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Star Trek: Mirror Wars Episode 108 "Alternate Invasion, Part 2" James Earl Part 1 October 15, 2602 1410 hours As the man leveled the weapon at him, Berinski saw that he was going to die. He saw the weapon glow, which meant, in a few moments, his body would be hit by the phaser fire, sending his now burnt corpse to the ground in a heap, if the phaser didn't vaporize his body first. But Berinski knew he couldn't let that happen, he would not let it happen. He closed his eyes, and heard just the internal thrum of his body, letting all external noises go unheard. And just as suddenly, his eyes were open, and time seemed to slow. Time, he knew, had not really slowed, but his species had a special ability, the ability to give his body a sort of adrenaline rush, giving his body a faster pace. He knew he only had seconds, but in the time, he was able to duck underneath the incoming beam of phaser fire. And then, as he moved out of the way, and the beam hit the wall, vaporizing with it a part of the bulkhead, time returned to its normal pace... and all hell broke lose. "NOW!" yelled Berinski, as his body it the floor, flown back by the destruction of the wall. Behind him, he heard Yukoy and Feril rush out of the Jefferies tubes, fire at the man, but the man, although surprised by the attack, managed to dodge out of the way. As the man turned to fire back, he missed, and hit the console that he had been using. Suddenly the room exploded in fire, and sparks flew everywhere. Berinski was only conscious long enough to see both his friends fall the ground, and watch as the man disappeared down another tube. And then it seemed as if the universe collapsed upon itself, and all was black... Part 2 October 15, 2602 1415 hours Frank Riker was almost there. On the forward viewscreen, he saw the Majestic, hanging in space, as if the ship itself had died, leaving its crew stranded. Over the past month he, Deker, and James had gotten to know each other very well. He knew James to be a loyal and determined officer. So why had James decided now to leave the fleet? "We are almost there sir," said one of the bridge officers, standing behind Frank. "Prepare the tractor beam," said Frank, only really half listening. Frank knew something was wrong. He just hoped he wasn't too late to stop it. Part 3 October 15, 2602 1415 hours Admiral Klug watched from his window in his quarters of the U.S.S. Regal, watching the different gases of The Thorn moved about. On the other side of the ship, out of his view, dozens of ships sat waiting. In a few days, that number would increase, as Starfleet prepared for the attack. This, he knew, was the final blow of the war. After a month of fighting, Starfleet was going to win. Part 4 October 15, 2602 1416 hours Berinski opened his eyes. It had only been a few seconds, he could tell. The console in front of him still showered sparks everywhere. In a few more seconds, the ship's automatic systems would shutdown all power going into the console, fix the problem, and then reactive the console in a matter of minutes. But Berinski didn't have the time to sit and wait. He knew that the man would not come back to this area. It was to risky. Which left him one choice. To follow the man inside the inside of a very big ship. Pausing only to make sure his friends were alive, he left, continuing down the tube that he had seen the man enter. Suddenly, up ahead, he could hear heavy breathing. Around the bend, the man crawled. And Berinski followed, suddenly realizing where the man was going. Berinski cautiously continued, staying out of sight as the man headed for the shuttlebay. Part 5 October 15, 2602 1420 hours James was thinking a thousand miles a second, but nothing came to him. He felt Sarah coming up behind him and say, "There is nothing we can do." Turning to her he said, "But its my ship. No one should be ale to take it from me." "I know James. But there is nowhere to do. The phaser damping field prevents us from...," Sarah started to say, but before she could finish, the consoles lit up, and the lights came on. The power was back. Before anyone could react, a voice came through the con. "Captain, this is Yukoy. Berinski, Feril, and I found out where the spy was hiding. We engaged him, but he got away. Feril and I were knocked unconscious, but Berinski must have chased after the man. I just got power back on for you, but Feril is in need of medical attention down here." Part 6 October 15, 2602 1423 hours After this turn, the tube went straight down, Berinski knew. It wasn't a big drop, just a few meters, but it was all he needed. Berinski turned around the corner, just in time to see the man going down the ladder on the side of the shaft. Before the man's head could disappear down the shaft, Berinski brought his foot up and slammed it into his face. The sound of something cracking inside the man's skull was a welcome sound. The man's blood went everywhere as he fell down the shaft, startled by the sudden attack. But unfortunately for Berinski, the man was well trained, The man was not stunned for long. The man stood up and aimed his phaser up the shaft. He misses as Berinski dodged to the left, almost falling down the shaft himself. He watched as the man ducked into the next tube at the bottom of the ladder and out of sight. Berinski jumped down from the top of the shaft, landing hard on his feet. A burst of pain shot through his legs, but he ignored it as he followed the man. It wasn't hard to follow the man, and he left a trail of his blood behind him. Just ahead, Berinski could see the tubes open into the corridor, just outside the shuttlebay. He crawled out of the tubes, and followed the rail of blood down the corridor, but just as he turned down another corridor, he was attacked. A fist came up to hit Berinski in the face, but the man misjudged Berinski's full height, and only managed to hit just below Berinski's neck. Berinski stumbled back, but more stunned then hurt. Berinski rushed toward the man, sending a kick up towards the man's jaw, an attempt to hurt an already weak spot. But the man jumped to the side, leaving Berinski open for attack. Another fist hit Berinski in the stomach, but this time, Berinski was prepared and immediately went back on the offensive. As the fight continued, the man started to talk. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time," said the man, dodging a fist, "I must thank you." Berinski ignored the comment and hit the man's chin, and the man fell to the floor. Again, blood gushed from the prior wound. But before Berinski could get off another hit, the man took his weapon that had fallen to the floor during the fight. This time, Berinski was too slow, and as he dodged out the way, the shot grazed his side, sending him falling to the ground. And for the second time, the world started going black. But Berinski fought it. He could barely see as the man ran down the corridor and into the door that led to the shuttlebay. Berinski used all of strength, stood up and grabbed his own fallen weapon, and ran for the shuttle bay. "Step away from the shuttle," said Berinski as he leveled his phaser at the man. The man stood inside the threshold of the shuttle. Berinski knew that if the man got into that shuttle, he could leave at warp 13, and the Majestic would be unable to respond in time. Not in this condition at least, with sensors still offline. "Sorry Mr. Berinski. Its to late to stop me now. But we will meet again, I assure you." And before Berinski could react, the man jumped into the shuttle, just as the force field in the front of the bay collapsed, sending every molecule of air out into the vacuum of space in seconds. Berinski could hold his breath long enough to survive the vacuum for a few moments, long enough for the automatic shuttlebay doors to close. He grabbed a nearby beam in the wall, to prevent himself from flying into the infinite void of space, as he watched the shuttle leave the way. He was too late to stop the man, and as he felt the air coming back into his lungs and his world start to collapse for the third and final time that day, he felt the pang of failure, and made a promise that if he met this man again, it would be for the final time. Part 7 October 5, 2602 1430 hours Frank Riker felt relief as he watched the Majestic slowly move closer by the tractor beam. After an hour of going after this ship, it was finally over. "It looks like some internal explosions took place. For the moment, Majestic's impulse, shield, and sensor systems are offline," said Kelic, the ship's tactical officer. "What the hell happened over there," asked Frank, to no one in particular. And then, as if answering, Kelic said, "We are being hailed sir." Frank, surprised, said "Patch it through." In front of Frank, a holographic image of James appeared before him, a cut on his cheek. "What happened James," said Frank. "Our ship was taken over," said James, bluntly. "What!?" said Frank in confusion. "Frank, I just got a message from my chief engineer. Did you detect a shuttle leaving the Majestic a few moments ago?" Frank turned to Kelic and said, "Did we?" Kelic looked at his console, and then at Riker. "We did sir." "Then why wasn't I informed," said Riker, almost angrily. "One of the explosions on the Majestic released some plasma, masking the shuttle for a few moments, giving it enough time to warp away. It was only on sensors for less then a second." Part 8 October 15, 2602 1445 hours James, Frank, and Deker sat around the Unlimited's conferense room. "How the heck did a spy get on the ship," said Deker in disbelief. "I don't know, but he have to find out. All of Starfleet could be in danger of the same attack." Before the conversation could continue, Riker spoke. "Captain, I know this is hard to do, but the fleet has go to a region of space called The Thorn." "What..." asked James, "Why? "We just got word. Starfleet is planning an attack on the alternate universe from inside. In fact, the plan is to attack Earth itself." "Why the Thorn? Isn't that where the Enterprise was destroyed?" "Yes. According to research, this area of space is so unstable, it makes it possible to 'crossover' to the other universe and come to this universe." Part 9 October 16, 2602 1200 hours Frank and Deker stood on the bridge as the First Fleet went out of warp. Immediately, a message came in from the temporary Starfleet HQ in The Thorn. In front of Frank appeared the image of an Andorian in a Commander's uniform. "Glad to see you Frank," said Commander Shrar. "God to see you too, old friend," said Frank. "Starfleet has informed me that the First Fleet will be the attack's lead fleet. You are to go to the coordinates. Tactical information will be sent shortly," said Shrar, "We are to leave today at 1300 hours. I suggest you be ready." "We will be. Hope to see you on the battlefield." "Same here," said Shrar with a smile, just as his holograpic image disappeared. Part 10 October 16, 2602 1300 hours Inside the gaseous Thorn, the fleet stood still, as if waiting for something to happen. A small ship moved out of formation and took place in front of the fleet. A beam of light shot out of the ship, ending a few meters in front of the ship, as if something unseen blocked it's path. And then the impossible happened. It seemed as if space itself was being torn apart. The rip expanded, until after only a few minutes, it was large enough to fit the entire fleet. A impossible portal now stood open to an impossible universe, allowing entrance to all who dare enter it. On the Unlimited, Deker stoop up. "Open a channel to the ship." Kelic responded after a few seconds. "Channel open sir." "This is Admiral Deker. You are about to enter a new universe. Anything can happen. Over the past month, you all how proven what you are made off. You have faced death and destruction. All of you. And you watched it with not only courage, but with determination to stop it. What you do today will always be remembered. For right now, we face the hardest part. The choice to continue. What we will face when we start to fight will pale in comparison to what you do right now, as you choice to enter the unknown. You go forward for the dead... for the living... for everything that has been threatened. And I know that that will carry us through anything. And with that, Kelic closed the channel as Deker gave him a nod. And then Deker looked at the helmsmen and said, "Well, You heard me. Lets enter the unknown." |