ClassicComedyFan2
09-14-2002, 03:54 PM
“Home to Homecoming”
Episode 27 of Gopher’s Gateway
Written by Sean Sporman
Prologue
Sean Sporman smiled as once more as students entered Hueytown Academy. With repairs complete and the help of the crews of the ‘Temporal Timefleet’ from the future, where Star Trek was a reality, Hueytown Academy was now once more in service.
For this day was a true homecoming. ‘Come back home to Homecoming’ as Heather Allgood had coined. It would be based on the old Hueytown High School’s old homecoming week, but that was where the similarities ended.
Sean stood currently in the super-futuristic OPS II, brought online after his hostage situation with June Gabert and her short-lived alliance with the treacherous Romulan Sela. Some of his friends couldn’t believe he had gotten so many kisses during that time. Others certainly did.
The controls still used the LCARS controls, but most of the displays utilized holographic displays. Second, the old televisions of the first camera wall now used ultra-high-res view screens that put even UVGA (Ultimate Video Graphics Array) monitors, to be invented in 2003, to shame.
Theme Week was a staple of the homecoming week at the old Hueytown High and that idea was carried over. Sean had dressed up as a Starfleet officer, and worn the uniform he usually wore.
Heather, also in OPS, had dressed up as a teacher.
“So, you kept the ambitions you gave in the speech in speech class.” Sean Sporman said. Last year in Mrs. Steven’s Speech Class, the class was required to do career speeches. Sean had done a speech about meteorology, not knowing of his future in education and starship command.
“Yeah,” Heather chuckled, “My mom did a good job as a teacher.” Heather’s mother was a teacher of third-grade classes at Hueytown Elementary.
“She should teach here one day.” Sean responded.
Just then, Hannah Clements entered the room, dressed up a scientist. “Greetings, Hannah.” Sean said with a smile.
“My mom made me dress up as this. I preferred the Starfleet uniform personally.” Hannah sat down in a comfortable chair. Sean really didn’t know what Hannah’s career ambitions were.
“What ever happened to Lucy?” Heather asked.
“She’s on extended leave to visit her parents and siblings again.” Sean responded, “She should be back in a month.”
“Well,” Heather responded, “I know I’ll never get lonely with you for a boyfriend.” The two smooched happily.
After the smooch, Sean smiled broadly. “I have a feeling this will be a day everyone will love.”
Chapter One
Mrs. Ware sat in the Starfleet Visual and Physical Arts Room of Hueytown Academy, smiling as she typed in the daily quote that appeared on the compuboard. Once, it had been called something else, she remembered, but it had to be upgraded after…something. When typed using an LCARS keyboard, the text appeared. “No more chalkboards, no more dust. Thank goodness.” The art teacher that had dressed up as an artist sat back down in her chair.
She tapped at her computer. “If Sean vidmails me one more Star Trek art piece, I’ll run out of my forty-seven gigaquads of storage space.” Her chair moved on a rail that took her from her desk. She began to wonder how much a gigaquad was. “Storage 2.” The chair rotated one hundred and eighty degrees.
Jordan Reeves entered the art room through the automatic doors. “Hello, Mrs. Ware.”
“Good morning.” Mrs. Ware greeted.
“So, it’s the old artist get-up? Looks cool.” Jordan responded. “So, did you get the—“
A phaser beam suddenly cut through the air and destroyed the compuboard, which erupted in a shower of sparks. Mrs. Ware quickly dove from her chair and under the desk, which was reinforced with duratanium. Jordan stooped behind a box of art supplies. Looking he saw Amanda Epperson, or ‘Eppy’, one of June Gabert’s allies.
Jordan reached for his pocket and realized since he had dressed as a zoologist for career day, he did not have his phaser.
Suddenly, smoke began to pour into the advanced room. Amanda turned to see Nick Brown, holding the control for a Klingon Smoke Bomb.
“You’re a—“
“Friend.” Amanda completed for Nick. They two looked up to Sean Sporman and Hannah Clements dematerialize, protected by personal shields and carrying phasers.
Amanda tapped a control on her wrist and grabbed Nick’s arm. The two dematerialized.
Sean heard footsteps and saw Ashley Salter enter the room, dressed as a softball champion. She shrugged at the sight of smoke and phaser scars and exploded circuitry and shook her head. “You say this happens all the time?”
“Yes.” Hannah responded, “At least from what I’ve heard.”
“It’s all very fascinating.” Andy Blackerby stated in the cockpit of his third dirigible, the Hueytown One. Apparently, he did believe the third time was a charm. The first one had been destroyed by a severe snowstorm and the second one had been destroyed in a battle.
“I agree.” Leslie Toomey nodded. “All these starships and replicators, it’s unreal!”
“And the young man leading it is a great one.” Commented Michelle Juliy, a beautiful young twenty-five year-old brown-haired teacher new to Hueytown Academy.
“Yes, a good scholar.” Mr. Dennis agreed.
“And, he listens to us teachers!” Mrs. Williams from Pittman Middle exclaimed, “He was are last hope Mrs. Lafoy said. It’s the first step in the right direction!”
“How long until we get there?” Juliy inquired.
“Twenty-two minutes and nine-seconds.” Blackerby replied.
“That’s forty-seven times forty-seven.” Juliy replied. “Tell me, Andy. Do you enjoy being in charge of the system?”
Blackerby smiled. “But of course, Michelle. The optimist that I am.” He smiled at Michelle.
“Cool.” She replied. “I can’t wait to meet Sean.”
Blackerby quickly fell out of his chair in disbelief.
June Gabert sat in her latest headquarters of evil, underground of what used to be Hueytown Juvenile. After a fragment of her destroyed Romulan cruiser destroyed the then-empty facility, she had used it as a hideout with the help of the Romulan cloaking device.
“Actually,” Peyton Freeman replied, as she chatted with Amanda Epperson, “I always hope for the best. Experience, on the other hand, has taught me to expect the worst.”
Amanda shook her head as she walked off.
Peyton took interest on what was on the screen that June Gabert observed. “Planning on releasing the PSI 2000 again? How predictable.”
“Actually it was Alan’s idea.” June replied, “Gotta listen to my man.”
“Not much of a man if you ask me.” Peyton mumbled under her breath.
June heard her and stood up to glare at her. “Don’t insult him again!”
Peyton looked into June’s fierce eyes…and nodded.
“No,” June responded, “I was actually thinking of doing something a little more lovable…”
Patrick Williams walked down past a vending machine when Ashley Salter popped out from behind it, shooting a water gun at the victim. “That got him wet!” Ashley exclaimed.
He reacted, jumping back in shock, bumping into another person. That person was Emily Ham. “Well,” Emily huffed, “What’s your problem? Tripped on a puddle?” Emily’s inquiry was lined with silvery sarcasm.
Patrick ignored her, walking on.
“Well,” Emily said, “See if I say sorry to you next time!”
Ashley Salter giggled at the results of her prank. She checked her watch. “Great, now I’ve got to go to the dentist. Blast!”
Chapter Two
“We have a security breach in sector 47!” Hannah Clements exclaimed, reacting to the readout on her sensor panel.
“Who is it?” Sean Sporman inquired, turning around in his comfortable command chair. “Stinky Starns?”
“Is that his appellation now?” Heather replied, “He’s got a phaser rifle.”
Sean stood up. “No one invades my school without a pretty face and gets away with it.”
Jordan nodded, an expression of bemused bafflement on his face. “So, that’s why he lets June and Peyton and Amanda in first.” He mumbled under his breath.
“Heather, Hannah, take a strategic position near the front. Ashley, Jordan, takes the rear.”
“Always the lower side…” Jordan trailed off.
Sean Sporman dematerialized, phaser rifle in hand, in front of Alan Starns, who had a mean look on his face. That look was only enhanced by the black eye that Sean had given him when he invaded the bridge of the Enterprise-E days earlier.
“Listen, fool. Get out of my way!” Starns said, but Sean did not move.
“Why do you have to have star in your name?” Sean shook his head, “I’m the fan of Star Trek and the true star of Hueytown!”
Starns yelled in anger and lunged at Sean. Suddenly, three phaser beams lanced out, striking the attacker and sending him deep into unconsciousness.
Sean smiled when he saw that Heather, Hannah and Ashley had fired the shots.
“Take him to the brig.” Sean said, but Alan suddenly dematerialized in a transporter beam.
Commander Will Riker laughed as well as Commander Deanna Troi in Rec Room III of Hueytown Academy. A week’s shore leave had been allowed.
“He’s quite the ladies man, isn’t he?” Commander Riker commented, after watching a video file of Sean Sporman.
Deanna Troi laughed. “He sort of reminds me of you, Will. Especially since you’ve shaved…except he has a girlfriend and about five or seven others that have big crushes on him.”
Riker blushed, but said nothing.
“This school is quite a fascinating place.”
Riker and Troi looked up to see Captain Jean-Luc Picard, out of uniform, in casual clothes instead.
“Captain?” Riker said in shock.
“Yes, Number one.” Picard replied, “A little rest never hurts anyone.”
“Join us, Captain. We’re looking into the lives of Sean and his friends.”
“Interesting choice, number one.” Picard replied, “But, first, let me get some Earl Grey tea, hot.”
“Make it so.” Riker responded in a Picard-like voice.
Deanna Troi chuckled.
“Not you, too!” Jonathan Reeves exclaimed.
Hannah Clements smiled, her fair skin glowing slightly from the sunlight that hit it. “Yes, I do.”
“But, Heather and Meagan and Lucy and Ashley—“
“I know they already like Sean.” Hannah replied, “Just be quiet. I’ve got my plans set.”
“How did the idiot try to kill a fish?”
“I don’t know.”
“He tried to drown it.” Commander Data, an android from the starship Enterprise, completed his joke, and laughed at his comedic creation.
“That’s pretty good, Data.” Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge replied, “One day you may be able to go on Joke Night on the Enterprise.”
“I certainly hope so, Geordi.” Data replied, “How are the repairs coming?”
The two worked on Mrs. Ware’s damaged compuboard. “We should be done soon.” Geordi said, turning his tool ninety degrees as it fired a white beam of plasma to repair circuitry.
“Good,” Data replied, “Joke time!”
Geordi shook his head at Data’s exclamation.
“Now, one time there were these three tiny little lifeforms…”
Sean Sporman shook the hand of Latrice Dudley, the student principal of Oak Grove High School, rebuilt after the devastating tornado that struck April 8th, 1998.
“Glad to meet you. So, how many delinquents do you have? 20? 30?” Sean chuckled at Latrice’s comment.
“We had to put over 30 in our brigs. But, we now have no crime in this school. It took us a while, but we did it.”
Peyton Freeman punched Alan Starns ferociously, knocking him to the ground of the secret headquarters of the Anti-Sporman Council, ASO.
“Why did you punch me, Peyk—?“
Peyton kicked him again. “I told you not to call me that! You’re so annoying. Just go flirt with June if you want to. Leave me alone!”
Sean Sporman, having finished his conversation with Latrice Dudley, entered the Holodeck, responding to an anonymous comm signal.
He entered the Holodeck doors and looked around. It was the beach simulation, ported over from the Hypothetical’s databanks, a starship that Sean and his friends before the ones they had now. He saw that no one was at the beach bar, which was not really a bar at all, because it served soft drinks and fast food items. He saw no one at the lounge lineup either. Continuing to scan with his eyes, he saw Hannah Clements lying in a lounge chair in a short sleeve shirt and shorts, tanning her arms and legs by the volleyball net.
He walked over by the beautiful junior. “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting?”
Hannah smiled, “Not at all. Sit in this other lounge chair by me.”
Sean sat back, adjusting his Starfleet uniform.
“This is great.” Hannah said, “Tanning without the health risks. Ah, the marvels of Starfleet technology.”
Sean smiled. “Yes, you do have to love that. But, I’ve never really been one for tanning myself.”
Hannah laughed a little. “That’s perfectly fine. You look cute enough already.”
Sean turned his head and looked at Hannah. “Really.”
Hannah and Sean both stood up at the same time.
“You do know I have a girlfriend don’t you?” Sean said weakly.
“Yes.” Hannah nodded.
The two then smooched…
“Smooch alert! Smooch alert! Smooch alert!”
Jordan Reeves let an expression of disbelief rule his face at the sound of that alarm. “Who’s idea was that?”
“Why, Sean’s.” Heather replied, “Who else?”
“One day, that kid is going to get something he doesn’t know…dislike.”
“That’ll be the day.” Heather Allgood replied with a smile.
Jordan stared at the camera wall. “He just kissed another girl!”
“Yes,” Heather replied, “But, let us remember, as long as you do nothing too bad, which kissing is not, teenagers should enjoy their youth. Besides, it might be the snow craziness or something.”
Jordan wanted to hit one of the computers.
“No. No. No.” Heather replied, “No pessimism allowed in Hueytown Academy.”
Jordan walked out of OPS.
“Now,” Heather said, smiling, “It’s my turn.”
“This is ridiculous!” exclaimed Jordan Reeves.
“Jordan!” Courtney Gage exclaimed, “Come and give me a great big hug!”
“Oh, great.” Sighed Jordan, “Barney is chasing me.”
Courtney laughed. “You’re so funny, Jordan!”
“Quite.” Jordan responded.
Suddenly, Courtney tapped her combadge and rematerialized by Jordan.
“Reeves to transporter room. One to beam!”
But, Courtney grabbed onto Jordan and both were dematerialized.
Sean Sporman smiled as he left the Holodeck with Hannah Clements. “See you later, Hannah.”
Hannah smiled as she began to walk in the opposite direction down the corridor.
Sean proceeded down the corridor, smiling broadly. He stopped when Andrea Dickinson emerged from a nearby turbolift. “Hello, Andrea. How’s it going?”
Sean nodded with a smile. “Great, as can be expected.”
“You know,” Andrea, commented, beginning to walk down the corridor with Sean, “It’s always good to see such optimism. Some of the boys I knew at C-C were boring, dirty-minded and dumb. You’re different.”
“Why, thank you, Andrea.” Sean replied.
“You’re intelligent, rated G and exciting not to mention funny. I think I like you.”
Sean blushed as Andrea stopped.
“May I ask you something, Sean?”
“Sure. Go right ahead.”
“Would you like to kiss me?” Andrea asked.
“That’s a trick question, isn’t it?” Sean replied, as the two kissed…
“It’s the Xanthi Fever, Mark II.” Captain Picard said, inside his protective spacesuit.
“That virus,” Deanna Troi sighed, “Is normally a disease contracted by elder Betazoids that projects the feelings that they feel through their empathic and telepathic powers. However, the last time that it occurred in a public facility, barring the depression outbreak on Outpost 47, was the outbreak of love and passion of Starbase Deep Space Nine. A Ferengi named Quark—“
“Quark!” Riker replied, “You mean he actually did something profitable?”
“Yeah.” Deanna Troi responded, “Couldn’t believe it either! But, as I was saying, he took his ‘findings’ to a Ferengi geneticist. Said geneticist developed it into a virus that, when released, caused people to go gaa-gaa over their latent attractions, with biggest ones taking forefront.”
“We’ll have to do that on the Enterprise sometime.” Riker joked.
Deanna jabbed him playfully in the stomach with her elbow. “They question is…” she asked rhetorically, “How did it get here, now?”
“How about a kiss, baby?” Andy Blackerby smiled at Michelle Juliy in the cockpit of Hueytown One.
“Get away from me, you kooky creep!” Michelle snapped back, running out of the docking airlock, into Hueytown Academy.
“Come back here, honey!” Blackerby exclaimed, “I’m an optimist! I have lots of cash!” Blackerby continued his chase.
Jordan Reeves had escaped Courtney Gage, finally having to stun her with a phaser blast. He walked through the corridors of the Sporman, advancing toward the transporter room. “Silly girl, I like someone else better!” He walked into the transporter room.
“Time to beam on down.” Jordan said, entering coordinates into the transporter. “To get my girl.”
He ran up on the pad, and he dematerialized.
Sean Sporman smiled as he was being chased through the main playground of Hueytown Academy. The ones chasing him were Heather Allgood, Hannah Clements, Andrea Dickinson and Ashley Salter.
Above Sean, the sun shone down like a yellow ball of fire, sort of what is was, though a more correct explanation would be a yellow ball of gas. He was not alone in his situation either. Girls chased boys; boys chased girls all through the playground. Others were talking, hugging, holding hands or even kissing in this school gone wild with love. “And to think, it’s not Valentine’s Day.”
Sean turned his head, smiling at the beautiful young women that chased him. Thanks to Starfleet Mobile Accelerators, he ran without fatigue. The problem, or good thing, depending on the viewpoint, was that the girls had them too.
“And, to think.” June Gabert commented dryly, “It’s not even my birthday.”
“What does that have to with it?” Alan Starns asked weakly.
“It’s on Valentine’s Day! Sean never forgot it!” June shook her head as she placed a type-one phaser in her pocket.
“Where are you going?” Alan Starns inquired.
“None of your accursed business, boy.” June walked out. Nick Brown was napping.
As Amanda ‘Eppy’ Epperson exited the room, Peyton turned around and shook her head as Alan Starns decided to take a nap. “Hmm…Sean never napped during the daytime. Why can’t I find one man that’s evil and not lazy at the same time?” June let her aloud thought hang in the air.
“Lay off it!” Mrs. Ware exclaimed, hiding behind a force field around a transporter pad in her Starfleet Visual Arts Room. Mr. Denlicon, a PE Coach, was chasing after her. “I don’t like you! I’m a married woman, for Pete’s sake! I will not kiss you!”
“Not one little smooch?” Denlicon insisted.
“No.” Mrs. Ware tapped her combadge and dematerialized, giving Denlicon a raspberry before complete dematerialization.
Denlicon merely shook his head. “Let’s see…what are the other cute female adults in this school?”
A smile jumped on his face as he saw Michelle Juily run by.
Sean Sporman ceased his running when he could no longer hear his pursuers. He turned to see that the beautiful girls were no longer chasing him. She snapped his fingers in frustration. “Shoot.”
Suddenly, he turned to see Andrea Dickinson running. “Hey, Seanie!”
Sean placed out his arm and stopped Andrea. She smiled at Sean. “You do like me more, don’t you?”
Before Sean could respond to Andrea’s question, a phaser beam struck a computer above his head. Sean turned to see that Hannah Clements had fired the shot.
“No, girl.” Hannah proclaimed. “He likes me more.”
Suddenly, Heather Allgood beamed between the two. “We all know he likes me best…I’ve been going out with Seanie for a whole semester!”
“Ladies, please.” Sean said, “Don’t let this devolve into a catfight!”
June Gabert ran down New Forest Road, moved around since Hueytown Academy was constructed. It was made of high-level concrete replicated by Sean Sporman and Jordan Reeves. June smiled broadly; her newly died purple hair blowing and swaying slightly in the wind.
Behind her, Peyton Freeman ran, struggling to keep up as the sun shined down in the beautiful blue sky. “What are you in search a hurry for?”
June giggled. “Code SS, silly. I’m in love!”
Peyton shook her head, “Good grief!”
“Doctor! Mr. MD!” Commander Geordi La Forge exclaimed, “We need a cure and those students could use it now…not that they don’t enjoy an outbreak of love!”
The Emergency Medical Hologram chuckled. “Oh, I’ve had the cure. Don’t you just want to sit back and watch this? Ever since I’ve seen Mr. Sporman’s crush list, his interaction with the opposite sex has been most fascinating.”
“I guess I can see that.” Geordi responded, “What’s up now?”
The Emergency Medical Hologram placed his hand on one his personal computers, turning it to show Sean Sporman trying to stop the catfight. “See what I mean…they’re crazy over him!”
Geordi leaned forward, “I reminds me of something Data showed me once…sitcom television comedies, but these are much better. Sometimes I think the stuff that goes around on this school could work as a television show!”
The Doctor laughed. “You ain’t just whistling Dixie, buster!” Geordi looked at him in a funny way. “Something I picked up from a cartoon.”
June Gabert chuckled as she ran through the halls of Hueytown Academy. She decked Terry Tillison, who had been chasing after him and resumed her run through the halls. Suddenly, music burst over the intercom. It was the oldies song, One Fine Day.
June smiled even broader as she closed on her target…
Sean Sporman felt something snap in his head. Little did he know that it was the Xanthi Fever taking over his brain.
He saw the three girls fighting over him and smiled. “Hey, Andrea!” Sean exclaimed, as he heard the music begin, “I think I like you a lot.”
Andrea stopped her previous actions and smiled at Sean. “That’s so cool!” She exclaimed, “Wanna hug me?”
Sean smiled and the two hugged. Andrea also kissed Sean.
Sean then smiled at Hannah Clements. “I like you a lot too!”
Hannah smiled broadly, dropping her phaser. She quickly hugged and kissed Sean.
June Gabert ran down the halls, happily smiling while the music continued of the schools special spatial intercom system. She stopped when she saw Hannah kissing Sean. She threw a firecracker down toward them, snapping their attention. She then ran toward Sean. “Maturity…manners…cuteness…intelligence. Just what I want for a boyfriend.”
Sean smiled. “Why, thank you.”
“Give me a kiss, boy.” The enemies kissed…
“Chief Medical Officer’s Duty Log, Emergency Medical Hologram reporting for Hueytown Academy. The airborne Xanthi Fever virus, which caused a focus on latent attractions over all else, has finally been purged from the atmosphere. I must say that it was amusing to watch teenagers’ interaction while under the influence of the virus. I may have to talk to whomever released it to do it again…” The doctor laughed. “…One that affects holograms too.” His eyebrow arched in Sick Bay, “End log.”
Nick Brown ducked as Alan Starns punched wide. Suddenly, a phaser beam caught Nick in the side, and one hit Alan just seconds later. June Gabert smiled as she placed her phaser back in her pocket.
“It’s about time.” Peyton Freeman proclaimed, “Those two were too shady for us evil geniuses.”
June nodded. “Stuff them in separate escape pods, and send then into space for a few weeks. They’ll learn their lesson then.”
Peyton smiled.
“What about what happened with Sean?” Amanda inquired.
“Well…I still like him. But, he’s on the wrong side. And for that, he will pay…in time…”
“So, here’s why you went after Andrea and Hannah. Besides the fact you have crushes on them, the airborne virus brought out your teenage rebellious instinct and low attention-span above your normal behavior.” Heather Allgood began to laugh as she shook her head.
“Yup,” Sean Sporman said, smiling, in an understandably happy and upbeat mood, even more than usual.
“I missed it!” Ashley Salter sighed, “I would have probably chased you too under the, dare I say it, love bug.” Laughter swept OPS, “But I had to check out for a dentist appointment.”
“I think the appellation Sporman Ego Booster Bug would much more appropriate.” Jordan raised his head high, but everyone turned away from him, “But, hey, if it makes a friend happy, that’s cool.”
“He finally learns!” Heather exclaimed.
Andrea spied lipstick on Jordan’s cheek. “It seems you got a kiss or two too. Who gave ‘em?”
Jordan turned toward his computer panel and did not answer. But, Sean Sporman knew Jordan was smiling also.
“Like they say…” Sean sighed, still smiling, “Girls rule.”
All the girls in the room smiled…
In the distant sector of space known by some as the Delta Quadrant sailed a starship. A Federation starship. A Federation starship named…Voyager.
On Deck Eight, two crewmembers of this lost starship walked happily down the corridor.
“I heard the Doctor’s gonna try and make the Fair Haven simulation run day-wide. Can you believe what the Captain will say?” Harry Kim said.
“Can you believe what B’elanna will say?” Sighed Lieutenant Tom Paris, referring to his wife and the chief engineer of the starship.
“Well, what have you there?” Paris asked, referring to the PADD that Ensign Kim held in his hand.
“Remember about a year ago, the shuttle Hawking passed through some kind of strange anomaly when the Doctor was testing his piloting skills?”
“Yeah…and he wanted a photonic cannon on it too.” Paris chuckled.
“Well, Ensign Vorik theorized that the shuttle got duplicated, sending it to another point of time and space. He also theorized that the Doctor would have lost his memories of Voyager too.”
“A spatial scission? Like the one we encountered back by Vidiian space about five years ago?”
Harry nodded, “But with a tunneling spatial vortex added into the mix.”
“Interesting.” Paris remarked.
On the bridge of Voyager, Commander Tuvok allowed his eyebrow to arch at readouts on his sensor panel on the bridge of the USS Voyager. “Captain, you may find this fascinating.”
Janeway laughed. “A coffee plantation?”
“Negative, Captain.” Tuvok, a Vulcan, a race that controlled their emotions, replied, “I have detected what appears to be a wormhole.”
Janeway’s heart jumped a beat. Ever since the starship had been brought to the Delta Quadrant, seventy thousand light years from Earth, it seemed that almost every chance to get home had turned out to be a deception. Now, they were a lot closer, only twenty-three thousand light years from the outskirts of Federation space, but that would still take them over twenty years at maximum warp speed, not counting stops, which were a necessity. “Is it a fake, Mr. Tuvok?”
Tuvok shook his head. “Negative, I ran four level-one deep penetrating scans on the wormhole. It also appears that a Starfleet warp signature is on the other side.”
“Let’s keep this quiet for now.” Janeway said, “But it looks like we may have finally found our way home.”
Tuvok nodded as the starship changed course…
A secret attack is turning fantasy into reality…and everyone is feeling the effects! Also, what will happen to Voyager? Find out on the next exciting Gopher’s Gateway!
Episode 27 of Gopher’s Gateway
Written by Sean Sporman
Prologue
Sean Sporman smiled as once more as students entered Hueytown Academy. With repairs complete and the help of the crews of the ‘Temporal Timefleet’ from the future, where Star Trek was a reality, Hueytown Academy was now once more in service.
For this day was a true homecoming. ‘Come back home to Homecoming’ as Heather Allgood had coined. It would be based on the old Hueytown High School’s old homecoming week, but that was where the similarities ended.
Sean stood currently in the super-futuristic OPS II, brought online after his hostage situation with June Gabert and her short-lived alliance with the treacherous Romulan Sela. Some of his friends couldn’t believe he had gotten so many kisses during that time. Others certainly did.
The controls still used the LCARS controls, but most of the displays utilized holographic displays. Second, the old televisions of the first camera wall now used ultra-high-res view screens that put even UVGA (Ultimate Video Graphics Array) monitors, to be invented in 2003, to shame.
Theme Week was a staple of the homecoming week at the old Hueytown High and that idea was carried over. Sean had dressed up as a Starfleet officer, and worn the uniform he usually wore.
Heather, also in OPS, had dressed up as a teacher.
“So, you kept the ambitions you gave in the speech in speech class.” Sean Sporman said. Last year in Mrs. Steven’s Speech Class, the class was required to do career speeches. Sean had done a speech about meteorology, not knowing of his future in education and starship command.
“Yeah,” Heather chuckled, “My mom did a good job as a teacher.” Heather’s mother was a teacher of third-grade classes at Hueytown Elementary.
“She should teach here one day.” Sean responded.
Just then, Hannah Clements entered the room, dressed up a scientist. “Greetings, Hannah.” Sean said with a smile.
“My mom made me dress up as this. I preferred the Starfleet uniform personally.” Hannah sat down in a comfortable chair. Sean really didn’t know what Hannah’s career ambitions were.
“What ever happened to Lucy?” Heather asked.
“She’s on extended leave to visit her parents and siblings again.” Sean responded, “She should be back in a month.”
“Well,” Heather responded, “I know I’ll never get lonely with you for a boyfriend.” The two smooched happily.
After the smooch, Sean smiled broadly. “I have a feeling this will be a day everyone will love.”
Chapter One
Mrs. Ware sat in the Starfleet Visual and Physical Arts Room of Hueytown Academy, smiling as she typed in the daily quote that appeared on the compuboard. Once, it had been called something else, she remembered, but it had to be upgraded after…something. When typed using an LCARS keyboard, the text appeared. “No more chalkboards, no more dust. Thank goodness.” The art teacher that had dressed up as an artist sat back down in her chair.
She tapped at her computer. “If Sean vidmails me one more Star Trek art piece, I’ll run out of my forty-seven gigaquads of storage space.” Her chair moved on a rail that took her from her desk. She began to wonder how much a gigaquad was. “Storage 2.” The chair rotated one hundred and eighty degrees.
Jordan Reeves entered the art room through the automatic doors. “Hello, Mrs. Ware.”
“Good morning.” Mrs. Ware greeted.
“So, it’s the old artist get-up? Looks cool.” Jordan responded. “So, did you get the—“
A phaser beam suddenly cut through the air and destroyed the compuboard, which erupted in a shower of sparks. Mrs. Ware quickly dove from her chair and under the desk, which was reinforced with duratanium. Jordan stooped behind a box of art supplies. Looking he saw Amanda Epperson, or ‘Eppy’, one of June Gabert’s allies.
Jordan reached for his pocket and realized since he had dressed as a zoologist for career day, he did not have his phaser.
Suddenly, smoke began to pour into the advanced room. Amanda turned to see Nick Brown, holding the control for a Klingon Smoke Bomb.
“You’re a—“
“Friend.” Amanda completed for Nick. They two looked up to Sean Sporman and Hannah Clements dematerialize, protected by personal shields and carrying phasers.
Amanda tapped a control on her wrist and grabbed Nick’s arm. The two dematerialized.
Sean heard footsteps and saw Ashley Salter enter the room, dressed as a softball champion. She shrugged at the sight of smoke and phaser scars and exploded circuitry and shook her head. “You say this happens all the time?”
“Yes.” Hannah responded, “At least from what I’ve heard.”
“It’s all very fascinating.” Andy Blackerby stated in the cockpit of his third dirigible, the Hueytown One. Apparently, he did believe the third time was a charm. The first one had been destroyed by a severe snowstorm and the second one had been destroyed in a battle.
“I agree.” Leslie Toomey nodded. “All these starships and replicators, it’s unreal!”
“And the young man leading it is a great one.” Commented Michelle Juliy, a beautiful young twenty-five year-old brown-haired teacher new to Hueytown Academy.
“Yes, a good scholar.” Mr. Dennis agreed.
“And, he listens to us teachers!” Mrs. Williams from Pittman Middle exclaimed, “He was are last hope Mrs. Lafoy said. It’s the first step in the right direction!”
“How long until we get there?” Juliy inquired.
“Twenty-two minutes and nine-seconds.” Blackerby replied.
“That’s forty-seven times forty-seven.” Juliy replied. “Tell me, Andy. Do you enjoy being in charge of the system?”
Blackerby smiled. “But of course, Michelle. The optimist that I am.” He smiled at Michelle.
“Cool.” She replied. “I can’t wait to meet Sean.”
Blackerby quickly fell out of his chair in disbelief.
June Gabert sat in her latest headquarters of evil, underground of what used to be Hueytown Juvenile. After a fragment of her destroyed Romulan cruiser destroyed the then-empty facility, she had used it as a hideout with the help of the Romulan cloaking device.
“Actually,” Peyton Freeman replied, as she chatted with Amanda Epperson, “I always hope for the best. Experience, on the other hand, has taught me to expect the worst.”
Amanda shook her head as she walked off.
Peyton took interest on what was on the screen that June Gabert observed. “Planning on releasing the PSI 2000 again? How predictable.”
“Actually it was Alan’s idea.” June replied, “Gotta listen to my man.”
“Not much of a man if you ask me.” Peyton mumbled under her breath.
June heard her and stood up to glare at her. “Don’t insult him again!”
Peyton looked into June’s fierce eyes…and nodded.
“No,” June responded, “I was actually thinking of doing something a little more lovable…”
Patrick Williams walked down past a vending machine when Ashley Salter popped out from behind it, shooting a water gun at the victim. “That got him wet!” Ashley exclaimed.
He reacted, jumping back in shock, bumping into another person. That person was Emily Ham. “Well,” Emily huffed, “What’s your problem? Tripped on a puddle?” Emily’s inquiry was lined with silvery sarcasm.
Patrick ignored her, walking on.
“Well,” Emily said, “See if I say sorry to you next time!”
Ashley Salter giggled at the results of her prank. She checked her watch. “Great, now I’ve got to go to the dentist. Blast!”
Chapter Two
“We have a security breach in sector 47!” Hannah Clements exclaimed, reacting to the readout on her sensor panel.
“Who is it?” Sean Sporman inquired, turning around in his comfortable command chair. “Stinky Starns?”
“Is that his appellation now?” Heather replied, “He’s got a phaser rifle.”
Sean stood up. “No one invades my school without a pretty face and gets away with it.”
Jordan nodded, an expression of bemused bafflement on his face. “So, that’s why he lets June and Peyton and Amanda in first.” He mumbled under his breath.
“Heather, Hannah, take a strategic position near the front. Ashley, Jordan, takes the rear.”
“Always the lower side…” Jordan trailed off.
Sean Sporman dematerialized, phaser rifle in hand, in front of Alan Starns, who had a mean look on his face. That look was only enhanced by the black eye that Sean had given him when he invaded the bridge of the Enterprise-E days earlier.
“Listen, fool. Get out of my way!” Starns said, but Sean did not move.
“Why do you have to have star in your name?” Sean shook his head, “I’m the fan of Star Trek and the true star of Hueytown!”
Starns yelled in anger and lunged at Sean. Suddenly, three phaser beams lanced out, striking the attacker and sending him deep into unconsciousness.
Sean smiled when he saw that Heather, Hannah and Ashley had fired the shots.
“Take him to the brig.” Sean said, but Alan suddenly dematerialized in a transporter beam.
Commander Will Riker laughed as well as Commander Deanna Troi in Rec Room III of Hueytown Academy. A week’s shore leave had been allowed.
“He’s quite the ladies man, isn’t he?” Commander Riker commented, after watching a video file of Sean Sporman.
Deanna Troi laughed. “He sort of reminds me of you, Will. Especially since you’ve shaved…except he has a girlfriend and about five or seven others that have big crushes on him.”
Riker blushed, but said nothing.
“This school is quite a fascinating place.”
Riker and Troi looked up to see Captain Jean-Luc Picard, out of uniform, in casual clothes instead.
“Captain?” Riker said in shock.
“Yes, Number one.” Picard replied, “A little rest never hurts anyone.”
“Join us, Captain. We’re looking into the lives of Sean and his friends.”
“Interesting choice, number one.” Picard replied, “But, first, let me get some Earl Grey tea, hot.”
“Make it so.” Riker responded in a Picard-like voice.
Deanna Troi chuckled.
“Not you, too!” Jonathan Reeves exclaimed.
Hannah Clements smiled, her fair skin glowing slightly from the sunlight that hit it. “Yes, I do.”
“But, Heather and Meagan and Lucy and Ashley—“
“I know they already like Sean.” Hannah replied, “Just be quiet. I’ve got my plans set.”
“How did the idiot try to kill a fish?”
“I don’t know.”
“He tried to drown it.” Commander Data, an android from the starship Enterprise, completed his joke, and laughed at his comedic creation.
“That’s pretty good, Data.” Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge replied, “One day you may be able to go on Joke Night on the Enterprise.”
“I certainly hope so, Geordi.” Data replied, “How are the repairs coming?”
The two worked on Mrs. Ware’s damaged compuboard. “We should be done soon.” Geordi said, turning his tool ninety degrees as it fired a white beam of plasma to repair circuitry.
“Good,” Data replied, “Joke time!”
Geordi shook his head at Data’s exclamation.
“Now, one time there were these three tiny little lifeforms…”
Sean Sporman shook the hand of Latrice Dudley, the student principal of Oak Grove High School, rebuilt after the devastating tornado that struck April 8th, 1998.
“Glad to meet you. So, how many delinquents do you have? 20? 30?” Sean chuckled at Latrice’s comment.
“We had to put over 30 in our brigs. But, we now have no crime in this school. It took us a while, but we did it.”
Peyton Freeman punched Alan Starns ferociously, knocking him to the ground of the secret headquarters of the Anti-Sporman Council, ASO.
“Why did you punch me, Peyk—?“
Peyton kicked him again. “I told you not to call me that! You’re so annoying. Just go flirt with June if you want to. Leave me alone!”
Sean Sporman, having finished his conversation with Latrice Dudley, entered the Holodeck, responding to an anonymous comm signal.
He entered the Holodeck doors and looked around. It was the beach simulation, ported over from the Hypothetical’s databanks, a starship that Sean and his friends before the ones they had now. He saw that no one was at the beach bar, which was not really a bar at all, because it served soft drinks and fast food items. He saw no one at the lounge lineup either. Continuing to scan with his eyes, he saw Hannah Clements lying in a lounge chair in a short sleeve shirt and shorts, tanning her arms and legs by the volleyball net.
He walked over by the beautiful junior. “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting?”
Hannah smiled, “Not at all. Sit in this other lounge chair by me.”
Sean sat back, adjusting his Starfleet uniform.
“This is great.” Hannah said, “Tanning without the health risks. Ah, the marvels of Starfleet technology.”
Sean smiled. “Yes, you do have to love that. But, I’ve never really been one for tanning myself.”
Hannah laughed a little. “That’s perfectly fine. You look cute enough already.”
Sean turned his head and looked at Hannah. “Really.”
Hannah and Sean both stood up at the same time.
“You do know I have a girlfriend don’t you?” Sean said weakly.
“Yes.” Hannah nodded.
The two then smooched…
“Smooch alert! Smooch alert! Smooch alert!”
Jordan Reeves let an expression of disbelief rule his face at the sound of that alarm. “Who’s idea was that?”
“Why, Sean’s.” Heather replied, “Who else?”
“One day, that kid is going to get something he doesn’t know…dislike.”
“That’ll be the day.” Heather Allgood replied with a smile.
Jordan stared at the camera wall. “He just kissed another girl!”
“Yes,” Heather replied, “But, let us remember, as long as you do nothing too bad, which kissing is not, teenagers should enjoy their youth. Besides, it might be the snow craziness or something.”
Jordan wanted to hit one of the computers.
“No. No. No.” Heather replied, “No pessimism allowed in Hueytown Academy.”
Jordan walked out of OPS.
“Now,” Heather said, smiling, “It’s my turn.”
“This is ridiculous!” exclaimed Jordan Reeves.
“Jordan!” Courtney Gage exclaimed, “Come and give me a great big hug!”
“Oh, great.” Sighed Jordan, “Barney is chasing me.”
Courtney laughed. “You’re so funny, Jordan!”
“Quite.” Jordan responded.
Suddenly, Courtney tapped her combadge and rematerialized by Jordan.
“Reeves to transporter room. One to beam!”
But, Courtney grabbed onto Jordan and both were dematerialized.
Sean Sporman smiled as he left the Holodeck with Hannah Clements. “See you later, Hannah.”
Hannah smiled as she began to walk in the opposite direction down the corridor.
Sean proceeded down the corridor, smiling broadly. He stopped when Andrea Dickinson emerged from a nearby turbolift. “Hello, Andrea. How’s it going?”
Sean nodded with a smile. “Great, as can be expected.”
“You know,” Andrea, commented, beginning to walk down the corridor with Sean, “It’s always good to see such optimism. Some of the boys I knew at C-C were boring, dirty-minded and dumb. You’re different.”
“Why, thank you, Andrea.” Sean replied.
“You’re intelligent, rated G and exciting not to mention funny. I think I like you.”
Sean blushed as Andrea stopped.
“May I ask you something, Sean?”
“Sure. Go right ahead.”
“Would you like to kiss me?” Andrea asked.
“That’s a trick question, isn’t it?” Sean replied, as the two kissed…
“It’s the Xanthi Fever, Mark II.” Captain Picard said, inside his protective spacesuit.
“That virus,” Deanna Troi sighed, “Is normally a disease contracted by elder Betazoids that projects the feelings that they feel through their empathic and telepathic powers. However, the last time that it occurred in a public facility, barring the depression outbreak on Outpost 47, was the outbreak of love and passion of Starbase Deep Space Nine. A Ferengi named Quark—“
“Quark!” Riker replied, “You mean he actually did something profitable?”
“Yeah.” Deanna Troi responded, “Couldn’t believe it either! But, as I was saying, he took his ‘findings’ to a Ferengi geneticist. Said geneticist developed it into a virus that, when released, caused people to go gaa-gaa over their latent attractions, with biggest ones taking forefront.”
“We’ll have to do that on the Enterprise sometime.” Riker joked.
Deanna jabbed him playfully in the stomach with her elbow. “They question is…” she asked rhetorically, “How did it get here, now?”
“How about a kiss, baby?” Andy Blackerby smiled at Michelle Juliy in the cockpit of Hueytown One.
“Get away from me, you kooky creep!” Michelle snapped back, running out of the docking airlock, into Hueytown Academy.
“Come back here, honey!” Blackerby exclaimed, “I’m an optimist! I have lots of cash!” Blackerby continued his chase.
Jordan Reeves had escaped Courtney Gage, finally having to stun her with a phaser blast. He walked through the corridors of the Sporman, advancing toward the transporter room. “Silly girl, I like someone else better!” He walked into the transporter room.
“Time to beam on down.” Jordan said, entering coordinates into the transporter. “To get my girl.”
He ran up on the pad, and he dematerialized.
Sean Sporman smiled as he was being chased through the main playground of Hueytown Academy. The ones chasing him were Heather Allgood, Hannah Clements, Andrea Dickinson and Ashley Salter.
Above Sean, the sun shone down like a yellow ball of fire, sort of what is was, though a more correct explanation would be a yellow ball of gas. He was not alone in his situation either. Girls chased boys; boys chased girls all through the playground. Others were talking, hugging, holding hands or even kissing in this school gone wild with love. “And to think, it’s not Valentine’s Day.”
Sean turned his head, smiling at the beautiful young women that chased him. Thanks to Starfleet Mobile Accelerators, he ran without fatigue. The problem, or good thing, depending on the viewpoint, was that the girls had them too.
“And, to think.” June Gabert commented dryly, “It’s not even my birthday.”
“What does that have to with it?” Alan Starns asked weakly.
“It’s on Valentine’s Day! Sean never forgot it!” June shook her head as she placed a type-one phaser in her pocket.
“Where are you going?” Alan Starns inquired.
“None of your accursed business, boy.” June walked out. Nick Brown was napping.
As Amanda ‘Eppy’ Epperson exited the room, Peyton turned around and shook her head as Alan Starns decided to take a nap. “Hmm…Sean never napped during the daytime. Why can’t I find one man that’s evil and not lazy at the same time?” June let her aloud thought hang in the air.
“Lay off it!” Mrs. Ware exclaimed, hiding behind a force field around a transporter pad in her Starfleet Visual Arts Room. Mr. Denlicon, a PE Coach, was chasing after her. “I don’t like you! I’m a married woman, for Pete’s sake! I will not kiss you!”
“Not one little smooch?” Denlicon insisted.
“No.” Mrs. Ware tapped her combadge and dematerialized, giving Denlicon a raspberry before complete dematerialization.
Denlicon merely shook his head. “Let’s see…what are the other cute female adults in this school?”
A smile jumped on his face as he saw Michelle Juily run by.
Sean Sporman ceased his running when he could no longer hear his pursuers. He turned to see that the beautiful girls were no longer chasing him. She snapped his fingers in frustration. “Shoot.”
Suddenly, he turned to see Andrea Dickinson running. “Hey, Seanie!”
Sean placed out his arm and stopped Andrea. She smiled at Sean. “You do like me more, don’t you?”
Before Sean could respond to Andrea’s question, a phaser beam struck a computer above his head. Sean turned to see that Hannah Clements had fired the shot.
“No, girl.” Hannah proclaimed. “He likes me more.”
Suddenly, Heather Allgood beamed between the two. “We all know he likes me best…I’ve been going out with Seanie for a whole semester!”
“Ladies, please.” Sean said, “Don’t let this devolve into a catfight!”
June Gabert ran down New Forest Road, moved around since Hueytown Academy was constructed. It was made of high-level concrete replicated by Sean Sporman and Jordan Reeves. June smiled broadly; her newly died purple hair blowing and swaying slightly in the wind.
Behind her, Peyton Freeman ran, struggling to keep up as the sun shined down in the beautiful blue sky. “What are you in search a hurry for?”
June giggled. “Code SS, silly. I’m in love!”
Peyton shook her head, “Good grief!”
“Doctor! Mr. MD!” Commander Geordi La Forge exclaimed, “We need a cure and those students could use it now…not that they don’t enjoy an outbreak of love!”
The Emergency Medical Hologram chuckled. “Oh, I’ve had the cure. Don’t you just want to sit back and watch this? Ever since I’ve seen Mr. Sporman’s crush list, his interaction with the opposite sex has been most fascinating.”
“I guess I can see that.” Geordi responded, “What’s up now?”
The Emergency Medical Hologram placed his hand on one his personal computers, turning it to show Sean Sporman trying to stop the catfight. “See what I mean…they’re crazy over him!”
Geordi leaned forward, “I reminds me of something Data showed me once…sitcom television comedies, but these are much better. Sometimes I think the stuff that goes around on this school could work as a television show!”
The Doctor laughed. “You ain’t just whistling Dixie, buster!” Geordi looked at him in a funny way. “Something I picked up from a cartoon.”
June Gabert chuckled as she ran through the halls of Hueytown Academy. She decked Terry Tillison, who had been chasing after him and resumed her run through the halls. Suddenly, music burst over the intercom. It was the oldies song, One Fine Day.
June smiled even broader as she closed on her target…
Sean Sporman felt something snap in his head. Little did he know that it was the Xanthi Fever taking over his brain.
He saw the three girls fighting over him and smiled. “Hey, Andrea!” Sean exclaimed, as he heard the music begin, “I think I like you a lot.”
Andrea stopped her previous actions and smiled at Sean. “That’s so cool!” She exclaimed, “Wanna hug me?”
Sean smiled and the two hugged. Andrea also kissed Sean.
Sean then smiled at Hannah Clements. “I like you a lot too!”
Hannah smiled broadly, dropping her phaser. She quickly hugged and kissed Sean.
June Gabert ran down the halls, happily smiling while the music continued of the schools special spatial intercom system. She stopped when she saw Hannah kissing Sean. She threw a firecracker down toward them, snapping their attention. She then ran toward Sean. “Maturity…manners…cuteness…intelligence. Just what I want for a boyfriend.”
Sean smiled. “Why, thank you.”
“Give me a kiss, boy.” The enemies kissed…
“Chief Medical Officer’s Duty Log, Emergency Medical Hologram reporting for Hueytown Academy. The airborne Xanthi Fever virus, which caused a focus on latent attractions over all else, has finally been purged from the atmosphere. I must say that it was amusing to watch teenagers’ interaction while under the influence of the virus. I may have to talk to whomever released it to do it again…” The doctor laughed. “…One that affects holograms too.” His eyebrow arched in Sick Bay, “End log.”
Nick Brown ducked as Alan Starns punched wide. Suddenly, a phaser beam caught Nick in the side, and one hit Alan just seconds later. June Gabert smiled as she placed her phaser back in her pocket.
“It’s about time.” Peyton Freeman proclaimed, “Those two were too shady for us evil geniuses.”
June nodded. “Stuff them in separate escape pods, and send then into space for a few weeks. They’ll learn their lesson then.”
Peyton smiled.
“What about what happened with Sean?” Amanda inquired.
“Well…I still like him. But, he’s on the wrong side. And for that, he will pay…in time…”
“So, here’s why you went after Andrea and Hannah. Besides the fact you have crushes on them, the airborne virus brought out your teenage rebellious instinct and low attention-span above your normal behavior.” Heather Allgood began to laugh as she shook her head.
“Yup,” Sean Sporman said, smiling, in an understandably happy and upbeat mood, even more than usual.
“I missed it!” Ashley Salter sighed, “I would have probably chased you too under the, dare I say it, love bug.” Laughter swept OPS, “But I had to check out for a dentist appointment.”
“I think the appellation Sporman Ego Booster Bug would much more appropriate.” Jordan raised his head high, but everyone turned away from him, “But, hey, if it makes a friend happy, that’s cool.”
“He finally learns!” Heather exclaimed.
Andrea spied lipstick on Jordan’s cheek. “It seems you got a kiss or two too. Who gave ‘em?”
Jordan turned toward his computer panel and did not answer. But, Sean Sporman knew Jordan was smiling also.
“Like they say…” Sean sighed, still smiling, “Girls rule.”
All the girls in the room smiled…
In the distant sector of space known by some as the Delta Quadrant sailed a starship. A Federation starship. A Federation starship named…Voyager.
On Deck Eight, two crewmembers of this lost starship walked happily down the corridor.
“I heard the Doctor’s gonna try and make the Fair Haven simulation run day-wide. Can you believe what the Captain will say?” Harry Kim said.
“Can you believe what B’elanna will say?” Sighed Lieutenant Tom Paris, referring to his wife and the chief engineer of the starship.
“Well, what have you there?” Paris asked, referring to the PADD that Ensign Kim held in his hand.
“Remember about a year ago, the shuttle Hawking passed through some kind of strange anomaly when the Doctor was testing his piloting skills?”
“Yeah…and he wanted a photonic cannon on it too.” Paris chuckled.
“Well, Ensign Vorik theorized that the shuttle got duplicated, sending it to another point of time and space. He also theorized that the Doctor would have lost his memories of Voyager too.”
“A spatial scission? Like the one we encountered back by Vidiian space about five years ago?”
Harry nodded, “But with a tunneling spatial vortex added into the mix.”
“Interesting.” Paris remarked.
On the bridge of Voyager, Commander Tuvok allowed his eyebrow to arch at readouts on his sensor panel on the bridge of the USS Voyager. “Captain, you may find this fascinating.”
Janeway laughed. “A coffee plantation?”
“Negative, Captain.” Tuvok, a Vulcan, a race that controlled their emotions, replied, “I have detected what appears to be a wormhole.”
Janeway’s heart jumped a beat. Ever since the starship had been brought to the Delta Quadrant, seventy thousand light years from Earth, it seemed that almost every chance to get home had turned out to be a deception. Now, they were a lot closer, only twenty-three thousand light years from the outskirts of Federation space, but that would still take them over twenty years at maximum warp speed, not counting stops, which were a necessity. “Is it a fake, Mr. Tuvok?”
Tuvok shook his head. “Negative, I ran four level-one deep penetrating scans on the wormhole. It also appears that a Starfleet warp signature is on the other side.”
“Let’s keep this quiet for now.” Janeway said, “But it looks like we may have finally found our way home.”
Tuvok nodded as the starship changed course…
A secret attack is turning fantasy into reality…and everyone is feeling the effects! Also, what will happen to Voyager? Find out on the next exciting Gopher’s Gateway!