Stardate: 70908:1400
Title: Dichoto-my-heart
Author: Emma Smith
Time: After "A Hunger...."
Scene: Planet-side


Dichotomy is best described as 'a division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups'.

Nine little letters that, in many ways, sums up humanity as a whole.

Us against them, them against us, all of our bunch against that other group over there.

Of course, the trick to this equation is figuring out exactly who is the us... and who is the them.


=/\= Rennas' Homeworld =/\=

With Ensign Colón accompanying Plunk'Sel, Doctor Matthews tried his best to find out what he could about the Rennas' physiology, while the Captain, Lily and Lieutenant Falls likewise worked at gleaning any information they could. Meanwhile, Lieutenants Kehn and Smith unobtrusively flanked either end of the large banquet table.

Like most Security Officers, Smith had been blessed with a strong stomach. Neither the fact that she didn't know what sort of 'meat' it was, nor the ravish with which the Rennas attacked and gobbled their food were the reasons that she picked gingerly at the side of her plate. Something was simply not right.

Even if the future-Horizon was removed from the puzzle, there was still something that nagged at her better judgment and triggered her mental check-list.

On the surface, this First Contact was no different than the many others this crew had encountered. Alien faces and outlandish customs were nothing new. The Rennas' other languages had been explained away easily enough as had been their lack of Security and her headache from 'the heat'. So, for the time being anyway, she would accept what she'd been told.

Still left was the notion that the Rennas had no history of interest prior to 100 years ago. A difficult little pill to swallow when one considers that Earth's cockroaches, who scrambled between the feet of dinosaurs, continue to exist today.

The other thing was so glaringly obvious, that before she had completely thought it through, she simply blurted it out... and immediately fell to the floor writhing in pain.

The clash of eating utensils dropping was directly followed by Nakra'Mel's indistinguishable screams in Renna-Ah as he jumped to his feet.

Darka'Tal turned to Captain Deadilus. "You insult our hospitality..."

"What's going on? Doctor Matthews, get Smith back to the ship!" Ordered Deadilus as he wondered... was whatever Smith said the thing that started the civil war?


=/\= Somewhere Deep Beneath the Crystalline Structure =/\=

With the red velvet pillows laid out just so, Heata'Zel batted her long eyelashes wearily, rolled onto her stomach, and rested her large mandible in the palm of her hand. Sleep would come easily tonight.


=================
Lt. (J.G.) Emma Smith
Security Officer
USS Horizon
NCC-72400
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