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"Midnight Tide"
A SeaQuest/ST: Voyager crossover By Cindy Brewer “Damn!”Ford swore as the launch arrived at the scene just in time to see two torpedo’s streak toward Katie’s launch,”Send intercepts!” “Already away.”Krieg replied as his fingers flew over the consol. The trio watched as the missiles streaked across the sea floor. One came in contact with its intended target causing the enemy missile to explode. The launch rocked from the violent shockwave but none of its occupants seemed to notice. “Oh no.”Lucas whispered from the back seat as his blue eyes tracked the wayward missile as it bared down on Katie’s launch. The enemy subs however detected their attention and decided to welcome them. Lucas’s attention was jerked away from the missile as he noticed several blips show up on their sonar screen. “Commander!”Lucas called just as Ford noticed it himself. “Damn!”Ford shouted as he threw the launch in reverse to avoid an oncoming missile. **************************** “Who the hell are these guys?!”Tom demanded as he scrambled to his feet his blue eyes furiously scanning the now familiar controls of the launch. Katie didn’t look at him as she got to her feet and headed toward her own consol,”When I figure that out you’ll be the first to know.” “Gee thanks.”Tom replied sarcasticly as his fingers flew over the computer consol. “If I’m reading this right,”Tom reported,”That blast took out what was left of your engines.” “And the weapon controls.”Katie added as she slammed her fist against the consol,”We’re sitting ducks.” Tom shook his head as he dove to his knees and turned onto his back so he would have easier access to the panels underneath the consol,”Don’t count us out yet.” Katie glared at him,”I’m not and don’t touch anything down there you have no clue about these systems!” Tom grinned,”I can hotwire this thing. Give us enough juice to get us out of Dodge.” “Don’t you think I’ve already tried that?!”Katie replied as she glanced up in time to see the two intercepts hit the sub’s torepedos’s,”Besides the calvary just arrived.” Tom paused in his task as the small launch was rocked by another explosion,”What....you don’t have faith in my abilities?” “I don’t know you. I have no opinion one way or another on your abilities.”Katie replied her gaze trained on the seaQuest launch that had just arrived. ************************ “Hey,warn me next time you take a turn like that!”Lucas shouted as he tried to get to his feet after he tumbled head over heels to the opposite side of the launch. “That’ll teach you to wear your seatbelt,kid.”Ben replied with a grin as his brown gaze tracked another torpedo that was headed toward Katie’s downed launch,”Commander.....” “I know,I know.”Ford replied distractly as fought to keep control of their launch and keep an eye on Katie’s at the same time. Lucas had just got to his knees and reached for his hand held computer when another sharp turn from Ford sent the teen tumbling hard into the right wall. “Sorry,Lucas.”Ford replied as he spun the wheel to right the launch. “What the hell is Bridger waiting for?”Krieg muttered darkly as he sent off a flury of intercepts,”An ingraved invitation to join this party?” “SeaQuest has all those dignitaries on board,remember?”Lucas replied as he finally pulled himself back into his seat and buckled in,”The Captain can’t take her into a dangerous situation without Noyce’s okay.” “I hope he does what he usually does and ignores Noyce.”Krieg replied. “Cut the chatter Krieg and get me an open channel.”Jonathan ordered crisply,”I’m getting tired of this little roller coaster ride. ***************************** Chakotay glanced around the bridge. He couldn’t help but notice that it seemed empty. It had taken him almost two hours but he had finally convinced Kathryn to get some sleep. But he hadn’t been able to heed his own advice. He had tossed and turned for four hours before finally giving up on sleep. Which is how he found himself on the bridge. Three hours early for his shift. Not that anyone was keeping to their scheduled shifts. With Tom missing most everyone was working triple shifts to find a way to bring him home. Which Chakotay knew Tom would find most ironic. During the early months in the Delta quadrant Tom had considered himself an outcast among Voyager’s newly integrated crew. Now,Chakotay realized sadly,Tom was the center of the crew, the soul of the ship. A starship could always find another pilot but Voyager would never fly without Paris. *************************** “Commander,”Harry Kim called from his station behind Chakotay,”I’m picking up a distress call.” Chakotay rose to his feet turning to face the young ensign,”From Tom’s shuttle?” Harry shook his head,”No its not coming from the planet. Its three light years away.” “On screen.”Chakotay replied as he turned around. Harry shook his head,”Its audio only,repeating,must be a automatic signal.” “Let’s hear it.”Chakotay replied. “Can......any......hear......engine......fail.....fallen.....star’s orbit.......no....life....support.......” “Wake the Captain,Harry.”Chakotay replied. **************************** “I don’t think there’ll be a need for the comm channel.”Ben Krieg replied wryly as he glanced at the sonar screen. “Ben, just get me the.....”Ford broke off his sentence as he saw the enemy subs start to retreat. “Looks like the Calvary finally got here.”Lucas commented as he saw the submarine position itself between Katie’s downed launch and Ford’s. Ford placed the headset around his neck as he shook his head in amazement,”Remind me to talk to the Captain about his timing.” “Yes,Sir.”Ben replied with a grin. ********************* “I hear you met a new friend, Lieutenant.”Captain Nathan Bridger began as he entered Med-bay,”Care to introduce us?” Katie nodded as she glanced at Tom sitting on the bed next to hers,”Yes,Sir. This is Tom Paris. Tom Paris, Captain Nathan Bridger.” Tom who was still marveling over the sheer size of the sub had to jerk his attention back to the older man”Captain, nice to meet you.” Bridger nodded as he glanced at his chief medical officer,”So, Doctor, what’s the verdict on these two?” Kristen Westphalen smiled briefly before returning her attention to her patients,”Lieutenant Hitchcock checks out fine aside from a few abrasions and bruises. Mr. Paris on the other hand has a severe sprain in his left ankle and a mild concussion. I’d like to keep him here over night for observation.” Bridger nodded,”Tell me, Mr. Paris what were you doing alone in this region? There isn’t much out here.” Tom leaned back in the bed,”I inherited the family business from my father. We’re freelance delivery service. My engines blew and I lost control of the ship which is why I collided with your Lieutenant.” “I’m afraid there isn’t much left of your vechicle.”Nathan replied,”We can store the pieces in the hold maybe you can find somebody in iceland to repair it enough to get you home.” Tom shook his head,”Its experimental, one of the kind. My father completed it just before he died last year.” Ford glanced at Krieg as they stood just inside the doorway,”You buy his story?” Krieg shook his head,”Not for a second. I’ve never heard of Paris deliveries.” Jonathan glanced at Katie and then Tom before turning to leave,”See what you can dig up. I don’t like dealing with wildcards. Especially with all these salvage hunters looking for the SeaWind.” A few minutes later the Med-bay was empty except for Doctor Westphalen’s staff. Tom could feel the sedatives starting to take affect but his mind was spinning. If what Katie told him was true he was back home. Just a few centuries too early. How the hell was he supposed to get back to Voyager; back to the Delata quadrant for that matter without the shuttle? With no answer readily available Tom finally let exhaustion take over and he quickly fell asleep. ************************** Captain Kathryn Janeway barely glanced at her second in command as she entered the bridge. “Report,Commander.”Janeway ordered as she sat down in the captain’s chair. Chakotay nodded,”We picked up a distress call from a ship three light years away. Their engines failed and they’re caught in a star’s orbit.” Janeway sighed inwardly as she looked at the planet below,”Is the Flyer repaired yet?” Chakotay shook his head,”No, Be’lanna’s still working on the engines.” Janeway stood,”Harry find Seven and take one of the shuttles Do what you can to break through the atmosphere.” “Yes,Ma’am.”Harry replied as he quickly left the bridge. Janeway turned to face the young blonde haired woman at the helm,”Ensign, as soon as they’re away lay in a course for the distress call.” Ensign Kemp nodded,”Yes,Captain.” |
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