A/N: We don't own any of the franchises used in this story. We're just fans.
Chapter 2
Prometheus…
"Where are we?" Chakotay shouted his question to no one in particular. Sparks were falling all around him from ruptured conduits. His tactical officer was laying on the floor, neck at an odd angle. He tapped his communicator pin. "Chakotay to Janeway!" No response. He glanced around him, and for a moment, he saw holograms of Janeway, Tuvok, and the crews from the other bridges, but they blinked out again almost as soon as they had appeared.
"What happened, Tom?" he called to his first officer and helmsman.
"I'm trying to figure it out. So many systems are offline it's hard to make heads or tails of things."
"I'm not trying to rush you, Tom, but we need to figure out where we are very quick."
"I understand, Captain. I'm starting to get information from the navigational computers now. Wow! I don't know how, but we're on the far side of the Delta Quadrant. Equinox is a few kilometers away," Paris told him.
Suddenly, the holo-emitters came online, but not entirely. The image looked fine, he could see Janeway's mouth move, but not hear her. Just as suddenly, the bridge speakers came to life, and he could hear everyone, but it was unnerving to see Janeway's mouth move right beside him and to have the corresponding voice come over the speakers. Oh well, he thought, it'll have to do for now.
"Report," Chakotay told his reformed bridge crew.
"We have thirty seven casualties," Rodney McKay said, feverishly working at the sensor controls.
"Anything else, Dr. McKay?"
"This is not good," McKay said, adjusting several controls. "Some of our crew is gone!"
"Fatalities?" Janeway asked.
"No. They're just not here."
"How many?" Chakotay asked.
"Two. Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres," McKay answered absently, still scowling at the screen.
"What about Equinox?" Tuvok asked the Iconian.
"Scanning. They're missing one and have seventeen dead."
"Can we talk to them?" Janeway wondered.
"I'm working on it, Ma'am," Lieutenant Cary told her from the engineering station. "If B'Elanna was here, she'd probably have everything back online by now, but I'm not quite as fast."
"Do your best, Mr. Cary," Chakotay told him. The Battle Captain turned to his wife. "I'm going to keep us at battlestations for awhile, Kathryn," he told her.
She nodded in approval, "I understand, Chakotay." She walked to the engineering console. "Go down to engineering, Mr. Cary. We'll coordinate our efforts."
"Yes, Ma'am," he responded and headed out the door.
On Equinox…
Rudolph Ransom was lying on the deck of the bridge, unmoving.
First officer Lawson scrutinized the captain, then flipped a switch on the arm of the command chair and said, "Medical team to the bridge." He stepped over the commander to the center of the room. "Report," he ordered crisply.
"Communications are out, Sir," the tactical officer replied. "We have seventeen dead, and one missing."
The turbolift doors opened, and Lawson turned to see who was entering the bridge. "Henry, it's good to see you," he said to the Iconian scientist, who was holding a medical tricorder.
"What is it, Andy?"
"Captain Ransom. I scanned him, and he has a concussion and a broken tibia, but he should be fine." He looked questioningly at Henry: "How come you're doing medical duty?"
"Lots of people are hurt, Andy, and it seems that Dr. McKay is missing."
"Jennifer? Are you sure she's not unconscious somewhere," the former sheriff of Eureka asked.
"Commander Lawson," the tactical officer interjected. "Dr. McKay is the missing person I reported earlier."
"Do we have any idea what happened to her, or for that matter, the ship?"
"Not yet," Henry said. "Grace and I have been helping the EMH with the medical crisis, then we were going to work on the ship."
"That sounds good, Henry," Andy told him. "Keep me posted, ok?"
"Of course," Henry said as he activated the antigrav stretcher. He started pushing Ransom to the turbolift and said, "Equinox is in good hands, Sir," smiled, and left the bridge.
Lawson watched him go, then turned to tactical. "What shape is Prometheus in?"
On the Prometheus…
"Sir," McKay called to Chakotay, "Equinox is sending a digital signal to us through a low level phaser array."
"Good thinking, Ransom," Chakotay muttered. "Configure ours the same way, Doctor."
"Already working on it," Rodney said, "but you should know that there's something else out there."
Tuvok looked up from the panel he was repairing: "Please forward those scans to my tactical station, Doctor McKay. I will examine them and you can continue to work on the phaser array."
McKay nodded, hit a couple of switches without even looking at them, and then said, "You have them, Mr. Tuvok."
The Vulcan didn't respond, but murmured, "Fascinating," as he began to compile his analysis.
The bridge speakers suddenly made several popping sounds. "Damn!" Rodney exclaimed, and hit a few buttons. The sound suddenly resolved into a voice and the screen showed the seriously damaged bridge of their sister ship.
The officer sitting in the command chair smiled as he saw Prometheus' bridge appear on his screen. "Hello, Captain Chakotay."
"Commander Lawson," the Captain responded. "Report."
"Well, Sir," Lawson began, as his bridge sparked around him. "It's not good. As you noticed, normal communication is out. Seventeen dead, and one missing." He looked at McKay standing at the ops position. "It's Doctor McKay, Sir," he told the scientist.
Rodney swooned, and almost fell, but Tuvok was there to catch him. "Apparently, our holo-emitters are working correctly now as I can touch you," he commented as he lowered McKay to the deck. "Do you require assistance, Doctor?"
McKay didn't answer, but just stared at the floor. He looked up and stared blankly at Tuvok for a moment before shaking his head. "I'll… I'll be ok, I think."
"Captain," Tuvok said as he stood back up. "I have a report to make."
"Yes, Tuvok?" Chakotay knew it must be important for the Vulcan to interrupt Andy's report.
"We have detected some kind of array to our starboard. It is scanning…" Tuvok didn't finish his sentence. At least not on Prometheus.
On his bridge, Andy watched as the crew of Prometheus disappeared, then his own crew vanished as well.
The Alpha Quadrant… Ds9...
Jean Luc Picard walked quickly onto the bridge of Enterprise E. He was not terribly happy with the events of the past few days. First, a duplicate SGA-1 had somehow shown up on Bajor, and shortly after, Prometheus and Equinox had disappeared. Where they were, no one could hazard a guess.
Picard stepped to where Riker was sitting in the command chair. The captain looked quizzically at his commanding officer and friend. "You don't look happy, Sir," he commented.
"You noticed," Picard said dryly.
"SGA-1 or the ships?"
"Both."
Riker nodded his understanding.
"Sir, something on screen," Hawke called from the helm.
Both men looked at the screen. "What the…" Riker mumbled. "Shields!" He felt a hand on his arm, and glanced at Picard, who shook his head.
"It's ok, Will. I think we know this person." The glowing white light appeared to run directly into the ship, then it entered the bridge and stopped beside Picard and Riker. "Hello, Scotty!" the Admiral said with a smile. Somehow, the ancient engineer always cheered him.
The floating energy solidified and became humanoid in shape, and Scotty was standing on the bridge. "Hello, Lad!" he said in his brogue. "Ha' ye lost a couple o' ships?"
The admiral looked at him suspiciously for a moment, but he knew that the old Scott had been through this timeline before. Or at least one somewhat like it. "What do you know of this, Scotty?"
"Well, Sir. Not too much, but in my timeline, two ships, Equinox and Voyager both disappeared, but separately. They both turned up in the delta quadrant. Now if I were a bettin' man."
"You are, if our last poker game was any indication," Riker said with a grin.
"Aye, that's true," Scotty said with a grin. "Anyway, I'd wager half of what I win from Will in our next game, that Equinox and Prometheus are in the delta quadrant.
"Was Voyager's crew the same as Prometheus?" Riker asked.
"Pretty near," the Ancient told him.
"Thank you, Scotty," Picard said. Then he reached out with his mind. He found a trace where a wave had intercepted the ships, and followed that from the badlands, approximately seventy five thousand light years across the galaxy to where he found the ships, in stationary orbit above a planet with some type of strange array. Next, he sent his mind out to the prime timeline and saw what had happened there.
On the Array…
The crews from both ships materialized. Surrounding them were trees on one side, and a early twentieth century farm house on the other. From somewhere near it came the sound of revelry. Tuvok smoothly retrieved his tricorder from his belt and started scanning. He located Janeway and Chakotay, and reported. "My readings indicate that we are on the array, regardless of appearances."
"Everyone, be on your guard," Chakotay ordered, somewhat unnecessarily.
The door to the house opened, and a woman stepped out, holding a platter of food. "Wonderful! You've arrived!" she exclaimed upon seeing the people from the ships. "Everything's set up behind the house. Come on, and I'll introduce you." She cocked her head to indicate the way, and before Chakotay could react, she was walking hurriedly away. "Everyone!" they heard the woman say excitedly, "They're here!"
"I guess we should go meet everyone," the Battle Captain said to Janeway.
"I guess so," she agreed.
As they made their way around the house, they heard the sounds of banjo music. It sounded as though a hoedown was happening. Janeway looked around and saw Tom Paris dancing with a girl of about nineteen or twenty. Lieutenant Carey was holding a plate of, what looked for all the world like, ham, black eyed peas, and cornbread.
The couple mingled a little while, trying to get as much information as possible from the country folk who seemed to inhabit the array, but soon noticed that the banjo music had stopped. Quickly, they heard an angry voice shout, "No! It's not time!"
The outdoor scene disappeared, and they found themselves standing in what appeared to be a holodeck.
A door was open where they could see their missing crew members laying on tables, with tubes and needles sticking into various places on their bodies. One particularly long needle was inserted into their abdomens. From it's positioning, Janeway wondered if someone was trying to clone them.
On one side of the lab was the banjo player, still clothed the same way he had been. "I am the caretaker," he said, introducing himself. "The rest of the people you have seen here, were holograms. I'm the only person actually present."
"What are you doing to our people?" Janeway asked. She was the best negotiator of the command crew on Prometheus, and took the lead automatically.
"Their sacrifices, if it comes to that, are warranted," the caretaker replied.
"I fail to see how torturing them is warranted," Chakotay said angrily.
"I'm not torturing them! I'm trying to help the Ocampa."
"Who, or what, are the Ocampa?" Tuvok asked.
"The Ocampa are those to whom I owe a debt that can never be repaid," the caretaker said as he sat down heavily at what appeared to be a desk.
"That doesn't tell us much," Chakotay said.
"No, I don't suppose it does."
"If you tell us what you need, perhaps we can help," Janeway offered.
"No!" the caretaker said with renewed energy. "You can't possibly help. There's no way you can."
He held up a hand as if to banish them, when a calm voice said from the back of the crowd of crew members, "They might not be able to help, but perhaps I can."
Jean Luc Picard stepped forward and made his way through the crowd to face the caretaker. "I am Admiral Jean Luc Picard of the United Federation of Planets."
The caretaker squinted at Picard and asked, "What are you?"
"I am one who is able to help, if you will give me some information," the admiral replied. "For example, who are the Ocampa?"
The caretaker seemed to consider, then shook his head. "No, No! I cannot trust anyone else with this. It is my responsibility, and no one else's."
Picard reached out and touched the caretaker's shoulder. Suddenly, the old banjo player's eyes seemed to grow distant, as Picard showed him what he was. Then, the eyes cleared again, and the caretaker gazed at the Q with undisguised joy. "I have your word?" he asked Picard, hopeful. "You will make sure that they are cared for?"
"You have my word, Caretaker. On my honor, they will come to no harm. The Ocampa have a very fulfilling future, or past, depending on how you view it."
The caretaker again, squinted at Picard. "Very well, then," he said, then flipped a switch.
Prometheus…
The crew re-materialized on the ship in the same places from which they had been pulled. Chakotay immediately got on intraship. "All hands, report your condition to Doctor McKay." He looked over at the scientist, and received a nod.
A moment later, Rodney reported, "The EMH reports that Mr. Kim and B'Elanna are in sickbay. They're unconscious, but they should be alright."
"Good. I'm sure that means Jennifer will be alright too, Doctor," Chakotay told him.
Suddenly, the ship rocked violently. "Captain Chakotay, we are under attack," Tuvok said from his position."
"What now?" the battle captain asked no one in particular. "Show me," he ordered.
A massive ship appeared on the screen, and the bridge crew watched as it fired a torpedo at them. "Shields!" Chakotay ordered.
"Already up, Captain," Tuvok responded. On a normal vessel, the Vulcan raising shields without permission would be a serious act of insubordination. In this instance, however, Tuvok had Le Matya to think of, and was within his rights as her captain.
Chakotay didn't answer, but ordered a comlink to Equinox.
Andy's face appeared in a pip screen in the lower corner of the bridge viewer. "Lawson here," he said.
"Andy, is your crew all present and accounted for?"
"Yes, Sir. Who's firing at us?"
"I've no idea, but I'm gonna find out."
"Captain Janeway is calling from engineering, Sir!" McKay announced. "She says to just ask if you need her on the bridge. She says she'd rather get systems online if you don't"
"Ok, Rodney. Tell her to finish what she's doing," Chakotay answered. "Tuvok, hail them, and tell them to stand down!"
"They are not responding," Tuvok told him.
"Then fire a warning shot across their bow, fifty percent power."
Everyone watched as the phasers almost touched the nose of the ship, but had to brace for impact as another torpedo impacted their shields.
"It would appear that they are not interested in communication, Captain," Tuvok said grimly.
"I would tend to agree, Tuvok. Hit them full on with phasers, all banks, and a full spread of torpedoes."
They watched as the destructive energy lanced out at the unknown ship.
"Their forward shields are down," McKay said as the phasers hit, then announced "Multiple hull breaches, and their weapons array is down."
"Try to contact them again, Tuvok."
"I am Maje Jabin of the Kazon-Ogla," a hard featured man said from the screen when Tuvok established a connection. "What is the meaning of this outrage?"
Chakotay smiled at the sputtering humanoid. "I would ask the same thing, Maje Jabin. You fired on us, unprovoked."
"You are conspiring with the being on the array! That is provocation enough!"
"We are not conspiring with him. We were brought here by him, against our will. Does that constitute a conspiracy?" Chakotay asked the Maje.
"That being supplies power to the Ocampa, and gives none to others. The Ocampa are weak. They only live for nine years," Jabin said in disgust. "We are clearly the superior. We need the power more than they do."
Janeway had arrived on the bridge, and sat down beside Chakotay, who motioned for audio to be cut. "Are we back up to snuff?" he asked her.
"Yes. I was monitoring in the engine room. If they are so superior to the Ocampa, why do they need the power? They can supply their own."
"I was thinking the same thing, Katherine." He motioned for the audio to be resumed. "Why don't you just make your own power, Maje Jabin?" Without waiting for an answer, Chakotay told him, "I warn you that we will defend ourselves if you attack us again. We have no quarrel with you, but will not tolerate your aggression towards us."
The screen went dark, and he turned to McKay. "Scan the area where those energy bolts are hitting the planet. I want to know what's happening there."
"I have been, Captain. There's some kind of shielded array on the planet's surface, similar to this one, but it is collecting the energy, and with ninety eight percent efficiency."
"What is it doing with it?" Janeway asked.
McKay studied his instruments for a few moments, then said, "It's sending it underground."
Tuvok nodded gravely. "Presumably, there is an underground facility which puts it to use."
Their speculation was cut short as the ship shook violently once more. Tuvok glanced down at his board as he tried to maintain his footing. "Weapons are offline!" he shouted to Chakotay.
"Do we have slipstream capabilities?" Chakotay asked his wife as they rode out the shuddering of the ship.
"We did when I left engineering," she answered. "Bridge to Lieutenant Carey," she said as she tapped her comm badge. "What's our engine status?"
Carey had returned to engineering as soon as Janeway arrived on the bridge. "One moment, Captain!" he exclaimed. "I'm clamping down a radiation leak."
The bridge crew heard muttered curses followed by the sound of something large being dropped, then a yell. A moment later, Carey was back on. "We should have warp drive, Ma'am. Slipstream will be a bit longer. You should be able to make warp five right now. I'll keep working on getting us more."
"Contact Equinox and tell Andy to try to keep up," Chakotay told Tuvok. "Helm, set course for the Alpha quadrant. Warp five. Execute as soon as it's laid in."
The ship spun in space, and jumped to warp. Equinox kept pace, and Tuvok announced, "The Kazon vessel is keeping up, Captain."
"Captain," McKay said. "I have a suggestion, if I may."
Chakotay looked inquiringly to the Iconian doctor.
"Several Iconians are sentient AIs. They have the ability to infiltrate a ship by taking over the computer systems."
"But we don't have any of them with us."
"Yes, we do," McKay assured him. "Andy Lawson is a sentient AI."
"Confirmed," Tuvok said from his position. "His file confirms that Lieutenant Commander Andy Lawson is indeed a GD android."
"If he were to infiltrate that ship, it could be a suicide mission," Tuvok pointed out.
"Not necessarily," McKay explained. "We could send out a pulse that would transfer a 'smart virus' that Andy could connect with into their computer. He would never have to leave his position or post on Equinox."
"Being connected, however tenuously, to alien technology doesn't sound like a good idea to me," Janeway observed.
"Everytime we communicate with an alien ship, we are connected," McKay argued. "Besides, Admiral Picard could monitor Andy."
"Admiral Picard left to go back to the Alpha Quadrant," Chakotay said flatly.
"I know," Rodney said, "But I," he took a deep breath, "can contact him."
"How?" Tuvok asked.
"I'm ascended," Rodney said, drawing himself up fully.
"Your personnel file does not mention that," Tuvok pointed out.
"No, because I'm stopped at ninety eight percent. I can complete the process at will, any time I choose," McKay explained.
Chakotay kept his eyes on McKay, but asked, "How's our friend doing back there, Tuvok?"
"The Kazon is neither gaining nor losing ground," Tuvok said, keeping his eyes on McKay as well.
"What do you think, Kathryn?" Chakotay asked.
"I think we need to talk to Commander Lawson."
"I am hailing him now," Tuvok said.
"Lawson here," came the voice of Andy.
"Commander," Chakotay said as he turned back to the screen. If he's an android, he thought as he eyed Lawson, I sure can't see it. "Doctor McKay has been telling us a bit about you. It might help us gain information on the Kazon, and maybe even control their vessel."
Andy nodded his head, and put a big smile on his face. "Good idea, Dr. McKay. I could devote a sub-processor to controlling a smart virus. But I'll have to make the virus is smart enough to figure out how to reach me through subspace, and I don't know if they have subspace communications."
"Commander," Andy's tactical officer said from offscreen, "I suspect that there is a subspace transmitter array on the starboard ventral surface of their ship."
"Well, there we go," Andy said, smiling even more broadly. "Give me about thirty seconds to write the virus."
"We'll need to get them out of warp to deliver the virus," Henry Deacon said from the ops position on Equinox.
"That will not be a problem," Tuvok said. "I can place a torpedo on either side of their path, and have them detonate at a precise moment to disrupt their warp field. We will only have a few seconds to upload the virus, but it should suffice."
"I'll contact Maje Jabin," Chakotay said. "We can piggy-back the virus on our signal."
"Great!" Andy said. "I'm sending the virus to you, Tuvok, for piggy-backing."
Chakotay turned to Mckay. "Doctor McKay, can you contact Admiral Picard?"
In response, Rodney closed his eyes. He stayed perfectly still for several seconds, then his body began to glow, and suddenly, he flashed into energy, his clothing fluttering to the floor. His face was visible in the middle of the tendrils of energy floating about a meter and a half above the floor.
Just as suddenly, he flashed back into a solid form, clothed in identical garments as now rested on the floor. "I don't think it will be necessary to contact the Admiral. I can monitor Mr. Lawson myself," he said.
"I'd still like the Admiral to know what we're doing," Janeway said.
"Agreed," Tuvok supplied, as Chakotay nodded.
Once more, Rodney closed his eyes and became energy for about five seconds. When he reverted, Picard and Jack Carter flashed into being. "As you were," the Admiral said before anyone could say 'Admiral on the bridge.'
"Welcome aboard," Janeway said, standing.
"Thank you, Captain," Picard acknowledged. "This is Jack Carter. He and Commander Lawson have been very good friends for a long time, therefore, he would be much better at what you have in mind than I would."
Carter shook hands with everyone, then looked at the screen. "Hey, Andy!" he said with a wave.
"Hi, Boss!" Andy said, grinning.
"Boss?" Janeway asked.
"We go way back," Carter shrugged. He turned to Picard. "I'm gonna go over there," he said, pointing to the screen.
"That's a very good idea, Jack," the Admiral said.
There was a flash of light and Carter was standing beside Andy's chair. "We're ready when you are," Carter announced.
At a nod from Chakotay, Tuvok touched a spot on his board, and two torpedoes shot out of the rear of Prometheus. They detonated on either side of the huge Kazon vessel as it glided arrogantly between them, forcing it's warp field to collapse. At the same time, both Equinox and Prometheus dropped out of warp.