His sleep was shallow with dreams he did not remember when he woke. They kept rolling in over him all night, like clouded waves of things past and present. At five twenty five he woke again. Knowing he would not get any more sleep he forced himself to rise from the bed.
"Lights on." He said. The white light shone up his quarters. It made Malcolm squint with his eyes. Slowly he walked over to the bathroom. There he removed the bandage from around his stomach. The scar was still healing. The same thing was happening on his arm, leg and face. To say it hurt was to diminish the real feeling. He stepped into the shower, washing himself as well as he could before pulling out a towel from the shelf next to the shower. Then he took on the task of shaving and fixing his hair. It was beginning to turn grey at his temples. He could not remember the "other" Reed having this problem. Almost snorting at himself he left the bathroom. The bright light was not that irritating anymore.
Today was a day that the MACO outfit would be most suitable. Malcolm doubted that the crew from the other starships would find the red shirt appropriate. He was also going to lead the MACO Company today. After returning the bandage to its rightful place he dressed up into the grey urban-camouflage suit and added the black vest ontop. He left the top buttons of the suit unbuttoned, letting the brown t-shirt remain visible. His belt with the phaser pistol and knife completed the uniform.
"Lights off." He said as he walked out. The clock was five fifty seven.
The mess was almost deserted this time in the morning. He received food quickly and was soon done. As usual he ate alone. Not wasting time he scurried up to the bridge. Alice Silverstone was already there, sitting above her controls like an Amazon watching for prey. The rest of the crew was the usual bland blend of early morning people.
"How soon until we arrive to Antikol System?" He asked.
"Thirty two minutes." Answered the navigator. Malcolm settled in the Captain's chair.
"How many ships are we expecting to meet?"
"Twelve sir." Someone said.
"All NX-class?"
"Yes sir." Malcolm leaned back. It was good, as the Defiant had a top speed of warp factor 9! It would have to drag with the warp 5 ships back to Earth! That gave him more time to think about how to dispose of Hoshi and return the power of the fleet to Starfleet. As his thoughts lingered on her, she entered and he stood.
"I have the bridge." She said. "Commander Reed, you will monitor the science station today."
"Yes Empress." He responded, moving off to the left. Hayes arrived to the bridge as well, taking the tactical station.
It was not long until they jumped out of warp in the Antikol system. Malcolm quickly reviewed the data from the scan. His conclusions made him furrow his brows. There was something wrong. His sensors only picked up one ship… He looked out. The view confirmed his suspicions.
"Something is wrong." Confirmed Hayes. "There is only one ship at the coordinates." Malcolm reviewed the received data, concluding that something was very wrong with the ship. Power was down, and there were no lifesigns onboard. He conveyed these facts to Hoshi. She gave him a quick look, but then settled back into the chair. He continued scans.
"There is a breathable atmosphere onboard the ship, but many parts are damaged beyond repair." He commented.
"I suggest we beam aboard, Empress. There may be something in the logs." Said Hayes.
"As acting science officer I agree, something destroyed that ship and killed the crew, but the scanners only reveal traces of an unknown biological residue around and inside the ship, we should make it a priority to investigate the ship."
"I will remain here." Said Hoshi. "I will scan for the other ships. Commander Reed, you take Hayes with his MACOs, Tucker and Silverstone. Have Trip restore power and Silverstone… you take care of the log. Is that clear?"
"Yes Empress." Replied Malcolm and rose, he trotted out quickly with Hayes and Silverstone. After getting the MACOs and some extra weapons they grabbed some breathing masks and then hurried to the transporter. Trip was already there. Alice gave him a mask.
"Mornin'." He said sarcastically. "I see you got yourself a new Major."
"Wonderful to see you too." Muttered Malcolm. "Now get the mask on and shut up." They all pulled the masks over their faces. First the MACO team beamed away, lead by Hayes. Then Malcolm, Trip and Alice. It was an unsettling experience, but he had done this so many times he could not care less about his molecules dissolving and then being assembled somewhere else.
As the world appeared in front of him, it was dark. Flashlights were searching the transporter room for any threats. Malcolm looked around the room. It was like the one on the Enterprise. Trip was already at a relay, doing something. Hayes had secured the room. Malcolm signed for him to secure the hallway outside of the room as well. The MACO team silently moved to and out the door. They had to open it manually, as power was gone.
"Secured!" Called Hayes. "No lifesigns detected!"
"Trip?" Asked Malcolm, looking over his shoulder. "What's taking so long?" Trip gave him an evil glance .
"The power is gone, we need to get to engineering and start the entire ship up if we wish to access the logs."
"You can't get the logs without the main power?" Trip rose from the relay.
"The data is in a computer, we won't get it out unless the computer is powered. And the only way to power it up is to turn on the whole damn ship!" He whinged.
"Cool you engine, Trip." Muttered Malcolm and turned to the rest of the boarding party.
"We'll all go to engineering, if we get the power on, we'll go to the bridge." He said. "Let's go! And by the way, remove the masks. Whatever killed the crew is gone. " They moved out to the hallway and continued towards engineering, it took them a considerable amount of time as they had to open all the doors manually. As they reached the corridor leading to the engine room Hayes, who lead the caravan, stopped.
"Hold, Commander." He said, looking at something that looked like a small computer. He had a vague recollection that it was called a tricorder. Obviously it picked up things their scanners did not.
"Major?" Asked Malcolm.
"There is a large amount of delta radiation coming out of the main engine room. It is most probably a leak somewhere in the reactor core." Alice looked slightly unnerved, and then glanced at Trip. He returned her glance with a grin.
"What a wonderful surprise!" He said and then added bluntly: "I'll go."
"It is potentially lethal, Commander!" Commented Alice, her big black eyes gleamed in the light from the flashlights. "We should find another way." Trip frowned and hurriedly walked away towards the door, soon he was gone beyond it. Malcolm looked at Alice.
"Don't add insult to injury." He commented. "He's only got another decade or less to live anyway."
"My God." She almost whispered, looking at the now half open doors. Then she shuddered and looked at Malcolm again. "Yes sir." She said. Fresh fish. Malcolm thought. They're always like that. But soon they'll be just as rotten as the rest of us.
It took less then ten minutes for Trip to do his magic. Malcolm had seated himself in the corridor, feeling how the painkillers were wearing off. The light above him came to life with a flicker, but they were not bright. Trip emerged from the doors, he was sweating.
"We have power, Commander. But I don't know for how long! Their gondolas are broken and the thing will most likely explode in a day or so. There's nothing I can do about it…" He sat down in the hallway.
"Are you allright?" Asked Hayes, giving him some water.
"It's hot as hell in there, some of the piping's broke." Answered Trip.
"We should go." Said Hayes. Malcolm rocked back and then forwards, gaining momentum to get up. When he stood, Hayes nodded and set off towards the bridge. "I sent a sample of the unknown material to the Defiant" He added. "The new doctor is going to take a look at it." Malcolm looked at the walls; there was indeed something on them at places. Where it came from or what it was he could not say. Nor did he know where the crew was.
After securing the bridge Malcolm ordered Alice to start copying the log. In the meanwhile he and Trip began searching the ship's sensor logs. Hayes searched for any sign of the other ships. Trip was the first one to find something.
"This ship was disabled at all the vital control points. It's a miracle that the bridge remains. The engines, life support, shields… everything is either down or failing." He announced.
"It looks like all the escape pods were destroyed or burnt up as they fell into the atmosphere of Antikol Beta." Said Malcolm.
"Aren't they supposed to withstand atmospheric decent?" Asked Trip, looking puzzled.
"They should." Commented Hayes from the front. "I have found where the rest of the ships are. They managed to move away from whatever attacked this ship. They assembled in another system. The beacon deployed with a recorded message of their position was also destroyed." He turned, facing Malcolm. "We should report this to Empress Sato." Malcolm could not disagree. She would become suspicious soon if they did not report anything. He nodded for Hayes to make a transmission.
"Hey!" Said Trip. "One of the pods made it through, it's on the planet surface!" He eyed his monitor once again. "One lifesign! Vulcan…" He added.
"Commander Reed." Malcolm turned to the screen. It was Hoshi.
"Yes Empress." He said, rising.
"Report." Malcolm nodded for Hayes.
"We know where the other ships are, they are in another system. Their beacon was destroyed."
"Are there any hostilities onboard?" Asked Hoshi.
"No ma'am." Hayes answered.
"Then you and the MACO's may return, you can tell me everything in person. Reed, you continue looking for whatever did this." She said.
"Yes Empress." Responded Malcolm. Hoshi broke the connection.
"Later, sir." Said Hayes. A second later he was beamed away together with the MACO detachment. Malcolm turned to Alice.
"How is it going with the log?" He asked.
"It is proving difficult, sir. Much of it is damaged or destroyed, I am trying to salvage as much of it as possible into my memory pad. It looks like the station could shout down any time!"
"It most certainly will." Said Trip. "I am registering an increasing amount of powerspikes around the ship; I would say we have an hour left before things start to go haywire around here."
"Then pick up the pace!" Said Malcolm. The bridge became silent. At times fuses blew inside the walls surrounding the bridge. A little rain of sparks flew over Malcolm and he ducked. After reassuring himself that nothing more would come flying onto his head he returned to his screen. This ship had fired at something at the surface, but been unsuccessful. As far as he could tell the damage had been minimal. There was nothing more he could get from the computer.
He rose and walked over to Trip, he was leaning his head on one of his hands, and pressing the screen with the other. He frowned as Malcolm neared.
"I have the coordinates for the escape pod. We should be able to beam down quite close to it."
"Are the transporters working from this end?" Asked Malcolm.
"They should be working, but I'll probably have to realign them again unless you want to come out on the other end looking like an amoeba. But wait… you already do!" Answered Trip.
"It is you who look like one of God's mistakes, Charles!" Said Malcolm angrily. "Now do whatever you need to do to those transporters, and try not to die from radiation poisoning while doing it!" Trip got up from his seat. He looked about to strike Malcolm, but did not. Instead he marched out from the bridge, glaring at Malcolm as the doors closed.
Malcolm walked around on the bridge for a time, cooling his temper. Then he turned to Alice again.
"Well, do you have anything?" He asked. Alice turned to him.
"Yes, it is obvious something on the surface opened fire on the ships…"
"On all twelve of them?"
"Yes sir. Then they tried to fight it back but could for some reason not destroy the weapons. As this ship became incapacitated the others turned and ran, deploying a beacon. Which is now destroyed. The escape pods were launched. The last entry seems to show that something was shot from the planet surface, it killed the remaining crew."
"And then destroyed the escape pods?"
"That would be a reasonable conclusion, sir." Alice said. Then the terminal began to fizzle. Smoke came out from behind the screen.
"Move away" Ordered Malcolm. Alice got up, unplugging her pad. As she walked away the station began burning. He looked at the screen again, at the planet. If it had such a weapon, could he not use it to stop Hoshi? It was a long shot, but not as long as remaining onboard the Defiant. He took out his communicator. As he was about to hail Trip, someone hailed him.
"Commander Reed?" It was Hoshi, she sounded… pleased, almost happy.
"Reed here." He answered. Alice gave him a look.
"Your communication shut down?"
"Affirmative." He responded. Hoshi laughed at the other end.
"Well, that's for the best I guess." She said. Malcolm took a breath.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Malcolm, really! How long have we known each other? Well no matter, Travis had some suspicions about spies onboard the ship, but for it to be you… and Trip!" She laughed again. "How does anyone manage to bring you two together?"
"What are you talking about? What has Travis told you?" Asked Malcolm intensely.
"Oh no, Travis did not say anything, he just borrowed you little booth – well designed by the way – to test one of his theories." Malcolm gave Alice a glance. Major Hayes. She worded quietly, looking quite upset. They wouldn't would they?
"What have you done?" Roared Malcolm.
"I always strive to make my empire as stable as possible, Malcolm. You should understand… you played this game longer than I! But now our time for talk is over, you can remain for the rest of your days, or rather minutes, onboard that ship, thinking of how well you could have served me instead of those corrupted admirals on Earth! I even have a small present for you, Malcolm. You can spend your last time together with your friends!" The link was broken. A tingling foreboded a transporter ray, and indeed something materialized on the floor.
"By all the Emperors!" Exclaimed Alice. "It's Hayes!" She dropped down on the floor, so did Malcolm. Hayes was curled up, sweating and shaking. He didn't even notice them. An explosion on the hull made Malcolm run for the tactical station. As he suspected, the Defiant was shooting at them.
"Get him up, now! We need to get to the transporter room!" He yelled.
"We'll never make it!" Called Alice while pulling up Hayes. He had fallen into unconsciousness. Malcolm took Hayes other arm and supported some of his weight.
"We don't have a choice, GO!" He cried. Thankfully Alice was just as strong as she looked and they moved off the bridge as fast as they could. As they descended Malcolm opened the communicator, which he was still holing in his hand. "TRIP!" He called.
"Are we being shot at?" Asked Trip from the other end.
"Get the transporter ready to beam down four people to the coordinates! We only have a minute or so before this ship blows!"
"Four?" Asked Trip, it sounded like he was doing something else at the same time.
"Just DO IT!" Yelled Malcolm.
"Aye aye!" Trip responded then broke the connection. Malcolm felt how sweat was running down his face. His abdomen was sending hot waves of pain up his chest as well. Ignoring everything but movement, he urged Alice on as they made it through yet another hallway. The lights failed as they came down to the same deck as the transporter room. They were forced to slow the last stretch, as the darkness was total.
As if knowing they could not see anything, Trip stuck his head out into the hallway. The transporter room was still powered. He noticed them, took a second glance at Hayes, and returned inside. Malcolm and Alice walked sideways in and put Hayes down on the transporter.
"We need to go ASAP!" Commented Malcolm, listening how the hull began whining under the pressure. A shot hit something close by, shaking the room so violently they all fell on the floor.
"I'm almost done!" Said Trip. "But if we come out on the other side looking like Malcolm, it's not my fault!" He adjusted another lever slightly before nodding to Malcolm. "Now!" He said. Alice jumped onto a pad, so did Malcolm and Trip, after hitting the GO button. He barely made it onto the pad before they were disassembled and transported down to the planet. Something that felt like blast wave hit Malcolm as he felt himself assembling again. Without glancing at the world of Antikol, he fainted.