Chapter 9 - The Dark Hours
Jack walked along with Hank Evans on Deck Four of the Chamberlain. Jack did his best to suppress a yawn, but failed miserably. While sunrise had occurred only a few hours ago down at the site on the planet, aboard the starship the chronometers read 2315 and Jack was more tired than he had been in a long time.
The first death of his new command had happened far sooner than he would have thought. Every captain resigned himself to the reality that people would die under their command, but it didn't make it easier to deal with. Ensign Uduff having been part of Mei-Wan's Section and under her command hit Jack especially hard. He knew this wouldn't be easy for her.
"Preston should have some firm results in the next few hours," Hank said.
"Come on, Hank. A genetic test takes less than five minutes. He should have had the results an hour ago," Jack replied. He was tired of not having answers.
"Usually, I would agree, but it seems there's some contaminant mixed with the sample from Uduff's body that's slowing him down. He says it’s an odd isotope of hydrogen in the moisture on the planet."
They stopped in front of Jack's quarters.
Jack glanced down the corridor. "Then maybe it's not a member of the crew after all. How would moisture on a planet that dry get on Uduff's body?"
Hank looked at his younger friend. "So, what was the big meeting all about?"
"We got out there, somehow were transported to a small room and only heard a voice."
Hank laughed. "Sounds like a Hancock operation."
"They asked a couple of questions then told us they'd contact Hancock with their final payment."
Hank thought a moment. "Probably where our shield system came from. I wonder what we'll get next."
"Have you always seen a conspiracy around every corner?"
"Only when they're there, Jack my boy," Hank said.
Jack touched a panel at the side of the door and it slid open. "Get me when you've got a suspect."
Jack walked into his quarters and the door closed behind him. He stepped quietly through the dark living area to the bedroom where he could see Mei-Wan was already fast asleep. He hated that he hadn't been able to be there for her over Uduff's death.
He sat down in a chair and took his boots off and looked at the nebula beyond the windows. It threw a faint blue light into the room which gave everything an unreal appearance more like an image from a dream. It made him think of winter.
Jack stood to take his clothes off, but stopped to view Mei's sleeping face. He noticed her eyes moving under their closed lids. Jack smiled as he wondered what she was dreaming of. After a day like this past one, he hoped it was something pleasant.
He crawled into bed and watched her until the darkness pulled him into its grasp.
***
Jack felt a hand pulling at his arm, but couldn't figure out who it was.
"Jack, wake up," Mei-Wan's voice said.
Jack opened his eyes and saw Mei-Wan wearing her uniform. "What's wrong?"
She gave him a puzzled look. "It's 0700, Jack."
He sat up, not believing what he heard. "What?"
His wife sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "I got up an hour ago and took a long shower. I thought you'd be up by now."
Jack worked at forcing his eyes open, instead he yawned. "I don't think I've slept that hard in months."
"I wish I could say the same. I kept waking up almost every hour."
Jack rubbed her shoulder which brought a smile to her face. "Sorry."
"It's not your fault," she said.
"I mean about coming back after you'd gone to bed. Sorry I wasn't there to talk about yesterday."
"I've seen people die before, but… " She looked into Jack's eyes. "I think I understand a bit better what you go through when someone in your crew dies."
A haunted look came to Jack's face as he remembered all those who had died from the Beaumont, but suddenly something about that seemed odd. He turned to Mei-Wan and smiled wide.
"Hey, I didn't have that dream last night."
"Really? You're sure?"
Jack thought and reviewed everything he could remember from the night before. "I'm sure."
Mei-Wan put her arms around Jack and held him tight. "That's wonderful."
Jack stood up from the bed and walked toward a closet.
Mei-Wan watched him. "I wish I could say the same."
Jack turned to her as he pulled a uniform off a hanger. "You had nightmares?"
"Yeah. I kept feeling like I was locked up somewhere. I tried to get loose, but never could."
"You had a hard day, Mei." He leaned forward and kissed her. "I need to get ready. I have to meet with Hank and Preston. You want to have lunch together?"
Mei-Wan grinned. "How about we just meet back here and see what happens."
Jack laughed softly and headed toward the shower. "Say around 1300?"
Mei-Wan nodded and smiled.
***
Jack entered Sickbay and found Hank standing next to the Chief Medical Officer Taylor Preston. Neither seemed very happy.
"So, who's our prime suspect?" Jack asked.
Preston twisted his mouth a bit as he tried to find a way to tell Jack. "No one, Captain."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Alright damnit, that's it. I've had it with not getting a straight simple answer. Ever since we entered this damn nebula all I've gotten is half answers, wrong answers, and no answers. It’s a simple DNA test."
"I'm aware of that, but the DNA found on Uduff doesn't match anyone on the Science Teams," Preston said.
"But it's human DNA?"
"Most definitely, sir."
Jack turned to Hank. "You sure you accounted for everyone, Hank?"
"Jack, we even checked it against Mei just so we could say we ran everyone," Hank said.
Jack smiled. "That would have been hard to explain."
"Not to mention leaving the captain in a dangerous situation for the last eight hours or so."
Jack sat down in a chair next to a table. "So, what do we have?"
Preston went to a wall display and a DNA pattern appeared. "We know our suspect is a human male, from the condition of the cells, I'd say between the age of twenty and thirty. Genetic matching indicates a high probability of an ancestry of North America or Europe."
"So, that leaves us with probably four to five hundred people on this ship."
"Jack, there were less than thirty down there at the time," Hank said.
Jack raised his hands up. "I don't want to hear it, Hank! We're going to test the entire crew and if that doesn't work, then the entire Federation database. A member of my crew is dead and before this day ends I'm going to know who did it."
The three of them remained silent for several moments. Jack wondered if they found Uduff's killer if they'd also find the spy sending the coded transmissions. It would take quite a turn of his luck to wrap up two mysteries in one move.
Preston looked at the display and took a deep breath. He frowned and went to the panel. After a moment he touched the screen and the image changed. He touched it a few more times and then shook his head.
"I can't believe I left them out," the Doctor said.
"What?" Jack asked.
"I didn't include Mr. Evans' guards."
Hank's eyes went wide. "Now just a damn minute. I'd trust those guys with my life. There is no way… "
His words trailed off as the display indicated it had a match. Jack looked at Hank as the computer presented them with the name of Lieutenant j.g. Anthony Ramirez.
"No way in hell! Jack, I've known the guy since he was born. I've known his father for thirty-five years. Trust me, Ramirez is no murderer!"
"Then he can explain how his DNA got on Uduff's neck," Jack said.
Hank pointed his finger at Jack. "You're wrong, Jack. You'll see."
***
Fifteen minutes later, Hank, Preston, and Jack stood in Hank's Office on Deck Twelve where Ramirez sat in a chair.
"I'm afraid I don't understand, Hank. I've given my report. There's nothing more to tell," the nervous Ramirez stated.
Jack pulled up a chair and sat in it. "Indulge me, Lieutenant."
Ramirez took several deep breaths.
"The captain just wants to hear it straight from you, Tony. Its alright," Hank said.
"Well, Hendricks and I had walked inside to check up on the survey teams, to make sure they were okay. We decided after we talked to them to do a perimeter check. I went one way around the building and Hendricks went the other. We passed each other on the far side and kept going."
Jack listened to each detail as Ramirez recounted it. As he listened to the young man he did find it hard to believe he had killed Uduff.
Ramirez continued, "We got back to the forward entrance and I was feeling a little tired and Hendricks said he'd go out to check the shuttles. I leaned against the wall and waited for him to come back. About fifteen minutes later, Lieutenant McCall came out asking where Uduff was and I told her I hadn't seen him. I called Hendricks and we began a search and found his body."
Jack watched Ramirez's expression and tried to decide where to go next. Hank Evans beat him to it.
"So, that was it, then?" Hank asked.
Ramirez nodded. "Yes, sir."
Jack stood to his feet. "Did you doze off while Hendricks was out checking the shuttles?"
Ramirez seemed worried. He looked up to Hank and then back to Jack.
"Sir, I… On security duty, well…"
Jack looked sternly at the young Lieutenant j.g. "My first assignment was Security, Ramirez. I know you try to catch a bit of sleep here and there when you can. I'm asking if you did last night?"
Ramirez nodded. "Just closed my eyes for a bit, sir, but if Uduff had come out that entrance I would have heard him."
Jack turned to Preston. "Tell him your findings, Doctor."
Preston was uncomfortable with this. He was a doctor, dammit, not a policeman.
"The DNA found on Uduff was matched to you, Lieutenant."
Ramirez's eyes went wide. "That's crazy. Me?"
He looked at Hank who tried not to react.
"Hank, you know me! Why would I want to kill Uduff? I didn't even know the guy!"
"I agree, Tony," Hank said.
Jack watched Hank interact with Ramirez and thought back to their time together on the Bonifacio. Hank hadn't changed much. He was loyal to a fault.
"Jack, Tony says he didn't do it, that's good enough for me," Hank said.
"Unfortunately, it's not for me, Hank," Jack said. "The DNA is fairly conclusive evidence."
Ramirez breathed heavily like a trapped animal, but he remained in the chair. He turned to Jack.
"Captain, I'll take any test you ask for, any examination. I know I didn't kill that man!"
Jack shook his head. "Ramirez, a denial isn't proof."
Hank's eyes opened wide. "Though there is a way to test that denial, Jack."
Preston, Jack, and Ramirez turned to Hank.
"How?" Jack asked.
"Our Counselor is M'naran and a full telepath. She could tell us if Ramirez is telling the truth," Hank said.
Ramirez turned to Jack as the captain thought.
"No, it would violate Ramirez's rights."
"I don't care!" Ramirez shouted. "I'll do anything to prove my innocence! I know I didn't do it!"
Hank turned to Jack. "I think he's waved his rights, Captain."
***
Akala Wilmarza walked quickly from the turbolift on Deck Twelve toward the Security Section. The beautiful dark green skinned M'naran was the Personnel Officer of the Chamberlain and that included the job of Ship's Counselor, though in truth she had a counseling staff of almost forty. She and that staff already had a busy morning and she really didn't need something else to do, but the captain had called her personally. She hoped whatever he wanted wouldn't take too long. She had a near crisis on her hands.
Wilmarza entered Hank Evans office and found the captain, Doctor Preston, Hank, and another officer there already.
"Thank you for coming down here, Ms. Wilmarza," Jack said.
"After we're through here, sir, I'd like to speak to you about a problem I think you should be aware of," she said.
Jack nodded and turned to the young man in the chair. "Counselor, this is Lieutenant Ramirez. Doctor Preston has identified his DNA as being that found on the body of Ensign Uduff who was killed yesterday. Ramirez denies he had anything to do with Uduff's death. We'd like you to look into his mind and tell us if he's being truthful."
Akala shook her head. "Captain, I can't do that. Testimony from a telepath isn't admissible in court. Its also not ethical to forcefully enter someone's mind."
Ramirez looked up at her. "I want you to. I have to prove to them I didn't do this!"
Akala turned to him. "But it won't prove anything, Lieutenant."
"It might clarify things, Akala," Hank said. "We're not looking for evidence to use against him. Ramirez wants something the captain can trust."
Akala hated this type of thing. Criminal minds always left her drained for days. She wanted to say no, but something about Ramirez convinced her to give him some peace.
"Lieutenant, just relax," she said as she pulled up a chair to sit across from him.
Ramirez closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Akala felt his mind resisting, but that was normal. Humans had difficulty with the idea of letting someone into their mind. Akala grew up on a world where it was as normal as breathing.
Finally Ramirez relaxed enough to let her in. She saw the fear clouding everything else. The young man thought the Universe had turned against him. Akala took her mind down the twists and turns in Ramirez's thoughts. She found an image of a female crew member he had become entranced with a few days before. Thoughts of his parents consumed much of his mental activity. She could see he was a very driven officer.
She peeled back his memories until she came to the thoughts of the night before. She re-lived his actions, walking with Hendricks who he considered a friend, going back to the entrance, then leaning against the wall. His mind drifted off, it had to be sleep, and the next memory was of Mei-Wan McCall walking up to him. Akala tried to ignore his contemplation of their captain's wife. She had trouble dealing with the sexual thoughts of human males.
Akala was about to pull out satisfied Ramirez had nothing to do with murdering anyone when something called to her--- a quiet misty whisper. It was so soft she at first thought it was from her own mind, but it came from the mind she now roamed through. It called to her again, but this time with more force. She listened, trying to determine if it was Ramirez or something else.
Then it screamed.
"Release me!" it shrieked.
"What are you?" Akala asked.
"No more!"
Akala jerked back in her chair, the link broken with Ramirez's mind. She shoved the chair back, and almost fell backward onto the floor.
"It killed him!" she yelled.
Ramirez stood to his feet, but his face was contorted almost beyond recognition.
"How dare you enter my mind!" he screamed.
Hank Evans grabbed a phaser from his desk and turned back to the young Lieutenant, but Ramirez had somehow already reached him and yanked the phaser from his hand and threw Hank back against the wall. Jack leaped at Ramirez, missing him by a few inches as the younger man bolted out the door and into the corridor.
"Security Alert!" Jack shouted to the computer system of the Chamberlain.
Instantly alarm klaxons blared all over the starship. Jack turned to his Personnel Officer.
"You okay?"
Akala regained her composure. "Yes, sir."
Jack waited long enough to be sure and he followed Hank who had already made it out to the corridor after grabbing two phasers from a weapons locker.
Hank stopped at an intersection as Jack approached, and threw the captain one of the weapons.
"I can't believe it," Evans said.
"I'm sorry, Hank."
"I want to take him alive."
Jack McCall nodded. The two men turned to their left and moved cautiously down the corridor as red light flashed from above. Jack tapped his communicator.
"Computer, location of Lieutenant j.g. Anthony Ramirez?"
The Computer replied, "Lieutenant Ramirez is on Deck Twelve, Section Forty-two."
"He's headed for the Port Side Gangway," Hank said.
Jack followed Hank around another corner, but the next moment, was shoved back as a phaser blast barely missed Evans' head. A nearby wall exploded in a shower of sparks and metal fragments.
"He's got that set to maximum!" Jack yelled.
Hank pulled Jack up to the corridor wall, giving them the most cover they could hope for.
"He can't go anywhere. He's at the Gangway hatch."
Jack tried to imagine why Ramirez would allow himself to get trapped like this when he could have easily made for a jefferies tube and probably lost them. Or at least he could have gone for a lifepod. With the radiation fields in this system they couldn't use the transporter and he might have evaded their sensor sweeps.
Hank edged to the corner. "Come on, Tony. We can work this out. There's no place for you to go."
They waited and got no response, except from the Computer. "Warning. Port Side Gangway Hatch safety protocols have been disabled. Evacuate this Section," the electronic brain stated.
Jack responded, "Computer, override manual controls to Port Side Gangway, authorization McCall Zed-nine-alpha, Mei-three-nine."
A moment later they heard Ramirez scream around the corner and phaser blasts again shot down the corridor next to them.
"I think he's a bit angry," Jack said.
Hank shook his head. "What the hell was he opening the hatch for?"
"Maybe he plans on suicide," Jack said.
Hank turned to the corner. "Tony, stop this! Just put the phaser down and we'll work something out. You know you can trust me!"
Jack adjusted his phaser and held it up for Hank to see. Evans' eyes opened wide in shock, but Jack held his finger up to his mouth and pointed off to his side. Hank thought it through and realized Jack McCall had a plan.
Jack leaped into the intersection of corridors and fired his phaser hitting the ceiling above Ramirez sending a shower of sparks and smoke raining down onto the maddened security guard. Jack continued his leap out of harm's way through to the other side of the junction at the same moment Hank Evans stretched his arm around the corner and fired a stun blast that struck Ramirez hard in the chest.
Hank and Jack stood facing each other across the divide waiting for the smoke to clear.
"You shouldn't have done that, Hank," came Ramirez's voice through the veil of smoke. "I can't stop it!"
Hank started to move, but Jack raised his hand to make him hold his ground. "Ramirez?" Jack asked.
The voice they next heard was clearly Ramirez's without any humanity, without warmth, without hope.
"I must escape!"
The whine of phaser fire filled the corridor until an explosion blasted past Jack and Hank forcing them to the floor. A moment later all the air surrounding them roared past on its way to the vacuum of space. Jack found a piece of molding on the wall and held on with all of his strength while the laws of physics wanted otherwise. He lifted his eyes to see Hank doing the same on the other side of the intersection.
"Computer, Activate Emergency Containment!" Jack shouted with what little air he could pull past his vocal cords.
A second later the rushing wind completely died and both men drew air into their lungs from the overcompensating life support system. Hank looked around the corner and saw a four foot wide hole in the large gangway hatch and beyond that, the body of Ramirez tumbling end over end away from the ship in the merciless empty void of space.
Hank tapped his comm badge. "Transporter Room Seven, lock onto a body off the Port… "
Jack touched Hank's shoulder. "They can't function this near to the planet, Hank."
Hank lowered his head and walked toward the opening. Jack tapped his own communicator.
"Transporter Room, disregard," he said as he watched Hank stand in silent memorial to the young man who by now was most certainly dead.
***
Engineers and Damage Control Personnel walked past Jack to their work on the wrecked hatch. Chief Engineer Bishop approached him.
"We should have this repaired in about four hours, Captain."
Jack simply nodded.
Bishop looked over at her busy crew and the gapping hole where a force field was the only thing between them and space. "We'll need to evacuate this section and depressurize it so we can get the replacement doors installed."
Jack started walking. "Let me know when you're finished."
As Jack got past the arbitrary line dividing one section of Deck Twelve from another he found Vargas and Akala Wilmarza waiting for him.
"Evans just signaled that his shuttle's on its way back with Ramirez's body, sir," Vargas said softly.
Jack turned to his Personnel Officer. "Counselor, what was in that young man's mind?"
"Something that was Ramirez, but wasn't. It was as if he had been consumed by an uncontrollable rage."
"Was it an entity of some kind?"
"No, not exactly. It seemed as though his mind was transforming into something, or someone different."
Jack stood silently trying to put that in some sort of context.
"Anthony Ramirez did not kill Uduff, sir. Something in his mind used his body to do it."
"That sounds a bit like a defense attorney's last ditch argument," Jack said.
"It's the reality of what was happening to Ramirez, sir."
Jack leaned against the corridor wall as still more Engineering Personnel walked past them toward the ongoing repairs.
"Sir, there was another matter I needed to discuss with you."
"Go ahead, Counselor," Jack said.
"The Counseling Staff received more than seven hundred messages this morning from the crew concerning a variety of sleep problems," she stated.
Jack turned his eyes to the green skinned woman. "My wife said she had trouble sleeping as well."
"Did she have dreams about being trapped or claustrophobic feelings?"
Jack's eyes widened. "Seven hundred members of this crew had the same types of dreams?"
"Yes, and now that I think of it, the overriding sense I got from Ramirez was that of being confined or trapped."
Jack realized he had to act quickly. The situation was spinning out of control. "Have there been any other incidents like Ramirez?"
"No. Everyone else seems to be fine, but I'd like to have Doctor Preston runs tests on a selection of those who had the worst dreams," Akala suggested.
"Get on it right away. Any other recommendations?"
"Ever since we arrived here I and the other telepathic members of my staff have detected a sort of mental background noise. At first each of us thought it was just the strange radiation fields of the nebula and those surrounding the planet. But with Ramirez and the dreams reported by such a large part of the crew, I would suggest there's something on that planet responsible for all of this. I recommend at least going to a higher orbit. If it's on the surface, my staff and I should sense a decrease in the mental noise we've experienced."
"We'll do more than that," Jack said as he turned to Vargas. "Lieutenant Commander is anyone still on the planet?"
"No, sir. Everyone returned more than five hours ago."
"Inform the Bridge we're leaving orbit within the hour. I want to get the hell out of this solar system," Jack ordered.
"Jack, we can't," Mei-Wan said as she walked up to Jack, Akala, and Melissa.
"I've lost two members of my crew, Mei. We're leaving."
"We can't. Not yet."
"I thought you were the one who said we needed to leave this world to the Federation Archaeological Council," Jack said with a grin.
"After we go down there one last time," Mei-Wan replied.
"It's too dangerous, we're leaving."
"You said you had to know what was down there before you could leave. Your orders demanded it."
Jack took a deep breath. He knew she had impaled him on his own words.
"I've figured out how to get into the lower levels of the structure, Jack. We might find out what the Ancient Progenitors were doing on this world and perhaps a whole lot more."
