STAR TREK - SCE - 05 - Interphase - Book 2

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Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and

incidents are products of the authors imagination or are used

fictiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, liv-ing

or dead, is entirely coincidental.

An Original Publication of POCKET BOOKS

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On more than one occasion, mostly during the early

years of her career, Commander Sonya Gomez had

experienced feelings of helplessness in the midst of a

crisis. As she stood on the bridge of the U.S.S. Defiant

and studied the surreal image displayed on its main

viewer, such feelings once again taunted her and

dared her to submit to their stifling embrace.

Along with Captain David Gold and Soloman, she

watched as the interdimensional rift continued to

mend itself, sealing the Defiant inside this pocket of

chaos ambiguously known as interphase and sepa-rating

them from the U.S.S. da Vinci and their entire

universe. At the moment, helplessness seemed almost

appropriate.

CHAPTER

The mission, like so many others Gomez had

undertaken since joining the Starfleet Corps of

Engineers, had started out easily enough. Daunting

and compelling from both technical and historical

perspectives, the task of retrieving the Defiant had

energized the entire da Vinci crew, from Captain

Gold on down. The recovery of the fabled ship, lost

for more than a century after becoming trapped in an

interspatial pocket connecting this universe with

another, presented a unique engineering challenge.

When the ship disappeared in , most scientific

minds throughout the Federation believed that it had

been lost in the other universe with no hope of being

recovered.

That belief had held true until two weeks ago, when

a Tholian vessel had discovered the Defiant, still

trapped in the interdimensional rift but now visible

again for the first time in more than a century. The

circumstances leading to the ships reappearance

after so long remained a mystery and the Tholians, in

their typical fashion, had not been forthcoming with

any potentially helpful information.

And we could sure use that info now, Gomez mused.

She had led an away team to the Defiant with the

task of restoring minimal power to the derelict vessel.

Working with Kieran Duffy, the da Vincis propulsion

specialist, she had decided that the Defiants maneu-vering

thrusters could be used to help extract the ship

from the rift, with the help of the da Vincis tractor

beam. Duffy and his team had also modified the ships

navigational deflector to stabilize the Defiants hull

and make it easier for the tractor beam to lock onto

the trapped ship.

Of course, it wouldnt have been an S.C.E. mission

if the Defiant hadnt yielded a few surprises of its own.

First had been the condition of the ship itself.

Drained of power, the Defiant was a lifeless hulk, dark

and foreboding as the away team materialized in the

depths of its engineering section. Then there were the

remains of the ships crew, drifting free throughout

the vessels interior in the absence of gravity. The

nightmarish scene had caught Gomez off guard and

caused her no small amount of anxiety. Her reaction

to the situation troubled her, but she had managed to

keep her unease at bay to this point by concentrating

on the tasks at hand.

But then the Tholians had inexplicably fired on the

Defiant, disrupting the da Vincis attempt to pull the

century-old ship from the interspatial void and

instead throwing the Defiant back into the rift. The

action had the further effect of collapsing the pocket

around the ship, trapping it and the da Vinci away

team within the confines of interspace.

The weapons fire could have disturbed the fabric of

space near the rift, Gomez said as she studied the cen-tury-

old viewscreen. The area is already so unstable,

any kind of disruption would probably be enough to

affect it.

Turning away from the viewscreen, Gold said,

Something similar was reported in the old Enterprise

logs when they discovered the Defiant. It had the

effect of throwing off the interphase timetable. The

Defiant still continued to appear and reappear, but

they had to recalculate the intervals.

That means the da Vinci can probably still get us

out, Gomez said.

Maybe, Gold replied as he stepped toward the

starboard side of the command well. But first we

need to make sure the ship wont fall apart around

us. He turned his attention to the science station.

Soloman, do we have internal sensors? Can you give

us a damage report?

The Bynar keyed commands to the science console

as his face was bathed in the soft blue light of the sta-tions

viewfinder. Several moments passed as he

reviewed the information supplied by the Defiants

limited sensors.

There are . . . hull breaches on decks eight, thirteen

and . . . fifteen, he reported. There is also some

buckling . . . in the port warp nacelle. As he turned

away from the viewfinder, the Bynar added, The

damage is minor, given the . . . intensity of the attack,

Captain. We were . . . most fortunate.

Gomez sighed in relief. Ill say. If thats the extent

of the damage, then we should be okay even under the

pull of the da Vincis tractor beam.

If shes still there, Gold said, drawing shocked

expressions from Gomez and Soloman. The da Vincis

commanding officer didnt acknowledge the looks,

however, instead adding, She may have been dis-abled

or destroyed by the Tholians, or Mr. Duffy has

obeyed my orders and taken her out of the area.

Either way, we may not be able to rely on the da Vinci

to get us out of here.

Even if the rift was open, Gomez said, the

Defiants maneuvering thrusters arent enough to push

us out on their own. The generators they had

brought with them from the da Vinci would never be

enough to power the ships massive impulse engines,

to say nothing about the warp drive.

Gold shrugged. Then well just have to find anoth-er

way, wont we?

Captain, Gomez said, what if we do get out? The

Tholians could be waiting on the other side of the rift

for us. Wed be sitting ducks.

Given a choice between waiting here for who

knows what to happen or taking our chances in nor-mal

space, Gold replied, I choose the latter

option.

The chirp of his suit communicator interrupted

their conversation; it was followed by the voice of Dr.

Elizabeth Lense, the da Vincis chief medical officer.

Lense to Captain Gold. I have an emergency situa-tion

and require assistance.

Doctor? Gold called out, his voice rising a notch.

Are you all right? What about Pattie?

Shortly after beaming to the Defiant, P Blue, the

S.C.E. teams resident Nasat engineer, had detected an

odd power source emanating from deep within the

ship. Gold had sent her and Dr. Lense to investigate,

and they had found a strange device of Tholian design

stored in one of the ships cargo holds. To the best of

Golds knowledge, Pattie and Lense had remained

down there during the Tholian attack. He had sudden

visions of the pair caught in a maelstrom of cargo

containers and equipment tumbling about the cargo

hold free from the restraints of gravity, and Pattie and

Lense frantically seeking cover from the potentially

lethal assault.

I am uninjured, Lense replied to the captain,

miraculously maintaining her composed tone of

voice, but we are not in the cargo bay. During the

attack, a section of the hull destabilized and Pattie fell

out into space. As she was already unconscious, I had

no choice but to follow.

What? Gold said. You mean youre drifting in

space outside the ship?

No, sir. I managed to get us back, but by then the

hull had solidified again. I am standing on the exteri-or

of the ship, and I can find no sign of an airlock or

other entry point. Pattie has sustained a concussion.

She needs medical treatment, and I have to get her

helmet off.

Gold looked to Gomez. Transporters? Can we

beam her directly to the bridge?

The engineer shook her head. Theres no power to

the transporters, sir, and no way to remote control

them from up here. Someone would have to be in the

transporter room on deck seven.

Gold turned to the science station to find Soloman

already working at the sensor controls. He didnt have

to wait long before the Bynar looked up.

I have located them, Captain. The closest entrance

to . . . the ship is a maintenance airlock on the . . .

starboard side of deck fourteen. I can direct her to

that location . . . from here, but the hatch will have to

be opened manually.

Lenses voice carried a note of concern. Im not

sure if I can do that by myself and take care of Pattie

at the same time.

I can meet her there, Captain, Gomez said.

Soloman can give me directions to the hatch, and Ill

get there through the Jefferies tubes. She knew that

navigating the crawlspaces and maintenance

throughways connecting nearly every point on the

starship would be difficult while wearing her envi-ronment

suit, but that would be offset somewhat by

the absence of the ships artificial gravity field.

Sounds like a plan , Gold said, nodding his

approval. In the meantime, Soloman and I are going

to do some more detective work. Its pretty obvious

that whatever set the Tholians off has something to

do with that little tchotchke that Pattie and the doctor

found in the cargo bay.

Today was the last day Kieran Duffy wanted an

excuse to lie down on the job.

Yet mere minutes after his first space battle as the

commanding officer of a Starfleet vessel, he was

sprawled across the deck plates in the main engineer-ing

room of the U.S.S. da Vinci. Scattered to his side

were a number of isolinear chips, once translucent and

operational but now charred black and useless. He

fumbled a few more of the chips in one hand, eyeing

them for telltale signs of burnout, then double-check-ing

his visual survey with the diagnostic reader he

grasped in his other hand. Next to his head was an open

panel, glowing from within and sporting about a dozen

empty sockets waiting for working chips to be inserted.

CHAPTER

Duffy let all but a pair of the chips slip from his

grasp before craning his head to peer inside the con-sole.

The bright control panels with glowing chips

appeared clean and new, belying the fact that they,

key components in the starships warp-drive system,

were about as functional as a wet match.

One hit.

Thats all it had taken from the Tholian ship to dis-able

the da Vincis warp drive. It had been bad

enough only a few hours before, when Captain Gold

had tasked him with keeping the warp cores inter-mix

ratios in balance as the starship set about her

mission of extracting the U.S.S. Defiant from the

interspatial rift. The unusual, tenuous connection

that the rift had created between the two universes

had been known to wreak havoc on the warp engines

of ships venturing close to it, and Captain Gold

wanted no such surprises during their recovery

operation.

Thanks to the Tholians, though, all of Duffys calcu-lating

of formulas and finessing of the magnetic fields

that prevented matter from blending too freely with

antimatter was wasted.

How does that wisecrack go? The fight was two hits

long The Klingon hit the Cardassian and the

Cardassian hit the floor. Whos the one on the floor

now?

Duffy shoved his hand into the depths of the console

to seat the pair of replacement chips. Straining,

he slipped one chip into place, then maneuvered him-self

to another open slot, gripping the very edge of the

remaining chip with the tips of two fingers.

But just as the chip found a purchase on the rim of

the slot, a sharp blow to the bottom of his right foot

rocked his entire body.

Yaa! he shouted, dropping the chip and smacking

his head against the edge of the consoles cavity.

Worming his way out of the opening, he looked up to

see Domenica Corsi towering over him, her jaw

clenched and the toe of her boot next to where she

had just kicked him.

Just perfect, Corsi said. Ostriches stick their

heads in the sand. You stick yours into a bulkhead.

Oh, excuse me, he fired back as he felt himself

starting to heat up. I had the foolish idea that warp

drive might be a nice thing to have before the

Tholians get back. That is, unless youd like to get out

and push.

Corsis scowl darkened. A ship full of engineers,

and youre the only one who can fix it?

The question made Duffy pause, giving him a

moment to catch his tongue rather than launch

another barb. Yes, he was the da Vincis top mind on

matters of propulsion, and he acted as the ships

warp-core watchdog above and beyond even the chief

engineer.

But now he was in command of the da Vinci. This

was not the time for him to nursemaid a warp-drive

problem, and it had taken Corsi to remind him of it.

Again.

As if to emphasize the point, she said, You need to

be on the bridge, Commander. Order someone else to

repair the warp drive.

Duffy nodded. Youre right. With a mischievous

smile he added, Youre getting to like keeping me in

check, arent you? He was satisfied to see the securi-ty

chiefs expression soften a little as her jaw muscles

loosened.

Not much, but its a start.

After detailing the top-priority repair assignment to

the small army of engineers tending to various tasks

here within the heart of the ship, Duffy smiled at

Corsi again and headed for the door. She followed

him, and the pair made their way quickly down the

corridor.

As they walked, Duffy said, I need to know exactly

where we are on repairs before Captain Scott tells us

Starfleets official response to our situation. Id like

some ideas on reopening the rift, too.

He tried not to dwell on his last conversation with

the seasoned engineer who served as the figurehead

for the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. It was Captain

Montgomery Scott who had dispatched the da Vinci

and her crew to Tholian space in the first place,

charging them with the challenge of retrieving the

Defiant from the rift, while at the same time entrust-ing

them with the delicate task of working with the

temperamental Tholians. It was he whose face had

fallen as Duffy relayed the events that had erupted

just when the mission seemed to be going so well, and

it was he who was likely getting his aft shields chewed

right now by Starfleet brass as a result.

Corsis voice brought Duffy to attention. I assumed

as much, Commander. The team is already waiting

for us in the briefing room.

Duffy couldnt help the small laugh that escaped his

lips, feeling more at ease with the idea that Core

Breach Corsi was acting as a safety net for his first

tightrope walk of a command. With her at his side, he

might just survive this mission yet.

They entered the briefing room and Duffy took note

of who was at the table, while at the same time trying

not to think about who was noticeably absent.

Scattered about in their usual seats were other mem-bers

of the team Carol Abramowitz, their chief liai-son

with the Tholian Assembly; Fabian Stevens, the

ships expert on tactical systems; and Bartholomew

Faulwell, the teams cryptography and language spe-cialist,

who had stepped in to help brainstorm options

for salvaging their mission, given the current void of

command officers. Duffy mulled taking the head seat

at the table, the one typically occupied by Captain

Gold, but settled instead for the comfort of his usual

chair next to Abramowitz.

Okay, Duffy began, placing his elbows on the table

before him and lacing his fingers. Warp drive is

almost operational again. Everything else is good to

go, right?

Stevens was quick to answer. We didnt take it on

the chin too hard, Duff. Weapons are fine.

Communications, shields, the deflector array, life sup-port,

everything checks right on down the line. Id bet

the warp drive would have been fine, too, if it wasnt

for this space were in.

Duffy wondered whether that was the rule and not

the exception here. Tholian ships disruptors could

wreak havoc on unshielded vessels, he was certain,

but it seemed that Federation starships with fully

charged deflector shields usually could shrug off the

initial volleys of such an attack.

Maybe so, Fabian, Duffy replied, but here, all

bets are off. Right now I want to dig into the deflector

modifications and see whether we can open the rift

again without waiting for it. He knew that time was

a precious commodity right now. The Tholians had to

know how much damage they had inflicted on the da

Vinci, and they most likely also knew that the starship

wouldnt leave the area unless forced to, so long as

there was a chance to recover the Defiant and the

away team. The chronometer was ticking for those

aboard both ships, however, so he wasnt willing to be

patient.

Corsi leaned forward in her seat. Shield harmonics

need to be monitored closely as well, Mr. Stevens, in

case that rift has the same degenerative effect on

them as it does on our warp capability. We need to be

prepared for an all-out attack once that Tholian ship

returns with reinforcements.

Duffy was ready to answer, but instead was cut off

by Carol Abramowitz.

Prepare all you want, she said, but were not

going into battle. The cultural specialist was met

with Corsis perturbed expression but continued

unheeded. You can bet that our next orders will be to

head home without the Defiant. No one is going to

throw away the trust that diplomats and ambassadors

have earned with the Tholians during the Dominion

War. Unfortunately, an antique ship and a few engi-neers

will be considered expendable.

Abramowitzs assessment matched his own, Duffy

realized as he hung his head a bit. Captain Gold had

told them all up front that the mission would be scut-tled

should any signs of eroding relations with the

Tholians appear, and an exchange of fire definitely

seemed to qualify as erosion to him. Diplomats were

sure to exercise their influence to pull the da Vinci

from the mission, whether or not her crew was intact.

He had to be ready to say good-bye to his captain,

his friends, and his . . . his . . .

Oh, Sonnie.

But Corsi did not appear content to keep her views

to herself. What, were going to abandon the away

team? The Tholians fired first! We didnt start this

fight, but we damn well better finish it. Duffy

watched as Corsi narrowed her eyes and scanned the

others seated at the table for a sign of support before

adding, Let them say what they want back on Earth.

Regardless of whether we bring the Defiant home,

were getting our away team back.

It is a bold stand you hope to take, Abramowitz

replied, but I dont think youre being realistic. Her

tone was clipped and polite, and Duffy knew it was a

signal that she was already beginning to lose patience

with the security chief. The womens dueling edginess

would quickly become as volatile as a mix of matter

and antimatter.

Realistic is a quantum torpedo, Cors i snapped.

You think sweet-talking a Tholian at this point is-

People!

Duffy was as surprised as everyone else when the

word exploded from his mouth with such force and

volume. All eyes turned to him, and no one said any-thing

for several seconds, the only sounds audible in

the room being that of the ventilation system and the

omnipresent hum of the ships engines.

Taking a moment to clear his throat, he began again

in a more reserved tone. People, dont think for a

minute that Captain Scott isnt doing everything he

can on his end to keep us here. Dont stop believing

that Captain Gold isnt working to get the Defiant to

our side of the rift.

He paused, focusing on Corsi as she sat cross-armed

in her chair. But were not disobeying any

order that comes from Starfleet. For now, though,

well focus on doing everything we can until that

order comes down.

Silence hung in the briefing room as Duffy asserted

his command over his fellow officers and friends. He

racked his mind for some words of support and con-fidence,

the kind of statements that seemed to roll off

Captain Golds tongue in tough situations. Now was

the time to be a captain, but all he felt like was a

babysitter trying to quell a squabble between sisters

while Mom and Dad were at the holotheater.

I cant very well send them to their rooms.

A flash of amber light caught Duffys eye as it

glowed on the tabletop near Faulwells hand. The lin-guist

tapped a control on the keypad near his arm,

then looked up at Duffy with sympathetic eyes.

Its an incoming message from Starfleet

Command. Do you want to take it in private?

Duffy shook his head. No. Put it on the viewer.

As Captain Scotts wizened face filled the screen on

the briefing rooms wall, Duffy felt some of the groups

tension seep away. The engineers creased visage, his

friendly eyes, and the hint of a smile were just what

everyone needed at that very moment.

Its not the worst news Ill be bringin ye, Mr.

Duffy, the face on the viewer began, but the situa-tion

isnt good.

Steeling himself for the report, Duffy nodded.

Were ready.

Scott drew a breath before continuing. Our

ambassador to the Tholians is recommending that we

scrap the mission. He wants the Federation to for-mally

apologize to the commander of the ship ye fired

on, and to the Magistrates of the Assembly. He says

were on the brink of losin it all as far as relations are

concerned, and that the Defiant isnt worth it.

Duffys mind was numbed by Scotts words, which

echoed those of Abramowitz moments before. Rather

than lose his focus, though, Duffy fell back on his

ready wit. And exactly how is this not the worst

news, Captain?

Scott allowed a small smile before replying. Weve

got the support of Admiral Ross, and that carries a lot

of weight with the Federation Council. The admiral is

arguing for the da Vinci to hold its position, saying

that it was poor frame of mind and the effects of

interspace, not a botched cooperative effort, that led

us to this point. He says that it just might be the

Tholians who do the apologizin once this is all over.

Releasing a breath, Duffy relaxed a bit. So what do

we do in the meantime?

Tell me how your repairs are farin.

It was a question Duffy hadnt expected, as he had

explained to the S.C.E. leader in detail during their

earlier conversation just what damage the starship

had suffered. All systems are operational except for

the warp drive, just like-

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DaytonWard&KevinDilmoreThisbookisaworkoffiction.Names,characters,placesandincidentsareproductsoftheauthorsimaginationorareusedfictiously.Anyresemblancetoactualeventsorlocalesorpersons,liv-ingordead,isentirelycoincidental.AnOriginalPublicationofPOCKETBOOKSPOCKETBOOKS,adivisionofSimon&Schuster,Inc.Ave...

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