From: mcmelmon@btr.btr.com
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: Belly of the Whale - part 2
Date: 9 Apr 92 16:47:30 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: BTR Public Access UNIX, MtnView CA. Contact: Customer Service cs@BTR.COM

ACT III



Scene I



[Enterprise bridge. Officers seated. The Highest stands 
slightly behind and to the right of Worf.]


Picard:  Status report.



Data:  We shall arrive in the Rakis system in one hour and 
fifty six minutes, Captain. That will be eleven hours and 
forty eight minutes after first receiving the distress call.



Worf:  Sensors reading negative. No new information from the 
Nadia.



Riker:  All stations reporting ready, Captain. Yellow alert 
in effect. Two Klingon warships en route for support. 
Starfleet urges caution. They think it unlikely Romulans are 
responsible, but likely they will get interested at activity 
so near the Neutral Zone.



Picard:  I agree. When can we expect the Klingon ships?



Data:  Three hours and thirty seven minutes after our 
arrival in the Rakis system, Captain. Assuming no Romulan 
craft have already violated the Neutral Zone, any ships 
would arrive well after we have been reinforced.



Worf:  A dangerous assumption.



Picard:  What will the Nadia's immediate needs be?



Data:  I have reconstructed the collision and modeled it's 
effects. By my calculations, the Nadia has suffered numerous 
hull ruptures, is without primary power, and has no means of 
defense...



Troi:  It sounds horrible...



Picard:  Collisions usually are, Counselor. Go on, Data.



Data:  The warp engines will need immediate attention, or we 
risk unregulated interactions within the anti-matter cores. 
Structural integrity is such that there should be no further 
risk to life-support systems, assuming internal bulkheads 
function properly. The ship will not be warp-capable until a 
thorough reinforcement of it's superstructure has been 
affected. 



Picard:  Medical needs?



Data:  A mixed blessing, Captain.



Picard:  How so?



Data:  Given the Nadia crew was at battle stations, fatality 
will be the
primary category of casualty. Other injuries should be 
relatively minor. 
Broken bones. Whiplash. And shock.



Troi:  Most injuries are relatively minor, compared with 
fatality.



Data:  Yes, but some require varying degrees of medical 
attention. I do not 
believe the Nadia will overly stress our medical capacity.



Picard:  A mixed blessing, indeed. Even so, Worf, prepare as 
many medical away 
teams as possible given time and resources. You'll be first 
in.



Worf:  Captain, I feel I should remain on the Enterprise, in 
the even of an 
attack.



Picard:  In the event of an attack, you are best qualified 
to coordinate our response.



Worf:  Of course, Captain. I shall ready the away teams at 
once.



[Worf exits.]



Attendant:  'In the event of attack?' You still consider the 
Romulans a significant danger?



Picard:  We have not ruled out the possibility.




Scene II


[Nadia bridge. 

Killpatrick, Haifa, and a science officer huddle around a 
monitor. Wireframe image of the Behemoth dances on the 
screen.]



Science Officer:  Our probes have made three complete passes 
over the vessel's surface. A  transmission of new data was 
sent to the Enterprise about forty minutes ago. They're 
better equipped to analyze it. Especially in our current 
condition.



Killpatrick:  When are they due?



Haifa:  Within minutes. Continuous communication was 
established at the time of our last transmission.



Killpatrick:  What's that? Good news? This beast makes me 
nervous as hell...



Science Officer:  New passes beneath the 'beast' show it has 
a slit down it's belly. Running about four-fifth's the total 
length.



Killpatrick:  A slit?



Science Officer:  A big one, too. About five times our 
width. Some kind of hangar door is  my guess. Open a crack.



Killpatrick:  'A crack?'



Science Officer:  All things relative, Captain. It's a big 
ship, this 'beast.'



Killpatrick:  Have you sent something inside?



Haifa:  Is that wise, Captain? Any additional 
disturbances...



Killpatrick:  And we're history? Granted, Number One. But if 
two starships smashing into the thing haven't caused a 
disturbance, I doubt some thimble of a  probe will.



Science Officer:  Actually, I have already programmed one of 
the probes to peek inside. We'll have to wait for it to come 
back out, though.



Killpatrick:  Why is that? Did we loose communication? 
That's not good...



Science Officer:  Communication is impossible through the 
hull. I believe it impenetrable to radiations of any sort...



Killpatrick:  So even if we had scanners, we'd couldn't look 
around?



Science Officer:  Nor could we beam in an away team. That is 
my hypothesis. When the Enterprise arrives, we'll know. Her 
scanners are obviously more potent than those of a probe.



Killpatrick:  When. When...




Scene III


[Space.

Enterprise streams past. We move to her bridge. Riker seated 
at control console along with Data. Worf not present.]



Picard [voice-over]:  Captain's log, supplemental. In 
minutes, we shall rendez-vous with the  Nadia. All stations, 
combat alert. First Officer Riker and Tactical  Officer Worf 
remain concerned this may be the precursor to a Romulan 
ambush. Klingon heavy cruisers T'Kiar and R'Shal reporting 
expected arrival in three and a half hours. 



Riker:  Sensors continue to indicate no activity.



Data:  Fascinating. Even knowing precisely the Behemoth's 
location, our most rigorous scans detect no sign of it. Not 
even slight gravitational anomalies, or otherwise 
inexplicable neutrino radiations.



Picard:  Do you think such technology beyond the Romulans?



Data:  I do, Captain. Especially given the sheer size of 
this vessel. 



Riker:  The Romulans have surprised us before.



Attendant:  It is wise, Commander, not to underestimate the 
prowess of one's foes. Equally dangerous, however, is over-
estimating them. It leads to paralysis. Not unlike a small 
creature terrified into immobility by a fearsome predator.



Riker:  I don't think the analogy entirely appropriate...



Picard:  She has a point, Number One. If we see Romulans 
hiding behind every rock, we won't know which are real, and 
which the product of our own imagining. 



Data:  We have reached the Rakis system, Captain.



Picard:  Worf, report.



[Worf stands on transporter platform, well armed. A 
similarly well-armed medical team arrayed behind him.]



Worf :  Ready, Captain.



[Return to bridge]



Riker:  If Romulans do attack, the Nadia may be their first 
target.



Picard:  I am well aware of that, Number One.



Troi:  Why should they waste time and firepower on a vessel 
which poses no military threat?



Riker:  Spite.



Attendant:  That would be illogical and militarily unwise. 
The Romulans are neither. The Nadia represents a source of 
valuable intelligence, both as a ship and as a crew. A 
source which could offer little real resistance. They 
will concentrate instead on this vessel.



Picard:  Sound reasoning. Even so, it is a possibility we 
cannot ignore. 



Data:  Coming out of warp, Captain.



[The Rakis system crystallizes on main screen. The Nadia 
plainly visible. Much of her saucer's left side has been 
shorn off or crumpled. The twin engine prongs are skewed 
from center. She rotates slowly, as if hanging 
by a thread.]



Riker:  Amazing.



Troi:  Horrible...



Picard:  Away teams, energize. Data, prepare a plan of 
evacuation.