Star Trek: Earth Strike
Episode 12: Muons and Miracles
�Paris, Sir,� Data said, �the cube fragment has obliterated Paris.�
The whole of the bridge crew seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Ensign J�Fwaal looked at Data in puzzlement. �I don�t understand,� said the young Breen, �is that a good thing?�
�Not in itself, Frosty,� Data explained, �however, if the cube fragment had hit anywhere important it could have caused a considerable disaster.�
�But... isn�t Paris a major city?� J�Fwaal persisted.
�It is just the authors little joke,� Data went on, �albeit somewhat cruel and perhaps outside the range of the �Star Trek� ethos.�
�I believe I have warned this crew before about referring to the fictional nature of this narrative,� Captain Picard interrupted, �the next crewmember who does so might well find themselves spending the remainder of this serial in the brig.�
�Might I point out,� began Data, �that in calling this story a �serial� you have in fact...� Frosty reached across and poked Data in the shoulder, giving him a pointed look. �Ah... yes.� The android completed, turning back to his scans.
�This energy beam, Data, what do your reading show?� Picard asked.
�It appears to be comprised of anti-protons and designed to penetrate to the planet�s core and to increase the energy levels there until the planet is blown apart.�
�How long?� The captain asked quietly.
"Impossible to be precise, sir,� Data replied, �but I would estimate the Earth will be destroyed within ten minutes.�
Picard clenched his fists as tight as his jaw, resisting the impulse to call down to the engine room to order - no, demand - that his engineers somehow gave him the motive power they so desperately needed. He knew Geordi and the others would be working flat out and all he would be doing would be adding distraction to their problems. The Enterprise�s thrusters were working at well over tolerance levels to drive the ship towards the alien fleet, but at best it was a crawl and it would take them hours to get there - hours which they did not have to spare.
�Conduct a long range scan, Mr Data; are there any other Starships en route to Earth?�
�Indications negative, Sir,� the android said after a moment, �there is, however a shuttle approaching from the far side of the Moon at full impulse.�
�Under power?� Picard asked, hopes flaring: if the shuttle had found some way to circumvent the dampening field that was crippling them then maybe they could learn from its example!
�No Sir,� Data replied, �it appears to be coasting: I surmise that it was travelling at full impulse when it entered the outer boundary of the dampening field and thus retains its initial momentum.�
�It looks like it�s going to crash into the Moon,� Hawke said, �perhaps it was coming in to land at Armstrong City. At full impulse it�s going to leave one hell of a crater.�
�Can we transport the occupants to safety?� Picard asked.
�We are well out of range Sir.� Data said.
�On screen: if all we can do is bear witness, then so be it.�
�Magnifying viewer image.� Data said.
At near light velocity the tiny Federation Shuttlecraft hurtled towards the great silver satellite. Tight lipped, the bridgecrew watched for a moment. �That�s odd!� Said Frosty from the Op�s observation position. �The shuttle�s transponder signal identifies it as one of ours - I mean the Enterprise�s - yet our manifests show the shuttlebays full and no craft missing!�
�Curious,� said Spock, �do your reading�s show an elevated level of tachyon emissions which might indicate that the shuttle has been sent back from the future in an attempt to change the course of history?�
�An interesting theory, Mr Spock,� Picard said, �and a strategy which we may want to bear in mind for future consideration, but in this case I suspect there is a much simpler explanation. Mr J�Fwaal, if you would check the transponder signal again and ascertain whether it belongs to this Enterprise?�
�Ah... no Sir, it�s from the Enterprise �D�.� the Breen said after a moment.
�Then it appears we must see her last remnant destroyed - and a great man with it.�
�I do not believe that to be the case Sir.� Data demurred. As his fingers flew across his console a schematic window opened up on the viewscreen, showing the Moon, the shuttle and its projected course - a straight line at a tangent, skimming the Moon�s surface.
�Extrapolate the shuttle�s course please, Mr Data.� Picard asked. The schematic swivelled to show a dotted line heading just shy of the symbols denoting the 8472 fleet.
�Factoring in the effect of the Moon�s gravitation.� Data explained as the dotted line shifted to pass straight through the middle of the alien�s formation!
In less time than it takes to tell the shuttlecraft shot across the surface of the Moon, coming so perilously close that a high ridge or spire might have put paid to its daring ploy. As it zoomed away from Luna�s jagged surface the alien fighter ships seemed to become aware of the menace it represented and opened fire on the rapidly approaching shuttle.
�How can they miss?� Asked Frosty, seeing the deadly beams criss-crossing behind the shuttle.
�It appears that the 8472 targeting systems are not allowing for the increase in velocity that the Moon�s �gravitational whip� effect has imparted to the shuttle.� Data explained.
�That seems like, well, kind of a elementary mistake to make.� Hawke commented.
�Perhaps,� Spock stated, �but our readings of the universe beyond the dimensional rift that the 8472 fleet came through indicate a very different environment; it may well be that the �laws of physics� as we know them do not necessarily apply there.�
Whatever the reason the shuttle shot straight through the defensive formation of smaller ships. As it did so its shields became visible, taking on an ever darkening bluish hue, until it looked like a bug trapped in a sapphire, shooting like a bullet towards the alien�s capital ships.
�The shuttlecraft�s pilot is suffusing it�s shields with anti-muons.� Data observed.
It almost seemed that the shuttle would reach its target unmarked but a last shot from the pursuing fighters glanced off the shuttle�s shields and set it to spinning, altering the tiny ship�s trajectory slightly. Instead of striking the central hub of the capital ship�s formation the shuttle passed through one of the energy �spokes� that connected each ship to the hub. The shuttle�s shields flared and were overwhelmed as it passed through the beam, emerging as a white hot fireball speeding away from the alien formation. The energy �spoke� bowed under the influence of the shuttle�s passing. Suddenly purple pulses raced up and down the 'spokes' length, leaping the �hub� and shooting up the opposite �spoke� too. Both the ship producing the affected �spoke� and its opposite number in the alien formation shone with the same purple hue for a moment before blasting themselves to pieces in spectacular explosions.
The remaining six ships of the alien formation were scattered by the shockwaves, the beams they had been emitting disrupted and the planet-killing beam flickering to nothing.
Meanwhile the incandescent ball that the shuttle had become flew on, exiting the alien formation. �Any lifesigns in the shuttle?� Picard asked Data quietly, leaning close to the android and ignoring the cheers that erupted from the rest of the bridgecrew.
�Sensor readings are... difficult Sir.�
�Is it within transporter range?�
�No Sir; the shuttle�s course will bring it closer to us, but it will pass our position without coming within transporter range.�
The cheers of the bridgecrew quietened as they contemplated the price paid by the shuttle�s occupant for his pyrric victory.
�Keep a sensor lock on the shuttle.� Picard ordered.
�It�d take a miracle for anyone to survive that!� Lieutenant Patterson stated.
�A miracle... or a miracle worker.� Picard corrected. He held his breath, hoping, praying, as the shuttle passed its closest approach to the Enterprise�s position.
�Sir!� The urgency in Data�s voice would never have been heard before he had been equipped with his emotion chip. �I�m reading a transporter signal from the shuttle!�
�To where?� Picard asked.
�It appears to be directed to a materialisation point in empty space. Though the shuttle is still too far away the materialisation point is just within our transporter range!�
�Lock on to the transportee as soon as the materialisation sequence is complete and beam him directly to the bridge.�
�I�m there ahead of you Sir.� Data said as the sparkle and hum of the transporter effect filled the bridge, coalescing to produce the form of a heavyset older man with white hair and a dark moustache. The man staggered as the gravitational shift caught him off guard and he went down on one knee, sucking in great mouthfuls of air. He was soot stained and one arm was held crooked in a makeshift sling.
Picard helped him to his feet. �Very well done, Captain Scott,� he congratulated him, �It�s good to see you again.�
�Nae half so good as it is tae see ye Captain,� the engineer wheezed, �and I told ye before; call me Scotty.�
�Mr Scott!� Picard turned to be treated with a sight few had ever been witness to: Spock astonished. The ambassador's eyes were wide and yes, there was an involuntary grin around his mouth. Picard realised that the Ambassador had not seen his old friend for nearly a century and must have assumed that he was long dead. �But you�re... I mean... how did...?� Spock�s eyes flicked to Picard and instantly realised the source of amusement in those of the current captain of the Enterprise. Hurriedly he composed himself, straightening and wiping all expression from his face. �Ahem, it is good to see you Mr Scott, you are looking... well.�
�Och, Spock, ye look nae so bad yersel�,� Scotty said, crossing the bridge to pump his old comrades hand in greeting.
�Of course, Ambassador,� said Picard smoothly, �being on Romulus these past years you would not have heard of the Enterprise�s discovery and rescue of Captain Scott.� Quickly he explained how Scotty had used the diagnostic subroutine of a transporter buffer of a crashed starship to effectively keep himself in stasis for decades until eventually found by the Enterprise �D�.
�I�m sorry, Mr Scott, I had no idea; had I known...�
�Dinnae trouble yersel� Spock, I ken ye wouldnae hae left me there.�
�What are you doing in this sector Scotty?� Picard asked, �The last I heard you were on Hamalara advising on their power generation systems. Were you on route to the Unity conference too?�
�Nae lad, I�m out of all that politics these days: I was heading for a memorial service for an old friend.�
�Doctor McCoy.� Spock said, more statement than question.
�Ye heard then?� Spock nodded. The aged Doctor, their old crewmate, had been found slumped at his workbench some weeks before, slide in one hand, pipette in another, half finished experiment in front of him.
�I, too intended to attend the service.� Spock said.
�I�m curious, Captain Scott,� Data said, �how did you know that flooding the shuttle�s shields with anti-muons would set up a resonance pulse within the Species 8472 weapon generation systems? Have you had experience with this technology before?�
�I�ve never seen it�s like before, and I didnae ken if it would work or nae, but I figured that the anti-muons similarity with the anti-protons of the weapon might disrupt it somehow. Besides; it was the only spanner I could come up with.�
�Spanner?� Data asked.
�Wrench.� Lieutenant Patterson explained.
�Wrench?� Data asked.
�As in wrench in the works.� Hawke said.
�Ah, sabotage.� Data nodded and returned to his scans. �Captain,� the android said a moment later, �I believe the 8472 fleet is recovering.� Indeed the remaining six capital ships had re-aligned themselves to form a hexagon rather than their previous octagon. Once again beams sprang out from their prows to the central point, re-creating the massive beam that stuck at Earth anew.
�It seems that your efforts have but gained us a little time Scotty.� Picard observed.
�The beam has suffered a significant power reduction,� Data informed them, �My calculations indicate that we now have nearly two hours before the planet is destroyed. However... the confinement integrity of the beam has also been compromised; the beam will now shed more energy on it�s passage through the Earth�s crust and mantle, undoubtedly causing much tectonic and volcanic activity.�
There was silence for a moment, then Scott braced himself. �Right then,� he said decisively, striding towards the turbolift.
�Where are you going?� Picard inquired.
�Where I belong - or don�t ye think that Geordi...?�
�I�m sure Mr LaForge would welcome any assistance you might be able to give.� Picard assured. �Find us some way to get moving Scotty.�
�That we will Sir.� Scotty promised.
�Lieutenant Patterson, please show Captain Scott to the engineroom.� Picard ordered.
�Och, I think I can find me own way to a Starship�s engineroom by now.� Scotty said, looking somewhat askance at the arachnoid lieutenant�s two extra pairs of arms, the lowest bandaged due to recent injury.
�Nae doot, Captain,� the bearded lieutenant said, �but during yon red alert the security protocols wouldnae gi� ye access, ye ken?�
�Ah, a fellow Scot is it laddie? Well, lead on then MacDuff.� Scotty said, somewhat reassured by the accent of his homeland.
�Stop by sickbay and have those burns seen to Mr Patterson.� Picard ordered as the arachnoid entered the turbolift and held the doors while Scotty leaned his head close to Spock�s for a few private words.
�Seems like it�s down to us to save the world again.�
�Indeed.� Spock agreed gravely.
�I�d feel better aboot it if we had Jimmy along.�
�As would I,� Spock said, �however, Picard has had some experience in these matters: he may yet prove adequate to the task.�
�Jimmy was many things, but merely �adequate� was never one of them.� The engineer said. A slight pursing of the Vulcans lips was the only acknowledgement Spock gave. Scotty sighed and entered the turbolift. �Aye,� he murmured to himself as the doors closed, �that�s what I thought.�
