by Dayton Ward
“You’re not sleeping, are you?”
Staring at the ceiling above the bed, Geordi La Forge sighed. “No.”
“Do you want me to get you something?” asked Tamala Harstad, lying next to him on the left side of their shared bed. “As it happens, I’m a doctor.”
“So I’ve heard.” He shifted his position in an attempt to get comfortable, resting his right forearm across his face. “Let me just lie here a minute. Maybe I can drift off.”
Harstad chuckled. “Are you kidding? I can hear your brain turning from here. I know you’re thinking you’ll just lie here nice and quiet for a few minutes with your eyes closed and the lights down low, and that’ll be enough. It won’t work, Mister Chief Engineer. Even you know it won’t work. You didn’t even get undressed.”
“I took off my boots.”
“And thank you for that.”
Closing his eyes did nothing to help La Forge relax. His mind was still conjuring images, building and disassembling pieces of diagnostic results and other data fed to him in rapid fashion by the ship’s computer over the past several hours. The unending stream of information had wormed its way past his eyes and deep into his brain, which now was fighting to continue the work he had been forced to suspend at the behest of the ship’s chief medical officer. Somehow, in that manner she had perfected over years spent working as a doctor, Beverly Crusher knew that he had been working almost around the clock and was well into his second day before she appeared in the engineering section, ordering him to get some sleep before resuming his duties. He had pleaded to continue working, citing as justification the urgent need to locate Captain Picard and the rest of the away team but that only compelled the doctor to reduce the length of his mandatory rest period.
“You have a staff, don’t you?” she had asked, in response to which La Forge remembered thinking that he did indeed have a staff, even if his assistant chief engineer was confined to quarters. With Taurik out of the picture—at least, officially—it fell to the rest of his team to fill that gap, and that meant La Forge spending more time in engineering, working on the problems the Enterprise currently faced.
“One hour,” said Harstad. “That’s all she wants out of you.”
La Forge frowned. “It’s too long. I can’t stand being here while my people are down there, carrying my weight.”
He felt Harstad rest a hand on his chest. “I know, and I understand, but you won’t be helping anybody if you don’t take care of yourself.”
Reaching over to caress her hand, he said, “Okay, Doc. I get it.”
Even though sleep would not come, it was still good to relax and to do so with Tamala at his side. Living together had taken some getting used to, but he had come to enjoy having someone to “come home to” after a duty shift. Their schedules and the demands placed on them were such that they were not always in synch with each other. Her duties often required her to work delta shift, whereas his role as the Enterprise’s chief engineer made it so that a strict adherence to a duty schedule was a nice idea only infrequently realized. Even with those challenges, they still found time for each other.
“Your gears are turning again.”
Despite his fatigue, La Forge laughed. “Yeah, but it’s not what you think.”
“Uh-oh.”
He was rolling toward her when the door chime sounded, causing him to cast a wary look in that direction.
“Really?”
The chime beeped a second time before he could push himself from the bed and smooth his uniform tunic.
“Come in.”
The door slid aside in response to his command, revealing Taurik standing in the corridor. As always, he was dressed in a Starfleet uniform that was irritatingly free of wrinkles.
“Commander La Forge. I hope I am not disturbing you.”
“You are,” said Harstad from behind him, though La Forge heard her playful tone and the chuckle that punctuated the reply.
La Forge aimed a dismissive wave in her direction. “Ignore her. Look, Taurik, you know what the expression confined to quarters actually means, right?”
“I am familiar with the term. However, I feel that my decision to disobey that instruction is justified, for I believe that I may have a solution to the Eizand weapons.”
That was enough to make La Forge forget all about sleeping. “What?”
“Until now, our focus has been on defending the Enterprise against the electromagnetic pulse generators. Alternatively, we have explored how to disable the satellites with the EMP weapons, but our phasers would either destroy their target, or else be ineffective.”
La Forge tried not to scowl. “I know all of this, Taurik.”
Unperturbed, Taurik continued. “Something that has not been considered, at least so far as I am aware, is using our shields to act as a countermeasure against the pulse generators.”
“Our shields can’t hold out against those . . .” He allowed the rest of his sentence to die on his lips as his mind, having taken the extra needed second to process what Taurik had said, caught up to his mouth. “Wait, you’re not talking about protecting the ship. You mean using our shield emitters as weapons?”
Taurik’s eyebrow rose. “Imprecise, but essentially correct, Commander. The Eizand EMP generators operate on a very narrow band of frequencies. If we modulate our deflector shield emitters to a comparable frequency and broadcast that energy toward the satellites at the time they are firing at us, we may be able to initiate a feedback pulse that would disable the weapons, but leave the rest of the satellite undamaged and operational.”
“Yeah, but the strain against the shields might be too much to handle while defending the ship. We could blow out some or even all of the emitters.”
“I have considered that possibility. Routing power from the warp engines to the deflector shield generators may prove sufficient.”
Now La Forge grimaced. “Or we could overload the generators, and then we’d be a sitting duck.” Even as he expressed his doubts, he was turning over Taurik’s proposal, trying to see it from different angles. How had he not considered something like this before now?
Because you’ve had your hands full, and you’re tired, and Doctor Crusher’s going to be mad at you. Again.
“I have not had an opportunity to test my theory using a computer simulation,” said Taurik. “However, I could do so from engineering.”
“How did I not see that coming?” La Forge made no effort to hide his sarcasm, but Taurik had a point. For something like this and with so much at stake, a test was needed. Several tests would be better, but he still had no idea how much longer they would have to devise a workable solution, but he figured time was a commodity in very short supply.
“Okay, let’s go.” Sleep would have to wait. La Forge could already feel a renewed surge of adrenaline beginning to course through his body. This was just what he needed to feel energized all over again. “How did you work this out without computer access?”
Taurik replied, “I considered the issue while meditating.”
“I’m going to have to try that one of these days.”
“I would be willing to assist you.”
“Later. Come on.” Satisfied now that they had something new to try, La Forge followed the Vulcan to the door. He knew he was taking a gamble so far as enlisting Taurik’s help, but the simple truth was that he needed his fellow engineer if he had any hope of crafting a solution to the current problem. In his head, he was already devising not only his apology to Worf and Captain Picard but also the instruction set he would need for the Enterprise’s main computer to realize his simulation parameters.
“Excuse me,” said a voice from behind him. “Mister Chief Engineer, sir?”
Pausing in the doorway, La Forge looked back to see Harstad crossing the room toward him, a large smile brightening her features as she offered him his boots. Only then did he remember to look down and see his socks. He leaned toward her, planting a kiss on her cheek.
&nb
sp; “Let’s just keep this between us, all right?”
“My lips are sealed.”
Sralanya
The tunnel opening and connecting passageway afforded Picard a view of the cavern below. In gentle fashion, the rock walls sloped the two-meter distance to the larger chamber’s floor before leveling out, providing a relatively flat, open area for members of the group to congregate. The area had been converted into a barracks of sorts, with rows of makeshift cubicles formed from stacking storage containers and other items used as dividers. Narrow walkways separated the rows of cubes, and inside a few of the spaces Picard could see crude bunk beds or, in some cases, blankets and padding arranged on the floor. A pond occupied the compound’s far end, with tubing running from a series of scaffolds erected around its perimeter to provide water. He watched as individuals or small groups of Eizand filled buckets or other containers of varying sizes to transport water to some other area of the subterranean compound.
“Where does the water come from?”
Standing next to him on the ledge, Janotra replied, “Underground springs. Deep enough that they were spared contamination from the war. There are subsurface rivers and springs running all through these mountains.”
Despite not attempting to keep an accurate count, Picard found himself noting the number of Eizand in easy view. At least a hundred, perhaps more, assuming there were other areas within the caverns suitable for housing members. “Surely all of these people didn’t defect from the Tevent army.”
Janotra shook his head. “Not all of them were soldiers. In fact, many of them are not of the Tevent Coalition. Our group is home to descendants of those who fled from the Yilondra as well as the Galj during and after the war, along with a good number of Coalition soldiers who left the Tevent military forces. We are all united by a common purpose, Captain. We all want to see the truth revealed and shared with the world.”
Footsteps from the tunnel behind him caught Picard’s attention just as T’Ryssa Chen emerged from the adjoining cavern. Her uniform was rumpled and her hair somewhat askew, and there were visible circles under her eyes, indicating it had been some time since she had slept. Picard could sympathize, as fatigue had long since taken hold of him. A fitful nap on a thin mattress in one of the smaller caves had done little to provide rest, though Janotra and his companions had been forthcoming with food and water.
“Captain,” said Chen. “We’ve found something you need to see.” There was no emotion in her voice, and Picard could not decide if that was just another symptom of her weariness or if she was attempting to remain composed in front of Janotra.
The three of them moved to the cave where Chen and Dina Elfiki had been working. Picard found the science officer and Glinn Ravel Dygan hunched over a low table, which was covered with a mishmash of equipment in various stages of assembly. Picard recognized only odd components, including a rectangular computer monitor that had been removed from its casing and now stood propped against part of a storage container, with wires and cabling connecting it to a manual interface panel as well as a small, portable generator. Noticing the tricorder in Elfiki’s hand, he gestured to the device.
“Where did you find that?”
Elfiki replied, “You can thank Renli. She managed to get her hands on one during our breakout. It’s definitely making this process easier.” Pausing, she turned toward Picard. “You know, we could use this to get a signal to the ship, sir.”
Picard had already been thinking along those lines. Although not equipped for voice communication, the tricorder’s data transmission capabilities could be used to attract the attention of Enterprise sensors.
“Good idea, Lieutenant, but we should probably hold that card in reserve for the moment.” He looked to Janotra. “I suspect any communications signals would be traceable and would attract unwanted company.”
The Eizand nodded. “You are correct, Captain. Coalition forces do employ a vast array of monitoring equipment. They will be scanning for any such transmissions. We observe strict communications discipline when in or near our various camps.” He pointed to Elfiki’s tricorder. “Also, I do not believe any signal you attempt to send will penetrate the surrounding rock. You will almost certainly have to get closer to the surface.”
“Very well,” said Picard. “We’ll wait until a more opportune time.” He indicated the computer equipment on the table. “Lieutenant Chen said you’d found something.”
“Yes, sir.” Elfiki rested her free hand on the computer interface panel. “According to Renli and some of the others, this equipment was taken from the Eizand ship that returned here after visiting Earth back in the twenty-first century. It’s a terminal that originally was tied to the ship’s onboard computer, but it also was portable, with its own memory core and data storage platform. All of this was salvaged from the ship and placed in storage.”
“The Tevent military made sure all of this was quarantined and stored in a secure archive facility,” added Janotra. “The computer records were used during the trial proceedings of the three humans.”
Elfiki nodded. “Right. Everything aboard the ship was modified for use by the astronauts, including the computer. If they couldn’t interface with something, then they substituted their own components, like this computer terminal. It’s not the central core, so it only has whatever was entered into it or transferred to its own data storage, but it does have personal journals, copies of status updates from the main computer, and records of visual and audio messages transmitted to and from the ship. There are sections of the storage core that are damaged. I can’t tell if it’s just from age or if something actually happened to it, but there’s still a lot here to access. Everything’s encrypted, and so far as I can tell, no attempt has ever been made to decode it.” She shrugged. “If I had to guess, I’d say no one bothered.”
“A more likely explanation is that our scientists simply did not possess the knowledge or expertise to counter your encryption procedures,” offered Janotra.
“Is there a record of anything transmitted from Earth after its departure?” asked Picard.
The science officer replied, “Other than some navigational data for course adjustments or corrections very early on, there’s nothing.”
Glinn Dygan said, “It is possible the crew was operating under orders to restrict communications for security purposes.”
“Very possible.” Picard studied the computer setup. “I take it you’ve had some luck with the decryption?”
Chen said, “Oh, yeah.”
Her hands moving in slow, deliberate fashion as though she was still acquainting herself with the interface, Elfiki pressed several controls on the panel. A moment later the computer monitor’s image shifted to show what could only be the cramped interior of a vehicle. Picard likened it to a shuttlecraft’s cockpit, but this space was even more confining, with rows of switches, gauges, and other displays covering most of the available bulkhead space.
“According to the date-time stamp on this entry, the crew’s been out of hibernation for about a day,” said Elfiki. “Computer logs show that the ship is on course to Sralanya. There’s been no contact with Earth, so they’re acting on whatever orders they had before launch.”
Picard studied the imagery, trying to absorb everything. There was a mixture of technologies crammed into the cockpit, featuring components of obvious human origin affixed to or interfaced with pieces that had to have been part of the Eizand vessel’s equipment. Sandwiched between all of that were two human males and a human female, who Picard knew were Valmiki Goswami, Meredith Harper, and Park Ji-hu.
“This is incredible.”
So absorbed was he by the centuries-old imagery that it took him an extra few seconds to realize that someone somewhere in one of the nearby tunnels or caves was shouting in alarm.
“They have found us! Coalition soldiers are coming!”
25
U.S.S. Enterprise
2386
Frustrated with sitting in t
he command chair and doing nothing as others around him were able to focus on their tasks, Worf had taken to strolling the bridge’s perimeter. It was a habit acquired long ago, soon after accepting Captain Picard’s offer to serve aboard the Enterprise as his first officer. He found the ritual to be calming, if not outright relaxing. It also served a dual purpose, in that it allowed him to get an informal update on the status of the ship’s various systems just by wandering past each of the bridge stations. The officers on duty were long accustomed to his routine and gave him no mind as he stopped at this or that console, looking over the odd shoulder to see what he might be missing.
The port turbolift doors parted and Geordi La Forge stepped onto the bridge.
“Almost there,” said the chief engineer in lieu of an actual greeting as he moved to one of the engineering stations at the rear of the bridge. Tapping a control on the workstation’s interface panel, he said, “Computer, transfer engineering to the bridge.”
In response to his command, the workstation flared to life and displayed a compact version of the master systems display La Forge would normally monitor down in the engineering section.
“You’ve found a way to defeat the Eizand weapons?”
Without looking away from the console as he worked, La Forge replied, “We think so. We’re setting up the final adjustments now. I figured you’d want to know the minute we’re ready, and I can monitor everything from here while Taurik oversees things from down there.”
“Taurik?” Worf shot an irritated glance at his fellow officer. “Commander Taurik was relieved of his duties by the captain.”
“Yeah,” said La Forge, “but he’s the one who came up with the initial idea. We’ve been working on this for hours, Worf, and we think we can get past the Eizand satellites and not kill everybody in our path.”
While diligent when it came to obeying rules, to say nothing of the orders issued by his captain, Worf was not so bound by protocol that he would not give La Forge and Taurik a chance to prove themselves. Both officers were owed at least that much.
