CHAPTER ONE:
ANDROMEDA

Stardate 56904.3

"Where did they come from?" JR heard Chad mutter as he tapped the controls in front of him.

"Report, Lieutenant Dodds," he said quickly.

"Sir, three ships just appeared on our starboard side," said Chad. "Sensors indicate they're Starfleet."

"On screen," he said, wondering just where this development had come from in the program they'd designed.

The screen filled with an image of three ships that JR could not identify. He thought about demanding an explanation from the computer, but he didn't want to alert the other characters. They'd decided that they would run this program for an entire twenty-four hours uninterrupted as long as Voyager would allow it.

"They're hailing us," said Chad.

"Open a channel," said JR. "This is Captain James R. Kirk of the Federation Starship Lexus. With whom and I speaking?"

"This is Captain Janice Sparks," came the reply.

"Captain, sensors indicate a rip is forming in space just beside us at port!" said Chad excitedly.

"On screen!" JR said excitedly, but he was tossed out of his chair as the ship began to spin.

"The rip is getting bigger, Captain," said Chad. "It's pulling us in."

"Get us out of here, Lieutenant," said JR as he tried to get back to his feet. "Warp nine."

"Captain, we can't go to warp this close to another ship!" said Chad, and then the lights on the bridge went out as the ship began to spin faster.

JR could hear his crew crying out as they were all rocked off their feet, and he could hear Captain Sparks talking urgently through the subspace channel, but that only lasted a minute. It stopped once the ship seemed to lurch, and it was almost as if they'd gone to warp, yet they were continuing to spin like an out of control top.

JR got to his feet slowly when the ship stopped spinning. He was still trying to figure out how the program had gone so wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen, and he wanted to know why. He needed to talk to Captain Chakotay. He looked around the bridge and saw that Chad had not gotten up. There was a long gash on the side of his face, and his left arm was twisted behind him.

"Computer, end program," he said, wincing as he breathed in to speak.

"Unable to comply," said the computer."No holo programs are currently running."

"Kirk to Captain Chakotay," he said, wincing again. He had to lean against his chair to remain standing. The entire right side of his body was in agony. When he didn't get a response from Captain Chakotay, he decided to consult the computer again. "Computer, locate Captain Chakotay."

"Captain Chakotay is not on board the Lexus," said the computer.

"Computer, exit," he said as another burst of pain spread out from the right side of his stomach.

"Unable to comply," replied the computer. "You are not on the holodeck."

This made no sense to him. The program was still running. How in the world could the computer think they weren't on the holodeck? He had to get help for Chad as well as himself. He didn't know what was wrong with his stomach, and Chad still wasn't moving. He decided to try something.

"Bridge to transporter room three," he said, letting yet another wince take him over.

"Miller here, Captain," replied Ensign Miller.

"I want you to lock on to Lieutenant Dodds and myself and beam us directly to sick bay," he said.

"Aye, Sir," said Miller.

"Energize," he said before he lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in a bed. His surroundings alerted him to the fact that he was in sick bay. He raised his head to look for the Doctor and noticed that Chad was in the bed next to his. He appeared to be sleeping. He wished that he could contact Captain Scott or Captain Dodds.

"Don't strain yourself," said Juliet Jurot, Lexus's Councilor. "I deactivated the EMH after he treated you and Lieutenant Dodds. I can reactivate him if you like, but he said that you and Lieutenant Dodds are to remain in sick bay for the rest of the night. He'll check on you in the morning and decide if you are fit for duty."

"Councilor, I need to leave the holodeck," he said.

"Captain, you're not on the holodeck," she said, looking at him with worry in her eyes. "You're in sick bay. The ship was hit by an energy pulse of some kind, and you were injured. You ruptured your stomach. The Doctor repaired the damage, but you have to rest. Now try and get some sleep."

"Cha . . . Lieutenant Dodds?" he asked, deciding that he would get to the bottom of this after he'd had some more sleep. He was so tired that it took almost all the strength in his body just to keep his eyes open.

"He's fine, Captain," she said. "He suffered a concussion and a broken arm. The Doctor treated the concussion and set his arm. He's sedated, and you were supposed to be, too."

He couldn't argue with her. He was too tired. His last thought before his eyes closed was that if they really weren't on board Voyager he was in serious trouble. He had no idea how to be a real captain. They were all in real trouble.

As soon as his eyes closed, Juliet relaxed. If he had sustained a head injury that had gone unnoticed, she would make sure the EMH solved that problem. What was more disturbing was that the ship felt different. She didn't know exactly what it was, because she'd never felt anything like it before, not even on Vulcan.

"I've come to speak with Captain Kirk," said the voice of Seven Of Nine, startling Juliet out of her thoughts. That alone was proof enough that something was wrong. She would never have been able to startle her if Juliet had her wits about her.

"The captain is sleeping, Seven," she replied. "He was injured when the ship was struck by the power surge. I'm afraid that you'll have to seek out Commander Munro. The EMH relieved Captain Kirk from duty until he's fully recovered."

"Seven Of Nine to Commander Munro," said Seven, glaring at Juliet.

"Go ahead, Seven," said Munro.

"I would like to speak with you in private," she said. "It is important."

"Meet me in the captain's Ready Room," he replied. "Munro out."

Seven turned her back on Juliet and made her way out of sick bay to the turbolift. "Deck one," she said when the door of the turbolift closed with her inside. Almost instantly the door opened again on deck one. She merely glanced at the crew as she passed them on her way to talk to Commander Munro. Did they not know what had happened? Surely, she thought, they could read their own sensor grids. "Humans," she muttered under her breath as she stepped in front of the door to the Ready Room.

"Come in," said Munro from inside the room as the door opened. "What's so important, Seven?"

"This is," she said, thrusting her pad out in front of her.

He took the pad and looked over the data as a frown appeared on his face. He looked at her once before punching buttons on the pad to make sure the information he was seeing was accurate. It couldn't be, though. They couldn't be that far from home.

"Is this real?" he said, lowering the tablet to look at Seven.

"I checked the sensor data three times," she said, clearly irritated that he would question her work. "Our location is exactly what it says on the pad."

"Any idea what it was that brought us here?" he asked, sitting down in Captain Kirk's chair.

"I analyzed the data from the energy surge," she said. "It appears that we were hit by a spacial rift caused by a tear in space."

"This is what Starfleet was worried about with warp drive," he sighed. "The Lexus has a protected warp core."

"But the three ships with Voyager may not have," she said. "It is my estimation that one of those ships caused the rift."

"That's all well and good, Seven, but I'm afraid that we are too far from Earth to report your estimation or test it," he said. "How is Captain Kirk?"

"He is sleeping," she replied darkly. "Councilor Jurot said that the EMH has sedated him. Lieutenant Dodds as well."

"All right," he said, wiping his hand over his face. "Work with Icheb on any data you can find. Check the computer for all records, and prepare a full report. Captain Kirk is going to want all of the information you can come up with."

"Of course," she said as if he'd said something trivial.

"Make it so," he said, getting up.

She looked at him for a moment before turning and leaving the ready room. He shook his head and made his way to the bridge. He had an announcement to make that the crew wasn't going to be happy about. He wasn't happy about it himself. He had a family to get home to.

"All hands this is Commander Munro, acting as Captain in Captain Kirk's absence. What I'm about to tell you is the truth, although it is disturbing. The energy pulse we hit has caused something remarkable to happen. Our Astrometric Sensors indicate that the Lexus is now in the Andromeda Galaxy," he said and paused as several people on the bridge gasped. "Please know that we will do everything we can to get back to our own galaxy. Munro out."

"Is it true?" asked Lieutenant Commander Telsia Murphy with fear in her eyes. "We're in another galaxy?"

"Yes, Telsia," he sighed, sitting down in the captain's chair. "Seven Of Nine showed me the proof. We're in Andromeda."

"How can that be?" she asked. "It was an energy surge."

"It was a spacial rip," he corrected. "Caused by unprotected warp drive."

"This ship doesn't have . . ."

"It wasn't our warp drive that caused this," he said. "Those ships with Voyager. One of them was using an older warp core."

"Ok, so how do we get back?" she asked.

"Seven Of Nine and Icheb are looking into our surroundings," he said. "We'll be able to plot a course and use the slipstream drive to go home as soon as they figure out exactly where we are in relation to Earth."

He was about to sit down in the captain's chair when Counselor Jurot stepped onto the bridge. She looked around at everyone before her eyes settled on Commander Munro. He could see confusion in her eyes and wondered exactly what could have her so shaken. He knew that she prided herself on being able to control her emotions. She'd studied at the Vulcan Science Academy for some time, and he'd learned before coming aboard the Lexus that she'd spent quite a lot of time training to suppress her emotions. If something was troubling her it had to be something big. Some how he doubted that she was shaken because they were now in the Andromeda galaxy. No, he decided. This was something else.

"Can I speak with you privately, Commander?" Jurot asked once she'd come to stand in front of him. He noticed that she held his gaze, but she appeared to suffer for it. Something was really wrong.

"Follow me, Counselor," he said, and the two quickly made their way back to the ready room. "What's wrong, Juliet?" he asked once they were behind the ready room door.

"I'm not sure, Alex," she replied. In private the two were much more personal with each other. It was a guarded fact that hadn't gone unnoticed by Lieutenant Commander Murphy. "I just feel strange. Everyone, including you, feels different. Your emotions are more crisp than they were before the encounter with Voyager. The ship itself feels completely different. It's unsettling."

"Different how?" he asked.

"I don't know how to explain it," she said. "All of my training seems to have abandoned me. I feel as if I just left home yesterday with no training and no idea how to handle raw emotions."

"Have you spoken to the EMH about this?" he asked, getting more worried about her by the minute.

"I was in the middle of that discussion when Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Dodds were beamed in," she said. "My problem took second seat to the condition of the captain."

"And after they were treated?" he prodded.

"The EMH was busy trying to get Lieutenant Dodds stabilized," she said. "When he finally got him stable, he asked to be deactivated. I'm supposed to be checking in on the patients in sick bay regularly. Alex, I don't think I can do that. The captain and Mr. Dodds just feel like strangers to me all of a sudden. I don't know how to explain it."

"Juliet, are you certain that you couldn't just be coming down with something?" he asked, looking for an obvious answer. The idea that the ship's councilor, and only empath, could be in trouble wasn't one he was comfortable entertaining.

"I haven't been off the ship, Alex," she said, her voice rising just a bit. "How would I have become ill? There've been no visitors since we said goodbye to Captain Chakotay and Admiral Janeway before we were supposed to embark on the rescue mission."

"One of them could have been carrying something they didn't know about," he said. "You should activate the EMH and have yourself examined."

"Surely, Voyager has rules about check ups before and after their captain's visit off ship," she argued. "I don't want to tie up the EMH in case something goes wrong with either of his patients or another member of the crew."

"Juliet, activate the EMH and have yourself examined," he said. "That's an order."

"Alex . . ."

"Computer, active the EMH in Captain Kirk's ready room," he said with a sigh. He wasn't going to argue with her about it. If she wouldn't do it because he asked, then he would make her do it as an order from a superior officer.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," said the Doctor when he appeared. "Why am I not in sick bay? And Councilor Jurot, I thought I asked you to look in on the patients in sick bay. What is going on?"

"Doctor, Councilor Jurot is feeling a bit under the weather," said Munro, not taking any chances with Juliet. "I've ordered her to be examined."

"Of course," replied the Doctor. "I can examine her here. I'll just need a tricorder. Computer?" A tricorder appeared in his hand, and he began to scan Juliet while she glared at Commander Munro.

"I'll leave you to your examination, Doctor," said Munro as he prepared to leave the ready room and return to the bridge. "Juliet, I expect a full report. If you withhold it, I'll simply activate the Doctor again and get it from him."

"Aye, Sir," she said sarcastically as he left the room.

* * *

"Good morning, Captain," said the Doctor. "I trust you slept well."

"I did, Doctor," replied JR through a yawn. He noticed that Chad's bed was now empty. "Where is Lieutenant Dodds?"

"He woke up an hour ago," explained the Doctor. "He went off to find Commander Munro."

"I have to go," said JR, sitting up.

"Just a minute," sighed the Doctor. "I have to examine your wounds."

"My wounds are fine," he said. "You did a wonderful job. Thank you. Now I have to find Lieutenant Dodds, Doctor."

"Very well, but you come back to sick bay as soon as you come off duty, Captain," ordered the Doctor. "If I'm deactivated, activate me so I can examine you."

"Fine, Doctor," he said. "I have to go now."

He didn't wait for the Doctor's blessing. He had to talk to Chad and find out what was going on. The damned computer wouldn't end the program the night before, but if they could figure out what was wrong with it, maybe they could contact Captain Scott from inside the program. He just didn't know how they were going to do that.

He went straight to his quarters to change into another uniform. Inside the program, the rules were always observed and never broken unless it was absolutely necessary. That was why he'd decided to go along with whatever was going on in the program so the characters wouldn't think he was crazy. He just hoped that Chad was playing along.

"Computer, locate Lieutenant Dodds," he said as he walked into his quarters, pulling his t-shirt over his head.

"Lieutenant Dodds is in Astrometrics," replied the computer.

He stripped and stepped into the shower, sighing as he realized that this wasn't exactly rushing to see Chad. He knew where Chad was, though, and Seven Of Nine fascinated him, so he was sure that he'd be there when the shower was taken. "Computer, activate sonic shower."

Twenty minutes later he was dressed in a fresh uniform and headed for the turbolift. He noticed the fearful faces of members of the crew as he passed them and wondered what was going on. He supposed that he would find out soon enough.

"Deck Eight," he said as he stepped into the turbolift.

"Captain," said Seven Of Nine when he walked into Astrometrics a few minutes later. "It is good to see that you have recovered."

"Thank you, Seven," he replied. "Chad, could I have a word with you in private?"

"Sure," said Chad, handing one of the pads he was holding to Icheb and walking with JR out the door.

"Are you aware that the holodeck is sealed?" he asked once they were out of earshot of Seven Of Nine and Icheb. "The program won't end, either."

"I don't think it is a program anymore," said Chad. "Seven found some strange computer files that she can't access. They need either your access code or mine. I'm going to access them from my chambers later."

"What kind of files?" he asked as they headed for the turbolift.

"I'm not sure yet," said Chad. "Some kind of weird encryption stuff. I thought you would be able to get through that stuff pretty quickly."

"Let's go to your quarters, then," said JR as they reached the turbolift.

"Deck three," said Chad once they were inside.

"I still don't know why you decided to have quarters on deck three," said JR. "You could have had the rooms across from mine."

"That's the First Officer's quarters," argued Chad. "I had no intention of being First Officer. I'm quite happy with my position. Thank you."

They sat down once they got inside the living room of Chad's quarters. Chad passed him the pad, and JR began to look over the list of files. There were only three, but each required either his or Chad's access codes. He wanted to know what was on them. He got up and walked over to the computer console on Chad's desk. Once the pad was slid into the intake slot he said, "Computer, access file 097665. Authorization Kirk Alpha 900B."

"Access granted," replied the computer as data began to fill the screen.

"This doesn't look right," said JR as he watched the data closely. "According to this we're actually in space on the Lexus."

"That's what I was afraid of," said Chad, coming over to stand behind him. "If Seven is right, then that isn't our only problem."

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning in the seat to look at Chad. "The Lexus being real is a big problem. Where is Voyager?"

"That's what I was getting to," replied Chad. "Seven says that according to sensor readings we aren't even in our galaxy anymore."

"That's crazy," insisted JR. "How could we leave the galaxy?"

"I have a better one for you," said Chad. "How did Lexus become real in the first place, and how did it leave the holodeck?"

"Computer, access file 097664. Authorization Kirk Alpha 900B," he said, turning back to the screen.

"Access granted," said the computer as a picture appeared on the screen.

As JR and Chad watched, the Lexus materialized and took Voyager's place in space. What was more shocking was the fact that the ship immediately began to spin and then was just gone. What followed looked like a warp signature. Then the screen was filled with data again.

"According to this, we hit a spacial rip," said JR. "I don't know how it caused Lexus to become real, but it also says that once Lexus materialized the rip sucked us in."

"Seven says we are on the outer most edge of the Andromeda Galaxy," said Chad. "She said we're on the other side of it from where it's closest to the Milky Way Galaxy."

"How are we ever going to get home?" breathed JR.

"Seven is supposed to be mapping the galaxy in astrometrics," replied Chad. "She says the Andromeda is a small galaxy. Whatever small means in space."

"A small galaxy," sighed JR, covering his face with his hands. "We're in a real mess here, Chad. How did this happen?"

"I don't know," replied Chad. "The fact is, it happened. We've got to play our parts and help this crew get us home, JR. They think I'm Lieutenant Dodds and you're Captain Kirk. Don't forget that, and don't try to convince them otherwise."

"We're screwed, Chad," said JR. "I don't know the first thing about being a real captain. The only reason you even know how to fly this ship is because we based the conn on video games from the nineties. There was no video game to base my being captain on. I can't do this."

"You have to do this, JR," insisted Chad. "Find a way, buddy, because there's no getting out of this one."

"What about the crew?" he asked. "Are they real now, too? I mean they were only characters in a holodeck program, Chad. What happens if we have to stop for supplies somewhere along the way? Munro and Seven won't let us get off the ship all alone. You know that. What happens if we try to transport an away teem off Lexus and it vanishes because they're only holograms?"

"I've thought about that," replied Chad. "JR, they have to be just as real as this ship. That rip in space did something to Voyager. I don't know what it was or how it did it, but it made something spectacular happen. This ship is real, JR. This ship that you and I dreamed up in holodeck 2 on Voyager. You always said you wanted to be the captain of your own ship. You said that if you hadn't contracted AIDS you would have gone to the academy. By now you probably would either be a captain with your own ship, or you'd be an admiral. Now you have your chance, JR. You can be the captain you said you would probably be in this time had you been able to go to the academy."

"But I don't know how," he protested again.

"JR, you knew how to be a captain on the holodeck," said Chad. "Just be the guy you pretended to be on the holodeck."

"That wasn't real," JR said. "That was a holographic program, a simulation. Chad, the holodeck had safety protocols, and we could always end the program at any time we got too scared. This is real! We don't have those luxuries anymore. What if we're attacked?"

"We were attacked by Borg on the holodeck," reminded Chad. "Just use the armor and all of the weapons that we had the computer create for us. They're all real, JR. The whole ship is real."

JR was silent for a moment. He knew that there was nothing that could be done about what had happened. It wasn't their fault. Surely Starfleet wouldn't hold them accountable for an accident caused by improperly protected warp cores. Not that Starfleet would even get the chance. They were probably doomed to live the rest of their lives in the Andromeda Galaxy. Suddenly he wanted more than anything to have to face Starfleet. He wanted to go home.

"I guess we'd better go to the bridge then," he said finally. "If I have to be captain, then they'll be expecting me there some time today."

The pair left Chad's quarters and went back to the turbolift. Once they reached the bridge, Commander Munro stood to let JR take the captain's chair. Councilor Jurot was in her seat beside the captain's chair. She stood as well.

"Captain, I'm sensing a lot of fear in you," she said. "Is everything all right?"

"I just found out that we've been hurled into the Andromeda galaxy, Councilor," he said, taking his seat. "Of course there's something wrong. I'd imagine every member of this crew is experiencing a little fear."

"Seven Of Nine to Captain Kirk."

"Go ahead, Seven," he said, trying to act like a captain.

"I believe I have mapped our course back to the Milky Way, Sir," she said. "I'm transferring coordinates to Lieutenant Dodds."

"Thank you, Seven," he said. "Lieutenant, have you received the coordinates?"

"I have, Captain," replied Chad.

"Lay in a course for Earth," said JR, hoping that he could pull off his next order. "Kirk to Engineering."

"Chang here, Sir."

"Lieutenant, I want the slipstream drive online," he said.

"Aye, Sir," replied Chang.

"Lieutenant Dodds, warp fifty. Engage," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Sir, we can only sustain this speed for twelve hours," reminded Chad. That had been the recommended time limit for slipstream use when they'd discussed it in the holodeck with Chang and Seven Of Nine.

"Then for twelve hours we will head for Earth at maximum warp," replied JR.