Tachyons move backward in space-time, no slower than the rate of C. The Vulcan physicist Stang has postulated five potential means of harnessing them for practical use.
What were they? What help could those five theories be now? Was it something to do with the space fold or just some random bit of errata that meant absolutely nothing? She couldn’t think. She had to think. She couldn’t.
“Ensign,” said Troi’s voice, also from somewhere far outside the chaos inside her. “Ensign are you all right?”
No, dammit, she thought. I’m losing it. I’m losing everything Jaza gave me and we’re all going to-
Suddenly she felt hands on her, pulling her back from the control console. Keru was yelling something about turbulence, Vale was shoving past her to get into the other pilot’s cradle and Troi was-
Troi was-
“I’m here, Ensign,” said the Betazoid, guiding her down to the cockpit floor. “Be calm.”
“It’s fading away,” said Modan, her distress making her voice tremble along with her body. “I can’t hold on to it.”
Causality is an illusion supported by a limited ability to perceive. That wasn’t from Jaza, was it?
“Be calm,” said Troi and, suddenly, she was. Her mind stilled itself, her respiration slowed, her body ceased its tremors. “Good.”
“My body is metabolizing Najem’s memories,” said Modan weakly. Vale cursed but couldn’t do anything to assist Troi. She had her hands full helping Keru keep the ship from being smashed in the tesseract’s event horizon.
“What can you do to stop it?” said Troi, her wide dark eyes showing nothing but assurance and calm.
“Nothing,” said Modan. “I could pass them to another Selenean, perhaps, but there aren’t any-”
“Pass them to me,” said Troi.
“You don’t understand,” said Modan. “It’s not telepathy. It’s chemical. I will be changing the chemistry of your brain.”
“You did this already, Ensign,” said Troi. “You showed us Jaza’s past.”
“Images,” said Modan bitterly. “Emotions. Simple things. Minor changes. This is information, complex theories, equations. It could damage you.”
“We’re all about to get damaged to death,” said Keru. “Give her the damned memories.”
The Ellingtontook another violent jolt as the tesseract shifted in space-time around them. A few more and Keru’s pronouncement would become a fact.
“Do it, Modan,” said Vale. “That’s an order.”
Terrified, the Selenean did as she was told, striking Troi’s temples hard with her linking spines. The counselor cried out softly, more in surprise than pain. Her eyes rolled backward in her head as she pitched forward across Modan’s prone body.
“We’re losing it,” warned Keru as the ship shook and rattled around them.
All at once, Troi sat up, apparently reenergized and alert. She hefted Modan’s body up into one of the jump seats and quickly strapped her in.
“Well?” said Vale through clenched teeth. “Can you get us out of this?”
Wordlessly, Troi ran aft and disappeared into the engineering compartment.
The ship lurched again, eliciting a curse from Keru. Warning lights activated all across the navigation console.
“Troi,” yelled Vale. “What the hell are you doing? Leave the core alone.”
“Wait,” said Keru. “Wait, I think-I think we’re getting through. Whatever she did is working.”
Sure enough, the multicolored light show was slowly fading, giving way to the familiar twinkling blackness of normal space. They were almost home.
“Nice work, Counselor,” said Keru as Troi returned and flopped into the jump seat opposite Modan. “What did you do?
Troi seemed not to hear him.
“Deanna,” said Vale. “What did you do to the core?”
“What?” she said, distracted, her attention still focused inward. “Oh, nothing. We needed extra power to push through to normal space, so I removed the plasma buffers and disabled the safeties.”
“Oh,” said Keru. “That explains it.”
“What?”
“Why the engine’s building to overload,” he said.
“Well,” said Captain Riker, the tension in his voice telegraphing the growing concern in his mind. If it was the shuttle, why couldn’t he feel Deanna’s presence reasserting, reconnecting? Where was she? “Is it the shuttle or not?”
Tuvok would not be hurried or prodded by the increasing tension and excitement in the non-Vulcans who surrounded him. He was methodical. He was precise. He would be absolutely sure before making any pronouncements.
“Yes,” he said, after a silence that generated thoughts of his homicide in the minds of nearly everyone present. “It is the Ellington. Somehow it has survived inside the Eye and is attempting to return to normal space.”
Will?Troi’s mental fingers reached out to him from what seemed a great distance. Will, I’m here.
He tried to project his relief and pleasure back at her but was unsure if his feelings could make it through whatever was impeding her communication.
“I am reading four life signs,” said Tuvok. “One human, one Selenean, one Trill, and one Betazoid. Mr. Jaza and Dr. Ra-Havreii are not aboard.”
It was difficult not to be elated at the shuttle’s return, but they managed. They had no idea what could have happened to the missing away team members, but there was little hope that the news on that score would be good.
“Give me a visual,” said Riker. Immediately the main viewer zoomed closer to the Eye, where what had been a small grayish dot now resolved itself into the familiar shape of the shuttle.
“Sir,” said Lavena. “I’m getting an anomalous reading off the shuttle. The warp core-”
“Bridge to transporter room A,” said Tuvok.
“Radowski here, sir,”came the instant reply.
“I believe the Ellington’s warp core is about to breach,” said the Vulcan. “Target all organics aboard for transport on my mark.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Tuvok,” said the captain.
“One moment, Captain,” said Tuvok. “Mr. Radowski, do you have a lock on all personnel?”
“Yes, sir,”said the transporter chief. “Solid lock on all four.”
“Energize now,” said Tuvok. “Now, Mr. Radowski.”
At that moment there was a tremendous flash of white light that filled the main viewer, obliterating any other image. When the light cleared, the shuttle was gone.
Deanna?He could feel her, he thought, but he didn’t want to trust the feeling until-
“We got them, sir,”said Radowski’s voice. “Mr. Keru and the rest are back aboard.”
“Cutting it a bit close there, Mr. Tuvok,” said the captain, beaming. “Dramatic license?”
“No, sir,” said Tuvok, seemingly as appalled as a Vulcan could be at such a suggestion. “The shuttle was not fully integrated into normal space. Had we attempted to transport them too soon-”
Before he could finish, Titansuffered a powerful and unexpected jolt that set the lights flickering and put several of the surprised officers on the deck.
“What the hell?” said Riker, helping Ensign Bohn back into the navigator’s chair. There was no need for anyone to answer. The Eye appeared in the visible spectrum for the first time, and it was not an appealing sight.
Still not quite all there, the Eye had manifested itself as a violently undulating orb of bubbling energies that seemed unwilling to decide if it was bloodred or a sinister indigo blue at any given moment.
Around its edges, framing it like the halo of a black hole, a jagged rainbow aurora sparked and shot lances of what looked like solar flares in every direction.
“Brace for second wave,” said Tuvok. Even as he finished, the wave hit, just as powerful as the previous.
“What’s happening?” said Lavena. “I thought this part was over!”