From: LEN101@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.misc
Subject: Story: The Vigilante II
Date: 15 Oct 92 21:31:27 GMT
Article-I.D.: psuvm.92289.173127LEN101
Organization: Penn State University


General disclaimers apply
All poetry taken from _The Collected Poems_ of Robert W. Service
with out permission but with great respect.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
I have no doubt at all the Devil grins,  |
    As seas of ink I splatter.           |   Lawrence E. Nagy
Ye gods, forgive my "literary" sins-     |   LEN101@psuvm.psu.edu
    The other kind don't matter.         |
                        R. W. Service    |
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++




                  T H E   V I G I L A N T E
                          (part 2)
                      The Shakedown



....
Have ever you stood where the silences brood,
    And vast the Horizons begin,
At the dawn of the day to behold far away
    The goal you would strive for and win?
Yet ah! in the night when you gain to the height,
    With the vast pool of heaven star-spawned,
Afar and agleam, like a valley of dream,
    Still mocks you a land of Beyond.
                                     .....
                   Robert W. Service
                   "THE LAND OF BEYOND"





    Commander Tarva and Captain Anthony stood in front of the
turbo lift door waiting to enter the bridge.  Commander Tarva
spoke into her communicator with Construction waiting for the
bridge to be pressurized.  When life support was established
the turbo lift door opened.
    Captain Anthony and Commander Tarva were alone when they
stepped onto the bridge.  Only the emergency lights shining
down from hidden recesses illuminated the bridge.  The major
color scheme was gray with black accents.  There seemed to be
more chairs than expected all tightly wrapped in plastic.
    Before they could make it half way around the bridge the
turbo lift two opened allowing the construction crew in.
They immediately crawled under the control banks and opened
other panels.  Slowly computer screens began to light up and
the main lights came on showing the whole bridge.
    Tarva and Captain Anthony without saying a word to each
other began tearing the plastic off the chairs.  Each station
had a chair and was well designed for total access.  The
current trend in star ship bridges was to have several
stations as standing positions, no chairs available.  In the
Vigilante this could cause a problem if they ever actually
tried to use the controlled worm hole effect.
    The chairs had high backs with emergency restraints and
belts.  The bridge had the standard layout with Captain in
the middle of the Bridge.  Pilot and Navigator in front of
and to either side of the Captain.  Next to the Captain on
the left was the Security station.  On the other side of the
Captain was the First Officer station.  The five stations in
the middle of the bridge each had a wrap around counsel.  The
Captain's chair also had special controls on the restraint
arms.  The Captain and First Officer's consoles were designed
mainly for ship wide communications they could also be
quickly reconfigured for all other bridge functions.
    Tarva tried her chair out for size.  The cloth seat
seemed to form to fit.  The worker laying under her console
stood up and pushed a button on it.  The console lit up and
Tarva recognized it as a standard console with emphasis on
communications.
    She pushed a button and said "Attention, all bridge crew
please report to the bridge."

    As the last of the Bridge shifts showed up the last of
the white coveralled workers was leaving.  More than fifteen
people stood on the front of the bridge in front of the main
view screen.  Many appeared to have been gotten out of bed,
they were yawning and didn't have perfectly groomed hair.
    Captain Anthony sat in his chair and waited while First
Officer Tarva did a roll call of the crew before him.
Behind him stood Chief Engineer Dolittel and Chief of
Security Norton.
    "Sir, all present." Tarva said and took her seat next to
him.
    The Captain stood up and said "Welcome to the bridge of
the U.S.S. Vigilante.  Until now the only bridge we've had
use of has been the incomplete emergency bridge.
    "Your next project will be to start running total
diagnostics on your stations.  You will also be responsible
for absolute knowledge of your station.  Your next mission
will be to form a working knowledge of all other stations
plus an in depth knowledge of at least one other related
station.  I want this bridge busy until we launch.  In three
days we will begin running simulations.  You have until then
to at least start learning your stations.
    "One more thing, Lieutenant Commander Dolittel." Anthony
said and turned to face him.
    "Yes, Sir" Dolittel said coming to attention.
    "I have decided that the position of Chief Engineer is
too important for someone with the rank of Lieutenant
Commander." Anthony paused and watched Dolittel squirm a bit
then continued.  "As you all may remember the announced
policy of maintaining rank till the end of the mission.  This
leaves me in an awkward position since I do not wish one of
my most important positions to be occupied by a light
commander.  So I have two choices either second guess one of
my policies or second guess my First Officer."
    He paused and stepped toward Dolittel then said "I'm
sorry" he paused "I can not second guess my First Officer,
Congratulations Commander Dolittel."  Captain Anthony finally
smiled and shook Dolittel's hand.
    "Thank you" Dolittel said, for once at a loss for words.
    Captain Anthony turned back toward the crew and checked
his time "It appears to be time for the third shift, the rest
are dismissed."
    Short, to the point meetings seemed to be Captain
Anthony's style.  The crew would have to get used to being
pulled out bed for meetings and other whims of the Captain.

    Tarva was the first after the Captain to congratulate
Commander Dolittel.  She then said "I have some more good
news for you.  It's time to move."  Tarva then reached over
to a nearby computer console and punched up a ships diagram.
    "Finally" Dolittel said with a wide smile.
    "I have assigned the newly finished section here by
engineering to you and all of your personnel.  It will be
your responsibility to assign quarters."
    Dolittel looked at the diagram and said "They're all
doubles, surly there is enough room on this ship to give the
200 crew here their own billets."
    "Actually there are two singles in the section I have
assigned to you.  As for the rest of the available housing we
are expecting more crew to transfer after the first space
trials.  In fact the bunk rooms we have been staying in will
be mostly for their use."
    "You mean they finished the rooms we didn't need first,
what were they thinking?"
    "They were thinking that it would take almost half the
time to get a fewer number of larger quarters ready. Thus
allowing us to board earlier."
    Tarva then smiled and said "Now if you'll excuse me I
have some packing to do."

    Tarva's new quarters were near the middle of the saucer
section near the Captain's.  They were small compared to any
officer quarters on the Enterprise.  There were two 'rooms'
separated by slight dividers.  Tarva wearing her black robe
sat cross legged in the middle of the bed staring at the
mirror on a near by wall.  She was not looking at her self
but reflecting on the nightmares that had been plaguing her.
    When the explosion on the Eclipse threw her and the
Captain into the escape pod it had ripped her face open.  She
barely had the strength to hit the eject mechanism before the
final explosion ripped the Eclipse apart.  The Captain's body
had protected her from most of the explosion but left her
trapped in the escape pod with it.  She then drifted for
several days before being picked up.
    When she was rescued, she was unconscious and stayed that
way for quite sometime.  Her face was bandaged and she was
extremely weak when she finally woke.
    The realization she was the only survivor still plagued
her.  As chief of security it was her duty to do all she
could to protect the crew of the Eclipse.  She knew they were
up against an irresistible force and that the destruction of
the Eclipse was not her fault.  The honor however, bred into
a Kalonian warrior haunted her every night.  She was being
torn apart by the loss of her ship and the honor of returning
the war to the Borg.

    Commander Norton watched First Officer Tarva approach the
entrance to the cargo bay.  It had been several hours since
the meeting on the bridge.  Tarva had expressed interest in
the shipment of the new pressure suits.  Now that he was
about to start putting them together she wished to be
present.
    First Officer, Commander Sashon Tarva was an interesting
colleague.  After his arrival on the Vigilante Commander
Tarva had approached him about his position.  She said that
she knew that he was much more qualified for First Officer.
The Captain however was under the impression that he had no
aspiration for a higher position and would much prefer Chief
of Security.  If the Captain were mistaken Commander Tarva
said that she would talk to him about correcting the error.
Commander Norton had no desire for any higher command
position, his goals were different than most Star Fleet
officers.
    "Sir," Commander Norton said when Tarva arrived "My crew
has begun assembling the first pressure suits."
    "Very good, Commander" Tarva said "Lets have a look".
    When they entered the cargo bay they found it filled with
shipping containers.  Several stood open while the black
uniformed security and engineering crew pieced together
several pressure suits.
    The suits like all other aspects of the ship had an
unfamiliar design.  Instead of the standard ribbed design
they had flat almost armor like panels on the chest and back.
All panels were solid instead of flexible ribs.  They also
had very pronounced hinged joints.
    Commander Tarva had expected the suits to be black to
match the current color scheme of all the other uniforms.
These suits however where a dull gray like the hull of the
ship.
    Tarva walked around one of the suits, looked at Norton
and said "They look like something out of the dark ages."
    "They are." came a voice from the cargo bay door.
    "Sir" Tarva and Norton said together, it was Captain
Anthony.
    "As you said, we needed pressure suits for warriors."
Anthony said as he walked up to them.  "The NM-1s are more
than pressure suits they are suits of armor."
    The Captain turned to one of the crew and said "Is one of
these completed?"
    The crewman pointed to one of the suits hanging on a
shipping container.
    "Have you completed complete systems diagnostics on it?"
    "It was the first thing we did before unpacking any other
suits, Sir" was the reply.
    Anthony than turned to Norton and said "Your phaser
please."
    Without hesitation Commander Norton handed the Captain
his phaser.  Captain Anthony then made a point of showing
everybody he was setting it to maximum power.  This would be
enough to vaporize just about anything smaller than a
standard shuttle.
    "Stand back" he said and poured an extended phaser beam
into the suit.  The suit and container jumped back from the
force of the blast.  Heat poured from the suit and the cargo
container buckled from it.  All present had to cover their
eyes and faces from it.
    The heat from the suit subsided quickly but the cargo
container continued to glow.  Anthony turned to one of the
technicians and said "Run a new diagnostics on it.  I also
want to see a copy of its internal atmospheric record."
    "Aye, Sir" said the crewman and pulled out a special NM-1
diagnostics tricorder which had come with the new suits.
    After a couple of minutes of running the diagnostics the
crewman said "All systems check out in perfect working
order."
    The atmospheric report showed that the temperature inside
the suit had risen a total of 10 degrees Celsius during the
phaser blast.  It might have been uncomfortable but it
wouldn't have been harmful.
    "These suits are made of a similar material as the hull
of The Vigilante." Captain Anthony said giving the phaser
back to Norton.  "The material is different than our hull, it
has a much denser cell structure and disperses much more
energy as heat.  The reason our hull is not made of it is
that it takes ten times the current hull material to make the
suit material.  To protect even more the suits also have
built in deflector shields."
    Anthony then pointed to the life support pack.  "The NM-1
suits also have an extended life support range of up to five
days.  They have built in maneuvering jets, they're suppose
to be even better than the space walk packs we use now."
    Commander Norton decided to speak up "If these suits are
made of basically the same material as the hull does that
mean that scanners will not penetrate them?"
    Captain Anthony smiled and said "So they tell me, anybody
want to find out?"
    With very little discussion it was decided that Commander
Norton should be the first to try on the new suit.  It took a
while to configure a suit to fit his large frame, but it
would have to be done eventually.  After suiting up he walked
around and tested the joints.  The suit fit extremely snug on
him, but this was to compensate for vacuum of space.
    "This isn't to bad" he said "It's much lighter then the
standard suit."  He than began studying the control panels on
one of his lower arms where's the cloaking button?" he said
with a wide grin.
    "They weren't able to reduce the circuitry to install in
the suit by shipping time"  Anthony replied seriously.
    "You mean they were trying to cloak our pressure suits
too?  They really were pulling out all of the stops." Tarva
said.
    "Actually if you want to be precise these pressure suits
are not intended for the large portion of the crew currently
on the Vigilante." Captain Anthony said.  "The only ones who
will be issued the NM-1 are command staff and security.  The
rest will be issued to the new crew we will be picking up
after the space trials have begun."
    He turned back to Commander Norton and said lets check
the standard tricorder readings.  The crewman with NM-1
diagnostic tricorder replaced it with a standard tricorder.
After Norton put on the helmet and lowered the face shield
the crewman started walking around him.
    The tricorder made it's usual buzzing and whirling
sounds, after a few minutes he said "The tricorder doesn't
even pickup the suit's energy pack.  It does however show a
smaller solid object like a rock of indeterminate make up
about a meter high."
    More than a meter was cut off Norton's height.  All
present were extremely impressed.
    As Commander Norton was getting out of his pressure suit
Commander Dolittel and Doctor Cembera hailed Captain Anthony.
They announced that the ship's cloaking was available for
testing.  Captain Anthony agreed, he thought it was also a
good time to run scanner tests on the Vigilante.
    "Commander Tarva, have the scanner prepared Drop Ship
readied for a mission in two hours." Captain Anthony said.

    The Drop Ship swung around to face the Vigilante in it's
space dock.  Ensign O'Malley had become the resident D S
pilot. She still insisted she was a Star Ship navigator not a
Drop Ship pilot.  Nevertheless here she sat with Captain
Anthony sitting in the co-pilot's seat the First Officer
standing behind him and the Chief of security standing behind
her.  It was enough to make even the most experienced Drop
Ship pilot(if there was one) nervous.
    Captain Anthony was busily working the scanners that had
been installed for this exercise.  He looked up and smiled,
"I read this side of the space dock structure without
problem" he reported.  "I can count every soul in
Construction offices and housing.  The structure on the far
side of the ship appears to be fuzzy.  From the scanners I
would say that a small tug size vessel may be in dock.  I
however do not read any life forms on the vessel."
    Commander Tarva smiled and said "A standard tug is less
than a quarter the mass of the Vigilante and only has two
warp engines.  Currently there are over two hundred crew and
construction personnel on the Vigilante."
    Tarva then pulled her oversized communicator out of one
of her pockets and said "Engage cloaking."
    "Acknowledged" came back Dolittel's voice.
    The Vigilante shimmered a bit and disappeared.  The
girders on the far side of the ship became visible.  The only
odd part were the few supports connecting the Vigilante with
space dock, they seemed to be cut off at mid point.
    Captain Anthony spoke up with an update from the scanners
"Scanners now show no presence of the Vigilante and clearly
define the whole space dock.  This is going to be a very
interesting mission."


    The dull gray Vigilante hung in the black girders of it's
space dock backed by the turbulent orange of TE-4.  On one of
the girders stood a lone figure in a gray pressure suit
similar in color to the ship.  All four warp engines glowed
blue from testing.
    Captain Anthony hadn't had time to look at his ship since
the crew boarded.  It was now two months later and this may
be the last time he would see the Vigilante from the outside.
They were scheduled to begin space trials today.  After
leaving space dock they would not return to the Tau-Epsilon
system, any problems that came up they were required to fix
on their own.  Because of this policy all systems were being
meticulously checked before the trials began.
    "Preparing to release supports" came a voice from
Construction Control.
    "Acknowledged" Anthony said as he stepped off the girder
and fired his maneuvering controls "Vigilante, engage
stabilizer engines."
    "Aye, Aye, Sir" replied Commander Tarva.
    As Anthony came down over the top starboard warp drive he
could see the relatively small stabilizer rockets begin
firing while the supports from space dock were released.  The
stabilizer rockets were computer controlled to keep the
Vigilante in a relatively fixed position.  In this case the
fixed position was in relation to the space dock.
    "Commander Dolittel, what is our earliest estimated time
of departure" Anthony said to his suit's communicator when he
entered the air lock.
    "I can have us ready for departure in six hours" said
Dolittel almost immediately.
    "You have two" said Anthony with a smile.
    "I think we may be able to pull that off." was Dolittel's
smart reply.
    Captain Anthony knew that John Dolittel seemed to always
tripled his actual estimates.  Dolittel had said he started
it when he was in the Academy just to give himself room for
error.  He than found that it made himself and his team look
good when they came in under their estimated times.  Now he
just did it out of habit, it had just become expected of him.

    Captain Anthony sat in his place on the bridge in front
of him to his right sat the red headed Ensign O'Malley who
was Picard's contribution to his crew.  Picard had made a
good choice in this one she not only was a highly qualified
navigator but had proven herself a fine Drop Ship pilot.  She
also had something in common with many of her fellow crew,
she had a personal interest in the Borg.
    Ensign O'Malley's father, Doctor Peter O'Malley was
killed when the Borg destroyed his ship.  With eleven
thousand personnel killed and nearly forty star ships
destroyed the one encounter with a Borg ship touched all
members of Star Fleet personally one way or another.
    Captain Anthony reflected on how many of his crew came to
be on the Vigilante because of that one battle with the Borg.
Commander Tarva was the lone survivor of the Eclipse, Ensign
O'Malley lost her only family, and many others qualified for
the no family, no attachments, provisions of the mission for
the same reason.
    As he sat waiting for the launching of the United Star
Ship Vigilante Captain Anthony felt extreme satisfaction.  He
too met all requirements of the mission thanks to the one
battle with the Borg and Locutus.  His last command the USS
Nielsen was destroyed in the battle.  He had been on Star
Base A-6 recovering from a sever bout of Anturi Flu.  The
medical facilities on the Nielsen had not been adequate for
his recovery.  The Nielsen had just docked at Star Base and
transferred him to it's infirmary when the call came.  The
Nielsen was to join the armada in a last ditch stand against
the Borg.
    Captain Anthony was unconscious the whole time until the
Nielsen was destroyed.  When all life on the Nielsen ended
Anthony woke up screaming.  They told him he screamed for an
hour after waking.  The reports of the defeat had not yet
reached Star Base A-6.  In fact Captain Anthony was not aware
he wasn't on the Nielsen.  The news of the destruction of the
Nielsen dropped Anthony into a shock induced comma.  With the
death of the Nielsen his life ended too.  His wife, lover,
best friend was also his First Officer.  She was in command
in his absence, she would have faced the Borg in his place.
She had died without him by her side as they had always
promised each other.  After waking from the comma his hair
started to come in gray.  Now just a few years later his jet
black hair was almost all gray.
    After the destruction of the Nielsen, Captain Robert
Anthony lost all desire to have anything to do with Star
Fleet.  He moved to the pioneer planet, Infiniti West and
settled down to a life of isolation.
    Infiniti West was a colony planet with an environment
similar to earth.  During the early days of colonization,
Infiniti West was settled by a group that spurned all
technology.  Their goal was to establish a colony based on
the pioneer life style of 18th century North America.
Infiniti West's varied climates made it ideal for
adventurers.  From seemingly endless tracks of ancient
forests to expansive hostile deserts to mountain ranges that
made anything on Earth look puny.  Infiniti West had
something for everyone.
    There was a small Star Fleet station in orbit, that
helped control visitors to the planet.  It's main function
was as a base station for scientists studying Infiniti West's
immense ecology.
    Robert Anthony lived in a small stone dwelling he found
in the high mountain region of the main continent.  The cabin
was just below the mountain's tree line.  In the foot hills
was a small trading post catering to the local trappers and
home stedders.  For over a year he lived alone seeing only an
occasional trapper.
    His solitude ended when he came back from a hunting trip
to find two Star Fleet officers examining his cabin.  One was
a taller bearded man but the other gave away who they were,
the gold skinned android Data was a signature of the
Enterprise.
    "Captain Robert Anthony?" said the android.
    Anthony dropped the carcass of a six legged furry animal
onto a stone table in his yard.  Then jumped down from his
horse.  The horse whinnied and backed a few steps from Data.
Horses had been scattered through out the stars from Earth
and they still seemed to know when something wasn't natural.
    "Captain is a Star Fleet title" Anthony said as he began
to walk the horse to it's carrel. "and Robert is what my wife
called me."
    "I'm William T. Riker First Officer of the U.S.S.
Enterprise" said the bearded man "This is Mr Data".
    Anthony put the horse in it's carrel and began removing
the saddle.  He turned to the two officers and said curtly
"What do you want with me?"
    Mr Data began relating their story, it turned out they
had been searching Infiniti West for several months.  A team
had finally been able to locate him when they found the small
trading post and heard of a large loner in the mountains
every one called Star Fleet.
    Thus began the drawn out negotiations as they tried to
convince him to return to Star Fleet.  The Enterprise had
already spent two months in orbit around Infiniti West with
many teams looking for him.  They now seemed quite intent on
not leaving until he agreed to come with them.  After more
than two weeks he rode his horse to the trading post, where
he gave his few possessions to the only person he thought of
as a friend, the merchant he did most of his business with.
    Riker, dressed in the local style outfit he had worn
during the search met him at the trading post.  Together they
beamed up to the Enterprise and Robert Anthony rejoined the
elite rank of Star Fleet Captains.

    "Captain, this is engineering, we're ready any time you
are." It was Dolittel in his usual informal manner.
    "Construction Control," Captain Anthony said "the USS
Vigilante is ready to leave the nest."
    "It's been a wonderful experience" came Doctor Cembera's
voice in reply.
    Doctor Cembera stood in Construction Control.  She
watched as the Vigilante slowly moved out from under her.  It
had a preset course of test maneuvers to run while leaving
the system.  They had to make sure all the bolts were tight
before trying the warp drives.  Once they were out of the
Tau-Epsilon system though, they would never return.  Doctor
Cembera had a tear in her eye as if watching an only child go
off to war.
    "Doctor" came a voice from beside her.
    "Yes"
    "Memory Alpha reports they are ready to begin shipping
the hulks you requested."
    Doctor Cembera continued to watch the Vigilante slide
silently away then said "Tell them to proceed."

    The trip out of the Tau Epsilon system was an anti-climax
for the crew.  After so many hours of work few even knew they
had even gotten under way.  The ship performed flawlessly
during the maneuvers through the system.
    Before entering warp Captain Anthony ordered the cloaking
engaged.  It was standard operating procedure that the
Vigilante run cloaked.  It would not do for anybody to get a
look at her while she remained 'Top Secret'.  The trip
through the Tau Epsilon system would be the only time they
would run uncloaked while the cloaking was functional.  For
the cloaking to function the deflector shields only needed to
be at 10% power.
    "Set course to Predetermined Test Coordinates three"
Anthony said.
    "Aye" Ensign O'Malley said while entering the course.
    "Warp one, engage"
    "Warp one engaged" said the middle aged human sitting in
the Helmsman's seat.
    "Engineering, how are we doing?"
    "I thought we were going to test this thing." said
Dolittel "Not just push her about."
    "Warp five, engage" Anthony said.
    "Warp five engaged" returned the Helmsman.
    There was no obvious difference between sitting in space
dock and traveling at warp five except the view screen no
longer showed TE-4 below them.
    The Vigilante spent the next week testing the engines for
extended periods of time below warp 9.6.  Finally Captain
Anthony decided it was time to test the Vigilante's
acceleration to warp 9.6 from sub warp.
    "Sir, all hands report ready for acceleration test."
Commander Tarva reported.
    Once again Captain Anthony didn't expect to notice
anything special when they jumped to high warp.  He couldn't
help but wonder if they might sense something.
    "Sir, test coordinates set for warp 9.6 acceleration
test." Ensign O'Malley said.
    "Warp 9.6, engage" Captain said.
    "Warp 9.6 engaged." replied the helmsman than immediately
reported "Current velocity, warp 9.6"
    Anthony thought he felt a slight acceleration but nothing
substantial.  They achieved warp 9.6 almost instantly and the
Vigilante didn't seem to be effected in any way.
    "Engineering, hold current velocity and begin complete
diagnostic tests, on engines, all systems and ship's
structures." Captain Anthony said then headed to his ready
room.
    When he got into his ready room he began preparing a
sub-space transmission to a small colony world near the
Romulan Neutral Zone.

    "Captain Anthony, Sir" came Dolittel's voice over the
intercom.
    "Anthony here"
    "All tests complete, the Vigilante has held warp 9.6 for
seven hours with no adverse effects."
    "Very good, prepare to come out of warp."
    Captain Anthony walked back onto the bridge, his crew was
busy running continuous high warp test.  "Helm, bring us out
of warp."
    "Aye, Sir".
    "Ensign O'Malley, Plot the best possible course to the
Romulan Neutral Zone, sector 5876.34."
    Ensign O'Malley pushed a few buttons on her panel. Then
said "Course plotted ,Sir."
    "At warp 9.6 what would be the estimated time of travel?"
    Ensign O'Malley pushed a few more buttons and said "Two
weeks, three days two hours, eighteen minutes.."
    "Very good," Captain Anthony said and took his seat.
"Set new course as plotted, warp nine, engage."
    "Ensign O'Malley on present course what would be the
estimated time of arrival using controlled worm hole effect?"
    Ensign O'Malley turned to a second console that appeared
tacked on to her normal console.  After pushing several
buttons, looking at the display and repeating she said "If we
are able to cancel the Worm hole after exactly two minutes 43
point 7676543 seconds we should emerge in sector 5876.34."
     Anthony thought a second and said "How long is that
figure good for?"
    "Sir, taking into account our current speed and the size
of sector 5876.43, about 6 minutes.  After that the
fractional seconds would begin making a significant
difference."
    "Recalculate the timing for fifteen minutes from now and
feed it to my station."  Anthony had configured his console
to control the worm-hole effect along with helm and
navigation.
    He then pushed the worm hole warning alarm.  A loud
claxon began blaring from the ship wide intercom.  Another
button shut the claxon off on the bridge.  The view screen
began showing a count down to the controlled worm hole.  The
bridge crew began strapping themselves into their seats for
the first time.  While all over the bridge on duty and off
duty personnel took their own seats.  Many crew had been woke
out of comfortable beds not knowing what was going on.
    The view screens in each cabin announced the planned
maneuvered.  Each cabin also came equipped with Rough Duty
chairs usually built into a wall as part of the decor.  All
chairs had occupant sensors activated during the worm hole
warning.  The computer was able to report when all personnel
were accounted for.
    "Controlled worm hole count down initiated." Captain
Anthony said almost sarcastically after shutting the bridge
claxon off.
    As Commander Tarva watched the count down approach zero
she couldn't help but think this could be their actual first
step to meet the Borg or it could all end right now.
    "Shields at Maximum" she heard Commander Norton report
just before she saw the view screen rush at her.  It felt as
if she was being crushed on a high gravity planet.  She could
feel her seat begin to wrap around her and heard a female
voice begin to scream.  In front of her Ensign O'Malley
bucked against the restraints and belts, it must of been her
screaming.  Other voices began to fill her head as the rest
of the bridge crew joined the chorus of screams.  She watched
Ensign O'Malley start screaming in pain and soon heard the
new female voice.  Tarva realized that she must have heard
her own voice to begin with.
    As the count down on the view screen approached the shut
down point Tarva thought she could feel the ship bump or
shift a little.  The ship seemed to begin to fall away from
her.  She felt like she was alternately hanging from the
restraint belts and being pushed back into the chair.  The
timer on the view screen counted passed the set shut down
point.
    The Vigilante seemed to tumble end over end through the
worm hole it's own warp drives had created.  The effect was
no longer controlled by the Vigilante.  Tarva knew something
was wrong by the change in the felt effect and tried to reach
for her own controls which proved at first quite elusive.
    After bringing up helm station she began issuing shut
down and stabilization commands to the drive systems.
Nothing seemed to have any effect finally she started
desperate maneuvers including reverse warp.  Anything to
break out of the worm hole.  When the Vigilante finally broke
out,  the crew blacked out.
    Tarva woke to the sound of a moaning bridge crew.  The
view screen showed 3 minutes 22 seconds of worm hole effect.
The other members were slowly regaining conciseness.  Tarva
unbuckled the straps and opened her restraints.  Ensign
O'Malley was already standing and stretching.
    Captain Anthony hit his intercom and said "Engineering,
Dolittel what the hell happened to us?"
    "I don't know, we're trying to figure that out now. "
Dolittel said groggily.
    Tarva saw Ensign O'Malley punching buttons on her
console. "Ensign O'Malley, report what is our present
location?"
    "According to the Star Charts we're well within the
Romulan Empire."
    "I was afraid of that" the Captain muttered.
    "Bridge this is Engineering"
    "Go ahead" Tarva said.
    "Sir we'll have to shut down all power to shields and
engines so we can effect repairs to number three warp engine"
    "Commander Dolittel we are in the middle of the Romulan
Empire we may be needing the warp drives and shields.  Do we
currently have shields and cloaking?"
    "Yes sir, shields are at 40 percent and cloaking is
activated."
    "Do we have maneuvering capabilities?"
    "Engines one and two are on line engine four will remain
inoperative until engine three comes back on line.  Our
current sustainable top speed is warp 7 and the so called
controllable worm hole is inoperative."
    "Ensign O'Malley, at warp 7 how long will it take to get
our original destination?" Anthony said turning to his
navigator.
    The Ensign punched a few buttons and reported "Four
weeks, three days ".
    "and Warp 9.6?"
    Ensign O'Malley reentered her figures and said "One week
five days."
    "Engineering, what is the estimated time for repairs and
corrections to warp coil?"
    "We should be able to do it in three days." was
Dolittel's reply.
    Dolittel thought for a bit and said to his first officer
"If we commence with these repairs we're going to need some
place to hide.  We don't want to be hanging in the middle of
Romulan territory with all systems off line.  No matter how
well our hull protects us from sensors."
    "Agreed, Sir, What do you have in mind." Tarva Said.
    "Since the Romulans may have detected our worm hole this
may not be the best place to hang out.  Ensign O'Malley is
there an uninhabited star system in this area?"
    "Sir, Sensors show two systems in this sector, our
records of Romulan space are not detailed enough to give
specific habitation information.  One system however is a red
dwarf star and it is very unlikely there would be any
colonies there but there may be a science outpost."
    "Set course for the red dwarf system"
    "Course plotted and set" O'Malley said immediately.
    "At warp 7 what is our ETA?"
    "two days seven hours twenty three minutes, Sir"
    "Sir," Commander Norton interrupted "Romulan war bird
uncloaking about ten kilometers off port bow."
    "Have they seen us?" Tarva asked.
    "Not yet, they're apparently here to investigate the worm
hole.  They are doing intensive sensor sweeps of the area.
Weapons are unarmed and shields are at a minimum."
    Tarva looked at the image Norton had put up on the
screen. "If they were able to get here that fast we must be
in a heavily travel sector."
    "Agreed," Anthony said "set course to red dwarf system
full impulse.  Lets put a little distance between us before
going to warp.  We don't know how good their motion detectors
are. Engage
    "Engineering"
    "Commander Dolittel here"
    "Commander, we will be in position for you to effect your
repairs in about three days"
    "Very good, Dolittel out"
    Anthony then turned to Commander Norton "Have the spotted
us yet?"
    "Not yet sir, the war bird is still directing sensors at
the area of the worm hole exit."
    "Very good, Helm, warp 7, engage".
    The Vigilante jumped to warp seven and headed toward the
red dwarf.

    There were no research stations or other habitats in the
system.  There were several small planets and a gas giant,
the vigilante dropped into a close orbit around the giant and
tried to hide in its electromagnetic aura.
    Engineering crawled into the warp engines to fix the bad
coil and test the other three.  The rest of the crew began
running extensive diagnostics of all systems.
    Commander Tarva's aversion to sleep began to catch up
with her.  Captain Anthony ordered her to her cabin until the
warp drives were back on line.  He made it quite clear that
she was not to return to the bridge unless ordered there.
    Tarva was wearing the under uniform shorts and tank top
while exercising in her cabin.  She had set up several
gadgets for more efficient exercise.  A chin-up bar was
stretched between the room dividers and a slanted sit-up
board was in her front room.  Her hair was rolled in to a bun
at the back of her head and she was soaked with sweat.  This
is how Commander Norton found her when he came to visit.
    "Your suppose to be resting" he said as she wiped sweat
from her high Kalonian forehead.
    She looked around the room and said "I am relaxing."
then head to the head.
    "I don't think this is what the Captain had in mind"
Simon said as he dropped into one her chairs.  Because of
their similar experiences they had become fast friends.
    Simon Norton heard Tarva taking a shower and had time to
reflect on the circumstances which brought him here.  He had
spent his childhood on a planet called Hellguard.  It was a
planet the Romulans occasionally dumped their half breed
children born of captives.  He was approximately twenty when
was he found as an emaciated stow away on a pirate freighter
that had visited Hellguard.  They put him to work as slave
labor and it took him nearly two years to escape to a
Federation colony.
    His first task was to create a new life.  He started by
picking a new name.  He decided a human name would be as
fresh a beginning as he could get.  After many years he was
finally able to work his way to Earth and petition to the
Academy for a scholarship.  Thanks to the long life
associated with being half Volcan and half Romulan he was not
considered too old.
    He was finally content, after years of hopping from ship
to ship he was finally on the most powerful Star Ship Star
Fleet had ever conceived.
    Tarva came out from her shower wearing her short black
robe and her wet hair tied up in a towel.  She sat cross
legged on her bed and said "How are the repairs coming?"
    "Commander Dolittel reports that the repairs are coming
along on schedule.  We should be able to continue the tests
of the Vigilante in a day or so."
    "Very good we have a lot to do before we can embark on
our mission.  Has there been any more signs of Romulans in
the area?"
    "We've been keeping a constant passive scanner watch
since taking the shields and warp drives off line.  There has
been no sign of activity in this area."
    "This all seems too easy."
    "The right equipment can make a difficult job seem easy."
    Tarva smiled at this cliche, Simon seemed to like
cliches.  She responded with her own "Yes but sometimes when
things seem to be going right something has got to go wrong."
    They both laughed at their exchange of cliches, Norton
then got serious.
    "Sashon," very few people knew her personal name and
fewer yet would ever use it, "you haven't been sleeping much
since coming on board, we all know it, is there anything I
can do to help?"
    Tarva sat up stiff "A Kalonian does not need as much
sleep as other members of the Federation." she said proudly.
    Simon was not impressed, he seldom was, "You haven't
answered my question.  From one suspicious personality to
another, something is wrong, you can't hide it from me.  I
know you too well".
    Tarva made a point of looking at her time piece and
announced "It is time for me to sleep, we can finish this
conversation at a later date."
    Knowing he was at a bulk head he stood bowed slightly
from the hips and walked out.
    Tarva assumed her cross legged meditation position.  It
did not give her the absolute rest every body eventually
needed.  It did however give her some rest and the dreams
didn't come.
    ...Tarva lay in the escape pod barely conscious.  She
could see out of her right eye but only barley.  She could
feel a weight laying across her body.  With great effort she
managed to pull herself out and look down at it.  The remains
of her Captain still lay partially on her.  His black skin
was barely recognizable through the blood and lacerations.
Most of the front of the body had taken the force of the
explosion that had thrown them into the pod.  Much of the
flesh and muscle had been blackened from the blast.
    As she looked at it the body shuddered and took a labored
breath.  It's eye opened and the burned skull turned to look
at her.  The remains of its mouth and jaw struggled to form
words.
    "You failed" it gasped "The ship is destroyed your
Captain and crew are dead.  How is it that you managed to
save your self?  A Kalonian putting herself ahead of her
comrades who depended her?  Who do you think you are?  Do you
think you really deserve to live?" It had been edging toward
her so it could grab her face.  It started pulling her
towards it, with what was left of it's mouth dangling open.
    Tarva woke thrashing and screaming she was totally soaked
in sweat.  She could still feel hands on her face and
screamed even louder.
    She could feel words in her mind telling her to be calm.
She was safe and nothing could hurt her.  She could still
feel the hands touching her face but now it was calming.  She
thought she could even see her own face with thick light
skinned hands on it.  The nightmare had turned to a dream she
could relax and let her muscles loosen.  Finally she felt
safe enough to open her eyes and see what was real.
    Commander Norton sat above her, his bald head accented by
his pointed ears.  His hands had been the ones she had felt.
He pulled his hands away and looked into her eyes.
    "How do you feel?" he said.
    "What happened?"
    "I wasn't gone more than twenty paces when I came back in
to ask you something.  You had already fallen into a dream, I
could tell it was a nightmare.  As soon as I touched you, you
started screaming.  I only had time to use a mind meld to
calm you as you came out of it."
    "Every time" Tarva finally admitted "I fall a sleep the
dreams of the Eclipse's destruction return.  They change,
they're becoming more vivid, more twisted.  Scenes that would
normally not bother me are scaring me like I've never known.
I've become frightened of sleep, a Kalonian warrior afraid of
her bed.  What have I become?"
    "You need to resolve the guilt you feel of being the only
survivor of the Eclipse." Norton said. "I don't know if I can
help you with that.  It is something you must admit to your
self and cope with it.  I can however use the mind-meld to
perhaps help you sleep better.  Are you willing to let me
try?"
    Tarva thought for a second then looked down at the black
robe plastered to her body with sweat.  "I'll try." she said.
    She then got up and went into her bathroom.  He could see
her open her robe and drop it off her arms as she disappeared
around the corner.
    When Tarva returned she was wearing a robe the same
design as the black one only a dark red.  She still wore the
Simtar on her right shin.  It occurred to him that he had
been extremely lucky she hadn't reached for it when she woke
from the nightmare.
    Tarva got into her bed, for the first time in a long time
under the blanket.  Commander Norton sat in a chair next to
her and lightly touched the sides of her head as if massaging
the temples.
    As she drifted into sleep he assured her the dreams were
an illusion.  This time with his comfort the dreams stayed
away.  He could keep the dreams from her, the guilt she would
have to work out on her own. He did however plant suggestions
to keep the fear away.  Without the terror she had been
experiencing with the nightmares she would be able to sleep.

    Tarva woke to the piping sound on her intercom and
Captain Anthony paging her.  She sat up and looked around
her.  Commander Norton was long gone.  Her red robe was
tangled into the covers of her bed, all she wore was the
Simtar and sheath strapped to her leg.  How long she had been
a sleep she had no idea but she felt totally refreshed.
    "Commander Tarva here" she said as she stood and
stretched.
    "Please report to the bridge immediately"
    "Aye, Sir"
    Tarva looked at her time piece and tried to remember what
time it was when she kicked Simon out the first time.  By her
calculations she must have been asleep over fifteen hours.
    When Tarva arrived on the bridge she hadn't taken the
time to brush and braid her hair as normal.  Instead it lay
rather unruly on the top of her head and a long pony tail
tied in several places hung down her back.
    On the view screen was a distant shot of an uncommon
Romulan ship.  Tarva took her seat next to the Captain
studied the image for a few seconds and said "What is it?"
    "It appears to be a Romulan research vessel of some
kind." Commander Norton said.  "It came out of warp uncloaked
several minutes before we started paging you."
    "What's its projected course?"
    "That's why we've gotten the bridge crew together"
Anthony said "Its current trajectory will put it in orbit
around this planet in about an hour"
    Tarva checked the current ship's configuration.  The
shields and engines were still off line.  The blast shields
were shut to help reduce the Vigilante's sensor profile.
    "Are we going to go into silent running?" she asked.
    "All departments are preparing for the restricted
movements called for by silent running."  Commander Norton
reported "It'll initiate in five minutes."
    "And Engineering?"
    "Engineering, reports all systems should be back online
in six hours.  They are beyond the point of no return and
must finish the repairs before they can bring anything up."
Captain Anthony said seemingly unconcerned.
    "And what is the current plan?" Tarva said looking at her
Captain.
    "We sit and hope they don't see us.  The planet is big
enough, unless they actually see us they shouldn't pick up
any sign of us."
    "Hence the silent running."
    "That's correct, Commander."
    "I hope it works."
    "Your not the only one." Captain Anthony Reclined his
chair slightly and looked at the screen.
    The crew of the Vigilante began a long wait.  They took
their places in the Rough Duty chairs.  All accept essential
activity was curtailed.
    Many automatic systems were discontinued or limited.  The
Turbo lifts ran at one quarter speed unless an emergency over
ride was issued.  Most important however was that the life
support circulation systems were also limited.
    When the Vigilante's orbit took it to the night side of
the planet the temperature dropped to an unusual and
generally uncomfortable 5 degrees Celsius.  On the day side
the temperature rose some what but the hull construction
didn't allow much solar energy to penetrate.  Temperature
changes were expected so all Rough Duty seats were
temperature controllable but it didn't help much.
    Engineering continued their repairs but at a much slower
pace.  Noises from any accidents may be picked up by the
Romulan ship especially if it was a research vessel with
hypersensitive scanners.
    The arms holding the warp drives did not have artificial
gravity.  The engineers working on the drives were carried
through the arms in specially designed turbo lifts.   They
then worked in zero gravity using magnetic tools and holders.
The work required highly skilled personnel and was extremely
dangerous.
    The valve that ruptured had been damaged during the
original mishap.  When it blew, the specialist never new what
hit her.  A large blast of gas crushed her against the
bulkhead it also caused an exterior evacuation valve to blow.
The resulting gas caused a bright orange streak as it burned
in the planet's atmosphere.
    When the emergency lights flashed Ensign O'Malley shifted
the view screen to reverse.  As the bridge crew watched, an
orange streak flared out behind them.
    Captain Anthony turned to his First Officer and said "I
think we're in trouble".
    "Engineering, what happened down there?" Tarva said.
    "Unknown, Sir" came Chief Swanson's voice "Commander
Dolittel is suiting up to take a team to have a look."
    Tarva turned on the view screen and looked at the concern
on Swanson's face. "We're going to need maneuvering as soon
as possible."  Tarva said trying to stress the urgency.
    "Commander," Swanson said "We still needed two hours
before the accident happened."
    "Chief, we need to get this thing moving.  We're also
going to need weapons or your not going to have time to
finish the repairs."  Captain Anthony said.
    Chief Swanson had gone ghost white, dealing with command
was not her job, she was a transporter Chief.  "We'll do what
we can." she said and turned off the screen.
    Anthony turned to Tarva and said "Chief Swanson needs
some help."
    Tarva headed toward the turbo lift issuing the emergency
over ride commands as she went.
    "Sir" it was Ensign O'Malley.
    "Yes, Ensign."
    "Sir, all the drop ships are armed and D.S. Three is
still equipped with cargo latches..."
    "Of course, we can use it to change our orbit, if we have
time.  Commander Norton take Ensign O'Malley, launch two drop
ships, one to provide cover the other to move the Vigilante"
the Captain said.
    "Ensign O'Malley?" Commander Norton asked the Captain.
    "She's the only one on board who's had experience
piloting the tug converted Drop Ship."
    "Very well" Norton said joining the navigator at
turbo-lift two and said to the intercom "Shuttle bay, prepare
drop ships three and seven for emergency use."
    "Acknowledged" was the brief reply.
    As the pair left the bridge Captain Anthony reconfigured
his console for the navigator station.
    As soon as the turbo lift's door closed Commander Norton
started giving additional instructions to the shuttle bay.
    "Commander, Sir, don't we have any other Drop Ship pilots
on board?" Ensign O'Malley asked when Commander Norton
finished talking to the shuttle bay.
    "No, we do not.  The drop ship pilots will be boarded
after the space trials"
    "That helps us a lot now doesn't it?"
    "Well, Ensign, it's keeping you busy."
    The turbo-lift's high speed yellow warning light flashed,
then it jerked to a stop at the shuttle bay.  In the shuttle
bay two Drop Ships waited for launch.  Out side of the lift
two light weight pilot's pressure suits waited for them.
    They had already started removing their baggy black
uniforms while in the lift.  Jackets and boots laying on the
floor of the lift, Commander Norton and Ensign O'Malley
stepped out of their pants as they stepped out of the lift
and into the pressure suits.
    The doors of the Drop Ships stood open and the engines
were already warming up.  As they approached the ships the
shuttle bay doors opened with only a force field between them
and open space.  When they entered their perspective  ships
the lowered steps practically lifted them in as they closed
behind them.
    As soon as she strapped in Ensign O'Malley had Drop Ship
Three powered up for launch.  She watched D.S. Seven launch
and flicker out practically before he was out of the bay.
Janice waited a preset time and launched D.S. Three.  As soon
as she could power back from launch she too engaged the
cloaking.
    Time was of the essence, the gas they leaked had burned
in their orbit.  It's composition caused a solid sensor
reading when it burned.  Her goal was to shift the Vigilante
to a different orbit so the Romulans would be a lot less
likely to find it.  Luckily they had taken an orbit on the
opposite side of the planet but it wouldn't be long before
they spotted the gas trail.
    Immediately after launching, Ensign O'Malley turned D. S.
Three back toward the bulbous main body of the Vigilante.
She skimmed across the hull between the upswept arms of the
top warp engines.  The magnetic couplings were extended
searching for the Vigilante's frame.
    Since the Romulan's sensors would have a very difficult
time finding the Vigilante the largest worry was someone
actually seeing them from a view screen or window.  If They
got close enough to be spotted, D.S. Seven would have to
destroy the Romulan ship before it could report to it's
superiors.  Under no circumstances could the Vigilante allow
it's existence be known by the Romulans.
    The Vigilante was designed with scramblers hopefully
capable of confusing the Borg for an extended period of time.
They were prepared to use the scramblers to prevent the
Romulans from reporting back until D.S. Seven was able to
destroy them.  Hopefully, it would not come to that.
    The feedback from the couplings told her she was over a
likely spot.  Slowly she landed D.S. Three on the hull of the
Vigilante and engaged the couplings at full strength.  The
connection however was not strong because of the composite
hull but it would have to do.
    The Drop Ship's sensors showed the Romulan closing the
gap from the opposite side of the planet.  She had to move
the Vigilante away from the current orbit and try to keep the
planet between them and the Romulan.
    The problem was that because of the weak connection she
could not accelerate quickly.  She had to work slowly and
nudge the Vigilante into a still lower and different orbit.
    "Ensign O'Malley" came Captain Anthony's voice over the
directed beam communications "Their getting close."
    "Sir, I have a weak connection if I accelerate too
quickly I'll lose it.  How much longer till we have cloaking
back on line?"
    "Because of the accident Commander Dolittel estimates
we're back to just under two days."

    The Romulan research vessel Raptor had just returned to
its post.  It's mission was the study of the effects of a
collapsing red star on it's planets.
    "Commander, I read some kind of an anomaly on the
opposite side of the planet." the young female Romulan said
almost apologetically.
    "Elaborate." said an older female Romulan sitting in the
middle of the bridge.
    "I was running standard high altitude atmospheric scans
when I watched an object form and grow in low orbit.  It
reads as a solid cylinder about 10 symtons long.  We are
currently too far away to get an accurate reading on it's
composition." said the young sensor operator.
    "Perhaps we have found a new phenomenon."  said the lead
scientist sitting at another sensor station.
    "Helm, adjust orbit for close inspection of this anomaly"
the Commander said.
    The Raptor adjusted orbit to intercept the anomaly.  As
they approached the sensor operator reported "Sir, it is not
solid, it appears to be a gas that registered solid on the
long range sensors."
    As the lead scientist studied his scanners he reported "I
am not aware of any element that would create that kind of
reading."
    The anomaly was soon close enough to be put on the
screen.  It was a long orange streak that seemed to be fading
into the atmosphere.
    The young sensor operator finished the analysis and said
"Sir it appears to be pure mhalogin gas burning in the
atmosphere."
    "Where did it come from." the Commander said to herself.
    "Did you say mhalogin?" came an older male's voice from
an open door.
    "Yes, Centurian, but mhalogin does not appear naturally
in pure form and is rare in the Empire" the operator said.
    "I know but the Federation uses it to cool warp drives"
the Centurian said.
    With the Centurian's comment the Commander hit the Red
Alert and ordered full shields.  Before the inexperienced
crew was able to bring shields up the ship rocked from an
explosion.
    "What happened?" the Commander shouted.
    "We've been hit" replied the Centurian calmly.
    "Get those shields raised. Damage report, where were we
hit..sensors, who fired on us" the Commander shouted feeling
that she was about to lose her first command.
    The Centurian stood at a console after relieving a much
younger crew member.  "Commander," he said "the shields are
inoperative."
    The bridge rocked from another explosion from a different
side of the ship.  The helm console exploded in the
operator's face.
    "What's happening? Helm, get us out of here.
Communications issue a distress call, tell them we are being
attacked by an unknown force."
    "Commander" the Helmsman said after the sparks died down
from her console. "I get no response from my console and
engineering reports major damage from the last blast.  All
engines are off line."
    "Commander," the senors Operator said "the sensors are
inoperative, all I get is static."
    The Communications Officer said "All communications are
down, I was not able to issue the distress call."
    The Centurian studied the communications console then the
scanners.  "Commander," he said.
    "Centurian" she acknowledge.
    "I believe our scanners and sensors are being jammed.
They were not damaged in either attack.  Also," he said "the
two hits we received were precise, they knew right were to
cripple us with minimal damage."
    The Commander sat down in her chair heavily and looked at
the fading orange streak.  "A trap and we fell right into it.
How did the Federation get into the heart of the Empire
without detection."
    "Maybe they didn't." the Centurian said.
    "What do you mean."
    "Perhaps this is a test.  Perhaps you are being tested
for worthiness for higher command."
    She looked at him suspiciously "If this were the case
wouldn't you be told of it?"
    "I have no such knowledge."
    "Is this how they tested you in your day?"
    "We did not have the precision when I was young to
conduct this kind of test.  I have also never heard of it
being done.  This does not however preclude it from
starting."
    "So you don't have any actual knowledge that this is some
kind of test?"
    "Just the facts so far.  We are in the middle of the
Empire in an inconsequential system.  We have been attacked
by an unseen enemy with such precision that we are totally
helpless but have suffered very light casualties.  In fact so
far there have been no deaths reported.  It is my duty to
report all possible alternatives to you."
    The Communications officer had been checking the
surveillance films. "Commander," he said "I have found the
scenes of the attack."
    "We have pictures of our attacker?"
    "They're real brief, I missed them the first time around.
I slowed the tape down and you can see it frame by frame."
    "Main screen"
    "This is the first attack" the Communications officer
said as he pressed a few buttons.
    The view was an angle up from under main body of the
ship.  A frame at a time passed and they watched the nose of
a strange looking ship start to uncloak.  The star field
peeled away from it as if the ship were emerging from a pool
of water.  Before it was half uncloaked a missile fired from
its nose.  The cloaking began to reform around the front of
the ship as the tail finished uncloaking.  At no time was
there a frame that showed the ship totally uncloaked.
    The Communications officer then said "I can overlay all
frames and get a complete picture of the craft."  He pushed a
few more buttons and a complete picture of the mysterious
ship appeared on the screen.  In front of it was a stream of
torpedoes caused be the overlaying of the frames.
    The ship was a dull gray color.  It had a stub nose with
bridge obviously the top half and weapons appeared to fill
the bottom half.  The body was wide and boxy with a single
access door on the side.  The back lifted above the box with
what was obviously the drives.  Missing were the standard
warp drive pods sticking away from the body.
    "No warp drives." The Commander said.
    "Were did it come from if it doesn't have warp drives?"
someone asked.
    "A mother ship" The Centurian answered.
    "Do you know what it is?" the Commander asked the
Centurian.
    "My best guess would be what we used to call a 'personnel
lander'" the Centurian said.  "We used them when I was a very
young officer and the Romulan Empire was expanding rapidly.
They quickly carried warriors into battle zones where
transporters could not be used.  Planets that had transporter
scramblers or whose atmosphere scrambled transporters
naturally.  I even commanded several landing crews."  The
Centurian shuttered at the memory of the bloody battles.
These operations were not well chronicled because of their
high mortality rate.
    "Is this one of those landers?" the Communications
officer asked.
    The Centurian walked up to the screen and said "No, but
it has similar features." he indicated the wide body and
rounded bottom. "The bottom appears to have extra protection
for the stress of dropping through the atmosphere."  He then
pointed to the back.  "The main drives sit high allowing for
cargo to be quickly loaded on and off through wide back
doors.  If we had a view of the back I'd stake my life it's
got them back there.  Finally if it wasn't designed to go
into battle it wouldn't be armed and cloaked.  If it were
designed for battle in space it would have warp drives
therefore it must be designed for battle planet side."
    The Commander sat and studied the picture then said "What
do sensors say during the exact time these frames were
taken?"
    The scanner Operator said "I've been running all scanner
logs for the time frame.  The best I can come up with is that
they seem to have picked the ship up as a small piece of
debris of undetermined make up."  She then replaced the image
on the screen with the scanner interpretation for the same
area and time.
    Half the screen showed a graphic representation of what
the scanners had picked up the other side showed an analysis
of the same data.  The graphics showed an irregular shaped
lump fade on, stay several frames, then fade out.  At the
time the lump reminded on screen the analysis showed size
about a quarter that of the ship they had seen and mass as
undetermined.  No life was registered and all other data
showed as undetermined.
    "What ever this thing is" the Commander said "It barley
needs cloaking"
    "Why doesn't it just destroy us and get it over with?"
the Helmsman asked.
    "Centurian," the Commander said "What would happen if we
suffered a massive loss of coolant from a warp drive?"
    "We'd be crippled" he replied.
    "That's right.  If this landing craft doesn't have warp
drives it couldn't have leaked the mhalogin.  Therefore
another ship must have leaked it."
    "It's protecting it's mother ship while effecting
repairs".
    "And if the landing craft is cloaked and immune to the
sensors so probably would be the mother ship.  If it were
still cloaked, however they wouldn't be worried about us
being here."
    "The Federation doesn't cloak its ships" The Centurian
added "but The Klingons do."
    The Commander turned and looked at the Centurian and
asked "After all these years in service to the Empire do you
truly believe the Klingons would have let us live?"
    "No"
    "Now forgetting the official propaganda about the
Federation and relying only on your experience as a War Bird
commander, what would the Federation do?"
    "The Federation would do all they could to avoid killing
even a sworn enemy." he said as if having a terrible secret
dragged from him.
    The Commander continued to look at her second in command
and advisor then said "What if the Federation is
experimenting with new technology, were would be the best
place to put it to a true test?  Inside the Romulan Empire,
right.  Now what if they had an accident while stalking a
harmless scientific vessel?"
    "They would do all they could to keep us from finding
them out"
    "Precisely,  If their cloaking is down our scanners would
pick them up but only as debris of undetermined make up, like
the landing craft."
    "So they would have to cripple us while they limped away
to make repairs."
    The Commander suddenly smiled and said to the crew "Run
all scanner logs since picking up the mhaligon trail.  Look
for any debris of undetermined makeup.  Also run a high
resolution scan of all view screen logs looking for anything
that looks like another ship."
    A loud claxon began blaring all over the ship.  The
bridge crew looked at the Commander and the Centurian.
    The Commander said almost in a panic "It's the Intruder
alert from engineering."
    Practically before the Commander had a chance to finish
several places on the bridge shimmered briefly and figures
wearing dull gray armored suits with darkened face shields
where standing in strategic locations.  Before anyone on the
bridge had time to react the intruders started shooting large
black phasers at them.
    The Commander and Communications officer were the first
to go down.  Before the Centurian was hit he had time to fire
his disrupter at one of the intruders.  Several inches a head
of the suit a deflector shield shimmered when the blast hit.
The armored intruder returned fire and the Centurian fell
against the console he had taken over earlier.
    Meanwhile all over the ship including the bridge
canisters appeared and began emitting a white gas.  The
effects were relatively slow but the crew was soon
unconscious.  Those that were able to grab a gas mask were
soon stunned down by an armored figure that would beam in,
shoot them, remove the mask, then beam out.
    Two minutes after the intruder alert claxon came on a
gloved had reached to the Commander's console and turned it
off.  Commander Tarva looked at the command console through
her helmet.  "Let's work fast" she said into her intercom
"the sooner we get back the sooner Commander Dolittel will be
able to get back to work on the warp drives."
    Another figured appeared on the bridge with phaser in
hand.  Commander Norton looked around and said to Tarva "All
ships personnel have been neutralized.  Once the gas is gone
they should be out about seventy two hours."
    "That should give Mr Dolittel more than enough time."
Tarva said as she pulled the Commander from her seat.  "OK
all personnel listen up our first mission is to find out if
they actually saw the Vigilante.  If they did we'll have to
destroy the ship.  I regret it, but its necessary for our own
survival.  If we can find no record that they have seen the
Vigilante we must remove all records of their encounter with
us, starting with their entrance into this star system."
    "Too bad we don't have the time to wipe their memories as
well, that would make it really clean." Norton said.
    Tarva said "I know, but all they will have is memories of
a mysterious attack and no proof that will in any way link it
to the Federation.  Just speculation.  Without concrete
evidence the decision makers will not lend a lot of credence
to their reports."
    "I hope your right." Norton said.
    Tarva smiled and said "So do I." she had taken the
Commander's seat and began down loading the ship's technical
data banks to the Vigilante.  She also began down loading all
ship's logs to the Vigilante.  She knew that in the time they
had she wouldn't get all of the information from either data
bank but would get quite a bit.
    After five hours Commander Tarva signaled to the
Vigilante 'mission complete'.  All the Vigilante personnel
and gas canisters beamed off at once.  With the canisters
gone the ship's life support would start clearing the gas off
the ship.  Once the gas was gone the crew would remain
unconscious for an estimated seventy two hours.

    Sixty eight hours after beaming off the Romulan ship
Commander Dolittel signaled the bridge that the all systems
were on line and functioning properly.  They also had begun
to pickup transmissions to the Romulan ship.  The
transmissions meant that they would soon be having more
company investigating the lost contact.
    The Vigilante jumped to warp 9.6 as soon as leaving the
star system.  Captain Anthony immediately ordered a course
plotted back to sector 5876.34 using the controlled worm hole
effect.  The crew nervously watched the count down
remembering the last trip.
    This time Dolittel's realignments worked dropping the
Vigilante into the correct sector.  The worm hole effects
were not nearly as sever and the exit was nearly undetectable
when they dropped out.
    The Captain then gave the original coordinates as new
heading.  The Vigilante immediately jumped to warp eight for
its new destination.

    The Enterprise had been waiting at the predetermined
meeting place with no contact.  They were several days over
the estimated window of arrival.  Captain Picard however had
strict orders to stay on station until told other wise.
    "Captain" Lieutenant Worf said "Sub-space message coming
in for your eyes only".
    "Thank you, Mr Worf, I'll take it in my ready room."
    The message was cryptic to say the least but it told
Picard all he needed to know.  After reading the message
Captain Picard remained in his ready room and called Mr Worf
in.
    "Captain, there has been some trouble in Ten Forward."
Worf said stiffly before Picard could get down to his own
business.
    "What kind of trouble?"
    "Sir, Two of our guests have been fighting rather
severely."
    "Just how severely?"
    "They fought using knives, Sir.  Doctor Crusher is
currently mending both of them.  It seems they were able to
inflict quite a bit a damage to each other before security
intervened." Worf said obviously embarrassed for the
performance of his personnel.
    "Is there something you think I should do about this Mr
Worf" Captain Picard.
    "Sir, I was wondering what kind of punishment I should
impose since they are guests."
    "Well don't they have a Senior Officer who can deal with
this kind of situation."
    At this Worf stiffened a little more "Sir, the combatants
were a Klingon officer and a Kalonian officer both claiming
the position.  They decided to settle the argument;
traditionally."
    Picard sat back in his chair steepling his fingers in
front of his face and said "I see, perhaps after Doctor
Crusher is finished with them they should be placed together
in the brig for the duration of their stay on the Enterprise.
If either is still alive when it is time to leave we'll let
their new assignment take care of any further punishment.
    "The reason I called you in Mr Worf is because I'd like
you to inform our guests that they should report to their
assigned assembly areas with their gear in eighteen hours."
    "Will that be all, Sir" Worf Said before leaving.
    "Yes, dismissed."
    Worf turned crisply and walked back onto the bridge.

    The two sat in the detention cell staring at each other.
They each wore a strange baggy black uniform with several
pockets.  One had the high ridged forehead and nose of the
Klingon the other had a similar fore head but not nearly as
pronounced.  The Kalonian stood a few centimeters shorter
than the Klingon but matched him in weight and stubbornness.
    "If they hadn't interfered," the Klingon snarled "you'd
be dead, I had you beaten."  he spoke in Federation Standard
since Kalonians and Klingons traditionally despised learning
or speaking the others' language.
    The Kalonian laughed and said "You fool, you were about
to let your guard down thinking I was beaten.  Then I would
have ended your life.  Accept me as your superior officer and
I'll let you live when we get to where we are going."
    Now it was time for the Klingon to laugh "I find it
distasteful enough to serve next to a Kalonian, I would
sooner die than serve under one."
    "Like I said, that could be arranged."
    At that the Klingon growled and advanced toward the
Kalonian who did the same.  Before they came to blows they
heard someone holler to them.  It was the Enterprise's
resident Klingon.
    "It is time to go." he said shutting off the force field.
He than threw them their bags, already packed.  "Come with
me, you can take this up at you new assignment."  Worf turned
and walked out of the detention area.
    "You have trained together for many months," Worf said to
the pair as they followed him down the corridor. "I would
think that these differences would have been worked out by
now."
    "We trained in different teams." the Kalonian said.
    The Klingon, like most, tried his best to ignore this
Federation fool.
    Worf lead them to a cargo bay which was filled with many
more all wearing the same black uniform.  The group was
comprised of a number of different peoples.  Most prevalent
were Humans, Klingons, and Kalonians both male and female.
There were others too some looked like Volcans and other
assorted Federation races.
    "What are we suppose to do here?" the Klingon said as he
entered the cargo bay.
    "Wait." Worf said and closed the door behind them and
continued down the corridor to the turbo-lift.

    Picard checked his the chronometer and said "Discontinue
all scanner operations, lower shields and turn off all
exterior recording devices."
    Commander Ryker looked puzzled and said "Sir do you think
that is a wise thing to do this close to the Neutral Zone?"
    "Number One if it wasn't the proper thing to do, I
wouldn't do it.  Now are all of our guests in their assigned
areas?"
    "Yes, Sir" Ryker said "and all ship's personnel have left
the areas."
    "Very good"
    "Now What?"
    "Now we wait." Picard said as he sat down in his chair.
    "Sir," Commander Data Looked up from his console "All
personnel in the cargo and shuttle bays have just disappeared
I believe they have been transported."
    Picard smiled and said "Thank you Mr Data, now return to
normal operating conditions and set new course...."
                                to be continued ........
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