“You’re good to go, Ensign,” said Keru, dropping down into his own seat and buckling in.
“Wonderful,” said Modan, her slender fingers fidgeting with her equipment bag. “The next time I get an inspiration, will one of you remind me to tell my department head instead of the captain?”
“Learn to love the chain of command,” said Keru with a twinkle.
“I thought your people were pragmatists, Modan,” said Jaza jauntily from the forward part of the cabin. It was his fourth time checking over the flight plan and computer commands. “That sounds an awful lot like worry.”
“Different crиches cultivate different traits, Najem,” said Modan, her voice firm again. “The Y’lira crиche was bred for curiosity, analysis, and flexibility of thought. I guess that means I can worry.”
“Najem,” huh?thought Vale. Didn’t realize things had got that far with them. She had finished securing her own gear and safety harness and was accounting for the weapons and isolation suits with Keru.
While, in theory, this was a simple diplomatic mission, in her experience, going in with intel as spotty as what they currently had on the Orishans could lead to some potentially fatal misunderstandings.
In addition to the obligatory analysis and translation gear, she’d packed the team a brace of phasers, doubled up on the holographic isolation suits “just in case” and added a second quantum beacon on the off chance that the first might be somehow fatally compromised. Indeed, Keru himself was part of Vale’s own emergency kit; the big Trill was one of the best close-quarters fighters on the ship. She wasn’t sure she actually expected trouble from the Orishans, but if they brought some, having Keru along to help shut it down was more comforting than all those phasers.
“Anyway,” said Keru, checking off the final inventory item and looking up. He gave Modan a warm smile from behind his thick mustache. “A little worry is healthy. Lets the universe know you have respect for it.”
“Just remember your job and follow orders, Ensign,” said Vale. “You’ll be fine.”
“We’ll all be fine,” said Jaza, dropping into the jump seat beside Modan’s. Despite the danger of what they were about to attempt and the larger consequences should any part of the attempt fail, the Bajoran scientist seemed almost happy. “I have no doubt about it.”
“More wisdom from your Prophets, Mr. Jaza?” said Ra-Havreii. He’d been mostly silent as they waited for the final systems check to conclude, only humming occasionally to himself some breezy Efrosian tune.
“Well, yes, as a matter of fact,” said Jaza, clicking the final buckle into place and checking over his own field kit. Ra-Havreii snorted derisively. Jaza ignored him. “But, in this case, we don’t have to look to the Prophets for guidance.”
“What then?” said Modan.
“Simple,” said Jaza. “Dr. Ra-Havreii is here with us. He wouldn’t have set foot inside this thing if he wasn’t certain he’d be coming back.”
Everyone laughed at that, even the engineer, though it was anybody’s guess whether or not any of the apparent relief of tension was authentic.
Troi would know, thought Vale absently as her gaze strayed from the members of her team to the view of the hangar beyond the forward canopy. The entire hangar was shrouded in light-absorbing black, the variously configured energy dampers that would, theoretically, keep the shuttle’s warp field from destroying the place.
Here and there engineers in EVA gear scurried back and forth, securing couplings and quadruple-checking relevant systems. They seemed so small in comparison to all that black. Even the massive hangar doors, normally open to space, were currently closed, the force field that usually protected the deck from the hard vacuum having been rendered as inoperable as the rest of Titan’s energy shields.
As she took in the enormity of what they were about to attempt, it was difficult not to feel some nervousness about this whole thing. Jaza’s plan was like a clock with a million working parts, the failure of any one of which would spell catastrophe.
She just wished they could get on with it. The longer they sat, the more time frayed nerves would have to fail altogether. Keru and Jaza were rock steady, of course, but she was less confident about Modan and Ra-Havreii. Living and working among even Titan’s diverse crew was one thing. The shared ethos of all present went a long way to smoothing otherwise rough edges and apparent inconsistencies. Putting their feet, unannounced, on alien dirt was another matter entirely. Still, between herself and the other veterans, there shouldn’t be too much trouble from the rookies.
Just as Vale was wondering what the hell was keeping Troi, she appeared, followed closely by the captain. Both looked grim and said little beyond that conversation made necessary by their duties and positions.
Well. At least they’d get the breathing space that Dr. Huilan had claimed was necessary. Take purchase where you find it, as her mother used to say.
She could see they had been at it again, whatever it was, and it, whatever it was, had taken its toll on both of them. To the casual observer there was no trace of their secret conflict, but to Vale, the signs had become abundantly clear.
The tension in the captain’s jaw, the steely focus of his eyes, the counselor’s mask of placidity painting a false veneer over the emotions roiling beneath. Once again, as Troi took her place in the last empty jump seat, Vale felt a wave of melancholy wash over her, dredging up thoughts of battles she’d had with her mother over everything from what to wear to her induction ceremony for the Izar peace office to her choice to leave the family business for a life in the black.
It wasn’t as intense as the storm that had taken her in the counselor’s suite, but it was certainly noticeable. At least it was to Vale. The others seemed totally unaware of anything beyond their conversation about the mission and their chances of completing it.
“So. We know how this works,” said Riker, his big frame forced to stoop in order to hang there in the open hatchway. He looked like a bear trying to squeeze into a foxhole. “The big doors open, the atmosphere vents, and then the countdown begins. Ten seconds later the shuttle will accelerate to warp two for just under three nanoseconds. About a minute after that you’ll be in striking distance of Orisha and, hopefully, close enough to beam through the distortion.”
“That’s provided we make it out of the shuttlebay,” said Modan, but only to herself.
“Yes, Ensign,” said Ra-Havreii, having heard her. “Provided that. You see, a warp bubble-”
“No speech here, folks,” said Riker, cutting the engineer off before he could build up a head of steam. “You all know your jobs. You know what’s at stake. Get it done and get back here as soon as you can.” His personal good-bye to his wife was something in the eyes. There was always something crackling between them that way, and now, despite their obvious troubles, it bound them still. What was the Betazoid word they used to describe that connection? Imzadi?
As he backed out of the hatch, Riker’s eyes conveyed to Vale her own silent communication. Bring them back, Chris. It might not have been the same sort of empathic contact he enjoyed with Troi, but Vale got the message.
Then he was gone, and there was nothing left but the sounds of the hatch sealing shut behind him and the evenly modulated tones of the computer beginning its launch prep.
“ShuttlecraftEllington ready for launch,”said the artificial female voice. “All personnel please clear the flight deck.”
The EVA suits scrambled for the nearest exits, and soon the hangar was empty. For a few moments nothing stirred in the black and silver expanse, but then, almost imperceptibly at first, the enormous doors at the far end began to separate.