Indistinguishable From Magic Part 3

La Forge looked at her for a long moment, then looked back at the material on the wall. "Yeah, maybe you're right. La Forge to Taurik." "Yeah, maybe you're right. La Forge to Taurik."

"Taurik here."

"Taurik, is there any sign of energy remaining in the systems down there?"

"Negative, Commander. I would venture that even a cold start would not revive the engines. They are almost fossilized."

"That's about what I figured," La Forge sighed. La Forge sighed. "Another thing. We're seeing a sort of petrified mold or something, in parts of the bridge. Is there anything like that where you are?" "Another thing. We're seeing a sort of petrified mold or something, in parts of the bridge. Is there anything like that where you are?"

There was a long pause, and Choudhury could hear a faint shuffling as Taurik's comm system picked up his moving around; no doubt he was looking for the encrustation. "Yes, Commander, I see some material that fits this description." "Yes, Commander, I see some material that fits this description."

"Okay, Taurik. Don't touch any of it for now."

"Understood, Commander."

La Forge thought for a moment, his enthusiasm for this piece of history waning. "La Forge to Enterprise," Enterprise," he said at last. "We've discovered some material spread across some of the surfaces over here. It may be some kind of mold or fungus." he said at last. "We've discovered some material spread across some of the surfaces over here. It may be some kind of mold or fungus."

"Growing in the vacuum?" Picard's voice came back. Picard's voice came back.

"No, sir, it seems to be completely dried out-petrified, like stone-but I'd like to have it checked out for biomatter."

"Stand by, Geordi."

A couple of minutes later, silver light blazed in the center of the bridge, and Doctor Beverly Crusher materialized in an EV suit, carrying a medical case in one hand. "You asked for a house call, Geordi?" "You asked for a house call, Geordi?"

"I guess I did," Geordi said with a grin. He led her to a large patch of the petrified material on the port side door. "This stuff definitely isn't part of the s.h.i.+p, and it looks like it might be some kind of biomatter."

Beverly took a medical sensor from her case, and directed it at the material. A faint spread of light from the device vaporized the surface molecules of the material, which sparkled in the beam. Almost immediately the device flashed to announce that it had a.n.a.lyzed the particles. Through the faceplate of her helmet, Geordi could see Beverly's expression take on a grim sadness. There was no sign of surprise in the expression, though.

"Organic material," she confirmed. she confirmed.

"Is it safe to touch?"

"Safe, yes." Beverly extended a hand, and gently rubbed at the organic matter. It rubbed away easily, crumbling to dust that sparkled in the beams of their lights. Under it, a darker patch was revealed. It was a fragment of blue cloth, which Geordi didn't recognize at first. Then he remembered that, back in the days of the NX-cla.s.s, Starfleet's uniforms were all blue jumpsuits. Beverly extended a hand, and gently rubbed at the organic matter. It rubbed away easily, crumbling to dust that sparkled in the beams of their lights. Under it, a darker patch was revealed. It was a fragment of blue cloth, which Geordi didn't recognize at first. Then he remembered that, back in the days of the NX-cla.s.s, Starfleet's uniforms were all blue jumpsuits.

"d.a.m.n," he whispered. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I'm afraid so, Geordi. This biomatter is not a fungus or microbial growth. It's the remains of the crew."

"How can it-" Geordi bit off the question. "Inertial dampening failure."

"I think it's pretty clear-cut, Geordi." Crusher s.h.i.+vered, the motion visible even through the EV suit. Crusher s.h.i.+vered, the motion visible even through the EV suit. "The impacts at near-relativistic velocities have put visible dents in the walls, and, well, you can see how it has affected the cells of the crew's bodies." "The impacts at near-relativistic velocities have put visible dents in the walls, and, well, you can see how it has affected the cells of the crew's bodies."

"Like dropping a tomato off a skysc.r.a.per . . ."

"Unmistakable."

"d.a.m.n," Geordi whispered again.

Listening to Doctor Crusher's explanation, Choudhury felt a chill. Her urge to avoid touching the biomatter had been right, but for the wrong reasons. The stuff wasn't a threat, but it was human remains, and so ought to be treated with respect.

She looked around the bridge with a new viewpoint. The s.h.i.+p didn't seem so unreal now. It wasn't a thing out of its time, it was a war grave, and demanded a certain reverence.

"I'll collect samples of the remains from as much of the s.h.i.+p as we can reach," Doctor Crusher was saying. Doctor Crusher was saying. "Hopefully I can identify specific DNA markers and pa.s.s on the word to the descendants of the crew." "Hopefully I can identify specific DNA markers and pa.s.s on the word to the descendants of the crew."

"Understood," Picard's voice answered. Picard's voice answered. "I'll let Starfleet Command know what we've discovered so far. Picard out." "I'll let Starfleet Command know what we've discovered so far. Picard out."

After several hours, La Forge had been glad to return to the Enterprise. Enterprise. Discovering the remains of the crew had been oddly rea.s.suring, but Geordi had put in enough time trying to get power into Discovering the remains of the crew had been oddly rea.s.suring, but Geordi had put in enough time trying to get power into Intrepid Intrepid's circuits to know that it was going to be a long and frustrating job, if it was even possible.

The engineer had returned in a somber mood, and was still feeling that way when he reported to Captain Picard on the bridge. "There's no sign of enemy fire. From the condition of the remains, it looks like a ma.s.sive failure of the inertial dampening system killed the crew. Whether that was caused by the shock wave from a mine, there's just no way to tell without accessing the automatic logs. Obviously that's something we'll be focusing on." La Forge hesitated. "I-" he shook his head. "I dunno, but if it was caused by a mine, right after the ceasefire . . ."

Picard nodded understandingly. "It's a sad truth, and one with no consolation to it, that someone must always be the last casualty of a war. All too often it's an even more unfortunate truth that the last casualty of a war occurs after the armistice has been signed."

Worf, sitting at Picard's right, nodded sagely. "There are always units at the frontline too far away to receive the message at the same time."

"Indeed. I wonder if it would have made a difference to the relatives of the Intrepid Intrepid's crew, to know that their loss was not that of being a post-armistice casualty of war."

"They still died in the line of duty," Worf said approvingly. "Whatever happened to them, they bear no shame because of it." La Forge didn't think that made much difference in the end, but appreciated Worf's sentiment. "For what it is worth, the bodies recovered at the NX-07's last known position were those of Chief Engineer Anna Byelev, and Ensigns Yukio Kawazana, Georges Toussaint, and Roland Brazzi. All members of Intrepid Intrepid's engineering section."

"Had they abandoned s.h.i.+p?" La Forge asked. "Taurik didn't report any sign of hull breach on the engineering decks."

Picard shrugged. "The records don't say; however, all four were wearing environment suits, and we know that some repairs were scheduled." He looked thoughtfully at the s.h.i.+p on screen. Members of the medical staff were still over there, collecting samples, and the engineering investigation had been put on hold. It was, as Choudhury had pointed out in her report, a war grave. "We don't even know, as of yet, how many of the crew died on board, let alone why."

"It'd definitely be worth further investigation, Captain."

"In EV suits?"

"Everything's dead over there. There are a few meteoroid punctures that could use patching, but once that's done . . . There's no reason we couldn't pressurize the interior from a portable system. The bridge is still sealed, and could be pressurized right now."

"I understand that," Picard said, "but Doctor Crusher has recommended that the s.h.i.+p remain as a vacuum for the moment, to prevent further decay of the crew's remains, at least until they're all identified and the relatives informed."

"How long is that likely to take?"

"I've no idea," Picard admitted. "Let's ask her."

Doctor Crusher had brought back numerous samples from the Intrepid Intrepid's bridge, in sealed sterile containers. She didn't want any of the remains contaminated by exposure to cells floating around in the Enterprise Enterprise's atmosphere.

She was a.n.a.lyzing a group of samples in the biopsy lab off sickbay when Jean-Luc and Geordi entered. Samples that had already been tested were placed, still in their sterile vials, on a tray to one side of the a.n.a.lytical equipment. "Captain, I was just about to call you."

"You have results?"

Crusher indicated the sample of fossilized organic material on the tray. "I've been able to date the remains."

"How old are they?"

"Two and a half thousand years."

Geordi was brought up short. "That's impossible," he blurted out. "The s.h.i.+p itself isn't that old."

Picard frowned. "Beverly, I thought you said these were the remains of the crew. Are you now suggesting that it was perhaps some more ancient organic samples brought on board and released-"

"No, the DNA matches up with the service records of Intrepid Intrepid's crew. The biomatter adhering to the walls is their remains."

"Then the dating must be wrong," La Forge insisted. "They can't have been there for ten times longer than the s.h.i.+p." The very idea was absurd.

"It's not. I ran a level one diagnostic on the a.n.a.lyzer and it's working perfectly. I don't know how it's even possible, but these are the two-and-a-half-thousand-year-old remains of people who lived and died two hundred years ago."

"Could they have traveled through time? Could the Intrepid Intrepid have been thrown back in time as we now know that have been thrown back in time as we now know that Columbia Columbia was?" Picard's voice had become tight, his eyes urgent, and Beverly understood all too well why that would be. was?" Picard's voice had become tight, his eyes urgent, and Beverly understood all too well why that would be. Columbia Columbia's time travel had, eventually, led to the creation of the Borg, and Jean Luc's history with the Borg ran deeper than his own blood did.

"I wish I could say, but in this condition, there's no way to tell. The cellular side-effects of exposure to chronitons just won't show in such damaged samples. The Intrepid Intrepid itself will hold more clues to that than the remains will." itself will hold more clues to that than the remains will."

"Does that mean I'm clear to go and look?" Geordi asked.

"I think so," Beverly said. "We've identified matter from all of the crew that were on board when Intrepid Intrepid was lost. We still have to decide what to do with the rest of the remains, but if you can test pieces of the s.h.i.+p that don't have biomatter on them, then I don't see why not." was lost. We still have to decide what to do with the rest of the remains, but if you can test pieces of the s.h.i.+p that don't have biomatter on them, then I don't see why not."

"Believe me, Doctor, I'll be a lot happier to test parts that don't have remains on them. Captain?"

"Make it so. Call a senior staff meeting as soon as you have results."

"Aye, Captain."

The senior staff meeting was held in the briefing room aft of the bridge. Geordi barely even noticed the golden models of prior vessels named Enterprise Enterprise on most days, but today his eyes were drawn to the simple lines of the first warp-capable on most days, but today his eyes were drawn to the simple lines of the first warp-capable Enterprise Enterprise, the NX-01. Today it reminded him of the s.h.i.+p that remained off the Enterprise Enterprise's port beam.

The past, Geordi thought, Geordi thought, encroaching on the present. Or maybe it was the other way around. encroaching on the present. Or maybe it was the other way around.

Picard was already seated at the head of the slightly curved table, Worf beside him. Beverly was opposite Worf. Geordi took a seat as the captain asked, "Mister La Forge, do we have results on the matter of this discrepancy between the ages of the Intrepid Intrepid and the remains of her crew?" and the remains of her crew?"

Geordi nodded. "We've thoroughly scanned the Intrepid Intrepid's structure down to the subatomic level, looking mainly for temporal stresses."

"And?"

"Using a chronotron refraction index."

"Chronotron?" Picard echoed. "Don't you mean chroniton?"

Geordi tilted his hand in a so-so gesture. "Sort of. When we pa.s.s energy through the chroniton particles it generates chronotron radiation, and its temporal spectrum-"

Worf glowered, and Picard winced, holding up a hand. "Your conclusions will suffice, Mister La Forge."

The engineer suppressed a smile, feeling a little more at ease about the strange mix of pasts that the samples and scans had revealed. "The stress patterns in the structure of the vessel show that there was definitely a ma.s.sive failure of the inertial dampening system, and that this seems to have happened around two and a half thousand years ago. It looks like Doctor Crusher was right."

"Then the Intrepid Intrepid traveled through time before her demise?" traveled through time before her demise?"

"Not necessarily. All we know for sure is that she experienced a chronological duration of two and a half thousand years in what, to the rest of us, is only two hundred and twenty or so. There are quite a few ways in which that could have happened, from relativistic effects to interference by the Q."

"Surely the Intrepid Intrepid's internal logs would provide a clue," Beverly suggested.

"They would, but we've no way to access them right now. She's not just a dead s.h.i.+p, she's . . . fossilized."

"Speaking of fossilization," Picard said. "This petrified material on board. The remains of the crew. You suggested the cause of death may have been a failure of the inertial dampeners."

"The organic matter coating the internal surfaces of the vessel fits with a sudden-instantaneous, in fact-catastrophic failure of the internal inertial dampeners," Crusher confirmed.

Worf pointed out, "No one would go to warp knowing the inertial dampeners were offline."

"So, perhaps the failure was as they went to warp. Might something in their power systems have caused a loss of dampeners when they engaged the warp drive? Those vessels didn't have the degree of multiple redundancies in their systems that we have today."

"Maybe, but I don't think they were just making the jump to warp when whatever happened . . . happened. If they were, all the-" La Forge paused, took a breath. "All the remains would have been . . . distributed, on the aft bulkheads. In fact we're seeing a greater concentration of organic matter on the port side of each occupied room. That would suggest the s.h.i.+p was oriented with the starboard side leading in the direction of travel."

Picard nodded thoughtfully. "Then the Intrepid Intrepid may have been engaging in maneuvers at what for that era was high warp." may have been engaging in maneuvers at what for that era was high warp."

"Could be," Geordi agreed. "Then they tried a maneuver that was too violent for their tolerances, and something gave out."

"They must have considered their situation to be rather desperate, if they were willing to make such a risky maneuver."

"It was the era of the Earth-Romulan war," Worf reminded them. "Perhaps they were engaged in a dogfight, or at least under attack and pursuit."

La Forge shrugged. "The fact is, we just don't know. All we know is that the inertial dampeners failed totally, and the s.h.i.+p was being led by its starboard side at the time. Again, we need to access the on board logs to be sure, and that means restoring power over there."

Picard steepled his fingers "What are the chances of bringing the Intrepid Intrepid's systems back online?"

"Less than zero, Captain. Our systems just aren't compatible. It would be like trying to start a steam engine with impulse power."

"Columbia's systems were brought online during her recovery."

"After several years," Geordi said pointedly, "and with specialist equipment. There wasn't as much radiation damage and she was planet-bound. The Enterprise Enterprise just isn't equipped for that kind of operation. Maybe if Starfleet can send a salvage vessel with equipment calibrated from just isn't equipped for that kind of operation. Maybe if Starfleet can send a salvage vessel with equipment calibrated from Columbia Columbia . . ." . . ."

"I'll notify Starfleet of our discovery, and see if they concur."

"I hope they do. It would be a shame-actually maybe even a crime-to leave the Intrepid Intrepid out here." out here."

"I definitely concur with that, Geordi," Picard said with a nod. He rose. "Now we just have to wait for Starfleet's response." That, Geordi knew, would be the hard part. Waiting instead of doing was never easy, and he could hear in the captain's tone that he felt the same way.

As they all filed out of the briefing room, La Forge decided that it was time to check in on engineering. If nothing else, at least the heartbeat of the Enterprise Enterprise would make him feel better. would make him feel better.

Off-duty, while the Enterprise Enterprise stood watch over stood watch over Intrepid, Intrepid, La Forge didn't feel in the mood to socialize. The age of La Forge didn't feel in the mood to socialize. The age of Intrepid Intrepid and her crew nagged at him, competing with the melancholy that came with realizing one was walking among the dead. and her crew nagged at him, competing with the melancholy that came with realizing one was walking among the dead.

He had also been working for something like twelve hours straight, and could use sleep more than anything else, so he returned to his quarters, showered, and went to bed.

Geordi had almost fallen asleep when he remembered that he still had that d.a.m.n message to compose to Tamala on the Lexington Lexington. He had never been much good at putting his emotions into words, at least not where romantic relations.h.i.+ps were concerned, and had the sneaking suspicion that anything he said in his attempt to rea.s.sure her that she was foremost in his thoughts would have exactly the opposite effect. It always seemed to be the way, that anything he said or did to make things better between himself and a partner just made things worse instead.

Maybe, he thought, he thought, I should try making things worse and see if that actually makes things better. I should try making things worse and see if that actually makes things better.

He wondered what Tamala would have made of the Intrepid Intrepid and her crew. She was in the medical division, so the remains would have been of more interest to her, he supposed. Maybe he should tell her about them in his message? Tell her about the inertial dampeners, and the age of the structure of the s.h.i.+p, and how amazing it was to walk in the stars.h.i.+p architecture of a bygone age, and feel the switches between thumb and forefinger. and her crew. She was in the medical division, so the remains would have been of more interest to her, he supposed. Maybe he should tell her about them in his message? Tell her about the inertial dampeners, and the age of the structure of the s.h.i.+p, and how amazing it was to walk in the stars.h.i.+p architecture of a bygone age, and feel the switches between thumb and forefinger.

He was out of bed before he even realized that he intended to get up, and in a few minutes he was in an EV suit and beaming across to Intrepid. Intrepid.

He materialized on the bridge, which was exactly as he had left it earlier. It felt like standing in a tomb, not as a grave robber, but as the explorer. This must have been how Howard Carter felt when he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen.