Chapter 10: Data's Report.
Data was at his ops station on the bridge working when Picard paged him. Data said that there was a lot of information contained in the logs and requested that the officers meet at 0800. Picard agreed, and Data sent out messages to all those invited.
Barclay looked at his computer screen with a bit of trepidation...what could he possibly have to offer? He hated the transporter, but Picard had given orders that under no circumstances was a shuttle to be sent to the surface unless he personally authorized it. He went about his morning preparations, thinking all the while about what his day might hold for him.
Troi had had another Engineer dream, but this one was different. This time, instead of attempting to hurt Troi, he had a serious, concerned look on his face. He spoke with her telepathically now, telling her that they were all going to die. She stood her ground and said "Many have perished in the discovery of new frontiers. It is our way." The Engineer smiled, and said "You are more like us that we imagined you'd be. We all died here."
Deanna smiled back and said "You can greet me on the other side if death is my fate here today. My name is Deanna Troi."
The Engineer gave a wry smile and said "My name is Gundar. I was a soldier in life, not an explorer, although that is what I wanted to be."
She awoke to the sound her computer made to signify that an incoming message had been received. She awoke with a feeling that was at once both sad and happy, but she didn't know why.
Meanwhile, Worf was thrashing about in his bed, dreaming about being on the verge of losing yet again to the holographic Xenomorph. He awoke, covered in sweat, and just lay there for a while staring at the ceiling. He wondered if it was a portent of his death, and thought that "perhaps today is a good day to die!" "But first, breakfast and a shower." he thought.
Picard, Riker, LaForge, Barclay, Worf, Troi, and Dr. Crusher were waiting when Picard and Data entered the room. Riker, Troi, Worf, and Crusher were discussing the possible meaning of the dreams they had had. Data said "Captain, based upon our previous encounters with this Engineer I wonder why he now seems concerned about our well-being."
Picard thought about it, then told Data that perhaps their "graveyard stroll" had shown the Engineer that their intentions were honorable.
Data began the presentation, showing the major events along with a timeline from the logs. He ended on a sad note, saying that since these events transpired over 250 years ago the odds were that wherever they ended up Elizabeth was long dead. He couldn't speculate about David, but came to the conclusion that the android was simply following Weyland's orders and had no idea that what he'd done would lead to such destruction and loss of life. They knew where they were but had no idea what they were doing. Things might have been different if David had seen what had happened to Fifield and Millburn.
Barclay listened but was far more engrossed in the engineering diagrams of the vessel and how one went about activating the bridge controls. He thought that the use of a flute as a key was ingenious and overly complicated at the same time...unless one had perfect pitch, turning the "ignition key" would be a very frustrating experience.
Picard turned to Reg and asked him if he thought that he might be able to power up the bridge controls so that Data could access the ship's logs and navigational information. "No problem, Captain" he replied.
Dr. Crusher said that she would require an excavation crew to recover the remains of Vickers, and Picard asked Worf to provide a security team "just in case."
They met at the transporter room, and beamed into the alien vessel without any problem. Worf swept the bridge for any threats, finding the remains of Ford, Weyland, and the mercenary.
He tapped his com badge and said "Worf to Doctor Crusher."
"Go ahead, Worf."
"There are three sets of human remains here inside the alien ship."
"I'm on my way."
A few seconds later, Crusher and a recovery technician materialized on the bridge. "It's like being in the belly of a whale", she said. Barclay thought about the metaphor and understood why he had the creeps. "Block it out, focus on the job!" he thought, as he returned to work analyzing the vessel's power systems.
The two doctors processed the remains, and requested transport to the Enterprise. Once gone, Picard looked around the room and investigated the hypersleep chambers. One was open and intact, the other three contained Engineer skeletons that had evidence of something having burst their chests open from the inside as they slept. "Live by the sword, die by the sword", Picard thought to himself.
Barclay asked Data to accompany him to what scans had indicated was the ship's engineering section. Data had to use his strength to slide the door open, and as they shined their lamps around the room they both came to the same conclusion...the ship was powered by zero-point energy and had the capability to antigrav hover, impulse, standard warp drive, and an equivalent to the then-theoretical quantum slipstream drive. Reg looked at Data, smiled, and said "We could learn a lot from this ship! Too bad we can't take it home with us."
Data frowned and said "The vessel is too large for the cargo bay. We cannot tractor it while in warp."
Reg smiled and said "I can always dream, can't I? If this isn't a power distribution panel then they're not using electricity." He scanned it, entered the data into a portable power unit he was carrying, and said "This or nothing!"
He shielded his eyes as he pressed a button, then watched with satisfaction as the ship's interior lighting began to function. "Barclay to Captain Picard, you should have lights now."
"Yes, we do. Thank you, Reg. Good work."
Data scanned the room again, saying "The life support equipment has started to function as well. Carbon dioxide levels are falling to Earth-normal levels."
He said "Nice work, Mister Barclay." Barclay smiled back, and said "Hey, I'm more than just another pretty face, you know. Let's try those bridge controls now that we have power."
They returned to the bridge, now looking a lot less creepy with the lights on, and began investigating the bridge controls. Picard had found a small flute and had given it to Data. He took it and played the same notes as David had, activating the bridge controls. Barclay said "Hold it a minute...don't touch anything...let the power converter stabilize first." Then he added "I believe that there are holographic emitters imbedded in the walls, Captain."
"Emitters? Why?"
Data had been pressing the console "buttons" in the same sequence as David had, and got the same results...the room lights dimmed as holographic Engineers strode about the bridge and when one activated the holographic star maps, the four of them stood in stunned amazement. Picard recalled how the captain of the Promellian battlecruiser they'd discovered last year had left his logs behind as his gravestone. These events had happened over 2250 years ago.
Picard looked at Data, and asked him if he recognized the star systems being displayed. "Yes, Captain. One is Earth, one is Vulcan, one is Betazed, one is Qo'n'os. There are others I do not recognize."
Picard thought about the implications of this...these humanoids had traveled far and wide throughout the galaxy, influencing countless planetary systems as they went.
Barclay interrupted Picard's daydreaming when he shouted "Yes!"
"What is it, Mister Barclay?"
"Captain, I have accessed and downloaded all of their navigational information as well as complete schematics and operational instructions of the ship! Data, scan here (pointing to a spot on the console). You should be able to access and download all of their logs as well."
Data began downloading the logs, saying that the oldest log entries had some signal degradation but he could use a predictive algorithm to fill in the gaps.
Picard smiled at Reg, saying "You might be in line for another award when we return home, Mister Barclay."
"Thank you, Captain." Reg was thoroughly enjoying himself, thinking about comparing notes with Geordi, when a monitor began beeping slowly. "Captain, we have about ten minutes of power left in the converter. I didn't expect the life support system to reactivate itself when I reapplied power."
Picard looked around, having climbed into the "Captain's chair", and asked "Well, if all of you have concluded your work, I suggest that we leave."
He climbed out of the chair, joined the others, and said "Picard to Enterprise. Four to beam up."
(end of chapter)