Chapter 4 – False Alarms
Stardate 17583-52/0620 hours/Captain's Quarters
Kathryn, dressed in a pale pink, satin dressing gown that shimmered down around her body, reclined in her favourite armchair and took a small sip of delicious coffee. Closing her eyes momentarily, she exhaled quietly and smiled, reaching for the book that was lying on the table. Depositing her coffee on the glass surface, she opened her book at the bookmark she had placed between the pages. These were the kind of days she never got to indulge in. No reports, no evaluations, no alien attacks, just a good book and a steaming cup of coffee.
The fluctuating beep of the comm intruded her bliss. "Tuvok to the Captain."
Janeway groaned, and threw her head back, before tapping her comm badge with a sigh. "Janeway here."
"Captain, I have uncovered some disturbing information."
"Tuvok. You are on shore leave!"
"I am ensuring the safety of the ship." His matter-of-fact tone came across over the comm and Janeway realised she wasn't going to be able to change his mind about the matter.
Janeway dismissed it with a sigh of exasperation, "What have you found?"
"I have uncovered that an unauthorised access to Voyager's database was recorded by the sensors earlier this week, and for some reason, the computer failed to inform us of this violation."
Janeway paused for a second, processing this information. She almost tutted with annoyance, but stopped herself. "That's it?"
"The technology used to probe the database, has a borg signature."
Janeway sat bolt upright in her chair. "Borg?" A panic-stricken look crossed her face as she abandoned her book alongside the cup of caffeine and headed toward her bedroom to change. "Run a full sensor sweep, I'll be right there."
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Stardate 17583-52/0650 hours/The Bridge
Chakotay strode onto theBridge, followed shortly by Seven, with a worried frown creasing his forehead. "Borg?"
Janeway and Tuvok were clustered round tactical with Harry, Tom and B'Elanna, heads bent, intently discussing the best course of action. Janeway turned to face him. "Apparently not."
Chakotay's frown tightened like a knot being tied around his head. "I don't understand, your hail said..."
" I apologise for cutting your trip short, but it seems we've had a false alarm. There's no borg activity anywhere in this sector, as far as we can tell. There's definitely not a borg cube within ten light years.."
"But you detected borg technology?"
"The most logical explanation is that someone is using stolen borg technology." Tuvok stated, his face as blank as a sheet of paper.
"Couldn't they have been at transwarp, passing through this sector, and just probed us from a transwarp corridor?" Tom suggested.
"No." B'Elanna declared firmly, her short curls swinging around her ears as she shook her head. "That's impossible. They simply wouldn't have had the time to probe the database from transwarp, and if they'd dropped out of the corridor, they'd have left residual tachyon emissions."
"What about the nebula? Could that be masking their warp signature?" Chakotay asked.
"I don't see how." Harry mused, "Beta and Gamma radiation don't cover up warp trails, or anything for that matter."
"The gases are mainly Argon, Hydrogen and Krypton." Seven pointed out, tapping at a console. "But they shouldn't affect our sensors."
"Tuvok, run a full diagnostic on the sensor array," Janeway ordered, her lips a thin line. "lets make sure this isn't just a sensor glitch. And keep investigating, I want to know who's been poking around and exactly what they accessed." She turned to address all the senior staff. "I see no reason to cut short everyone else's shore leave, but I want you six to be on constant alert. Keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary, and if you do see something, report straight back to me or Lieutenant Tuvok. And, keep this to yourselves, OK? I don't want to plunge the whole sector into chaos over something that could be no more than a sensor echo."
Six 'Aye's' passed around the congregation. And Janeway dismissed them with a nod.
As Kathryn walked back to her quarters, she thought back to earlier that day. 'No reports, no evaluations, no alien attacks.' "Huh!"
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Stardate 17583-52/0700 hours/The Mess Hall
B'Elanna and Tom were sprawled across the sofas in the almost deserted mess hall. A few people were chatting about the latest gossip across the room, but Neelix was no where to be seen, and they had the sofas all to themselves.
"You know, I was joking about getting Neelix's autograph before he got too busy with his fan's," Tom yawned, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I haven't seen him for an age, he must be taking this whole celebrity thing very seriously."
"Mmm" B'Elanna murmured. She stretched out her feet and placed them on the the table with a resounding thud. Her hair was tousled and deep bags under her eyes gave an outward sign to her persisting fatigue.
"Maybe we should turn in." Tom suggested, as he looked at the exhausted figure of his wife.
"Maybe so." B'Elanna agreed as she began to get to her feet. "Oh!" She clutched her stomach, as had become a common gesture to her over the past few months.
"Baby kicking again?" Tom smiled. "Lively little lady isn't she?"
"No!" B'Elanna gasped, "I think it's time!"
"It's time. Now?" Tom looked around in panic. "Come on, lets get to sickbay!"
Tom supported B'Elanna's arm as they hurried out, ignoring the curious stares from the ensigns who undoubtedly now had another piece of juicy gossip to occupy themselves and their friends with.
As they neared sickbay, B'Elanna stumbled, and Tom pulled her up before she hit the ground. "Careful!"
"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one in labour!" She snapped.
"No reason to bite my head off! Remember what the doctor said: stay calm and breathe."
"Stay calm! I'm having contractions! How am I supposed to stay calm!?"
Tom didn't reply as they staggered into sickbay. "Doctor!" He called, his voice brimming with urgency.
The Doctor walked out of his office and pulling a tricorder off the side, rushed to B'Elanna's other arm.
"Symptoms?" He demanded, gently helping her onto one of the bio-beds.
"Doc, she's in labour!"
"Mmm Hmm?" The Doctor pulled out his tricorder and began scanning B'Elanna. He tapped the display several times and snapped the flap shut with a half sigh. "I'm afraid not."
"What?" B'Elanna spat. "I'm having contractions! How can you say I'm not in labour?"
"Yes, you are having contractions, but you're not producing any Oxytocin."
"How's that possible doc? Every woman produces Oxytocin when they go into labour!" Tom spluttered.
"Yes, that's exactly how I know she's not in labour."
"But... but I'm in pain! I'm having contractions! I... How..."
"Here, this should calm things down." The doctor loaded a hypospray and gently pressed it into B'Elanna's neck."
The contractions slowly subsided and B'Elanna rubbed the slight tingle that always accompanied a hypospray.
"Better?"
"Better."
"I don't get it. What caused the contractions if she wasn't in labour?" Tom asked folding his arms. sceptically.
"Your wife was experiencing what are called, 'Braxton Hicks contractions.' It's when the uterus contracts, but the birth canal isn't formed. It familiarises the womb with the movements it will inevitably have to make in labour. A 'practice' if you will. Most women will experience them at some time during pregnancy, and humans have irregular, wide-spread ones. But, in half-Klingons, such as Lieutenant Torres, they are very common and can often be at regular intervals. You can expect to experience these 'false alarms' again, right up until the real birth of your daughter."
"You mean I'm going to have to go through labour, several times, without actually giving birth?"
"Technically, it's not labour, but it will feel like labour to you."
B'Elanna opened her mouth to object, but the motion of the doctor's holographic hand silenced her. "I'm sorry Lieutenant, there's nothing I can do to prevent them. Unfortunately, because of your Klingon heritage, these contractions are much stronger than normal and there's no way for you to distinguish between them and the real thing. You'll just have to report to me whenever you feel a contraction."
B'Elanna's jaw snapped shut.
"Good. I'm glad we are in understanding. Now, I want you to get some rest. You're physically and emotionally exhausted. Both of you." The doctor threw a meaningful glance towards Tom, who made an innocent face and shrugged.
"Whatever you say doc."
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Stardate 17583-52/1900 hours/Harry's Quarters
Harry had just had a particularly stressful day in operations and was looking forward to a relaxing evening with Megan. As the doors slithered shut behind him, he loosened the neck of his uniform slightly and casually wandered into his bedroom. He glanced around the room, taking off his shirt and tossed it onto the bed. He turned towards his wardrobe, but pivoted on his heel and returned his gaze to his pillow. An active pad lay there, the display flashing to get his attention.
"An audio message?" Harry wondered aloud to himself. Frowning, he leaned over and picked it up.
"Ah! Megan." He smiled to himself and played the message. His expression turned to one of horror as he listened to the disembodied voice that rasped out.
"Harry. I know you're dating Megan Delaney. If you don't stop seeing her, I promise you, you will regret it. Nasty things will happen if you ignore what I'm saying. Things you really don't want to happen. I can make your life hell. You would be very wise to do exactly what I say. Do not go near Megan Delaney. Do not even contact her. You will be putting yourself in grave danger. Your life itself depends on you doing as I say. Stay away from Megan Delaney!"
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Dramatic 'duh duh duh'
So, what do you think? More action? (kinda) (well almost) (maybe) (perhaps not) Moving on.
Sorry it took so long to update. I've had three of the worst things in the world: exams, homework and writer's block.
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