“The kids are scared. Christopher doesn’t stop crying, and for the first time in almost a year, he is asking for his mother again. What would Ricarda say? What would she advise? I can’t even remember the sound of her voice any more.”

— from Jonathan Keller’s personal log

It had spread. Of course it had. He shouldn’t have expected anything else.

Keller closed his eyes, counting downwards from ten, taking deep breaths as the world around him slowed down, if only for a moment. He didn’t care how stupid he looked. It was something the counselor had taught him over the past months, after Ceix had given him the option to attend regular sessions, or leave Starfleet. It helped then.

It wasn’t helping now.

He wasn’t sure what it was he had expected, but when he opened his eyes again, nothing had changed. The faces of the men and women in front of him were still reflecting their anger and accusation. The voices were just as loud as they had been, yelling at him, yelling over each other, but united in one thing: They wanted answers.

And Keller didn’t have any.

“How could you allow one of them on the station?” an obsidian-skinned woman, one of the few female Surnek aboard the station, asked with a snarl. Her question was met with agreement from those around her, and followed by demanding Keller to answer.

“It’s a trap! How can you not see that?”, the male by her side added, earning the slightest glance of disapproval for speaking up, but continued “You’re playing right into their hands!”

Keller still didn’t know how to respond. Sh’shiqil and Nichelle both had said the exact same things, voiced the exact same concerns, but he and Ceix had overruled her. They had their reasons, and Keller still believed their decision to be the right one – from a strategic standpoint. But how did you explain that to the masses that had lost everything, sought refuge with people they barely trusted because they didn’t know where else to go, only to find them working with the enemy.

“The Vaadwuar has been detained, he will not escape”, Keller tried to reassure them. “And he provided us with valuable information in exchange of granting him sanctuary, and–”

“Detained? He should be rotting in space” , someone in the back demanded.

“Throw him out of an airlock!”, another followed up.

“Or give him to us. We’ll handle him.”

“We are not going to execute him. Our protocols-…”, Keller attempted another time, knowing full well that it wouldn’t work.

“I don’t care!”, hissed the same woman again. “They destroyed our homes. They killed our families. We came to you for protection!”

“You say you stand for something, but Starfleet is a lie.”

“You promised us safety!”

“If he stays here, we leave.”, threatened another.

Keller almost laughed. Almost. What they believed to be a threat would be such an enormous relief on the station. But Ceix wouldn’t like it, and it would mean that they had failed their mission here.

Then again none of this would matter if they were attacked – because even with the information they had received, they were unlikely to survive. But they would try.

Die trying, most likely.

“And where will you go then?”, he asked, looking at those assembled in front of him. Where could they turn? The whole quadrant faced the same threat, maybe even beyond. There was, truly, no place to hide.

“Anywhere. A trash heap is safer than a station harboring the enemy.”, they insisted.

“Why? Because of the defector? Because we have values?” Not the smartest thing to say, but after hours of this same discussion, Keller was at a loss.

“Even if he is a defector.”, the woman spoke again. “It just means that the other Vaadwuar will follow! I’ve lost everyone already, I won’t die here too…”

“But where will you go?”, Keller said, repeating his question. “They are everywhere. You can’t escape.”

“We will… hide.”

“And then what? Return to your enslaved and destroyed home worlds?”, Keller asked, this time with more heat.

“We can rebuild. At least that way we have a chance. If we stay, we die.”

The others agreed, and Keller fell silent. He didn’t know what to say any more. He could – physically – not keep them here. And clearly his reasoning fell flat.

“This station is your best means of survival.”, he tried, but trailed off. No one listened. First the Surnek leader departed the room, then the others followed. One by one, group by group, they left.

And only a few hours later, their ships left the station.

Keller watched their ships vanish from the viewport one by one, slipping into the void, reminding him of their collective failure.

He didn’t know how to explain to Christopher why people were leaving.