Chapter 21
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NO infringement is intended. All other material is copyright to Unusualsuspex 2009.
Chapter 21
IMPERIAL LINES STARLINER I.S.C.S.OLYMPIC – ENGINEERING ANNEXE
UFP SPACE
September 15th 2371 – 2035 FST
With an accompanying team from the Olympic’s engineering section, Dan had recovered the tree to a small maintenance office on deck 15 where he was now performing a scan of the shattered trunk. Above the break, the tree was still perfectly healthy but at the fracture itself the bark and the wood had become brittle, turning to powder at the slightest touch.
He examined the readings from the tricorder and although they confirmed what he suspected he was still shocked by the results. In a matter of seconds the trunk that had been enveloped in the ‘time bubble’ had aged in excess of a hundred years compared to the surrounding material.
Requesting that the engineers remove the affected portion of trunk and place it in stasis, Dan excused himself to make his return to the bridge. A whole new deadly element had been added to their current predicament and if it were to worsen, he had no idea how they could protect the occupants of any of the ships.
IMPERIAL LINES STARLINER I.S.C.S.OLYMPIC – DECK 8 BERTH 42
UFP SPACE
September 15th 2371 – 2038 FST
Nan rang the door chime of berth 42 and the door was answered by a young woman cradling an infant. Beyond the woman, she could see that the luxury berth had been effectively partitioned to allow four smaller spaces to be created. It was cramped but not uncomfortably so.
“Governor Bacco? How can I help you?”
Good question thought Nan. The last thing she wanted was to cause a panic amongst the refugees when they already had so much to deal with. Gently for now.
“It’s just a courtesy call really,” she lied. “I know the refugee team have been doing the rounds but there are a lot of people to see and I thought I’d pitch in with them.” She indicated the berth beyond the woman’s shoulder. “Is everything alright in the berth?”
The young woman’s eyes went wide as she realised she’d kept the Governor standing on the doorstep.
“Oh I’m sorry Governor, please, come in.”
Nan stepped through into the narrow passage created by partitioning screens and the young woman, who introduced herself as Alyth Merrick, guided her to the portion of the berth that was hers.
Despite the fact that it was a quarter of its original size, the berth still offered space enough to allow the young couple and their child a decent living area. Hastily fitted lighting fixtures allowed each quarter of the berth to be lit independently, and the dividing corridor led directly to the en-suite facilities which were naturally shared by all the occupants of the berth.
“It’s much more comfortable than we expected Governor,” said Alyth as she held the narrow door open. “When we were told how many people would be aboard each ship we feared the worst.”
Nan smiled and couldn’t resist a peek at the baby.
“How’s the little one taking it?”
Alyth smiled as Nan cooed and the child’s tiny fingers grasped at Nan’s.
“Oh she’s fine. She’s at the age where life is sleep, eat and make noise. It’ll be quite the adventure to tell her about as she grows up.”
“Does anybody know what happened yet Governor?”
It was Alyth’s partner, Erion, who asked the question.
“Not exactly,” replied Nan deciding that at least a partial truth was allowed. “They’re working on it now though so we should have some answers quite soon.” She indicated the adjoining rooms. “Nobody was injured were they?”
Not during the incident,” answered Erion, “but a gentleman from the end room was taken to sickbay a couple of hours ago.”
Nan was instantly alert. “Do you know what happened?”
He shook his head. “The first we knew was when the medtechs arrived and hustled him out.”
The mental maths showed Nan that the man had been removed at approximately the time of the ‘time bubble’ appearance and she didn’t believe in coincidences like that.
“Well I’d best move on,” she said, trying not to appear too keen to leave. “If there’s anything you need though, just contact an immigration team member. We’ll do our best.”
The young couple stood to see Nan out but she waved them back down. “Please, its fine. Look after yourselves and the little one, and I promise as soon as we know more we’ll let you know.”
Alyth smiled as Nan herself stood to leave. “Thank you for coming down Governor, it means a lot.”
Nan made her way back down the passage towards the berth door wondering just what she would discover when she checked in at sickbay and again the thought passed through her mind that she had promised to look after these people. She was now seriously wondering if it was a promise she had any chance of keeping.
USS ANGEL – MEDCENTRE ONE
EN ROUTE TO ARGOLIS SECTOR
UFP SPACE
September 15th 2371 – 2047 FST
Under normal circumstances Anthony would have handed over control of the med-centres to Helena Russell four hours ago and this particular night he would have now been entertaining the senior crew of the Brunel in the Phoenix lounge. Instead he was co-ordinating the alert med-team leaders as to the likely influx of casualties.
Mass casualty treatment always became a lottery at the triage stage with the lucky ones receiving treatment while others had to be left aside. Anthony knew that his team leaders in the triage section were fully capable of making those decisions but knew equally that in the aftermath it could be choices that caused much soul searching.
If they’d just had one more operating theatre, or perhaps if another med team had been available or even if they’d just had the luxury of a little more time. He’d been there and knew how it felt, but it was a career they were dedicated to and one they excelled at.
He’d just sent Dorian off with a PADD full of last minute notes when he noticed Homer nervously peering around the door.
“Lieutenant Richmond?”
“Er…look if you’re busy I can…”
Anthony waved him in. “Nonsense, you can help me stack these crates while we chat if that’s alright?”
Homer nodded and began lifting the ready packs of medical supplies on to the anti-grav gurney, but said nothing. It seemed to Anthony that the young pilot was trying to reach a decision about what to say.
“I’d normally try and show a little more patience Lieutenant, but I’m afraid we’re a bit pushed for time this evening.”
Homer blushed slightly and apologised. “Doc, I gotta be honest, this is gonna sound like one of those corny old war movie lines but I wanted to leave a message for Gabby.”
Homer handed the small isolinear chip to Anthony and shuffled his feet in embarrassment.
“I assume you mean one of those “just in case I don’t come back” messages?”
Looking thoroughly miserable he leaned back on the gurney and nodded.
“Doc I know it sounds stupid. It’s just that after Gabby’s accident, it kinda made me realise that even the most innocent looking mission can go wrong and we never get to say some of the things we should have done.”
For a moment Anthony said nothing then sat down beside Homer.
“The circumstances aren’t important, but I can assure you that not only do I understand exactly what you mean but I don’t find it stupid.” He looked at the chip, then at Homer. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll hang on to this for now but when this is over, I want you to sit down and tell Gabby exactly what you said on this chip.”
Homer mulled over the contents of the chip knowing he’d basically poured his heart and soul out on it, but realised the Doc was right. Once or twice as he’d sat talking to her, he’d wanted to say just how much she’d become to him in the short time they’d known each other; how she wasn’t just a shore leave fling that he’d forget about by the next planetfall. That, and so much more.
“Thanks Doc, I appreciate it.”
“Fly safely Lieutenant, there’s a young lady expecting to see you in the morning.”
Anthony’s grin was infectious and Homer left the med centre feeling that a great weight had lifted off his shoulders. Anthony, despite his optimism in front of Homer, was hoping he wouldn’t have to deliver the chip to Gabby, because Homer was right; in their job, jeopardy was a constant companion. Especially now.
USS LEECH
UFP SPACE
September 15th 2371 – 2053 FST
The Leech, despite its dire injuries, had survived remarkably well. That’s to say it had remained relatively intact at least. Atmosphere had been lost behind the command module, and power was now reduced to emergency levels but the structure had at least remained whole.
With the advent of the randomly appearing time bubbles however, that wasn’t to last. Unbeknown to the crews of the trapped vessels, these time bubbles had been an intrinsic part of the phenomena since its formation but until recently they had been both short lived and microscopic. As the temporal anomaly had gained power however, they had started to become larger and last longer. While it was true that the disturbance caused by the three huge ships being dragged from warp had attracted and possibly caused the formation of more bubbles, they had still remained somewhat dispersed. In fact, with space being the vast empty place that it is, the majority were forming and dissipating without interacting with anything larger than cosmic dust.
The Leech – having been stationary for some while – was unlucky enough to become the epicentre for a forming bubble. It expanded quite quickly to reach a diameter of almost eight metres but it was the location of its expansion that caused events to unfold the way they did.
The centre of the bubble was located just outside the ship’s skin but as it grew, it crept inside the already weakened frame of the Leech, biting into and rapidly ageing the central spar of the cargo support unit. With the damage already done by the Section 31 shuttle, it became the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back as the spar crumbled to fine powder under the strain.
Outwardly however, nothing seemed amiss. There was no movement in the vessel to disturb the equilibrium of the two halves and to all intents and purposes, the ship still appeared intact.
Inside the Leech though, more damage was being wrought as the bubble ended its expansion by neatly bisecting the artefact that had remained inert under the blanket of the nearby neural damper.
Other than the ancient race that had devised the prison for the hive-mother and her parasites, nobody would ever know what dimensions the artefact plumbed to imprison the creatures. Suffice to say that however it operated, the effect of the bubble was magnified by the distorting forces inside the artefact. It ballooned rapidly, reaching deep into the previously unbreachable prison but rather than simply ageing all that it touched, it literally tore them asunder.
The hive-mother felt the dissolution of each and every parasite the bubble touched, a brief scream of fear and the barbed mental thrust of agony piercing her psychic shields until she became overwhelmed by the ferocity of the mental onslaught and toppled over the very edge of sanity itself. Her relief only came when the bubble eventually tore her atom from atom.
The neural damper that the Section 31 operatives had managed to beam aboard became the final victim of the bubble as the half enveloped by it crumbled rapidly leaving the remaining part to spark briefly and then die.
With its death, however, came a surprising revelation that until now had lain hidden by the dampening field.
IMPERIAL LINES STARLINER I.S.C.S.OLYMPIC – MEDICAL CENTRE
UFP SPACE
September 15th 2371 – 2107 FST
Nan spoke quietly to the Vulcan doctor who had recovered and treated Blakely after his call for help. T’Kan explained that after running a full spectrum of tests she had found a perfectly healthy man.
“In truth, he is perhaps healthier than a man of his age has a right to be. At his suggestion, we checked the medical records he had brought aboard and they confirmed that a mining accident had severely and permanently damaged his lungs.”
“And yet now, that damage has disappeared?” Nan was astounded. It would appear that if this was due to the effects of a time bubble, then it had been a benign outcome rather than the ones they’d previously become aware of.
“So it would seem,” T’Kan responded. “Right now I am at a loss to explain it.”
“Doctor T’Kan, I’m not sure how many of your colleagues were involved in the examination of Mr Blakely but I would ask that for the time being his condition be kept on a need to know basis.”
T’Kan’s eyebrow rose at the request. “Is there something that I should be aware of Governor?”
Nan mentally debated how much she should tell the doctor and decided that a minimal truth was necessary.
“The Captain believes that this may well be a side effect of the field that dragged us out of warp, but at the moment it is still being investigated.”
T’Kan nodded as she followed the statement to its conclusion. “And she does not wish to alarm or concern anybody without conclusive evidence?” The decision seemed to appeal to T’Kan’s sense of logic. “A wise action I believe. I will continue the examination of Mr Blakely and forward my results to the bridge; in the meantime I will indeed treat the matter with confidentiality.”
“Thank you doctor that would be greatly appreciated.”
T’Kan inclined her head before returning to her work once more, and Nan hurriedly returned to the bridge. Without further study it seemed the effects of the time bubbles were as unpredictable as their formation and that could only be bad news for the ship as a whole.
IMPERIAL LINES STARLINER I.S.C.S.OLYMPIC – BRIDGE
UFP SPACE
September 15th 2371 – 2109 FST
“So there’s no doubt then?”
“The professional in me says that without further empirical proof, blah blah blah.” Dan shrugged. “The realist says he isn’t going to argue with the proof he’s already got.”
It seemed to Dan that Dubois’ expression became even more pained than it had been for the past few hours.
“Look, Nereth, I don’t want to raise your hopes but its possible I may have at least a partial solution to this but I’ll need to get back to my shuttle and power it up to confirm it. Is that possible?”
Dubois chuckled somewhat humourlessly. “Dan I’d give you the keys to the Olympic if it helped prevent any more injuries.” He noted she avoided saying “deaths” but the implication was clear. She turned to call over her shoulder to the chief engineer. “Mr Callum, what’s the current status of Captain Fishlock’s shuttle please?”
“She’s in standby mode Captain attached to the command tower airlock, but remember she’s not airtight. If you need…” His voice trailed off.
“Mr Callum?”
Dan followed Dubois to the engineering console where Callum was obviously running a sensor scan.
“What is it Duncan and please don’t make it bad news,” Dubois said softly.
“Actually Captain, it may just be good news.” He pointed to the screen in front of him and overlaid on the image of the Leech was a small set of readings that Dan couldn’t quite make out. “We’ve kept the ship that Captain Fishlock was following under regular scans as requested but this is the first time we’ve received any positive life sign readings.”
“What? Where?” Dan could barely keep himself from pushing past the engineer and Captain.
Callum tapped at several pads and brought the schematic up to full screen size.
“We’ve been running a sweep every 15 minutes and this just came up. They’re feint but they’re there, look. This is definite brainwave activity and low level vital signs.” Callum shook his head in confusion. “The only thing I can think is that this field has been messing up the scans and we’ve finally hit a clear patch. Whoever or whatever is over there seems to be in pretty poor shape though.” He looked apologetically at Dan.
“Is there any chance that the transporters can push through this field if there’s been an opening?”
Callum once again operated the console but sat back shaking his head. “She’s steady at 8000 kilometres off the port bow but according to the computations she’d need to be at less than 2000 kilometres to obtain a definite fix. As the field fluctuates it affects the targeting array so we could just as easily kill him as save him.”
Damn! Dan stared at the screen willing an answer to appear.
“How about if I were to board the Berwick and we combine your tractors with my thrusters to get over there? I can make a scan of the database while I’m aboard the shuttle.”
Callum nodded seeing how the plan might proceed. “That way you can use the shuttle transporter and we can reel you back in again. You’ll be at the extreme range of the tractors though Captain; if the field shifts we might lose you.”
Dan turned to Dubois who shrugged to indicate that the choice was his. Right now he felt that he’d come too far to lose the one chance of recovering Gabe that he might have.
“I believe it’s worth the risk.” He turned to the chief engineer. “I’ll head out to the shuttle now. How long would you estimate the journey out to the Leech Mr Callum?”
Callum held out his hands in surrender. “I don’t even want to give you a ball park figure Sir, there are way too many variables; tractor strength, field strength, the effect of the shuttle’s thrusters. Any one of them could change and the estimate goes out the nearest airlock.”
With a grim smile Dan placed a hand on Callum’s shoulder. “Best speed then Mr Callum.”
USS ANGEL – SCIENCE LAB 4
EN ROUTE TO ARGOLIS SECTOR
UFP SPACE
September 15th 2371 – 2122 FST
T’Sell stood at the back of the science lab watching as the Bynars worked quietly in synchronization. The neural net was arrayed on the lab bench in front of them as they conferred in short bursts of speech, their hands weaving a tapestry of polymers, fibre optics and nanoprocessors.
Again she found herself waging an internal war between her Vulcan and Betazoid persona in the realization that time was slipping quickly away. She breathed deeply and began the Vulcan Wh'ltri that her father had taught her in her childhood, but again it refused to calm the inner turmoil she felt. Her foremost fear was that if they were to arrive at the Olympic incident site before the work was complete then more precious hours could be lost, hours that they simply did not have. While she fervently believed in the Vulcan mantra of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few, this time she hoped against hope that the many could wait just a little while longer.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the Bynars suddenly fell silent and turned around like perfectly harmonized marionettes.
“Our work is almost complete but we would wish…”
“…to perform at least one complete simulation…”
“…before attempting the transfer.”
T’Sell could see the sense in that if time allowed, which of course prompted her next question. “How long do you estimate the simulation to take?”
“At the moment we estimate approximately two hours…”
“…though that does not take into account the possibility of remedial work.”
She nodded realising that the estimate would mean that the Angel would already have arrived at the incident site, possibly incurring further delay. It would appear that the scales of time were finely balanced right now and it would take very little to upset that equilibrium.
“Thank you, to both of you. Please continue, I will advise Captain Gray of the progress.”
She almost gave them a grateful smile but reined it in just in time, substituting it with a nod of gratitude before leaving for the bridge.
That’s going to turn out just peachy. 
