History Lessons By Amy C. Bower rewob@adiis.net Dedication: To Cubs fans everywhere. Summary: Voyager, a wormhole, the holodeck, and the Cubs… Rating: PG Disclaimer: The usual, Paramount owns Voyager and all related characters. The Tribune Company owns the Cubs. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. I'll get them back to their rightful places soon. Author's note: In case you were wondering, I am indeed the cashier in this story. Along with being a substitute teacher, I also work at a convenience store. The things that happen in this story would be tame compared to some things I have seen! This story is a result of waiting for spring training and new Voyager episodes. I am not responsible for what happens when my two obsessions collide. You have been warned! The Federation Starship Voyager flew peacefully through space. They bothered no one, and no one bothered them. They approached a class two nebula. This could only mean trouble. In the long, storied history of Starfleet, no good had ever come out of this combination. As a captain in Starfleet, Captain Kathryn Janeway was well aware of the potential dangers inherent in continuing their course and flying through the nebula. Voyager blissfully continued on her way. Meanwhile, on an unsuspecting planet in the Alpha Quadrant, a cashier at a convenience store was hard at work. A state away, a city was preparing for the biggest party in 53 years. Unbeknownst to these people, their lives were about to change, and it was all because of one little-ole nebula in a distant quadrant, 400 years in the future… “Captain, we are entering the nebula.” Ensign Beytard informed her from the helm. He, at least, had the sense to sound a little nervous. “Maintain your course, Ensign.” The Captain commanded. “Aye, Captain.” Oh, how he wished Lieutenant Paris was there instead of enjoying his off duty hours in the holodeck. Down in Holodeck Two, Lieutenants Paris and Torres and Ensign Kim were completely unaware of the impending disaster. They were deeply involved in a new holodeck program Tom had recently discovered. “So, Tom, what is this program again?” Harry looked at his surroundings. They were standing on a street corner in a 20thCentury City. Throngs of people surrounded them. “This is Chicago in 1998. We are standing next to a ballpark where they play an ancient Earth game called baseball.” “Isn’t that the game Buck Bokai of the London Kings played?” Harry asked. “Harry, Harry, Harry, this is long before that. This is a time when it was played only in North America.” Tom put an arm around his friend’s shoulders and turned him to face the ballpark. B’Elanna shook her head, and for the tenth time in as many minutes, tugged at the baseball cap Tom had replicated for her. Tom put his other arm around B’Elanna and gazed at the stadium. “Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs. This is the day the Cubs win the division. They go on to win the World Series for the first time in 90 years, and we’re going to witness it…” Little did Tom know how right, and yet how wrong, he was. At that precise moment Voyager entered the nebula. “Captain, I’m reading something in the center of the nebula.” The ensign manning Ops reported. “I need a better description than that, Ensign.” “It looks like a wormhole.” “A wormhole? In the middle of a nebula?” Captain Janeway should have taken the hint and gotten as far away from that nebula as possible. “All stop.” “Aye, Captain.” Baytard reported from the front of the Bridge. “Captain, helm is not responding. We’re still moving toward the wormhole, and will enter it in approximately ten seconds.” Janeway tapped her comm badge. “Janeway to Engineering.” “Engineering here, Captain.” Ensign Vorik responded. “Helm controls are not responding, and we need to stop this ship. You have ten seconds.” Janeway ordered and quickly cut the transmission. Alas, poor Vorik. Ten seconds later, Voyager entered the wormhole. The crew did not notice any changes, but those poor, unsuspecting souls on Earth were about to have an extraordinary visit that would alter the course of history without anyone realizing what was going on. “C’mon, let’s go in. Some of the players are giving autographs before the game.” Tom tugged his friends by the arm and entered Wrigley Field. No one noticed the slight shift in the hologrid as they entered. “Tom, just who exactly are these people?” B’Elanna asked, tugging at the hat again. He pointed to the left. “That is Sammy Sosa. He is the Cub’s biggest power hitter, but in the Division Championship he’s going to have the worst slump in history and strike out at a crucial time. They take him out, and that player over there” he pointed to the right. “Is going to hit a home run off the relief pitcher, Rojas, and lead the team to the World Series!” “Well, then let’s go see him.” Harry started to walk to the player on the right. After a few moments, they were close enough for his autograph. The fans behind them continued shoving them, hoping to get the man’s attention. Tom was leaning down to shake the player’s hand when B’Elanna was pushed into him rather roughly. They both went tumbling over the wall and landed at the player’s feet. Tom quickly stood up, and bent down to assist B’Elanna who looked ready to kill a targ. “Are you okay?” The player placed a hand on B’Elanna’s arm, trying to help. It was not a good move. She quickly grabbed his left wrist and twisted. The sound of the bone snapping was the sound of the World Series headed to another city. Cubs’ fans everywhere resigned themselves to waiting another 53 years. Park security quickly escorted the trio out of the gates. “Great, now what?” Harry wondered. “Well, we’ll just save this game for another day. For now, why don’t we find a car, and take a road trip?” Tom suggested. “A road trip? To where?” B’Elanna wondered. “Oh, I don’t know. Why don’t we see where we end up.” Tom was looking excited. They headed off to find a car. Several hours later, B’Elanna shifted in her seat and looked at Tom. “Tom, when are you going to stop?” “Why?” “You’ve stopped once in six hours. Isn’t it time for a break? Klingon bodies are not meant to sit in confined spaces for long.” “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind stopping and stretching my legs for a bit.” Harry added from the back seat. “All right. I think there’s a town up ahead. We’ll stop there.” Tom sighed. “Besides, we could get something to eat. Maybe we can find someplace that has pizza.” Tom pulled into a gas station that was also advertising pizza specials. The three stretched as they got out of the car. Inside the store, the cashier was listening to a radio that was placed behind the counter. The store was empty, and she was muttering to herself. “I convince Michele to let me listen to the Cubs game on the radio, and this is what I get! Grace attacked by a fan that breaks his wrist! Now we’ll never get to the World Series! Sosa just struck out, and the Mets are on their way to a repeat of 1969!” “…with two out, two on, and the Cubs down by two in the bottom of the ninth, it’s up to…” The voice on the radio announced. “If only Mark Grace were available in this situation…” “C’mon, put in Rojas! If they put in Rojas, we have a chance!” The cashier continued to mutter. “It looks like Bobby Valentine is going to stay with the starting pitcher instead of bringing in the closer, Rojas…” “Oh, come on! No…oh, hi.” The cashier struggled to smile as the three crewmen entered the store. “Hi, do you happen to have a bathroom?” Harry asked. “Straight through that door.” Tom and B’Elanna began to walk around the store while the cashier began to bait a mousetrap. “Would you like a hand?” Tom asked. “Oh, no thanks. I’m just baiting a mousetrap for our little ‘friend’ back in the kitchen.” “You know, I once tracked a mouse through Jefferies Tube 32, I bet I could help you out.” The cashier looked at him oddly, but just smiled. “That’s okay, I think I’ve got it.” Tom wandered over to a food warmer sitting on the counter. He looked at the pizza slices trying to decide which one to get. “Tom, where are we anyway?” B’Elanna asked as Harry joined them. “I’m not sure, but they have pizza so it must be pretty close to heaven.” Tom turned to the cashier, roguish smile tugging at the corners of his moth. “Excuse me, could you tell me where we are. Is this heaven?” “No, it’s Iowa.” The cashier patiently informed them while wondering where they came from. She suddenly noticed B’Elanna’s hat. “Nice hat. Are you a Cubs fan?” B’Elanna turned. “Yeah, I guess so.” “So did you hear what happened to Grace this morning?” B’Elanna merely nodded. “Our best chance in years to go to the Series, and someone has to go and break his wrist! Ah, well, maybe next year.” “Excuse me, could you tell me what time it is?” Harry wondered. “It’s almost 4:00.” “Hey, that means we’re on duty in a few minutes. We better go.” Harry noticed. “That’s okay, we’ll save the program and see the game next time around. Though the road trip was fun!” Tom noted. “Yeah, fun for you. You got to drive. All we got to do was stare at the scenery!” “Well, we could have been at the game if someone hadn’t broken a certain person’s wrist!” Tom whispered to B’Elanna so the cashier didn’t overhear. B’Elanna merely stared at him, resisting the temptation to break his wrist. “Computer, arch.” She ordered. Nothing happened. “Computer, arch!” She tried again. Still, nothing happened. The cashier looked at them oddly. “Uh, oh!” Tom muttered. “C’mon, let’s go outside and figure out what happened.” Harry suggested. “Thanks.” Tom waved at the cashier as they left the store. “Just remember, this is a gas station, weird is part of the job.” The cashier muttered to herself as they left. Outside the store, the trio tried to figure out what happened. Tom tapped the comm badge affixed to B’Elanna’s hat. There was no answering chirp. “This can’t be good.” Harry noted. “Something must have happened to the holodeck controls.” B’Elanna noted. “When we’re all late for our duty shifts, someone is bound to come find us.” Tom theorized. “Until then, why don’t we keep driving. Maybe we can find the birthplace of Captain Kirk. He was born in Iowa.” Harry and B’Elanna inwardly groaned at the thought of getting back in the car, but lacking a better suggestion, they complied. On the Bridge of Voyager Captain Janeway sat tensely as they entered the wormhole. She had never heard of a wormhole inside a nebula before so she had no idea what they would encounter. “Report.” She barked. “Captain, we’ve just cleared the wormhole.” Ensign Baytard reported. “That didn’t take long.” Commander Chakotay noted, looking at the Captain. “Status.” “There seems to be a slight temporal fluctuation in the wormhole, but it didn’t seem to affect us. We are still in the nebula and were only in the wormhole for a few seconds. Apparently, it had no effect on us, though I did read a slight fluctuation in Holodeck 2 as we passed through.” The ensign at Ops reported. “We’ll have Engineering check it out, just to be on the safe side. Continue our course, Ensign.” As Voyager cleared the nebula into clear space, the arch appeared in the holodeck allowing the three officers to leave. Later that night, the three officers entered the Mess Hall and chose a table near the window. Halfway through the meal, they couldn’t help but overhear a conversation taking place at a nearby table. “…and the program has been changed!” A young ensign was shaking his head. “How was it changed?” His companion wondered. “The whole thing is different! The Cubs are supposed to go on to win the World Series thanks to my ancestor, but now he gets a broken wrist right before the Division Championship Game, they lose, and the Mets go on to the Series instead!” “Why would someone mess with your program?” “I don’t know if that’s what happened. See, I went and checked out the database to make sure I had my facts straight, and the history records have the same thing down. It says the Cubs don’t make it to the Series!” Tom, B’Elanna, and Harry exchanged guilty looks without saying a word. “Well, maybe you were wrong the first time.” “I’m not wrong. I was named for this man! I’ve heard the story since I was a child. The Cubs make it to the World Series thanks to my ancestor who hits a home run in the League Championship. Then in the World Series, the Cubs sweep the other team and in the last game, he hits a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to win 4-3! I can’t be wrong!” “What do you suppose happened?” “I don’t know, but you know that nebula we flew through today? There was a slight temporal fluctuation as we passed through the wormhole…” “Nebula? Wormhole? Did we miss something?” Tom wondered quietly. “How do you know about that?” The crewman asked. “I was manning the Ops console at the time, and I saw the readings. There was also a slight power fluctuation on the holodeck, but they checked it out and nothing’s wrong with it.” Harry leaned in to whisper quietly to his companions. “You don’t suppose something happened to the holodeck while we were running that program?” “What are you saying, Harry, that we changed history because something happened in the holodeck?” Tom tried to imagine how that was possible. “That’s ridiculous! It’s just a holodeck program! That event took place over 400 years ago. There can’t possibly be a connection!” B’Elanna sounded sure, but her face had suddenly turned a shade paler. At the next table, the two ensigns got up to leave. “C’mon, Mark, let’s go check out that program. I think we can probably fix it.” “You’re right, Sammy. Someone probably just changed the parameters or something. We can fix it in no time.” The two ensigns left the Mess Hall. “You don’t suppose…” Harry started to say. “Don’t say it, Starfleet! I already have a headache.” B’Elanna grumbled. They stared after the ensigns in wonder. Somewhere, Q was laughing… FINIS Feedback is always welcome and appreciated. I don't want my sister to be the only person to respond! I don't care if all you want to tell me is that you like the Cubs – I want email! Thanks.