0500 HRS
"FEDERATION SHUTTLE, STOP! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OUTRUN US!"
Cassandra Lowe was taking her shuttle through a sweeping turn, trying to get away from the Karemman ship that had suddenly appeared in her flight path and had been threatening her. They had demanded for her to persuade Starfleet Command to discontinue their negotiations with their government, and she was not willing to cooperate with an insurgent. As the shuttle moved further away from the warship, she was punching control buttons fervently.
"FEDERATION SHUTTLE, STOP IMMEDIATELY! OR YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON!"
The shuttle's warp engines were powering up, while Cass was still pressing keys randomly. "Hurry up, you stupid thing," she slapped her hand down on the panel.
Suddenly, the computer informed her, "Anti-matter pods have been ejected. Warp engines are shutting down."
"WHAT?" She gasped. "Darnit! What in the world did I hit? Stupid controls."
"FEDERATION SHUTTLE, THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"
Cass did not power down the shuttle, but kept on moving away, planning her escape vector. Surrender, she felt, was not an option.
"Photon torpedo detected," the shuttle's computer announced calmly.
Drops of sweat were collecting on Cass's brow. "Great, what'll I do now? No warp drive and a torpedo locked onto my rear..." Her mind was racing through all possible choices. "Shields! I need shields."
Again, she started punching the controls feverishly. Some data was flashing across the computer panel. "NO, no! I don't want information on the Holoshopping Network," she frowned in frustration, "Darnit, stupid computer."
Cass desperately tried to remember the bits of training she had received some years ago and continued pushing buttons. She was not going to give up that easily. She was a fighter.
"Deflector shields are raised," the computer finally acknowledged her success. But she wasn't sure if that would be enough to keep her save.
"Got to distract its targeting system," she muttered. Sweat was running down her temples now, and Cass felt the cold feeling of panic creep up on her. She hadn't been trained for THIS kind of emergency. She quickly buckled up, and in one swift, yet rash, decision she punched the button to blow open the rear hatch and jettison whatever was not bolted down.
Instantaneously, alarm sirens started to blare, only to be silenced by the absence of atmosphere. With an enormous 'WHOOSH', all air and ALL unsecured equipment was sucked out of the cabin.
Cass had expected to be able to hold her breath until she would have had a chance to order the computer to seal the hatch again. But the second she had blown the hatch, the air in her lungs had been ripped from her with one excruciatingly painful cough. Her eyes popped open in horror and started burning intensely as all her tears vaporized. She wanted to scream, but no sound came from her lips. Her dry tongue felt like a foreign object in her mouth. If she had felt panic before, THIS was sheer terror!
Her body was pulling against the constraints of her seat belt and her hair was floating upwards. It took great effort to focus her mind. As if in slow motion, she saw her hands reaching for the controls while the red flashes of light rang a silent alarm. One thing she knew for sure was that she did not have much time before she would loose consciousness.
She was surprised at the numbness of her fingertips while she was entering commands. It was not until the panel's display screen read, "Sealing rear hatch. Reestablishing atmospheric pressure", that Cass was sure she had actually touched the buttons. She slowly turned toward the back of the shuttle to visually confirm that her instructions were being carried out.
Beyond the steadily closing hatch, she could see the ejected debris floating out in space, spreading out like tiny asteroids. A sparkling blue star was marvelously growing larger, and Cass suddenly realized with intense clarity that it was her deadly 'stalker', the photon torpedo. Images of Daniel and her three boys flashed before her eyes. Then the hatch locked.
She started hearing the faint hissing of air being released into the cabin, the rhythmic, yet muted, buzzing of the environmental alarm, and the remote beeping of the control panel. For a second, Cass thought she was hallucinating. Then she turned to see what the computer was trying to alert her to.
"Subspace distortion detected," she could make out on the screen.
"What the..." she heard herself whisper as if in a dream.
At the same moment, an immense detonation lit up the space around her, as the photon torpedo collided with one of the ejected anti-matter pods. She was thrust back into her seat when the energy wave catapulted the shuttle forward. Her eyes started blurring and her mind barely registered a gigantic vortex appearing in front of her as she slipped into unconsciousness.
=/\=
Cassandra awoke, panting and covered in sweat. She was exhausted and her heart was threatening to jump out of her chest. Reliving her peril through this reoccurring nightmare had made it difficult for her to get any real sleep.
Still somewhat disoriented, she was looking around the room to regain her bearings. As she took in her surroundings she started to remember that she had been picked up by the USS Pacifica. Following that, she had spent an hour in sickbay before they had let her go to one of the guest quarters to rest.
'How long have I been out?' she wondered.
"Mrs. Lowe!"
"Yes, Captain Stevenson," Cass answered the insistent voice, surprised at being able to recall the Captain's name.
"We are receiving a subspace transmission from your husband," Valerie Stevenson informed her. "Would you like me to put it through to your quarters?"
"Yes, please," Cass replied, then paused for a second, before adding, "I really appreciate all your help, Captain."
"No problem."
=/\=
A minute later, Cass was sitting in front of the computer. Her husband's face, displaying concern, appeared on the screen. He looked her over and frowned.
"Cass, sweetheart," he muttered, "you don't look so good."
She smiled drearily. "You know just how to make a woman feel loved, dear."
Daniel cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"I know, Dan, I know," she stopped him with a dismissive gesture of her hand.
"What in the blazes are you doing in the Beta Quadrant, Cass?"
"Hm. Captain Stevenson said something about a possible wormhole," she tried to recall her discussion with the Captain of the Pacifica after they had analyzed parts of the flight data of the shuttle. "An unstable wormhole... I believe, or something like that."
"I've received the same information. I'm surprise the shuttle's computer didn't take evasive actions," Daniel contemplated.
"Uhm... there were... complications," she interrupted him. "But I'm ok, dear. Really. Just had a... bad nightmare."
"Nightmare?"
"Yes. But don't worry, I'll tell you all about it when we meet," she assured him.
"Well, ok," he consented. "Just wanted to advise you about when we're scheduled to pick you up. I've already talked with Captain Stevenson and she confirmed the estimated time for the rendezvous."
"Alright. Go ahead and transmit the information, Dan. I suppose, I see you then," Cass acknowledged quickly. "Gotta get me something to eat. I'm starving!"
'Sounds like she's starting to feel better,' Daniel Lowe smiled broadly before he terminated the communications link.
=/\= - =/\=
0600 HRS
"What were you thinking?" Damon gasped in disbelief, staring at his mother over the computer screen.
Cass shrugged. "Nothing, probably. I just wanted to get away."
"But... blowing the hatch?" He was beside himself. "Mom, are you nuts? That was almost suicidal."
Derek jabbed his brother with his elbow. "Don't talk to her like that. She's your mother."
Damon was getting mad. "I don't care! That was absolutely stupid!"
"Never mind how stupid it was," Derek reprimanded him. "She made it through alright. It saved her live. That's all that matters."
"Oh! Now you want to act all brave," Damon mocked. "Mister, 'I don't know how to live without her. I was sooo mean to her, and now I'll never be able to apologize.' Boohoo!"
Derek's face was turning all shades of red.
"Boys!... BOYS!" Cass stopped the bickering before it could end up in an all-out fight. "Stop it! I didn't contact you all the way from the Beta Quadrant to listen to the two of you argue. I just wanted to let you know, that your father's ship is to rendezvous with the Pacifica, and he will take me back to Earth then."
"Thanks." The two brothers said simultaneously.
"Good." Cass grinned. "Now, Derek, what's that about an apology?"
"Uhm... I wanted to say sorry to you, but never got around to it," he sighed. "I had been so mean to you when you came visiting on the Centurion a few months ago." He shook his head. "I was just annoyed... and acted really bratty."
His mother smirked. "I had the feeling that a lot of people on that ship eyed me suspiciously..." She chuckled, flipping a strand of her fiery red hair back. "Except your Captain... He was a real sweetheart. Tell him 'Hello' for me, would you?"
"Uhm... oh yeah, I guess, I forgot to tell you that we have a new CO," he smiled apologetically. "Commander Ronovsky has been promoted to Captain, and Captain Jerkens has retired."
"Ah. Ok," Cass thought for a moment, "Then, I suppose, I should go visit him at home one day and meet his wife." She winked mischievously.
"Don't embarrass us, Mom," Damon sighed.
"Who? ME?" Cass played innocent. The boys stared at her for the longest moment, before they all burst out laughing.
"Anyway, Derek, honey, don't fret over our friction during that visit. I didn't take it seriously," she smiled at him. "I know, you love me... despite my crazy behavior sometimes."
"Thanks, Mom." Derek felt better.
"I hope to see you two sometime soon. Maybe we can plan a family reunion in a few months. Let me know when you get your next leave." She grinned. "Talk to you later. Don't be strangers and keep in contact. Ok?"
"Yes, Mom." Derek and Damon both nodded in agreement just before the screen went dark.