WINTER SNOW

By Amanda A. Hilliard

A story of Admiral DeWolff & V.Admiral Et`Kal,

Star Trek RPG characters

~For Austin, the brightest light on the darkest paths. That one in which I’ve sought my entire life to find.

Part I: Fire

“It's not my kind,
Not my time to wonder why.
Everything's gone white,
And everything's grey.

Now you're here now you're away.”

–‘Glycerine’ Bush

The bridge was burning… The corridors were burning… there was nothing but smoke, burnt bodies, and malfunctioning extinguishers. The few crewmen that were still alive were trying to save the ship and themselves. And it wasn’t working.

Nobody really knows what happened on the USS Athens. Only 5 or 6 of the several hundred crews made it out of the flame and ashes. And those one were too traumatized to speak more than one sentence apiece.

Farrell Maar had ashes rubbed against her face. Her long hair was burnt up to the roots. Her only memories were ones she didn’t care to remember, but Dr. Bashir sent her out of the Infirmary quickly… there were others to look at. She held onto the wall trying not to go crazy, but that wouldn’t last.

Admiral DeWolff ran over to her and grabbed her arm. Her grey eyes looked frightened and not yet comprehending reality as it was. He pestered her for information about his wife, but Maar couldn’t say anything. He left her alone when a dark haired woman pulled him away… her face was as worried as his own.

“Go on, Maar… go get rest,” The woman told her. Maar knew the woman was familiar but at the moment it didn’t matter.

This war had taken its course on everybody. The halls of Deep Space Nine were lined with officers waiting to find out about their loved ones on ships that were lost or damaged in battle. Admiral DeWolff and Vice Admiral Et`Kal were no exception to this. Both of them had left the battle unharmed on their respective ships. But the ones they loved the dearest were not as fortunate.

Et`Kal watched Maar stumbled down the hallway. She knew the girl would have to see a lot of Counselors after this. Maar had already been dealing with being a Trill. Thinking about somebody else’s problems made Et`Kal feel a tiny bit calmer about her problems.

DeWolff sat back down and put his head in his hands. He felt helpless about the situation and very afraid. He had almost lost Elektra once to battle. Would he lose her this time? He was in this position once again. And now he was afraid for Elektra and afraid for himself.

Sitting down beside him, Et`Kal said nothing. There was nothing she could say to help his anguish. When she looked up at one of Julian Bashir’s doctors, she didn’t need to rely on empathic senses to understand the news that one of them was going to receive. Her forehead wrinkled in a sudden emotional struggle not to cry.

“Admiral Et`Kal,” the doctor put out his hand for a quick sympathy handshake. DeWolff looked up at this with a blank expression on his face.

Et`Kal stood up slowly, “She’s dead, isn’t she?” She didn’t want to wait for any answers.

“Captain Et`Kal-Staros was in critical condition when she got here. As far as we can tell, an explosion on the bridge killed her. She died a brave woman,” The doctor spoke routinely for the situation. Et`Kal wondered how many speeches like this one he had already given that day, “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the patients.”

“Of course,” She said with tears welling up in her eyes. She sat down in a quick huff. She lowered her head and said a prayer to her gods to guide the soul of her cousin.

“I met Alanna once,” DeWolff finally spoke up in a troubled voice. His eyes reflected the pain of Et`Kal’s, “It was right before the Athens left dock. She was a good officer… thought very highly of you.”

Et`Kal managed a brief smile. Those were the first words he had spoken in over an hour. And there were something she needed to hear.

She had worked with him over the past months of the war. His Harbinger was the leader of her ship, the Juno. She had noticed over the weeks that as much as he was feeling the adrenaline of war, that it had been taking its own wears on him. His whiskers were starting to become unkempt in a half beard. His hair fell over his pained dark eyes. The Admiral needed something to hold onto.

Iana Et`Kal was not in perfect condition either. She had just lost her best friend and cousin to this war. It was another family member in the long line of war casualties that Iana had known. And all she wanted to do was to go to Vulcan and be with her daughter, Callista. (Callista’s father had been killed in the war with the Borg.)

The minutes grew into hours as they sat and waited. DeWolff never asked her to stay, but Et`Kal chose to. Elektra had been her friend for many years. She would never think of leaving at this time. As she paced with a cup of herbal tea in her hand, another doctor walked in their direction. DeWolff stood up like a knife was stabbed into his back. He already knew the words. He already knew that Elektra was gone to him forever. He thanked the doctor for trying and started to walk down the hallway into a world of sorrow.

That was the last she had seen of him that day. Et`Kal was on the next craft to Vulcan.

Part II: Snow

“It's been raining since you left me.
Now I'm drowning in the flood.
You see I've always been a fighter.
But without you I give up.”
-‘Always’ Bon Jovi
 

The snow was thick and of the brightest white on the grounds of Toronto. At its edge, one of the smaller ponds was entirely frozen over. DeWolff stood at the window watching his warm breath fog up the glass on the window as he stared out at it. Some of the neighboring children were playing ice hockey along the first solid ice of the year.

He turned away from the scene and went to sit by the fire in one of his old cushioned chairs. He picked up the eggnog with the scent of whiskey filling his nostrils. The calendar said it was Christmas time. But DeWolff found that he couldn’t celebrate this year. It hurt too much to think about Elektra. Christmas was her favorite time of year… she had plans for this year.

How kind of the Federation to give him a leave of absence. He ended up having this cabin built for him to retreat from everything he really knew. He needed something that didn’t have Elektra written on it… even if she will always be written on his mind. Many nights he would dream about her. But Elektra would be giving him support more than her love. She would try and help him to move on in his life. But DeWolff wasn’t ready for that. She was the love of his life… she was his life.

“Why did I let her go?” He questioned himself aloud but drank more to help the thoughts and doubts go away. DeWolff picked up one of his older Latin books and started to read it. His attention was distracted by footsteps coming up to his doorway. The only people who ever stopped by were some of the kids wanting him to play the goalie.

There was a quick knock at the door and the tapping of a foot. He could tell immediately that it wasn’t the kids. He put his book and glass down and stood up almost annoyed. The room was warm from the fire and opening the door would let the cold northern wind into the house.

The knock came again, and DeWolff sighed straightening his sweater while walking over to it slowly. The opening let in an incredible gust of air, which was partially blocked by the body of a past crewmate. He wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or surprised by Iana Et`Kal being at his door. He let her in just so he could shut the door.

“Thank you, it’s cold out there,” She took off her scarf that shown her reddened cheeks and pointed ears.

He sat back down and offered her a seat, “Yea, you Vulcans don’t like the cold.”

She smirked a bit and sat down unbuttoning her coat. DeWolff noted that she looked less like a Star Fleet officer than the last time he saw her. He wondered what she wanted.

“I need your help,” She immediately came out and said to him. DeWolff also made no haste in laughing at her request. Her eyes narrowed for an instant but then she realized his position, “It has nothing to do with the Federation.”

“Knowing you, Et`Kal, it has something to do with the Federation… and quite frankly I’m sick of their games and their wars.” His voice wasn’t intended to hurt her. It was merely a reflection of the pain he’s been going through.

“Admiral…” She started before being interrupted.

“I am not doing anything for the Federation.”

She nodded slowly buttoning her coat back up, “This doesn’t have anything to do with the Federation, it’s personal. And you are the only person who can get me where I need to go. But since you aren’t interested and would rather sit here, I will go find somebody who can help me.”

Et`Kal was as stubborn about things as he was. He watched her wrap her scarf back around her neck and leave his house. He huffed slightly finishing his drink, “Good.” But there was also something in what she said that had interested him immediately. Where would she need to go that only he could take her? DeWolff found himself putting on his boots, coat and gloves. Reluctantly, but curiously. He didn’t have to say yes to her whims. He just wanted an answer to it.

When he stepped out of the door, Et`Kal was walking around the frozen over lake making small cheers for the boys who would get a goal. She knew that he would come out of the house to follow her, and he knew that. As much as he disliked the past record Et`Kal had, he had to admire the way she handled certain situations. She was insubordinate, a loose handle, and at times borderline psychotic. And yet, while she lived with those stigmas from the Federation commander, she knew how to get things done.

“You came sooner than I thought you would,” She said with her breath crystallizing in the air in front of them. She put her hands in her pockets as he followed beside her.

“But I thought you were the telepathic god who can tell me everything,” He snipped at her knowing her files very well. He liked to know all of his subordinates.

“I can’t deny what I once was, Admiral. Nor can I say I am proud of it.”

“I would be more embarrassed by such a show of arrogance and psychotic behavior,” He spoke looking up towards the clouds, “It’s going to snow soon.”

“I can’t change any of that, Admiral. Nor can I say it’s all out of me. I will be a telepath until the day I die, but never will I display the disgusting show of untrained and handled ability that I did in my earlier years.” She was quite displeased with thinking about everything she had done.

“We all do dumb things,” He shrugged his shoulders, “Except myself.”

Et`Kal found herself laughing a bit while following some pre-made tracks in the snow, “I need you to get me to Empok Nor.”

DeWolff was glad that he made her say what he wanted before he had to ask her, “Why can’t you get there yourself?”

“Federation ships are not too welcome there lately. And it’s hard to get there through Federation space, as it is everybody is afraid of everything after the war. And besides…” She started.

He didn’t like the sound of that.

“I need to transport three friends of mine who the Federation are after. And you have a better reputation with people than I do. And as I understand it, you have an in with the people of Empok Nor… and can get my friends asylum there. Tagen Monet hates me and would never allow that.” She explained.

He arched his eyebrows, “And I take it these friends are rebels of some kind?”

She nodded, “Yes. They were Maquis and the Federation is after them for deserting their ships… These friends helped me out in the past and I owe them one. I can’t do it myself.”

“It sounds like a bunch of trouble for nothing,” DeWolff didn’t like the sound of her situation at all. An adventure intrigued him, but the trouble of it didn’t.

“A lot of trouble for an adventure,” Et`Kal laughed a bit.

DeWolff led their path back to his front porch, “When do we leave?”

Part III: Space

 
“Something that you did will destroy me.

Something that you said will stay with me.”

-‘As Heaven Is Wide,’ Garbage

“Now I know Star Fleet didn’t give this to you for good behavior,” DeWolff ran his hands along the helm of the personal craft. It was not quite as large a yacht… but it was nice enough.

“Ha ha,” Et`Kal half rolled her eyes as she got clearances for them to leave Vulcan. She had DeWolff meet her here because this is her place of the most influence. Nobody questions her; “I was given it while I was the Vulcan Ambassador to Liberty Station 1… before all of this Dominion mess escalated.”

“Yes, the least Vulcan of them all,” DeWolff started to pilot the craft, “Does this vessel of yours at least have a name?”

“Kallesta.” She said simply while sliding some med kits into a compartment. She disregarded his heritage comment towards her.

“And what kind of name is that for a ship?”

“It’s my mother’s,” She slammed a compartment closed a bit louder than she intended to.

“Temper,” He arched his eyebrow at her, “And if we happen to get stopped, do we have a story?”

Et`Kal started to thumb through some PADDS, “Yes, I am still officially a Vulcan Ambassador. You are escorting me to Empok Nor to ensure I get there.”

“Oh yes, that doesn’t have any flaws,” His mood was bordering on regret for coming on this mission and pure enjoyment of being superior to his counterpart.

“I doubt anybody is going to stop us along the way. We’re meeting with a Bajoran freighter here,” She pointed to a map, “We’re picking up two men and one woman. And then heading for Empok Nor where you are going to talk to the people in charge to get them asylum.”

“And what exactly is your job in all of this?” He looked at her plans.

“To make sure it works.”

The rendezvous point was 7 days away from Vulcan. It was a smooth course that left them a lot of free time to pick at each other or to laugh over life. Neither was sure if they were tolerating each other or possibly becoming friends. Both knew that either way they were opposite ends of the poles, only brought together by the need for adventure and a seesaw feeling for Star Fleet.

Admiral DeWolff was a man with one name and no memory of his life before he met Elektra. She was his life along with his uniform. He and his rich brown eyes mastered and maneuvered his way through Star Fleet ranks. And he deserved every ounce of honor and recognition given. DeWolff was a rare breed, the ones who looked out for his ship and his crew more than protocol and rank. Respect was something he had from everybody.

Vice Admiral Iana Et`Kal was a woman with a world of confusion, deception, and young arrogance. Married twice and widowed twice, one child, and only one remaining parent. She had a strange and overused mental ability… which she, in her past, used to its maximum abilities and burnt it out. Her Star Fleet career was less proud and less a joy to remember.

“Who haven’t you married?” He laughed at her over a drink. She was lounged back in a chair with her feet on a consol. Her boots were unlaced and lazy.

She started to laugh feelings the remains of some of DeWolff’s whiskey in her, “Hey, when you’re a 23 year old Captain… god they were desperate, you do idiotic things that in 10 years you can’t imagine what put the notion in your head.”

“Did you love him?” DeWolff’s tone was serious and yet jovial.

“The first one,” She said with finality to it. She pulled her hair back into a knot and flipped her earring back and forth with her fingers. A sigh came from her, “Those were some good times with Vaughn. But what will be will be.”

“Yea, I guess so,” He took another drink, “He probably would have be pissed at you for your Horizon days.”

Et`Kal started to laugh uncontrollably feeling the alcohol go straight to her head, “I can just hear him saying to me now ‘Iana, I understand that you do not possess the Vulcan control, but you are behaving in a manner that does not suit either of us.’” And for some reasons he found her words to be the most hilarious thing she had ever heard.

A thud was heard when Et`Kal fell out of her chair laughing. DeWolff just shook his head, “And I suppose this is why they never allowed you anything to drink.”

“Heh, probably,” She looked at him from the ground, “From this angle, Admiral, I would say that you are the finest looking man in the universe.”

Leaning over her head he said, “I’ll pretend you didn’t say that.”

In a disturbing instant, there was a hail coming into their craft. Et`Kal jumped up immediately and felt a massive rush to her head. She stumbled back into a chair. DeWolff cursed, but took control since a few drinks didn’t bother him at all.

“Go lay down, you’re drunk,” He told her more as a command. She didn’t disagree and pulled herself into the other room.

He put the communication on audio only and listened to what the Federation ship had to say, “Vulcan vessel, Kallesta, what is your current course?”

“Captain Joelie?” DeWolff was glad he always made a note to recognize voices, Captains and ships, “This is Admiral DeWolff.”

“Oh-“ The Captain was immediately taken aback for words, “Admiral, I’m sorry to bother you… We have been ordered to make sure all vessels are out of this area.”

“On what basis?” He played around with the controls of the craft and kept them on their present course.

“I’m not authorized to say,” Captain Joelie was slightly afraid of making the Admiral unhappy.

DeWolff grinded his teeth a bit, “I am an Admiral, sir. I believe I have the authorization to be told, and unless I am told why I should not be going in this direction, I will not turn around.”

“Sir, there is a Bajoran freighter which is carrying 3 rebels that the Federation wants. We have been ordered to keep this area clear incase of any problems.”

“Problems, Captain? It’s a cargo vessel. There will be no problems with it.”

“Orders are orders, sir.”

“Yes, I suppose they are. Is it your ship that is going to do the intercepting?”

“Yes, sir.”

DeWolff wondered how these Captains got trained these days. They trust officials too easily, “And I suppose you are going to sit here and wait for it so nobody suspects you coming after it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well then I will make a deal with you Captain. Let us proceed on our course at a faster pace and we won’t interfere in this little tragedy that is going to ensue.”

“Uh… uh, yes sir. Carry on, sir. It was nice talking to you Admiral.” Captain Joelie terminated the transmission.

DeWolff could only think of what a strange mission this was and what a strange incident. He turned around to notice Et`Kal just standing in the doorway. Her eyes were just staring out in front of her like in a haze.

“What are you doing?” He stood up after punching in some commands.

She blinked and then looked at him, “Nothing.” Her face wasn’t entirely truthful.

“I hate telepaths,” He sat down not accusing and yet still questioning what she was doing.

“So do I.” She responded to him immediately, “I want to crack into their files and see what their mission is.”

“Why? We are going on our way. Don’t get them on our tails.” DeWolff stopped her from doing anything, “After we get your friends and that ship realizes they are gone, then they will be on our tails. Let’s hope we can make good enough time to get to Empok Nor before they get us.”

Part IV: Air

“If I could tell the world just one thing 
It would be that we're all ok 

and not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful 

and useless in times like these”
-‘Hands,’ Jewel
 
“We weren’t here,” Et`Kal confirmed to the freighter Captain.
 
The woman nodded in a small smile, “Anything for some old friends of mine. May the prophets guide you.” 
 
The screen went blank. DeWolff made sure the transport of the 3 rebels went smoothly, “They’re on board now lets get out of here. I estimate that we have at least two days before they figure that we were here and a their maximum warp it will take four for them to catch up with us. And it’s going to take us a lot longer than that to get to Empok Nor.”
 
“That’s okay. I have that taken care of,” Et`Kal smiled. She pointed to a place on her map, “At this point here we are going to be met by Genevieve Monet. She is going to pick us up and destroy our craft.”
 
DeWolff put a finger on his temple and rubbed it closing his eyes, “And you were going to tell me this, when?” 
 
“When you needed to know,” She replied and headed out of the cockpit but was stopped by DeWolff grabbing her arm.
 
His tone was harsher than usual, “I told you before we left that I wasn’t going to deal with any games. You better be straight forward with everything going on because I am not going to put up with it from you, Et`Kal.”
 
She was taken aback for a moment and furrowed her brow, “I only needed you here for one reason, to get onto Empok Nor. Everything before that is my game.”
 
“Don’t play like that with me. If you want your ass on the station, you are going to tell me everything… no more games and no more surprises. I don’t care if you have the president of every empire in this universe back there… you are going to listen to me. Not the other way around.”
 
“Fine,” She snapped his hand away from him, “You know everything that’s going on now, and there is nothing more. Why don’t you have another drink and calm down?”
 
Her words were more insulting than suggestive. She slapped a bottle into his hand and left the room. DeWolff watched her blankly as she left and opened the bottle, “Bitch.”
 
Et`Kal walked down the small corridor to one of the backrooms where the rebels were staying in. After being thanked profusely from them, Iana moved herself into the hallway to get a breath of air. The walls seemed almost to come in on her at the moment. Her head lowered as her body rested against the wall. There was so much tension in this tiny place that it was starting to get to her. Part of her said to apologize to DeWolff and the rest of her told her to be stubborn like always.
 
“How did somebody like me get into uniform?” She whispered to herself.
 
The space on Kallesta became very small, very quickly for everybody. The days started to get a little bit longer as they also wound down in their mission. 
 
Et`Kal started to run long range sensors on their second day to find out if DeWolff might have been correct. She didn’t pick anything up but his words worried her. She didn’t want him to be right, and she didn’t want to be caught. On the third day, they met with Monet’s ship.
 
Et`Kal watched as Monet blew up her ship. The lights flashed off of her eyes before she turned away. DeWolff watched her walk out of the cockpit and past the tiny crew, “Monet, you know the Federation is on the path of the Kallesta.”
 
“I’ve been running from Federation ships long enough to know we can out run them anytime…”
 
“Any relation to Tagen Monet?” DeWolff questioned.
 
“Sisters, but don’t ask me to step a foot onto Empok Nor.”
 
DeWolff said nothing and headed towards the small guest quarters he and Et`Kal had to share. It wasn’t bad enough they stepped on each other’s toes on the Kallesta. Now they had to share a room on this vessel. They had no air to breathe and no space to their own.
 
As he walked in, Et`Kal was sitting in a chair holding a glass globe in her hand. Inside of it were water and white pieces of plastic that swirled around it. She was looking at it with saddened eyes as the water moved around. She placed it back on its base and rested her chin on the table watching the white lay on the objects at the base.
 
“It’s the last piece of the Kallesta I have,” She said bluntly as the water stopped swirling.
 
DeWolff sat down on the bed and unlaced his boots, “If the yacht was so important to you, why did you let it be destroyed?” He missed having Elektra unlace the things for him. As he got older, he hated to do it.
 
“It wasn’t the yacht… it was the name.” She made the water swirl again.
 
DeWolff shook his head, “It’s only a name. You’re just attached to it because it’s your mother. There will be other yachts and other names.”
 
She shrugged as a tear ran down her cheek, “I know that. I just don’t feel it. I don’t know. I’m being ridiculous.”
 
The white snow settled down onto the houses below. She picked it up and stared at it closely. Through the back end of it she could see DeWolff staring back at her.
 
“It’s a snow globe. What is your fascination with it?” He noticed the little houses at the bottom of it.
 
“Life would be so much easier in a snow globe… no wars to fight, just being shook up with water,” She set it back onto the table.
 
Laughter fluctuated through the room, “Do you know how silly that sounds?”
 
“Yea,” She smiled. Just then the ship rocked, “Oh shit.”
 
After regaining their composure, both ran out of the room with the instincts of soldiers. DeWolff, somehow, managed to lace his boots while in a sprint. It was something done in such ease that it was apparent he’s been in this situation before. When they turned into the hallway, the ship rocked again and they both were thrown against the wall. Amidst the confusion, they never heard the snow globe fall to the ground and shatter into a thousand tiny pieces of glass, water, and white plastic snow.
 
Part V: Wind
“Is it getting better?
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you?
Now you got someone to blame.”
-‘One,’ U2
 
“What’s going on?” DeWolff questioned Monet immediately while being thrown into a chair by the force. Et`Kal was holding onto the doorframe to keep a balance.
 
“Captain, we’re losing shields… engineering didn’t have enough time to fix them from the last strike,” One of the bridge officers said.
 
“Maneuver us around that moon, it will buy us some time,” Monet ordered him then looked at DeWolff, “Pirates. They’ve been after us for months. The last strike on us wasn’t too long ago… we destroyed one of their ships and it looks like they’re out for revenge.”
 
“This doesn’t get any better, does it?” He looked at Et`Kal who was angry that we wasn’t told anything about the previous attacks.
 
The shipped rocked once more, “Security, I want everybody to be armed and ready for a fight.”
 
DeWolff and Et`Kal took their weapons as it was announced that shields had failed. They were either going to be blown up or they were going to be boarded. Knowing Pirates, they would board the ship and take everything there was to take… and kill everybody there was to kill.
 
“I have half the mind to take over this ship,” DeWolff said to Et`Kal as Monet ran out the door.
 
Et`Kal readied her weapon, “It’s not our ship to take over,” She heard gunfire down the corridor.
 
“You stay here and watch the door,” DeWolff ordered her and went to the controls, “I am going to find a way to get us out of this mess before we all get killed.”
 
Standing at the doorsill, she fired down the hallway hitting one of the pirates in the chest, “I never said I planned on getting killed.”
 
DeWolff ran scans and sensors on the pirate ship. He knew the design well, having dealt with them in the past. It was only a matter of finding their weakness. His concentration fell on his work. Nothing fazed him, not even when stray fire shot over his head.
 
“There’s at least five coming this way,” Et`Kal shouted firing from side to side, “I need your weapon.”
 
He slid it across the floor to her and then started on the helm, “Then kill them.”
 
She grabbed both phaser guns and ran into the middle of the corridor shooting to both sides. Her body ducked and rolled as some fire returned. She put one of them down and rested against the doorway to fire down one side. 
 
“I have a feeling that everybody else is dead,” Et`Kal grumbled counting the dead rebels down the hallway.
 
“No, I can see them on the sensors. Your rebel friends are giving them hell,” He started to move the ship. 
 
Et`Kal immediately felt the movement and heard the head Pirate ship fire, “What are you doing? This is not your ship!”
 
DeWolff maneuvered his way through sprays of fire as Et`Kal shot down one pirate and missed another that was running toward their door. She shot him directly into the stomach, but not before he could fire at her. She rolled into the room under it not to be injured.
 
“I am not getting killed,” He explained himself. Another deflection entered the room, “Will you please stop that.”
 
“One of the rifles is almost out of power,” She commented and crawled far enough out of the doorway to grab one from one of the dead Pirates. She saw that nobody was in the corridor at the moment and took a breath. Then another shot flew by an inch above her head. She aimed for the man’s weapon and fired making it explode in his hand. She heard him scream in pain.
 
“Kill him,” DeWolff told her.
 
She wrinkled her nose and fired again killing the pirate.
 
DeWolff cursed as one of the shots at the craft was barely adverted. The Pirate ship was now under manned so he had the upper hand as long as he was piloting. Another stray blast ricocheted in through the doorway and struck a consol. DeWolff was knocked to the ground by the impact, but not severely injured. As the same moment, he heard Et`Kal hold in a gasp of pain as her shoulder was hit by one of the blast.
 
“That’s it!” She screamed and picked up a weapon and started firing madly down the hallway. Blood ran down her arm.
 
DeWolff pulled himself up only to see that the helm was distorted and they were on a collision course with the much larger pirate ship. He winced in pain as drops of crimson blood dripped from a cut on his forehead. Despite his feelings of pain, he reconfigured helm as quickly as his mind would allow him and righted his ship enough that only a tiny part of the end hit the pirate ship. It was enough to set them off of their targeted course.
 
“IF you are going to do something miraculous, you better do it soon!” She called out seeing several more pirates peering around the corners.
 
DeWolff ignored her and whipped their ship back around and went for the underbelly of the pirate ship. As Et`Kal started to rapid fire at the mass of approaching Pirates, he fired two shots at one location on the pirate ship and then maneuvered quickly away from the rippling explosion chain reaction that was set into place. The ship was caught in the wave of fury that rage through space and was pushed wildly into one direction.
 
“Finally something goes right,” He noted seeing they were being sent into the direction they actually needed to go. He then broke open the security locker and grabbed two rifles.
 
“Let’s finish these bastards off,” He said standing at the other side of the doorway. Et`Kal pulled herself up holding a phaser in her good arm. She nodded in agreement.
 
They walked out into the hallway as open targets there were not to be hit. DeWolff noticed Et`Kal had a keen sense of what direction things were coming from, but could never calculate in a deflection. Maybe she would be useful. But he countered that thought with the fact that he could manage to evade every shot and deflection without any heightened ability. And each target fell one by one. When they reached the corner, firing was simple and blank into the target. 
 
DeWolff noticed some of the rebels still standing and ordered them to watch these two corners for any more pirates. The both of them were going to scour the rest of the ship. And that is exactly what they did. Nobody could stop them or manage one hit on them. In an hour, the entire rebel ship was clear of any living pirate.
 
DeWolff and Et`Kal were the first to be treated in the infirmary. The rebels didn’t have the most advanced medical technology so what injuries they couldn’t heal were wrapped in bandages. A tight, white one managed to be wrapped around Et`Kal’s ailing shoulder. Most of the extensive damage was healed with the equipment, but not all of it could be… they had to conserve. This reminded Et`Kal of why she never became a rebel… the death rate was too high.
 
“You don’t bleed like a Vulcan,” The rebel doctor noted at the red blood that started to run through the first bandage.
 
Et`Kal wrinkled her brow as he wrapped the next bandage tighter. “I’m a hybrid,” She grumbled.
 
“Stop your grumbling, I’m almost done. If you’re going to get injured on a rebel ship, you better be prepared for the treatment,” He finished and sent her away.
 
Part VI: Winter
“Don't wanna to close my eyes
Don't wanna fall asleep
'Coz I'd miss you baby
And I don't wanna miss a thing.”
-‘I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,” Aerosmith
 
On the floor of their quarters, Et`Kal was sitting with her head lowered and her fingers running through a tiny mess of water and broken glass. Tiny pieces of what was plastic snow filtered around her finger and then stopped when it reached the dry floor. She picked up the base with the tiny houses cracked on top of it. DeWolff quickly knelt down beside her and took the base from her hand.
 
“Maybe it isn’t so good to live inside a glass globe,” He had softness to his voice that she had only ever heard once before, when he was trying to comfort her in the loss of her cousin, “What do you do when it shatters?”
 
There was a soft quiet in the room for a moment as he placed the base onto the table and stood up. She looked at the broken pieces and felt somewhat of a saddened calm. And yet, something told her that everything was going to be okay.
 
The rest of the mission went off without a hitch. DeWolff went through on his part of the plan and Et`Kal’s friends were given asylum on Empok Nor. Somehow, he even managed to get the Federation liaison to get he and Et`Kal on a ship to return back to Earth.
 
The air at his little Toronto cabin was still frosty with winter. The snow was piled higher on the ground, and since it had never been shoveled or packed down, they waded in knee high snow to get back to the porch. At the railing, they watched the children skating on the still frozen pond, and it seemed as if the children had never stopped playing.
 
“I probably should head back to Vulcan,” Et`Kal said after a small silence in their conversation. Things had grown slightly awkward in their attitudes towards one another. Were they still only crewmates or were they actually friends?
 
“Why?” He looked at her with his breath crystallizing in the air.
 
She looked forward to the children, “Callista will be wanting to see me. Despite everything else, I am still a mother.” A small smile stretched across her face in thought of her daughter.
 
“You sure she isn’t going to be scarred for life?” He said in a joking manner.
 
“Probably,” Et`Kal attempted to move her shoulder that had be injured. Federation doctors managed to finish the healing process on it, but it still ached to move.
 
“Well, wait just for one moment,” DeWolff motioned for her to stay put as he walked into the house for a moment. She gave him a strange look and then walked down onto the steps. A light layer of snow started to fall from the sky. She looked up letting a few flakes land in her eyelashes.
 
In minutes DeWolff came out and sat her down on the porch. He laced a pair of skates around her feet, “DeWolff, I know how to put ice skates on.”
 
“You’ve skated before?” He looked surprised and impressed.
 
She nodded, “Yes, I was introduced to hockey in Star Fleet Academy.”
 
“Well then, let’s get you on a real pond with no walls and no rules,” He pulled her up off of the ground. 
 
“And how are we going to get from here to there in two feet of snow with another foot coming down from the sky?” She brushed flakes away from her face.
 
He grabbed her arms and flung her over his shoulder, “Don’t worry about it.”
 
She screamed in laughter as he pulled them both through the layers of snow down to the pond. She reached out and grabbed a mound of snow with her gloves and formed it into a small ball of snow.
 
“You throw it and I drop you,” He told her and she released it back onto the ground. When they reached the edge of the ice, he set her down onto it and they caught their balance with each other.
 
One of the children skated up to them and stopped, spraying snow at their feet, “Hey Mr. DeWolff, will you be the goalie again for my team?”
 
DeWolff smiled and laughed, “Yes, but why do you want me again?”
 
“Because you’re the greatest goalie ever!” The boy skated away and bragged that DeWolff was going to be their goalie again.
 
“You have the children feeding your ego now?” Et`Kal arched an eyebrow at him.
 
He picked up a goalie stick that had been left on the pond. Et`Kal immediately noticed that it was his own, “They only speak the truth, Admiral.” He flashed a smile at her.
 
DeWolff tossed her a stick that one of the teenagers uses to play on weekends.
 
“We shall see,” Iana smirked and skated to the opposing team. The smaller boys and girls cheered because now they had an adult on their team too. 
 
And so everybody played under the winter snow until the last reaches of the day fell into the snowy night.
 
~Fin~