Chapter 7 - Lives, Lies, and Last Chances
Two minutes later in sickbay, Doctor Taylor Preston went over the stasis unit for the third time with a tricorder while several other people on his staff set up various pieces of medical equipment. Hank and three other guards stood with Cilda a short distance away as Jack and Melissa watched the frantic activity of the medical team.
Preston let out a long sigh as he turned to Jack. "Captain, I've never seen a stasis unit like this before. If we attempt to open this without knowing the proper procedures we may kill her."
"Then she's alive?" Jack pleaded.
"There is some mental activity and an extremely slow pulse, but I can't tell you yet if there's any brain damage," Preston stated. "This unit doesn't really seem to be designed to keep someone alive, only to preserve their tissues."
"I want her out of there," Jack insisted. "Once the power fails, she will die right?"
"Unless we find a way to use ship's power to keep it going, yes."
"Get her out of there, doctor."
Preston turned to his team. "I want this done quickly," he told them. "The sooner we can get her on our own equipment, the sooner we'll be able to deal with whatever medical problems she has."
Jack and Melissa stepped back as one of the medical personnel touched a control of the side of the stasis unit. A moment later, a seal broke and air rushed into the long tube.
Preston and two others opened the top half of the unit. The doctor did a quick scan of the body inside.
Jack could see Mei-Wan was covered with a strange silky substance over most of her body. Only her face was uncovered.
He could also see she wasn't breathing.
"Let's get her out of this thing now," Preston ordered.
The medical crew lifted Mei-Wan up and over to a biobed. The display above it showed no life signs.
Preston quickly had pieces of equipment moved into position as he placed three small flat devices on Mei-Wan's exposed forehead.
"Beginning neural stimulation," Preston announced. He waited a moment and looked at the biobed display.
It remained the same. Nothing.
"Let's bring her body temperature up slowly," the doctor ordered.
Melissa glanced at Jack as he watched Preston work. She could see the desperation in his eyes and was afraid all this would do in the end was cause him more pain.
"Her temperature isn't increasing," Preston said with a frown. "Something is inhibiting everything we try."
"Or the body has suffered too much damage," another doctor suggested.
Taylor Preston shook his head and looked down at his patient. Her body seemed too well preserved and there was the brain activity they had detected.
Then his eyes widened. "This material on her," he said as he adjusted his scanner. "It was probably designed to keep the body preserved. We need to get it off of her."
Preston grabbed a laser scalpel and began cutting the thin material. After an area above her heart was exposed, he attached a small device to her.
"Let's try starting her heart," Preston said. He touched a control and Mei-Wan's body shuddered a moment.
Melissa nearly jumped as she watched the body of her friend convulse another time as the defibrillator activated. There seemed something unholy about what was being done to Mei-Wan.
Suddenly, Mei-Wan took a deep breath into her lungs.
Jack smiled. "Mei..."
Preston looked at the display which now not only indicated activity, but produced the familiar tones mirroring her heart beat. He turned to Jack and Melissa.
"She's alive, Captain," Preston said. "But we'll have to wait while I run some tests to see if she's suffered any brain damage.
Jack nodded as the doctor returned to his patient.
Smiling through her own tears, Melissa turned to Jack. "She's alive, Jack. Mei's alive!"
Other thoughts began entering Melissa Vargas' mind a moment later--- thoughts which were far from happy.
***
Admiral Simmons stood looking out the windows of his quarters on the U.S.S. Venture, wondering what was happening on the Chamberlain. He was glad it hadn't been a G'voda attack fleet McCall's crew had detected, but the silence since receiving the report of the shuttle was beginning to unnerve the admiral. He was near to having Captain K'lremi take her ship to the rear of the fleet just so he could have the emotional reassurance of seeing that McCall's ship was still there.
The door chime sounded. He hoped this was word from McCall.
"Enter," Simmons said.
Cyrus Wakernaggle stepped into the admiral's quarters. Simmons frowned and turned back to the window.
"What is it, Cyrus?" he sighed.
"There is something of importance I need to discuss with you," the ambassador said softly.
"If it's to argue with me again about our withdrawal from Nybiros, you can leave," Simmons said. "I'm too damn tired."
"Nothing of the sort, Admiral," Wakernaggle assured him. "All of that is in the past now."
Simmons turned and was shocked to find the ambassador wasn't alone.
Next to a smiling Cyrus Wakernaggle stood a five and a half foot tall, bluish-white fur covered creature with captivating eyes which radiated an obvious intelligence.
The creature stepped toward Simmons. "I am Kalastia of the Vedala."
***
Jack stood in the ICU of the Chamberlain's medical section staring at the unconscious face of his wife. He hadn't seen that face in nearly ten months and for a large part of that time he had believed she was dead. But here she was, back on his ship and if the monitors above her could be believed, very much alive.
There had been so many times he had awakened in the middle of the night and turned to watch the same beautiful face as she slept. It was one of the simple pleasures of their life together he had missed so much. It was also one of the things which had made him regret how he had squandered that life they'd had.
But now...
Jack turned where he knew Melissa was standing near the door. He could only imagine the questions and fears she was dealing with.
He closed his eyes.
No, he told himself. Not now. It's not the time. Melissa and I have to talk. We...
Jack's contemplation was cut short by a soft sound from the bed.
"Jack?" Mei-Wan whispered as she tried to open her eyes.
"Take it easy, Mei," he said, smiling. "You're okay."
"Where am I?"
"You're on the Chamberlain," Jack told her, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. "In sickbay."
"How?" Her eyes opened suddenly and she looked up at Jack McCall. "Oh my god! Your father!"
"I know," Jack said, trying to calm her.
"No, you don't understand," Mei-Wan said as she attempted to sit up. Her eyes turned to see a gleaming machine standing several feet away surrounded by a dozen security guards and Hank Evans. "You? You brought me here?"
Cilda only nodded.
"But why?"
Cilda's red glowing eyes remained fixed on Mei-Wan. "To discover the truth," the electronic voice said. "And now I have it."
"About what?" Jack asked.
"The truth that Cilda, Empress of the Fashod, died five hundred years ago and what remains in this metal body is but a phantom of that once proud woman."
Jack walked up to her. "The machine which came here several months ago believed its consciousness had been transferred."
"As did I and as do all the G'voda. They have been dead for eons," Cilda said, turning to Jack. "You can imagine the impact this knowledge might have upon the G'voda, Captain."
Jack slowly realized the implications. For an entire population--- an entire species--- to discover they had become extinct billions of years ago and now they were nothing but mental copies of who they believed they were could be a devastating thing to accept.
"They must eventually be told," she said.
Jack thought a moment. He intended to make sure the G'voda were given this information, but the question of when and how would be crucial.
"I must deactivate myself to prevent the G'voda from taking control of this body," Cilda told him. "You should keep me guarded at all times so that I can't turn against you."
"Are you certain about this?"
"I have no desire to live this lie any longer," Cilda said. "I will give you instructions on how to reactivate me when you wish the G'voda to learn the truth. I want my last act to be the transmission to them all of what I have seen here today."
Jack turned to Hank. "Take her down to a holding cell and keep her secure."
"You've got it, Jack," Hank said as he and his guards led the machine out of sickbay.
Jack glanced over at Melissa who stared blankly at the floor.
Preston checked the readout of the diagnostic panel above Mei-Wan as Jack returned to stand next to the bio-bed.
"Is Mei going to be okay?" Jack asked.
"From what I can tell so far, she should be up and around sometime tomorrow," the doctor said.
"Then why do I feel so tired?" Mei-Wan asked.
"Being in stasis for as many months as you were tends to have some lingering effects," Preston told her. "You should rest for now."
Jack looked down at Mei-Wan. "I'll let you sleep and come back in the morning, okay?"
"Jack," she began. "Your father isn't dead."
"Are you certain?"
"The being that escaped Cajma, it..."
"What Mei? Tell me," Jack insisted.
"Somehow it entered Jeremiah and inhabited his body," she said. "It commands the others of its kind and the G'voda."
"Is he on Nybiros?"
"If he is there's no way to rescue him," Mei-Wan told him as she closed her eyes. "That being has incredible power, it could... it could..." She remained unmoving.
"Mei?"
"She's asleep," Preston said. "She'll probably go in and out of consciousness for the next six to ten hours."
"Let me know the next time she wakes up, doctor," Jack said as he made his way to the door.
Melissa followed her captain out into the corridor.
"Jack, we need to talk."
He turned to face her. "I know, but right now isn't the time," he said.
"Look, both of us would have done anything, sacrificed anything to bring Mei back," Melissa told the man she loved.
Jack stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey," he said with a smile. "Let's not go jumping to any conclusions just yet, okay?"
Melissa looked up at him. "But..."
"But nothing," Jack interrupted. "We just fought a major battle, we're both tired, and we've had what we thought was reality run through a meat grinder. Before we start assuming anything, we need to step back and figure out what the situation is exactly... not what we think it is at this moment in the midst of the confusion."
She smiled. "Okay."
Celeste Purcell ran up to them. "Excuse me, Captain," she said, nearly out of breath.
"Yes, Commander?" Jack asked.
"Admiral Simmons has asked for you to come aboard the Venture," Purcell told him. "They're coming alongside now."
"Any indication what this is about?"
"No, sir, but the message did say he wanted to see you immediately."
Jack frowned. "Very well. Thank you, Commander."
"You think it's about Mei?" Melissa asked as Purcell walked away.
"Unless Simmons has someone aboard sending him reports of what happens over here, I doubt he'd know," Jack said.
"You better get going," Melissa said. She leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek. "We'll talk later."
Jack pushed thoughts about him and Melissa away as he watched her walk down the corridor. For once, Simmons would be a welcome distraction.
***
Fifteen minutes later Jack walked into Admiral Simmons quarters aboard the Venture. He saw Simmons and Wakernaggle standing together near the windows and across from them...
"You!" Jack shouted, shaking his head. "Now you decide to show up?"
Simmons stepped between Jack and the Vedala. "You know this creature, Captain?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Jack said. "Or at least one like it." He glared at the being behind Simmons. "Are you Kalastia?"
"It is I, Jack McCall," the Vedala responded.
"The Vedala have an odd habit of popping in unannounced and showering me with their wisdom," Jack said. "However, when you need their help, they are oddly unavailable."
Simmons stared at him a moment. "Why haven't I ever seen anything about them in your mission reports?"
Before Jack could respond, Wakernaggle stepped in.
"Because he was under orders from Admiral Hancock not to disclose any of his meetings to anyone," the ambassador said. "An acceptable price considering what we have received in exchange, I would say."
Jack spun toward Wakernaggle. "Acceptable? The Vedala have asked a lot from us, but have been unwilling to help us when needed."
Wakernaggle's eyes narrowed. "You seemed to get a lot out of your ship's shield system during the battle yesterday, Jack. Let's not be too hasty with criticism of our friends."
Jack glared at the Vedala which continued to stand in silence. "They knew what had happened to my wife and father and they did nothing. They had to have known about the G'voda attacks on Federation worlds and they've not lifted a finger to help us. And they kept the truth about Hel'yra a secret when telling us might have saved numerous lives."
"To have done so would have put our very existence at risk, Jack McCall," the Vedala said. "We cannot help you if we are destroyed."
Jack turned away and walked to the other side of the room, still angry.
"You and your kind are not the target of the Ladeo inhabiting your father's body, Jack McCall--- we are," the Vedala explained. "But Setacvas will attack you to force us to show ourselves. We believe that was his goal with the attacks upon your worlds and with his current activity on the world of Folam Six."
"The G'voda and their masters are building a temporal device of some kind on that world, Jack," Wakernaggle said.
Jack quickly turned to Simmons who remained stone-faced.
"Then put a stop to it," Jack insisted.
"We cannot take that risk," the Vedala said.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Funny, but I thought you'd say that."
"Hear the Vedala out, Captain," Admiral Simmons said.
Jack took a breath and nodded.
"I have asked Admiral Simmons to send a ship to Folam Six to stop Setacvas and the G'voda from completing their work on this temporal device," the Vedala told him. "I have specifically requested you take one of your Defiant class ships which I believe have the ability to conceal themselves from most detection systems."
"The cloaking device, but the Romulans..." Jack began.
"Three years ago the Council President signed an executive order," Simmons said. "In cases of a threat to our timeline any and all measures are to be used. The Treaty of Algeron was specifically mentioned in the order as void in these cases."
"All right," Jack said after several moments. "I'll send Falco to Folam to destroy this time machine they're constructing."
"You must go as well, Captain," the Vedala said, walking up to Jack. "You must take two other members of your crew: Hank Evans and Mei-Wan McCall."
Simmons frowned. "I'm afraid she's dead."
"Uh, actually, no, she's not," Jack said, staring at the Vedala. "That ship we detected earlier was a G'voda shuttle. Mei-Wan had been in stasis on Nybiros this whole time." Jack stepped right up to the Vedala. "But you knew that all along didn't you? You let me think she was dead."
The Vedala gave Jack a curious glance. "When I was instructed to relay this request to you, I had no knowledge about your wife's situation other than what you had informed me of the last time we spoke."
"Who told you to have her come along?" Jack demanded.
The Vedala hesitated for several seconds almost as if it were in communication with someone or something unseen. "The same individual who informed us about the temporal device being constructed."
"Who?" Jack insisted.
"All you need know is that their expertise in the area of temporal mechanics is unquestioned by us," the Vedala said in a tone that suggested the subject was closed.
Jack laughed. "Well, it is good to learn the Vedala don't have the Universe completely by the balls."
Simmons grinned, but Wakernaggle frowned. He knew how difficult it had been to get the Vedala to even acknowledge communications from the Federation. He was not happy at the prospect of having all of that thrown away because of sarcastic comments by Jack McCall.
"I once told you that no one in the Universe is omnipotent, Captain," the Vedala reminded Jack. "Equally true is that no one is omniscient, not even the Vedala."
"Well, I don't feel nearly as small in the scheme of things then," Jack shot back.
"I believe you have a mission to attend to, Jack," Wakernaggle said, hoping to end the conversation before Jack angered the Vedala much more.
"What if you're wrong?" Jack asked the Vedala. "What if this isn't some ploy to get the Vedala to show themselves, but a real attempt to alter the timeline?"
"Then you have added incentive to succeed at your mission, do you not?" The Vedala stepped away from them.
"The Ladeo are hideous beings, Captain," the Vedala said. "Five billion years ago they used machines to accelerate their own evolution so they might defeat the Beota--- your Ancient Progenitors."
The Vedala stopped a moment, lost in thought of ages long past. "In an obscene mockery, the name the Ladeo called themselves, Volmvas, means beings of light. Believe me, they are anything but that. And they will not hesitate to obliterate everything you hold dear."
The next moment the Vedala was gone.
"I would ask how involved you have been with the Vedala, Cyrus, but I suspect I don't have much of a chance at a straight answer," Simmons said to the ambassador.
Wakernaggle smiled wide. "Good luck, Jack," he said and then was out the door.
Simmons looked at Jack. "From here on out, I want full reports from you on any and all contact with the Vedala."
"Yes, sir," Jack said walking over to the window. "I don't trust them, Admiral."
"Neither do I," Simmons said. "But if the G'voda and whoever these Ladeo are, are indeed building a device to change time, I don't see that we have much choice but to do as the Vedala has asked."
Jack thought a moment and nodded.
"However," Simmons began. "I want you to take the Chamberlain to within a day's distance of the Folam system. From that point, you'll proceed aboard the Abdiel."
Jack turned to him with a smile. "In case we fail?"
"Something like that," Simmons answered.
The expression on the Admiral's face lightened. "Mei-Wan's really alive?"
"Yes, and in good health as far as Preston can tell."
"It's great to hear you got her back," Simmons said. "Good news like that is a rare occurrence these days."
