by Chris Hechtl
“Good. Comm, get the dispatches from Voyager—any mail for us, that sort of thing. I doubt they have a lot. I'll be on walkabout,” the captain said.
“Aye aye, sir.”
“Oh, give them our fill SITREP as the mission orders require,” the captain said.
“Aye, sir,” the comm rating replied with a nod.
“Ensign Falling Leaf, you have the bridge,” the captain said as he rose from his chair and headed for the hatch.
“Aye, sir. JTO has the bridge,” the elf replied, logging the change and then bouncing out of her seat. The elf padded over to the captain's chair, kicked it and then waited as it changed shape to accommodate her smaller frame. Then she climbed into it.
The captain caught the byplay as he exited the hatch. He shook his head and kept going, a small smile tugging at his lips.
* * * *
Three days after they left the B101a1 jump point, it became apparent to Voyager that they weren't on the usual heading to a known jump point. But it wasn't until they started to charge their hyperdrive that Captain Hathaway got impatient and sent a signal to them asking what they were up to.
“Sir, the message reads, Caroline, you are off course. The jump point is this way,” the comm rating said. He turned and looked at the captain.
“Comm, there will be no reply,” the captain ordered mildly, not looking at the rating. “Secure your station for jump.”
“Aye aye, sir,” the com rating replied dutifully. He shot a dubious look to his partner manning the sensors then shrugged the thought off.
“Engineering is ready, sir,” Chief Galavant reported.
“Navigation, are you ready?” the captain asked, making his way around the room.
“The course has been fed to the helm.”
“Conn?”
“Hyperdrive is charged and holding for your order, sir,” Tulimak said, looking at the captain expectantly.
“Then make it so. Jump when ready conn,” the captain said, settling himself in his chair
“Hyperdrive charged and ready. We are oriented and ready to go. Hyper fold commencing now,” Tulimak intoned.
“Navigational plots are preloaded for the first leg. Follow the bouncing ball, Conn,” Lieutenant Brock intoned.
“Roger.”
“Remember, you get us off course and bad things can happen. Stay the course.”
“Roger,” Tulimak replied, voice sounding absentminded and drifting as he entered the mental zone. Space around the ship was starting to stretch as the ship's hyperdrive opened a window into hyperspace.
“Bubble formed. We are moving into the first octave of Alpha band in three … two … one,” Tulimak stated. He instantly flicked himself, ducking and moving as the ship flicked through the outer edges of B101a1's Oort cloud. Each object in real space formed a mass shadow in hyperspace. Small ones the size of a size of a grain of rice or even a molecule were like bugs hitting the windshield of a car, or in Caroline's case, stress on the shields.
“Even us out. Forward shields to max,” the XO said.
“Forward shields to max power, aye, ma'am,” the engineering rating on the bridge echoed the command.
Tulimak flicked through the debris, avoiding the worst of it easily. Once they were in the relative clear, he felt a bit of relief.
“Ready to translate to the second octave,” the navigator stated.
“Right,” the walrus said, initiating the procedure. “Octave two translation in three … two … one,” he said. Suddenly the compression increased as the hyperdrive moved them into a slightly higher octave of Alpha band. He knew it was going to be like that each time they moved up. It meant they were moving faster but objects in real space were going to cause more of a headache for him and others in the grav tank.
And the more compression the less reaction time they were going to have to handle the tricky bits. He hoped everyone was up for the challenge, especially Qilaq.
“Translating to octave three,” he said, moving them up to the next band. He had to get them to Gamma before his six-hour shift was up. But he could see things just on the edge of the sensor envelope. As he translated upward, they suddenly leapt closer, and he had to flick them through the rough patch quickly.
It was going to be an interesting six hours he thought.
* * * *
By the time Tulimak's shift ended and Tyjon's shift began, he was exhausted. He managed to climb out of the tube but he was shaking. “What a work out!” he said, shaking his head as he pulled the gear off.
“I think …,” Falling Leaf frowned. There had been a couple scary bits there during the walrus's run. The ship shivered a bit. “That's not good,” she said, looking up and then around the compartment.
“It's not as easy as you think. It's like a hail storm. Sometimes you have to hit a small rock to avoid a big one,” Tulimak said. He got clear of the grav tube, then leaned against the bulkhead.
“That bad,” the captain murmured, eying him.
“It's rough, sir, honestly. I think I'll get better, but I don't think we should pick the speed up anymore than we're at now. Especially for those of us who aren't trained for this sort of thing,” he said, shaking his massive head.
“Understood,” the captain replied, frowning thoughtfully. The high octaves of beta were the top speed then. “We're going to need another one of you on deck in case of a problem.”
“And something to get us over the fatigue, an energy drink or something,” Tulimak said, slumping.
“You are shagged. Go eat. Get your blood sugar up and then …,” the captain frowned as a shudder turned into a tremor.
“Sorry,” Tyjon said from within the grav tube. “This pace is hard,” he said, twisting and shifting to avoid something unseen.
“Yeah,” the captain sighed. He looked over to Lieutenant Brock. “You can't be on shift twenty-four seven, Lieutenant. I think we need to drop back to the sweet spot in Beta and then hold us there,” he said.
“Aye, sir.”
“If it gets to an easy spot, we'll see if we can speed up,” the captain said as Tyjon blindly raised his mohawk crest, then let it droop and fall. “It's not you, son; it's for the safety of the ship,” he said, one hand on the tank.
“Understood, sir,” the chimera replied.
“I think we're only getting a part of the picture,” Tulimak said. “We're not set up for the sonograms and other sensory input,” he said, rubbing his brow.
“Headache?”
“Like you wouldn't believe, sir. Stress I think, but it's also the sonics. I think the computer was trying to feed my poor brain more than it could handle. It's like mush,” he said.
“Well, they say that's normal for a middy. Okay, go,” the captain said. He nodded to the marine watching the hatch. “Help the midshipman to the galley. If he needs to go to sickbay, don't hesitate. Haul him there.”
“Aye, sir,” the marine said, stepping over to the walrus. The human seemed a bit dubious about trying to lift the two hundred kilogram Neo however.
“Don't get fresh, I've got it,” Tulimak said, one hand outstretched and touching the wall to keep himself more or less upright as he moved to the hatch. “Just guide me,” he growled.
“Right,” the captain said, watching them go. When the walrus was safely outside the hatch, he turned to Brock.
“Stepping down speed now, sir,” the lieutenant said. “The eighth octave of Beta is the sweet spot, but we'll see how the lesser compression is. We're down to the seventh,” he said as the ship began to shudder again.
“Inertial dampeners are overloading, sir. The computer can't handle the sudden shifts,” the engineering rating reported.
“What's going on? Every red light on my board is lighting up,” Chief Galavant said querulously over the intercom.
The captain looked up frowning. The shuddering didn't so much cease as it did dampen down and then move to a more turbulent buck or jump every few seconds. “We've got an issue with the helm, and we'r
e transitioning down, Chief,” he said.
“I'm on my way to engineering now, sir,” the Neodog said. “Damn, I was in this good dream with this cocker spaniel …”
“Thank you, Chief,” the captain said, using his implants to cut the diatribe off before he heard more details than he wanted to. “So much for starting it easy,” the captain said, shaking his head.
“This is easy. I'd hate to see what Gamma or Delta is like,” Lieutenant Brock said.
“Yes well, if you have to, drop us down to Alpha.”
“Sir, that will increase our transit time.”
“I can do the math,” the captain said, waving a hand aside. “Hopefully it won't be for long. Let engineering sort …,” he grabbed a handrail when the ship bucked viciously, “… their part out. Midshipman …”
“Sorry, sir. It's not as easy as we thought,” Tyjon said.
“I'm seeing that. Work on avoiding them better.”
“Aye, sir.”
“I'll work on the course projection,” Brock said. “See if I can get us around some of the worst patches. Obviously the simulations we received from command didn't quite cover this.”
“No, no it didn't. Do your best,” the captain said as the ship shivered again.
* * * *
Kapueo was called in an hour early to start his shift, which warned Qilaq that all was not going as planned. She had missed Tulimak's return to their compartment. He snored rather loudly from his rack behind the hatch door.
She took a shower and tried to relax. She ate quickly and efficiently in the officer's wardroom, and then did some limbering up exercises before she checked in with the doctor.
“Is Tulimak sleeping?” Doctor Naroob asked.
“Yes, Doctor. Snoring as usual,” the Neo-sea-lion stated.
“Good. I've been monitoring the vital signs from here. I almost interceded and had him trucked here with a litter,” the doctor said. “He's overextended himself. The same for Tyjon,” the doctor said, seemingly absentminded. His gaze was elsewhere, up and above her. She realized he was accessing his implants. “Yes, Tyjon's blood sugar is low. His reaction time is getting slower. I'm not certain this six-hour shift plan is going to work out as they'd hoped.”
“Doctor?”
“Do us both a favor; don't let your pride get in the way of the safety of the ship. If you can't handle it, say so. Get us down to Alpha band and we'll damn well have to stay there.”
“I … yes, Doctor,” she said when the doctor's black eyes bored into her own. She nodded.
“Good. Go finish your preparations and then get ready to report to the bridge. Your counterpart's reaction time and reflexes are being ladened too much with fatigue,” he warned.
“Damn,” Qilaq murmured.
“They are …,” the ship shuddered, interrupting what he had to say. He reached out and snatched a plastic model of an eyeball before it wobbled off his desk. “Damn it.”
“That bad?”
“Yes. If it's going to be like this the whole trip, it's really going to be rough on everyone and everything. I'm starting to wonder if there is going to be a ship when we get out,” he said, shaking his head.
“Damn,” Qilaq said, shaking her head as she put her smock on and ran through an abbreviated shift. She was nervous as she threw herself into the work to distract herself. It helped somewhat. When she got the call to report for duty an hour early, she was only partially surprised. She got cleaned up and then ate another energy bar.
“Take this one too,” the doctor said, handing her another. She looked at it. “Fortified bar, I took the liberty and made it fish flavored. Eat it when you start to feel fatigue. Don't get carried away with stims like Kapueo did. But don't neglect the boost if you need it,” he warned.
“Aye aye, Doctor,” she said dutifully, shrugging off her smock as she reluctantly headed to the bridge.
* * * *
“Good to see you, midshipman,” the XO said with a nod. “Take tube two. I want you to observe and support Kapueo and get the hang of the pacing. We're down to the first octave of Beta.”
“Aye aye, ma'am,” she said, noting her fellow midshipman.
“He definitely needs to work on his stamina,” the XO said as the tube opened.
“Well, hopefully my training on shift will help me, ma'am,” the Neo-sea-lion said, taking the helmet and rig from the rating. She lifted her arms to allow another rating to belt the fanny pack on her, then took the helmet and put it on her own head.
She felt the jacks plug themselves into the ports in her temple. Her vision went from black to the HUD, and then stabilized to the small camera at the center of the VR rig's helmet. “I can see. Systems up, five by five,” she reported.
“In you go then, ma'am,” the rating murmured, helping her into the tube. She settled herself once she was in and the door hushed shut. She was glad she wasn't claustrophobic, though the clear tube would help to minimize that feeling. She wondered briefly if they would have used her or would have medicated her to help her with that psychological flaw briefly while she floated upwards and then downwards.
“Initiating feed in three … two … one,” the rating said.
Suddenly the flat image of the bridge was replaced by an image of fast moving water. She gulped instinctively, then swam as instinct kicked in. “Um …”
“Sorry, I just realized … hang on a sec …,” the rating said.
“I'm not going anywhere,” Qilaq said, fighting the panic of potentially drowning. She knew it wasn't real, but deep down her hind brain was wondering where the pressure from being underwater was and why she wasn't drowning. She forced herself to breathe as the simulation reset.
“Damn it, it's harder to run both at the same time now. The processors are nearly saturated just trying to keep up with the rapids,” the rating murmured. “I'm throwing the reserves in. This better work.”
“Do what you can,” the XO said distantly as Qilaq's simulation changed once more. A few days ago someone on the crew had loaded a reprogrammed simulation for her. She'd been curious but dubious by it initially, but then when they'd shown it to her, she'd fallen in love with it.
They had worked out a way to reprogram what she saw as a representation of someone's innards. It amused her. She had to navigate the course like she was running an endoscope or a trail of nanites. She appreciated the effort on her behalf.
“Damn, she murmured, seeing the streams of particles representing the rapids stream by. To her the particles looked like various elements of someone's blood, from red blood cells to white blood cells, plaque, and other things. “Okay,” she said, taking stock. She moved, easing into things.
“I see the ball,” she reported after a moment.
“Good,” the XO said. “Just get the hang of it,” she said.
“She better get the hang of it; I can't handle this for much longer,” Kapueo said, voice ladened with fatigue. Qilaq felt a thrill of concern for her fellow middy's welfare, but she couldn't do anything about it.
“Ma'am, I recommend Doctor Naroob send some of his special energy bars up to the bridge for Kapueo and others including myself.”
“A snack break?”
“More like a booster, ma'am, a pick me up.”
“Well, I do need a cup of coffee or two; I suppose his concoctions won't hurt. As long as you don't have to use the rest room,” she warned.
“As long as someone doesn't remind me, and you keep the sound of tinkling water away from me, I'm good,” Qilaq said.
She heard Kapueo's distant gurgling laugh. She saw his image finally; it was ghosted in front of her, following the ball. His reaction time was definitely off she noted.
“I got it,” she said, moving in to match him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” she said, settling herself. “Just hang in there and watch for a bit to make sure,” she said.
“Gotcha,” Kapueo said. “Relinquishing the ball,” he said formally.
“I h
ave the ball,” Qilaq said formally, reaching out to grab the ball and then bounce it ahead of her. “Follow the bouncing ball, sure,” she said. She saw the ball draw a line to something she couldn't quite see and then blink. It then moved on.
“What was that?” she asked.
“It found a way point it was looking for,” Kapueo answered her.
“Oh. It's different than before,” Qilaq said, swimming. “I can go faster,” she said.
“Let's try this speed for this shift. Work out the kinks, and then step it up. Learn to walk before we run,” the XO's voice said dryly.
“So we're past crawling then?” the Neo-sea-lion quipped as she maneuvered them around a cluster of white blood cells.
“We'll see after this shift,” the XO replied.
* * * *
The initial few days were rough, but to everyone's surprise Qilaq had the fewest problems. The selkie seemed at the top of her game. Qilaq seemed mollified by the praise and knew she would be kept busy by the mission. She also knew the extra shifts she'd squeezed in with Doctor Naroob had to come to an end.
Halfway through her first shift she'd eaten the energy bar. It had been laced with some good stimulants; most likely caffeine and other pick me ups. Initially she'd felt heavy and sleepy when her digestion kicked in. But then she felt energized once more when it hit her blood stream.
Day by day she saw how it exhausted the others. They were determined to see it through. It wasn't like they had a choice, but some of them wondered which one would break first.
On the third day she convinced the TO Lieutenant Oppenheimer to let her try a higher octave. She did so well a half hour into it he authorized her to try a higher octave. She had a bit of trouble making a smooth transition, but once she did, it became easier. “I think part of the problem is getting used to the pace. We have to ease into things, not just jump in. I recommend we dial back on the speed on each shift change, then run up as we go.”
“Translating up and down like that uses a lot of energy. We don't have it to spare,” the tactical officer said.
“Um …”