Note: Paramount owns Star Trek. Alan Decker owns Star Traks. I own Star Traks: Next Frontier. Now that all the legal mumbo-jumbo is out of the way, enjoy the season finale of Star Traks: Next Frontier!!!
Star Traks: Next Frontier
“Lost Marbles”
By Cory Parker
“Captain’s Personal Log, stardate 53933.4. Well, the day I’ve been hoping and praying for has finally arrived. Starfleet, pleased with our progress, has called us away from Sector 66-F and ordered us to Starbase 54 for reassignment. Halle-fricken-lujah!”
“Well, you don’t see that everyday,” muttered Halvox as she watched Halloway and LaCroix laughing up a storm at a secluded table in the ship’s mess hall.
“What, them? They’ve both been in an extremely good mood ever since we got the news a week ago. Got any threes?” added Gabriel. Halvox grunted and shook her head.
“Go fish. I mean, we all didn’t like it out here, banished from civilization. But those two…whatever. I’m over them,” she decided, throwing her hands up in frustration. Gabriel rose an eyebrow and shuffled through his cards.
“Kerry, you’re starting to scare me,” smiled Gabriel as he laid down a pair of threes. “Got what I wanted.” Halvox rolled her eyes and looked again at Halloway.
“So did he.”
“What were we talking about again?” asked a very confused Bannon. He, Monty, and Mennol were in Astrometrics, looking over a star chart of Sector 66-F. Mennol sighed and looked at the engineer in despair.
“Ensign Bannon has the most scattered brain I have ever scanned in my life!” he yelled.
“Now, now. No reason to get all huffy,” responded Monty as he looked at Bannon with a small smile. “We were discussing how to best incorporate Mennol’s knowledge of the sector into the database.”
“Oh, that’s right. Why didn’t you say so?” he said, looking up at the chart.
“We’ve tried saying so for the last hour and a half,” muttered Mennol as he plopped into a seat.
“Saying what for the last hour and a half?” asked Bannon. Mennol slapped his forehead and sighed.
“Well, I think that it’s a wonderful thing, Scott,” said Benn with a sly grin as she stared across the table at Dr. Clinton. The two were in his quarters, finishing a pasta dinner while music played softly in the background. Both the officers were out of uniform, with Scott in a dark blue dress shirt and Jenna in a stunning black skirt, which accented the spots running from her forehead down her neck and left almost nothing to the imagination.
“As do I, Jenna. It will be nice to see other Federation types for a change. Not that I didn’t enjoy my stay in Sector 66-F, mind you. I just got bored often.”
“I heard that you and Mennol have struck up a friendship. Not everybody on board trusts him yet, you know.”
“Well, trust has to start somewhere. More wine?”
“Yes, please.” Scott grabbed the open bottle and poured them both another glass.
“So, Jenna, I was wondering,” asked Scott as he sat down the bottle. His eyes shifted nervously as he continued. “After the wine, I have some holodeck time reserved. I thought, that is if you wanted to, that we could…uh, go dancing, or something?”
“I would love to, Scott,” cooed Jenna with a smile. A large grin leapt onto the good doctor’s face, and he raised his glass in the air.
“To new beginnings,” he toasted. Jenna smiled and clinked her glass against his.
“To new beginnings.”
“To a new mission,” cheered Halloway as his glass touched LaCroix’s.
“Amen to that,” responded LaCroix as they both sipped their champagne in the mess hall. “So, we arrive at Starbase 54 in three days. I’m certainly looking forward to the change in scenery.”
“As am I, Rachel.” The commander smiled and leaned in.
“So, Bobby, what will you miss the most about Sector 66-F?” Images of Cimorene flashed through Halloway’s mind. Her smile, her laugh, her flexibility…
“That intergalactic cook-off that we witnessed three months in. I’m so glad that I snagged that recipe for those truffle thingys,” he responded without pause.
“Oh, yeah. Didn’t we almost go to war with that chef’s people over that?” Halloway smiled and sipped his champagne.
“Rachel, the key word there is ‘almost’.”
THREE DAYS LATER…
Halloway and LaCroix walked side by side, grins plastered on their faces, striding through the corridors of Starbase 54. They were on their way to meet with Admiral Alice Smythe, an elderly lady with whom Halloway had a good relationship. In fact, Halloway had a good relationship with most admirals. Of, course, there was always exceptions to the rule, as the face of Admiral Jack Crane popped into Halloway’s head. He quickly shook Crane’s face of his mind’s eye and concentrated on Smythe. Those in the know in Starfleet called Smythe ‘Grandma Alice’, as she had a habit of acting like one, even though she had no children of her own. Entering the conference lounge, both officers smiled as the admiral approached. “Commander LaCroix, so nice to meet you, young lady! And Bobby Halloway…my, how you’ve grown! Cookie?” she offered, waving her hand to a plate of sugar cookies sitting on the conference table. They were shaped like little starships.
“Thank you, Admiral,” smiled Halloway as he grabbed one and took a seat, followed by LaCroix.
“Oh, Bobby, you can call me Alice, you know that. How do you like them? I baked them myself this morning,” she asked as Halloway took a bite.
“They’re wonderful, Alice. Thank you,” he responded through a mouthful of cookie.
“You want a glass of milk?”
“No, thank you.” Smythe smiled and took a seat.
“Starfleet is very pleased with your stint in Sector 66-F. You’ve opened up the gates for new exploration in a previously volatile area. The Federation thanks you.”
“No problem, Alice. Any word on what’s in store for the sector?”
“Well, I hear that a few science vessels may be assigned there before too long, but who knows nowadays? We’re still reeling from the Dominion War, and many of our top scientists are on Cardassia Prime, assisting with the rebuilding effort there. So, who knows what will become of Sector 66-F?”
“Only good, I hope,” responded LaCroix.
“As do we all, my dear. Now, on to more pressing matters: Your new assignment.” Halloway smiled as he grabbed a cookie that was shaped like his ship. Just then, the doors hissed open, and in walked a tall, lanky individual, wearing a white lab coat over a blue Federation uniform. His graying hair was disheveled and there was stubble on his face. “Ahh, just in time, Doctor. Cookie?” The man shook his head and took a seat beside the admiral. “Bobby, Miss LaCroix, this is Dr. Nicolas Lorenz. They call him Dr. Nick” Halloway smiled and waved.
“Hi, Dr. Nick.”
“Hi, everybody,” responded the doctor. An uneasy moment of silence followed.
“Dr. Nick, would you like to tell them your proposal? That’s what they’re here for, after all,” asked Smythe kindly. Lorenz smiled nervously and leapt to his feet.
“Sorry, Captain. I’m not much of a people person.” He tapped the nearby computer screen and an engine schematic appeared. “Do you know what this is?” he asked excitedly. Both Halloway and LaCroix shook their heads. “Of course you wouldn’t, that’s what I here for…” muttered the doctor, slapping his forehead. “This, ladies and gentleman, will revolutionize space travel forever. A while ago, we made contact with the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. Ever since then, we’ve been in more or less constant contact.”
“Project Pathfinder,” said LaCroix.
“Yes, yes. During our communication sessions with Voyager, we’ve exchanged a great deal of information. One of the things they have given to us is this,” he said, pointing at the schematic.
“Which is what, exactly?”
“This, Captain Halloway, is a quantum slipstream drive, capable of crossing distances in the fraction of the time it would take warp drive.” Lorenz then stood, his eyes wide with excitement. LaCroix looked at both her captain and the admiral, then at the doctor.
“Not to seem rude, Doctor, but what does any of this have to do with us?”
“Well, Commander, this drive is going to be placed inside the Haymaker. You’re our guinea pig.” LaCroix’s jaw dropped as Halloway’s cookie fell from his hand.
“Excuse me?” asked Halloway, his jubilant mood quickly deserting him. Smythe smiled softly and leaned in.
“Judging from data given to us by Voyager, the Intrepid-class vessel is seemingly the best to test this on, with its small, streamlined design and all that. Instillation begins tomorrow.” LaCroix stared at Halloway, pleading silently with him to say something, anything to get them out of this mess.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” was the captain’s response. Smythe slid the plate of sugar starships closer to Halloway.
“More cookies?”
“Oh no. No way! Not as long as I’m active, they won’t!”
“Monty, please, try to calm down!” urged Halloway as he and the hologram stood in the captain’s ready room.
“They are not about to put that time bomb on my ship! I’ve looked at the schematics, and in theory the drive works. Practical use, however…this reminds me of the failed Excelsior transwarp experiment,” he sighed, taking a seat on the couch.
“Listen, I’m as skeptical as you are. But orders are orders. Besides, if it does work, you’ll have a new toy to play with.”
“I’m not worried about if it does work. I’m worried that it won’t work. Or worse yet, it’ll work, then it’ll stop working, and we’ll be lost somewhere, just like Voyager!”
“Oh, come on, Monty! That’s not going to happen. Coffee,” ordered Halloway as he stood by the replicator. “Once the drive is installed, we are only going to be in slipstream for only 20 seconds. How lost can we get in 20 seconds?”
“Pretty damn lost, Captain! That reminds me of a joke I once heard. A Vulcan, a Romulan, and a Klingon walk into a bar…” Halloway sighed and took a seat behind his desk, letting the hologram tell a joke that Halloway had heard at least seven times before.
‘Something troubling you, Captain?’
‘Dammit, Mennol! Knock that off!’ thought Halloway as the Betazoid’s voice entered his mind.
‘I’m having trouble sleeping, thought that you might be up for some conversation.’
‘Then why don’t you use the turbolift and see me like everybody else?’
‘I’m too lazy. So, what’s bugging you? The slipstream drive?’
‘Yeah. The idea is intriguing, but frightening at the same time. And the fact that they’ve named the whole affair ‘Project Bottle Rocket’ makes me pretty uneasy, too.’
‘Huh…any chance that I can get off this ship before the test flight?’ Halloway scowled and sipped his coffee.
‘Not a chance. If I go down, you’re coming with me.’ There was a slight pause, then Mennol sent his response.
‘Damn…Well, the thought of that won’t make me sleep any easier. I’ll let you get back to listening to Monty’s dumb jokes. Good night.’ And with that, Mennol was gone.
“…and then, the Klingon says ‘That’s no lady, that’s my wife!’. Get it?” finished Monty, waiting for a response from Halloway.
“Oh, ha ha.”
TWO WEEKS LATER
“Ladies and gentlemen,” greeted Admiral Smythe, “the future of space travel is upon us.” She stood on a small podium in Main Engineering, with the new slipstream drive pulsating softly behind her. The senior staff, Dr. Lorenz, and a few other crewmembers were present. “With the quantum slipstream drive, Starfleet and the Federation will be able to explore areas of space once thought unreachable by conventional means. Jaunts to the Delta and Gamma quadrants will become a normal, day-to-day occurrence. Imagine, being able to monitor Borg activity on the edge of Borg space, or colonizing a world on the very outskirts of the Milky Way. With this drive, events like the marooning of Voyager will be a thing of the past. And now, I give the podium over to Dr. Nicolas Lorenz.” The elderly admiral stepped out of the way as the scientist smiled uneasily.
“You can call me Dr. Nick, everyone,” he stated, trying to break the ice.
“HI, DR. NICK!” yelled the crowd.
“Hi everybody. The first test of the drive will commence at 1300 hours, which is in about twenty minutes. The coordinates are preset for a nebula 300 light-years away. With conventional high-speed warp, such a trip would take weeks, if not months. You should be able to make it there and back in less than a minute. Admiral Smythe and myself will be on board the starbase, monitoring your progress from there.”
“Oh, wonderful,” muttered Monty from the back of the room.
“Just in case anything goes wrong, and it shouldn’t, I’m now installing all the technical information for the drive into your holographic engineer.” With that, Lorenz tapped on a nearby control panel.
“Uh oh,” said Monty as he started to flicker. After a few seconds, the upload was complete, and the engineer stood there, a worried look on his face.
“You okay, Monty?” asked Lt. Benn.
“Yeah…just a lot of new data to go through. I’ll be fine,” answered the hologram, even though the tone of his voice didn’t back up his words. Lorenz coughed nervously and checked his watch.
“Well, just look at the time. I guess that the admiral and I will be heading back to oversee your progress on the station. Good luck, everyone!” With that, the two officers disappeared in a shimmer of transporter light. Halloway sighed and turned to face his crew.
“Okay, time to go to work. Hopefully we’ll be back in time for lunch.” The rest of his senior staff collectively rolled their eyes and headed to the bridge.
“T minus 2 minutes until activation of drive,” reported the computer as the bridge crew waited in nervous silence.
“Well, if this doesn’t turn out well, I just want to say that it’s been a pleasure serving with y’all,” stated Benn.
“That’ll be enough of that talk, Lieutenant!” snapped Halloway, who was just as worried as she was. “Halloway to Monty, how are we doing?” he asked, tapping the comms button on his chair.
“Everything seems to be going just as the simulations predicted. I’m gently urging the ship into full impulse, and in about 45 seconds, we’ll make the jump.”
“Glad to hear it, Monty. You sound more confident than you did twenty minutes ago.”
“Not really. I just figured that if this doesn’t work, and we all become billions of subatomic particles in less than 30 seconds, then at least I won’t be alone. Monty out.”
“Oh, THAT makes me feel better,” muttered Halvox from Ops as the ship began to shudder.
“We’ll be entering slipstream in five…four…three…two…one…here we go!” yelled Monty down in Engineering as the drive pulsated and the Haymaker was drawn into slipstream, vanishing from normal space.
28 SECONDS LATER
“Everybody still here?” asked Halloway after the ship slowed to a halt. The rest of the senior staff slowly let go of their respective posts and looked around.
“All people accounted for, no problems reported,” stated LaCroix after a moment, checking the computer mounted on her chair.
“Viewscreen on,” ordered Halloway. Seconds later, a brilliant purple and orange nebula filled the screen. “Coordinate check.”
“We’re where we are supposed to be, 300 light years away from Starbase 57,” reported Bannon after checking the sensors. Halloway smiled as he and LaCroix stood and stepped towards the viewscreen, admiring the view.
“I want everybody to get all the data that you can before we make the next jump,” ordered LaCroix. “As pretty as it is, I don’t want to make the slipstream jump more than once.” The bridge crew nodded and went about collecting as much information as they could.
“Sir,” said Halvox. “We are receiving a message.”
“From who?” asked a confused Halloway.
“From the nutjobs who sent us here.”
“On screen.” The slightly distorted faces of Dr. Lorenz and Admiral Smythe replaced the view of the nebula.
“Captain Halloway, if you are receiving this message, then you have just completed the first slipstream jump in the Alpha Quadrant,” greeted Lorenz, grinning from ear to ear. “Congratulations. I wish that I could be there with you, but liability issues prohibit me from taking such a large ris…er, I mean, actually being near the drive when it…no, that’s not much better, either…” mused the doctor.
“Captain,” interrupted Smythe as Lorenz attempted to regain his train of thought, “since you are so far away, we sent this message two days prior to your launch. We hope that your trip was a complete success, and we expect you back any minute. Good luck, dears, and God speed. Smythe out.”
“Well, wasn’t that nice?” asked Halvox sarcastically.
“Brought a tear to my eye,” said a stoic Gabriel.
“Have we collected all the data?” asked Halloway, tapping his fingers on his armrest, something he tended to do when he became nervous.
“All departments have reported in,” responded LaCroix.
“Then let’s get back home.”
“Setting a course back to Starbase 54…activating slipstream drive in 3, 2, 1…drive engaged,” reported Benn as the view of the nebula stretched and a brilliant tunnel of blue-green opened up before the Haymaker. As the ship traveled through the slipstream, Halloway couldn’t shake that feeling of uneasiness that he had felt since he had been told two weeks ago about the project.
“Bobby? Are you all right?” asked LaCroix quietly. Halloway turned and offered the commander a small smile.
“Just a touch of nervousness, Rachel. It’s my job to worry.” LaCroix returned the smile and placed her hand on his.
17 MINUTES LATER
“Congratulations, Captain! You’ve done it!” cried an ecstatic Lorenz on Halloway’s computer in his ready room.
“Thank you, Doctor, but I think that you had something to do with it as well.”
“Yes, of course…but you took that actual step, Halloway! We are taking our first steps into a new age of space exploration. It is a very exciting time!” Admiral Smythe came into view, her aged face filled with happiness.
“Dr. Nick is right, Halloway. We are creating the future here. Now, as to future tests…”
“Well, Admiral, I’d prefer it if we didn’t have too many more tests with my ship. Wouldn’t a ship with a NX designation be a better choice for this work?”
“Actually, a ship manned with an experienced crew was chosen for a reason. Now that this technology works, we want to send you to the Delta Quadrant, locate Voyager, and escort her back home.” Halloway’s jaw dropped.
“What? Are you nuts? What if we get lost like they are?”
“Starfleet has every confidence that you won’t. You see, we have recently communicated with Captain Janeway and have advised her on our plan to send you there to meet her. She is currently holding position, awaiting your arrival.”
“Wait a minute, we’ve just gotten back from our first 30 seconds away from here and now you want us to undertake a journey thousands of light-years away? What if something goes wrong with the drive?” Halloway was on his feet now, his anger growing by the second.
“This can bring Voyager home, Bobby. It’s worth the risk.” Halloway sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“When do we leave?” he asked quietly.
“Tomorrow morning. I’m sending you a dossier full of mission details and maps of the area. Don’t worry, everything will be fine, and you’ll come back a hero. Smythe out.” The admiral’s wrinkled face disappeared, leaving Halloway alone with his thoughts. As he stared out at the stars, he tapped his communicator.
“Halloway to LaCroix. Could you see me in my ready room, please? Halloway out.” Seconds later, LaCroix entered.
“Meeting not go well?” she asked.
“You could say that,” answered Halloway, still staring into space. “Rachel, when I took command of this ship a year ago, I thought that Crane put me here as some sort of revenge for what happened between me and his daughter.” He turned and faced LaCroix. “I felt…cheated somehow. Placed on a ship with a crew I didn’t choose, sent to a war-torn sector of space, one ship against the galaxy. It didn’t seem right. But throughout this year, I have learned, or at least, begun to learn, how this crew operates and what sets it apart from the rest of Starfleet. We have taken the odds and beaten them time and time again. Fallow, the Romulans, Fluffy…we’ve had our share of troubles.”
“They’re sending us away somewhere that we don’t want to do, aren’t they?” asked LaCroix, taking a seat on the couch.
“Am I that transparent, Commander?”
“Actually, I was eavesdropping on your conversation with the admiral. Sorry.”
“Oh.” Halloway rolled his eyes and turned back to the window.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t like the idea as much as you do.” Halloway sighed and frowned.
“I have a feeling that nobody on this ship is going to like the idea much.”
“Sounds grand! When do we leave?” An hour later, the senior staff was assembled in the conference lounge.
“I hope that was your sense of humor, Bannon, because if it wasn’t, Clinton will have to peel you off that bulkhead,” threatened Halvox through clenched teeth.
“Didn’t the captain say that we were being reassigned?” asked the ensign.
“Yes, but to the other side of the universe!” yelled Halvox.
“Other side of the universe? Who’s going there?” asked Bannon, confused as usual. Gabriel’s claw clamped down on Halvox’s shoulder was the only thing preventing her from decking the science officer.
“People, listen to me. The mission is simple. We go to the Delta Quadrant, locate Voyager, and the two ships come back home. We’re just going from point A to point B and back to A again,” assured Halloway.
“Yeah, but it’s ending up at point C and staying there that I’m worried about,” said Clinton, tossing a worried glance at Benn.
“I can steer us in the right direction, Scott. It’s making the engines go where I want them to that is the question,” giving a look of her own to Monty.
“Don’t look at me, I had nothing to do with putting that thing in my ship,” he said, throwing his hands into the air.
“Is there any chance that I could stay behind on the station?” asked Mennol. Before Halloway could answer, Mennol held up a hand and shook his hand. “Never mind.”
“Mennol, I told you to knock that off! Besides, you’re staying here. I know that we don’t like this at all, but it’s our duty and we have to do it. Understood?” A murmuring of responses was heard from all around the room. “Good. Now, since our shift is up, go do whatever you want to and be prepared to launch at 0800 tomorrow. Dismissed.” The senior staff soon filtered out of the room, leaving Halloway alone for a moment, before he followed and departed.
“Computer, time.”
“0717 hours”
“Oh, wonderful. 43 minutes until we fly into the unknown,” sighed Clinton as he rolled over in bed.
“Well, if we don’t survive, at least we spent our last night well,” said Benn, smiling as she looked at the young doctor.
“Very well,” remarked Clinton as he smiled at the beautiful conn officer. “We’ve got 42 minutes left. Breakfast?”
“I can wait for lunch if you can,” said Benn as she ran her fingers up and down Clinton’s chest.
“Well, breakfast is the most important meal of the…mmmmm,” said the doctor as Benn passionately kissed him. “On second thought, I’ll live.”
“Computer, time.”
“0734 hours” Gabriel thought for a moment as he held his teddy bear, Fluffy, in his arms.
“And where is the location of Lt. Comm. Halvox?”
“Lt. Comm. Halvox is on Holodeck Two.”
“Is she running that program where she beats up holoimages of other crew members?”
“Affirmative.”
“Figures.”
“Computer, time.”
“0803 hours”
“And where is Ensign Bannon?” asked Halloway as almost all of his senior staff were at their stations on the bridge.
“Sorry I’m late. I entered the turbolift and forgot where I wanted to go,” said Bannon as he emerged from the turbolift and sat down at his station.
“Oh. Well, that’s understandable, Ensign.”
“What’s understandable?”
“Just watch your station, Blake,” sighed Halloway. Bannon nodded and stared blankly at his screens. “Lt. Benn, enter in the coordinates that were in the mission dossier.”
“Done and done, Captain.”
“Halloway to Monty.”
“Monty here, sir,” answered the hologram in Main Engineering.
“Prepare the drive.”
“Lt. Abbott’s already on it.” Abbott nodded and began to activate the drive. The glow from the engine core began to intensify and the slow hum that normally accompanied the drive began to speed up. Space began to stretch and the Haymaker shot into slipstream.
“Well, that’s not such a chore, is it?” asked Monty with a small smile. Abbott shook his head and raised his cup of Andorian double mochachino to his lips. Monty made a face and stuck out his tongue. “You really do like that stuff, don’t you?” he asked.
“Keeps you awake and puts hair on your chest, all with a refreshing splash of vanilla mint,” smiled Abbott, taking another sip as Monty looked like he was going to be ill.
“Good thing I have all the holographic hair that I need…Let’s take a look at how the energy distribution net is holding up.” Abbott and Monty both studied a control panel for several minutes. “Power flow is relatively even…all systems within norms,” muttered Abbott as he ran through a mental checklist. However, Monty was listing with only half a holographic ear, his head turned to the side as he concentrated.
“Wait…Bud, do you feel that?” His chief assistant looked around in puzzlement.
“Feel what, Chief?” Suddenly, the deck swelled, causing the entire engineering staff to fall to the ground.
“That,” said Monty as he rushed to the slipstream controls.
“Son of a…” cursed Abbott as he attempted to wipe the mochachino that had spilled when he took a dive to the deck. He picked up the half-filled mug and rushed over to Monty. The deck surged again, and two engineering stations exploded. This time, Abbott dropped the rest of the contents of the mug on the slipstream control panel, causing it to spark and partially explode. The drive’s hum began to change, slowing down and speeding up at sudden moments. Back on the bridge, all hell was breaking loose. Sparks were flying from every station.
“Report!” yelled Halloway over the commotion.
“The slipstream drive is overloading the ship’s systems,” reported Halvox. “Apparently, something has gone wrong with it,” she added sarcastically.
“Apparently,” echoed LaCroix with a frown as a wall panel exploded.
“Halloway to Monty, shut down the drive!”
“What do you think we’re doing down here, playing checkers?” answered Monty.
“I like checkers,” commented Bannon.
“The controls to the drive were destroyed.”
“By a power surge?”
“No, a cup of Andorian coffee.”
“Mochachino!” shouted Abbott in the background.
“Anywho, I’m attempting to cut power manually. Stand by.”
“Stand by? Stand by for what?” asked Halvox. Suddenly, the ship shook violently and the slipstream disappeared.
“For that,” answered Gabriel, picking Halvox off the floor. Halloway ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
“Where are we? Or do I even want to know?”
“We are not in the Delta Quadrant, that’s for sure,” responded Benn. “Or the Alpha Quadrant, either.”
“We’re not in Romulan space, are we? We just got done messing around with them,” said LaCroix.
“No…we have a bigger problem. We’re in the Gamma Quadrant.”
“I’m sorry, but did you just say ‘Gamma Quadrant’?” asked Monty as he shimmered onto the bridge.
“Yeah, Gamma Quadrant. Smack dab in the middle of it.” Both Halloway and LaCroix looked at each other, with looks of worry on their faces.
“The Dominion,” they said in unison.
“I bet that they won’t be happy to see us here, especially since we just defeated them a year ago,” said Benn.
“And I think that some Jem’Hadar are still holding a grudge,” added Gabriel.
“Why do you say that?” asked Halloway.
“Because there are three Jem’Hadar attack cruisers heading our way, weapons hot and shields up. They’ll be in firing range in two minutes.”
“Oh, great. Red alert, arm weapons. Kerry, try and hail them.”
“No response, Captain.”
“Captain,” started LaCroix,” if we fire on them, we would be breaking the treaty that ended the war.”
“Oh, they don’t have to worry about us very much,” said Gabriel matter-of-factly. LaCroix frowned and turned to look at the tactical officer.
“Why not?”
“Because phasers are at one-third, torpedoes are offline, and shields are down to 45%. Not to mention that we only have half impulse to outrun them with.”
“Monty, I need you to fix that drive and get us out of here,” said Halloway, pointing a finger at the hologram.
“What, fix it in less than a minute? I’m good, but not that good. I need at least four hours.”
“Well, you have thirty seconds. Now go.” Monty sighed and shimmered away.
“Captain, the Jem’Hadar are within weapons range,” reported Gabriel.
“On screen.” As the viewscreen came to life, three green, boxy vessels were displayed heading straight for the Haymaker. “Those don’t look like Jem’Hadar ships.” The Haymaker rocked as the ships fired. Halvox’s brow furled as she checked the readings.
“They must be sending out a false signal, the ship design is unknown.”
“Well, by all means, fire away.”
“Direct hit on the lead vessel, minimal damage,” reported Gabriel. “They’re coming around for another run.”
“Lt. Benn, evasive maneuvers.” The Trill grinned sadistically and took the Haymaker into a hard left turn, completely missing the new barrage of fire and sending off a barrage of their own.
“No damage to the ships,” said Gabriel. “I recommend that we start running. It’ll give Monty time to restore the drive.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. Jenna, you heard the man.” Gabriel arched an eyebrow and scratched his left wing. “Er…whatever you are, Lieutenant Commander.”
“Aye, Captain.” The Haymaker suddenly lurched and stopped.
“We appear to be caught in a tractor beam,” said Bannon, examining his consol. “No, make that two tractor beams.”
“Gabriel, aim for their beam emitters. If we can disable them…”
“Captain! Transporter activity on all decks! It appears that the attackers are beaming away objects from the ship,” reported Halvox. “And they’re tapping into the computer core as well.” As Halloway slammed his fist into his armrest, an explosion occurred on the viewscreen.
“Wow…good shot, Gabriel.”
“That wasn’t me sir. It was the real Jem’Hadar ship that just arrived.” Another explosion engulfed one of the mystery ships. The other two released their tractor beams and quickly jumped into warp.
“The Jem’Hadar are hailing us,” said Halvox. Halloway waved his hand and the face of a female Vorta appeared on the screen.
“I’m Captain Halloway of the USS Haymaker. Thank you for your assistance.”
“You are quite welcome, Captain. The Kanasi pirates can be so troubling at times. I am Vera, and you appear to be lost,” she said, smiling in that sneaky way that Vorta do. Halloway grinned nervously and scratched his head.
“Yeah, well, you might say that. We didn’t mean to intrude, really. If you would be so kind as to point us in the direction of the Bajoran wormhole, we’ll be out of your hair in no time.” Vera laughed, a not-altogether unpleasant thing, but it made Halloway uneasy.
“Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that. You see, Captain Halloway, your presence here, in the heart of Dominion space, just appearing out of nowhere, constitutes a violation of the treaty we just signed with the Federation…a year ago now?”
“Look, Vera, what happened was that we stumbled into an anomaly back in…”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Captain, but it seems that one of the Founders wishes to see you at once. He is a few days journey away, but as we are not reading your warp drive as active, we’ll be more than glad to give you a tow to where the Founder is located.”
“And if we decline the Founder’s invitation?” Vera laughed again, and produced a smile so sweet, it could melt a Vulcan’s heart.
“Then we’d have to destroy you. I’ll contact you in a few hours, Captain. Goodbye, and welcome to the Gamma Quadrant.” The sight of the Jem’Hadar ship attaching a tractor beam to the Haymaker and leaping into warp replaced the Vorta’s face. Halloway sighed and slowly lowered into his chair.
“Drop to yellow alert, Gabriel.” The tactical officer nodded and powered down the weapons. “Okay, we need to get this ship back on its feet before we reach the Founder. Bridge to Engineering, Monty I need you to start repairs immeadiately, starting with the drive,” said Halloway, tapping the comm button on his chair.
“Uh, sir?” said Abbott over the comm.
“Abbott? Where’s Monty?”
“Um…he’s not here, sir.”
“Where the hell is he?”
“When those attackers were beaming stuff off the ship and accessing our computer, they…uh…kinda took Monty.”
“They did WHAT?”
“Yeah, they stole his program, and the information I need to repair the slipstream drive is in his matrix.” Halloway slapped his forehead and grit his teeth together, cursing under his breath.
“Well, this just keeps getting better and better…”
TO BE CONTINUED…