CHAPTER 5: EXPLANATIONS

"My name is James," the Human Starfleeter said. "The other Starfleeters here are T'Lor and Najen. T'Lor is a Vulcan, and Najen's Bajoran."

"And he would be a Vulcan too?" Cale asked, noticing the similarities between T'Lor and Levek's appearances.

"No, I am not Vulcan," Levek said firmly. "I am a Romulan."

Cale looked from T'Lor to Levek, and shook his head in confusion. "I'm sorry, but I don't see any difference."

"There IS a difference," T'Lor said bluntly. "He is a Romulan, and I am Vulcan."

"We'll explain in a minute," James cut in. Then he went on with his explanation. "The three of us are in Starfleet," he said, pointing to T'Lor, Najen, and himself.

"We are from a government that calls itself the United Federation of Planets," T'Lor clarified. "The Federation is dedicated to exploring the galaxy and spreading peace."

There was a snort from Levek at that statement. "Bah!" K'Bhena muttered. "Of what use is peace? The Klingon Empire was forged through honorable warfare. We have no need for peace."

"Nor does Romulus," Levek agreed. "I shall never understand why you Starfleeters promote it so much."

"The Klingon Empire should never be without an enemy to fight," K'Bhena added. Then, to the Rebels and Akiran: "But our enemy has often been the Federation."

"As has ours," Levek interjected, giving one of his amused/mischievous grins.

"Then I have a solution," James muttered. "If you Klingons and Romulans like war so much...then why don't you fight EACH OTHER and leave the Federation out of it?"

K'Bhena and Levek shared a look.

"But where would the fun be in that?" Levek joked. Then he shook his head, almost patronizingly. "Humans."

James resumed his explanation. "The other two members of our so-called 'team' are K'Bhena and Levek. K'Bhena is a Klingon. As you've probably already guessed, her species is really fond of wars, battles, and anything that involves blood and guts."

K'Bhena glared at him. "We are not fond of the needless spilling of 'blood and guts', as you put it. We Klingons prize our honor above all else, even our own lives--which is more than I can say for some Humans."

"Are you calling me a wimp?" James asked, offended.

"If that term means what I think it does--then yes."

Levek laughed. "You had better back down now, Human."

Then K'Bhena whirled on Levek. "And why don't you stay out of this, Romulan." It was not a suggestion.

"My pleasure," Levek muttered, bowing mockingly. Then he straightened and spoke to the new arrivals.

"I am Levek, a loyal son of the Romulan Star Empire. And no, I am not Vulcan...but my people once were.

"A few millennia ago, Vulcans were much like any other race in the galaxy. They had wars, intrigue, and what's more: they had ACTUAL EMOTIONS. Then some Vulcans got the senseless idea to start purging themselves of any emotion whatsoever. And that means the good as well as the bad; they treat happiness, love, and humor the same way they treat anger and sadness. Soon the majority of the planet was thinking this way, and when some Vulcans decided to KEEP their emotions...well, they were exiled.

"A group of these exiles decided to leave the homeworld and start a new life on another planet. These exiles were my ancestors. They settled on the twin planets Romulus and Remus, and founded the Romulan Star Empire."

"And a sad day THAT was," James muttered quietly.

"Oh, and another thing about Romulans," Levek added, turning to fix James with a hard look. "These pointed ears give us VERY GOOD HEARING."

Everyone, including the new arrivals, laughed good-naturedly (except for T'Lor, of course). Even James joined in.

Then T'Lor broke up the laughter (like always), saying, "I feel compelled to straighten out some of the misconceptions Levek has about Vulcan culture."

"You FEEL compelled?" Levek asked, raising one eyebrow. "I thought Vulcans didn't FEEL anything."

T'Lor made a noise that sounded suspiciously like an exasperated sigh. "You know what I mean, Cadet Levek. Back to my original point: the turn Vulcan philosophy took was toward the positive. Before the teacher Surak introduced his ideas to the Vulcan people, the Vulcans were a savage and ruthless race. Surak then taught the people that there was a more...logical way to act.

"We Vulcans still have emotions, of course," T'Lor went on. "We merely control them so that they will not influence our actions."

"Which is unnatural, if you ask me," Levek interrupted.

"No," one of the new arrivals, the girl Talela, said. "It makes sense. The Jedi did that to some extent as well. 'There is no emotion; there is peace...there is no death; there is the Force.'" she quoted. "That was part of an ancient Jedi code."

"What's a Jedi?" James asked.

"The Jedi were once the defenders and protectors of the Old Republic," Talela explained. "That's the government we had before the Empire."

"So the Jedi were like police?" James asked, sounding disappointed. Those Rebels had spoken of Jedi with such awe that he thought they'd be something...more.

"Not really," Talela replied. "They had many of the duties of a police officer--but they were a lot more than that."

Cale cut in: "Maybe you should tell them about Jedi powers."

Talela shushed him with a look. "I was just getting to that."

"What powers?" Levek asked, suddenly becoming interested.

Talela went on with her explanation:

"Jedi can do things that ordinary people cannot. For example, they can move objects with their minds or sense another person's emotions."

"Like a telepath?" Najen asked.

"Sort of," Talela replied. "But Jedi can do things that even telepaths can't do."

"T'Lor's a telepath," James offered helpfully. "All Vulcans are."

Talela turned her gaze onto T'Lor. "Truly?" she asked.

"Yes, Vulcans are telepaths," T'Lor replied. "Our telepathy comes from our mental discipline."

"Or so you say," Levek cut in. "But I think your people just want to keep the secret of telepathy all to yourselves. Which would explain why Romulans are NOT telepathic."

T'Lor sighed. "A Vulcan cannot lie, Levek. You may choose whether or not to believe me-I WOULD NOT CARE."

"Oh, does the Vulcan sound a bit grouchy today?" Levek teased, noting the exasperation in T'Lor's tone. "So much for mental discipline."

It was true. T'Lor had gotten careless and let some of her annoyance creep into her tone of voice. Now everyone in the cabin was staring at her as if she had just sprouted wings.

Levek wasn't sure how to react. He had just succeeded in annoying T'Lor to the point where her emotion would show on her face--something he had been trying to do ever since the shuttle left Deep Space 6. He should have been satisfied. But...

Levek drew the attention away from T'Lor with another of his tirades. "You all have no idea how many experiments have gone into reconstructing Vulcan telepathy. We Romulans are rather curious about it, actually. If the Vulcans are telepaths, then why can't Romulans be? After all, our physiology is mostly identical. Can you imagine what it will be like when we finally unlock the secret?"

"I sure can," James muttered. "Reigns of terror committed by emperors who can stop all resistance through armies of some kind of telepathic KGB or Gestapo--you call your intelligence force the Tal Shiar, right?- -...Romulan spies who are telepaths...People betraying each other at the slightest whim...Just chaos in general. Face it, Levek: the Vulcans can handle telepathy--and you Romulans can't. And that's the way I'd rather keep it."

Levek sighed and gave a melancholy grin. "I believe that you have said your first statement with any intelligent content, Human. I'm impressed. Perhaps your species may one day learn."

James glared at Levek with a lopsided smile on his face--not sure whether to take Levek's words as a compliment or an insult.

"As amusing as that was," Najen interrupted. "I believe Talela was talking about Jedi Knights."

Everyone stared at the shy little mouse that had just grown wings (or rather, a voice).

"Lo, she speaks," Levek said, grinning at Najen.

Najen shifted her eyes toward the console in front of her, embarrassed.

K'Bhena covered for her. "Shut up, Romulan p'tak," K'Bhena ordered. "Najen is right-let's get back to the subject. These Jedi sound like great warriors...and worthy allies. I want to hear more about them."

"Okay," Talela said. "Well...let's see, a Jedi gets their power from the Force. The Force is a sort of...energy...that is in all living things. Some individuals can use the energy of the Force to do things that others can't-- like lift objects without touching them, and so on."

"Could you demonstrate?" James asked, extremely curious.

"Of course," Talela said. She took the metal cylinder from her belt and held it flat in the palm of her hand. Then, suddenly, it began to rise into the air--without anything touching it.

"Amazing..." James breathed.

T'Lor, seeking some logical proof for this phenomenon, gently ran her hand through the air underneath the floating cylinder. Then she examined the cylinder itself, to see if there was some sort of magnet or repulser-lift technology hidden on it.

"This is not logical," T'Lor muttered. "Not logical at all."

"It is perfectly logical," Talela said, in that annoyingly cheerful way of hers. "Here--scan me with some of your medical technology."

James handed T'Lor a tricorder, with which she immediately scanned the Jedi girl. "I am reading abnormal activity somewhere within the brain," T'Lor reported. "I have never seen this sort of situation before."

"You see," Talela said, with the satisfied tone of a teacher who has finally succeeded in teaching a reluctant student a childishly simple concept. "There IS a scientific explanation. I simply have a...part of the brain that most others do not have. May I see that--what do you call it-- ah, tricorder?"

T'Lor wordlessly handed the instrument to the girl. Then T'Lor turned to the other cadets of her galaxy. "Do any of you have medical or neurological training?" All of them shook their heads.

"We don't need to study her, T'Lor," James muttered, giving Talela an apologetic shrug. Everyone was quiet for an awkward ten seconds.

Akiran broke the silence. "Our Emperor is a Jedi. So is his right- hand man, Darth Vader."

Talela was appalled. "Of course not!" she cried, showing the first anger that T'Lor had seen from her. "They may have some Jedi powers--but they are not TRUE Jedi. A real Jedi does not hurt others for fun, or take away the people's freedom. Your Emperor is nothing more than a cruel slave- master!"

Akiran jumped up. "What did you call him?! The Emperor is a GREAT man!"

"A great monster, you mean," Cale retorted. "And we in the Rebel Alliance will not rest until he's DEAD!"

Akiran threw the first punch. Cale threw the second.



"Humans can fight better than I thought," K'Bhena observed.

"Yes, surprisingly," Levek agreed. "Hmmm. Do Klingons gamble?"

"Of course," K'Bhena replied. "What civilized race doesn't?"

"I bet on the Imperial," Levek said. "He was obviously trained in some sort of military--and the Rebel looks rather untrained to me."

"But the Rebel has a strong punch," K'Bhena argued. "I bet on him."

"This is all very nice," Najen interrupted. "But we need to break this up. QUIET EVERYBODY--STOP FIGHTING!"

But Najen's voice was too soft. She searched for a way to make the two fighters paid attention. Then her eyes lit up as she saw her salvation.



"Stop this fighting!" T'Lor cried, having no more success than Najen. "This is the height of illogic!"

Then T'Lor felt herself...FLOATING. She glanced towards the Jedi girl, wondering if Talela was strong enough to lift a person, but she was just as perplexed as T'Lor was.

Then T'Lor realized that the artificial gravity had been turned off.

"Are you going to listen now?" Najen asked, sitting strapped into a seat while everyone else chaotically floated around the room. Najen had clearly prepared for the loss of gravity; therefore, T'Lor concluded, she was the cause of it. It was only logical.

The two fighters were spinning out of control.

"Ahhhhh!" Akiran cried, until Najen grabbed him by the boot and turned him upright. The Wookie-Kobawcca-caught Cale.

Najen turned the gravity back on, making sure to make the transition slow so that the others would not crash into the ground and break something. Then, once the gravity was back on, she stood up and spoke.

"Listen to me: this entire time you all have been fighting when we SHOULD have been looking for a way out of this void. T'Lor is right--this is the height of illogic! For all we know, we could have been out of here by now--but instead you decided to put on an amateur performance of Galactic Wrestling. THAT IS STUPID! I don't care how much you Rebels and Imperials hate each other. I don't care about the Romulan Empire's past wars, or the Klingons' love of battle. And you shouldn't either--because we have GOT to work together!

"And we ARE going to make it out of here. You know why? Because we've got resources from two different galaxies. We've got the abilities of a Jedi, the intelligence of a Vulcan, the persistence of a Klingon, the cleverness of a Romulan, the technical expertise of a Wookie, the courage of a Rebel infantryman--and an equally courageous TIE fighter pilot, and of course, the dumb jokes of a certain Human to keep us entertained. This void doesn't know what it has coming!

"We'll make it out of here, but we've got to work together. Now, to business: we need ideas. Who's got them?"

T'Lor stood up. "It was clearly a wormhole of some kind that brought us in here. However, this wormhole has many of the attributes of a black hole."

"IS there a way out of a black hole?" James asked.

T'Lor tilted her head to the side, deep in thought. "There is a theory," she began. "No one has ever seen the inside of a black hole before, but there is a theory that states that at the other side of a black hole there is a WHITE HOLE. A white hole would repel matter, just like a black hole attracts it."

"So we find this white hole-if there is one-and then we've got our exit point?" James asked.

"In theory, yes," T'Lor replied. "But it would require a large amount of energy to force us INTO the white hole--and then another large amount of energy to force us OUT of the gravity well of the black hole on the other side. The magnitude of energy we would need is...impossible."

"Only improbable, not impossible. Did someone say 'Force'?" Talela asked. "I believe I could be of some assistance there."

"Has a Jedi ever tried something of this magnitude?" T'Lor asked.

"I don't know," Talela replied. "I guess we won't find out until we try."

"But you can't push an entire ship through a white hole!" Cale cried.

"Why not?" Talela asked. "Size does not matter. I have seen my mother lift an entire speeder."

"But you're talking about arm-wrestling with the laws of physics!"

"Many laws have loopholes," Talela replied smoothly. "We just need to find one."

"This is insane," Akiran said. Then he smiled, uncertain but determined. "But if you have a plan...I'll help."

"We don't even know if there ARE white holes," Cale reminded them.

"Either way," Najen replied. "There was a way in-and so there must be a way out. We only need to find it."

K'Bhena grinned in excitement. "Many warriors get the chance to fight cunning foes. But the laws of physics? This shall be a GLORIOUS battle! Qapla!"





NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: If any of you out there are science experts, I fervently apologize for my hastily made-up physics. I have heard of the theory about black holes and white holes, though I suppose I didn't do the best job articulating it. Oh well, please keep reading--there won't be any more fake science, I promise!