Author's Note:
According to a site on the net, if one were to travel at Warp 37, that person could travel from one end of the known universe to the other in .2 seconds. That same site says that the trip would seem instantaneous to the person traveling, but it would still have taken 15 billion years. Thanks to the Star Trek rules of the universe, we know this isn't true. At the end of Chapter 1 of this story, the Lexus was traveling at Warp 50 for an estimated twelve hours. According to the site mentioned earlier, they could have traversed the universe several times over. In this story, it doesn't work that way. In this story, if the Lexus were to travel at Warp 10 it would take 6,000,000 years to get back to the Milky Way galaxy and Earth. At maximum Warp, which with the slipstream drive is the equivalent of Warp 50, it would take approximately 120,000 years. So with that in mind, Lexus needs a little help getting there. That's what this story is about. They, like Voyager in the Delta Quadrant will be looking for any technology, wormholes and anything else that could help them get home faster. They'll also probably work on the slipstream drive to try and get a faster speed than Warp 50. Just thought that needed to be explained a bit.
Julien Gregg
CHAPTER
TWO:
Revelations
Captain's Log, Stardate 56909.7
We've been heading for Earth at maximum warp, utilizing the Slipstream Drive for no more than eight hours per day. So far we have encountered no other vessels or signs of life. I am starting to believe that Andromeda is barren of life. Seven Of Nine has informed me that there are several systems in this galaxy with planets. She is still analyzing data from our long range scanners to compile a list of each system's planets classes.
I am still not clear on how it was that this ship came to be real or if any of it's crew, save myself and Lieutenant Dodds, are more than holo-clones. Bio sensors tell us that the crew is completely real, and I'm sure that the Doctor's scans would have told him if any of the crew were nothing more than holodeck programmed clones walking around the ship. The fact that the entire ship has holo capabilities is making this difficult.
Nevertheless our goal remains the same: To get the Lexus back to the Milky Way and back to Earth without engaging any species indigenous to the Andromeda Galaxy.
JR sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he sat back in his chair and stared at the solid wall of light that was the bank of windows in his Ready Room. Normally he would have seen stars. They were moving so fast that all he saw was light. The slipstream drive was in full force. He looked at the computer display and sighed as he thought about the fact that they had one more hour of use left before, theoretically, the ship would come apart from prolonged exposure to slipstream.
He still had no idea how to get home. He had no idea how to be a captain. It had been seven days since this whole nightmare had begun. He'd spent those days being as quiet as possible and trying to remember the scenarios they'd run on Voyager's holodeck. So far nothing they'd experienced on the holodeck could apply to what they were now in the middle of. He slept fitfully at night and what little sleep he found was plagued by nightmares about strange aliens and losing his life.
Seven Of Nine had been working with both Icheb and Lieutenant Chang to try and figure out what changes, if any, could be made to the slipstream drive to further the time the ship could withstand the effects of its use. So far they'd come up with nothing. He'd checked on their status just yesterday. He wasn't sure if they were ever going to be able to make any improvements to the drive. He wished that they had told the computer to make it so that Lexus could withstand slipstream for any amount of time.
"Bridge to Captain Kirk," came the voice of Commander Munro.
"Go ahead, Commander," replied JR with a sigh. He really didn't want to be bothered. He didn't exactly feel comfortable on the bridge anymore.
"Captain, we've detected a warp signature about two hundred light years from our current position," said Munro, and JR felt his stomach roll. He definitely wasn't ready for finding life.
"On my way," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He got to his feet shakily and made his way to the bridge.
"Captain, the warp signature is moving," said Chad as JR got to his seat.
"Plot a course to intercept," said JR, silently cursing himself for this course of action. What if they're hostile? he thought nervously.
"Aye, Captain," said Chad. "Course plotted."
"Lieutenant, how fast is that ship traveling?" JR asked as an idea dawned on him.
"Approximately warp three, Captain," replied Chad, turning to look at JR.
"Intercept, Lieutenant," said JR with a smile. "Warp one. Engage."
"Warp one?" Munro asked, looking at JR hard.
"Yes, Commander," said JR. "I want to have a look before we go traipsing in and get ourselves in a battle or something. Caution isn't always a bad thing."
"I'll try to remember that," said Munro, shaking his head. He believed that the proper course of action was to exceed the ship's warp and appear in front of them by surprise.
"Sir," said Chad. "The ship has just entered what looks like a wormhole."
JR thought about that for a minute. A wormhole could take them as far as the other side of the galaxy. It could also take them somewhere they didn't want to go as well. Was it worth the risk? He didn't have time to ponder. The crew would expect a fast decision.
"Lieutenant, take us to the edge of that wormhole," said JR. "Warp nine."
"Aye Sir," replied Chad as he tapped the controls in front of him.
"Engage," said JR as Munro shifted in his seat.
Moments later the ship came to a full stop just in front of an open wormhole. The view screen filled with the image of the wormhole as it began to close. JR wished that he could ask the computer what to do. This would be his first real decision that would affect the crew of the ship. When the wormhole reopened JR planned to take the ship through it. He knew that this could be a dangerous endeavor but he wanted to know what was on the other side. Would it take them back to the Milky Way? That would be the most wonderful outcome. He knew that it would probably only open on another point of the Andromeda Galaxy but where?
"Captain to Seven Of Nine," he said, tapping his comm. badge.
"Seven Of Nine here, Captain," came the voice of Seven.
"Seven, is it possible to determine where the wormhole might open?" he asked.
"Negative, Captain," she replied. "Scans indicate that the wormhole is stable and can be reopened on this side. However there is no data available that would tell us where the wormhole will take us."
"Thank you, Seven," he sighed. "Lieutenant, when the wormhole opens take us in full impulse."
"Aye, Sir," replied Chad as he tapped the console in front of him.
They sat in a tense silence. JR wondered just what Munro thought of his decision. The man had said nothing and JR wished that he would tell him he was a fool. The truth of the matter was that entering the wormhole terrified JR. Where would they end up? What sort of beings might be waiting for them on the other side? The fact remained that they didn't even know when it would open. Seven had said that the wormhole could be opened from their side but how?
"Captain, could I have a word with you in private?" Munro asked, getting to his feet.
"You have the bridge, Telsia," he said, getting up and following Munro to his ready room. Once they were inside he merely looked at his first officer and awaited what was to come.
"Sir, I don't think it's wise for us to enter the wormhole," said Munro.
"What else would you have us do, Alex?" he asked. "That wormhole could take us half way across the galaxy."
"Yes, but in which direction?" asked Munro. "Captain, don't you see that if we go through this wormhole we might end up right back where we started?"
"We found no evidence of life anywhere near where we started out, Alex," said JR. "What makes you think that if that wormhole opens up right where we found ourselves in Andromeda that we wouldn't have noticed it when we were there?"
"But there could be hostile life on the other side no matter where it takes us," he countered.
"I've thought of that," replied JR. "Our ship is strong and capable. If someone attacks us we'll fight back. Believe me, Alex, they aren't prepared for what we will give them."
"Captain you have to understand that any species we encounter could be so far advanced that we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves at all," argued Munro.
"Alex, that's true in our own galaxy," reminded JR. "If we don't take this opportunity we may be short changing ourselves. Now we both know how far we are from home. Wormholes could help us close the distance greatly. My mind is made up, Alex. We're entering the wormhole when it opens."
"JR, I'm asking you to think about it," said Munro. "Don't blindly plunge us into something we may not be able to get out of."
JR thought about that for a moment. He'd gotten just what he wanted. Commander Munro had done what JR wanted him to do by telling him not to go through the wormhole without investigating it further. He wondered just how he was going to investigate where it would lead. However he had a plan.
"Very well," he said with a sigh. "We'll deploy armor and cloak while we wait this out. We'll watch all of the ships that come through this wormhole and try to gather intelligence."
"Thank you, Captain," said Munro. "A most wise decision."
Back on the bridge, JR ordered that the armor be deployed. He informed the crew that Lexus would wait this out for a while and watch the ships that came through the wormhole. He set Seven and Icheb to the task of figuring out how to scan the wormhole when it was open without being detected by the ships that came through it. He noticed Councilor Jurot watching him with a small smile on her face.
Juliet had recently become accustomed to the changed emotions of the crew. She'd told JR that she believed that she had been struck over the head when the accident occurred and that was the reason for her short term confusion. He didn't bother to even try to correct her. He was just happy to know that at least she sensed something different about the crew. That in itself gave weight to the theory that the crew was made real at the same time that Lexus became real.
They stayed there for three hours until it was time for the next crew rotation. JR and Chad left the bridge together and went straight to the mess hall for a bit to eat. Neither of them said anything until they were both sure that no one was listening to them. JR had an idea that he wanted to discuss with Chad but he didn't want anyone to know about it but Chad.
"Do you think anyone is listening to us now?" Chad asked after they'd been seated for nearly forty minutes. Their food was eaten and their glasses were empty.
"No," he replied. "Chad I want to talk to you about something."
"Shoot," said Chad.
"We can't talk to anyone on the crew about our real situation because they must believe that we are who we say we are," he began. "But what if we created someone who we could both talk to?"
"You mean a hologram?" Chad asked, already on track with what he was talking about.
"Yes," replied JR with a nod. "I loved my chats with Admiral Janeway on Voyager. I know that you really liked talking with your cousin as well. Why couldn't we recreate them just the way we recreated the crew here on Lexus?"
"We could do that," said Chad, looking at JR hard. "But shouldn't we finally look at the data in the third encrypted file?"
"What could it possibly tell us that we don't already know?" JR asked. They'd had this discussion over and over again since the day that the event had occurred that made this all a reality. JR was convinced that it would just tell them more about the spacial rip. He didn't care about that. What he cared about was getting back to Earth in one piece. Chad had other ideas about what that file would tell them. He thought it would help them somehow. JR didn't see how anything could help them.
"JR, you know that it could be something that could help us," Chad argued. "The first two told us what had happened to us. The third could tell us why."
"We know why," sighed JR. He was tired of this discussion, yet he didn't understand why he was resisting Chad's desire to view the third file. He could just let Chad look at it and be done with it. It couldn't really hurt anything.
"Please, JR," said Chad. "Let's go to your quarters and look at the file."
"All right," said JR. "But I'm telling you it won't tell us anything we don't already know."
"Let's go," said Chad, getting up from the chair.
JR followed him out of the mess hall and to the turbo lift. They went straight to JR's quarters and sat on his sofa. Both his and Chad's quarters were decorated with items that could have come from the twentieth century. JR's quarters looked very much like a twentieth century Earth apartment. He had a living room with a television that actually was nothing more than a computer screen, book shelves filled with books he'd never read but were none the less real, end tables and lamps that could either be turned on by hand or by voice activation and a braided oval rug on the floor. A clock hung on the wall over the television. The bedroom had a regular queen sized bed with two pine night stands and a matching chest of drawers. His closet looked like any other closet in a twentieth century Earth apartment. His uniforms hung in the closet on actual hangers. There was what looked like a kitchen with a refrigerator, stove and sink. Cabinets lined the wall that held actual dishes, though they were never used. The refrigerator was actually a disguised food replicator. The bathroom was actually what it appeared to be. The toilet, sink and shower were real although no water could be used in the sonic shower.
The computer pad that they needed was in the top drawer of the desk in the living room. JR went to it and put the pad into the slot in the left corner of the desk that was there for this purpose. A painting on the wall that looked like an Earth forest scene transformed into a computer screen.
"Computer, access file 097663," said JR. "Authorization Kirk Alpha 900B."
"Access granted," came the voice of the computer and his screen was filled with what looked like a scene from an Earth science fiction movie.
Captain Chakotay stood on the hull of Voyager with an unidentified man. They listened to the strange conversation the two were having about the second man sending Captain Chakotay to some alternate universe or something like that. Then the scene changed and Captain Chakotay was gone. The second man remained and it looked as if he was looking right at them.
"If you finally decided to view this file then you know that you are in the Andromeda Galaxy," said the man. "What you don't know for sure is if your crew is as real as your ship. I assure you that they are as real as both of you. You had such fun playing as officers on Voyager's holodeck that I decided to let you have a taste of what you played at in reality. You, JR Kirk, are now captain of your own ship. You, Chad Dodds, are the Lieutenant assigned to Conn. Have fun, gentlemen, but do be careful. Remember that this is real. If you survive this and make it back to Earth, think of the glory you'll have. Until much later, gentlemen, my name is Q and I'm watching."
That was all there was. The screen went blank and the two sat there in stunned silence. This being, Q, as he called himself had done this to them. He was the reason why this had happened. The spacial rip, the tear in the fabric of space and time it was all Q. But who was Q? JR was confused about how this had happened. Was this Q some sort of God?
"Computer, access all information about an entity known as Q," he said and then gasped as he read what the computer had on Q.
"Can you believe this?" Chad asked as he stood beside JR and read what was on the screen. "How?"
"I don't know how, but I do know that his being is responsible for this," said JR. Suddenly he understood what he had to do. He had to pretend to be the captain and Chad had to pretend to be the lieutenant assigned to Conn. They had the knowledge they needed. The ship had been designed to do what they told it to do. The computer recognized them both as members of Starfleet. There was nothing that would stop them but death. JR vowed then that there would be no death for the crew of his ship.
"Captain, I think you'd better come to the bridge," said Chang's voice.
"On my way," said JR, nodding at Chad to follow him.
When they got to the bridge they saw something that shocked them both. On the main view screen they saw that a ship had come through the wormhole. What was so shocking about it was that it was a Starfleet ship. It looked so much like the Enterprise that JR at first thought that Q had sent Chip after them.
"Report," he said as they stepped off the turbolift.
"Captain, sensors indicate that the ship in front of us is the USS Ranger."
THE LEXUS CHRONICLES