<USS Avalon> "My Heart Leads Me Astray" Pt. 6

?My Heart Leads Me Astray? ? Part Six
by Ensign Evan Benevente



Warning!

This log has elements of graphic and brutal nature, be advised! Continue reading at your own discretion


Evan stared at his console, running continuous scans of the region. Garen had ordered him to be the lookout. Evan was forced to sit at a console and watch for any Cardassian ships that might pick up any distress calls. Garen had made sure that all Cardassian ships had left orbit before they raided. And then the group had six ships surrounding the planet and supporting a dampening field, making all transmissions bounce back at the point of sending.

They beamed Hayden?s body to the headquarters of the biggest city, and detonated it. The Cardassians began to panic, small assault crafts lifted from the surface, but the Maquis? atmospheric mines that had been placed in the atmosphere soon rendered the Cardassian?s engines, shields, weapons, and life support systems useless and they silently died in space. Garen had wanted Evan on his assault squad. Evan was the guard; he was to watch the scientists as they decrypted the main computer. What it was for is what Evan didn?t know, but he dared not ask.

The scientists worked frantically at the consoles, Garen had whispered to one and then left the room. Garen had silently given each an order, the one he?d last spoke to was to find the military strategies that the Cardassians had employed. The scientists worked furiously, that much was obvious, but every time that they thought they had gotten somewhere an error popped up and they were booted from the system. Then they had to backtrack and go through all the files and the codes that they had just gone through.

Three Cardassians entered the room and aimed their compression rifles at the entourage that were attempting to hack the system. A grim look had crossed all of their faces, but it was Evan who made the first move. ?Get down!? He yelled as the scientists dove down behind the consoles. Evan fired a couple of shots, forcing the Cardassians to find cover. He flipped open his communicator and radioed for help, ?Benevente to Muln, we are pinned down in the main computer core, we need assistance.?

?On our way,? Muln?s voice echoed throughout the room from the open communicator.

Then new Maquis fired some more shots, grazing the lead Cardassians, and three more entered. Six Cardassians armed, to four Maquis one armed; hardly fair odds. Evan fired some more, missing them, but forcing them to stop their fire and dodge whatever was coming their way. Muln entered, his three guards following, they lit up all six Cardassians in a couple of seconds for they had entered from behind ? a surprise tactic.

?Nice timing, I thought we would end up being Cardassian-fried Critters.? Evan said as he stood to his feet, brushing the dust from his now tattered pants. ?They have just about got the core, we should head back to the shuttles and get out of here.?

?What?s the hurry? We took them by surprise, it will take them several hours to mount any type of resistance.? Garen?s mouth twisted into an unsettling and almost evil grin, but for the first time a look like that didn?t rattle Evan ? he was growing immune to such atrocity.

?All the more reason to get whatever we need and get out.? Evan lowered his compression rifle.

A sound came; a high-pitched beep, and Garen removed a communicator from his pocket and opened it. ?Muln.?

?Garen, we have detected four Keldon-Class cruisers heading this way. Their weapons and shields are up and armed.?

Garen looked at Evan and then looked at the remaining scientists downloading the last of the required information and then looked back at Evan while talking into his communicator, ?All right, we?re on our way back to the shuttles, prepare all docking bays to be filled within the next twenty minutes. How long until they get here??

?Forty-five minutes, maybe an hour, we can?t tell at this point.? The voice responded efficiently.

?On our way,? he closed his communicator and began walking towards the door, but Evan interjected.

?Garen, why don?t we just transport??

?The shuttles took fire as they hovered over the city, they were forced to put down in an open field about half a kilometer from here, they are holding there, firing at all opposing forces. Get those scientists some phasers, we?re fighting our way there.? Garen tossed a phaser to a nearby scientist then disappeared into the corridor beyond.


***** ***** *****


The group walked out into the open air, the sun blazing above them. Evan looked out and saw many Cardassian people, standing with rifles, aiming in their direction. They all formed a line in the street, hiding behind overturned displays and carts. Garen motioned with one hand and the two men behind the Maquis both pulled out a long cannon-like object.

?Fire when ready.?

The man fired the bomb, it flew over our heads, impacting the street and sent a shower of flames and smoke back towards us. Evan heard screaming and his stomach lurched, they walked through the smoke and saw Cardassians lying about, scarred and burnt. The plasma in the explosive had bonded to their skin and had melted it away into oblivion. The bodies were so horribly mangled that one couldn?t recognize or distinguish one from the next. Garen kicked a couple and shot a couple while they trudged by.

A group of Cardassian women waited outside what looked like a hospital. Garen raised his rifle, but Evan put his hand on it, keeping it pointed to the ground. ?Garen, I know that you harbor resentment towards these people, but the children deserve to live, they shouldn?t be punished for what their parents have done. And the women, for crying out loud, we are men and we are bigger than that. Let?s get to the shuttles, before they leave without us.?

Garen drew out his communicator again, ?Laura, are you there??

Laura?s voice echoed over the communicator, ?Yes, Garen, what do you need??

?Where is your squad??

?About two minutes from you, three streets down, why??

?Get here as soon as you can, OK??

?Coming now?? Her voice cut off and he shoved the communicator back into his tunic, not once losing his gaze on the Cardassian women who were staring just as rudely back at him. Laura?s group of six women emerged from an alleyway, they all held phaser compression rifles and walked to Garen.

?You needed us?? Garen pulled her aside and whispered something in her ear and then walked past a bewildered Evan, heading for the shuttles. Evan reluctantly followed, staring back at Laura and her group.

They were about sixty feet from Laura?s group when he heard her holler, ?Take aim!? He turned to see that all her women had surrounded the Cardassian women. Evan gasped and sprinted back towards Laura. He was too late and his legs couldn?t carry him any faster, ?FIRE!? She screamed and the group lit the Cardassian women up, their faces twisted in agony and pain as they fell beside each other, scarred and burnt from the firing.

Evan reached Laura and tackled her to the ground, nearly crying in rage. ?What the hell are you doing??

?Following orders?sir.?

?Orders?! Who gave?? He turned to see Garen Muln, staring at the rotting corpses, a smile spread across his face. Evan stood and faced him, ?Have we fallen from our morals and been forced to cold-blooded killing? Did they really have to die??

He nodded at me, ?Yes, they did have to die.?

?Why??

?Still thinking like a Starfleet Officer. Most of the people here, look at them, they all have lost someone to the Cardassians, if we don?t find Michelle, you will be one of them.? He said as he pointed around the group of people, ?They have all suffered or lost someone because of these people, and now we get to get them back. Revenge is a dish best served cold, if I?m current with Klingon phrasing.?

?This is more than petty revenge, Garen, that was a massacre.?

?No, that was judgment.?

?Judgment? Listen to yourself! You aren?t a judge, and who says that any of those people had anything to do with the killing or torturing of these people?s families or loved ones? You didn?t have proof! You say that they?re heartless monsters, this makes you no better than that.? Evan was brooding, and his anger was bubbling higher and higher, he couldn?t take much more.

Garen stared at him, ?We don?t need proof, Evan, we need reason and I had it.?

A Cardassian woman seemed to move and gasp for air and spoke, shattering the tense moment with her words, ?I am with?child, please?don?t hurt the baby?please?I want it to be born.?

Garen looked at her and curled his lip, ?Another Cardassian that could come into this world, and you expect me to let that happen?? He held the phaser rifle to her stomach and she screamed as he pulled the trigger. The burn fused and sizzled as she began to seize uncontrollably, she tossed and turned, eventually lying motionless like the others that had encircled her. ?Let?s get to the shuttles.?


***** ***** *****


On the ride back to the shelter Evan analyzed all of the people onboard. Each person he ran over and scanned making sure that he knew who they really were. Evan was freaked out and he didn?t know which way to go, or where to go if he had a direction to follow. He needed help, but they monitored all transmissions. And then a commotion came about; two men had begun to bicker over food and started swinging fists. Naturally, Evan took the initiative to break it up.

He stepped between the two, pushing them back, ?You two, break it up now.?

One took a swing at him, planting him under the chin and knocking him to the floor. Evan was pissed, and now he was bleeding from the mouth. Evan stood up, planting both of the men with a punch to the gut, and then laid his knee in their faces, knocking them both down. Garen emerged from the corridor with a phaser rifle.

?Break it up, all three of you. Benevente, did you try to stop this??

?Yes, sir.?

?Is this true?? Garen motioned to one of the other recovering men. He shook his head and raised his rifle to Evan?s chest. Evan stepped back, ready to defend himself, but Maquis people surrounded him on all sides. They looked at him and then a woman motioned to Garen. She talked into his ear, Garen nodded occasionally and looked from Evan to the other two guys. He stepped back to the center and pointed the rifle at Evan?s chest again and spoke. ?This rifle is set to demolecularize anything it comes in contact with.?

The one who had started the fight swallowed hard, Garen turned and vaporized him in front of all the people. Some winced, others dove away, and others began to gasp because of the brutality at the loss of a loved one. The other man, the one who had punched Evan, dove into Garen knocking the rifle to the floor. ?Grab him!? Garen screamed as he fell backwards into a carton of clothing they had smuggled away.

Men from all around the circle grabbed the man and pulled him up. Garen got up and punched him a few times in the gut. ?Put him in a space suit and get him in the airlock.? He motioned to the corridor, ?Benevente, meet me on the bridge.?

?Aye, sir.? He walked away as they dragged the man, kicking and screaming, down an opposite hallway. He was screaming, seeming to know what his punishment was. Evan walked drearily behind Garen, who was smiling brightly as the people he walked passed. Many people nodded and almost bowed to him as he walked by. The duo got to the bridge, Evan was curious so he inquired, ?What are we doing, sir??

?Evan, for the last time call me Garen. Sir is for Starfleet pricks.? He looked at the young man, knowing him to be a Starfleet officer at heart. ?We have loaded our buddy, Janon, into an airlock. He is fitted with an air pack and will be released into space. He has three days of oxygen and has been told that we will be back in one to pick him up.

?But?? Evan caught the tone in his voice and asked the question.

?Watch.? Garen pressed a couple buttons and a figure floated into view of the bridge, it was the man that was in the fight. Garen tapped some more consoles and Evan noticed he had activated weapons.

?What are you doing??

?Watch.? Garen repeated as he pressed a series of buttons. He had activated a space mine, activated by the proximity to any object. Garen ejected the mine, and it floated towards Janon. Garen smiled and activated the comlink to the rest of the ship. ?This is Garen Muln, we all have been briefed on the vital fact that we need to get along. We don?t need people fighting each other. Mr. Janon has proven that he can?t follow those restraints; Mr. Tinn has already met his fate. Mr. Janon is going to die. If you wish to watch this finale to his life, watch out the port side of the ship.?

Evan surged forward, knocking Garen from in front of the console, he tractored the mine and pulled it back towards the ship and transported the man to the safety of the cargo holds. Garen sweeped Evan?s legs, and then busted his head against the steel grating on the floor. Evan winced in agony. Garen bent down, gazing at me, ?If you ever do that again, you will be on the receiving end of that display. I will allow Mr. Janon to live this once, but you?ve been warned Mr. Benevente.?

Evan spit at him, ?That was almost murder.?

?Hard justice, I?d like to think.? Garen scoffed and then kicked Evan in the face, drawing more blood from his nose than the shot from Mr. Janon.

He walked from the room and a woman came over to him, helping him to his feet. ?My name is Jara. I?m Garen?s assistant.?

?Good, can you tell me what the hell is his problem??

?Sorry, sir, there aren?t enough seconds in a day to tell you all that.? She smiled and started to wipe the blood from his nose, she was a mild mannered person and had a gentle touch.

?Why is he so violent??

Jara sighed, ?His family was massacred by Cardassian mercenaries. His father was a prime leader of the Maquis, and the Cardassians had his whole family murdered. He was off-world when it happened, and now he has a drive for vengeance.?

?He is the most violent person I have seen.?

She shrugged and looked Evan in the eyes, ?He is very good to us. He hardly kills anyone.?

?Hardly?? He has assassinated three people in two days. And countless other Cardassian women and children by his command, that?s a fetish.? Evan stood up and walked around the bridge, gazing at the controls.

?He has a lot of anger, I don?t doubt that,? Jara agreed finally, ?but he is dedicated. The Maquis are a fragile coalition of people. If we start fighting amongst ourselves, we will eventually destroy ourselves. If we don?t properly punish people for fighting, what can we do to stop all the others from fighting? We aren?t blessed with having never-ending supplies of people from Starfleet Academy. We get what we get, and we can?t have the burden of having to discipline each person. You have to go with the flow, you get it??

Evan nodded as she smiled and walked away down the corridor and disappeared around the corner. He looked after her and thought that this was the oddest place he?d ever been. Evan walked down the hallway and he smiled, not knowing that he did. Garen did have an enormous burden to carry, and he also had to keep people in line. And Jara was right; they didn?t have the blessing of Starfleet Academy to continually get people.

Maybe Evan needed to look at his motives in a different light, maybe he was doing the best he could, and maybe he was looking for the best way out of things. There was a lot more to him than Evan figured.

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