"Preparing Quarters"
by Lt K'Eytyanna Samara
Walking to the computer, K'Eytyanna brought up the scanned-in manual on her terminal.
"Firstly, I will have to build the chassis." Bringing up the correct section, she examined the record to find that the frame was designed around a titanium-alloy compound, with a specific name from the time for the Frontlines.
"Computer, bring up a chemical compound analysis of the alloy."
It flashed up on the screen and K'Eytyanna did some calculations. Switching modes, she changed the chemical formula to include a duranium mixture for increased strength.
"Computer, initialise uplink to Replicator in my quarters, and send a command to replicate a 10 kilogram high-density block of this compound."
[Working..]
Turning, she waited until the replicator powered up. Seconds later, a block of steel-grey metal appeared in the replicator.
Smiling, she started designing a device to melt the metal so she could cast the alloy to the correct shape.
Lt K'Eytyanna Samara, USS Galaxy - Engineer/Shuttle Pilot
By: e9226192@student.tuwien.ac.at (Joerg Sterner)
"Speaking with the Breen"
After the senior staff meeting Joerg checked the current situation on the bridge. Nothing new had happened, so he was free to carry out the Captain's orders to arrange to speak with the Breen visitors.
While he was on his way down to deck nine in the turbo lift, he reread the status report on the two injured Breen in sickbay. Although he had very little medical knowledge, Joerg was glad to at least know something of that very exotic and unknown race.
After he had finished his quick read-over he was arrived at deck nine. He stepped out of the lift and turned to approach the residential apartments. His eyes quickly noticed one special door, where two security officers were standing watch. One of them noticed the approaching Commander, signaled the other and suddenly both were standing attention before Joerg even reached them.
As Joerg saw their behavior, he couldn't help but smie smile and once he was in acoustical range he addressed them with a simple "At ease.", upon which both suddenly began to breath normally again.
"I need to talk to our guests, Captain's order." he just explained his being there.
"I wish you good luck sir. They hardly speak and if they do, they say nothing of really importance." one of the guards replied.
"I'll try my best, Ensign." Joerg countered.
"Counselor Wilson will shortly arrive here and also try to speak with them. Once she arrives send her right in." were the last words, before Commander Sterner entered the quite cold quarters.
As the door shut behind him, two masks were focused on him. He went on and approached the two masked individuals.
"I'm Commander Joerg Sterner, the First Officer of this ship, the USS Galaxy." he introduced himself.
He waited a short moment, but since he didn't get any immediate reply he continued to talk to them.
"You were quite lucky that we received your distress call and came to help you."
Another silent moment passed, since the Breen seemed to prefer to listen rather than talking themselves.
"Two of your fellow ship mates are right now in our sickbay. They will soon be back to health and able to join with you again."
"Good." suddenly the answer came from a somewhat female voice.
Both the other Breen and Joerg looked at the Breen who just spoke, at least Joerg thought the other Breen might have looked in astonishment since he/she/it suddenly turned the head towards the Breen who spoke.
"So you are capable of speech after all?" Joerg asked happily and was yet greeted by absolute silence again.
"Perhaps I'll do the talking again." he then added ironically.
"Let me try to figure out what happened to you and your vessel. You and your crew were on some kind of scout mission here, when you suddenly noticed an opening in space. Your scientists decided to investigate it further and that lead to the situation we found you in. Is that correct?" Joerg tried to lure them in saying anything at all to their situation.
But again the two Breen made no intension in saying anything at all.
"What was your crew compliment? What were your orders? What was your final destination? Talk to me. Tell me anything you want, but start talking to me." Joerg nearly sounded as if he was begging them to say another word.
After no response came from them again, he remembered that Counselor Wilson should be arriving soon and that perhaps she has more luck with them then he has.
"Perhaps you prefer to speak with our Captain?" Joerg finally asked them, not hoping to get any answers from them this time, and he was right.
After that he was just about to turn to the door, when they swung open and the Counselor entered. He quickly approached her and told her what he had tried so far. She explained to him that she will try also to get some information from them. Before she began, she allowed Joerg to stay, since perhaps the Breen could finally provide them with some valuable information.
By: "Derek "
“No information available. Refine search parameters.” Came the generic feminine voice of the Galaxy’s computer.
Mac banged his fist into the bulkhead. He had heard the last message eight times before and was losing control of his temper. The computer had been unable to determine the origin of the transmission that Nemesis had sent. He was as much in the dark as he had been before he started. He started to re-enter the information again when his commbadge beeped.
“Dammit,” he thought, “McKenzie.” He stated.
“Mac, This is Blair. I need your Tactical analysis of the Breen data. Can you bring it to the bridge?”
“Damn, I forgot about the report.” Mac chided himself, mentally. “Yes sir, I’m on my way.”
Mac disconnected the signal as he jabbed the button on the computer console, erasing the data referring to Nemesis. Mac headed to his quarters to retrieve the report.
-----Bridge, USS GALAXY-----
Mac entered the bridge and made his way to the Tactical Arch. AS Lt Blair turned to greet him he handed him the PADD.
“Well, hello Mr. McKenzie. Long time no see.” Chided Troy as he looked over the Report, Noticing Mac’s day dreaming Troy stepped forward. “Galaxy to Mac!”
Mac shook his head as he heard his name. “Huh…Whaa. Oh Yes?”
“Are you okay, Mac?” asked Troy, You seem..ummmm…I don’t know…distant.”
“Yeah, sure. Just tired..the ..ummm report has all of the info I could find about the Breen, which isn’t much. Most of the info is from second or third parties. It’s hard to draw any accurate tactical conclusions.”
Troy nodded as Mac turned to go. “Any conclusions?” asked Troy.
“I think the Klingons have the best advice, Never turn your back on a Breen.”
Mac let that thought hang as he walked to the Turbolift.
Lt. Hunter McKenzie, ASST Chief Tactical Officer, USS GALAXY
By: Scene23
In his dreams, nightmares, Matthew relived his own death over and over again. Each night, however, it was different. He did not recall in his dreams his actual death as it HAD occurred; Rather, he experienced it as it might have occurred. The nightmare of choice this night did not include a music-less dance in a civilian lounge. Instead, he found himself in a blown-out building on Dronegar, watching through a window as a hundred Rhomboid soldiers approached him.
The basement was unlit, illumination coming from shafts of sunlight streaming in through the tiny basement windows, refracting off the broken edges of the glass in each frame. In each beam of sunlight, motes of dust danced playfully to the tune of a Dronegarian musical instrument being played by an unknown person on an upper floor. Matthew was wishing that the beautiful sound would cease, before it drew the attention of the Rhomboid soldiers passing on the street outside. Unmindful of the danger, the music kept up and the dust kept dancing.
He peeked his head up over a windowsill again, to check on the enemy troops outside. Over a dozen of them were breaking off from the column, going up the steps of the building. He ducked out of sight again, shuffling backward to the base of the stairs to better hear what went on above. He looked up the stairway, from a place in the shadows. Only his eyes were lit by falling light from above. Matthew lifted his phaser. Before he even looked at the charge indicator, he knew it was nearly bereft of energy. Heavy boots clambered up the stairway above, sending debris raining down on Albrecht’s head. The enemy headed up a flight, nearing the source of the music.
The odd tones of the Dronegarian string instrument, sounding a little like a harp, and a little like a lute, came louder as if to drown out the sound of the soldiers’ marching in the dark and echo-filled structure. Then Matthew heard a new sound: A woman’s voice began to sing. It was a terribly sad song of loss and despair. It sounded just like a broken heart put to music, and Matthew’s mouth dropped open in fear and surprise. He recognized the beautiful voice…It was Akira’s voice, and she was singing to him.
The Rhomboid were almost to her door, they would burst in on her and kill her at any moment. What could he do? He thought desperately hard, and came up with nothing! In a panic, he shouted to warn her about her danger, "AKIRA, AKIRA!! HIDE QUICKLY!" The guards stopped their climb, he could see the edges of their boots on the steps above his head. He could also see one edge of the door they had almost reached. As a Rhomboid man looked down the shaft and appeared to meet his eyes in recognition, Matthew saw the door open, and Akira pop her head out to have a look. There was a sudden scuffle, some gasps, and shouting. Matthew jumped onto the steps to head up to her rescue, but stopped when one of the enemy yelled down to him.
"It’s too late, Federationer, we have your woman right here! Perhaps I will kill her right now…Then again, I may wait to let her see me cut out your heart first! Ha haahaha!" added the Rhomboid officer in theatrically maniacal glee. Matthew grabbed a railing, frozen in place by indecision. He bowed his head, squinting, waiting to hear what the evil man said next. What he heard was a harsh, malevolent sounding whisper. The pale bastard was making threats to her, to keep control of her.
The Star Fleet officer looked up, a grimace of anger and hate on his face. He wasn’t going to wait for the enemy to make the decisions here, he would make the rules himself! He raised his phaser, aiming for the step upon which the Rhomboid commander stood. Squeezing the firing trigger, he saw the beam lance out, dust ionizing along its path in a fuzzy electrical display of orange, and strike a half-meter from his target. He had struck the truss holding up the entire section of stair, vaporizing it as well as the step he had wanted. The entire third flight of stairs collapsed, plummeting down onto the second flight with most of the Rhomboid and Akira as well. He gasped when he saw her fall, blood running from her reptilian nose, still clutched by the damned grinning commander.
When the stairs landed on the next flight down, crushing several more Rhomboid, that section collapsed as well. Blood was smearing along the walls, great clouds of dust and debris filled the air muffling the cries and screams of the enemy. Only Akira was silent, her flowing robes making her downward rush seem almost graceful. Matthew watched her in wonder, as the last of the stairs gave way and fell toward him. Their eyes met for the last time. A heavy length of wood, hard as stone, struck his chest, knocking the wind from him and breaking several ribs. He exhaled involuntarily, a whistle coming from the place where a sharp bit had punctured through his ribcage and into his left lung. Blackness enveloped him when another beam crushed his skull…
Lieutenant Junior Grade Matthew Albrecht opened his eyes in the sonic shower of his quarters on the Galaxy. Just as had occurred every morning for weeks, he did not recall waking up and entering the shower. He just found himself there, getting ready for his day. It was just like the day they had arrived at Star Base 357; He had just found himself going about his day as if nothing had happened – but it had! He had died, and he continued to die each night since. *I have got to see a counselor about this,* he told himself. He wouldn’t though. He was just too busy, he told himself. The nightmares would stop, he told himself.
**** 1530 hours ****
He was on duty in thirty minutes. Matthew walked through the halls of the Galaxy, headed for Security. He smiled, his nightmare forgotten for the moment. He was pleased with his new assignment to Beta shift, a coveted billet for those serving the ‘graveyard’ Gamma shift as he had done for so many months.
He was also looking forward to serving with Lt Cmdr Sunder, a man with a reputation for excellent team-building skills with a focus on subordinate development. Matthew was preparing for exams in his Federation Law and Star Fleet Justice courses. He hoped that Sunder would live up to his reputation and allow the junior lieutenant extra time to study. Matthew was confident he would pass his tests, but like any dedicated student, would prefer to pass with distinction whenever possible.
Lt jg Matthew Albrecht
By: Stephanie
Chanor arrived outside Holodeck One to find it, surprisingly empty. This thing with the Breen had every department working overtime apart from Counseling and Security. Chanor stepped inside, called up the arch and spoke into it.
"Computer, open a new holodeck file, and name it.... Security-Jem Hadar scenario. Prepare it to recieve new input." he asked.
The computer beeped as Chanor looked over to Neg'Puj.
"Take it away Ensign." he told her.
Neg'Puj stepped up, and started tapping on the panel infront of her.
"We want a combat scenario don't we Lieutenant?" she asked.
"Yes, an exact duplicate of the USS Galaxy at the present time, with every officer on board as at the present time. Can it also be made to alter the personnel as people come and go?" he asked.
She carried on tapping away, "That shouldn't be too difficult sir."
"Can you also add in a sub programme that removes the holographic simulations of the people using the programme. So, for instance, Lt. Lawson won't meet his holodeck double when he uses the programme?"
"Yes, also, not a problem. I'll get the computer to scan the people using the programme, so the holo characters are not in it for that scenario. How do I programme in the Jem'Hadar responses?"
Chanor thought for a moment. What did he exactly want? He thought about starting the programme from the exact moment the Jem'Hadar invaded, but then decided on something a little better.
"Can we, say, start the programme from the point of the Jem'Hadar attack the Galaxy, and if none of the people using the simulation are command or tactical staff, then the ships defences will be breached after a random amount of time, say not more than 10 minutes." he started, as Neg'Puj looked at him.
"But if anyone is using it from the tactical department, command department, or anyone on the bridge trying to make better decisions than the holo crew, then there is a possibility of them beating off the ships before an invasion occurs?" he carried on.
"That's going to be difficult sir. I can give it a go. You're effectively asking for two simulations rolled into one." Neg'Puj replied.
"I know. I think it would be more realistic than a standard scenario though, where all that happened was the security staff trying to fight off the Jem'Hadar over and over again. Make it a sort of holonovel. Besides, the Command and Tactical staff can use it then." he stated.
"Okay, I'll give it a go. I'll programme the computer simulations of Captain Price, Commander Sterner and Lieutenant Blair to respond slightly weaker than in real life, so that if no real person takes those positions, then a boarding is 95% likely." she said, whilst typing into the arch's computer.
"There are three Jem'Hadar ships, following standard Jem'Hadar tactics, and I've made them concentrate on engineering and power systems. Once they've boarded, they'll attempt to capture the bridge and engineering." she carried on.
"Good, Ensign. Don't tell me too much, keep some of it a secret." he asked.
She nodded, and began to work in silence. Chanor just waited, Neg'Puj went on with the computer. She rembered something a consuler once told her, 'You know Neg'Puj if you want to learn to fit in more and make friends you should try small talk.'
"So how long have you been on the Galaxy?" She asked.
Chanor looked at her, slightly surprised. No one had engaged him in much conversation since Andy Hutchcraft left the ship.
"A little over a year now." he stated bluntly.
"And what made you pick security?" she pressed further.
"Well, I spent most of my childhood, till 14, on Bajor, fighting the Cardassian occupation. I learnt how to use a variety of weapons, and tactics. Even learnt how to defend myself in hand to hand, but," he smiled slightly, remembering the hammering he got off the Ensign," I've lost a lot of that skill over the past ten years. So, it was either Tactical, or Security. I haven't got the intelligence for ship tactics, so security it was. I like the position. Being on Gamma, no one ever notices you mind."
"So have you seen much of the ship then, this past year?" she carried on.
"Not a great deal really. I've been to the bridge twice, and spoke to the Captain once, but not in person. What you'd expect from an insignificant Lieutenant really. I spend most of the time on Deck 38, in the security office."
"You seem unconcerned about that. Don't you want more? Like try for command?" she continued. She had to smile to herself, it seemed to be working, and it was a lot more intresting then just sitting there.
"Not really. Not yet at any rate." he finished. "Anyway, enough about me, what about yourself. Tell me about why you pick security." he asked
She shrugged, "It seemed the most worthy thing to pursue in star fleet, besides, I was to be a combat officer back home. And secruty was the clostest thing to it."
"Really? Where are you from?"
Neg'Puj punched in a couple of buttons, "The Ha'DIbaH QeH."
"A Klingon ship?"
"Yes," She turned to him, "When I was young I was found on a crashed ship and was adoted by a Klingon family." She went back to work, "Who is Andy Hutchcraft?"
"Huh?"
"Didn't you say something about an Andy Hutchcraft earlier?"
He frowned, "No."
She nodded, "Oh, sorry, sir."
They contiued to talk.
******** Later *********
Neg'Puj turned to Chanor and stated, "Finished. It's taken two hours, but it's ready to go. Want to give it a test run?" she asked.
"Okay, let's see how it goes." Chanor stated, as Neg'Puj started up the programme.
I walked down a passage way and into Ten Forward. Upon entering I saw Cat sitting down by herself, I waked over to her table and sat down.
"Hi Cat. What's the matter?"
"Oh I did have a dinner date. But he had to leave."
I smiled.
"Anyone I know?"
Cat looked up and relaxed a bit at the attempted cheerful joke
"Yes, but I'm, still not going to tell you."
I laughed at the response. I was still rubbing my hands trying to get a little heat into them. A waiter came up to the table. I looked at him
"I'll have a whisky."
the waiter nodded and returned to the bar. I turned back to Cat
"So what's really the matter?"
Cat looked at me and shrugged
"I don't really know. You know Ursa Sunder, I've known him a total of less than a day, really and well..."
I gave a knowing smile
"So you like him huh?"
Cat gave a small sigh, she dug her spoon into her cake and took a mouthful before answering
"Yes, I do. It's been so long, a little too long since I had someone. I'm not even sure if he is interested in me. Maybe I am rushing into this. I barely know him."
The whisky had arrived, I thanked the waiter,
"I'm not really the type of person to give this type of advice out, but I think it's fairly obvious to me."
I took a sip, waiting for Cat's response.
"If it is obvious, then what is it?"
"Cat, you are worried about rushing in too fast, then let things flow. The Prophets taught us that all things will happen as we want it, only if we allow them to happen. Don't push too fast, or move to slow. Try to move with the flow, things will come, as you want them if you work with them, not against them."
Cat looked at me, I could see she did not really understand, she was trying
"You are an intelligent woman, you will feel it inside of yourself, when it is the right time. It will work for you."
Cat smiled
"Thank you Nilani, you are right. I am getting another Deneb Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake, you want one."
"No thanks Cat, I'm fine with just this."
And raised my whisky.
"Ok Nilani"
Cat ordered another cheesecake and ate it as we talked about the Breen, the Sickbay and other things. It was when she ordered the third cake and started to eat it with the same gusto as I saw her eat the first, I knew that Cat had fallen hard for this guy. I smiled and said
"Cat if you keep eating cheesecake, you'll put on weight"
"I'll just have to work hard tomorrow when I practice to burn it off."
was her reply.
"Well, I have to get going. I will see you tomorrow Cat."
"Ok Nilani, I'll see you tomorrow."
Cat said with a mouth full of cake.
I shook my head and headed out of Ten-Forward.
By: "Selene Stockard"
Captain Price, Ensign Parker, Lt. Cmdr. Ursa Sunder, and Colby Torwyn; Ready Room
"Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to come in?" Erin asked the security officer as he stood in the entryway of the captain's ready room.
"Ah, yes Counselor. Here is the child and my formal report Captain." the Commander told Counselor Parker and Captain Price.
The Counselor wanted to see the report first, but Ursa handed the report to the Captain. The Captain looked it over and handed it to the Counselor. Erin looked Ursa's report over and over again. It seemed that Colby was apparently hiding out in the cargo bay for a few weeks, ready and supplied for a few more.
"Thank you Commander. I think that will be all we need from you," the Counselor said to Commander Sunder. The captain nodded and said, "Thank you mate for all your work."
Ursa left the ready room, staring back at Counselor Parker.
"Colby, won't you sit next to me on the sofa so we can have a talk?" the Counselor asked the young lad.
By: Price
*** Engineering support labs, Deck 22, Galaxy ***
"That should just about do it." Deiran beamed with a final twist of a long, tiny screwdriver, "All that should be left now is to button her up and we can prep the probe for launch."
David handed Lieutenant Commander Casey the exterior cover to the class one probe he and Deiran had been ordered to modify. "You missed your calling Deiran. Your talents are wasted in Operations. Are you sure you wouldn't like to switch over to Engineering and start doing real work?" Chief Engineer Mercury smiled.
Deiran took the cover and snapped it into place with a chuckle. "Thanks David, but I think I'm happy were I am at the moment."
"Be sure to seal the outer skin with the portable surface welder over there." David pointed out.
"I was just getting to that." Casey smiled. A few moments later the latch was secured. It's surface smooth and shiny black like the rest of the probe's casing. "That does it!" Deiran said in an upbeat tone.
"I'll have it hoisted over to the launchers and loaded into the launch tube. We should be ready to deploy in about ten minutes." Lieutenant Mercury explained.
"Great. That will give me enough time to inform the Captain and grab a quick snack,... I'm starving!" Deiran declared, "I've been up since the start of Alpha shift and I'm still not adjusted to the schedule for Gamma shift living yet."
"Sounds good. I'll notify you when the probe is ready to launch 'Commander. My men can take it from here. Go. Get something to eat."
"Thanks David." Deiran nodded before exiting the engineering laboratory.
*****
*** Captain's Ready Room ***
'Commander Sunder had just dropped off the young Betazoid boy, Colby, that was found stowed away in one of the cargo holds on the lower decks of the Galaxy. Captain Price glanced at the report after Ursa had handed it to him. "Looks like our young stowaway here has built himself quite the little castle below deck."
"Yes Captain. Quite an innovative thinker by the looks of things sir." 'Commander Sunder acknowledged glancing at Counselor Parker.
"Thank you Commander. I think that will be all we need from you." Erin smiled at Ursa.
"Thank you 'mate for all of your work." Captain Price nodded to Sunder before the 'Commander departed.
Lee watched Sunder walk out of his office before his eyes turned to the pouting child who's shoulder Counselor Parker was resting her hand upon. "Colby, won't you sit next to me on the sofa so we can have a talk?" the Counselor asked the young lad.
Without saying anything, Colby stepped over to the couch and plopped down to one side while Erin sat at the opposite end.
"Now young man, do you mind explaining what you..." Captain Price began before being interrupted by a hail from 'Commander Casey. The double beep stopped Lee in his tracks, the look of annoyance evident on his face. Enough so to make Colby stifle a smile as he looked away.
Lee reached across his chest and tapped the comm badge. "Price here."
["Captain, Lieutenant Commander Casey sir. The modifications to the class one probe have been completed sir. Lieutenant Mercury is having it loaded and prepped for launch as we speak. It should be ready for deployment in ten minutes sir."]
"Understood 'Commander. I am in a meeting at the moment. Inform Commander Sterner and instruct him to launch the probe when it's ready. I will be joining you as soon as I am finished here. Price out." Lee closed the channel quickly, before Deiran had a chance to respond.
"Sorry about the interruption 'mate. Now where were we?... Oh yes, you were about to explain why you were hiding out on the lower decks of my ship." Captain Price said moving to the front of his desk before leaning back against it, partially sitting on the top. "Well how about it 'mate? What made you decide to stowaway on the Galaxy rather than go to Betazed as Devlynn had arranged?"
Lee waited patiently for Colby to reply.
*****
*** Bridge, USS Galaxy ***
Commander Sterner was sitting in the Captain's chair looking out the main view screen at the swirling vortex several thousand kilometers in the distance. His attentions turned when the turbolift doors swished open and Lieutenant Commander Casey came bounding in.
"Aren't you a bit early for Gamma shift 'Commander?" Joerg smiled.
Rolling his eyes upward, Deiran agreed, "Tell me about it." Walking down into the command well, he handed Commander Sterner his padd, "The Captain asked that I brief you on the modifications performed on the probe. It's being loaded up for launching right now Commander. Lieutenant Mercury should be hailing us any second to let us know it's ready to deploy. The Captain wants it launched as soon as it's ready. He's in some sort of meeting now, but says he'll join us shortly."
"Aye. Seems security located a Betazoid child hiding out below decks. The Captain and Counselor Parker are in his ready room now speaking with him about it." Sterner explained.
"Is that Counselor Salshyar ward? Colby?" Deiran asked.
"I believe that it is 'Commander. Why do you know something about it?" Joerg asked.
"No sir. I just remember that Dev had a Betazoid child she was caring for. Small world. That's all sir." Deiran explained.
Joerg was about to respond when a hail came through.
"Engineering reports that the modified probe is ready for launch Commander." Lieutenant McKenzie informed from the Tactical station.
Joerg gave a nod. "Launch when ready Mister McKenzie." He instructed.
A moment later Hunter announced, "The probe is away sir."
Everyone on the bridge watched as a blue streak of light streamed away from the ship and into the giant spatial vortex. Lieutenant Commander Casey stepped over to the Science station where Ensign Sullax was monitoring the probes transmissions.
"The probe is nearing the event horizon of the vortex 'Commander. Hull stress is increasing, but well within limits thanks to the improved shielding." Sullax explained.
"How long before it reaches the singularity Ensign?" Deiran asked.
Tapping a few buttons, the Romulan science officer replied, "six seconds sir."
The bridge crew watched in silence as the probe raced towards the unknown of the vortex.
"Are we receiving the neutrino transmissions Lieutenant McKenzie?" Commander Sterner asked.
Hunter nodded, "Aye sir, loud and clear. A series of steady pulses, some long and some short. Morse code?" the tactical officer asked.
"That's right Lieutenant. The probe is programmed to record all of the sensory information into it's memory banks for this reconnaissance mission." Commander Sterner explained, "We are using the neutrino transmissions to verify that they will be adequate to penetrate the vortex and provide a communications channel to the away team when we send a shuttle craft through."
"Well, whatever it's doing Commander, it's doing it well. I am receiving a strong signal." Hunter nodded.
"Thanks." Deiran answered, "Let's just hope the signal doesn't degrade much when the probe enters the vortex."
"Well, we will know right now sir. The Probe has just penetrated the singularity." Lieutenant McKenzie explained.
Glancing at Ensign Sullax, Deiran asked, "How is the probes trajectory?"
"She's still on course 'Commander. Straight as an arrow as far as I can tell..." the Ensign's voice trailed off, drawing attention to the sudden lowering of confidence.
"What is it Ensign?" Casey asked.
"One minute I had good telemetry on the probe, and then the next minute it seems to of disappeared. I can't explain it sir."
Casey turned and quickly made his way over to the tactical station. "Are you still receiving the neutrino transmissions Lieutenant?"
Hunter checked and nodded, "Aye sir. The signal strength dropped slightly when the probe entered the vortex, but it's been holding steady ever... wait a minute! It just decreased by a massive amount."
Deiran reached the tactical station and was soon joined by Commander Sterner on McKenzie's opposite side. "Look the signal strength is almost non-existent."
"Try boosting the gain of the lateral sensor arrays." Sterner pointed.
"It's no good sir. We are loosing the signal." Hunter relayed what the controls were plainly stating, until finally he raised his head to gaze at the view screen. "It's gone."
By: Lance Scott
"Introductions"
****A Few Weeks Ago****
"Enjoying your new home Ensign?" Lieutenant Leslie Wilson, the chief counselor asked.
"Yes sir," Bruce replied promptly.
"You don't have to sir me, Counselor, or Leslie will do fine."
"Thank you Counselor, I am adjusting well."
"Here is your duty assignment..."
****Present****
Counselor Bruce Alexander Zrama stared at the empty glass in front of him.
Time to go to work. Standing up, he left Ten-Forward. He had appoitments to attend to.
By: "Ryak Sullax"
Ryak opened his eyes to see that he was not in sick bay. As he regained his focus he could see that he was still in Stellar Cartography. Ryak pulled himself off of the ground and sat down at the terminal. Ok what happened? Ryak looked around a bit and noticed that his tunic was on the floor near the door.
"Computer, time."
"The time is 1500 hours."
Ryak started typing away on his control panel. As he typed away he brought up hi duty roster to see what was going on. He noticed that his request for shuttle duty if there was a shuttle to go into the vortex was denied. He also noticed that he was to be on the bridge when the probe was launched. Even though it was after the end of his shift. Wait....the bridge...Ryak had only been on a bridge a few times. At Star Fleet Academy he had done the simulations but the only time he was on a real bridge was when he was aboard the Romulan War Bird Tlar'sar.
Ryak remembered that the staff meeting was about to conclude so he put on his tunic and headed for the conference room. Hopefully he would be able to catch Lt. Erikson. As Ryak approached the conference room he was able to flag down Lt. Erikson.
"Sir. May I ask why you decided to turn down my request to be on the shuttle?"
"I'm sorry Ensign, but I need you manning the science station whilst we're on the shuttle Ensign. You've got a field specialization in astrophysics, and although you're not the next ranking officer in the department, I need you to take charge until Lieutenant Morris and I return to the ship. I'm sure you'll do a fine job Ensign."
"Aye sir. Thank you."
"Oh, and Ensign. Combining the astrometrics lab and stellar cartography...interesting idea. I look forward to reading your report."
Ryak nodded and headed back to Stellar Cartography. While he was walking to Stellar Cartography Ryak thought about how the Lieutenant kept mentioning the fact that Ryak was an Ensign. Why was this? Ryak just shrugged it off as being just plain human prejudice. Ryak entered the lab and headed to the replicater.
"Computer, I want and orange, chef salad, italian dressing, and a chocolate milk shake."
Ryak took his meal, sat down at the terminal and called up the lay out of the bridge. Ryak ate his meal and studied up on where he was to be while on the bridge.
It was fifteen minutes before the probe was to be launched. Ryak got up and headed to the turbo lift. "Bridge." As the turbo lift headed to the bridge Ryak could feel the tension in his stomach building. The turbo lift stopped and the doors opened to reveal the bridge. Ryak entered the bridge and headed to his station. Ryak looked at the terminal and began to tie it in to the probe. Ryak tried to tune out most of the noise from the rest of the bridge. Ryak watched his screen as the probe was launched. Ryak's hands smoothly flowed over the controls as the probe headed toward the vortex. Ryak could see that Lieutenant Commander Casey was standing next to him. Watching all that he did. Ryak shook his head to focus only on the probe as his heart was racing.
Ryak took a deep breath and began. "The probe is nearing the event horizon of the vortex 'Commander. Hull stress is increasing, but well within limits thanks to the improved shielding."
"How long before it reaches the singularity Ensign?"
Ryak brought up the time box onto his screen. "Six seconds sir." While monitoring the probe Ryak tried to stay focus on only what was up to him to do. All other conversations were ignored.
"How is the probes trajectory?"
"She's still on course 'Commander. Straight as an arrow as far as I can tell..." Ryak slowly trailed off, drawing attention to the sudden lowering of confidence.
Ryak's hands were typing up a storm as Casey asked, "What is it Ensign?"
"One minute I had good telemetry on the probe, and the next minute it seems to of disappeared. I can't explain it sir." Ryak was starting to get very mad as he kept trying to figure out what had happened. The probe was gone.
Ryak Sullax, Erein (Ensign)
Ronni finished brushing her hair and pulled it back into a headband. She yawned and then wrinkled her nose at the stack of PADDs scattered around her desk. She had stayed up late eating pizza and drinking rootbeer while gleaming every bit of information she could about the Breen and Breen technology.
For breakfast, she had the only thing you can have when you have stayed up late studying and eating pizza. Cold pizza. She finished off her breakfast with a large glass of grapefruit juice, and headed for Holodeck 3. Her bridge shift was being taken so she could work on this project.
At the entrance to the holodeck, she press the LCAR screen and pulled up the holodeck program she had spent the night creating. "Computer" she said.
[breep]
"Please initiate holodeck program BREEN-ALPHA1" she said as she headed for the door.
["Program initiated."] said the computer as the doors to the holodeck opened.
Inside, the room looked like shuttle bay two with an extra console next to the strangely configured ship docked there. She walked around it and compared it to the image displayed on the console. It was a 1/2 scale model of the Breen ship that had been destroyed. She and the computer had had to extrapolate from the recordings of the initial encounter with the Breen ship, compared with the few known Breen designs. She had made some modifications as dictated by the external design of the destroyed craft and by logic.
The ship was a sleek and fascinating. The ship design indicated a scout/exploration ship, more than an offensive one. The sensors built into it were obviously of top Breen design, but most of the functionality of the ship was pure speculation. If only the Breen on board would fill in some of the blanks . . . . .
Tapping her comm badge, she said, "Lt. Morris to Lt. Erikson"
"Erikson here." he said, "What can I do for you?"
"Greer, can you come down to holodeck three? I have that project completed that we spoke about, and I thought you would like to be here when I went in." she said.
"Give me a couple of minutes and I'll be down. I'm overseeing the modifications to the shuttle craft Kepler. Erikson out." he said.
Ronni walked around the ship and continued to make some speculative changes. "This is the only way we can get a better idea of the purpose of the ship and the Breen. " she said to the empty room.
She and Ensign Grump's modifications to the shuttle had gone well. She had been able to incorporate some of the shield designs from the Scythe, Karen Davies-Jeppo's little two man fighter ship, into the shuttle craft. It didn't look as pretty, but it would work. And any little extra can help in a pinch.
***** Meanwhile in the corridor outside the holodeck ********
The female Breen, Socorro, was accepting the counselor's invitation to explore the ship, followed by the two security officers who would surely keep her from any restricted areas. As she was passing the area with what the taller of the security officer's called the holodecks, she saw a blue uniformed human enter into one of the 'holodecks'. To her great astonishment, there was a replica of her ship, the Hollis. It was small in size, but an almost perfect match. the Breen scientist was able to see another blue skinned, blue uniformed female was scanning the ship just before the doors to the holodeck slide shut, blocking her view.
Socorro's head began to swim. She turned to the security officers and said, "I'm rather tired and I would like to return to my quarters." They were more than happy to oblige.
By: "B'Elanna Torres"
* Alpha Shift, 0400 *
K'Eytyanna woke suddenly when her terminal gave a loud beep. Rubbing her neck, she realised she had fallen asleep at her terminal.
Looking at the screen, she saw that the records she had requested had arrived from the San Fransisco Historical Museumn. Picking up an isolinear chip, she plugged it into the computer input and spoke,
"Computer, pipe record number MA-12-Delta in message to my replicator, and put the other record on the isolinear board in this terminal's input. Wrap the two items in wrapping paper."
The replicator activated and K'Eytyanna retrieved the items from it. As she headed to the door, D'Akana jumped out at her and she knelt down, rubbing his head,
"D'Akana, be a good targ and I will be back soon."
**************************
Reaching her destination, she tapped the door open panel. Inside, a sleepy voice called out,
"Come in." The door opened and K'Eytyanna stepped inside. Hunter walked out and smiled to her,
"What's up?"
Her Bajoran psyche snapped mentally as it picked up her hand was shaking,
{Klingon, get up here and act confident for crying out loud... Human is about to cave in, and I know I would as well.}
As her Klingon side took over, she walked over to Hunter and said,
"These are for you."
Hunter looked at her, surprised,
"Ummm... thank you very much. I really don't know what to say or do."
She grinned, glad that her Klingon psyche was able to handle everything,
"Open them up might be a good idea."
Carefully, he put them down on the table and opened up the first. Inside, he found a set of worn boxing gloves. A small steel plaque fell out onto the table and he picked it up, reading,
[ Authentic Replicator Record copy of Boxing Gloves
Hunter gasped in surprise and looked up at her. She nodded towards the others, so he opened the next one.
The next package held a single isolinear chip with a small paper note,
[ Historical Holodeck Combat simulation,
Picking up the next one, he found it contained another isolinear chip,
[ Historical Holodeck Combat simulation,
Lt K'Eytyanna Samara, USS Galaxy - Engineer/Shuttle Pilot
By: Kahn Nilani
Galaxy "Mad Klingon with a Klingon sword"
I was starting to undress in my quarters when the door bell sounded.
"Hang on a second."
Quickly finding something to cover my self with I then opened the door. To my surprise Ensign Rios was standing at the door.
"Ma'am I see that your busy I will come back later!"
"No, Come on In!"
With a little hesitation the Klingon steped into my quarters. It was funny watching him duck for the door. I quickly ran into my bathroom and changed into an old set of pants and a top.
"Now, what can I do for you ensign?"
"Well ma'am I knew you just got off of work. And I was wondering if you would like to go into a holodeck and go one on one again."
"Um....... Ok. Let me change into something else for that."
I walked into my closet and found my Black uniform with rubber shoes. I pulled them on then grabbed the black hood. I walked back into my lounge.
"Ok Lets go."
It was an Interesting sight walking to the holodeck. Me and the Giant, It was like standing next to a Mountain. We finally got to the holodeck, Upon entering Kornan selected the program. The program was caves and passage ways with a central area.
"Computer, Ancient Japanesse sword. 4.8 feet long. Hand grip 1 inch across. with matching dagger, 1.5 feet long."
From the Air the computer created these to objects. I picked them up and placed them in there proper sheath's. Kornan had asked for the Klingon Bath'let sword. In a warriors configuration. He turned towards me.
"Start!"
I pulled out my sword and ran down a passage way. I ways keeping to the walls and making sure I wasn't making any sound. I started to turn a corner when the bath'let almost struck my head. I pulled my sword up and faced kornan. After a struggle I found my self up against the wall, I quickly pulled my dagger out and leg sweeped Kornan. After he fell to the ground I moved into the open area. He attacked using his strength to overpower me, As I pulled my dagger out to try and go under his guard he turned it on me. The Razor sharp edge slicing my stomach open.
"Ahhhhhhh."
He quickly dropped his weapons and picked me up. He used his a ripped part of his uniform to try and stop the bleeding.
"Computer Exit"
The exit appeared. He ran out of the holodeck holding me in his arms, As we ran I realised where we were going.
"Just get me to my office, I can fix my self up."
As we turned into the door. I realised that this was my office. He placed me on my chair then ran over to the Medi kit. He grabbed the tricorder and dermal regenerator, I picked up the dermal regenerator and fixed the cut. There was slight scaring.
"Ma'am I am sorry!"
"Nope it was my fault. Were the safetys on?"
"Yes. Ma'am I will leave now!"
Kornan turned a left the room.
By: "Daniel Woodward"
*** Sick Bay ***
The Breen were recuperating nicely, now that they were out of danger. Jurelle's idea to cool the environment while they were healing proved to be an excellent one. That left few medical emergencies to tend to during her shift. Snorting from the bout of boredom, Gakor thought it might be interesting to study the proprieties of the 'fluid space' anomaly everyone on the ship was talking about. After all, it might have some proprieties in common with organisms previously investigated!
The dark mass hovered like a giant amoeba on the view screen, but there didn't seem to be definitive boundaries. The unnamed 'thing' had a tendency to flow and contract with irregular rhythms. The retching mass was unsettling, but reminded the Tellarite of a digestive organ, which perhaps explained why it looked to be 'devouring' space.
*HUM*, thought Endris. *This requires further study*. Gakor noticed a Betazoid nurse smile, as if the man anticipated the Immunologist's thoughts. Endris took a large bite out of a sandwich and paused to wipe traces of mayo off her face. Only then did she realize the reason behind the prior amusement....
By: Kristi
The universe left her behind. She felt alone. Miran stood on the edge of a cliff, the wind blowing, whipping around her. Her hair flowed out behind her caught up by the gusts, her clothes whipping in the wind. She felt a kinship with the song that played.
No one who loves someone needs to cry or be lonely
Its you, Its you I believe in
I call out to your crying eyes
She wanted Deiran to take her pain away. She wanted to be happy again. Why, when she had Deiran, did she so alone? She wiped the tears away.
Nee kurayami yorimo fuka
Namida de ima yobikaeru
Far below her she could see the falls creating a rainbow with its mist. She knew that the Terrans believed that the Rainbow was a sign of promise. Long, long ago, it had been placed in the sky as a promise that all flesh on the Earth would never again be destroyed. Birds called to one another across the distances. High above her the Falcon soared. The falcon was precious. They mated for life and always flew free.
Can anyone who loves feel such loneliness
I've used up all my tears
"Computer, end program and save." Miran crossed her arms tight around her as a protective shield. She picked up Lara and went back to her quarters.
It was quiet except for Bobbie's squeaks as she came out of her hiding spot to greet them. Miran lifted Lara out of carrier and rested the baby against her shoulder. She got a bottle from the replicator and took it over to the rocking chair that had been a present from the Stephin Family.
"Computer play 'Escaflowne-4'?" She had the computer adjust the volume so it quietly sounded through the room and wasn't loud enough to keep Lara from drifting to sleep.
You see love is price
You taught me
Miran slowly rocked until Lara slept. She laid her beautiful daughter into the crib and whispered, "I love you."
By: EMW
A soft snarl escaped her lips as she read the padd listing a recent blunder by one of the Galaxy's crewmen. Ensign Harris glanced toward the chief of security, wondering what was wrong.
The holodecks had already been shut down by someone in medical, and that was just making more people uptight, so K'arta was going to deal with this problem once and for all. Nodding to Harris to take over for her, the Klingon exited the security office in search of a Mr. Ryak Sullax.
K'arta tapped her communicator as she stepped into the turbolift, "K'arta to Lawson."
"Lawson here, Lieutenant." the young man responded.
"Meet me outside Ryak Sullax's quarters right away." she ordered.
"Yes,sir. Lawson out." he confirmed.
K'arta stepped out of the turbolift and made her way down the corridor. She soon found Sullax's quarters, and confirmed with the computer that he was at home. She paused to wait for Lawson and thought about how she would arrest the young man. The straight-forward approach would probably be the best way.
Lawson approached K'arta's position with a curious look on his face. She smiled briefly in greeting before speaking.
"We're arresting Ryak Sullax for two reasons. Number one: he overrode holodeck safety protocols. Number two: he tried to do that by using Starfleet Inteligence codes. SI monitors all code use, and is breathing down my neck demanding to have him arrested before they come in and take care of the problem themselves. That's why we're here." she informed Lawson.
He nodded in aggreement and stood on the other side of the door as K'arta pressed the door chime. She heard someone call for the visitors to enter. The doors slid open to reveal a young Romulan man sitting at his desk.
"Can I help you, Lieutenant?" he asked, noting the pips on her collar.
"Ensign Ryak Sullax?" she asked, wanting to make sure she had the right man.
"Yes." he answered. "Is there a problem?"
"I'm sorry to have to do this, but regulations are regulations. Ensign Ryak Sullax, you are under arrest for turning off the holodeck safeties and using a defunct Starfleet Intelligence code to do so. " K'arta watched the young man's face fall. "We'll escort you to the brig." she said softly, indicating her partner.
Sullax stood, took a deep breath and headed for his door. He glanced at Lawson as he exited. K'arta followed close behind. When the party was all in the corridor, Lawson sealed off Sullax's quarters and they began the trek to the brig.
The chief of security left the brig in Lawson's capable hands and called Mulich to join him. Once she returned to her office she sent a message to her assistant chiefs. She informed them of the situation and gave orders to place two officers on duty in the brig until further notice. She also began another message.
"Computer compose message." she stated.
[Ready.] the machine responded.
"Captain Price and Commander Sterner, Ensign Ryak Sullax is in custody for directly violating captain's orders by turning off the holodeck safeties and using a defunct Starfleet Intelligence code to do so. Starfleet Intelligence has contacted me and wishes to press charges as soon as possible. I'd also appreciate any input you have on the matter." she finished the message. "End message and send to Captain Price and Commander Sterner."
The computer gave a beep of acknowledgment to inform K'arta that the message had been sent. Leaning back in her chair, she rubbed the ridges on her forehead. She didn't want to have to deal with SI anymore, but would have too anyway. Between them, the Breen and the situation aboard the Galaxy, she was starting to develop a serious headache.
By: "Ryak Sullax"
Ten Minutes had passed after the probe disappeared before Ryak was let go from the bridge. Ryak headed straight for his quarters. It was an exhausting day. Ryak entered his room grabbed a hot chocolate and sat down at his desk.
Ryak grabbed his padd and began going over the data from the beginning of detecting the vortex to the probe disappearing. Ryak started to think. Why not try sonar. There has to be some way of adapting it for space. Ryak tried running some simulations on this premiss.
Ryak didn't get far before he heard the door chime. This was the first time anybody had come to see Ryak in his quarters.
"Enter." She heard someone call for the visitors to enter. The doors opened to reveal a green eyed Klingon in a security uniform. Ryak looked at her collar to notice the rank insignia. "Can I help you, Lieutenant?"
"Ensign Ryak Sullax?"
"Yes, Is there a problem?"
"I'm sorry to have to do this, but regulations are regulations. Ensign Ryak Sullax, you are under arrest for turning off the holo deck safeties and using a defunct Star Fleet Intelligence code to do so. "
Ryak could feel his heart jump into his throat. What was going on? Star Fleet Intelligence informed him that those codes where for his use. Also that they may need his help with the Tal Shiar once again. So he would have to be ready. He needing to keep his Tal Shiar training at its peak.
"We'll escort you to the brig."
Ryak stood, took a deep breath and headed for his door. He glanced at the other security officer as he exited. K'arta followed close behind. When the party was all in the corridor, Lawson sealed off Sullax's quarters and they began the trek to the brig.
As they walked to the brig Ryak kept running through his head what had happened. The only thing that could have caused the S.I. Corps to react so, is due to the accident. Wait, what if they find the tattoo. This was going to get way out of hand. S.I. was obviously trying to teach Ryak a lesson. Well it worked they had better get him out before it blows up in there face. Ryak watched as they activated the field for the brig. Ryak grabbed a seat and waited. As he waited he noticed that he had not been searched. I guess they would never expect a science officer to have a dagger in his boot. Ryak's anger was raging. He started to think how this looked. A Romulan in a Human guarded jail, because of something a human run organization allowed him to do. How ironic. Ryak could only sit there hoping that something would change soon. Hopefully before it is too late.
Ryak Sullax, Erein (Ensign)
Colby Torwyn
"Sorry about the interruption 'mate. Now where were we?... Oh yes, you were about to explain why you were hiding out on the lower decks of my ship." Captain Price said moving to the front of his desk before leaning back against it, partially sitting on the top. "Well how about it 'mate? What made you decide to stowaway on the Galaxy rather than go to Betazed as Devlynn had arranged?"
Lee waited patiently for Colby to reply.
Colby had already made himself comfortable by the time the Captain looked back to him. He had stretched out on the rather cozy couch, his feet resting in the Counselor's lap; the Counselor seemed to have a rather uneasy look on her face. "I didn't want to go to the foster home on Betazed," Colby said rather flatly. He looked uneasy in thought. "And I don't like the Betazed schools."
Lee ignored the statement about the schooling, trying to avoid a subject that would make Colby upset. "Why didn't you want to go the foster home? You know that Devlynn had arranged for you to stay with only the best care givers."
"I don't like the foster homes. The care givers are strict. There's nothing there that I can have fun with." The Betazoid's face flushed.
Lee looked at the Counselor who now had a comforting hand on Colby's leg. "Colby, you know that going to Betazed was arranged with only you in mind. Devlynn wouldn't have sent you anywhere that you wouldn't like."
"I don't care. I didn't want to go the foster homes!" His nose was wrinkled and Colby was almost yelling. His childish tantrum tested the Captain's patience.
"Mr. Torwyn," he said, trying to remain calm, "do you realize how much trouble that your little excursion on the cargobay has caused?" Colby, arms crossed while pouting, merely shook his head. "Because of your little 'adventure,' security now has to do a complete check of the cargobay. The shuttle pilot that was supposed to transport you to Betazed could lose his job. And, when Starfleet finds out about this, there's no telling how many questions I'll have to answer. Needless to say that I could be in a great deal of trouble as well. Do you think that -I- enjoy this 'mate?"
Colby shook his head again, the Counselor still trying to calm him.
"No, little sir, I don't think that I am enjoying this very much." The Captain searched in his mind for the continuance of his lecture. "If you didn't want to go to the foster homes, why didn't you talk to Devlynn about it?" He waited for an answer.
"I... I didn't think..." Colby said in a high whine. "Because I thought if I stayed here I wouldn't would have to go to Betazed and... I..." He didn't say anything else. He looked to the ground with childish shame.
"Colby," the Counselor consoled, "if you didn't want to go to Betazed, you could have gone to Devlynn. Staying on board the ship wasn't a good idea, and it has caused a lot of trouble for the Captain as well as the entire crew."
They sat in silence for a moment, both adults looking at Colby.
Lee broke the silence. "Counselor, I believe that should be enough." He stared at Colby for a moment. 'Wouldn't be wise to leave him alone for a night again,' the Captain thought. "Make sure that Colby here gets cleaned up proper. Afterwards, have the little Joey escorted to my quarters. He's going to stay with me for the night. I don't want him alone again, free to do what he pleases..."
"Aye sir." The Counselor stood and took Colby's hand. She walked out of the ready room with a quick glance to the Captain who was already keying something into his computer console.
After a quick check over his entry, the Captain pressed a button and shut off the monitor to the computer. He stood slowly and straightened his uniform. "Kids," he said aloud to himself as he walked out to the bridge.
By: Price
Captain Price had just finished speaking to the young Betazoid stowaway - Colby, and Counselor Parker in his ready room. He exited from the meeting and stepped onto the bridge wondering why it was so quiet.
"What's happening Commander?" Lee asked walking over to the tactical station where Sterner, McKenzie and Casey were all standing.
Joerg shifted slightly when he glanced over to Price. "We seem to have lost contact with the modified probe Captain."
"Was it launched successfully 'mate?" the Captain asked.
Lieutenant Commander Casey jumped in, "Yes sir. We deployed the probe promptly at 17:00 as scheduled. We had good, solid telemetry all the way up to the vortex." Deiran explained.
"And what happened when it entered 'Commander?" Lee asked glancing at Deiran to read his expression.
Casey shook his head, "It made it through sir. We were still receiving diminished telemetry signals and Lieutenant McKenzie here was receiving strong neutrino pulses from the emitter we installed."
"Then what happened Commander?" Captain Price asked turning to Sterner.
"Lieutenant Commander Casey was monitoring the probes' progress and getting telemetry information from Ensign Sullax at the science station sir. That's when they first noticed a problem. All telemetry information abruptly stopped." Joerg explained.
Turning his head to glance at the science station, Captain Price saw that it was empty and Ensign Rodley was manning science station two. "Where is Ensign Sullax now?"
"He had to leave sir." Rodley replied to the Captain when he felt his gaze, "Said something about a modulated z particle beam and sonar..."
The Captain gave the Ensign a nod and turned his attentions back to Lieutenant Commander Casey. "Then what happened 'mate? Was that it? Then we lost all contact with the probe like the others?"
"No Captain." Deiran answered, surprising Price and making the Captain raise an eyebrow in interest, "When Ensign Sullax stated that we lost telemetry data from the probe I checked with McKenzie here and we were still receiving neutrino pulses at that time."
Lee looked at Hunter, "That right 'mate?"
"Aye Captain, though the signal strength did drop drastically at the same instant that Ensign Sullax reported telemetry was lost, but we continued to receive neutrino pulses for nearly a minute after that Captain, Sir."
Lee glanced over to Commander Sterner. "What do you make of all of this Commander?"
"I'm not sure what to think Captain. Any number of things might of happened to the probe after it past through the vortex and into that fluidic region beyond." The first officer speculated.
"I agree Captain. I don't think it would be a good idea to send a shuttle through until we know more about what happened Captain." Deiran explained, "I programmed the probe to fly out, do a simple loop to gather data and then return along the same course it initially took. If all that was wrong was interference from this phenomenon, the probe should have reemerged from the vortex by now if it was able."
Lee listened to the Chief Operations Manager's comments and nodded slightly as if acknowledging Deiran's sentiments. "Normally I would have to agree with you 'mate. But Starfleet wants this vortex checked out. And right now, we don't know any more about it then we did earlier." The Captain sighed. "We will continue to examine whatever data we presently have while the preparations proceed on the shuttle Kepler. That should give us a few more hours to better determine what happened to the probe after it past through the vortex." Lee paused to pinch the bridge of his nose and then looked at Deiran. "I'm going to go and get some rest 'mate, and I think you should probably do the same. Gamma shift will be rolling around before too long, and that's when the shuttle is scheduled to be launched. You've still got a busy shift ahead of you 'Commander."
Deiran smiled, "Yes Captain. It's already been a busy day, I could use the rest sir."
"Fair dinkum 'mate. Commander," Captain said turning to Sterner, "be sure to inform Lieutenant Erikson of what happened here with the probe. He may want to have a look at the data in case there is anything there of importance for programming the shuttle Kepler's systems."
"Aye Captain, I'll let Greer know straight away sir." Joerg replied.
"The conn is yours 'mate. I'll be in my quarters if anything should come up." Captain Price explained before he exited the bridge to get some rest.
By: RCL
Chief Science Officer's Log. Stardate 49803.11
Lieutenant Commander Casey has provided me with a report regarding the modified probe which we sent in several hours ago. Although we have no significant insight into the nature of the anomaly, we believe that an object can safely travel into the even horizon, however, from there we have no idea what comes next. After entering the event horizon the probe continued to send a neutrino signal for a whole minute. Since we can still only speculate what happened to the probe, the shuttle mission is still on schedule and we will depart from the Galaxy in a little over two hours. I look forward to finding ut as much as possible about this extraordinary phenomenon.
In a related matter, Ensign Ryak Sullax has been arrested regarding unauthorized use of Starfleet Intelligence codes and removing the Holodeck safety protocols against the standing orders of the Captain. I have consulted with Captain Price who has agreed to have Ensign Sullax released so that he can man the science station during the Kepler's mission. I believe the matter will be resolved efficiently once we've returned to the Galaxy.
[Lt. Morris to Lt. Erikson.] Ronni's voice said coming over the comm system.
"Erikson here." he said, turning off the desktop monitor. "What can I do for you?"
"Greer, can you come down to holodeck three? I have that project completed that we spoke about, and I thought you would like to be here when I went in." she said.
"Give me a couple of minutes and I'll be down. I'm overseeing the modifications to the shuttle craft Kepler. Erikson out." he said.As Greer turned the monitor
*** Holodeck 3 ***
Greer entered the holodeck to see Lieutenant Morris fiddling with the console where she was apparently adjusting a few more parameters to her program. She looked excited, but he wasn't sure if it was the pending mission or something else.
"Just a minute Greer." she said, in response to the holodeck doors opening and closing.
"So you were able to get it to work?" he asked curiously.
Finished, Ronni walked over to Greer who was now inspecting her holographic representation of the unidentified class of Breen vessel. The same one the Galaxy encountered, trapped in the vortex they would soon be investigating.
"Using the sensor readings we received on the Breen ship, and a little extrapolation based on the visuals on this new Breen class, I think I've managed to design the program to accurately simulate the stresses placed on the Breen ship, before it was destroyed, and hopefully be able to anticipate any similar problems we might face on the Kepler."
"I'm sure Starfleet Tactical will find this VERY interesting also." Greer said as he walked around the holographic image. "I'm still amazed that Starfleet Intelligence never got wind of this one."
"They probably did, but forgot to tell anyone." Ronni joked. "So what do you think?"
"Personally . . . I have no idea. If I were to guess, and only guess mind you, I would say that it could be some kind of science vessel. Then again, the Breen could just be into building advanced ships."
"Based on the sensor readings, I would say that this ship is more for reconnaissance than science Greer. If you'll notice the sleek dynamics of the outer hull. I think that's more for streamlining sensor readings or to prevent creating distortions in space when it travels. Like a cloak of sorts."
"Well it obviously couldn't sustain a large crew." Greer added, still speculating, "So where's this simulation you have for me. Afterall, we're leaving in less than two hours and I want to be sure we're ready."
"I'm always ready Greer."
*** Two hours later - Main Shuttlebay ***
"Shuttlecraft Kepler to Bridge." AC said as he opened a comm channel with the console at the pilot's console. "Requesting permission to initiate departure sequence."
[Bridge here Kepler. Permission to depart is granted.]
"Thank you Bridge." AC replied as he began a systems check.
[Price to Shuttlecraft Kepler.]
"Erikson here sir."
[Just reminding you that you're not to take any unnecessary risks. I want you and your crew back in one piece. Understood 'mate?]
"Loud and clear Captain. No unnecessary risks. Erikson out."
The shuttle lifted smoothly from the surface of the shuttlebay and rose so gently that only the slight rumbling of the thrusters indicated that the shuttle was moving. Clearing the shuttlebay forcefields, the Kepler left the USS Galaxy and began her mission to explore the swirling vortex and hopefully shed more light on this mysterious spatial anomaly.
"Engaging metaphasic shield and modulating it at 178.6 millicochranes." Greer said, sitting in the chair next to Lieutenant Hewson. "Lieutenant Hewson, take us to thirteen thousand kilometers from the vortex."
"Thirteen thousand kilometers. Aye." the pilot responded.
"OK, Ronni let's try out the neutrino emitter." Greer said, swinging his chair around to face Ronni. "Send the usual Federation greeting."
"Beginning test transmission . . . looking good . . . test data being transmitted to the Galaxy . . . test data being acknowledged by the Galaxy Greer." Ronni said. "They send their greetings also."
"Ensign Tholen, what is the data flow rate like?"
"A little less than we predicted, sir, but stable." Joanna replied. "We can send approximately six kiloquads per minute to the Galaxy."
The officers on the shuttle took a good look at the swirling spatial anomaly, which at this distance, nearly filled the entire shuttle viewscreen.
"AC" he said, turning to the pilot, "take us in at one half impulse. Nice and slowly."
"One half impulse. Aye." his friend replied as he tapped the helm controls.
The shuttle began to move again and the image of the USS Galaxy began to recede farther away as the shuttle got closer to the vortex.
"Conventional communications are now unreliable sir." Tholen reported. "Now switching communications over to neutrino emitter systems."
"Six thousand kilometers to the . . . " but before AC could finish his sentence the shuttle began to jerk. "We've got a small problem . . . the shield is slightly out of phase."
"We're entering some kind of eddies . . ." Greer proposed. ". . . I'm adjusting the shield harmonics now . . . 178.63 millicochranes . . . 178.64 millicochranes . . ." the shuttle began to settle and the crew regained control. "Metaphasic shield set at 178.66 millicochranes."
"We just encountered a little spatial resistance between the anomaly and the shields." Ronni said, analyzing the sensor data. "The shuttle was more in space than subspace and the shields began to buckle slightly from the stress."
"The engines, sensors, and all other systems are still functional. We did rupture a minor data conduit behind the tertiary communications junction." AC reported. "There doesn't seem to be any immediate affect on the communications systems though."
"Confirmed sir." Joanna Tholen added. "There is no reduction in ability to receive or send information to the Galaxy."
"Tell the Galaxy that we're all right. We just experience some gravimetric distortions which weren't entirely compensated by the shield modulation."
"Sending information now." Joanna responded.
"Greer, we're no one and a half thousand kilometers from the event horizon." Ronni announced.
"Nice and steady." Greer said as the shuttle bulkheads made soft grinding sounds.
"Five hundred kilometers to the event horizon." Ronni said, trying to record as much data as she possibly could. "One minute until we reach the event horizon."
The bulkheads of the small vessel continued to grind and whine as the pressure of the vortex played on it. Ensign Tholen occasionally looked up, expecting the hull of the shuttlecraft to collapse from the intensity of the phenomenon, then returning to monitoring the shield and emitter outputs.
"Greer, we're beginning to receive preliminary data on the vortex." Ronni said excitedly. "Velocity is two hundred and seventeen kilometers per hour around the immediate vicinity of the event horizon. Dynamics appear to be similar to a black hole but instead of internalising matter or even ejecting it, it appears to be at equilibrium."
"Thirty seconds to contact with the even horizon." AC added.
"The sensor output has just dropped by eighty-five percent sir." Ensign Tholen announced. "Neutrino emissions remain unchanged."
"Exactly where the probe did." Greer remarked. "Just keep an eye on those neutrino emissions Joanna."
"Ready folks." AC announced. "Contact in five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one."
By: gaijinrussell@sprynet.com
Chen had time to shower and grab some lunch before he had to see Counselor Wilson. He walked into her office just as his session was scheduled to begin. The counselor stood up from her chair. "Ensign Chen, I presume?"
Chen nodded and shook her hand. "Counselor. It's good to meet you." They stood there for a few more seconds before the counselor motioned to the chair next to hers. "Sit. Please."
Chen took a seat and smiled. "So, how does this work?
Wilson's eyebrows raised. "Sorry?"
"Well, I've only been to a counselor twice before and I'm not sure what to do."
"Just tell me why you're here and we'll work up from there."
"Okay." Chen took a deep breath and started. "I guess my problems first started after I killed Admiral Nokuma."
"Yes, I read your file. Why did you kill Admiral Nokuma?"
"Because he killed my teacher and best friend, Master Kwan."
"So it was revenge?"
Chen thought for a moment. "Yes and no. We exist in a society where revenge is an outdated and antiquated ideal. It isn't exactly normal to seek revenge against someone who has wronged you. Apparently we've evolved beyond that type of thing. I sure thought that I had. The fact of the matter is that revenge is one of the oldest and most primal thought in the world. It's been around for centuries. 'Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' that type of thing. I think I killed Nokuma as a mixture of vengeance and what I felt to be justice. I honestly believe that I haven't done anything wrong. It's just how I feel."
"But it was killing. You murdered Nokuma and several other men. Did you feel what you were doing was honestly justified?"
Coming from anyone else, Chen would have been offended. Coming from Wilson, it seemed she was prodding his mind in the right direction. "Yes, I do. God help me, I'd do it again. I don't know why, It's just what seemed right to me at the time. Maybe you would have reacted similarly in my position, maybe not. The fact is, I did what was in my heart."
"And how has this led to your coming to me?"
"Because ever since I killed Nokuma, I don't think many people have trusted me. I killed a Starfleet Admiral with my bare hands and even though he was a bad guy, I still killed one of our own. Nobody can forget that. I guess I just feel alone. I need someone to talk to. A real person, and talking into a damn computer doesn't help at all. I just need to share this with someone before I explode."
"Which is why you're here."
"Exactly. I just have to sort things out. And I need help."
Counselor Wilson smiled and Chen was automatically reassured. "I think I can help you."
Leslie looked at the Breen. She couldn't detect anything. What she would do to be a telepath at the moment! But she wasn't and she would have to use wit to get the information they needed.
"Hi. I'm Leslie Wilson, Chief Counselor."
The first one just crossed his arms and turned slightly as if ignoring the Counselors question.
"I am, Socorro," said other Breen, "and this is Isidro. Please forgive him for being so rude. He's not very trusting of outsiders."
Leslie could tell from the Breen's voice that she was female. The one named Isidro, didn't seemed pleased at all. He stared, silently at his counterpart through his environmental suit that hid his face. Socorro sounded a little more cheery. Leslie knew this was the one she might be able to get through to.
"I was hoping you would talk to me."
Socorro, almost leaped at this, but Isidro shot her a dirty look and finally spoke. "Say nothing." he hissed.
"We were caught in the vortex," Socorro explained.
Leslie frowned, but quickly recovered. This might be harder then she had first thought.
"Anything else? What kind of ship were you in?"
"I can't answer that." The reply was blunt, and in a flat tone.
"Why not?"
"Because I am under orders to be silent."
"Under whose orders?"
"The captains."
"As I see it, your Captain is dead. So those orders disappear."
"Clever, Federationer, but I don't think so," Isidro rasped. "We are under orders to answer none of your questions."
"I can tell you one thing," Socorro said.
"Silence!" Isidro hissed.
"Go on," Leslie chided.
"Well, the name of the ship we were on, it was called the Hollis. Our commanding officer was Isaias. That is all I can tell you Leslie Wilson." Socorro smiled, "However I would love to take a tour of this amazing vessel..." she paused, "if that would be allowed?"
Leslie smiled, "I believe that can be arranged. You are our guests here on board the Galaxy. You are not prisoners." the counselor explained.
Isidro scoffed at the comment, "Yet there are sentinels outside our doors. Do not trust them Socorro! Do as Isidro ordered. Tell them nothing. If you honor our dead Captain, you will follow his dying orders."
Socorro gave her colleague a long glance before turning back to face coun
selor Wilson. Leslie could tell that her Breen guest felt uneasy about speaking to her, but she really was just being polite. No real information had been obtained that couldn't already have been gotten from the Galaxy's scans of the Breen vessel.
"Counselor, if we could begin the tour now. I could use a walk. These quarters, though quite pleasant, have gotten... stuffy." Socorro said again glancing at the other Breen scientist that began to walk away in a huff.
"Certainly Socorro. If you'll come with me, I'll take you myself." the Counselor said pleasantly.
"Thank you Counselor." the female Breen scientist said as she followed Leslie out into the corridor.
They were met by two security officers that were standing guard. When Counselor Wilson explained that she wanted to take the Breen scientist on a small tour of the ship, they insisted that one of them accompany them. Leslie agreed and they proceeded to walk about the halls of the Galaxy.
Leslie hoped that by showing Socorro some hospitality, that she would earn some of the Breen's trust. Maybe then she could find out more about what they were doing and what they know of the strange vortex that the Galaxy was presently ordered to investigate.
By: Joerg Sterner
After the senior staff meeting Joerg checked the current situation on the bridge. Nothing new had happened, so he was free to carry out the Captain's orders to arrange to speak with the Breen visitors.
While he was on his way down to deck nine in the turbo lift, he reread the status report on the two injured Breen in sickbay. Although he had very little medical knowledge, Joerg was glad to at least know something of that very exotic and unknown race.
After he had finished his quick read-over he was arrived at deck nine. He stepped out of the lift and turned to approach the residential apartments. His eyes quickly noticed one special door, where two security officers were standing watch. One of them noticed the approaching Commander, signaled the other and suddenly both were standing attention before Joerg even reached them.
As Joerg saw their behavior, he couldn't help but smile and once he was in acoustical range he addressed them with a simple "At ease.", upon which both suddenly began to breath normally again.
"I need to talk to our guests, Captain's order." he just explained his being there.
"I wish you good luck sir. They hardly speak and if they do, they say nothing of really importance." one of the guards replied.
"I'll try my best, Ensign." Joerg countered.
"Counselor Wilson will shortly arrive here and also try to speak with them. Once she arrives send her right in." were the last words, before Commander Sterner entered the quite cold quarters.
As the door shut behind him, two masks were focused on him. He went on and approached the two masked individuals.
"I'm Commander Joerg Sterner, the First Officer of this ship, the USS Galaxy." he introduced himself.
He waited a short moment, but since he didn't get any immediate reply he continued to talk to them.
"You were quite lucky that we received your distress call and came to help you."
Another silent moment passed, since the Breen seemed to prefer to listen rather than talking themselves.
"Two of your fellow ship mates are right now in our sickbay. They will soon be back to health and able to join with you again."
"Good." suddenly the answer came from a somewhat female voice.
Both the other Breen and Joerg looked at the Breen who just spoke, at least Joerg thought the other Breen might have looked in astonishment since he/she/it suddenly turned the head towards the Breen who spoke.
"So you are capable of speech after all?" Joerg asked happily and was yet greeted by absolute silence again.
"Perhaps I'll do the talking again." he then added ironically.
"Let me try to figure out what happened to you and your vessel. You and your crew were on some kind of scout mission here, when you suddenly noticed an opening in space. Your scientists decided to investigate it further and that lead to the situation we found you in. Is that correct?" Joerg tried to lure them in saying anything at all to their situation.
But again the two Breen made no intension in saying anything at all.
"What was your crew compliment? What were your orders? What was your final destination? Talk to me. Tell me anything you want, but start talking to me." Joerg nearly sounded as if he was begging them to say another word.
After no response came from them again, he remembered that Counselor Wilson should be arriving soon and that perhaps she has more luck with them then he has.
"Perhaps you prefer to speak with our Captain?" Joerg finally asked them, not hoping to get any answers from them this time, and he was right.
After that he was just about to turn to the door, when they swung open and the Counselor entered. He quickly approached her and told her what he had tried so far. She explained to him that she will try also to get some information from them. Before she began, she allowed Joerg to stay, since perhaps the Breen could finally provide them with some valuable information.
By: Scene23
Six hours before Beta Shift…
Another nightmare. This time, he had been on Starbase 117, running legal documents between decks. The station had fallen under attack by the Jem Hadar, six large cruisers. The shields had failed, the small defensive picket ships lasted only a few minutes. Armed with only a hand phaser, Matthew was outgunned and outnumbered by Jem Hadar warriors. Through luck and guile, he had escaped to a more secure deck, only to discover a cadre of invading soldiers methodically slaughtering civilians on deck nineteen! He caught one of the enemy, took his weapon, and barreled in on the others, weapons blazing.
The last thing the security officer saw before the largest of the enemy soldiers fired a disruptor into his chest and searing pain filled his senses and took the world away, was a dead Dronegarian female he thought he recognized from some other, vaguely remembered, time and place.
Beta Shift…
A grumpy Matthew arrived at the security offices on deck 38 just ahead of his friend Gary Trabuco. While he looked over the duty roster, Gary walked through the doors humming a cloyingly happy tune. Albrecht identified the song as "Crocodile Rock," and glared at his friend for the joyful intrusion on his bad mood.
Trabuco said with mock dismay, "Why, Matthew, I didn’t realize you disliked Sir Elton John so severely! I’ll just have to hum something else." With theatrical chin-rubbing, Gary perused his memory for another tune to hum. What he came up with was carefully chosen to be even more gleeful than the one he had just finished. With a mischievous grin, Gary launched into a wordless rendition of ‘Does your chewing gum lose its flavour.’
In frustration, Matthew tossed the PADD on the console before him, and said, "That’s it! I’m taking Brig duty tonight. Have your fun with someone else, Trabuco!" He scooped up a phaser and headed for the door. Gary ceased his humming and joined Matthew at the doors.
Gary adopted his worst and most exaggerated British accent, "Marvelous idea, chap! I do believe Brig duty calls for two tonight. I believe I will join you, ‘Old Sod’!" He smiled a cheshire cat smile, and passed through the doors ahead of Matthew. The two officers relieved the Alpha team from Brig duty, and settled in for report writing and prisoner guarding.
For the next three hours, Gary used every trick in his repertoire to cheer Matthew up. Finally, a Tellarite drinking song with a very ribald chorus broke the man’s composure, garnering a belly laugh and full-force participation in an encore. Then Matthew supplied a tune about a lawyer, a judge, and a bailiff with a yardstick.
Matthew rubbed tears of laughter from his eyes. "Thanks, Gary. I really don’t know how I would get along without you to get me out of these funks!" Renewed laughter interrupted again for a few minutes.
Finally, Matthew’s comm badge chirped, killing the laughing spell by bringing both officers to attention. They received new orders to temporarily release their prisoner for special duty on the Bridge.
Matthew quickly formulated a plan for the two officers to escort Ensign Sullax to the Bridge. Once the science officer was at his station, the two security officers would monitor him from Main Security until the shuttle Keplar returned. They agreed the precautions were probably unnecessary, however, they had not been instructed to release the prisoner from the charges leveled against him.
Before heading for the Bridge, the officers had a few minutes left to finish their own business. Gary told Matthew, "You know, you look terrible! Have you been sleeping?" he asked, as only a friend can ask without offending a person.
Matthew shook his head, "Apparently not! I get a full seven hours, but it hasn’t been doing any good. I just wake up feeling as tired as when I went to sleep! It must be this change of shifts," he suggested, although he knew that he had been going through the nightmares since before his shift changed to Beta.
Gary took Matthew’s statement as truth. Looking at his friend who trusted him fully, Matthew felt a deep stab of guilt for the lie. *I’ve GOT to see a counselor about this, it’s starting to affect my friendships. Eventually, it’ll affect my performance on the job!* Albrecht had been vowing to see a counselor for weeks, but he never actually scheduled a meeting...
Lt jg Matthew Albrecht
By: "Daniel Woodward"
***Sick Bay***
Endris walked into Sick Bay a few minutes before starting her shift. Chatting with the off-going Beta shift, she learned a shuttle had been launched to investigate the spacial concavity that had 'consumed' the Holis. The Tellarite wished briefly a Doctor was included in the mission. There was always a chance that one of the away team might injured. But since the shuttle had already left the Galaxy, there was no remedy for the situation.
The doctor paused to review the PADDS on the two injured Breen. They seemed to be a tad more lucid than normal, but still had not woke to the point of full consciousness. Gakor adjusted the fluid intake delivering the proper nutrients to aid the Breen's healing.
One of the IV's seemed a bit loose, so the Doctor removed the bio-bed restraints in order to reach the area they patched through the Breen's plastasteel armour. "Chef's Curse!", she screamed in alarm. The Breen chose that moment to become animated. It proved to be a reflex contraction, for the being did not continue to thrash about, and he was soon strapped back on to the bed.
However, before the Breen stopped moving, Gakor thought she heard him mutter the word "Transporter". What was going on here? From her regular Oinkus with Lt Albrecht, Endris knew the Breen were being unusually tight lipped. Had they attempted to 'beam aboard' a sample of the vortex for further study?
Endris was not "in the loop" of the senior officers, but gossip about the ship was that the sensors had to be extensively modified to penetrate any part of the vortex. The anomaly was mostly opaque, but neutrinos seemed to be able to escape the phenomena.
The patient, whom the other Breen hadn't volunteered to name, showed some signs of regaining consciousness. *If he wakes up, Security will want to talk to him*, thought the Immunologist.
-/\- Gakor to Security -/\-
-/\- Yes, Lieutenant -/\-, came back the voice of her friend Albrecht.
-/\- One of our Breen patients is showing signs of waking up. I thought you would appreciate being informed. -/\-
-/\- Thanks, Gakes!, Albrecht out. -/\-
Gakor cringed briefly at the new nickname Matthew gave her. She knew her friend liked Tellarite-style debates, so most likely he was just trying to get under her skin. But then she remembered his complains about headaches at their last dinner. At the time, he seemed to be joking about it, so Endris had dismissed the comment as something minor. But perhaps it was time to suggest a checkup, in case there was a problem he was reluctant to talk about.
The rest of gamma shift passed without incident, and Endris had time to reflect on her Orb experience. It was strange. There were many documented cases of inter-dimensional shifts to parallel universes. The case of Captain Kirk and the incident with the Hulkans was required reading at the academy's course on Basic Temporal Mechanics.
And while on DS9, Gakor discovered the station had visitors from the "mirror" universe. Of course, she had to threaten Quark with a promiss of slapping him so hard his ears would fall off before she 'acquired' these facts.
Then there was that nagging premonition that said the away team might be in danger. Endris made a mental note to inquire about transporter modifications. Perhaps there was a way to alter them to achieve a cohesive lock despite the interference of the vortex. It might not be the best solution, but it was always good to have a backup plan when charting an unknown.
Ryak sat in the cell for about an hour when a security officer came and let him out. Ryak didn't listen to who the officer said that he was.
"Ok Ensign Sullax, You are being released into the custody of these two security officers." Ryak glanced over to them and back to the individual who was talking. "The Captain has informed us that you are needed on the bridge for the shuttles trek into the vortex. You will go there with these two guar...escorts and when the Captain is finished with your expertise you will be returned to the brig. Are there any questions?"
Ryak was tired, hungry and not as clean as he'd like to be. He felt his anger building as the officer talked and he knew he was about to break. "Understood." Ryak tried to contain his contempt for the human. He was aware that he was only doing his job. "To the bridge then." Ryak pointed at the two guards and walked out of the brig, headed for the bridge.
Ryak didn't even look at the two escorts the whole walk to the bridge. He just walked up to the science station and started working on getting everything ready.
At this point in time The injury that Ryak had sustained on the back of his head was at its maximum pain. Ryak knew that he was going to get a talking to by Cat when she realizes that he had not been to sick bay as ordered. He really didn't want to tick the doctor off but I guess he had no real choice in the matter.
Ok, the shuttle is tied into the terminal. I ma getting clear readings. Clearing all use of the main sensor array for shuttle launch. Sensor array is ready.
"Sullax to Engineering."
"Engineering here."
"I was wondering if you could modify some beacons for me. I am just making sure that if we lose the shuttle we can help guide it back out of fluidic space."
"Ok Ensign, explain further."
"Well, I have a theory about adapting the beacons with Z partical type of emitters. They can send out waves of concentrated Z band transmissions, and the particles can reflect back off of objects they hit, acting much like sound waves do with sonar. Also I believe by modifying them to connect with each other using a modified tractor beam they could be sent into fluidic space and help guide the shuttle out. This may not be necessary but I would like to be safe."
"Send the data to my terminal."
"Data sending.....how long till these are ready for deployment?'
"Well Ensign, I believe about 24 hours...that is only if your calculations are right. I'll get working on it now. Engineering out."
Ryak went back to getting things ready for the mission at hand. Ryak started scanning the vortex to check how the sensors were working.
"Computer is the main sensor array functioning at 100%?"
"The main sensor array is at 100% efficiency."
"Sir," Ryak didn't care who answered just as long as someone did.
"Yes Ensign what is it?"
Ryak could feel his nerves as the Captain talked. "Sir I was wondering if it was possible to shut down the holo decks during the duration of the shuttle mission. I could use that power for boosting the main sensor array. I am not getting very accurate readings of the vortex at this time and I believe this could inhibit my tracking of the shuttle."
"Very well mate. Do as you think necessary."
"Aye sir." Ryak typed in a 3 minutes shut down timer on all holo decks and began to divert the power to the sensor array. As the holo decks shut down Ryak could see further into the vortex.
"Shuttlecraft Kelper to Bridge. Requesting permission to initiate departure sequence."
"Bridge here Kelper. Permission to depart is granted."
"Thank-you Bridge."
Ryak's medication had almost lost it's full effect. He was starting to sway. Ryak shook his head and tried to gain control. Ryak monitored the shuttle as it left the Galaxy.
"Shuttle is on course and sensors are working perfectly." Ryak thought that this was going to be ok...well he kept trying to reassure himself that all was going to be ok.
"Sir the shuttle has engaged its metaphasic shielding. Sensors have been compensated. Still receiving a clear signal."
The shuttle headed towards the vortex at half impulse. Ryak listened and watched his screen. The shuttle went to phase two and activated the neutrino emitter systems. "Shuttle still on course sir."
"Sullax what is going on?" The Captain started asking questions as soon as he saw the shuttle jerking around in space.
"Sir it seems that the shuttle has entered some turbulence and there shields are out of phase. They are compensating."
"I want to know everything from now on mate." The Captain was getting more intense as the shuttle got closer and closer to the vortex. Ryak was beginning to shake. He was not sure if it was due to the pain or his nerves.
"Sir the sensors keep going very fuzzy. It kind of happens on a regular interval but I am trying to compensate."
At that moment the Com received a message stating that the shuttle was alright.
"Sir they are now 1.5 thousand kilometers from the event horizon...sensors still clear and trajectory still good...... Sir the shuttle is starting to feel the stress... It seems that the shields are holding..... they are now five hundred kilometers from the event horizon. They will enter it in about one minute at present speed and course... Sir their shields are holding but I cannot say how long.... I am starting to get larger interference from the sensors... I am trying to compensate but the interference is getting stronger too quickly... Sir the information that is being sent from the shuttle is being scrambled some how I am not able to piece it together at this time..." Ryak could feel that something was going to happen very soon. The shuttle approached the spot where the probe disappeared. "Sir the shuttle is almost at the position were we lost the probe. They will be there in three....two...one."
Ryak Sullax, Erein (Ensign)
By: john.kirk@cadresource.com (John Kirk)
Ship's scuttlebutt had it as the fight of the century... at least as close as things went on board the USS Galaxy. There were quite a few spectators in the holodeck, which was styled in a 20th century Terran smoke-filled wrestling hall. Holographic spectators bustled and jostled with real ones from the Galaxy crew to see Lt. Commander Ursa Sunder pair off against Ensign Kornan Rios in a wrestling match that no spiky-haired fight promoter from ancient Earth could have ever foresaw.
Lt. Matthew Albrecht had kindly volunteered to act as referee in the match. After he had heard about it through the ship's grapevine, it was difficult for him to resist. Almost everyone wanted a piece of the action, so to speak. Sunder had been on the Galaxy for almost six months, yet he had remained very close to himself - almost in near seclusion. Now, all of a sudden the grim giant had somehow gotten himself into a combat bout that had caught the attention of virtually everyone on board. It was generally agreed that this was going to a spectacle worth watching. Crew members had switched shifts with colleagues just to catch the match.
Sunder couldn't believe his eyes when he entered the holodeck. The illusory crowds mixed with faces he knew from the crew all overhelmed him. The scene was alien to him, despite his own Terran origins. The music, lights and the roar of the crowds was entirely un-nerving, to say the least. Sunder was hard-pressed to accept that this was part of Earth's history rather than some Klingon ritual.
And speaking of Klingons, in the centre of the chamber Ensign Rios could be found strutting in some roped-off square. He was wearing an outlandishly coloured outfit, resplendant with sequins and he seemed to be playing to the crowd. Sunder had no idea of what sort of wrestling this was supposed to be. His own grey exercise outfit seemed hopelessly out-classed and dull in comparison to the brilliantly dressed Klingon.
Wearing an old-fashioned outfit known as a tuxedo, Lt. Albrecht was grinning madly, holding on to some sort of metallic device. Sunder recognized it as a vocal augmentor of some sorts. He waved Sunder towards the square.
" C'mon Commander - it's about to start. I can't believe you were almost late! "
" Albrecht - what's going on here? " Sunder demanded, exasperated. " Why are all these people here? And why is Rios wearing that odd ... costume? "
" This is old-style Terran wrestling, Commander. Didn't you know that? " Albrecht answered. Rios walked up to the pair with his own wide grin.
" Commander... good to see you. I thought you would appreciate it if we fought in an historic era of your own homeworld. " Rios said, his yellow teeth seemed to widen his mouth even further.
" I appreciate the honour fully Ensign. " Sunder replied, not wishing to offend the Klingon's thoughtfulness. The truth was that Sunder had no idea what old-style Terran wrestling was! Rios had no way of knowing that he was brought up an Orion with very little familiarity with Earth's history.
" This sport appeals to me. There are few things about your world that can match Klingon ferocity, but after some reading I discovered that this time period was extremely violent! It reminds me of the moK'haj melee festivals we have on Q'Ronos. " Rios continued.
" I'm actually more familiar with those than I am with this, to be honest Ensign. Are there any rules I should be aware of? " He looked at both Albrecht and Rios for assistance.
" Hey, quit the gib-gab and get it ON! " Some unknown hologram shouted for the crowd. Albrecht turned to Sunder.
" Here's the skinny, Commander: the rules are: there are no rules. Oh, there were supposed to be techniques and restrictive practices, but once the fighters entered the ring, " he said indicating the roped square, " it just came down to their own natural agility and fighting styles. "
" So you're saying that this is an out-and-out slugfest? " Sunder asked.
" No - the rules actually disallow punching or any other full-bodied striking technique. Although, you can use the underside of the arm to hit your opponent, you can leg sweep in any direction, and you can use your body weight to either slam or ram your opponent. Of course, you have to pin him for a three-count, but that's easily understood. " Albrecht paused while he scratched his chin in confusion. " Actually, the wrestlers who were considered the most successful of their time were the ones who didn't follow the rules. "
" A very confusing sport. " Sunder remarked.
" A true warrior follows the dictates of his heart rather than those of others! " Rios shouted, partly to Sunder and Albrecht, and mostly to the crowd. The crowd went wild in response, uttering cheers and making strange rotations with their fists.
" Another thing I should add, " Albrecht said, " was that there was a lot of grandstanding in this sport. People actually seemed to revel in the violence. Humans of this time were more like Klingons than we are today. Maybe that's why Rios loves this simulation so much. "
" You've seen this before? " Asked Sunder, who couldn't get over Rios's wild leaps and cartwheels around the 'ring'.
" Oh yeah, " Albrecht replied with a casual wave of his hand. " Kornan's fought them all: the Giant, the Hulk, and a guy known as the Ventura - or something like that. I've referreed before, getting a chance to see the match firsthand. There were a lot of great fighters back then. Makes you wonder what happened to us. "
The sound of a loud gong interrupted their exchange.
" That's our cue. Now you have to get over to that side of the ring, while I stand in the middle. Each time the bell sounds, you either start of stop fighting. If he pins you for more than three seconds, you lose. Got it? "
" Got it. " Sunder agreed uncertainly, and took his place in the corner opposing Rios.
" Remember: no punching, no kicking, biting, poking, groin-kicking, or eye-gouging. And if he gets you into a hold - touching the rope will get you out of it - hopefully. "
" Right. " Sunder said, looking at the rope wistfully already.
" LADIES AND GENTLEMEN --- LET"S GET READY TO RUMMMMMBLE! " Shouted Albrecht at the top of his lungs. The Galaxy crew-members present in the holodeck were taking all of this in with an unbridled degree of excitement. The old delicacies like popcorn and sno-cones were passed around without hesitation as they all got into the spirit of the old simulation. Sunder looked upon the event with hesitation... until he heard the bell ring and saw Rios launch at him with two man-mangling Klingon hands!
His instincts were quick and he managed to roll under the Klingon's out-stretched arms with a micron to spare. He carpet-rolled himself along the floor of the ring until he emerged at the centre. By the time he had stood up, Rios had turned around and was racing towards him again.
Sunder dropped to one knee, ducked, and grabbed his fellow security officer by the straps of his gold knee-pads. Then, hefting him upwards, he threw Rios overhead and behind him.
" Yes! " Rios shouted as he flew to the floor. " That's the spirit! "
" I think you're getting the idea Commander! " Albrecht called out to him. Sunder threw him a look of chagrin and quickly turned around to face his opponent.
He stood up just in time to catch a leaping Kornan Rios ploughing horizontally into his mid-section. The air rushed out of Sunder as he landed unceremoniously on his posterior with Rios pinning him to the floor.
" Count! Count, damn you! " He screamed as Albrecht slid to the floor and began pounding his hand in rhythm.
" One! Two! " He had just reached two when Sunder threw his legs up in an effort to gain enough momentum to flip Rios off. Rios cursed as he bounced off the massive security officer.
Ursa rolled over and lept to his feet. Rios was lunging forward yet again. The man's offensive rhythm was truly remarkable - even by Klingon standards! He hardly let up, forcing Sunder to constantly go on the defensive. Sunder could see why Rios enjoyed this. It was personal combat intensified by the roar of crowds in a gladiator fashion. Sunder started to relax and get the feel of the simulation, edging his way into the feel of things. The crowd's energies started to flow into him and he felt a rush of exhilaration that he had never experienced in any other sparring match. He began to understand Rios a bit better.
" My turn now Rios! " He shouted at the savagely leering Klingon who beat his chest and bent into a crouch, circling his human opponent. " You're going down, my friend. "
" There is yet the man who can beat me in this simulation. " Rios shot back. " I have beaten the Giant himself. This is my game, Commander! I make the rules! "
" Funny... I thought the best wrestlers of this time were those who didn't follow the rules! " Sunder shouted. He doubled into a dive and flung himself at Rios' feet. His arms were outstretched and his body flew under the Klingon's grip, like a man throwing himself off a pier. However, instead of hitting water, his belly hit the hard canvas of the ring. Winding himself yet again, he pulled Rios's feet toward him forcing the Klingon to fall back against the ropes.
Bouncing off the ropes that boxed the pair in, he fell forward and landed on the prone Sunder. Ursa had prepared for this though. After releasing the bouncing Klingon's feet, he quickly readied himself into a push-up position and when Rios landed on him, he propelled himself up and twisted around forcing Rios on his back.
Pinning him with his back, Sunder held him down by levering his legs against the ropes. He looked over at Albrecht.
" C'mon! Count! " He panted, holding the flailing Rios down.
" Can't Commander. That's against the rules to use the ropes against your opponent. I have to give you a ten count to let go. "
" Damn! " Sunder swore as Albrecht began counting. A waste of a perfectly good tactic, he thought as he got to his feet and moved away from Rios.
Rios got up and beat his chest again in a brutal fashion.
" A good move Commander, but it will be the only way you can hold me down. " He grinned.
" They say you can't keep a good man down Rios. Let's find out what you are, or prove the adage wrong. " Sunder grinned back.
The two rushed at each other, Rios grappling Sunder's head and Sunder holding Rios's arms. Locked in a recognizable Greco-Roman grip, the two threw each other this way and that trying to gain an advantage over the other. Suddenly Rios stuck his leg out and forced Sunder backwards. Using his shoulder he managed to push Sunder, flipping him over his thigh and crashing to the floor.
Sunder silently cursed himself for a fool. A simple trick, but Rios's maneuver had been quick and surprising. He fell backwards and Rios threw himself at Sunder. He rolled away and Rios crashed to the floor with a deafening thud.
" Arrrrrggh! " Rios screamed gutterally, pounding the floor with his fist. Sunder rolled onto his shoulders and propelled himself to a standing position, facing his opponent.
" Temper, temper Mr. Rios. Anger leads to mistakes. " The large human teased. The Klingon screamed and charged Sunder again. This time Sunder ws ready for him. He ducked down and threw the Klingon over his shoulder. However, Sunder was not prepared for what happened next.
Rios rolled under Ursa's legs and from a sitting position, pushed Sunder down and pinned him with his legs in a crab-like manner.
" I think they used to call this the 'Boston Crab' Commander! Some sort of sea animal on your world! " Albrecht hit the floor and began slapping.
" Not just yet, Lieutenant. " Sunder grunted and heaved his shoulders against the klingon's powerful legs. Against anyone else, this would have been a defeating tactic, but Sunder had height and weight against Kornan and was able to force his legs apart, thus removing the pin. Then, grabbing one of his legs, he stuck his foot against Kornan's inner thigh and began to pull.
" I think ... this is ... known ... as a ... submission hold. " He wheezed between clenched teeth. Rios's eyes were beginning to bulge. He leaned forward and before he fall backwards, clapped his two hands against Sunder's ears. Shock, rather than pain forced Sunder to let go.
" I thought there was to be no direct strikes! " He protested. Kornan merely smiled bulbously ugly yellow teeth.
" Heh heh - I said before that true a warrior makes his own rules! " Kornan said.
" It's okay, Commander. A palm slap is considered un-sporting but it's not against the rules. " Albrecht said compromisingly.
" Well, if that's the way you want to play it... " Sunder muttered. Rolling up the sleeves of his tunic. It was time to get down to brass tacks.
The ropes around the ring seemed to be made out of some sort of heav-duty elastic fibre. Throwing himself back against them, they responded in kind by throwing him back into the ring.
Or so Rios expected.
Before he could leave the ropes, Sunder quickly locked his hands around them, preventing his elastic departure. Rios, on the other hand, who had been prepared for this, lept out sideways, intending to body-block the on-coming Sunder. Rios realized his mistake at the last second, just as he was about to impact against the canvas floor.
Sunder winced. " Ouch - that had to hurt. " He muttered, and piled on top of the stunned Klingon in a horrendous body flop. Then, quickly ripping the knee pads off Rios, he stretched them out and threaded the Klingon's hands and ankles through them. He rolled Kornan over and motioned for Albrecht to count. By now, Rios had realized what was happening but was unable to use his limbs to their full advantage, bound as they were. Rios tried to flip Sunder off in a quick sudden succession of seizure-like movements, but the giant man was firmly fixed on the Kliingon.
Albrecht looked in confusion at the tied-up Klingon. " I honestly don't think that's legal Commander. " He paused. " Although, I have heard of a variant of the wrestling style known as Indian... "
Sunder's face was twisted with the effort required to hold the Klingon down. " I don't care Lieutenant! Now count before he gets up kills me! " He shouted.
Albrecht hit the floor and counted.
" That's it! " He shouted. Sunder stood up and quickly got out of the ring before the freed Rios could stand up.
" And that's it for me! Thank you all for this wonderful introduction to 20th century culture, but I think that I shall now retire from the venue of professional wrestling. " The crowds - simulated and real - all started to cheer as Sunder made his way out of the ring.
" Computer: arch and exit. " He called, looking over his shoulder to see a severe-looking Rios following him out.
" Commander! " He called. Sunder stopped and turned, ready to face the music.
" Yes Ensign? " He replied, poised on the balls of his feet for any sort of offensive action. To his surprise, Rios threw back his head and laughed a true meaty Klingon laugh.
" I knew you were a true warrior the moment I laid eyes on you! An inspired move. " The Klingon moved to put his arm on Sunder's shoulder in friendly camaraderie. " Now that we have taken each other's measure, it is time for bloodwine! Computer: end program Rios Combat Five and run Rios Q'tooK Three! "
The 20th century amphitheatre was replaced with a Klingon Great Hall with vats of bloodwine scattered all over the room. The crew already present in the holodeck let out a great shout of cheer! This was turning out to be a great event! A show and now a party - Klingon style.
" You're a hell of a host, Kornan Rios! " Sunder had to admire the man. Rios merely smiled.
" We shall do great things together, Commander. Matthew! " He called over to Albrecht. " Let us go and share some bloodwine and celebrate our glorious future together! "
Sunder was heavily relieved. The night had turned out okay after all. An evening's festivities were readily anticipated. He quickly wondered if Cat was around. Perhaps he could make up for their interrupted evening?
With all the smiling faces around him, he didn't have the heart to tell Rios that he'd never had bloodwine before.
By: Price
*** Bridge, beginning of Gamma shift ***
Captain Price exited the turbolift and stepped onto the Bridge of the premier class vessel during the 'midnight watch'. Lieutenant Commander Deiran Casey was busy commanding the shift, making sure all of the final preparations were in order for the scientific away mission which Lieutenant Erikson would be commanding.
"G'evening 'Commander." Captain Price greeted while stepping into the command well, "I trust everything is in order for the shuttle launch 'mate?"
Deiran gave the Captain a nod, "Aye sir. We are on schedule. Just going over a few last minute details with Ensign Trinker." Casey explained motioning towards the Benzite Operations Officer.
Lee nodded silently while glancing around at the rest of the Gamma shift crew. He spotted Lieutenant Samara at the Engineering station, Lieutenant' Burns at Tactical, the Romulan Ensign Sullax at Science Station One, Ensign Kolrami at the helm with Ensign Trinker at operations. They were all faces the Captain was familiar with, having worked the follow on Alpha shift for so long. The only thing different really from any other morning when Lee would show up early to report for his command shift was there were two Security officers posted on the bridge. Lieutenant Chanor and Ensign Rios. The Captain assumed that the extra man was to keep an eye on Ensign Sullax who was still under house arrest for deactivating the holodeck safeties in violation of the Captain's standing orders and using an Intelligence code to do so. For the moment, that seemed like a minor infraction that could be dealt with later. Right now the Captain needed the best officers available to insure the success of this dangerous away mission into the Vortex. With both Lieutenants Erikson and Morris on board the shuttle Kepler, the Romulan science officer was the most qualified person on the Galaxy to operate the science station sensory pallets.
"Bonzer job 'mate." Captain Price replied to Casey after a glance around. "You are calling the shots 'Commander. This is your shift after all. I just want to be here. Sleeping through this wasn't something I could have done."
Casey gave the Captain a knowing smile. "I know what you mean Captain. I've felt the same way at times." After a momentary pause, Casey turned to double checking with all stations that the away mission still had a green light to proceed.
Minutes later, Lieutenant Erikson's voice came across the comm system. ["Shuttle craft Kepler to Bridge. Requesting permission to initiate departure sequence."]
"Bridge here Kepler. Permission to depart is granted." 'Commander Casey answered after glancing at Captain Price who just blinked.
["Thank-you Bridge."] Erikson replied.
The huge outer doors to the main shuttle bay were opened. The glistening pale blue force field shimmered slightly as it was exposed to the vastness of space. The vortex, unseen from the rearward departure of the ship, was never the less on everyone's mind in the shuttle craft, and on the Bridge as well.
"Price to Shuttle craft Kepler." The Captain hailed.
["Erikson here sir."] the Chief scientist responded.
"Just reminding you that you're not to take any unnecessary risks. I want you and your crew back in one piece. Understood 'mate?"
["Loud and clear Captain. No unnecessary risks. Erikson out."]
The command crew of the Galaxy watched on the main view screen as the shuttle craft Kepler and it's four passengers headed off towards the massive vortex, growing smaller in the distance.
"Continue to increase magnification Ensign. Track the shuttle as long as you can." Casey ordered of the helmsman.
"Aye 'Commander." The female Zakdorn Ensign replied.
"Shuttle is on course and sensors are working perfectly." Sullax called out from the Science station while peering at the sensory readouts.
The crew watched as a bubble of energy engaged around the shuttle, enveloping it.
"Sir the shuttle has engaged its metaphasic shielding. Sensors have been compensated. Still receiving a clear signal." Sullax relayed.
The crew watched while the shuttle grew nearer to the vortex, finally entering the massive, swirling maul where the Galaxy had been just 12 hours before when she rescued the survivors from the strange Breen ship that was trapped in the phenomenon. Shortly after entering the vortex, the tiny shuttle began buffeting around in the eddies and currents.
"Sullax what is going on?' Captain Price called out.
"Sir it seems that the shuttle has entered some turbulence and there shields are out of phase. They are compensating." The science officer explained.
"I want to know everything from now on mate." The Captain was getting more intense as the shuttle got closer and closer to the vortex. He and the Federation had lost enough officers in recent months, if it was possible, he didn't want to loose any more this evening.
"Sir the sensors keep going very fuzzy. It kind of happens on a regular interval but I am trying to compensate...." Sullax explained. Lee was beginning to wonder if his request to 'know everything' was a good idea or not. Now every little thing seemed to add to his tensions and ill feelings about this mission.
Several tense minutes went by as the shuttle Kepler neared the event horizon of the vortex. When it approached to the center of the singularity, Sullax began counting down.
"Sir the shuttle is almost at the position were we lost the probe. They will be there in three....two...one... They have past through the vortex sir."
"Status report, all stations." 'Commander Casey called out.
"Sir, I am still receiving a strong signal from the Kepler's neutrino transmitter. We have lost all sub-space communications with the shuttle. Too much skip from the vortex." Lieutenant' Burns reported from the Tactical arch.
"I am receiving reduced telemetry from the shuttle 'Commander." Ensign Trinker reported from Ops. "The data did drop by 73 percent when they past through the vortex, but I am still tracking them. They are heading straight and steady."
Deiran turned and glanced at K'Eytyanna at the engineering station. "Sir, the shuttle's hull never exceeded three hundred thousand newtons while passing through the vortex. The metaphasic shielding seems to have held strong. Last available readings show the shuttles power output was holding steady at 92 percent. Well within safe tolerance levels sir." Samara explained.
Deiran looked over to the Science station where Captain Price was standing by, watching over Ensign Sullax' shoulder as he monitored the lateral sensor arrays tracking the Kepler's progress.
"We are loosing the signal sir. As the Kepler moves farther beyond the there side of the vortex, our sensors are unable to compensate for the distortion effects of the phenomenon." Sullax glanced up at the Captain and then back to 'Commander Casey, "moving the ship closer to the vortex might help sir."
Deiran thought a moment before deciding, "We will hold our position here for now. As long as we are still receiving neutrino transmissions, we know the shuttle mission is still proceeding as planned."
Lieutenant Commander Casey had barely spoken the words before Trinker called out from the Operations station, "'Commander! I just lost the shuttles' trajectory signal. One minute it was there, the next it was gone sir. I.... can't explain it." The Benzite said in frustration taking a deep drag from his chemical inhaler.
"Get up Ensign." Deiran said flatly. Boaz quickly complied, allowing the Chief Operations Manager to take the station himself. Casey's hands blurred as he ran them across the control panel's displays, recalibrating the gain and running a quick diagnostic.
While Deiran was quickly evaluating the Operations data, Captain Price inquired, "Lieutenant' Burns, are we still receiving the neutrino pulses from the Kepler 'mate?"
John nodded, "Aye Captain, the signal has decreased in strength, but we are still..." Lieutenant' Burns stopped mid sentence, changing his tone up a notch in intensity, "Wait! The signal has just been cut off to minimal levels sir. We were receiving nearly six kiloquads per minute from the Kepler just a moment ago, now the signal has all but stopped sir."
"All but?..." Lee inquired.
Lieutenant' Burns pulled out an old style personal receiver and hooked it into his ear. He cupped his hand around the device and concentrated on listening to the faint signal.
"I am barely receiving a series of pulses. They seem to be alternating, some long, some short in tone." John explained.
"Morse code." Casey called out from the Operations station while still working on boosting the sensors gain. "It is programmed into the neutrino transmitter as a fall back system."
Lieutenant' Burns nodded and began to translate the series of coded pulses he was listening to. "A. Y. pause, M. A. Y. D. A. Y. pause, S. H. U. T. T. L. E. pause, K. E. P. L. E. R. pause, N. E. E. D....." John removed the ear piece and looked at Captain Price with a shocked expression, "Captain, the transmission has stopped."
"Damn!" Deiran cursed from the operations console, causing everyone to turn around and look at the Lieutenant Commander.
"What is it 'mate?" Captain Price inquired.
"I can't compensate for the distortions and refractions that vortex is causing sir. Our sensors are useless." Deiran sighed.
"Let's do as Ensign Sullax suggested and try moving closer to the vortex. That might increase our chances of punching through the interference." Lee suggested.
Deiran nodded, "Make it so Ensign." He said to the helmsman to his right, "take us to a position just outside the rim of the vortex and hold position there. One quarter impulse."
"Aye sir." Ensign Kolrami responded in her Zakdorn tone.
The Galaxy soon took up position less than a kilometer way from the maul of the vortex. Even at this range, the gravimetric pull of the singularity at the heart of the phenomenon was tugging on the ship, requiring a constant countering output from the impulse engines just to remain stationary as 'Commander Casey had ordered.
"Anything 'mate?" Captain Price asked Lieutenant' Burns in a hopeful tone.
John listened closely for a few moments before shaking his head, "No sir, and I have our sensors set to maximum gain."
"Captain, 'Commander... I think you had better come look at this..." Ensign Sullax broke the silence in a tone that sounded none too promising.
Both Captain Price and 'Commander Casey stepped over to the Science station. Ensign Trinker quickly retook his position at the Operations station that Casey vacated.
"What is it Ensign?" Casey asked.
"Look, here sir. Sensors just picked up this power spike from within the vortex." Sullax pointed to a graphic representation of the ambient power levels the sensory pallets were monitoring at the time. It showed an abrupt spike that rose in the middle, nearly coming completely off the top of the view screen.
"That doesn't look like a naturally occurring power discharge 'mate." Captain Price suggested.
"No Captain. It isn't. This particular power spike has unique properties." The science officer explained tapping a few controls to superimpose another graph over this read out. "One I have seen before sir."
The two images lined up almost perfectly as the animation rotated through a simulated 3-D comparison of the readouts on the flat view screen. "What is that you are comparing it to Sullax?" 'Commander Casey asked with genuine curiosity in his tone.
"Sullax' expression grew deadly serious as he turned and looked into Captain Price's eyes and then back to Casey's. In an even, almost sterile tone, the Romulan scientist just blurted it out dispassionately. "It is the power output of a Federation shuttle craft that has just experienced a warp core breach sir."
Captain Price, 'Commander Casey and the rest of the command crew on the bridge were all stunned by this revelation. Silently, on the view screen, the 3-D animation comparing the two power signatures continued to rotate and compare them. It was a perfect match. The shuttle Kepler had been destroyed!
By: "Charles B. Smith"
As they hit the wall of the vortex, sub-space communications to the ship were immediately lost. Fortunately, the neutrino transmitter was still functioning strongly. She set the system to send a continuos log and looked at the sensors.
They were fluctuating wildly. Lt. Erikson said, "Ensign Tholen, I'm picking up a signs of a solidic barrier of some sort. Can you confirm this?"
"Yes. We are approaching it rapidly." he said nervously.
"AC! Turn, hard to port." Greer yelled. The turbulence got violent, throwing the crew of the shuttlecraft around.
Ronni grabbed hold of her console. She quickly started sending a Morse code message via the neutrino transmitter. "MAYDAY. MAYDAY. MAYDAY. SHUTTLE KEPLER NEEDS HELP. ASSISTANCE REQUIRED. MAYDAY. MAYDAY.MAYDAY." She set the message to repeat and watched to see if there was any form of reply. There was none.
Lt. Erikson looked over and saw that Ronni had sent the distress call. AC was trying to find a way through the barrier. "Lt. Erikson, the barrier seems to be expanding!" Ensign Tholen cried.
The shuttle was being buffeted this way and that. Ensign Tholen was scanning the expanding wave of solid space. AC seemed to have spaced out. Ronni scanned the shuttle and worked furiously to get systems back under control. It was a losing battle. "Lt. Erikson! We have lost the starboard nacelles and we have lost WARP drive. I have contained the hull breach in the aft compartment, but the shielding patch won't hold for more than about five more minutes. Hull pressure is growing at a rate of 72% every three minutes. The worse news is that three of the four escape capsules have been destroyed." she said.
Lt. Erikson looked around at everyone and down at the console as if there was something he should be able to do. Ronni wasn't envious of the decision that Greer would have to make on his first real command mission. Fortunately, he made the only decision he could, "OK everyone, we have done all we can here. Ronni, launch two probes, one toward the barrier and the other toward the vortex entry. AC, get the environmental suits ready. Ensign Tholen, I want you to quickly get as much of a sensor log as you can. I want you to take the escape capsule."
Ronni deployed the probes and checked to see if there had been any response to their distress call. None. She quickly downloaded some information from the sensor logs and sent the distress beacon. She then went to the back to the shuttle with the others. Ensign Tholen semi-reluctantly climbed into the escape capsule and was released.
The three remaining officers grimly put on their EVA suits and stocked as many supplies as they could. AC seemed to be thinking about something more but didn't say anything. He checked the airlock, but the controls wouldn't release.
Lt. Erikson said, "We'll have to transport out."
Ronni activated the controls as soon as they were ready. She wanted to wait until the last possible moment. The shuttle might not be much protection from the elements, but it was better than the EVA suits. When the hull started to crack, she activated the controls. The three officers were transported into the void of fluidic space.
By: EMW
Attempting to relax in her quarters after her shift, K'arta was interrupted once again. A male voice announced that she had an incoming transmission from Starfleet Intelligence. She acknowledged the call and asked that the transmission be patched through to her quarters. K'arta slid into her desk chair just before the Federation insignia disappeared. The man on the screen squinted for an instant before speaking.
"Lieutenant K'arta, I presume?" he asked, almost suspiciously.
"Yes. Can I help you?" she responded blandly.
"I'm James Sidney from Starfleet Intelligence. I was ordered to work with you on the Sullax case. I trust you have him in custody now?" he seemed quite annoyed with the current proceedings.
"He is in custody, yes." answered the tightlipped Klingon.
"Good, then we can proceed with the charges." he paused briefly waiting for K'arta to say something more, but when she wasn't forthcoming he continued. "You have informed him as to why he was arrested and he is prepared to make a statement in his defense." It was that statement that put K'arta on edge, Sidney could have made it into a question very easily and she wouldn't have been quite so offended.
Her nostrils flared slightly. "He has been arrested, informed of the basic charges, and released for emergency bridge duty." K'arta leaned toward the screen, hostility dripping from her voice as she continued, "No one has seen fit to tell ME the rest of the details. One of your colleagues only recently informed me that Sullax needed to be arrested as quickly as possible. It makes me wonder if maybe this man is a security risk of some sort. As the chief of security aboard a starship, I should be informed of any and all security risks, since it IS my job to protect the crew of this ship. Now, if you will kindly tell me everything I need to know..." she trailed off, letting Sidney draw his own conclusions as to what her next action might be.
The man from Starfleet Intelligence sat back, wide-eyed as K'arta settled back in her chair waiting. A small smile tried to play across her face as she noticed his reaction. He seemed to be quite shocked at her outburst. He also seemed a little frightened. Truth be told, Sidney had never really dealt with any Klingons. Of course, he'd studied them when he was in the Academy, he'd even seen one or two here and there, but to actually deal with one in Starfleet was almost too much for him to handle. To top it all off, this woman had intense green eyes that nearly captivated him. Sidney wished he could pass this assignment on to someone else, but no one was available.
Sidney took a deep breath and filled the Galaxy's security chief in. "When Sullax was released from SI, he signed a form stating that he would no longer try to use the access codes and what-not that were issued while he was in SI. We have a monitoring system set up through-out Starfleet that will alert headquarters whenever a valid or invalid code is used. When Sullax used an invalid code, when he'd already agreed never to use the codes again, the system relayed that information back here. Now do you see why this is such a big deal?" he asked the silent Klingon.
K'arta nodded and waited for the man to continue his explanation. Nearly an hour later, K'arta closed the channel, sighed and rolled her eyes. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with SI and the current situation with the Breen aboard the Galaxy.
By: STEVEN LAURENCE SHARP
Chanor entered the holodeck, with Neg'Puj, only to immediately receive a communication from Lt. Albecht.
"Sir, Beta shift is about to end, and we need you and Ensign Rios to report to the bridge to continue guarding Ensign Sullax." he stated.
"Ensign Sullax? Why?" Chanor asked, quite surprised.
"It would appear that he used Starfleet intelligence codes to disable the holodeck safety's. Lt. K'arta wasn't impressed and had him arrested." Matthew said.
"And he's now on the bridge?" Chanor asked.
"Yes. Seems he's the best one for sensor operations up there at present. So we need you to guard him." Matthew continued.
"Okay Lieutenant. I'm on my way. Paran out." he finished.
Turning back to Ensign Neg'Puj he started,
"Seems the programme will keep till later Ensign. Seems I have a job to do."
She nodded briefly, and Chanor headed out of Holodeck 1, to leave her to test the programme if she wanted. Heading for the bridge, he tapped his comm badge again.
"Ensign Rios. Report to the bridge." he said, only waiting for the 'on my way' reply, before closing the channel.
Stepping into the turbolift on deck 7, he promtly arrived on the bridge, to find Lt. Albrecht and Ensign Trabuco. Albrecht handed over custody of the prisoner to him, now operating science station 1, and headed off to the turbolift, with Ensign Trabuco in tow.
Chanor looked around the bridge, for the third time ever. Most of these people, no, ALL of these people he didn't know. Sure, that handsome fellow in the command chair was Lieuteant Commander Deiran Casey, but the rest seemed to be unknowns to him. He'd seen them about the ship, but he couldn't put a name to any of them, at least not yet.
Mind you, the person entering now, he could put a name to. Ensign Kornan Rios entered from the turbolift, and walked, no almost swaggered up to the Lieutenant.
"Ahh, Lieutenant Paran." the huge Klingon started, clamping a huge hand on Chanor's back. "You missed an excellent wrestling match down in Holodeck 4 earlier. Commander Sunder managed to best me, though his technique was not altogether fair."
"I'm sorry I was unable to make it." Chanor replied, hastily, as the Klingon thumped away at him, "I had another engagement. I was programming a battle simulation with Ensign Neg'Puj." he said.
"The delightful Ensign Neg'Puj. You old Klingon dog you. I'm sure you enjoyed the programming." Rios said, leering slightly.
Chanor looked him over and quickly decided not to say another word about the matter. He pointed over to Ensign Sullax and said,
"Mr. Sullax over there is under our.... protection. We're to make sure he makes it back to the brig after the situation with the vortex is cleared up."
"Yes sir." Rios barked, showing a full set of yellow teeth. Rios seemed very dedicated to duty, and he hoped he make a fine officer some day.
It was about now, that another officer entered the bridge. He didn't recognise him first, so checked out the rank insignia on his collar, and colour of his shirt to see what department he might belong to. Hmmmm. 4 full pips, and a half. Command coloured uniform. That would mean..... that he was the Captain. Chanor looked over to the man, in the flesh, for the first time ever. He noticed him scanning the bridge back, and nodded in his direction, before heading down to see 'Commander Casey in the command chair. He wondered why he hadn't recognised him before, but seeing someone in the flesh, and on a computer screen wasn't quiet the same. The captain looked a little tired, but for some reason, he had an air around him, that said that he could trust him. He wondered for a second over that, then concluded that it was his own natural reaction to respect the chain of command that made him trust him, not something else. Or so he told himself.
The Captain started discussing with Commander Casey, then moved back to science station one, where Ensign Sullax started reporting the shuttles telemetry to the captain. The bridge crew started to become frantic when the shuttle disappeared of Ensign Trinker's sensors, and Commander Casey took over immediately.
However, the shuttle was lost, and captain Price immediately moved the Galaxy in closer, something Chanor didn't want to do. But he wasn't about to question the Captain now. As the ship moved in, Sullax started reporting again, and then, in response to a question by Commander Casey, blurt out a very disturbing sentence,
"It is the power output of a Federation shuttle craft that has just experienced a warp core breach sir."
Chanor, and the rest of the bridge crew turned to the captain for his next orders. Surprisingly, he seemed to have none as he stared at two power signatures on the viewscreen.
Lt. Paran
By: gaijinrussell@sprynet.com
"The Morning After"
Chen had heard through the grapevine that Lieutenant Commander Sunder and Ensign Rios, another security officer, were going to engage in some type of wrestling match in the holodeck. Chen, already aware of what kind of a fighter Sunder was, couldn't hardly resist showing up after his shift.
He ran into the holodeck a little late and he discovered, much to his chagrin, that the fight had already started. He pushed his way through the crowd, who were a funny mix of real and holographic to get a good look at the match. In the center of the ring, Sunder was being held down by a brightly dressed Klingon, who had Sunder's legs in some strange type of crab-like position.
Chen laughed and a holographic, at least Chen thought a holographic man bumped into him hard. Chen shrugged it off and continued to watch the fight. Sunder forced his way out of the funny position and pulled the Klingon's leg. The Klingon mumbled something and the leaned over and boxed Sunder's ears. Sunder let go, looking shocked and said something to the referee, who Chen recognized as Matthew Albrecht, another security officer. The Klingon smiled and Albrecht told Sunder something.
Sunder shook his head and he looked real serious. Sunder ran against the ropes and held on. The Klingon jumped to the ground for some reason and Sunder jumped on top of him. Then, he tied up the Klingon using his own knee and ankle pads! Then Albrecht hit the floor three times and Sunder won. The crowd erupted in cheers. Sunder was walking away and then he looked back when Rios called to him. Rios said something and then the whole scene changed into the Klingon Great Hall, barrels of blood wine everywhere. Chen laughed with the other crew members and he dipped a cup into a nearby barrel.
The next morning, Chen woke up with a headache and a sore back. "I'm getting too old for this," he said to himself. He walked to the replicator. "Coffee, hot."
The computer chimed back. "Please specify what temperature." Chen sighed and tried to think of what the temperature should be, but he drew a blank. He waved his hand in the general direction of the replicator and took a shower.
By: The Fly
Things were not looking so good for the crew of the tiny shuttle. After slamming into the wall of the vortex, the ride became a bit rough. Alan’s eyes scanned all of the monitors and controls infront of him. The basic gist of it all was fairly simply: they were screwed.
Out of all the flashing signals on the consoles, one quickly caught his attention. The proximity collision alarm, designed of course to alert the pilot when a shuttle was about to collide with an object, began to go off.
“AC! HARD TO PORT!” From AC’s left came the desperate voice of his friend and commander of the away mission, Lt. Greer Erikson. Alan didn’t need to be told twice. The shuttle lurched violently as AC tried to divert the shuttle’s course from certain destruction.
Quite curses escaped with every breath that AC let out. His mind raced as he tried to make heads-or-tails of what the hell was happening. If the wall of the vortex had opened up a bit since they rammed through, perhaps AC could attempt to...
Suddenly, Alan went blind. All feeling drained out of his body. His thoughts were being replaced. The shuttlecraft rumbled beneath him, yet he felt like he was floating in air.
AC was pulled back into his mind as his head slammed into the console.
“DAMMIT!” He yelled at the excruciating pain. But he wasn’t sure if the pain was caused by the physical blow, or the mental one.
“...AC, get the environmental suits ready...” Still in shock from what had just happened, AC managed to stumble to the back of shuttle. The storage locker hissed open as he entered the pas
sword.
AC ran quickly ran one last diagnostic on the suits. He did not plan to find himself floating around with a malfuncuting EVA suit. The three Lieutenants rushed as they donned their gear. They had no wish to be onboard when the hull finally decided to rest.
Ensign Tholen had just exited the ship via the only surviving escape pod. Alan doubted that the young ensign had much more of a chance to survive in an escape pod rather than an EVA suit. Alan stepped over to the airlock controls and prepared to depressurerize it. Nothing happened.
“Uh, Greer? We’ve got a little problem here.” AC said as he turned around. Greer looked into his friend’s eyes, which confirmed his thoughts.
“We’ll have to transport out.” Greer said flatly.
Ronni stationed herself at the transporter controls and waited. An eternity and thensome passed before anyone spoke.
“Ronni?”
She simply stuck her hand out, signaling for the other two to hold on. A horrible screeching sound echoed throughout the vessel as the hull began to collapse. Alan didn’t even see Ronni activate the transporter as his vision began to fade to blue. The last thing he heard was the calm voice of the computer.
“Warning, hull breach is imminent...”
“No Answers…More Questions”
by Lt. Hunter McKenzie
ASST Chief Tactical Officer
USS Galaxy
ICQ # 6728583
=/\= "Beta Shifting" =/\=
by Lt jg Matthew Albrecht
Security Officer
USS Galaxy NCC 70637
****** Holodeck Programmes *******
by Lt. Paran and Ensign Neg'Puj
Galaxy "Off Duty"
Written by Kahn Nilani and Cat
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
"The Beginning of the Situation"
by Ensign Erin Parker, Counselor
"Into the unknown"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
by Counselor Zrama
approved by Counselor Wilson
"The Bridge"
By: Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer USS Galaxy
Science Officer
USS Galaxy
Contact at: i2qtnot2b@hotmail.com
"Visions and Possibilities"
by Lt. Ronni Morris
Asst. Chief of Science, USS Galaxy
revisions by Captain Price
"Meeting with Hunter"
by Lt K'Eytyanna Samara
- owned by Muhammad Ali
- used in the World Heavywieght Championship, Feb. 25, 1964
during boxing match where he beat Sonny Liston in 7 rounds]
United States War of Independence,
Certified for Starfleet vessels]
United States Civil War,
Certified for Starfleet vessels]
Written By Kahn Nilani and Kornan Rios.
U.S.S. Galaxy
Digestion
by Lt (jg) Endris Gakor
Emptiness
Casey Ti Miran
Emptiness is more painful than darkness
Hold me no matter what
until my loneliness goes away
Its you, Its you I'm in love with
You're held in my heart
Even in the coldest nights.
There's no need for promises
Because of all the strength
That you have given me.
Kurshimi dakishmeteruno
Nanimo Kamo ga futari
Kagayaku Tame kitto
Kimi wo kimi wo aishiteru
Kokoro de mitsumete iru
Kimi wo kimi wo shinjiteru
Samui yoru mo
Yakusaku nado iranai
Kimi ga kureta taisetsu na
Tsuyosa dakera
Do they feel such deep pain all through the night
When two people come together they shine
Until my loneliness goes away
I love, I love you
My heart sees only you
I believe in you, in you
Even on the coldest nights
I don't need promises
because of all the strength
you gave me
I have to pay for being lonely
I know a bit
but my love grows
With obstacle and take me deeper and deeper
Everything I have
is for love
I'm attracted to you
I'm charmed by you
I'm in love with you
from the bottom of my heart
Love looks not
With the eyes
but with the mind
Catching up
by Lt. K'arta
"The Brig"
By: Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer USS Galaxy
Science Officer
USS Galaxy
Contact at: i2qtnot2b@hotmail.com
"Conference"
by Colby Torwyn
revisions by Captain Price
"The disappearing probe"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
"Into the Final Frontier"
by Lt. Greer Erikson
Chief Science Officer, USS Galaxy
"Session"
by Ensign James Chen
Security Officer
Approved by Counselor Wilson
"Trying To Get Through To The Breen"
by Lieutenant Leslie Wilson
Chief Counselor, USS Galaxy
Revised by Captain Price
"Speaking with the Breen"
by Commander Joerg Sterner
=/\= "Dead Tired" =/\=
by Lt jg Matthew Albrecht
Security officer
USS Galaxy NCC 70637
Midwatch
by Lt (jg) Endris Gakor
"Pressure, Part One"
By: Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer USS Galaxy
reviewed by Captain Price
Science Officer
USS Galaxy
Contact at: i2qtnot2b@hotmail.com
Pardon Me But There's a Klingon On Your Head
"Stunned revelation"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
"Fluid Hopes"
by Lt. Ronni Morris
Asst. Chief of Science, USS Galaxy
Dealing with Intelligence
by Lieutenant K'arta
******* Going back to the Bridge ********
By Lt. Paran Chanor
USS Galaxy
by Ensign James Chen
Security Officer
"All Things Bleed..."
by Lt. Alan Hewson