STAR TREK: INFINITE
EPISODE ONE: BARRIER
CHAPTER ONE: AN UNKNOWN ENEMY
Commander Jacob Fallon awoke to a familiar chime. Opening his eyes he ran his hand over his face and sighed. The formations of wrinkles were all too apparent by his touch. Removing the covers he got to his feet. "Computer, Lights." The room became illuminated causing the Commander to squint. He rubbed his eyes and moved towards the door. When he was younger he was able to get out of bed with countless amounts of energy but now he needed a cup of coffee before he was fully awake. "Enter." He said as the doors quickly slid opening revealing a young girl of about sixteen. Jacob was startled but not unhappy to see his daughter. She looked so much like her mother that every time he looked at her it was yet another painful reminder of just what he had lost.
The young girl walked into her father's quarters smiling at him. She pushed a strand of brown hair behind her ear as she walked up to the replicator. "Coffee, black." Within seconds a cup of coffee appeared and she presented it to her father. Jacob took a refreshing sip of the liquid and set the cup down. "I thought I wasn't meeting you until 0800?" He said giving his daughter a quizzical look. Jessica Fallon laughed. "What's so funny?" Her father wondered. "0800 was four hours ago." Jacob frowned worried that he had let his daughter down. "I overslept." He said sitting back down on his bed.
Jessica approached him and sat down beside him. "It's ok, I know you don't get a day off that often so I thought I'd let you get some sleep." Jacob took a long drink of coffee then carefully sat the cup back down. He sighed then fell backwards on the bed and looked up at his daughter. "What did I do to deserve a daughter like you?" Jessica Fallon arose from the bed and offered her father a helping hand. "I'm still wondering that myself!" She said helping him to his feet. "So big day, are you excited?" Jessica didn't respond at first and Jacob could see her expression sadden. "Yeah I am, I just wish Mom were here." Jacob embraced his daughter like any loving father would. "Remember your Mother will always be with you no matter where you go." He then tenderly kissed her on her forehead. Quickly he rolled over his bed to the other side of the room and removed a wrapped present from his desk drawer.
"Speaking of where you're going, I was going to wait until later to give you this but now's a better time." He said handing the gift to his daughter. She took it from him and excitedly opened it. A data pad with a Starfleet logo on the front greeted her. Jessica stood with her mouth opened as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "Is this what I think it is?" She progressed the text on the pad forward and read silently to herself. Suddenly her eyes went wide. "I got in! I can't believe it." She was practically jumping up and down with excitement. Jacob stared at his daughter with pride and for once felt like a good father. After his wife had died it had been hard on Jessica. They had a much closer relationship then he did with his daughter. His life in Starfleet always seemed to get in the way of family but lately things had been getting better. He had decided to make more time for Jessica and to strive for a balance between work and family.
"Since you won't be starting until the fall, I talked to the Captain and he's made you an acting ensign." As Jacob finished the sentence Jessica's eyes got even wider. "This is the best day ever! Thanks, Dad!" Jacob walked over to a wall compartment to pull out some clothing. "No problem, now if I'm right don't we have Holodeck Two reserved all day. We're hiking to the top of the Valla mountains on the planet Ashtar, it has the most beautiful sunset." A few minutes later Jacob had changed and was ready to head out the door. Suddenly his comm badge chirped. "Commander Fallon to the bridge." Of all the days for the Captain to call on him. Tapping his badge he responded: "Captain, This is Fallon." A few seconds later the captain replied: "Sorry Jacob, I know it's your daughter's big day but I could use you up here now." Jacob looked at his daughter and could see her disappointment. Jessica nodded her head towards the door. "Go, its fine we can do it another time." "I'm sorry sweetheart." Jacob was tired of those words. He had said them to many times. As he walked out the door of his quarters he turned back to his daughter and smiled. "By the way, Happy Birthday Kiddo."
The bridge was in a state of yellow alert and one look at the view screen told Jacob why. A Romulan Warbird floated gracefully in front of them. Jacob took his seat beside Captain Lockridge. The Dante's first officer had known the Captain for years. He was actually one of Jacob's first teachers at the academy. The years had not been kind to Carl Lockridge. His face had been weathered by the ravages of time. Jacob knew he only had a few more years left in him as Captain. Part of him became excited by the thought meaning that he would take his place. Another part of him cringed at not seeing Lockridge sitting in the Captain's chair.
"A Romulan Warbird this far into federation space?" It's a damn fine time for The Romulans to start breaking treaties, Fallon thought. The Klingons were just looking for a reason for war and lately relations between the two species were extremely poor. "I know, we came here answering a distress call from a Denobulan freighter and found Romulans instead." Lockridge leaned forward never taking his gaze away from the view screen. "Any sign of the freighter?" Jacob asked hoping for good news. Ensign Wallace turned from her console at the front of the bridge to respond. "Only debris sir. There's something I can't explain though. The Warbird has no power readings what so ever, I'm also not reading any life signs aboard.
The Captain took control and tried to size up the situation. "Have the Romulans suffered any damage?" The ensign touched a few more buttons on her console and a few seconds later replied. "No sir, it's just adrift." Suddenly a green light emanated from the head of the vessel and moved over the bridge. The Captain moved to his feet as a response. "What the hell is happening?" "I think we're being scanned sir but I'm still reading no power." The green light soon dispersed and Lockridge returned to his seat. "Ensign Haloway put some distance between us and the Romulans." The U.S.S. Dante slid silently backwards through the stars as the Warbird remained motionless.
Jacob's first instinct was to board the Warbird. At least then they might learn something about what had happened. He leaned over the arm of his chair and furrowed his brow. "Captain?" Lockridge relaxed his shoulders and gave Jacob a small smile. "Damn Peculiar. Every fiber of my being is telling me we need to leave right now. But I know I wouldn't hear the end of it from Starfleet if we didn't see this through." Jacob knew he was right they needed to find out what was going on here. Was this some new Romulan design or strategy? Jacob was broken from his thoughts as the ship trembled. "Report!" Captain Lockridge yelled.
"Something hit our shields but they are holding. No damage to the hull." Tactical officer Eli West reported. "Define Something, Lieutenant?" The captain turned with a piercing glance. "Unknown, Sir." West responded as the ship was jolted for a second time. "Shields are down to ninety percent." Jacob brought his attention back to the Warbird. "I think it's the Warbird sir its mass has decreased ten percent in the past minute. I think we're being pelted with debris." "Move us to a safe distance." The Captain ordered as the ship moved out of the path of the fragments.
As if on cue the Warbird turned to face them and then broke in to pieces. Jacob could see thousands of shards moving at an incredible speed towards the Dante. "Everyone, Brace for impact!" The first few hundred splinters depleted the shields, the rest were able to penetrate the hull. Jacob felt himself slam down to the floor as the ship violently quivered then he blacked out. The bridge was alive with fire at least that was all Jacob could see. He guessed he had only been out for a few minutes but he knew those were minutes wasted. Getting to his feet a surge of pain hit his gut alerting him to the fact that a few of his ribs were broken. Looking to his left he saw the body of Captain Lockridge. Half of his face was burned and a fresh pool of blood was developing under his head. First Officer Fallon moved over to his fallen captain and checked his pulse. There was nothing, the Captain was dead.
"Status Report!" The order went unanswered for almost a minute until Lieutenant Eli West retorted. "Shields are down, major hull damage on decks 9 through 23. Most systems are offline; we're running now with life support on minimum." Jacob looked back towards Eli. They started at the Academy the same year and soon became best of friends. Their friends would say they could finish each other sentences. The truth was they knew how each other thought and in this moment both men knew what the other was thinking; they were going to die.