The Next Generation
Posted on Wed Feb 23rd, 2022 @ 2:38am by Commodore Wilkan Targaryen & Patton O'Sullivan & Lieutenant Commander Lily Snow PhD, MD & Lieutenant Commander Cyrus Marner
2,212 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
749148
Location: Talos IV
Timeline: 2430-09-09, 12:15
Admiral Willian Targaryen checked the status readouts on his Phaser, knowing that the hand phaser he was going to use was not nearly as capable as the Phaser he'd handed off to Christopher Pike. If it was Christopher Pike at least. As he looked at him, Willian's mind returned to childhood and the stories that his father had shared about the history of Starfleet. One of the stories he remembered most was that of Christopher Pike and his exploits as Captain of the Federation flagship. Captain Pike had been one of his personal heroes growing up and to see him in the flesh had been truly awe inspiring. He had never known the ultimate fate of the Captain but to meet him now had been a seminal moment.
If it were Captain Pike. It looked like Christopher Pike, it sounded like Christopher Pike, but the question was how much was reality and how much was the machination of the Talosian. Christopher Pike would be 225 years old if he were alive today and, despite the advancements in medicine, no Human alone had made it quite that long. The Talosians had amazing powers so perhaps the memories were real if not the body.
His wrist tricorder beeped rapidly and the holographic terrain map appeared, "Commander, they've penetrated the chamber above. We need to get into position."
"Yes Admiral." Patton Replied quickly, moving to the best position to protect them. He didn't give it a second thought, this was what he did.
Captain Pike glanced from his position behind a rather large column of rock. The Starfleet legend adjusted the phaser as if he was an old pro at it, manipulating the indicators and controls to better prepare for what was to come. "Reminds me of Rigel."
"I'd love to hear the story some time," the Admiral answered, but he had a feeling that this would be the last hurrah. He stood staring at the open portal, knowing full well that the enemy was coming for them and they would take no prisoners. As much as it pained him he knew that they had no other choice but to be just as ruthless, "Set phasers to kill."
Patton set his phaser as ordered. He knew the likelihood of them coming out of this alive was slim but he would die giving the best damn fight possible.
The voice of the Architect echoed through their minds, "One of your vessels has returned to this world. It is at a distance, but they are coming."
Willian nodded, "We need to hold these aliens off until they can rescue us. Patton, any ideas?"
“If we had somewhere to hide the Architect.” Patton said. “Or a diversion to make them follow us and believe he is some where else it would buy us time.”
"We wouldn't be able to move him," Pike contested. "He doesn't have much time left anyway. The strain upon him from trying to keep us hidden for so long as taken its toll. He'll pass within the hour, maybe less. He's keeping up the fight even now."
Willian looked at Captain Pike, "Sir, Patton and I would be able to defend him and the embryos. He does not need to fight any longer."
"It's not just that," Pike added. "Both Vina and I are being kept alive by him. When he goes we do too."
"We'll have to see what we can do about that," Targaryen said with a sigh. "Patton, I want you to go ahead and scout ahead to see if you can prepare surprises for our new friends." He tapped his communicator, "Team 2 report."
"I'm on it." Patton said and took off. He would set some traps and delay them as much as he could. This was why they were out there to defend those who couldn't and he was damn sure not going to let them get to them.
"Genetics is stable. Everything looks good," Commander Snow's voice answered, but it was not directed to the Admiral.
"That is good." There was a pause, "We'll make, we just have to."
Willian looked closely at Captain Pike as he spoke, "I just received some disturbing news from Captain Pike. The Architect will be dead soon and he is all that is keeping both Chris and Vina alive. Would we be able to transfer their consciousness to any of the embryos? To keep them alive?"
"Yes sir. It seemed that there was two fetus prepped for transfer and birth. They just finished coming out of stasis."
"When he is ready we can begin the procedure. How long will it take for this to happen?"
Willian was happy that the Doctor took the words right from his mouth.
Vina answered, "Too long. The Architect is struggling to keep us hidden and his strength is failing, but if he stops the facade then he may have the time he needs to transfer all three of us."
"Transfer Vina first," Chris ordered deftly as he looked at the Admiral. "She deserves to have a life away from this menagerie."
"I was going to say the same thing for you, my love," Vina's voice came through the small speaker in the Admiral's badge.
Willian sighed, "Architect, we're ready for what is to come. You need to let go."
"If I do that the unknown will break through. They can come right to you and destroy what we have created," the voice echoed through their heads.
"We can handle this," the Admiral answered, "I'm confident..."
"No, you're not," it was only to him.
He smirked and thought to himself so that the Architect could hear: We'll give them a fight for the history books.
"If I stop this both Vina and Chris will fade with me," the Architect warned. "They will not be able to guide you."
"It's a chance we'll have to take," the Enterprise's Captain said as he looked to the other.
In an instant the world around them began to change and morph to its true form. The metallic, pristine walls faded away to an ancient looking dank cave that was dull looking and dirty. Captain Pike vanished before their very eyes, the Phaser that the Admiral had given him lay on the ground. The Architect was the most surprising. Where the humanoid once lay a grotesque crab-like alien form. It had multiclawed arms and legs and an armored exoskeleton that looked ancient and brittle. He had a million questions of the Architect, but knew they did not have the time. He wondered if the Keeper they found when they first beamed in had lost his appearance, but felt it was a definitive.
"Doctor, you and Commander Snow need to move as quickly as you can. We won't have much time," Willian acknowledged as he lifted the Phaser he had given to Captain Pike.
His tricorder beeped rapidly. Willian brought the display up from the wrist mounted unit and was shocked at how much ground their enemies had covered, "Patton, they're coming."
Patton had set some traps, one was guaranteed to take out a few of them but shouldn’t hurt the area. He would be waiting to take as many out as he could.
The chamber below the Architect's compound was in stark contrast to the rest of the Talosian complex. The other areas of the Talosian facility had been built into the rock of the expansive cave complex, technology melded with the impressive formations in symbiosis. This area, however, was nothing like that. The underground medical center was expansively industrial with cool, metal walls and a sterile smell permeating the entire chamber. Alien looking machinery maneuvered through the open air, transferring equipment and other things throughout. For its size it was formidable, but its world was bereft of life. The room could fit thousands and not a single person other than the away team and Vina were inside.
The Human woman known as Vina was the first to step out toward the computer workstation that made up the entire control area of the chamber. Her slender fingers raced over the keyboard and the monitors came alive to fulfill their needs. "This is the embryo chamber," she explained. "Everything you see before you has been created to produce the next generation."
"How many embryo's are we talking about here?" Snow asked as she looked at the monitors. "And what is their viability?"
Vina reached to the controls and a holographic monitor appeared out of thin air before them, "The Talosians consulted with the Vulcan named Spock to determine the minimal needs for survival. They utilized the “50/500” rule, which suggests that a minimum population size of 50 is necessary to combat inbreeding and a minimum of 500 individuals would be needed to reduce genetic drift. The Talosians created these embryos to meet that criteria. There are 500 unique embryos located in cold storage and an additional 1,500 in storage. All appear to be viable from the latest genetic scans."
The voice of the Architect echoed through their minds, "One of your vessels has returned to this world. It is at a distance, but they are coming."
Cyrus looked up when he heard the Architect. "If the vessel is in range we can take all of them. We do need to protect them and not lose any of them at all. How long before the ship will arrive?" he asked
Vina answered the question, "Your ship has come under attack from the unidentified vessel. They have started their assault."
Snow was only shacking here head at the voice in her head. "This isn't good." She said going back to study the information. "Lets hope the Enterprise kicks some righteous buttocks."
The Admiral's voice interrupted, "Team 2 report."
"Genetics is stable." Snow said ignoring the Admiral at the moment. "Everything looks good."
Cyrus nodded, "That is good." Marner had a furrow in his brow as he looked up towards the direction of space, wondering how the Enterprise was doing, then he looked back at Snow giving a nod. "We'll make, we just have to."
"I just received some disturbing news from Captain Pike. The Architect will be dead soon and he is all that is keeping both Chris and Vina alive. Would we be able to transfer their consciousness to any of the embryos? To keep them alive?"
"Yes sir." Snow said. "It seemed that there was two fetus prepped for transfer and birth. They just finished coming out of stasis."
"When he is ready we can begin the procedure." Marner added. "How long will it take for this to happen?" asking a general question and also looking at both Snow and Vina.
Vina looked at the equipment, her mind carefully probing the depths of not only her own but the Architect as well. Her visage was grim as she answered, "Too long. The Architect is struggling to keep us hidden and his strength is failing, but if he stops the facade then he may have the time he needs to transfer all three of us."
"Transfer Vina first," Captain Pike's voice boomed. "She deserves to have a life away from this menagerie."
"I was going to say the same thing for you, my love," Vina's voice came through the small speaker in the Admiral's badge.
"Architect, we're ready for what is to come. You need to let go."
"If I do that the unknown will break through. They can come right to you and destroy what we have created," the voice echoed through their heads.
"We can handle this," the Admiral answered, "I'm confident..."
There was silence as the Admiral and the Architect spoke to each other. Vina could feel the strain, the pressure that the Architect was feeling. She had known him for a life-time, several life-times. This may be the last time she ever had a chance. She looked at the Starfleet Officers, her mind racing back to the first ones she had ever met. The Vulcan, Spock, the Navigator, Tyler, so many others as they tried to dazzle with the powers of the Starship Enterprise and the modern Starfleet. Then she remembered seeing him, Christopher Pike standing among the survivors as a young man so full of hope and promise, but something clouding his true self. She was instantly in love with him, a gift from the Keeper, but she knew that she would never possess him. He would always be free, a wild stallion that could not be tamed only tended.
"If I stop this both Vina and Chris will fade with me," the Architect warned. "They will not be able to guide you."
"Transfer Chris first," Vina said in a whisper to Commander Snow as Admiral Targaryen spoke. "He deserves to be free."
In an instant the world around them began to change and morph to its true form. The machinery around them, looking new, took on its true form of old and ragged technology from an era long since gone. Vina herself faded away from view, her beautiful form replaced by the cobbled together visage for an instant that the Talosians had given her as they rebuilt her body following the crash. Then she was gone.
"Doctor, you and Commander Snow need to move as quickly as you can. We won't have much time."
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