Author Notes: Jumpwave is my own creation. I would appreciate it if anyone who might want to use it to ask.

Chapter 5: Jumpwave

"Fire three rounds, left centre."

Malcolm did as he was instructed. The handgun was nothing like a phase pistol. It fired short rounds of red energy, and there was no stun setting. The shots created chemical reactions, which would do a lot of damage. "Good." Huron, the Head of Security on the Hephaestus, and an Andorian, nodded in approval, "You have a good aim, and have an aptitude for this weapon; usually people are put off by the awkward sight. I do not see any problems with you joining my team, apart from perhaps your language difficulties."

Malcolm discharged the cell in the gun, "We're having lessons in Common everyday. The fact that we had the chips means we have a slight knack for the grammar. I should be able to converse in Common basically by the end of the month."

The Andorian smiled, "Good." He checked the time, "The Captain wants you on the bridge in five minutes. The drive has finally been installed and we will leave the Drift presently. Not soon enough in my opinion. You can inform the Captain that you are to take the Bridge duty. Dismissed."

Malcolm returned the gun to the rack and made his way to the bridge. They had been on the Hephaestus for two weeks now, and both were settled in already. It turned out that Vorik used the Hephaestus for cargo runs; very productive too. It was perfectly legal, but Vorik tended to avoid the Covenant when he could.

Malcolm strode onto the Bridge and took his place at the station. Katrina was sitting in the pilot's chair, which was surrounded by various controls. The Bridge was larger than the Enterprise's, with more people on duty. Katrina twisted to talk to him, "The Cap'n is talking to the Commander about the next cargo run. So, you ready for my piloting skills?"

Malcolm frowned, "Warp isn't exactly hard to pilot."

"Warp? Nah, way too slow, and the drives are enormous. The presence of Oribium in this galaxy means we can harness a far better mode of faster than light travel."

Malcolm swallowed nervously; he didn't like the glint in Katrina's eye, "What is it?"

"Jumpwave. Oribium is the only substance that can give a ship a big enough kick for it to be traversed." Malcolm still looked blank, so she explained, "There is another dimension, only slightly out of phase with this one. By entering this dimension, we can enter Jumpwave. Across the universe, there are waves, pulsing in random directions; a good pilot can skip across these waves to get to their destination, it's what the skimmers under the ship are for. A piece of advice, hold onto something before we Jump. If you're not used to it, you'll go flying. Don't worry though, after a while, you get used to keeping you feet."

"And you're piloting?"

"Very funny. I'll have you know I was very skilled; my old master wanted me to be his pilot after his old one died."

The door slid open, revealing Vorik, "Ah, Katrina, I see you are prepared. The co-ordinates have been transferred to navigation, only a small journey, just a chance for you to display your skills. When you are ready." He moved over to a station parallel to Malcolm's and opened a ship wide channel, "This is the Captain; all hands prepare for a Jump."

Katrina gave a sharp nod, "Aye Cap'n." Grasping the controls, she slipped into a heightened state of concentration, "Engaging Jumpdrive."

The Hephaestus gave an almightily leap; if Malcolm hadn't been holding onto his consol, he would have been thrown back with so much force, he would likely have hit the wall a few metres behind him. The screen was filled with iridescent silver waves, like smoke, that danced and crossed over in all directions in a two-dimensional manner, one of which was enveloping them. Every time Katrina jerked the controls, the ship leapt over to another wave. "Switch to sensor control." Katrina instructed.

Immediately the screen switched to an overhead view of the Hephaestus, surrounded by green pulses moving across a large radius. They confused Malcolm completely, but apparently they made sense to Katrina, who piloted with ease. She called out, "Exiting Jump!"

The ship gave another nauseating lurch, before returning smoothly to impulse. Vorik gave the Vulcan version of a smile, "You are an excellent pilot, but then, humans always have been. Apparently, the mix between emotions, impulse and logic within your race are a perfect combination for Jump pilots."

"Thank you Cap'n. Should I continue to our actual destination?"

"Yes." He turned to a Ri'kya, "Qexr, you have the Bridge."

As Vorik left, Katrina called to Malcolm, "How'd you like it?"

"Bloody wonderful." Malcolm spat sarcastically.

Katrina laughed, and prepared to re-enter Jumpwave.

A human woman ran down the corridors of the Hephaestus, not stopping for anyone. She burst into the Infirmary, and confronted one of Ecklaqa's assistants. She spoke Common; the last three months aboard the Vulcan's ship having made her fluent, "Where's Mal?"

"He is in theatre at the moment. You will have to wait until they are done. Do not worry, we were very fortunate to get Ecklaqa as a doctor, she is one of the best. Please, if you could wait outside?"

Katrina nodded, went back out into the corridor and began pacing, "Bloody idiot." She muttered, "Can't go one week without getting shot at."

She had received the news about what had happened on the planet in her quarters, and had come straight down. She had no idea what had happened; only that the Captain was unconscious, Malcolm was in surgery and the Head of Security, Huron, was dead. It had taken the other two members of the Security Team an hour to get them back to the ship. Katrina wrung her hands, and then leapt put of her skin when someone touched her shoulder. She turned to see a Suliban woman. Her clothes were torn slightly, and covered in blood that was not her own, "You're a friend of Malcolm aren't you?"

"Yeah. Were you on the team? What happened? How is he?"

"I'm no doctor; I don't know how Malcolm is, though I wouldn't say he was doing too well. Huron died of blood loss in transit; we are lucky Malcolm did not. It is thanks to them that the Captain is alive."

"What happened? I thought it was just a meeting with a client."

"Yeah, a Nexritu, and they have tempers shorter than a Klingon. The conversation got really heated from what I could hear; only Malcolm and Huron were in the room with Vorik. Shots were fired, that's when we came in. It seems Huron and Malcolm managed to get Vorik out of the way, but knocked him unconscious in the process. We all got into a fight, but Malcolm and Huron got shot before we managed to disarm them. Huron had been shot by a round of Ika; the shots that contain the nanobots. He didn't stand a chance." She smiled weakly, "I'm sure Malcolm will be okay. He's strong, for a human."

"Yeah." Katrina leaned against the wall, and slid down to sit. It would be a long wait.

Katrina sat by Malcolm's bedside. He had been unconscious for a few hours now, and was the only occupant of the Infirmary, Vorik having been cleared earlier. A stirring drew Katrina's attention, "Malcolm?"

A groan, then, "Sod off."

Katrina grinned widely, "Sorry, you've been asleep for far too long already. Time to get up."

Malcolm blearily opened his eyes and regarded his friend, "What happened?"

"You were a compassionate idiot. Again. I swear you have no sense of self-preservation."

"Clearly."

Katrina snorted, "You are sick; you're agreeing with me." She sighed, "This is why I like being a pilot; hardly anyone shoots at you."

"Not as much fun." Malcolm half-joked.

There was silence, and then, "Why do you do it?" Katrina exploded, "We're not on any Covenant ship! Vorik is your superior, not your friend. Why do you risk your life for him? Your life is no less important than his, so why?"

Malcolm was shocked, "Where did that come from?"

"I was worried Mal; Huron died, you could have too. You're the only sane person on this ship and I don't want to lose you." Malcolm didn't reply, "I'm going to be late for my shift. I'll come by later, so get some sleep, okay?"

Malcolm nodded. Katrina strode out of the room, and then slowed to a normal pace as she meandered her way up to the Bridge. She didn't know what it was, but her life at the moment was making her jittery, like she needed to move on. She shouldn't feel like this; she was safe, settled and had a great friend. Nevertheless, she knew that if things didn't change soon, she'd probably go nuts.

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: I would love to know what you think.