This was it... there was no turning back. Esther looked at the frightened... and helpless starfleet officer. "Please..." he said. "Don't hurt me..." But it was too late. Esther had chosen this path... She picked up the phaser.. and shot the man in his middle... the man shouted out... just for a brief second, and then it stopped. The man fell down to the floor... dead.
The next day, starbase 375 was as busy as ever... at every deck, except deck 34. There, only starfleet security, and high ranking officer were allowed... It was difficult to keep a secret... even on a starbase this size. And soon, everybody knew: Someone has murdered Cal Dooran.
"Isn't it terrible?" A woman shopkeeper cried out. "I mean... I didn't even know the man... but a murder... on this starbase? I tell you, I'm not going to bed, without doublechecking if my doors have been locked!"
"I don't know him either..." a customer said. "But you're right... there's a murderer loose on this station. Think of it... no ship had given the permission to dock... and I've heard some officers say no shuttles have been stolen, and no-one has transported away!"
"Now what do we do? If this murderer is still on the station... noone will be safe! Anyone of us could be the next victim!"
The shopkeeper, who's name was Ayla Emor, was starting to get more worried... and more paranoid then she usually was. "That murderer is going to kill us all!"
The other woman, Bernadette Wederan, agreed. "If I ever going to see someone, who even has a murderous look in his eyes, I'm going to report him to security!"
"Well," a voice said from behind, "how do you know that murderer looks?" The voice belonged to Esther Haldora, a 21 year old starfleet cadet. She had long brown hair, that she wore in a pony-tail, and her eyes were usually ruby-green. She had been assigned to this starbase, because of her 'field training', that belonged to her academy studies.
"Ow, Esther.." Bernadette said. "How terrible that you, at your young age, should be confronted with such a heinous event..." She paused, and looked at Esther. "Did you know this man well?"
Esther studied the two ladies... she always came here to have a drink... and to talk to Bernadette and Ayla. She enjoyed it, and it gave her the much-needed routine, to start the day. "Vaguely." She said. "I saw him walking down the corridors some times... we had a talk... but I didn't really know the man that well..."
"Listen to that.." Bernadette laughed out. Her whole body shook from laughing. It was a strange sight... after someone had been murdered... Other people looked at the woman... who now had tears in her eyes, from laughing. "Nobody," she almost shouted, "knew that man... and here we are grieving about him!"
Esther shrugged. She knew Bernadette longer then this... this was just her way to get rid of the fear.. the uncertainty of what was happening. And, Esther could understand that. She looked at Ayla, and Ayla looked back. Both now looked at the Huanni, who was crying... instead of laughing. ~It mustn't be easy...~ Esther thought. ~Being a Huanni, with all these emotions...~ She started to feel sorry for the alien.. So she put her hand on Bernadette's shoulder. "Come.." she simply said.
The Huanni did as she was told. She leaned on Esther's shoulder, and made the room be filled with the sound of her cries. "Noone is safe!" she sobbed. "We're all going to die!"
"Ssshhh.." Esther said, trying to soothe her friend. "We're not going to die.. everything is going to be alright..."
Suddenly... a tall man, wearing a silver garment, strolled by. He took one look at Esther... and Esther looked back at him. Just for one moment... at that moment, time seemed to be frozen. Esther's eyes met the man's... She just nodded. She knew what she had to do.
"Listen Bernadette..." Esther said, while putting each of her hands onto a different shoulder. "I.. I have to go now. Ayel will take care of you..."
"Please Esther.." Bernadette said, still half crying. "Don't... don't go..."
"I have to."
With this, Esther removed her hands from the Huanni's shoulder. She nodded at both women... and walked away, leaving two scared women behind...
~Why... why am I doing this?~ she thought to herself. ~Is this what I want? Is this who I am? Who I want to be?~ She wasn't sure... Even when she walked towards the corridors... to the for her, well known quarters, she was still doubting herself. Was this wat she really wanted?
A few minutes later.. she stood before the doors... the doors she knew so well. The doors she had been going in for quite some time. Ever since she had come to this starbase. And every time she came here, she had trouble going through with it. Trouble to push the call button... But every time... and this was no exception, she did push it. And every time, that familiar sound filled the room, and her ears. And every time, she heard a soft, dark voice saying the same word: "Enter."
She swallowed to herself, and took a deep breath. Every time she entered this room, cold chils went down her spine. She knew that would happen. But still... she entered. The doors closed behind her. There she stood.. in this dark room. Although it was an ordinary, normal starfleet-type room, this man had changed it.. making it look... dark. Mysterious. The atmosphere in the room was the same. It fitted the man... the man behind the desk. He himself was like the room... dressed in a dark, mysterious silver garment.
"Have you completed the task I have given you?" the dark voice of the man asked... filling the room.
At times like these, Esther couldn't speak... not that she didn't know what to say... but the man always seemed to intimidate her. She had often thought about this man. How he could intimidate people this well. Or could he? Was she the only one that was intimidated?
After a little while... she spoke up. "I did what you asked." She said, soft... unsure of herself. "Now... am I accepted?"
"That you are..." the man said. Although Esther couldn't see the man's face, she knew he was smiling... "But don't forget..." he continued, slower this time. "You thought having to kill this man was tough..." Again, the man paused. "But now that you have been accepted... you will have to things far worse then that..."
