Runner Up 5 20501.26
Life's Mysteries - Cdr Jessica Hunter
© 2005 by Federation Space and the author pen named Jessica Hunter
Nakita made her way through the corridors of the USS Iscandar. She had just been promoted to Lieutenant Commander and transferred from the USS Quasar. She looked around at the people walking by her. Each seemed normal in their own way. While Nakita was Human, there were things about her that even she didn’t understand. She stepped into the Turbo lift and headed to the Bridge to report in.
She walked, somewhat confidently towards the Captain. After being on five different ships, she thought that the task would get easier with every time, but instead it got harder and harder.
“Captain, Lieutenant Commander Nakita Revinski reporting sir,” She said, snapping to attention.
The Captain looked up at her, “Welcome aboard Commander,” He looked at her curiously; he sensed her nervousness, which he found strange for a person of her rank.
“I am Captain Hamilton, Welcome aboard.”
Nakita smiled, “Thank you sir.”
The Captain stood from his chair, “Join me in my Ready Room, Commander.”
“Aye sir,” She said, following him towards to Ready Room.
They entered and Hamilton offered Revinski a seat, which she accepted.
“Commander, I noticed you’re not sure about this transfer. I’ve read through your files, quiet impressive, but you’ve had a number of unexplained transfers.”
Nakita felt her throat constrict. She knew perfectly well what each of those transfers was about and the last thing she wanted to do was talk about them, “Captain, I was hoping to leave the past behind. The reasons for those previous transfers were personal…” Nakita’s voice shook with fear. She just wanted everything left behind her.
“Commander, I can understand that, but if this is going to affect your work, then I need to know,” Hamilton said.
“It’s nothing really, but sometimes strange things happen around me and other people get frightened,” Nakita replied, not going into full detail.
“Nakita, if I may?”
Nakita nodded.
Hamilton smiled and continued, “Nakita, I admit I sense something different about you, but I’m not sure what. There is something within you, which you don’t understand.”
“Sir, I… I don’t mean to pry, but are you a telepath?” Nakita asked, because if he wasn’t, her new Captain was really starting to scare her.
Hamilton laughed, “I am actually. Very well picked, Nakita.”
Nakita looked down, “Look, Captain. I do my work and I do it well. My previous encounters won’t interfere.”
Hamiltn nodded, “Of course not.”
The young Lieutenant Commander was not sure if the Captain’s last remark was meant that way. She looked at him suspiciously.
“You will start on the nightshift, the Alpha shift, in a few hours. Dismissed”
Nakita left the bridge and went to her quarters. Four hours till her shift started. Maybe she should have gotten some sleep, but she didn’t feel tired. She felt excited. She never got really tired when she needed to stay awake. She unpacked her belongings and then decided for a lunch in the mess hall, instead of being alone in here. She liked the feeling of people around her. The hall was crowded. Over three hundred crewmembers were having their meals. Nakita took beef with some green vegetables. It tasted good, but she added some pepper to it to make it spicier. She always did that and didn’t notice anymore reaching for the pepper or Tabasco. For dessert she had a vanilla ice cream and a coffee. The next hour she spent exploring the ship and meeting her staff. Most were surprised to see such a young woman as their new department head. But nobody seemed to reject her. Most people, she met, were surprised by her youth but they quickly got to like her, or at least accept her. It always was like that. But time seemed to creep. She even had visited the CMO and the engineering section, but it was still a full hour until her shift would begin. Lonely she sat on her bed in her room and stared out of the window. The stars were flying past her. Fascinating, but should she sit still like this for another 50 minutes. Which Nakita had the extreme ability to be able to. So she sat on her bed watching the stars fly by. Time went past and she thought about what Hamilton had told her. Would her previous problems get in the way of her work?
After the hour passed Nakita made her way to the Bridge. She walked on, professionally and made her way over to the Security station. The night shift was always the most boring, but she put up with it, she was the most Senior Officer on the bridge at that time, so everyone was looking to her for orders. Some weren’t happy with it because she was new to the ship, but knew that they had no choice.
“Commander, we’re receiving a distress call from a nearby Scout ship,” The officer at OPS called.
“Let’s hear it,” She ordered.
[This is the USS Wilkon-D, we’re under attack. Calling any friendly assistance… Please… We’re... Loosing comm… unic… ations…]
“Can you send a reply?” Nakita asked.
“I can try,” The officer replied.
“USS Wilkon, this is the Federation Star ship Iscandar, we’re trying to locate your location to assist you,” She looked towards the officer who sent it. He nodded.
“Nakita tapped her comm. badge, “Ravinski to Hamilton.”
[Hamilton here.]
“We’ve just received a distress call and are going to investigate.”
[I’m on my way Commander. Hamilton out.]
Several minutes later, Captain Hamilton stepped onto the Bridge and took his seat, “Report Commander Revinski.”
Nakita told him everything that they knew about the Wilkon. Which wasn’t much.
“Thank you, LCdr. Take your place at the tactical console”
Hamilton turned to the Ops.
“Any success in locating the ship?”
“Sir, the ship is in a dangerously low orbit around the planet. Its engines could have failed and it might drop” answered Ensign Martinez. And she added “Do you want me to plot the fastest course so that we might help the Wilkon, sir? ”
“SIR i strongly recommend to be careful” Interjected Nakita. “We should take a high orbit position and evaluate the tactical situation and the danger. This ship has been attacked from an unknown attacker. Until we know who is attacking and how threatening he could be for our ship, we must be careful.”
The captain looked surprised. Perhaps his commands weren’t questioned very often. I looked sharply in her eyes and his mouth moved as if he spoke silently. Within a second he shifted his weight on his other foot and answered:
“Very well. There are good reasons to be careful. Ensign move to a high orbit position, but directly above the Wilkon” he tapped his badge shortly “All transporter rooms! Prepare to evacuate the Wilkon, as soon as you get ordered. Engineering! We may need away teams to assist the repair works. Also be ready to power up the tractor beam, in case we need to tow the Wilkon to a higher orbit first” he glanced at his COS “And make sure that we can raise our shields quickly, as the could still be there, or the Wilkon explodes right under our ass.”
The Captain turned his attention to Nakita. “And it is of course needless to tell you to power up the phaser load the torpedo tubes and be alert to attack any ship that might get hostile.”
In a wide sweep, the ship approached the planet and the damaged ship. Sensor indicated that it was indeed going to fall down. Its main engines were damaged and offline. Captain Hamilton ordered to tow the ship into a safe position.
“Captain” Ensign Martinez said. “A city on the ground has been attacked too. It power plant and several other buildings are heavily damaged”
“Has the Wilkon attacked the planet? In defence”
Nakita answered: “No, Sir. These are not damages from federation phasers. It's clearly the mark of something like a disrupter.”
Hamilton got alarmed: “We must beam down an away team to...”
“Captain! A ship is showing up on the sensors. It's coming towards us fast” Nakita interrupted, “It has only a faint sensor echo, like it is masked. And it hid behind the planet”
“Report Commander!”
“As soon as I get one sir,” She replied.
Hamilton waited impatiently for Revinski to answer.
“It’s… Romulan…” She finally said, reading from her screen.
“Raise shields, prepare to fight,” Hamilton ordered.
The bridge crew started working in a mad frenzy. The Red alert klaxons sounded and the Romulan ship came into view.
“They’re firing on the Wilkon sir, they haven’t noticed us,” the OPS officer called.
Suddenly the Bridge doors opened and an officer walked through, he wore a Commanding Officers’ uniform and made his way to where Hamilton sat.
“I’m Captain Flynn Donaldson of the USS Wilkon… A, B, C and… D…” He said.
“Welcome aboard the Iscandar Captain, I’m Captain Naite Hamilton.”
Suddenly a sock wave shook the ship, looking to see what had caused the explosion, everyone saw the remains of the former Wilkon-D.
“Sir, they’re turning to the planet.”
“I’m picking up two more Romulan Vessels.”
“We’re being hailed.”
Calls rang out over the Bridge. Donaldson stared at the view screen. The remains of his ship clearly visible.
“Fire at will!” Hamilton ordered.
Nakita, and several other officers that had weapons access started firing at the Romulan Vessels.
The ship leaped. Everyone who stood, got thrown to the floor.
“What was that? A last shockwave from the Wilkon-D?” barked the captain
“No, sir” answered the Lieutenant Commander at at the science station. “The ship is long destroyed. It came from the nearest Romulan ship. I think they fired a weapon against us. We just cant detect any beam”
An invisible, new weapon? Nakita frowned. “Concentrating fire on this Romulan, who fired at us.”
Ensign Martinez spoke to the captain:
“Captain i must insist on sending an away team down. The power plant is going to blow up, if we dont help. This planet still uses simple nuclear energy and a large area will be destroyed and contaminated.”
The man from the science station came up to Nakita's console and spoke to her:
“I think, what we experienced, was a gravitational weapon. I bet my mother that they somehow worked out a way to tap the pull of their singularity. Most likely with the tractor emitter”
Nakita got frightened. Using the black hole that was the core part of every Romulan's ship FTL-propulsion as a weapon could be a new menace to the Federation.
“I agree… But then… there’s nothing we can do about it…” Nakita replied, “That power plant is going to blow,” She looked towards Hamilton, “I’ll lead the away mission if you want sir?”
Hamilton nodded, “Take a team down and evacuate the place.”
Nakita nodded, “Aye sir.”
She headed off the bridge and started contacting different departments, gathering herself a team of eight.
Ten minutes later, they were gathered in the Transporter room. Nakita looked around, there were two other security Officers, two doctors, and three marines.
“Ok, people the aim is to be fast. Get everyone out and get yourselves out. Ready?” She asked.
They all nodded and stepped onto the pad.
“Energize,” she ordered to the Transporter officer.
The group appeared in the Power Plant. The Heat engulfed them all immediately. People were running about them, rushing to injured, or just trying to get out. Nakita started ordering her people around.
“Get the wounded first, beam them to sickbay first,” She yelled, “Have everyone else sent to the Cargo Bay for now, MOVE.”
Her group split up and went their separate ways. Evacuating designated areas of the base. The Base started emptying. Nakita made her way through, gathering people together and beaming them out.
“Commander, we gotta move. The base is gonna blow!” A marine called as he ran past.
“I’ll be right out,” She called back, “Checking it one more time. Get everyone else out, I’ll meet you back on the ship!”
“AYE.”
Nakita ran through the base, she wanted to be out when it blew.
Outside, everyone was ready to go, besides for Nakita.
“Commander Revinski said she’ll meet us back on the ship…” The Marine who’d spoken to her said.
“You sure about that?” Someone asked.
He shrugged, “Just following orders.”
As they were about to give the order, she saw the tall Chief of Security running out from the building. As she did, everyone could hear and see the Base blow. Flames erupted from the building and a shockwave followed after Nakita. Even with all her speed she couldn’t escape the shockwave. It hit her with a huge force, throwing her hundreds of meters from where she had started.
The group looked at each other and then ran up to the fallen officer. The two doctors bent down beside her. The Chief Medical Officer ran a scan over her. He sighed and looked up at the others.
“She’s dead.”
They all looked at each other. The other doctor, a young Bajoran female said a prayer to the Bajoran prophets. The others also did something as a sign of respect.
“Get her back to the Iscandar. We’ll deal with things up there,” The marine commander ordered.
They nodded and picked up her body.
“Eight to beam to sickbay,” The Chief Medical Officer said tapping his comm badge.
The group reappeared in Sickbay. Nakita’s body was laid upon one of the bio beds.
“Kenyer to Hamilton, we’ve got a problem Captain. Can you come down to sickbay?"
“On my way,” Came the Captain’s response.
Several minutes later Hamilton walked in, “What’s the problem?” He asked walking up to them.
Kenyer, the Chief Medical Officer stepped forward, “Well…” He looked back at the others who nodded, “its Commander Revinski sir… She… She didn’t make it out of the base on time… She… She’s dead…”
Everyone looked at each other, then at the Captain who walked up to the surrounded bio bed. Everyone stared at the body of the dead Chief of Security. The stood around in silence and disbelief. Eventually the started to leave. Each of them had work to do.
After a while Hamilton and Kenyer were the only ones left. Kenyer had walked into his office for a while and Hamilton was about to leave when he saw Nakita move.
“What the…” He went back to her, “Nakita?”
“What… ha... pened…” she slowly uttered.
“KENYER, GET IN HERE!” Hamilton yelled.
The Chief Medical Officer ran out of his office, “How… How can she be alive? I saw it… I did the scans…”
“I don’t care Kenyer, do your job!”
The Chief nodded and immediately got to work.
On the bridge, the battle against the romulan menace still wasnt over. They managed to destroy one romulan vessel, but the remaining two got even fiercer and even the most complex and trickiest maneuvers couldnt prevent a direct hit on the Iscandar's shields. Which were about to fail any second.
“Shields down to 13%” barked the Assistant Chief of Security at the tactical console.
“The next hit will kill people”
“Calm down and get us away from here” ordered the captain, who had just entered the bridge.
“RUN AWAY?” yelled the navigator. “We can't leave these people alone. We must help them”
The captain replied angry: “Follow my orders and get the hell out of here. We won't be help to anyboday, when we get blown to pieces and die. There is no honor in dieing in an uneven fight. Not the way of a warrior”
The ship swung around and leaped away from the planet. Immediatly the two remaining warbirds followed.
“Recalibrating all shield power backwards” Liutenant Comander Borkas informed from the tactical console. “But we better not test them”
“Sir one ship is gaining fast. The other parked in a position near the planet” the navigator told captain Hamilton
“They want to make sure that we dont fly a wide sweep and come back to help the planet again. Keep moving away. This way, we will have the two warbirds diverted and even the second ship won't bother the colony”
Suddenly the deck jumped. Everyone, who stood was falling to the floor. Several more shattering quakes, then there was a moment of silence.
“Shields down. Damage on decks 26 and 27 aft. We are loosing enviromental control there. Sealing of damaged areas...........Force field seal not up. Our power is failing. We are loosing atmosphere”
The navigator was still down on the floor. He seemed unconscious. Captain Hamilton raced over to the station and manned it. Like a musican on an organ he played the console. The ship rolled and tried to duck away on the starboard side. The romulan ship sent out disruptor beams, while it reloaded its torpedo tubes. More damage was done to the ship. Three decks in engineering and the portside pylon were hit. Structural integrity fields couldnt hold the pylon for more than a few lightyears of warp travel, the captain knew that. His ship couldn't flee. The situation was desastrous. The warbird dived under the Iscandar and landed many hits on the ventral side. Finally torpedos again. The warbird was so close that Hamilton had no effective evasive maneuver at hand that could prevent a torpedo from hitting. And he knew that there was no energy on the phaser banks.
Thre more slams rocked the ship.
“More damage on the decks 14 to 28. Port nacelle hit. Warp drive coils overloading” these reports only surfaced in the back of his mind. It was no surprise after all. These damages had to come. More imporant to him was now, how to prepare his crew best for their final minutes. These Romulans would never take prisoners.
“Take the warp drive offline” he ordered.
The Iscandar driftet through space. Gas was blowing out of holes on several decks and plasma was leaking in big streams from the damaged nascell.
The warbird, still silent as a grave, got alongside
“Should i engage self-destruction?” the captain pondered in his mind. “Can i still self-destruct?”
Nakita, against all the doctors orders stepped onto the Bridge, “LCdr Revinski reporting,” She called, rushing to her station.
“What the hell are you doing up here?” Hamilton barked.
“If I’m going to die, I’m going down fighting, not laying around in Sickbay.
Hamilton looked at her, for about twenty minutes, she had been dead, yet there she was, standing on his Bridge, eager as ever to fight, “Commander, we don’t stand a chance,” Hamilton said.
Donaldson looked at them, “Well, perhaps the Commander has an idea…”
“Well, not re-” Nakita was cut off when another presence appeared on the Bridge.
The man, obviously not a member of the ship, looked around, “Captain, I’m looking for a member of your crew.”
Hamilton stood up, “Who exactly are you? Can’t you see we’re busy?”
Oh, busy dying? I can speed that up,” The man said. He clicked his fingers and the world outside of the Bridge ceased to move, “Now that I have every one’s attention, or at least mostly everyones.” He looked at Nakita, “Commander, that includes you.”
Nakita looked up, “I already know who and what you are, you’re little display with time showed that.”
“Then you, more then anyone should listen,” The man said.
“You’re a Q, and I’ve never had any respect for your people so I don’t see why I would have to listen to you.”
The Q walked up to her, “You of all these people should respect the Q. You, most of all should listen to what I have to say.”
“Excuse me… ehh… Mr. Q, would you please tell me why you’re here,” Captain Hamilton said.
Q simply pointed at Nakita.
“Why do you want me?” She asked.
Q looked at her, “You're more then you appear Miss. Revinski. Ever had something strange happen that you can't explain? i know you hve, your long trail of transfers is just one display. but then, coming back from the dead isn't praticually normal either Miss. Revinski."
"What do you know?" She asked.
"I knew your father. Fine man he was. A Q, out to loose his life, sick of the devistation that the Universe was forced to suffer, but he fell in love, with Hazakieh, your mother. He fell in love long before he'd removed his Q Powers, it wasn't till you were three that he finally removed them, wanting to live as a Human with his family. But then he became sick, died before your seventh birthday."
Nakita looked around at the Bridge crew, they were all watching her. She wasn't impressed though, this 'thing' was telling her life story to all of them. A story, which she didn't know half of. She felt as though she was about to cry, mention of her father's death wasn't easy for her, but instead she stood defiantly at her station, "I've heard enough. you're lying!" She cried.
"I think not Nakita. Quinn, as your mother called him, loved his family dearly and was indeed horrified when he found out you had inherited some Q Powers, your speed in Track events, your stregth, everything that you have, enhanced compared to others is because of him, you are one of us and that can't be denied."
She cringed at the thought, "I'll never be a Q, Never. I'd never want to be a cruel, heartless beast. How dare you come here and speak disrespectivly about my father. He was a gooed man, not a Q."
"He wished not to be, but he was. was and always would be."
Hamilton stepped forward now, he sensed Nakita's distress and had to stop this situation before it got out of hand, "Mr. Q, I suggest you stop harrasing my Cief of Security and leave this ship."
"I will only leave with Nakita Revinski. The Council has requested that she be removed from the Human world."
"I'LL NEVER GO WITH YOU," She cried, "I have a life, and i'm going to live it the way i want to. and it won't be with the stinking Q!"
Q shook his head in dismay, "Stay if you like, but you'll never be normal Nakita, among us, we'll help your power flourish, you'll be part of something."
Nakita stepped out from behind her console, she walked straight up to the Q and looked down at him. she was quite a bit taller then the Q and she liked it, "I am a part of something.. I'm part of a family, I'm part of Star Fleet, and i'm part of a damn fine crew, and you're not going to take that away from me."
Q stepped back from Nakita, he didn't like her hight, but he could've easily have taken her out in a fight, "Fine, I'll tell the Council you refused, but i doubt you'll have a life after this."
"The only reason i won't have a life is if you interfere."
With that, Q dissapeared without a word. strsngly enough, the world outside was still moving, but it also didn't have any Romulan warbirds.
Everyone looked startled, they were sure to be dead before Q had arrived, but now they were alive and well. Hamilton turned to Nakita, she was just standing there. She seemed frozen toher spot. Hamilton walked up to her, "Nakita?" He looked at her worriedly, "Commander Revinski? Are you ok?"
She seemed to snap out of a day dream, "Huh, oh, uhh, yes, yes, I'm fine..."
"No, your not, why don't you take therest of the day off, it's been a long day."
Nakita shook he head, "No sir, I'm fine, really."
Naite Hamilton looked at her skepticly, as did Flynn Donaldson, captain of the former USS Wilkon, Naite rested heis hand on her shoulder, "Ok, but take it easy, and if you need to talk, you know where I am."
Nakita nodded and when back to her station. The rest of the shift went by quietly without anything of note. Talk around the Bridge continued on about their near disaster with the Romulans and the visit from Q.
The instant that the shift was over, Nakita left the bridge and went straight to her quarters. This day had been more confusing then any in her life, yet it made so many things clearer. Why, so many times, strange things had happened, why she had always seemed so much better then everyone else.
Sheesh… Life stinks… Dad always taught me to hate Q’s yet I am one myself… He was one…
She slumped in her chair and stared out the windows. The stairs streaked by, without a care in to world. Nakita envied them. She glanced at a picture of her family. It had been taken just before her seventh Birthday, just before her father had fallen in ill and died.
Getting up, Nakita went over to her desk, she was about to write up her diary, but changed her mind and put in a log report.
Personal Log
Stardate 20407.02
Lieutenant Commander Nakita Revinski, Chief of Security reporting.
Talk about confusing days, so many things have happened since I transferred to the Iscandar that I don’t know where I’m going anymore. I died, then I came back, I find out I’m half Q, it’s just so crazy. How one day can change you whole life… Change everything you once knew…”
