SEASON FOUR

EPISODE 3: THE GIFT
PART ONE

By: X-C

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS.  TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE!

TITANPRIZE CREW:
Captain Vincent K. McMahon
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon
Chief of Security, Commander Kane
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael
... And many more!
 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM

    "Captain's Log, Stardate 061134.00. "Much to my relief, Lt. Commander McMichael has beamed the Ja'Ret trade delegation away at the appointed rendevouz coordinates. This...bizarre species has agitated several crew members with its heretical and fanatical views on the female gender. I am especially concerned about Ensigns Devon and Ensigns Buh Buh, and have sent them to Counselor Snow for further evaluation..."

    Captain McMahon moved to close his log book, but frowned and continued his observations on the recent economic summit that had taken place aboard his ship.

    "While it is certainly a noble cause...to make contact with and study the many species of the universe, I cannot help be troubled by the behavior of the Ja'Ret. My years of experience at the helm of this ship tells me that they may prove difficult to integrate into the fabric of Wrestlefleet. Their views on women are primitive compared to our standards, although tradition dictates they be led by a dominant female. Their technology is far from primitive, and their advances in holographic sciences and virtual reality would make them excellent and productive Wrestlefleet members. Still, I am concerned by a report from Lt Commander Austin stating that the..."silly bastards" seemed just a little too fascinated in my daughter Stephanie's presentation on Wrestlefleet Engineering Advances."

    Captain McMahon sighed and closed the log book. He picked up a pad featuring personnel reports and scanned the data.

    "Hmmm... it appears that Ensign Lita has managed to solve the problem with the plasma conduits on Deck 7. Perhaps Stephanie can be convinced to give her the promotion she deserves...."

ENGINEERING

    "With all due respect Commander, I feel this excess monitoring is completely unnecessary! I transferred the Nanite Entity into a holographic body days ago, and they will never eeevvvvvveeeer invade this gorgeous body again!" Lieutentant Jericho protested, eyes darting back and forth rapidly as the computer in engineering performed an advanced diagnostic on his muscled android frame.

    Commander Stephanie McMahon's smile was cold, ruthless, the act of licking her lips gleefully seeming reptilian to the blonde bot, who simmered angrily as she stroked the wires and tubing connecting him to the mainframe. "Why Lt. Jericho!" She batted her eyelashes. "You heard Dr. Taker! He insisted on a full diagnostic everyday for the next several earth standard weeks until the threat of the nanites could be completely discounted!"

    "Yes, but he never said anything about a dirty, flithy, skanky, nasty, brutal, bottom-feeding trash-bag ho performing it." Unit Y2J mumbled.

    Stephanie's eyes snapped with a raw anger as she wrenched several of the tubes from Jericho's flashing interfaces. "It's better than being crammed in an isolation module isn't it, you ungrateful heap of hardware?"

    Lt. Jericho remained cool and calm as the Commander ripped wires from his body. "I'm not sure Stephie. The environmental controls inside engineering seem unable to filter out the skankites in the atmosphere."

    Stephanie's finger twitched inside an open port on the side of Jericho's neck, causing him to shout in pain and crumble in a heap before the engineering console. Commander McMahon grinned. "It is truly... fascinating what these tests can reveal about your android body Lt. Jericho.  Pardon me, would you? I have a personnel meeting I must be fashionably late for."

    The Y2J Unit lifted himself up with some difficulty and stretched out his metallic joints, more embarrassed that Stephanie had gotten the better of him than anything else. He carefully brushed off his uniform and watched with a lazer-like light in his eyes as she met Ensign Lita near one of the unmanned engineering stations. "One day little girl, you will receive a Y2J beating you will never evvvvveeeeerrrr forget." he murmured quietly.

    "Sir? Should I contact Dr. Taker?" Ensign Jeff had appeared at the Y2J Unit's side.

    "Ensign Jeff, I suggest you mind your own business!" Lt Jericho knew he had been too short with the young ensign, but the mere presence of Stephanie did not put him in the mood to apologize.

    "So... Ensign Lisa is it?" Wearing a bored expression on her face, Stephanie lazily punched a few buttons on her pad across the room from Lt. Jericho. "Daddy tells me I should promote you or something."

    Ensign Lita awkwardly cleared her throat. "Ensign Lita, Commander McMahon."

    Stephanie rolled her eyes. It did not impress her to have this Aerialian nobody correcting her. "Whatever. Look, it's real... special that you were able to tinker with the conduits on Deck 7, but honestly, there's only room for one high-ranking female in engineering, and I'm it. Maybe you should spend less time socializing with Ensigns Matt and Jeff and focus on your work as well."

    Lita's face flushed hot crimson. "With all due... due respect Commander, I cannot see how my relationship with any ensign should have any bearing on my chances for a promotion. The captain-"

    Stephanie sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "So it has no bearing on anything? So what? Captain Daddy-I mean McMahon is wrapped around my little finger and if I don't feel like giving you a shot? Tough nuggies! I hear there might be some openings in the Smackdown for a junior waitress-perhaps you should get your butt in gear and apply."

    Stephanie spun on her heel and left Lita open-mouthed at the engineering station, her dreams of an illustrious Wrestlefleet career dashed, at least for now.

    "Er... don't worry Lita, I think she's just upset at Lt. Jericho again." Ensign Jeff spoke soothingly to his fellow Aerialian shipmate.

    "Er... Jeff, not now please." Ensign Lita stalked out of engineering, red hair flaming behind her, scenes of catty revenge playing out in her mind.

    It was not a good day in engineering for Ensign Jeff.

THE SMACKDOWN

    "My Wrestlefleet career will never go anywhere." despaired Ensign Lita as she sat at a table between Ensigns Matt and Jeff. "All because Commander McMahon is a spoiled brat!"

    "I am sure once you prove your worth to the ship-" Ensign Matt began. He and his brother had been attempting to console their distraught friend for some time now. However, it wasn't easy trying to convince her or themselves that Stephanie would come around.

    "She is unreasonable!" Lita wailed. "If only The Y2Nanite had been more trigger happy!"

    "Geez, Lita," Ensign Jeff was always cautious about criticizing his superior officers in such a  public place.

    "You don't understand Jeff!" Lita polished off another tasty strawberry-flavored synthohol, trying to drown her sorrows. "As a little girl on Aerialia, it was my dream to explore space, to fly high! It's all I ever worked for darn it! It's all going to be destroyed because of the whims of some pampered little rich-"

    "Ensign Lita?" A blonde waitress with a disarming smile had approached the table. "A concerned friend couldn't help but notice how upset you were and sent this special Aerialian cocktail to you to lift your spirits!"

    "You're Tori, right?" Ensign Matt inquired with a welcoming smile.

    "That's me, and thanks-oops oh my gosh!" Tori gasped in mock horror as her tray tumbled and thick blue liquid stained Lita's uniform. "I am soooo sorry Ensign Lita! Looks like you'll have to change that uniform before your next shift in engineering!"

    Tori scampered back to the bar, and the three Aerialians heads were turned by the peels of laughter eminating from Stephanie and her husband's table.

BRIDGE OF THE TITANPRIZE

    "Lieutenant Rock says, and he guaran-damn-tees that we are being hailed by a Ja'Ret passenger ship off our starboard bow!" The communications officer's proclaimation put a stir into an otherwise quiet shift on the bridge of the TitanPrize.

    "The Ja'Ret?" Captain McMahon's gut told him this was not a routine hail. "I don't like this. Commander Kane-I want this ship at yellow alert! The Ja'Ret should be in the Nytron System by now!"

    Commander Kane silently complied with the command, golden lights flashing on the bridge, a siren blaring in a steady rhythm.

    "You silly son of a bitch!" Lt. Commander Austin was never one to mince words. "The Ja'Ret are throwing some sort of scrambling blanket over our weapons scans! Intentions are damn well hostile! I say we launch the photons and blast a mudhole up their deflector dishes!"

    "Not so fast Austin!" Captain McMahon barked. "Put the Ja'Ret ship's commander on the viewscreen. I want an explanation!"

    The disconcerting image of the Ja'Ret Captain filled the viewscreen. Their hair was extremely short and stiff, an icy frosted yellow. The color of the eyes was hidden by high-tech visors that revealed the entire command center of the Ja'Ret ship in a holographic image for the captain to see and control by blinking his eyes. Captain McMahon knew about this powerful tool from the summit held on his ship just a few days before. The Ja'Ret wore a uniform of gleaming silver and red that featured blinking patches, patches that Captain McMahon knew all too well regulated the health of the Ja'Ret crew who wore them. There was not even a need for holographic doctors on Ja'Ret ships, as a simple, slender patch could medicate and heal. For some reason, Captain McMahon vaguely remembered, Dr. Taker had not been captivated by this approach to medicine.

    "Greetings Captain McMahon." The Ja'Ret captain had an ingratiating smile. "Please don't be alarmed by the static blanket we have placed over your weapons scans. You see, Ja'Ret ships carry many valuable pieces of technology and therefor must have their weapons powered up at all times. We simply wished to begin this exchange peacefully, and that may not have happened had you realized our quantum lasers were at the ready."

    "DTA-Don't trust anyone, McMahon," warned Lt. Commander Austin gravely.

    "Ja'Ret Captain..." Captain McMahon quickly recalled that the species had considered themselves above individual names. "You should be in Nytron space at this time. Why have you hailed the Titanprize?"

    "As I said before, an exchange Captain McMahon." the Ja'Ret's smile remained frozen in place. "Most federations and alliances have turned away from us, due to our inherently superior level of technology. Our strides in virtual reality and holograms intimidate some. Your hospitality was exemplary. We wish to beam aboard a thank you gift for Commander McMahon in engineering to study."

    "Finally... the Rock has smelled a trap! Look here-Ja'....Broni! There ain't no way on god's green earth you are gonna send something over here for that two credit slut to study! This has just become an A to B sector of space, and you're gonna C your way out of it!" Lt. Rock had a habit of blowing up like that, and the Ja'Ret captain seemed amused.

    "Assure your communications officer that what I plan to send over is actually a benign toy. You can even scan the object. I will send over the coordinates." Ja'Ret Captain seemed supremely confident.

    "Indeed we will." Captain McMahon gestured curtly with his head and the exchange of information commenced.

    "Sir, I cannot detect a security threat from the object." Commander Kane looked up from his station, his deep voice rumbling with disappointment. "In fact, it appears to be a self-contained holographic toy of some sort."

    "You'd trust the analysis of a big red retard, Captain?" Lieutenant Rock demanded. "Why he couldn't detect a monkey's ass if it was right in front of him!"

    "Quite enough, Lt. Rock!" Captain McMahon said firmly. "It is the job of the TitanPrize to study any technology that might benefit Wrestlefleet, and I have complete confidence in Commander Kane's focus! Stephanie, darling?" He spoke after tapping his communicator. "Assemble a team and prepare to receive a Ja'Ret device for study."

    "Oh boy" Stephanie squealed. "A new toy!"

    Unit Y2J, who had been silently scanning the Ja'Ret ship, rolled his eyes in flawless motion, and in doing so, missed a faint fluctuation in the read-out that scrolled down his screen. The ship's computer logged it, but did not deem it a significant enough anomaly to alert the crew.

ENGINEERING

    Stephanie had already barked at Ensign Lita to prepare a containment field that would shelter the crew from the mysterious device, just in case it did pose a threat. Lita complied, her responses to the orders cold and professional.

    The engineering team that had been assembled gasped with delight as a gorgeous, pink, shimmering orb appeared in the containment field. Little bolts of pink lightning raced across it's sleek, spherical surface; a soothing pink light glowed in its glassy core, waves of purple, powder blue, and mercurial silver cascading out from the center. Even Lita's seething seemed calmed by the beauty.

    Stephanie jumped up and down and clapped her hands together. "Oh goody! It's pink! We'll have it transported to my quarters as soon as you people find out its safe."

    "Only widdle Stephie Mac would consider a brilliant piece of technology a bauble for her private collection." Lt. Jericho said scornfully, pursing his lips together as his eyes processed the seamless surface of the globe. "Don't be alarmed dearie-your father sent me here to observe-as a robot there is less chance of me being harmed by this...thing if it goes haywire or has evil intentions."

    "As your commanding officer, I demand you don't call me dearie ever again!" Stephanie snapped. But for once, she was more distracted by the task at hand than by Jericho's annoying hovering in her territory!

    "Should Dr. Taker perform a medical scan of this object?" Ensign Lita asked, her tricorder recording minor fluctuations at the sub-atomic level.

    "Should ensigns make suggestions to someone more experienced than they are?" Stephanie retorted. "A bio-scan was already performed before this magnificent pink object was beamed  aboard. Ensign Lita, please raise the containment field. I'm satisfied here."

    "Hard to believe, considering you're standing up." Lt. Jericho muttered.

    "Care to spend some time in the brig for insubordination, circuit face?" Stephanie asked sweetly.

    "You're speaking to me.," Jericho answered. "Isn't that punishment enough?"

    Ensign Lita stabbed at the buttons that would raise the protective barrier that stood between Commander McMahon and the pink orb. Her screen revealed bizarre readings that didn't gel with any of her training, but they seemed harmless enough...and wouldn't it be a humbling experience if Stephanie were to be.... mildly burned by her own arrogance?

    "Everyone back off!" Stephanie ordered. "I want to be the first to touch it!"

    "That should be your new catchphrase." Jericho could not resist.

    Stephanie ignored the sarcasm, closing her eyes as her hand made contact with the orb, a warm sensation flowing from her fingertips to her shoulderblade. A blissful, dreamy smile softened her features, and Ensign Lita arched an eyebrow as she watched the Y2J Unit study the Commander from under a curtain of blonde hair.

    "Commander McMahon!" Ensign Jeff's voice cut through the silence, ringing through engineering with alarm. "These readings-remove your hand now!"

    Stephanie did not listen-her mind was spinning with glorious scenes, pleasant childhood memories from the Planet Earth flooding her mind, sedating her like a drug. The orb was telling her everything would be alright...it had a... a voice! Wait, Stephanie's mind struggled under the heavy weight of the sugary sweetness that was being pumped through her brain cells. How could it talk to her. Her mind began to feel feathery light, like it was disappearing, fading away...being drawn out of her body... did she have a soul? Was she dying? Her body had started to feel like a shell that was losing its essence. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and the engineering team cried out in horror, despite some of the hostile feelings that some harbored for the commander-her eyes were wide with pure fear, then they became flat, emotionless, like mere panes of glass reflecting....nothing. Even the color had drained from them, leaving them watery gray.

    Ensign Matt, with unbelievable velocity that separated Aerialians from the rest of the species aboard, caught Stephanie's limp form before it struck the floor of engineering. He could not bring himself to stare into the soulless eyes. "Dear sweet...." he whispered in disbelief.

    "Dr. Taker." Lt. Jericho's voice was as flat as Stephanie's eyes. "Medical emergency in Engineering. Commander McMahon has been attacked by the Ja'ret orb. I repeat, Commander McMahon has been attacked by the Ja'ret orb and is non-responsive."

    Ensign Lita tapped the containment field back on, pretending she did notice Lt. Jericho turn his emotion chip off before he had used his comm badge to alert Dr. Taker.

SICKBAY

    "I have never seen anything like these brain scans Dr. Taker." Nurse Saturn shook his bald head. "Her heart is beating at a normal rate, her pulse moves normally, her body chemicals are in perfect balance! Yet there is no neural activity in the parts of her mind that control thought, memory, decision-making, only the most basic bodily functions are working here! It's like....whatever makes Stephanie Stephanie is simply not there."

    "What the hell do you know?" Triple H sprang to his feet, veins bulging in his neck as he launched out of his seat. "Look at your damn eyes! You're probably seeing two different scans ya freak!"

    "Sit down Hunter." Dr. Taker's words hung like ice in the air, and HHH was chilled enough to sit, though his face was still burning with a mixture of rage and helplessness. Taker injected another hypospray into Stephanie's neck, but he was still met with the lifeless stare.

    "Is she...is she brain dead Doctor?" First Officer Shane McMahon did not like sickbay. As second in command of the TitanPrize, he had slain many giants, but he knew he could not cope with an invisible enemy, one that he could not cheat or cheap shot. One that did not appear to have a weakness. "Is my sister...gone?"

    "Brain dead is not the appropriate term." Taker was stone-faced as he gazed over to where brave (or perhaps foolish) Ensigns Lita and Jeff had hooked the orb up to one of his medical computers. The containment field had to be removed for anything to be accomplished, as whatever powered the orb had set up a shield against scanning, a shield that would only fade when containment faded as well. Lita and Jeff wore protective cargo suits, and thus far it seemed as if the orb could only assault someone if they pressed actual skin to it. Still, Taker could not help but feel that the two Aerialians had volunteered for a suicide study. He shrugged. People lived and died by their own choices-if the pair succeeded, it would be glorious, if they did not? They would die honorably enough in the eyes of most of the crew.

    "I am that damn angry right now!" Triple H's emotions exploded again. "If brain dead is not the proper term, you big dead bastard, then what is?"

    Dr. Taker let the anger roll over him. "Ensign Lita and Ensign Jeff have discovered something very troubling. A bio-scan of the orb has revealed that many of the neurons from Stephanie's brain have appeared in the core of the device. In other words, while Stephanie's body is on this bed in sickbay, she is trapped inside that glass. To use an example from earth's ancient religions, you might say Stephanie is in limbo."

    The first officer's eyes narrowed, though they were wild with fear beneath the surface. Dr. Taker seemed to be taking a ghoulish pleasure in the paradox. "You will bring her back Dr. Taker."

    "I can make no guarantees, sir. This is the first example of this condition in Wrestlefleet history."

    "I don't believe you heard me." Shane McMahon's voice reached an almost feverish pitch. "That was an order! YOU WILL BRING HER BACK!"

    Dr. Taker merely nodded his head briskly as he ran another tricorder over Stephanie's prone figure. Grief manifested itself in such varying ways, he would not take offense to Shane's outburst...this time.

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM

    "Captain's log, stardate 061136.00. I hope I can forgive my own weaknesses here. I have turned over command of the Titanprize to Lt. Commander Austin as I do not feel I am adequately able to lead my crew under these circumstances. Why Austin? He was the one who warned me, the one who was wise enough to question... I will not retake command of the Titanprize until the fate of my daughter, Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley has been determined one way...or the other."

    Captain McMahon stared blankly out the small port window, at the stars and galaxies and comets streaking by at stunning speed. Suddenly he did not feel like the small, insignificant one, all that space and cosmic debris ceased to matter in his world.

    "I visited my daughter in sickbay today...but the flesh and blood laying on the bio-bed, that was not Stephanie. I cannot think of those eyes without becoming ill.  I would like to take this moment to commend Ensigns Jeff and Lita on their courageous, albeit, foolhardy efforts to defeat the Ja'ret orb. If by some miracle they do unlock its secrets, they will never want for a promotion again. I would also like to thank Ensign Matt for agreeing to take the ShuttleCraft Jakked out on another suicide mission, to locate the Ja'ret ship which has failed to appear on our long range sensors and whose homeworld has disappeared from all stellar maps in the computer's memory banks...."

    Captain McMahon closed his log book, his voice now a whisper....

    "Tonight, on this very ship, I know I have lost my baby girl...."

SICKBAY

    Dr. Taker sat in his glassed-off personal area in Sickbay, his eyes not blurring as he examined the tri-corder for what seemed like the millionth time. He had forced Ensigns Lita and Jeff to at least rest for a few hours, but he suspected that they were not sleeping, but fortifying themselves in the Smackdown for another marathon session with the soul-stealing orb. Fascinating that...a mere object that could take a soul like Earth's old-fashioned primitive notion of a grim-reaper.

    The lights had been dimmed in Sickbay, not that the patient's eyes knew the difference. Dr. Taker's ears had become used to the quiet humming of the machines, and he took on the alert pose of an animal ready to strike when a new sound filled his senses. He spotted a shadow near Stephanie's bio-bed. Would a Ja'ret be so foolish as to board the ship? Taker removed a phaser from among the instruments he kept in his office and stepped into SickBay, aiming it at the intruder.

    "And just who's stank ass might this be?" Dr. Taker demanded in a steely whisper. "Flinch and I'll burn a hole in your chest wide enough to pilot a shuttlecraft through. Identify yourself or rest..in...peace."

    "It certainly has been a while since I heard that rest in peace bit, doc." replied Jericho's cocky voice. "I thought I'd spell those two crazy kids and show that orb who's boss. You can put the phaser down, Taker, I was just being quiet so I didn't wake the dead."

    "Fine" Taker holstered the weapon and returned to his office. There was something grating about a robot with that much smugness, and he didn't want to lower himself to deal with it. Unit Y2J would no doubt be as effective as possible, if only to gloat to Commander McMahon that he had saved her life....