SHE WHO DARES WINS
Chapter Three
By A.P Stacey
Ensign Harry Kim
surveyed his system readouts with faded interest, the chronometer situated close
by reminding him of the passing of an hour with a muted bleep, twenty three
hundred hours. He used the silence to think of all he had discovered in the last
few hours, the renewed Borg threat which was threatening to spill back into the
alpha quadrant. The fleet of Starships crossing over sixty thousand light years
in a desperate attempt to counter the threat. So much had happened in such a
short time.
His systems board
beeped its irritation at being ignored, Harry glanced down at the incoming
sensor alert.
"Commander,
I’m detecting a vessel bearing nine one twelve, one light year from our
current position."
Chakotay looked up
from his crew roster padd and turned to the young ensign, his body clenching in
anticipation of the unknown.
"Can you
identify the vessel Ensign?” asked Chakotay.
"Negative sir,
certainly not at this range, but its definitely adrift, no visible power
signatures or life forms."
"It could be
some sort of advanced scout ahead of the fleet, set a course, warp six."
Chakotay returned to
his seat and placed the padd on his lap, its contents no longer of interest in
the face of this new mystery.
Lt Cmdr Data's eyes
swivelled from left to right at tremendous speed as he scanned and logged the
incoming data transmission from the bridge of the Enterprise, studying the
status of the fleet and formations in preparation for his report.
Captain jean-Luc
Picard entered the bridge from his adjacent ready room and immediately crossed
over to his android science officer.
"Report Mr
Data?"
The androids golden
eyes turned towards his Captain.
"I have
completed our fleet assessment sir, currently the I.K.S Praxis reports all four
hundred B'rel class bird of preys are maintaining transwarp speeds of less than
forty percent efficiency and will be forced to power down in twelve hours.
however taking into account the klingon tendency to overestimate their strengths
I would refine that figure to eight hours. The Vorcha class attack cruisers are
maintaining transwarp threshold without problems. The Romulan Warbird Eternal
Empire merely assured myself all Romulan vessels were in satisfactory condition.
Federation vessels are having problems with transwarp thresholds. The Galaxy
class U.S.S Bliss suffered a fusion reactor failure and will not be able to
maintain transwarp for longer than forty minutes, The Akira class U.S.S Katra
has suffered a plasma relay overload and is also unable to maintain
transwarp."
"Picard sighed,
the fleet needed to disengage and return to normal space for repairs, he could
not shake the feeling that he could not defeat an enemy if his own fleet could
not even each them. Even the Enterprise, the flagship of the Starfleet was
suffering from the prolonged trip.
"Data, signal
Voyager we will be late in our arrival, and make preparations for return to
normal space.,” ordered Picard apprehensively.
"Entering system
now commander." reported Harry.
"Slow to one
half impulse, Harry any more data on that vessel?" replied the Commander as
he crossed to the upper tier of the bridge.
"Standby sir,
sensors probing now.........."
A look of absolute
disbelief snaked across his features.
"This is
impossible!" The ensign let out a choked sound.
"Report!"
Chakotay responded in a voice he hoped would rouse the shocked crewman.
"Its...its...human,
the vessel is from earth...." Harry mumbled.
"Visual Contact
confirmed." reported tactical.
"On
screen." ordered the Commander as he returned to the command chair, his
interest piqued substantially.
The view screen
leaped into life, and sure enough, a vessel tumbled through space in front of
them, its hull painted in all too familiar grey hues, lettering tantalisingly
unreadable on the hull.
"I don't
recognise it...it looks Starfleet, but its not like anything I've seen
before." muttered Chakotay to himself.
"I’m
attempting to locate it in the Starfleet registry database." Harry Kim's
fingers flew across his computer interface as he helped the computer with the
ship analysis.
"Analysis
complete, vessel identity confirmed." announced the computer.
"Computer,
replay findings." ordered the commander.
"U.S.S Endeavour
NX-02B, launched 2156, Built within warp five complex under supervision of
Vulcan science council and united earth military committee. Second NX class
vessel launched by newly formed Starfleet, only one other Starfleet vessel in
service at the time, under command of Captain Jonathan Archer, this was the
first NX class Starship U.S.S Enterprise NX-01A."
Chakotay stared at
the view screen in disbelief, a few hundred kilometres away was a relic of the
federation, and the second vessel of what was the first modern series of
Starships. Its appearance brought welcome respite from thoughts of war.
"Chakotay to
Captain Janeway, I think you'd better come have a look at this ma'am."
Captain Janeway stood
next to her first officer, sharing his facial expression as she watched the
antique out in front of her own vessel.
"NX class?"
she asked again, as though the report she had received and the image the ships
sensors were feeding to her could be lying.
"Yes Captain,
she’s the Endeavour, the second human ship built capable of reaching warp
five, and she is almost two hundred and thirty years old."
"Unbelievable,
if we hadn't had the threat of war with the collective looming over us this
would have been a fantastic find." Janeway looked upon the hull of Voyagers
distant mother fondly.
"Captain I am
receiving an encrypted communiqué from the fleet." announced Ensign Kim,
They are dropping out of transwarp to effect repairs on several vessels, and
will not rendezvous with us for almost twenty one hours."
At news of this
Kathryn's mind was instantly filled with an idea about how to fill the
unexpected time now on her ship's hands.
"Commander, I
want you to put together an away team and board the Endeavour, what we have here
is a first class example of how we did it two hundred and thirty years ago. And
I want to know everything about her, including how in the hell she got out
here."
Chakotay nodded and
left towards a turbo lift to begin recruiting his team, as the rest of the
bridge continued marvelling at the fellow Starfleet vessel that was...out of
time so to say.
"Chakotay, I've
got better things to do than beam over to some three hundred year old Starfleet
tub." B'elanna protested. Her patience running thin at the interruption to
her much loved engineering department.
"B’Elanna, the
captain is really pulling for you to join the team, this means alot to her, this
link to the past, and with all the talk of gloom and doom surrounding the Borg
it will help lift the spirits of the crew. Besides, the technology used aboard
the Endeavour is more advanced than what the maquis mostly had access to. You'll
be in your element!" argued Chakotay.
"Ok Chakotay ok,
I'll join the away team just give it a rest please, who else have you assigned
anyway?" the half klingon sighed as she turned back towards her console.
"Oh You,
Melendez, Carlson, Richards and....uh...." Chakotay trailed off.
"And? You got a
wildcard or something?" said B'elanna as she again tried to concentrate on
her work.
"...Seven of
nine."
Torres whirled
around, her ditronic modulator clanging to the floor. How Chakotay feared he
would soon be joining it.
"What! Are you
out of your mind? You’re going to assign me to work with her? You know we
hardly tolerate being in the same room."
Chakotay went for the
traditional approach.
"Come on
B'elanna, the captain wants seven occupied, so she has something to work on
before she is briefed about the whole Borg war situation, I also need someone I
know can keep her in line and wont just meekly let her dictate the pace of the
mission.
"No no no
Chakotay, ill have nothing to do with it, get someone else, I’ve got plenty to
be doing on Voyager
Chakotay tried the
"Janeway" approach.
"Lieutenant
Torres, I have given you an order, you will lead the away team INCLUSIVE of
seven of nine over to the U.S.S Endeavour and you will carry out your mission. I
will hear no further arguments, that is all."
Chakotay turned
sharply, and left engineering, behind him stood a very sulky klingon hybrid.
The doors opened with
the traditional whoosh of air as seven of nine entered Transporter room one, her
demeanour one of aloofness and of a creature standing apart from the rest of
humanity.
"Seven of nine
reporting as ordered." came the crisp and modulated voice.
Across from the
Nordic beauty standing atop the Transporter was quite an opposite kind of
beauty, namely the Chief engineer of Voyager.
"Yeah whatever
Seven on the Transporter please I don't have all day I'm eager not to spend too
long aboard a two century old clapper."
"Clapper? I do
not understand Lieutenant."
"Seven, do me a
favour please?"
Seven cocked her
occular implant as she waited for the request.
"Shut up and get
on the damned Transporter pad.,” replied the chief.
Seven of nine obeyed the directive and stepped on to the pad, the last thing she heard being the command to energise as she felt herself leave Voyager in a dazzling cloud of blue.
