Okada worked her way from one end of the outpost to the other, searching for the various pieces to her repair puzzle.  It wasn’t just the hull that needed replacement – it was the conduits, the bio-neural connections, and everything in between.  She’d secured half of what she needed as she’d traveled, making various deals in trade for certain things she wouldn’t need in the long term.  Now she was coming up short on the hull pieces, and for that, she had been reassured by Cardamon that, yes, he could find replacements for the hull pieces that had been destroyed.

She had gone looking for the Voth, and as she rounded a corner, she found him in a heated conversation with another Voth.  This one looked taller and more built.  And angrier.  The XO didn’t hesitate.  She walked casually up to the two, “Cardamon.”  She gave him a respectful bow and turned to the taller Voth, “Commander Okada Katsumi, USS Mackenzie.”

“Larsak.  High Commander of the Voth Expeditionary Force.  I understand Secretary Cardamon has been serving as a guide of sorts for you and your…Federation.”

Cardamon attempted a sheepish look, but it looked more like he was offended.  He growled, “That was seventy-five years ago, Larsak.  I left.”

“The position of Arms Secretary is not an elected position.  It is passed down…you cannot…what is the human word…abdicate!  We don’t have such a word in our language!”  He gestured to the human, “You cannot be helping them.  We’ve heard the reports – these Federations are causing all kinds of trouble with all the wrong people.”  Larsak turned to face the XO, “You upset the Devore Imperium.  When they are upset…they take action against everyone.  You throw off the balance of this quadrant by being here, Commander.”

Okada felt her eyebrows raise, “The rules of this place are not easy to navigate for us, High Commander.  We’re trying our best to….”

Larsak shouted at her, “You’re not trying hard enough, Commander.”  He spun on Cardamon, “We’ve managed well enough without you in these past years, but no one has been able to master the responsibilities as you did.  You are coming with me, and you will return to your required position.”

Cardamon backed away from the larger Voth, “I long ago abandoned the path and the way of our people.  I left because I could not pursue the bloodshed and violence that I would have to undertake.  I am not that Voth anymore.”

“Then you will die.”

Okada realized what was about to happen and threw herself into the smaller Voth as the disrupter fire blasted into her, throwing both of them across the floor, skidding into a wall with a whimper.  Shouts, klaxons, and weapons fire echoed around her as the world spun slowly at first, then faster and faster until she could stand the pain and heaviness no longer.  She closed her eyes, and the world abruptly flickered to black.