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Episode 87. Warp Escape

Book 1 - Episode 87 - Warp Escape

Context

Coordinated Universal Time
Sunday, August 11, 2024 - 3:06 AM
Location
  • Space
  • Lunar Orbit
  • Periphery of the NATO Starbase
  • USS Enterprise
  • Bridge
Timeline
Schak'Irra Timeline
Previously

Under Angie Chen's acting command, USS Enterprise answered Admiral Michaux's distress call. In lunar orbit, the ship discovered the NATO starbase besieged by an armada of Tholian vessels. Despite Tarsi and T'Met's warnings, Angie Chen engaged the enemy. The Tholians overwhelmed the fleet. Michaux ordered the retreat before the base exploded, taking thousands of lives with it. Refusing to flee, Angie kept fighting until the turbolift doors suddenly opened.

Characters

Name Affiliation / Branch Title / Rank Species Original Timeline
Agnes V. Rodriguez NATO / Special Fleet Captain Human Schak'Irra Timeline
Angie Chen NATO / Special Fleet Commander (Acting Captain) Human Schak'Irra Timeline
Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi Starfleet / Temporal Division Commander Andorian Prime Timeline
T'Met Starfleet / Temporal Division Captain Vulcan Prime Timeline
Eric Corda NATO / Special Fleet Lieutenant Commander Human Schak'Irra Timeline
Emilie Flores NATO / Special Fleet Ensign Human Schak'Irra Timeline
Charlene Savea NATO / Special Fleet Lieutenant Human Schak'Irra Timeline
Q Q Continuum N/A N/A N/A

Manifest

USS Enterprise
Affiliation NATO
Location Lunar Orbit
Captain
  • Agnes V. Rodriguez (Coma)
  • Angie Chen (Acting)
First Officer
  • Angie Chen
  • N/A
Pilot Eric Corda
Communications Emilie Flores
Operations Charlene Savea
Tactical Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi (Unofficial)
Science T'Met (Unofficial)
Advanced Weapons Eros Vitos
Sickbay Victor S. Calpel
Counselor/Consultant Manu
Custodian Manu
Passengers
  • Robert Gomard and his squad
  • 4 Vulcan survivors from Schak'Irra
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • Lingua (Packed in a box)
Detainees Vladimir Joseph Putin and his bodyguards

TL;DR

Out of her coma, Agnes Rodriguez immediately takes control and orders a warp escape. Before the commands are even executed, an invisible force born from her own gesture propels Enterprise to a speed it has never reached before. The ship tears through space at an insane pace, skimming the edge of disintegration. Q appears briefly, congratulates Agnes on her feat, then vanishes. Thanks to T'Met, the warp field is cut in extremis: Enterprise drifts far from Earth and the destroyed base. When the captain returns to the bridge, weakened but lucid, she finds a stunned crew, a damaged ship... and a sky of stars that no longer resembles Earth's. The escape has projected Enterprise into an unknown region.

Story

At the heart of the Tholian swarm, Enterprise is overwhelmed on every side. On the bridge, the officers are questioning Captain Chen's irrational decisions. At that moment, the turbolift doors open and I step out unsteadily, taking in the chaos on the bridge.

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

Mr. Corda, engage warp and get us out of here immediately!

Lt. Cmdr. Eric Corda Pilot

Aye, Captain Rodriguez.

Before the pilot can even execute my order, I thrust my hands forward and, as if by magic, Enterprise surges into warp. The force generated is so powerful that it throws me backward into the turbolift, whose doors immediately close again.

Q

My dear Agnes, it seems you are finally out of your coma.

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

What the hell are you doing here, Q? Don't tell me I'm still inside my subconscious!

Q

No, you are quite awake. I only came to congratulate you.

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

For what?

Q

I underestimated your mastery, and I never would have believed you capable of pushing this nutshell beyond its limits.

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

My pilot knows what he has to do! Move aside, I have to get back to the bridge! Can't you see the ship is shaking itself apart?

Q

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don't be in such a hurry. Let your little lackeys have their fun.

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

Leave me alone and disappear!

Q

Ah, humans. No gratitude at all. See you soon, my dear.

Q snaps his fingers and vanishes in a flash of white light. For several minutes now, Enterprise has been hurtling through unknown space, shaken by unimaginable forces. The jolts are so violent that everyone is thrown from one end of the bridge to the other. Alarms blare without pause, screens explode, and the hull begins to come apart. The situation is chaotic and critical.

Cmdr. Angie Chen Acting Capt.

Someone take control of the pilot station!

Lt. Cmdr. Eric Corda Pilot

I can't, I'm too far away, Captain.

Capt. T'Met

Our speed is now warp 4.8 and still increasing, Captain.

Lt. Cmdr. Eric Corda Pilot

Impossible! Our maximum speed is not supposed to exceed warp 3.5!

Capt. T'Met

Lieutenant Commander, I am merely reporting the instrument readings. We are now at warp 4.9.

Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi

You can hold a lecture later! We need to stop this ship at all costs! The Enterprise will not withstand these gravitational forces much longer.

T'Met, shaken as well, clings to the consoles and struggles toward the pilot station. She knows that cutting warp is the only option to avoid a major catastrophe. Every second counts, and she throws everything she has into reaching it despite the violence of the jolts. With one last desperate effort, she manages to reach the console, bringing the ship's uncontrolled flight to an end. Enterprise stops abruptly, drifting far from the Tholians and from the tragedy of the starbase.

The turbolift doors open again and I step onto the bridge. Just as I am about to collapse, Charlene and Emilie rush over and help me into a seat.

Ens. Emilie Flores Communications

Captain Rodriguez, are you all right?

Lt. Charlene Savea Operations

We thought you were still in a coma in sickbay. What happened?

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

Whoa, not so fast...

Cmdr. Angie Chen Acting Capt.

Flores and Savea. Back to your stations! Mr. Corda, what is our position?

Lt. Cmdr. Eric Corda Pilot

Captain Chen, I am unable to answer that. All I can tell you is that we are beyond the solar system.

Lt. Charlene Savea Operations

Judging by the position of the stars, I confirm Eric's assessment, Captain Chen.

Cmdr. Angie Chen Acting Capt.

T'Met, Tarsi... you're more familiar with deep space than we are. Where are we?

Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi

Uh, me? I can get lost on my own planet even with a map.

Capt. T'Met

With a probability of 72.1%, we are in the Alpha Quadrant.

Cmdr. Angie Chen Acting Capt.

The what?

Capt. T'Met

The Milky Way is divided into four quadrants: there is the Beta Quadrant, where Earth is located, then the Alpha, Delta, and Gamma Quadrants.

Cmdr. Angie Chen Acting Capt.

Be more precise. The galaxy is vast!

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

STOP! Our priority is to make sure the crew is all right and the Enterprise is operational. We will solve the problem of our location afterward!

Cmdr. Angie Chen Acting Capt.

Agnes, you are too weak to make decisions. As happy as I am to see you standing, I am going to have you escorted back to sickbay.

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

Eric, launch probes. You're in charge of monitoring. Charlene, Emilie, and Manu, assess the ship's condition. You over there, the woman with the pointed ears, who are you and what are you doing on my bridge?

Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi

Agnes, this is Captain T'Met of VSS Schak'Irra. She is the one you freed from Putin's clutches in Moscow.

Capt. T'Met

Indeed. I believe human tradition requires me to thank you for your actions.

Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez

Okay. Captain T'Met, Tarsi, and Angie, meet me in my office...

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