Chapter Text
Having just witnessed the destruction of the emperor’s Death Star II and the victory of the rebel alliance from his part on the forest moon of Endor, Han is feeling really damn good. He has just dropped off his inseparable companion Chewbacca to visit his family on Kashyyyk and is pulling out of orbit in the millennium falcon. His course laid in for a reputable repair yard to see about having his long range comms dish and sensor suite repaired.
“Stupid Lando couldn’t pilot a gundark across an open field without somehow making it fall over” he mutters to the empty cockpit. He sighs a little and stretches forwards with his right hand to engage the Hyper-Drive. The stars stretch into lines and just at the point where the swirling tunnel appears to launch the Falcon across the void between stars at several factors greater then lightspeed, it collapses back into normal space!!
“What the Frell!!” he exclaims as his proximity sensors suddenly blare loudly. Without waiting for his eyes or instrument panels to tell him what’s wrong he jerks his control yoke to the side and back, smashing the throttle into full reverse for a modified cobra/Immelmann maneuver. The falcon groans at the ultra high G maneuver and narrowly misses colliding with the large saucer-shaped section of a weird looking looking ship. Kinda reminds him of the smooth hulled Mon Calamari cruisers, but theirs don’t have two long swoopy… nacelles?, nor are they fond of saucer shaped upper sections.
His voice comms crackle to life. “Unidentified Ship! This is the U.S.S. Enterprise D!...”
-----
Captain Picard was very perturbed. He and the Enterprise had been on a routine survey mission. It was a welcome break from the excitement they had just experienced at Farpoint station. The ship had begun to warp from one sector to the next when they suddenly found themselves at a stop in the middle of an endless blackness.
There were no stars, no radio traffic, nothing that could be seen or heard in any direction, at any distance. They were completely and utterly alone in space. Engineering and science teams were frantically scrambling to find out what had brought them there, and hopefully, how to bring them back. Remembering their recent "trial" by the omnipotent Q entity, Jean-Luc can't help but wonder if this isn't related. He's half-tempted to start shouting Q's name at the empty air, demanding answers.
All of this was weighing heavily on the captain’s mind when a ship suddenly appeared. As quickly as it had arrived, it engaged in what looked like a high speed evasive maneuver which ended abruptly just above the bridge of the enterprise. It was a small ship, somewhat flat and circular, with two triangular points at the front and a glass cockpit on one side. It did not look familiar. “Open hailing frequencies” called the captain. Lieutenant Yar, leaning over her station and gripping the rail, tapped it in. “Hailing frequencies open captain” she said, all business.
“Unidentified ship, this is the USS Enterprise D! My name is Captain Picard. Identify yourself.” As quickly as he had said the words, he regretted them. The stress of being thrust into this new unknown was affecting him in a way he hadn’t expected. Impatiently barking a request for ID was probably not the best way to begin what could very well be First Contact with a new species.
He quickly stood, straightened his uniform, relaxed the scowl from his face, and breathed deep. Swallowing his pride and hoping for a bit of forgiveness from whoever he was about to meet, he awaited the response.
The view screen crackles to life with an unusually low resolution image, “I copy Enterprise… This is, uh, transport ship Millennium Falcon, I'm uh Captain Solo...” Han mutes the mic for a moment while he considers what kind of face to put on in this situation, then shakes his head and picks open honesty for a change. “Help me out here fellas. Just who are you guys, what’s going on, and where the heck are we?”
Picard relaxes a bit, feeling some comfort in at least a shared confusion. “I would be happy to answer all your questions, Captain. Unfortunately we are also trying to understand where we are and what brought us here. As for who we are, that can be answered readily. I would like to invite you onboard the Enterprise to speak in person.”
Han shakes his head with a smile that says 'not today buddy’. “Thanks for the offer, Enterprise but ah, last time I parked my ship inside someone else’s landing bay things didn’t go so smoothly, you know?”
“I understand the desire to be protective of oneself and one’s ship. There is no need to dock the Millennium Falcon on the Enterprise. If you’re willing to meet, we can have you transported here directly. No one will board your ship.”
Han wrinkles his brow. Receiving a shuttle full of uniforms is never fun, “Okay, sure. I’ll just wait here for you to 'pick me up'.”
“Captain Solo, if you could stand up for a moment, it would make the transition a bit smoother.”
“You want me to stand, like now?” this is getting ridiculous.
“Yes.” Picard puts on his best 'please be patient with me’ smile. “Lieutenant Yar, commence transport. Bring Captain Solo directly to the bridge.”
“Aye, sir.”
“You guys are a little funny, you know? Okay, I’ll -stand- while I just wait here for your shuttle to come over.” Han starts to get nervous, wondering what the frell these weirdos are…
*hhhuuuUUUMMMMMmmm*
Han looks up with a start. One moment he's in his cockpit, there's a bright swirl of blue, now he's suddenly standing on carpet under bright lights. He turns to look behind himself and sees his ship on the viewscreen. Han pats his chest a bit with both hands to make sure he's still all there, then looks up and points at Picard, smiling to cover his surprise. “What – hey- wait a minute – that’s a pretty neat trick.”
Han always knows where the ball goes in three-cup-wookiee, and he’s embarrassed/impressed at this trick catching him completely flat-footed, though relieved to have not lost anything in the process.
Picard is still gentle, but all business. “No tricks, Captain Solo. That was a standard matter/energy transport. The fact that you are unfamiliar with it tells me we may have more to discuss than I first thought. If you would follow me to the conference room?”
“I’m not following anybody anywhere.” Han’s friendly demeanor switches to defense. This is the part where the ball goes out of the cup and behind the dealers back. He’ll be damned if they disappear him that easy.
In a flash he draws his pistol, aiming straight at Picard, “Your ship may look funny and have some fancy toys, but that accent is a little too familiar.”
Everyone on the bridge looks up from what they were doing. Yar and Worf draw small phasers from their pockets. Riker sits forward in his chair, wide-eyed, ready to pounce.
Han continues, “Upper-class Correllian, right? How much did you pay to avoid the draft? Or didn’t you? Is this fancy boat just the Empire’s newest R&D platform? Hate to break it to you fellas but your beloved Emperor died in the blaze when his precious new Death Star went up like a Caldanian firework. The Republic is coming back and it’s coming to stay, so you better think real hard about what you do next, because the new boss won’t be happy if you mess up my hair.”
Picard slowly raises both hands up and open in front of himself in a de-escalating gesture, “Captain, please calm down. We are not here to harm you, and we are not affiliated with any empire. Our government is known as the United Federation of Planets. This ship’s primary mission is peaceful exploration.”
This takes Han from defensive to incredulous, still pointing his blaster, “Come on, nobody explores anymore! The galaxy’s been fully mapped for a thousand years! You really expect me to believe that bantha manure story?”
Picard is suddenly jerked into alarm, his eyes wide, words coming faster, “Did you say fully mapped?”
Han registers a little confusion, “Yeah.”
“For a thousand years?”
“Oh crap, you really don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?” *lowers pistol*
The scene relaxes for a moment, but Picard gets even more amped.
“No, and it is imperative that you say no more of it. The Federation has access to in-depth charts for just 20% of the known galaxy. Even long range observation has only accounted for 80% of the total galactic volume. If you truly come from such a distant future, anything you say to us could have irreparable repercussions on the timeline. We need confirmation. Please, come with me to the conference room. I want to show you our star charts…”
------
Senior staff assemble in the conference room with a hi-res, full-color, holographic display of the Milky Way galaxy side by side with another, both slowly rotating in the air above the table. There are several indicator lines trailing out to LCARS notes with names and information. Everyone stares intently at the map.
Han shakes his head and waves a hand dismissively at the map, then points to a few things. “No no, these pulsars are all wrong. And look, there’s only two spiral arms. What’s your total star count? Too high. This can’t be the same place, no matter how much time has passed.”
Data chimes in, “I believe Captain Solo is correct, sir. Galactic analysis strongly suggests that major changes like these cannot occur over time, and are in fact indicative of differing formative circumstances.”
Picard nods in acceptance as he leans into the table, deactivating the display. “Very well, thank you Mr Data. At least now we can speak more freely, Captain Solo. I do apologize for the alarm just now, but we take sanitation of the timeline very seriously."
Han shrugs, "I'm not really sure what all that's about, but for my part I'm sorry for drawing down on you. This Federation you come from sounds all right."
Leiutenant Yar speaks up, "It's no problem, Captain Solo. Your pistol was deactivated during transport. Nobody was in danger."
Han looks back at her with a start, "What?! You turned off my blaster? How?"
Yar continues in an even tone "I diverted the molecules from your pistols prefire matrix to rematerialize in storage." She smiles, "Don't worry, we'll put it back together when you leave."
Han is still quietly shocked "You can just, do that? Take things apart? I guess I'm lucky you decided to keep the rest of me in one piece."
Picard interjects, "Hopefully that will serve as further confirmation that we truly do mean you no harm, Captain Solo. Could you share with us something of your own origin? Since it seems we are indeed from entirely different galaxies, understanding their relationship to each other may help shed some light on how we came to this place.”
Han shrugs, “I can give you my nav guide database, sure. But intergalactic travel? That’s a pipedream for mad scientists with too much free time, and no fear of exploding.”
Picard counters with raised eyebrows and a gentle shrug, “And yet, the fact that we’re sitting here together would suggest otherwise.”
“All right,” Han surrenders to the notion.
“I’ll see what’s in the encyclopedia. Republic astronomers have been pointing telescopes outside the disc for thousands of years, they ought to give you something to work with.”
He fiddles with a gadget that he pulls from his pocket, and it beeps a little.
“You guys have a port for this?”
Data raises a hand, “I believe I may be able to adapt an interface, with your permission. This may take at least 9 minutes.”
---
Later, in the ready room
*beep* – Picard taps a button on his desk and Worf’s voice comes through the intercom, “Sir, we have pulled a stellar cartography team off of analyzing local space to cross-reference Captain Solo’s universe map with our own. They are making progress."
“Very well, keep me informed. Picard out.” The Captain looks up from the terminal to his first officer, “Number one, what’s your opinion of Captain Solo?”
Riker straightens in his chair and leans back a bit, “I don’t entirely trust him. Reminds me of a smuggler I met in a bar once. I don’t buy the freedom fighter line.”
“Counselor, your thoughts?”
Troi keeps her hands clasped together in her lap on top of her skirt front and speaks with the tone of a trained psychiatrist, “He is obviously out of his element here, as are we. His manner suggests a 'colorful’ history, but I don’t sense any dishonesty at all. There is much more to him than meets the eye. He has a powerful sense of responsibility, and feels a deep need to return home to his loved ones before continuing their struggle against this ‘empire’.
*Beep* – Worf again, “Captain, sensor control reports new information on local space analysis.”
Picard exchanges an urgent look with Troi and Riker. All three march straight out of the ready room onto the bridge. As soon as he clears the door, Picard calls out
“Report.”
Worf calls back from his science station, “A faint background radiation, with a pulse frequency. A couple of specialists in sensor control invented a new configuration. Before that, it was undetectable.”
Picard doesn't sit, building up nervous energy he walks up and around the rail to stand with Worf. “Log a commendation to those specialists, and their team. What can we learn from it?”
Worf, “Pulse frequency appears to be changing over time. Pattern indicates a parabolic, no, make that a sinewave escalation.”
Picard “Point of origin?”
Worf, “Difficult to determine with the new sensor array, one moment…” he taps on the screen a bit “Signal strength triangulation suggests it is originating at the point where Captain Solo’s ship appeared.”
Riker, “Sinewave analysis; when will the wave peak?”
Worf, “Estimated, 3 minutes.”
Picard, “Interval?”
Worf looks up from his station as the music changes to a minor key, “372 years.”
Picard instantly turns and walks back down the ramp toward his center seat, calling orders as he goes, “Yellow alert, all hands to your stations.” Now at the center of the bridge he turns to Riker, more quietly, “If something happens in the next 3 minutes, we can hardly afford to not take advantage of it, eh Number One?”
Riker cocks an uneasy eyebrow, “372 years in the middle of nowhere isn’t exactly my idea of a good time, Captain.”
Picard slaps his badge, “Captain solo, please return to the bridge.”
Han walks in from the lounge with Data, “What’s up fellas?”
Picard turns to him, “We’ve managed to detect some trace radiation from the point your ship appeared. It’s an escalating wave that will peak in, *looks* - two minutes. This may be our only chance to take advantage of a change in local space for the next 3-400 years.”
Han nearly jumps, “I better warm up my engines! If you don’t mind just ah, buzzing me back over?”
Riker, “Lieutenant Yar, beam Captain solo directly to his bridge.”
Yar, “Aye.”
*Huuuuuummmmm*
As the command team take their seats and relief officers file out of the bridge, Picard leans over in his chair toward Riker. “Number One, any word from stellar cartography about where he’s from?”
“They’ve only been able to analyze about 10% of his universe map. It’s that extensive. But still, based on preliminary reference of the big bang point, a few superclusters, and accounting for the travel time of light,…”
“Yes?”
“Wherever and -when-ever he’s from; it was a long time ago, in a galaxy VERY far away.”
Picard frowns in thought, “Hmm, Mr. Data sensor analysis – is there any sign of energy coming from our own origin point? I’m not too keen on taking a blind leap across the universe if there’s a way home.”
Data taps his console, “Analyzing – yes, there is another signal at a different band and frequency. It appears to be in declination, and at a similar interval to the first.”
Picard get interested, “Estimated time to peak?”
Data, “212 years.”
Another frown from the Captain, this time with a touch of disappointment. “Hmm, no better. Very well. Let’s see what happens in the next minute or two…”
As the scene turns to the viewscreen, we see the Millennium Falcon powering up, glowing blue engines lighting up in the inky black of this starless void. Beyond it, a pinpoint of light suddenly appears.
The light grows a bit, then shrinks, like a candle struggling against cold wax. After a moment, it leaps forth again with a brilliant orange glow. The light begins to grow and dance. Streams of orange leap from it and fade. As it grows, a shape begins to appear. A black disk, ringed in flames. A circular window surrounded by a Sun’s corona. Orange flames and jets of plasma jump and dance on the ring. Within the black, stars seem to shimmer, wave, and twinkle as though seen through the surface of undulating water.
All eyes are captured in wonder.
“Analysis”, the captain orders, softly.
Worf calls back, “Sensor probes confirm. A single-sided, two-dimensional spatial anomaly, invisible from the sides and rear. Only the surface we see appears to exist. Coronal emissions radiating random quantum and sub-quantum particles common to known wormholes. Central disk measures 2.4 kilometers in diameter, and is emitting subspace - no,… -hyperspace- radio traffic. Signals are consistent with records provided by Captain Solo.”
Picard looks at Riker with hopeful but uneasy eyes, “Well number one, it seems we really are about to go where no one has gone before.”
Riker talks through a grimace like he's just lost a hand of poker, “And yet there will be plenty of people already there to meet us. Some of whom I’d rather not.”
Picard, “How long will the aperture be open?”
Worf, “Energy and particle emissions are rising along predictable lines, estimated closure in 5 minutes.”
“Well then, we’d best not waste time.” Picard rattles off orders without turning his head or leaving his seat, “Lieutenant Yar, contact Captain Solo. Confirm his view of local radio traffic and check the date. Mr Data, launch a long-term navigational hazard beacon with records of our sensor modifications and analysis; - and set it to conserve power until the next intervals. We’re going in.”
Picard taps a button on his armrest and a bosun’s whistle sounds throughout the ship.
“All hands, this is the Captain. By now you are all aware of the current situation, but this bleak space we are in is not entirely empty. It has a sort of pulse, and has now shown us a way out. We dare not wait for the next opportunity, as it will not come within most of our lifetimes. The journey we are about to make will take us – across the universe – and truly into the unknown. We are, all of us explorers. This is our calling, our duty; and now, our only rescue. May fortune favor the bold, and smile on us as we go.”
“Mr Laforge, Engage.”