“Obedience and resignation are our personal offerings upon the altar of duty.”

Hosea Ballou (1828)

As he attempted to push through the ever shifting submergence of bodies that thronged the narrow byways and switchbacks of the Agora, Commander Daniel Talland was struck not only by the cacophony of a thousand convergent alien dialects that provided a background thrum (occasionally punctuated by the strident exhortation of a merchant touting their wares), nor the mélange of scent and sensation particular to a cornucopia of different foods being prepared at tiny street-vendors or the shimmering pheromonic clouds of drug – spice issuing in lurid puffs of color from the Shisha jealously guarded by narrow eyed intransient dwellers, pressed into dank alcoves.

It was not an impression singularly formed from the communal heat or confusion of stench of the many races crowding the ever – changing street bazaar (instinctive navigation becoming impossible when the ships that housed the ‘streets’ were subject to frequent change and departure – whole pathways and places of congregation here one day and just gone the next), nor the garish neon – glare or the oppressive wash of competing forms of music amplified to crescendo.

The aspect of this glorious and teeming, chaotic kaleidoscope of peoples and culture that struck the new CO of the USS Valley Forge was that (somehow), this vast sprawl had managed to be contained in a labyrinthine weave of ships corridors, maintenance spaces and cargo bays.

To experience the Agora, was to experience the universe (this one anyway) in microcosm and the sensation was, quite simply, overwhelming.

As he attempted to press through the ever-changing pathways opening and closing in the crowd, intent on finding this quarry, Daniel found it hard not to be caught up with the sense of deinvidualtion that was an inevitable impression of the universality of behavior, a condition where the  increase in magnitude with size of the crowd  imparted a sense of lack or loss of responsibility – as you became part of something larger.

He found himself wondering if Deassomi Dai had succumbed to factors such as anonymity, group unity, and arousal that could weaken personal controls by distancing people from herself, from personal identity and thus reducing her concern for her duties as a Starfleet Officer?

Had Lieutenant Commander Dai really gone AWOL?

Troubled by this train of thought, Talland pressed on – a stranger in a strange land.

Presently the crowd parted sufficiently to afford a partial glimpse of a rickety bodega that seemed to have evolved organically up between the outlets of an Co2 Scrubber inlet and a janky looking Benzite Junker, who was enthusiastically arguing over the barter – price of a worn – out looking item of scrap with a drooping Edosian who was waving a tangle of multiple limbs in a half – hearted show of brash haggling.

There, sat on a discarded cargo container that served as both seat and table, was the USS Valley Forge’s Chief Science Officer, clad in rugged civilian attire, deeply immersed in conversation in the company of another woman.

As Daniel managed to extricate himself from the compulsion of the ever – moving crowd, he approached the pair and was greeted by a narrow glare from Lieutenant – Commander Dai’s dark eyes that did not exactly telegraph convivial welcome and she put her hand on that of the other in a gesture that might be intimate and whispered something in the other woman’s ear.

The woman (who Daniel correctly surmised was another Betazoid, by virtue of her black – iris’s) nodded demurely and rose, giving the approaching Daniel her own, unfathomable look, then she returned to the small, cramped & steaming kitchen alcove out back and diplomatically passed out of earshot.

Wondering why he felt such trepidation, Commander Talland approached and greeted Deasommi with a tentative smile.

“Sorry to interrupt, you seem to have found another friend.”

Deasommi Dai gave the XO a particularly flat look, her shorn head angling up from her vantage from the crate and she replied in a neutral tone.

“What do you want Daniel?”

Daniel was found himself consecutively taken aback, dumbfounded and (whilst he was still seeking to extricate and unravel these emotions) quickly overcome by an instinctive rush of sudden anger.

“What do I want?” Talland’s studied bonhomie drained from his eyes, as the frustration and exhaustion of the past few days boiled over and he lost his reserve.

“What I want to know, Lieutenant Commander, is why you are not in uniform and have not yet reported back aboard the Valley Forge for duty !!!” he accused.

As oblivious to the tempest of his anger as a rock anchored against the storm, as a telepath Deasommi regarded her superior with full knowledge of his emotive state and the drivers that had brought it to the fore, but she paid this no heed.

“It’s quite simple, Commander.” She shrugged and tossed something down on the crate and spoke.

“I resign.”

Her Commbadge eventually clattered to a halt atop the crate, coming to rest against a fork.

Despite the pressure of voices clamoring in the small space, Daniel seemed only to hear that one statement and was incredulous.

“I…What?” He stammered, his anger suddenly dissipating into abject confusion. “What do you mean, ‘you resign’ ?!”

Deasommi sighed. She knew this had been unlikely to be easy, but her habitual irascible behavior left her ill – equipped to express herself emotionally and her pride ensured that she did not enjoy having to explain herself to others.

“I mean, that I am resigning my commission in Starfleet, Daniel, that what ‘resignation’ means.”

Daniel couldn’t comprehend what was going on? Before Hull – 3185 had absconded with the CSO and Chief Engineer, for all intents & purposes, Lieutenant Commander Dai had been a solid and dependable member of the crew of the USS Valley Forge. Since her rescue and return, Daniel just didn’t know who she was anymore.

“But you can’t resign, Deassomi !” Talland protested helplessly – his anger giving way to confusion once more.

“The Captain’s been captured; we’re stranded in an alternate reality and you’re the Second Officer for gods – sake! What could possibly compel you to abandon your post at a time like this !?”

Deassomi winced at this last statement and looked regretful for a moment.

She reached down to her plate and took up a portion of wrapped dark yellow leaves with rich purple veins.

“Do you know what this is Commander?” She asked in a distant voice.

Again, Daniel was brought up short by the unexpected nature of the question.

“It’s a leaf…. food of some sort…but.”

“It’s Oskoid .” She whispered in a voice that suddenly conveyed pain and when she looked up at him, there were bitter tears beginning to well in her eyes.

“My mother used to make it for me as a child. It contains a sap which keeps it warm. I remember the warmth of it in my pocket when I used to walk to school.” A sad smile crept across her face at the distant memory.

Suddenly Daniel was unsure of what to say, so he stood in mute silence as the Betazoid continued.

She looked around the pitiful excuse for a Bodega, crammed into the narrow throughput of an intersection of corridor and wiped a tear from her eye.

“This is probably the only place anywhere in this universe where you can find Oskoid anymore, Daniel.” She turned the small morsel over in her slim fingers, like it was suddenly the most precious thing in her entire world.

“And do you why that is?” A hard edge had crept into her voice.

“No.” Commander Talland managed but had a horrible inkling of where this was heading.

“Because there is no Betazed anymore.” The bitterness of her tone stunned him.

“There’s no Betazed anymore and no Betazoid people. The Terran Empire eradicated them all in their unholy crusade of xenophobia and hatred. Trillions of lives just snuffed out in an instant and for what? Because they were different!”

Daniel dropped to his knees and made to take her hand in comfort, but she brushed him away.

“Oh Deassomi, I’m so sorry!” he was mortified and saw that his friend was in terrible pain but was powerless to help her.

“What do you say, when you suddenly find yourself an endangered species? “The bald – headed Betazoid woman laughed a broken laugh, tipping her head back and trying to wipe away her tears with a choked voice.

Talland’s face was severe and sombre. Everything about this Mirror Universe was inverted and twisted – pain seemed the only commodity that was a universal constant in this hateful realm.

” I can’t even imagine what it must be like to go through something as traumatic as this, I really can’t.” He commiserated. “But if what you say is true and Betazed is gone, then there’s really no point in your staying here. You should come back to the Valley- Forge, rescue Captain Hyland and help us return to our own Universe, to a future where you and your culture still thrive!”

The scientist finally put her hand on her superior’s shoulder and smiled sadly.

“I appreciate your word and sentiment, Daniel, I really do – but even in a place as wretched as this, the power of hope still remains.”

Daniel rose and joined her on the weathered old crate as Deassomi re-arranged the plates to make room.

“At the danger of sounding like a broken recording, I’m not sure that I understand?” he frowned.

Deassomi sighed heavily and managed a weak smile.

“I can’t blame you for that, at least.” She gestured in the direction of the kitchen.

“When I arrived in this place, my only thoughts were to honor and duty and the desire to rejoin my crew.” She explained, “Then I met Kestrah and that changed everything.”

Daniel regarded the place – setting of battered tin plates and cracked mugs and ventured.

“So, you fell in love?! That’s why you want to stay?”

At this, the Betazoid laughed genuinely, but still with sadness.

“Would that it was that simple.” She shrugged, “No Daniel, I intend to resign my commission and remain here in this forsaken realm because, until my arrival, Kestrah was the last known Betazoid in this entire universe!”

The implications of this fell heavily upon Daniel, he looked at her – speechless once more.

Deassomi laughed tensely and smiled.

“I know right! It’s not every day that you discovered that you have to become the mother of an entire species!”

“So, you can see, Commander, when I realized the implications & obligations of the bond that Kestrah and I share, of our uniqueness in this place and our potential to sustain the legacy of our entire race…well I hope you can see that resignation is the only course I could be resigned to?”

Daniel blew out his cheeks and laid his hands on his thighs.

“That’s…. a lot to take in.” He agreed.

“Tell me about it.” Deassomi nodded dryly.

“But how will you and she….?” Commander Talland began, not quite sure of how to end that question.

“Have a child without a man?” She grinned, enjoying his sudden awkwardness. “Probably the same way that I had my daughter with my ex – wife, Erfani, back in our ‘Prime Universe’ Daniel. Artificial induction via Parthenogenesis.”

Commander Talland looked slightly confused, so the scientist in Deassomi sought to alleviate his misery.

“Parthenogenesis is the process in which organisms exclusively reproduce through asexual means. Many species have transitioned naturally to obligate parthenogenesis over evolutionary time. Just as in the mid-20th century the advent of In vitro Fertilization opened up the pathway to conception from without the biological body and advances in Eugenics in the latter part of that period – the evolution of reproductive medicine and the advent of parthenogenic – reproduction was a logical one.”

“Facultative parthenogenesis occurs when a female can produce offspring either sexually or via asexual reproduction.” She smiled indulgently. “Erfani and I used this process when we had Jaani. I’m sorry to say that that is one more thing that we don’t really need men for…as if the list wasn’t already long enough!” She teased.

Daniel decided to take that one for the team but was still concerned.

“It’s a momentous decision and I can understand the gravity which compels you towards this course of action, but what about your daughter? What of your life in the Universe we both know?”

Lieutenant Commander Dai looked uncomfortable at this.

“Don’t think it’s a decision that I haven’t wrestled with at length and probably still will for some time to come. But, bottom line, Jaani is better off being raised by Erfani – we both agreed that when we separated. I’m difficult, stubborn and single-minded when it comes to my work and somehow, I always put my work first. The fault lies with me for the breakdown of our marriage.”

She tipped her head back, a lump in her throat.

“I love Jaani with all of my heart and, who knows? Maybe someday I’ll manage to find a way back to our Universe – but you’ve seen what’s going on in this place? You’ve seen what Humanity has done to my people and countless others. If leaving Starfleet, leaving my daughter behind, to do what I can – what I must to stand against the Terran Empire and ensure a future for my race is to be my fate – then it is a fate I embrace willingly.”

With that said, there seemed like there was nothing more left to say.

With tears in his own eyes, Daniel nodded and tapped his Commbadge over to recording mode.

“In that case let the record show that, at 13:29hrs on Stardate: 2401.12.27, I – Commander Daniel Michael Talland – acting Captain of the Starfleet Vessel, USS Valley Forge, officially receive, recognize & accept the formal request of resignation lodged by Lieutenant – Commander Deassomi Dai, Chief Science Officer – on behalf of the United Federation of Planets. Entered into the Ships Official Log – Effective immediately. End recording.”

He slid Deassomi’s Commbadge back across the crate towards her, saying.

“You should hang on to this, you never know when you might need it again?”

With tears mantling her own dark eyes, the former Chief Science Officer took up the badge and tried to make light of things.

“Somehow, I don’t think it’ll have enough range – once you’re gone.”

Commander Daniel Talland’s brown hand went to touch his own Commbadge and he smiled a sad smile.

“It’s not just a communicator, my friend, it’s a symbol. A symbol of hope, of fellowship, of integrity and most importantly of all, it’s a reminder of something far more precious.”

Deassomi sniffed back her tears and looked to Daniel to finish.

Daniel held both her hands in his own and smiled.

“That Character is forged not on the mountaintop but in the Valley.”