fanfic_name = And Thunder Rolls

chapter = Chapter 13 A Day in the Sun

author = Adam

Rating = O18

Type = Alternative Universe

fanfic = Chapter 13 – A Day in the Sun

Two months have past since that somber night. Tami has been at Amber’s side every minute of every day, refusing to leave her side. Amber is improving but has not spoken a word or moved more then her eyes since. Doctor Grant is hopeful that she will come out of it with time and perhaps will walk again but thinks something is holding her back. Tami often takes her on walks around Westport, chatting with her as if nothing was wrong even though Amber never responds. They always end at the observation deck. There Tami will sit next to her, hold her hand and stroke her long silky black hair. I see them on occasion, as I pass to and from the bridge, but have never taken the time to stop and talk. Not that I didn’t want to, I was always in too much of a hurry. But today something deep inside me said “STOP”. I had learned long ago to listen to those gut feelings. There, sitting at the far end, was Tami and Amber, staring into the black expanse that surrounds us as we orbit Triol.

I approach them quietly, feeling as if I would break a magic spell if I made any unnecessary noise. Tami looks up and smiles. She motions me to sit next to her. I sit down slowly and purposefully, feeling like I had just snuck in the back row of church in the middle of the sermon. Tami again smiles and goes back to stroking Amber’s hair. Each caress, warm and gentle, exuding the complete and enduring love that she has for her. Amber’s delicate porcelain doll features, always a contrast to her black as pitch hair, are fractured and marred. A long scar along her hair line where the doctors had to pull back the skin and put her skull back together, the road rash along the right of her face, were starting to heal but it will be years before the scaring will fade. Her brilliant, shimmering, steel gray eyes are dark and dull, as if someone turned out the light.

We sat in silence, staring at the endless, unnatural night caused by the arrogance of the Masters. Their lust for power had blackened their sun and nearly destroyed all life on their world.

No light, no life, the first rule of space.

My wrist com chirps, startling both of us. Amber doesn’t even twitch. It chirps again, “Hunter here” I answer. “Admiral”, its Dr. Lang, “if you have a moment I would like to see you in my lab. We may have found a way to reverse the effects of the anti-proto-culture in the Triolian sun”. “I’ll be right there” I respond. I rise and walk to face Amber. Kneeling down I take her hand and gaze into her darkened eyes. “I’m sorry but I must go.” She blankly looks back. As I start to stand I feel her hand trying to squeeze mine, telling me not to go. Looking into her eyes I see a glimmer of light, her life returning to her soul. Her lips move, I lean in close, placing my ear a breath away from her mouth. She is whispering the same words, over and over, “the sun”. I kiss her on the forehead and whisper back, “hopefully soon”. Letting go her hand I walk away. Taking one last look before entering the lift, I see Tami, weeping and listening intently to Amber’s whispered yet, sorely missed words.

The doors open, a brilliant light fills the compartment. Squinting, I step into Dr. Lang’s lab, an entire deck of the SDF-3. He’s waiting. “Well Doctor, what’s so exciting?” I ask. “Admiral, if you would follow me.” He says plainly. At a central console, similar to the one in CIC, his assistants enter the final computations. Dr. Lang waits patiently. A hologram of the Triolian system appears. “We have discovered a possible method to reverse the effects of the anti-proto-culture residing within the star.” I nod my head, urging him to continue. “It is a theory but the numbers look very promising. After interviewing the survivors and our own analysis we have learned that the bio-mass formations on the planet are derived from proto-culture. A man named Cabell, a scientist, constructed them after their sun started to fail. He used the last of the remaining proto-culture on the planet to accomplish this. The “Towers of Life”, as he called them, were to be temporary shelters for the population until the Masters could return with the SDF-1 and save them. That was over ten earth years ago. Their sun started to fade shortly after their departure and finally went dark about a year ago. The Invid were in control of the system by that time. The day the sun went out they left, taking all but the weak and infirm with them.” I give him a puzzled look, what has this got to do with reigniting their sun? I think to myself. He answers my question as if reading my mind. “The Invid, prior to their departure, had been working on a way to slow if not stop the processes taking place within the sun. We discovered some of their research and using reprocessed proto-culture from the towers I believe we can restart fusion within the sun.” I stare at him blankly, what he was saying is incredible, if not impossible. “The process is really quite simple.” He continues. The hologram focuses on the dead star with a SDF-3 size fold drive in its orbit. “We insert the large proto-culture fold drive discovered in Tiresia, into the core of the sun and initiate a high energy short term fold, a “fold burst” if you will.” The resulting energy discharge from the interaction of the proto-culture released from the fold and anti-proto-culture within the core should cause fusion to initiate”.

I stand silently, staring at the hologram of a bright yellow sun while attempting to wrap my head around the enormity of what Dr. Lang is proposing. “How do we get it into the sun?” I ask. “Pardon me?” he was lost in the hologram as well. “How do we get the fold drive into the sun?” I repeat. “I was reluctant to bring this up but Col. Edwards may have given us the answer.” He says. “What do you mean?” I ask with a puzzled look. “Do you remember the strange circuit card he placed in the fire control system?” he asks. “Yes, how could I forget, the CIC crew still laugh about it.” I answer with a chuckle. The doctor continues “The circuit card was part of a larger system discovered here on Triol. Where the Colonel got a hold of a piece of Triolian technology is yet to be seen but this system has some unique properties. From what we have decoded from the Triolian archives, this system employed a phasing technology that effectively “shadows” the proto-culture within a reflex furnace. The technology incorporates active adaptation which is why the card the Colonel placed into the fire control system actually improved it. The phasing aspect of this shadow technology is what will enable us to place the fold drive into the core. Everything in the universe has a frequency or vibrates if you will. Some Fast and some slow. Phasing is the process of matching that frequency and then counteracting it with the opposite signal. The two signals cancel each other out. Or if you amplify the matched frequency then the ship would pass through the object as if it wasn’t there. This requires millions of computations per second and the ability to modify this frequency in an instant, thus the need for the active adaptation.”

Dr. Lang continued to elaborate for an additional two hours. General Reinhardt agreed to retrieve the drive from Tiresia and Exedore volunteered to streamline reprocessing the “Towers” into usable proto-culture. It will be a few weeks before we will be ready for any initial testing but as the good doctor said. The numbers look promising.

I finally get home after pulling a double shift in CIC and the bridge. With General Reinhardt busy retrieving the fold drive and Breetai on Triol searching for remnants of Invid and survivors, I’ve been working 12 hour shifts in addition to running the day to day activities of the fleet. I collapse on the couch. Lisa is out with Jo and Roy is at Max and Miriya’s for the night. In the peace and quiet I quickly fall asleep.

“Rick……Rick!. RICK WAKE UP!!!” I flail my arms, hoping that whoever it is will go away. “Rick you’ve got to get up!”
“What?!” I roll over to glare at this horrid person trying to wake me. As the blur subsides the figure of a woman begins to take shape.
“Rick, I need you to get up, please”
I finally recognize the voice behind the shape in front of me.
“Miriya, what are you doing here?”
“Lisa asked me to get you?”
“Why?”
“She’s having the baby.”
“WHAT!!!!”
“She’s having the baby.”
“I know Miriya!”
“You asked what.”
“I know, I know, I‘m sorry.”

I scramble to find my shoes and try to straighten my obviously slept in uniform. Miriya opens the door and I scurry out to a waiting six wheeler.

Jumping out of the jeep before it stops, I charge in the doors shouting “take me to Lisa!”

State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = jscott_73ATyahoo.com