Master Race?

Posted on Thu Apr 10th, 2025 @ 11:29pm by Lieutenant Ayana Hillis & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Lieutenant Commander Callie Raven-Grayson & Lieutenant Inara Senn & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono & Lieutenant JG James Phoenix

2,625 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Genetic Purity
Location: Neues Deutschland

After Jon had introduced everyone, the Chancellor nodded. "Sehr gut ambassador. And allow me to introduce myself. I am Adolf Bouhler, Chancellor of Neues Deutschland, this colony that you have arrived at. You met the General already. And here with me are my three lead advisors, Ferdinand Oberth, Otto Hess, and Dr. Helga Goebbels."

Kate looked around at the five people in the room and smiled kindly. Despite the feeling of unease, she didn't want to pre-judge anyone. They were being nice -- so far, so she would try and be nice as well.

"Nice to meet you," Kate said with just a whisper and to nobody in particular, just trying to be nice as she looked everyone over. She just hoped that she wouldn't offend anyone by not remembering their very lengthy names, at least for a while. She already started crafting ways to address them that wouldn't be rude as she waited patiently to see what came next.

Jon nodded to each of the advisors, his mind hearing the names and alarm bells sounding. Still.... he didn't want to overreact so he would wait to see where this conversation went. He finally gave a diplomatic answer, "A pleasure to meet you all."

Phoenix gave a simple and professional nod as Jon gave his greeting. He was acting as security in this instance and so there wasn't much for him to respond to. Like Commander Grayson, thinks were raising alarms for the Lieutenant. His gut was telling him something was up, which was supported by the evidence of the symbols outside. He refrained from overreacting, but everything about this colony was alarming. James remained vigilant, over-analyzing everything.

Callie offered a warm smile, her Counsellor training put to good use. She was sensing the unease, but she didn’t let it show.

Seth put on his most brilliant diplomatic smile as he was introduced and as the chancellor introduced his aides. He was uneasy with the names but hid it with practiced ease.

"If you do not mind me asking, you have come here from Earth? What is it like now? When our ancestors left Earth, it had just endured a third World War with a nuclear holocaust shortly after the Eugenics War of the late 20th century. Our ancestors feared that Earth wouldn't survive that calamity, but you are here, so they obviously did" the Chancellor asked.

Inara rolled her eyes. "Not long after your ancestors left earth, your excellency, a man named Zefram Cochrane began experiments in Subspace Physics. He concluded that a sufficient amount of energy and properly shaped EM/subspace coils could in fact create a subspace bubble around a ship, enabling it to transit faster than the speed of light. He used Alcubierre hypothesis along with research on quantum dealation to create the initial theories and built the first warp vessel into what was once a minuteman ballistic missile, and launched onboard this ship, from Bozeman, Montana. And at 11:17 AM Zefram Cochrane became the first human being to break the Warp barrier. When he engaged the Phoenix's drive He traveled approximately one million kilometers from earth in precisely ten seconds. But that wasn't the important thing that happened, Chancellor."

"How interesting" Oberth said. "Tell us more. Obviously, the war ended, but who or what survived all of it? You mentioned this visionary, Zefram Cochrane, from Montana. That was a province in Canada, correct?"

"No sir." Jon said respectfully. "Montana is a mountain west state. it is part of the United States."

"Yes, the United States. Big and powerful nation. The land of freedom and democracy. They were both enemy and friend of Germany at different times. So, an American did a great thing with this faster than light travel, very interesting. It was noticed that your captain is not human. He made mention a federation of some sort that Earth was a part. We found all of that to be of great interest. So, humanity has encountered life beyond our own world. Has humanity become enslaved to these aliens, or have we become leaders?" the Chancellor replied.

"Nope," Kate said with a cheerful smile. "We've combined together as a peaceful united entity. In fact, it's totally our choice to be here. We don't get paid to do it or given forced obligations. Theres no slavery, hunger, greed, or requirements of service." Kate turned to her group of friends and back to the Chancellor, "everyone you see here, me included, volunteered to be explorers of our own free will and trained in our own individual capabilities by choice. There are in fact, billions of people across many worlds in the Federation doing whatever makes themselves feel meaningful and happy."

Hess looked indignant. "You are saying that Earth has become some sort of pacifist haven, where the weak are made equal to the strong, where there are no consequences, and we have bowed to the will of others?"

Seth stepped forward, "No sir." He answered respectfully while shooting a glance at Kate to keep quiet. "Earth is far from a pacifist haven. We have a United Earth Force; to protect us as well as Starfleet Command Headquarters and Academy are based on Earth. I believe what Lieutenant Kono was trying to convey is that all voices are respected and heard and there are consequences sir, some severe for actions that are deemed to require that sort of punishment. We still have prisons for those that break the law, the malcontents or those just unwilling to follow the law. However, and this may be the most important thing to know about Earth, is that no one bows to another.''

"I hear the words you say, but I am unsure if I should believe them" the Chancellor said as he glanced at Hess. "You say Earth is united, no longer divided by things such as nations or ethnic status. But where are the places of power located?"

"StarFleet Academy and StarFleet Command itself are located in San Francisco. A special forces academy also exists, in the repurposed West Point Military Academy in New York. You have many different Federation bases all through Earth, but the Federation capital is set on Earth as well, in Paris" Ayana answered diplomatically. "You have to remember, Earth had to deal with a lot after the third world war. Much of Europe was in ruins, the entirety of the Middle East and northern Africa was obliterated from the massive nuclear attacks, Asia was in shambles, Australia was so ruined that the continent burned nonstop for nearly a decade, much of North America, particularly the metropolitan areas were destroyed, and then after the war, you had the natural disasters that befell Earth. Southern California, the areas that were once the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego and everything in between sank into the ocean after the massive earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions destroyed Mexico City, parts of Greece were equally altered forever from volcanic activity, and super typhoons nearly destroyed India, China, and the Philippines, while Japan and Korea dealt with constant tsunamis for nearly 50 years."

"Excuse my colleagues. Like most men they tend to only have one thought at a time, and it often isn't expressed very well." When Dr. Goebbels spoke, everyone seemed to listen. The woman was strikingly beautiful; tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, everything one might expect a perfect Aryan female to be. "You paint the picture of Earth surviving is self-inflicted calamity to become something that sounds like a paradise. But if you will excuse me, is it hard to believe based on all we know of Earth and its history. To do what you are describing would require a great showing of power and will to unite all of Earth under a single banner."

"Dr. Goebbels, no offense but your history of Earth is severely out of date. All Mr. Travis and Lieutenant Hillis have told you is true. Earth had no other choice but to band together and pull itself up by its bootstraps in order to survive and it did survive through hard work of all its peoples and nations and now it is thriving as one of the original members of the United Federation of Planets." Jon replied.

"Fascinating" Goebbels replied. "Perhaps we might show you around, give you an opportunity to see some of what we have achieved since arriving here and conquering this once harsh world. We have survived much, and created something you might find quite beautiful, if not also impressive."

“I’m sure we’d all enjoy that” Callie offered from where she stood alongside Jon. “I can also organize some information on the Federation for you if you’d like to know more about Earth’s history since you came here?”

Jon nodded in agreement at Callie's suggestion of providing some information on the Federation to the colonists. It would help get them up to speed on the changes that had occurred in their time away from Earth.

Kate found herself excited to a degree that, at least nobody was firing phasers and there was an actual meet-and-greet during this outing. She found herself slightly bouncing in step at the excitement of a city tour.

"We would of course be grateful for such information" the Chancellor replied. "I think you'll be impressed with what you see here. It may not be what you have accomplished, but we have done quite a lot to improve and perfect humanity here."

"Chancellor, if I may" Phoenix finally spoke up after not saying anything. "How are you trying to perfect humanity?" He asked. The Chancellor's last sentence raised even more alarms in his head.

"Oh yes, Blonde hair and blue eyes. The evolutionary plight of humans." Inara noted. "The thing about Genetic Engineering is there's few real ways to get it right, and many ways to get it wrong, as the chaotic nature of our universe tends to push back on symmetry for asymmetry." Inara mentioned. "Tell me and be honest. you're having trouble with genetic disorders?"

Kate's eyes, despite being fairly almond in shape in comparison to her other shipmates, did a fantastic job of rounding out to feign the symmetry of being as wide as the others as Inara stated what she had to say. She wondered, if her friend went to Russia, would she find a bear to poke while holding a full picnic basket? Kate's eyes stayed wide in surprise, but her mouth grinned involuntarily at the thought of Inara poking the big, brown bear. The comedy of such thought was the only thing keeping the young intelligence officer from her instincts of wanting to move her hand toward her phaser, which, she didn't.

Would Inara grab a turd if there was a fan enticing enough to hit it with? Kate wondered these things but never said a word out loud. Kate wanted Inara to be her bestie in that moment... She was fun. For now though, Kate wondered if they were going to leave the room alive after such a big, gracious, forceful proverbial poke.

The Chancellor looked to Phoenix, "We have eliminated the imperfections within the genome. We no longer suffer from things like disease, not even genetic disorders. We are physically perfect."

Ayana listened to what the Chancellor had to say, cautious considering Inara's outburst. She was happy that it had not come to having to defend the group just yet. They exited the Reichstag and began the tour, starting with the surrounding area.

Jon walked silent and thoughtful, Callie beside him as they began to tour the surrounding area, he turned to Callie, "Were you able to sense our host's true feelings and if so, what are they?"

Inara spoke up. "Commander, listen to me very carefully. We need to get our team. And get back to the shuttle immediately. These people follow a dangerous line of thought that is frankly hilarious."

"I don't want to jump to conclusions in case this all is just a coincidence, but I have to agree with Inara sir. This all seems dangerously familiar" James said quietly to the XO.

Kate still kept quiet. There really wasn't much to say. Everything that should be said, had been said -- albeit some of it in a not so discreet manner. As they walked along the inner halls of their lair, Kate kept her head moving, looking for anything even more out of place than the already out-of-place, oddball, strangeness that surrounded them. With every tension-inducing word already spoken that went against the bough of their hosts core-belief's, even if what Kate had to say was at best, an insignificant insult compared to all else, it could still be enough; the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

So, she kept her mouth shut.

The crew might have known that this was out-of-character for Kate but at least the people they were visiting knew absolutely nothing about her so, the best course was just to be silent. Kate didn't even want to warn Inara that she brought gas to this fire; no matter how entertaining it was, it had a severe underlying, possibly life-threatening tension that threatened to snap in an instant.

Kate simply kept a false smile and walked along...

"Recommendations noted Lt. Senn, Lt. Phoenix." Jon replied crisply but not unkindly as he waited for Callie's input as they walked along the corridor. "We'll make a circular path back to the shuttle. As their line of thought isn't hilarious its dangerous." He spoke.

"Oh, it's hilarious. The joke is in how it failed completely on earth, but I have a unique sense of humor, let's move before the figure out what happened to us." Inara mentioned.

While the away team had their chat, they missed out on the fact that they were now standing directly in front of the two creepy buildings, one with an unknown insignia upon it, the other marked with the insignia of the Thule Society. It was dead quiet and the only people that seemed to be about were the Chancellor, his advisors, the General, and a lot of uniformed men that looked a lot like soldiers.

The Chancellor turned to look at Jon and the others, "You know, as guests, it is rude to speak ill of your hosts. It is also rude to attempt to leave abruptly. It would seem such traits remain strongly in some on Earth. Of course, not all of you are human..." he glanced in the direction of Callie, "but I think it might be worth investigating further. Now, before you do anything stupid, please know that it is not my intention to cause you harm, but should you resist, those that want that will get exactly what they wish."

Ayana drew her phaser, but before she could even lift it to fire, she was hit in the back by a disruptor blast. Kate was hit a second later and fell to the ground just as Ayana did. "Genug Allgemeines" the Chancellor said as he placed his hand up to restrain the soldiers. "You see, we have so many advantages over you. And please, don't think that you can make some mad dash to your shuttle. We've already impounded it for study. It appears to be an interesting craft. You took security precautions to keep up from accessing the computers and other technology aboard, but it is only a matter of time before we get access. Now, if you don't mind, we'd very much like to have real conversations with you. Dr. Goebbels would like to talk with your two unconscious friends, along with you disagreeable one and your quiet friend, and the rest of you will be speaking with Herr Oberth and Herr Hess."

TBC

 

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