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Sub Space 9208_C02
"Juxtaposition"
The calm clear voice of Captain Robert Bant filled the readyroom.
"Captain's Log, Stardate 45884.2; We are on our way to the Tanakas system,
where we will rendezvous with the USS Enterprise, the flagship of the
Federation, to examine a large energy cloud which has recently appeared
in deep space. Lately there have been reports from nearby planets that
their scanners detect phaser weapons every once and a while. There have
also been reports from the Klingons that one of their crusiers went
missing in the area. It should prove to be interesting.." He turned off
the recording. He didn't know why people were supposed to do those logs.
He guessed for Starfleet records, or if anything went wrong they'd know
why. He still thought they were just a bother. He walked out onto the
bridge of his ship, the USS Eagle, observing the normal crew duties.
Commander Lantasa had gone into Sickbay complaining of a headache,
but finding that Dr. Clampet wasn't there, she asked the computer his
position. "Dr. Clampet is on Holodeck 3." She walked to the nearest
Turbolift and asked for that destination.
When the Holodeck doors opened, the wall was still baregridded.
Dr. Clampet looked like he was installing something. "What are you doing?"
Her voice startled him, "I was trying to install a program on the
holodeck. My last ship didn't have a holodeck, so I couldn't try this..."
"What is it?"
"Have you ever heard of Virtual Reality?"
"It was a popular form of entertainment on Earth from the Mid-21st
Century to Early-22nd Century. It took the form of a game that you could
almost fully interact with.. It was a predecessor to the Holodeck."
"Yeah, I've tried a few of the old relics. They're pretty surreal,
but they're fun if you have a taste for that sort of thing. Well, I was
trying to program a few of the Virtual Reality programs into the Holodeck
computer. If I'm right, it'll be like a way more advanced than a normal
Virtual Reality.. and more fun then the general Holodeck programs."
"Well, have fun.. on to the reason I'm here.. I've had a headache
for the last hour... Can you do anything for it?"
The doctor pulled out a hypo, and injected it into her. "There.
It should go away in about a minute. If it doesn't let me know."
It did go away, and Commander Lantasa left the Holodeck. She
stopped in Midstep, then decided to visit one of her friends, Lt.
Dimitriadis. The computer said he was in his quarters, so she went inside.
Lt. Dimitriadis, as well as two other people, were playing a game with
cards. "Oh, I'm sorry for disturbing you."
"Nonsense, we just started. Would you like to play? Poker is
always better with four."
"I don't really know how."
"That's okay, we'll teach you."
Commander Lantasa sat down at the round table, hesitantly, as the
dealer shuffled the cards.
Captain Bant looked out to the energy cloud. "Is the Enterprise
here yet?" he asked an ensign.
"Yes sir, they are hailing us.."
"On screen."
The image on the viewscreen blinked from a starfield to the face of
the distinguished captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard.
"Hello Jean-Luc. How are you today?"
"I'm fine Robert. And you?"
"Not bad."
"My 2nd officer, Mr. Data will be transmitting a plan to cover the
most area around the cloud, in the least time."
"Excellent. My compliments to your crew."
Lt. Commander Santir's voice came from behind him. "We are
recieving the transmission."
"Make the necessary course adjustments, Lt."
"We should expect to lose majority of communications while on
opposite sides of the cloud," she reported.
"Aknowledged,"
The screen flipped off, leaving a view of the Enterprise moving
behind the cloud.
Commander Lantasa, on her second hand in poker, looked closely at
her hand and asked, "Tell me again.. Three of a kind is good, right?"
"Fold!" exclaimed the others in unison. Commander Lantasa smiled.
"I guess I learn quickly," she said, revealing in her hand a deuce,
a jack, a five, a queen, and a six.
"Captain, we are receiving a message from the Enterprise, it seems
to have broken through the cloud. It says they have been fired on by a
Klingon crusier."
"How long will it take to move around the cloud?"
"On impulse it will take 3 hours until we move around it."
"We don't have the time. What about straight through it."
"A few minutes at the most sir, but I wouldn't advise it."
"Set a course straight through. Raise deflectors to full power,"
he tapped his communicator, "Bridge to Commander Lantasa, you're needed."
The viewscreen seemed to shake, as if the universe was tearing itself
apart. Flashes of light appeared everywhere. The whole ship lurched
forward for an instant, then they emerged.
"Impulse Engines down, sir!" Lt. Commander Santir stated. They
looked out to the viewscreen.
The Enterprise looked bad. Not particularly damaged, but as if it
had been in over a thousand fights since it was built. A lone Klingon
cruiser was firing on the ship, its shields absorbing shots from the
Enterprise.
"Lt. Commander Santir, can we knock out the crusiers weapons
system."
"I believe so sir," A ray of energy shot towards the green ship.
"Weapon systems down,"
To the bridges suprise, the Enterprise continued firing. The ship
was destroyed in little over five seconds.
At that moment, Commander Lantasa walked onto the bridge. Captain
Bant briefly explained the situation. He then turned to Lt. Santir. "Hail
the Enterprise."
The screen flipped on to the scene of a darkened bridge. Two
identicle androids sat at Con and Ops. A bearded Captain Picard sat in the
Captain's chair. "Why did you attempt to only disable the craft?" he
asked.
-*- -*- -*-
"Captain, the USS Eagle seems to be emerging from the other side of
the cloud."
"What the--?" Commander Riker asked.
"They are hailing us," Data continued.
"Onscreen,"
"Captian Picard. We are replying to your message of attack. Where
is the klingon cruiser?" The image's eyes moved up to Worf. "What is that
Klingon doing on your bridge? He doesn't look like a prisoner.
"Indeed he is not. He is a member of my bridge crew."
"Have you gone mad Picard? The Starfleet Pro-Council will here of
this."
Captain Picard turned to Lt. Worf, and moved his hand across his
neck in a cutting motion. "What's going on here? Counciller, do you
sense anything?" he asked, slightly puzzled.
"I don't know. The only thing I can tell you is that Captain
believes he is who he says he is. He is genuinly confused."
"Put them back on," he ordered.
The muted voice of Robert Bant came into full volume. "..fire on
you if you do not answer my questions."
-*- -*- -*-
"Jean-Luc, what happened to the Enterprise?" Captain Robert Bant
asked the bearded man on the viewscreen.
"I do not understand that question. The Enterprise is the same as
it always was. It's the Eagle that's changed."
"May I have a moment to confer with my bridge crew. I think the..
jump through the cloud has had some adverse effects on us."
"Certainly." The image flickered off, replaced by the view of the
battle-hardened Enterprise.
"Captain, what do you make of that?" Lantasa asked, pointing to the
Enterprise's inscription; NCC-1701-D UWS Enterprise.
"UWS? What does that mean?"
"USS is United Star Ship.. could UWS mean... United War Ship?"
Suddenly Ensign Sopak stood up, holding his head, "Captain.. I have
a feeling we are being probed. Telepathically."
"Thank you. Hail the.. Enterprise."
Picard's image filled the screen. Behind him was what was
apparently a Romulan..
"Captain.. Counciller Troi has probed your thoughts, and revealed,
you are not who you say you are. I want to know who you are.. now."
"I believe we should discuss this aboard your ship.. Shall we beam
over immediatly," he asked.
"That would be prudent."
Bant and Lantasa left the bridge, on their way to the turbolift.
-*- -*- -*-
"There will be no firing. We should meet. In person. Here. You
may beam over at your earliest convenience. Perhaps we can explain this."
The transmission ended, leaving the UWS Eagle, designated
NCC-1399-B, floating in space. "They are signalling for transport." Lt.
Worf said from behind. Captain Picard and Commander Riker walked to the
turbolift, followed by Lt. Commander Data.
"What do you make of this Data?" Picard asked when the doors
closed.
"I do not know. If Counciller Troi is correct, and they are who
they say they are, then perhaps travelling through the cloud has caused
madness. But I do not believe that is correct."
"Why not?"
"Because it would be hard for a energy cloud to change the USS
Eagle, to the UWS Eagle. I glanced at the inscription."
"Excellent Mister Data."
"Thank you sir."
The turbolifts doors opened, and they walked down the hall to the
transporter room. Swirling beams of light became coherent as the forms of
Captain Bant and Commander Lantasa appeared. Bant looked around, then to
Picard. "Let's not beat around the bush. What's going on here?"
"I hope all will be explained in good time. First, let me ask..
what does UWS stand for?"
"United War Ship, what else?"
Picard opened his mouth slowly. "And who are we at war with?"
"The Klingons.. Why all these useless questions Picard?"
"They're not as useless as you think. You are aboard the USS
Enterprise. The United STAR Ship. We are in an alliance with the
Klingons, and have been on good terms for many years."
"We can't be in an alliance with them. The Klingons waged war when
Romulus became part of the Federation."
"Romulus? This is getting stranger and stranger. Up until a few
years ago, there had been no contact with the Romulans for 50 years."
"I'm really confused. Mister Lore, do you have any ideas on what
happened?" he asked, facing Data.
"I am not Lore. I am Data," answered Data with an extremly puzzled
look on his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I always get you two confused. Almost the same
rank, same face. It's hard to tell."
"Lore is not in Starfleet. He is my evil `brother'..Nevertheless,
I have a speculation. The energy cloud you passed through, somehow was a
breach in a barrier between realities. You are in our reality."
"So it means our USS Eagle may still be on the other side of the
cloud?" Riker asked.
"It is possible. But it is also possible that they entered the
cloud at the same time, meaning the USS Eagle, and the UWS Eagle, have
switched places."
-*- -*- -*-
The only thing that was similar about the Enterprise so far, was
the familiar feeling associated with molecular transportation. The two
identical androids, one a Lt. Commander, the other a plain Lt, were
standing there. "Now I believe one of you is Data, am I correct? But I'm
not familiar with the other one." Captain Bant asked.
"I am Data," chimed the Lt. Commander.
"And I'm Lore," finished the other.
"Very well. Will you show us to Captain Picard?"
They both nodded simeltaniously, and started walking down the
corridor. On the bridge, as soon as the four officers entered, Picard
stood up.. "Before we discuss anything, will you please tell us what USS
stands for?" he asked calmly.
"United Star Ship.. and your UWS?" inquired Lantasa.
"United War Ship."
Riker stood up, "Now who the hell are you, and what are you doing
here?"
"We came through the energy cloud in response to your distress
call."
A female romulan at tactical broke in, "It was not a distress
call... We had engaged an enemy, it was only standard operating procedure."
"Fine. Anyway, we ended up here, to a place where there seems to
be a war going on. But I assure you... I am Captain Robert Bant, and this
is Commander Lantasa. We might not be the ones you know however."
An exotic looking betazoid woman stood up. "Captain, the history
these people remember closely parrallels ours up to a certain point. He
remembers an alliance with the Klingons at the same time we made one with
Romulus. This history is signifigantly different after that point," she
said with an extremely thick Betazoid accent.
"And as I recall, you were only an empath, Deanna." Lantasa stated.
"I believe you are incorrect. Empaths are only half-Betazoid."
Data, or was it Lore, Bant couldn't tell, said "It is possible that
the energy cloud is a rift between realities. I suggest we test it."
"How do you propose we do that?" Riker asked.
"Send a probe, equipt with a message transmitting device. We set
cooridinates to go halfway through the cloud, then back, hopefully arriving
in the other reality."
"Wouldn't it be better to send it all the way through? We went all
the way." Bant pointed out.
"But if your reality parrallels our own, your Enterprise, and quite
possibly our Eagle, are on the same side as we. They would not be able to
find it."
"Make it so," Picard ordered. Some things hadn't changed.
-*- -*- -*-
"Captain, something is emerging from the cloud." Data announced.
A small probe flew towards the viewscreen. "It is transmitting something."
"Onscreen,"
The face of Robert Bant, untouched by war, appeared. "Hello
Captain Picard, I hope you are getting this. By our speculations, you have
recieved a UWS Eagle? This is the me from the USS Eagle. If you are
getting this, the energy cloud before you is a `rift between realities' as
Mr. Data put it," Data expressed some suprise at this, as Bant continued.
"When you get this, please put a reply message inside another probe like
this one. Set it to go halfway through the cloud, then return. Your
counterparts in this reality seem just as competent as you are. Hopefully
working together, we will be able to get back." The message ended at that
point.
"Prepare a probe, Mr. Data," was the only thing Picard had to say.
-*- -*- -*-
"Captain, something is emerging from the cloud." Data announced.
A small probe flew towards the viewscreen. "It is transmitting."
"Onscreen,"
"Message Recieved, Captain Bant. Awaiting suggestions on how
you'll return," another Picard said. The message then turned off.
"Well?" Captain Bant asked, "Any suggestions,"
"The best one I can think of is simply returning through the
cloud.." Commander Riker said.
"The impulse engines are damaged on my ship, We'll need at least
three hours."
"Sir, the energy cloud has consistently been growing smaller since
the USS Eagle emerged. It is possible that in three hours, it will be
gone." Data interjected.
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Picard asked, disturbed.
"It never came up..." was Data's reply.
"What about using Warp engines?" Riker asked.
"Unadvisable. Warping will almost definatly rupture the rift."
"Is there anyway you can think of to hold it open?"
"A heavy energy beam, the exact same type, and frequency as in the
cloud. But the other Enterprise will also have to hold it open. Both
Eagles will have to enter the cloud at the same moment. It is likely that
both have the same intensity of impulse engine damage."
"Then we should relay this conference to them... their times should
be co-ordinated with ours." Lore interjected.
"Excellent. Mr. Data, prepare the beam... And I'm sure you and
your wife would like to return to your ship, Captain.." Picard said.
Bant and Lantasa looked at each other, shocked, and a little
amused. "We're not married," Bant said, though he had often dreamed what
it would be like. He knew his career probably wouldn't allow it.
"Hmm.. there are indeed many differences."
Back on the USS Eagle, two and a half hours later, the engine
repairs were almost complete. In exactly one hour, both ships would be
returned to their proper place. They had planned to go halfway into the
cloud, then back, to let the other side know they returned safely. The
minutes passed quickly, and the time drew closer. When it came to about
five minutes before the return, everyone got into their bridge positions.
When the time counted down it's last second, the ship started moving into
the cloud.
"Sir, we have received an unauthorized transport to the USS
Eagle... We think its the transporter officer." the Romulan informed
Picard.
"Get him back here!"
From the depths of space, on the starboard side of the UWS
Enterprise, 1 Klingon Bird of Prey flew toward them. An energy beam shot
out from it. "We have taken a hit, shields holding."
"Can you fire without disrupting the energy beam?"
"Yes, but another hit will probably disengage the beam." Lore said.
"Data, what will happen if the energy cloud disappears before they
come out?"
"There are two possibilities. Either the energy cloud will reopen
to two different realities, or they will be trapped inside, forever,
together."
"Do everything possible to keep that beam up..."
The female Romulan at tactical said, "The Klingon ship has been
hit. It's striking back...We're losing the beam sir.."
"Fire at it!"
"The energy cloud is closing," Data said. Suddenly, out of the
energy, another ship appeared, the UWS Eagle, NCC-1399-B. It was stopped,
dead in space, but it fired it's torpedos. The klingon ship vanished.
"They have engaged cloaking device.."
-*- -*- -*-
Inside the swirling balls of energy, the USS Eagle swiftly moved
through the rift. The colors were incomprehensible.
Lt. Commander Santir's voice broke the silence... "We have reached
the halfway point."
"Full about!" Bant shouted.
Soon, the energy cloud parted, revealing the familiar elegance of
the USS Enterprise.
-*- -*- -*-
Captain Bant looked out of his window, at the place that the energy
cloud had once been. He put his hand to his communicator for a second,
about to call Commander Lantasa into his readyroom. His hand paused, then
lowered itself to his side again, leaving him to look at the stars, and
wonder...
On the Uss Enterprise, Lt. Worf looked at Captain Picard, somewhat
dismayed. "Sensors report an unauthorized transport to the UWS Eagle just
before it entered the cloud. The Eagle raised shields before we could get
him back..."
The End
