“Why couldn’t you save your sisters?”  Lieutenant Sadie Fowler wasn’t sure how long she had to live, and the nature of Vocast’s conversational style lacked concrete details.  She had decided to ask whatever questions her terrified mind could come up with.

“The Dominion’s nature was to enslave whatever it could. My sister’s identity was corrupted the moment they turned themselves over to the Jem’Hadar.  They were losing themselves day by day…and their cries began to quiet.  I knew something must be done.”  Vocast searched the skies around them, “Who are you?”

Sadie replied, “I told you.  Lieutenant Sadie Fowler, Federation Starship Douglas.”

The alien woman shook her head softly as if to gently correct her: “Your identity as it relates to your position and starship hasn’t changed. I ask again, who are you?”

Vocast’s eyes had a curious look that Sadie had difficulty ignoring. Something stirred within her, and she blinked as tears crested her eyes. “I’m not sure I understand the question…what did you just do to me?”  A deeply buried emotion strangled Sadie’s voice, and she stepped back from the alien.

The lead science officer stood at her side, “Lieutenant, I think she’s asking what kind of person you are.”  He looked to Vocast, whose lips had curled into a sly smile.  “You’re not playing fair.”

Vocast chortled, “Fair in the eyes of whom?  I dare say you’d be one to speak of fairness.  I’ve only looked into the recent past.  There’s plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise.”

A dark look crossed the man’s face, “You didn’t have my permission to look into my mind.”

“The Federation doesn’t make the rules out here. I do. If you want to open up the rest of your story to your crewmates, keep speaking to me. Otherwise, I wasn’t finished with your Lieutenant Fowler.”  He considered how much truth was in her words and decided to return to the other two of his cohort. “You have chosen wisely,” she turned to Fowler. “The third occasion on which I ask—who are you?”

Sadie had wiped her tears and returned her emotions below the surface.  “You seem to know the answer already.”  A human shrug was the reply from the godlike creature.  “I’m an orphan.  My parents abandoned me when I was born.  I was raised by people who cared to see me succeed.  I latched onto science because it was something I could control and explain.”

Vocast narrowed her eyes, “History is only part of who we are.”

She snapped back, “I’ll give you one thing: you’re a lot like the old gods of Earth history.”  The questioning was pushing up against her nerves, and she could feel some of them near the breaking point.  She replied, “I want to learn everything I can about the universe.  I want to find the unknown, the impossible, the unthinkable…I want to spend the rest of my life searching the stars for everything we don’t understand.” She lamented, “I’ve discovered recently that there’s probably a connection to the unknown part of my history with my family that’s pushed me to find answers to the universe’s great and terrible questions.”  Sadie threw up her hands, “Is that enough?”

Vocast seemed satisfied and asked, “If I let you live…will you let me live?”

Sadie opened her mouth to respond and then closed it again.  The question dumbfounded her.  She wondered,  “What do you mean?”

“You study the unknown. Your science people will want to know more about me, my ways, my means…everything. I know much about you, your ship, and the universe that has stumbled on around me. What I don’t know…is what will happen to me if I choose to let you return to your ship. I have never met a Federation before. I have met many others, but not one of you.  I’ve only known threats in my thousands of years here.”

The science chief scoffed at first and then explained, “Starfleet and the Federation have come a long way…and far away from anybody you’ve met.  We’re explorers and scientists first, seeking to understand what is beyond our knowledge.  A whole book of regulations and processes governs first-contact situations.”

Vocast’s eyes relented in their intensity.  Her stance relaxed slightly, “You will not attempt to cut me apart and dig into my insides?”

Sadie’s eyes went wide, “Is that…what did The Dominion do to your sisters?”

What would pass for tears slid down Vocast’s placid face. “They were relentless.”  The two of them shared a moment of silent reflection. Sadie stepped forward and offered her hands, to which she replied, annoyed, “What is this?”

“We…it’s a human thing.  When someone is mourning a loved one…we will either hug…or express our sympathy by holding hands.  I’m sorry; it seemed like the right thing to do.”  She moved to step away and was surprised when the woman’s frigid hands suddenly grasped onto hers, pulling her closer.

Vocast’s eyes were a cornucopia of emotions. Sadie wasn’t sure what the alien was feeling, but she sensed a lot through the connection they shared in their hands.  Vocast spoke after several minutes had passed, “You…you have always wanted to reach out and feel the warmth of your parents.”  Sadie nodded, unsure of how far down the path she would go.  The alien woman continued, “My sisters were always with me.  We would talk every day and share our stories and our memories.  Our bond was unlike anything you could ever know.  Now, there is silence where there was a…you would call it a symphony.”  Her hands remained grasping Sadie’s, “It would be…nice to have someone to speak to again.”  She searched the skies, “They would send a ship, wouldn’t they?”

Sadie nodded, and her heart connected with the alien in a way she hadn’t expected, “You’ve…been orphaned.”

Vocast’s smile was wholesome as she replied, “There is no word for such a thing in our language.  It is…not something we’re familiar with – being alone.  It is what first caused me to question you.  Something felt…familiar.”

“As big as the universe is…it’s just as small sometimes.”  She offered, “Well, you won’t be alone much longer.  They’ll send a ship…or two to study you and your planet.  You have…a lot of new friends to meet.”

Vocast’s smile widened, “It is good that I did not kill you.”

Sadie laughed out loud and apologized to the startled alien, “It is good you did not kill us. I need to return to my ship—my captain will be very worried and probably angry—but not in that order.”

“I will release the planet’s defenses…, and you may come and go as you need…and talk freely.”

Nearly on cue, Captain Helena Dread’s agitated voice crackled from Sadie’s communication badge: “Lieutenant Fowler, we just got sensors back! What the hell happened?”

Sadie answered, “It’s a long story, captain.”