Something Very Different - Part Two

[DrDMatthews 0]

A Joint Log by Debbie Matthews, Simon Ljungberg and Dom Pneuma....

 

(Please Note....I forgot Mr. Angeliz was on our team. Therefore, he was not invited to participate in Team B's joint log. My apologies, Mr. Angeliz. I now know I MUST write everything down....my memory is full of holes.

 

Deb

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    Debbie stopped, somewhat surprised they'd already covered the entire length of the room. There was something very different about this ship's engineering deck.

       "Anybody notice anything different?" asked Debbie, her voice echoing throughout the room.

       After a minute, Simon turned around and called out to the others. “Something’s missing,” he said. “Anyone seen the warp core?”

 

 

       Debbie had grown up on Mars. She'd spent more time on Utopia Planetia than some people who worked there. She'd actually been on a refitted Constitution Class ship that was in drydock, not to mention every other type of vessel in the Federation's considerable fleet. She'd never seen one with out a warp core.

 

       But the ISS Odyssey did not have a warp core. There was no housing for it either. Debbie's head was spinning as she considered the ramifications of this discovery. A few minutes earlier, she'd been grateful for the darkness. Now, she looked around, frustrated by her inability to see more than a few feet in front of her.

 

       "There doesn't appear to be one," she replied to Simon's question. "So how did this ship get here? She sure didn't make it from one universe to the other on impluse power."

 

       "Perhaps there is a wormhole in the nebula that our scans have missed or it

could have even collapsed to form the nebula itself.  That would explain why

it was only recently discovered," stated Pneuma.  This adventure was getting stranger by the minute.  It was bad enough they were on a ship filled with dead people but now there was no warp core?  Good grief, this was almost too much to take in.

 

       Ljungberg stood in the darkness and looked around. He could not see anything but the lights of the others but an idea was forming in his mind. Suddenly it all made sense. "Doctor Matthews..." he walked a short way toward the CMO and then stopped and leaned against a bulkhead. "We have a ship without a warp core. We are sure, however, it's got some other propulsion system that, I suppose, is more effective than warp technology. Why else would one replace the warp core? And then this ship turns up in our universe with a slain crew. Wouldn't it make sense to assume that whoever did this was after this new propulsion system? I mean if that's the case it would explain why the ship wasn't destroyed, right?" Simon looked from Debbie to Pneuma and then to O'Conner, waiting for an answer from either of them.

 

       "There are always possibilities," commented Debbie, not bothering to mention she'd been thinking the same thing. "But let's not waste time speculating. I'll notify the Commander. We really need a team of engineers over here to try to restore some power so we can see......" 

 

       Her voice trailed off.  "See what?" she wondered silently. "Did this ship have a new propulsion system? Was the crew murdered because someone was trying to steal it? And if so, how did they end up in this universe instead of their own? Did the new system malfunction? Or perhaps there was a wormhole and the ship was accidently drawn into it?"   Debbie shook the thoughts from her mind before tapping her commbadge. She would present the facts to the Commander and let him make the call.

 

       "+Ridire+ This is Matthews," said Debbie. She waited until the Commander acknowledged her before continuing.

 

       "We've just completed our search of Main Engineering," she stated calmly. "This ship doesn't have a warp core. And I don't mean that it was ejected. I mean there never was a warp core. The ship was designed without one."  She paused a moment and wrinkled her forward. "It sure would be nice if we could restore power," continued Debbie. "I would love to see what type of propulsion system they have. It could be so new and cutting edge, it's what got everyone on this ship killed."