Star Trek: Old Time

Chapters

Flight Response
Visitor
Relocated
Breakdown
Triage

Flight Response

~~~>> <<~~~

“We have passed through the rift, Captain. Dechronitonization of the hull is underway, we should have all systems back online in five minutes.” The commander said as telemetry was relayed to her console.

“Excellent, keep me informed on the dechronitonization.” replied Captain Fylo.

“Aye sir.”

His name was Hector Fylo, captain of the 30th century temporal vessel, the Pocket Watch. He sat forward in his chair, combing through the mission data on the captain’s console before him. Ocassionally taking a glance at several holographic screens that floated above.

His skin a light peach color, his short hair coal black and spiked up at the front. An intelligence visor covered his eyes, never wanting to take it off. Most of the crew wondered why, but never questioned it any further. A secretive fellow, yet very social with a quirky personality.

With an emphasized sigh, he leaned back in his chair for a quick second before reaching for the silver cup that sat on top his console. Putting it to his lips, he drank the lukewarm ice tea, placing it back in its original spot after. He regretted having nursed the drink for so long.

Glancing around the room, it was only the commander and him on the bridge. He admired the construction of Wells class ship bridges. The curvature of the grey walls, the large viewscreen and dual person console in front of it, the temporal transporter on the far side of the room, the wall of large consoles at the back of the room, and the large curved window in front of his console that showed the blue nebula in its magnificence.

“Commander zh'Saro.”

“Sir?” The Commander responded, looking away from the dual console.

Commander Tahri zh'Saro, an Andorian hand-picked by Captain Fylo to serve on the Pocket Watch for her knowledge of temporal mechanics. Her skin a light blue color, her silver hair cut short and tucked neatly behind the ear. Her uniform pants and shirt a coal black with a blue highlight on the right arm. The neck and shoulders of her uniform were covered in thin blue shards of photonic armor.

“Did you ever take Temporal Mechanics forty-one fifty at Starfleet Academy, with Professor Duarac?”

“I did, sir.” zh’Saro answered.

Fylo stood up, walking over to the railing and leaned over it. His uniform was slightly different, wearing a white, black, and green overcoat with gold stitching, a black and white scarf hanging loosely around his neck and white gloves to match. Large green shards of photonic armor covered his arms, wrapping under his arms to partially cover his back and chest. The hologram emitter on his right wrist was much larger than the lieutenant’s, green shards encircling it.

"Professor Duarac. Lovely woman, nice metaphors on temporal mechanics, especially the one of time being a wolf." Fylo chuckled.

"I remember that, sir. Though, I'm more particular to her metaphor of temporal incursions being like depth charges in a shallow river."

Fylo chuckled, returning to his seat. "Ah yes, another good one.” He looked towards the ceiling, “How goes the de-chronitonization, Gazelle?"

A female voice replied. "Dechronitonization will be completed in approximately three minutes. Processor cores 15, 27, 82, and 134 are not operating within expected parameters, I have redistributed the quantum data between all 2,448 available cores." Gazelle answered, the lights flickering slightly as she spoke.

After the introduction of Elachi technology onboard the Pocket Watch, it began to integrate itself into the central computer, it was soon after this occurrence the computer became sentient, calling itself Gazelle due to its strange liking toward the creature of the African savannas. The crew, at first very uncomfortable with this new sentient computer, has come to cope with this entity and nicknamed it Gaz for short, as well as regarding her as female due to her soothing female voice.

zh’Saro nodded, “Thank you, Gazelle.”

“You’re welcome, Commander.” Gazelle responded.

Captain Fylo chuckled as he typed on his console, “So, I was thinking. Perhaps I’ll allow the crew a bit of shore leave, ship’s in for a bit of a diagnostic and that could take a few days.”

“That sounds nice, maybe I can surprise my parents earl -”

zh’Saro was cut off mid-speech as the bridge jolted to a side, knocked clear out of her seat and flew several feet before hitting the floor hard and rolled to a stop.. The Captain, also thrown from his seat, yelped as his head made contact with the wall before falling to the floor on his stomach.

zh’Saro groaned as she came to. “Gaz, what just happened.” she yelled, trying to crawl to her seat.

“Two Klingon Vor’Cha-class vessels have just decloaked on our starboard side, Negh’Var to port.”

zh’Saro growled. “...Must be a couple of Klingon rebel ships.” she said, regaining her footing and fixed her seat. “D-chronitonization is still in progress, shields and weapons are still offline.” she yelled.

Another explosion rocked the bridge. “How long until we have shields?” Fylo yelled, gripping the guardrail for support.

“Uhh….” zh’Saro muttered, swiping on a holographic projection above her console, “I don’t know sir, and I don’t think they’re in the mood to talk this through.”

Fylo cursed under his breath, reaching his console and began to check systems. “What about cloaking, can that be done?”

“Power to auxiliary is still offline, we can barely run a toaster at its current level. All reserve power is going towards the computer core and essential systems, nothing more.”

“Well, we can’t just sit here!” Fylo yelled as his combadge chirruped.

“Engineering Chief Gahul to Captain Fylo.” Gahul’s voice sounded from the combadge.

Fylo pressed his combadge quickly, still at his console. “This is Fylo, tell me you have some news, Chief.”

The cacophony of an explosion sounded out through the combadge. Gahul coughed, “Captain, what the hell’s going on up there?”

Fylo grunted as the bridge lurched to the right, “Couple of Klingons thought we might be easy pickings, how’s the hull?”

Gahul muttered something under his breath in Trill. “I’m gonna be straightforward here, Captain, hull’s not gonna hold, I give it a few minutes before they cause a breach, they’re putting everything they got into their weapons. Several decks have lost reserve power, artificial gravity is gone on decks two through four, and we just lost five EPS conduits.”

Fylo growled under his breath, “Chief, forget all other problems, just focus on getting main power restored and shields back online right now!” He yelled, the comm channel cutting out as he finished his speech.

Fylo glanced out the window as a torpedo struck the hull, the immense kinetic force and heat of the impact forming a crater in the light grey hull. A wave of multicolored energy washed over the hull, each disruptor blast and torpedo strike creating a wave that traveled the length of the ship’s hull.

“What the…”

“Captain!” zh’Saro exclaimed, “I’m detecting a buildup of chroniton particles on the hull!”

“What’s creating them?” Fylo yelled, leaning over the railing before before running over to a large console on the back wall.

“I don’t know, sir, but the Klingon’s disruptors are having some kind of effect on them-AH!” zh’Saro screamed, shielding her face with both arms as sparks exploded from her console.

He slammed his fist on the console, swearing out loud. “I’m not going down like this….”

“Captain, if I may…” Gazelle spoke, her speech sounding glitchy and mildly distorted.

“Bridge!” Gahul’s voice sounded from Fylo’s combadge.

“What now?!” Fylo screamed.

“Sir, the tipler cylinder is activating, it’s almost approached light speed!”

“Who activated the cylinder?”

“I don’t know sir, but I’m still reading chroniton particles on the hull from our previous jump, and they’re increasing.”

“Shut it down, Now!”

“I’m sorry, Captain. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Gazelle interrupted, “Tipler cylinder has achieved light speed.”

Fylo stared at the ceiling, his mind putting the pieces together. “Gaz? Wait, GAZELLE!” He yelled, running over to his console.

“Activating time discs….” Gazelle stated, her speech becoming slow and heavily distorted as time twisted and turned. The view outside the window showed space and time rippling like the ocean in a giant storm, multicolored waves battering the grey and black hull of the temporal vessel. The bridge and its crew held in a state of infinite time dilation, the chronometer on the console stuck on April 3rd, 2410.

For what seemed like hours was only seconds through the constant called Time, space realigning itself into a less fluid appearance as it mixed with normal space. The Pocket Watch, thrown from the rift like a child’s unwanted toy, tumbled aimlessly without power as pieces of its hull followed in orbit around it. The light of the full moon illuminated the battered vessel and its fragmented companions as they silently flew above its gleaming surface, the blue hue of the earth hundreds of thousands of miles away, appearing like a large blue circle in the black of space.

~~~>> <<~~~

Visitor

~~~>> <<~~~

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER ASTRONOMERS YAY!" The three fillies yelled, scaring away a number of birds in the trees.

"Maybe this time we’ll finally get our cutie marks!” Sweetie Belle chimed, bouncing along.

Twilight giggled, “You girls sure seem excited.” she said, adjusting the equatorial mount of her telescope, the sound of crickets chirping filled the night with sound on this small hill.

“We sure are, I’ve never been awake this late. I’m not even tired!” Scootaloo said, hopping around Twilight.

“A’hm glad Applejack let me stay up this late. Thanks fer helping us out, Twilight!” Apple Bloom beamed.

Twilight smiled, “It’s no problem girls, it’s the least I can do,” she said her attention focused on the knobs of the mount. “Just a few more adjustments and….there, it’s ready! "

"YAY!" The three fillies cheered, hopping in unison.

Apple Bloom jumped first at the chance, absolutely filled with joy. "Wow, you can see everything with this." She said, turning the telescope, "So many stars!"

"Ooh, I wanna see!" Scootaloo said, nudging Apple Bloom and looking into the scope, "Oh wow!"

"No fair!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, "I wanna see, too!"

Twilight giggle, "Now now girls, you're gonna have to share the telescope." She chimed, her magic engulfing the telescope and adjusted it. "Why don't we start with the craters of Luna? This time we let Sweetie Belle go first."

"Sure Twilight." Scootaloo said, moving over as Sweetie Belle looked through the scope.

"Oh wow!" She squeaked, "I can see mountains and craters!"

"Ooh, ooh can I see?" Scootaloo said, peering through the scope and adjusting the telescope slightly. "This is so cool!"

"Let me see!" Apple Bloom chirped, eagerly looking adjusting the telescope and peered through the viewer. "Uhh....Twilight? Ah'm no professional, but ah don't think that's supposed to be there." The filly said, her demeanor of excitement replaced with confusion and curiosity.

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "What's not supposed to be there, Apple Bloom?" She asked, Apple Bloom stepping out of the way as the princess viewed through the scope.

Her eyebrow furrowed, mouth agape at the large tumbling object in her view. "What is that?" She said, checking the mirrors inside the barrel. "No foreign objects inside the telescope, the mirrors aren't cracked...." looking through the scope again, the object moving away quickly but still in sight.

The object appeared as if it was flattened, its edges cut in both sharp and smooth degrees. The body of the object glowed bright as it reflected the moon’s light. Streaks of blue seemed to arc between what seemed to be black discs, the surrounding space rippled around the object.

"Do ya know what it is, Twilight?" Sweetie Belle asked, standing close to Twilight.

Twilight faced the filly, lost in thought, "I...can't say I do..." She said, dumbfounded as the object moved out the moon’s bright glow.

"Should we tell Princess Luna about this?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"We should, but I can’t leave you three here alone. I promised I would take care of you three and I intend to do that.” She said, assuming a triumphant pose.

“Hey, where’d it go?” Scootaloo said, looking through through the scope.

“What happened, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I can’t see it anymore. It’s just...gone.” she responded, moving to let Twilight see

Twilight’s eyebrows furrowed as she looked through the scope. “Must’ve moved away….the moon’s light was the only thing illuminating it.”

“Do you think it’ll come back?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“What if it’s...aliens?” Scootaloo said.

Twilight giggled, “Now, Scootaloo, there’s no such thing as aliens.”

“Yeah, there’s no such things as aliens, Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom repeated.

“Okay, Okay….just messing around.”

The three fillies huddled around the violet mare, who was carefully adjusting the knobs on the telescope. The stars twinkled as a meteorite streaked through the sky, the fillies attempting to stay awake as Twilight explained how asteroids formed Equus, starting from the Big Bang.

Celestia awoke in fright, hooves clutching onto the silk blanket. Carelessly throwing it off herself, she trotted over to the balcony, the doors open and the silk curtains waving quietly in the cool summer night.

She looked to the sky, tilting her head a small degree. “What….” she whispered, squinting her her eyes as if to spot….whatever it was she was looking for, scanning the dark and twinkling expanse of her sister’s night sky to find anything unusual.

“This….” Celestia muttered, returning inside and threw open the large double doors. The gentle tapping of hooves on the marble floor resounded through the vacant hall, crystal chandelier bathing the hall with soft golden light.

With her magic, the door opened with a quiet click, the carpeted floor of the library muffling her steps. Her horn again engulfed in a golden aura, she looked to the ceiling, the chandeliers filling the room of bookshelves with gold light.

Scouring through the myriad of bookshelves in the royal library, Celestia searched through the books so neatly placed by the staff, occasionally grabbing one of interest and scanned through the pages, nodding in disapproval and placing the book back in its spot becoming a routine procedure after two hours of searching.

“Late night, your highness?” A voice asked.
Celestia gasped in surprise, turning to find it was the librarian, Feather Pen. “Oh...Miss Pen-”

“There no need for formalities, Celestia. You have known me too long for such things.” Feather Pen interrupted with a wave of her hoof, her old and sky blue eyes still showing a hint of youth in them.

Celestia chuckled, a smile appearing on her face. “You’re right, Feather. You gave me a bit of a fright, though, I didn’t expect anyone to be awake at this hour except for my sister.”

“I thought some air might do some good for these old bones.” Feather said, tapping her hoof on the carpet, “Also, you left the door open.” Feather pointed to the front of the library, the decorated double doors still wide open.

A look of slight embarrassment ran across Celestia’s face. “Oh...I’m so sorry, Feather.”

“All is forgiven, Celestia.” Feather smiled, “Just remember to close it when you leave.” she said, walking away with a yawn.

Celestia nodded, “Sleep well, Miss Pen.” she said, returning to her search as she took another book from the shelf.

As Feather Pen turned the corner, Luna appeared, giving a quick nod to the librarian before she approached her sister.

“Sister.” Luna said, nuzzling her sister’s neck.

Celestia returned the gesture, a gentle smile for her sister. “You felt it as well, didn’t you?”

Luna nodded, “Aye, we did. We have never encountered such a feeling.”

Celestia returned the book to its rightful spot, Luna following as they trotted over to the large stained windows. “We know the magical presence of every creature in Equus….but this….”

“This is truly something genuine…..new.” Luna said, completing her sister’s sentence.

Celestia nodded. “Yes….”

The two sisters stood in awe at the night sky, the twinkling of stars a sight to see. The moon hung high in the sky, its light illuminating the dark valley below and the town of Ponyville.

~~~>> <<~~~

Relocated

~~~>> <<~~~

The vorta known as Ikor stood in the center of the bridge, the cylindrical consoles in front of him chirruping as they received telemetry from the Jem’Hadar fleet. The virtual display visor covered his left eye, the black void of space with the twinkling of stars showing on the tiny screen.

“The last of the Jem’Hadar ships has joined the fleet.” First Ka’ana reported, fixing his display visor. “Total ship count is now over 3,372. The fleet has signalled their readiness.”

The vorta remained still, only turning his head to the First. “What of the minefield?”

First Ka’ana pressed the side of his visor. “The minefield has been destroyed. We should have no further problems.”

The Vorta smirked, “Then inform command that we are ready to pass through the wormhole.”

“Transmitting….” The First tapped on his console, a second of silence before his console chirruped, “We have been given clearance to proceed into the wormhole.”

“Contact the rest of the fleet and tell them to proceed forward at full impulse.” The Vorta ordered.

The First’s console chirped. “The fleet has acknowledged your order and is following at full impulse.”

“Order all fighter craft to board their carriers before we enter the aperture.”

“Fighter craft have boarded their vessels.”

“How much farther to the wormhole opening?”

The First peered at the screen behind him. “500 kilometers to aperture….400 kilometers...300 kilometers…200 kilometers….100 kilometers…we are entering.”

The bridge rumbled softly as the dreadnought passed through the mouth of the wormhole, blue spindles of energy flowed like ribbons in a calm wind, rings of white surged over the walls of the wormhole.

Ikor smirked confidently, turning to the rear of the bridge. The view of hundreds of Jem’Hadar attack ships, cruisers, and dreadnoughts in close proximity to each other filled the display’s small screen. The reinforcements the forces in the Alpha Quadrant requested, the final push to ensure Dominion control.

“We shall exit the wormhole in three minutes, our primary forces and Cardassian allies are still currently dealing with the Federation and their allies.”

The Vorta chuckled. “What of Captain Sisko?”

The First checked on his console. “Deep Space Nine has sent a transmission. They’re saying the Defiant has entered the wormhole.”

Ikor looked at his second-in-command, eyebrows furrowed before chuckling. “I guess that answers my question.”

“They are in visual range.”

Ikor turned to face the front of the bridge, his display visor showing the Defiant several hundred kilometers away. “Trying to be the hero, as always.” Ikor said derogatively, “Order the first thousand ships to lock weapons on the Defiant, I’m not going to let one little ship get in the way.”

First Ka’ana nodded, typing away on the cylindrical consoles before him. “The fleet’s acknowledged your order and are locking weapons.”

“Order them to hold their fire until the Defiant is within 400 kilometers.”

“The Defiant is locking weapons as well.”

Ikor scowled, “A martyr…. how far are they?”

“800 kilometers and closing.”

He gritted his teeth. “Hold your fire….”

“600 kilometers….”

“Almost….”

“500 kilometers….”

“Almost...”

“They are within 400 kilometers.”

Ikor smiled devilishly, “All ships…..fir-”

The bridge rocked suddenly as waves of electricity washed over the walls, floor, and ceiling. Portions of the walls began to disappear and reappear, growing in size with every repetition. The airless expanse of the wormhole’s diameter showed through the phased portions of the hull.

“What the….First, what’s happening?”

“I’m not certain, There is a vast EM field surrounding the entire fleet. All of our ships are reporting the same phenomenon.”

The bridge rumbled violently as lights flickered, the sound of metal creaking echoed throughout the bridge. A single loud clank ended the noise, the lights cutting out and left the bridge in darkness for several seconds before reactivating.

Ikor gripped the center console tightly, breathing heavily as the lights reactivated. “First Ka’ana….what happened?”

Ka’ana rose quickly and tested his console. “I don’t know, sensors are down and so is main power.”

Ikor pressed the side of his visor, the display only showing static. “First, is your visor operational?”

Ka’ana pressed the side of his visor, static appeared on the display momentarily before clearing up. “Affirmative.”

The Vorta continued to press his display visor. “What do you see?” Ikora ordered.

The Jem’Hadar turned in his spot, staring blankly into space. “I see….a moon….with a strange pattern of craters on it.”

“What else?”

The Jem’Hadar turned again, facing the rear of the bridge. “...A G-Type star…”

“What about the rest of the fleet?” The Vorta questioned.

“I cannot locate any other Jem’Hadar ships.” The First replied, looking at his console. “Sensors have been reactivated….I am detecting Jem’hadar ships at the outer edge of this system.”

“What system are we in, First?”

The Jem’Hadar tapped at his console. “Unable to identify.” He responded, “I am detecting another ship in close proximity.”

The Vorta’s eyebrows furrowed again. “Sisko?”

“No. It is not even the Defiant.”

The First’s response puzzled the Vorta. “Then what type of ship is it?”

“I’m….unable to identify, there is no Federation ship with that hull design in our databases.”

“Do we have weapons?” The Vorta questioned.

As if on cue, the floor hatch at the rear of the ship was thrown open with a loud clank, a Jem’Hadar climbed the ladder and approached the First.

“First, the others are requesting information as to what has occurred.”

“That is not important as of now.” The First replied almost immediately, “Right now, do we have tactical and defensive capabilities?”

“Negative, First. Shields are currently non-operational and so are weapons.”

“What about warp, Second?” The Vorat chimed in.

The Second faced Ikor. “Our warp nacelles have been damaged. Impulse, however, remains operational.” He responded.

“First, have you been able to scan the unknown ship?”

The Jem’hadar typed busily on his console. “I’m detecting interference of some kind, it is making scans of the vessel difficult. I cannot identify their offensive and defensive capabilities.”

“Fighting blind….” the Vorta pondered. “Activate the impulse engines, set a course for the rest of the fleet.”

The Jem’Hadar nodded. “Setting course for the fleet.” he said, the hum of the impulse engines quietly rose in pitch as the ship moved behind the moon.

Several hours passed as the Jem’Hadar dreadnought travelled through the system, passing through the rings of the second gas giant in the system. Balls of white energy whizzed by the dreadnought, moving at incredible speeds before stopping suddenly in the distance.

Ikor sighed, leaning on the center console with head in hand. “What is our ETA with the fleet?” he said impatiently, “And was it necessary to hide in the gas giant’s rings?”

“It was necessary to ensure that the unknown ship was not following us. The sensors are not operating at peak efficiency with the interference I am detecting.” The Jem’Hadar replied dully.

The Vorta sighed again, running a hand through his coarse black hair as he straightened up. “Have you established contact with the fleet?”

Ka’ana nodded, “There is too much interference.”

Ikor sighed, pacing around the center console.

More hours passed as the dreadnought passed two cerulean colored gas giants, a small planetoid at the edge of the system slowly passed as the ship slowed in speed.

“We have reached the fleet.” The Jem’Hadar said

“What’s their status?” the Vorta ordered.

“Unknown, I shall attempt contact with the 382 ships.”

The Vorta turned to face the First, a bemused look on his face. “ 300….where’s the rest?”

“Unknown, those are all the ship beacons that can be detected.”

Ikor nodded, chuckling. “No….no no,that’s not right. Check again.”

“I do not need to check again, there are only 382 ships in the asteroid field.” Ka’ana said through clenched teeth, a look of anger in his eyes.

The Vorta returned the expression before looking away. “382 ships...and no clue where we are…can they be contacted?”

“I have managed to establish contact.”

“And?”

“The other Vortas and firsts are meeting to discuss what has occurred. They’re requesting our presence.”

“Accept their request and have them send a engineering detail to our ship to repair it. I need some answers….” Ikor ordered as he opened the floor hatch, climbing down the metal ladder before closing the hatch with a loud clang.

~~~>> <<~~~

Breakdown

~~~>><<~~~

The clink of a combadge against the window echoed in the dimly-lit bridge. The solitary ray of sunlight illuminated a pair of floating bodies several meters apart, unmoving and unconscious, before plunging the bridge into darkness for several minutes as the ship spiraled.

A choking fit erupted from the silence and darkness, followed by coughing before the bridge was illuminated again.

The body of Captain Fylo stirred, groaning as he awoke from his deep sleep. "...Wha...ugh...my head..." he muttered, placing a hand over his visor as sunlight illuminated the room again. He pressed the side of the visor, the green one-way glass failing to initiate a HUD. Fylo pressed the side of his visor again, the circuitry exploding in a puff of smoke and sparks. He flinched as a spark contacted his skin.

"Captain...is anyone there...." a voice faintly said, sounding familiar. "...Can anyone hear me...?"

The captain groaned. “ yes…” He said hoarsely before clearing his throat, “...Chief...Chief Gahul is that you?”

“Captain, is that you?” the voice remarked.

Fylo twisted to a side, eyes still sensitive to the bright sunlight. “Yeah….yeah, it’s me.” he said hoarsely, “Wh-where are you…?”

“I’m in the turbolift shaft,” the chief responded, “I’ve managed to open the doors but only a few inches. They won’t budge any further.”

“Ask if he is alright.” Another voice echoed up the turbolift shaft.

“Yes, yes I’m on it.” the chief responded, annoyed. “Captain, are you alright?”

“Yes, don’t worry about me. I can’t say the same for Commander zh’Saro.”

“What’s wrong with her?” The voice asked.

“She might be unconscious, doc. I can’t reach her though…” he grunted, reaching over to the unconscious commander, "what happened to the gravity?"

Gahul sighed loudly. "Gravity is offline, sir, along with every other system."

"Even life support?"

"Even life support."

Fylo cursed under his breath, trying his best to inch closer to the Commander.

Gahul yelped. "What are you-ow! Watch it, ok let me move."

"Captain! Captain Fylo, it's me, Doctor Korl. Are you and the commander alright?" Korl yelled through the small opening.

Fylo sighed. "I'm fine. Not too sure about Commander zh'Saro."

"Can you feel a pulse?" The doctor asked.

"I'd give you an answer if i could, doc, but.... " Fylo grunted, attempting to grab the commander, "she's just out of my reach."

"Can you at least tell if she's still breathing?" He questioned.

Fylo turned to focus on the commander's unconscious body, floating spread eagle and back arched backwards in a uncomfortable manner. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, a hint of steam rising from her mouth with every exhale. A bruise had formed on her forehead, a small stream of blood floated away from her face, her right antennae bent painfully sideways.

Fylo turned his head. "She's breathing." A sigh of relief could be heard, " but i'm seeing a few cuts and bruises, maybe more internal damage."

"Hold on captain," Gahul yelled, " we'll have these doors open in a second."

Fylo sighed, his breathing becoming heavy. "That's... good." He said in a quieter tone.

"Sir? " Doctor Korl yelled, "Sir, are you alright?"

"I'm...okay....doc." The captain said through ragged breaths "I'm...okay..." A disgusting cough overcame him, droplets of blood escaped his mouth before his vision started fading.

"Sir, just...hold on, we're on our way." Korl said calmly.

"...okay..." The edges of his vision became engulfed in black, the darkness slowly moving inward towards the center. The blurry image of a spotted human filled the last of his vision before the darkness overcame.

~~~>> <<~~~

“Fleet’s reporting major casualties….”

"They’re too powerful! They’ve gotten stronger…”

“We’ve got an antimatter breach….”

“All hands, abandon ship. Repeat, abandon ship….”

“Why didn’t you detect them earlier….”

“Total count is reaching over three thousand… “

“You could have saved them… “

“There was a point-three difference in the detection grid…”

“Look at what you’ve done…”

“The Dominion has landed on Earth…”

“Wake up… “

Fylo gasped as he awoke, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Scanning the room, he found himself alone, the white walls of the medbay were close to blinding thanks to the overhead lighting. A flock of small holographic screens encircled his biobed, gathering information from the small pads under his undershirt.

Fylo groaned, looking behind to confirm his suspicions. There, resting on a holographic mannequin, lay his coat and visor.

He sighed, placing a hand over his eyes. "Doc..."

No answer.

"Doctor Toran Korl!" He tried again, louder.

A Trill appeared from behind a wall, running a hand through his long, brown and greying hair that ended in a ponytail. His uniform similar to zh'Saro’s, the right sleeve blue instead of red the only difference.

"Oh why did he have to take my visor off, without it I am nothing. O woe is me." He said, adding to his performance an exasperated sigh.

Fylo rolled his eyes under his hand. "Korl, I'm serious, I don't like anyone taking off my visor."

Korl chuckled. "You know it's necessary." He said, taking a small device from a band that wrapped around and under his right shoulder and leaned on the adjacent biobed. "Whether they be different or not, I have to make sure that hit to the head didn't cause any damage."

Fylo sighed, swinging his legs off the biobed. "I already said I'm fine, doc."

The doctor hummed. "That's not what the tricorder had to say. A fairly severe skull fracture, three broken ribs, and fluid was filling your lungs." He smirked. “But no, don’t listen to your doctor.”

Fylo pouted. "You win this time."

"I thought so." The doctor smiled, "Now...your eyes?" He motioned, stepping closer to the captain.

The captain sighed, removing the hand from over his eyes. Doctor korl held Fylo's face gingerly, holding the rod-like device a few inches above his eye with the other hand.

"How long was i unconscious?" The captain said after a long silence.

"Close to sixteen hours. Almost..." he whispered, holding the device over the other eye. "There. Not so bad, now was it?" The doctor chuckled, walking over to a console.

Hector sighed, reaching over and taking his coat and visor off the holographic mannequin. Throwing the coat over his shoulder, he fastened the buttons and reattached the multiple devices attached to the coat. Gingerly placing the visor over his eyes, he pressed the small earpiece on the side only to have nothing happen.

Fylo grunted. “Doc.”

“Hmm?” Doctor Korl replied.

“My devices aren’t working. what’s going on?”

“Chief Gahul gave me a quick brief on the situation. In short, the ship is ‘dead in the water’, so to speak.”

“What happened to the core?” Fylo questioned.

The doctor sighed. “The core, it’s-”

“The singularity core is non-operational, Captain.” Another voice chimed in.

Hector turned, seeing that it was his golden-furred Caitian engineering chief, Rias Gahul standing the circular doorway. “Chief, what’s going on?” He questioned, continuing to fumble with the device on his wrist.

The chief held his hands behind his back, tail held high and swished side to side calmly. “Sir, we lost containment of the singularity core. When the shielding gave out, the singularity fizzled away. Luckily the constrictor rings didn't suffer any damage."

Fylo scratched his chin, "What about antimatter containment?"

"Non-operational, but it appears the antimatter was ejected beforehand. "

“How is the medbay receiving power, then?” The captain asked.

“That,” Gahul chuckled, “was a bit of ingenuity in itself, and the luck to find a few shielded energy cells.” He smirked, pointing to an open hatch at the far end of the medbay. A silver power rod lay connected by cables to circuitry inside the hatch.

“That will only last for so long, unfortunately.” Gahul added. “I’d have to guess they have two, maybe four hours of power left. Until I can find more that haven’t been drained, conserving energy is a must. Doctor...”

Doctor Korl raised his hands in defeat. “I know, I know…” He said, turning to the console. The overheads light dimmed, leaving the lighting above each biobed the same intensity.

“Thank you.” The chief nodded.

“...can’t be expected to work in complete darkness…” The doctor grumbled, returning to his office behind the wall.

"What about other systems?" The Captain questioned, "Better yet, what's going on?" He said, pointing his the device on his wrist.

The Caitian shrugged. "Sir, I can't explain it, but all devices that weren't shielded during our...unwarranted jump, were just...drained."

"...Drained?" Fylo raised an eyebrow.

"I can't explain it, sir, it's like all the energy was just....sucked out of every system. All systems are still operational, they're just..." He shrugged, ears falling flat against his head.

Fylo leaned on the biobed, placing a hand to his chin. "What about a dampening field, is there any indication?"

"There is some indication, but without sensors I can't be sure."

The Trill poked his head out from the corner. "What if you modified a medical tricorder?" He chimed, "I'm sure there's one that wasn't completely drained."

A quiet hiss sounded in the direction of the door. The central device at the center of the glass door spun quickly before stopping, the glass splitting into two and disappeared into the walls, the dark abyss of the hallway dimly light by cerulean bioluminescence.

A lone engineering officer, Bolian, judging from her pale blue skin and and single ridge atop her head. Her graceful gliding a few inches above the floor ended when she entered the medbay, gravity pulling her down much to her surprise.

"I got ya." Gahul acted, grabbing the ensign's shoulders before she fell on her face.

"T-Thank you, sir." The bolian replied, righting herself before fixing her uniform.

"Do you have any news, ensign?" He sighed.

The ensign stood straight, crossing her arms behind her back. "The engineering teams have unlocked bulkheads three through forty-one. We've managed to rescue over 200 personnel, no casualties yet, sir."

"Wait wait wait..." The Captain interrupted, pushing himself off the biobed, "What about the bulkheads?"

Gahul groaned as he rubbed his neck. "Sorry sir, I forgot to mention. There’s too many problems to mention all."

"Now would be a good time to start mentioning." He said, crossing his arms.

"Just before the time jump, Gazelle seems to have activated the bulkheads. I'm not doubting her action, but there is a limited supply of oxygen between bulkheads, and since it was the night shift..."

"A lot of personnel in their quarters." Fylo finished.

"Exactly."

"Hmm....Thank you, ensign, you're free to resume your work." Fylo regarded, waving off the ensign.

The ensign saluted. "Thank you, sir." She relaxed, her gait turning into a soft glide above the floor as she floated down the dark hallway.

"Well," Fylo said, looking in the direction of Korl’s office."If it's any difference to you doctor, I'm not staying any longer, they could use the help.."

The Trill returned from behind the wall.. "You'll get no argument from me, your wounds should be fully healed by now.” He said, walking towards a door on the far side of the room. “Just….don’t pull anything.” He added, looking at the Caitian.

“Hmph,” The Chief scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I still need a tricorder.”

“Oh!” The Doctor snapped his fingers, reaching into the room as the doors slid open, the limp body of Commander zh’Saro on the central biobed, her body covered by opaque holographic screens. “Here, catch.” He warned, opening the lid before closing it and throwing the flattened cube to the Chief.

The Caitian clamped his hands shut around the tricorder. "Would you mind if I use your office?" The Caitian pointed.

"Not at all." He replied, gesturing.

The chief nodded, walking toward the office with purpose in his step, tail swinging with every step.

"Wait, what happened to Commander zh'Saro?" The captain blurted, making his way towards the door.

Doctor Korl stepped in his path, placing a hand to the captain's chest. "She will be fine, I promise. There was some damage to her neural pathways, I'm going to repair them."

Fylo took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "How long will it take?" He asked.

"About an hour, I promise." The doctor reassured.

The captain nodded absentmindedly, "Okay..." He said, stopping to face the doctor. "If you need me, I'll be helping the engineering teams..."

"I'll contact you first if anything happens."

The captain nodded at the doctor's statement, the medbay doors opening and gravity releasing its grip on the captain as he floated down the hallway, the bioluminescent ribs of the hallway dimly lighting the corridor.

~~~><~~~

"Power cell is connected, no dimensional bulging detected. We're clear." The ensign assured, fiddling with the glass circuitry inside the panel. "Releasing locks..." He said, the sound of pneumatics hissing filled the corridor.

The silver door hissed, the engineering personnel shining their flashlights into the hallway as the door rose.

"Help!"

All attention focused on the voice, a bruised blue arm reached out from the space under the bulkhead. As the door opened further, the arm turned into an injured andorian officer, uniform in tatters and burned, cuts bled through the fabric, leaving dark stains. His face speckled with cauterized burns, blood ran down the side of his cheek and neck.

"Medical team." Hector ordered, a group of officers rushed over to the injured officer.

"Looks like plasma burns." An officer determined, feeling for a pulse on the Andorian's neck. "Pulse is stable, but need to get him to the medbay, quick."

"Th...plasma le-leak...." The officer's raspy voice was barely above a whisper. "O-others...." he said as he was hoisted on a gurney and carried away.

"What did he say?" The medical officer stood.

"Something about plasma leaks," Hector responded, watching the andorian being carried. "with any luck there's not too many in his condition. Enter carefully and check the quarters."

"Yes, sir." The officer nodded.

"All officers, we're entering." He said, wrapping his scarf over his mouth. "Keep an eye out for plasma plumes from damaged conduits, search all quarters for personnel and yell if you find an injured officer. Most importantly, watch out for dimensional bulging. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." The group of officers replied in unison.

Fylo nodded, excusing himself between the group. “I lead.” he said, lowering his body and stepped in cautiously, the group of officers following suit.

~~~><~~~

“Everyone out!” Fylo yelled. “Come on, hurry!”

Officers sprinted past the captain, some trying to keep up while running with the the additional weight of an injured officer. Several officers were escorted away by gurney, all of them bloody and cauterized messes, indistinguishable from one another aside from the career colors on their uniform.

The last of the officers ran past the captain, Captain Fylo following the last of the officers.

“Close it!”

The bolian science officer rapidly fiddled with the isolinear circuitry, jamming the fiber optic cables into the power cell’s outlet. The silver bulkhead hissed, lowering with a dramatic slowness.

“Come on…” The Bolian cursed under her breath, cautiously watching the hallway.

As she watched, the farthest visible point of the hallway began to bulge and warp like an ill-focused magnifying glass, edging closer and closer to the officers.

“Hurry it up, ensign.” The captain said.

“I’m trying, sir.”

The captain anxiously looked around. “Go, ensign...go.” He said, gently pushing the bolian aside.

“Captain, i haven’t finished.” She said, resisting.

“Ensign, go. I’ll take care of this.” He said, anger in his voice.

The ensign nodded, moving away from the panel and handing the captain the pen-like device. She ran down the dark hall before the gravity began to wear thin, stopping and turned to watch the captain from the dark.

Fylo knelt before the panel, gingerly running the device over the isolinear circuitry. “Come on, release….” he said, turning to see the bulging space much closer than before and edging closer still. “Dammit, c’mon….” he cursed.

The warping space was nearing too close for comfort, the silver bulkhead halfway down. Fylo growled, increasing his pace.. The Bolian nudged forward, wanting to help but too scared to move.

Warping space only inches from the bulkhead, now three-fourths of the way down. Fylo, in a last minute attempt ripped the cable from the panel, sticking it into the columns of isolinear chips. The bulkhead hissed once more, the floor cracking under the immense force as it slammed down.

A moment of silence passed before a loud sigh echoed through the hallway. The Bolian quietly stepped out of the darkness, finding the captain leaning on the wall as he fixed his charred gloves.

The captain glanced at the ensign. “These were getting old anyways.” He chuckled, removing the gloves and stuffing them into a pocket. “The dark matter bricks will only hold the dimensional bulging for so long.” he said, walking over and ran his hand over the smooth bulkhead. "You know I told you to go, ensign."

The ensign bowed her head, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry sir, I just..."

Fylo raised a hand at her apology. "What matters is everyone made it.”

The Bolian relaxed, nodding in agreement.

”Have you had any contact with the chief lately?” He said after a few seconds of silence. “Any progress about the whole energy situation?”

The Bolian once again nodded, “Not since i was assigned to rescuing crew members, sir.“ She said, running her hand over the smooth curvature of the hall.

The corridor’s bioluminescent ribs faded in brightness as the lights switched on. The circular hallways a striking white with grey matted floors, a pattern of curving gold X’s lined the walls with an array of screens on each side.

“I guess that answers that.” Fylo said, peering down the hallway.

“Engineering to Ensign Ro.” The ensign’s combadge chirped.

“Ro here.” the ensign replied.

“Report back to main engineering.” The voice ordered with direct swiftness.

The ensign promptly nodded, “On my way.” she said, walking away quickly.

Fylo nodded, watching the ensign as she rounded a corner. Turning to face the silver bulkhead as his combadge chirped. “Fylo here.”

“Captain, “ Gahul’s voice answered, “I’m sure you’ve already noticed the lights.”

Fylo swiped his hand over one of the screens, a holographic screen filled with the words DATA FAILURE floated in mid-air. “I have, chief, I’m assuming there’s no bad news then?”

“Uhh…” Fylo could imagine Gahul rubbing his neck. “Not...exactly.”
“I figured.” He swiped away the holographic screen, turning and paced down the hallway. “What are we dealing with?”

Gahul growled lowly. “Well…main computer’s offline, external and internal sensors offline, turbolifts offline, uhh…auxiliary computer’s online, that’s good....every major system offline, though...replicators offline...communications work, at least...”

Fylo stopped him. “I think I get it, chief. I’m also taking a guess this isn’t main power?” He rounded a corner, nodding as a pair of officers passed him.

“That would also be correct. We’ve managed to replenish the shielding on a few cells and jump start the auxiliary fusion reactors, but main’s power’s been tricky. A few decks have been given priority and receive limited power, like the one you’re on until the cells are fully charged.”

Fylo rounded another corner, stopping in front of a rounded doorway and pressed the touchpad off to the side. “I see...chief, you said turbolifts are offline, correct?”

“I did, sir.”

Hector pursed his lips. “alright then…” Scanning the corridor, he knelt down and removed the panel cover. “So, chief…” he continued as he crawled through the jeffries tube, “what about Gazelle?”

“Like I said, sir, main computer’s offline.”

“Right…” he said absentmindedly, reaching an intersection. “Uhh….left.” he muttered, crawling left.

“Sir?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. What about the subspace generators? I don't want to run into any more dimensional bulges.”

“Those were first priority, next to releasing the bulkheads. Auxiliary computer was the first system to come back online, really sped up releasing the bulkheads.”

“Any other crew injured?” he said, standing in a small hub that connected multiple jeffries tubes. Pulling a lever, the floor hatch opened with a whisper of sound, gripping the rails tight and climbed downward.

“Korl says nothing major, thank the spirits.” Gahul chuckled. “Doc’s getting a triage center set up in The Atrium.”

“Sounds fair.” He responded, reaching another jeffries hub and “Now, if I’m correct, this should be…”

The Trill officer felt the ground shift under his left foot, noticing the panel to be rising. Moving to a side and bumping into the officer next to him, the panel splitting in half and opening much to another officer’s surprise.

“Damn capacitors….” The captain’s head peeped out from the opening, “Always shorting out….oh.” Noticing the circle of engineering officers looking down at him. “It seems I’ve interrupted something.”

“Who the hell is down there?!” Another officer plowed through the group. “We’re on a tight schedule and can’t afford….Captain Fylo…” The female officer stopped, looking at the captain with embarrassment. “Oh dear, I’m sorry sir, If i had known it was you…”

Fylo cut her off. “At ease lieutenant. Now help me up.” He extended an arm.

The lieutenant grabbed the captain’s hand tightly and pulled. Stepping out of the opening, Fylo dusted off his coat and patted the lieutenant's shoulder.

“Thank you, lieutenant. Now, would you happen to know where I can find the chief?”

The lieutenant pointed to a general direction. “Chief Gahul should be working on the mag regulators.”

The captain nodded, “Thank you, lieutenant.” he replied, proceeding towards a door at the far end of the circular room.

“Wait...sir.” The lieutenant stopped him, “One question...what were you doing in the jeffries tubes?”

“Had to take a detour.” He leaned in close to the lieutenant's ear, “I do suggest making the turbolifts a higher priority, though.” he whispered.

“Yes sir.” The officer replied.

Captain Fylo nodded, noticing the group of officers still looking at him. “Carry on.” He said, placing his hands behind his back and walked towards his objective. The officers and lieutenant returning to their original spot around the circular console.

The layout of Main Engineering was a large and circular area, the lower portion of the room covered by a high ceiling rising into a more open area around the center like a layered cake. The walls a slightly greyed white, panes of glass showed the large wires and circuitry that ran underneath the floor, walls, and ceiling.

The upper part of the room contained an immense antenna array which pointed downwards towards the center of the room, the longest spire only several meters above the center area. A ring-shaped platform connected by a bridge floated above a large hole in the center of the room, an array of white consoles and holograms encircled a set of three silver rings inside the large hole of the rounded balcony.

Boarding a large lift, Captain Fylo passed several smaller decks full of wiring, consoles, and circuitry, the one-way glass across each corridor showing how high the lift was taking him. Reaching the upper level and exiting the lift, the glass beneath his feet showing the large antenna array. The room dimly lit, warning lights flashed on all consoles.

Stepping out of the lift, Fylo stopped short as he noticed a silver metal splotched on the floor. The sounds of commotion becoming obvious as he passed through a set of glass doors.

“I need an extra isolinear circuit and data cube!” The chief’s voice echoed in the small rotunda of a room. Officers ran between consoles and panelling, their voices being slightly drowned by the wailing klaxon.

The large glass cylinder in the center spanned the room’s two decks, the silver conical ends firmly mounted into the floor and ceiling. A small crack on the glass leaked silver fluid onto the floor, hissing as it touched the floor and solidified within seconds with a cloud of steam rising from the glob.

“I need an exocomp on that crack!” Gahul barked, “Someone shut down the rotor!”

“I’m on it!” The captain responded, running to a console a the base of the tipler cylinder.

The golden furred Caitian peered over the railing. “Captain?” The chief covered his face as a shower of sparks rained over him. “I need an extinguisher!” He yelled, an officer running over and doused the flame in a cloud of carbon.

“Chief, I’m detecting residual temporal energy within the cylinder. I can’t stop the meltdown!”

The Caitian leaned over the railing. “Evacuate the area! I repeat, evacuate!”

Officers looked at the chief before collecting materials and exiting the room. More cracks began to form on the glass as the silver liquid spun faster, beginning to glow a solid white.

Gahul vaulted over the railing, safely landing on all fours with feline expertise. “Captain, we need to leave.” He declared, placing a hand on the captain’s shoulder
“Shunting power to force field generators…” He muttered, “Bulkheads activated, anyone left?” The captain said, typing away on the console.

“We’re all that’s left.”

“Then run, I’ll be right behind you.” He ordered, making final computations on the console.

The chief ran towards the doorway, ducking under the bulkhead and watched the captain slide as the bulkhead closed behind him.

A faint roar echoed from behind the thick bulkhead, the sound of metal striking the walls echoed in the small room, lights flickering and gravity wearing thin for several seconds.

“I think there was more residual energy than we thought.” The captain mentioned.

“Hot jumps like that will cause this sort of stuff to happen.” The chief added, “But better than dying without having a chance to fight back.”

“Hm.” Fylo grunted, not adding to the conversation and instead walked over to a console. “Temporal energy is subsiding. A lot faster than I expected.”

“What?” His brows furrowed.

“The energy is dissipating into the air, might be that dampening field. I can’t get any further readings than that, but I can unseal the bulkheads.”

Gahul studied the information on the monitor. “These reading seem familiar…very familiar energy type.”

“Speaking of which, what happened to the tricorder the doc gave you?”

The chief waved it off. “Wasn’t sensitive enough, and ran out of energy within twenty minutes.” His focus still on the monitor, “Looks safe enough, go ahead and raise the bulkheads….sir.” He added at the last second.

Fylo chuckled. “Raising bulkheads.” he typed, the silvers doors rising into the ceiling.

The view beyond the glass walls was a pitch blackness. Arcs of electricity and sparking wires provided brief illumination, revealing the destroyed tipler cylinder room. Metal debris stood embedded and partially fused into the walls and floor, liquid metal ran like red hot magma down the shattered glass container and onto the floor.

“This is going to take more than a few nano-clusters to repair.” Gahul said, mesmerized at the damage.

“If there is anything to repair.” The captain responded.

A low growl emanated from the chief. “Temperature is over one thousand kelvin, ventilation fans have activated but it’s going to be a short while before the room cools to workable levels.”

The captain sighed, rising from the seat.

“...Sir?” Gahul stared at the captain as he walked over to the lift.

“I want round-the-clock engineering teams, focus on main power and prioritize from there.” His voice stern, leaning on the lift’s rail. “I want a report in two hour’s time and i want someone to find out where the hell we are!” The sound of the Fylo’s fist hitting the wall of the lift echoed.

The caitian nodded with a neutral expression. “...Sir?”

“...I’m sorry, chief.” He breathed, “A lot went wrong in so little time.” His hands wrapped around the railing, as if to strangle the metal.

“Yes, it did.” Gahul board the opposite side of the lift. “But you can count on your crew.” The lift began to descend, stopping at main engineering.

The captain was the first to exit the lift, stopping mid-stride and faced his engineering chief. “I know I can count on my crew. I picked them, after all.” He chuckled, smiling genuinely. “Keep me informed on restoring main power, is there anyone working on the main computer?”

“No, not yet sir.” The caitian nodded.

“Assign them to other tasks. I can handle restoring Gazelle.”

Gahul looked taken aback. “Are...are you sure, captain?” He stepped off the lift, addressing his concern.

“Yes, I’m sure.” He replied.

Patting the chief’s shoulder, he smiled reassuringly. The chief could only smile at this, unsure what else to do and watched as the captain exited main engineering with concern.

Triage

Internal hemorrhaging detected

Cranial region, parietal lobe.

Recommendation: 2 cc medical nanite fluid.

“Nurse, hand me one vial of nanite fluid.” Doctor Korl asked. His tired eyes focused on the officer that lay on the biobed.

“Sir.” The human nurse tapped his shoulder.

He jumped, startled. “Hm?”

“You requested nanites?” The nurse questioned, presenting a small vial of clear fluid.

“Oh...yes, I did.” He acknowledged. “Thank you, nurse.” Taking the vial, he loaded it into a hypospray and promptly placed it on the unconscious officer’s neck. A small hiss signaled the delivery of the vial’s contents.

A holographic display above the officer’s head displayed an MRI image zoomed in on the blood vessel causing the hemorrhage. a clear fluid eating away at the blood and repairing the vessel walls in a matter of seconds.

Pulling out his tricorder, Korl scanned his patient. The device chirped and hummed, a message appearing on the small screen:

Blood vessel repaired, surrounding brain tissue repaired .

No additional issues detected. Implants secure. Administering sleep agent.

The doctor sighed, folding the tricorder and placing it in the lab coat pocket. He sighed, taking a look at the makeshift triage center at the bottom floor of The Atrium.

The Atrium, seemed a little too fitting a name. The multilevel, oval-shaped area was breathtaking to say the least. Stacked walkways at the edges of the area marked every level, starfleet officers walking casually and occasionally boarding a lift or stairs to reach a different level. Curving ramps and maglev bridges crisscrossed overhead the bottom level without obscuring the lower level from light, as lights on their white undersides provided a reasonable substitute.. Trees and greenery lined the floor and walls, appearing from notches made into the matte grey floors.

The ground level, by the doctor’s command, had been turned into a makeshift triage center. Luckily, not many of the 1,200 crew were injured, but the infirmary only had so many biobeds. Patients who received the worst injuries were sent to the infirmary in case of needed surgery. Those who cheated death a little better came to the triage center, where Doctor Korl has continued to work for 24 hours without food or drink.

Another pat on his shoulder, Korl turned to find it was the same nurse from before. “Yes?” He droned, eyes visibly tired and expression monotone.

The nurse’s eyebrows furled. “Sir, I think it would be best if you took a break.” The nurse suggested, attempting to sound polite.

The Trill doctor merely shrugged. “Nurse, I’m perfectly fine.” he shook his head slowly, “I am. I appreciate your concern, though.” he assured, taking a tricorder from the metal tray beside the biobed, scanning the sleeping patient. .

“Sir.” The nurse continued. “You’ve worked far longer than the other medical staff. You haven’t eaten for twenty-four hours and you’re showing signs of sleep deprivation. And you’re holding a power cell.”

The doctor looked at his “tricorder”, a silver square-shaped power cell in hand and tricorder in pocket. He pursed his lips, placing the power back on the tray. “Alright, I’ll rest.” He sighed, defeated. “You can take care of the patients, correct?”

The nurse crossed her arms. “We can handle it, doctor. Now,” She shooed him off with a wave of her hand, “go eat something and take a nap. I’ll notify you if anything arises.”

The doctor nodded, inattentive as he walked away. Strolling between the tall trees and shrubbery, the soft hum of the maglev train forced him to look up and watch as the sleek train passed overhead. Crossing his arms, he chuckled before continuing and admired the greenery around him with tired eyes.

“Lift” He said, standing in front of a vertical shaft. A glass container with a metal base descended from another shortly, the glass doors opening with a quiet hum. “Deck five, please.” He said, feeling polite.

The glass elevator rose in complete silence. The doctor sighed, leaning on the metal rail inside the lift and closed his eyes. His enhanced mind moved with blazing speed, recalling every patient under his care. He never liked to leave before the job was done, gave a sense of emptiness that churned within his stomach which he hated with a passion. It wasn’t long before his mind dozed and a quiet snore filled the lift.

“Doctor? Doctor Korl…”

The sleeping doctor only grunted at the voice, a look of disgust on his face.

“Doctor Korl.” The voice echoed, louder this time. The voice placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. “Doctor Korl!”

The feeling of a hand greeting his face with a hard slap sent him out of his sleepy state. Looking around, he was still in the elevator with his arm wrapped around the rail to keep himself from falling. A tall Vulcan with a monotone expression and arms crossed stood in front of him.

A small crowd of officers had formed outside the lift, watching the doctor as he caressed his cheek.

The Trill doctor could only stand in embarrassment and confusion as the scene dawned upon him. “...H-how long was I asleep?” He asked the vulcan sheepishly.

“You were asleep for five minutes and forty-three seconds, Doctor Korl.” The Vulcan replied. “I attempted to wake you from your sleep, but I had to resort to more….forceful measures.”

Korl chuckled slightly. “Well, it’s certainly going to leave a bruise.” He said, “I’ll just...get off the lift now.” He pointed to the door.

The Vulcan nodded, the crowd of officers dissipating as the doctor stepped off the lift.

‘This is certainly going to become a bruise.’ Korl thought, 'Should’ve at least held back her strength.’ He sighed, holding a hand over the red spot on his face, feeling it throb to the beat of his heart.

Korl stopped and leaned on the glass barrier, scanning the entire expanse of The Atrium below him. Looking up, the ceiling of The Atrium was like a single piece of glass with rods of metal breaking it into circles and odd shapes. Normally, you could see the whole of space, but the bulkheads were still activated, leaving the glass a blue grey color.

the doctor pondered why he didn’t see this earlier, remembering the patients that required his attention. As tired as he was, there were patients that needed attention, leaving now would have him feeling guilty. He sighed once more, fumbling with the string that kept his graying brown hair in a neat ponytail.

“Chief medical officer Toran Korl.” A voice called.

Korl turned to his left to find a single porcelain orb a foot away from him, a low pulsing hum could be heard emanating from it.

“I thought auxiliary systems were still offline.”

“That is incorrect, Doctor Korl.” The orb responded in its digital voice, “Auxiliary systems, secondary, and tertiary computer cores have been fully restored as of three hours, twenty-three minutes, nineteen seconds ago.”

“What about primary power and Gazelle?”

“Both are currently in the process of being restored, many major systems are still unaccounted for.” The orb replied once more, “I bring a message from your head nurse, medical officer Ara Grayson.”

Korl looked at the bottom floor of The Atrium, a tiny figure looked upwards towards him with arms arms crossed and a possible scolding look on their face.

“I think I get the idea.” He said, “Disregard the message. Bring a message to Nurse Grayson saying I’ll be in my quarters if any assistance is needed.”

“Certainly, Doctor.” The orb audibly chirped, “Will that be all?”

“That is all, you may return to Nurse Grayson.”

The orb chirped once more and sped away down the hall. With tired eyes, Korl thought maybe his nurse was onto something, and with a defeated sigh he stood and walked down the hallway, taking a look at the glass ceiling once more before entering a turbolift.

“Deck 4.” The doctor commanded as the doors closed. He audibly sighed as the lift began to move, leaning on the wall and placed a hand to his temple, feeling his spots. The cheetah-like spots that ran down the sides of his body had a completely different texture than his skin, almost like sandpaper to the touch.

"Long day..." He muttered, the turbolift doors opening to reveal a empty hallway, leaving the doctor to walk in relative silence.