Chapter 77.
Demon.
(Scott POV)
We have been running low on Deuterium We were putting Voyager on Grey mode.
"The ship is Grey. Captain, We've cut power to Deck 4 through 9, Replicators, Holodecks, and all other nonessentials are offline," Harry said. "Remaining systems are operating at 20% Capacity,"
"Tom how long can you keep us flying?" I said.
"With the deuterium supply this low, even at 1 quarter impulse, we'll be out of gas inside a week," Tom said.
"Harry see if we can use the ZPM's to give our some more time," I said. "Everyone redouble your efforts, Keep your eyes open for new sources of Deuterium, Tuvok, Chakotay, I want recommendations for further methods of Conservation, Harry, You and I will give them a hand in Geophysics, See if we can't synthesize a substitute fuel, In the mean time we stay in grey mode, If Anybody's got any other ideas, I'm listening,"
"We could set up a bicycle in the Mess hall, attach a generator, Pedal home," Tom said.
"Why didn't I think of that?" I said.
"And I volunteer Harry to take the first shift," Tom said.
As Harry Scoffs. as we chuckled.
XXX
"Captain's Log Supplemental, I've ordered adaptations to our shields to repel the thermionic discharges, Hoping that the benefits will out weight the risks, We're now trying to beam Deuterium from beneath the Planet's surface, End log," I said.
"Ready here, Captain," 7 said.
"Stand by, Harry, shunt whatever additional power you can to the containment field I don't want any of those atmospheric gases seeping in," I said.
"Aye Captain," Harry said as we got Rumbled.
"A thermionic discharge has stuck the forward shields, They're holding," Tuvok said.
"Let's get this over with before you tell me otherwise, 7 do it," I said.
"Energize, Transport in Progress," 7 said.
As we got hit.
"Shields are weakening," Tuvok said.
"I'm reading an overload in the pattern buffers," Harry said.
"Abort Transport. 7," I said.
"Controls not responding," 7 said.
"7 Get yourselves out of there now," I said.
XXX
"The good news is Nozawa and 7 have both been treated and released from Sickbay, And the Planetary gases have been expelled from the Transporter room," Chakotay said.
"And the Bad news," I said.
"The Transporters are offline," Chakotay said. "It'll take days before they're back again,"
"Great, We lose valuable energy on a course change, And all we get for our trouble is another downed system, Can we send a probe to collect the deuterium," I said.
"It would incinerate within seconds of entering the upper atmosphere," Tuvok said.
"Then I don't see any other options, Tom put us back on our original course, 1 quarter impulse," I said.
"Captain Maybe I can help," Harry said.
"Harry, the bicycle thing was just a joke," Tom said.
"I've been thinking, With Tuvok's shield modifications and a few tweaks to an environmental suit, I could take a shuttle to the surface and mine the deuterium from there," Harry said.
"Need I remind you Ensign, That there is no environment less hospitable to humanoid life than a Class-y," Tuvok said.
"Actually Tuvok no you needn't remind me, What's the alternative? Resume course, Creep along at quarter impulse, Hoping we'll find fuel before we end up dead in the water," Harry said. "We've got deuterium within arms reach, We can't let the opportunity slip away without at least trying,"
"He's got a point," Chakotay said.
"You wouldn't be able to communicate with us, of you got in trouble, and until we can get Transporters back, We couldn't beam you out," I said.
"Even with modifications, It wouldn't be long before your suit began to corrode," Tuvok said. "Exposure to that atmosphere could kill you within minutes,"
"I know the risks," Harry said.
"Even if I agreed. I'd never let you go alone, Tom think you land a shuttle down there," I said.
"It would be a bumpy ride but I think I could do it," Tom said.
"Tom, You with Harry, Get as much as you can. But if your suits began to Corrode, Return to the shuttle and get the hell back here. Clear," I said.
"Yes sir," Harry said.
As they left.
I was in my Ready room. As my door bell rang.
"Come in," I said.
As Chakotay came in.
"Tom and Harry have left with a shuttle Tuvok is trying to keep it on sensors as long as he can. But so far they are good so far," Chakotay said.
"Good," I said.
"Tuvok to the Captain," Tuvok said.
"Go ahead," I said.
"Sensors managed to show the shuttle with Lt Paris and Ensign Kim are on the planet surface," Tuvok said.
"Good, Keep trying to keep a lock on them," I said.
"Understood," Tuvok said.
"I still can't believe Harry Put Tuvok in his place back there," Chakotay said.
"Now that was funny," I said. "Like come on you love seeing Tuvok getting out down a peg or 2,"
"To be honest, Yes it is funny," Chakotay said. "I gotta go. The Doc has asked me to head down there,"
"Catch you later," I said.
As Chakotay left.
XXX
"Tuvok to McCall," Tuvok said.
"Go ahead," I said.
"Captain, We have lost contact with Lt Paris and Ensign Kim," Tuvok said.
"On my way," I said.
As I headed out.
"Any luck," I said.
"There is too much interference," Tuvok said.
"Keep Trying," I said. "Commander Chakotay To the Bridge,"
"On my way," Chakotay said.
"Try scanning for infrared signatures," I said.
"There's too much interference," Tuvok said.
"What's up?" Chakotay said.
"Tom and Harry still aren't back," I said.
"Want me to take another shuttle down and look for them," Chakotay said.
"And risk losing you too? Either we keep waiting until we run out of deuterium and get trapped in orbit. Or," I said.
"Or," Chakotay said.
"We land Voyager," I said.
"As you know Captain, The landing procedure requires a significant output of energy. With Shield Strength as low as it is, We can't even be certain the Ship will survive the descend," Tuvok said.
"With other option Have we got. The Deuterium is down there. And we up here and stuck without it. We came this far," I said. "Bridge to Engineering. B'Elanna Use all 3 ZPM's Vent all Plasma from the Nacelles, Transfer any available power to Atmospheric thrusters and Stand by to commence landing sequence,"
"Captain, You know what could happened if the ZPM Module takes a hit," B'Elanna said.
"I know but we are going have to risk it. Use one of the Shields. Atmospheric Thrusters, And the last one for whatever we need to it for," I said.
"Acknowledged, Captain," B'Elanna said.
"Chakotay Take the Conn," I said.
"Tom is going to be sorry he missed this," Chakotay said. Taking over Conn. As I laughed.
"Blue Alert," I said.
"Commander Tuvok to all hands, Go to Blue Alert and Report to Code Blue Stations," Tuvok said as the Klaxons went Blue.
"Atmospheric controls at standby, Landing struts online, Inertial Dampers at Maximum," Chakotay said.
"All operative deck report Condition Blue," Tuvok said.
"Chakotay, put us down," I said as I went and sat down.
As Chakotay took us in.
"We're on a Declining glide trajectory, Altitude 150 Kilometers," Chakotay said as we got hit.
"A thermionic Discharge, Shields down to 97%," Tuvok said.
"At least the ZPM's are doing their jobs," I said.
As we got hit again.
"Shields down to 86%," Tuvok said.
"Chakotay," I said.
"I think we're through the worse of it," Chakotay said as we got hit. "Almost,"
"Shields at 73% and falling," Tuvok said.
"Can you boost them," I said.
"Negative there's no more available power," Tuvok said.
"Engaging Landing struts," Chakotay said. "Brace for Impact,"
As we hit the ground hit.
"Status," I said.
"I could give you a litany of Damaged systems, Captain, But suffice it to say, Now that we're down, We won't be going up again soon," Tuvok said.
"Start getting repairs on the way," I said. "Nice one Chakotay Bumpy landing," As Chakotay laughed. "Take an away team and Find Tom and Harry,"
As Chakotay left.
"Cancel Blue alert," I said. As the Klaxon went off Blue and back to Normal.
"Chakotay and 7 have left Voyager," Tuvok said.
"Transporters," I said.
"There are almost back online," Tuvok said.
"As soon as they are beam all 4 of them back and the Shuttle," I said. "What's wrong,"
"I shut down life support on Deck all decks but 1 and 5, It should provide us with an extra hour of Breathable air," Tuvok said.
"Chakotay to Voyager," Chakotay said.
"McCall here," I said.
"We found Tom and Harry," Chakotay said.
"First good news I've had all day, What about the Deuterium," I said.
"We've got a few kilos, We're on our way back to Voyager now," Chakotay said.
"What's your position?" I said.
"About 2 kilometer from the ship," Chakotay said.
"Captain, Transporters are coming back online," Tuvok said.
"Chakotay we got Transporters back we should be able to beam you back form that distance, But it may take a few minutes," I said.
"Have the Doctor standing by, I think he's gonna want to take a look and Tom and Harry," Chakotay said.
"Tuvok inform the Doc," I said.
XXX
As I got to the Transporter room.
"Energizing," I said, Beaming them back but then Tom and Harry start gasping. "Beam Tom and Harry Directly to Sickbay, Now, 7 Get the Deuterium to B'Elanna fast, We need main power back, I'll be in Sickbay," As I headed there.
"What happened to them?" Doc said.
"As soon as we beamed aboard they started suffocating," Chakotay said.
"Computer Erect a level 7 Force around Bio Bed 1 and 2," Doc said.
"Forcefield established," Computer said.
"What are you doing?" I said.
"Filling the area inside the force field with the atmospheric gases from the planet, Try to breathe normally now," Doc said. "Easy or you'll hyperventilate,"
"Find out what the hell happened on that Planet, I want to know what caused this," I said.
XXX
"Captain's log Supplemental, The Doctor Continues to investigate Tom and Harry whose condition seems as serious as it is strange, End log." I said.
"There stuff was in our blood," Tom said.
"I'm afraid so, From what I can tell, you've been bioformed," Doc said.
"Bioformed," Harry said.
"Think of it as the opposite of Terraforming," Doc said. "In the same way we adapt the environment of a planet To suit our needs, this planet, Has adapted you,"
"How is that possible?" Tom said.
"This fluid somehow entered your bloodstream and began altering your physiology at the cellular level, I haven't had the time to analyze the substance, But I hope to have some answers soon," Doc said.
"I'd like to run a few tests of my own if you don't mind," I said.
"Of course," Doc said.
"So what's our prognosis Doc," Tom said.
"Well, You'll be fine, As long as you keep breathing the planet's gases," Doc said.
"You mean we have to stay inside this forcefield," Harry said.
"I'm afraid it's worse than that, The Atmosphere of this planet can't be replicated safety," Doc said.
"Which means, If we leave, We'll have nothing to breathe," Tom said.
"Exactly, Either we find a way to treat your condition or You'll have to be left behind," Doc said.
"Can the Bioforming process be reversed," I said.
"As it stands, I don't know enough about the phenomenon to undo it," Doc said.
"I'll send Chakotay and 7 back to the surface, They'll gather as much information as they can, B'Elanna and I will start running tests on this," I said.
"Let me go with the away team Captain, I know the Terrain I can help," Harry said.
"Doc," I said.
"Right now, They're better off out there than they are in here, But one of you will have to remain, So I can monitor your condition," Doc said.
"No problem, I volunteer Tom to stay here and play guinea pig," Harry said.
"Let's get going," I said.
XXX
As I headed for the Lab where B'Elanna was.
"Magnify Factor 10," I said. "Deuterium, Hydrogen sulfate, Dichromates,"
"Add a little sodium chloride, And it would probably taste a lot like Neelix's Soup," B'Elanna said.
"We should be so lucky," I said. As we chuckled. "Oh what's this? Magnify factor 20,"
"Captain?" B'Elanna said.
"Have a look," I said.
"That's a protein molecule," B'Elanna said.
"This fluid has organic properties, Let me see the sample that's been treated with the Reagents," I said.
"Captain," B'Elanna said.
"Wow, Let's get you to Sickbay," I said.
"Wait, That might not be necessary," B'Elanna said as it got off then recreated her thumb,
"The hell," I said.
As we shook.
"McCall to Bridge, Report," I said.
"A large pool of the metallic compound is forming beneath the ship," Tuvok said. "We are sinking Captain,"
"Get to Engineering, We're getting off this planet," I said.
As I headed for the Bridge. As the Klaxons were Blue.
"Report," I said.
"I can't explain it," Chakotay said.
"I think I can prepare for Transport," I said.
"Beam us directly to Sickbay," Chakotay said.
"No, I don't wanna go back," Harry said.
"Transporters are still acting up, We can't get individual locks, We're gonna have to grab you in a wide beam, and bring you in as a group," I said.
"Acknowledged," Chakotay said.
"4 of the away team are in Sickbay Captain," Tuvok said. "I'm trying to get a lock on the 5th, It is Ensign Kim. or rather one of the Ensigns Kim," As we shook again, "The ship is continuing to sink,"
"Then there's no time, We've got to get back into orbit, We'll worry about harry or however he is once we're up," I said. Taking over Conn, "Bring antigrav thrusters online,"
"Thruster Enabled," Tuvok said.
"Inertial dampers to flight configuration," I said.
"Dampers reconfigured," Tuvok said. "All stations report ready,"
"Initiating ascent," I said. "I need power to the thrusters,"
"We are being restrained by an electromagnetic force," Tuvok said.
"Compensate," I said.
"No effect," Tuvok said. "Deck 14 and 15 are submerged, The ship is continuing to sink,"
"Report," I said.
"Thruster are offline die to an overload, Deck 13 through 15 are submerged, If we don't life off seen the hull will begin to corrode," Tuvok said.
"Bridge to Engineering," I said.
"Ensign Vorik here," Vorik said.
"I need thruster back online," I said.
"Lt Torres sent a team to the thruster control junction," Vorik said.
"How long," I said.
"At least a half an hour," Vorik said.
"Even if thrusters are repaired, They won't be of much use if we sink any deeper," Tuvok said.
"There must be some way to disperse it," I said. "Try a nadion burst from the Phaser emitters, It may weaken the Electromagnetic properties, of the fluid,"
"Aye Captain," Tuvok said.
"I'm on my way to Sickbay to Check on Harry and Tom," I said. "You've got the Bridge,"
As I headed there.
"Doc," I said. "How are they?"
"Lucky, the backup systems in their environmental suits kept their vital functions going, It'll take time but they'll recover," Doc said.
"And him," I said.
"Aside from his ability to breathe the rarefied air on this planet, He's the exact duplicate of Mr. Paris," Doc said. "He even seems to share his memories, Not to mention his winning personality,"
"B'Elanna and I discovered that the fluid has mimetic properties, Somehow it reads the DNA of whatever it comes in contact with and recreates it," I said.
"Fascinating," Doc said.
"Can you tell me who you are?" I said.
"Please just let me go back," He said.
"Not until I find out why 2 of my crew have been duplicated," I said.
"Captain you have to believe me, I don't know any more than you do about this, Until he showed up I thought I was Tom Paris, A little changed by my experience on the Planet maybe, But not I don't who or what I am, All I know is that I have to get off this ship and go back down to the surface," He said.
"We're ready to try The Nadion Burst Captain," Tuvok said.
"Do it," I said.
"What are you doing?" He said groaning.
"Captain," Tuvok said. "We're receiving an urgent hail, It from Ensign Kim the one on the surface,"
"Put him through," I said.
"Captain, Please Stop what you're doing," He said.
"If you really do have Harry Kim's memories, You know I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this ship back in orbit," I said.
"You can't do that," He said.
"Why not?" I said.
"I. I'm not sure, I understand it myself," He said.
"Well, then you're gonna have to help me figure it out," I said. "Mr. Tuvok, I'm on my way to Transporter Room 1, Erect a level 7 forcefield around the platform fill it with Atmosphere from the planet and then Beam Mr. Kim or rather his duplicate aboard,"
"Aye Captain," Tuvok said.
As I went there.
"Do you have a lock on him," I said.
"Yes sir," She said.
"Energize," I said. "Release my vessel,"
"We can't do that," He said.
"We," I said.
"The Planet and I, We're connected somehow, I can't Explain it, Captain, I only know that you've got to stop,"
"And I'm willing to stop, But I'll say it again Release my ship," I said.
"No We need you," He said.
"McCall to Tuvok, Fire," I said.
As He drop and then changes before it return to looking like Harry.
"What are you?" I said.
"Stop, No," He said.
"I'll fire again," I said.
"You're killing us," He said.
"You're leaving me no choice," I said.
"It's not fair, It's wrong," He said.
"McCall to Tuvok," I said.
"No," He said. "No, no, no, Please no more,"
"Hold your fire Tuvok," I said.
"Captain, We are continuing to submerge," Tuvok said.
"Hold your fire," I said.
"Acknowledged," Tuvok said.
"I want some answers," I said.
"I'm trying to understand, This is hard for me as well," He said.
"You said you have a connection to this planet, You talk about it like it's alive," I said.
"Alive, Yes, But not the planet," He said. "The silver Blood,"
"The Compound that sampled Harry's DNA, And created you," I said.
"Yes, But it's never been conscious never sentient before now, Before me and the other," He said.
"Tom Paris," I said.
"We're the first," He said. "Don't you see, you came here, you showed us, When the compound came in contact With Tom and Harry, It experienced awareness for the first time, Before It was only instinct Sound and light and heat, But those 2 showed us thought,"
"I'm beginning to understand, This silver blood, Experienced sentience And now you want more, You want to duplicate the rest of this crew and populate this planet," I said.
"You're trying so hard to reach home, but, this can be home," He said.
"Not for me, Not for my Girl or my crew," I said. "Do you understand why we can't stay here?"
"I think so," He said.
"Well then release us," I said.
"We'd rather die than be alone," He said. "We deserve life,"
"This silver blood that created you, It duplicated Harry without killing him, So you don't need our bodies, Only samples of DNA. Release Voyager, And I'll speak to my crew, And if they're willing, I'll let you duplicate the rest of us," I said.
"Bridge to McCall," Tuvok said.
"Go ahead," I said.
"We've stopped Captain, we're no longer submerging," Tuvok said.
"Understood, We're getting out of here Tuvok, But first Assemble the Crew in Cargo bay 1, And have the Doctor meet me there," I said.
"Captain," Tuvok said.
"I'll explain later," I said. "Time to meet your new family,"
XXX
"All systems ready for lift off," Harry said.
"Code Blue Status confirmed," Tuvok said.
"Take us up, Tom," I said "Let's go home,"
"Aye Captain," Tom said.
As we took off and went to orbit then broke free of orbit then went to Warp.
That's all for this chapter.
More to follow.
Stay tuned and safe.
Love Y'all
PEACE!