All Good Things__ - Michael Jan Friedman [70]
Without warning, he found himself back in the past. This Enterprise, too, was headed into the anomaly.
His bridge officers were tense, even afraid, as they approached the unknown. But that didn’t stop them from following his orders.
Closer… closer… into the Valley of Death? Or Salvation? They would find out soon enough.
O’Brien shifted in his chair. “We’re entering the leading edge of the anomaly, sir.” “All hands brace for impact!” called the captain.
The ship rocked violently. All around the bridge, lights flickered. Deck plates shrieked with the strain.
“The temporal energy’s interfering with main power,” reported Tasha. “Switching to auxiliary…” Another jolt, worse than the first…
… and before Picard could recover, he was in the present again. In this time period, the anomaly had already filled the viewscreen. “Report!” roared Riker.
The ship was shuddering, a hint that the forces it strove against might simply be too powerful for it. Lights died and came alive again all over the bridge. They were pushing the Enterprise to her limits.
“I’m having trouble keeping the impulse engines on-line!” yelled Geordi. “We’ve got power fluctuations all across the board!”
“Maintain course and speed!” shouted the captain. He turned to his second officer. “Mr. Data, how long until we reach the center?”
The android hung on as the ship lurched again beneath them. “Another thirty seconds at least, sir.” Picard turned back to the viewscreen…
… where the anomaly didn’t quite fill the screen. But then, why should it? In this future era, it was smaller, and they hadn’t quite entered it yet.
As they got closer, Picard felt the deck tremble and hugged one of his armrests. His foresight was rewarded as the Enterprise bucked and heaved, throwing several crewmen to the deck.
This wasn’t the place for an old man, he acknowledged ruefully. This wasn’t the place for anyone. And yet, what choice did they have? “We’ve entered the anomaly,” called Gaines.
As if to underline the statement, Data looked over his shoulder and said, “We are approaching the focal point, sir.”
Of course, this wasn’t the Data of the future. It was the Data of the past, doggedly manning his ops station as they fought their way to the heart of the sprawling, seething anomaly.
“Ten seconds,” the android announced. “Nine. Eight…”
Gritting his teeth, the captain watched his officers make adjustment after adjustment, utilizing every strat-egy they knew to keep the Enterprise on course and her engines on-line.
“Seven. Six. Five…” continued Data.
A little longer now. That was all he asked. A few more seconds and they would at least have a fighting chance.
The android went on with his countdown. “Four. Three. Two…”
And then they’d done it. They’d reached the center of the anomaly. “One,” called Data.
The onslaught of temporal energies was even fiercer here; they could barely keep their feet, much less concentrate on their controls. Up on the viewscreen, there was a pure, white light, as intense as the dawn of creation and unblemished by the merest hint of color. Picard cried out, “Initiate warp shell!”
An island of calm in a sea of confusion, the android labored to comply with the captain’s order… … and called back, “Initiating static warp shell— nOW.”
Suddenly, things had changedú Picard was back in the present, where a tiny bead of perspiration was making its way down Will Riker’s face, and where Ensign Calan’s shoulders were bunched together so tightly it hurt just to look at her.
The present… where Data was single-mindedly applying himself to his lonely task, and where the captain himself wished desperately to remain for a little while.
Then again, he thought, for that very reason it probably… ú.. wouldn’t last.
He looked around, aware that he’d shifted again. But where this time? Or rather, when?
The blinding brilliance put out by the viewscreen didn’t allow him to see much. But judging by the cloudiness of his mind, it was the future.
Another jolt, and Picard was half-torn out of his seat. As he dragged himself back in, he heard Riker’s voice. It cut