This story is dedicated to my friends and to my one biggest influence: Gene Roddenberry who created Star Trek and its universe. Without it, I couldn't possibly have the courage to write this story and to dream many dreams! Please enjoy!
Tammy Densley
Star Galaxy: The Greatest Challenge By: Tammy Densley
Prologue:
"Aren't you going to come back home soon Tammy?" asked a voice.
Tammy looked up from her work and smirked at her brother, "I will, tonight for sure. I know it's been a month since we got back. I just hate leaving this place to go back to the normal routine again."
"Tammy, nothing will be normal. Hey, at least, we fulfilled our promise to certain people and now we can pick up from where we left off. What are you doing?" Ryan teased.
"Just finishing up some routine reports for the Captain and finishing up my entry about our mission. It was a long one, and you know me, I pay attention to details. You go ahead, just tell mom and dad I'll be home in time for supper. After all, tomorrow is Monday and we have a full day ahead of us considering its back to school once again. The year is not shot yet, not by far!" grinned Tammy.
"Okay, I'll see you back at home. Just don't stay too long, I'll come looking for you and I know where you are!" laughed Ryan as he left Tammy to her stuff.
Tammy sighed. And she reluctantly went back to her work once again. It's been over a month and a half since the mission. Lots have happened. She smiled and leaned back in her chair as she remembered the first day it all started for everyone.
Chapter One
It was a bright spring morning, and it was the beginning of a new day. School was filled with students eagerly waiting for some downtime. One particular class was in their gym playing a game of floor hockey. The class was hard at it, and not noticed when three of their classmates disappeared from the room swiftly.
Tammy groaned and woke up, her head aching in response. She opened her eyes and gingerly looked around. It was almost pitch black.
"Where's the light?" asked Tammy out loud and unbeknown to her, the lights went on and illuminated the room. Sucking in a breath, she noticed two other people on the ground next to her.
"Jaret? David? Are you guys okay? What happened?" asked Tammy as she went to them to shake them awake.
The two boys came around and they too groaned as they opened their eyes and took in their new surroundings and nodded to Tammy before David asked, "Where are we?"
"I'm not exactly sure but we seemed to be in some secret hiding place…one that no one is aware of.", observed Tammy got up from the ground as she walked towards a desk scattered with papers.
"What are we going to do?" asked Jaret seriously.
"We are going to keep this quiet…besides…no one would believe us even if we told them. Plus we don't know how we got in the first place?" advised Tammy.
"Tammy! I want you to take a look at this." David shouted.
Tammy shook her head as the voiced echoed in her ears, and she sighed as she went to David's location. She saw strange things; none of them were familiar to her. Things looked way out of place as it feels that they have stumbled onto a scene from a science fiction show.
"What's up David?" asked Tammy.
"What is this Tammy?" asked David as he was pointing to a button that was blinking on the console that had words written on it…but it was covered with a thick layer of dust before David bent down to swipe the dust off..
Tammy peered over David's shoulder and shook her head in disbelief, "It says that three people have been transported here by an activation of an emergency command."
"Okay, what does that mean?" asked David.
"The last thing I remembered was yelling at you to take me there." Jaret muttered as he sat down on a dusty chair. His hands were holding his head.
The console beeped in response, "Do you wish to beam another?"
David yelped in surprise as Tammy's jaw dropped and saw that Jaret got up and said," What do they mean by beam?"
"Molecular transportation beam. It transports said person from one location to another location by word of command."
Tammy whirled around and looked at David, "David! You yelled out Yes to Jaret right? Jaret, the computer must have mistaken your command as an actual voice command."
"Okay, where are we?" asked David hesitantly.
"You are in Main Engineering on board the USS Galaxy."
"What does the "USS" stands for?" asked Tammy.
"USS stands for United Star System."
"That answers one question. What is the USS Galaxy?" mumbled Jaret.
"The USS Galaxy is a space faring vessel. It has 42 decks, equipped with..."
"Stop. Okay…we will ask more questions later." Announced Tammy.
" How long has this place been here? They didn't dig deep down that's for sure and they built the school over on top of it. How big is it?" asked Jaret.
"The Galaxy is 700 meters long, 500 meters wide and 138 meters high."
"Okay, enough asking questions. We don't know how long it has been here so let us find out later." Laughed David.
"It doesn't even say anything yet. I will find out at a later time. After all, it's just all computer information. I'll figure out how to access it later." Replied Tammy.
"Sure we can…we have to…I want to find out more about this place before we do anything else more." Answered Jaret as he looked to David, which David nodded in agreement.
Jaret looked about his surroundings and suggested," We could try to clean up this place…it really needs it. We have no choice…we can't do much if we have dust flying about."
"I agree…we do need some cleaning supplies though…" sighed David.
"I do have one question to make…how are we going to do this…if we can't get a hold of any cleaning supplies if we don't know how to get out of here in the first place. That should be our first priority. Plus if we do get out…what is to stop us but Mr. Cryer…from asking us about where did we take off to in the middle of gym class?", pointed out Tammy.
The boys looked at each other and suddenly realized that Tammy did make a point. They shrugged their shoulders as a sign that they were at loss as to what to do next. David looked around and noticed something.
"Hey, do you know what? Now we know why the place is a mess…they left in a hurry…but the question remains…why they leaved in such of a hurry?" explained David.
Jaret nodded in agreement and then she said as he turned to Tammy," Would any of these computers have any log or records?" asked Jaret.
Tammy eyes flew to the console and started looking and then she shook her head yes…with her eyes gleaming. Then suddenly they all heard a noise outside and they froze in fear but they all relaxed when they realized it was only a couple of wreckage that fell down to the floor. Tammy headed to the computer where she'll find the answer to Jaret's question, meanwhile the boys headed off to explore, forgetting their original plans. With the help of the computer, she followed instructions until she accessed the logs files. She scrolled down to the last entry made and what she found shocked her.
"Jaret, David! Come see
this!" shouted Tammy. The boys came running and she
motioned them to the screen with the last entry on it. Here is
what the boys
saw...
Captain's Log 7908.05
Something will happen shortly to us, and we must flee the Galaxy. Sadly enough, I hate leaving my ship that we have called it home for so long. There is another 2 ships out there but they are no where around to help us. So I am putting this down as my last entry into the command logs. We are being attacked by the Romulan Empire…we can't see them and we have no way to combat against that. For some reason they are not giving us any explanations for this hostile attack we have multiple damage to the ship, life support is barely hanging on, there is heavy damage on many decks. Main Engineering has taken a hit too, as our warp drive and our warp nacelles are toast. I have decided on this day to tell the crew to abandon ship and to the life pods. There is a planet we passed by several weeks ago and that is where we are going. I won't input the coordinates for the new home I have selected due to the fact I don't want our enemy to know our new whereabouts. We are leaving. I'm issuing an order to leave ship tomorrow at seven hundred hours. I will put the ship on autopilot and force it to land on a planet that is nearby. Sensors show there is humanoid life there, but very primitive stage of technology. I will also pre- program the ship to plow deep into the ground so that it remains buried to be discovered later or for us to recover it at a time when we're not afraid of our enemies. Whichever comes first, I wish that that ever finds this last entry if we have not arrived to recover the Galaxy...this place is yours…and good luck on getting a good use out of it.
Sincerely,
Captain Terran James.
"Well, I guess they didn't tell much of the enemies or who they were and why they were attacking in the first place anyhow?" grumbled David.
"Tammy, can you draw up the Galaxy's ship specs for me?" asked Jaret calmly.
Tammy nodded and started punching in a bunch of sequence but at that moment, the power dwindled down to nothing but a faint glow.
"Great...we lost power!" growled Tammy.
"What time is it?" asked David curiously.
Jaret looked at the watch on his wrist and whistled," It's already past three thirty, school is out. I think maybe the power supply is being connected to this place. I think the school was built over this ship and they accidentally tapped into here or vice versa. We can always come back tomorrow...but let's get home and get some sleep. We have much to mull over anyhow."
"I wish we could see the map and I also don't want to leave this place without knowing more." whined Tammy as she got up from the chair. David and Jaret looked at each other and nodded their agreement; they too felt the same way as well.
Finally Jaret spoke up," Let's get going home and we'll meet up here again early since David and I and found our way out when you called for us. We could always enter again in the same way. In the morning we can start moving the debris around, get an idea on how bad the damage is while you get main power and interior sensors up and running."
David and Tammy nodded and walked towards the direction that lets them leave the ship quietly and unseen. They left the Galaxy with many questions unanswered and with hope that the next day will bring answers.
The next morning came all too soon for them, the three returned to the ship unseen and set to work. Tammy had other plans and told Jaret just that," When I got home, I nearly got a heart attack from mom and dad, they were mad that I wasn't in school and just assumed that I skipped classes and of course I couldn't tell them otherwise. But I did have time to think on what I wanted to do today. I will get main power up and running and also find out how extensive the damage is so we can plan a way to repair what is possible. I rather know what to do next than do it blindly." explained Tammy.
The boys nodded and went their way and left Tammy at the computer. She sat down and got to work. It took hours but she finally got main power up and running. The room lit up very brightly. She smiled as she finally accomplished that main task. Then she got to working on sensors and was dismayed to find that damage was bad in the lower decks. The upper decks weren't as bad as she assumed they were. She transferred the information into 3 data padds for all three of them. That way they can remain on the same page of information. Then a voice startled her out of her seat.
"What are you doing here?" asked a gnarly voice.
Tammy whirled around and faced one of her teacher Mrs. Kvamme and she was standing in the same doorway that trapped the three of them the other day. She jumped up and shouted," Red Alert!" The computer registered her voice command and started to flash the lights red on and off. The boys came running and came to a halt when they saw what was going on.
"Get her out of here!" ordered Jaret.
"Better idea, we are getting out of here. Computer locks on to us three…beam us to Shuttle bay 3", commanded Tammy.
In a few seconds the three finds themselves not where they were last but in a poorly lit area where the air smelled stale and poor.
"What the?" stuttered David.
"Aren't you glad that I have been more prepared now?" asked Tammy with a grin.
"Thank you so much Tammy. Where are we?" replied Jaret with a question.
"We are in Shuttle bay 3 on deck 13. I've only got life support on minimal for the areas we were at. I found out that we were in Main Engineering the whole time. Its on deck 36. Speaking of which, here take these. I've managed to upload some stuff for you guys to read. I'm going to go to the shuttlecraft and get some information. I'm pretty sure the sensors on the shuttle craft are not damaged and I can find out if Mrs. Kvamme has left or not." Tammy explained as she gave each of them the data padd she had in her hands.
The two looked at the data padds and their jaws went slack…"This is going to be a ton of work!" they both shouted.
Tammy left the three and headed towards the shuttle and was at the closed locked door where she found the console on the side of it and punched in a code command that made the door swish open for them. She stepped inside and went to the front and pushed some more buttons and the interior of the craft lit up with lights. As she sat down at the chair she turned to look at Jaret and David before growling at them," Are you two finished gawking at me or do you want come on in? There are a few things I want to do before we go any further."
David and Jaret came inside the shuttle and sat down in the remaining two chairs. They just watched her for they didn't know what to do but they trusted her.
After a few minutes went by quietly, "What are you doing?" asked Jaret as he watched Tammy punching in commands and was surprised to see words come on the screen.
"I've just scanned the ship since we have external sensors here and I can find out if our uninvited guest has left already. Plus I want to check out where the main damage is..." paused Tammy as she read the information on the monitor.
"From what I can remember from yesterday and today. I saw these long skinny tubes in the side of the walls near where we were. There was also corridor and places that I have no idea of their functions. There was this door that I couldn't get open even when the power came back on. It just kept on beeping." thought David out loud.
"Yes, I know what you mean. Those long skinny tubes are called Jeffrey tubes. They allow access to power conduits and such for required repairs." Tammy around to face Jaret and David," We were in Main engineering, the heart of the Galaxy. Those other places you saw….all work with main engineering. What we really need is to get to the bridge but the turbo lifts are down. Turbo lifts are elevators. But they can up and down and from side to side, so much more efficient. That must be that door you can't open. I will try to get that back online later. We have many other decks above us for other things. I will find out all that later too."
"You've been busy absorbing this information and the layouts of the ship haven't you?" asked a pleased Jaret.
Tammy nodded, "Yep, and I'm happy to report something else. Our intruder is gone none too soon for me! By the way, there is something I wanted to do."
Tammy got up from her chair and walked towards this crèche in the wall next to David's seat. She punched in a few buttons and waited. A whirling sound could be heard and there were three different colored clothes that appeared where it was empty not too long ago. She grabbed them and sat down again, "I'm glad the replicators are working. This is something I've been thinking since last night."
Jaret and David looked at what Tammy had in her lap.
"What about them Tammy?" asked David.
"These are uniforms. I found them in the database earlier. We found this place and I feel that we should have this place as our own. After all this is what Capt. James would've wanted. These colors have a symbolic meaning. The blue, I have decided to be the Chief Medical Officer. It's something I've been thinking for the longest time. The red uniform has various meaning, but it is largely for command officers like Captain or commander. The green is the same as well, they too have various meaning but I think this would be suitable for security or a science officer. Which do you guys want to go with? I'm offering you a choice." explained Tammy.
"Okay, that makes a lot more sense then I thought. This is a better system than our military. No more badges or what not. I'll go with security; I like to try my hand on that. That is something I can be into quite well." smiled David.
"That leaves me with the command uniform. Okay, I can see your line of reasoning Tammy. I'll take the rank of Captain. What we need to do is…", Jaret suddenly he paused as his watch started to beep and he looked at it quickly," is to go home. We've been here a full day. I'll take my uniform home, and you'll do the same David."
Jaret looked at Tammy and she held out her hands interrupting Jaret's train of thought," You guys can go home for I already planned ahead anyhow. I told my parents that I was staying the night at a friend's house and they agreed so I'll be here instead. I'm going to find a room and keep working on the computer and maybe I can get life support back to a few places and fix up some of the damaged areas." explained Tammy.
"If you say so, then good luck, since tomorrow is a weekend and I just know that both our parents are going to have a fit because we didn't show up again for school but this I feel is greatly important. Goodnight Tammy and I'll see you tomorrow. We have a whole weekend to work on some stuff here and make some decisions. One thing for sure, we are going back to school on Monday for I don't want any more additional trouble coming our way.", suggested Jaret.
"Aye Captain." smiled Tammy.
"Aye Captain, and good night doc!" laughed David.
"I'll beam you guys out of here. I'll drop you off at home or near there anyhow. See you tomorrow!" beamed Tammy as she turned back to the console and punched in a few buttons and she heard the unmistakable sound of the transporter working and her two friends disappeared. She was alone once more and she shook her head. She re-checked the sensors and decided that she can head back to main engineering. Tammy sighed and keyed in more commands for the transporter and she was back in Main Engineering. She looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary but what was considered normal anymore. Medic Bay was thirty some decks above her and with the turbolifts down, there was no option for her to get there. So she decided to head to some crew quarters on deck 32 and stay there. She can access the computer and work on studying for her to be the chief doctor on board here.
She had way too many debris to step aside and all that just to get to 4 decks above her. Thank goodness for Jeffery tubes on board this ship. That made it all the more easier.
"Finally!" muttered Tammy as she reached Deck 32 a half an hour later. She was sick of crawling through those tubes. They are very annoying. She went inside the closest room she saw and sat down. Turned on the computer and got to work. She wanted to restore power to the Turbolift cause going through all of those tubes is taking too much time and she didn't want to use the transporter too much as it is taxing their power a bit too much. Restoring Main power and keeping it from being drained will require a full engineering crew. She'll talk to Jaret about that later. Once the computer chirped to tell her that the turbolifts were back in order she heaved a sigh of relief. No more crawling for her! Now it was time to get back to business.
A few hours later, Tammy was starting to get tired from all the reading she was doing and finally decided that she had enough for one day so she shut down her mini computer and left the office. Upon leaving, she looked around and saw the mess there and started on the main room. She picked up odd things that she didn't know and a few things she recognized from her readings and in a few minutes it was okay enough that no one can trip over things. She made plans in the future to start cleaning up in the morning and leave the studying at night. She saw her uniform lying over the edge of one of the chairs she had thrown it off on, and sighed to herself. Thinking that it will be a long while before she can say she is a doctor in her own right. Feeling so very tired, she stumbled into bedroom and pulled the covers off. Sleep is the next thing in order for it has been one very exhausting day and tomorrow will be even more tiring. She punched in a few commands codes in the computer and crawled into bed.
"Lights off", commanded Tammy as the computer responded by turning off the lights. The rest of the ship was on night shift mode for it made the lighting was on minimal.
Early next morning, Tammy was jolted awake by the intruder alert alarm. She sprung up and out of bed, hurriedly put her robe on and grabbed her phaser that she had conveniently left on the desk before rushing out the door. She knew where…and ran down the hall towards the turbolift and commanded it to head to Main Engineering. What she forgot was that the lighting was poor and kept tripping over wreckage on the floor and didn't command the computer to turn the light back on. As she ran inside Main Engineering to curse herself that she couldn't see the intruder very well, for all she could see was a dark shadowed figure stumbling around the dark.
She stopped in mid stride and held her phaser up, and opened her mouth," Computer turn on the lights, mute intruder alert."
The intruder gasped in surprised when the lights went on temporarily blinding them and when Tammy saw that her intruder was again Mrs. Kvamme.
"Well, welcome back and what do you want?" asked Tammy tiredly.
Mrs. Kvamme answered flippantly," Trying to find out more about this place but my questions were left unanswered yesterday when you three disappeared and what are you doing here?"
"I stayed over the night attempting to repair some of the damaged areas and I found the information that you seek but do you think I'll hand over that information willingly? You are, however considered an intruder so I suggest you leave now before you can explain your presence to Capt. Pieper.", growled Tammy.
"This place is not yours yet and it will be mine when I tell Mr. Cryer why you were not in school for the last two days. You have the weekend to decide what to do with this place or you'll regret it when Mr. Cryer finds out. Better tell your Captain that!" threatened Mrs. Kvamme.
"Computer, beam the intruder off board and back to the surface." Tammy commanded as she sighed and lowered her phaser down when the computer chirped in response. Once she was gone, she sat down on the nearest chair. Tammy shook her head and made a choice, upon it she spoke," Computer, contact Lt. Dyck and Captain Pieper. Tell them that their presence is needed urgently." commanded Tammy as she got up from the chair and left Main Engineering when the computer responded," Processing request, contacts have confirmed that they are on their way."
Tammy entered her temporary quarters and decided that since there was nothing she can do until Jaret and David got here so she might as well gather some breakfast for the guys and herself. She still felt tired considering she had only slept for six hours. After taking a shower and dressing up in her new uniform. She walked back to Main Engineering so she can take a look at what the replicators can create for breakfast while she waited for the guys to arrive. She was dreading what she will have to tell them and wondered at the same time what they'll think too.