General Kal'sunu was elated by the announcement from Admiral Than'tosi of the crystalline entity's destruction. The general immediately prepared a top priority communique and had it transmitted to every city, settlement, outpost and vessel through out the Andorian system.
SPECIAL BULLETIN
From Andorian Homeworld Security
Division of the Andorian Imperial Guard
Admiral Than'tosi has just announced the destruction of the crystal creature that recently erupted from our neighboring planetoid, Pandoria. Two of our Homeworld defense ships perished in this courageous battle and their crews will be forever remembered in our Hall of Heros. But we can all be assured that our homeworld is safe!
After the transmission was completed, Kal'sunu thought to himself with considerable satisfaction, "And THAT should put a halt to any further whining from little brother, Kal'trax!"
Aboard the Shran II, Admiral Than'tosi's own satisfaction was interrupted by an aid. "Sir, we are getting several reports from our science officers that large chunks of the crystal debris are merging back together and..."
Than'tosi saw three officers standing at a respectful distance behind the aid. The admiral felt a chill in the pit of his stomach. "And WHAT, Lieutenant?"
"A-and the graviton beam has gotten stronger. At this end it seems to be splitting into thousands of smaller beams going into the bigger chunks!" The aid glanced nervously over his shoulder at the officers standing behind him. "It's like the beam is directing the RE-forming of the entity!"
Than'tosi's shoulders slumped and he bowed his head a little with closed eyes as he thought to himself: "Why did I have to be so quick to declare, 'mission accomplished'!"
"Chief Kirby, how're we coming with the core dump prep?" Ted's voice was crisp with tension.
Kirby's own voice was strained. "It's tricky trying to align the discharge of the core with our warp speed, Captain. We seem to be slowly but steadily increasing velocity."
Paula confirmed from the helm. "That's true, Ted. With no engine power of its own, the Tycho is now moving at warp 2.23... and slowly accelerating!"
Marchelle spoke from the main lab. "Ted, I'm putting a spectrographically enhanced view of the graviton beam on your viewscreen. Look what's happening!"
The bridge crew stared at the viewscreen which now displayed the graviton beam with an intense emerald green glow. There was a distinct lighter green shimmer which surrounded the beam, filling up the screen.
"What are we looking at, Marchelle?"
"Well.. the solid green beam is the main graviton beam going from the spatial anomaly back toward the crystal entity; or what's left of it!" Marchelle gave a quick sigh. "But the lighter green shimmer has a gravitonic signature like none I've ever seen before... and it seems to be wrapped around the main beam, like a very thick sheath around a cable." Marchelle paused as she swallowed. "This, uhh.. gravitonic 'sheath', for want of a better term, extends out around the main beam about a hundred kilometers or so." Her voice dropped as she finished quietly, "and that's what we are caught up in."
Ambassador Kallindra standing to one side of the captain's chair pointed at the screen. "What's that little bluish flicker off to the right?"
Ted ordered, "Magnify the lower right quadrant."
As Paula did so the flicker took on the shape of a small transport ship. "Why, it's the Styx! When the main beam changed directions, it must have spit it out!" Paula adjusted a setting on her console. "But it's still matching our warp speed and is being drawn toward the anomaly.. like us."
"Speaking of which.." Donna joined the conversation from her lab station, "the anomaly is becoming increasingly turbulent! It's about as large as a moon-sized planetoid now." She paused and squinted at her readings. "Huhhh..!"
Ted: "What is it, Donna?"
"My sensors indicate that the graviton beam is acting like a polar magnetosphere at one end of a planet! The main beam is shooting out of the anomaly while the surrounding 'sheath' is flowing back into it!"
Paula: "Well, I calculate that moving at our present rate of acceleration, the Tycho will 'flow' into the anomaly in less than an hour!"
"Chief Kirby.." Ted began, but was interrupted by Dianne at the comm station.
"Captain, we're being hailed by the Kallindor I."
"On screen."
Kal'trax appeared on the screen with several Andorians standing behind him. A few were officers. Others wore the lab tunics of scientists. "Captain Klosowski, we've been monitoring the Tycho's progress closely and our scientists doubt that you will have sufficient time to dump your warp core and still escape the anomaly."
There was an unaccustomed edge to Ted's voice. "We are aware of the time constraints, Director, and we are doing our best!"
"I'm sure you are, Captain, but I think we can help."
There was a bit of a stir among the people standing behind Kal'trax. Ted noticed that a couple of the officers, those wearing security uniforms, had scowls on their faces.
Kal'trax continued. "As you know, we successfully evacuated all our personnel from Pandopost before the entity split the planet apart. We also managed to retrieve some of our, uhh, research projects." One of the security officers behind Kal'trax muttered disapprovingly. Kal'trax turned his head and shot a warning glance at the officer. "After a vigorous discussion, we reached a consensus decision to aid your Federation vessel with one of our projects; code named: 'Long Suck'!"
The Andorian Homeworld Defense fleet was going through a very rough patch. When they first attacked the entity, the twelve battle cruisers and three dreadnaughts had basically surrounded it. After blowing it apart, the remaining eleven cruisers and two dreadnaughts found that they were being surrounded by re-emerging crystal clusters that had the ability to dodge photon torpedos while launching lethal clouds of crystal shards. Two more battle cruisers had succumbed to shard penetrations from multiple angles that overwhelmed the ships' shields. The other cruisers were all reporting diminishing shield capacity while attempting phaser fire on hundreds of darting crystal clusters surrounding each ship. The phaser fire was destroying crystal clumps here and there, but it was becoming obvious that the fleet had bitten off way more than it could chew.
After the loss of the two cruisers, Admiral Than'tosi knew he had to ask for more help. He made the dreaded call back to General Kal'sunu.
"I regret to report, General, that the crystalline entity is evidently NOT destroyed! The pieces are re-forming and attacking our fleet... and so far we've lost two more battle cruisers! Our situation is becoming problematic. Can you send reinforcements from the Imperial Guard?"
Kal'sunu was shocked into near apoplexy. "Wha!.. How could this happen?! How can 'PIECES' re-form?!"
"I don't KNOW, General, but they ARE! They're all around us, sniping from all directions, and they move too quickly for us to target them with our torpedoes! I've already used up three quarters of our complement and we've only made a couple of hits!" Than'tosi paused and his voice lowered in desperation. "Please send help from the Imperial Guard!"
Kal'sunu's pale blue skin became even paler. "As you should know, Admiral, most of our Guard ships are currently on duty patrolling the Neutral Zone. I can recall them, but even at top warp, it would take several hours to reach you."
Than'tosi, quietly; "I'm not sure we can last that long!"
The Shran II's Comm Chief interjected: "Admiral, emergency hail from Captain Kardiaq of the Tho'rax!" The Tho'rax was the Shran II's sister dreadnaught.
Than'tosi could anticipate the gist of this communication and quickly decided to use it as leverage with Kal'sunu. "Patch it through to General Kal'sunu as well and put Kardiaq onscreen."
A very desperate Captain Kardiaq appeared. The bridge scene behind him was near chaos with sparks and smoke coming from several consoles and bulkhead terminals. "Admiral! We've sustained hull breaches on seven decks and crystalline clumps have attached themselves to the breaches! I've gotten quick reports of some kind of 'energy worms' from the crew on those decks... and then.. nothing!" Kardiaq waved one arm at the scene behind him. "As you can see, we are losing control of the Tho'rax! Request permission to abandon ship, Admiral!"
After a quick think, Than'tosi replied. "I don't think we have time for that and I doubt it would do you any good. Your escape pods would be easy pickings for these damn crystals!" Than'tosi stiffened and his eyes narrowed. "Captain Kardiaq, we are in the heat of battle with a mortal enemy. You are a top line fleet captain and I call on you to do your utmost for Andoria. Fire every weapon you can at them as long as you can. Draw them to you! Then open your warp core and self destruct!"
Captain Kardiaq stood in shock for a moment. "I.. I.. " Then he, too, stiffened with resolve. "Yes, Admiral. We will die fighting for Andoria and we'll take a whole lot of..."
He was cut off by a turbolift door blowing open behind him as an officer stumbled out with hand phaser drawn. The officer turned and fired wildly at a weaving energy tendril snaking after him. There were three other crew uniforms lying empty, dry and lifeless on the turbolift floor. The fleeing officer was too rattled to focus his aim. The tendril squeeled and caught his gun hand at the wrist. His phaser dropped to the deck as his hand dissolved and the officer cried out in agony.
Several bridge officers drew their own hand weapons and started firing at the tendril, but they too were rattled. One of the phaser bolts, missing the tendril, struck another officer, mortally wounding him. Then an overhead air shaft vent cover that had smoke coming from it popped off and another tendril emerged with a blood-chilling squeel.
Than'tosi jumped to his feet and yelled at the viewscreen. "NOW, Captain Kardaq! Self destruct NOW!"
It is doubtful that Kardaq even heard the final order from his admiral as he too began firing wildly at more emerging tendrils. On their viewscreens, Than'tosi and Kal'sunu were both treated to the short, hopeless last stand of the Tho'rax bridge crew as the tendrils consumed them to the last man.
Chief Byczynski was fascinated by the strange looking object as it materialized on the transporter dais in the Tycho's cargo bay. It was a highly modified lambda field generator beamed over from the Kallindor I. For the Tycho, it was the business end of 'Project Long Suck'.
Byczynski wasted no time admiring it. "C'mon," he said to the crew of technicians standing by. "We've gotta get this baby hooked up to our tractor beam emitter a.s.a.p.!"
On the bridge, Ted was in open communication with Kal'trax on the Kallindor I. Kal'trax was giving further instructions.
"As soon as your transport chief has aligned our lambda field generator with your tractor beam emitter, have him activate it at the frequency I previously stipulated. We'll pick up the signal with our own tractor beam emitter and zero in on you."
Ted was skeptical. "But we are both moving at over warp two and the Kallindor is ten thousand kilometers away! Even the strongest tractor beams on Federation ships have an effective range of less than 100 kilometers!"
Kal'trax gave a faint smile. "That's why we developed 'Long Suck', Captain. The lambda field generator we sent you can generate intensely powerful Kriegar waves that can be attuned to a tractor beam frequency and narrowly focused to connect to another distant tractor beam. In this case... ours! Then we can use that Kriegar energy to quickly draw your smaller vessel over to our larger merchant ship." Kal'trax' smile faded. "Of course, you have to dump your dilithium first to get away from the anomaly's graviton beam!"
"Director Kal'trax!" The Kallindra's comm station officer interjected. "Emergency hail from General Kal'sunu."
Kal'trax: "Excuse me, Captain. I have to take this."
Ted: "Of course, Director." The Tycho viewscreen went blank. Ted turned to Sherriea. "Ensign Williams, activate your subspace stealth comm monitor. I want to listen in on their conversation."
"Yes, Sir."
A very grave Kal'sunu stared out of the Kallindra viewscreen at Kal'trax. "Little Brother," the general began, almost sheepishly, "I.. I should have listened to you. I thought we had destroyed the entity when we blew it apart. But the pieces still live and that damn graviton beam is sewing them back together! They are attacking our defense fleet in the thousands! Our fleet is being destroyed! I have recalled the Imperial Guard fleet from the Neutral Zone, but they won't be here for hours." Kal'sunu cast his eyes downward for a moment. "I know you have the entire Pandopost science contingent aboard the Kallindor I." With sad eyes, he looked up again. "What should we do?"
For a long moment Kal'trax glared at Kal'sunu with an 'I told you so!' expression. But when he finally spoke, he said, "We've got to kill that beam!"
There was a short, shocked silence on the Tycho bridge. Ted looked at Paula who looked back from the helm. At the comm station Dianne and Sherriea looked at each other, then back at Ted. Ambassador Kallindra and Advisor Guy looked at each other and back at Ted. Security chief Ken Cunning looked at everyone else. In the main science lab Counselor Donna and XO Marchelle looked at each other. Down in engineering Chief Kirby and Chief Byczynski stared at each other.
Almost simultaneously, everyone shouted: "The warp core!"
Ted: "Dianne, hail the Kallindor; top priority!"
When Kal'trax came on screen, he seemed curiously diffident.
"Captain, I know the Tycho crew is anxious to get away from the graviton beam as soon as possible... and I think we can manage that very quickly with our Long Suck tractor beam as soon as you dump your warp core. However, I'm hoping you will be willing to attach a remote destruct detonation device to the core... and wait for our signal before dumping it!"
Ted gave a little "Heh." He smiled slightly. "I guess great minds think alike, Director. We were going to suggest something like that when we heard the graviton beam was sewing the crystal entity back together!"
Kal'trax' eyes narrowed with suspicion. "How did you hear about that? Kal'sunu used almost exactly the same phrase!"
I't was Ted's turn to be diffident. "Oh.. Well, uh.. I guess since you have so kindly let us in on 'Long Suck', we can do the same for you with, uhh..." Ted looked pointedly at Sherriea. ".. with our 'Williams Stealth Monitor'!" Sherriea looked around with an embarrassed smile. "I'll be glad to fill you in later on the details ... assuming we survive!"
Kal'trax became all business. "Yes. Of course. First, you should attach every available anti-matter storage pod you have to the warp core before dumping it. Our scientists are hoping for a blast approaching 300 isotons of explosive force, which we have calculated should be sufficient to disrupt, and hopefully close, that spatial anomaly. Once the main graviton beam is shut off, the entity pieces should be much easier to deal with."
Over the ship speakers, Ted got a welcome report from engineering: "The lambda field generator is hooked up to our tractor emitter and ready to go."
"Great!" Ted replied. "Now attach every anti-matter pod we have to the warp core along with a remote detonator!"
"Oh Man!" Chief Kirby muttered. "Sounds like we're gonna make our own Big Bang!"
Ted looked back at Kal'trax on the viewscreen. "You heard?"
"Yes. Have your crew set the remote detonator to the same frequency as the lambda generator. We will control both from the Kallindor. Make no attempt to activate any engine or thruster until we get the Tycho safely extracted." Kal'trax paused and gazed at Ted intently. "As you know, Captain, for a tractor beam to work at warp speeds, we have to match your velocity and your acceleration exactly. I'm cerain we can do that, but we want the Tycho to continue its path toward the anomaly for another.." he glanced at a monitor in his arm rest, ".. 15 minutes and 35 seconds before dumping the core."
Paula was hastily doing her own calculation at the helm. "But we're only about 25 minutes away from hitting the anomaly!"
"Yes." Kal,trax confirmed. "25 minutes and 55 seconds to be precise. But in another 15 minutes our scientists calculate the dumped warp core, moving at your projected speed, will then interface with the anomaly in another 10 minutes. That is precisely where we want to detonate the core!"
Ted said incredulously, "You're giving us just ten minutes to get away from a 300 isoton blast?!"
Kal'trax used his most soothing voice. "You don't know the capability of a Kriegar powered Long Suck, Captain! We will begin pulling you out slowly at first just to ensure your safe withdrawal from the gravitonic sheath. Then we can increase the tractor power dramatically. We will both be speeding away at warp two when we explode the core!"
Ted looked over at Kallindra, who looked back with a confidant smile. "I have complete faith in my husband, Captain."
Ted felt an involuntary shiver. "I guess we'll all have to share that faith, Madam Ambassador!"
The Styx had experienced a severe lurch when the graviton beam cast it out and into the surrounding 'sheath'. A couple of dilithium cargo crates had broken free of their restraints and smashed into a critical part of the bulkhead, knocking out the ship's artificial gravity system. The crates had sprung open and dilithium crystals were now floating all over the Styx' interior in zero gravity.
Colonel Snavely had himself been flung out of the pilot's chair and against a bulkhead, rendering him unconscious for a while. He awoke to what he assumed was a dream with him swimming in a small sea of crystals. When he realized he was still inside the Styx, he struggled to get back to the pilot's chair. Unaccustomed to zero gravity, he flailed comically, batting away crystals; some of which ricocheted off various surfaces and sailed back into his path. Eventually he regained his seat and strapped himself in.
"Now just where the hell am I?!" He activated the view screen and the Styx was immediately flooded with a bright, corruscating light show. He slowly rotated the view around his ship. The light got correspondingly brighter as the view slid to the port side where the graviton beam came into full view. He had to dim the viewscreen substantially to make the brightness bearable. He continued rotating the view toward the rear of the Styx and the edge of the anomaly began coming into view. It was alarmingly close. And BRIGHT! It filled the entire rear horizon. He squinted and adjusted the screen to maximum dim.
Snavely then spotted a silvery flicker in the corner of his screen. He magnified that quadrant by several powers and the object popped into full view. "My god! That's a warp core!" He also noted that there were several pods attached to it.
"No, no, no, No, NO!!"
Snavely frantically activated his own warp drive and the Styx began vibrating violently. He didn't bother trying to set a course. As he tried to engage, there was a tremendous tearing noise as the warp nacelles began ripping away from their pylons.
A few hundred kilometers away, the Tycho warp core reached the event horizon of the anomaly. Snavely jerked his head around to look to the rear of his ship. For a few nanoseconds of utter brilliance, he could actually see through the ship's structures and hull as though they were made of the thinnest tissue paper. Then the Styx, its dilithium cargo and Colonel Snavely were transformed into superheated sub-atomic particles.
The Kalindor I with the Tycho in warp tow were several hundred million kilometers away when the light of the anti-matter blast reached them. The spatial shock wave followed soon after, giving both vessels a good buffeting, but both maintained hull integrity. After things settled down, both ships directed their long range sensors back at the point of the anomaly.
Ted and Kal'trax were still in open communication.
Ted: "Well, Director, our science lab reports they can no longer locate any spatial anomaly!
"
"Yes, Captain, and my scientists also note that the graviton beam.. and its 'sheath'..have disappeared!"
Ted smiled expansively. "I guess its a good day for Andoria after all!"
"And for the Federation, Captain. Our alliance with Earth should be greatly strengthened by this event." Kal'trax gave an uncharacteristic smirk. "Not to mention our... impromptu sharing of technologies!"
Ted merely nodded his head in agreement.
Kal'trax shifted his gaze to Kallindra. "Now that the danger is past, Good Wife, would you care to join me on the Kallindor for our journey home?"
Kallindra looked uncertainly at Guy and Ted, who rose to his feet. "By all means, Madame Ambassador, you should re-join your husband. In the wake of this event I'm sure you will have many reports and meetings to tend to on Andoria. As for the Tycho, I'm sure we'll be tied up in repair orbit for quite some time awaiting a replacement warp core from Starfleet."
Ted turned to Guy. "Guy will you please escort the ambassador to our personnel transporter room? I'll have Chief Byczynski meet you there."
As Guy and Kallindra headed for the turbolift, Ted turned back to Kal'trax. "Director, as soon as your wife has beamed aboard, I'll ask that the Kallindor release us from its tractor beam. I'm sure the Tycho can make it into orbit under its own impulse power."
"As you wish, Captain." Kal'trax raised an eyebrow. "Of course, after the Tycho is safely in orbit, I will expect the RETURN of our lambda field generator... along with specs on your Williams stealth monitor!"
"Fair trade!" said Ted. "Tycho out."
With more than a hint of sarcasm, Dianne asked, "How are you going to explain that to Starfleet, Ted?"
Ted shrugged his shoulders. "About the same way Kal'trax is gonna explain it to the Imperial Guard!"
The beleaguered Homeworld Defense Fleet was about to lose its fourth battle cruiser when the nova-bright flash of the anti- matter explosion washed throughout the Andorian system. That was a singularly unique astronomic event for Andoria. However, Admiral Than'tosi was far more impressed with the aftermath. The inimical graviton beam with its many splintered guide beams vanished. Immediately the crystalline clumps stopped darting around and stopped merging. The crystal shard attacks ceased. The wounded battle cruiser dropped what was left of its shields and limped away under low impulse power.
The next few phaser bolts and partical cannon beams had no trouble annihilating the crystal clumps they targeted.
"All RIIIGHT!!" Than'tosi exulted. "New orders! Don't waste power on your shields! Don't waste energy on the smaller clumps! Destroy the bigger clusters and use your torpedoes on the largest ones!" He licked his lips. "Let's shoot these prickly pests like cats in a cauldron!"
Chief Byczynski met Guy and Kallindra at the transport room door. Brian went to his control console while Guy walked Kallindra to the edge of the dais. Stepping up, she noticed an object lying on the dais and picked it up. "And what might this be?"
Brian looked up from the console. "Oh yeah. That must be the 'beefy' commbadge we used to get Major Snodgrass off the Styx at the last minute. He dropped it as soon as he materialized and I forgot all about it!"
Kallindra handed it to Guy with a smile. "Here. You may have need of this at some time."
Guy smiled back. "Boy! I certainly hope not! Well, Madame Ambassador, I'll look forward to seeing you in pleasanter surroundings back down on Andoria."
"Indeed, Guy." She looked at Brian. "Energize please."
After Kallindra had arrived on the Kallindor, it continued to tow the Tycho at warp two for several more minutes until both ships were nearing the orbit of Andoria; but Andoria was till a few days away from that point. The Kallindor dropped out of warp and released the Tycho from its tractor beam. The Kallindor continued on to Andoria under high impulse. Ted had engineering conduct a quick impulse systems review for safety before getting under way at low impulse. Their course took them past a newly formed debris field which had blown outward from Pandoria after the entity had split it apart.
Guy and Brian were having a meal in the Tycho mess hall. Guy had been absent-mindedly carrying the commbadge around with him since Kallindra had handed it to him. He picked it up after finishing his meal. "So this is the 'extra strength' badge you used to get Snodgrass out of that graviton beam, huh?"
Brian shoved back from the table with a small burp. "Yep. That can lock onto a signal stronger than your run-of-the-mill badge. Probably at a greater distance too."
Out of idle curiosity, Guy pressed the comm button. The badge emitted static for a few seconds.. and then a hoarse, cough-like noise. "What the heck is that?!" Guy leaned closer to the badge, pressing its button. "Hello? Hello? Anyone there?" Again, more static with a couple of faint, raspy, hacking sounds.
Brian's lips started to curl in an ironic smile. Guy went through the pantomime a couple more times with the same results. Nothing but static and a few raspy "GHaaack!s".
Guy looked intently at Brian. "Doesn't that sound a little like a human voice?!"
Brian nodded his head with a knowing smile. "A LITTLE!" Then he burst out laughing. "Buddy! We're going by a debris field! Left over rubble from Pandoria.. about 40 or 50 thousand klicks away!"
"B-but it sounds like something ALIVE!"
Brian stopped laughing and patiently explained. "Pandoria was a hot, rocky, AIRLESS planet with a bit of a magnetosphere that got torn apart by a humongous crystal entity! Do you have any idea what kind of electrostatic forces were released there?" Guy mutely shook his head. Brian went on. "Neither do I! But those circumstances could probably generate ANY kind of noise!"
Brian got to his feet and picked up his tray. "There is NO chance that anything could be living in that airless wad of asteroids! Forget about it, Man!" Brian walked away.
Guy sat silently for a minute, then pushed the comm button again. This time only static sounded. No hacking noises. Guy sighed and slowly got to his feet. He felt really tired.
"I wonder what that was?"
Most of the people in the SPROC airlock chamber were now frozen corpses. Only Commander Stinnik clung to consciousness through some combination of stubbornness and dutiful persistence. His extremities had long since gone numb, but he had kept himself anchored to the door by looping his belt through the handle. Though he felt nothing in his hands, he kept a small patch of the plastene window clear of frost by frequently rubbing his sleeve against it. He could still occasionally use his forearm to force a stiffened finger against his commbadge. He noted with grim humor by his reflection in the window that his own eyebrows had become thick with icy crystals from his freezing exhalations.
He had begun to feel strangely warm when his commbadge picked up the signal from Guy's 'beefy' badge. A surge of hope caused him to fumble for a few seconds before he succeeded in pressing his own badge. He tried to speak. "Ghaaack! Ghaak!" His vocal chords were frozen!
"Hello? Hello? Anyone there?"
Stinnik's heart pounded with anger and frustration.
"Ghaak! GHaaack!" The tension caused his throat to tighten even more. "Gaak!"
The cruel charade lasted for less than a minute as abject despair descended on Stinnik. Tears welled up in his eyes and promptly started freezing over his coronas. He pulled close to the door and banged his forehead against the window. One last glimpse of the universe. Then his heart burst.
THE END OF THE ANDORIAN CONUNDRUM