Act 122 - Date: 28 December 2994
Section 6: The Return of the N-Team
Part 1: The Wilytwins' Return
First and Only Division
Second Chapter
Characters: (Q-niverse) Thunder Cats, Silver Hawks, N-Team Base, Brain-Team Base; (Original Universe) Crew of the Enterprise-E
Throne Room, Palace of Power, VideoLand, Milky Way Galaxy, Q-niverse. Stardate 1 049 495.9; December 28, 2994.
I "I must," said Ludwig. "If I don't do that, the citizens will rebel against me. If they do that, I shall then have to stop them with my destructive magic. Many will perish. No, Princess. I cannot diminish the severity with which I execute MotherBrain's laws."
"What a pity. Do you know what I would do? I. . ."
"Wait! I do not need to know what you would do, Princess. It's not what I would do!"
"All right! At least the laws are fair."
"You can thank MotherBrain for that. She makes the laws that I must execute."
"Yes."
Steelheart entered by a door near the room. Ludwig greeted, "Good day, Steelheart! How are you?"
Steelheart responded, "I am fine, thank you; and you?"
"Very well, thank you," Ludwig said. "I thank you again for helping to merge Spanish and Portuguese, Steelheart."
"That is completely unnecessary. It was a pleasure. Now, about French. . ."
"No, no. It isn't necessary to change French, Steelheart. It's fine as it is."
"All right."
"Well," asked Lana, "will you let us listen to your 'Universal Empire' Symphony?"
Ludwig smiled. "Four days early?" he asked. "Ha, ha! No, my 'friend.' Maybe one or two days early, but not four."
"You make fantastic music," said Steelheart. "Nothing compares with your two symphonies. Their complexity makes them better than Beethoven's symphonies!"
"Oh, it's not too difficult. Tell me, how is Tygra? I have unfortunately seen no Thunderians for one month except the Wilytwins."
"He's rather well. I would like to know if you have given serious consideration to restoring the N-Team."
"Yes. I am thinking about it, as I promised. I will let you know."
"Thank you."
"And what of the Wilytwins?" Lana asked. When the redness had appeared in his face, she knew she had made an error.
"I have told you a million times!" Ludwig shouted. "I cannot release them before I make certain that they are unable to stop me! Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand you," responded Lana.
Steelheart said, "You know they're going to escape from your jail cell."
"I know no such thing!" Ludwig responded. "They will never escape, my friend."
"Well, how do you know that?"
"I know to make them keep lithium super-Thundrainide with them. Those idiotic Plundarrians never thought of that."
"You are despicable," Lana said. "You know that? You are despicable!"
"Thank you, my princess," Ludwig said. "But that's enough about the Wilytwins. I have no need of two such curious kittens underfoot. Wilykit and Wilykat are much too clever for me to let them go without my making absolutely sure they'll keep their lithium super-Thundrainide collars on." He remembered the hour that he had captured the Wilytwins. They were not ready for the lithium super-Thundrainide, and that was how Ludwig had been able to defeat them. If they had been warned, they would have been able to transform the substance into a harmless one. They were just a second too late. That was the second when he was sure the universe would belong to him. That was the only time he had had the upper hand in his dealings with them. And that was the only time it mattered.
His defeat of them gave him immeasurable confidence. Nothing could compare to it. Unlike Napoleon, Hitler, and Thorsen, he had seen his dream of conquest come true. Nothing, he knew, could stop him. He knew which universe to avoid, and that was the one containing Wesley Crusher.
Wesley Crusher. At present, the only true threat to his reign was locked out of the Q-niverse. He had not tried to come back, but there would be no point; Ludwig's power was just strong enough to prevent Wesley from beginning the jump back into the Q-niverse, just as tying an alligator's mouth shut would keep it from using its strong jaws on its victim. Except that it strained Ludwig to keep up that barrier all the time. If the Wilytwins or Wondertwins were able to escape from their weakened state, any one of them could easily punch through Ludwig's barrier and let Wesley come back. It was a risk that Ludwig could not afford, not by a long shot. When he was sure they could not escape from their weakened state, he would release them.
Ludwig had no idea why Wesley had left the Q-niverse in the first place. Then again, it did not really matter. Killing Lion-O, locking Wesley out of the Q-niverse, and weakening the Wilytwins and Wondertwins was all that Ludwig needed to do before beginning his empire. And those bloody Cardassians were stupid enough to be lured into Ludwig's trap. As soon as they had helped him conquer the Klingon and Romulan Empires, he killed every last military figure willing to spread Cardassian borders and moved the Romulans from Romulus and Remus to Cardassia because of the Romulum and Romulon. He treated the Klingons and Romulans with more respect than he would even think of giving a Cardassian, and he liked the Federation especially. The fusion of that sixth of the galaxy into a strong force delighted him, and he granted them rights that he later extended to all areas of his empire.
Still, he did not care for having to answer to MotherBrain, dear though she was to him as a trusted friend and indeed as a mother. Her constitution about the structure of the empire was very detailed. She held more power than he did. He would just as soon rule the empire by himself from the Palace of Power. However, her idea was good. She may have been more benevolent than he would have liked, but she was very demanding. Her justice was clearly designed to be perfectly fair. Much more fair than he would have been. She had permitted him to deal with uprisings as he chose, but there were too few uprisings for him to be able to enjoy it. The only uprisings had been over seven hundred years ago, and only the first few were large enough for him to have any fun at all. Her system made perfect, logical sense, however.
And besides, he had enjoyed overpowering other species as he conquered the universe. Yet, he could not use true hyperdrive warp engines because the Thunderians had held back the secret. It was not imperative that he use that kind of engine, really; it would however have been convenient. He used the technology of conquered cultures to conquer others. Each time, it took him less and less energy to conquer other galaxies. A few British milliard of them were uninhabited, and several did not have the technology he had. Never did he see a cloaking device other than in the Romulans', Klingons', Plundarrians', Cardassians', Federation's, and his own hands. Of course, he made extensive use of his. What low-down, stinking conqueror would not? And never mind that Larry cooked up half of the schemes. Ludwig could have just simply used his powers to conquer the entire universe at once, but that would not be satisfying. And seeing Larry's and his own blended schemes work was quite satisfying. Of course, none of these races had anything as powerful as the Thunderians' Sword of Omens or the Hyrulians' Triforce. He could never use the Sword, and he decided not to use the Triforce so far. There was one galaxy that seemed to laugh in Ludwig's face until a short time ago. Terra incognita. Of course, he had wanted to find out as much as possible about it, but it had defied all standard attempts he had made to study it. The Romulans agreed to send some ships there to investigate, but the ships never returned. Ludwig knew something mysterious had happened; Romulans would return for more equipment if they did not understand something. For a Romulan Warbird just to vanish like that with no trace and no transmission to indicate an intended suicide manoeuvre baffled Ludwig. He knew he could access the endless store of information in his head; he just did not want to ruin it for himself. It was quite a mystery, indeed. The galaxy was small; it had few nebulae (star-spawning clouds), and it had only hundreds of stars. The smallest galaxy in his realm had well over twenty thousand stars and many nebulae. He had not been able to understand it. It had been so tempting just to open his endless store of information and find out, but he just wanted to find it out without resorting to that. But he now knew several dark secrets about it from observations he had made.
"Well," said Lana, leaning back on her throne, "as far as I know, the Kingdom of VideoLand is ready for your fête, Emperor."
"Please, Lana," said Ludwig. "Call me Ludwig."
"Ludwig." MotherBrain transported into the room.
"Good day, all," said MotherBrain. "Ludwig, could I talk to you in private for a moment?"
Ludwig said, "Certainly. Excuse me, Lana, Steelheart." Ludwig and MotherBrain withdrew to the conference room.
"MotherBrain's concerned," said Steelheart. Since she began her status of better-than-friendship with Quicksilver, her telepathy has gotten ever keener. Too bad for Ludwig. "She's afraid Ludwig will lose his control for a second and let Mr. Crusher back in if he opens the gateway to another universe."
Lana said, "Yeah. That's about the only thing that would stop them."
"Oh, not quite," said Steelheart, beginning to smile. "Will and I have been looking for a way to neutralise the lithium super-Thundrainide on the Wilytwins and Wondertwins, and we may have an answer."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I'm going to explain it to the whole group of us that once constituted the Extended N-Team at 15.30 a casa di Picard. I'd like you to be at the briefing." 'A casa di' was now a common phrase; it meant 'the home of,' 'at the home of,' or 'to the home of.' 'Casa di' meant simply 'the home of.'
"Okay. I don't have any meetings today; MotherBrain is good enough always to announce meetings to me at least two days in advance."
"Good. Captain N has told the others on your branch to go, so no need to worry about them. Quicksilver's told the Thunder Cats and the Darkwing Team."
"No longer officially the N-Team are we, but we're still the N-Team, eh?"
"Yes. Tygra's assured me that Astutus-gatito and Astutus-gatita will be there."
"Good. We need their help."
"We certainly do. Why do you think Ludwig froze the life processes of the Enterprise-D's senior crew along with the N-Team?"
"I don't know. He did that with the Romulans and Klingons with whom we were collaborating, too. And Zorro and his pals."
"And Batman and Robin. And James Chemsos and Jane Physicost."
"Those two have let this keep off their marriage for too long."
"Much too long. Has Ludwig made any progress on that mysterious galaxy?"
"None. He's forbidden any ships to go there."
"I wonder what's there. He doesn't know, and he's upset about it. Well, Lana, I'll see you later."
"See you, Steelheart."
Steelheart tapped a communicator on her chest. "Transporter, one to beam to Hawkhaven." She was transported there.
* * *
Casa di Tygra, New Thunderius, Galaxy of Leos, Q-niverse.
Tygra felt as terrible as he had a millennium ago. Wilykat and Wilykit. As far as he was concerned, Ludwig was a madman. However, since precisely a millennium ago, he had been the highest-positioned government official of the then-new Thunderian Kingdom. Ludwig had not been hot about the idea, but MotherBrain permitted it. Since she did, Ludwig had to do so, as well. Wilykit had passed control to Tygra for as long as she and Wilykat were imprisoned in the Palace of Power. Still, he was very worried about them. He knew they would be all right, but some nagging feeling did not want him to think so. He felt horrible about letting Ludwig get away with it without a fight, but Wilykit had explicitly ordered him not to endanger himself over them, and he did not feel like disobeying her orders. The Thunderians needed his leadership abilities with Lion-O's death and the Wilytwins' present situation. No way would they be in prison for the rest of eternity, not if Astutus-gatito's plan worked.
It was actually a brilliant observation Gatito had made as the Steeltwins were studying the properties of super-Thundrainium combined with metals. Gatito's presence at their lab proved extremely fortuitous that day, as they were going over nuclear stability and valence qualities. What he discovered was much too obvious, though many would have overlooked it.
Tygra was proud of the Wilytwins' direct cousins. Though they worked with the Third Koopulan Empire, known presently as the Universal Koopa Empire, they worked purely in communication. Not only did they translate; they learned new cultures' languages so they could form the basis of translation. It had been excruciatingly difficult for them in the beginning, but now it was second nature to them. They taught their techniques to students in high-level education in the Universities of the Thunderian Planets, arguably the most prestigious - and definitely the largest - pair of universities in the Empire. One was on New Thundera over in the Milky Way; the other was on New Thunderius in the Galaxy of Leos.
Cheetara had given birth to twin girls on 19 April 1994. For the past millennium, she and Tygra were convinced they had to become Thunder Cats. Their names were Tygrachatonne Cheeta {tahy-grah-shah-tawn ché-tah} and Tygragatinha Cheeta {tahy-grah-gah-té-nyah ché-tah}. (The technically correct format is Chatonne Cheeta vân Tygra or, in Thunderian, Scatön Cita vân Taighra, pronounced the same as the equivalent in English.) In short and to everybody, they were Chatonne {shah-tawn} and Gatinha {gah-té-nyah}. They excelled at everything, though they were most interested in mathematics, music, and languages. In 2019, they graduated with the equivalent of a master's degree in math, music, and most of the official languages and the permitted substitutes. They also taught, their subject being math. Their studies in the subject expanded to a doctorate, and their contributions expanded its usefulness, complexity, and flexibility. They taught it in a way that almost anyone paying attention (notice I said paying attention) could learn easily. Needless to say, Tygra and Cheetara became boundlessly proud of their daughters, and justly so.
The Tygra-twins were also filled with curiosity, and they could always find trouble and slightly endanger themselves, as the Wilytwins had been. And like the Wilytwins, they were also too cute for Tygra to take any great measures to punish them in their early years. They got along just as well as the Wilytwins did, and they loved one another just as much. They tried as hard as they could to find a way to get the Wilytwins free. Though Wilykit and Wilykat were adopted, Chatonne and Gatinha considered them to be blood-siblings and the Astutus-twins blood-cousins. That was the way of Thunderians; adopting was just as good as bearing. They visited Wilykit and 'Kat as often as possible - at least every other day, if not every day - since Ludwig did allow unconditional visitation rights twenty-four hours a day every day.
Tygra was preparing to help his daughters' first great musical effort - their first symphony. He was going to listen to a revision of it for the umpteenth time to help review it. It was a grand masterpiece of two hours' length and five movements. The first, third, and last were quick, the other two slow. The grand work embodied the first significant musical undertaking by a Thunderian. Of course, the two were influenced by Euroclassical (the era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven), Neoclassical (our Earth's twentieth century), and the ongoing Imperoclassical music. However, they were also influenced by the large amount of Old Thunderian music. Though no Old Thunderian musician ever gained the recognition that Earth gave Beethoven and Mozart, their music embodied Thunderian ideals. Chatonne and Gatinha's First Symphony was a mixture of Imperoclassical and Old Thunderian music.
In Tygra's household, no one had 'control,' though technically he held the ultimate authority. Previously, Tygra and Cheetara had had control over the Tygra-twins, but that was during the twins' formative years. The home held Tygra, Cheetara, Gatito, Gatita, Chatonne, Gatinha, Bengali, and Pumyra. The home consisted of two veritable mansions, one on New Thunderius in the Galaxy of Leos and one on New Thundera in the Milky Way Galaxy. Tygra and Cheetara normally remained together, as did Gatito and Gatita, Chatonne and Gatinha, and Bengali and Pumyra. Two pairs usually stayed in one house, two in the other. This time, Tygra and Cheetara were in the New Thunderius house with their daughters.
Tygra was taking it easy - something he hardly ever got to do - that morning. Just to listen to the Thunderian winterbirds sing their happy morning song with the ascent of the sun. To rest himself from the turbulence that had begun a millennium before. At least MotherBrain had fostered cultural development within the empire. Tygra himself had learned other languages for better communication. As Lord Per Tempo of the Thunder Cats, he was essentially king and prime minister in one of the Thunderian Kingdom. Tygra was the most powerful person in Thunderian government. On the front porch of his home, he could look upon the sprawling capital city of the section of the Thunderian Kingdom in the Galaxy of Leos. It was beautiful.
The front door opened, and Cheetara came out. "Good morning," she said.
Tygra replied, "Good morning, Cheetara. How are you this morning?"
"I'm very well," she replied. "And you?"
"I'm rather well, thank you. When did you get up?"
"I woke up a half hour ago."
"Ah. Where are our pretty daughters?"
"In their room. They continue revising their symphony."
"Very well. They want their symphony to be perfect."
Cheetara said, "That worries me, Tygra. They want to do better than Ludwig in one attempt. As far as we know, he's a near-god."
"They didn't care about the limits of his abilities since they began, Cheetara. They're only worried about their own."
"You're probably right." She went to sit down in a chair next to him. "I know how to make you feel better."
Tygra smiled. "Something we haven't done recently?" Cheetara held his hand and smiled back. "Can you assure me that this will bring no new additions to the family?"
"Yes."
"Good." They were about to kiss when they heard footsteps approaching the door from the inside, whereupon they immediately returned to their previous positions. The door opened.
Frozen in age by Ludwig's machine, the Tygra-twins appeared to be fifteen or sixteen years of age. Being identical twins, they had almost exactly the same appearance, so they differentiated between themselves in hairstyle. Chatonne's hair went up to a point in the back like Wilykit's; Gatinha's pointed above either ear while mostly going in an arc with her head around the top, like Wilykat's. They were not any taller than the Wilytwins. Their bodies were much the same size as well, but the Tygra-twins' hair colour (as on the Wilytwins and Cheetara, the hair covered relatively little of their bodies; most covered the nonfacial parts of the head except the ears) was orange like Tygra's and dotted with black spots like Cheetara's. They had inherited the best and strongest parts of the Tygra- and Cheetah-Races. Usually, they were gently tempered. However, they argued with one another exactly as the Wilytwins did and for the same reasons, except, of course, for the gender-difference. Gatinha objected to Chatonne's age-related dominance, though Chatonne hardly used it.
Chatonne greeted, "Good morning, parents!"
Gatinha asked, "How are you?"
"We are very well, thank you," Tygra said. "And you?"
"We are rather well, thank you," Chatonne said. She handed him a computer chip. "Here it is. I probably screwed up another note."
"Don't be so negative, Chatonne," said Cheetara. Tygra activated the laptop computer on the nearby table and plugged in the chip. They then proceeded to hear the greatest symphonic masterpiece composed. And Gatinha found a single note that was completely wrong.
* * *
Jail, Palace of Power, VideoLand, Milky Way Galaxy, Q-niverse.
"Virtually omnipotent, yet we can't even break out of here," Wilykit said. "Shoot."
Wilykat agreed, "It's crazy, 'Kit."
"I'm almost ready to stoop to trickery." Wilykat smiled. "Check that. I am ready. Got any suggestions, genius bro?"
"Just got one. You could pretend you're ill. Eggie'll be stupid enough to take you straight to Quicksilver." Wilykit smiled.
"Who can use his strong dental laser drill to break these collars off," she said. "You little devil!"
"Is that supposed to flatter me?"
"No. We're not out of here yet. Call the fool." She lay down on the floor and closed her eyes.
"Eggplant Wizard!" cried Wilykat frantically. Eggplant, guarding the mostly empty jail, was sleeping in his chair. The sudden cry awoke him and caused him to fall off; several veggies popped out of him. Leaving a trail of eggplants behind, he came running to the cell. He keyed in the code that opened the door and ran straight into Wilykat, causing both of them to fall on their backs. They got back up; the veggie was frantic.
"I'm here!" said Eggplant. "What's wrong?"
"Wilykit's taken ill," Wilykat said. "It's because of her constant exposure to a super-Thundrainium compound!" He intentionally fell to his knees. "It's happening to me, too! We must get to Quicksilver! He's got to decrease our exposure to the lithium super-Thundrainide for a few minutes, or we're going to die!" Eggplant Wizard fell for it. Ludwig would be quite ticked off if the Wilytwins died.
"Oh, no! I'll bring Wilykit!" He picked her up and held her waist across his shoulder, keeping hold of her legs with his arms. Wilykat and he ran to the nearest elevator. Once they were inside, Eggie cried, "Emergency override! Hospital level!"
* * *
Central Imperial Hospital, Palace of Power.
Quicksilver's head turned to the door as it admitted Wilykit, Wilykat, and Eggplant Wizard. "What the. . ."
"Emergency!" Eggplant Wizard frantically exclaimed. "These two have some illness related to the lithium super-Thundrainide in their collars!"
"Wilykit got ill first," said Wilykat weakly. "I'm just getting it. It's lethal." Quicksilver got the message. He led them to a diagnostic bed.
"Lie down here, Wilykat." Quicksilver pointed to another bed as Wilykat lay down upon this one. "Put her gently on that bed, Eggplant." He winked at Wilykat to confirm that he had gotten the message. Eggplant returned to the Silver Hawk after he had laid Wilykit on the bio-bed. Quicksilver looked grimly at the Wilytwins. "This has happened to Thunderians exposed to the compound before. Bring me the Wondertwins; the substance is lethal to Exorians as well."
"Yes, sir!" said Eggplant. He hurriedly exited. Wilykit sat up.
"Good idea, Quicksilver!" she said. Quicksilver took a dental laser drill and blasted the collars off the two.
"Don't mention it." He took the collars, put them in a replicator, and had it turn the lithium super-Thundrainide into ferric oxide, known commonly as rust. Since the substance was in a sealed container, no one would be the wiser. He returned the collars to their owners. "I turned the substance into ferric oxide. You should put them back on." As they did so, he added, "Cute little trick you played. Come to my office." The three went to his office. There, he showed them a picture of a formula unit of Li2Tu2He, or lithium super-Thundrainide. "Your cousin Gatito figured out how to neutralise this, the genius. A weak point is in there."
"Let us guess where," Wilykit said. She and Wilykat hunted the formula unit. The atomic nuclei. . . the electron shells. . . she smiled. "I see. Do you, bro?"
"Well," Wilykat said, "I'm not exactly certain, but. . ." He considered the distance between the helium atom, connected to the Thundrainium atom connected to the lithium atoms, and the other Thundrainium atom. "The only way that this Thundrainium atom is staying anywhere near the rest of the formula unit is by extra electrons stolen from the other. Oh, gosh, that looks like a weak bond. In lab conditions, hydrogen nuclei would be attracted to the large space between the helium atom and the semi-wayward Thundrainium atom, thus eliminating the holding electrons and letting the bond deteriorate."
"Exactly," said Quicksilver. "We were going to deliver a proton-emitting device for you to inject bare hydrogen nuclei into that casing. The helium, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms would be free from the heavy Thundrainium and return to the casing, which you could then remove and return to us. By 'us,' I mean the Extended N-Team."
"Either way, Ludwig gets no hint of this," Wilykit said. "Wilykat and I will return to that cell. We can subtly push aside the invisible hand he's using to keep Wesley out of this universe. He won't discover until it's too late, and then his reign will be kaput."
"Good. You know how strictly he enforces the law, true?"
"Yes. Everyone from the Extended N-Team visits us frequently, including crazy ol' Darkwing Duck."
"I'm happy to hear that." They left the office to the main room. "Gatito made the observation. Steelheart and Steelwill composed the plan and discussed it one-on-one with all the former Extended N-Team subdivision leaders and some other members." A moment later, the door admitted the idiot vegetable and the Wondertwins.
Eggplant said, "Whoa! What's going on?"
"I injected something into their bodies to reduce their illness," Quicksilver said.
"Oh. Well, here are Zan and Jayna."
"I'll be done in a few minutes. I have to recalibrate the substance. You keep guard outside; be sure I'm not interrupted. The calibration must be precise, or the patient takes on eggplant-eating tendencies." The nitwit actually believed him.
"Okay. Just send 'em out when you're finished."
"Sure. And don't mind the laser drill's sound; I'll need to calibrate the substance with it."
"Very well." The idiot left the room.
"Actually, this is a trick on the fool," said Wilykat. "The lithium super-Thundrainide is not lethal to any of us."
Jayna asked, "Then, what was the significance of this charade?"
"We needed an excuse to get you in here. Quicksilver can eliminate a formula unit of lithium super-Thundrainide without arousing suspicion." Quicksilver took the laser drill and blasted the Wondertwins' collars. This knocked out the clasping system and caused the collars to fall from their necks. Zan caught both collars and gave them to Quicksilver, who put them on the replicator and turned the lithium super-Thundrainide to rust.
"The Li2Tu2He is now rust," said Quicksilver. He handed the collars back to the Wondertwins. "Here. They're neutral." Zan and Jayna replaced them.
Wilykat said, "One Thundrainium atom in each formula unit of lithium super-Thundrainide is relatively far from the rest of the compound. It is linked loosely to the helium. Extra electrons accumulate between the helium and the Thundrainium atom that I've mentioned. If hydrogen nuclei approach, they will attract the electrons. Thus, the bond will completely deteriorate; the hydrogen, helium, and oxygen will leave, the heavy Thundrainium remaining."
"I see," said Jayna, smiling at him. Wilykat smiled back.
"Yeah."
"All right," said Zan. "I judge from Wilykit's expression that we haven't the time for that at the moment."
"True," said Wilykit. "Ludwig must not know of this. You three and I must subtly prevent Ludwig's powers from keeping Wesley out of this universe. Now, it should be easy enough, seeing as how Ludwig does not have as much power as any of us does. In order to avoid suspicion, we'll return to our cells." Quicksilver nodded. His patients left and let Eggplant lead them back to their cells.
* * *
Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, America, Earth, United Federation of Planets (UFP), Original Universe�. Stardate 49 473.97; December 20, 2372. [� - Note that this, too, is not actually the universe presented in the Star Trek series of our Earth. Most is accurate up until the fourth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the second season of Star Trek: Voyager.]
Captain Jean-Luc Picard had beamed down a short time ago to confer with Admiral Bermen. The admiral had been busy, so he had suggested that Capt. Picard go get something to eat. Picard did so in a nearby café. In fact, he had just finished when Commander William T. Riker entered the café, went over to Picard, and said, "Good afternoon, Captain."
"Good afternoon, Will," said Picard. "We're both here about the same thing, I gather."
"The Enterprise."
"Yes. She was a fine ship, Will."
"That she was, sir. We all miss her."
"Including me," said Picard. "Have you heard from Worf?"
"Yes. He seems to be doing fairly well in his tour of the Klingon Empire."
"Where's Alexander?"
"In Deanna's care, just when Deanna is visiting Mrs. Troi."
"Good Lord. How are things going between you and your father?"
Riker answered earnestly, "Pretty good." Picard stood and straightened his uniform. "Much better than in my childhood."
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
"In fact, I think he's gotten together with Dr. Kate Pulaski."
"Good for him. Care to join me, Will?"
"Sure, sir." Picard and Riker exited and turned right toward the building housing Bermen's office. "Where's LaForge?"
"I wish I knew, Number One. I haven't been able to find him for a few days." They entered the outer office. The secretary within, a lieutenant commander, snapped to attention since she was standing. "At ease. I am Capt. Picard."
"The admiral is waiting for you, sir," she said. "Is the commander with you?"
"Yes, Cmdr. Riker is with me."
"I'll signal that you're entering, sir." Riker followed Picard into the office. Adm. Bermen was waiting within.
"Good day, Capt. Picard," Bermen said as he strode over to shake the captain's hand.
"Good afternoon, Admiral," Picard replied. "My first officer, Cmdr. William Riker." Riker and Bermen shook hands.
"Good to meet you, Commander."
"Likewise, Admiral," said Riker. LaForge was in a chair. "Good afternoon, Lt.-Cmdr. LaForge."
"Good afternoon, Commander and Captain," Lt.-Cmdr. Geordi LaForge replied.
"Have a seat, gentlemen," Bermen said. Riker and Picard sat down in two free chairs as Bermen went to sit behind his desk. "I'm glad you could come by. Lt.-Cmdr. LaForge wants to show you something. Off the record, I think you're going to like it." LaForge got up and went to the monitor.
"This is something that was found deep in Federation space a few months ago," said LaForge. He activated the screen.
"Good Lord," said Picard. "A Romulan Warbird."
"Everyone on board was dead," reported the engineer. "Evidence of tampering."
"By whom?" Riker asked.
"Most likely Cardassians, though I wouldn't put it past the Klingons."
"The ship is in orbit," said Bermen. "She was in poor shape when we found her. The Romulans let us keep 'er."
"Really?" asked Picard. "What has been done with her?"
"We've been studying her, Captain. Lt.-Cmdr. LaForge himself studied the warping, shielding, and cloaking mechanisms aboard that ship."
"I went for the cloak itself first," LaForge explained. "I noted one weak point that we can neutralise to detect cloaked Romulan ships. The necessary sensor modifications, which can also be used to detect Klingon ships, have been incorporated into the first Universe-Class starship."
"That ship is what you have to see, Captain," Bermen said. "After a few quick changes to the ship, your Cmdr. Riker will have his first permanent command." Picard and Riker glanced at one another with some confusion.
"I don't understand," said Picard. "Has the ship already been built?"
"Yes, sir," LaForge said. "We just didn't want anyone talking about her too much. She's at Utopia Planitia."
"LaForge will shuttle you two up there. I would go personally, but I have other matters to attend to. You are dismissed. Have a good day."
Picard and Riker stood and simultaneously straightened their uniforms. "Good day, sir," said Picard. He, Riker, and LaForge left the office. As they were walking down the corridor, Picard asked, "What is the ship's name?"
LaForge smiled. "I won't tell you, Captain. You will be able to guess for yourself."
* * *
Utopia Planitia Shipyards, Mars, UFP.
Picard was stunned as he looked at the ship. If possible, it looked more graceful than even the Enterprise-D. "It's the Enterprise."
"Yes, sir," said LaForge. "The NCC-1701-E."
"Enterprise-E," said Riker.
"Exactly, Commander." The ship was completely lit up. There were two nacelles on the side of the stardrive and one on the rear. Both sections were larger than they had been on previous 'models.' "I've been working with Leah Brahms on it. The engine won't create trenches of merged space and subspace as previous ships have. We're now using a substance called triberyllium, a substance discovered near Betazed that replicators can duplicate in a stable manner. This will replace dilithium."
"Yes, I have read some about that," Riker said. "The ship goes into hyperspace at warp 9."
"The hyper-warp bubble exists enveloped in normal space," LaForge said. "Hyper 90 equals warp 9. Hyper 130 can take a ship at the rate of warp 9.99 without the slightest possibility of damage. Triberyllium requires a heck of a lot less matter and antimatter than dilithium to go at the equivalent warp speed. It's been tested by yours truly. As I've said, it also doesn't pollute space like dilithium warping. The entrance into subspace is much less violent. And the best think is that we don't have to change our engines a bit, save for altering the amount of matter and antimatter that's used."
Picard said, "I see. Have enough tests been conducted to ensure safety?"
"In propulsion, yes. We can navigate within both subspace-warp and hyperspace-warp bubbles. In fact, hyperspace signals will soon replace subspace signals; hyperspace signals go at hyper 301. Hyper 350 is infinity like warp 10; we can never get to it in hyperspace, no matter what we try. Inertial damping will permit any speed within the hyperdrive's extreme limits. Shield frequency has been modulated to prevent destructive wave interference such as that which allowed the Klingons to damage the Enterprise-D."
"Very well," said Riker. "May we board her?"
"Certainly, Commander."
* * *
Main Bridge, Enterprise-E.
In elegance and functionality, this bridge surpassed that of the former Enterprise. Picard and Riker both realised that when they materialised. "Fascinating," Picard whispered. The layout was much similar to that of the predecessor. However, above the aft science stations was a large symbol of the Federation next to a symbol of Starfleet. Riker and Picard looked over the whole bridge. The last place they looked, the tactical station, had something that surprised them greatly.
"Cloaking device!" exclaimed Riker.
"Yes," said LaForge. "A few weeks ago, in a conference with some Federation ambassadors, the Romulans amended the Treaty of Algeron to permit us to continue using cloaking technology, but only in new ships. The cloak in this ship is much like the one that was on the Enterprise-D, only better."
"I see."
Picard said, "Interesting. I wonder why the Romulans would give us two good turns."
"Well, they realised that some captain did what was not allowed in creating a phase-cloaking device for Federation ships," LaForge said. "Beyond that, I really don't understand it, either."
"There will be a christening ceremony soon, true?"
"Yes, sir: on Stardate 49 643.8."
"Two months away. Very well. I shall look forward to it."
"Good. You're the one who'll toss the wine bottle into the chute."