Dark Threat

[Tess Ryder]

Terra Alpha Naval Medical Center - Capitol City

Dr. Tess Ryder was in her office, going over the day's paperwork and charts. Warm cup of coffee at her side as always, her loyal white Husky dog sleeping at her feet and the cool late summer breeze blowing the wind chimes she had hanging just outside the window. Everything was rather calm and tranquil, at this time of day most of the patients were resting after their dinner and the evening shift workers were already getting settled in.

"Doctor Ryder?" A young medical officer poked her head in. "We're going to head out now, same time tomorrow?"

"Come at noon, there's no reason for you to wait around for two hours, I'm sure Commander Roberts has something you can do on your ship until then." Tess said with a smile and put her glasses on the desk. "Oh and Ensign Tracy... bring the historical medical records too, I'll teach you how to do a history."

"Sounds like a plan ma'am. See you tomorrow." the Ensign said with a salute and the sound of a transporter beam taking her back to her ship.

Tapping her console she cleared her throat. "Computer, set appointment at noon for the medical crew from the TAS Kitea or whatever Angel and Nathan are calling their new Flagship."

"You know you don't HAVE to call me 'Computer', I have a name." a holographic image of a woman in a lab coat said with a wink.

"Fine... Mai... " Tess chuckled and went back to her reports. "Transmit my completed reports too... it'll save server time with everyone else doing theirs at the same time."

"Got... it..." Mai said and stuttered for a moment before her holographic form was disrupted.

"Mai?" Tess raised an eyebrow as she looked over to where she was standing.

"Doctor Tess Ryder I presume?" A man in a dark suit said as he entered office. "I didn't want our conversation to be disturbed." he said with a half smile as he tapped the side of his face and it changed into that of...

"Nick?" Tess said and then her eyes went wide when she saw the shaved head and cold look in his eyes. "Dominus... I presume?"

"You presume correctly. Mother." Dominus said as he closed the door and locked it behind him. "Don't bother calling security." he held up a small device. "I need ten minutes of privacy. I won't harm you. Unless you force me to."

Tess heard all the stories and saw the effects of Dominus on people and a shiver of fear ran down her spine. But she schooled her expression and looked him square in the eyes. "What is it you want?"

"Oh I don't 'want' anything, not from you at least." Dominus walked around the office and looked at the numerous printed pictures on the walls, the small sculptures on the shelves. "I know how close Nicholas is to you, how close you are to pretty much everyone. So I'll just give you a message. Leave me, my people and my space alone. Or there will be consequences. Just like on Thessia when they defied me. Or Xelata when they refused to ally with me. They were just a race of cepholopods." he brought up a holographic image of the devastation done to Xelata. "If I can do this to a planet that just refuses a request or a proposed alliance. Imagine what I would do if I actually got angry?" he cocked his head slightly. "I'm not Tiberius or Jackson or even my bitch ex-wife Julie or Whisper or whatever the fuck she calls herself today. Save lives and don't cross me. I have the means and the will to simply wipe out what threatens me. The Dominion... they are quite close to all out war. I'm even half willing to let them. The less resistance I have the easier it will be."

Tess gripped her chair and glared at him. "You're not going to get away with any of what you did, you're going to pay for it all."

"No, I won't. Your people lack what it takes to truly do what it takes." Dominus said and crossed his arms. "It's all going to collapse, chaos is the Universe's way of ensuring the strong survive, the weak are culled." he placed a padd on her desk. "Tell Price to give me the Pythus Sector and I will return these people. I found them, technically they're mine to do as I wish, but they have value to your people. You haven't quite figured out how to navigate the rifts like I have. Haven't let them change you like they changed me." he tapped his head. "This is a one time offer. They give me Pythus Sector and everyone and everything within it to rule, they get their lost back alive. They leave me alone. Price has until this tomorrow."

He tapped his wrist. "Have a good evening." Dominus voice echoed as he beamed out of the office.

Tess was almost nervous to pick up the padd and yet when she did, and saw the names... she nearly fainted. Shakily she tapped the comm button on her console. "Nick... Becca... Alice... Angel... anyone at the house... please... come to my office. Now."

[Young Aimee]

Aimee knocked, and entered. "Here is the patient reports for room 223. Dr. Ryder? What's the matter?"

[Tess Ryder]

Tess got up and motioned for Aimee to come in. "Shut the door" she said and clenched her fists and tried to calm her nerves. "Dominus came here... he was right here in this office. I need... I need Nick, Jon, Bella, Kinsey, Becca, Angel anyone." she waved her hands. "I'm still shaking... he wants the Pythus Sector and he wants us to leave him alone while he does whatever the hell he wants to do... he said he wiped out the Xelatians... I'll have to confirm it but... he's just so... so... cold and casual about the death he causes. Like he truly has no soul."

[Young Aimee]

"Who?" She asked confused. "The only Dominus I know of is Uncle Nick, and he's a sweetheart. Weird nickname though." She shrugged, "I assume you are going on about someone from this reality?"

[Tess Ryder]

"Dominus is Jackson's father... the one that blew up the Capitol, that took my son, his wife, my granddaughter, the entire cabinet and hundred of others prisoner. Dominus... is as dark and evil as they come. He was behind the destruction of Thessia." Tess said and sat down and pulled out her lower desk drawer and retrieved a small bottle of whiskey, which was normally reserved for making flower remedy blends, but today... it was to calm her nerves as she resisted the urge to chug the entire bottle in one gulp. "Get... get anyone at the Compound, Nick, your mom, our Becca, Angelica, anyone, Jon, Bella... just call someone."

[Nick Ryder]

"I'm here... I'm here..." Nick said as he beamed down, kilden in hand. "What the hell is going on? I never hear you that shaken or using the general number."

"Dominus... he was here. In my office. In my f..." Tess got up and threw her arms around him and squeezed. "He's insane... he attacked another planet. He wants Pythus and he's got Lothar's ship. Kirby, Ethan... the rest of their team."

[Kinsey Calhoun]

“What?” Kinsey said from the door way her body tense and ready to strike. Several people paused as they passed by Tess’s office trying to see what the commotion was about. Kinsey glared at the before stepping in and closing the door behind her.

“I don’t care who he has we can’t negotiate with him.” Kinsey said firm and rolled her eyes at Nick’s expression. “Don’t give me that look. If he has them they aren’t the same people we knew. They’ve been broken and molded into what he wants. That’s what he does. No one is ever the same after being with him.”

[Nick Ryder]

"You're right." Nick nodded his head and sighed. "I do think we shouldn't tell Olivia about this, her husband and her best friend... already almost lost her once. And I do not think she could take losing Ethan and Kirby again or having whatever it is Dominus did to them get to us." he crossed his arms. "We also do not negotiate with terrorists. But if he's 'getting Pythus' he's got another frakking thing coming." he looked at Kinsey. "We need to find out if he's got a ship in orbit or something that doesn't belong. Meantime, mom, you're going nowhere without an escort. Stay with her, I'm going to hack into the internal sensors."

"You bugged my office?" Tess gave him a look.

"Of course, you're my mom... and it's not like you don't have people that don't like you... " Nick replied and went over to a wall panel and started working.

"Kinsey... can you go inside my head... see if I missed anything in the shock..." Tess asked her and held her hand. "If he said something or there was something that might help you."

[Rebecca Talon]

"Give it to him. Everything," Rebecca said. It wasn't a shout, but it carried, and with it authority of decades of command. Her hand was on Aimee's shoulder who looked frightened and confused.

"Go take care of your classes darling, " she said softly to Aimee. Aimee nodded, gave Tess one last glance and disappeared.

Appeasement usually does not work, but we don't have a position of strength. We didn't rebuild the military after the war, and Dominus further weakened it at our last encounter. This is a fight that if we win we lose. There are too many external threats. The Dominion. The Klingons. The Tholians, the Romulan Empire. We have kept them at bay, because they are weaker than us. Give him what he wants. He feels like he won, and we can plan out how to correct this problem on our terms."

[Kinsey Calhoun]

“It would put him in a location we could easily find him.” Kinsey said thoughtfully, thankful for the distraction. Slipping into Tess’s mind wouldn’t have been difficult, not with K’n’zy’s memories, but seeing Dominus would be the challenge.