Fractured Unity

Chapter One

Captain's Log, Stardate 5983.2. The Enterprise doesn't get to revisit places very often, but we're about to enter orbit around Cestus 3. Our presence has been requested at a diplomatic ceremony, the signing of a peace treaty with the Gorn Hegemony. After nearly three years of negotiations, it is certainly an historic occasion for all parties, but I find myself uneasy, remembering our first visit here and the Gorn warship we chased from a smoldering colony.

Before the tingling had completely faded from his skin, Captain James T. Kirk took a deep breath and forced his spine to relax with the exhale. This was not the same colony he'd last visited. Oh, it was the same planet, but the cleanup and reconstruction had been quick and thorough, and aside from the diplomatic presence, Cestus 3 had become home to a large Starfleet Communications Station as well as a young colony with more than a thousand volunteer colonists, eager to change the memories of the world.

He watched a heavy transport roll down the street, pulling what looked like a load of transparent aluminum sheets. Reconstruction efforts had obviously dropped the "re" and were still moving at warp speed. Kirk wondered if he should have taken the time to read a little more background on plans for the colony but the call of some alien bird distracted him, and he turned around to find they'd materialized in front of a polished marble gateway, wide and welcoming as it braced a path leading to an open courtyard and a handful of large buildings beyond. It was hard not to notice the oversized emblem of the Federation Diplomatic Corps stretching above the gate.

"We've clearly come to the right place, gentlemen." And even harder not to notice that the gate didn't have a fence or a wall to go with it. "At a guess, I'd say this is the new diplomatic compound. A little larger and more open than I expected."

Standing to his left, McCoy still faced out into the street. "And not exactly separate from the rest of the colony. Office buildings, a warehouse, a park, and that looks like a restaurant over there."

As if looking for a tricorder he wasn't carrying, Spock's hand brushed his side. Reflex or intent, no sign of anything touched the Vulcan's face. "A significant change from our last visit."

McCoy nodded as he turned around. "I think I like it."

Spock almost certainly took in more peripherally than either Kirk or McCoy did directly, and didn't seem to feel the need to look around. "Cleanup and reconstruction do seem to have been quite effective, Doctor." An echo to Kirk's earlier thought. "Without a detailed scan, one would never guess we stood on the site of an orbital bombardment."

Frowning as he turned to face the same direction as the rest of the party, McCoy brushed an unseen wrinkle from his dress uniform. "Hmm. Hard to believe this little planet almost caused a war."

Memories slipped though Kirk's mind and he closed his eyes for a moment against them. Unsuccessfully. His memory filled in old gaps. A crater there, a burnt out building there, a smoking pile of rubble further over. Ensign O'Herlihy. "I wish it were harder, Bones." Quick footsteps along the stone path saved him from following the memories further and he opened his eyes again to find a young woman in the grey folded blazer of the Federation Diplomatic Corps approaching.

Barely stopping before colliding with Kirk, she bowed quickly, bending her body at the waist just far enough to break eye contact. "Oh, excellent. The Enterprise delegation, at last. I'm Ambassador Tam Nguyen. It is my honour to act as your escort and liaison on Cestus 3."

Smiling, Kirk offered her his hand as she rose and was almost surprised at the strength in the grip, though he should have known far better than to only consider appearances at this point in his career. "Ambassador. Captain James T. Kirk." She released his hand, raising both eyes expectantly as he gestured to the other members of the landing party. "My first officer, Commander Spock. Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Leonard McCoy. Lieutenants Gareth and Li."