Enterprise: Bridge, Moments before exiting the wormhole…
Picard stared at the main viewscreen with not a small amount of wonder on his face. The Enterprise was passing through what looked like a giant vortex that seemed to have no end. "Mr. Kim, please get as many readings as you can as we pass through this."
Harry Kim looked over to the Admiral and nodded. "Aye sir." It was hard for him to tear his eyes away from the beautiful site the viewer was displaying, but he did so and quickly began running intensive scans with the new sensors.
Madden glanced at his side display at power readings as they passed throughout the ship. "Bridge to Engineering. I'm picking up some odd looking surges in the cloaking field's power grid. Try to determine the cause."
"I'm already on it. We've been seeing the same thing here ever since we entered the wormhole." reported LaForge immediately. "We're still trying to ascertain the exact cause now."
"Keep me posted. Bridge out." replied Madden. "We're approaching the exit point according to the probes readings Admiral."
"Very well, slow us to one eighth impulse and take us out slowly." ordered Picard.
As the Enterprise slowed the power in the cloaking field surged once more in a massive fashion. EPS conduits began to blow out on several decks injuring some of the crew. To Picard and the others on the bridge it was as if the life of the ship was suddenly snuffed out as both main and secondary power failed and finally, the batteries as well, dropping the ship into total darkness but for the light coming from outside the ship.
"Report!" ordered Picard.
"All power is offline sir. Communications is out. We're sitting ducks!" replied Madden.
At that moment the ship exited the wormhole and entered a new universe for the first time.
Whitestars took up defensive positions and awaited orders from Babylon Five. Some looked on in apprehension as the strange ship drifted slowly toward the station. Several ships from the League of Non-Aligned Worlds began intensive scans of the strange vessel, in hopes of gaining a few secrets for their governments, before they were ordered to stop by Rangers on the Whitestars. The last thing the Rangers wanted to do was provoke an attack from the ship, like that from the probe they had seen earlier.
In engineering, Geordi was growing frustrated with the Cloaking systems. They refused to relinquish their hold on main power and appeared to be fused in the ON position. After a moment of fighting this he rerouted power to the main thrusters and stabilized the ship's movement. He regained helm control and bought the ship to a full stop. Finally he brought communications online and contacted the bridge.
"Report, Mr. LaForge." came Picard's voice over the intercom.
"We're stabilized for the moment Admiral, but we're also visible to the people in this universe. The cloaking device is fused to the main power grid somehow. If I bring main power back online, we'll cloak." he said.
"That's not supposed to be possible is it? The cloak should have just failed and gone offline." said Picard frowning at Madden.
"I don't understand it either sir, but that's how it is at the moment. I should be able to reroute main power, but I'll have to cut the cloaking device completely out of the system. It will take time however, time that we may not have if they decide to attack. As things are now, weapons systems are offline and I can't give you shields or armor at all." said LaForge.
Picard looked at Madden for a moment, "Do what you can Geordi, bring main power online and we'll pull back out of the system under impulse if you can give it to us."
"Warp is definitely out, but I can give you half impulse in two minutes. Bringing main power online… now…" The ships lights fluttered as main power came up and crashed several times. Finally after a swift kick to a relay by LaForge, main power stabilized once more and the ship cloaked.
Kim who had been monitoring the sensors even through the time when power was gone spoke up. "Captain! We're being bombarded with Tachyons from the space station ahead of us. I'm also picking up residual tachyons from the direction of some of the ships in the system. They're on a frequency similar to the scans the probe detected from the planet."
"Are they detecting us still? While we're cloaked?" asked Madden.
"I can't tell yet Commander. If we were move from this position to one farther from the station, I'll be able to get a new reading." replied Kim.
"Mr. Thomas, take us away from the station, course, three one four point nine six two mark seven, engage, one half impulse." ordered Picard.
"Aye sir, course set and engaged. How far shall we go sirs?" asked the Ensign.
"Come to a full stop once we're clear of the system, then come about and await further orders." replied Madden looking to Picard for approval. Picard nodded.
B5: Sheridan's Office
"So what do you think they're here for?" asked Sheridan.
"Who knows, but if they can hide their ships like that one, we're in trouble. There could be an entire fleet of those ships out there right now and we'd never know it for certain until they decided to attack. Hell, for all we know they could STAY that way and still attack us with weapons like we've never seen before! Corwin thinks he can perfect his Tachyon scanning technique, but it will take time. The communications grid was never meant to work that way." said Ivanova in frustration. "Like I've said before, this is not a good time for a bad first contact for us. I just hope they don't decide to blow us up!"
Sheridan nodded. "I'll try not to make the mistakes we made with the Minbari, Susan, but things may already too far gone for us too pull out of this without a bloody nose." He looked at the pictures of the strange ship again and blew up one section of the hull. He gasped at what was displayed in perfect English words: USS Enterprise NCC 1701-E. "Have you looked at this?"
Ivanova glanced over his shoulder at the screen and frowned. "A trick? To throw us off?" she pondered aloud.
"Why? For what purpose? No, these markings aren't the only English present. Look over here." he said as he pointed at an apparent hatchway in the hull. "That's got to be a docking port. It's got warnings about gravity and atmosphere contents written clearly all around the perimeter. Why go that much detail just to deceive us somehow?"
"Who knows! I'm just saying that it looks fishy to me, John." replied Ivanova.
Sheridan shared a sober expression with her for a moment. "Alright Susan, but I want to make contact as soon as possible. I don't think they've left the system yet, we haven't detected any Jump Points forming and they didn't use the jumpgate. Tell Corwin to begin broadcasting on broadband. I want a first contact greeting sent in Interlac and in English too."
"Got it. I'll be in C&C if you need me." said Susan as she headed for the door.
Sheridan stared at the pictures again. It was a beautiful design, if alien. He wondered if the strange pylons protruding from the main body of the ship were the jump engines for the vessel and how fast she could move in real space. Was it a match for a Whitestar? He had yet to find a ship that could out run a Whitestar on full burn… Perhaps he was now looking at something that could…
Enterprise
Picard stood in Engineering along with Madden and Kim watching as LaForge made the final adjustments to the Main power grid. "That should do it. Thompson, take the Cloak offline."
Ensign Thompson, a young Ensign from Luna did as he was ordered. "Cloak is down sir, according to these readings."
LaForge double-checked his own displays for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Nice work everyone." He turned to Picard and spoke again. "We've analyzed the Tachyons that they're flooding the system with and I think Mr. Kim has the answer sir."
Harry Kim blushed slightly, but took up where Geordi left off. "They're using tachyons for FTL communications sir. I've detected several massive tachyon signals originating from various systems outside of this one and directed towards the station. In addition, I've been able to alter sensors to pick up and decipher these signals. Some appear to be sent in packets like we used when Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant to send letters to our family and loved ones. A different set of frequencies is being used for real time two way communications between star systems."
"So the tachyons we detected being directed at us when we first arrived were attempts to communicate?" asked Picard.
Geordi nodded. "We've determined one frequency in particular is still being directed toward us. They're using our ship's own name in the communiqué. I'll put it on speakers." He adjusted some controls at his main science station and a voice could suddenly be heard on the intercom.
"…ease respond… Repeat, this is Babylon Five Command and Control calling the alien vessel marked as the USS Enterprise, please respond on this frequency. We wish to establish a peaceful first contact with you and your government. Please respond... Repeat, this is…" Geordi cut the link.
"That's the same message we've been receiving for the last hour or so. They're also sending more information on a sub channel, it's the same stuff we used put on our unmanned probes like the Pioneer and Voyager series probes of the twentieth century. Another sub-channel is broadcasting in another language the universal translator is calling Interlac." said Kim.
"Can we respond to this hail Mr. Kim?" asked Picard.
"Yes sir, but it'll be ten minutes before I've completed all the necessary adjustments to our main deflector. It's the only thing we have that can transmit the signal." replied Kim at Picard's frown.
"We'll be on the bridge, please inform us when you're ready to transmit." said Picard as he gestured for Madden to follow him to the turbolift.
B5: C&C
In C&C things were tense as they finally began receiving a signal from the edge of the system where they had finally determined the Enterprise had gone. Ivanova was impressed that the ship was so far out of the system when they became visible again on the log range sensors. The signal continued to come in intermittently, weakly at first, but getting stronger as the ship's crew adjusted the signal, boosting it slowly. Apparently they were unfamiliar with using tachyons for communications, something that troubled Ivanova to no end. How else were they going to communicate outside of their own homeworld's system? Old radio frequencies were far too slow even for most in system communications, let alone intergalacticly.
Sheridan stepped into the room and nodded to Ivanova as Corwin made adjustments of his own, trying to boost his receiving power. "So they're trying to talk to us?"
"It looks that way, but their systems are incompatible or nearly so. Hold on, I think that's just about got it…" said Corwin over his shoulder.
On the main screen in the room the signal cleared to reveal a sight that was startling to the crew in C&C. It displayed the image of a large spacious room that looked like something you would find on a luxury liner, not a ship of war. Sheridan glanced at each face of the Enterprise bridge crew and noticed that they all appeared to be human with the notable exception to one being with blue skin seated at one of the two forward positions. He also noted that while the bridge may look harmless, the men manning the stations carried themselves like seasoned warriors. The last thing he noticed as a tall balding man stood and addressed him and his staff was that these people had artificial gravity.
"My name is Admiral Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise, representing the United Federation of Planets. To whom am I speaking?"
Sheridan, who was impressed that they would send an Admiral for a first contact mission, stepped slightly closer to his screen. "I'm Captain John Sheridan of Babylon Five, formerly of Earthforce and The Earth Alliance." Picard frowned slightly at the word formerly, but held his tongue as Sheridan continued. "On behalf of Babylon Five, The Centuari Republic, The Narn Regime and the League of Non-Aligned Worlds I'd like to offer you and your crew the hospitality of the station."
Picard turned to one of his crewmen for a moment and exchanged a look. A silent communication seemed to pass between them before Picard turned back to the screen. Were they telepaths? "We'd be delighted to accept your invitation Captain Sheridan. When would you like for us to meet in person?"
Sheridan glanced at a clock on the wall above the view screen. "Commander Ivanova, how soon can we have the main reception hall ready for a dinner?"
Ivanova glanced at the same clock and ran some figures through her head. "I can have it ready by 1800 hours, but that's cutting it a bit thin. Let's make it 1900 hours to be safe. If you have no objections Admiral?" she added nervously. She hated having to talk to superiors sometimes.
Picard smiled warmly. "That shouldn't be any trouble at all Commander. If you'd be kind enough to give us your station's time so we can synchronize our time with yours. It would be embarrassing for us to be late for our first encounter."
Sheridan nodded and smiled himself. "Our current time is 0940 hours, 9:40 am station time."
"Thank you Captain Sheridan." Picard said. "I look forward to meeting with you face to face, we have much to discuss."
"Yes we do. Until then Admiral?" said Sheridan inquiringly.
Picard nodded, "Indeed, Enterprise out."
The link between the station and the strange new ship broke off and was replaced with the standard Babcom screen.
Ivanova turned to Sheridan and smirked. "That went well. I was half expecting to see Earthforce uniforms on them. They are hiding something though. I can feel it."
"Why do you say that? The look the Admiral exchanged with that tall hulking man behind him? I have my doubts about them as well. Hopefully this dinner will help to alleviate some of them. You noticed how he frowned when I mention that I was formerly a member of Earthforce? No, I'm done speculating for the moment. We'll honest with them about our situation and see how the cards lay later. You'd better get a move on Susan, lots of preparations to make for our guests." said Sheridan with a smirk of his own.
Susan made a halfhearted effort to swing at him and headed for the door. "You just wait. Once Clark gets wind of this little dinner we're having he'll go fusion."
Sheridan sighed. He knew she was right. Humans from another universe with technologies that were apparently in advance of their own. Yes Clark would definitely go fusion and then, then he would come after what he wanted. But Sheridan wasn't quite ready for an open confrontation yet, not by a long shot…
Medlab
Lyta Alexander sat up in her bed suddenly and smiled. Her eyes had returned to normal for the moment, but she knew that she was still going through a change. One that she somehow knew the original Kosh had wanted for her, for all telepaths that were part of the Vorlons plan during the last Shadow War before he was killed and forced the Vorlons to drastically change their plans.
Dr. Hobbs looked up from her desk to see Lyta coming toward her. "Lyta? Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm feeling fine Doctor. Better than fine, in fact I feel perfect. It's like I've finally discovered my true purpose and I'm getting ready for it." Lyta replied with a beaming smile.
Hobbs returned Lyta's smile cautiously and spoke. "I'd like to run more tests to be sure you won't have a relapse. I'd also like to monitor you after you leave for changes in your vitals, that's also in case you have a relapse."
Lyta nodded soberly, "Of course doctor, I'd be happy to comply with anything that will get me out of Medlab quicker…"
Hobbs handed Lyta a modified Link that fitted onto her upper arm and explained. "This link is modified to send your vitals to this station for the analysis I'll be doing. Please wear it at all times. If any major changes occur in your readings a Medlab team will be dispatched to your location. Please keep that in mind while you're wearing it, its new technology, very delicate and very sensitive."
"Yes Doctor, I'll remember. Now can we please get on with these tests you want to finish so I can leave?"
Hobbs grinned, "Sure Lyta, please follow me into Medlab Two."
Earthdome"What are you saying to me Dr. Trent? You were supposed to acquire as much knowledge as you could on that artifact and report your findings to me and your superiors at IPX. Was that too much for me to expect from you? Or should I begin to make good on my threats to your family?" said Clark in an exasperated tone.
Trent seemed to shrink on the monitor and cringed. "I'm saying that artifact was a kind of jumpgate. One that I believed led to another realm of hyperspace, even more compact than the one we're familiar with. Travel there would have been nearly instantaneous from one point to another. Imagine the applications of it Mr. President… But that turned out not to be the case, instead I was only partially correct. It was a jumpgate, but one that led to another UNIVERSE! One that is occupied by a deadly race of telepaths; we were nearly destroyed by them before they even came through the jumpgate! If it hadn't been for Sheridan's quick thinking, I wouldn't be talking to you right now sir."
"Yes, yes, I read your report, but what's this about an anomaly that formed after that traitor blew up MY artifact? Reports are sketchy on this matter. I want a FULL report now doctor…" He left the threat hanging in the air.
Trent swallowed, and began to give Clark everything she knew about the anomaly and the probe that had come through it shortly after its formation…
Several hours later Clark was online with his loyal officers giving them new orders. Shortly after that nearly every available ship under Clark's control was underway…
Their destination, Babylon 5…
Somewhere on the Rim
"You have seen it?" asked a robed figure.
Another nodded.
"You must go back and monitor the situation then. Remember the Code. Watch but do not interfere, all must be as it was meant to be. They are about to cross the threshold. Report back to us regularly for further instructions… Go now, and observe our future… old friend."
The other figure nodded, bowed and left without saying a word.
Centauri PrimeThe Regent cringed on his bed as the Drakh entered his private chambers. "Please, what would you have me do?"
"You will send half of your fleets to these coordinates with only enough men onboard to get them there…"
The Regent balked, "But what are you planning to do with them?" His keeper suddenly constricted around him causing the Regent great pain throughout his body.
"Your will is ours to command. What we do with you and your precious Republic is not open to debate…" The Drakh had nearly spat out the word Republic. "You will know your place, or you will suffer…"
The Regent sighed as the pain receded and moved to his desk. He began to draw up the orders the Drakh had demanded and he secretly prayed to all the Centauri gods in the pantheon that the Drakh's plan would fail. Whatever that plan might be…
Enterprise-E 1530 HoursThe time for the informal dinner was drawing closer, so Picard called a meeting to decide who to bring along on this First Contact.
"Mr. Madden, you will remain on the Enterprise and monitor us in case anything should go wrong." Picard held up a hand as his first officer began to protest. "I will be perfectly safe Commander. We've determined that the station doesn't have shields. If need be, I will simply call for transport out of there if things get out of hand, but I will only use that tactic as a last resort. It's another technology that appears to be unknown here.
"Mr. Kim, Mr. Lyson and Dr. Ogawa, you will come with me to the station. Mr. Kim, your job will be to observe their technology and if possible obtain samples for study." ordered Picard.
Kim nodded nervously and said, "Aye sir."
"Mr. Lyson you will act as my body guard while on the station, keep your senses open for any hostile intent and I'm giving you discretion to order a beamout of all of us if you feel time is of the essence and you can't voice a warning." continued Picard as he rattled off more orders.
Lyson also nodded and began to plan for a possible emergency beamout in his head. "Admiral, I recommend we all be implanted with a subspace transceiver. It will make it easier for the transporters to get a lock on us if things go south at the dinner."
Picard thought it over for a moment before nodding, "Dr. Ogawa, please see to it that the transceivers are ready by 1830 hours. All of us will meet in Sickbay at that time. Doctor, I would also like you to learn as much as you can from the Station's doctors. They may have some medical knowledge that we lack."
Ogawa smiled and nodded. "Yes, Admiral. I think they might, at the very least we could obtain data about the many species that populate this part of their universe."
Picard nodded again, "Dismissed." He stood and began heading for the door.
"Admiral, may I have a moment of your time?" asked Madden.
Picard mulled it over for a few seconds before turning and looking at his Number One expectantly.
Madden waited for the room to clear before he spoke. "Admiral, do really think it's wise to be going on this first away mission? The risks are astronomical!"
"Martin, I'll make this as brief and as painless as possible. I'm going, end of discussion…" Picard said rather smartly.
Madden frowned and stood up straighter, "I'm sorry Admiral, but I can't allow that without at least having had more dialogue with these people. For all we know, they could be renegades or pirates! Allow me some time to find out more about them before you go over!"
"Very well Mr. Madden, you have until 1830 hours. If you can find good cause as to make me feel I'm placing the assigned away team and myself at risk by then, I'll abort the mission and politely pull out of the area, if they'll allow us to do so. Does that sound equitable enough for you Commander?"
"Yes sir, I'll get right on it, sir." replied Madden as he moved toward the exit.
Picard waited for him to leave and then he turned back toward the conference room window. Outside, he could see Babylon 5 as it went about its daily routine. Occasionally a ship unlike anything he'd ever seen before would pass by trying to learn about his ship before being politely warned off by a Whitestar that was on guard nearby.
Picard had ordered his crew to cooperate with the Whitestar's Captain so as to avoid possible trouble with overly curious locals.
"And so it begins…" he mumbled to himself.
1600 hours
On the Bridge of the Enterprise, Ensign Kirk was reviewing incoming transmissions as various governments from the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and others tried to make contact with the newcomers. He politely diverted all direct incoming calls to a superior officer and began monitoring passive transmissions, in particular a broadcasting signal identified as ISN.
An announcer spoke, "This is an Interstellar Network News special report. Reporting live from the ISN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, your host, Alison Higgins."
A Black woman appeared on the screen and began to speak. "Good evening, I'm Alison Higgins and you're watching the most popular news network in the galaxy. Today's top stories will be brought to you shortly, but first a special announcement from our friends in Nightwatch." The camera panned out to reveal a familiar face to the young Ensign, sitting at the desk next the reporter. Kirk continued to watch the program with growing alarm, as the show ended he made sure that it had been recorded and then hit his combadge. "Kirk to Admiral Picard."
"Go ahead Ensign." came a reply a few seconds later.
"Admiral, I've just made a rather startling discovery. I have a recording of it. Admiral you should really review this immediately!" Kirk said in a gush.
"Calm down Ensign, I'll be right there." Picard replied.
Kirk played the recording back again to the point where the representative of Nightwatch was displayed. The face of none other than Admiral Hikaru Sulu stared back at him through the ISN camera… No doubt about it, things were about to get really interesting…
1800 HoursPicard looked at the faces of his senior staff after they had reviewed the recording. Ensign Kirk was also present. He had played the recording three times himself before giving in to his doubts at what he was seeing. The former head of Starfleet Academy, a pillar of Starfleet and what it stood for was in this universe, and to make it worse, this Sulu was apparently a member of a Fascist-like organization- Nightwatch. The leader of its recruiting branch no less. It made Picard's stomach turn over. To think that someone who meant so much to the Federation in his universe could be so different in this one was heart wrenching.
"As you've seen things here are not as cozy as we'd like to believe. Captain Sheridan and his crew are in open rebellion with the legal government on the Earth of this universe, however, from what I've been able to see of the program and this ISN network, I believe they are giving out misinformation in an attempt to draw favor away from Sheridan and the other rebelling colonies. The Sulu of this universe is not the same man as our own. He is a member of what I would call a Gestapo branch of EarthForce, Nightwatch."
"'There but for the grace of God', Admiral. In light of this information, will you be aborting the away mission sir?" asked Madden. Kirk had found just what he had feared he would find. A hornet's nest of trouble was waiting for them on Babylon 5.
"No Number One, we will continue as planned. I want to hear Sheridan's side of things before making any decisions. To do otherwise would leave us open just as much to treachery from the government at Earthdome. I want to know exactly what I'm going to be dealing with and I can't do that with just a few minutes of coverage from a propaganda network like this ISN to go on."
Madden frowned but nodded at Picard's logic. Know thy enemy, he thought. "Very well Admiral, but will you at least take more personnel from security?"
Picard sighed and then gave in, "Very well, Mr. Lyson select two of your best men for the away team. Have them join us in Sickbay at 1830 hours as we had planned earlier. Dr. Ogawa, prep two more transceivers. Dismissed."
Babylon 5Finally the time had arrived. A shuttle from the Enterprise was docking with the station and a small crowd of people had gathered at customs to see the newcomers.
Captain Sheridan, Commander Ivanova and Security Chief Zack Allen were waiting to greet them as well, along with enough security to stop a riot if it came to that… Something Sheridan was praying to avoid, at all costs.
The Admiral, Picard was his name thought Sheridan, stepped out of the compact looking vessel and was followed by several more of his ship's crew. All of them appeared to be human, Sheridan noted. Two men who by their stance and build had to be security took up guarding positions at the Shuttle's entrance and stayed there as Picard and the rest of his away team approached Sheridan.
"Captain Sheridan, it's a pleasure to meet you in person," said Picard as he shook Sheridan's hand. "These are a few members of my crew, Mr. Tyler Lyson, my chief of security, Mr. Harry Kim my operations officer, and this is Dr. Alyssa Ogawa, my chief medical officer."
Sheridan nodded to each and shook hands in turn with them as their names were given.
Picard pointed to the two security officers and said, "These are Ensigns James Falk, and Gerald Ford. They will stay here with your permission and guard our shuttle, if you don't mind. Our technology would be quite valuable to some members of your station Captain. I hope it won't be a problem?"
The way Picard had said it made Sheridan's hair stand on end. Picard was not one to be trifled with. "Of course, I would do the same if our situations were reversed sir. May I introduce to you two of my command staff? Commander Susan Ivanova, and Security Chief Zack Allen."
Picard shook hands politely with each and began to look around. "It seems as though things aren't quite what they had ought to be here Captain?" he said as he pointed out several burn marks on the walls and several piles of debris on the floor.
Sheridan sighed a small sigh and replied, "We've had more than our fair share of troubles of late. If you'd follow me, I can give you a fuller explanation at the reception we've put together Admiral."
Picard and the others smiled politely and began to follow Sheridan and his crew.
As they were entering a corner of the Zocalo they were waylaid by a man Sheridan had been avoiding for several days.
"AH! I see our guests from the other side of that monstrosity outside have arrived… Welcome, welcome. I am Ambassador Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic. I trust your journey here was an uneventful one I suppose yes?"
Sheridan rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment as Mollari was speaking and then stepped up between Picard and the Centauri. "Londo you weren't invited to this meeting…" he began.
"Not invited? Not invited to the most historic event in recent memory! Phagh! I warn you Captain, you may have your little meeting with these people to yourself for now, but," a threat hung in the air, "I expect to be seeing them myself quite soon… Good day to you, newcomers…" With that Mollari briskly turned and stomped off.
Picard exchanged a look with Commander Lyson who simply shrugged his shoulders before turning to Captain Sheridan. "That was an ambassador? How did that man receive his posting?"
Sheridan grinned and replied, "As I understand it, no one else would accept the posting. Something about us not lasting a year at the time no less. You see the station's only been online for about four years or so now. If we could continue?"
Picard nodded and they all continued down a corridor to what looked like a turbolift to the crew of the Enterprise. After a few minutes travel they arrived at the reception hall and sat.
"I'll start with a brief explanation of what caused the damage you've witnessed and then we can move on from there Admiral." said Sheridan as he stood after taking a drink from a glass in front of him.
Picard smiled and spoke, "Please do. I have a feeling it will be most enlightening for us as well, given the present situation outside."
"Okay then, it all started a week or so ago when I and my second Commander Ivanova were out dealing with some raiders. We had just finished with our trap and Commander Ivanova was heading back here when she picked up an object on her Starfury's sensors. It was big. So big in fact that we had to reposition the jumpgate's pylons to their maximum range in order to bring it through to B5 space. It had been in Hyperspace for years, centuries, hell for millennia when we found it. It was a gateway we had found. One that led to another space than Hyperspace, call it a Thirdspace if you like. We had just begun to study it when a transport ship from IPX came through the jumpgate and asked for access to the artifact."
Picard held up his hand. "Please, could you go a little slower, you're using some terms that are foreign to us. For instance, what exactly is a jumpgate? Or IPX?"
Sheridan and Ivanova exchanged looks. This was going to be a long night.
Enterprise-EPicard sat down at his desk in his ready room aboard the Enterprise and sighed. It had taken Sheridan and Ivanova several hours to explain all of the events surround the Vorlon built gate and who and what was entailed within those events. Near the end of the meeting Picard had finally asked for all the data that the station had accumulated on the artifact and the wormhole from this end. After a bit of negotiating for aid for the somewhat beleaguered resources of the station, Sheridan had given them as much as he could minus what Trent had given him and simply lied and said she had skipped out on him before he could get his share of information on the Thirdspace Gate.
Lyson had nudged Picard at that and shook his head slightly, something most people would have missed, but not Ivanova. She had observed Lyson like a hawk during the entire dinner and following meeting with a growing suspicion that was fully realized at that point.
"He's a teep!" she had accused and Picard had by that point seen no reason to deny it. He hadn't seen anything about how telepaths were treated in her universe by that point in time, but Lyson had noted how Ivanova had observed him from the beginning and so he spoke before Picard could.
"I am, what of it? So are you…"
Ivanova had looked like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar for all of half a second before she had drawn her PPG and pointed the business end at Lyson. "Stay. Out. Of. My. Head!"
"I assure you Commander, I haven't been 'inside your head' as you put at all. I simply deduced that you were like me from your reactions to my body language with Admiral Picard. My race has strict rules about reading other people's thoughts without their permission, it's considered to be quite rude in fact." Lyson replied holding up his hands to show his intent not to harm her.
Ivanova had mulled over what he said for another full second before Sheridan spoke. "Susan, put your weapon away, that's an order Commander…" He tried to put as much authority as he could into his voice.
Reluctantly she had complied, but not before hitting her link and calling for Lyta Alexander to come to the reception hall.
Sheridan had nodded with approval at that and sat back down as though nothing had happened, though he did talk much less and his stress level was obviously higher than it had been.
Lyta had arrived and to Sheridan's shock walked over to Lyson and hugged him. For several minutes after that they had simply stared at each other as the rest of the room's occupants exchanged uneasy looks.
Finally, Commander Lyson had turned to Picard and spoken, "We can trust them Admiral, implicitly…"
Picard was naturally skeptical as were Sheridan and Ivanova.
"You can trust us, but can WE trust you?" Ivanova had asked.
Lyta had smiled at Susan reassuringly and simply said one word. "Yes."
Susan had slowly begun to relax after that and after more discussion another meeting was set up for the following day. This meeting would be a public address to the Council on B5 and to the public in general, at Picard's request.
Shortly thereafter Picard and the others said their farewells and left. Looking back on it now Picard was still confused about a great many things. Who was this Lyta Alexander and what part did she have to play in what was going on here?
He finally boiled down to what it always did during First Contact missions, issues of trust. Picard knew he had made a decision that could change the face of two universes, he hoped his decision would be the right one…
Babylon 5Captain John Sheridan sighed as he entered his quarters and called for the lights. As they flickered on he sat on his couch and undid the front of his uniform and put his feet up.
Today had been a very eventful day and now he was truly exhausted. So exhausted that he fell asleep in a matter of seconds… and thus missed the flash of white light that occurred near him.
A figure dressed much as Admiral Picard had been bent over Sheridan and whispered something into his ear. Then the man laid his right hand on John's forehead. The hand glowed for a few minutes and then returned to a semblance of normalcy. The figure snapped his fingers and with another flash he was gone. A smug smile on his face…
TBC