Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter Five
USS Dauntless
Kursican Badlands
Stardate 57372.6
Ensign Daniel Larson kept one eye on the readouts as the information was fed to him by Commander Wright in astrometrics regarding course corrections due to the subspace topography. He made another correction and the Dauntless veered to port seconds before a rift opened and a plasma needle pushed through before being cut off as the rift closed.
‘That was close, Ensign,’ Astar said.
‘Yes sir, this particular region is the weakest we’ve encountered so far. It would be a prime target for our hypothesis.’
‘Slow to impulse,’ Astar ordered and Larson did so. ‘Mahtani, you ready?’
‘Yes sir,’ the science officer answered from astrometrics. ‘Engaging deflector dish now.’
Although they couldn’t see the beam itself, Gonzales had overlaid a tactical plot on the main viewscreen of what the beam was doing. Inset at various places were smaller screens with information scrolling down regarding the weaknesses of local space and the strength of the beam.
‘We have a rift forming,’ Gonzales said. ‘According to my scans the other side is in the plasma storms.’
‘How long before the rift is open enough?’ Wright asked in a bored tone as he returned to the bridge.
Ignoring the tone from her superior, Gonzales replied. ‘We have to open the rift all the way, like cutting a leg open to remove a thorn before the suturing can begin.’
‘How long?’ Wright asked again, sounding impatient but just skirting the edge of being unreasonable.
‘Another three minutes.’
‘Plasma needles are coming through,’ Larson said.
‘Hold position,’ Astar ordered. ‘Shields up.’
‘The beam is now penetrating the subspace interfold layer. We’re almost there,’ Mahtani added.
Plasma needles struck the Dauntless and the bridge shuddered, the lights flickering on and off as the structural integrity field tried to hold the ship in one piece.
‘Hull breach on deck six, no injuries. Forcefields are holding and emergency teams are en route.’
‘Mahtani?’ Astar asked, sounding impatient herself.
‘Disengaging tractor beam, recommend you pull us back to a safe distance.’
‘You don’t say,’ Wright muttered but only Astar heard him.
‘You heard him, Ensign, take us to one million kilometres.’
‘Aye sir, reversing course.’
Plasma needles were now emerging fast and were indeed hugging the edge of the rift, as if they were trying to pull it back into subspace. Astar sat down in her chair and made a mental note to have the ship’s psychiatrist speak with Wright. She didn’t want to have to relieve him of duty but he would soon give her no choice.
‘Captain, I’m picking up something,’ Gonzales said, entering commands at a feverish pace.
‘What is it?’
‘It looks like the creature again, with its young.’
‘On screen.’
The viewscreen magnified to a point at the centre of the rift where the child was trying to ride a plasma needle and the mother was attempting to prevent it from doing so.
‘What’s happening?’
‘It would appear that the child is reach normal space and its mother won’t allow it.’
‘Why?’
‘Perhaps the child cannot survive in normal space and the mother knows that the rift won’t stay open for long.’
‘How long before it collapses?’
‘Another ten minutes at its current rate.’
‘I’m picking up two more lifeforms,’ Gonzales said. ‘More young sharks.’
‘Can she manage all three?’ Larson asked.
‘Probably not through a rift this size,’ ch’Maras chimed.
Astar turned to him. ‘Care to explain, Lieutenant?’
The Andorian looked like he was about to bolt but calmed himself. ‘The rifts we have previously seen were less than a tenth this size, large enough for a mother and its young to enter for a breather, so to speak. This one is too large for her to adequately protect her children. She may need our help.’
‘It’s not our place to interfere,’ Wright said forcefully.
‘It will be our fault if any of them die,’ ch’Maras shot back, his antennae pointing forward in agitation.
‘I understand your argument, Lieutenant. But we’re doing to protect her species. If she loses one but the other two survive, I would have to accept those odds.’
‘I think we’re about to lose those odds, Captain,’ Gonzales interjected. ‘I’m picking up six vessels approaching from subspace. Their energy signatures match the Cha’lav scouts we’ve encountered before.’
‘Ready weapons.’
‘They’re not on course for us, Captain,’ the Betazoid looked up, horrified. ‘They are closing on the sharks.’
‘Take us in, as close as you dare.’
‘Aye sir,’ Larson replied.
As the Dauntless moved closer to the shrinking rift, one of the shark pups emerged fully from subspace and swam around the plasma needles. The other two tried to follow but the mother kept them at bay. Five of the Cha’lav scouts began herding the sharks back into the interfold layer between subspace and normal space while the other one headed for the wayward youngster.
‘Gonzales, watch that scout, the moment it does anything, fire.’
‘My pleasure,’ she replied with what Astar hoped was not malicious glee, though she couldn’t much fault her tactical officer for it.
The scout did not fire on the helpless youngster but tried to snare it with a net that reminded Astar of the Tholian webs she had seen back at the Academy.
‘Commander?’
‘Firing a photon torpedo, we’re too far out for phasers.’
‘Get us closer, Ensign.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Direct hit, Cha’lav vessel is still intent on the shark.’
Plasma needles buffeted the ship, though they were not as severe as those earlier since the rift was nearing the size of its predecessors.
‘We’re in range.’
‘Fire phasers, continuous firing sequence. Aim for the weapons and engines.’
‘Aye sir, firing.’
The Cha’lav vessel finally broke off its attack and sent a few volleys of plasma toward the Dauntless before joining its companions.
‘Captain, the pup is too weak to rejoin its mother on its own and the rift will close in less than two minutes. It will not open again,’ Mahtani called from astrometrics. ‘I’ve been taking continuous scans of the area.’
Astar made a split-second decision. ‘Larson, take us in. Gonzales, snare the pup as gently as you can with a tractor beam. Ensign, have you ever flown in the interfold layer or subspace?’
‘No sir, not even in simulations.’
‘Now’s your chance. Ready, Commander?’
‘Yes sir, tractor beam standing by.’
‘Let’s go.’
Larson pushed the ship to up to three quarters impulse from a dead stop and Gonzales caught the pup in a low-intensity tractor beam in one fluid movement. The Dauntless slipped through the rift just as it closed and they were caught in the interfold layer as one last plasma needle burrowed its way into subspace itself. Larson followed the needle even as the ship was hit from the ferocious subspace energies. The screen blanked out and the bridge was plunged into darkness as they hit something solid.
