Arrival.

Star Trek: The Lost Stars
Chapter One, Part Four.

The Andromeda Galaxy.  Stardate 91859.71 (November 10th, 2414).

One moment everything was calm, crewmembers going about their duties preparing for arrival at the fleets destination.  The next moment all hell broke loose as the Endeavour was violently ripped from Slipstream, the deck lurching with such force that across the ship the crew were sent tumbling.  Almost immediately the lights flicked out, and the red alert sirens started to scream.

Pushing himself up from where he had been unceremoniously thrown, Admiral Munro touched a finger to his forehead, wincing as he discovered the bump that was starting to grow.  Looking around the bridge, which was lit only by the flickering consoles and the flashing blood red of the alert lights, he quickly checked where everyone was, and was grateful to see that no-one was badly hurt.
Stumbling back to his seat, he fought back the wave of dizziness that threatened to send him back to the deck.
"Report!" he barked.
Nursing her shoulder Lt. Fel worked her console, forcing it to cooperate.  "We've been forced out of slipstream!" 
"By what?"
"Some sort of energy surge.  The sensors can't identify what type!"
"Is it harmful?"
"Not to us, but it's disrupting the local space.  That's what disrupted the vortex!"
Lt.Cmdr. Paris spoke up. "The rest of the fleet has reported in," she reported.  "They've all experienced the same thing."
Munro's head snapped round to look at Paris, which caused further pain.  "Damage?" he asked, gritting his teeth.
Cursing in Klingon as her console winked out, Paris hit it, and smiled as it instantly came back.  "No reports of hull damage sir, only system failures, including the Slipstream Drive."
"Right, now for Christ's sake, turn off that alarm!"
The piercing shrill of the red alert alarm went dead a second later.
Nodding in relief, Munro turned his attention to where Cmdr. Xon was working with Lt. Grange at the Conn.  "Can we move?"
"Impulse is unaffected," replied Xon, his fingers continuing to dance across the Conn console .  "The Warp drive was knocked out, but is now coming back online."
"What about Slipstream?"
"Offline."
Grange, who was now imputting commands to the Endeavour's thrusters, glanced over his shoulder.  "I've corrected our tumble.  We're now in formation with the rest of the fleet."
At that moment the lights blazed into life  and everyone screwed their eyes at the sudden glare.  A few seconds later the viewscreen, which had been dark, blinked on, revealing the breathtaking vista of the Andromeda Galaxy, over a trillion stars stretching out like a brighter version of the Milky Way.
Giving silent thanks to ch'Tskare and her team in engineering, Munro studied the image.  "Where's the source of the energy surge?"
At Paris's touch, the screen flicked to an aft view.  There, illuminating the fleet ships that hung behind the Endeavour, was a raging, twisting coil of golden light.  Every now and again pieces would seperate, before merging back into the main body.
Everyone stared, mesmerised by the sight.
Grange, his hands paused above the surface of the Conn, asked the question on everyones minds.  "What the hell is that?"
At that moment, no-one could answer.   

Three hours later, after hectic work repairing damaged systems, and dozens of communications with the other ships, Munro sat at the head of the conference table, his officers taking their places.  The light of the anomaly bathed the room in a warm glow, overpowering the lights, the ship having now been angled to face the ever changing mass.  Once everyone was settled he motioned to Riana, who was standing next to the rooms large screen.
Touching the screen, a detailed sensor image of the anomaly appeared, numbers scrolling on euther side.  "After studying the sensor scans from each ship," she said, "It seems that we passed through the remains of something similar to an antimatter explosion, though one on a scale never before seen!"
A blue line crossed the anomaly, stopping just outside the right hand side.  The image then zoomed into to show each ship of the fleet highlighted in blue, their names next to them.
"Space has been warped to such an extent that the Slipstream Vortex collapsed, forcing the fleet back into normal space."
Fel studied the screen.  "Do we know what caused the explosion?"
Riana shook her head.  "We're not sure, but we do know one thing, it's not a natural occurrence."
Paris, who had activated the small screen on the table before her seat, frowned, the small ridges on her forehead creasing.  "So, it could be a weapon of some sort!"
Riana shrugged.  "It could be, but there's no way to tell.  The explosion happened approximately two hundred and fifty years ago."  She looked out of the angled windows.  "Whatever caused it may be long gone!"
Munro, who had been listening intently, spoke up.  "Could it have been the Kelvan's?"
Everyone looked at Riana, who shifted uncomfortably.  "I honestly don't know Admiral.  All I have to go on are the records given to the Federation by Rojan in 2268!"
"But there is the possibility?"
Pausing, Riana stared straight at Munro.  "Yes, there is the possibility."
Sitting back in his chair, Munro nodded, turning his attention to other matters.  "What's the status of our propulsion systems?"  The question was directed at ch'Tskare, who found herself sitting up straighter despite herself.
"We have full Warp drive and impulse, Admiral!"
"Can we go to Slipstream?
ch'Tskare shook her head. "The Slipstream Drive is operational again," she said., "but I would definitely advise against activating it anywhere near here.  The fleet could be torn to shreds."
"What about normal Warp drive?"
"I advise only Warp three until we are three thousand kilometres away!"
Munro stood, pushing his chair back.  "Agreed.  Lt. Grange, set course for our intended destination, Warp three.  Cmdr. Xon inform the rest of the fleet.  Dismissed."

As the anomaly steadily receded behind the fleet, and the swathe of Andromeda grew larger, Munro started to relax.  Next to him, at his usual position sat Xon.  Leaning slightly in Xon's direction, Munro indicated the view with his finger.
"Now that is truly a sight to behold!" 
Xon nodded. "And we're the first people to see it!"
"But what a way to arrive, literally dumped on the front doorstep!"
"At least it wasn't in millions of pieces!"
Munro settled back into the command chair.  "Very true."
"So?" enquired Xon, his left eyebrow raised,  "Ready to make history?"
Munro smiled.  "Ready as I'll ever be!"  He stared at the screen.  "Make it so!"
"I believe that phrase belongs to someone else!"
Munro shrugged.  "I'm sure he won't mind."

End of Chapter One,

Art By Jetfreak.