Epilogue
They were traveling back through the Badlands. The ride back, until now, had not been eventful. That was about to change.
"Oh, shit!" Hans exclaimed as he frantically started pushing buttons.
"What is it?" Dana asked as she saw a strange sight in the little screen in front of her eye.
"The little damage in our port warp nacelle in combination with the violent nature of the Badlands is causing a wormhole to form . . . correction, causing a wormhole to open. The hyper-space tube was already there," Kovar answered neutrally.
"Can you avoid it?" Dana asked as she finally recognized the round mouth of a wormhole forming, pulling nearby Badlands plasma with it. Somehow the Badlands were slowing the process of the opening wormhole.
"Plasma storms are appearing on every side. The pull of the wormhole is growing exponentially. I can't shake loose. No, Captain, we're going in," Ensign Papen answered frantically. "I suggest we brace ourselves."
The ship shook violently as it entered the wormhole. Then the ride smoothed as they entered the wormhole deeper. Wisps of plasma, without a doubt pulled inside from the Badlands, were visible in the little screens, hanging in front of Makai's and Dana's eye. The swirling tunnel of energy kept their attention away from the plasma though. It was almost painful to her eyes.
"The entrance has closed behind us," Kovar stated.
"The exit!" Dana exclaimed, "Full speed ahead. Everything this ship's got. How's the exit, Ensign Kovar?"
"Analyzing. Exit is showing signs that it is ready to collapse. Our present speed will not be enough to exit this wormhole in time," Kovar said neutrally.
"Shut everything down. Reroute everything to propulsion. Shut life support down where it isn't necessary. Reroute the crew to as little places as possible!" Dana ordered. The ship increased in speed. She could see the wormhole speeding past her faster, a little black, shrinking spot in the middle indicated the exit.
"Present speed is still not sufficient for exit," Kovar said.
Dana tapped her communicator, "Everybody strap yourselves in, and if you can't, sit against a wall, the less you can move the better off you'll be."
Everybody on the ship did what she told. One they were all strapped in, Dana tapped her console as she said, "I'm going to the lower the Inertial Dampeners. They're the only thing left and they limit speed in themselves." At first everybody looked at her stricken, then they turned back, knowing that there was no other way. The number of g-forces she allowed the ship to pull was twenty-five. The ship jumped forward and Dana felt every bone in her body crack. It was difficult to breathe. She heard screams of anguish and pain fill the room.
"Speed . . . not . . . enough," Kovar managed to croak out.
Dana increased to thirty g's. More screams of extreme pain reached her ears. She ignored them. A few seconds later, even Kovar was unconscious. Dana had to ignore the pain, not let herself slip into the welcoming embrace of darkness. Four hundred years of practical experience, and a constantly regenerating physiology were the only things that allowed her to do just that.
Then the ship plunged past the exit, and the wormhole closed behind them. Dana brought all the systems back up with difficulty, pain lancing through her body as she did so. Then she made the ship come to a halt and started transmitting a standard Federation distress signal.