AGAIN WITH THE CRAWLING CHAOS

BY: PUNISHER

The way the running lights swept across the hull never failed to move James T.  Kirk.  His breath caught in his throat and he felt young again.  Spock, never one to let emotion rule him, continued ahead.

  “Captain, I am afraid that we may be facing our GREYtest challenge ever.”

  “I had no idea we were being so formal, Ambassador.”

  “I am sorry Jim.  But I find that reverting to formalities brings me some small comfort.”

  “This must be pretty bad to rattle you Spock.”

  Ironically, Spock almost laughed.  “Jim that may very well be the understatement of all time.”

  They turned down another hallway.  “This isn’t the way to the bridge.”

  “That is correct.  We are going to a briefing first.  To bring you up to speed.”

  Spock and Kirk entered the briefing room.  The rest of the bridge crew, Chekov, Uhura, Scotty, and McCoy, were already seated.  They all exchanged pleasantries. 

  “All right, now why all the damn secrecy and recalling everyone to duty?”

  “Your questions will be answered in due time Doctor.  Please observe the viewscreen.  What you are about to witness is a compilation of the Excelsior’s sensor logs edited with the data recorder logs from the bridge.  We will start at Stardate 9810.16.  Computer commence playback.”

  “Working.”

  Sulu’s voice filled the briefing room.  “Put it on audio.”

  “We are the Borg.  Your lives as you have known them are over.  From this time onward you will serve us.  You will be assimilated.  Resistance is futile.”

  “Helm full about! Get us out of here.” The screen showed the Borg ship momentarily get smaller then it rocketed forward and continued to gain on Excelsior.

   “Helm.  Increase speed.”

  “That’s as fast as she’ll go sir!  She’ll fly apart if we try faster.”

  “Fly her apart then!”

  Sulu began talking to himself.  “What the hell are the Borg doing here?

  Science, scan for temporal disturbances in the region.  See if there are any chronoton particles adhering to the Borg ship.”

  “Sir my sensors pick up nothing.”

  “Damn…that would have been too easy an explanation.”

  “No sir…you don’t understand.  My sensors aren’t picking up anything at all! Not the Borg ship…not the planet we just came from…not even the star system!” “That’s impossible.  Run a diagnostic.” Sulu’s attention reverted to the Borg pursuer.  “Helm, Range to the Borg ship.”

  “Sir, I can’t explain it…it’s gone!”

  The computer chirped.  “Diagnostic Complete.”

  “Sensors are running at peak efficiency.  I’m picking up everything in front of us…but behind us there’s a rapidly expanding space of nothing!”

  “On screen.”

  They could see the area of nothing now and it was growing quickly.  On the screen they saw it swallow up whole star systems…the stars winking out as if a dark dust cloud had passed over them.  It became clear that the Excelsior could not outrun it. 

  “Rand!  Open a subspace channel now…download the last half-hour of our logs to the nearest subspace relay and send to StarFleet Command.  Record this also, starting now.  Starfleet Command.  This is Captain Sulu of U.S.S. Excelsior.  We have encountered a quickly growing subspace anomaly…it resembles a dimensional rift…it is absorbing everything it encounters.  I fear we cannot escape.  Captain Kirk.  If you can hear this, we’re all counting on you.  Captain Hikaru Sulu ou….”

  “Program complete.” The screen turned off and the lights in the room returned to normal. 

  “That was the last contact from Excelsior at 2151hrs.  This is what we’re facing.”

  “All right Spock.  We’ve faced worse before…right now I’m anxious to get to the bridge and get underway.”

  Kirk stood up and walked out of the briefing room.  Everyone followed him.  “Jim this is not such a time for rashness.”

  “On the contrary Mr. Spock, it seems to me we don’t have a second to lose.  Bones get to sickbay and see if you can draw up any studies on collective recurring dreams.  If we’re all having the same dream then it must be for a reason and we might as well try to make some sense of it.  Have Counselor Yort look into any Freudian or Jungian interpretations.”

  “This is just to give us something to do isn’t it?” McCoy wandered off. 

  “Scotty, Excelsior’s engines couldn’t cut it.  Ours are going to have to.  I need you in Engineering.”

  “Aye Cap’n!”

  Uhura, Chekov, Kirk, and Spock reached the turbolift and got in. 

  “Bridge.  Uhura contact the Regula station and have them download all data they have regarding Hyuj’s box.  Tell them we’re on the way.  I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

  Uhura nodded. 

  “Chekov, I need full diagnostics run on all the ship’s systems.    Everything needs to be running better than new.  Also post two guards in every hallway…have them armed.  In the case of an intrusion we can’t waste time fighting for the ship.  Spock, you’re with me.”

  “Captain…there are still many things you need to know.”

  “And I agree with you.  But you can fill me in along the way.  Isn’t that logical?”

  The turbolift doors hissed open.  Kirk stepped out onto the bridge.  It wasn’t quite the same.  He took two steps towards the command chair before he noticed there was an old man sitting in it. 

  “And somebody get that old fool out of my chair!”

  “Old fool?” The man stood and turned.  His long white beard swinging lazily around him until it became almost invisible against the man’s immaculate white robe.  Kirk recognized him instantly. 

  “Gandalf!”  

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