Chapter 5 - The Chains Of Command
When Jack arrived in the Ready Room Simmons, Tavak, Negev, and Purcell were already there standing around the Comm display where a grainy image was displayed. The Chamberlain's captain checked his uniform jacket to make sure he had gotten it back on correctly as he approached the others.
"What is this?" he asked.
"It was a message from your father," Simmons said. "However, they seem to be having trouble transmitting."
Jack's heart rate picked up. "Are they okay?"
"We did not receive enough to discover anything," Tavak stated.
Negev went to the display control. "Ms. Pederson, can you regain the transmission?"
"Their signal strength is very weak, sir, but I'll try to boost it again," Pederson's voice said over the speaker.
The image on the display began to form.
"... wasn't nearly as effective as we thought. Chamberlain, can you receive?"
"This is Chamberlain, Jeremiah," Simmons said.
Jack's father could clearly be seen through the interference.
"Fergus, we're on reduced power. I'm not certain how long we can continue to transmit."
"What happened?"
Admiral Jeremiah McCall took a deep breath as he prepared to speak across the subspace void. "We had a report of a sighting of the G'voda vessel near the Danoran System, so we moved quickly to find it. When we came out of warp the vessel was approaching Danor Four. We attempted to contact the ship, but it opened fire on the planet."
Jack closed his eyes as he considered the results of such an attack.
Static filled the display for a moment, but Jeremiah continued. "Five of my ships lost power because of the same type of surge the Chamberlain experienced. The G'voda hit the planet again, tearing into the outer crust. We launched torpedoes, but they had no effect. The vessel fired at the planet again and all of my ships lost their power."
Simmons took a step closer to the display. "Were the Danorans able to evacuate?"
The image of Jeremiah looked down for a moment. "A few ships escaped. By the time we were able to restore minimal power, the G'voda vessel was gone and the Danoran homeworld was busy turning itself inside out. The entire surface is covered in magma and there are no signs of life."
Purcell stepped back and leaned against a chair. "My god."
Simmons turned to Tavak. "Are there any strategic resources in the Danoran system?"
The Vulcan thought a moment. "There are two large gas giants each with several moons with large dilithium deposits, but other than that, I can recall nothing else."
Simmons turned back to the display. "How many ships in your Fleet are functional?"
Jeremiah held up a PADD and read from it. "Three ships had to be evacuated. They couldn't even get life support back up. Four others have no warp drive. The rest are barely functional. If Jack's Chief Engineer hadn't given us her suggestions to combat the power surge, none of us would be operational."
Simmons thought a moment. "I'll have the Oceana alter their course to meet up with you. At maximum warp they should reach you in two days from their present location. I'll see what other ships are in the area."
"Thanks, Fergus. We may need to evacuate at least two other ships in the next forty-eight hours." He paused a moment. "Is Jack there?"
Jeremiah's son stepped forward. "I'm here, Dad."
Admiral McCall smiled. "Let your Engineer know we've got more data for her about the power surges. If we have to ever face the G'voda again, we have to figure out how to avoid how their weapons disable our ships."
Jack nodded. "You doing okay, Dad?"
"Yes. If you could send a message to your mother letting her know I'm okay, I'd really appreciate it."
Jack smiled. "Sure."
The image faded and filled with static.
"It looks like we're losing your signal again, Jeremiah," Simmons said.
Nothing but static.
Tavak touched a control and the display was replaced by the Federation Seal.
Everyone in the room stood in silence.
***
Mei-Wan sat staring at the floor in Archaeology Lab Four. She had done so for the last half hour. She thought she'd come back to the Lab to escape the pain filling her soul. Instead, she had thought of nothing but the argument with Jack an hour before. She was certain her marriage was finished. Why did I tell him?
The doors to the Lab opened and Duncan Zachary strolled in looking about the Lab at the various displays.
"I need to speak to you if you're not busy, Lieutenant."
Mei-Wan remained silent.
Zachary stopped a few feet away from her. "Lieutenant McCall."
She turned slowly toward him. "What?"
He tilted his head back and forth several times before finally speaking. "Having a bad evening?"
Mei-Wan just shook her head.
Zachary grinned as he walked over to the transparent panel with the samples of the Ancient Progenitor language written on it. "Don't tell me this dead language has escaped your considerable genius."
He swung about and stared at her. "My faith in the Universe might shatter if you, the brightest, most studied, greatest of all living archaeologists couldn't decipher a language."
She shook her head. "Go to hell, Zachary."
A wide smile came to his face. "Oh, how wonderful! Finally the end of the false respect! Finally the apple of the Academy's eye shows her true nature!"
His laughter filled the room as Mei-Wan closed her eyes. He pulled a chair from across the room to less than five feet away from her. Zachary sat in the chair and faced Mei-Wan.
"I will have an entertaining time filling out your disciplinary report tonight. If you'd be kind enough to say more perhaps we can get you a court-martial. With Admiral Simmons here, I'm certain we could expedite matters and have you in the Brig by the end of the week," he said.
Mei-Wan slowly looked up at him. "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."
His head bounced back and forth for ten seconds. "Well, another time then. I will look forward to it."
She shook her head. "What did you want?"
"That little communication you sent to the Ravenscroft last week, did you think to get my authorization before you did that?" he asked with a smirk.
"No, I wanted to catch them before they entered the Tartarus wormhole."
Zachary twisted his mouth for several seconds. "Unfortunately for you, that's a violation of Science Department Regulations."
"Since when?"
He grinned. "Check the Department messages. I sent the new regulations to everyone two months ago. It states that any and all transmissions from this vessel by a member of the Department dealing with matters covered by the Department must first be reviewed by the Science Officer."
He leaned forward. "In case you aren't aware," he pointed at himself. "That's me."
Mei-Wan rolled her eyes as he continued. "Oh, I know Ms. McCall that because the captain is your husband that somehow you think you don't have to follow my orders, but Starfleet Regulations are quite clear about the chain of command."
He stood and looked down at her. "Oh, are you having problems with your marriage?"
She looked up at him and glared.
He smiled wide. "Good for you! Personal pain would be good for someone like you. Maybe it'll bring you down to the level of us 'ordinary' scientists."
He gingerly moved the chair he had sat in back to its original place in the Lab.
"This is the final warning for you, McCall," he said in a low voice. "You pull your head out of your pretty little ass, or I'm going to do my best to make certain you'll have more than your pathetic marriage to cry about."
The door to the Lab opened again. This time, Zachary's second, Timothy Blackwood, entered. The man of about thirty with bushy blonde hair appeared out of breath.
"What is it?" Zachary asked him.
"Sir, we just got word," Blackwood started. "The Danoran homeworld has been attacked."
Zachary's eyes went wide but a moment. He caught himself.
"Thank you, Timothy. I suppose I should... uh, we had better get to my office and see if the captain needs any information from us," Zachary said.
Mei-Wan turned in her chair to watch both men quickly exit the Lab. Why did I stay on this ship? she thought.
***
Corsica stood in the bar deep in the bowels of the Secondary Hull with Chief Engineer Kristen Bishop. The historian held a bottle of wine by the neck in one hand and a large writing implement in the other.
"No, no, no! If the manifold is twenty-one dimensions that geodesic you're so damn worried about is irrelevant as long as..." He made several notations to the equation. "This set 'L' is achronal."
Bishop frowned. "But that violates causality."
Corsica shook his head. "It does not. At least not in any noticeable way."
The Chamberlain's Chief Engineer gave the historian a contemptuous look. "You're drunk."
He thought for a moment as a number of spectators to their argument laughed. "Yes, I'm drunk, but that doesn't change the facts."
"It sure does explain why a historian thinks he knows anything about wormholes," she said with a chuckle.
"Where I come from school children are considered defective if they can't derive the rudimentary equations for wormholes."
"I'm happy for you and your civilization, Mr. Corsica, but I can't buy that you really know what you're talking about."
He took a drink from the bottle of wine. "Alright. How about this?"
He took his marker and wrote several lines of equations beneath the ones already present. When he was finished, he stepped back and downed the last of the bottle while Bishop looked over his work.
"Impossible," she said.
"More than possible," Corsica stated. "It's functional."
He dropped the marker on a table and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes went wide. "Oh my. I hope I didn't miss it."
Corsica handed the wine bottle to someone and quickly exited the bar. Those gathered around Bishop laughed as she shook her head.
"What a strange little man," she said.
Chester the doorman walked up to her. "You think he was just blowing smoke, Kristy?"
She laughed. "Of course he was. He knew just enough physics to try to pull one over on us."
Everyone else moved away to other distractions as Bishop picked up a spray bottle and a towel to clean off Corsica's scribbling. However, something caught her eye.
"Wait a minute," she said to herself. She sat in a chair and carefully looked over the equations.
Chester walked up to her. "You want me to take care of that?"
She shook her head as her eyes widened. "Chester, go get me a tricorder. I want to record this."
"What? But that's all crap."
"Just get it for me," she said softly. "And Chester, no one is to erase this."
The large man nodded and walked off.
Little did Kristen Bishop realize, but Mr. Corsica had done something that happens about every ten thousand years in the Milky Way Galaxy. No one would realize it for more than eight hundred years, but the deed had been done. Corsica had changed the course of history by revealing a truth that would alter human as well as Federation history forever.
Kristen Bishop would never understand those equations. They would be a curiosity to her and to several generations beyond her, but one day they would change a Galaxy. The natural progression of events had been altered irrevocably.
***
Hank Evans and Melissa Vargas had joined the others in the Ready Room as they sat in the forward section in several couches. Simmons sat in a chair at the head of the group.
"The question is what are they after?" Negev asked.
"Conquest," Purcell said.
Tavak nodded. "The destruction of a Federation world of two billion would seem to indicate as much."
Jack shook his head. "But the Danorans are strategically irrelevant to the Federation."
Simmons nodded. "I agree. Which means they're up to something we don't yet see."
Purcell took a deep breath. "Then why have a spy aboard this ship?"
Melissa leaned forward a bit. "We don't know the Chamberlain is the only starship they have spies on."
Fergus Simmons looked over at Hank. "You've been awfully quiet, Mr. Evans."
Hank grinned. "Don't know if I have much to add."
"You know the Kel-j'na Region better than anyone. If the G'voda come from there..."
"Then I doubt their interest is conquest. I've seen nothing in the Region to indicate there has been any major force up to that kind of activity in the last five hundred years or so," Hank said.
Jack turned to the admiral. "Do you want us to go looking for them once we get there, Admiral?"
Simmons thought a moment. "No, not just yet. I want to get an overview of activity within two hundred light years of Kel-j'na first. If we decide they are a genuine threat, then we may have to build up our defenses."
Negev's antennae twitched. "I think they have clearly proven they are a threat, Admiral."
Tavak turned to the Andorian. "The question, Commander, is not if they are a threat. The question is can we find a way to decrease that threat without having to resort to military action."
"Exactly," Simmons said. "We need more information."
Hank leaned back in his seat and wondered what sort of information the G'voda had about them through the spy aboard the Chamberlain.
***
An hour later, Jack McCall strolled down a corridor on Deck Seven. He couldn't bring himself to go back to his quarters. He was afraid Mei-Wan would be there and he had too much else on his mind to deal with her or their marriage at the moment. He wished she had never told him about Kyle Hoffman and why she turned down the chance to go on the Expedition.
He turned a corner and could tell he was close to his destination. The corridor resonated with the sounds of a music that Jack couldn't quite place. It had a familiar feeling to it; a sense of timelessness.
He entered the auditorium with seating for two hundred and walked down the aisle. This particular hall had originally been placed on the ship to allow for large conferences and meetings. On the stage ahead was the Chamberlain's symphony orchestra practicing for their concert the next evening. He slumped down into a seat and tried to relax, but there was too much on his mind.
He listened to them play their instruments with a passion that made him smile. A recording of the same music would sound the same, but he doubted it would have the same emotional impact this was having on him. There was a power to it that frightened him, but also exhilarated. The only thing he could compare it to was making love. There was a vitality and a life to it.
He closed his eyes and let the music consume him. It drew him into a world other than his own; a world that reminded him of a time when human life only required knowledge of one planet. Part of Jack McCall yearned for that simplicity even though he knew it was an illusion built more on ignorance than fact. Humanity had always been part of the Galaxy he traversed. Prior to the past three hundred years, it was simply unaware of that truth.
The orchestra became a source of controlled chaos as the piece they practiced neared its end. Jack's pulse raced with the growing tempo and volume. He couldn't help but smile at the way he felt. There was a joy to this that he had not experienced for what seemed forever.
There was also a sense of triumph that he didn't think he'd ever felt. It drove on and did not relent. It demanded the Universe to take notice before it would stop.
The last note echoed through the large hall. The musicians seemed frozen in place. Then they along with Jack took a breath.
As they lowered their instruments it was if they had transformed back into mortals once again. The frantic energy was gone.
Cynthia Pederson held her violin by its neck as she turned and saw the Chamberlain's captain seated near the rear of the auditorium. She quickly stepped down from the stage and made her way to Jack McCall.
"Captain, I'm surprised to see you here, sir."
He smiled. "Forgive me for intruding Commander. I was up late and thought I'd come by and listen for a bit."
The red-head returned his smile. "It's not a problem, Captain. What did you think?"
"I thought it was marvelous. What was that last piece?"
"Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. It's always been one of my favorite pieces of music," she said.
"It's one of mine now," Jack replied.
Cynthia grinned. "You are coming tomorrow night, aren't you, sir?"
He nodded as other musicians walked past them. "Yes."
She held up her instrument. "I should probably put this away and get going." She hesitated a moment. "Thanks for coming by, sir."
Jack watched her turn and walk back up to the stage.
"There you are!"
Jack turned and saw Corsica running down the aisle toward him.
"We're going to miss it!"
Jack stood to his feet. "What am I going to miss?"
The historian waved his arms. "Hurry!"
Corsica ran back to the exit of the auditorium. Jack wondered how drunk this strange man was.
Out in the corridor Corsica held a turbolift's doors open as Jack approached.
"I'm really tired, Mr. Corsica."
"Trust me, you'll thank me for this one day," he said as Jack entered the lift.
"Don't set your hopes too high."
After only ten seconds of travel the doors opened again and Corsica ran out.
"We have to hurry, Captain!"
Jack followed him to a lounge on the starboard side of Deck Seven.
Corsica looked at a small device in his hand and turned to Jack.
"Order the Bridge to drop out of warp."
"Now just a minute. What the hell is this..." Jack started to protest.
"We'll miss it!"
Jack shook his head. "Not until you tell me what this is about."
"Do you want to see a ship larger than the Chamberlain?"
A chill went down Jack's spine. He wondered if Corsica was somehow involved with the G'voda and had led them all into a trap. He took a deep breath and looked into the man's eyes.
If it was the G'voda, then it was better to find out what they were up to than not. He tapped his Comm Badge.
"Bridge, this is the Captain. Take us out of warp and raise shields."
Corsica frowned. "You don't need your shields."
The stars outside the ship came to a rest. Jack and Corsica stepped up to the windows and looked out into the vastness.
"Any second now," Corsica said.
"What exactly are we waiting for?"
Jack felt a low shudder through his feet from the deck. He turned to the man next to him.
"What is that?"
Corsica smiled. "Look."
From above Jack McCall saw a glowing object that defied any attempt to fit it into a sense of scale. Its upper section was roughly disk shaped. Below that hundreds of structures spread out in every direction covered in a bright glow. It's lower section made Jack think of an inverted tree, but one that was aflame with a fire that did not burn.
"Captain! A vessel has just passed over us!" came Negev's voice over the Comm.
"Standby, Exec," Jack replied.
He observed as the gargantuan vessel moved farther away from them. Suddenly he felt an odd sensation that seemed to go through his entire body. It was a pleasant feeling, but one that continued to grow in its affect. Jack became so relaxed he was afraid his legs might give way.
He turned to the now smiling Corsica who continued watching the object sail off. "Don't worry. Every sentient being I've known who has encountered it has felt the same thing, Jack McCall."
The Chamberlain's captain turned back to the window to watch the glowing vessel continue it's flight.
"What is it?" he asked.
"'What' may be the wrong question, my friend."
On the Bridge, Commander Negev stood from the command chair and watched the glowing object on the viewscreen.
"Some say it is older than the Galaxy." Corsica continued.
Hank Evans and Kadan Loftus stood in front of a Comm Panel in his quarters watching a display of the bright bristling vessel.
"There is no culture in the history of the Galaxy that has determined who built it or where it comes from."
Mei-Wan stared at the display in Archaeology Lab Four and smiled at the brilliant apparition as it sailed into the darkness of space.
"The only thing that is known about it is what it does."
In the Ready Room, Admiral Simmons and Tavak stood watching out the large forward window.
"And those who have watched it act never forget the experience."
A bright flash of light filled the Ready Room from the direction Simmons and Tavak looked.
Jack McCall closed his eyes to shield them from the intense brightness.
"What happened?" he asked as the light began to dim.
Corsica turned to him. "If I hadn't asked Admiral Simmons to make a slight change in this ship's path, you wouldn't be able to ask that."
"You knew about this? That it was coming?"
"You can never know with certainty when it will appear, only when there's a strong possibility," he said to Jack.
"What did it do?"
"It has produced one end of a permanent, stable wormhole."
Jack McCall looked back out the window and saw a small bright spot far in the distance. He didn't know if it were only a few million kilometers away or farther. He only knew that for some reason, he felt good about it.
