Disclaimer: The characters used within this are mostly the property of others. I have a few originals, but the vast majority are not original. Everything here is fiction. This is for entertainment only and not for profit.

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Araiansu - Chapter 29

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They returned to the bridge and brought everyone they met along the way. Sam brought up Rommie's work and showed it on the main screen. She said, "Okay what do we have than can seal the microfractures at least temporarily?"

Heather said, "I know where there are a couple of cans of spray foam."

"That works," Sam said. "Fortunately Rommie has identified the leaks exactly. Can we divide this into two groups, head to the rooms, make sure we identify the leak with something. You can bring up the specific room leak on the nearest monitor. Spray a bit on each, then go back and repeat."

Soon the rest of the crew they seldom saw had gone to get the job done. Fifteen minutes later the monitors showed the leaks had nearly stopped. Four hours after that Admiral Lindy appeared on their screen. "Nozomi, do you have any immediate needs for assistance?"

Sam said, "Nothing immediate, but it is not great over here."

Heimdall beamed over.

Sam said softly, "Hey Heimdall."

"You should rest," he said.

"You're right. You've got the rest for now?"

"I do."

Ranma and Samantha made their way off the bridge arm in arm.

Xe'ls and T'akaya bowed deeply to the Asgard.

"You give me honor I am not sure I have earned. Time permitting I shall check if your people in my universe also survived."

"Nevertheless, we honor you," T'akaya repeated.

Heimdall sat down at a station and immediately screens were scrolling by faster than anyone could read. The ship began to hum.

He said, "I am manually enabling what automatic repair systems can be handled without the assistance of the ship's heart. It is regretfully not nearly enough. What do you know of their state?"

Xe'ls said, "The one called Kasumi is deeply injured at the heart of where her life energy affects her soul. We think this also affects the one called Rommie."

Lindy beamed over with Doctor Camber.

The Doctor asked, "Will someone show me to the patients?"

"I will," T'akaya said.

After they left Heimdall said, "We can repair the ship to the point where Artha can tow us safely. With the resources of Atlantis I can repair all the remaining systems, which will indirectly help the heart."

Tonane asked, "How can my people help?"

Xe'ls said, "We should return to our planet. Alone, we are limited. Together we could heal them."

Lindy asked, "How badly is the structural damage?"

Heimdall put it on the main screen.

Lindy said, "Sandry and I can hold us together for that much time."

"Are you sure?" asked Heimdall.

"Yes. Reconnect Artha."

"Admiral Harlaown."

"Sandry and I are going to reinforce the structural integrity of this ship."

"That is not a normal use of your device."

"Nevertheless, we will do it. I require you to monitor and then tow us back to the Sailish planet at best possible safe speed."

"Confirmed. If your sure."

"I am."

"Sandry. Setup. Skip the outfit."

Power washed over her but left her seemingly unchanged, except for a glow of magical power that periodically pulsed over her skin.

"Sandry interface with the ships systems as required to identify and maintain structural integrity. In short, keep us in one piece."

"Aye mam. Nozomi reports available power tap. Shall I use it?"

"Sure."

The glow on her skin grew brighter as the device went to work.

Heimdall said, "Structural integrity is improving. We should be safe to tow now."

"Confirmed Nozomi. We are beginning the towing operation. At a safe speed it will take four point three hours. Is that okay Admiral Lindy?"

"We will manage. The power link to the ship helps."

Heimdall said, "I am slaving our drive to your systems with programming to run at minimal power to reduce shearing stress."

Seconds later Atha reported back, "We have the link and are adding it to our flight program."

A few minutes later he said, "We are now increasing speed. Revised ETA is two point one hours."

Xe'ls asked, "Is the ship really in such bad shape?"

Heimdall said, "Rommie and her partners were holding it together during the explosion and the unconventional use of the dimensional drive afterwards. It was very inefficient, but they lacked time to do anything better. Even the work Admiral Harlaown is doing is not sufficient to enable the drive at anything close to its full potential. The fact that it is technically the wrong job for this purpose also does not help, but it is the best we can do currently."

They waited silently until just over two hours later they emerged over the world in question. The other vessel's bridge appeared again on screen. "We are in orbit above the gate."

Heimdall said. "Can you transport Xe'ls and T'akaya to the nearby settlement? I am trying to minimize use of resources over here."

The two vanished in a flash of light. An obviously exhausted Lindy asked, "Can I release this?"

"Yes."

The power flowing through her faded.

Tonane steadied her.

"Thanks," she said.

"It is the least I could do."

She smiled up at him.

Thor's appeared on the main screen from on board his ship. "Greetings Heimdall. What is your status?"

"The worst damage is to the heart of the ship and Kasumi. The physical damage I can definitely repair with time. Those we thought were lost have been valiant protectors of the people below. They are returning with help to try to heal the heart and Kasumi. What have you discovered?"

"It was a dimensional bomb of an unheard of size. The area here has several proto ruptures that we are attempting to stabilize, but do not believe we will be successful on with the resources we have on hand. We are repairing what we can, but as of now, the Asgard are at war with whomever did this. It is a miracle Nozomi survived at all. I severely doubt any of our ships would have."

Lindy said, "Then the TSAB are at war as well. The proof of the construction of such a device is one of our only remaining death penalties without exceptions. I need to get there. Once I have rested I can help heal this. It is my actual specialty."

Over a dozen of Xel's people appeared.

Xel said, "We will go and heal them now."

Heimdall opened a second connection to the Artha. "Admiral Harlaown requires transport back to your ship to help seal an in progress dimensional rupture. I am forwarding the location. Supreme Commander Thor is on the scene beginning the process."

"Confirmed Nozomi." Lindy vanished in a flash of light. "We will proceed at best speed. Artha out."

Ten minutes later Nabiki entered the bridge holding a cup of coffee quite carefully. She asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

"What is the status of Rommie and the others?" asked Heimdall.

"I think they are healing Kasumi and Rommie. There wasn't space for me, so I came here."

"An unknown person, species, or entity has just committed an unforgivable sin and set off a large dimensional bomb. That this ship managed to survive is a miracle. The Asgard know of no current enemies that would be capable of such a threat."

"People seldom attack for straightforward reasons. They may claim some existing feud as the reason, but there is usually something more. My wild guess is the alliance you are forming is a threat somehow, though it is unclear how they would know this ship was coming here."

"It is possible they assumed we would eventually be contacted and be the ones to deal with the asteroid. We did protect the ancestors of some of these people."

"So, maybe someone with a grudge perhaps against you. The metal you need may have been a secondary reason, if it is known you use it in your technology."

"Perhaps. There is too much guesswork."

"Well, if you have a list of those capable of doing such a thing, I could take a look?"

"I will forward such a list to the station nearest you."

Nabiki sat down as she began looking at the translated documents. She said absently, "Whomever this was, wanted someone dead badly enough to do what they did."

She downed the rest of her coffee and got back to work. A few minutes later she casually commented, "You have a lot of enemies."

"No, we do not."

She looked again at the notes and said quietly, "I see."

Heimdall smiled.

"Was there anything special about the bomb?"

Heimdall blinked. "From the sensor data from this ship, and what Thor obtained after the fact, it was clearly a crude, but very large dimensional bomb designed to kill everything in every direction."

"Are you sure?"

"What else could it have been?"

"That is the question. Buildings have been totally destroyed in the past, not because they wanted the building destroyed, but because someone wanted to hide some other crime."

"An intriguing thought. I will analyze all the data again and attempt to find something hidden."

Nabiki nodded.

A few minutes later Heimdall said, "There were temporal discrepancies early in the explosion, well before the normal process of a dimensional bomb could begin."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that someone may be using time travel as a weapon, which may explain how they were able to know a target of interest would be here today and have a triggering device that would catch even them by surprise."

"I take it from your tone that this is bad."

"Very. Such efforts could result in the collapse of all of space time. All life in the universe, and possibly every universe, would perish. The fact that Nozomi survived will reduce the temporal shearing this time. I am alerting Thor. The situation is even more grave than we thought."

Thor appeared on the screen. His face was ashen. "You are certain?"

"As certain as I can be. Miss Tendo inspired me to look for things I would not normally consider. I found what I sent."

Thor said, "I am still working through the analysis, but I see no fault in your work. What do you think about obtaining the Zero Point Module cache the Earthlings found, and installing an Atlantean drone system in all Asgard and allied ships?"

"I cannot think of any other upgrade that will increase firepower more quickly. I recommend saving at least six of the modules for this ship."

"Why so many?" asked Thor.

"I request permission to install Asgard time travel technology on the Nozomi."

"I can't approve that. That is a full council decision only."

"I know. I'm betting this ship can more safely travel in time to do what needs done. We need that option. I'm seriously considering backtracking the asteroid. No Asgard or allied monitors I have checked have data on this."

"I can't formally authorize this work, but I suggest you begin what you can while keeping actual use locked away until it can be authorized."

"I would need to directly involve the heart as well as those linked with her. To gain the precision and care required they must be involved."

"I will back your judgment. I suggest the modules first."

"Agreed, though there is another likely issue. In order to obtain all the power modules, I will probably need all signatories of the alliance. The Furling are gone, I am uncertain if, as one of their protectorates, the Neraida will be sufficient."

Thor said, "The time for quiet action has passed. Make every effort to complete the alliance. Include a member of the Tok'ra, Nox, TSAB, Neraida, and humans. We will all sign again. I will get you signature authority, Ayiana and Rommie can sign for the Alterans. Show that to the guardian. It may be enough to bypass the normal restrictions."

"I will." Thor nodded, and then the screen went black.

Nabiki asked quietly, "What does it take to become like Rommie?"

Heimdall turned quickly in surprise. "That is not something the Asgard would normally support."

"But there is a way?"

Heimdall sighed. "There is. I will release some information to your station. It must not be repeated ever."

Nabiki swallowed and nodded before reading the screen. To become the core of a ship was akin to dying and being reborn. You would be horribly vulnerable for potentially years. There was no guarantee of finding a compatible partner, let along two, which was the minimum recommended for a warship, like Nozomi was. Both would need to be life adepts of exceptional caliber, though you could start with less. The potential had to be there.

There was an addition by Rommie. It seems the addition of a magical adept like Aya, even a week one was a significant help. She theorized that a pure magical adept might be possible, without also being a life adept, but she did not know, since Aya was a valid candidate for her life adept status alone, even if she was not, until recently balanced to the point recommended.

She went on to read how bad things could get with poor choices. A ship's avatar could be driven insane or potentially psychopathic with bad choices. In short, you could potentially live forever, but also be insane for most of it. According to Rommie's own notes, had she not been discovered by the Vatican she might have gone mad, even if she denied them access to even knowing she existed for the longest time. She wrote how she would get so hopeful every single time they would bring someone new to walk her halls, only to realize that they too did not have the potential to be her partner, let alone the resources to find the energy module she had to have to fly again.

The arrival of Daniel was hope personified. She was the one that had indirectly helped the Vatican spy on Stargate Command. He did not have the potential to be her captain, but he knew people with a ship. The fact that he was a language savant and actually could enter an intelligible command was also interesting. She could have ignored it, but that would have been foolish. This was the chance to go complete her mission. This was the chance get off this rock and fly again.

Nabiki was surprised to read so much from Rommie's own hand. She was further surprised that Heimdall had left the room. Rommie wrote that Ranma's rejection, even if it was for cautions sake, really hurt. That she had been desperate enough to sort of try to trick him. It was not her finest moment. Even then she wrote she hadn't intended to try to complete the bond without his approval, but she admitted, at least in the privacy of this log entry, that she was not entirely sure she could have stopped herself just then. It was shameful, but Ranma's unintentional rejection kind of snapped her back to reality. She may have hated his rejection, but it did at least help her focus.

And then Ranma brought Kasumi. She was perfect. Nabiki smiled at that, even if she wasn't reading about her Kasumi. Rommie didn't leave out any details about the bond, well other than the fact that she doubted her own sanity some days, but Kasumi was perfect and she was whole again.

Nabiki went back and reread all of Rommie's entries. It was a deep invasion of privacy, but having asked the question she needed to understand. Rommie was, certainly never less than a true soul, even starved for the life energy she could no longer make and half mad from loneliness, she was incredibly human; more so than Nabiki herself was many times in her life.

She then looked at the actual details of the process and hit a wall. The only path to birth a living ship that remained was for another ship and crew to help in the process. Her flesh and blood body would die. There was no way back.

Rommie faded in near her.

"Hey," Nabiki said, "Are you all right?"

"I'm better than I have a right to be. You have been busy I see. Are you serious?"

"I don't know."

"Fair enough. Here is one more deeply personal detail that I ask you not to repeat. Kasumi and Aya already know. Talk to them if you wish, but no one else."

"I promise."

Rommie looked at her for a moment before nodding. She then said hesitantly, "For a split second I considered shoving the burden of the entire emergency jump on Kasumi. I didn't want to die. She even volunteered to take it."

"But you didn't."

"No. I hated myself with every fiber of my being for even considering it and said we would do it together or not at all. This all happened in far less than a second, and I wasted part of it."

"Well your probably a better person than me then. There have certainly been times I'd have sacrificed Ranma or even my younger sister, if it got me out of trouble. I look back in horror at the me of that time. I can't condemn you for a passing thought you instantly rejected. You faced it together."

"Maybe."

"I'm curious, why didn't what you did work better?"

"No time. The subspace dive was the correct action. A dimensional bomb is actually going to radiate through subspace layers as well, but not as fast. Forcing the process, by overriding everything and forcing our way in with pure life energy was the only possible way to move quickly enough. It burned so much. Even with the Neraida help, I doubt we will feel up to doing much for another week, and their help has been miraculous. I'm not sure we would have recovered without it."

"I thought Ranma and his wife could heal?"

"This is touching on where the soul merges with the life energy network. They are very good, but I don't think they know how to rebuild one of those and that is all linked together. There is no way to separate and heal parts separately."

"So your attempt could have easily saved everyone but yourselves."

"Aya would have died too if her bond snapped. She may not have gotten the direct hit, but it wouldn't have mattered. The part where Kasumi's spirit left her body to stay in our merge so we could pull Aya in while keeping everything barely held together was also incredibly dangerous, but we needed the help. That deep in subspace is dangerous by itself. Things live there that eat ships like me. As soon as we were in normal space we separated, but that desperate stunt could have killed all three of us with the shape we were in."

Heimdall returned while they were talking.

"But normally things aren't this dangerous?"

"Day to day stuff no. Normal combat is fine. Surviving suddenly having a dimensional bomb blow up in your face, well that is very dangerous. I still can't believe anyone created one. I'm sure it is still instant death penalty no questions asked, beyond proving that a person or group is responsible."

Heimdall said, "It is. There are no exceptions."

Nabiki asked, "So not even if a hostage was taken and someone was forced?"

"The one who constructed the bomb would, without exception, die, as would everyone we could possibly find who was involved. If possible, we would, of course, save the hostages."

Rommie asked, "Have you learned anything else?"

"Yes, Nabiki helped me identify that the culprit is traveling in time."

"Makes sense," Rommie said ruefully. "After all if your not concerned with the consequences of dimensional bombs, then well adding time travel on top just takes the cake. Crap. This is very bad."

"Indeed."

"Wait," Nabiki said, "I've seen time travel, heck I've been involved in it. There was this stupid magical mirror that took us back in time."

Heimdall asked, "Did you actually change anything of note deliberately?"

"No. Nothing changed."

"And the mirror?"

"Destroyed."

Heimdall said, "Well there is at least one thing going right today. Are you aware of any other active uses of time travel?"

"No."

"Good. Things like being accidentally sent into the past, if nothing changes of note are not really a problem. Traveling to the past if you make absolutely no impact can be done safely, but the risk is still high. My people did it to help save their race, but they were very careful. We changed nothing, and just took scans."

"Then the real problem is intentionally using time travel to make changes?"

"Yes. The universe may absorb some amount of it, but there is a limit before a universe begins to break down. Combining dimensional bombs will make the cascade failure possibly extend to all universes, if such actions are not halted quickly enough."

Nabiki asked, "Would another ship like this increase the odds of you stopping all this?"

"Probably not," admitted Heimdall.

Rommie added, "Even ignoring the time to build and outfit a ship, the process of becoming is a couple years long, and would take time from me and my dear captains we probably will not have, at least right now. You can't just wake up in a ship body and fly like you were born to it."

"Oh."

Nabiki said, "Then the true priority is determining who is behind this."

"Correct."

"Then, with your permission, I'll continue to research."

Heimdall nodded.

Rommie said, "When this is over, if you are still interested…"

"You are the most amazing soul I've met to have endured so very much. I'm honestly not sure what my feelings will be then, or if I can be trusted with such power."

Rommie smiled a sad smile.

Heimdall said, "Nozomi could, with some effort, kill all life on a planet. Any Asgard warship could do the same. Anyone who is completely certain they can be trusted with such power is someone I'm going to guess cannot be. A living ship requires synchronization between at least two souls to cause such damage, so it would not be you alone."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Heimdall nodded.

-=oOo=-

Author's Note: Comments?

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