“Stand fast on that for the moment, Commander, and send Soloman up to the bridge at his earliest opportunity. We have one task to complete before we get started.”
The mission, Gold decided, could wait. Captain Blair and his crew deserved at least that much.
CHAPTER
5
Deep in the bowels of the Defiant , Dr. Lense and P8 Blue succeeded in forcing open the reinforced double hatch. Unlike most of the other doors they had encountered on their journey from the ship’s engineering section, this one had proven more difficult to get past. That wasn’t surprising, considering its double thickness and magnetic seal designed to hold even in the event of a ship-wide power loss. It was also heavy.
“That’s some door,” Lense said, accentuating the fact.
“It has to be,” Pattie replied as she retrieved the manual opener from the surface of the door. “In the event of an explosive decompression in the cargo bay, this door is the only thing separating the rest of the ship from vacuum. This class of ship was in service long before automatic safety forcefields became common. They are strong, but not too strong for us.” She hefted the door opener one last time before returning it to its carrying pouch on her belt. Normally used in emergency situations, the device was also one of the many helpful implements employed by engineers on starships to carry out their normal range of duties. It was a standard component of every S.C.E. team member’s tool kit.
“Lense to away team,” the doctor said into her communicator. “We have arrived at the cargo bay.”
“Understood,” Gomez replied. “Be careful in there. There’s nothing that says a hatch or two can’t fail unexpectedly if the ship is tossed around by the rift.”
Lense directed a questioning look at Pattie, who shrugged in reply. “It has been known to occur on derelict vessels.”
“Wonderful,” the doctor sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
As with the rest of the ship that they had traversed so far, this area of the Defiant was devoid of any appreciable atmosphere and was wrapped in darkness. Getting here from engineering hadn’t been the most pleasant of journeys, either, as they had been forced to walk past more skeletal remains of crewmembers drifting in the zero gravity as well as the particles and residue saturating the air. Though Lense was a physician and used to seeing bodies in all manner of decomposition, she would be more than happy to return to the da Vinci and its quite living crew.
The pair swept the immense chamber with their helmet lamps, chasing the black away as the illumination shone across the bizarre sight of cargo containers drifting freely about the chamber. Dust littered the air as well, further hampering their vision, and in some instances the grime covered shipping labels and other markings on various containers.
Pattie’s eyes widened as one reading on her tricorder changed. “I have located the anomalous power source.” She pointed off into the depths of the cargo bay. “That way.”
With Lense following, Pattie stepped cautiously into the hold, her attention riveted on the information being relayed by her tricorder as the pair continued past containers and other equipment. While some of it was still strapped to the deck or fastened to storage shelves, the majority of the room’s contents floated about the room free of any restraint.
Inspecting the label on one container, Lense shook her head. “This one is full of replacement components for computer workstations.” She pointed to another. “That one has parts for engineering control systems. This stuff could fill a museum exhibit.”
“Perhaps it will, one day,” Pattie said as she continued to consult her tricorder. “Starfleet may see fit to honor the Defiant ’s crew by interring the ship in the Fleet Museum as part of a memorial. Such an action would seem appropriate.” She turned a corner and headed toward the bay’s far bulkhead. Moving in and around more drifting containers and components, the insect-like engineering specialist abruptly stopped.
“This is it,” she said simply. It was an understatement.
Unlike the drab gray square and rectangular containers dominating the rest of the cargo hold, the object Pattie and Lense now beheld was octagonal in shape and painted in a dark black that shone through the thick dust covering it. Pattie guessed that the object was half again as long as a Starfleet standard quantum torpedo tube while being nearly twice as wide. Secured to the deck with restraining bands, the item sat atop a suite of six stocky legs. Bending down near one end of the squat device, Pattie waved her tricorder over one of the legs.
“Soil residue,” she said as she examined the unit’s readings. “Whatever it is, it was intended for use on the surface of a planet or moon.”
Lense wiped dust from the surface of the object, looking for some clue to its origin or purpose. “There doesn’t seem to be any external markings. Do you have any idea what it might be?”
“Components of this device look similar to technology possessed by the Tholians,” Pattie said. “Or at least the configurations carry basic Tholian tenets of design.” She pointed to one of the object’s eight side panels. “These appear to be energy emitters of some kind.” She shook her head. “It is remarkable that its power cell is still functioning after all this time, and despite the debilitating effects of the rift. We may be able to learn something useful about the protective aspects of its internal shielding.”
Lense frowned as she studied the squat device. “No means of propulsion, nothing that appears to be a weapon. What could it be?”
For that, Pattie had no answer. Lense mentally filed their exchange among her reminders as to why she preferred medical science to engineering: At least her patients could assist in their own diagnoses.
Sitting at the engineering station on the bridge of the Defiant , Sonya Gomez couldn’t deny the feeling that she’d stepped backward into history.
As she ran her hands along the glossy black console and let her fingers trace over the rows of multicolored buttons, she realized how Captain Gold had been enamored with the idea of boarding this vessel. The sensation had begun to assert itself earlier, down in the engineering section, but it was nothing compared to what she had felt when she set foot on the bridge.
Her trained eyes had inspected every station, every control, and come away impressed. The design of the Defiant ’s nerve center, like many of the systems she’d seen so far on the ship, were ones that held up surprisingly well despite the gap in technology they represented. She had been very satisfied with what she had found in engineering.
“So you’re saying she’ll hold together?” Gold asked, a childlike grin dominating his features.
Gomez nodded. “Most definitely, sir. The maneuvering thrusters are operating well within acceptable parameters, even though they’ve been out of commission for a century. It’ll be more than enough to help the da Vinci pull us out if necessary. They certainly knew how to build these old ships.”
In addition to restoring power to the thrusters, Gomez had also returned power and life support to the bridge, allowing the away team to remove their environment-suit helmets. Of course, Gold had let her activate the automatic air scrubbers first, while he and Soloman had taken the time to remove the remains of Captain Blair and the unknown crewman he had found on the bridge. Gomez for one had been thankful for that. During the time it had taken her and Soloman to install the generators, they had encountered more skeletons of the engineering crew. The ghastly sight had begun to unnerve her more than she wanted to admit.
“Captain,” Soloman said from where he sat at the science station, “I have obtained access . . . to the ship’s main computer. We now have access to the entire data storage network, including the . . . captain’s logs.”
“Excellent,” Gold replied. “Maybe now we can finally find out what happened to this ship. See if you can find anything in the logs about the rift.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Or Tholians, while you’re at it.” Noticing Gomez’s questioning look, the captain shrugged. “A hunch.”
She turned to watc
h Soloman set to his task. Bynars as a race interacted with computers as easily as humans conversed with one another. On their home planet, the central computer system was highly regarded throughout the Federation as one of the pinnacles of information processing capability. Like others of his species, Soloman was used to computers possessing far greater power and speed than those of a century-old starship.
Despite his best efforts, however, Soloman was still adjusting to working as a lone entity, rather than being able to divide responsibilities with his bondmate. In the weeks following 111’s tragic death, Soloman had at times found himself confused, hesitant, even resistant to the idea of working alone. Tasks once regarded as routine while working in tandem with 111 suddenly seemed insurmountable. Gomez knew that it had taken no small amount of courage to rise to the challenge of continuing on without 111’s support. That was one of the things she admired about the Bynar.
She also wondered idly if Soloman would experience any additional frustration at being forced to deal with the Defiant ’s antiquated equipment. The commander couldn’t suppress a smile at the image of the Bynar throwing up his hands in exasperation and loudly announcing his refusal to work under such intolerable conditions.
Soloman did no such thing, of course. Instead, he turned back to Gold after only a few moments of scanning the Defiant ’s computer records.
“Captain, I believe I have found . . . what we are looking for.” He keyed a series of controls and was rewarded with the main viewer’s activation. The image on the screen coalesced into the figure of a human male who Gold recognized as Captain Thomas Blair.
“ Captain’s log: stardate 5684.7. Sensors have detected a trio of Tholian vessels on an intercept course. We can outrun them, but long-range scans indicate other ships in the region. We are plotting an evasive course to get us back to Federation space. The area we’re traveling through is uncharted, but sensors have detected nothing that might present a threat to the ship .”
“Little did he know what he would find,” Gold said as the image froze.
Gomez nodded knowingly. “Our sensors have trouble detecting the rift, and we have better equipment and know what to look for. The Defiant never had a chance.” She could almost feel her blood chill as she regarded the image of Captain Blair. After studying the man’s service record during the journey here, Gold had mentioned that Blair had been about fifty standard Earth years old at the time of his command. But the log entry made the Defiant captain look older still.
From the science station, Soloman said, “ Captain, there is more.”
“Let’s have the whole megillah, then,” Gold replied. After a brief pause, the image of Captain Blair reappeared.
“ Captain’s log: supplemental. The ship has come into contact with an unidentified phenomenon unlike anything on record. Science Officer Nyn believes it to be some kind of interdimensional corridor that may actually connect our universe with a completely different one. In addition to affecting our onboard power systems, Dr. Hamilton reports that members of the crew are being struck with what she describes as a frantic paranoia. Her medical scans show that in all of the victims, an area of the brain has been affected in a similar fashion. She hasn’t isolated the cause yet, but the attacks didn’t start until we entered this rift. We need to leave this place, but our sensors can’t seem to detect an exit from this hole in space we’ve fallen into .”
In the next entry, Gold and the others could now clearly see the exhaustion and near panic on Blair’s face.
“ The incidents of unrest are escalating, both in number and violence. Four crewmen have been killed and Dr. Hamilton was severely injured when she was attacked by one of her own nurses. Without her help, I don’t think we’ll be able to find a cure for whatever is affecting the crew. Science Officer Nyn is unable to find a way out of this rift. We have been pulled into and out of our universe on three separate occasions, but in each instance we were unable to break free from whatever is holding us here. Nyn has a plan to —”
On the screen, a crewman wearing a red shirt suddenly lurched into the picture, his hands lunging for Blair’s throat. The captain bolted from his chair to parry the attack, but the crewman had the advantage in both speed and strength.
“Oh my God,” Gomez breathed. Like Gold and Soloman, she too was transfixed by what quickly became mortal combat on the viewscreen, with Captain Blair fighting futilely against the onslaught of the obviously crazed crewman. None of the away team could bring themselves to speak another word as the struggle continued onscreen.
Finally, Captain Thomas Blair succumbed to the greater strength of his opponent, his body sagging in defeat before he and the crewman fell out of view. The log entry continued to play, the only thing discernible being the unpleasant sounds of struggle continuing out of range of the log recorder’s visual pickup. That only lasted for a few moments, though, before it mercifully ended.
Soloman was the first to speak, his voice quiet and tentative. “They never had a chance . . . trapped in the rift as they were. What a tragedy.”
“That explains why Starfleet never learned what happened to the Defiant ,” Gomez said. “First they were hiding from the Tholians, probably maintaining communications silence. Then they fell into the rift with no hope of getting a signal out. And the Enterprise never had the chance to review the captain’s logs.” She paused momentarily, gathering her composure when she realized how profoundly the images on the viewer had affected her.
“What a terrible way to die.”
Gold nodded. “Well, we mustn’t let our emotions get the better of us. There will be plenty of time later to answer all the questions the Defiant and her crew have left us. For now the best thing to do is to concentrate on getting the old girl out of this mess and heading home.”
Gomez agreed, upset with herself at allowing what they had encountered to bother her. It wasn’t normal for her to react in such a manner to the unexpected or the unpleasant. Why should now be any different?
Her attention was drawn to the chirping sound of their suit communicators and the voice of P8 Blue.
“Captain Gold, we have found the source of the power readings,” the Nasat said. “I think you will find this to be most interesting.”
Gold couldn’t help a small smile as he replied. “What on this ship isn’t?”
CHAPTER
6
Despite the reports from the Enterprise and from his own colleagues—reports of lunacy and bloodshed that he supplemented with horrific images in his own mind—Duffy could not look upon the Defiant as a dead ship anymore. His eyes surveyed the century-old starship’s glowing image on the da Vinci ’s main viewer. Hanging silently in space, the all but powerless craft shimmered in its eerie blue shroud, more of a specter than a starship. Duffy propped himself against the bridge railing, vaguely recalling stories of ancient sailors on Earth’s seas and their reports of phantom schooners sailing not on the waves but in the skies. Had more people the same opportunity to view this hapless ship as did he and the da Vinci ’s crew, he thought, the Defiant surely would become the stuff of legend.
But the surreal ship now housed very real members of his own crew, whose mission was to restore life to the Defiant . At least, they were to restore enough of it to allow his team to pluck the ship from more than a century of interspatial limbo.
If nothing else, we’ll bring home some answers to questions that have baffled Starfleet officers for decades, including Captain Gold .
As he thought of his captain, Duffy swung his glance to the empty command chair in the center of the da Vinci ’s bridge. Technically in command of the vessel for almost three hours, Duffy still had not brought himself to sit in that chair. When he wasn’t working, he lingered around it, appraising it as he used to size up the antique sofa in his grandmother’s home as a child. Every holiday, his family would take the shuttle to Denver for a big meal and overnight stay. During each visit Duffy would find a way to sneak into the sitting room and plop down on that rick
ety sofa when no one was looking, just to know that he did it. Duffy smiled to himself as he eyed the seat cushion of the captain’s chair. His little game dulled some of the tension in his mind.
Hey, Grandma, take a look at little Kieran now, he thought as he sauntered over to the chair, turned around, bent his knees and—
“Mr. Duffy,” called Fabian Stevens from one of the science stations at the rear of the bridge. “I’ve got the latest structural integrity readings from Commander Gomez if you want to see how they fit the models.”
Duffy’s rear hung over the seat for a moment before he straightened and wondered if Grandma had been watching after all.
Fabian Stevens was the one crewman on the da Vinci who Duffy had the most fun with, whether it was knocking back a synthebeer in the mess hall or puzzling out the answer to a technical problem. Stevens struck Duffy as, for lack of a better term, the most regular guy on board. He had also confided to Duffy his own personal interest in this mission as the da Vinci sped through Tholian space.
The tactical expert’s assignment previous to S.C.E. had been to Deep Space Nine and its attending starship, which bore the same class designation and name of the very ship they intended to salvage. Upon receiving that posting, Stevens had studied with keen interest the logs and history of the original Defiant and had been caught up in the mystery and tragedy surrounding the vessel’s loss. As an engineer, he relished the idea of applying his technical prowess and that of his fellow teammates to retrieve the fabled ship and finally bring her home.
Stevens likened their mission to the ongoing effort by Lieutenant Reginald Barclay and the Pathfinder project to contact the U.S.S. Voyager , stranded in the Delta Quadrant with her crew valiantly trying to get home. While the stakes for this mission certainly weren’t on the same level, Fabian Stevens felt as strongly about this mission as Barclay had about bringing the Voyager ’s crew home safely.
Have Tech, Will Travel Page 26