Chapter 67. Chief Engineer Daisy’s hands were burned”
very good. Mr. Callis, shut down this piece of garbage, but let the computers continue to monitor all broadcasts from Earth. Maybe we can get some information from this about where the captain's group is. "
"Yes, sir."
Ingmar stared at the screen, which showed Earth again. Now, they can only wait.
Noah's hand suffered severe pain. The ropes that bound the back of the chair were very tight. The rope cut into his flesh as he tried to break free. His feet were tied to the legs of the chair and he was completely unable to move. He can't escape for now.
He refocused on his surroundings. He was sitting in a small dark room. In front of him was a steel-grey door. But so far, no one has walked in. He couldn't remember how he got here. The last thing he could remember was standing in a square in Geneva, surrounded by soldiers. Then something struck him in the shoulder and he fell to his knees, unconscious. The next thing he remembered was waking up here, tied to a chair. It seemed like hours had passed. But so far, no one has cared about him. His shouts elicited no response. He didn't know what happened or who caught him. He didn't know where anyone else was or where he was. All he knew was that they had been set up. but why? Who did it?
Finally, the door opened. A man dressed all in black walked in. He must be in his forties. His hair was starting to turn gray. His facial features appeared hard and devoid of any friendliness. He brought a folding table and set it quietly in front of Noah, then sat on the folding chair he also brought. He placed a small microphone on the table and looked at Noah. He said nothing.
Noah found this situation really strange. The man had no expression at all, he just sat there quietly and stared at him. "Release me now," Noah finally said.
"Not yet," the man replied.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Noah tried to take the initiative to guide the conversation.
"My name doesn't matter." The man put his hands on the table. Noah noticed he was wearing black gloves. "We want information. What's your name?"
Noah looked at the corner of the room and remained silent.
"We can do it the hard way or my way. It's up to you."
Noah was thinking in his mind. Being completely stubborn is obviously not the answer. Although he believed that the Republic would eventually come to them and save them. But he was here, after all, to find out for himself. And these answers may be elicited from this person. Not through stubborn silence, however. Just when the man was about to stand up, Noah looked at him again. "My name is Noah, I am one of the captains of Starfleet and the commander of the USS Republic."
The corners of the man's mouth raised slightly. "Okay, finally speaking. Where are you from?"
"From Earth."
"Why are you here?"
"I'd also like to know."
"Answer my question," he ordered Noah coolly.
"I can't answer that. In fact, I don't even know where this is."
"Where did your spaceship technology come from?" He moved on to the next question simply, as if he had a list of questions ready.
Noah was silent for a moment. How should he explain it? “We develop these technologies through advancement and research.”
“What role do the Andorrans play on your team?”
"He's my deputy security chief."
"Are there any other Andorians on board your ship?"
"No."
"Did the Andorian government send this person to you?"
Noah frowned. What does this question mean? He remembered General Copperwei's words. Ground-Security Alliance. But apparently all is not as harmonious as it seems. "You don't trust the Andorians," he concluded.
"Answer my question," the man responded completely calmly.
"No, he was not sent to us."
"Where did that guy with the pointy ears come from?"
Now Noah was really surprised. "You don't recognize this species?" How is that possible? Vulcan is not far from Earth. Even using the Wa that exists here
The P-5 class spacecraft is also very close.
"Where did that person come from?" the questioner repeated again.
"From the Vulcan tribe of Mars."
"Where is this planet?"
Noah shook his head slowly. "No, I won't tell you."
"What is your purpose here?"
"We want to know what's going on here. Where we are, what's going on."
"Explain it in detail."
"No."
The man glanced at him. "Order your crew to surrender and exit the ship. We will take over your ship."
Noah smiled. "Do you really believe I would do this?"
The man looked at him again, his face expressionless, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. "No, but you should, or your companions will be harmed. And we'll start with that woman."
Noah noticed that the door behind the man was still open. The corridor behind the door was dark and nothing could be seen clearly. Suddenly, a terrible scream pierced the silence. The scream shook his whole body. Apparently, the voice came from a woman.
"You beast!" Noah yelled, twisting the rope around him desperately. But in vain.
The man stood up, calmly gathered the table and chairs, and lifted them all up. "I'll come back when you want to cooperate."
"Untie me," Noah shouted to him. "You coward. I need to talk to your boss." Then the door closed. Noah breathed rapidly. His thoughts were racing. What did they do to Carol? No matter what, he would never issue the order to hand over the Republic.
Noah's mind was still occupied by this question. Nothing can distract him. Just the memory of the dark room and the screams he heard. It was enough to make him restless until the man came back again.
In the engine room, long waiting times were spent carrying out the most necessary repairs. This way they can make the most of their time. However, not all required spare parts are in the warehouse. Certain parts can only be obtained from a Federation shipyard. But these docks have disappeared, as have the technology associated with them. Therefore, many things must be settled empirically. Unnecessary systems are shut down and their parts used for repairs. This does reduce the comfort level on the boat, but they can handle it.
But even with these measures, it's impossible to repair all the damage. Hull ruptures must be completely excluded from the scope of repairs. On the one hand, a shipyard with heavy equipment is needed to repair the extensive damage, and on the other hand, off-ship operations are impossible in the current critical situation.
The cabin is especially busy. Engineers often work in silence. Restoration teams working to repair damage throughout the ship were in constant motion. Still, it's a methodical busyness. Chief Engineer Alva Daisy organized her team to achieve maximum efficiency. At this point, since there are no coordinating tasks, she can also focus on practical work.
Suddenly, a loud curse echoed in the cabin, causing the engineers to stop what they were doing. Daisy struggled to climb out of the connecting pipes that ran throughout the ship and provided access to various pipes. Her face was twisted in pain and there were more small cuts on her lips. She stood up on her hands and knees. She held her hands out in front of her so as not to touch anything. Her hands were red and swollen. Blisters formed on the skin.
"Ms. Claire, turn off the power to Line 534. This temporary measure is no longer working," she shouted to a colleague who was standing at a console studying indicator lights.
The colleague who was called slowly recovered from the shock and followed her instructions. She had never seen Daisy so haggard before. Then she noticed that Daisy was hurt.
"Oh my God!" Claire said in horror.
"Yes, not very respectable," Daisy replied through gritted teeth.
Claire immediately established contact with the infirmary and called the emergency team inside the cabin. Then she looked at Daisy again. "What can I do for you?" she asked uncertainly.
Daisy stared at her hand, the pain gradually lessening. However, considering the state of her hands, that might not be a good sign. "No," she finally said. Then her eyes turned to the connecting tube again. "Lock Line 534. No one is allowed to turn the plasma flow back on until the line is properly repaired."
Claire nodded and walked over to her console again to execute the command.
Just seconds later, the medical emergency team came in. Celia was among them. Her eyes immediately fell on the chief engineer's hand. "What happened?" she wondered.
"We fixed a plasma conduit. At least temporarily. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as I thought." She frowned. "The connection broke and the plasma ignited."
As Daisy told the story, the doctor took a syringe from his pocket and gave it to her. Instantly, the pain completely disappeared. Celia then picked up the scanner and took a closer look at the burns.
"You're lucky you only hurt your hand. A plasma fire in the pipe could have been much more serious," Celia said during a brief inspection.
Alva Daisy was clearly aware of the danger she was in, even without Celia's warning. If the plasma explodes, the fire can fill the entire tube. There was no chance of escape then. At the very least she would have been severely burned and possibly killed. Therefore, she felt lucky that the injury was only to her hand. And with the medical level and Dr. Celia’s superb skills, she believed she would recover soon.
"Someone has to fix this pipe anyway," Daisy replied. "But unfortunately we didn't have the right parts. So we were forced to resort to emergency measures. I had to get my hands dirty and see how it worked."
"Yes, you see it now," Celia replied tartly.
Daisy smiled slightly crookedly. "More than just seeing."
Celia looked up from the scanner display. "Thank you to your guardian angel. He worked overtime today. Although your hand was severely burned, it was only superficially damaged. There was no permanent damage to the hand. You will have no sequelae after healing."
The chief engineer breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she pretended not to care and just did her job, she was still afraid of never being able to use her hands properly again.
"You still have to go to the infirmary, though. I also need to treat your hands to prevent the burn from spreading further."
Daisy nodded, stood up, and walked to the infirmary with Celia. She knew that untreated burns would continue to damage surrounding tissue, causing the injury to grow until the burn cooled down.
In the infirmary, the doctor first injected Daisy with a drug to reduce burns. This drug spreads in the blood circulation and cools it from the inside. Daisy then had to undergo a nearly two-hour treatment that repaired her damaged cells at a subatomic level. Although it was not a painful treatment, Daisy found it extremely boring. She could only sit there and let her hands rest quietly on the operating table. She cannot move because scanners and high-resolution lasers only work reliably when the person being treated is motionless. So she had to sit still for two hours, which was very difficult for her. If it was her foot that hurt, she could at least get a book to read. But time seems to pass very slowly. However, she eventually persisted.
Celia examined Daisy's hand carefully again. She turned her hands and looked carefully, although there was nothing wrong with it on the outside. Treatment has repaired all cellular damage. Still, Celia ran it through the scanner just to make sure nothing was missed. Finally, she looked at her hand with satisfaction.
"Everything is fine. You may feel some pain as the effects of the injection wear off. But that's normal. It takes some time for the brain to process healing so quickly after an injury like this, so there may be some hallucinations. pain."
"I know," Daisy smiled and waved. "This isn't the first time I've been burned."
Celia looked at her for a few seconds, then smiled too. "Yes. Okay, then you can leave. But you still have to be careful. If you have any questions, please come to me."
"Of course," Daisy nodded. "Thank you very much. But I have some work waiting for me now." Before Celia had a chance to speak, she had disappeared. She didn't want the doctor to prescribe a mandatory rest order for herself. She simply didn't have time.
Celia shook her head and watched her leave. She knew exactly why Daisy walked away so quickly. Although a break would definitely do her good, after all she'd been on her feet for so long. But Celia also knew that the chief engineer wouldn't rest until things were back to normal. The ship was like a child to her and she couldn't bear to see it damaged. Additionally, she wanted the best ship for Noah when he came aboard again. Moreover, work can allow her to temporarily forget her worries about the captain, and they also have a deep friendship.
