Star Trek: Intrepid
Pre Emptive Maneuvers
Part 4
by Galen Holcomb
(intrepidlogs@hotmail.com)

Pre Emptive Maneuvers - Part 4

Forward from the author:
This tale is the second part of a story arc that began with "The Double Edge." This story, and the preceding one, take place during the Dominion War. The final chapter will be chronicled in "Inevitability."

Chapter 4

Commander Shantok clawed back to consciousness. She blinked a few times out of reflex, as if to reassure her that she was once again in the waking world. The Vulcan woman cast her eyes about just long enough to decide she was in a small recovery room in sickbay. She then moved different parts of her body experimentally; to make sure she was not suffering from any kind of physical injury. Satisfied that she was in apparent good health, she sat up.

A human of Middle Eastern decent was at her side in an instant, his dark eyes projecting concern and relief in equal measures. "One moment, Commander." He said firmly. He studied the biobed's display screen then scanned her with a portable device. He frowned once or twice, drawing together thick eyebrows over a craggy face.

"Am I well?" She asked.

Chief Nurse Mohammad Mazyar did not give his stamp of approval lightly. It took several more moments before he finally replied. "Your neural pathways seem to be normal again, but I'm sure Dr. Kella will want to keep an eye on you for a bit longer."

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Six hours, more or less."

Shantok reached back for her last clear memory. The recollection did not come as easily as it should have. But finally the tattered images in her mind coalesced. She recalled being in the engineering section with the captain, Adol and some security guards. She reported there just after the Inth had returned the crew to the ship. The Cardassians had then attacked but were destroyed by a strange power emanating from Intrepid's warp core. At some point shortly thereafter, she must have collapsed, no doubt from the mental intrusion she had endured. She was disappointed with herself that it had taken this long for her to recover.

She slid off the biobed and stood to her feet. "Please inform the captain of my recovery. I am reporting to the bridge."

"Ma'am, I need to release you back to duty first."

"Then do so at once." Shantok ordered. "Contact Dr. Kella if you must."

"She's-----ma'am, she's not available right now. She left you in my care."

Shantok's stare almost burned into him. "I assure you that I am well and fit for duty."

The nurse stood his ground. "There's one more test that I should-----"

She stepped around him. "I have already stated that I am well. If you were better versed in Vulcan medicine, you would know that."

As Mohammad stiffened with annoyance, a rush of anger washed over Shantok without warning. Her Betazoid side had absorbed his irritation, magnifying the feeling into a crescendo of rage. Normally, it would take far stronger emotions than this to get through her mental shields. The ease with which this happened could only mean one thing: she currently had no mental shields. She would need to find time for meditation and very soon. She quickly diffused the random emotion and erected a mental barrier that would work temporarily. When time permitted, she would do some much-needed mental housekeeping.

She made a token effort to show some professional courtesy. "Nurse, I-----regret my harsh tone. However, I can assure you that the Vulcan healing technique I employed was successful. We are pressed for time. It is extremely urgent that I resume my duties. Now."

But Mohammad clearly had other ideas. Judging by his expression, the nurse had just tossed aside his warm bedside manner in favor of aloof professionalism.

Blocking her exit, he said, "Commander, I have the authority to keep you off duty for so long as it takes to confirm that you are healthy. Do I have to quote the regulation?"

The sickbay doors parted at Shantok's proximity and she paused. The outside ward was full of injured crewman-----and most of them were not officers she recognized. "Nurse, please update me on our current situation."

Mohammad sighed, as if making an internal compromise with himself. He quickly explained recent events during the last six hours, including how Sentry had lost part of her crew to casualties from the Gorn attack. At first, he tried to dance around the subject of Captain Aubrey being relieved of command, but Shantok's telepathic gifts made keeping this secret impossible. When Mohammad realized this, he resigned himself to filling in the complete story for her-----but he made it quite clear that he didn't appreciate the intrusion.

"I did not mean to violate the privacy of your thoughts." Shantok said when he had finished. "My recent ordeal has left my discipline in a weakened state. I thank you for the information you shared with me willingly, and apologize for that which I took from your mind without permission." She lowered her head. "Despite my condition, it was an unacceptable breach of conduct. I ask forgiveness."

Mohammad shrugged. "Apology accepted. And accept my apology as well. Any additional tests can be done later. You seem to be yourself again, in all your irritating glory." He winked. "I'll take you to Dr. Kella. She's in ward three. I should get out to the main treatment area and assist with casualties." His dark brown eyes seemed to droop for a moment. "There are a lot of them."

Walking through the main treatment ward was an arduous task for Shantok. A maelstrom of emotions and sensations buffeted her. Pain, fear, anger, confusion and every level of anxiety a humanoid could produce assaulted her without mercy, without respite. It was like hiking through a typhoon. Finally, she entered another room and at last had a bulkhead between herself and her unwitting tormentors.

Dr. Kella Lisern beamed openly upon her arrival. "Commander! What a pleasure to see you up and about again." She cast a look at Mohammad, who nodded in confirmation of her unspoken question.

"I'm well," Shantok said, "although your chief nurse was not easily convinced."

"He was a penal colony warden in his last life." Kella supplied helpfully.

Mohammad seemed flattered. "I'm just trying to discourage our visitors from overstaying their welcome."

"I'm about to head out to the main ward in just a moment. What's the current status of Sentry's crew?"

Mohammad rubbed the stubble on his dark chin, which was part of a perpetual five o'clock shadow. "142 injured critically. 37 dead. 58 have been stabilized and transferred back to the Sentry. We have the remainder here."

"Sentry is a Nebula class starship with a respectable armament." Shantok said. "I am surprised she was damaged to this extent by the Gorn attack you described."

A nearby PADD chimed for attention. Kella walked over to it and began calling up data. While still looking at the small display screen, she answered Shantok. "Apparently, Sentry was in bad shape after the battle of Betazed. They were in no condition to fight two heavily armed Gorn cruisers."

"Captain Hiroko took out one of those ships regardless. She must be pretty good." Mohammad offered.

"If I recall, Caroline Hiroko commands the USS Legacy, not the Sentry." Shantok stated.

"From what the Sentry's crew told us, they lost all of their command officers at Betazed. Hiroko was given the ship to track us down."

"Doctor, I should get back to the main ward."

"Go ahead nurse, I'll be there in a few minutes." Kella answered.

Mohammad disappeared immediately through the doors.

Shantok and Kella stood together in a comfortable silence.

"Shantok, I'm glad you've recovered. I was worried this time. What the Inth did to you is unforgivable."

"You should not dwell on it," Shantok said. "the Inth found it necessary to communicate through me. My dual heritage made me the practical choice."

Kella's dark brown eyes began to smolder. "I don't care. They traumatized a good portion of the crew trying to get their message across-----and you could have suffered permanent brain damage. Those damned creatures had no right to do what they did."

Shantok knitted her eyebrows. "I should remind you that it was our use of Genesis that disrupted their natural evolution. We bear some responsibility in this matter."

Kella opened her mouth for a response-----and it would have been harsh, had she let it fly. But at the last moment, she checked herself. There was a ward full of injured crewmen out there that needed her. Arguing with Shantok was far from productive right now.

"Where is the captain?"

"He's in Ward Two. He wanted to help out down here while we waited for the results of his tests, but I convinced him it would be better for him to remain out of sight. Easier to avoid questions about his so-called back injury that way."

Shantok seemed to appreciate the discretion. "I need to know what your conclusions are concerning the captain's mental health."

Kella had almost forgotten about the PADD she was holding. She brought it up, and resumed reading the contents. "It's interesting that you ask. The computer just informed me of the results."

Shantok awaited her response patiently.

The doctor finally put the PADD aside, after what seemed over a minute. Her expression shifted from disappointment to relief, before repeating the circuit again. She finally looked up. "It would appear that the captain's pysc profile falls within the accepted range of normalcy. His neural pathways are perfectly normal. No unusual brainwave activity or chemical imbalances were detected, either."

Shantok appeared to be studying the bulkhead just over her right shoulder. "Then is it safe to assume that your tests show the captain fit for command?"

"All measurable quantitative tests indicate his brain is normal."

Her evasive answer was not lost on Shantok. "Is he fit for command, Doctor?"

"Yes, with the evidence I have at hand, I would have to say that he is not under any kind of outside influence. I have no choice but to declare him fit for command."

"You don't seem pleased."

Kella leaned back against the desk behind her. "I am, but-----I have to be honest, it would have been simpler if I HAD found something wrong. I suppose it would have been easier to believe aliens were controlling his mind or had driven him crazy than-----well, you know."

"In fact, I do know." The first officer replied. "The path before us is not an easy one to trod. Is there anything else you wish to add to your report?"

Dr. Kella straightened with suspicion. "How did you know I had something else to say?"

"A logical supposition after observing your body language and facial expressions." Shantok replied, her own face inscrutable.

Kella took in the comment, but gave no indication about how truthful she thought it was. She gave the PADD another look. "I found a few nanites near the temporal lobes of his brain."

Shantok was unmoved. "They are commonly used for a variety of medical procedures, are they not?"

"True." Kella agreed, "They're probably left over from an earlier procedure. Most nanites are programmed to deactivate once they've completed whatever they were sent in to repair. It's not unusual to find a few stragglers in the body that didn't fully degenerate or get flushed out."

"Perhaps they were ingested or transmitted by mistake." Shantok presented.

"Nanites are bio-specific and break down even faster in a body they were not engineered for. Also, they couldn't have entered this close to his brain if absorbed by mistake."

"Are they cause for concern?"

"I don't think so. So long as other molecules don't bind to them and trigger the body's immune system response. But that's unlikely." She looked again at the PADD. Her dark forehead creased. "Hmm."

Shantok walked over to look at the image on the PADD. An irregular shape was displayed there in three dimensions, resembling a ragged shard of glass. "Doctor?" She prompted.

"Hmm? Oh nothing. It's just that-----I'm familiar with Jason's medical history, of course. There was no mention of any procedures being done with nanites. And there's nothing in his history that would have warranted a procedure near his brain. I would have known about that."

The Vulcan narrowed her eyes at the image, attempting to find something amiss. "Could the Inth have infected him?" She asked.

"No," Kella said quickly. "these nanites are definitely of Federation design. And old, from what I can gather."

"Then your original diagnosis is unchanged."

The Bajoran woman nodded in a deliberate fashion, still appearing lost in thought. "Yes." She said. "There may be a gap or error in the captain's medical history-----but I'll run some more tests on the nanite remnants, just to be sure."

Shantok considered the subject closed. "Then I'll let you inform the captain and Lieutenant Commander Adol of your findings. I should report to the bridge."

And with that, Shantok exited sickbay.

Behind her, Dr. Kella Lisern continued to frown.

* * * * *

Captain's log supplemental:
After hours of grueling work, the Sentry is more or less in one piece again. Casualties were high. We lost 37 crewmembers and another 142 are still in critical condition. Repairs to the ship are continuing at a fast pace, thanks to Aubrey's people. My initial fears about our warp core were, I'm happy to say, over -stated. We have full capability again.
Both our vessels have safely left Gorn space. There are no signs of pursuit.
News from Starfleet is grim. The Dominion has taken two more systems within the last ten hours. Also, the Seventh Fleet and the Ninth Fleet were sent to the Milo Sector to shore up our defense of that region. The loss of more Federation territory and the re-deployment of our forces have had an unfortunate consequence:
We are now trapped behind enemy lines.
I have therefore made the reluctant decision to assist Aubrey by delivering some badly needed dilithum crystals to the Intrepid and supplying some energy conversion units.
Because we have no way back to friendly space at present, we will stay with Aubrey's ship. This affords the best chance for our survival. It will also allow more opportunities to talk him out of this 'mission' he has assumed. It is still my intention make him see reason.
We are both proceeding towards Archer IV at warp six. Our ETA is now less than three hours.
Word of Aubrey must have spread, considering that thus far, no Dominion forces have challenged us. In fact, our journey has been strangely devoid of incident, despite our presence deep within enemy territory. While I consider myself an optimist, it's hard to imagine that this situation will have a happy outcome-----when we reach Archer IV, an entire armada of Dominion ships will be waiting for us.
Since I may not get the chance for another log entry, I would like to recognize the following officers for their bravery and commend those who lost their lives while in the performance of their duty....

* * * * *

Admiral Edward Jellico looked at the glass of ice tea before him, wishing idly that the beverage were something alcoholic. The small briefing room within Starbase 323 seemed stuffy and confining, but that was probably due to his imagination rather than a malfunctioning air conditioner.

Around the conference table sat admirals Ross, Paris, Nechayev and Blackwell, all of whom were flag officers with much more experience, and a higher security clearance than he. At one time or another, each of them, he knew, had been associated with Starfleet's most classified projects. These men and women comprised an inner circle of advisors that had the ear of the Starfleet Commander and the Federation president. It was this group that often set policies for Starfleet, regardless of whether their influence was officially recognized. They seemed to make the room heavier merely by occupying it.

They were not rude to Jellico per say, but neither did they embrace his presence. Their interaction with him was professional and proper, yet carefully guarded.

Jellico wasn't one of them, despite his attendance at this briefing. This was communicated in a variety of ways; the subtle glances with one another, the avoidance of prolonged eye contact, the shoulders that were angled slightly away from him.....

Not long ago, this would have made him angry. Or at best, filled him with a yearning to be part of this elite group before him.

But too much had happened recently, and too much was now at stake. The ambitious part of him was dead and buried, at least for now. If there were a Federation left when this war was over, he might resurrect that part of himself-----but it was equally possible that his priorities would remain forever changed.

For the time being, he would have settled for a stiff shot of Kentucky whiskey.

A door hissed open, and the Starfleet Commander entered. She walked to a podium at the head of the table as everyone present rose to their feet.

Gabriel Quetzalxochit was a stately older woman in her early eighties whose lineage could be traced back to the Aztecs of South America. She made a striking figure, with her pronounced features and gray hair, braded in an intricate weave that hung just above her shoulders. She was like an old painting of an Indian Chief.

"Please be seated." She ordered. The commanding officer of Starfleet set a PADD on the podium before her and pressed a button. On the screen behind her an image immediately appeared of a nebula.

"I know you're all aquatinted with one another," She said to the group. "Admiral Jellico is here because of his close involvement in the events we're about to discuss."

Everyone nodded without looking in Jellico's direction.

Quetzalxochit continued her oratory. "First let me summarize recent events. You're all aware of what transpired during the battle of Betazed. You also know that a Starfleet captain who survived the battle, made contact with beings who identified themselves as the Inth. This encounter allegedly took place inside the Kokala nebula near Betazed."

The image of the nebula began to rotate on the screen as data call outs flashed information on its make up.

"You're also aware that upon emerging from the nebula, this captain," She consulted her PADD. "Jason Aubrey, reported that he had an organic weapon aboard his ship, placed there by the Inth. He further stated that he had agreed to use this weapon to rescue more Inth from Archer IV, which as we all know, is under Dominion control."

Eyes fell upon Jellico at this last remark. He had been in command of Tango Fleet during the Archer IV battle, but had lost nine of his ships and was forced to eventually withdraw. Tango Fleet had been outnumbered-----a situation that was occurring all too frequently these days. The Dominion seemed to replenish their ships overnight, while the Federation and her allies suffered terrible losses after each engagement and continued to see their resources dwindle.

He stoically ignored their disapproval.

"Admiral Jellico ordered him to Starbase 47, but Aubrey disobeyed that order. His reason was that the Inth were," Again she looked at her PADD, "in a 'phased state' and their evolutionary forces would 'run amok' if he didn't complete this 'rescue operation'."

She looked up. "This disruption in their evolution was reputedly caused by the detonation of a counterfeit Genesis torpedo within the Kokala nebula, which Jellico and Aubrey had hoped would destroy the Jem'Hadar shipyard that was hidden there."

Vice Admiral Nechayev broke in. "Ma'am, if I may: how do we know this business with the Inth is true, and not some delusion brought on by," She shrugged. "combat related stress?"

Quetzalxochit became a degree more officious. "What I've covered so far is already known to you. What I'm about to show you next, is highly classified. Those who witnessed this event are under strict orders to not discuss it. What you are about to see is not to leave this room." This last sentence was presented more for Admiral Jellico's benefit than anyone else's.

She fingered a control on the podium and the nebula disappeared. A star field was now visible, with an Excelsior class ship in the background.

"What you're witnessing is a log taken from the starship Resolution, who observed this from a distance."

As they watched, two Cardassian destroyers moved into view. They were joined by a third. The trio spread apart, surrounding the Starfleet ship on all sides.

And then, something startling took place; The Excelsior ship seemed to glow from bow to stern as blue and green colors pulsed and danced from beneath its hull.

Suddenly, a jagged filament zigzagged out from the secondary hull, striking towards the nearest warship. It stopped thousands of meters away, its tip inflating into a sphere of light that encompassed the Cardassian ship completely.

Jellico had seen these events with his own eyes, so he took the opportunity to observe how the other Admirals would react. He noticed they were all leaning forward in their seats, mesmerized.

He hardly blamed them.

Stunned, the flag officers watched the energy sphere shrink, crushing the Cardassian destroyer into non-existence. Two more writhing tendrils snared the remaining warships, and they were annihilated in the same fashion. The recording was highly detailed, since it was taken at close range. The hulls could clearly be seen crumpling back on themselves, snapping and splintering as if made of balsa wood.

The recording stopped. Quetzalxochit touched another button and the Kokala nebula re-appeared on the screen. "Whether or not these creatures really are the Inth is open for debate, but there's no denying the destructive power of this weapon." Her eyes swept the faces before her. "the Starship Sentry, now under captain Caroline Hiroko was sent after Aubrey to keep tabs on him and hopefully, to dissuade his current action. However, her latest report is troubling. It appears that Aubrey used the Inth weapon again, this time destroying a Gorn ship within the borders of their own space."

Admiral Paris slapped his palm against the desktop. "Why in the hell did he do that?"

Jellico opened his mouth to answer, but the Starfleet Commander held up her hand. "We already know his reasons for venturing into Gorn space. For now, we have more immediate concerns." She touched her PADD and Kokala became a different nebula, this time smaller and with a dissimilar shape.

"What nebula is that?" Vice Admiral Nechayev asked.

But Jellico saw the data at the bottom of the viewer. "My God, it's Kokala."

"Yes," Quetzalxochit said, "this was how the Nebula appeared seven hours ago. Computer," She ordered, "show Kokala Nebula time index 1421.02"

The nebula seemed to shrink further in the next image-----and again its shape changed.

"Computer, show Kokala Nebula time index 1605.08" She instructed.

And again it was different. She called up five more images each of which showed a progressively smaller nebula.

"What's happening to it?" Jellico asked.

She looked down at the podium. "We don't know. But here's what we do know: our probes that have been discreetly scanning the Betazed sector and who captured these pictures, are reading a localized subspace disruption within the nebula-----but that's only the beginning." She called up another image, this one showed a holographic schematic of the nebula with animated circles expanding away from the center-----they resembled ripples spreading across the surface of a pond.

"Gravimetric waves, propagating from the nebula." She explained somberly. "The Kokala system is experiencing spatial and temporal disruptions on the quantum level-----severe enough to cause catastrophic damage."

Jellico now shared his comrades' sense of awe. He squinted at the screen. "Ma'am, what is that splotchy haze in the lower right hand corner?"

She sighed, as though what she were about to say next might cause her physical pain. "That," She replied, "is the aforementioned damage I was referring to. What you're looking at is all that remains of the five planetoids that used to reside in the Kokala system. The gravimetric and subspace disruptions being produced by the nebula, have shattered the space bodies in that system." She scanned their faces, trying to evaluate their reactions.

Admiral Ross was clearly startled. "All the planets destroyed? Do we know what's causing this phenomenon?"

She smiled thinly. "We can only speculate."

"The Inth." Jellico pondered aloud. "Could their energy be running amok, as Captain Aubrey said it would?"

Nechayev snorted with disapproval. "Let's not get carried away, Jellico."

Quetzalxochit tapped her hand lightly on the podium for attention. "I'm not finished yet. I've had our top specialists analyzing this data. Their conclusions are disquieting to say the least. First, whatever is happening out there is increasing at an exponential rate. As the nebula implodes, the disruptions intensify. Second, these chaotic effects are building towards an event of some kind, something that will occur within the next five hours."

"Is there any way to know what kind of event?" Admiral Blackwell asked.

"Something far bigger than we've seen so far. And considering that planets have already been destroyed by this phenomenon, anything bigger is a serious concern."

Blackwell realized she was fiddling with her glass of ice tea and made herself stop. "Ma'am, are you saying this could spread beyond the Kokala system?"

The Starfleet Commander kept her eyes level and her voice steady-----but despite her iron self control, there was a quiet anxiety that crackled just below her professional decorum. "There are unconfirmed reports that it has already spread. Intelligence is saying that Betazed is experiencing severe ground quakes and weather activity that can't be explained."

Jellico was careful to keep his voice neutral. "So it's possible that Betazed is in jeopardy?"

"We can't confirm the accuracy of these reports, because of the Dominion presence there, however-----considering the intensity of the subspace and gravimetric disruptions and how far the waves of chaos are spreading," She folded her hands on the podium. "We're almost certain that the reports are true. We must also conclude that if these chaotic events continue to increase, Betazed may even be destroyed."

"What's been the Dominion response so far?" Admiral Ross asked.

"Information is sketchy. But they've been deploying their fleet in a haphazard pattern. Most recently, they pulled back from their main perimeter to cover Betazed more closely."

Jellico bit his lower lip and stared at the tabletop. Could it be?

And just when he thought he had more than enough to give him pause, Quetzalxochit said something that made his blood run cold.

"I have one other piece of news," She said. She licked her lips, deciding for a moment the best way to phrase her statement. Like most command officers, she eventually settled upon the direct approach.

"Something's happened to Archer IV." She said. "Something beyond our understanding. And whatever's going on, it may be too late to stop it."