“Interception in one minute,” William Prentice reported from the helm.

“Still nothing?” Wren Walton stood in front of the center command chair, PADD in hand. The fog of space in this universe was frustrating in what it would reveal and what it would hide. The yellow pallor on Mackenzie’s bridge had given way to a dull ruby with her call for red alert. Wren had just gotten command of the Mackenzie back. She wasn’t taking any chances. They were getting home, and the fewer scratches, the better.

Matilda Maguire at the science station felt befuddled and annoyed. “It’s a starship, but what, or who it is…that’s the mystery.”

Prentice spoke up with an update. “Interception in thirty seconds.”

Walton paced, failing to keep calm.  Walking in circles had always helped.  If only they weren’t literally walking in circles, she reminded herself.  She asked, “Comms?”

Jake Shaw turned in his chair. “I am detecting some kind of communication network, but connecting to it or being able to hail it is increasingly challenging.”

Walton felt a growl start in her throat and coughed it away. They were out of time. “Battle stations.” A deeper klaxon sounded as crew shifted around the bridge and others arrived, including a three-person medical team. Walton had enough experience to mandate it as part of the Mackenzie’s battle stations preparation.

Prentice activated his safety harness, and the rest of the bridge crew followed suit. He counted down. “Five…four…three…two…one.”

Walton slid into her chair, activating her harness. “Drop us out of warp, ready evasive maneuvers.” The Excelsior II-class starship, followed by the Perseverance, dropped from warp. Wren frowned at the view. “Report?”

Matilda stared at her console, unable to parse what she was reading with the history she knew of in their universe. She shook her head in disbelief. “Captain, I’m getting a registry off the ship. NCC-1701-B. USS Enterprise. The computer’s analysis of the shape of the ship comes back as Excelsior-class.”

At the tactical console, Athena Catari had a similar look of confusion on her face. “They have raised their shields, but they have not activated their weapons.” The threat screens were full of red, and a lot of it was blinking in alarm. “She is packing a lot of heat, Captain. I’m detecting four warp cores.” She muttered, “That doesn’t make sense. How in the universe?”

Wren remained strapped in, staring at the familiar shape. “Mr. Shaw, I need to talk to them.”

He winced at the strained tone. “Attempting multiple frequencies.” Jake’s fingers ran through the gamut,and he worried they would turn to unorthodox methods soon. Suddenly, one frequency clicked green. “I have them!” he shouted and quickly felt the heat of embarrassment flood his face.

Walton blinked, amused at the passion from the ensign. “On screen.” A flicker. A crew with her style of uniform faced her, their eyes wide in shock of their own. Wren recovered enough to eek out, “Captain Wren Walton, Federation Starship Mackenzie. Who are you?”

The young man in the center chair jumped up, a wide smile on his face. “Captain Walton! Cadet Jeremy Agats, Starfleet Academy at Montana Station. Ma’am, it is good to see a face we know.” He stepped aside, and Gracie Lothan came forward. Both cadets had tears in their eyes.

“Captain Walton,” she said.

Wren was astonished. She knew that face and that voice. The survivor. The last of her family. She felt a quiet lump forming in her throat as she wondered what all they had gone through to get here. “Gracie Lothan. How did…you were transported out here? How many of you?”

Gracie wiped tears of joy away as her mind caught up with their lucky break. “Our freshman class, Captain. All 48 of us.”

Walton felt her stomach drop to the ground.  Forty-eight cadets?  In the far reaches of an unknown universe?

Agats snapped out of his relief on the screen. “Captain, we need to debrief you as soon as possible. We have Captain Pike in sickbay, and he warned us that V’ger will return to seek the creator every so often…and it is overdue.”

Walton wasn’t sure her eyes could go wider, but they did. V’ger coming back? She had thought this place was a nightmare as it was. It was only getting worse with each step they took. When were they going to get a win? Or get home, for that matter? All this was whirling around in her head as she replied, “We’ll come to you, Cadet. We have our share of news to tell.” He replied with a nod, and the channel closed. Wren turned to the bridge. “Cancel red alert. Senior staff in the briefing room, ten minutes.”