Warp Drive
The doors to the Briefing Room slid open and B'Elanna walked in to find it empty except for Tom. They shared a look and she sat down next t him.
"How are you doing?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Fine."
"You sure?"
"Yes, Tom. I'm sure that I'm fine. Why?"
"What? A guy can't ask his girlfriend if how's she's doing after a hologram nearly kills her?" B'Elanna gave him a small smile.
"That's sweet, really but I'm ok. I'm over it." Before Tom could protest, the doors slid open and Harry, Tuvok and Chakotay walked in. Chakotay looked around the room in confusion.
"Where's the Captain?" B'Elanna shrugged.
"I'm sure she'll be here," she answered as the others took their seats. A few minutes later the doors slid open for the third time and Neelix rushed in.
"Relax Neelix. You're not late," Chakotay said. The Talaxian heaved a breath and sunk into a chair. The group of six sat in silence for a few long minutes before Chakotay let out a breath and tapped his comm. badge.
"Chakotay to the Captain."
"Go ahead, Commander." Chakotay cleared his throat.
"Will you be joining us for this morning's briefing?"
"I'm on my way."
Kathryn made her way from the Mess Hall, cup of coffee in hand, to the nearest turbolift. She steppe din just as Seven of Nine began to step out.
"Oh, Seven. I'd like you to join us for the briefing this morning." Seven looked at the Captain, her face conveying no emotion.
"Yes, Captain."
By the time the two reached the Briefing Room, the Doctor had arrived. Seven took a seat between Tuvok and the Doctor. Kathryn moved around the edge of the table and set her coffee down. She looked around the room and gave the group an apologetic look.
"Sorry for the delay."
The briefing progressed as normal. Neelix reported that crew morale was up and he'd been trying out some new dishes in the Mess Hall. Seven sat silently as the other senior officers discussed their reports. She felt awkward being there. She had nothing to contribute and she wasn't a senior officer. She didn't even have a rank. Still if the Captain insisted she attend, she couldn't refuse. Seven wasn't entirely comfortable with these people. After all they had taken her from the only life she'd known. As she drifted off into her own thoughts, Kathryn sipped her coffee and turned her attention to Tuvok.
"Tuvok, Security report." Before Tuvok could answer, the ship's sensors began to blare. The room began a jumble of movement as everyone pushed through the doors to get to the bridge. Tom slid into his position at the helm while Harry and Tuvok took up their respective stations.
"Harry, what's going on?" The Captain had taken up residence in her chair. Harry checked the scanners and looked up.
"It looks like a ship. It's about five hundred kilometers starboard."
"On screen." Tom pressed a button and the view screen came alive, displaying a large transport vessel. B'Elanna took a step closer to the view screen. She seemed to be scrutinizing the ship.
"It looks like it's venting plasma." Kathryn turned back to Harry.
"Open a channel. See if you can hail them."
"Aye Captain." Harry pressed a series of buttons, sending out a standard hail. They waited in silence and received no response.
"No response."
"Try again." Harry nodded and sent the message a second time. This time something came back.
"They're responding." Kathryn stood up, straightening her uniform. The image of a middle aged woman appeared on the screen. She appeared to be humanoid.
"My name is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager," Kathryn greeted.
"Radella. I'm afraid you've come across our ship at a bad time."
"We can see that. What happened?"
"A few days ago our warp core overheated and we had to eject it. We just recovered it but it's useless."
"Looks like you're venting plasma too," B'Elanna interjected. Radella nodded, looking concerned.
"Maybe we can help with repairs?" Kathryn suggested.
"That's very kind of you Captain but we don't want to impose. We're on our way home."
"Please, it's the least we can do. I'll send my Chief Engineer over to take a look."
"Thank you Captain." The channel closed and the image disappeared from the screen. Kathryn and B'Elanna shared a look.
"Take a team, see what you can do. Try and contain the plasma leak first."
"Aye, Captain. We'll see what we can do."
After assembling a team and making sure their environmental suits were ready and functional, B'Elanna and three other engineering staff stepped onto the transporter in Transporter Room One. In moments they dematerialized. They appeared instantaneously on the other ship. The transport vessel was crowded, women and children packed together. From behind them a voice called out.
"Over here." B'Elanna turned around to see Radella waving them over. The mass of people parted so they could pass. Radella led them into a small room.
"Sorry for the cramped space. We've had to move everyone to this deck to avoid the plasma leak." B'Elanna nodded, pulling out a tricorder.
"We're going to try and contain the leak first before we take a look at your warp core." Radella nodded just as a chime 'pinged' behind them.
"Come in." The doors slid open and another young woman walked in."
"I thought I'd help," she said.
"Laili, I don't want you or anyone else down there without protection." Laili looked from Radella to the newcomers and back again.
"I just want to help."
"I know you do. But we haven't been able to fix this problem on our own. Let's let these people try and help." The way Radella spoke sounded soothing and loving, as if she really cared for Laili.
"So we'll get started." She and the other Voyager crewmembers made their way down two decks to where the leak originated from. They'd donned their environmental suits and were moving slowly in the bulky garments.
"Lieutenant," one of the crewmembers called, shining a light on a large gap in the wall. Plasma was flowing out of it in a steady stream.
"Well that would explain where the plasma is coming from." She bent closer to inspect the hole.
"It looks like they have an internal propulsion system. They must have been hit by something." She ran a gloved hand along edge of the hole. It looked as if the piece of wall had been ripped away.
"They've got a ruptured engine." She reached for a phaser and pointed it at the hole.
"Ensign, get me something to cover the wall." He looked around the area and spotted what appeared to be the torn piece of wall. He picked it up, surprised by the lightness of the material and set it front of the hole.
"Watch your fingers." She set the weapon to a medium setting and began to solder the metal back to the wall. Halfway through she and the Ensign switched places. One of the other crewmembers pulled out a tricorder and began to scan the area.
"It looks like we've contained the leak. The atmosphere in this area is returning to normal."
"Good. One job down." B'Elanna finished securing the metal before returning to what served as Radella's Ready Room.
"That was fast."
"You have a ruptured engine down there. We sealed it off. It's not a permanent fix but it will hold for now." B'Elanna wiped her forehead and looked around at the people sitting around. Some looked confused, some looked worried. The children, all girls seemed to be watching the newcomers with fascination.
"So, where is your warp core?"
"I'll show you." Radella led them out into a larger area of the ship. A few women milled about at the perimeter, seeming to follow B'Elanna and her companions' every move with scrutiny.
'We really appreciate you taking a look at this. We haven't run into many ships on our way home."
"Lucky you."
"Here we are." Radella depressed a series of keys on a keypad and the door slid open to reveal a very badly damaged warp core. B'Elanna's eyes widened as she moved closer. She'd never seen an engine that badly damaged.
"What the hell happened to it?"
"We aren't entirely sure. It just started to overheat…maybe it was the plasma?"
"It looks like it got caught in an ion storm, or was dragged through a nebula." Radella bit her lip.
"Is there anything you can do with it?" B'Elanna scanned it quickly with her tricorder. She already had the answer formed in her head but she wanted to confirm it.
"Afraid not. It's definitely useless." The older woman looked distraught.
"Thank you for your help…"
"B'Elanna."
"Thank you B'Elanna." The half-Klingon nodded and let out a breath. She couldn't help but feel bad for these people.
"Maybe we can help you out. Why don't you come back to Voyager with us and speak with Captain Janeway."
"Like we said before, we don't want to impose."
"You wouldn't be imposing at all. Please, we're here to help." Radella nodded and B'Elanna signaled to the Transporter Room.
"Transporter Room, five to beam out."