Finally, the clamp opened with a shriek that set his teeth on edge. Geordi pushed the claws away from the rings. Now to see how the others are doing, he thought.
T’Varien was just pushing the claws on her grapple away from the docking rings as Geordi touched down beside her. A tremor shook the metal surface beneath his boots.
“What was that?” Both of them mouthed the words at the same time. A pulse of water shoved against Geordi’s shoulder.
Is the station breaking loose? he wondered. He looked at T’Varien and realized she was thinking the same thing. They pushed off, swooping around the airlock to join Yoshi.
The third grapple was so badly bent that one person couldn’t budge it. In the time Geordi and T’Varien had opened the others, Yoshi had barely gotten his crowbar between the claws of this grapple.
Geordi and T’Varien anchored themselves beside him. Using all his strength, Geordi couldn’t get his crowbar into the opening. T’Varien wiggled the tip of hers into the narrow line and threw her full Vulcan strength against it. The line spread, and she jammed her bar deeper into the gap.
Geordi planted his crowbar beside T’Varien’s and forced it downward. Yoshi leaned against his crowbar and pulled. Even with their combined strength, it was slow work. One centimeter at a time, the claws spread.
Another tremor shook the shuttle, stronger than the last. A feeling of panic swept over Geordi. They weren’t going to make it in time!
Desperation lent him strength. He threw his entire weight onto his crowbar. A shriek of metal scraping against metal rewarded him. The claws separated and dropped away from the docking rings.
Yoshi pushed off, shooting toward the hatch like an orange porpoise. T’Varien was slower and a lot less graceful. Geordi trailed behind, giving them time to go through the hatch.
Halfway around the shuttle, a pressure wave caught him. Before he could regain his momentum, another pulse hit. In slow motion, one of the rock spires toppled over and vanished. Behind him, the station skidded closer to the edge.
Geordi activated his belt winch. It reeled in his safety line, hauling him through the water. He pointed his hands ahead of him, trying to minimize the resistance and maximize his speed. Nothing could stop the station from going over the edge now. They had very little time to get the shuttle free.
When he got to the emergency hatch, T’Varien was waiting. She dragged him through the opening. Geordi raced for the cockpit while Yoshi closed the hatch.
Another tremor rocked the shuttle. Geordi threw himself into the pilot’s seat and powered up the engines. This time, the thrusters pushed them away from the station.
Violent currents tossed the shuttle about. Geordi fought to keep the unpredictable water movement from slamming them into the sea floor. On the viewscreen, the station skidded to the edge, balanced for a moment, and then fell, pinwheeling onto its roof. It slid out of sight, gathering speed.
More pressure waves buffeted the shuttle. Geordi fought to hold the ship steady until the water calmed. Then, finally, he flipped the shuttle and pointed it toward the surface.
He engaged the autopilot, setting it to warn him if they encountered anything unusual. After confirming their heading, he headed aft to take off his skinsuit and get some hot soup.
CHAPTER
12
The trip to the surface took several hours. As they rose, the computer slowly reduced the cabin pressure and changed their air to surface normal. After all their adventures, they didn’t need to get the bends by coming up too fast.
For most of the time, Geordi dozed in the pilot’s seat. The autopilot was doing its job, but he was afraid something might go wrong. He called the surface station several times during the first hour, but the empty hiss of static was the only response. Finally, he gave up. Either something was blocking the signals or the station’s communications were out.
It was after midnight, local time, when the shuttle reached the ocean’s surface. Geordi looked out over the moonlit water, thinking he had never been so glad to see anything. Then he caught his first sight of Isla del Fuego. He tapped his VISOR, checking to see that he was receiving its signals correctly.
“Oh, wow!" Lissa swung herself into the copilot’s seat and stared out the front window.
Isla del Fuego was living up to its name. The volcano was in full eruption, with streams of red lava snaking down its sides. Clouds of steam billowed upward where the molten rock entered the ocean. The bright moonlight turned them shades of pearl and silver.
Geordi tried again to reach the surface station. As he expected, no one answered. The station had either been evacuated or destroyed by the lava. He switched to the general Starfleet frequency and tried to raise the Academy. To his surprise, Lieutenant Muldov answered.
“It’s about time you reported in, Cadet La Forge. Complete your assignment and return to base immediately. Muldov, out.”
“What did he mean by that?” Lissa asked. A puzzled frown wrinkled her forehead.
“Beats me.” Geordi felt as confused as Lissa looked. Their assignment had carried no instructions that covered this possibility. He guessed that Lieutenant Muldov meant they should gather as much data as possible before returning.
Their voices woke the others. The cadets clustered around the window. Geordi took the shuttle in closer to give them a better view and to record the scene with their scanners. He didn’t get too close, though. After all their adventures, he wasn’t going to risk anything happening to the shuttle.
“It would seem that the intense earthquakes have triggered a full-scale eruption,” T’Varien said. “It is a most spectacular sight.”
“That’s for sure.” Geordi grinned. Seeing the volcano erupt almost made up for the rest of their trip.
“Someday perhaps we will know enough to predict precisely when such eruptions will occur.” T’Varien paused. “The evidence that suggested this eruption might occur allowed too many interpretations. Leilani said even the scientists on the station were split into two groups on the subject.”
“Really?” It was nice to know the experts didn’t know everything, even though he wished they’d been more accurate with their predictions this time. “I guess it’s good to know there’ll be some work left for us after we graduate.”
Finally, everyone had seen enough and Geordi didn’t think anything new was happening. He ordered the shuttle to take them back to the Academy. He was so tired, that he could barely find the controls, and only the thought of his own bed kept him going.
He had hoped they could slip in quietly, but that didn't happen. Half the senior staff was waiting to debrief them. He envied Ven, Todd, Amril, and Leilani. The medical officer whisked them off to Sickbay, leaving the others to answer the questions.
It was nearly dawn before the debriefing was over. “You cadets did very well,” Lieutenant Muldov said. “Your efforts in retrieving the lower station’s data chips will be commended. With the upper station buried by the eruption, it will be some time before we gain access to the data in those computers.
“Your group will have an extra day to turn in your reports for this assignment. Dismissed.”
The five cadets started for their quarters. Geordi felt very pleased with himself. He and his classmates had gotten out of Neptune’s Locker with no permanent injuries to any of them. They had been very lucky.
All the people on Isla del Fuego had been evacuated in time, although seven of the scientists working in the undersea dome had not made it to their escape pods. The Starfleet cadets, unfamiliar with the dome’s layout, could easily have become additional casualties.
Geordi touched his belt pouch. Cris Hall had sent him a brief message congratulating him on his escape from Neptune’s Locker. He smiled, thinking how relieved he’d felt to known she was alive. He was sure that was why she’d sent him the message.
The route to their quarters led past Sickbay. “I want to see how my sister is doing,” Amray said.
The group decided to come with
her. Todd and Leilani were asleep, but Ven was awake and asked to talk to Geordi.
“I owe you an apology, Geordi,” the Andorian said. “My world is very harsh, and only the strongest survive. Anyone who is born less than perfect is abandoned at birth because they cannot compete in our society.”
“Uh—yeah?” Geordi scuffed his toe against the floor, trying to figure out Ven’s meaning. If the other cadets understood, they didn’t give him any help.
Ven seemed embarrassed, as though apologies didn’t come easily for him. “What I am trying to say is that I am grateful that you saved my life. I will remember this in the future when I am tempted to judge others by the customs of my planet.”
A grin spread across Geordi’s face. Similar grins lit the other humans’ faces, and even T’Varien’s expression showed a hint of warmth. Geordi reached out a hand to the Andorian. “Maybe we can teach each other about our people.”
“I would like that very much.” Ven clasped Geordi’s hand. The two cadets, from very different worlds, smiled at each other across a gap that wasn’t as wide as it had been before.
About the Author
V. E. (VICKI) MITCHELL has written two adult Star Trek novels—Enemy Unseen and Windows on a Lost World—and one Star Trek: The Next Generation novel, Imbalance. She has also had short stories and articles about writing published in a variety of places. When she isn’t writing fiction, she works as a geologist for the Idaho Geological Survey, where her geological publications far exceed her fiction credits. Her hobbies include making costumes, dancing, photography, Chinese cooking, putting on science fiction conventions, and working on her Ph.D. She is married and is “owned” by a 125-pound black Labrador/St. Bernard whose main goal in life is to keep her working at her computer.
About the Illustrator
TODD CAMERON HAMILTON is a self-taught artist who has resided all his life in Chicago, Illinois. He has been a professional illustrator for the past ten years, specializing in fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Todd is the president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. His original works grace many private and corporate collections. He has co-authored two novels and several short stories. When not drawing, painting, or writing, his interests include metalsmithing, puppetry, and teaching.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy #5: Atlantis Station Page 9
