"What
happened?"
"I
am not sure," Moira answered as the lights came back on. The near total
silence in Ten Forward and the lack of subtle vibrations in the floor told her
at least a little about what had happened. "I think we have lost main
power."
"No,"
Catherine replied with some urgency. "What has happened to them?"
Everyone
else in the room had passed out. People in uniform and civilian attire lay
unmoving on the floor or slumped across tables, their eyes closed, as if a deep
sleep had suddenly overcome them.
Moira
squatted down at the nearest man's side and checked his pulse and breathing.
"He's alive. Pulse is slow but steady." She gently shook the man, who
showed no reaction. "O'Shea to sickbay, we have a problem here in Ten
Forward." After a few seconds of silence she activated her combadge.
"O'Shea to bridge, please respond."
Counselor
Lee made her way to the bar, carefully stepping around unconscious people and
broken glass. "There should be a first-aid kit here. I'll try to figure out
what's wrong with the crew and you should try to find out what's happening on
the rest of the ship."
"Sounds
like a plan to me." Moira stood up and looked out the large forward windows
for a moment. Half her field of vision was filled by the glowing nebula of the
Argolis cluster. "There is a sensor monitoring station nearby. I'll check
the instruments there and get back as soon as I can." She turned around and
headed for the nearest door. "Oh and one more thing, Counselor," she
added, while she forced the door aside.
Catherine
had found the med-kit she had been looking for and surveyed it's contents, but
there was a trace of tension in Moira's voice that made her look up.
"We
are still close to the Argolis, so there could be Cardassians in the area. Maybe
they have caused this and maybe not, but if any Cardassians find us with the
crew all passed out they might take the opportunity for a little boarding-action."
* * * * *
When
Moira returned fifteen minutes later she handed Counselor Lee a phaser. "Here,
you better take this, just in case."
"Cardassians?"
Catherine asked and reluctantly took the weapon.
"No,"
Lieutenant O'Shea shook her head. "It's just in case they show up. Not that
we would stand much chance against them." She sighed and looked around the
room as she continued: "It's the same everywhere I looked. Seems to me we
are the only ones still conscious. Any idea what happened to them?"
"As
far as I can tell they are all in a deep sleep. I have no idea why they all
passed out at the same moment, but from a medical point-of-view there is nothing
wrong with them, except that they don't wake up."
Moira
sat on her heels by Reto Kevas' side. "Have you tried stimulants to wake
them up?"
"I
was about to," Catherine replied. She kneeled next to Moira and retrieved a
hypospray from the med-kit. After checking the setting she pressed it against
crewman Reto's neck and opened her medical tricorder. Sweeping the sensor device
over the unconscious Bajoran twice she studied the readout and shook her head.
"His body is responding as it should, but he is still asleep. It's as if
his mind just doesn't want to wake up, even if his body is ready to do it."
She
put the tricorder and hypospray back in the medkit and looked at Moira. "There
is a first aid station across the corridor. If you can help me carry him there,
I may be able to run some more conclusive tests."
* * * * *
"Could
you find out anything about what has happened?" Catherine inquired as she
activated the diagnostic scanners above the biobed.
Moira
sat down at the small table by the wall of the first aid station and opened a
toolkit she had brought with her. "The warp core and the impulse engines
are down. Right now we are running on auxiliary power. Main computers are
working, but they are pretty sluggish. It took me a few minutes to access the
sensor logs, but at least I think I know a little about what happened." She
took off her combadge and started to work on it as she went on.
"We
were hit by a burst of chroniton radiation that originated somewhere in the
Argolis cluster, but that didn't cause the problems. About five seconds after
the chroniton pulse hit us the whole ship was engulfed by some sort of subspace
shockwave and here is where things get really weird." Moira looked up and
her puzzlement and a certain amount of helplessness were apparent in her
expression. "The subspace wave originated somewhere on the Valkyrie,
but I am positive there is nothing on board that could produce anything like it.
I have narrowed the point of origin down to somewhere between decks 8 and 15,
but it happened too fast for the sensors to pick up the exact location."
She went back to modifying her combadge. "Anyway, however it happened, it
knocked out most of our systems that are based on subspace-related technology,
including the com-system, most of our sensors and all the main computer
systems."
Catherine
was confused for a second before she remembered what she usually took for
granted. "Of course, our computers use miniature subspace field generators
to achieve faster-than-light computing speeds."
"That's
right. When those subspace generators went off-line the engine failsafe must
have shut down the warp core, as without computer assistance the antimatter
reaction is pretty hard to control." Again Moira looked up and extended her
hand to the Counselor. "Give me your combadge."
Catherine
handed the small device over before checking the medical sensors again. "This
isn't good," she muttered.
"What's
wrong?"
"Nothing
and that's the problem." Counselor Lee breathed deeply before she looked
over her shoulder at the Valkyrie's
Ops officer. "I can't find any explanation for his condition. Half of the
sensors aren't working, but these first aid stations are almost like small
sickbays. With only half the diagnostic equipment in working condition I should
still get something more than from a
simple tricorder, but I don't."
Moira
managed a small encouraging smile. "Keep at it. At least you know enough
about medicine to notice when you are at a loss. That's a lot more than I could
manage in your place."
Catherine
chuckled and returned the smile. "That's the strangest vote of confidence
I've ever heard, but thanks anyway." She became more serious again. "Now
what's the plan, assuming you have one?"
Moira
O'Shea returned to work on the Counselor's combadge. "I think the impulse
engines were shut down only because the computer became mighty confused by what
happened and activated more fail-safes than it should have done. I should be
able to bring them back on-line and restore main power, but I can't do it from
here." She handed the communicator back to the Counselor and clipped her
own combadge to her uniform. "I have converted these to radio wave
transmission. That way we can stay in touch without depending on the internal
com-system."
"A
good idea. So where are you going?"
"The
battle bridge is only two decks above us and I can access every ship system from
there. Once I get the impulse engines working again I'll steer us into the
outskirts of the cluster, as staying out off sight looks like the best plan
until we figure out what to do next. The rest depends on whatever other systems
I can reactivate, but launching a probe or communications buoy to call for help
could work."
"And
before you ask," Moira added, "while I do all that you will try to get
our crew back on their feet."
* * * * *
Lieutenant
O'Shea climbed up the Jeffries tube ladder and paused for a moment to activate
her combadge. "Are you there, Counselor?"
"Yes,
I am still here," Catherine's voice answered from the speaker of the small
device and Moira resumed her ascent while she replied: "That's good to hear,
because I have to admit that just speaking with someone makes this all appear a
little less frightening."
"I
think you are holding up pretty well, considering the circumstances."
Moira
gave a short humorless laugh before asking: "Is that your professional
judgment as a Counselor or just meant to encourage me?"
"Maybe
both and neither of it." She fell silent for a moment, but just when Moira
was ready to break the silence Catherine went on. "It's just a statement of
facts and I don't need my Counselor's training to see it. You have assessed the
situation, analyzed it and decided on measures to be taken to safeguard the ship
and it's crew." Moira only heard the Counselor's voice, but she had the
distinct feeling Catherine was smiling as she added: "While this is what
Starfleet trained you to do, I would say that the way you do it is as much the
result of your training as it is the result of your own willpower and
personality."
Moira
pushed open the Jeffries tube hatch on deck 8 and crawled out into the corridor
before she replied. "Thanks." As she walked down the hallway towards
the aft of the ship she continued talking.
"I guess it's a good thing you stayed awake, too. At least you seem to know a lot more about the medical sciences than I do. Are all Counselors this well trained?"
"Right
now I don't feel that well trained," Catherine replied, as she waited for
the results of a diagnostic she had just started.
"Now
you are the one being too hard on herself," Moira O'Shea's slightly
scolding voice came over the com-line and Catherine had to admit that there was
little she could do about the situation, as much as she wanted to.
"I
guess you are right," she replied, "but, I still have to answer your
question." She sat down at the small table in the first aid station and
looked away from crewman Reto's unconscious form. "All Counselors receive a
solid training in basic medical sciences with a strong emphasis on neurology,
but that aside I am also a fully qualified paramedic. Or," she added,
"at least I would be if I had taken the refresher courses necessary to keep
my official qualification."
* * * * *
"Impulse
engines are back on-line," Moira declared. "I am setting a course for
the Argolis now, at one-quarter impulse speed." As she activated the
engines and the Valkyrie started to accelerated she added: "It will take us
about an hour to reach the nebula, but I don't trust the inertial dampening
fields enough to go any faster. At least the back-up computers will handle most
of the piloting."
"I
see," Counselor Lee's voice replied from the communicator. "Any chance
to send out a distress call?"
Moira
activated a few controls and glanced at the read-outs. "The main
communications system won't work, but I am running a diagnostic of the probes
and com-buoys now. With the computer working so slowly it may take a few minutes,
but if one of them still works properly we could use it to contact
Starfleet."
When
Catherine Lee didn't immediately answer her Moira added: "And what are you
up to at this moment?" Moira O'Shea had never placed much value on solitude
and chatting with the Counselor did a lot to distract her from the knowledge
that they were the only people still active in a crew of 650.
"I
am sorry," Catherine replied. "I am on my way to sickbay right now,
but I am checking everyone I find along the way. I guess that got me a little
distracted."
"It's
no problem." Lieutenant O'Shea leaned back in the battle bridge's CO chair.
"Now didn't you tell me the first aid stations were nearly as well equipped
as sickbay? Why go there?"
Catherine stood up again and looked at the unconscious Vulcan
at her feet. As with everyone else she had found along the way his pulse and
breathing were slow but steady and there was apparently nothing she could do for
him.
"That
is right, but in sickbay I will have a chance to run simultaneous tests on two
or more persons at the same time, including myself." She looked around to
get her bearings, then headed for the nearest Jeffries Tube access. "We
need to find out why we are the only crewmembers not asleep and for that I need
to run some comparisons between us and the affected crew. Besides, if I find a
way to wake up someone, I would like that someone to be Doctor Jascar. I may be
well trained, but he is still the CMO."
She
opened a hatch and looked down a long straight maintenance shaft. "I am at
Jeffries tube access 10-21-Sierra. As far as I remember the shortest way to
sickbay would be to head straight ahead, turn right at the third junction and
then take the next ladder down. Is that right?"
"Almost.
Take the third on your right, but head down the second ladder you find.
Otherwise you will have to make a detour on deck 11."
"Thanks,"
Catherine replied with a smile. "I am glad you know so much about this ship
and it's workings."
While
she couldn't see it, she was sure Moira was smiling too, when she answered her:
"Hey, I have been an engineer for most of my life, so that's no biggie."
"Speaking
of which," Lieutenant O'Shea continued after a little pause, "how
about your past? I know Starfleet standards for paramedic qualification are
rather strict and most people who make it that far either make a career of it or
become MDs eventually. If you don't want to talk about it that's fine by me, but
if you don't mind I'd like to hear about it."
"No,
I don't mind. After all, how often does a Counselor get a chance to talk about
herself?"
* * * * *
Catherine stopped by the vertical shaft and leaned against the wall of the Jeffries tube. "I joined Starfleet to become a Doctor and I did pretty well during my first two years at the Academy. You know that at the end of the second year you can test for paramedic qualification and I did quite well at it." She looked down the ladder-shaft, but decided to pause for a moment longer. "Now what most people are not aware of is that, after the final paramedic exam which includes both theory and a lot of grueling simulations, there is one other test Starfleet puts you through if you want to become a medical officer."
"I
wasn't aware of that," Moira acknowledged. "What is that test about?"
"It's
a field exercise that's designed to test not only your ability to use your
skills under battlefield conditions, but to judge your ability to deal with
patients and personal crisis as well. In a way it's the medical officer's
Kobayashi Maru test."
"Phew,"
a soft whistle replied from the combadges's tiny speaker. "Sounds tough."
"Yes,
it was." Catherine tried to recall every facet of the day that had shaped
her Starfleet career more than anything else. "We were eight cadets, just
out of paramedic training, and we had been told we would be transferred to Mars
for a two-months internship at a local hospital. Suddenly the shuttle received a
distress call from a Miranda-class cruiser that had apparently crashed down on
Mars and we were told that we were closest to the crash site. We all suspected
it was just another hidden test, but of course none of use dared to act on that
suspicion."
"When
the shuttle touched down we saw the most horrible things we had ever seen –
burning fires, billowing smoke, twisted metal and among it all people slowly
crawling around, all hurt, some horribly mutilated, most of them barely alive."
Moira
sharply sucked air into her lungs. She had seen sights very close to what the
Counselor described, but to imagine it happening at the end of her second year
of training...
Before
she had a chance to reply Catherine continued her tale. "All around us were
wounded people and we tried our best to put our training to use, but it was
horrifying. I remember one man, clinging to his life with the last strength he
had left, who cursed me for caring for him instead of his friend who lay next to
him, even if that man was already dead and we both knew it. All I could do was
try to comfort him as best as I could, while he too died under my hands."
Moira
sat in silence on the battle bridge, unaware that the computer had finished it's
diagnostic routine of the Valkyrie's
sensor probes. Just trying to image what it must have been like for the
Counselor appalled her and yet she found it hard to push those images from her
mind. Finally Catherine Lee broke the silence.
She
took another deep breath and started down the ladder. "The other seven
cadets who had been there that day passed the test just as well or as bad as I
did, but I was the only one who passed it because of the way I dealt with the
people we encountered and not just their wounds."
What
she didn't tell Lieutenant Hagen was how she had just sat in the sands of Mars,
unable to stop crying. Part of her had been certain it had all been a test, but
at that moment it hadn't mattered, even if she was certain she failed that one
test. All she had been able to think about at that moment was pain and death and
how she had failed to help the man she had tried so much to keep alive.
She hadn't even noticed when the holograms had vanished and the test was over, until the man who had 'died' in her arms suddenly got to his feet again. Only then did she realize that some of the people she had encountered had not been holograms, but Starfleet officers who had experienced something very much like that simulated starship crash and survived it. All of them had been voluntary participants in this test and they had brought a level of realism to the exercise no mere hologram could have provided. She vividly recalled how that man, who's name she had never found out, had embraced her and told her how he had wished someone like her had been there when he had his real brush with death.
Catherine
pushed away the Jeffries tube hatch and crawled into the corridor that lead to
sickbay. "My instructor recommended me for Counselor training that very day
and while it took me a while to realize it, he had been right. On that day on
Mars I found my true professional calling, however much it may have pained me."
* * * * *
It
took Moira a moment to recover from what the Counselor had just told her. While
Catherine had had her first encounter with the realities of death and dying
Moira had been happily studying advanced engineering lessons and trying
to memorize the basics of Federation history. When her mind finally came into
focus again she noticed the blinking lights on her computer monitor. She
activated a few controls and a small probe shot away from the Valkyrie on a heading towards the nearest Starbase.
"Are
you still with me?"
Moira
tried to concentrate on the task at hand. "Yes," she replied, "yes
I am. I have just launched a probe headed for the nearest Starbase, but it may
be a few days before help arrives." She kneaded her temples and tried to
concentrate. "Where are you know?"
"I
have reached sickbay," Catherine Lee's voice replied. "As soon as you
are finished up there you should better join me here. If we want to find out
what kept us from falling asleep I need to run some tests on both of us."
Catherine
Lee pried the door open and glanced into the Valkyrie's
intensive care ward.
"Forget
that," she called out, "you better get down here right NOW!"
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7