Star Trek: Dark Horizon

ENEMIES AND ALLIES

Written by Michael Gray

Based upon Star Trek

created by Gene Roddenberry

Copyright 2002, 2011 by Michael Gray

=/\=

Chapter 1 - When You Turn Out The Light

The starship U.S.S. Chamberlain screamed across space on approach to the Federation Colony on Parxula Five located in the Kel-j’na Region of the Alpha Quadrant. The Bridge of the Chamberlain was a hive of frantic activity as the crew prepared for battle against a foe that brought fear into the heart of every officer in Starfleet. Three hours earlier, Second Officer Melissa Vargas sat in the center seat when a signal from the colony was received. That signal was short and to the point, “Five Borg vessels on approach. Send any and all help.”

Jack McCall watched his officers preparing for the battle every starship commander wanted most to avoid, but Jack McCall commanded a ship designed specifically for the threat they would meet in less than ten minutes. He had no illusions about weakness in his opponent, but he had faith in his ship and crew. If any Federation ship could defeat the Borg, it was the Chamberlain.

Executive Officer Lak Negev turned to Jack. “Chief Engineer Bishop reports six reactors online. Reactors seven and eight in standby mode.”

Jack nodded and turned around to face his Tactical Officer Hank Evans. “Weapon systems?”

“Phasers and Quantum Torpedoes fully operational. Reactive Quantum Plasma System powering up. Should be ready for operation in forty-five seconds,” Evans reported.

Jack turned back forward. “When we drop out of warp, I want to hit the lead cube and hit it hard. The object is to get them to break off their attack on the colony and come after us.”

He looked into the faces of his officers and saw them nodding in agreement. “Once we get them out into open space, we will not run, we will not negotiate, we will not talk. We shall fight the Borg until either we or they are destroyed.”

Jack saw Melissa Vargas at the Ops Station smile wide. She had made her position on the Borg very clear at their staff meeting an hour earlier. She and Jack both felt the Borg were the single greatest threat to the Federation and that Starfleet should focus all its energies on the defacto war that had existed for the last decade between the two powers. Vargas had expressed the opinion at the meeting that, “The Federation should construct an entire fleet of Oceana Class Starships and directly attack Borg installations wherever they might be and wherever we can find them.”

While Jack McCall thought that wasn’t feasible, he agreed completely with her attitude. He thought it was high time the Federation crawled out of its rabbit hole and started fighting for its own survival. In eight minutes, he would get his opportunity to make a contribution to that concept. If he could prove to Starfleet Command the effectiveness of the Oceana Class against the Borg the Federation’s greatest enemy would be put on notice that the Federation was no longer a source of bodies to be assimilated.

“Reactive Plasma System fully operational, Captain,” Hank Evans said.

Jack knew that was his ace in the hole. The Chamberlain’s Primary Weapon was a pair of emitters at the front of the secondary hull through which power from the ship’s eight matter/antimatter reactors could be directly released. Starfleet’s tactical analysts had predicted power from only two such reactors through the emitters would be able to produce severe damage on a Borg cube. He intended on hitting them with power from six reactors.

Jack McCall stood to his feet. “Lieutenant Commander Pederson, put me on ship wide Comm.”

Cynthia Pederson touched several controls on her communication panel and nodded to Jack.

He took a deep breath. “This is the Captain. We are six minutes from engaging the Borg in battle. They have committed an act of war against the Federation Colony on Parxula Five and we shall stop that attack and destroy any Borg vessel which refuses to unconditionally surrender.”

Most everyone on the Bridge smiled at that. There had never been a recorded case of the Borg surrendering to anyone. They knew what their Captain was really saying and most of them agreed.

Jack continued, “I want everyone to understand one thing. I will not allow a single member of this crew to be assimilated by the Borg. If we are unable to escape them, I will find the most destructive means to destroy this ship and take as many Borg with us as possible.”

In one of the large cargo bays of the Chamberlain, Lieutenant Mei-Wan McCall organized her Archaeology Section to prepare to transport down to the Colony and set up an emergency medical center to care for casualties in the event the Borg attack was stopped. The ship’s Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Taylor Preston, had conscripted everyone in the Science Department for medical duty.

Ensign Natalie Fowler stood next to Mei-Wan as they listened to the Captain speak.

“Of course, my faith in all of you and the Chamberlain tells me I won’t have to even consider such a course of action,” Jack finished.

The Comm system switched off and Fowler turned to Mei-Wan. “You think we’ll really stop them?”

Mei-Wan nodded. “I find it hard not to believe the voice we just heard.”

Fowler smiled. “That’s good enough for me.”

The two women joined other members of the Archaeology Section to finish their preparations.

Back on the Bridge, Jack McCall stood to his feet as the Chamberlain dropped out of warp. On the forward viewscreen five massive Borg cubes fired energy beams at the surface of Parxula Five.

“Are we in range?” Jack asked.

“Thirty Seconds,” Hank Evans responded.

“We’re receiving a transmission, sir,” Cynthia Pederson announced.

Jack rolled his eyes. He had a good idea what this would be. “On audio.”

A crackle of static filled the speaker and a moment later was replaced by the most inhuman chorus of voices in the Milky Way Galaxy.

“We are the Borg, lower your shields and surrender your ship…”

Hank Evans looked up from his station. “In range.”

“We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own…”

Jack took a deep breath. “Hank, send them our reply, please.”

Hank Evans smiled wide. “With pleasure, sir.”

“Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”

Jack shook his head. “Not today.”

The Primary Emitters on the secondary hull of the Chamberlain glowed a bright blue to a near blinding intensity. A moment later, two pillars of fire brighter than any earthly flame exploded forth from the emitters and crashed into the nearest Borg cube shattering metal and bodies into the vacuum of space. The blasts continued until a full third of the Borg vessel had scattered away in a shower of debris. Secondary explosions continued through the rest of the cube even after the energy weapon had ceased.

Amidst cheers on the Bridge of the Chamberlain, Jack McCall allowed himself only a brief smile. He knew they had a lot more to do.

“Hit them again.”

Once more the energy smashed into the weakened Borg ship, this time tearing the cube completely asunder. The four remaining cubes stopped their assault on the planet below and slowly turned toward the Chamberlain. Green tractor beams reached out for the starship.

“Warp nine point nine!” Jack McCall ordered. A moment later his ship lurched forward at extreme warp velocity. He turned to Hank Evans.

Hank nodded. “All four Borg vessels are in pursuit. Good work, Jack.”

Jack’s eyebrows lifted. “That was the easy part. Now we have to make sure they don’t make a coordinated counter attack.”

Hank smiled. “These shields will hold.”

Jack McCall sat in his chair and tried to convince himself that Hank was right.

The U.S.S. Chamberlain sailed out of the Parxula System with four Borg vessels only moments behind. When the fifth of their number was destroyed by the Federation Starship they did not react with fear as normal organic life would. They knew only desire now– the desire for new technology. What had destroyed one of them would strengthen them all.

The Chamberlain banked across a wide section of space and came about heading back toward its pursuers.

Jack sat in his command chair watching the tactical display on the main viewscreen. He had to retain the initiative in this battle. Too many times in the past Starfleet vessels had attacked the Borg and if that succeeded, kept doing the same thing again and again until the Borg adapted a defense to the tactic. Jack had to adapt his tactics faster than the Borg adapted their defenses. He knew in the end the Borg held the tactical advantage in raw power. He had to out think thousands upon thousands of minds linked together in common purpose.

Jack turned to Hank Evans. “Reduce down to four reactors on Reactive Plasma System and divert power to shields. Attune energy frequency to known Borg shield harmonics. Standby on quantum torpedoes.”

Hank nodded in agreement. They didn’t need to use their primary weapon to destroy the Borg ships every time. They only had to knock out their shields so that their more conventional weapons could deliver the killing blow.

Jack watched as they neared the approaching Borg. “Fire.”

The plasma blasts struck one of the Borg cubes, but only caused the massive ship’s shields to flare brightly. A moment later torpedoes screamed from the Chamberlain and smashed into the unprotected outer hull of the alien ship.

“That cube’s primary power distribution system is down. They still have life support and weapons, but they’re drive system is dead,” Hank Evans reported.

Captain Jack McCall allowed himself a full smile at that news. He tried his best to avoid becoming overconfident. There were still three cubes left. “Reduce power to shields and redirect to Reactive Plasma System. Hit the next cube with all we’ve got.”

The Chamberlain sailed past the remaining cubes and began a wide orbit around the Borg vessels. The starship tilted in its flight and again energy unlike anything humans had ever dreamed possible blasted out and struck a Borg ship and cut a deep gash in its hull. Explosions filled the tear in the ship with expanding gases and debris.

The two undamaged cubes pulled away from each other and began to fly parallel to the Starship.

“They’re trying to flank us, Jack,” Hank almost shouted.

Jack waited. This was the most difficult thing for any battle commander to do, but Jack knew sometimes you had to wait for the opportunities to present themselves. Finally he saw his.

“Full stop,” Jack commanded.

The Chamberlain slowed quickly to sublight speed leaving the Borg ships to sail away at high warp.

Hank Evans saw on his tactical display that the Borg ships had already begun to come back around to the Chamberlain.

“Let’s take the one on the left, Hank. When it comes in range fire everything we have, but keep our shields up. The other one will hit us,” Jack said.

The two Borg vessels approached and lashed out with their tractor beams, but the Chamberlain fired its weapons at the cube on its left. Explosions engulfed the surface of the cube, but a moment later as the debris cleared it was apparent that the cube was intact.

Jack stood to his feet. “They’ve figured out some sort of countermeasures. I need an analysis fast.”

Hank Evans examined and re-examined the sensor data from the last strike on the Borg as did Duncan Zachary at the Science Station. Both men looked for anything to neutralize the Borg defense.

The Bridge shook violently.

“Minor structural damage on decks Twenty-four through Thirty-five,” Melissa Vargas said from the Ops Station.

Zachary turned to Jack. “They used only simple debris ejected moments before we fired, Captain. I suggest we fire our torpedoes before our primary to clear the debris field.”

Hank Evans nodded. “I agree, Captain.”

“Very well, Mr. Zachary,” Jack said. “Hank, you heard the man.”

The Chamberlain’s plasma emitters glowed to life again, but before firing the ship launched ten torpedoes followed two seconds later by the blazing plasma.

Multiple small explosions flared in front of a cube and when the phosphorescent plasma bursts shot at it, the entire front section of the Borg ship exploded outward.

Zachary smiled and looked at Captain McCall who nodded.

Hank took a deep breath. “Sir, cube number two has evidently repaired some of their damage and now has restored drive capability. Cube number three has moved off.”

“Sensors indicate it is in the process of repairing its damage as well,” Zachary reported.

Jack watched the tactical display. They were at a definite disadvantage. They had to destroy four ships while the enemy had only one ship to contend with. They could always have one or two of their damaged ships pull back and repair themselves while the others kept the Chamberlain tied up. Eventually the Borg would either come up with an effective defense against their weapons or simply continue the battle longer than the Starship could hold out.

He needed something bold, something the Borg would never think of.

Unfortunately Jack McCall would never get the opportunity to use it.

“Captain,” Zachary said. “There is a spatial distortion forming at 341 mark 23.”

Jack looked at Hank. Probably more Borg vessels. He hoped that some of the colonists had managed to escape during the battle.

“Is it a Borg transwarp conduit?” the Chamberlain’s Captain asked.

Zachary frowned as everyone else on the bridge became silent. “I don’t think so, sir.” His frown deepened. “This isn’t possible.”

“What is it?” Jack asked.

“It appears to be a wormhole.”

The cubes moved away from the Chamberlain drawn by the flame of ever better technology to assimilate. Suddenly ahead of the Borg ships space erupted into a bright sea of twisting energy foaming out of nothingness. Out of that turbulent sea sailed an object that dwarfed the Borg vessels.

The new arrival was more than five times the length of a cube and more than three times in width. Roughly cylindrical, the object bristled with structures along its surface. Its hull had wide gaps where glowing energy blazed so brightly it seemed more a shiny solid than non-material energy.

The four Borg ships continued their movement toward the massive structure.

“What in the hell is that?” Melissa asked.

Everyone on the bridge had their eyes focused on the viewscreen. After several moments Jack moved to stand next to Hank.

“You ever see anything like that?”

Hank shook his head. “Nothing even close.”

Cynthia Pederson looked down at her Communications Station and turned to Jack. “Captain, the Borg are signaling the new ship.

Jack smiled and shook his head. “On audio.”

“We are the Borg, lower your shields and surrender your ship…”

An alert sounded at Zachary’s Science Station causing him to look down at his panel. “Sir, sensors indicate a massive energy buildup in the new vessel.”

Jack turned to Negev. “Back us away from here.”

“We will add your biological and technological…

A bright glow formed at the front of the gargantuan vessel. A moment later, space and time cleared a path for an eruption of concentrated high density energy that sailed forth and smashed into the nearest Borg cube shattering metal and bodies to dust.

The Bridge of the U.S.S. Chamberlain was completely dark.

“Emergency lights!” Negev shouted.

“The Ops Station is dead,” Melissa stated.

“Re-route power through auxiliary,” Negev said to Vargas.

“Mr. Zachary, were we hit?” Jack asked hoping his Science Officer was still with them.

Duncan Zachary reached out for his station, but it did not respond. “I can’t be sure, Captain, but I think it may have been a power surge that overloaded every system on the ship.”

“Hopefully the Borg are in the same situation,” Hank said.

A dim glow formed overhead where the emergency light should have been. The Ops Station lit up with barely the intensity of a small candle.

“We’re getting minimal power back, sir,” Melissa said.

Jack looked at the dead viewscreen. “Any way you can let me see what’s going on out there?”

Vargas tried to route power to the viewscreen, but her panel went dark again. “Sorry, sir.”

Jack turned to Hank. “I’ve got to see what’s going on.”

Hank looked down at his Comm badge. He touched it and the badges worn by everyone else on the bridge chirped to life.

“The Comm badges have gone to their stand alone mode and operate now as independent transmitters.”

“How does that help us?” Jack asked.

“Your Ready Room has windows. You can go up there and see what’s going on while staying in touch with us here on the Bridge.”

Jack couldn’t accept the idea of leaving his Bridge during battle, especially with the Borg, but Hank seemed to be suggesting the only option open to him. It didn’t help anyone if he remained on the Bridge leaving his ship blind.

“Alright, but the moment the viewscreen is active you let me know and I’ll come back down,” Jack told Hank.

“Take Vargas with you,” Evans suggested.

Melissa stood from her station.

“She can help you coordinate with us,” Hank finished.

Jack went to the Bridge door.

Jack and Melissa ran up the stairs to his Ready Room and made their way to the front of the large chamber and looked out the large windows into space.

“My god…” Melissa whispered.

The two of them saw the debris of three Borg ships filling space around the huge vessel that had interrupted the Chamberlain’s battle with the cybernetic enemies of the Federation. The last cube was being drawn toward the front end of the large vessel by a strange blue shaft of energy.

The Borg ship stopped moving just short of impacting the larger vessel. A moment later large metal arms at the front of the new arrival closed and dug themselves into the hull of the helpless cube. Explosions erupted from the surface of the Borg vessel as it was held in place.

“I guess we don’t have to worry about those Borg ships anymore,” Jack said.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing this, sir. A Borg cube captured by another ship?”

Jack smiled. “I guess even the Borg can have a bad day.”

“Captain,” a voice said from Jack’s Comm badge.

Jack touched it. “Go ahead.”

It was Negev. “Ms. Pederson is picking up another transmission from the Borg.”

“Don’t they ever give that ‘resistance is futile’ crap a rest?” Jack asked with a smile. “Pipe it up here.”

Screams upon screams poured out of Jack and Melissa’s Comm badges. It was definitely the chorus of Borg voices, but making sounds he never expected to hear. It seemed as if he was hearing the moaning and wailing of damned souls in hell. For the first time in their history, the Collective cried out in fear.

The metal clamps holding the Borg ship in place opened and let the cube go free. It floated a short distance away from the large vessel, tumbling end over end. Thirty seconds later a mass of energy formed at the front of the gargantuan ship and struck the cube shattering it to dust.

Jack and Melissa watched as the large vessel turned about and a bright flash of light opened up in its path.

“Another wormhole,” Melissa said.

Jack touched his Comm badge, but it didn’t react. “McCall to bridge.”

He waited, but there was no response.

“When they fired their weapon again it must have sent another power surge through our systems,” Melissa surmised.

Jack nodded. “I sure hope we never have to face them in a battle. We wouldn’t have a prayer.”

The large vessel sank into the new wormhole and a moment later was gone leaving pulverized Borg cubes and the disabled U.S.S. Chamberlain behind.

=/\=

Chapter 2 - Lend Me Your Ears

Melissa Vargas sighed heavily as she listened to Lieutenant Commander Kristen Bishop, the Chief Engineer of the Chamberlain, describe the current status of the vessel’s power systems. Vargas didn’t like what she was hearing.

“We still haven’t figured out how the energy surge managed to disrupt the reactor synchronization system,” Bishop said.

Captain Jack McCall watched the holographic display over the center of the table in the conference room relate the details of Bishop’s bad news. Fortunately most of their systems had returned to normal within an hour of going down.

“How long until warp drive is back online?” Jack asked.

“We should have reactors one and two operational in forty-eight hours.”

“But that would only give us warp six.”

Bishop nodded. “Until we repair the synchronization system, we won’t be able to run more than two reactors at a time, Captain.”

Jack looked down at the table. He did not like the idea of being in the Kel-j’na Region with a disabled ship. There were few Starfleet vessels patrolling the region and they knew far too little about this new frontier.

“Do you think we’ll have to return to Delta Ophiuchus for repairs?”

Bishop’s eyes went wide. “No. I think we can eventually repair the problem, sir.”

Jack knew he had hit a nerve with Bishop. She was proud of her staff and felt they were capable of anything that was thrown their way. Suggesting the possibility of returning to the shipyard the Chamberlain had launched from two months ago was not something Bishop wanted to consider. Jack knew she would push her engineering staff hard to make sure that never happened.

Jack turned to Melissa Vargas. “How are the rescue operations going down on the planet?”

Vargas turned to Jack as Bishop, Hank Evans, and Duncan Zachary turned their attention to her.

“Commander Negev reports they have set up fifteen emergency medical stations and they’ve treated five hundred of the reported three thousand injured. Doctor Preston sent his latest estimate of those killed by the Borg. He now believes seven thousand four hundred died in the attack.”

Jack contemplated that number for several moments. The Parxula Five Colony had been hit hard. News of this attack would not sit well with the Federation Council. Many members had been demanding more forceful action be taken against the Borg for years and they would use this incident as proof of their position. Jack knew it was empty rhetoric. Despite the performance of the Chamberlain against them, Starfleet simply did not possess the technology to take the Borg on in a full scale war.

“Does Preston need more personnel for the planetary medical stations?” Jack asked.

Vargas shook her head. “He’s got all of our medical staff as well as most of the Science Department down there already. He told me the biggest problem is a shortage of surgically trained doctors.”

“The two medical ships are still a day away. I’m afraid he’ll have to do his best until then,” Jack stated.

Jack knew Mei-Wan was part of the group down on the surface working in the medical stations. He had wondered for the last five hours how she was dealing with the results of a Borg attack. She had seen her share of death and misery as he had during the Dominion War and in the Glazyalan prison camp, but the Borg had their own unique brand of destruction. Jack knew it wouldn’t be an enjoyable experience for his wife or something she would want to remember.

He turned in his chair toward Duncan Zachary, the Chamberlain’s Science Officer.

“Have you been able to learn anything from the sensor logs concerning our mysterious friends?”

Zachary leaned forward in his seat and stared at the surface of the table for almost five seconds before answering.

“Well, there isn’t much the logs can tell us I’m afraid. That energy surge disabled all our sensor systems,” Zachary said.

Jack turned to Hank. “You’re certain you’ve never seen a vessel like that before?”

Hank Evans thought a moment. “I would have remembered something like that.”

“Anyone who can defeat the Borg as that ship did makes these folks someone I’d like to talk to,” Jack said.

Hank smiled. “I can try checking some sources and see what I come up with.” He turned to Vargas. “That is assuming communications are functioning.”

Vargas frowned. “That’s the one system we’ve been able to keep up and running.”

Jack nodded. “Dismissed.”

Everyone but Jack got up from their chairs. Bishop walked over to her Captain as the others left the room.

“Sir, I know the Chamberlain’s in bad shape right now, but this was the first time an Oceana Class starship went through a real battle.”

“If another Borg ship had arrived after our friends in the other vessel had left we would have been defenseless,” Jack replied.

Bishop took a deep breath. “I realize the ship still has some problems, but I think we can get past them.”

“I certainly hope we get the opportunity to, Lieutenant Commander.”

=/\=

Jack walked into his quarters and got a glass of juice from the replicator. He looked at a nearby table and saw various PADDs and printed materials scattered across it where Mei-Wan had left her work when the red alert had sounded hours before. He wished more than anything else she were with him right now.

His ship faced the enemy it had been designed to defeat and done its job before the large unknown vessel appeared. The gargantuan alien had fired its weapons at the Borg and the power surge from the blast had disabled the Chamberlain without coming anywhere near the starship. The power at its disposal had to be incredible.

Jack closed his eyes and fell back into the couch. He took a long drink from his glass and tried to forget the events of the last seven hours.

The door opened and Jack turned and smiled. Mei-Wan slowly entered their quarters.

“Hi,” Jack said softly.

Mei-Wan stopped, startled. “Oh, Jack. I didn’t know you were here.”

She sank into a chair across from him and exhaled.

“Bad?” he asked.

Mei-Wan nodded. “I have to be back down there in six hours.”

Jack sat up. “I thought Preston had everything under control?”

“An hour ago we found two hundred more colonists buried under a building. About half were dead. The other half I think wished they were.”

Jack sat silently and watched Mei-Wan. He could tell she was tired, but he knew there was more than physical exhaustion taking its toll on her.

She leaned forward in her chair. “It was terrible, Jack. There were huge sections of the Colony that were just gone—nothing but massive holes in the ground left behind. All I could think of was what happened to all the people.”

Jack sighed. “I could tell you, but I don’t think you want to know.”

“No I don’t.”

She stood up and stretched her arms and legs. Jack watched her.

“You coming to bed?” she asked.

“No. I have to see Hank in about an hour. He’s checking out some information for me.”

Mei-Wan nodded. “I’m going to shut off the Comm. Zachary caught me on my way here and harassed me about some stupid evaluation for one of my Ensigns. I swear Jack, if he comes near me in the next twelve hours I’m going to blast a hole in his head with a phaser.”

Jack grinned as Mei-Wan disappeared down the hall toward their bedroom.

=/\=

Jack McCall sat watching shuttles pass back and forth between his ship and the colony below that they orbited. He saw a Starfleet Medical vessel, the U.S.S. Zimmer, which had arrived eight hours early. He had grown rather fond of looking out the windows of the Captain’s Yacht. It gave him the one thing he couldn’t find anywhere else on the Chamberlain; peace and quiet.

Jack leaned forward and grabbed a full glass off the panel in front of him. He took a small drink and let the taste of the alcohol fill his mouth a moment before swallowing. A second later he felt the liquid hit his stomach.

The sound of the Yacht’s main hatch opening made Jack turn. He forced a smile as Duncan Zachary, his wife’s immediate superior, cautiously entered the forward section.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Zachary?”

Zachary smiled in his usual feeble attempt at human interaction. “There was something I, uh, needed to speak to you about if its uh, not a bad time, sir?”

“Not at all,” Jack replied and motioned to Zachary to take the seat to Jack’s left.

The Science Officer slowly relaxed into the soft chair.

“Would you like a drink, Mr. Zachary?” Jack asked.

Zachary smiled, but then hesitated a moment. “Well, I guess so, sir.”

Jack reached down into a small compartment and pulled out a second glass. He filled it with the golden liquid from a bottle on the panel in front of him. Jack handed the glass to his Science Officer.

Zachary took a cautious sip and then smiled. “Very nice.”

Jack grinned and watched Zachary.

Zachary took a deep breath. “Captain, I can imagine what Lieutenant McCall has said to you about me. However, I want you to know I don’t see the problems between her and I as personal.”

“That’s good to know,” Jack replied.

“I’ve been Science Officer on four starships and I have my own style for running my department.”

“Everyone has their own style of command. That’s nothing to apologize for.”

Zachary took a deep breath. “And I don’t. I just want you to know that I’ve found that most Starfleet Science Personnel come from ships where regulations and discipline were not a high priority in the Science Department. I think they should be.”

“I can understand that.”

“Lieutenant McCall served aboard the Farragut and then the Beaumont. Both of those science departments were poorly supervised, so in one sense her attitudes about procedures and protocol aren’t her fault, but I have to run my department my way.”

Jack sighed heavily. The near constant battle between Zachary and Mei-Wan had been his least favorite part of life the last two months.

“Again, I understand and agree,” Jack said.

Zachary nodded and continued. “I can’t give her greater latitude than others in the department just because she’s your wife.”

“And you shouldn’t,” Jack replied as he lifted his glass off the panel. “Her career in Starfleet has to stand on its own apart from mine.”

Zachary took a sip from his own glass and smiled. “I’m glad we agree on this, sir. I intend to make the Science Department of the Chamberlain the best in the fleet over the next several years.”

Jack nodded. “I support your aspiration, Mr. Zachary and you have my full support.”

“Thank you, sir,” replied the Science Officer. He finished his glass of scotch.

“So is that why you came looking for me?”

Zachary though for a moment. “No. After the battle with the Borg this morning I was going over the sensor systems and discovered that the primary sensor arrays had been connected to the communication system enabling them to work in concert together.”

Jack sat up in his seat and placed his glass on the panel in front of him.

Zachary continued. “I can’t imagine why someone would want to do that, but they have.”

“Have you told anyone else about this?” Jack asked.

“No. I sealed the sensor system suite by voice authorization and decided to bring this directly to you.”

Jack leaned forward and touched the intercom control. “McCall to Evans.”

After a few moments Hank Evans’ voice blurted over the intercom, “Yeah, go ahead.”

“Hank, Mr. Zachary has discovered some odd alterations to the sensor systems and communication system.”

After a full second, “Now that is interesting.”

Jack smiled. “I thought you might see it that way. Get Vargas and the two of you go check it out.”

Hank’s voice replied, “Yes, sir.” The intercom deactivated.

Zachary watched the captain touch another control. “Computer, modify sensor suite authorization to include Lieutenant Commander Hank Evans. Authorization McCall Zed-nine-alpha, Mei-three-nine.”

“Authorization confirmed,” the Computer replied.

Jack leaned back lost in thought.

“Is there something more to this, sir?” the Science Officer asked.

“You may have just helped us solve a mystery, Mr. Zachary.”

=/\=

Down in the sensor suite on Deck Twenty-one Hank Evans and Melissa Vargas carefully examined the sensor control systems. Vargas watched the changing displays on the tricorder in her right hand.

“Well, there goes my number one suspect,” Vargas stated.

Hank smiled. “Zachary?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t make sense for him to bring this to the captain if he was the one doing it.”

Hank nodded as he pulled a panel off of a section of wall. Vargas pointed her tricorder at the collection of isolinear chips.

“One thing’s for certain,” Hank said. “Someone knew what they were doing. I did a full diagnostic of these systems two weeks ago and didn’t find anything. Zachary may be a jackass, but his anal attitude sure came in handy this time.”

He pointed to a set of three chips in the open panel. “Right there.”

Melissa nodded as her tricorder began an electronic whine. “If we didn’t know where it was we’d never notice.”

“Exactly. Only a handful of people on this ship would know how to do this.”

She took a deep breath and closed her tricorder. “Zachary, Pederson, someone in the science department, and the command personnel.”

Hank replaced the wall panel. “And Bishop and her engineering staff.”

“So who do we question first?”

Hank leaned against a wall. “No one yet. Now we go over personnel records and see who has the training needed to do this. We narrow it down until we’ve got five or six suspects. Then we start interrogating them.”

“Well, we can rule out Pederson and Zachary. If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t even know about this.”

Hank nodded. “I agree. I’ll have the computer come up with a list of possible candidates. We can meet tomorrow at 0900 and narrow it down and then take it to the captain. In the meantime, let’s get someone down here to disable this.”

Hank smiled and looked at Melissa. “I’m supposed to meet Kadan in the Officer’s Lounge on Deck Nine later for some drinks. You want to join us?”

Melissa Vargas returned Hank’s smile. “Actually I’ve got plans for the evening.”

Hank grinned as the two of them walked toward the exit.

=/\=

Chapter 3 - Somebody To Love

Mei-Wan McCall hurried down a curving corridor on Deck Five and came to a stop outside a door with a nameplate reading: M. Vargas. Mei-Wan took a deep breath and touched a control at the side of the door. After ten seconds she touched the control again.

The door opened and Mei-Wan’s eyes went wide as she saw Commander Lee McGuire standing on the other side of the doorway. She glanced over at the nameplate to check it, but she was in the right place.

McGuire slung his uniform jacket over his shoulder and turned to look behind him. “Melissa, you’ve got a visitor,” he said with a thick Irish accent.

The normally stern looking McGuire turned back to Mei-Wan and gave her a warm smile as Melissa Vargas walked up behind him wearing only a silk robe that clung to every curve of her body.

Vargas smiled nervously. “Mei, what’s up?”

“Its 0730. We were supposed to go down to the Emergency Bridge this morning,” Mei-Wan said.

Melissa frowned. “Your Tactical Certification. I’m sorry. I forgot.”

Mei-Wan smiled. “We can do it another time if you want.”

McGuire grinned. “I’ll let you ladies get about your business.”

He turned to Melissa and gave her a quick kiss. She looked at him a moment and then softly asked, “I’ll see you tonight?”

McGuire smiled wide. “You can be certain of that.”

Mei-Wan took a step away from the doorway as McGuire walked past her and quickly disappeared around a corner. She turned to look at Melissa who was lost in thought.

“Well?”

Vargas looked up at Mei-Wan. “Come in. Give me a minute to get dressed.”

Mei-Wan entered Melissa Vargas’ quarters as the Chamberlain’s Operations Officer walked out of sight into her bedroom. Mei-Wan noticed cushions from a couch lying on the floor along with two wine glasses.

“I thought you still had medical duty planetside?” Melissa asked from the other room.

“The Zimmer arrived early last night, so Preston sent everyone from the Science Department back to the ship. I was already aboard so I got to sleep a couple of extra hours. I don’t think our CMO was happy about archaeologists and geologists practicing medicine in the first place,” Mei-Wan said.

“At least you got to sleep in.”

“After yesterday I needed it,” Mei-Wan replied.

Melissa walked out of the bedroom wearing her uniform and sat in a chair.

“Still, I’m really sorry about forgetting, Mei. I know this means a lot to you.”

Mei-Wan nodded. “It seems you had other things on your mind.”

Melissa smiled as she reached down to put her uniform boot on. “Yeah.”

Mei-Wan turned to her friend. “McGuire?”

Vargas looked up. “Why? What’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing. I just can’t picture you two getting along very well.”

Melissa slipped her last boot on and leaned back in her chair. “Oh, we get along just great.”

Mei-Wan frowned. “I didn’t mean…” She shook her head.

Melissa stood to her feet and walked over to a mirror and checked her hair. “Come on, Mei. I’m sure you’ve had a shipboard romance or two. You married a starship captain.”

Mei-Wan looked down. “Jack and I didn’t get involved until we ended up in that prison camp.”

Melissa turned to Mei-Wan. “Okay, but before you met him there had to be a guy or two you served with.”

Mei-Wan sighed. “No.”

Melissa attached a Comm badge to her uniform and pointed to the door. “I’m ready.”

The two women exited into the Deck Five corridor and walked briskly toward a turbolift.

“You’ve been in Starfleet over six years and there hasn’t been a single guy you’ve been involved with aside from your husband?”

Mei-Wan rolled her eyes. “No, Melissa.”

“Okay, there had to be someone you were at least mildly infatuated with.”

Mei-Wan sighed as the two of them entered the turbolift. “Why is this such a big deal with you?”

“Its not.” Melissa watched the lift doors close. “Deck Twenty-one,” she said to the turbolift.

“Its just most everyone I’ve known in Starfleet has had a variety of romantic encounters. I find it a little hard to believe there wasn’t anyone in six years time you were interested in.”

Mei-Wan looked down at the turbolift floor. She looked up at Melissa Vargas and smiled. “My first assignment there was a guy I sort of liked.”

Vargas grinned. “Sort of?”

Mei-Wan laughed softly. “Okay, so it was more like obsessed with for a couple of months, but he wasn’t interested in me.”

“What’s his name?”

“Does it matter?”

“Come on, Mei.”

Mei-Wan rolled her eyes. “Kyle Hoffman. He was in command of the Archaeology Section on the Farragut. Like I said, nothing happened. He hardly noticed me.”

“Don’t be too sure. Men can be incredibly inept at letting you know they’re interested,” Melissa said.

“I’m sure.”

The turbolift doors opened onto Deck Twenty-one and the two of them entered a straight corridor.

“So why didn’t you let him know how you felt?”

“I told you he wasn’t interested.”

Melissa sighed as they turned a corner. “So you felt that strongly about someone and you didn’t even mention it to him?”

“I’m happy with how things turned out, Melissa,” Mei-Wan said.

Vargas looked at her friend. “That doesn’t mean you couldn’t have had fun with Kyle ‘what’s his name’.”

Mei-Wan shook her head. “How did this get turned around onto me? I thought we were discussing your life.”

“You were giving me a hard time about Lee McGuire and I was trying to find something in your past I could relate it to.”

“Then how about we get back to you and McGuire?”

Melissa grinned. “Okay, suppose this Kyle guy had been interested in you, then you would have gotten involved, right?”

Mei-Wan let out her breath. “Maybe.”

Melissa rolled her eyes. “Are you trying to drive me crazy?”

“Its just I don’t know if the two of us would have worked out.”

They stopped at a door which was labeled: Emergency Bridge.

“I don’t know how well Lee and I will work out and really for right now I don’t care, but I do enjoy spending time with him.”

“Okay, I’m happy for you,” Mei-Wan said with a resigned smile. The door slid open and the two women entered.

=/\=

Jack McCall walked through the entrance of the Chamberlain’s Sickbay toward the office of the Chief Medical Officer wondering why he had bothered. Of course he knew it was to satisfy his wife’s insistence that he do something about the dreams he’d been suffering through almost nightly for more than a year. However, this was not the solution she had suggested to him on more than one occasion.

Doctor Taylor Preston rose from behind his desk with a warm smile on his tired face. Jack could tell this was a man who had seen far too much misery the last twenty-four hours.

“Surprised to see you in here, Doctor.”

“I got back an hour ago and thought I’d check the medical logs,” Preston said.

“If you’re busy I can come back later.”

“No. What can I do for you, Captain?”

Jack took a deep breath and sat in the chair across from the Doctor.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately and was wondering if you could give me something for it.”

Preston’s eyes narrowed. “Just lately, Captain?”

Jack looked down. “Well, for a while.”

The Chief Medical Officer slowly sat in his chair and leaned back. “Captain, I’m really too tired for this kind of game. I know you’ve suffered from this ever since you escaped from that prison camp.”

Jack sighed heavily and looked off to his right. A moment later he looked up at Preston.

“Okay, so it’s been a year. That’s why I’ve come here.”

“There isn’t some magic pill for this. I would suggest a full workup with me and then a session with our Counselor.”

Jack almost allowed himself to get angry, but caught it. “Look, I’m a patient asking for help with a problem. Are you going to help?”

Preston leaned forward. “You’re the captain of this vessel and in my opinion you’re suffering from severe post-traumatic stress and a fair amount of guilt about those who died under your command in that camp.”

Jack shook his head and frowned as Preston watched him. “I’m just having trouble sleeping.”

The doctor stood up from his chair and walked out of the office. Jack sighed and closed his eyes. He hadn’t expected this kind of response from his own Chief Medical Officer.

A moment later Preston walked back into the office and turned to the captain.

Jack slowly rose to his feet and watched the Doctor hold up a hypo-spray.

“This will help you enter a deep sleep,” Preston started. “However, there are only three doses in this. In four days I want you in here for a full medical exam.”

Jack started to protest, but Preston cut him off and said, “No argument, Captain. Four days.”

Jack McCall reluctantly nodded and Taylor Preston handed him the hypo. Jack looked it over a moment. “Thank you, Doctor.”

=/\=

Chapter 4 - Do You Need Anybody

An hour later, Jack sat behind the desk in his Ready Room as Hank Evans and Melissa Vargas explained their findings from the ship’s sensor systems.

“I’d say we have to assume that whoever did this knew these systems extremely well which would reduce our possibilities down to a very short list,” Hank said as he walked over to the wall where a display screen stood. He touched a control and the unit came to life with a list of various names. Jack stood to his feet and walked over for a better look. After a moment he smiled.

“Just as I thought.”

Melissa and Hank looked at Jack.

“You see something, sir?” Melissa asked.

Jack turned to them. “I did a bit of checking through the personnel files last night after Zachary brought the tampering to our attention. There is one name on your list who I discovered a few things about.

“This officer’s career has some very strange twists and turns to it. About four years ago he faced a full court-martial and mysteriously, just before the verdict was to be given, all charges were dropped. It took some doing, but I discovered that it was Admiral Fergus Simmons who was behind it. This is the same Admiral Simmons who has been extremely vocal about his opposition to the Oceana Class Project.”

Jack took a step toward Hank and Melissa. “This same officer had been Simmons’ Chief of Staff for five years and before that served with the then Captain Simmons aboard the U.S.S. Chenrezi.”

Melissa Vargas took a deep breath as she realized who Captain McCall was speaking of. It was the one name that she wished had not been on Hank’s list.

Jack turned and touched a name on the display. “Commander Lee McGuire.”

Hank stood thinking a moment while McGuire’s personnel file came up on the screen behind Jack. “I realize you’ve never liked Simmons, not that there’s much to like, but I don’t know if I buy McGuire as a spy.”

“He’s on your list, Hank. He has the necessary skills,” Jack said.

“But so are nine others. Frankly, McGuire would be the last person on that list I would suspect. He just isn’t the type to be a spy.”

Jack turned to Melissa. “Do you agree with Hank, Ms. Vargas?”

Melissa did her best not to look directly at her captain. How could she make any objective judgment about the man she had spent the previous night with?

“Sir, I wouldn’t think Lee… uh, Commander McGuire would be involved with something like this,” she replied.

“He has known and served with Simmons for more than twenty years. Simmons issued the order for McGuire to be assigned to the Chamberlain and McGuire has the skills necessary to modify the communication and sensor systems to send secret transmissions,” Jack stated.

Hank stepped up to Jack. “Captain, I don’t think we have enough information to name anyone as a suspect at this point in the investigation. We don’t even know if Simmons is behind all this. My best guess is we’re dealing with a spy for another power. Perhaps the Romulans, Cardassians, or even the Ferengi.”

“I agree, sir,” Melissa quickly said.

Jack looked down a moment. “Then what do you suggest?”

Hank looked at the display. “I think we should look over the records of everyone on the list and then if someone stands out after that, then we should go through that person or persons’ Comm records and see what we find.”

Jack looked directly at Melissa. “Start with McGuire’s Comm traffic.”

Hank tried to speak, but Jack cut him off. “Indulge my hunch, Mr. Evans. It won’t hurt for Ms. Vargas to go over McGuire’s Comm logs while you do the check of the personnel records.”

Melissa closed her eyes a moment then turned to Jack. “Sir, I don’t think the situation is serious enough at this point for us to rush ahead on any particular name on the list and in effect violate Commander McGuire’s privacy.”

Jack looked directly at Melissa. “This ship is crippled and we have to return to Federation space through what very well may be hostile territory. The last thing I need to worry about, Lieutenant Commander, is a spy aboard this vessel stabbing us in the back at a critical moment.”

He took a deep breath. “I am ordering you to go through each and every one of Commander McGuire’s communications and if anything in the least is out of order you are to question him about it. Is that clear?”

“But Captain… ” Melissa started.

“Is that order clear to you, Commander?” Jack asked.

Melissa took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, sir. Very clear.”

“Then get to it and report back your findings,” Jack said.

Hank frowned, but reluctantly nodded.

“Dismissed,” Jack ordered.

As she walked out of the Captain’s Ready room Melissa Vargas realized that for the first time she had reason to question the judgment of a Captain that five minutes before she had felt was beyond question. She wasn’t too worried about how this investigation would affect her view of Lee McGuire, but she was beginning to dread what it would tell her about Captain McCall.

Jack walked to the forward windows of his ready room and looked out at the planet his ship orbited. He felt McGuire had to be their spy— someone that close to Simmons had to be the person responsible for the mysterious and unauthorized transmissions from his ship.

He turned to go back to his desk but stopped when he noticed a man wearing a Starfleet uniform sitting in one of the couches across from his desk.

“What are you doing in here?” Jack demanded.

The man shook his head and sighed. “I’ve been asking myself the same question, human.”

Jack walked cautiously toward the man. “I don’t recognize you. Who are you?”

The man looked at Jack with a tired expression. “I think you humans call my kind… Oh, what was it? Oh, yes. I think you call us Q.”

Jack stopped and noticed for the first time that the man’s uniform had four rank pins on its collar. He was fairly certain there were no other captains aboard his ship.

“I’ve seen images of the entity that calls himself Q. You’re not him,” Jack said.

The Q looked across the Ready Room as if trying to find something of interest. “Oh, that Q is busy chasing his offspring on the other side of the Galaxy. It seems young Q has some absurd notion about restricting the Borg to their own area of the Galaxy until the lesser species such as you can develop the means to protect yourselves from them.”

Jack slowly walked back to his desk, but kept a close watch on the being on the couch. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

“What would you know about anything, human? You have no idea what the ramifications of that would be. Your mind doesn’t have the ability to understand such things,” Q said.

“Why should I believe you’re a Q?” Jack asked.

Q looked up at him with a blank expression. “How about this?”

Q snapped his fingers and a flash of light engulfed Jack and a moment later he found himself standing on the exterior of the Chamberlain’s primary hull. The air in Jack’s lungs forced itself out into the vacuum of space as Jack fell to his knees on the hull of his ship.

“Convinced, human?” Q asked.

As Jack tried to breathe in air that wasn’t there he quickly nodded. Q tilted his head and snapped his fingers again.

The next moment Jack stood in his Ready Room filling his empty lungs with precious warm air.

“That’s better,” Q said as he walked past Jack and looked at several books on the table in front of one of the couches.

Jack took several deep breaths and stood to his feet. “Is there some reason you’re here or you just come by to torment me?”

“Trust me, Captain, there are a billion other places I’d rather be, but I was required to come here.”

Jack smiled. “Really?” He watched the entity before him look about the room.

“I don’t think I like this ship,” Q said.

Jack sighed, but then a thought came to him. “So, are the Q responsible for our improved shield system?”

Q stared at Jack with surprise at the question. He turned and looked down as if intently studying something. “Now, that is interesting. Someone has given the Earth monkeys advanced technology.”

He turned to Jack and frowned. “Technology that is well beyond your feeble mental abilities.”

“Did it come from you?”

Q shook his head and meandered about the Ready Room. “No, human. We might take technology away from you, but we’d never give you anything you hadn’t figured out on your own.”

He sighed and started to make his way back to the couch he had been in before. “One of your species actually developed a rudimentary time travel device almost three hundred years ago, but the Q quickly stepped in and put a stop to that insanity.”

Q turned and looked at Jack. “Something about that one has always bothered me. He was obviously intelligent, for your species, and when we encountered him and pointed out the dangers of time travel he agreed to stop doing it, but he requested we allow him to travel to your world’s past to live out the rest of his life.”

The entity shook his head. “I have never understood why anyone would prefer to live in your world’s past. Your species is very odd.”

Jack watched the being in his Ready Room make its way back to the couch.

Q picked up a book off the table titled “Toward a Philosophy of Federation” and carried it with him as he sat in the couch and relaxed. He looked up absently at the ceiling.

“Things would go much more quickly if you’d just admit being sufficiently troubled about exploring this region of space without being completely discouraged so that you proceed on your journey with appropriate caution.”

“Is that all?”

Q looked down and thought a moment.

“That’s what I was told to do with you,” he said. “The Continuum frankly thinks you shouldn’t be here, but they don’t want to stop you– just slow you down a bit.”

“Too bad,” Jack replied as he sat in the chair behind his desk.

Q’s face brightened to a smile.

“That’s what I told them! Let the stupid primates get themselves wiped out! The Galaxy would be much better off.”

Jack frowned at Q.

“I wanted to wipe you all out eight hundred years ago,” Q said. “I suggested an asteroid impact would do you all in. Let some other more rational species evolve on that little speck of garbage.”

Jack shook his head and sighed as the Q continued.

“But the Continuum didn’t listen to me and now those little glops of goo you call brains have brought you into this area of the Galaxy where you’ll cause all sorts of trouble.”

“We’re exploring,” Jack said.

“That so?”

Q opened the book in his hands and began leafing through it not paying much attention to Jack.

“Yes, and starting colonies and opening up trade relations,” Jack said.

“You mean like the colony on that planet below?”

“Yes.”

Q continued looking through the book.

“The lives of those on the planet were helped by being here when the Borg attacked weren’t they?”

Jack frowned.

“There are dangers in any new region of space,” Jack said. “The Borg happen to be one of the worst.”

Q looked up from the book.

“You really aren’t a very bright species are you?” he asked and then returned to leafing through the book.

“I guess that depends on what you consider important.”

“You may have begun your species’ extinction having that colony here.”

“How?” Jack asked.

“Do you think that large ship that destroyed the Borg didnt take notice of you?”

“They helped us stop the Borg.”

“They didn’t care about that insignificant little planet you were protecting,” Q said. “They wanted the Borg… the Borg Queen specifically.”

“Why would they want her?”

“They’ll strip every bit of information from her mind and maybe even gain access to the collective itself.”

Jack smiled and said, “Whatever is bad for the Borg is good for the Galaxy, I’d say.”

Q’s eyes grew wide and he turned to look at Jack. “Only an idiot from a species of idiots would think that.”

Q placed the book back on the table in front of the couch and sighed. “From the Borg Queen they will learn everything the Borg know about your silly little Federation and the location of Earth.”

Jack thought a moment. “They’ll also learn we face a common foe in the Borg.”

“Did it look to you like they had much to fear from the Borg?”

Jack looked down at his desk. “Then we’ll convince them that they have no reason to fear us and that we can come to a mutual understanding of…”

Q laughed interrupting Jack. “Your species is so incredibly pathetic! They’d never think to fear you. They may want to conquer your worlds and strip them of every natural resource they have.”

Jack looked sternly at Q. “Then we will let them know that trade will benefit them more than war. Most conflicts can be resolved by an open and constructive dialogue.”

“You do that human. You have a dialogue with them. The only word you’ll need will be ‘help!’.” Q chuckled and laid his head back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling.

“I suppose you wouldn’t want to help start a diplomatic relationship between them and the Federation?” Jack asked.

Q’s face turned cold as ice. “I think you’re confusing me with someone who is concerned about you, your species, or your Federation.”

The entity’s cold gaze turned to Jack. “I don’t care.”

Jack sighed as Q returned to staring at the ceiling as if he were waiting for a clock to count off the remaining moments of a prison sentence.

“Besides, wouldn’t that violate that idiotic Prime Directive of yours?”

Jack asked, “What?”

“You do remember that absurd little rule you have about not interfering in the development of lesser species?”

Q smiled. “Of course… that rule only applies to everyone else– not humans.”

“The Prime Directive is…” Jack started.

Q sat up and turned to Jack. “I’ll help you out, human. What would you like to know about your new enemy?”

“I wouldn’t call them an enemy,” Jack stated.

“Suit yourself,” Q said and returned to his study of the ceiling.

After several moments and some consideration of the source, Jack said, “Any information you could provide would be appreciated, Q.”

Q smiled and sat up again. “What would you like to know?”

Jack frowned. He was already tired of this. “Who they are, what planet they come from– anything, anything at all.”

“They’re called the G’voda. They aren’t especially nice and they cruise about in large ships that create small temporary wormholes through which they can travel to any part of the Galaxy almost instantaneously.”

Jack sat back in his chair and let that last bit of information bounce around in his mind for several seconds. Zachary’s initial analysis had been correct. The strange ship had created its own wormhole.

“What planet are they from?” Jack asked.

“I think I’ve interfered with a lesser species’ development enough for one day,” Q said.

“All I’m asking for is a little information.”

“I’d say you’re violating that Prime Directive. Won’t Starfleet Command send you to bed without supper or something?” Q asked mockingly.

“The Prime Directive is…”

Q interrupted. “A denial of reality.”

“What? No it isn’t.”

“Do you think you haven’t interfered with hundreds of what you call lesser species every time you take a ship through some new solar system? Every photon that bounces off this ship is deflected from its original path causing untold alterations in the lives of billions of emerging lifeforms everywhere you go,” Q stated.

“I hardly think a few photons here or there would have much affect.”

“You’re right,” Q said.

“What?”

“You ‘hardly think’,” Q replied with a smirk.

Jack shook his head. He really was tired of this being who reminded him of an obnoxious relative who had overstayed their welcome.

“You’d be surprised what a few stray photons can do over the course of billions of years or even ten thousand years,” Q said. “Of course, you’d have to live that long to notice.”

Q grinned and looked at Jack. “Your society hasn’t even existed that long, has it human?”

Jack stared at his desk. “The point is we’re not in a position to judge if the benefits of interference will really outweigh the damage done by that interference.”

“If a few photons being deflected can alter the history of the Galaxy, then you’re already interfering by simply flying your ships through space. If you truly believed your Prime Directive you’d go home and stay there,” Q said.

“No. Deflected photons are not anything we go about doing intentionally to change other cultures.”

Q rolled his eyes. “Yes, all that matters are your good intentions. The results are irrelevant. Bright thinking, primate.”

Q stood to his feet and disappeared.

A moment later he reappeared behind Jack and leaned down to his ear and whispered, “Remember, even a few stray photons can alter the destiny of a Galaxy, human. Perhaps even one stray photon.”

Q disappeared again leaving Jack alone in the Ready Room.

=/\=

Chapter 5 - Would You Believe

Mei-Wan entered the Archaeology Lab on Deck Eighteen carrying seven PADDs and two tricorders. She walked over to a desk and almost dropped the items on the hard surface, but managed to set them down without too much harm to them or the desk. She sat in the chair behind the desk and exhaled.

“I’m never going to finish this,” Mei-Wan said to herself as she turned to the display behind her and activated it.

“Computer, display Hel’yra files seventeen through twenty-five.”

The display came to life showing various diagrams and long listings of text. Mei-Wan turned back to the collection of PADDs on the desk and shuffled through them until finding the one she wanted.

The door to the Lab opened and Ensign Natalie Fowler walked in and up to Mei-Wan’s desk.

“Lieutenant, there’s a message that just came through from the Archaeological Council for you,” the young Ensign said.

Mei-Wan sighed and dropped the PADD on the table. “They’re probably wondering when this report on Hel’yra is going to be finished.”

“Is there anything I can do to help out?” Fowler asked.

Mei-Wan smiled at the enthusiasm of the Ensign. “Thanks Natalie, but the problem is they want answers and there simply aren’t any to give yet. This data may require years of study to come up with any useful conclusions.”

“If you change your mind, just let me know.”

She nodded as Fowler turned and walked out of the Lab. Mei-Wan turned to face the display happy that the message would give her an excuse to avoid the report she had grown to dread.

“Computer, access messages for McCall, Mei-Wan.”

The panel changed and after a moment the Computer spoke, “There are five messages for McCall, Mei-Wan. Do you wish to have them listed?”

“No. Display message from Federation Archaeological Council,” Mei-Wan replied.

The visual changed and the smiling face of Andrea Lofgren, the Chairperson of the Archaeological Council, greeted her.

“Mei-Wan, I hope things are going well for you aboard the Chamberlain. I’ve got some exciting news that I had to let you know about.”

Mei-Wan smiled. “Anything would be more exciting than this stupid report,” she said to herself.

The recording of Lofgren continued. “Three days ago the Council voted to have the Archaeological Conference on Yed Post Four at the end of December dedicated to Hel’yra and we’d like you to deliver your report on the discoveries you made to the Conference as the Keynote Address.”

Mei-Wan rolled her eyes. “Oh, god… please no.”

“And don’t worry we’ve already made arrangements with Starfleet Command to make sure you’ll be at Yed Post in time for the Conference.”

Mei-Wan sighed. “Why did you do this, Andrea?”

The message continued. “We’re all looking forward to your presentation as is every professional and amateur archaeologist within the Federation. Even the Romulans have requested to send a delegation to hear you speak.”

Mei-Wan had reached her limit with Andrea Lofgren’s enthusiasm long before this. “I wonder if Jack could take this ship and start a war with the Romulans so I wouldnt have to give this stupid report,” she said. A moment later she was glad no one else had been there to hear her.

Lofgren’s image prattled on. “Hel’yra’s been all anyone here has been talking about since your discovery. To think you were the first person in billions of years to hear the Ancient Progenitors speak in their own language and to walk in halls where they had walked. Its what we all went into archaeology for in the first place. Its a great honor and achievement for you. It won’t be too long before you’ll be able to have your choice of work anywhere in the Federation.”

Mei-Wan thought about everything that had happened on Hel’yra. Despite her frustration with the report she was working on, she was still excited about everything they had found on that world.

Lofgren’s image smiled. “And speaking of work, the Council made another decision. It took some doing as well as some arm twisting with Starfleet Command, but we’re sending a science vessel back to Hel’yra for a full scale expedition and we’d like you to lead it.”

Mei-Wan leaned back as her eyes widened. “Oh my god! I can’t believe it!”

The recording went on. “Of course the starship will be under the command of its Captain, but the expedition itself will be under the authority of the Archaeological Council and we have delegated all our authority to you for the duration of the mission. You will have complete autonomy with the full blessing of the Galen Institute as well.”

Mei-Wan took a deep breath and did her best to hold back her emotions. The Galen Institute had been founded in honor of Archaeologist Richard Galen the man who had inspired Mei-Wan to become an archaeologist and who had been the original discoverer of the Ancient Progenitors nearly eight years ago. The Institute was dedicated to continuing Galen’s work on the Progenitors; beings who had seeded numerous worlds with their genetic material which resulted in the rise of humanoids throughout the Galaxy.

To gain the Galen Institute’s acceptance was the accolade that every archaeologist Mei-Wan had ever known sought after. For them to accept her as the leader of the expedition was an honor she would never have even dreamed about, let alone expect. She couldn’t believe this would have fallen to her.

Lofgren continued on the display. “And before you start asking how you were chosen, don’t sell yourself short. You have accomplishments other archaeologists can’t even dream about. You know the Hel’yra site better than anyone. Though the most important factor involved Professor Saselo. He was impressed with your work and professionalism on the Iconia expedition and was the first to suggest you lead this one. And when Saselo recommends you the rest of us don’t dare say no.”

Mei-Wan finally let a few tears roll down her cheeks. Saselo had been the Academy Instructor who had let her sit in on his classes when she was only twelve. After a year the other students had accepted her so much that by the time she was seventeen, and Saselo had become Chairman of the Academy’s Department of Archaeology, it was just assumed she would join them on the Iconia dig. Saselo had been responsible for making sure she was given every possible opportunity available and he had continued with this one.

Mei-Wan knew Saselo and her father, also an Academy Instructor, had been good friends and it was her father who had arranged for her to sit in on that first class, but she knew Saselo only rewarded achievement. He would not have recommended her if he didn’t believe she was up to the challenge.

She realized the recording had gone on without her. “Computer replay message from time index three, four, zero.”

The displayed message froze and then changed and restarted. “…suggest you lead this one. And when Saselo recommends you the rest of us don’t dare say no.

“All the arrangements have been taken care of. The starship will leave for Hel’yra five days after the Conference. As soon as we receive your acceptance as leader of the expedition we’ll notify Starfleet and your orders will become official.”

Andrea Lofgren smiled wide on the display. “I’m really excited for you, Mei-Wan. Congratulations. I’ll see you at the end of December.”

Lofgren’s image was replaced by the listing of Mei-Wan’s messages. She turned back around toward the desk still unable to believe what she had just heard. This was all her dreams fulfilled in one assignment. She never would have thought this possible.

Mei-Wan glanced down at the materials on her desk and took a deep breath. The report she had grown to hate had been transformed into the beginning of the greatest adventure of her life. She couldn’t wait to tell Jack the great news.

No.

Deep breath.

Mei-Wan’s joy faded. “No,” she thought.

“No.”

To lead the expedition to Hel’yra would mean leaving the Chamberlain and more importantly her husband. Mei-Wan knew that an expedition like this might last anywhere from one to two years. The thought of spending that much time away from Jack brought new tears to her eyes. These had nothing to do with joy.

=/\=

Jack McCall sat at the head of the conference table surrounded by his Executive Officer Commander Lak Negev, Tactical Officer and Head of Security Hank Evans, Operations Officer Melissa Vargas, Science Officer Duncan Zachary, and Counselor Akala Wilmarza. They had been there for the last forty-five minutes discussing Jack’s encounter with a member of the Q Continuum.

“He actually denied having anything to do with our shields?” Hank asked.

Jack nodded. “He seemed to think whoever gave us the shields system had made a huge mistake.”

Jack noticed Lak Negev appeared lost in thought. “Any comments, Mr. Negev?”

The Andorian paused a moment before speaking. “Members of the Q Continuum are beings of incredible power, sir. I find it difficult to accept that one of them would come by just to have a talk with you and nothing more.”

Hank grinned. “You think our Captain isn’t fun to talk to, Commander?”

Soft laughter erupted around the table. Even Negev smiled.

“I have had rather enriching discussions with the Captain, Mr. Evans. However, I don’t think many of us would find a conversation with an insect very enjoyable. The Q most probably see us as a lifeform on that level.”

Zachary folded his hands in front of him on the table. “The Q have been known to take an interest in our encounters with the Borg. Perhaps that was his real purpose.”

Jack nodded. “He did point out that these G’voda had a strong interest in the Borg Queen and he seemed to think the Borg were important to the Galaxy. Maybe he wanted a first hand account of what happened here.”

“But did he ask you about what you had seen?” Negev asked Jack.

“No, but perhaps he was searching about in my mind and the conversation was only for my benefit– something to keep me occupied while he or others of the Continuum entered my mind.”

Hank turned to the ship’s Counselor. “Any indication the captain’s mind has been tampered with, Akala?

Akala Wilmarza, a full telepath, looked intently at Jack for several moments. “Nothing that’s obvious, but the Q might be able to dissect a mind the same way we could operate on an animal, leaving little indication of what had happened.”

Melissa Vargas watched the captain closely. A thought formed in her mind that she quickly dismissed.

Jack waited several moments as everyone sat silently. “It might be a good idea for me to have a full physical exam as well as have our Counselor give me a thorough mental once over just to be certain. The last thing I need is to go nuts and start a war somewhere for the entertainment of the Q.”

Lieutenant Commander Cynthia Pederson entered the conference room with a PADD and walked up to Jack.

“Yes, Ms. Pederson?” he asked.

“This just came through from Starfleet Command, sir.”

She handed the PADD to Jack and took a step back as he read it.

“Looks like our new orders,” Jack said as he quickly scanned the information. His face changed to a frown.

“What is it, Captain?” Negev asked.

Jack took a deep breath. “We have been ordered by the new CinC of the Kel-j’na Region, Admiral Fergus Simmons… “

Jack paused and looked at Hank and Melissa. They knew what he had to be thinking at this point.

Jack continued. “We have been ordered to leave the Kel-j’na Region and return to Federation space for a full evaluation of the Chamberlain and its systems. We are to arrive at Yed Post Four no later than Stardate 54975.8.”

Hank frowned. “Yed Post Four? What the hell are we going there for?”

Negev jumped in. “There is a substantial starship repair facility located there. Perhaps Starfleet feels the need for an evaluation after our first encounter with the Borg.”

Jack forced the conversation at the table out of his mind. He was certain this was Simmons’ way of ending the Oceana Class starships. Now more than ever he wanted McGuire investigated.

Jack looked over at Melissa Vargas who also was not involved in the ongoing conversation. She met his eyes and sighed. A moment later she nodded and knew she couldn’t argue the point any longer. She would have to go rummaging around in the personal communications of her lover. She just hoped that Lee would understand.

The Comm system came to life with the voice of Navigation Officer P’rada K’jal. “Captain McCall, please report to the Bridge.”

Jack sighed and responded. “McCall here. What is it Lieutenant Commander?”

K’jal had command of the Bridge this shift of the day, but Jack could tell from the tone of her voice she was nervous. “Sir, two vessels have entered the system at high warp and are on a heading to the colony. I estimate they will arrive in seven minutes.”

“Can you identify them?” Jack asked as Negev, Hank, Zachary, and Vargas had already made their way to the Conference Room door.

“Unknown design, sir.”

Jack stood from his chair. “Go to red alert.”

=/\=

Chapter 6 - A Little Help From My Friends

As Jack entered the Bridge the alarm klaxon blared leaving no doubt what was to be expected soon. Hank Evans stood at the Tactical Station with a sour look on his face.

“Bishop says she can only give us about twenty-five percent on the weapons systems,” Hank told the Captain.

Jack settled into his command chair and turned to Vargas at Ops. “Redirect power to the shields, Ms. Vargas.”

Negev turned to Pederson, “Signal the colony and the Zimmer to go to red alert and stand by. If hostilities take place the Zimmer is to go to maximum warp and leave the system.”

Pederson nodded and went to work at her Communication’s panel.

Jack looked to the Science Station. “Do we have sensors, Mr. Zachary?”

“Minimal scans only, sir. Most of the systems are still being repaired,” the Science Officer replied.

Jack shook his head. He had the feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

“Can I at least see who’s flying like a bat out of hell into this system?” he asked.

Melissa went to work at her station and in moments the new arrivals were displayed on the main viewscreen.

Jack heard a heavy sigh from behind him and he turned to Hank.

“You know who this is?” Jack asked.

Hank shook his head and looked at Jack. “Those ships belong to the Levalum Clan. A group of very nasty operators who run a section of the Region about a hundred light years from Kel-j’na and just beyond the Nysryck, Ulos, and Noslen systems. Their territory is about three times the size of the Romulan Empire, but its organized around an economic power structure rather than a political one.”

Hank took a deep breath as he continued to examine the ships on the viewscreen. “Outside their territory the Levalum Clan is responsible for most of the prostitution, smuggling, and outright theft in the Kel-j’na Region. Within their territory…”

Hank smiled at Jack. “Well, let’s say their territory is not a nice place to live or visit.”

“Do you think they’ll attack?” Jack asked.

“You can count on it.”

Jack turned to Negev. “Take us out of orbit and on an intercept course to those ships.”

Negev stood and gave Conn Officer Nedj s’Felis a course heading and an order for full impulse. Jack turned to Pederson.

“Send an order to reduce speed and to acknowledge our hails,” Jack said.

Hank sighed. “They won’t respond to intimidation, Captain. All they respect is raw power.”

“Right now, that seems to be something we are in short supply of, Hank.”

The two Levalum vessels plowed toward the planet and past the Chamberlain leaving the huge starship behind and going the wrong way.

“Full about!” Jack ordered. “Arm phasers and torpedoes.”

The medical ship, Zimmer, had begun to leave orbit as the two invaders made their way toward the planet. Bright pulses of energy erupted from the two ships and struck the shields of the small Zimmer. After a few moments the ship’s shields were gone and flashes of energy erupted on the surface of its hull.

“Fire torpedoes,” Jack ordered.

Zachary turned to Jack. “The Zimmer has lost warp power and shields. It won’t hold up much longer.”

Hank shook his head. “Torpedoes took their shields down about ten percent.”

Jack stood to his feet. “Move us between the hostiles and the Zimmer and ask our Chief Engineer if we might have enough power for our primary weapon system.”

The Chamberlain moved quickly towards the medical starship to protect it from the vessels intent on tearing it apart. Again torpedoes from the Oceana Class Starship struck the Levalum craft, but this time a section of one ship exploded outward throwing debris into space.

“That’s the decoy,” Hank said. “Its on automatic control. Its a standard ploy of the Levalum to come in with two ships, let one get damaged and get you to focus your attack on that craft while the main ship continues on.”

“Interesting tactic,” Jack said. “Hit the main vessel with phasers and torpedoes.”

Again the Chamberlain fired its weapons at the Levalum ship, but the smaller vessel moved more swiftly than before and avoided damage. The Zimmer had moved behind the Chamberlain at full impulse and was making a course away from the battle.

Negev turned to Jack. “Ms. Bishop reports the synchronization system cannot supply enough power for the Reactive Plasma Emitters to function.”

Jack shook his head. “Wonderful. We’ll have to get them the old fashioned way.”

Jack turned to Hank, “I want that ship.”

Hank’s eyes widened causing Jack to turn to the viewscreen as the Levalum vessel made a course directly toward the Chamberlain. Alarms sounded around the Bridge.

“Collision Alert!” Negev shouted.

The Levalum ship changed course at the last possible moment to avoid hitting the less maneuverable Chamberlain and sped past towards its real target.

“They’re after the Zimmer again.” Negev stated.

Hank looked down at his panel and brought up a display that showed a close up view of the Levalum craft as it sped past them moments before. The image shifted several times before displaying an alien symbol on the hull of the craft.

“Captain, hail them again,” Hank said.

Jack turned to Hank, confused. “What the hell for?”

“I know these guys, Jack. I might be able to talk them out of this attack.”

“They are about to fire on the Zimmer!”

“That’s why I have to talk to them now.”

Jack took a deep breath and turned to Pederson. “Open a channel.”

He turned to Hank. “Make it good.”

Hank took a deep breath and addressed the Comm system. “Hey, Trulfulsa… you call that trash you’re flying a ship? I’ve seen better flown by the Naitr’m. I guess that figures though. Their females have far more class than your prostitutes do.”

Everyone on the Bridge looked at Hank. Jack shook his head.

“I said to make it good.”

Hank grinned. “Trust me.”

A few moments later Zachary looked up from his panel. “The vessel has broken off its pursuit of the Zimmer and reduced speed. It is coming about towards us.”

A wide smile formed on Jack’s face as he looked at Hank who did his best not to react.

“I stand corrected,” Jack said.

Pederson grinned. “We are being hailed, Captain.”

“On screen.”

After a few moments of static an image of two strange aliens appeared on the viewscreen. The two creatures appeared to be on some sort of command deck, but it was the darkest and dirtiest Bridge Jack had ever seen. It made a Klingon Bridge look like a luxury hotel suite.

“Well if it isn’t Hank Evans,” one of the aliens said. “Everyone had wondered what had happened to you.”

Hank smiled. “Nice to know you missed me, Trulfulsa. It gives me a warm feeling all inside.”

Trulfulsa sneered. “I use women for that, Evans. You must have gotten soft to be so easily entertained.”

“He always was,” the other alien said as it laughed.

“And how are you doing, Galfalda? Your brother still cleaning up after you?” Hank asked.

The second creature’s laughter died. “I really don’t like that, Evans.”

“Why do you think I do it?”

Jack turned to Hank and motioned for him to move it along.

Hank took a deep breath. “So why are you guys out here harassing the locals? You’re a bit far from home aren’t you?”

Trulfulsa leaned forward. “We heard a Fashod vessel had been in the area and thought we’d come by to have a look.”

“Why don’t you just enter Fashod territory if you want to see one of their ships?”

Galfalda grinned. “You go first and we’ll follow, Evans.”

Trulfulsa started laughing. “Yes, we’ll follow… much later!”

Hank frowned. “My guess is you two thought you’d come by and scavenge around for whatever the Fashod left behind. I bet you didn’t expect to find a ship this size facing you.”

“Well, I’ve never known a Fashod vessel to leave much behind that you’d have to worry about,” Trulfulsa said.

“This system is under the protection of the United Federation of Planets and we don’t think much of people attacking our medical vessels,” Hank said.

“A medical vessel? That other ship was a medical vessel?” Galfalda asked.

Hank smiled. “Hardly any weapons and the women aren’t much to speak of.”

Melissa Vargas glanced at Hank and frowned while the two aliens on the viewscreen seemed irritated.

“We aren’t going to waste any more time with a ship like that. What about your vessel, Evans? How much would you take for it?” Trulfulsa asked.

Jack looked at his Tactical Officer and waited to hear the answer to this one. He was curious to hear how much his ship would go for.

Hank took a deep breath. “It’s not for sale… at any price.”

Trulfulsa frowned, but a moment later smiled. “If you gave it to us, we could consider it payment for what you owe us.”

Hank looked at Jack who shook his head and grinned.

“I don’t owe you that much, Trulfulsa,” Hank said.

“You still owe for the holographic system and the Drone you destroyed.”

“I’ve still got a year left to finish paying.”

Trulfulsa grinned. “You remember that. I’d hate to have to send someone out to collect. I actually like you Evans.”

The viewscreen went blank and a moment later displayed the image of the Levalum ship turning about and going to warp out of the system.

Jack walked up next to Hank. “Nice friends you’ve got there. I can’t wait to hear the story about this holographic system you bought.”

Hank smiled. “Get me real drunk and I might tell you.”

Jack turned to Negev. “Secure from General Quarters and hail the Zimmer. Have Bishop send whatever help they need for repairs.”

Negev nodded. “Aye, sir.”

=/\=

Three hours later, Melissa Vargas found herself walking down a corridor on Deck Six toward a room she had been planning to visit, but for a completely different purpose. She hated having to go there and she hated the captain who had ordered her to do it, but she couldn’t argue with what she had found. She wished she had never looked at Lee McGuire’s communication logs. It would have allowed her to spend the night in his arms again, but now that wasn’t likely to happen.

Lee McGuire walked toward the entrance to his quarters with a smile. She was early, he thought. Its a good sign when a woman comes to you.

The door opened and he took in the image of her beauty. Something about the upswept eyebrows excited him. Perhaps it was the idea of bringing passion out of the heart of a Vulcan. Of course, Melissa was only half Vulcan, but that didn’t matter to Lee. She was all woman. That was the important thing.

“Come in my dear,” he said invitingly.

Melissa took a deep breath and walked in. She stopped and waited for the door to close behind her. She could tell he was happy to see her and that made her hate herself all the more for being there.

“I guess we’ll be in my quarters tonight.”

She took a deep breath trying to ignore the way his deep voice beckoned to her. “Lee I need to talk to you about something.”

He moved slowly toward her and put his arms around her waist. “Enough talk.”

She held up a PADD. “Ship’s business.”

McGuire frowned but a moment. His smile returned. “How about we leave that to later?”

“I can’t,” she said.

He nodded and pulled his arms back away from her. “Let’s make this quick. I’m a man with passion on his mind.”

Melissa looked at the PADD and fought back tears. She knew she loved this man. She didn’t know when or how it happened, but she had fallen in love with him.

“Lee, there are a number of items in your communication logs that need some explaining.” There, she said it.

Lee McGuire stared at her. He couldn’t believe they were discussing communication logs. “What the hell does that have to do with anything, Melissa?”

She held up the PADD and activated the display. “There are five transmissions you sent out over the past two months which were encrypted and didn’t show up on the master Comm logs.”

McGuire shook his head. “Who the hell cares? Starfleet Officers send encrypted communications all the time. Nobody wants their personal business open to examination by some snot nosed Ensign in a dark room of Starfleet Command.”

“These aren’t just encrypted. They didn’t even show up on Pederson’s logs.”

McGuire took a deep breath. “That was the general idea.”

Melissa’s eyes went wide. “Then you admit you sent hidden transmissions from this ship?”

He seemed surprised by the question. “Yes. Now can we proceed with our evening?”

She took a step back. She couldn’t believe how he was reacting to this. “You do realize that’s a violation of Starfleet regulations, don’t you?”

Lee nodded. “So what? Like I said, that was the general idea.”

Melissa closed her eyes. She didn’t expect the conversation to go this way.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Melissa looked at the PADD. “You sent two unauthorized communications to Admiral Simmons, two to someone at Starfleet Academy, and another to someone on the U.S.S. Republic.”

Lee’s eyes narrowed. “You tried to decode my messages?”

Melissa looked directly at him. “That was the only way I could find out who they were sent to.”

He sighed and shook his head. “Do you do this with every man you make love to?”

“That has nothing to do with it,” she said with building frustration.

“Really? Why the hell else would you be rummaging around in my personal communications?” he asked.

“Because I was ordered to!”

Lee looked down at the floor. “By who?”

“The captain.”

He laughed. “This ship can barely function. We’ve fought the Borg and now some regional alien species and our captain is concerned with some questionable communications?”

“These aren’t the only ones, Lee.”

He looked straight at her. “I’m certain they aren’t. How the hell did Jack McCall ever get command of a starship? The man’s a mental disaster. We’ll be lucky to make it back to Federation space alive with him in command.”

Melissa didn’t want to admit she had started to ask the same questions earlier in the day, but Lee’s covert communications couldn’t be explained away so easily. “There were other communications sent through an elaborate alteration of the sensor and communication systems that were also encrypted. The captain believes, as do I, that a spy is aboard this vessel.”

“What the hell does that have to do with me? I don’t have to go to all that trouble to keep people from prying into my communications.” He frowned. “At least not until now.”

Melissa held up the PADD. “The captain thinks the spy might be working for Admiral Simmons and you sent two covert and encrypted messages to him.”

Lee laughed. “Fergus Simmons doesn’t give a damn what goes on aboard this ship. He’d just as soon have the whole Oceana Class disassembled and sold off for scrap.”

“Perhaps he’s looking for an excuse to make that happen,” Melissa said.

“The way the Oceana and this ship have performed I don’t think he’d have to look far. The class is a disaster, Melissa.”

She thought for several moments. There was something that didn’t make sense. “So you’re saying you had nothing to do with the modifications to the sensor system?”

“That’s right. I’ve had no trouble hiding my communications from prying eyes up until now,” he said.

“Then what’s behind the messages you did send?”

Lee stared at her for almost thirty seconds. He had reached his limit. He walked up to her and grabbed the PADD out of her hand.

He looked at the display. “The message to the Republic was to an old friend of mine, Lieutenant Commander Marsley. I was asking him how the problems with his wife were going. Having gone through a divorce myself I thought I might give him some encouragement.”

Melissa nodded, but she still wasn’t satisfied.

Lee continued. “The two messages to the Academy were to my daughter, Kaitlyn. This is her first year and I’m worried about how she’s doing. I assume a parent being concerned about their children is acceptable to you and his highness, Jack McCall.”

Melissa sighed. “And the two to Simmons?”

“One was to ask him to check up on Kaitlyn for me and the other was to turn down his offer of another assignment. I told him I thought the Chamberlain was a good ship with a good crew.”

He looked into Melissa’s eyes. “I may reconsider that, now,” he said to her.

She looked down at the floor while he walked over to a table and picked up a small object.

He walked back to her and tossed the object, an isolinear chip, into the air. Melissa caught it in her hand.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the encryption code that I use. Having worked as Simmons’ Chief of Staff I got used to sending all my important messages using it,” he said.

“Why give it to me?” she asked.

“So you can decode those damn messages and convince yourself I’m no spy, Melissa.” He forced the PADD back into her hand.

Melissa tried to hand the chip back to him. “I don’t need to read them, Lee.”

“No, you’ve gone this far, why not finish it? The captain I’m sure will want to read all of it line by line. Then he’ll have you looking for hidden messages within each sentence. After that maybe he’ll have the Counselor wander about through my mind just to make sure I don’t have any evil thoughts!”

Melissa tried to look at him, but couldnt. “Lee, I’m sorry. I had to do this.”

“No you didn’t. All you had to do was tell our rather paranoid captain that he was becoming obsessed with this idea of a spy and if he didn’t accept that then you should have gone to Negev and reported that you thought the captain was unfit for duty,” he said.

“I still think there is a spy aboard, Lee,” Melissa whispered.

“Then you’re as crazy as McCall is.”

Melissa started to respond, but stopped herself. There was nothing left for her to say.

“Go take my personal communications to your captain. I’m sure he’s expecting it,” Lee said as he walked to the replicator and touched the controls. A moment later a cup of hot tea materialized. He picked it up and took a sip from the cup.

Lee looked up and saw Melissa hadn’t moved. “If you don’t mind, I have things to do. Would you please get the hell out of my quarters?”

Melissa fought back her tears and simply nodded.

Five seconds later she was back in the corridor again almost running to the turbolift.

=/\=

Chapter 7 - The End Of The Day

Jack McCall took a deep breath as he rested in bed, reading from the book “Toward A Philosophy of Federation” with only a light above him to illuminate the bedroom of his and Mei-Wan’s quarters. He hadn’t opened the book in years, but something that Q had said earlier in the day had made Jack want to give it another look.

He yawned and glanced over at the chronometer which read “2241” and forced his eyes to remain open a little longer. He hadn’t seen Mei-Wan much the last couple of days and wanted to stay up to spend some time with her. He returned to his reading.

A minute later Mei-Wan entered the bedroom and forced a smile on her face when she saw Jack. He couldn’t help but smile back.

“I was wondering when you’d finally show up,” he said.

Mei-Wan took her uniform jacket off and turned to him. “I wanted to get as much done as I could on the Hel’yra report.”

“You still working on that thing?” Jack asked with a grin as Mei-Wan removed the rest of her uniform and pulled a nightshirt down over her head.

She pulled her long hair out of the collar and walked over to the bed and knelt down at the side next to Jack and looked at the book.

“Erodius? This late at night?” she asked.

“Thought I’d expand my philosophical horizons.”

Mei-Wan shook her head. “Vulcan philosophy would be more fun.”

“Some people think that’s where this came from in the first place,” he said.

“Only a human could write material that mind-numbing,” Mei-Wan replied.

Jack laughed softly and looked into her eyes.

She did her best to smile. “I’ve got some good news about that report I’ve been working on.”

“What’s that?”

“The Archaeological Council has asked me to give the report as the Keynote Address at the Yed Post Conference in December,” she said.

Jack smiled. “So, you’re the reason we were called to Yed Post Four.”

“The orders came already?” Mei-Wan said.

“Well, they do have to kind of tell me when they want my ship to go somewhere, Mei.”

She was certain he didn’t know the rest of it yet. “I doubt I’m the only reason we’re headed there, Jack.”

“That Archaeological Council is a pretty powerful bunch. I bet they’ll stage a coup against the Federation Council any day now.”

Mei-Wan tried to laugh, but what she had to say to her husband wouldn’t let her.

Jack noticed something was troubling her. “Hey, I say something wrong?”

“No,” she said. “I’ve been offered a rare opportunity.”

“Really? Like what?”

She was trying to put the best spin she could on the situation. “I’ve been offered to lead the Council’s expedition back to Hel’yra. I’ll have complete autonomy and an entire starship at my disposal.”

Jack smiled. “That’s great, Mei.”

Her attempt to smile was re-enforced by his positive response, but a moment later she could see that the details became obvious to him as his expression hardened.

“When would this expedition start?” he asked.

She looked down a moment and then back to him. “Five days after the Conference.”

Jack closed his book and sat it off to the side. “Then you’ll be transferred to another ship.”

Mei-Wan nodded. “That is if I accept the offer.”

Jack looked away from her. Every part of his mind and heart wanted to scream at her to turn it down, but he knew what this could mean for her. Not only would this expedition give Mei-Wan a place he could only guess about in Federation history, but it was everything she had ever dreamed of. How could he stand in her way?

He gently lifted his hand up to her cheek. “Mei… ” He stopped himself.

“Jack, opportunities like this don’t happen every day. The Archaeological Council selected me for this. How can I say no to them?”

He took a deep breath and lowered his hand away from her. “Then you’ll have to make a decision.”

“This isn’t just up to me. You’re my husband. You have some say in this.”

“It’s your decision in the end,” he said.

Mei-Wan looked at him in silence for nearly a minute. “You want me to stay aboard the Chamberlain.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t say anything.”

Jack took a deep breath. “What do you want me to say? Yes, its a great opportunity and one you’re not likely to get a second chance at.”

Mei-Wan’s voice became strained. “I know that, Jack. Tell me how you’re feeling about this!”

“That’s not what you want, Mei. You want me to tell you what I want you to do. That’s a no win situation.”

“Does everything have to be a tactical calculation? Can’t you just tell me what you’re thinking?”

“And if I say I want you to stay and you do that, then a year or two down the road you’ll regret it and you’ll resent me for standing in your way. It won’t take too long for that to change to hatred,” he said with no emotion.

“I couldn’t ever hate you, Jack. I love you more than anything in the Universe,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Jack closed his eyes. His mind screamed, Stay! He didn’t want her away for so long, but he couldn’t stand the thought that she might learn to hate him if she did stay.

“You have to decide what you want.”

She watched as he opened his eyes and turned to her. “You mean choose between you and the expedition,” she said.

“I didn’t say that, Mei.”

She had run this in her mind a hundred times the last few hours and it never turned out well.

Mei-Wan looked at him, her face now stern. “A few weeks ago you suggested it might be better if we served aboard different ships.”

Jack had done his best to forget that discussion and the arguments that had led up to it, but she was right. Now the Archaeological Council was making that decision almost irresistible for Mei-Wan.

He started to speak, but the door chime to their quarters sounded.

“Who is it?” Jack asked.

Over the speaker a voice said, “Lieutenant Commander Vargas to see you, Captain.”

Jack looked at Mei-Wan who stood to her feet. “Just a minute,” he said to the intercom.

He got out of bed and put a shirt on that matched his sweat-pants and walked to the forward section of their quarters.

“Come in,” he said.

A moment later Melissa marched in, her face red and handed Jack a PADD.

“Here are the results of my investigation of Commander McGuire, Captain,” she said with as much control as she could summon.

“You decoded his messages?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jack looked at the PADD. “Did you speak to him?”

Melissa fought back the tears. For the first time in her life she wished her father had chosen to raise her as a Vulcan. “Yes. I’m convinced he’s not the spy. The encrypted messages all were of a personal nature to family and friends.”

“Even the two to Simmons?”

Melissa took a deep breath. “Yes, sir. Mr. Evans agrees with my assessment of Commander McGuire. He doesn’t think there’s any connection between McGuire and the alterations we found to the sensor systems.”

Jack sighed heavily. “Very well. Good work.”

Melissa forced herself to not explode as she turned and walked out the door as it slid open before her.

Mei-Wan rushed in to Jack as he continued looking over the PADD. She finished putting on a set of leisure clothes as she stopped in front of him.

“You had Melissa investigate Lee McGuire? You thought he was the spy you mentioned to me before?” Mei-Wan asked with an angry edge in her voice.

Jack looked up from the PADD at her. “McGuire seemed like a strong possibility.”

Mei-Wan shook her head. “She’s been involved with him, Jack!”

“What? Involved?”

“Yes, I think she’s in love with him,” Mei-Wan said.

Jack closed his eyes. “Oh, god.”

“And you had her dig through his personal communications?”

“That’s why she didn’t want to do it.”

“Very insightful, Jack. Their relationship is probably destroyed now!” Mei-Wan yelled.

“She could have told me about this!”

Mei-Wan shook her head. “In case you haven’t figured this out yet, Captain, some members of your crew are so loyal to you they’d violate Starfleet Regulations as well as their own sense of morality. Melissa practically worships that command chair you sit in on the Bridge. She’d follow you into the pit of hell and you got her to do something that she may never forgive herself for.”

“Mei, I didn’t know,” Jack pleaded.

“It has always amazed me how starship captains never see the dark side of the loyalty they insist on from their crews,” Mei-Wan said, walking to the door.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I’m going to try to help Melissa. I think she could use a friend right now.”

Mei-Wan left and the door closed behind her. Jack lifted the PADD up and stared at it. His face hardened and he threw the PADD against a wall where it shattered.

“Damn it!” he shouted.

=/\=

On Deck Five Mei-Wan touched the door chime switch outside Melissa Vargas’ quarters. The door opened and a teary eyed Vargas stood looking at her.

“Mei, I really am not in the mood to hear…”

Mei-Wan raised her hand to interrupt. “I’m not here to justify what Jack did or didn’t do, Melissa. I’m here because I’m your friend.”

Tears fell freely from the Vulcan looking woman’s face as she motioned Mei-Wan McCall into her quarters.

TO BE CONTINUED …

=/\= =/\= =/\=

Discover more Star Trek fan fiction by Michael Gray at:

http://darkhorizon.4mg.com/

Dark Horizon Story and Characters Copyright ©2002, 2011 by Michael Gray