PERSONAL JOURNAL - SAAVIK BRIANNA KIRK

"There is an illicit thrill to what we do. The skulking, the destroying--the killing. I fight against the thought, but it is there. My Peter and I were bred for killing. Neither of us like it--when we stop and think about it. We usually of late do not."

"Most frightening is the change in Sarek. The more he sends us out to conduct this war, the more he is reminded that he cares for us. The more he cares for us, the more he resents The Order for its crimes against us. For any being, even any Vulcan, this would be a difficult struggle to undertake while keeping up the fight."

"But Sarek is dying. Slowly, yes. But dying, all the same. Unlike the similarly-symptomed Bendii Syndrome or Alzheimer's Disease, he has suffered no real loss of memory or coherence. But without Peter to help him occasionally recalibrate  his emotions would run wild. As they did when he destroyed the two androids, sent to assassinate him by the now-inactive Roger Korby. As they did when he raped his own wife, under the influence of T'Pring's vicious device, 'The Unforgiving Minute'. How Sra Amanda survived is quite beyond me. Peter seems to know, but is reluctant to speak upon it fully. I think that it involves the so-called 'Bright Lady'. I liked her, when she visited right after we found Peter---I must stop, for I now realize that she must have known we had Peter almost from the time we liberated him--perhaps before. Could she be an android?"

The intercom buzzed, and Saavik stopped.

"Yes?"

"Wife?"

"Husband?"

"She's no android---trust me."

"Pig."

She cut the connection, and winced once again at how truly deep their bond was.

"I can feel his love and laughter-as I always can. I will get him back for that. Because I love him. Some might think that having a spouse so far above you in power would be a problem. Instead, I welcome having such a tower to lean upon. Since the night of that first Christmas together, when we lay in the same bed, I knew that I was safe in his arms. It was three more months before we tried anything truly sexual. I realized later that many siblings, albeit very young ones, lie together during storms, or arguments, or merely for comfort. He is my older brother, adoption and marriage nonwithstanding. At times, I sense he wishes I were less dependent on him. But like a good older brother, he is content to let me grow up at my own pace. I only hope T'Pau rules in our favor, at the coming Kalifee presented by Spock. If our bond were annulled----"

An image of Ghidorah then assaulted her mind. The beast was attempting to attack what looked like a distant city on a hill. But a young man with a sword was fending him off. The creature withdrew. Saavik decided to change the subject.

"The Hall has arrested Captain Sulu. The loss of The USS Cooper can hardly be laid at his feet. But Sarek says that they plan to use his arrest as the lead-in to their coup. Our family will all be declared outlaws and traitors, and gangs of armed, trained bigots will rise from their mushroom-beds and begin to fulfill their sick dreams of conquest and carnage."

"Are we also monsters? How many have we killed. When it is all done, will we be able to stop killing? I must wonder. For now, we use our best resource to at least pen up the true monsters. For Sarek has discovered how to use Doctor Korby's android head for no less a purpose than controlling Section 31. We Have The Order. We Have The Hall. We Must Now Pack It Full. My Peter has one last performance to give. Especially to one Teresa Bunson. This time, he need show no mercy. If that thought makes me a monster---Kaidith."

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VULCAN EMBASSY

Peter breathed in. He breathed out. His arm moved. His legs moved.

His heart gave out, and he died.

"First attempt : Failure."

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ADMIRALTY HALL

Looking thoughtful, a thug and would-be dictator, a potential director of galactic genocide, and just basically a lousy person spewed forth to an often pliable press.

"The loss of the USS Cooper has led us into a much deeper investigation. As much as half of Starfleet may be involved in this...I can only call it a conspiracy. No other word suffices. What we learn from Captain Sulu may well be merely the beginning. Certain well-known associates of his are almost certainly involved."

The reporter who asked the next question was not an Order operative. But she may as well have been, having traded access to The Admiralty for her ethics many years ago.

"Admiral Cartwright, what about Captain Sulu's genocide against The Tholians?"

Cartwright smiled.

"Well, the last time I checked, Starfleet's Captains were not under orders to commit genocide against non-humans. Until that changes, ask yourselves--just who would he have learned such ideals from?"

Admiral Bunson now took over the carefully-crafted words of slander against the crew of The Enterprise.

"Who's to say that this scandal does not reach into the diplomatic corps? That, if you'll recall, is where one of Captain Sulu's--no, no--make that Lt. Commander Sulu's--mentors resides. People, as of right now, I am summarily reducing this man in rank. When you're in this kind of a fight--a fight for The Federation's soul--there is no time left to be wasted on formalities."

Komack, a man who had long ago lost his soul to Ghidorah's followers, finished up.

"As we try Sulu, we of The true Starfleet Command will bring that corrupt bunch low--no matter who's protecting them. We already have evidence of Officers discriminated against for holding political views that certain entrenched powers didn't care for. Watch this Hall, folks--the sparks are gonna fly, and they're gonna fly far!"

Inside The Hall's own holding area, a man illegally deprived of his command, legal representation, and tried by a tribunal with no real authority beyond that of arrest thought of his daughter, and of his Captain. He mentally composed a letter, wondering if it would ever reach them.

"Demora honey--Daddy loved you. Always remember that. That I had to go away had nothing to do with you, little heart. Jim--please adopt her. I never told you how good a job you did with Saavik. Yes, you were absent, as I've been for Demora. But that young woman and your son did not derive their eerie strength in a vacuum. I can only pray my spirit is permitted to see this Hell On Earth destroyed, one day. Love and Respect--Hikaru Sulu."

Like his Captain, he would pray for an opening. But he wasn't taking bets.

----------------------------------------------

Peter stood up, and walked around.

He smashed through a polymetal door.

He jumped five meters straight up.

He gutted a holo-opponent in 5 seconds.

He died, having forgotten to breathe.

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USS ENTERPRISE

Kirk was furious, and that was putting it mildly.

"Admiral Bunson--since I seem to have been summarily named a co-conspirator in this highly questionable investigation, I demand to know precisely what the charges against Captain Sulu are."

Actually, he would probably have demanded it under any circumstance. But the Hall's dismissal of procedure and law gave him an opening—and no one had ever accused James Kirk of failing to make use of an opening. Not that it meant anything at all to Teresa Bunson.

"Captain--and for this sad moment, you are still a Captain--The Hall is Starfleet Command. De Facto means in fact, and in fact we have the right to dispense justice over Starfleet personnel as we see fit. As I said before, Sulu is only the beginning. If you even approach Earth's environs--you will be ordered fired upon and arrested. And trust me--nothing would make us happier. We are after all a respectable group of Senior Admirals facing down a known maverick who, despite holding the same rank as we, has never been one of us, and never even uses his true title."

Kirk shook his head.

"You have robbed that title of any meaning it might ever have had. Arrest me, Bunson. Because I know who all your friends are--and I know who mine are. Oh, and as to respectability, Admiral?"

She smiled that cocky Hall-smile, the one that always spoke of deliberately hidden knowledge that kept them on top.

"Yes, Captain?"

Kirk looked at the screen, and put his finger right by the button that would end the transmission. His face took on a look that could, with a few modifications, melt a mountain of pure neutronium protected by planetary shields.

"You Raped My Son."

Not giving her a chance to reply, Kirk ended the message. Walking up to The Bridge, he gave the orders.

"Attention all hands--we're heading for Earth, all best speed."

His next words were paranoid but necessary.

"On the chance that anyone on this ship is not working for me, may I offer this advice--don't miss."

Whoever was or was not with him, no one objected and The Enterprise headed for Sector 001.

---------------------------------------------

Peter Kirk had mastered heartbeat, breathing, walking, running, and all the physical arts, rudimentary and advanced. He was firmly in control of his body and all of its actions and
reactions.

But when his hand scraped on some metal, and he saw his broken skin, he felt a pain not unlike that of his brain exploding, and he died.

Later on that day, he died again of mental claustrophobia, as his sudden lack of telepathic abilities made him feel trapped.

It was a long day.

---------------------------------------------

ADMIRALTY HALL

Bunson was frank with Cartwright.

"Kirk knows it was us, sixteen years ago."

He looked and he was surprised.

"Kirk knows we kidnapped his nephew?"

"No, Brock--he knows that we raped his son."

The two monsters in human form felt their world grow dark and cold. If they ever allowed themselves the delusion that they had actually fooled anyone into believing in their facade of statesmanship, that was gone. Also vanished was the thought that they could avoid Kirk's wrath. The Captain would likely strike back hard on behalf of any member of his family. But they could only imagine the kind of vengeance the man would seek on behalf of his own son.

Cartwright slammed his fist down.

"We move---EVERYTHING--up! Sulu's trial is tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon--we begin the arrests. There will be resistance. That will provide our last excuse. By dawn the day after, I will be looking out from the UFP CE's office in Paris. Then we begin the cleansing which Lord Ghidorah will complete, when he comes."

Bunson nodded.

"This is why you were chosen to lead us. Like him, you favor bold action. Like him, you use your mighty teeth to grind our enemies to powder. Even Peter Kirk fears you. After all, Sulu is his friend, too. So where is The Mighty Rock, when he needs help so badly?"

Cartwright chuckled, but was forced to wonder where his young and relentless enemy was, at that moment. Only a being of his abilities could disrupt the flow of events, now.

If anyone could.

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VULCAN EMBASSY

Sarek tweaked the command nodule inside Korby's android head.

"There. Without knowing why or questioning it, all 1000 Section 31 androids are heading to Admiralty Hall, and with them 500 more of The Order's top agents. From Clerks To Commodores, from sweepers to Supreme Commanders, these are those people whose placement best serves The Order--and whose removal will cripple whatever is left of it."

Saavik nodded.

"Then Peter has his full house. Peter-kam? Are you ready, husband?"

A Peter who was as ready as he was ever going to be emerged wearing the uniform of a late guard once employed by The Hall. In his hands was the feature-hiding helmet the troopers wore.

"I'm ready. Saavik-kam--release the cryo as soon as you can. I'm not anxious to be in there one minute longer than I have to."

She nodded.

"Live Long And Prosper, Husband. Return to me. I sorely wish this."

Peter turned to Sarek.

"Father--will you not wish me peace and long life?"

Sarek shook his head.

"Logically, I cannot. For, son of my heart--this is an act of war. As your sister has said, return to us. For now, go."

The young man looked at Saavik.

"Wife. I return now to that horrid place where you found me. Care for the part of me I leave here--and do your part to ensure our victory. I Love Thee."

"And I, Thee. Now, as then, and more deeply."

With that, she teleported him into The Hall, a considerable drain on her new powers. But any tech-based transport would have been instantly detected.

When she was fully recovered, she checked the cryo-chamber where slept the real body of Peter Kirk. Inhabiting his android duplicate's body was difficult and dangerous---but neccesary. The Hall's psi-supressors made simply wiping it away by psychic stealth impossible.

"Luck, Husband. You Are The Rock."

-------------------------------------------------

Despite the shield, the psi-transport was successful, since it mainly utilized scientific method arrived at by non-tech means.

Peter killed and replaced a guard about to take over watching Sulu. The other guard whispered to him.
 

"What happens here tomorrow--will always be remembered."
 

The man may have been a bottom-level bigoted thug--but, just then,
Peter Kirk agreed with his every word.

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STARFLEET ACADEMY, 2224

The Cadet leading the protest stood up and tried to calm those who had followed him in his ultimately-doomed crusade.

"Yes--we have failed. This place, which violates our tradition of fraternity between the highest admiral and the lowest plebe, is going up. This isolationist social club, tinged with a hateful tincture of xenophobia, begins doing business this day. But what goes up--must come down. One day, the wrongness of what happens here and the correctness of the opposition we raised will be recognized. One day, The Admiralty of Starfleet Command will no be able to sit and agree with each other. One day, our children or perhaps our grandchildren will force them to pay attention to what they left behind."

Tired, and knowing that his efforts would earn him far more than the glares of The Admirals then entering The Hall, George Samuel Kirk descended from the podium, and looked for the one he loved best, for some small comfort.

Instead, he saw her twin sister, Brianna O'Reilly.

"Bri--where's Winona?"

With a painted-on frown and crocodile tears, the Order agent told Senior Cadet Kirk the news about his wife of three months.

"Georgie--there's been an accident...."

Indeed, Brianna had worked very hard to make the murder of her twin look just like an accident. She slowly began to claim her prizes--Winona's man and her working reproductive system.

George Kirk had struck at The Hall. The Hall had found an ally in his own family and struck back much harder. History would repeat itself.

--------------------------------------------------

STARFLEET ACADEMY, 2254

Gary Mitchell couldn't believe his own utter stupidity. No matter how drunk he had gotten--to end up in bed with, of all people, Jim's mother?

"Look--Brianna--you're--a very nice lady. But what happened here--I'd really, really prefer Jim never found out about it. For three very good reasons--all of which he'd cut off, if he found out."

Over breakfast, the cruel false mother smiled.

"Tell you what, lover-boy. Attend a simple meeting--and its all forgotten. Kay?"

So it was that day, with her literally holding his hand the entire time, Gary entered Admiralty Hall for the first time. In a chamber that his best friend's son would later call Hell On Earth, he heard a powerful speechmaker raise up dark matter through words alone.

He was The Terran Master Of The Order Of The Ancient Destroyer. Ghidorah's Fourth, Mortal Head. A wickedly brilliant man. A believer in a cleansed universe, and a damned good public liar.

"In the 20th Century, a terrible efficiency was created. Brutal by necessity, it showed that a people united were a people victorious. One Great Man stood at the center of this sturm and drang. Undone by a Russian winter, the strength he exhibited came not from his tiny, drug-addled frame---but from he who comes to make the stars the domain of the prevailing race. That race is ours. Humanity. He comes for us. But we must be ready for and worthy of him."

Gary heard words that spoke to him, even as he tried to shut them out. He was an uncommonly bright Cadet. His early posting on The Farragut with Kirk proved that. But it was Jim the instructors looked to, as the next one. Jim--who had boasted that he would make as many first contacts as a man could in one lifetime. The universe was full of aliens, he would say, and he wanted to meet every one of them.

Gary, already feeling challenged by the few Terran-plus capable alien cadets about, was secretly just a little reticent about his friend's dream.

The speaker's words continued, and Gary's soul was open to ever more of them.

"We must be ready! Ready to watch the houses of the walking animals fall down. But we must be careful not to turn upon one another. Let that lesson of Nazi Germany be buried with it. Had Hitler brought the Jews and others he didn't like in with him, he would have won. They were all Germans--as we are all humans together. Always remember----"

Professor John Gill removed his hood. Gary Mitchell gasped.

"--Those Who Do Not Learn From The Mistakes Of History Are Doomed To Repeat It. The second time--as tragedy."

Gary would secretly attend several more meetings. But he was already taken in. If a man like John Gill was at the head of this--then how could it be wrong?

"Now, true humans--Behold, The Ancient Destroyer!"

Gary saw the meters-across, exquisitely crafted statue of a creature that seemed to embody a cold beauty of a great fire--a cleansing fire.

James T. Kirk never knew it, but from that day until the battle of Delta Vega, he would walk arm in arm with an agent of The Enemy.

------------------------------------

ADMIRALTY HALL, 2284

Motioning to Captain Sulu that he should 'be ready', the disguised Peter Kirk heard first his words.

"You at this corrupt--social club--have violated every covenant between Command and the Commanded!"

He heard also the words of a true kangaroo court.

"You leave us no choice but to initiate General Order Seven. You, Hikaru Sulu, should be honored. You will be the first to die in his holy name!"

At those words, Peter began to fire his weapon and cried out to Sulu.

"Hikaru, get out of here. Go to Jim's place. I'll hold them off."

Clearing away guards with his weapon, Peter did just that. But Sulu wouldn't budge.

"Whoever you are, I'm not leaving without you!"

Peter pointed his weapon at Sulu.

"Go."

Unsure of his ally's intentions, Sulu made good his escape. Within three hours, he would be beamed aboard the arriving USS Enterprise, which had already picked up his daughter Demora from her stay with relatives on Rigel.

Within The Hall, the androids of Section 31 secured and captured the rebel guard. He was dragged before the anxious Admiralty council.

On the floors below them, S31 Androids and many operatives of the hall entered through accessways and awaited further instructions. They would never come.

Held fast, the captured guard was approached by Grand Admiral Cartwright.

"Tell me--do I really need to remove this mask?"

Grinning, he did just that. All joined him in that grin, upon seeing the face of their enemy.

"Welcome back to Admiralty Hall, Peter. It's going to be just like old times."

Teresa Bunson now strode up, certain that with her new, android body, she could overpower a Peter Kirk under heavy psi supressors, as she did when he was a child.

"Actually--its going to be better."

As the others chuckled, she kissed him full on the lips. But to her shock, he flung his guards away and grabbed her up, holding her above his head.

"Someone help me!"

"No one can help you now---bitch."

From Peter's form a seeming infinity of small razored cable wires worked their way into Teresa's every orifice. Where there was previously no orifice--Peter made one. Once inside, the wires began to drill. Her still-functional mouth screamed out.

"What are you doing to me?!"

The razored, spinning cables pulled out of her body, causing it to fall completely apart. He held her living head in his hands.

"Some call it Hentai---Ma'am."

Popping open the top of her skull, Peter then finished off the child molester who had been the very worst of his rapists--by scooping out her still-human brain, and dashing its pieces on the floor.

Shooting the cables back out and down, and through the floors, Peter Kirk, directing his android duplicate, killed everyone he found. Sarek and Saavik's actions had ensured that no innocents were about in the doomed facility.

Only the damned.

When the Peter-droid was done, only Komack remained. He dropped to his knees.

"Peter---please--that night--they goaded me into doing it!"

'Peter' walked behind Komack, and held him fast.

"Remember this position--sir? You sold your soul cheapest of all. Now look around you."

Shaking, he did. All the power brokers. All the would-be coup leaders. All the speech-makers. All the people who couldn't live with the thought of anyone being different from them even existing. All except one lay in ribbons around him. The droid whispered in his ear.

"How powerful do you feel now?"

Peter tore out his heart and it was done. The lifeless body collapsed before him.

"Sarek--respond. Initiate self-destruct."

Back at the Vulcan Embassy, Sarek tweaked the command nodule in Korby's head one last time, sending all S31 androids into fused shutdown—and all local ones into self-destruct mode.

"Peter--withdraw from the android."

Peter did just that, but activated a small recording before going back to his true body. It was a familiar song.

"Mine Eyes Hath Seen The Glory Of The Coming Of The Lord; He Shall Cleave Out The Wicked Village Where The Grapes Of Wrath Are Stored; He Shall Smite Him That Old Dragon With A Great And Mighty Sword...."

His Truth Went Marching On. But Admiralty Hall, founded on lies and treachery and every sort of evil, exploded at that very moment.

In The Vulcan Embassy, while Sarek revived Peter's true body, Saavik did her part and psychokinetically directed the explosion inward and downward. The former residents and almost all the contents of The Hall were pulverized. The directed explosion tore through every last level. For all this, people would soon find evidence of just how evil a place it had been. Their treasured mask of public respectability died with them. George Kirk's words, dismissed in his time, were vindicated by his grandson's actions.

But at The Vulcan Embassy, a now-awakened Peter said words that quickly tempered the feelings of victory.

"Cartwright has escaped!"

Sarek nodded.

"We knew someone might. This will have to be taken as an acceptable miss."

Peter looked at his mentor.

"Sir, while we were training for this, you told me that against Ghidorah, all actions, however savage, became necessary. If Admiral Cartwright lives, the coup, when it comes, will still have a respectable public face. Let me go after him."

Saavik looked worried, and Sarek shook his head.

"Ours is no casual attachment, Peter. Amanda and  I have called you our son. You are married to she who is as my daughter. Your father is sacred thy'la - brother-and-beyond to my second son. However that second, like the first, is all but lost to me. I would not lose you, as well."

Peter kissed his wife, who mentally promised to carry on the fight, should he fall. He looked at Sarek.

"Father--Live Long And Prosper."

He teleported out. Sarek nodded, a bit weak.

"Saavik--when he restored the light to your eyes--he did far more than merely help you. He showed us all that despair's power can be broken."

Saavik closed her eyes.

"He will return to us. To me."

------------------------------------------

THE COAST OF BRITTANY

Deep within a series of hidden caves, Peter Kirk was confronted by two guards--who spoke only Celtic.

"What Is Your Line?"

"I Am Of The Line. I Am The Rock."

"What Is Your Quest?"

"To Bring The True Death To The Ancient Destroyer, And All Those Who Follow His Ways. I Seek To Destroy The Order."

The guards bowed.

"Your Quest Is True. You May Pass."

"You Are The Rock. Take Now, The Weapon Of The Rock, But Know You It Must Be Given Over To A Noble Frenchman Who Does Not Exist, That It May Aid In His Quest."

Peter nodded.

"I shall make it so."

Going to a mound, Peter pulled hard upon a protrusion.

"I am The Dragon-Slayer. The Pendragon. I bear the blood of Artus, Dux Bellorum."

He pulled a magnificent, lustrous sword from its hiding place of over 1800 years.

"I Am The Rock. I Wield The Weapon, Drawn Of The Rock. I Wield The Sword Excalibur."

Raising it above his head, Peter Kirk yelled a single word before teleporting away, to seek a large part of his destiny.

"Cartwright!!!!"

------------------------------------------

PLANET X

The Sol System, containing Sector 001, has no tenth planet. This is a well-known, well established fact, proven by almost three centuries of space travel.

This fact was a lie.

The Order Of The Ancient Destroyer, infiltrated into every aspect of Earth's government, had been controlling flight plans since just after Cochrane and the flight of The Phoenix. So it was that Planet Ten, or X, as known by its Roman Numeral, was simply overlooked. Anyone who claimed to have seen it was found by The Order--and brought back to that lost world, one last time.

A small, highly armored, very quick shuttle docked automatically at its massive port. There was no one there to greet him, and that made him very glad indeed.

"Greetings, Brothers And Sisters!"

The tall, well-built man wore the aspect of a regal king. He literally looked like a leader, and one seeing him would very probably respect him for no other reason. He looked more precisely like the kind of fabled king who could raise his hand in sight of the enemy parapets, and cause the enemy to surrender or retreat.

But this aspect hid the soul of a peasant. Not the noble peasant, tilling the land til he could find freedom or prosperity. Not the sturdy peasant, whom a king might respect more than a sychophantic nobleman at his court. No, this was the greedy, grasping peasant who joined the king's wars so he could claim the enemy's women while slitting their throats, selling their children into slavery, and joyfully desecrating things sacred.

Such a man and such a dichotomy was Grand Admiral Brock Cartwright, Commander-In-Chief, Starfleet, and Master Of The Terran Order Of The Ancient Destroyer. His job was to keep Starfleet true to its mission, and this he did with relish. He just had a damned funny idea of what that mission was, and he had surrounded himself with people of like vision.

Nominated by the venerable John Gill to succeed him as Order-Master, Brock had been prime material for this cult from the beginning. Even those of the Order sometimes wondered how he tolerated the almost-openly pedophilic Admiral Teresa Bunson. But none of those people knew Brock's mother, Berendia. A controlling soul who hated her husband Tomas for his long absences in the Starfleet of his day, she began to use young Brock as both a physical substitute and a sounding board.

"Your father is out there. He's having relations with every type of woman imaginable--and some that aren't even remotely human. He'd rather be with them than with me. Do you feel that way, Brock?"

His answer was obvious. This, despite the fact that Tomas Cartwright took his marriage vows hyper-seriously, something his friend George Kirk often chided him on. When that shaky marriage finally fell apart, Brock made a show of pushing away from his father in view of the custodial magistrate--just as he had been instructed to do.

Despite everything, his father, now a Commodore, sponsored Brock into The Academy, where John Gill found him after hearing his views on cleaning up the universe. Training him to keep those views private, Gill knew he had found the next Master.

Throughout the Planet X facility, Cartwright checked each endless row of cryo-chambers. In them were members of The Order, some as chronologically old as 200, from just after First Contact. They were specially blessed, frozen until the day of Ghidorah's return.

"The Order was wise, even then. We knew that we would need a group of verifiably pure humans to repopulate the cleansed universe. Even my own bloodline may be suspect. But not yours."

He saw the audio and nutritional feeds, and smiled anew.

"As you have slept, your minds--already perfect minds as far as The Order is concerned--have been fed with the mantra of Lord Ghidorah's way. Your bodies have been fed with materials those weak fools banned after The Khan Wars. You will emerge perfect humans--and more."

They would awaken very soon, perfect killing machines and perfect bigots, re-bred to kill any 'aliens' Ghidorah left behind, as well as any traitorous humans. This was, of course, all still operating on the presumption that Ghidorah would leave anything or anyone behind. In fact, it would leave the cosmos uninhabitable, even for Korby's S31 Androids.

"When Order-Master Gill told me of Earth as it once was--I had to laugh. Do any of you know that once, silly things like pigmentation divided us? That many of you would have refused to even contemplate following an Order-Master with my skin coloration? But then, Humankind did not know who our true enemies were. Now--we are united. United in a great cause. I envy all of you, who will awaken to see his three holy heads--and have it be the first thing you ever see."

Cartwright had scanned the facility any number of ways. But apparently, he had not been thorough enough. For a familiar voice, well hated by Brock Cartwright, now joined him in those empty halls.

"And why, Admiral--would the living envy the dead?"

If Cartwright had an antithesis, the young man across the long hall from him, wielding a sword was definitely it. Cartwright smiled.

"I see you're finally wielding a proper human weapon, instead of that Vulcan voodoo stick. Bad news, boy. This place is loaded down with psi-supressors that you can't depower or negate. Your obscene super-powers are useless here."

Peter Kirk twirled Excalibur, showing that he was fully capable of using it.

"Two things, Brock. One, my abilities are not psionic in nature—at least not entirely.
Two---"

Peter's eyes narrowed.

"--Don't you EVER call me 'boy'."

Cartwright began to shake, and so blustered to maintain his dignity.

"How dare you call me by my first name? I am CIC---you are a lowly
Cadet!"

The Admiral then played what he thought were some trump cards.

"Remember your beloved grandmother, Brianna? Well, she wasn't your grandmother, technically. She murdered her twin sister, George Kirk's first wife, Winona, and had her twin fetuses removed and frozen, til she needed to become pregnant, after she married George. She was one of us, Peter. The Order has been a part of your life from the very beginning. We--own you."

Peter, who had known the truth about Brianna for some time, smiled, unnerving Cartwright.

"Brianna was crazy, Brock---just like your mother. And I know one more really good secret about Bri----"

The smile grew wider.

"You're to join her, now."

But now The Admiral smiled.

"Am I? Do you honestly think that I would enter this facility, without having awakened the sleepers?"

But Peter just shook his head.

"And the living will envy the dead."

Snapping his fingers, Peter somehow caused a vast reverberation. Cartwright looked at the rows of cryo-chambers, and cried out in horror.

"No! You animal..what have you done?"

As the reverb continued, both saw the chambers, all the endless rows of them, split apart, lengthwise and widthwise. The sleepers would now never awaken.

"YOU! You've ruined----EVERYTHING!!!!"

Peter began to approach The Master of a now infinitely smaller Order.

"No. Not everything. Not yet. Excalibur still has to kill the dragon."

Cartwright transported to an upper level, mocking his attacker as he went.

"Camelot--another failed crusade, oh, Rock."

On the first level of the seemingly infinite facility, Cartwright entered a giant mech-suit, loaded with weaponry and made of dense neutronium alloys.

"Scanning the entire facility---h-h-ho-how could he have got them all?"

The suit scanned someone, and Admiral Cartwright locked and loaded. The young Champion merely stood in his sights.

"Tell you what, Brock. I'll be sporting. You take one shot--then I will."

Seeing that his enemy was serious, Cartwright formed the mech's right arm into a huge phaser cannon. It fired.

The shot could have rocked the shields of a starship. But the weapon Peter wielded was mightier than a whole fleet. For it contained hope, sent from a divine source. The Sword Excalibur deflected the shot back, shattering the mech suit. Oddly, Peter Kirk chose to save Cartwright.

"Here. Take It."

Peter offered the sword up, and a plainly stunned Admiral took it. He stared at it dumbly, as Peter Kirk entered a trance.

"Brock...."

"Don't call me that."

The astral image in front of Peter shook its head, gently.

"Its alright son---Its me. Your father."

The soul of Tomas Cartwright was indeed there, to offer his son one last chance at redemption.

"Dad?"

---------------------------------

Tomas nodded.

"Yes, Brock. Son--I'm so sorry."

Admiral Cartwright roared at his father's spirit.

"This is obviously some sort of trick. And even if it weren't, my father never once tried to apologize for abandoning me and my mother."

Tomas' eyes narrowed.

"Brock--you know that's not how it was. Your mother kept accusing me of adultery. Miscegenation, she called it. All lies."

The man who still carried so much of the angry little boy shook his head.

"Yes, Dad. Mother was crazy. But you drove her insane by being away so much. You left me with her. Left me for those things! For that Alpha Centauran BITCH!"

Tomas put down his head.

"Then it was you who killed my wife. Why, Brock? She was your stepmother. Mother to your own sister."

Cartwright's eyes showed not a trace of the humanity he claimed was the master species.

"And if I could find that little halfling, I'd kill her with my own hands."

Peter chose to interject.

"Why, Admiral? The Alpha Centaurans are simply humans that The Preservers seeded on that world, likely during late Roman times."

When Brock didn't answer, Tomas chose to.

"Because all my son's talk of all humans being one species ends at Earth's exosphere, Peter. After they were rid of everyone else, they'd planned to go after all non-Terrans, period."

Holding the sacred sword, Cartwright shook with rage.

"Who KNOWS what The Preservers did to them? The only true, prevailing humanity resides on Earth, the one world which will be spared when The Ancient Destroyer comes."

Peter shook his head. For all his experience, evil still had the power to surprise him.

"Guess what, Admiral? I scanned the thoughts of the monsters you were breeding here. Any guesses who they were going to turn on?"

Tomas made a last plea for his son's soul.

"This is it, Brock. Your chance to leave the world of madness that claimed your poor mother--and Brianna Kirk, and so many others. With your information, the galaxy could prevail over King Ghidorah. Even with all you've done---you too may be redeemed. I Love You, Son. For once, please do not reject your father's love."

The images flooded Cartwright's mind. A suspicious Captain Kirk, coming around. The Great Beast, turned away. Cheering throngs, a rainbow of voices and faces. The stories told, of the man who turned his back on evil and helped save the universe as a result. He saw a universe full of potential First Contacts. Alien races and faces of every description. This last image broke the chance.

"I fight--for a universe cleansed of all such hideous abominations."

Cartwright then thundered forward, and slashed at the spirit's midsection.

"I didn't get to kill you then, Dad--but I will now!"

Tomas looked down at his unaffected midsection. He then looked at Peter. His ghostly eyes were tearing.

"Peter--I'll say hello to your grandfather. Thank you for this chance. But I must accept it now--my boy is gone."

As Tomas walked away, Brock went wild, in a single minute slashing through every square centimeter of the spirit-form. But his father vanished, and Brock felt a pain in his gut.

"You--are NOT leaving me again, Old Man!"

Admiral Cartwright then looked down. His midsection was bleeding--badly.

"But--but that's where I slashed him."

Peter took back Excalibur.

"The spear you place in the heart of the other is the spear you twice hurl into your own, Brock. Excalibur is a mystic weapon. Had you chosen, it would have kept your father's spirit within you, to show you the way back. But you rejected his love. The wounds--take a minute to appear. Goodbye, Admiral. I was bred to obey. The Line. My Parents. My Real Father. So I took no pleasure in destroying Starfleet Command. I really wish you had presented me with another choice."

Brock Cartwright just stood there, frozen. Peter Kirk sadly pushed him over. As Ghidorah's Fourth, Mortal Head fell, ribbons of flesh, bone, and muscle fell over, like pieces of a fractal puzzle. Like so much else in the late CIC's life, this moment had been completely predestined and completely avoidable. But now it was almost done.

Peter knelt down with Excalibur, and gathered his power.

"Lord, I feel all the innocents who have died and been corrupted here. Again, I do what I must. But for how long, Lord? For how long?"

He rose, and let the power loose.

"For as long as I must."

From his every cell arose destructive energies, twenty times as hot as any nova, but all contained and directed by his unbelievable will, which was also his father's will. A great column of light, long up and down and short right and left, arose and erased the secret base for all time. Sarek's ship was waiting by Pluto, to take in the exhausted Champion.

Scientists have long debated whether a tenth planet exists beyond Pluto.

But none does.

-----------------------------------------------

Sarek saw his unspoken granddaughter lying next to the young man whom fate had bred and forced to be a killer. Ahead of these two lay T'Pau and Spock's challenge to their bond. A painful, soul-searing anullment. A journey through countless alternate universes, in the company of young champions like themselves. The Ghidoran Apocalypse, as the great Three-Headed Dragon began his final assault.

For now, though, there was peace.

Sarek heard a flash, and turned.

"Q? Do we have unfinished business?"

The trickster-ally-cum-weapons maker nodded curtly.

"Sarek--count on it."

------------------------------------------

Q snapped his fingers, and Sarek saw a rally of the remaining Terran cells of The Order.

"I wouldn't worry. They are quite oblivious to us. I wish we could be equally ignorant of them."

Sarek shook his head.

"I have always found, Q, that to ignore ignorance is itself the province of ignorant people."

The cell-leader raised her hand.

"The Enemy has struck at us in such a way as we could not have previously thought possible. The Hall--our sacred headquarters--is gone. There are no survivors. If anyone ever doubted that our enemies were cunning and rapacious, then I advise you to check the bloody remains of our great leaders. Those alien animals and their race-traitor allies have dealt the True Humanity a savage blow. I ask you now---will we take this? Will we allow the jackboots of cross-breeders to press down any further upon our necks?"

The obvious answer to such a loaded question filled the hidden facility.

"I didn't think so. Folks, we were the Cadet-Masters. We were the awakened ones. We were the ones The Admiralty was counting on to help them carry the fight home. To claim San Francisco. To claim New Archangel. To claim Paris. To claim The Earth, and the stars after Lord Ghidorah's return. Now--we are all that's left. Section 31 is gone. The Admirals are gone. Our means of easy public transaction have been wiped away. The weaklings at The Commodores' House have even ordered mass arrests."

Her voice rose two or three octaves.

"You can bet that the names of each and every person here are on that list. We must bring new meaning to the phrase, 'head for the hills'. Because it is in those hills that we will train, and arm ourselves. The enemy got our very best--but they didn't get all of us, by any standard. The Order has arms in EarthGov and the mid-echelon of Starfleet. When they know that Lord Ghidorah has begun the cleansing--they will call us down from those hills--to reclaim our world, at long last. I ask you--Will we be ready? Will we stand up, be counted, and avenge men and women of valor like Teresa Bunson and Brock Cartwright?"

The resounding yes was not a smooth one. More than once, Sarek heard in vivid detail the planned fates of those Earth women who had married aliens. Women like his Amanda.

"Strange--that so gentle a soul could cause such a stir, on two worlds. But that then, is my wife."

The leader kept on.

"We are drawing up our own lists. Lists of everyone who wasn't with us. Lists of lists. A fair word of warning to the walking pigs, goats, bugs, and the whole damned bipedal zoo that is The UFP Council : You and all your friends are at the TOP of those lists! And we won't be holding a mass arrest--we'll be having a barbeque. Because that is what God put the ANIMALS there for. HUMANITY PREVAILS!!! PRAISE TO THE ANCIENT DESTROYER OF OUR ENEMIES! GHIDORAH! GHIDORAH! GHIDORAH!"

As a song began, Q turned to Sarek one last time.

"It was a good campaign, Ambassador. You got the Fourth Head. But that neck has long, deep, poisonous roots. The Order continues. So will the chaos."

As Sarek vanished, he heard horridly prophetic words.

"....then his wings, they will spread out; So to fill up The Cleansed Universe!"

--------------------------------------------------

THE Q CONTINUIM

Q hadn't found the nerve to tell Sarek.

He hadn't found the means to tell him that the beings who created the evil King Ghidorah--had been the very ancestors of all The Q.

"How could I? I may create problems for other people--but I don't dump my own on someone else. But against Ghidorah- -what the hell choice do I have? That boy and girl have the means to stop him. We don't."

The thought was quite sobering. To get his mind off it, he looked around the long road that sometimes symbolized The Continuum.

He saw no one at all.

He heard no one at all.

He reached out with his senses at their maximum--and felt--no one at
all.

"He-llo? This isn't August. Where in the devil.....The Devil."

Suddenly not coherent enough to depart his home, Q began to run for all he was worth. Ahead of him, he saw a great shadow, three heads, two tails, and obviously winged.

It was the shadow of the beast.

--------------------------------------------------

SAREK'S PRIVATE SHUTTLE

"Children. I have contacted the Starship Truth, heading back to Vulcan. It will rendezvous with, and take us home. Doubtless Amanda will be anxious to see us all."

In the rear compartment, Saavik responded.

"Many thanks, Father."

Peter used his code name, one last time.

"Good Mission, eh S?"

Alone, Sarek smiled openly.

"In that we accomplished all that we set out to, a very good mission, Peter. By the way--I have just received word. You are both graduated, with full honors, from Starfleet Academy. You have been working for my office retroactively for six months. This gives you immunity from possible interrogation--and the rank of Lieutenant. Congratulations. I am most pleased with both of you."

The rear cabin grew wordless, but not silent. Sarek decided to have a bit of fun, despite himself.

"Gravity in rear cabin--negated."

As the lovers began to float up, Saavik looked about.

"Peter--can we still do this, in Zero G?"

Just glad to be holding her after so much blood and madness, Peter gently quipped.

"We're Kirks, my darling. When it comes to accomplishing a mission..."

They spun a few times, and she completed the thought.

".....Nobody Does It Better."
--------------------------------------------

BONUS

What follows here is not meant as a parody. I just figured, if this
story was based partly on James Bond movies, then why not have a Shirley
Bassey-type theme song?

OUT OF ORDER

Lord save us--from those who would save us; Beware those who tell you
beware; Watch for the public grin; That hides a life of sin; The
hate--that won't say its name;

The Order they offer is Chaos; The strength that they call for is weak;
Through pinholes you'll see leak; They hide an evil streak; They'll tell
you--who you should trust;
     ---------------------------
Chorus
Out of Order Comes Chaos; Out Of Chaos Comes Death; Your Brother Is
Not; Your Sister Can Rot; Its the hate fueled by Dragon's Breath; The
world is Out Of Order
      ------------------------------
They'll tell you of all secret knowledge; They'll claim that others hid
it from you; But they'll lie high and low; To what lengths they'll go;
And is it-what you needed to know?
Is the enemy in space or in mirrors?;
Are three heads really better than one?;
When King Ghidorah comes; The end of all fun; And you find out;
That your pass was a fail?

--------------------------------------

Out Of Order Comes Chaos; Out Of Chaos Comes King Death; Hate All That You're Not; Lie Back On Your Cot; And Wait; For The Dragon To Come;
Out Of Order....The World Is Out Of Order....Out Of Order.....We Are All Out Of Order....Out Of Or.....
( This was just for fun, so nobody come at me with the 'don't quit your day job' stuff, okay? )

Saavik and Peter Kirk will return in :

AS KILL A KING

THE END