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From: mcmelmon@btr.btr.com
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: Belly of the Whale - part 1
Message-ID: <6193@public.BTR.COM>
Date: 6 Apr 92 03:32:27 GMT
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I have finished eliminating all direct cross-references to Dune from an 
earlier story posted here last summer.  I have also removed Wesley, which
should improve the odds of this tale being received favorably (I, however,
happen to think the Wesley character to be one of the most innovative
additions to the crew - if poorly handled).  Essentially, I believe the story
conforms to 'canon,' even though conforming to the canon given the rarely
inspirational literary excellence of Trek in general is hardly something to
take too seriously...



Belly of the Whale



Teaser

[Space. 

A field of stars. Shattered by an explosion. A ship screams past. A second
explosion. Photon torpedoes. Another ship. A Federation cruiser. Old design,
brilliantly colored, like the new. 

The re-commissioned USS NADIA. 

Two phaser bolts lance out from the Nadia. She passes from view.

Aboard the Nadia. Captain ERIN KILLPATRICK, commanding. He leans forward. An
older man, Killpatrick is new to space. A ground soldier. Rough and proud.]



Killpatrick:  Ready, Commander?



Nadia's transporter chamber. A five-person team on the platform. Forward one
speaks. A woman. As we get closer to her, we see traces of Klingon blood. Ruddy
complexion, slight forehead ridge. We get even closer. She has the ears of a
Vulcan. Commander HAIFA BEN GESSERAT, special forces. Product of an unlikely
union, she bears herself with the pride and strength of her father, and the cool
analytic detachment of her mother.



Commander Haifa:  An unnecessary question, Captain.



[Return to bridge.]



Killpatrick:  Of course. Wish I could go with you, Number One. Been too long
since I've had a good fight.



[Navigation officer moves hands rapidly over instruments.]



Navigator:  Pirate dropping out of warp. Planetary system: Rakis. Still in
Klingon space. Didn't make it to the Neutral Zone. We've got her, Captain.



Killpatrick:   Never lost her, son. When you're down hard, try something new,
eh? Probably hopes to loose us on the rocks.



Navigator:  I've been in asteroid fields before, Captain.



Killpatrick:  Know you have, my boy. Tactical!. Heavy bore phasers, stand by.
You're almost up, Number One. Make me proud.



[Space.


We watch the Nadia drop out of warp. The world Rakis 4 visible. Arid and barren.
A belt of small meteorites surrounds it. 


Nadia bridge.  Pirate plainly visible on main screen. Without warning, it
vanishes.


Killpatrick leaps up. An instant later, a gargantuan vessel fills the Nadia's
viewer. Bulbous and covered with faint, bioluminescent lights. Like a creature
of the deepest sea. The remnants of an explosion fade - the pirate's fate:
collision. 


The Nadia's appears certain to be the same.]



Killpatrick [lunging forward]:  Damn!



The Nadia banks. Her shields flare brilliant blue as they crush against the
giant's hull.


ACT I

Scene I

[Enterprise bridge.]



Worf:  Receiving a priority distress from the Federation Starship USS Nadia,
Captain. Condition, critical.



Riker:  The Nadia?



Data:  A re-commissioned starship of the Constellation Class. Commanded by
Captain Erin Killpatrick, formerly a brigadier in Starfleet's marine forces.



Riker:  Thank you, Data.



Picard:  Her position?



Worf:  Rakis star system. On the edge Klingon space.



Picard:  Damn the timing!



Riker:  Captain? 



Data:  I sincerely doubt, Captain, the Nadia planned any inconvenience.



Picard:  No, Data. I'm sure she did not. Are we the only Federation vessel
within response range?



Worf:  Captain, standard procedure when receiving a priority critical distress
is for any ship...



Picard:  I am well familiar with standard procedure, Mr. Worf. Are we the only
Federation vessel within response range?



Worf:  We are the closest, Captain.



Data:  Change course for Rakis, Captain?



Picard:  Negative. Remain on course for Vulcan.



Riker:  Captain, I must remind you...



Picard:  I appreciate your concern, Number One. Remain on course. Come with me,
Worf.



[Picard stands. Riker and Data exchange glances. Picard leaves with Worf through
the door to his quarters.]


Scene II



[Picard's quarters. 

He speaks with a young-looking Vulcan female. Both sit on their knees. 
The young woman holds herself with serene confidence. She is ATTENDANT 
to the HIGHEST - a principal spiritual leader of Vulcan.]



Attendant:  The Highest recognizes your dilemma, Captain.



Picard:  We can separate the saucer section of this vessel. In it, the 
Highest could continue on to Vulcan. 



Attendant:  And you could continue on to aid your comrades?



Picard:  Yes.



Attendant:  The Highest has never stepped beyond the shell that is 
Vulcan's atmosphere. Her absence is a burden to our people. It should 
not be prolonged.



Picard:  It is true that detached, the saucer does not move with the 
ship's full speed...



Attendant:   The Highest does not wish you to detach the saucer. She 
wishes, instead, to accompany you to aid your fellow Federation vessel.



Picard:  The possibility of conflict cannot be overlooked. The potential

loss...



Attendant:  ...to Vulcan would be great. But not devastating. The 
Highest has melded with others of her order. Her wisdom will persist, 
even should her body not. It is her wish to observe.



Picard:  Very well, then...



Attendant:  And Captain...



Picard:  Yes?



Attendant:  One cannot observe hidden away.



[Picard looks up. We see an ancient Vulcan woman. Their eyes meet. She 
gives no indication of having made new contact. It is as if their eyes 
have always been locked. 

The Highest represents the pinnacle of Vulcan spirit. Her presence 
aboard the Enterprise is known only to Picard and Worf. Ancient beyond 
the knowing of humanity, she is said to have lived during the great wars 
that raged through Vulcan's history.

The Highest is being carried from Earth back to Vulcan, after delivering 
a protest to the leaders of Starfleet. Too many of her people have been

'drafted' into Federation service. She does not approve. By extension, 
she views the Enterprise - vessel and crew - with suspicion.

And curiosity.]




ACT II

Scene I


[Enterprise bridge. 

Picard enters. Riker stands, visibly disturbed by the lack of a 
response.]



Riker:  Captain...



Picard:  Change course, Number One. Rakis system, maximum warp. Make it 
so.



[The Highest appears behind Picard. She wears her ceremonial dress. A 
metallic kimono. Riker stands in shock for a moment.]



Riker:  At once, Captain.



Picard:  Commander Data, estimate our arrival time.



Data:  At maximum warp, we will arrive in the Rakis system approximately 
eleven hours from now.



Picard:  Let's hope that will be soon enough.



Attendant:  Android.



Data:  Yes, I am an android.



Attendant:  You made an inexact estimate.



Data:  That is correct.



Attendant:  Precision was possible.



Data:  I choose to estimate.



Attendant:  Why?



Data:  Precision was not required. 



Attendant:  The Highest disagrees. Why choose inaccuracy over accuracy, 
where accuracy is possible?



Data:  I have found humans respond with distaste to unnecessary 
accuracy.



Attendant:  The Highest recognizes the truth in what you say. Yet, are 
not Federation lives at risk? Is not this risk increased by the passage 
of time? Is not accuracy, therefore, of grave import?



Data:  The nearer we come to the vessel in distress, the more important

accuracy shall become.



Attendant:  The Highest finds this fascinating.



Data:  How so?



Attendant:  Despite being a creature of pure logic, you have formulated 
an illogical response. Yet you arrived at the need to do this logically.

Therein lies the Highest's fear.



Data:  Fear?



Attendant:  Of what may happen to Vulcan. Through the application of 
logic, not unlike that you yourself have demonstrated, Vulcans shall 
begin to act illogically.



Riker:  And that is why she opposes Vulcan's participation in Starfleet?



Attendant:  Yes.



Worf:  The Federation has suffered a great loss. It needs all available

resources to stave off aggression from without.



Attendant:  But what of aggression from within?



Worf:  I do not understand



[We watch the Highest move across the bridge. She stops before Worf. 
Passive for a moment, she lashes out with her hand. Blindingly quick. 
Worf flies backward.

From behind Worf's shoulder, we look up at the ancient Vulcan.]



Attendant:  The Highest apologizes for any pain. She has come to 
understand, not unlike the android, races other than Vulcan. Some 
require illustration. Vulcans must never return to the ways of violence 
they once knew. Never. Our world would not long survive. Your Federation 
would not long survive. It must not happen.



Scene II


[Enterprise briefing room.

Data speaks, but we cannot hear him yet.]



Picard [voice-over]:  Captain's log, supplemental. Proceeding to the 
Rakis system at maximum warp. Recent communication with the Nadia has 
answered some of our questions, but spawned many, many more.



Data:  ...I do not believe the Behemoth - as I shall call the vessel 
with which the Nadia collided - is a Romulan ship.



Worf:  The Nadia was in pursuit of a pirate vessel prior to the 
collision. Pirates who receive aid from the Romulan Empire.



Data:  That is correct.



Worf:  The Behemoth is cloaked by a very sophisticated technology...



Data:  That is also correct. Yet this cloaking device, unlike those 
aboard Romulan craft, projects a sphere, the diameter of which equals, 
roughly, three times the vessel's overall length...



Picard:  More telling is the Nadia's continued existence. Surely, were 
Romulans involved, the Nadia would have long since been destroyed.



Data:  True, Captain. The Nadia has been allowed to observe the Behemoth 
in peace. Such behavior would be highly atypical, exhibited by a 
Romulan.



Worf:  No behavior is atypical, exhibited by a Romulan.



Data:  I do not...



Riker:  It could be the first stage of a trap. The Nadia is helpless. No

threat. Why not lure some other Federation ships in as well?



Picard:  And even if the vessel is neither Romulan nor currently 
hostile, that does not preclude it from becoming hostile. We shall 
continue to approach with care.



Riker:  And what about our guest, Captain?



Picard:  What about her, Number One?



Riker:  Don't you think it a little distracting having her on the 
bridge? All the time?



Picard:  Frankly, Number One, having her aboard at all is distracting. 
However, she is here, and she has requested being present on the bridge.



Riker:  Yes, but at all times?



Picard:  I shouldn't have to remind you, Number One, how delicately 
Starfleet would like us to tread with the Highest. Her word carries 
tremendous weight on Vulcan. She has not openly opposed that world's

participation in the Federation, but she may. She said as much to 
Starfleet Command. We can't afford that. Not now. Perhaps not ever.



Troi:  And perhaps as she gains more of an understanding about us, her

resistance to Vulcan's continued participation will soften.



Picard:  That is my hope.




Scene III


[Ruble-strewn corridor intersection aboard the Nadia. Red emergency 
lights provide illumination. 

Commander Haifa pulls at the rubble, moving what is obviously extra-
ordinary weight. Other crew members - Klingon and human - also pull at 
the rubble. Captain Killpatrick arrives.]



Killpatrick:  How does it look here?



Haifa:  Bad. 



[Haifa has exposed a heavy door. Some manner of bulkhead. She looks at a

display panel.]



Haifa:  Our ship ends here. Beyond, space.



Killpatrick:  Thank god we were at full alert. Collision like this under 
normal conditions... I hate to think how bad it would have been.




[Killpatrick pats the bulkhead.]



Killpatrick:  Even so. Full alert didn't do them much good on the other 
side, did it?



Haifa:  I estimate no survivors in the directly impacted areas of the 
ship.



Killpatrick:  Crew down thirty percent. All forward phasers, inoperable. 
Main torpedo tubes, misaligned and inoperable. Aft phasers, sixty 
percent operable... and that's assuming we get Engineering back on line. 
Had to shut everything down. Just in case. Don't want any stray anti-
matter bouncing around back there, do we?



Haifa:  That would not be wise.



Killpatrick:  A fat pigeon with two broken wings in a shooting gallery. 
That's what we are. Oh yeah. We're also blind.



Haifa:  It could be worse.



Killpatrick:  Yeah?



[Haifa looks pointedly at the bulkhead.]



Killpatrick:  Yeah.