Lone Nebula
"Captains log: star date 45626.9. Voyager is running on reserve power. We've been searching for any convertible source of power for three weeks, without any success. However; we've located a nebula on long rage sensors which is raising our hopes."
(The Bridge: Chakotay, Tuvok, Harry, and Tom are at their stations, while the Captain is in her chair)
"There it is Captain, our Nebula. Almost completely webbed with plasma streams and electric currents." Said Harry blandly. Captain Janeway looked towards the Ensign, biting the corner of her lip. She then eyed Tuvok and raised an eyebrow.
"So I guess its out of the question for us to take a little cruise in at impulse." Tuvok raised an eyebrow back at her.
"That would be unwise. There are large quantities of unstable radioactive clouds. Anything as large as voyager would be sure to ignite the gasses." He said with his normal vulcan stoicism.
"I'm not really in the mood to be a fire cracker." Said Tom with a sarcastic smile. Captain Janeway ignored him.
"What if we were to modify a shuttle craft…" Said the Captain, cutting herself off. "Janeway to engineering." Down in engineering, working under the dim light of the blue warp core, was Belanna, frustrated at the power loss, and grumpy as usual.
"Torres here." She said, as she tapped something into a panel.
"Lieutenant, we've decided that it is too dangerous to proceed into the nebula with voyager, but I was thinking it might be possible to modify the shield…"
"Modify the shield polarity of a shuttlecraft to repel the large electric currents. I hear you. I'm way ahead of you. I've been trying to modify voyager, but its just too large. I'm sure I can do it for the shuttle, but it will take several hours." Janeway smiled, proud as always of her talented engineer.
"Take your time, Lieutenant. We're already in gray mode, a few more hours of low power won't hurt us."
"Speak for yourself." Grumbled Tom, who had been waiting nearly three weeks to run the "Tower of Terror" (his newest captain proton scenario), but the holodecks were the first causalities of the power shortage. Captain Janeway sighed.
"Thank you Lieutenant, let me know when you're finished."
"Aye Captain. Torres out." As the call was terminated, all eyes on the bridge fell on her. She had been awake for nearly sixteen hours, unable to beat herself off the bridge until she knew whether this nebula was the gold mine they were looking for, or just another wild goose chase. Chakotay frowned at the Captain, as she ran her hand over her tired brow.
"Captain." He started to say. She waved a silencing hand at him, a grin tickling the corner of her mouth.
"I know, Commander, and for once, I'm not going to fight you." She stood from her chair and walked up the stairs towards the turbo lift. "I'll be in my quarters, you have the bridge." She said, winking at her cheery and bright eyed first office, before disappearing into the lift.
Tom Paris was walking through the corridor, a strange headset upon his head, connected to a tiny plastic machine which was belted at his waist. He snapped his fingers and sung (badly) along with the device. Various crewmen walked by him, staring at their odd superior officer.
Footsteps approached at his back, but the music hid them until Belanna Torres was sweeping right past him, an armful of tools in her hands. Tom reached out and gently grabbed her by the arms.
"Belanna," He yelled as if he were deaf, "How's the shuttle modification going?" Belanna looked at him curiously.
"Fine. But I'm in sort of a hurry." She said, always nervous around the young handsome officer. He looked at her, puzzled, then took off the headset.
"Oh, sorry, can you repeat that? The music was too loud." Belanna chuckled at the eccentric man, and pointed at his archaic listening device.
"So that thing plays music?" He nodded excitedly, presenting his prize to her as if he had designed and built it himself.
"Its called a 'walk-man', a late 20th century device which plays music that you insert into it on plastic tapes. Gotta do something to keep me occupied during my free time that doesn't require a mega jewel of power." A sparkle appeared in his eye. "You should come over later, and I'll show you how it works." A sly smile crossed his face as he, again, tried to get the lovely Klingon to spend some time with him off duty. As usual, she immediately ignored his advances.
"Well speaking of 'walking' I've got to get going. I told the captain I'd have this done in a few hours and I'm already an hour overdue." Tom shrugged, expecting as much.
"Well, maybe another time." Belanna gave him a shy smile, and began to continue her fast paced walk down the hall. Tom shook his head, placing the headphones back over his ears, and danced awkwardly back down the hallway.
Captain Janeway sat in her quarters, sipping a cup of coffee, and staring out at the sparkling stars. She had managed to sleep for about an hour or so, but her mind was just too active. It was one of those dark days, where (despite her best efforts) she was slipping into an uncomfortable nostalgia. She was dreaming of him, her mother, her sister, Mark. And it was the thought of Mark which made her most uncomfortable. It had been more than two years since she had last seen the face of fiancé, and she had begun to forget the sound of his voice. Not that it mattered, she had spent most of these two years getting over him, and had pretty much succeeded. Seeing his face no longer gave her a deep aching feeling.
What disturbed her most about her thoughts of Mark, were not the thoughts of Mark at all, but the fact that she was now quite alone. It was against her own morals to date a member of her crew, and the idea of some knight in shining armor flying by in a cargo ship was a thought best left to the young and naive. Truthfully, she enjoyed the company of her crew. Especially her higher officers. She even thought of them as friends…but there were some boundaries she couldn't cross with them. How she longed to have a deep conversation with her sister, or with another Captain, or with her roommate from Starfleet academy. The truth was, no matter how highly her crew thought of her, and her them, they were still below her in rank. She didn't even necessarily need a boyfriend. Just a true friend. Someone she could speak to, on an equal level. Tuvok shared occasional conversations with, but for obvious reasons, wasn't exactly one to engage in late night conversations over coffee about love and loss.
Janeways depressing mind rant was halted as the familiar beep of the com rang out.
"Janeway here." She said, placing her cup of coffee onto her desk. Belannas voice was heard, calm, cool, and wide awake.
"Captain, I've finished the shield modulation. The shuttle is ready for launch." Janeway nodded.
"Good work. I'll get back to you. Janeway out." She said, ending the call. "Computer, locate Ensign Kim." She didn't want to wake him on the rare chance that he had gone to bed early.
"Lieutenant Kim is on the bridge." Said the computer in its monotones tone. Janeway smiled. Harry was as eager and excited as ever. Probably had been studying the nebula since she left the bridge. Good.
"Janeway to Kim." She said clearly. Harry's overenthusiastic voice was immediately heard.
"Kim here, Captain."
"Harry, I'd like to take this shuttle out as soon as possible. Is the nebula stable enough for us to enter it now?" Harry sighed.
"No Captain, I'm afraid not. There was a plasma storm which cropped up about twenty minutes ago. I've calculated that it will take at least seven hours for the currents inside the nebula to calm down enough to be safety traversed through. Janeway sighed heavily.
"Well, you win. I guess I'll have to get a good nights sleep." She said, not really at anyone.
"Captain?" Said Harry, overhearing her soliloquy. Janeway smiled.
"Nothing Ensign. Let me know when the storm clears. Otherwise, I'll see you at 0700." The com clicked off, and the Captain turned to her empty double bed, hoping that the three cups of coffee and her overactive thoughts would allow her to get to sleep. At any rate, she now had at least six hours to rest, and she intended to take advantage of every minute.
"Captains log, star date 00000.2. The plasma storm has passed, and the nebula is stable. With any luck, we'll find a few planetoids inside this nebula with as much dilithum on them as we have scanned that they do. On a personal note, I'm a little tired of eating ration packed breakfast and reading by starlight, so I've decided to go along with Belanna on the mission to see for myself, for better or worse, what this nebula has to offer."
Chakotay now was the tired one, having been up on the night shift with Harry. The Captain glared at him as he stifled a yawn. His expression was clear: He wasn't going to sleep until this mission was launched. She couldn't blame him. Everyone was excited that they might actually find a compatible energy source this time.
Captain Janeway waltzed over to her chair with the grace she always held after a good nights rest. She hadn't even sat down before the turbo lift door opened, and Belanna stomped in. Janeway frowned when she saw the Lieutenants frustrated expression.
"What's wrong, Lieutenant?" Said Janeway, crossing her fingers that nothing was wrong with the shuttle. Before she could say anything, the doctors voice came over the con.
"Captain, this is the emergency holographic doctor speaking. Can you please turn to your emergency medical channel?" Janeway sighed, and glanced at the mid panel. The Doctor flickered onto the screen, annoyed as always, and stood with his arms crossed.
"Captain, I was informed that there is a mission planned to go into this nebula?" Janeway licked her lips, feeling a debate coming on.
"That's right, we're going to launch a shuttle into the nebula to search for dilithum planetoids." The Doctor frowned.
"I see. If I had been informed earlier, I might have been able to create a vaccine to protect against the radiation." Captain Janeway blinked.
"We haven't sensed any dangerous radiation in this nebula." She said calmly.
"Still, I had planned an at random check for Tarpezian flu. I may have to re-write my list if any of the crew are on this mission. It will be inconvenient." Janeway sighed.
"I'm sorry, Doctor. It was insensitive of me not to inform you. In the future, I will keep this in mind. Janeway out." She said, cutting off the communication before the Doctor could raise any other objections.
Janeway turned her attention to Lieutenant Torres, who was still looking frazzled. Belanna didn't wait for her to ask what was wrong again.
"Captain, I've got a little problem. You see, there are several elements in this nebula which aren't effected by my shield modifications, but the problem is, they are very close to inert hydrogen atoms." Janeway frowned.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I'm not going to be able to monitor the shields and watch for these unstable particles. I can't be two places at once, and no one else is well versed enough in chemical physics to help me out." Janeway grinned. It wasn't often that such a simple solution presented itself to her.
"Don't worry Lieutenant. I was a Science officer aboard the Albatani before I started command school. I'm sure I can be your right hand. Provided you don't have a problem with the Captain giving you some help." Belanna was quite taken aback, and even smiled.
"No, of course not. Its just, well, Its been a while since you've gone on an away mission." Janeway stood up.
"Don't I know it. I'm getting stir crazy. A little away mission will do me some good." She turned towards Tom, who was sitting at the con staring at the view screen and trying to figure out whether the giant nebula cloud looked more like a rabbit or a cactus.
"Mr. Paris, would you mind accompanying us? We're going to need our best pilot to navigate around those plasma currents." Tom smiled his witty and charming smile.
"Why not. With me at the helm, Belanna managing shields, and you making sure we don't hit any explosive speed bumps, we're less likely to light up that nebula like a Christmas tree." Janeway nodded and walked towards the turbo lift. She stopped in mid stride, and turned to the exhausted first officer.
"Oh, and Commander?" Chakotay stood up and rolled his eyes, cutting her off.
"Yes ma'am. I'm off to get some sleep." Janeway smiled, and eyed Tuvok.
"You have the bridge." She said to the Vulcan, before stepping onto the lift, accompanied by Tom and Belanna. "Shuttle bay." Said Janeway clearly, and the three descended.
The shuttle was cramped. These things weren't designed to fit more than one, or at the most two people. Fitting three in comfortably took some doing. Luckily, Torres and Janeway were smaller in size than personality, and could be shoved relatively easily into their respective corners with their respective consoles in front of them. Belanna and Tom were enjoying an awkward silence, as they were closely clumped together. Janeway wasn't paying attention, for she was eagerly monitoring the ever changing particle density of the nebula, which they were quickly approaching.
Toms hands moved deafly over the console, and looked almost elegant as he glided them effortlessly through space. Belanna just happened look down at his hands when he turned to say something to her. Of course, she immediately flipped her view back to what she was doing, leaving Tom suspicious of what she was looking at.
"How are those shields holding?" He asked plainly. Belanna regained her composure almost instantly.
"Fine. They won't really be tested until we reach the outskirts of the nebula. So about another ten thousand meters to go." Something in Belannas voice caught Janeways attention, and she looked up from her scans for just a moment. Belanna was tending her shield readings, ignoring Tom with the best of her ability, but a blind deaf man could see that she was a bit distracted by Tom. Of course, Tom was getting bored. It had been about five minutes since they left the docking bay, and he was unchallenged by the easy flying. He turned his chair to the side to watch what Belanna was doing. She noticed this maneuver out of the corner of her eye, and became visibly more tense. So much so, that she actually punched a wrong key, and Tom noticed before her.
"No, this one." He said softly, pointing towards the correct key. She brushed his hand away briskly.
"I know." She said harshly. "Why don't you stick to your flying, and I'll stick to the Engineering?" Tom lifted his hands, and turned back around to the con. Janeway raised an eyebrow, before glancing back down at her readings.
Wisps of yellow gas began to whiz by the shuttle, as they reached the beginning of the nebula. In the distance, arcs of green and white plasma were drifting slowly about. Tom pricked up his ears, waiting for Janeways command.
"Proceed Mr. Paris. But keep us at thrusters until we reach mark 125.9." Tom nodded, and slid the shuttle through the foggy muck. Soon, they were totally immersed in the glowing cloud, and even Janeway (who had seen her share of nebulas) was awed by the beauty.
"That's it. There's a small planetoid. Iron, magnetite, and galacite. Techtonically stable, M class atmosphere. I'd say we star there. Its not dilithium, but Galacite is easily converted." Janeway nodded.
"I agree. The closer to the edge of this nebula the better, I'm reading increased particle density the further in we go." Janeway tapped the con.
"Janeway to Voyager." She called. A crackling response greeted her, though the eagerness of Harry couldn't be hidden by the bad connection.
"Voyager here, Captain."
"I'd like you to move closer to the Nebula. I'm fairly sure that we may be able to piggy back a transporting beam off of the shuttle and lock on to some of the Galacite we've detected. It would prevent us from having to land." Suddenly, the transmission was cut short. Janeway tried to reinitialize contact, but she had a much bigger problem.
"Captain, something just tapped the shields. They're down to sixty percent." Janeways face was surprised.
"I didn't feel anything." She said, concern imbedded in each word. She looked back down at her particle readings, and her eyes grew large.
"The particle density has shifted. Now it seems that most of the dense particles are moving towards the outer edges of the Nebula, and they're moving fast."
"Captain…" Said Tom, obviously frightened. Janeway looked up at the view screen, and gasped. Heading towards them, at great speed, was a wave of glowing nuclear particles. If they struck the shield with that intensity, they would surely ignite the whole nebula…and the shuttle with it.
"Tom, turn us around, go to impulse."
"I wouldn't recommend that." Said Belanna loudly, as beeping began to emanate from various panels, and the hull began to vibrate under the building pressure. "If we go to impulse, it will ignite these particles." Tom didn't wait for an order.
"Full reverse, full thrusters." He said, flipping the shuttle with great ease, and zooming through the yellow mist.
"Wave closing in at the rear, we're not going to make it, captain!" Said Belanna, her hearts thundering in her chest. Suddenly, the familiar crackle of the con snapped on, and faintly, they could make out Harrys voice.
"Captain…wave approaching…" Janeway boosted the power to the con, and Harrys voice rang out crystal clear.
"We're at the edge of the nebula, if you can just get closer, I think we can beam you out before that wave hits." Janeway nodded as if Harry could see.
"Do it, Harry!" She yelled, as she watched the wave approaching from behind. Sparks of miniature electricity bolted outwards from the crest of the wave. Tom gritted his teeth, and Belanna frantically tapped her console.
"Shield strength down to fifteen percent!"
"Keep that shield up, Belanna, we're almost there!" Janeway grabbed the chair in front of her, holding tight.
"Brace for impact!" She yelled aloud, as Tom Paris began to dematerialize before her eyes. Then, the wave hit. Torres and Janeway were tossed around like rag dolls, the shuttle flying out of control.
Back on Voyager, Tom leapt from the transporter platform, and hit his combadge.
"Where are Belanna and the Captain?" He called out. Harrys frantic voice answered.
"We couldn't lock onto them in time…that wave, it was too fast!" Tom ran out of the doors and headed for the bridge.
The shuttle managed to stabilize for only a moment, as the gravitational pull of the planetoid yanked it towards its atmosphere. Belanna seized the moment to hit the auto con, and felt herself tossed backwards just after doing so. Then, everything went black.
Belanna sat up, pain nearly overtaking her. She had hit her head very hard against the back wall. A moment of disorientation rolled over her, as she was not in the back of the shuttle, where as her last memory had put her in the front. This moment passed swiftly as she saw the limp body of the Captain sprawled across the floor of the shuttle. Belanna tried to crawl to the Captain, but noticed that her left shoulder was dislocated, and in horrible pain. Clenching her teeth, she grabbed her own arm, and forced it back into socket. After all, Klingons endured more painful things on their wedding nights than dislocated shoulders.
Belanna crawled over to the captain (as the ceiling was now several feet shorter) and turned her onto her back. There was a large gash down her cheek, and Belanna feared that she was dead…but only for a moment. Janeway gasped, and groaned. A wheezing sound escaped her lips, and she opened her eyes to gaze at her Klingon companion.
"Captain, are you alright?" Said Belanna, trying not to sound frantic. Janeway tried to sit up, but grabbed her side in pain.
"No, I think my legs broken, and it is hard to breathe." Belanna dove into a nearby panel and produced an emergency med kit. Out of it she pulled a medical tri corder and ran it over Janeways torso. The Klingon took a slow breath, realizing that the Captain was badly injured. Janeway smiled weakly.
"That bad huh?" She said, coughing and spitting up a little bit of blood. Belanna tore a piece of her undershirt off and gave it to the Captain as a makeshift handkerchief.
"You have a punctured lung, four broken ribs, and some internal bleeding. You need to get to sickbay."
"Voyager?" Said Janeway softly. Belanna looked over at the con panel, and noticed that there was no power.
"I don't know. Our power is out. I'll work on trying to get it back up." Janeway nodded, and closed her eyes. Belanna (having been a nursing student) knew better than to let the Captain fall asleep.
"Hey, you stay awake." Said Belanna, as she crawled over to one of the side panels, and began pressing random buttons. Janeway smiled, and (with some effort) opened her eyes.
"Don't worry, Lieutenant. I got a good night sleep last night. I won't need a nap." Belanna mustered a small smile to her injured Captain, then turned her attention back to the powerless pannel.
Chakotay was shaken from his bed by a frantic Harry Kim, and three minutes later, he strolled onto the bridge as if he weren't running on fifteen minutes of sleep.
"Report." He boomed with his commanding deep voice.
"The Shuttle was hit by a wave of Radioactive Protons. It is difficult to say for certain what fate has befallen the crew, but as sensors have not found any wreckage, I would advise that there is a chance they it may still be in one piece." Said Tuvok dryly, though Chakotay could tell that even the Vulcan was a bit startled by the difficult situation.
"Can we go in and look for them?" Said Chakotay, already fairly sure of the answer.
"No sir, those plasma currents are too dangerous. We'd have the same problem as we discovered before. Our ship would act like a giant conductor. We'd be left stranded, if not blown out of the sky, once one of those bolts hit us." Chakotay hit his hand against the arm of his chair. He didn't like being left without options, especially when there were lives at stake.
"Where is Belanna when you need her." Sighed Chakotay under his breath.
"Commander, we could take another shuttle in after them?" Chakotay shook his head.
"No, we'd be putting more people at risk. We don't know what triggered that Proton wave, and the shuttles deflector isn't large enough to produce enough anti protons to neutralize it. Only Voyager is large enough for that." Harry nodded, agreeing that there had to be a better plan.
"Keep working on it, Harry. We need to get in there fast if there is any hope of finding them alive. I'm going to Engineering to check up on the shield modifications. Alert me if you find anything new." He said, standing and strolling towards the lift. "You have the bridge." He said to the stately Vulcan, before exiting into the Turbo lift.
Sparks flew for about the fifth time as Belanna wrestled with the cords connected to the backup EPS relay. The main computer was shot, but the backup power was still available. Unfortunately, about ever wire in the panel had shorted out in the crash. She was having to pull wires out of the life support systems just to keep sensors operational. The Captain groaned, and Belanna looked over at her, concern painted across her dirty ridged face.
"How do you feel?" Said Belanna, trying not to sound too concerned. Janeway slowly turned her head towards the Klingon, wincing in pain as she did so.
"Like a spring daisy." She said sarcastically.
"Don't worry. I'll have the com up in no time. It's just a little more difficult than I thought it would be." Silence fell over the shuttle for a moment, as Belanna worked on the thoroughly thrashed systems. Janeway felt herself getting a little delirious, and had to fight off the urge to shut her eyes.
"Lieutenant." She whispered. Belanna kept working, but answered her companion anyhow.
"Yes?"
"I don't mean to be a bother to you, but can we please talk about something. I'm having problems staying alert." Belanna half smiled.
"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" Janeway grimaced, as she moved herself slowly so that she was looking right at the Klingon without having her head tilted.
"Oh, I don't care." Belanna shrugged.
"Well. According to sensors, we have landed on that little planetoid we first discovered earlier. Because of its dense metallic core, its magnetic field was strong enough to yank us down in its gravitational pull. Anyhow, we couldn't have found a better place to land for repairs. It's a methane, argon and Oxygen filled planet, not to mention about sixty degrees, so we're not in any danger even though life support is down." Janeway coughed for a minute, holding Belannas makeshift handkerchief to her mouth. Belanna continued once the fit subsided.
"I'm rerouting power from the damaged life support system to the main com. That way, I think I can piggy back a signal on the currents of the nebula itself to voyager. Hopefully, they'll be able to pick up our distress call over the rest of the electrostatic interference." Said Belanna, wiping her head, and taking a moments break. She rubbed her throbbing shoulder, and Janeway noticed that there was a large gash in her companions cheek.
"You're injured." She said quietly. Belanna felt the oozing cut and shrugged.
"No big deal, its just a scratch." Janeway raised an eyebrow.
"You're always so tuff. I bet that's why Lieutenant Paris has taken a liking to you." Belanna laughed, getting an almost embarrassed look upon her face.
"Lieutenant Paris would hit on a female targ." She scoffed. Janeway nodded, and Belanna blushed.
"He hits on every woman on the ship. Why should I be any different." Janeway sighed.
"Because you are. I've seen the way he looks at you, its obvious that you're his favorite. You give him too little credit. Once you get past all of his arrogant show, he's really a decent fellow." Belanna began pulling off another panel, trying to make enough noise to drown out the Captains words.
"Yeah well, I don't have any interest in getting past his show." Said Belanna, getting a bit hostile, though she didn't intend to. The Captains , and she groaned again in pain. This time, Belanna shuffled over to her, and held the medical tri corder up to her again.
"You're developing a fever. I think you might have a concussion. I can't be sure though." She put down the equipment, and hustled back over to the panel, touching her finger to one of the keys. It lit up, with some effort, and made an encouraging beep. Belanna hit a series of keys, and then turned to her ailing Captain.
"Hang in there, Captain. All they have to do now is listen, and they'll know where to find us." Said Belanna, trying to sound as encouraging as she could, though the possibility that Voyager would miss their distress call entirely was very probable.
Back aboard Voyager, Harry had realized another problem. Even if they could find a way to safely take Voyager into the nebula, they still had no idea where the shuttle was. He pushed that thought out of his mind for the moment. His first task was finding a way in, then he would worry about locating the shuttle. Tom, sitting at his post, was beginning to get quite jumpy. He turned to his friend at ops with a disturbed look on his face.
"So, we're just sitting here while they could be running out of air in there?" Tuvok decided to answer the impetuous officer.
"We are hardly just 'sitting here'. We are gathering critical information to help us enter the nebula safely and retrieve our crewmen."
"Well, I'm just sitting here." Tuvoks superior ears heard Tom's unincouraging mumbling.
"Our primary job at this moment is to retrieve the away team, not to keep you occupied, Mr. Paris." Tom turned around and looked back at the nebula, keeping whatever quippy remark he had silent, wishing that Vulcans hearing was just a little less acute. At that very moment, Harrys face lit up. A familiar chime rang through the bridge.
"I'm picking up a distress call. Its very faint, but its defiantly the shuttle. Its coming from the location of that planetoid they told us about." Tom almost jumped up and down with excitement.
"Alright, well let go get them!" He said, fingers in position to take Voyager to impulse.
"Let us not jump to hasty conclusions. We still do not know how to safely traverse the nebula. Though the away team is alive, and located, we still must find a way to retrieve them before we attempt a rescue." Tuvok tapped his combadge . "Tuvok to Chakotay. We've received a distress call from the shuttle."
"Alright. I'll be up in a moment. Chakotay out." Harrys heart was plunged back into its worrying once more. Now it was time to worry about how to get voyager into that nebula…and he didn't have the faintest idea how he was going to do that.
It was starting to get cold, and Belanna had given up on the shuttle. Now that their distress message was playing, there wasn't anything left to do but wait. This would have been easier if the Captain hadn't slipped into a delusional fever.
Belanna was sitting right next to her now, wiping the sweat from her brow. The Captain was mumbling incoherently. Suddenly, her eyes opened, and she peered up at Belanna.
"Where are we?" She asked, somewhat coherently. Belanna was relieved to hear her say something fairly clearly.
"We're still down on the planet, in the shuttle, waiting for Voyager, Captain." Janeway shook her head.
"Call me Katheryn, Pheobe." Whispered the Captain, obviously confused. Belanna remembered that the Captains younger sisters name was Phoebe, and became even more concerned about her commanding officers state of mind.
"Phoebe." Said the Captain, as Belanna wiped her face with her jacket. "I miss Mark. Always…I'm always…by myself." Belanna frowned. She didn't know what to do, what to say.
"You're not alone, I'm here."
"Yes, yes, you were always there to hear me. But I was in space, Phoebe. I was all alone. I couldn't talk to anyone…all alone." Belanna realized that the Captain was hallucinating. She thought she was back home, with her sister. "I was all alone." Belanna shook her head.
"You weren't alone. Your crew was there with you." The Captain coughed, and shook her tired head.
"No no, the crew. The crew, I had to take care of them. But there was no one…no one to take care of me." A great pain was felt in Belannas heart. She had always seen the Captain as larger than life; able to overcome the separation from family, and the need for her own superiority. She also had thought that the Captain preferred to spend her time alone. A wave of guilt passed over Belanna as she remembered that only once had the Captain joined the officers when they had one of their holodeck sessions in Sandrine's. Nobody had ever thought about asking the Captain to come again, they figured she knew it was an open invitation. Apparently, she was unaware that her crew accepted her not only as a Captain; but as a person. Belanna had never felt so awkward.
"Katheryn." She heard herself say. "Your crew think of you not just as a Captain, but as a friend. They are all here for you, because you are there for them." She took her Captains hand in hers, and Kathryn looked Belanna in the eyes. "We're all a family. We're stuck with each other." Somehow, the Captains eyes lit up, and even though she didn't recognize the face she was looking into, she smiled.
"Thank you Phoebe." She managed to get out, before she coughed once more, and began to be overcome by her fever. Belanna released her hand, and picked up the tri corder. The Captain was running a fever of 103, and the shuttle was rapidly dropping in temperature. Belanna leaned against the jagged wall of the shuttle, and frowned as the Captains face contorted in pain, and she began to mumble again.
"I promise I'll be nicer to Tom, if you hang in there, Captain." She whispered to Katheryn.
Harry had had a breakthrough. He had been shuffling back and forth across the bridge, going to Ops, then to con, checking sensors, calling engineering. When he had gone back to his station, he reached out to the metal panel, and all the shuffling had given his hand a charge of static electricity. He was zapped by a miniature pop of electricity, and suddenly, he knew the answer. He spoke up, despite the distressed look on Commander Chakotays face.
"Sir, I think I might have something." He said, trying to sound sure. Chakotays dark haired head whipped around to face the young Ensign.
"Well, what have you got?" Harry didn't want to bore him with the static electricity story, so he just explained his theory.
"I was just thinking, we've been trying to find out a way to move around these currents. What if we could go through them?" Tuvok raised an eyebrow.
"We have already discounted that idea, Ensign. We would surely be hit by the many plasma currents running through the nebula." Harry nodded, and waved a hand at the Vulcan.
"I know, but what if we were TRYING to hit the currents." Chakotay's interest had been peaked.
"What are you proposing?" Harrys heart pounded with excitement.
"Well, what if we modify the deflector to attract the electricity, and neutralize it? If the current is dispersed in the deflector, we won't have to worry about it carrying the current to the rest of the ship."
"Like a surge protector." Tom piped up, receiving confused glances from all around the bridge. "An ancient piece of technology. It was an outlet that was specifically designed to burn out in case of a power surge, so that the important equipment it was connected to wouldn't be harmed." Harry nodded.
"Exactly. We'll be without the deflector for a while, but it should neutralize the electrical currents within about a square light-year. In theory, the shuttle isn't any further in the nebula than that."
"True, but I must point out that we can only attempt this once. It would take several weeks to get the deflector operational again. We also cannot be sure that all of the currents will be neutralized. You are assuming that they all share a common thread." Harry shrugged. He was assuming that all of the plasma strains were interconnected. Tuvok was right, if even one was independent of the rest, Voyager could be in for a big surprise, especially if they were in the middle of the nebula without an active deflector.
"Harry, how long will it take to modify the deflector?" Asked Chakotay, a sparkle coming back into his dark eyes. Harry grinned.
"About an hour."
"Get on it." Chakotay looked out the view screen at the swirling yellow nebula. "We'll find you." He whispered to Belanna and Katheryn.
Fourty five minutes later, Voyager was powering its thrusters, and moving foreward into the nebula. Tiny flickers of electricity were already starting to pass over the hull. If they weren't in gray mode, the lights probably would have flickered. Harry monitored the panel without blinking, and Chakotay held on to the edge of his seat.
"How far into the nebula until we release the burst?" Said Chakotay, a pinch of nervousness on his voice.
"Just a few more seconds." Said Harry, unsure of the exact distance. Tuvok frowned.
"I'm reading a strand of plasma, ten thousand kilometers in length, approaching on the port side. I suggest we release the pulse." Chakotay held up his hand.
"Not yet!" He said, bellowing with command. Harrys finger was poised on the burst, but he knew that he had to wait a few more seconds. The arc of burning electricity flew towards Voyager, drawn like a magnet to the metal hull.
"Arc approaching. Contact in five…four…three…two…" Said Tuvok loudly, almost sounding frantic through his emotionless voice.
"NOW!" Yelled Chakotay loudly, and Harry slammed his hand down on the trigger.
Outside the deflector dish glowed bright blue, pulling the electric cord into the center of itself and exploding, lighting up the nebula bright enough for thousands of nearby star systems to see. The current of electricity disappeared, and all at once, Voyager was left momentarily dark, surrounded by not a bright yellow nebula, lit up by plasma electricity, but by a dark green cloud, totally free of electricity for a light-year in any direction. A great wave of air passed through the bridge as Harry, Chakotay and Tom exhaled in relief. The power flickered back on dimly, and Tuvok examined his console.
"The deflector is inspirational, but it appears that the electricity has been neutralized." Harry smiled so grandly he thought his face would pop. A grin also graced the face of Chakotays handsome face.
"Well done, Mr. Kim." He said, nodding towards the young man.
The main com beeped, and Tom responded first.
"I've got a clear reading. There's a planetoid within range. I'm receiving a distress signal. it's the shuttle." Chakotay nodded.
"Set in a course, lets hope that its still in once piece when we get there."
Belanna was nearly freezing. The temperature had dropped at least fifteen degrees.
"M class atmosphere my foot." Muttered Belanna, trying to curl up into a ball to keep her bare shoulders warm. She had taken off her jacket and put it around the Captain, for though she had a high fever, she needed to be kept warm. The Captains babbling had long since passed, and Belanna had been unable to keep her from sliding into a state of half sleep. A cold shiver passed through Belanna, and for a moment, she wished that she had a fever. At least then she wouldn't have to suffer through this biting cold. Immediately she felt badly, as Janeway rolled over restlessly, exposing a large bruise through her torn uniform. Belanna, using only her limited nursing knowledge, was sure that the Captain was slipping slowly towards a coma. Belanna knew now that the Captain was probably minutes away from death. And if the temperature kept dropping like it was, she wouldn't be far behind.
Suddenly, there was a high-pitched beep, and Belanna forced her freezing palm to run over the only working panel in the shuttle. There, among the static, and her own distress call, was a familiar tone. Someone had answered back to their distress call, and though she couldn't tell who it was, she knew. It had a Starfleet signature.
"Voyager." Belanna said aloud, her eyes bulging with surprise. Despite herself, she stood up and banged her freezing fists on the hull of the broken shuttle, as if they could hear her screams. "We're here, we're down here!" She yelled. The panic passed over her, and her brain went back into gear. She hit her com badge, realizing that if Voyager were as close as it seemed, she could communicate with them.
"Torres to Voyager, can you hear me?" Static answered her at first, but then, through the static, could be heard a familiar voice. It was Chakotay.
"Lieutenant, are you alright!"
"Fine, but the Captain is in bad shape, she needs to be transported to sick bay immediately!"
"Stand by!" Said Chakotay, and in a moment, the familiar tingle of the transporter wafted over Belanna.
Captain Janeway had been awake for about twenty minutes. The Doctor had distracted her with a pad of Voyagers repairs. Otherwise, she surely would have checked herself out by now. The Doctor was humming Opera in his office (off key, but she didn't want to say anything) when the door opened and Belanna Torres walked in, cleaned up and looking chipper and pretty. Captain Janeway put down the pad and let a large smile spread across her cheeks.
"There you are. How are you feeling?" Said the Captain brightly. Belanna mustered a smile, and handed another pad to her.
"I'm fine. Glad to see you're up and about."
"Well, I'm up, but not exactly about."
"And she won't be for another day if you ask me." Said the Doctor, walking out from his office. "Hello Lieutenant." Belanna flashed a smile at the over enthusiastic electronic Doctor. Captain Janeway realized that Belanna had already given her the pad, and therefore, had no real reason to stick around.
"What's on your mind, Lieutenant?" Said Janeway. Belanna was caught off guard, and actually seemed a little embarrassed.
"Oh…well…I just wanted to…" She eyed the Doctor, and after a few more awkward moments, he retreated back to his office with a simple
"I can take a hint". Belanna cleared her throat and pushed back the awkwardness'.
"I just wanted to say, we- by we I mean the senior officers and myself- are throwing a birthday party for Lieutenant Paris on Sunday at Sandrine's. I'd really like it if you came." Janeway was shocked, and flattered, not to mention surprised.
"Oh, thank you, but I don't want to intrude." Belanna shook her head and smiled.
"No. I'm sorry. I asked that wrong." Janeway tilted her head, confused. Belanna stepped up closer to the Captain, and relaxed a bit.
"Captain, I don't know if this is out of line, but I just want to let you know, that you're always invited."
"Oh?" Said Janeway, unsure exactly what to say.
"I mean, we're all stuck here together, and just because you're our superior officer, our Captain, doesn't mean that you can't be our friend as well." Janeway let a heartfelt smirk pass her lips. "Besides, I'm less likely to take away his walk man and beat him over the head with it if you're there keeping an eye on me." Katheryn and Belanna began to laugh, and Katheryn held her ribs. They still hurt a bit, but despite the pain, the laugh felt good. Some great weight lifted from Janeways chest as she and her chief engineer; no, Belanna, shared a joke. As the laugh ended, Belanna stood for a moment, just staring at the Captain whom she had learned to admire, before deciding it was time to leave.
"Well, I'd better get going. The boys did a pretty good job of blowing out the deflector while we were away." Janeway grinned. With that, Belanna turned and began to walk towards the door.
"Lieutenant." Said Janeway suddenly, and Belanna turned to face the Captain. "I'll see you at Sandrine's. And remember, you promised to be nicer to Mr. Paris. I'm holding you to that." Belanna smiled, and nodded a goodbye to the Captain before exiting into the corridor.
Captains Personal Log:
We are eighty years from home, but today, being lost in the Delta quadrent, became less lonely. I look foreword to the relationships I am going to form with my officers, for I may be thousands of light-years from home, but it seems I'm only a turbo lift away from my friends.