Path: inforamp.net!winternet.com!news1.io.org!chi-news.cic.net!news.math.psu.edu!psuvax1!news.cc.swarthmore.edu!netnews.upenn.edu!msunews!uwm.edu!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!news.eng.convex.com!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.uoknor.edu!news From: Carolyn Bremer Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: (NEW) VOY: And Then There Were None 2/4 Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 21:01:32 -0500 Organization: The University of Oklahoma (USA) Lines: 278 Message-ID: <314B727C.5F4@uoknor.edu> References: <314B7245.6DE5@psu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: ppp60.modems.uoknor.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.0 (Macintosh; I; PPC) Status: N And Then There Were None VOY part 2 /4 (the first part was the synopsis) Carolyn Bremer cbremer@uoknor.edu DISCLAIMER: Star Trek, Star Trek Voyager, and the Characters created within are the property of Paramount. The story and those parts not designed by Paramount are copyright 1996 by Carolyn Bremer. Part One "Janeway to Engineering. B'Elanna, I need warp power now!" The bridge was ripped by another volley of energy. Janeway steadied herself and crossed over to Tuvok's station. Her voice betrayed anger and frustration, "Engineering, this is the bridge. Report!" "Torres here, Captain. We have plasma leaks in two conduits. They have to be contained before we can bring the core on line or we're looking at a warp core breach." The voice over the intercom was distorted by static. "We could use some help down here." "I'm on my way." Chakotay jumped from his seat and lurched toward the turbolift as another volley slammed the ship. Janeway nodded her assent as he strode past her. "Keep me informed, Commander." "Captain," the steady voice of Tuvok reassured her that the situation was not entirely hopeless, "I still do not have a reading on our assailant, but a vector analysis has pinpointed an area where the ship is likely to be." "If it even is a ship" quipped Paris. The pilot engaged yet another evasive pattern, but could not escape the bullseye they were mired in. "Damage on levels 5 and 6, injuries reported, shields holding." Ensign Kim piped in. Janeway glanced at Kim, unable to take the time to think about injuries to her crew. She looked back to Tuvok questioningly. "None-the-less, I suggest we sweep through the coordinates with phaser fire." Tuvok showed only a minor irritation with Paris' remark, and also chose to ignore Kim's. "Fine, Tuvok. Fire phasers." All of the bridge officers turned their attention to the view screen hoping to glimpse something of their mysterious attacker. The phasers cut through a wide band of space without contacting anything. They waited, a beat passed, and an uncomfortable calm permeated the bridge. No return fire, no debris, nothing. "What happened?" Janeway bellowed to Tuvok. "We apparently discouraged our attackers." Tuvok was impassive. "But the phaser fire didn't hit anything." Janeway was clearly puzzled. "It would appear that way. Perhaps they have merely withdrawn temporarily." "But we never saw them at all. Our sensors picked up nothing. Could they have been cloaked?" Tom Paris still held his concentration toward his console in case a quick escape was needed. Janeway returned to the middle of the bridge and propped her hands on her hips. "I've never known a cloaked ship that could fire without uncloaking first. Is there a warp signature? Is there anything to indicate the presence of a ship?" "Nothing, Captain." Tuvok continued to modulate the sensors. "No plasma trails, no subspace eddies. They were, and presumably still are, invisible." "Engineering to Bridge." The hail from below came from Chakotay. "Go ahead, Commander." Janeway spoke toward the ceiling. "We have the plasma leaks contained, warp power should be restored in less than an hour." "Make it snappy, Commander. We don't know if our friends have actually left or not." "Understood." Janeway spoke to her bridge crew. "I don't want to have to log our attackers as invisible. Get me a better answer. Conference in two hours. Stand down to Yellow Alert." * * * * Janeway sat at the head of the conference table. She waited, somewhat impatiently, for her senior officers. Tuvok and Neelix came first, followed by B'Elanna Torres and Chakotay. Kim and Paris arrived, both slightly out of breath, and took their places at the table. Janeway looked up and said "Who's first?" Chakotay answered. "We have nothing new for you, Captain." Janeway narrowed her eyes. Chakotay responded to the glare, "I think we should talk through the entire incident from the start, see if we've missed something." He glanced at Janeway for approval. Tuvok recited each salient point. At 0908, a high volume energy discharge impacted the warp nacelles, knocking them off line and rupturing two conduits. Sensors showed no vessel of any type within two parsecs, and no inhabited planets were in the vicinity. A barrage of energy discharges began in earnest, but without a confirmed target no return fire was attempted. After modulating and re-calibrating the sensors, there was still no physical presence detected. A vector analysis provided a likely position of the attacker, phaser fire was volleyed but apparently intersected nothing. Following that, the energy discharges ceased. Repairs were initiated and completed on the warp nacelles. "So where do we start?" Janeway's train of thought was broken by another energy discharge slamming into the ship. This one, more violent than before, knocked the senior officers to the floor. Again the attack subsided as suddenly as it had begun. Janeway held a hand to her forehead. "Janeway to Bridge, did the sensors register anything?" Ensign Lane started to respond in the negative but was interrupted by a hail from the Doctor. "Yes, Doctor, what do want?" "I thought would want to know that Kes has just disappeared." Neelix was up and out the door before the Doctor finished his sentence. Under his breath, Tom muttered, "You're excused." "What do you mean by 'disappeared?" Janeway growled as she stood. "I mean 'one minute here and the next gone. Vanished. Poof." The Doctor seemed exasperated at Janeway's line of questioning. "We had just finished administering to the injured crew, and I turned to find her gone." "Computer: location of Kes." The computer responded to Janeway's inquiry, "Kes is not on board." "Captain." Chakotay came to her side. "It seems that Tuvok has suffered the same fate." The captain looked alarmed. "Computer: location of Lt. Tuvok." She watched Tuvok's empty chair as she spoke. "Lt. Tuvok is not on board." Janeway barred her teeth. "I want answers and I want them now!" She turned on her heels and walked onto the bridge. * * * * Kim took over from Ensign Lane and scanned the sensor logs. "Captain, the sensors show nothing. They were modulating continuously, and yet no anomalous readings were logged during the time of the attack. All decks have reported in. Seven injuries, no severe damage. Shields are at 80 percent." "Any sign of Kes or Tuvok?" Janeway asked with a voice lacking hope. "Not yet, Captain." Kim glanced up. "We'll run a long-range sensor sweep of the entire quadrant, if necessary. They must be out there somewhere." Janeway appreciated the unbridled optimism in Kim's voice. She let a thin smiled appear out of the corner of her mouth, "I know you can find them, Mr. Kim. Lt. Torres, get down to Engineering and boost long-range sensors to maximum." The Lieutenant exited via turbolift and the bridge crew delved into their individual tasks. Janeway, seated in her chair, slouched uncharacteristically and held her chin with her fist. These were some of the most difficult moments for her, when she had no assigned duty but to supervise. She felt antsy and yet she managed to keep herself from demanding continuous updates from those around her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. Chakotay had been watching her and knew just what she was thinking. "Captain, what do Tuvok and Kes have in common?" Chakotay was clearly attempting to engage the captain's attention. Paris swiveled around. "Not much, that's for sure." "Yes, Chakotay, there must be a connection between them." Janeway was eager to assist. She got up and paced a bit, looking each member of the bridge crew in the eye. Chakotay continued. "They are both unique members of their species on Voyager." "Yes, but so is Neelix." Janeway replied. "They are the youngest and eldest of us," Kim added. "An interesting thought. Hold on to that one." "Perhaps we should consider how they are different as well." Paris still had trouble believing Tuvok and Kes shared anything of importance. "Male and female," piped in Ensign Lane. "One likes Neelix's food, the other does not," Paris managed to interject his obligatory dig. "Thank you gentlemen. Instead of speculating out of frustration, I think we should approach this in a more logical manner." Janeway skipped a breath as she thought of Tuvok. "Were there any anomalous readings at all at the moment Kes and Tuvok were taken?" Kim answered her, "No, Captain, the sensors recorded nothing unusual." "Well what about something other than the sensors?" Janeway felt a path was beginning to reveal itself. "Look at the logs for every piece of equipment which records readings. I want to know about the replicators, the transporter, even the holodeck. Leave no file unsearched." Just then Neelix came screaming back on the bridge. "Where is Kes? I cannot stand not knowing. Captain, we have to do something right now!" Neelix was pacing frantically in front of the captain. "Neelix, we are doing everything in our power to find Kes and Tuvok." "The Doctor wasn't any help. He threw me out of sickbay, the Aldarian slime beast. I'll have his hide for that. He was with her, he let her vanish." "Neelix," Janeway spoke softly to force him to listen. "Neelix, you must try to calm down. You can't help us when you're this upset and we do need your help." That seemed to help focus his anxiety into something more useful. "I'll do anything you want, Captain. I must have her back." "I know that. She would feel the same about you." Janeway walked up to her chair and plopped down in it. "What can you tell me about this region of space?" "Not much. There are no colonies or outposts to speak of. Traders pass through here rarely, only if they are on their way somewhere else." Neelix through up his hands. "I wish I could tell you something, Captain, but there just isn't much to say." "Thank you, Mr. Neelix. That in itself is helpful. Now, if you could resume your role as morale officer, that would be most helpful." Neelix straightened his back and said, "Yes, Captain, I'll get right on it." He left the bridge with a lighter gait. And Janeway was again knocked from her chair. She realized that people around her were shouting, their voices were recognizable, an acrid smoke filled her lungs. She was flat on her back, but couldn't remember falling. Fighting to regain full concentration, she opened her eyes to a very dim, smoke-filled bridge awash in a deep pulsing red. The alert klaxons were blaring. "What the hell happened?" She roared, however her actual sound was little beyond a croak. Janeway tried to drag herself up, much to her dismay as she felt for a broken rib or two and ran into a raging headache. Kim was shouting, "Main power is still off line, there is no power to the sensor consoles. We have no internal communications." "Warp power is down, as are impulse engines, and maneuvering thrusters." Paris echoed Kim. Chakotay's voice cut through Janeway's haze. "Mr. Paris, we need to get emergency backups functioning properly." Paris lunged toward the access panels and began to re-route power the old-fashioned way, by re-wiring. "Captain, are you all right?" Chakotay bent to help her up. "Fine, Commander. Just a bit dazed. What happened?" "Your guess is as good as mine. We've lost main power, life support is out, and emergency backups are fluctuating." "It seems our friend is back." Janeway surmised. The back-up generators whirred into power and afforded better lighting. Janeway slowly surveyed the entire bridge, pausing briefly to note, again, Tuvok's absence. The back-up generators sputtered out once again, and Janeway went to the access panels herself. Paris was mired in wires, some sparkling with inefficiency, others dangling dead in the water. Emergency lights returned once more, but seemingly without either officer's assistance. "It just keeps going on and off. Everything is routed around the dead wires, and it should be working." "Thank you Mr. Paris, whatever the problem is, we cannot solve it here. Commander, take Tom to Engineering. Work on the power fluctuations, life support, and communications." She sighed, "If communications aren't up in ten minutes, please be kind enough to send a scout up here to report." "Aye, Captain." Chakotay and Tom rambled off to Engineering. "Mr. Kim," Janeway turned her attention to the young lieutenant. "Any luck with the sensors?" "Not yet, Captain." Harry didn't even look up to speak to her. A very long fifteen minutes later, Paris returned from Engineering. "Life support has been restored, but only to minimal levels, Captain. Commander Chakotay and Lt. Torres are evaluating the power fluctuations, but cannot track down the source of the problem." "Mr. Paris, you have the Conn, I'll be in Engineering." Janeway scooted to the turbolift. She thought for a moment about taking a pit stop in Sickbay, but decided against it. Her ribs were surely sore, but they could wait. * * * * Engineering was a mass of confusion. Power conduits were spewing sparkles of lost energy, a sight which would have been mesmerizing under other conditions. B'Elanna Torres was half buried in a console while Chakotay handed her tools. She was working quickly trying many approaches. Janeway peered over the console. "Any news B'Elanna?" "Captain." The Chief Engineer was a bit startled. "I don't know what the matter is..." she eyed Chakotay, "yet. "We're running diagnostics on the diagnostics, but we don't even have some of the key systems up yet." She tinkered with a relay, extricated herself from the console and let her fingers fly over the interface. When there was no response, she kicked the console and it whirled back into a functioning state. "Interesting improvisation." Janeway raised one eyebrow. "Can you tell me what is not the problem?" Chakotay chimed in, "That is not so easy either, Captain. A cascade failure of key systems has inhibited all standard diagnostic simulations. We think the warp core is unaffected, but other than that we are not sure where the power production is breaking down." "Could it be within the bio-neural circuitry itself?" B'Elanna spoke excitedly. "Captain, if the power failures were imbedded deeply within the ship's bio-neural systems it would be interfering with our diagnostic procedures as is occurring now." "Get on it." Janeway relented to her aching ribs. "I'll be in Sickbay." * * * * "Ah, Captain, how nice to see you. You certainly have kept us busy in here today." "Doctor, have we suffered any casualties?" "Thanks to my brilliant surgical skills, there were no casualties today." Kes noticed the captain had entered Sickbay and spoke softly to her. "Crewman Marks was the most seriously injured, but he is out of danger and resting comfortably. Can we do anything for you?" "I would appreciate it if you could take a look at my ribs. Anything you could do for a headache would help as well, Doctor." Janeway took a seat on a bio-bed. "B'Elanna believes the power fluctuations are caused by a malfunction in the ship's bio-neural circuitry. Doctor, I would like you to be available to assist her." "Of course. I am always willing to serve the crew in their time of need. Hmm, two broken ribs. Nothing the knitter can't handle." He hissed a hypospray into the captain's neck. "that should help the head." "Thank you, Doctor, I feel better already." Janeway jumped down from the bed and winced almost imperceptibly. "You're ribs will be sore for a few days, check back with me in 48 hours. I would tell you take go to stay off duty and rest, but I know my sage words of advice will be ignored. You may go."