Star Trek: Reign Of Terror
Chapter XVII: Balance Of Terror
Deep Space Nine, Alpha Quadrant, Stardate 48255.6
After leaving the Promenade, Michael Eddington spent the next four and a half hours in his quarters, working steadily at the workstation on his desk. He was attempting to achieve two objectives: change the access code on his computer to look like someone else's identification, and then use the new clearance to remotely shut down Deep Space Nine's protective anti-graviton field. It had taken a lot of covert, behind-the-scenes work but he was finally close to success. Pausing, he wiped sweat from his brow and tried to quell the continually growing anxiety in his gut. Every moment he spent here on this blasted space station - in someone else's universe no less - continued to elevate his concerns.
He needed to escape... to get away.
The demilitarized zone between Cardassian space and Federation territory was the closest safe haven and easily reached. And yet his conversation with the commercial freighter Captain Chakotay had left him with no doubts but that traitors were not easily trusted. Chakotay had openly balked at him, practically daring Eddington to arrest him. Under normal circumstances the Lt. Commander wouldn't have hesitated - he would have grabbed the Starfleet traitor by the scruff of his neck and hauled him off to the brig. But this was no ordinary situation, and Eddington was fully aware that he too was culpable and in great danger of being exposed as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
All Sisko had to do was order his Doctor to scan for the obvious, easily detectable quantum flux within his RNA and they would know. They would know!
Returning his attention to the display screen, he realized that the time had come to select someone to frame for his latest crime. Hmmm, he mused thoughtfully to himself. Should I blame Ensign Paulson or Ensign Reynolds? Calling up the current day's duty roster, he noticed that Reynolds was still listed as active. Ensign Paulson had logged out, leaving behind a brief comment that he would return to duty after a short meal break. It looks like I've found my stooge, Eddington decided silently with a malicious smile. Working swiftly, he changed his access code to a lower clearance level that matched Paulson's and then altered his workstation's location identification code. If anyone was left alive to check the security logs after this latest attempt at sabotage, it would appear as though Ensign Paulson illegally accessed the deflector control systems from his quarters.
It was supposed to be impossible for anyone to use one workstation to impersonate another.
And normally what he was doing truly would be an impossible feat... impossible except for those with the technical expertise necessary to alter the software running on a standard, private terminal. Eddington had fundamentally changed his work station, causing it to appear on the network as a master control console. That was no easy matter, since he also needed to create a duplicate presence that would simulate his own station and make it appear to be completely idle during the actual crime. The station's network and its operating system were carefully designed to detect tampering, so the switch-over and authentication of his changes had to be done quickly. Once he was certain that his alterations had taken effect, he turned around and deleted a majority of the new entries his private computer had entered into the security logs.
All of his changes had been accepted and his workstation - now properly masquerading as the personal computer terminal in Paulson's quarters - had successfully accessed deflector control. He continued to smile as a mirror image of all major command functions currently displayed on Reynold's deflector control console appeared on the screen in front of him. Mission accomplished! he decided with renewed vigor. All he needed to do now was deactivate the anti-graviton field and then run a purge subroutine to restore everything to normal. Everyone cleared to work in Main Operations or on any of Deep Space Nine's critical systems would have the capability to do this... he had made certain not to in any way leave behind an audit trail that could be followed exclusively back to him. If the need arose, he would simply point out that Paulson had planned for everyone to be killed once the protective field powered down... and thus the unrestrained brazenness.
Grinning, Eddington purged all remaining historical information documenting his activities from every log except for one. The log he left intact was the one that would frame Paulson and make him appear to be completely guilty of sabotage. Not everyone knew about the existence of the critical file that the Lt. Commander had selected. Odo would probably know where to find it, along with Commander Sisko and Major Kira. Other than that it was a completely hidden log of computer activity. It therefore made sense that - if Ensign Paulson was indeed the guilty party - that he would miss deleting activity from this particular file. He simply didn't have enough security clearance to know that it existed, or that hostile actions such as this one would be logged in it.
It was the perfect crime and there was no way anyone would be able to trace it back to him. Feeling extraordinarily proud of himself, Michael Eddington waited for the crucial point in time when Reynolds would have to move away from the main console in deflector control and double-check the status readouts on the nearby backup stations. During the sixty or so seconds when the Ensign's attention was diverted elsewhere, Eddington would use his duplicate console to make the necessary changes. He needed Reynolds to be looking elsewhere, though, because the command changes would appear on both consoles as they were entered. If Reynolds was doing his job and watching, he would notice the sabotage and be in a perfect position to instantly reverse it.
Eddington had also used a tricorder to tap into the security monitor that maintained around the clock surveillance of the deflector control area. So he was watching Reynolds patiently on its small screen, waiting for his opportunity to take down the protective shielding that was keeping Deep Space Nine safe from the Overseer. He would have to be quick and he would have to be efficient. But he was certain that - as soon as the Ensign looked away - he would finally be able to achieve the mission assigned to him by his Master. He would leave the station completely vulnerable to an attack by the Overseer.
That was when the door chime unexpectedly sounded.
Deep, unchecked rage surged through Eddington and his head whirled toward the door. Tapping a key on his workstation, he temporarily darkened the screen to hide the damning contents displayed there. Then he rose to his feet and warily moved toward the door. "Who is it?" he asked curiously, pausing at the threshold to prevent the door from opening prematurely. He waited in silence but there was no immediate answer, and - feeling his anger continuing to escalate - he opened the door.
It was HER.
The blonde woman who had foiled his previous attempt to deactivate the station's anti-graviton field was standing in the corridor, confidently smiling at him. Instantly Eddington's hand pulled free his hand phaser and he pointed the weapon directly at her. "Inside now!" he snapped commandingly and backtracked just far enough to allow her to enter. Her expression of deliberate non-concern infuriated him as she walked casually into his quarters, but Eddington's confidence returned as the doors snapped shut behind her. Reaching over toward the wall controls, he sealed the entrance. "Computer, deactivate all weapons detection protocols within this room," he ordered. "Clearance, Michael Eddington voice authorization Beta Kappa Two."
"Acknowledged," the female voice of the Cardassian computer responded.
Internally, Eddington fumed. Another log entry to delete as soon as this latest problem was resolved!
"I have no weapon," the woman informed him, holding out her hands.
Glancing up and down her slim, uniformed figure, Eddington quickly verified her claim. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded heatedly. "How can you constantly know who I am and what I'm up to?"
She ignored his questions and simply began walking toward him. The Lt. Commander reacted instantly, firing the phaser at point blank range. His expression changed to one of extreme puzzlement as the searing, directed energy discharge passed right through her chest and impacted harmlessly against the far wall. He leaped to one side and fired again, this time shooting through her abdomen. The phaser beam snapped a dark, black burn into the top of one of the room's easy chairs... again, impacting behind her. The strange woman ignored his attempts to shoot her and continued walking toward him with a confident smile on her face, moving much more swiftly than he anticipated.
Drawing back her right hand, she hit him very hard with the heel of her hand. Since the weapons fire hadn't even touched her, Eddington was startled by the unexpected force behind the blow. His head swirled with a mixture of pain and surprise, and then his vision blurred seconds later. The last thing the Starfleet security officer remembered right before he lost consciousness was the sight of her standing over him, holding his own phaser at the ready. Then he blacked out from the unrelenting pain and anxiety. I don't need any of this, he thought helplessly.
As soon as he was certain that Eddington was unconscious, the Sisko hologram dropped the false image of Lt. Ingram that he had been using and reverted to an alternate projection of a Starfleet crewman wearing a standard petty officer's uniform. He crossed the room and sat down at Eddington's workstation, reactivating its display screen and examining all of the tampering that was currently in progress. Shaking his head with disgust, he accessed the Lt. Commander's personal high-level authorization codes and began steadily working to undo all of the changes that Eddington had been working so hard to implement. Once everything had been returned to normal, he reached up and double-tapped his photonically altered, normal looking Comm-badge. "Sisko hologram to Ingram," he stated, activating the communicator.
"This is Ingram."
"Everything is done," he informed her. "I deleted all of his scheduled subroutine changes and restored the altered security codes to normal. If he wants to try this kind of trick again, our duplicate Michael Eddington is going to have to start completely over."
"Be certain to leave all of the newly updated security logs completely intact," Ingram responded sternly. "If he's going to keep trying to be a bad boy, then our evil twin of Eddington should have to spend some additional time cleaning up this latest mess he made."
"Agreed," replied the duplicate of Sisko. He finished up with a few final changes and then shut down the terminal. "He's going to have a tough time fixing everything before someone notices," pointed out the hologram with a chuckle. "According to his duty roster, he's scheduled to go back on-duty soon."
Not surprisingly, Ingram was unsympathetic. "That's his problem." She paused briefly, glancing at the Relativity's computer information on her end of the transmission. "You've done well Benjamin. I'm receiving updated telemetry from the U.S.S. Hillyer in the 29th century. The new information clearly indicates that the latest temporal incursion is disappearing and our readings are returning to normal," she reported with distinct and obvious satisfaction. "It must be frustrating for Eddington, knowing that someone close by knows who he is and is watching his every move."
The Sisko hologram glanced down at the prone, unmoving form lying on the floor. "At least we finally discovered the motives behind your traitorous behavior," he growled softly. "It's sadly too little too late, but I'm glad we know why you eventually turn traitor and join the Maquis." He shook his head sadly. "Lt. Ingram, is there no chance of retrieving the original Eddington?"
"Even if we knew where to start looking, it's highly probable that he's dead," she responded. "Have you taken a look at Captain Data's findings? There are thousands of alternate universes surrounding us, and the Overseer is familiar with quite a few of them. Retrieval of the original Eddington is highly unlikely. Further, our timeline records clearly indicate this is what is supposed to happen. Otherwise there would have been obvious changes as soon as he was replaced. Our scans remain perfectly normal until he tries one of these tricks... to do the Overseer's bidding."
"Understood." Deactivating the workstation, Benjamin stood up and proceeded to unlock the room. Then he simply walked out into the corridor, continuing to project the appearance of an ordinary Starfleet crewman. He easily blended in with the other people moving past the Security Chief's quarters.
Eddington regained consciousness shortly thereafter and moved into a small restroom to splash his face with cold water. Glancing into the mirror, he groaned upon noticing the dark, purpling bruise in the center of his forehead. Either he would have to explain the injury, or he would have to request that Dr. Bashir treat it. Neither option was particularly appealing to him.
I can't get off of this station soon enough, he thought furiously to himself.
Garak the Cardassian had been working dutifully in his tailor shop throughout the morning, beginning his day promptly at the same time the other shops on the Promenade opened. One had to compete with the others for business, after all, and he had even skipped his usual lunch with Doctor Bashir in order to sell some extra garments to eager clients. All in all it was proving to be an excellent day - as excellent as days ever got for someone who had been exiled from his own home world. Garak had many enemies back on Cardassia Prime, and he was determined to some day seek retribution for the pain and misery they had put him through. Quite obviously simply killing him hadn't been enough; his political opponents had left him with no choice but to live on Deep Space Nine and sell... clothing.
Sales were up and it was proving to be a solid day, an unusual development considering the circumstances. Both the civilians and military personnel who regularly passed through the station had been extremely moody lately - a vast majority of them noticeably rattled by the unexplained murders. The recent lockdown hadn't helped matters much either. At first the civilians had actually generated a temporary spike in sales, since the lack of ship traffic had granted business owners a captive audience. The ongoing danger around them, combined with the uncertainty of their own profit during a prolonged shutdown of ship traffic, had eventually caused sales to slow almost to a standstill. The additional Starfleet complement assigned to work on the weapons upgrades hadn't helped matters - for some odd reason the Federation personnel always seemed able to live cheerfully with less.
Their lack of greed, self discipline, and ability to do without were nasty, deplorable traits.
Garak considered himself to be one of the lucky ones. His merchandise was primarily clothing, not the expensive, easily spoilable food products sold by many of his competitors. He did keep some stylish, decorated boxes of fine Delavian chocolates displayed along the edge of his front counter, specifically put in place to tempt potential customers inside his store. Some of the rare candy he gave out as samples, while most of it ended up being sold only to consistent, reliable return customers. Nevertheless, the Cardassian had been as frustrated as anyone by the current situation taking place within the sector. Nervous customers were thrifty customers, and until today his daily sales had been dropping regularly.
Then the starships had come.
First the Enterprise had arrived, providing the temporary assistance necessary to rescue Deep Space Nine from its vulnerable position in the Gamma Quadrant and restoring order. The Federation flagship was followed almost immediately by vessels commonly patrolling the region, including the Malinche and the Thunderchild. Even the rarely seen, massive fighter carrier Rhadamanthus had stopped by for a time. The mighty starship was far too large to dock at any of the station's pylons, so it simply orbited around Deep Space Nine for a couple of days, letting everyone in the region know that Starfleet was serious about protecting the rights of its citizens. Garak had simply shaken his head and - in the end - acknowledged that Starfleet was certainly capable of putting on an impressive show of force.
Whether or not these Federation oddballs could actually manage to fight and back up the intimidating presence they projected, well... that remained to be seen. Unfortunately there hadn't been much of anything to attack lately, aside from the occasional gravimetric tendril or two with the audacity to poke its nose outside of subspace and take a quick look around. Garak found himself having to silently admit, however, that the beefed up starship patrols had actually improved matters considerably. With well armed, mobile starships now regularly policing the area, all of the old, daily rumors about mysterious murders and dangerous killer aliens appearing out of nowhere had died down and become virtually non-existent. Even the children who had taken to regularly hiding under an empty table in the common area felt reassured enough to emerge now and then to watch the starships arrive and depart.
For once Starfleet was unafraid to brazenly flex its muscles... that didn't happen very often.
Ushering his latest customer to the door with gracious thanks in response to his latest sale, Garak was surprised to find Odo and Doctor Bashir waiting for him. "Come in, come in gentleman," he said with his usual oily smile and a casual wave of his right hand. "It's wonderful to see you! Things appear to be looking up on Deep Space Nine, if retail sales are any indication."
"Hello Garak," said Bashir with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. Whatever was going on, it was quite clear that the Doctor had not wanted to stop by for even a casual visit.
As usual, Odo's manner was deliberate and unemotional. He stood behind Bashir with his arms folded and wearing a predictable, distrustful expression on his simulated humanoid face. Knowing full well that the alien shapeshifter did not eat, Garak extended a hand toward the counter. "Can I interest either of you in a fine chocolate or two?" he asked generously.
"I'm not interested in your usual, mindless posturing Garak," snapped Odo. "We're here for one reason only... to let you know that the Cardassian phaser pistol you've been keeping in your quarters has officially been confiscated." He stabbed an accusing, deliberate finger toward the Cardassian tailor. "Don't let me hear about you keeping illegal weapons near the habitat ring again. You know the rules, and if you push me any farther I will put you in the brig. A sharp drop in retail sales will be the least of your problems."
Garak's expression appeared sincerely hurt. "Doctor, you tattled on me," he oozed snidely toward the clearly uncomfortable Bashir. "I shared that small fact with you in confidence during a casual lunch."
The Doctor shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I swore an oath to Starfleet," he replied softly. "You having an unauthorized weapon in your quarters automatically places all of the people who live around you at risk. It's a selfish act, and we cannot allow that."
"If you've looked out a window lately, then you already know Starfleet has assigned more people to protect this station and its citizens," continued Odo. "You're the safest Cardassian in the Quadrant now. So please let us take care of the security matters, and you can continue to sell clothing, chocolates, or whatever else your heart desires."
"Tell me Odo," grinned Garak, flashing his traditional 'snake oil salesman' of a smile. "Do you practice that patronizing tone of voice, or does it just come naturally?"
The Changeling harrumphed in response and then turned on his heel and left.
"He's... we're just doing our jobs," said Bashir after Odo had departed. "Try reversing the roles Garak. If you were head of security on this station, I'm sure you would feel similarly."
"I just like teasing him," Garak chuckled with more than a little amusement while retreating toward a row of booths at the rear of his business. "And if I ran security on this station, everything would be perfect all the time." He reached inside one of the small dressing rooms and pressed a small knot in the wood on its rear wall, opening a concealed panel. From within the secret hiding place he pulled out another Cardassian hand weapon. "Perhaps I'll sleep here tonight in my store... I'm not entirely certain that I trust even improved Starfleet defenses to protect me."
Rubbing his forehead with one hand, Bashir groaned audibly. "Now Garak, you know I'm going to..."
He was interrupted by a sudden electronic chirp from his Comm-badge. "Eddington to Dr. Bashir."
"This is Bashir," he replied.
"Doctor, this is Michael Eddington. I've been examining some of the latest merchandise moved to Cargo Bay One and have had a slight accident. Could you grab a medical kit and meet me down here... I seem to have hit my head."
"I'm on my way," Bashir acknowledged, glaring heatedly at his friend. "This isn't over Garak."
"It never is," replied the Cardassian merchant snidely.
U.S.S. Enterprise, Near the Bajor sector, Stardate 48255.6
From the comfortable seated position in his command seat, Captain Picard watched the odd image displayed on the central viewscreen. It appeared - for all intents and purposes - as though space had simply exploded. There for all to see was a large, dark black hole where the normal star pattern had been obscured by a very large rupture in subspace. From within, a large cloud of glittering green energy was emerging, gradually expanding while extending dozens of tentacles out into space in all directions. Unfortunately, this did not appear to be just any casual exploration. The alien creature that they had been tracking for several days now wasn't just sending out random probes this time... it was initiating a major intrusion into the Alpha Quadrant.
Into Federation space.
"Gravimetric readings are off the scale," Worf reported from his position behind the apex of the central bridge horseshoe. "Readings indicate that this is the same creature we have been searching for, and that what we are seeing is simply much more of its 'body'."
Riker turned his head toward Picard thoughtfully. "The alien has been experimenting with subspace here too," he concluded with a sigh. "Obviously it's been working even harder at this location."
"And why not?" Picard snapped with just a trace of frustration. "It could only accomplish a little at a time during its experiments aboard Deep Space Nine and within other populated areas in this region. Out here it was free to work around the clock without anyone suspecting anything until it grew large enough for our long range sensors to detect."
Most of the senior bridge crew was present, including Geordi LaForge at the Engineering station. Standing next to him, Deanna Troi looked at the screen and put a tentative hand up. She touched her right temple with the tips of her fingers and cringed. "There is an extremely powerful life form present within that energy cloud," she reported. "It is highly telepathic and definitely aware of our presence. If it feels any kind of emotions they are beyond my ability to put into words. However, the immediate impression I get is that the creature out there hates us and will not rest until we are dead."
"Why would it hate us?" wondered Data. "We have not directly attacked this alien."
"Perhaps not directly," countered Riker quickly. "But we came to the aid of Deep Space Nine and were instrumental in assisting its crew while they moved the space station safely to a new location. This alien may not think and behave in the same manner as other life forms, but it definitely knows how to set goals and achieve objectives."
"We're standing in its way," agreed Picard. "So now that we are here, it will try and remove us."
His words proved to be more than a little prophetic. The nearest tendrils continued to steadily elongate and grope their way steadily toward the nearby Enterprise. As soon as they were close enough to strike, three of the graviton columns impacted heavily against the vessel's fully powered shields and actually shoved it backwards before their leading edges faded and began dissipating. "Those are significantly more powerful than anything on record," cautioned LaForge. "Our anti-graviton field is holding firm at ninety-eight percent, but please keep in mind that the more the creature throws at us the harder it becomes for us to protect ourselves."
Picard tapped his Comm-badge. "Doctor Crusher, are you ready?"
"Absolutely," she replied briskly. "I've maneuvered the shuttlecraft into position one hundred thousand meters behind the Enterprise and rotated our starboard flank toward you. The enhanced deflector shielding is on-line and ready... we're all set here."
"You're also going to have to descend below our current position by at least fifteen thousand meters Doctor," LaForge informed her. "We've decided to use the ventral phaser array on the bottom of our secondary engineering hull. The particle beam we fire your way will be at seventy percent of maximum, but don't worry. Everything should work exactly like it did during our simulated computer modeling."
"Acknowledged Commander. I'm lowering the shuttlecraft now." There was a brief pause during which she complied with his instructions. "Okay... we're ready when you are."
LaForge glanced to Picard, and the Captain of the Enterprise nodded confidently. "Do it," he ordered.
"Firing ventral particle beam," replied Geordi, sounding completely confident. The somewhat excitable young man had established a strong reputation over the years... a reputation for thoroughly researching and testing his creations. And yet there was always that last bit of lingering doubt before the first actual test of each new invention. Around them the Enterprise rocked from side to side as they were buffeted repeatedly on both sides by fresh attacks from the enemy still lurking outside. "Beam one has impacted against the side of the shuttlecraft." He studied the sensor data carefully. "As expected, it's deflecting off the side of her starboard hull and out into open space."
Picard nodded, clearly satisfied. "Proceed, Mr. LaForge."
The starship's Chief Engineer smiled in response. "Aye, sir. I'm activating beam two from the main deflector dish now."
He touched the keypad in front of him and a second, larger beam of particle-driven energy emerged from the vessel's deflector dish and fired forward, this time directly toward the alien creature. It touched the outer perimeter of the central, glowing green cloud within the gravimetric subspace rupture and instantly pierced it. Glittering with orange and traces of red, the modified, low level energy beam reached deep down inside the visible portion of the Overseer.
The results were virtually instantaneous.
"I'm detecting an incoming graviton surge, riding along beam two" announced Worf, working swiftly to keep the incoming sensor telemetry updated. "The Enterprise is rapidly becoming heavier."
Everyone simultaneously turned their heads expectantly toward Geordi. "Rerouting graviton flow," he noted with a deliberate, focused expression. He was so used to working under pressure situations like this one that he didn't even notice everyone watching. Like Worf, he worked as quickly and efficiently as possible, hesitant to risk making even a minor error during so critical a process. Finally, he glanced up with a satisfied nod. "Graviton flow has been channeled toward the shuttlecraft's starboard shielding."
"Confirmed. Incoming gravitons have been successfully diverted," Worf grinned, clearly pleased. "We are drawing gravitons out of the entity at an increasing rate of flow. They are following beam two until they hit our deflector dish, then flowing along the bottom of our secondary hull toward beam one." He folded his arms in front of him with obvious satisfaction. "We have succeeded in establishing a continual flow using the Enterprise as a conduit at the center of both beams. The graviton stream eventually ends by deflecting off of the shuttlecraft's hull and harmlessly out into open space."
"It sure is!" Beverly shouted over the still-open communications link. "The starboard hull is bending steadily outward - toward the outer edge of our bubble shielding." The loud creaking sound of stressed metal temporarily obscured her next statement as she worked feverishly to make on the fly adjustments. Eventually her voice returned, and the tone of her voice sounded much calmer in the first audible fragment of a sentence. "...those emergency force shields in place Ensign, just in case we have hull breaches," she was saying. "We need to protect the atmosphere in here."
Geordi was watching sensor telemetry fed to him directly from Worf's station. "Doctor, adjust your shields to accept the incoming energy from the particle beam," he suggested. "The shield grid is designed to absorb energy as well as deflect it. Divert the incoming energy into your auxiliary power system and don't worry... your anti-graviton field will continue to protect you."
"That's an interesting twist," commented Riker. "Your system is allowing Beverly to supplement her shields with energy from our particle beam while still deflecting away the incoming gravitons."
"She can use some of that energy to augment the shuttlecraft's structural integrity too," nodded LaForge with a smile. "Wow... based on the simulations we ran, I fully expected that this would work. But I never imagined it would work this well!" He continued watching the rapidly increasing numbers on his console. "We're pulling gravity out of that creature at an astonishing rate..."
"At what rate?" requested Picard briskly. "Specifics please."
LaForge confirmed the data before answering. "We're draining gravitons out of the entity at more than seven hundred trillion per second," he informed them.
"What about the Enterprise?" wondered the Captain. "Or the shuttle? Are we in any danger?"
"Neither ship is accumulating sufficient gravitons long enough for there to be any damage," Geordi told him. "They're flowing across us like a rapidly moving river current. I would imagine that the shuttle's hull has sustained some minor damage from the initial impact, but other than that... trust me, sir, we're doing great!" Seconds continued to tick by, and the Enterprise Chief Engineer continued to watch closely while the graviton flow out of the center of the strange entity continued to run wild.
At his station, Worf bristled noticeably. "The alien has discovered what we are doing."
"Indeed." Picard rested his chin on his right fist while the approaching tendrils on the viewscreen in front of them suddenly slowed and came to an abrupt stop. Almost immediately the alien's slender green fingers began retracting swiftly back inside the subspace vortex, and all the while the flickering green cloud of energy at its center shrank visibly. Once the last of the tentacles had vanished inside the anomaly, the cloud itself simply vanished. Seconds later the darkness rippled with noticeable distortion and the stars behind it came sharply back into focus.
"The gravimetric hole in subspace is resealing itself," stated Worf informatively. "And the alien is generating feedback along particle beam two... deflector control systems are beginning to overload."
"Shut everything down," stated Picard decisively. "Immediately."
"Aye, Captain. Dr. Crusher, we're deactivating down both particle beams on my mark," Geordi told her, watching all of their status indicators carefully. "Mark!"
"Acknowledged. We're powering down our systems on this end too!"
For a brief moment in time, silence reigned on the Enterprise bridge. Even after repeated computer simulations testing the experimental process, no one had known for certain how well it would work until trying it in an actual, real world environment. Therefore, those who felt the massive starship literally battered back and forth by the alien's powerful tendrils had literally held their breath - hoping that the hastily constructed weapon would do the job that it was meant to. Picard sat there quietly and waited patiently for a moment, allowing the people around him to catch their breath.
"Well," the Captain declared finally, rising to his feet and tugging on his uniform top. "That was certainly an interesting experience." He took a deep breath himself, exhaling slowly to calm his own rattled nervous system. "Dr. Crusher, please return to the Enterprise and dock immediately."
"I'm already on my way!" she promised, terminating the Comm-link an instant later.
"Obviously this trap has been used against the entity before. It knows how to counterattack." Riker also stood up. "Let's see how well we did," he suggested, and as usual his broad-shouldered presence loomed above Picard's significantly shorter stature. "Computer, can you determine the specific size of the gravimetric entity using data accumulated from our latest sensor sweep?"
Another unexpected and longer awkward pause followed this time. "Negative," the female voice of the computer eventually responded after churning through gigaquads of newly gathered information.
The Enterprise First Officer persisted. "Can you estimate its total size?"
"Negative."
"Hmm," mused Riker with growing frustration, deciding to try a new approach. "By how much did our graviton extraction procedure reduce its total mass?"
"That information cannot be determined without a thorough sensor sweep from within the outer perimeter of the gravimetric subspace anomaly," replied the computer helpfully. "Such a scan is no longer possible... the phenomenon has vanished from sensors."
Riker turned respectfully toward his Captain. "Perhaps we could try a probe or two next time?"
"Not bloody likely Number One," decided Picard with a hearty chuckle. "That thing would have crushed us like a bug if our shields hadn't protected us. I doubt it's going to permit us to insert vulnerable, complex scanning devices inside its mass so that we can search for weaknesses."
"Well if it's weaknesses you want, we've just discovered a big one," said LaForge triumphantly. "That entity cannot exist outside of subspace unless it manipulates gravitons. Whatever lies at the heart of that life form obviously relies upon them almost exclusively for its continued survival and expansion."
"Agreed," replied the Captain.
"I wonder how many other test sites there are," Troi wondered curiously. "If it's trying to reach into our space, then there are probably additional areas just like this one - isolated from populated planetary systems. The creature may even be planning a unified mass appearance in multiple areas all over the Alpha Quadrant... perhaps even the entire galaxy."
"Regardless of its former plans, the alien will not return for a time," predicted Data.
"What makes you say that?" asked the starship's Counselor curiously, her curly dark hair whirling around her shoulders as she turned to face him.
"We have injured it," the android pointed out. "The rapid extraction of gravitons from the alien is obviously not a pleasant experience. It returned to subspace almost immediately after we began drawing away from it the gravitons that it craves." He fell silent for a second or two, mulling over the matter further. "It is too bad we currently lack a method of constructing a much larger extraction device."
"Who knows how large that creature truly is?" countered Picard. "Theoretically it could live in one layer of subspace... or perhaps its presence crosses many. Without a detailed, long-term study there's simply no way to determine just how far across our galaxy this creature can reach. Based on documented incidents to date, Starfleet has confirmed its presence in at least ten different sectors."
"It's planning some sort of an invasion," Riker concluded. "There's no other explanation."
"Until now, the creature has been preying upon the people living in this region of space," continued Data. "What we have just done will no doubt give it reason to pause. Even if the alien cannot feel fear or other emotions in the same manner as biological humanoids, I am confident we have achieved what is traditionally described as a 'balance of terror'. The entity is extremely intelligent and will not continue meddling with affairs in our space until it is certain that we can no longer injure it."
Troi continued to look extremely concerned. "Meaning...?"
Data gave her his traditional, carefully controlled android response. "I suspect it will begin targeting starships," he informed them.
U.S.S. Yellowjacket, Location Unknown, Stardate Unknown
After the conversation with the unusual entity known as David concluded, it took Captain Data only minutes to move the Yellowjacket back inside the Overseer's nearby graviton field. Traveling at warp speed, he backtracked toward the area that he had earlier vacated and once again pierced the Overseer's outer event horizon. Working with his traditional android efficiency, the Relativity Captain flew deep inside the glowing green clouds of energy that now dominated the viewscreen. As he approached the specific location that he had selected earlier, the runabout decelerated to sublight velocity and continued flying toward its designated target coordinates. It took less than a half hour for the small ship to reach the center of the disturbance and identify a massive hole in space.
Working unopposed at this location in the vastness of the universe - also known as the middle of nowhere - the Overseer had managed to successfully establish a large, permanent presence in regular space/time. Clouds and large tendrils of gravimetric energy quite literally stretched across light years in all directions surrounding the central rupture. Never hesitating for an instant, Data adjusted the Yellowjacket's heading and steered directly toward the subspace opening. The shields flared a brilliant, bright red as the surrounding energy field grew steadily stronger. Do not worry, the voice of Decker whispered reassuringly within his positronic thoughts. V'Ger and I are with you.
An instant later the Yellowjacket entered the rift and vanished inside subspace.
Data ignored the odd patterns of colorful energy streaming past the cockpit windows. He continued working the helm controls for another few seconds, making certain that the runabout successfully reached his carefully preselected position. The white glow from his eyes continued to grow stronger and now filled the entire cabin with a brilliant, luminous glow. With the ship's autopilot successfully activated, the android Captain unhooked the safety harness holding him in the pilot's seat and stood up. He walked slowly to the rear of the cockpit, turned and put both hands firmly on the back of his chair. Then he braced himself and allowed the Preserver network's pure energy to flow through him like a conduit. His entire body flared with blazing white light this time, filling the small cabin with all of its radiant glory. At the same time, the android accessed his neural link with the runabout and ordered the main computer to execute its final, pre-programmed command sequence.
Columns of intense white light stabbed outward from inside of the Yellowjacket's windows, growing brighter with each passing second. The coruscating, multi-hued patterns of energy lining the edge of the subspace entrance were suddenly drowned out by the brilliance spreading across the entire outer surface of the runabout. For just a brief moment in time, an intense, dazzling white glow flared like a star at the center of the Overseer's massive subspace rupture.
Then the runabout exploded in a blazing cloud of energy and rapidly expanding debris.