First Contact: Terran Empire

A Star Trek Crossover

Chapter 2

Star Trek Continuity

Captain Johnson was sitting in his ready room wondering why a new wormhole had just popped up, in a previously undetected plasma storm no less. "Hmm," he mused, "if the plasma storm had been there before, the Federation would have known about it and mapped it a long time ago, what with all the ships patrolling the Neutral Zone over the years... maybe, just maybe the plasma storm wasn't there before either... but why ..." Johnson had gotten to this point in his reasoning and had been getting more and more confused by the minute, when his train of thought was quite rudely interrupted by a loud boom and a bright flash of light that made the entire room painfully, unbearably bright, forcing Johnson to cover his eyes. When the light faded, Johnson opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times and thinking "what the hell just happened?" That was when he saw the being known as Q sitting on his desk, looking at him.

"Congratulations!" Q exclaimed. "Huh", said Johnson, who was quite bewildered. Q sighed theatrically. "Do I really have to spell everything out for you?" said Q. Johnson sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Star Trek Continuity – Earth – Starfleet Command

"Jean-Luc!" exclaimed Janeway, out of breath and trembling with excitement. "Report, Admiral", barked an irritated Picard.

"Yes sir," said Janeway, while mentally rolling her eyes. "The Vorlons would like to establish what we know as formal diplomatic ties with the Federation. They" Here Janeway was cut off as the Fleet Admiral said "The Vorlons?" "Oh," said Janeway, "sorry, I forgot to explain. Species 8472 was just the Borg designation for this race, and we used it as their name because we didn't know their real name until now. They actually refer to themselves as Vorlons."

"OK," said Picard. "Please continue."

"So as I was saying," said Janeway, "the Vorlons would like to establish formal diplomatic ties with the Federation, and as such they would like to establish an Embassy here on Earth. They would also like us to send an Ambassador to Fluidic Space to establish a Federation Embassy in their realm. They have stated that they would like to pursue "significantly closer ties" with us."

"This will have to be approved by the Federation Council, as you know," said Picard.

"Yes, I know," said Janeway. "I believe that the Vorlons could represent a powerful ally for the Federation, and I want you and the rest of the Admiralty to help convince the Council to act in the Federations' best interests by approving this first step toward a potential alliance in the future."

Jean-Luc Picard sighed. "Janeway," he said flatly, "the Federation has always been devoted to peace. Aggressively seeking or courting powerful military allies is not part of the goals of the Federation."

Janeway's temper rose and she glared at the Fleet Admiral. "Picard," she said icily. "In case you don't realize, there are many hostile races out there in this galaxy that pose a serious threat to the very existence of the Federation. Peace and exploration are only meaningful when you are actually free and alive. The pursuit of peace and cooperation is a laudable goal, but most hostile forces out there don't give a damn about peace or cooperation. Don't use the example of how the Klingons went from being Federation enemies to a staunch ally to try to convince me that all races can be made to see the light and that thus the Federation doesn't need to be strong militarily. Most races won't listen at all and will merely attack until either us or they are destroyed. If the Romulans thought they had a decent chance of beating Starfleet, they would be invading the Federation faster than Q could snap his fingers! And how would you ever convince the Borg to co-exist peacefully with us? Even the Klingons would have conquered us a long time before Praxis ever exploded and forced them to make nice with us, if not for the military strength of Starfleet protecting the Federation and its ideals. Picard, ensuring the continuing survival of the Federation, which includes having strong military forces and alliances to deter hostile forces, is something that is prerequisite to the successful pursuit of peace."

Picard blinked. He blinked again. Still speechless, he finally managed to choke out, "Dismissed, Admiral." Janeway stalked out. She thought to herself, "For the future of the Federation, I hope at least part of that sinks through that thick skull of his..."

Star Trek Continuity

Johnson was glaring at Q. "So you" – here he jabbed a finger into Q's 'chest' – "created this trans-universal wormhole as yet another test for us to pass?" he said angrily. "The Federation has enough problems of its own in this universe; we don't have the desire or resources to deal with whatever problems the universe on the other side of that wormhole may contain."

"Relax, my dear Captain," said Q, "helping the alternate Earth will indirectly help your precious Federation with the problems it's having in this little section of space you call the 'Alpha Quadrant'." And with that cryptic remark, Q snapped his fingers, and was gone rather anticlimactically.

Johnson sighed. It was time to contact Starfleet Command for instructions.

---

A few minutes later, the Prometheus was still unable to establish a subspace connection with Starfleet Command. "It's as if we're being jammed somehow," said the Science Officer, "but with the subspace sensors I have been unable to detect anything abnormal; it's as if our communications array just suddenly stopped working properly." That was when an unexpected voice spoke up from behind Johnson, "Johnson, Johnson," said the voice, "this is not the time to contact Starfleet Command, this is the time to respond to that distress call!"

Johnson sighed – again. "Q," he groaned, "leave us the hell alone!"

"I'm deeply wounded," said Q, faking a hurt expression and clutching at where his heart would be – if he was a human, which he wasn't. "I try to help the best I can, and what do I get in exchange?"

"Q," interrupted Johnson, whose patience was really wearing thin. "Say what you have to say, and get out of my ship!"

"Fine, fine," said Q, "I'll get off your precious ship, but go through that wormhole, and do it in the next, oh say, 5 of your minutes, or I'll toss your ship through for you." With that, Q vanished as if he had never been there, leaving a worried but thoughtful bridge crew behind.