USS Elementia Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“Elementia seems to be experiencing some kind of power surge-”
“Sir, we've lost transporter lock on the away teams-”
“They aren't responding to hails-”
Picard turned to the woman at his side as his bridge crew continued to throw reports at him. “Tell me Captain, is my ship safe?”
“Perfectly. She won't fire at you.”
She? The ship or whoever was currently in control of her? “Will you tell me what is going on?”
“She's running through a systems check.”
“For what?”
“A prototype weapon.”
The lift opened, depositing their first officers on to the bridge. He tore his focus from Captain Crusher to Will.
“Commander Riker, get Enterprise clear of Elementia, weapons ready.”
“Aye sir.” Though his eyes were wide with surprise, his XO didn't break stride as he moved out onto the bridge to carry out his orders.
Commander Troi stayed by the security station, clutching the rail as the ship shook again. How was a power surge on Elementia affecting them?
“I do have your chief engineer and CMO aboard, along with several other members of your crew.”
Done what was necessary. What kind of man did she think he was? And who was she to take hostages from people who, in truth, were strangers?
“Is that a threat, Captain?” He turned back toward her.
“You attack my ship, you attack your crew.”
And what about her people? Did she not care for them? Had she not spent this past day tending to them? “You struck against us first.” Threatened, but it felt like a blow, nonetheless.
“I took assurances so that you wouldn't interfere. As I said, Elementia is not going to attack you. She's just going through a systems check.”
“A systems check that you seemed to think requires hostages for you to be able to carry out!”
It was about the time he managed to say hostages that Worf, Deanna, and a large host of security personnel made it to the bridge.
“Captain-”
“Things are in hand Mr. Worf.” The captain and her first officer had tensed at the sight of him. Because of the threat he implied or because he was Klingon? He did not need to situation to get any worse. “Would this systems check happen to have been the thing that rendered your ship nearly incapacitated and most of your crew injured?”
“The last time, yes. In preventing the total destruction of the ship we tore a whole in the universe that landed us here, as well as draw the attention of the Romulans.” She didn't even sound concerned as she admitted to it.
“You tried an untested weapon in enemy space?” Picard held her gaze. Perhaps he could find something in her eyes other than the madness she was speaking. “You weren't sure if it would even work. If it destroyed your ship you wanted to do what damage you could to them.”
“We were never going to risk letting this prototype fall into their hands. Taking the ship into enemy held territory was a calculated risk.”
“A foolish risk, you mean. You don't have permission to be out, do you? Did you steal your ship?”
“The admiralty was heavily split on whether or not we should be set out. Our Picard rather heavily opposed it.”
“What is it this weapon is supposed to be capable of?” Shutting it down had torn a whole in the universe. What was it supposed to do when it wasn't malfunctioning?
“It could turn the tide of the war.”
“A war you've been losing for all these years as I understand it. One weapon is supposed to change that?”
“One person can change anything. One ship can do so much more.”
He agreed with the thought, though his mind riled against her intended means to enforce it. One knife. One gun. One bomb. One ship capable of punching holes in the universe. Weapons could change things, yes, but so rarely for the better.
“Sir, we're losing power in the shields, they won't hold long.”
Worf joined the lieutenant at the security station, checking his readings. “We are also losing weapons' power.”
“I take it your ship is responsible for this as well?”
“It takes a lot of power. It won't shut down anything vital.” Because she was on board? Or did they really bother not to kill those they leeched off of? “It was easy enough to gain access to your systems when we passed through your shield. We were careful about the ones we picked.”
What other tricks had her war torn Federation learned? Even if power wasn't being drained, would they have been able to successfully attack the smaller ship?
“Sir, whatever the Elementia is doing, she appears to have stabilized. She's turning away from the Enterprise.”
Would she leave behind her captain and first officer?
“Hail them.” Captain Crusher didn't sound worried, she sounded excited.
“They haven't been responding.” The lieutenant at comms looked toward Picard, ready to try again, regardless.
“They'll answer for me.”
Picard gave himself a moment to glower at her. “Patch her through.” He had been assisting her all day, it seemed he would be doing this as well.
When Elementia's bridge appeared, three engineers and one commander were present. None of them seemed to be paying attention to who was calling, despite having answered.
“You're supposed to be resting, Kathryn.”
“What?” The commander looked up finally. “You thought your little doctor-ganger was going to keep me in bed? They just gave us everything we need. I had to make sure it was working.”
“And.” There was something desperate and eager in Captain Crusher's eyes.
“Are their sensors down? Can't you-? Of course it works!” She spoke as if she hadn't just been doubting herself.
“Nothing overloaded?”
“No. The data we got from last time let us circumvent that.”
“This is all very exciting-” Picard cut into their chatter. “-but what about my crew?”
“That's him?” She looked mildly diverted for a moment, staring at him, before returning to the panel she she had been using. “He looks different without the beard. Your crew is fine. In with the engines. I hope they haven't tried to mess with anything... we just got things working again...” She cut the transmission.
Who the hell had that been?
As if reading his mind, Captain Crusher spoke. “Commander Kathryn Janeway. I've got her on loan from Admiral Nechayev. If she exists in your universe, I imagine she's a wasted resource.”
If she existed Picard hoped she did much more with her life, and possible career in Starfleet, than help build weapons.
“I want my people back, Captain, and I want you off my ship.”
-
Beverly and Geordi were kept aboard Elementia while the rest of the crewmen were returned to them. The engineers and nurses were simply confused when they arrived. Aside from some flicking lights, they hadn't noticed anything strange happening on the other ship.
Will would feel better once they had everyone back, and Commander Troi and Captain Crusher were off the ship. The two women were huddled close together in the transporter room they were being held in, easily ignoring the large number of guards posted at the door.
He had heard Deanna speaking to Picard about her inability to reach the others via comm. She had been restless and on edge prior to that. Everyone seemed to have been treating their supposed guests with suspicion, except for him. A distracted first officer would have been to their advantage, had they really been planning out all their interactions with the Enterprise crew. Did they really believe their weapon to be that important?
And if he had known what they were doing, would Picard have stopped them? Simply not helped them? That did not seem like the man he knew.
It seemed like the behavior the Elementia crew expected from their Picard. Resistance, destruction in the face of what they were doing.
Helping or hindering them seemed wrong, no matter which way he looked at it.
“Commander.”
He started at the sound of Worf's voice, and quickly turned away from the door he had been facing. He had barely been able to see into the transporter room from across the corridor anyway.
“Mr. Worf.”
“Do you think the security team is not enough?”
“Uh, no, it's fine.” He wasn't sure it was even necessary. They had gotten what they wanted without violence, he saw no reason for them to turn to it now. Their threats had done well enough. Their continued threat.
It would be better once Beverly and Geordi were back on board.
“I'll be on the bridge, Mr. Worf. I trust you're keeping an eye on things here.”
“Of course.”
If he had meant to say anything, Will left before he could bring it up. He didn't draw any odd looks in the corridors, no longer keeping strange company. He wandered towards the bridge when he remembered that was where he told Worf he was heading.
“Commander.”
He stopped walking, unable to keep his shoulders from drooping slightly. He needed to be alone in his quarters for a while, not be out around people.
“Are you alright Commander?”
“Yes, Mr. Data, what is it?” He turned to face the android, making himself stand straight again.
“I was going over the readings I had from the Elementia during its systems check of the unidentified weapon.”
Unidentified. Had they even bothered to give it a name, where it came from? “You found something?”
“The data I gathered was, to use a human expression, most disturbing.”
“Oh?”
“The ship gave off trace amounts of hyperonic radiation while it experienced its power surges.”
“Radiation?” Will crossed his arms. “Are our people inside alright?”
“I do not believe it was a high enough dosage, or a long enough exposure, to cause any lasting damage.”
“Anything else?” What about some non-lethal radiation was 'most disturbing'?
“The amount of power the ship generated, even before it absorbed energy from our systems, was equivalent to the output of three warp cores, maintained to the standard of the one currently installed in Enterprise.”
“What does that mean?”
“In generating that power and not completely obliterating themselves in the process, it seems most likely that the ship is capable of focusing that energy. Considering their interest in weaponizing it, it is likely it would function as a high intensity phaser beam.”
“How high intensity?”
Data opened his mouth, closed it, stared a moment at Will, then continued. “Very high intensity.”
“I appreciate the layman's terms, Data, but what do you mean by 'very high intensity'?”
“Even if it did not draw on power from a vessel such as the Enterprise, I imagine the ship would be quite capable of destroying a planet of Earth size, or irreparably damaging one the size of Jupiter- were Jupiter a planet of comparable size and not a gas giant.”
“You're telling me that little ship can destroy planets?”
“Yes sir. Quite easily. I have detailed it in my report on this incident.”
Will did not look forward to reading it.
“Number One.”
He tapped his comm badge. “Riker here.”
“Worf has just informed me that Doctor Crusher and Lieutenant La Forge are back on board.”
That meant Commander Troi and Captain Crusher were no longer on the ship.
“Once Elementia has gone through the anomaly we're to make way for Betazed.”
“Aye sir. Riker out.”
-
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