The door to the observation room hissed open, and two men who absolutely despised each other stepped through. There was Erlic, the current governor of Duraxis, dressed in the fineries of his office, and Voral, the localist hero who was opposing him in the upcoming election. 

Or at least that was what they’d been led to believe. Now, the crew of the Diligent now knew the truth, and it was time to spring the trap.

“Good morning gentlemen,” Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes smiled as she greeted them, flanked on either side by Captain Dorian Vox and Commander Ryan Hunt. The pair stood there stoically, motionless but ready to go for their phasers if the creature so much as made a move. “When we first met, I gave you my word that we would judiciously and expeditiously investigate what took place last week, and I am pleased to now deliver on that.”

Suddenly, security officers began to file into the room, rifles in hand.

“What is this?” Governor Erlic asked, his voice aghast at what he interpreted from what was unfolding around him. Was this a coup? Had Voral been right all along? When he’d ordered Starfleet to leave, had that provoked them to move against him?

“Relax,” Admiral Reyes said calmly to the governor. “They’re not here for you.” In unison, the security officers raised their rifles, leveling them on Voral. “They’re here for him.”

“Excuse me?” Voral asked, feigning ignorance. He knew Starfleet had the Teral brothers in custody, but that didn’t bother him much. He’d wiggle out of that, saying they had framed him, and it would probably just increase his popularity for the upcoming election.

“This man, the one you know as Voral,” Admiral Reyes revealed as she turned her gaze upon the opposition leader. “He’s not actually a resident of Duraxis at all.”

Suddenly, Voral looked nervous, like he might make a move.

“Stay very, very still,” Admiral Reyes cautioned. It was not lost on her that when you backed a cat into a corner, it might lash out at you. “My men, they know what your kind can do. Any sudden movement, and they’ll melt your goo into the bulkhead.”

Now, Voral just glared at her.

“I’m not following,” Erlic interjected, cutting into the middle of whatever the hell was going on. “Mister Voral, while my opponent, is still very much my colleague and a free citizen of Duraxis.” He couldn’t believe he was now defending the vitriolic firebreather, but some things were more important than politics.

“A citizen of Duraxis? No, I very much promise you that he is not,” Admiral Reyes said flatly, her eyes locked on the creature. “This man, this creature, he’s a Changeling from offworld, sent here for reasons that have nothing to do with you or your people.”

“That’s a lie!” Voral turned towards the governor, making his appeal. “Can’t you see it, Erlic? This is all just a ruse, another ploy by Starfleet to divide us.”

The governor looked uncertain. Who could he believe? His opponent, a man he despised to his core? Or these offworlders, the ones who’d poisoned their youth and almost turned their colony into a crater?

“He’s responsible for everything that’s happened down there. The mishaps. The meltdown. The murders,” Admiral Reyes insisted firmly. “All of it. We have proof.” She then looked back at the creature. “As for his origins, there are scientific tests that can demonstrate what we are saying is true.”

Voral snapped straight back at her: “Your tests. Your science. Science you can rig. Results you can fake. They don’t mean a thing!”

“Alright, let’s try this another way then,” Admiral Reyes said with a cruel smile as she reached behind her back, unsheathing a knife concealed in her jacket. “How about I take your arm, and then we can see if it turns to goo?”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Voral gasped, caught off guard how this had turned into what was more akin to the sort of affair you’d expect in the Great Hall on Q’onoS.

“Oh, I most certainly would,” Admiral Reyes warned, her eyes growing dark as she took a step forward, her eyes locked on him. “After all your kind did to us, it might almost be therapeutic.”

Voral turned towards the security officers. “Do you see this?” he asked. “Your admiral, she’s gone mad! This isn’t how you do things! I have rights!”

But they just stood there, unmoved, their rifles still trained on him.

“You’re not really going to let her do this, are you?”

“Oh, they most certainly will,” Admiral Reyes cautioned, the blade twinkling in the light as she took another step towards him. “No one here will come to your aid. Not after what you did to us on Frontier Day.” She’d been there, aboard Sol Station, watching as her men stepped over the bodies of their comrades, only to be felled themselves.

“And after Deneb,” Captain Vox added, his voice as sharp as her blade. This ship, and nearly everyone in this room, had been there over Nasera in that desperate battle. This was personal to them. They’d lost nearly a thousand of their friends and colleagues on that sordid day.

“And the War,” Commander Hunt closed, darkness awash across his face. He’d been just a fresh young graduate in 2373 when he was pressed into service. The things he saw on the line, those traumas had never left him.

Governor Erlic could see the conviction in the eyes of all those around him, the eyes of a ship apparently gone mad. He turned towards Voral. “Is what they’re saying true?”

Voral just stood there silently.

“Can we all slow down for just a moment? I’m just having a hard time believing this…” the governor stammered. It was a lot to take in. “A Changeling? Here on Duraxis? Why?”

That, Admiral Reyes didn’t know. But she’d find out, she knew, once she had her way with the creature. For now though, she knew it best to keep the governor focused on the facts, so she redirected his question: “Tell me, governor. When you realized Voral would be your opponent, did you ever conduct any opposition research?”

“I did.”

“And what did you find?”

“Nothing. He just sort of…”

And suddenly, Voral began to shift his form. Admiral Reyes saw her security team tighten up, ready to fire, but the creature didn’t lash out. Instead, it just took on a more natural form, one everyone in the room recognized. That of a Founder. 

“This isn’t over,” the creature snarled.

“Actually, yes, it is,” Admiral Reyes smiled as the door hissed open and Commander Drake stepped through. “It’s all yours, Robert.”