Star Trek: Voyager - The Neverending Night
Chapter 10
15 Sep 2021Captain Janeway walked up to stand beside Seven of Nine. Lieutenant Torres had devised a cunning plan for clearing out the atmosphere of radiation. Voyager had opened its airlock vents and produced a negative pressure gradient, causing all the air inside the station to be sucked into Voyager’s environmental filters. The radiogenic particles were then fed into the recycling systems and converted into energy. It wasn’t much, but every little bit helped. After a few hours the radiation levels on the station had reduced to a level tolerable to humans. Thus, the crew were now able to operate within the station without environmental suits on. Even still, the smell of metallic rust still permeated the air.
Janeway stood on the precipice of the mysterious complex at the heart of the alien station. It was several stores deep. The walls were lined with thousands of reflective panels, all hexagonal shaped. They surrounded an enormous generator of some kind. The generator looked rather similar to Voyager’s own warp core. However, it was much larger and separated into two halves suspended from above and below. A glowing sphere of white energy was contained between the two halves of the core. It gyrated and rippled as if caught in a windstream.
“Marvelous.” Janeway said, taking in the sight while leaning on the railing. “What is it?”
Seven operated the controls at a nearby computer station. “I believe it is a subspace field aperture generator of some kind. Similar to the quantum slipstream drive we encountered last year, only larger. This device appears to be able to focus and amplify a subspace field. Projecting it through space and creating a subspace vortex at the desired location.”
“So this is the source of the funnels.” Janeway concluded.
“Correct.” Seven agreed. “The core itself is an advanced containment and matter decomposition chamber. Similar to our warp core containment field and transporter systems, only much more complex. Suspended between the two halves of the core is a sphere of condensed degenerate matter of extreme density.”
“Like its own little white dwarf star.” Janeway added.
“Precisely.” Seven continued. “When the core is engaged, it decomposes the matter inside the sphere, converting it directly into energy. The panels that comprise the walls are near perfect energy reflecting surfaces. Once the core begins the matter conversion process, the panels shift into position. Focusing the released energy and creating a local subspace distortion, which in turn creates the vortex.”
“Remarkable.” Janeway said. “So it is capable of generating outgoing vortexes then?”
“Not at the moment.” Seven said. “The computer control systems have malfunctioned. Instead of generating vortexes of ingress and egress to and from the Void by command, the station has been generating only ones of ingress at regular intervals.”
“Which is why ships have been getting pulled into the Void in this region.” Janeway said. “Can it be repaired?”
“I believe the station is no longer capable of regulating its own energy source properly.” Seven said. “However, with the proper modifications, it should be possible to switch the generator from creating vortexes of ingress to vortexes of egress.”
“Allowing ships to escape. How long will that take?” Janeway asked.
“I estimate ten hours to completion.” Seven said.
“Get started.” Janeway ordered.
“Aye Captain.” Seven replied.
Janeway thought to herself for a moment while staring into the swirling white core. “Seven, what would happen if we prevented the station from forming vortexes entirely.”
“In that case, the station core would destabilize.” Seven concluded. “Destroying the station entirely.”
“How long would it take for the station core to destabilize?” Janeway asked.
Seven thought to herself for a moment. “Impossible to make a completely accurate determination. However, I estimate less than ten minutes.”
Janeway stepped back from the railing and looked at Seven. “After you’re finished reversing the vortexes, I want you to create a command sequence that would stop them entirely.”
“Captain?” Seven asked, requesting clarification of Janeway’s intentions.
“I don’t want to take the chance that someone could reverse your work.” Janeway said. “Use this station to bring more ships into the Void. I want it destroyed, permanently.”
Seven nodded in agreement. “Aye, Captain.”
“Keep me apprised.” Janeway said, turning to leave.
Janeway made her way back up to the control center. The place looked like the busiest of beehives. Torres’ engineering staff were hard at work deciphering and operating the alien equipment. The Malon were still present in the room, though Tuvok was keeping a watchful eye on them. Janeway took a moment to look up at the giant holographic projection of the Void. It amazed her to know that this station was centuries or perhaps millenia old. She wondered if the Void was similarly aged. Or did the Void exist before the stations? What was its purpose?
Janeway wandered over to Torres. “Any luck?”
“Some.” Torres responded. “We can access the primary computer. But deciphering their language and decoding their primary database is going to take some time.”
“How long?” Janeway asked.
Torres shrugged. “Hours, days maybe?”
“Seven thinks that she can figure out a way of reversing the funnels. Which would allow us to escape.” Janeway said, relaying the news.
Torres nodded in approval. “Well that’s good to hear. How long will that take?”
“Ten hours, she says.” Janeway replied.
Torres’ expression turned sour. “Well good for her.” She said with a slight undertone of resentment to it.
“We’ll see how far she gets in that time.” Janeway said, not wanting to aggravate the situation between the two. “Have you been able to determine why the station is emitting theta radiation?”
“It’s not.” Torres said matter of factly.
That took Janeway by surprise. “Pardon?”
“The station isn’t emitting theta radiation.” Torres reiterated. “It’s old, sure. And its power systems are not running at peak efficiency. But this station isn’t the source of the radiation.”
“Even though it’s at the center of it?” Janeway asked, trying to piece together the puzzle.
“I can’t explain it.” Torres said. “But, it’s definitely not the source.”
Janeway looked back up at the holographic projection again. “That’s strange. Have you made any headway in determining what its purpose is?”
Ensign Kim stepped up to the two. “I think I may have an answer to that, Captain.” Kim went up to the center console and tapped in a series of commands.
Above them, the hologram projection began to react. Janeway saw the green object that represented the station they were currently at as well as the fleet surrounding it. The fleet began to move backwards now, backing away from the station. Then several ships began to break off from the fleet one at a time. Janeway understood now, Kim was rewinding the display, showing them events that already happened. Ships popped up into the Void and then disappeared from it. Presumably, representing them getting pulled inside by the funnels and then being either disabled or destroyed as they were preyed upon by other ships.
“This is where we got drawn in.” Kim said, pausing the playback and pointing to a single dot that was now on the far side of the Void. He resumed the reverse playback and put it on higher speed. The dots began to zip around, flying all across the Void. Janeway couldn’t even begin to guess how many years, decades even, were passing before her eyes. After a handful of centuries had passed, the various red colored stations turned blue again. Representing the times when they each went offline. The Void itself was shrinking now, slowly but definitely. It coalesced into a small bubble, maybe a hundredth of its original volume. The stations were all visible now, twelve in total. They were clustered in a ring around a single central star which had long since burned itself out.
“This was the Void when it was first created.” Kim said.
“How far back is this?” Janeway asked, amazed. “It must be more than just centuries.”
“About six and a half thousand years.” Kim stated.
“Six thousand years!” Janeway gasped. “Astounding.”
“But why?” Torres asked. “Why would anyone do this?”
“I think whoever built this place was trying to study the heat death of the universe on an accelerated scale.” Kim said. “The Void is like its own pocket universe. Continually expanding without end. Once the Void got large enough, the heat and light from the star and the other stations could no longer reach each other. What we’re left with is just a mass entropic graveyard.” Kim reset the hologram to its present day configuration, empty and dead.
“It’s a shame.” Torres said. “Whoever built this place put a lot of effort into it.”
“They thought ahead.” Janeway said. “But not far enough. This place is a death trap now. Whoever built it should have known that would happen. They should have taken steps to prevent their stations from malfunctioning and stranding innocent ships within the Void.” Janeway shook her head, frustrated at the situation these aliens had now put her and her crew in. “They didn’t. But we will.”
“Captain?” Torres asked.
“B’Elanna, you and Harry, grab all the information you can on this place.” Janeway said. “But the moment Seven finishes her work, I want you to evacuate the station. We’re going to destroy it as soon as we possibly can.”
“Are you going to inform the other members of the Alliance?” Kim asked.
“No point.” Janeway said. “We’ll get out of here, and then we’ll destroy the station once we leave.”
With that, Janeway headed back to Voyager. Torres and Kim continued their work cataloging and deciphering the information contained within the alien station. No one noticed the two Malon had made a discreet exit toward the back of the room.
“She intends to destroy the station.” The Malon lieutenant said under his breath, trying not to draw the attention of any of the Starfleet personnel. “We’ll no longer be able to use the funnels. We won’t be able to find another suitable area of space for ejection for at least the next ten cycles.”
“What do you propose?” Emck asked. “We may be a match for Voyager, but not all the ships in the Alliance.”
“They’re not as unified as Janeway thinks they are.” The lieutenant said. “They’re only here for the opportunity to escape. And these rules of hers are foolish. Many of the Captains resent taking orders from Janeway. But none of them will act on their own.”
Emck mused at what his officer was telling him. Suddenly, he had an idea. “The alien vessel we encountered two weeks ago. Do we still have their communications codes?”
The Malon lieutenant nodded.
Emck smiled. “Then perhaps, it is time to make a new alliance.”