Captain Archer came up behind Ensign Hoshi Sato with a distinct purpose in
mind. In the mystery of her origins on the planet and her odd behavior in
sickbay he had forgotten she had given them a vital piece of information.
Her name.
"Hoshi," he said softly and leaned on the consol as he waited for her to turn around.
"Yes captain?"
"I want you to drop what you're doing right now. I have an assignment for you and I want you to make it top priority."
She turned completely away from her screen and gave him her full attention. "Yes sir."
"I want you to find out every thing there is to know on a Maggie Claims. Check under Margaret as well if you have to and match her description to the appearance of our guest in sickbay. I want to be made aware the minute you find anything."
"Yes sir." She turned back to her screen and immediately started to search the database available on the ship.
Satisfied that that part of the mystery was in capable hands, Archer nodded and walked over to where T'pol was bent over her viewer.
"Have we found any clue as to how she got there, T'pol"?
T'pol turned around with the stately square of her shoulders and faced the captain with a raised eyebrow, almost the most expressive feature she had.
"No sir. I have yet to detect any other life forms or structures of any kind either on or under the surface of any of the planets of this system. Her origins remain a puzzle."
"Well keep on it, keep me posted."
T'pol merely nodded and returned her attention back to her viewer, as if she had never been disturbed in the first place.
Maggie again woke up dazed. She remembered waking before and conversing with the new captain on the base. She still wondered why he would be called away form a navel position to oversee a low-key government research installation.
Most importantly though, she remembered how she could complete her engine. It was all in the numbers. And rightly so, she was an engineer not a mathematician. But Ethan on sublevel 6 was a mathematician. All she had to do was run her formulas and calculations by him and surely he could pick out the flaws. If that was the case, as she was certain it was, she could have a working prototype in under a month. Assembly would be a piece of cake.
She had to get back to her office and collect her numbers. Maybe Ethan was still here. If so he might be able to start on the numbers tonight, today? How long had she been asleep? She had to get out of this medical ward.
She sat up and hung her feet over the side. It really was a beautiful facility. So clean and sterile, but it still had a welcoming feeling, like it wouldn't be the end of the world to have to spend some time there sick.
She looked around for the doctor wondering where he could have gotten off to. Maybe she could sneak out and no one would notice. It would save her time that was certain, she just knew the new doctor would bring back that captain, who would ask questions about her engine and when her next update would be. Then there would be the inevitable hollow threats about discontinued funding if no results were had. She had heard it all before, there was really no reason to stick around and hear it again.
She put her feet gingerly on the floor, testing her seaworthiness. The wooziness seemed to be completely gone, and the floor was surprisingly warm. She scanned the shelves again hopping to see a sign of her clothes. She saw what looked like glass drawers in one wall and, opening the top one, found it full of towels. The second one had some kind of absorbent pads in it. It wasn't until the third that she hit pay dirt. There, folded nearly and pressed, were her slacks, shirt, and coat. She took off the tee shirt and shorts she was wearing and quickly put on her own clothes. She found her comfortable tennis shoes in the fourth drawer and put those on too before she tiptoed to the glass doors with the medical seal on them.
Just like the government, she thought, spend hundreds of dollars on fancy glass doors but can't afford air-conditioning in the personal quarters, gotta love um.
The doors opened on their own as she approached, showing where even more of the funds had gone. The hallway beyond it was another thing to be impressed about. They must have finished the new sublevel. What was it again? 10 or 11 or something like that, she never went past 6 if she could help it. Something about being that far underground always made her nervous.
The hall outside was unsurprisingly empty. They couldn't have that many working in so new a site anyway.
She spotted an elevator at the end of the hall and headed towards it. No wonder every one wanted to be located on these new floors, they had even covered the walls so you couldn't see the depressing concrete slabs. She couldn't help but run her hands along the walls as she made her way to the large metal elevator door.
There was a white summons button beside it; she pressed it, realizing she must be on the last floor because there wasn't a choice of up or down. The doors opened almost immediately and she stepped inside without hesitation before they closed.
There were labels inside like she had never seen before. She was beginning to think this lift might not take her to her section. There was one labeled engineering section, and since it didn't have a restricted personal sticker next to it, like she was used to seeing when she wasn't allowed somewhere, she pushed it and let her curiosity win. She was dieing to know what other engineering projects had been set up besides hers and the weapons development one on sublevel four that Stephen Jolenoria ran. Maybe they would appreciate her ideas there. Why she was put in the wing she currently inhabited was beyond her. She was an engineer but they treated her like a hopeless dreamer intent on discovering a way to walk through walls.
Maybe she'd apply for a transfer out of the Looney bin, as sublevel two was none to affectionately called, once she got her prototype up and running.
The doors opened to another hallway much like the last with a door the other end. She could tell by the noise level there had to be a sizable engine on the other side of it. She looked around carefully for any restricted access signs. She refused to be arrested for curiosity. To her amazement there didn't seem to be any. She slowly approached the door and put her hand on it. She could feel the vibrations through the metal. She had to see what was on the other side. She had to.
She pushed the button beside them and the doors opened.
There was noise and movement everywhere. People on their way to do things and tweak things, vibrations from this component and sparks from that transponder. Lights blinked and throbbed on workstations. There was movement and sound and lights everywhere.
And it was her engine.
Her baby blown up several times and working like a well oiled machine. They had stolen her idea. Obviously they had no problem with numbers at all.
She found herself sliding down the wall till she was sitting on the floor.
"It works. It's working. Its not mine anymore." She didn't even realize she was talking to herself.
"I missed it. I didn't get to see. They took it. How could they?" she didn't even notice she had tears running down her face.
Chief Engineer Tucker, Trip to his friends, looked toward were ensign Goldman was pointing and saw the woman sitting on the floor talking to herself.
"Get on the horn and let the captain know we've found his runaway." As Goldman walked off to put the captains worst fears to rest, Trip cautiously started toward the woman. This was not going to be fun, if the look on her face was any indication, she was anything but happy.
"Mame, are you ok?" he said softly as he crouched down in front of her. "Can I help you back to sickbay?" she was looking right over his shoulder at the engines mumbling under her breath.
"How could they? It was mine. Mine to find, and mine to build. Its so beautiful." She didn't even look at him.
"Are you ok?" He asked, a little more firmly. This time he reached out to touch her shoulder. She finally looked him in the eyes.
"I'm useless now. Everyone will already know. No one will care how close I was. I was so close." She had tears streaming down her cheeks as she searched his eyes for some kind of answer.
"I really don't understand. But I seriously doubt your useless." He tried to smile but she looked like someone who just had her world crumble around her ears.
"Here let me help you out of here, ok?" he started to help her to stand up.
"How did you achieve containment, was it the anti-matter reaction that gives thrust, you need naseels didn't you, to house the trust, away from the body, I was right, naseels were needed right?"
He just stared at her for a second. "Yes we use naseels, everyone dos." He was more then a little puzzled as to why this made her break in to even more tears.
"Everyone. How many?"
How many what, he thought. He was still trying to decide exactly how to answer that when the captain followed by Ensign Sato entered engineering.
TO BE CONTINUED…
"Hoshi," he said softly and leaned on the consol as he waited for her to turn around.
"Yes captain?"
"I want you to drop what you're doing right now. I have an assignment for you and I want you to make it top priority."
She turned completely away from her screen and gave him her full attention. "Yes sir."
"I want you to find out every thing there is to know on a Maggie Claims. Check under Margaret as well if you have to and match her description to the appearance of our guest in sickbay. I want to be made aware the minute you find anything."
"Yes sir." She turned back to her screen and immediately started to search the database available on the ship.
Satisfied that that part of the mystery was in capable hands, Archer nodded and walked over to where T'pol was bent over her viewer.
"Have we found any clue as to how she got there, T'pol"?
T'pol turned around with the stately square of her shoulders and faced the captain with a raised eyebrow, almost the most expressive feature she had.
"No sir. I have yet to detect any other life forms or structures of any kind either on or under the surface of any of the planets of this system. Her origins remain a puzzle."
"Well keep on it, keep me posted."
T'pol merely nodded and returned her attention back to her viewer, as if she had never been disturbed in the first place.
Maggie again woke up dazed. She remembered waking before and conversing with the new captain on the base. She still wondered why he would be called away form a navel position to oversee a low-key government research installation.
Most importantly though, she remembered how she could complete her engine. It was all in the numbers. And rightly so, she was an engineer not a mathematician. But Ethan on sublevel 6 was a mathematician. All she had to do was run her formulas and calculations by him and surely he could pick out the flaws. If that was the case, as she was certain it was, she could have a working prototype in under a month. Assembly would be a piece of cake.
She had to get back to her office and collect her numbers. Maybe Ethan was still here. If so he might be able to start on the numbers tonight, today? How long had she been asleep? She had to get out of this medical ward.
She sat up and hung her feet over the side. It really was a beautiful facility. So clean and sterile, but it still had a welcoming feeling, like it wouldn't be the end of the world to have to spend some time there sick.
She looked around for the doctor wondering where he could have gotten off to. Maybe she could sneak out and no one would notice. It would save her time that was certain, she just knew the new doctor would bring back that captain, who would ask questions about her engine and when her next update would be. Then there would be the inevitable hollow threats about discontinued funding if no results were had. She had heard it all before, there was really no reason to stick around and hear it again.
She put her feet gingerly on the floor, testing her seaworthiness. The wooziness seemed to be completely gone, and the floor was surprisingly warm. She scanned the shelves again hopping to see a sign of her clothes. She saw what looked like glass drawers in one wall and, opening the top one, found it full of towels. The second one had some kind of absorbent pads in it. It wasn't until the third that she hit pay dirt. There, folded nearly and pressed, were her slacks, shirt, and coat. She took off the tee shirt and shorts she was wearing and quickly put on her own clothes. She found her comfortable tennis shoes in the fourth drawer and put those on too before she tiptoed to the glass doors with the medical seal on them.
Just like the government, she thought, spend hundreds of dollars on fancy glass doors but can't afford air-conditioning in the personal quarters, gotta love um.
The doors opened on their own as she approached, showing where even more of the funds had gone. The hallway beyond it was another thing to be impressed about. They must have finished the new sublevel. What was it again? 10 or 11 or something like that, she never went past 6 if she could help it. Something about being that far underground always made her nervous.
The hall outside was unsurprisingly empty. They couldn't have that many working in so new a site anyway.
She spotted an elevator at the end of the hall and headed towards it. No wonder every one wanted to be located on these new floors, they had even covered the walls so you couldn't see the depressing concrete slabs. She couldn't help but run her hands along the walls as she made her way to the large metal elevator door.
There was a white summons button beside it; she pressed it, realizing she must be on the last floor because there wasn't a choice of up or down. The doors opened almost immediately and she stepped inside without hesitation before they closed.
There were labels inside like she had never seen before. She was beginning to think this lift might not take her to her section. There was one labeled engineering section, and since it didn't have a restricted personal sticker next to it, like she was used to seeing when she wasn't allowed somewhere, she pushed it and let her curiosity win. She was dieing to know what other engineering projects had been set up besides hers and the weapons development one on sublevel four that Stephen Jolenoria ran. Maybe they would appreciate her ideas there. Why she was put in the wing she currently inhabited was beyond her. She was an engineer but they treated her like a hopeless dreamer intent on discovering a way to walk through walls.
Maybe she'd apply for a transfer out of the Looney bin, as sublevel two was none to affectionately called, once she got her prototype up and running.
The doors opened to another hallway much like the last with a door the other end. She could tell by the noise level there had to be a sizable engine on the other side of it. She looked around carefully for any restricted access signs. She refused to be arrested for curiosity. To her amazement there didn't seem to be any. She slowly approached the door and put her hand on it. She could feel the vibrations through the metal. She had to see what was on the other side. She had to.
She pushed the button beside them and the doors opened.
There was noise and movement everywhere. People on their way to do things and tweak things, vibrations from this component and sparks from that transponder. Lights blinked and throbbed on workstations. There was movement and sound and lights everywhere.
And it was her engine.
Her baby blown up several times and working like a well oiled machine. They had stolen her idea. Obviously they had no problem with numbers at all.
She found herself sliding down the wall till she was sitting on the floor.
"It works. It's working. Its not mine anymore." She didn't even realize she was talking to herself.
"I missed it. I didn't get to see. They took it. How could they?" she didn't even notice she had tears running down her face.
Chief Engineer Tucker, Trip to his friends, looked toward were ensign Goldman was pointing and saw the woman sitting on the floor talking to herself.
"Get on the horn and let the captain know we've found his runaway." As Goldman walked off to put the captains worst fears to rest, Trip cautiously started toward the woman. This was not going to be fun, if the look on her face was any indication, she was anything but happy.
"Mame, are you ok?" he said softly as he crouched down in front of her. "Can I help you back to sickbay?" she was looking right over his shoulder at the engines mumbling under her breath.
"How could they? It was mine. Mine to find, and mine to build. Its so beautiful." She didn't even look at him.
"Are you ok?" He asked, a little more firmly. This time he reached out to touch her shoulder. She finally looked him in the eyes.
"I'm useless now. Everyone will already know. No one will care how close I was. I was so close." She had tears streaming down her cheeks as she searched his eyes for some kind of answer.
"I really don't understand. But I seriously doubt your useless." He tried to smile but she looked like someone who just had her world crumble around her ears.
"Here let me help you out of here, ok?" he started to help her to stand up.
"How did you achieve containment, was it the anti-matter reaction that gives thrust, you need naseels didn't you, to house the trust, away from the body, I was right, naseels were needed right?"
He just stared at her for a second. "Yes we use naseels, everyone dos." He was more then a little puzzled as to why this made her break in to even more tears.
"Everyone. How many?"
How many what, he thought. He was still trying to decide exactly how to answer that when the captain followed by Ensign Sato entered engineering.
TO BE CONTINUED…
