Hours Before Departure – Command Under Pressure – Star Trek Fanfiction (Red Directive #38)

Sleep wasn’t in the books for my last night on EOS Prospera. I only had four hours to work with, so I didn’t even attempt it.

What made it worse was that I had to keep my mind occupied the entire time—deliberately steering it away from what I was truly thinking. We all knew the station was listening. I couldn’t take any chances it would find a way to stop us.

Or me.

I spent the next three hours in the living area on my PADD reviewing records of Starfleet captains—great and otherwise. I found myself searching for something… a pattern, a correction, anything that might tell me where I had gone wrong.

Was it even avoidable?

What would they have done?

The legends—Jonathan Archer, Robert April, Christopher Pike, James Kirk, Ronald Tracey, Morgan Bateson, and Hikaru Sulu.

I even reviewed logs from more recent captains.

Rachel Garrett, Erik Pressman, Jean-Luc Picard, Tryla Scott, Benjamin Maxwell, and Edward Jellico.

Many were great captains. Then, of course, there were the others.

The ones remembered for the wrong reasons.

The ones whose paths I had no intention of following.

So many decisions.

So many outcomes.

If I learned anything from those three hours, it was this—

I did not intend to end up on that list.

And right now… that was exactly where I felt I was heading.

Losing nearly seven hundred Federation civilians on my first Red Directive mission was more than enough to secure me a place there.

So I had to ensure I could do something about it.

When oh three hundred finally approached, I took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly before peeling myself off the chair.

It was time for pre-check before departure.

Somehow, I forced myself to eat breakfast—not out of hunger, but strategy—to avoid any unwanted conversations. Then I prepared as if it were another normal day. But this time, before leaving my quarters, I paused at the shelf, picked up my miniature Enterprise NX-01, and slipped it into my pocket.

A reminder.

Or perhaps a standard.

I arrived outside Commander Pelia’s quarters a little early per usual, just before oh four hundred hours. I exhaled quietly and tapped the panel beside her door.

“Enter.”

The deep Klingon voice came from within.

Relieved Kurn was already there, the door slid open and I stepped inside.

Kurn was waiting on Pelia’s oddball couches. She was nowhere to be found, which likely meant she was sleeping in her bed alcove tucked away somewhere among the chaos of antiques and artifacts. Even better. I wanted this conversation contained.

I walked up to him. He started to stand, but I raised my hand and gestured for him to stay seated. “Stay seated, Kurn, please. I’m already asking more of you than I should.”

He remained seated and watched me carefully as I took the couch across from him. I sat down and met his gaze. “The USS Cairo is set for departure at oh seven hundred hours.”

He looked only slightly surprised. “How do we know the USS Cairo is ready for launch? Commander Pelia and Lieutenant Darak were still making modifications when I retired last night.”

“I have full confidence they were successful. Speaking of the commander, is she sleeping? How were you able to enter?”

“She is sleeping…”

He looked around as if that might somehow reveal her location.

“Somewhere. She created a program interfaced with the computer to allow us entry without her approval during these designated hours.”

That sounded about right. She really was the best choice for this mission. Who knew where we would be right now without her.

“Kurn, I called you here to discuss the next phase of our mission. Not only in secret from the station…”

I paused and held his gaze.

“…but from the rest of the crew as well.”

Kurn crossed his right arm over his chest and struck it twice. “My word is given.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

I reached for the PADD on the commander’s table and brought up the schematics of EOS Prospera—specifically Engineering.

I slid it over to Kurn and he picked it up to review it. “I believe there is something we can finally agree on.”

He looked up from the PADD and waited for me to continue.

“You may have been right about what we need to do to this station. The doctor and I could not find a way to save the colonists. It was far too late for them. It may very well have been too late the moment they stepped foot on this station.”

Oddly enough, Kurn seemed to sharpen at the devastating news. At this point, that should not have surprised me after the doctor’s performance the day before.

“They were taken, just like the Elionvorel. We ourselves should not be standing, but we are.”

He paused only a moment. “We cannot allow this to happen to anyone else.”

I nodded and gestured back to the PADD in his hands. “Exactly. We are out of options to do this the right way.”

He raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“If we want to ensure EOS Prospera cannot harm any other species, then we cannot leave it here.”

“Captain, are you saying what I believe you are saying?”

“Like I said, there was something we could finally agree on.”

He gave a single nod of acknowledgement and looked back down at the PADD. “We have less than two hours to create a device capable of taking out the entire station while the Cairo departs through the blind spot—without harming the Cairo.”

“And Engineering would be the most effective place to plant it. We need something that can disrupt the central energy lattice completely, but also generate enough force to destroy the station in its entirety.”

“Yes. I believe that would be the only way to ensure it is truly gone. We cannot take any chances that some part of it remains. Not if it could adapt and assimilate another species to rebuild itself.”

He nodded. “Agreed, Captain.”

He tapped at the PADD a few times, then looked back up at me. “There are many ways to achieve this, but our options may be limited if we intend to keep it hidden from the station.”

“That’s why I called you here personally. I need you to help me create something that will actually work.”

He let out a low groan and returned to the PADD. “I will not fail.”

About an hour passed with me watching him continuously enter one set of data after another, only to respond with a frustrated look, pound a little harder on the PADD, and start over with a new approach.

Finally, he looked up.

“Captain, I have run numerous simulations. There is no way to trigger anything remotely from the Cairo. The moment we decide to initiate it, the station will isolate itself, reroute power, and lock us out. It is impossible.”

At that point, I had reclined on the couch and had been tossing one of Pelia’s smaller artifacts into the air and catching it. I stopped, sat up, and met his gaze. I had expected him to say that.

“Computer, time.”

“It is approximately oh five hundred hours.”

I held his eyes and hoped he would begin to grasp the severity of the situation. “If it must be a manual detonation, then that is what we will do. No matter the consequences, find me a way to take down this station in its entirety. We only have an hour before everyone gets here.”

He nodded and went back to his work on the PADD with renewed urgency.

“And we are not telling anyone until final departure.”

He nodded again without looking up.

It took about forty-five minutes for Kurn to come up with something.

When he finally stood, I stopped tossing the artifact and sat up to watch him.

He fumbled through Pelia’s chaos for a moment, then found the tool Lieutenant Darak had been using to display data in her quarters the day before.

I watched as his schematics appeared in a three-dimensional projection from the device. He placed it on the table in front of us and enlarged the image until it filled the entire living area.

“I have created a program to initiate a Containment Field Inversion.”

I nodded as I studied his design. It was brilliant. “I knew I came to the right Klingon.”

He allowed himself the faintest smirk before continuing. “The Containment Field Inversion will reverse the energy flow of the Central Energy Lattice Convergence Core. It will cause cascading system collapse and total structural failure.”

“Excellent, Kurn.”

He adjusted the display, changing the projection to show where the program would have to be triggered. “The field inversion requires direct access to the core regulators. It must be initiated through simultaneous multi-point override.”

He looked triumphant. “I believe I have found a way for us to initiate the trigger without losing any of the crew.”

My attention sharpened immediately. “Go on.”

“The EMH could transport there from Commander Pelia’s quarters at the precise moment the Cairo is departing through the blind spot to initiate the trigger. I have already found a way for Commander Pelia to modify his mobile emitter to avoid detection.”

“What about the EMH? If his modified emitter is strong enough for the station not to detect him, how would we bring his program back online aboard the Cairo?”

“During the final five seconds before the trigger initiates, we will be at a safe enough distance from the blast for the EMH to drop his modified emitter. At that point, Chief Ren can transport his program aboard the Cairo.”

I put a hand to my chin in thought.

Five seconds was too long of a gap.

That was more than enough time for a station this ancient, this advanced, and this aware to block the inversion. And if it did, it would be too late for us to go back and correct it.

That was a problem I would have to solve on my own.

“Make it so.”

Kurn nodded—

—and the doors to Pelia’s quarters hissed open.

Commander T’Varen stepped inside.

I turned back quickly, but Kurn had already shut down the three-dimensional display. I caught his gaze and he gave the slightest nod. He knew exactly what I was asking. I wanted to make certain T’Varen had seen nothing. His Klingon speed had paid off again.

Commander T’Varen moved toward us with her usual measured precision and took a seat on the couch across from me, meeting my gaze with that steady Vulcan stare.

Early as always.

Kurn walked from behind the couches and started toward the door.

“Kurn. Make haste and meet me back here at oh six fifty-five hours.”

He stopped and looked at me, surprised. I did not give him time to object.

“That’s an order.”

He nodded in confusion, opened the door to Pelia’s quarters, and left.

I sat with Commander T’Varen in silence for a few moments. I was a little surprised she did not inquire about what Kurn had been doing. I was even more grateful not to have to explain it.

Thankfully, she had not arrived too early, because about five minutes later the rest of the senior staff started showing up.

Yawning, tired, but on time.

Aura entered first, entirely unfazed.

She immediately took a place next to me while the others dispersed to their own places on the couches.

Even the EMH.

The only one missing—other than Kurn—was Commander Pelia.

Rather than dig through her chaos, I tapped my comm badge. “Captain to Commander Pelia.”

I heard the faint, familiar chirp of a comm badge somewhere deeper in the connected quarters. At least the badges still worked while we were all inside her quarters together.

It chirped again.

Then came a loud smack.

I winced, assuming Commander Pelia had just woken abruptly and created her own version of Denty against the ceiling of her bedroom alcove.

A few seconds later I could hear her moving from the alcove toward the tiny table beside it, presumably to grab her comm badge. She coughed, cleared her throat, and tapped it.

“Morning, Captain.”

I did not bother replying through my badge and instead called out, perhaps a little louder than necessary, “Morning, Commander.”

Pelia jumped and turned toward us, but her eyes were still covered by a sleeping mask. She stood there in the same crumpled loungewear patterned with warp cores we had seen before.

A few giggles escaped Ensign Jaxa.

Under any other circumstances, I might have shared in it. But I had already overstepped enough by commandeering Pelia’s quarters before dawn.

Pelia stomped her foot and stormed toward her sanitation unit, muttering curses that included both the station and, from the sound of it, me.

I didn’t blame her.

I was asking a great deal of everyone.

Commander T’Varen must have been thinking much the same, because she finally spoke. “Captain, I already know the reason for the Cairo’s early departure. It is an attempt to leave safely while forgoing possible temporal disturbances.”

Before she could continue, I cut her off. “Yes. The computer is set to initiate departure sequence at oh seven hundred hours.”

Everyone but Aura and T’Varen reacted with a slight gasp.

I was cutting it close.

They should already have been on the bridge of the Cairo, preparing for departure. I could only hope Pelia and Lieutenant Darak had completed the modifications correctly.

Lieutenant Darak stood, and my stomach sank. Maybe they hadn’t.

“Captain, I must leave now to ensure the Cairo can depart safely through the blind spot at oh seven hundred hours.”

“Proceed.”

Ensign Jaxa stood next, bleary-eyed and stammering. “I should… probably go too.”

“Yes, Ensign. That would be wise.”

She nodded and quickly left.

Drim was already looking nervously from face to face around the room. “Drim, you should go with them. Prepare the Cairo for the undocking sequence. It must be perfect.”

He nodded quickly and followed behind the ensign.

I was about to continue when Commander Pelia made her presence known by plopping down onto the couch beside me. She looked around and immediately noticed half the senior staff was gone.

“Did I miss the party?”

“No. The Cairo is set to depart at oh seven hundred hours.”

Her eyes widened. “Is that a problem, Commander?”

She shook her head and stood again just as fast. “No, but if you want to make sure that starship takes off safely and on time, I need to go. Everything is set here.”

She frantically straightened herself as she spoke, then started for the door. Halfway there, she stopped and looked back at me.

“There was no way to save the colonists, was there?”

I had nearly thought I escaped that question.

The EMH shook his head.

Pelia saw it, nodded once, said nothing, and continued out the door.

The rest of the crew who remained all looked at me for direction. I was mildly surprised Commander T’Varen was still here. She should already have departed for the bridge of the Cairo.

“Commander T’Varen, you should join Lieutenant Darak on the bridge of the Cairo to ensure our departure from EOS Prospera proceeds without complications.”

“Agreed, Captain. However, per our conversation last night, you still did not have a definitive answer regarding the future of EOS Prospera.”

The EMH finally spoke. “Why did you belay the warning beacon?”

“It would not have been just a warning beacon. It could also have served as a signal—to species like the Borg—to come and assimilate this technology. And that is the last thing we want.”

Unease stretched across the room at the mention of the Borg.

“Commander,” I said, returning my focus to T’Varen, “you have no need to concern yourself with that right now. Your assignment is to report to the Cairo and prepare for departure.”

She started to object, but I cut her off.

“Dismissed, Commander.”

If a Vulcan could have shown anger, T’Varen might almost have looked angry in that moment.

Almost.

She offered no acknowledgement of my order. She simply stood and departed Pelia’s quarters with unusual speed.

That left only Chief Ren, the EMH, and Aura.

Chief Ren started to rise.

“Chief. I need you and the EMH to report to Kurn in EOS Prospera Engineering.”

They looked at one another, then back at me.

The EMH stood beside Ren. “Why is he there? Commander Pelia said everything was set with the station.”

I stood to meet their gaze. I did not want any more questions.

“Report to Kurn immediately. No questions. Follow his orders—or plan on being decommissioned from Starfleet the moment we return to the Alpha Quadrant.”

They both looked stunned, but the EMH nodded and Ren bowed in acknowledgement. They exchanged another glance, then headed for the door together.

I stopped the EMH once Ren was out of earshot. "Report to Commander Pelia first. Coordinate with Kurn and receive your instructions from them before transporting to Engineering."

He looked at me, even more confused, but gave a short nod and left.

Once they were gone, I looked back at Aura.

She was staring up at me, waiting.

I sat back down on the couch across from her to explain my plan.

“Aura, as you know, the station used you when we experienced the time differential the other day—the one in which six of our hours were lost.”

“Affirmative, Captain.”

“To make sure the Cairo’s departure proceeds smoothly without disruption—such as another temporal disturbance—I need you to remain here with me until Kurn arrives at oh six fifty-five hours.”

“That is only five minutes before departure, Captain.”

“Five minutes too long.”