" First Duty Shift "
20:55 hours
Wren - Sickbay
His first late night shift in sickbay. Four days since he arrived here.
Dr Karen Coleridge has him go through every single presciption given in the last 9 months to see if anyone has been abusing the system. Regs are relaxed, normally no one would dare. No one would be that stupid, to do harm to their own body, right ?
Thunk!
Crewman Wren's chain of thought broke off when something soft struck him in the back of the head. He swiveled his chair around and picked the object off the floor. A screwed up piece of paper. He arched an eyebrow at it but the paper did nothing. Of course, paper does not roll itself into a ball and hurl itself across rooms for no apparent reason, it is supposed to be perfectly inanimate.
Wren liked inanimate objects, mostly because they weren't smart enough to annoy him, but also because they had the decency not to randomly bombard him. Wren thought that this must be an incredibly impolite piece of paper.
But obviously, paper has no sentience, so somebody must have thrown it at him. There was only one other person in Sickbay with him so…
Wren shifted his glance over to Demi who was one computer terminal away, staring at the screen like a statue, but her fingers flying over the keyboard at a phenomenal rate. She caught his glance. "What?" She asked, irritated.
Uh oh. She's in a bad mood. Keep away, Danger. Wren's mind told him, he agreed with it and turned back to his work, not wanting to walk down that path any more than he had to.
Thunk!
Thunk!
Two more pieces of paper flew at him, one hitting him square in the neck, the other missing and landing on the computer terminal. This time he KNEW that Demi was the culprit, he heard her stifled giggles being suppressed behind him. He sighed, she was in one of those strange ambiguous phases again. Why holograms needed emotion was beyond Wren, it only caused trouble. Because most EMH holograms resembled their makers, he guessed that whoever designed Demi must have had too much sugar that particular day.
"Stop it." He said.
"Stop what?" She asked, back to her typing, faking innocence.
"Just stop it." He repeated, turning off the computer screen, folding his arms and half closing his eyes.
What Demi didn't know was that he was still watching the computer, the black screen giving him a perfect reflection of the goings on behind him. He saw her pick up a piece of paper, screw it up into a ball, and hurl it at him.
Wren's reflexes kicked in, and he caught right before it struck him, then sent it back to where it came from, AKA Demi. She didn't expect it and he scored a direct hit on her chest. It bounced and landed in her open palm. She looked at him coyly, a sparkle of determination in her eye.
"Of course you realize, this means war." Demi announced, squeezing the paper ball in her hand.
"Bring it." He replied, standing up and taking a few sidesteps towards a terminal that was laden with paper. He would fight fire with fire.
"I concur." Demi moved behind her terminal, crouching. She was prepared, a whole pile of rolled up paper was waiting for her, her more than ample arsenal. Wren did likewise, but he suffered from the handicap that his paper was still in its uncrumpled form, unsuitable for battle. It would take precious seconds to get ready, seconds he did not have.
Two more Demi's holo-materialized, ganging up on the new medic.
19:20
hours
Captain Rakurai Stryker - Shuttlebay
Stryker entered the shuttle bay, and found his officers assembled before him. In keeping with tradition, they had all assembled about one or two minutes early, so that when the Captain entered at the precise time he would not be kept waiting, even by a matter of seconds. Stryker smiled while thinking about that. Whatever captain was responsible for starting that tradition must have been a real jerk.
... I will proberly like him or her.
Karen Coleridge, Kathryn Delore, Kretak and Liz Archer flanked their Captain. Alice penguin-walked/dashed out a minute ago saying "I go to go pee again."
Cautionary Warning alarms went off as the huge doors opened to the vacuum of space, seperated only by a thin forcefield. Stryker was standing behind the tractor beam, where a comm panel was located. /\ "Welcome back Avro Arrow. Are you carrying our two newest victims ?" Stryker joked.
"Yes sir." come the reply from Ensign Belldandy.
When the shuttle was secured and powering down, the rear hatch opened.
A young Betazoid woman and Human man stepped out, each carrying a few belongings. If they had any bigger belongings, it would be beamed to their quarters within the hour.
"Counselor Kathryn Delore. Lt. Alister Maxwell." Stryker greeted them. "Welcome onboard."
Maxwell appeared to be in his mid or late thirties. Has a mid to heavy set build, brown reddish hair, blue eyes and a contagious smile. He is wearing the black, grey duty uniform and carrying a bag and 2 boxes probably containing his personal belongings.
"Good day to you Captain. Nice to finally meet you in person." He puts the boxes and the bag down on the cargo bay floor. Straightens his uniform by jerking it and shakes the glove wearing hand of the captain.
"Likewise, lieutenant" Captain Stryker replied and continued to introduce the first officer, the ships doctor and security chief. "And you´ve already met our ships counsellor."
"Yes, i have." Delore noticed the new engineers surprised face when he saw a Gorn on duty as the ships security officer. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"Your belongings will be transported to your quaters momentarily. I now have other matter to attend to but I am sure Archer is more than willing to give you a tour of the ship."
"Thanks, captain." Maxwell answered as he turned to her as the others exited the shuttlebay.
"Perhaps you´re interested in seeing your office and the engineering decks?" She asked him in a polite way.
"Yes. I´d like that but first, is there any place that a man can get his coffee ?" he said with a grin.
"Yes there is Mr. Maxwell" she said and smiled back.
Kathryn Delore – Sickbay
Kathryn entered the sickbay with a huge smile. "I must say, that the ship is much bigger than I expected." Alice followed her in and nodded and replied. "You are not the only one that thinks so. That is often what newcomer says when they first arrive.." Alice looked around and had an odd expression on her face. " That's odd,… "
A strange smell surrounded them. Kathryn and Alice looked at each other with a big question mark.
A voice broke the silence. "Ahh, the new counselor, I presume."
A short bolded man came toward them from the side room and shocked Kathryn's hand eagerly. The man then took Alice hand and shocked her hand.
Kathryn took he hand to her noise. "What is that smell?" The man said "You like. It's actually a new perfume that I am testing."
"What did you do, drown yourself with it?" Alice said telepathically.
Kathryn giggled out loud and put her hand to her mouth in an attempt to sharpen herself. He didn't take notice to Kathryn and looked at Alice with curiosity and said. "Are to due soon?"
Alice blinked her eyes with surprise. "..What do you mean?"
The strange man gave her knowing glimpses at her huge pregnant stomach. Alice took her hand to the stomach and said. "Oh, not yet but very soon... "
The man smiled and asked "May I ?" Alice gave Kathryn a nervous glimpse and nodded.
The strange man took his hand on the stomach and gave a huge smile. "Yes, I can feel them move."
Kathryn had a strange look on her face. She asked him. "You are a hologram, aren't you?"
The man took his hand away from her stomach. "Yes, I am. How insolent of me to not introduce myself. I am an Emergency Medical Hologram AK-1. I haven't decided for a name yet. "
Kathryn smile warmly and said. "I know you, you are from USS Voyager. I have heard a lot about you. "
The Doctor seemed please that Kathryn had heard about him and seemed to floating on clouds. "Really, I am glad to hear that the words about my works have spread.
The doctor turned to Alice. "If you ever need a doctor for the big day, I would love to have the big honor."
A loud voice heard. "Over my dead body! "
They all turned around and saw Doctor Karen standing there with a angry face. Karen walked over to the doctor and said almost accusing. "What are you doing here? Did I say that my sickbay is off limit? Kathryn and Alice looked at each other.
Kathryn said telepathically to Alice. "Maybe we should leave them alone?"
Alice responded. "Maybe you are right. "
Alice and Kathryn walked slowly away leaving the two doctors arguing.
Liz Archer- Bridge
Liz walked back and forth in her quarters. She was really worried. Through out the week she felt that Stryker was watching her closely. She couldn't understand why he acted like that.
Every minute of her duty time he had been watching over her like an eagle. She didn't like it at first, but keep on reminding herself not to bother and just carrying on with her duty.
She knew that he had talked about her with Mike and probably with other of her friends. She accidentally over heard them talk about her, but when she then asked Mike what they where discussing about. Mike just smiled and gave her a hug with any explanations.
She couldn't understand the reason for this sudden change in behavior. She had been nothing but exemplary in terms of doing her job properly.
Liz went over to the window and saw the reflection of her through the window. She looked at the area what was known of being the mysterious sections of the Alpha Quadrant, Seraris Regions which is protected by the so-called Magic Barrier.
Her duty started in about a few minutes so she tightened her uniform and took a deep breath. As she left her quarters she was sure that he would be there and observing her.
Sickbay
Once the side party had dismissed, Karen walked up to Sickbay to finish up rounds and check out for the day. After briefly speaking with the charge nurse, she headed for her office, leaving the door open in case anyone needed to speak with her.
An hour later, the sounds of conversation outside caught her attention, and she put down her stylus to listen. I hear Jones, I hear Mrs. Brangwin, and I'm pretty sure that's that new counselor - what was her name, Delore - but who's the man they're talking to?
Curious, she poked her head out to door just to see the fourth person, a balding man in a very outdated uniform with blue shoulders and no rank insignia, place his hands on Alice's stomach. "If you ever need a doctor for the big day, I would love to have the big honor."
Not in my Sickbay, you don't!
"Over my dead body," Karen retorted, walking out of her office toward the newcomer, and immediately wishing she'd stayed put as her senses were assaulted by a wave of perfume. "This is a restricted area - what are you doing here, and who the hell are you, anyway?"
The newcomer turned to regard her with a look of disdain. "Emergency Medical Hologram, Mark One. Who are you?"
"Karen Coleridge, CMO. And you still haven't answered my question." Mark One? That thing's been obsolete for the last ten years. I wonder if this is the one that came back on the Voyager?
Somehow, the EMH's expression grew even haughtier, as Alice and Kathryn snuck out the door. "When I'm not engaged on lifesaving research or charity work, I enjoy traveling among the ships of the Fleet to see where my services are needed, and as a boost to morale among my flesh-and-blood comrades."
Yup, has to be the Voyager model. No other EMH would have that much of an attitude - or wear that much cologne. "Well, I hate to see you travel all the way out here for nothing, but we have a highly advanced Mark III system here in the Pretoria's medical department, so I think we're all set on holographic assistance. Now if you're looking to go sightseeing, why don't you try the Arboretum?"
The EMH finally left in a huff, and Karen stood there for a moment, calming herself before turning to the charge nurse, a boisterous young African woman wearing the single pip of an ensign. "Keisha? I'm going to run down to Dot's and grab something to eat before my blood sugar completely bottoms out. Call me if anything comes up, all right?"
"No problem, ma'am... permission to speak freely?"
"Go ahead...?"
"If I'd ever sassed somebody like that holo-doc did, my mama would have whooped me one. You're all right, ma'am."
Karen replied with a lopsided grin. "Normally it's not my habit to tee off on strangers. But I'm glad you think I did the right thing."
Lt Alister Maxwell Turbolift 2 at 1700 hrs.
The silent humming of the turbolift commensed on the command "Deck 30"
Lt Archer gave me a nice tour of the ship. Dot´s diner looks like a real nice place to hang out. I´ve never been on a starship that had it´s own swimmingpool. I better see to it that the gravitational stabilizers stay online. He lets a laugh out for himself.Otherwise I´ll have a real mess on my hands. It´s a shame I haven;t met all of the engineering crew before i met the ongoing Alpha team.
Lt Alister Maxwell, Main Engineering, Alpha shift, at 1700 hrs.
The humming suddenly stopped and the door opened to main engineering. Two women stood at the table-like Master systems display. The tall andorian looks up from the flickering status lights on her console.
"Good day chief".
"Good day to you crewman." Nodding to the other crewman. "We will have a short shift meeting in ten minutes. Where do you usually have them"
The black haired crewman aswered. "Here, around the master systems display."
"Ok, see you in ten then". He continued towards his own office and passed shift members on their places monitoring the displays on the wall showing both of the propulsion systems. Suddenly he recognized the ensign being relived from the master situations monitor.
"Alex"
he said with a big smile and arms wide open to embrace his younger
sister.
"Alex" she said with a teasing smile and suddenly they
both felt like they were on the fields in the outskirts of
Edinbourugh again.
"I have missed you so much." He said hugging Alex tightly. "And I you." she answered as he gave her a kiss on her forehead.
"How have you been? I´ve heard this ship has been through alot since you signed on". "Is´nt that why both you and I joined starfleet in the first place." "Yes, I guess it was" They let go of each other.
"Tell you what Alex, I have to go now, I have an appointment but let´s have lunch sometime."
"Oh, ok. Go then, for a minute I thought you were on this shift. It would have been nice talking to you."
"I might have some time to visit you down here during the evening ut I can´t promise you anything."
"Okay, okay I´ll see you around and don´t forget to call mother. She told me it´s been some time since she heard from you."
"I won´t and say hello to Sam for me. You still speak to her every night don´t you."
He nodded and wawed good bye as she walked out towards the turbolift. He turns to the smiling Ensign at the closest workstation. "What´s you name mister?" He said with a smiling face.
"Anderson" he answered a bit unsure where this was going.
Maxwell's face turns in to a grim one "Mr Anderson, the only one that can call me that is her and you better remember that if you dont want to spend the rest of your time aboard this ship scrubbing the plasma exhaust tubes"
As he walked in to the office his face turned in to a grin and he started to whistle as the doors closed behind him. Always make an impact...hehe
21:45
hours
Dot's Diner
Dot's Diner
Ten minutes after the showdown in Sickbay, a much happier Karen was tucking into a thick club sandwich, French fries and coleslaw, while a half-full glass of iced tea, the remains of a garden salad, a dish of mixed fruit and a plate of cheese and crackers lay at hand, along with a yet-uneaten plate of pastries. Thanks to her enhanced metabolism and her running habit, she'd always been able to put away an inordinate amount of food for someone her size, and even past forty, she still retained the build of a much younger woman - a trait that had alternately awed and annoyed most of the people she dealt with.
The flipside of that, of course, was a tendency to hypoglycemia, and when that happened, a headache and a case of general irritability usually weren't far behind. It had become a running joke in Sickbay, to the point that one of the surgical nurses, a battleaxe of a JG named Longchamp who'd been around almost as long as Karen had been alive, had posted a sign at the OR control desk:
"ATTENTION ALL STAFF - REVISION TO EMERGENCY CODE SYSTEM - CODE COOKIES
In case of sudden severe
deterioration in Dr. Coleridge's mood:
Notify OR Control that a
Code Cookies has occurred
Remove Dr to non-sterile area
Administer sugar-based snack foods PRN until condition
improves."
Code Cookies, indeed. I hope I didn't rip on that EMH too badly...
The diner was dark, lit only by dim white candles. Platters of flaky white pastries and alien fruit on the tables around the room. Outside the windows, space debris streaked by, briefly made florescent by the ship's warp field.
Stryker took a sip of his drink. It was the colour of the sun and sparkled like the ocean. The room's lights were lowered. The air warm, comfortably so, like a room with a fireplace.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Captain Stryker walked in. He ordered a glass of mango juice and tossed off half the glass in one slug, staring out the transparent plate windows with a pensive expression. After a few moments' thought, he looked around the room, and began walking in her direction.
"Good afternoon, Sir. Can I help you?" Karen stood up and indicated the second chair with a wave.
"Doctor." Even in the informal atmosphere of Dot's, the captain had trouble with first names. "I have been thinking. Wondering. I finally recall that altercation that you and Alice were in, a month ago in Sickbay."
Uh-oh. The memory came back unbidden - flashes of Stryker's frozen face, Alice bursting into the ward, the other woman choking the life out of her, the shock on Alice's face. "Sir...?"
"Doctor ..." he started off uneasily. She already tried, as did many others, but it is rare for Stryker to call someone by their first name.
"I have been thinking. Wondering. I finally recall that altercation that Alice and Karen where in, a month ago in Sickbay."
"My admission ?" Karen asked.
"Yes. I tried to read up on it first. But it appears to be a tabboo in human society." he paused. "What does it mean to you to be ... lesbian ? ... I have attempted to read about human sexual relations, but I have found very little information that is not of either religious or pornographic nature. What does 'lesbian' mean, and why is sexuality such taboo in human society?"
Karen began to laugh softly, and Stryker regarded her with a puzzled expression. "It is a subject for humor?"
"No sir, it's just that it's a complex question to answer, and some of the answers we still don't have. The greatest of human thinkers have battled over that puzzle and they're still in the dark, yet we expect everyone past puberty to figure it out largely on their own. You might want to grab yourself a refill, because we might be here for a while."
A few moments later, they were both seated again.
"Where to begin... let's start with biology. Humans come in two sexes, male and female, which are determined at the genetic level by the presence or absence of a Y chromosome. You probably know this part. Human embryos are physiologically neuter at conception, but undergo sex differentiation in the first trimester - either a Y chromosome is present and it directs the formation of male genitalia, or it isn't and female genitalia are formed by default. Formation of the genitalia and maternal-fetal hormonal interaction results in the release of androgens or estrogens into the fetal environment, and those hormones act on the brain and the body throughout gestation. Theoretically, by the end of nine and a half months, the result is a human neonate with a determinate set of genitalia and a neurological conformation that matches the physiological sex, and when that child reaches puberty and undergoes secondary sexual differentiation, theoretically it will be oriented toward members of the opposite sex."
"Theoretically, you said. I take it the process can fail?"
"It can, and actually, derangements of the process happen a lot more often than people think. It's because of the cultural issues surrounding sexuality that many of them either aren't discussed or are thought not to exist. Humans tend not to acknowledge what's not constantly in their faces."
"Interesting, Doctor," Stryker replied. "Please continue."
"Current neuropsych theory holds that the formation of a sexual identity has four components: biological sex, neurological sex, psychological sex and environmental influence. You can have discrepancies between any of those factors. For example, you can have an individual who has female genitalia and a feminized brain, but her biological sex is male. That's called androgen insensitivity syndrome - a failure in androgen receptor formation halted the formation of male features, so the body 'defaulted' to female. Nowadays a lot of the intersex, or hermaphroditic, conditions are screened out before birth, but some we just can't do anything about short of embryonic genetic surgery in vitro, and AIS is one of them. Or in another example, you can have an individual with male genitalia, but his brain was feminized due to any one of a number of factors. He thinks of himself as a male, but finds other males attractive. That's a normal gay man. In an extreme case, where the brain is completely feminized, you get a male-to-female transsexual - someone who cannot tolerate living as a male and seeks medical and surgical assistance in living as a female. Flip the situation around, and you get either a lesbian or a female-to-male trans. Ambiguous conditions of neurological and psychological sex result in an individual who can function as a homo- or a heterosexual, and such a one is bisexual. In species where androgyny or hermaphroditism is the biological norm, the term is ambisexual.
"When you throw environmental influences, such as sex taboos and cultural norms, into the mix, it's a whole new situation. If our gay man lives in a culture where homosexuality is accepted, he will associate openly with other gay men, and he will usually have no or few problems accepting himself and his identity. If that's not the case, if either religious beliefs or secular culture teaches that homosexuality is wrong, diseased or immoral, you can see all kinds of psychological issues in many different kinds of people. For example, you can get young adults who would otherwise identify as heterosexual claiming a homosexual identity for themselves in order to seek attention or anger parents and authority figures. Once the shock value wears off, they go back to heterosexual behavior. Or, you can get a queer person who represses his or her identity and lives 'in the closet.' Such a one might live celibate and avoid the problem entirely, or deny the charge by being highly promiscuous or by marrying a heterosexual partner, but they can't deny their identity to themselves, and usually psychological problems result, anything from depressive disorders to uncontrollable rage and hatred, and in extreme cases they can pose a risk to self or others." Karen cracked a lopsided smile, but her eyes were somber. "The psych guys have a rather black joke about that situation; they call it 'suicidal/homicidal impulsive thinking,' and the joke is that you see a patient like that and say 'Oh, SHIT.'"
Stryker tilted his head to one side, thinking. "Hmm. I meant to ask you why so many medical professionals find such humor in such painful situations... but that's for another time. Go on."
"Oh, I can answer that one quickly - it's combat trauma. You see so many sick and injured people you can't help, and you have to laugh or you'd go nuts." Taking a drink of her iced tea, Karen continued speaking. "Anyway. That's the primer on human sexuality, more or less. You asked what a lesbian is, what that means. Truthfully, the answer is highly individual. For some women, it is a sexual identity and nothing more - they see themselves as just like other women in every respect, except that they find other women attractive. For others, sexuality informs their whole self-concept. Some act masculine or 'butch,' others act feminine, most fall somewhere in between. Some are very sexually aggressive, others are not. Some live entirely among others of their kind, others find a partner and have no other contact with the queer subculture - and no, that's not so much an insult anymore. Nowadays, 'queer' refers to the community comprising gay, lesbian, bi, trans, intersexual, ambisexual, hetero people with ties to any of the above, and really anyone else who doesn't see themselves as strictly straight. Some turn their identities to political ends, whether it's advocating for queer issues, women's, children's or sentient rights issues. In other words, the entire range of human diversity exists in the queer population."
"And what about you, Doctor?"
"Well, for starters, a lot of queer people describe feeling 'different' or not 'fitting in' through childhood and young adulthood. I never had that problem, because the people I lived with were already 'different' by human standards. You're probably aware that the Gethenians are biologically ambisexual - androgynous for about 26 days out of every 30, and capable of becoming either male or female in any given reproductive cycle. Then too, San Francisco has been known as a center of queer culture since the 20th century - it's little wonder so many people come out in the Academy. I've been lucky, too, in that pretty much everywhere I've gone has been pretty tolerant. It didn't always work that way; up until 2012, evidence of homosexual behavior would get you thrown out of the American armed forces, and all non-heterosexuals, even those who publicly recanted their sexuality and led heterosexual lives, were banned from military and most branches of civilian public service from the social upheavals of 2020 to the formation of the United Earth government in 2113.
"At any rate, to answer your question... it's not at the forefront of my identity, I don't run around waving the rainbow flag or chasing skirts, but it's a part of me, just like my identity as a human, or a colonist, or a physician, or a psychosomatic talent."
"Does Ensign Maxwell feel the same way?"
Karen laughed at that. "Well, for that you'd have to ask her." She glanced at the wall chrono, wincing as she noticed that almost two hours had elapsed. "Oh, no - I told my staff I'd be back in Sickbay an hour ago, so I do have to get back. Did this help at all, or did I just confuse you further?"
"No, Doctor, I found your explanation most enlightening. Thank you."
23:55
- Dot's Diner
Stryker was partipating in a security drill to
find an intruder in the Jeffries Tubes. As he was climbing a ladder,
his hand slipped and he fell 4 meters onto metal and plastasteel
floor.
00:15
Sickbay
"Hey," Alice grinned bouncing in, "How's the patient?"
"Bored," Stryker replied.
"And irritable," Demi threw in as he brought in coffee for everyone. Demi was giving AK-1 the mother of all death glares. He kept his distance.
"That is nothing out of the ordinary," Dr. Karen mentioned getting three amazed looks.
"I hate being unable to move," Stryker told his medical 'captors', "And I hate not being able to work."
"We'll be done in a few minutes." Dr. Karen tried to assure the Edenian.
The door hissed open and in came a runing toddler, Meredith Barrichello, her mom behind her, Meredith wrapped her arms around Karen's leg, she was holding her mother's bra and said "Look ! Big and White !" the toddler gleemed.
Tammy Barrichello was mortified and turned 13 shades of purple in embarrassment.
0310 hours - Alice and
Stryker's bedroom
Alice couldn't sleep. She argued with
Stryker for about 5 minutes now. He stormed out of the bedroom.
"Sorry, i am pregnant and fat and emotional" Alice yelled
out after him.
Two hours later, Stryker was awake again, being hailed from Starstation India.
05:57 hours
Stryker -
Main Bridge
Captain Rakurai Stryker walked onto the bridge in an unusually happy mood.
"You're sure in a happy mood," Alice noted from the guest chair next to Stryker's, as he took his spot at the command chair.
"I most certainly am," Stryker told her. "Starfleet Command has given us permission to explore the Seraris Regions. If anyone in civilized space hadn't heard of the 'Pretoria' before this mission, after it, they most certainly would."
"The most mysterious sections of the Alpha Quadrant, Seraris Regions ?" Belldandy asked.
"That's right." Stryker said happily.
Liz Archer looked shocked. Belldandy's mouth nearly hung open. Ensign Belldandy was amazed, "How did you manage to pull that off?"
"Admiral Reil Dela is tired of all the mystery surrounding the Seraris Regions, and she felt that the Pretoria was the only ship for the job. Also, if there's anything valuable in the Seraris Regions, we want to have the first grab at it."
Belldandy nodded. "Understandable. Admiral Dela also talked about sending the Intrepid or Enterprise to explore the Seraris Regions some years ago. But how will we get past the Magic barrier ?"
"The what ?" Ensign Kira Tierney asked from tactical.
"The Magic Barrier. Its a subspace sandbar surrounding the Regions." Stryker answered. "It blocks and reflects sensors as well. The Magic Barrier."
"Who named it ?" Belldandy
asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.
"Some Andorian Captain with
a warped sense of humour." Stryker answered.
"How
will we get through ?" Belldandy asked.
"For the last 75
years, Starfleet's been weakening a small corridor by subspace
manipulation."
Alice felt giddy, "Sounds very
exciting."
"Let's make history." Stryker said
trying to contain his excitement, "Helm, plot a course and
engage. Warp 9.5"
06:00 hours - Still the Main
Bridge
Kretak made it to the bridge just in time for his shift
to begin.
"How nice of you to join us," Stryker said as the Gorn hurried to his station.
"Did I miss something, sir?" Kretak asked.
Ensign Liz Archer was smiling. Aerlyn had no expression on her Vulcan face, as usual. "Oh, nothing at all, Lieutenant. Just our explorations of Seraris Regions, the Klingons denouncing all violence, the Borg changing their prosthetic colours from black to periwinkle..."
Kretak had a bewildered expression on his face. "In just one night, sir?"
Alice burst out laughing. Kretak looked at all of them dubiously. Even Stryker started laughing.
Lt. Alister Maxwell Beta shift, Main Engineering, 0600
The frequency of the pulsing light of the warp core instantly told me that we were travelling at maximum cruise velocity. Looks like were off to the unknown then. At last... He stopped, tok a sip of the coffe from the mug he held in his right hand and observed the personel. They seem to be in a good mood, let´s see if they´ll stay that way. He walked ut to the duty station near the office were a young ensign was on duty watching the injectors.
"Ensign Orden report" She looked up from
her console.
"Just moments ago the order for going in to the
Searis Region was given. We are at warp 9.5, all stations are manned
and (she sounded coky) we're ready for anything." She passed him
the Padd with the statusreports from alph shift.
"Sounds
great Ensign. Carry on"
Theese long range scans describes
the so called magic barrier to be some kind of subspace phenomenon.
It will be a problem to hold a stable warp field in those conditions
(close to the to for that matter). As he arrived at his desk he
opened the programs needed to simulate the entrance into the barrier.
It looks like it´s going to be a rough ride. i´m going
to need help sorting out the work they have done these past few
years.
Engineering to Stellar chartography "Go
ahead."
Maxwell here. I think I´m going to need help
preparing for going through the barrier in the Searis Region. Do you
have time to review the sensor data with me and construct an accurate
simulation? "Indeed" She has to be a Vulcan
I
am on my way.
"Ensign Orden you´re in charge here."
"Aye, sir"
"But call me about anything out of
the ordinary. I´ll be in stellar chartography" He said as
the doors to turbolift 2 closed behind him/
Kathryn
Delore
Sickbay- Counselor's Office
Kathryn looks around the empty room that was going to be her workplace during her time at Pretoria. It was a very large room with a desk, comfortable sofa. Kathryn looked out through the window and say that we where in warp speed.
"Computer, where are we going? "
Kathryn is hearing a soft female voice saying. "We are heading toward Searis Region at warp 9,5. "
Isn't there where the magic belt is? I should go up to the bridge when I am finished. Kathryn ha some experience of the area and she felt intriguing to visit the place again. She and her crew had never actually got through the barrier, and to her knowledge now one had so far. She couldn't help wonder what the Captain was going to do there.
Kathryn starts packing up her old fashion books up to the shelves in this empty room. She is irrupted by the door bell. She says and continues packing. "Come!"
A young man in his twenties enters the room. He is dressed in the usual officer suit. He has an enraged expression on his face. His red hair looked almost like it was on fire and the blue eyes stood out by the intense look. He said."Are you Kathryn Belore, the counselor?"
Kathryn smiles and looks at him shortly as she speaks. "Yes, I am. And you are Lt.JG Niles Morgan?"
The man in front of her nod in agreement. He starts to say. "Yes! Look, I really don't need to be here. It is all a misunderstanding.."
Kathryn who still is packing interrupts him and asks. "If I remember correctly it was your command that ordered you to be here."
A silence broke up and Kathryn stopped packing as she watched him during this time. She continued and said. "His statement is that you have some problem with anger management. Several of your officers under you command also stated the same matter. Are you saying that they are all wrong?
Kathryn could sense a battle in side of him; Maybe it is not wise to upset him too much. She decided to take it slow. "Look, since you have to be here today why not make use of the time. It's not like that you have somewhere else to go. Now, you don't want that I get in some trouble, do you?"
Kathryn could feel some hesitating from his side but at least he had cooled off. She saw here chance and continued. "Let's make a deal and say that you don't have to talk about it unless you don't want too. And if you want to talk about anything then I am here for you."
Niles seemed more relaxed now, he asked carefully. "Hmm, If we don't talk then what am I supposed to do here?"
Kathryn gave him a huge smile and said. "Well for starters, you can help me unpacking..As you can see I could needs some help. "
Kathryn points at the huge box on the other side of the room. "You can start there. Just ask if you have any questions. "
Kathryn watched as he went to the box and started unpacking. She took a grab on the old book in front of her and let her fingers feel the material of the book. She could read the title 'Othello'. She thought to herself. Hmm, he will not open easily. It would be wise to make him acquainted with the thought first before I start. At least this way, I will be finished with the packing much quicker. I should do this more often. She brings up the book to the shelf.
The
Bridge
17:00 hours
Liz enters the door to her quarters, immediately she falls in to the chair in front of her desk in her room. She was exhausted and was leaning backward. Annoyed by a flashing light from her computer screen she lean forward and entered the computer. It was a message to her from Stryker. She almost felled of her chair by surprise. Nervously she opened the message.
To: Ensign Liz
Archer
From: Captain Rakurai Stryker
I want you to report to my office.
Liz thought the message was very short and direct. She couldn't guess what he wanted to talk about. But she couldn't help feeling a bit worried. She knew that he had been watching her lately. Thousand thought filled her head and she gets up from the chair quickly and leaves the room in a hurry. Mike who was standing out side looked surprised as the doors suddenly hissed open and Liz was standing here. Liz didn't take notice to him and went past him. Mike turns around and watches her and looks even more surprised. She shouts after here. "Where are you going?"
Liz mumbles a reply. "I need some is cream, coconut is cream."
Mike was now at her side whistle and said knowing. "You must be very depressed, if you want some ice cream."
Liz stops for a minute and is watching him angrily. She gives him the eye. 'I am warning you, one word more then…'. Then she shrugged her shoulder as she continues her way through the corridor.
Mike wouldn't give up and continues. "Liz come on, tell me what has happed?"
Liz sights deeply and says. "Nothing, really!"
Mike looks at Liz like he doesn't believe her. Liz gives up. "Fine, I just got a letter from Stryker that I have to go to his office 0800 tomorrow."
Mike looked calm and raised his eyebrow. He said. "Oh, only that! And I thought is was something more seriously."
Liz stopped and looked at him again. She tried to give him an answer, to explain to him what she suspected. What not a word came from her. She gives him a sour face and says. "You wouldn't understand so forget it!"
Lt. Alister Maxwell - Main Engineering
1100hrs
Well
that was interesting. Working with Vulcans are always a bit of a drag
since they tend to well, not getting emotional about their work.
However I love their effectiveness and the dry humour they say they
don´t possess.
As he walked in to his office he
activated the intercom at his desk and put the metal cup to his
mouth. /\ Engineering to Bridge /\
"Go ahead Mr.
Maxwell." was the response.
/\ As you predicted
Captain, the ship will not be able to travel at warp speed after
these coordinates. /\ He pushed the panel and the coordinates
appeared on the Captains command console and the helm console.
/\
Agreed. Bridge out. /\
Maxwell leaned back and stretched his neck to relive the muscle tension. "Computer, locate ensign Maxwell" The computer answered. "Ensign Maxwell is at Dot´s diner" Good, and it´s almost time for lunch.
As he stood up from his chair he had received a written message. It was from the captain. He sat down, opened the message and it appeared to concern something he did not expect.
His face turned in to a grin and said quietly to himself "Now that sounds like fun Captain."
Alice - Bathroom (in Alice and Stryker's quarters)
'Battlecruiser' Alice had no warning, stumbled, lost control for just a second. But long enough to fall over, with her left arm Alice made one hell of a crash into bathroom sink. She got up slowly, using the wall. Alice had a drink of water, before returning to the living room.
Alice more or less crashlanded on the couch. The twins were kicking the crap out of her. "I feel like a zombie. My lower back hurts.I have great difficulty sleeping. Now I have you two affecting the sciatic nerve. Now not even walking is a guarantee without falling over."
Alice put her hands over her stomach, "Why are you never tired when I am ?"
The twins just kept on moving and kicking. "Ow !" Alice winced.
A minute later, Alice couldn't take it anymore and stumbled over to the replicator computer interface. "Alice to Sickbay. I need help please."
Sickbay, Conference Room
"...So, to sum up, this patient suffered a cardiac arrest due to accidental nanite embolization during a routine coronary angioplasty. Although the response of the care team to the event itself cannot be faulted, several factors that led to the event were completely preventable. This incident points out the need for greater caution during cardiovascular procedures."
Well, that's a nice polite way to say you damn near killed the guy, Karen thought, keeping her face carefully neutral as she listened to the junior resident hedge his way through the presentation. She'd hated Morbidity and Mortality rounds at UC due to the intense, sometimes downright malignant questioning that ensued whenever a patient's life was endangered or ended by caregiver error. However, she did have to admit that the hellish prospect of having a "Death and Donuts" held in your honor provided a wonderful incentive to make sure that if any patient was going to shuffle off, it wasn't your fault and it wasn't on your shift. Given the number of times this particular second-year had presented at M&M's lately, she rather suspected that Starfleet Medical's easygoing, let's-not-blame-anyone approach to adverse patient events wasn't getting through to him.
Over in the corner, Dechil Strauss looked positively turquoise, wringing his hands in dismay. He'd been the senior on duty the night Chief Thorvaldson had coded, and when Karen arrived in Sickbay, he'd attempted to take the blame for the error himself. A few discreet questions to the nursing staff, however, had uncovered the true course of events.
"Thank you for your presentation, Dr. Andropov," one of the other MDs said, but Karen held up one hand. "Ah, I have a few questions, if you don't mind, Doctor," she said, leaning heavily on the last word, and a few of the nurses and techs exchanged glances. "Could you relate for me again the results of the patient's pre-op arteriogram?"
/\
Twenty minutes later, as the attendees filed out of the conference room - one sporting a new verbal colostomy - one of the techs tapped Karen on the arm. "Doctor, we've got incoming. Human female G2, reports in distress related to pregnancy, but no specifics. It's Mrs. Brangwin, ma'am."
"Oh dear." Karen ran a hand through her hair, thinking. "She's what, six, seven months along now?"
"27 weeks, ma'am."
"Hmm. Even for human infants that's early." Her mind clicked through the checklist she'd written for just such occasions. "Grab a couple of people, go into OR 3 and convert it over to an OB/GYN layout, and see if we have any L&D case packs. If not, replicate them. Once that's done, activate Demi and make sure her OB matrix is loaded. Also, get on the line with SFMed and find out where the nearest facility is that has a real OB unit. In all likelihood this is nothing serious, but I'm taking no chances here."
At least, I hope to God it's nothing serious, Karen thought. Although the EMH did incorporate a specialty matrix for obstetrics and gynecology, and in theory any doctor could run an uncomplicated labor and delivery, the facts remained that nobody had ever managed a singleton human/Edenian hybrid pregnancy before, let alone twins. Then too, while the convertible ORs in Suite One could be used as L&D rooms, there was no obstetrician on the Pretoria's staff, nor did the department include a nursery.
A few seconds later, the techs came through the doors from triage with Alice on a stretcher. "Hi there, Mrs. Brangwin," Karen said, smiling. "I understand the kids are giving you a hard time today?"
Liz
Archer
Entering the bridge
Hours 0800
Liz looked around and walked with heavy steps to the door connecting to the Captain's office. She takes a deep breath and makes her announcements. She tried to harden herself to any criticism. She could hear Stryker's voice from the other side of the door. "Come".
The doors switch open and she saw Captain Stryker sitting behind his desk.
"Ensign Elizabeth Archer. Step forward." Stryker said. Liz steps forward and stands in front of him. She looks at the Captain with a somber expression. He continues.
"You come onboard Pretoria, two and a half years ago. Your service has been exemplary, your dedication is strong. When Commander Khetrha left over a year ago, you and Alice took over the duties of XO on an unofficial capacity. And soon, you were doing most of it. I have noticed your hard work. I have to admit I was hoping the Dragon would return."
This was not at all what Liz had expected. But suddenly things started to make sense to her. He had been testing her pushing her to the limit during these last weeks. Stryker continued his speech.
"I do hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and the position of acting First Officer with all the rights and privileges of said rank."
Liz took a deep breath of surprise. She had a strange sensation of not really being there, but still. She had been waiting for this moment since Academy, but not in her wildest dreams she could imagine that she would be promoted to Lieutenant Commander so fast, and not at least to acting First Officer.
He allowed a little smile as he pinned one golden pip and one black, onto her uniform. "As soon as you complete Command Training, you will become the official First Officer."
Liz nodded as reply as she ran a finger along her neckline over the 3 pips. Liz felt a sensation of joy and she caught herself smiling. .
Stryker smiled. "Don't wear them out Commander." a voice said playfully. She turned across to face the smiling face of Captain Sharon Edwards, Liz's favorite teacher at the Academy. "Thank you." Liz said, scared that this will likely be the last time she'd meet her. "Thank you for your help and encouragement."
She turned to Stryker and said determined. "I won't let you down, Captain."
Stryker
said with a smile. "I am sure you won't, Commander."
Liz
still felling like she was floating on clouds, calmed herself down
and had a neutral expression on her face. Stryker continued talking
as they all sits down on the sofa in his office. "I can inform you
that your training starts immediately. Sharon Edwards will stay
onboard to observe your command training."
Liz looked at her and saw her former teacher blinking her eyes and confirming Stryker's statement. Liz was happy to hear this. Stryker continued. "And of course I and Alice will also instruct your training. Here is all the information you need now."
Stryker hands out a pad to Liz and she takes it and quickly reviews the information. Liz nodded and said with some after thought. "I understand."
As Liz looks through the pad Sharon talks to Stryker. "I heard that you are going to the Magical Barrier. "
Stryker clears his throat and says eagerly. "Yes. No one in Starfleet knew really anything about this phenomenon. It is about time they send someone to investigate the Barrier. Since I have always wanted to study this phenomenon, they decided to send my ship. Unfortunately we have some competition! "
"Yes, so I heard. They also assign USS Enterprise to this task." Stryker nods in agreement. Sharon asks. "Is it true that it is almost impossible to use warp speed and have to use impulse speed instead?"
Liz replies. "Actually, there is 92 possibility that the Pretoria will be unable to use warp engines. It will take up to 6 weeks to go through the Barrier. We just recently got a new chief engineer, Alister Maxwell. If it is true about his competence then I am sure that we will beat Picard and his old Enterprise. "
They all laughed.
Alister Maxwell - Main Engineering
0847 hrs
In the opening to the chief engineers office two officers stand. Maxwell with a LED tool in one hand and a metal coffee cup in the other. Ensign Orden had apparently said something to upset the luitenant.
"What do you mean, we have two captains on board?" Maxwell said, with a somewhat annoyed voice. The olive skinned brunette replied, "Yes the captain came aboard yesterday, I think. Anyway her name is Captain Sharon Edwards and I think she is going to hold some kind of course in command education." And she added with a smile " Perhaps she saw your special needs for education and followed you here from Earth, sir."
"It
was Jupiter station." He grunted "And don´t you have
somewhere to be ensign Orden."
"No, not really
sir."
"Well you´d better or I´ll have you
monitoring the plasma flows manually for the rest of this
mission."
"You can´t mean that sir."
"Can´t
you take a hint Orden?"
Suddenly the intercom interrupted
their conversation.
/\" Bridge to engineering" /\
/\ "Maxwell here" /\
/\ "Which one?"
/\
/\ "Very funny Ensign Archer, very funny." /\
/\ "That´s commander Archer to you sir." /\
/\ "Oh, sorry about that, news apparently does´nt
travel fast on this ship. Congratulations to you promotion. Now, tell
me. why did you call?" /\
/\ "It looks like this
assignment is going to be a race to the barrier and beyond between us
and the flagship of the fleet." /\
/\ "The
Enterprise ?" /\
/\ "That´s the one. Now, I
want some alternatives on my desk before 0930" /\
/\
"Understood. Maxwell out." /\
"Orden, looks like
I´m going to need your help. We need to find a way to increase
our speed while we are inside the barrier."
0930 Hrs.
Maxwell - Observation lounge.
The luitenant is standing up in
front of the display on the wall. The available senior staff
attending.
"We have worked out a theory on how to obtain faster than light travel within the subspace barrier. What you see here on the display behind me is a graphic demonstration of the corridor in the vicinity of the point that star fleet have worked on modifying. As you see there is a slight change in field density. Those changes are something that can be described as a breeding area or similar for this array of subspace vacuoles. As you see here."
He changed the picture to one of a web or neuron like structure. "The array of vacuoles form a web through out the barrier from our side to the other. If we modify the main deflector I belive it´s possible to emit a field that can function as a grappling hook that can let the Pretoria hitch a ride at about warp 1.2. The main setback is the probable amount of inverse strain the ship have to endure but we should be able to compensate for that by increasing shield strength by 13."
Rakurai
Stryker - Observation Lounge
Maxwell was standing up in front
of the display on the wall. The available senior staff was present
already.
"We have worked out a theory on how to obtain faster than light travel within the subspace barrier. What you see here on the display behind me is a graphic demonstration of the corridor in the vicinity of the point that star fleet have worked on modifying. As you see there is a slight change in field density. Those changes are something that can be described as a breeding area or similar for this array of subspace vacuoles. As you see here."
He changed the picture to one of a web or neuron like structure. "The array of vacuoles form a web through out the barrier from our side to the other. If we modify the main deflector I belive it´s possible to emit a field that can function as a grappling hook that can let the Pretoria hitch a ride at about warp 1.2. The main setback is the probable amount of inverse strain the ship have to endure but we should be able to compensate for that by increasing shield strength by 13."
"Can that be done ?" Stryker asked Lt. Alister Maxwell.
"Yes sir." was the Chief Engineer's answer.
"Get started immediately. Get any number of engineers you need. I feel a need to crush the competion." Stryker said, a dark grin almost forming on his face.
"Dismissed." Lt.-Cmdr. Liz Archer told the junior staff. When they all left, she turned to Stryker. "Did you understand any of that engineering lingo ?"
"Except for the part about the shields ... No. Not one bit." Stryker replied, with a whimsical smile.
Sickbay
"These are not babies, I seem to have a pair of octopi inside of me." Alice told Karen. "I hurt my arm too. And I need coffee."
"Very funny," a mystery voice said. Demi holo-materialized a few seconds later.
Picking up a tricorder, Karen ran a fast scan of the injured limb. "Well, the arm is easily fixed, at least. You're going to have a lovely bruise, but nothing's broken. As for hot beverages, I can offer you decaffeinated coffee or herbal tea - as much as you're probably craving real-deal java right now, caffeine will only make the twins more hyper."
"Decaf. Is this what I've sunk to?" Alice asked rhetorically, which got a laugh from the assembled medical team. "Chamomile will have to do, I suppose. Heaven knows these two don't need any more energy..."
"Chamomile it is, then." Karen closed the tricorder and returned the device to its storage rack before continuing. "Dr. Hernandez will finish taking care of you."
Alice frowned at that. "Why?"
"She has a full OB/GYN matrix, and I have almost no experience in that field. I will be back to check on you, though."
Sickbay
When Karen returned an hour and a half later, carrying a steaming cup of chamomile tea, Demi immediately pulled her aside into one of the workstations, and judging by the guarded look on the hologram's face, the news wasn't all rosy. "What's the scoop?"
"The twins are normal for gestational age, developing fine - no problems at all. I indicated the sex of both infants in the chart, doctor's eyes only - I wasn't sure if they wanted to know or not. Mrs. Brangwin, on the other hand..." Demi handed over a chart PADD. "She's got sugar in her urine and her fasting blood glucose tested 160, so I did a glucose challenge test..."
Karen scanned over the PADD, and tried not to wince. "Gestational diabetes. Fabulous. No wonder the twins are so active - they're on a gigantic sugar high."
Demi nodded in agreement. "That was my assessment as well. What do you want to do?"
"Diet and exercise first, then insulin if we can't get her sugar down."
"I concur. Do you want to talk to her, or should I?"
"I'll do it. Thanks, Demi." Dropping the PADD into her lab coat pocket, Karen walked into the main ward.
"So, can you tell me what's going on with these monsters?" Alice asked as Karen approached.
"As soon as I find a home for this teacup..." After a moment's search, Karen located a nearby Mayo stand, rolled it over and set the tea down on it, and then grabbed a rolling stool for herself. "Sorry about that."
"That's all right. Thank you for the tea, K... Doctor." Much like Stryker, Alice tripped over the attempted informality.
"Well, the good news is that the twins are perfectly healthy. They're growing at almost exactly the rate we predicted, and the internal scan and the amnio indicated no problems at all. Did you want to know what they are?"
"No, we decided we wanted it to be a surprise," Alice said, smiling a little. "You were saying...?"
"Right. We did find out why they're so active. You've developed a condition called gestational diabetes, which is a condition of elevated blood sugar that sometimes happens in pregnant women. In short, the kids are having a big sugar high, and that's what's making them active all the time."
Alice frowned, letting that sink in. "How serious is it? Can it be treated?"
"With this profile, it's more serious for you than for them. The worst that can happen to the twins at this point is that they'll be larger than average, which can make delivery a little tough. You, on the other hand, we'll have to watch for diabetes after you deliver, and you'll need to be followed very carefully if you and the Captain decide to have any more children. As for treatment, it's absolutely treatable. What we normally do is prescribe a low-sugar, low-carbohydrate diet, have you get at least 30 minutes of low-impact exercise - walking, swimming, and so forth - every day, and have you check your blood sugar daily. For 80 of women, that regimen works wonders. In the event we can't get your sugar down with that, we add insulin to the program. However, I suspect you'll do just fine with just diet and exercise."
"All right." There was a faint note of apprehension in the other woman's voice as she asked, "What do you think might have caused it?"
"Certainly nothing you did or didn't do," Karen replied. "Most of the time it's idiopathic - that's doctor-speak for 'it happened for no apparent reason.' There's a higher risk in those who have a family history of diabetes, but even now we really can't predict who will get it."
"But you're sure they're all right?"
Karen just smiled as she got up to fetch a portable monitor, a tricorder and an OB peripheral. "Don't ask me. Ask them."
The look of unadulterated joy on Alice's face as she watched the twins on the monitor was truly priceless.
Alice - Corridors outside of Sickbay
Alice was intending to go to Dot's Diner, but her mind was in a wow daze, so Alice wandered the corridors around sickbay.
Rakurai Stryker -
Bridge
Stryker and Liz was nervous as they led the bridge crew
through the Magic Barrier. They were flanked by Captain Sharon
Edwards and Counselor Kathryn Delore, sitting on the guest
seats.
Everyone heard a weird sound, a moan of metal. Stryker almost instinctively ducked. The moaning continued, it sounded like metal being crushed and torn apart. "What is that ?" Stryker asked nervously.
"Ablative armor damage ..." Ensign Belldandy replied. "Negligible. Shields and Structural Integrity at 90 "
"Slow to Warp 1.1" Captain Sharon Edwards suggested.
"Agreed." Stryker nodded. "Transfer more power to Structural Integrity and Shields."
45
minutes later
Ready Room
Captains Sharon Edwards and
Rakurai Stryker met privately in his Ready Room.
"Are you tired Captain." she told him.
"Yes."
"Why don't you take off for a few hours. Liz and I can handle things for the time being."
Stryker sighed. But atleast it wasn't a counselsor telling him the same thing. Jessica Williams told him a few years ago, Starship Captains are made of a different cloth. Only one of a million is right for this job.
About thinking up excuses to stay on the bridge, and failing, Stryker agreed.
Lt. Alister Maxwell - Main engineering
Agreed." Stryker nodded. "Transfer more power to Structural Integrity and Shields."
"Structural integrity field at 90 and
holding luitenant." Lt. Koral reported. Maxwell rubbed his neck
to relive the tension that had build up during the initial stages of
trying to reach warp speed within the barrier.
"Keep up the
good work Lt. I want you to monitor the structural integrity field
24-7. I will put together a team to relive you in a while."
"Hey,
chief" Koral said. Maxwell turned as he was on his way to his
office.
"This is a brilliant piece of engineering. You put
together that list and take some time of. I´ll handle things
from here and keep you posted."
"Sounds like a plan.
And, thanks I know." He said with a grin.
About one
hour later
Lt. Alister Maxwell - Dot´s Diner
The
engineer sits calmly at the bar sipping on a lime-color drink. The
light from the top on the desk shines smoothly and it makes him calm.
Resting. Suddenly a voice from behind.
"Chief."
"Captain"
Maxwell starts trying to get to his feet but Stryker signals he
should´nt. Instead he sits down at the bar beside the engineer.
No one of the two men are the first to speak when suddenly they start
at the same time, which happens twice and in a chorus "You go
ahead."
"This was awkward. Anyway I was on my way to the holodeck and I wondered if you´ld like to join me." Stryker asked the Chief Engineer.
"Well, Captain that sounds nice. Yes, I´d like that."
As the two men walked to the holodeck the captain asked. "Now, what is it you wanted to ask"
"Well it´s nothing really" Maybe these questions are to personal. No, nothing is better than going personal when you´re trying to break the ice.
"Yes, it is something."
"Ok, I wanted to ask how it feels to wait to become a father, that was my first question and the next was. Does the green skin itch when it´s dry." he said with a grin.
"Ok, I wanted to ask how it feels to wait to become a father, that was my first question and the next was. Does the green skin itch when it´s dry." Maxwell asked with a grin.
"To become a father. Well, it is mostly something like uncontrollable fear and great uncertainty. And something of amazing joy. My sister already had a daughter, little Sparky as I call her, is already grown up now. As for my skin, it become sensitive after about four hours, and highly irritable after seven hours. Then I reallly do need to go swimming."
Holodeck 19
The night sky stretched
across Tokyo, Japan as the sun disappeared below the horizon.
A pair of highly modified cars revved up their cars as they drove to a large secluded street in the industrial part of Tokyo. Alister Maxwell and Rakurai Stryker was about to face off against each other. Only the orange street lights lit the road. The moon was hidden behind the clouds. Alister drove a white Toyota MR2 to the starting line.
Stryker revved up the engine of his Honda S2000. Appropriate music blasted from a nearby boom box, "Space Boy"
Alister and Stryker watched a woman, vaguely 18 years of age, with orange hair in pig tails grab two flags and walk slowly to the starting line. She put the flags up, signaling to the drivers to get ready.
Alister seeing the flag raised moved his foot over the gas pedal. The flag girl suddenly dropped her flags and yelled "GO!"
Stryker hearing and seeing the flag go down pressed his foot hard against the gas pedal. Alister peeled out, the moment he cleared turn one, he pressed a little red button on his steering column, and sent a spray of NOS into his car's engine. The sudden rush of speed pressed Alister back against his seat, and the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He tightly held on the steering wheel, not wanting to lose control of his car while in this mode. He topped out at 240 kmh.
Stryker cleared turn 12 and smirked at the painted signs on the road, it "suggested" the speed limit was 50. The Edenian looked at his speedometer, it told him he was doing 90. Then Stryker used his nitro.
Alister felt the car going even faster, his engine tempature went up, almost in the danger zone. Behind him he saw a little blue car catching up. Alister was in the lead ahead of Stryker by a full car length, but that wasn't good enough, he had to stay in the lead.
The MR2 was a length and a half now in front of Stryker's car, but not for long. Stryker was quickly gaining on him, and soon, he passed Alister's car.
The highway left the city and gave way to hilly terrain. Mt. Akagi was famous for its dangerous curbs. Both races could hear the roaring of the engines, the cheers of the crowd parked around turn 19 and 20. Stryker extended his lead to six lengths after turn 25, a short medium left. Alister fought to close the gap, centimeter by painful centimeter.
Stryker felt really sick, the same way he does before something terrible is about to happen.
They floored the accelarator going through a series of four S-curves, but Alister's able to take them at full speed, and he passed Stryker, now less than a car's length ahead Stryker going into turn 29. Alister approached the next turn, 600 meters ahead. Stryker took back the lead using his favorite technique by using gutter.
Stryker clenched his hands tightly on the steering wheel and the gear stick, respectively.
Strkyer drifted hard at the entry of turn 31 before he changed the direction of the car, ready for another tight corner. He floored the gas, dragging in third gear as he exited the corner. The holodeck spectators were excited and astonished at the S2000 driver's skill. The S2000 was less than 90 centimeters gap from the guardrail each time it drifted.
Alister was unimpressed, as he managed to keep up with his opponent. The white MR2 and blue S2000 skidded side by side around the wide turn 36 and 37 when Stryker's Honda suddenly had a blowout. The two cars collided. Metal screamed and glass shattered.
For the briefest of moments, the rising cars almost looked graceful in its ascent-- a ballerina of glinting ivory--before plummeting into guard rail.
The holodeck grid had an overload and shut down, leading the only real people in a leap, lying on the grid of yellow and black lines.
When the world stopped spinning around Alister, he grimaced, "How do you feel?"
It was a really stupid question to ask but he had to ask it. Stryker blinked up at the Engineer, in a voice that sounded faintly childish he answered him, "Has my head exploded yet?"
Alister chuckled lightly, and shook his head, "No. No, it's still all there."
"Oh..." Stryker thought about this a moment, and didn't pull away when Alister turned his head to inspect his eyes, "Well it's going to soon."
Stryker grunted in pain as the two men slowly tried to stand up.
"Yes." Alister agreed.
Outside
Holodeck 19
Alister and Stryker limped to sickbay. Both of
them had moderte injuries and getting strange looks coming from a few
crewmen. "I hope Karen isn't in there." Stryker told
Alister.
"Tell me about it." Alister grimaced.
Sickbay, Main Ward
"All right, Ensign, that should take care of you," Karen said as she scribbled onto a prescription PADD and handed it to the young trainee helmsman. "You need to stay off that leg for the next week, and come back in two weeks to check things over and remove the casts, all right?"
"Thanks, Doc," the kid replied, hobbling out the doors on a newly issued pair of crutches. "See you in two weeks."
"Another day, another Holodeck casualty," Karen mused as she continued through the day's patient load. It did seem like an inordinate number of patients were having unfortunate run-ins with Deck Nineteen lately - in addition to the kid who'd just left with the torn ACL and shattered ankles (the Whistler Back Bowls simulation), in the past week the staff had seen third-degree burns from a walk in the Kilauea program, hand and face scalds during a tea ceremony in an Edo-period holonovel, crushed extremities while boulder climbing on Vulcan, a severe concussion from a golf ball to the head, and one case of near-drowning while swimming on Risa. She'd called Engineering about it twice, but they couldn't seem to find anything wrong with the unit, so the staff had resorted to cautioning their patients to observe safety protocols and refrain from overtly dangerous Holodeck pursuits.
Just then the overhead page went off. "Dr. Coleridge to Triage please, Dr. Coleridge to Triage."
A few seconds' walk brought her out to the triage desk. "What's up, Nikki?" she asked the triage nurse.
"Another couple of Nineteeners, both with hand, face and leg burns, rule-out concussion, rule-out spinal trauma. This time it was Banzai Racing."
"Who hit the unlucky 19 this time?"
"Captain Stryker and Lieutenant Maxwell."
Oh, this is going to be good...
/\
"Really, I might have expected this level of asininity from first-year cadets, but a starship captain and a future father? If your idea of a wholesome afternoon outing includes bombing around a racetrack at 200 kilometers an hour, I fear for your children's futures. What would have happened if you'd wrecked like this with the twins in the back seats? And as long as we're on the subject of kids, how do you ever expect to raise them with good health habits when Daddy can't even be bothered to get his low blood pressure and skin infection evaluated?"
"You're out of line, Doctor," Stryker growled, flushing pink, but Karen met his angry expression head-on.
"Oh, am I. Judging by your workup, you've probably been having dizzy spells, headaches and incurable itching for the past week or so, but you figured it would just go away if you ignored it long enough. If you'd come in then, it would have been a quick prescription and out the door, but now, it's going to take a course of vasopressors and IV antibiotics, on top of your injuries. That's a lot of wasted time and resources. With all due respect, that's not a real brilliant plan of action, sir."
Stryker grumbled at that, but decided to say nothing.
"You're not going to say anything to Alex about this, I hope?" Alister asked.
"No, I am not going to say anything to her. If nothing else, I'd never insult her intelligence by implying that her brother pulled such an idiotic stunt. Let me guess: you were the one who disabled the safety protocols."
"Uh, well, we thought..."
"I highly doubt it," Karen retorted.
"But the protocols won't let you race full out..."
"You of all people ought to know the protocols are there for a reason."
After treating the last of the engineer's injuries, she stepped back, arms folded. "You two are free to go, but so help me, if you get hurt monkeying with the safeties again..."
/\
Holodeck One
Four hours
later
"Amateurs," Karen chuckled as she stood in the women's surgical locker, changing from her uniform into a heavy flight suit-style racing outfit. Stryker and Alister had both taken off out of Sickbay like the furies were chasing them, both wearing an assortment of bandages and thoroughly chagrined expressions. She'd had a grand time pretending to read them the riot act; in fact, she was surprised Stryker hadn't suspected something when the staff kept suddenly excusing themselves to go laugh in the storage closet.
As she'd known going in, Holodeck One was running 'Banzai Racing,' and a check of the screen showed two racers on the course. "Oh, you boys are SO going down," she laughed to herself as she saw 'Nuts n' Bolts' and 'Kawaii' blazing around the hairpins at the 5-km marker.
Karen locked her helmet on, completing the disguise. The suit with its reinforced torso plates hid everything that might identify a racer's gender, and with the HUD visor down, her face was completely obscured.
"Computer, join game in progress, profile 'Ice Cube.'"
"Profile loaded. Enter when ready."
Wren - Sickbay
Wren was scanning the list of medications that were written during the last 3 months when the Captain and Chief Engineer come in with injuries, burns and alot of cuts. He wanted to excuse himself from the sight of blood. Interesting, he thought, Edenians have yellow blood.
Then some conversation later, the junior medtechs excused themselves and went into the supply closet for some unknown reason. This crew seems really eccentric. Too many months away from home, I suppose.
Alice - Dot's Diner
Alice met Stryker, Liz, Mike Anderson, the new counselour Kathryn Delore after their shifts at Dot's Diner. They sat down together and ordered food.
"What is it like to have babies inside ?" Mike asked Alice.
"Sort of neat, but sort of strange I guess. Especially given how active the twins have been recently" Alice answered.
Liz was intruged and sat up a little straighter, "You can feel them moving right?"
"Yes. But its awfully hard to tell their heads from their backside" Alice mentioned.
"Really ?" Kathryn Delore inquired.
Liz smiled, "Must be boys."
Mike gave Liz a mock glare.
Alister Maxwell - Aboretum
The engineer sits down on a sofa placed under some kind of bolian palm tree, he guessed anyway. A deep exhale displays the fatigue as he lets his face meet the artificial sunlight comeing from the roof and searching it´s way through the branches and leaves an intricate pattern of shadows on his face.
Relaxing on the holodeck with the captain. He smiles to himself. That´s a laugh. I´m going to have to check up on that holodeck. We can´t have people coming out of there with injuries despite the fact that the safety parameters are on. But it will have to wait. He turns to his right and let his eyes rest on som kind of yellow horseshoe orchid. Those things aren´t easy to grow. I wonder how they do it.
Suddenly
he feels the ship jerk. He jumps up and calls
Maxwell to
engineering, what is happening down there?
Well, sir. You
better get down here.
I´m on my way
As he walked to the turbolift he realised his right hand had started to shake again. It had done that during stressful situations since the war. He uses his other hand to rub it, trying to make it stop as he walks in to the turbolift. "Deck 33, stardrive. "
Capt Rakurai Stryker - Outside Alice and Stryker's Quarters
He was on his way to Dot's Diner, to surprise Alice when the floor shook violently. Stryker lost his balance, moving forward first, then backwards, gravity was offline, so he went flying. About ten seconds later he collided with Ensign Alexandra Maxwell, Cadet Kira Tierney and the Bolian helmsmen, Ert Dse Ularhe.
"Sorry" Ensign Ert Dse Ularhe said.
The four were in an awkard position in midair in close proximity, hands and feet everywhere. Then gravity was restored, they fell to the floor. More apologies were said before they went their seperate directions.
Corridor, Outside Dot's Diner
Like Stryker, Karen had been on her way to Dot's to join Alex for dinner, but no sooner had she stepped off the turbolift than a sharp jolt shook the deck, knocking her off balance. A second later, the artificial gravity failed, leaving crewmen floating all over the deck.
Reflexively, she tapped her commbadge, even though she wasn't on call. "Coleridge to Sickbay. You guys okay down there?"
"We're fine, Doctor," the duty nurse replied. "Is there a problem?"
"There was a jolt or an explosion of some kind outside Dot's, and we just lost gravity. You might want to prep for incoming."
"We're on it. Thanks for the heads-up - now go enjoy your dinner. Sickbay out."
Karen smiled at the nurse's protectiveness, but the smile was short-lived as the gravity was suddenly restored, unceremoniously dumping everyone on the deck. A chorus of "oof!", "ow!" and a litany of curses filled the air.
/\
As Karen walked into Dot's and made her way toward the back of the room, she blinked in astonishment at the sight before her. "You know, when I imagined you covered in whipped cream, this isn't quite what I had in mind..."
"Pervert," Alex replied playfully, wiping more of the offending confection from her face. "Sabaqwa had a special on banana cream pies for tonight's dessert menu. Problem was, when the gravity quit again, two of them floated off the waitress' tray. Gravity came back on, and voila..."
"Engineer a la mode. Why don't you go clean that off, and I'll order the drinks?"
Alex smiled roguishly. "Sure you don't want to help?"
"Now who's being a pervert?"
Lt Alister Maxwell Main Engineering
As the elevator doors
opened and revealed the chief engineer one of the officers by the
deflector control station cried out. "Chief, over here!"
Alister ran through the room up to the Trill ensign. "What is
it?". There was a brief powersurge in the reactors feeding the
main deflector. Somehow the polar areas of the field have been
reversed. The strain on the hull has increased by 50 and it´s
still rising."
The computer voice informed "structural
integrity field at 75"
Maxwell took up a PADD and glanced at
it. The Trill noticed his hand shaking. Quickly he put the PADD on
the console in front of him and started tapping on the controls to
the deflector. "The strain is to high." He tapped the
communication control on the console. "Engineering to
bridge"
"Bridge" The commander
answered.
"There are some difficulties with the field
emittors on the main deflector. The jerk of variating inertia comes
from a depolarisation of the" ... he looked at the ensign with a
smile..."Our grappling hook has been disabled sir. Through
somekind of powerspike. That gave som kind of field bubbles access
through the deflector field and on throughout the ship. It may have
been experienced like sudden lost of gravity or similar."
What
do you recommend? Archer asked impatiently.
We will have to
emit a inverted field to get us free from the vacuole. Or this will
break us apart. It will be a bumpy ride but we have to do
it.
Very well start the preparations for the
procedure.
As the engineers started working on the inverse
field the voice of the first officer sounded throughout the
ship.
All hands this is the XO. Brace for impact. Impact in 2 minutes on the computers countdown. Her voice was replaced by the computers. "Impact in one minute and fifty seven seconds. Impact in...
Capt Rakurai Stryker - Vertical Jeffries Tubes between Decks 5 and 6
Stryker was climbing the Jeffries Tubes ladder since transporters went knocked offline and turbolifts were set so only engineering and medical staff have access to them.
He reached the Bridge, 4 minutes later. Engineering pulled through with 23 seconds to spare, and Lt.-Commander Elizabeth Archer just experienced her first crisis. "Well done Liz." Stryker said.
He wondered if she felt overwhelmed. Her anxiety levels were so high, Stryker could smell sweat, proberly from the armpits, and definitly from the back of her neck. But given the fact that Human and Betazoids females makes such a big deal out of something like that (a bad learned lesson after telling Alice and Captain Jessica Williams that in public, oops! ) Stryker decided to pull Liz aside in 5 minutes and tell her in private she may need a shower.
Lt. Alister maxwell - Dot´s diner
After he had ordered some minor repairs to the emittor array on the main deflector, Alister took a much needed break and was now sitting at one of the tanles at the far end of the room. The table is dim litted and as Conselor Delore approached the table he tried very hard to hide his shaking right hand under the table.
"Hello, Alister. may I ?" She asked with a soft voice.
"Please do
Kathryn."
"How are things down in engineering?"
"Fine, just fine. Some repairs on the deflector dish but otherwise fine." he felt almost scared faced with having to sit at the same tale as the counsellor. Why? He asked himself and that left an echo in his head. There was no answer.
"I can sense that youré troubled. And I think I know why. i have just spoken to Luitenant Vaxx Scell on the Olympus."
"Oh, and what did he say?"
"He said that he repeatedly has ordered you to see a counsellor ever since he stopped treating you after you left the rapid response fleet for Earth. And you´ve never complied. Why?"
"First of all I want you to know that Counsellor Vaxx Scell loves to hear his own voice more than his patients. He was always telling me how things were and how I should try to heal my emotional wounds from being stuck on that rock for almost half a year. Get in touch with, in touch with..." His hand had had started to shake so much that when he reached for his mug he accidently spilled it out. As he reached for the napkin and started to clean up the spilled coffe he said. "I didn't want to listen to his advice because he didn't listen to me. I think it was some kind of cultural thing. He is a Bolian and they are comforted by talking and talking and..."
"Alister will you talk to me? I´ll promise to listen. You have problems to such an amount that they are displayed physically. Your hand is just an example."
"Is it that obvious?"
"No, not really. only to the attentive eye." she said with a little smile.
They started a casual conversation which did them both good. "One more thing Kathryn. Weren't you the officer that greeted me when i served on starbase prime for a short while?"
"Yes, I think I did. That´s where I remember you from." She said with a smile.
"It feels good talking to you. I hope you know how much comfort you infuse. And, yes, I will talk to you." He said as he left the table.
Kathryn you´ve out done yourself. She thought with a little silent laugh to herself a she reached for her mint tea.
Captain Rakurai Stryker - Corridor outside Alice and Stryker's quarters
Alice was heard yelling at Stryker, and he stormed out of their quarters.
A few doors down, Sammy was heard yelling at Tiko, he too stormed out of their quarters. "Alice having a bad day ?" Tiko asked Stryker.
"Can you tell ?" Stryker answered sarcastically. "How did we get ourselves into this bad day in pregnancy mess ?"
Captain Rakurai Stryker - Bridge
"We have entered the Seraris Regions!" Ensign Belldandy announced. "ETA to System Alpha 1 in fifteen minutes. The sensor blocking effect of the Magic Barrier is starting to wear off."
"We did it!" Liz exclaimed.
"We most certainly did," Stryker commented. "Mr. Kretak, begin sensor scans of System Alpha 1."
"Aye, sir."
"Status of the Enterprise ?" Stryker inquired.
"At last data burst comminique, they were travelling at three quarters impulse. Light damage reported. ETA: 5 days."
15 minutes later
"We have reached System Alpha 1," Belldandy reported.
"Lay in a course for Planet Five." Stryker ordered the young Bijani.
"Aye, sir."
Lt.-Cmdr. Liz Archer whirled around to face the captain. "Sir, belay that order."
Stryker nodded, "Belay that order, Ensign." Now Stryker had a mystified expression on his face. "What is the matter?"
"Planets Five and Six are surrounded by dronium particles; we cannot go into their orbits."
Stryker frowned. "Dronium particles? Aren't they supposed to be rare?"
"The concentrations here are too dense to have been caused by a natural source."
Kretak paused. "Sensor scans have confirmed that there are ruins of a highly advanced civilization on Planet Five. Negative lifesigns but ... there is an incoming carrier wave. I think that carrier wave is evidence that a computer system is still operational."
"I recommend that we send over an away team to investigate." acting-XO Liz told Stryker.
"Agreed. Belldandy, full stop." Stryker said, a nervous feeling gnawing at him.
"Aye, sir."
"Yellow alert ?" Liz asked Stryker.
"Yes." Stryker said. "Belldandy. Dronium particles usually means a lack of breathable atmosphere right ?"
"Yes sir."
Stryker tapped his combadge. /\ "Bridge to Doctor Coleridge. I need you for an away team mission plus one medtech." /\ Stryker opened a link, three-way now between Coleridge, the Bridge and Engineering. /\ "Bridge to Engineering. Lt. Maxwell. I need you for an away team mission plus one engineer. EV suits and magnetic boots is required. We launch in 30 minutes."
"Liz, Kretak. You are with me." Stryker said.
"Captain." Liz replied, "See you in private for a minute ?"
Ready Room
"Captains
stay on the bridge. First Officers to lead Away Teams." Liz
started.
"So, you will lead the away team. I'll just sit here on the bridge, be really really bored, and sulk." Stryker said, a mix of disappointment and pretend anger on his face.
Lt.-Commander Liz Archer felt uncomfortable, and under pressure now.
After about ten seconds, Stryker finally said "I am just joking. Alright ... mind if you make a suggestion ?"
Liz nodded.
"Take the Captain's Yacht. It has alot of armor, in case you need it."
Alister Maxwell - Main Engineering
The chief gave the PADD to the
Trill woman with the intricate hairstyle. She started looking through
the instructions her commanding officer had given her.
Alister
looked around in the engineering deck and was pleased to see his
sister exiting the turbolift.
"I´ve checked the Yacht, Chief. Everything checks out." She said as she arrived up to her two colleagues.
"Thank you ensign." He turned
to the trill and asked.
"Is there anything else you need
before you relieve me?"
"There is one more thing. This new configuration you have on the deflector system. "It´s fairly unorthodox why should we use it ?"
"It´s an umbrella dear colleague. I learned from a vulcan friend of mine. The Green, Bragg approach is supposed to lower the risk of having the magnetic constriction segments covered by Dronium oxide. It´s just a precaution."
"Ok, good luck then, to both of you"
As they entered the turbolift Alex said. " I remember you talked alot of Lunar station when you were at the academy, but you called it the vomitorium. Was it really that hard?"
"It´s an old name Alex, right from the first cadets ever to train there in the 2160's. And yes, the suit makes me feel a little bit trapped I guess. However It´s nothing that I can't handle. I bet you think it's comfortable"
She laughed " Well as a matter of fact..." The doors closed behind them.
Sickbay, Main Ward
After closing her end of the three-way comlink, Karen waved to her senior medtech, who was across the ward checking on a patient's medication regimen. "Cynthia, can I borrow you for a second?"
The tech finished her task and walked over. "Sure, Doctor. What can I do for ya?"
"Away team duty," Karen replied, ticking off the particulars on her fingers. "We're shuttling down with the engineering team in thirty minutes. Planet's chock-full of dronium particles, its atmosphere isn't breathable and there may be an advanced civilization at work..."
"Sounds like fun. Give me five minutes to sign my patients out to Shoji, and I'll be good to go."
As Karen collected her medkit and checked over the loadout, she glanced at the wall chrono, and had to stifle a groan as she realized that it was already 1600. Her shift was supposed to end in two hours, but the team would be gone much longer than that, which meant she'd be missing dinner. Again.
Her commbadge chirped just then, startling her out of her thoughts. "Coleridge here."
"Hi, hon," Alex's voice came over the line. "I'm really sorry, but I'm not going to be able to make it for dinner tonight. I just got called on an away team..."
Karen began to laugh softly. Talk about your twists of fate. "That would be two of us, then. I'm just finishing loading up."
"No kidding! Guess I don't have to worry about missing dinner." There was an answering laugh in the engineer's voice. "See you in a few."
Closing the connection, Karen finished packing her kit and headed for the door.
The three spacecraft approached out from behind the planet and towards the Pretoria. Each craft was unmanned, and little more than a solid black rectangle, set on it's side. They all measured 90 meters long, 40 meters high, and about 10 meters wide, and had totally featurless surfaces. The only thing apart from the smooth black surface was a glowing red sensor circle, placed on the bottom right of the front of each ship.
As they neared the Pretoria, they slowed down, and then stopped. Curious; the newcomer did not answer their greeting. Two of the ships broke formation and formed a triangle pattern surrounding the Pretoria. The machines tried a thoudsand times more to communicate, but received no response.
Analyzing the Pretoria as a threat, the lead ship powered up the plasma energy beam, and prepared to release.
nsign Racheal Skarsten looked at the unusual sensor readings. Her brow furrowed. She typed in the commands of a level 2 diagnostic on the lateral sensors. The male vulcan who currently served at the operations station raised an eyebrow and put his station on temporary hold. He rose from the chair and walked over to ensign Skarsten at Tactical.
"What is bothering you ensign."
She
looked back at him and answered "Nothing sir".
"The
next level 2 diagnostic on the lateral sensors is not scheduled to
take place untill this afternoon. Why are you performing one
now?"
She entered a series of commands that revealed the last sensor sweep of the planet. The artifact in the second and third runs was apparent for anyone with vast experience of sensor study. "As you se, this is not a natural phenomenon so I guessed it was a sensor malfunction due to the heavy concentration of dronium particles."
"Indeed you are perceptive ensign but your logic has a flaw. Observe." He leaned over and added a background scan of the system. It was clear that the artifact in the ensigns scan was something else than a malfunction. "It is apparent that you are on to something. Start an intense scan of sensor grid quadrant echo 1. I shall assist from my station."
--
A minute later. --
The vulcan operations officer suddenly asked
the captain to join him at his station.
"Captain, ensign Skarsten and I have studied a phenomenon on the aft side of the planet."
"A phenomenon, explain." The captain rose from his chair and approached the operations station.
"It appears to be an area with clusters of croniton and tachyon particles. There are also some kind of emission coming from this particular area."
"Display it on the viewscreen"
"Aye, sir" Skarsten answered and
performed the order.
The viewscreen showed an area of space that
was, hard to describe. It was blurry.. at a loss of other
words.
"What is it? Could it be cloaked ships"
"It is possible captain but there is no way to be certain. It could also be something shifting in and out of our time and ..."
"Space." Stryker finished the vulcans sentence looking intensely at the viewscreen.
