(( this is a continuing story I'm working on. Part one can be found Here, and part two can be found Here - Let me know what you think so far. Unless you hate it. Also, All works created by me for this site or for thenewuniverse.com, including literary works, musical works - including any accompanying words, dramatic works - including any accompanying music, pictorial, graphic, motion pictures and other audiovisual works and or sound recordings are © 2005 Patrick Hester. All rights reserved. ))


Three


All eyes turned to Starker as he entered the conference room. In that one moment, before Sam squeezed past him to take her seat, Starker knew that he had to approach this meeting differently from what he'd planned. He meant to get answers from these people, but each and every one of them was looking to him to explain what had happened and how. He was the Captain, after all.

He'd called for the department heads to attend this meeting, but there were many others here as well; mostly assistants to those department heads, all crowded around the walls. At the long table sat a dozen people, all staring at him. Except for Leland sitting to his right, who had his face buried in some papers.

Starker stood behind the chair meant for him, hands grasping the head rest. He tried to make eye contact with everyone in the room, one by one, the only sound was that of Lelands shuffling of papers around. The tension was palpable. He finished with Sam to his immediate left; she smiled sadly as he looked her in the eye and he could only nod.

"I know you all have questions." All eyes were on him again, including Leland.

"I dont have all the answers, not yet," Starker smiles as he speaks. "But I hope to very soon. Here is what I do know: We did not intentionally fire on the fleet - if that's something you were worried about, you can stop now. No order was given on the bridge of this ship to fire upon the fleet."

A few sighs meet that proclamation, and Starker couldn't blame them one bit.

"At oh seven-thirty hours this morning, Odyssey was to launch on her maiden voyage. As you all know, we've been preparing for the festivities for the past month. About two-thirds of the Military Fleet was in attendance. That is equal to around five hundred ships. Additionally, there were more than one thousand civilian ships in attendance," Starker pauses, eyeing the water pitcher on the table, mouth suddenly dry. Before he can even reach for it, Sam has a glass filled and is offering it up. He accepts it gratefully and takes a quick drink before continuing.

"Everything went off without a hitch. The fanfare, the pomp and circumstance - the President delivered his speech from his cabin onboard Airforce One -all without incident. When I began my thank you speech, however, things went South very quickly." Another pause, and a quick drink. He begins to pace back and forth, no more than five steps in either direction, still making eye contact now and then.

"Commander Leland and Chief McBride can both testify to what happened next." A longer pause, a slow scan of those in the conference room. "At oh seven-fifty, as I had just begun my speech, communications went offline. We lost the ability to receive and transmit any messages both intraship and extraship." Nods here and there, especially from the Engineers. "While trying to ascertain what was happening, all computer terminals on the bridge ceased to accept commands. The readouts were still functioning, we could still see what was happening, but no commands were being accepted."

"Then we began firing on the fleet."

Starker paused again to let that sink in. His mouth was dry again and he swished some water around to try and moisten it.

"Commander Leland and I immediately attempted a manual system shut down and reboot. Our keys were accepted in the locks, but when we turned them, nothing happened."

"Admiral? That's impossible."

Starker turned to the voice and found one of Chief Sanchez's Computer Engineers looking a little pale for having spoke up. He tried a smile to put her at ease.

"We tried several times with no effect. We were completely locked out. And, although I hold the rank of Admiral, I am 'Captain' of Odyssey so, 'Captain' will do."

"Aye, sir."

"Leland can testify to our attempts to reboot the system."

Leland drew himself up in his chair, "We did, yes. Five times the Captain and I attempted to force the manual reboot of the system in the hopes that shutting down the computers would kill the weapons systems and return control to the bridge stations."

Starker nods his thanks. "Unfortunately, it didn't work. As we were trying to reboot the system, Chief McBride noticed that the engines had started to bloom. The readouts on the bridge showed that the jump engines were coming on line. However, the power levels were off the scale."

"I've got a full report on that, Captain," Said Chief Sanchez.

"And I want to hear it, we all do, but-"

"Please, sir - the abridged version?"

"Aye, Chief," Starker acquiesced.

The Chief stood quickly, looking around the room much the way Starker had before he began, "Power output was at one hundred ninety percent for four and a half minutes. Most of that was pouring into the jump engines. I've never seen anything like it - the jump engines were pulling energy from the core faster than it could produce it. Just like on the bridge, I had no access via any computer terminals. And physical access was blocked as bulkhead doors slammed down, keeping us from being able to manually cut the power flow."

A few whispers went around the room at that and Starker let it continue for a bit before clearing his throat. All eyes were back on him and the chatter was done.

"Thank you Chief," Starker nodded, and got a nod in return. "From the bridge terminals, we could see the jump engines coming on line, see the power spiking incredibly, and see ships of the line being caught off guard and hit by torpedoes, canon fire and laser fire, their crews enjoying the party and completely unprepared for an attack from within. There was nothing we could do but watch. Then the jump point formed."

Starker finished the last of his water and placed the glass down on the table. His hands gripped the chair again, knuckles white.

"I've never seen anything like it. I've been trying to find the words to describe it to anyone who didn't see it, and it's difficult. It was to a normal jump point what a star is to a candle."

"It was a monster in space," Sam said quietly, and Starker was surprised to find Leland nodding his agreement.

"That..." Starker paused. "That's fairly apt. I keep thinking of it like a gaping maul, full of swirling darkness, lightening bolts the color of fire, and there were fireflies slowly being swallowed into the center of it."

The room went very quiet as he described it. Some of the people here had seen it - looking up, they'd turned green at the memory. Other's had obviously heard similar descriptions and were looking very, very pale.

"It sucked us in." Starker pulls the chair away from the table and sits heavily, grasping at the water pitcher to refill his glass. "Everyone felt the effects of the trip through it." Nods all around.

"Charybdis." Major Dom Maggliano, Senior Marine onboard, spoke quietly, unusal for him. Starker looked up and Dom gave him a crooked smile. "From mythology - it looked like what I think Charybdis would look like. 'Charybdis, who swallows the sea in a whirlpool, then spits it up again.' - that's what it looked like to me."

"Also apt," Starker said, nodding. "It sucked us in, shook us badly, and then spit us out again. Where? So far, we've no idea." A deep breath. "We've no idea where we are. Power systems are on emergency reserves. Computers are not functioning, neither are the engines. We are dead in the water, as they used to say."

"Now you know what I know." Starker drained the glass again, "And I want to hear your reports one by one." Starker readied himself for the bad news and the barrage of questions he knew would be coming.

(( this is a continuing story I'm working on. Part one can be found Here - Let me know what you think so far. Unless you hate it. Also, All works created by me for this site, including literary works, musical works - including any accompanying words, dramatic works - including any accompanying music, pictorial, graphic, motion pictures and other audiovisual works and or sound recordings are © 2005 Patrick Hester. All rights reserved. ))

Two

Starker tossed the report on the stack and leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, palms rubbing away at the headache that was only getting worse. Still nothing from Sam after the initial "Core secured - story to tell - 09:30." But the rest of the ship had flooded in with reports. Engines offline. Computers offline. Main power offline. Life support using emergency reserves. Sickbay stacking crew members five high due to excess vomitting and dehydration.

The thought forces his hand back to the water bottle on his desk. He takes a long swallow, astonished at his own thirst. It's rampant throughout Odyssey - everyone is dehydrated and no one is sure why just yet. Orders were sent out as information came back, and now it's just a matter of waiting, something he hated with a fiery passion, for the staff meeting at ten hundred to get the ships status, and that includes the crews health.

The headache pounds just behind his eyes, and he closes them again, elbows on the desk, head clasped in hands. The aspirin hasn't done a blasted thing and the sickbay is too busy to bother for anything stronger - they've got their hands full. Suddenly, he wishes he had a stiff drink. Moving slowly, he takes the four steps from the desk to the bathroom and fills the sink with water, splashing it on his face even as the knock comes on the office door.

"Come in!" he answers, muffled as he brings the wash cloth to his face, scrubbing at his eyes and neck with the cool water. Towel in hand to dry himself, he steps back into the office to find Sam sitting in the chair opposite his, her feet up on the desk. Just before her is a bottle of whiskey, a half full glass in her hand, an empty one before his chair.

"Drink with me."

Starker hesitates only a moment before taking back his chair, and splashing some whiskey in the glass.

"To the 44st," Sam says, raising her glass. Starker's eyes widen for only a moment, before he nods sadly, and 'tinks' her glass with his, downing the whiskey in a gulp, then struggling not to cough. Looking at the bottle, he notices it's two hundred and fifty year old whiskey. She's toasting their old unit from the War with two hundred year old whiskey.

"Dear god, Sam! Where did you come up with this?"

Sam grins for a moment. "I have my ways." She holds out her glass. "Another." Starker splashes both of their glasses again. "That drink was for me. I lost two people in the computer core. One I found with his head smashed in like a watermelon. The other was shot in the back with the first one's gun."

Starker's hand tightens on the glass he holds.

"Two others were shot as well. Computer techs." She holds up the glass again, Starker 'tinks' his against it, and they both drink. 'She' lost two people, he lost four.

"One more." The glass is extended again, and Starker splashes it again, then his. It's not like Sam to drink in the middle of something like this. He wonders what has set her off. Losing people, that always happened - you couldn't avoid it altogether, but Sam always took it personal. A personal failure. But, she had never stopped to drink about it before - that always came later. Much later.

"This one.... this one is for you, Uly."

"Why?"

"Cause you'll need it in a moment."

Starker's stomach clenched at that. His first thought was for Michael.....

"Xavier D'aubigne is in our sickbay. I found him in the Computer Core."

Starker simply stared. Sam held her glass up, and Starker didn't even bother to touch his to it before downing the whiskey.

"You're sure?"

"I am positive."

Xavier D'aubigne. Some of the puzzle had suddenly been revealed.

"Sam? How did the most wanted TechnoTerrorist in the world come to be on my ship?"

Sam rolls the empty glass back and forth between her hands, staring at it, face blank. "...I have no idea."

Starker slams his glass down with a thump, causing Sam to jump in her seat. "That's not good enough! That's no where near good enough! God Dammit, Samantha!! Why is he in sickbay?! Why not the brig? You should have his ass in a vice-"

"He's brain dead."

Sam says it so quietly Starker isn't sure he even heard it correctly. He falls back into his chair, not even remembering when he had stood up. "He's what?"

"Brain dead. When I found him, he had one of those cables they use.... It was plugged into the back of his head, the other end plugged into the computer. He wasn't moving, barely breathing. I got him to sick bay and into a secure ICU room. The doc said there's no brain activity whatsoever. He's brain dead. The machines are the only thing keeping his body alive. Whatever he did, whatever that was we went through, it must have fried his mind."

Sam fills her glass again, replacing the bottle on the desk, shooting it back quickly. "And I don't know how he got onboard. I've had this ship locked down tighter than a vigrin for months now, and not a single thing has gotten through. We've stopped bombs, people, plots to disperse chemical agents - you name it, we've stopped it. He shouldn't have been able to get anywhere near this ship. And yet...?"

Starker takes a deep breath. "Sam? Sam, look at me." She looks up slowly. "Think about this for a moment. We fired on the fleet." It was no easier saying that with the whiskey in him than it was saying it to Leland on the bridge. "We lost control over this ship and in one, horrible moment, we brought more death and destruction than has been seen in years. That screams Xavier D'aubigne. Someone, somewhere, helped him get on this ship."

Sam sits up straight. "Inside job is what you're saying." Starker nods.

"It makes sense."

Sam flushes red, slamming her hand down on the desk. "None of my people would do that!! You have no right to accuse-"

"That's enough!!" The redhead shuts up, but still fumes. "I didn't accuse your people, Sam. It could have been anyone." She deflates a little. "But we can't afford to rule out any possibility." If looks could kill.... "Think, Sam. If someone helped him get onboard this ship..."

"..then there's a good chance they're still here."

"Exactly. We have to find out who and bring them in. Who knows what else they might have planned?"

"You think there's more?"

"I don't know. But Xavier D'aubigne is a paid Terrorist - he doesn't do things on his own unless there's a lot of money involved."

The clock on the desk begins to chime, indicating that it was time for the staff meeting. Starker stood and began buttoning up his uniform.

"Did the doctor recognize him?"

"No. And we have him listed as 'John Doe'."

"Good. Leave it like that. His name stays between you and I for now. Understood?"

"Aye, Cap."

"Good. Let's go and get this over with. I hate bad news."

"Picked the wrong day to get out of bed then."

"Didn't we all?"

They both chuckle as they disapear down the corridor.