Chapter Two
The Missing Piece
'It was not in his nature to give up.'
At least that's what he'd led himself to believe during all the years as a trained officer in Starfleet. Now, he wasn't so sure. He'd started seeing things, he'd eaten something that he probably shouldn't have been eaten and the water in the lake nearby was probably upsetting his stomach in more ways than one.
'At least I am still alive,' Gabriel thought wearily as he stared at the beacon before him that had been haphazardly put together with parts from various things he'd managed to salvage in the wreckage of the stolen shuttle pod.
The man who'd been assisting him in escaping, what he'd first thought to be his sealed fate, at the mercy of a horrific version of a fellow captain called Philippa Georgiou had died almost instantly in the crash. He estimated that it all took place little over a month ago and he'd had no real hope of surviving on his own this long but obviously miracles still happened.
'Or perhaps it was a curse,' he pondered dejectedly as he felt a twinge deep down in the pit of his stomach.
He was living on borrowed time, his ship and crew were long gone, he was sure of that. Their faces haunted him at nights, their tortured screams. Especially Ensign DeFalco's who'd been tortured to death in front of the rest of the bridge crew at the hands of the Klingon boarding party.
Something had happened back there, he still pondered it at times, something that made it impossible for the Klingons to beam off the Buran and so they'd forced him to come with them, hoping to board a shuttle and bring him back as some kind of trophy. Judging by their rough handling he feared they'd leave his body on his ship and only bring his head back to their master.
Captain Gabriel Lorca refused to go down that way. There had to be a way to get them off, a way to save his ship and crew from certain doom, he just couldn't think of any at that moment. In an effort to do something he'd struck his captor with a glancing blow and narrowly escaped being incinerated by a phaser for his efforts. With a third degree burn running the full length of his thigh he made it to the transporter room on sheer willpower alone. He'd all but dragged himself up on the pad and by some twisted miracle managed to beam off the ship – or so he'd thought.
The former captain of the USS Buran laughed sardonically as he glanced down the now healed thigh. The injury wasn't visible through the thick layer of black fabric of his prison uniform but the frayed nerve ends in the scar tissue told him all was not well.
'If I had known, maybe I'd stayed behind,' he thought bitterly.
As it was he had no idea how long he'd been back or even if he was in the right universe at all. He didn't know the outcome of the war or if the war was still raging through the galaxy. For all he knew he could be picked up by the enemy, if he would be picked up at all.
Gabriel gingerly lowered himself into a homemade chair and closed his eyes. He was tired and he'd probably contracted some kind of bug of late as he felt his strengths slowly leaving him.
'So, it was all for nothing,' he mused. He'd been to hell and back only to die alone on some forlorn rock where no one would ever find him. The irony was grating on his nerves and this time he allowed himself to give in; to lose it.
Captain Lorca began to laugh and he continued to do so as the transmitter suddenly chirped. Static filled the air as the broken speaker crackled to life and a female voice came over the line. He fell silent, a chill running down his spine at first as he recognized the language the woman was speaking – it was English.
Lorca openly stared at the device in front of him, disbelief written all over his face.
"-You're operating with property of Starfleet, we've registered your distress beacon." The woman explained through the static. "Please identify yourself."
He swallowed, his mouth was dry and he hadn't really used his voice for weeks.
"This is the USS Enterprise, repeat, we've picked up your distress call. Please identify-"
He gaped in amazement, not entirely sure the message was real or if it was some sick delusion his mind had concocted. With a shaking hand he reached for the transmitter and hoped he'd managed to assemble the parts correctly. He was, after all, not a communications officer and he wasn't even good at building gadgets but he knew the basics from his extensive training. "Lorca, Gabriel," he croaked and grimaced in dismay at the sound of his hoarse voice. "Serial number SC0013-8483SHN."
OOOOOO
Number One came close to ask him to repeat but by the looks on the faces of the rest of her bridge crew it seemed they'd heard a ghost too. She nodded at her tactical officer. "Can we get a lock on him?"
"Actually, ma'am, his life-signs aren't registering through the thick atmosphere," he replied regrettably.
Una sighed. "Captain Lorca," she said over the open channel. "I must say you took me by surprise."
There was a crackle over the com channel but nothing more and for a moment she feared she'd been imagining everything. "Captain Lorca, please respond," she said and turned toward the communications expert behind her.
"I'm sorry but I can't clear away any more of the distortions," Nicola said by way of answer to her unspoken question.
"I'm still here," came the faint reply. "I'm not sure who's more surprised, you or me."
His tone was light but strained and for a moment she pictured him with a smile on his face. Suddenly afraid to lose him after actually finding the long lost captain she quickly got out of her chair and nodded toward her tactical officer. "You're with me. I'm taking a shuttle to the surface," she said resolutely.
"Commander," Lieutenant Amin, the now acting XO began carefully.
"Captain Lorca, I'm coming to get you, please give me more exact coordinates as to your location if you are able too. Something is interfering with the ship's scanners," Una said. "I don't wish to spend days trying to pinpoint you."
Gabriel Lorca, leant on a supply box he'd managed to drag out of the wreckage several miles from his present location and slowly opened his eyes, not realizing he'd closed them in the first place. "I'll do my best," he assured her.
With a longing he gazed up into the sky, a renewed hope lighting his troubled soul. He shook from a slight fever but quickly managed to send another message for the shuttle to pick up when it was inside the atmosphere. Then he gently reached into the supply box and groped at its bottom until he found what he was looking for. Gabriel broke into a large grin as his fingers closed around the scratched and bloodied Starfleet insignia that he'd managed to keep in his possession. He carefully retrieved it and sighed with relief as he sagged against the box. He turned it in his hand and stared at his name then he closed the hand around it and closed his eyes. He was finally going home.
OOOOOO
"Admiral Cornwell," one of her assistants said with a hesitant smile. "You have a long distance call. It's from the Enterprise."
Katrina frowned in confusion as she sat behind her desk with a data pad in hand. "Is something the matter?" she asked. "Last time I heard from her acting captain everything was fine."
"She refuses to tell me anything, ma'am," the young ensign replied. "She requests to speak with you urgently and in private"
Katrina was even more confused than before as she nodded absentmindedly and reluctantly put the data pad down before her. "I'll accept it," she said.
The ensign hesitated and then added cryptically. "It's an Alpha Omega message, ma'am, and it's waiting for you in the secure ready room."
The Admiral felt a chill run down her spine, Alpha Omega meant it was a message for her eyes only with high priority and the highest security clearance. Despite the assurances of her assistant she instantly knew something was wrong. It must have been some sort of incident. Katrina took a deep breath and rose from her chair. She strode out in the hallway and set a brisk pace toward the ready room.
A minute later, when her identity had been confirmed, as well as the identity of the caller, the black screen morphed into a picture of a younger woman with dark brown hair and a slightly tanned complexion that somehow matched perfectly with the stark yellow color of her uniform jacket.
"Admiral," the Lieutenant Commander said politely.
Katrina nodded. "Commander," she acknowledged, almost afraid of what was to come. They couldn't afford to lose Christopher Pike or the USS Discovery, not after everything that ship had been through.
Una appeared troubled for a moment, as if hesitant to speak.
"Is it about the Discovery or Chris?" Katrina finally asked, thinking they were unable to call themselves.
Una shook her head. "No, ma'am, it's neither. The news is quite remarkable and I dare to say; wonderful. I am sorry but there is no simple way to say this so I'll just go ahead and say it."
Katrina eagerly waited for her to continue.
"As of two hours ago the Enterprise picked up a distress beacon, not a standard issue but nevertheless Starfleet. I feared it was a trap set by the Klingons before the end of the war in an effort to lure a ship near but-"
The Admiral frowned.
"I'm hereby informing you that we've retrieved Captain Gabriel Lorca from the M-class planet next to the warp corridor leading to Starbase two. The distress beacon was very faint and didn't broadcast very far, it was only by luck that we managed to pick it up. He's alive although far from well but our CMO is fairly certain he can keep him alive until we've returned to Starbase-"
"No," Katrina said and shook her head, still not sure she'd heard the other woman correctly but if she had there was no way she would let her drop Gabriel off. "You'll bring him here, to Earth, to Starfleet Medical."
"There will be questions, Admiral," Una reasoned. "People would want to know why the Enterprise is hightailing it back to the Sol system and take up orbit around Earth, especially in her state. They'll fear an attack upon Earth is imminent. We can transfer him off ship at space dock but then we'll have to make his presence known."
Katrina sighed in frustration. "I guess you're right," she concurred. "You'll notify me when you're closing in on Starbase two and I'll take it from there. In fact, I'll do one better and meet you there, then I'll personally see to it that Gabriel is transferred back to Earth."
"I know the two of you were close, Admiral," Una said by way of apology. "I just hope you see it from my point of view."
"I do, commander," she admitted seriously. "I just wasn't prepared for the news you brought me. As a tactician I guess I should have been. However, as you said. Gabriel and I are close and I like to keep my friends close to me if I can."
OOOOOO
"He seems like such a nice guy," Tilly said cheerfully as she sat down next to Michael in the mess hall. "I mean, he's the captain of the flagship. I thought he would be stiff and stern and all military."
Michael sighed in exasperation but then shook her head and couldn't help but to smile amusedly at her friend's confusion. "Come on now, just because you're a starship captain doesn't mean you have to lose your humor and friendliness. In fact, those things are important for crew moral," she reasoned.
Tilly sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I wasn't prepared for it, that's all," she said dejectedly. "I mean, Captain Lorca wasn't really-" she caught herself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I know you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. He was the one to take you on board and all. Just ignore me, I'm babbling again."
Michael shook her head. "Tilly," she said fondly. "It's okay. Besides, I don't know Captain Lorca at all, none of us do. As far as I am concerned he was never here."
Tilly shuddered at the cold words spoken by her friend. "Gives me the creeps, you know, just the thought of him not even being from this universe."
"What gets me is the fact that no one bothered to call on his bluff," Michael mused sadly. "Yet, in a way, I suppose I am grateful to him. He did manage to get me out of the prison."
OOOOOO
To be continued