The First Ray Of Light

Posted on Sat Nov 3rd, 2012 @ 9:49pm by Captain Li Hawke & Suresh & Admiral Ricky Wegener

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Alternate Dimension SB900

A flash. The stench. Now, darkness. Only the light from a billion stars lit the office that the trio appeared in.

Once Rick realized that it was his office, and he was still behind his desk, he reached for the top drawer to find his phaser. It was empty.

But there was a feeling running through his head that he hadn't felt in a long, long time. As an El-Aurian he was sensitive to things like time distortions or distortions in the space/time continuum. "Oh, shit," he said in the darkness, knowing that something along those lines had happened. "Li? Are you still here?"

Something cold and hard pressed into Li’s cheek in the darkness. A wave of dizziness swept over her and she knew for sure she was lying on the floor. That was odd as she didn’t recall Ricky’s floor being bare. There was an arm, heavy as if they were asleep, lying across her back. The last thing she recalled was Suresh pulling a disruptor and aiming it at Ricky, then a flash of light then....nothing. The dizziness lingered and she groaned aloud.

He heard a groan, decidedly female. Even with the light from the stars he couldn't see more than five feet in front of him, and even that much was a stretch. He walked around to the front of the desk hoping to find Li.

Ricky’s foot bumped into a body that lay before the desk, but the ‘oomph’ that came out was definitely a male voice. Then, Li spoke.

“Here. I’m here, wherever here is.” She rolled over and moved the arm, which she could see now belonged to Suresh, off of her and sat up.

Rick saw movement from the corner of his eye and found Li. Taking her hand he helped her up. "Are you injured? You okay?"

“A little disoriented but it’s beginning to pass. Where are we?”

"I don't think that we're in our own time," he said. "Maybe not even the same dimension--who knows? But I can tell that some sort of distortion has happened and this is most definitely my office, but not." He steered her closer to what little light there was coming through the windows so he could check her for injuries. "You know how my kind is sensitive to that sort of thing," he continued, "but this is definitely my desk, my chair and some of my baubles on the desk. But it's different. This is not our 900."

“It all seems dilapidated and broken down, at least this room. Strange.” Since Suresh had yet to speak up, Li moved back over to the desk and knelt down to check him. His face was fine but there were several burns on his hand. “Admiral, did you still have a regenerator tucked away somewhere? If so it may still be here.”

"Fuck 'im," Rick hissed. "He tried to kill me, Li, and who knows what he had in store for you!?"

He saw her turn and glare at him. "Fine, geez. I'll look."

He did keep a regenerator in his office lavatory so he started there. There were no lights working in there so he was relying solely on touch. The top left drawer of the sink was where he kept his and once he opened the door there it was. It actually made him shiver thinking that even in what could possibly be an alternate dimension he had the same habits. On a whim he checked the drawer below that one. He found what he was looking for. It was an old fashioned straight-razor that he'd had for over a hundred years. And it was still sharp as hell. Tucking it into his jacket he walked back out into the office.

"Here," he said as he sneered at the unconscious body she knelt over.

“Thank you.” She took it and after switching it on, began to work on his hand. “He will answer for what he did, rest assured. Until then, we don’t want to risk screwing with the time line too much.”

Two voices he recognized finally penetrated Suresh’s consciousness and he slowly came back to the here and now. He felt a pulsating warmth moving over his hand. He continued to lie still, his eyes barely open. He watched her as she healed up his hand and was both surprised and touched. For a moment, reality and memory blurred, back to a time she’d done this for him once before. Before......

Her gaze shifted to his face and she paused a moment. She must have sensed he was awake and now he smiled a bit. “I’m surprised.”

Li frowned and sent back to work on his hand. “We’re not home. We’re not anywhere we have ever been. I’m simply making sure that you are able to pull your weight when we start looking for a way back.”

“Of course. That has to be all it is.” Suresh’s smile widened. “And hello Mr. Cobb.”

"Eat shit and die, Suresh," Rick shot back. "And it's Admiral Wegener, or even just Wegener." He scoffed then mumbled, "Moron."

“I know but it gets a rise out of you every time. I have to hand it to you though. That bottle of wine at the Nexus? Well played.”

Li rolled her eyes. She had already given Ricky a mini-lecture about that very incident.

Ignoring Suresh's comment Rick turned his attention to Li. "We need to find out what's happened and if we can get some help, or if we're on our own."

“Agreed.” She turned off the regenerator, then stood once more, slipping it into her pocket. “Any weapons stashed away by chance?”

Suresh sat up, rubbed his eyes a moment, then slowly got to his feet. Turning in a slow circle, he took in the office and gave a low whistle.

Suresh had turned a full circle and was now standing in front of Rick. Impulsively the Admiral balled his right hand into a fist and punched Suresh in the face as hard as he could. He could feel the man's nose flatten just moments before Suresh fell ass-over-teakettle back onto the deck.

“Just fucking great,” Li muttered. “Now I have to fix that.” Her words were barely heard over the cursing from Suresh. “Shut up and sit still.” Her tone left no room for argument and now, both men got their first glimpse of what Li herself would have called the ‘old’ Li from her field work days. “You’ve had it coming for a long time now.” She fell silent and got to work.

"And then some," Rick added. He exhaled sharply through his nose and began rummaging through the desk drawers but found nothing useful. He even tried to gain access to the computer console but it was dead. He tried to see something, anything, out of the windows to let him know what kind of shape the station was in. He couldn't see much but what he could see wasn't good.

Crossing to the other side of the office he peered down into the enormous docking bay. It was pitch black except for one dim light approximately forty decks down.

"Doesn't look good, Li," he said. "I can't see much of the station but what I do see looks bad. Quite a bit of damage, probably some hull breaches. And the main bay is completely dark with the exception of a small light quite a ways down. So there is some power here somewhere."

“There, all fixed. Try to stay in one piece Suresh.”

“Thank you.” He touched her hand, and it was a gentle gesture. Li snatched her hand away and he frowned, then got to his feet. “If there’s power down there, perhaps that’s a good place to start.”

Rick rolled his eyes and bit his tongue to keep from saying "No shit, Sherlock", but he knew that Li would have killed him if he had.

"Let's head out," he said instead. "Keep an eye out for anyone that may still be here."

He could feel the urge to knock the shit out of Suresh rising in him again but tried desperately to hold it back. Li was more than his subordinate, she was his friend for many years. He had to control himself or she would be absolutely wroth with him.

They approached the doors but they remained closed, to no one’s surprise. Power was out here and so it would have to be a manual operation. Li slipped her small fingers up against the seam of the door and pried it open far enough for the two men to get a grip and force the doors open far enough to get through. She stood a moment, reaching out to see if anyone was in the corridor outside, then gave a nod and slipped through, pulling Suresh after her.

I want him kept between us, to be on the safe side... The thought was sent to Ricky, though she gave no outward sign.

The corridor was very dark and stumbling through the darkness was not a great feeling, especially when the man that just tried to kill you was right in front of you. And since they knew just how big the base actually was, they could be walking at this turtle's pace for hours and not really get anywhere.

But it seemed that Li did have a plan. She was walking them towards the location of Command & Control. "Let's hope there's something working in there," Rick said from the back. "I'd really like to know what happened here."

“Me too,” she answered. “And if we are the only ones here. I am hoping for no on that one. We may need some help to reverse what Suresh did. The good news is that this area appears deserted, so it’s not likely anyone will wander in and either disturb the rifts if there are any, or get sucked back to 900.”

“What I did?” Suresh grumbled. “All I wanted to do was kill him, then you and I were going on a little vacation. This isn’t where I had planned to take us and I certainly didn’t want him along.”

That was it. Rick snapped and his prior training kicked in as he grabbed Suresh's collar and yanked him backward onto the deck. With a quick twist he landed on him with his knee firmly planted into his groin and the straight razor pulled out.

"Listen to me, fuckstick, if it were up to me I would have had you eliminated long ago," he roared, "but people with a better hold of their emotions and much more care and desire to uphold the ideals of Starfleet than I have kept me in check. But listen to me now, Suresh, I have no qualms of taking your life. As a matter of fact, it would make things much easier on us here to not have to deal with you. So you should decide here and now to walk very small around me. If you even make one more pass at Commander Hawke I will beat the living shit out of you and toss you out of the nearest airlock. Do you understand me!!"

Suresh glared up at him, then smiled. “Certainly. Besides, you may need me to help you get out of here.” He decided to wait until the razor was put away to say more.

Ahead of them Li turned and simply watched. “We might, but unless you behave, you won’t be going back there. Am I clear?” Her tone was far from friendly, and Li knew she would have to watch these two like a....she stopped the thought right there and rolled her eyes. Too cliche. It might be wise to do a little of her own brand of convincing to keep Suresh in line.

“As crystal, sweetheart. May I get up now? Please?”

Several thoughts ran through Rick's mind at this moment. Sure, the piece of shit may be of help but Rick doubted it. Then again, he had his image to uphold. Sure, he'd taken lives in the line of duty, some even up close and personal like this, but he was now an Admiral. Combining that with the fact that Li was with them, he wondered just how it would affect her feelings and respect for him. He'd known her for a long time and she knew he had been in intelligence in the past, but he couldn't recall a time when she'd seen him like this. He must have looked like a monster to the little girl that he watched grow into his XO.

He pulled Suresh's face closer to his and looked into his eyes. When he did he saw what he was hoping to find: fear. It was there in Suresh's face. Not the piss-your-pants type of fear, but Rick's message had been sent and received and Suresh knew that it was real and not just some macho chest pounding.

Finally he let go of Suresh and stood, his full height of six-foot-five-inches almost towering over the other two.

“If you’re done, let’s go. I don’t suppose you have another one of those razors hidden away do you?”

"Sorry," he said as he folded it and replaced it in his waistband. "I only kept one in my bathroom and didn't think to look for more in this one."

Li smiled briefly at Ricky as she turned and began feeling her way along the corridor once more, her hand grazing the wall as they went. A few feet ahead she felt something graze the top of her hair and she stopped immediately. Reaching up, she felt a partially fallen beam.

“Alright you two, beam down here where I am. clearance is about an inch over my head.” She stepped beneath it, then waited as Suresh bent down and stepped under. He hadn’t expected her to stop just there and brushed up against her in the dark, catching her to keep her from going off balance.

“Just on the other side Admiral,” he informed Ricky.

Rick had been turned backward to see if there was anything they may have missed as they passed. He turned back around and met the felled beam with a loud THUNK.

"Shit," he hissed and wished he had paid more attention to Li as he grabbed his forehead. He ducked under the beam and continued following.

Suresh bit his lip in the dark to avoid laughing, since it didn’t seem to be the best idea right now. He couldn’t see anything and finally, reached out in front of him. He found Li’s free arm, the one not touching the wall, and slipped his hand down till he grasped her hand. Better than losing her in the dark. She frowned but recognized the reason behind Suresh’s action.

“Admiral? Are you alright?”

"Let's just keep moving," Rick grumbled. He thought he saw movement in front of him, somehow, and was satisfied that he was caught up. "How close do you think we are?"

“Maybe ten meters just ahead,” she answered. Her foot hit something that wasn’t moving but was semi-soft. Not a good sign. “Stop.We have one down here.” She let go of Suresh’s hand and knelt down. It was indeed a body.

"See if you can find a communicator, Li," Rick said as he came up with them. "At least to find out if it's one of ours--er, their--whatever. You know what I mean."

“It’s a man,” she said. Feeling down his chest, the uniform jacket didn't feel like the fleet she knew. The shoulder insignia was, however, Archadian. “Archadian military.” A small communicator was removed from the jacket and she continued her search. Pausing to lean closer and sniff, she recognized the smell of burned flesh. “Heavy phaser burns. One communicator. And one phaser, consistent with their military. The same sort used on Jackson.”

"Secure the weapon," he said, knowing she had already done so. Telling her was redundant since she was a highly competent officer, and a spectacular intelligence operative. Well, former intelligence operative like himself. But he was surprised when a bright beam of light struck out into the darkness. "Looks like we have company,” Rick said as he slid the razor back out into his hand and hid it. “Maybe they’ll be of some use.”

“Let’s hope,” Suresh said quietly. He pulled Li to her feet and moved her behind him. “Who’s there?”

Rick couldn't help but notice how Suresh had immediately put Li behind him, placing himself in harm's way, if this wound up being the case. While admirable, he chalked it up to Suresh's unhealthy fascination with Isha, not Li, and decided he still wanted to kill the man.

"S-sir?" came a weak voice. "It can't be..."

The light shone directly into Rick's face. "Identify yourself," he said sharply, hoping to get a reply.

After a few hard gasps the reply came. "Ensign Sw.." another gasp of air. "Ensign Sweden, sir. Security. But...but you're dead, sir."

The light shone at Li now. "You as well, Captain. I saw the bodies..."

Captain? That was news to Li but he apparently thought they were this dimension’s versions. Time to tread carefully here. She had no idea what she and Ricky were like on this side.

“Not everything’s what it seems ensign, nor can we get into the details. Are you injured?”

"I'm surprised I've..." he gasped and coughed. It definitely sounded bad. "...lasted this long. That one nailed me before I finished him off. That was..." another gasp for breath, "...five days ago."

"You've been sitting here for five days?" Rick asked as he moved closer to him. He was surprised when the ensign raised his hand phaser.

"S-sorry, Admiral, sir," he said, trying to pull himself up to a better seated position. "But you're....dead" He coughed more, this time spitting up blood all over his chest. "Who are you?"

"Lower the phaser, son," Rick said, kneeling in front of him. He had handed Li the razor as he passed them. "I'm not going to hurt you, just check your wounds." He raised his hands and the lower part of his uniform jacket. "I'm unarmed."

After a beat the ensign lowered the phaser. "Doesn't matter," he gasped, "I'm dead...anyway." He was quiet for a moment. "Where did you come from? You ca--can't be my Admiral."

“Let me have the light, Ensign Sweden.” She reached out to take it from him, then moved it over his body. They could see the singed uniform and flesh beneath it from numerous shots. the young man was right, he wasn’t dead yet but death was walking down the corridor to meet him. The regenerator would be too little too late. She left his question to Ricky to answer.

Realizing that Sweden was not to live much longer, telling him everything wouldn't hurt. "You are correct, Ensign. I am not your Admiral and she is not your Captain. Where we come from our Starbase 900 is still alive and well, I'm a Vice Admiral and she," he said, nodding towards Li, is a Commander. We had a little..." he sneered and looked back at Suresh who was keeping his distance, "...incident that brought us to this dimension, for lack of a better term."

For a moment it appeared as if Ensign Sweden had expired, but he finally coughed again and gasped once more. "I learned about--" he coughed forcefully and a large amount of blood came out this time, but he had enough sense not to cough onto Li or Rick. "The academy...we read about that."

Rick nodded. "Can you tell me what happened here? Why did you have to kill this Archadian? We are at peace with them where we come from."

"Su--surprise attack. Section 31 duped th-them. They sent a cell to sabotage us,” he said, pointing his chin at the dead Archadian. More coughing. More blood. "More came to destroy 900. We lost." He gasped again, trying to fight against the blood filling his lungs. "Don't know if any are left."

Looking around him Rick saw wrappers from a few protein bars and a medkit that had seen better days. It appeared as if someone had tried to help him but couldn't stay.

“Who was here ensign? Li asked gently. She glanced to Ricky and then back to the young man. She couldn’t save him but could perhaps ease his way a little. Reaching out she touched his thoughts and did her best to do just that. Surprisingly, he smiled suddenly. Suresh moved closer, standing behind Li now.

His mind was filled with images. At first they were horrific images from what he'd seen in the last days of this version of SB900, but then he dwelled on one face. A girl. His girlfriend. He'd seen her die just down the corridor before an Archadian had dragged her off somewhere, but that didn't bother him. It was just the image of the woman that he loved that he held in his mind. Dancing with her, walking in a holodeck program with her along a lake, kissing her, making love.

Just before his eyes glazed over and death took him, he breathed her name.

"Miranda."

Rick gently felt for a pulse on his neck, but found none. He hung his head and shook it. "He's gone."

“I saw it.” Li’s voice was suddenly rough.

“Saw what?” Suresh spoke quietly and he reached down, resting a hand on her shoulder. He’d seen that droop of her shoulders before.

“All of it. The attack was brutal, and I can only assume that this station was caught so unaware because they had someone inside. She...Miranda...was killed just down this corridor.”

Rick stood slowly and looked down at Sweden. He then looked to Li who was still squatting and noticed Suresh's hand.

"Move it, or I'll break it," he said calmly, but with an edge to his voice.

“Nothing more than reassurance from someone who understands her.” Suresh glanced at Rick, then moved his hand.

“Let’s keep moving.” It was Li who spoke as she stood, her voice rough. “We need to get into C&C.”

Rick had taken the phaser from the young ensign and tucked it into his front waistband. Now he and Li were armed. He stooped back down and took the light and pointed it toward the direction of C&C. Satisfied that Suresh had removed the hand at his direction, he took point and began walking.

"Let's see what we can find."

*********************

Vice Admiral Rick Wegener
Risen from the dead....or a zombie?

&

Commander Li Hawke
Not A Ghost

Suresh
On A Short Leash