章節 43: Twisted: Part Two
Chapter 44: Twisted: Part Two.
Ensign Bini Filters POV
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"Ensign Filters." The familiar commanding voice of Captain Janeway calls out to me. I jumped from my feet and stood to attention at my commanding officer, who was standing over me. I saw Micheal, Sarah and Mollie standing behind her.
I looked around to see some of the senior staff putting tables together for what I assume is a meeting, the weird hologram Gaunt Gary was chewing his lip and setting up the pool table. Sandrine was cleaning the bar as she eyed the Doctor, who was clearly being coming increasingly more agitated with her.
"Ensign? Would you please keep them out of trouble as we discuss the situation?" The Captain asked. I nodded as Micheal pulled up a chair and sat down at my small table and Sarah sat down in the already existing chair.
"Aye, Captain." I replied. She thanked me and rejoined the senior staff. Micheal and Sarah started blabbing about how they got lost on the way to their quarters. I sorta started to tune them out, focusing on the meeting, looking for more answers.
The Captain pitched the bridge of her nose, struggling to understand the situation as Harry explained what happened on the bridge.
"Let me get this straight. This distortion ring has completely immobilized us. We have no means of communication with the Bridge or any other part of the ship. And no matter where any of us have tried to go, the Bridge, Engineering, Kes's quarters, we've all eventually ended up here right back at deck six." She said.
"The bridge is on deck one. Engineering is on deck eleven. deck six is halfway in between, right?" Harry asked.
"So?" Chakotay asked.
"So if we're being surrounded by this ring, maybe it's pushing us all to the centre of the ship." Harry suggested.
"But it's not just that we're being led back here." B'Elanna argued. "I mean, rooms are in the wrong place. Is it possible that this distortion ring is somehow changing the layout of the ship?"
"There is another possibility. Exposure to some types of EM radiation has been known to cause hallucinations. Perhaps it's not the ship that's undergone changes but rather your perception of it. Unfortunately, without my medical equipment to analyze your optic nerves, there's no way to tell." The Doctor pitched in.
"We'll never figure it out sitting here. We need more information about this phenomenon. Sensor readings, computer analyses. We have to find a way back to the Bridge." The Captain argued.
"If we can't get back on foot or on the turbolift, maybe we can rig a site to site transport. Beam ourselves to the Bridge."
"We'd have to get to a transporter room first." Chakotay announced.
"Or to Engineering, wherever that is."
"When we tried to go to the Bridge, one of the places the turbolift took us was Engineering. Maybe if we repeated our steps, it'll take us back there."
"It's worth a shot. Lieutenant Paris, you're with Torres." Captain Janeway ordered.
"Maybe we can get to the Bridge through a Jefferies tube. If I remember my ship specs correctly, there should be an emergency access conduit that leads directly from this deck to deck one right behind the Bridge." Harry pitched in.
"I'd like to keep trying to get to the Bridge on foot. If the ship has been reconfigured somehow, I can get a deck by deck picture of what it looks like as I go." Chakotay suggested.
"What's going to keep you from getting lost?" Tom asked.
"I'll get a tricorder from the storage locker, rig it to emit a protoplasmic trail."
"Right. We should all get tricorders. Set them on active scan. Gather as much information as we can about what's happening to the ship." Janeway ordered.
"May I request that Kes, Ensign Filters and the children be allowed to stay here with me? Beside helping stave off the predatory advances of that woman," The Doctor said gesturing to a flirting Sandrine. "Kes may be able to help me find a way to transfer myself back to Sickbay. And that would keep your children and Ensign Filters safe."
"And, er, I'll assist Commander Chakotay, Captain. As you may have heard, my tracking skills are legendary throughout the quadrant." Neelix boasted, puffing up his chest.
"That all right with you, Commander? Mister Kim, I'm with you. Let's do it."
Everyone got up from the table and separated into their own groups. Neelix kissed Kes, who responded by telling him to be careful.
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B'Elanna Torres's POV
"Are you sure this is how you got there before?" I asked as Tom and I stood in the turbo lift. Tom was working at the turbo lift control panel.
"Relax, will you? So far, we're right on schedule. The next stop should be--"
The turbo lift door opened to reveal Engineering.
"Voila! Engineering." Tom replied. I let out a breath of relief. Marching in Engineering. Determined to get this situation over with.
"Finally! Let's get to work." I snapped and got the attention of my engineering crew. Announcing what was happening. "We've got an emergency situation on board ship. I don't have time to go into details. But you're all to remain at your posts until otherwise notified, whether or not your duty shifts are over. Ensign, prepare to configure transporter systems for a site to site transport. I've got to reset the pattern buffer controls. In the meantime, why don't you check the targeting scanners?" I ordered, moving to the supply cabinet. I opened the door to reveal a crewman in his underwear, in the privacy of his own quarters. Dear Kahless. I felt myself blushing in embarrassment.
"Crewman! There's an emergency situation aboard ship. Just stay right where you are. That's an order." I said, pulling it together. He nodded and I shut the door, I let out a sigh and leaned against the nearest wall. Where Tom came over and shrugged.
"I think you handled that very well, Lieutenant." Tom said in a joking tone.
"Shut up, Tom." I growled.
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Chakotay's POV
Neelix and I made our way down the corridor, occasionally looking down at our tricorders.
"Commander, I would imagine you've had some experience with women." Neelix started, nervously fidgetting with his tricorder. I couldn't help but chuckle at his assumption.
"Some." I replied.
"Oh, come now. Ha! A handsome man like you. I bet women find you irresistible!" He insisted. Clearly he was up to something by these mindless compliments.
"Neelix, what's this about?" I asked with a little bit of irritation.
"Er, er, er, have you, er, but have you ever been jealous?" He stammered.
"Of course."
"You have?"
"I imagine most people who've been in love have been jealous at one time or another." I replied.
"I see. It's a perfectly normal response. Then why, why is it so unpleasant?" He asked.
"Jealousy's about the fear of losing someone we love." I replied. Strangely enough, I thought back to my relationship with the Captain...No. She is only my friend. Nothing more. So why does it hurt so much when she is in danger? "There's no pain greater than that. Neelix, are you afraid you're going to lose Kes to someone?"
"No. I mean, I don't think so. At least I certainly hope not. I just can't seem to stop these awful feelings." Neelix replied, trying to cover up his emotions.
"Nothing makes us more vulnerable than when we love someone. We can be hurt very easily. But I've always believed that what you get when you love someone is greater than what you risk." I replied. Suddenly Baxter turned around the bend, seeming to have looked very relieved to have seen us.
"Commander, am I ever glad to see you. Do you have any idea what's going on here?" He asked.
"Not exactly." I replied honestly, pushing my emotions to the side.
"Well, I feel like I've been wandering around for hours. I can't find the cargo bay."
"Have you seen anyone else? Any more of the crew?" I asked.
"Some people roaming around like me. A couple of times I wound up in the Mess Hall. There were quite a few people there." Baxter explained.
"I suggest you make your way back. Tell everyone you run into to come with you, and all of you stay put in the Mess Hall. When we figure out what's going on, we'll let you know." I assured him.
"Aye, Commander." Baxter replied and goes back the way he came. Neelix and I started to move on. Then Tuvok appeared from around another bend.
"Gentlemen." He announced with a classic raised eyebrow.
"Tuvok, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"That is an interesting question, Commander. I am not certain how I arrived at this location."
"You're lost too." Neelix pitched in.
"Indeed. When I received no word from you or the Captain, I left Lieutenant Ayala in command and came to look for you myself." Tuvok explained.
"Can you lead us back to the Bridge?"
"I do not believe so. When I first realized I was lost, I attempted to retrace my steps only to find myself here."
"None of us has been able to reach the Bridge. In fact, Neelix and I can't seem to get off deck six." I replied.
"Strange, I thought we were on deck three." Tuvok said. Neelix and I shared a confused look.
"What was our status when you left the Bridge?"
"The ring has penetrated our shields and is now in direct contact with the hull." Tuvok reported.
"Then maybe it is possible the distortions are somehow reconfiguring the ship." I said. Neelix moved away from my line of sight. Probably just looking around the bend.
"As improbable as it sounds, that would appear to be the case." He concluded.
"Neelix, let's go. Neelix?" I called out and looked behind me. Nothing. Neelix was...just...gone.
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Harry Kim's POV
"I don't understand it. We should have found the hatch to the Bridge ten minutes ago. I feel like we're crawling in circles." I announced in irritation. We crawled through the Jefferies tubes which felt like we were crawling for hours. My knees were screaming in pain from crawling for so long.
"But we haven't, at least not according to this tricorder." The Captain said. Glancing at her tricorder. Coming to an abrupt stop, she raised an eyebrow. Then she muttered "Odd."
"What is it?" I asked.
"A very faint electromagnetic reading. Now it's gone." She explained. Then pointed it in another direction. "There it is from another direction."
I looked down at my own tricorder and pointed it in the same direction.
"Yeah, I'm getting it too." I confirmed.
"It comes and goes, jumps from place to place." She said. Our tricorders waving around to follow it's motion.
"Could it be evidence of the ship's reconfiguration?"
"Possibly. We'll have to compare this data with readings the others get. Harry?" She asked.
"Yes, ma'am."
"I just want you to know you've been one of the bright spots of this whole mission. You've exceeded any expectations I might have had of you." She complimented. I smiled. It felt like getting approval from my Mother.
"Thank you, Captain. I appreciate that." I replied. I looked down the tube to see the conduit leading to the bridge. "Wait a minute. Down there. I think that's the conduit leading to the Bridge."
(Side note: AN: How the hell did Harry know that was the conduit to the bridge? Let's just pretend that this actually happened for the sake of argument and think through this logically. Harry, looks at a conduit door in the Jeffries tubes, a door that looks like every other god damn Jeffries tube door is somehow identifiable as the one door they needed at the exact moment.
I don't know if anything I said in that just made sense, but god damn. What the hell Harry? What the hell Janeway!? She should have identified it! They were looking forward once they entered the damn tube. The door doesn't just simply appear!? I rewatched this episode so many times over the years and somehow every time this one stupid thing really bothers me. More than the whole Lizards incident. THE LIZARD INCIDENT!
I am just thinking too much about it. See that's the issue. This stupid quartine is making me rethink every single thing that I watch. Geez...
Why didn't they just announce they found the door before they had that heart-clenching conversation. I actually wrote that out and it just didn't fit. Maybe I wrote it wrong but do you see that issue!? I have the power to change this stupid problem in this story, and yet my dead brain is just dead to the world and seems not to be able to fix it. Send help please.)
"Good work. Maybe now we'll get some answers." She congratulated as we started to move up again.
"That's the hatch, Captain. This should let us out in the cargo hold directly behind the Bridge." I explained. We reached the door and the Captain tried to open the hatch with no response.
"It's not working." She announced.
"We better try it manually." I suggested. She nodded and grabbed the device against the wall. She put it against the hatch and pressed her weight against it.
"It's stuck." She grunted and tried again. Suddenly, the door flew open and the Captain's arm went through. Janeway's arm was distorted and twisting. It was clearly uncomfortable, probably painful. I tried to pull her back. I managed to yank her out and quickly shut the hatch. The Captain slumped against the wall, holding her hand.
"I think I'm okay." She muttered. I picked up my discarded tricorder and scanned beyond the hatch.
I'm reading an intense electromagnetic charge on the other side of that hatch. That must have been what was pulling you in." I reported.
"It's as if everything on the other side is in a state of structural flux. The walls, the atmosphere." She explained.
"And the sequence of those fluctuations matches the readings from the distortion ring. This phenomenon isn't just occurring in space. It's definitely inside the ship as well." I continued.
"We're going to have to regroup and come up with a plan for combating this thing." She ordered. I nodded. Suddenly, her eyes glazed over and her face scrunched up in pain.
"Captain, what's wrong?" I asked. Growing more and more concerned.
"I don't know." She muttered. Then she closed her eyes shut and cried out in pain. "Oh! Oh, my eyes!"
"Captain? Captain!" I called out as she hunched over in pain.
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Bini Filters POV
"What do you mean the Doctor's a ladies man? He is in sickbay all day." Sarah argued as I nursed a Hot Chocolate that Sandrine made for me. Even if it is just energy I still need it to get through the stupidity that is my existence right now.
"Are you blind? Sandrine is obviously all over him! She can't wait to get in bed with him!" Micheal insisted. I almost choked and glared at Micheal as Sarah tilted her head in confusion.
"Why would Sandrine want to sleep with him? The Doctor doesn't sleep-"
"It doesn't matter, Sarah!" I bolted in. I don't think Sarah needs to have her innocent mind destroyed by Micheal and his stupid theories.
"She needs to know about it one day!" Micheal argued. I groaned and braced myself against the table.
"No. No, she doesn't. At least not right now. Let your mother have the "talk" with her. How do you even know about it? You are 10!" I argued with him. He shrugged as if the topic meant nothing to him with no importance.
"Daddy believed I should know about it because he said I am going to become a ladies man when I am older." He said with a hint of boasting.
"Oh, for the love of-Micheal, don't get your hopes up." I snapped back.
"But-But I am handsome!" He argued. I shook my head and leaned back in my chair.
"No. You are a kid with chubby cheeks, who older people, like grandma's and grandpa's would classify as adorable. Congratulations. You aren't handsome." I concluded.
"So, does the Doctor sleep or not?" Sarah cut in abruptly.
"In a way, Sarah. He sleeps inside the computer." I explained.
"She is trying to get into the Doctor's pants, dummy-" Micheal leaned over and whispered to her, when I abruptly hit the table, scaring them and Mollie abruptly.
"Sarah, ignore knucklehead over here. Micheal, shut the fuck up!" I snapped, the slip of the tongue just doomed me. Micheal sucked in a deep breath and pointed towards me.
"You just swore!" He bolted up, with a big smile. Seeming to be overjoyed to get me in trouble. "Bini Filters just swore!" He yelled to the holograms. Getting the attention of the Doctor who was roaming the room, trying to avoid Sandrine. He walked over to us, trying to distract himself from his other...issues.
"Ensign Filters? What is going?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I opened my mouth to respond, ready to defend myself against Micheal and his insistent speech. Suddenly Gaunt Gary appeared behind the EMH, shoving a pool cue into his hand.
"Come on, pal. One lousy game. Spot you six balls." Gary snapped.
"I'm not programmed to play games!" The Doctor snapped back with hostility. Then Sandrine came stopping over, with venom in her eyes.
"If he won't play pool with you and he won't make love to me, then as far as I'm concerned, he can mop the floor." She interrupted. The Doctor shoved the pool back into Gary's hand and held up his hands for both of them to see.
"You see these hands? These are surgeon's hands, created by the most sophisticated computer imaging technology available. They do not play games, and they do not mop floors." He argued.
"Then you are fired. I will find a new bartender." Sandrine snapped, as if that would devastate the Doctor.
"I really wish you would."
Then, Kes ran in. Seeming to be in a bit of a rush.
"Doctor!" She called out to him and came to a stop in front of the group.
"Oh, please tell me you've had some success in reinitializing the holoemitters." He begged.
"I did exactly what you told me, but it didn't work."
"Of course not." He muttered.
"I'm starting to get worried about Neelix. What's taking them so long?" She asked. Sandrine put her hand on Kes's shoulder for comfort. Well, comfort in Sandrine's way.
"Ah, trust me, cherie. You are better off without him. All men are alike. In the end, they always break your heart." She growled at the end, glaring at the Doctor.
"Can I get some help here?" Harry called out. We snapped towards Harry, who stumbled in carrying the unconscious captain.
"What happened to her?" The Doctor asked with genuine concern as he helped Harry carry her over to the nearest couch and laid her down. Sandrine grabbed a clean, damp cloth and pressed it against her forehead.
"She came into contact with the spatial distortions in the Jefferies Tube. She seemed fine for a couple of minutes, but then she started to fade in and out of consciousness." Harry explain as Micheal, Sarah, Mollie and I joined the group.
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Chakotay's POV
"I believe we should go this way, Commander." Tuvok's voice cut through my thoughts. I felt irritation towards the Vulcan.
"What makes you say that?" I asked. Trying to not show my irritation.
"If we are indeed trapped in some sort of labyrinth, then the logical course is to systematically eliminate all routes which do not lead us to our desired destination. The route that remains will be the correct one. Since we have been making a series of right turns, we should continue to do so, until we are certain this path is not the proper one." Tuvok explained. The corners of my mouth twitched up when I realized, his logic was wrong.
"There's a flaw in your logic." I announced.
"How so, Commander?" He replied.
"You're assuming there's a logical pattern to this maze we're caught in, but so far I haven't seen any evidence of that."
"Even within chaotic systems, there is a pattern of limited predictability."
"By the time we figure that pattern out, these distortions may have completely overrun the ship."
"That is a possibility." He relented.
"The important thing is for at least one of us to make it back to the Bridge. So why don't you go your way and I'll go mine? That way we'll increase the chances that one of us will be successful." I suggested.
"As you wish, Commander."
We started heading in opposite directions. I sighed in relief as Tuvok walked away, I turned a bend and all of a sudden Tuvok appeared, meeting me in the next intersection. We both looked around, unsure of how this was...happening.
"Tell me something, Tuvok. What does your logic tell you about navigating a maze that's constantly changing shape?"
-----
Tom Paris's POV
"Scanners check out." I reported as I checked on the sensors in engineering.
"Then we're ready to give it a try. Activate the auxiliary pattern buffers." B'Elanna ordered beside me.
"Pattern buffers activated."
"Targeting the Bridge coordinates. Scanners locked." B'Elanna said. We stepped back into the middle of the room "Energise."
The transporter beam took us and plopped us on the brid-
Nevermind.
B'Elanna and I beamed onto the pool table. Everyone in the room looked up at us in surprise. Well, except Gary who was glaring at me.
"Would you mind moving your foot, Tommy boy? It's blocking my shot." He snapped. Chakotay came over and helped B'Elanna down and I got down by myself because I am an independent person.
"Tell me you already made it to the Bridge, and you've come back here to give us a status report." Chakotay pleaded as we got to the floor.
"We locked onto the Bridge coordinates, but this is where we ended up. None of you had any luck either?" B'Elanna asked.
"Not only has no one been able to reach the Bridge, but the Captain came into contact with the spatial distortion and is now unconscious." Tuvok stated, matter of factly, gesturing to Captain Janeway. Who was on the bar sofa, unconscious, having the Doctor and Sandrine take care of her.
"That's not all. We lost Neelix too." Chakotay added.
"Lost him?" I asked,
"He turned a corner, and he was just gone. We think the spatial distortions are continuously changing the configuration of the corridors."
"Kes must be worried sick."
"And it isn't just Neelix who's missing." Harry jumped in. "Where's the rest of the crew?"
"It is likely that they too are trapped in other parts of the ship, cut off from communication and unable to find their way out."
"So what do we do now?" I asked.
"This wave is obviously causing some kind of radical reconfiguration of the ship. We've got to try to reverse it. If not, we may never be able to get to the Bridge." Chakotay explained.
"How are we supposed to reverse something we don't understand? No matter where we go, we end up here. Corridors are realigning. Rooms are in the wrong place. What's the pattern?" B'Elanna asked.
"We would certainly benefit from having an accurate picture of what the ship currently looks like. That way we would have a better chance of getting where we want to go."
"Maybe we could make a map." Harry suggested. "One good thing about all the wandering we've been doing is that we've been collecting a lot of tricorder data about the structural changes that have been taking place."
"And if we fed all that information into the central database, the computer might be able to extrapolate a schematic of the ship as it's configured now."
"What are we waiting for?"
Everyone started to come up with a plan to defeat this new enemy.
"If I can get back to Engineering, I may be able to generate a shock pulse strong enough to do just that. Of course, I'd have to raise the pressure in the warp core to near critical." B'Elanna concluded after several minutes of everyone arguing over a plan.
"A shock pulse of that magnitude would create a subatomic particle shower all over the ship." Harry added.
"Which could set off a chain reaction that would cause not only the ring to explode outward but Voyager along with it." Tuvok reminded everyone.
"Not if I can precisely tune the shock pulse to the distortion frequency of the ring." B'Elanna argued.
"That would be exceptionally difficult."
"If we don't give this a try, we're going to get crushed anyway. Personally, I'd rather go down fighting."
"I must remind you that with the comm. system down, we will have no effective means of alerting the rest of the crew to a potentially lethal particle shower." Tuvok insisted. Chakotay shot him an irritated look.
"Do you have another suggestion, Mister Tuvok?" Chakotay asked with venom laced in his tone.
"I believe it would be safer to attempt to access the navigational array and from there engage thrusters to steer us out of the ring."
"Can't we try both?" Harry asked.
"It's much too dangerous to have someone working at the navigational array during a shock pulse."
"Besides, this ship is so contorted, there's no reason to expect we'd have any navigational control." I pitched in.
"All right, B'Elanna. Let's give your plan a shot. You-"
"Commander Chakotay?" Tuvok interrupted. If I didn't know better, I would say Tuvok was salty over his idea being turned down.
"Yes, Lieutenant?"
"I feel compelled to point out that in my many years of experience as Captain Janeway's tactical officer, she often demonstrated a tendency to follow my-"
"In case you haven't noticed," Chakotay cut in sharply, gesturing to Captain Janeway who was out cold still. "Captain Janeway's not in any condition to make decisions. I'm in command. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. B'Elanna, you and Harry get down to Engineering. Evacuate whoever's on duty, then initiate the warp pulse. Move it." Chakotay ordered.
-----
Harry Kim's POV
"Dilithium matrix stable. Matter-antimatter reactor is at eighty percent of critical." I yelled as the ship began to violently shake and heat up.
"Let's keep it that way!" B'Elanna shouted back as she slammed commands into her console.
"Warp core pressure is at thirty-six megapascals and rising." I yelled. Trying to keep steady.
"When it reaches fifty-three, it'll trigger the shock pulse. We should get out of here by the time it hits fifty!"
"Acknowledged! The pressure at forty-one megapascals and rising. I'm reading a microfracture in the dilithium matrix."
"Attempting to compensate."
"Fracture sealed. Forty-four megapascals! Forty-seven! Forty-eight! Forty-nine!" I yelled.
"Let's move!" B'Elanna said. She grabbed my arm and we ran as fast as we could out of engineering, falling to the floor as a loud Whumph hit the ship. Then, everything was still.
"Well, in spite of Tuvok's dire predictions, we haven't blown the ship to pieces, have we?" She said in a half-joking manner. I chuckled and pulled my tricorder from my belt. Scanning the ship.
"No, and radiation levels are within an acceptable tolerance."
"Good. Let's get in there and see if we had any luck dispersing this implosion ring." B'Elanna said as we got off the floor.
"Hold it!" I barked.
"What?" She asked in surprise.
"I'm reading a massive distortion behind the door."
The door to engineering started to distort and become wavy.
"I don't think it's just behind the door." B'Elanna muttered.
"The ring's completely engulfed Engineering."
-----
Bini Filters's POV
Sarah was sleeping on the floor, next to her mother, who was still on the sofa. Like she had been since Harry came in with her. Micheal yawned and stroked Mollie's head beside me as we sat a meter away watching a candle on the bar above Sarah and the Doctor.
"Bini?" Micheal softly said. I looked towards him with a raised eyebrow. Wondering what he could possibly want. "Can you...Can you tell me about your family?"
"Why?" I asked. Confused about why he wanted to know. Sure, sure he would occasionally ask about it and only get the pieces I would willingly tell him. But why now?
"I want to distract myself from...everything. Also, I really want to know. If you tell me...I will tell you about Daddy..."
Micheal and Sarah never really talked about their Father. They only mentioned him in small comments and never seemed to elaborate further than that. The Captain's husband is not mentioned in any records. There is no way anyone has the courage to ask the Captain about her (dead) husband.
"Are you sure, Micheal?" I asked. He looked away from the candle and gave me a small smile.
"I am not going to tell you everything, silly. I have to keep you guessing!" He chirped.
"Alright. Alright. I guess I have to keep you guessing too. So, I won't tell you everything about my family. Deal?"
"Deal."
"My mother was a...strange lady. She was a Doctor at Starfleet medical. Specifically, she worked at Starfleet HQ. She didn't want to go into space because she had to take care of me. My father was a First Officer. He was a pretty good one too. He, even, got a metal once. I don't know what that metal was but oh boy, was the ceremony for it boring." I complained. Causing Micheal to giggle.
"Where are they now?"
"Th-They...um...They passed away." I muttered. Remembering the awful events that lead to the awful events that took away my parents.
"Oh..." The mood turned sombre (Not considering the circumstances.) then I elbowed him with a smirk.
"Your turn. Tell me about your father."
"Daddy was fun! He cared a lot about us but was away on mission a lot. Sometimes he had to do research at Starbases for months so we had to stay with our grandma Gretchen a lot. Daddy and I used to go on holodeck hunting trips. One time I saw a herd of deer and wanted to see if I could hit them all at once. So, Daddy grabbed our portable replicator and made a small device. Then handed it to me and said "Throw it at them. See what happens." So, I did. And they all went BOOM! Blew up!" He said, throwing his arms in the air to simulate an explosion.
"That's a bit bloody isn't it?"
"Nope. They just vanished. I don't want to kill real deers. They are so cute but it is sorta fun to make new inventions. Anyway, Daddy said I did a great job. Then we spent the rest of the day making small bombs and throwing them. Later on, Mommy came storming through the holodeck doors with Mollie. Apparently, we were causing bad energy surges through Starfleet HQ and they call her in to get us under control. They had to apologize to a lot of people that day."
"Ahh. So that's how you learned how to blow up the enter holodeck grid that day." I said, referring to the first night on Voyager when this gremlin managed to make a bomb and blow the entire room. Causing Cavit to throw me in the brig. He blushed and looked away in embarrassment.
"I...ah...made a small mistake and it made a bigger explosion than I expected." He admitted. We settled into a comfortable and silence once again and watched as Chakotay came over to the Doctor, Kes and the Captain. Sarah had fallen asleep next to their mother with Mollie. Chakotay leaned down and watched the Captain closely then looked towards the Doctor with a concerned look.
"Can I talk to her?" He asked softly.
"I can't guarantee she'll hear you, or be able to understand you if she does." The Doctor replied.
"Captain!"
Captain Janeway slowly opened her blue eyes and looked at Chakotay was a fogged gaze.
"Dark. Gan." She muttered. Muttering useless nonsense.
"What's wrong with her?" Chakotay asked the Doctor.
"It's possible the spatial distortions have damaged her speech centre and hearing." The Doctor replied as the Captain slumped again. Falling asleep. Then B'Elanna and Harry frantically ran in.
"Chakotay, it didn't work." B'Elanna managed to get out through deep inhales.
"Instead of forcing the implosion outward, the pulse is drawing it in at a faster rate." Harry added in.
"You're saying it made things worse?" Chakotay asked.
"I don't think we have more than a few minutes."
"Paris, we have to get to the navigational array and give Tuvok's plan a try." B'Elanna ordered.
"I'm afraid there's no longer time for that."
"Why not?"
Then a fluctuating sounded entered my ears. All our heads snapped to the front of Sandrine's. The front started to distort.
"We're not going anywhere." Tom muttered. Tuvok pulled out his tricorder and scanned the incoming distortion while Harry and Tom worked on the holodeck controls.
"Do you really think it's possible to project a stable holographic force field?" Tom asked. B'Elanna shrugged as she worked.
"We've tried everything else. Ready? Here we go."
The forcefield appeared, flickered and disappeared as the distortion passed through it.
"The distortion is unaffected by the force field." Tuvok announced. As if we didn't see that!
"We've got to figure out a way to generate a stable field." B'Elanna yelled.
"B'Elanna, this ring has passed through the shields, crushed the hull, twisted the ship. We'll never get enough power from the holoemitters to stop it." Chakotay argued.
"What are you saying? We're out of options?"
"Perhaps not." Tuvok cut in. "So far, we have been unsuccessful in all our attempts to either explain or combat this phenomenon. And according to my calculations, the space we are currently occupying will implode in approximately three minutes seventeen seconds."
"You said there was another option." B'Elanna said with a flicker of hope.
"We do nothing."
"Excuse me?"
"Are you suggesting we just let it crush us?"
"Precisely." Tuvok bluntly put it. Great. I am going to die today.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you." B'Elanna snapped at Tuvok.
"I agree. It sounds completely illogical." Chakotay said.
"On the contrary. When every logical course of action is exhausted, the only option that remains is inaction."
"So we're just supposed to sit here and let this thing kill us?"
"I must point out that at least one attempt we made to reverse the effect, the shock pulse, only made our predicament worse. If we continue desperately improvising solutions, our own efforts may ultimately kill us. On the other hand, there is no definitive evidence to suggest that doing nothing will result in death."
"What about the Captain? She's dying." B'Elanna said. Gesturing to the Captain. Causing Micheal to tense up.
"We do not know that. At the moment, she is merely delirious." Tuvok argued.
"Chakotay, you're in charge here. Don't you agree we've got to keep trying?" B'Elanna said, hoping Chakotay would be on her side.
"Whatever this thing is, B'Elanna, it's bigger and more powerful than we are. Maybe, maybe this is one bear we can't wrestle to the ground. Maybe like Tuvok says there's nothing we can do but let it happen, and hope for the best."
"Fine. Fine, Chakotay. Have it your way." B'Elanna said. Throwing her hands up in defeat and moving away from them. Trying to control her fear and anger as the distortion grew closer and closer to us.
"Commander Chakotay." Tuvok said when B'Elanna left to sulk in the corner.
"Yes, Mister Tuvok?"
"I want to thank you for endorsing my recommendation."
"You know, Tuvok, I may not get another chance to say this. Sometimes I find you arrogant and irritating, but you're a hell of an officer." Chakotay admitted.
"Thank you, sir. And since we are speaking candidly, may I say, sir, that I have not always been particularly partial to your methods either." Tuvok replied.
"I suppose it must have been tough for you to accept my being elevated to first officer over you." Chakotay said. I swear I think Tuvok just flinched.
"I have always respected Captain Janeway's decisions. However, I suppose that particular decision did put me in a position I am unaccustomed to. If that ever caused me to make things more difficult for you, I must apologize."
The pool table in the middle of Sandrine's started to distort. Causing everyone to back up again. I, then, turned my attention to the conversation between Harry and Tom. Who was leaning against the bar.
"Can I ask you a question?" Harry asked nervously.
"Fire away, Harry." Tom said in his usual cool and chill behaviour.
"Are you afraid?" Harry bluntly asked.
"I chose this life. And I guess I always knew it could come to this." Tom said. Harry shook his head and sighed.
"Be honest, Tom."
"Yeah. Yeah, I am afraid." He admitted with a gulp.
"Me too."
I, then, watched Kes as she crossed the room and stood beside the Doctor. Watching the Captain.
"I'm so worried about Neelix. I should be with him." She said.
"As much as he may annoy me at times, Mister Neelix is one of the most resourceful and resilient individuals I know. If anyone can survive this calamity, he can." The Doctor said. Kes smiled at him as he hugged her.
Micheal and I nodded to each other. Tuvok rested his hand on the sofa the Captain was on. Torress and Chakotay sat together holding hands. Tom put his hands on Kim's shoulder. The distortion passed through us. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my reality twist literally.
Then...Everything was normal. I slowly opened my eyes and yep. Everything was normal. Everyone looked around in relief. Then the Captain slowly sat much to everyone's surprise.
"I'm all right." She said, waving the EMH off her case.
"You were delirious. That's hardly fine!" He protested. She glared at him and looked up at the group surrounding her.
"It was some sort of message." She said.
"What was?" Chakotay asked.
"The spatial distortion. It was trying to communicate with us."
-----
(A few minutes later.)
Harry Kim's POV
Everyone reentered the bridge, immediately going to their stations.
"I want a full systems report. And Mister Kim, Mister Tuvok, I want every iota of information that was recorded regarding that phenomenon." The Captain reported as I turned on my station console.
"The distortion ring's directly ahead, Captain. It's moving away from us at two thousand kph." Tom reported. Everyone briefly stopped to watch the distortion move away from the ship.
"We've got a full crew complement, Captain. No injuries reported." Chakotay reported.
"No damage to the hull or ship systems." B'Elanna said.
"Incredible." The Captain muttered.
"You're not going to believe this, Captain, but twenty million gigaquads of new information have been input into the ship's computer." B'Elanna said in astonishment.
"Where did it come from?" The Captain asked.
"My guess is it came from the distortion ring."
"Somebody's definitely trying to tell us something."
"That's not all, Captain. Our entire database has been copied and downloaded into somebody else's system."
"I guess whoever they were, they want to know everything they can about us too."
"Maybe it was their only way of communicating with us. Maybe they were just trying to say hello." The Captain concluded.
---End of Chapter 44: Next: ???---
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