Chapter 12

J.P. Hanson gripped the back of the chair so tightly that when he let go, there were noticeable fingerprints left behind. Trying to strike a more professional stance, he lowered his voice, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Captain, if this lunatic is on the run and out to kill you, what is Command doing to protect you?"

Captain Sarna sipped her tea and turned to look out of the window of her ready room. "Your concern is duly noted, Commander. But this is my business."

Hanson lowered his heavy-set frame into the chair across from his commanding officer. "Respectfully, Captain...it's not just your business. Starfleet regulations require that the first officer on a starship ensure the well-being of the Captain at all times."

Sarna's eyes narrowed almost playfully. "Do you have a direct quote from those regs you're citing to, Hanson?"

Hanson already red face darkened. "It's uh..."

"I'm not familiar with that section," she said, now smiling slyly. When he fumbled for his datapad, she held up her hand. "But I understand your concerns. If Finnegan is out for revenge, I am at risk. I won't deny that. Which means this ship and crew are also at risk, and I can't allow that. I know Finnegan...I know what he's capable of."

Hanson clasped his hands together. "How do you know him, sir?"

"I'm not a liberty to say," she said slowly, looking at him over her teacup.

Hanson's intensity never seemed to ebb. "And why would he want revenge?"

Sarna put her cup down. "I'm not at liberty to divulge that either."

"But sir-"
"We're not going to play this game, Commander." Sarna suddenly stood gracefully to her feet. "I'll give you what you want; the ability to manage my security during this mission only."

"So you'll agree not to join the away team on the Namib moon?" he pressed.

"I'll think about it..."

Hanson nodded, seemingly satisfied for the moment. "Thank you, sir." He glanced at the clock. "I'll need to go and check on Picard and Eneko's progress."

Sarna smiled. "If you want to take on my personal security as your pet project, Hanson, you're going to have to give something up."

"Sir?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Commander. Are you confident you can organize this away team and also ensure my protection from Finnegan?"

"Well, if you'd give me some more information to work from, Captain..."

"That wasn't my question. You know what you need to do."

Hanson did indeed. Or at least, he knew what Sarna wanted him to do. "I assigned Picard a specific task. To just throw him into commanding the away team-"

"Jeff, I know you don't like Picard. But let's not let our personal feelings interfere with our duties."

"Aye, sir." Hanson took a deep breath, and it almost hurt him to force the words out. "Picard is mission commander effective now. I'll notify the team."


Lieutenant Commander Jean-Luc Picard tended to tap his foot when he was in need of expelling excess energy but was required to sit still in the course of his duties. He'd been tapping his foot for hours now and still felt restless. The muscle stiffness from his holo game with Zev was beginning to turn painful. He poured the last of the tea from the pot sitting on his makeshift work area. His posture was horrible, and as a result, his back ached as he leaned toward the protective glass. "I didn't see any particular pattern," he insisted once again.

"Then how did you know how to use your tricorder to disrupt the fog's hold on the away team, sir? I don't get it." Despite her mystery illness, Lieutenant Amanda Eneko was persistent.

"I suppose I guessed to a degree. I ran several quick scans and found that the fog seemed to consist of a strong electromagnetic field, which I assumed had made it difficult for the rest of the away team to leave their position. So...I emitted a series of short electrical pulses from my tricorder in the hopes that it would disrupt the electromagnetic wavelength enough for them to escape."

"That was really brilliant sir," said Eneko, getting up from her bed slowly and walking over to the barrier. She sat down in a chair that had been placed there for her. "It worked, we escaped."

Jean-Luc who was in prime physical condition should have had more energy than his ill companion, but for some reason, he felt incredibly tired. He sat back and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, but I think we both know that it shouldn't have worked...at least not in the way that it did. So, the question remains, why did it? Tricorders are mostly for analysis, so there was only so much it could have accomplished down in the caves. It didn't have the technology to do what I wanted it to," he admitted. "And yet it did," he muttered under his breath.

Amanda leaned her head tiredly against the glass, and he yawned, feeling his own fatigue creeping in. Suddenly his ailing colleague sat up straight, looking re-energized. Not expecting this, he watched her with rapt attention. "Your tricorder analyzed the cloud's pattern..."

"Yes?" he prompted when she trailed off.

"So, all we have to do is recreate visually what the tricorder recorded."

"In holo format?"

"Yep."

He groaned inwardly at the idea of such tedium. Well, at least he'd have a chance to stretch his legs for a bit, while he traveled to his quarters to locate his tricorder. "Why?"

"Maybe it manifested as some kind of language we might be able to translate," she said.

"What if it didn't?"

"Well...we won't know until we analyze the information... I mean, that's why we're on this project, right?" she said.

He put his hands over his eyes for a few moments before getting to his feet. "That is why you are on this project, Eneko... you're a linguist." And I'm here because I'm on the first officer's permanent bad side. "Lieutenant, let's take a break and get some rest."

"Sir I'm really fine," Amanda insisted unconvincingly. "I can keep going."

"You'll rest and that's an order," he snapped, not immediately realizing his tone was too strident. "We'll reconvene in four hours and then we will discuss the best way to implement your idea." He observed her pale features work their way into a smile. He was about to ask how she was feeling when the contamination alarm began to wail.


The room was flooded with blue light as three individuals marched right into the room unannounced and uninvited. Picard was immediately on guard. "What the hell? You can't just stroll in here, this is a quarantined area!" The most slender of the three stepped towards him, and he knew immediately who it was, as Zev had attempted to thoroughly prepare him for this inevitable meeting. He had pretended to ignore the Andorian's long list of information she had dug up on T'Pel, or as Zev now openly referred to as: "our competition". In fact, he had listened carefully. He wanted to move up in his position on this ship, as did Zev, and Zev was right; the Vulcan scientist had a good chance of stealing the second officer spot right from under their noses. One item that Zev's meticulous research had neglected to mention was that Lieutenant Commander T'Pel was stunningly beautiful. He supposed that it wasn't entirely relevant to whether or not she would become the Stargazer's next second officer, but still, he was taken off guard. Her eyes were like pools of dark mystery, and her skin had a glow as though she had spent years living outside under a warm sun. He remembered Zev's explanation of T'Pel's experience with the Kolinahr and wondered if that was in fact close to the truth. T'Pel's hair was typically black but was longer than that of most Vulcan women he'd met, and it was arranged in an intricate bun at the back of her head.

The tall Vulcan woman was peering at him and appeared to be questioning if she had the right person. "We were ordered to report to the commanding officer of the Namib away team."

Picard blinked, realizing that he had been staring vacantly. Wonderful first impression, Jean-Luc. "The commanding officer of this project is Commander Hanson," said Picard stiffly. He looked past T'Pel at a Vulcan male, who was, of course, Tanek, the exo-biologist, and a shorter human male, who must have been Lieutenant Leland Mackenzie. Mackenzie looked vaguely familiar, but Picard's annoyance at their intrusion had not abated.

"That's funny because Commander Hanson said the same thing about you," Mackenzie said almost flippantly.

Tanek tilted his angular features down toward Picard. "Inter-officer communications on board this vessel are clearly inadequate."

"Are you the commanding officer of the Namib away team, or not?" T'Pel questioned.

Picard whipped out his datapad and surveyed it quickly, before putting it back in his pocket. Sure enough, the order was there. What had happened to have inspired this change? And of course, he had been the last to know. Hanson had managed to embarrass him while at the same time giving him what he had wanted; command of an away team. "I am," he said succinctly. Suddenly, his confidence returned. "And you must be Lieutenant Commander T'Pel, Mr. Tanek, and Lieutenant Mackenzie." He stuck out his hand to shake each officer's hand before gesturing behind him. "May I introduce Lieutenant Amanda Eneko." Eneko attempted to put on a brave face and waved at the newcomers. "Lieutenant Eneko and I have been working out a way to decipher the data retrieved from the cloud. We were just breaking when you came in." He put his hands behind his back and straightened his posture. "In the future, you'll observe proper decontamination protocols before entering quarantine," he said shortly.

"Perhaps you should clarify these protocols with Chief Medical Officer Gavin," said T'Pel. "It was she who permitted us to enter. If I recall correctly, she said, 'go right ahead'..."

"Your recollection is correct," offered Tanek.

Of course, it is. Picard tightened his jaw but forced out a smile as a concession. "Very well then. We'll arrive at Namib in approximately 20 hours. I'll expect all three of you to read the mission briefing prepared by Commander Hanson, and await further orders." He glanced at Mackenzie, who he understood was an accomplished linguist. Part of him wanted to cease his work with Eneko in sickbay, but he knew that his participation was still needed. "Mackenzie, you'll join me and Eneko back here at 1600 hours."

Leland Mackenzie broke into a broad smile. "Yes, sir." Picard frowned, as the feeling of recognition passed again. Shrugging inwardly, he stepped out of the room without another word.


2328

Orpheus Base-Luna

Danger. Evacuate to the northeast passage A-12 immediately. Danger.

The rumbling continued to grow louder, and the reverberations throughout the station became more frequent. Isabel Howard grabbed a countertop for support as the flooring shook again under her feet. "Where is she, Paul?" she shouted as her husband rushed into the lab. The anxiety on his face was exactly how she felt. Where was their daughter? Where was Beverly? "This place is falling apart!"

"I-I couldn't find her anywhere. I'll go back and re-trace my steps, I just needed to see if she came back here."

Isabel grabbed both sides of her face and shut her eyes. "No. She's not here either. I even tried the utility tunnel where she sometimes likes to sit and read." I never should have placed my family in danger. I put my work ahead of my child, and now what? Isabel began to rush past Paul to the door. "I'll go and find her."

Suddenly, Commander Sarna stepped into the room. She was holding a phaser tightly in one hand, and her dark brown skin was covered in perspiration. "You'll do no such damn thing, Doctor Howard. You were supposed to begin evacuation with the other personnel twenty minutes ago."

"I have to go and find my daughter," Isabel demanded, trying to push Sarna out of the way. Tears burned in her eyes. "She's probably in the lower levels."

Gabriela Sarna wiped her brow. The lower levels were on fire, but she wasn't about to say so and escalate emotions even further. "She must be hiding, then. I'll find her...I promise."

Paul Howard advanced on her. "Listen, if you think we're just going to sit here and wait while you look for our daughter-"

Sarna leveled her phaser at both of them. "You're going to evacuate with the rest of the personnel. Ensign Keel is organizing the rovers to get us all the hell off of this base. Take the northeast corridor. I'll find Beverly." She waved her phaser at them. "Go. Now!"