Story:Starship Helena/Point of Divergence/Act Two

Act Two

Fade In

Ext. Space (Warp Field)

Helena is at warp speed heading back to the Terran System sector 001.

Int. Armory

Commanders Samson  and Kelby are briefing the Engineers on what their project is.

(A presentation with computer graphics to a group of the crew.)

Ltcmdr. Samson: This, ladies and gentlemen is a phase-modulated energy weapon. It's rated for a maximum power output of five hundred gigajoules. Helena was designed to carry three of them. We have one, and it's only a prototype.

Kelby chimes in.

Ltcmdr. Kelby: Our job is to get it up and running and build two more from scratch. The Captain is taking us back because he thinks this ought to be done by the boys in Spacedock.

Samson chimes in.

Ltcmdr. Samson: Far be it from me to question the Captain's judgment, but Commander Kelby and I believe we can do this ourselves.

Kelby looks at the engineering teams and made a bit of a joke.

Ltcmdr. Kelby: That means double shifts. By the time we reach Jupiter Station, I don't want their engineers to have a thing to do but give us a wash and a wax. Any questions?

A crewmen looks at them.

Crewmen: Are we expecting another attack, sir?

Kelby looks at them.

Ltcmdr. Kelby: We all signed up for this trip because we wanted to do something no one had ever done before, not because we thought it'd be easy or safe. But we're not here to take foolish risks. The Captain and the rest of the crew are depending on us to keep Helena ready for anything.

Samson chimes in.

Ltcmdr. Samson: And once we get these phaser cannons online, we'll have a lot more firepower to do just that.

Kelby looks at the Engineers.

Ltcmdr. Kelby: So what are you standing around for?

The Engineers got to work.

Cut To:

Int. Main Bridge