Ship's Log: ASV Aurora; 21 October 2642 AST. Lieutenant Commander Jarod recording. The ship is out of immediate danger. The Daleks and Cybermen have both been drawn back into the dimensional plane that our Time Lord ally calls 'the Void'. And whatever bizarre intelligence seems to have been hijacking the Dalek breach into the Void, it too has not shown up again.
But we have paid a high price. The casualties are still being counted. Severe internal damage has kept us from getting a solid count due to the damage to the ship's internal sensors, but I have to estimate we lost at least five hundred officers and crew to the Shadow attack and the invasions by the Cybermen and Daleks.
We have recovered our escape pods and the surviving crew are resuming repair work. Additionally, thanks to Lieutenant Locarno and the work of a couple of engineering crew, we were able to restore the runabout St. Johns enough for it to fly down and pick up those of our crew still on Earth. The Doctor has also returned to the ship to recover his craft. He has agreed to see me on a pressing matter in the medbay.
Jarod and Caterina watched quietly from the distance while Leo conversed with the Doctor beside two of the occupied biobeds. On said beds were Robert and Julia, both still unconscious.
"The cellular damage is severe, especially in Captain Dale's case," said Leo. "But they're both still alive."
"And lucky to be." The Doctor was looking them both over. Jarod noted that his demeanor was more constrained than before. This was someone dealing with grief. "Your Captain looked into the Time Vortex. He let it into his head. Quite honestly, I'm a bit surprised he's still breathing." The Doctor looked over Julia next. "You're saying she made contact with him before they dropped unconscious. What sort of contact?"
Leo looked to Jarod. Jarod, in turn, supposed he should feel some embarrassment for their sakes when he answered, "Julia kissed him."
"What? Like a peck on the cheek or…"
"It was on the mouth," Jarod clarified. "It was a romantic kiss."
"Huh." The Doctor looked back to them. "Ah. I suppose that would explain it."
"A kiss explains it?" Leo asked, clearly unconvinced.
"Your Captain is not an ordinary Human. Not that Humans come in ordinary models mind you, but what I mean is that Captain Dale has something special about it."
"The Gersallian mystic life force stuff, you mean," said Cat.
"That's one way of putting it." The Doctor looked their way. "Of course, it's a lot more complicated than even Swenya realized."
"So Robert's… powers saved their lives?"
"Well, no, not directly anyway. They acted as a conduit for the energy to bleed out of him. And since he had to use so much of what the TARDIS gave him to seal that breach, he survived what he had left." The Doctor nodded to Julia. "Commander Andreys just made sure he survived it. And she's lucky to be alive too." The Doctor shook his head and sighed. "This is why I told them not to think about the Time Vortex. No being can look into it safely. They're all lucky to be alive."
"Do you know when they'll wake up?" asked Leo.
"I've no idea," the Doctor admitted. "And I'm not sure they'll even be sane. Well, she probably will be. Her exposure was limited. But for those two minutes, Captain Dale's mind was exposed to the full power of the Time Vortex. Time Lord minds can barely take the strain. Human minds?" The Doctor seemed to notice the horrified looks of the others and some part of him seemed compelled to offer hope. "A lot depends on his connection to the life-based energies of existence."
"Swevyra stuff," Caterina said.
"Oh, it's got lots of names. Swevyra, the Gift, the Presence, the Well of Life, the Force. Nobody can agree on what it actually is. They don't even agree on how it normally works. I only have a few ideas on it myself. It's never been my thing. I'm sorry, Doctor Gillam, but I've got nothing else to share."
"Thank you for your help, Doctor," said Leo.
The Doctor stepped away and joined Caterina and Jarod. "So, what are your plans now?" he asked Jarod. "You're in charge of things, right?"
"Engineering teams are still examining what the Daleks did to the jump drive," Jarod said. "Even if the Daleks repaired it, we don't dare to use it until we're sure we've removed whatever programming they put in."
"Let me help you with that, then," said the Doctor. "I'll look it over and see that they didn't leave you any nasty surprises."
"Are you sure, Doctor?" Cat asked. "You've been through a lot. Maybe you should take time to rest."
"I'd rather help, Cat, if it's all the same to you."
Jarod nodded slowly. "Alright. Lieutenant Barnes is overseeing repairs to the jump drive. It's on Deck 30. You'll have to approach from the stern. The corridors and area forward of the access room are heavily damaged from the fighting."
The Doctor nodded in appreciation and left the medbay. Caterina rushed after him. She caught up to him in the corridor just shy of the lift. "Doctor!" When he turned to face her, she said, "I'm sorry about Rose. I… I couldn't hold onto her. I'm sorry…"
"You tried," he answered. He turned to face her. "You did everything you could. We both did. At least Pete caught her and took her back to his world. She'll be safe there."
"Maybe there's a way to still get there. I've heard reports of other ways to go between parallel worlds…"
"And all are extremely dangerous." The Doctor's eyes reflected how much he was hurting. Cat felt a pang of guilt, a feeling that she might be responsible for it. Even if he was right, even if she had done all she could to hold on to Rose. "I understand you're worried about me, Caterina. But right now, you're probably better off checking on your sister and your girlfriend. I'll be fine."
WIthout saying more, the Doctor turned away again and left. Caterina had the thought of asking him when he would rest, that maybe he needed it, but she stopped herself. Helping her ship and friends, that was what he wanted to do, and no amount of rest would change the fact of what happened. Of what he had lost.
Caterina headed back toward the medbay.
Leo stepped up to Jarod. "So, when are we getting home?" he asked.
"Scotty assures me we'll have IU radio back in a few hours," Jarod answered. "I told him it was a priority now given the state of the crew."
"Yeah." Leo gestured to the critical care ward. "I thought you'd want to see this."
Jarod followed Leo into the ward. Most of those present had been wounded by the Shadow attack or by Cybermen. The Daleks had been more effective in killing their targets.
One of those who they hadn't actually managed to kill was in a biobed. Bandages covered burns and, particularly the stumps left of the patient's arms. "Commander Kane," Jarod noted in a quiet voice.
"The Marine medics who found him barely managed to keep him stable before getting him here," said Leo. "Apparently he overloaded the weapons on the suit of heavy armor he was wearing and they exploded."
"The fact that he's alive suggests the Dalek he was fighting didn't make it either. None of the others that tried to set off the torpedo locker made it?"
Leo shook his head. "As things look, the Commander's looking at months of surgery and rehab."
"And psychological counseling," Jarod added. He turned away and looked at more of the wounded.
"I think we'll all need some in the long run." Leo put a hand on Jarod's shoulder. "Go get some rest, Jarod. Nick can keep an eye on things while you do."
"Is that a medical order?"
"Do I need to make it one?"
Jarod glanced back at Leo and let out a sigh. "Alright. But I'll need to be up as soon as we have IU radio or drive capability."
"I'm sure Nick will see to it. Now go on."
Leo watched his friend go and looked back to the wounded under his care. They were still the lucky ones, as far as he was concerned.
"Doctor." Nasri appeared at the entrance of the ward. "Doctor, we've run out of room in the mortuary ward."
That made Leo swallow. That had never happened before. "Use our expansion ward."
"We already have that open for surviving patients."
"Then… then find out from Commander Locarno if we can borrow space elsewhere on the ship." Leo slumped against the wall wearily. He knew he should be taking the same advice he gave Jarod.
Nasri knew it too, given the look she gave him. Just as she knew that with Doctor Lumenaram dead, the medbay had one less physician to deal with the wounded. Leo wouldn't be taking a rest any time soon.
Locarno stepped into Main Engineering from the forward entrance. It was a welcome respite from the rest of the ship. Details were still removing the bodies of dead crew from where they had been left by the Cybermen and Daleks. He had seen far too many shrouded human figures while making his way back here. He glanced down to his bandaged hands and considered just how lucky he had been to come off with only these injuries.
Scotty had returned to Main Engineering to oversee the repair effort. He had Barnes visible on a holo-screen below the ship's master control display. The Doctor was in the background leaning over a control console, working on the board. "...for a while. In fact, he's suggested we should just wipe all of the control systems on the jump drive and restore from backups."
"Aye, a proper suggestion," Scotty said. "As soon as we repair th' computer trunk lines anyway." The old engineer looked over to where Locarno entered and said, "Keep me informed, lad. Scott out." A tap of a key ended the communication. "Commander, what can I dae for ye?"
"Jarod left me in command while he gets some rest. I'm just catching up on our status."
"Nae very good, Commander, nae very good at all," Scotty said. He let out a sigh. "I've lost several o' my best tae those blasted contraptions that invaded an' the fight damaged much o' th' forward drive section. We need a full drydock an' we need t' be in it soon."
"Any chance we can make an IU jump if we get the drive repaired?"
"That's a pretty big 'if', sir. We dinnae have time t' finish th' first repairs before th' invasions, an' now th' hull has suffered more damage. Half th' bloody drive hull is covered in breaches now from th' blasted things getting sucked back to Earth. Things are so bad some o' th' decks cannae be accessed from all th' breaks in th' hull. I dinnae feel safe sendin' her through a jump point under her own power, Commander, an' that's th' truth of it."
"Can't say I blame you." Locarno looked around Engineering. "Status on IU comms?"
"Ah, good news there. I just heard from Lieutenant Nesay. She an' some others managed tae get Machine Shop A goin' enough t' make th' parts we need. We'll have IU comms by mornin'."
"Then we can call for a yardship or a tow and get this ship back for repairs." Locarno nodded. "Well, I'd better go check on the rest of the ship. Let me know if anything comes up."
"I will, Commander," promised Scotty.
Lucy had done what she could helping with repair teams, but given the way things had gone all day she needed a rest. She headed to the Lookout to find that, much to her expectation, Hargert had made more sausage stew.
"I had to," he explained when handing her a bowl. "Our food storage took damage. We have no refrigeration."
"So this is better than letting it go bad." Lucy nodded. She moved her spoon through it.
"You look exhausted, Fraulein," said Hargert.
"Well, I did hours of repair work, got attacked by a Cyberman in my quarters, had to run across the ship fighting Cybermen, piloted an escape pod down to London, fought my way into the Torchwood Tower to help the others, and Meridina and I ended up fighting dozens of Daleks we could barely hurt." Lucy took in a breath after that list. "Yes, I think I'm exhausted."
Hargert touched her shoulder and noddded. "Then come, sit, eat and drink. Rest, Lucy."
"Not yet," said Lucy. "I need these to go. Because Meridina is exhausted too."
When Lucy stepped into the security office, she found Meridina leaning against her desk. Her face had grown pale. Her blue eyes were red with tears. She looked up and smiled at Lucy, but it was a wan smile. "You felt my hunger across the ship, didn't you?"
"I imagined it was like my own." Lucy handed her one of the containers of sausage stew and put the other on the desk. "Looks like your replicator is working."
"Yes. I am fortunate."
Lucy hit the key on it. "Computer, two large cups of hilan, warm." The replicator provided the desired cups full of warm beige-colored liquid, a Gersallian tea. She brought the cups over and set them down. "Are you okay?"
"Many of my officers and subordinates are dead, Lucy," Meridina said. "Lieutenant Richmond provided me a full count of the confirmed casualties before I ordered her to stand down for the rest of the day." Meridina's eyes returned to the screen. "Sixty dead, Lucy."
Lucy swallowed. That was over half of the security staff for the entire ship. "Yenaran?" Meridina shook her head, indicating Yenaran was among the slain. "Reynolds? Janiral? Usala? Kashi? Hata?" At each headshake Lucy felt her heart drop further into her stomach. "Kashi just got married."
"To Petty Officer Sung, yes. She was killed too."
"God," Lucy breathed. For all her hunger, she felt a sudden loss of appetite. It didn't help that the sheer exhaustion of the crew was evident to both of them. Over the last twelve hours, everyone had been put through literal hell. "Do you regret not being here?"
"Our ship would have been destroyed if we hadn't been on Earth, Lucy. Many of the survivors would also be dead." Meridina shook her head. "I do not regret anything. I am simply sad for all of the loss of life caused by these two evils."
"And if Torchwood hadn't been so foolish," Lucy added. "They've got Hartman in the medbay. I wonder if she'll answer for what happened."
"Perhaps. Or perhaps her actions have been some recompense." Meridina tapped a key to turn off her screen. She sipped at the hilan before opening her container of sausage stew and retrieving the utensils that were attached to the container. "For now, we should eat and recover our strength."
Lucy nodded and went for a bite. It tasted as good as always, of course. It was a small pleasure for them, something to get their minds off the death and loss inflicted upon their ship and crew.
The door to Caterina's quarters chimed. After a moment of no answer they chimed again. On the third chime, Cat finally seemed to realize it was going off and called out, "Come in."
The door slid open. Angel limped in and Violeta followed. Angel had swapped into civilian clothes, with a sleeveless green blouse and black pants, while Violeta was still in uniform. Violeta immediately went up to where Cat was sitting at her desk staring at her computer. She embraced Cat and kissed her on the cheek. "Lover, I'm so happy you're okay."
Cat turned her head and let Violeta kiss her. "I was afraid you'd die with the ship," Cat said. Her eyes were red from the tears. "I was afraid I'd lose both of you." She faced her sister next. Angel took a seat in Caterina's most comfortable chair with a clear sigh of relief.
"At least we all made it," said Angel. "We lost too many people."
"I heard about Commander Kane," said Cat.
"And Doctor Lumenaram. Tech Officer Matthews. Lieutenant Pacetti." Angel shook her head. "And what are you doing up? Leo wanted you in bed. Hell, he wanted everyone who was down on Earth to stay off-duty."
"Nobody can stay off-duty given how bad things are," Caterina pointed out. "But I'm working on something personal."
Violeta glanced at the viewscreen. "These are mission reports from Spock? The Spock?"
Caterina nodded. "Spock had a couple of encounters involving alternate timelines during his career. I was hoping I might find a way to safely transit between 5th dimensional locations."
"To get back Rose?" Angel asked.
Caterina nodded. "I… I couldn't hold onto her. She slipped from my hand. Maybe if I'd been stronger…"
"That's not how it works, Cat," Angel said, trying to reassure her sister.
Violeta pulled up a seat and snuggled up beside Cat. "I know you blame yourself, but I also know you did everything you could, Cat," Violeta assured her.
"The Doctor's alone now," Cat said. "Because I couldn't hold on. I… I have to make it up for him. I have to find a way. I have to help him."
"How?" asked Violeta.
Caterina had an idea. She told them.
"Are you sure?" Violeta asked. "If you're sure, and you know you can do it… then I'm fine with it."
For a moment Caterina had to think on that. Ultimately she nodded. "Yes," she said. "I'm sure."
Lucy was on her way back to her quarters and ready to collapse. She'd helped in some repairs after finishing her meal with Meridina, joining a repair team on Deck 24 to restore local power function and help stabilize the ship's hull breaches. Now she just wanted to collapse into bed and sleep.
Therefore she was quite agitated when the lift stopped on its way to her quarters on Deck 5. The doors slid open and Tom Barnes shuffled in, looking ready to join the dead. "Hey," he said with little energy. "Lift, Deck 4."
"Hey," she answered. She could feel his sheer exhaustion and, beneath that, grief and pain. "I'm sorry," she added.
"For?"
"For everyone you lost."
"Ah. Yeah." Barnes looked at her. "So, where were you during the fuss? Jarod said something about you going down to Earth in an escape pod."
"Yeah, I did. I spent most of my time fighting Cybermen and Daleks."
"Ah."
Lucy felt the resentment flare up inside of him. "What's wrong?"
"Well, you've got that mumbo jumbo stuff," he pointed out. "If you'd stayed, maybe some more of our people would be alive."
"If I had stayed, Tom, then I wouldn't have rescued Rob and Meridina from the Cybermen," Lucy pointed out. "Nor would Meridina have had her lightsaber, and me, to hold off the Daleks. She'd be dead, and Robert never would have gotten to the TARDIS, and you and a lot of the crew would have died when Julia triggered the auto-destruct."
Barnes didn't say anything to that. Lucy sighed in realization. The problem wasn't the fact, it was the feeling, and nothing she said could change that. When Barnes finally spoke he asked, "Did you know that when you left? With that mumbo jumbo stuff?"
"I could feel it, yeah."
"Right." He shook his head. "How'd you manage to fix those damn things anyway?" He was looking at her lightsaber. "I heard they got fried by the Shadows' disruption weapon."
"Well… it's hard to describe actually."
"I'm a Goddamned engineer, Lucy, give me some frakking credit."
"Tom, that's exactly why it's hard to describe," Lucy said, trying to be patient despite her immense fatigue. "Because these things… they're not just engineering. I didn't fix them until I put down my tools and used my life energy to sense what was wrong and fix it."
"So you repaired stuff with your mumbo jumbo?" The skepticism was thick in his voice. "Really?"
"Really," Lucy said. "How else could I repair them while waiting for my escape pod to finish making re-entry?"
It was clear he was still skeptical. But he said nothing more but a simple sarcastic "Good night, oh sorceress" when Lucy stepped out of the lift on Deck 5. She barely had the energy to stick her tongue out at him in mild retort.
She walked on, aching everywhere, until she got to her quarters. The door opened and she was let into her room. The ceiling still bore the mark from the Cyberman blaster meant to kill her. In her bedroom, the Cyberman had smacked its metal arm into her dresser while landing after she had shoved it back, smashing the entire thing and leaving an assortment of her clothes spread here and there on the floor. "Tomorrow," she mumbled before collapsing into her bed. She managed to struggle out of her uniform trousers and jacket before she just gave up and rolled onto her pillow, determined to sleep until she woke up.
With awareness came pain. Pain in the head. Pain through the body. A feeling like having been dragged over hot coals and injected with napalm.
There was a gasp of surprise at the intensity of said pain, and with it Julia woke up. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave a miserable groan. The pneumonia that had hospitalized her at age 12 hadn't felt this horrible on her. Nor had that double overtime game during her high school basketball days, when she played all but four minutes of the whole thing. She felt like her entire body had been burned through and out. It was a surprise when she managed to sit up.
She glanced around and saw she was in medbay. Her mind tried to piece together what happened before she collapsed. She remembered preparing to give the order to blow the ship up, which clearly hadn't happened since she was still breathing. Then there was that sound, and a lot of light, and Robert came out of it and… Robert!
She turned her head and noticed him in the biobed beside her. He was alive according to the biobed's status display, but there was no movement. It looked like more than simple sleep to her. What have you done to yourself? she wondered.
Movement caught the corner of her eye. She was surprised to see one biobed was taken up by Leo, still in white lab coat and blue uniform, who yawned as he sat up. His bleary brown eyes met her bleary green ones and he stifled another yaw before getting up. A few steps brought him over the bed. He looked over the system readouts. "Your vitals look good," he said. "It's good to know you're okay."
Julia set her elbows onto her knees and leaned her hand into her hands. "Everything hurts," she said.
"Given what the Doctor said about what happened, I'm not surprised. We almost lost you."
Fear crept into her voice. "And Rob?"
Leo shrugged. "We're not sure. His body's alive and recovering. But he's showing no signs of waking up." His eyes moved over their unconscious friend. "The Doctor says he's lucky to still be alive. But there's a chance he might not be entirely sane when he wakes up."
Julia closed her eyes and drew in a breath. For a moment she thought she could feel something in her, a memory of a power beyond anything she could have imagined. And she'd only had it for a few seconds, relative to Robert. What had that bizarre energy from the TARDIS done to him?
For the first time Julia realized she was in a medbay gown. She frowned and went to slide off the biobed. Leo took her by the shoulders to stop her. "Right now you need rest," he insisted.
"The crew needs me," she insisted.
"Jarod and Nick and Scotty have everything well in hand," Leo assured her. "The repair teams have been working all night. The ship is fine."
"Do we have communications back yet? I need to be there for that."
"We should have IU comms back within a few hours or so. At least, that's what I was told. I can find out more for you if you want." Leo tilted his head toward the pillow. "But you have to promise to stay here for a little while. At least a few more hours so we can make sure you're okay."
That drew a deep frown from Julia. She felt her place was on the bridge right now, setting an example for the others. It was clear, however, that Leo would not be denied on this point, so she acquiesced to his term with a nod. He stepped away to make the enquiries in his office.
Feeling tired despite everything, Julia laid her head on the pillow and allowed her thoughts to wander. Now that the crisis was mostly over she had time to consider things. Had anyone received their mayday? Were they considered missing now? Indeed, a certain fear came to her that any ship answering the mayday they had sent out from Halmavar would also get attacked and destroyed by the Shadow ships.
Julia quietly closed her eyes and wished the pain she felt would go away. Without even planning on it, she was soon fast asleep, with just a single thought going through her mind as she settled into a gentle slumber.
Did Zack know?
There was a surge of radiation in the Halmavar System. It was a very subtle one, artificially distorted and shifted by the same field that kept others from seeing the ship responsible even with their personal sight.
A sleepless Zachary Carrey returned to the bridge a moment later. "Report," he said gruffly.
"We've just come out of warp at Halmavar," said Lt. Magda Navaez, ship's operations officer and science officer (although given Koenig's combat-orientated role, she didn't do much in the way of "science"). "I'm already running sensor sweeps."
"The Aurora's last communications said they were going to investigate the second planet. Ap?"
"I'm bringing us in," said the ship XO, Lt. Creighton Apley. His hands moved over the helm controls of the Koenig and directed the small gut-puncher of a starship toward the planet in question.
"Code Yellow," Zack said. "Prepare to raise shields the moment we decloak."
"Aye sir."
"I'm picking up what looks like an impulsor drive trail. It's consistent with the impulsors on the Aurora." Magda continued to examine her reading. "There's something up with the planet, it's… that can't be right."
"Show me. On screen."
The screen shifted. Everyone stared at the sight. Zack's mouth hung open for a moment before he could manage, "What in God's name happened here?"
Julia had been woken up only after a few more hours of sleep. Leo provided her a fresh uniform and told her Jarod and Locarno were waiting for her on the bridge. So were Angel and Cat, it turned out. She was still moving gingerly as she stepped up and slid into the command chair, secretly relieved to be off her feet. Her body still twitched and ached, all the way to the fingertip that tapped the comm key button. "Bridge to Engineering. Are the comms online?" she asked.
"Aye, sir, we have subspace an' IU comm back up."
"What about our jump drive?"
"Sorry, lass, but th' Doctor insisted on a full backup restoration. An' we're just now finishin' th' repair on th' computer lines t' dae that. A spot of good news for ye, though. We cannae use th' drive, but th' anchor is back online an' safe. If ye get us help, they can jump right tae our location."
"Thank you, Mister Scott." Julia nodded to Jarod. "Put me on."
"Patching in to Alliance IU comm network." A moment later he nodded. "We're on the main Stellar Navy bands now."
"This is Commander Julia Andreys of the Starship Aurora to any Alliance ship receiving. We have suffered extensive damage and are currently in orbit of Earth in Universe W8R4. Our jump drive is offline but we have restored the anchor mechanism. Again, we require immediate assistance, our crew has taken heavy casualties and we're still repairing battle damage."
For a few moments there was no response. Then a voice came back over the line. "We hear you, Aurora. Ships are jumping to your location now."
And indeed space opened up a moment later. A swirling green vortex, an interuniversal jump point, formed a few hundred kilometers off their port bow. Jarod immediately put the forming vortex on the holo-viewscreen. Right after it expanded to full size a starship flew through it. It had the same azure sheen as the Aurora and was clearly built to resemble her, although she lacked the Aurora's size and had only two warp nacelles instead of four. The name on her primary hull read ASV Shenzhou.
"Hail coming in," said Jarod.
Julia couldn't help herself. She smiled with relief and said, "Put her on, Jarod."
The holo-viewscreen shifted to show another bridge similar to the Aurora's. The figure central to the image was a woman Julia's age with East Asian complexion and features. Her dark eyes reflected quiet relief. The four gold rank strips of a Captain were on the rank tab on her collar. When she spoke, it was with decent English, but a prominent Chinese accent. "Starship Aurora, this is Captain Ming Li on the Shenzhou. It's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too, Captain," Julia answered. She couldn't keep relief out of her voice. "As you can see, we've had a rough time of it."
Ming nodded. "So my operations officer is telling me. It looks like someone tried to slice your ship to pieces and then started poking holes in your drive hull for sport. What is your status?"
"No jump drive, no warp drive, impulsors are still only partly online, and no armor self-repair," answered Julia. "No weapons either, and our transporters are blown out right now."
"Knowing Commander Scott, your ship used to be far worse off." The look on Ming's face turned somber. "My science officer is reporting that your life sign count is barely over 1,400. What happened?"
"A lot of really bad things that I'm compiling into a report for Admiral Maran."
"I see. You must have shortages in your engineering teams then. I'll have Commander Kreelt send some of his people over to assist you." For a moment Ming didn't speak, and when she did it was with a question. "And Captain Dale? Is he among the lost?"
"Just about," Julia said, a lump forming in her throat. "He's in a coma."
"I see. That is regrettable." Ming lowered her eyes. "I will join my engineers on your ship. With Commander Scott overseeing our repairs, we should have you ready for a safe jump by the end of the day, I hope."
"I hope," agreed Julia. "We'll be waiting for you."
Ming nodded. "Shenzhou out." She disappeared from the screen. The Shenzhou was now coming up beside and above the Aurora, as if to shield her from further threats.
"Any news on Robert?" Jarod asked.
Julia shook her head. "He's still in the coma. Leo hasn't seen any signs that he's coming out of it."
"Right. And one last thing…" Jarod tapped a key to transmit something to Julia's omnitool. She activated the tool and looked up what he sent. "Our final casualty count," Jarod explained. "Completely confirmed."
Julia looked over the list with a lump in her throat. The names… she knew a number of them. She'd given them performance reviews with their department officers. She'd seen them at lunch. She'd been to a wedding, checked in on a couple of parties, signed off on their promotions. Welcomed them to the Aurora. Her mind put faces to the names. Human, Alakin, Dorei, Gersallian, a Gy'toran.
And now they were gone.
Tears began flowing down her eyes at the weight of that loss. Despite everything, despite all efforts, they had lost so many crew that every survivor would have a friend or colleague or close shipmate among the lost. That they hadn't lost more was due to a miracle. A miracle that might have cost her the most important person in her life.
Julia forced the tears to stop. She could cry later, but not now, not when she had to be strong for the others. "Jarod, has Shenzhou signaled how they're sending replacement crew over?"
"They're coming by shuttle," he answered. "The main shuttlebay is intact enough to receive them."
"Then I'm going down to welcome them. What about the remains for our lost crew? Do you think we can manage a burial service?"
"Just about, I suppose," Jarod sighed. "I think our best bet will be to hold any service in the main shuttlebay while the bodies are released from what's left of the hanger deck. It won't be all of them. Some of the deceased have orders for returning the remains to family. We'll still be releasing over three hundred sets of remains at once though."
"Do we have enough coffins for that?" Locarno asked. "Food replicators are up but I thought the larger ones were still down?"
"I'll ask Scotty to detail a few engineers to repairing one. We should still have the materials we need. And the Shenzhou can help us get enough completed in time for a service tomorrow."
"Then do what you have to. I want to have the service at eleven hundred hours ship time tomorrow." Julia forced herself to stand. "Jarod, you have the bridge. I'm heading down to the main shuttlebay."
Julia was in her quarters finalizing her remarks for the service when the bridge called down with news that the Koenig had arrived by jump point. Her dock was ready to receive her, so Julia rushed to the dock entrance as fast as her hurting body could carry her.
Tom Barnes was already present when she arrived. They felt the thunk through the deck as the Koenig was secured in its docking place. A couple of minutes passed until the door opened. Zack was the first out. He rushed up to them and wrapped his arms around them in a tight hug. "Oh God," he said, not bothering to hide the tears of relief. "I thought you were gone. I thought you were dead."
"We almost were," Julia replied, patting him on the back. "If not for Rob, I would have blown the ship up and the two of us wouldn't have made it."
Zack nodded. He let go of them. Concern was now showing on his face. "Where is he? Is he okay?"
"We're not sure, man," Barnes said. "Leo can't tell what's wrong with him, and the Doctor said he might never wake up."
"Doctor? Which Doctor?"
"The one that the Darglan Facility talked about," Barnes replied. "The one it told us to find to fight the Daleks."
Zack blinked at that. "What, seriously? That guy exists?"
"He's down in Engineering helping with repairs now," Barnes said. "He's smarter than Jarod."
"I don't believe you. Seriously, I can't… I can't believe that."
"You'll find out," Julia said. Moving made her feel pain, and an involuntary wince crossed her face.
Zack noticed it too. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Oh, just… it's a long story. I'm going to hurt for awhile."
By this point other members of the Koenig crew were emerging. Karen Derbely and Ana Poniatowski led a number of engineering-branch officers and crew up. "Where do you need us, Commander?" Derbely asked Julia.
Julia looked to Barnes, who chucked a thumb toward the hall. "Head to Main Engineering, Scotty will give you assignments," he said. "Our priority is making sure the ship can take the acceleration to make a jump."
The two women nodded and led their engineers away. Opani and her small medical staff emerged. "We'll head right to the Medbay," Opani said.
"We lost Doctor Lumenaram, so you'll be welcome," Julia said.
Zack looked at her with concern. "Who did we lose?"
"Robert's in a coma. Angel was hit but is okay." Julia shook her head. "Commander Kane lost both arms and is in critical condition. Leo says he's touch and go."
"Damn." Zack shook his head. "I should've been here. If we'd been here…"
"I don't know how it would have gone, Zack. There were a lot of Daleks. And the Cybermen would have attacked your crew too, so there's no guarantee the Koenig would have been in any shape to fight. Hell, the Shadows alone could have killed us back at Halmavar." Julia noticed Zack's sudden look at that name and asked, "What is it?"
"We were at Halmavar when we made our first jump to get here," Zack answered.
"Zack, you almost got killed," Julia said, horrified at the thought of how the Shadows might have handled Koenig. "There were several Shadow ships guarding the planet. They nearly destroyed us."
Zack's look grew distant. Julia got the feeling something had happened. That something was going on. "Zack, what is it?" she asked.
"I've already informed Admiral Maran of what we found," Zack said. "He's told me its classified. I'm sure he'll tell you later."
"Well, we were there for the Shadows…" Julia felt sudden uncertainty. Had something else happened after they made their death-defying escape? "Forget it. You're home for now, and I should take you to see Robert."
"I'd like that," Zack answered. "Jarod said something about a service tomorrow?"
"Yes," Julia said. "We lost… a lot of people, Zack. The rest of us need something like this."
"Yeah, I can see that. We'll be there, you can count on that."
They started walking together.
The main shuttlebay was full of uniformed figures, as well as some non-uniformed from the ship's civilian detachment. Work over the course of the night shift had cleared damaged and wrecked shuttles and runabouts away to allow for hundreds of attendees to gather, facing the rear of the shuttle bay. The shuttlebay doors were closed. Large holo-viewscreens displayed the rear of the ship and the hanger deck from which the dead would be buried in space. Sol shined in the far distance.
The Aurora command crew stood together on a raised platform put together by personnel. They were joined by Captain Ming, Captain Laurent, and their officers on one side, while on the other were a few guests. The Doctor was present, seated and quiet, and he was joined by two older-looking figures.
One was Admiral Maran himself. It had been quite a surprise that morning for Julia and the others, awakening to find the Kentan having joined the Shenzhou, the Koenig, and the Challenger beside their wounded ship. The Admiral had come aboard with his senior aides to attend the burial service.
The other guest had come from Earth, a British official who had asked for and received permission to participate in the burial of those who had fallen fighting the same foes that had threatened his own people. Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart cut an impressive, dignified figure. He had opted for full uniform with UNIT affiliation insignia and General rank displayed.
The emotionally-drained Yvonne Hartman was not among them but standing near the door to the shuttlebay, flanked by Lieutenant Richmond and another surviving security officer.
After the standard protocols Julia stood up and assumed the podium. The pain had declined somewhat since the previous day and it didn't take much for her to not wince from where it continued to have an effect on her. She considered a digital reader with the remarks she had in mind for a moment before she spoke.
"We are gathered today to mark the loss of cherished friends and comrades," Julia began. "It is a loss common to every member of this crew. We all feel it differently. We all deal with it differently."
"We can only rest assured that our comrades were not lost in vain. The ship they fought to save is still here. We are still here to remember their sacrifices. To remember who they were, what they were, and what they gave up so that we could live on." Julia thought of Robert at that point. There was no telling what he had given up to save them. She feared he'd given up everything.
"We've faced one of the gravest dangers to ever be encountered and, together, we proved that no matter the foe we face, no matter the odds against us, we will always stand and hold our ground. It has cost us dearly. We have all known the possibility of such a cost. We all knew it when we came out here and put on our uniforms."
She took a moment to consider her notes and gave a quiet nod to Scotty, who nodded back and reached for the package beside his chair. "This ship has asked much of us all over the last few days. We all gave it. And now she asks you to do another thing. She asks you to remember those that we now commit to the stars that shine upon us all." Julia pressed a key upon her omnitool and turned to face the viewscreens with everyone else. It fell to Gunnery Sergeant Harmon to give the call to "Attention!" - he was the senior-most NCO not in the medbay or among the slain. The assembled straightened in obedience to the call. Sir Alistair did the same, after which he saluted, palm-out in British style.
A line of specialized caskets began to emerge from the hanger deck. As they did the somber tune of the hita flowed over the room, played by Chief Tayal Lagamo, and was joined by the wail of the Scottish bagpipes in the arms of Commander Scott in the place of Junior Petty Officer Heather Cameron, the official bagpiper for the ship, who died fighting the Cybermen. Although the two played different tunes - "Amazing Grace" in the case of Scotty - the music flowed together in a melodic way.
Row by row, lines of caskets emerged from the hanger deck. It took a few minutes for all three hundred and sixty-plus caskets to be released into space, where they would be on a course toward the Sun that would take many years for them to reach.
When the process was completed and the two musicians had finished their playing, Julia decided to utter her final lines. "And we came from starstuff, one and all. And to starstuff we return, to one day become life anew."
Caterina nodded in recognition. She had chosen similar words, the words of a Darglan funeral oration, for Jornam's funeral poem when they had given the Darglan a similar space burial such a short time ago.
It was with clear gratitude that Scott set the bagpipes down. Julia looked to the assembled and said, "Burial company dismissed."
The crew began to filter out.
As they did so, Sir Alistair stepped up and shook Julia's hand. "I wish we could have met again under better circumstances, Commander."
"Agreed, sir."
After shaking her hand Sir Alistair turned to the Doctor and smiled. "It's been too long, Doctor."
"It's good to see you," the Doctor answered. He accepted Sir Alistair's hand.
"I regret our reunion came about due to this. Sarah Jane mentioned you had a new face."
"How is she…?"
Julia left the two friends to themselves and stepped up to Maran. "Admiral, sir. It's good to see you."
"And a relief to see you," Maran said. "We feared the worst after your mayday was received and we lost contact. I read your preliminary report and it is rather shocking, almost unbelievably so." Maran glanced toward the Doctor, who was still chatting with Sir Alistair. "That's him? This 'Doctor' that the Darglan records spoke of?"
"It is. And he's genuine. His ship is dimensionally transcendental. Although I don't know why it's shaped like a police call box."
"Amazing. Simply amazing. And what your records show Captain Dale did when he accessed this ship's intelligence. It seems more metaphysical than technology if you ask me."
"Maybe it's something of both?" Julia shook her head. "I just hope Robert wakes up soon. And that he's… okay."
"Yes, Doctor Gillam said something about anticipating psychiatric issues?"
"The Doctor thinks Robert could have lost his sanity. But we won't know until he wakes up."
"I hope not." Maran noticed Julia's dark mood, and how carefully she was moving. "What about you, Commander?"
"I'm… getting better. It hurt a lot, what I did. But it saved Robert's life, or so the Doctor tells me."
"I saw the bridge footage." Maran made no comment about just what Julia had done. "Our experts are going to spend months going over all of this material. And we'll certainly need to consider measures against any future conflict with the Daleks."
Julia shuddered at the thought. "They're nightmares, Admiral. Complete, total nightmares."
Maran nodded in understanding. "As for the Aurora, we're preparing a dock for her at L2M1 for extensive repairs."
"Scotty estimates up to three months."
"So I've heard." Maran frowned. "Minister Hawthorne has indicated he would prefer to have the ship decommissioned and dismantled for analysis. To see if we can improve our use of Darglan technology."
Julia frowned at that. "Of course he'd say that. We've become an enemy."
"Do not judge him too harshly, Commander," Maran said. "Sometimes these decisions must be made. Sentiment can cloud. Your ship's repairs will be extensive and expensive. At some point, a ship simply can't be repaired for a reasonable outlay of material and manpower. I happen to think that the Aurora is still within that reason, but there is justification for thinking she may be too damaged to return to service."
Julia shook her head. "But not the Aurora. She's still good for service. She's still worth it." She noticed Maran was looking at her intently and added a curious, "Sir?"
"You're awfully protective of this ship given you have another waiting for you," Maran noted.
"I suppose I am," Julia said. "But I named her, Admiral. I pushed for her construction to stay on schedule back in the day. I wasn't an engineer, but I helped Captain Farmer with the administrative side of building her. I care about this ship."
"So I see. And that brings us to another matter, actually."
Julia wasn't sure she liked that. She considered her superior and asked, "Oh?"
Maran's expression was apologetic, but his tone was still firm. "Captain Dale's condition. There's no guarantee he'll come out of it."
"No, but…"
"And to be frank, however things ended up, the fact that he again went into the field instead of overseeing his ship, critically damaged this time, that fact is going to hurt him."
"In what way?"
"There will be questions back in Portland. Admirals wondering why we're leaving one of the most advanced ships in the fleet under the command of a man who doesn't stay at his post." Maran sighed. "Some of the Human Admirals particularly. They are prickly about these things. And they make up a majority, whatever influence I may yield."
Julia let out an exasperated breath. "I warned him this might happen. That his running off because of his life energy stuff could cost him his command."
"I'm not a swevyra'se, so I can't judge," Maran said. "He was likely right to do what he did. But being right doesn't always work in an institution. Whatever happens to Robert, it's best I handle this situation now, before Davies and his people start pushing their own solutions." He gave Julia a somber look. "As of now, I am naming you Captain of the Aurora. I've already submitted the orders and my request to the board for your promotion to be instituted immediately. Given the circumstances I don't foresee any difficulty."
Julia let that sink in for a moment. "Will this affect my orders to assume command of the Enterprise?"
"We'll have to see," said Maran. "If Robert doesn't wake up, or if he's no longer suitable to command due to his condition upon waking up, the Aurora will need a new captain. And you helped form this crew. You're the obvious choice to succeed him."
A distraught look crossed Julia's face. She drew in a breath at that thought. Command of the Aurora… she'd always thought about it. But in these circumstances? "Those are your orders, sir?
"I know it's not going to be easy for you if it comes to that," Maran said. His tone was soft now. "I know how much you care for him. What Robert meant to you. And I know that the command staff especially will have a hard time dealing with him being replaced under these circumstances. But it's the best I can do for you or for him. Robert made his choice, and it saved your lives. Now we have to deal with the consequence of his choice."
Julia dwelled on it for several seconds. "I understand, sir," she finally said. "Permission to be dismissed?"
"Granted. But I'd like you to assemble a staff conference in one of your full-sized conference rooms for later today. Invite Captains Laurent and Ming to attend with their officers, have your senior officers and Commander Carrey's staff present, and if you would… I'd like the Doctor to be there."
To that Julia nodded. "I'll do it immediately sir. How does 1800 sound?"
"That works for me, Captain." Maran turned and left the shuttlebay.
Julia was about to follow when she came upon Sir Alistair speaking with Yvonne. She looked distraught and pained. He was somber. "...the consequences, Director. It was all under your orders, after all."
"I know," she said. "I was only trying to serve our country, Sir Alistair, certainly you see that."
"I do." Sir Alistair noticed Julia approach and glanced toward her. "And that is why there is one alternative."
Julia nodded to him. "I get the feeling that involves me?"
"It does, Commander." Sir Alistair gestured to Yvonne. "Director Hartman has been removed from her post at Torchwood. And if she returns, she will likely end up imprisoned for her actions while serving as the Director of Torchwood. Some of her actions have been blatantly unacceptable to our government."
"Because they were wrong ethically? Or because she serves as a useful scapegoat now that Torchwood's actions have caused deaths?"
"I would be dishonest to rule out the latter," admitted Sir Alistair. "Many of those in authority benefited from Torchwood's actions, there is no doubt. But Director Hartman chose to give orders that were wrong. And her actions led to this disaster. That must be accounted for."
"I will never be free again," she said. "I'm not sure if I should be upset or not. Most of my people are dead now."
"So what is the alternative?" asked Julia.
"As of now, we have not officially confirmed Director Hartman's survival," said Sir Alistair. "Should she not return to Earth, she will likely be ruled a fatality of the Battle of Canary Wharf. A presumption will be made that she was converted into a Cyberman."
"In other words, if she comes with us to the Alliance, she's free as long as she stays away from Earth?"
"Yes." Sir Alistair lowered his eyes. "I am of two minds on the subject myself, Commander Andreys. Director Hartman has done many bad things in her time. But I'm dreadfully familiar with the pressures and expectations she lived with. UNIT faces its demons from time to time as well. And she means well, and has talents that can benefit others."
"But is she willing to work with aliens?" Julia asked. She turned her head and faced down Yvonne. "The Alliance is built on cooperation between different nations and systems, and that includes different species. The Gersallians, the Dorei, and the Alakin are part of our Alliance, and other species may join us in the future. If you can't live with them, Director Hartman, then I can't justify letting you come along. I'd just be adding a future member of any number of alien-hating groups out there."
"I understand that, Commander Andreys." Yvonne looked to be deep in thought. "I am willing to learn."
Sir Alistair looked from Yvonne to Julia. Julia, in turn, considered the possibilities of the future. A part of her wanted to send this woman to her just reward, a prison cell.
But she'd heard from the others that Yvonne had helped defeat the Cybermen and Daleks. She had held the Cybermen back so the Doctor could re-open the breach. She could still do good in the world. A lot more than she could if she was locked up for life.
"I will have to consult Admiral Maran later," Julia said. "Depending on what he says, we'll bring you with us."
"Thank you for your consideration, Commander Andreys." Yvonne nodded. "I am at your disposal."
"And I am late for a UNIT debriefing," said Sir Alistair. "Thankfully your ships have matter transporters. Finding a secure place for your shuttles to land would be a bloody nuisance."
"The Doctor can't give you a ride?" asked Julia.
To that, Sir Alistair smiled. "Oh, I'm sure he could. But one thing I learned being around the good Doctor is this; that ship of his has a mind of its own, and you can never trust it to go where you want it to go. And the last thing a man of my years needs is another adventure with the Doctor. I'll leave fighting aliens and defending the Earth to the young, Commander."
"Of course, Brigadier," Julia replied. "As long as you don't mind giving us the benefit of those years?"
"You may always rely on that, Commander Andreys," Sir Alistair answered. He took her hand and shook it warmly. "Always."