I don't own Thunderbirds, Star Trek or anything that is associated with them. I obtained information about Star Trek technology from CD ROMs Star Trek: Omnipedia and Star Trek TNG Technical Manual. The crew of the Orac and the ship are my own creation.
The Wormhole
Orac, the most powerful and technologically advanced submarine in Seafleet , was one of several submarines that were ordered to the Indian Ocean to monitor an experiment, which is to increase algae growth in an area by a chemical reaction. To set off the reaction a laser is fired onto a container, which is filled with chemicals. The laser reacts with the chemicals in a way that causes the algae to double in growth. Everything had been cleared and the submarines were focusing their short-range sensors onto the area so if something did go wrong they can collect the data and see if it would cause damage to the environment or not. All were waiting for the final count down of the laser fire.
"Come on! When are they going to start! I'm bored!" complained Chief of Security Lieutenant Commander Jim Harding.
"Look, they have to make sure everything is working fine and in the right place, otherwise we'll be blown to hell and back." Said Science Officer Lieutenant Natalie Yates.
Commander Jim Harding and Lieutenant Natalie Yates sat at their stations that were at the very back of the bridge. Natalie took a few minutes looking around the bridge of the submarine Orac. Harding was on Natalie's left and looking down from the security/tactical station she could see the door to the Captain's Ready Room. Looking down from her science station she could just see the door that led to the Conference Room. In the middle of the bridge was the Command Chair, which was currently occupied by Captain Richard Gelding, the commanding officer of the ship. The First Officer, Commander Andi Davidson, was sitting on the Captain's right. On either side of the Captain along the walls were 2 other consoles. On the left was engineering and at the moment Chief of Engineering Lieutenant Commander Mark McIntyre, who happens to be Natalie's uncle, isn't occupying it. 'He's down at Main Engineering ready to fix stuff if anything gets damaged during this experiment.' Natalie thought. Looking to the wall on the right was the console for Ops and seated in front of it was Lieutenant Toby Smith. Ensign Paula Wallis sat at the helm in the centre front of the bridge. 'The only member of the senior staff that isn't here on the bridge is Dr. Kerry Collins.' Thought Natalie as she looked along the walls of flashing yellow lights, indicating the ship was on yellow alert.
She looked at the bridge again. All the people present were wearing their uniforms. The Seafleet uniforms were 2 piece uniforms, all navy blue with a certain colour around the end of the sleeves, around the edge of the shirt collar and in between the neck and shoulder area. Also the over shirt had a zipper that doesn't zip all the way up to the neck revealing a small portion of the undershirt. The undershirt was similar to the shirt only without sleeves and the collar. The colour scheme is opposite to the over shirt. The patches in between the sholder and the neck were navy blue while the rest of the singlet was in the colour of the person's duty. Red was for command or navigation, blue for science or medical and yellow for engineering or security. The rank pins were the same as Starfleet and were worn on the right hand side above where the duty colour ends. On the left hand side under the colour patch sits the combadge, a gold circle with a silver oval tilted to the right within the circle. Inside the oval was an anchor in gold in the same orientation as the oval.
Natalie looked over to Ops where a beeping noise was indicating that there was an incoming message. Smith spoke so that everyone can hear him, "Control Centre has just sent out a message to the fleet saying that the experiment is commencing in 5 minutes."
"Sensor readings on and around the experiment area are within normal parameters sir." Natalie informed.
~*~
Meanwhile in another universe at the same location and the same time, a similar event was about to happen. The weather was rough, causing the seas to be very choppy. A cargo ship was sailing in the area when the weather turned bad. Down below was a WASP submarine that was about to test the newly designed laser gun. Its target is a small pile of rubble. "If things go well sir, this laser gun will become very useful." Commented a Seaman to the Captain.
"That's if we can pull off this little test, Seaman."
The tactical officer turned in his chair and said, "Firing in 5 minutes sir."
The weather above was getting worse and the cargo ship was rocking violently. One of the containers filled with chemicals broke loose and fell overboard. It began sinking towards the test site of the laser gun.
~*~
"4 minutes to go sir." Said Natalie. "So far no changes in the environment that might interfere with the experiment."
~*~
"3 minutes until firing." Said the tactical officer.
"Helm, get us into position." Ordered the Captain.
"Aye, Sir." Acknowledged the helmsman. Meanwhile the fallen container continues sinking closer.
~*~
"2 minutes. Everything still going good sir." Informed Natalie.
~*~
"1 minute before firing sir." Said the tactical officer.
"Now in position sir." Informed the helmsman. The crew were still oblivious to the sunken container that was heading their way.
~*~
"30 seconds."
~*~
"20 seconds."
~*~
"10 seconds."
~*~
"9"
~*~
"8"
~*~
"7"
~*~
"6"
~*~
"5, powering laser sir."
~*~
"4"
~*~
"3"
~*~
"2"
~*~
"1"
"Fire!" ordered the Captain. As the laser gun fired, the fallen container came into contact and there was an explosion.
~*~
"1, laser now firing." Informed Natalie. The laser hit the container, and then an explosion happened. Orac shuddered as a shockwave hit the submarine while the bridge was flooded with red light and the sound of the red alert klaxon. People fell over and some consoles exploded. "I wish you would get around to finishing those shields you were designing Yates." Shouted Harding.
When Captain Gelding got his breath back and got himself off the floor he yelled, "Report!" Natalie looked at her console and punched a few buttons to get the readings she needed. "What the?!" she said.
"What is it Lieutenant?" asked Gelding.
"I'm picking up quantum fluctuations from where the explosion occurred."
"What does that mean?" interrupted Commander Davidson.
"It means that the explosion has resulted in creating some kind of wormhole."
"What?!" Then the console beeped.
"Sir! The wormhole is starting to close and it is creating a current that is pulling the Victor towards it! The wormhole is very unstable and if the Victor goes in it will be very hard to get back because the terminus is about to shift." Natalie punched a few more buttons. "They are trying to break free but their starboard engine was damaged during the shockwave. There is no way they can get away on their own sir and the wormhole will be closed in 30 seconds."
Gelding then asked, "Can we get there and pull them out?"
"We wouldn't get there in time sir." Answered Harding.
"What about the other ships?"
Natalie answered, "Some are still recovering from the shockwave and others don't have the equipment or are too small to pull the Victor free." The console beeped "20 seconds until the wormhole is closed."
"We'll try anyway. Helm full speed ahead and get us next to the current the Victor is in. Mr Harding, lock a retrieval torpedo onto the Victor and fire when we are in range." Ordered Gelding.
"Aye sir!" said Harding and Wallis.
Orac was almost close enough to the Victor. "Wormhole closing in 10 seconds" Natalie said.
"Sir we aren't close enough." Informed Harding.
"I guess we'll have to risk it. Wallis, get us into that current and be ready to get us out when we have the Victor."
"Aye sir." Wallis navigated the ship into the current and soon was moving faster with the pull of the current.
"Now in range, firing now!" Harding hit the fire button. The torpedo shot from Orac and was heading to the Victor. When the torpedo was almost at its target the Victor suddenly tilted and the torpedo missed. The crew watched the torpedo skim past the Victor on the view screen as Natalie spoke "Wormhole is now closing."
Everyone watched the view screen helplessly as they saw the Victor disappear and the wormhole close with a brilliant flash. Still moving at a fast speed, the Orac sped past where the wormhole used to be. Gelding realised this and ordered, "Helm all stop."
"All stopped sir" replied Wallis.
"Do we know where the wormhole leads to?" asked Davidson.
"Not at this moment. We need to collect and analyse the data and see if we can determine where the Victor ended up." Answered Natalie. 'And I guess they'll make me do all the analysing' she thought. That was the only downside to being the only senior offer that was a part time Starfleet Officer on the flagship. Whenever something weird happens they throw Natalie in the middle of it because she is the best qualified to handle those kinds of situations due to her training at Starfleet Academy. If anything weird happens when the Orac is around or involved the investigations are handed over to the flagship. "Lieutenant Yates, I'm putting you in charge of this investigation." Gelding ordered.
"I'll be needing all the data that the ships collected." Then she thought 'here I go again, trying to work out what the hell happened. I hope the crew of the Victor are alright wherever they are.'
~*~
They crew were just recovering from the shockwave that just hit the submarine. "What happened?" asked the Captain.
"A container of some kind came into contact with the laser resulting in an explosion." Informed the Ensign.
"Whoa, what is that?!" exclaimed the First Officer. Everyone turned and looked at the very large, bright and swirling vortex that was occupying the area where the explosion originated.
"Does anyone know what it is?" asked the Captain. An Ensign was about to say something when a large object came rushing from the unknown swirling vortex. The crew got a shock when the object came through and the swirling vortex disappearing. Then the Captain realised the object was heading in their direction. He turned to the helmsman and ordered "Helm get us out of the object's course!" The submarine got out of the way just in time before there was a horrific collision.
"What was that?" queried the First Officer.
"It looks like a submarine," answered the Seaman, "but it looks too technologically advanced to be one of ours."
"It could be International Rescue. Apparently their technology is quite advanced." Suggested the Ensign.
"I don't think it is International Rescue. Firstly their submarine was small when I saw it and secondly the name on that submarine isn't Thunderbird." Said the Lieutenant.
"What is the name of the submarine?" asked the Captain.
"It says…Victor – 4803 sir," informed the Seaman.
"What should we do Captain?" asked the First Officer.
"We'll get reinforcements before we investigate further."
The Seaman turned in his chair "Contacting WASP headquarters now sir."
~*~
Three months after the disappearance of the Victor, Natalie was still trying to piece together all the information. 'The possibilities are endless' she thought, 'time travel to the past or future, taken to another planet or even another universe. And even if we find the terminus here, the other end might shift and it would take ages to scan the seas to find it'. She sighed and slumped in her chair. She couldn't help feeling a bit guilty for not finalising the shields she was working on quickly enough. The crew reassured her that it wasn't her fault.
Since studying at Starfleet Academy, Natalie had noticed some similarities between starship and submarine engineering. She has started working on some projects to combine the two to allow certain assets to exist on both starships and submarines, like the short-range sensors that have been a success. Orac still uses sonar but sometimes they weren't accurate and the location of the ship would be given away. By having the sensors that starships have, Orac can have sensors that can get quick and accurate scans without giving their location away. There are also long-range sensors but they don't have the same range as the starships due to the fact that scanning 5 light years ahead would be rather useless in the sea.
Orac was the first to use the technology she has modified. If successful she then reconfigures them for whatever class type the other submarines are. Natalie was always good at engineering but she was more useful on the bridge as a Science Officer. But she still helps her uncle out in engineering when her secondary assignment, engineering, comes up on her roster when she isn't on the bridge or out on an away mission beating up bad guys.
Her latest projects are the shields and tractor beam. With the shields submarines can be more protected from enemy's fire or the pressures of the very deepest parts of the ocean. Also the tractor beam is a bit more useful than the retrieval torpedo in some situations. Like with the Victor, they could have quickly compensated for when the ship tilted unexpectedly and would have locked onto it instead of waiting to wheel in the torpedo and fire again, which by then would have been too late. Both shield and the tractor beam have been very successful on the Orac and now all of the Seafleet submarines have them.
"Here, I think you need this," said a voice behind Natalie. She turned and saw her cousin, Ensign Thomas Yates holding her cup with her name on it. She took the cup of herbal tea from her cousin. It was camomile, just what she needed to sooth herself from the stress of working too long on the Victor mystery. Thomas was part of the science department and was found on the bridge at Science when Natalie isn't there.
"So how's it coming cous?" asked Thomas as he sat across from her.
"Not so good. Maybe if we went in then we could have enough data to rule out a few more possibilities."
"Yeah but if we did go we probably would be stuck there."
"Yeah and we wouldn't be able to let Seafleet Command know where we are." Natalie took another sip of the tea.
"Must be pretty stressful how Seafleet Command expects answers from you whenever something weird happens in the seas or if something happens that is similar to what Starfleet has found like the wormhole."
"Yeah it is. Just because I am both a Seafleet and Starfleet Officer doesn't make me a I-know-everything-that-happens-in-the-universe person."
"Well you do know a variety of stuff in both organizations. "
Natalie looked at her clock, it read '1345'. "My lunchtime break is almost over" she said.
"You going to the bridge first?" asked Thomas.
"Not today. I'm going to engineering for a few hours to make sure the shields and tractor beam are going ok. Then I'll be going to the bridge for the rest of my shift."
"Well then I guess I'll see you on the bridge later on. See you cous."
"See ya."
#
Captain Gelding and Commander Davidson were on mainland at a formal dinner, leaving Commander Harding in command of the ship. Since Harding wasn't occupying security, Natalie was stationed there since security is her tertiary duty.
All was quiet on the flagship as it sailed the North Pacific Ocean.
"You know if things were busy we would be complaining that we don't get any quiet times," commented Thomas, who at the science station. Things have been pretty quiet during the past month and the crew was starting to yearn for a bit of action. "Anyone up for a game of 'I spy?'" Harding offered and the personnel on the bridge let out a small laugh.
Then a sound came from science and Thomas spoke "I'm picking up some unusual readings." Harding turned in the command chair to face him.
"Strange, these are neutrino levels. Why would there be neutrinos?"
Then Natalie remembered seeing and hearing the similar readings on Deep Space Nine when the Bajoran Wormhole opened.
"A wormhole!" Natalie said then turned to Harding, "We have to get away from our current position."
Harding turned back to the front. "Wallis, get us away." She did what he ordered.
The ship got away just in time before a wormhole terminus opened where the Orac used to be. Then the science console beeped and Thomas looked at the readings. His face had a shock expression and Harding saw it and asked, "What is it?"
"An object…no 2 objects are emerging from the wormhole."
"On screen" The view of the wormhole came onto the screen and 2 objects could be seen. "I don't believe it!" said Wallis.
"That's not what I think it is, is it?" said Thomas.
Natalie pressed a few buttons to double check what they were seeing was true before she spoke up, "The object on the left is the Victor!"
"What about the other object?" asked Harding.
"It's a submarine," answered Natalie, "according to the sensors it is not Starfleet technology."
"Keep an eye on that submarine until we know if it is friend or foe."
Natalie then got a torpedo lock on the unknown sub as Smith spoke, "Sir we are being hailed by the Victor."
"On screen." The view of the wormhole was replaced with Captain Abacus and the bridge of the Victor. He said "Orac could you please disengage the torpedo lock on the S.S. Dorie, they are not a threat." Harding nodded at Natalie who then disengaged the torpedo lock. "Thanks. Now I'm sure you have a lot of questions to ask about what happened to us."
"We sure do," replied Harding.
#
Seafleet Command was informed about the Victor returning and the visitors from wherever the Victor was for the past 3 months. It was decided to hold the meeting on the Orac. Soon representatives from Seafleet Command, the Orac, the Victor and the Dorie were in the conference room. Shortly after Gelding and Davidson returned to the ship and entered the room and sat down. Then Admiral O'Neil spoke "Well I guess we better start from when the wormhole was formed 3 months ago." Everyone agreed. Captain Abacus straightened in his chair and began to explain.
"The Victor was hit by a shockwave. When the crew returned to their chairs we noticed we were being pulled into the wormhole. Having read about the wormholes previously, I suspected that we would end up trapped somewhere else. We tried to break free but we couldn't because the starboard engine was damaged. Then we saw Orac attempting a rescue, but the Victor was tilted and we saw the torpedo miss us. We knew we couldn't escape and went through the wormhole. We came out the other side with no damage. We stopped and took in our surroundings. Then we noticed that several submarines similar to the S.S. Dorie surrounded us. We were brought into questioning and we tried to explain who we were and where we came from. It took some time to convince them that we weren't from their place."
"And what is their place?" interrupted the Admiral.
"Well let's put it this way. Have any of you seen these uniforms these people are wearing before?" questioned Abacus.
"They look remarkably like the WASP uniforms from the TV show Stingray," remarked Davidson.
"You know about WASP and Stingray?" said the Captain with surprise.
"Depends if you watched the show or not." Added Davidson.
"So there is a TV show about Stingray." Said the First Officer in awe.
"We told them about the show" Abacus quickly said.
"What about Thunderbirds with International Rescue?" Gelding asked.
"You know about International Rescue?" the First Offer asked.
"I guess you could say that." Said Gelding.
"Let me guess," Natalie said to Abacus, "you ended up in another universe that …how should I say it…has supermarionation people?"
"You could say that," replied Abacus, "but as you can se they are not puppets, they are flesh and blood like us." The room broke into a low hum of murmurs.
"If you all don't mind," the Captain intervened, "but what do you mean we are not puppets?"
Everyone looked at the Admiral who then nodded at Natalie and got up and pressed a few buttons on a screen on the wall. She brought up an episode of Stingray. 'Better show them that and not Thunderbirds otherwise they would find out who the members of International Rescue are' she thought. As the show played for a while, the visitors sat still in awe.
Natalie asked, "How did you manage to find the wormhole terminus to get back?"
"First I'll start with how the first wormhole was created." Said the Victor's Science Officer Lieutenant Zeppelin. "While we were setting up that algae experiment in our universe, they were carrying out a weapons test in theirs at the same place and time. A container that contained the same chemicals that we had fell off a ship and sunk into the test area. It then came into contact with the laser. Since the same event happened at the same time and place a wormhole was created.
"After we explained where we came from and figured out how the wormhole was created in the first place, we then went about finding the terminus. It took some time searching, scanning, doing simulations on the holodeck and predicting where it would be, but eventually we got a definite predicted location in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. So we waited and the predictions were right, the wormhole opened and luckily it lead back to this universe."
Abacus then added, "In order to search the seas freely we had to agree to take some representatives of WASP with us to further prove where we came from."
"But how did you manage to keep the wormhole open? Normally it would close after you left it." Natalie asked Zeppelin as she brought up the view of the wormhole.
He replied, "If the wormhole was to close we would have to search for it again and that could take ages. As we passed through we released minodesium and so far it has stopped the wormhole from closing."
"How long until it closes?"
"About 2 hours."
After a few more minutes of discussion it was time for the visitors to return back to their universe. The visitors boarded their ship and were heading towards the wormhole. All was going well until three ships came into the area. Harding's console beeped and he said "Sir! Three enemy vessels are approaching the wormhole and are firing at the S.S. Dorie."
"All hands red alert. Mr Harding, fire intercepts. Smith, inform the other ships to fire on the enemy vessels and to stop them from entering the wormhole. Helm, evasive manoeuvres!" The intercepts were fired and branched out over the S.S. Dorie in time to stop the assault of torpedoes. As the enemy fired at the other submarines one started to go towards the wormhole. The Columbus fired and the torpedo hit the side of the ship, rendering it dead in the water. Plasma was leaking from the damaged ship and into the wormhole as the Columbus locked a tractor beam onto the crippled vessel and towed it away.
Natalie spoke, "Sir the plasma form the enemy vessel is reacting with the minodesium, causing the wormhole to become very unstable. I recommend that the Dorie shouldn't enter the wormhole. Attempting to enter it may cause it to collapse and even if they did make it into the wormhole it would collapse before the ship was half way through."
"Is there anyway to stabilise the wormhole?" asked Gelding.
"Yes. If we fire a torpedo and make it release verterons as it goes through it should stabilise it."
"How long before it collapses?"
"Not sure, I say in about 30 minutes sir."
"Right prepare a torpedo to give out verterons, then we'll fire it through the wormhole."
#
"What do you mean we can't go back yet?" said the Captain angrily.
"If you do try to enter the wormhole there is a great chance that you will never make it." Explained Abacus.
"I don't understand."
"The wormhole has become very unstable which means it could collapse at any moment. If it collapses when you are in there you won't exist in either this or your universe."
"I see. Is there a way to make it…umm…stable?"
"The Orac crew are working on it. Please be patient. We will do everything to get you back home safely."
#
The last of the enemy ships were disabled and were taken into custody. On Orac the torpedo was loaded and was ready to be fired. "Torpedo loaded and ready sir." Informed Harding.
"Fire when ready." Said Gelding. The torpedo was launched and headed to the wormhole and disappeared. Gelding watched and said, "Report"
"Wormhole is now stabilising. But I recommend that we send a probe through first to see if it is safe enough before the Dorie to go through." Natalie recommended.
"Agreed, prepare and fire the probe."
The probe was launched and sent readings back to Orac.
#
"What do you mean the wormhole is permanently in one place now?" asked the Captain, who could be heard on the speakers as the Victor crew could be seen on the view screen.
"Now that it is stable, it will stay in one place instead of moving around the place like a dogs' tail." Explained Natalie.
"But how did it end up like it is now?" asked the Captain
"We used a torpedo to release verterons in the wormhole to stabilise it. I'm afraid it was the only way so that you could get home." Gelding tried to explain.
"So does that mean people from both this universe and our universe can easily travel between universes?" asked the First Officer.
"Yes I'm afraid."
"What do you mean by 'I'm afraid'?" asked the Captain a bit puzzled.
"Since the wormhole is in one place, here it is the Northern Pacific, and in your universe it is in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, people can travel between universes in an underwater vessel. There is a good chance that crooks and enemies from both universes could cross over and wreak havoc. Especially selling our technology on the black-market." Explained Natalie.
"From what I have seen so far you have some very advanced technology and weapons." Commented the Captain.
"Believe me you haven't seen anything yet." Commented Davidson.
Harding stepped in, "Well since the wormhole is pretty much accessible to anyone that has a submarine it is advisable that the two universes co-operate to try to keep the numbers of bad guys very low."
The Captain agreed, "First we'd better get back to our universe and explain the situation. Then we will arrange for some representatives from our government to meet representatives from yours and hopefully we can arrange some kind of coexistence with each other."
Everyone agreed. Before the Dorie left, some science officers boarded the ship so they could explain what a wormhole was and how it works. They set off for where the wormhole was. It opened when they were close enough and closed when they got inside. "Not only do we have to sort out this wormhole business but I think during the talks a name for the wormhole should be discussed." Suggested Smith.
"Yeah it would be rather bland just to call it 'the wormhole,'" agreed Davidson.
"Do you think both universes will get along with each other without too many hiccups?" Natalie questioned.
Gelding then replied, "Only time will tell."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Notes: Minodesium doesn't exist in our reality nor in Star Trek. It was something I made up for the heck of it to explain why the wormhole hadn't close yet.
I am basing the shifts and duties of officers on Star Trek. Officers have up to 3 assignments that they go to during their duty times. So if you read a person at a place that they aren't normally at they are probably doing their secondary or tertiary duty. For example (in case if you got confused) Natalie was at security (her tertiary duty) due to Jim Harding being in command. Then when the Dorie was going back she was back at science (her primary duty) since the Captain and First Officer were present on the bridge (Harding is 3rd in command).