Chapter Text
Eleuthra System
“We’re about to enter the Eleuthra system, Captain.” Ensign Barnes announced as the K0 star grew larger in the viewscreen. “Estimated time of arrival in system—two hours.”
“Maintain current speed, dahling.” Zsa-Zsa ordered, “Eliza, dragam. Join me in my ready room.”
Entering the captain’s luxuriously furnished office, Eliza asked as she made her way to the replicator, “Your usual, baby.”
“Igen.” Zsa-Zsa replied, “And get something for yourself.”
Returning with champagne for her lover and a margarita for herself, Eliza asked, “Time to contact the admiral?”
Nodding her head, the captain affirmed as she activated her monitor. “Apa. We have reached the Eleuthra System.”
“Hold position for now.” Admiral Bateson instructed, “I’ll be at your location in approximately half an hour. After I beam aboard your ship, we’ll go over everything.”
“Igen.” Zsa-Zsa acknowledged. “We’ll see you in half an hour.”
A half-hour later
“Welcome aboard, Admiral.” Zsa-Zsa formally announced before making her way to her adoptive father and embracing him. “Eliza’s in the ready room, apa.”
“Lead the way.” Morgan smiled as he gestured to the door.
Flashing a wide grin as she recognized the admiral walking through the ready room door, Eliza rushed up and hugged him, “Hello, padre.”
Smiling beatifically at his two surrogate daughters, Morgan gestured for them to be seated. “I take it you’ve read all the log entries and everything else I gave you?”
“Igen.” Zsa-Zsa nodded, “A lot of it was frankly speaking amazing. Do you think that perhaps all that activity might have opened a door?”
“I don’t think what happened with Liz so much opened the door as widened it.” Morgan responded thoughtfully. “Remember, I first encountered those ruins while I was still an ensign on the Merlin and about a year or so later while I was on the Ajax. What happened with Liz, and later with me and Boris, didn’t take place until I…the younger version of me, that is, was on the Lexington.” Taking a deep breath and exhaling as Eliza handed the admiral a shot glass with a finger of bourbon, “Time travel’s a mess. Past…present…future…all becoming a…”
“Wibbly wobbly mess.” Zsa-Zsa chuckled. “Ertem. Go on please.”
“So, I don’t think what happened to us kicked the door open so much as opened wider a door that was already ajar. No.” Morgan shook his head, “Someone or something opened that door a long time ago…billions of years probably. So now we’re left with questions. Who? What? and Why? That’s what I need the two of you to find out. But…like I said earlier, you might not be alone. I’m pretty sure that Boris will also be following the trail from his end—at least I’m hoping he will. So…” he asked, “What’s your plan of attack?”
“Plan?” Zsa-Zsa laughed, “What plan, dahling? We’re going to do what we always do…”
“Fly by the seat of our pants.” Eliza finished with a laugh.
Responding with a rich belly laugh, Morgan joked, “That’s what I thought you’d say.” Getting serious again, he declared, “That’s why I wanted the two of you to lead this and why I picked the crew for you I did. No one on this ship is afraid to color outside the lines and that’s what we need right now.” His good humor returning, the admiral prompted, “Have the two of you had dinner yet?” Again speaking with a grave voice, he lamented, “It might very well be a long time before we have this opportunity again. I’m hoping we can spend some more time together before you have to go and take care of business. Besides…I’ve got some more tall tales to tell you—if you want to hear ‘em, that is.”
“Igen.” Zsa-Zsa smiled warmly at her adoptive father, “We would love to hear a few more of your stories.”
“Please.” Eliza grinned, adding her entreaties, “We’d especially like to hear more stories about your friends.”
“All right!” Morgan laughed as he placed an arm around the shoulders of each of his surrogate daughters, “Let’s grab us some grub and I’ll tell you the story about the time when I was still a captain in the Border Service on the old Bozeman and me, Joseph, and Boris got into trouble at Sloopy’s. It involved a troupe of Orion strippers and their Ferengi manager…”
A few hours later
“I guess it’s time for me to get back to my ship.” Morgan sighed as he and his adoptive daughters entered the transporter room. Taking an object out of his pocket, he handed it to Zsa-Zsa.
“A holo-disk?” The Hungarian captain exclaimed with a curious expression on her face.
His lips turning up in a sad smile, Bateson nodded his head, “If you run into Boris, would you give this to him please. It’s just a little something I recorded for him.”
“Of course, apa.” Zsa-Zsa promised, “We’ll make sure he gets it.”
“Thank you.” Morgan grinned as he brushed away a tear. “Now. Why don’t you two give your old man a last hug.”
“We’ll miss you apa.” Zsa-Zsa sobbed as she and Eliza both embraced their surrogate father.
“We promise we’ll find out what’s going on and whatever it is, we’ll stop it.” Eliza swore, brushing away her own tears.
“I know you will.” Morgan smiled back. Taking his place on the transporter pad, he then ordered, “Energize.”
“Well that’s it then.” Eliza commented to her lover in a low whisper as their trusted mentor dematerialized, “We’re on our own now.”
“Igen.” Zsa-Zsa smiled, “But we’ll do what we always do.”
“Kick ass.” Eliza chuckled.
Immediately on exiting the turbolift on to the bridge, Zsa-Zsa commanded, “Helm. Take us to Eleuthra IV. Maximum impulse.”
“Maximum impulse aye.” Ian, the ruggedly handsome Irish helmsman acknowledged.
“Course laid in.” Ensign Django announced.
A short time later, as Eleuthra IV grew larger in their viewscreens, Eliza snorted, “Remind me to cross this place off our must see list.”
“Too late, dragam.” Zsa-Zsa chuckled, “We’re already here and it looks like we’re the only guests.” Swiveling in her chair, the Hungarian captain called out to her science officer, “What does it look like down there, T’Vrel?”
“Arid world. Only small bodies of water mostly frozen. Thin oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere.” The Vulcan science officer reported back. “Temperature averaging zero degrees Celsius. Radiation within limits so long as extended exposure is avoided. Environmental suits should not be necessary provided exposure to the elements is limited. However, cold weather gear will be necessary as well as breathing assistance and I would advise prophylactic anti-radiation medicine be administered before beaming down to the surface as well as setting up a portable shelter.”
“Any signs of verteron or chroniton particles or dark energy?” Zsa-Zsa inquired.
“Faint traces of all of them, Captain.” T’Vrel responded.
Zsa-Zsa nodded as she turned her head to her first officer, “Pick a landing party and see if there’s anything hiding there, dragam.”
“Aye, Captain.” Eliza promptly acknowledged, tapping her comm. “Nealo…Salome…Liam…Dr. Knoll…report to the transporter room for landing party duty. You can pick up your supplies and cold weather gear there. Doctor? Bring anti-radiation medication with you.”
“Good hunting, dragam.” Zsa-Zsa winked as her lover rose from her seat. “Bring me something nice.”
“I’ll see if I can find us a souvenir or two, baby.” The olive-skinned executive officer replied with a coy wink of her own.
“Music, Captain?” Lieutenant Sito asked as the turbolift door closed behind the first officer.
“Igen. Put on something jazzy, dahling.”
“Any preferences?” Sito asked with a grin.
“Surprise me.” Zsa-Zsa replied as a soft jazz tune filled the air. “Ah!” The Hungarian captain sighed,, “Good choice.”
Eleuthra IV—the ruins
“Damn!” Liam cursed, wrapping his arms around himself as he struggled to stay warm, “Even with all this gear I’m fucking freezing!”
“I hate the cold.” The Caribbean born first officer shivered, “Get that goddamn shelter set up asap while I set up the detection and defense grid!”
“On it!” Nealo exclaimed as he and Dr. Knoll quickly set up the portable shelter.
Taking out her tricorder, Salome announced, “I’m going to make a preliminary sweep of the ruins.”
“Go ahead!” Eliza affirmed, “Don’t let anything eat you!”
“Liam?” Salome waved at the English engineer, “Give me a hand?”
“Sure, ducks.” Liam replied, referring to the tawny-skinned science officer by her pet name.
As her engineer/casual sex partner approached, Salome pointed, “Check out the pillars clockwise and I’ll take them counter-clockwise.”
“What am I supposed to be looking for?”
“Glyphs for starters.” Salome instructed. “If you see any, make a visual record with your tricorder. Also keep an eye out for the usual. You know…flashing lights, talking bombs, big alien carnivorous creatures. That sort of thing.”
“Aye, Aye, Ma’am.” Liam responded with a playful salute, “Oh…ducks…if I do run into any carnivorous monsters you’ll know immediately. You’ll hear me screaming.”
Chuckling, Salome joked back, “Find me something and who knows what or who you might find in your bed tonight.”
“Well…” Liam laughed, “I better get to work then. See you on the other side. Sooner if I run into a carnivorous monster or worse—an alien killer robot.”
Scanning the first pillar with her tricorder, Salome vocalized to herself in a low voice, “Hmmm…verteron and chroniton particles…but no traces of dark matter or energy or spores.” Glancing down, she at once noticed a glyph similar to one of those found in the ruins on Cyrus IV. Kneeling down, she took a closer look. Then, spotting what appeared to be a small, shallow depression at the base next to the sigil, she placed her finger in it. As she did so, the sigil lit up with a dull blue light. “Well…well…what have we here. After taking out her tricorder and taking more readings, she cupped her hands and called out to her companion, “Liam! Check near the base of the pillar. Are you seeing a glyph?”
“Sure am, ducks.” Liam shouted back, “Verteron and chroniton particles too.”
“What about dark energy or matter? Spores?” Salome queried.
“Nope.” Liam yelled back, “Gonna check out the next pillar.”
“Before you do that…” Salome hollered, “Check near the glyph. Do you see a small indentation?”
“Yeah!” The English engineer answered, “What is it?”
“Don’t know.” Salome responded, further instructing. “Place your finger in the indentation. Does the glyph light up with a blue color?”
Doing as he was told, Liam at once noticed the glyph glowing only instead of blue, it emitted a dull yellow glow. Relaying his findings to his companion, Pearson asked, “Do you know what it means?”
“No idea.” Salome answered back, “Let’s continue our sweep and check each of the pillars. If they’re the same, then repeat the experiment and record the color each glyph emits. If I’m guessing right, this could be a clue to solving at least part of our mystery.”
“Right!” Liam responded, “Meet you at the twelve o’clock pillar!”
Camp
“We’re good to go.” Nealo declared as he and Dr. Knoll finished setting up the tent.
“About time!” Eliza exclaimed, involuntarily shivering from the cold. “I’ve set up a detection grid that will alert us to any sudden infusion of verteron or chroniton particles.”
“Get in the tent before you get frostbite or worse!” The doctor ordered, waving at the olive-skinned executive officer in a come here gesture.
“Right.” Eliza readily agreed, “Have some hot chocolate ready for me when I get there.”
“Heating it up now, Ma’am.” The Zulu security officer responded with a laugh. “Hurry up before it gets cold.”
Entering the heated tent, Eliza gratefully accepted a cup of steaming hot chocolate from the Arkarian CMO. Taking a sip, she smiled, “Thanks. I needed that.”
“I better make some more for Salome and Liam when they get back.” The doctor laughed as Eliza’s combadge chirped
“Flores. Tell me you found something, Salome.”
“We found something.” Salome responded, “And I’ve got a feeling you’re going to love it. We’re on our way back to camp.”
“We’ll have some hot chocolate waiting for you when you get here.” Eliza laughed.
“Can’t wait.” Salome answered with a chuckle, “Jenkins out.” A short time later, the tawny-skinned science/intelligence officer with her engineer companion entered the tent, shivering, she smiled gratefully as she accepted the proffered cup of hot chocolate. Taking a sip, she heaved a sigh, “You have no idea how good that tastes.”
“Take a few minutes to thaw out and then we can get started.” Eliza prompted before taking another drink.
“Thanks, Mum.” Liam grinned as he took the other cup of chocolate. “Mmmm…that hits the spot.”
“So what did you find out?” Eliza asked as she motioned for the others to join her at a makeshift conference table set in the middle of the large insulated tent.
“We think you’ll find this interesting, Ma’am.” Salome stated as she played the results of her and Liam’s tricorder scans along with the video evidence they recovered.
“Hmmm…looks like another puzzle.” Eliza commented, tapping her chin with her index finger.
“Any ideas how to solve it, Ma’am?” Nealo asked, joining the discussion.
“I’ll have to see it for myself.” The olive-skinned puzzle aficionada replied, “But from what I’m seeing here, I’d say that it’s a mixture of different puzzle types: visual, mathematical, and possibly logic.”
“Any further expeditions will have to wait until planet dawn.” Dr. Knoll declared. “The sun’s setting now. It won’t be long until the temperature drops too low for us to wander about outside—even in our cold weather gear. I prescribe dinner and a good night’s sleep.”
“Good idea.” Eliza agreed, barely repressing a yawn as she cracked a mischievous grin, “And since it was your idea, Doctor, you get to cook dinner.”
Laughing, the Arkarian physician joked back, tossing a ration bar to his impish superior, “I’m afraid ration bars will have to do for now.”
“You owe us a dinner when we get back.” Liam jibed before taking a bite from his bar, his expression turning into a grimace, “Fuck! This tastes like shite.”
“I had to live off these things during the Cardassian border wars.” Nealo scowled, “I was on Setlac III when the Cardies attacked. We took off into the woods and played cat and mouse with the spoonheads with nothing to eat but ration bars for over a month. When the Eisenhower arrived with the relief fleet, first thing we did once we got out of sickbay was pig out on steak, potatoes, and all the wine and beer we could get our hands on.”
“What about you, ducks?” Liam grinned, giving his part-time lover a coy wink, “Any stories about bad ration bars or sneaking through woods?”
“As a matter of fact…” Salome responded with a mischievous smirk, “I do have a story.” After taking a bite from her bar and washing it down with a swig of hot chocolate, the tawny-skinned intelligence officer leaned back, “I was part of a covert ops team sent to sabotage a Klingon shipyard. While we succeeded in our mission and blew up our primary target: a modified Negh-Var, we didn’t reach our rendezvous point in time.”
“You missed your ride.” Nealo nodded sympathetically, “Been there…done that. So…how did you get away?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Salome answered, “We stole a shuttle and managed to warp out of the system, but not before they tagged our engines. So, after our engineering guru and I jury-rigged the engines, we were able to limp along at warp two. Took us two weeks to get back with nothing to eat but Klingon rations and no sonic shower or bath. By the time they rescued us, we all smelled like Liam after a long weekend on Argellius.”
“Hey!” An English accented voice cried out in protest.
“Ugh.” Eliza exclaimed with a look of disgust on her face, “Klingon rations taste like shit.”
Salome joked back, “Live shit that tries to bite you. Let me tell you, I was so happy when we were finally rescued that I threw the biggest, most decadent orgy ever to celebrate.”
“And you didn’t invite us!” Eliza quipped, “How rude!”
“Sorry, darling.” Salome bantered back, “It was a spur of the moment thing.”
“That’s all right.” Eliza laughed, “I’ll forgive you this once, but the next time you throw a party…”
“You all are invited.” Salome promised as she stretched out and yawned. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think I’m ready to turn in.”
“Good idea.” Eliza agreed as she slipped into her sleeping bag, “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. Time for us to get some rest. See you in the morning.”
The Next Morning
“Be sure to bring plenty of hot coffee and chocolate thermoses and ration bars!” Eliza advised as her team prepared to venture out once again into the cold. “We’re probably going to be at those ruins for a while.”
Hefting his backpack, Liam joked as he opened the tent, “Then let’s get started. The sooner we’re done, the sooner I’m back in our ship’s pub.”
Reaching the ruins after a short hike, Eliza pointed to them, “All right, Salome…Liam. Show me what you found.”
“This way, Commander.” Salome responded, leading the expedition to the first pillar. Approaching it, she pointed to the base. “There. That’s where I found the glyph and the button that triggered the blue light.”
Kneeling down, Eliza repeated her intelligence officer’s actions from the other day, also noting a blue light seemingly pointing to the center of the ruins. “Let’s see what our light leads to.” Eliza commented, gesturing in the direction the light was travelling. “I’m betting that’s where we’ll find our next clue.”
“What about the other glyphs?” Nealo asked, “Do you think they figure into it too?”
“Oh, definitely.” Eliza responded, “Odds are that we’ll have to activate them all to solve the puzzle if it’s what I think it’s going to be.”
.”So?” Salome interjected, “What are we waiting for?”
“Took the words right out of my mouth.” Eliza quipped with a crooked grin on her face. “Everyone pick a pillar with a glyph and activate it. Then we’ll see what we’ve got and take it from there.”
As Nealo activated the last pillar its red light joining the other colors: blue, yellow, green, orange, and violet, a console made of stone rose in the center of the ruin where the colors converged. “Careful, Boss.” The Zulu security chief cautioned as Eliza slowly made her way to the table.
The curious first officer commanded as she neared the console, “Be ready in case something ugly happens.”
“Always ready, Mum.” Liam declared as he set up shield and medical regenerators.
Examining the glyphs seemingly carved into the stone, Eliza vocalized as she tapped her fingers on the table edge, “Hmmm…” Motioning for her people to join her, she called out, “It’s safe. You can join me, but don’t touch anything yet.”
“What are we dealing with, Commander?” Salome asked as she and the rest of the team joined their leader at the table, gathering around it.
“I was right.” Eliza affirmed, “It’s a combination of puzzle types. It looks like we have a sequential puzzle combined with a visual one involving colors and shapes. I think we have to match the glyph with its pillar and color—but it has to be done in a certain order.”
“We’ll be here forever.” Nealo moaned, “Do you know how many combinations there are?”
“No.” Eliza quipped, “But I can always call up T’Vrel. I’m sure she’ll be happy to tell you.”
“No, thank you, Ma’am. We’ll be here all day..” Nealo smirked, “But, Ma’am, my point still stands. How are you going to solve this puzzle before we freeze to death.”
Looking up at the position of the dull orange sun in the sky, the first officer’s lips turned up in a sly grin. “I was right last night. There’s a logic puzzle hidden in there too.” She further explained, “We’re going to let the sun help us. “See how it’s light is focused on that pillar over there?” she gestured to a nearby column. I’m betting that’s our first one.” Walking over to the pillar, Eliza at once spotted the symbol at the base of the structure glowing a dull yellow. Returning to the console, she pressed first the glyph and then passed her hand over a faint narrow light. Moments later, she was rewarded for her efforts as the pillar began to hum.
“That’s one.” Salome noted as she took out her tricorder. “This should tell us where the sun will shine next.” Moments later, she exclaimed, pointing at a column. “Got it! That one and red light.”
“Right!” Eliza grinned as she repeated what she had done earlier with similar results. Her smile growing wider, she called out, “Next!” Once the last pillar was activated, the console began to glow as beams of light struck each column, the gaps in between the columns now covered by a wall of fog.
“What the hell?” Nealo exclaimed as he instinctively drew his phaser.
“Salome? Liam? Dr. Knoll?” Eliza called out in a sharp, commanding voice as her gaze shifted from the console to the pillars and back again. “Report!”
“No life signs.” Salome quickly responded, scanning the area with her tricorder. “But I am picking up high resonances of verteron and chroniton particles along with dark energy.”
“I can’t figure what or where the power for this is coming from, Commander!” Liam declared, “I’m playing it safe and rigging up an anti-radiation shield—just in case.”
“Doctor?” Eliza prompted, turning her attention to the Arkarian physician. “Exposure risk?”
Taking a hypo, Dr. Knoll administered injections to himself and the rest of the landing party. “A combination of hyronolin and chlorohexidine. “That will protect us for a short while, but I’d strongly suggest we get done what we’ve came here to do quickly.”
“Right.” Eliza nodded, “I want readings on those pillars and that fog that’s in between them. What are we dealing with?”
Slowly the fog walls in between the pillars cleared to reveal images—each one different from the others. “Are these some sort of logs or archives?” Nealo inquired as he gazed on one display—that of what appeared to be a desperate battle between a Constitution-class starship bearing the name USS Valley Forge, and several Klingon D-7 battlecruisers.
“I don’t think so.” Salome replied, gesturing to the image that she was recording—this one of a woman wearing what appeared to be crimson and white armor hiding behind a rock as a man was placed on a platform by a pair of what seemed to be robots or some other form of artificial life. The landing party watched transfixed as a large spike impaled the screaming man, skewering him.
“Damn.” Liam groaned, “That’s a rotten way to go.”
“Record everything.” Eliza commanded in a crisp tone as her tricorder recorded images of what seemed to be a building or structure of some sort made of opaque crystals that shifted pattern and shape randomly.
“Some of this stuff…that thing looks like it’s staring right at me.” Nealo asked as he pointed to the display he was recording of a creature with tentacles on what looked like its chin appeared to be gazing back. Reacting quickly, the security chief backpedaled just in time as two of the tentacles reached out to grab him. Firing his phaser, the Zulu officer gasped in relief as the phaser beam contacted the image and the monster disappeared. The image now black and featureless, Nealo caught his breath, “I don’t know what these things are, Boss, but they’re not archives or recordings. That…whatever it was…was real!”
“Just like the admiral said.” Eliza murmured as she tapped her combadge. “Captain?”
“Yes, dahling.” Zsa-Zsa answered. “Did you find something?”
“You might say that.” Eliza responded, “Padre was right. The ruins are portals. We had an incident involving one of the gateways.” She then gave a report on her security chief’s encounter with the tentacled monster. “We’re also picking up increased amounts of verteron and chroniton particles as well as dark energy.”
“Have you gotten everything you can, dragam?” Zsa-Zsa asked.
“I think so.” Eliza answered back, “Wait one. Dr. Knoll wants to tell me something.” After a brief conversation with the CMO, Eliza again tapped her comm. “The doctor just told me that the radiation is about to reach unsafe levels.”
“Ertem.” Zsa-Zsa quickly acknowledged, “We’re pulling you out.” Eliza then heard her captain calling out to the destroyer’s tactical officer, “Sito. Beam our people back now.”
“All right, crew.” Eliza commanded, “We’re beaming out.” A few minutes later, immediately upon rematerializing in the transporter room, the landing party barely kept their footing as the ship shook. A moment later, as the alarm klaxon sounded out, the first officer commanded,. “Move!” Exiting the turbolift on to the bridge a short time later, Eliza, accompanied by Liam, the chief engineer, heard T’Vrel call out her usual calm voice now carrying a slight edge.
“Increased buildup of chroniton and verteron particles accompanied by dark energy.”
“Shields firming up.” Lieutenant Sito announced. “Weapons charged and ready.”
“All stations ready for action, Captain.” Ensign Salal reported.
Taking the first officer’s chair next to her lover, Eliza whispered as what appeared to be a wormhole opened up, “It’s just like what padre told us about.”
“Igen.” Zsa-Zsa whispered back before issuing her next order, “Contact Admiral Bateson.”
“Aye, Captain.” Lieutenant Sito acknowledged. A moment later, the elderly admiral’s image appeared on the viewscreen.
“Zsa-Zsa.” Morgan commented with a worried look on his face. “We just picked up a sudden spike in verteron and chroniton energy.”
“Igen.” The Hungarian captain promptly confirmed just as her science officer called out.
“Radiation increasing!”
“Buck us up, Ian. Slow and steady.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Ian responded in his usual Irish brogue.
“Massive energy spike.” T’Vrel reported in her usual flat tone, “Verteron and chroniton particles accompanied by a massive surge of dark energy.”
“Look!” Ensign Django exclaimed as the image on the viewscreen changed to show what appeared to be a ”Wormhole!”
“Floor it, Ian!” Zsa-Zsa ordered.
“I’ve got my pedal to the metal, Boss!” Ian responded as the Belladonna was drawn ever closer to the anomaly.
“More juice, Liam!”
“I’m giving you everything I’ve got and then some, Mum.” The English engineer declared, “Any more and we’ll rip this ship apart.”
“Baszd! Contact Admiral Bateson!” Zsa-Zsa ordered as the Belladonna, her engines straining and the ship shaking, was pulled ever closer to the gaping black maw.
“Zsa-Zsa! What’s going on? Our readings are spiking off the scale.”
“You were right, apa.” The young Hungarian captain said, a sad smile on her face as she brushed away a tear. “We’re being pulled into whatever that is and can’t break free. I’m sorry.”
“No.” Morgan responded in a somber tone. “It is I who should apologize. I should never have…”
‘You did the right thing.” Zsa-Zsa declared as the wormhole grew larger on the viewscreen, now blotting out all the stars. “I promise. Wherever…whenever…we end up…we’ll find help and we’ll come back.”
“I know.” The admiral answered with a smile, “While you’re doing that, the Emperor, Alexei, and I will do the best we can to hold the line here. Zsa-Zsa…Eliza…I love you both. May St. Christopher watch over you and guide you safely back home.”
Watching as the Belladonna and his adoptive daughters and their crew passed into the wormhole, Morgan lowered his head and said a quiet prayer. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the admiral turned to the Richelieu’s captain. “Take us back home, Gabe. We’re got a lot of work to do.”