Chapter 4: The Confrontation
"Captain's Log, Stardate 55044.5. Further attempts to penetrate the stasis field have failed. My staff and science sections have floated ideas; none of which seem practical or safe. The revelation that there is a slowly imploding Romulan vessel within the field was shocking. Even our 'borg enhanced' sensors didn't see that one coming. Seven of Nine reports that the technology of the cloaking device as well as the contamination of the Bentonite ore made sensor detection of the cloaked ship impossible. I think Seven took it personally that her sensors didn't find the Romulans. I'm hoping that when additional Romulans eventually arrive, they may be able to offer some assistance. At present, I feel impotent. I have all this technology and expertise but I am at a loss to do anything. I'm off to my noon meeting to see if any further ideas have emerged. This new problem of the Romulan ship imploding makes manipulating the field risky not only to us, but to the people on Frontier."
"End and save. Computer, ETA of the USS Tubman?"
"2 hours and 13 minutes."
"Simon, ready to go to the meeting?"
"Ready when you are, Captain." Simon was putting on his boots as the Captain had been recording his log entry. "Maybe Seven and Katya have come up with something miraculous.
"The way this mission is going, I wouldn't bet on it. Let's go! Do you want me to go first? Slip out when nobody is in the corridor?"
"Would you like me to just do a site-to-site transport and put you in a turbolift to the bridge?"
"Well... if you're offering!" Simon smiled and walked over and kissed Josh on the forehead." I just don't want people talking. You know.. ruining your good reputation before the 'new-starship' smell dissipates."
"You let me worry about my reputation." He pulled Simon to him and turned his head, and kissed the tip of his ear. This used to be 'their thing' when they were together. I'm ok for now. Come, on..lets go save the galaxy!"
No one floated any ideas which hadn't been considered before. The transporters could not get a lock on the Romulans on the cloaked ship so beaming them out would be impossible. Similarly, the Bentonite radiation issue was playing havoc with the targeting sensors for the people on Frontier. It had been suggested that a series of satellites and probes be set up to produce a Thermian sweep wide enough to free everyone or, at least, to beam them out but it was discarded because of the ever-present danger of the Romulan ship implosion. Any sweep large enough to free the inhabitants would also encompass the Romulan ship, bringing the implosion into real-time. There was also an issue of the energy output of satellites or drones. They simply didn't have the power to produce those Thermian bursts anyway. Same issue with a targeted sweep at the source of the stasis field. Interrupt the field and blow up everyone in the area. The Kobayashi Maru was an easier dilemma with which to deal than this!
"So, nobody has any further recommendations?" The Captain knew his frustration was mounting. He heard it in his own voice. He knew that he had to moderate his feelings. "I know that I sound frustrated. But this just seems like a "damned if we do, damned if we don't" scenario."
"Actually Captain, I beg to differ. At present, we are at a 'damned if we do' phase of this operation. All of the individuals in the stasis field are, to the best of our knowledge, alive. The stasis field is keeping the Romulan singularity at bay and in check. It seems that if we 'do' anything, we may upset that balance with catastrophic results. I'm not entirely convinced that our initial expedition into the field, when we saved the Saucer section, didn't upset the balance of the field unintentionally. I had not considered it before but we may have ignited the chain reaction of events that led to the Romulan ship implosion. So, waiting for the Tubman and waiting for the Romulans may prove beneficial. They may have perspective on this that we may not." Seven was right, at least, for now. Unfortunately, the Captain had already considered the concept that their interference destabilized the field, causing the Romulan ship to implode. The Captain was looking out the window at the small research colony.. the source of their frustration. He then slowly turned from looking out the window and looked right at Seven of Nine, then to Simon.
"The source! Bridge, give me a direct sub space secured channel to the Federation Science Council. Priority Alpha 1." The Captain looked around the room. Well, they have to know what is in that hangar, right and they have been oddly tight-lipped about it?"
"Yeah, but will they be forthcoming? You know how those science types don't necessarily like Starfleet- types nosing into their business." Moreno had a point. There had been several events in the recent to not-so-recent past in which the Federation Science Council had not been "enthusiastic" regarding sharing intel into their science projects and then when Starfleet had to step in and pick up the pieces, they wanted to point the finger at Starfleet for 'interferring' in their 'delicate scientific work.'
"Captain." Seven standing at the viewscreen addressed the Captain but also addressed the room. "What if the Federation Science Council is unwilling to give you the required information?"
"I might be able to call in some favors."
An unnamed voice came over the coms, "Bridge to Captain, I have a representative from the Science Council on sub space."
"Pipe it down here."
On the Captain's viewscreen, a young Vulcan came into view. "I am Lieutenant Saval, attache to the Science Council. How I may I be of service?"
"Lieutenant, We are dealing with a situation out here on the Romulan border near the neutral zone at the science station Frontier. Are you familiar?"
"I have been briefed. What is it that you need?"
"Lieutenant, we need any information that you may have regarding any projects that were being worked on at this facility. Specifically, any information on what was being housed in the large containment facility."
The lieutenant tapped some buttons on his control panel and regarded the Captain. "I'm sorry, Captain, but that information is highly classified. You need sector level 10 clearance or higher to access that information. As a Starfleet Captain, you only have level 9 clearance. I'm afraid I can't accommodate without prior clearance from the Science Counsel."
Simon, clearly agitated, spoke up "You mean to tell me that we are out here trying to save the lives of your people and ours and you want to quibble over minute details of one point of security clearance?"
"Simon! As you were!" The Captain snapped. Simon was about to say something but a harsh glare from the Captain stifled his response.
"Mister Saval," the Captain continued calmly with a very heavy emphasis on the 'Mister" part, "your logic fails you. Your information is not only inaccurate but out of date. You assume that I have the standard 'Captain's access." I do not. I am the Captain of the most advanced Starfleet vessel in the quadrant beset with a mission to save lives at a moment's notice. My security code is being transmitted now." The Captain typed a few buttons. "Lambda clearance for all information pertaining to my assigned mission. Level 12 clearance! Now, I suggest that you transmit the information that I requested in short-order-fashion or I will have Admiral Janeway climbing so far north up your south-bound deuterium tank, that you'll need a week on Risa to dislodge the Admiral's pips! Besides, you don't want me to tell your mother about your little 'lapse in logic'?"
The young Vulcan actually looked briefly stunned by that remark but rapidly composed himself. "You..are acquainted with my mother?"
"I knew her when I served on the USS Potemkin. I'll keep this between you and I but I can't wait long for that information."
"It will be transmitted within the hour." He raised his hand in the Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper."
The Captain raised his hand in the same fashion. "Peace and long life." He clicked off the subspace link and sat back in his chair, somewhat smug. "That went well" he thought! That was when he noticed the staff staring at him, some smiling and some not.
"Sooo...I'm pretty familiar with your service record and you've never stepped foot on the Potemkin." The Doctor said.
"I haven't. But he doesn't know that and doesn't have clearance to look it up.. I do!" He swiveled his screen around and the service history or Lieutenant Savan was there. "I looked it up and saw his mother had served about the time I left the Enterprise."
"Cute" the Doctor smiled "..but the clearance? I didn't know you had level 12 clearance. I know some Admirals that don't have level 12 Lambda clearance." The Doctor continued.
"Yeah.. about that..I don't." The Captain sported an evil grin. "But Admiral Janeway does and she has a particularly bad habit of not covering her keyboard when she types." He pointed his finger at Seven. "And you don't go tattling on me." Seven simply raised an eyebrow.
"Wait.. you used.. THE ADMIRAL'S security clearance?" Simon was sitting there in disbelief, mouth wide open. "Who ARE you and where did you transport our Captain?"
"Look, we needed this information and Mr 'stuffy' wasn't going to be forthcoming. I could tell that immediately. He won't check on that either, I can assure you." The Captain reassured everyone.
Simon shook his head. "How do you get away with these stunts? I was just born and look at the trouble I caused."
"My endearing charm?"
The com system activated, "Yellow alert...Yellow alert, Captain to the Bridge."
The Captain got up and as he turned he glanced out the window. Swooping in was a very angry looking Romulan Warbird in the process of decloaking. "Why is it I have to find out what the hell is going on around here by looking out a window?" The Captain and the staff made their way to the Bridge.
Seven stopped the Captain briefly while everyone proceeded to the bridge. "Captain, your cavalier use of pilfered authorization codes may not have been wise."
"True, but it may be the key we need to save a whole bunch of lives."
"Perhaps." Seven regarded him dubiously but there was no further discussion on the matter.
The Captain and Seven strode onto the bridge. "Report!"
Moreno, at tactical, was working her console and organizing readouts. "A Praelor class Romulan Warbird decloaking at 260 mark 180. Weapons systems active but no targeting sensors or locks noted."
"Open a channel." The computer answered with the standard hailing signal. "This is Captain Joshua Morgan of the Federation Rescue Vessel Birkana. We have been here for some time and have gathered a significant amount of data regarding the phenomenon affecting this area of space. If you'd like to come aboard, we'd like to consult with you to try to find a way to resolve the problem."
Several seconds went by and Chief Engineer Kent, at the engineering console, was the first to speak up. "It seems that they aren't in the mood for chatting."
"No" the Captain countered "We are a new class of vessel and this is the first time they've been able to lay sensors on us. They are just giving us a good once-over."
"Perhaps Starfleet should simply send a communique to just watch the evening news." Seven said from the back of the bridge.
Almost everyone slowly turned and stared at Seven of Nine. "Why Seven, that was pretty good...quick too." Moreno said from tactical. "Captain, getting a response.."
"On Screen."
"I am Commander Setek of the Romulan Third Order. Forgive me but I am not familiar with your class of vessel. The Imperial Warship Ra'akal was dispatched to this area to investigate but has not reported. We were sent to investigate her lack of communication."
"Commander, if you'd like to come over with your science team, we'd be happy to share everything we've learned since our arrival here about 8 hours ago. It appears that some sort of stasis field is being generated from the surface and we are unsure why, possibly due to some classified experiments. We've attempted to penetrate the field with no success. We were hoping you may have some insight that could help us."
The Romulan Commander eyed him for an uncomfortable few seconds. "Very well, prepare to receive myself and my science team. Setek out."
Commander Setek and several of his science staff beamed on board and were escorted to the conference room. Seven of Nine had been asked to brief the Romulans on the situation but, for the time being, leave the part out about the slowly imploding Romulan ship already caught up in the field. She covered everything, in depth, from the time they arrived, their scans of the field, their efforts to go to the base, getting the Alpha Saucer stuck and then unstuck and their continuing work. However, he wanted to break the news about the Ra'akal to Setek himself. Setek's science staff asked many questions and were given all the data the Birkana had accumulated. When it seemed that Seven had fulfilled her duties, she was dismissed. Setek dismissed his staff to return to the Warbird and begin working through the information. The Captain now turned to Commander Setek to, unfortunately, be the bearer of bad news.
"Commander, there is one piece of information that has been withheld up to this point, and it is out of respect for a fellow Captain that I did so. I wanted to inform you personally." The Captain leaned forward and typed several commands into his computer. A graphic representation of the slow-implosion was on screen. "not long before you arrived, we noted a disturbance in the stasis field. After multiple sensor scans, we theorize that what we are seeing is an implosion... of a controlled singularity.. very similar to the ones which you use as a power source. We hope that we are wrong. But we are going off the premise that this is your missing Ra'akal. We aren't sure when it arrived , either before or after we did, but we have been working overtime to try to come up with a way to, at least, get a transporter lock on everyone there and beam them to safety. The ship was cloaked and with all of the damn radiation pollution muddling up our sensors, we did not know that it was out there.
Setek, took in the graphic. "Yes, Captain, our scans told us much the same thing."
"So, you knew? But.. you wanted to gauge if and how I would tell you."
"Yes. I am pleasantly surprised that you informed me yourself rather than have an underling do it in some cold presentation. I was admittedly not a huge fan of these new peace overtures initially. I am a warrior..not a scientist. However, my recent dealings with other Starfleet personnel, specifically your Captain Riker, have prompted me to reevaluate my previous attitudes. I am a proud man and that is not an easy confession to make. I was raised to hate "Earthers" as my Grandfather called you and of course, there is the hyperbole and rhetoric from the usual sources within the government. I'm sure that your government is the same way. I have come to determine that perhaps that what our governments say is not always..shall we say.. completely factual or grounded in truth. When I learned that it was The Birkana coming to this sector, I did my research on you. You do not have a large file with the Tal Shiar, but it is enlightening. You have a man of Romulan descent serving on your ship, if I am not mistaken."
"Yes, he's my Chief Field Medic and Rescue Technician. He's also a very close friend. I'm glad that we have common ground here. You may already be aware but I want to make sure that you know that the The USS Tubman will be here within the hour as well. She is a science vessel and is coming for support. I'm expecting a communique from the Federation Science Council very soon which may shed some light on our situation and may assist us in getting to the bottom of this. Have your science sections look over the data and perhaps we can come up with a way to resolve this."
"While they are working on that, perhaps you would be kind enough to show me your new ship. The news reports from Earth only show so much." He smiled.
"Commander, I'd be happy to."
The Commander and the Captain had just run through one of the triage programs on holodeck one to drive home the point that this was a rescue vessel. The Commander had been impressed but the Captain had held off on taking his Romulan counterpart through some of the more 'sensitive' areas of the ship. Right as the demonstration ended, the Romulan Commander received a private communique from his ship.
"Were you able to get any information out of the Romulan Science Council?"
"I was not successful. My superior, Laegit Tomalak would not authorize the release of that information. He sent sealed orders instead. That, Captain, makes me nervous.. and few things make me nervous."
"I feel your pain. In the spirit of cooperation, I'll share the information we get from the Federation Science Council. I'm hoping the information we receive will be useful. I had to perform a little act of subterfuge to get it but It may help."
They entered Sickbay and he introduced Doctor Pollard to the Commander. The Doctor was very accommodating in showing him one of the holographic medics.
"If you have a moment, I'll activate one of the new Mark XII holographic Doctors. Commander, if you'll indulge me, I would like to see how this new EMH deals with Romulan physiology." Setek nodded and smiled, somewhat intrigued. Pollard cleared his throat. "Computer, activate EMH demo program." A middle-aged woman with blond hair appeared wearing the standard Starfleet medical blue uniform and a blue lab coat.
"How may I assist you today?" she smiled and looked from one man to the other.
Dr. Pollard looked over, smiled, and told her, "My friend here is having some problems with stress and sleeping. What would you suggest?
"That was remarkably on the nose Doctor. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had been spying on me." The Romulan chuckled.
"No, Commander.. just known a few Captains in my time." Pollard said.
The EMH arrived with a medical tricorder and began scanning the Romulan. "I am scanning your Romulan physiology. I do not get the chance to treat many Romulans. When was the last time you took some time off? A vacation?
"Oh.. it has been years."
"I am detecting a minor elevation of your Dimorphin levels. This is commonly known as the 'stress hormone' in Romulans as well as Vulcans, since, as you know, both races share a similar physiology. However, it is not dangerously high." She continued to scan him. "Your Blood pressure and other vital signs are well within tolerances for your height, weight, and approximate age. I'd recommend taking some time for yourself on our holodeck if you have time. Perhaps a visit to the Rigelian seashore or similar vacation spot. If you are back on the Romulus anytime soon, this is a good time to visit the Crystal plains or the nearby Salvaki forests."
The Commander smiled, "Impressive Captain..Doctor, that she would be able to know vacation spots on Romulus.
"I am programmed to access and cross reference any of the computer files in the Starfleet Database. One of the Cultural Exchange files mentions many of the locations with which many Romulans consider family vacation spots and relaxing destinations. As it stands, you are in good health. Do you need any further assistance?"
"No, thank you. Computer, close EMH." The Doctor looked back to the other men. "They are pretty impressive, are they not?"
"Thank you Doctor. That was most enlightening. I may actual take her up on that suggestion. My children have been filling my subspace inbox with requests to see the Crystal plains."
The intercom whistled. "Captain, encoded subspace message coming in from Starfleet, Science Council."
"Right on time. Commander, if you'll join me in my office, we can look at it together."
"Thank you Captain."
The Captain and Commander sat together in his office and he turned his computer toward his Romulan counterpart. "Computer, open encoded message. He typed in his authorization code and surprisingly, an annoyed looking Admiral Janeway filled the screen. He quickly looked around to make sure the creepy holographic version had not materialized as well.
"Captain, clearly, we need to have a little talk! DO YOU KNOW how much of a hassle it is to change my security codes? The Chief of Starfleet Intelligence is breathing down my neck. However, here is the information that you needed. If you had sent me a message, I could have retrieved this for you without the hassle. You are officially uninvited for Christmas dinner. Janeway OUT!"
The Captain and Commander exchanged glances somewhat worried glances. "She did not seem content with whatever act of 'subterfuge' you attempted. However, I look forward to meeting your Admiral Janeway some time in the future."
"Yeah, me.. not so much! Hopefully, she'll forgive me, though. She's a force of nature, I'll tell you! Lets look at this data packet."
He began scrolling but there was a massive amount of data there. It was like looking for the proverbial needle in three of four haystacks.
"Hang on.. I have a better idea. Seven, report to my office."
"Oh, that is your Borg, is it not?"
"She was a drone but was liberated from the collective."
"We ascertained that having a group of Borg, or their superior technology, would be tactically advantageous. After the initial Borg encounters on your Stardate 41903.0 in what you call Sectors 30 and 31, we sent a fleet of our newest Warbirds. They were never heard from again."
Seven entered the room before the Captain could respond. "Yes, Captain?"
"Seven, the packet that came from the Science Council, it's a lot of information. Could you sift through it and find some correlative data?"
"I will be at my workstation."
"Ms. Hansen?" The Commander stood. "I was wondering.. if your Captain will permit me a question.. do you have access to the knowledge of what happened to a fleet of Romulan Warbirds in or around your Stardate 41102?" They were sent to find the Borg and were never heard from again."
She stood there for a moment. "Spacial grid 04125.2.. Species 3783; Romulan. The Collective encountered 20 Warships, some severely damaged. Their biological and technological distinctiveness were added to our own."
The Captain felt vaguely horrified but did not show it. The Commander looked down and kept his gaze toward the desk for a moment. He then looked up. "Thank you, Ms. Hansen. At least I can update those files regarding those lost Warbirds. It was assumed they had been destroyed but if you could send me that information regarding the location, I would be in your debt."
Seven looked at the Captain and nodded. She seemed rather sheepish after laying out that information in such a cold fashion. "They encountered an expeditionary force: Species 3823, the Feldomar. The Feldomar were destroyed but several of the Warbirds were heavily damaged. However, Commander, if it is any consolation, the Warbirds encountered three Cubes and a Sphere. Even in their weakened state, they were able to destroy one Cube and disable the Sphere before the Borg adapted. Most of the Romulan Warbirds were destroyed. Those that were not were assimilated. Had the Romulans encountered a single Cube, their mission might have been successful." She looked at the Captain, who gave her a slight nod. "I hope this was helpful."
"Thank you, Seven. Dismissed."
Seven of Nine nodded, turned, and left the room. The two Captains sat there in silence for several seconds. Captain Morgan broke the silence. "You knew people on that mission? Family? Friends?"
"Both, actually. It was to be a glorious mission. As I said, it was always assumed that they had been destroyed or assimilated, but now we know. I will write up a report that shines the best possible light on our valiant and glorious efforts to fight the Borg. At least, we can close the files on those that were lost. Captain, I will return to my ship and wait for Ms. Hansen to sort through that information."
"I'll let you know the moment we know anything." The Captain felt uneasy for some reason but, couldn't figure out why. He had the distinct feeling that the Commander wasn't being completely truthful with him. He didn't want to chalk it up to preconceived vague notions about Romulans in general. He pushed his feelings to the side for now until he had something more concrete to go on.
Seven of Nine had been sifting thought the data packet for about 15 minutes. He was about to ask her about her progress when Moreno announced "USS Tubman hailing on subspace."
"On screen!" The viewscreen snapped on.
"Captain Morgan.. Captain Elizabeth Verity White of the USS Tubman. We have entered the sector and expect to rendezvous with you in 32 minutes. This is your show. Do you have anything we need to know before we get there? Our scans tell us you have company. Friendlies?"
"Friendly thus far. Thanks for coming. Nothing has changed. We just received the logs of the data that Frontier was working on and are sifting through that now. Hopefully we'll have some answers before you get here. Have your people looked over the situation? Any fresh ideas?
"None, I'm afraid."
The Captain thought for a second. He now had two starships and possibly a Romulan Warbird at his disposal. "What about creating a cross section by building a Thermian 'bridge' across the layer of subspace containing the Bentonite, beaming it out, and clearing out that obstacle at least.?"
"No Captain, that won't work either. Good idea but the sweep will leak omni- directionally and the spillover may cause the Romulan ship to implode faster." The Captain looked over toward Seven, who nodded in agreement, almost sympathetically. Captain White continued, "But, I'll query my people and see if a variation of the plan would work."
"OK. We'll see you in half an hour. Birkana out."
"Captain, I believe I have discovered the answer to what is causing this stasis field." Seven informed him from the back of the Bridge. He got up and walked back to her science station. After a few minutes, he activated his com badge.
"Senior Staff, report to the conference room."
"Are the Tubman and the Romulan ships tied in?" the Captain asked.
"Yes."
"Seven, go with your report."
Everyone leaned in eager to get to the bottom of what had been a frustrating mystery. Seven of Nine toggled a series of commands into her PADD and turned to the large screen. A Starfleet Memory Alpha data file flashed into view. "Stardate 43779.2..while the U.S.S. Enterprise was on a routine mapping mission, a deep space probe discovered an anomaly orbiting the collapsing star near Beta Stromgran, a disputed area of space, at the time. A Betazoid telepath, Tam Elbrun was dispatched with the crew to make first contact."
Chief Engineer Kent interrupted "..wait..first contact with..an anomaly?"
Seven continued "Yes, it appeared to be a space faring vessel which scans showed to be organic and possibly alive." The view changed to a 3- dimensional image that rotated showing what looked like layers and chambers within a giant seed-pod. "The Romulan involvement, as documented by Captain Picard, was slightly..aggressive.. resulting in the destruction of a Romulan Warbird by the entity that was later discovered to be called 'Gomtuu.' Although its power systems, propulsion, and life support systems are still unknown, it appears to have been grown in space and crewed as a starship. Mr. Elbrun went on board the vessel with Lieutenant Commander Data but Elbrun remained behind in a 'merged' or symbiotic' state with the entity. After pushing another Warbird and the Enterprise several light years to safety from the dying star, it transported Commander Data back to the Enterprise and has not been heard from again. The Commander's field report indicated that it was around the star to die as it was the last of its race. That was also Starfleet's assumption, until now." Seven toggled her PADD and multiple video images of the entity, in the hangar on Frontier, came up on the screen. "It appears that another one of the creatures does exist. According to the Science Council's files, this is a much smaller version, by about 23%. It was discovered in an isolated region of deep space, afloat, and was transported here for study approximately 6 days ago. It was thought to be inert. That theory was clearly in error. The stasis field is being generated from this entity."
"So," the Captain began "we are now stuck with a further complication. This entity is clearly alive. We must not do anything to harm it. I'm still not giving up on being able to save the people on the Ra'akal. This entity clearly has the ability to defend itself well. Options?"
"Well, other than now knowing more about what is going on, I don't see how this changes out situation." the acting first officer said.
"Not precisely" the Captain said ".. now we know that we can try to talk to it!"
On the bridge, the Captain was consuming another cup of coffee. Moreno had been duly impressed with the "appearing" holographic cup holder. Seven of Nine was at her science station trying to narrow down possible com frequencies. The Captain got up and went over to T'Pai. He leaned in and asked in a low tone, "Lieutenant, as a Vulcan, I'm assuming that you have some limited telepathic ability ability. Are you..sensing.. anything from the entity?"
T'pai stopped and let her hands rest on the console. She closed her eyes and for several seconds seemed to be concentrating intently. She slowly opened her eyes, looked at the Captain, and very succinctly said "no." She then went back to her duties. The Captain patted the top of her chair. "Well, thank you for trying."
"Captain," Tpai said "Vulcans, generally, have very limited telepathic gifts. If I were in physical contact.. perhaps this exercise would have met with a more favorable outcome."
"Thanks, T'pai. As you were. Katya, where's that Betazoid ensign?"
"He was coming from Deuterium Control. He should be here momentarily."
"Seven..any luck isolating possible communication frequencies?" the Captain asked.
"I am going to try routing several standard hailing messages through a subspace burst. If this creature uses subspace, its possible it communicates through subspace as well."
"Alright, just let me know when you are ready to give this a go." The doors of the turbolift opened and an ensign walked out. He looked rather nervous and unsure of himself. He turned to Moreno.
"I..I was told to report to the bridge. I'm Ensign Loit from Deuterium Control."
The Captain spoke, and the Ensign's attention snapped to the Captain. He suddenly stood ramrod straight and stared straight ahead. "Ensign Loit, I need you to employ your telepathic abilities for me. Think you can give that a try? And, please, at ease before you sprain something vital."
The nervous Ensign visibly eased. The Captain gestured toward his office and he and Loit made their way into the Captain's office. The Captain had a seat behind the desk and gestured for Loit to have a seat in the chair opposite him. He spent several minutes explaining the situation as well as Elbrun's ability to have a sense of the other creature. The Captain told Loit that the communication had probably been facilitated by the entity, but that he'd like Mr. Loit to relax, concentrate, and at least try to see what he could sense.
The Ensign sat back in the chair, closed his eyes, and visibly relaxed. The tension seemed to melt from his body. His head moved, almost as he were looking around. His eyebrows furrowed and his head turned in the direction of the asteroid and the creature. He seemed to stay in that position for a few moments then he opened his eyes and turned toward the Captain. He was quiet until the Captain broke the silence.
"Well?" He said softly. "Were you able to communicate with it?"
In something of a low, raspy voice, the Ensign finally spoke up. "I'm sorry, Captain. It is just taking me a minute to collect myself. I could not communicate with the creature. I did get a very brief sense of fear.. fright..anxiety. I initially thought those were hold-over emotions from being summoned up to the bridge but it wasn't. It was external. It was so extremely fleeting that I almost missed it..then it was gone. I think it was the creature. If it was, its afraid, frightened. I hope that helped."
"Thank you, Ensign. You may resume your duties. And if you happen to sense anything else, please let me know."
"I will. And thank you, Captain." He got up, turned and was walking out. He stopped right before he got to the door, stood there a minute, then he turned and smiled broadly. "Why, thank you Captain. I do work out often and some say its my best 'asset' if you'll pardon the pun."
The Captain sat at his chair and his jaw hung open. He felt his face flush. He had to be turning bright red right now. He thought, for a brief moment, that there might be just enough room under the desk for him to crawl under. "Uh.. I..uhhh..umm.. Mr.. um.. Ensign..I don't know what you think you sensed but.."
"Captain..its fine! I'm a telepath. We are used to sensing that kind of information all day, every day. We learn from an early age not to be embarrassed. I'm flattered..and, to be honest, interested if its not a breach of some protocol to say so."
"Mr...umm..Ensign.. er..um.." the Captain stuttered.
"Loit.. its ok, I've heard you have a problem with names."
"Mr. Loit. Ensign Loit. Mr. Ensign Loit.." The Captain stopped himself, took a deep breath, stood and looked him in the eyes. "If I happened to have had a random thought with regards to you, I apologize. Please.. return to your post. Thank you." The Captain was intently scrutinizing some object d'art on the table as he stood there.
"Aye, Captain. He turned and walked out the door, which closed with its muted 'whoosh." The Captain was staring at a multicolored, round, glass sculpture on the table. He was completely embarrassed for letting his thoughts wander like that when a telepath was present. He took the same class that all Federation Captain's take after being promoted. After Omega Directive 101, it's "How to keep your composure with a telepath." He could feel his face returning to normal. The more he stared at that rather rotund, almost perfectly round glass sculpture, he couldn't help but be reminded of Mr. Ensign Loit and his 'asset' – pardon the pun! "He did have quite the perfect..." as soon as his thoughts wandered again, they were interrupted by the com whistle.
"Ensign Loit to Captain Morgan." The Captain snapped back to the present. Perhaps the young Ensign had another sense of the creature.
"Yes, Ensign."
"I heard that as well. Only one way to find out. Loit out."
The Captain felt his face flushing again.
The Captain returned to the bridge. The Captain thought that T'pai looked at him oddly as he walked by. He made his way to Seven at the science station. "Seven, what's your ETA to being ready to give this a shot? I don't think the telepathic angle is the answer here. All Ensign Loin could do was briefly sense some fear."
Seven regarded him and narrowed her eyes. He glared back at her in anticipation. "Ensign 'Loin?" and yes, I should be ready momentarily."
The Captain froze for a moment, realizing what he had said. "Ensign LOIT!" The Captain composed himself "Good." He went back to his chair and sat down. He took a long sip from his over sized coffee cup. He was comforted by the warm coffee and the smell of the chicory relaxed him. He heard a hissing. It was small and intermittent. He heard it again. Possibly the out-gassing of some conduit or the shorting of a circuit? He looked around and could not determine the source. He heard it yet again. He swiveled and was about to bring it to Moreno's attention when he noticed she was leaned over her console, making the sound trying to get his attention. He looked up at her and mouthed 'what?'
"Ensign LOIN?" she whispered and smiled broadly.
The Captain just swiveled his chair forward and locked it in. He took another long sip from his coffee. He glanced around and noted that everyone was going about their business. Except for Kent. He was over there at his engineering console, smirking. He felt his face begin to flushing again.
"Captain, ready to proceed with lingui-code transmissions." Seven said from her work station.
'About time' he thought. "Proceed." he said.
Seven toggled commands and the computer began sending a series of hails and friendship messages on multiple bandwidths through subspace, aimed specifically at the asteroid. The bridge was silent for several minutes. The computer beeped as a signal that it had run through it programmed course.
Moreno, from the tactical station, addressed the bridge, "it looks like that had no effect. We can run the program again."
"Proceed."
Moreno nodded to Seven and she toggled the commands to begin the transmission again. After several minutes, the results were the same. "Sorry Captain," Moreno said, "still no effect."
"Captain," T'pai said from navigation, "the Romulan Warbird has powered her engines and is making its way to the outer edge of Frontier, where the field is closest to the entity in the hangar."
"What? What the hell is Setek doing? Open a channel and keep a close eye on her. I need to know if her weapon status changes."
"Channel open." T'pai said.
"Birkana Captain Morgan to Commander Setek. Please explain your actions."
"The face of Commander Setek filled the screen. "Captain, I regret that I cannot wait for any other attempts at a peaceful resolution to this crisis. I have already disobeyed orders by allowing you the chance to communicate with the creature but my orders are clear. This creature, and the one like it, are responsible for thousands of Romulan deaths. We have determined that there is no way to save those on the Ra'akal. My orders from the Imperial Council are to destroy that creature. We claim rite of vengeance."
"Commander, listen to me." The Captain had stood at this time and was walking toward the screen. "You don't know what that action might do. You could set off a chain of events which could destroy your ship, your crew, the civilians and scientists on Frontier, or us. Now please, we will figure this out. Consider your actions here. Stand down and lets get our heads together and come up with another solution."
I'm sorry, Captain, but my orders were very clear. I am to destroy the entity and unless I am disabled in some manner, I have to carry out my orders. I am sorry, Captain. I regret that our alliance will end in this manner."
"Commander, you need to consider this carefully! I am prepared to defend the life of this creature as well as the lives you are blithely willing to sacrifice for some vendetta. There is a better way to remember your fallen comrades." The Captain turned to Moreno and motioned her to mute the feed. "Morgan to Tubman, Captain White, I need you to come around us and cut off Setek." He looked down to T'pai. "Pursuit course, best speed." T'pai nodded and began laying in the commands.
"This is the Tubman. Understood, but you do realize that we are a science vessel. We are no match for a Warbird."
The Captain smiled. "What? Are your weapons and shield emitters being delivered on Tuesday? With any luck, you won't have to be a match for her. Do not engage unless you are threatened or you get a direct order to do so."
He motioned for Moreno to put him back on with Setek. "Setek has severed the link." She said.
"He is moving into optimal firing position." T'pai said. "However, he hasn't armed his disruptors yet and neither have they cloaked. He is making, what some would consider, tactically unwise and unsound decisions."
The Captain thought about that for a second. "..unless my ship is disabled. Perhaps he's doing that on purpose. He wants us to stop him."
T'pai looked back at his quizzically and Moreno said "what do you mean?"
"He's left himself vulnerable. I think he wants us to take out her weapons and propulsion so that he won't have to follow his orders."
Seven came forward to tactical. "That is a bold leap in logic. But it does seem to fit the facts at hand."
"Seven, scan their engines. See if their version of the S-coil intake manifold is out of alignment or if their turbo encabulator is out of magnetic balance. If either is, its been misaligned purposefully and even a minor hit can disable their engines for hours.
"Affirmative." Seven, raising an eyebrow at the Captain's sudden engineering insight, went back to the science station and began the scan. Chief Engineer Kent just stared at him.
"How in the hell do you know all that? I don't even know what makes a Warbird tick! What the hell is a 'turbo encabulator?"
Moreno's hands flew over the tactical console. "Captain, what are your orders."
"Charge phasers. T'pai, I want you to position us between the Warbird and the stasis field. If I'm right, he should leave us plenty of room to fit in there.
T'pai looked at her console. "We'll be in position in 30 seconds."
The Captain swung his chair around. "Seven, Kat..calculate as precisely as you can the minimum firepower required to disable the Warbird. I don't want to do any damage except what he's wanting us to do."
The First Officer and Seven conferred for a moment. "Setting forward phasers to 46%. Waiting on your command."
"Captain, I wish to caution you. You are gambling on a 'hunch.' That phaser fire could be a prelude to war if you are wrong." T'pai expressed her concern from navigation.
"Lieutenant, I appreciate your input but this is on me. Let me know when The Tubman in in position. The moment we are at station-keeping between Frontier and the Warbird, you have permission to fire."
"Captain, The Tubman will be on point in 1 minute. We are in position.. now."
Moreno toggled commands and fired forward phasers. The Captain watched as multiple bolts of energy shot out like an old-style Gatling gun he has seen in holovids. That part excited him. Moreno's aim was on the mark! The energy splashed across the engines and both of the Warbird's nacelles flashed and went dark. The Warbird's momentum was still carrying her forward but she was adrift."
"The Warbird's main engines are down. They are adrift and using maneuvering thrusters to stabilize. They'll be OK. We...are being hailed by the Warbird." The Captain nodded and Moreno opened the channel.
"Captain.." The Commander began, "I commend you on your excellent shooting. We are disabled and it will take several hours to finish repairs. I'm hoping that you can find some solution between then and now or we will be back in the same untenable position as before."
"Commander, I understand. I can appreciate the difficult situation that you have placed yourself in. I'll keep you in the loop as the situation changes and develops. Birkana out."
"Captain" Seven interrupted from the science station. "I have a subspace disturbance registering on the sensors. The stasis field may be widening."
"T'pai.. put some distance between us and Frontier." The Captain was issuing the order but T'pai was already executing it. "Get a tractor on the Warbird. Birkana to Tubman.. put some distance between yourself and Frontier. The field may be expanding."
"Tubman to Birkana actual, affirmative."
"Seven.. what's the sit-rep? I don't want to suddenly be aware of a fleet of starships off my bow and it's a week later!"
"I am unsure, Captain. The subspace disturbance registered on the sensors and then dissipated. It does not appear to be coming from the field or Frontier. It is coming from another source. It appears that there are ripples in subspace emanating 40 degrees off our port, 30,000 kilometers."
"Visual!" The viewscreen changed to another part of the starfield. What looked like small beads of light were dancing around a single point. As the point enlarged it flared. It continued to grow. "Seven, what are we looking at here? Is it another Warbird's singularity destabilizing?"
"Negative Captain. It appears to be a breach in subspace...and something is coming through."
"Red Alert. Shield up." Came the order from Moreno at Tatical. The viewscreen was a whirl of light and suddenly an object appeared. The light was flaring around the object as it settled into standard space. There was a faint luminescence around the plating as the cone-shaped object stabilized.
"Seven..is that.." the Captain's voice trailed off as he squinted at the viewscreen.
"It appears to be one of the ships that was first discovered at Beta Stromgren.
"I apologize for the intrusion." A strange voice said from the back of the bridge. Everyone turned and standing beside Seven was Tam Elbrun. "I am here to help our sister and help make things right."