Star Trek: Falcon
Light in the tower
4. Tunnel II
One moment they were cruising along the tunnel, the next Kathryn Janeway found herself knocked to the floor, momentarily blinded by a light brighter than any she'd ever seen before. Fighting to find something to grab in order to pull herself upright, she was about to kick into command mode and ask for a report when the sight of millions of tiny dots of light moving across the room stunned her. She stared like she was spellbound. She remembered telling a young ensign once that weird was part of the job. But nothing she'd ever seen, not even during her seven years in the Delta Quadrant, was as strange as this.
"Report!"
The sound of Will Riker's voice brought her back to the present. She wasn't the captain, this wasn't Voyager, and they weren't in the Delta Quadrant. She was an admiral, merely an observer and an advisor on board the Falcon. Suddenly she was glad she hadn't shouted that order for a report â€" this wasn't her ship. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and waited for the answer to Captain Riker's request.
"Sir," Ensign Lee said, his voice shaking slightly.
"What is it, Ensign?" Riker demanded.
"Whatever that was, it knocked us off course just like the Paris' were knocked off course. We're heading for the Delta Quadrant. And sir..."
"What is it Lee? Don't make me guess." Riker sounded impatient.
Ensign Lee hesitated, rechecking his readings. "We're accelerating."
"What?"
"We're accelerating. If we don't find a way to slow down, we'll fly right past the Delta Quadrant. We'll be thrown out of the galaxy."
Janeway felt cold fear grip her like a giant icy hand squeezing her soul. She could hardly remember the last time she had felt like this. During the ordeals in the Delta Quadrant she'd rarely been afraid, and she realized that it wasn't the prospect of being thrown even further away that was frightening her. It was the fact that she wasn't in control. She wasn't the captain. Oh, she relied in Riker's capability, that wasn't the issue. She just wasn't in control. Deciding to ask for a demotion when she got back, she stepped forward; if she couldn't be the captain, she could at least do her best to help the captain. "Any idea why, Ensign Lee?" she asked the rattled ensign as calmly as she could.
"No, ma'am. But I think that whatever pushed us off course is pushing at us now, thus making us pick up speed."
"Thank you, Ensign," she said and directed her gaze at Riker. "It seems to me this isn't a stationary obstacle, but a stream of some kind," she said.
Shelby picked up on her thoughts. "If we try to navigate out towards the edge of the stream, we might decelerate."
"You heard that, Ensign Chara?" Riker asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Hard aport, Ensign. Full power."
"Aye sir."
To be continued...
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annika@ebox.tninet.se
www.twentysevenandfortyone.cjb.net
Light in the tower
4. Tunnel II
One moment they were cruising along the tunnel, the next Kathryn Janeway found herself knocked to the floor, momentarily blinded by a light brighter than any she'd ever seen before. Fighting to find something to grab in order to pull herself upright, she was about to kick into command mode and ask for a report when the sight of millions of tiny dots of light moving across the room stunned her. She stared like she was spellbound. She remembered telling a young ensign once that weird was part of the job. But nothing she'd ever seen, not even during her seven years in the Delta Quadrant, was as strange as this.
"Report!"
The sound of Will Riker's voice brought her back to the present. She wasn't the captain, this wasn't Voyager, and they weren't in the Delta Quadrant. She was an admiral, merely an observer and an advisor on board the Falcon. Suddenly she was glad she hadn't shouted that order for a report â€" this wasn't her ship. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and waited for the answer to Captain Riker's request.
"Sir," Ensign Lee said, his voice shaking slightly.
"What is it, Ensign?" Riker demanded.
"Whatever that was, it knocked us off course just like the Paris' were knocked off course. We're heading for the Delta Quadrant. And sir..."
"What is it Lee? Don't make me guess." Riker sounded impatient.
Ensign Lee hesitated, rechecking his readings. "We're accelerating."
"What?"
"We're accelerating. If we don't find a way to slow down, we'll fly right past the Delta Quadrant. We'll be thrown out of the galaxy."
Janeway felt cold fear grip her like a giant icy hand squeezing her soul. She could hardly remember the last time she had felt like this. During the ordeals in the Delta Quadrant she'd rarely been afraid, and she realized that it wasn't the prospect of being thrown even further away that was frightening her. It was the fact that she wasn't in control. She wasn't the captain. Oh, she relied in Riker's capability, that wasn't the issue. She just wasn't in control. Deciding to ask for a demotion when she got back, she stepped forward; if she couldn't be the captain, she could at least do her best to help the captain. "Any idea why, Ensign Lee?" she asked the rattled ensign as calmly as she could.
"No, ma'am. But I think that whatever pushed us off course is pushing at us now, thus making us pick up speed."
"Thank you, Ensign," she said and directed her gaze at Riker. "It seems to me this isn't a stationary obstacle, but a stream of some kind," she said.
Shelby picked up on her thoughts. "If we try to navigate out towards the edge of the stream, we might decelerate."
"You heard that, Ensign Chara?" Riker asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Hard aport, Ensign. Full power."
"Aye sir."
To be continued...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
annika@ebox.tninet.se
www.twentysevenandfortyone.cjb.net