Star Trek Hunter - Episode 4: Run To Earth

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Continued from Episode 3: Breakfast Serial

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth



“There exists an unprecedented cultural and emotional bond between humans and vulcans. Each seems somehow to exemplify the other’s most heartfelt aspirations…”

Dr. Kenny Dolphin, The Impact of Humanity on Pon Farr, the Vulcan Mating Cycle.




Kenny Dolphin published three books during his 5 years as Associate Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University:
The Morality of Hybridizing Sentient Species (his doctoral dissertation)
The Impact of Humanity on Pon Farr, the Vulcan Mating Cycle
Fundamentals of Federation Ethics

Dolphin's dissertation was largely ignored until the 2nd book was published, which drew a number of complaints from vulcan/human blended families, leading to an uproar over his first book. Instead of firing him, the Philosophy Department sent him on a debate tour against local hybrid-rights advocates to publicly explain his ideas in what became thinly veiled shouting matches in front of hostile audiences with large numbers of hybrids and hybrid-rights advocates.

As large numbers of Naturalborn advocates began demonstrating and interacting violently with hybrid-rights advocates at these events, the events were shut down and the tour cancelled. Dr. Dolphin quietly resigned from Harvard and went to pursue his childhood passion for spaceflight, managing to get into the Daystrom Institute test pilot program on the strength of his aptitude test results.

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 1: The Crusher/Crumar/Carrera Effect

4.1
The Crusher/Crumar/Carrera Effect​

Justice Minerva Irons was surprised at how quickly she had grown accustomed to speaking with Investigator Lynhart Shran. The old investigator sat in her office along with Lt. T’Lok Smith. Even though he wasn’t a member of Star Fleet (the two investigators were civilians contracted to Star Fleet), with 2nd Lt. Tauk and Ensign T’Lon unable to report for duty, Shran was now the senior member in Director Smith’s department. Their current flight from Ocean, where the crew had been scheduled for much needed shore leave, was entirely on Shran’s recommendation. Irons was surprised at how quickly and thoroughly the old investigator had gained her trust.


“So why Earth, Mr. Shran?”

“We’re not going fast enough,” Shran replied. “I can tell - we’re only going warp five.”

Irons had no doubt he could tell. Experienced space travelers knew how warp five felt in the deckplates and what it looked like in the apparent movement of the stars that could be seen through the window behind her. “I can’t help that at the moment. I’m certain you are aware of the Federation’s warp five limit to preserve the integrity of local spacetime.”

Shran’s expression was very direct: “Maybe it’s time to try out that Crusher/Crumar/Carrera effect your engineers are always whispering about.”

Irons’ expression was deadpan. Her voice was a bit frosty. “I am certain I do not know what you are talking about.”

Shran was genuinely insulted. “Oh come on, boss, give an old gumshoe some credit. I don’t have any formal education, but I’ve spent the last 50 years figuring out stuff other people don’t want me to know. How useful would I be if you could keep a secret like that under my nose?”

T’Lok Smith looked at Irons and raised an eyebrow - for once looking like a vulcan as much from her behavior as from her facial features.

Irons sighed, then allowed herself a slight chuckle. “Actually, Investigator, Dr. Carrera is making the final preparations to engage the so-called zip drive. This boat is the first one designed with that capability, but until now the only successful tests have been with drones. The engineers have only managed to run successful simulations at scale recently. Warp field improvements are notoriously difficult to scale, but the math involved in this project is ferocious. I have requested permission to engage the drive once it is ready. But that is no guarantee it will work. And very unpleasant things happen if it fails.”


Shran took a long, deep breath - let it out with a puff. “Two reasons,” he started. It took Irons a few heartbeats to realize the old investigator was addressing her original question. “First: distance. I have never known a betazoid not to have a distance limit to their ability. Assuming our killer is on Bajor, we need to get as far from there as fast as possible so she can’t track us. Second: clutter. Once we get to Earth, this crew needs to spread out. That way, if our telepath hops a transport and comes to Earth, she will have a hard time finding us. There were less than 6,000 people at Star Base Eleven and Ocean - we were easy to find. But Earth is the most populated region of space we know of - 14 billion on Earth itself and another 3-4 billion scattered throughout the Earth’s solar system in various star bases, colonies, ships coming and going, the Utopia Planitia shipyards… In all about 18 billion minds and probably the highest concentration of powerful telepaths as well - that’s a much bigger haystack to try to find us in.”

Irons mulled this information over. “Do you have a plan beyond that?” she asked.

“Yes,” Shran replied. “There’s a third reason to go to Earth - resources. I would prefer not to explain further until we get a little more space between us and our mind reader. I’m trying very hard not to think about it myself. Secrecy is everything.”


T’Lok interjected, “Crusher/Crumar/Carrera?”


Irons looked to her right and called for the Hunter’s interactive holographic avatar: “Hunter, display the design team for this vessel’s warp configuration and the zip drive.”

The boat’s holographic emitters projected an image of three people in white lab coats - two men and a boy smiling and waving. The image loop lasted two seconds and repeated, but was seamless so that it was impossible to tell at which point the image ended and restarted. The boy was dark-skinned with a bowl haircut and although clearly no more than 12 years old, seemed oddly familiar. The Hunter’s elderly, gray-bearded interactive avatar was clearly recognizable as one of the two men. The other man was much younger, a bit taller and wider with soulful brown eyes, long, unruly brown hair and a thick brown beard that covered much of his chest.

“You recognize Professor Jose Crumar of the Daystrom Institute, the man behind nearly every significant improvement in warp field engineering for the past half-century. Our boat’s avatar was patterned after him - right down to his quirky sense of humor. The other man is Wesley Crusher, who resigned his commission with Star Fleet and vanished with some alien known as the ‘Traveler.’ He simply appeared at the Daystrom Institute about 12 years ago with the basic theory for a warp drive system that would not only not degrade the fabric of spacetime, but would actually repair the damage done by centuries of warp travel. He vanished again about 5 months later. But by then Dr. Crumar and his top student had most of the math worked out.”

T’Lok Smith and Lynhart Shran were riveted by the image. “And the boy?” T’Lok asked.

Irons smiled. “This image was recorded about 12 years ago. That boy was Professor Crumar’s top student and the lead designer of this vessel - Dr. Sarekson Carrera.”

4.1 (of 14)​

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Each Star Fleet vessel has a unique organization chart based on Captain's preference.

Captain Irons established the command structure and the Operations Division for the U.S.S. Hunter and requires her department directors to submit revised org-charts for their departments at least semi-annually. As a result, each department has a unique structure, based on the preference of the department director.

The following org-charts are a snapshot of the U.S.S. Hunter's chain of command at the beginning of the story.

 

[Gibraltar]

Well, Shran's certainly laid out some compelling reasons to return to the Terran system with all due haste. It's difficult to fathom a telepath so formidable that you have to flee them at warp speed (or better, as Shran urges) but as Tam Elbrun proved in TNG's Tin Man, distance need be no barrier to telepathic influence.

An excellent beginning to the fourth tale!

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 2: Dolphin & T'Lon

4.2
Dolphin & T’Lon​

In order to maintain the physical contact needed for the mind-meld between Ensign T’Lon and Lt. Dolphin, Dr. Tali Shae had constructed a sort of sling. This made it extremely difficult to move the two and they could not be transported. Rather than wrangle the two unconscious officers down several decks into the medical bay, Dr. Shae had transformed the rear section of the wagon into an ersatz sick bay and installed holographic emitters. This allowed her to transfer the Tactical Medical Hologram, who responded to either the acronym TMH or the name Dr. Kim, the name of the doctor she had been modeled after.

The TMH was a reserve program designed to provide emergency medical treatment on the tactical unit. Unlike the Hunter’s interactive holographic avatar, who had extensive personality programming, the TMH was more or less a medically expert automaton. But with Dolphin in a coma and T’Lon wandering in and out of consciousness, medical monitoring and emergency response were all that would be needed until one of the medical staff could respond.


Justice Irons’ half-vulcan daughter, China, who was returning to Earth aboard the Hunter, had also moved in to the wagon. With T’Lon semi-conscious, China Irons was now the most powerful telepath onboard - even more than Flight Engineer Tomos, who was entirely vulcan.

Dr. Shae watched China Irons tending to T’Lon. “So I barely understand telepathy - either vulcan or betazoid. I mean, I understand the genetic markers that enable it, but I have no idea how it actually works. Warp field theory is easier.”

China didn’t smile or register much of any emotion, but she seemed warmer than most vulcans and that warmth was reflected in her voice. “Warp field theory is much, much easier, Dr. Shae.”

“Tali, please,” the andorian doctor responded. “Call me Tali. We are family.” She couldn’t be certain, but it seemed that China’s expression warmed just a little.

“T’Lon is maintaining Lieutenant Dolphin’s autonomic functions,” China said. “His brain is producing the messages to keep his heart working but they’re being actively blocked. T’Lon is going around the block. But it is exhausting her. I’ve been able to help so that she can rest, but she isn’t getting good rest.”

“Is she in danger?” Dr. Shae asked.

“It isn’t good for her,” China said. “But she’s only 25, really just a child for a vulcan. And she’s in peak physical condition and mentally tough. She could probably do this for a month, but we need to keep her nourished.”

Dr. Shae’s antennae twitched in surprise. “A month?”

China raised an eyebrow. “She could, but Lieutenant Dolphin couldn’t. If we can’t get him stabilized in the next few days, his brain will start to lose the ability to transmit the necessary signals to keep him alive and I don’t know of any medical procedure yet that could restore that function once it atrophies.”

“And he’s being actively blocked?” Dr. Shae was just a little terrified.

China Irons mused for a moment. “A betazoid can conduct multiple telepathic functions simultaneously, sometimes without actively trying. The more powerful telepaths can almost completely automate such functions. This must be how the telepath is maintaining the block or he would have awakened as soon as she fell asleep. Unless she hasn’t slept yet, in which case she will start to lose strength rapidly. She may not even be aware she’s doing it at this point.”

4.2​

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 3: Ground Operations Lounge

4.3
Ground Operations Lounge​

Like all non-automated starships, the vast majority of the U.S.S. Hunter’s space and resources was devoted to meeting the needs of the crew. But the Hunter was not a deep space exploration vessel. Crew members on the big ships would literally spend years in space without ever exiting their vessel. For this reason, ships designed for deep space exploration missions were essentially flying hotels with extensive crew quarters and recreational facilities.

In order to conserve space on the Hunter, crew members slept in their emergency escape pods. Only the three executive officers had individual staterooms. The remainder of crew quarters consisted of a number of small lounges, each the size of a stateroom, arranged around groups of escape pods. These lounges were designed to serve between four and six individuals. Each contained two couches that folded out of the walls and an open space in which a holographic dining table, or exercise equipment (or, in the case of Dr. Carrera, a baby grand piano) tailored for individual needs could be projected. The energy cost of creating such items holographically for temporary use was far less than the cost of actually carrying these items and securing them would be.

The four department directors, Lt. Commander Dr. Tali Shae and 1st lieutenants Sarekson Carrera, T’Lok Smith and Kenneth Dolphin, shared the director’s lounge on deck 4. The Ground Operations lounge, accommodating the two investigators and the four members of the tactical operations squad, was tucked into another corner of deck 4.


The Hunter did incorporate one accommodation not often found in starships - the outer ring of the largest deck, deck 5, was a dedicated running track. This was a concession to the need for the crew to maintain a high level of physical fitness. The Hunter’s mission included interdiction of criminals on the ground by a highly trained tactical operations squad and by pilots using interceptors, which had limited inertial dampening. Fighter pilots tended to be body builders - having a greater muscle mass allowed pilots to deliberately constrict their blood flow by constricting their muscles - helping to keep more blood in their brains to maintain consciousness during high G turns.

The rest of the crew also took advantage of the deck 5 running track, but whenever Investigator Buttans Ngumbo arrived on deck 5, anyone else running there would wrap up their tracking and leave the track to Buttans. This was neither out of respect nor dislike, but simply because Buttans ran so much faster than anyone else, his presence alone would make the track feel crowded as he would pass other runners twice and even three times before they could make a single lap.

Having long noticed this, Buttans had become very regular about his training time so that the rest of the crew could plan around him. This was beneficial to him as it allowed him to run as fast as he could given the need to constantly turn on an oval track that was less than 40 meters in circumference.

Following his run, Buttans went down one deck to the Ground Ops lounge and took a vibe-shower, which allowed him to wash both his body and his running trunks in waves of damp air that felt and acted like water, but left him and his clothing dry after cleaning. This cleaned his body without need for chemicals such as soaps. His sweat and any accumulated grime was reclaimed by the boat’s life support system for reprocessing. The lounges each had two such shower units - which could allow six people to coexist in relative peace.

Buttans donned his running trunks again and walked, barefoot and bare chested, to relax on one of the couches. Each lounge had its own culture and the ground operations group, half male and half female, felt comfortable with minimal clothing.

Investigator Lynhart Shran was seated on another couch, wearing gray shorts and undershirt, diligently polishing his shoes. Shran was probably the only person on board who actually had personal belongings to bring on board. Buttans’ clothing, including his running shoes, was made by the replicator using patterns stored in his personnel file. When these became threadbare or damaged, he would dump them into the replicator to be reduced to their component materials and reconstructed.

All of Shran’s clothing was tailor made, including his jeans and his shoes. He also had his service revolver from his years in the Andorian Imperial Guard, along with a supply of ammunition that was exclusively made on Andoria for this antique weapon. Like Buttans, Shran was a creature of habit. He cleaned and oiled his revolver every morning and polished his shoes at the end of every shift.


Buttans Ngumbo laced his fingers behind his head and reclined. If an ancient Greek were to happen by, he would have immediately looked for a block of marble to record an image of the young man’s perfect form - possibly needlessly adding winged sandals as if anything could make the young investigator look faster. With his almost shiny, nearly black skin and powerful, ropy muscles, Buttans looked like speed itself, taking a rare breather, perhaps only to pose for others to admire.


Shran got up, stored his shoes and the polishing kit in a foot locker mounted in the escape pod that also served as his sleeping pod. He fished out two bottles of beer he had acquired on Ocean and opened them. Buttans’ eyes were closed, but he held out his hand as Shran wordlessly brought him one of the bottles.

The investigators reclined on separate couches, eyes closed, silently enjoying their beers. They had been partners for years and this was a sort of evening ritual.

This quiet aesthetic was broken when the four tactical squad members bustled into the room. They weren’t noisy, but they were quite energetic. Buttans wasn’t yet 30, but these scrawny street kids made him feel ancient by comparison as they disrobed and hit the showers.

Belo Cantys was the first out of the shower. The youngest and scrawniest of the lot, she wasn’t heavily muscled, but there was hardly any fat on her body - her ribs were there to count. Dressed only in an athletic bra and shorts, she threw herself onto the couch next to Shran. Buttans smiled and closed his eyes again. Those two would not remain in public long. They had been together almost from the moment the Belo siblings had joined the crew.


Star Fleet recognized the inevitability of relationships among crew members, particularly on deep space missions. In order to protect everyone, a joint-disclosure registered with one of the executive officers and the medical director was required at the beginning and end of any intimate relationship among crew members. This led to a long-running joke about the Star Fleet approved pickup line: “Hey baby.. do you want to disclose?”


Cantys’s half-brother, Belo Garr, called for a resistance training kit, which the holographic emitters produced in the small open area in the lounge. He started a short workout. Their half-sister, Belo Rys, and their cousin, Jarrong, headed directly to their pods after emerging from the showers. Buttans drained his beer, got up without a word, dropped the empty bottle in the replicator and retreated to his pod as well.

4.3​

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 4: The Touch

4.4
The Touch​

With Kenny Dolphin unconscious in the wagon, T’Lok Smith had the director’s lounge to herself - as she generally had for the two years before Dolphin was finally brought aboard as the director of flight operations. Director Carrera usually worked a different shift and was gone before T’Lok arrived. He tended to work all kinds of hours and it was not uncommon for him to use the safety shower in main engineering. Dr. Tali Shae, the medical director, had a cot in a small room adjoining her office and preferred to sleep there. There was also a shower in the surgery that doctors used before and after operations.

T’Lok had never thought of the director’s lounge as a lonely place before, but she had gotten used to Dolphin’s presence. He was a deep thinker and she greatly enjoyed their conversations. Before he came she had rather enjoyed the solitude. It felt unbearable now. Unable to sleep, she wandered up to the shuttle bay and stepped aboard the wagon.

T’Lon was sleeping fitfully, her hand affixed to Dolphin’s face by a sling. China Irons was stretched out on another makeshift bed in the center of the wagon. She looked up briefly at T’Lok, not surprised by her presence, then laid back down - clearly exhausted.

T’Lok knelt next to her childhood friend, gently brushed T’Lon’s hair, then placed her fingers on T’Lon’s temple, touching her mind. T’Lon seemed to breathe a little easier.

4.4 (of 14)​

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 5: A Matter of Mass

4.5
A Matter of Mass​

Lt. Sarekson Carrera had long been accustomed to working double shifts and sleeping in his office. His staff had also become accustomed to such conditions. Many of them were at least part vulcan and found solving engineering problems as good as any other form of recreation. They had been trying to crack this one - getting the zip drive to work properly - since before the keel had been laid. But it was really up to Dr. Carrera. This was primarily a math problem and the only other math genius on board, Lt. Tauk, was in an artificial coma.

Carrera could tell he was close, though. Replication would be very problematic. It all had to do with mass. And not just gross mass - an increase or decrease of only a few kilograms and the solution had to be scrapped and the math started from scratch. There was no simple way to handle this variable - it affected the entire process from the start of the calculations, requiring the invention of an entirely different series of equations every time the mass changed even a little. Mass could be controlled on drones. But add a live crew and even on a boat this small, mass would change enough throughout every mission to routinely require entirely new equations.

For now, these equations would get them into recursive warp mode - or, as Wesley Crusher had dubbed it - zip drive.


“Hunter,” Carrera called. The boat’s interactive holographic avatar appeared to his right.

“Did you solve it?” the old man asked.

“For now. It all comes down to mass. We knew that, but there is no simple way to recalculate when the boat’s gross mass goes out of tolerance by 3.14 kilograms,” Carrera answered. He tapped a large viewer that was displaying an insanely complicated series of calculations. “Display this series in the engineering conference room. All engineering staff, if you’re awake, please join me in conference room #2.”

Carrera had been awake for far too many hours, but he sprinted with renewed energy to the ladder that led down to the engineering conference room directly under his office. He straddled the ladder and slid down from deck 1 to the main engineering deck. Four engineers were waiting for him. The remainder of his staff should be asleep. His assistant director, 2nd Lt. Moon Sun Salek was already studying the calculations.


“The entire process changes every time,” Dr. Moon observed. She was as frustrated as her director.

Carrera replied. “The tolerance is 3.14 kilograms. Or more specifically, 3.1415926535897…”

“Pi,” Moon cut him off.

“Pi,” Carrera replied. “It sounds so universally significant. But it’s pi kilograms. It doesn’t make any sense at all. Why kilograms? Why not pi vloms? Or pi tons? Or pi grotofish?”

Carrera wasn’t attempting humor, but his reference to an archaic standard unit of mass used by pre-warp bolians elicited nervous laughter and raised eyebrows.

“Okay - you have your measurements. Take your part of this solution and make your part of the process ready.” Carrera turned to address one of his flight engineers, “Tomos, you are assigned to continuity. Make sure all these pieces fit together. That’s my job, too. You’re my backup.”

Flight Engineer Tomos spoke up. “Dr. Carrera - if mass is such a problematic variable, why don’t we just make it a constant?”

Carrera looked at the vulcan engineer. Then looked at him again.

“Mass changes throughout every mission, Mr. Tomos.”

“But what if we use ballast? If we pick up more mass - such as a passenger, we remove that exact amount from the ballast. It could be done with asteroidal debris or trace gasses. When we lose mass, we beam in more debris.”


Carrera sat down, very slowly, and looked at his junior staff member - then placed his face in his hands, elbows on the clear lacquer conference table.


Tomos was about 100 years old - middle aged for a vulcan, but new to space flight and warp theory. He had previously been a librarian living in seclusion at a distant vulcan sanctuary. He watched his director closely. Carrera worked far too hard for a human. He was brilliant - a legend within the close-knit community of the Daystrom Institute. He also seemed to be under the impression he was a vulcan and it wasn’t healthy for him.

Carrera finally looked up, the exhaustion clear on his face. “Hunter.”

The elderly looking hologram appeared next to Tomos. “You need rest, Dr. Carrera…”

“Yes I do,” Carrera responded. “Work with Flight Engineer Tomos and develop a program to automatically stabilize the Hunter’s mass. Mr. Tomos - get Midshipman Brazil involved as well, but I want you to head this up. It’s your idea. If we lose mass while in transit, find a way to beam in more. Safety protocols… Emergency procedures… as soon as ready, bring it online. It looks like I’m going to have to make sure of continuity of the zip drive solution on my own.”

“Understood, sir,” Tomos replied.

4.5 (of 14)​

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 6: Blowout

4.6
Blowout​

Lt. T’Lok Smith was accustomed to running in the morning with Ensign T’Lon and her tactical squad. For the first time, T’Lon wasn’t there. But Tactical Specialist Jarrong and the three half-siblings were warming up in an open area near the lift tube on deck 5 when T’Lok arrived. Tactical Specialists Belo Rys, Belo Garr and Belo Cantys shared a bajoran mother, but had separate fathers, all cardassian. Their mother had been taken as a slave during the Cardassian Occupation. Jarrong’s grandmother was another bajoran slave from the same family. Even though they were only a few years younger than Ensign T’Lon, the four had adopted the young vulcan as a sort of family member - a sentiment T’Lon had made use of in training her squad.

T’Lok had already stretched. She touched each squad member on the shoulder as each stepped onto the track and started running, then followed them. They had to make dozens of laps, constantly having to take sharp turns on the small, oval track. Because of this limitation to the track, runners were accustomed to changing direction every 20 laps. T’Lok had passed all of the squad members except Jarrong - the only squad member close to the young vulcan’s height. She and Jarrong had just reversed direction when an explosion shook the boat.


Part of the bulkhead on the port side of the Hunter exploded outward, exposing the track to space. The ring decompressed as the atmosphere was blown out through the hull, carrying first T’Lok, then Jarrong and Belo Rys out into the vacuum of space.

Belo Garr - who was still on the starboard side with his other half-sister - flattened himself against the interior wall - his fingers searching for any purchase. He reached out and grabbed Cantys’ arm. These two youngest squad members slid inexorably toward the hull breach, but dropped to the floor as an emergency protocol erected a forcefield over the breach.

Cantys and Garr struggled helplessly on the floor and gasped for air in the freezing near vacuum of the evacuated track before another emergency protocol engaged the transporter and beamed them directly to the Medical bay. The same protocol captured Jarrong, Rys and T’Lok, rescuing them from the vacuum of space and sending them directly to the Medical bay. The Emergency Medical Hologram was also immediately activated and the Medical staff alerted to the emergency.

The new program designed and brought online by Flight Engineer Tomos, registering the loss of mass in the form of atmosphere and deck plating, reached out with the cargo transporter system searching for any mass to replace this loss with, with the result that that atmosphere and the deck plating were immediately beamed into storage areas to re-balance the Hunter’s mass.

- * - * - * -

Justice Minerva Irons had risen for the day. C shift was nearing its end and Lt. Commander Mlady was in the captain’s chair. Irons was in the midst of her morning Tai Chi training, wincing with every move of her right arm, slow, deliberate, when an instinct stopped her. She had been a Star Fleet captain nearly half of her exceptionally long life and had learned to trust that gut instinct.

Irons carefully reinserted her right arm into its sling and stepped onto the bridge at the same moment that medical forensic specialist, Midshipman Tolon Reeves, currently serving a shift at the tactical console, said, “Ship decloaking off the port unnnhhh….” He gripped the console and grunted as a poorly aimed disruptor beam grazed the Hunter’s port side with tremendous energy.

Mlady responded instantly, “Shields up, power weapons and bring us about!”

“Belay that order!” Justice Irons was hanging onto the door frame between her office and the bridge with her left hand. “Give me warp eleven now!”

Flight Specialist Dih Terri, at the helm, had only recently become aware such speeds might be possible. But she dialed it in and the Hunter suddenly lurched, the deck plating groaning in protest. A second disruptor beam passed near the aft of the Hunter - in the next heartbeat the interloper was left light-years behind as the patrol craft made a blur of the stars.

Mlady stood up, but Irons waived her back down. “Stay put, Lieutenant Commander, I need you in that chair right now. Hunter - damage report.”

The elderly interactive avatar did not appear as usual, but his voice was carried into the bridge by the communication system. “Hull breach on deck 5. Atmosphere vented. Five casualties, all transported directly to Medical bay. I am working with Ensign Sun and Transporter Engineer K’rok to repair the hull. Emergency force field is in place, but I advise against repressurizing until repairs are complete.”

Irons responded: “Shipwide, deck 5 is depressurized and off limits - pressure suit access only.” She turned to her second officer as Commander David Pepper entered the bridge. “Lieutenant Commander - remain in command. If they catch up to us or any other ship shows up, run away faster. You have clearance up to warp 14. Any faster than that and this boat will come apart.” She turned to her gigantic first officer, “David, suit up. I need you on deck 5 supervising repairs. Get a camera on the outside and get a look at the hull. Full damage assessment. I will be in Engineering first, then Medical.”

Without a word, Pep turned and exited the bridge, heading toward a locker near the ground operations room. Irons passed him on her way to the lift. She gripped one of the handles as the doors closed and said, “Main engineering.”

4.6 (of 14)​

For those concerned about the Warp 10 barrier, the whole point of the transwarp drive (standard on all Star Fleet vessels after the U.S.S. Excalibur) is to go directly from dead stop to any warp speed. So it is possible to go from warp 5 to warp 11 without ever traveling at warp 10. (Note that in the final episode of STNG, Captain Beverly Picard ordered the U.S.S. Pasteur to go to warp 13 as if it was nothing special.)

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 7: Triage

4.7
Triage​

Dr. Jazz Sam Sinder started surgery immediately on one of the victims, then turned that surgery over to Dr. Chrissiana Trei - aside from explosive decompression disorder, this victim had a few broken bones and several deep wounds. She needed blood, bone repair and skin regeneration. Dr. Trei could handle that.

Dr. Raj, the Emergency Medical Hologram, had completed the triage. Two of the victims had experienced decompression, but nothing else as they had not been ejected. Dr. Raj could handle their treatment.

Dr. Jazz wrinkled his nose - which, considering he was fully bajoran, created an almost comic accordion effect. This victim had far more extensive injuries and needed a significant amount of blood immediately. Using the victim’s transporter files, Dr. Jazz synthesized three liters of her blood for immediate use. Synthetic blood was useful, but could cause organ damage if too much remained in the system after a few days. There were drugs that could enhance her natural blood production and help metabolize the synthetic blood out - he only hoped she would be healthy enough for that treatment. For the moment, he needed to re-attach her hand, which had been beamed in along with her and placed in a stasis field.

Dr. Tali Shae was the next to enter the operating room. She looked at the fifth patient - a sheet draped over the entire table. Dr. Raj responded to Dr. Shae’s glance by slowly shaking his holographic head. Dr. Shae walked around, checking the treatment of each victim, then stepped in to assist Dr. Jazz. She stepped back as Dr. Sif, one of her forensic specialists, entered, allowing the young trill to take over providing assistance for Dr. Jazz.

With a deep sense of foreboding, Dr. Tali Shae approached the fifth table and lifted the sheet. She bit her lip, grimacing, deliberately hiding her face from the rest of her staff. She took a deep breath, then asked “Do any of you need assistance?”

None of the doctors answered. Dr. Raj, the EMH, noticing that an answer was needed, reported: “Two patients are stabilized, the other two are receiving appropriate treatment.”

Dr. Shae responded, “I am removing the fatality for forensic examination.” She used the Medical bay transporter system to move the lifeless form from the table in the main surgery to the front surgery and walked to the front surgery.

Only once she was out of sight of her staff did Dr. Tali Shae allow herself to shake. She took a deep, shuddering breath, then turned back to the table, removed the sheet and did her job.

4.7 (of 14)​

 

[Gibraltar]

Review of 4.2 – A terrifying attack on Dolphin and T’Lon doing her utmost to protect him from whomever is trying to kill him. There’s sacrificing yourself to save your comrades, and then there’s this… sacrificing yourself to keep a comrade’s heart beating. Wow!

 

[Gibraltar]

Review of 4.3 - A fascinating ship's layout, very functional for the ship's size and mission profile. And the investigators and tactical team, like a pride of predatory cats bedding down for the night. These people are not to be trifled with, as we've seen firsthand.

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

...It's difficult to fathom a telepath so formidable that you have to flee them at warp speed (or better, as Shran urges) but as Tam Elbrun proved in TNG's Tin Man, distance need be no barrier to telepathic influence....

It's difficult to fathom telepathy at all... Spooky action at a distance...

Review of 4.2 ...and then there’s this… sacrificing yourself to keep a comrade’s heart beating...

Glad that came through!

Review of 4.3 - A fascinating ship's layout, very functional for the ship's size and mission profile. And the investigators and tactical team, like a pride of predatory cats bedding down for the night...

Thanks for the reviews! I'm gratified that both the portrait of the ship and the ground-ops crew came through. A pride is a good way to describe them. Thanks!! rbs

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 8: The Carrera Effect

4.8
The Carrera Effect​

The explosion woke Dr. Carrera, who was dozing lightly at the warp control panel. He immediately checked over the readiness of the zip drive, then checked the ship’s mass. It was off, indicating a hull breach and loss of atmosphere and deck plating, but was restored to the correct amount within seconds. Flight Engineer Tomos’ mass reclamation program worked.

A heartbeat later the command for warp eleven came through. Carrera was ready for it and engaged the zip drive immediately. He then watched with a mixture of dread and pride as his engine thundered to life and did its work. He suppressed an impulse to cheer. This was what he had built these engines to do. Somewhere deep in his mind was an image of Wesley Crusher rubbing his hands together and cackling, “It’s aliiiiivveee…”


Sarekson Carrera suppressed his inner, manic Wesley Crusher and started giving orders: “Ensign Sun, K’rok, damage control. Dr. Moon, I need you to go to the tactical unit and manage the engine interface. Kerry - get over here and keep an eye on these readings.”

A few moments later Justice Minerva Irons stepped off one of the lifts. “Well done, Dr. Carrera. How long can we keep this up?”

Carrera was only 23, but he looked like he was 50 and not in any good way. He was clearly exhausted. But he had already given the answer thought before the question was asked.

“I don’t know. But my recommendation is no more than three hours. Two, if we can make it two. I take it we are being pursued.”

Irons removed her right hand from the sling and placed her hand on his chest. The limited telepathic contact this gesture gave her was not so much an exchange of thoughts - it allowed her to sense emotions and have a calming effect. Despite all his efforts at emotional control, Dr. Carrera was human - if a brilliant one. Irons’ effect on him was visible - some of the stress and exhaustion evaporated from his face. “Your office, Lieutenant?” She gestured toward the engineering office where Dr. Carrera spent most of his time.


Carrera sagged into his chair as Irons said, “We were ambushed while at warp - we have to assume we are being pursued. Whatever it was, given the power of that attack it had to be a capital ship. That was no pirate. We have to assume they will follow us.”

Carrera responded evenly. “The zip effect will make us difficult to trace. Assuming it’s working properly and not leaving some sort of subspace cavitation. We won’t leave a conventional warp trail.”

“How quickly can you get us to Earth?”

“Assuming we stop, I would recommend going dark. Give me about an hour to check the engines and make adjustments. If all is well, we can be to Earth in about 18 hours,” Carrera said.

Irons’ eyebrows both went up considerably. “That is much better than 22 days. How did you resolve the mass variable problem you were telling me about?”

“Flight Engineer Tomos solved it for me.”

“I didn’t know Tomos was a mathematician,” Irons said.

“He isn’t. He’s a librarian.”

Irons smiled. “So he found the solution in an ancient vulcan library?”

Carrera maintained a level gaze. “He made mass a constant. About twenty minutes ago. Just in time.”

“I am looking forward to hearing more about that,” Irons responded. “Get some rest, Lieutenant. We’re going to need that brain of yours in about two hours and fifty minutes. Have your staff schedule the stopover and QuickQuiet with Lieutenant Commander Mlady. I am needed in Medical.”

Dr. Carrera looked down, then up, “Casualties?”

“Five. I don’t know their status, so do not worry yet, Lieutenant.”

“Aye, Captain… Good luck,” Carrera added as Irons headed toward the lift.

4.8 (of 14)​

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 9: Casualties

4.9
Casualties​

Justice Irons walked into the empty medical office and sat down across from her best friend’s desk. There was nowhere else to be at this moment. Nothing to do but wait. Her crew were doing their jobs. Her job now was to help the crew accept the casualties. She could only hope that this office was empty because there were living crew members being tended to in the two surgeries beyond.


After a very long five minutes, Dr. Tali Shae entered the room from the surgery. Irons could tell by her expression that something was terribly wrong. That and the wash of bitter emotion Tali brought into the room with her. Irons watched as the doctor slowly sat down - grief clear on her face. Irons simply waited.

“The tactical squad was training in the track on deck 5,” Tali Shae started. “They are all recovering. But T’Lok…” the doctor caught her breath.

Irons could feel her face responding with grief, but it felt like something that was happening on the surface of her face - it hadn’t made its way to her heart yet.

“She…” Dr. Shae caught her breath again. “She didn’t make it.”

Irons heard herself saying, “I want an autopsy. I want to know how she died.” Irons hated the coldness she heard in her own voice.

“I’ve already done that, Minerva,” the doctor responded. “She must have been the first exposed to space. As you know, a disruptor, unlike a phaser, carries a heavy radioactive backwash,” The doctor’s voice steadied and she took on a more clinical tone. “It doesn’t last long. From the wounds on T’Lok’s arms and legs, it looks like she spread-eagled on the breach, trying to keep from getting blown out. Her back was exposed to the radiation in backwash of the disrupter beam - it boiled her organs inside her.”

Irons felt the coldness settling in.

“She probably saved Jarrong and Belo Rys. They were ejected behind her, but by the time they hit space the radiation had dissipated. Dr. Jazz is re-attaching Belo Rys’s hand. She should have full use of it by tomorrow.” Tali Shae fell silent, then started to shake.

Irons finally managed to sort out a few words. She was still listening to herself saying them, as if part of her was in another room, listening in. “Tali… I didn’t know… You know, I didn’t realize how much of my hope for the future was invested in that young woman.”

Tali Shae tried to respond, but couldn’t.

Irons heard herself say, “I feel guilty… I can’t stop wishing that it was anyone else. I’ve been a starship captain for nearly eighty years. I’ve lost more crew members than we have serving on this boat. But this one… She should have lived another hundred and fifty years. All the wonders she should have seen… This is one horrible day.” Irons looked down and fell silent.


Dr. Tali Shae found her voice. “I felt the deck plates. I’ve never felt anything like it before. How fast are we traveling?”

“Warp eleven,” Irons responded, not understanding where this came from.

Tali Shae continued, “However you remember this day, Star Fleet will remember this as the first day a starship travelled above warp ten deliberately and under its own power. You’ve broken the biggest speed record. And if that drive works the way it’s supposed to work, you’re not tearing space apart - you’re repairing it.”

Irons laid her head back, staring at the ceiling. “We could have done that tomorrow.”

“Minerva, you’re going to have to tell the crew. I just don’t know how you do that. Everyone loves T’Lok. There is no one on this boat she didn’t comfort or hug or make laugh…”

Irons finally felt her voice as if it were her own again. “This one hurts.” She bit her lip, then managed, “a lot.”


Dr. Tali Shae and Justice Minerva Irons sat in silence for a few moments.


Without looking up, Tali said, “You know, you need to tell them about warp eleven. And the zip drive. And while we lost T’Lok, we saved four others.” Tali Shae looked up. “Minerva, we need to remember this as a good day. Dr. Carrera’s whole life has been about this. That whole engineering department - they’ve been working themselves to death making this happen. And they saved all our lives. We were able to run away.”

Irons felt a bitter laugh escape her. At that moment the communication system came alive, bringing the slightly mechanical voice of the Tactical Medical Hologram, Dr. Kim, into the room. The TMH sounded oddly excited: “Dr. Shae, they’re awake…”

4.9 (of 14)​

 

[Gibraltar]

Review of 4.4/4.5/4.6 – Some brilliance on the part of a crewmember leads to a breakthrough in propulsion. That’s why it’s important to place smart people in all your vessel’s departments. Holy Hell, that was a sudden ambush. Our rogue telepath seems to have potentially seized control of an entire ship in order to try and prevent Hunter from reaching the Terran system. Good thing the new high-warp equations were cracked, leaving their enemies in the dust. Now we see precisely how much trouble their unknown enemy will go to in order to destroy this ship and crew, those most likely to stop her rampage.

 

[Gibraltar]

Review of 4.7/4.8/4.9 – Medical professionals at work here, but taking a moment to mourn a lost crew-mate. It’s never easy to lose a comrade, most especially on a small ship where everyone’s well acquainted.

Carrera’s a good sort, not one to steal a subordinate’s accolades for solving the final equation making the zip-drive workable.

The loss of T’Lok, heart and soul of Hunter’s crew, is devastating. I appreciate that the moment is given it’s due, with both Irons and Dr. Shae shaken by the woman’s death. Alas, I fear that given the power of this particular opponent, T’Lok may not be the last among them to fall.

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Review of 4.4/4.5/4.6 – Some brilliance on the part of a crewmember leads to a breakthrough in propulsion...

Tomos is the raw recruit. He saw the simple solution all the Ph.D.s missed... I was inspired by Numb3rs when writing this, so I wrote in a fair number of stories about people solving problems by doing the math - and doing their homework. I also wanted to show people with little formal education could be just as brilliant as the Ph.D.s.

Review of 4.7/4.8/4.9 – ...Carrera’s a good sort, not one to steal a subordinate’s accolades...

...The loss of T’Lok, heart and soul of Hunter’s crew, is devastating. I appreciate that the moment is given it’s due, with both Irons and Dr. Shae shaken by the woman’s death...

Those are elements I really wanted to bring forward in my storytelling - both the qualities of leadership and how precious and precarious life is. I fully intend to twist that knife..

Thanks again for the reviews!! rbs

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 10: Awakening

4.10
Awakening​

By the time Justice Minerva Irons and Dr. Tali Shae arrived at the wagon, China Irons had removed the sling that had held Ensign T’Lon’s fingers to Lt. Kenneth Dolphin’s temple and the two had both fallen into a normal sleep, clearly exhausted, no longer in telepathic contact. Investigator Lynhart Shran arrived only a moment later.


“So it’s true,” the old investigator said.

Dr. Shae was using a tricorder to verify that Dolphin and T’Lon were stable.

“It’s time to wake Tauk up,” Shran said.

“We’re out of range of the Breakfast Killer?” Irons asked.

“BK#2,” Shran said. “I have Buttans on deck 5 looking at the evidence from the attack. I’ve been going over the telemetry with Dewayne Guth. That young man has seen a thing or two. By the time you get my boss out of deep freeze, we should have something for you. It’s just a hunch at the moment, but I think I know what that attack was about.”

Irons turned toward the old investigator. “Could it have anything to do with our, well, as you say, BK#2?”

“We’re alive,” Shran said. “So, all things considered, my opinion would be, no.” Shran’s antennae turned toward Dr. Shae, then his attention followed. “Doc, think I can be there when you wake the kid up? He’s probably going to be a little sore with all of us.”

Dr. Tali Shae looked at Irons. “Minerva?”

“Wake him up, Tali.” Minerva Irons responded. “And tell him he is in charge of Ground Operations for now.” She turned and looked at Dolphin and T’Lon. “I’m glad they’re sleeping. I don’t want the first thing they hear to be my announcement about T’Lok.”

China and Shran both turned toward her.

“She died in the attack,” Irons said. “Don’t tell anyone - I will make the announcement in a few moments. I just need to put some words to it. This,” she gestured toward Dolphin and T’Lon, “this is very good news.”

4.10 (of14)​

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Star Trek Hunter
Episode 4: Run To Earth
Scene 11: The Announcement

4.11
The Announcement​

Minerva Irons returned to the bridge, not looking at her second officer, who was still in the captain’s chair. Or anyone else. She could feel their eyes on her as she walked straight to her office and let the door close behind her. She sat at her desk, then retrieved a hair brush from a drawer, removed her right hand from its sling and slowly, methodically, painfully brushed her hair.


China Irons watched Lt. Dolphin and Ensign T’Lon sleeping. She was still processing what she had heard about Lt. T’Lok Smith, the attack, the killer. China had never wanted such an exciting life. She was a cultural archeologist, specializing in vulcan culture. Her husband was a judge. Two of their children were in Star Fleet. There were few more dangerous jobs. She had no idea what had drawn her mother out of retirement no less than four times to return to the helm of a starship.


Investigators Shran and Buttans helped 2nd Lt. Tauk sit up. The long period under sedation had left the young ferengi woozy and for some reason he had a bit of a cough. It took a few minutes before his senses had cleared enough for his investigators to bring him up to date and he was still more than a little confused.


Tactical Specialist Belo Rys was propped up into a reasonably uncomfortable position on the surgical bed. She really didn’t feel strong enough to leave it. She stared at her hand in wonder. She could see the faint ring of new skin where her hand had been reattached. She slowly flexed her fingers. It didn’t feel as if her hand had been ripped off - it looked, responded and felt just like normal. She looked at her half-sister and half-brother, neither quite asleep nor awake. Her cousin, Jarrong, was up and pacing, but wore herself out quickly and then propped herself up in a corner.


Dr. Sarekson Carrera slept soundly on a cot hidden in an alcove behind his office.


Commander David Pepper walked into main engineering, partly to marvel at the engine that was carrying this boat faster than the fastest top of the line deep space ships and partly to quietly congratulate and encourage the engineering staff for their hard won accomplishment.


“All hands…” Justice Irons’ voice was carried throughout the boat by the communication system. “That new feeling underneath you in the deck plates is the feeling of traveling at warp eleven. This date will be remembered as the first successful manned flight using a new propulsion configuration that allows us to achieve much higher speeds without causing damage to spacetime. Not only that, but in theory, use of this method will repair the damage done by centuries of warp drive. This has been the life work of our Director of Engineering, Dr. Sarekson Carrera and when you think back to this day, I want you to remember that this is in no small part his day.”

“But this is also the day we lost one of our own. We were ambushed and suffered casualties. Fortunately, between the smooth operation of our safety protocols and the expertise of our medical department, four lives were saved. But it grieves me deeply to inform you that our Director of Ground Operations, Lieutenant T’Lok Smith, was killed in the line of duty at six hours and forty-four minutes this morning.”

“I can only tell you how deeply I feel this loss. But we are not out of danger yet and I still need each of you to perform your duties to the high standards that you always have achieved. If, however, you need to take a few minutes to recover, please inform your officer in charge. At nine hours, thirty minutes we will come to a full stop and go dark for one hour. If your duties permit, you may join Dr. Tali Shae and me in the Medical bay at that time.”

“That is all.”


Dr. Carrera slept soundly straight through the announcement.

4.11 (of 14)​