A NEW WORLD

CHAPTER NINE

As Tucker walks out of the shuttle he sees buildings, streets, and really just a regular looking city, he can't help himself, but to feel amazed at what he sees, a smile creeps across his face. Jennifer and Han meet Tucker as he's walking toward the USA headquarters, Jennifer looks at Tucker and speaks.  " Everything you see here just started to materialize after the white ball of energy hit Eden, some people were knocked out cold for a while."   Tucker looks at Jennifer and speaks. " Are you ok?" " Yeah, everyone's fine."  Han looks at Tucker, Tucker, and Jennifer looks at Han while Han speaks. "There are reports that people are claiming houses, apartments, and townhouses, even mobile homes to live in now."  Tucker stops walking and the other two stops and look at him, Tucker speaks as he looks at both of them. " Is all these structures real though?" Jennifer speaks with a smile on her face. " Yes, everything here is real."  Tucker starts walking again and the other two starts with him, after a few minutes all three of them are in Jennifer's office in USA Headquarters, they all stand in front of Jennifer's desk, the office door is closed, Tucker looks down at the floor while he speaks. " This place looks and feels more like home."  Han looks down at the floor as well and speaks. " Yes it does, so do we still try to find Earth, or just take advantage of our situation and make our own fresh start of the human race?" Jennifer looks at Tucker and Han while she speaks. " We try finding Earth and bringing them people here, we still have family and friends back there on Earth."  Tucker and Han look up at Jennifer, Tucker speaks while looking at Han. " That's right, and with that said, I should be getting back to the Ohio so we can go find Earth."  Tucker starts to leave the office and the other two follow him back to his shuttle.  After four hours have past Tucker is back on board the Ohio in his ready room sitting at his desk looking at his computer screen, He'd left Joyce in command on the bridge, Tucker is looking up anything that might have to do with the white energy ball. Tucker reads his computer screen until he unknowingly drifts off to sleep with his head resting on his desk, hours pass by and he's awakened by the beeping of his wrist communicator, he taps his communicator and groggily responds while his eyes are still closed. " Tucker here." Joyce's voice comes over the communicator. " Captain, we're way past where the wormhole was last, and there's just no sign whatsoever of it."  Tucker slowly opens his heavy eyelids and looks at his communicator through hazy eyes then speaks. " What is our current speed Commander?" Joyce responds. " We're at zoom speed four, Captain." Tucker stares at his communicator and tries to focus on it, he replies while squinting at his communicator.  " Ok, keep this speed and study as we go."  " Captain, there's nothing out here sir."  " Well that wormhole has to be out here someplace Commander." " Aye Captain, we'll hold our speed and course."  " Great, Tucker out."  Tucker taps his communicator, he sits up in his chair while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and then he gets back to reading his computer screen. Meanwhile on the bridge Joyce is sitting in her chair looking toward the viewscreen, but not really paying attention to it, she thinks about an old friend of hers whom she knows from her hometown back on Earth, she thinks about the time her friend proposed to her on graduation day from the USA Academy, she was wearing her dress uniform and her friend was wearing a black suit that he'd rented, she wishes she had said yes to marrying him now, because she really misses him and wishes  that he was with her now.  Derek looks toward Joyce from his security station and speaks. " Commander I'm picking up what appears to be a wormhole dead ahead." Joyce focuses on the viewscreen and replies back. " Put it on the viewscreen please." While the viewscreen image changes, Joyce taps her wrist communicator and speaks into it. " Bridge to Captain, come in please." Tucker's voice comes over her communicator.  " Tucker here." " Captain we've found the wormhole, it's dead ahead." " Good I'm on my way Commander, Tucker out."  Joyce taps her communicator again and just sits in her chair looking at the viewscreen, Tucker walks onto the bridge and as soon as he gets to his chair, the Ohio enters the wormhole, the ship shakes violently for a while and then stops shaking, Derek switches the view on the viewscreen which shows the wormhole is behind the ship, Tucker sits down in his chair and speaks.  "Helmsman, all stop."  The ship's engines stop and the ship starts to slow down, Tucker and Joyce stand up and take a few steps toward the viewscreen, Joyce turns toward Derek and speaks.  " Security, scan the area to see if you see anything, " Derek responds while he's working on his console. " I'm already on it."  Tucker sits back down in his chair and Joyce follows suit, both of them are sitting in their chairs looking at the viewscreen, Tucker looks to Derek and speaks. " Derek place a marker here, so we can find our way back to the wormhole." Without looking at Tucker, Derek keeps working on his console and just responds. " Aye aye Captain, marker away." Tucker looks at the helmsman and speaks. " Helmsman ahead full thrusters."  The helmsman responds.  " A head full thrusters, aye sir."  The ship starts to speed forward.  After some time has pass Tucker looks over to Joyce and sees her fiddling with her hair while still looking at the viewscreen, he notices her pinned up long black curly hair, her curved figured shape in her uniform, she notices him looking and smiles at him, Tucker can't help but think about Jennifer and how she is doing, an image of Jennifer pops into his mind, an image of her wearing a red and blue skirt with a white blouse, with her long black Asian hair pinned up. He thinks to himself, ' that was on our second date in the Academy.'  Feeling weird of Tucker just sitting there staring at her, Joyce gets up and walks up to Elaine at the communication station, and Tucker looks at the viewscreen, Elaine looks up at Joyce from her console and speaks. " Yes, Commander?" Joyce looks down at Elaine, smiles and speaks. " Oh, I was just wondering if you're picking up anything out there yet." " No Ma'am not yet." " Oh too bad, I was hoping you were." Joyce walks slowly up to Derek as he is working on his console, Elaine looks back at her console, Derek looks up from his station to Joyce and speaks. " Commander, is there something I can do for you?" Joyce looks at Derek and cracks a smile while she responds. " I was just wondering if your scans are coming up with anything yet." " No not yet, but I'll let you know when they do." " Thank you, Derek." " Of course." Derek looks back down at his console while Joyce walks slowly back to her chair and sits down, Tucker looks at Joyce and speaks. " Commander you have the bridge, I'll be in my ready room if you need me." Joyce looks at Tucker as he gets up and starts to leave. " Aye Captain." Joyce looks at the viewscreen and Tucker leaves the bridge.  Minutes later the wormhole is starting to collapse, Derek looks toward Joyce and speaks. " Commander the wormhole is starting to collapse!" Joyce jumps to her feet and responds. " Helmsman set course back to the wormhole zoom speed five! Security put the wormhole on the viewscreen!" The helmsman responds. " Setting course at zoom speed five Ma'am!" The view on the screen switches to the wormhole, Joyce taps her wrist communicator and speaks to it. " Steed to Captain." Tucker's voice comes over her communicator. " Tucker here go ahead Joyce." " Captain the wormhole is collapsing, we're heading back for it now at zoom speed five, but I don't think we'll make it in time." " Dang it, I'm on my way! Tucker out." Joyce's communicator goes quiet, and she sits back down in her chair while still looking at the viewscreen, By the time the ship gets to the marker the wormhole collapses and is gone, Joyce looks at the helmsman and speaks. " Helmsman all stop." The helmsman replies. " All stop aye." Tucker enters onto the bridge and heads straight for his chair and sits. " Commander report." Joyce looks over at Tucker and speaks, " We're at full stop sir, the wormhole has collapsed, we're stuck in this galaxy."  Derek looks toward Joyce and Tucker from his station and speaks. " The Commander's right Captain, there's not even a trace of a wormhole even being here."  Joyce looks back at the viewscreen, Tucker shifts in his chair and then looks at Elaine and speaks. " Communications, hail anyone or anything out there, and tell them or it that we come in peace."  Without looking away from her console, Elaine responds back to him. " Aye Captain." Tucker looks at the helmsman and speaks again. " Helmsman ahead full thrusters." The helmsman responds back to him without looking at him as well. " Aye aye Captain, ahead full thrusters."  The ship moves forward, Tucker leans back in his chair while still looking at the viewscreen. Tucker thinks to himself. ' The greatest enemy out in space has to be pure boredom, yes that's it, pure boredom. What do we do now? I might not ever get a chance of seeing Jennifer again, ever, I've got to stop thinking like this.'  Tucker shakes his head a little to clear his mind of Jennifer, he sits upright and looks at Joyce. " Joyce you have the bridge, I'll be in engineering." Joyce looks at Tucker while he gets up to leave. " Ok Captain." Tucker leaves the bridge once more. Joyce looks back at the viewscreen and watches space fly all around the ship as it thrust forward. Moments later Tucker is in Tatto's office in engineering talking to Tatto and Debbie Brown, the office door is closed, Tatto is sitting at his desk, and Tucker is standing at the desk while Debbie sits in a chair in front of the desk. Tatto and Debbie look at Tucker while he speaks, and Tucker looks at both of them. " You guys, can we make our own wormhole?" Debbie answers him. " No Captain, you see it doesn't work like that, wormholes are a strange occurrence that's formed out of matter and antimatter in space. We can imitate the appearance of a wormhole, but not the abilities of one."  Tucker looks straight at Tatto and then at both of them again. " Is there anything that we can do to get to our own galaxy?"  Tatto looks at Tucker and speaks. " Captain we may be in our own galaxy now." Debbie speaks while looking at Tucker.  " He's right Captain, we may still be in our own galaxy now, just on another side of it, or we could be in another galaxy altogether." " Dang it you two I need answers I can work with here, you're both ahead of your departments in engineering and science, so help me come up with an idea to get us back to Eden or back to Earth."  Debbie looks at Tatto, Tatto looks at Debbie, and then Tatto looks at Tucker and speaks. " We'll work on it Captain and let you know what we come up with." "Well thank you, good luck you two, and if I come up with anything, I'll let you two know as well."  Tucker turns and leaves the office, the door closes behind him. Tatto and Debbie look at each other.