Lieutenant Commander Maruu held her medical probe up to Garek Loran's head. The flashing red lights circled around, taking in readings which were fed into the medical tricorder. Dana looked at the medical tricorder, and then into Garek's eyes, as if to see into his soul.
"Garek, I don't know what to say. My readings say that you're fine." Garek sighed, looking at the floor. He then looked up at Dana.
"It feels as though I have a constant splitting headache. Even worse, then having to listen to my engineers." Garek smiled, and then placed his elbows on his knees reaching up torub his temples.
"I can give you something for the pain if you want. Some painkillers maybe?"
"Pills or injections?" Garek asked.
"Either."
"I'll go with pills."
Dana disappeared over into the second ward and then returned with a small tube filled with small blue pills. "All right, two of these about every four to six hours or so. No more then three in a one hour time span. Got it?"
"You're a life saver, Dana." Garek smiled, and took the tube of pills.
"Call me if you need anything else," Maruu called as Garek exited Sickbay.
Garek entered his quarters and looked around. Gratefully, the alternate version of himself didn't do anything to them. At least, nothing that he could see. From what he heard from Francesca Milano, he had spent most of the time in the ship's library.
Garek opened the tube that Dana had given him and popped a pill into his mouth. Garek made his way over to his quarter's small sink and grabbed a glass. He filled it, and took a drink, washing the pill down. As soon as this happened, an immense wave of pain came over him, moving through his head. Garek gave off a horrible yell, but managed to tap his com badge. "Loran to Sickbay..."
Garek drifted into unconsciousness.
[Garek?] Dana's voice was heard over the com badge's smallspeaker unit. [Garek, are you there? Hello?]
Once again, Garek Loran was in Sickbay. However, this time he was unconscious. The massive waves of emotions, thoughts, and feelings had knocked him unconscious from the power the wave had.
"What happened to him?" Captain Maruu asked. He stood at the side of Garek's biobed, looking the Chief Engineer over.
"That's the thing, I don't know exactly," Dana replied. She then began her explanation. "Betazoids, as we all know, have empathic abilities. They can read minds, sense emotions, read people's feelings, et cetera. However, one thing that I'm not sure of is why he's had headaches such as these. I have discovered one thing, though. When a Betazoid comes of age, their empathic abilities hit their peak. However, the symptoms aren't listed, and we don't have any record of someone going through these transitions."
"You think Garek might have hit his peak?" Captain Maruu asked, concerned.
"I don't know, Stephen. I just don't know. The only thing we can do is sit and wait."
Garek awoke and looked around. He was standing on what appeared to be a floating asteroid in the middle of space. Off in the distance was what appeared to be the Virgo, and near it was a large moon.
Well, this is nice, Garek thought or, for all practical purposes, dreamt.
"Greetings," a voice from behind Garek called. Garek quickly snapped himself around to check out the person that had greeted him. The being was about Garek's height, with blue, scaly skin. It's head came up into the form of that of a squid, with large eyes mounted on the side of it's head. The barbells around its mouth wobbled as it spoke.
"Who are you?" Garek asked, as he looked the creature up and down.
"I am Karel," the creature responded. "You are passing through our space."
"Your space?" Garek asked. "Needless to say I'm slightly confused. How am I standing on an asteroid in space?"
"You merely perceive that you are," Karel responded. His barbells twitched as he spoke. "Our species cannot be seen, except by those who have highly attuned empathic abilities. We exist in a different plane."
"A different plane?" Garek asked, slightly intrigued. "I don't understand. Why haven't you made contact with any other members of my crew? We have other empaths onboard the Virgo. Why me?"
"Your abilities were the only one's powerful enough to establish contact with." The creatures eyes blinked.
I must have reached the "Hightening", Garek thought. The "Hightening" was the time in every Betazoid's life where their empathic abilities hit their highest point of activity. The ages varied in most Betazoid's from anywhere from their teenage years up to their late thirties. Garek's "Hightening" obviously hit somewhere in the middle of these times.
"Well, I guess this would constitute as a 'First Contact' situation. I'm Lieutenant Commander Garek Loran of the Federation Starship Virgo." The creature gave what appeared to be a smile.
Captain Maruu sat in his chair on the Bridge of the Virgo. Commander Lataro was walking along the rail of the bridge, looking over officer's shoulders as they went about their duties.
Suddenly, the Virgo rocked, not giving any chance for the inertial dampeners to counteract. People flew from their chairs, and hit the deck hard.
"What in the hell happened?!" Maruu yelled out.
"We appeared to have hit a type of "quick sand" pocket of space, sir." Lieutenant Valdago was just as surprised at what he was saying as much as Captain Maruu was.
"Care to explain?"
"Sir, the anomaly that Lieutenant Valdago is referring to is known as the 'Sandtrap'," began Lieutenant Jenara Tomme. "It's a part of space heavily distorted by warp flights. This distortion caused by subspace pollution can create a dangerous pocket if not corrected by flux pollution inhibitors. When a ship gets stuck in one of these pockets and gives more thrust, they only get stuck even more." Lt. Tomme straightened out her hair which was knocked out of place when she was knocked out of her seat.
"So the more we pull, the more it pulls back?" Commander Lataro asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Jenara's right. The more I try to move forward, the more I get pulled back in," K'Lara added from the helm.
"Structural integrity is down to 90 percent. Each time we pull, we lose more of it," Lieutenant Wallace chimed infrom the Tactical console.
"All stop." Captain Maruu ordered. Could've used that ablative armor now, Maruu thought to himself. "Why keep pulling when we're not going anywhere? If I assume right, we won't get pulled in even deeper if we don't struggle?"
"Well, sir," Jenara started, "tough to say. Chances are we'll still sink, just not as quickly."
"I don't like that answer much either." Maruu quieted himself for a moment to think. "All right, let's start working on a way to get us out of this thing. I'm going down to Sickbay to see if it's safe to awaken Commander Loran. Jonathan, you have the bridge."
"Aye, Captain," Commander Lataro called after Maruu as he left the Bridge.
Doctor Maruu scanned Garek's body to make sure the "little" bump they hit hadn't done anything to any of his organs and such.
"Dana, can we wake him up?" Stephen asked as he enteredSickbay.
"I don't know," Dana turned to face him. "I really don't want to chance it. Waking him up may put major stress on his neural cortex."
"Well, right now we don't have much of a choice. We've got a situation brewing. If you're willing to risk it we'll have to take a chance."
"Of course, Stephen," Dana called back.
"What are you looking at?" Karel asked, as he walked over beside Garek. "It's the stars..." Garek drifted off for a moment. Then another wave of emotions hit him.
Anxiety, despair, agitation.
"Something's happening. It's... coming from the Virgo."
"Yes, it is." Karel replied, looking at Garek with one of his eyes. His eyes closed, and he exhaled slowly. "They are trapped."
"Trapped?" Garek nearly yelled out. "How? Where?"
"They have come across one of our nets."
"Nets? Explain."
"We use the nets to stop space going vessels."
"Why would you do that though?"
"To stop them, obviously." Karel glared at Garek. "They pollute our space and disturb us in our state of being. We put up the nets to detour them from flying through this area."
"How will anyone learn not to fly through their space if they cannot get out of your nets?"
"Their people learn from example. The people that fall into the nets are examples to their people, not to pass through this area."
Garek was speechless. They would let a crew of people die to protect their peace and quiet. They didn't even offer assistance to ships that entered their nets. He was going to have to inform the crew of the Virgo, but how?
"Karel, is it possible for me to go back to my ship?"
"Of course," Karel said. He paused for a moment."If you insist on going back to your ship and helping them get free from our net, you are welcome to. However, I cannot tell you how to do so. The elders created the nets, and we have yet to know how they created them. If you are to discover a way out, it would be on your own."
"Well, thanks for your help," Garek replied. Amazing the mental capacities of these creatures. Garek closed his eyes momentarily.
When he opened them, he was staring at the Sickbay onboard the Virgo.
"He's coming to," Dana said, looking at Garek. Captain Maruu walked over, to get a look for himself.
"Welcome back to the world of the waking." Stephen gave a smile. Garek swung his legs off the bio bed and stood up, catching his bearings.
"I have to get to Engineering. We've got problems." Garek brushed pass the two without saying a word and left Sickbay.
"How did he know?" Dana asked. Stephen shrugged, without knowing himself.
"Hey, Chief!" Ensign Jacobsen yelled out as Garek entered Engineering. All of the teams were brought on duty during times of emergency, and this was no exception. Ensign Antilles had been running things in Garek's absence and was relieved to see that the Chief Engineer was back on duty. Garek nodded his head as he passed behind Jacobsen.
"Sir, am I glad that you're here," Jennifer started. "We're stuck..."
"...in a type of subspace anomaly like quicksand, and we have to get out before we're permanently stuck here and die. Yeah, I got that part." Jennifer looked on, slightly confused and astounded that Garek knew what was going on, even when he was unconscious in Sickbay. Does he ever sleep? she thought.
"All right, here's what I plan to do. I want to angle the ship moving the ship's primary hull down into the anomaly itself. Then, with the navigational deflector we'll use it as a type of spring to push us up and out of the main chunk of this thing. Then, if we go full reverse thrust while using the navigational deflector, we should be able to pull ourselves out of this thing, and then get out. Any questions?" Garek looked around. "Good. Jacobsen, get on those simulations. Wiley, get the navigational deflector running at 150 percent. Antilles, get the warp core up to maximum efficiency, and Celchu, you're with me. Let's move people."
Jacob Celchu walked over to Garek. "You want me to accompany you, sir?"
"Yes, you and I are going up to see the Captain."
"Sir?"
"I like to perform in front of an audience." Jacob shook his head, and grinned. Then, he followed the Chief Engineer to the Bridge.
After a few minutes in the Captain's ready room with the Captain and Commander Lataro, Garek explained his plan to the two senior officers. Jacob entered his comments edgewise, to strengthen Garek's case, and the two both agreed that this plan could work. Lataro looked over at Maruu, and he in turn looked back.
Maruu then looked at the two engineers. "Would you both please leave the room for a moment?" Garek nodded, and Jacob followed him out. As soon as the doors closed, the two senior officers started conversing.
"Do you think it'll work?" Stephen asked. Lataro looked out the window.
"It sounds as if it will. I'm just more concerned and fascinated at the fact that no one briefed him on what was happening, yet he knew, and devised a plan to get us out as if it had happened before."
"I know. Needless to say, I'm rather intrigued as well. Can we trust that this will work?"
Maruu looked up from his chair at the XO.
"It sounds as a good a plan as any," said Lataro.
"Come in." The two engineers entered the room again."Go ahead with your plan, and get us out of here. If you need any resources, please contact us."
"Aye, sir," both Garek and Jacob replied in unison. They then turned and made thier way towards the ready room doors.
"Oh, and Garek," Maruu added.
"Yes, sir?"
"I would like to talk to you in private when this is over."
"Yes, Captain." The two made their way out of the ready room.
Nearly three hours had passed since the conversation in the Captain's ready room. The engineers had finished their tasks, and now this was the moment of truth. Garek looked at his PADD and went down the checklist he had prepared.
"Antilles?"
"Warp core is at 99.5 efficiency, sir," Antilles yelled back, standing at a control console on the warp core's guardrail.
"Celchu?"
[We're ready up here, sir,] Jacob's voice replied over the intercom. He was on the bridge with Lieutenant Commander Lataro. He would watch the engineering displays on a side panel, and inform her to make course corrections when needed.
"Wiley?"
Ensign Wiley was in the navigational deflector control room, monitoring the deflector dish's output and stress levels. "We're running at 99 percent, Boss."
"Jacobsen?"
"Engineering teams are ready to go."
"Good." Garek looked around and took a deep breath. On the outside he appeared cool and collective. On the inside it was much worse. He had a constant headache, butterflies in his stomach, and was suffering from severe anxiety. He would definitely need to get some sleep after they were out of this thing.
He then tapped his com badge. "Captain, we're ready to proceed."
[Understood. Go ahead, the Virgo's yours for now.]
Garek stood at the craps table monitoring the different panels which were displaying science readings, tactical readings, and operations displays. The nerve center of the ship was now being displayed on the consoles in front of him.
"All right, let's go. Wiley, bring the deflector up to fullpower for 10 seconds. Then, power down and engage program Escape 03."
[Aye, sir.] The reply came in crisp and clear.
Program Escape 03 was the best of the programs that they had run. What would happen is that the Navigational deflector would work by establishing a type of shielded bubble in which thrusters would be engaged pushing them out of the distortion. Then, shell would be dropped, allowing the distortion to fill the gap which the deflector occupied. Then, they would once again activate the deflector which would push the ship upwards through the distortion some more. They best estimates they could come upwith was after five repetitions, they would be clear enough to swing the ship on its y-axis bringing the saucer of the ship upwards, at which time they could engage the warp engines, and get away from this area. A loud hum could be heard as the deflector dish projected it's invisible field of energy which pushed the Virgo upwards.
"Engage the thrusters," Garek spoke into his com badge.
K'Lara engaged the rearward thrusters, pushing the ship upwards some more while the deflector was running. Celchu watched, closely monitoring the effects of the graviton distortions on the aft section of the ship. The hull integrity of the Virgo would have to be in pristine condition in order to allow a high enough warp propulsion to get free. However, both he and Garek had a surprise planned.
[Structural integrity falling in the back end.]
"All stop, shut down deflector."
[Aye!] Wiley's voice came back over the intercom.
"Get engineering teams to where the reports of structural integrity began to fall. Let's get out of here in one piece."
"I'm on it, sir." Jacobsen called back. He gathered a group of engineers, and made his way towards aft of the ship.
Half an hour had passed, and Garek had figured that they would be free after going about another 20 meters. After that, Jacob and Garek would spring their surprise.
[All right, everyone,] Garek said from engineering, [one more push. Wiley, bring the deflector online. Celchu, ready thrusters.]
"Aye, sir." Celchu responded. He looked at his panel, and then watched as the projection of the navigational deflector's energy field activated.
[Go ahead, Commander."]
"Here we go," K'Lara added. She activated the thrusters. The Virgo moved up slowly. "It's like trying to push a piece of wood broadside through water."
"Watch it, K'Lara. Don't talk about my ship like that." Stephen smiled.
"Sorry, sir." K'Lara grinned.
"Five more meters." Jacob watched with anticipation. "Three meters. Two meters. One meter. We're free!"
The eruptions of joy and cheers could be heard throughout the ship. Their plan had worked, now, to get out of here.
[Jacob, engage program Escape Beta 10.]
"Aye, sir." Jacob smiled. The time he had been waiting for. From his panel, he entered an access code, and it brought up a schematic of the transwarp drive activation device. Garek's activation code was already entered, along with Jennifer Antilles's, Marcus Jacobsen's , and Eric Wiley's.
Hope everyone buckled up, Celchu grinned, and entered his activation code. The schematics showed the transwarp activator powering up.
"Come on, come on," Garek said to himself. He watched the large apparatus built onto the side of the reaction chamber begin to power up. The injection system began glowing green, and then, it finished. "Bingo!" The Virgo's warp engines powered up, and a small tube began to form in front of the Virgo itself. Then, with a flash of a bluish, greenlight of the warp core, the Virgo entered a transwarp conduit for the first time without structural damage.
"Sir, I must be reading this wrong." K'Lara drew herself away from her celebration and looked at the warp speed indicator.
"What is it K'Lara?" Jon Lataro asked.
"The speed is indicating that we're going way faster than maximum warp! We're at a speed of warp 24 and rising!"
"What?!" Jon yelled out. Both he and Stephen walked over to the control panel. Jacob stood there, with a beaming smile on his face, his arms crossed across his chest.
"What's going on?" Captain Maruu asked.
"Garek wanted the ship to go out with a bang. Consider the Virgo transwarp compatible." Jacob smiled, and quietly made his way off of the Bridge, and down to Engineering.
Engineering was alive with celebration. Streamers had been 'smuggled' into Engineering by someone, and were being thrown about. Unbeknownst to Garek, Ensign Wiley had been able to get ahold of a champagne-type drink from one of their shore leave stops earlier. Holding the bottle's neck with a death grip, he began removing the wrapper on top of the cork, and then uncorked the bottle. The cork flew across engineering, banging off of thewarp core's reaction assembly, and then hitting a bulkhead coming to a stop on the floor. He then reached for some glasses and started dispensing the beverage among his fellow engineers and colleagues.
The doors to Engineering opened, and Commander Lataro and Captain Maruu walked in. Everyone became silent and the engineers made a vein attempt to put their drinks behind their backs.
Maruu looked around, noticing pieces of brightly colored, metallic ribbon and small pieces of confetti and streamers overchairs and consoles.
"What is this?" he asked, looking around.
"Just a small celebration, sir," Garek replied."We've freed the ship from a spatial distortion that could have drained us of all our power over time and killed us. We've got a working transwarp drive, and no one was hurt." Garek walked over to the Captain, and looked into his eyes. "Is that a problem, sir?"
Maruu looked around. "It can be. I'll allow it on one condition."
"Yes, sir?" Garek asked.
"You pour me and Commander Lataro here some of the champagne you smuggled aboard." A broad smile formed on Garek's face.
"Can do, sir." He then turned around to face his wild bunch. "You heard the Captain. Get the man a drink!" He was greeted by yell by the crowd.
"You still have the matter of explaining to me exactly why you went into unconsciousness, along with those headaches. I don't want you injured to the point where you can't preform your duties."
Garek handed the Captain a glass of champagne, and suddenly felt a wave of warmth come over him, like being wrapped up in a blanket. "I'll explain later, sir."
Maruu nodded, and smiled. He then patted the Chief Engineer on the back, and, within a few minutes, it seemed like the whole ship had made their way into Engineering for a party.