Chapter Two: Decisions
B5 Space: Whitestar Two
Captain John Sheridan sat in the command chair as the ship made its way back to Babylon Five and contemplated the events that had led up to the creation of this strange Anomaly so close to his station.
The Shadow War was over, they had won and the Older Races had left known space to go beyond The Rim. Lorien had gathered his children, but Sheridan knew he would be back one last time, to take Sheridan with him at the end. He would never tell Delenn. She wouldn't understand and would try to follow or so he thought. For now, the galaxy was left for the younger races to explore, to rise or fall on their own, by their own actions and beliefs. If any failed, they would only have themselves to blame, because in the final analysis, they were free. Free from the influence of the older races like the Vorlons or the Shadows that had dominated the younger races since the beginning of their rise.
The first real start of this for the station was to eliminate raider activity once and for all in their region of space. Ivanova came up with a solution to this growing problem. She set a trap with a freighter that was carrying a shipment of Quantium Forty, the key element in Jumpgate and Jump Engine construction. The cargo was worth a huge fortune on the black market and an easy mark for raiders if they played their cards right. Sure enough, the raiders fell for it and they were now enjoying a long stay in a Drazi Prison, a very long stay and not a pleasant one at that.
On the way back to Babylon Five, Ivanova's squadron came across a strange artifact in Hyperspace and decided to bring it home with them to examine it more closely. In all it took every Starfury Babylon Five had to tow the artifact home and to add to it they had to expand the Jumpgate struts to maximum to accommodate the artifact's size.
Once in Babylon Five space, the Artifact began to suck up energy very slowly. They sent a Maintenance Bot out to get a sample of the artifact and it was drained of all power, so drained in fact that its batteries would never hold a charge again, ever. They got the sample though and carbon-dated it back to over one million years in age!
An IPX explorer team suddenly arrived shortly after and after a bit of negotiating was given access to the artifact. Dr. Trent, the leader of the expedition, began setting up shop, much to Ivanova's displeasure due to the added chaos that ensued in the docking bays. Trent eventually learned enough about the artifact to know something about what it was, a Jumpgate to another space, a Third Space. One that she thought may make Hyperspace seem like a slow way to travel, but there was another problem.
On the other side of the Thirdspace Gate was a race of telepathic creatures, hell bent on destroying anything that was not of them. They began to use their telepathic powers to influence the population aboard Babylon Five by way of their dreams at first and by actual mind control later on. Thankfully they were not unopposed as Lyta Alexander was aware of their influence. She also had a deep seeded memory come to the surface about the artifact, one that was planted in her mind by the Vorlons. She began to lose control of herself to this memory and eventually she tried to destroy the artifact before it could be activated by using a force of Maintenance Bots to attack the Gate. Sheridan prevented this by ordering his Starfuries to defend the Gate. He had Zack confine Lyta to her quarters shortly after.
Shortly thereafter Trent's assistant tried to stop her from activating the Gate but she killed him while under the aliens influence and sent out some kind of power cell to activate the gate. Over half the station was under the influence of the aliens and they used their control to start a riot as a distraction so they could come through the Gate unopposed.
Sheridan and Delenn went to Lyta's quarters to see if she knew of a way to stop the aliens and were confronted by the Vorlon Memory itself controlling Lyta's body. The Memory told them about the origin of the special Jumpgate. How the Vorlons had made the gate in an attempt to 'touch the face of god' and how they had instead unleashed the menace that was the Thirdspace aliens. A civil war broke out between the Vorlons under the aliens influence and their uncontrolled brethren. The Memory told of how the 'Evil' Vorlons had managed to drop the Gate into Hyperspace, hiding it away from their now cousins and fleeing to parts unknown.
Sheridan listened to the story with greater apprehension until finally he asked how he could stop the aliens, once and for all. Lyta turned to him and began to explain and explain she did. While Delenn and the gathered forces around the station fought off the aliens outside and Zack tried to suppress the rioting inside, Sheridan would fly a nuke into the guts of the Thirdspace Gate and set it at a key junction point. He would set the timer and leave as quickly as he could.
The plan was a bold one and it cost the peoples of B5 greatly, but in the end the deed was done. The Thirdspace Gate was gone, but now a new challenge awaited his discovery. One that could pose a threat to not just the Station and his crew and the people on board her, but a challenge that could threaten the entire galaxy, or the universe itself!
He had to begin making plans to defend his backyard quickly or he might lose it to whatever force had sent the probe.
All in all Sheridan was having a bad day, a really, really, bad day indeed.
USS Enterprise: On course for the Denab Sector
Captain's log, Stardate 57509.4
The Enterprise is underway for the Denab Sector. The new Slipstream Drive appears to be functioning well within the projected guidelines and we're making good progress. Commander LaForge has asked however that we drop back to normal space for a cool down period and I've agreed.
"Mr. Thomas, slow to impulse." ordered Picard as he sat in his command chair.
"Aye sir, slowing to half impulse." replied Thomas. As the ship fell back into normal space it was rocked by some kind of backwash.
"Report!" said Madden.
"We're dragging a piece of subspace behind us! It reads like a tear! Brace for impact!" yelled LaForge over the intercom.
The ship rocked and heaved like a child's rubber ducky in a bath tub. Huge amounts of energy were hitting the shields of the ship, tearing into them.
"Shields down to fifteen percent, Structural Integrity is failing! We can't stay here!" yelled Lyson from the tactical position.
"Can we form a Warp bubble in this?" asked Madden.
"Negative! If we try that the tear will overtake us!" said LaForge.
"Mr. Thomas, Full Impulse! Get us away from that tear!" said Picard.
"Aye sir!" said Thomas as he struggled to keep his seat.
Slowly the Enterprise gained distance from the tear. "We have to close that thing!" said Madden.
Picard nodded, "Mr. Lyson, target the tear, set two Transphasic Torpedoes to a resonating field opposite to that of the tear and fire. That should close it."
Lyson fed the necessary commands into his control panel and fired the torpedoes. They streaked back toward the tear and exploded. A second later they could see that the tear was beginning to close, slowly.
"Excellent. Mr. LaForge, take the Slipstream offline and begin an analysis of what caused the tear in the first place. Mr. Thomas, as soon as that tear is fully closed come to a full stop and begin a diagnostic of the helm controls." ordered Picard.
"Aye sir." was LaForge's reply as he looked at a disappointed Harry Kim. "Let's get started Harry."
Harry nodded in return and opened a panel on the Slipstream Drive. He wished Seven and B'Elanna were here to help, but they had stayed behind at the spacedock, thinking their part of the project was done. Well, it could be worse, he thought. We could have ended up back on the far end of the Delta Quadrant just now.
Captain's log supplemental,
After a careful examination of the sensor logs we determined that we passed unreasonably close to a nova and somehow a small portion of matter from the former star was pulled into the Slipstream behind us. When we exited the Slipstream the momentum of the matter carried in on into a subspace pocket, ripping the fabric of real space in the process and putting us in danger. We have recalculated our course to avoid passing near any further phenomena and are about to restart the Slipstream Drive and resume our journey.
As Picard opened his mouth to give the order to resume course to Denab, Commander Lyson spoke. "Captain, we're receiving a hail from Starfleet, priority one."
"I'll take it in my ready room." said Picard as he stood up. "You have the Bridge Number One."
Madden nodded. "Mr. Thomas, all stop." They had been on course for Denab at Warp Two for about an hour, once they had determined the cause of the tear was not helm related.
"Answering all stop, Commander." replied Thomas. He glanced over at Ensign Kirk at Ops and shared a meaningful look with him. A day on the Enterprise was never dull.
Inside his ready room Picard took a seat at his desk and pulled up the incoming call. Admiral Ross' face was there to greet him. "Picard, I see you've managed to stay one step ahead of disaster once again."
Picard smiled slightly. "You know how it is with ships named Enterprise Admiral. What can I do for you?"
"You can set course for Vulcan, best possible speed. An Anomaly has appeared not far from Valdena. The interesting thing about this thing is that it looks like a wormhole." replied Ross.
Picard sat back in his seat and contemplated this news. "Where does it lead? Or have you been able to discover that yet?"
"Where it goes is a mystery for the moment. The T'Pol sent a probe into it not long after making the discovery. If all goes according to plan, the probe should be returning to our Universe in about ten minutes." said Ross.
"Our Universe… you mean the wormhole leads to another reality? The energy needed to make such a hole in space time is almost unheard of!" gasped Picard.
"Yes, it is, but Captain T'Fal was able to ascertain that this is the case. What's more, the wormhole had debris from three separate universes surrounding its event horizon. The debris from our universe had a Borg signature Picard, that's why I want you there. We made a mistake by keeping you away the last time Earth was threatened by the Borg, one that nearly cost us the very existence of the human race. I don't plan on having a repeat of that disaster." said Ross with conviction.
"So what are my orders?" asked Picard.
"Your orders are to get to Valdena, and assume command of the fleet. You are hereby granted a field commission of Fleet Admiral until this situation is sorted out and any threat to the Federation is ascertained and if possible eliminated. Vice Admiral Janeway wanted to have the job, but I need her here. She'll be in charge of Research and Development for the duration. If something should happen to you, she's our back up. I've sent Captain Chakotay and the Voyager to assist you. Anika Hansen will be with him. Use them well Picard, their expertise with the Borg will be invaluable. Good luck Admiral. Ross out."
Picard stared at the small screen in a daze. He remembered the words of another Enterprise captain. Don't let them take you away from that chair Picard, because as long as you're there you can make a difference. Picard could only agree with that tidbit of wisdom now, but field commissions had a way of becoming permanent if they lasted for very long. He began to pray that this time would be a very short one.
He stood up and tapped his communicator, "Ensign Thomas, set course for the Vulcan System, best possible speed. Push the Slipstream Drive as much as you feel you can. Have Commander LaForge and Lt. Kim monitor the system closely. All Senior Staff report to Engineering for a meeting, Picard out."
He didn't want to pull Geordi off the engines for a microsecond if he didn't have to. He felt the thrum of the Slipstream Drive as it powered up once again and sent the ship flying at incredible speed towards Vulcan. He hoped the ship didn't fly apart.
Vulcan Space: USS T'Pol
T'Fal watched as the Anomaly once again flared and spat out the probe her vessel had launched. Ensign Savla was monitoring the main science station and ordered the probe to transmit its findings to his screen.
"The probe reports some extraordinary findings Captain. The Anomaly is indeed a wormhole. It has several points that match those of the Bajoran Wormhole and it leads to another Universe as we had speculated. I can only conclude that this wormhole is artificial from these readings. The variables are to symmetrical and clear for it to be a natural phenomenon." he reported.
"Interesting, is their any data concerning the Borg debris that was found?" asked T'Fal.
"No, the Borg debris is only present outside the wormhole and the other half of that portion of debris still eludes identification. Whoever built the device that had so much Borg technology integrated into it is not from this area of space. I believe a ship may be able to track the source however, a distinct warp signature has been found on our sensor logs that matches the debris. It may have been some type of probe that malfunctioned. We may never know with certainty." replied the young Vulcan science officer.
He continued to study the data from the probe before uttering an un-Vulcan-like gasp. "Captain, the probe reports it has discovered a Space station on the other side of the aperture and that there are humans present there. The probe was attacked by a large ship as it was beginning a close scan of the station and it was forced to retreat to the wormhole. One other ship appeared to be trying to keep the attacking vessel at bay, giving the probe time to escape, the strange thing is that both ships were manned by the same species, one that does not appear in our databanks. The second ship did have at least one human aboard it however, that may explain the behavior."
T'Fal gave a slight nod. "Commander Sorik, open a channel to Starfleet Command."
"Channel open. Star Fleet is answering, It is Admiral Ross." replied her first officer as he put the admiral onscreen.
"Captain T'Fal. I trust all is well. Has the probe returned on schedule?" asked Ross.
"Indeed it has Admiral and with some rather startling discoveries." She turned to Savla and signaled him to relay the probe's information to Star Fleet.
"We're receiving the data now. Captain Picard of the Enterprise is on his way to take command of the situation. He has also been promoted to Fleet Admiral for the duration of this mission, let's hope its not long term." said Ross as he began looking over the probe data himself.
"We have also determined that the Borg debris was most likely from a probe. A warp signature was present on our sensor logs just prior to the eruption of the anomaly. I suggest a ship be sent to trace any warp trail that may exist to determine the point of origin." said T'Fal.
"Your suggestion is noted Captain, the USS Rhode Island should be perfect for such a mission. I'll contact her captain and get that ball rolling, Ross out."
T'Fal watched as the viewscreen switched for a brief moment to the Star Fleet Logo and then changed once again to reveal the stars. On the screen she could see four Galaxy class Variants towing the framework of a new Starbase into orbit around Valdena. Several other vessels were deploying small defense platforms. A flash heralded the arrival of the USS Defiant. It also began to drop a payload of mines near the opening to the wormhole. The mines matched those that defended the Bajoran Wormhole in most respects except these were also Transphasic in nature. The Defiant was going to replace those around the Bajoran Wormhole with these new ones, but they had been ordered to here instead. Every ship within fivehundred lightyears that wasn't already defending Earth or Vulcan was on its way here.
T'Fal's home system was fast becoming a fortress to rival that around Earth itself, something that was regrettable in her opinion. Vulcans were pacifists at heart and to see so much firepower being thrust into her home was troublesome. Some of the civilian population was sure to begin protests, especially on Valdena. Yes, it was indeed quite regrettable, but also quite necessary, at least for now.
TBC in Chapter Three: Discovery