Chapter Ten
The JumpGate
We orbited an inhabited world, getting supplies. They called themselves the Xanons. Of course, they needed help.
"Well, Captain, I hope you like the supplies. They are of the highest quality. Can I ask you for a favor?" Governor Telva asked.
"Of course." I sat across him. The Xanons were a insectoid species, looking like mantises.
"Well, our JumpGates needs fixing, and I wondered if you could help us. We'll give anything you need, dilithium, power cells...anything!"
"First, what is a JumpGate?"
"It's a transporting system for our colonies, making warp drive obsolete. The only thing is, there's a limited number of times that you can go though them, and they take months to fix. A few months ago, all of them were down, and we've been on warp drive ever since. We don't have many JumpGate technicians."
"Are they all over the galaxy?"
"Yes, they are, but they're cloaked."
"Why?"
"Because they're offline. We've been to Sector 001 many times, but there was no warp-capable species living there, so we turned them off-or rather, they did themselves. There's a energy saving program in the system."
"And when was that?"
"About 500 years ago. One of our ships crash landed on this 'Earth' you're talking about."
"I see. I'll have my engineers look at this."
We both stood up and bowed, and he turned to the door. "Please, ladies first."
I looked at him. "By the way, have the Borg attacked you?"
"They're the ones on the cubed and spherical ships?" I nodded. "Yes, they have. What about them?"
"If I'm to use this JumpGate, do one of your ships have to accompany us?"
"Only our ships can program the JumpGate." He looked at me. "Are you saying that you want to use the JumpGate?"
I nodded. "We're at war with the Borg, and I need to get to Earth as quickly as possible."
He paused. "We've been looking for allies to fight them ever since they knew about the JumpGates in their space. You would like to join us?"
"Officially, I'm breaking an order from my Fleet Admiral, but, yes, we would. The JumpGates would give us an advantage. When did you build that JumpGate?"
"The records have been lost, but it is the first JumpGate ever built, a million years ago."
"You're kidding." I stared at him.
"We invented those before warp drive. If you want to know how to build the JumpGate, I cannot tell you how."
"I have no desire to build one just to get to this sector and back." I smiled grimly. "It must've been amazing."
"Yes, it was. That's how we invented warp drive, using the JumpGates." He escorted me to the door. "Captain Janeway, I can never thank you enough. I will personally accompany you through the Gate."
We both bowed again, and I tapped my badge. "One to beam up."
When I arrived, T'Vela was there.
"You've violated protocol."
"I didn't need security then."
She handed me a PADD. "This is my weekly report."
"Thanks." I went to the Engineering deck. "Miral, I need you to do something for me."
"What?" She looked at me. "This was a really good deal. These crystals can power up the warp drive for weeks!"
"I need you to assemble a team and fix the Xanons's JumpGates."
"Sure." She then turned back. "What's a JumpGate?"
***
"Governor, we're ready."
He nodded. "I advise you to be careful. With the adjustments you won't fall apart, but it might tax the dampeners."
"Okay. On screen!"
I saw the gate opening. The gate turned red, then green.
"Go at warp one during the ride, no faster or you'll fall apart. It'll only take an hour." Telva then severed the connection, and went in.
"Colin, warp factor one."
"Aye, captain!" He pushed the button, and we warped into the JumpGate. letting fate decide if we survived or not.
***
A/N: 0.o What's gonna happen next??? Visit my homepage, and I'll give you a clue. ^^