****** So much to do, so little time to do it. ********
By Lt. Paran
Chanor had just set off towards the bridge, following Ensign Sullax yet again, when he turned and suddenly headed back towards the array, muttering something about forgetting something. Chanor looked at Rios and they headed back around again. It hadn't been very long before Ryak fell, and he had to catch him.
"Are you alright Ensign?" Chanor asked.
A solitary nod was all that he got from the Romulan ensign, as he picked himself up, and carried on. Shortly after, it was Ensign Rios who had to catch him, and enquire as to his general health level. Chanor was not at all pleased with that, and said to the Ensign,
"Ensign, I'm going to escort you to sickbay instead, I don't want you injured. We're here to escort you around, within reason, and this seems beyond reason."
"No, I'm alright, really Lieutenant." he replied, as the group reached the array again.
Chanor looked sceptically at him, and was weighing up the options, when the decision was taken away from him. Lt. Khatroweena entered the array and immediately took over, aiding the ensign. Paran and Rios just stood by, until the doctor turned to him,
"Lieutenant, As soon as it has been confirmed that the crew of the Kepler is safe and returning, I want him in Sick bay. Failing that, if he has to return to the brig, I want to be notified immediately." she ordered.
"Yes Doctor." he replied, glad that he now had some definite orders with what to do with him afterwards. Returning him to the brig seemed like madness in his condition, and he was sure Lt. K'arta would also be glad to have him treated before he was back in her custody.
Doctor Khatroweena left, and as Ryak finished up where he was, he and Ensign Rios escorted him back to the bridge.
******* Later ***********
On the way, Sullax asked to be allowed to take legal council in his room. Well, the 'accused' were always allowed one 'phone' call, so he let him in his quarters, on the basis that he wouldn't be very long.
He then looked over at Ensign Rios, who grinned back at him. Chanor thought for a moment, then asked him,
"Ensign, do you think we should have security monitor his conversation?" he asked, not sure what to do on this one.
"No, surely it would be unhonourable to spy on a fellow crewmember?" Rios spluttered, shocked at the suggestion.
Chanor looked up at the ceiling, realised he was right, and continued to wait.
********************************************************************
It hadn't been long before he thought that his time was up, and so told the computer to override the security seal on the door (Noting that Ryak must have sealed it for him to have to do that.) and stepped inside, to find his standing up from the terminal.
"Let's go Ensign!" was his only command, as he set off again, this time in a different direction, towards the transporter room! The wanderings of science officers would never fail to amaze him.
Shortly afterwards, Lieutenant Sanchez and Ensign Chen appeared, taking over from the two officers. Chanor was more than glad to let them take over, as it was approaching alpha shift.
However, though Ensign Rios, already pulling another shift, managed to get off, it wasn't his lucky day. Lt. K'arta paged him again, telling him to meet Lt. Albrecht outside the Breen's quarters on deck 9, to do guard duty during Alpha shift.
Ridiculous! Gamma and Beta shift officers doing duty during Alpha! Well, no time to moan now, as he headed towards deck 9, and the impending meeting with Albrecht, the first proper time he'd get to speak to the officer.
***** Residential Apartments, deck 9 of the USS Galaxy *******
Chanor had just arrived, meeting with Lt. Albrecht when te door slid open with a swoosh. The two uniformed Breen stood there and glanced at the pair who stood guard in the corridor. Chanor blinked at them.
"We wish to see our colleagues in your ship's healing facility." The feminine one requested.
Glancing at Lieutenant' Albrecht, Chanor slowly nodded.
"We will escort you to our sickbay. If you will come this way?" the Bajoran motioned for the two Breen to follow him.
Matthew took up to the rear and helped him march them to the nearest turbolift. Everyone was silent when they entered the lift and the doors closed, other than him ordering "Sickbay", before the lift began to move.
Soon they were on the busy deck. Stopping just before sickbay, Chanor stepped aside, "This is our medical facility here on the Galaxy. Your companions are inside." He motioned with a hand, indicating they could enter.
"Thank You." the feminine one replied. The other Breen just let out a sound that felt like a disapproving grunt. Chanor and Matthew just glanced at each other as they walked past and entered sickbay.
The two Breen, quickly gained the attention of the medical staff. "We have come to visit our two companions." The feminine one announced while they stood there waiting to be taken to the ICU ward.
Chanor, now out of earshot of the two Breen, let out a jaw-cracking yawn, hoping that they'd get on with it, so he could get some rest.
Lt. Paran
USS Galaxy
By: ncc_1701_d@juno.com (John Hanafin)
"Gretzky's Reflections"
by Ens. John Gretzky
Engineering Dep't
After finishing the Metaphasic shield reconfigurations, and enjoying a drink with Cmdr. Casey, Gretzky excuses himself.
"Well... thank you very much for the drink, sir. I'll see you later in Engineering?"
"Yeah Gretz. I'll see you later."
And with a nod to Door, Gretzky walks out of Ten Forwars and heads to his quarters for a bit of R&R. As he heads down the corridors, he can't help but reflect on his current situation. A year ago, he was just preparing himself for graduation from the Academy. He'd always known he'd be assigned to a good ship. He was a bit disappointed when he was assigned to the Challenger, an old, almost run-down ship. He'd kept a close eye on the openings in the 'fleet.' When he noticed the Galaxy had an opening... he jumped. And he got it with no problems. He joined the crew at the start of their current mission. Gretzky saw this as a challenge. He'd have to make new friends. And try to get promoted as soon as possible. After all, it should be easier on a ship like the Galaxy. One of the finest in the fleet. Light years beyond the Challenger. And his first test was the Metaphasic Shields. He'd handled that with no problems. In fact, the only thing wrong was getting "pins and needles" in his leg from sitting in an akward position in those Jeffries Tubes.
By this time, John had made it to his quarters. He didn't even remember the walk from Ten Forward to here. He was so lost in though. He couldn't help but smile at his good fortune. He walked into his quarters and took a quick sonic shower. He had a few hours before his next shift in Engineering. He wasn't as tired as he'd first though, so he decided to do a little research on his terminal. He looked into ways to improve the shield power, or to continue his work on improving overall shield efficiency. But for some reason, it wasn't as appealing to him as it usually was. So he decided to study some star charts, one of his hobbies. But he soon found he wasn't interested in this either. He got up and walked to the replicator. "Water...cold." Gretzky heard the familliar shirp of the computer and watched as the tall glass of water materialized in front of him. He walked back to the glowing terminal. He put the water down on the glass table and leaned back in his seat. Breathing a heavy sigh, he decided to call up the bios and service records of the 3 crewmen trapped in the vortex. As he sat there, studying every letter on the screen, he couldn't help but wonder how he could survive such a situation. He had never faced anything like that before, but he was confident he could hokd his own. Still, he didn't want to have to find out anytime soon.
After a quick check of the chronometer on the wall, Gretzky decided to take a short nap before heading back to Engineering.
-John-
aka: "Ensign John Gretzky"
ncc_1701_d@juno.com
By: gaijinrussell@sprynet.com
"Fight in Ten-Forward"
by Ensign James Chen
Security Officer
Neg'Puj had decided that she needed a big glass of Saurian brandy to get to sleep, so Chen had no choice except to go along with her. Besides, he was kind of thirsty after the simulation himself. They were sitting at a table in the back after getting their drinks. They were making polite conversation when Chen saw him. Terence Julius.
Neg'Puj saw Chen become pale and she looked where his eyes were. She saw a tall, well-muscled man with blond hair. His eyes caught Chen's and Neg'Puj saw how cold they were. She had seen eyes like that before, but only on a Klingon with a major score to settle. The man walked over to their table. He moved like a cat, gracefully taking steps, every muscle prepared for anything. Neg'Puj had only seen one other person walk like that. And he was sitting across from her.
Chen looked down as the man approached and his hands were trembling. Chen took a deep breath and looked back at Julius. The man was standing at their table, smiling. "You know, I wasn't informed that a cold-blooded murderer was on board."
Chen continued staring at the table. "Terence," he said. "Go. Please."
Terence smiled even wider. "Why? I like it here. And last I checked, I was a crew member here, too."
Chen looked and Neg'Puj and there was pure anger and something else in his eyes. Fear? Chen swallowed hard and, his voice shaking, looked up at Terence. "Please, Terence not now."
Terence's face grew hard. "Like hell, not now. Get up, you dirty animal."
Neg'Puj was mad now. "Hey, knock it off!" She started to stand, but Chen grabbed her wrist. He shook his head. She grudgingly sat down. "Whoa! That's a little spitfire you got there. Good replacement for Liz?"
Chen's hands tightened into fists. "Go away. I won't warn you again."
Terence was amused at the thought. "You know, I hear Kwan squealed like a pig when he died." Neg'Puj saw it when Chen's eyes before he ever even moved, and so did Terence, apparently. Chen came up fast with an elbow to Terence's stomach, which he deftly blocked and countered with a backhand punch to Chen's face. Chen shrugged it off and kicked Terence in the chest, hard. Terence fell near the bar and Chen was moving towards him.
Two nearby crew members went to grab him. He threw the first one off and swept the other's feet from him. Terence was up and the bartender, who's name was "Door", or something like that had leaped across the bar to stop the fight. Terence pointed at the man. "Don't, bartender. Unless you want to get hurt." Door ignored the comment and came anyway. Terence evaded his grasp and jumped into the air, kicking Chen right in the face. Chen went down, but by that time, Several people were holding Terence. When Chen tried to force himself to his feet, Neg'Puj was holding his arm. Her presence distracted him while three other crewmen piled on him. At that instant, he heard Sunder's voice boom out. "What is going on here?!"
Chen stood up and faced his commander. "A little trouble, sir."
Sunder regarded Chen and Neg'Puj. "Who was involved, Ensign?"
Chen looked at Sunder. "I was, sir."
Neg'Puj piped up and pointed at Terence. "And him, too, sir."
Sunder looked at Terence. "Lieutenant Terence Julius, Engineering?"
Terence nodded. "Yes, sir."
"I'm going to leave a message for your CO. Expect some backlash from this. Get out of here."
"Aye, sir."
Terence looked hard at Chen and left. Sunder looked at Chen. "Ensign, can I see you for a second? Now."
Chen nodded and followed Sunder into the hallway. Sunder led him into a corner of the corridor, out of the way. "What was going on in there?"
Chen shrugged. "Sir, I know Lieutenant Julius. And to be completely honest, it's kind of personal."
Sunder recoiled. He studied Chen for a moment and then, "Fine. If that's how you want it, it's your business. But if I hear about you getting in anymore barroom brawls, you're going to think that the universe itself has crashed around you, get me?" Chen nodded. "Good. I will not tolerate my officers to go around fighting for any reasons. This will not happen again, understood?"
Chen nodded. "Yes, sir. I understand." Sunder nodded curtly and strode off. Chen watched him leave and then headed to his quarters. Once there, he discovered an in-ship message for him. From Terence.
[Chen, tomorrow, 1300 hours, holodeck three. We finish this then.]
Chen sighed deeply and headed to bed. He desperately didn't want to do this.
By: Daniel Lawrence Josephs
"Sterner to Mercury"
"Mercury here Commander, go ahaead."
"David, how are the modification coming?"
"Progress is good, we have to modify these shields perfectly or else they will fail. I really wish Greer were here he knows more about metaphasic shields then anyone." David was really concerned for his friends that are counting on him to pull through and get them out.
"I know what you mean, I wish they all were here too. Keep me posted onthe progess of the shields, Sterner out."
"Mercury to Boudreau", David now had to get progress reports from his staff.
"Go ahead David." Melissa was in the middle of generating test simulations for her rescue plan. Her group had come up with a couple of ways to transport Greer and the crew and now it was time to test them. She had gathered her group in Holodeck 2. There they could reproduce the anomaly's environment.
"Melissa what is the good word on the transporters?" David hoped for good news from his Assistant Chief Engineer.
"I am afraid I will have to delay giving you the new, at this point in time, we are in the prelimary stages of testing. Give me an hour." Melissa knew that she would not have an answer for him then either but she need to get back to work and didn't want to worry David.
"We are running out of time, the shield modifications for the Galaxy are almost complete, probably within the hour, we will be waiting after that. Keep me posted and good luck."
"Don't worry David, I will get the transporters modified and we'll get them out. 'I hope' " Melissa muttered under her breathe.
Down in Main Engineering everyone looked like they were running around with there head cut of. It was complete chaos from the looks of it but David knew everyone was just rushing to get there jobs down. Time was not on there side. David grabbed a PADD from his console in Engineering and started reading off Greer's notes about how to modify the Galaxy's shields. The notes were extremely detailed but metaphasic shielding was very tricky, David remembered in the Academy it was one of those class that everyone hated to take with the expection of Greer I guess. David doubled checked the list and made sure every setting was correct and every change was perfect.
"Alright people, lets fire up the shields and get some readings back to see what progress we are making. Ensign Knight, I want you to keep an eye out on our power outage, if we get too high just shut it down. Everyone else man your consoles, any problems shut it down and we will work from there."
"Mercury to the Bridge."
"Lee here go ahead, Lieutenant."
"Captain I just wanted to inform the bridge that we will be controlling the shields from here so we can test the new modifications."
"Acknowledged, how long can we expect before we are ready?"
"Give me an hour Captain and I will have the shields working, Lieutenant Boudreau has already started testing her transporter modification, still unsure how long she is going to need though."
"Alright tell me when the shields are ready, Lee out"
It was now time to put the shields up. David tapped his console and the shields raised. "Status report!" David called out to everyone in engineering. All reports were good, everything was working as planned.
"David!" Ensign Knight yelled. David quickly ran over to his console. "The power it seems to be dropping, we are going to lose it. The shields are failing." David quickly make some modifications to the power outage but it was no use the shields had already failed.
"Alright was seem to have a problem with the power transfer. At time 53.2 seconds there was a power surge from on of the port emitters and then the power outage started to drop. Check the capaciters on all port emitters, if need be replace them but do it fast. This is it, we need to get this right. Get it done!" David said.
Dan Josephs
By: Stuart Clapperton
An Intruder?
Jack entered Ten-Forward again after going back to get something from his quarters. He saw Lieutenant K'arta sitting at a table and walked over to see her. Once he reached the table a waiter asked if Jack wanted anything. After asking for a glass of cold water, the waiter went to get his order.
"What do you need to talk about?" K'arta asked abruptly. She sounded like she was extremely busy, probably to do with this S.I. situation. He handed her the PADD that he was holding. It had all the information he had collected on the computer core incident.
"Early this morning, at around 0100 hours, something happened to the main computer core. I don't know what, but I am close to finding out."
K'arta nodded, her eyes not moving from the PADD.
"I would have thought it to be some sort of error, but for the fact that shortly afterwards. the same thing occurred in the secondary computer core."
K'arta looked up at Jack, her facial expression showing anger over what Jack was implying. "Intruder?"
Jack nodded. "I believe so. Probably came on board at Starbase 35..."
[Sanchez to Lieutenant K'arta] K'arta's Com Badge beeped.
"K'arta here." She replied.
[We have a situation here. The few prisoners we have in the Brig are acting up.]
"I'll be right there."
The chief stood up and started for the door. Turning round, she spoke to Jack. "Look into it. I want you to keep me informed."
"Yes Ma'am." Jack replied before K'arta turned and headed for Security.
Jack sat at the table looking out at the stars, and the small swirling vortex that was in view. Alpha would be starting soon.
Lt.jg Jack Lawson
Mac limped into Sickbay holding his ribs. Dr Khatroweena turned from her console a look of surprise on her face. She quickly rushed and helped Mac to a biobed.
“What happened to you, Lt?” she asked suspiciously.
“I…ummm..it..ahh…I had a slight accident on the holodeck during one of my simulations,” stammered Mac.
Running a quick scan of him with the medcorder she listed the injuries as the became apparent…
…bruised ribs, several lacerations to your upper back, a minor fracture to your right upper arm and what looks like a animal bite on the inside of your left leg.” she stopped and frowned, “It almost looks like you were attacked by an animal of some sort?’
Mac managed a slight smile, “It was…ummm…just an accident on my part…if you can give me something for the fracture, I’ll be fine.”
I think you need to review the procedures on HoloDeck safety, Lt. The safeties are there for a reason and should only be bypassed for a very few reasons. You know this will have to bee placed into a report?.”
Mac shrugged, tensing slightly as she injected the Orthoglue into his fracture. He knew that he had lied about the HoloDeck, but he didn’t think that his and K’Eytyanna’s personal lives needed to be public knowledge, atleast not now, anyway. He grimaced as he slid off the table and stood awaiting the doc’s dismissal.
“I want to see you back here in 2 days, Lt. understood?”
Mac nodded as he limped from sickbay. Sometimes pain was worth it.
Lt. Hunter McKenzie, ASST Chief Tactical Officer, USS GALAXY
By: "Ryak Sullax" i2qtnot2b@hotmail.com
Ryak arrived in the transporter room and got a quick feel of what everybody was up to. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that the security escorts had covered off with those of the next shift. Ryak was starting to get used to this. He Walked over to one of the terminals and started making adjustments to the transporter. Ryak was not sure of how this was going to help get the away team out. The turbulence of the vortex was too great. Ryak called up some of his experiments that he was working on when they first encountered the vortex.
As Ryak looked over them he tried to figure out any way that they could get positive locks on the away team. As he was working through his notes he came across something that may be crucial to the away teams safety.
"Computer using the following parameters, how long would a member of the away team's oxygen last in an extreme case that they would have to abandon ship by transporter."
After about two minutes the computer came up with a new number and Ryak just about panicked.
"Ensign Sullax to Captain Price."
"Go ahead Ensign."
"Sir, my estimates on the amount of oxygen that the away team would have was, how do you say, off."
"Why, did you estimate too little time?"
"Actually." Ryak's gut started to turn as he felt the words come out of his mouth. "Less time sir. I am sending the new numbers to the bridge now."
"Price out."
Ryak was unsure how they would take this news. All that was certain was he had to help get these transporters ready for anything.
Chris Gagne
By: "Charles B. Smith"
The away team had been drifting for more than half an hour without saying very much. The revelation that the solidic barrier and the aliens indigenous to this space may be viewing them as a virus was quite a sobering experience.
"Went to a little get-together. . . " Greer began singing. "with some old friends . . . not much has changed . . . since the last time I saw them . . . . . . . there's a chicken in uniform . . . wooden-leg and a match stick arm . . . sayin' left my wing back on the farm."
"You OK Greer?" Lieutenant Morris asked.
"Sure Ronni. You?"
"Yeah." the Delphinian responded. "What were you singing?"
"Just an old Earth tune I picked up a long time ago."
A brief period of silence came over the two scientists. "I hope AC is going to be alright." Ronni remarked.
"Me too Ronni. Me too." Erikson said as he looked at his unwell friend. "Ronni, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"There's something I'm curious about Ronni. You're a scientist, but you seemed to spend a lot of time in an engineering capacity on various assignments?"
"Actually, when I think about it, I guess I did spend a lot more time on engineering-based projects than anything else." the Delphinian explained. "I just seemed to have a nack for spacial design and engineering I guess."
"Yeah, I noticed that when I went through your Starfleet personnel record. If I recall, that's before you got the Engineering Star of Excellence as a practical sciences specialist."
Ronni looked a little flattered. "Later I started some work on trying to integrate various shield technologies to confuse the Borg on the chance that we ever encountered them again. If I remember correctly there were a total now of sixty classes of practical science specialists at that time Starfleet. I was in the second class."
"It was a very potent moment in many people's lives." Greer said as he closed his eyes for a moment.
Greer's EVA systems panel beeped several times before he turned it off. Only an hour of oxygen in his suit left. Ronni gave him a glance, an expression on her face he had never seen before. Although he wasn't convinced it would be over in a little over an hour, he had to accept that without the sonar beacon, the USS Galaxy may have assumed the worst. After losing an away team, there was no way Captain Price would risk the ship and more than one thousand lived to save only a handful of personnel that they didn't even know were alive. It simply wasn't practical.
"Anyway, where were we?" Lieutenant Erikson resumed.
"Umm . . . I . . . oh yes, after working on the anti-Borg shield technologies I got the chance to work with Dr. Leah Brahms and then later transferred to McKinley Station where I worked under Specialist Karen Davies-Jeppo. After a while I found nothing specifically to do and ended up here on the Galaxy." Ronni tried to remember anything else. "I guess being a science officer was the end result. What about you?"
"I guess I really didn't know anything else. My father was an exobiologist and my mother was a doctor. Science was my life in one way or another." Greer replied. "I spent many years travelling between whatever my father and mother were doing when they weren't on the same assignment. I grew up at our family home in Copernicus City whilst my father was stationed on Earth. His parent owned the house for a few generations and even though no one lives there right now, we don't plan on getting rid of it. Then after a while I lived on Altine where my father got a position as research supervisor, then off a year on the USS Kyushu where my mother was a medical officer, then back to Copernicus City, then to live with my grandparents on Earth, and so on. Like I said, I was exposed to the sciences everywhere I went."
"So did they expect you to go into science?" she said.
"No. It was always my choice from . . ." Greer started.
"Oh my God." AC said softly as he gripped his helmet, only to realize he was unable to comfort his aching head.
"How are you feeling buddy?" Erikson asked.
"Not even in my worse dreams could I believe my head could feel like this." AC moaned.
"I don't think I've even seen you this bad after a hangover." Greer smiled. "Well considering what you've been going through I don't doubt it."
Ronni checked her emergency belt beacon and made sure it was still functioning. She and Greer had just got it functioning about an hour previously. It was still working. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something. "Uhm . . . . guys? Do you see that flash over there? Is that a rescue or an attack?"
By: john.kirk@cadresource.com (John Kirk)
Sunder left Cat's quarters with an accomplished sense of service. Good to see her smiling again. He didn't personally know the crewmen trapped in the vortex but he knew that they wouldn't be on the GALAXY if they weren't resourceful. Things would work out. His communicator badge interrupted his thoughts.
" Sunder here. Go ahead. "
" Sir, this is Ensign Hendricks. The bridge is forwarding a message from a Lt. Commander Burtus in SFI for the Security Chief. Lt. K'arta isn't on duty right now so I thought I'd transfer it to you. "
A crease of curiousity crossed Sunder's face. " Is it canned or live? "
" Live sir. He's on stand-by and insisting to speak to someone with authority. "
Sunder sighed. Bureaucrats and lawyers - two things in common abundance in all parts of the galaxy.
" Fine. Keep the officious bugger on hold; I'll head down there and take it. "
" Very good sir. Hendricks out. "
Sunder doubled his pace, annoyed that his routine walk had been disturbed. He passed by Ten-Forward and thought longingly for a steaming cup of mocaccino; an end-of-the-shift pleasure that would be denied to him because of this pumped-up lawyer.
Just then, a sudden noise jolted his mind to full attention! The sound of tables over-turning and people shouting when passing by a bar could only mean one thing to a man in Sunder's position:
A bar-fight.
As if he didn't have enough troubles to deal with at the moment, now he had to put down a squabble in Ten-Forward, of all places.
Spotting the combatants, he strode forward into the fray.
" WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? " He shouted, getting the whole room's attention. Surpised to see that two of the brawlers were two security officers - Neg' Puj and Chen. He turned with a steely glare on them both.
Chen stood up and faced his commander. "A little trouble, sir."
Sunder regarded Chen and Neg'Puj. "Who was involved, Ensign?"
Chen looked at Sunder. "I was, sir."
Neg'Puj piped up and pointed at Terence. "And him, too, sir."
Sunder looked at Terence. "Lieutenant Terence Julius, Engineering?"
Terence nodded. "Yes, sir."
"I'm going to leave a message for your CO. Expect some backlash from this. Get out of here."
"Aye, sir." Sunder hated to see him go with what appeared to be a mere slap on the wrist, but Engineering would definitely hear of this. He would leave it to them to handle their discipline problems. Right now he had a pair of his own to deal with.
Terence looked hard at Chen and left. Sunder looked at Chen.
"Ensign, can I see you for a second? NOW." He dismissed Neg' Puj - he'd deal with her later. Chen was new and needed a more personalized touch. He'd seen Chen's file and understood that the man was carrying a bit more baggage than was customary for Starfleet officers.
Chen nodded and followed Sunder into the hallway. Sunder led him into a corner of the corridor, out of the way. "What was going on in there?"
Chen shrugged. "Sir, I know Lieutenant Julius. And to be completely honest, it's kind of personal."
Sunder recoiled. He studied Chen for a moment and then, "Fine. If that's how you want it, it's your business. But if I hear about you getting in anymore barroom brawls, you're going to think that the universe itself has crashed around you, get me?" Chen nodded. "Good. I will not tolerate my officers to go around fighting for any reasons. This will not happen again, understood? Consider yourself on report. "
Chen nodded. "Yes, sir. I understand." Sunder nodded curtly and strode off. He'd need to think about this later on. This was intolerable behaviour for Starfleet Security officers. He cleared his head and mentally filed it away for future attention. He had to find out what this Starfleet legal-eagle wanted from him.
*************************************************
Moments later Sunder rushed into the nearest Security office. Hendricks threw his superior a glance of acknowledgement and waved his thumb backwards towards the main console.
" I've got him on the stand-by channel. It keeps beeping every few minutes. I pretty much ignored it after the first three. It was all the same: where's your commanding officer? " Hendricks intoned dryly, mimicking the lawyer.
Sunder shrugged. " I usually don't have time for lawyers, but ones working for Starfleet Intelligence have my curiousity piqued. Let's find out what he wants. " He threw the console switch and the screen was replaced with an image of a slim-faced man with close-cropped dark hair. He lloked nervous and agitated, with a distinctive sheen of perspiration on his forehead. Sunder checked his rank pips and noticed he was of equal rank.
Sunder decided to play it diplomatically. " What can I do for you Lt. Commander Burtus? "
The man adopted a demeanour of pseudo-aristocraticism. " It depends on whether you have the authority to do so, Lieutenant Commander. Are you the commanding officer of your security department? "
" I'm the shift commander... " Burtus cut him off.
" Not good enough - I want your commander. "
" She's otherwise indisposed at the moment. You can deal with me.
" Sunder crossed his arms and a menacing frown appeared on his face. Somehow Sunder's imposing presence managed to convey itself across light-years causing Burtus to gulp slightly. " What is the issue? "
" Ah, yes. " Burtus cleared his throat. " Very well then. In regards to ... ", he appeared to consult a PADD off-screen, " Lt Sullax? I'm his legal counsel and hereby ordering you under SFI jurisdiction to release him and clear him of any suspicion. He has our ... sponsorship. "
" Really? " Sunder inquired sarcastically. " Now why would a lowly Science officer attract the attention of Starfleet Intelligence and be so concerned about his welfare? "
" That's our concern, Lt. Commander...? "
" Sunder. " Ursa supplied for him.
" Sunder? Ah yes, I recall the name. In any event, that's our concern and not yours. "
" Perhaps, but you don't understand how things work on the edge of space, Burtus. At this moment, I'm the authority here and I make decisions regarding the status of our prisoners. Mr. Sullax has violated a direct order of the captain in regards to safety procedures. You might not be aware of this, but he also used a secret - albeit defunct - SFI clearance code to accomplish this. In doing so, he's not only acted in defiance of a Starfleet officer's code of conduct but also in direct disregard for basic security procedures on board a starship. "
Burtus looked stunned yet managed to retain his composure. " Nevertheless Sunder, I musty insist that... "
This time Sunder cut him off. " I don't care what you insist upon Burtus. You can't just wave your magic wand and make these charges disappear! This isn't something that'll be overlooked. Over a thousand people know that he committed these acts. I'm not releasing him at your say so. "
" Is that your final word? "
" It is. Unless you'd like a word with my captain? "
Burtus seemed to pale at this. As if this was something he wanted to avoid.
" Fine - but you haven't heard the last of this Sunder. I'll remember you. "
" If you like, I'll even spell my name for you. "
The screen went dark as Burtus cut the connection. Sunder leaned back and scratched his chin in confusion. Why would SI be so interested in Ensign Sullax? One of many science officers on board the GALAXY? What was the connection?
Too many questions. One thing was for sure though - he didn't like people butting their noses in where they didn't belong. The whole conversation had unsettled him as well as frustrating him. If there was something that irritated Sunder, it was an itch he couldn't scratch.
" Hendricks? " He called over to the other security officer.
" Sir? "
" What's the status on Sullax? "
" Last I heard he was on supervised duty. "
" Who's watching him right now? " Sunder asked, walking over to the console.
" We're coming up to a shift change. Chen and Sanchez will be taking over for Rios and Chandor. "
" Good. Order them to bring him in. Suspend his duties, his computer access, everything. When he gets here, I want him searched and held in the brig until further notice. Any communication has to go through me or K'arta first. Relay my instructions to K'arta and the captain. "
Hendricks looked surprised. " What's going on? "
" Our Mister Sullax has got some very high-up friends and I want to know why they're so hot on him being in trouble, even a little bit. "
By: Price
*** Sickbay, ICU ward ***
The two Breen were shown to the chilly ICU unit where their companions were recovering. Doctor Tash walked them into the room, but promptly left them to visit, not wanting to expose herself to the extreme cold of the room. The two security guards likewise waited just outside the ICU ward.
"Erasmo. Erasmo it is Socorro and Isidro. How are you my friend?" the female Breen, Socorro, asked once the four were left alone.
Erasmo stirred upon hearing the voices of his fellow scientific colleague. He and Graigo had been playing like they were sleeping for the Federationers benefit. "Socorro, is that you?" he hissed.
"Yes Erasmo. It is okay. You may speak freely. The Federationers are outside of this healing room. The temperature is beyond their comfort levels." Socorro explained.
Cranking up onto his arms, Erasmo sat up to look at his two friends. He seemed to be a little embarrassed at being out of his environmental suit as he fidgeted awkwardly. "They said our suits were damaged. We have been waiting for new ones to be made, but so far their healers have not provided us with any. Graigo says they took them from us to keep us here." Erasmo said gesturing over to the military officer in the adjoining bed.
Both Socorro and Isidro looked over to Graigo who was now awake. Isidro quickly moved over to his side. "Graigo, Captain Isaias is dead. That makes you the successor."
Graigo leaned forward and then, with surprising speed, quickly snatched Isidro's suit by the chest and pulled him closer, "What have you told them?!" he hissed.
"No.. nothing Graigo! I swear. I have followed Isaias' commands to the letter. I have told them nothing." The Breen scientist groveled.
Graigo's naked eyes narrowed as they evaluated the scientist's sincerity, before turning to fall upon Socorro. "And what of you? What have you told them Socorro the social one?"
Socorro lowered her head slightly, "Nothing of any importance Graigo."
The military leader watched Socorro but was quickly interrupted by her associate, "She lies Graigo. She has been socializing with the Federationers. Took a tour of their vessel...." Isidro explained in an evil, sarcastic tone, as if she had some how defiled the Captain's dying orders, "ask her what she observed in the Federationers projection chambers..."
Graigo was not lost on the fact that Isidro was one to exaggerate to gain favor with his superiors. It was a repulsive quality that the Captain had warned him about before the accident. But he also realized that Isidro was also a great source of information because of it. Turning, the military leader looked at Socorro. "What is this that Isidro speaks of Socorro? Tell me."
Slowly she raises her head, "I was just being friendly Graigo. I meant no harm, and told them nothing of our assignment or technologies."
"The projections. The projections.... Tell him what you told me about their projections!" Isidro demanded like a child impatiently waiting for candy.
"While touring this vessel, I was shown a series of chambers they use to show three dimensional projections. Holodecks I believe they called them." Socorro explained.
"Yes, yes, go on! Tell him!" Isidro insisted impatiently in a growl.
"When passing one of these 'holodecks', I caught a glimpse of a replica of the Hollis." Socorro explained in a saddened tone, "one of the Federationers was examining it."
"You gave them the plans to the Hollis?" Graigo insinuated fiercely.
"No. I would never do that. They must have gathered the information during their rescue attempt in the vortex Successor. Once I realized they were studying our designs, I ceased speaking to them." Socorro explained.
"I told you she was nothing but trouble Graigo." Isidro hissed.
Graigo shook his head, "Enough! What is done is done. Socorro says she did not aid these Federationers, and while she is given to spending too much time in the idle company of others, I have never known her to bend the truth in any matter... which is more than can be said for you Isidro."
Isidro's feigned surprise behind his mask and though his face could not be seen, his body language indicated that the remark had cut him to the quick as he crossed his arms and turned away in a huff of silent brooding.
"What can we do about this 'holodeck' Socorro?" Graigo asked.
"I do not know. The technology is different from our own in many ways. I do not believe destroying the projection equipment would destroy the images. And then there is the Federationers that were working on it." she explained.
"Do you know who they were? Would you recognize these alien Federationers if you were to see them again?" Graigo asked as a plan began to formulate in his mind.
"Yes, Graigo. But they are both no longer on this vessel. They were sent out to explore the vortex that our new weapon created. These Federationers are trying desperately to get them back."
Graigo shook his head. "We mustn't allow that to happen. The data of the Hollis must be purged from this vessel's computer systems and no one that has familiarity of it must be allowed to live."
Isidro unfolded his arms as he listened and glanced at his friend Erasmo laying on the opposite bed. The scientist shared his expression of surprise. "But you heard Socorro explain successor, the Federationer's systems are unfamiliar to us. There is no way for us to extract the data with any degree of certainty."
"Only one way." The military leader said grimly. "This vessel must be destroyed. When the Federationers attempt to rescue their explorers, they will most likely enter the vortex as they did when they tried to capture the Hollis. That is when it must be done. The other Federationers will think they perished in the vortex and the matter will be forgotten."
"No Graigo. We can't do that. These people saved our lives." Socorro pleaded.
"They are vipers Socorro. You know this is true! They did not save us for our likes. These Federationers do not place the same value on live as we do. They are only after the knowledge and technology that we posses. Soon they will resort to torture and other techniques to learn what we know." Isidro said in a racist tone. "You saw that with your own eyes in their projection chambers."
"No... they are worried about their people. They are trying desperately to save them." Socorro stated still unwilling to believe such terrible things about the crew of the Galaxy.
"Yes, desperate. But not for their lives, but for the knowledge they hold. You said it yourself Socorro, two of those they seek to recover are responsible for the images of the Hollis that resides in their projection room. They are no doubt scientists like ourselves, and possibly the only ones currently familiar with those plans. To loose them would set back their conquest plans a considerable amount. And they can not be certain their torturous techniques of extracting information will work on us." Isidro spun his venomous tale to the others present.
"He's right Socorro." Erasmo chirped in, "The Federationers killed my ancestors long ago in the border wars of the distant colonies. They are a ruthless herd."
Socorro lowered her head. It was all too much to deal with. Her heart was telling her that these people meant them no harm, yet at all side she was being told what an terrible danger they were. Reluctantly she caved in. "Perhaps you are right. I do not claim to be the wisest one. And you all have more experience with these Federationers than I do. What do you want us to do successor?"
Graigo's eyes narrowed slightly. "The first order of business is to get us our replacement suits. We can not do anything while confined to this Healer's prison. Once we can walk about this vessel's interior, we can take action."
"I will see to it at once Graigo!" Isidro declared before marching out of the ICU unit to locate the Federationer's head healer and demand that his people be given the replacement EVA suits that were promised.
"Socorro. Use your skills to learn more information about this Federation vessel. We must find a way to destroy it before they manage to relay the information they have learned back to their central government." Graigo ordered.
"Yes first successor. I will see what I can find out." Socorro acknowledged, still uneasy with the thought.
"Erasmo and myself will join you as soon as we are given suits to protect us. This is what Captain Isaias would of wanted Socorro. Remember that. The Hollis was his dream. It's plans can not fall into the hands of barbarians such as these Federationers."
Slowly Socorro nodded her fully suited head. The red glow of her optical scanners wavering backwards and forwards across her EVA helmet. "I will do as you ask Graigo. Be well." She said before leaving.
*****
*** Bridge USS Galaxy ***
"Status report Commander." Captain Price asked over the comm channel.
["Sir. Commander Casey and Ensign Gretzky have finished their adjustments to the Metaphasic shielding. Lieutenant Boudreau and company have reported that the modifications to the Transporter systems are nearly complete, and Lieutenant Mercury reports that the modifications to the deflector dish have just been completed. Lieutenant Samara is just running some last minute checks to verify everything is working as expected. I believe we are almost ready to go Captain."] Joerg explained from Main Engineering.
"Bonzer job Commander. I will have the helm prepare a course to take us into the mouth of the vortex in a few minutes. Have everyone report to their duty stations as soon as they can. Erikson's team is running out of time according to the new numbers I received from Ensign Sullax."
["Understood Captain. I'll secure everything here and head up to the bridge. Will you be placing the ship on alert status Captain?"] First Officer Sterner asked.
"Aye 'mate. this is a critical operation. We will all have to look sharp if we are going to get through this and get Erikson's party back home safely." Lee explained.
["Yes sir. I'll be up shortly Captain. Sterner out."] Joerg replied, closing the channel.
"Lieutenant Bancroft, lay in a course to enter the vortex. Like before, try and keep us centered as far away from the sides as possible." Captain Price explained.
"Yes Captain. right down the middle. Got it." the black hared Chief Helmsman replied giving her gum a quick couple of chews while tapping the controls.
"Lieutenant Thomas, sound Red Alert." Lee said to the Operations Officer.
"Red Alert. Aye sir." Chris said, activating the klaxons.
"Okay people, look alive, we will be heading into the vortex shortly. The Away team is counting on us to get them out. Let's not let them down 'mates." Lee explained.
At the rear to one side of the bridge, Ensign Idana was busily monitoring the Galaxy's sensory equipment at Science Station one. The Red Alert klaxon began to sing out, and the warning light cast a red glow across her hair while she struggled to continue monitoring the sensory readings. So far, they had not been able to detect any sort of signal from the vortex that would indicate that the away team received their transmission. And since the signal from the vortex that contained the life signs of three of the away team members stopped transmitting, nothing had been received. Still, the ensign listened on and made adjustments. Hoping that somehow, Erikson, Morris or Hewson would manage to send some kind of a signal they could use to lock onto to beam them home to the Galaxy.
By: Ensign Ryak Sullax
While Ryak was working he heard the security escorts receive a message from somebody. The two escorts came over to Ryak and grabbed his arms.
"Ok Ensign," one of them said as they picked him up off of the floor. "You have to come with us."
"What!" Ryak started to feel confused and angry, "I have to get these transporters stable before too soon the away team is my priority right now."
"Our orders are to get you too the brig right now." The other security officer stated. "Don't make this any more difficult."
"Listen! I have to get this job done first...." Ryak could feel them starting to get more forceful. "Lives are at stake here!"
"Ensign," The first security officer stated as he pulled his phaser. "Let's go."
Ryak didn't want to make any trouble. He felt lost at this moment. All he could think about was the away team. Everything was going crazy in his life. He looked at the security officers and nodded in acceptance of their orders. The walk to the brig was long. Ryak could only think of the things in the past that he had done to get into this predicament. He knew he did some things very wrong but was doing his best since then to get in the good books of the ship. It seemed not to be working. In a few minutes they arrived at the brig and Ryak was searched. He had nothing of value to be worried about. They looked as puzzled as he did and told him to grab a seat. Ryak sat down and started to think. This was the first moment where Ryak could actually think. He had so many things running through his head. He knew he had to go see Cat, he had to get the away team back, he had to finish the transporter, he had to get his experiments caught up and he had to get his life in order on this ship. Ryak started to think about how many people he had met in this recent mission. Some of the people he didn't know their names or he met them under bad pretences. Ryak started to feel more like a part of something. Ryak after being up for 24 hours laid down in the cell and fell a sleep. His mind full of thought on how could he get back to living a normal life aboard the Galaxy.
By: Kristi
After spending a pleasant day with Colby, Miran went to Ten Forward. She wanted to catch a moment by herself and the window. Then she had to get back to Lara.
She stopped at the bar to order a drink, "Excuse me."
The man stood up suddenly hitting his head on the bar. She felt sorry for him but then he came into view. Her words caught in her mouth. Thoughts of her childhood and the monsters that served at the camp. She had this sickening feeling.
"Yes, but I'm also half Betazoid." That didn't make the feelings any better. Miran could feel the disgust, the hatred that was inside her. The Cardassians had taken everything from her.
"Door, how do you do?" he asked, extending an orange, sticky hand.
"Casey Ti Miran." she said, declining the shake. "I need to go, I'm sorry." She ran out the doors of the lounge, leaving startled people in her wake.
***
Miran lay curled in a ball on the bed. Deiran wasn't there, but it seemed to Miran she was always alone save Lara. What was there a Cardassian doing on this ship? She pulled the Teddy bear closer.
The Teddy bear made her sad though. Deiran had given it to her as a gift, since she had never had one. It was white and had a large red bow stitched below its neck. It remind her of Deiran and wanted him to be there to hold her, to comfort her.
She was once a Starfleet officer, she knew the demands but it still hurt never to have Deiran with her. She thought about taking a trip. She always wanted to see where she was born or maybe she could go to Earth. Lara's adopted Grandparents had never seen their serogate daughter's child. Miran was so confused, hurt, at a lost what to do to pull herself out of the depression that she had fallen into.
She lay there angry at the Universe until she realized that she needed to get Lara. She was quite abit late.
By: Chris Patton
Lt. Thomas sat on the bridge of the galaxy as they prepared to the ship into close proximity of the vortex in an attempt to reach the away team. The crew were still hoping that those on the away team had survived the mission and where waiting for a rescue them.
Everyone was concerned about the lives at risk here, including their own. There had been some debate about whether the away team was even still alive and why should they risk going in to find out they weren't. However when the captain announced they'd be going in to look for the crew of the shuttle. They decided there wasn't much they could do now, and most of what they'd said was limited to personal opinions not professional.
The crew had then been working frantically to get everything ready for the trip to bring the ship close to the vortex, extremely close. This was going to make the entire nervous and agitated, as they considered how close they'd be. Most of the crew held faith in the ship and in the captain to bring them trough this safely.
The ship prepared to enter the disturbance area, and as such the captain ordered the ship to red alert, they were going in. Everyone prepared for what might be the next challenge they would face as a crew.
Chris followed the orders of the captain, and at the same time from somewhere back in his training he prepared himself for the worst. He would have to be ready to assume command if something disatouus went wrong. Though he doubted something going so wrong that he would have to assume command.
There was little else that could be done, that hadn't already been done.
Chris Patton
By: gaijinrussell@sprynet.com
Chen had just been put on duty to watch the Science Officer Ensign Sullax. He wasn't very clear on exactly why that he and Ensign Sanchez were watching another Starfleet officer, but right now he had more pressing matters. His face was sore, he was on report and he was concerned about whatever conflict Julius had scheduled for him.
Suddenly, his comm badge chirped. He tapped it. "Chen here."
[Ensign Chen, Lieutenant Commander Sunder has ordered that you and Ensign Sanchez escort Ensign Sullax to the brig. When you get there, search and detain him.]
Chen sighed. "Understood." Chen glanced over at Sanchez and nodded. They walked over to where Sullax was working at the transporter and grabbed his arms. They pulled Sullax to his feet. "OK Ensign," Sanchez said as they pulled him up. "You have to come with us."
Sullax pulled away, obviously perplexed. "What? I have to get these transporters stable before too soon. The away team is my priority right now.
Chen didn't like having to do this. He'd heard about the away team, and he knew it was a very desperate situation. The fact that he had to do this made him frustrated. "Our orders are to get you to the brig right now," he said. "Don't make this anymore difficult." I really, really hate this, Chen thought to himself.
"Listen! I have to get this job done first." Chen cursed his bad luck at drawing this duty. "Lives are at stake here!"
Chen was just as surprised as Sullax when Sanchez pulled her phaser. "Ensign. Let's go."
Chen saw Sullax deflate. The Science Officer nodded and they headed to the brig. As they were walking to the brig, Chen eyed both Sullax and Sanchez apprehensively. He didn't like Sullax making trouble, though he had a good cause, and he especially didn't like Sanchez drawing a phaser on him for it. Chen decided he and Sanchez were going to talk back in the brig.
They searched Sullax when they arrived and deposited him in a cell. Both he and Sanchez walked to a table in view of the cell. Chen grabbed Sanchez's arm. "Listen to me," he said. "I don't want to see you draw another phaser on another Starfleet officer again unless you have a damn good reason. Get me?"
Sanchez pulled away. "He was making trouble!"
"He was trying to save lives. In case you haven't noticed, there's a crisis situation going on out there."
"We had our orders to bring him in."
"We didn't need you pulling phasers. What if it had gone off at the wrong setting, huh? We'd be down one science officer that we desperately need. Don't do something like that again when I'm around."
Sanchez was seething. "You know, last I checked we were the same rank. Have you been promoted some time that I don't know about?"
"No, but I can talk to Lieutenant Commander Sunder, if you like. I'm sure he doesn't much advocate pulling phasers on unarmed officers, either."
Sanchez looked away and sat down. Chen nodded and sat at the opposite end of the table as they waited for Sunder to arrive.
By: "Dianne Heppel"
Alyssa spent the last few hours after the signal died monitoring, hoping that they received the message the Galaxy sent.
Then Engineering called they said they finished the modifications to the deflector dish and shields. Captain Price then ordered the ship in.
Alyssa then thought that this is something Captain Kirk would pull.
By: e9226192@student.tuwien.ac.at (Joerg Sterner)
Moments after Joerg had closed the comm link to the bridge, the Red Alert klaxon started to sing. He knew that not only the away team's lives were at stake now, but also the ones from all the Galaxy's crew members currently on board. They were given the order to investigate the vortex earlier and now everybody on the ship was going to get the chance to take a closer look at the vortex.
Joerg turned to face the Chief of Engineering again, but since he and his team were still busily working, he decided to let them continue with their work. While the Commander was walking towards the nearest turbo lift, he mumbled "Good work people. I hope we'll get them out of there!" into the empty air, although he knew that there was certainly nobody listening to him at the moment.
Inside the turbo lift, he just ordered "Bridge." and the lift started to move at once, after the doors have closed. After that he tapped his comm badge and informed the personal about the upcoming event and ordered them to man their duty stations as soon as possible.
After that he thought about the things he had just witnessed down in engineering. Lieutenant Mercury and his people were really doing their best to rescue the away team. 'It's in crises times like now, that you could see people's true face. I think if we all survive this encounter, I'll suggest Lieutenant Mercury for a promotion, he definitely deserves it.' Joerg thought while the lift finally arrived at deck 1.
Joerg stepped out of the cabin. While he went down the arch to take his place beside the Captain, he saw that everyone on the bridge was trying to do their best to make that particular mission work. It was quite obvious that everybody was hoping that the away team was still alive and that they were saved, but not everyone showed their thoughts in their face for all to read.
While these things went through Joerg's mind, he finally approached at the Captain's chair, was greeted by Captain Price and sat down beside him.
"It looks like we soon will see the away team again." Joerg tried to bring in some positive thinking.
"We definitely will, 'mate." the Captain gave as a reply.
By: Trevor Ayliffe tayliffe@nexes.edu.au ICQ: 3722239
***** Sickbay *****
Ursa coming to her room was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise. He really made her feel a lot better, rather than the miserable guts she was then. Cat was still worried about Greer, Ronni and AC, but the whole of the Galaxy was doing what it could to get them home. 'That meant they would come home,' Cat hung on to that thought as she returned to Sickbay. Working was a lot better than moping around in her quarters. She had enough reports and articles to look over to keep her busy for a while.
***** Not long later *****
"Medical Log, Khatroweena - 4980401.1702" "Lieutenant Hunter McKenzie had been treated for a number of injuries, specifically scratches, bruises, bites and a fracture. See attached Medical File for specifics." "These injuries were received in the Holodeck with the de-activation of the safeties. What gets to me is that Lieutenant McKenzie is the Assistant Chief Tactical Officer. You would think that the Lieutenant would know better. A report is being sent to Lieutenant Troy Blair, Chief Tactical Officer. I believe some action should be taken maybe administrative action of some type. Hopefully this and the discomfort that Lt McKenzie will feel over the next few days will be a reminder not to deactivate the safeties."
***** About an hour later *****
Cat shivered as the door to the ICU was opened and one of the Breen that had went in to talk with their companions. They walked over to Cat, "Healer, I want to talk to your Head Healer. We wish the return of the environmental suits, so they can leave this place."
Cat hesitated at the forcefulness of the Breen's request. "I, uhh, The suits are damaged. I don't know when replacements will be ready. If you want to talk to Doctor Tash, she is in her office." Cat pointed out Tash's Office. Without another word, the Breen went to Tash's office. Not long after, the second Breen left the ICU and exited Sickbay.
Looking at the time, it would be as good as time as any to check their recovery. After donning some thermal coveralls, Cat entered into the ICU ward.
Cat put on her best doctor smile as she entered, she moved over to the two patients in the ward. "Hello, My name is Dr Khatroweena. Either of you feeling pain or discomfort."
Cat wasn't sure, but if she read the Breen's expression right, she felt he gave her a very sour expression, showing his dislike. Cat opened her tricorder and scanned her patients.
"Well, I think you would be happy to know that your recovery is very good. Within the next few days, you should be up and around and won't need to stay here." Silence was the only response. "If you require anything, just let me or any of the doctors or nurses know. OK?" And Cat left for the warmth of the ward outside.
*********************
By: Scene23
The exhausted young Lt jg walked from Security, headed for his quarters. He had just spent an entire shift looking after the Galaxy's two Breen guests. The aliens weren't any trouble, one of them seemed friendly enough the other day, but guarding their room was a monotonous affair. As tired as Matthew was, he barely stayed alert.
A break in the routine occurred when the two space-suited guests demanded, firmly demanded, to visit Sickbay. *At least it was a change of scenery,* he thought. The rush of cold air that escaped the room upon their arrival quelled any thoughts of following the Breen as they visited their comrades. After their business in Sickbay was through, he and Paran led them back to their residence.
All he could think about after his shift was sleep. He could imagine the feel of a soft pillow under his head. When he arrived at his door, however, he realized he was afraid. He didn't think he could bring himself to lay down upon his bed again. The nightmares, his death repeating each night, and seeing Akira in all those situations, were too much for him in his vulnerable state. He had to think of something else to do.
His face set into a frown, an expression he had not been accustomed to before the Event. Turning, he headed for Holodeck One. An idea struck him, and he wanted to check it out before weariness stole it from him. He called out, "Computer, are there any holodecks free?"
"Negative," replied the computer, "all holodecks are deactivated by order of the Chief Engineer."
Matthew recalled that engineering was modifying the shield system in preparation for their visit to the Vortex. Matthew altered course for Shuttle bay two.
**** later, in shuttle bay two ****
He stood beside his project, a few feet away from Ensign Howard. The two officers were peering into a giant blue cargo drum, halved and laying on its side. A viscous fluid swirled around in the half-tank. Slung over the side of the makeshift tub was a power line attached to several miniature pumps, causing the fluid to churn almost randomly. On a bench next to him, Matthew had placed a tricorder, a heat applicator device that looked like a blunt- nosed phaser, and a small hand-held vacuum.
Howard asked, "So this carefully assembled simulation is supposed to save the lives of the away team? I don't see how." His face was all scrunched up in an expression of childish disbelief. The shuttle repair technician was a skeptic by nature.
Matthew shook his head. "No, I didn't say it would save anybody. I just hope this will prove some ideas I have about the Vortex." He blinked his sore, red eyes. He squeezed his hands tightly, feeling the pain of his fingernails biting into his palms. The sharp pinch helped him focus his thoughts through the haze of sleepiness. "I'm probably too late to show this to anybody, anyway."
Ensign Howard reached out and dragged a finger through the surface of the water, snatching it back before Matthew could swat it with a length of hose. The hose splashed up some of the liquid, and Howard stuck his tongue out at his friend.
Matthew grunted. Reaching down to the deck, he picked up three marble-sized pellets, and tossed them into the pseudo-vortex. First one, then another, and then the third, took up a position near the center of the fluid after bobbing around in the tub. The security officer nodded satisfaction with the behavior of the tiny spheres.
Picking up the tricorder, he made several measurements, shrugged, and put the precision instrument back down. Slowly, the pellets began to migrate with the confused flows of the 'vortex.' He watched them move, thinking about the three people they represented. He imagined for a moment how the officers would react if they saw what he was doing with his toys. The pellets grouped together for a moment, then drifted apart, as if the effort of maintaining relative positions wore them out. Soon enough, after riding different eddies in the vortex, the three came together again. The pellets were very visible one moment, then they dipped deeper into the yellow-blue fluid Matthew had poured into the tub and nearly vanished from view. Matthew thought the simulated Vortex was fairly accurate in color, at least.
He lifted the heat applicator, focusing to keep his hand steady as if he were aiming a weapon. Activating the 'gun,' he heated a section of the 'vortex.' He expected the temperature variant to affect the patterns of motion in the liquid. After operating the tricorder again along with the heat 'gun' he determined that the temperature he applied could not keep up with the flow rate of the vortex. Matthew increased the energy output of his 'gun.'
"Hold this right here," he instructed ensign Howard. "Come on, now. What are you doing watching me if you don't intend to help?" he asked the uncooperative redheaded officer. The ensign agreed, finally, and Matthew proceeded to step two of his experiment, after pausing to let out a great yawn.
The heat device was changing the patterns of the 'vortex,' causing the swirls to detour around the heated area, while the heated liquid channeled itself like a funnel into the center of the pool. All the liquid in the center of the tub migrated to the edges of the environment, a result somewhat similar to what he intended. Matthew grabbed his hand-held vacuum, and watched for his pellets.
Matthew congratulated himself on his apparent success with his experiment. The heat gun represented a modified use of the Galaxy's phasers, while the vacuum represented the transporters, with their effective range minimized by the interference of the vortex. He held the vacuum to the surface of the fluid, waiting for the pellets to appear. He waited and waited.
"I give up, Matthew, what happens next?" asked ensign Howard in his favorite cynical voice. Matthew's hand began to dip toward the tub, and the vacuum's tip became wet. He snapped back awake again at the sound of Howard's voice.
He tossed the vacuum aside, reaching up to cover his eyes. He sat/fell to the deck, and leaned against the tub. "Sorry, Albrecht. I was only kidding," apologized the mechanic, setting down the 'gun' and crossing the shuttle bay to return to his projects.
Lieutenant junior grade Albrecht felt defeated, and broken. He didn't have the will to even clean up the mess he had made of the shuttle bay. *If only I could get some REST* he declared in his mind. *Some REAL sleep!*
He decided to head to sickbay and see if his friend Gakor would prescribe him something to let him sleep through a shift...
Matthew Albrecht
By: Price
The Captain paced around the bridge impatiently while he waited for the word to reach him that the modifications to the Galaxy were all complete. Lee walked slowly from station to station, pausing briefly at each post and observing quietly, before moving on. He noticed it was starting to bother the officers on duty, so he returned to the command well and sat down next to Commander Sterner who also noticed.
"A little on edge Captain?" Joerg observed.
"A bit maybe. Erikson's party is running out of oxygen about now if the newest numbers Ensign Sullax computed are correct." The Captain began, "We need to get them back on board the Galaxy now."
Sterner nodded, "I agree Captain. By the way, Lieutenant Commander Sunder reports that the Ensign is now safely secured in a holding cell sir. Starfleet Intelligence is putting up a big stink over Sullax' unauthorized use of secret override codes. Something about violating his non-disclosure discharge agreement when he was debriefed as an Intelligence operative. Ursa thinks they are going to try and make an example out of him sir. Most probably because he's a Romulan..." Joerg explained.
Lee kept his eyes fixed out the main view screen at the swirling vortex that beckoned the ship. Without moving a facial muscle, he responded, "No time to bother about that now Commander. Starfleet Intelligence is light years from here and we have larger matters on our hands. If this works, and the Ensign's new oxygen calculations are correct, he may have very well saved the lives of the away team." Lee said turning to look at Sterner, "That will make it a little harder for Starfleet Command to bias their treatment of the Ensign."
Joerg gave a nod. "Aye sir, that it will."
A signal beeped from the Operations station. Chris attended to it before turning his head and calling back over his shoulder to the Captain and Commander Sterner, "Sir. Engineering reports we have a green light. All systems are online and functioning. Any time you are ready Captain." Thomas explained.
Lee gave a nod. "Let's do it 'mates. Lieutenant Bancroft, plot a course to take us into the mouth of the vortex. Try to keep us centered to put as much distance between the ship and the turbulent sides as possible. Ahead one quarter impulse mate."
Tebrianne gave her chewing gum a snap. "Aye sir. Down the middle. Got it Captain."
Captain Price glanced at the now raven black hared Chief Helmsman and gave a slight grin. It seemed no matter where he'd order the ship flown, no matter how dangerous the maneuver, Bancroft almost always remain relaxed.
"Ensign Idana, keep a sharp eye on the sensors 'mate. We will be relying on you to locate the survivors of the away team and feed the coordinates to the transporter room for beam out." Captain Price ordered.
Alyssa nodded. "Aye aye Captain." the Trill scientist called out from Science Station one.
"Lieutenant Blair, bring the metaphasic shielding online." Commander Sterner ordered over the back ground noise of the red alter klaxons.
Troy tapped the controls on the tactical arch. "Shields are raised and functioning. Metaphasic shielding is stable and holding sir."
"Course laid in Captain." Bancroft relayed from the Helm.
"Take us in Lieutenant. Slow and easy 'mate, just like when we rescued the Breen." Lee ordered, hoping it would remind everyone that the Galaxy had already successfully done this once before.
Tapping the controls, Tebrianne set the Galaxy class ship into motion, slowly beginning the dangerous descent into the heart of the spiraling spatial vortex. The ship soon entered the maul of the phenomenon, causing the distant stars to disappear. Only the spinning vortex could be seen filling the view screen.
"Shields are holding steady sir. Structural stress increasing, but the metaphasic shields are canceling out the effects as expected Captain." Lieutenant Blair explained from tactical.
"Steady as she goes Lieutenant." Captain Price called out to the helm. "Ensign Idana, any sign of the away team on our sensors yet?"
Alyssa shook her head, "No sir. Entering the vortex helped to reduce the amount of signal skip, but I'm still not reading anything. Maybe when we get closer to the singularity at the event horizon Captain."
"Keep on it 'mate. We know they are out there."
Deeper the Galaxy traveled inside the vortex. The command crew on the bridge grew quiet. Each member busy with their assignments and watching the main view screen at the violent spatial anomaly the Galaxy was exploring.
Then a warning signal sounded from Ensign Idana's console at science station one. Everyone turned to look, including the Captain, hopeful that the away team had been located.
Tapping her console, Alyssa's expression instantly relayed that this was not the away team. Her eyes widened in shock as she called out in a half shout, "Captain, I'm picking up an incoming ship to our stern!"
Surprised, Lee quickly swiveled in the command chair to glance at the Chief Tactical officer.
Troy began playing the tactical station like a grand pianist. "It's a Jem'Hadar ship. They are in an attack formation and closing rapidly. Their weapons are charging...." Blair called out.
"Bloody 'ell." Lee cursed as he turned his head and stared at the churning vortex that they were presently surrounded by. "We are sitting ducks here. Lieutenant Bancroft, evasive maneuvers."
"IN HERE?!" the normally sedate Chief Helmsman let go from her gapping mouth.
"Do your best Lieutenant." Was all Captain Price offered.
"Weapons are locked onto us Captain.... they are firing!" Troy relayed.
Quickly cracking her knuckles and then shaking her head, Tebrianne blew a large bubble while she tapped the controls to the helm, attempting to avoid the enemy fire.
The Jem'Hadar ship swooped down near the maul of the entrance to the vortex and fired two phasers at the Galaxy as she sat there in the center, like a fish in a barrel, with no where to run. The two streaks of energy raced towards the Federation starship even as the Jem'Hadar ship closed, thinking it could pull up at the last moment after witnessing the 'kill' to avoid the maul of the vortex. But they didn't count on the piloting skills of the Chief helmsman. Taking the lateral stabilizers off-line, Tebrianne rolled the Galaxy class starship at the last second, allowing the twin phaser blasts from the Jem'Hadar to rush past the USS Galaxy.
Unfortunately, that was the good news.
The energy from the full discharge of the Jem'Hadar vessel rushed cleanly past the Galaxy, and straight into the heart of the vortex, passing through the singularity and setting up a chain reaction.
A violent release of fluidic energy exploded out of the vortex as the scope and size of the phenomenon increased twenty fold. Gravitational, and geometric stress levels instantly jumped by a factor of ten, violently throwing the Galaxy off it's 'safe' centered course and into the swirling 'sides' of the vortex where it became trapped in the powerful circular currents that had trapped the Breen ship earlier. Not immune to the effects of the expanding vortex, the Jem'Hadar ship was likewise caught in the gravitational pull, but because of the ship's increased speed and momentum, they were drawn even deeper into the spatial anomaly than the Galaxy.
With the lateral stabilizers still off-line, the crew of the Galaxy could feel the violent churning of the ship as she went into a flat spin, pulled along by the vortex. Lieutenant Bancroft struggled to remain in her station, clinging desperately to the control console as other members of the bridge crew were thrown around the deck. Reaching with a desperate hand, she manages to reactivate the stabilizers and pull herself into her seat, regaining partial control of the ships flight path.
"Lateral stabilizers are back on-line Captain...." Tebrianne called out, suddenly forgetting about her gum, if she hadn't swallowed it... "I've leveled us out, but we are still caught in the currents of the vortex. I'm presently just riding with it sir."
Lee got up from the floor of the command well near the banister and stood, straightening his duty jacket before reaching for Commander Sterner's arm to help him up. "Excellent work Lieutenant." Was all he responded with before turning and walking up to the Tactical station.
Lieutenant Blair had a nasty scrape on his forehead where he struck the control panel when the Galaxy temporarily lost control and went into a spin. It looked painful, but Troy shook it off, retaking his station as the Captain approached.
"What happened to the Jem'Hadar 'mate? Are they getting into position for another shot?"
Troy tapped the controls, "No Captain. They appear to have been 'sucked into' the vortex when it expanded. They are presently trapped in the currents as we are."
Lee glanced forward at the view screen. As if reading his mind, Commander Sterner ordered, "On screen Lieutenant." Tebrianne quickly obliged.
Watching the view screen was an interesting experience. While the Galaxy her self was trapped in the circular currents of the tornado like vortex, ever so often a glimpse of the tiny Jem'Hadar vessel could be seen as she spun by further below, nearer to the center of the singularity.
"Are our shields holding 'mate?" Lee asked Troy while still watching the display screen.
"Yes Captain. Metaphasic shields are still maintaining structural integrity through out the ship. There are minor casualties being reported through out the ship, but no real damage to the Galaxy sir." Blair relayed touching his forehead to evaluate his head injury.
"What about the Jem'Hadar vessel? We have metaphasic shielding to keep us together... How long before their shields give out 'mate?"
Troy shook his head, "I'm unable to get a clean reading Captain. But from what we know of this vortex and the gravitational stress it emits, not very long."
"I'm familiar with that ship configuration." Commander Sterner commented, gaining both Blair and the Captain's attention. "It has a very strong hull Captain. Based in some ways on the skeleton structure of an insect. I think it can withstand much more structural stress than a Federation ship could unassisted. However the Jem'Hadar's stabilization and artificial gravity technology is not as advanced as the Galaxy's Captain. I doubt they will be able to regain control of their ship as we did. At least not as easily."
Lee nodded, "I'll keep that in mind Commander. At least we know they won't be doing any more shooting at us."
"Right now sir, I bet they are wishing they waited until after we exited the vortex before ambushing us." Sterner grinned.
"Aye. But I'm sure we made a tempting target being smack dab in the middle of this vortex with no where to run." Lee returned. "Ensign Idana, anything on the sensors?"
Alyssa had managed to return to her post, as did the rest of the bridge crew. "I'm recalibrating them now Captain. The increase in gravity and fluidic current has thrown their setting out of sync. I should know more in a few minutes. It would help if we could get clear of this churning fluidic space and back in the center sir. With the expansion of the vortex,
it might be possible that the singularity likewise increased, which may help us to locate the away team if we could get a clear line of sight signal through."
Captain Price nodded. "Do your best Ensign. Getting free of the vortex' currently is a top priority, I assure you. Our metaphasic shielding won't last indefinitely, and the away team is still running out of time..." Lee paused and then queried, "Computer, time remaining for oxygen supply of the away team using Ensign Sullax' last estimates?"
["The away team has 26 minutes remaining using the latest available data."] the computer quipped dispassionately.
"Okay 'mates. We need to get moving, and moving quickly if we are going to get out of this. The away team, and the entire ship is counting on us." Lee reminded.
By: "Dianne Heppel"
By Dianne Heppel
For the past few hours Alyssa remained on the Bridge monitoring the Vortex hoping that the away team received the signal the Galaxy sent and are trying to formulate their own signal to send to the Galaxy. Everyone on the ship was nervous and worried but it seemed to hit Captain Price worse. Most of the time that they were waiting for the modifications to be completed Captain Price was pacing the bridge moving from station to station looking at what was going on on each individual console. He had to have come by Alyssa's Station a good 6 times during the last hour Alyssa thought. When he finally noticed that it was beginning to bother the officers on duty he sat down. Alyssa tried not to let her nervousness show. With her enhanced hearing Alyssa was able to hear the Captain and the Commander talking, something to do with Starfleet Intelligence and Ensign Sullax being placed in the Brig. Alyssa ignored this thinking it was none of her business.
Then they got the Green Light from Engineering, the Modifications were complete and they could proceed into the Vortex. Captain Price then told Lt. Bancroft to plot a course for the center of the Vortex.
They then entered the Vortex. Captain Price then told her to watch the Sensors for the Away team. Alyssa thought Well what does he think she's doing now but she kept her mouth closed. Partially through the Vortex Captain Price asked "Any sign of the away team on the sensors yet?" Alyssa replied "No sir though entering the Vortex improved sensor reception I am still not picking them up maybe when we get closer to the center of the singularity we will." the Captain replied "Keep on it mate we know they are out there." Then her console beeped. She suddenly got very excited thinking it was the away team. She was shocked to find out it was a ship entering this sector. The chief Tactical Officer confirmed it as a Jem Hadar ship in attack formation. (Oh Great just what we need) thought Alyssa.
"Lt. Bancroft Evasive maneuvers." said Captain Price. "IN HERE?" Alyssa heard her call out. this surprised Alyssa since all the time she ever saw Lt. Bancroft she was calm. "Do your best Lt." said captain Price.
"Weapons are locked onto us Captain...... they are firing!" relayed the Tactical Officer.
The Jem'hadar ship then fired two Energy bolts at the Galaxy and closed thinking it could avoid the pull of the vortex. The Lt. Bancroft took the Lateral Stabilizers off line and sent the Galaxy into a roll. "So much for lunch" thought Alyssa.
The maneuver did its trick the energy bolts missed us. The energy bolts hit the Singularity and caused a chain reaction enlarging the Vortex and exploding Fluidic Energy outward. This caused both the Galaxy and the Jem Hadar cruiser to be sucked farther into the vortex. While the Galaxy was sucked into the Violent sides of the Vortex and managed to stabilize the Jem hadar cruiser didn't have the same luck and was sucked farther into the vortex Luckily our metaphasic shields were still holding
Alyssa overheard a conversation between the captain and the Commander about how long the Jem'hadar would last in this vortex. The commander said that he was familiar with the configuration of a Jem'hadar cruiser and he said that they will be able to hold out longer than a federation Starship because the hull of their ship is tougher and can withstand more. He also said that the Jem'hadars stabilizers and Artificial Gravity isn't as advanced and that he doubted that they will be able to stabilize the ship as easy as we did. That came as a relief to Alyssa.
By: Daniel Lawrence Josephs
"Sir, all systems are go, we are ready to enter the anomaly."
"Thank you Ensign, I will give the green light to the bridge, look sharp we are not out of the woods yet." David was confident that his crew would get the job done even under the pressure he was putting on them. David sent a message to the bridge that all systems were ready and gave them a green light to enter. The bridge had engage the metaphasic shields and started to move towards the event horizon. "Ensign Knight keep a close eye on those power outages, I realize that we patched the problem but who knows how long that patch will last. Tell me if there are any flucuations in the readings. Ensign Precott, keep on eye on the main deflector, those modifications are what we need to locate our guys." Suddenly Galaxy started to manuever off course. "Knight status report, did the shields fail?"
"No sir, it appears that we have a enemy ship targeting the Galaxy. They are firing sir!" Knight announced.
"We are sitting ducks in this anomaly, we can't manuever the shields are very unstable, a direct hit might overload the metaphasic modifications. I need to get to the bridge! Knight you are in charge until Lieutenant Boudreau gets here." David quickly entered the turbolift. "Bridge" The turbolift doors quickly closed. "Mercury to Boudreau"
"I am way ahead of you David, I am almost in Main Engineering. What can I help you with?" Melissa had realized that something was wrong when the Galaxy moved off course and quickly got to Engineering.
"I going to the bridge I need to make sure the shields hold up. I need you to make sure the transporter and the main deflector dish stays on-line." The Galaxy was being tossed back and forth. "Check that, I think the laterial stablizers just went off-line, help the bridge get them back on-line we can't get control without them. Melissa, the transporters and deflector are our life lines to get them out safely. We need them working!" David could barely stand the ship was shaking so much. Finally the turbolift stop and the doors openned. David gripped the railings and pulled himself out of the turbolift.
"Glad you can make it, Lieutenant, it appears the Jem'Hadar are interested in making this rescue operation as difficult as possible." the Captain felt a little more at ease with David keeping an eye on the shields. The both knew how vital they were to the mission.
"I would have been here sooner but I had a little trouble standing in the turbolift. The stablizers always seem to fail when I am in the turbolift. Remind me to correct that when this is over." David walked over to Science Station II, and check on the status of the shields. "Captain shields are holding and metaphasic modifications are stable, I have Lieutenant Boudreau keeping a close eye on the transporters and deflector dish."
"Thank you Lieutenant."
Dan Josephs
By: RC Laven
AC desperately tried to keep himself aware of what was going around him and what Greer and Ronni were saying. When they spoke it often sounded like a gibberish but he couldn't be sure. It had been some time since his last attack, at least he was pretty sure he hadn’t been contacted with the aliens for sometime. His mind was spinning too much to remember exactly.
The thoughts running through his mind seemed to all merge into one large collection of images and voices. For some reason, he was trying to remember the last time he recalibrated the power flow conduits on deck 16. Suddenly, he felt someone grab onto his arm. Through the helmet of her EVA suit, AC could make out the face of Ronni Morris. He tried to fashion a smile, but he suddenly became horrified as she ripped the skin of his suit and pulled at his breathing tube.
“Oh my god!” AC thought. “She’s trying to kill me! She’s trying to cut off my air supply! Despite his enormous will, AC could not muster any strength to fight off his attacker. He tried to cry out. He tried to pray.
After a few moments he realized that Ronni had already attached the oxygen tube to Greer’s EVA suit. She was connecting a lifeline.
"It's alright AC." she said in a calm voice, as she tried to calm down the engineer. Greer hung there to watch her secure the tube which seemed to also act as a tether, his face getting warmer as blood rushed to it.
"I should put you on report or something like that. Isn't that what they do when someone disobeys an order from a senior officer." Greer said a little annoyed. "There's no regulation about not letting a senior officer die. I may not know much about command but I know that."
"Well Lieutenant Erikson, I guess you can make that your first priority when we get back." the Delphinain replied. "Lets put it this way, I have a personal regulation about not letting a senior officer die while I'm in their away team."
Greer shook his head stubbornly. "Well I found the logic behind you initial remark to be flawed. There was no reason to drag me around if I were to . . . umm . . . well, for want of a better word, to . . . expire."
"You sound like Lieutenant' Grump." Ronni said cheekily.
Greer considered the comparison for a moment. "So you think I'm cute hey?"
"Shut up Greer."
"Excuse me Ms. Morris?" Lieutenant Erikson laughed. "At least I haven't lost my my sense of humor."
"We can still hope." she said as she checked the modifications to the suits.
"Would you rather that I start singing again?"
"Please don't. I think I've heard enough out domestic foul in uniforms, with wooden legs, and something called matchsticks for arms." Ronni said as she rattled off the unusual lyrics. "Who comes up with stuff like that anyway?"
"This from a woman with who made the choice to wear a bright red outfit the night we did the production of 'The Tempest' a few weeks ago."
"I don't see what's wrong with that particular outfit." Ronni protested.
"The style of the outfit itself was fine, the material was fine, but the way it lit up against the blue hue of your skin, it made you look like as neon light of some description." Greer jested. "You could have nearly provided the lighting for the whole play."
"Well!" she exclaimed. "Since when did you become an expert on women's clothing."
Greer laughed. "Hey, I was just kidding." he said as he raised his hands, motioning surrender.
After a few moments Ronni's face changed to a smile and the pair of them began to laugh. AC rolled his eyes at the pair of them but was too tired to really get a hearty laugh going. Instead he smiled.
"Look who's back Greer."
Taking the tricorder from Ronni, the Human scientist ran the diagnostic tool over the ill Alan Hewson. "How are you feeling right now?"
"A bit cold actually."
"Your overall body temperature is down by 1.2 degrees . . . after having to breathe under these conditions, and the stuff that has been going on in that mind of yours, I'm not entirely suprised that you would be exhibiting signs of physical stress." the scientist said as he analyzed the data from the tricroder. "Even with the environmental suits, I'm having a bit of a problem too trying to breathe normally."
"Have you guys figured out a way to stop them."
"I don't think we could even if we wanted to. There's only the three of us in these environmental suits and they appear, if your visions were correct, to have entire fleets of vessel we've never even seen before." Ronni explained, not sure if AC was entirely aware of their situation.
"No, I meant stop them from getting to me. In here." he said as he pointed to his head.
Ronni and Greer looked at each other with a solemn expression. "We considered trying to reconfigure the tricorder but there was a big chance we would loose it entirely and there was not guarantee it would have worked. We've already lost two tricorders as it is. I'm sorry buddy, but I need you just to try and hang in there. At the moment you are our only guide to what is going on."
AC closed his eyes as if to summon up his strength. "Alright, I'll try."
"We're right here Alan." the Delphinian said as she patted him on the shoulder. "We're right here."
For half an hour, as Greer watch Ronni comfort AC, he fidgeted with the tricorder as he felt his heart sink to a new depth. He justified to himself that the discomfort and pain his friend was going through would hopefully save the away team and perhaps, when they get back to the Galaxy, even save the ship they called home. In essence he was allowing a friend to be mentally invaded as they using him as a Human tricorder to gather information on this possible threat this new species might provide.
They knew the vortex was the key and the aliens here were fixated with it. Why? How? For what purpose, they could only speculate, except through whatever the engineer saw in his visions. It seemed they were a disease to this universe, the solidic barrier and their immense charged weapon they used to destroy the Breen vessel as their antibodies against the tiny invaders. Even a biologist like Greer had never seen such an interdependence between a species and their environment like this before.
As he thought, the tricorder he had used to scan Hewson with began to make an alarming, high-pitched series of beeping sounds. It caught the attention of both Hewson and Morris also. Opening up the instrument, Erikson looked at the readout.
"What's going on?" Ronni said impatiently, unable to see what was being displayed on the tricorder from where she floated.
"Ronni, forget what I may have said about tethering us together being a bad idea."
"Why Greer?"
"The tircorder is detecting an increase in velocity in the current we're currently in all surrounding currents." Greer said as Ronni looked for a visible sign of what might be causing the disturbence. "Get ready to hold on!"
Two seconds later, a sudden gush of fluidic matter swept passed them as the current they were riding began to significantly increase in velocity. Like tiny plankton in an ocean they were helpless to avoid the torrent as it passed over them. Ronni lost her grip on AC for a moment, only for his tether to sling-shot back at her as the stress as it flung him back in her direction.
In the distance they could barely see the rip between the two universes enlarging as a flood of fluidic matter flowed towards it. Exhilarating, apprehensive, and somewhat relieved that something was happening to distance them from the menacing solidic barrier, the away team clung to each other to ensure the tethers would not break. Despite Ronni's engineering abilities, they couldn't risk any of the breaking and venting the last of their breathable atmosphere.
"Is it them?" AC asked.
"I don't think it's the aliens." Erikson said calmly. "If we can claim that we understand what's going on here, these aliens of yours want to close the vortex, not make it larger."
"The Galaxy!" Ronni said with a little excitement in her voice as she posed the thought that crossed their respective minds.
"If it is, I wish they would have chosen a less dramatic entrance." Greer said as he squinted his eyes, watched the opening for any signs of a ship or probe, "I could be wrong, but I doubt that the Captain would authorize messing about with a phenomenon they don't know much about. After all, that's one of the reasons we ended up here in the first place . . . we didn't know what we were dealing with."
By: "Trinajay"
Jurelle looked up as one of the visiting Breen entered her office. She frowned at the creature barging into her office and waved the security guard following it back.
"Hello, can I help you?" She asked the Breen.
"I wish for you to release my companions, they are no longer required to be here."
"Well sir, I would like to do that. But I am not entirely happy with their progress. And there is the small matter of environmental suits." The Breen looked unpleased at her answer. "We are making some progress with fashioning new suits for your companions, but if we were to have your assistance in the matter.."
"I will provide someone to help you." Jurelle looked in surprise as the Breen spun on its heels and disappeared out the door.
She got up to see the Breen out of the sickbay, but they had already left, although a cold feeling remained.
"Pleasant folk." She quipped to no-one in particular as she went to look in on the Breen patients.
She shivered as she entered the room, unsure if it was the temperature or the expression on her patients faces. The two Breen stared at her as she looked at the monitors surrounding them. They really were ready for release, their wounds were healing, but she was unwilling to release them without the environmental suits. The added stress of coping with the usual temperature of the ship would greatly compromise their continued healing. And frankly, she didn't really want to see them back in sickbay. Hopefully, with the promised help, they could get the suits ready and the Breen out of her sickbay and the temperature back to normal.
She sat in her office chair, thinking of the disdain on the Breens faces, wondering what made the race have that feeling of superiority over every living being. She shrugged as she put the Breen out of her mind and got down to the business at hand.
It seemed it was time for crew physicals again. She was sure it hadn't been that long since she'd had a physical. Anyway, she was in perfect health, Nilani need not waste time on her. She smiled as she saw Dieran Casey's name on the list, thinking it would be a hot day on Breen before he would be seen in sickbay. Then she had an idea...
"Computer, record message to Dieran Casey. Begin recording. Dieran, regarding our conversation some days ago, I would be happy to look after your beautiful baby any time. I also look forward to seeing you in sickbay shortly for the regulation annual physical. Please give my regards to your wife and child. End recording." Jurelle grinned as she sent the message on its way.
Jurelle Tash, CMO, USS Galaxy.
By: "Daniel Woodward"
*** Sick Bay ***
"Endris--- you look"... "Hungry," said Doctor Tash after an elongated pause. Indeed, the Tellarite's frizzy hair was in greater disarray than normal. Ever since discovering Ensign Dana's elevated pheremone levels, she hadn't had a moments rest. The Trill CMO with an excellent rapport of psychology, knew Gakor could be distracted with a promise of food.
"Why don't you go to Ten Forward for a bite to eat? I can mind the store for a while." Not for the first time, Gakor wondered how much wisdom was from the Tash symbiot and how much came from Jurelle herself. But the immunologist heard a new bartender had recently joined the Galaxy family. *Perhaps this Door gentleman knows some new recipes!*, she though charmingly.
Smelling the opportunity for Oinkus, Endris trotted off to the lounge for a refreshing meal.
*** 10 Forward ***
Civilian Door was quite entertaining. While he was preparing some T'Overt eggs, the man mixed an Aeglian Fiz. Two liquids, one deep azure, and one pale, but almost clear, mixed and displaced each other. That made her think of the Fluidic space. Perhaps, there was a way to displace the "liquid" without harming it. A correctly prepared device might be able to push the barrier between the Galaxy and the away team members away.
Quickly chomping down her Feastium, Gakor resolved to head to engineering. Exiting the lounge, she nearly bumped into Albrecht in the corridor. "Matthew!", she exclaimed, "You look tired. Have you been sleeping okay?", inquired the Doctor.
The security officer confirmed he was not resting well, and Gakor plied him with questions, finding several other symptoms. She also learned the Galaxy had entered the Vortex. *Anxiety levels are bound to rise*. The Doc added Counselor Wilson to her list of people to contact. After all, the well being of the crew required cooperation between both the Medical and Counselling departments.
Gakor consigned Albrecht with a PADD for a sominatic inducer. "That should help you sleep. Let me know if it works.", she said with a smile. Meanwhile, she wondered what medications the rest of the crew might require in response to the frustration level. Perhaps it was time to break out the Valium. Only time would tell.....
*** Main Engineering ***
Gakor recognized Lt. Mercury from the last round of crew physicals. The man was covered with what appeared to be grease, but she was sure it was just some kind of solvent or something. Her heightened sense of smell did not indicate a foul odor, so it was probably a chemical used by engineering.
Waving, she attracted his attention. This was difficult, since in her excitement, Gakor had carried the Argelian Fiz from the bar. The Bacon Lady looked more than a bit comedic holding the exotic concoction!
Finally, he noticed how the two liquids mingled but did not merge. His lighting quick brain was stimulated towards new possibilities. Without actually meeting for dialog, Endris thought he mumbled something about Graviton emitters before disappearing down a Jefferies Tube.
By: Rob
"A Fairy Tale: Part 1"
Casey looked at Door. He did not read any subversiveness in his eyes. He was a bartender who lived peaceably with other lifeforms around him, as the Prophets directed. But, this one encounter had not convinced Deiran.
"Thank you for the drinks Door. I did not mean to offend. I’m a Starfleet Officer and its my duty to protect the Federation, its citizens, this ship and my family. I’m just doing my duty," Deiran smiled heartily. Keeping the atmosphere light and cheerful. "My wife was abused by Cardassians, her family killed by Cardassians. So you can imagine my apprehension."
Gretsky finished his drink and left. Leaving Casey at the bar by himself. He looked out into the expanse of space. The events of the last 30 hours cemented into his thoughts. He’d like to be drinking his grape juice with Greer or even Ronni. Even though she’d be hounding him relentlessly.
Deiran took his drink and walked over to a table by a window so he could look out into space. He couldn’t sleep. He was off duty. He’d done everything he could to get Greer and Ronni home. And had worked almost double shifts if you added the hours he spent on the Bridge and roaming the ship assisting the crew in modifications of the ship.
He had one thing to do. He needed to be with his wife. He missed her so much, since the war started he barely had time to be with her. He was sorry that he was working so hard. His family was so important to him. Miran and Lara was life to Deiran, like blood in his veins and oxygen in his lungs. He needed them desperately.
"Computer, are there any Holodecks available?" Deiran asked the computer at a console in Ten Forward.
"Holodeck 2 is available for the next 2 hours," the computer voice replied.
"Reserve it for those 2 hours for the Casey family."
He would spend time with his family. There was nothing else he could do. If the Captain or anyone else needed him they could find him in the Holodeck. That’s why Starfleet officers had comm badges.
"Deiran Casey to the lovely and wonderful Miran," Casey said as he tapped his comm badge.
[Hello Deiran] Miran laughed a little at Deiran’s greeting.
"Hi honey, would you and Lara meet me at the entrance of Holodeck 2? Don’t ask questions its a surprise."
[Lara is asleep] Miran replied, reluctant to leave their quarters.
Deiran detected that she was down. Her voice was cracking, like she’d been crying.
"Miran, sweetie, please. You’ll really enjoy the surprise. Besides I have something planned for Lara too. So come please? Please honey?" Deiran begged.
[Okay, I’ll meet you there in ten minutes. I need to dress.]
"Thanks hon, see ya then, " Deiran replied. Miran cut the link.
Deiran finished his juice, left the glass on the table and exited Ten Forward.
*** Turbolift ***
As Deiran entered the turbolift to the Holodecks he was surprised to see Cat.
"Well Cat, what a surprise. How are you?" Deiran asked, smiling that Casey smile. Deiran was charming even when he wasn’t trying to be.
"Fine ‘Commander. And yourself?" Cat replied, not exactly her upbeat self. Deiran noticed right away.
"Has Jurelle been busy? I have been trying to get in touch with her, but she is ignoring me."
"Yes, she has been working on saving the Breen we have on board," Cat replied.
"Yes, I remember the briefing. She’s taking a hands on approach I see. On a happier note, I hear you and ‘Commander Sunder had dinner together?" Deiran stated, not really a question, but he phrased it as one.
"Well, word sure gets around doesn’t it?" she replied.
"I overheard it on the Bridge during Gamma shift. A science officer saw you two together. I was just curious. Is it serious?" Deiran asked mischievously.
"I don’t know," Cat replied, blushing red. "You’re due for your check-up by the way."
Just as she said that the turbolift doors opened and Deiran exited so quickly Cat thought he just vanished into thin air. It was well known by all the medical staff that Deiran hated Sickbay. He wouldn’t be caught easy. It’d take a law from the Federation Congress to get him to submit willingly. And the Federation had more important things to deal with like running the Federation than running Deiran’s life.
Deiran wouldn’t submit to a check-up easily. They’d have to catch him and strap him down. Memories of his childhood nightmare on the Glory came rushing back. The horror that took place in sickbay as he and his sister hid underneath a biobed. It still haunted him. He wasn’t afraid of sickbay, just the trauma he experienced there as a child.
*** Holodeck Two ***
Deiran stood at the entrance to the Holodeck. "Computer, run program Casey 0127-RUS. Include the auxiliary program please."
The computer chirped and beeped as it executed Deiran’s instructions. "Casey program 0127-RUS is currently running, all specified parameters are loaded."
Deiran then turned around, picked up the two dozen roses he’d grown in the Arboretum. He’d wrapped them in a green paper, did his best to arrange them so they looked as beautiful as possible. He even genetically altered them so they had no thorns.
A few minutes later his beautiful wife, their daughter in her arms, walking down the hall on their way to him. His heart began beating like a drum, picking up the pace as she grew near to him.
She walked up to him and smiled.
"These, lovely lady, are for you. They aren’t as beautiful as you are, but then nature is flawed." Nature was flawed, he was implying she wasn’t.
Miran blushed red. She loved the attention.
"What are we going to do?" she asked impatiently.
"We’re going to spend time together," he replied, grinning. He could see the curiosity in her eyes. "I’m going to treat you to two hours of pampering my dear Queen."
Deiran opened the doors to the Holodeck. Miran’s jaw dropped as she saw what was inside.
To Be Continued………
By: Kahn Nilani
Galaxy "Off Duty"
Some of the Medical exams had already been completed. D'tarna was still chasing up Derian, I looked over at the time and chucked my PADD down on the table.
"That's it I need a break!"
I got up and walked to the TL. Once I entered I requested Ten Forward, the TL rushed to the right deck the doors opened and I walked out. I headed dow the passageway and got to the doors, I walked into Ten forward and moved to the Bar. I got to the bar not looking up.
"Yeah can I have a Bajoran Spring wine?"
["Not a problem Ma'am."]
I knew that voice. I looked up and quickly saw a Cardassian, the person changed to a Gul from my past I quickly jumped back and went into a fighting stance then the image changed again back to the person.
["Ma'am are you ok?"]
"Um. Yes just a little tired that's all, I need to sit down."
I found a chair beside a view port and sat down in it. The barman walked over to where I was sitting.
["Ma'am did I do something?"]
"Um no. I have been working to hard! I was a little shocked by having a cardassian on the ship. I have never forgiven them for what happened to me and my familly. I see you follow the prophets?"
["Yes, I belive in the prophets."]
"Well you will have to excuse me, I am still not used to having even a Part Cardassian on the ship. Look can I be left alone for a while, I need to think!"
["Yes I understand"]
The Barman got up and walked back to the bar. I sat there looking out into space, It was like a million things going through my mind. Seeing my parents die at the hands of cardassian guards, watching the mining teams and the death camps. I sat there looking out into space silently crying.
By: Price
Lieutenant Bancroft had managed to regain partial control of the Galaxy's flight path. The ship was still trapped in the spiraling currents of the vortex, but she was no longer spinning out of control. Instead, Tebrianne had the ship riding the spiral flow of the churning fluidic phenomenon as if orbiting the central singularity around which the spatial anomaly was focused. While it wasn't really helping the Galaxy to get free of the vortex, it was reducing the stress levels and conserving power on board the ship. Power that may be needed to break free of the vortex.
Captain Price began to pace again, finally stopping at the engineering station where Lieutenant Mercury was monitoring the ship's modified shielding systems. "There must be something we can do to break free of these currents 'mate. We just need to figure out what it is, and quickly. The away team doesn't have much time."
David finished checking out the metaphasic shield levels and looked back at the Captain. "At least the modified shield generators are holding sir. That's one thing in our favor."
"What do we know about this vortex Lieutenant? There must be something about it we can use to our advantage. Some way we can use physics to help aid us break free from these currents." Captain Price asked.
David gave the Captain a nod and noticed Lieutenant Thomas walk over from the Ops, listening in on the brain storming session. "Well Captain, the vortex is originating from the singularity. It's gravitational attraction seems to be what is causing the fluidic matter we are presently surrounded by to orbit the singularity's focal point."
"I see, and the only thing we know about this fluidic substance is it appears to be coming from beyond the singularity?" the Captain asked.
"So far, yes sir." the Chief Engineer responded, "And it's expanding sir. Whatever that phaser blast from the Jem'Hadar did, it seems to have increased the production of the fluidic matter. That's why the vortex suddenly expanded, catching the Galaxy and the Jem'Hadar ship in it's current." David explained.
"It's almost like the singularity is bleeding." Chris commented.
Both Lieutenant Mercury and Captain Price turned to look at the Operations Manager for a moment after hearing his speculation. "Are you suggesting that the phenomenon is alive Chris?" David asked.
"No, not really. But you could look at it as if the phaser blast punched a hole through the singularity and this fluidic matter then started to pour out. Kind of like blood from a wound." Lieutenant Thomas explained.
Captain Price nodded at the interesting analogy. "I wonder if there is any merit to that hypothesis Lieutenant. If so, then maybe this fluidic substance contains some sort of trace elements similar to our own blood that we could some how use to help us free ourselves?"
The genesis of an idea appeared to form of the face of the Chief Engineer, "You mean like Iron in our own blood? Yes. if that were the case, we might be able to create some sort of polarized field around the Galaxy that would cause us to repel using magnetism for instance."
"Or separate like vinegar from water." Chris added while moving over to the rear Operations station and tapping into the Galaxy's computer system. "I can probably take a quick sample and run an analysis on it. You never know, we might just luck out. Its worth a try sir." Lieutenant Thomas explained to the Captain who stood by and watched.
Placing a hand on Chris' shoulder he nodded, "Good thinking 'mate. Work with Lieutenant Mercury and see what you can come up with. And remember, minutes count. The away team is counting on us."
*****
*** Sickbay, ICU ***
Isidro came walking in with two other Federationers wearing gold shirts under their jackets, but without the weapons that the other Federationers who wore gold had. Socorro immediately got the impression that they were not sentinels, especially since they were carrying Federation style environmental suits.
"These will have to do Socorro. I have made modifications to these Federationers equipment. Their environmental technology is far inferior to our own, particularly when dealing with lower temperatures, but I have been able to enhance their meager systems for our use." The haughty Breen scientist explained.
"Good. Erasmo and Successor Graigo will be pleased. Come, let us bring these to them."
The two Federation Engineers that were carrying the EVA suits did not seem too pleased with the male Breen's comments, but were told to be diplomatic, so they refrained from making a rebuttal, or pointing out that it was the Galaxy's "inferior technology" that rescued their sorry butts in the first place, and allowed them to survive they initial contact with the vortex.
They entered the ICU ward, the two Breen and the two Galaxy Engineers, in spite of the extreme cold. They would be needed to help outfit the two Breen in the modified EVA suits, and to make adjustments for any unforeseen problems that might have arisen. Within a short time, they had finished, the preliminary tests indicated that they were successful. That the modified Federation environmental suits were functioning with the low temperature modifications.
"Everything appears to be working. How do you feel Erasmo?" Socorro asked.
"Just splendid. Much better than without these suits, even if they are unnecessarily bulky." The elderly scientist replied.
"That can not be helped." She explained, "These suits were designed for pressurization in the vacuum of space. Not just for temperature and respiratory use like our own suits." Socorro explained.
"They will have to do." Graigo said flatly. His voice had more authority and power than it had prior to putting on the EVA suits. The environment obviously agreed with the Successor.
"What shall we do now Successor?" Isidro groveled.
His eyes darting to the two shivering Federation Engineers, Graigo pointed, "We shall leave here. These Federationers can not take the extreme cold. Come, we exit." He motioned.
Shifting from leg to leg, rubbing their numb hands together and up and down their arms, the two Engineers seemed to think that was a good idea. White frost had began to form on their eye brows and lashes, and the billowy steam of their breath could be seen with each exhale. Moving quickly to get back to the warm part of the ship, the Engineers lead the way out of the ICU ward with the four Breen right behind them.
They exited and began walking through sickbay. Entering the main triage area, they were greeted by two security officers who were waiting patiently by the entrance to Sickbay near the main corridor across the room. Doctor Tash frowned when she saw the minor frost bite that was evident on the two Engineers. "I told you two not to stay in there for very long!" Jurelle scolded going for her medical equipment, "You were supposed to drop off the suits and then exit."
"They needed our help to fit them together Doctor." One of the Engineers, Specialist Peter Sang, explained.
Doctor Tash went to start treating Mr. Sang's injuries when the nearest Breen, the one wearing a modified Federation EVA suit, grabbed the Specialist and shoved him into her, knocking the Doctor over. The Breen continued to shove the Specialist in a rush towards the startled security officers. He was holding the Specialist's arm in some sort of martial arts lock, and using his body as a shield before crashing him into the two Security officers, taking one down immediately.
Following the leading Breen, the others also rushed forward. One picked up a stainless steel medical tray and used it to strike a near by medical tech, gashing his target's chin and sending the medic to the floor in a crash.
The other Federation outfitted Breen ran to help the first with the remaining Security officer. They were struggling with the phaser, each had their hands around it and were swinging their stiffened arms in an arc, trying to wrestle the weapon away from the other. The skirmish was quickly ended when the third Breen, the one with the metal tray, struck the Federationer over the head, causing him to fall to the ground in a daze and relinquish his grip on the phaser.
"Isidro no!" one of the Breen, the female, yelled after the other knocked the Security guard over the head with the tray a second time.
"There is no time to worry about these Federationers Socorro." The elderly scientist scolded from inside the Federation EVA suit, "We must locate the stolen information they posses of the Hollis before they use it to further conquer the quadrant." Erasmo hissed.
Taking the phaser, the other Breen in the Federation suit nodded his agreement. "Erasmo is correct. If we are not able to reacquire the stolen technological data from the Federationers commuter systems, we will have no choice but to destroy this vessel."
The words took a moment to sink in, but eventually they did, and all of the Breen realized the Successor was serious. Picking up the second phaser, he tossed it to Isidro, "Take this." Graigo said, "You and Socorro head to these 'holodecks' she mentioned and see if there is a way to destroy the Federationers data. Then head to this vessels main shuttle bay. We will meet you there if you are not caught."
Isidro nodded at the instructions while studying the Federation hand weapon he'd just been given.
Socorro tilted her head in curiosity, "And what will you and Erasmo be doing?" she asked the two Federation EVA suited Breen.
"We will be finding a way to destroy this vessel. If you are unable to meet us in the shuttle bay, we will assume you have failed and proceed to destroy this ship." Graigo explained coldly.
"Do not fail Socorro." Erasmo, the older Breen offered from the entrance to the main corridor before he and the Successor exited to carry out their mission of sabotage.
"Come Socorro. We must go to this 'holodeck' and find a way to remove what the Federationers have stolen from us." Isidro explained, still fiddling with the foreign Federation weapon that rested in his hand.
Reluctantly Socorro glanced around at the wounded and unconscious Federationers in the healing facility. She felt bad for harming them after they were so nice to them. But she knew that could be a deception. They had, after all, tricked her and began studying the designs to the Hollis on their computer systems. Personal interrogations and torture sessions would surely follow if they did not act. "Okay Isidro. Lead the way."
*****
As the Chief Helmsman took the aft stablizers offline to elude the Jem'Hadars phaser stream, the ship rolled. Jon was in Science Lab I performing a series of computer checks. He was knocked off he's feet over the terminal console and hit his head on the bulkhead. As he laid on the floor half dazed by the blow to the head a voice spoke to him "Johannis O'Hare Serina is alive go find her" Jon's eyes grew big at this revelation, then he heard another voice
"Have you guys figured out a way to stop them."
"No, I meant stop them from getting to me. In here."
the voice sound like AC Hewson's but Jon wasn't sure. Stood up holding his head and thought "AC is that you" but nothing came back. Jon picked up the PADDS he was working with that were scattered all over the deck. Jon quickly returned back to his station, the blare of the Red Alert Klaxons where started to give Jon a severe headache. Jon notice on the Science Station's readouts that the vortex had expanded and started to punch in some information into the science stations computer terminal. "Computer" [skirnek bleep] "run a submolecular tangent calculation on sensor readings of the expandtion of the vortex" [working..........] Jon wondered if he should report this telepathic reception to the Captain. Jon thought that I was imperitive to the rescue mission that should. He quickly tapped his comms badge and spoke "Ensign O'Hare to Captain Price"
[Price here, it better be important mate, we are a little busy up here!]
Jon gulped as he heard the stern words of the old man
"Yes Sir, do believe that it is. I have just received a telepathic conversation and I believed that it came from..." Jon pause gulped again and continued "LT Hewson!" Jon waited for the reply from the Captain. Just then the computer started spitting out the results of Jon's request
[a submolecular tangent calculation on sensor readings of the expandtion of the vortex is complete]
"Captain standby, computer give results"
[a rift has been created in the vortex's fluidic walls causing it to expand, the rif is now half the size of the Galaxy and growing]
Jon paused "Captain did you copy that"
"Plan A"
By Lieutenant (JG) Jack Lawson
Security Officer
USS Galaxy
“Battle scars…”
by Lt. Hunter McKenzie
ASST Chief Tactical Officer
USS Galaxy
ICQ # 6728583
"Transporter Duty"
By: Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer USS Galaxy
A.K.A. Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer
USS Galaxy
Contact at: i2qtnot2b@hotmail.com
"Drifting."
by Lieutenants Greer Erikson and Ronni Morris
"Arrested Developments"
Lieutenant Commander Ursa Sunder
"Skewed views and final preparations"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
"What Now!"
by: Ensign Ryak Sullax
Science Officer USS Galaxy
Frightning Occurances
Casey Ti Miran
"Strategy"
By Lt. Thomas
GM --- Fleet Captain William E. Churchill - USS Atlantis
Lt. Commander John Bruce - USS Sulu
Lt. Christopher Thomas - USS Galaxy
USS Atlantis website: http://www.geocities.com/~atlantis-a
"Guarding Mr.. Sullax"
by Ensign James Chen
Security Officer
"Begin rescue"
by Commander Joerg Sterner
Executive Officer, USS Galaxy
***** Hot Tongue and Cold Shoulder *****
by Dr. Felicia Khatroweena, Lieutenant (jg), USS Galaxy NCC-70637
=/\= "A Different Kind of Trial" =/\=
by Matthew Albrecht
Security Officer
USS Galaxy NCC-70637
"Out of the frying pan and into the vortex"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
AKA Ensign Alyssa Idana
Science Officer USS Galaxy
"All Systems Go"
Lieutenant David Mercury
"The Cold and the Current."
by Lieutenants Greer Erikson, Alan C. Hewson, and Ronni Morris
"Breen displeasure"
by Jurelle Tash.
"Vortex and Valiums"
USS GALAXY
Lt. Commander Deiran Casey
Written By Kahn Nilani
U.S.S. Galaxy
"Breen on the inside,
nutty Jem'Hadar on the outside
with a creamy fluidic vortex shell."
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price
"Trapped In The Vortex"
By Ensign Johannis O'Hare