Hello and welcome to another edition of our writers' challenges! :cool:
Today we start the two-week run of the fifteenth Literary Challenge:
Temporal Soundings
For the past couple of weeks, you and your crew have been assigned to patrol the Neutral Zone. While you have been working longer duty shifts due to your first officer being on shore leave, you have enjoyed the extra time getting to know some of the crew of the Delta Shift, including a science officer from your hometown. Just as you decide to retire for the evening, this officer stops you from leaving the bridge by exclaiming that Tachyon emissions have been detected in Shuttle Bay 3 and an unauthorized shuttle launch is in progress. What is going on, what happens, and why?
This is the writer's thread -- only entries should be made here.
The Discussion Thread can be found
HERE.
We also have an Index of previous challenges
HERE.
The rules may change from one challenge to another, but I'd like to remind everyone what the base rules are. These may grow as we move on, so also feel free to give feedback!
- Each Challenge will run for two weeks. For 2 weeks we will sticky the challenge and let you make your entry.
- There are no right or wrong entry.
- The background story, questions I ask, and format requested are only to serve as a platform that you can start your writing from. Feel free to change up the back-story or the way you deliver, as long as the entry stays on topic of the original challenge.
- Write as little or as much as you would like.
- Please keep discussion about the entries in the appropriate Discussion Thread.
- In the Discussion Thread, feel free to write what inspired you and what your thoughts on the topic are.
- A few other important reminders:
- Please heed the rest of the forum's rules when submitting your entry! All of them apply to these posts.
- Each poster can have one entry per character. Feel free to edit your post to fix typos or add/ remove content as you see fit during the next two weeks.
- After two weeks time, the thread will be locked and unstickied, as we move on to the next challenge.
- We'll have two threads: One to post the entries in and one to discuss the entries. **Cross-linking between these two threads is acceptable for these challenges ONLY!!**
Comments
"Bridge to Captain Lisarran." The intercom interrupts, startling the Captain.
"Go ahead." He replies promptly.
"Sensors have detected unusually high Tachyon emissions in Shuttlebay Three. Requesting permission to send Science Team 3 to investigate." The explaining voice belonged to Commander Cavar, relief first officer from Delta Shift.
Science Team 3 comprises of several Delta Shift officers, including an up and coming junior science officer, Rebecca Harmon, who had grew up in the same town I had. Only two years apart, and yet never having met when they lived in Bozeman, Montana. Though he knew fraternizing with a member of his junior staff could cause trouble, as long as any romantic attachment never appeared there should be no problem. Though, because they had so many things in common, the Captain had planned on seeing her later that night.
"Go ahead and send the team. I will be on the bridge in two minutes." The Captain responded.
The walk to the bridge was filled with worry for his crew. Unexplained emissions were unheard of inside the ship and after the loss of the other shuttle in their bay, leaving an empty space beside Shuttlecraft Lupo, he worried another shuttle being lost would be an extreme problem for the ship this far outside Federation space.
The turbolift stopped at the bridge and opened, light filling the lift as the Captain walked out.
"Status report." The Captain stated to the bridge. Several officers waited to reply.
"Science Team 3 reports that the shuttlebay is sealed with a force-field and Tachyon emissions are continuing to build." Science Officer Jenetri reported.
As soon as the words were out, the tactical officer Mungege turned and faced the captain. "Sir! Phaser and disruptor fire has broken out near the shuttlebay." she reported with a look of sheer shock. "The shuttlebay doors are opening!"
"Sensors indicate that the tachyon emission is leaving the bay. Captain! It's a Scorpion Class shuttle, Reman design." A calm, but stern report from Jenetri.
The viewscreen then showed a de-cloaking shuttle speeding away from the Arcadia at full impulse.
"Tactical! Bring cannons to bare on that shuttle. Scatter Volley pattern, those shuttles can be slippery." ordered the Captain.
"Too late sir!" Jenetri replied as the viewscreen showed that the shuttle streaked into warp.
"I want a report on that incident in my ready room in one hour." he barked. "Bridge to Science Team 3, reply please!"
The intercom seemed to fuzz for a moment before a voice replied. "Sir, this is Ensign Grant. We have casualties. A Reman ambushed us, and we were not armed. We took a phasers from the armory across from the bay. However, the Reman ambush took out Retex and Harmon before we could react."
The color drained from the Captain's face, as his new friend was now dead. The next hour went quickly, until the briefing room was filled with the senior staff.
"I want answers!" The Captain shouted. "How was there a Romulan shuttle in our bay?!"
Jenetri stood and walked to the screen in the briefing room. "I believe I have an explanation for that Captain. The last battle we had with the Romulans, they had launched shuttles against us while we brought our shuttles in from the planet. The shuttle was destroyed, and we closed the bay. At this time, the hypothesis is that the Reman shuttle was used by the Romulans to board the ship. Our sensors were damaged and the pilots kept the ship running using the bare minimum life support and to not trip our pressure sensors on the shuttlebay floor, kept the thrusters operating at again, the bare minimum. Preposterous I know, but that is all we can tell. Their cloak must have become unusable and began to leak Tachyon particles in the bay, necessitating their escape. They were able to download our tactical database before they left. I recommend changing strategies in upcoming battles."
"That IS preposterous, but I cannot deny that the mere idea is plausible. I will have to give those Romulan pilots their due." The Captain said, puzzled at these events. "From this point forward, if we come under enemy fire, the shuttlebay is not to be opened at any time. Shuttles will remain planet-side until we eliminate any threat to the ship."
"Understood." All officers in the room responded.
That was the last time a Romulan ship invaded the Arcadia. The last time the Captain would lose a friend.
Computer End Log.
Captain Jsoph leaned off of his desk. Taking a moment to look around his ready room once more the young Caitian Vulcan hybrid captain sighed. He was far too used to commanding a smaller craft. Remembering his first command a Runabout outfitted as a science craft operating in near the Briar Patch. His second command a Nova Class Starship that was lost while saving an unaligned world from utter destruction. The ready room on his last ship was small but well adorned. This new room was large and seemed empty to him. Too much of the walls left bare. Moving towards the Replicator near the far wall the young Caitain Captain ordered two cups of green tea hot. A second later two glass and plastic mugs appeared on the small receptacle pad of the replicator. Taking them and strolling out of the ready room onto the bridge he shot off a crisp order before taking his seat and offering one mug to the chief duty officer.
Report.
Ensign Trevors spoke up first. The young human looked quickly over his readouts from Tactical as he reported them to the captain.
We are running a standard maintenance scan on the forward phaser banks. We have also been detecting intermittent Tachyon emissions.
Captain JSoph looked over at the young tactical officer.
Have you done a full sensor sweep of the area?
Aye sir, full sensor sweeps on all bands, we are currently running a sweep of the ship for more tachyon signals.
The young officer stepped back a little from his station to straighten his Uniform tunic before retaking his place. The Captain had noticed over the last week that this was a nervous tick of the young Ensigns. Turning to his duty chief after taking a sip of his tea, the Caitain gave her a thin smile before inclining his head for the rest of the report.
All else is quite on the ship sir, we are holding steady on our course along the Neutral Zone and should be arriving at star base 397 in twenty-three standard hours.
The Duty Chief leaned back in her chair with a soft smile. The Captain nodded once then stood moving towards the turbo lift tea in hand.
Well seems all is well here then, I will leave my ship in your hands Lt. I trust you can handle her well, I will retire to my quarters to start crew reviews.
A few faces looked a little sullen at the mention of crew reviews. JSoph was about to step into the turbo lift when the automated yellow alert started to sound. Turning on his foot pads JSoph gave a steady look to his crew for immediate reports. From tactical Ensign Trevors spoke up in a rushed tone.
Shuttle bay three has started to open, internal sensors show Shuttle Six in pre-launch. Im also detecting heavy Tachyon surges in that shuttle bay.
The Captain turned back towards the turbo lift taping his combadge.
Senior Officers to the Bridge, Mister Wolf you have the bridge once you report in. Out. Lt. Otoshi youre with me, mister Trevors have a security detail meet us at shuttle bay three.
With the duty chief next to him the captain ordered the turbo lift to the appropriate deck for shuttle bay three. Upon arriving the captain took up a phaser offered him by one of the security officers who then hefted a phaser rifle up ready to fire.
JSoph hit the door controls, the heavy blast doors for the shuttle bay opening to reveal a Romulan moving in what appeared to be displaced time, after images of his body trailing behind him into a fissure of energy. Holding up a tricorder the young Captain marveled at the readings. It was a temporal rift leaking Tackyon particles that matched those used by Romulan cloaking devices. The readings showed intermittent life signs on the other side of the fissure, with what seemed to be a core breach. Thinking fast JSoph had to come up with something that would seal the rift.
Phasers to max, narrow beams focus at the corner of the rift.
A moment later six beams of phaser fire seared forth impacting the rift.
Keep your phasers on rotating frequencies we must destabilize that rift.
The concentrated phaser fire started to slowly have an effect on the rift. Its edges slowly closing in till the rift was nearly gone. In this space of time Shuttle Six had left its holding pad leaving the shuttle bay. Looking at his tricorder readings the captains fur almost seemed to pale. Quickly tapping his combadge and barking orders for everyone to evacuate the area.
Captain to bridge, jettison everything in shuttle bay three NOW! Captain to all crew on decks 4,5,6,7,8, and 9 evacuate, to any other deck Now. Captain to all transporter rooms beam as many crew from those decks as you possibly can to safety all hands brace for impact.
As the captain stepped off the turbo lift onto the bridge the ship rocked heavily from a massive explosion in shuttle bay three. Red alert sound as all other sound died away systems going offline until auxisilery power and back up systems kicked on. The captain pulled himself up from the deck holding his arm, it showing that it was clearly broken. Moving with measured steps to his chair JSoph sat slowly at its edge.
Is that shuttle still in the area?
Lt. Commander Wolf called a stiff Aye from his Tactical station.
On Screen ready a tractor beam if we still have one working, and phasers. Dissable the shuttle, beam its pilot to the brig and just toe it till we have everything handled here. I want Damage reports, and injury reports.
JSoph stood wincing looking out the view screen at the shuttle as phaser fire slammed into its impulse engines and the blue hue of a tractor beam latched onto it. Mister Wolf at Tactical called that the pilot was in the brig under heavy guard. The Captain turned looking around the bridge or what was left of it. Consols had exploded part of the floor buckled upwards showing part of the decks below. One crew man was not moving while others were still picking themselves up from the floor.
Ill be down in the brig, Medics to the bridge we have several wounded. Otoshi you have the bridge.
With that the captain marched from the bridge only to find the turbo lifts inactive.
Computer sight to sight transport main security holding, energize.
Materializing in the main brig the captain turned scowling at the rather bloodied Romulan in cell one. Turning to sit back on the security table JSoph Shifted so that he looked steadily at the Romulan.
Welcome aboard the Tesla, I am Captain JSoph. I am sure you can understand why I have detained you in a holding cell. You appeared on my ship through a Tachyon rift, stole a shuttle craft. And the rift you appeared through set off an explosion that has dealt considerable damage to my ship. Now I want to know how you got here, and why?
The Romulan shifted uncomfortably on the bunk before standing straightening his clothing, placing his hands behind his back; before addressing the captain.
I am Sub Lt. Tenrif, second shift engineering commander of the Romulan Star Empire. My ship was conducting maintance on our cloacking device and main energy core.
Looking at the Romulan with a slight frown before speaking sternly, JSoph crossed his one good arm over his lap.
I know a bit about Romulan technology, it has always been of intrest to me. The cloaking device and power core are on the same system, to test one the main system would have to be taken down. Now what I think happened is that you were trying to boost power to your cloaking device by directly linking it to your power core. Something must have gone wrong; a power serge through the cloaking device. Rupturing the Tachyon field that your ships use for your cloaking devices. Feasible that this caused a feedback loop into your power core matrix resulting in the tachyon fissure and the resulting eruption of your power matrix that fed back into our ship causing the great amount of damage to our ship.
The Romulan blinked before sitting back looking at the captain. He pondered his response for a long moment before speaking.
You have great intuition good Captain, I will be honest with you, since you have captured me fairly. You have proposed correctly at to what happened aboard my ship. I would request that you allow me to return to Romulus and report about the fate of my ship.
JSoph stood moving towards the holding cell his face grim. Reaching out to the control panel on the holding cell; a moment later the force field of the cell dropped.
You best come with me, there is much to talk about. Romulus was destroyed by a supernova in 2387, the current year by the standard Earth calendar is 2409. I am sorry but you are trapped in the future.
JSoph led the time displaced Romulan towards a turbolift, the mood along the corridor and between the two of them most somber. Upon reaching the turbo lift the Captain ordered sick bay as their destination.
(it was too long to put all into one post.)
This is lieutenant Mallio making a last minute recording. I've been awake for nearly three days. I'm exhausted, in pain, and I can't seem to focus. My mind keeps wandering but I NEED to tell this before I die. Near as I can tell this all started after I visited the Engineering lab. Captain Donovan had me filling in as a Tac Officer since Commander T'pal was taking her first vacation in about 6 or 7 years. I asked some one on duty what made her decide to go now, and all she would say was that it was personal, I hope everything is okay. It was shortly after we had dropped her off on Vulcan that The U.S.S. Geist Had been ordered into the Neutral Zone. This is the first time I had managed to work on the bridge, sure it was Delta shift, but it was on the bridge all the same. In fact it turns out that Lieutenant Molyse is from the same GeoStructure. Kind of funny happen stance on a ship like this. I can see now why people usually confuse us.
As far as patrol missions go this was pretty standard, nothing out of the ordinary until I had to drop off a Duty Roster to Engineering. In retrospect i should have just sent it over the computer, but Chief Engineer Fine was on duty and any chance I get to see her I take willingly. She's what you would call a "Liberated" Borg. She'd been out of the collective for a few years now but still have a few implants left, but my word those eyes... I'd give my internal respiratory device for a chance that she would notice me. As I entered engineering with P.A.D.D in hand I found her working in one of the Nacelles on a plasma conduit. She had that Wraith fellow assisting her. He's an odd one, He's not very tech savvy since he's never really had any formal schooling, but he seemed content Handing Chief Fine tools and keeping her company as she worked. I guess I was watching her more than I should have because I had managed to knock over a tool box, which Wraith had carelessly placed on the edge of the opening, which must have hit the exposed conduit.
When I woke up, I was in sickbay, with those big beautiful eyes looking down on me. Apparently I had been the only one seriously hit by the blast. Both her and Wraith were full of those nanoprobes, so the radiation burst didn't effect them as hard as it hit me. I received a dose of Hyronalin to counter any radiation poisoning. Benzites aren't usually known for being the toughest of people. Which makes it a bit frustrating that the Federation put so much pressure on us to stop genetic engineering but then allows an "Augie" like him to stay on board. Probably as the Captain's Pet. heh.... As i was right about to talk to her "IT" reminded her that they needed to finish the repairs and she left. The Nurse started saying something but i couldn't understand, apparently the radiation had knocked my translator offline. Beyond that the day had progressed as I had planned up until the end of my shift. Poor Molyse had to listen to me rambling the whole time about why that wraith guy creeps me out and my crush on Fine. As I got up to leave He detected some kind of Tachyon emission in the shuttle bay as one of the shuttles was prepping for launch. I grabbed to security officers and went to investigate. Right as we got there I saw what looked like Wraith climbing on Board with what appeared to be a Romulan! How many times can this guy ruin my day?
I rushed my team down to the second shuttle and prepped it as fast as we could. No way we were letting that traitor get away, especially after the day I'd had due to him. As we began closing in the shuttle was rocked suddenly to the sound of a huge explosion. It was The Geist! As we turned about all we could see what the ship being destroyed in some kind of temporal singularity. It was hard to watch the ship twisting and contorting as it seemed to age and break. The three of us just stared silently in horror when I was dropped to my knees with a sudden pain in my chest. Things seemed to fade to white momentarily before I found my self in Sickbay looking up at Chief Fine again. I tried to speak, and all I could hear back was this strange noise... My Universal Translator was offline again. And there on the other side of the engineer and nurse was that traitor.... I lunged at him swinging as hard as I could... only to have him dodge it like nothing. I slipped and managed to fall over a table hitting my head getting a nice welt in the process.
After having the Nurse calm me down and check my wound it was only a minute before my translator reactivated. as I received a double dose of Hyronalin I tried relating my story to them but they told me I must have been dreaming after the conduit burst. I needed more information. Benzites are patient and meticulous if anything. I would get to the bottom of this and save the ship from that Conspiring Augment traitor. I would show the Captain my evidence as well as prove to Chief Fine that I could be just as efficient as she could be. As I went on Delta Shift I began monitoring all of his movements as well as monitoring for tachyon emissions. Nothing. Not a damn thing. I'd wasted my day while all he did was go to his quarters up until an hour before my shift ended. Needless to say that I got quite the Lecture from the C.O. since I'd neglected most of my duties, just another thing to blame on that blasted Augment, but this was more important. This time I would get to the Shuttle bay before he did and catch him in the act. I pulled Molyse to the side and told him to notify me of any and all Tachyon emissions in the area. He looked quite surprised as I asked him to trust me on this. I decided to Follow Wraith from his quarters to the hanger. Before we got to the hall before the Bay I snuck into a near by Jefferies tube and made my way to the launch room. As I Climbed out of the tube I was hit hard over the head and blacked out.
As I came too the shuttle was launching. I ran to the shuttle and launched as fast as I could. As I flew to a safe distance I began a detailed scan of the ship. This time I wouldn't miss what caused the ship to explode. Same as last time The Geist was destroyed. The source seemed to be coming from the docking bay itself. That THING must have planted a Romulan device of some sort before boarding the shuttle with his Romulan friend. I turned the Shuttle about just in time to see a Romulan War bird Decloak right as the pain hit. It made sense now. Wraith had sold us out to the Romulans. As the pain washed over me I blacked out again. This time when I woke up there was no one there. It was dark and I was alone in sick bay. My body was burning and every muscle ached. When I asked the Computer about my condition it only responded that I had severe radiation poisoning. When i asked the time it was 2300 hours. I had little time to get to the Shuttle Bay and stop that Abomination from destroying the ship. I loaded a hypospray with enough pain killer to get me moving again, but my body still felt sluggish and dull.
Computer, pause recording.
Computer *cough cough* resume recording:
It took me forever it seemed to get to the shuttle bay. This time I was too late to stop the shuttle but I can still stop the bomb. While I was able to record the events of the last few days it turns out I was wrong, Horribly wrong. The Bomb wasn't Wraith, it was Molyse *cough* He's an impostor. The Tachyon emission was him beaming in a Temporal device. He claimed it would wipe The U.S.S Geist from history all together. Every time line, every universe, gone in one horrible moment. *COUGH COUGH COUGH* As best as he could figure the Radiation I had taken worked like a magnet with the Tachyon emissions from the Warbirds singularity. Each time they decloaked the Pulse was enough to push me back to the initial exposure. *Cough cough* He's out cold, and I think I'm dying from the radiation buildup. I can't deactivate the bomb, but I can alter it just enough to save the ship. If I adjust it enough I should be able to create a tachyon pulse big enough to only take the device. Just in case I've recorded this on my P.A.D.D. I figure it was hit with the radiation as well as accumulates more each time the War bird decloaks. That way they can still stop Wraith after the bomb is dealt with. Either way just one last tweak and I'm home fr----
Captain's Log Stardate 88216.89
A few Days ago I dropped off My First Officer to Vulcan to handle some.... Personal matters. Before departing we were ordered to bring a Romulan delegate back to a Rendezvous point by the Neutral Zone. It was all supposed to be very hush hush after there was an attempt to replace him on Vulcan. I personally flew the shuttle with Wraith and a security escort to deliver him safely to the IRW To'bar, but two things are bothering me. We've found out a crewman never made it back on board when we left Vulcan, although no one seems to be able to explain how this happened. Also Mr. Sabin had found a Highly irradiated P.A.D.D. in an empty bunk, But after putting it through De-Con he said that there was too much damage to pull anything from it. I'm having a team put together to investigate both matters......
Captain James Charles Donovan
End Log
Captains Log Captain Green aboard the USS Gemini reporting.
Green. Weve been patrolling the Neutral Zone for the last few weeks. Weve been seeing more and more Klingon vessels in the area. The Empire is getting bold in their activities. However, the crew has been exceptional in the performance of their duties, while operating without the leadership and supervision of Mr. Brot, my first officer.
Green. Sometimes, I wonder what exactly he does around here. I may need to ask him when he returns from shore leave. Green.
With the constant threat from the Klingons, I have been unable to root for more than a few hours at a time. For a botanical life form such as myself, taking root is the equivalent to sleep or hibernation that many of you animalian species undergo routinely. If Im to bloom at all this season, I really do need to spend more time rooted.
Green.
However, it has given me an opportunity to get to know my crew a little better. Green. The crew of the Delta shift are an interesting example. They work well together, and it shows through the shorthand and the intuitive nature of their interactions. They seem to know exactly what each other are thinking in nearly every situation. Its a most fascinating spectacle to behold. I suppose it helps having a couple of Betazoids and a Deltan on the team. Green!
Green. Most interestingly, I discovered another Green amongst my crew. I wonder why Mr. Brot didnt mention to me that there was another Green on board. Green Green has a firm stalk, a pleasing color, and appears to have blossomed sometime in the last few lunar cycles. Green is a fine science officer to boot. However, her prowess as a science officer only became evident in a recent event that occurred on board the Gemini. Green.
I was on the bridge with Delta Shift. We were sharing stories of childhood and seedlings with one another. The Gemini was traveling at high warp towards Shermans Planet and Deep Space K-7 to take on supplies, when the ship suddenly lurched to a stop so fast that the inertial dampers didnt have enough time to compensate. Green. Each of us was thrown from our seats onto the floor. I asked for a status report, as I checked myself for breaks and cracks in my stems and branches. I was fine, but everyone else wasnt as lucky.
Green.
Weve got minor injuries on all decks, Lotorro, the Delta Shifts Deltan Tactical Officer, reported once he was able to return to his station.
Purina, the Caitain Helmswoman, announced, Engines arrre at full, but werrre not moving. Concern filled her feline eyes, when she said, Theyrrre starrting to overrrheat. I suggest we thrrrottle back for now, before we burrrn out a warrrp coil or two.
Green, I replied with a nod. Purina reduced engine power a little at a time. I turned to Green, who had been analyzing sensor data since the accident. Do you perceive anything? I asked.
Green turned away from her console and reported, Green Our port nacelle seems to be snared on some kind of subspace fissure. Green. I approached Green as she continued to study the sensor data. According to these readings, the nacelle is registering different chronometric measurements at various points along its electro-plasma network.
Hashanna, the Delta shift Engineering Supervisor, called out from her station, The warp coils arent getting enough continuous power to maintain a warp field. Request permission to head down to Engineering to give them a hand.
Do what you can. Green, I replied as I continued to scan the sensor logs from over Greens shoulder. Are those Tachyons accumulating in Shuttle Bay 3? I exclaimed.
Green, she replied. I dont know where theyre coming from, but something is definitely happening in Shuttle Bay 3.
Captain, Shuttle Bay 3 reports that an anomaly with a definite Tachyon reading is forming near one of the shuttles, Lotorro replied. The ensign on duty reported that someone just emerged from the anomaly and has boarded a shuttle. Its powering up its engines.
Green! I exclaimed. Prevent the shuttle from leaving. What in the name of the Great Redwoods is going on down there?
The shuttle has left the shuttle bay, Lotorro continued. I dont know how, but they were able to override the shield frequency to escape.
Get a tractor beam on that shuttle, now! I commanded. Dont let them escape. Green!
Got them! Lotorro said. Theyre not going anywhere. Should I return them shuttle to bay 3?
Not yet, I ordered. I want a security team to report to Shuttle Bay 3. Once theyre in place, you can bring them back aboard. Green, join me please. Well be in Shuttle Bay 3. Purina, you have the bridge. Green.
Green escorted me to the turbo lift. We rode the lift to the Shuttle Bay in relative silence, only exchanging a singular word, heavy with meaning, concerning our current situation, in our native language. Green.
The ensigns strange behavior pulled my attention from the anomaly and the shuttle. Green. What is wrong with you, Ensign?
Sir, that woman, he said without taking his eyes off of Green. Shes the one that stole the shuttle.
Green. What are you talking about? I demanded. She has been on the bridge with me for the last two hours. She couldnt have stolen the shuttle. Green.
I cant explain it, sir. But I know what I saw, and I saw her emerge from that anomaly over there, override the security lockouts on the shuttle, and take off as if she ran the place.
I glanced over to Green, who was more surprised by the recent turn of events than I was. Well get to the bottom of this, I said, as I walked away from the Ensign and headed towards the shuttle. Green followed.
I entered the override code for the shuttles hatch as the security teams took positions around the shuttle bay with the best view of the shuttles interior. When the hatched opened, Green (another Green) stepped out with her long slender branches raised above her head.
Dont shoot, the other Green replied. Green.
Turning back and forth between the pair of Green, I studied them closely. They were nearly identical. Only subtle differences were evident. The Green that emerged from the shuttle no longer displayed the tell-tale signs of a recent blossoming. I asked the alternate Green to identify herself.
Theres no time. Every moment that we are caught in the subspace fissure, more of the aliens perish. We need to get the ship out of the spatial rut immediately.
Aliens? What aliens?
I met them when I stepped into the anomaly, or will meet them. I hate temporal mechanics, the other Green replied. Theyre some kind of non-corporal entity that lives outside of space and time. They were exploring our universe when the Gemini collided with their with their vessel?
Thats some kind of ship out there?
Not exactly, but that is the best way to describe it.
You said that you were with them? How long were you there?
A few weeks. Ill be glad to tell you all about it, once weve dislodged ourselves from them, Green replied. She turned towards her younger counterpart, and continued. Its time for you to join them. Be sure to pay attention. They have a lot to share with you? Green motioned for her younger self to step closer to the anomaly.
Green. Why does it have to be you?
I dont know exactly. Perhaps, it was just dumb luck. I was scanning the anomaly, or will scan the anomaly, when it pulled me into it. I dont think it was intentional, but they are waiting for me, I mean her to step through, the other Green replied pointing to her counterpart.
She stepped towards the anomaly, without another word. I reached out to stop her, but before I could order her to stand down, she disappeared into it. Green! This is highly irregular. Its a Captains duty to handle all first contact proceedings with an unknown alien race. I should be the one going.
You cant, Captain. Green. They dont want you, at least not anymore. Now, if you will allow me to complete my task, Ive got to get us out of the subspace fissure. As she spoke, the anomaly slowly dissipated.
I considered everything she had told me. By all rights, I should have her escorted to sick bay or the brigg. If what she said was true, there wasnt any time to waste; we were killing them and Green do not kill. I dont know that I can fully trust you, so Im coming along. Green.
Green laughed. Id enjoy your company, she finally replied. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, where else would I go? This ship is my home. Green.
We boarded the shuttle. Green took the seat at the con and initiated the shuttles launch sequence. As Captain, Im going to need you in the second chair, Green replied as she piloted the shuttle between the massive bay doors and away from the Gemini. Green. Ive already configured the deflector to emit the inverted graviton pulse. Itll seal the fissure. However, we have to see it first. Can you order the bridge to eject a dense stream of ionized hydrogen particles from the bussard collectors?
Green. The ionized hydrogen will be pulled into the fissure. The shuttles sensors will pick it up and we should have a clear view of the rift, I said understanding more of her plan.
Green. Exactly.
I hailed the Gemini and relayed the order. The port nacelle belched a thick cloud of ionized gas that glowed pale blue through the shuttles forward viewer. The gas slowly began to expand outwardly from the nacelle. The leading edge of the cloud found the rift. It began to bubble and churn; caught in its pull, the gas began to swirl round and round as it slowly fell through the tear in the fabric of the universe. Moments later, the jagged outline of the rift appeared on sensors.
Green. There it is, I remarked. Its a big one. Green. When the Gemini snagged the tear, it continued to rip through subspace for half a light year. The ionized gas only illuminated a tiny portion of the rift, but it was enough to reveal exactly what we had to do to get the Gemini out safely. Green.
If we start to seal the rupture at this point and fly along the nacelle, the inverted graviton pulse will pull the edges of the rift together like a suture. Green said pointing to the view screen, As the rift closes, the Gemini will be squeezed back in the direction it had come. They will have to adjust their pitch and velocity with thrusters until theyve cleared the rift. Green?
Green. Im ready to fire the deflector pulse, as soon as were in position. I opened a channel and directed instructions to Purina and Hashanna as Green slowly turned the shuttle toward the subspace tear and came to stop just meters from the rift and nacelle. Now! I announced over the open com. Channel as I pounded the panel in front of me.
The shuttles tiny deflector glowed brightly and fired the inverted graviton pulse at the rift. Slowly, it began to close, but it wasnt enough. Green! I pulled up Greens deflector control program and adjusted its power utilization curve and firing frequency in order to fire multiple low yield deflector pulses. Their accumulative effect should be enough to get the ball rolling.
Green. Were trying again, I said over the open com channel. I initiated the new deflector configuration. A half dozen deflector pulses in quick succession pulsed from the shuttle deflector. The rift slowly moved together, a little faster with each pulse. I fired another volley, and another. Soon, the Gemini began to reverse under the pressure of the closing rift. The Geminis thruster control system engaged. The massive ship began to slowly slide out of the rift. A few tense moments later, the Gemini emerged from the rift. Green.
With the Gemini clear and moving away from the rift under its own power, I fired another volley of deflector pulses to continue sealing off more of the rift. Green. We returned to the Gemini. Utilizing Greens deflector specifications, we successfully sealed the subspace rift. Green is currently writing up an extensive report on her weeks long visit with the aliens. Im including the specifications for her deflector pulse with this log. It appears that we now have a method to repair damage to subspace. Green.
Ever since Mr. Karlo returned to the Klingon Defense Force, both she and Madame Jane Nori had been hard pressed to find a replacement. For a Lethean he had been far more useful than she had given him credit for. In the interim, Jane's sister Tevnu had come aboard as a temporary fill-in as Executive Officer. Tonight had been her first night aboard, arriving on Madame Nori's ship, the Zephyr earlier this evening.
Tevnu was a lot different than Jane both in attitude and appearance. The younger Nori sister was shorter than Jane, but nearly stood even with Zadari. Her sharp, grey eyes held back a more aggressive wit, and her body was instead of sleek and demure, was curvaceous and muscular. Both displayed high degrees of scientific aptitude, but in different areas. Jane seemed to show more interest in things such as gemology, whereas Tevnu was into more exotic forms of research and even dabbled in medicine.
This wasn't the USS Majestic, or even her own ship. It belonged to the Nori sisters, and the primary function of this old Vor'cha class rustbucket was to deliver high profile cargo to its destination: This time somewhere in Romulan space. Unless it had something to do with turning a profit, this ship would not be performing any research, or responding to medical calls.
Despite her abrasiveness, Zadari liked Tevnu more than her older sister. She was far more patient, less flamboyant, and bluntly honest. There was also a way that Tevnu carried herself that commanded respect, and even intimidated the rest of the crew. She was the kind of person Zadari valued, especially as her right hand on this glorified cargo hauler.
She reached the door to the brig and exhaled slowly, trying to breathe more energy into her aching body. Before it was time for bed, she had to check on her cargo one last time. She reached out with a gloved hand and typed on the keypad. A rush of air hit her in the face as the air from the compartment swirled into the rest of the ship. For a moment, she felt an extra rush of life.
To keep her subject subdued she had ordered the Brig on minimal power. Just enough for the forcefield, environmental controls, and toilet functions to operate. The rest was cast in dull reddish orange light, and long shadows. On purpose she had also put the subject at the farthest room from the door, to make escape seem a more difficult task than it was, and to give her the fear that came with uncertainty when someone entered the room.
Normally, she never questioned her assignments from the Nori Sisters, no matter how bizarre, but this one had topped the list. Not just because the nature of the assignment, but her familiarity with the dangers involved. Why someone would choose this as a target, she couldn't fathom, and in asking she had only been threatened with death. Though, in the back of her mind Captain Iminei knew that death was the likeliest end result anyway.
She finally reached the final cell that contained Captain Vaihuu e'Hvalli. Stopping, her eyes traced over the Romulan/human hybrid's exotic facial features. Her fair skin glowed angelically in the pale light from the forcefield emitters and was marred by a long gash along her forehead, bruises on her cheekbones, and lips from a struggle with T'sss. Her long, raven colored hair swirled around her neck, and rested gracefully on the shoulders of her tattered Starfleet uniform covered in dried green blood.
She didn't know Vai personally, but knew of her both from the old days in Starfleet, and her days as a smuggler in Romulan space. She was the only daughter of Vice Admiral Kim Sharp and the late Senator Ynala t'Hvalli. She was also the step daughter of Colonel Sevak Kh'via, one of the most respected officers in the V'Shar and rumored to be one of the leading assassins during the Dominion War.
Undoubtedly, someone like Vaihuu was important to the whole of Starfleet, not just the Sharps or the Hvallis. Captain e'Hvalli had been exiled permanently after she tried to assassinate Empress Sela, while a young member of the Tal'Shiar. She a former protegee of the Romulan Empress, which meant she was in a position to know her well, as well as be a thorn in her side. Rumor had it, Sela still had an open bounty on her head. Zadari guessed initially that was why Jane had been eager to capture this woman, however, standing here, staring at her as she shifted against her chains, her wrists raw against the naked duranium restraints, she began to wonder about Jane's true motivations for kidnapping her.
Despite the controversy over the Hvallis' involvement with Praetor Taris, Starfleet showed no signs that they would stop protecting her. They had decorated her well, and had rewarded her with a shiny new science ship to command. Such a pretty ship it had been too.
For someone like Mistress Nori, a job such as this one had to be personal. But why? Jane never hid the fact she worked for the Hvallis twenty years ago "keeping their books" as she liked to put it, and it seemed she had been considered a member of the house. There were also rumors around the company that Admiral Sharp was a high profile client.
"Enjoying the view?" Vaihuu asked sarcastically. Her melodious voice pierced through the stale air, and dashed away Zadari's musings.
"You won't get far."
"I doubt your mommy will find us before we can deliver you, so I wouldn't think about it too much." Zadari replied.
"I wouldn't count on that." Vaihuu shifted on the bench, and moved her wrists against her shackles, the chains attached to the base of the bulkhead behind the bed to her right clattering against themselves.
"These are a bit much aren't they?"
Zadari shrugged. "You put up so much of a fuss, I felt they were warranted."
Vaihuu chuckled, and leaned forward, giving Zadari a daring glare. "You should be afraid of me."
Captain Iminei was suddenly hit from behind by an energy weapon blast, and fell to the deck unconscious.
Vaihuu turned a surprised emerald eye to a young Romulan woman whom she didn't recognize clutching a disruptor. The intruder alert alarm began to sound, causing her to jump. The Romulan quickly bent down and grabbed Captain Iminei's disruptor, and then stepped over the two. She typed on the forcefield keypad, releasing it.
"Come on." She said. She reached to Vaihuu's wrists and removed the shackles. Grabbing her by her hand she pulled her to her feet and shoved the disruptor at her.
Vaihuu grinned. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. She took the disruptor and fumbled with the controls, changing its settings to a narrow beam and heavy stun.
"My name is T'Vel. I've disabled the internal sensors, so they can't detect us for now."
Commander Tevnu Nori flashed a piercing gray eye at Korgok as the older Klingon man typed on the operations console.
"I'm sorry, Mistress. Whoever disabled the sensors did it in such a way, I can't override it."
"Seal off every deck from here to every airlock." She ordered.
"Commander, I am detecting an unauthorized shuttle launch." Dala said, the young Orion woman, her breathy voice sounding almost uncharacteristic.
"Lock on a tractor beam and beam them out of there."
Korgok's hands flew up the console. "I have them, Mistress, but there is a scattering field in place that's preventing us from beaming them."
Tevnu frowned as the the space behind the shuttle started to shimmer, and the starfield became distorted.
"Commander, I am detecting a large tachyon field, and a large concentration of chronitons in front of us." Said Science Officer Ranek.
The distortion cleared, revealing a large, menacing warship. It was black in color, and somewhat resembled a Mogai class warbird, but much larger and instead of a single set of wings there were two. The windows and running light trimmings glowed a bright greenish color, as did the markings of the Romulan Star Empire.
"They've locked their weapons onto us, and we're being hailed." Korgok said.
She turned her head to the Yridian at tactical who shook his head.
"We're definitely not a match for that." He said quietly, and typed a few buttons on his console to prevent Commander Nori from seeing his hands tremble.
The door to the turbolift hissed opened and Tevnu's eyes fell upon the figure of Captain Iminei, clutching to Lieutenant Xaro. Both the Bolian and the Trill turned their attention to the viewscreen.
"Get to your station." Zadari said, her voice breathy as she pushed Xaro to one of the aft weapons stations.
Everyone on the bridge was staring at her, some with relief; some like Commander Nori, with disdain. She turned her pale blue eyes to Commander Nori, and stared at her as she ascended to the command platform.
Tevnu rose slowly from the command chair, keeping her hand on the soft Targ leather back, and her eyes locked with Zadari's. She distinctly felt the presence of the Alhalan dagger on her hip. Zadari was quite a fighter by the look in her eye, but there was that little hint of hesitation that Starfleet had ingrained into her. Though, she had a clear advantage, now was not the time to argue.
"On screen." Tevnu said, cautiously, still facing her.
A small smile crossed the thin lips of Captain Iminei and she turned from the Orion woman to the view screen. The image of the Romulan warship was replaced with...it couldn't be. Zadari frowned in confusion. Vice Admiral Kim Sharp?
Except, this was not what she expected. The last time Captain Iminei had heard, Vice Admiral Kim Sharp was still attached to Starbase 23, not at the helm of some Romulan monstrosity. She also was still in Starfleet. This Admiral Sharp wore the ceremonial robes, and the crown of the Romulan Empress. In fact, the emblem on both the crown and on the breast of the dark green robe bore the crest of the Hvalli house. The Empress of the Romulan Star Empire was not a Hvalli, nor was it Kim Sharp.
The human female's chiseled features held a dark, dispassionate expression, her eyes cold and ruthless. This was not the face of someone recently married, or promoted. Either something terrible had happened and the Admiral had lost her mind, or this wasn't the same version of Kim.
"I am Empress Kimberly t'Hvalli of the Romulan Star Empire. You have ten seconds to release the shuttlecraft or we will open fire." Her voice was flat, piercing, and cold with aggression.
Tevnu opened her mouth to reply, and was silenced by Captain Iminei's firm hand on her arm.
"Release the shuttle." Captain Iminei said, not taking her eyes off the viewscreen.
"Tractor beam disengaged." Korgok said.
The human female on the viewscreen smiled cordially, her cobalt blue eyes flashing menacingly.
"I am detecting a transporter signature." Korgok said watching the shuttle disappear in front of them. His voice was quiet as his heard thudded nervously in his chest.
"Thank you, Captain." Empress t'Hvalli said. She lifted a muscular hand and waved her fingers mockingly. "Ta ta!"
The viewscreen switched off and the ship slowly shimmered from view.
Tevnu glanced over at the science monitor against the aft wall, noting the rise in tachyons and what appeared to be a temporal displacement field of unprecidented size. She turned her eyes back to Captain Iminei.
"Now what do we do?!" Korgok growled.
Gently Shmun placed T'Lana on her feet. He tried to ignore the smooth, pale flesh exposed by her rent gown but the heat from the burning temple behind them was as nothing compared to the fever that the sight of her perfect skin ignited in his blood. Quickly he turned away, gazing across the sands and trying to regain control. He drew a ragged, shuddering breath.
"Forgive me, Priestess. I... I..."
"There is no offense where non is taken." He stiffened as T'Lana placed her hands upon his shoulders, her fingers lightly tracing the smooth, firm musculature. He turned back to her, striving to deny what he felt, unable to resist.
"Priestess.. we... we must not! This is passion, not logic!"
She slapped him, her eyes flashing. "Do you deny the fire that burns in your blood? Where is the logic in denying what must be? You are the master of my heart. You, and you alone." She stepped close to him and of their own volition his arms encircled her, crushing the priestess to his breast. He felt the flutter of her breath upon his chest and knew that all was lost.
"But... this is improper."
T'Lana looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the eternity in the stars above.
"If this improper, then I do not wish to be proper."
Captain? Excuse me, Captain?
Sky Falls In Thunder, Captain of the USS Rage of Angels snapped the old style book closed turned to glare at the intercom. Come.
The door whisked open to reveal Lt. Elena Danziger, the Delta Shift Science watch. The pretty redhead was nervously shifting from foot to foot. Between the chewing out her last commander had given her for calling unnecessary alerts and the fact that she had only recently earned a place on the bridge rotation she was feeling as nervous a tribble at a targ party. The fact that her new captain was a 7 foot tall, pure strain Augment whos adoptive Vulcan name translated to Whispering Storm did nothing to ease her fears.
The Captain was by no means a muscle-bound grotesque, but rather had the solid but sleek build of a career athlete who maintained a balance of strength and agility. And that scared the hell out of Lt. Elana Danziger.
Like many, Danziger was still wrapping her head around an Augment alive and not on a penal colony, much less in Starfleet. Even though their role as Humanitys Official Cultural Boogieman had gradually been supplanted by the Borg, Augments were still pretty scary to any human who knew her homeworlds history. And more scary to those few who had learned of the Genesis Incident or the Heran War of 40 years ago. It seemed like you couldnt have a century go by without an Augment of some bigger, scarier model showing up to start something awful. There were dark whispers that Sky Falls In Thunder's acceptance into Starfleet suggested a growing level of desperation on the Admiralty's part. And other, darker rumors floated that she was some sort of prototype, a test of a new generation of super-soldier.
Report. The Captains voice was surprisingly soft, not what one expected from a woman who looked like she could hunt mugatus with a piece of string and some pocket lint. Danziger gulped. According to the Old Hands whod served with the Captain on her last vessel, the USS Fury Of Avalon, the more quietly she spoke, the more irritated she was. Pleasepleaseplease let that Vulcan foster parent of hers have taught her all about Surak so she doesn't twist my head off. I heard she did that to a Klingon ambassador once
Lieutenant. I need to know whats happening. You didnt come in here with chocolates and flowers so I assume that your here on business. The fact that your business is Science suggests that theres something Sciencey happening that you think I should know about. Im not going to tear you in half and eat you unless your delay is putting my crew at risk. Report. The glint of humor or gentle smile didnt even register on the girls sensors. As the Captain pulled on her trousers and boots, Danzigers training took over and told the extraneous parts of her brain to just shut the melon-chatter the hell up already and just make the report.
Sorry, er, yes Captain! There are some strange sensor readings coming from Shuttle Bay 3. Some sort of tachyon signature, but I cant get a fix on it. I paged the Shuttle Bay, but nobodys answering.
Very well, Lieutenant. You were quite correct in summoning me. If I didnt wish to be available I wouldnt sleep in my Ready Room when the XOs away. Lets take a look. And kindly summon Val to the bridge.
Danziger scampered back to the bridge where she keyed her communicator to page the ships Chief Science Officer. It didnt even occur to her to wonder why the Captain didnt do that herself. She then piped her display to the central monitor as the Captain reclaimed the center chair.
Captain to Engineering. Do we have anyone in Shuttle Bay 3? Were getting some unusual readings up here.
Engineering here, Captain. Chief Pain.. Ah, Commander Payne was working on rigging a shuttle to deploy one of those prototype sensor probes hes been toying with. Ill see if Captain? I cant raise him.
The Captain stabbed at a button on the arm of her command chair. All hands, Yellow Alert. Security to Shuttle Bay 3. Medical team to Shuttle Bay 3. A few more taps on her command interface and the main screen brought up a view of the shuttle bay. One of the shuttles was literally bouncing up and down in the center of the bay. As she watched, the bay doors slid open and the shuttle, still bouncing, made its way out of the bay into open space.
Get a tractor on that thing! And see if theres anyone on board! she barked as the ships Science Officer entered the bridge and took her station. The Synthetic was synced with the ships communications system so there was no need to waste time briefing her.
There is an increasing amount of tachyon interference coming from the shuttle, Captain. Sensors are unable to make a lock on the shuttle. I believe that the SRSN is aboard and that its jamming function is active. I can neither tractor the vehicle back in nor determine if there are any life signs present. The shuttles coarse is growing increasingly erratic. I believe we will only be able to track it for another . Ah. I can no longer track the shuttle. Valkyrum Command Remote 541s voice displayed mild curiosity, and even a small bit of pleasure. Unsurprising considering that before being recovered by Starfleet, the Synthetic had spent untold centuries tumbling through space, alone in the night. Boredom was her one single fear.
The intercom chirped for attention. Security to the bridge. Ensign Thes reporting. Captain, the bays empty. There are some tools here, and the access log indicates that Commander Payne entered the bay, but didnt leave. And the prototype SRSN unit is gone.
Very well, Ensign. I want a shipwide search for my chief engineer, just in case hes still on board. Val? Find a way to track that shuttle, extrapolate its course, sniff for spoor, whatever it takes. I want my engineer back, and I want that prototype back. We do NOT want a hostile power getting their hands on either. Helm, lay in a general search pattern, best guess as to the shuttles last bearing until Val can firm things up for you.
For the next 3 hours Val provided a steady stream of technobabble that even Skys Augmented intellect had trouble keeping up with. Finally, Val stopped and simply said Handshake.
Excuse me? Sky sat forward in her chair. Someone had brought her uniform jacket from her Ready Room, but she hadnt bothered pulling it on over her halter. No one had commented, but despite the crisis Ensign Taylor had started glancing sideways at her and smelling just a little sweaty and inappropriate. Dusky skin was apparently his downfall.
The Synthetic turned towards the center chair. Captain, if we transmit the signal for the SRSN to activate, the shuttle will deploy it and it should respond with a brief handshake protocol before it begins self-replicating. It will broadcast the handshake each time it replicates. It should only take 2 or perhaps 3 handshakes for me to locate the shuttle.
Sky nodded. Thats assuming that Chief Pain ah, the Commander had time to install it properly before things went haywire.
The Synthetics voice was solemn. Correct. If it does not deploy, its self-replication will rupture the shuttles hull within 2 replications.
Payne may be injured or heading into God only knows what. Well have to take the chance and hope for the best. Send the activation code.
The tense silence on the Bridge seemed to stretch for hours, but it was only a minute or two before Vals console chirped. Handshake received. I have an initial bearing . Captain. The shuttle appears to be moving into an area that the Hirogen have claimed as a hunting ground.
Sky sat back in the command chair looking like a Sultana from an ancient Orientalist painting, pondering the fate of an unfortunate peasant or Crusader. Lay in a pursuit course, maximum warp. But first activate the holoprojector. A nice, little Intrepid class, I should think
As the Rage Of Angels sped in pursuit of its wayward engineer, Val turned to the captain. How much latinum did it take to get your hands on that?
Sky shrugged. None. I bartered a signed, first edition, first print of Vulcan Love Slave for it. I understand that Quarks bar charges 5 slips of gold pressed latinum just to be in the same room with it, and 5 whole strips to actually look at a page. Which of course then leads to a Very Special Offer regarding the holosuites. I should have held out for 2 holoprojectors, but I felt guilty. I can always just have Shaikatra sign another copy any time I need it, after all.
The Synthetic nodded her approval.
An hour passed, then two. Finally they received another handshake that let them correct their course. Before, long, sensors picked up the shuttle ducking and weaving for all it was worth while 3 Hirogen escorts took stabs at it with their tractor beams. Skys smile was soemwhat regretful as she called the Red Alert. The Rage of Angels had been on its way to rendezvous with the USS Thevins Stand, a Defiant class escort which would be returning Skys XO from her shore leave. Theyd engage the Hirogen before Shaikatra got back, and the irritable shen would be giving her an earful over dinner tonight. Shaikatra really hated Hirogen.
After a moment the Hirogen vessels broke off and streaked towards the Rage. Sky leaned back in the command chair, relaxed, with a pleasant smile on her face. Tactical? As soon as they begin firing, drop the holo-image and initiate Quartermain Delta 1. Don't hit their warp cores.
The Hirogen vessels had closed to what passed for knife fighting range between starships when the false image of a science vessel faded and they realized that they had charged into the jaws of an Odyssey class Starcruiser. What followed could not be even be charitably described as a battle. Two drifted dead in space, broken and gutted while the vessel Tactical had determined to be the lead ship struggled to maintain power.
Transporter room? Beam Commander Payne aboard. Then scan the wreckage. I want any non-Hirogen remains from their damned trophy walls sent to the morgue. We might know some of them, and those people deserve a decent burial. Then beam up any Hirogen remains you can locate, hold them in the transporter buffer and relay control to Val. Comm? Hail the remaining Hirogen vessel. The brutish countenance of the Hirogen Alpha appeared. Battered and bloody, he nodded in respect to her.
A magnificent ploy, Captain- She cut him off.
I am Sky Falls In Thunder, Captain of the USS Rage of Angels. I do not care to hear the opinions of my prey. I am allowing you to leave this space for one reason, and one reason only. I find no pleasure or glory in stalking prey as it sleeps, you will see that my prey is roused and alert for my Hunt. Know this I do not seek trinkets of bone and flesh. My trophy . will be the silence where once the Hirogen strode boldly. And all who remember the Hirogen will tremble at that silence.
The Alpha looked surprised for a moment, then a knowing smile creased his face. You are a human. Your kind does not do such things. You have Hunted well, but now you will negotiate. Your kind always seeks to barter and appease.
Sky stood and crossed her arms, and Danziger realized why she had left her jacket off. The Alphas eyes narrowed appreciatively as he sized her up, estimated the strength of the athletic, muscular physique her halter revealed. And then they widened slightly as he realized she stood at least a head taller than anyone visible on her bridge tall as any other Hirogen Alpha hed met.
Her green eyes narrowed and she favored him with a toothy, feral grin. The humans youve met before are dreamers and seekers, builders and makers.
She snapped her fingers.
Im a different kind of human.
The transporter effect shimmered on the bridge of the crippled Hirogen ship as the remains of the Hunters from the other two escorts materialized around the Alpha.
Im done with these. Go now, I give you fair chance to sing of my Hunt before it begins.
The Hirogen vessel spun about and began limping away at full impulse. Within the hour, their repairs were sufficient for them to go to warp.
Pulling her uniform jacket on at last, Sky commented on their departure. They wont stay gone. They wont be able to resist the notion of hunting me once word spreads to the other Alphas. But theyll think twice before picking on any more helpless vessels. She glanced at Lt. Danziger who was staring at her with wide eyes and a very, very pale face. Another gentle smile. Relax, Lt. That little speech was pure Corbomite. Although when Commander Payne gets through explaining how he managed to trigger a power surge that knocked him out, activated the SRSN prototype, and triggered the shuttles E&E training routine, hes going to wish he had brought some Corbomite She stood and stretched.
Val, take the conn. The Thevins Stand should be catching up with us shortly. My compliments to Captain Roehe, and have Commander Shaikatra report to me when she comes aboard. See to it that Commander Payne visits sickbay, then have him come to the bridge and await my convenience. Having no further concern, she ambled over to her Ready Room with all the urgency of a person whos decided to see if the library has anything interesting.
Commander Payne was waiting stiffly at attention by the turbolift an hour later when the wayward XO stormed onto the bridge, her antennae were back, practically flat against her skull in outrage. She was carrying an armload of horga'hns. She paused to glare at Payne, then stomped off into the Captains ready room leaving a hissing string of invective that threatened to eat holes in the deck. Hirogen and I MISSED it!
Commander Payne became aware that he was receiving numerous pitying looks but he kept his gaze fixed stoically ahead. The Captain had a reputation for being fair and even kind, but there were stories about occasions where she had actually lost her temper. When her voice finally came over the intercom, it was a small, churchmouse whisper.
T'Sahriv Zhalan... The Whispering Storm.
Vals eyebrow went up and Danziger had to look away from Payne. He had always been nice. Shed heard that the last time the Captain had spoken in that tone she had been sealed in a cargo bay with a Klingon boarding party and had offered them a chance to surrender. According to Crewman Snyder who was dating a nurse who knew somebody in Security, when the damage control teams finally got the door open, the Captain was sitting on a pile of dead Klingons munching on one of those old style ration bars she favored.
Commander Payne marched into the Ready Room with his back straight and his chin up.
When the door whisked shut behind him, he heard the privacy lock engage.
Commander Greyson Payne, reporting as ordered Captain! Crisp, and Academy perfect.
There was silence for a moment, then a wet thwapp! A red splash appeared on his forehead, and he stiffened, his face a slack mask of disbelief. An instant later there was a second thwapp! Something red and viscous splatted to the floor.
Was that really necessary? I mean, really, did you have Oh! Are these real maraschino cherries? Not replicated? FIVE SECOND RULE!
The engineer snatched the two cherries off of the floor and popped them into his mouth as Shaikatra brought him a Singapore Sling. You know, your reputation would be ruined if your wrench monkeys down in engineering knew you like these girlie drinks the shen teased.
The Captain motioned him to the table. Real drinks and a platter of proper barbeque is the least I can do after the chance you took for me. Did the deployment go as planned, Pain?
With a grin he tucked a napkin into his shirt. Yup. It's positioned right where we need it and the replications going beautifully. Within 3 days, the Self Replicating Sensor Net will be up and running. Vals shut off that bogus handshake she set up, so theyre in passive mode. Only way someone will find a unit is to fly into it, and then theyll think its space junk from blowed up Hirogen.
Sky nodded and took a long pull on her thick, dark ale. Once we get 3 more in place, well be able to triangulate and find the Ghehenna Rift. Ill be able to liberate my sisters their daughters. I fear my brothers will never surrender to a Breed Thing though. Her eyes flickered to the Vulcan lirpa on the far wall, her gaze caressed it lovingly.
Shaikatra poked her. "Hey. What did you do to scare the hell out of the Danziger kid? Did you have one of your Monster Moments?"
Sky held up her hand, thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart. Shaikatra poked her again. The Augment shrugged and moved her hands about a yard apart.
"I threatened the Hirogen with genocide and beamed the remains of the 2 dead crews onto his bridge. I told her I was bluffing, but I think she's sharper than the average butter-bar."
The shen shrugged. "Just explain to her that you respect the right of members of other cultures to make their own choices, and you're simply being Consequences"
Payne snorted. "Shaikatra, you were Old School Andorian even when you served under Kirk. Which makes you Old Old School, I guess. Didn't the Temporal Displacement Counselors explain that kinder, gentler, more evolved stuff to you? 'I accept and embrace your right to eat my children as an expression of your unique cultural uniqueness, blahblahblah..." Sky, I'll have T'Ren talk to Danziger. Being married to the ship's Counselor has it's perks. Although it might help her accept where your head is if T'Ren tells her a little bit about what growing up in the Augment breeding pens was like."
The Captain took another pull of her ale and considered something harder, not that she could ever stay drunk long. "I suppose. There are enough rumors about me going around a few more won't hurt. And... I don't want her to be afraid of me. And what of our other friends?"
Shaikatra put on an air of suffering martyrdom. "Let's talk about how I spent my 'vacation.' I met with them on Risa. Mandalay and Valour At Dawn are game, so we'll have company. The Hathcock will have to sit things out... too many new crew for her Captain to have sorted out who's a plant and who's just a putz. Thevin's Stand will ghost around here polishing off the odd Hirogen ship so they don't stumble into the Net or, worse, the Rift. And finally, Aegis is willing to play ball. They've accepted your proposal. They owe you too many favors, and they really don't want a group of female Augments just dumped any old place and having babies. It'd do "unpredictable" things to the timeline. They'll keep the uptime Temporal agencies in line, although DTI would choke if they really knew where we're going. Have you thought about bringing in the Ghost Fleet?"
Sky's lowered her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know about that one. They're good people, and I owe a lot to them... I wouldn't have been able to retrieve you two without Project Christopher. But Section 31's got their fingers in too many of their pies for me to be comfortable with bringing them in on this."
Shaikatra scooted closer to Sky and put a hand on her friends arm as Payne spoke. Captain Granger would be proud, Sky. T'Shia told me it always haunted him that he wasnt able rescue all those other girls from the hellhole you were born in. Were doing a Good Thing here, and even protecting the Federation while we're at it. And Val's even cooked up some legal gobbledygook that'll make it sound like we're not even violating the Prime Directive. Much. I wish he could see the woman you've gown into.
The three friends looked at one another. Shaikatra raised her glass.
To absent companions.
"de Groot, sir. Juliet de Groot," she said as she relaxed and resumed drinking her tea. After a slow sip she looked at me for a moment before asking, "What brings you to astrometrics sir?"
I smiled and motioned towards her mug. "I smelled the tea. Hard to find anyone who can appreciate it at this hour - usually coffee and herbal sodas at this time of night."
She looked down at her drink and then motioned towards the kettle on the counter near the door. "Feel free." I walked to the replicator, made a tea cup, and then poured myself a generous helping. "Nothing brings back the memories like rooibos."
She looked up at me at the mention of rooibos. "Most people call it red tea."
I picked up the steaming mug of amber tinted water and sipped slowly. As the tea cup left my lips I smiled. "My mother called it rooibos and I grew up with it always called that or bush tea. I didn't know there was another name for it until I entered the academy."
I looked at her and for a moment saw her staring off into the distance with a slight smile crossing her lips. She caught my gaze and her expression melted back to neutral interest. I couldn't help but nudge her reservation. "Such a nice smile shouldn't have to hide. What's on your mind?"
She flushed for a moment as the smile found its way back to her lips. "I was remembering my dad would always take rooibos before he went to bed. We had one of those kettles that whistle when the water boiled; dad didn't trust replicated hot water. My brother and I knew it was time to get ready for bed when we heard a whistle from the kitchen. Ever since then, I would have some tea at night to remind me of them."
I looked at the kettle. "You don't trust replicators either?"
"Oh no," she said, "I grew up around them. I brew because I enjoy it and it helps me think."
The PADD on her desk chimed. She picked it up and looked over towards holographic display. "Excuse me captain. I need to check on these sample sites."
"By all means." I headed towards the door and as it opened, I turned to look at her. "Mind if I stop by later for a refill? Maybe we can pick up our conversation where we left off."
"I look forward to it."
-
I rubbed my eyes. The main view screen projected an empty starfield and the only company on the bridge was an ensign busy with some navigation algorithms, or at least trying to look busy while his captain was in the room. A turbolift door opened and Juliet was standing there with a kettle in hand and a couple of mugs. I saw her, smiled, and motioned with a glance towards the empty chair next to mine. As she walked in, I looked at the ensign. "There's nothing going on out there. Ensign, take the night off early."
He stood up, looked relieved, and left with a jaunt in his step.
"I think he wanted to leave." Juliet said as the turbolift door closed behind him.
"All the more reason to let him." I smiled as she sat down and poured two cups of tea. "What brings you to the bridge?" I asked.
"You never came back for that second cup. I thought you might be busy and I wasn't, so here I am." She handed me one of the steaming mugs.
"Perfect timing Juliet." I breathed in the thick aroma and savored a long sip.
"If you don't mind, captain, only my service record calls me Juliet. Feel free to call me Jules."
I outstretched my hand and reached for hers. We shook like two people getting to know each other for the first time. "Jack."
Sitting there, with our tea and stars flitting by on the main screen we reminisced. "de Groot, is that Dutch?" I asked.
"Sort of. Dutch stock by way of South Africa."
I sat upright at the sound of home. "I'm from Wellington, an hour from Cape Town."
"I'm from Betty's Bay!"
"What are the odds that two people a couple hours apart on Earth would find themselves so much closer so far from home?"
We smiled and talked about the perfect weather, the beaches, the music we grew up with, family, and the food we missed. I asked, "What do you miss the most?"
She sipped her tea and ruminated in nostalgia, that shy smile creeping back to her face. "My mom would make us melktert every Sunday and my brother and I couldn't wait to get through dinner so we could enjoy them. She died when I was little so I never knew the recipe and the replicator can't cook."
I nodded, "Yeah the replicator can't make a lot of nice things. There was this nature preserve near our house and my father and I would go backpacking through it. He would make up droewors and granola and we would walk for hours munching on his culinary concoctions. I miss those trips."
The mood shattered as a console started beeping anxiously. I sighed and looked at her, "Let me shut that off." I walked over to the science console and saw the alert. Tachyon levels were rising in the shuttlebay at an exponential rate. I called out, "Jules, come take a look at this."
She walked over and saw the screen. "What do you make of this?" I asked without looking away from the monitor.
"It's a tachyon cascade. I recognize the signature of the growth pattern. But it shouldn't be able to be formed in three dimensions, much less inside a ship. This requires a singularity and -"
BOOM! The ship rocked hard to the side, the computer tripping the red alert klaxons. The bridge became bathed in red light as crew began to stumble in a moment later. I looked at the first uniform to find their action station and yelled, "All stop. Report!"
The ensign looked down and read aloud as the information came in: "We have lost power to decks 2 and 4. Most of deck 3 and the shuttlebay are gone."
That last bit of information didn't register for a moment. "Did it explode?"
He looked up sheepishly and said, "It just isn't there."
"Ensign, define gone."
"Sir, there are no fragments or remnants. It just disappeared."
I looked at Juliet who had a look of confused horror about her. "Jules, talk to me. What do you know about that tachyon cascade?"
She hid her personal expression again and looked at me. "At the academy I had a physics professor who experimented with temporal loops. In order to start one, he had to initialize a tachyon cascade inside a quantum singularity with pulsed zero point radiation to stabilize the quanta. He thought that it, along with the mechanics of the Pathfinder theorem, could build a sustained bridge for pan-galactic transmission. But without a warp core or singularity, it isn't possible to generate a cascade."
I walked to the ensign's station, looked at the screen that confirmed the shuttle bay was gone, and looked back at Juliet. "Something caused one because a piece of the ship just vanished. Jules, let's go." I headed for the turbolift and swatted at my comm badge: "Security, meet me on deck 3."
When we arrived the emergency force fields were flickering wildly as the empty vacuum of space filled most where there would have been a hallway. I looked over at Juliet and said, "Okay, let's assume this is a cascade: where does the other end come out?"
Her brow furrowed as she replied, "Without knowing where it was targeted, all I can tell you is that it will come out tomorrow."
I shook my head in disbelief. "Tomorrow?! There has to be a way to fix this. Tell me there is some kind of good news."
"Well, the good news is that we can send large pieces of matter 50,000 light years." She said sheepishly.
"Is there anyway to stop the transmission?"
"I'm not sure."
My comm badge chimed, "Sir, we are detecting an anomalous build up of tachyon particles."
"I'm on my way to the bridge." I looked at Juliet, "Go find out everything you can about the Pathfinder Project and let me know how we can find our shuttlebay."
As soon as the turbolift doors opened I gave the order, "Ensign, set a course for whatever and get us out of here. Far from here. This whole area has some kind of tachyon flux and we need to leave."
Refuge came from the Oort cloud of a nearby star. As we dropped out of warp, I ordered a full ship diagnostic. The report that came back was less than pleasing. "Sir, we have only auxiliary power. Cloak is offline, phasers are offline, shields are offline, and the plasma from the warp core attracted tachyon particles which forces us to scrub down the cooling tubes so we will need to take the warp core offline. We need to find a starbase for repairs."
I sighed and put my head in my hands. This problem was beyond what sheer force of will could overcome. "Ensign, put out a call for help for the nearest ship in the sector. Tell them we are in desperate need of assistance and that we have suffered critical system failures."
Relief came minutes later with a subspace call. "This is captain Dylan Houston of the USS Heisenberg. We have received your distress call. What is your location and condition?"
"Captain Houston, this is captain Jack Slade of the USS Acheron. We have suffered severe damage as the result of a tachyon particle build up and require assistance. I am sending you our coordinates."
"Thank you Captain Slade; we estimate to be at your location inside a half an hour."
As I was finishing the subspace call, Juliet walked out of the turbolift and onto the bridge. "Captain, I have some information you will want to see."
I looked to her awaiting the details but she hesitated before adding, "In private."
"The shuttlebay is gone and we can't get it back. But that isn't the interesting part," she said, "I looked into the Pathfinder Project some more and found that after the USS Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant, the MIDAS array was all but shut down. With no recipient a quadrant away to converse with, all testing became computer modeled and the array mothballed. However, work on tachyon communications continued within Starfleet. When I tried to pull up any of their work, it was classified."
I looked at her PADD and woke my desk computer. "I can get those files for you," I said.
She grinned, "That's why I needed to see you."
I smiled back, "I was hoping it was for my company." Within minutes I had all the files streaming down the screen. Together we pored over the data. "Look at that", I said pointing to the current status of the MIDAS array, "It is under security lockdown. Has been for almost a decade now."
Juliet pointed to another line, "This looks like they repurposed the array to be a tachyon sensor. Why would they need to track tachyon fields?"
"All cloaking fields leave tachyons," I said, "Someone figured out how to track every cloaked ship in the quadrant."
"That's actually kind of brilliant."
"Looks like Tal Shiar found out about it too," I said pointing to an old security report. "They infiltrated the station and it looks like they tried to sabotage it but Starfleet retook the station. Guess the Romulans wanted to stay hidden. Explains why it's on lockdown now."
A comm chime played and I tapped my computer screen. The voice of the ensign said an Intrepid class starship was hailing us. A large bearded man in a Starfleet uniform popped up. "Captain Slade? I'm Dylan Houston. You called for help. May I come aboard?"
"Absolutely captain. I will see you in a moment."
I looked at Juliet. "Keep working, I am going to meet our guest."
I ran to transporter room 2. When they materialized, one silhouette stood out from the rest that revealed the massive frame of an apparent lumberjack, cleaned up and made the captain. As the away team stepped off the pad I greeted them, "Gentlemen, welcome to the Acheron."
Captain Houston stuck out a big meaty hand that all but swallowed mine in a handshake. "That's a heck of a handshake you got there captain," I said as I rubbed my sore palm.
A huge toothy grin smeared itself across his face as he said, "Let's see this hole in your ship."
As we walked I explained the tachyon cascade and the explosion. He listened intently while taking huge strides, both because he was obviously excited and due to his natural gait. When the doors to deck 3 opened, Captain Houston popped his head in and whistled as he turned to see the extent of the damage. "A tachyon build up did this?"
I nodded. "Took my shuttle bay into tomorrow and contaminated the core. Scrubbing the plasma conduits alone will take a couple days. If you wouldn't mind, a little help will cut that down to a couple hours."
"Well captain, I would be more than happy to help. Would you mind if we scanned the damage? I don't think anyone has ever seen anything like this before."
"Be my guest." As I left I could swear that massive bear of a man giggled with delight.
-
Time passed quickly, as did the repairs. After an hour the Heisenberg hailed us. The impressive Captain Houston filled nearly the whole of the screen. "Captain Slade, my engineers tell me that you have your warp core back online and can leave. Is there anything else we can help you with?"
I shook my head, "No, but thank you for everything you have done captain. You are a credit to the Federation."
The science console began beeping and Juliet read aloud, "Tachyon particles are accumulating around the Heisenberg. It looks like the start of a cascade."
Captain Houston was still on screen but was looking at the officer behind him talking before saying, "Raise the shields and standby yellow alert." He looked back to me with a look of mild concern. "Seems we may be having a little tachyon trouble ourselves."
I tried to reassure him, "Well at least you have shields. The Acheron was caught off guard. You should be fine."
"True. Well, we will be on our way before this gets out of hand."
"Godspeed captain."
"Good luck cap-" The channel cut out and the Vulcan at the security station reported, "The Heisenberg has suffered a catastrophic explosion."
I jumped out of my chair and stood up, "On screen."
The Heisenberg was floating slowly and listing to one side, gradually revealing half of the ship removed or destroyed by smaller subsequent explosions which popped noiselessly into space. The saucer was virtually missing and the hull looked like something had scooped it out.
All eyes on the bridge were focused on the screen. A console chirped anxiously and Juliet looked down at the science station console. "Sir, we have another tachyon cascade forming inside the Acheron!"
I sat down and said, "Shields up!"
Juliet spoke up, "That may be a bad idea. The shields of the Heisenberg acted like a lens and focused the tachyons like light through a magnifying glass ."
"Then find a way to stop those tachyons!"
Juliet thought for a second and then said, "Sir, we could turn the ship and fire an inverse tachyon stream in the direction of the particles. That might slow or cancel the build up."
"Do you know what direction to face?" I asked.
"They are building up on the same side as on the Heisenberg. I think we can safely assume it is coming from that direction."
"Fine," I looked to the ensign at flight control, "Come about."
The Acheron sprang to life and turned to face the tachyon stream, the deflector dish spewing out a blue beam of inverted tachyons in the general direction of the source. Just then a blue pulse from our deflector dish leapt out into the darkness of space. Then another. And another, until our tachyon count was normal. Juliet reported, "Sir, the tachyon cascade is reversing." As the last of the tachyons were removed from the Acheron there was an explosion in the black. Each pulse rocked another explosion in the distance until something materialized.
The Vulcan at the security station relayed the alert of her console, "Sir, a Scimitar class Reman warbird has uncloaked directly in front of us approximately 10 kilometers away."
Several points of light began growing on the extremities of the extended Scimitar array tips. Juliet chimed in, "Tachyon levels are increasing rapidly. They converted the Pathfinder Project into a weapon. The raid on the MIDAS array was to steal plans, not destroy the station!"
I jumped out of my chair again in shock, "Close the gap, get us out of that tachyon stream!" I whipped around to the security station, "Lieutenant, what weapons do we have online?"
The Vulcan again tapped on her console, "Phasers are still offline but torpedo launchers are functional."
"Fire at will."
A stream of 6 bright white dots raced towards the massive ship. Little points of light erupted into balls of flame and sparks where each torpedo hit. Green flashes emerged and began growing larger.
"Sir, disruptor shots!"
I yelled, "Evasive maneuver beta!"
As we circled around the front of the Scimitar it fired wildly in desperation. The Acheron was too close to dodge and a lucky shot hit the belly of our unshielded ship.
Consoles on the bridge exploded, crewmen went flying - some didn't get back up. The sound of metal rending and the electric clicks of short circuits popped around the bridge as smoke filled the bridge and someone yelled, "Direct hit, critical damage decks five through ten! Shields gone! Warp core offline! Auxiliary power offline! Battery backups activated!"
The Acheron dipped her damaged side and the engines roared to life, the sound echoing in the walls around the bridge. The next volley of disruptor blasts narrowly missed as we found ourselves with our back to the enemy. I looked to the view screen and saw the Reman ship closing fast, "Ready another volley of torpedoes. What's their status?"
Juliet coolly relayed, "Their primary shields are down and their secondary shields are having trouble staying up. They have a leaking intermix chamber and it is flooding their ship with tachyons. I am reading varying time signatures scattered around their ship. It appears that lifesigns are moving to a shuttle bay. They are either evacuating or going to launch Scorpion fighters."
I looked down at the screen on the arm of my chair and pulled up a schematic of known Scimitar designs. Their radiation intermix chamber was too far from the bridge to stop now but their fighter bay was next to the secondary shield generator. In order to launch fighters, they would need to drop their shields for a moment. I saw our only chance and gave the order, "Get us as close to their fighter launch tubes as possible. I want to put a salvo of torpedoes down their gullet!"
The Scimitar's disruptors fired but the nimble Defiant class narrowly dodged the shots. Juliet looked up at me and said, "Their shields are dropping and fighters on are their way out."
"Fire!"
A triplet of torpedoes rained toward a port that was opening. The first fighter out collided with the first torpedo and exploded. The next two torpedoes easily found their mark and disappeared down the hole. A couple seconds later flame erupted out of the fighter bay and their shields were down. I looked to the Vulcan at the security station and said, "Make them a memory."
She nodded and began firing quantum torpedoes left and right. The Acheron circled the ailing ship and continued to launch torpedo after torpedo into her hull. The Scimitar began to list to one side as windows along her hull were blown out by internal blast concussions. Her lights flickered and then the massive ship went dark.
Juliet yelled through the smoke, "The warbird core is going critical!"
I couldn't see anything in the smoke but still gave orders, "Get us back to the Heisenberg!"
The Acheron limped towards the broken Federation ship and as we approached the Heisenberg, the Scimitar exploded behind us. The echoes of debris ricocheting off and scarring the hull sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I looked around the bridge and saw most of the crew burned or dirty but everyone alive. I looked to Juliet and her hair was matted with blood but she was conscious and smiled at me. I smiled back and hoped my look of relief was comforting. I looked to the communications officer and said, "Inform Starfleet of what just happened. Tell them that we need immediate assistance. And a tow."
Although she had enjoyed the chance to get to know the delta shift bridge crew over the last week, Sh'Ress still couldn't wait until Tala returned from shore leave and she could go back to the alpha and beta shifts.
Glancing around the bridge, Sh'Ress smiled to herself. She had gotten so used to Tala, Jhy'nyd and the others that the rest of the Resolute's crew had started to blur together. But now she had been reminded that each and every member of the Resolute's four hundred crewmen were amongst the very best Andoria had to offer. Her smile grew as she remembered the fuss her people had made when the Intrepid had been launched, demanding an Andorian ship now that the Vulcans had one. Naturally, the Tellarites had joined the argument, more for the sake of arguing than for any real desire for a ship of their own, Sh'Ress privately suspected. Still, Starfleet had agreed and, as one of the first Andorians to reach the rank of captain in Starfleet, Sh'Ress had been given command of one of the twelve Constitution class starships.
Normally, though, that command was more interesting and less tiring than the last week had been. She could handle the extra shifts just fine, but two weeks of patrolling the silent Neutral Zone was making her antennae ache. She almost wished the Romulans would return, even though the last time anyone had seen a Romulan ship had been during the war. The only interesting thing that had happened since she'd left her first officer on Outpost 14 had been the discovery of a wrecked freighter. They'd found nothing that could identify the attackers, only a cargo hold full of machine parts.
Glancing at the chronometer, Sh'Ress mentally shrugged. Science officer Dillyn had been interested in one of those parts for some reason and had taken to studying it. To Sh'Ress, it looked the same as all of the rest of the junk that had been on the freighter, but the delta shift science officer had seemed so interested in it that she had agreed to take it onboard. At least one of the crew had something interesting to do.
Thumbing a switch on the armrest of her seat, she activated the intercom to the science labs.
"Found anything interesting?" she asked, slipping back into the familiar dialect of the western tropical cities instead of the more formal language favoured by the northerners that made up most of her crew. Finding out that Dillyn wasn't just from the same region but the same town had probably been the highlight of the last month. Lieutenant Dillyn actually understood her when she lapsed back into the old slang and mannerisms she had grown up with.
After a few moments of silence, Sh'Ress sighed, flicking the intercom off. Apparently DIllyn was too busy with her scanning to respond.
"Captain!" At the science station, Ensign Shelara was frowning at the board. "Sensors are picking up some strange tachyon emissions, coming from the ship."
"The ship?" Sh'Ress frowned. Nothing on the Resolute should be doing that. "Bring the ship to alert," she ordered, turning to look at the communications officer. "Ensign Theras, report the situation to Outpost 14, but let them know we can handle it. Send someone down to the labs to wake Dillyn up, too. I want science teams scanning the ship until we know exactly what's going o-"
"Captain!" Ensign Dralla caled from the engineering station. "The shuttlebay doors are openi- one of the shuttles has just left the ship."
"Lock a tractor beam on that shuttle," Sh'Ress ordered immediately. Theras, try and raise the shuttle."
Nodding, the communications officer worked his board for a few moments. "Captain, the shuttle's hailing us."
"Let's see it, then. And get a report from science. I want to know what's going on."
Sh'Ress found herself frowning as the disheveled face of Lieutenant DIllyn appeared on the screen. Usually, the science officer took care of her appearance, but now her hair was a mess.
"No time to explain," the Lieutenant said urgently as soon as she appeared on the screen. "But you have to release the tractor beam. Right now, before this thing ..." she trailed off, looking behind her at something. "You need to let me go. Trust me, sir."
Sh'Ress nodded. "Let her go."
"With a look of visible relief on her face, Dillyn took a long breath. "I'll explain when I get back, sir, but we need to get this thing away from the ship. I'll eject it a safe distance from the Reso-" The screen flickered for a moment, a loud whine building up in the background behind Dillyn.
"Shields," the stunned science officer said suddenly. "Captain, you have t-"
Another wave of static cut off the transmission, but Sh'Ress suspected that she'd gotten the gist of the message. "Full power to shields," she ordered. "Helm, reverse speed. Get us away from that sh-"
Sh'Ress didn't see what happened next, only static on the screen as THeras tried to restore the signal from the shuttle. One moment the captain was turning to the ensign at engineering and the next she was on the deck, bleeding from a cut on her forehead and with a mouthful of blood from biting through her lip.
"Report," she ordered, pulling herself unsteadily up.
"The shuttle's gone, sir," Thelas reported. Sh'Ress noted that he had ridden out whatever had just happened far better than she had. "There was some sort of massive buildup of tachyons onboard and ... it exploded. I'm sorry, sir, but Lieutenant Dillyn ..."
Sh'Ress nodded sadly. Then she pulled herself into her seat. She still had four hundred people to worry about. "I want damage and injury reports. Helm, break off the patrol course and head for Outpost 14. Best speed."
As the ship shuddered beneath her, Sh'Ress winced, feeling something bruised under her shirt.
"Sir, engineering is reporting a buildup of some sort of energy in the warp plasma."
Sh'Ress sighed. It was just one thing after another today. "Full stop, helm."
After a few moments, the sound of the Resolute's engines growing, she frowned. "Ensign, I said full stop."
"I'm trying, sir," the ensign responded, frantically working his board. "But there's so much energy coming out of the warp core that I can't shut it all off."
Thelas chimed in from the side. "Confirmed, sir. Engineering is reporting an uncontrollable surge of power. They're not sure how long it'll be before the systems overheat and we blow."
Sh'Ress rubbed the base of her antennae in frustration. "We need to get rid of that power. If we can't cut it off, we need to direct it somewhare." She blinked as an idea came to her. "And we have a way to direct energy out of the ship. I want that power rerouted. Unless engineering has any better ideas, shunt it through the deflector and send it out into space."
As the viewscreen flickered back into life, Sh'Ress found herself relaxing. The energy that had been building up was being released safely, and enginnering were reporting that power levels were dropping.
Naturally, that was when there was a sudden flash on the screen and she found herself face down on the deck again.
"We need seatbelts on this thing," Sh'Ress muttered. "What now?"
There was a longer pause this time, as Thelas had to pick himself up as well. "No idea," he reported. "It looks like whatever was in our warp core reacted with the tachyons from the shuttle, but after that ... science has a lot of data, but they're not even sure what it means. We've discovered entirely new types of particle and radiation in the last few minut- sir! Sensors are picking up an incoming ship!"
After everything that had already happened, Sh'Ress couldn't repress her groan.
"Any idea who they are?"
"Configuration is unknown," Theras reported after a few moments. "But energy readings are Klingon." He looked up from the board. "And massive. Sir, the ship isn't even half our size but its power output is at least five times as much as we could ever hope for. They aren't responding to hails."
Taking a long breath, Sh'Ress steadied herself. "Distress call, now. Eject the log bouy and ..." she swallowed, her nose wrinkling at the taste of blood. "Power up whatever weapons we have left."
"From the Klingons?"
Theras shook his head. "Carrier is Starfleet, but I can't determine the source. It's voice only, saying help's on the way and asking us to confirm the stardate."
That was unusual, but Sh'Ress really didn't care. They were supposed to be the only ship out here, but she wasn't about to turn down help. "Send it."
As Theras nodded, a shout from science startled Sh'Ress, directing her attention to the viewscreen. "Sir, a ship just appeared between us and the Klingons!"
"It's an ugly svhell," Sh'Ress muttered to herself, although she couldn't help but notice similarities between the vessel that had just appeared and the Resolute. The saucer was wider and flatter than hers, as was the hull, and it had three warp nacelles. And, she found out a moment later, a massive phaser cannon built into its hull.
"Klingons have been destroyed, sir," Theras reported a moment later. "The other ship's hailing us. Visual as well as audio this time."
Sh'Ress nodded, adjusting her shirt. "Let's not keep them waiting, then," she said. "Wouldn't want to make them cranky."
The face that appeared on the screen was, for a moment, human enough that Sh'Ress could have believed that its owner came from Earth. Then she saw the ridges on the man's nose.
"USS Resolute," the unfamiliar alien said. "This is ..." there was a slight pause as the man looked at something offscreen and nodded. His uniform, Sh'Ress noted, was black and grey with an undershirt in the yellow of command. "This is Captain Rafa Berrianus of the USS Jerrado, and I have some good news and some bad news for you."
"The Jerrado isn't the name of a Federation starship, that ship of yours certainly isn't Starfleet and I'm fairly sure that your people aren't part of the Federation," Sh'Ress replied. "I assume that some of that news is going to explain this?"
The man chuckled. "You're wrong on all counts," he replied. "But you've definitely got spirit. What I'm about to tell you is going to seem mad, but you should be able to confirm it. By star positions if nothing else. First, the good news. We can provide whatever medical and engineering assistance you require, andno more Klingons are going to try attacking you." He sighed. "And now ... the bad. Check the stars, Captain. You'll notice about a hundred and forty years of drift. "
Sh'Ress looked over the Shelera, who nodded. "Stellar drift would place the year as 2400, Terran calendar," she reported.
"2409, actually," Berrianus added.
When the crew of the Jerrado tried to explain how an energy cascade in their warp core, a tachyon burst and the subspace shockwave from a supernova that happened i the futur e - her future, anyway - Sh'Ress had just nodded, while her science officer who actually understood most of what they were being told and seemed very excited by it. The part that caught Sh'Ress' attention, though, was when Captain Rafa - she'd learned that his people, the Bajorans, had their family and personal names the other way around - had told her that the Federation was at war with the Klingon Empire. She might have been a century behind everyone else, but Sh'Ress hadn't been given command of a Constitution class starship for nothing. Once she got herself retrained, she decided, she was going back into active service.
I am going to unsticky this now as I prepare to post #16. If you have not had a chance to post your entry yet, feel free to still do so.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=