Chapter Sixteen--Repairs

Jeffries Tube Alpha 8-Deck Thirteen-1314

Vorik sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. He had been working tirelessly all day. The starboard nacelle was now secure in its casing, but high warp was still a long way away.

Currently he was crawling through a Jeffries Tube attempting to restore main power to Deck Thirteen.

"Stevens to Vorik."

"Vorik here," he replied stopping for a breath.

"Commander, we are experiencing more EPS malfunctions on Deck Thirteen, Section 18," the young engineer said over the COMM.

"I am near there, I will repair them. Vorik out," Vorik added another thing to his long list in B'Elanna's absence.

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Shield Junction 42-Deck Two-1318

"Try it again!" Michael Ayala yelled back to his son.

Sparks flew and the relay in front of him blew.

"Shut it off!" he yelled, shielding his face from the sparks. He disconnected the relay and looked at it. "This one's fried. I'll have to get another. Call in Daniels, and she'll help you with the rest of them." Ayala stood, taking the relay with him.

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Ready-Room-1430

"Main power has been restored to all decks. Deck Thirteen is still have a few EPS problems, but Vorik is on them. Shields are mostly functioning, but at low strength. Mike says he has to individually charge about half of the emitters and that will take about three hours.

"Luckily, the Ghetans had a material that helped us secure the starboard nacelle permanently. Although, high warp is still a long ways away.

"Most of the hull breaches are sealed and reinforced, including the breach in the Turbo shaft, and all of Deck Four. Internal sensors are operational, but on the fritz. Short Range, Long Range, and Astrometric sensors are scheduled to be operational in the next two hours.

"And the torpedo sticking out of the wall in Deck Twelve has been removed.

"All in all, the repairs are going well. The Ghetans are a big help."

"Very good. How are the patients in Sickbay?"

"The Doctor requested Ghetan assistance and three Doctors, Talen, Kohmar, and Seivom responded. They did discover that there was an air-borne virus, but it has disappeared from the atmosphere and the rest of the crew is not in need of worry. They are still working on a cure," Tom answered, sounding weary.

"How do you feel, Commander?"

"Me, Tuvok?" Tom sighed. "I feel useless."

Tuvok stood and rounded his desk. "Mr. Paris, you are many things and none of them is 'useless'." Tom smiled.

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Derek and Miral's quarters-1431

Jessica and Cass were long since gone. Carrie still sat on her couch looking at the small object. "What is this?" she asked herself for the thousandth time; no longer thing of her family's troubles. Carrie had had enough of trying to figure out what it was. She pressed the small button on the side that made it flash and stuck it to the almost empty coffee mug on the table, left there by her mother.

She saw it transport away, leaving a small amount of coffee behind on the table.

Carrie's mouth dropped and eyes widened. "Computer, where was that cup transported to?"

"Sickbay."

Carrie bolted off the couch and ran to Sickbay.

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Sickbay-1432

"What's this?" the Doctor asked, picking up and empty mug off his floor.

Naomi shrugged.

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