Quick notes:
Thietje: I did a baaad thing. The Meeting place Part I and Part II. The Part II referred to part two of them as opposed to another chapter.
Nebula: Thanks again for the comments:
Canis Black: Kinsey became President. It didn't last long…History for the future.
Kevin and Grochek: Bester has permanently lost his telepathy. However his memory imprint with Deanna lives on in repeat mode and it is drying him crazy along with is loss. The telepath war will not occur and Mars and its resistance…well ask Clark in a few chapters.
Superfan: I'm trying to convey that this Picard is a lot colder than his other counterpart. In fact all of the Feddies are. This is good or bad depending on what side you are on. Of course, a little more on this later.
Now, without further ado, on with the story.
***
A special thanks to Mr. Major Diarrhia for his insights and comments on this chapter. The changes made have been directly influenced by his comments. Thanks again, Sir. AlbertG
Chapter 17
"Journeys: The first Steps"
Babylon Five:
Commander Susan Ivanova and the other personnel of CnC peered out the front window at the largest military buildup they'd ever seen at the Babylon station. Most of the ships were EA Resistance under the command of Major Ryan who just returned from Drazi border regions. On the other side were the EA Loyalists, separated by a healthy distance one from one another. There were three Minbari ships-of-the-lines orbiting the station adding their power to the overall security of the beleaguered space station. A few were Narn vessels of every description, preparing for a major strike against the Centauri. They were the remainder of the surviving Narn vessels, about twenty heavy and medium ships in all. The first group of ten was just leaving with the K'mpec's Honor.
The Klingons had a saying-that they stole from Shakespeare she sincerely believed- revenge is a dish best served cold. It was going to become very chilly for the Centauri. She suspected where the strike would take place but so far no one was talking to the B5 Corps, and therefore she couldn't be absolutely sure. But still, if she were in the Narn shoes, knowing what she knew, then the Centauri forces were in for some rough times.
Four other vessels, huddled together, also prepared for a journey their own. White Star Three, under the command of Sandra Hiroshi, Captain Kanyunn of the Minbari spaceship whose name translated as Blue Nova, the Ambassador and the EAS Paphos were now moving towards the gate. That was where Susan wanted to be right now; with them. But she squashed those feelings down into the depths of her soul. Her place was here, right now, as so many people had constantly informed her. Her time would come sooner rather than later. And she needed to reflect on what had been said in the last few days. And she took a little consolation in the fact that Captain Sheridan had remained behind on B5 as well.
The jumpgate blazed with other-dimensional energy as it roared to life. "Jump gate activated," Susan announce to the four ships. "You're good to go. Good luck," Susan said with absolute conviction.
"Captain Garrett to Commander Ivanova."
"Yes, Captain?"
"I have a gift prepared for you in the holodeck. It's a program called the Kobayashi Maru scenario. You'll get chance command a Federation Starship on a rescue mission or you can reprogram it to use an Omega if you wish. You can do it on your own or you can handpick your crew from colleagues. When we get back, I want your opinion on it."
"Exactly what type of program is it?"
The Captain laughed. "You have such a suspicious nature. It's just that all of our command staff has to go experience that program at least once. Trust me you'll love it."
***
Four vessels, created by four different cultures; Human, Federation, Minbari, and Shadow, entered the swirling hyperspace maelstrom and held position one light minute away from the gate. They carried with them official representatives of almost every race of the major powers and of the non-aligned governments including the now abandoned Vorlon, Kosh. Invited to see what dangers the universe had in store for them, they came. For some it was because of curiosity. For some it was fear that motivated them. There were those who simply came because they didn't want to be left out and there were those who wished to experience what adventures that might exist out there. Almost all of the races accompanying the small convoy had never been allowed onto the feared and mysterious Sharlin-class Minbari starships.
This was a once in a lifetime opportunity not to be missed and several were ready to experience it. The Minbari very rarely allowed others not of their race, onto their warships. Shrouded in mystery, this was a time of enlightenment for those representatives bold enough to travel with people who walked the stars with Vorlons a thousand years earlier.
However, the main body of governmental officials resided on the USS Ambassador, now living up to its name. Unlike the other ships, the Federation starship sported several high quality guest quarters that were able to maintain a variety of environments. Combined with the lavish conference rooms and diplomatic quarters, and heavy-duty protection that the vessel offered, many of the representatives were more than happy to be onboard.
Several of the Minbari, including Neroon had elected to travel, at least partly one her. Rumors and reports aside, he wanted to see the vessel himself in detail to find if the almost absurd investigative reports were indeed true. At B5 he had spoken to Picard but had not visited the ship. And he wanted to talk with human woman Rachel Garrett to personally determine what sort of person this Human female was made of. Future relations would be determined by this time spent here.
Delenn, understanding the delicate nature unfolding on the Ambassador elected to remain on her flagship where a number of the Grey Counsel secretly resided. They would determine the exact threat separately and would lead their people accordingly. The Drakh threat had suddenly become a trickle, with almost no reports of sightings or attacks in the last two weeks. The only report of any significance indicated that they were leaving the area and unanimously heading in one direction. Z'ha'dum.
Their Centauri allies have been abandoned which did not bode well for them. Before long, Minbari grievances would come knocking on their front door. Trapped between the Minbari Federation, the Earth Alliance and the League of non-aligned Worlds, Centauri Prime would find survival a challenge.
***
On the Ambassador's bridge, General James Oliver Brindley and Neroon watched Garrett and her crew work with undisguised interests as she issued orders. Her ship and the Blue Nova were moving to within five hundred meters of one another. The White Star and the EAS Paphos were repeating the same maneuver. In the final configuration, the Ambassador and White Star Three would be on top while the Minbari war cruiser would remain in the rear. Communications between all four ships were intense. The preparation for this operation had lasted for hours as each crew went through the laborious procedure of linking their nav computers. The Ambassador and the White Star calibrated their fields in order to match one another precisely.
Captain Clark, not completely happy with the arrangement made token protests but it was either work together or stay behind. She chose the former. The idea of a Minbari Captain having his Sharlin slaved to an Earth ship didn't please him either. Delenn and Neroon persuaded him to reconsider his position on the matter.
"You two might find this interesting," Garrett said, motioning both of them to join her. "We're about to create a warp field large enough and stable enough to encompass both ships. We will be using tractors to help in the alignments between the ships. Then our navigators will have to match velocities and actions exactly in order for this to work."
Commander Castillo called for the Captain's attention and she nodded sharply. The background music changed its beat catching the General by surprise. He'd forgotten Garrett's little quirk. Garrett had never moved but he could tell that she noticed his slight shift. Neroon simply grimaced. It was not to his liking, but he said nothing. He had to respect different cultures, after all and it wasn't his place to criticize someone else's bridge.
"Mister Mugato," she said. "The order is given. Engage the warp engines. Establish the warp field and move us out."
The Ambassador surged forward, the Blue Nova matching the move exactly. The other two ships matched the procedure exactly. After a few moments, Garrett was apparently satisfied. "Count it down."
Ensign Mugato, his face a study of concentration began. And the ships began to move. "Warp point five…point six zero."
"Warpfield is stable and in alignment," Castillo called out. The joined ships were moving fast now. Everyone stared at the screen as the view screen swirled with movement faster than any Human or Minbari had ever seen.
"The Blue Nova is matched with us and overall stress is within expected tolerance projections."
Garrett sighed with relief. The stress on her ship was significant, but it was tough and it was handling it. And she relaxed even more as the small White Star's partner kept up as well.
"Seven point three…Seven point five…Warp point eight, Ma'am. Holding at warp point eight, Ma'am."
Very good. "We've been study this for the last six months. Let's get a tiny bit greedy. Push it to warp one."
"Aye, Ma'am." The helmsman touched the controls and for several heart-stopping moments, the ship ships shook, but then slowly settled. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Both warpfields are stable. The White Star Three is at maximum power, but the readout is within acceptable tolerances." Now Castillo heaved a sigh of relief. The attached warp nacelles were doing fine, even if it made the appearance of the ship ugly as sin in his eyes. "Tough little ship," he murmured.
"Of course," Neroon said loud enough for everyone to hear. "It's of Minbari design. Tough, as you Humans say, is the standard."
Abruptly, the view screen changed into a bloom of dark purple light that faded quickly. Instead of swirling red, a star field appeared, with a faint streaking going by, giving the illusion that they were stars passing by at seemingly impossible speed. Surprised, both visitors looked at Garrett, who had already begun the explanation.
"We're still in jumpspace, Gentlemen. The jumpspace dimension is completely different than subspace as we understood it. The streaks we're seeing are Hawkins radiation particles interacting with the warp field. Between the B5 data and the Minbari's understanding of jumpspace, we're able to calculate where we are at any given point between hyperspace and normal space," she said wryly. She waved her hand towards Brindley. "The Minbari and B5 scientists have helped us in our understanding and together we're learning how to travel at speeds previously unknown to either race. We've shared this knowledge with the Minbari."
Brindley's face tightened. Behind that trained, unyielding military façade was a man who'd just discovered his greatest nightmare come true.
Garrett frowned. She knew exactly what the man was thinking. "Commander Castillo, you have the conn." She pointed to Neroon and Brindley to accompany her. "Come with me to the Captain's conference room please," Garrett ordered and the three of them moved to the privacy to of her office. "My people and I estimate in three years, once the technology is perfected, we will be able to travel the length of this galaxy in a week's time. In a few years after that, we go extragalactic. Like subspace, the possibilities are endless."
"The currents and eddies alone can cause a ship to become lost in a moment's notice," Brindley protested. "It can't be done."
"Why not?" she asked.
"Because-" he froze for an instant. "I don't know, but we've tried. There have been hundreds of experiments and all of them have been failures. I'm not including other races who have tried studied different modes of faster-than-light acceleration. Jumpspace is de facto standard. But maybe in the future, who knows?"
Interesting response Garrett thought. She half expected that answer. It gave more credence to the theory that humanity and the other races may have been programmed to block the possibility of FTL travel using other techniques besides jumpspace. But now that they were aware of other forms, would it make any difference?
"Maybe it can be done. In any case, we would have openly shared this technology with Earth, if only," she waved him off and glanced at the fuming military officer.
"General Brindley is right," Neroon added. "The Minbari have had a history of space exploration longer than the Federation or the Earth Alliance. We have found no evidence of a form of faster than light travel that is superior to hyperspace travel." He wavered slightly. "But here we are, traveling at speeds that have never been imagined before."
"Exactly how fast are we traveling?" Brindley asked her.
"A little over three thousand times the speed of light," she answered, stunning both the Human and the Minbari. She was actually rather stunned herself, but they'd never know it. "Which I might add, is as fast as the Federation has ever been able to travel. Theoretically, we should be able to exceed this speed significantly as we further refine our studies of the physics involved."
"But how is this possible?"
"With our present understanding of FTL physics, we know that subspace driven-warp drive and the higher dimensional hyperspace quantum reality are only partially compatible. Subspace, hyperspace and normal space react with one another in specific ways. We're trying to overcome the warp one barrier, which is formidable, but our people believe it can be done. Right now, we're still learning the rules."
"But what you're talking about could very well revolutionize space travel as we understand it," Brindley stated. "If you present these discoveries to the aliens, you'll upset the balance of power for centuries. Everything that you people have done since you've gotten here has negatively affected Earth in one-way, or another. We Humans will never be able to catch up with the Minbari or the others that you are teaching on Babylon Five."
"Right now, I don't believe your government deserves to catch up," she answered harshly. "I'm not so sure about the Minbari, either."
"Captain?" Neroon's voice was dangerously cold. This Human woman had just insulted him and his people! How dare these…these children infer that the Minbari weren't mature enough to handle these new sciences!
"Listen to what I'm saying, both of you," she said. Her voice now carried the tone of a schoolteacher. "On one side, we have a paranoid government attacking and killing their own people, and on the other, is a government that was willing to slaughter fourteen billion people out of revenge for the loss of a single leader. However, there is Babylon Five, a place designed to avoid these very types of conflicts that you could use to settle your differences. But it seems that most of the time, it's trying to keep from being blown up. And before you say anything, yes," she continued. "The Federation hasn't done much better. However, we had close to two hundred years of, what most people would describe, as peace. Then we ended up having to endure twenty-two years of war with the Klingons that makes your recent conflicts look petty in comparison. We are here in your space because of that war. But you have a chance and a place here to do what we couldn't do," she continued. "You can come together and become stronger as a united community than you are separately."
"We can't," Brindley answered. "It's been years, but the feelings still linger. Earth isn't ready for that type of change."
"And the Minbari Federation does not have the need of such a people-as him," he retorted.
He was looking at Brindley, but Rachel understood that he meant both of them. "Then what Delenn has done, all she has gone through and sacrificed for your people Neroon, is worth nothing to you?"
"Delenn has sacrificed more that you could possibly know for your people and mine. Do you mock the Minbari?" His anger covered up the chill he felt in his heart. Did this woman know the truth?
"No," the Captain answered. "I want to understand who and what you are and I can only do that if I ask uncomfortable questions. We all here are mature individuals and we can talk, if we really want to, right here and right now. Neroon of the Minbari, I know you are here to find out for yourself how dangerous we are. To answer that question; we are more dangerous than you know. Does that make us a threat? Not really, because we have gone out of our way to share our cultural and technological uniqueness with your people and B5 to develop a sense of trust. And your people for the most part have done the same. We have opened the door to you. But this isn't a two-way relationship. For example, would we even be invited to visit your homeworld?"
"This is a time of war," he said. That was a truth, but there was another hidden truth also. He knew that they knew as well. "There are humans on Minbar. But with a vessel such as this, and the fact that you are human even if this is not a 'human' ship, would disturb the people. At this time, I do not believe that our people would welcome you. It would be too much."
"Even though we are not from your reality and were never part of the Minbari-Earth war?
Doesn't it matter that we are probably more of an ally to you than anything else?"
"These are uncertain times, Captain. There are wars everywhere. The Minbari Federation hasn't suffered such losses in a thousand years. The people are afraid."
"You don't appear to be afraid of anything, Neroon," she answered.
"Truth is a three-edged sword," he replied. "Only a fool is not afraid of anything. One of my fears is what we may find at Z'ha'dum."
"At the risk of repeating myself, you have Babylon Five to talk things out. Come together so that you can stand against whatever threat that place represents, be it Shadow or something else. I could tell you horror stories of human and Vulcan relations in the early days that would make you wonder why we didn't kill each other after the first few weeks. Then I would tell you of Spock, born of a human female and Vulcan male."
"Impossible! You're
two different species," Brindley said.
The look of horror on his face said it all.
"Not as impossible as you might want to believe," she replied.
Neroon barely caught the gleam in her eye. She did know! These Federation people were aware of the greatest secret the Minbari Grey Council possessed. For years, Sinclair's life had hung in the balance because of it. The Minbari telepaths had created a hole in his mind to protect that secret.
Human DNA was mixed with Minbari's. There were Minbari souls being born on Earth. When Neroon heard the truth of that, like many others privy to the secret, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the irony of it all. Arrogance on one side and vengeance on the other, combined to kill nearly several billion people. The Minbari-Earth war had come within a knife's edge of exterminating an entire people who as it turned out happened to be relatives. It was the great secret of secrets, the great shame of shames.
"The Federation is a mixture in every since of the word," Garrett continued. "Even Miss Torres is half human-half Klingon. You know Dr. Troi is part Betazoid. Several of my crewmembers are blended. It's not a problem for us."
Brindley was appalled. The possibility of alien-human hybrids was everything he feared. It represented a loss of identity for the human race. How could they, or anyone for that fact, remain unique if the genes could be mixed in that manner? "I don't understand how your society can survive with such attitudes. What does humanity mean if you can't tell what humanity is?"
"Interesting question," Garrett said. "Let me put it your question in another form. If a tree falls and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
"That's the eternal debate for philosophers, Captain."
"But the reality of that question is still valid, General. Whether we hear it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we know it or not, it doesn't matter because it doesn't care about us. The point is we are not the end all of the universe and that tree will make a sound because sound is not dependent on whether we are there to hear it, or not. Mankind's uniqueness will not depend on what type of genes we possess. It will depend on what we do with what we have, for as long as we have it. Whatever our children will be, they still will be ours."
"Will, they?" he countered. "Or will they be so different from us that they will have no use for us whatsoever?" The Normals and Telepaths on Earth is an example of I fear. We don't fully trust them and they don't fully trust us. Lines are being drawn between the two." He paused for a moment, reflecting the conversation. "This is completely new territory for us, for me."
"A valid point," she responded. "But if you want to find out about something and face your fears, then you open your mouth and ask. You can raise this question with any member of my crew. And you can access the personal records of Ambassador Spock of Vulcan. He wrote several papers on the subject. And there are several hundred volumes both pro and con, in the database that discusses this very subject. This is something that the Federation has wrestled with since beginning our First Contacts. But our abiding policy is if we can attempt to achieve peaceful co-existence with our stellar neighbors, then we will take responsibility for everything that it implies. It wasn't easy but we made it through and we can pass on what we have learned."
Nerron wasn't convinced. "It all sounds good, Captain Garrett, but…"
"In private, Rachel, please."
Half-smiling: "Rachel. It wasn't as easy as you have implied. There are genetic, religious and political differences that surely must have cause difficulties?" he smirked. "Will we find that in the database?"
"Of course," she answered instantly, "along with the fights; and details concerning a couple of bombings." She smiled sheepishly. "Honestly, we've had a few rough spots to get through. But," she continued with absolute conviction. "We learned from the experiences and as you begin to go through the same things, hopefully it will be easier because of the information we have can be used as a guide. However, we did have an advantage. Many of the species in our local group are humanoid based, something to do with mass seeding, we suspect. So we don't have as much diversity that you have here. But the more the species here interact the sooner it will come."
"Not in my lifetime," Brindley murmured so softly that he was sure that no one heard him.
Standing next to him, Neroon stood silently, reviewing everything that had just been said. He wasn't so sure, not with Delenn and Sheridan acting the way they were. It seemed that the future was about to move in directions that that even he had never imagined. "Captain Garrett is it possible that you could replicate some of that Earl Grey tea? "It seems that I have developed a taste for it," he said as he continued looking into the void. There was indeed a lot to think about.
Traveling at incredible speed through the void of jumpspace the quartet of starships continued on their journey.
The next stop Z'ha'dum.
***
"Interlude"
Another Universe:
There is a commonly held belief among many species that when two space faring races come into contact one another and both decide that it is not in their interest to remain friendly relations, two things may happen. The first is that they will most likely separate and stay away from one another. The second is that they will usually go to war. If this second scenario occurs then one side is always more advanced or more powerful than the other so there is never a real contest. Of course. This theory does not take into effect the multitude of variables inherent in such a scenario.
In other words, things do not usually work the way they are expected to.
There is an area of space some seven thousand light-years from that which is called the planet Earth that can only be described as a mass graveyard. It is a graveyard filled with the remains of ships of war. Here two enemies confronted one another for the last thirty standard years. Here lay the remains of four hundred Borg cubes, victims of an obsession. This obsession is rooted in the obtaining of perfection-perfection in the form of children of V'ger. These immensely powerful children have protected themselves from invasion by creating a dampening field that no one, especially not the Borg, have been able to disrupt. No one can approach to within thirty light-years of their position utilizing any type of faster-than-light technology. This dampening field also represents something else.
-A warning.
***
The Colonial Battlestar Galactica reached the edge of the swirling energy draining maelstrom some twenty minutes before the Azebur and Voyager joined her. That time was spent trying to determine the nature of the phenomenon in front of them. All three vessels, erring on the side of caution held station at one hundred thousand kilometers from the objective.
"Glad to see you made it, Admiral," Commander Apollo said over the comms.
"Glad to be here, Commander," Kathryn Janeway answered. "It seems as though the Imperixe didn't want to give us up."
"I know what you mean," Commander Apollo answered. "I trust you explained it to them?" There was no love lost between those parasites and the Colonials. The two battles between them established a bitterness that wouldn't soon go away
She shook her head in dismay. "I don't believe they listen too well. But they weren't very enthusiastic about following us. It must have something to do with this region of space," she added dryly.
"I can understand why. We have some prelims. Can you confirm our readings?"
***
"Admiral, please take a look at these readings," Annika Chakotay said. Coming from the former Borg, it sounded like more of an order than a request, but everyone was used to that by now. The flat vocal tone was a part of her personality now, and that would never change.
The region of space shimmered with intense energy. Preliminary sensor scans from all three ships came back inconclusive. Intensive scans were now being performed.
To the naked eye, the barrier shimmered, pulsating like a living thing. Hundreds of colors flowed within the barrier like rivers of water, something that had increased since the ships had taken up station-keeping.
"Have you ever seen anything like this?"
"Yes," Annika answered. "The twelfth power energy signature is indicative of V'ger's activity in the sector. The Borg have attempted to gain access through the barrier for decades now, without success. The barrier rejects all energy waves, including sensor sweeps."
"Yet, we are scanning it," Tuvok stated with his usual Vulcan calm.
"Yes," the ex-Borg, Seven of nine responded in a somewhat irritated manner. "We are. I believe it is because the children are allowing us to."
"That's what I thought also," Janeway said. "They're curious about us." And this was exactly what she was counting on. Their curiosity would allow them to hesitate enough so that first contact could be possible.
"Is there anything on the detailed scans?"
"The details are coming in now," Commander Data said.
As she forced herself to be patient the Admiral waited and watched Commander Data carefully. For the life of her Janeway thought the android was doing a perfect imitation of a person deep in thought.
Data finished his analysis; he turned to give his full attention to the Admiral and the Captain. "This area of space is in a state of trans-dimensional flux," she said. "It is being constantly reconfigured with no discernible pattern and as a result subspace travel has been rendered impossible by any means we are currently aware of. Slipstream and transwarp have been rendered inoperative."
This was expected also. Q had told her about the barrier and its effects. "Are we safe from its effects at this distance?"
"At present we are one hundred thousand kilometers from the event horizon. At this distance, the barrier should not present a problem to our ships."
"Let's not press our luck," Chakotay said thoughtfully. "I want two class seven probes launched. Have them intersect the barrier."
Commander Tuvok the two class seven probes and the telemetry received was exhaustive-right until both probes slammed into the barrier and ceased to exist.
"What happened?" Chakotay demanded.
"Both probes were destroyed five hundred meters short of the event horizon," Tuvok answered. "Fascinating. The results received before the probes were destroyed confirms that this barrier is of subspace origin and exists in several dimensions. It is an energy absorber, quite effective in neutralizing energy weapons discharges and resisting solid objects that come into contact with it."
Well, that was obvious.
"But we're scanning it now."
"Maybe it's more than curiosity working here. Maybe it is an invitation," Janeway said as she though about the implications. Open a channel and configure it using the same parameters used by the original Enterprise to communicate with V'ger."
"Aye, Ma'am."
"What do you think, Captain?"
"It certainly is possible."
"It's ready, Admiral."
"Good. This is Admiral Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship USS Voyager. We mean you no harm and will to communicate with you. Please respond."
Nothing.
"V'ger, we are from you planet or origin. We wish…"
The woman was cut off. The ship was suddenly enveloped with bright, withering light accompanied with a mind-numbing sound so loud that it threatened their sanity. The light penetrated everything. As it cohesed into a laser-bright pillar of light it circled the bridge.
"It's a probe!" someone yelled trying to be heard over the din. The probe touched everything and everyone finally centering on one person.
"Annika!" her husband screamed as the probe intensified its scan of her.
She was paralyzed by the power of the probe analyzing her. Then the probe vanished as suddenly as it appeared leaving the woman on the floor in a complete daze. Outside the barrier was changing, colors flashed and ran into one another. There was a swirling vortex forming within the barrier and that swirl slowly increased in size.
Everyone heard a voice, powerful enough to shake Voyager. It was like the sound of an old man voice mixed with that of a young teenager. The sound contained within it an ancient wisdom mixed with unabridged hostility and contempt.
"BORG!"
"V'ger wait! Tuvok, send the code."
"Communications have been cut, Admiral."
***
All three ships rumbled as gravity generated from the swirling apex began pulling them forward.
"Emergency reverse," Chakotay yelled. "Tom get us away from here!"
Lieutenant Paris was already complying before he spoke. "Sir, something is preventing us from moving. We can't create a warpfield."
Voyager rumbled once more as the warp engines strained to break the grip of whatever was holding them. Nearby the Galactica's main engines were powering up as it struggled to break free of the same force that held Voyager and Azebur in its grip.
"It's no good. We're being pulled towards it. Everyone brace for impact!" Janeway yelled.
***
All three ships collided with the center of swirling matrix-and continued to travel deeper and deeper into the phenomenon.
"It's like a wormhole," Paris yelled. In the view screen was an image of physics gone mad. To him it looked like a quantum slipstream passage mixed with colored lights and a rippling effect that made the whole thing surreal.
The ships moved faster now and the inertial compensators barely kept up with the ever increasing strain. It felt as if they were being slowly stretched to death as subspace distortions ravaged the vessels and the crews inside.
"The structural integrity field is losing power," Tuvok said. The words came out slowly as if time were being stretched as well. "The strain is too great!"
"Reroute all available power to the shields!"
"It's not enough," Tuvok announced. "We will lose shields in…"
The terrifying journey abruptly ceased as quickly as it had begun. The relief was palpable.
"All stop."
"Aye Sir. Answering all stop."
"Shields are firming up," said Worf who somehow still maintained a standing position at tactical. "Systems are coming back online."
"Confirmed."
"What's the status of the ship?" Chakotay asked.
"Ship's status seems to be okay. No reports of serious injuries."
"How's Annika?"
Dazed from the experience she attempted to get up even while her husband tried in vain to keep here from doing so. "Shaken, but I will recover."
"Medical to the bridge," Chakotay ordered.
***
"That could have gone better," Paris mumbled. He was embarrassed having lost his lunch. Fortunately he wasn't alone as the smell attested to. "I guess that his equivalent of saying 'go away'."
"Mr. Data, where are we?"
"We are located near the southern edge of the Gamma quadrant, sixty-five thousand, four hundred and six point three two light years from our previous position."
Chakotay shook his head and nearly started laughing. As for Tuvok, he actually shrugged. Paris was smiling hysterically and even Seven allowed herself a slight grin. As for her part, Kathryn felt a headache coming on. If the situation hadn't been so grim, she too would have found herself caught up in the moment. The other Voyager crewmembers looked at the group, confused.
"You had to be there for seven years, "Paris managed to choke out. "Oh, Harry," he said. "I wish you were here. You would be having a fit right now."
B'Elanna was on the comms, trying to find out just what had happened.
"Details later, Chief. Yellow alert! Shields on standby."
Janeway agreed completely. She knew exactly where they were; the worst place they could ever be in. Even the Borg avoided this area of space. The only good part of this entire journey was that there were several subspace conduits, created by V'ger that would allow them safe passage to their space. The problem was getting passed the local neighbors.
***
Nearby Q, Amanda of Q, John, Trelane, affectionately known as 'That Brat', and young Q watched the journey with interest.
"They finally made it," young Q said. "But do you think they will be in time?"
"Yes," John said. "But the question you should be asking is whether Janeway will do what she's supposed to. Her interpretation of the Prime Directive may hinder this mission. This temporal war may cause a galaxy to fall and she is in the position to stop it. Iblis has made his move and the seeds of doubt are being planted."
Q shook his head. "The Vorlons were so full of themselves. 'We want to touch the face of God and in doing so become gods ourselves?'" Q mimicked. "If they wanted to know about God they should have asked me..."
Amanda groaned while Trelane delighted in the sarcastic displayed by Q. "Well at least you found someone who's made more mistakes than the Q, Q, and that's saying a lot."
Q wasn't listening. "She's going to have to make some choices that will haunt her forever. I hope she's up to it. We'll find out soon enough."
***
End Interlude
Chapter 18: The Battle for Narn