Out of the Wormhole:

Bruno reports to the bridge chomping on the butt of an unlit cigar, a glass of brandy in hand. He adjusts his monocle and runs a hand over his bare scalp, a nervous reaction. "Okay, what's going on here? Was that an unscheduled jump of some sort??"
Mindwave hurries to the bridge, "Captain, report."
Mindwave moves over to her command chair and sits down

The bridge is bustling with activity. A quick glance out the viewport shows that the ship is no longer in warp. Ens. T'ja at the helm appears shaken, but is continuing to make some calculations. At the science station, Lt. Kaar works with Lt. Kirana to try to figure out where the ship is now. Captain Tarna swivels his chair to face Mindwave, explaining, "Some sort of wormhole, Warlord. The ship passed through it, and damage is only superficial... a few bumps are all we really took." He looks over at the science station, asking, "Do you have our position yet?"
Lt. Kirana, the sensor officer looks up from the workstation. He points to a star that is somewhat brighter than the rest on the viewport, saying, "Aye, Captain... that's the Tirax system right there."
Mindwave turns to the viewport, "How far are we from the Tirax system?"
Ens. T'ja makes a few quick calculations. She then says to Mindwave, "Roughly an hour at best speed, Warlord."
Bruno sighs and goes to his workstation and sets down the glass of brandy. "Wormhole huh... don't trust it..." He smirks and sets the widget in motion. "Checking dimensional vibrations..."
Mindwave says in Basic, "You mean to tell me that we jumped ahead six weeks' worth of travel?"
Ens. T'ja nods her head, saying, "Aye, Warlord. That appears to be the case."

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 6 1 1
Body: 2
Stun: 8

Mindwave glances down at the Ensign, then back up at the viewport, "Amazing..."

Empress says, "Bruno, sensors are showing something similar to a "warp wake" behind you, which is not normal... there appear to be waves, albeit small ones, trailing out from where the wormhole was. It is closed now, by the way."

Mindwave says in Basic, "Captain, hold our position here. There are some answers we need to find out before we proceed any further."
Captain Tarna nods and says, "Aye Warlord. Shall we secure from general quarters?"
Mindwave turns to the Captain, "Are there any other ships nearby?"
Lt. Kirana shakes his head, saying, "Sensors show all clear, Warlord"
Bruno hrrrms and scratches his chin, "Damn... what just happened. Can I get a read of sensor logs, please?"
Lt. Kaar nods to Bruno. She says, "I'll transfer the data to your terminal, Doctor."
Bruno nods, "Many thanks Lt." He takes another sip of brandy and sighs. he pulls another monocle out of his pocket and puts that in his OTHER eye.
Mindwave says in Basic, "Thank you, Lieutenant.... Captain, you may stand down, however, when we proceed to Tirax, I want this ship ready for action."
Captain Tarna nods, saying, "Understood, Warlord. Damage control is already fixing the few things that broke, we should be at 100% in less than an hour." He turns to Ens. Par'tagh at the communications station, saying, "Ensign, secure from general quarters."
Bruno begins scanning the sensor logs, looking for any strange emissions before the ship entered the wormhole, readings DURING the jump, and what the heck is with the warp wake.
Par'tagh nods and says, "Aye, Captain" and a moment later, the warning lights turn off and the ship's normal lighting is restored.
Mindwave turns to Ens. Par'tagh, "Ensign, are we still receiving normal communications traffic?"

Empress says, "Bruno, here's what happened, according to the sensor logs: The ship had been at warp speed for roughly 30 minutes and running smoothly. Then some sort of anomaly popped up directly in front of the ship... close enough that there was no time to avoid it. Once in the wormhole, sensor data becomes distorted and unreadable... visual actually did show some sort of 'tunnel' that the ship was passing through, but the sensor data at that point is useless. Thirty seconds later, the ship broke out of the tunnel and was traveling at sublight speed with some minor damage to the ship's systems from the turbulence."

Ens. Par'tagh says to Mindwave, "Difficult to tell at this point, Warlord. We're no longer within instant communications range with Earth or any other part of the fleet. We are picking up some com traffic from the Tirax system, however.
Mindwave says in Basic, "Ensign, can you make contact with the battle group?"
Ens. Par'tagh says, "I can send a message, Warlord. It'll be a couple of hours before we get a response."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Very well. Send them a message indicating our present position and status. I want them to reply as quickly as possible, and relay our message back to Earth."
Ens. Par'tagh nods, saying, "Aye Warlord." and sets about sending the message
Commander Brenna speaks up, asking, "Does it seem strange to anyone else that this wormhole would just drop us right at the front door of our destination system?"
Bruno nods, "Which is why I'm checking the dimensional vibrations... this could be a pocket dimension or something..."
Mindwave turns to Commander Brenna, "Yes, it does seem very strange. Perhaps we were brought here."
Bruno sighs, "Unless it's a mass delusion?"
Mindwave says in Basic, "After all, a probe was sending information back to us. Perhaps the signal was traced."
Mindwave says in Basic, "It just could be that whoever is in the Tirax system wanted us to get here quickly"
Lt. Kirana reports, "The probe was sending an encrypted broadcast signal, no specific direction."
Bruno hrrrrmmms, something occurs to him. He grabs the widget and calls up some files.
Captain Tarna says, "Let's hope the inhabitants of the Tirax system don't command that kind of power..."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Hmmm, that does make it interesting.... could a wormhole like that be artificially generated, and from a distance?"
Commander Brenna answers Mindwave, "I would think they would have to know that we were coming, and our exact path of transit for something like that... the other end of that wormhole is several thousand light-years from here."
Bruno sighs, one idea down the tube. "No... no... something's going on..."
Ens. Par'tagh speaks up, saying, "Warlord, engineering reports damage control is completed, all systems functioning within normal parameters."
Mindwave turns back to Ensign Par'tagh, "Ensign, a moment ago you reported that there was radio traffic in the Tirax system. Can you identify it?"
Ens. Par'tagh nods, saying, "Picking up traffic from the system on many many frequencies. Radio, x-ray, microwave... you name it, it's in there."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Anything being broadcast?"
Ens. Par'tagh says, "If their communications is any indication, the people in the Tirax system are quite advanced, technologically speaking."
Bruno raises an eyebrow, "How do they know your name? I'd say we're under some form of mass delusion..."
Mindwave turns to the Doctor, "What do you mean, "know my name?"
Par'tagh says, "Aye... some is standard broadcast, some is encrypted... the computer is chewing on the translation now, it's going to be a while." He then says to Bruno, "The traffic we're picking up is not directed to us... it's just general broadcasts that are escaping the system."
Bruno sighs, "Par'tagh said your name was being mentioned in the broadcast..."
Par'tagh smiles and shakes his head, "No Doctor, I meant any frequency or band you care to think of is in the mix there..."
Mindwave turns back towards the communications officer, "Ensign, how long before those transmissions are deciphered?"
Par'tagh says, "The computer should have a fair translation of their language in another few minutes. After that, we can start working on their encryption schemes, but that could be days or even weeks to decipher."
Mindwave says in Basic, "We could get a good idea of whoever is in that system just from the standard transmissions... keep me notified, Ensign."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Doctor, could you come down here.""
Par'tagh nods, saying, "Aye Warlord."
Mindwave motions for Bruno to come over to her command chair
Bruno nods, "Aye."
Mindwave communicates telepathically with Bruno, "Doctor, while we were in the wormhole, I had a strange experience.."
Mindwave continues to talk to Bruno telepathically, "it seemed like a dream, but I was back in Denver, trying to catch Col. Charr. It seemed like a dream, but it was much more real. I could interact, somewhat, with my surroundings, but it seemed like no one saw or heard me"
Mindwave talks to Bruno telepathically, "It seemed to last about 30 minutes, then, when I awoke, the klaxons were going off... In this dream, for lack of a better term, all of the events happened like they did, with a few exceptions... I could see myself, but I could not speak to anyone... or even contact them telepathically.
Mindwave talks to Bruno telepathically, "this all happened at the exact same time as we were in the wormhole. I don't know what it means."
Bruno nods and hrrrrmmmms, in telepathic communication. "I couldn't attempt to tell you what that means... I guess a wait and see approach is the best we can do right now."
Mindwave turns to the navigation officer, "Are we still receiving signals from navigation beacons?"
Ens. T'ja nods, saying, "Aye Warlord, the data from those beacons is roughly two hours old, which is consistent with our projected communications delays to Earth."
Mindwave resumes her telepathic contact with Bruno, "If whoever did this can affect me to that extent from such a distance.... did you experience anything while we were in the wormhole?"
Mindwave says in Basic, "Thank you, Ensign."
Bruno nopes, in the mindlink. "Nothing whatsoever. I'd guess that someone was targeting YOU... wait a second... is it possible there's an infiltrator aboard ship? That would solve the range problem."
Mindwave seems a little disturbed at the thought, "If so, they would have to be pretty powerful to get past my defenses... I would think not, unless it is a Morgoth plot... that system could be a big trap, and we are now a long way from any help arriving soon...."
Bruno nods and keeps up the silent conversation, "But how strong are your defenses when you are asleep?"
Mindwave points out to Bruno, "Also, if I were under mental attack, I would know it. I think we were brought here. By whom...? Who has that kind of ability? I know one individual who possibly could... Vargh."
Bruno nods and hrrrms considering, "Still wouldn't explain your dream... that seems more like a sign, a warning..."
Mindwave telepathically says, "Remember, he did teleport us back to Earth from the one planet we were on. I don't know if he could transport a whole ship. The dream could have been an omen, indeed, but what is the meaning of it?"

Mindwave telepathically communicates with Bruno, "Perhaps someone was making contact with me, from the Tirax system, in a way that is unknown to even a telepath. This dream I had did occur before we went into the wormhole, at the end of the dream, Charr was the last thing I saw, fading into the mist. I don't know what it is meant to represent, if it is some sort of clue..."
Bruno sighs and shrugs, mystified...
Captain Tarna says, "Warlord, the ship is ready to go. We are able to proceed with our mission at your convenience."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Thank you Captain.... Ensign Par'tagh, Any luck on the translation?"
Par'tagh says, "The computer has a translation that appears to be about 80% accurate at this point, Warlord."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Can you identify the language?"
Par'tagh says, "It's a new one for the books, Warlord. Though it is related to the language that the people aboard that old generation ship were speaking. It's changed quite a bit from that particular dialect, though."
Mindwave says in Basic, "The language has probably evolved over the years...."
Ens. Par'tagh nods, saying, "Aye. Several centuries can do harsh things to a language."
Bruno nods and sets about translating immediately then. "Well we shall know soon enough..."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Very well, I think it is time we get a closer look at this system. Captain, get us underway. Best possible speed. Ensign Par'tagh, be alert for any messages that may be directed at us, or any incoming vessel.""
And with the orders given, the ship slides back into warp, headed toward the Tirax system. The ship reaches the edge of the system approximately an hour later.
Mindwave takes this time to review the encounter with the Voyager.
Just short of reaching the edge of the system, Lt. Kirana reports, "Warlord, I'm detecting energy emissions being directed toward us from the fifth planet in the system... it looks like they see us coming and are scanning."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Thank you Lieutenant.... Captain, hold this position.""
Captain Tarna nods and orders, "Full stop, Ensign T'ja. Take us out of warp." A moment later, the ship drops out of warp and Ens. T'ja reports, "All stop, Captain."
Mindwave turns to the communications station, "Ensign, any incoming signals?"
Ens. Par'tagh shakes his head, saying, "Nothing being directed at us, Warlord. Traffic in the higher bands has picked up however, I think it's safe to assume that it's military communications."
Ens. Par'tagh adds, "All of that traffic is encrypted."
Mindwave says in Basic, "I would suspect that it would be..."
Mindwave says in Basic, "We will hold this position and let them take a good look at us..."
Lt. Kirana reports from the sensor station, "Contact! Three movers inbound at high speed. ETA is five minutes..."
Mindwave says in Basic, "On tactical..."
The port holotank lights up showing a 3D map of the system, including the Star Fist's current position, and the positions of all three contacts, along with their vectors
Mindwave says in Basic, "Size of the incoming vessels?"
Lt. Kirana answers, "They appear to be roughly corvette sized. Moderate energy output. They do have shields and they are raised, Warlord. Their weaponry appears to be tachyon-based, so our shields will provide us protection."
Captain Tarna says, "Recommend going to red alert, Warlord."
Mindwave turns to Ensign Par'tagh, "Open hailing frequencies, Ensign."
Ens. Par'tagh nods and says, "Hailing frequencies open, Warlord."
Mindwave says in Basic, "To the approaching vessels, my name is Mindwave, a representative of her highness, The Empress, aboard the Imperial frigate Star Fist. We come in peace. Our vessel recently encountered a colony ship from this system, named "Voyager," which had been in space for over 1200 years. We assisted this ship in reaching it's destination, and we have come to investigate the system Voyager originated from. Again, we come in peace. Please respond.""
The front viewscreen changes as the lead ship of the three corvettes responds. On the screen you can see a dimly lit bridge, and a humanoid male sitting in what appears to be the command chair of the enemy ship. He says, "You have violated our space, Star Fist. You will surrender immediately and be brought in for questioning. Failure to comply will result in your destruction."
Bruno hrrrrrrmmmms and starts running a tactical analysis immediately, starting to scan them.
Bruno hrrrmmms and nods, "Yup, just as I thought. We can win, but it will be stiff. My suggestion is to fry one of them RIGHT now as a warning to the others... that or get the hell out."
Mindwave says in Basic, "We did not mean to violate your space, and if you desire that we depart, we shall. However, I will not surrender this vessel. I wish to speak to your leaders. I am willing to go personally, if your superiors approve."
The captain of the other vessel says, "There is no negotiation. Surrender or be destroyed." Lt. Kirana reports quietly, "ETA is 3 minutes... they will be in weapons range in 30 seconds.
Bruno starts scanning for weaknesses in the other ships' hull structures...
Commander Brenna punches up some commands on her station, rerouting tactical and fire control to her personal station. She looks at Captain Tarna, just waiting for the order to be given...
Captain Tarna remains calm, asking Mindwave quietly, "Shields, Warlord? Our time is growing short..."
Mindwave says in Basic, "We did not come here seeking battle, nor to intrude or invade. We come in peace, and we will depart in peace. However, I should warn you, an entire battle group of Imperial vessels is approaching this system, including ships more powerful and more heavily armed. Any hostile action taken against this vessel will be seen as an act of war, and a full retaliatory strike will commence."

Empress says, "Bruno, roll 3d for me"

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 2 1 3
Body: 2
Stun: 6

The commander of the other vessel says, "You lie! Power down your vessel immediately and surrender"
Bruno nods, and hrrrmmms, "Okay... weakspots in the armor detected... patching through a firing solution to control right now."
Mindwave turns to the Captain, "Raise shields, arm all weapons."
Captain Tarna nods and the ship moves to red alert. Shields come up immediately and a second later, Brenna reports, "Ion batteries locked on the lead corvette, Warlord. In range in ten seconds."
Captain Tarna says to Ens. T'ja, "Stand by for evasive maneuvering..."
Mindwave turns back to the viewscreen, "This is your last chance, veer off your attack, now!"
The viewscreen blanks out as the other side cuts off the channel. The three corvettes spread their formation preparing to attack...
Mindwave says in Basic, "Captain, can we quickly jump into warp, and get past these vessels?"
Tarna shakes his head, saying, "No, not in toward the system..."
He says, "We can jump away from them, though, if you wish..." Brenna reports, "Lead Corvette coming into range... permission to fire?"
Mindwave turns to the communication station, "Ensign, keep the channel open...."
Ens. Par'tagh reports, "Channel is still open, Warlord... they may not be listening though."
Mindwave says in Basic, "To the commander of the approaching vessels, you should know, we have encountered others of your species on another world."
Kirana reports, "Enemy vessels have locked onto us!"
Mindwave says in Basic, "Evasive maneuvers!"
Ens. T'ja has the ship moving before the command has been completed. The ship "drops" along the Z axis and bursts forward, the inertial compensators almost keep up with the motion. A split second later, a pair of green energy beams pass through the spot the Star Fist just left, missing by only a few meters.
Mindwave says in Basic, "Open fire, all weapons. Fire at will!!"
Four blue beams lance out at the lead Corvette as the ship's main ion batteries fire...
Empress says, "Mindwave, roll 3D please"

Mindwave rolls 3 dice and gets: 1 2 2
Body: 2
Stun: 5

Though the enemy ships aren't within visual range yet, the tactical reports four direct hits to the lead corvette. Its status updates a moment later, showing the front shield penetrated and some fairly severe-looking damage to the front starboard side. The ship is still under power, though, and has not been disabled."
Empress says, "Someone roll 3D again for poor Ens. T'ja at the helm..."
Mindwave says, "I got it.."

Mindwave rolls 3 dice and gets: 1 3 1
Body: 1
Stun: 5

Empress rolls 3 dice and gets: 5 6 4
Body: 4
Stun: 15

The Star Fist twists, and with another pulse of the sublight drives, the ship shoots forward and out of the way of the return fire... Again the inertial compensators don't quite keep up, with the power drain caused by the shields and the weapons, and you actually feel about 5 G's worth of the maneuver, which is uncomfortable, but not serious. Blue beams strike out at the lead corvette again...
Empress says, "Bruno, roll 3D, please"
Mindwave says in Basic, "Concentrate fire on the lead vessel!"

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 2 5 1
Body: 2
Stun: 8

The tactical data that Bruno came up with seems pretty good, as the lead corvette takes three more direct hits from the ship's ion batteries, then starts to tumble forward out of control. The tactical holotank repaints the image of the ship from green to light gray, indicating that the enemy ship's power has been disabled. The other two corvettes continue their attack, however...
Empress says, "Mindwave, roll for T'ja again"

Mindwave rolls 3 dice and gets: 5 2 1
Body: 2
Stun: 8

The area around the Star Fist is lit up with deadly green energy bolts again. This time, one of them actually connects on the port shield, still not bad considering the volume of enemy fire. The bolt hit hard though, and that particular shield goes from green to red on the tactical...
Mindwave says in Basic, "One down, two to go.... keep our starboard side towards them."
As the enemy corvettes draw closer, Ens. T'ja maneuvers to try to keep the port shield away from both aggressors, but it's not easy, as they are coming from different directions. Red laser beams from the ship's point defense weapons mix with the main ion batteries as Brenna returns fire on the next corvette...
Empress says, "Bruno, go ahead and roll"

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 4 5 5
Body: 3
Stun: 14

The corvette is peppered by laser beams, but only one of the main batteries finds its mark before the corvette moves out of the way. Shields on the corvette change to yellow on the tactical. Tarna says, "We have to finish this soon, I'm sure they're screaming for help..."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Agreed, Commander."
Empress says, "Go ahead and roll for T'ja one more time, Mindwave"

Mindwave rolls 3 dice and gets: 4 6 1
Body: 3
Stun: 11

Commander Brenna calls to Bruno, "Any more data you can give me will be helpful, Doctor... find the chink in their armor..."
The Star Fist takes a few more hits. The front shields take a pounding, and one section fails entirely. The computer reports, "Warning: Hull penetration on deck 17."
Bruno immediately goes to work scanning once more and hrrrrmmms... studying that weak point, analyzing it. If he can get an exact pinpoint location...
Empress says, "Roll, Bruno"

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 6 2 2
Body: 4
Stun: 10

Empress says, "Now roll for Brenna's attack..."

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 2 3 6
Body: 4
Stun: 11

Bruno's calculations fine-tune his previous data a bit more. Once uploaded to Commander Brenna's terminal, all fire from the laser batteries stops for a second, then then all weapons fire in unison, punching through the Corvette's already damaged shield. Blue arcs of electricity dance across the hull of the second corvette as the ion beams punch through, and the tactical shows the second corvette go gray as well. The third, seeming to have had enough or not liking the present odds, begins to flee.
Bruno hrrrmmms, "Is our tractor beam strong enough to hold them?"
Brenna says, "We'd have to knock down their shields first..."
Mindwave says in Basic, "Any other ships approaching?"
Kirana says, "There is some activity around the third planet, looks like more ships will be on their way soon. It will probably be some time before they get here though... maybe fifteen minutes."
Mindwave turns to the communications station, "Ensign, open a channel."
Bruno nods, "Well... for the time being those two ships without power are our hostages... that oughta keep the dogs at bay at least while we effect repairs."
Ens. Par'tagh says, "Channel open, Warlord."
Mindwave says in Basic, "To the commanding officer, this is Mindwave, aboard the Imperial frigate Star Fist. Lower your shields and surrender your vessel. We will assist in treating your wounded if you so desire."
There is no response from the fleeing corvette, though it has stopped firing. It is accelerating away from the Star Fist at a pretty good rate.
Mindwave says in Basic, "Captain, I think it would be best if we left this system for now. Set a course to rendezvous with the battle group, best possible speed."
Captain Tarna nods and says, "Aye, Warlord. Ensign, plot us an exit course from this system." He says to Mindwave, "We could probably meet up with the Battle Group at Earth, if you desire... that wormhole placed us a very long way ahead of schedule."
Commander Brenna asks, "What about those two disabled ships?"
Mindwave says in Basic, "That would be preferable, Captain. Make it so."
Mindwave turns back to the viewscreen, "I don't understand how these could be the same race that we encountered in space.... unless, unless they had a bad encounter with other interstellar space farers..."
Captain Tarna nods, saying, "Remember, we're dealing with 1200 years of cultural evolution between our two samples..." He asks Mindwave, "What shall we do with those disabled vessels? It may not hurt to tow one for a while so we can study it."
Mindwave turns back to the Captain, "Yes, if we can tow one, then do so. We can board it once we put some distance between us and this system."
Commander Brenna locks a tractor beam onto the second corvette then the Star Fist turns toward deep space and enters warp.

To be continued...