sidak is our son."

“Mother, Father, please do not despair!” Sidak gave them a caring gaze. “I will remember you, I will never forget you.”

"And then there is the complication of the birth of your female offspring. She is yours, of course, however we cannot risk a simple implantation of false memories which might lead back here to us. Therefore, unless there are objections, we will attempt to alter your memories of Sidak into memories of your new daughter. If successful there will be little difference aside from age. In which case, we would require the ability to age up your newborn to match that of Sidak when he arrived." It was a complexity of sorts as tampering with Memories always was.

“No!” Aurora shook her head. “You will not age up my daughter! You may alter my memories of the circumstances of her birth if you wish, but she is to remain her true age. She’s ours, she will not be tampered with!”

"Of course there are objections. N'vea is our daughter. I agree with Aurora. You will not alter or accelerate her growth. She will age normally. Our memories and hers will be real and made as she grows. Your actions are not logical. They are actions of a scared, frighten people."

The nurse recoiled, not understanding the emotional response. "I apologize, I am not a memory expert but I do believe they will make a concerted effort to perform the wipe to the best of their abilities. I will convey your concerns in the chance they can adjust your memories accordingly." From the nurses perspective she was highly logical and was simply performing her duties as instructed. She bowed and turned away, leaving the trio to converse.

PROGENITOR CHAMBERS (The Bureaucrat House of Commons)

As the Sunfire crew slowly returned to their homes, Captain Kaylen remained behind. Physically she felt well enough and given Commander Baldric was in the same situation as many of the other women, the older Bajoran felt compelled to step up.

As the last of the crew returned, Rhenora asked to speak to the Progenitor, she had concerns about the memory wipe that would take place. Dr Wilson had aired her disapproval, citing physiological conditions that may be aggregated for such a large scale wipe. Not to mention the ships computer. Nothing was ever complete which would lead to future issues.

She entered the large chamber and bowed respectfully towards the Progenitor.

"I wish to discuss your terms. We have fulfilled our end of the arrangement, however my medical team are concerned with both the short and long term effects of a large scale memory wipe."

Several of the Bureaucrats turned at her entrance into the House of Commons, a foreigner in the midst. "The terms have already been decided, what more is there to discuss?" The Progenitor asked, their presence demanding but interested. "We have been performing wipes for a long time now and have gotten adept at the practice. I, myself, was a wipe specialist in my youth."

"How do you explain the physiological changes in my crew? A memory wipe will not erase the hormones our bodies release post birth, nor the production of milk or the contraction pains post birth. Unless you've got some serious medical clout to deal will all of that as well, the memory wipe will only cause more problems." Rhenora explained, wondering if they were the first to be put in this predicament.

She paused a drew a breath. "Wipe the memories of those that were not physically effected. We will need an alternative solution. I suggest a series of warning buoys around your system, to ensure your privacy, in exchange for keeping our memories. We deserve this, after what you've put us through"

The wise old Progenitor stood, slowly, then proceeded to walk down to her level so that he might address her face to face. For the Bureaucrats, this was a rarity. When they spoke, they were no longer overbearing, but civil. "Yours is a fascinating species; Resilient, adept, pliable, curious." The Progenitor started to walk, expecting her to walk with.

"We once utilized markers, what you call buoys, and for a while they worked. That is until over zealous mercenaries challenged the proposed danger and entered our space anyway. Thought it would make a good place to hide from whatever they were running from. We learned then that we must do better, which is why we developed our cloaking tech." His voice trailed off as one who is old often does.

Once he was done with his revelry, he started again, "The plan is already set. The wipe will involve everyone involved, including the young Ramant male. We will be thorough. You've likely witnessed our abilities. When you wake, your computer will read like you traveled through a space-time displacement. Your bodies will be returned to the point at which you were first scanned, hormones and all."

"This is not our first walk with an alien race and I dare say it may not be the last. One day perhaps we will be ready to lower our barrier and join the galaxy, but I dare say our people are not yet ready to risk a leap so grand." He stopped walking and turned to face Rhenora. "I will make one amendment to our agreement should this experiment in natural birth go well for our people. We will no longer abduct aliens for our personal experimentation. We have seen the error in those ways."

"And," he added, "Should your people arrive back on our doorstep, for any reason, assuming the experiment goes well, we will welcome you back. However should it fail, we will not hesitate to destroy your ship in such a way your atoms will not be recognizable." His face contorted into an approximation of a smile. "How is that for a revised agreement?" It was a warning to show their actions had caused an undeniable ripple with the Ramant people. Of which the effects would take a lifetime to realize.

"I see" Rhenora said simply, realizing she was essentially out maneuvered and out gunned. Inwardly she was glad the Sunfire would be the last that would have to go through this ordeal but to have it wiped from their minds was brutal. "So long as no harm comes to my people, that is all I ask. We have been through enough."

"We shall endeavor to do our best work. For what it is worth, I would apologize for what your people have endured, if in the end it did not benefit our people as I hope it has done. We were growing desperate to grow beyond our own misguided shortcomings. This experiment has cause significant understanding which will lead to a paradigm shift." He turned and bowed respectfully, "Thank you and your people. I'm told there is a video I need to review in private which will enlighten me further." He said alluding to the X-97 Red and Purple experiments.

The Captain knew when she was dismissed and took her leave, beaming back to the Sunfire to begin the debrief process and prepare for whatever methods the Ramant would use to alter their memories.