SEASON SIX

EPISODE 1: THE POWERS THAT BE
PART TWO

By: Elektra and 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
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)

... And many more!
 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN’S READY ROOM

     "Captain’s log, stardate 070120.00. The Woah-yah ship ran off at warp speed. We have neither heard nor seen from them since ---" Captain McMahon stopped. He couldn’t say it. It would make it too real.

    This day would forever tarnish his soul. The day his daughter Stephanie died in the line of duty.

    He closed his log book, and headed onto the bridge.

ELSEWHERE

    "Where am I?" Commander Stephanie asked. Everything was dark. So dark… "Hello?" she called out. Nothing. Stephanie put her hands on her hips, "You know... this is VERY rude! I am Comander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley of the WrestleFleet ship WWF Titanprize! I demand you tell me who you are and where I am!"

   "We are your judges," a voice finally spoke. It was loud, and seemed to echo through the blackness, "It is your judgement day…"

    Stephanie furrowed her brow, "Judgment day? What .... am I supposed to be dead or something?" The silence was all the answer she needed. She lowered her voice, confused, "I don't understand!  How could I…?" she stopped, and shook her head, her voice a mere whisper, "No. It can’t be!"

    "She is under my charge…" another voice spoke. A voice Stephanie recognized. A voice that made her shiver more then the empty darkness.

    It took her a moment to gather her wits about her, "Dr. Taker… what are you doing here? What IS all this?" Stephanie demanded.

    "It doesn’t matter ..." he turned his attention back to the voice, "Do not judge her yet. There is something I must inform you of first. I shall return shortly…" he replied, then was gone.

THE SMACKDOWN

    Lt. Commander Jericho sat quietly sipping his synthehol and watching the others in the Smackdown.

    "When is the memorial?" Terri asked as she leaned on the bar behind him.

    "At 21:00 hours…" he replied, then put his glass down, half-finished, "Triple H is taking it well..." he said bitterly.

    Triple H sat with his fellow Degenerates, chatting it up as if they were on a random night out.

    Soon, Triple H felt the android’s eyes on him, and turned to the Y2J Unit, "You got a problem?" he asked.

    "Forgive me. I don’t mean to interrupt you as you mourn the loss of your WIFE, Trip…" Lt. Commander Jericho replied, and turned away. If he stared at Triple H any longer, he would let his emotion chip go random, and toss the man across the bar. Why was he so… so... ANGRY?

    "What are you getting at, bot?" Triple H asked. "You think I don’t miss her? You think I didn’t CARE about her?"

    Jericho shook his head, still not looking at him, "I don’t doubt you DID care for her once…" Jericho replied, "But apparently you cared more about POWER." he muttered.

    He heard Triple H stand and walk up to him, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

    Jericho turned to face Triple H, "You may have been able to convince Stephanie you meant her no harm during your little mutiny, but I’m a lot more perceptive then that!"

    "SHUT UP!" Triple H shouted, and swung a fist at the Y2J Unit, who rolled off the barstool gracefully. Triple H let out a shout as his hand met the wooden bar instead of Jericho’s face.

    Jericho jumped to his feet and looked at Ensign Helmsley smugly, "You don’t want to start with me, Trip. You really don’t!"

    "YOU'RE the one who started it running your mouth!" he snapped angrily, and swung again. Once again, Jericho ducked.

    The Y2J Unit grabbed his glass of synthehol and threw it in Triple H’s face, "You really need to cool down, Trip. This type of behaviour is unbecoming of a man who just lost his wife…"

    "I said shut up!" Ensign Helmsley snapped as he wiped synthehol out of his eyes, "I will dismantle you, then rip your circuits out of your chest before you can blink!"

    Lt. Commander Jericho quickly turned off his emotion chip. If he hadn’t, he would have done something unforgivable to Triple H. But why? Because of the rebel’s indifference to Stephanie’s death? Surely if anyone should be indifferent, it should be the Y2J Unit! After all, he always seemed to be arguing with her,  "I am afraid my presence is needed in Engineering," Lt. Commander Jericho spoke, all signs of earlier emotion gone from his voice, "Now that Commander Stephanie McMahon is dead, I am taking over her duties…"

     "That’s right! Go to your duties, robot! Avoid confronting me!" Triple H sneered angrily. "Don’t worry! We’ll finish this later! I’ll make sure of that!"

    "It IS finished, Ensign Helmsley," The Y2J Unit spoke, "I am leaving now. Surely that would dictate that our confrontation has concluded…"

    "Why do YOU suddenly give a damn about her anyway?" Triple H snapped angrily.

    The Y2J Unit paused for a moment. He blinked, trying to bring logic to his illogical behaviour. While he never seemed to get along with the Commander… without her presence, there seemed to be a void. Odd he was still feeling this void even after his emotion chip had been turned off.

    "She was a good officer..." he replied, unable – or unwilling – to find another reason to explain it.

    The Y2J Unit turned on his heel, and quickly headed to Engineering.

ENSIGN EDGE AND CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS

    "Stop hogging the mirror brother!" Christian reluctantly stopped smoothing out his dashing black dress uniform long enough to elbow Edge in the ribs.

    "Chill out Christian!" Edge said, giving him a look of calculated pouty anger. "This glass is large enough and so totally powerful enough to absorb the high volume of beauty we are directing at it!"

    "Oh please Edge." Christian rolled his eyes, admiring how they sparkled on their way around. "No man-made object can handle that!"

    "If the color black was a person, he would be down on his knees thanking me for making him look so good." Edge declared, as he spit-polished the snaps at his shoulder.

    "Do you think Galaxy Beat will be covering the Memorial Service for the Commander?" Christian asked. "The way my eyes shine when I cry looks so totally hot on camera!"

    "I've been practicing making my lower lip tremble." Edge said, acting it out for his brother's benefit. "What do you think?"

    "What do I think?" Christian gasped. "And the Oscar goes to...." He gestured grandly to his older brother.

    "Come!" Edge said impatiently, as the door beeped, announcing a visitor. Alas, it was only Ensign Angle, and not an eager and admiring photographer. "Ensign Angle. Ready for the gala funeral event thingy?"

    "I fear I am, fellow ensigns." Kurt sighed heavily. "It is always such a tragedy when such moral purity and youthful innocence is snuffed out by an enemy with no integrity."

    "Er, someone besides Stephanie kicked the bucket?" Christian asked.

    "I have asked Captain McMahon for permission to speak at the Memorial." Kurt continued gravely. "But since you're such devoted officers, I'll let you have a sample of my speech."

    He coughed and closed his eyes, reciting from memory.

"Stephanie was like a flower, full of beauty, full of grace.
  A generous heart, lovely smile, a pretty face
  Sweet when she laughed, a doll when she danced
Virtuous even with all the Ensigns in her pants-"

    "Dude!" Ensign Edge looked horrified. "Get out!"

    "Yeah, well, do you like it?" Angle asked, frowning.

    "Uh... yeah right man." Christian was shoving him towards the sliding door. "Make sure you use that poem at the Memorial-it'll so get to Vinnie Mac!"

    "Bye fellow Ensigns!" Kurt called out as he was squeezed through the exit.

    Edge and Christian looked and each other, making an L with their fingers. Kurt could be such a total loser sometimes!

ELSEWHERE

    "Let me go!" Stephanie demanded, "Keeping a delicate young woman like myself in this... PLACE... is cruel!"

    "It is your judgement day…" the disembodied voice spoke.

    "It is not…" Dr. Taker replied. Stephanie jumped. Where had he come from? She had thought he had left… or gone back… or whatever he did.

    "Pardon?" the voice said.

    "She has not passed on yet…"

    "WHAT?!" the voice thundered, "You have brought a MORTAL here then?!"

    "To save her life, yes. Isn’t this the type of action that you wanted?"

    "We never wanted you to bring a mortal here! It is against the rules!" the voice shouted angrily.

    "I have used my GIFT to save a life! She was about to be destroyed by a phaser rifle. I displaced her before the laser connected. Therefore, I have gained my privacy and the right to exist without your interference for the next ten years! I have complied with your wishes and expectations, and provided a … positive ..." he seemed to choke on that word, "… resolution to an otherwise negative scenario!"

    Many disembodied voices muttered quietly among themselves. The single voice spoke again, "We will discuss this matter amongst ourselves and will contact you in 24 of your hours…"

    All was silent. The voices had left, and Stephanie was left with Dr. Taker. Within a few moments, even HE was gone.

    Stephanie sat by herself in the dark... thinking. Thinking of Hunter. Thinking of the Y2J Unit. Thinking of the others on the ship. Thinking of other ways her life could have turned out...

    Just thinking.

DECK 10

    "I thought I might find you up here." Lita said breathlessly, as she spiraled her flexible body around the narrow ladder that lead to the Garden Deck's spacious balcony. There wasn't an Aerialian alive that didn't thrill to dizzying heights, and the upper reaches of this flora-filled deck not only provided a magnificent view of the greenery below, but an oval-shaped window treated the eyes to a glorious expanse of space. "Matt's worried sick about you."

    "Yeah, well, I seriously doubt that." Lt Hardy swung his legs out over the open air, staring down at the gleaming marble floor. He hadn't forgotten the cruel words Matt had cut with him when they were about to be thrown out an Airlock in Engineering. "I think I've stretched his brotherly love a little too thin."

    "Hasn't broken yet!" Lita tried to stay cheerful as she sat beside the Lieutenant. Jeff had seemed to be coming out of his shell, hanging out with her and Matt and Lt Commander Jericho, but now...now he had withdrawn more than ever. "He tells me you're thinking of skipping the Memorial Service."

    "Maybe I am."

    Lita sighed. "It looks bad, Jeff. You served under-I mean you worked with Stephanie. Vince won't forget it if you blow this off."

    "To hell with Vince."

    She silently counted backwards from ten, though there was not much that could restrain her fiery temper. "I'm worried about you, okay?"

    "Really?" Jeff looked at her with cold eyes. "When do you have time for that, Lita? Do you schedule that in between kissing my brother and your shifts in Engineering?"

    Lita bit her tongue. "I'm shocked you even noticed, what with your nose glued to Commander McMahon-Helmlsey's a-"

    "Don't!" Jeff's eyes went from ice to fire in a matter of seconds.

    Okay. That had been insensitive. Jeff was right. "It's funny. Before she...died, I was actually starting to respect her a little. I mean, the way she took the TitanPrize back from that scumbag husband of hers...I didn't think Steph had that much guts. She risked her life for us, people who treated her like garbage most of the time."

    "Yeah like Hunter cares right now." Jeff said scornfully. "I saw him laughing and joking with X-Pac in the Smackdown. He's sub-human."

    "Maybe Stephanie just wanted to be loved." Lita hated this feeling, this streak of compassion she was experiencing for the catty commander. "Sometimes...." She took a deep breath. "Sometimes when you can't have what you want, you go for the next best thing."

    Jeff looked at her. "You know?"

    Lita flushed bright red. "Know what?"

    "About the thing between Stephanie and Lt Commander Jericho." he replied, eyeing her flustered expression curiously. "What else?"

    "Uhhh yeah." Lita nodded, a wave of relief washing over her. "Poor Chris. Probably imagining what might have been."

    "I told him what an idiot he was to keep it inside, but he denied he even HAD any feelings for her. " Jeff allowed a wry smirk, "He claims he doesn’t have a heart, you know…"

    "Well, technically, he doesn’t…" Lita replied.

    Jeff grew serious again, moving his feet around in random circles. Restless. "I think if you really care about someone… heart or no heart … you should tell them, before something like this happens."

    "I agree." Lita was feeling restless too-it was too warm, too humid up there. "So..you coming to the service or not? You can sit with me and Matt."

    She got to her feet. Jeff didn't follow.

    Lita knelt back down beside him, and put an arm around his shoulders, absently brushing his hair out of his eyes. "You're just so damn sweet....you care too much about everything."

    Jeff suddenly realized....Lita was touching him. "You have no idea."

    His eyes were as intense as ion lightning as they met hers. They were so vivid, so angry with emotion....but his breathing was so warm and steady against her skin.....no!

    No. No way! She jerked away from him as if stung by a wasp.

    "Oh...my...god!" Right or wrong, her red-hot temper had boiled over. "You are crying! Over her! Over that!"

    "What?"

    "Stephanie....well I'm really sorry for your loss Lieutenant! Maybe you can kiss your damn pillow at night and pretend it's her!"

    Jeff's face hardened. "Pardon me, Lita. She is a human being after all. Most normal people mourn the death of a living thing!"

    "Lita?" Matt peered up the ladder. "He up there?"

    "Oh yeah Matt, he is." Lita turned her back on Jeff, inhaling deeply like Counselor Snow had taught her, trying so desperately to get her jealousy, no - her anger under tight control.

    "Jeff?" Matt called out. "You wanna come with us?"

    Lt Hardy could see the genuine concern etched on his older brother's face. "Uhhh no. I'm gonna stay here, think a little. Come back and get me after the service, okay?"

    "Well..."

    "Please Matt." Jeff watched Lita slip down the ladder, until she was out of reach... "I need to deal with this alone."

    Matt nodded, pretending he understood.

THE SMACKDOWN

    Everyone was dressed in their smartest uniforms.  Nurse Bearer stood at the head of the memorial pod, filled with Stephanie’s clothing and precious belongings.  It was to be jettisoned as a final farewell, to float in space endlessly, as Stephanie herself would have liked to.

    Chief of Chiefs, Linda McMahon had come in from WrestleFleet and stood in black, sobbing as Commander Shane and Captain McMahon tried to comfort her.

    Nurse Bearer began to speak, "We are gathered he today to pay our respects to Commander Stephanie McMahon…" he started, "A daughter, sister, and loyal WrestleFleet officer…"

    Chyna went up to Lt. Commander Jericho, but his expression was so unreadable, she wasn’t even sure he had his emotion chip turned on.

     Everyone stared at the pod indifferently. Commander Stephanie McMahon wasn’t exactly the most loved person aboard the ship.

    The Y2J Unit looked off to the side, and saw Triple H, seeming to mourn with the rest of the McMahon family. Chyna saw a flicker of anger in the android’s eyes.

     Yes, Chyna decided. His emotion chip was definitely on!

    Nurse Bearer droned on, "Commander Stephanie McMahon will be missed by many…"

    Ensigns Edge and Christian stifled their coughs. Bearer looked at them, then turned back to the pod and continued.

    "And now," Bearer continued, "without further adieu, we send our memories of Commander Stephanie McMahon out into space, where she shall be forever at peace with the stars…"

    Bearer pressed a button on a nearby console, and the pod was beamed away. It could be seen floating out the window, until it finally disappeared among the stars.

    Within ten minutes, the Smackdown was back to normal. Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farrooq were busily involved in a card game, Terri was flirting with her patrons, and Chyna was waiting tables.

    Dr. Taker, who had been at the memorial a few minutes ago, had seemed to disappear into thin air.

ELSEWHERE

    Were the 24 hours up yet? The waiting was killing her! Stephanie had managed to sleep in this… PLACE… but her dreams gave her no comfort.

    Stephanie hugged herself. Would the creatures here at last let her go?

    "Have you made your decision?" a voice said beside her. Stephanie jumped yet again. Dr. Taker had a habit of popping in out of nowhere.

    "Yes." The disembodied voice spoke, "We have. For now, she will return. Her judgement day will come… and we will consider this act a brief respite for you, Dr. U. Taker… on the conditions that you will make sure that the last 48 hours never happened…"

    With that, the voices disappeared… and Stephanie soon felt herself falling … falling… falling…

ENGINEERING - 48 HOURS EARLIER

          "Hey! Nice catch, Chris...!" Ensign Matt applauded the Y2J Unit. Jericho had caught Commander Stephanie, who had fallen off the balcony near the top of the warp core when the ship had shaken.

     "Yeah," Lt. Commander Jericho muttered, "Too bad..."  He then dropped Stephanie ungracefully on her rear.

     "OUCH! You stupid piece of SCRAP! Don't you know how to treat a lady?" she shouted.

    "Lady?? Where is there a lady?!" Jericho replied.

    "Shut up, Jericho!" Stephanie snapped, then noticed Lt. Jeff snickering, "You find this FUNNY, Lt. Hardly?!" she shouted.

    Jeff quickly stopped snickering, "No, Commander..." he said, then turned back to his duties, hiding a smile.

    Stephanie frowned from her place on the floor, "What the hell happened anyway!"

     "Well, Skankanie... I’d say someone fired on us..." the Y2J Unit replied.

     "But WHY?"

     "Because they hate us? Just a guess..." Jericho replied.

    The ship shook once again and a loud, thundering noise echoed throughout all of Engineering.

    "Ok, bits for brains… what the hell was THAT then?" Stephanie asked.

    Lt. Commander Jericho went up to the nearest Engineering station, "What the…?" he furrowed his brow, "It seems Emperor Ulti-mat’s ship EXPLODED! Apparently there was a malfunction in their weapons array when they fired on us! A power surge built up around the torpedo bays and…" he shrugged, "It took the whole ship!" He said, then raised his eyebrows, "Ships seem to explode A LOT around us..."

    Commander Stephanie stood up and brushed her pants off, "If Emperor Ulti-mat's ship is gone, who is daddy going to negotiate with NOW?"

MEETING ROOM – ONE WEEK LATER

    "It’s been a pleasure meeting with you, Emperor!" McMahon shook the hand of the Woah-yah Emperor in front of him.

The new Emperor had stepped up to take the expired Ulti-mat’s place.

    "The pleasure is all mine! I am sure our new contract with each other can only lead to a strong, long-lasting relationship! WrestleFleet has been more then generous in sharing what they can of their technology, and we will kindly repay them!"

    McMahon smiled, "We have a special dinner prepared in the Smackdown, Emperor. We want to show you our appreciation!"

    "It would be my honour!" The Emperor replied.

    Captain McMahon, the Woah-yah Emperor, and the rest of the dignitaries and negotiators headed to the Smackdown.

    Dr. Taker watched the group as they walked down the corridors.

    Yes. All was as it should be…

    ... even the sounds of Lt. Commander Jericho and Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley’s amusing bickering as it echoed throughout the halls of the Titanprize.