Chapter 6 - The Pool Of Tears

THREE WEEKS LATER…

The door chime blared so loud it seemed a wild animal had been caught in a trap, fighting for its very life. Mei-Wan rolled over in bed, searching for her husband so she could kick him hard and make him answer the constant noise of the chime.

"Lights!" she shouted to the computer.

Mei-Wan found she was in bed alone.   "Jack?" she asked.

Mei-Wan got out of bed, put her robe on, and walked out of the bedroom as the door chime continued its endless bleating. Entering the living room, she thought Jack probably had fallen asleep while reviewing personnel reports again, but he wasn't there. She tightened the robe about her and walked to the door.

It opened to Hank Evans who looked as frustrated as Mei-Wan felt.

"Hank, its three in the morning, do you have to lean on that door chime?" she asked, walking back to a couch, assuming Hank would follow.

"Sorry, Mei. I need to talk to Jack."

She frowned. "He's not here."

"Where is he?" Hank asked, confused.

Mei-Wan walked over to a replicator and activated it. "I'm not sure where he goes. I haven't asked."

Hank sat in a chair and watched her pull two cups of hot coffee from the replicator. She handed him one and sat in the couch and started sipping her own.

"There a problem between…" Hank started to ask.

Mei-Wan shook her head. "No, nothing like that. He just has trouble sleeping."

Hank took a large drink of his coffee, then set it down on a nearby table.

"Computer, location of Captain McCall?"

The computer seemed to hesitate but a moment. "Captain McCall is currently aboard the Captain's Yacht," it replied.

Hank started to worry. "Is the Yacht still aboard the Chamberlain?"

"Affirmative," the Computer said.

Hank stood. "I never would have looked for him there."

Mei-Wan didn't respond, but just drank more of her coffee.

Hank started toward the door, but stopped. "You okay?"

Mei-Wan forced a weak smile. "I'll be fine after a couple more hours sleep."

Hank nodded and walked out the door. Mei-Wan set her cup down and closed her eyes.

***

The turbolift doors slid open and Hank marched through Deck Twenty-two to the gangway for the Captain's Yacht. He couldn't imagine what would bring Jack down here at this time of night.  If Jack were smart he'd have himself back up in bed with that beautiful wife of his.

Hank smiled as he noticed the sound of jazz music coming up from the opening that led to the Yacht. He walked into the small ship and toward the front section. Sure enough, Jack McCall sat in the pilot's seat looking into space and drinking a dark liquid from a tall glass. Hank saw a small labeled bottle on the unlit control panel in front of Jack.

"Drinking alone?" Hank asked.

Jack twisted around in his seat and saw Hank. He smiled. "Well, look who's out roaming the corridors tonight."

Hank sat down in the seat next to his captain. "You're up past your bedtime, Jack."

Jack grinned and took a drink from his glass. "You used to be the one who kept me up late. I remember the time you brought those Deltan women aboard the Bonifacio," Jack said with a laugh.

"Those were good times, kid."

"Those were great times, old man."

"You better take something to sober you up. Falco's signaled that the Abdiel has scanned ahead and it appears there's a nebula in our path."

Jack frowned. "There was no mention of a nebula in the information Hancock gave me."

"That's why I came looking for you."

Jack examined his glass. "Figures Falco would be the one to ruin my evening."

Hank looked sternly at him. "Seems to me you were the one who did that."

Jack stood up from his seat and took a moment to balance himself. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know," Hank said.

Jack shook his head and placed the bottle back into a compartment. He touched a control and the music shut off. "I just needed to unwind a little."

"Sounds like you do this fairly often."

"I'm going to my quarters to get a quick shower. I'll meet you back on the Bridge in twenty minutes."

He trudged past Hank who watched to make sure Jack could walk on his own.

"Aye, sir," Hank replied.

***

Several minutes later Jack entered his quarters to find Mei-Wan on the couch, waiting for him.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," he said.

Mei-Wan frowned. "You've been drinking."

"I had a little scotch to relax."

"Alone?"

Jack moved toward the bedroom. "Yes, Mei, alone."

Mei-Wan followed Jack.  "I think you need to talk to Akala."

After removing his shirt, Jack smiled. "I don't need to talk to a Counselor, Mei. Especially one who's telepathic."

"I think you do. This has gone on too long. It's not going away."

Jack turned about. "I don't have time for this, Mei."

"You better make time."

He stopped and looked at her. "What are you saying?"

Mei-Wan stepped up and put her arms around him. "I'm worried about you, Jack."

His anger faded. He held her and closed his eyes. "I'll be fine, really."

"Jack, you know I'll always believe in you, but I don't think you can solve this by yourself."

Jack turned away. "I have to get to the Bridge."

She pulled her arms away and Jack entered the bathroom. After a few moments Mei-Wan heard the shower start.   She sat on the edge of the bed, tears welling up in her eyes.

***

On the Bridge, Jack sat in the captain's chair contemplating the data displayed on the main viewscreen. It wasn't like Hancock to leave out a detail like this. The nebula ahead seemed to completely surround the system they were headed for. They would have to take the ship into the nebula.  Most nebulas played havoc with starship sensors and had a way of making shields inoperable, leaving them blind and defenseless. Every first year cadet learned the results from Starfleet history of ships taken into these regions of gas and dust. Jack could only remember three instances when entering a nebula had been absolutely necessary and had been the right choice. To enter one for a simple planetary survey seemed ridiculous at best, suicidal at worst.

Jack closed his eyes fighting back the pain in his head as the anti-intoxicant he had taken began to kick in at full force. He started to think back to what Mei had said to him and how she hadn't spoken a word after he came out of the shower.

Jack shook his head and opened his eyes. He knew Hank Evans was watching him closely from behind at the Tactical Station.

"Mr. Zachary, can you scan the interior of the nebula?" Jack asked his Science Officer.

Zachary sat huddled over his station looking at his sensor reports. "Not any further than a few hundred thousand kilometers into it, sir. From gravimetric data I can conclude that there is a solar system at the heart of the nebula, but not much else."

Lak Negev walked up next to Jack. "We could send the Abdiel into the nebula a distance and have them report back their findings, sir."

"Communications probably won't function much beyond a few million kilometers," Zachary interjected.

That actually pleased Jack. The last thing he wanted was to send Falco in there alone.

"Three minutes to nebula boundary," Vargas announced.

Jack stared at the nearing mass of blue gases on the main viewscreen. He really didn't have much choice. They had to go in.

"Signal the Abdiel to fall back to just seventy kilometers ahead of us and drop to full impulse," Jack ordered.

Jack leaned back in his chair and watched his officers carry out his orders. He had spent over a month with them now and each day he was more impressed. He could tell that it wouldn't be long before Melissa Vargas was offered an Executive Officer's position and probably not long after that a ship of her own.

Melissa glanced up from her panel and met his eyes. She offered a quick grin before returning to her work.

Negev turned to Jack. "Sir, I suggest as soon as we go into orbit around Hel'yra that we deploy the Fighter Wing on patrols. With all the nebula's interference we won't have much warning if something sneaks up on us in there."

Jack smiled. "Smells like a trap to you too?"

Negev grinned. "Just considering all the possibilities."

Jack nodded. "Instruct Commander Kadan to prepare her pilots."

Negev turned to his console. Jack looked at the viewscreen which was now filled with the nebula. He could make out the Abdiel just ahead. The small ship had waited on the Chamberlain's arrival as ordered. Jack could imagine how Falco was reacting to that.

"We have secured from warp speed," Conn Officer s'Felis reported.

Jack turned about in his chair to face Hank Evans. "You know anything about this nebula?"

"No, I've only passed by this area a couple of times. The nebula makes a convenient navigational landmark, but I've never heard anything about a solar system inside it."

"You disagree with us going in?"

"There are stories from some of the Kel-j'na about this sector of space. They usually avoid it."

"You think we should pay attention to local superstitions?"

Hank grinned. "Not usually, but the Kel-j'na tend to be a very perceptive and insightful people. If they suggest staying away from something I at least give it due consideration, Captain."

Jack nodded and returned to watching the viewscreen. The Bridge shuddered and the lights dimmed. Melissa Vargas moved her fingers across the Operations Console and the lights returned to full intensity.

"We have entered the nebula," Zachary announced.

Hank frowned as he looked down at the Tactical Station. He touched several controls and frowned even harder. He looked up. "Lieutenant Commander Vargas?"

"Yes?"

Hank's frown intensified. "Can you check your readings on the shields?"

After a few moments Melissa joined Evans in frowning. "This isn't possible."

Jack looked over at her. "What is it?"

"Well, sir," she started. "It appears the shields are still holding."

It took a few moments for that to register. "Are you sure?"

Melissa Vargas sent her fingers across her console checking and rechecking various readouts. "It appears that our shields aren't affected by the nebula."

Jack walked over to the Ops station as Vargas continued reviewing the status of the Chamberlain's shields. The ship had worked flawlessly so far, but now was not the time to be experiencing problems with one of the ship's primary systems. He tried to imagine what could go wrong with the status diagnostics to report the shields active when there was no way they could be.

Jack thought a moment and looked up at the viewscreen. The Abdiel cruised ahead of them through the gas clouds of the nebula.

"Mr. Zachary, scan the Abdiel. Are their shields still up?" Jack asked.

Zachary quickly worked his panel and turned to Jack. "No, sir. Their shields are inoperable."

"Is there anything about the nebula's composition that would suggest our shields should remain unaffected?"

"No, Captain. Its composition is fairly standard. Perhaps a higher concentration of certain metals than I might expect, but if anything that should make the shield situation worse."

Jack returned to his command seat.  "Ms. Pederson, contact the Abdiel and have them scan us. Ask if they detect our shields up."

Cynthia Pederson nodded. "Aye, sir."

As she contacted the smaller ship Jack peered over at Hank Evans who smiled at him. A moment later, Pederson turned to Jack.

"The Abdiel reports their scans verify our shields are up," Pederson reported.

Hank shook his head.

"It appears our Chief Engineer has surprised us again," Jack stated.

Zachary looked up from his station. "Sir, I can now detect a stellar mass at the center of the nebula and there are five planets in orbit around it."

"Make your course for the second planet, Mr. Negev," Jack said.

***