Friday, April 5, 2013
{{This chapter was stubborn, and difficult to get through. Struggled to construct what I wanted to have happen and say, and did a lot of deleting and rewriting. There's some technobabble, but I tried to keep it to a minimum. It is one of the shorter chapters.
You'll also noticed I've finally decided on an actual title I'm happy with that I feel like captures the essence of the story itself, and I've applied it to this chapter and all preceding ones. With the exception of some Klingon books, all the Star Trek stories have focused on the Federation, and members thereof or connected directly to. One of the reasons I've always liked these characters and their story is that they're NOT part of the Federation, or any other political affiliation. They're just people, most of them outcasts of their particular societies. I feel like that's the most important part of their uniqueness; they exist in the same universe as the Star Trek we've all come to know and love, but they're not in the Federation safety net of Utopia. It doesn't mean they're bad people, or they're the enemy. They still love, they still wonder, they still strive to explore the universe and, like all the best Trek, experience the "human condition".}}
You'll also noticed I've finally decided on an actual title I'm happy with that I feel like captures the essence of the story itself, and I've applied it to this chapter and all preceding ones. With the exception of some Klingon books, all the Star Trek stories have focused on the Federation, and members thereof or connected directly to. One of the reasons I've always liked these characters and their story is that they're NOT part of the Federation, or any other political affiliation. They're just people, most of them outcasts of their particular societies. I feel like that's the most important part of their uniqueness; they exist in the same universe as the Star Trek we've all come to know and love, but they're not in the Federation safety net of Utopia. It doesn't mean they're bad people, or they're the enemy. They still love, they still wonder, they still strive to explore the universe and, like all the best Trek, experience the "human condition".}}
“Report!”
“The Bender ship just…just
materialized out of thin air, sir! Engines
are unresponsive, we’re dead in space. They’ve
caught us with…multiple cords or lines or…”
“What about shields, are our
communications being jammed?”
“Shields are offline as well. Communications…Communications reports still
operational, across the board.”
“I’m on my way, Jax. Tell Skid to figure out what the hell is
wrong with our engines!”
“Aye, sir!”
Kanor moved over to Kaz during the
conversation, having a hard time tearing his eyes away from what was outside
the observation window. The Bender’s
ship seemed to be all around them; like they were in the middle of the large
ring. The tendril-like beams that
normally trailed behind the ring seemed to be…folding, swiveling around either
side. Kaz took the hand Kanor offered in
assistance after flipping his communicator shut.
“Kaz, that headache you
mentioned. Is it gone?”
“I…suppose it is, yes. I need to get up to the Bridge. Work with Munson, he’ll need the help.”
Kanor nodded, his mind going over
the situation as he fell in beside Kaz while they both ran to the
turbolift. His headache was gone. Kaz’s was gone. The Benders had appeared out of nowhere on
top of them, even though they had displayed no cloaking technology. His chest hurt as he ran, moving too many
muscles too much. Sharp spasms seemed to
be clutching his lungs, making his breath ragged. Kaz contacted Drei as they came up to the
turbolift doors, and Kanor leaned a hand against the wall, relieved.
“Drei, get that communication we
discussed sent as soon as you get to the bridge. And if you could bring one of my uniforms,
I’d appreciate it.”
“Done.”
The turbolift doors swished open,
and Kaz ducked inside, gripping one of the handles as he flipped his communicator
closed. Kanor followed, his brow
furrowed, his fists clenched as he resisted the urge to place a hand against
his chest in pain. Stupid running.
“Bridge!”
“Deck five. Kaz, I think the Benders kept their ship
hidden from us with their telepathy as they approached.”
“That’s impossible. At that range, for everyone aboard
Enterprise?”
“We have no idea how powerful they
are, and it’d explain the headaches.”
The turbolift shot upwards, heading
to the Bridge first. After a few
moments, Kaz replied.
“It’s boggling to consider, but
you’re right, it’s possible. The only
reason I can think of they haven’t destroyed us is to board us.”
The car slowed to a halt, the doors
opening to the controlled chaos of the Bridge. Jax, the young Trill pilot, was standing in
front of the Captain’s chair, and looked relieved to see Kaz, despite the robe
and slippers the Commodore was wearing.
“Weapons status?”
The doors closed again and the car
took off back down to where his quarters were.
Kanor’s fingers gripped the control handle tightly as he made his plan
of action.
“Cypher, is Marcie located in her
quarters?”
“There is a human life reading
within her quarters, yes.”
“Keep track, make sure she doesn’t
leave before I get there.”
“Affirmative.”
“Can you patch in to the
Enterprise’s visual monitoring of the ship’s corridors?”
“Normally during an alert level, I
woul…”
Kanor interrupted her.
“So you can. Do it.”
There was a pause as Cypher
complied, during which the turbolift car slowed to a halt.
“Done.”
Kanor strode down the corridor as
fast as he could; the corners of his eyes and mouth tightened with the pain
moving so much caused him, an occasional cough escaping his lips. The corridor was busy now, senior staff
darting out of their quarters in varying states of dress and disarray as they
headed to their posts. He ignored Cypher
for the moment, intent on the task at hand as he passed by his door and
continued on. He stopped outside of
Marcie’s quarters, his fingers stabbing the door page.
“Really, during an alert? Enter!”
He stepped into her quarters, a
part of his mind realizing this was the first time he had actually been inside. He stopped in the doorway from the foyer to
the rest of her quarters, which seemed to be laid out in the same fashion as
his own.
“Whatever it is, make it quick,
mister, I’ve got…Kanor…”
Marcie’s voice trailed off as she
looked up from the uniform tunic she had just finished sealing. Her hair looked frazzled, her beautiful blue
eyes tired. A hurt flashed across her
features for the quickest of moments before she locked it up behind an
impassive mask. Kanor felt an unpleasant
feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with his physical injuries.
“I need to get to Sickbay, what do
you want?”
She sounded tired, too. Kanor tried not to think about why.
“I’m…in a lot of pain. There’s a good chance we’re about to be
boarded, and I’m having a hard time even moving fast, let alone fighting. Can you…?”
Marcie sighed, looking at him for a
moment before pushing past him to get to the replicator. She punched up a menu, found what she was
looking for, and hit it. The console
beeped at her.
“Chief Medical Officer clearance
required.”
“Lieutenant Commander Samantha O’Neil,
Beta Gamma Gamma Two.”
The replicator hummed as a
hypospray materialized, the strobing scarlet light of the Red Alert indicators
flashing over its surface. Marcie
grabbed it and turned around to face him.
“This is the strongest stuff I’ve
ever heard of, it’s not even legal in most circles because of its highly
addictive properties. But it’s the only
thing that’ll give you the results you need, fast, that I know of that doesn’t
conflict with what I gave you earlier.
Are you sure you want to take it?”
“I can’t fight like this, and I
can’t just…sit by and let things happen.”
Marcie took his left hand, placed
the hypospray in it, then closed his fingers around the handle as she clasped
her hands around his.
“It’s nearly instantaneous. Length varies by individual, but it’s
generally quite a few hours. It acts as
a pain suppressant and a stimulant; but your body is STILL going to be like it
is now, and when it wears off, you’re going to feel it. Like I said, it’s dangerous, Kanor. There’s only enough in there for two doses,
and even that is pushing it for a twenty-four hour period.”
“Thank you, Marcie.”
Marcie’s eyes looked up from their
hands, catching his gaze and staring at him meaningfully.
“We really need to talk.”
“I…I know. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, you know that,
right?”
She smiled softly, though it seemed
half-hearted.
“I really need to get to
Sickbay. After this has all blown over,
though, okay?”
Kanor nodded, and Marcie squeezed
his hand.
“Come see me in Sickbay when this
is all over. I’ll need to check up on
the effects this will have on you, and…well…”
She released his hand and grabbed
her lab coat, which was draped over a nearby chair. Kanor took the cue and headed out the door,
Marcie following him. She reached out to
grasp his arm, looking up at him for a moment.
“Be careful, okay? No letting creepy alien things smack you
around this time.”
Kanor grinned a little, and he
lifted his hand without the hypospray to brush along the edges of her hair with
his fingertips.
“Deal.”
She smiled, a little more like the
normal Marcie he had come to know, and darted off down the corridor to the
turbolift. Kanor made his way next door
to his quarters, noting that the corridors had emptied out again. Everyone must be at their designated stations
already. The touch of Marcie’s hands
lingered as his doors opened for him, but Kanor had to push the thoughts
aside. He needed to focus.
*****
A few minutes later, Kanor finished
affixing the gauntlet to his left wrist, doing a quick mental inventory. He was as ready as he was going to be. He eyed the hypospray Marcie had given him
which he still hadn’t taken. He had
Cypher run a chemical analysis while he had changed out of his pajamas, and she
had determined, broadly, what Marcie had indicated. Highly addictive, but nothing directly
lethal. Cypher had given him a brief
history of the drug as he pulled on his battle gear. It still made him uneasy, he supposed it was
that addictive factor; it translated to “lethal” in his mind. Still, it had hurt to put on his jumpsuit and
affix all his weapons in their customary positions. He reached out and picked up the hypospray.
“Kanor to Ensign Munson.”
“Munson here; what do you want,
Kanor, I’m a little busy at the moment!”
Kanor checked the hypospray to
ensure just the one dose was queued up to be injected, then placed the tip
against the inside of his left elbow.
“I’d like to help; Kaz said I
should talk to you.”
There were a couple of moments of
rummaging around noises on the other end as Munson did something over there in
the background, during which Kanor injected himself with that first dose.
“Enterprise is effectively dead in
the water; weapons and shields are offline, and so are our engines. Those things they’ve wrapped around us aren’t
only keeping us in place, they’re somehow interfering with our systems. Skid and Selorus are working to override it,
but it’ll take time. Meanwhile, they’re
somehow closing their giant ship around us in some sort of sphere; Drei
estimates when it’s complete, we’ll be cut off from the outside.”
He could already feel the drug coursing
through him; it was like a deep breath of fresh air travelling through his body
after he had been suffocating. The
aches, the tightness, the stabbing pains in his chest if he moved too much too
quickly, they were all fading away. He
not only felt liberated, he felt…energized!
He closed his eyes, savoring that wonderful sensation as it suffused his
being, even as he interrupted Munson.
“Any signs of some smaller vessel
heading our way, some boarding party…?”
“Not yet, but…I think there will
be. If not now, once they’ve secured
their ship around us. I’ve stationed
teams at the main airlocks, but with our shields down, they could just as
easily beam aboard. I also stationed
quick response teams throughout key areas of the ship. There’s got to be some reason they haven’t
destroyed us; they want something from us.”
“Agreed. What about us boarding them?”
“Ai is trying to scan the interior
of their ship now; it’s proving difficult, but our proximity seems to have made
things a little easier. Soon as she’s
finished, I’m requesting Kaz let us go over there; if nothing else than to get
a firsthand look of what’s going on aboard.
If he agrees, I’d…I’d like you to come along.”
“They still haven’t tried to
contact us?”
“No. Kaz has been trying to reach out to them
diplomatically; requesting they respond to our attempts at communication,
explain themselves and their actions against us so far, but nothing.”
“And the telepathic route…?”
“Again, nothing. If that’s how they communicate, they’re not
responding, if they’re even listening.”
“Munson, I’m going to be frank; I
don’t think you should be a part of the team to go aboard their vessel.”
Silence from the other end. Kanor pressed on.
“Enterprise is in a hostile
situation; like we both agree, odds are she’ll be boarded. If she is, her chief of security should be
aboard to coordinate the security teams.”
Kanor could hear the frustration in
Munson’s voice; whether it was because he hated Kanor was right, or because of
the admission he had to make was unclear.
“I don’t have anyone else to send
over to lead the team.”
“Then let me.”
Again, more silence.
“Look, I know we’ve had our
differences. I know I’m not part of the
crew, and you probably trust me about the same as you did Sh’lan, though I’d
like to think maybe a bit more than that.
One of us needs to stay here, and the other needs to go over there. You know this ship better than I do, you have
the advantage here. I know what I’m
doing; and I need you guys just as much as you need me in this situation. The welfare of your people will be a priority
for me; you have my word on that.”
Munson sighed, and Kanor knew he
had him.
“Fine. Come down to the armory; I’ll need to go over
some stuff with you first.”
*****
Kanor had just stepped out of the
turbolift onto deck seven on his way to the armory, when he heard the sound of
phaser fire off in the distance.
“Cypher, talk to me.”
“Shots have been fired on deck seven
near the science labs. I am also
detecting an anomalous fluctuating life reading in the vicinity.”
“Can you get me a visual?”
“Projecting a holographic image
from one of the security cams.”
Kanor held up his left arm, where a
small display emitter in his gauntlet constructed an image of a section of
Enterprise’s corridor. A group of four
security guards were in the middle of a scuffle with invisible foes, a couple
of the guards firing their phasers into thin air. Kanor recognized the signs. His eyes narrowed, however, as further
ramifications of what he was actually seeing sunk in. He drew his Mek’leth and D’k tagh, trying to
mentally prepare himself for what he was about to be exposed to, as the
holographic image winked out. His body
was practically humming with energy; the aches and pains of the past few hours
replaced with a wonderful buzzing skittishness.
“Bodyslide by one to that location,
fifteen meters behind the guards.”
The green light of his
teleportation suffused his field of vision for a moment before dissipating as
he arrived. He felt an all-too-familiar
headache well up in his skull almost immediately. The telepathy of the Benders forcing its way
into his brain. A group of Tholians
swarmed in the corridor, fighting the guards up ahead, who seemed to have some
sort of abnormal headpieces affixed over one eye. Even as he felt his muscles tense up, his
fingers tightening on the grips of his weapons, one of the Tholian’s
crystalline head turned to look at him, letting out a spine-tingling screech.
“Back-up to deck seven, science
labs! We’re under attack by the
Jem’Hadar!”
Kanor tried to ignore the panicked,
incredulous tone of the female security member in charge of the security
team. A pair of the creatures skittered
away from the guards, their legs hurtling them in his direction. He gritted his teeth, the knuckles of his
fingers popping.
“Cypher, I need you to overlay that
security cam footage to my eye immediately.”
Kanor flinched as the Tholians
reached him, felt one of their appendages smack against him, heard their
screeching all around him. He closed his
left eye, focusing on the image Cypher was sending directly to the contact in
his right eye that showed the corridor empty save for the Enterprise
guards. He could still see the images of
the Tholians through the overlay, but he tried to block that part of what he
was seeing out as much as he could. It
was disorienting.
“It’s not here…they’re just keeping
us distracted while they’re…dammit!”
One of the guards fired in his general
direction, whether they were mistaking him for whatever terror the Benders were
supplying to their brains or simply because they didn’t recognize him, he
couldn’t be sure. He dove out of the
way, the sizzling scorch mark the shot left on the bulkhead a good indicator
the weapon wasn’t on a mere stun setting.
Ending his combat roll with his back against the far side of the
corridor’s bulkhead, facing towards the guards and their invisible struggle in
a crouch, he shouted quickly.
“Bodyslide by one, quarters!”
The Tholians and the corridor went
away, and he reappeared crouching down in the middle of his quarters. He leapt to his feet and headed over to the
replicator, resheathing his weapons, his mind racing. He started punching in instructions to the
replicator as fast as he could, feeding the machine the parameters of what he
wanted.
“Kanor to Munson!”
“Munson here! They’re attacking us on deck seven, Kanor,
I’m on…”
Munson sounded like he was running
and talking, probably responding to the distress call from his team. The armory was on the same deck as the
science labs.
“I was just there; listen to
me! I didn’t see any of the Bender
aliens, I think the whole thing is just to divert…”
“You haven’t been equipped with the
devices I issued to the teams yet. With
the telepathy problem, I…”
Kanor thought of the things the
security team was wearing; it seemed to wrap around their heads, an arm of the
device keeping a display in front of the user’s right eye. Whatever the devices were, the team had still
been fighting the phantom telepathic enemies the Benders were throwing at them;
the devices apparently weren’t effective.
Kanor interrupted Munson again as he finished with the replicator
commands, the telltale hum of the machine generating a new object rising then
falling, leaving behind what he had requested.
He could hear the sound of phaser fire in the background on Munson’s end
growing louder.
“Be careful, your team still shot
at me, I’m sure by accident. Whatever
those devices do, the team was still susceptible to the illusions.”
Munson issued orders to someone,
the sounds of running stopping, though the man’s heavy breathing was still
coming through from his exertion.
“Hold! What do you suggest, then?”
“I think the Benders are heading to
Selorus’ lab, to secure the contents of the package I retrieved. I’m on my way to intercept; I believe I have
something to get around the chaos of their telepathic illusions. Keep your teams out of the main science lab
for the moment.”
“Wait, how are you getting around
the telepathy?”
Kanor hefted the device he had
crafted, lifting it up to slip on over his face. A thin band stretched over his eyes,
completing covering his field of vision and literally leaving him in the
dark. He couldn’t see anything.
“Total visual deprivation,
supplemented by a computer generated overlay.
If it works, I’ll let you mass produce them for the rest of your team
when I’m done. Otherwise, I’ll probably
be dead.”
Munson was silent for a moment on
the other end.
“We were using spectra-graphic
overlay devices to give us mechanical input on what we were seeing, to
circumvent the telepathic influence.”
“The overlays are too disorienting
without the complete visual deprivation.
Knowing it’s an illusion, it’s still difficult to ignore your instincts
when you see something coming at you.”
Munson sounded understandably
pissed and frustrated; there was a sound that could have been Munson punching
something metallic over the com. Kanor
didn’t blame him one bit.
“Understood! Update me asap! Munson out!”
As soon as the connection was
severed to Munson, Kanor switched conversational partners.
“Cypher, I need you to connect into
the visual recording sensors on this deprivation visor and extrapolate an
illuminated overlay on the interior of the device.”
He heard a pair of hums begin in
the device covering his eyes as Cypher activated the sensors, and soon a
digitalized image of his quarters flickered into view. He moved his eyes, but the image didn’t
move. However, when he turned and lifted
his head, the overlay adapted.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be a delay in the visual updating.
“Opinion?”
“The device theoretically should
allow you to view an un-influenced vision of the things you’re looking at, as
machines do not have minds for the Bender’s telepathy to work upon. In possible future reiterations of this
device for the rest of the Enterprise crew, further software and hardware will
be required to operate what my presence will be facilitating.”
“Will your self-awareness and
consciousness make you vulnerable to the Benders, though, and prove a
liability?”
“Impossible to determine; despite
my consciousness, my program is still mechanical, not biological, in
nature. Theoretically, from what we do
know of telepathy in the known races of the galaxy capable of it, it has never
been shown to influence non-biological entities. However, the Benders are unlike any other
race known to have been encountered before.”
“Well that seems to be about as
good as it’s going to get.”
“I should also note the device is
not well protected or secured; in a combat situation, it will be susceptible to
being removed or damaged.”
“Again, best we’ve got. You only detect one of those anomalous
lifesigns?”
“As everything else we have
encountered concerning the Benders, sensor readings are…sporadic and seem to be
in a constant state of flux. To the best
of my ability to determine, yes, there is only one of them. I cannot pinpoint its exact location.”
Kanor took a few steps, constantly
moving his head to test the device out and grow accustomed to the visual
stimuli. The overlay was not like truly
seeing; it wasn’t even like viewing things through a camera. The amount of detail simply wasn’t there, and
the entire visual seemed to have an obviously artificial bluish tint to it. Still, he could determine objects, make out
depth, see a skewed bluish vision of the color spectrum. It would have to do.
“Cypher, I’m going to go in there
to take that thing on.”
“That does not seem advisable. It has shown to be faster and stronger than
you. And we do not know if your weapons
will even be effective against it.”
“I’m hoping the more confined space
will reduce some of those advantages.
I’m just glad I finally relented and let Selorus take the contents of
that thing to his lab. Otherwise, it’d
be here.”
“I wish I was capable of helping
you further.”
Kanor couldn’t help but smile at
the unexpected tone of-regret, sadness?-he heard in Cypher’s voice. She kept surprising him with the rapid pace
of her emotional development.
“You’re almost literally going to
be my eyes for this, Cypher. I need
you. You ARE helping me, a great deal.”
She seemed…proud, pleased.
“Are you ready?”
He pulled out his Mek’leth, and was
in the process of grasping his Varon-T, but changed his mind. At best, he might get a single shot off
before the thing was upon him. No, this
would be a fight fought up close and personal.
He pulled out his D’k tagh, instead.
“Bodyslide by one, Selorus’
lab. Place me in that holographic field
emitter.”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comments:
Honestly cannot wait to see what happens next!
Post a Comment