Danny Amor's Online Library/Danny Amor's Online Library - Volume 1.iso/html/startrek/old-incomplete/differentstartrek.ch1-p1-2

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Subject: A Different Star Trek: Chap.1 Pts. 1&2
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Date: Mon, 9 May 1994 20:41:30 GMT

~Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1993 00:47:13 GMT

    I am currently involved in writing a different type of Star Trek story.
It involves Next Generation characters, original series artifacts and
situations, and the kidnapped members of a Star Trek fan club. Here's a sample.
                CHAPTER 1


    I awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in a chair. An unfamiliar
chair. It was almost pithc black, that much I could make out, through my
swimming head. My eyes refused to focus, as I strained to make out where I was.
Not the frat house, that was for sure. No smell of sweatsocks and beer.There
was however the smell of burned electrical wiring. The air itself seemed acrid
and stale, unused. A room. High ceilings, round. Bi-level.

    "Where the hell's the lights?" I muttered, groping beside me for a
lamp. At my words, there was a low, breathy humming and the darkness
brightened. My heart leapt in my throat, for I recognized my surroundings. But
it was impossible.

    "The Enterprise....." I whispered.

    Standing, I looked around at the carnage on the bridge. Most of the
stations were destroyed. The navigation console was standing, but looked like
someone had been using it as a gas range. The command chair I awakened in was
listing sadly to the left. I had to admit to myself, things didn't look
anywhere near as bad as I had assumed they would, after a full-blown self
destruct sequence. The emergency lights were low, casting shadows that played
tricks with my still hazy vision. I was alone, I could see, as I circled the
destroyed area. I walked over to one of the stations, and squinted as I looked
at the broken and burnt terminal. Hesitantly, I sat at the station and poked at
the controls without much hope. Almost immediately, a light blinked, there was
a weak beep and what was left of damage control began to fitfully operate.

    "Working." the computer grated, without any of its characteristic
female inflection.

    "Ship's operating status?" I asked hopefully.

    "Working." the voice continued.

    "What's working?"

    "Working on the question." it growled.

    I waited several minutes for the diagnostic, and wasn't far off in my
own initial assesment of the situation.

    "Warp drive;nonfunctional. Impulse drive;nonfunctional.Weapons systems;
nonfunctional. Shields; functional at 5% normal. Life support; functional at
23% normal. Hull breaches detected on deck 7, 9 12 and 19. Artifical
gravity;normal."

    I chewed thoughtfully at my lower lip.

    "Essentially we're dead in the water." I mumbled to myself.

    "Stating the painfully obvious, as your race is so apt to do." another
said. I recognized the voice, and in this situation, it made my blood run cold.
I turned to face my tormentor.

    "Q." I said quietly, trying not to let the fear make my voice stutter.

    "Ah! So we're in your pathetic dreamings. How nice."

    "This isn't real. I'm drunk. I'm dreaming. I'll wake up soon and I'll
be home. Hung over, but home."

    "No, no. This is real. You are here. Courtesy of the power of Q."

    I was quiet for a moment, trying to formulaet an intelligent thought.
Any intelligent thought. Thankfully, Q provided one for me.

    "Why, you may ask?"

    I nodded mutely.

    "A test. An exam, if you will."

    "But the other Q said...."

    "We said that I may not interfere with the developement of any humans
native to this universe. You, are not."

    "I'm from Earth!"

    "Of course, but not this dimension's Earth. You are familiar with the
concept of alternate realities? Of course you are, you "Trekkie" you. I am
native to this continuum. You are not. You did not originate here. In fact, it
is debatable whether or not you even existed before I called you here. So, the
restrictions handed down to me do not apply to you, or the others."

    "I think, therefore...." I began.

    "Nonsense!" Q roared, spinning away from me, "Your whole species
concept of self is based on that phrase and it's nothing but the rhetoric of a
drunken playwrite. In reality, it probably wasn't even written by himeither,
like so many other of his so-called works." He stopped at the open turbo lift
shaft and turned to me again.

    "So, you're telling me I'm not a real person. That I have no existence
outside of your mind?"

    The alien smiled slightly.

    "Well now, there's an insightful observation. But I'm not going to
confirm or deny it."

    "Because your answer could affect the outcome of the test."

    "Bright! Very bright." Q laughed gleefully, sitting in the command
chair. The ancient seat promptly snapped off at the base and sent the godlike
being sprawling on the floor. I was careful not to laugh. He glared at me as he
appeared at my side. It didn't suprise me that he didn't expend the physical
effort to stand.

    "So, I'm living in a TV show." I ventured.

    "In a manner, yes. With a few minor differences. In your "serieses,"
Kirk and Picard cannot die. They have to live for the next episode." at this
point, he leaned towards me and leared, "You are not on TV. If you die, you
die. If, of course, you were ever even alive."

    My head was swimming by this time, worse than when I had first
awakened.

    "I...ah....uh...."

    "Come, come, mon ami. Spit it out. Or shall I read your meager mind?"

    I let my irritation barely flourish before squelching it. He could
indeed read my mind. Living through this was going to take a cool head.

    "Do I have companions, for my test? Surely you can't expect me to run
this wreck by myself."

    Of course! Minimum complement to run this vessel is ten crew members in
an ideal situation. I'll give you an even dozen, just because I'm a magnanimous
soul. Your first choices are final, so choose well." Q grinned, folding his
arms and leaning against the deck railing. It shuddered and fell to the floor
with him. He was not amused.

    "Uh, can I have some time to make my choices?" I asked, playing for
time.

    "One day. Twenty-four hours.Fourteen hundred and forty minutes. Then,
the test commences." and then, Q vanished, and I was alone again, on the bridge
of a dead ship..........









~Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1993 23:43:35 GMT

    Hello people! Thanks for all of your helpful suggestions and hints. I
will make the corrections to the first part of my story, and hopefully
everything will be fixed there. Okay, here's part two, Chapter 1.




    At the same second that Q vanished from the bridge of one Enterprise,
far across the system, the Enterprise NCC 1701-D sped through space. At her
helm, sat Captain Jean-Luc Picard. This man being the one human in the universe
who detested Q almost as much as Q detested humanity. To say the least, the
former would not have been hurt if he never encountered the later again.
But....

    "Ah, mon Capitan! How good to see you again."

    "Intruder on the bridge!" Worf roared, rushing to vault the railing
from the upper deck.

    Picard closed his eyes and inwardly sighed.

    "At ease, Lieutenant. What do you want, Q?"

    Q smiled at the glowing Klingon security officer.

    "Now, now Mr. Worf, is that any way to treat an old an honored friend?"

    The warroir growled, but spoke not a word. Picard stood and moved
between the two alpha personalities. Now he glared at the alien troublemaker.

    "What are you doing here?"

    "I request the pleasure of your stimulating company for a while." the
man grinned and moved to sit in the captains chair. He looked at Riker amiably
and nodded. "I would ask you along also, Will, but, oh well. Somebody's got to
stay and mind the store, eh?"

    The captain clasped his hands behind his back and began to lecture the
omnipotent alien, like a naughty child.

    "You know very well we no longer have to stand for your interference in
our lives. Your own people censured you for your meddlesome games. Would you
have them do it again?"

    Q continued smiling as he stood and met the captains hard gaze.

    "Ah, but you must see how I've circumvented the problem. I'm so bright
sometimes I even amaze myself!" So saying, the two men vanished. Riker, silent
through this exchange, now sighed and lowered his head.

    "Data, I don't suppose there's any chance we can get a fix on where
they've gone?"

    "Q's power gives off no known trace that our sensors can detect,
Commander."

    "That's what I thought you were going to say."





    "Damnit Q! Take me back to my ship. I don't have time for another of
your inane games." Picard snarled, whirling on the tall figure beside him. The
human tried not to feel queasy, as he looked out upon space flying by at
incredible speed, augmented by the illusion that there was absolutely nothing
between them and the phenomenon of warp space. Q raised and eyebrow, the half
smirk on his face making the situation all the more annoying to the human.

    "Temper, temper mon Capitan. I have a rich situation to show you. One
that I think will amuse even your limited sense of humor."

    The human looked sourly at his captor. "I doubt it."

    Q nodded sagely. "I also doubt your sense of humor more and more each
time our paths cross."

    "Which is entirely too often for my taste." Picard's teeth grated
involuntarily.

    "Here is the situation. You are aware of the existence of alternate
timelines, and dimensions?"

    "Yes." the captains mind leapt to Tasha Yar, and her Romulan daughter.

    "Very well. I have plucked a group of people from the past, in one of
these 'alternate timelines. To them, our universe, our timeline is nothing more
than an adventure series they watch every week on a .....`TV'."

    "UmHum."

    "So, I've given them a ship, and a mission. It's up to them to succeed
or fail."

    "Q, you've taken these people from their homes, and put them into an
alien situation they have no hope of coping with. Of course they're going to
fail. I cannot see thevalidity of such a test. This is just more of your inane
meddling in human affairs."

    "Ah, but the beauty of the situation is, these `people' are debatably
not human. They are humanoid, but they did not originate in this universe.
Therefore, are they actually human?" Q asked, leaning up against nothingness.

    "Of course!" Picard spluttered,"Alternate dimension, timeline, the
distinction is inconsequential! Their genetic makeup is the same as mine. They
are as human as me!"

    Q nodded thoughtfully.

    "Ican see your point. But it is a matter for debate. And by the time my
people debate it, the test will be over. Whatever censure they might decide to
deal out, if, and only if they find me at fault, I will be more than willing to
deal with."

    "You are willing to lose your power again?"

    "Oh, come on captain! That was a drastic situation.A once in a lifetime
punishment, if you will.

    "Whose lifetime?"

    It was Q's turn to look sour. But the mood and facial expression passed
quickly.

    "In any event, back to the situation at hand. Their position is not
impossible. They will simply have to reply on their accumulated knowledge
gleaned from entertainment series." the alien laughed.

    The human shook his head.

    "You split hairs over whether or not these people are human, you lord
over beings you do not understand, cannot understand. And you laugh at them. Is
that truly a wiser, more knowledgeable race?"

    Q's smile faded.

    "Careful, captain. My patience extends only so far."

    Picard snorted in disgust and turned away.

    "Ah, and here we are at our destination. I think you should be familiar
with the ship I've supplied them with."

    The human turned and stopped, dumbfounded at the sight before him. The
Enterprise NCC 1701 sat magestically in orbit around a dark moon. Her once
white hull pitted and scarred by the self destruct command issued over a
century ago. Huge chunks of the primary hull were missing, and one engine
nacelle was bent down at a forty five degree angle. Picard could see several
manuvering lights still blinking , half heartedly, as the hulk revolved slowly
in its orbit.

    "Impossible. A trick......."

    "Nothing is impossible to me, Picard. That ship is exactly what it
appears to be. Your forerunner by five generations."

    "The original Enterprise was destroyed by self destruct command. The
ship plunged into the atmosphere of a world that no longer exists, called
Genesis. It impacted on the surface and was destroyed. I've seen the Klingon
tapes of the incident."

    "What if I told you, you are partially correct? Yes, James Kirk did
order the destruction of his own ship. Yes, the device did detonate, sending
the Enterprise hurling into the atmosphere of the Genesis world. But it never
impacted on the surface. As it entered the atmosphere, the fluctuating gravity
wells, coupled with the planet's rotation, served as a giant slingshot. The
ship entered, traveled across the event horizon, and was thrown back out into
the coldness of space. The anitmatter fire was arrested, due to elements in the
palnet's upper atmosphere. Probably having something to do with the
proto-matter David Marcus used to create the world. The Enterprise survived her
destruction. Much worse for the wear, but in large part, intact." Q smiled
again, and folded his arms, insufferably pleased with himself.

    Picard leaned back against the nothingness of space, digesting the
ridiculous story the being had told. Not that it was impossible, just
incredibly doubtful Q would have gone to all of the trouble of finding the ship
and bringing it to this place. It would have been much easier for the alien to
simply create a facimile. Which, he decided, was probably what this ship was. Q
shook his head.

    "On your own sainted mothers grave, Picard. This is the original
Enterprise."

    "Leave my mother out of this!"










    And so, write and tell me what you think. I believe I could use a
little more detail on the survival of the Enterprise, but hey, and Enterprise
surviving is better than none at all, eh?


                    -Lou Hall-