By Ariel Klay and the Members of the Starship Asimov Fan Club

Word Count: Story in Progress, to be determined.

Rating: PG-13 for minor blood and sensual content

Summary: The Adventures of the Crew of Starfleet Science vessel USS Asimov. 

Captain’s log, supplemental, our chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Gallagar, is aboard the Aurora, helping her chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Havinof, set up a probe with a metal rod that theoretically will act like a lightning rod, which will attract and dissipate the electrical grid which created the electrical discharges that disabled the Aurora and damaged the Asimov. I say theoretically because Galagar and Havinov’s first attempt was less than successful.

Amanda sighed, shifting in her command chair on the bridge uneasily, feeling slightly out of control of the situation and while she trusted N’ka Gallagar, she knew he and Blake Havinof were up to a bit of too much mischief and fun. She also knew deep down that the two of them were trying to jury-rig a solution out of nothing, and while in fictional stories everyone’s first try works perfectly, the miscalculation of their first try had been cringe-worthy, to say the least. Looking over to James, she gave him a smile.

He smiled back, “My cousin knows what he’s doing, Captain, most of the time. He just underestimated the charge of electrical potential. I think they’ll do better this time.”

“Better!?” Kahra asked with a laugh, “The electrical tube melted in half!”

“True, but at least the probe didn’t explode,” James said in his cousin’s defense.

“Aurora to Asimov, electrical rod test two proceeding,” N’ka’s voice spoke over the comm.

On the view-screen they could see a metal rod attached to a spheroid probe emerging, and Amanda couldn’t help wincing at the electrical torrent that seemed to light up the space all around, all of it centered on the probe.

Blake’s voice came over the comm saying, “Rod integrity holding at ninety-nine point ninety-six percent.”

“Captain, it appears that the electrical wave’s magnitude has increased five hundred percent,” James said, looking at his station’s readout.

“Kahra, how is the ablative hull-plating looking?” asked Amanda.

“Hull integrity at one hundred percent, Captain,” said Kahra, “it’s deflecting the electrical charge as
devised.”

“Magnitude has increased up to fifteen hundred percent, Captain,” James said with slight awe in
his voice.

The vortex of electrical charge was like the eye of a massive hurricane, and it was obvious that it was all centered on the object in a gas cloud not very far away.

“What power such a device must possess,” said James softly, “to borrow a phrase from your great-grandfather, ‘fascinating.’”

“Increasing polarization field,” N’ka’s voice said over the open comm, “keep an eye on the integrity.”

“Captain, it appears to be working, magnitude reducing: twelve hundred percent, eleven hundred and fifty percent.”

“Rod integrity ninety-five point three percent,” said Blake.

“Magnitude is at six hundred and twenty-five percent,” said James, “four hundred percent, two hundred and fifty percent, ninety percent, twenty-five percent.”

“Moving probe to origination source,” said N’ka.

On the view-screen, the torrent of energy, which was now far smaller, seemed to grow bigger as the probe, with the rod pointing at the cloud, started to travel towards the source of the electrical energy until it stopped one kilometer from the cloud.

“Magnitude holding at one hundred and twenty percent,” said James, “It appears stable Captain.”

“Good, raise shields,” said Amanda.

“Shields raised, Captain,” said Kahra.

“Now we wait,” said Amanda, “If we don’t have any electrical discharges in the next fifteen minutes, then we’ll head over to help the Aurora‘s stranded crew on the habitat module.”

oooOOOooo

Chief medical officer’s log, supplemental, Dr. Altara reporting, I have been treating members of the Aurora for mostly minor injuries while Lieutenant Twig and Nurse Reynolds have been setting up Science Lab Four as auxiliary sickbay. I have just been notified that the Asimov is heading for a habitat module that is attached ancient satellite on the other side of the planet, where a third of the Aurora‘s crew has been stranded for over nearly six hours. I am in the process of setting up triage.

Aquina tapped her comm badge and said, “Altara to Reynolds.”

Reynold said over the comm, “Yes, Doctor?”

“How close are you to finishing up there, Nurse?”

“Another fifteen minutes should do it, Doctor.”

“Do you think Lieutenant Twig can manage without you?”

“Hmmm,” said the nurse.

“Never mind, I’ll manage,” said Aquina, “Send over Twig when you are done and you stay there to receive patients.”

“You want me to send Twig!?” asked Reynolds.

“Those are my orders, Nurse.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” said Reynolds.

“Altara, out,” said Aquina and then said, “Computer, activate the emergency medical hologram.”

A Mark One EMH appeared in the sickbay and said stiffly, “Please state the nature of the medical emergency.”

“Ah yes, Doctor,” bubbled Aquina, “How are you today?”

“Dr. Altara,” said the EMH tersely, “May I remind you, once again, that I am a hologram, I do not feel anything!”

“Doctor,” said Aquina gently, “may I remind you that the polite response is, ‘Very well, thank you.’”

The EMH sighed and said, “As you wish, Doctor Altara,” paused and parroted, “Very well, thank you.”

“Much better and please, call me Aquina. We are colleagues after all!”

The EMH sighed again and said, “Aquina, please state the nature of the medical emergency, or did you activate me yet again for another one of your heart to heart chats!?”

“There is an actual emergency this time,” assured Aquina, “We have responded to a distress call from the Aurora. About a third of her crew, about fifty people, are aboard a habitat module that was struck by an electrical discharge nearly six hours ago and they are going to be transported directly here. I need you to assist me with triage.”

“Triage, is that all, Aquina?” asked the miffed EMH, “I am capable for much more than that.”

“I would have you treating patients in the auxiliary sickbay,” said Aquina gently, “but there are no holographic projectors there.”

“Will I have someone to assist me, Aquina?” asked the EMH, “any idiot will do.”

At that moment Lieutenant Twig came in.

“Maybe I should have been more specific,” said the EMH.

“Nurse Reynolds sent me, Doctor Ma’am,” said Twig.

“Ah yes, Clyde,” smiled Aquina, “I need you to do a bit of double duty. We are expecting the rest of the Aurora‘s crew and we are a bit short handed.”

“I dunno nothin’ ’bout treatin’ no sick folks, Doctor Ma’am,” protested Twig.

“Where did you find him, Aquina, was he half stuck in a hill somewhere!?” asked the EMH.

“Clyde, I will need you to take patients who can walk to Science Lab Four, ” said Aquina, “make sure they are comfortable, get them a blanket, but don’t offer them food or liquids, just in case they need surgery. In general, offer TLC.”

“Hm, no liquids,” said Twig, “I guess my homemade hooch is out, then.”

“Hooch?” asked the EMH.

“Moonshine,” said Twig, “Don’ y’all know nothin’?”

“Moonshine, moonshine,” muttered the EMH, searching computer records and then looked up shocked and demanded, “Are you suggesting giving alcohol to patients!?”

“Now, Doc,” said Twig, “I wuz kiddin’. Can’t y’all take a joke!?”

“That is Doctor to you, Lieutenant,” said the EMH.

“Calm down gentleman,” said Aquina as her comm badge beeped and she tapped it.

Trevor spoke over the comm, “Stevens to Altara.”

“Altara here,” said Aquina.

“Prepare to receive a transport of six,” said Trevor, “they all need immediate treatment.”

“Transport them directly to our med beds,” said Aquina.

“Energize,” said Trevor and six officers materialized on the beds.

The EMH said, “That is all we have room for on the beds in here. Put the rest in the Science Lab Four.”

“Yes, Doctor,” said Trevor patiently, “Do you agree Dr. Altara?”

“Yes, Sir,” said Aquina and turning to the EMH she said gently, “please see to the patients here, Doctor, I will be in the other room. Twig, please assist the Doctor.”

The EMH stepped over to a patient, who happened to be the Aurora‘s executive officer, Commander Julie Sanderson, a human in her mid-thirties. Her long brown hair was matted over her pale face, which was badly bruised and her right leg was in an improvised splint. He began to scan her with a tricorder.

“HaShem be praised,” she murmured.

“I am a doctor,” said the EMH, “not a Hebrew deity.”

Julie’s eyes popped open and she groaned, “What is a Mark One EMH doing here!?”

“Treating you, Commander,” the EMH said dryly.

At that moment Amanda walked into sickbay and said, “Hello, Julie, you got pretty banged up, how about the rest of your people on the module and the artifact?”

“We’re doing fine Amanda. I was the unlucky one who happened to be on a ladder when we had a major disturbance,” said Julie, “The rest are a little shook up, mostly just bruises, nothing more.”

“And John?” said Amanda.

“You know him, happy as a clam. Very little can shake him up.” said Julie.

“Excuse me, Captain,” said the EMH, “I need to treat this patient. Your conversation will have to wait.”

“Has he been getting bedside manner lessons from you, Amanda? He sounds like the real McCoy,” said Julie.

“He is Dr. Altara’s pet project,” said Amanda, “She has had this EMH program for years, wouldn’t dream of getting an upgrade.”

“Not surprising. Believe me, compared to the rest of our crew, Aquina has very few eccentricities, and it must be nice to have a second doctor when necessary.”

“That and Dr. Altara is determined to teach this EMH a proper bedside manner,” said Amanda.

“As I understand it, Captain,” said the EMH, “your great-grandfather, Dr. Leonard McCoy, was infamous for his less than warm personality and he rose to the rank of admiral!”

“He also had to work with my great-grandfather, Ambassador Spock, for decades” countered Amanda sternly, “that would make anybody cranky!”

“I see in your case the saying is true,” said the EMH, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“He’s perfect. I wonder if Aquina would be willing to part with a copy. I’m sure he’d make good company for Gina on occasion,” Julie said brightly.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind,” said Amanda, “Actually, N’ka would be your man to ask about that sort of thing.”

“Hmmm, good point,” said Julie, grinning, “Can you let him know I’m in here?”

“Sure thing,” said Amanda.

“I am glad to have N’ka around to help us get the Aurora ship shape,” said Julie.

“Well, enjoy his services while you can,” said Amanda, “The Yosemite and the Nautilus are about a week behind us and is a good thing, too, because we are due to at Starbase 803 in about a month.”

Amanda sensed sadness in her friend Julie, which she covered with a cheerful smile, “Sounds important. Where are you going, or can you say?”

“Oh, nothing top secret. We’re escorting my parents and grandparents’ ship, the Valiant, to Kronos.”

“Wow, some state occasion?”

“Sort of,” said Amanda, “my brother is marrying a Klingon woman from an important house.”

“And your Klingon house is important?” asked Julie.

“Well, yes, my grandmother’s house is rather important,” smiled Amanda.

“Captain!” said the EMH sternly, “I must attend to this patient.”

“Okay, okay,” said Amanda, “I’ll leave before you blow a circuit. I’ll let John know how you’re doing so the EMH here isn’t inundated by captains.”

“Thank you, Captain,” said the EMH.

“Yeah, thanks, Amanda,” said Julie.

oooOOOooo

Later that night, Julie lay in a biobed, the lights were down low, when she saw a shadow emerge from a ceiling hatch, and land softly next to her.

“Hey Julie, so who won, you or the ladder?”

“Hey, it was close, and it’s not like it fell and impaled me,” she said grinning at him.

“That only happened that one time, but you won’t let me forget it, will you?”

“An engineer taken down by his own ladder? Never. Anyhow, I guess I have to ask for a rain check on our re-match, N’ka, at least until Gina gives me the okay.”

“Gina? You forgot that you also have to get past Aquina, too, it’s a double header.”

“I can hardly wait. At least with my injuries, we will be more evenly matched.”

N’ka snorted, “Oh, really!? Is that what you think?”

“Yeah, I have had to hold myself back in the past. Face it, N’ka, I’m younger and faster!”

“Well, how about healing up first? Maybe we can arm wrestle instead?” he said, lightly placing his hand on her shoulder.

“What’s all this talk about arm wrestling?” demanded the EMH, “Commander, my patient needs her rest! I don’t need you here upsetting her!”

“Who’s upsetting me!?” said Julie, “He’s cheering me up!”

“And people say I need to improve my bedside manner,” said the EMH, rolling his eyes, “meanwhile, you are disturbing the other patients.”

“What other patients?” demanded Julie, looking around the empty Sickbay.

“Never mind that!” said the EMH, “are you going to leave Commander Gallagar, or do I need to call security?”

“Computer, shutdown and run a level three diagnostic on the EMH,” said N’ka smiling as the EMH vanished with a look of outrage on his face.

“Thank you, N’ka,” smiled Julie, “now I have you to myself, at least for a while.”

N’ka looked around, saying, “Oh, I’m I going somewhere?”

“Well, not just you. Amanda says the Asimov‘s next assignment is to escort the Valiant to Kronos.”

Julie saw N’ka’s face darken and she shivered as a slight growl emitted from his lips.

“I’m sorry, N’ka, I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought you’d be happy to visit Kronos.”

“It’s alright, Julie. For most people, a planet is just a planet, but for me, Kronos reminds me of obligations I haven’t attended to. Do you remember what I said about how my dead wife and I were in death’s grip and I wasn’t taken?”

“How Starfleet rescued you and brought you back from the brink? Yes. So what does that place represent for you?”

“Death, well, perhaps death, anyway, if it wasn’t for a vision I had, I would likely have separated myself from the crew and sought it in battle. But after she died, I tested myself and afterwards I had a vision of her telling me to live the best I could, to live life to the fullest. But it’s likely her brother will challenge me and one of us will die, and my crew will probably not like seeing that side of myself, definitely a clash between Federation and Klingon values. I may actually see if Havinof would have me on the Aurora, instead.”

“And leave Twig in charge!? I never took you for a coward” she said sternly.

He grinned, taking her handing, saying, “You have a Klingon’s heart, you know that, right?”

“Darn’ tootin’, now we must face our enemies, mustn’t we?”

“True, we must. Anyway, the EMH is probably right about you needing rest. Do you need anything, maybe some soup?”

“Soup? Well, maybe, but I don’t want to get in trouble with Aquina. I only woke up a few minutes ago.”

“I’ll let her know you’re awake so the prodding can begin,” he said grinning.

“You really don’t like doctors do you?”

“Not really. I tend to be my own medic most of the time, and if Aquina saw all the plasma burns I get, she’d probably never let me out of this place.”

Julie snorted, “Well, maybe you’d let Gina do your physical. She wouldn’t judge.”

“Maybe… I’ll think about it. Well, I’ll be back later to check on you.”

“Thanks N’ka, I’d like that.”

N’ka nodded before he hit the wall and dropped out of sight.

ooOOOooo

James was sleeping soundly on his bunk when he was awakened by the sound of his cousin, N’Ka, landing softly on the floor of their quarters from the hatch in the ceiling.

“What time is it?” murmured James.

“Zero two hundred hours,” whispered N’ka, “go back to sleep.”

“Forget it,” said James, sitting up, “I’m wide awake, now. Where have you been?”

“On the artifact, Cousin.”

“At zero two hundred!? Try again, N’ka.”

“If you must know, I stopped by Sickbay after my shift.”

“You, in Sickbay!? What did you break, your neck!?”

“No, I didn’t go for me,” said N’ka, rolling his eyes, “I was visiting Commander Sanderson, who had a broken leg.”

“Hmm, Commander Sanderson, I’m not familiar with the Aurora’s crew roster. Who is he?”

“She is the Aurora’s XO and one of the lead scientists. Julie broke her leg falling down a ladder.”

“Oh, we’re on a first name basis, huh, N’ka? Sounds like you two are pretty cozy.”

“It’s not like that. Julie is a very talented in various weapon disciplines, so we often spar, as well as trade off our knowledge. Plus, she has a warrior’s heart.”

“Ooooo, like two ships passing in the night!?”

“She’s a friend, and Havinof and I have been teaching her how to wield a Bat’leth. Strangely, it is one of the few weapons she doesn’t have good familiarity with. In return she’s been teaching me how to wield a Scottish claymore. Well, that and she even gives the captain a run for her money. It’s fun when we can all get in a good spar.”

“It sounds like the two of you are close.”

“It’s true; she’s probably one of the few non Klingon women I’d think about being with. But at the same time it’s been barely two years since J’ashih left, and she’s waiting for me in Stovokor. I should have died with her that day; I didn’t, but I should have. “

James’ face immediately sobered and he said, “I know N’ka. I know about the pain in your heart. I can feel it like it was my own. But finding someone may help. Goodness knows it has helped me.”

“I’ll think on it, though procrastination is my name. When I first met her I suppressed it, but maybe in time…”

“Be honest with yourself, and her, when you’re ready. In the meantime, know I’m here for you.”

“I’d lay my life down for you, James. And I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”

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