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The Never Ending Quest - Episode 17725

"Okay, folks, here's what I'm talking about." Scott says, calling up a picture of the Milky Way that both furry and human Voyager crewmembers are familiar with. "As you can see, much too our frustration and chagrin, the Bajoran Wormhole was much nearer to the Voyager than initially thought when the Voyager popped into the Delta Quandrant."

People give off a frustrated groan as yet again they see how close they were to a way home! It had been a BITTER pill to swallow when more detailed long range scans of the Delta Quadrant revealed how close the Hole was over in the Gamma Quadrant.

(Note: a map of this is found here:)

http://www.chattownusa.com/Avenues/Fun/griffin/startrek.jpg

"As I told you, I had a strange dream, a rather disturbing one that I'd rather NOT go into....." Scott continues. "Now, it very well be some type of transdiminsional telepathy at work, or just a very overactive imagination on my part. Whatever that near death experience actually was, it was enough to solve a vexing problem."

"What Scott means is that we were following a course that was basically going more or less around the perimeter of the galaxy," human Torres says. "Yes, we would have approached energy sphere, or whatever you want to call the Inner Great Barrier, but the Voyager couldn't actually breach the Barrier successfully." (Author's Note: in one of the Star Trek movies, their was another Great Barrier--opposed to the one that Kirk originally encountered in his first five year mission--that was acting as a prison cell to some type of evil energy being).

"This Barrier is so huge, that it was basically WHY we had to follow a roundabout way home," Scott continues. "Why the Voyager would have to take seventy plus years to get home! However . . . . I saw a few things in that dream that gave human and furry Torres enough information on just HOW to breach that Barrier safely......."

"And . . . . get us home within twenty instead of the fifty something years . . . . it would before," human Paris says in a dazed voice. "And it's just our luck that that we NOW know where the Wormhole is . . . . . and it would take Voyager just as long to get back to it as it would to slug it through the galaxies center......."

Fine details are hammered out. Scott explains that, while Kirk was able to broach this Barrier one time, when his ship got hijacked (that was a plot of one of the Star Trek movies, folks), travel to the center of the galaxy was still considered almost impossible. to reach . . . . . so dangerous that the Voyager . . . at least in this story . . . . . never seriously considered trying to cut through it to get home).

"It's just too bad that we can't modify the warp core to push the ships speed up to where this journey would only take two and a half years at maximum warp." human Janeway says at the end of the jab session. "But like the Torresses said, what caused those Silver Blood clones to . . . er . . . . melt could have been done by a million side effects from warp core emissions!"

The Bridgecrew leave to get ready to set course for the galaxies core, but the Janeways stick around to talk with each other.

"Well, what do you make of all this, Katherine?" human Torres sighs, sipping on her coffee. "What is your take on all this?"

"Well, I would have said things would be exceedingly strange, but considering all that has happened even before . . . . all this," furry Janeway shakes her head. "I mean, things always were strange out here in the Delta Quadrant. Both our Kims aren't the ones that came from our original universes. They are actually survivors from analog Voyagers. We've both met suicidal Qs. Why, when Baldy came in and conquered my universe, I knew that NOTHING would ever be normal again!" A look of sorrow passes through furry Janeway's face.

"Hey, I'm . . . . sorry if I brought up painful memories." human Janeway says, truly sorry.

"I know." the vixen says. "When I rescued your crew and then went off and had my Torres throw this ship through thousands of universes . . . . I pretty much had given up all hope of getting back to MY Alpha Quandrant."

"But....." human Janeway blinks, not quiet believing this. Her furry analog holds up a restraining hand.

"I want to get my crew back to an Alpha Quadrant, Katherine." the vixen says. "You know that Baldy was brutal . . . . without even a trace of real mercy. She destroyed pretty much everything I know and loved in my universe. What was left . . . . well, let us just say that if my crew ever got back . . . . it would be like they had never left the Delta Quadrant. THAT is how alien things has become there! Baldy took special pleasure in rubbing THAT in my face."

Human Janeway places a reassuring hand to try to ease the hurt that her analog was obviously feeling.

"So, you might NOT want to return home?" human Janeway finally asks. "Is that what you are saying?

"All of the furries know what Baldy did," the vixen mutters. "I and my crew want to go home, but it looks like the best home might just be YOUR universe. I just don't know what we'll do, once we get to the Guardian. But, you know, that's for the far future."

"That's true enough." human Janeway, patting her analogs shoulder reassuringly as she changes the subject (this was NOT something she had really wanted to bring up at all). It brought up bad memories for her analog that hadn't totally been . . . . put to rest.

Now, with that, furry Paris sets a more direct course to the Alpha Quadrant.

  1. Meanwhile, there are forces about......

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11/15/2001 10:11:01 AM

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