Chapter III

[An old Bajoran freighter rushes towards earth. Two Star Fleet fighters take escort position next to her.]

[Speaker] : Bajoran freighter, this is star base 001. Please transfer your registration code, identify yourself and state the nature of your mission. Keep your shields uncharged so we can perform a scan on you.

[Bajoran freighter] : This is the Bajoran freighter X70. We are going to purchase agricultural equipment in Asia.

[Star base] : X70, your registration has been confirmed, your are free to beam the goods on board.

[Bajoran freighter] : There is just one problem, we don't have transporters on board. We will have to send a shuttle to the surface.

[Star base] : Please undock the shuttle so we can scan it.

[B. freighter] : Acknowledged.

[The belly of the freighter opens and a stout transport shuttle appears.]

[After a while. Star base] : Everything's fine. The shuttle has landing permission.

[B. freighter] : Thank you!

[The fighters veer off while the shuttle plunges into the atmosphere. The air molecules begin to heat up its belly. Soon the shuttle is within a fire ball. But just above the shuttle there seems to be another object which is also hit by the atmosphere. Yet we can't see what is replacing the air in this case. The shuttle has reduced to a low speed. The eastern coastline of Asia becomes visible. The shuttle heads toward it while the invisible object, which nevertheless causes the air around it to wobble, veers off to the east towards the Pacific.]

[The Hawaii islands become visible. The camera rushes downwards and continue its approach towards the islands just above the water. Something like a wind seems to disturb the smooth surface. A wave jumps up and splashes over an object just above the water, looking like a shuttle made of the most transparent glass. It reaches the beach and seems to stop. Then suddenly doors open out of nowhere. Professor Thompson steps out onto the sand. The doors shut again and disappear. Thompson glances back. Then she marches towards a huge complex in the distance.]

[Professor Thompson walks towards the guards standing next to the entrance of the research complex.]

[Guard smiling] : Morning, Ms. Thompson. I have seen you walk all your way up here. Are the shuttles damaged?

[Thompson smiling back] : No, I thought I could have a walk, a bit of exercise, pointing to her vast waist.

[Guard] : I personally think you look beautiful today!

[Thompson walking into the weapon detection gate] : Ha! Don't try to seduce a 50 year old lady!

[Guard chuckles] : You are clear! Have a good day!

[Thompson] : The same to you!

[Thompson walks into the entrance hall glances around and looks down at her palm. A holographic screen appears showing a map and a long red arrow running through the corridors. Thompson walks heavily towards a turbo lift and steps into it together with two other scientists.

[Scientist 1] : Morning Ms. Thompson!

[Thompson] : Morning.

[Scientist 1 to scientist 2] : Is it true that the USS Voyager had technology from the future on board that actually helped her to get home so quickly?

[S2] : Yes, but Starfleet has destroyed everything. It would be against the primary directive if we use it or do any research on it.

[S1] : Oh, I bet the Romulans would do it, if they had the same chance. What do you think, Ms. Thompson?

[Thomson behind them caught by surprise] : Oh yes, I think so too.

[The door opens the two scientists step out. Thompson stays inside for several more floors. Finally, she steps out into a deserted corridor. She looks on her palm and turns right towards an iron gate.]

[A guard is sitting behind a force field and watching her] : Good morning, Ms. Thompson, please, type in the access code.

[Thompson types in the codes and closes her eyes. But the doors do open. She steps into the first chamber and walks towards the door in front of her. She looks with her right eye into a tube and positions her hand right over the fingerprint scanner but doesn't really dare to touch it.]

[Thompson clears her throat and says in a faint voice] : Professor Anna Thompson, specialist in the department of quantum singularity.

[Seconds pass, nothing happens. Then the computer responds] : Reading error, please restart identification.

[Guard] : You have to put your hand tightly to the console, concentrate your eye on the red light in the scanning tube and speak loudly and clearly. Relax, the computer won't kill you.

[Thompson looks at him through thick window on the her right uncertainly] : Oh, I hate technique. I get goose-pimples every time I have to deal with them.

[Guard] : You cannot live without them in the 24th century! Please, try again!

[Thompson does as the guard says. Her fingers only barely touch the console.]

[She speaks in a clear voice] : Professor Anna Thompson, specialist in the department of quantum singularity.

[After a while the computer responds] : Identity confirmed.

[Thompson sighs silently out of relief.]

[Guard] : It wasn't that bad, was it? Now we come to the question you gave me last time. What's your brother's nickname?

[Thompson] : Seby . Oh, no, eh . Seby is our dog. It is of course Jackass.

[Guard] : Right!

[The door opens. Thompson steps into the blue lit sterilization chamber. She picks up the oxygen mask from the wall] : Ready!

[Gas floods the chamber for a minute.]

[Guard] : Ok, Ms. Thompson. That's it! Have good day!

[The door opens and Thompson steps into the office. A man comes rushing towards her.]

[Man] : Anna, I thought you would be on holiday?!

[Thompson] : Yes, but I something urgent happened. So I have something important to deal with. I tell you later.

[The man nods and goes back to his work.]

[Thompson activates a chronometer on her palm. It's 11:59:24. Then a list of work shifts is activated. Next shift Mr. Garcia 12:00:00. She turns towards a heavy security two door and hits a panel. The door slowly splits into two parts and back again after Thompson has entered. The long corridor like chamber is a bit gloomy only lit by dimly reddish lights behind the wall panels.]

[Thompson types somewhere on her sleeve. Her whole body dissolves into numerous bright points and fades. Instead of the stout Professor Thompson we now see a very slim Ro Laren who has nothing in common with the scientist but her gender and her vertical size. She wears a tight hood which has only a slit over her eyes. The headset from the previous scene is adjusted around her head. Apart from that she wears a tight black jumpsuit with dozens of cables slung around her body, which all end up after several joining points in a flat rucksack on her back, possibly a generator or energy cell. She checks her chronometer 11:59:45.]

[Computer voice] : Hello, please be patient. The scanning process will start soon.

[Ro to herself] : 40 seconds. The guy has to turn up at 12:00:25 at the latest. They always say that punctuality is a common virtue inside the Federation, didn't they?

[In the staff office Mr. Garcia swallows the last chunk of his doughnut, gets up from his desk and walks towards the door, leading to the research labs. Suddenly he puts his hand to his bud, contorts his face then looks at his watch. He turns around and heads for the toilet.]

[Ro checks her chronometer. 12.00.15. She looks anxious at the doors, then finally walks to towards it. But the door doesn't open. She looks for a opening panel. But there is nothing. She checks the time again. 12:00:24, 12:00:25.]

[Computer voice] : Thank you for your patience. The scanning process starts now, please try not to move.

[A humming voice fills the chamber and seems to approach Ro. She activates her spectrometer goggle over her right eye. The device runs through different optical frequencies. Nothing to see. The humming becomes louder. Then suddenly she sees a fine deep red horizontal beam one meter above the floor rushing towards her. She ducks. The scanning beam misses her head by inches. A humming sound from behind. She jumps aside. A vertical and a second horizontal beam have flashed up just there where she stood a second before. Ro jumps over the horizontal beam. But the vertical beam reverses its course and moves towards Ro's new position. She looks down at her boots standing on the floor. The floor must also have sensors detecting weight. She activates her tractor beam emitters in her palms and under her boots then pulls herself up to ceiling just as the first scanning beam returns from the opposite wall for another try.]

[Computer voice] : Sir, please stand still during the scanning process!

[More scanning beams appear. They seem to operate in a search pattern. Four horizontal beams now move in different heights along the wall accompanied by four vertical beams. Ro dodges them acrobatically. She pulls herself up to ceiling and spreads out her legs. The first horizontal beam flashes past below her then the second one. Ro fasten her legs via tractor beam to the walls and turns her body upside down. The upper horizontal beams rush past. The vertical beams now follow one after another. Ro suspends herself on the ceiling again and works her way through them like a chimp.]

[Suddenly a horizontal beam appears out of nowhere and runs though her tractor beams which still attach her to the roof. This seems to cause some interference. The T-beams flicker and she falls hard to the floor. She quickly rolls to the right as several vertical beams shoot out of the floor just there where she lay. She climbs up the wall again.]

[Now four diagonal rays come storming from the one end to the other end of the corridor shaped chamber, swooshing back and forth right-angled to the length of the room, forming a rectangle in mid air, which becomes bigger and smaller. Ro darts to the other end of the corridor and awaits the beams. She fastens her feet to the wall and watches the rectangle changing its size. Then she reverses the polarity of her tractor beam emitters, which catapults her away towards the beams. She stretches out her body to its full length and crosses through the rectangle just as it reaches its maximal size like a circus lion jumping through the fire ring. Then she twists her body around her longitudinal axis in midair, pushes up her arms towards the ceiling and reactivates her palm tractor beams again.]

[But no pause is granted her. Now dozens of beams appear from the left end of the corridor which together appear to be a combination of all scanning algorithms that have appeared until now. Ro grits her teeth puts all her acrobatic abilities into quick series of movements. She doesn't know how she did it herself, but she passes in the end. But before she could take a breath another group of beams appear, forming a dense stitch coming towards her, which no place to jump through.]

[At this moment the door opens and Mr. Garcia steps into the chamber. The beams disengage.]

[Computer voice] : Hello, Sir. The scanning process starts now, please try not to move.

[Garcia surprised] : Oh, no endless waiting session today?

[Garcia's eyes turn into different directions as he is being scanned but sees nobody.]

[Computer voice] : Thank you, Mr. Garcia, have a nice day.

[The security one door opens. Ro disengages her holographic emitters and reappears on the monochromatic ceiling of the chamber. She follows Mr. Garcia out still not daring to touch the ground. Garcia has the feeling to be followed and turns around only to see Ms. Thompson next to him.]

[Garcia jumps up] : Ho! Anna, you have given me quite a fright! From where did you turn up?

[Ro] : What do you mean? I have just turned around the corner!

[Garcia] : Oh, forget it! See you later!

[Ro makes her way to her mission objective, a door with the description
"Special Technology
Research"
Current Project:
"USS Voyager" on it. She steps into a big hall filled with scientist doing unfinished experiments and mainframes calculating simulations. A extra proportional window at the other end of the hall reveals an Intrepid class ship about 300 meters long in a "dry dock". Ro rechecks her navigator and moves to an inconspicuous terminal in one the corners. She plugs a light fiber cable into a slot and begins the download. Compared to all sections of her mission until now the most crucial part is actually the most uneventful. The scientists are so occupied with their work that nobody bothered her. Obviously they haven't come very far with their project yet. After 10 minutes Ro walks towards the exit door that leads you out into the staff office. Ro steps a bit cheerfully and carelessly into the staff room and is on her way to the lifts as suddenly the man she has talked to this morning clutches around her right shoulder.]

[Man] : Hey, Anna, you still haven't told me. [Then he realizes that his fingers have disappeared inside Thompson's shoulder. He stands thunderstruck.]

[Ro stares at him for a second. Then quickly adds]: Astonished, eh? We are . we are juuust working on. this is a new part of one of our projects. You know! I'll explain later. Ehm, still have work to do!

[She smiles at the man and takes his hand away which he had still on her shoulder with the same perplexed look. Ro moves towards the exit with random looks at the bewildered scientist. She marches more and more quickly, breaking into a run. She rushes through the security corridors. There are still no alarms. But the guy didn't look convinced of her flimsy, badly prepared cover story.]

[The guard shouting at the running Ro Laren, who has just cleared the last door] : Ms. Thompson, before you leave, you still have to think up the question I have to ask you next time!

[Ro shouting back between gasps] : My dog's name is Justin.

[She dashes for the lift. Still no alarm. Unfortunately the lift is a bit jammed. She stands gasping in the middle of the crowd. The people around her don't see the sweat under the photon layer of the holographic emitters which has soaked her jumpsuit. She sneaks a suspicious look at the persons on both sides. But no one really seems to care.]

[A low computer voice rings in her right ear.] : Main energy cell at 50%.

[A digit counter on the wall, displaying the floor levels] : -40, -39, .

[Suddenly the lift abruptly stops. The passengers frown curiously.]

[The computer voice of the complex] : Warning! Intruder alert! All clerks and scientists please stay in your offices until the alarm has been cleared! All hands from the security department to their stations! The target is Ms. Thompson. . Warning! Intruder alert! [The people in the lift stare at the person who looks like Thompson, who suddenly transforms into a scrawny young woman. With a thrust from her tractor beam emitter Ro bangs the emergency hatch above her open and pulls herself out of the lift, from which now several hand protrude in an attempt to snatch her.

[Passenger1] : She must be a changeling.

[Passenger2] : Quick, don't let her escape.

[Ro has reached the rescue ladder which runs all the way through the turbo lift tube. As soon as she steps away from the cabin's ceiling a force field activates around it. She quickly climbs up the ladder. But there are still about 30 floors above her. -29, ..-28, ..-27, ..-26. Now the force fields of each floor beneath her are activated in swift procession. -30,-29, -28, . She will never make it in time. Ro reaches out towards the blackness above her and activates her right hand tractor beam emitter. Its blue light soars up into the air. It lightens the tube and gives one an impression of its immense length. A display on her arm "tractor beam efficiency" quickly drops to 20%. Like a bucket in a well, Ro is now being pulled up, but relatively slowly due to the low efficiency of the beam. The force fields activation sequence follows in quick pursuit. She activates her left arm beam as well with little improvement. -10, -9, -8, -7, .]

[We are in front of a closed lift with a -2 drawn on it. Suddenly the doors begin to bend before it bursts open into pieces. Ro jumps outside. The next instant force fields pop up behind her blocking the turbo lift. She steps into a very spacious room which looks like a storage facility. Many containers are piled up orderly in long rows, creating dozens of ramified corridors. Others are stored on platforms above. Several transporter pads are installed into the walls of the hall. Ro hopefully checks the consoles adjacent to one of the transporter pads.]

[At this moment the opening of gates can be heard. A dozen security officers storm into the hall and encircle Ro from all sides, but without noticing her yet with so many containers blocking their sight. She goes into cover.]

[Chief] : Set phasers to heavy stun. Sure she is here?

[Security officer 1] : Yes, sir, the turbo lift leads this way!

[Chief] : What are the scanners saying? Any life signs?

[Security officer 2] : Negative. She could be hiding in one of the containers. They are made of materials which are supposed to block scanning.

[Chief] : Search everywhere.

[Chief shouting] : Ms. Thompson or whoever you are! Please, for your interest, surrender! Nothing will happen to you. You cannot escape the complex. All exits are blocked by force fields and as you possibly know, beaming is impossible on this island within a radius of 200 hundred kilometers.

[The officers begin to search systematically through the labyrinth of containers.] [Ro sits in one of them, not giving the slightest noise. The sound of approaching boots and the opening of containers can be heard outside. An old sensation suddenly grasps her. A small girl hiding in the undergrowth flashes through her mind. She wraps her arms around her breast, shutting her eyes and trying to push the memories back into "the most distant shelf of her brain".]

[An officer has come to the end of a section and examines some of the last black boxes. He opens one cautiously and peers in with his phaser stretched out in front of him. It's empty. In this instant something solid hits his head and he sinks down unconscious.]

[Two other officers walk almost next to each other in two adjacent "corridors". They try to keep eye contact through the random gaps in the container wall.]

[Officer 1] : How could she shut down the entire sensor network in the station? I have told them that the security measures are insufficient. Any changeling could walk in here undetected!

[Officer 2's voice behind containers] : And if anything happens, it's our fault!

[Officer 1] : Have I told you that in two weeks I will be assigned to star base 001? Martha thinks it's only because I want to skip looking after the kids.

[Officer 2] : Gosh, you are lucky! I thought.mm..

[Officer 1] : Yeah, what? Jack?

[Officer 1 turns around the corner and peers into the corridor his colleague was examining. It is deserted. He looks all around himself. No one to see. Suddenly two tractor beams flash up from behind and he's pulled of his feet.]

[The chief walks slowly through the container rows, examining everything thoroughly. Suddenly he frowns and turns around. Nobody to see. He continues his search. Behind him a figure which bears the same dark gray color of the monochrome floor emerges and cautiously crawls up to its prey. The figure stretches out its hand and with a soft movement grasps the hand phaser in the chief's pocket. Ro deactivates her holoemitters and pulls the trigger.] [Phaser] : Finger print unknown.

[The chief whirls quickly around and first stands rooted to the spot. Then he shoots on the suddenly appeared infiltrator. Ro's T-emitters makes her jump quickly over left container wall. But she gets hit after all into her backpack.]

[Computer voice in her ear] : Holographic emitters offline. Energy level down to 15%.

[Chief] : I have found her. All hands to my position!

[Ro runs blindly through the corridors while the officers approach from all different directions. Soon two of them intercept her behind a corner, aiming at her. Ro does a sweeping somersault backwards, evading the shots. Her T-emitters under the feet cling to the officers' torsos and the next second, the two find themselves being throw through the air. The next instant strong arms wrap around Ro's body. She frees herself by ramming her elbow into the opponent behind, then parades an incoming fist from him with her left arm. At the same time she thrusts her right palm T-emitter into his chest, which catapults the guy away like a bullet. Several phaser shots streak over Ro's head, which force her to duck and jump aside. As she lies on the floor another officer tries to jump onto her. Ro's right foot T- emitter hits the man in midair and he is kicked into a pile of containers. This causes a domino effect in the container rows. Everything around seems to fall apart into chaos, accompanied by a roaring crashing and banging. Several officers are buried under dozens of fortunately empty containers. There's general confusion.]

[Ro uses the chance to get back to the transporter consoles. But before she can make any proper adjustments, she's against under fire. She has no choice but jumping into one of the transporters. Immediately, she rematerializes in another room, also equipped with several transporters. This time it is more like a lab. Tables, strange instruments. But she has no time, three security team members have catched up. She douses their fire and swooshes behind a table. Without their chief the guys don't seem to be too concerned, what they are hitting as tubes and other instruments break into dozens of glass splinters. Ro seizes with her right foot emitter a huge brightly glowing sphere, whirls wildly around to give her big bullet more momentum and throws it towards the security team. The sphere breaks apart and the energy within discharges on the three victims. But instead of pulverized or something the three shrink to the size of mice. The little men look at each other and suddenly scream horribly in a high pitched voice.]

[More security officers now rush into the room. Ro quickly walks onto another transporter pad with the hunters in close pursuit. Now quite a ridiculous procedure unfolds. The Bajoran crosses all kinds of different rooms, running blindly towards another transporter pad every time she materializes. After a while the Starfleet men seem to be as confused as she is, shooting randomly at the transporters whenever there seems to be activity in there. Several officers get knocked out under friendly fire.]

[Chief] : Deactivate the transporters!

[A Vulcan officer typing a console] : They do not respond. One of our man must have accidentally hit some crucial system with his phaser. I will have to get to the main generator to shut off the system.

[Chief] : Then do it!

[Officer] : But there is just one problem!

[Chief] : What?

[Officer] : The deactivation may influence other systems.

[Chief] : Damned! I am tired of playing seek and find. Do what you think is necessary!

[Officer] : Yes sir!

[Chief] : I give you 5 minutes. Now get a move on!

[As Ro rematerializes the hundredth time hot air rush over her face. She has stepped into a large chamber which looks like the main ventilation system. Huge tubes run crisscross through the room. On the walls there are magnificent turbines, through which sunlight penetrates. Ventilation portholes and dozens of tubes decorate the surrounding. Due to the rotation of the propellers the room is filled with dozens of shadows which constantly move in all different directions. From the light intensity she can say that evening is approaching. A steady buzzing fills her ears.]

[Ro looking at the propellers feeling the air rushing outdoors, whispering to herself] : No force fields?!

[She moves one hand slowly towards one of the huge "monsters" until she almost touches it. Nothing!]

[She activates her communicator] : Sebek? Do you read me?

[Sebek in his usual calm voice] : Positive! I can read signal perfectly. Ready to be picked up?

[Ro] : You had better hurry. I don't know when the guards turn up again!

[Sebek] : Acknowledged! [In this moment, four security officers storm the chamber. Ro whirls around and sends a T-beam shockwave through the room, which knocks her opponents out instantly.]

[Computer voice in her ear] : Energy cells depleted.

[More officers now materialize in the chamber. Ro steps onto the nearest transporter pad. But nothing happens. The lights in the chamber turn off as well and the turbines slow down.]

[Ro evades some phaser shots and hides behind a tube. She knocks an absent minded ensign unconscious, who searches for her. The others take their aim. Ro seizes the young man's arm and fires back with his hand on the trigger, which stuns the other guys. Silence returns. The turbines have stopped to rotate. Ro steps hopefully towards the sunset outside. But suddenly she collapses helplessly over a console. Her right leg is completely numb.]

[The chief of security appears from behind a tube and approaches her with his phaser still raised] : Don't worry you will feel your leg again in two hours. Now please, lie down with your face to the floor and your hands behind your head.

[Ro removes her mouth cover, smiling at him, trying to buy time] : That is quite a weak spot in your security system, isn't it?

[She points to the turbines] : No force fields!

[Chief] : The security measures comply with the standard, Ms. Ro. I just wonder how the Marquis could shut down 50% of our security systems without being detected.

[Ro surprised] : 50%? That's new to me!

[Chief pacing slowly towards her] : Do not be so modest, Ms. Ro. But I am sure that a Vulcan mind melt will soon tell us everything we need. Oh, I forgot!

[He types his com badge] : Goodyear to Talarik!

[Talarik] : Talarik here!

[Chief] : You can reactivate the transporters!

[Talarik] : Aye, sir!

[Very slowly turbines begin to get back online.]

[In this moment. Ro types a button as the chief is distracted with Talarik. A weakened spot in the pipe above the chief's head bursts open and hot steam pours down on him. Ro uses the diversion to knock the chief off his feet then throws him towards the tube. The chief slips down to the floor as sleepy as his colleagues.]

[Ro steps quickly through one of the propellers, which constantly gain speed. Then she freezes in shock. Moments ago she was still underground. Now she stands on an edge about 80 meters above the ground! The propeller behind her turns even faster, pushing her forwards. Ro tries to fasten herself to the building.]

[Ro speaking into her communicator] : Sebek, where are you?!

[Sebek] : Here!

[Ro looking down] : Here! Where? I don't see a thing.

[Sebek] : Here, below you. You just have to jump.

[Ro] : Are you crazy, I may jump aside!

[Suddenly phaser fire from behind. Some shots penetrate though the propeller, others it which slows down once more.]

[Ro] : I tell you one thing I will never jump!

[Sebek] : Ro, trust me! As you always have. I tell you what. I count to 3 then you jump. Trust me you will be fine! 3.

[Ro] : I am impressed. You haven't talked so much every since you left Bajor 20 years ago! But I tell you I won't jump!

[Sebek] : 2..

[Ro] : No! Forget it! I can't see a thing!

[Sebek] : 1..

[A phaser shot passes, scraping Ro's left arm which she used to hold on to the building. Ro looses her balance and falls. But after a few centimeters, she hits something solid, also she cannot see what it is. But she cannot get a firm grasp and slips down the invisible object until she hangs with her hands clutching to something. A side door opens and Sebek offers her a strong arm.]

[Officer 1 inside the building] : Stop the machines!

[Officer 2] : I cannot do it more quickly.

[The propeller stops, two security officers step outside and look around. But nothing can be seen except the abyss below.]