Chapter Ten--More Aftermath

Holo-Deck Two-1220

"It's bad, isn't it?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah, I went into Engineering and things were exploding and relays were fried. It looked like a warzone."

"It is a war zone," Ben corrected.

"I heard the starboard nacelle is just about falling off and Turbo Lifts are down below Deck Ten," James said.

"We have eighteen hull breaches," Eric added.

"So, yeah, I'd say its pretty bad," Carrie concluded.

Jessica leisurely steered the tall sailboat around a small island in the Tropical Seas of Bajor.

Carrie was dozing on the deck after a long two hours of working in the Mess Hall. The warm sun felt good on her skin, it wasn't a real sun, but it still felt just the same to her, though her grandpa said he could tell the difference. Benjamin and James were sitting on the main deck playing chess. Cass and Eric quietly discussed the latest gossip on the ship, and Jared fished off the side of the ship.

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Briefing Room-1220

"We have to do something!" B'Elanna shouted impatiently.

"We are doing 'something', Commander," Tuvok answered calmly.

"Then we have to do something else! Because what we're doing now isn't working!" B'Elanna responded hotly. "How do I know! Well for starters, there's a giant hole in the Turbo Shaft above Engineering! causing Lifts to be out below Deck Ten. There's a torpedo sticking out of a wall on Deck 12! I'm about to duct tape that starboard nacelle on!" Tom smiled at his wife's use of the term 'duct tape'. "And! AND Deck Four has completely decompressed!"

"B'Elanna," Tom said quietly, pulled his wife into her seat. He put his hand on hers. She drummed her fingers impatiently. "I've gotten permission to land on Gheta. They can help us with repairs."

"Lieutenant Paris," Tuvok said speaking to Owen, "best speed to Gheta."

"Don't think about warp, the starboard nacelle will fall off," B'Elanna said sharply.

"How far to Gheta?"

"At Impulse, twenty-two days."

"We need warp engines, B'Elanna," Tuvok said.

B'Elanna sighed with anger. "I'll think of something."

"Dismissed."

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Engineering

30 Minutes Later-1250

"Hmm," Tom exhaled.

Tom and Harry paced as B'Elanna fiddled with an instrument. Seven, Miral, Owen, Vorik, and Icheb stood in random places around a small area in Engineering. There were thought wrinkles forming on all of their brows.

Harry stopped in his tracks. "Slugs!" he announced triumphantly.

"What?" B'Elanna breathed angrily, furious that Harry was thinking of slugs at a time like this.

"Remember when we were working on the Warp 10 barrier?"

"Harry," Tom whined, "why do you always have to bring up the slugs?"

"Because it's the best part of the story." He smiled giddily.

"Harry, just go," Tom said.

"We thought that the nacelles were being ripped from the ship, but the ship was being ripped from the nacelles!" he explained.

"I do not see the connection," Vorik commented, trying to make heads or tails of the story.

"It's not the problem, it's the solution!" B'Elanna stood. "Harry, you're a genius!" She slapped him on the back and got to work.

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