June 22, 2401, just outside the galactic plane
Alternate Universe "Alpha"
"Captain's Log, stardate 78474. We are approximately six weeks away from returning to Federation space, but our warp drive is showing some very troubling instabilities," Captain Sapek of the USS Albuquerque reported into the official log. "It is unknown whether we will be able to finish our voyage without assistance. Our communications array was badly damaged six years ago and we've been unable to use subspace to send or receive messages. I am contemplating sending Lieutenant Commander Tadanni ahead in the runabout Danube to inform Starfleet of our situation. With the loss of so much of our crew I am loathe to dispense with the services of someone as capable and as reliable as Mr. Tadanni, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one. End log."
Sapek looked around the bridge of the Albuquerque. It had been eighteen years since they had left Federation space to make contact with a civilization known as the Commune in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Contact with the Commune had been successful and the crew had been able to obtain a great deal of scientific information. What they hadn't counted on was that the Commune had made many enemies amongst the worlds of the gravitational isocline between the two galaxies. Once the Albuquerque had made contact with the Commune, those worlds regarded the ship as much an enemy as the Commune. Fully half the crew had been killed in the past six years, and the ship was quite literally on its last legs.
"Jarrod knows what needs to be done," Commander Tasianna Tadanni assured him. "He'd get out and walk to the Federation if that were the only way to get us help."
"I know that, Tasia," Sapek replied wearily. Over the years Commander Tadanni had been more than his first officer. Much more. "I just don't want to risk either the man or the runabout when we have so little left."
"We'll have to do something," Nathan Parker, the ship's chief engineer, warned. "Our warp core is going to go critical inside of the week without a major overhaul. I wish I could do that here and now, but we ran out of parts two overhauls ago."
"I am quite aware of that, Chief," Sapek said. Then he had an idea. "How about interdimensional transportation? The USS Illion did one almost twenty years ago to escape a subspace Klein bottle."
"Interdimensional transport is iffy at best, and entails too much risk," Science Officer Roan Darcrow replied. "Unless, of course, we access the Commune database. They appeared to have the technique much more greatly refined than the Federation."
"Do it," Sapek said. "Review the database and get back to me in an hour. Let's see what can be done."
March 15, 2380, near Starbase 352
Main Universe
Jonas Mallory had successfully detonated the shuttle core. Cloned tissue from himself and the children would occupy the forensics team that would reconstruct the accident. By the time they realized it was cloned tissue, he and the kids would be long gone... a Naussicaan mercenary transport had waiting to take him on at rather a high price. The kids would fetch an even higher price in the slave markets now that the Orion Syndicate had been disbanded.
But first, some negotiations...
"You promised me 1500 bars of gold-pressed latinum, you son of a Ferengi! Now pay up!" Jonas yelled.
"1500 after we get the Federation technical data from you," the Naussicaan captain said. "500 now. Take it standing up, or leave on your back!" he snarled.
Jonas gave an exasperated sigh. Okay, maybe I can get away with giving them part of the data before I jump ship. he thought. "All right, I'll give you the information on the Federation's transwarp project. Do you have a PADD I can use?"
The Naussicaan threw him a PADD. "Be careful in your work, and make no omissions. We have a Klingon agony booth for just such occasions. And just so you won't be getting any ideas--" The Naussicaan captain grabbed the two children, Zachary and Arianna, by the arms and threw them to a guard. "Put them in the hold with the rest. I'm sure they'll grow up to be fine laborers! Of course, that's up to you, Mr. Mallory!"
The guard hauled the kids off to the hold. The children--Zachary was about eight years old and Arianna just over two years old--screamed incomprehensibly at the top of their lungs.
Their discomfiture phased Jonas not. After all, he'd planned on selling the kids into slavery anyway. What he wanted was the money. He went to work on the schematics for the modifications needed to allow the Naussicaan ship to utilize transwarp capability.
June 22, 2401
Alternate Universe "Alpha"
"Captain, I think we have something. We can actually use the instability in the warp core to generate an artificial wormhole!" Darcrow reported
Sapek looked over Darcrow's calculations. "Intriguing. What do you make of this, Chief?"
Parker smiled as he looked over the modifications. "I like it! Just a few modifications to what's left of our main deflector array and the capable assistance of Savok we should be able to get this up and running!"
"What do you say, Mr. Savok?"
A hologram shimmered to life--Captain Savok, who had commanded the Albuquerque almost 24 years earlier and who had transferred his katra to the ship's bioneural computer rather than be assimilated by the Borg. Over the years the crew had worked out a way for Savok to appear via hologram when he wished to interact with the crew. "The ship's computer is more than capable of generating the necessary algorithm for rematerialization in our own universe. Any fluctuation in at either end of the transport cycle, however, could have catastrophic results. My calculations place the odds against such an occurrence at roughly 3,297,434,279.37 to one, Captain."
"That's your best approximation?" Parker asked, astonished.
"It is only a rough calculation, Chief Parker. I was unable to calculate any error beyond ten to the minus three."
"Let's go with it. Ms. Scully, plot us a reasonable course based upon the data from Darcrow, Parker, and Savok."
"Course plotted and laid in, sir," the ship's chief navigation officer replied. "The best we can do is Supply Base 901. The Briar Patch is on our line-of-sight between our position and the Federation, but it is a Federation base."
"Better than our current circumstances. Gentlemen, in the words of the immortal Admiral Picard, 'Make it so!'" Sapek ordered.
March 15, 2380
Main Universe
Jonas finished the calculations and turned them over to the Naussicaans. "Very good, Mr. Mallory," the Naussicaan captain said as though to a small child. "Now we'll see if this Federation scheme actually works! Has the hardware been installed yet?" he bellowed to one of his crew.
"No, sir, we are having difficulties with--" the crewman was cut off permanently by a disruptor blast.
"DO NOT TELL ME OF DIFFICULTIES! RESOLVE THE PROBLEM!" the captain yelled. "You see my response to incompetence. Now, get this equipment working!"
Jonas decided it was not a good time to ask for the rest of his money.
June 22, 2384
Alternate Universe "Alpha"
"Captain, the modifications are complete," Parker reported. "We had to improvise, but I'm pretty sure it will work."
"Well, it's either die in a week, or die now," Sapek remarked sardonically. "How do the simulations look?"
"All simulations have given us desirable outcomes. However, if anyone has attempted interdimensional transport at either our starting point or destination in the past twenty years, we could end up outside our own universe completely," the Savok hologram replied.
"The universe is a big place, and when we left the Federation interdimensional transport had been abandoned as a technological dead end," Darcrow elucidated. "I'd say our risk factor is acceptable."
"Very well, then. Ms. Bebop, order all stations to secure for transport. All hands at red alert!" Sapek ordered. "Transport to initiate in thirty seconds!"
March 15, 2380
Main Universe
Three engineers later, the transwarp mechanism had been perfected to the Naussicaan captain's liking. "And now we shall test this Federation invention. You pick the destination, Mr. Mallory--but be warned, if this is a trick, you shall be first to die!"
Jonas thought carefully. "The New Canada system. It's just a small agricultural colony; no Starfleet presence there whatsoever."
"Hmmm... too close to Son'a space for my liking, but it's outside the Federation. Very well. Navigator, plot the course. All hands prepare for transport in forty-five standard time units!"
Present Day
Main Universe
No sooner than the Albuquerque emerged from interdimensional transport than a blinding flash of light overwhelmed its sensor arrays. "What in the name of Kahless was that?" Sapek yelled.
"Unknown, Captain. The radiation readings are consistent with a large antimatter mine..." Darcrow announced.
Have we returned to a war zone? Sapek thought as the explosion died down. "Get me stellar readings. Some fix on our location!" he ordered.
Darcrow looked into his science viewer, and made some adjustments. "We're in the Briar Patch, sir, in the vicinity of the New Canada colony."
Everyone on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief.
"The station appears to be a newer model than the one that was here when we left," Darcrow said. "But that's understandable--it's been eighteen years. Something's not right, though..."
"Captain, we're receiving a hail from SB901," Operations Officer Sora Bebop announced.
"Put it through. It'll be good to see a friendly face!"
[This is Captain Kitara Mallory in command of Federation Supply Base 901. Are you in need of assistance?] a youngish-looking brown-haired woman asked.
"This is Captain Sapek of the USS Albuquerque, returning from the LMC Expedition. It is a pleasure to be back in the Federation."
The other captain was silent for a moment. [You were lost with all hands aboard last year. Your warp core exploded only a week out from Vulcan.]
The two captains looked at each other.
"Captain Mallory, what is the stardate?" Sapek asked. Mallory told him.
Just as it dawned on them what had happened yet another vessel appeared practically on top of the Albuquerque.
"You lied to us!!!!" the Naussicaan shouted, pointing his disruptor at Jonas. "You said the Federation was not in this sector!"
"The Federation isn't in the Briar Patch!" Jonas protested.
"I see a starbase and a starship at New Canada!" the Naussicaan captain shouted again, pointing at the viewscreen which showed both SB901 and the Albuquerque in orbit around New Canada. "This looks a great deal like the Federation is here!"
"I... I don't know how this could have happened..." Jonas began to whimper as the Naussicaan advanced on him. Just then the comm channel interrupted. The face of an older Vulcan in Starfleet uniform appeared.
[Naussicaan vessel, this is Captain Sapek of the Federation starship Albuquerque. Do you require assistance?] the Vulcan asked.
"We require nothing from you!" the captain shouted.
[Very well. If you require assistance, feel free to call us. We are here to serve.] The comm channel cut out.
"Helm, get us out of here as quickly as possible!" the captain shouted.
"Sir, I can't--the engines aren't responding to helm control!"
"More trickery!" the Naussicaan yelled as he bashed Jonas over the head with the butt of his disruptor pistol. "Place him in the agony booth! He'll prove most satisfying entertainment," he chuckled evilly as the guards hauled Jonas' limp form off.
"Captain, our cartography readings are proving most curious," the navigator mentioned.
This got the Naussicaan's attention. "How so?"
"The stars outside have precessed significantly in comparison with our charts and sensor readings. It appears as though we've moved four years into the future."
"Get us out of here--now!" the captain ordered.
"It would appear that we've moved not only backward in time," Sapek said, "but into another universe entirely. Fortunately the Federation exists in this universe, and is friendly. In fact, we appear to have existed here, and our mission was a failure."
"Very compelling, but where does this leave us?" Tasia asked.
"We can put in to port here," Darcrow suggested. "This is a Federation, and their technology appears compatible with ours. Make the necessary repairs and see about getting home."
"Any other suggestions?"
"Captain, I remind you that this interdimensional transport exhausted the last of our dilithium reserves. We can't go anywhere else, even if we wanted to," Parker explained.
"One way or another, we need to make repairs," Sapek said. "Very well. Let's put into port here and do what we can. Albuquerque to SB901--request docking clearance.
[You are cleared for docking in Bay 19. Welcome home!]
If it is truly home, Sapek thought.
"Captain, I wanted to bring something to your attention," the crewman at Operations said.
"What is it, Yeoman?" Kitara Mallory asked.
"That Naussicaan vessel--the one that appeared just after the Albuquerque. A similar vessel was reported as part of a slaving operation four years ago in a nearby sector."
"Those vessels are built by the hundreds, Yeoman. You know that. Why does this one stand out?"
"Each vessel has its own particular molecular resonance. That's one of the ways they're tracked. The resonance frequency of the vessel we just saw is identical to the one in our database. The odds against that are astronomical to say the least!"
"Ze same dimensional reeft zhat brought ze Albuquerque here could also have brought ze Naussicaans forward in time to our sector! Zhey both appeared in ze same sector where ze alternate Vincent Kelly appeared a few weeks ago," Paul Deveraux added. "Ze spatial deestortion in zhat location may have interfeered weeth both ships!"
"What's that Naussicaan's last heading?"
"340 mark 6, Captain."
"That's right on the Hornet's course. Alert Commodore Wallace that there is a pirate vessel along his heading!"
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