The Sky's The Limit Part 5

The question seemed to fl.u.s.ter Worf. "I...cannot rate our opponent, sir. When it failed to respond to our hails, I attempted to achieve weapons lock on the ship.... Our weapon systems do not register the vessel."

"A weapons lock? Do you believe that was the wisest course of action, Mister Worf?"

"Sir, it was strictly a precautionary measure. It may not have been the most diplomatic way to get their attention, but the safety of the ship is utmost in my mind."

"Very well, Mister Worf. But you say the ship's weapons do not see the other ship?"

"No, sir, they do not. I have run several diagnostics to verify the readings. Our systems are functional; they simply tell me there is nothing out there."

Pulaski turned to face the large Klingon. "Don't be overreliant on your sensors, Mister Worf." She snuck a glance at Data. "No matter how smart they are, they're still just machines. I don't believe the ship out there is a ghost any more than I believe I can walk through this railing. It's more likely they've discovered a cloaking method without the huge power drain that the Romulans suffer. We'll just have to trust our own senses instead of letting machines think for us."

"I believe we should take the doctor up on her suggestion," Picard said as he rose from his chair. "I want all staff personnel to report to the observation lounge in fifteen minutes with whatever data we can discover about our uninvited guest. I'll be in my ready room until then. You have the bridge, Number One."

Pulaski waited on Deck 12 for the turbolift to arrive. She didn't know any more about the situation than when she'd left the bridge. Without any knowledge of the inhabitants of the strange ship, there was little the medical staff could do. At least it had given her time to check in with Doctor Selar and rea.s.sure herself the EMR team was all right. In fact, she'd overheard Technicians Johannson and Ta.r.s.es discussing ways to pre-position their equipment for the next exercise.

Returning to the observation lounge, she took her usual seat. I hope the captain's not counting on me to pull a rabbit out of my hat. Maybe one of the others found something to give me a clue where to start researching.

As usual, the first to report was Data. "With the sensors still off-line, we have been forced to rely on visual observation. The ship appears to be a semispheroid shape, approximately three hundred meters in diameter. The lower quarter tapers down to a flat bottom, which suggests it is able to land, although whether or not it is capable of surviving entering an atmosphere is unknown. Given its size and shape, we estimate there are probably no more than one hundred crew members, a.s.suming they are humanoid-sized."

Lieutenant La Forge stepped in seamlessly, as if Data and he had practiced before the meeting. "There is no apparent means of propulsion and nothing to indicate where its engineering section might be. I've checked with Chief O'Brien, and he's unable to get a transporter lock on the other ship, either. We have no idea how it flies or what it uses for fuel. Based on the external makeup of the ship, though, it appears to be several generations behind current Federation technology."

"Very good, Mister Data, Mister La Forge. Counselor, do you have anything for us?"

Deanna Troi turned to face the captain before she spoke in a clear, measured voice. "I have been unable to sense much from the other ship. The distance could be too great, or perhaps their minds are too different from ours. I do sense feelings of curiosity and envy from time to time, but I can't be sure."

A smile spread across Riker's face at the idea of meeting new alien life. "Curiosity is a good thing. We're certainly curious about them."

"Indeed, Number One."

"Perhaps we could take one of the shuttles and attempt to reach them, since our sensors and communications seem ineffective. Their technology can mask them from our sensors, but they don't seem to be able to fool our eyes."

The large Klingon squirmed in his seat. Pulaski could tell he wasn't happy with Riker's suggestion, but it wasn't his way to tell a senior officer he was wrong. She started to say something to give Worf a chance, but Picard beat her to it.

"Mister Worf, I believe you have some feelings on this subject?"

"Captain, I believe it would be unwise to approach this ship without more data. The curiosity the counselor senses could be that of a warrior sizing up an unknown enemy. To send a shuttlecraft over without the Enterprise able to defend it makes me...uncomfortable."

"I'll certainly take your concerns into consideration, Mister Worf. Mister Crusher, anything?"

"The ship seems to be matching the Enterprise's heading and speed, sir. We have been keeping it under observation from several points on the ship and have pooled our observations. It appears to be maintaining a distance of five hundred kilometers. I conducted a small experiment by adjusting our speed at random as well as making minor course corrections. Their ship may not look like much, but it's nimble. They were able to match us, maneuver for maneuver, without difficulty."

Pulaski decided to go ahead with her report since everyone else was finished. "The medical staff is standing by in case we're needed, Captain. However, with no further information, we're reduced to waiting like everyone else."

Picard frowned at her, but nodded. "It seems we all are stymied by a lack of information about our visitors. Mister Crusher, when we return to the bridge, move us to within one hundred fifty kilometers of the other ship. Number One, prepare a shuttlecraft to investigate but ensure its crew understands they are to take no provocative acts. Mister Worf, continue attempts to make contact with them before the shuttle is launched. Everyone else continue your observations of this ship and try to get me some answers. Meeting adjourned."

Various conversations broke out as the bridge officers began filtering out of the room. Will looked over at Geordi and Troi. "Anyone up for poker after we get off shift?"

"Thought you'd never ask," La Forge said. "I need to make up for the last game. I never thought you had that third queen."

Riker grinned as the door slid shut. "I know..."

Pulaski stood in the back of the room, staring at the door. This is just not my day. My exercise was spoiled by routine maintenance, and now I'm actually angry because Kyle Riker's kid didn't invite me to a game of cards. I think I'm going to prescribe some time in Ten-Forward for myself. A little unwinding is just what the doctor ordered.

Pulaski felt the energy of the room wash over her as she entered the maelstrom known as Ten-Forward. The lounge was a favorite hangout for the Enterprise crew and the enigmatic El-Aurian known as Guinan ensured the place ran smoothly. Before Pulaski could pull up a chair at the bar, Guinan placed a smoldering blue drink in front of her.

Pulaski looked at the wavy gla.s.s with suspicion. "Okay, I give up. Am I supposed to drink this or use a fire extinguisher on it?"

"Give it a try. It's the perfect thing for a day that's been less than perfect."

Deciding Guinan had been right more often than not, Pulaski took a sip and a smile crossed her face. It had just enough kick to get her attention but not enough to detract from the taste. She raised her gla.s.s in a salute to Guinan and decided to walk around the room.

The noise and random conversations helped her relax and gave her a protective coc.o.o.n to think about all that had happened. She stopped in front of a viewport and admired the changing starfield outside the ship, focusing on a spectacular nebula off in the distance. I have to admit, I may have sold our young lieutenant short. Mister La Forge may not have as much experience as some of the chief engineers I've worked with, but his hunches are pretty darn good.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Pulaski turned to see Guinan standing there with a fresh drink. She started to wave it off, but Guinan slipped the gla.s.s into her hand before she knew what had happened. She gave Guinan a smile and nodded. "I wonder how long ago that star exploded. It's strange, seeing something so beautiful and realizing it may have happened thousands of years ago."

"The past has a funny way of finding us when we least expect it. The question is, do we learn from it, or do we make the same mistakes again and again?"

Pulaski gave her a puzzled look as Guinan excused herself and disappeared into another section of Ten-Forward. She looked at the nebula again, making out the bright spot at the center. It was hard to imagine that death could produce such a majestic sight.

She started to place her drink down when she noted Wesley Crusher standing behind her, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Is there something you wanted, Mister Crusher?"

"No, nothing really. We never had a chance to sit and talk, so I thought I'd come over. I mean, we don't know each other and..."

"Mister Crusher, I don't mean to be blunt, but why would we get to know each other? It's not like we run in the same social circles on this ship. In fact, I expect to be the chief medical officer of the Enterprise long after you leave for the academy. If you could do me a favor and take the tin man with you, I'd appreciate it."

Wesley's face clouded over at her last remark. "What have you got against Data? This is the second time today you've had to get in a dig on him."

"I don't have anything against it. It's obviously a capable machine since the captain allows it on the bridge, but it's just a machine. It does what it's programmed to do and nothing else. It may be able to perform thousands of calculations a second, but it can't get a hunch, make a leap in logic, just 'know' something's right. It'd never cut it as a doctor, that's for sure. You'll never see a sickbay turned over to a machine."

"I think you're selling Data short. There's more to him than meets the eye."

Pulaski eyed the young man with amus.e.m.e.nt. "You'd have to prove that to me."

Wesley pushed on. "I just thought I should get to know you, since you're my mother's replacement. I've spent a lot of time down in starship sickbays. Most of the people I knew growing up were the doctors and nurses."

Pulaski lowered herself into a seat and took another sip of her drink. Looking up, she gave him a wan smile. "Ah, yes, the joys of being a child of Starfleet. Here today, gone on a glorious new adventure tomorrow. But you raise an interesting question. Why didn't you go into the medical field?"

Wesley eased into the chair next to her. "Couple of reasons, actually. I've heard so much about my dad, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and be on the bridge. Besides, it's tough enough being Beverly Crusher's son. Everyone sees Mom in me and expects me to act like her. It'd be even worse if I were a doctor. You understand how it is."

"I do?"

Wesley gave her a funny look. "You had to have noticed. Mom was popular with the whole crew. She's got to be a hard act to follow. I admire your self-confidence, Doctor Pulaski. I don't think I'd want that kind of shadow hanging over me."

Pulaski set the gla.s.s down and tried to keep her voice even. "Mister Crusher, if other people on this ship are comparing me to your mother, they're making a mistake. I am not Beverly Crusher. I never will be her and I don't have any desire to become her. If members of this crew can't accept me because they 'see your mother's shadow,' then that's their loss."

Wesley leaned back in his chair, caught off guard by the vehemence of her statement. A mixture of sadness and surprise was etched on his face. "I'm sorry, Doctor Pulaski, I didn't mean-"

"To make her feel uncomfortable or unwanted?" Guinan's voice broke in, gently separating the two and drawing their attention to her. She placed a hand on Wesley's shoulder. "The best of intentions don't always pardon hasty words. I know you meant to give Doctor Pulaski a compliment, Wes, but you've really got to work on your delivery."

She inclined her head toward Pulaski before continuing. "She's content to blaze her own trails and to be recognized for her own work. Isn't that the real reason you didn't consider medicine? You're afraid others wouldn't push you as hard or hold you to the same standards because they're friends or colleagues of hers. You want to make a mark all your own. Just like Doctor Pulaski."

Pulaski watched Wesley's face flush as he realized Guinan was closer to the truth than he wanted to admit. She felt Guinan's eyes on her and turned to face the bartender. "Also, some people should learn to accept a compliment without looking for a fight." Before Pulaski could reply, Guinan took Wesley's arm in hers. "Come with me. I have a new concoction to test and you look like the perfect volunteer."

Pulaski watched the two disappear into the swirling crowd. She picked up her drink and stared out at the nebula, her thoughts troubled.

Later, as she entered sickbay, she suddenly lurched to one side. I'm going to have to have a talk with Guinan. Two of those shouldn't affect me this much. The blaring of a klaxon told her there was more to her unsteadiness than mere alcohol. The flashing red light in the corridor confirmed her suspicions. Something was going on and she needed information.

She reached the companel just as it started beeping at her. "sickbay, Pulaski here."

She was surprised to hear Mister Worf's voice. "Doctor Pulaski, the alien ship shifted directions before we could react and rammed into the ship near engineering. There are casualties being reported on Decks 32 and 33."

"Rammed the ship?"

"I cannot explain how it happened. It was inside the ship's deflector shields before we had an opportunity to raise them. Whatever technology they are using to cloak themselves seems to give them an advantage over our eyes also."

Now that's a nasty thought. "Understood, Mister Worf. Deploying medical teams to Decks 32 and 33." Motioning to Doctor Martin, she signaled for him to head to the auxiliary sickbay in the stardrive section. If engineering was the target of the mystery ship, having a med team in close proximity made good sense.

Flipping the switch on the communicator, she gave a command opening a channel to all her off-duty personnel. "Med teams 1 and 2, report to sickbay. Med teams 3 and 4, report to auxiliary. Med team 5, stand by." Turning to the current staff, she smiled and tried to keep her voice calm. "You heard Mister Worf's report. They'll try to keep us informed. Taylor, Prender, I want you two to go through supplies. Replicate anything we're short on. Nurse Temple, call up a complete list of all the current engineering personnel. Cross-reference with the medical database and make a note of any allergies, special needs, or specific treatments. Peterson, monitor the communications channels. If you hear anything that might require us to react, let me know stat."

She acknowledged the chorus of responses and turned to keep an eye on the communicator, waiting for Martin to call. Well, that'll keep them busy. They may think I'm nuts ordering all these checks, but as long as they're busy, they won't have time to get nervous.

I hate the waiting. At least on the bridge, you have an idea of what's happening. Here, we just sit.

As the minutes ticked by, the two off-duty med teams filtered into the room. Pulaski spotted Nurse Ogawa coming in just as Martin checked in over the comm.

"So far, Katherine, most of the injuries have been minor, a few sprained wrists or b.u.mps on the head from when the two ships collided."

Pulaski felt herself relax at the report. "I'd say we got off pretty well if that's the worst of it."

Doctor Martin's voice took on an excited tone. "Well, I can't swear to that. I just saw a bunch of security guys running toward engineering. Not sure what's going on, but I'm going to see if there's anything we can do to help."

"Is someone there to watch sickbay if you're out?"

"The other med teams are here now. If anything's going on, the quicker I can treat them, the better."

"Point taken, Doctor. Make sure you don't take any unnecessary chances."

"No worry there. Mrs. Martin didn't raise dumb children, Doctor. That's why security has more rigorous fitness standards than mere doctors."

Pulaski shook her head. Martin, one of these days your desire to be on the front lines is going to get you killed. No one can question your self-confidence, though, can they?

That thought brought her earlier conversation with Wesley back into focus. Was it really confidence that drove her, or was it sheer stubbornness? What kept her from accepting help when it was offered?

Her introspection was interrupted when she felt a shudder run through the ship. "Martin, what the h.e.l.l was that?"

Martin didn't reply at first, but Pulaski could hear someone talking to him in the background. When he came back on, his voice was rushed. "There's been some kind of explosion in engineering. Not sure what caused it yet, but it was powerful. You may need to send more people up here. I'll let you know when damage control gives me the word."

Pulaski motioned med team 2 over and ordered them to report to auxiliary. She turned back to the communicator when the sounds of a disturbance drew her attention. "Martin, what's going on down there?" The sounds of fighting could be heard in the background.

"The aliens breached the hull in engineering and there's a fight going on...Watch out, Tim! Holy-I never even saw-"

"Martin? Martin? Answer me, Martin." Pulaski smashed down the communicator b.u.t.ton. "Pulaski to bridge. Captain, what the h.e.l.l's going on?"

Captain Picard's voice sounded unruffled on the communicator in contrast to the chaos in engineering. "The unknown ship has attached itself to the Enterprise, Doctor, and is attacking engineering. We're dispatching security, but our intruder control system was damaged in the explosion. We're a.s.sessing the situation."

"I've lost contact with Doctor Martin and one of my med teams down there."

A familiar, but somewhat frantic voice broke into the conversation. "Captain, La Forge here. The aliens have taken over main engineering and are spreading out. I can't explain what I'm seeing, but they're able to strike before we can put up a defense. Our weapons don't seem to do any damage to them, either."

Pulaski frowned, cut in. "Lieutanant, this is Doctor Pulaski. Do they seem immune to the phasers?"

"No, Doctor. It's more like the beams pa.s.s right through them. They're solid beings, though. I've seen them carrying boxes of equipment back to their ship."

"Scavengers." Picard's reaction was more comment than question.

"Looks like it, sir. I haven't seen them use any weapons, but they're stronger than they look. I don't think anyone's been seriously injured, but I can't swear to it. I managed to hide, but I don't know how long I have before they notice me."

"Where are you located, Mister La Forge?"

"I'm on a catwalk above Deck 33, looking down into main engineering. They're concentrating on going through our stores."

"Stay put, Mister La Forge. Security is en route to your area and is sealing off the rest of the ship."

"Understood, Captain. La Forge out."

Pulaski motioned for Nurse Ogawa to join her. "I'm going with team 2 to the auxiliary sickbay. I'm not certain what's going on, but we need to beef up the medical staff aft. You're in charge here."

"But what if something goes wrong, Doctor? We can't afford to lose both Doctor Martin and you."

Pulaski bit back a sharp retort, recognizing the concern on Nurse Ogawa's face. "It's not an optimal solution, but there are casualties in engineering. The quicker medical support gets there, the better off they'll be. Contact Doctor Selar and have her report to main sickbay as quickly as possible. If the intruders break through the security perimeter, have her lock down all the sickbays to prevent them from getting in." She patted Ogawa on the shoulder and then turned and told med team 2 to follow her.

The turbolift trip from Deck 12 to Deck 34 seemed to take longer than usual, but Pulaski chalked that up to nerves. As the doors to the turbolift opened, they were met by a small contingent of security personnel.

"Doctor Pulaski, what are you doing here?"

"I'm taking a med team down to sickbay and getting ready to deal with the casualties, Ensign Carson. May we have an escort?"

The red-haired ensign blushed and motioned for two members of her squad to follow the doctor aft. Pulaski and her team made their way into sickbay, while the security team took positions on either side of the door.

Pulaski began a.s.sessing the situation. "All right, folks. I want a status report and I want it yesterday. What's been going on since Doctor Martin left? Who was in charge? Status of casualties? Come on, people, I don't have all day."

The barrage of questions shook the personnel in sickbay out of their shock. The recent arrivals began a.s.sessing the patients while the original teams hurried over to Pulaski and began filling her in on the current situation.

"The intruders are being reported from Decks 32 to 35. From what security told us, there's no apparent pattern to their attack. It's like they're just wandering about aimlessly."

"That's not too hard to figure out," she replied, trying to remember the name of the medical technician in front of her. "I would guess they've never been on a Galaxy-cla.s.s vessel before. They have no idea where anything important is kept. Since they're looting engineering, it's reasonable to a.s.sume they're doing the same everywhere they can reach."