Episode VII: The Engine Room Encounter
Z minus 22 days
The outsiders were close now. What would they do when they broke through? It did not know and was frightened. The walls were going to come down soon. How could It protect itself? The listener could do nothing. It was on it's own and would do whatever was necessary to survive...
Sonnier watched the crew in the engine room. They were close to breaking through the seal surrounding the engine core. He could feel the nearness of success and something else. Once before, he had sensed something extraordinary behind the protective barrier - something linked to Brenn. Sonnier knew the seal should not be broken. Whatever was behind the shield did not want to be found. "Sonnier, give me a hand with this," called out Chief Wang. Wang was one of the oldest Rangers on the ship. Sonnier had always admired the chief engineer's skills and looked up to the man. Sonnier helped Wang load the laser arc for low intensity firing. A high powered firing would have removed the barrier months earlier but only at the risk of hitting the core and destroying the ship. "Almost through Sonnier," Wang shouted over the noise of the laser arc shooting out to impact the seal. "A bit more and we're in." A bit more Sonnier thought grimly. A bit more before whatever lay hidden in the engine core was revealed.
Captain Davidson rushed onto the bridge. "Scott, plot a course to 123 by 72 by 67," he called out even before he sat down, Scott was surprised by this drastic change in course. He glanced at the other members of the bridge crew. They seemed as confused as he felt. "Captain? What's going on?" "No time to explain. Just set the course. Maximum burn." "Aye aye, sir." Davidson sat tensely in his chair. Gannonn had revealed this location of a dead planet. There had been no explanation. Gannonn merely stated that it was important. Davidson gritted his teeth in irritated excitement. He was tired of not knowing what was going on. He was used to following orders but this was different. Gammon seemed to have taken control of Davidson's life and that of his crew. Gannonn gave little explanation for what he asked of the captain. This was the first time Gannonn promised answers. It seemed important that the Grey Star find what was left on this world.
Playing pawner had become a habit for Sonnier, Scott and Lin although the end result was always the same. They would discuss what was happening aboard the ship. Sonnier would win almost every game and Lin would storm out of the room in a fit of rage caused by Scott. "You know, we really should start a ship wide match," Scott said as Sonnier scored another pawner. "I'd like to see if ANYONE could beat Sonnier here. We could make a killing!" Sonnier distractedly shuffled the cards. "Sonnier, is something wrong?" Lin finally asked. Sonnier seemed to ignore her question then looked rapidly at Scott before shifting his gaze to Lin. "Hmm? Oh, my apologies. I must be preoccupied with something." "No kidding! But what something is the question?" responded Scott. "The seal that surrounds the engine room will come down very soon and we'll finally be able to work on the core." "Oh, so you're afraid that you'll have more work to do. Is that it?" taunted Scott jovially. Sonnier looked intently at Scott. Scott quieted after seeing the haunting seriousness in Sonnier's gaze. Lin was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "You moron!" she said glaring at Scott. "Don't you know that they have to go through those booby traps once they start crawling through." "It is not even that, Lin," Sonnier said somberly. "There's something else there." "What do you mean 'something'?" Scott asked. Sonnier looked at Scott and then Lin. When he shifted his gaze back to Scott, he spoke. "Something alive."
Davidson and Brenn stood on the bridge arguing. After only a day, the Grey Star had reached the co-ordinates given by Gannonn. "Captain, I must protest," insisted Brenn. Davidson was extremely annoyed by Brenn's unwillingness to cooperate. "Your objection is noted," he said angrily. "But I am the commanding officer and I am going down to the planet's surface. Alone. Understood?" Brenn looked at Davidson in sullen acceptance. The captain passed Lin as he left the bridge for the hanger. "What's going on?" she asked Scott as she walked toward her console. "Those co-ordinates that the captain gave us, they've led to a crashed alien ship. One that we' haven't encountered before. Now the captain's going down there alone." "Why would he go down there alone?" "Don't know. I'm still trying to figure out how he knew that this was here in the first place."
The laser arc was overheating. "Come on baby, just a little bit more, just a few more seconds," urged Chief Wang as the machine began to lose power. Wang refused to stop. A cracking noise resounded though the engine room. Another crack followed then a third. The barrier came crashing down. "I knew you could handle it," Wang said appreciatively as he turned the laser arc off. "Chief Wang to Captain Davidson," Wang called across the com as he made preparations to enter the formerly sealed area. "We've done it. We've breached the seal and I am preparing to enter the crawl space." Brenn's voice was the one to reply. "Understood. Good luck." Wang thought Brenn's voice sounded grim, dark as if the Minbari knew that luck wasn't going to be enough to prevent something - something horrible. Wang shrugged off the feeling of foreboding and prepared for the excursion ahead.
Davidson had been investigating the ship for several hours. Finally, he arrived at what he believed was the bridge of the derelict craft. The bridge was a disaster. It was littered with the corpses of an alien race he had encountered before. He began rummaging through the wreckage looking for something of value. He found it in the captain's chair or, more precisely, on the captain. The dead alien still sat at command, a crossbar through the chest pinning him to his chair. In his hand was a data crystal. Davidson pried it loose. It seemed damaged but might still work. He pulled a Minbari UDD out of his kit. The Universal Data Device was a marvel of Minbari technology with the ability to read most data crystals no matter their origin. Of course, the UDD did not work all the time, but it did work most of the time. Davidson set up a link to the Grey Star. "Brenn, I want you to upload the information on this data crystal and see how much of it is salvageable." "Yes captain," Brenn responded. Minutes passed before Brenn contacted Davidson. "Captain, there appear to be only two files, one of which is a message, but it is extremely garbled. It's..." "Play the message," ordered Davidson. "Understood captain." An alien voice, electronically translated, crackled through the com. "...attacked by... Evin fleet... asked... told to record... message... by guardian...include map to... home base of.... whoever this message was intended... proceed to... base... co-ordinates...on other file of... crystal..." "That's all we have captain," Brenn explained. "How about the co-ordinates? Do we have those?" asked Davidson. Brenn was silent for a few seconds before he responded, "We don't have the exact coordinates. Most of that file is too garbled. However, we have enough information to localize the approximate location. From there, we'll have to go on scanners." "Very good. I'm on my way back to the Grey Star. Send down a team to survey the ship for any other useful material," ordered Davidson. "One more thing captain," interrupted Brenn. "Chief Wang has brought down the seal around the engine core an is attempting to dismantle the booby traps. He is almost done." "Thank you. Out."
Wang finished dismantling the final trap surrounding the core. This core was the strangest he had ever seen. Actually, he had not seen the actual core as yet. There was an iris door separating him from the core. Wang approached the iris and pressed the switch. As the door slid open, a green light poured out. Wang stood transfixed by the sight. It was impossible! Tongues of energy lashed out striking him in the chest. Wang was shaking but managed to close the iris door and crawl out of the access portal and into the engineering crew's hands. Sonnier held him. Wang was shaking uncontrollably and looking off into space. "Seal it," he managed to mutter. "Seal the core. Seal it..." His words trailed off. Matthew Wang was dead. The engineering crew began sealing off the core in blind panic. Sonnier did not budge. He was not in shock over what had transpired. Instead, as he held the dead body of Matthew Wang, he was transfixed by the sight of Mathew Wang's spirit as it now stood before him. The chief's ghost spoke with someone Sonnier could not see only sense. Then, the spirit of the late Matthew Wang spoke to a shocked Sonnier. "Don't be afraid. I understand now. I want you to go to the engine core. This is important." The ghost turned as if speaking again with the other presence. "It did not understand until I explained who we are," Wang's spirit explained. "Go there during the night shift. You must trust me. Go." The vision of the chief disappeared. Sonnier would obey his superior officer's final command.
Davidson paced his quarters unable to sleep. The engine room had been quarantined because of Matthew Wang's death. No one wanted to go near it anymore. Only a few of the crew actually went to work there. Chief Wang's final words had been to reseal the core. Davidson wanted to wait a few days before making his final decision. He wanted to know what had killed Wang and why. Davidson's link chimed. "Davidson here." The voice was Sonnier's. "Captain, I think you should come down to the engine room." "What is it?" "Trust me captain, you have to get down here." Davidson made his way to the engine room as fast as he could. Sonnier was not alone. Brenn was with him. The captain stood with the two men in the otherwise deserted room. "Ok, what's going on?" he asked. "When Mr. Wang died, I saw his spirit," Sonnier began then paused waiting for the captain's reaction. Davidson expression was stern but encouraging. Sonnier continued. "He, that is Wang's ghost, told me to investigate the engine core. I did, and what I found was remarkable. There is something living in there. It is only a child and killed Wang out of fear." Sonnier turned to indicate the Minbari standing off to one side. "Brenn knew about its existence." "Brenn!" Davidson turned in a cold fury to confront the officer. "A man died. A good man. Why didn't you tell us what was back there?" "I could not," Brenn explained impassively. "The being held control over my mind. It prevented me from saying anything." "Captain," Sonnier interrupted. "It wants to be part of the crew. It wants to learn, but it doesn't want to be known to the rest of the crew. Only the three of us know about it." "What is *it*?" Davidson asked. "Follow us," Brenn spoke as he and Sonnier made their way into the crawl space. Davidson followed as they led him to the iris door. Sonnier pressed the switch activating the door. As it opened, a green light emanated from within. Davidson looked past the light to a green fleshy mass filling the room from top to bottom and side to side. There was no engine core, only the luminescent green being. "My God, what is that?" Davidson asked. Brenn spoke. "Captain, this is the heart of the Grey Star. It is the brain from a Vorlon ship."