Star Trek vs. Star Wars Vignette

Way the heck back in 1997, when I was 19 years old and didn't know any better I wrote this. It was meant to be a piece of a larger story where the Empire from Star Wars invaded the Federation not long after the events of Star Trek:First Contact. Yeah, I know. But cut me some slack, I was less than a year out of high school. Anyway, if you've ever wanted to see Captain Picard in a battle with AT-AT walkers, then here you are:

STARDATE 49603.1  LOCATION: EL ADREL IV

Picard heard it first. The distant scream of ion engines.

He looked up from the phaser cannon he was constructing. "Beverly, I think we'd-"

His combadge chirped. "Data to Captain Picard"

"Picard here."

"Captain, we are tracking a squadron of TIE bombers heading for this location. Since the outpost's defenses are not yet functional, I recommend we evacuate into the forest."

"Good idea." Picard said. "We'll disperse, then meet at the bend in the river. Notify all personnel; Picard out."

The TIEs were almost on top of them now.

Picard collected his phaser rifle and climbed out of the trench he was in.

"Beverly!" He called to the Doctor, who was about twenty meters away putting a shield generator together, "Run!"

Crusher was already on the move, bolting into the woods just as the lead bomber began a strafing run.

Picard followed her, running with all his might. There was an explosion behind him.

The scream of the TIE's engines was deafening.

It dropped another charge.

The world dissolved into a storm of white heat, and Picard was suddenly aware that there was no ground under his feet. He was careening through the air much too fast, almost flying . . .

Wham!

He hit something solid and rough. A tree trunk, he realized, as he fell to the ground. Amazingly, he didn't seem to be seriously hurt. About four meters behind him was a smoking crater. The charge had detonated no more than two meters behind him. He should have been killed.

Another TIE roared overhead, barely above the treetops. Suddenly, a blast of phaser fire streaked up and speared its underside. The unshielded fighter spun crazily out of control, then crashed into the forest canopy and exploded.

Picard craned his neck to see where the shot had come from and saw Worf perched in a tree. "Good shot, Mr. Worf!"

"Thank you, sir!"

"Come on, we'd better get to get to the river!" The entire left side of Picard's body had started to throb painfully where it had hit the tree, and it got no better as he jogged through the woods toward the river's bend.

The TIE's, he noticed, had ceased their attack, at least for the moment.  The only reason he could think of was that the Imperials had met their objective.

The river was about six and a half meters wide and only half a meter deep. It flowed swiftly over the rounded, smooth rocks that littered the bank and the riverbed. As Picard reached the river's bend he saw that most of the fifty or so Starfleet personnel who had been assigned with him to set up the outpost had made it safely. Beverly was treating a few wounded, and Data was giving orders to two security men. When he noticed the Captain walking toward him, he dismissed the guards.

"Report, Mr. Data." Picard said.

"The outpost has been destroyed, sir." Data said. "We have six confirmed dead, four unaccounted for, and seven wounded."

"Have you been able to communicate with any of our ships in the area?" Picard asked.

"The USS Voyager is the only ship in range," Data replied. "However, I have been unable to establish communication. It is possible that the energy fallout from the TIE bombers' weapons is causing the interference."

"If that's true, then it will be at least an hour before it dissipates," Picard said. "See if you can find out what happened to-"

"Sir!" squawked one of the security men.

Just as Picard turned to see what had startled the young men, a sizzling red blaster bolt streaked over his head and crashed into the trees behind him.

Two Imperial scout walkers were coming out of the forest across the river, followed by hordes of stormtroopers.

Aboard the Death Star the door chime to Grand Admiral Hord's office sounded.

Hord looked up from his computer screen. "Enter."

The doors parted and Commander Zahn stepped in and saluted.

"Report, Commander."

"The bomber squadron reports that it has destroyed the Federation outpost on El Adrel, sir. We're entering orbit now."

"Excellent; and our ground force?" Hord asked.

"They have landed and are moving to engage the enemy troops, sir."

"What of the, ah, piece of technology I want captured?"

"No word yet, Admiral."

On the opposite side of the planet, and in a lower orbit than the Death Star, the USS Voyager circled anxiously.

"Captain, the TIE bombers have detonated a series of concussion charges in the lower atmosphere directly above the remains of the outpost." Lt. Tuvok was saying. "The resulting energy fallout makes it impossible for us to establish transporter locks on the survivors."

"That's why they did it," Janeway said. "They're doing quite a job adapting to our technology."

"Sensors show an Imperial ground force headed toward what's left of the outpost," Ensign Kim reported.

"Probably to pick off the survivors," Chakotay observed.

"I'm not about to sit around and let them," Janeway said. "Mr. Paris, can you take us into the atmosphere, low enough so we can punch through that interference and beam up our people?"

"Yes ma'am, absolutely," Paris replied.

"Captain," Tuvok said. "I must point out that when we descend into the atmosphere, the Death Star will likely discern what we are about to do and send several squadrons of TIEs to stop us. We will not be able to lower our shields to beam Captain Picard's party on board without risking serious damage. If Voyager were to be shot down, we would most likely crash onto the people we are attempting to rescue, which would be most . . . counterproductive."

"You're right," Janeway said. "If only we had another starship or two to keep the Death Star's attention-"

Harry Kim interrupted. "Captain, message from the Enterprise! They're warping to rendezvous with us and should be here any minute!"

Janeway smiled broadly. "There's our diversion."

The USS Enterprise streaked toward El Adrel at high warp.

“”In range?” Riker asked urgently.

“Not yet, sir.” Lieutenant Hawk replied. “Five more minutes.”

“Geordi, we need more.” Riker urged.

“We’re doin’ all we can, Commander,” Geordi replied over the intercom. “Push the engines any more, and I guarantee a meltdown.”

“Will, he’s doing his best.” Deanna said softly.

“If the Captain gets killed, that won’t make one bit of difference.” Riker shot back.

Picard fired his rifle at the leftmost scout walker and watched for a second-no longer-as its cockpit exploded noisily, then set his weapon to wide beam and began laying out field bursts to slow the approaching troops. Everyone with a phaser quickly followed suit.

One advantage Starfleet had was that their personal armaments were far more powerful than those of their Imperial counterparts. An Imperial blaster rifle could barely shoot a dent in the heavily armored walkers; with Starfleet phasers, the walkers might as well be made of cardboard.

The second walker exploded, courtesy of Data, and the remaining stormtroopers began fleeing into the woods.

Just then, there was a roar from the sky, and Picard looked up to see a tri-winged Imperial shuttle descending on them, raining blaster fire. Picard glanced back at the place where Beverly and her small medical team had been treating the injured, and was relieved to see that they were gone-no doubt into the woods, away from the fighting. He joined his officers in shooting up at the shuttle, which was about to land in the middle of the river.

The Starfleeters were trying to stand their ground, but the fire from the shuttle coupled with that of the Stormtroopers reemerging from the forest was driving them back.

The shuttle touched down in the riverbed.

Picard, Worf, Data, and a handful of others were at the very edge of the woods, still taking shots at the Imperials. Suddenly, a brazen plan popped into the Captain’s mind. “The shuttle’s communications system may be powerful enough to get through the interference,” he said to his officers. “As soon as it drops it shields we’ll storm the hatch, force our way in, and take control of the ship before they have time to react.”

There were nods of comprehension.

“Let’s go.”

The raised their rifles and charged out into the open just as the shuttle’s shields went down.

Data raced ahead of the group at android speed, and the stormtroopers from the original ground force that had fallen back earlier ran out behind Data, cutting him off from the others.

Data continued to advance toward the shuttle’s hatch, holding his fire to avoid destroying a vital system.

The hatch swung open and a team of stormtroopers jumped out shouldering huge black guns with narrow barrels and wide circular emitters.

Ion cannons, Picard realized in a flash. The Imperials had come to get Data. “They’re after Data!” he said to his team. “We’ve got to get to him!”

The Starfleeters opened fire on the line of troops between them and the shuttle.

The Imperials held position and returned fire with wide-field bursts.

Picard saw Data fall to an ion blast. The stormtroopers picked him up and rushed him up the ramp and into the shuttle. Then, one by one, the perimeter troops broke off and bolted into the ship.

Picard, Worf, and the remainder of their team started to move forward, but the shuttle’s blaster cannons suddenly came to life, providing cover for the stormtroopers as they got onboard.

The last stormtrooper turned and ran for the ramp.

Picard and his men charged after him.

A shot from Worf destroyed the shuttle’s starboard blaster.

A shot from Picard speared the stormtrooper in the back just as he scurried up the ramp.

The ramp began to retract as the shuttle began to lift off.

Picard’s team instantly swung their rifles up to fire on the shuttle, but their shots splashed harmlessly against its newly-raised shields.

Captain Picard, Lt. Commander Worf, and the two remaining Security ensigns stood in the middle of the swirling river, surrounded by the bodies of fallen Imperials and Starfleet officers, and watched the Imperial shuttle disappear into the sky’s sea of blue.

“Commander, we’re coming up on El Adrel IV.” Lt. Hawk reported.

“Drop out of warp,” Riker ordered. “Hail the Voyager.”

A second later, the image of Captain Janeway was onscreen. “Glad you could make it, Commander.”

“So am I,” Riker said. “What’s going on down there?”

“The Imperials have just dropped another ground force. We think it’s because the first one must have failed to kill Captain Picard’s team.”

“I see.”

“Our transporters still can’t punch through the interference at this range, so I’m prepared to take Voyager into the atmosphere if you’ll keep the Death Star distracted.”

“You’ve got it, Captain.” Riker replied. “Mr. Hawk, take us after the Death Star, Mr. Johnston, ready phasers and quantum torpedoes. Let’s go!”

“Retreat!” Picard yelled at the top of his lungs. “All hands retreat! Carerra, Porter, help Dr. Crusher move her patients! Worf, Armstrong, Gleason, with me! We’ve got to hold those Imperial walkers back as long as possible!”

In the distance, four-legged Imperial AT-AT walkers plowed through the forest firing their blasters, knocking down trees, and causing general havoc.

“They’re almost here . . .” Porter said.

A scout trooper on a speeder bike came zipping through the trees. In a flash, Picard raised his rifle and fired. His shot blew the steering vanes off the speeder, and it spun wildly off, then crashed into a tree and exploded.

The first AT-AT came into view, plowing trees under and firing its head-cannons at anything that moved.

Worf aimed his rifle and fired. He prepared himself for the sight of his shot knocking the metal beast’s front-left leg out from under it. Instead, it left only a black streak.

“It appears the Empire uses materials other than cardboard to build its walkers.” Picard murmured.

Gleason’s voice was hushed with dread. “We’re in trouble.”

The Enterprise streaked along the inside of the Death Star’s equatorial trench straying phaser and torpedo fire in every direction.

“Closer, Mr. Hawk, we’ve gotta get closer!” Riker urged.

The ship rocked hard from a turbolaser blast.

“Shields holding at ninety-two percent!” Johnston reported from the Tactical station.

A brief flurry of motion at the edge of the viewer’s range caught Riker’s eye.

“What was that?”

“Imperial Lambda-class shuttle entering one of their hangar bays, sir.” Lt. Perim replied from the Ops position. She squinted at her readouts. “Sir, there’s a Starfleet comm signal emanating from that shuttle.”

“They must have captured one of Captain Picard’s team.” Deanna said.

Riker frowned. “I wonder who . . .”

The ground exploded a scant three meters from Picard, incinerating two security men and sending a third flying through the air like a rag doll. The Captain nodded swiftly at Worf and Carerra, and the three of them aimed and fired at the nearest AT-AT. Their shots hit one of its legs, just above the knee and a small shower of sparks erupted from the blast point. Yet the walker marched on.

“Those things have got to have a weak point.” Carerra said, frustrated.

“There appears to be a lot of machinery on the underside of the walker.” Worf observed. “But there is no way to get beneath the walker except to run directly at it.”

“Unfortunately, we’ve no other choice.” Picard said. “What is it you always say, Mr. Worf? ‘Today is a good day to die’?”

“It is an honor to serve with you, sir.” Worf said. “You have the heart of a true Klingon.”

“Really,” Picard said with a glint of humor in his eye. “I’ll have to get Beverly to take a look at that. Let’s go.”

The three men stood up and broke for the nearest walker, running in a zigzag pattern to make it more difficult for the AT-AT’s gunner to target them.

The walker turned its head and started to fire at them. A blaster bolt whizzed over Picard’s head, then he heard an explosion behind him followed by Carerra crying out.

The walker fired again, and Worf went flying.

Picard was almost underneath the walker. Just a few more steps . . .

His foot snagged a tree root that protruded from the ground, and he fell. The AT-AT aimed its head directly at him, like a predator studying its prey.

The Captain fearlessly swung his rifle up and fired at the face of the walker. No effect.

The tips of its head cannons began to glow, and Picard was acutely aware that there was no way to run, no way to dodge, nothing to do but brace himself for death’s white-hot onslaught, when suddenly a dark shape passed overhead. Phaser fire rained down, and the last thing Picard saw before the transporter beam took him was the AT-AT going up in flames.

“All Starfleet personnel have been retrieved, Captain,” Ensign Kim reported.

“Imperial walkers have been destroyed,” Commander Tuvok added.

“Good work,” Janeway said. “Mr. Paris, take us out of the atmosphere and set a course to rendezvous with the Enterprise.

An alarm went off on Tuvok’s panel. “Captain, three Star Destroyers have just dropped out of warp at the edge of the system. They will intercept us in six minutes.”

“Even with the Enterprise we can’t stand up to three Star Destroyers.” Chakotay said.

“Agreed, Commander.” Janeway replied. “Mr. Paris, prepare to take us out of here. Mr. Kim, notify the Enterprise that-“

“Wait!” Captain Picard emerged from the turbolift, his uniform torn and bloodied and a nasty-looking bruise on the left side of his face. The Doctor was right on his heels.

Janeway turned to Picard. “Yes, Captain?”

“About ten minutes ago an Imperial shuttle landed and took off again from El Adrel. Where did it go?”

“Back to the Death Star.” Janeway replied. “Why?”

“They captured Commander Data,” Picard replied. “I hate to think-“

“Excuse me, Captain Janeway,” the Doctor interrupted. “But I’ve been trying to treat this man ever since he was first beamed in, but he won’t cooperate! He has a-“

“Doctor, this is Captain Picard, the commander of the fleet.” Janeway said.

“I don’t care who he is,” the Doctor snapped. “I’m a doctor, not a zookeeper, and when I’m trying to treat patients in my sickbay, I expect them to stay put!”

“Doctor, I think you should go back to Sickbay and attend to your other patients,” Chakotay said. “That’s an order.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “The Klingon was more cooperative than this!” he said as he walked away. “After I sedated him, anyway.”

“Your EMH has quite a personality,” Picard remarked.

“He takes some getting used to,” Janeway replied. “Now, what about Commander Data?”

“He was captured by the Imperials,” Picard said, “and they specifically came after him. They might try to access the classified Starfleet information in his memory banks.”

“What are we going to do?” Chakotay asked.

“My officers and I will beam back to the Enterprise,” Picard said. “We’ll stay in the area while you take the Voyager to  rendezvous with the rest of the Sixth Fleet. We’ll get him back.”

Janeway nodded. “Good luck, Captain Picard.”

  

A Curious Relic

Sometime in the middle of Enterprise's dismal run (I don't remember exactly when) I wrote this piece. Basically, it's just the crew of the original Enterprise coming across the NX-01 and remarking on how there's no way this thing could have come from their past.

"It appears to be an Earth ship, Captain.” Spock announced as he peered into his hooded viewer. "Sensors indicate it has been adrift for a significant period of time, possibly a century or more."

Kirk peered at the odd little spaceship that was drifting across the main viewer. "It almost looks like a Starfleet vessel."

Spock stepped down from his station to stand next to the center seat. "I am inclined to agree, but we have no record of that configuration in our databanks."

The ship in question had a small saucer section very reminiscent of the Enterprise. The eerily familiar engine nacelles were mounted on a catamaran-like structure that attached to the primary saucer.

“Life signs?” Kirk asked.

“None, Captain.” Spock replied. “And no power readings of any kind. However,” he continued, anticipating Kirk’s next question, “the vessel is structurally sound, and other than the lack of atmosphere, there is nothing aboard that would prove inimical to humanoid life.”

Kirk rose from the center seat and headed for the turbolift. “In that case, you’re with me, Mr. Spock. Uhura, tell the transporter room to outfit the landing party with environmental suits, and have Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott meet us there. Sulu, you have the conn.”

***

Ten minutes later, four spacesuited figures sparkled silently into existence on the bridge of the mysterious vessel.

Spock waved his searchlight around the spare, functional compartment. “This bridge appears to fit within the design lineage of Earth vessels of the last one hundred and fifteen years.”

“But no records of a configuration exactly like this.” Scott said as he clomped around the room in his magnetized boots. “Just like the rest of the bloody ship.”

Kirk laid his hand on what was obviously the Captain’s chair. Who had commanded this ship? What had happened to him?

His thoughts were interrupted by McCoy running his mediscanner over the chair. “There’s no cellular residue at all here, Jim, at least none my instruments can detect.”

“What does that mean?” Kirk asked.

“It means no one’s been here in a very long time. Decades.”

“Captain,” Spock said. “Recommend we make efforts to restore minimal power. Activating the lights and life support systems will make examination of the vessel easier, and should facilitate access to the main computer.”

“Can you do it, Scotty?” Kirk asked.

“Aye, sir; she’s perfectly intact. We’ll just need one of our emergency batteries from the Enterprise to jumpstart one of the fusion reactors.”

Kirk nodded. “Do it.”

***

A few hours later, Kirk , Spock, and McCoy were back on the Enterprise bridge.

“Captain, I have established a link to the vessel’s main computer.” Spock said. “If Mr. Scott is successful in restoring power, I should have access momentarily.”

“Sir, Mr. Scott is signaling,” Uhura reported.

Kirk punched the intercom button on his armrest. “Kirk here.”

"Captain, we're all ready to jumpstart this lass when you give the word."

"Proceed, Mr. Scott."

There was a pause, then the sound of congratulations. Scott’s voice came through the intercom again. "She's holdin' together just fine, sir. Fusion reaction is stable. We're activatin' life support support systems and startin' artificial gravity generation now. Mr. Spock, ye should have access to the main computer."

Spock worked his instruments. "Thank you, Mr. Scott. Captain, I have begun downloading the contents of their main computer."

Kirk happened to be looking at the main viewer when the mysterious vessel's exterior spotlights came on. He frowned at something he saw there and rose from his seat. "Mr. Sulu, go to full magnification on viewer."

The screen wavered, and the vessel on it seemed to jump forward. Everyone looking at the screen at that moment shared a collective gasp as they read the name emblazoned on the vessel's saucer: "NX-01 ENTERPRISE"

***

Several hours later, the senior officers were gathered in the briefing room.

"The only Earth space vehicles named Enterprise, other than our vessel, are the prototype Space Shuttle from the late 1970s, and the starliner from the mid 22nd century." Spock stated. "The ship we found today cannot be from our past."

"How's that possible?" McCoy asked. "You said yourself that it's been adrift for over a hundred years."

"Aye, it has. When the ship's chronometers came back on, they showed the date as September 26th, 2155." Scott said. "But that doesna tell us where it came from."

"Gentlemen, what does all this mean?" Kirk asked.

"There is technology aboard that ship that did not exist in the 22nd century" Spock said.

"They have a transporter." Scott revealed. "And it can complete a full cycle in 4 seconds. We also found these." He placed two pistol-like weapons on the table. "Phasers. As far as power output, they're roughly equivalent to the first phasers Starfleet issued 12 years ago. We found ship mounted-phaser cannons, too."

"The vessel is also equipped with subspace radio." Spock added. "It does not, however, have forcefield technology of any kind. For towing, is uses the same variety of grappling hook found on Earth vessels of our mid 22nd century, and the outer guard is limited to a system which polarizes the hull plating."

"Like the ships we had during the Romulan War," Sulu observed.

"Precisely." Spock said. "Along with its phaser weapons, the vessel is also mounted with the kind of pulse lasers and fusion-powered torpedoes that were in use during your Romulan War."

"So we've got a UESPA-constructed ship that no one's touched for a hundred years," Kirk said, "yet it's a curious amalgam of past and present technology."

"There is still more." Spock continued. "I found several items of interest in the computer records. There is no mention of the United Earth Space Probe Agency at all. According to its memory banks, the ship was constructed by Starfleet."

"But Starfleet didn’t exist in 2153," Scott protested.

"Nevertheless, the ship's memory banks clearly refer to Starfleet as its authority" Spock said. "Additionally, there are indications that the ship once made a trip from Earth to the Klingon homeworld in less than one week, yet they traveled no faster than Warp 5. There are also database entries for an alien race known as the Suliban, with whom the crew of that Enterprise appears to have had extensive contact."

"I've never heard of the Suliban." McCoy said.

"You are not alone, Doctor," Spock said. "The Suliban do not appear in any Federation database."

"What about the crew?" Kirk asked. "Were you able to find some kind of a crew manifest?"

"Yes, Captain. The crew roster lists such luminaries as Captain Jonathan Archer, Commander Charles Tucker, and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, to name a few. However, there is an anomaly in the roster as well." He pressed a switch on his computer console, and a picture of a Vulcan woman appeared on the three-sided viewer in the middle of the table. "Subcommander T'Pol, a noted member of the Vulcan Star Service. She is listed as First Officer."

"Spock, aren't you the first Vulcan to serve aboard an Earth ship?" Kirk asked.

"Indeed I am.The T'Pol with whom I am familiar never served with humans," Spock said.

A smile crept over McCoy's face. "Mr. Spock, I can't help but notice the very illogical uniform that this Subcommander of yours is wearing in that picture. Looks like very tight long johns."

 "No doubt she was the unfortunate victim of a human quartermaster," Spock replied. "Gentlemen, I submit that the Enterprise we discovered did not originate in our universe. We have, after all, had personal experience with parallel universes and timelines."

Kirk was skeptical. “An alternate universe? Why not some kind of elaborate fraud, like the Cardiff Giant?”

“Too much detail,” Spock answered. “Also, if someone were to go to the effort of perpetrating such an elaborate hoax, why leave the vessel drifting in open space where it might never be found?”

“Then if you’re convinced that ship came from an alternate universe, do we know how it got here?” Kirk asked.

"Negative, Captain." Spock replied. "It has been adrift here for over one hundred years. Any evidence of the event which brought the vessel here has long since faded."

 "Thank you, Mr. Spock. Scotty, throw a tractor beam on that ship, we're taking it to Starbase 6 for analysis," Kirk said. "Mr. Sulu, plot a course. Dismissed."

***

Captain's Log, Supplemental: We are fourteen hours away from Starbase 6, towing a mysterious derelict vessel. Science and Engineering teams continue to examine it, hoping to find some clue as to how it got here.

Kirk punched the STOP button on his recording computer and leaned back in his chair. Suddenly, the ship lurched violently, and Red Alert sirens went off.

Kirk slammed his fist down on the intercom panel. "Bridge! What's happening up there?"

"Spock here, sir. The other Enterprise has disappeared."

"Disappeared? How?"

"Unknown. I have ordered full stop while we conduct a scan of the area."

Kirk nodded. "I'll be right up."

By the time Kirk reached the bridge, the alarms had stopped.

"We've scanned the entire area, Captain." Spock reported. "No sign of the vessel."

"Were any of our people over there?" Kirk asked.

"Affirmative. Crewman Daniels was aboard at the time."

The frustration of losing a man stung the Captain. "And there's no way to tell where that ship went?"

"Not as yet." Spock said. "The vessel simply disappeared. There were no abnormal readings before or after, no evidence of spatial or temporal distortion."

"We'll stay in the area until we're certain there's nothing more we can do." Kirk decided.

***

Captain's Log, additional entry: We have resumed course for Starbase 6. Despite our best efforts, we were not able to ascertain the cause of the derelict vessel's disappearance.

Kirk switched off his recording computer and stared blankly at the wall, mentally preparing his message to the family of Crewman Daniels.

"Captain Kirk?"

Kirk whirled around, startled. A young man in a red Engineering jumpsuit stood just inside the door to his quarters. "Crewman . . . Daniels? How did you get in here? What happened to that ship?"

"I-I'm sorry, sir, but I can't tell you that." Daniels said nervously. "I never meant for anyone to find the ship; it was all a mistake. Just a relic from an unstable timeline. It doesn't really matter one way or the other, nothing should be changed. In your timeline, I mean."

"What do you know about the timeline?"

"I'm sorry sir, I can't tell you any more than that. Oh, Mr. Spock will be calling you any minute now, to tell you that all the information you collected on the other Enterprise has been wiped from your memory banks. Believe me, it's better this way." And then he was simply gone.

Kirk stared for a moment at the empty space where Daniels had been. Then he rose from his chair, and headed for the Bridge.