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Path: tivoli.tivoli.com!geraldo.cc.utexas.edu!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.cac.psu.edu!news.pop.psu.edu!hudson.lm.com!godot.cc.duq.edu!newsfeed.pitt.edu!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!jake.esu.edu!falcon.lhup.edu!gkaiser From: gkaiser@falcon.lhup.edu (Arcades Sabboth) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: Rip Van Winkle (Chapters 1-3 Repost) Date: 23 Feb 1995 01:40:51 GMT Organization: East Stroudsburg University, Pennsylvania Lines: 396 Message-ID: <3igp33$cmk@jake.esu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: falcon.lhup.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Xref: tivoli.tivoli.com alt.startrek.creative:6414 For those of you who may have missed this first part, I'm reposting it. I'll repost the second part in a few minutes. As usual, send me your comments, advice, etc. (That's gkaiser@falcon.lhup.edu if you don't feel like looking for my address.) Enjoy! One note - I had a little trouble getting this up, so if anything appears to be missing, let me know! As usual, this is mostly copyrighted by Paramount, except for some of the characters and one ship class, not to mention the story, which I came up with on my own. I'm not making any money on this, and it was actually was a pain in the butt to post, so don't sue me. :) All other usual disclaimer stuff applies here, too. ----------------------------------------- Prologue Captain's log, Stardate 49992.2. This is the first official entry log of this ship, an experimental Nova class, NX-3065, the USS Nova. It is years ahead of its time, with weaponry of potential unmatched even by the practically legendary USS Defiant of Deep Space Nine, an advanced propulsion system capable of sustained speeds of up to warp 9.993, and, most radical of all, the new top secret version of the cloaking device. We have just departed the Utopia Planitia Shipyard on our shakedown cruise. If we can survive these tests, the Nova will go into production. I've heard the Federation is thinking about making the proposed Enterprise-E a Nova class, if the Nova can handle things here. I'm confident she can. With this technology, the Federation may gain the upper hand on the Dominion and the rogue Borg that supposedly remain. Chief Engineer's log, Stardate 49993.1. I don't know what's happened around here... We entered a nebula, to check things out. Nothing big - it was supposedly already explored, and there were some minor fluctuations. There was some sort of disturbance, and now the entire ship is running on minimal power - even the computers are down. Worse then that... everyone just started dropping. They're not dead, they've just... stopped. The doctor can't - or couldn't, I guess, since he's out too - explain it. He just put them in Sickbay, in some semblance of order, until we can figure this out. If we weren't working with a skeleton crew, we would have run out of room. Even I'm starting to feel slower... It's hard to explain. I'm the last one. I don't know how long I'll last, or if anyone will find this if we never wake up. I... just... can't... Official Star Fleet Record, Stardate 50001.4. The experimental class Nova has been terminated. We have concluded a major system failure caused an explosion within the Michaels Nebula, as a result of technology failure. Any plans for the Nova's Phaser Cannons, advanced engines and cloaking device will be put off until future notice. Following is a list of deceased crew. This case is closed. Captain Kirby Lewis, CO, Male Terran Commander Nora Killia, FO, Female Bajoran Commander Alexandra Allen, SO/Ops, Female Lunar-Terran Lt. Commander Christopher Tarn, CSciO, Male Terran-Bajoran Lt. Commander Drew Kaiser, CEO, Male Terran Lt. Commander Robert Moore, CMO, Male Terran Lt. Commander Jora, FMO, Female Shapeshifter Lt. Commander Danis Corin, CSO, Female Trill Lt. Casey Packard, FEO, Male Terran Lt. Kristyn Daytil, SEO, Female Bajoran Lt. Alrick, TEO, Male Vulcan Lt. Wollian, FSO, Female Genetically Engineered Computer Enhanced Canis Lupus * Lt. James MacThrall, SSO, Male Terran Lt. Michael James, FSciO, Male Terran Ens. Nicholas Fielder, NAV, Male Terran Ens. Nicole Cianna, SMO, Female Terran * Indicates only sample known to exist. Chapter 1 Captain's log, Stardate ??? The ship is getting back together after the incident in Michaels Nebula. We lost several crew members in the process. These are: Lt. Commander Jora, our First Medical Officer, only the second known Shapeshifter to come through the Deep Space Nine Wormhole to serve with Star Fleet, Lt. Alrick, our Third Engineering officer, Lt. James MacThrall, our Second Security Officer, and Lt. Michael James, our First Science Officer. Their losses are mourned by the whole crew. Mister Kaiser has nearly repaired the computer system, and has estimated that it will be up and running within the day. His engineering crew is one of the best - I have complete trust in it. Moore and Cianna are left to hold down Sickbay, and until we get things going, they'll have their hands full. It seems there are several annoying, yet not very serious, side effects to the Nebula incident. They have the emergency medical hologram doctor, but neither one enjoys working with it. All other departments are nearly functional. Mister Tarn, in Science, has reported an anomaly in the Nebula "swallowed" us - we were unconscious, but we don't know for how long. The only thing we don't know is that we haven't aged a day since the incident. Hopefully the answers will be provided soon. Lewis quickly glanced up as the chime of his ready room door sounded. "Come." Drew Kaiser, the Nova's Chief Engineer, walked in and glanced nervously at Lewis. "May I have a seat, sir? This is a long story." "Certainly, Drew. Please." Drew cracked his knuckles and laid a Padd on the Captain's desk. "This is a brief report of what happened to us. We were exploring the Nebula, when all systems overloaded, and, as you know, we were all reduced to unconsciousness. We finally go the computer up and running, and found that... well, there aren't any Federation beacons any more..." "What? How long were we out?" "That's what I'm getting to, Captain. We finally tracked down an old database. We were in Michaels Nebula for over thirty-five years. It's Stardate 86944.3" Lewis' eyes widened. "Thirty-five years? Are you certain?" "Yes, sir. It shocked me just as much when I found out! We couldn't track down any further information from the database we found. I would suggest we head back to Earth and check things out with Star Feet Headquarters. I'm sure they've missed us." "That goes without saying. Notify me as soon as your crew has the engines going. I'm curious to see what we've missed. Dismissed." Drew nodded, and turned to leave. "Lots can change in thirty years." Kirby swiveled in his chair to look at the pink clouds of the nebula. "Yes, Mister Kaiser. It certainly can. Let's just hope things haven't changed too much." Within four hours, the Nova was capable of leaving the nebula. Lewis had settled in on the bridge once again, and was joined by Nora Killia and Alexandra Allen, his first and second officers, as well as the rest of the bridge crew. He rose from his chair, and called for a ship-wide hail. "I appreciate all of your efforts over these last two days to get the Nova back to operational status. As you know by now, we have been unconscious for thirty-seven years, and much has probably changed in the galaxy. I hate to sound like a prophet of doom, but the worst is yet to come. Keep the faith, and continue with your good work. Captain Lewis out." Turning to Fielder at the Conn, Kirby spoke the words he hadn't spoke for thirty-seven years. "Ensign Fielder: set a course for the Terran system. Go to warp seven when we clear the nebula." "Gotcha, sir. Course set." "Engage." Chapter 2 "Standard orbit achieved, Captain." "Thank you, Ensign Fielder." Lewis turned to Allen at Ops. "Alex, send a message to the Academy - report our situation, and request instructions." Allen gracefully tapped over the keys of the Ops panel. Moments later, a confused look came over her face as a small buzz sounded. "Kirby, small problem - the Academy isn't there anymore. Nothing is. I'm picking up some buildings in the immediate vicinity, and few life signs. As a matter of fact, I'm only picking up several thousand life signs on the entire planet. Something's really wrong here." "No kidding. Speculation, Wollian?" A mechanical arm extended from Wollian's midsection made another connection to her terminal. The sight of a White Wolf had first worried Lewis, as well as most of the crew, but her computer enhanced system aided the entire ship, and her genetically engineered body greatly aided the Security department. "I have nothing more than what you've already heard, Captain Lewis. There is very little left of Terra, and it looks like something serious has happened there. I suggest an investigation, that we might find out just what has happened in the time period we were incapacitated." "Excellent idea. Killia, you have the bridge. Corin, Wollian, with me, please." Kirby tapped his comm badge. "Commander Kaiser, please report to Transporter Room two." "Sir, I'm trying to get things together still - would a First Engineer be okay?" "That would be fine, Drew. Send Casey up, and please have the Lieutenant bring along a computer unit. We may need some more help down there, so don't get too involved with what you're doing." "Yes sir." Within moments, Lewis, Woolian, Packard, and Corin, the Nova's Security Chief, materialized where Star Feet academy had once been thirty-five years ago. A harsh chill welcomed them, along with a desolate terrain with only several run-down metal structures remaining where the Headquarters of Star Feet had once stood. Corin looked amazed. "I've never seen anything like this, in any of my hosts' lives. This is incredible." Woolian sniffed the air. "I agree, Danis. It is quite interesting how the Academy could change this much in such a relatively short amount of time. I don't sense any sign of a disaster of any sort - this appears to have happened over a period of time, more as a result of decay and neglect. It's as if most of the planet just left, for some reason, at some point." Kirby began to walk toward the tallest of the remaining structures. "That's where the central computer core used to be. Maybe we can find something there." The metal door gave a few inches with a horrible squeal, and then fell off altogether, making an echoing clang ring throughout the entire compound. Casey whipped out a tricorder and started taking readings. "Captain, readings are level. It's safe to go in. Life sgns aren't clear - I don't know if there's anybody in there or not." Corin glanced around, motioning for Woolian to follow her in. "Commander Allen did report low life signs on the planet, but let's not take any chances." The air was musty and stale inside the old building. The light was dim, and water dripped from pipes that had long since cracked open. After a short search, the team came upon one of the main computer systems in the building. Lewis called Casey in from an adjacent room. "Mister Packard, the main computer looks like it's been down for quite some time. Do you think you can get it running?" "I'm always up for a challenge!" Came the reply, as Casey walked through the door. "Let's see what we can do here." After a while of examining the system, Casey crawled out from an access panel. "It looks in pretty good shape, but we're going to need at least a little power to get her going." Lewis tapped his badge. "Lewis to Nova." "Allen here, Kirby." "Please send down Drew and Lieutenant Daytil. We'll be needing their help shortly." "Right away. Nova out." Just as Casey finished making the necessary connections to from his computer unit to the Academy computer, Drew and Kristyn Daytil materialized several meters away. Kristyn looked around in shock as Drew walked up to the computer. "What have you got, Casey?" "We're gonna need some power, Drew. You used to hang around here a lot - have any idea where we could get to the main power core?" "Sure, but it probably doesn't work." "Neither would half of the stuff you built for Professor Hyskil, under normal circumstances." "Good point. Kris, let's go. Casey - be ready as soon as the generator's going. I doubt I'll get more than a few minutes out of this." If the main part of the building was dank, the small corridor leading to the generator was even more so. Several times Drew and Kris had to climb over huge pipes and broken pieces of wall that had fallen into the walkway. After making their way along the corridor for nearly twenty minutes, Kris glanced down at her tricorder. "Turn right up here, Drew. I think it should be right around the bend." "Yeah - I remember now. It seemed to be a lot friendlier here thirty years ago, though. There it is." The generator had seen better days. However, with the exception of a few stray conduits, it didn't seem to be in very bad shape. After only an hour, the unit was mostly repaired and ready to run. "Kaiser to Packard. Ready to go, Casey?" "All set, Drew." "Here goes." The power gradually came up, and the main computer's screen lit up. Casey wasted no time downloading information. "Captain, I've plugged Woolian into the unit. She'll be able to get information much quicker as an interface. I'm trying to copy as many files as possible before it shuts down again." Woolian cocked her head. "Data coming through. There's not a lot left, Captain. I can only figure that there were serious changes around here. Approximately twenty-five years ago, Star Feet made major reforms, and apparently was met with great resistance. Any groups that resisted were... 'done away with,' according to official records. Including those done away with were... the entire Klingon race." Casey gasped, and Kirby spun toward Woolian. "The entire race?" "Yes, captain. The Klingon homeworld was destroyed, and any space-faring members of the race were hunted down and killed. The Romulans retreated to an unknown sector of the Galaxy, and the Cardassians retreated through the Deep Space Nine Wormhole to the Gamma quadrant shortly before it was destroyed twenty years ago. Records show that seventeen years ago, Star Feet headquarters was moved from Terra to an undisclosed location, along with most of the inhabitants of the planet. Those who resisted the move were left behind. I can gather no further information." "Kaiser to Packard. Are you almost done there? We can't keep this thing going for much longer!" Daytil's voice was heard in the background. "Drew - you've got another minute or two, and then it's going back down. You just can't start a generator to full power after it's been sitting for twenty years!" "You heard her Casey. Finish up!" Casey was just wrapping up the transfer as the main system began to power down. "Kaiser to Lewis. That's all I can give you, captain. Kris and I are going to start making our way back up." Before Drew could finish, he was interrupted by a phaser bolt skimming his head. "Kris, are you nuts?" was all he could blurt out as he dropped to the floor and rotated toward where the shot had come from. There he saw a grey-haired man, who hadn't shaven for quite some time, standing of the unconscious body of Kristyn. "How dare you intrude on this ground!" the stranger yelled, taking another shot at Drew. Drew also dodged this bolt, and jumped behind a pile of scrap. "Kaiser to Corin! Get down here! We have a situation!" He quickly peeked over the pile and took a shot, which went wide. "Who are you?" "Who are you? You're with them, aren't you? You've finally come for me!" "Who's them? I'm Lieutenant Commander Drew Kaiser, of the USS Nova, NX-3065! Now, who are you?" "Wait - that ship was destroyed thirty years ago!" "Thirty-seven, actually. Now do you mind if we stop shooting and talk like civilized people?" The stranger put his phaser in its holster. "Yes, please. Come out." Drew slowly stood up and tugged on his uniform. "Thanks. Now, would you mind telling me who you are?" "Only if you tell me how you're standing here from a ship that was destroyed thirty-seven years ago first." Corin and Woolian quickly rounded into the room, phasers drawn. The stranger flinched toward his phaser. "It's okay, Danis! I've got things under control!" Drew shouted as he jumped between the two. He turned back toward the stranger. "We were on our shakedown cruise. We investigated a disturbance in Michaels Nebula as part of that cruise. Unfortunately, that disturbance shut down the entire ship, and hid it in some sort of suspended animation time packet for thirty-seven years. We just woke up not so long ago, and are probably just about as shocked to see things around here as you are to see us." The stranger looked relieved. "I" he said, "Am Captain William T. Riker, formerly of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701E. Now, I have a long story to tell you, so I suggest we get out of here before we're hunted down. I'm sure they know you're here by now." Chapter 3 Kirby sat down at the head of the table in the observation lounge. "All right. We've activated the phase-cloak, as you suggested, and we're headed on the coordinates you gave us. Now, would you mind telling us what's going around here?" Riker stood up. He looked much better than when he had been found on the surface, and had prepared a report given on the materials he could gather. "A little over 40 years ago, a small group of alien parasites came to Earth, and began to infiltrate Star Feet be taking over the bodies of several high-ranking Star Feet officials. Captain Picard realized this threat, and with the aid of the rest of the crew of the Enterprise D, he stopped this invasion. However, this small group sent a signal back to where they came from before the ones we found on Earth could be destroyed. By a few years later, they were forgotten by all but the most knowledgeable Fleet scientists. 35 years ago, shortly after this ship was thought to be destroyed, they came back." "Wait a minute, though." Christopher Tarn, the Nova's Chief Science Officer, spoke up. "If you and Picard noticed these parasites last time, why didn't anyone notice them this time?" "They learned from their mistakes." Riker replied. "They solved the problem of the tell-tale gill in the back of their host's neck, and learned the finer points of humanoid behavior. They also took things a lot slower than before, and by the time anyone noticed, it was too late." "What happened to Captain Picard? Surely he would have noticed if anything strange was going on." "He did notice, and he tried to stop it again. Shortly after the Enterprise E was commissioned, he returned to Earth to confront Star Feet officials, who assured him everything was fine. Conveniently enough, on our next mission, the Enterprise was attacked by a freighter. Somehow they had gotten the operation codes to the ship, and dropped the shields. The ship was destroyed, and most of the crew was killed, including Captain Picard. No one other than the survivors who saw the incident gave it much of a second thought, since ships named Enterprise don't seem to have long lives. I escaped, and went into hiding with the remaining survivors of the Enterprise, and anyone else we could convince of the existence of these parasites." "So what happened to the Federation?" Corin asked. "No one knows where it is based now, but it is bent on total universe domination. When it couldn't beat the Dominion in the Gamma quadrant, it destroyed the wormhole until it could find bigger and better weapons. When it tried to conquer the Klingon Empire and they resisted, they were annihilated. There are only a small number of us left to fight, but we don't have the technology to fight back. When the parasites took over the Federation, they also stopped all efforts to advance technology. It made it easier for them to fight us, I guess. The technology contained on this ship was especially hidden; probably destroyed. Now that we have it once again, we can build a fleet, and possibly regain control of Star Feet.. At the moment, we have only two ships - a severely battle damaged USS Defiant and..." Red alert sirens sound throughout the ship. Kirby stood up, as did the rest of the bridge crew. "This will apparently have to do until a later time." Lewis said as he rushed out of the door, followed by the rest. The doors to the bridge swished open. Kirby walked in and sat down. "Status, Alex?" Allen took a quick glance at her console. "Ship decloaking dead ahead. Weapons armed, shields up. They apparently can detect us; the nebula must have damaged our cloaking device." Drew agreed, double-checking the engineering console. "That's right - I should have noticed it before. We're cloaked, but not phased." "Alright - raise shields, bring weapons to hot standby." Nora said as she stood up to get a better look at Allen's sensors. "We're getting a registry on the ship. Unknown class... They're hailing us." "On screen." A humanoid figure appeared, with yellowish skin and eyes. "Attention, unidentified ship. I am Captain Data of the New Federation..." Nora and Data spoke the next words together: "USS Enterprise, NCC-1701F!" "I thought the Enterprise E was destroyed by the Federation!" Kirby exclaimed to Riker. "They were actually foolish enough to build another one?" "No." Riker replied. "We built this with the technology we had. Unfortunately, it could not stand up to the technology the Federation had built with the aid of the parasites. It came close, but not close enough." Data continued. "I repeat. We can identify the existence of your vessel. Please identify yourself." Riker glanced up with a grin. "Data's not one to take his job lightly. He patrols our border with a vengeance. We should drop our cloak, and let him know who we are before he opens fire on empty space." "Good idea." Kirby replied. "Alex, drop the cloak and return Captain Data's hail." On the screen, Data's face became confused. "This is most odd. You, I assume, are Captain Kirby M. Lewis?" He said, speaking to Kirby. "That's right, Captain Data. It's nice to see you too." Riker stepped up. "It's okay, Data. We'll tell you all about it when we get back to base. Until then, I suggest we return for now." "It is good to see you again, Captain Riker. But is it not true that the USS Nova was destroyed thirty-seven years ago?" "As I said, Data, we'll explain later." The two ships dropped back into cloak, and headed toward the New Federation Headquarters. Path: tivoli.tivoli.com!geraldo.cc.utexas.edu!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.cac.psu.edu!news.pop.psu.edu!hudson.lm.com!godot.cc.duq.edu!newsfeed.pitt.edu!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!jake.esu.edu!falcon.lhup.edu!gkaiser From: gkaiser@falcon.lhup.edu (Arcades Sabboth) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: Rip Van Winkle (Chapters 4-6 New!) Date: 23 Feb 1995 01:44:18 GMT Organization: East Stroudsburg University, Pennsylvania Lines: 252 Message-ID: <3igp9i$cmk@jake.esu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: falcon.lhup.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Xref: tivoli.tivoli.com alt.startrek.creative:6415 Well, here's the second part! As usual, send me any comments, advice, etc. (That's gkaiser@falcon.lhup.edu if you don't feel like looking for my address.) Enjoy! One note - I had a little trouble getting this up, so if anything appears to be missing, let me know! As usual, this is mostly copyrighted by Paramount, except for some of the characters and one ship class, not to mention the story, which I came up with on my own. I'm not making any money on this, and it was actually was a pain in the butt to post, so don't sue me. :) All other usual disclaimer stuff applies here, too. ----------------------------------------- Chapter 4 Kaiser walked onto the bridge as the turbolift doors slid open. "Captain, the cloak's been repaired. We can phase at any time, but since the Enterprise isn't phase-cloaked, we shouldn't bother, probably." "Noted, Mr. Kaiser." Lewis replied. "Nice job." As Drew walked to one of the bridge's science stations to double check the cloak system, Allen spoke up, as a chirping sound emanated from her control panel. "Captain, Captain Data is hailing us." "On screen." The familiar image of Data filled the main viewer. "Captain Lewis, welcome to New Federation Headquarters. You have been cleared to dock at ring Zero-One Alpha. Our docking clamps there have been retrofitted to match the specifications of the Nova." "Thank you captain, but I don't see anything, and our sensors aren't picking up anything." "You will see it shortly, Captain Lewis. Data out." The steady image of a starfield resumed its position on screen. Lewis turned to Nora, who looked just as confused as he did. "Kirby, there's nothing there. I'm not sure about this." Riker stood up from his position at an open station. "I'm sorry captain. I was going to cover this before Data interrupted us. We do have the ability to phase-cloak, just not on such a small scale as your Nova. The power required for our system is too great. As a result, only our massive starbase can generate the power. Once we are within the base's field, we can phase to the same location as the base. It's not difficult to do, as long as you can link to the station's power supply." Nora ran her fingers over the Ops panel, then again to double check. "Kirby, a small docking ring has dephased, but not decloaked, one thousand kilometers off our starboard bow. It appears to be ring Zero-One Alpha." "Well, dock there, Commander!" "Yes, sir!" A small thud was felt as the Nova connected to the station, and an audio hail came over the bridge's speaker system. "Welcome to Starbase Alpha, USS Nova. This is Commander Jadzia Dax, the Dockmaster here. Give us a moment while we adjust the power circuits to phase your ship." Seconds later, a huge space station faded into view. At least twenty docking pylons rose out along the sides, with three massive rings surrounding a central pillar structure in the center. Spaced evenly around the center ring were five or six large phaser cannons, and a photon torpedo bay was placed approximately every thousand meters. Obviously, the technology to build sophisticated starships had been lost when the parasites overran the Federation, but the technology to build starbases had remained. "It's the most advanced work we have." Riker said. "Many of the systems here are as powerful as the systems on the Nova, but nowhere near as compact. It would literally take a ship the size of this station to carry most of this weaponry and shielding." Another audio hail came over the bridge's speaker system. "Nova, this is Admiral Beverly Crusher. I hate to rush things, but your presence, along with Captain Riker, would be appreciated in Starbase Alpha's main conference room at 0900 hours. We have a lot to discuss." "Acknowledged." Kirby replied. "We'll be there." Looking at the terminal on his chair arm, Lewis noted the time. "Shipwide hail. We are docked at Starbase Alpha. All crew is granted shore leave until further notice, and senior officers are to meet at the station's main conference room in three hours. Captain Lewis out." Turning to the crew on the bridge, Lewis grinned and said "Let's go see what we've really missed." Three hours later, Lewis fell into step with Riker as he stepped out of his quarters. "New pip? Congratulations, Admiral." Riker smiled in appreciation. "Thank you, Captain Lewis. No doubt much of your crew will be due for promotion before long. Thirty-seven years is a long time to go without a promotion of some sort." "But understandable under the circumstances." The doors to the conference room slid open. Everyone else had already arrived, and Riker and Lewis took their seats near the front of the table. Crusher stood up, and began her presentation. "Greetings, staffs of both this Starbase and the USS Nova. For those of you from that ship who don't know me, I am Admiral Beverly Crusher, CO of this starbase, as well as one of the heads of the New Federation. The arrival of your technology has possibly signified the turning point of our war with the Old Federation. All of your help will be needed in the coming time to strengthen our fleet. Our robotics can build the ships, and with this new technology, we may just win this war." Crusher continued to explain the parasites' methods, and strengths and weaknesses. She also explained the goals for the potential fleet that would be built based on the Nova and the information its computers contained. Finally, when most of Alpha's staff had cleared the room, Lewis addressed his senior officers. "I assume many of you joined Star Fleet for action? Here you have it. I expect you to cooperate with the staff and crew of this Starbase, and maybe we can get back the Federation we came from. Dismissed." Chapter 5 Within the week, Starbase Alpha was bustling with activity. All computerized assembly lines were running at full speed, analyzing the Nova, adjusting the equipment plans to work with the technology of the time period, and working on several new classes of ships based on that technology. Lewis had just taken a tour of the base, and had been pleased to see his crew helping with the procedure of constructing a new fleet. "Things might just work this time." he thought, as he walked to Admiral Crusher's office, and rang the chime to enter. "Come." Lewis entered the office. "You wanted to discuss some things with me, Admiral?" "Yes, Captain Lewis. First, each member of your crew will be promoted, including yourself, and will fill in as captains of many of the vessels of our new fleet. Since they know the most about this technology, it only makes sense." Kirby nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good idea." "But that's not the real reason I called you here. Captain, or should I say Admiral, Lewis, meet our head Security Chief, Alexander Rochenko." Alexander stood up and shook Lewis' hand. "Hello, Admiral Lewis. Perhaps you heard of my father, Worf?" "The Klingon? Yes, of course I've heard of him. First Klingon to join the Federation." "That's correct. Unfortunately, he died when the parasites destroyed the Enterprise E. He died honorably, going down with his ship, trying to destroy the ship that delivered the fatal blow." Kirby's face saddened. "Pity. He would have made a great benefit to our efforts here." "I know. But let me get to our reports. As you have heard, the only ships we have at present are the Enterprise-F, and the Defiant-A." Kirby glanced up. "A? What happened to the original Defiant? I thought that was the one you had here?" "It was destroyed along with most of our fleet in our first attack. However, it did get the farthest, and it's because of Captain Sisko that we have much of the information on the Federation that we do. He got behind enemy lines with the Defiant while the fighting was going on, and ran a detailed reconnaissance mission. Unfortunately, we found that the parasites had technology that could detect cloaked ships. We were able to save the Defiant's cloaking device, as well as the information we had gathered, but we lost the Defiant herself, along with Captain Sisko, and Lieutenant O'Brien, among much of the remaining Deep Space Nine crew. Only Commander Dax, our dockmaster, and Commander Bashir, our Chief Medical Officer, remain from that outpost." "So what's the Defiant-A?" "It's the pinnacle of our construction here - a starship carrier. We took what we had from the Defiant, such as the cloaking device, pulse phaser cannons, and the rapid photon torpedo launchers, and built them into a much larger vessel. It can hold one full size starship, such as the Enterprise, or the Nova, or two smaller ships such as an Intrepid class fighter. Now with your technology, it will be repaired, and made much tougher." "You said Intrepid class fighter. I thought they were used for scouting purposes?" "They were, in the time you came from. When the Federation was overtaken, we had several converted to fighters, as they were small, fast, and maneuverable. This is one downfall of the Defiant; it's fast and tough, but it's also slow and most unagile. As a result, it gets severely damaged in most battles we fight. Unfortunately, we have not been able to rebuild an Intrepid class since the ones we had were destroyed. Several years ago, a Federation spy infiltrated our old headquarters, and purged the systems of most of the vital information we had for building weaponry." "That we can't help you with. The Nova may have much, but Star Fleet's standards didn't allow ship specs to be stored on all ships' computers." "That much we have discovered. We have begun reconstructing our fleet anyway, based on much of the technology contained in you systems. As soon as the fleet is done, which we suspect will take some time, we will begin a new attack on the Federation. Based on the new information we have recently found on the location of their headquarters, we may be more successful this time." Alexander sat back down where he had been sitting before, and nodded to Beverly. Admiral Crusher handed a box of pips to Lewis, and smiled. "Here are the new rank insignias for your crew. Please inform them of our plans, and congratulate them on their promotions on my behalf." Lewis stood to leave. "Thank you, sir. We will certainly be glad to help in anyway possible." "I have no doubt." Crusher replied. "Enjoy your stay here, and let me know if any of the staff can be of any assistance. As Lewis turned toward the door, a chirp sounded, and got his attention. "Dax to Crusher. You're not going to believe this." "Try me, Commander." "Okay. The USS Voyager has just entered long range scans." "I'll be right there. Crusher out." "There's your Intrepid class." Lewis said. Crusher still looked unconvinced. "Mr. Rochenko, let's check this out. Admiral Lewis, if you're going to be a head around here, I guess now's a good a time as any to show you the bridge. Chapter 6 Crusher, Rochenko, and Lewis stepped from the turbolift just as a hail was coming in. "Admiral," Dax announced. "The Voyager is putting out a universal hail. Should we respond?" "Yes. On screen when they reply." Within moments, the face of an old Indian appeared on the screen. "I am Captain Chakotay, of the USS Voyager. Where are you?" "Welcome back, Captain. This base is cloaked - if you dock at ring One Three Beta, which will unphase shortly, we will explain everything. Crusher out." Crusher turned toward Lewis. "It looks like your crew isn't the only one who has missed the last thirty years." An hour later, the senior officers that remained from the Voyager were seated around Alpha's conference table: Captain Chakotay, Commander Tom Paris, Lieutenant Commander Harry Kim, Lieutenant Commander Be'lanna Torres, and Commander Tuvok. Shortly before the meeting began, Crusher officially promoted each member to the ranks they had earned unofficially in the field. Crusher stood up, once again, before the group that had gathered there. "About thirty-five years ago, the Federation received an information packet from a Romulan trader, claiming you were in the Delta quadrant. We weren't sure about it's validity, but it was always a matter of speculation that you may return someday. It appears that speculation has come true. Welcome home, as much of a home as it is, anyway." Crusher, Riker, Data, and some other crew members took turns explaining to the Voyager crew the events of the past thirty years, just as they had explained them to the crew of the Nova. When the story was finished, Commander Kaiser, who had been sitting in on the meeting, stood to address the group. "I'm Commander Drew Kaiser, the head of getting this fleet together. We will be modifying your ship with the new technology we have, such as phase-cloaking, and heavier weapons. We will also be duplicating your ship to serve as fighters. You have just as much to do to get used to this time as we do, but we'd really appreciate your help around here." The meeting disbursed, and everyone went to their assigned posts. The new revolution was underway. Fleet construction proceeded without a hitch. With technology gained from the Nova, and warp designs gathered from the Voyager, the Enterprise and the Defiant were upgraded. In addition to this, fourteen Intrepid class fighters were produced fairly quickly, and sent on regular spying missions. Nine more Nova class vessels, another Carrier class vessel, and twelve more Enterprise Beta class vessels were constructed, along with five vessels of a new design, the Revolution class, a heavy cruiser. Two years after the Nova and Voyager arrived at Starbase Alpha, the New Federation fleet was fully equipped, and thinly staffed. Starbase Admiral's Log, Stardate 89104.4. We are about to begin our new assault on the perverted mess the parasites call the Federation. Each of the Senior Officers, as well as several others, have been assigned command of a ship, with Admiral Riker on the Defiant, Captain Data on the Enterprise, Admiral Lewis on the Nova, Captain Chakotay on the Voyager, and myself, Admiral Crusher, on the Revolution, heading up the fleet. We have received much new information on the Federation, and we feel we have the upper hand now. We will be taking the next month to finalize our attack plans, and we will begin our assault shortly after that. We can only hope that this time we can succeed.