Chapter One
"Lost"
The two Federation Starships re-appeared about two kilometers distant from one another near a G3 class star of unknown determination. It was discovered that almost everyone had been rendered unconscious, and only now were they just beginning to stir. Life support was functional, but precious little else. Half-dazed crews worked feverously now, unsure when or if a Klingon attack was coming. If the Klingons or Romulans assaulted now, they wouldn't stand a chance.
After an hour of frantic repairs, both crews realized they were in a far worse situation that they'd first assumed. In engineering, most of the critical systems were back online and now Geordi and his assistant were trying their best to reactivate the android Lieutenant Commander.
"Data? Data! Can you hear me?" Geordi asked. "Obviously not," he said to his assistant, Ensign Sonya Gomez. They had checked Data twice and both were bewildered. "He should be functional."
"Oh. I found the problem," she answered, pointing at a broken sub-circuit. "That left micro-lead has been severed. It's so small that you can hardly see it."
"Okay, I got it," he said while re-fusing the connection with the laser probe. Sonya's closeness and that perfume she was wearing was distracting him. Not for the first time he'd wished he could see her for real and not through his VISOR. He was blind from birth and the VISOR device allowed him to 'see' in a blizzard of electronic signals and colors. He could see a thousand things that were beyond mere Human sight, but regular colors and textures were beyond his ability. Sonya was younger than he and absolutely beautiful, but she didn't even know he existed. He wished he could say the same. "There. That did it."
Data's eyes snapped open. He looked around. "Thank you, Geordi. I have been inactive for two hours, fifteen minutes twenty-eight seconds. What has happened during that time? Are we still defending ourselves against the Klingons or have we engaged and defeated the Romulans?"
"Whoa, Data. Slow down. Sensors haven't detected any Klingons or Romulans in the area. And that's the problem."
"Problem?" he asked with his usual interest. "In what way?"
"Slow down for a moment," Geordi advised again as Data attempted to sit up. "Perform a internal diagnostic first."
"Acknowledged." A few seconds later: "I am fully functional. Now what is the problem?"
"Well for one thing, we don't know where we are."
Captain Garrett, still recovering from her recently freshly wounds, Captain Picard, Commander William Riker and acting Number One for the Enterprise-C, Richard Castillo and several other crewmembers waited somewhat impatiently for Data and Geordi to join them. As soon as they entered, Picard bombarded them with questions.
"Mr. Data, exactly what happened? Where are we? Why were we out for more than two hours?"
"When we attempted to enter the temporal rift with the Enterprise-C," Data began, "we failed to take into consideration that it was tailored only for one ship, not two. In addition to the instability of the rift and its interactions with the energy excitation of the multiple photon torpedo bursts, a series of micro-fractures in the subspace ether were generated. Both of our ships entered a micro-fracture and we ended up here. In essence, I believe that we are in another universe."
It wasn't just a question of distance or even time, but universal displacement.
"There's more," Geordi said, and then grimaced himself as his additional comment created audible groans from multiples sources. He knew that this was last thing they needed to hear right now. "To us, it felt like two hours were torn from our lives but according to the Enterprises external chronometer, we've been traveling for more than a year. We're still in the Alpha quadrant but we're having trouble trying to lock down exactly where we are. Both Enterprises were taken apart at a quantum level and restructured. We're still running detailed diagnostics to make sure everything is in working order. With everything we've seen so far, it's going to take at least five days to get everything back in ship shape."
As per usual, his Captain cut that time in half. "You have two days," Picard said. "And start searching for a way back to Federation space. Make sure the sensors are working. If they exist in this universe, I don't want the Klingons, Romulans or whoever to catch us napping. Lieutenant Yar, dispatch several probes, pattern Delta. I want to know what is going on in the surrounding area."
"Yes, sir."
The meeting continued for another half hour before being dismissed. There was a lot of work to do. The two Captains remained in the ready room to finish up.
"Captain," Rachel Garrett said. "We should be able to take the time to work on my ship. Most of my crew is dead and your ship is crowded with soldiers. So I would like to suggest that you transfer some of them to the Enterprise -C. That would alleviate the pressure on your ship and bring mine back up to speed. If possible, I like to see if we can upgrade my ship a little. You never know and I want to be prepared."
"Good idea," he said, thinking about the possibilities. "Make it so." He made a slight dismissive movement.
"Make it so?" she echoed. Was this man actually dismissing her like she was some kind of cadet? The look she gave him was a withering, brutal stare. Subconsciously, her hands went onto her hips.
"Oh. Sorry Captain," he said, noticing the look, but not feeling sorry in the least.
"Captain, let me make one thing perfectly clear," she snarled in a way that commanded his full attention. "Don't patronize me or my crew. I understand the stress you must have being Captain of a warship," she added, waving her arm to represent the entire Enterprise-D. "You've been at war for your entire career. I am not your enemy Captain, but I'm not your subordinate either. In fact, I outrank you. I may be displaced out of time, but then so are you and my commission came a long, long time before yours."
"Captain," he snarled back. "Right now, our situation is an unknown quantity. We need to be prepared and supportive of each other until we can resolve it. I will do everything I can to get us back to Federation space. I trust you'll do the same." Rachel's eyes glared at him. "I understand my priorities. And I hope you remember what you're saying right now, Captain Picard, because from what I see now, you've been at war a little too long. My Starfleet wasn't designed for that. We were explorers and I still am even, if you're not. I don't want you going all testosterone on me the instant we run into a situation. I don't want to hear how you 'accidentally' blew something up. Remember this: you are part of MY Starfleet. And," she quietly added, "I'm part of yours."
Picard huffed, said nothing for almost a minute. Then he smiled, warmly this time. "I am sorry Captain," he said, taking his chair. "War does something to you. It destroys what we can be for what we have to be. You are correct in your evaluation of me. It's been a hard, brutal campaign."
Rachel softened. "I understand. When we get back, if we get back, you're in charge."
He laughed softly. How nice of her. "It's been a long time since I've received such a dressing down. It feels different."
"At least you didn't have Admiral Sulu breathing down your neck," Rachel said smiling at the distant memory.
"Heaven Forbid," he moaned. "I'm authorizing your suggestions. Now since it appears we will be here for a while, let's bring both our ships up to speed. Your ship is about to be introduced to the joys of modern replicator technology. It's very convenient and very soon we can have more than simple K rations."
"At least we have real food on board my ship," she countered. Most of it had survived the Romulan attack. A good two-year store was left untouched.
"But we have the state-of-the-art holodecks. That, Captain, is something else that we will have to update. You will be surprised at the improvements."
Two days later both ships launched probes, which began a slow trek towards what was tentatively identified as Earth. As they traveled slowly, the Enterprise-C's engines received a twenty-five percent boast using the new energizer coils installed by Geordi's engineering crew. Phasers were made hotter by about the same proportion and shields were increased by over forty percent. The ships compliment went from less than one hundred thirty to almost seven hundred fifty, balancing both ships with a total of seventeen hundred crewmembers and everyone was delighted by the extra space. Even Commander Sisko's three thousand fleet marines being transported on the Enterprise -D, didn't complain when split between the two ships. There was room enough to spare.
The Ambassador-class ship was slower than the Galaxy class Enterprise-D, but those systems would be optimized as time permitted. Besides, unless the Enterprise-D was at full warp, the difference wouldn't really matter anyway. And the Enterprise-D had the opportunity to do something that rarely presented itself before-exploration.
On the other front, the news was all bad. There was no way to reproduce the conditions that brought them here to this unknown universe. And that was exactly what it was-a completely unknown reality. The quantum signature of this universe they were trapped in was nowhere near the home Federation signature's universe. Temporal-spatial anomaly aside, it was going to take some time in order to return to their universe, if it were even possible. In truth, Picard was secretly glad that he had his sister ship with him, even if its Captain was a pain in the butt. It was rough being alone and she was competent enough to do the job if he became incapacitated.
A class-one probe was sent ahead to make sure that they didn't run into any surprises. But Picard was still despondent from the news that Guinan delivered to him.
"When you made the decision to enter the temporal rift, it was a mistake," she told him. "That other Enterprise should have went in alone, even if it meant the destruction of our ship. Because that didn't happen, that aberrant timeline remains and we're stuck here."
"Exactly where is here, Guinan? Picard pressed.
"I can't say, exactly," she answered. "I've never been here before, but I can feel the danger surrounding us. This place is unbalanced and our presence will affect the course of events here."
"Can you please be more specific?" He was exasperated. Sometimes talking to her was like speaking with your mouth full of syrup. The woman was incomprehensible when she wanted to be. "I need to know what I'm up against."
"I can't say because I don't know yet. When I know I'll tell you. The good thing is that there are no Borg here."
"What are the Borg?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter," she answered, dismissing his question as trivial. "What does matter is that you and Garrett beware of the dark shadows that haunt this universe."
Chief of Security, Tasha Yar, a tall no-nonsense young blond with a fairly bad haircut, and Acting Executive Officer lieutenant Commander Castillo stood in front of the brig's force field, listening to the latest in a long string of Klingon curses from the male survivor of the Bird-of-prey. The younger female, about twenty years old or so, in the next cell, simply glared at them with hate and what Castillo could swear was hurt. He'd talk to her soon, but for now, he concentrated on the big male.
"I'll tell you nothing," the Klingon bellowed. "Kill me. Are you afraid?"
Tasha's eyes glared as she moved to within an inch of the energy barrier separating her from the Klingon Warrior.
"If I had my way," she began speaking so quietly that the warrior had to strain to hear, "I would transport your stinking carcass into the middle of space." And she meant it too. "But the Captain ordered me to talk to you instead," which was something that she clearly did not want to do. "What I am about to tell you is true. I don't care if you believe me or not. We are in another universe, no thanks to your friends incompetence. So far we haven't been able to find a way back."
The Klingon bellowed heartily "And I thought Humans were the galaxy's best liars. I was wrong." He came to the very edge of the field matching her proximity. Neither budged. "I will kill you all."
"Do something useful. Kill yourself."
Glare. Glare.
For several moments the two of them glowered at one another. Castillo made a small movement causing both pairs of eyes to flicker in his direction. The Klingon eyed him with contempt. "My name is Lieutenant Commander Richard Castillo," he announced evenly. The Klingon guffawed.
"Do you know what 'Kastalleow' means in my language?" He laughed again even more loudly this time.
"My ship is the Enterprise-C," Richard continued, ignoring the implied insult. "Twenty-two years ago we engaged three Romulan warbirds near the Narendra III outpost. Our ship was crippled but we were pushed through a temporal rift and landed in the future-to this time. We tried to get back but your companions photon barrage sent us here instead of back into the past."
It was clear that those few words had an impact on the Klingon warrior. He'd seen the temporal rift, but at the time his crew had no explanation as to why both Federation ships were trying to re-enter the distortion other than to escape. And the Enterprise was not a ship populated by cowards. His fool of a Commander decided to attack both Federation ships and the small Bird-of-prey was destroyed as a result.
"Why did you run?" Despite his attempts at feigning disinterest, it was clear that he wanted to know desperately.
"We didn't. We tried to get back, to save the Narendra III colony and correct a timeline that shouldn't exist or least that's what I've been told- "
"To prevent the war," the Klingon finished. It was as though he knew exactly what had happened so many years ago.
"Yes," Richard responded, somewhat surprised by the Klingon's awareness.
"We-we suspected. But we never had proof. The house of Duras pushed for war with the Federation. But we knew."
"So you started this war for nothing?" Castillo was stunned. Never in his wildest imagination did he expect the Klingon to respond like this.
"We started this war for honor. I was a survivor on Khitomer when it was attacked," the warrior stated. "Kastalleow, I do not believe you, fully. But there is a way to submit proof. During the attack, when the warbirds battled you ship exactly what happened?"
"Our ship was hit by a barrage of photon torpedoes. There was a bright light and we wound up in the future-here," Richard said. Then he added a few more details concerning the firefight.
The Klingon simply shook his head. "As a child on Khitomer, I was told about the battle by my nursemaid. She told me exactly what you described, that it was a bright light that blazed in the heavens with long tail. The tail pulsated like a living thing. Then there was nothing. I told the others that story for many years, but no one believed me when I tried to pass it along. They did believe the Duras clan. But I knew Kahlest spoke the truth."
"All this for nothing," Richard said while Tasha looked at him and the Klingon in shock. He turned away.
"Wait, Human. You are still liars. But I am no fool."
Both of them turned around.
"I am Worf, son of Morg, son of Worf. Now tell me, what universe are we in?"
Explanations took about an hour and were summed up thusly. Nobody had a clue as to what happened or how to get back.
Leaving the prison section, the two officers sat at a table, which was a rarity, in Ten Forward. Tasha was attracted to Castillo the moment she'd seen him and even now her feelings were stronger than before, something that was very unusual for her, especially in such a short period of time.
"How did you know that the Klingon would respond to what you had to say?" Tasha asked him. "I have never known one of them to speak so easily and freely like he did."
"Your hatred of the Klingons is blinding you, Tasha," he answered. "They're not stupid you know. They've been out in deep space since before Archer and his people. Contrary to popular opinion, they can be reasonable provided you can press the correct buttons."
"Which you apparently did."
"Well, I can read people and what I saw in him was a need to understand his purpose in life other than this war. The first hint was that he didn't attempt to kill himself the instant he was captured," he added dryly. "That other Klingon male you captured did, but not him or her, for that fact."
"You must be part Betazoid then, because I didn't have a clue. Actually," she admitted with some reluctance, "I just wanted him dead."
"Some people have called me a pattern sensor," he said. "I can see patterns in a person's personality. Smiling, he added, "No. You don't have to be a mind reader to develop that ability."
Tasha was momentarily confused. She could detect, almost smell danger and dangerous situations, but she had very little understanding when it came to an individual's personality traits. She found that she didn't like the idea of being around a person that could read her so easily. "I think you could become very annoying, Commander."
"On the contrary, it allows me to get along with people very well. A case in point is well, you."
She was in a slight huff now. "I think I've just been insulted," she said in mock anger.
"No," Richard replied quickly. "It's just that the warrior mode in you melts away as soon as we talk. I like that gentle side of you. It makes me want to invite you to dinner."
"Your treat?"
"Of course."
Both ships hadn't moved far from their original exit point since the incident that had brought them to this unknown place. Two weeks of attempting to reproduce the conditions necessary to return them to their home dimension, simply produced frustration on both sides. For now, it was impossible to get back. The only bright point was that the repair crews were able to bring both ships back to full specifications. Picard was frustrated and angry at being helpless like this. He had to do something. Captain Garrett, a person to whom he was beginning to feel more comfortable with, was becoming a rock that he could bounce his frustrations on. Riker was good, but Garrett was his equal and that made all the difference. To his amazement, he found that he enjoyed 'hands on' work with his ship and the Enterprise-C as well.
Captain Garrett's satisfaction was clearly evident on her face as she looked once more at her restored bridge. She and her remaining original crew were in the process of learning about the capabilities of her newly installed equipment. Everything, twenty-two years updated, gave the impression of almost having an entirely new ship. The replicators were glorious instruments for the facilitation of much needed equipment parts that were almost impossible to make by her engineering staff without Starbase support. The weapons and defense were far more efficient, but she didn't really concern herself with that. The potential for exploration was what intrigued her. With her talks earlier, she and Picard had decided to split the ships into two basic responsibilities. Hers would represent the exploratory half with the new crew wearing the older style uniforms, while Picard's ship would represent the full military branch complete with carrying the big stick, if necessary. They also decided to pass themselves off as part of a very distant, long lost colony trying to make it back home. The truth could be told, if the opportunity presented itself, at a later time. They had to tread carefully. What little signals they had received from Earth, made them cautious about a possible first contact situation. However, it was decided to move on and do a little exploring first.
The first stop for the two Federation starships would be the Vulcan star system, some ten days distant at warp three. The trip was basically uneventful and much of the time was spent mapping the surrounding star systems. There were several major discrepancies noted in this new universe when compared to their own. For example, the Katasi nebula was non- existent and in its place was a heavy gravity singularity, the remains of a massive star that met its demise some three hundred thousand years past. The analog of the Andorian homeworld didn't exist, the victim of a large asteroid that had turned that planet into a pile of orbiting debris.
The Enterprise-C, now nicknamed the Ambassador by some of the newer crewmembers, entered orbit first around what would have been Vulcan. What they found was a burned and scorched planet, one that had been caressed by a solar flare almost a thousand years earlier. There had been life there once and scans indicated that there were trace remains of a civilization hidden deep within several caves. It was a clear attempt at survival by the beings on the planet, but in the end the battle with their sun had been lost. The surface was so hot that even bacteria had ceased to exist.
All of the Vulcans were keenly aware of the fate of this planet could so easily befall theirs even now. The Vulcans on the two Enterprise chanted their home worlds' funeral dirge for their lost brethren and the telepathically enhanced chant could be felt by everyone onboard both ships. Several more readings were taken and a small remnant, a memento of a dead civilization was beamed aboard. The Vulcans said it would be a treasure, a remembrance of things past, of things future and of things that could be. The small doll-like ornament was beamed up and placed under the care of the eldest Vulcan. It would be protected forever.
Two days later, both starships tracked a local spaceship barely traveling at impulse-from a very discreet distance-to a certain region of space when the ship simply disappeared. Sensors detected an unusual object hanging some three light-months distant. It was an artificial construct consisting of four large struts placed in a loose rectangle formation. No one had an idea of what this device was, although Geordi speculated that it was some type of subspace distortion device designed to give access to a form of faster-than-light travel.
"I think that there must be another device, I'd call it a stargate," Geordi said even as the Ambassador's Vulcan engineer agreed with the assessment. "That would allow the ship to safely exit FTL. Evidently, these people haven't developed warp drive. But this form of travel may be almost as fast. I would need to study it more to be sure."
Intriguing as the idea was, Jean-Luc nixed that idea. There were too many variables and he didn't want the ships to be out in the open like this doing experimentation on someone else's stargate, or whatever it might be called. They move on at three quarters impulse towards Earth. Unknown to them, their presence triggered a hyperspace proximity signal that would eventually make its back to the very planet they were traveling to.
"Lost"
The two Federation Starships re-appeared about two kilometers distant from one another near a G3 class star of unknown determination. It was discovered that almost everyone had been rendered unconscious, and only now were they just beginning to stir. Life support was functional, but precious little else. Half-dazed crews worked feverously now, unsure when or if a Klingon attack was coming. If the Klingons or Romulans assaulted now, they wouldn't stand a chance.
After an hour of frantic repairs, both crews realized they were in a far worse situation that they'd first assumed. In engineering, most of the critical systems were back online and now Geordi and his assistant were trying their best to reactivate the android Lieutenant Commander.
"Data? Data! Can you hear me?" Geordi asked. "Obviously not," he said to his assistant, Ensign Sonya Gomez. They had checked Data twice and both were bewildered. "He should be functional."
"Oh. I found the problem," she answered, pointing at a broken sub-circuit. "That left micro-lead has been severed. It's so small that you can hardly see it."
"Okay, I got it," he said while re-fusing the connection with the laser probe. Sonya's closeness and that perfume she was wearing was distracting him. Not for the first time he'd wished he could see her for real and not through his VISOR. He was blind from birth and the VISOR device allowed him to 'see' in a blizzard of electronic signals and colors. He could see a thousand things that were beyond mere Human sight, but regular colors and textures were beyond his ability. Sonya was younger than he and absolutely beautiful, but she didn't even know he existed. He wished he could say the same. "There. That did it."
Data's eyes snapped open. He looked around. "Thank you, Geordi. I have been inactive for two hours, fifteen minutes twenty-eight seconds. What has happened during that time? Are we still defending ourselves against the Klingons or have we engaged and defeated the Romulans?"
"Whoa, Data. Slow down. Sensors haven't detected any Klingons or Romulans in the area. And that's the problem."
"Problem?" he asked with his usual interest. "In what way?"
"Slow down for a moment," Geordi advised again as Data attempted to sit up. "Perform a internal diagnostic first."
"Acknowledged." A few seconds later: "I am fully functional. Now what is the problem?"
"Well for one thing, we don't know where we are."
Captain Garrett, still recovering from her recently freshly wounds, Captain Picard, Commander William Riker and acting Number One for the Enterprise-C, Richard Castillo and several other crewmembers waited somewhat impatiently for Data and Geordi to join them. As soon as they entered, Picard bombarded them with questions.
"Mr. Data, exactly what happened? Where are we? Why were we out for more than two hours?"
"When we attempted to enter the temporal rift with the Enterprise-C," Data began, "we failed to take into consideration that it was tailored only for one ship, not two. In addition to the instability of the rift and its interactions with the energy excitation of the multiple photon torpedo bursts, a series of micro-fractures in the subspace ether were generated. Both of our ships entered a micro-fracture and we ended up here. In essence, I believe that we are in another universe."
It wasn't just a question of distance or even time, but universal displacement.
"There's more," Geordi said, and then grimaced himself as his additional comment created audible groans from multiples sources. He knew that this was last thing they needed to hear right now. "To us, it felt like two hours were torn from our lives but according to the Enterprises external chronometer, we've been traveling for more than a year. We're still in the Alpha quadrant but we're having trouble trying to lock down exactly where we are. Both Enterprises were taken apart at a quantum level and restructured. We're still running detailed diagnostics to make sure everything is in working order. With everything we've seen so far, it's going to take at least five days to get everything back in ship shape."
As per usual, his Captain cut that time in half. "You have two days," Picard said. "And start searching for a way back to Federation space. Make sure the sensors are working. If they exist in this universe, I don't want the Klingons, Romulans or whoever to catch us napping. Lieutenant Yar, dispatch several probes, pattern Delta. I want to know what is going on in the surrounding area."
"Yes, sir."
The meeting continued for another half hour before being dismissed. There was a lot of work to do. The two Captains remained in the ready room to finish up.
"Captain," Rachel Garrett said. "We should be able to take the time to work on my ship. Most of my crew is dead and your ship is crowded with soldiers. So I would like to suggest that you transfer some of them to the Enterprise -C. That would alleviate the pressure on your ship and bring mine back up to speed. If possible, I like to see if we can upgrade my ship a little. You never know and I want to be prepared."
"Good idea," he said, thinking about the possibilities. "Make it so." He made a slight dismissive movement.
"Make it so?" she echoed. Was this man actually dismissing her like she was some kind of cadet? The look she gave him was a withering, brutal stare. Subconsciously, her hands went onto her hips.
"Oh. Sorry Captain," he said, noticing the look, but not feeling sorry in the least.
"Captain, let me make one thing perfectly clear," she snarled in a way that commanded his full attention. "Don't patronize me or my crew. I understand the stress you must have being Captain of a warship," she added, waving her arm to represent the entire Enterprise-D. "You've been at war for your entire career. I am not your enemy Captain, but I'm not your subordinate either. In fact, I outrank you. I may be displaced out of time, but then so are you and my commission came a long, long time before yours."
"Captain," he snarled back. "Right now, our situation is an unknown quantity. We need to be prepared and supportive of each other until we can resolve it. I will do everything I can to get us back to Federation space. I trust you'll do the same." Rachel's eyes glared at him. "I understand my priorities. And I hope you remember what you're saying right now, Captain Picard, because from what I see now, you've been at war a little too long. My Starfleet wasn't designed for that. We were explorers and I still am even, if you're not. I don't want you going all testosterone on me the instant we run into a situation. I don't want to hear how you 'accidentally' blew something up. Remember this: you are part of MY Starfleet. And," she quietly added, "I'm part of yours."
Picard huffed, said nothing for almost a minute. Then he smiled, warmly this time. "I am sorry Captain," he said, taking his chair. "War does something to you. It destroys what we can be for what we have to be. You are correct in your evaluation of me. It's been a hard, brutal campaign."
Rachel softened. "I understand. When we get back, if we get back, you're in charge."
He laughed softly. How nice of her. "It's been a long time since I've received such a dressing down. It feels different."
"At least you didn't have Admiral Sulu breathing down your neck," Rachel said smiling at the distant memory.
"Heaven Forbid," he moaned. "I'm authorizing your suggestions. Now since it appears we will be here for a while, let's bring both our ships up to speed. Your ship is about to be introduced to the joys of modern replicator technology. It's very convenient and very soon we can have more than simple K rations."
"At least we have real food on board my ship," she countered. Most of it had survived the Romulan attack. A good two-year store was left untouched.
"But we have the state-of-the-art holodecks. That, Captain, is something else that we will have to update. You will be surprised at the improvements."
Two days later both ships launched probes, which began a slow trek towards what was tentatively identified as Earth. As they traveled slowly, the Enterprise-C's engines received a twenty-five percent boast using the new energizer coils installed by Geordi's engineering crew. Phasers were made hotter by about the same proportion and shields were increased by over forty percent. The ships compliment went from less than one hundred thirty to almost seven hundred fifty, balancing both ships with a total of seventeen hundred crewmembers and everyone was delighted by the extra space. Even Commander Sisko's three thousand fleet marines being transported on the Enterprise -D, didn't complain when split between the two ships. There was room enough to spare.
The Ambassador-class ship was slower than the Galaxy class Enterprise-D, but those systems would be optimized as time permitted. Besides, unless the Enterprise-D was at full warp, the difference wouldn't really matter anyway. And the Enterprise-D had the opportunity to do something that rarely presented itself before-exploration.
On the other front, the news was all bad. There was no way to reproduce the conditions that brought them here to this unknown universe. And that was exactly what it was-a completely unknown reality. The quantum signature of this universe they were trapped in was nowhere near the home Federation signature's universe. Temporal-spatial anomaly aside, it was going to take some time in order to return to their universe, if it were even possible. In truth, Picard was secretly glad that he had his sister ship with him, even if its Captain was a pain in the butt. It was rough being alone and she was competent enough to do the job if he became incapacitated.
A class-one probe was sent ahead to make sure that they didn't run into any surprises. But Picard was still despondent from the news that Guinan delivered to him.
"When you made the decision to enter the temporal rift, it was a mistake," she told him. "That other Enterprise should have went in alone, even if it meant the destruction of our ship. Because that didn't happen, that aberrant timeline remains and we're stuck here."
"Exactly where is here, Guinan? Picard pressed.
"I can't say, exactly," she answered. "I've never been here before, but I can feel the danger surrounding us. This place is unbalanced and our presence will affect the course of events here."
"Can you please be more specific?" He was exasperated. Sometimes talking to her was like speaking with your mouth full of syrup. The woman was incomprehensible when she wanted to be. "I need to know what I'm up against."
"I can't say because I don't know yet. When I know I'll tell you. The good thing is that there are no Borg here."
"What are the Borg?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter," she answered, dismissing his question as trivial. "What does matter is that you and Garrett beware of the dark shadows that haunt this universe."
Chief of Security, Tasha Yar, a tall no-nonsense young blond with a fairly bad haircut, and Acting Executive Officer lieutenant Commander Castillo stood in front of the brig's force field, listening to the latest in a long string of Klingon curses from the male survivor of the Bird-of-prey. The younger female, about twenty years old or so, in the next cell, simply glared at them with hate and what Castillo could swear was hurt. He'd talk to her soon, but for now, he concentrated on the big male.
"I'll tell you nothing," the Klingon bellowed. "Kill me. Are you afraid?"
Tasha's eyes glared as she moved to within an inch of the energy barrier separating her from the Klingon Warrior.
"If I had my way," she began speaking so quietly that the warrior had to strain to hear, "I would transport your stinking carcass into the middle of space." And she meant it too. "But the Captain ordered me to talk to you instead," which was something that she clearly did not want to do. "What I am about to tell you is true. I don't care if you believe me or not. We are in another universe, no thanks to your friends incompetence. So far we haven't been able to find a way back."
The Klingon bellowed heartily "And I thought Humans were the galaxy's best liars. I was wrong." He came to the very edge of the field matching her proximity. Neither budged. "I will kill you all."
"Do something useful. Kill yourself."
Glare. Glare.
For several moments the two of them glowered at one another. Castillo made a small movement causing both pairs of eyes to flicker in his direction. The Klingon eyed him with contempt. "My name is Lieutenant Commander Richard Castillo," he announced evenly. The Klingon guffawed.
"Do you know what 'Kastalleow' means in my language?" He laughed again even more loudly this time.
"My ship is the Enterprise-C," Richard continued, ignoring the implied insult. "Twenty-two years ago we engaged three Romulan warbirds near the Narendra III outpost. Our ship was crippled but we were pushed through a temporal rift and landed in the future-to this time. We tried to get back but your companions photon barrage sent us here instead of back into the past."
It was clear that those few words had an impact on the Klingon warrior. He'd seen the temporal rift, but at the time his crew had no explanation as to why both Federation ships were trying to re-enter the distortion other than to escape. And the Enterprise was not a ship populated by cowards. His fool of a Commander decided to attack both Federation ships and the small Bird-of-prey was destroyed as a result.
"Why did you run?" Despite his attempts at feigning disinterest, it was clear that he wanted to know desperately.
"We didn't. We tried to get back, to save the Narendra III colony and correct a timeline that shouldn't exist or least that's what I've been told- "
"To prevent the war," the Klingon finished. It was as though he knew exactly what had happened so many years ago.
"Yes," Richard responded, somewhat surprised by the Klingon's awareness.
"We-we suspected. But we never had proof. The house of Duras pushed for war with the Federation. But we knew."
"So you started this war for nothing?" Castillo was stunned. Never in his wildest imagination did he expect the Klingon to respond like this.
"We started this war for honor. I was a survivor on Khitomer when it was attacked," the warrior stated. "Kastalleow, I do not believe you, fully. But there is a way to submit proof. During the attack, when the warbirds battled you ship exactly what happened?"
"Our ship was hit by a barrage of photon torpedoes. There was a bright light and we wound up in the future-here," Richard said. Then he added a few more details concerning the firefight.
The Klingon simply shook his head. "As a child on Khitomer, I was told about the battle by my nursemaid. She told me exactly what you described, that it was a bright light that blazed in the heavens with long tail. The tail pulsated like a living thing. Then there was nothing. I told the others that story for many years, but no one believed me when I tried to pass it along. They did believe the Duras clan. But I knew Kahlest spoke the truth."
"All this for nothing," Richard said while Tasha looked at him and the Klingon in shock. He turned away.
"Wait, Human. You are still liars. But I am no fool."
Both of them turned around.
"I am Worf, son of Morg, son of Worf. Now tell me, what universe are we in?"
Explanations took about an hour and were summed up thusly. Nobody had a clue as to what happened or how to get back.
Leaving the prison section, the two officers sat at a table, which was a rarity, in Ten Forward. Tasha was attracted to Castillo the moment she'd seen him and even now her feelings were stronger than before, something that was very unusual for her, especially in such a short period of time.
"How did you know that the Klingon would respond to what you had to say?" Tasha asked him. "I have never known one of them to speak so easily and freely like he did."
"Your hatred of the Klingons is blinding you, Tasha," he answered. "They're not stupid you know. They've been out in deep space since before Archer and his people. Contrary to popular opinion, they can be reasonable provided you can press the correct buttons."
"Which you apparently did."
"Well, I can read people and what I saw in him was a need to understand his purpose in life other than this war. The first hint was that he didn't attempt to kill himself the instant he was captured," he added dryly. "That other Klingon male you captured did, but not him or her, for that fact."
"You must be part Betazoid then, because I didn't have a clue. Actually," she admitted with some reluctance, "I just wanted him dead."
"Some people have called me a pattern sensor," he said. "I can see patterns in a person's personality. Smiling, he added, "No. You don't have to be a mind reader to develop that ability."
Tasha was momentarily confused. She could detect, almost smell danger and dangerous situations, but she had very little understanding when it came to an individual's personality traits. She found that she didn't like the idea of being around a person that could read her so easily. "I think you could become very annoying, Commander."
"On the contrary, it allows me to get along with people very well. A case in point is well, you."
She was in a slight huff now. "I think I've just been insulted," she said in mock anger.
"No," Richard replied quickly. "It's just that the warrior mode in you melts away as soon as we talk. I like that gentle side of you. It makes me want to invite you to dinner."
"Your treat?"
"Of course."
Both ships hadn't moved far from their original exit point since the incident that had brought them to this unknown place. Two weeks of attempting to reproduce the conditions necessary to return them to their home dimension, simply produced frustration on both sides. For now, it was impossible to get back. The only bright point was that the repair crews were able to bring both ships back to full specifications. Picard was frustrated and angry at being helpless like this. He had to do something. Captain Garrett, a person to whom he was beginning to feel more comfortable with, was becoming a rock that he could bounce his frustrations on. Riker was good, but Garrett was his equal and that made all the difference. To his amazement, he found that he enjoyed 'hands on' work with his ship and the Enterprise-C as well.
Captain Garrett's satisfaction was clearly evident on her face as she looked once more at her restored bridge. She and her remaining original crew were in the process of learning about the capabilities of her newly installed equipment. Everything, twenty-two years updated, gave the impression of almost having an entirely new ship. The replicators were glorious instruments for the facilitation of much needed equipment parts that were almost impossible to make by her engineering staff without Starbase support. The weapons and defense were far more efficient, but she didn't really concern herself with that. The potential for exploration was what intrigued her. With her talks earlier, she and Picard had decided to split the ships into two basic responsibilities. Hers would represent the exploratory half with the new crew wearing the older style uniforms, while Picard's ship would represent the full military branch complete with carrying the big stick, if necessary. They also decided to pass themselves off as part of a very distant, long lost colony trying to make it back home. The truth could be told, if the opportunity presented itself, at a later time. They had to tread carefully. What little signals they had received from Earth, made them cautious about a possible first contact situation. However, it was decided to move on and do a little exploring first.
The first stop for the two Federation starships would be the Vulcan star system, some ten days distant at warp three. The trip was basically uneventful and much of the time was spent mapping the surrounding star systems. There were several major discrepancies noted in this new universe when compared to their own. For example, the Katasi nebula was non- existent and in its place was a heavy gravity singularity, the remains of a massive star that met its demise some three hundred thousand years past. The analog of the Andorian homeworld didn't exist, the victim of a large asteroid that had turned that planet into a pile of orbiting debris.
The Enterprise-C, now nicknamed the Ambassador by some of the newer crewmembers, entered orbit first around what would have been Vulcan. What they found was a burned and scorched planet, one that had been caressed by a solar flare almost a thousand years earlier. There had been life there once and scans indicated that there were trace remains of a civilization hidden deep within several caves. It was a clear attempt at survival by the beings on the planet, but in the end the battle with their sun had been lost. The surface was so hot that even bacteria had ceased to exist.
All of the Vulcans were keenly aware of the fate of this planet could so easily befall theirs even now. The Vulcans on the two Enterprise chanted their home worlds' funeral dirge for their lost brethren and the telepathically enhanced chant could be felt by everyone onboard both ships. Several more readings were taken and a small remnant, a memento of a dead civilization was beamed aboard. The Vulcans said it would be a treasure, a remembrance of things past, of things future and of things that could be. The small doll-like ornament was beamed up and placed under the care of the eldest Vulcan. It would be protected forever.
Two days later, both starships tracked a local spaceship barely traveling at impulse-from a very discreet distance-to a certain region of space when the ship simply disappeared. Sensors detected an unusual object hanging some three light-months distant. It was an artificial construct consisting of four large struts placed in a loose rectangle formation. No one had an idea of what this device was, although Geordi speculated that it was some type of subspace distortion device designed to give access to a form of faster-than-light travel.
"I think that there must be another device, I'd call it a stargate," Geordi said even as the Ambassador's Vulcan engineer agreed with the assessment. "That would allow the ship to safely exit FTL. Evidently, these people haven't developed warp drive. But this form of travel may be almost as fast. I would need to study it more to be sure."
Intriguing as the idea was, Jean-Luc nixed that idea. There were too many variables and he didn't want the ships to be out in the open like this doing experimentation on someone else's stargate, or whatever it might be called. They move on at three quarters impulse towards Earth. Unknown to them, their presence triggered a hyperspace proximity signal that would eventually make its back to the very planet they were traveling to.