CRISIS ON COLONY ALPHA V
Chapter 1
CAPTAIN'S LOG, STARDATE: 1532.9. Something strange has just occurred to the USS ENTERPRISE. We were on our way to meet the science vessel ANTARES, for the beaming over of a young man named Charlie Evans when, suddenly, some sort of unexplained energy eruption in space has seemingly sent us back in time by nearly a day. Currently, Cmdr. Spock is using scanners and computers to determine the exact nature of this cosmic event. While Dr. McCoy is currently conducting a cursory exam of some exposed crewmembers to make certain no lasting physical, or psychological, damage was sustained.
"Mr. Spock, have you determined just what happened and how it could've reversed time like that?" Captain Kirk asked with a tense sigh to match the strained expression on his otherwise handsome face.
"Partially, Captain", Commander Spock said stoically as he swiveled away from his station and toward his seated commanding officer, a single slanted eyebrow lifting as the only outward expression of anything other than total logic. "It would appear that, as we came within transporter range to await the ANTARES, the subatomic structure of the fabric of space-time was, in essence, pulled apart. The resulting disruption of basic matter-energy matrixes were, at that point, in a situation where anti-quarks outnumbered quarks for precisely .002147 seconds, which, in turn..."
"Mr. Spock, Mr. Spock, just tell me why this, this... 'matter-energy matrix disruption' would send us back nearly a day in time to a point before the ANTARES even entered this region. And did it have the same reversal-of-time effect on surrounding space?" Captain Kirk interjected gently with a lifting of one hand, palm out, in the gesture of someone wishing to be spared a particularly longwinded explanation by the Vulcan.
The strictly emotionless expression on Spock's pale (but with an ever-so-slight tinge of green) countenance held, for the shortest of instants, what Captain Kirk had come to identify as the human half of his first officer and friend peeking out, slightly insulted. Then Spock responded as succinctly as possible, for him, regarding such an awe-inspiring situation. "Yes...for as far as our sensors can scan. Not just on vessels previously in warp field-induced travel, such as the ENTERPRISE and, presumably, the ANTARES, but for the perceivable star systems as well."
"And you have no explanation for this event, Mr. Spock?"
Folding longish arms across a narrow chest, resplendent in the blue of his uniform tunic, Spock lifted both slanted brows in a mildly disquieted fashion. "I shall have to take further sensor readings and recalibrate our computers for the dissection of something so unexpectedly alien to known physical laws before any such explanation can be attempted, Captain."
No longer in the mood to argue the inarguable, Kirk turned smartly on his boot heels to head toward the turbolift doors and ordered, "Then I suggest you do so, Mr. Spock, because I want an answer before Starfleet Command starts pressing me for one."
"Affirmative, Captain."
"Excuse me, Captain", Lt. Nyota Uhura gently injected, just as Kirk was about to briskly pass, "but Starfleet Command has already begun asking questions. At least, the nearest starbases have, sir."
"Great", grumbled Kirk under his breath, then loud enough, Lt. Uhura to hear, "Tell them that we're working on it and a full report will be forthcoming. Got it, Lieutenant?"
"Aye, sir", Lt. Uhura nodded while reinserting the communications earpiece and allowing delicately manicured fingers to adeptly dance across her station's controls in order to comply.
At that same moment, Kirk had stepped through rapidly parting turbolift doors while grabbing and twisting the tactile interface handle and saying, "Sickbay."
Minutes later, several decks down, the turbolift soon deposited Kirk within walking distance of the main double-doors that led into Dr. McCoy's domain.
A very busy one at the moment...
"All right, you can go back to your duties, too," a fatigued Dr. Leonard H. McCoy said as yet another crewman exited. "Next!"
Ensign Pavel Chekov hopped up on the just-vacated biobed, its diagnostic wall panel immediately denoting an array of vitals. The good doctor asked, "So, Ensign, what the hell were you doin' when this whatever-it-was hit?"
"Actually, I vas in the bowling alley." the young Russian, not yet promoted to bridge work as a navigator, declared drolly.
"Well, I'll try to hurry so you can get back and bowl the last couple of frames. Wouldn't wanna screw up your 'average'," Dr. McCoy quipped in his patented deadpan manner, while using a handheld medi-scanner to more closely analyze Ensign Chekov.
"Thank you, Doctor."
Just then, through double-doors hissing swiftly apart at his rapid approach, Captain Kirk entered to stand just beyond the busy sight of crewmembers awaiting biobed exams by McCoy and Nurse Christine Chapel.
"All right, Ensign", Dr. McCoy said with a snap to his tone and cupping the deactivated medi-scanner in one hand, "you can go."
Without a word, Chekov hopped off as enthusiastically as he'd gotten on, noticing his commanding officer and reacting like the green recruit he still was.
"Keptin, sir!"
"At ease, Ensign," Captain Kirk halfheartedly ordered, as Chekov relaxed and proceeded out of sickbay. "Well, Bones?"
"Christine and I've examined fully one-fourth of the crew, those who stood the most chance of being exposed to...whatever." Dr. McCoy clearly considered this cosmic situation nothing short of a personal inconvenience that he waved away with his free hand.
"And?" Captain Kirk pressed.
"And nothing," Dr. McCoy snappishly replied. "No radiation exposure, no cellular destabilization, no DNA degradation, no..."
"All right, all right," Captain Kirk interjected with a sneer and a sharp hand gesture, "no need to rattle on like Spock."
Suddenly stiffening, one of his arched eyebrows lifting in a wise old owl fashion, Dr. McCoy muttered, "Now, there's no need to get nasty, Jim. You did ask."
Somehow Bones knew just how to help Kirk relax in the tensest of circumstances. "I take it our resident Vulcan still hasn't figured out what went on out there?" Dr. McCoy said even as he wagged a finger for the next no-doubt-healthy-as-hell crewman to lie down on the biobed.
"Not yet, Bones, but you know how he is. He never makes a commitment until he's analyzed every last piece of data," Kirk said, planting balled fists on his hips as McCoy waved his trilling medi-scanner over a clearly healthy patient.
"And reanalyzed it," snorted McCoy even as he finished and signaled for the crewperson to stand and exit. "You know, you don't have to be a Vulcan science officer to know that what happened was damn sure not natural and definitely not a good thing."
"Yeah, I know," Captain Kirk said with a sharp inhale as he prepared to turn, "but Starfleet's gonna want to know every detail anyway. Keep up the good work, Bones."
"Gee, thanks," Dr. McCoy said with a half-smirk as Captain Kirk swept out of sickbay.
END OF CHAPTER 1
