Chapter 2

"Captain," Data said from his position at Operations. "Away Team reporting in."

"On screen."

Ahead, the main screen flickered. The view of the old ship being replaced with a view of his executive officer. Behind Riker, Picard could several of the Challenger's own crew starting to return to their own duties. It would make getting the ship underway that much easier. "Report, Commander."

"We've got life support back online. LaForge is working on restoring main power. But, that will take time. It's a real mess down here, Sir."

"Survivors?"

"Three hundred eighty-seven."

"Recommendations."

"I'd hate to scrap her." Riker said. "Starfleet could certainly use another ship. Even if it is old."

Putting the PADD, he had been making notes on down, Picard addressed his executive officer. "Agreed. But, we can't stay in this area too long. You have nine hours. If you can get her underway by then, we'll escort her back to Starbase 105. If not, we'll evacuate her and destroy the ship."

"Understood."

"Keep me posted. Picard out."

Hearing, the turbolift doors open, Picard glanced back to acknowledge the new presence on his bridge. To his surprise, it was Guinan, the civilian who ran the ship's mess hall at the fore of the ship on deck ten.

"Guinan?" Picard said. He was curious about why she had come to the bridge. Normally she stayed as far away as she could from the place.

"Captain, " Guinan stated. "We need to talk… Something doesn't feel right. Something is about to happen."

"My ready room," Picard said getting up from his chair. Indicating for her to follow.

Once inside, Picard took his seat and indicated for her to take the seat opposite to him.

His office, if one could call it that was dominated by a strategic map on a monitor, showing the positions of Starfleet's forces against those of the Klingons. His desk was cluttered with PADDs containing reports from across his ship. His desk monitor currently displayed a file on the Challenger. He had been going over the scans of her since the ship's arrival in this time period.

"What's wrong Guinan?" Picard asked.

"I'm not sure," she said serenely. "I feel as though something's about to happen. Things feel as though they're changing."

"What things?" Picard demanded. "What's changing?"

"Space, time." Guinan tried to explain. "It's changing and it feels connected to that anomaly."

"The anomaly?"

"I'm not sure," Guinan said. "But, every time I look at it. I keep thinking it's gotten bigger. It's as though it's grown.

"Our sensors haven't shown it to have grown." Picard tried to point out.

"I know," Guinan said frowning. "And that's what troubles me."

O-O-O

Stepping into the sickbay, Picard found a nurse, made a quick query and headed to where Captain Robert Styles was being treated by Doctor Crusher and Nurse Alyssa Ogawa. He could see that Styles was now fully aware of his surroundings and was beginning to suspect something wasn't right. I'm going to have to tell him. Picard thought.

Stopping next to the bed, Picard cleared his throat before introducing himself. "I'm Captain Jean-Luc Picard."

In response, Styles raised hid head. It was all he could do while being restrained by the medical paraphernalia. "Robert Styles. How's my ship?"

"Life support is back online. Repairs are continuing."

"Where did you come from?" Styles asked. Looking Picard in the eye. "We weren't picking up any other ships in the sector."

Glancing up at Crusher, Picard sought permission to question the Challenger's captain. He went on. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"We were answering the distress signal."

"Distress signal?"

"You must have heard it." Styles said. "From the Klingon Outpost. Narendra III." Styles looked around the sickbay, taking in his unusual surroundings. He made the obvious conclusion. Picard could see it in eyes. "But, you didn't… did you? And this sickbay. I've never seen anything like it…even on a starbase." He paused again. Making sure that he had Picard's eye. "And your insignia is different. What ship is this?"

Seeing Styles trying to get up, Doctor Crusher ordered him to be still.

"I must insist, Captain."

"Captain Styles," Picard said formally. "Your aboard the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D. You have come eighty years into the future." Picard was quiet, allowing the information to sink in. Styles had to realise, that they could not go back. If they did, they would undoubtedly contaminate the timeline.

"Eighty years." Styles said shocked. "Does my crew know yet?"

"Not yet."

"I must tell them… I owe them that."

" Of course. Do you have any idea how this happened?"

Styles thought for a moment. His eyes went vacant as he remembered the last few moments of the battle. "There were… There was… a fierce volley of photon torpedoes. We were hit. A bright light, and then here."

"It is possible," Picard said thinking. "That this exchange of fire could have been the catalyst for the formation of a temporal rift. History has no record of your battle with the Romulans."

Styles looked shocked at that. "We were responding to a distress call from the Klingon Outpost on Narendra III. The Romulans were attacking. We engaged them. But there were three warbirds."

"The Narendra III outpost was destroyed." Picard told him. "It is regrettable that you did not succeed. A Federation starship responding to a Klingon distress call could have averted nearly a century of war."

Picard looked downcast, at the sad expression on Styles face. He could think of nothing more to say.

O-O-O

Sitting at the helm of the Challenger, Riker swore as he ran another diagnostic on the impulse engines. "I'm not getting any kind of ready condition on the impulse engines, LaForge..." he said tapping his com-badge.

"Acknowledged, Commander... some of the engine control processors went off-line," the engineer reported. "And there's probably damage to the driver coils."

"A lot of good that'll do them when the Klingons get here. Get on it."

"Aye, Sir. LaForge out."

Forward at the tactical alcove just to the left of the now operating main screen, showing a view of the Enterprise, Yar and the ship's own tactical officer, a dark skinned lieutenant in his early twenties. If Riker remembered correctly, the officer's name was Foster. Riker listened in quietly watching the two officers at work "Eighty years! I can't believe it."

"I'm reading forty percent on forward shields," Yar reported. Despite the unusual situation, she was remaining focused on her job. Riker liked that. Forster could use the example she provided. "What do you have on aft?"

Foster touched a few controls, feeling glad that the ship had received the latest in touch sensitive technology a few months earlier. He was pretty sure, that the Enterprise crew would not have known what to do with actual buttons. Reading the information, he told her "forty-two percent."

"That wont cut it," Yar told Riker. "Commander, advise LaForge that shields are below minimum."

"Acknowledged." Riker told her.

"Okay," Yar said. "What do you read on the phaser banks?"

"Phaser cannons online," Foster said. "Sixty percent power fore. Fifty-two percent aft."

"Good," Yar said pleased. "But, there's still room for improvement."

O-O-O

Challenger's main engine room was dominated, by the warp core. A tall cylindrical structure extending four decks above main engineering, and four below, with a thinner conduit connected to the core at a ninety degree and that extended down the length of engineering. At the rear of the room this conduit split into two. Each one, led up to a warp nacelle.

Currently, the core was barely idling, a thrum resounded every other second throughout the room accompanied by dim blue flash. The conduit extending rearwards in turn emitted a pulse of reddish light in harmony with the core.

When Geordi LaForge had first entered the room, he was struck by how similar the core looked to the one he was familiar with on the Enterprise. He knew intellectually that the Galaxy-class warp core had evolved from this one. But, he had somehow thought it would look different. One thing that had surprised him was just how powerful the core was. On a second by second basis, this core could actually provide almost as much power as Enterprise's. It was just that it could only maintain that power for no more than a few minutes. LaForge thought, that if they could get the dilithium crystals into the right alignment, then the Challenger, could probably match the Enterprise in terms of maximum warp speed, while only having about a third less phaser firepower. And, he thought, if they tied the excess power generated from the impulse engines into the shields and weapons, they could cut that difference to just over a quarter. He could tell that Commander Kyle, the Challenger chief engineer would go for it. But would Styles allow it. Or for that matter, would Picard. Unfortunately even if they approved, both the impulse and warp drive would need to be operational.

The complex was a beehive of activity, now that they were getting ready to bring the core fully online and restore main power. Once that was done, LaForge knew, the remainder of the repairs could be done in about an hour. They had already been at for just over four hours.

LaForge said to the grizzled engineer who ran Challenger's engineering department. "I think I've found the problem with the impulse engines." LaForge had been running a sonic analyzer over some isolinear chips. "These first generation chips were vulnerable to power surges. I'll have some replacements sent across. The fourth generation ones we use have an integrated cut-off circuit, which just has to be reset if a surge takes place.

O-O-O

A while later, Yar and Foster materialized in one of the Enterprise transporter rooms, Foster looking around as he stepped off in awe at the improvements in technology. He muttered. "Wish Challenger, was like this ship."

Seeing the expression on his face, Yar smiled remembering the first time she had stepped aboard the Enterprise. Stepping out into the bustles of the corridor, Yar made the decision to give him 'Galaxy Spiel' as she called it. "The Enterprise was the third Galaxy-class warship commissioned. Forty-two decks, capable of transporting over ten thousand troops though we only have about three thousand aboard right now. Dual vector assault mode." She could have gone on. But, she thought as she smiled, that she sounded too much like an admiral.

"Dual Vector Assault mode?" Foster asked curious.

"Dual Vector Assault mode," Yar explained. "This class of starship, was designed and built to be capable of splitting into two combat capable ships, allowing us when needed to surprise an enemy ship, attacking it from two vectors. No ship that has come under 'dual vector assault mode' has survived."

"Wow," was all Foster could say. He thought a bit more about the advantages of doing that. "You don't need a starbase to re-integrate?"

"No," Yar answered. "We use non-destructive magnetic latches to achieve separated flight, rather than explosive bolts."

They continued walking in silence for the next few minutes before they arrived at their destination. Sickbay. The Challenger's executive officer, Commander Rachel Garret, was already there in conference with Styles. Garret, Yar noted, was a tall woman with long dark hair tied back into a military bun.

Styles was, Foster was pleased to note, now sitting up, shooting scowls at the Enterprise medical team. Most of the crew knew that Styles hated doctors. Especially those with the surname McCoy. To top it off, Foster thought with a smile, Doctor Crusher's second is a McCoy, the granddaughter of the famous doctor that Styles hated. As Yar and Foster approached, they caught the end of their conversation.

"…Captain," Garret said. "I was talking to Commanders Kyle and LaForge earlier. They have an idea to get more usable power from the warp core. They wanted to know whether or not to proceed. I agreed with their idea. But, I told them that your word was final."

"Tell them they can go ahead," Styles said. "Just so long as they don't break my ship." He gave a smile at the last comment. He remembered what happened to his last command after someone had played with his engines.

Noting the two young officers, they broke off. Styles asked Foster for his report.

"We've got shields and the phaser cannons online. Still no power to the torpedo launchers, though we now have a full load out thanks to the Enterprise. Warp and impulse systems are being restored as we speak."

"Concentrate on the weapons," Styles said. "From what Picard said to me, the Federation needs all the ships it can get. Even 'old' ones." Styles shared a smile at Garret.

"And soon," Yar added. Both Styles and Garret looked at her when she said that. "Our sensors have picked up Klingon warships in this sector."

At this, Styles swung his legs over the side of the bed, getting up. Now, he thought. I've got a valid reason to get up.

"Sir," Garret said suddenly alarmed as she spotted Doctor Crusher coming over. She knew what was about to happen. "You shouldn't be get-" Garret cuts herself off as Styles addresses Foster.

"Why wasn't I notified?" Styles went on. "Lieutenant Foster, as head of tactical, I want you to liaise with your counterpart here."

"That's me." Yar told them.

Styles finally stood up. His bearing was now fully that of a commanding officer. Starting to move to the exit, Garret, Foster and Yar following, he was intercepted by Doctor Crusher.

"And," she said commandingly, actually making him pause when he intended to brush past her. "Just where do you think your going?"

"I'm resuming my duties, Doctor."

"Captain," Crusher said forcefully. "You need at least another twenty-four hours for observation-"

"Nonsense," Styles said. "Doctors have this tendency to be over-protective."

"And," Doctor Crusher shot back. Captains always push themselves to hard."

"And wait for another day," Styles said. Forcing his way to the exit. "Might as well be a century. My crew needs me now. I'm going to tend to them."

O-O-O

Looking around Challenger's bridge, Picard was pleased to note that it was fully functional again. Most of the damage had been repaired; the only evidence of its previous state was the smoke stains near the main screen. Styles was sitting in his chair reading a report. Picard was standing next to him in conversation. They had been discussing what Guinan had told him earlier. "You believe this Guinan?" he asked.

"I discovered long ago," Picard said. "That Guinan has a special wisdom. If you wish, I could arrange for you to speak with her."

"I'll consider that." Styles said fingering his command baton.

"Captain Styles," Lieutenant Lewis Ferrer said from the navigation station. He was a young officer, with light brown hair. He was distinctly pleased that Styles was back on his feet; he was the officer that had been with him since the debacle of the Excelsior. "Navigational sensors online and functioning."

"Very well," Styles said pleased. "You should be able to disengage remote navigation control." For the past few hours, the Challenger, had been depending on the Enterprise for navigation data.

Over at the tactical station, Picard saw Yar and Foster in conversation. He could catch snippets of their conversation. "Shields are up to eighty percent," Foster said. "That's better."

"Good," Yar said, before moving across the bridge to the science station. "I'm going to check sensors are calibrated correctly." She gave a smile as she reassured the enlisted crewman she was reaching over to tap a few controls. "Excellent," Yar said, noting that the sensors were getting a better resolution and range than she expected. "Your work, Crewman?"

"Samno. Yes, ma'am." He replied. "Most of the long-range sensors were completely destroyed. So I spoke with one of your engineers. Barclay, I think. Managed to get them replaced."

"Oh," Yar said smiling at the thought of that particular engineer. "He didn't just replace them. He upgraded them to current Excelsior-III specs."

"Engineering to bridge." Kyle's voice came across the intercom. "Warp drive is now at standby status. Torpedo launchers are functioning."

"Thank you." Styles said.

An alarm sounded at the communications station. At that station, Garret put the small bluetooth earpiece on, waited a moment before turning to Styles and Picard. "We're getting a hail from Enterprise."

"On screen," Picard and Styles said together. They glanced at each other, then looked to the main screen, which was now showing the Enterprise's bridge. Picard could see Riker moving to the centre of the bridge to address Picard and Styles.

"Captain," Riker said with a note of urgency. "You better get back here. We lost the Bird-of-Preys we were tracking. It must have cloaked." As Riker was speaking, Picard noted that his bridge had darkened and gone eerily red. The Enterprise had gone to battle stations.

"Last known ETA?" Picard asked.

Behind Picard, both turbolift doors had opened as additional crewmen entered the bridge, most of them going to unmanned stations, including the helm. The others were hanging back. In the background, Picard could overhear Styles and Garret quietly issuing orders.

"ETA: Three minutes."

"Understood," Picard said. "Commander, recall all Enterprise personnel. But, transport Medical Team Beta to Challenger. They may need them." He looked over to where Yar had been standing over Crewman Samno. "Lieutenant."