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"Family Feud"
[previous post was "Frightful Fears"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Unknown Location
Stardate: 30153.0640

With her older sister reeling in pain at her feet, Ya'Han tried to make sense of the conflicting emotions that filled her mind. The two of them had shared so much as siblings, and being close in age had made it so that the two of them had taken part in the same trainings and lessons. Granted, being the daughters of the High Sovereign had not cancelled the natural sibling rivalry, but never had the now red haired Chief of Security expected to feel such hatred and disgust for her sister.

"Impressive," a dark and sinister voice said, taking Ya'Han's attention away from her sister and onto the new arrival. "Most impressive." The smile on the lips of the man known as Fenix had seemed almost evil in nature, hinting to man's character and ideals.

"What do you want?" the red haired undercover officer said, ready for a fight that would end with him on the floor just as her sister had if he would be lucky.

"To make you an offer," Fenix cooed. Despite her loathing for him for what she believed he had done to her sister, Ya'Han could not ignore the charm that the man radiated. Whatever his life had been, it had made him to be skilled in the ways of talking to people to have them listen.

"Not interested," the Sec/Tac said back, keeping her answer short and to the point so that she could concentrate on finding a weakness, be it physical or psychological, in the man that she would be able to use.  The goal of the red haired woman had been a simple one, to get both her sister and herself to safety and away from the terrorist, if he should be injured or even killed in the process, it would be a welcomed bonus.

"Your sister said the same thing the first time we met," Fenix calmly explained as if he had all of the time in the world, "but I saw something in her, something that she had not seen in herself. It is the same thing that I now see in you.  In fact I can see that you have it in you to be better than you could have ever imagined. Better than Ya'Jun could have ever been."

For a brief moment the Sec/Tac's eyes returned to her sister who had still been on the ground trying to recuperate from the beating she had received. Whatever Ya'Han might have felt before, guilt for what she had done began to creep into her mind. The Sec/Tac needed to find a way to get them both out of there to safety, and the only way to do so was for her to play the game the terrorist wanted to play.

"Still not interested," Ya'Han said. If she had appeared too willing to listen, Fenix might have become suspicious, so the Sec/Tac had thought it best to continue as she would have normally. Offering a reluctant and pessimistic glare to the man had therefore been natural and easily believable.

"It's not like you will even be able to return home," Fenix said, a dark and evil smile touching his lips. "From what Ya'Jun has told me, daddy dearest would have you pay for your insolence for the rest of your natural life and maybe even beyond. Also, as you heard your sister claim just now, your mother would not come to your rescue if you did in fact return to face your father. That leaves you to be alone as a mindless puppet of Starfleet. I can assure you this, without a past or future, you will soon find yourself hating each breath that you take, filling you with an emptiness that can never be satiated."

Ya'Han met Fenix's gaze for several seconds, actually finding herself thinking of what he had said. She had started this with the intent to do nothing more than play his game while searching for a weakness, but now the black haired woman had found herself actually listening to not only the words but their significance.

Seeing the hesitation in the woman's eyes, Fenix smiled and approached the standing sister.  "You left your home because you did not want to become a puppet for your father to use as he wished. Like so many others before you though, your escape led you to fall into a different setting with the exact same situation.  As an officer of Starfleet, you are nothing more than a puppet to those above you, and no matter what rank you will achieve, you will remain as such, always following the orders and demands of your superiors.  What I am offering you here is true freedom, a chance for you to become the person that you have always wanted to be, a person free of the strings people have and continue to use to control each and every aspects of your life."

The words washed over Ya'Han like a hot shower, making her think of her life, both past and present in a clearer and more relaxed way.  She had sought freedom from her father's control and as Fenix had pointed out, she had fallen to be under the control of a different set of people. From one master she had escaped into the control of another.

"What do I need to do?" the Sec/Tac asked, surprising herself that the words had made their way past her lips.

"You need to cut the strings that are holding you captive as someone else's puppet," Fenix said as he came even closer to Ya'Han, able to place a hand on her shoulder.  "That you realize it or not, you are still very much under the control and influence of your past, your father. You need to severe those strings first before you can even hope to be able to gain the freedom that you so desperately have been searching for all your life."

"How do I do this?" Ya'Han asked, again surprised that those words had crossed her lips so easily and honestly.  Had this man actually held the answer to her search from freedom and individuality?

"You must cut the strings by casting away everything that is your past," he said, placing another hand on her shoulders as he stood directly behind the black haired woman.  "Those strings are there only to control you, to hurt you. The only way to achieve the freedom you seek is to cut them in a way that can never be rebuilt."

"How?" Ya'Han gasped, finding herself desperately longing for the answer.

"It will not be easy," Fenix said as he slowly turned Ya'Han to face and look at her sister who had just manage to get back to her feet.  "You will need to make sacrifices, but those sacrifices are necessary for you to be able to leave the hold of your past behind where it can never reach you again.  Are you sure that you are ready to make such sacrifices, no matter how difficult they will be?"

"Yes," Ya'Han answered, quicker and with more conviction than she could have ever imagined herself using. Had this truly been the answers that she had been searching for all this time?

"Then kill your sister."

Ya'Jun gasped in horror. After all that Fenix had said to her, after everything that he had convinced her to do, how could he dismiss her with such ease?

Having felt the hesitation in her shoulders, Fenix continued, making sure that Ya'Han's gaze never left the form of her troubled and now terrified sister.  "Remember the hatred you felt for her when you beat her to the ground. Remember what she said to you, that you two are no longer sisters. Remember the shame she mentioned. She represents the family that now despises you, the family that still controls the strings that link you to your past. They care nothing for you other than to use you as a mean to show others what the price is for disobeying.  Kill her and you will take your first step to becoming truly free from your past, free from the strings that are still today holding you back as a worthless daughter of the High Sovereign of NYLA IV.  Kill her and you experience for the first time what it truly means to be free."

Ya'Jun looked into her sisters eyes certain that she could never act as she had been instructed, but when Ya'Han's hair turned red once again, the older sister knew that Fenix had won. The cold expression on the now advancing woman left nothing to the imagination. The younger sister would use all of her strength and skills to end the life of her older sister, all in the name of finding the freedom she so desperately wanted to claim as her own.

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Hanali Han

Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501