A/N: I think I am getting on a roll. Getting past the first chapter was daunting but I do have a plan and hope to keep up the pace. A couple of notes. I intend this to be a longer read. It will pick up as the crew of the Kongo figures out what is going on. I appreciate the reads I have received and hope you enjoy the rest.
Captain Berg and Chief Engineer DeSoto looked over the power outputs on the Engineering Console. They were in the Engineering section which is many ways was the heart and soul of the ship. The matter/anti-matter reaction behind the protective grating continued to glow red. One of the ironies of the Incidence is that the ship actually had power but since the entire dilithium supply was destroyed, including spares, there was no way to tap into it. Add to that the ship's fusion reactors having gone inert which should be powering the impulse drive and other systems, the Kongo found itself where she was today. The red glow from this reaction was almost taunting him, telling him in their own way that there was power but he could never get to it; there was no hope.
The Captain looked around the Engineering section. Several power conduits lay across the deck and in many cases the consoles were obviously jury-rigged. This was quite unlike the engineering section led by the by the book Lieutenant Commander who was his Chief of Engineering.
"Chief, normally engineering is a little more prepared for an inspection," chided the Captain. DeSoto looked at the Captain obviously distressed.
"It's Smith, sir," he said. "He claims to working on ways to extend the power. I think he is just bored and is using that as an excuse to ignore Starfleet standards. We have had some discussions."
"Anything useful?" inquired the Captain. "We do need to be creative."
"He does have some interesting ideas; however, we do need to maintain some standards or we won't be able to support any of this." He was obviously irritated. Crewman Smith and the Chief had very different outlooks on how to run Engineering. Smith was a fan of the likes of Montgomery Scott from the Enterprise and his ability to improvise. DeSoto knew and appreciated Mr. Scott's abilities but did not feel that the young crewman had the credibility and experience to imitate him. On more than one occasion, the Captain found himself intervening on disagreements between the two.
"Chief, try to split the difference. These are difficult times and we have to be creative. He will back from his shuttle run in about 8 hours. Talk to him. Find the good and coach him when he is out of bounds. That is what I expect from my senior officers." Gerhardt had given this speech before. Maybe this time it would take.
"Yes Sir," was the only response he got.
"Very good," responded the Captain. "Where are we with power consumption?"
"Bluntly sir we are running out of options. Life support is at a minimum. We continue to rotate power through communication systems and short-range sensors but that may have to stop soon. If I may be so bold, these shuttle excursions are not helping."
Captain Berg looked at the Engineer. This was not the first person who questioned his decision. Even though he had been persuaded by his First Officer, the responsibility was his. He frowned and yet again wondered if he should cancel the effort. Still, he could not argue that morale was up since they had started. He continued to look for other options.
"Anything we can do?" asked Berg.
"Actually, Crewman Smith had an idea that may help some. We could attach emergency airlocks to the entrance to the shuttle bay and then decompress it. All of the shuttles come with environment suits and the crews could embark and disembark that way. We could also leave the shuttle bay exterior doors open and not use the turnstile to turn shuttlecrafts around. This will make it trickier on the pilots but will help alleviate the power drain. "
"Okay make it so," said the captain. "Maybe Smith is good for something after all," he said with a smile.
Just as Berg was about to leave, his communicator chirped. The Captain opened it and said "Berg here."
"Bridge Captain," he recognized the voice of his First Officer. "I think you should come up here as soon as possible."
With the current power situation that meant climbing through several Jeffries tubes and up several ladders. He had just come off a long shift and had planned to go back to his quarters. With the current crisis the bridge was a quiet place where very little happened. He went there as was his duty but he did not relish going back so soon.
"Commander, what is so urgent? "
"The Mattuba hailed sir," he answered. I believe you should come. They seem to have discovered a ship."
Captain Berg looked at his communicator in shock. Suddenly the air seemed less thick and the lights not as dark. He was a seasoned Starfleet officer. He knew the alien ship may ignore them as easily as attack, but here was chance. He they could even just send a message…
Don't get ahead of yourself, he admonished internally. Get to the bridge and see what is going on.
"Commander, I will be there in 10 minutes." He took a quick look at his Chief Engineer who had overheard the communication. "Chief keep this to yourself for now. Do what you need to in the Shuttle bay."
"Yes sir!" was the response and Berg jogged down the hallway to the first ladder he would have to climb.
"Yes sir, the ship appears to be operational. At a minimum they have power and life support seems to be on." Lieutenant Rodriquez was not used to this type of scrutiny from senior offices and right now she had the undivided attention of the Captain and First Officer.
"No response to hails or other signs that they have noticed you?" asked Hassan. Finding the ship was miracle in more ways than he could count, but if they could not contact them it may not matter.
"No sir," answered the young lieutenant. The communication link was audio only to conserve power and she was conscious of the fact the many resources were being spent to discuss this situation. She was also keenly aware of the long pauses that were happening on the other of the line with the Captain and First Officer. This was unnerving, especially because she could not see either man's expression.
"Ensign Gravelson, can you give me some more details on your determination that a Greek word is on the side of this ship?" asked Captain Berg.
The young Ensign started and immediately lost her voice. Security Officer Newman nudged her and pointed to the communication console. She nodded and said, "Sir, there is a large written word on both of the sides pod which looks like Greek and translates to 'Olympus'. We think it might be the name of the ship much as 'Kongo' is on our hull. We have seen other marking on the exterior that our not pure Greek. I assume most of them our service markings for things such port descriptions, power connections, etc., In addition to Greek they seem to have origins in Latin and other languages I am not familiar with. One thing is pretty clear to me, this language seems to share root with Earth Languages. I have no explanation sir." She finished.
"Sir what are your orders? If this ship's power systems are in working order and the life support is within human norms, this could be a big help." Kiko waited patiently. She knew what she was asking. She wanted to board the ship and see what was there that could help. She also had a pretty good feeling what the Captain was going to say.
"We don't seem to have an open invitation, Lieutenant. Starfleet regulations still hold," Captain Berg said this but also knew what was at stake. "There are also Prime Directive implications. The standard for first contact is warp drive proficiency
. We see no signs of that."
"Actually sir, I believe that it's FTL. The Federations has explored, and even had some success, with other means of faster than light propulsion other than Warp. None have been as successful but maybe the owners of this ship have come up with something else," Captain Berg was surprised that his First Officer spoke up in this area. But he also had a point. Gerhardt looked around his dark bridge and sniffed the ever-suffocating air. He had taken an oath to uphold Federation standards but nothing had prepared him for this. He was truly divided and sat speechless for several moments. He tried to visualize the situation on the Mattuba. Junior crewmen staring at a ship, however alien, that could be their salvation but potentially out of reach. He sat back for a moment and made a decision he did not think he would 24 days ago.
"Lieutenant," the captain began slowly, "it appears that you have found a ship in distress and unable to respond to external communication. Please look for an entry point and see if we are able to render assistance."
Kiko looked at her communication panel and smiles. "Yes sir," she said. "Mattuba out,"
She looked around the shuttle craft. She almost laughed at the idea of the Kongo rendering aide but she had her orders. The crew she had was not exactly the boarding party she would have selected and she had a newbie in Samantha Gravelson; however, she felt good about the group. Now, how do they get in?
She looked and Crewman Smith, Security Guard Newman and Ensign Gravelson. "Okay, how do we get in?" she asked.
Surprisingly the young Ensign was the first to respond. "There appear to be access ports around the hull. We could use the environment suits and spacewalk."
Kiko smiled, "Are you volunteering, Ensign?" she asked.
"No Ma'am. I thought somebody else might have more experience," responded Samantha meekly.
"What about the attached pods?" inquired Crewman Smith. "They look like landing decks."
"Pretty big," noted Will Newman. "How many ships would this thing carry?"
"Let's find out," said Kiko and set a course to swing behind the closest pod.
As they moved into position, they all stood where they could take a look. By all appearances there was a very large opening that seemed to open to space. Inside they saw signs of equipment and cargo although nothing that resembled a ship was in view.
"Scanners?" asked the Lieutenant?
"I am reading an atmosphere in there along with habitable temperatures. No dangerous radiation.
"How?" asked Kiko. "A forcefield?" That would mean that simply landing would not be possible.
"I am getting some type of energy reading that is similar to a force field but at a much lower power level. You know, Starfleet has been working on an atmospheric force field that would let matter in but prevent gas from traversing it. I think our friends from the Olympus may have licked that problem."
"One way to find out," Kiko said. "I am taking us in at minimum thrusters."
With that command, the shuttlecraft slowly headed into the large landing bay.