Forbidden Crossing, Part II
A giant device sits up in the atmosphere of Paragaan II. The device is large enough to house multiple decks for people to operate it. Inside, are the Corps of Engineers, working their latest masterpiece.
Stanley: “With this baby, we’ll be able to save millions of lives! I’m sure someone would appreciate that.”
Borne: “But what does this thing do?”
Stanley: “We’ve been working on this for months, and you just ask now??”
Borne: “I’m a quiet quilter.”
Stanley: “Well this device we’re all inside of is an atmospheric compensator. We’ve engineered it to alter the dangerous tetrazine that exists all around Paragaan II, so that the people down below can live without fear of being annihilated.”
Gundah: “Many centuries ago, a foolish crew from a foolish starship had caused plasma to ignite the atmosphere, thus killing all life on the planet. Since then, thousands of other starships have been doing it for fun - Many of them for dares or some kind of a rush.”
Borne: “What are you altering the tetrazine into?”
Stanley: “Kava nuts.”
Vik: “Sorry to interrupt. But this party is now a Voyager party... ended early and uninteresting.”
Everyone suddenly turns to Vik’s entrance, in shock.
Gundah: “What the!? Who are you??”
Vik: “I’m with Section 31. You may not remember it, but you’ve worked with us before. We just had your recollections erased after every encounter. Now we need you once again - for the final time............... pending your survival.”
Stanley: “This is absurd! Can’t we at least activate this atmospheric compensator before we go? All I have to do is press this button and millions of lives will be saved!”
Vik: “There’s no time for that. The helmsmen on my vessel is very impatient and if he gets pissy, I have to live with it.”
He activates his phaser, setting it to wide-spread, and knocks out all the Engineer’s.
Later, Section 31 Agent Wallace and Captain Cell are taking a stroll throughout the corridors of the Phoenix-X when upon passing an open Shuttle bay, they see it is filled with a group of waking Starfleet engineer’s. Agent Vik stands before them.
Wallace, enters: “What the--!?”
Cell: “Great, Wallace. You re-join my ship, only to let your friends onboard like they own the place.”
Wallace: “Vik is NOT my friend. He’s just a jerk who used me to get close the Probie.”
Vik: “You would probably have been used by someone sooner or later. Besides, that’s not why I’m here now. Your crew is to be assisted by these Corps of Engineers to get the Ultra-Transwarp drive working again.”
Cell: “Hey, my crew can handle the drive themselves! You should have seen them during the nanite crisis. The trick is to exterminate the nanites before they evolve into sentience.”
Vik: “Well not every person is gifted. Take our friend, Wallace, here, for example.”
Cell: “Huh? What are you talkin’ about, Vik-dude?”
Vik: “Didn’t he tell you? He was genetically enhanced by Section 31 back when he was just a young Security officer aboard your ship. That’s why he agreed to get involved with us back in the day.”
Cell: “You mean, you’re a Bashir wannabe??”
Wallace: “Hey, I don’t speak in low tones after seven years aboard a space station!”
Vik: “Meh heh heh. Now that I’ve turned the two of you against each other, I can freely go about my plans. Mwahahaha!”
All of a sudden one of the waking Corps of Engineers gets up and accidentally bumps into Vik’s cloaked shuttle.
Borne: “OWE!”
Cell: “Hey that’s Vik’s Section 31 ship!”
Wallace: “Wallace to the Bridge. Transport Vik onto his cloaked shuttle and send it off the Phoenix-X!”
#Armond: “Alrighty.”
Wallace inputs the location of the ship into the computer until Vik is suddenly transported away. One of the Shuttle bay Starfleet officer’s open the bay doors to tractor beam it out into space.
Cell: “Did you ever get one of those ships?”
Wallace: “Yeah, but I crashed it into a larger cloaked shuttle... it was an invisible catastrophe that took a whole team to search for and clean-up. They didn’t trust me with any more equipment after that.”
The Captain then leaves the Shuttle bay and heads into a turbolift.
Q: “Another day at the office, huh?”
Cell: “R!! --I mean... Q!!”
Q: “Why does everyone have to scream my name when they see me? I visit 23 other Starfleet vessels on a regular basis, and not one of each Captain doesn’t scream my name when they see me.”
Cell: “Well, it’s such a rarely used letter. What the heck are you doing here?”
Q: “You’re about to do something no man has ever done before, and I really must oversee that nothing goes awry. I am judging the human race after all.”
Cell: “Yeah but I’m not human. I’m a changeling.”
Q: “Hmm. I’ll have to re-check the space-time continuum books. There must be some screw up in the scheduling or something.”
Cell: “Does this have anything to do with the Ultra-Transwarp?”
Q: “Ah - ah - ah. No inquiring on... present events.”
Cell: “I knew it! My engine is going to usher in a new era for the Federation... like how Geordi brought back visors.”
Q: “You couldn’t be more from the truth, Captain. Sometimes I wonder about you - but then I realize how powerful I am and that I don’t need to care.”
Cell: “The pre-emptive thought is more than enough.”
Meanwhile, Mayhem and Lox sit in the Conference room with Agents Nelkast and Elena on the viewscreen.
>Nelkast: “We know why Mayhem is here, but why are you here, Lox?”
Lox: “I’m his Doctor.”
Mayhem: “I’m a hologram.”
Lox: “What!? That never showed up on my medical scans!”
Mayhem: “You never bothered to take those scans, did you?”
Lox: “No.”
>Elena: “Let’s just get down to business. Now, where’s your report on the Phoenix-X?”
Mayhem: “I deleted it to make room for my I-don’t-give-a-damn subroutines.”
>Nelkast: “What is going on? Why are you talking with such a husky voice?”
Lox: “It sounds like he’s got a virus of some sort in him.”
>Elena: “How annoying. We will immediately upload our virus cleaner program. It also is an anti-spyware engine.”
They tap a bunch of buttons until a signal is sent out.
>Nelkast: “By the way, how’s that Vik doing with the Corps of Engineers?”
Lox: “I heard he was ejected out into space.”
>Elena: “You fools! Can’t you avoid messing anything up!?”
>Nelkast: “We expect your drive to be complete, and we expect your report to be rewritten!”
Mayhem: “No.”
>Elena: “Fine. Then we’ll settle for the drive, and your special Klingon blood pizza.”
Mayhem just shuts the view-screen off.
Lox: “Whoa. I don’t think anyone has ever blatantly been rude to Elena and Nelkast, including the Captain.”
Mayhem: “Then all the people on this ship are fools.”
Lox: “Hmm. Suddenly, the computer is showing that your virus infection is wiped from your program.”
Mayhem: “--Hiii everyone! I love life!”
Lox: “Oh my gosh. I have to fix your personality subroutines, and fast!”
The Doctor quickly taps at the control panels.
Lox: “There. I’ve now given you a new personality; just like what you had before. Unfortunately, my programming abilities aren’t that great, so your program may decompile in the next 10 seconds.”
Mayhem: “Don’t touch me.”
Kugo enters Main Engineering to find that it’s packed with additional staff. The extra people are the Corps of Engineers.
Kugo: “Oh no... not you guys!”
Stanley: “If you would be kind enough to stay out of the way, we will be undergoing the actual completion of the X-Project.”
Kugo: “You guys may have been responsible for installing the cloak and the torpedoes, but I’ll be damned if I let you touch my engines.”
Gewdeque: “You mean the Transwarp engines, not some sexual metaphor for one of your body parts, right ma’am?”
Kugo: “Yes, Ensign.”
GoyCho: “Wait. What’s the X-Project?”
Kugo: “That was the Starfleet project, started in the 60’s, to re-develop the Transwarp engine. As you can see, such a project did not fail, as the Starfleet reports would like you to think.”
She points at the Phoenix-X’s engine.
GoyCho: “Oh my gosh! It’s all just one big cover up! It took me ten years to finally realize it!”
Gewdeque: “What are you going to do now, GoyCho?”
GoyCho: “Probably nothing.”
O’Vera: “Will you people please leave already? We Corps of Engineers like our peace and quiet.”
Kugo: “Peace and quiet, huh? Well then take this... YEEEEEEEEE!!!”
The group is suddenly shoved out into the corridors. Meanwhile, Wallace and Seifer sit in the Bar & Lounge, having a drink at the bar.
Wallace: “You know, it’s too bad these smaller starships don’t have 10-Forward’s like those Galaxy class ships.”
Seifer: “Oh we had one of those installed. We simply bent space and time on deck 8 to fit it in. Unfortunately, it kept causing brain haemorrhages within the crew, so we uninstalled it.”
Wallace: “That’s too bad.”
Seifer: “I’m told that you had genetic enhancements in exchange for joining Section 31?”
Wallace: “It’s true. I have the speed of a cheetah, the agility of a lemur, and the strength of a bear. My intelligence also matches that of some sort of scientific monkey.”
Seifer: “As long as they’re all animal-based, they’re fine by me.”
Wallace: “Sometimes I fear I am too smart for my own good. The things I know could send a Talosian into convulsions.”
Seifer: “I think you’re giving yourself too much credit. No man could possibly know that much and stay sane at the same time. Are you sure it wasn’t your ego that they enhanced?”
Wallace: “I don't need to be lectured by you. I was out saving the galaxy when your grandfather was in diapers!”
Seifer: “My grandfather is in diapers.”
Meanwhile, Cell enters the Bridge of the Phoenix-X. There he bumps into one of the Corps of Engineers.
Havvin: “Whoa! This could have been avoided if your Bridge wasn’t so designed badly.”
Cell: “Well after our constant Borg attacks, rebuilding the Bridge became something of a pain. After a while, our Engineer’s just stopped caring and put anything anywhere.”
Havvin: “Not a problem. We Corps of Engineers can restore this Bridge to its original look. We’ll even save the schematics for you, in case the Bridge gets damaged again.”
Cell: “Phew thanks. I was pretty sure a bridge didn’t consist of a Brig cell.”
They look over to one of the Brig cell’s located on the Bridge, which contains a badguy.
-Ragon: “Arrrgh! If you come over here, I’ll rip your eyes out!”
Havvin nods and then walks on to begin preparations.
Q: “Ah, the life of a starship Captain.”
Cell: “P!!!”
Q: “Close. Hey you know what crazy thing happened the other day? Another continuum came into existence... the X-Continuum! Ha. Almost anyone can start a continuum nowadays.”
Cell: “Wait a minute. You’re not here for the Phoenix-X’s amazing scientific intergalactic event, are you? You’re here to complain about that!”
Q: “Oh come now, Captain. Am I that petty? You got to give a Q a little more credit.”
Cell: “Fine. Then I suppose you won’t mind me mentioning that I have partial omnipotent powers. One of those X-Continuum’ers gave it to me, pre-X-continuum, in hopes of helping their kind achieve the X-Continuum. Turns out at least one of them were able to do it.”
Q: “WHAT!? --I mean... that doesn’t bother me at all.”
Cell: “Also, there’s this crazy species called the Metrons achieving levels of omnipotency through technological means. They say, by the year 2400 the Metrons will have the ability to count backwards from infinity.”
Q: “Doesn’t phase me either, Captain. I really thought you would have known me better after I made you travel through time on so many occasions.”
Later, Mayhem sits, impatiently, at the long table in the Conference room. After some waiting, Seifer finally enters the room and takes his seat.
Mayhem: “Where have you been? I’ve been sitting here for hours!”
Seifer: “Drinking! Why? I thought you holograms didn’t experience the passage of time?”
Mayhem: “If anything we experience the passage of time worse than anyone else! Ever hear about the Moriarty hologram from the Enterprise? He shot and killed the entire crew! --Well, in the simulated universe that Barclay created to contain him at least.”
Seifer: “Is this what this is all about? You would like a simulated environment? To be honest with you, all of the decks of the ship are tattered and ruined from space battles, but we cover that whole look with ship wide holo-emitters and holograms.”
Mayhem: “No! I came to receive assignment! I refuse to be a nothing like that Omega android of yours.”
Seifer: “Sorry to burst your hologram, but in order to receive an assigned post, or be enlisted, you must have some form of Starfleet training.”
Mayhem: “Isn’t there a crash course I can take?”
Seifer: “Whoa! You just said ‘crash’. Well, you’re definitely not ever going to be selected for pilot. But to answer your question - no; All our crash course programs were deleted accidentally by our previous virus hologram.”
Mayhem: “Curse him!”
Seifer: “But we do have a test you can take that would put you into being considered for another test that would put you into consideration of being allowed to take the Starfleet entrance exams... You’d just need to take a small preliminary test, first.”
Mayhem: “Well, it’s a start. I will consent to such a test. But I will not consent to any medical examinations.”
Seifer: “But you’re a hologram?”
Mayhem: “So is that EMH!”
Cell sits in the Captain’s Ready Room while GoyCho and Gewdeque watch Kugo pace around anxiously.
Kugo: “Can you believe what they did? They kicked me out of MY Engineering!”
Gewdeque: “You’re only calling it yours because of that week you slept in there while they were fumigating your quarters for voles.”
Cell: “Hey pointy-eared woman, you really need to calm down. Aren’t you supposed to be a Vulcan? Besides, these Corps of Engineers are doing wonders for the ship! Why, if we had them here during our refit crisis, we could’ve avoided the whole ship ‘deterioration’ thing.”
GoyCho: “The Captain’s got a point there.”
Kugo: “Oh, so you’re saying I’m a bad engineer, huh? Well fine! We’ll see how these Corps of Engineers do... we’ll see.”
She slowly backs out of the room.
Cell: “What’d she do that for?”
Gewdeque: “Effect.”
GoyCho: “Oh my gosh... what if Kugo’s right? The engineers could blow the ship to smithereens! We’re all gonna die!”
Cell: “No we’re not! Those are the same engineers that have worked on the ship ever since the beginning... just with their memories erased of it over and over again.”
Wallace enters Sickbay, where both Doctor Lox and the EMH are playing rock, paper, scissors.
EMH: “Rock beats scissors! You’re doing Jergen’s heart surgery this afternoon.”
Lox: “Ugggh. Very well then. But I’m not going to put any effort into it.”
Wallace: “Am I interrupting something?”
Lox: “Who said th--!? Oh, it is you, Agent Wallace.”
Wallace: “Would I be correct in assuming that you are still in the business of immoral medical practice?”
Lox: “You assume correctly.”
Wallace: “Then I’d like for you to further modify my genetic structure from what has already been done by Section 31.”
Lox: “All you had to do was ask!”
EMH: “But, Doctor, what about the surgery this afternoon??”
Lox: “Oh, I’m sure Jergen doesn’t need his heart that badly. Talk about self-centeredness!”
Ensign Dan runs into Omega inside the Computer Access Room.
Omega: “It would seem as if Starfleet processors are very advanced.”
Ensign Dan: “Studying the inner workings of the ship I see?”
Omega: “Indeed. But looking at them makes me queasy. I am an android you know. To a humanoid, it would be like looking at a starship made of guts and blood.”
Ensign Dan: “Yuck.”
Beck, enters: “Greetings! I’m with the Corps of Engineers. I was also one of the original builders of this vessel.”
Ensign Dan: “Since then we’ve had fifteen close calls with the self-destruct sequence.”
Beck: “Hmm. Perhaps such an ability should be disabled.”
Ensign Dan: “Hah! Like you even know what you’re doing.”
Beck: “I know I’m supposed to say something to you... But what...? One of the engineers gave me a cue card...”
He searches his tool case for it and then pulls out the card.
Beck: “Oh, right! You’re relieved!”
Captain Cell enters the Battle Arena, where he sits in the center and begins meditating.
Q, pops in: “Alright fine, Captain! I admit it! It bothers me, this whole X-Continuum thing!”
Cell: “Hah! It was worth hearing that I was right.”
Q: “So you should know that I’ve been spending my time extracting all the power from those half omnipotent mortals who’ve been trying to join this other Continuum. That includes you, Captain.”
Cell: “What!? Oh well, good riddens. I was never trying to get into the X-Continuum.”
Q: “Don’t lie. You thought about it! Why, the power I possess is something anyone would want.”
Cell: “Whatever, Q. You’ve got limitations too. I just know it.”
Q: “Do I? Heh, heh, heh. When you find them, please let me know. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll be taking your power now.”
Cell: “What will happen to it after it’s gone?”
Q: “It will be recycled into the X-Continuum, because that’s what it and all the other’s have been associated with.”
Cell: “So you’re helping them?”
Q: “Purely involuntary, and short-term. The X-Continuum will soon meet with their fate by the hands of the Q-Continuum.”
Cell: “You’re not going to use the Enterprise as your battle ground are you?”
Q: “Why not? I do everything with the Enterprise.”
He snaps his fingers and Cell’s powers are suddenly gone.
Cell: “Phew. Now I can go back to being normal. Sort of... I still have to wear this jumpsuit uniform. Talk about lack of accessorizing.”
Lieutenant Kayl paces slowly around the Holodeck, inside a Starfleet Academy classroom environment with Mayhem. Mayhem sits at a computer, finishing his exam.
Mayhem: “Almost done........ almost............ almost........ going to be......... Now I’m done!”
Kayl: “Well, it’s about time. Let me take a look at it.”
Mayhem: “You can’t possibly be qualified. You’re just a Lieutenant!”
Kayl: “This is only one of the pre-exams. Ensign Dan could have graded your test if he wasn’t off duty right now.”
Mayhem: “I hope I passed. My computer memory banks can only hold up to 600 billion terabytes of information at a time.”
The Lieutenant goes through the file.
Kayl: “Good - good - good - not so good - not so good - horrible - horrible - terrible - really bad... uhhh... hmm. Perhaps I shouldn’t be grading this right in front of you.”
Mayhem: “I failed!? But I’m directly connected into the computer. I knew all of the answers!”
Kayl: “It takes more than just text-book answers to pass a Starfleet entrance exam. Sorry, Mayhem. I know a good garbage scowl in the Epsilon system. They’re always looking for crew.”
Mayhem: “I’m going to pretend you didn’t suggest that.”
He gets up and leaves. All of a sudden the ship shakes. Captain Cell is walking through the corridors when this happens, and quickly taps his commbadge.
Cell: “What the hell is going on?”
#Stanley: “Sorry, Captain - but the Transwarp drive is overloading! The modifications are having an adverse affect!”
Cell: “We’ll be okay, right?”
#Stanley: “Yeah, definitely... if exploding is something that qualifies as okay!”
Cell: “You guys were supposed to be the best!”
#Stanley: “We are! We just rarely deal with Transwarp engines, okay?”
Cell: “Fine. You’re forgiven. Considering we’re about to all die, I’d like to go with a clean conscience. Damn. I should’ve kept those omni powers.”
#Kugo: “Don’t worry, Captain. I’ll take care of this!”
#Stanely: “What is going on here? You can’t be in this room! Leave immediately! Death is immanent!”
There’s a sudden metallic BANG noise heard over the comm. The ship suddenly stops shaking.
Cell: “What was that?”
#Stanley: “I can’t believe it... She... she fixed the engines...”
Cell: “Kugo, did you do something?”
#Kugo: “Yes, Captain. You see, I remembered that after every level 6 diagnostic that my team and I would re-adjust the Transwarp coil’s harmonic resonance frequency. Then we would celebrate by each of us sharing a drink of wine. GoyCho usually sits his wine glass down upon the Transwarp coil itself, as if it is a cup-holder, and always throws off the resonance frequency. It usually takes a hard kick to the drive to reassert the frequency to what is was configured to. So that is what I did - I simply kicked the Transwarp drive with my Starfleet regulation boot tip.”
Cell: “Excellent work, Lieutenant Commander! For this, you will receive a medal of valour. How would the Christopher Pike one sound?”
#Stanely: “--Sir, we must complete our modifications to the engines.”
Cell: “Oh yes, of course. Please leave Engineering now, Kugo, and give them room once more.”
#Kugo: “But I just--!?”
Cell: “Please Kugo! Just because you saved our lives, doesn’t mean you don’t have to stay out of the way. Now go.”
#Kugo: “Fine. But I’m taking the wine with me.”
Wallace enters the Conference room, where the view-screen clicks on to Elena and Nelkast.
>Elena: “Wallace! How is that drive coming along?”
Wallace: “Ayum... gooder... and styuff.”
>Nelkast: “What the hell is wrong with you? You’re supposed to be intelligent!”
Wallace: “Duhm. I had my genes re-sequenced back to-- er, um, normals. Hehehe.”
>Elena: “You did what?? You idiot!”
>Nelkast: “Well he is now.”
Wallace: “Ayum wanted to be normals onsse more. Fur too long thu abilities of genetic intel-jence hev med me know too much for muh own good.”
>Elena: “It looks like your Doctor made you dumber than before. What’s worse is that we must now relinquish your position with the agency.”
Wallace: “Brut deh agency is meh life... I still hev muh Sekshun 31 mug and black shoe pulish.”
>Nelkast: “Your genetic enhancements were part of the application process into the agency. Without them, you’ve voided your membership! Plus, I don’t know if you noticed, but you really can’t stop drooling.”
Wallace: “Perheps thur is still teme to reverse dis process.”
>Elena: “Very well. Reverse the process, but keep that engine going! We have plans... insane plans.”
Wallace: “Insenne... plens...?”
>Nelkast: “Never mind. You can’t even comprehend us anymore.”
Wallace: “Uneemerrre?”
Beck enters the Engineering laboratory where one of his experiments is sitting on a table. Mayhem is going through a bunch of technologies, until coming upon Beck’s experiment - a small computerized gadget.
Mayhem: “Since I couldn’t pass my exams, I figured I may as well wander the ship aimlessly.”
Beck: “There’s that experiment!”
Mayhem: “You mind explaining your unnecessary outburst of joy?”
Beck: “I left this here four years ago the last time was I aboard the Phoenix-X. They wanted me working on more important experiments, and I completely forgot about this.”
Mayhem: “Meh. I only wish that I could forget about things... but my memory uses the computer’s memory cache.”
Beck: “Well I wouldn’t want this near a computer. This device is a remnant of the Iconian culture. It harbours some of their virus programming.”
Mayhem: “Wait - did you say virus?”
Beck: “Totally, dude! ...Those are just some words I learned from the historical database.”
Mayhem: “Hmm. Perhaps if I can’t join the crew, I can at least reclaim my identity. I will take this virus in hand and download it into my program!”
Beck: “Huh? But that’ll just corrupt your database and--”
Mayhem quickly cracks open the gadget allowing a small blue orb to fly out. It then attaches itself to Mayhem, causing him to fluctuate a few times. He then falls to his knees in pain, until the transformation subsides.
Mayhem: “AAuugghh!!!!”
Beck watches in horror as Mayhem then gets up, calmly.
Mayhem: “There. Now I’m me again.”
Beck: “What have you done? There’s no cure for that computer virus!”
Mayhem: “It’s not the virus that needed curing; but me. It is time I retain who I am, which is something evil... Well, evil to other people.”
Beck: “As long as it’s in you, the Phoenix-X should be safe. You’re keeping it occupied... which is good because you’ve broken the gadget.”
Mayhem: “I’m not sorry.”
Beck: “I wasn’t asking you to be.”
Commander Seifer enters the Captain’s Ready Room, where Cell is standing patiently.
Seifer: “I don’t get it, Captain. What exactly does Section 31 have planned after we get the Ultra-Transwarp drive working?”
Cell: “Got me. Maybe they want to use it to travel into the Delta Quadrant?”
Seifer: “And lose our way home? No thanks. That Quadrant is cursed.”
Cell: “Well, whatever the reason, I’m sure it’ll be pure and good natured.”
Seifer: “You’re always falling back onto that naïve train of thought, aren’t you?”
>Elena: “Delta Quadrant nothing! We intend for you to go way beyond that.”
Cell and Seifer turn to see that the transmission is coming from the Captain’s desktop screen.
Seifer: “Why do you guys keep stalking us!?”
>Nelkast: “Because we want you to travel beyond the borders of any territory known to the Federation.”
>Elena: “You are to use the Ultra-Transwarp to travel to the Andromeda galaxy!”
Cell: “What!? ...Why??”
>Nelkast: “Exploration of course.”
Both Cell and Seifer glance at each other in shock.
Seifer: “You were actually right this time, Captain... I think the intention really is pure and good natured.”
>Elena: “We’re not all bad, Commander.”
Cell: “But isn’t going there, immediately, kind of rushing it? Shouldn’t we prepare? I hardly think I’m qualified to represent the Federation in first contact with the Andromeda galaxy.”
>Nelkast: “You’re going to have to do. Section 31 can’t exactly reveal that its been habouring the Phoenix-X as a Transwarp capable vessel; now can we?”
>Elena: “Besides. We do have someone who will act as the diplomatic officer. He’ll be arriving shortly... Unless he was killed by rogue Borg or something.”
#Armond: “Bridge to the Captain. The shuttle Iroh is approaching the Phoenix-X.”
>Nelkast: “That should be him right now!”
Cell: “A guest? But all our guest quarters were converted to weapons lockers!”
Seifer and Cell step out onto the Bridge as the Iroh is hailing the ship. They suddenly recognize the person on the viewscreen.
>Theseus: “Well, well, well. It seems as if your vessel is finally worth something after all.”
Cell/Seifer: “Theseus!”
Armond: “Theseu...! oh, you already said that.”
Down in Engineering, Lieutenant Commander Kugo and her team are finally allowed back in. They slowly look around for any changes.
Stanley: “As you can see, the Ultra-Transwarp component has been correctly installed, with the stolen components from the other day.”
Gundah: “Not like before when the Ultra-Transwarp was installed crapily... with the unnecessary components. That’s why it only worked once.”
Beck: “That was my fault; sorry.”
Gundah: “No one’s perfect.”
Kugo: “Well that’s great... Now that I wasn’t allowed to see you install it - I can’t possibly repair it if something goes wrong!”
Stanley: “Pssh. What would the odds be of something like that happening? We’re the Corps of Engineers!”
Back on the Bridge, the rest of the Corps of Engineers are busy reconstructing. The Captain and Admiral attempt to speak over the constant construction noise.
Theseus: “...And so that’s what I’ve been up to this whole time.”
Cell: “What??”
Theseus: “That’s what I’ve---”
Cell: “What are you saying???”
Theseus: “I said, That’s what---”
Cell: “I can’t hearrr yoouuuu!”
Theseus gets frustrated and drags the Captain into the Conference room. The senior staff soon follow.
Cell: “That’s better. Can you start from the beginning again?”
Theseus: “Argghh! Forget it!”
Seifer: “We haven’t forgotten what you tried to do, Theseus. You almost made Section 31 a legal part of the Federation!”
Theseus: “But that’s all in the past now. It was a long time ago and should be forgotten.”
Cell: “It was last year!”
Theseus: “Forget that! I want to introduce you two my Andromeda team.”
Just then, four people step in, three of them Starfleet, and the other, Romulan.
Theseus: “Captain - this is Kustanovich, our Science expert. This is Peter Harkins, our communications expert. And this is Bullock, and finally, Cathlin Dar, our Romulan representative. These two are our diplomatic team.”
Kustanovich: “Anyone have any redbat?”
The staff just look at him in bewilderment.
Theseus: “They were all I could get, but I believe they to be properly qualified for the trip into Andromeda.”
Seifer: “Wasn’t that galaxy destroyed by the Totality, four years ago?”
Theseus: “No. You’re thinking of some other timeline, where the universe just doesn’t make sense.”
Cell: “What do we know of the Andromeda galaxy?”
Just then, Agent Wallace walks in, a little groggy from just coming out of genetic surgery.
Wallace: “Oyy... I’ll, uh, I’ll fill you in on that. Let’s see; our galaxy isn’t new to visitors from Andromeda. There’re the people from planet Mudd, the Kelvan’s, and maybe a few invaders or so since then.”
Cell: “Wallace, you don’t look so good.”
Red: “Forget Wallace! I just want to say that it will be an honour to be the first to travel to this galaxy.”
Seifer: “Wait. Didn’t V’Ger go to the Andromeda galaxy in the 2270’s?”
Wallace: “Well, uh, we Section 31 types will have to get back to you on that.”
Cell: “Great! So we’re not the first to go there!”
Theseus: “If you're including the USS Magellanic Clouds, the USS Odyssey, and a bunch of other ships; then no, you're not.”
Red: “I would just like to know our ETA.”
Theseus: “Normally, it would take at least 300 years to traverse the void space between galaxies at maximum warp, and about 10 years at your transwarp. But with your magnificent Ultra-Transwarp capability, we believe it to only be a few days!”
Cell: “That’s my baby.”
Lox: “How soon can we get on this journey?”
Kayl: “Engineering reports that the drive is ready to begin testing... testing with our lives, that is.”
Seifer: “Is there any other kind?”
Theseus: “Very well. You shall assign my Andromeda team quarters, and we will begin our journey. But we must begin at these co-ordinates.”
He throws down a padd, before Lieutenant Commander Red.
Cell: “Why those co-ordinates?”
Theseus: “You’ll see.”
The Phoenix-X drops normal Transwarp before a very large pinkish-purple energy barrier. The crew look at the view-screen on the Bridge of the Phoenix-X.
Cell: “Ah. I am seeing.”
Seifer: “Wait a minute. The galaxy has an end to it?? That’s ludicrous!”
Cell: “Not to worry. The old Enterprise crossed it dozens of times before. Since we’re ten times more advanced, we shouldn’t have any problem.”
Suddenly, Q appears out of nowhere.
Q: “Ohh, so you think, Captain! That Enterprise used altered shield specifics from alien origins that I’m sure you’re not aware of.”
Cell: “No? But I’m sure Section 31 is!”
He points to Wallace.
Wallace: “You are correct. But the modifications needed to be done are sketchy at best.”
Cell: “Just get to work on ‘em!”
Q: “You sure this is a wise course of action, Captain? Picard tried this ten years ago with a wormhole but found nothing but doom and gloom!”
Cell: “Oh yeah? Picard, huh? Well, I’ll show him!”
Suddenly, Kayl falls to her knees in pain, while grasping her head.
Kayl: “Ugghh! No, Captain! We-- can’t-- do this! I’m sensing something terrible embedded within that barrier!”
Q: “That would be the doom and gloom.”
Cell: “We can’t allow ourselves to be bullied if we want to leave the galaxy. The universe is free for all to explore!”
Q: “Says who?”
Cell: “The Federation. Now, move out of the way please. I need arm room to execute my ‘engage’ command.”
Both Wallace and Armond turn from the Tactical station to face the Captain.
Wallace: “Shields are ready to go.”
#Kugo: “Engineering reports ready to launch the Ultra-Transwarp!”
Cell: “Perfect. Is Ensign Dan still off duty?”
Seifer: “Yes, sir.”
Cell: “Even more perfect. Well everyone... we are about to make history here.”
Wallace: “Actually, we probably won’t be allowed to report this adventure.”
Cell: “Oh. Then, everyone, we are about to make Section 31 classified history here.”
Wallace: “Now that’s where the real history is recorded.”
The Captain takes his place at the centre of the Bridge.
Cell: “Helm, set a course for the Andromeda galaxy and engage!!”
The Phoenix-X powers up its engines and jumps through the barrier. The transition causes the ship to shake like crazy, and everyone’s vision to turn blurry.
Seifer/Cell: “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!”
