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Chapter 7 - The Blast Of War (part 1)
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USS Tigermoth-A
5th July 2395
0610hrs EST
Bridge
"Captain's log, stardate 71361.6. The sensor network we have been helping to lay out for many weeks is almost completed. My science officers are completing final calibrations of the last unit, and setting up our own sensors to interface with the network."
Smithy stretched out both his legs, grimacing at the sharp stab of pain from his left knee. About time I got this damn leg sorted. As soon as this is all over, Starfleet can consider me on leave for a few months. A sudden chill swept over him.
James. Can you hear me, James? Can you feel my presence?[/b]
Metcalf. Smtihy closed his eyes. He'd gone a whole fortnight without thinking about him, he'd been that busy with other things. Another thought struck him. Lisa. He punched the intercom.
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Captain's Quarters
0612hrs EST
Lisa awoke with a start, the images of her nightmare still fresh in her mind. The engine room of the old Tigermoth, the sudden jolt sideways that had pitched her against the rail around the warp core, the rail giving way....and this time, James not being there to save her. Instead, she fell.
She got up, and turned on the replicator. "Water, chilled." She managed to force a few sips down, her whole body trembling.
"Bridge to Commander Smith. You alright hon'?"
Lisa tapped the comm panel next to the bed to activate it. "Yeah....I'm fine. You get a twinge?"
"Just a bit."
Lisa smiled at that. "Always looking out for me. Well, now that I'm up - has the sensor network come on-line yet?"
"We're just about to give it a try. You coming up?"
"On my way." Lisa closed down the connection, and pulled on her off-duty uniform. On her way out she paused by the mirror, staring at her reflection for a moment. It's him. It must be.
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Bridge
0620hrs EST
Smithy leaned on the bridge rail next to Ops. "How long?"
"Another minute, sir. Just need to get this emitter calibrated and then we can link it in." Winchester tapped away at his console, dialling the last sensor drone into the now-complete network.
Smithy turned as his wife stepped out of the turbolift. He headed for the relative privacy of the rear of the bridge, and lowered his voice. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. I'm sure." Lisa shook her head. "It's him, isn't it? I keep having those nightmares, always about that first time on the old ship. When you and Metcalf had your first big showdown. I'm in the engine room, when that first big hit came in. I go over the rail, and this time you aren't there to grab me and haul me back. Last time I had that kind of nightmare was during the Gatrellian war. Before that, it was after the ISC had attacked with his help."
Smithy nodded. "He's calling. He knows that I can't find him, that I'll have to wait for him to make a move. Which puts us on the back foot....despite his insanity, he's clever."
"How did he survive though? I saw what was left of him....he can't have been alive." Lisa shuddered at the memory, partly from remembering the weeks afterwards of her husband struggling to pull through from the injuries he'd taken and partly from the sight of Metcalf post-explosion.
"The Nexus. He went in, and left an echo. That echo must have found a way out." He turned back to Ops. "Winchester?"
The younger man turned to face him. "Ready for power-up on your signal, sir."
Smithy and Lisa headed for their seats. "On my mark, then." Smithy settled in, his gaze locked on the main screen. "Hit it."
A beat, then the screen began to fill with sensor data. As the crew watched, the Alpha Quadrant took shape. Every star, every planet, every major installation withing the range of the network was visible on the Tigermoth main screen. Smithy grinned. "Well, whaddya know? Certainly seems to work."
Winchester scanned his telemetry. "Response time is good, range is exactly to spec, everything is in focus....yep....I think we got it, captain."
Riggs glanced back at her board as it lit up. "Admiral Harriman on the line, sir. He says that Antares has a clear picture as well."
"Tell him to wave out of a window, we could probably see it from here." Lisa squeezed Smithy's hand. "Reckon that just tipped the balance a little back towards us?
"Well, it should certainly give us a little more warning about incursions in our space." Smithy shook his head. "Still....the Alpha Quadrant is not the galaxy. Did Dave say whether the Klingons okayed the extension of the network into their space?"
"They have, we just need to build a bunch more sensor units. We'll start on that soon, if other events don't precl-
*FLASH*
"Same type of destruction as before, sir. Juding from the debris, I'd say none of them got a decent shot in."
"I take it there's no sign of the attacking fleet."
"Not a damned thing. No residual traces of their engine activity, barely any trace of their weapons fire, beyond the wrecks."
*FLASH*
"-ude it." Smithy blinked. What had he just seen? "Riggs, get me a secure line to Antares. Patch it through to my quarters when you have it." He stood. "You coming hon'?"
"I'm not on duty for another couple of hours."
"Right. Riggs, you have the bridge."
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Right, short bit to get the Chapter 7 ball rolling.
Topic: ST: Tigermoth - Return Of The Andromedans (Read 70582 times)