BMUG PD-ROM B4/PD-ROM B4.iso/Entertainment/Space/Star Trek/“Relics” (If you missed it.)

Text File | 1992-10-24 | 11KB | 186 lines

          Tuesday, October 20, 1992 6:03:07 PM
          Star Trek Item
   From:          Greg E. Cassel
   Subject:       “Relics” (If you missed it.)
   To:            Star Trek
The Enterprise picks up a long-running distress call from the USS Jenolan, a
ship that disappeared 75 years ago.  They drop out of warp to help, and are
immediately shaken by an enormous gravitational field.  Although the source
is not immediately visible, they trace the field to its center, and find a
large metallic shell, 200 million kilometers in diameter, completely
surrounding a star.  In other words, they've discovered the first known Dyson
sphere, used to harness the entire radiant energy output of a star for
inhabitants of the sphere's huge inner surface.  The Jenolan is located on
the surface of the sphere a short distance away, and they head for it.

Once they arrive, they find the Jenolan crashed on the surface; miraculously,
however, power and minimal life signs are still there.  Riker, Geordi and
Worf beam down to it and discover no signs of life.  However, Geordi finds
that something very strange has been done with the transporter:  the
rematerialization circuits have been disabled, the power is being drawn from
the auxiliary pods, and the pattern buffer is locked into a diagnostic mode.
What's more, there is *still* a pattern inside the buffer, with virtually no
degradation.  "Could someone survive inside a transporter for 75 years?"  "I
know a way to find out."  Geordi re-engages the transporter, and the occupant
re-forms:  Captain Montgomery Scott.

Scotty immediately runs to the console and tries to save the *other* person
in the buffer, one "Franklin".  Unfortunately, the equipment cannot stand up
to the renewed strain, and Franklin is lost.  Riker introduces himself and
Geordi, and Scotty reacts understandably to the name of their ship.  "The
Enterprise?  I should've known!  I bet you Jim Kirk himself brought the old
gal out of mothballs..."  Scotty's question about how long he's been missing
is interrupted by Worf's appearance, which in itself tells him it's been
longer than he thought.  They return to the Enterprise.

Once there, Scotty and Geordi talk in the transporter room and en route to
sickbay.  Discussion of the changes in engineering technique over the last 75
years alternates with Scotty's tale of how the Jenolan ended up there.
Apparently, it was en route to the Norpan colony when warp failed.  They then
stumbled on the Dyson sphere and began exploring it.  Unfortunately, as they
finished their first scan, their aft warp coil exploded and sent them
hurtling into the sphere, killing all but Scotty and Franklin.  When Geordi
calls Scotty's decision to use the transporter to survive "brilliant",
however, Scotty bristles:  "I think it was only fifty percent brilliant.
Franklin...deserves better."

Once they reach sickbay, Scotty's told that his wounds should heal in a few
days, and he is then greeted by a newly arrived Picard.  Scotty answers
Picard's unspoken question by saying that actually, he never *was* a member
of the Jenolan's crew; he was a passenger en route to retirement on Norpan
Five.  Picard tells Scotty that he'd love to hear about Scotty's insights
into the time, then hastily puts Geordi to work on studying the sphere and
leaves.  Scotty tries to accompany Geordi to engineering, but is still too
weak, and is instead taken to quarters.  He marvels at the quarters' luxury
compared to his era, and attempts to reminisce about the time to his escort.
However, the ensign quickly demurs and returns to duty, leaving a somewhat
pensive Scotty to settle in to this new time.

Some time later, Scotty arrives in engineering (over the protests of ensigns
who insist it's a restricted area), only to be told that it's a bad time for
a tour.  "I'm not here for a _tour_, laddie -- I'm here to help!"  Geordi
initially is skeptical, but Scotty insists he's still useful and gets to
work.  As he settles in, Data tells Picard that the interior of the sphere
shows a proper environment for humanoid lifeforms, but no sign of inhabitants
as of yet.  Picard orders that probes be sent.

Scotty quickly proves to be more of a nuisance than a help to Geordi,
however; the last several decades of changes have made safe conditions Scotty
considered threatening, and Scotty also distracts Geordi constantly with talk
of his past achievements.  Geordi begins to bristle, but holds his tongue
initially.  In the end, however, Scotty begins to give Geordi advice on how
to handle Picard and to be seen as a "miracle worker," and Geordi explodes,
saying that he has a lot of work to do, "...and quite frankly -- you're in
the way!"  Scotty leaves in a huff.

He arrives in Ten-Forward and orders a Scotch.  Unfortunately, due to his
unfamiliarity with synthehol, he even finds the "Scotch" unpleasant.  Data
steps in to help (prompting a remark from Scotty:  "Synthetic
Scotch...synthetic commanders..."), and eventually locates some of Guinan's
*actual* alcohol in storage.  He serves Scotty a drink of unknown origin ("it
is...it is...it is *green*."), and Scotty takes much more kindly to it.

Some time later, a rather plastered Scotty sloshes his way to the holodeck,
where he calls up the bridge of the Enterprise:  the *original* Enterprise.
("No bloody A, B, C *or* D.")  He enters and is caught up by the sight of it.
He loses himself in the memory for a bit ("here's to ye, lads!"), then takes
notice when Picard comes to talk.  Both talk of their first "real" ships:
Scotty's Enterprise and Picard's Stargazer.  They toast them as "old
girlfriends we'll never meet again."  Scotty then gets a bit more morose,
feeling that he's just in the way on this ship and in this era.  He even
dismisses Picard's suggestion that he study up current technical journals and
start over, saying that he's too old for it.  His place, he says, is on the
ship whose bridge he currently sits in:  "But it's not real.  It's just a
computer-generated fantasy.  And I'm just an old man who's trying to hide in
it.  Computer -- shut this bloody thing off.  It's time I acted my age."

The next day, Picard instructs Geordi to have Scotty work on recovering the
Jenolan's logs, and _asks_ Geordi to go along personally with Scotty to help
him feel useful, a requests Geordi quickly agrees to.  As they leave and get
started, Data detects an antenna array not far off, and they head for it.
Upon arriving at the array (which surrounds a portal, possibly the "front
door" into the sphere), they open a channel to it.  As soon as they do,
however, the portal opens, and a host of strong tractor beams pull the
Enterprise in, crippling both main and auxiliary power in the process.
This prevents them from actually stopping even once the beams let go; and
what's worse, they're heading directly for the center of the clearly unstable
G-star at the center of the sphere...

Scotty, meanwhile, rails at his lack of success in recovering the Jenolan's
data, calling the ship "just a piece of junk" now.  Geordi, realizing Scotty
refers to more than simply the ship, points out that things haven't really
changed all *that* much in the past 75 years, and that were it not for the
structural damage, the Jenolan could be flying even today.  Scotty is
skeptical, saying that no one would *want* it today, but Geordi insists that
some might:  "Just because something's old doesn't mean you throw it away."
Scotty grins at this and offers a new suggestion about the logs.  Geordi
agrees, but then finds he cannot communicate with the Enterprise.

With three minutes until the Enterprise enters the sun's photosphere, the
crew uses the maneuvering thrusters to put them into orbit around the star
(but only just; the distance is a scant 150,000 kilometers from the star).
As repairs continue, Data then begins scanning the interior for life.

Geordi and Scotty, meanwhile, cannot locate the Enterprise at all, but due to
the lack of radiation conclude that it hasn't crashed.  Scotty suggests that
it might have somehow gotten *inside* the sphere, and Geordi realizes the
only way to track them is to somehow get the Jenolan's engines working.
Scotty thinks he's nuts, saying that even figuring out where to start would
take a week -- "but we don't have a week, so let's not stand around cryin'
about it.  Come on..."

As they begin work, Data finds that the sphere has been abandoned by its
builders due to the star's instability, and that they were drawn in by an
automatic piloting system.  Solar flares then begin to increase, and it's
theorized that the Enterprise's shields will no longer be effective in
approximately three hours.

Geordi and Scotty continue their repairs, with Scotty pushing Geordi to take
more risks than the engine specifications (which he *wrote*) will allow.  For
whatever reason, their jury-rigs work, and the Jenolan starts up, with Geordi
at the bridge and Scotty controlling the engines.  With the Enterprise in
still more trouble (the flares are increasing, they can't shoot a hole in the
sphere, and it would take too long to find an open portal), the Jenolan
tracks the Enterprise to the other side of the portal.  Geordi and Scotty
quickly conclude that the Enterprise was pulled in, and Geordi realizes that
it's likely the antenna array is not a communications grid, but an *access
port* that is triggered by the same frequencies as Federation hails.

Scotty suggests that they hang back enough to stop the tractor beams from
locking on to them, then speed in as the door closes and use the Jenolan's
shields as a "foot in the door", holding the portal open long enough for the
Enterprise to escape.  Geordi is convinced it's crazy, but agrees.  The
shields hold, but only just -- and Geordi quickly tells Picard of the
situation.

As the Enterprise heads for the portal, however, the Jenolan's engines fail
to the point that Geordi and Scotty can't move the ship.  Picard,
understanding this, beams them off the ship just as they're within
transporter range, then fires on the Jenolan, destroying it.  The Enterprise
banks, and exits through the portal just as it closes.

Some time later, the Enterprise is en route to starbase.  Geordi and Scotty
trade stories, and Scotty tells Geordi to enjoy the days of being chief
engineer of a starship, since they won't return again.  "Now, lad, I thought
you were gonna buy me a drink in Ten-Forward."  "Actually, I had a better
idea."

Scotty comes to a shuttle bay, and finds the bridge crew waiting with the
shuttle Goddard, to be his on "extended loan".  It's slow, but it'll get him
where he's going.  When asked if he's going to the Norpan colony, he observes
that it's a place where men go to retire.  "Maybe someday I'll end up
there...but not yet."

As the bridge crew bids him farewell, Scotty reassures Geordi that the
Enterprise is a fine ship, "and from what I can see, the Enterprise is in
good hands."

"You take care of yourself out there."
"Aye..."

NEXT WEEK:
A horror story gone amok, as crewmembers vanish from the ship, perhaps to be
experimented on...

—> Greg