Chapter-02:

Marla was so engrossed in reading the report on the discovery of the Botany Bay that the remainder of the voyage seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The few images that were provided with the report (she suspected there were a lot more) only showed the interior of the DY-100. It looked like a mausoleum, the walls lined with glass coffins and peacefully sleeping figures inside. Of the 80 or so crew members, 12 had died ages ago from damage to their chambers, leaving them as nothing but remarkably perfect skeletons.

There were no close-up photographs of any of the sleeping crew, but from their physiques in the photos she could tell they were an athletic and attractive group. What she wanted was an image of the mysterious leader, but there was none.

When the USS Mandolin docked at Starbase 12, she was directed to her new quarters. There, she was expected to peruse the records further until she would be called upon. She had seen about as much as she was able to determine from the scant information, and found herself waiting and bored instead. So far, service in Starfleet had been one long wait—a wait to be made useful. She sometimes wished she had gone into archaeology, maybe then she would be busy excavating something somewhere rather than staring at screens and data. There was too little excitement in being a historian, no matter how stirring it was to her personal interest and imagination.

This was her fourth day on the Starbase, and she was beginning to fear she had many more ahead of her. Maybe she should take up painting again...

A voice echoed over the intercom: "Lieutenant Marla McGivers, report to conference room 24 on the Administration Deck immediately."

It took a moment for her to realize it was her name being uttered on the loud speaker. With a jolt of excitement, she made her way to the nearest turbo lift. Upon reaching the Administration Deck, boots carried her rapidly along the numbered rooms, a stiff necked dance being conducted as she and other Starfleet uniforms wove past each other through the corridors.

Room 24.

Smoothing her hands down the fabric of her skirt, she lifted her chin and stepped through the automatic doors. Inside was a vast, oval table of a sleek obsidian color and smoothness. She immediately spotted Commander Lassiter standing at the far end of the room, a window of stars behind him as he quietly conversed with an older man, whom she recognized instantly as Admiral Alexander Marcus. It felt like a block of ice dropped in her stomach.

In total, there were seven people in that room (including her), ranking from Commander, to Lieutenant Commander, a Vulcan medical officer, and a few science officers. By the stripes of their uniforms, she was made painfully aware of her low position on the hierarchy of that room.

"Lieutenant McGivers!" Lassiter's voice drew her attention, and one wave of his hand beckoned her to him. When she was near enough, he gestured to the older gentleman in front of him. "I was just informing Admiral Marcus of your credentials."

The admiral looked at her with a pair of harsh blue eyes beneath a stern, rounded crown of a head. He wore his epaulets with clear confidence.

"Lieutenant," he said crisply. "You'll be our specialist in this operation. Seems we're short on experts in the Twentieth Century these days. Glad to have you."

"Thank you, sir," she smiled.

"Take a seat," he returned a brief, but genuine smile, before he moved to the oval table.

The moment that the admiral took his chair, every officer followed suit. Marla seated herself at the chair that sat ninety degrees from Marcus's position, which afforded her a good vantage point of all who were present. Lassiter sat beside her, the Vulcan medical officer directly in front of her.

"All right, people," the admiral's voice carried with little effort. "We're here to discuss the recent discovery of the SS Botany Bay. In case if anyone is wondering just why I'm here, it's because this discovery is unprecedented, and depending on how this is dealt with, could substantially affect the Federation and Starfleet. Five days ago, the Botany Bay was found adrift in the Gamma 400 Section with no apparent destination and no active crew. Most of you know that it did in fact have a crew, all of which were in a cryogenic sleep. We have every reason to believe that these people are the missing criminals of the Eugenics Wars, genetically engineered men and women who were never brought to justice. That leaves their fates in our hands."

Screens that were placed at the center of the table suddenly flickered on, showing the same pictures that Marla had been staring at for the past few days of the ship and the ambiguous figures of the sleeping crew.

"The leader of this crew has been taken in custody," Admiral Marcus continued. "He was automatically revived by the ship's system, but we kept him in an induced coma until he could be identified. Dr. Sivak, would you like to take it from here?"

The Vulcan nodded once and spoke in a clear, concise voice (as was expected). "Prior to the patient's admission into the infirmary, he was unconscious with vital signs eighty-three point two percent below the functional level of any Human. From the moment we began to monitor his vitals, it was evident that his body was recovering independently of any external assistance. His heart was pumping on its own and with increasing efficiency. Brain activity showed much the same recovery. Knowing that the patient was three centuries removed from his own time, we resolved to put him into induced coma to spare him of the shock while his body was still in the regeneration process. As of two days ago, the sedative worked less and less proficiently. His system was beginning to counteract the drug, and the more that we administered, the more his body overcame its effects. We were forced to synthesize a unique sedative in order to keep him in the coma. His vitals are at one hundred percent."

"As of two days ago, however," Marcus joined in, speaking to the rest of the gathered officers, "I authorized to wake him up. And he's asking questions, which is damn infuriating because over the past seventy hours or so, he's asked a lot but hasn't told us a damn thing about who he is and where his ship was going. That's where you come in."

Marla froze when she realized the admiral was speaking to her.

"You're the only person we have who might have an idea what kind of mindset someone from that time era would have. And if you can't get him to talk, you still might be able to help us in identifying him."

"Could he not be talking because of the shock?" she asked, her eyes glancing to Dr. Sivak.

"Apart from initial confusion," the Vulcan explained stoically. "The patient remained calm and inquisitive. His behavior and brain circuitry pattern indicate high intelligence. To put it plainly, he has not and is not likely to suffer shock in these circumstances."

Marla stared in wonder. How could someone not be shocked to wake up three hundred years in the future in deep space?

"The Botany Bay is docked here at Starbase 12 and is being carefully examined," said Marcus. "Meanwhile, he's been given his own quarters here, but with security posted at the door. So far, he's been treated with respect and has even been given limited access to the computer records that he might catch up on a few centuries worth of information. For all we've given him, he's still tightlipped. Lieutenant McGivers, at the conclusion of this conference, you'll be taken to his quarters for an interview."

She was surprised he didn't use the word 'interrogation.' Either way, she swallowed down her apprehension and nodded. "Yes, sir."