Chapter 4: A Ship Full of Wonders
He tried to remain as silent as possible, while making his way through the thick vegetation all around him. He knew that remaining even somewhat discrete in this jungle terrain would be a near impossible task, given the bulky armor he was wearing.
Rain trickled down on him, the drops making small splashing sounds as it hit the neosteel metal of his powerarmor. To Morham, even that noise seemed a bit too loud to his liking.
How marvelous this technology was, he thought, forgetting the game he was currently involved in, and deciding that worrying about the noise wouldn't do him any good. Here he was, in an extremely realistic portrayal of a jungle, yet still on a starship deep in space.
The trees, the bushes and the plants were really nothing more then photons, held together by miniature forcefields, or so he had been told. If you looked upwards, you could even see the stars in the night's sky, although there should be a ceiling there in the sky's stead.
It had been Worf who had first told him about this 'holodeck', as they called it, and challenged him to a friendly contest. The goal of the game was simple, all Morham would have to do was to reach a designated point in the jungle, and capture a flag there, with Worf and a few of his men trying to stop him along the way.
The Klingon, as his species was called, had offered to give a few men to Morham, evening the two sides up a bit. But the marine thought it might be a lot more interesting to go at it alone. After all, he hadn't been too impressed by the display the guards in sickbay had shown. Besides, the two sides probably utilized very different close combat tactics, most likely they would only get in each others way.
According to Worf, everything would be as realistic as the real thing, during this game, except of course that the shots fired wouldn't really kill you. A good thing too, Morham thought. As Bertha, his rifle, would make short work of the unarmored feds if he ever got a clean shot on one of them. Why those guys chose to wear nothing but their customary pyjamas during a firefight was beyond him, although Worf had claimed that no amount of armor on your body could save you from a phaser blast on full settings. Morham had still decided to wear the suit though, as it provided more then just protection.
He checked the short range sensors that were built into his suit, not really expecting to come up with any contacts so soon in the game, but still, he wanted to be sure. This was after all his first engagement with the Feds, and he didn't quite know what to expect from them.
Sure, they had their fancy technology, and even their 'phasers' as they called them. But even the dumbest soldier knows that the one doing the fighting is the man with the weapon and not the weapon itself. So it would be interesting for him to see how he fared against the likes of the Federation. He had the experience, they had the technology. Of course the men he was fighting weren't real soldiers, but merely a security force aboard a starship, but still, they would have to be at least somewhat trained in the arts of war, if they were to have any hope of repelling a boarding party.
'Blip', a sound resonated through his speaker system. It was a sound made everytime a new sensor contact was made. The blip was accompanied by an ominous looking dot on his heads-up display, showing the exact location of said sensor contact, and boy was it close. Only a few meters in front of him, and yet, he couldn't see anything through the thick darkness of the jungle. The vegetation was just too dense. He could have simply opened fire then and there, spraying the general area where the enemy was, and surely killed whoever was out there, but he chose not to. No, it would make too much noise and thus give away his position to the rest of the guards.
Taking down one enemy just didn't cut it, if you knew the next one would be able to take you down as a result.
So instead, he started circling around to the side, hoping to avoid detection and somehow sneak up on the enemy so that he could knock him out cold, instead of actually opening fire. A question crossed his mind then; did this holodeck shield people from blunt force trauma, caused by other players, too? He shook away the question immediately though, as he thought the Feds could do with a little toughening up either way. A hit to the head wasn't always a bad thing.
A short rush towards the target, aided by the mechanically augmented legs of his powerarmor, brought him up so close to the man that he could see the surprised look on his face, just before smacking the butt of his rifle in it.
Guess the safeguards didn't protect him after all, Morham thought, as the Starfleet guard fell to the ground, unconscious.
He left the downed guard behind and continued on through the jungle, nearing his target with each step. He wasn't far away now, he knew. But there were still two other guards, as well as their leader, Worf, out there somewhere.
Suddenly, a deft sound was heard, a sound like nothing Morham had never heard before. A fraction of a second later, a bright yellow bolt of energy flew past his head, nearly hitting him.
He threw himself to the ground, before he gave the matter any more thought, a good thing too, since the area where he had just stood was peppered by more of those energy discharges a second later. He lifted his massive rifle and pointed it in the general direction from where the shots were being fired from and pressed down on the trigger.
The sound of the electromagnetic coils in his rifle activating and deactivating in rapid succession was heard, with a host of needle sharp projectiles shooting out towards his enemy at supersonic speeds. The vegetation in front of him was ripped apart and the entire area he was firing at was bombarded in a torrent of devastating fire.
Another firm advantage of his weaponry, compared to the phaser rifles, was that it had a much higher rate of fire. A dozen of the projectiles might miss their mark, but that would be moot if even one of them hit. And as it was, one did.
Two down, two to go.
He didn't have to wait long for the next one of his opponents to make himself apparent though, as another burst of energetic fire launched out towards him. One of these bolts actually managed to glance him, but the computer must have interpreted that as a wounding shot only, as he was still in the game. He rolled to the side and came up to a kneeling position a few meters from where he had just been.
He checked his sensors to see where his enemy was, but there was nothing out there according to them. The Feds must somehow have managed to blind his sensors. Probably with those 'tricoder' thingies or something he guessed. You had to give them some credit, they might not be the best fighters, but they were crafty.
He stayed as still as possible, knowing that the darkness would shield him from prying eyes well enough, but not from ears. The real mistake to do now would be to try and move around to gain a better position.
'Crack' he heard a twig break a short distance in front of, and to his left. The night sky was filled with the sound of Bertha bringing peace to yet another of the Feddies.
Three down, one to go.
Another sensor contact made itself apparent on his heads-up display now, but this one was not from an enemy, it was the flag he was supposed to capture.
He continued on with his trek again, making his way towards his goal slowly, taking the long way around, and not the more direct route, though he seriously doubted that anybody wouldn't expect him to do just that.
After a while he came across the entrance to a small cave, the doorway barely large enough for him to fit through. There was obviously a fire in there as the dancing lights were clearly projected onto the rock walls. There were still no enemy contacts showing up on his HUD though, but by now he knew it would be useless to expect any. He decided to wait a while outside the cave, just to be sure the terrain was clear.
And then slowly, when he was content that the entrance was unguarded, he crept up to the opening and stepped through it. He made his way down the narrow corridor, his rifle pointing forward at all times, ready to unleash its fire at any given moment. If Worf decided to storm him in that narrow space, he would soon regret it.
He came around a bend, and could now see that the corridor opened up into a much larger cavern, some distance up ahead. A bonfire was blazing in the middle of that room, and a flag mounted on a pole stood nearby.
Damn! Morham thought. He knew Worf had to be in there, waiting for him, but there really was no way he could safely enter the room, he knew. He thought about it for a while, and finally decided that he would just have to rush in and hope to catch his one remaining enemy off guard by the sudden and bold move.
His muscles tightened, his mind focused, and then he exploded into action.
He ran as fast as he could, straight into the cavern, and as soon as he cleared the entryway he spun about, hoping to catch the Klingon, standing on either side of the opening, by surprise. But he was too slow.
Worf crashed into him with enough force to knock him over before he had even made half the turn. His rifle flew out of his hands and landed on the rock floor a few meters from him. Morham himself was now lying face down on the ground.
"I was hoping you would do that." He heard the familiar voice of Worf say.
Morham was a little surprised that he hadn't taken this opportunity to shoot him already, and so he slowly got up from the floor, and turned to face the Klingon.
"Not very sportsmanlike, to sit tight like that and wait for your opponent to make the first move. Were setting up a camp perhaps?" Morham chided.
"If I would have wanted to be unsportsmanlike, I would have shot you in the back while you lay on the ground." Worf retorted.
"Yeah well, in any case, I was hoping you'd be a little slower." Morham said and opened his visor. "So, what now?"
"We fight of course." Worf replied.
Morham couldn't see him holding any weapons though. "If you were thinking of taking me on unarmed, I'd advise against it. I'm much faster and stronger in this armor then a normal human. The fight would hardly be considered fair."
"And that is what will make it so… Interesting." Worf replied with a grin, that last word he had said with an almost feral voice.
Morham barely had time to notice when Worf suddenly leapt for him to punch him straight in the face. The marine staggered backwards, nearly falling over.
"Wow, that's some punch you're packing there." He said with a groggy voice, trying to focus his foggy sight while wiping the blood from his face.
"I took the liberty of disabling the safety protocols for hand to hand combat, it wouldn't be challenging enough if we couldn't feel each others hits, don't you agree?" Worf asked, circling the still wobbly Morham.
"Yeah, I kinda noticed that earlier, when I smacked one of your men with my rifle." He started explaining but was interrupted when Worf came at him again. This time however, Morham was ready, and was able to sidestep the punch.
The marine ceased this opportunity to grab hold of the Klingon, and a wrestling match ensued. Worf nearly matched Morham's strength, even with the powerarmor. But due to The Klingon's superior close quarters fighting skills, Morham was soon lying flat on his back again, staring at the ceiling.
All you had to do during a wrestling match was turn your opponent's strength against him. Morham had heard about this before, but he didn't know you were supposed to take it so literally.
"You're a worthy opponent Private Morham. But if you ever hope to be a true warrior, I suggest you brush up on your hand to hand fighting." Worf commented.
And just when the hell am I gonna start fighting my enemies hand to hand, Morham thought, but decided not to say it out loud. As his head was still dizzy, and would be hurting for days to come. He didn't want to make it worse by angering the Klingon further.
- - - - -
"May I join you?" Deanna heard a voice ask.
Councilor Troi looked up from her seat, at the messhall table, and saw Fitch standing there, with a tray in his hands. She wanted to say no, the Ghost, as he was now known as among the crew, felt very disturbing to her. But as a Starfleet officer it was her duty to accommodate the guests as well as she could. "Yes, of course. Have a seat."
"Interesting things these 'replicators', as you call them." Fitch said. "They can make you any kind of food in the blink of an eye, and from thin air too it would seem."
To him, this was a little overkill when it came to the general comfyness on the ship. No wonder these Federation people were all so placid and uninteresting. Then again, how much better off wouldn't the people in the Koprulu sector be if they had these same luxuries.
"Yes, they do tend to make things a lot easier." Deanna agreed. And in truth, she had become so accustomed to them, just like the rest of the crew aboard the Enterprise, that she couldn't even imagine living aboard a starship for an extended period of time without them.
"So, what did you order?" She asked and looked over at Fitch's plate.
"I'm not quite sure." Fitch answered. "I just thought I'd try a random alien dish, seeing as I've never tasted any alien delicacies before."
He was poking at some of the more exotic looking parts of the dish with his fork, while he was talking, wondering weather it was alive or not.
"There's actually something I've been meaning to ask you," He said after a brief silence between the two, while still trying to make up his mind on weather the food in front of his edible or not.
"Yes?" Deanna prompted.
"During my training, I came across many other telepaths, just like me, and they all seemed very alike, very similar to each other. It wasn't difficult for me to determine who had the talent, and who didn't have it. You on the other hand, you somehow feel different from them," He said, finally deciding to actually taste the food. "Why do you think that is?"
"Well, I suppose it could be because I'm part Betazoid, and in any case, I'm not actually a telepath." Deanna replied. She decided to elaborate on that part when she saw Fitch's questioning look on his face.
"Forgive me, I forgot you're not familiar with the different alien species in our reality." She said. "Betazoids are a species that look very much like your average human, but they do have one major exception. They're both empathic and telepathic."
"Empathic?" Fitch asked, almost choking on his meal. The choking part more due to the strange tasting dish then the sudden revelation that the woman in front of him was actually both part alien that had empathic abilities. "That means you can sense what other people feel, rather then know their specific thoughts. Yes, that might explain why you feel so different from the others."
"Are there a lot of telepaths and empaths in the Federation?" Fitch asked.
"No, well, there are certain races like the Betazoids that tend to all have these abilities to some degree, but among most species, including humans, those traits are extremely rare."
Fitch's attempt at further conversation was foiled when Deanna's comm-badge made its customary chirping noise.
"Counselor Troi, report to the sickbay immediately, the alien has awoken and you are needed." Without so much as another bite, she got up and excused herself.
Fitch, who didn't want the UFP's first meeting with the Protoss to slip by, without him there, quickly followed, explaining that he could be of some help in restraining the brute's psionic powers if he became hostile.
- - - - -
The Captain, along with Doctor Crusher, Morham and Worf, were already waiting for Troi and Fitch, as they entered the sickbay. The security detachment Picard had assigned to watch over the survivors, was also there, ready for any kind of trouble, and more then a little nervous when faced with the large and intimidating alien.
Fitch was a bit surprised to see that Morham had somehow managed to get a split lip and a few bruises on him, since last he saw the marine, and though he just itched to make some kind of witty remark on the matter, he quickly put the thought aside as there were more important things to mind right now.
Apparently the Protoss had gained consciousness only moments ago, as he was still sitting on the biobed, staring at the ground, and trying to shake the dizziness away.
The alien was well aware of the entourage outside the force field though, studying his every move with great interest. He used his psionic abilities to make a quick probing of the room, and as a result, he didn't feel all too threatened, as he could only sense ill will from two of the humans, the rest merely seemed curious, and perhaps a bit uneasy.
The question "Where am I?" came to the Starfleet Captain suddenly. It wasn't actually asked though, and neither could it be heard by ears, instead, it was as if the question had popped up directly in his mind. But somehow, the Captain still knew the alien had been the one asking the question.
Another small mystery, Picard noted. How had the creature actually known his language? It wasn't as if it would have had any opportunity to decipher it yet, and the translator hadn't had time to kick in, much less translate a whole new language.
The Protoss looked over at the Captain, who was the one standing closest to the forcefield at that time. The alien had correctly surmised that he was most likely the leader of the humans who had captured him.
Picard took a step closer and spoke with a clear voice. "You are on board the United Federation of Planets starship Enterprise, and I am Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of this vessel."
The dim lights behind the Protoss' eyes seemed to shift slightly as he looked at the Captain. But he said nothing.
United Federation of Planets, the alien though. It had never before heard of anything like that, yet it and its templar brethren had been thoroughly briefed before their mission to the Koprulu sector.
"We mean you no harm, we simply want to talk to you." Picard continued, hoping to get the alien to respond in some way.
The Protoss sensed that the Captain was being honest, he really was speaking the truth.
It still didn't know exactly what was going on around it though, and so, caution was still preferable to trust. It knew first hand how brutal and shifty the humans could be, having seen his brethren being killed by them. They were a young species, unpredictable and feral, in his eyes.
Yet, some of the minds in that room were different from the others, just like the mind of a Protoss was different from that of a human's. Did that mean there were other species there as well?
The alien looked around the room with a scrutinizing gaze, evaluating each and every one of the people standing on the other side of the forcefield. Two of them were different, one, was physically identical to the other humans, but the other, while roughly human like in appearance, also had several differences, most notably, strange ridges on his forehead. Yes, the Protoss though, that one was clearly a different species, but none that he had ever come across before.
Then another revelation hit the Protoss. The humans in the Koprulu sector shouldn't have had the technology to create forcefields yet, so how was it possible that he was trapped by one?
"Tell me, how did I come to be on this vessel?" The alien asked, narrowing its eyes at Morham, apparently recognizing the man from their previous encounter on the surface of Mar Sara.
"You were captured during our little skirmish," Fitch cut in, stealing the Protoss' gaze. "Yes, that's right, you lost the battle. But things didn't exactly go our way either. When we were transporting you back to our fleet, our ship flew into a spatial anomaly of sorts, and that's how we were brought here."
"And where is here? I have never heard of a Terran organisation calling itself the Federation." The Protoss asked, turning towards Picard again, seemingly unfazed by Fitch's attempts to aggravate him. "I have heard stories that say the Terrans in the Koprulu sector are originally from another place, a distant homeworld. Are you by chance from there?"
"That's actually quite an interesting topic, one which I think you might have some problems believing at first, but I can assure you, what I'm going to tell you is the truth." Picard started, though he would much rather have avoided this topic for as long as possible.
"To put it in simple terms, our people, though we are both human, are from two different dimensions. We, the Federation, come from a reality that is similar to yours, yet different in many ways." He explained, half expecting some sort of an outburst from the alien. A claim like the one he had just made, must have sounded ludicrous to the Protoss. But no outburst was forthcoming, the alien just sat there, watching the people around it.
"When you were being transported from the surface of Mar Sara, the ship carrying you flew into what was in fact, an inter-dimensional gateway of sorts, which acted as a portal between our two realities. We don't know how it was formed, or exactly how it works yet, but it is there, none the less."
"Strange." The Protoss said, thinking the thing over. He had been closely watching Picard's mind the whole time he was talking, to see if the strange human was lying.
"My people have never encountered any phenomenon like the one you speak of, and we have explored our own galaxy from one end to the other. Yet, I cannot sense any deception from you."
The Captain could hardly believe it, how could this creature believe him so easily. If their positions had been reversed, and he would just have been told that he was in a different dimension, Picard would never have accepted it at face value.
"Captain," Troi spoke up. "I think our guest is using his telepathy to check whether you are lying or not. Much like Fitch did when he first awoke."
"I see." Picard said, amusedly thinking that keeping secrets in the Koprulu sector would have to be hard indeed, seeing as every other person you came upon were scanning your mind. He hadn't thought that powers like that could be used on him with so little effort though, or without being noticed in someway. Reports of alien races using their telepathy on humans usually stated that the event was a clearly noticeable thing, even unpleasant at times.
"I can see that this is something your species does appreciate." The alien said.
"Well, usually we prefer to discuss things the normal way, looking around in another persons head without that persons permission isn't exactly considered polite."
"Then I will refrain from doing it in the future." The Protoss said simply.
"Good, though I suppose I can understand why you did what you did." Picard said.
The Protoss simply nodded in response.
Picard then decided to do something that no one else in the room expected. He had been studying the alien intently during their entire conversation, and while it remained quite enigmatic, he still felt as if it harboured no ill feelings towards any of them.
"As I said earlier, we mean you no harm." The Captain said, moving over to a nearby console.
"The Federation has no quarrel with you, or your people, and that's why I'm going to lower the forcefield surrounding you now, as a gesture of good faith." Picard said, he knew that this could be quite dangerous, but with his security detail there, he imagined they would be safe enough, even if the alien became hostile.
It was like he had said earlier, the Federation dislikes first contact situations where one of the people involved is incarcerated behind a forcefield. He needed to get the aliens trust, if any headway was to be gained.
"You can't do that!" Morham burst. "You can't let that monster loose! It killed my entire squad right in front of my eyes, its race destroyed a whole planet without any provocation, it deserves to be locked up, all of them deserve to be locked up!" He shouted, loosing all control over his anger.
To him, the Captains proposal, and apparent naiveté, were bordering on madness.
"My friend here might be a bit brusque when expressing his opinions, but I'm inclined to agree. Letting it go would be a very bad idea." Fitch agreed.
The Protoss shifted slightly, and focused his eyes on the disgruntled marine. "Destroyed your planet without provocation?" It questioned. "Would you rather have been consumed by the spreading Zerg infestation?"
"What the hell are you babbling about? What's a Zerg?" Morham continued ranting.
At this, the Protoss eyes widened briefly, much like a human's would, if he had been shocked by something. "You don't know about the Zerg?" It asked.
Morham looked over at Fitch, seeing if he knew something about what the alien was talking about, but he just shrugged as a response.
"Apparently not, but why don't you enlighten us?" The marine finally answered.
"This is strange news indeed," The alien started. "Yet it would explain some of the unanswered questions surrounding the Zerg, and their attack on your colonies. The Protoss was surprised when we first learned how far you had allowed the infestation to spread, we never could understand why you did not intervene, but now you're saying you haven't even heard of the Zerg?"
"Cut the crap already, what are these Zerg and what's all this about infestations?" Morham demanded, growing tired of the Protoss' circular answers.
Picard didn't understand much of what was going on, but he decided that it might be best to let the foreigners deal with this on their own, so he remained silent.
"The Zerg is a species, or rather a collection of many different species, controlled by some form of intelligence we have yet to discover. Once, each of the species that are now Zerg, were nothing but normal animals, but then the swarm came, assimilating them into their hive, and twisting them to suit their own needs, until finally, they remained but an echo of their former selves. We don't know much else about them, except that they for some strange reason, seem to be interested in assimilating your species into their collective."
Captain Picard couldn't help but cringe at the phrasing the Protoss had used, it sounded a little too familiar to him. In fact the entire description of the Zerg sounded much like the Borg, except for the exclusion of the cybernetic component.
"That's a bunch of crap!" Morham said dismissively. "How come we've never heard of these Zerg, if their supposed to be attacking us?"
"While I probably wouldn't express myself as colourfully as my fried here, I too would very much like to hear about this." Fitch said.
"I'm afraid this new revelation is as puzzling to me as it is to you." The alien replied. "The planet you call Chau Sara, had been completely overrun by these beasts, with several of your major colonies burning. I do not see how such a thing could have escaped the notice of your leaders." It explained. "We burned that planet to protect you, and ourselves, by preventing the infestation to spread to your other worlds. There was nothing we could have done for the people still alive on the surface."
"Sorry, but that still just sounds like a bunch of crap, you're only telling us this to get free, right?" Morham laughed. "Fitch, can you use your fancy brain power to see if the bastard's lying?"
"Afraid not, his mental defences are too strong." Fitch answered.
"If you wish, I could lower them temporarily, if that is what it would take for you to believe me."
"It would be a start, at least." Fitch said.
"Then so be it, my mind is open." The Protoss said.
Fitch took a step forward, and locked his eyes with the giant alien, concentrating as hard as he could.
"Well, is it working?" Morham asked impatiently.
"It would go a lot faster if you'd just shut up. His mind is alien to me, I need some time learn it before I can go poking around for information." Fitch sneered.
A few moments passed in silence, as the entire assembly eagerly waited for the two telepaths to finish their session. Picard thought about asking Troi to see if she could learn something of what was going on, but then decided against it. It would be better to see how this all played out.
"It's true." Fitch finally said, breaking the telepathic link, and backing away from the Protoss.
"But that just doesn't make any sense, how could we not know if we were attacked?" Morham asked, still unconvinced.
"Actually… I think I might have an explanation." Fitch said. "It's quite simple, really. I think the Confederacy did know about it, but chose to keep the whole matter secret. During my latest missions, I've come across a few reports, telling that strange creatures had been killing and mutilating people on Chau Sara, seemingly at random." He explained.
"What I first thought strange about the thing, was that the Confederacy was interested enough in these seemingly mundane critters, to mark them as highly classified. I think these might be the Zerg the Protoss mentioned."
"Yes, that sounds very much like the Zerg." The Protoss agreed.
"Then, what's their purpose? Why were they attacking civilians on Chau Sara?" Fitch asked.
"Like I explained earlier, their exact motives remain unclear. All we know is that they have taken great interest in the human species."
"This still doesn't explain how we've never heard of them." Morham said.
"That should be pretty obvious, even to a monkey like you." Fitch said. "The Confederacy never told anyone about them."
"Yeah right, why would they keep something like that a secret?"
"Who knows, but during my service to the Confederacy, I've learned that they'll do just about anything to achieve their goals, including selling out an entire world to be killed, if it served their purpose at the time. Remember Korhal? They're still capable of things like that."
"This is bullshit! Can't you see that he's just telling you this so that he can get free and then kill us all?" Morham shouted, unwilling to accept what he was hearing.
"No," Fitch said calmly. "I checked his mind, he's telling the truth, weather you want to believe it or not is of no relevance."
Picard decided to take this time to voice the suggestion, he made earlier, again. "If what the Protoss says is true, then I really see no reason for keeping him confined behind a forcefield." He said, much to the dismay of Morham.
"But I will say this only once, Protoss. If you start any trouble while free, I will use any means necessary to pacify you, and throw you right back in that cage." Picard said, letting what he had said sink in for a while.
Then he proceeded, and pressed a few buttons on the console in front of him, disabling the forcefield. The artificial barrier of static energy flickered briefly, and then vanished.
The alien took a few tentative steps forward and reached out with its hand, to see if the barrier was really gone, and much to his pleasing, it was. "I thank you for your trust in me, Captain Picard." He said and walked out to position himself directly in front of the people standing there, his full height towering over them.
"My name is Thalas."
Picard smiled and nodded in appreciation. "Well, now that you're free, there are still a number of things I'd like to-"
But before he had the chance to go on, the entire ship rocked violently, nearly throwing the people in the sickbay off their feet. Picard grabbed hold of the console near him and tapped the comm badge on his breast hurriedly. "Picard to the bridge, report!"
The voice of Commander Riker could be heard over the comm. "Captain, the anomaly is growing in diameter, and we've been caught in the intensifying gravity well it's projecting."
"Move away from the anomaly, maximum impulse! I don't want to be pulled in if the gravity gets any stronger." The Captain ordered.
"We're trying sir, but the gravity is already to strong! If we keep trying to break free, we risk breaking this ship apart!" Riker shouted over the ever increasing din in the background. And as if on queue, the ship started trembling violently, its hull straining under the constant pull between the two opposing forces.
Damn, Picard thought. Just when things seemed to start looking up, something like this had to come along. It all seemed almost too convenient, like it had all somehow been staged. He quickly shrugged the thought away though, as there were more pressing matters to focus on right now.
"It seems we have no choice then." He said solemnly. "Disengage the engines and reroute as much power to the shields as you can, let the Enterprise drift into the sphere. Hopefully we'll be as lucky as our guests here, and reach to the other side in one piece."
Riker acknowledged the command and ordered the helmsman to disengage the engines. The shaking ceased almost immediately, and the Enterprise started drifting towards the anomaly peacefully.
A few seconds later, the ship crossed the outer edge of the spatial phenomenon, its metal hull being encased in the strange liquid like substance inside the sphere.
Then the shaking started up again. Consoles exploded into sparks, as the very fabric of reality was warped in places, and the groaning sounds of the outer hull could be heard echoing inside the ship.
Picard held on to the console he was standing next to, gritting his teeth and hoping that his beloved ship could survive the anomaly's turbulent inner workings long enough for them to reach the other side.
If there even was an other side.