Thanks to Nightwing 509, JPMod, whitem, campy, captainkodak1, Yuri Sisteble, CajunBear73, Whisper from the Shadows, RealityBreakGirl, Commander Argus, Josh84, Zaratan, Mountain King, calamite, Quathis, AtomicFire, eckles, Ezbok58a, Uru Baen, surforst, kim's 1 fan, Kirbilius Clausius, TexasDad, conan98002, Dr. J0nes, Molloy, mattb3671, and Slyfer for reading and reviewing.
Thanks, as always, to campy for his bon-diggity beta and proofing assistance.
Write a review, get a response. Seriously.
If you saw it on KP, it belongs to Disney; if you saw it on TNG, it belongs to Paramount.
I.
Shego woke to find herself in the brig of the Orionisi transport. Knowing just how robust the slavers' on-board security measures were, she knew it wasn't worth trying to break out. That didn't mean that she intended to remain incarcerated on the ship or allow herself to be imprisoned by the Federation authorities.
Not that the latter will be much of a problem if Lore actually succeeds with his whacked plan to start an interstellar war, she mused.
Lore.
The thought of the backstabbing, treacherous android infuriated her. But as Shego considered the many ways she'd like to disassemble, vaporize, neutralize, fold, mutilate and spindle her erstwhile partner in galactic conquest and mayhem, she realized that Lore might just be her ticket to freedom.
A satisfied grin spread across Shego's face. She stretched, rose to her feet, and began to carefully scan her cell. Then she found what she was searching for: a security camera.
She smirked as she looked at the lens.
"Yo, Klingon," Shego said, her voice a mixture of sass and ennui. "I know you're watching me. Now listen carefully: I know where the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer is. And it ain't on Romulus. You want to spare the Federation a full-out war, you know where to find me."
Shego then casually turned, returned to her bunk and reclined with one leg crossed over the other and her arms behind her head, fully expecting her jailer to be outside her cell in moments.
She wasn't disappointed.
Soon, the door to the brig slid open and Worf strode up to the force field separating him from Shego. "Where is the Vortex Inducer?" Worf demanded.
"Not so fast, Klingon," Shego said, holding up a hand. "You want that information, you got to deal."
"I do not deal with criminals," Worf replied.
"Right. You're too good to do that. Even if it just looks like you boosted a ship worth a couple thousand bars of latinum," Shego shot back. "Though I could be jumping to conclusions; maybe the Orionisi were so thrilled by the way cheerleader and her boyfriend busted up their little operation on Taigus that they gave it to you. Sorry, Klingon. Walks like a duck, talks like a duck …" she said, looking back at her nails.
Worf's nostrils flared. "What do you want?"
"Let's see," Shego said, looking up at the ceiling. "I want out of here. Now. And whenever this tub lands, you're going to let me go, no questions asked. I also want the cheerleader in a pain inducer so I can sell her, but something tells me you won't go for that. So I'll settle for two out of three."
"Do you actually expect me to let a dangerous criminal like you go free?" Worf asked.
"Better than watching the Alpha Quadrant go up in flames," she said, watching Worf's expression. "You know, you've got a lousy poker face. Remind me to play cards with you some time …"
Worf's jaw clenched.
"… Here's the deal. Your vortex gizmo was stolen by someone who would not only like to start a full-scale war between the Feds and the Rommies, but plans to attack Earth."
"How do you know this?" Worf asked, unable to contain his surprise.
"Because I helped Lore steal it," she said.
Worf's eyes opened wide. "Lore is involved?"
"You know him?"
"We have had … dealings," Worf said.
"Then you know that Lore and the PDVI are probably not a very good combination."
Worf knew Shego was right. "Fine," he growled. "I will accede to your demands. But if you are lying to me …"
"… You'll come after me, blah blah blah," Shego interjected. "Don't worry, Lore double-crossed me. I want some payback …"
Shego and Worf looked at one another.
"… Well, come on already," she said. "Take the force field down. Because I'm not saying any more until you do."
Reluctantly, Worf lowered the barrier. Shego rose to her feet and walked out of her cell.
"Okay, sunshine, here's the deal: Lore's planning on jacking Enterprise."
"What?" an incredulous Worf responded. "That is not possible."
"You Starfleet types are sooo cocky," Shego said, unable to hide her contempt. "'That is impossible,'" she said, mimicking Worf before resuming her own voice. "Not with two mind-controlled Starfleet officers with access to all of your security codes. Names Du and Carter mean anything to you?"
She smirked when she saw the look of recognition on the Klingon's face.
"Yeah, I thought they would. Well guess what? It gets even better," she continued. "Lore's got backup. A lot of it …"
II.
Kim rose from her seat and rushed back to the weapons locker. She grabbed a Type-3 rifle and tossed it to Rufus, who caught it with one paw. Then she lobbed a couple of phasers to the mole rat.
"You want one?" she asked Ron after she clipped two phasers to her utility belt and removed another rifle.
"Nah, this seems to be working for me today," he said as he hefted the Sword. "Besides, if you shoot the way you did down on the planet, I can just sit back and marinate – those guys are gonna be toast."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Stoppable. But no marinating," Kim said before she leaned over and kissed Ron on the cheek. "Okay boys, here's the sitch," she said, shifting back into mission mode. "If they board, shoot or slash. If they beam us out, shoot or slash. Got it?"
Ron and Rufus nodded just as Calypso was rocked by another disruptor blast.
"Shields are off line," Rufus reported.
"Then it looks like it's time to lock and load," Kim replied.
III.
Lore grinned as he gazed at the holographic projection of a universal adapter at the workstation in Main Engineering. He had just completed designing the device and was confident that it would work. Now all he had to do was fabricate the piece of equipment and he'd be able to activate the vortex inducer.
IV.
Kim, Ron, and Rufus positioned themselves so they could be ready to spring into action. They weren't prepared for what happened next. Calypso took another hit and the lights went off, casting them into darkness – and throwing the vessels beyond their craft into sharp relief.
Rufus looked out the forward port and called to his companions. "Great nacho! Look!"
Kim and Ron responded to the mole rat's call and were stunned by what they saw: materializing just off Calypso's port bow was the impressive, intimidating mass of a Klingon Vor'cha-class attack cruiser. As soon as the warship dropped its cloak, it began firing at the marauders.
Then the comm light began to flash. Kim hurried to the console and activated her viewscreen. Her eyes opened wide. "Grilka?"
Ron and Rufus came up behind Kim.
"Chosen One, Consort," the Klingon replied. "It is good to see you."
"Okay, I am so confused right now," Ron said, rubbing his temples. "Don't get me wrong, but what are you guys doing here?"
"Not all Klingons have forsaken their honor for political expediency," Grilka answered. "IKS Gorkon is at your disposal."
V.
Shego followed Worf to the bridge of the transport.
"Girlfriend?" she asked snidely as she looked at the Vulcan woman seated in one of the pilots' seats.
Worf scowled at Shego. "You are not amusing," he said before pointing at an unoccupied station. "Sit," he ordered.
"Whatever," Shego said as she dropped into the chair, crossing her legs and looking at the tips of her gloves before she reached up to her neck and the device that had been implanted there. "You don't think …"
"Be quiet," the Vulcan ordered as Worf opened a comm link to Calypso. "Otherwise, I will find the controller for that pain inducer …"
Shego was caught off guard by the cold menace in the Vulcan's voice.
"… Do not forget that Vulcans are not without emotions; we merely control them. Given the opportunity to be angry or vengeful, we can be as vicious as any Romulan."
Worf looked at his co-pilot admiringly, then opened a comm link. "Transport to Calypso, come in." The Klingon frowned at the lack of a response. "I repeat, transport to Calypso, come in."
Shego smiled smugly at Worf. "Looks like princess and the buffoon didn't make it. Too bad … not."
Worf glowered at Shego, then turned when his console began to beep. He activated the link to receive the incoming transmission. He was surprised to see the seal of the Klingon Empire on his screen, then stunned, though gratified, to see the smiling visage of Kim Stoppable.
"Long story short: we're okay, Worf," she said, anticipating his first question.
"That is good. But I thought Gowron had disavowed Ron?"
"I'm not exactly sure what the sitch is on Qo'noS, but if I understood Grilka, one of the Houses was making a play for power. Some of the other Houses were uncomfortable with the idea of the Chosen One being a human; Gowron sacrificed Ron to secure the support of the Council. Apparently, not everybody was happy with that decision. Grilka was majorly tweaked that Gowron turned his back on Ron and decided to do something about it."
"She is a formidable woman," Worf said. "Know that you are among friends; if she has brought you aboard her ship she has the support of her warriors."
"That's good to know, Worf," Kim replied. "I have to confess, Klingon politics can give me brain freeze."
"That is another sign of your good sense," he snorted.
"So what's your sitch?" Kim asked.
"We have escaped the Orionisi, thanks to you. However, we have a far graver problem: Lore."
Kim frowned for a moment; the name sounded familiar to her. Then she remembered her shared dream with Ron – and later learning that Lore was the evil twin of Lieutenant Commander Data. "Talk to me," she ordered.
"He has the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer. And his intention is to strike at Earth."
"So he played us," she said.
"Yes. And it appears that he is going to attempt to seize command of Enterprise." He then explained the plot as Shego knew it: the use of mind-controlled officers to inject the gas into the environmental control system and unleash the computer virus, the false reactor breach, the clearing of the secondary hull and the abandonment of the primary hull and its occupants.
"Worf, how do you know this?" Kim asked.
"Her," he said with distaste as he put Shego on screen.
"Hi, Pumpkin," Shego sneered.
"Shego," Kim hissed as she stared at her foe through narrowed eyes. "This story is totally whacked. Why should we trust you?" Kim asked.
"Because the android played me, too. I'll tell you what I told Chuckles here: I want payback," she answered bitterly before her angry expression turned into something smarmy. "Plus, your Klingon has agreed to give me a get out of jail free card."
Kim growled. She assumed that if Worf had done that, he had good reasons to. "Put Worf back on. Now," she demanded.
The Klingon, looking concerned, reappeared.
"Worf," Kim said gravely, "what's your current location?"
"We have crossed into Federation space and we're on a heading for Starbase 112, where we will release the prisoners and Shego."
"Good. Continue on that course."
"What about the crew?"
"Given Enterprise's last known heading, we're closer to her most likely position," Kim said after doing some quick calculations. "We'll take care of that."
"Understood."
"I'd better go now," she said. "I have to contact Earth. Stoppable out."
After the link was cut, Kim allowed herself a satisfied smile. Starbase 112 was not only Nechayev's headquarters, it was also a spacedock. Shego's time at large would be very short as her first steps as a free woman would be onto a Starfleet facility where the authorities would lose no time in apprehending her.
"Kim –" Wade said before he was cut off by Kim.
"Wade," she replied in a commanding tone. "I need to talk to President Barkin. Now."
The tech guru already knew from Boothby that while Kim could be bossy she usually only made demands appropriate to the situation at hand. That meant whatever Kim had to say to the Federation President was as urgent as what Saavik had had to say earlier.
"Okay," he said. "Stand by."
Seconds later, Wade's image was replaced by that of a clearly annoyed Steve Barkin.
"Possible?" he asked, angry and incredulous, as he found himself staring at one of his former students. He didn't know what bothered him most: the unauthorized communication, the scar on her cheek, or the fact that she was out of uniform. "What's going on?"
"Mr. Barkin," she said, "the Romulans don't have the PDVI."
"What?" he exclaimed.
"Ron and I have just learned that the Federation has been set up. The person who stole the PDVI wanted to draw the fleet away so they could attack Earth. If he gets a war between us and the Romulans, so much the better."
"And how is he planning to do all this – and just who is he?"
"He is an android named Lore. He's one of the two most sophisticated artificial beings in the Federation. Apparently, he's gotten access to all of our security codes and is going to try to hijack Enterprise. Based on what we know, he's capable of doing that. Sir, if the PDVI were powered by and able to safely channel the energy from the ship's warp engines …"
"Cheese and crackers! He'd be able to blow up the planet."
"Not to mention create a wormhole, sir," Kim added. "Earth's in ferociously deep trouble. Do you have any ships available to intercept Enterprise?"
"No. If that android can open a wormhole we're in trouble. The entire fleet was deployed to the Neutral Zone. And something tells me that orbital defense satellites aren't going to cut the mustard here."
Spankin', Kim thought before speaking.
"We're going to try to stop him, Mr. Barkin. And just so you know, our ship, Calypso, has sustained damage; we're going to be accompanied by IKS Gorkon. I'd be grateful if you'd get the word out that a Klingon warship might be firing on a Starfleet vessel in Federation space."
"Will do, Possible," Barkin said, before a small grin formed on his face. "You keep saying 'we' and you mentioned 'Ron' before. Is Stoppable with you by any chance?"
"Yes, sir," Kim answered. "We're married."
Barkin's grin turned into a full smile upon actually hearing some happy news. "Congratulations; it's about time."
"Sir?"
"I always thought you two would make a good couple."
Kim blushed. "Thank you, sir. Stoppable out."
VII.
Barkin called in the Chief of Starfleet Operations and handed him General Order 5480, ordering the Fleet to fall back. He decided he would wait until after the current mess was resolved before he cashiered the man; the Federation President already had a replacement in mind. He knew she wouldn't be happy about the promotion, but he knew she'd be a good soldier and do as ordered.
After the CSO departed his office, Barkin activated the hotline to Romulus. A few moments later he found himself looking at a visibly hostile Praetor.
"Do not tell me you are calling to admit you are in error and that you are recalling your ships," the haughty Romulan said sarcastically.
"Actually, I am," Barkin said. "We messed up. I'm standing down our forces."
The Romulan stared at Barkin. "You 'messed up'?" he sputtered.
"Yes. Messed up. Dropped the ball. Your guy was telling the truth. I should have listened to him when he insisted you didn't have the vortex inducer."
"I see," the Romulan said. "Is this part of some ploy to test us? I must admit that a doomsday weapon capable of destroying entire planets sounded rather fanciful."
Barkin looked coolly at his fellow leader. "No, the weapon is all too real," the former teacher replied. "It really can be used to blow up a planet. Earth. Qo'noS. Even Romulus."
"What are you going to do," the Romulan inquired.
"We're pretty sure we know where it is and we're dealing with it," Barkin replied. "That's all I'm going to say."
"I see. And with that assurance, the crisis between our peoples is resolved," the Romulan said with a faint smirk. "You know, I should be outraged. You accused us of lying, of planning to launch a premeditated sneak attack. However, I think you may be the first politician I have dealt with in more than a century who is honest enough to admit he made a mistake. That is very refreshing, though I still cannot say I trust you."
"The feeling's mutual, Praetor. There's a reason I didn't believe your ambassador," Barkin observed. "So we'll have to find a way around that. When this crisis is over I want to meet. You and me. Man to man. This got out of control far too fast. We need to address the lack of trust between our governments. We may have different interests and may not even like one another, but we're both stuck in the same quadrant of this galaxy."
The Romulan looked at Barkin for what seemed a long time. "I will tell our ships to return to their normal stations," he said before a superior smile formed on his face.
"I look forward to meeting you, President Barkin. Perhaps I will be the first Romulan leader to travel to your world."
"It would be my pleasure to welcome you to Earth," Barkin said. I just hope that when this is over there's still an Earth for me to welcome you to, he thought.
VIII.
While Kim was contacting Worf and Barkin and Rufus was in the hangar bay supervising repairs to Calypso, Ron was in Gorkon's infirmary, where the ship's doctor was removing the pain inducer.
"Stop squirming!" the physician barked.
Ron did his best not to move while the man worked. The doctor seemed competent enough, but Ron was convinced the man would really benefit from some lessons in bedside manner from Doctor Crusher.
"Sit still," the man ordered before Ron felt a jolt of pain in his neck.
"Owww!" Ron cried out. "Man, that hurt!"
"And that, my young friend, is the last time it shall do that!" the Klingon announced triumphantly as he brandished the now removed device.
Ron reached up to rub his neck but was stopped by the physician, who roughly grabbed his hand.
"I must treat the wound first," he snapped.
"Gotcha," Ron replied.
The Klingon applied a salve to his patient's neck, then ran a medical device over the affected area. Ron could feel the pain recede.
"I am done," the doctor declared. "Now be gone, in case I need this bed for someone who is truly sick or injured."
Just as Ron hopped off the table on which he'd been sitting, Grilka and Kim walked in.
"Hey, KP, Grilka," Ron offered in greeting.
Kim smiled, then looked at Ron's neck. She reached up and caressed the spot where the pain inducer had been. "Nice to see that thing's gone. It was such the fashion disaster."
Ron grinned. "I gotta tell you, KP," he said, "your hand feels a lot better than that thing!"
"Glad to hear it," she said warmly.
Kim and Ron enjoyed a brief quiet moment; then Kim's expression turned serious.
"What is it, KP?" Ron asked.
Kim turned to Grilka. "Is there a place where the three of us can talk? I don't think we should disturb the doctor."
"Follow me," the Klingon said. Kim and Ron followed the woman until they reached a nondescript room. "This place is secure," she said as she placed her hand on a biometric scanner. The door opened and they walked in.
As they took seats, Kim said, "Grilka, I don't know how much of what I'm about to tell you your government knows. I know you've already gone out on a limb for us and I don't want to offend you, but I need to ask you, on your honor as a warrior, to keep what I'm about to tell you totally secret."
"You have earned the right to ask that, Consort," Grilka said.
"Enough with the 'Consort' already," Kim said, trying not to sound exasperated. "It's Kim, okay?"
The Klingon nodded.
Kim looked at Ron. "The PDVI is on Enterprise."
"So we just call Captain Picard and we're coolio!" Ron exclaimed.
"Excuse me, but what is a PDVI?" Grilka asked. Kim described the weapon to the Klingon, who snorted. "And people say Klingons are warlike. None of our kind ever developed anything so destructive."
"Consider yourselves lucky," Kim observed before looking at her husband. "Ron, according to Worf, Lore's plan …"
"Lore? The guy we dreamed about?" a shocked Ron replied. "He's real?"
Kim grimaced and nodded before continuing. "So real. He's Data's twin brother."
"Okay, this is just getting too strange. I mean what are the odds that …" Ron trailed off when Kim shot him a look that said, 'keep your head in the game.'
"Here's the sitch," she explained. "Assuming Lore has been able to implement his plan, the saucer section and the secondary hull have separated. The warp core is in the secondary hull, so we can assume that's the part of the ship Lore and his synthodrones would want. The crew, which he's incapacitated, would be in the saucer section."
"Uh, Kim, let's say Grilka here didn't know what a synthodrone was …"
"It's a low-budget version of an android," Kim said, trying not to smirk at Ron's usual formula for communicating that he didn't understand something and needed an explanation.
"If your ship has been divided, we will be needed in two places," Grilka observed.
"That's right," Kim agreed.
"What's the plan, then, KP?" Ron asked in a way that told her he was going with her, whatever she proposed.
Kim looked at her husband. Two weeks earlier she would have dismissed that out of hand: Ron, a civilian, had no training. But in the days since his arrival, Kim had seen how resourceful he could be. And she knew that her goofy best friend-turned-husband had been that way for a long time – as long ago as that day on Olympus Mons all those years ago. She suddenly realized there was no way she was going on this mission without him.
Kim pursed her lips and rested her chin on her steepled fingers. "Grilka takes Rufus back to Enterprise; he and the Klingons can reactivate systems or, if necessary, evacuate the crew to Gorkon. We'll go after Lore."
"I know the two of you are fierce warriors," Grilka said, "but do you think it prudent to do this on your own?"
"There's no other option," Kim replied. "The two of us should be able to slip on board undetected. From what we've been told, we should be able to evade the synthodrones, disable the PDVI, and take Enterprise's engines off line. As smart and as strong as Lore is, he can only do so much and he won't be expecting us. We just have to hope he hasn't activated the PDVI and opened his wormhole."
"Will you need anything for this mission?" Grilka asked.
"Yes," Kim answered. "A cloaking device."
IX.
Kim, Ron, and Grilka strode into the hangar; Calypso was in the center of the bay, surrounded by Klingon fighter craft. The sleek Starfleet vessel, once gleaming white, now battle-scarred, stood out from the brackish green ships parked by its flanks. As the trio approached Calypso, Rufus climbed out of the hatch, followed by three Klingon engineers.
"Status, Rufus?" Kim asked.
"She may no longer be pretty, but Calypso is fully operational," he replied with pride. "Warp engines, weapons, deflectors – and cloaking device – are all fully functional."
"Spankin'," she said. "Well, this is it."
As Kim and Ron prepared to board, Ron turned to Grilka. "Hey, I hope this isn't out of line or anything," he said, "but mi casa is your casa."
Grilka looked at Ron in confusion as Kim rolled her eyes.
"'My house is your house'," Kim explained. "Ron's saying you're a part of his House."
"Our House," Ron corrected his wife, who smiled in return and mouthed the words "my bad."
Grilka inclined her head. "I am honored to be a member of the House of Stoppable and look forward to celebrating our victory with you upon your return. Qapla!"
Kim and Ron returned the Klingon greeting, then turned to Rufus.
"Thanks for everything," Kim said as she embraced the naked mole rat. "You rock."
"Dude, what she said," Ron said as he, too, hugged Rufus. "We'll make some nachos when we get back."
Rufus looked at Kim. "I look forward to serving under you again … Captain," he said before he turned to Ron. "And I will look forward to preparing Tex-Mex with you." Rufus then clasped Kim's and Ron's hands in his. "Be careful and good luck, Kim and Ron Stoppable," the mole rat said in his deep baritone. "The fate of the future, humanity, and the planet Earth itself rests in your hands."
X.
"We have you on visual," Rufus said.
"Okay," Kim replied. "I'm activating the cloak … now."
"We have lost all sign of you," Rufus said, a satisfied smile spreading across his usually stern face. "You are cloaked. Good luck."
"You too, Rufus," Kim answered. "Stoppable out."
Kim ended the transmission, then set Calypso on a course to Enterprise's most likely location, assuming Lore was heading towards Earth but had not yet opened the wormhole. Kim was assuming that he'd failed to do so since there had been no reports on any sub-space channels of the destruction of the capital world of the Federation.
"So, how long until we catch up with Enterprise?" Ron asked.
"If my calculations are correct," Kim answered, "Forty-seven minutes."
"Interested in a dose of Ronshine?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Kim sighed. "Ferociously interested," she replied, laying a hand on his thigh and firmly planting a kiss on his lips. "But that's all we have time for. We have to get ready."
"Ready for what? Aren't we just gonna fly up and beam in?"
"Ron, we can't use the transporter without dropping the cloaking device …"
Ron looked perplexed.
"… We're trying to be sneaky here," Kim explained.
"Got it, KP," he said. "So, how are going to get on board?"
"Through the back door," she said with a grin.
"What do you mean?"
"Ron, do you remember your EVA training?" Kim asked.
"Sure do, KP," he answered. "Whoa! You don't mean …"
Kim's grin grew into a predatory smile. "I think it's time for us to take a little walk."
XI.
"Oh yes! I am da man! I am da android!" Lore exulted as he scanned his handiwork. The universal adapter functioned and had been affixed to the small canister, which had been hotwired into Enterprise's deflector control system.
Lore began rummaging through his memory banks and hit upon a song that fit his mood. Though it wasn't a show tune, the song from the early 21st century animated TV series seemed especially appropriate. He began singing as he headed back to the Battle Bridge.
I'm ready for you
Are you ready for me?
I'm invincible, and I can do anything.
I'm ready to go
Are you ready to see?
Don't you know that
It's impossible to stop me
XII.
"Man, that is just sick and wrong," Ron said as they approached the saucer-less Enterprise.
"Tell me about it," Kim agreed. "Lore is so going to pay for this. You ready?"
"Ready for anything, Kimbo," he said with a grin. "Got my sword," he said holding up his weapon, "got my barf bag," he said, patting the pocket of his EVA suit.
Kim shot him a look, then leaned and gave him a kiss. "Whatever happens, remember I love you."
Ron gently laid his fingertips on her cheek. "If I don't know that by now, I don't think I ever will, KP."
"Okay, time to get our heads in the game," she said. "You know what to do?"
"You can count on me, Kim," Ron answered.
"Then it's time for us to pay a visit to Lore," she said with fierce determination.
She turned back to her control panel. "Computer, match speed and course with Enterprise."
"Speed and course matched," the ship replied.
"Okay, Ron, let's do it," Kim said as she donned her helmet.
Ron did likewise and followed Kim to Calypso's small airlock. Once the door to the main cabin slid shut behind them, they each checked the systems on their EVA suits, then exchanged a thumbs-up. Then they hefted on their jet packs, checked those and, once again each let the other know that his or her systems were on line.
Kim then entered the commands to open the outer hatch; the door slid open and Kim and Ron floated out into space.
"Activating jet pack," she said.
"Pack activated," Ron replied.
Kim headed towards Enterprise. She pulled out her Kimmunicator and pressed the call button.
"Kim?" Wade said, surprised to see Kim wearing an EVA helmet with a starfield behind her. "Where are you?"
"About five meters from Enterprise's deflector shield. Think you can modulate the phase harmonics so Ron and I can slip through?"
"Don't see why not," he replied before taking a sip of his Slurpster. "Okay, you should be good to go."
Kim and Ron quickly made their way through the small breach. Once inside Enterprise's protective envelope she had Wade seal the hole.
"Wade, we may need your help again, soon," Kim said.
"You want me to stand by?"
"Please and thank you," she answered before turning to Ron. "Okay, let's go."
Kim and Ron maneuvered to the bottom of Enterprise's hull. "That's it," she said, pointing to a hatch. "We should be able to access the ship's environmental control systems from here."
"And what will we do once we've done that?"
"Duh. Crawl through them," Kim answered as if that was obvious. She didn't realize that she'd become so comfortable with the idea of Ron being in the field with her that she'd forgotten he'd not had Starfleet training in how to infiltrate an enemy position.
Ron was about to say something when the Kimmunicator began beeping.
"Wade, what up?" Kim asked.
"I'm detecting a rapid build-up in verteron particles," Wade answered.
"Snap," Kim swore.
"Kim?" Ron asked, not sure of what was going on. He knew he'd heard the word 'verteron' before; he just wasn't sure where, though he was confident it wasn't a good thing. "What's going on?"
"Ron, Lore's opening up a wormhole. We so don't want to be out here when that happens."
"Gotcha. What do you want to do?"
Kim entered a series of commands into the LCARS panel next to the airlock, then waited in vain for a red light to turn green. Then she tried activating the manual override control on the hatch. Much to her frustration, the door still wasn't opening.
"Wade, I can use your help," Kim said.
"Okay," he said. "I'm establishing a link between the Kimmunicator and the LCARS interface."
Kim was not happy when she saw a crease form in Wade's normally smooth brow.
"Sorry, Kim," he said apologetically. "I'm not having any luck."
"This so can't be happening," she muttered in annoyance.
"Uh, KP," Ron said nervously, "I know I've only been out here a few days, but space isn't supposed to look like that, is it?"
Kim took a peek over her shoulder and her eyes grew wide as she saw the very fabric of space rippling. The black, velvety starfield was beginning to morph into something resembling a blue-flecked tornado funnel. "No, Ron, it isn't," she said as she began pulling on the handle, hoping the lock might just come loose. "This is going to be so the drama if we don't get inside."
Ron pulled with Kim, then looked at the LCARS panel. "'Scuse me, KP," he said, gently nudging her aside.
"Ron," she said, an edge to her voice, "we don't have time to fool around."
"I know that, Kimbo," he said. "I just want to try something," he added as he raised his gloved hand. He then slammed his palm down on the unresponsive control unit. Much to Kim's surprise, the red light on the panel flashed green and the airlock handle began to rotate open. She and Ron quickly scrambled in, then closed the door behind them.
"How?" she asked.
"It's all in the wrist," Ron explained. "Or so I guessed. It always seemed to work for Dad when the old holomonitor acted up."
XIII.
Picard thought he saw figures in space suits materialize on the bridge; he wasn't sure, though. He felt drowsy and light-headed. He couldn't remember a time when he'd felt any other way. He wondered who the visitors were and what they wanted.
XIV.
Rufus growled as he took in the sight of his crewmates slumped in their seats on the bridge. He made his way to the main engineering station and shook his head. Then he turned to Grilka, who had accompanied him to assess the situation. The naked mole rat and his Klingon companions were all wearing EVA suits.
Grilka used the Klingon equivalent of a tricorder to perform a scan. "There is a high concentration of trioxybenzahydrine in the air. And oxygen levels are falling. We must act quickly."
"Agreed," Rufus said. "Our priority will be to get main life support back on line. Then we can proceed to purge Enterprise of the gas and restore the ship's other systems."
The Klingon nodded, then pressed a button on her suit. "Gorkon, this is Grilka. Send the following personnel over to Enterprise…"
XV.
Kim and Ron shed their EVA suits so they could move quickly. Kim checked her phaser, Ron the bat'leth. Then they checked their comm badges, which were provided by the Klingons, and their portable breathing apparatus. Kim knew Lore could always cut life support, though she doubted he'd do that: in doing so, he'd suffocate his synthodrones. A scan from the recesses of one of Enterprise's life support tunnels had revealed that the artificial life forms required oxygen, just like humans, if they were to function.
Kim knew that the one thing they did not have was time. She had to assume that Lore's opening of the wormhole was successful and that they'd shortly be in the Sol system. If they didn't locate and disarm the PDVI quickly, Earth would be at Lore's mercy. She activated the Kimmunicator; she hoped that her transmissions were as secure as Wade claimed they'd be since she really needed his help.
"Wade, can you scan for verteron particles?" she asked.
"Sure can, Kim," he replied. "Whoa, the whole ship's saturated with them. What's going on there?"
"We're in a wormhole, Wade …"
"Heading for Earth?" he asked.
"Yes," Kim said. "Are you there?" she asked, realizing she had no idea as to where he actually was.
"Nope …" he replied.
She breathed an inward sigh of relief knowing at least Wade was safe.
"… Kim, why'd you want me to scan for verteron particles?"
"I was hoping you could track the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer. Lore's using Enterprise's engines to generate the wormhole."
"And he somehow has to get the energy out of the ship. If I were him, I'd use the main deflector array," Wade said, speaking to himself as much as to Kim. "Which means I should be able to trace an energy stream back from deflector control to the source. Got it! It's been wired into a secondary deflector control EPS conduit on Deck 17. Would you like me to send you a schematic?"
"Please and thank you," Kim replied, not wanting to know how he got that information. For the time being, she wanted to focus on completing the mission; Wade's apparent hacking escapades of her father's or Starfleet's databases could be addressed some other time. "Okay, I've got the file. Thanks, Wade."
She ended the call, then looked over her shoulder at Ron. "Let's go," she said.
XVI.
They silently crawled through the network of tubes and shafts that lined Enterprise's massive hull.
"Man, I didn't realize I was going to be getting such a workout today," Ron quipped.
Kim turned and shushed him. "We're trying to be sneaky here, remember?"
"Oops, sorry. My bad," he whispered.
Kim shook her head, smiled, winked and continued leading the way.
"The PDVI should be around the next corner," she said as she looked at the Kimmunicator's display. "Snap," she hissed.
"What is it?" Ron asked.
"Synthodrones. We have to divert their attention. Ron, can you provide a distraction?"
He grinned. "One distraction coming right up, KP."
"Thanks," she said. As Ron slipped by her they exchanged a quick peck. Then he unsheathed the bat'leth and turned the corner.
"Hey dudes," he announced to the surprised synthodrones, "I'm Ron, what are your names?"
The simulacra looked at one another, then made their way towards him. Ron was surprised at how quick the hulking synthodrones appeared to be. He spied a Jefferies tube and quickly scrambled down it and out into a corridor, hoping the guards would pursue him.
XVII.
Lore looked at the padd the synthodrone handed him.
Intruder alert, Deck 17, the text read.
Lore pulled a face, then asked "How many?" He wished the synthodrones weren't mute.
One, the synthodrone wrote in reply
"Neutralize it," the android ordered. "And perform a scan of the ship, beginning with Deck 17, to make sure there aren't any others."
XVIII.
Ron found himself surrounded by synthodrones.
"So, you guys must be pretty tight," he said with a nervous laugh. "Wearing the same outfits and everything."
As they advanced on him, Ron dropped to the deck and quickly crawled between their legs. Then he popped up to his feet and began running again, hoping to draw the synthodrones further away from Kim.
XIX.
There is another intruder on Deck 17, the message on the padd read.
"Where?" Lore demanded.
The synthodrone took the padd, then wrote its reply: At the secondary EPS conduit.
Lore cursed himself for not anticipating this possibility. He had assumed that matters would unfold so quickly that he wouldn't need to devise elaborate security measures. Now his complacency was coming back to haunt him.
XX.
Kim checked the Kimmunicator again. The way to the PDVI was clear, at least for the moment. It wasn't long before she saw the glowing green band of the canister-like device up ahead. When she reached it, she performed a scan.
She was reading the data from the scan when she heard a familiar voice over the ship's comm system.
"I don't know who you are, but I know you're in there …"
Kim grimaced. She knew that wasn't Data speaking to her.
"… And I know what you're planning to do," Lore said. "You do know that if you unplug the PDVI now the wormhole will collapse on us and we'll all be destroyed."
XXI.
Ron was once again surrounded. But this time there were even more synthodrones. He dropped into a crouch.
"Okay, if this is how you want it," he said as he began brandishing his weapon. "It's smackdown in my town!"
He then surprised his opponents by charging them, swinging the bat'leth in large, graceful arcs. He slashed at one of the synthodrones and watched green goo gush from the opening in its front.
"That is sick and wrong!" Ron said, making a face before adding, "But I can work with it."
He swung his blade and decapitated another of the artificial life forms, then another. As he continued fighting, Ron wondered just how many synthodrones were aboard Enterprise.
XXII.
Kim heard someone crawling along the shaft and knew it wasn't Ron. He wouldn't sneak up on her.
She knew she really didn't have any choice. She had to deactivate the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer
The PDVI was nestled in a module mounted in the bulkhead. The unit had two handles for removal from the wall; one could simply take the grips in hand and pull. But this module had a series of colorful isolinear chips arrayed along the top of the front of its face. Kim recognized them as security chips. She couldn't say why, but the pattern seemed familiar: white, orange, purple, black, red.
She continued to look at the chips; then she recalled her conversation with Q in the Continuum and the sequence he had her memorize: Alpha-White-Beta-Orange-Gamma-Purple-Delta-Black-Epsilon-Red.
Kim then recalled the second series: Alpha-Orange-Beta-White-Gamma-Black-Delta-Purple-Epsilon-Red.
Or is it Delta-Red-Epsilon-Purple? she asked herself, cursing herself for not having an eidetic memory.
Then she remembered how Q instructed her to share the sequence with Ron. She prayed that he knew it. Then she pressed her comm device.
"Ron, do you remember those two sequences of letters and colors I told you a few days ago?"
"Kinda busy, Kimbo!" he said frantically.
"This is ferociously important," she said with urgency.
"Hey, back off, dude!" he yelled. "Sequences? What se– oh, you mean Alpha-White-Beta-Orange-Gamma-Purple-Delta-Black-Epsilon-Red and … Hey! Get off me you goo-filled freak of nature! Oww! I know I'm going to need those!"
"Ron!" Kim said impatiently.
"Sorry, KP. Alpha-Orange-Beta-White-Gamma-Black-Delta-Purple-Epsilon-Red."
"You're sure about the second one?" she asked.
"Yeah" he answered. "Get off me! Sorry. You said, quote, 'Q also had me memorize this: Alpha-Orange-Beta-White-Gamma-Black-Delta-Purple-Epsilon-Red.' End Quote."
"Thanks," she replied as she began switching the chips. She paused, then, wondering whether she'd ever get to speak to her best-friend/husband again, said wistfully, "Ron, I love you."
"I love you too, KP."
Then she felt something grab her right foot. She screamed as a strong hand began squeezing.
"Kim? KP, are you all right?" Ron yelled.
The pain was awful; she had no doubt her foot had just been crushed. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw an enraged Lore glaring at her.
"I'd really prefer you left that where it is … KP," the malevolent android said venomously.
Kim Stoppable knew she was out of time. She tried kicking out with her other leg, but Lore grabbed her left foot and brutally crushed it, too.
Fighting to suppress the now overwhelming pain and struggling to maintain her focus, Kim switched the last two isolinear chips. Then, knowing she was about to destabilize the wormhole and destroy Enterprise, she gripped the two handles on the module and pulled, decoupling the Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer from the universal adapter.
TBC …