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"Warrior Souls"
Rating: PG-13 Thank you for all the reviews so far. Keep 'em coming! I really do appreciate the feedback. Twelve “There!” Daniels yelled. “In there!” He pointed at a chamber at the end of the a long hallway. “The signal just spiked over two hundred percent!” They plunged into the chamber. Malcolm realized the floor was covered with something that looked like translucent ice and was just as slippery. Daniels went down with a crash, his sensor flying out of his hand. T’Pol stumbled, and even Vulcan grace couldn’t stop her from landing in an undignified sprawl. Her arm shot out and grabbed Malcolm to steady herself, but it only knocked him further off balance. He landed hard and skidded further on the floor on his stomach. There was nothing to grab hold to stop his forward progress. He cursed like an English sailor as he slid on momentum alone. The hard floor under him became less yielding, softer. Malcolm had a horrible thought of plunging under the floor into water. Finally, he slowed down and stopped. He could feel energy on his skin, like static electricity, and smell ozone in the air. Cold wind passed over him, making his teeth chatter. He cautiously lifted his head. Ahead of him, the floor seemed to glow and ripple like a silver lake. Green lettering writhed within the ice like a living thing. More Aronian characters, like the ones on the walls, Malcolm thought. History literally changing in an eyeblink. “Be careful, Commander,” T’Pol called. “We are close to your position.” “Can you see anything from where you are?” added Daniels. Malcolm craned his head, trying not to make any abrupt movements. “The surface is glowing...I can see images in the light, but they’re too fuzzy to make out.” “It’s the center of the vortex,” Daniels said. “All the possible pasts, the possible presents, the possible futures. We have to wait for the precise moment to pull the captain and the others out.” “How do we do that? I can barely keep from sliding forward as it is.” “Put your hand in mine, Commander,” T’Pol answered as she came up behind him. Malcolm took it, and Daniels took her other hand. Together they inched towards the vortex, slowly, so slowly. When they reached the edge, Daniels let go and managed to push himself up to a sitting position. “It’s more stable here, but it’s still slippery. Watch yourselves. You don’t want to fall in.” Malcolm muttered under his breath as he sat up. The edges of the silver pool seemed to withdraw into itself, like a tidal wave returning to sea. The vortex was shrinking, but the maelstrom within in churned harder. He could feel the power gathering, ready to explode outward and destroy anything in its path, including this timeline. “Malcolm, T’Pol, we’re coming up on the right moment,” Daniels shouted. “We need to grab the Captain, Commander Tucker and Hoshi and pull them towards us. We only have one shot at this.” Malcolm nodded. He could see smoke, explosions, watery images, columns of fire. T’Pol carefully crept next to him, her eyes fixed on the view below them. Hoshi, where are you? C’mon. luv, where are you? Trip, thy’la, hear me. I am with thee, follow the sound of my voice... Daniels was a lot more direct. “Archer, show your stubborn ass before I kick it halfway across the universe!” An image flickered in front of them. Shadow soldiers fleeing the destruction, and among them, three figures huddled in a group, two men and a woman. They clung to each other as the sky grew brighter around them, and the ground began to tremble... Malcolm, T’Pol and Daniels moved as one. They thrust their hands into the swirling vortex. Malcolm felt Hoshi’s shoulders under his palms and with one swift jerk, pulled her backwards. T’Pol did the same with Trip, and Daniels with Jon. At that moment, time and space exploded outward. A roar of anger and frustration echoed over the universe as it realigned itself...a cunning plan foiled, a scheme broken. Above it all was one malevolent thought: Next time. I will be back, even stronger than ever, and you will not stop me. |
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