The Vitality slows approaching a huge forcefield in space, that seems to just go on forever.
Amp, finishes tapping at the helm: "Well, here we are; High Command."
Picard stands from his seat.
Amp: "We should start hailing. It may take them a while to respond, though."
Amp gets up.
Amp: "As soon as we pass through the barrier, all the holograms on board will be knocked offline and it'll be up to one of you to pilot the ship correctly around the ruined space."
Picard: "Ruined space?"
Amp: "Yeah, when ships used to use warp."
He leaves the Bridge, as O'Brien and Hoshi are trying to figure out the Energy Ball's controls.
Hoshi: "I'm not sure if it's just me, but it sounds as though the repetitive pitching frequencies could be more than just random chaos..."
She clicks a few buttons on it.
Hoshi: "Maybe it's a language."
Picard has more important things on his mind: "Perhaps we'd better learn all we can about this Century... whatever Century it is; and learn more of the past."
Tuvok, nods: "We have been gone for more than 1000 years."
Hoshi: "That's where our memories lie. We completely belong here just like anyone else."
McCoy: "You'd think people would advance beyond Starships by now."
Kino, a hologram, goes to work at a nearby panel: "Science and technology doesn't get a chance to advance much during intergalactic War."
Picard signals for O'Brien, and they leave the Bridge together.
They make thier way to Main Engineering, where a strange tree/trunk-like base sits at the center as if it was some kind of warp core; vines grow around it.
O'Brien: "Unbelievable. It's an organic propulsion system."
They look at it in awe.
Picard: "Is it possible it is being harmed by its connection to the ship?"
O'Brien, works panels: "Oh I don't know sir. I don't specialize in... whatever that is."
Tuvok has the Bridge with McCoy, as the Vitality continues to sit out in space before the Gravitic Field.
McCoy: "Well? Are you hailing them?"
Tuvok, almost annoyed: "Yes. I am."
McCoy: "I've been reading up on the War's... The Federation was gone half a dozen Centuries ago. There are hardly any Human's left! ...Let alone Vulcan's."
Tuvok, thinks for moment: "Our situation is of great caliber."
McCoy: "The last thing I remember was being on the Enterprise with Captain Kirk and unfortunately, Mr. Spock."
He looks over to Tuvok.
McCoy: "What if we're not clones. What if we were brought to the future somehow?"
Tuvok, thinks about this: "Perhaps... --Your logic does not seem entirely outrageous."
Hoshi takes the glowing Energy Ball to a Science Lab. She places it at a table and sits beside it with a padd as she takes notes on its constant frequency changing.
Hoshi: "Hmm..."
A hologram cuts himself offline, as his shift has ended in Engineering. O'Brien and Picard continue to figure out the propulsion systems.
O'Brien: "It looks as if the creature feeds energy from the nacelles."
Picard checks on this on a nearby console but suddenly hears a slithering-snake noise. His head turns before his eyes follow, to look over at the organic engine which is sitting in shadow.
Picard: "What was that?"
O'Brien, working: "Sir?"
Picard: "Nothing."
The sound is heard again from the engine, and a vine is seen wiggling around to the back.
O'Brien, stops: "I saw that."
They both are about to start walking towards the organic engine to investigate, but are smarter than that and, rather, start stepping back.
O'Brien: "Maybe we should get out of here."
A vine suddenly flings out from the engine and grabs O'Brien.
O'Brien: "Aaaahh!"
He's picked up and brought near the engine, for it to look at.
Picard is picked up by a vine: "Aaugh!"
He suddenly hears thoughts from it: "...Hhheellp mmmme...!"
A hovering shape lights up on Tuvok's panel.
Tuvok: "We are being hailed."
The hovering screen clicks on.
>Sil, human: "This isn't High Command...!"
Tuvok, raises an eyebrow: "Oh?"
>Sil, preoccupied: "I'm in a Timeship a couple parsecs away... My colleagues... they came here too. Listen to me. However you've been told you've gotten here, they're lying!"
Tuvok and McCoy glance at each other.
Hoshi gives up on taking notes and looks closer at the ball of Energy as it starts to become unstable and spike even more chaotically. It fluxuates really fast.
Hoshi: "What the...?"
Amp, walks over: "What's going on?"
Hoshi: "I don't know. I thought I was picking up a language, but then the spikes started becoming even more chaotic."
Amp tries accessing the controls around the Energy Ball.
Small shattered white pieces start existing out in space, around the Vitality.
O'Brien is swung near a table, where he grabs a coil spanner. He stabs it into the vine wrapped around him, which lets go of him. He falls to the floor.
O'Brien: "Sir!"
He tosses it up to Captain Picard, who catches it and uses it to sting the vines around him as well.
Picard, hits the floor: "Ufh! ...I could hear its thoughts... These holograms force creatures such as these into their vessels to use as propulsion engines."
They back off a swing from the angry vines coming from the organic engine.
O'Brien: "Torture."
Picard gets to consoles, trying to figure out a way to free it.
Tuvok eyes Sil on the hovering viewscreen.
>Sil: "You have to believe me! This is a life or death situation!"
McCoy, looks over to Tuvok: "Well?"
Tuvok, thinks: "What do you suggest?"
>Sil: "Rondezvous with us. We can take you back to your time and set everything back to the way it was."
McCoy, speaks up: "What's the catch?"
>Sil: "You just have to beware the Klokian's. They're developing Timeship's and have made major paradox's that we've been having to fix."
Amp tries to get control of the Energy orb, but can't.
Amp: "Damn this piece of crap technology!"
The energy from the Energy starts to interfere with his holographic physical parameters.
Amp: "Argh!"
Hoshi, gets to the Energy orb and tries figuring out its controls: "I don't understand. First it was telling me something about... being trapped on multi-plain existences... then it just gave me garbled words."
Amp, starts going offline: "It's-- ugh! --not just an energy sour-- grgh--!"
He statics offline, leaving Hoshi with the problem.
Red alert goes on, as holograms run into Engineering in panic.
'Engine: "Free me! I'm trapped! Free me!"
O'Brien and Picard look over at it in surprise as it begins to decay in despair.
Picard: "Something's not right here."
O'Brien: "You're telling me. It just talked!"
McCoy paces the Bridge, seeing the Red Alert.
McCoy: "Tuvok, something's wrong!"
Tuvok is too preoccupied with Sloan.
Tuvok: "Your logic is flawed. How can the Klokians have interfered with the timeline if they have not yet built Timeships?"
>Sil: "You're not thinking fourth dimensionally!"
Tuvok, looks to the side and then back again: "Perhaps... but it still does not explain why we've been brought here."
>Sil: "Time travel is complicated. You just have to trust me!"
Walls and matter start fracturing all over the Vitality's decks.
Hoshi understands the controls on the Energy Orb enough to alter them: "I should've focused on this earlier..."
The Energy Orb stops fluxuating.
This causes the fractures inside the ship and the shattered pieces outside the ship to amend.
Tuvok and McCoy make thier way to Engineering. They find Picard and O'Brien looking at the organic engine in confusion, for the organic engine appears back to normal.
Tuvok: "Sir, I must report that we were in contact with a Federation Time-traveller, but his communications suddenly nullified, along with the record of the communication."
Picard, glancing over at the organic engine: "We're at sort of a mystery ourselves, Tuvok."
Hoshi: "Computer... uhh, bring the Amp program back online...?"
Amp suddenly appears, partially distorted: "Greet--ings-- We need to get that hooked to a tri-coral stabilizer."
Hoshi makes her way to Engineering, where Amp reappears.
McCoy: "What the hell is going on here?!? A lot of strange things have been happening."
Hoshi hooks laser cords into the Energy sphere.
Amp: "That's because of this Energy sphere."
Hoshi, explains: "It's a contained omnipotent being."
Picard: "What... like a Q?"
Amp: "Precisely."
The Energy sphere takes on perfect stability.
McCoy: "How does that explain the Time-traveller suddenly disappearing?"
Amp: "Whatever you people experienced was due to the power of the being in this Energy sphere. We use the technology around it to keep it controlled."
Picard: "Are you saying that that Q created all these events? The organic engine isn't really being tortured?"
Amp: "I don't know what just happened, but, yes, reality was probably altered."
McCoy: "I don't get it. Why was reality altered so that we saw a Time-traveller, and they saw tortured engine?"
Tuvok: "The alteration of reality was probably based on our thoughts when the Sphere started destabilizing."
Amp, nods: "Most likely."
He and Tuvok walk over to the organic engine.
Amp: "This is a species called the Xeran. They would never harm anyone."
Tuvok places his hand upon it, mind-melding.
Tuvok: "Fascinating. It seems as if it has a symbiotic relationship with the Vitality. It is no more unhappy than happy."
Picard, nods: "Then that Q becoming loose from the containment chamber was trying to communicate that it wanted to get free through our impressions of the organic engine."
Amp: "You're just lucky the Omnipotent wasn't loose enough to destroy the universe. You know how many aliens out there just want war and destruction?"
#Computer: "--Incoming message."
Later, everyone takes their stations on the Bridge.
Picard: "On screen."
>Nel: "You've come with the Omnipotent?"
Picard: "Yes. Are you the..."
>Nel: "High Command? Yes. We're the last of the last here. --I wasn't sure if you were an enemy or not. We had to sensor sweep you to make sure."
Picard: "Are you aware that your sweep most likely caused the malfunction in this Omnipotent's containment chamber, that everyone wants so badly?"
>Nel, looks to the side and then back: "No, I... I guess I didn't think about that..."
Picard extends his arms slightly in relaxed expression, giving the moment up to Nel. Picard has now a little better understanding of the Century he's in.
Picard: "Well. What should we do now?"
>Nel: "--Oh, err, we'll now let down the gravitic field and you can rendezvous with the High Command base of operations. We're cloaked."
Picard, nods: "Alright then. Make it so."
The field is partially let down, so that the Vitality speeds through it.
