...<discontinuity>and the four ships find themselves on approach vector with a planetoid in interstellar space with a large starbase in orbit. Several starships are patroling the system, including Klingon and Romulan as well as Starfleet. Thoma broadcasts an ident code identifying the four starships.



"Hellfire Task Force, you are approved to orbit as specified in your navigation package," says Babel Control, and a light on Collette's console begins flashing.

Collette presses a button and replies, "Hellfire copies."

The turbolift door swishes open and Dworkin steps onto the Bridge, accompanied by another man about a centimetre taller, looking several decades younger and walking with a swagger.
He wears a dark blue business suit of mid-twentieth Earth style with a red and blue regimental-striped tie. He has a shock of silver-grey hair with a large bald spot gleaming pinkly. Dworkin introduces the man as, "My cousin Rufo, Her Glory's representative." Rufo has a pot belly but the fit of his clothing reveals an otherwise muscular body, remarkably fit for a man of his apparent years.

"Pleasure to meet you," Rufo says in English with no decipherable accent. "We've little time to spare and none to waste. The councils are about to go into session, and they request the presence of Rear Admiral McCurrvey, Fleet Captain Mercer, Captain Thelev and Dr. Smith on Babel Station, along with Captains Potrikos, Bowman and Culver, as well as Dr. Soong and Bellandra ferch Jaime. Maintenant! Toute de suite. Allons y, vite!" he finishes in Parisian-accented French, good-natured enough so as not to give offense, but with an air of authority.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:08, Fri 27 Aug 2021.

OOC: Depending on whether we have security on the bridge or not.  If we have, I do A; if not B

A: McCurrvey turns to the security guards: “Security!” McCurrvey gestures to the guards to take up flanking positions on the “guests”.  “Communications please confirm those directions.  Once you do that, please have the landing party assemble in Transporter Room 1.  We will be escorting our guests to the transporter room ourselves.”  McCurrvey ensures that the guards understand that they are coming as well.

B. McCurrvey turns to Dworkin.  “Mr. Dworkin, please note that it is not acceptable to simply enter the bridge and…” he looks at Rufo “begin barking orders”.  “Communications please confirm those orders and have security meet us on (OOC: a deck and section right outside the turbolift on the way to TR 1) and have the rest of the requested personnel meet us in Transporter Room 1”

McCurrvey turns to Thelev “After you, Fleet Captain” and gives him a look that says ‘here we go again!’.  McCurrvey is pleasant with Dworkin but is clearly displeased with them setting the pace of the situation and wants to set clear boundaries.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:47, Fri 27 Aug 2021.

Chief Petty Officer Cobretti is waiting at their destination on Deck three. They proceed down the corridor and enter the dor on their right, where Transporter Chief Narda Wolff stands in the operating booth. Standing on the grating in front of the transporter pads is a member of Diplomatic Security, an Efrosian with the distinctive facial paint of a Warrior-Priest, common in Efrosian Diplomatic Security Officers.

"Ah, Mister Barimen and Doctor Balsamo. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to stop wandering off like this. I'm responsible your security and if I can't trust you to..." DipSec Officer Sae-Reyanad begins his protest.

"Nonsense, my good man," breaks in Dwowkin, "Rufo and I are more than capable of taking care of ourselves. You worry too much. I've told your President Ra-ghoratreii that over and again!"

"Regardless, I'll thank you to follow protocol, sir," replies Sae-Reyanad.

With little further fuss, the Dipsec officer and Cobretti usher everyone onto the Transporter pad and Cobretti tells Wolff to "Energise."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:39, Wed 01 Sept 2021.

The Landing Party materialises in the spacious transporter complex on Starbase Babel. Fleet Admiral Bill Smillie, the new CiC Starfleet, is there.

"Brad," He says with a smile, "glad you could make it! What took you so long?" he jokes, shaking Brad's hand.

"I suspect Mr. Barimen has already told you, but you've been breveted up to Rear Admiral, and Khendron has been breveted up to Fleet Captain to act as your adjutant. Thelev will remain as your Flag Captain on the Odyssey. Operation Hellfire is a go and has been authorised by Executive Order of the President, no less!"

He slaps Brad on the back, "But we'll go over all that later. Right now we have a special closed session of the Federation Council, the Klingon Hich Council and the Romulan Continuing Committee; and these two gentlemen," he gestures to Dworkin and Rufo, "will be keynote speakers. That is, of course, if they don't disappear on Sae-Reyanad. Again."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:16, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

In reply to Fleet Admiral William Smillie (msg # 4):

Although Khendron cannot help but be pleased at his sudden—albeit brevetted—promotion, the habit of learning information on-the-fly-and-at-the-last-minute whenever Dworkin is around is beginning to wear thin.

"He was a bit light on the details, but we'll catch up," Khendron comments with a slightly sardonic tone. "Are we expected to be presenting anything in this session, or can we just relax and listen?"

In reply to Captain Khendron Mercer (msg # 5):

[Well, Fleet Captain is always a temporary or brevet position, so a Captain can command other Captains in a flotilla or task force.]

FAdm Smillie says with a chuckle, "You'll be receiving a transcript, but don't start snoring. There will be a Q and A afterwards at which you may ask and almost certainly will be asked questions. Try not to embarrass us."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:48, Sat 28 Aug 2021.

In reply to Fleet Admiral William Smillie (msg # 6):

Thelev looks around who is gathered and finds his appropriate seat. Leaning over to Brad, "Have you had any briefing on what this is about."

In reply to Captain Thelev (msg # 7):
[OOC: Sorry, Coldnorth is down right now, so images are not available.

Update: Sorry, it seems Coldnorth's Host got hacked. I'm using Imgur to host newer images for now...]

The ampitheatre is one of the largest Thelev has seen in awhile, at least off Earth or Vulcan. It is divided into several radial areas with a central dais. Three of the areas are filled with the Federation Council, the Klingon High Council and the Romulan Continuing Committee. Thelev notices President Ra-ghoratreii, Former President Alistair Fergus, Chancellor Gorkon and his daughter Azetbur; and Romulan Prætor Neron. HoD Kang and la' Mara, and Commander Liviana Charvanek. Diplomatic Security personnel in their distinctive blue-and-white uniforms are stationed at all entrances.

Brad, Khendron and Thelev are ushered to a seating area in the Federation area along with several ranking Starfleet officers including Bill Smillie, Bob Bennett, Harry Morrow and Lance Cartwright.

Dworkin and Rufo escend along the walkway to the central dais. Dworkin begins by clearing his throat, "Ladies, Gentlemen and otherwise gendered Sophonts It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the first Milky Way Interdimensional Forum. As many of your most distinguished scientists have hypothesised, the Universe—that is, the Universes in plural— are far larger and more varied than you could possibly envision. I am the representative of Empress Star of the Twenty Universes, arriving from Centre.

"Center is the capital planet of the Twenty Universes, but Empress Star is not an empress and it is not an empire.

"I'll call her Star as hundreds of names are hers, but it is the name given to her by her husband and I'll call it an empire because no other word is close, and I'll refer to emperors and empresses—and to the Empress.

"Nobody knows how many universes there are. Theory places no limit, though Doctor Skillary Hailstrandter, the Strellarius Professor of Paradoxical Anomalism at the University of Maximegalon has speculated that the ulitmate number of individual universes with a small "u" could be as high as six raised to its sixth power, and the result in turn raised to its sixth power—1.03144x10²⁸—10,314,424,798,490,535,546,171,949,056; any and all possibilities in an unlimited number of combinations of 'natural' laws: each appropriate to its own universe. But this is just theory and Occam's Razor is much too dull. All that is known in the Twenty Universes is that twenty have been discovered, that each has its own laws, and that most of them have planets, or sometimes places, where humanlike beings live. I won't try to say what lives elsewhere.

"The Emperor is sole source of Imperial law, sole judge, sole executive — and does very little and has no way to enforce his rulings. What he or she does have is enormous prestige from a system that has worked for seven millennia. This non-system holds together by having no togetherness, no uniformity, never seeking perfection, no Utopias — just answers good enough to get by, with lots of looseness and room for many ways and attitudes.

"The Twenty Universes include many real empires. Your Galaxy in your universe has its stellar empires, and there are Gates that link the universes. Some planets have no known Gates. The anomaly in the planetoid Bridgetown is a major Gate. About the term universe—for many centuries there was thought on Earth and other planets to be only one universe, defined as all of space and time and their contents; including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. With the dawn of Quantum Theory, there came into being the so-called Multiversal Theory. The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The different universes within the multiverse are called "parallel universes", "other universes", "alternate universes", or "many worlds". All connected multiverses could be described as a single Multiversal Cluster—English is ill-suited for this level of description. This is what we mean when we speak of the Twenty Universes. Universe with a capital "U" means an individual Multiversal Cluster. Twenty such clusters have, as I mentioned earlier, been discovered to date. Each Cluster has both "alternate" and "parallel" universes with a small "u". Alternate universes are defined by interbranching timelines splitting off from one another and sometimes fusing together; whereas Parallel universes, no matter how much the may resemble each other, never connect to other timelines—at least not directly. These include what your scientists call the Mirror Universe, seemingly a clone of your timeline where the abstract concepts of "good" and "evil" are swapped, such that the Federation is paralleled as the Terran Empire, et cetera. Of course, such parallel universes have their oen intertangled alternates. It can be visualised as a rope made of many cords, each of which has many threads.

"Local affairs are local. Infanticide? — they're your babies, your planet. PTAs, movie censorship, disaster relief — the Empire is ponderously unhelpful. Sort of like your Prime Directive, but on steroids!"

He pauses and takes a sip of water. Gesturing to Rufo, he says, "This is Her Glory's Representative Doctor Rufo Balsamo. He is also her grandson and one of he closest advisors. And now with no further ado, I present Her Glory, Empress Star and Her Glory's Consort, Oscar Gordon."

He pulls out a Tarot card like the one Brad saw him use when he'd disappeared from the Flag Ready Room and stares into it. A bright blue-white glow lights up his face and he says, "Your Glory, I prithee attend us!"

Holding up his hand to shoulder level, suddenly he's holding the hand of a gloriously beautiful woman in what appears to be Her mid-twenties. In turn She holds the hand of a thiryish man with brown hair and a deep scar on the right side of his face. Holographic displays allow eveyone present to view them in closeup. Oscar is garbed in close-fitting forest green not unlike a Robin Hood costume, complete with bow and arrow and a basket-hilted longsword slung at his hip. The leather grip of the sword is sweat-stained and hints at its being a working weapon. Her Glory, on the other hand, is garbed in a swirl of sparkling, glowing mist which neither quite reveals nor conceals her luscious curves. She is tall, blonde and the picture of radiant health.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:19, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

President Ra-ghoratreii, Chancellor Gorkon and Prætor Neron approach the stairs up to the dais.

Alistair Fergus, former UFP President and Azetbur, Gorkon's daughter and Aide; along with Klingon Ambassador Karamag and Romulan Ambassador Nanclus, wait at the bottom of the steps as the President, Chancellor and Praetor ascend.

Ra-ghoratreii steps forward, Gorkon and Neron at his side. The Efrosian meets Her Glory's gaze and says, "Your Glory, on behalf of the United Federation of Planets, welcome to the, er, Milky Way,"

"On behalf of the Klingon Empire, yI'el," says Gorkon, followed by,

"And on behalf of the Romulan Star Empire, aefvadh," from the Prætor; each with a formal bow.

"And in turn, We thank you for your invitation," replies Her Glory, Her voice a warm, full contralto, surprising deep in its lowest register. She does not immediately introduce Her consort, who stands by, a bemused look on his scarred face.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:24, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

Her Glory turns to DipSec Officer Sae-Reyanad, standing behind Dworkin and Rufo. "Might we have some seating?" She requests.

Sae-Reyanad taps a series of keys on his PADD and several chairs rise from concealed panels in the carpeted dais. Star steps to the central seat and sits down gracefully, followed by Gorkon and Neron, then Ra-ghoratreii. Oscar, Dworkin and Rufo remain standing behind Star, and Sae-Reyanad steps behind the President.

"Very efficient. I approve. It bodes well." She says, having dropped the Imperial We.

"I would like to meet the intrepid adventurers whose use of the Infinite Emprobability Drive propelled your three stellar nations onto the Glory Road. Dworkin, my Investigator-at-Large, informs me they are named Rear Admiral McCurrvey, Fleet Captain Mercer, Captain Thelev, HoD Kang son of K'naiah and Riov Liviana Charvanek." She stands and raises a hand and calls out, "I prithee ascend the dais!"

Gorkon leans his massive staff against the chair and begins clapping loudly, followed closely by Ra-ghoratreii and Neron, and suddenly it becomes a standing ovation as the five of them make their way to the aisles.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:25, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

In reply to Her Glory Empress Star (msg # 10):

Thelev is still trying to figure out what was so unique about their most recent usage of the Silver Ball that has now attracted ‘Her Glory Star’ beyond just who they engaged. It has to be more than Lord Dhark.

He waits for Brad to lead the way for their group.

Dworkin steps toward the three and says, loudly enough that the pickups broadcast it to the entire crowd, "I can tell you all have many questions. That's what this symposium is all about. Ask them and you'll get answers. Just be forewarned—you may not like all the answers."

Her Glory says, "Captain Thelev, you look particularly concerned. From what my Investigator tells me; you, the Rear Admiral and the Fleet Captain have the most experience with the Infinite Improbability Drive—I believe you call it the Silver Ball, as your own technical term is equally unweildy, so we'll call it that—the three of you along with Dr. John Smith and a mechanoid named Wesson have the most hands-on experience, though your original ship, the Excalibur, has been destroyed and its successor, the Excalibur-A, has not used it outside of testing though in about 90 years it will be used again by a Captain M'Rel, also with the eventual assistance of Dr. Smith and Wesson. However, since you three have been in command of your new ship, the Odyssey, you have used it with a certain... regularity ...and have made its existance known to the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire—not that you could have avoided that, as knowledge always leaks despite the best of security—until you brought it within a Greater Gate. We'd been keeping track of the usage of the Silver Ball but when you brought in range of the planetoid Bridgetown we decided to contact you. Investigator Dworkin left a calling card in then-Commodore McCurrvey's ready room, hoping that being the curious type he is, that he'd heed the call.

"Unfortunately, before he had a chance to find the calling card, the Odyssey transited the Greater Gate into the Æthereal Plane, taking with her the IKV K'Tanko and the RSN Star Empire, thus necessitating we take a hand. A certain Captain Calista, aided by a being from the Æthereal Plane brought back an arcane ship from that Universe to yours, thus compounding the problem. Your subsequent discovery of the pocket universe into which the Museum at the End of Time had fallen resulted in the destruction of that pocket universe due to its incompatibility with the metaphysical fabric holding it together. Your efforts to save all the inhabitants from destruction was duly noted and counts strongly in your favour.

"To that end, we have decided to acknowledge your use of this technology and welcome you to the Twenty Universes."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:26, Tue 07 Sept 2021.