Episode Three:
Beware the Shadows and the Forgotten Foe
1
Captain's Log: Supplemental.
It's been nearly four hours since the Enterprise was pulled inside the giant Dysons Sphere against its will. All attempts at escape have thus far proved, futile.
To make matters worse, in our efforts to resist the Sphere's powerful tractor beam, our engines, already taxed to their limit due to the stress we've put on them of late, were severely damaged. Lt. LeForge and his team are making every effort to affect repairs, but ultimately, they fear the damage will prove irreparable. Regretfully, with only maneuvering thrusters at our disposal, we find ourselves locked on a course that takes us directly to the center of what I once considered a marvel. Now I can only think of it, as a monstrosity.
In the meantime, to help maintain minimal power levels, and since his ship is still docked with ours, Captain Solo has graciously agreed to supply the Enterprise with emergency power.
I've called for a conference with the senior staff, and have invited the crew of the Millennium Falcon to join us.
….
With little haste, Captain Picard entered the conference room located behind the main bridge. Riker followed close behind. Picard paused at the head of the slightly curved, glossy-black conference table, placing his hands on the back of his chair while commander Riker took the seat directly to his left. Further down the table on the captain's left, sat Counselor Troi, followed by Lt. Worf, and Lt. Commander LeForge. Dr. Crusher sat at the opposite end of the table. To his right, Picard noticed that Data, who often occupied that seat, had surrendered his spot to Princess Leia, who now sat directly across from his own first officer. Data himself seemed perfectly content sitting between the young royal, and a slightly temperamental looking Wookie, who Picard understood was the first mate of the Millennium Falcon. At the far end, next to his navigator, sat Han Solo. Picard nodded a gesture of appreciation to his fellow captain, and for Solo's help in their time of need. Solo returned the nod, but the two exchanged no words.
Before taking his own seat at the head of the table, Captain Picard looked out one of the series of windows that lined the cabin's exterior wall. He lamented at the total absence he saw there. The normal vista of stellar beauty, painted by the brush of the universe on a canvas of light and energy, where replaced now by a picture of absolute emptiness, a disturbing void of oblivion. It was as though someone had draped a pitch-black curtain just beyond the window, concealing the truth of the cosmos from him. It was troubling, and slightly disorientating to look at. There was nothing inside the Sphere. No planets. No star. No occupants of any kind. Picard felt like they had transitioned into a different realm entirely. A parallel universe held locked within the confines of the sphere, where life itself did not exist…Hell itself.
He sighed to himself, before looking back to the group.
"Well," he began, "we all know why we are here." Picard took his seat. Before continuing, he rapidly tugged twice on his uniform, smoothing out the wrinkles of his red tunic before resting in his chair completely. "Before we begin, I would like to thank our guests, Captain Solo and, and…" Picard faltered when he realized he did not know the Wookie's name. When it became clear that neither Solo, nor the Wookie, had any intention of suppling him with the name, he continued, barely missing a beat. "…And his first officer for allocating us power from their ship."
"No trouble at all." Captain Solo said as he leaned back in his seat, cocked to a side. "Our only regret is that we can't provide you with your usual…comforts." Han smiled widely, flippantly. "Your crew might have to go to bed tonight without their baths." He spread his arms slightly. "But don't worry, I'm sure Chewy and I can tuck you in, and read you a bedtime story." Han let out a control laugh as he looked to Chewy, who also chuckled and growled heavily, pleased with his captain's lighthearted stab at the crew of the Enterprise, and at the generalization that Starfleet officers enjoyed comparatively soft lifestyles. The pair then looked to Leia, who shot them a glance so intense, that it made the Han's smile evaporate instantly, though Chewy's remained. Han did his best to look suddenly preoccupied by a small, and totally imagined, imperfection in the tabletop. Leia turned back to the captain.
"It is our pleasure to help, Captain." The princess said through her teeth, trying to ease the tension. But on the inside, she was laughing along with Han's joke. Picard smiled tightly, and nodded before moving on, addressing his main engineer.
"Geordie." He asked, his tone laced with wishful curiosity. "What's our status?"
"The leads are completely fried sir." Lt. LeForge said as he looked about the room. "We've managed to stabilize the core, but the Dilithium chamber, and the crystals themselves, are heavily deteriorated. I should have minimum impulse within a few hours, but were looking at a complete overhaul. Maybe even a total core replacement." Geordie looked at the Captain. "I'm sorry sir. There's really nothing more we can do from out here."
"Then our weapons should be the priority." Worf interjected himself. "Both phazers and photon torpedoes are offline!" He leaned forward in his chair. "We will be no match, should the Imperial ships decide to engage us in battle. We are defenseless, and with the BattleStar group still several days out..."
"Raarghh-Awwrk-wha-rughh." Chewbacca hollered an instinctive, though quite innocent challenge towards the Klingon. The Wookie of course, expected no one in the room to understand, except for Han.
"You said it, Pal." Han couldn't help but to join in on the fun.
"Perhaps you would like to find out?" Worf replied with a smile of his own, surprising the two with his understanding of the Wookie language.
Both Han and Chewy sat up slightly in their chairs as Worf sneered at the wookie. Neither of them appeared willing to back down from the challenge.
Commander Data, who also understood the wookie's native tongue, innocently exchanged looks between the mighty Chewbacca and the opposing Lt. Worf. In an attempt to defuse the brewing conflict, Data threw himself into the conversation.
"Captain," Data began earnestly. "I believe I now have enough evidence to postulate a theory as to what the sphere is." He said, successfully dragging the rooms attention on him, and away from Lt. Worf and the Wookie. Captain Picard swung his chair towards Data, somewhat thankful for his second officer's interruption.
"Go on, Data." He said.
"As you know, our scanners where unable to penetrate the sphere's outer shell. But that is no longer a hindrance, now that we've been pulled inside." Data looked about the room before continuing. "An integral part of Dr. Dyson's theory requires a civilization to be living within the confines of the sphere, and a star for that civilization to draw power from. Otherwise, there would be little point for such a monumental undertaking." Data raised his eyebrows up. "Neither of those requirements are met here."
"Then what do you think it is, Data?" Riker asked sincerely.
"I believe the sphere is someone's attempt to construct an artificial…singularity." Data said.
"A black hole?" The captain asked aloud.
"Not exactly captain." Data replied. "A black hole, as it is so called, is only the effect a natural singularity has on the surrounding spacetime." Data continued, all eyes on him. "It is my belief, that whomever was responsible for the Sphere's construction was attempting to create a true, naked singularity."
"A naked singularity." Geordie interrupted, his curiosity peeked. "Data, are you saying the outer sphere is like the event horizon? With a…constructed singularity at its center?"
"No Geordie." Data replied. "If the theory holds, then the sphere is the singularity, and we are, at this very moment, inside it."
"Then what's at the center?" The princess asked.
"I believe we will find that out soon enough, your highness." Data responded to the princess' query.
"But what would be the purpose for such an undertaking?" Picard had to ask the question.
"Uncertain without more evidence." Data responded. "But one could surmise that such a construction could serve as a sort of, nexus point in space. One that might allow for the near instantaneous travel to virtually anywhere in the Galaxy."
"The spice!" Leia added.
"Precisely princess." Data confirmed, slightly impressed. "The unique intra-spatial properties of the substance known as Mélange, would be required for such a device. Preferably, in its most concentrated form."
"The strategic advantage of such a gateway, would be significant." Worf said. "One could simply transport an entire fleet within enemy territory, behind their defensive lines. Conquest would be virtually assured."
Worf sat back in his chair, his hands held together at the fingertips. He was pleased with himself, and his tactical observation. No one challenged his obvious assessment. Some may have even wondered what advantage such a device would offer them. A rather, uncomfortable silence, fell over the room.
Suddenly, a hail came over the ship's intercom system, breaking the silence.
"Bridge to captain Picard." The voice of the young Ensign Crusher bled through the coms.
"Picard here." The captain replied, happy for the distraction.
"Captain. We are approaching the coordinates Commander Data projected to be the center of the Sphere."
"We're on our way." The captain said.
….
Commander Data was the first to enter the bridge via the aft compartment that led back to the conference room. He was quickly followed by Lt. Worf, Commander Riker, Troi, and Captain Picard. Han and Leia came through last. Chewy had gone back to the Falcon to watch over the power transfer to the Enterprise. And, should there be any problems, was accompanied by Lt. LeForge. Dr. Crusher had gone back to medical.
Worf took his position at tactical behind the curved wood-grained arch that wrapped itself around the bridge's three command seats. Princess Leia and Captain Solo stood next to the Klingon, trying their best to stay out of the way. Data made his way to his ops, while Commander Riker and Captain Picard both took their place, and stood eagerly, at the center of the bridge. Troi took her seat to the left of the Captain's chair.
The mood on the bridge was electric. All eyes watched the viewscreen, anxiously waiting for something to appear from the nothingness that surrounded the enterprise. Peering into that emptiness, Picard squinted at the viewscreen. When nothing jumped out at him, his face grimaced in a mixture of frustration and curiosity.
"Helm," Picard said, "What are we looking at?" He asked, still squinting.
"I don't know sir." Wesley said, clearly vexed by the situation. "But there is something there."
"Anything Data?" Riker asked.
"Sensors are detecting an object dead ahead." Data offered. "But they are having difficulty locking on. Whatever it is, it appears to be made of the same absorbent material that comprised the sphere's outer shell."
Picard took a step away from Riker, positioning himself closer to the main viewer. "Mr. Worf," he said, "launch a few class 2 optical probes. Let's see what's out there…"
"Aye sir." Worf obeyed.
At that, the Enterprise fired four small probes from her torpedo bay, disturbing the otherwise dead silence of the sphere's interior. The probes streaked through the void, echoing through the darkness. When they reached a certain distance away from the ship, all four exploded into a shower of white-hot light, igniting their phosphorescent cores. Like four tiny, man-made stars, they lit up the surrounding area.
All eyes on the bridge went wide when they saw what the probes illuminated! A planetoid, barely a wisp away from the ship! And they were on a collision course!
"Helm!" The captain shouted. "Hard about! Bring us around at two-one-four!"
Wesley heard the order, but was he clearly struggling to maintain control with only maneuvering thrusters at his disposal. "Forward thrusters already at full, Captain!" Wesley cried as he feverishly batted commands into his console.
"It's gravity is pulling us down!" Commander Riker barked. "All hands brace for impact!" He bellowed over the ships coms, hoping only that he'd given the warning in time. His blue eyes locked on viewer, and on the small planetoid the ship was barreling towards. He had to place his hand on Wesley's chairback to steady himself, as his orientation shifted suddenly from flying, to falling. He knew they had only seconds. "What is it? He yelled aloud, almost wistfully, intently studying the oddly artificial stellar body they were falling into.
The size of the planetoid was difficult for Riker to estimate with any precision, both with the complete lack of time he had to examine it, and because their probes, as bright as they were, were still only able to illuminate a small fraction of the objects entirety. Still, he felt that it had to be at the very least, several thousand times larger than the Enterprise itself. However, it was clear that the thing being a naturally developed object, accreted over billions of years, was beginning to become suspect. It was certainly spherical, and somewhat reminiscent to the enormous Dysons Sphere they had been forced inside. But there were obvious differences. It was lighter in color. A more, cool-gray, than charcoal. It also had a deep trench that ran across its equator, presumably all the way around. It's lines, far too perfect to be anything but constructed. But the small moon's most obvious artificial feature was a huge dish-like impression on its norther hemisphere. Like the largest communications dish, Riker had ever seen.
Whatever it was, it did not look at all friendly to Commander Riker…And they were falling straight towards it!
"We need more power, Mr. LeForge!" The Captain cried out over the coms, pulling Riker from his wonderings on the object.
"We're giving it everything she has, captain!" LeForge shouted from the engineering section of the Millennium Falcon.
"Chewy!" Han screamed. "Lock in the auxiliary power!"
"Rawrgwawggrrh!" Chewbacca responded.
The tension on the bridge rose, as the crew began to panic. Each trying desperately to keep their composer, but all were fighting a losing battle. Commander Riker fought through his own fear and confusion. With firmness, he fully gripped the leather seatback of the helms station, and shouted orders to the young ensign.
"Wesley!" He said, all his confidence returning. "Cut all the power to the forward thrusters. Bring the ship down at thirty-seven degrees. Just before we hit, put everything you have in the rear thrusters. Use the moon's gravity, to slingshot us into orbit!"
Though he was scared, and not at all convinced the commander's idea would work, the young Ensign Crusher obeyed without hesitation. The orientation of the huge object began to shift in the viewscreen, rotating as the Enterprise altered course.
The Enterprise continued to dive towards the moon's surface, which appeared to be completely covered with man-made structures, buildings, and spires. Not an inch of nature shown through. The Enterprise continued it's decent. Just before slamming into the surface, Wesley initiated the maneuvering thrusters, just enough to angle the ship up, and skim the surface. They underbelly of the Enterprise flew only meters above the tops of the short buildings the barely jutted above the ground. And they were still falling!
Following the Commander's instructions, just before impact, the young helmsman slammed his palm down onto his console, igniting the ships rears thrusters, and rocketed them up and away from the surface. The maneuver worked better than any had expected. And all breathed a deep sigh of relief when they realized they were out of immediate danger.
As their altitude increased, Data oriented the main viewer to give them a better look of the object. Princess Leia let go of the death-grip she had held on the wood-grained arch at the rear of the bridge, and left Captain Solo's side. Han watched as she made her way to the center of the bridge for a better look. She gazed out at the object in wonderment…and terror!
"That's no moon…" The princess said. "It's a space station." She whispered the revelation. None argued the truth in the statement.
The captain looked back at the Princess, his face as stern as ever. He tried to convey reassurance in his expression, but was uncertain if he was succeeding.
"Regardless of what it is, your highness," Picard said, "we're alive." He turned back to the main viewer and spoke under his breath. "For now." He whispered. He turned to his first officer. The two exchanged nods, letting the other know that they were each all right.
"Now what?" Riker asked.
The captain's face stiffened. He was done standing by idly. Done sitting and waiting for answers to come his way. Part of being a good captain, was to know when it was time for such things, and when it was time to act. And now was that time.
"Now we find out what's really going on here." Picard said with assurance. He turned back to the viewscreen, staring death at the artificial star. He addressed his first officer, without looking at him. "Assemble your away team, Commander."
Riker looked at the captain with a stern but serious expression. He inhaled, then nodded his acknowledgment of his orders. In quick succession, he pointed to the ops, and tactical stations. "Data. Worf. You're with me." He said as he quickly made his way to the rear turbo lift. Both officers followed without complaint or hesitation of any kind.
"I'm going too." Princess Leia said. Everyone on the bridge froze in their place at the princess' emphatic statement.
"Like hell you are." Han said.
"I have to go." She said to him softly. "We need to know what's going on here." She looked at Han with pure sincerity bleeding from her eyes. "I need to know." She pleaded with him.
Han shared a look of understanding with Leia, but not of acceptance. There was no way he was going to allow her to go.
"I'll go." He said with finality. The princess was about to argue, but before she could utter a single word, Han had already made his way to the turbo lift. When inside, he turned and looked back at the princess. He smiled a small smile at Leia. A look that said a thousand words…and nothing at all.
"I'll be going too, Captain." Troi said as she stood from her seat. Her posture as regal as ever.
"Counselor?" The captain asked in confusion.
He was about to protest, but the look of sternness on Troi's face said all that needed to be said. The captain acquiesced, before nodding his allowance for the request that was not a request. Troi returned the nod, then glided her way to the turbo lift. When she had fully entered, the doors hissed themselves shut, and the lift, and all its occupants, zoomed away.
Picard looked back to the viewscreen, and once again examined the alien object the ship now orbited. He was shocked to find himself suddenly pleading to the universe for his crew's safety.
"Good luck…
… And may the force be with you." He whispered.