Getting Rid of the Intruder

Over the com the message went out, [All senior staff report to the Conference Lounge.]

Captain Devore came rushing into the conference room with Dr. Clairidge behind him. As he entered he yelled, "Computer. Cut off all power to the conference lounge. Minimal Life Support. Lock doors."

<Warning: Oxygen levels in the conference room will be depleted in 20 minutes.>

"Fine. Authorization. Devore Alpha 3 3 3."

<Internal Power Cut off.>

The crew sat around the table almost in shock at what they heard. Most began to question his sanity, but Toran trusted the Captain. There was something he knew and in time he would tell them.

"Okay listen to me," Devore said urgently as he took his place at the head of the table. "Wait till I tell you what I want then you will give me your input. Understood? Don't answer. Okay, this 'intruder' is mainly a hologram right Mr. Hansen?"

"Yes sir?" He said questioningly.

"Our holoemitters are subject to descrambling with an intense pulse of tachyon emission. If the emitter go off line, so does are friend."

"But sir, the Holmon is not just a hologram. It is intelligent life," Clairidge said.

"Who is out to destroy this ship and its crew. I will not have that," Devore said urgently. "Listen. I gamma radiation will disrupt its pattern when Holmon is materialized but if it is in the emitter, then the tachyon burst will take care of that. Now as far as the corrupted systems we just have to initiate tachyon bursts systematically eventually pushing the Holmon pattern to the transporter buffers where we will rematerialize him.

" Lieutenant Rhoukann, I want you to make sure the bursts are systematic leading to transporter room 2. Lieutenant Hansen you take off line the entire propulsion and shipwide systems. Dr. Clairidge, you move the crew into cargo bays 1 and 2 and maintain minimal life support. Then Ensign Barker. Here is where your job is most important. After we have rematerialized Holmon in the transporter, I want you to flood all the decks with gamma radiation, enough to make living there for the hologram unbearable. That will keep him imprisoned in the buffer so that we can just simply eject it into the void of space. Any questions?"

"Sir, is there anything I need to do?" Harris asked puzzedly.

"Lieutenant. I need you to to be in transporter room 2 with Lieutenant Toran. When and if he tries to reemerge solid, blast him. I am not concerned with keeping him alive. After all, he is already dead."

"So basically you are going to shut down the ship, flood it with gamma radiation and irradicate everything with tachyon bursts?" Hansen asked shivering now with life support out.

"Yes that is exactly my plan."

"Okay then I have another question. Why did you turn everything off here in the lounge?" Warrant Officer Ambrose asked.

"Mr. Ambrose, Holmon can be anywhere and everywhere. But without a medium for him to get here he can't be here in the lounge with us. I don't want him to know what we are doing."

"Yes sir," Ambrose said.

"Okay. Let's do it. Barbara, start to move the crew. DO NOT use the com badges. Word of mouth."

"Yes sir." She said.

The crew left the lounge. "Computer resume power to the conference lounge."

<Power Restored>

It was 2025, and the preparations were just about complete. Captain Devore sat in the command chair looking around the bridge. On the bridge, Lieutenant Rhoukann sat at his console monitoring the condition of the ship.

"Captain, Dr. Clairidge reports the entire crew is in cargo bays." Rhoukann said.

"Very well. Spec teams suit up and prepare for pulse," Devore said. He had ordered that the teams not in the cargo bay or transporter to wear environmental suits. When the ship's life support goes off line, the ship will get cold fast and very inhospitable for the crew. "Mr. Ambrose. All stop. secure all stations and pull the plug."

"Aye sir." With a punch of a few buttons, the Leviathan came to a full stop.

"Okay everyone to my ready room. I will be there in 40 seconds." Devore said. He pressed a few buttons on the arm con panel. Devore began the countdown for the tachyon pulse in 30 seconds, it gave him time to get to safety. "All hands prepare for pulse."

From space the Leviathan looked like a lifeless hulk. No lights were on, the deflector dish was off, and the inside there was nothing but darkness. Never had Devore seen such a sight as he sat in his chair looking out the window. He saw the port nacelle barely or rather the silhouettes of the powerful engines and barely the side of engineering. He never noticed how much he could see from his window.

<Tachyon Pulse in 10 seconds.>

[Captain. This is Ensign Barker.]

"Go ahead Chu." Devore said.

<8>

[Sir all is a go. Gamma radiation is ready to fill the non occupied decks.]

<6>

"Good Chu. On my mark."

<4>
<3>
<2>
<1>

<Tachyon Pulse initiated.> From the bridge, a bright light seeped from the bottom of the door to the Captain's ready room. Then in disappeared. Devore thought he heard a scream as intense light disappeared. "Chu. Now!"

[Initiating Gamma Radiation]

Xavier Holmon was in the circuitry when the tachyon emissions hit him. It was as if being swept by superheated water his holographic skin started to sear with heat. "No! What is this?" Holmon thought. The pain of the tachyons touching him was enough for him to go away- far away from the imminent danger. He followed the circuitry to different parts of the ship but as he did, another sweeping motion came and funneled him aft. "What is going on?"

The bursts continued and as they came Holmon retreated. Immediately he noticed one path way which he had no choice either go that way or be irradicated. So he did. *Maybe if I get out of this circuitry this may be okay. *

He followed one network of circuits down to a plasma conduit. The conduit he noticed was to a transporter. Not thinking he entered it. As if being tickled from the feet up, he felt a tingling sensation that he knew all to familiar.

"NO, NO"

"Captain, This is Lieutenant Harris. We have him." Lieutenant Harris said from inside of Transporter Room 3.

[Good Work!] Devore said.

"Erect a level 15 security force field around the buffer which contain the pattern," Harris said to Toran.

The emergency field came up and encircled the station that contained the buffer assembly, as Devore came into the transporter room. "Okay. Lieutenant Toran. Lock on to that thing and beam it out to space.. how about max range of our transporter.. say about 5000 km off our port bow."

"Sir? Are max range is only 1000 km. Energizing that far off will destroy the assembly." Toran said.

Devore looked at Toran and smiled, "You don't say, old man."

"Understood, Captain." Toran said as he energized.

The buffer assembly containing the pattern of Holmon beamed off of the Leviathan. As the transporter beam reach 1000 km it started to degrade. As it reached 2000 km the beam had diffused itself in space, and finally by 5000 km the beam was just a speck of dust within it a tiny voice screaming and yelling, "NO!"

"All hands this is the Captain. Secure from power down mode. Lieutenant Hansen start up the impulse reactor, lets get her underway. Great job everyone. Devore out!"

Lieutenant Harris stood near Captain Devore and outstretched his hand, "Good Job Captain."

Taking his hand, "Good Job XO."