6
Chapter 36
"Sir…what do we do?"
David heard the question…but it was drowned out by all the sounds.
"Sir?"
The screams of officers who'd been injured.
"Commander…your orders?"
The alert sound blaring in his ears.
"Commander…we have to do something!"
The sound of his father's voice: "You will fail them…you will fail them all,"
The whole bridged was bathed in glaring red light; everything around him was spinning and shaking.
It was too much.
David's face was filled with terror.
"Commander! Commander!"
Dickie's face was inches from his; he'd been shouting at him the entire time.
"Commander Moore! You are in charge! What do we do?"
David stared into Dickie's eyes for a moment…then glanced around the bridge, slowly becoming lucid.
"I…we…"
He sat there…turning things over in his head.
He turned to Dickie…searching his eyes.
"I don't…"
"Commander!" shouted Theuma.
David slowly turned to face him.
"The rift is destabilizing; we'll have five minutes at most!"
David sat and pondered the words for a moment.
"We…" he whispered.
"If you don't act now…you'll lose those people. But then again…you'll be stuck on the other side,"
"We should…"
"Tick tock…tick tock…"
"I think we should…"
"You were never cut out for this…you're too much like your mother,"
David rose to his feet.
"We're going after them!"
Dickie shook his head.
"No…we'll be stuck on the other side."
"You're going to take us inside…NOW!"
Dickie folded his arms over his chest.
"I won't do that…we have to think about the people on this ship."
David shoved him out of his way…and sat down at the conn.
"If you won't do it…then I will!"
The view screen showed the ship slowly moving inside the rift; it was even more beautiful on the inside then out.
The lights swirled and danced majestically…like a sea of fireflies.
A patch of black appeared…in the distance.
It grew closer and closer.
Until finally…they were back in normal space.
"The rift is closing!"
Dickie shot David a death glare; David shoved him out of his way with the palm of his hand.
Dickie grabbed David…and the two started belting each other.
"Stop it! Stop it both of you!"
Theuma broke the two men up; blood trickled from Dickie's nose while David's lip was cut.
"I'll deal with you later!" David hissed…pointing at him.
He stormed over to the comm panel on the wall…and smashed it with his fist.
"Moore to the engine room!" he barked.
"This is Ed…" a meek voice replied.
"Where's the chief!?"
"He's dead…I'm in charge now,"
David ended the call.
"I'm going down there! Theuma…you have the bridge!"
David stormed through the engine room doors. The room was in tatters; chunks of debris were strewn all over the place. Cords and wires hung from the ceiling…and sparks showered over everything.
David sifted his way through bodies; he moved past each and every one without a second thought.
He found Ed sitting in corner…face in his hands.
David grabbed him by his shirt and tugged him to his feet.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
"David…" he said quietly.
"Do we have warp speed!? Do we have weapons!? Tell me!"
"I don't know," Ed whimpered.
David looked him dead in the eyes.
"WELL FIND THE HELL OUT!"
He dropped Ed to the ground; Ed shot him a look of disapproval.
David didn't notice; his eyes were filled with fire.
Ed limped over to a console over-looking the warp core; he typed in a few things…then slowly turned back to David with a sheepish expression.
"We have neither,"
David moved within a few inches of his face.
"Well get them back!"
"David…" Ed said…shooting him another look. "I can't do this."
"You have a day!"
David turned and stormed out. Ed collapsed into a pile of rubble…his eyes streaming with tears.
David pushed his way through the chaos in the hallways; the screams of pain and the alert sound violently echoed all around him.
David tripped over a piece of debris on the ground; he tumbled over and threw the hunk violently.
"GOD DAMMIT!"
David picked himself up and continued on; he eventually made his way to the armory…digging through a bulk head that had completely collapsed.
"WONG!" he shouted…squeezing through the doors.
"WONG!"
"Here!"
David spotted Wong pinned under a pile of debris; he swooped in and grabbed the hunk…straining to pull it off.
"PUSH DAMMIT!"
The collective power of the two men managed to move the hunk; David helped Wong to his feet.
"What's happened?" Wong asked…terror in his eyes.
"The captain is dead…I'm in charge. You're the new weapons officer…I need you on the bridge,"
"Sir…" Wong said sheepishly.
For the first time…David could truly see the youth in Wong's face; he wanted to comfort him and tell him everything was going to be all right.
But he couldn't.
"Get a move on!"
Wong took off immediately.
David waited a few moments…until Wong was gone.
And he was sure that he was completely alone.
He slowly collapsed onto the ground…tears gushing from his eyes.