-- CHAPTER 2 --
Disclaimer
Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry and owned by Paramount Pictures. Star Wars created by George Lucas and owned by Twentieth Century Fox and Lucas film Ltd. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.
[Camera pans over to the bed. The lights dim and time has obviously passed as the captain is asleep askew on his bed. The covers have been scrunched to the side and bottom of the bed. The captain is bare chested and in the dimness you can barely make out the blue boxers with large white polka dots he is wearing.]
*chirp* You hear the night commander, Mehlet, over the comm.: Captain, we've received Starfleet's response.
Hornbuckle groans and rolls over
Mehlet: Sir? Are you there?
*silence*
Mehlet: Computer, what is Captain Hornbuckle's status?
Computer: Captain Hornbuckle is currently asleep.
Mehlet: Computer, trigger Captain Hornbuckle's alarm clock.
Computer: Working (we hear an alarm clock sound in the background)
Hornbuckle stirs and wakes up.
Hornbuckle: Computer, what time is it?
Computer: It is oh-three twenty five.
Hornbuckle: What the hell? Computer! Turn that damn thing off!
Computer: Specify 'damn thing'
Hornbuckle: The alarm clock, turn off the alarm clock.
Compute: Working
Mehlet: Sorry to disturb you sir, you left orders to be notified as soon as we received Starfleet's response.
Hornbuckle: (waking up more) Yes, yes, what is it?
Mehlet: We have been directed to perform more detailed scans for the next day and wait for the Nahale and the Eckard to arrive.
Hornbuckle: I know the Nahale; it's an Intrepid class ship, Captain Lee commanding. What about the Eckard?
Mehlet: The Eckard is a Nebula class ship, Captain Lang commanding.
Hornbuckle: Which will arrive first and when will it arrive?
Mehlet: The Eckard sir, at ten hundred, the Nahale will arrive at fourteen hundred.
Hornbuckle: Very well. Wake me at oh-seven hundred, handle all communications until then.
Mehlet: Aye sir, good night.
[Scene changes to the well lit bridge of the Marcus, Captain Hornbuckle strides from the turbolift.]
Tactical Officer: Captain on the bridge.
Hornbuckle: As you were.
Hawkins: Good morning sir.
Hornbuckle: Good morning Commander, any developments?
Hawkins: The Eckard will arrive in about two hours, and our science crews have made some important discoveries about the wormhole.
Hornbuckle: I'll call a meeting later, but summarize for now.
Hawkins: Yes sir, apparently the wormhole isn't as stable as we previously thought. The diameter of the wormhole reduced by eight percent when the Hubble passed through the even horizon. It's diameter naturally changes cyclically with a period of twenty seven days. At its maximum, it can only accommodate ships no wider than four hundred meters. At its minimum, nothing much larger than a probe can safely pass, assuming that a probe could even survive the approach, which it can not. The natural cyclical diameter changes combined with the passage triggered reduction means that the wormhole will only remain large enough for us to pass through for another seventeen hours.
Hornbuckle: Damn... Well, that's long enough for our reinforcements to arrive and develop a plan of action, but we won't have much time for the rescue itself. If we don't find and rescue the survivors in short order we'll be stuck there for close to a month. Do we have all the necessary supplies for such a stay?
Hawkins: I've already checked, and we have two more months before our scheduled resupply, and have three months of supplies on board, so that's not an issue. I'd rather not be stuck over there for any period of time though. Remember that supposedly stable wormhole the Enterprise discovered a while back, their shuttle barely returned before it collapsed. I believe that a Sovereign class could make it through the wormhole while it is at maximum diameter, if barely, but they're all over in the alpha quadrant enforcing the peace. I'm not sure that Starfleet would risk one of them on this anyway. So we're limited to small and medium size ships as backup.
Hornbuckle: I'm going to move up the meeting, we'll hold it shortly after the Eckard arrives, the Nahale will just have to participate via subspace. This will give us a few more hours to get in and back out. Also, will engineering need to make any special preparations for the transit?
Hawkins: No sir, the distortion waves are safely within the safety parameters of our shields. The ride will be bumpy, but we should make it without major problems.
Hornbuckle: Very well, continue scanning the wormhole, I'll be in my ready room.
[Scene changes to a quite full smallish conference room. The command crews of both the Marcus and the Eckard are crowded in, as are some scientists. Captain Lee and some of his crew are visible on a viewscreen. A loud babble of voices is silenced as captains Hornbuckle and Lang stride in, single file, grim looks on their faces.]
Hornbuckle: Gentlebeings, let this meeting come to order. We all know the unfortunate circumstances that have brought us together. Captain Lee and his command crew will be participating via subspace link. I apologize for rushing some of you to prepare for this early meeting, but some discoveries we have made necessitated it. Lt. Chang (Marcus science officer), please begin.
Chang: Good morning ladies and gentlemen ... Over the past twenty four hours we have made some disturbing discoveries. It appears that this wormhole is not as stable as previously thought and we have a very limited window of opportunity in which to safely effect the rescue of the crew of the Hubble. To begin, we have found that the wormhole operates on a twenty seven day cycle. What is occurring is that the black holes are in elliptical orbits of each other, these same black holes are what created the wormhole and sustain it. The wormhole is the strongest, and wide enough to be passable, only when the black holes are at their closest approaches. When they move apart again the energy sustaining the wormhole lessens marginally, but enough to reduce the diameter to less than fifty meters. This is only large enough for shuttlecraft and probes to pass. The former would definitely not survive the approach through the tunnel, and it is questionable whether the probes would be capable of making such a passage either. When the wormhole is at maximum strength its diameter reaches nearly four hundred meters. This diameter is sustained for a five day period, after which it will rapidly reduce. Today is the last day of safe passage through the wormhole for the next twenty five days, it will remain passable for only another thirteen hours. As a safety margin, I recommend that the Marcus return through the wormhole no more than ten hours from now. That is all.
Hornbuckle: Thank you. Lt. Tesla, you're next.
Tesla (Eckard science officer): Thank you sir. Something else we noticed is that when the Hubble passed through the event horizon, its diameter decreased by close to eight percent. In addition, it is now closing at an accelerated rate. Please note that it is not collapsing, but simply reducing in diameter earlier than expected. You should still be able to make the passage there and back, but we should refrain from sending other ships through if at all possible. Even in the unlikely even that you are trapped on the far side for the next month for some reason, we should be able to maintain audio communications at all times as long as you are within fifteen degrees of the wormhole's z-axis during its minimum energy state, and significantly more during other phases. I have given Lt. Chang detailed information on this, so there shouldn't be any problems there. For my second topic, the sensor module the Eckard is fitted with is specifically designed for scanning high energy phenomena. We will be closely monitoring your transit through the tunnel and passage through the wormhole. We should also be able to monitor your movements to a limited degree while you are on the far side of the wormhole.
Hornbuckle: *interrupting* can you scan for lifeboats then? Or the wreckage of the Hubble?
Tesla: No sir, lifeboats would be too small to detect given our scan resolution through the wormhole. We would be able to detect the Hubble if it were under power, but apparently it is not and we can not. We will only be able to track you due to the energy signature of your warp core.
Hornbuckle: *grimly* That's not good news, but it's more than we knew earlier. What about conditions on the far side of the wormhole?
Tesla: We don't know exactly where the far terminus lies, but it is at the center of mutual orbit between two red giants. It appears that our side of the wormhole provides the generation energy, the other side being a mere anchor for the far terminus. As such, conditions on the far side are significantly less hazardous. The micro-impulse engines and thrusters on their lifeboats should be enough to maintain position in the gravitationally balanced area between the two stars without excessive danger. If they survived the passage through the wormhole, there is a good chance that they are still alive.
Hornbuckle: *smiling slightly* That's excellent news lieutenant, lets hope that is indeed the situation.
Lang: As said earlier, while we are too large to pass through the wormhole, we will remain on constant watch. We will be relaying all communications and everything else we monitor to both Starfleet Command and to Captain Lee on the Nahale.
[Scene changes as the captain looks out the windows at the maelstrom, the camera follows his view. As he looks back to the conference table we see that many people are looking rather haggard, as he speaks it becomes obvious a significant period of time has passed.]
Lee: ... wish you the best of luck and pray for success. Captain Hornbuckle?
Hornbuckle: I believe that covers it all. I have decided that if we do not retrieve our missing comrades during our window of transit, we will continue searching for them, and explore the local region on the far side of the wormhole while we are at it. While on the far side we will send daily reports by probe, reporting our status and discoveries. I know this has been a long meeting and time is a-wasting. So, without further delay, meeting adjourned.
[Camera backs off as people start getting up, stretching and mingling, the view shifts to look out the windows. Screen fades and comes back to the Marcus's bustling bridge. Captain Lang is on the viewscreen mouthing something and terminates the transmission as the camera focuses on Captain Hornbuckle.]
Hornbuckle: Is everyone ready?
Various affirmatives are heard.
Hornbuckle: Very well. Helm, take us to waypoint alpha. Let's not lose any time, warp one, engage.
[Scene changes to watch the Marcus flash into warp, a couple seconds later the Eckard does likewise.]
[Scene changes again to the Eckard dropping out of warp while the Marcus peels off towards a pillar of energy, evading the twin helical bands, and making a sharp turn towards the wormhole inside the tunnel, just as the Hubble did.]
Hornbuckle: Report.
Ensign 1: All systems normal, green all the way.
Hornbuckle: *looks quizzical for a moment* Ah, very well then. Lt. Chang, are there any difficulties that would prevent us from making the run at warp?
Chang: No sir, nothing we can't handle.
Hornbuckle: Helm, proceed as planned, warp two all the way.
[Scene changes to the Marcus streaking down the tunnel at extreme speed, the helical bands of energy blurring into each other as they race past. The ship wavers slightly to each side a couple times and then dives cleanly into the open petals of the wormhole.]