A/N: This is an amateur, fan-made work. Star Trek and the characters contained within that universe were created by Gene Roddenberry.
"The Competition" is intended to be a fun, buddy fic. Yes, I'm intentionally a little vague about exactly 'what' the crew is up to in the beginning. I'm sorry, it just felt right.
This is an AU adventure set in the same universe as my story "The Complication" taking place during the first season of TNG. However, this story can stand alone.
For context, this story contains elements carried over from the "The Complication." Namely, part of Tasha's backstory includes time spent racing vehicles on Turkana.
Established Data/Tasha. Established Miles/Keiko.
This will be a multi-part story.
"Welcome back," Chief O'Brien said greeting the away team.
Commander Riker, Geordi, and Data stepped off the transporter pad.
"They're waiting for you in the observation lounge. I take it you had no luck with them negotiations then?" Miles asked as he noted the grim look on Commander Riker's face.
"You can say that again. Captain Picard is not gonna like this," Geordi huffed.
Geordi's predication was an understatement.
"Completely unacceptable," Captain Picard said sternly.
"Captain, the Benzians have already gifted the device to the Uhgari. We don't have a choice," Commander Riker explained.
"There has to be another way," Captain Picard thought aloud as he leaned forward in his chair at that head of the table.
"The Uhgari believe the device rightfully belongs in their possession," Riker stated.
"The Uhgari people have a complex system of property ownership that is not unlike the feudal system of ancient earth," Data described.
Six days earlier, a device had been stolen from a Federation outpost by a group of aliens known as the Benzians. It was an advanced piece of experimental technology that the Federation had worked for years to develop.
The device was attuned specifically to the atmospheric conditions of the planet from which had been illegally obtained. It was designed to control the weather patterns and had immense potential for longer growth seasons and the avoidance of dangerous natural weather phenomena.
Unfortunately, the device was not yet fully functional. There were several systemic issues that had yet to be reprogrammed and tested before it could be replicated for use elsewhere.
An initial investigation of the theft had led the Enterprise to the Benzians. They were traders and smugglers, not unlike the Ferengi in their pursuit of wealth.
The Benzians had stolen the device. But they had turned around and sold it to the Uhgari for a large sum. The Uhgari people felt they had paid a fair price for the device. And by the laws and customs of their world, they now rightfully owned it.
"The Uhgari are an agrarian society. They are controlled by a ruling council composed of land-owning feudal lords known as jarls. It is likely they have chosen this device under the false perception that it will provide an advantage to the winning jarl," Data stated.
"Captain, they aren't technologically advanced enough to understand the device cannot be localised. We tried to explain it's calibrated for planetwide controls and will only work properly at the Federation outpost. They didn't want hear anything else," Geordi said.
"And they aren't interested in any kind of payment or exchange of goods for returning the device," Commander Riker added.
Riker, Geordi, and Data had spent the entire morning attempting to negotiate with the council in an effort to obtain the device peaceably. But the council had no desire to turn over the device. To the jarls, this device was the key to their future.
"Our choice is to violate the Prime Directive," Geordi said as he motioned to Data.
"Or to win it back," Data said seriously as he finished Geordi's thought.
"And you are certain you will be able to pull this off? It seems this vessel will require a significant overhaul before she will be up to the specifications necessary for this task," Captain Picard asked as he scanned the schematics Geordi had handed him.
They were seated in Captain Picard's ready room.
Captain Picard laid the schematic on the surface of his desk and leaned back in his chair.
"Have you considered who you would like take aboard, Lieutenant? You'll need a good crew," Picard asked.
"Only the best, Sir," Geordi replied. "I'd like to request permission to bring Commander Data as my first officer, Worf at the tactical position, Chief O'Brien for engineering, Wesley has offered to assist him, and Commander Riker to serve as our spotter."
"And for the helm?" Picard questioned.
"The only one I trust is Tasha," Geordi said honestly.
He knew Tasha had her fair share of experience piloting federation vessels. Most importantly, he knew that Tasha was the only one on board the Enterprise that had actually competed in races like this before. Sure, her experience doing so had mostly been with ground vehicles, but Geordi reckoned the skillset would crossover – she was competitive, quick on her feet, and had the concentration needed for a long race.
"A fine crew indeed," Captain Picard said as he concurred with Geordi's choices.
Geordi left Captain Picard's ready room and made his way to Data's quarters. He buzzed Data's chime and Data called for him to enter.
Stepping inside he found Data at his workstation.
"Hello, Geordi," Data said without looking up.
"It's a go, Data," Geordi said excitedly.
Data immediately set down the isolinear chip he was working on and looked up at Geordi. He cocked his head to the side as the left side of his lips curled upward slightly.
"We are in the race?" Data asked.
"You better get packing. We're beaming aboard the Sullivan at 05:00," Geordi said.
"Understood," Data acknowledged.
"I've got to get down to Main Engineering and load supplies. It's going to be a lot of work to overhaul this vessel and we don't have much time do it in," Geordi said.
Geordi turned and made his way to the door.
He stopped suddenly and hurried back to Data's workstation.
"Data, could you do me a favour and let the rest of our crew know about the start time tomorrow?" Geordi asked.
"Of course, Geordi," Data nodded.
"Thanks!" Geordi said with a smile.
He turned back for the door. It slid open. But before he could step through it, Geordi stopped again as realisation hit him.
"Yes, Geordi?" Data said from directly behind him.
Geordi jumped.
"Don't sneak up on me like that, Data!" Geordi laughed.
"It was not my intention to sneak up on you. You stopped unexpectedly," Data explained.
"Right, sorry," Geordi said as he turned around.
"Did you forget something?" Data prompted.
"We're going to need to reroute the starboard power coupling," Geordi thought aloud.
"And reconfigure the warp core crystals to achieve the speed necessary for victory," Data added.
Geordi nodded slowly as the weight of the task ahead sunk in.
"Should we not 'get a move on'?" Data suggested as motioned toward the door.
"Right," Geordi agreed as he rushed off to Engineering.
Two hours later, Geordi was still only halfway through his checklist of preparations for their departure. He had laid out a set of spare energy conduits, a load of various backup isolinear chips, and a spare transwarp conduit.
He'd only had a few hours to study the schematics of the Sullivan, but he had gathered she was in a need of serious overhaul. The team would have 72 hours to get her up to speed in time before their mission.
Most the of the repairs would have to be made enroute to the Uhgari homeworld. Geordi was confident that with Data, Miles, Worf, Wesley, and Tasha aboard they'd be able to pull it off.
The Sullivan was a decommissioned Starfleet vessel from a rare line of ships known as "darts." They were like small versions of the Nebula-class ships that had been designed for speed and small compliments. In her heyday she had been one of the Federation's fastest ships. She boasted an impressive weapons array for her size and was designed to be 'light on her feet.'
She operated on an intermix matter-antimatter ratio above 90%. This allowed her to launch faster than most Federation ships.
Critically, the Sullivan was the closest and fastest ship that met the size requirements permitted under the rules.
"You require rest," Data said as he entered Main Engineering to find Geordi on the carpet packing tools for the trip.
"Data, what are you doing up at this hour?" Geordi asked.
"I do not require rest," Data replied.
He cocked his head to the side and looked at Geordi quizzically.
"You know that, Geordi. Are you feeling alright?" Data inquired.
Geordi yawned and sat back on his knees. He stretched his neck out and rested his eyes for a moment.
"Just tired. Did you fill everybody in?" Geordi asked.
"Yes. And they have all agreed to join us," Data replied.
"Well, that's a relief," Geordi said with heavy sigh.
"Wesley Crusher said he was so excited he did not believe it would be possible to sleep," Data explained as he helped Geordi to his feet.
"I'll bet he was. And Tasha?" Geordi asked.
"I believe Tasha would be capable of sleeping through a red alert in the neutral zone if required," Data replied seriously.
It took Geordi a brief moment to process what Data had said.
"Was that a joke, Data?" he asked as he supressed a smile.
"It was an attempt at one," Data replied honestly.
Geordi chuckled as he returned his sonic drill to its case.
"At least it's an improvement over your knock knock jokes," Geordi admitted.
"I will finish this, Geordi. You should sleep," Data suggested.
Geordi nodded and moved over to his engineering station. He saved the latest schematic layout he had designed and shut it down.
"You sure you've got this? I can inventory the spare duranium before I-" Geordi offered.
"Your human physiology requires rest, Geordi," Data reminded him.
Geordi nodded and headed for the doorway out of Main Engineering. Right before stepping into the corridor, he paused and turned on his heel.
"Do you really think we have a chance?" Geordi asked Data as he crossed his arms and leaned against a console.
"I think our chances will be improved if our Captain has had sufficient sleep," Data responded without looking up from his work.
"Ok, ok. You've made your point. Goodnight, Data," Geordi said with a laugh.
He made it the turbolift before he turned back.
"I was thinking if we have time, we could strip the parametallic hull plating from the Spartan. She was recently decommissioned and is practically next door to the Sullivan," Geordi said excitedly as he stepped back into Main Engineering.
Data sat back stiffly.
"I will order you to bed, Lieutenant, if you do not leave this deck," Data said firmly.
"I'm sorry, Data. I'm just nervous," Geordi confessed.
Data turned and looked at Geordi. He wasn't angry, but Geordi could read the look he was giving him.
"I'm going," Geordi assured him as he backed toward the door.
Across the ship, Wesley Crusher was sorting through his tools and trying to determine what was absolutely essential to pack and what could be left behind.
"Where's my flux coupler? It was just here!" Wesley whispered aloud.
In a panic, he began rifling through the tools that were strewn about his bed. He tossed his satchel on the floor and threw his sonic driver over his shoulder. As he continued to rummage through the materials, he accidently knocked over a parametric scanner and it hit the floor with a loud thud.
Wesley was unphased by the noise as he was desperate to find the flux coupler that Geordi had allowed him to check out of Engineering.
Suddenly, the door to his room opened and Wesley froze.
He didn't need to turn around to know exactly how his mother was looking at him.
"Wesley Crusher it is after 02:00 hours. What are you doing up?" Beverly asked.
Wesley turned around with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry, mom. I'm just so excited about tomorrow – well today, now I guess – that I couldn't sleep. I decided to reorganise my tools and now I can't find the flux coupler and I'm-" Wesley stopped as his mother shook her head.
"What are you talking about, Wes?" Beverly asked, her brow furrowed with confusion.
"The away mission," Wesley said as realisation dawned on him.
"Hold it right there. All three of you," Beverly said sternly as she came up behind Captain Picard, Geordi, and Data on cargo deck 2.
The there men stopped.
"Good morning, Doctor," Data said brightly.
"At what point did it cross your minds that perhaps you should ask my permission before you take my son on an away mission?" Beverly asked.
Captain Picard and Geordi felt sheepish. Data cocked his head to the side as he pondered her question.
Before any of them could respond, Doctor Crusher spoke again.
"I will give you a clue, you didn't!" Beverly snapped.
"Doctor, I assure you it was no one's intention to-" Captain Picard started to say but was cut off by Beverly.
"I can't believe it didn't even cross either of your minds," Beverly exclaimed pointing at Data and Geordi. "And you, Jean-Luc, I am so disappointed in you."
"Mom, I'm going to be fine!" Wesley said adamantly as he rounded the corner with Worf.
"The risk of death is only 12% greater than being on the Enterprise," Data said in a manner that he hoped was comforting.
"Data, ix-nay on isk-ray," Geordi warned.
Data turned to Geordi and looked confused.
"Mom, I'll be with Data and Geordi the whole time," Wesley said.
"Doc I promise we'll take care of him," Geordi said.
"Yeah, we'll feed and water him and walk him three to four times a day," Commander Riker said as he approached the group and ruffled Wesley's hair a bit.
"Please let me go, Mom," Wesley pleaded.
The Gauntlet of Haakon Banner-Torn was a challenge held every three years by the Uhgari people to determine who become the chief lord of the planet's ruling council. The various feudal lords, known as jarls, would compete against one another for land, wealth, honour, and a grand prize that would ensure the winner was the dominate clan on the planet.
The race started above the Uhgari homeworld and traversed across a part of the Alpha quadrant that was designed to test the crew and their ship including their decision-making, compassion, and ability to overcome adversity.
"Like our ancestors that chose to settle on this cold, barren terrain and overcame the short growing season and long winters to build our society, we too shall overcome the challenge of the Gauntlet," the current chief of the council had told them.
Outsiders were welcome to participate for the opportunity to win land and the right to farm on the Uhgari homeworld.
It had been over 80 years since the last time the race had ended without casualties. Ship failures were to be expected from roughly half the participants.
Injuries were likely.
Death was possible.
Across the ship, Miles was just packing the last of his essentials. He threw a flannel and toothbrush into his overnight bag. He was nearly finished when his door chimed.
"Come in," Miles called as he slung the pack over his shoulder.
"Morning," Keiko said as she stepped inside.
"Keiko! What are you doing up this early?" Miles asked as he stepped over to her and gave her a hug.
"I wanted to wish you good luck before you take off," Keiko replied as she planted a quick kiss on his lips.
"Ah, come to see me off then, eh?" Miles asked.
Keiko took his hands in her own and looked down at the floor.
"Look, you know what you're doing, but please be careful. OK?" Keiko asked.
Data had told her about the course. It wasn't that she didn't trust in their abilities – it was a long race and Data's research indicated that it included numerous obstacles designed to test the crew of each vessel.
"Don't you worry none," Miles assured her.
"And this," Keiko said as she tucked a spring of heather into his bag, "is for good luck."
"O' course, you brought a bleedin' plant," Miles teased her.
"Come on. I'll walk you over," Keiko said as she looped her arm through his and made their way out into the corridor.
Commander Riker, Data, Geordi, Miles, Tasha, Worf, and Wesley stepped onto the transporter pad and prepared to beam over to the USS Sullivan.
They had just beamed over two loads of supplies needed for the retrofit.
"Be safe," Doctor Crusher said as she hugged Wes goodbye.
"Good luck," Keiko smiled and waved to the group.
"You're going to do great," Deanna said, hoping her words would spark encouragement.
She could sense they were nervous.
"We'll hold our current position until you're ready to launch in case you require additional support," Captain Picard advised them.
"Thanks, Captain," Geordi said with a nod.
"Energise," Riker ordered.
The team dematerialised and rematerialised on the cargo bay on the Sullivan.
Geordi was grateful they hadn't brough more people along. While he could certainly use the hands with the retrofit, the Sullivan was a fairly small ship. Her peak compliment was ten personnel as she was designed for speed.
Geordi whipped out his tricorder and began a scan.
Miles stepped over to the nearest engineering panel and went to work.
"I estimate we've got about three hours of life support on the current power reserves," Miles reported.
"We should set to work on wiring the temporary matter-antimatter generator into the ship's main computer immediately," Data suggested.
"I can do that so you can get to work on the warp core," Wesley offered.
It would take them an estimated nine hours to completely strip and rebuild the warp core aboard the vessel. Most of the other repairs and upgrades would have to be made on their way to the Uhgari homeworld.
Geordi didn't much like the idea of them making these improvements on the fly, but they were on tight scheduled and every second counted.
"It should only take an hour to run a full sweep. Once that's competed, we'll get the armour scans taken care of," Tasha said as she nodded to Worf.
Worf and Tasha dropped their overnight bags in the cargo hold and headed out into the corridor to conduct a security sweep of the ship. The Sullivan had been sitting in space dock for three years. Although secured, the crew weren't about to take any chances. The security sweep also enabled them to evaluate the hull integrity of the vessel.
The little ship had seen significant action along the Cardassian border. They were anticipating there would be a few weak spots where hull integrity could be compromised by any further damage. Geordi had tasked Worf and Tasha with identifying those spots so they could reinforce them before the race.
Wesley, Miles, and Geordi headed main Engineering to begin their work.
Data and Commander Riker made their way to the bridge to set up the workstations there.
Four hours later things were going well. The security sweep had shown fewer weak points in the hull than anticipated. Wesley and Geordi were making good progress on the warp core and Worf was nearly done with his inventory of the photon and quantum torpedoes.
They were ahead of schedule and Geordi felt comfortable sparing a few hands to head over to the Spartan to strip the parametallic hull.
Geordi dispatched Tasha and Miles to the Spartan to strip it for parts.
"You have a ninety-minute supply of oxygen," Data advised as helped Tasha into the white EV suit.
He grabbed the helmet and placed it on her head, securing it in place and checking to ensure it was properly sealed.
Tasha gave him a thumbs up. Data grabbed the second helmet and brough it down over Miles's head.
"Thanks, Commander," Miles said as Data checked the seal around his helmet.
Data stepped over to the transporter console and input the proper coordinates.
"Please activate your gravity boots," Data instructed.
Tasha and Miles activated their gravity boots and instantly felt as their feet clamped down to the transporter pad. They would have to activate them before being dematerialised to ensure they would instantly attach to the Spartan upon re-materialisation.
"I will beam you to the bow of the vessel," Data explained.
"Energise," Tasha said.
A moment later, her boots locked onto the bow of the Spartan. It Tasha and Miles a moment to find their footing. Each step with the gravity boots was physically tough. There was much more resistance than walking aboard a ship with artificial gravity.
Miles scanned the bow, evaluating the condition of the hull.
Tasha looked out past the ship into the vast expanse of space.
It was one thing to be in the stars aboard a ship.
It was a whole other feeling altogether to actually be out in the stars.
Tasha had been in an EV suite before outside of ships. It had been a standard part of her education at the Academy, and she'd been on several missions requiring the use of the suits before.
But the sheer wonder of being out among the stars with just a few inches of pressure suit between you and the cold of space, always took Tasha's breath away.
It really put into perspective being such an infinitesimal part of the universe.
"I think we should start up there," Miles said pointing ahead of them to a spot below the main viewer.
"Data, we're going to start with panel 16A," Tasha said as she identified the first piece they would remove.
The plan was Tasha and Miles would remove the panels one by one. Data would lock onto the panel during the process. Once it was detached from the ship, Tasha and Miles would give it a shove-off to float it away from the ship. From there, Data would beam the pieces onto the cargo deck.
It took the pair seven minutes to strip the first panel. They gave it a small shove and notified Data to beam it aboard.
Moving along the skeleton of the hull, they began work on the second panel. They were using industrial sonic drivers. The second panel came off a little faster than the first one, but only marginally so.
"You will need to work slightly faster in order to secure enough pieces for the plan," Data advised them. "You have just over seventy-one minutes remaining and another twelve panels to remove."
"Acknowledged," Miles said.
"I guess we better pick up the pace," Tasha said as the moved on to the next panel.
They were able to remove the next four a little faster than the before. Their speed seemed to be increasing with each subsequent piece.
That is, until they got stuck on the seventh panel.
"Let's try it from this angle," Miles suggested as he pointed at the mark two meters from the left edge.
"Good idea, Chief," Tasha replied as she began to reposition.
Unfortunately, they weren't having any more luck in the new position than before.
"This looks like Plasma torpedo damage," Tasha said as she examined the exterior of the panel with the flashlight on the arm of her suit.
Miles activated the tricorder that was embedded in the suit and scanned the panel.
"Yeah, she's got plasma damage alright. It's fused with the skeleton of the hull beneath it," Miles said as he evaluated the situation.
"Data to away team," Data said as he hailed the pair.
"Aye," Miles responded.
"Is something wrong? Your pace slowed significantly," Data inquired.
"We've hit a bit of snag, Commander. One of the panels has some damage from a Plasma torpedo," Tasha explained.
"It's fused the hull skeleton, Sir. This isn't something the scans could have picked up on and it's possible there may be more," Miles advised.
"Do you think we could swap out on the panels from the aft hull near the nacelles?" Tasha suggested.
Data thought for a moment as he calculated the possibility of swapping one for the other.
"No, I would need to bend the panel to a point that it would render the material unusable," Data stated.
Tasha and Miles made another attempt to remove the panel, but it wouldn't budge.
"It's going to take a sonic saw to cut through this," Miles said.
He was exasperated.
"Stand by," Data advised the pair.
Tasha and Miles shrugged at each other.
Silence hung in the air.
"So, how's things with Keiko?" Tasha asked.
"Good. She's good. We're good, you know," Miles replied.
Tasha nodded.
"How's things with you and Data?" Miles asked awkwardly after a long pause.
"Good," Tasha answered.
Silence fell between the two again.
After a beat, they both started talking at the same time.
"She's growing these little flowers that feel like sandpaper and smell even worse-"
"He's back on the Gregorian chants and I can't believe I'm saying this, but the German Reggae was better-"
Tasha snorted.
"But we wouldn't have 'em any other way, right?" Miles said with a chuckle.
Tasha nodded.
A moment later, Data materialised several meters in front of them in one of the EV suites. Although the cold of space wouldn't damage his physical body, it did greatly slow his processing.
Data stepped toward them and assessed the panel they were working on. Reaching beneath it, Data gripped the bottom and made short work of pulling apart the fused metal. After a moment, the panel was released and began to float away.
I'll never get tired of seeing that. Tasha smiled to herself.
"You may beam the panel aboard now, Wesley," Data said into the commlink in his helmet.
With Data's help, they were able to make quick work of removing the remaining panels. One by one they floated out from the ship and were beamed away.
Once they had completed their work on the bow section of the hull, the trio was beamed into the engineering section of the Spartan. They didn't have much remaining time on their oxygen supply, but they worked quickly to strip as many spare parts as they could before they ran out of time.
Although the Spartan had been a great ship in her day, she had been decommissioned due to extreme damage to her starboard side. There was no life support aboard the ship.
"Can never enough too many of these," Miles said as he removed a plasma coil and set it down on the pile of material they had collected.
Data was working to collect as much spare cable as he could, pulling it out and looping it around his arm.
"I'm going to make a try for the forward torpedo bay. If the launcher console is intact, I might be able get a spare control chip," Tasha said.
Weapons consoles were notorious for exploding during combat. If they were going to be taking fire, a backup control chip for the torpedo bay would be great asset.
She headed out of Engineering and made her way along the corridor. Without emergency lighting, it was quite dark. It reminded Tasha bit of the horror novels she liked to read.
Ok. Don't spook yourself. She said as she continued on.
She passed by a section of the ship where there was large hole blown clean through the hull. It was eerie in a way knowing that whoever had been in this corridor when it occurred had likely been sucked out into space.
Blown out. She could hear Data saying in her head. He'd only corrected her and everyone else on that fact half a dozen times before.
When she reached the torpedo bay, Tasha was relieved to see the panel was intact. She found the manual pull to access the isolinear chip input array and removed the control chip. She put into a small carrying compart that was on the front of her EV suit and closed the lid.
The low-oxygen warning started to beep inside her suit.
Tasha began to head back for the corridor, but Data rounded the corner with Miles.
"I was just coming to find you," she said.
"I'm afraid we are out of time," Data replied as Wesley locked onto their signatures and they were beamed back aboard the Sullivan.
Once they were back on board, Miles felt a wave of relief. His muscles were going to be sore later from the extra effort required by the gravity boots.
Tasha detached her helmet and took a deep breath.
Geordi was standing in front of the transporter pad beaming.
"Great work you guys," Geordi said.
They stripped out of their EV suits and hooked them back up in their storage units for oxygen replenishment.
"It will take twenty-four hours for the suits to be recharged before we will be able to resume our work," Data advised.
Tasha groaned internally. She had momentarily forgotten this was only part one. All the extra hull casing they had pulled from the Spartan still had to be reattached to this ship – which meant climbing back into the suits again tomorrow.
"Alright, I'm going to go find Worf to see how the weapons system is coming along," she said as she headed off to the bridge.
Tasha located Worf on the bridge. He was laying on his back underneath the tactical console. Commander Riker was seated over at the operations position.
"Try it now, Worf," he said.
"Anything?" Worf replied.
"Yeah! That's it! Gimme a little more juice for the aft thrusters," Riker commanded.
Riker was nodding excitedly.
"Uh-huh. Now that's what I'm talking about, Worf!" Riker said excitedly.
"Purring like a Klingon Targ," Worf said proudly.
Tasha stepped over to Worf. He took her outstretched arm and she helped pull him up.
"Got a present for you," she teased.
She pulled the control chip from the weapons console out from behind her back and held it out to him.
Anyone else may have missed the signs of excitement in the Klingon, but Tasha knew her best friend well enough to catch the faintest of smiles and barely perceptible widening of his eyes as he spied the control chip.
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Worf replied stoically.
She gave him a wink and grin in response.
"How did it go?" Riker asked as spun around in the operations chair.
"We ran into a little trouble. There was some plasma torpedo damage, but it's all taken care of now, Commander," Tasha explained.
Five hours later they were still right on schedule. The warp core had been rebuilt and was online. All the appropriate warp core upgrades had been integrated seamlessly into the main computer aboard the Sullivan. The original core had only been designed for regular speeds up to warp 7. She could run between warp 7 and warp 8 for six hours at a time and she could achieve a maximum warp of 9.3 in short bursts less than thirty minutes.
This was in part due to the core itself, and partially due to the strength of hull.
With the hull and warp core improvements, Geordi believed they could sustain warp 9.3 for longer segments. He was aiming for ninety minutes at a time between cool downs.
In addition, the improvements to the warp core meant they could reach higher speeds for very short bursts – warp 9.4 and possibly up to warp 9.6.
Geordi was seated in the command chair with Data to his right. Worf was standing at the tactical post. Tasha was at the helm and Commander Riker was manning the operations console temporarily.
During the actual race, Data would be pulling double duty as First Officer and the manning the operations station. But until then, Riker wanted to get in on the action and Data was more than happy to sit with Geordi in the actual First Officer's chair.
"La Forge to Enterprise, we're ready to take her out," Geordi said.
"Excellent news, Mr La Forge," Captain Picard responded. "We'll monitor your progress through the first test."
"Tasha lay in a course for the first rendezvous point. Warp 2," Geordi ordered.
"Aye, sir," Tasha replied.
They were going to attempt a short jump at warp 2 to run a test on the stability of the new warp core. If everything checked out, they would try a slightly longer jump at warp 4.
As long as the second test was also a success, then they would be on their way.
Tasha punched in the appropriate heading coordinates and activated the warp drive.
"So far, so good down here, Sir," Wesley reported from Engineering.
"Power levels are holding," Data reported.
It only took them a few minutes to reach the first rendezvous point with the Enterprise. When they dropped out of warp, they quickly went to work to run a diagnostic.
"Sullivan, report," Captain Picard said as the bridge of the Enterprise appeared on the main viewer.
"We're just about done with diagnostic Captain, but so far she's doing great," Geordi said.
"Engineering reports all systems functioning within normal parameters," Worf said as he read the data Miles had sent up from Engineering.
"And that's our confirmation. I think we're ready to open her up and see what she can really do," Geordi stated.
"Agreed. We will meet you at the second rendezvous point at 16:00 hours. Godspeed," Picard said as the Enterprise closed hailing frequencies to the Sullivan.
Tasha dialled in the next set of coordinates into the helm console.
"Coordinates set, Captain," she reported, awaiting the order.
"Engage," Geordi ordered.
The next test had gone according to plan. The Sullivan had made good time to the rendezvous point and everyone was settling into their new positions. They were on track to reach the Uhgari homeworld in a little over 52 hours. It had been a busy day and the crew were in an equally long day tomorrow as they began to work on more of the upgrades.
Geordi had ordered that they set the ship to autopilot and take a break for a debrief and dinner.
"I will remain on the bridge as I do not require nutritional sustenance," Data offered.
"Everybody will report to the meeting room," Geordi asserted.
Sure, Data didn't need dinner. But Geordi knew that Data liked the experience of being with the others.
"Understood, Captain," Data said with a small nod.
"Autopilot system is online," Tasha advised.
A few minutes later everyone had wrapped up their work at their stations and made their way to the main room beneath the bridge.
Commander Riker had taken the liberty of preparing dinner for the crew. There was no time for fixing up a replicator, so they had taken aboard ration packs for the duration of the journey.
"I hope you don't mind. I thought I'd try my hand at jazzing these rations up," Commander Riker said as the group gathered around the conference table.
"Smells great," Wesley said eagerly.
"For you, Worf," Riker said as he slid the Klingon a plate.
"Preserved Zilm'kach," Worf said as he sniffed the plate. "Thank you, Commander."
"Where do you want to start tomorrow?" Miles asked.
Geordi sat back and placed his hands behind his head as he contemplated Miles's question.
They still had to complete the hull upgrade with the material they had removed from the other ship. They would also need to start work on the sublight engine overhauls to ensure they were prepped for the obstacle portion of the race. Data's study of the race had indicated that close-quarters manoeuvring was typically included as a way to test the reactions of the crew.
"Lieutenant La Forge, I think we should look at the transporter pad tomorrow. I detected some power fluctuations when I was bringing the panels onboard. Nothing serious, but there may be a frayed power coupling," Wesley suggested.
"That's good, Wes," Geordi said.
"Well let me just say that if I've got to be stuck on this ship for the next few days, I'm awfully glad it's with you lot," Miles said as he raised his cup of coffee to the group.
"Here, here!" Riker said with a big grin.
As dinner wound down, the crew were beginning to feel the weight of the day's work. With the exception of Data, everyone was sore, and everyone was exhausted. They gathered their travel packs from the cargo bay and returned to the conference table.
"Where are the quarters?" Wesley asked as he yawned and stretched.
"On the schematic it looked like there were attached to this room, but I don't see a door. Tasha, did you spot the entrances on your security sweep?" Geordi asked.
Tasha looked up at Geordi and shared a glance with Miles. They were only two that had ever served on a Dart before. They shared a small smile.
Miles cleared his throat.
"We're in the quarters, Sir," Tasha said as she tried to keep from laughing.
Miles got up from the table and tapped the panel in the corner. Several long hatches along the wall opened revealing sleeping pods.
"I thought those were storage," Riker said with shock.
"Efficient of use of space," Worf said with classic Klingon sarcasm.
Geordi burst out laughing, clutching his side as he was overcome by the hilarity of the situation.
The pods were small and stacked two high along the wall. Three meters long and two meters wide, there was enough room for someone to read or sleep and a tiny space for storing personal belongings.
"Well Mr Crusher, would you do me the honour of being my bunkmate? Something tells me you snore lighter than Klingons," Riker asked.
"I call the top bunk," Wesley said he said as he threw his bag onto the top bunk of the sleep pod in the top right.
"I am going to return to the bridge to monitor our progress and continue the console upgrades," Data stated.
"No Data, everyone is going to get some rest and that includes you," Geordi ordered.
Given their small size and limited crew, Darts were designed with advanced autopilot systems. The close proximity of the crew sleeping pods to the bridge meant there were just a few meters away in the event of an emergency.
"The autopilot system is quite advanced," Worf explained as he slung his overnight pack onto the top bunk in the middle of the pods.
"I am going to take a walk around the ship," Data stated as he rose and approached the turbolift.
"Everyone is going to get some rest, Data. I mean it. I know you work more efficiently after you've had a few hours to slow your processing down," Geordi ordered.
"Then I shall make it a short walk," Data replied.
"Data," Geordi warned.
"Geordi I am attempting to subtly avoid the awkwardness that there are seven of us and only six sleeping pods," Data whispered to Geordi.
Geordi looked to the pods and then back at Data. His mouth formed a small 'oh.'
"Time for bed, Wesley," Riker said as he got up from the table and made his way over to his bunk.
"Commander, I was hoping to read my-" Wesley started to say but was cut off by Riker.
"Goodnight!" Riker said quickly as he shut the pod to the sound of Wesley's protests.
"I think I'll also be calling it a night," Miles said as he made his way to the bunk below Worf.
"Goodnight," Worf said as he punched their pod closed.
"I don't want to make things awkward for you two but, can we share?" Geordi suggested.
"Of course," Tasha said with a small laugh.
"I would like to make one last check on the autopilot, Geordi. I will return shortly," Data stated.
"Go ahead. But I'm timing you," Geordi said as he waved him off.
Tasha climbed into the top bunk and Geordi crawled in underneath on the lower bunk. He detached his VISOR and placed it in the personal belongings pocket built into the wall.
He was exhausted. The sleep pads weren't anything fancy, but at least they were comfortable.
Several moments later, the pod opened and Geordi felt weight on the mattress next to him. At first, he thought perhaps Data was stepping on the lower bunk to climb up, but a few seconds later it was evident someone had climbed into bed with him.
"Uh, Data?" Geordi asked.
"Yes, Geordi?" Data replied.
"What are you doing?" Geordi said incredulously.
"You ordered me to rest," Data said as he began to shut down his internal programming.
"Are you planning to sleep there?" Geordi questioned.
"If you recall, there are only six sleep pods," Data said in an effort to remind Geordi of their earlier conversation.
"So, you thought you'd climb in with me?" Geordi asked.
"Is this what human slumber parties are like?" Data inquired.
"Tasha, Data. Tasha," Geordi said with a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I do not believe there is adequate space for three of us on here," Data replied scientifically.
Geordi groaned.
"But Geordi, you ordered me-" Data stopped talking as a familiar sensation gripped his hand.
There was a little space between the pod door and the edge of the bed. Tasha had thrown her arm down over the edge of the top bunk and found Data's hand.
"Get out of my bed, Data," Geordi ordered.
"I see now. I am sorry, Geordi," Data said as he opened the pod door and climbed onto the top bunk.
He climbed in next to Tasha and she snuggled into him.
"I feel I should apologise," he said softly. "I misunderstood. My intention was not to overlook you for Geordi."
"It's fine, Data," Tasha said laughing.
"You are not angry?" Data inquired.
Tasha shook her head, still giggling.
Without warning there was a 'thump' as Geordi kicked the bunk above him.
"No giggling," Geordi said with a grin.
"I'm sorry," Tasha said as she tried to control her laughter.
"You know I do not like being in small spaces like this," Data whispered to Tasha.
She squeezed his hand in what she hoped was a reaffirming manner.
"I'm here," she replied.
"It is helping," Data told her.
Suddenly, Tasha had an idea.
"Roll over, Data," Tasha said.
"Do you not wish for me to hold you?" Data asked.
She gave him a small shove. Data decided to trust her and rolled over, so he was facing the panel.
Tasha wrapped her arm around him and snuggled up behind him.
"Computer, pod door sleep program," Tasha ordered.
Data's breath hitched as the inside of the pod door changed in appearance from the grey, metallic door to instead look as if it were a window out into the stars.
Tasha knew Data had a tough time with small spaces. She felt him relax and smiled to herself.
"Goodnight, Data," she whispered.
"Goodnight, Tasha. Thank you," he replied as he placed his hand over hers.
He began to slow his processing down to a simulated sleep as he watched the holographic scene of space. His neural net began to identify the location of the image.
"Most intriguing. This is the Elfir Dutari system," Data said, his voice full of wonder. "It has just passed the third moon of Untarren. And that is the-"
'Thump' came another kick from below.
"Go to sleep. Please," Geordi begged.