Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 09 Feb 2004 05:22:28 GMT In: alt.startrek.creative From: sisko2374@aol.com (Sisko2374) COR DS9 "Third Way Out" B, Ez, Mir O'B, [PG] 4of 4 Conclusion After consulting with both Julian and the computer, Ezri had decided that their best chance was to head for Jupiter. Space-time was most stretched and weakened in a deep gravitational well like a neutron star, black hole or wormhole. Since none of those existed in the Terran system and the solar plasma flares and intense radiation of the sun made it unsafe, Jupiter's gravitational well was the logical choice. The three hour trip to Jupiter passed slowly for everyone. As they looped about Io, heading for the Jovian giant's upper atmosphere Julian had a disturbing thought. "Ezri, what if our calculations are off by even a micron either way? Will we pass our own universe and break into another one, one so similar to ours that we won't even know it?" Ezri shrugged. "As long as it doesn't have the Alliance in it, I don't care! Seriously though, according to multi-universe theory, the parallel quantum realities are layered on top of each other. We're right next to the Mirror universe. So we just get off at the first stop!" She laughed. Julian was not amused. "You're forgetting, Julian. The computer has the quantum signature of our universe. It will know when to stop the ship." "If its able to stop in time." "Then we'll just stop in at Starfleet Headquarters, or whatever that universe's equivalent is, stock up with quantum torpedoes and try again. Maybe even pick up a replacement warp core and head for the wormhole." Bashir rolled his eyes. "We may not even exist in the next universe we wind up in!" "Relax, Julian, you worry too much." The bridge view screen grew fuzzy as the atmosphere of the gas giant filled the horizon. "Our worries may soon be over. Entering Jupiter's upper stratosphere. Wind speeds 800 kph plus." The Defiant shuddered slightly as she plunged deeper into the atmospheric maelstrom. "Hull pressure 400 psi and rising," Julian called out. The view screen was dissolving into incoherent patterns of interference. A red light flashed on Ezri's chair console. "Fire quantum torpedoes!" Six converging streaks of light leaped ahead of the Defiant. A fraction of a second later they met in a white blossom of quantum smashing destruction. "Brace for impact!" The Defiant lurched forward, meeting the shockwave head on. "Detecting a tear in space time six hundred kilometers ahead!' Julian braced himself against the science station as the inertial dampeners attempted to compensate for the ship's violent pitch and yaw. "Opening is spherical, 500 meters in diameter. Starting to close!" Ezri stiffened. Even through the random patterns on the view screen she could make out the yawning black void already visibly shrinking. "Full impulse now!" Instantly the Defiant accelerated, then disappeared into the blackness of the space time tear. Bridge lights dimmed, the view screen went black.. Ezri felt/heard the symbiont cry out inside her. She glanced at Julian, his face a grimace, his knuckles white as he clutched the console of the science station. A shudder passed through the entire ship, as if every atom of it was about to fly apart. Then suddenly they were through. The view screen displayed the interference pattern that told them they were descending into the Jovian atmosphere. "Helm, take us up!" "Aye, sir," Jackson responded. As the Defiant broke out of the atmosphere and back into space, Ezri called for a navigation check. "We're in Jupiter space. Everything is where its supposed to be," Julian responded. "The only question is, are we?" "We're being hailed." Alvarez announced from communications. "Put it on speaker," Ezri ordered, chewing her lip. "Jupiter station to Defiant. How ... where the devil did you come from?" Julian smiled at Ezri from the science station. "Quantum signature of this universe confirmed. We're home." Ezri breathed a big sigh of relief. "Defiant to Jupiter station. We came in the back door I guess. Request permission to dock. We're in need of repairs, food and some hot baths. And a secure channel to Starfleet Command." "Permission granted Defiant. But your transponder seems to be off line." Ezri bit her lip. Her luck was simultaneously incredibly good and bad. She had lost a ship, but then she'd brought one back, an identical Mirror universe Defiant but missing a warp core and a cloaking device. Would Star Fleet command accept it and over look her first command mishap? Or just dock her frontier pay allowance? Say for the next 300 years? Then there was the little matter of Cynthia Jordan and Section 31. Maybe Starfleet command would consider preventing a war a good trade for losing one little ship. THE END "Third Way Out" 4 of 4 -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. From ???@??? Sat Feb 14 00:52:20 2004 Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n15.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.70]) by kite (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1aRSGE1I83NZFkD0 for ; Fri, 13 Feb 2004 21:49:55 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-13173-1076737488-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.