“Why does that keep happening?” Tom Paris growled angrily as the simulation indicated that the shuttlecraft had torn itself apart again. “The nacelles keep getting ripped off.”
“We’ve reinforced everything and there are no structural issues,” Vorik replied as he checked over the logs. “I’m checking the data now.”
“Is there a bug in the simulation itself?” Paris asked.
“No,” Harry Kim replied as he scrubbed a hand through the fringe that hung over his forehead. “The simulation is accurate. T’Loran, the models are right, aren’t they?”
“They are exactly what I can predict. I did refine them based on the telemetry we received from the probe.”
“Perhaps there is some flaw in the pylons? I’m reading a fracture in the port nacelle pylon.”
“Why don’t we try simulating it with a reinforced pylon?” Harry suggested.
“We could also dump more power into the structural integrity fields,” Tom suggested. “What exactly is causing the fracture to happen?”
“Subspace torque,” Vorik and T’Loran replied at the same time.
“Will you two quit doing that?” B’Elanna growled. “It’s creepy.”
“I’m resetting the parameters now,” Harry muttered as Vorik and T’Loran downloaded the data from the failed simulation into an engineering station. Harry waited until they were done and he’d received a signal from Vorik to begin the next simulation. The engineers nodded and the five of them restarted the simulation. “There it is, a fracture is forming on the port nacelle pylon.”
“Redirecting power to structural integrity,” Paris said.
“The fracture is expanding,” Vorik muttered.
“The field is destablizing,” T’Loran reported. “The engines can’t maintain the field.”
“We’re overloading the powergrid,” Torres added.
“The port nacelle has torn free,” Vorik said calmly.
“I’m dead,” Paris sighed. “Back to the drawing board again.”
~*~*~*~
A dispirited group of five sat in the mess hall the next evening, poring over reports. They had made multiple alterations to the simulated shuttlecraft and its power systems, engine core, and propulsion systems but the changes were not sufficient to save the craft. No matter what they did to reinforce the nacelle pylons, they kept tearing free from the craft. They’d spent hours going over everything but could not find the cause of the fracture. When Harry had fallen asleep slumped over the navigation console and both Vorik and T’Loran had begun rubbing their foreheads as the characters and figures on their displays blurred, B’Elanna and Tom had finally agreed to call a break so they could get some sleep. They’d agreed to meet for breakfast before their duty shifts started, had gone over the notes, gotten nowhere, and then reported for duty. Now that they were all off-shift, they were back at it in the mess hall trying to figure out what was going wrong.
“It’s the pylon again. Every time we get close to crossing the threshold, the subspace torque rips a nacelle off the shuttle,” B’Elanna sighed in frustration.
“What if we used a duranium alloy to reinforce it?” Harry suggested.
“No,” Vorik sighed.
“It’s too brittle,” T’Loran explained.
“She’s right,” B’Elanna agreed.
“More coffee?” Neelix asked as he walked up to their table. Five pairs of eyes glanced up at him with expressions ranging from welcoming to irate. “Ah, you look like a happy bunch.”
“We’ve hit a wall,” Harry told the Talaxian.
“Oh, well, maybe I can help?” Neelix offered.
Tom Paris snorted and rolled his eyes. T’Loran and Vorik both stared at him — Neelix might not be able to help but a fresh set of eyes on the problem could offer a different perspective. It was illogical to denigrate an offer of assistance. “Great,” he said sarcastically. “Do you know anything about quantum warp theory or multi-spectral subspace engine design?”
“No,” Neelix admitted, “but I’m a quick study. What are we working on?” He sat down and began scanning through the PADDs.
“We’re trying to break the maximum warp barrier,” Vorik replied before Tom or Harry could protest.
“Nothing in the universe can go at warp ten,” Harry explained. “It’s a theoretical impossibility.” T’Loran snorted. “In principle, if you were ever to reach warp ten, you’d be traveling at infinite velocity.”
“Infinite velocity,” Neelix repeated. “Got it. So that means very fast.”
“It means that you would occupy every point in the universe simultaneously,” T’Loran replied. “In theory, you could go any place in the blink of an eye. Time and distance become meaningless.”
“If Voyager achieved warp ten, we could be home in as long as it takes to push a button,” Harry said with a hopeful grin.
“Wow!” Neelix exclaimed. “And you’re working on this?”
“Last month, when T’Loran found that asteroid field we used to refuel, we discovered a new form of dilithium that remains stable at a much higher warp frequency,” Tom nodded. “The problem is that every time we simulate crossing he transwarp threshold, the nacelles get torn off the ship.”
Neelix frowned in concentration. “I remember there was a time when I lost a nacelle going through a dark matter nebula,” he mused.
“This is a very different problem,” Tom said dismissively.
“I realize that,” Neelix shot back, his frustration at being brushed off evident. “I’m just using it as an example. As the ship went through the nebula, it sent out a dark matter bow wave. Eventually, so much pressure built up, it tore the nacelle from its housing. Now, maybe the same thing is happening to you.”
“No, the simulations don’t indicate any kind of subspace stress on the nacelles,” Harry muttered thoughtfully as he considered what Neelix had said.
“What about the shuttle itself?” Tom said suddenly. “What if we’re looking in the wrong place?” Everyone else began to consider the issue. Vorik and T’Loran stared at each other as they exchanged thoughts rapidly.
“The nacelles aren’t being torn from the ship,” Vorik said aloud.
“The ship is being torn from the nacelles,” T’Loran finished for him.
“The hull of the shuttle is made of tritanium alloy,” Harry said brightly, catching on. “At the speeds we’re talking about, that alloy could depolarize.”
“Which would create a velocity differential,” T’Loran agreed.
“The fuselage would be traveling at a faster rate of speed than the nacelles,” Vorik added.
“So all we have to do is set up a depolarization matrix around the fuselage!” B’Elanna said triumphantly. “Neelix, you are a genius!” The five of them stood quickly and hurried back to the holosuites so they could reprogram the simulation with the new information. Meanwhile, Neelix began gathering their PADDs and shook his head.
“I have no idea what they just said,” he chuckled to himself, pleased to have been of some help to them at the very least.
~*~*~*~
The entire ship was abuzz with excitement when news began to spread that the group had successfully broken the transwarp barrier in their simulations. T’Loran had difficulty blocking out the effervescent sensations that left her feeling giddy — almost drunk — as she went about her normal duties. Even Vorik seemed to be showing more emotions than usual as they prepared for the test flight. The four engineers — Harry, T’Loran, Vorik, and B’Elanna — had spent days making the necessary modifications to one of the shuttlecraft and taking it out on test runs at impulse and low warp speeds to calibrate the new engines, sensors, and electrical systems. Tom joined in as frequently as his own duties would allow. The closer they drew to launch, the more latitude they were given to take time off to work on this assignment. Tom Paris was looking forward to joining the ranks of the most famous pilots in history — Orville Wright, Neil Armstrong, and Zefram Cochrane. The rest of them were just happy to be remembered as part of the anonymous many whose theories, research, and ingenuity made those flights possible.
The day of flight arrived and all five of them were on pins and needles as they ran through the pre-flight checklist and then launched. From their consoles in Engineering, B’Elanna, Vorik, and T’Loran monitored the shuttlecraft Cochrane as Tom powered it up. Voyager itself was matching velocity with the craft on a parallel course as both ships accelerated up towards warp nine at a steady rate.
“I’ve reached warp eight,” Tom Paris reported over the com. His transmission was received in engineering and on the bridge.
“How’s his dilithium matrix holding up?” B’Elanna asked Vorik.
“Warp nine,” Paris reported.
“There is a slight variance in the field but nothing to be concerned about,” Vorik replied. B’Elanna glanced over at T’Loran who nodded in agreement.
“Okay, Torres to shuttlecraft Cochrane. You are cleared for transwarp velocity,” the chief of engineering said calmly but with a hint of excitement.
“Acknowledged,” Paris replied over the com. “Engaging transwarp drive in five, four, three, two, one… Now reading warp nine point seven… nine point eight… nine point nine…”
“He is exceeding our maximum velocity,” came Tuvok’s calm voice over the intraship communication line. “I am switching to long range sensors.”
“Warp nine point nine-five,” Paris continued to count off. “Engine output at maximum. Velocity: warp ten.”
“Yes!” they heard Ensign Kim shout triumphantly from his station on the bridge. B’Elanna, Vorik, and T’Loran all shared small smiles. The test run had been successful. Their prototype engine clearly worked. With the data they received from this, they should be able to learn more and perhaps even begin making modifications to Voyager’s engines with an eye towards returning to the Alpha Quadrant much sooner than the seventy-plus years it was currently expected to take them.
“Transwarp engines are stable. So are the nacelle pylons,” Paris was saying. “I’m going to…” his communication suddenly cut out. In Engineering, the three stared at each other in horror for a brief second before springing into action. They could hear the senior staff giving orders from the bridge. At the Bridge Ops station, Ensign Kim had set the sensors to sweep at max range. T’Loran pulled up the controller programs and refined the feeds, tightening the beams and increasing the gain. She sensed Vorik doing much the same for the communications channels on all standard Federation frequencies while B’Elanna was preparing emergency procedures on the main power station, the deflector array, and the warp drive in case the captain called for them to increase power or speed temporarily beyond standard safe measures.
“I’ll handle the shields if you’ll take care of structural integrity in case we have to push maximum warp for very long,” T’Loran sent to Vorik.
He nodded and sent back, “Agreed but look into helm control and navigation as well since we may need to route everything but comms through here if we’re going to dump that much raw power into the drive.”
“Good call,” she replied mentally without looking at him. She could feel a subtle warmth from him — but she ignored it to focus on her work. The warmth remained but soon threads of embarrassment and discomfort began to worm their way through it. She glanced over at him — to the non-Vulcan eye, Vorik looked as calm and composed as always. However, T’Loran could read nervousness in the way his movements were slightly less fluid than normal and his shoulders were tight with strain that he was trying to mask. She kept her thoughts to herself but sent a very faint tendril of tranquility out towards him, just barely touching his mind with it. When she felt his discomfort wane, she relaxed the tension she had not realized she’d begun to feel. “Clearly telepathy is more complicated than I realized,” she thought.
“Indeed,” he sent back. T’Loran struggled not to blush. “Don’t worry,” he sent quickly, “if you communicate with one person frequently, sometimes things have a way of slipping through inadvertently. It is not considered a breach of protocol so long as neither party makes mention of it.”
“Makes mention of what?” she sent coolly, glancing over at him with a raised eyebrow. He met her gaze calmly but with tight-lipped good humor.
“Could the shuttle have been destroyed?” Captain Janeway was asking over the comm.
“I don’t believe so,” Tuvok replied from his station on the Bridge. “Sensors indicate that he did cross the warp threshold.”
“If that’s true, then he could be anywhere in the universe,” Ensign Kim replied.
“We’ll just have to keep searching our small corner,” the captain said with her usual aplomb. “Run a multi-spectral sweep. I want to see if…” Before she could finish her statement, sensors in Engineering and on the Bridge flared warnings as a quantum surge was detected just off the port bow. T’Loran and Vorik both began running an analysis on its signature to see if it matched the Cochrane’s as Tuvok reported it to the captain. However, before either could do much more than determine that something had emerged from subspace, they heard Captain Janeway hailing Tom Paris.
“I’m going to Sickbay,” B’Elanna said after she heard the captain give the order for Paris to be beamed directly there. “You two,” she ordered, pointing at T’Loran and Vorik, “beam to the Cochrane and bring it into the shuttlebay. Vorik, you and Carey will be in charge of checking the ship’s systems while T’Loran and Wildman pull the data from the flight logs. I’m sure that Paris and Kim will be joining us shortly,” she added. “Dismissed.”
“I hope Neelix has plenty of coffee ready,” Vorik said aloud as Lieutenant Carey joined him while T’Loran tapped her comm badge to request Ensign Wildman meet them in the Shuttlebay. “We’re going to need it.”
~*~*~*~
Hours later Ensign Vorik and Lieutenant Carey finished going over all of the systems and the exterior of the shuttlecraft. There were no anomalies, no deteriorations, no signs of any stress — not so much as a scratch on the hull. Ensigns T’Loran and Wildman were still busy downloading the logs to the Engineering core where Ensign Kim had joined them. There was a surprising wealth of data — far more than any of them had expected. The news that Lieutenant Paris had awakened and was apparently none the worse for the flight had been a great relief to all of them when Torres stopped by to check on their progress. T’Loran, however, found herself dwelling on an off-hand comment she’d heard the captain make.
“Mister Paris says that he was ‘everywhere.’ What do you make of that, Lieutenant Torres? Is there anything in the navigational systems to confirm that?”
“We won’t be able to know for certain for a few more hours, Captain,” B’Elanna had replied. T’Loran had found herself intrigued enough to move closer so she could listen in.
“Being everywhere…” Captain Janeway mused. “With the Kazon, back home, with the Klingons, other galaxies. He could barely explain it. It was as if language could not adequately convey what he experienced.”
“I could ask Ensign T’Loran to work with Crewman Harren. Between the two of them, they might be able to formulate a theory as to what exactly Tom might have experienced.”
“Do that,” the Captain agreed.
The brief conversation kept running through her mind. How could one person experience complete omnipresence and retain their sanity? The human brain was simply not wired to absorb such a vast amount of information and sensory input in such a short amount of time. Would the experience cause some unforeseen alteration to Tom Paris’s neurology? Would he go insane? Or would he simply be unable to retain the experience in his memory, having it evaporate much like a dream would upon waking? Perhaps this was how the Q Continuum began. Idle speculation, she knew, but she could not help but wonder over it. She had always been curious. Even as a small child, she had wanted to know everything. Her grandfather told her stories of how, after finding her, she had followed him like a second shadow until she discovered the ship they’d arrived in. After that, the Vulcan crew had been forced to keep a constant look-out for the toddler whose insatiable curiosity led her to try to take everything apart in order to determine what it was made of, how it worked, and what it did. Sevik wound up replicating a small teaching computer for her which she had kept with her at all times on the three week journey back to Vulcan. By the time they’d arrived, she had not only gained passable fluency in their language but had also begun to pick up the basics of algebra, rudimentary physics, geometry, and logic. She’d also mastered using the food replicators — much to the amusement of the crew who discovered that the child could polish off several bowls of plomeek soup in a single sitting.
Vorik’s stifled laughter tore her from her thoughts and she felt her cheeks heating. She hoped that she had not accidentally told him all of that and that his amusement stemmed from something else. Again, she felt a gentle touch, almost a fond caress that she decided to ignore for the time being. As she and Ensign Wildman waited for the data transfer to finish, T’Loran began accessing everything she could on encounters with the Q Continuum, the Enterprise’s experience with the Traveler and with Wesley Crusher’s warp experiments, philosophical texts on higher dimensions and even Bajoran religious documents concerning their Prophets who were non-corporeal, non-linear aliens native to the wormhole that bridged the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants. Ensign Wildman contacted Mr. Harren to request that he join them once his duty shift ended and then began reading right along with T’Loran, the two women stopping only to whisper back and forth before running off in other, often contradictory, directions. After a few hours, T’Loran had a pounding headache and Ensign Wildman was relieved when the Doctor contacted her reminding her that she had a scheduled pre-natal scan to attend.
“The transfer will be finished soon, T’Loran,” Harry said confidently. He gripped her shoulder in a reassuring manner. “I’m sure that all of that data will be just what you need to figure out where to get started.”
“Perhaps,” she muttered, rubbing her forehead tiredly.
“You look rough, Ensign,” he added. “Why don’t you call it a day and go get some rest?”
“I’m well, Ensign Kim,” she replied. “I can continue with my duties.”
“Would you like me to fix you a cup of tea?” he offered. “I know that a mug of chamomile used to help me with my headaches back in the academy.”
“No, thank you,” she said politely. The thought of food or drink of any kind made her feel nauseated.
“Are you sure you feel well? Maybe I should escort you back to your quarters…” he whispered. T’Loran closed her eyes as the shuttlebay began to spin and tilt. She could feel the heat from Harry’s body as he moved towards her and it burned, causing her to flinch and step back. His scent, normally unnoticeable and inoffensive, suddenly became overpowering and unbearable. She clapped a hand over her mouth and nose. “You really don’t look well,” he muttered. She held up her other hand, warding him and the others off. She could hear their footsteps echoing loudly throughout the vast room and she could feel Vorik’s growing worry in her mind. Beads of sweat popped out on her forehead and upper lip and she felt them start to trickle down the sides of her face as she shivered violently. “Maybe we should get you to sickbay,” Harry suggested.
“I don’t think that would be wise,” Vorik countered. “I believe the problem may be simple exhaustion but that there may be some trigger related to the transwarp flight.”
“Well then, what do you suggest?” Harry asked. “She looks like she’s about to vomit or pass out.”
“I suggest we sedate her and then carry her to any empty quarters.”
“Empty quarters? Someone should keep an eye on her,” Harry protested.
“Then we can take her to my quarters.”
“That is a breach of protocol, Vorik.”
“I have a fold-out couch, Ensign Kim,” he said dryly but with a hint of impatience. “But we do need to sedate her before we move her at all. I do not believe she would be able to tolerate the trip otherwise even by emergency transport.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because I can hear what she’s thinking,” Vorik said coldly, “and she’s in a tremendous amount of pain that is not her own.”
~*~*~*~
Both Vorik and B’Elanna had their hands full over the next several hours as Tom’s condition worsened and T’Loran, for whatever reason, seemed to be unable to block out his distress. None of the other telepaths, including Lon Suder, were affected by Paris’s alterations. The only thing the EMH could find out of the ordinary was that T’Loran’s neurotransmitter levels were abnormally low which led to a heated argument between Ensign Kim and Ensign Vorik over whether or not she should continue to practice her telepathy so intensively. Vorik continued to monitor her as she rested in his quarters where it was quiet. The doctor had given him a neural monitor for her as well as several hypos with tranquilizers, sedatives, and other medications that would help to bring her neurotransmitter levels back up to normal. Lieutenant Tuvok and Commander Chakotay had both agreed to review her case and consider assigning her private quarters in light of the fact that her Betazoid nature meant she was constantly forced to maintain active shields in order to keep her room-mates’ thoughts and emotions from becoming known to her without their consent.
He tried very hard not to think about how pleased he felt that she might have more privacy to visit him. He also reminded himself that it was irrational of him to feel anger at the thought that other men — notably Ensign Kim — seemed to have developed an interest in her of late. Returning his focus to the reports coming in from the data transfer, he was stunned to see that the test flight had captured information on every cubic meter in the sector. There were over five billion gigaquads of data to go through. Stellar cartography was going to be overjoyed with this sudden treasure trove. He pulled up her notes on the various ways that subspace might be shaped how quanta might interact at the frequencies and velocities involved in transwarp travel. Working through her calculations was difficult — his background was rooted in warp field dynamics and plasma physics whereas T’Loran seemed to be a master of both theoretical and applied physics. However, after several hours of work, Vorik began to unravel enough of her work to feel as if he had the beginnings of a basis in understanding it. He set the PADDs aside and assumed a meditative posture, clearing his mind and centering himself. Calm came and slowly he worked through the puzzles. With the ruthless logic that was part of his very being, he went through each set of theories, equations, and speculations, discarding the ones that proved false. By the time he completed his meditation, he felt both refreshed and exhausted. Rising to his feet was a challenge but Vorik refused to let fatigue master him. He gathered up the PADDs and put them away before changing out of his uniform and stepping into the sonic shower. Donning more comfortable clothing in preparation for going to sleep, he checked on T’Loran again and administered another dose of medication before giving her a stimulant to allow her to wake up briefly.
“Where am I?” she asked, her voice foggy and her eyes clouded with confusion.
“I had you transported to my quarters,” Vorik said calmly. “The senior officers are considering granting you private quarters for health purposes. Are you still feeling any pain?”
“Yes,” she admitted wearily. “I didn’t even feel this bad after several cadets got me intoxicated during my first year at the academy.”
“Vulcans don’t usually imbibe alcoholic beverages,” he chided.
“It was not my intent to imbibe at all. They put something in my drink without my knowledge. According to my room-mate, it was quite memorable even though I have no clear recollection myself.” T’Loran lay silent for a beat and then winced. “Has something happened to Lieutenant Paris?”
“He is…not well. The transwarp flight has had some unforeseen effects on his physiology. The doctor is working to correct them now. He was dead for several hours.”
“Unusual for a human to reanimate after death.”
“I’ve heard nothing directly but I believe he may no longer be entirely human,” Vorik said simply. “Perhaps a transwarp field can alter the bonds in DNA, causing unpredictable mutations in living creatures.”
“I don’t see why that would happen,” she replied. “Warp fields have never shown any impact on organic tissue. Transwarp fields act like warp fields but are simply at a different frequency and distort subspace in a different manner.”
“The doctor is working with the engineering crew to try to restore Lieutenant Paris’s original DNA. We should know in a few hours if it has been successful. For now, you should return to your rest. There will be plenty of information for you to go through once you are restored to complete health, T’Loran.”
“After sleeping so long, I doubt I will be able to sleep any further,” she sighed.
“I can prepare a hypospray to help you,” he offered. “I woke you only to ascertain your condition and gauge your cognitive function. Your neurotransmitter levels are still below normal though they are much higher than they were earlier. We will forgo practicing telepathy for now until we can determine the exact cause of the sudden drop in levels.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “If you will do that, I can take it in my quarters. I would not want to impose on you further.”
“It is no imposition,” he said quickly. “Like Vulcans, Betazoids require routine periods of isolation. Your room-mates may be part of the reason for the drop in your neurotransmitter levels. Until you have your own quarters, you may stay here with me. We can take turns sleeping on the couch,” he added with a small grin.