The Engineer and the Time Lady - Lost v0.1

8. Lost

The Baffin went to warp. But something happened at the same time, and the ship shuddered and then dropped out of warp again. “Report!” Emerson barked through the red alert klaxon.

“We were at warp for just over a second,” Andersen reported. “We're still relatively close to the planet.”

“According to sensors, the anomaly did close in on us and the shuttle just before warp was initiated,” Lu added.

“Do we still have the shuttle?” Emerson asked.

“Yes,” Lu answered.

“Full scan,” Emmerson reported.

On the Montreal, Hernandez recovered after that jolt. “Are we still in the tractor beam?” she asked.

“We are,” Albert confirmed. “We'll be back aboard in 20 seconds.”

“That's good. That was a close call,” Hernandez said.

“It may be closer than you realise,” Lawson stated.

“You mean, we didn't escape the anomaly?” Hernandez asked.

“According to the sensors, the anomaly closed in just before the ship went to warp,” Albert said.

“That probably wouldn't be good,” Hernandez murmured as she saw the shuttle re-enter the shuttlebay.

After the shuttle landed, the away team went back to the bridge.

“Preliminary results from the scan are ready,” Lu said.

“Let's hear it,” Emmerson ordered.

“Divergent Quantuum Signature,” Lu confirmed.

“So, we're in another universe?” Hernandez asked as she entered the Bridge.

“Yes,” Emmerson answered as Hernandez and the others took their stations.

It took an hour for the scan to complete. During the time Emmerson had informed the crew of the situation they were in.

“As soon as the scan is complete we're going to try to contact Starfleet as it exists in this universe,” Emmerson said.

“That would be better than us trying to do it by ourselves.”

The scan data showed that the the planet in this universe had been as affected by the phenomenon as the planet in their home universe had. They had then tried to contact Starfleet. There was no response.

Eight hours after the transition, Emmerson made another decision. “We have not received a return signal from Starfleet Command. Therefore we need to go to Sector 001 ourselves.”

“If Starfleet is not there, we don't know what state we would find Earth in,” Hernandez said.

“That's true,” Emmerson conceded, “but it would be more foolhardy to go anywhere else. We'll send probes in the direction of other Federation worlds as we approach.”

The Baffin made preparations to make the journey. But first they sent a probe back to Tanarexa IV with information on what had occurred. It soon disappeared into another anomaly, but scans on the destination were inconclusive. They placed a warning beacon and then went to warp.

“Personal Log, supplemental. The situation hasn't fully hit me yet. The Baffin is lost more than what Voyager was. The chances of finding our universe again is remote, astronomical even, and it seems we're in a universe where the Federation either doesn't exist, has yet to exist or has fallen.” Hernandez paused. She wasn't sure where that line of thought was leading. Some of her ruminations were confused. She changed tack. “We have set course for Earth at Warp 8. We're not using Slipstream as while Dilithium can be recrystalised, Benamite cannot.”

Warp 8 is also the speed at which the engines are most efficient. We won't need to slow down. Without unforseen events we should arrive in twelve days.

Six days later, Emmerson came onto the Bridge. There still had been no response to the hails to Starfleet the previous evening. “We're about to send the probes in the direction of Qo'noS and Romulus, Commander,” Hernandez reported.