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Wishfire

I.S.S. Excelsior

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Okay, so, I'm working on a fan fic that is based in the mirror universe on the mirror Excelsior. I have the first chapter, or prologue, or whatever, finished. Here it is...

 

Captain Styles was laid back on his bed, buffing his fingernails in leisure. Tomorrow would be his greatest moment. Tomorrow he was going to usher in a new era of the Terran Empire. He looked up for a moment, pondering recent events, then chuckled at the irony. In the same docking bay of the immense starbase rested two great ships. On one side was the battle-scarred I.S.S. Enterprise, the greatest ship known to the Empire during it's long and bloody history. To the other side, the brand-new I.S.S. Excelsior, IX-2000. The first ship fitted with a transwarp drive, and the first ship to help usher in a new era of peace for the Empire.

Styles sat up on his bed. His only regret is that the Excelsior wasn't finished when the I.S.S. Reliant was hijacked by the renegade captain, James Tiberius Kirk. He had read the reports on how Kirk stole the Reliant and murdered its crew, and could find no flaw in anything it's captain had done. After all, they thought they were in orbit around Ceti Alpha VI, not Ceti Alpha V. And, as their charts were incorrect, the captain could not be blamed for it.

The one thing that puzzled Styles is why Kirk allowed Commander Chekov to live. True, in the past Chekov had been one of Kirk's supporters, and Chekov had full access to the Genesis material, but Kirk never tried to glean the information from Chekov with the agony booth.

Styles laughed out loud at his mental error. Agony booth. "Styles," he whispered to himself, "you're starting to get old. Agony booths were outlawed a decade ago." He took a deep breath, sighed, then lay back and went back to his work on his nails.

Just then the intercom came to life. "Yellow alert! Captain to the bridge! Yellow alert!"

Captain Styles made a face, and punched the intercome button with his nail file. "Bridge, this is the captain. How can you have a yellow alert in spacedock?"

The voice on the other side of the intercom hesitated for a moment. "Sir... Someone is stealing the Enterprise!"

Styles was speechless for a moment, then sat up. "On my way."

 

Styles strode onto the bridge from the turbolift. "Status," he demanded.

The first officer looked up at him. "All automates ready and functioning. Automatic moorings retracted. All speeds available through transwarp drive."

Captain styles let out a satisfied chuckled. "Incredible machine," he remarked. "Helmsman, one quarter impulse."

Slowly, the immense hulk of the Excelsior moved forward, following the Enterprise toward doors that were still closed.

 

On the dimly-lit bridge of the Enterprise, it's four commandeers looked grimly at the image of the closed spacedock doors on the main viewscreen.

Captain Sulu swallowed hard. "And... now, Mr. Scott," he said.

Scotty looked up for a moment. "Sir?"

"The doors, Mr. Scott!"

"Aye, sir, I'm working on them!"

Sulu looked down at Scotty, surprised and slightly nervous. THen he returned his gaze to the viewscreen, where the spacedock doors loomed larger and larger. Just as Sulu thought that there was no way they were going to make it, Mr. Scott's console beeped and the doors began to slide open. Still holding his breath, Sulu watched as the warp nacelles approached the edge of the doors... and slid through. He let out a great sigh of relief. A moment later, he stood. "We have cleared space doors," he announced. "Full impulse power!"

The Enterprise lunged forward, turning away from the immense starbase they had just escaped. Just moments later, the Excelsior slid out of the spacedock and turned to pursue.

 

"Enterprise maintaining full impulse power," the first officer of the Excelsior reported.

"Stand by, tractor beam," Captain Styles ordered.

"Tractor beam, aye."

Styles watched as the Enterprise grew larger on the viewscreen. "If he tries getting away with warp drive," he commented, "he's really in for a shock..."

 

"Excelsior closing to four thousand meters, sir," Commander Chekov announced.

Sulu sat back in the captain's chair. "Mr. Scott, we need everything you've got now!"

"Aye, sir," Scotty replied, then scanned the controls quickly. "Warp drive is standing by."

 

Styles watched for a moment more, then pressed a button on his command chair, opening a channel between the Excelsior and the Enterprise. "Sulu, you do this, you'll never sit in the Captain's chair again."

 

Sulu stood. "Warp speed, Mr. Scott!"

"Aye, sir, warp speed..."

 

Captain Styles watched on the viewscreen as the Enterprise was breifly replaced by a tapered streak, then vanished altogether, then sighed. "Prepare for warp speed! Stand by transwarp drive."

"Transwarp at your command, sir," reported the first officer.

Captain Styles leaned forward in his seat. He had been waiting a long time for this moment, but this isn't how he had envisioned it. d**n you, Sulu, he thought. "Execute."

The Excelsior shot forward, gaining speed second. But immediately Styles knew something was wrong. Consols started flashing, then the lights. A console somewhere in the back of the bridge exploded.

"Full power available," announced the computer.

"What's going on!" shouted Styles.

"I don't know, sir," replied the helmsman. "I have no control at all! Everything just froze up!"

Styles jabbed the intercom button on his command chair. "Engineering! Report!"

The intercom crackled, then the voice of the main engineer was heard. "I'm not sure, Captain, but I think we made a miscalculation with the transwarp drive matrix! We have to get back to impulse! I have no idea what will happen if we hit transwarp!"

Styles jumped up and leaned over the helm. None of the controls were on-line, and one of the screens was flickering madly. It finally went blank, then printed out a message: Good morning, Captain.

Then the universe exploded around them.

 

As you can see, the beginning is based directly on the script for ST III, with the exception that Kirk isn't around and Sulu has basically taken his place. But, like I said, that's only the first chapter. None of the TOS characters will appear later on.

 

Now, I'm set on having the Excelsior propelled into the future thanks to an imbalance in the transwarp drive matrix. But I'm not sure exactly where to send the Excelsior. At first, I was thinking to around the time of the Terran rebellion, which would be around the time of the DS9 cross-overs. Then I thought it would be cool to somehow include the Enterprise-C (Federation, not Empire), so that would place the Excelsior sometime during the mirror-TNG period. I'm leaning toward this idea.

 

Other than that, I'm uncertain how to proceed. Anyone have any ideas? Like, where should they go? Who should they meet?

 

Oh, and just for the record, the captain, first officer, and chief engineer, among others, will die. I want to introduce entirely new characters.

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No offense Wishfire, but there is a difference between basing a story on an existing one and outright plagarism. Most of the lines you wrote are an exact match for the Trek III script. So far all you've done is switch Kirk with Sulu. Its an interesting concept but put it all in your own words. Don't just copy the script for Trek III.

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For the first chapter I had to. The mirror universe is called that because up to a point, it was an evil mirror of the universe we know. So things occured almost identically. And since the Excelsior attempted transwarp drive only once (during the escape of the Enterprise) it was only logical to think that the same would be true in the mirror universe.

 

Besides, there are novels that follow portions of episode and/or movie scripts identically, not just similarly. Those are acceptable. So why wouldn't this be?

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Well, I finally wrote a second chapter. I haven't really gone into any character details yet. I've just barely begun scratching the surface of their initial torubles.

 

Here it is...

 

Darkness. Pure darkness. Darkness accompanied by the deepest of silences. Lieutenant Commander Weiss felt this darkness and silence as if they had substance to them. He could feel them clinging to his skin, numbing his muscles, penetrating into his bone. He remained still, too disoriented to try to shake the sensation. He wasn't even sure that he wanted to.

As he lay there (or was he standing? Or sitting?), disjointed thoughts meandered there ways through his mind. He was vaguely aware that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. He mentally cursed. Finally, he decided to try to open his eyes. Dismayed, he realized that he couldn't.

Then a realization came to him. There wasn't any silence. He was actually hearing something that seeming to be far away. The sound seemed low-pitched, and repetetive. He focused on the sound, trying to figure out what it was. Slowly, an image began taking form in his mind. It was blurry, but it was growing increasingly clearer. And as it cleared, Weiss realized that the noise was getting louder. It seemed to him that the image and the noise were gaining strength from each other.

With a start, Weiss recognized the sound, and reality snapped back into place. He was lying on the floor of the bridge, and the sound was the emergency klaxons. Weiss sat up, and was dismayed to find that he still could not see. Then he realized that that wasn't wuite right; he could see, but his eyes were covered in blood. Irritated, he wiped the blood away and used a nearby console to pull himself to his feet.

"Report!" he yelled over the klaxons. No one responded.

Looking around, he saw carnage. Wires and equipment were scattered everywhere. Bodies lay everywhere. Was there anyone left alive?

Weiss heard a groan to the back of the bridge. He turned and saw a young woman struggling to sit up. He rushed over to her and helped her to sit.

"Ensign," he said, "can you resume your duties?"

The young ensign took a deep breath, then nodded. "I believe so, sir," she said.

Weiss stood, then held out a hand for her. "Good. We need as many people as possible right now. Check the rest of the bridge crew. I'm going to try to ascertain the condition of the ship."

The Ensign nodded, then moved to the nearest officer. Weiss stood over the engineering console, studying read-outs.

It seemed that barely a minute had gone by, but when he turned around again there were several officers standing over various stations, working frantically. The ensign, seeing Weiss turn, rushed over to his side.

"The Captain and first officer are dead, Commander," she reported, "as are three other members of the bridge crew. Besides you and I, we have five people at their posts. I've been trying to get personel reports from every deck. So far, only twelve have reported in. All decks report heavy casualties."

Weiss closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Good work, ensign," he said. "Damage report?"

"Nothing complete, yet, sir," she replied. "We haven't been able to contact engineering. As far as we can tell, long-range sensors are down, and the helm isn't responding. Weapons controls seem to be working, but we have no shields. Short-range sensors are operating at thirty-five percent efficiency."

Weiss grimaced, then nodded his thanks. Then he stood and faced the bridge. "Can I have your attention," he called out. Everyone stopped and looked at him. "The Captain and first officer are dead. Right now, that means I'm the superior officer on the bridge. Right now, or main objective is to regain helm control. But we also need to know the status of the rest of the ship. The three youngest officers are to survey the decks and determine the condition of each deck. If you encounter any other able-bodied individuals, recruit them to help you, as per my orders." Weiss turned to the ensign. "Except you. I want you to go stright to engineering and find out what's happening there. Right now, the bridge and Engineering are our top priorities. Don't let me down."

The Ensign smiled up at Weiss. "I won't, sir" she said. Then she rushed to the turbolifts with the other three junior officers. On of the junior officers turned to Weiss.

"The turbolifts don't seem to be working," he reported. "What should we do?"

Weiss let out a sigh. "Climb down the shafts."

The junior officer was taken aback for a moment. "Um, yes, sir!"

Weiss was about to help with the helm when the sensors beeped and alarm. A lieutenant jumped up and accessed the sensors.

"Sir," he said, "incoming vessel."

"Identify," ordered Weiss.

The lieutenant studied the sensors for a moment. Finally, he looked up with worry in his eyes. "Klingon Bird of Prey."

Weiss swallowed. "Damn."

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Here it is! The long-awaited (don't I wish :) ) third chapter to my fanfic.

 

The small ship slipped through the murky nebula, tracking its prey. The tactic had been used by the Terran Resistance for some time, but never this far into Alliance territory. Just getting here was dangerous, and there was always the chance that other Alliance ships would be nearby. Also, returning to the Badlands would be just as dangerous.

"How close are we?" demanded Eric Arnold, captain of the ship.

"Four hundred fifty thousand kilometers," replied Jen Stevens from the sensor console. "We will be at optimal range in five minutes."

"Excellent," mused Arnold. Then he turned to the gunner. "Sovok, remember that we are to cripple the ship, not destroy it."

The Vulcan lifted an eyebrow. "Of course, Captain."

"Captain!" Stevens called out. "I'm reading a massive power fluctuation. It looks like some sort of spacial anomaly... It's gone now. Whatever it was, it was powerful enough that it almost shorted out the sensors."

"What? You're supposed to have sensors operating at only ten percent," said Arnold, standing.

"And they were. The fluctuation was that powerful. Attempting to locate..." The young woman bent over the console for a moment. "Bearing eight-seven three mark four. Distance... I can't tell. It's beyond our current sensor range.

"Captain," Sovok said, "there's a good chance that this fluctuation has also damaged the Klingon ship's sensors. It would be logical to take advantage of the fluctuation and attack now, while the Klingons are, as you humans would say, 'caught with their pants down.'"

Arnold nodded. "Agreed, but there might be the danger of another fluctuation. I don't know what that might do to us." Sovok nodded the concession. Arnold sat back down, thinking. Finally, he turned to Stevens. "Let's take a risk. Bring sensors up to full capacity for five seconds and see what's going on. Try to determine the condition of the Klingon ship, then bring sensors back down to ten percent. Hopefully, if the Klingons still had decent sensors, they'll think it's some sort of sensor echo."

Stevens bent to the console again, carrying out the order. Several seconds later she turned back to the captain. "It seems that their sensors have, indeed, been damaged, and they've reduced speed to two-thirds impulse. Also, it looks as it their shield generators took a bit of damage."

Eric Arnold smiled. "That's wonderful news."

"There's something else," said Stevens. "Sensors picked up another ship at what might be to source of the fluctuation."

Arnold's smile slipped away. "What kind of ship?"

"I'm not sure, honestly. I am certain that it's not Klingon or Cardassian. It seems to be adrift." The sensor console beeped. "And it looks like the Klingons have changed course. They're heading toward the ship. They are raising shields."

Sovok looked over at Stevens. "Raising their shields? Perhaps they see the other ship as an enemy. If that's the case, we should assist this ship. Perhaps they could assist us as well."

"How?" Arnold asked. "They're adrift."

"True, captain, but that doesn't mean that they are defenseless. Also, they will soon be too far to perform a sneak attack unless we act now. I am familiar with this class of Bird of Prey. If we take a position directly behind them, and match speed, they will not see us. Then, just before they reach the other ship, we can engage our warp drive at warp factor three for two seconds. We will be on top of them before they have a chance to react."

Arnold scratched his chin, contemplating the strategy. "All right, that sounds like our best course of action. Do it."

With the ease that comes from the design of the small fighter craft, it slipped into a position that mirrored the Klingon ship's course. Over the next few minutes, the trio watched their prey, which was just a small dot on the small view screen. Jen Stevens kept glancing at the sensors, waiting for the right moment. Finally, it came.

"The Klingon ship is within two hundred thousand kilometers of the other ship," she reported.

Arnold pressed a button on the helm console, and the small fighter leaped into warp. Moments later, it slowed to impulse, less than a kilometer from the Klingon ship.

Not needed to be told when to fire, Sovok's fingers flew over his console, entering the proper instructions. Phaser beams lanced out from the fighter, striking the Bird of Prey's engines repeatedly. Simultaneously, torpedoes shot forth from the other ship, striking the Bird of Prey's forward shields.

"Jen, hail the other ship and let them know that we need to capture the Klingon ship," said Arnold.

"I'm trying, but the Klingons are jamming the frequencies."

Another barrage of torpedoes from the other ship, collapsing the Bird of Prey's shields. A pair of undetonated torpedoes flew through, one flying past the Bird of Prey, the other slamming into the neck that connect the bridge to the rest of the ship. The bridge section snapped off like a twig and tumbled away into space. The rest of the Bird of Prey careened to its port side. Several Klingons were sucked from the beheaded ship into the vacuum of space, tumbling end over end.

"The jamming is gone," reported Stevens. "I'm attempting to contact the other ship. I still can't identify it."

Sovok regarded the ship on the view screen. "I can," he said.

Arnold turned to him. "What?"

"I do not which specific ship this is," Sovok stated, "but I'm quite familiar with the design. It's an Excelsior-class starship."

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The fourth segment.

 

Weiss watched as the Bird of Prey approached the Excelsior. "Does anyone here know how to operate the weapons console?" he demanded.

A young lieutenant stood up from the repairs he was working on. "I do, sir," he said.

"Good. Arm all weapons, and see if you can get the shields up at all."

"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant ran to the console and went to work. A moment later he looked up. "Sir, the phasers seem to be operating on battery only. But we do have full torpedo control."

Weiss sighed. "That will have to work."

"Sir!" an ensign at the sensor console spoke up. "It looks like there's another ship. It's at the edge of our sensor range."

"Can you identify it?"

It took the ensign several moments to respond. "No, sir. It's not a familiar design. It appears to be mirroring the Klingon ship's course and speed."

Weiss furrowed his brow, wondering why. "How soon until the Klingon ship is within weapon range?"

"Ten seconds, sir."

"Weapons are ready," the lieutenant at the weapons console announced.

Weiss nodded. "Prepare to..."

"Sir!" the ensign interrupted. "The other ship just went to warp! They've engaged their weapon systems and shields."

Weiss made a quick decision. "The Klingon ship is a bigger threat. Fire when ready!"

Weiss watched on the viewscreen as a barrage of the Excelsior's torpedoes sped through space toward the Klingon ship. At the same time, the other ship open fire with it's phasers, striking the Bird of Prey's aft shields.

"Klingon shields down to twenty-five percent," the ensign announced.

"Fire another spread," ordered Weiss.

More torpedoes flew through space. The first few finished the Bird of Prey's shields off, leaving just two torpedoes. One flew into space, useless, but the other struck the neck of the Klingon ship, sending its bridge section flying through space. The other ship remained.

"Ensign... the other ship?"

"They've powered down their weapons and lowered their shields."

"Good. Lieutenant, put the photons on stand-by. Power down the phasers."

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant acknowledged. "Torpedoes at stand-by."

A station to the back of the bridge started beeping. Another lieutenant, who had continued working on an electrical system, jumped up and rushed to the source of the sound. "Sir," she said, "we are being hailed."

Weiss regarded the other ship for a moment. It was obviously a small fighter craft. Then he nodded. "Open a channel," he ordered. "Let's see who we're dealing with."

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I have writer's block! :nono: Does anyone have any ideas how I should continue the story?

 

I have a basic idea, but I can't think of any specifics.

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