Somer Trip would not suit up.
We were up early for the first shift, long before most of the others. It was quiet in the shuttle; Father O'Heron, Somer Trip, and I ate quick-heated meals for breakfast; Lara, one of the pilots, joined us in the galley, drinking coffee. Dr. J. was scheduled to take the first watch on the monitor, so she, too, was up, and pulled herself into the galley still half-asleep.
We didn't talk much, but there was still an air of excitement. The presence of Earth normal gravity on the alien ship continued to imbue us with a sense of anticipation. We'd abandoned use of the remotes---awkward and practically useless in zero gee, they were even more useless in full gravity. Two more days and all we'd found were an other half dozen empty rooms and passages, but gravity was present in all of them. Most of us felt sure that we were moving toward something important, some significant discovery or revelation.
But when Father O'Heron and I headed for the doorway, Somer Trip remained strapped into her seat. I didn't notice at first. I heard Father O'Heron said, "Somer, it's time," but even then I only hesitated a moment, then kept on going.
"Somer," Father O'Heron's voice sounded more urgent. "Somer, is something wrong?"
That stopped me. I turned around and came back into the galley. Father O'Heron had one hand on Somer's shoulder, and was bent over her in concern. Somer was staring straight ahead, at nothing and nobody, one hand wrapped around her empty coffee packet, the other resting in her lap. Lara and Dr. J. hadn't moved, but they were both looking at her.
"Somer?" Father O'Heron gently shook her. "Somer?"
She didn't respond. I pulled myself around till I was directly in her line of sight, then crouched so that my face was on the same level as hers. Her eyes were open, hardly blinking; her facial muscles appeared relaxed. She semed very much at ease.
"Somer," I said. "Our shift is beginning. We need to suit up, get started. All right?"
Still no response. I knew she hadn't suddenly gone deaf, mute, and blind, but I was also fairly sure that nothing was registering. Somer Trip had very effectively blocked all of us out of her perception. I looked around at the others, who were looking at me as if I had some answers. I didn't even have the questions.
"Dr. J.," I said.
She nodded and moved to Somer's side. Father O'Heron backed away. Dr. J. didn't say anything for a long time, just watched Somer's passive face.
"Somer," she finally said, "can you hear me?"
By this time I don't think any of us expected a response, and there wasn't one. For the first time, I noticed that Somer's eyes were a pale, grayish green, and there were a couple of darker flecks in her left eye. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but I had the impression that it was her normal state. She wore small gold loops in her ears; from each of the loops dangled a string of tiny, beautiful green beads. I felt suddenly guilty, because I realized I had never looked this closely at her before, had never paid enough attention to her as a person, even though she'd been a part of my team for weeks.
Dr. J. touched her very gently on the arm---"Somer...''-----then her hand-----"Somer....."-----and finally her cheek----"Somer....." ----speaking her name softly with each contact. There was still no response.
The psychologist looked at each of us, then motioned with her head toward the doorway. We headed out of the galley, and Dr. J. followed us after telling Somer she would be right back. Once we were all outside, Dr. J. closed the door.
"I want to get some things from Upchurch, and then I want to examine her alone. We could take her to her compartment, but I'd rather not try to move her just yet. I'm almost sure she wouldn't go on her own, and I don't want to force anything unless we've got no choice."
"What do you think is wrong with her?" I asked.
Dr. J. shook her head. "Just let me examine her first. Then we'll talk."
After notifying everyone else about what had happened, we stayed in the main cabin for the next hour while Dr. J. was with Somer. More people got up and joined us, since they were unable to go into the galley to eat. Everyone spoke in low voices, and most of them deliberately avoided mentioning Somer's name. But not father O'Heron. We talked together near the monitor and console, drinking tea from the main cabin's beverage dispenser.638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOLlFZdY34
"I feel so badly for her," she said. 638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuHnFUg6z8
"For whom?" I asked. "Somer or Dr. J.?"638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYArMerh64T
Somer. I can't imagine what must be going on inside her to get to this point."638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JKEnLUC3I
"Until this morning she seemed all right to me. Even this morning, for that matter. She joked with me about fighting to see who would get to shower first."638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuBBouSlhU
Father O'Heron shook her head. "That doesn't mean anything. Except that she was good at hiding what she really felt. Or good at denying it."638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg13zc4K5y9
"I suppose." I, too, felt concern and sympathy for Somer, but to be candid, I was just as worried about the effect this would have on our mission. The Executive Council was going to react badly to this incident, and I was afraid of what they would do.638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGCx1QFjGP
Sulu emerged from the rear of the shuttle, hair still wet from the shower, got coffee from the dispenser, and came over to us.
"A hot shower in the morning usually picks up my spirits," he said, "but it doesn't seem to have worked today." He drank some of his coffee and grimaced. "And this muck isn't any help, either."
"Sulu's a coffee connoisseur," I explained.
Father O'Heron smiled and nodded. "So I understand. I don't drink it myself, but I have been told by a reliable source that the coffee he makes is remarkable."
"Thank you," Sulu said. Then: "Nothing new, I take it."
I shook my head.
"This is going to be trouble," he said.
"What about Somer?" Father O'Heron asked. "Forget about trouble, what about what she's going through? Don't you have some concern, some compassion for her?"
"Yes,' Sulus replied. "But I can't do anything for her. Maybe it's insensitive, but I'm thinking about consequences, which I might be able to do something about."
Relief washed over me, because I felt much the same way, but it was Sulu who took the brunt of Father O'Heron's disapproval.
Dr. J. came out of the galley then, but only long enough to talk briefly to Upchurch, who followed her back inside.
"That does not bode well," Sulu said.
"She's catatonic," Dr. J. reported an hour later when she emerged from the galley with Upchurch. Somer was not with them.638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZeWnKn5Sj
By now everyone was awake and waiting in the main cabin. Someone---Constance, I think---asked, "What exactly does that mean?"
"I can't tell you 'exactly,' the psychologist replied. "I assume you've all been told about what happened with Somer earlier this morning. She hasn't changed. She's non-responsive to external stimuli, but it's not psychological. She hasn't gone blind or deaf. Her pupils react normally to changes in light, for example. We really need to conduct more extensive tests, including a check for pain responses and the like, but Mr. Upchurch at I both agree that we can't do it properly here. We're also concerned about her reactions to any kind of invasive examination, and would prefer we were back on the Enterprise where we have better equipment and support before undertaking anything like that."
She paused, trying to formulate her thoughts. "Essentially, Somer's conscious mind seems to have cut itself off from the outside world. I don't pretend to fully understand it. I've only seen one other case first-hand. Most of what I know about catatonia comes from clinical descriptions in old texts and case histories. Usually a traumatic event is the proximate cause of a catatonic state. But that doesn't appear to be the case here."
"Now what do we do?" I eventually asked aloud, the question I'd been silently asking myself for an hour.
"She's got to go back to the Enterprise," Dr. J. declared.
Two hours later we were all gathered in the main cabin, watching the monitor. On the screen, seated around the conference table, were all the members of the Executive Council (except Jammer and Constance, of course, who were with us on the shuttle). Dr. J. had explained Somer's condition in some detail, and requested that one of the modules be dispatched as soon as possible to take her back to the Enterprise.638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrRRrO9KNx
"I would like to return with her," Dr. J. said. "I want to stay with her."
"That'll be arranged easily enough," Jean-Luc said. "But we don't need to dispatch anything. You should all return."
Before I had a chance to protest, the bishop leaned toward the camera and said, "I concur with Captain Picard. I believe we all sense the mission is getting out of control." He held up a hand. "No one is to blame. I commend you all for your efforts, but enough is enough...."
I jumped in before anyone could say anything. "You aren't seriously suggesting we abandon this mission. You can't be!"
The bishop leaned back and looked at us with hooded eyes. "And why not?"
"I don't think the bishop is suggesting abandonment," Pike said quietly. "Not permanent." He turned to the bishop. "At least, I hope not." He turned back to us. "An extended sabbatical, perhaps. A few weeks. Time enough for everyone to rest, to get away form the pressures and frustrations, to take a fresh approach." He sighed. "There have been other developments of which you are not aware, Pavel."
"What developments?"
Jean-Luc explained. "Frank LaRose's wife and daughter have both developed the same----symptoms as Frank. Extreme lassitude. Loss of appetite. Avoidance of social interaction, even among themselves."
Sulu moved forward. "Are you trying to say this----this psychological 'malaise'---is it contagious? Even worse, you seem to be implying that it's caused by something from the alien starship. That's just crazy."
"Is it?" said the bishop. "It could ahve been something that survived decontamination. That's why we've placed everyone affected in medical isolation."
"What about the rest of us?" asked Brightharp. "Why aren't we all losing our minds."
The bishop shrugged. "Different susceptibilities, different immune systems, different levels of exposure, different eye color for all I know. I don't have to explain it. Just add them all together." He held up his closed fist and uncurled a finger as he counted off each name. "Frank LaRose. His wife. His daughter. Amber Faulken. Tiffany Fox." With that he held up his thumb, then raised his other hand, fist closed, and continued to list the names. "Riker. Now Somer Trip." He paused, holding up six fingers and a thumb. "That's too many."638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0FkYqLWme
"That's too many all right," I said. "Tiffany Fox doesn't fit the pattern, and with her you assume an extended incubation period besides. You're also making assumptions about Amber Faulken that can't be confirmed---it may all have been an accident, just as she claimed. And how can you add Riker? All he did was get understandably angry about what he perceived as a deliberate attack that nearly killed him."
"Percieved is the significant word," the bishop said. "If he imagined it, then perhaps some psychological deterioration was occurring."
"If he was imagining it," Sulu put in with a sneer, "then it was an accident, and you can't say Amber Faulken was affected. You can't count them both, for Christ's sake."
"Yes we can," the bishop replied.
He didn't explain, so Jean-Luc did. "Faulken and Riker have both disappeared. There have been reports of confrontations, fighting, ship damage. The two of them appear to be stalking each other through the ship."
I shook my head. "I don't care about any of that. No, I do care, but there are other considerations. We've reached an area in the alien ship with Earth-normal gravity. That's significant. Long passages, rooms, all with gravity. We have no idea how much more is like this. And we've found things. Like the box," I paused, reluctant to say aloud what I had thought for some time. "None of this has said it, but I know that many of us believe that box was made by human hands." I let that sit. In the edges of my sight I could se some slow nodding of heads.
"We're close to something important," I continued. "We all feel it. There's evidence that human beings have been on this ship. Maybe not anymore, but at one time. We can't stop now." I started to say more, but stopped myself. I didn't really need any more arguments. It was there, simple and clear and compelling. If they were not persuaded, nothing more I could say would help. "We can't stop now," I repeated.
Surprisingly, it was Doyle who spoke. "I believe Pavel is right, Eminence."
"You believe him to be right," the bishop said.
"Yes. Unless you are here, I don't think you can understand what's happening. You have to feel it. There's something in that ship, Eminence. I don't know how long it will take us to find it, but it's there."
"Maybe we don't want to find it." The bishop leaned forward again. "Maybe what's in that ship.....is Evil."
Doyle shook his head, but said no more.
"I will add my voice to theirs," Dr. J. said. Another surprise. "There's a change in the spirits of these people, and it's still here despite what has happened with Somer. You asked me to become a part of this mission so I could observe, assess, recommend. Well, I recommend we be allowed to continue. I think it would be devastating to all of us, as well as to many others on the Enterprise, to suspend the exploration now, permanently or otherwise. In fact, although I want to accompany Somer back to the Enterprise, and stay with her for a few days, eventually I'll want to rejoin this group of people. I'll want to rejoin this mission as soon as I can."
"And if there is some contagion?" Jean-Luc asked.
Dr. J. frowned. "How likely is that, Captain? Not very, I think, and it's a risk I believe we're all prepared to take."
"Is there anyone who doesn't want to stay there?" Jean-Luc asked. "Is there anyone there who thinks exploration should be suspended, if only for a short time?"
The only response was a number of shaking heads.
"Constance?"
She, too, shook her head. "I'm with them. We should stay. We should keep going. Something's going to happen soon."
Jean-Luc sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of."
After more argument, the Executive Council voted. The vote was close, but we won. We would stay here and continue exploring.
I didn't like what I saw in the bishop's face, however. There was no real acceptance in his expression. Rather, I detected a smoldering anger, and a disturbing sense that he was merely biding his time. I realized that I feared the bishop more than the dangers of the alien ship. I thought again of the bishop's three excursions, wondering what he had found and what he planned. Wait, and watch our backs, Jammer had said. I was afraid that wouldn't be enough.638Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31onapVZeK
