Make it Go

[Kaylana Cornette]

Precious time they didn't have was ticking by and Kay grew impatient. She clamped her teeth tightly together and clenched her fists in slow succession to keep herself from asking for progress reports every 15 minutes. She had captained long enough that giving orders had grown easy. Ordering her staff for answers, however, didn't mean the answers were forthcoming.

She rose and stood behind Nik's shoulder. The young science officer's body tensed slightly at her presence. He desperately wanted to give her the answers she needed. This time, not only to please her, but to save the crew's lives. The pressure on him was squeezing beads of perspiration from his brow.

"Nik..." the Captain's voice soothed. "Do you think we're... I mean, our bodies.. are we still solid... are we still the same makeup of our old dimension or are we now phased-in to this hell hole dimension?"

Nik paused a second and blinked as if the idea hadn't occurred to him yet. "I don't think we would know. Everything we see and touch would be of the same dimension... just like the one we came from... so how could we tell?"

Kay folded her arms and leaned against his console. "I was just thinking. Are these microscopic demons something that can live outside this area of space? And, if so, do we risk taking them back with us should we find a way out?"

Nik turned and met her eyes. He was following her train of thought now.

"I don't like it either," Kay answered his unspoken thoughts. "Those scans are showing that they can swarm outside the ship - meaning they can survive in the vacuum of space. But, does that mean they can survive in our space?"

Nik didn't have an answer. "I don't know, Captain." How he wished he did.

Kay turned her face away from his gaze. "I'll need to know the moment you do. I'll need you and TEG to arm the self-destruct."

She left Nik's side and resumed her impatient waiting. Reading through the reports, she found her brief absence from the readout produced 4 more dead and 27 more infected.

[Lorna Holsen]

4 dead and 27 infected. The numbers rang in Lorna's brain. She always felt it when a member of her crew died. To have three die alone in their quarters hurt worse than a knife to the shoulder or a plasma whip to the arm. Neither of those was metaphorical. So far Lorna herself wasn't on the infected list but she was still quarantined with the medical staff. She hadn't completely understood what she had been told about these things but so far no one had ruled out that exposure increased your risk of contacting them. Six of her medical staff were on the infected list but so far none of them had died. As much as she hated the prospect, at the moment Lorna had to admit that it was very likely that there would be further deaths and if one of those was on her team that would hurt worse.

Lorna was tiring, not that this was surprising, that was the only reason her empathic control slipped. She shivered suddenly feeling cold. It wasn't her feeling she was sure of that she wanted to turn the temperature in sickbay up but knew that the temperature hadn't really dropped.

Fighting against a reflexive shiver Lorna tapped her comm badge.

=/\=Doctor Holsen to Captain Cornette, there is definitely a mind with these parasites. I didn't get any indication of intelligence but there's a powerful instinct there and it's cold.=/\=

Tag: Captain / Nik

[Michael Aarons]

OFF: Did you forget Benson or did you mean none of the six infected had thus died?
ON:
"Why do I have to get blown up just because this stupid plan didn't work?" thought the ship... well, thought Aarons, whose ego is the size of the ship... anyway... Michael sat looking forward, the ship slowly spiraling into the abyss. As the time bled off, Michael watched and observed as the captain showed great restrain in her actions all the while wanting to yell out 'hey Captain!--Want to know what's going on!?'

Down in Engineering, TEG had the remarkable chance to ignore a rather vulgar game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who would dislodge the hand of the guy who exploded while ascending one of the ladders. For a very brief moment it became a curious thought what should happen if the aliens on board should start to explode; the ones without the iron based blood.

In one of the science departments, a senior officer had to step in against the passing out of phasers in case of wanting to 'off yourself' if you felt it coming.

"Captain, I recommend we turn the warp engines off. It may even halt these things' intrusion into the ship for the time being." The captain was apprehensive at first but with little reason against submitted. With that, Aarons deactivated the warp drive and the warp core fell silent.

[Deleted]

Xin-Ling watched with interest the impatience of her new captain. Not that she blamed her – she didn’t. The urgency of the medical dilemma the crew of the Majesty found themselves in was pressing, to say the least. If only the disease was something large, some tyrannical humanoid opponent that could be faced with the weaponry available or with the application of her special skills or weapons, she could do something. As it was, she felt helpless.

All these things passed through her mind, though, as was her custom, she displayed neither the slightest clue what troubled her, nor that she was disturbed. Outwardly, the onlooker could only see that she watched the events transpiring on the bridge with interest.

Kay folded her arms and leaned against [Nik’s] console. "I was just thinking. Are these microscopic demons something that can live outside this area of space? And, if so, do we risk taking them back with us should we find a way out?"

Nik turned and met her eyes. He was following her train of thought now.

"I don't like it either," Kay answered his unspoken thoughts. "Those scans are showing that they can swarm outside the ship - meaning they can survive in the vacuum of space. But, does that mean they can survive in our space?"

"I don't know, Captain.”

Kay turned her face away from his gaze. "I'll need to know the moment you do. I'll need you and TEG to arm the self-destruct."

She left Nik's side and resumed her impatient waiting. Reading through the reports, she found her brief absence from the readout produced 4 more dead and 27 more infected.

Xin-Ling debated with herself whether she should comment. It seemed to simplistic a solution, but the seriousness of the situation made her proceed.
“Captain,” she cautiously began, “would it be too dangerous to run small test? Perhaps we leave area only slightly while we monitor microbes outside ship. If they die, we are free to go; if they live, we come back here.

“Or maybe we capture some in container that contain medical tricorder and monitor from here?”

Unsure of the soon-to-be-voiced response, the Asian Warrior waited the outcome. Perhaps, if her suggestion were not helpful, since she had no pressing need to be on the bridge at this time, she would seek permission to retire to her cabin to think further on the matter.

<Tag – Captain and/or others>

[Lorna Holsen]

OOC: Had forgotten about Benson. Let's apply a stretchy timeline...

Lorna had barely closed her comm to the Captain when Nurse T'Sen approached. T'Sen looked unflappable as usual but there was a tightness around her eyes that Lorna read as serious worry.

"Doctor Benson has collapsed and is breaking out in pustules..."

Lorna cursed as she ran back to the main area of sickbay, Ensign Olivia Benson was a 24 year old married mother of one who had been the doctor on duty when Crewman Juarez had come in. Olivia had been the first member of the medical staff to be put on the infected list now her disease had progressed to the next step. Lorna's gut twisted, this was the worst part of being a medic. So far there had been no progress on containing the parasites, and so all Lorna could do was try desperately to stay ahead of the pain. Unless something miraculous happened in the next ten minutes or so Olivia was going to die. Lorna knew that, Olivia knew that and all the rest of the medical staff in sickbay knew it. Lorna was standing next to Olivia's biobed, hypospray in hand monitoring the lifesigns. She knew she had an audience but didn't want to look away, Olivia was too far gone to care. It was simple choice now either Lorna could administer a complete neural blocker and allow Olivia to die now in peace or not administer the blocker and giver her maybe ten to fifteen minutes of agony that would probably wreak her sanity. There was no choice to be made. Lorna pressed the hypo to Olivia's neck, she fancied she saw the other woman smile. She stood in silence by the biobed until the monitors all flatlined. In that moment Lorna was very glad that she was the only empath on the medical staff. She counted to fifty in silence and then turned to continue her duties. The rest of the sickbay staff had returned to their duties by the time Lorna turned.

She hated that sort of decision, she'd seen them made back on the Endeavour during the war, too many injured, not enough staff, not enough supplies... She'd made them before herself. She would never forget. She would always remember the faces of those she had had no choice but to let die painlessly. Cris knew about the dreams, but for now Lorna would hold it together no matter what the personal cost, if she crumbled then she wasn't fit to do what she did.

5 dead 26 infected. The numbers continued to ring in Lorna's mind

[Michael Aarons]

OFF: Well I like what you did with Benson; I was sweating the nomenclature up until now. Although I'm more keen on my high-strung thriller take on her death and it would probably have been simpler to have just said it was none of the six infected that had died than none of the medical staff period. You're doing a great job though.
ON:
The Engineering staff were hushed by the sudden stop of the warp core. It was up to TEG to call the bridge for a report.

"Captain, did we shut off the warp engines?" For some reason Kay looked toward Michael.

"I want to save power. If we are going to be held up here, I don't want to be without precious power," she hated ending on alliteration. "Not until after someone devises a plan of action." The lie was common but practical. There was no need for anyone to know that the ship was stalemated in its own spot or be under the belief that the 'Killer Frost' would share a correlation with the operation or presence of the warp core. The likelihood that it would come back on line once a solution was crafted served as inspiration for others to focus on their work and find a way out of the crisis.

The infected areas of the ship had increased outward from Engineering. It was inevitable that, regardless of contagion, the 'Abominable Snowflake' was going make its way to whatever victim it chose. TEG made his way to the bridge. As he moved toward the turbolift he hailed the bridge.

"Captain, I'm on my way back up but..." The captain bolted straight up.

"No!" TEG was startled by her reaction. "I'll meet you halfway." Kay got up and headed for the turbolift herself. She stopped and turned around. She looked at Michael. "Watch the bridge."

"Yes Captain."

"Nik..."

"Yes Captain?"

"Tackle him if he gives an order."

"Yes Captain." Kay entered the turbolift, the others just looked at each other.

On the decks below, TEG watched as Kay exited the turbolift and quick-stepped up to him.

"Captain, with the warp core offline, its going to be difficult to prepare the auto-destruct contingency." It had not been his intent to be droll in his skewed priorities but it had the benefit of taking away from the malicious situation ravaging the ship.

"My plan is not to solve our problems by blowing up the ship but to prevent any possible danger these things may cause if we take them with us."

"Speaking of our more pressing matter, reports have come in that other crew personnel have become infected even without having contact with another source of the infection like Juarez." Things were getting worse and Kaylanna knew it.

"Tell Dr. Holsen she can lift the quarantine around Sickbay; it's a moot point by now. I want you to oversee things down here."

"Where will you be?"

"On the bridge, why?"

"It's no safer up there."

"I left Aarons in charge."

[Michael Aarons]

Lorna was sparringly relieved to be out of the quarantine. Though it was great to be freed from the confines of it, there was something else to be said about it being unneccesary. Dr. Holsen exited Sickbay. She embraced Cris covered in sweat, tears, and what could inappropriately be called Human life. The first thing she wanted to do was return to her quarters.

Kay wanted to get back to the bridge but as she moved that way, she was suddenly summoned back toward the other parts of the ship. When she got to Engineering, TEG was arriving as well. They glanced each other's way; nothing good could come from any of this. The news was that the Chief Engineer had exploded, leaving a power vacuum and the Majesty without a Chief Engineer.

OFF: Kay/TEG

Lorna cleaned herself and was more poised to heave a sigh of relief. Things would go a lot smoother once she withdrew from the matter and began a fresh start on the problem. She sat where she felt most comfortable and meditated the situation. No chemical solution worked since the parasites conflicted with regular space/time properties and without the bio-filters identifying them effectively, the transporter was useless. Cris sat across from Lorna watching her new wife muddle over the issue.

"So how do these things work?" she asked softly.

"They enter the body and then expand and multiply until the host can no longer take it and then..." Her body language capped off the sentence as Cris listened and watched.

"What with no way to vent..." Lorna's eyes brightened.

"Vent! That's it...! I knew there was a reason I married you."

"I thought it was because you were the only one who could tolerate me." Lorna briefly smiled at her gently as if to say 'that too' and was off to see the captain.

"Neutron radiation!?" the captain stammered for no apparent yet dramatic reason.

"Yes. The parasitic organism won't respond to the conventions of medicine so instead they need to be flushed out the body. Since they respond to warp propulsion, neutron radiation would have influence over them." Lorna was quite rational about the whole endeavor.

"But isn't that deadly?"

"Only in high concentrations. If we only use very low dosages without prolonged exposure then..."

"And you'd cure them?" Lorna's face turned grim.

"Captain... there is no cure. If the parasites don't leave the body after a certain amount, it will become a lethal dose. Death will be certain." The inflection she put on her words were definite. If the exposure didn't displace the parasites out of the body then they were doomed.

[Michael Aarons]

Kay got back to the bridge.

"Oh, hey! Captain's back!" Michael said comfortably sprawled in the command chair.

"This is where you're supposed to get out of the chair." Nik obliged himself to point out.

"No it's not."

"Michael, get out of the chair."

"Now it is." He got up. The captain turned to Greenwood.

"Nik it would really help if you could lend yourself to Engineering. Having dealt with the fact that our CEO is 'spread out very thin' right now, any contributions would really go a long way."

"But I'm a scientist, I come up with all the ideas; engineers are the ones who mess them up."

"Well then you can supervise." Nik just stared at her. "Just do it." Nik looked nervous; the insecurity brought on by the catastrophe befalling the ship's population. He turned to leave taking a final look at his workstation.

Lorna was busy preparing a neutron radiation aparatus. It would require the radiological source to direct the exposure toward the body. The neutrons would normally pass straight through the body while the water inherent to the living body would absorb and scatter most of it. The parasitic organism were born of sub-space and therefore a neutron bombardment would sweep them along out of the body. To further prevent unneccesary irradiation, the subject would need to be soaked so that the ionizing particles are absorbed by the light hydrogen nuclei. The most difficult part was the fact that only so much radiation could be used over a length of time before becoming a lethal dose and there was no gaurantee that any safe amount would be effective.

The machine was ready and Dr. Holsen had to begin exposing the infected personnel to the neutrons.

"You know, they say that infinity x 0 = 1 and therefore 1/0 = infinity. Then for a distance of zero over a time of one inverted would mean of a rate of infinity. Instead of projecting the slipstream ahead of the ship, what would happen if the energy were channeled back through the ship?"

"Are you suggesting that we vibrate the ship across the time/space barrier?" Kay's eyes widened; Michael continued.

"Essentially we've already done that. Elron said that the ship would be enveloped by the slipstream so when we did that the energy was wrapped around us and here we are."

"How come you didn't mention any this when Nik was around?"

"I despise him rolling his eyes at me."

"It's brilliant, it's... an actual idea." At that moment Kay was summoned by Dr. Holsen.

Kay made it down to where Lorna had been running her exorcism machine after having tried to explain for the fiftieth time that Michael had come up with a plan to get them out of there. The doctor chose to make her report discretely.

"Captain, by now at least 60% of the ship's personnel are infected by the parasites. The neutron purge is proving to be effective in ridding the body of the microbes."

"So then you can remove them before it starts to kill everything aboard and hopefully reduce any more of these deaths?"

"It's not that simple..." Lorna gave no reassurances. "As I say this now, 20% of this crew will die before any of this is over, I'm sorry." There was no hope for these people. Nothing could be done as those who failed to successfully respond to the radiation were simply going to explode. "The only alternative is to offer a more merciful release but as a doctor I am bound that I cannot knowingly act against the health of my patients." Kay slowly moved to where she produce a hand phaser from its storage spot.

"Then under penalty of death I order you to show mercy to those unfortunate souls." Kay held the phaser straight at Lorna's head as she spoke.

"Yes ma'am." They both went to do what they had to do: Kay running the ship and Lorna not getting shot by the captain (and she would too). Just as they were ready to go again, Cris showed up. "What are you doing here? Just needed to say 'hi'?"

"Not exactly..."

Kaylana was overwhelmed as she cried, alone in the corridor. The pain was deep and as the tears poured from her eyes her thoughts turned to the 20% of the crew for which there was no saving that were going to die. As the horror of it all sank in she managed to compose herself. Kay made it to her quarters and as she stood there staring at the articles of an old Earth feminine paradigm was able to tidy herself up and mask the emotional state she was in.

Captain Cornette entered the nearly empty bridge. She found Aarons still managing to stick around.

"I'm surprised you're still here. You've managed to hang in there without losing your nerve."

"It would do me no good to leave, although, my trips to the bathroom have frequented. How is it?"

"It's terrible." She began to tell him about what had been happening.

In Engineering, there was heavy argument over how to iniate Michael's brilliant plan (did I mention brilliant?).

"There's just no way to rig the slipstream drive to form around the ship!"

"Of course there should be."

"No","No way","Uh uh." Some were of the opinion that there was a way while others were reserved. It went around like this until suddenly...

"I could do it for ya'." They turned to find an obtuse but strange little man standing there. He managed to rally the support of both sides before explaining his plans.

"Just who are you?" TEG asked.

"Lt. Smithee, sir."

"So I say to Hawk, 'You what's funny?'" Kay and Michael sat there leaning up against the conn. "'In First Contact, Hawk was the Human pilot not the odd-looking, non-Human Operations Officer.' You know what he said?"

"Quit breaking the Fourth Wall?"

"No! He said, 'You know what's even funnier? In the 22nd and 23rd century, the helmsmen didn't say much.'" Kay chuckled as she stroked his shoulders.

"Ah..." She could feel the imperfection through his uniform shy of the left shoulder. He told her of how in his school years, trying to talk to a girl in the archery club he got shot in the back by someone's arrow. Kay giggled while her fingers moved along his neck illiciting a response. "Do you miss her?" Michael could barely contain his thoughts on Liz Janeway. He would have flipped to have her here but at the expense of her safety was tempered in his response.

"Very much do I miss her." He leaned against Kay depressed. In that moment Engineering called, the plan was ready to go. They climbed to there feet the attempt ready to be made. "Oh, yeah. Happy Birthday." as he kissed her cheek.

[Kaylana Cornette]

Kaylana smiled wryly. The familial birthday kiss on the cheek was a nice gesture born of her uncharacteristic tactile comfort, no doubt. She had always felt like a mother to Aarons. He was so young and impetuous, dramatic with a flair for the comedic. She found him entertaining as well as – and she found it hard to admit – brilliant. At least she didn’t have to tell him that last part.

“Thanks for the birthday wishes. It’s difficult to be celebratory. Maybe I’ll let you buy me a drink after this is over.”

She got up wearily. The mental strain was manifesting as physical exhaustion. She headed for the lift with Michael padding behind her. She scanned the personnel left on the bridge and faltered at whom to leave in charge. “Ensign… what’s your name, ensign?”

“Yoshida, sir,” she rigidly answered.

“You’re in charge while we’re in Engineering.” Kay ignored the panicked look on the baby-faced Ensign as the lift doors closed.

“She will need a change of underwear,” joked Aarons.

Kay laughed louder than the humor of his statement required, mostly to relieve the tension she now felt in every muscle. “Who was it that just admitted to needing to frequent the head when I left him in charge?”

Aarons grinned. His grin turned immediately to shock, however, as he saw the mark on Kay’s hand.

“What? What is it?”

“Your hand.”

Kay, afraid to look but compelled by her need to know complied. The boil was small, red and definitely the hideous telltale sign she was infected.

“Emergency override to deck seven!” Aarons shouted as the lift slowed dramatically.

“Belay that,” Kay said calmly. “I’ll stop by to see the Doc on our way back. First, we need to see if this brilliant idea of yours is going to work.”

[Lorna Holsen]

Neutron bombardment was not Lorna's idea of a good time. Setting up the equipment was time consuming and fiddly. She hated spending the time doing it when people were dying but this seemed to be the only option anyone had been able to come up with.

Lorna was nearly finished setting up the apparatus, she was triple checking the settings, she had seen radiation damage before and would not be responsible for causing it. Still she knew she could not spend as long checking things as she would like. Lives were at stake. In the end she had to apply medical judgement. The first patient was set into the neutron generator. Lorna pressed the activation button and tried not to cross her fingers.

[Kaylana Cornette]

Holsen’s first patient to experience the hopeful cure was doused with water to both protect him and increase the irradiation’s effectiveness. She and an assistant sponged the water over his gown. The wet material clung to his athletic frame belying his present frail state. He was a 27 year old human male named Charles Cross, or Charlie as everyone called him. Lorna had never met him until he arrived six days ago in sickbay. At this point in his ordeal, the pustules had overtaken his entire body and she had to keep him chemically unconscious to get him through the pain. The doctor looked into his face, largely unmarred by the organisms, and gently stroked his cheek.

Folding Charlie’s hands over his chest, Lorna retreated out of the box and pressed the activation button. She held her breath and tried not to cross her fingers as the radiation filled the chamber.



Kay and Michael arrived in Engineering as Nik was finalizing his calculations. Michael immediately surveyed the Science Officer’s work and, without a word, input new factors and tweaked a few algorithms.

“If we weren’t under such dire conditions, I’d take the time to be miffed at you,” Nik puffed.

“And I would take the time to explain to you why you were wrong,” Michael said off-handedly while still looking over Nik’s formulas. After a short while, he looked up at Kay. “I think we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.”

Kay took in a breath sharply. “Alright then, inform the bridge and let’s do it.”



The skin on Cross’s body rippled and undulated as the invaders fought against the radiation. His features remained calm despite his epidermis contorting and heaving all around his face. Suddenly, a hole opened on his chest cavity followed by a gaping wound on his right thigh. Then his left cheek burst apart and fell away in clumps.

Lorna quickly shut down the radiation flow and began flushing the chamber, venting it out a conduit which led outside the ship. She tapped her finger impatiently next to the door release button and gritted her teeth as she watched the radiation reading slowly drop.
Once it was within tolerable levels, she released the door’s pressure lock and bolted inside. Even though Lorna already knew he was dead, she scanned Cross’s body. The large hole in his chest revealed an empty space where his heart should have been. She grimaced and swallowed hard to keep from screaming in frustration. But then, she looked closer at what the Eigler spectrometer was telling her. Cross’s body was completely free of the entities.



Nik and Michael worked in tandem at the engineering consoles while Kay and TEG stood at the ready to assist. Flurries of commands were tapped in by the duo and Kay strained to feel her ship react. However, no movement, no vibration was perceptible. Greenwood and Aarons paused.

“Well?” Kay asked irritated that she couldn’t see, hear or feel any result. She lightly rubbed her left finger over the growing number of pustules forming on her right hand and arm.

“Most of our sensors aren’t calibrated to pick up a reverse slipstream projection,” said Nik.

“But we do have some activity directly to starboard,” interjected Michael.

“Not good,” answered Greenwood. “That looks to be a space-time dilation disturbance. We must have opened it when we reversed the stream.”

“Definitely not good,” cut in TEG. “The readings I’m seeing over here make it out as a quantum singularity.”

“What? How do you get that out of those readings?” Aarons was unconvinced.

“If you invert conventional quantum singularity readings, that’s what they would look like. And I think it’s growing exponentially even though the quantitative values are decreasing.” TEG looked directly at the Captain. “We will be pulled in.”

Kay stared at the console, not seeing anything. She didn’t know what the next step should be. There should be a next step. This whole ordeal was one unanswered problem after another. Her crew was dying horribly and there was no sign of a cure. She silently cursed the day the Majesty pulled into Omicron. How did she ever let Elron and Jack talk her in to doing this to her ship?

“Captain?” TEG lightly gripped her shoulder.

“Gentlemen… we have to abandon ship.”

“Aarons turned in his seat. “What makes you think we can get escape pods through this mess when we can’t get the ship out of here?”

“I don’t,” she answered calmly. “Maybe it’s as simple as a large amount of mass not being able to penetrate outside this hell-bubble, but a small amount of mass – like say, an escape pod – can.”

“Yes,” Nik said a little brighter. “Just like when a person lays on a bed of nails, it won’t puncture the skin… but if they would lay on just one nail…” He trailed off. "A pod might pierce through."

“That works in our normal plane of existence.” Aarons added. “As we’ve seen, our typical laws of physics don’t seem to apply here. And what’s to keep our escape pods from being sucked into the singularity?” He was obviously against leaving the ship.

Kay was emotionless. “Maybe some of the crew will survive. What other choices do we have?”

“Unless we can come up with something in the next few minutes, none,” TEG said solemnly.

A few seconds ticked by while Kay waited, hopeful that another brilliant plan would creep into a nearby brain and they would shout out the answer that would save them all and her ship with only milliseconds to spare just like in the storybooks.

“Give the order, Number One.”



Startled by the voice of the XO, Holsen broke her absorption in her work to figure out what he was saying. She repeated it aloud to assure herself she had heard it right. “Abandon ship?”

In the few hours since Cross’s death, Lorna had managed to isolate those patients who were candidates for neutron radiation treatment. Only those who had moderate to mild infestations could be helped. Cross had simply been too full of the crystalline entities and when the masses swarming inside him rushed to escape, the body tissue exploded out of the way.

She had managed to successfully clear 14 crewmen of their infestations. The healer had begun to feel optimistic. But now, halting her progress to pack up all the injured and leave the ship put her in another dark frame of mind. She thought of all the crew who would be too far infected by the time they set up the apparatus again somewhere – and no one knew where they were going. In her mind, an escape pod would simply be the same problem but on a smaller scale.



Xin Ling Chan was in her quarters when the order to abandon ship came through. Immediately, she headed for the upper decks closest to the outer hull. Once there, her training took over as she methodically herded everyone into the pods. Her gratefulness for drills surfaced as she observed the lack of panic among the crew as they quickly took their places.

Chan moved along the corridors, assigning officers as she went to take charge at each pod entry point and demonstrating, where needed, how to secure the pod doors. She gave each officer in charge what she hoped were rendezvous coordinates. Because no one knew where they were in space time, Chan gave them the ship’s last known position and hoped for a miracle.

[Kaylana Cornette]

OFF: There are some definite places for you to chime in!

ON: As the disciplined chaos swirled around them, Aarons, Greenwood, TEG and Kay huddled near the computer console still searching and hoping for an alternate out.

Soon the population in Engineering thinned and an eerie quiet pervaded. The normal pulse of the warp engines was absent. The core had been shut down hours ago and with everyone leaving, silence engulfed the room. Now the sounds of occasional taps on the console seemed to echo as the four monitored the reverse singularity.

Kay lightly sighed. “It’s time for all of us to leave.”

The four looked at the Captain, knowing if they wanted to survive, they needed to comply, yet none of them wanting to go.

“It wasn’t long enough,” Aarons said quietly.

“What wasn’t long enough?” asked Nik.

“The Majesty’s reign.”

The tiny group all somberly and silently agreed.



Holsen ushered the last patient from sickbay into the escape pod and closed the door. Her next order of business was to find Cris. She made her way to a computer comm. link.

=^=“Computer, locate Cris Lieder.”=^=

=^=”Medic Lieder is in escape pod 1199.”=^=

=^=”Where is pod 1199 located?”=^=

=^=”Escape pod 1199 is located on the Engineering level.”=^=



Moving from deck to deck and surveying the deserted corridors, Xin-Ling Chan concluded that decks two through nine were evacuated. She quickly made her way to the turbolift and found a line of people waiting.

“All the upper deck pods are full,” offered a young crewman. “We’re heading below to the Engineering decks hoping there will be some room for us.”

“No need to cause worry,” Chan comforted. “Enough pods to hold all crew onboard.” She appeared patient to the casual onlooker but inside she was conflicted. She felt very strange leaving a ship she had barely gotten to know – as if she was pulling up roots, however shallow they were.



Aarons, not willing to give up, scanned the readings on the display and trying to force his brain into finding an answer. Finally, it took Kay giving him a direct order to leave his post before he relented.

Everyone on a starship knows that once the abandon ship order is sounded, all crew are required to report immediately to the escape pods. For safety reasons, no one is allowed to return to their living quarters to salvage personal effects. Aarons, however, had never been big on following orders to the letter and headed to his quarters at a dead run. Once there, he rooted under his bed and pulled out a black bag, the contents of which were more precious to him than anything in the universe.

<Aarons>



“Granted, it’s noble and I’m sure if I were in your place I would do the same, but Kay, you need to get off this ship.” In the many years they had known one another, TEG had rarely called her by her first name.

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m infected.” For emphasis, Kay thrust her pustule-infested right arm under his nose. TEG winced involuntarily. She continued, calmly. “I’m better off staying… riding her out to the end… who knows, whether it’s the afterlife or an alternate universe, it will still be a trip to the unknown.” She smiled slightly. “It’s what we all signed on for - the great adventure.”

TEG stood quietly, his gut torn with emotions. His instinct was to grab her and toss her on an escape pod and every sinew strained to do it.

Suddenly, Kay slumped forward. TEG caught her on the way to the floor. He looked up and stared into the face of Lorna Holsen.

“Sorry to eavesdrop, Captain,” she said to her now sedated CO. She smirked at TEG still brandishing the hypospray. “Doctors always trump Captains.”

“I won't argue with you – especially with that in your hand. I need to get one of those.” TEG shouldered Kay’s limp body. “Where to, Doc? I’d feel much better if I leave her with you.”

“I’m headed to Cris’ pod.”

TEG motioned for Greenwood to follow as Lorna began to lead the way. Nik, his eyes stern and determined, shook his head slightly.

“I’m staying.”

“Doc, do you have enough left over to give another shot?”

Lorna started toward Greenwood.

“Whoa, wait… Doctor, TEG… I’m only staying long enough to launch the pods. I’ll reserve and empty one and get there after everyone’s away.”

The two stared at him.

“I promise.” Nik waved them off nonchalantly. “I’ll be right behind you.”



TEG and Holsen made it to pod 1199. Trying the door, the two were denied entry.

“The roster’s full on this pod,” TEG informed Lorna rhetorically. “Let’s try the next one.”

Lorna quickly scanned 1199's manifest and felt a flood of relief as she saw Cris’ name. Satisfied, she padded after TEG to the next pod. Once they were aboard, they were met with a very familiar face.

“I am most pleased you are here,” the CSTO said through eyes that nearly disappeared as she smiled.

Chan helped TEG and the Doctor settle the Captain into the small medical bay, carefully securing her flaccid limbs.

The pod doors opened again.

“Well, what are the odds?” Aarons entered, beaming. He furtively stowed his bag under his seat.

<Holsen, Chan, Aarons, TEG>




The maw of the singularity yawned and pulled the great ship closer. As it neared the opening, tiny crystalline entities writhed and pulsed struggling to evade the environment they were now heading toward. Instinctually, they rushed to escape and avoid whatever awaited them on the other side.

In the escape pods still nestled in their outer hull berths, infected crew contorted and fell to the floor in pain as the entities burst from their bodies. Those too far gone, possessing too many invaders, were instantly killed. The scene was gruesome in some of the pods as non-infected crew sat next to crew who suddenly blew apart, spattering flesh and blood as their skin gave way. In other pods, all was quiet. The lucky occupants, totally free of infestation, sat idly chatting and waiting anxiously to launch.

In pod 1198, the infected right arm of the unconscious captain split open violently. The appendage suddenly exploded, virtually disappearing from the elbow joint downward. Holsen hastily scurried to Kay’s side and grabbed a tourniquet. The antiquated, low tech life-saving apparatus was all that was available to her in the inadequately stocked pod. She wrapped it around Cornette’s upper arm, all the while watchful of any further bodily eruptions. The memory of Charlie Cross’ demise was freshly imprinted and she feared the same would happen to Kay.




Nik had built a quick and dirty launch program that would have the pods, hopefully, breaching the cocoon of space time at successive intervals, ensuring pinpricks to the fabric. Calculating that time was running out, he slammed his hand on the console with a flourish, no matter it was unseen by anyone, and began the launching sequence. He watched with unbearable anticipation as the first pod slipped from the scans, then another, then another. There was no way of knowing if the pods were safe or not, but the action of doing something proactive gave him a sense of achievement. Pleased and hopeful, Nik darted off. He figured he had just enough time to make it before the grand dame was swallowed up.




Manning the pod’s navigational controls, Aarons was slightly peeved that Nik’s program was calling all the shots. It did, however, assuage his ego to look like he was busy working while everyone else sat passively as passengers. TEG sat to his left, studying their heading, which without a set reference point was useless, and was trying not to fixate on the Majesty as it neared ever closer to the opening of the abyss.

“I can’t help but watch it too.” Aarons was uncharacteristically subdued.

“I’m glad she’s not awake to see this,” TEG said, nodding toward Kay’s still form.

The two watched in silence as the mighty Majesty winked away and both felt it was an excruciatingly unbefitting way to end her extraordinary voyage.




Nik walked briskly, his black Star Fleet issue boots collecting the light colored dust of the road. The desert heat was unbearable and his parched throat begged for liquid. He spied a small building up ahead. He could just make out the word ‘diner’ in bright pink neon. The sign sputtered and crackled as it blinked unpredictably, an indication the transformer was on its last legs. Gazing over his shoulder, Nik saw Lt. Falco following close behind him. He stopped abruptly and let Falco catch up.

“Where are we?”

Falco shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think I was just on the bridge…”

Nik surveyed the landscape. A sun-bleached lizard scurried across the sand seeking shelter from the scorching, unrelenting heat. Nothing else moved. Nothing else was visible for miles in every direction.

“Well, looks like our only choice for shelter is that diner,” he said, licking his dry lips.



Nik pushed open the door and was slightly startled by the sharp jingling of the bell attached at the top, fixed there to warn the proprietor of a potential customer. The diner was a relic of those in the mid twentieth century on Earth. The black and white harlequin tile pattern on the floor contrasted nicely with the deep red upholstery on the stools and booth benches surrounding light gray laminated top tables. The stools neatly lined a soda fountain bar. Nik recognized the soda jerk. It was Death himself.

“This is beginning to make sense,” Nik murmured.

“As only things on the Majesty make sense.” The voice was familiar and had a hearty bass quality, full of mischief and good humor. “Come, join us, Commander Greenwood!” Bill Kruse motioned Nik to a corner booth. Christine smiled, waved and scooted over to make room beside her.

“Commodore? But, how… where… what is this place?” Nik stammered.

“Christine will explain it, as best she can… and maybe this time it will be in terms we can both understand.” Kruse gave her a wink. “In the meantime, you must tell me – how are things on my ship?” He smiled broadly and settled back in his seat, casually tossing an arm around Christine.

Nik took in a long breath. “Well, let’s see… where should I begin…”

[Lorna Holsen]

14 patients had been saved so far. It was nothing compared to the death toll and there always seemed to be more who need the help. Lorna was reaching the end of her endurance but she couldn't drop yet there was too much to do.

"Abandon Ship." Lorna had heard that cry several times in her starfleet career and it had never come at a good time now was no exception. People would die because of this she was sure of it. She couldn't prevent those deaths but ... maybe ...

She was taking risks, some might call it playing god, but really when you came down to it that was what triage was. Every patient that had a moderated or higher infection Lora dosed with a neutron emitter. That would kill them so she also dosed them with a metabolic inhibitor and hoped that the neutrons would target the infection rather than the patient's suppressed system. It was something she had been looking at in the last round of experiments it was the only thing she could do now. If all else failed they wouldn't be in any pain in the infection won out...

Lorna loaded the last of the patients from sickbay and had briefed the rest of the medical staff on what to do. There were more infected across the ship. She had to do what she could before she evacuated. She paused a moment before she left sickbay.

=/\=Computer, locate Cris Lieder.=/\=

=/\=Medic Lieder is in escape pod 1199.=/\= That was good news.

=/\=Where is pod 1199 located?=/\=

=/\=Escape pod 1199 is located on the Engineering level.=/\=

Lorna shrugged there were no escape pod left here anyway, too many in sickbay. There were more infected in engineering so it wasn't a bad place to head off to. She collected a med kit and the recharged the hypospray she had been using and brought those along too.

She had dosed three extra infected people and ensured they were in escape pod when she made it to the engineering deck


“Granted, it’s noble and I’m sure if I were in your place I would do the same, but Kay, you need to get off this ship.” Lorna heard TEG's voice, from the sound of it she had yet another Captain trying to do something silly.

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m infected.” Lorna approached slowly coming up behind Captain Cornette, who was continuing to speak “I’m better off staying… riding her out to the end… who knows, whether it’s the afterlife or an alternate universe, it will still be a trip to the unknown. It’s what we all signed on for - the great adventure.”

Lorna saw the look on TEG's face, he desperately wanted to help his Captain but wasn't quite sure how. She reached forward and pressed the hypospray to the Captain's neck. She slumped forward and was caught by TEG who looked up at her in surprise.

“Sorry to eavesdrop, Captain,” Lorna said to her now sedated CO. She managed a smirk at TEG still brandishing the hypospray. “Doctors always trump Captains.”

“I won't argue with you – especially with that in your hand. I need to get one of those.” TEG shouldered Kay’s limp body. “Where to, Doc? I’d feel much better if I leave her with you.”

“I’m headed to Cris’ pod.”

TEG motioned for Greenwood to follow as Lorna began to lead the way. Nik, his eyes stern and determined, shook his head slightly.

“I’m staying.”

“Doc, do you have enough left over to give another shot?”

Lorna started toward Greenwood.

“Whoa, wait… Doctor, TEG… I’m only staying long enough to launch the pods. I’ll reserve and empty one and get there after everyone’s away.”

The two stared at him, Lorna wasn't 100% certain she believed him, had she not been so tired she might have risked trying her empathic sense but right now she knew she would probably collapse under the extra mental assault she just had to take Greenwood at his word. As far as she knew he wasn't infected so...

“I promise.” Nik waved them off nonchalantly. “I’ll be right behind you.”

She nodded and led the way onward.TEG and Holsen made it to pod 1199. Trying the door, the two were denied entry.

“The roster’s full on this pod,” TEG informed Lorna rhetorically. “Let’s try the next one.”

Lorna quickly scanned 1199's manifest and felt a flood of relief as she saw Cris’ name. Satisfied, she padded after TEG to the next pod. Once they were aboard, they were met with a very familiar face.

“I am most pleased you are here,” the CSTO said through eyes that nearly disappeared as she smiled.

Chan helped TEG and the Doctor settle the Captain into the small medical bay, carefully securing her flaccid limbs.

The pod doors opened again.

“Well, what are the odds?” Aarons entered, beaming. He furtively stowed his bag under his seat.


Lorna shrugged. "I've no idea and I don't want to know." Her eyes were dark she was labouring beyond collapse now, it was an occupational hazard, in a crisis shifts ran to doubles, trebles and then you lost count so you didn't go mad.

In the escape pods still nestled in their outer hull berths, infected crew Lorna hadn't reached contorted and fell to the floor in pain as the entities burst from their bodies. Those too far gone, possessing too many invaders, were instantly killed. The scene was gruesome in some of the pods as non-infected crew sat next to crew who suddenly blew apart, spattering flesh and blood as their skin gave way. In other pods, all was quiet. The lucky occupants, totally free of infestation, sat idly chatting and waiting anxiously to launch.

In pod 1198, the infected right arm of the unconscious captain split open violently. The appendage suddenly exploded, virtually disappearing from the elbow joint downward. Holsen hastily scurried to Kay’s side and grabbed a tourniquet. The antiquated, low tech life-saving apparatus was all that was available to her in the inadequately stocked pod. She wrapped it around Cornette’s upper arm, all the while watchful of any further bodily eruptions. The memory of Charlie Cross’ demise was freshly imprinted and she feared the same would happen to Kay. She could only hope that her emergency ministrations had saved lives rather than taken them. She had to prevent her Captain bleeding to death. Cauterisation with a phaser or phaser heated material was always an option but the pressure was a safer idea at the moment.

[Deleted]

Xin Ling Chan was in her quarters when the order to abandon ship came through. Immediately, she headed for the upper decks closest to the outer hull. Once there, her training took over as she methodically herded everyone into the pods. Her gratefulness for drills surfaced as she observed the lack of panic among the crew as they quickly took their places.

How could she leave the pictures of her sifu there in her quarters? It was heart-wrenching. Yet leave them she must. They were replaceable.

The Asian Warrior took nothing with her save for the tools of her trade, such as her nunchuka and darts, then left for the upper decks to aid in the evacuation.

It took less time than it seemed, as her mind strayed to the past, during her time aboard the USS Verconium, the doomed ship where she had served as a cadet. Then, she had faced an enemy she could fight, and many a Breen fell to her kung fu skills that day. It was only a blast from a distant weapon stopped her, robbing her of consciousness until she had been securely locked in a cell with Dr. Johnson. But how could one battle with martial arts against the disease that plagued the Majesty? She did not enjoy the feeling of helplessness.

Once at her destination, however, her full attention to the situation at hand returned, and she saw to it the crew were directed to the pods.

Chan moved along the corridors, assigning officers as she went to take charge at each pod entry point and demonstrating, where needed, how to secure the pod doors. She gave each officer in charge what she hoped were rendezvous coordinates. Because no one knew where they were in space time, Chan gave them the ship’s last known position and hoped for a miracle.

Moving from deck to deck and surveying the deserted corridors, Xin-Ling Chan concluded that decks two through nine were evacuated. She quickly made her way to the turbolift and found a line of people waiting.

“All the upper deck pods are full,” offered a young crewman. “We’re heading below to the Engineering decks hoping there will be some room for us.”

“No need to cause worry,” Chan comforted. “Enough pods to hold all crew onboard.” She appeared patient to the casual onlooker but inside she was conflicted. She felt very strange leaving a ship she had barely gotten to know – as if she was pulling up roots, however shallow they were.

Nearly all had now been settled in the pods, and this being so, Xin-Ling took her position in the last pod, storing the few items she had brought with her.

The two stared at him. TEG and Holsen made it to pod 1199. Trying the door, the two were denied entry.

“The roster’s full on this pod,” TEG informed Lorna rhetorically. “Let’s try the next one.”

Lorna quickly scanned 1199's manifest and felt a flood of relief as she saw Cris’ name. Satisfied, she padded after TEG to the next pod. Once they were aboard, they were met with a very familiar face.

“I am most pleased you are here,” the CSTO said through eyes that nearly disappeared as she smiled.

Chan helped TEG and the Doctor settle the Captain into the small medical bay, carefully securing her flaccid limbs.

The pod doors opened again.

“Well, what are the odds?” Aarons entered, beaming. He furtively stowed his bag under his seat.

[Kaylana Cornette]

Guided by Greenwood’s flight plan, pod 1198 tumbled on its heading. Piercing the event horizon, a shimmering ribbon ran through titanium bulkheads, computer consoles and inhabitants alike. For an instant, occupants felt something akin to a sonic vibration as it rippled across their flesh, clattered teeth and rattled bones. Several relays crackled and sparked sending a brief shower of fireworks. Fire suppression systems activated leaving an acrid tang in the air.

Once the pyrotechnics were over, Aarons searched the nav consol in hopes of finding a coordinate – any coordinate – something that would give them a fixed point of reference. The screen remained dark. He opened the side panel and found the manual override. He smiled briefly, thinking how exceptional he was for remembering where the manual override was located. After all, it had been a very long time since he trained on escape pod systems.

Manually, Aarons could guide the pod easily enough, but would have limited scanning. It would be like getting small pieces of a flight path instead of seeing the whole picture. Still, it was better than sitting still. He engaged the override control. Nothing happened.

By this time, TEG had roused himself enough to comprehend what Aarons was doing. “Need some help?” he offered.

“No,” Aarons said, the building frustration tensing his voice. “I know just how to fix it.” He stood up and heaved his boot heel sharply into the consol. The thud made everyone in the pod look up.

“Wow,” TEG said sarcastically. “That certainly was high-tech.”

The consol lit dimly and a small joystick deployed. Aarons smirked. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”

“So, where are we?” TEG asked.

“Scanners aren’t working. We may have to do this the old fashioned way.” Aarons found the shielding release for one of the viewports, tapped it and, miraculously, it worked. He held his breath as it slid back. He heard TEG sigh in relief as a starfield greeted their eyes.

TEG and Aarons searched the stars, just like the sailors of old, squinting, studying and relying on vague memories of academy professor lectures on stellar cartography.

“There,” Aarons pointed. “Isn’t that Kappa Persei?”

TEG tried to follow his finger’s destination. “Not sure. But that over there looks like it could be Gamma Arietis.”

Michael protested. “Naw, that looks more like…”

“Sigma Hydrae,” they both chorus simultaneously.

Now that they had a fixed point, Aarons went to work while TEG set about communicating with the other pods and making sure the distress beacon was operational.

<all crew>

(If astronomy is your bag, don’t beat me up too much on my choice of stars here… I just picked some random names.)

[Deleted]

TEG stared out of the escape pod's small portal. He was transfixed by the slight pulsation coming from Sigma Hydrae, which could not have been more than 1 ly away, as it was a star much larger that Earth's Sol. He reflected on the time he had spent onboard the Majesty, and silently muttered a prayer for the souls left behind, like Nik, whom he regretted not getting to know better.

TEG then looked at the ring on his right hand, and knew in his heart that everything would be fine, it always was... eventually. He just hoped that everyone else would be able to accept this fate, and work for the future.