Subject: USS Grail: 'Last Look Back' - Drowning
USS Grail: 'Last Look Back' - Drowning
by
Lieutenant (jg) Eve Mallory - Chief Science Officer
Location: Personal Quarters
The doors hissed open, and Eve Mallory walked thorough,
not noticing the hissing as they closed again. For long
minutes, she stood still, staring at nothing. Then she shook
herself, and looked around.
She moved to the bathroom, her mouth quirking upwards as
she noticed her appearance for the first time. Hair a mess,
face and hands stained with... whatever, and a uniform with
a huge melted patch over one shoulder; you could see the
skin underneath.
No wonder she'd been getting some strange looks since
leaving the Indiana's engine room. And while she was there,
come to think of it, after she'd come back to herself.
She stripped off the uniform, and activated the shower,
stopping to look at her naked form in the long mirror. There
was a fading bruise where the disruptor blast had hit, but
nothing else. No indication she'd stood in the middle of a
cloud of plasma, unaffected but hearing the cut-off scream
of....
No. Force that down, Eve. Send it to the little box where you
put everything you can't handle. Then lock it and throw
the key away.
But that box was getting very full, it almost didn't close. She
was going to have to deal with it all soon, before it picked
the time and burst open on its own. And there couldn't
be anything more pathetic than a machine having a nervous
breakdown. Maybe she could talk to Logan...
That startled her. Logan? When had he moved from being
Logan Castle, to just Logan? And why did she think he'd
understand? No one could. No one could understand the
way she felt; alone, scared and filled with the feeling that
her string was just about played out. She'd gone on for the
last three months, trying to deny her differences to just
about everyone, but it was becoming increasingly difficult
to keep that up. Especially when she'd become something
machine-like, been shot, and been unharmed while standing
at ground-zero in a plasma leak.
So why did she have to restrain herself from calling him?
From wanting to just hear his voice, look into those eyes
that had looked into hers in the Indiana's Transporter
Room? Eyes that had held no fear or pity. Just a warm
sympathy...
No. Leave it. It's best to be alone. You get close, allow
yourself to care, and they leave, like your parents and
Ceece, or they betray you, like Blake. Being alone is safe.
The work will keep you going.
She stepped into the shower, letting the water sluice away
the grease, feeling nothing, calling up the old instincts that
let her drown herself in work, blocking out everything else.
=/\=Lirzinji'kav to Mallory=/\=
She sighed. Now what? She had to meet Prynne and Blake
soon, to start work on the Cloaking Device.
"Mallory here. What is it?"
=/\=Come to Science Lab 4, Lieutenant,=/\= It was practically
an order; a sure sign that the Cygnan was very distracted or
very worried. And considering that Science Lab 4 was the main
link to the Computer Core (without actually being there), that
was disturbing in its own right.
"What's wrong, Ensign?" She added that last to remind him
of protocol. He probably wouldn't notice, but it did no harm.
There was a pause, then his voice came back, full of impatience.
=/\=Just come down. I don't want to say this over a commlink.=/\=
Eve sighed. "I'm on my way. Mallory out." She padded from
the shower dressed only in a towel, and picked up her commbadge.
"Mallory to Blake."
=/\= Blake here. =/\=
"I'm going to be delayed helping you and Lt. Prynne; something's
come up with the computer. I'll be there as soon as possible."
=/\= We'll start without you, sir. Blake out. =/\=
Mallory dressed quickly, grabbed her jacket, not noticing it
was the one with the burn, then left, walking at a half run.
<Location: Science Lab 4>
Mallory arrived at the door to the Science Lab, and was
surprised that it didn't open. She hit the door chime.
=/\= Yes? =/\=
Mallory sighed. "It's me, Lirzinji'kav. Open up."
The door slid open, and she entered. The Cygnan was
sitting in front of a big bank of terminals, typing away.
But that wasn't what drerw her attention. It was the cable
plugged into one of the terminals that caught her eye.
"What the hell is that?" She asked quietly.
Lirzinji'kav turned. "That was what I wondered." He replied.
"I have just spent the last half an hour going through the
computer logs to try and find out."
Mallory closed her eyes, and rubbed her face with her
hands. Against all laws of science and logic, she could
swear she was getting a headache. She could also feel
her temper stretching on a very fine thread.
"Ensign, I do not want you to slowly build me a picture
of what has happened in here," Her voice was low, but
strained. "Just tell me what has happened."
"Someone, using a positronic network, entered the computer
through that cable, and operated the shield and weapon
fluctuations." Lirzinji'kav replied.
Mallory dropped her hands. "Is that possible?" She asked
in astonishment.
The Cygnan nodded. "Yes, if you are an android. And no,
there are no registered Androids on board."
"An android." Mallory repeated. "Registered?" She looked
at Lirzinji'kav. "There's an android registry?"
He nodded. "It is not very large, and most of those on it are
no longer functioning."
Mallory paced back and forth. "All right," She said finally,
"What else?"
"I have checked the time index, and the incident occured
during our battle with the Romulans. During that period
this room was sealed for a period of 10 minutes using the
authorisation of a senior staff member." Lirzinij'kav paused.
"Lt. Commander Janice Hargen. Who, according to Ensign
Prexis, left the Bridge during that period of time."
Mallory stopped pacing, staring down at one of the the
terminals, not really seeing the display. She was getting a
headache, she was sure of it.
Why would Hargen have sealed this lab? Where was she
during that period? Who was the android? And why was
Hargen protecting it?
She should go to Terrakian, and Logan Castle with this
information first, and was sorely tempted to do so. But
she wanted to know why Hargen had done what she'd
done. And who the android was that she was protecting.
"Was any damage done to the core?" She asked.
"No," Came the reply. "If anything, it might have speeded
up the reaction time by a fraction."
*Hell with it.* Mallory slapped her commbadge.
"Mallory to Hargen."
=/\= Hargen here.=/\=
"I need to speak with you, Lt. Commander," Mallory
said firmly. "In Science Lab 4." She paused, then added
a note of iron and steel to her voice. "Now."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Jason Cleaver
Doctor Eve Mallory (Lieutenant)
Assistant Chief Science Officer: USS Nova
www.startreksim.com/e-mail/uss-nova/
argo@easynet.co.uk/ ICQ No: #4914684