The hum of the old Cardassian systems had become more steady as the away team worked. Lieutenant Garion Beckett toiled away at an auxiliary console, trying to connect the terminals along the outer wall to the main terminal they had been using to download and decipher data. As he made a connection, sparks rained down from an overhead conduit, and the lights dimmed for a second. Lieutenant Tom Sargent and Lieutenant Commander Vail O’Donnell stood anxiously by the door, where they had heard bursts of phaser fire from somewhere deeper in the mines. 

“There you go.” Garion said, straightening up and clapping his hands together, “You should have access to the rest of the files now.”

Lieutenant Commander Craig Cruikshank was standing at the main terminal, his brow furrowed with effort as his fingers danced across the terminal’s surface with a growing urgency. The sweat was beading on his brow as he worked, accessing and re-accessing old Cardassian files, which were a jumbled mess of misdirects and false leads. He had sworn that on five separate occasions, the files he had selected had taken him to the same destination, which turned out to be a recipe for Cardassian Borscht. 

He heaved a great sigh of relief. “I think I’ve got something,” he said finally. A holographic display sputtered to life in front of him, showing a tangled mess of Cardassian glyphs interspersed with images of DNA strands and anatomical schematics. The word EPSILON pulsed slowly in blood red letters at the top of the display. “It’s encrypted, but I’ve cracked a layer. Audio Logs, research memos… this is some twisted shit.”

Garion shot him a look, then his eyes darted to the cloudy glass walls of the containment cell. “Twisted… how?” He asked slowly. 

Craig tapped some more buttons on the console. “Well, the research says initially they were trying to find a way to survive without atmosphere, but digging deeper…” he paused, pulling up more files. “It’s like they were building biological saboteurs that didn’t need suits or ships. They were being genetically adapted to survive the vacuum of space. Hardened skin, claws that could tear hull plating, even internal oxygen cycling.” He pointed to a grainy video of an elongated humanoid body drifting through space outside a frigate, then springing to life and forcing its way through a maintenance access. “They were meant to be deployed, like munitions.”

“Oh, Starfleet is gonna love this.” Garion muttered. 

“We’ve gotta get this information back to the ship.” Craig said, closing the holographic display. 

Garion nodded. “Prep the transfer, I’ll pull the isolinear chips.” The pair moved quickly and methodically, but there was a tension building in the room that no one could explain. Vail left her post by the door, and crossed the room slowly to the containment cell to look inside at the figure still lying on the floor, unmoving. She placed her hand on the glass, and the creature’s head whipped around suddenly, gazing at Vail with intense, dark eyes. Her hand snapped off the glass at once. 

“Craig?…” she said, her voice uneven as she stepped backwards. 

He turned to look into the cell, and the thing’s eyes landed on him, then seemed to focus, just for a second. Its lips parted, and in a hoarse whisper made even more eerie through the distortion of the intercom, it said:

“I remember…snow…”

Then fell silent once again.

Craig looked from it, to Vail, then to the rest of the team. “It wasn’t supposed to be alive,” he said, softly. 

The sound of bootfalls echoing down the corridor pulled everyone’s attention away from the cell. Bema came through the door, half carrying, half dragging Dathasa inside, his EVA suit was streaked with dust and blood. She was pale, with a deep gash along her ribs, soaking her EVA suit with dark green blood, and her breathing was ragged. 

“Medical Kit, Now!” Bema shouted as he crossed the threshold into the room, but Vail was already moving. She snatched the kit from the floor, and bolted across the room to the biobed, meeting the pair there. 

Dathasa didn’t whimper or cry out in pain, but the grimace on her face and the tightness of her jaw told the story just as well. She eased herself down onto the bed’s surface, one hand still gripping tightly to Bema’s wrist, until she swung both of her legs up onto the bed and finally allowed the pain  to override her instinct, and her body sagged back. 

“What the hell happened out there?” Vail asked, scanning Dathasa’s side with a tricorder.

She pushed Bema out of the way to get to the med kit, where she withdrew a hypospray and pressed it to Dathasa’s neck with a small hiss. Dathasa’s face, which had been screwed up with pain, suddenly relaxed as the sedation took hold. 

“The thing ambushed us.” Bema said, watching Vail cut away the ruined cloth from the wound. “Dropped on us from the roof. It moved fast too. The thing was on her before she could even get a shot off.”

Craig looked up from his console. “Did you kill it?”

Bema nodded once. “Three to the chest, one to the head.” He looked over at Dathasa, lying sedated on the table. “I had to. It would have killed her if I hadn’t.”

Garion had moved closer, but kept one eye on the intact cell. “With that one gone…” he gestured towards the cell, “That makes this one our only remaining subject.” 

Bema’s hand moved for the rifle at his side, and he turned to face the group. “Whatever happened here, we need to make sure it stays here,” he said. “We need to get whatever data we can, and seal this place for good.” 

Craig moved from behind the console, “I don’t think it’s going to be that simple,” he said, moving in front of the sealed containment cell. “This one spoke.”

“What do you mean, it spoke?” Bema asked him, his eyes narrowing.

“It spoke.” Craig replied, pleadingly. “Said words. Comprehensive words, like it was trying to remember something.”

Garion folded his arms across his chest, nodding to the cell. “That thing isn’t stable. There is no reason to believe it understands or comprehends anything. I say we leave it right here. Or, put the thing down now, while we have the chance.”

Vail looked up from the biobed to glare at Garion. “Is that what we do now? Kill something because it makes us nervous?”

Garion stared at her in disbelief. “Look down at what you’re doing! Look at what the other one did to Dathasa!”

“This one is sedated.” Craig said softly, like he was trying to diffuse the tension. “I think he was trying to remember who he was before the experiments.”

Bema gave him a doubtful look. “He?” 

“The records indicate this one was male at one point, yes. Romulan, based on the facial features, but the files are partially corrupted.”

“And if he’s still in there somewhere,” Vail said putting the finishing touches on Dathasa’s bandages, “Then this isn’t a creature, it’s a person, and a victim of a war crime.”

“And you want to bring it on a ship with two hundred people on board? After seeing this?” Garion asked, motioning to Dathasa’s sleeping, bandaged form on the biobed. 

“I trust our containment protocols.” Vail responded, “and our medical teams.”

“Well I don’t trust this thing.” Garion replied. “And I think this is a mistake.” 

Bema spoke up for the first time in a long while. “Here’s what’s going to happen.” His voice was calm, but firm. “She needs the sick bay. We need to get these records back to the ship. We’ll ask the Captain what should be done about the remaining subject. Vail, you go with Dathasa. The rest of us will take the shuttle back.” He tapped his Combadge. “Away team to Erikson.” 

Go ahead, Commander.

“I have two to beam directly to sick bay.”

Affirmative, Commander. Please stand by.

The familiar strobing lights of the transporter enveloped Vail and Dathasa, who soon vanished. Once they were gone, the remaining team members set about gathering their supplies. Craig finished the download of the Cardassian files while Garion, a little against his will, ensured the containment cell was sufficiently powered enough to keep the creature alive for the foreseeable future. They trudged back to the Orpheus and lifted off, headed back into orbit and the waiting Leif Erikson. 

Scott stood by the viewport in his ready room, his arms folded behind his back and his eyes on the barren, dead planet below them. The door chimed. “Come in,” he said, turning around. The door slid open, and Commander Saberwyn walked through the door, followed by Craig and Doctor M’Ress. “Alright,” Scott said, taking his seat behind his desk, “Let’s hear it.”

“We encountered something on the surface, Captain.” Bema began. “A survivor, per se, but not from the Winslow. According to the records Craig decrypted, he was a Cardassian citizen, and they were experimenting on him, something called ‘Project Epsilon’.”

“And you brought this thing aboard my ship?” Scott asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No Sir.” Craig said quickly, “It is still contained in the lab below, but I don’t believe we should leave it there, after everything we’ve learned.” He gave Scott a pleading look. “It’s not entirely stable. The things they did to it have affected it mentally, but it speaks. It tries to remember things.”

The Doctor moved forward now, placing his hands on Scott’s desk. “Scott, I’ve seen the research Craig brought back. Whatever plans the Cardassians had for it, don’t really matter now. It may be confused, and frightened but it is still a sentient being.”

Scott looked from one to the other, then focused on Bema. “You said a survivor. Singular.”

“There were two,” Bema explained, “But one escaped containment. It attacked us— badly injured Dathasa. I had to kill it.”

Silence fell on the room. Scott clenched and unclenched his jaw, like he was chewing on his feelings. He ran a hand over his smooth scalp, the way he always did when he was frustrated. “So you want me,” He started, steadying his voice, “to authorize the transfer of a genetically engineered Cardassian bio-weapon onto my ship, into my sickbay?”

Sriarr didn’t flinch. “Yes, Captain.” he said in a matter of fact tone. 

Craig spoke up again. “If we are going to understand what went on here, we need to study it, Captain.”

Scott exhaled slowly. “I suppose I don’t have to ask if you understand the risks involved. If this thing becomes violent, and lashes out?” He asked, leaning back into his chair. 

“We can assign round-the-clock security, Captain.” Bema said, “Well make no assumptions about this thing.” 

Scott levelled his gaze on Bema, his eyes cold and serious. “Do you trust this plan?” he asked.

“I trust our people, Captain.” Bema replied. 

Scott stared at the surface for his desk for a moment, letting the silence of the room wash over him. After a long pause, he spoke. “Bring it aboard, straight to medical. I want full scans, containment protocols, and a security perimeter. If this thing even looks like it wants to get out, you put it down, understood?” He said, tapping the desktop with his pointer finger. The trio of officers nodded. Scott lowered his voice. “And keep this quiet. No general access to the information until I say so.”

“Aye, Captain.” Bema said, and the three men made their way to the door. 

“One more thing.” Scott said to their backs, causing them to turn around. “If this thing does become a threat? I want it put down, no hesitation. I will not have it loose on my ship.”

The sickbay lights were dimmed as the door opened to allow Scott into the room. The biomonitors hummed softly, casting pale blue light over Dathasa’s still form. She was lying on the biobed, bandages covering her side and shoulder where the creature had clawed and bitten through her armor. Her breathing was steady now, slower. The worst of it had passed. Scott stood watching her for a moment. Her hair spilled loosely around her head, and there was a bruise under her left eye, already healing with the regenerative treatments. 

Scott stepped further into the room, and Dathasa’s eyes opened, as if she had felt him coming. “You are terrible at sneaking up on people.” She murmured with a smile. 

“I’ll work on it.” He replied, giving her a small smile of her own. 

She shifted her body to sit up slightly, grimacing. “Do you always look like that when someone gets hurt?”

“When it’s someone I care about, yea.” he replied. 

She held his gaze for a moment, then her eyes dropped to the dark grey blanket covering her legs. “I should have seen it coming.” she said thickly, “Heard it sooner. I was too focused on the tracks.”

Scott shook his head. “Don’t do that, you were following your instincts. That’s what I trust you to do.”

“No,” she said, her head shaking slowly. “Bema was right, I was looking for a fight.”

“The thing attacked you, Dath.” Scott said, sitting gently on the edge of the bed. “It could have killed you.”

“It was terrified.” she said firmly. “It lashed out because it didn’t understand… and so did I.”

Scott hesitated for a moment, then he gently took her hand. “You’ve lived most of your life fighting, Dath. You don’t need to apologize for that.”

Her fingers curled into his. “The craziest part is, I didn’t expect to feel this way. With everything I’ve gone through, the idea that I could even feel sorry for something like that…”

“Means you’re changing.” Scott said softly. 

She looked up at him finally, her eyes full of vulnerability. “Is that a good thing?”

“It means you’re not alone anymore,” he replied. “And it means you’re not a weapon, even if they trained you to be one.” Dathasa didn’t respond, but her grip on his hand tightened. Scott stayed there, unmoving, an anchor point to the present just by being there. 

She smiled up at him. “You’re good at this, you know.” 

“Good at what?”

“Being calm. Saying what I need to hear.”

Scott leaned in closer to her. “Well don’t spread it around. The whole ship will want me comforting them.” She chuckled once, sharp and short, then winced with pain. 

“Okay, you’re definitely on light duty.” he said, straightening up. 

She rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, Captain.” 

He bent down to kiss her on the forehead. “You rest. There’ll be plenty of galaxy left to save when you’re healed.” He turned and left her bedside, heading for the door. She watched him leave, her eyes lingering on the door after he had gone. She laid herself gingerly back down onto the biobed, closed her eyes and fell into an easy sleep.