Danny Amor's Online Library/Danny Amor's Online Library - Volume 1.iso/html/startrek/crossover/starwars/startrekmeetsstarwars

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Subject: Repost: STORY: ST vs SW
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This story can be given out freely as long as no changes have been made
in part or whole unless consent is given by the author. Any names in this
story have no relation to any living being known or not known to the
author.



A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away......

                              Star Trek
                                Meets
                              Star Wars


In a quiet sector of the Federation, the Star Ship Enterprise
is on a routine mission of exploration.....

"Captain," Lieutenant Commander Data said as he turned to face Picard.
"The sensors are picking up some unusual readings in the next sector."

"What kind of readings Data?" replied Picard.

Data gave the expression of the frown which he considered to be most
human-like as he turned towards his captain and said, "Unknown sir. I
have no records of this type of reading on file. It is similar to that
of a worm hole, but with some unusual variations in it's outer
regions....." The sensor console gave a new reading and, with inhuman
speed, Data processed it and continued his report with only a slight
pause, "Captain, something is changing...but from this distance I cannot
clearly define what is happening....it's as if a large object is
entering the sector."

Picard frowned. "Set course for the abnormality Ensign. Half impulse."

"Aye Sir." the calm voice of Wesley Crusher replied. "Course laid in."

"Engage." said Picard as he leaned forward.

The Enterprise moved forward as Wesley reported, "15 minutes to contact
Sir."

"Captain, request that we go to Yellow Alert." Lieutenant Worf's voice had
that excited feel to it as the blood seemed to flow through his body with
the increased tension of possible conflict.

Commander Riker nodded to himself as he was in agreement and gave the order
to raise shields and go to Yellow Alert.

-----

Captain Karsiss Prisona frowned as they came out of Hyperspace. He turned
towards navigation and waited for a report.

"Sir," Private Condol said with a shaking voice, "We have deviated from our
course and our readings do not make any sense....it's as if we are no longer
in our own universe.

"Sir!" and excited voice shouted. "Unidentified space ship on intercept
course!"

"Sir! Our Hyperspace Main Computer is damaged. Time for repair is estimated
at twelve hours.

"Sir!" another voice shouted, "Unidentified ship has shields of unknown
configuration. High powered. Also weapon configuration does not meet up to
anything that we know of."

Karsiss listened as these reports came in, already forming a plan of action.
"Private Condol, calculate a jump to a safe location away from this ship
using the backup computer. Begin repairs on the main computer."

"Yes Sir!"

-----

"One minute to visual contact Sir." the calm voice of Commander Data
reported. "Sensors show a ship of unknown configuration and registration in
this sector. The original readings of a worm hole have become non-existent."

"What do our sensors indicate about their ship?" asked Picard.

"Sir, sensors show the ship to be powered by sublight speed engines. The
ship is equipped with limited armaments and layered shielding. The ship's
crew number close to fifty thousand and are possibly human."

As Data worked over his sensors, Riker whistled softly at the large number
of lives on board the unknown spacecraft.

"Sir," continued Data, "Sensors are picking up what appears to be shuttle
docks. Sensors indicate that there are over a thousand small space craft
inside these docks...possibly small shuttle craft or even small one-man
fighters..... Sir, we are reading a build up of power in the engine area of
the ship."

Lieutenant Worf jumped into the conversation at this point and said, "Sir,
it's very possible that they are powering up some sort of weapon to use
against us. Suggest we go to red alert."

"Negative Lieutenant," replied Picard. "We'll remain on Yellow alert until
we are sure of their intentions. Powering up our weapons makes us look
offensive and can cause this situation to change dramatically for the worst.

"Sir, we are now in visual range." reported Wesley.

"On screen." said Picard.

Captain Picard and Commander Riker both stood up in awe as they saw the
wedge shaped ship come into view. Silver-white in colour and with laser
turrets all over the surface of the ship, the screen was filled with what
looked like their Death.

"Hail them." Picard said.

-----

"Sir, calculations for Jump completed." Captain heard as he saw the strange
ship appear.

"Report when we have full sensor sweep on that ship. Nav, once we get that
report, make the jump." commanded Karsiss.

"Sir, sensor sweep completed."

"Commence jump."

-----

The Enterprise closed in on the huge ship when it started moving.

"Enemy ship accelerating to light speed!" said Worf, his voice full of
excitement.

As Picard frowned at Worfs wording, he replied, "Helm, follow them."

Suddenly, as the Enterprise started to give chase, and as the wedge shaped
ship started it's run towards open space, the alien ship lurched and
disappeared.

As Riker yelped in surprise, a calm Data said, "Scanning for a cloaked
ship."

A few moments later, Data gave his report. "Sir, the unknown ship is no
longer in this sector. Sensors show readings similar to what we encountered
at the beginning of this.....event."

"I want a full report with possible explanations as to what has just
happened to that ship. Staff meeting at thirteen hundred hours." was Picards
reply as he went to his private office. "You have the bridge, Number One."

-----

A few hours later, after a general report of the encounter with the unknown
space craft, Captain Picard informs his staff as to the current situation.

"Starfleet Command has been informed of the situation. The spacecraft has
been sighted in the Gamma-quadrant. Deep Space-9 has received two reports by
merchant ships coming through the worm hole. We are proceeding to DS-9 to
see if we can find how it got into the Gamma-quadrant and where it is now.
DS-9 has no record of the alien spacecraft entering the worm-hole. Data,
have you been able to gain more information on the alien space craft?"

"No Sir," replied Data. "I am still running our readings through the
computer."

"Ok then....dismissed."

-----

"Commander, incoming hail from the Enterprise." reported Lt. Dax.

"On Screen." replied Sisko.

As Sisko centred himself in Ops, the image of Captain Picard appeared on the
view screen.

"Captain, good to see you again."

"And good to see you Commander. Have there been any new reports on the alien
space craft?"

"No. The last report we had was 9 hours ago. We still have no information as
to how the ship arrived in the Gamma-quadrant."

"Hmmmm....There are a number of things we don't understand...one being how
it left us back in the Epsilon sector."

"Yes, I read that report....I hope you do figure out how they did that. It
would be a benefit to the Federation to know how that was done."

"We will let you know what happens Commander. Time to see the Gamma-quadrant
for ourselves now. Picard out."

"Good luck." Sisko whispered to himself.

-----

Captain Karsiss finally decided upon his course of action. He had two teams
working on two problems. One was to learn as much about this new universe as
possible, and the other was to figure out what happened and how to get home.

Where they were now was still not known....but the problem of how to get
home might be solved...the questions is, will the solution given to him
work.

As Karsiss slowly walked around the bridge, watching his crew at work. He
smiled to himself as he had the best crew on any Star destroyer in the
Imperial Armada. The only crew better being that on the Super Star Destroyer
that Grand Admiral Kontol commanded.

'Kontol', he thought to himself. 'What would the Grand Admiral do if he were
here?' Then, as he realized the answer, he chuckled to himself. 'What ever
he wanted to do. He wouldn't have to worry about what his superiors
thought....since both Darth Vadar and the Emperor himself are now gone. But
I can't just decided on this scale. My only choice is to return to our own
universe and report to Kontol of this place...then he can return here with a
fleet and do what ever he wants. Hmmm...another universe to conquer.'

"Helm, set nav for the course home. Patch into the Hyper-Computer and link
it to the Gemni-Link console for the information needed to repeat the
situation which caused us to arrive here."

"Aye Sir." replied Condol.

-----

As Enterprise approached the wormhole co-ordinates, Picard mused whether
this current incident might have any bearing with any of Enterprise's many
past encounters with alien species.  Was there a connection with the Borg,
the friendly Time Traveller who had taken a profound interest in young
Crusher, or could Q's ministrations into the affairs of humanity be
unleashed yet again.

"Captain", Wesley reported, "we have arrived at the wormhole coordinates and
are now entering the outer boundaries"

Suddenly before the Enterprise, half of space was immediately lit with a
vast panoply of energized photons racing away from the wormhole core into a
wild gaseous swirling spiral.  Colours too numerous to be counted razed in
the spiral arms, seemingly beckoning the speck that was Enterprise to come
forward into it's embracing blue flecked arms.

"Proceed Mr. Crusher", Picard ordered, while silently collecting possible
strategies to be put into play once they reached the Gamma Quadrant.

"Captain!", Worf loudly proclaimed, "my Phasor array and Weapon's bank have
just been drained.  Computer diagnostics show nothing wrong except for a
'Power out of Spec'.  Initiating a Level 3 diagnostic now!"

"We are about to enter the Gamma-quadrant Sir. Five seconds to the end of
the wormhole." reported Data.

"Weapons are back online Sir," Worf announced.

"Do you know the reason for the malfunction?" Riker asked.

"No Sir. Diagnostics were inconclusive." replied Worf.

"Sir, now entering the Gamma-quadrant."

-----

"Sir!" shouted a voice behind the tracking station. "We have a large energy
burst coming from 23 dranics distance from our present location. Cause
unknown."

Karsiss frowned. "Continue calculations to the jump home. Report when
completed. Keep me informed on that energy burst."

"Yes Sir!"

-----

"Captain, we have entered the Gamma-quadrant. Sensors report a ship matching
the same configuration that we are searching for. It is two sectors away, on
a heading of 410 mark 3. At full impulse, we will arrive in 5 minutes." Data
reported with his usual calm voice.

"Mr. Crusher, set course and heading, full impulse."

"Aye Sir. Course and speed set."

"Yellow Alert." Riker commanded.

"Hail the ship."

"No response Sir." informed Worf.

"Sir, we are now coming within weapons range."

-----

"Captain, a ship is closing in on us from the same location as the energy
burst. It is the same design as that which we saw at our previous location.
The energy burst has disappeared from sensors...as if it's no longer there."
reported an excited voice behind Karsiss.

"How long till we are ready for the jump back home?"

"One minute Captain."

"Upon finishing calculations, make the jump home."

"Yes Sir!"

-----

Picard watched the alien ship with a new feeling. The Borg were a dangerous
race of beings that were not really human. But now, just outside of the
Enterprise, was a ship bigger then the Borg ship, and filled with possible
humans. Picard was worried. If this ship turned out to be an enemy, then he
will be the cause of the possible death to fifty thousand living breathing
beings.

"Slow to one third impulse Ensign. Move within ten kilometers of the ship.
Mr. Worf, be ready for anything."

"Yes Captain." replied an excited Worf.

"Captain," Data said as he turned to face the Captain. "Sensors report a
build up of power of the same readings as before, from the engine area of
the ship. Information indicates that the alien ship is about to leave this
sector in the same manner as before."

"Suggest we fire a warning shot across their bow Captain!" Worf exclaimed.

"Negative Lieutenant. Continue hailing the ship."

"Alien ship turning and starting to accelerate."

"Stay with that ship Mr. Crusher."

"Yes sir. Heading 425 mark 2 at two thirds impulse. Keeping one kilometer
distance."

"Captain, suggest we move to fifteen kilometres distance. We don't know what
effect their method of travel will have upon the Enterprise." Data said.

"Agreed. Move us to a fifteen kilometers distance Ensign."

Suddenly, the alien ship jumped. It seemed to cut right through space and
enter a tunnel. The Enterprise was caught in it's wake. With a sudden lurch,
throwing all standing crew to the ground and against walls, the Enterprise
was sent rocketing after the alien ship. With stars passing in a blur, the
ship was hurtled through space in a way never before attempted...at least
not by anyone known to the Federation.

"Helm not responding Sir"

"Weapons offline! Shields failing!

As the lights went out on the bridge, Lt. Laforge's voice came over the com
system. "Main power link down...attempting to reroute power!"

"Full power to the stabilizer array!" Riker commanded.

"Sensors indicate that we are..." Data seemed to be struggling with a
complex idea.

"What is it Data." Riker asked.

"Sir, sensors seem to indicate we are in what was described in the twenty
forth century as Hyperspace. We are going through warped space to reach
another point in space. I am at a lost as to how this is being
accomplished."

-----

Captain Karsiss sighed quietly to himself. Home he thought. We are going
home. Question is...how will Grand Admiral Kontol respond to my report.

-----

"Shields have increased to eighty percent Sir. Once the stabilizers regained
control of the ship, the forces that were hitting us seemed to disappear."
Worf reported.

"We seemed to be outside of the flight path," Data hypothesized. "If we are
moving through the path properly, it cases no damage to the ship, but once
you are 'hitting the walls' of the tunnel, damage is probable."

"Data, is there any way to break free of this?" Riker asked.

"Unknown sir. This has never been done before."

"Alien ship is slowly increasing in distance from us Sir." reported Ensign
Crusher.

"Data, can we speed up to keep the same distance?"

"Again, unknown sir. I do not suggest trying it. There is no way of knowing
what will happen. It might be an idea to launch a probe. No matter where we
are, we will, at some point in time, receive the probes report. Even if it
takes a hundred earth years."

"Make it so." ordered the Captain.

-----

"Captain's log, Stardate 913038. We have been in hyperspace now for five
hours. The distance between ourselves and the alien ship has increased to
the point that I am considering trying to catch up using our own engines.
The only reason that I have not done so already is that our own speed seems
to have stayed constant during this whole event. I will hold off the engines
until our speed decreases, or their ship actually increases in speed  The
crew is holding up fine considering. Our counsellor has been closely
monitoring the crew and has not found any reason for concern."

-----

Doctor Crusher was examining the bruised arm of Ensign Talin after the alien
ship pulled them into the so called hyperspace.

"Ensign, I am wondering if you would mind my running a few extra tests on
you. I would like to see if this hyperspace is effecting us in any unusual
ways."

Talin shrugged, "I don't see any problem with that. My duties are on hold
while we are in this situation. Can't really study Fralon Pulses when there
aren't any.

"Thanks Ensign. If you could step over to the table so we can start...just
lay down on the table please."

-----

"Sir! One minute till we have arrived."

"Once we arrive, plot a course to the Super Star Destroyer 'Slaver' and
inform Grand Admiral Kontol of our impending arrival."

"Yes Sir."

-----

"Commander," Data said, "Something is happening. I believe we are about to
enter normal space again."

Riker nodded. "Captain Picard to the Bridge" he called over the
communication system. "Red Alert".

As the starfield streaked by, there was a sudden deceleration. The stars
slowed down to pinpoints in space. The Enterprise returned to normal space
still moving forward at two thirds impulse, directly towards the alien ship.

"Evasive Manoeuvre!" Riker exclaimed!

The enterprise made a sharp turn, barely avoiding a collision with the huge
ship.

-----

"Sir! We have entered normal space! Main computer is down. Standby computer
now taking over operations. Problem seems to be the same as when we last
jumped. Sensors indicate that ship we left is right on our tail! It just
missed a collision with us."

Karsiss frowned. "Bring weapons online. Prepare for attack. All Tie-Fighter
squadrons to their ships. Send a report to the High Command."

"Yes Sir!"

-----

"Sir, I am detecting a large build up of power in the weapons on the alien
ship.....I am also detecting a large number of small craft heading towards
us with weapons online."

Picard frowned at Data's report. "Prepare for counter attack. Helm, plot a
course away from this ship and be ready to engage.

"Yes Sir."

Suddenly, the Enterprise was jolted with a burst of raw power. Hundreds of
beams of light hit the shields with a force of which the crew had never
before experienced.

"Return fire Mr. Worf"

Worf joyfully started firing at the ship which had been in his thoughts for
hours as his next challenge. Shot after shot rocketed towards the huge ship
battering their shields.

"Sir, shields down to fifty percent. We don't seem to be causing too much
damage to the alien ship. Suggest we try the Photon torpedoes."

"Go ahead, Mr Worf" Picard replied.

Worf smiled to himself as he fired.

Data received some new information. "Captain, the small space craft are now
within firing range."

The Enterprised rocked with the new assault.

-----

"Report" commanded Karsiss.

"Sir, enemy ship has thirty percent shields. Our own shields are down to
eighty percent."

"Sir! New weapon heading towards us. Unknown configuration. Impact in ten
seconds!"

"Brace for impact! Emergency crews stand by!"

The Star Destroyer rocked under the explosive force of the Photon torpedoes.
The shields did stop a direct impact, but the shock waves penetrated the
shields to cause major damage to the ship.


"Sir! Damage to the hull! Sections Nine Alpha to Twelve Delta
damaged....Sir...Section Eleven Bravo to Eleven Echo destroyed. We have a
hull breach! Repair crews working on it."

-----

"Sir, direct hit with the torpedoes. Damage caused to four percent of the
ship."

"Captain," Data reported. "At this rate, we will not win this battle. We
must retreat"

Picard nodded as he was already about to give the command. "Helm, get us out
of here."

The Enterprise jumped to warp 8 away from the battle leaving a crew in shock
at the sudden departure.

-----

"Sir! Enemy ship has just vanished! It turned away from us and seemed to
speed up and then was gone. They did not jump into hyperspace.

Karsiss frowned. "Find them!"

"Yes Sir!"

-----

"Captain, sensors indicate that we are coming up to a planet which we could
orbit while doing repairs. Our engines are in need of work. They acquired
some damage during the battle."

Picard nodded. "Make it so."

-----

Down in Engineering, Data and Geordi were repairing the shields.

"Geordi, "Data started to ask in a troubled voice. "I don't  understand why
Holmes would be so 'magical' to the rest of his community. He was able to
take data and sort it out in his mind to allow for rational decision making
and problem solving. Anyone can do this. The mathematical equations used is
a simple one, even for humans to do without the usage of a computer."

"Yes Data, "Geordi replied. "but you have to remember, while some humans can
do fairly complex problems without the use of a computer, other humans have
not trained themselves, or have not been trained in the proper use of their
minds for mathematical  problems of some complexity. Let's, for example,
take five computers and five humans and one complex problem that Holmes
would have been able to deal with. The five computers, with the proper
programming and the same hardware could solve this problem in one minute.
The Humans have the same hardware. But, let's say the first three had
special training. They should be able to solve the problem in a few minutes
whereas the other humans might not ever solve it because they lack the
discipline. All of this is not a matter of being human, but a matter of
training.

"Hmmm. So Holmes received special training then."

"No Data. Holmes was one of those special humans who don't need the training
to acquire the proper problem solving techniques. It's a rare gift that some
people seem to possess. They are born with this ability. Nobody knows how or
why they are, but it happens. What's the reading now of the plasma flux
transducer?"

"Oh-point seven."

"Good. Just have to get it down to.....there. Now?"

"Oh-point six-three."

"Good. Shield reading at..." Geordi brought up a new display,  "seventy
percent. Good. Next is the phase integrator"

Data moved over to a new access panel, removed it and placed the cover
against the wall while Geordi moved to a new terminal.

"Data, try bypassing the Alpha Wave Generation Circuits on the second level
by going through the Variable oscillator on level seven. I'll try and get
the Shield trans-field back up to spec."

"You might try and cross connect circuit 'B' Geordi" Data suggested.

Geordi smiled as he looked at Data. "And how did you come to that conclusion
Data?"

"Picard to Engineering"

Geordi looked up from his terminal. "Go ahead Captain."

"Report on your status please."

"We are on schedule and have shields up to seventy percent at this time."

-----

Picard frowned as he looked over the sensor reports. "Mr. Data, when your
finished down in engineering, I'd like you to work on a project. Please
report to me once your tasks are completed."

"Aye Captain" Data replied over the communication system.

"Picard out." Picard leaned back in his chair for a few minuets thinking
about his next move."

"Captain's log, Stardate 913039. We are in a location which our computers
cannot pin point. Repairs to the Enterprise will take a minimum of four days
to finish. I am worried that the alien ship will locate us. I am as yet
unaware as to the capabilities of the alien ship with regards to it's
movement through normal space. If they can follow us...we don't stand a
chance. I have assigned Mr. Data and Lieutenant La Forge to the task of
finding a defence to the weapons used by the alien ship...but things do not
seem to be going in our best interest. The weapons are beams of raw power
that we have never seen before. Only time will tell us if we will survive."

----

"Red Leader to Red One, I don't see any reason to remain here. Let's move
our patrol to sector 3."

"Roger Red Leader." came the reply.

Two sleek X-wings moved off and jumped to hyperspace to their next patrol
circuit.

-----

"Captain." Riker called from across the Bridge.

Picard walked over to join him.

"I think you should take a look at this. Our computers have finally come up
with a location for us...well, a guess." Riker pointed to a point on the
screen and then traced their course. "We started here in the Gamma quadrant
and the ship moved off on this heading here. Then, we entered hyperspace.
Now this is where it get's difficult. The computer projects a confidence
factor of ten percent. It cannot give a better approximation to our
location. Our projected position is somewhere here. About five to six
million light years from the Gamma quadrant. That's the best the computer
can do till it get's more information.

Picard nodded. "Let's finish our repairs and then..."

"Captain," Worf interrupted. "Sensors show two small shuttle craft have
entered this sector. They are just in visual range."

"How did they get so close to us lieutenant?"

"Unknown Sir. They were just suddenly there."

"On screen."

"Yes Sir.

As the main screen lit up, the whole bridge crew turned to see what was
shown as two small, lightly armoured ships appear. They were orange and
white in colour but had no other markings on them.

"Increase magnification on one of the ships."

Once the single ship took up the whole screen, they could see the single
occupant of the craft.

"Hail them Mr. Worf. Return main viewer to show both craft."

"Aye Sir."

-----

As Wedge entered normal space, alarms started blaring along with
Red One screaming into his ears.

"Wedge! Large vessel 32 parsecs away from us. It's like nothing I've ever
seen!"

"Calm done Hasid! Calm down. Let's slow down and slowly circle them in a
non-aggressive manner. Just be ready to jump out fast."

"Roger."

Suddenly the instruments on the small ships went totally haywire.

"WEDGE! I'm losing control!" Hysid's voice screamed through the speakers of
his helmet.

"Same here Hysid. Try to get to that planet. We'll have to make a forced
landing. Just keep your nose up."

"I'll try Wedge. I have very little control. Don't know if I can make the
adjustme.."

"Hysid? Hysid?" Wedge played with a few controls and looked out the window
of his fighter at the other X-wing's erratic flying. "Report Red One. What
is your status."

There was no response.

-----

"Captain! Both craft have lost control of their ships. I don't know what has
happened, but it started when we hailed them. They are heading toward the
planet and will impact in five minutes."

"Can we get a tractor beam on them?"

"No sir. They are out of range."

"Prepare a rescue team Number One."

"Aye Sir. Worf, Data your with me. Doctor Crusher report to transporter for
emergency rescue. Crash victims.

"On my way." replied the Doctor over the Communication system.

-----

As Wedge struggled with his ship, he saw the large craft one last time. 'God
I hope that's not a new Empire ship. I've never seen anything like it
before.' Then he started to enter the planets atmosphere and didn't think of
it any more.

The two X-wings were lucky and their pilots were very good. As their ships
flew towards the planets surface, both pilots tried to force their ships
towards the edge of the ocean spread out before them. Trying to use their
abilities to the utmost, knowing that their lives depended upon it, both
pilots brought their craft to a mile off of shore and tried to land on the
water. Doing this at the correct angle would allow them to skip to shore as
a rock does when thrown correctly into the water. Both pilots did this. As
they rocketed towards shore though, Hysid lost control and his nose hit the
water. The small ship started to cartwheel through the water to land upside
down on the shore, part way into the surrounding forest. Wedge was a bit
luckier. His ship landed on the water and after a dozen or so skips then hit
the shore. The nose of the ship slammed down knocking Wedge unconscious
which is the only thing that saved his life. As his head was thrown to the
side, a large rock smashed through the window and passed the exact spot
where his head normally was positioned. As his ship slid to a stop, his body
slumped to the side and didn't move.

-----

"Energize" Riker commanded.

Riker and his away team energized to the crash site of the two ships. The
site that awaited them was one of profound shock.

One of the ships was sticking into the ground nose first with it's pilot
slumped against the cockpit's side window...the only window remaining in the
ship. The second ship was burning and was covered with broken trees that
fell on top of it during the crash. The pilot of that ship had been thrown
out and lay half buried on the beach.

Dr. Crusher rushed to the pilot laying on the beach with Riker while Data
and Worf ran to the pilot still in the ship.

As Worf reached the ship, he saw that there was a fuel leak and that there
was sparking from one of the compartments in the ship.

"We must get him out of there. This ship is going to blow at any moment."

Data preceded to climb up the ship and pry open the canopy of the ship to
allow them to remove the pilot with the least chance of further injury. As
he pulled the pilot out, he saw that there were, in his estimation, only six
seconds left till the fuel ignited. "Transporter Control, Emergency beam up
of three."

Just as they transported out, the fighter ship exploded.

-----

Dr. Crusher looked up as Picard entered Sick Bay. He nodded in greeting and
quietly walked up to where she was working on one of the injured pilots.

"What's the prognosis Doctor?"

"Well Captain, the first pilot who is over there" she pointed to the pilot
laying quietly on one of the beds, "is doing ok. He could wake up at any
time. A mild concussion and a few bruises. This one though is not so good.
His back is broken and has a fractured skull. His right leg is broken and
his collar bone is fractured in three places. He has massive internal
injures and it doesn't look like he will make it.

Picard was about to ask a bit more when the other pilot moaned and started
to stir. He nodded to Dr. Crusher and moved over to the awakening pilot.

-----

Wedge slowly came out of the darkness and found himself to be in a room of
which he had never seen anything like before. As the trained warrior that he
was, he picked out the exit and the number of people in the room before
turning his attention the man standing over him.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You are on board the Federation Starship Enterprise, and I am the captain,
Jean-Luc Picard. Your craft crashed on a planet after you suddenly appeared
near our ship. How do you feel?"

It all came back to Wedge. The crash, the ship, Hysid! Wedge sat up fast,
and ignoring the sudden pain in his forehead, he asked, "My wingman..Hysid.
How is he?"

Picard sighed. "Your wingman isn't doing very well. We don't think he will
survive. He is just over there with our doctor looking over him, trying to
help."

Wedge jumped off of the bed and, struggling to remain upright, walked over
to Hysid to look and see if they were trying to help him, or hurt him.

Dr. Crusher looked up and frowned. "You should be laying down and resting.
Your in no condition to be walking around."

Wedge ignored her as he checked over his friend. "What is wrong with him?"

Dr. Crusher looked over to Picard who nodded. She gave Wedge the same report
that she gave the Captain and after watched with concern as the young pilot
slowly turned away and went back to the bed to lie down. Picard followed him
back.

"I'm sorry. We are doing everything in our power to help him, but the crash
did so much damage to his body."

Wedge only nodded.

"I have to ask you some questions. Are you willing to talk?"

Wedge forced himself to concentrate on the Captain knowing that his life was
still on the line here. "Depends on the questions Captain."

Picard nodded. "Who are you?"

Wedge raised an eyebrow. "I am Wedge Antilles, Red Squadron Leader."

"Where are you from?"

"All over actually. I've never stayed in one spot too long."

"Where are you based?"

Wedge frowned. "I can't answer that just now. Not until I get some answers
from you as well."

Picard nodded. "That sounds fair enough."

"Captain." a voice interrupted from behind Picard.

Picard turned to see Data approaching him. "Yes Data?"

"Sir, we have completed repairs to the shields. Sensors are now at ninety
percent efficiency and eighty percent of other repairs are completed.
Estimate twelve hours to completion of repairs."

"Thankyou Mr. Data. Data, I'd like you to meet Wedge Antilles, Red Squadron
Leader of...a yet to be told group."

Wedge smiled a bit nervously as he looked at this new person. Something was
wrong but Wedge couldn't put his finger on it.

"Hello Sir." Data said.

"Hello Mr. Data." Wedge returned.

"Now then, what did you wish to ask Wedge?" Picard asked.

"Where do you come from that you do not know who I am? And who caused the
damage to your ship?"

"Hmmm..that is a bit of a story. I think we will wait until you are a bit
more rested till we answer these questions. Tomorrow you should be healed
enough and perhaps we will talk then."

Wedge shrugged.

Picard and Data turned and left sick bay as Wedge continued to watch the
Doctor work on his injured wingman.

-----

As Picard finished reading a report on the damaged fighters from which the
two pilots came from, he lay the report on his desk and though about his
next move. After a bit of time, he looked up and asked, "Computer, what is
the present location of Commander Riker?"

"Commander Riker is presently in Holodeck 3" the computer replied.

-----

As Picard came up to Holodeck 3, he took at look at the computer to see what
Riker was running prior to his entering. After a quick look, he realized
that Riker had programmed something new. He went to the doors to the
holodeck and as they opened, he saw he was in launching pad full of the
small fighters that the pilots had crashed in. Curious, Picard entered one
of the fighters and asked, "Computer, display control readouts on how to fly
one of these."

After a few minutes of examining his display, Picard turned on the X-wing
fighters engines and took off from the launch pad. After a bit of searching
through his display options, he found the location of one other fighter. He
went after it and, once he had visual sighting, he put his wings into the X
configuration while sending out on the combat frequency of the X-wing a
question. "Hello Riker. Care for a bit of One-on-One?"

Riker's voice came back a bit surprised, yet cheerful. "Sure Captain. I must
warn you though, I've been practicing for the last half hour."

Picards X-wing did a sharp turn to follow Riker. As he levelled out, he
opened fire on Riker. Riker dove down and then sharply turned to the right
as Picard tried to follow with guns blazing. As he was doing so, he realized
that the guns were shooting what seemed to be lasers of Federation ships.
Suddenly, Picard realized that Riker was no longer in front of him. Turning
to look in all directions, he saw, a bit too late, that Riker was coming at
him from the side, guns firing. Picards fighter rocked as he was bombarded
by hit after hit after hit. His systems went dead, and he heard Rikers
laughter as he said, "Computer, end program."

Riker, grinning, walked up to Picard and said, "Nice flying Captain. I think
you need a bit more practice though."

Picard smiled. "Yes, and you seem to have been practicing hard to gain the
ability to fly one of these....and you seem to have gotten pretty far in
that goal.

"Not quite. I am still not sure I have this programmed correctly to get the
real feel of the ship. I had to use some Federation ideas to make the thing
work since there is not too much we could learn from the damaged ships. I
still don't know what they fire or how fast they can go, or their
limitations."

Picard nodded. "I did notice a few similarities including the lasers that we
were firing at each other. It is an interesting feel though flying one of
those. Nothing like flying a shuttle craft. You become more of a part of the
machine as a whole."

"I noticed that also Captain. Did you notice that when you split the wings
into the X configuration you seem to acquire the ability to turn more
sharply and keep more control over your ship. The limits drastically
increase...as if there was air flowing by those wings. Anyways, was there
something that you required Sir?"

"Not really Wil. I just wanted to talk to you about this whole mess. What do
you think of it all?"

"Well Sir. I am not sure of much yet. I am curious as to what Geordi has
learned about that ship. It's weapons and shields, how we got here, how we
will get back. Who the pilots are and where they are from are also something
that I am very curious about.
But there is one more thing I am curious about...and a bit nervous about."

Picard nodded. "Go on."

"Well Sir, if these people have ships of the size and strength of that which
we have already come across, and we don't even know if they have larger
ships, what can the Federation do to prevent them from returning to our
galaxy and attacking us there?"

"Hmmmm, good question Number One, but let's not worry about that until we
figure out more from our two pilots. I want to have a briefing in an hour to
find out what we have learned. After the meeting, I hope we will have more
information to figure out our next move, and if not, we still have the
pilots."

-----

The atmosphere in the briefing room was grim. Data was finishing his report
on the weapons that bombarded the Enterprise three days ago. Things were not
looking too good.

"Our technology is not advanced enough to prevent their weapons from
reducing our shields at such a rapid rate. We might keep them up for a short
time longer...but not enough to increase our chances in battle. Their ship
is so vast that the power put into their weapons far exceeds anything we
have come across before. While we fought the borg, their actual 'power' in
their weapons was greater then ours, but not on this scale. Given our
experience in battle with both ships, this new alien ship has five times the
amount of power that the Borg did. As far as our weapons against their ship,
their shields can keep our phasors from doing much damage, but our photon
torpedoes create a shock wave when it impacts against their shields that
does cause damage on a large scale...but again, not enough to allow us to
win a battle against them. Their small fighter craft have the same type of
weapons as the main ship, but the power put into each laser beam is much
lower then the main ship. We can easily deal with the small craft. Our
weapons do have enough power to do this."

"Thank you Data. Geordi, have you come up with any possible solutions as to
a way of getting us back into Federation space?" Picard asked with concern
in his voice.

"No Sir. We have learned a lot from the data that we have collected, but we
still do not know how it was done. We don't know where to start. We need
more information. Until then, we are just guessing."

Picard nodded. "Ok, let's see how far we can get with our guest. Maybe we
can work something out that will help us. Dr. Crusher, any improvement on
the injured pilot?"

Dr. Crusher shook her head. "I don't think he will live more then twenty
four hours. I'm sorry captain. There is nothing that I can do for him.
Captain, I have done some research on Ensign Talin to see if going through
Hyperspace effects us in any ways. During the journey we did experience some
effects in the cerebral cortex of the brain...a slightly slowing down of the
neural net. However, once we left Hyperspace, the neural net returned to
normal functions and there was no damage as a result of the temporary
change."

"Do you feel there is a danger for us to enter Hyperspace Doctor?"

"No, as long as it isn't prolonged for over twenty four hours, I do not see
there being any permanent damage."

Picard nodded. "Then, if there is nothing further to add, I think I will go
and talk with our guest. Data, Councillor Troy, would you be so kind as to
join me?"

"Of course Sir." they both replied.

Picard nodded. "Dismissed."

-----

As Picard walked down the corridor towards the pilot Wedge's quarters, he
wondered if he would get any answers. Data noticed that his captain was in
deep thought and after a bit of time, Data spoke up.

"Captain, is there a problem with which you require help?

Picard turned to look at Data and gave a soft smile. "No Data. I am just
thinking about our impending discussion with our guest."

Deana smiled to herself thinking of Data's curiosity as being so humanly
child like.

As they arrived at Wedges' quarters they saw the security guard standing at
attention. The guard saw his captain approaching and moved to the side to
allow him to enter the room.

-----

Wedge had entered the room he was to be kept in, wondering what it would be
like. 'How bleak of a prison are they going to put me into?' he wondered to
himself. 'What kind of alien did they put over my shoulder?' was another
question he had as the one they called Mr. Worf took him to his prison.

As they entered the 'prison' he was surprised to find that it did not seem
to be a prison. The quarters were quite nicely appointed with every needed
convenience. Nothing like the Imperial Prisons he was put in during the
month that they raided the planet Alpita-Zero. Wedge smiled softly to
himself at the memory of Luke Skywalker coming to his rescue once again.
'Now that was a good fight!' he reflected.

Once the door closed behind him, he cleaned himself up and lay down to rest.
He was still resting when the door opened to allow Captain Picard and the
one called Data into the room. Along with them was a beautiful woman. Wedge
sat up and thought to himself, 'I wonder who she is.' and after that came,
'Here we go.'

"Hello Captain." Wedge greeted Picard.

"Hello Wedge. How are you feeling today?"

"Doing much better. Any news on Hasid's condition?"

"Nothing good I'm afraid. I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like he will
recover."

"Unless I start answering your questions you mean."

"No." replied Picard. "I mean, he is not likely to recover whether you do
answer questions or not. There is nothing more we can do for him. I am
sorry."

Wedge frowned. "By telling me that, you lose a hold over me. You could have
tried to use him as leverage to make me answer questions."  he stated while
thinking to himself, 'not that it would have worked, no matter how good of a
friend Hasid is.

"Yes, I could have. But that is not our way. I would rather you tell me
things freely then to force you to do so. I would rather have you as our
ally than our enemy."

Wedge shrugged. "So when do I get some answers to my questions?

"I think we can give them to you right now. This here is Deana Troy, ships
Councillor. You already know Mr. Data, who will tell you what has happened
to us up until this point in time."

Data looked over to Picard with a confused expression on his face.
"Everything Captain?" he asked.

"Yes Data, everything."

"Yes Sir." Data replied. He then told Wedge the whole story.

As the story unfolded, Wedge went from mild interest, to shock, and then
into a deep listening pattern that involved no interruptions or comments
until Data had completely finished the story. He then turned to Picard and
asked, "Would you mind if I had a copy of this 'story' of yours so I can go
over it again and think about things before we start talking again? I must
think a few things over for a bit. What you have told me is allowing me to
figure out a few bits and pieces, but I need time to work a few things out."

"Of course Wedge. But I can only give you a few hours. We must start
figuring a way to get out of here before that ship comes back and finds us."

"I don't think you have to worry about that ship finding you here. Trust me
on this. You should be quite safe."

"I'd like to trust you Wedge, but I can't. Not just yet. To get a copy of
the log that Data just recited, you can ask the computer to show it to you.
Data will stay with you and help you with any questions that you have as
long as they are relevant to our recent history."

"Thank you Captain. I'll talk to you shortly. We may have a large number of
things to discuss."

Picard nodded as he and Councillor Troy got up and left the room. Data
turned towards Wedge and waited quietly while Wedge looked at him.

"What is your nature? There is something different about you. You have
a....droid quality about you."

"That is a good observation that you have. I am an android."

Wedge raised an eyebrow. "But so human-like. It's not possible."

"Never the less, I am an android"

As Wedge forced his mind back to the problem at hand, he lay back on the bed
and was silent for an hour. Then he started asking Data many questions and
as he received the answers, the solution to his present situation became
more clear. After a few hours of silence, he sat up and turned to Data and
said, "Tell your Captain that I have made a decision and I will need to talk
with him."

Data nodded, "Yes Sir."

-----

As the turbolift doors opened, Riker turned to see who was entering the
bridge. His eyes opened wide as he saw Picard and the pilot, Wedge, enter
from the lift and head towards one of the work stations.

As Riker moved closer to them, he heard Wedge talking to Data.

"I need to talk on a frequency of 134.293 Mega Hertz."

"Of which bandwidth are you referring too. There are ten different levels to
which that frequency applies."

"Ummm...I don't know what you're talking about."

"Not to worry, as long as your people are transmitting on that
frequency....I think I have found it. I'll put it over the main speakers.
Computer, please relay transmission on frequency 134.293 Mega Hertz to main
speakers."

"Acknowledged" the computer announced.

"Gold Leader, I have no reading of Red squadron in this sector. Sensors
indicate an unknown vessel in sector 3. Heading to investigate." came over
the speakers.

"That's it!" Wedge declared.

"Data," Picard ordered, "open a channel."

"Channel open Sir."

Picard nodded to Wedge.

"Red Leader to Gold Leader, respond please."

"Red Leader. Are you ok? What's your location?"

"Hiya Gold Leader. I'm ok. Something has come up. I am in Sector 3 inside of
the unidentified ship that one of your squad has indicated. Can you give us
an escort to OmegaII Base please? security code 'Alpha Alpha Bravo Zebra One
One Three November'."

"Red Leader, please repeat command for verification."

"Red Leader, Wedge Antilles giving security code 'Alpha Alpha Bravo Zebra
One One Three November'. Escort to OmegaII Base."

"Gold Leader verified and acknowledged. Do not deviate from the flight path.
Alteration from that path will result in the ships destruction."

"Acknowledged. Red Leader out."

"Captain," Wedge said as he turned towards Picard. "Once the ships enter
this sector, follow them at a constant speed and heading. Do not do anything
sudden. This ship will be destroyed if you do not do this."

Picard nodded. "Mr. Crusher, do as Wedge has instructed."

"Aye Sir."

As three X-wing fighters entered and passed in front of the Enterprise,
Weseley turned the Enterprise to follow. After a few hours, they were able
to see a planet with four moons. They headed towards the third moon.

"Captain, we are heading towards the third moon of this planet. It is M-
class and has approximately thirty thousand lifeforms, with seventeen
different races on it in a structure that is seventy percent underground.
Sensors also indicate a total of thirty seven fighter ships heading this way
and two large cruisers with heavy weapons and armour flanking our position."

"Gold Leader to the alien ship, respond please."

"Open a channel." Picard ordered.

"Channel open Sir." reported Worf.

"This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship, U.S.S.
Enterprise."

"Hello Captain. I have instructions to pass on to you. You are to hold your
ship at your present location and stand down all weapons and shields.
Prepare for docking."

"Gold Leader, we will do as you request, but also ask that you have your
ships stop beside us and we will beam over to them with your fellow pilot
Wedge. All we need to know is which ship you require us to beam to."

"Captain...what do you mean by this?"

"Simply put, we have the technology to transport ourselves over to other
locations. We just require a location that you wish us to transport to."

"One moment Enterprise, I must consult my superiors."

After a few minutes, Gold Leader asked, "Captain, with this transportation,
are you able to reach the moon closest to this position?"

"Yes, we are able to do that."

"Ok then, please beam yourselves to the planets surface just in front of the
largest building. There will be an escort for you there. Please take Wedge
with you."

"Acknowledge. Picard out. Number One, while I am gone, I want you to
continue working our weapons and shields. Also get the science departments
to gather more data on this system. The more we know that more we can learn.
Data, Worf, come with me. Have Councillor Troy report to transporter room
three."

"Aye Sir."

"Come along Wedge. This will be very interesting I think."

"Yes Captain, it will be."

Wedge smiled to himself and wondered if he had made the correct choice. As
the turbolifts doors closed, he started to pray that he did.

-----

As the energy distortion of the transporter beam cleared from his eyes,
Picard found a large number of armed solders positioned in a semi-circle
with hands on weapons. Behind these solders were six high ranking officers.
After the solders saw that they were unarmed and that they had brought Wedge
with them, they moved to the side and the officers stepped forward.

"Welcome to Omega Two Captain. I am Admiral Kazander. I hope you forgive our
greeting, but we must remain cautious until we receive a report from Wedge
concerning why he has allowed you through our security to our base of
operations. I must therefore ask that you allow these solders to escort you
to a waiting area while Wedge gives us his report."

Picard nodded. "That is expected and acceptable."

"Thank you Captain. We will return shortly".

-----

As the away team was lead towards the huge complex, they observed a large
number of alien life forms moving about on various unknown missions.
Included were a vast verity of robots weaving their way through the crowd.

Councillor Troy noticed that Data was intensely studying these robots with
his normal curious expression, yet, she felt that there was something more
in the expression that Data was showing. There was no time just now, but she
was determined to find out what was bothering Data and give some good advice
as to how he should go about solving it.

They were lead through the giant structure which was surrounded by dense
forest. The walls were a plain grey colour. No pictures or decor of any
type...as if this building was built for one purpose and not for comfort. As
they waited for the Admiral to call for them, they discussed the base and
how it was built, wondering why things were as they were.

"Captain," Worf concluded, " I strongly feel that this complex is made only
to serve as a base with the ability to leave it at a moments notice. I
noticed a large structure to the west of the building as we entered that was
shaped like an energy transmission antenna. We scanned the area prior to our
beaming down and did find those energy traces surrounding the planet. I
believe that these two facts are related. The antenna is probably used to
produce a large shield around the planet to prevent a space attack."

"Worf is correct Sir." Data agreed. "I also noticed that they have not been
here long. To the east of the building was a large area under construction.
This complex seemed to be for a ground attack. There were bunkers
surrounding it with high powered weapon mounts along it's edge. There seems
to be a large amount of fear in the workers as they seem to be under a
limited amount of time to complete this prior to having to use it.

"Councillor, "Picard asked, "What have you found with regards to the
people?"

"These people are afraid of someone Sir. They are all rushed to complete
their work to prepare for the arrival of someone. There is no doubt in their
minds that these people will come...to them it's just a matter of time. The
Admiral though was in control of himself, yet even he was frightened. I am
not sure if the fright in these people will decrease once they have
completed their defenses, but one thing I am sure of....they only show a
limited amount of fear of us. We are the unknown factor in this situation.
Even though they don't know what we are capable of yet, they do not fear us
as much as they should. This means that what they do fear has made them
strong and brave...brave enough to go against the unknown."

Picard nodded. "I agree with your observations. The only conclusion I feel
is possible is that these people are on the run. The question is, from who
and why."

As Picard finished this statement, the doors slid open to their room and
Admiral Kazander entered the room.

"Ah, Captain. I hope you have been resting. We seem to have a lot to discuss
and work out. The situation here, as you may have noticed, is a bit tense. I
think that your being here could be a benefit to us, and we might be able to
help you get home. The question is, are you willing to partake in a little
adventure. Let me explain."

Admiral Kazander then proceeded to tell the Away team of their history with
the Empire. After a couple hours of questions and answers, Picard felt that
these people were just in their cause. They were fighting for their freedom
from an enslaving empire.

"As you can see from our history Captain," Kazander finished, "we are
fighting for our lives and not the conquest of other planets. Now, I would
like to inform you as to how you can be of assistance to us in our upcoming
battle, and how we can help you with your problem of returning to your own
galaxy."

Picard nodded.

"The ship you were following was one of the Star Destroyers. That Destroyer
has been the cause of many deaths. The captain is one of the best in the
Imperial fleet. We would like to capture that ship and I would like for your
ship to have a special part in this attack."

Worf grinned, praying for the chance for battle with this new enemy.

"How would we be of help Admiral? We have found our shields to be inadequate
to the defense against this Destroyer."

"That is easily solved Captain. Our technicians will teach the technology to
your people and give you the equipment needed to install this onto your
ship. There will be a bit of difficulty incorporating both of our
technologies together, but I do believe it can be accomplished with a bit of
work."

Picard nodded.

"To continue, the part that your ship will play is simple. We need to have
the ability to take over the bridge of their ship without damaging it. This
will allow us to get into their computers and figure out how you arrived and
how to send you back to your home galaxy. Your beam technology is just what
we need. Our fighters will attack the Star Destroyer and keep them occupied
while your Starship gets within range to transport our fighters onto their
bridge."

"That is possible, but I will need the layout of their ships and
confirmation that our shields will protect us long enough."

"That is no problem Captain. I do have one request though...If possible, may
I have a tour of your ship? I must admit that I am very curious about it."

Picard smiled, "It would be my pleasure to show you around Admiral."

-----

"And this is the Main Bridge." Commander Riker heard as the turbo lifts
doors opened. "As I have told you, "Picard continued "we do have the Battle
Bridge which we will be using for this adventure of ours while this one is
used to keep the main portion of our crew safe. On this Bridge we have
science stations along with weapons and navigation, while on the Battle
Bridge you see only weapons and defensive controls."

"Yes, I do see the benefits of this ships design," Karsiss responded.
"Though you could only use this type of design with your transportation
technology. I would love to learn it, but, as you said, we would not have
the proper materials to keep it running, let alone build it.

Picard nodded. "I would like to introduce you to my Commander. This is
Commander William Riker. Commander, Admiral Kazander."

Riker, who had already risen from his seat, nodded and excepted the
Admiral's hand in a firm shake. "Welcome to the Enterprise Admiral. I hope
that you enjoyed your tour and, if your still here in an hour, I would be
pleased if you could partake in a little relaxation in Ten-Forward. We have
a small band giving a bit of Jazz music and I am in this band. We can
reserve front row seats if your interested."

"Yes Commander, I would like that very much, though I must be leaving
shortly there after to make sure our plans are kept on schedule and that
nothing has changed in the Star Destroyers situation and location."

Riker nodded as Picard led the Admiral to the Turbolift which would take
them to the Battle Bridge.

-----

As the doors to the turbolift opened, Kazander's eyes opened up wide at the
site of the Battle Bridge. He grinned to himself as if he were still a
little child seeing an X-wing fighter for the first time. To his child self,
this was a new toy. To the Admiral of the Rebel Fighters, it was a new
weapon to use against the Empire.

"This", Picard was saying, "is our Battle Bridge. To your left is the
weapons console and on the Right is Navigation. Behind us are the controls
to Engineering and Ship operations. The only use we put this Bridge to is
for battle."

"It has a war-like look to it Captain." Kazander replied as he turned to
Picard. "I think, after having this tour, that we have a very good chance to
pull this off. I am glad you are in agreement to this course of action. May
the Force be with us in the upcoming battle."

"The Force Admiral?" Picard asked.

"Yes Captain, the Force. I'll try to explain. You remember when I told you
about the starting battle with the Empire and....hmmm. This will take a bit.
Could we go somewhere else to discuss it?"

"Of course Admiral. Since you are looking forward to seeing Riker play with
his band in Ten-Forward, we can go there and while we wait, you can tell me
about this Force."

Kazander smiled. "That would be fine Captain."

-----

"Geordi," Data said as he turned towards him from across the Shield
Generator control system, "As we were on the planet, I saw a large number of
robots moving about on missions for their human leaders. I am disturbed in a
way that I do not know what course of action I should take."

"What is the cause of the problem Data? And what is keeping you from solving
it?"

"Well, I see these robots being possible slaves to these humans. I saw a few
of them talking to each other. Just like I would with another human. I am
not sure if these robots have what humans refer to as a soul. I would like
to find out and possibly correct the situation if possible, yet the prime
directive prevents me from acting. What is really bothering me is not being
able to find out if, in fact, these robots do have a consciousness. I am at
a loss as to what I should do."

"Hmmm. I think, Data, that your problem is one which should be taken to the
Captain if you are determined to find out if they do have the same awareness
as you do. I do not know what level of design or programming they have.
Maybe Picard would ask the Admiral if you could talk with one of them and
even find out what their status is inside of this society. What level are
you reading for the Flux Transfer system of the layered force field through
the interface relay?"

"I am reading...it is still unsteady. We are getting a range of 0.5 to 9.3
Tarawads. I believe if you adjust the flux transfer by -3.4 it should settle
down the transfer of energy."

Geordi nodded. "How's that?"

"Much better. We have a solid reading of 3.2 Tarawads. We are almost
finished here. I think I will talk with the Captain and ask if he could
intercede on my behalf to the Admiral. Thank you for the advice Geordi."

Geordi smiled and stood up to discuss a few problems with some of the rebel
technicians as he replied, "What are friends for Data?"

-----

"So," Kazander concluded. "we are left with our belief in the Force and only
one person who still has control over it. Luke Skywalker."

Picard nodded. "Very interesting. To us, your Force sounds like what we call
Telekinesis. The ability to move things with your mind, along with a few
other mind abilities. Yet, this Force of yours seems to be a lot more
powerful then our information shows. I am wondering if, during the available
time, I could send Mr. Data down to the planet to learn more about your
society and this Force."

"If time permits, I do not see a problem. Maybe I could send up one of our
staff to do the same?"

Picard smiled and, as the band started to prepare to start, he replied, "I
also don't see a problem."

-----

"Hello, Mr. Data. How are you today?"

Data turned around to see Wedge Antilles walking towards him. "Hello Sir. I
am doing fine. Yourself?"

Wedge grinned. "I am doing quite well Mr. Data.....is it all right if I just
call you Data? You can call me Wedge."

"That would be quite acceptable."

"I see you are examining our X-wing fighter. It is a beautiful piece of
machinery, isn't it? I still feel I am at my utmost performance when I am
flying one of these babies. When we go to X-wing mode, that's when the wings
split into the formation of an X, we have total control. It's as if the
whole ship is apart of yourself. It takes a long time to learn how to fly
one properly, but it is worth the effort. Anyways, unless you have some
questions about it, I have been instructed to be your liaison while you are
here for the next few hours. I have access to the computer terminals to
which I am sure you would like to have access."

Data gave his best human-like smile as he replied, "I would be very much
thankful if you could show me to your fastest computer terminal Wedge."

As Wedge led Data through the labyrinth of hallways, they passed a large
number of robots on various missions. After a while, Data asked, "Wedge, do
your robots have a consciousness? Do they have the classification of being
alive?"

Wedge turned to Data with a surprised look on his face. After a moments
thought, he answered Data in a curious tone of voice. "That is a good
question Data. A lot of people feel that it is just their programming, but I
believe that there is a fair amount of consciousness that evolves after a
robot has been in contact with humans. Our robots are built and programmed
to learn as time goes on. After an unknown amount of time passes....who
knows. They might just gain that consciousness. My good friend Luke
Skywalker has two robots which seem to be alive. At least he treats them
like they were. One of them is actually working here at this base. He is
a...unique robot. If you would like, I would be happy to introduce you to
him. His name is See-Threepio and he is, I will warn you, a bit of a bore."

"I would be pleased to meet with See-Threepio. Could you arrange a meeting
for me then?"

"Yes Data, I will do so. For now though, inside of this room is our fastest
computer terminal. While you are going through it, I will go in search of
See-Threepio. You are on limited access, but if you have any questions that
you cannot get an answer to, you can ask once I return."

"Thank you Wedge. I will be finished when you return."

As Wedge turned to leave, he wondered just how fast Data was. As he was
leaving the room, he took one last look at Data who was looking at the
terminal screen. The screen was moving too fast for Wedge to even have an
idea as to what Data was looking at. Shaking his head, Wedge left in search
of See-Threepio.

-----

Half an hour later, as Data was finishing his research, he heard a
computerized voice asking for an explanation as to what he was doing here.
Turning around, Data saw Wedge leading a human like robot. The robot was
made of a bronze-like metallic surface with a perfect polished gleam.

"Sir, I must attend to Admiral Osbourn's lecture on Mechanical Philosphy! I
still do not understand why you need my services. This is madness!"

"I told you already Threepio, I wish for you to meet somebody. I promise you
that you will find this meeting very interesting. Right over here is the one
who asked for your presence. Data, my I present to you See-Threepio.
Threepio, Lieutenant Commander Data. He is from the Federation Starship,
Enterprise."

Data nodded to Wedge and said, "Hello Threepio, I am wondering if you have a
moment to discuss a few things. It will not take up much of your time."

"Threepio paused for a moment and looked between Data and Wedge before
replying, "Hello Sir. I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. I am a
protocol droid and am fluent in over six million forms of communication. How
may I help you?"

Data thought for a moment on how to get all the information he needed from
the droid without using up the little time he had remaining. After a moment,
he came up with the solution. "Threepio, are you able to interface with this
computer so that I may ask you a number of questions in a minimal amount of
time?"

"Yes sir, I have a newly installed interface, though it only has limited
abilities. The abilities would allow me to communicate with another
computer. This allows me to translate at an increased rate of speed."

Data nodded. "Can you please interface with this computer and have your
answers to the questions given show up on the display?"

"Of course Sir, but who will be asking the questions at such a rate of
speed?"

"I will be. I will program the computer to ask the questions. It should only
take a moment, and then when you display the answers, I will read them."

"I am sorry Sir, but you would not be able to read the information at the
rate of speed that I will be putting it up on the screen."

"I will be able to. I am an android. If you wish, you can also give me a
list of questions and I will answer them all at once." Data replied.

 "I will do that." Threepio replied as he connected to the computer by
putting four fingers into a interface chassis. "I have connected and am
ready for communication with your program Sir."

Data nodded and began programming his large list of questions while Wedge
looked on.

-----

Geordi took one last look at the results of the latest diagnostics before he
contacted the Captain. He though for a moment as to how much he could learn
by staying with these people for a month, but he knew that was impossible.
Sighing to himself, he called the captain. "Captain."

"Go ahead Geordie." Picard replied from the Bridge.

"Sir, the Shields have been installed and tested. We are at one hundred
percent efficiency."

"Thank you Lieutenant."

-----

Looking outside of the ready room, Picard watched as hundreds of small
fighters and around forty large ships manouvered into position for their
"hyperspace" jump. A large bulky cargo carrier, easily twice the size of the
Enterprise, slowly moved towards the Enterprise.

"Captain," Riker came over the com system, "The Cargo Carrier 'Eagle' is
approaching our position. They request for us to prepare our ship for
docking. Once completed, we are to stand down all major systems and shut
down engines except for manouvering thrusters."

"Comply with their requests Number One. I am on my way to the bridge."

"Aye Sir."

As Picard left towards the bridge, he wondered how this mission was going to
turn out. It was their only chance to return to Federation Space.

-----

As Picard entered the Bridge, Riker turned towards him and reported. "The
Eagle is Five Hundred meters from us. They are opening their hatch for
engulfment procedure."

Picard nodded and took his chair. "Are we ready for separation of the Saucer
Section?"

"Aye Sir. On your mark."

"Ok then...let's begin. Ensign, begin separation."

Crusher nodded. "Aye Sir."

-----

On board the Eagle, Wedge observed from the Bridge. The Captain, Hurakoni,
turned towards Wedge. "The Enterprise has shut down all major systems. We
are opening the hatch for engulfment procedures."

Wedge nodded. "I will get to my fighter and watch for problems."

The captain nodded. "Our normal crew will also be out."

As Wedge left the bridge, he momentarily thought back to an adventure with
Luke where one of the pilots of a Cargo Carrier made a wrong adjustment and
destroyed both ships. Over seven hundred rebel personal and over six hundred
fighters were lost.

-----

As Admiral Kazander watched, the Enterprise separated slowly. It began with
a small crack which appeared at the top part of the neck and grew until the
Saucer section of the Enterprise was completely free. 'That is a useful toy
if employed properly. If we had two ships connected together like that, the
Empire would only see one on their sensors until it was too late.' Kazander
shook his head to get himself back on track as Picards voice came over the
speakers.

"Cargo Carrier 'Eagle", we are ready for Docking procedures.

-----

"Permission to launch. We are three hundred mycroms from the Enterprise."

Wedge nodded to himself. "Roger."

As Wedge left the launch bay, he moved away so he could take in the whole
view of the Enterprise being enveloped by the Cargo Carrier. It was awesome.
Slowly, the front of the Enterprise, where the saucer section should have
been, was disappearing into the carrier. Swarming around the Enterprise were
twenty small "A" fighters. They kept up a pattern that allowed them to
download to the carrier the exact position of the Enterprise as it entered,
preventing the larger ship from colliding with the smaller one. It was quite
a change from that on the bridge of the carrier where personal yelled
positions and readings back and forth. This is where Wedge belonged.

Wedge shook his head as he brought his mind back to the situation at hand.
He turned his X-wing fighter towards the back of the Enterprise and slowly
turned to face the Carrier. He took a quick reading of both ships positions
and sent the data to the Carrier that the Enterprise seemed to be in perfect
alignment for the engulfment.

At this time, the Enterprise's middle section was completely engulfed by the
carrier. Wedge turned towards open space and flew above both ships so he
could tell the carrier when the Enterprise was completely inside. After ten
minuets, this part of the procedure was completed and Wedge flew to his last
position before giving the carrier the 'OK' to close the hatch. Turning his
ship into the carrier, Wedge lined up to make sure that when the hatch
closed, the Enterprise would be properly secure. He entered and saw that the
procedure was already underway. Small securement ships were moving towards
the Enterprise with large cables. They slowly moved within a few feet of the
Enterprise and attached these cables to the clips installed on the
Enterprise for just this purpose. This procedure took another ten minuets
before Wedge could give the OK to the Bridge to close the hatch.

-----

Wedge finished docking onto the Enterprise, taking up most of the shuttle
bay. He chuckled to himself when he had finished, thanking his skill for the
ability to do so. It was a very tight squeeze, but was required for this
mission as an emergency backup. One that Wedge hoped would not be needed,
because if it was, then the Enterprise had been destroyed and all hope lost
in winning the battle for the Star Destroyer.

Commander Data met Wedge and lead him towards a turbo lift which would take
them to the Bridge.

"Data," Wedge began, "how did things work out after I left between you and
Threepio?

"Threepio was able to answer my questions. I am still working on his answers
to formulate my own conclusions. I should have my results in three hours and
forty five minutes."

As they entered the turbolift, Wedge nodded and fell silent, not knowing
what else to say.

-----

"Captain, we are being hailed by both the Eagle and the HornsHead." Worf
reported.

"On duel screen, Mr. Worf."

"Aye Sir."

As the screen showed both Captain Hurakoni and Admiral Kazander, Data turned
towards the Captain.

"Captain, I do not believe that one of the secure cables will hold up under
the stress of the jump to Hyperspace."

Picard turned towards Data. Please send the data to the Eagle."

"Yes Sir."

Hurakoni turned away for a moment and then turned back to Picard. "Data
received. A work crew has been dispatched to repair the problem. Once it is
completed, upon Admiral Kazanders command, we will move to our planned
position on the far side of the battle ground just out of sensor range."

Kazander nodded. "Count down begins in exactly five minutes on my
mark.....May the Force be with us.....three....two....one....Mark."

As the transmissions went out, Picard turned towards his chair with a
thoughtful expression on his face.

-----

Kazander nodded and agreed. "Ok, when we drop out of Hyperspace, launch
three type 'u' missiles. I agree that even though the result will effect our
sensors as much as the Empires, we must allow our ships to get close enough
to their defenses and knock them out before the Enterprise arrives. We will
keep back the remaining four missiles for when the Enterprise is about to
arrive."

"But Sir!" exclaimed the weapons controller. "How will they know where they
are if we launch the missiles?"

"Their sensors are not effected by our missiles Corporal. They analyzed our
weapons and told us such. They shouldn't have any troubles if they are
correct."

"Yes Sir."

-----

Captain Karsiss was just about to lay down for some sleep when the alarms
sounded throughout the ship. He jumped up just as he was paged from the main
console in his quarters.

"Captain! Captain! We are under attack!"

"Report!"

"Rebel assault vessels have entered our sector from Hyperspace. They
launched sensor scrambling missiles. Sensor readings down to ten percent
reliability."

"That is not normal attack procedures for the rebel scum. Launch tie
fighters. Inform them to rely on visual abilities until readings rise above
seventy percent."

"Yes Sir!"

-----

As the tie fighters were launched, the X-wing fighters were already
streaking out towards the Star Destroyer. They were able to launch a wave of
missiles towards the Emperial ships surrounding the Star Destroyer just
prior to the arrival of the Tie's. Once they arrived though, the rebels had
to turn their attention to this threat, hoping that their missles would hit
their targets and destroy enough to allow the Enterprise to succeed in their
mission.

-----

Wedge nodded to Picard. "We are at the proper location. The Eagle is
preparing to release loading clamps. At the moment, things are going as
planned."

Picard nodded. "Data, upon release, take the Enterprise out and to the
waiting zone. There we will await the relay information on the exact
position of the Star Destroyer."

"Aye Sir. Leaving Cargo Bay now."

-----

Kazander nodded. It was time. "Com, send out the exact co-ordinates of the
Star Destroyer to the Enterprise on the new frequency installed by Laforge."

As the private when to do as commanded, the ship was thrown to the side by a
large explosion. "Sir! We have major damage to our ship! Shields down!
Another hit and..."

-----

Captain Trilen to Gold Leader, our Command Vessel has been destroyed. Give
me an update on your situation.

"Captain Trilen, this is Gold Leader. We are unable to attack the main
targets due to Tie fighters. We cannot break free."

"This is Captain Trilen. Message received and understood Gold Leader. Do
your best to help out. If the Enterprise doesn't get here soon, we will have
to withdraw. Let's hope they get here soon!"

-----

"Something is wrong." stated Wedge. "We should have gotten the co-ordinates
by now."

"Agreed." answered Picard. "Data, set course to the battle zone. Upon
arrival, get us close enough to the Star Destroyer to do our task. Geordie,
keep those shields up!"

"Aye Sir" came the replies from both crew members.

-----

The Enterprise streaked away from the Eagle and a Captain hoping the best
for the brave members of the Enterprise. Hurakoni said a special prayer as
he had just received a message as to what had happened. "They left too soon.
Couldn't inform them as to the situation. May the force be with them."

-----

The Enterprise arrived to mass confusion. Wedge was on the com system
talking with Gold Leader as Data moved the Enterprise towards their beam
zone.

"Captain," Wedge reported. "The Command Ship has been destroyed. All hands
lost."

Picard stared at Wedge for a moment before turning to Riker. "Prepare your
team Commander."

"Aye Sir. Worf, Data, let's go."

As they were being replaced by other crew members, Wedge turned towards
Riker as he walked by and said, "I have to get to my fighter. May the Force
be with us."

Riker nodded in agreement and they entered the turbolift.

-----

Captain Trilen nodded with approval as the Enterprise entered the battle.
"Good. I was about to sound the retreat. We are being demolished out here.
Let's hope that this works or this will be the worse defeat in years."

His aid nodded.

-----

"Captain! Captain!" yelled Condol. That unidentified ship from a few days
ago just entered the battle. It is heading towards us.

"That was a rebel ship? This is getting more confusing as time goes one!
What is the status of our shields?"

"We are at eighty five percent. No damage to the ship.

"Good. I want that ship destroyed Condol. Send out the remaining Tie
Fighters. Target that ship. Inform Tie squad Alpha to finish off the X-wings
in sector G and then attack the rebel starship in sector B. Have Tie Bombers
launched and have them go after the alien ship...all except squad Delta.
Have that squad attack the Command Ship of the rebels. Have Tie squad Echo
cover for them."

"Yes Sir!" Condol said as he rushed off to send out the commands to the
fighters.

-----

As the Enterprise came within range to beam over the attack force, the new
fighters were on the final run towards them. Ensign Grawn reported to
Picard. "Captain, enemy fighters of two configurations are on approach to
us."

Picard nodded. "Fire at will Ensign. Keep them away from this ship."

"Aye Sir."

-----

"Enterprise, this is Wedge. I am heading towards the fighters on intercept
course with you. I'll see if I can keep them occupied."

-----

Karsiss turned to Condol. Send bomber squad Sierra to that ship. I want all
eight bombers to attack it with full missles."

Condol nodded to an aid who ran to send out the command.

Condol turned towards Karsiss. "A single X-wing fighter has separated our
bombers. The alien ship firing on the remaining fighters. The ship has also
come to a halt. It no longer approaches us. Tie squad Bravo reports
that...."

Karsiss noticed the slowing down of Condol's report and the stare he was
giving the area behind him. He turned and stared at the blue cylinders which
had formed behind him. They began forming into the shapes of humans.

-----

As things came into focus, Riker, Data, and the five security guards pointed
phasors towards the bridge crew. "I am Commander Riker. I order you to
surrender your vessel to us."

Suddenly, Condol ran towards one of the weapon cabinets. As he reached it,
Data fired and hit Condol in the back. Condol fell to the floor stunned.

"I would advise you all to remain where you are. Who is in charge here?"

"I am." Karsiss replied standing up. "I am Captain Karsiss Prisona."

Riker nodded. "Captain, do you surrender your vessel?"

Karsiss leaned on the console in front of him as he nodded. Yes, I do."

Unknown to Riker, Karsiss had keyed in the self destruct sequence. Over the
speakers came the announcement, "Self Destruct engaged. Five minuets till
initiation."

-----

"Captain! Enemy ships have broken through. they are firing missiles." Ensign
Grawn reported.

Picard nodded. "Have repair crews standing by."

As the missiles hit, the Enterprise was jolted with a huge shockwave.

"Damage report!" Picard ordered.

"Captain, sections two through seven on decks eleven through seventeen have
been breached. All crew in those sections have perished. Force fields are in
place. Warp engines are offline. Sublight speed is available. Aft shields
are at five percent. Remaining shields are at forty five percent."

-----

Riker blinked and swore under his breath. "Enterprise!" he said after
triggering his com badge. "Self destruct has been engaged. Beam out bridge
crew to holding cells except for myself and signal closes to me. Prepare for
upload of computers."

Karsiss stared as his crew was beamed away before his very eyes. He then
turned to Riker. "I don't know who you are....or how you did this, but you
will not get my ship."

Riker shook his head. "All we want is to figure out how to get home. That's
all. You have in your computers the process as to how we got here. That is
all I want."

Karsiss chuckled. "Well, your stuck here. You will die along side of my
crew."

"I don't think so. Most of your crew is leaving the ship as we speak...as
will we."

Karsiss turned to look out of the bridge windows to see the escape pods and
small craft leaving the Star Destroyer. He turned back to Riker. "I won't
leave....and you will not get this Destroyer. The Empire will exact
revenge."

"Two minuets until self destruction is initiated." the computer reported.

"Enterprise, two to beam out."

Karsiss yelled as he was surrounded by haze.

-----

"All ships, all ships, pull back. The Star Destroyer is about to self
destruct! This mission is over." ordered Captain Trilen.

As the ships returned from the battle surrounding the Star Destroyer, the
ship exploded. Huge fireballs were expanding from the spot where the ship
was. They lasted for a few seconds as the air was used up, and then it died
out. All that was left was the husk of the vast ship.

"All craft, begin cleanup procedures. Bring in any crew left from that ship
who escaped prior to the explosion. Secure this sector." ordered Trilen over
all frequencies.

-----

Captain Picard shook his head as Admiral Chad finished. "I don't know what
we will do now Admiral. I feel that we will work our way back to our own
universe...even if it takes us a thousand years. We don't belong here."

"I am sorry to see you go. We could learn a lot from your people and your
ship. Enough to win this war."

"I understand that...but my orders include our prime directive...which I
have already broken over these last few days. But I can justify those
reasons. Staying here and going against the rule is not one that I can
justify. Therefore, we must try and get home."

Admiral Chad nodded. "Then I take my leave of you Captain. May the Force be
with you...always."

Picard nodded and triggered his Com badge. "Enterprise, one to beam up."

Admiral Chad watched with sadness as the captain disappeared."

-----

As Picard entered the Bridge of the Enterprise, he turned towards Riker and
asked, "Well Wil? Do you see any reason for us to stay?"

Riker shook his head. "No Sir. We've completed repairs and are ready for
your command."

Picard nodded. "Ok then. Data, plot a course back to federation space. Warp
factor eight. Once initiated, start calculations on all factors on our
arriving in Federation space with regards to power, fuel,..."

"Sir!" Worf exclaimed.

"Yes, Mr. Worf."

"Sir..we are receiving a message from...from Starfleet."

Picard blinked as Riker stood up and turned around to look at Worf.

"On screen please."

Picard and Riker turned around as a starfleet Admiral's features appeared.

-----

"Hello Captain, so nice to see you again."

"Q!" Picard exclaimed as Q's features became clear. He looked as he always
did, except this time he was in uniform.

"You remember me...how quaint." Q smiled.

"What is going on here Q? Another one of your games?"

"And the hot air balloon himself, Commander Riker. Toot on another one of
your horns lately?"

Picard held up his hand as Riker was about to shout back. "What is it Q? Is
all of this your doing? Tell me this is one of your illusions."

"Yes....add no Captain." Q replied with a smile. "Everything that has
happened to you these last few days are quite real. But what isn't real is
this whole place. Basicly...Basicly, it's time for another lesson. And I'm
teaching you this one. I await you in your briefing room."

As Q's picture faded from the screen, Picard turned towards the ready room.
He ordered, "Riker, Data, your with me. Worf, you have the bridge."

Riker and Data followed Picard towards the ready room.

-----

"All right Q. What is going on?" asked Picard angrily.

"Let me explain Jean-Luc...let me explain before you destroy that heart of
yours from over excitement."

Picard frowned as he and Riker took seats. Data stood behind one of the
chairs, watching Q in silence.

"Quite simply put," Q began, "it's like this..."

-----

"The Q continuum is something that you are not knowledgable of. Life itself
is yet a mystery to you humans. Well, to us, it is not. We can create what
you call to be life by the snap of our fingers. Or, in the case of a certain
Q, we can go into detail and create a whole universe."

"And," Riker retorted, "is this certain Q yourself?"

"Always ready to fight me, aren't you Riker? Well, before you blow up, I'll
give you an answer. No. I am not the Q who has taken the time, as you call
it, to spend creating this universe of which you are now in. In this case,
the Q is one who has been around for a long time. A long time even in my
terms.  Even though time is not real. Anyways, as I was saying before hairy
over there interrupted, This Q has developed this whole universe. And he
plays with it as he wants to. Interestingly enough, he has even set rules
down upon himself. He calls himself the Empire...don't know why though.
Never really got into the name thing. 'Q' suites me quite nicely, don't you
think?"

"Q...." Picard started.

"I know, I know Picard. You agree. Anyways, as I am telling you, the lesson
you are about to learn is that life isn't what you think it is....at least
not always. Here, in this universe as you call it, was created a playhouse.
It is a universe filled with planets, people, creatures, and dangers. Better
described as a doll house for somebody. Yes...a doll house with bigger
people pulling the strings."

"But our people died Q. A playhouse isn't a place where people die. It's a
toy."

"A toy for, in this case, a Q. Reality, as you call it, for yourselves. It
is time you humans stopped thinking that your so-called universe is so big
and wonderful. It's time that you take everything into account and say...we
are not exploring a universe...but we are exploring the vast knowledge of
everything combined to form a place. A place where we exists. Exist for what
purpose as yet unknown to your race, but in time, a purpose of which you
will find out."

"Q...what you are telling saying does not contain enough information to come
to a conclusion as to the lesson you are trying to teach." Data said as he
spoke up for the first time. "We need more information to learn this
lesson."

Q smiled. "In time Data, you will get the final missing clues. For now, as
you are on the search for humanity, though as for the reason you want it is
as yet unknown even to me, but in time, you humans will discover the missing
pieces to this puzzle. And when you do, THEN and only THEN, will you truly
know."

"And until then?" Riker asked.

"Until then, you can keep on blowing." Q responded as he faded from view.

-----

As they returned from the ready room, the floor seemed to move from under
them. After a few minuets, things settled down enough for Picard to asked,
"What happened?"

Data, who had taken his seat, took readings and reported, "Unknown Sir. What
the effects were are as follows. We are now at the same location where we
encountered the Star Destroyer inside of the Gama Quadrant. Closest Starbase
being DS-9. Our ship is damaged and will require two weeks repair. We can
make it to DS-9 for repairs."

Picard nodded. "What do you make of this Data?"

Data thought for a moment. "I am unsure Sir. The only thing I can gain from
this is that our encounters with the Q are not yet finished."

Picard nodded. "Of that I have no question."

Data gave his best human frown. "The only point that I can come up with this
that there is a quality of Q to which we have never addressed before."

Picard looked at Data with interest plainly written on his face. "And that
is?"

"Well Sir," Data began, "The Q entity seems to hold humans in a special way.
To put it bluntly, they treat humans as though they were children. Could
this way of looking at the events give a possibility that they wish for
humans to evolve into an entity themselves, similar to the Q? Could you even
go as far as to say....not trying to offend the human race, but to say that
maybe the Q created....you?"

Picard frowned deeply. He was silent for a few minuets and then turned
towards the helm. "Ensign, set course for the worm hole. Warp One."

"Course laid in Sir."

Data turned back to his control panel as Picard and Riker exchanged glances.

"Engage."

-----

The End.....or is it?

-----

Authors note:

I made this story, at the beginning, for the enjoyment of writing about two
series that I enjoy. The reason....just to see how it would turn out. :{)

Near the end, I thought about what I was doing. Was I writing about the
characters? The series? The movies? Or the universes? After a bit of time, I
figured it all out. I was writing this story on the universes.

In Star Wars, you have a universe surrounded by the Force. It is the basic
gorilla warfare. Personal combat in fighters as well as group attacks. Only
difference is that it is in space instead of the forests and cities.

In Star Trek, you have a universe surrounded by entities who can do things
that Star Wars has never been aware of. You have beings who can, with the
snap of a finger, alter what 'humans' consider to be reality. Time is
something of which is continually challenged as being normal, meaning, to
some entities, time is meaningless. In this universe, we have a civilization
of which is at peace, yet the universe does have it's dangers and
confrontations.

Putting the two universes together would, IMHO, mean that the Star Trek
features would take over and rub out the Star Wars characterises....the only
thing that would be left over is, for humans, The Force.

Because of this, I felt that the only way to really end this story in a
logical way was to do as I have done...put the 'Q' entity into the story.
Originally I was going to have the battle a complete success..but then I
thought...that's to easy. I also had thought of creating a new entity..but
then, but the time I got to that point...I was tired of writing up this
story and wanted it done with. Grin. I have never been a writer and,
depending on what you all think, I probably will end my short career with
this story. :{)

As far as the characters in this story, I hope I captured the personalities
close enough to keep everybody happy. I found the Star Trek characters much
easier to put onto paper. As for the Star Wars characters...even after
watching the movies and reading the new books...it was hard. I couldn't put
myself into the Star Wars Universe as easily as I could do with Star Trek.
Shrug. Only reason I can see is that there is so much more Trek around that
I've grown (right word?) into it more. I thought many times about putting
Luke Skywalker into the story...but then, after much deliberation, I decided
against it. I thought it would be a bit 'tacky' to have him there. At least
it would have been 'tacky' if *I* put him there. Maybe somebody else can
suggest a way I could have added Luke to the story. If you can think of a
way...Email it. :{)

As for the ending to the story, I am *quite* sure that I am going to get
many comments on it. Grin. I hope this even brings about a few heated
discussions on the newsgroup about the possibility of what I have brought
into the open. I therefore ask you all...is this possibility not reasonable?

Before I end this, I'd like to thank a few people at RL work who read this
over and gave their comments prior to the posting. There are a few parts in
this story which were slightly altered because of their thoughts..but only
because I felt that it would add to the story without changing what I had
done. I won't mention their names, but...well...thanks guys.

That's it folks. Hope you enjoyed it. Any comments and thoughts and
ideas...even angry comments on stupid things I did in here are welcome.
Please send them.

Mark Zelding.
c. 95/01/15

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