Chapter 108.
One Small Step.
(Leah POV)
I was in my quarters. It was 2 AM couldn't sleep. As I was up playing on my PS4. Playing The Last of Us. I almost have the storyline finished.
"Senior officers to the Bridge," Harry said. As we went to Red Alert.
As I headed out and meet up with Tom and Tuvok. As we got to the Bridge.
"It's 2 in the morning, Harry, This better be more than a little turbulence," I said.
"You won't be disappointed, We've got level 9 gravimetric distortions closing on our position," Harry said.
"They are emanating from Subspace," Tuvok said.
"On screen," I said. "Shields,"
"It's heading right toward us," Tom said.
"Evasive Maneuvers," I said.
"Captain," Chakotay said.
"Say good morning to 30 million terrajoules of subspace energy," I said.
"This thing is following us, I can't outrun it at impulse," Tom said.
"Go to Warp," I said.
"It's disrupting our Warp field," Tom said.
"If it any gets closer the gravimetric stresses are going to rip the plating off our hull," Harry said.
"Captain, I recognize this phenomenon, It's Borg designation is Spatial Anomaly 5211, It's attracted to objects that emit electromagnetic energy, We have to cut power and reverse our shield polarity," 7 said.
"Do it," I said.
As it flew right passed us.
"That was close," Tom said.
"Hold on I recognize this too, It's Graviton Ellipse, According to the Federation Database, it travels through subspace, emerging occasionally without warning," I said. "Ellipses have only been observed a handful of Times,"
"Ares 4," Chakotay said.
"Wasn't that one of the early Mars missions?" I said.
"Yes, The command module and it's pilot were engulfed by a similar phenomenon back in 2032," Chakotay said.
"I remember reading about that, 2 astronauts were stranded on the surface for weeks before a rescue ship arrived," Tom said.
"No one's gotten this close to a Graviton Ellipse and lived to tell about it," Chakotay said. "This could be a remarkable opportunity,"
"Go to Yellow Alert. Keep our power output at minimum levels," I said as the Klaxons went normal. "Match it's course and speed, but maintain a safe distance, if something goes wrong I want to be able to out run this thing,"
"Aye Captain," Tom said.
"I suggest we launch a probe, See if we can find out what makes this thing tick," Chakotay said.
"Do it fast. There's no telling when our visitor is going to burrow back into subspace," I said.
XXX
"She was 46 meters, 92 metric tons, powered by a third generation Ion drive, And equipped with a transpectral imager," B'Elanna said.
"Ares 4 was piloted by Lt John Kelly, His ground team, astronauts Rose Kumagawa and Andrei Novakovich, were close to complete their survey mission when Kelly reported an object closing on his position, Then he and the command module disappeared from NASA's Lidar scopes," Chakotay said.
"And into the history books," Tom said. "That incident almost derailed the Mars program,"
"Mankind's first encounter with a spatial anomaly," Tuvok said.
"That we really know of," I said.
"7 you said the Borg were working on a way to get inside the Graviton Ellipse," Chakotay said.
"Shield enhancements," 7 said.
"Well maybe we could apply the same enhancements to the Flyer," Tom said.
"Captain do you intend to try to find the command module," 7 said.
"Or what's left of it," I said.
"By my calculations, we have less than 16 hours before the anomaly goes back into subspace," Tuvok said.
"Then we have to work quickly. Harry, B'Elanna, help 7 modify the Flyer's shields, Tom, review the Database of Ares 4 mission, It might tell us something about this anomaly we've missed," I said. "We're going to need a mission leader," As I looked at Chakotay.
"I volunteer," Chakotay said.
"Knew it," I said. "Let's do it, Dismissed," As Everyone but 7 left. "Something on your mind, 7?"
"The anomaly is as dangerous and unpredictable now as it was 300 years ago," 7 said.
"The Delta Flyer is more advanced than Ares 4, We'll be taking every precaution," I said.
"That may not be enough," 7 said.
"I appreciate your concern, but this is my call," I said.
"Searching for the command module seems more sentimental than scientific," 7 said.
"I can't argue with that, If scientific knowledge was all we were after, Then the Federation would have built a fleet of Probes, Not starship," I said. "Plus don't forget what B'Elanna said about the module. it was equipped with a Transpectral Imager. True Kelly will be long dead, but if he managed to keep it going for who knows how long. That Data could come in handy. That's why Exploration is about seeing things with your own eyes, In this case, We're exploring the past,"
"How will retrieving the artifact enhance your appreciation of history," 7 said.
"By making us part of it, in the same way that excavating the obelisks of ancient Vulcan or finding the Shroud of Kahless, makes those explorers part of their history, Here's the crux of it, As a Borg, you didn't study the past, you ingested it, you never really developed an appreciation for humanity's history, maybe this is an opportunity for you to do some exploring of your own," I said.
"Are you ordering me to join this mission?" 7 said.
"Let's just say, I would be volunteering to go on this mission but I'm needed on Voyager. So Maybe I'm encouraging you to volunteer," I said. As I left.
XXX
The Delta Flyer just left.
"They're clear," Harry said. "They're approaching the perimeter in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,"
"Tuvok be ready with that Tractor beam," I said.
"We're within 2,000 kilometers, gravimetric interference is increasing," Tuvok said.
"It's nothing compared to what they're going through, They're really getting knocked around in there," B'Elanna said.
"The shields have weakened but they're still holding," Harry said.
"They're approaching the anomaly's core," B'Elanna said. "We've lost sensor contact,"
"Harry," I said.
"The Com link is still active," Harry said.
"Chakotay to Voyager. We're in," Chakotay said. "I wish you could see this, Captain, It's incredible,"
"We're all ears," I said.
"It's very calm, no gravimetric distortions, The E.M. activity is creating a natural luminescence," Chakotay said. "Tom called it mood lighting,"
"Hey, B'Elanna it's the perfect romantic getaway," Tom said.
"I'll take your word for it," B'Elanna said.
"We've detected asteroid fragments, pieces of vessels, Matter from every quadrant of the galaxy," Chakotay said. "Next time I lose something I'll know where to look, Instead of a Graviton Ellipse we should call it the Kitchen sink Anomaly, the Chemical interactions have even created a primitive atmosphere,"
"Nothing you'd want to breathe Of course," Tom said.
"7 what are you making of it," I said.
"Well I suppose it's intriguing, Some of the matter appears to be extra- dimensional in origin," 7 said.
"Sounds like this anomaly's gotten around," Harry said.
"Any sign of the Ares 4 Command module," I said.
"We're picking up traces of the hull, but our sensors readings are being refracted by all the debris in here," Tom said.
As we shook.
"That was a gravimetric surge caused by the anomaly altering it's course by .006 degrees," Tuvok said.
"We just got a huge jolt out here, It's changed course," I said.
"We didn't feel a thing," Chakotay said.
"By our estimate you have 5 hours, 36 minutes, before that anomaly returns to subspace. You better get a move on," I said.
"Understood," Chakotay said.
"B'Elanna reconfigure the sensors see why it changed course," I said.
"Already on it," B'Elanna said.
XXX
We felt another jolt.
"Captain the anomaly just made another course change, .003 degrees," Harry said.
"That's the 3rd one in an hour, something has to be attracting it. B'Elanna," I said.
"I'm still working on the sensors but nothing yet," B'Elanna said.
"I think it enjoys being unpredictable," I said.
"We know it has a taste for eletromagnetic energy," Harry said.
"So what could Generate an EM field large enough to get it's attention but still not show up on sensors," I said "Dark matter, "B'Elanna realign the sensor array for that fast,"
"I've got a spatial disturbance, 3 million kilometers away, Your right, it's a dark matter asteroid," B'Elanna said.
"Called it," I said.
"The anomaly's heading right for it," Harry said.
"Time to impact," I said.
"4 minutes, captain," Tuvok said. "we can't predict how the impact will affect the anomaly,"
"But it's a safe bet it won't be a gentle nudge," I said. "Voyager to Delta Flyer, We've got a problem, the anomaly's on a collision course with a Dark matter asteroid,"
"We've located the Mars Orbiter," Chakotay said. "We're adapting a tractor beam. Give us a minute,"
"You don't have a minute, Chakotay, Get out of there," I said.
"Captain," Chakotay said.
"Now, Chakotay. From what I'm seeing this asteroid is speeding up," I said.
"Captain both the anomaly and the asteroid are accelerating," Tuvok said.
"They're attracting each other like a pair of magnets," I said.
"At this rate It'll impact in 56 seconds," B'Elanna said.
"Chakotay, you've got less than a minute," I said.
"Acknowledged," Chakotay said.
"30 seconds to impact, they're still not clear," B'Elanna said.
"Chakotay Status," I said.
"We're on our way," Chakotay said.
"20 Seconds," B'Elanna said. "Impact,"
"The Delta Flyer," I said.
"Still not clear," B'Elanna said.
"The gravimetric distortions are increasing," Tuvok said.
"I've lost the signal with the Flyer," Harry said.
"Get it back," I said. "Helm keep us with that anomaly,"
"Captain the Anomaly is showing signs of returning to subspace They have 2 hours to get out of there," B'Elanna said.
XXX
"Captain, I'm using the probe as a transmitter relay, Try it Now," B'Elanna said.
"Voyager to Chakotay Please respond," I said. "We can't detect you,"
"Voyager, This is Delta flyer, respond," 7 said.
"Are you all right, What's your status," I said.
"We've sustained heavy damage, Captain but we're alive," Chakotay said. "It's good to hear your voice,"
XXX
"We could install the same shielding on a class 2 shuttle and take it in," Harry said.
"It took us hours to make the modifications to the Flyer," Tom said. "We've only got 82 minutes,"
"What about a Jumper," I said.
"At least 1 and 3 quarters of an hour," B'Elanna said.
"We don't have that much time," Tom said.
"It may be possible to modify a tractor beam to cut through the gravimetric interference," Tuvok said.
"You'll never be able to get it all the way to the core," Harry said.
"Get to work on it, If we can get the Flyer out, We can tractor beam her away from it," I said.
"You said all the energy conduits are fused," B'Elanna said.
"Correct, We can't get power to any of the primary systems," 7 said.
"If the replicators were working we could whip up a new Plasma manifold," Tom said.
"What about an old manifold," I said.
"Captain," B'Elanna said.
"Ares 4 command module should have one right," I said.
"The Command module may be 3 centuries old. but the power distribution system isn't that different from the Flyer's, Right here, This control panel in the main cockpit," B'Elanna said. "It was called an ion distributor, With a few tweaks it could be modify to channel warp plasma,"
"Even if it were possible, we'd have to obtain the object before we can adapt it," 7 said.
"Do you have enough power to beam one of you to the module," I said.
"Yes ma'am, I'll go," Tom said.
"Not so fast Tom, If another gravimetric surge hits, we'll need you at helm," I said. "7,"
"Are you encouraging me to volunteer again, Captain," 7 said.
"You read my mind, try to keep an open com channel with us too," I said.
XXX
We were on the bridge.
"Captain, You should hear this," Tom said.
"And I can't get a fix on my position, but I'm alive, and the C.M. seems to be intact," Kelly said. "I'm inside this, whatever it is,"
"Chakotay, captain you hearing this," Tom said.
"Loud and clear," I said.
"It's amazing, everyone assumed he was killed instantly," Chakotay said.
"Apparently not," I said.
"It's very calm, Like I'm in the eye of a hurricane," Kelly said. "Something spooky, the way I figure it, If there's a way in there's got to be a way out, I'm going to fire up the transpectral imager, before I initiate another engine burn. Collect as much data as I can. Jeannie, I may not be bringing you back a Mars rock, But I promise you, I'm going to do everything I can to get home. Ares 4 Mission record, October 23, I'm starting to feel like Jonah, How long was he in the belly of that whale, 3 days, I got him beat by a day or 2 already, The EM interference is disrupting communications and lidar, And I can't see the stars, so there no way, I can get a fix on my position, If this thing's moving as fast as it was when It pulled me in, I could be a long way from Mars by now, The Imager's been working overtime, cataloguing all the matter in here, but alot of it defies analysis, I think we're going to need to make room on the periodic table, Where the hell am I? Power levels have dropped another 15% since my last systems check," As the was a metallic scraping. "I think I just saw another spacecraft, either that or all this dehydrated food has gone to my head, I got it, the Hull's made of some kind of alloy, I can't make heads or tails of it, I shouldn't have been so dismissive. I remember giving Kumagawa a hard time when she claimed she saw a UFO over the gulf, I told her it was a meteor or another piece of Mir, I guess I owe you an apology, Rose. Ares 4 Mission record October 25, this has been a nice place to visit but I'm ready to come home, I've prepped the ion drive, Channelled all the power from the thruster reserves into the main tank, I have enough fuel for one last engine burn, Wish me luck. Ignition sequence," As we could hear power surging. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1," As We hear the Engines firing. "I'm losing pitch control, Gyros aren't responding," As we heard engines powering down. "Power failure, I've got to abort, I'm not going to make it. All systems go, watch me Dad, I'm flying, bad landing. Call the medevac team, John Kelly's first flight, Not exactly A-Okay, remember that Dad, I jumped off the roof with a parachute made out of blankets, I guess I didn't Calculate the aerodynamics, Of course, I was only 6, I guess this is John Kelly's last flight, This time, I can't blame it on pilot error, This time, No regrets, What I've seen proves we were right to come out here, We're not alone, I know that now, The Module's losing power. I'm taking life support off line. Rerouting whatever's left to the imager, Keep it running as long as possible. Mission Control, Dad, Whoever finds this, do me a favour, take all the data I've collected. and put it to good use, I hope you don't look at this as a failure, I don't, Actually, I do have one regret, I never found out who won the World series, I'm tired, I can't," As It stopped.
XXX
"Paris to Voyager, Open the shuttle bay doors we are coming home," Tom said.
"They're already open," I said.
"How long do they have," Tuvok said.
"4 minutes," Tuvok said. "The Ellipse is returning to subspace,"
"The Flyer," I said.
"They're approaching the perimeter," Harry said. "2,000 meters, 1,800,"
"The Anomaly's submerging," B'Elanna said.
"Are we in tractor range," I said.
"Not yet," Tuvok said.
"Take us closer," I said.
"Captain," B'Elanna said.
"Do it," I said. "Red Alert," As the Klaxons went red.
"They are still out of reach," Tuvok said. "Another 300 meters,"
"Closer," I said.
"We'll be pulled right in with them," B'Elanna said.
"Just a few more meters," I said.
"We're too close," B'Elanna said.
"I've got a lock," Tuvok said.
"Reverse thruster, Full impulse," I said.
"We got them," Harry said.
"Pull them back into the Bay. Tell the Doc to standby," I said. "Stand down Red Alert," As the Klaxons went back to normal.
XXX
"Captain's log, Stardate 53301.2, The away team collected over 60 terraquads of data on the anomaly, Before we begin to analyze them, We've decided to pay our respects to an old Colleague, End Log," I said.
As I went on the Bridge as everyone was ready.
"Space," I said. "Literally it mean nothing A vacuum between stars and planets, But by the same token It means everything, It's what connects all our worlds. Vulcan, Kronos, Talax, Earth. Centuries ago, mankind sent its first wave of explores into that void, Astronauts like Lt Kelly. They paved the way for the first colonies, the First starships, for those of us who've made space our home, We commend the spirit and the bravery of Lt John Mark Kelly as we commit his body, to space, He will not be forgotten,"
"Captain," 7 said. As I nodded. "I did not know this individual, had I encountered him while I was a Borg, I would have found his technology unworthy of assimilation, But we are more alike than one might think, In a sense, His desire to explore was not unlike a quest for perfection, His contribution helped secure Humanity's future and in some ways, my own, The Yankees In 6 games," As I nodded to Tuvok.
"All hands, Attention," Tuvok said. "Honour Guard,"
As we released his pod to Space.
That's all for this chapter.
More to follow.
Stay tuned and safe.
Love Y'all
PEACE!