San Francisco, Earth
Our Reality....
Stephen was ready to take a sonic shower in his temporary quarters at Starfleet Command. He stepped into the shower and activated it. He watched at the vibrations began to slowly wash away the dirt from his skin.
Without his knowledge, a small tear in the sonic shower's gel packs caused the gel to leak. It touched the converters and burst into a small flame. The flame slowly began to burn through the wall on the other side of the shower. Small pieces of melting plastic dripped onto a table, lighting it on fire. Part of the curtain fell on the carpeted floor, lighting it on fire. A poorly set lamp over the bed fell over, knocking down a bottle of hair spray that Dana liked to use while she was sleeping over. The bottle bounced off the bed and rolled into the carpet fire. Before long, the bottle exploded, lighting the rest of the room on fire. Smoke began to fill the room.
When Stephen tried to exit the sonic shower, he noticed that his whole room was aflame. He quickly slammed the door, but the impact caused the frame of the door to shatter. Shards of glass blew at him. Stephen moved to the side just as one large piece embedded itself just below his clavicle. Stephen pulled it out and threw it down. Blood started to pour from his shoulder and Stephen, abandoning the towel around his waist, got up. He noticed a panel over the shower area. Stephen quickly got into the tub and tried to take the panel off. Stephen accidentally got caught on a curtain that broke a string that wrapped itself around a knob controlling the water. In releasing himself, Stephen pulled the curtain, that pulled the string, the half-opened the water. Stephen slipped on the water and smacked his head hard against the floor. Knocking him unconscious.
Lieutenant Geoon Fink was walking home. He usually took a shortcut between the corridor and his room. When he was getting to the corridor he usually skipped, Geoon saw a bright light at the end of the corridor. He decided to see what it was. When he got close to the light, it vanished. That was when he smelled the smoke. He knocked on the door. "Hello?"
No answer.
~There's someone in there.~
"Who is that?" Geoon decided to call security, but his com badge malfunctioned just as he pressed it. He pulled it off and dropped it. He tried to break through the door using code, but the door controls had been fused by the heat. Geoon tried to kick the door open. He kicked it, and fell down. Suddenly, a beam above the door broke, Geoon moved his head in terror, and the beam missed his head just nearly as it fell.
Geoon got up to realize that the beam had cut his ear. There was blood on the floor. Geoon took the beam and used it as a prop to tear through the door. He saw the flames licking the entire room. He removed his coat and covered himself as he ran directly to the sonic shower. He felt as whoever was in there would be in there. Once he ran in, he saw Stephen's bloody body. He quickly took him over his shoulder and ran out of the room as the room seemed to collapse in upon itself.
Earthdate: March 16, 2384
Location: Earth Orbit, Alternate Universe "Beta"
A high Earth orbit (and Jovan's Section 31 credentials) allowed Jovan and the modified runabout Danube to reappear in his home space without comment from traffic control. Jovan entered the communications code for Katianna's old apartment in San Francisco.
Kara Lac answered. [Nadira residence, how may I help--oh, Mr. Kalimar! I didn't expect to see you so soon!] the nanny said.
"I didn't expect to be gone quite so long, actually. I have some good news for you. I've come to take Laurissa back to her mother. Katianna missed her much too badly. You're welcome to come along as well, if you desire."
The nanny looked surprised. [You mean that? I'll have us packed before you can land! Laurissa's missed her mother so much!]
Jovan smiled. Another mission accomplished successfully. And this time nobody had to get killed! he thought.
Jovan quickly set the ship to a stable orbit around Earth and prepared the transporter. He got on the pad as it activated. Jovan fizzled out of the ship.
Location: Katianna's Apartment, Earth
As Jovan began to appear, he noticed multiple shapes around the room and realized that something was wrong. He put his hand up to deflect weapon's fire. The blast caught his hand and dispersed, but not without sending him flying back against a wall. Jovan was knocked out of his senses.
"Welcome back," a voice said as what looked like a hologram of Kara Lac was shut off. "We've been expecting you. That's why we prepared these new weapons. They shoot dark matter. We got them from the leftovers of Luther Sloan's fiery demise." He approached Jovan and pointed his weapon at him. "Now, we'll see what a direct shot does."
Before the main assailant could fire, Jovan threw himself up against him. He turned him around and used him as a shield against the other two. One of the other men fired his weapon, hitting the main assailant. The man began to shake as parts of his body began to glow. Then, the man seemed to explode in a flash of white light. Jovan quickly obtained the main assailant's weapon and fired it at one man's chest and the other's gun. The first man flashed out of existence, and the second was left unarmed. He tried to run away, but Jovan ran around him and punched him in the gut, causing him to fly against a window. It cracked, but did not break. Jovan quickly ran to him and held him down. "Who sent you?"
"I can't tell you anything!"
Jovan lifted the man by the wrist and crushed his hand. Blood started to gush out of his hand where the bone was being pushed out of the skin. "Don't make me ask you again."
"The Syndicate! They took her! They want to pay you back for the kelthrihyde disaster two years ago!"
Jovan forced a smile. "So, it looks like people will get killed." Jovan hit the man in the chest, causing him to go crashing out the window and down 50 stories. "I hate this reality." He tapped his com badge. "One to beam up." Jovan was beamed out.
Earthdate: November 19, 2384
Location: San Francisco, Earth, Our Reality
Stephen was released from the hospital, but he had been confused by the fact that Dana had not come to visit. His first choice after leaving the hospital was to visit Dana's apartment. He arrived and knocked on the door. "Hello?"
No answer.
"Dana, it's me."
Nothing.
Stephen pressed the button to the side. "Override door lock. Authorization Maruu Beta Psi 994."
The door whooshed open to show a mess. It looked like the place had been torn through. "Dana! Are you here?!" Stephen yelled as he ran through the apartment checking for Dana. Then, he noticed something on the bed.
It was a picture of himself and Dana. Stephen's face had been torn out. He knew immediately what had happened. Stephen ran out of the apartment.
Earthdate: March 18, 2384
Location: Eoriah IV, Alternate Universe "Beta"
Jovan picked the lock to the Capital's official mortuary quite easily. He slowly snuck in and closed the door behind him. Sticking to the shadows, Jovan made his way across the hall and into the body room. He pointed a small black device at the camera and clicked it. He then made his way to the large freezers holding the bodies of so many unidentified persons. He began to hover to the containers on the top. Using his powers, he opened the top container and began to hover over the headless body.
"Kalvin. Good to see you again." Jovan pulled out a small container. "Now, let's see who you really are." He removed a portion of skin and placed it in the container. Then, he put the container into a slot in his tricorder. It began to scan.
The display read: <Jonas Mink'h. Trill.> It then displayed all the information. "So, you had a wife laying around? Let's pay her a visit."
Jovan turned around to see a security guard walk into the room. He pulled out a plasma weapon and fired it at Jovan. Jovan deflected it with his hand and sent it to his knee. The guard's knee seemed to explode in a burst of blood. The guard dropped his weapon and fell to the ground in pain.
Jovan grabbed the guard by the neck and hoisted him up against a wall. The guard pleaded, "Please don't kill me! I have a wife and two children!"
Jovan seemed to think about it for a second. Then he snapped the man's neck. He fell lifeless to the floor. Jovan walked out without a care.
Earthdate: November 19, 2384
Location: San Francisco, Earth, Our Reality
"I need a ship," Stephen told Admiral Zultok.
"I have none available. Besides, your promotion to Admiral is tomorrow."
"Damn the promotion! Kosst has my wife, and I need to get her back! Give me a ship!" He hit the desk with his fist. A pause. "I'm sorry. Please. I've never asked you for anything before. Please help me."
Zultok exhaled. "I think there is a Defiant class vessel at Deep Space 21. I'll set it up for transfer to you. You'll need to find yourself a crew. You'll need at least ten people under your command. Quarters will be uncomfortable, but it should suit your purposes."
"Deep Space 21? Where...?"
"Just two light years from Kirus. Remember them?"
Stephen smiled. "Thank you. When can I leave?"
"Tomorrow evening. You'll need to stream from Starbase 001."
Stephen nodded. "Thank you so much, my friend." He walked out.
The computer continued to beep. "Who is it?" asked a sleepy Geoon.
[Hi! This is Steph-- Captain Stephen Maruu. I'm the--]
Geoon woke himself up. "Yes! Captain Maruu. You were the one who I pulled out of the room that was on fire."
[Yes! Thank you for saving my life. How are you?]
"Good. Compared to you, nothing happened to me."
[Good. Good. I was wondering. I need a crew for a new ship. The USS Luminance. Will you be my First Officer? It would involve a fast promotion, so there wouldn't be too much--]
"Yes! I'd love to serve under you! I've heard so much--"
[Great! I'll meet you at the transtream pad on Starbase 001 at 1800 hours tomorrow.]
The connection cut off. "Well, that was interesting." Geoon sighed.
Earthdate: November 20, 2384
Location: Starbase 001
The doors swooshed open to show the newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Geoon Fink. "Captain Maruu," he said as he moved towards his new CO.
Stephen smiled. "Stephen, please. It'll be a small crew. We should be familiar. These are my two friends: Lazarus Kox and Dweezle."
"With a Z!" Dweezle grabbed Geoon's hand and shook it violently. "Nice to meet you!"
"And this is Lieutenant Jennifer Antilles. She's our Chief Engineer."
Jennifer shook Geoon's hand. "The only officer other than yourself and Stephen here with some qualifications."
Lazarus turned quickly. "I'm qualified! I was trained as an Operations Officer."
"In the past day."
Geoon interrupted the argument. "What capacity does Mr. Dweezle serve?"
"Dweezle! No Mr." Dweezle shook his head. "I'm just going home. Been too long. Too long."
Stephen quickly got their attention. "Shall we? We need to collect the ship by 2000."
Geoon raised a brow. "Is this safe? Streaming was only unveiled a few months ago."
Stephen nodded. "We'll be okay."
The ensign on duty nodded. "It's perfectly safe. You'll feel a small tingle. You'll be in transport for about 30 seconds. Please stay as still as possible."
The five people stood over the pad and stood still.
The back circle began to charge. Once it was bright, the charge swooshed across the pad and took the five with it. They were gone.
Location: Deep Space 21, Kirus Station
"Transtream pad is set," said the Kirusan ensign at the controls.
A small fly moved under the Kirusan's nose, tickling him. He sneezed and accidentally hit the controls with his forehead. The pad moved down a few centimeters and an alarm began to sound.
<Transtream pad off coordinates by one degree and three minutes.>
"Damn!" The Kirusan began to try and correct the error.
Suddenly, a bolt fell into the system that ran the pad, causing it to freeze.
<Transtream pad off coordinates by one degree and three minutes. Error will prove fatal to streamer if not corrected.>
The Kirusan tried everything he could, but the system would not respond. "What's wrong with this thing?!"
<Five seconds to streamer arrival.>
Location: Slipstream
The ball of energy carrying the five streamers was heading to its demise when a small light began to shine ahead. When the streamers reached it, it exploded. The slipstream seemed to morph and reform itself in a new direction.
Location: Deep Space 21, Kirus Station
<One.>
The back circle charge swooshed forward. Jennifer, Stephen, Geoon, Lazarus, and Dweezle fell backward and on top of each other.
Stephen looked at a frightened Geoon. "See? Perfectly safe."
Earthdate: March 18, 2384
Location: Bajor, Alternate Universe "Beta"
A priest stepped in front of a group of Bajorans dressed in white robes. "The Kalimar is being drawn to the shadow. If it becomes a weapon of the Dark, the cosmos will find itself in peril the likes of which has not been seen since the time of the Kosst Amojen."
The priest stepped forward. The ancient Bajoran symbol for Light was pressed to his forehead with silver. "The Kalimar must be destroyed."