Charmed: New Frontier (Part 1)

[SimplyAretha]

posted by Greymoran


Charmed: New Frontier
By Brian D Webber

Author's Notes: The events in this story are not canonical with the respective (copyrighted) universes of the Warner Brothers TV series Charmed created by Constance M. Burge, and the Pocket Books novel series Star Trek New Frontier created by John Ordover and Peter David. However, in an attempt to maintain some semblance of order, the events in the New Frontier universe are considered to be happening just after Book 4 of New Frontier, End Game, and before Book 5, Martyr, while the events in the Charmed universe are considered to be occuring between the episodes The Importance of Being Phoebe and Charmed Centennial. However, anyone who goes out and reads Martyr and Fire On High (NF #5-6) looking for references to the Charmed Ones, Cole, or Leo, needs some serious therapy. And vice versa. In addition, although we know as of the episode The Day The Magic Died that Piper and Leo's baby is a boy, this story takes place BEFORE that, so when Phoebe and Paige gush about their unborn 'niece', it is NOT a nit. And one more thing (I know, this is dragging on longer than the Opera House shoot out at the end of Godfather III, but it needs to be done), it may be noticed by some that when referring to the ST:NF character Burgoyne 172, I (and Peter David of course), use a uniqe set of pronouns. Hir, hish, and S/he. These are not mispellings, or bad grammar, but rather a way to get around the problems of referring to a duel-sexed character. But, whenever s/he gives a direct order, the response is ALWAYS, "Yes sir," because Starfleet protocol says you refer to your superiors as Sir regardless of gender (see Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country for an example).

Author's Acknowledgements: Before we get started I just want to give a big shout out to all the people who've influenced this path I've chosen in life; the path of the Writer. Those people range from writers (Peter David, Douglas Adams, Michael Moore, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, R.A. Salavatore, J.K. Rowling), to directors (Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis, Cameron Crowe, Peter Jackson), to friends (Mandy, Luigi, Scott, Sue, Bill, Jen, Wicksy, Kaleb, Biggs, all the Marks, MattPatt, Fitzie, JD, Jon, Paddy, Josh, Jason, Kira, Julie, Phoebe, Mike, BF, KAM), and of course, family (Mom, Dad, Becky, Jenny, Chris, Dylan, Judy, Damon, Roland, Michael, Sandy). Without you and many many others whose names I've sadly forgotten, my creative abilities would be wasted on writing bad jokes about stupid cartoons. But specific thanks needs to go to Peter David and Constance M. Burge, who've created great characters that almost write themselves. I hope you don't take my liberties with your material personally, and I certainly hope you don't sue me over this. :-)

[SimplyAretha]

Chapter One: The Power of Six

Captain Mackenzie Calhoun of the Federation Starship Excalibur was a little surprised at what he was reading. Somehow, someone, without his knowledge, snuck into his quarters and dropped a book on his bed. A plain, 20th century style paperback novel called Visit To A Strange Planet Revisited. At first he felt compelled to simply throw it away, or at the very least have his security chief Zak Kebron investigate how it got there, but something in the back of his mind told him to read it.
So he opened it. It appeared to be a story of three of Starfleet's most legendary officers. Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock, and Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy of the first and second Federation vessels to bear the name Enterprise (like with most people, the dubious accomplishments of the true first Starfleet ship Enterprise, commanded by Johnathan Archer were
either ignored or completely forgotten by Calhoun). Seemed straight forward enough. The Enterpise NCC-1701-A was en route to some unexplored planet. It didn't seem to start any differently the any other tale Calhoun had read about the iconic ship, only this appeared to be fiction. At least by the way the cover of the book was designed. He thumbed through the first
chapter, and wondered exactly where the story was going. So far nothing had happened except generic 'strange energy readings' that Calhoun had seen in the several other science-fiction stories he'd read since his first days on Earth all those years ago. At this point he decided he would go ahead and read the whole thing, but once he was in a better mood. After all, it was only yesterday that the planet Thalon had exploded and the Great Bird of the Galaxy had come perilously close to eating his ship. In the meantime, he was going to see about getting new security measures for his quarters. He tapped his commbadge.
"Calhoun to Lieutenant Kebron, please report to my quarters. And bring a tri-corder with you."

The last thing Piper Haillwell expected to see when she opened the front door to the Halliwell Manor while her husband Leo carried her groceries was her little sister Phoebe reading a Star Trek book. But there it was, a small hardcover novel. Piper barely caught a glance at the title before she had to grab a bag of bread that was about to fall out Leo's grasp. The Whitelighter was grunting.
"I told you, you didn't have to bring it all in at once," she told him. Leo merely smiled, but the stack of grocery bags obscured his face so Piper couldn't see it.
"I don't mind, really. Besides, you're pregnant, you shouldn't be carrying too much anyway." Piper sighed and put her keys away and started lightening Leo's load, taking several bags on one arm. She walked into the living room and put the bags on the coffee table. Phoebe barely seemed to regsiter her presence. Piper leaned down and got a close look at the cover of the book.
"Star Trek New Frontier Collector's Edition by Peter Davd?" she said. Phoebe suddenly realized she was there, and put the book down, with her left index finger marking the place she left off.
"Hey, you're back. Did you get any good ice creams for us? We could use some comfort food." Phoebe leaned down and kissed Piper's growing belly. "And did my litle niece help you pick out anything?" Piper groaned.
"Get off me! Kiss my belly one more time and I'll blow you up. What's with the book? I never pegged you for a Trekkie." Phoebe smiled, and held up the book.
"I'm not. Never watched the shows or the movies anyway. But a friend at work said these New Frontier books were way better than the last 2 TV shows combined. He said something about it all going down hill after Deep Space Nine went off the air, but I have no idea what that means. Anyway, this IS pretty good. I just started reading this last night. After that whole thing with Cole and the Nexus, I just felt like I could use some good old fashioned escapism." She smiled, a bright
disarming smile. "Besides, I think I'm in love!" Just as she said this, Paige walked into the room, her red hair wrapped in a towel and her body wrapped in an old bathrobe she'd had since she was a teenager.
"If it's with another demon I'm gonna hurl," she half-joked. Phoebe laughed.
"No, no. You're gonna think it's silly, but I am just adoring this Captain Calhoun character." She held up the book for Paige to see. "His purple eyes just make me feel safe, even though it's just an artist rendetion of what the author says he looks like." Paige shrugged.
"I don't think it's silly. When I was younger I used to wish that Marty McFly would come and take me away in the DeLorean." Piper was unable to supress a laugh. Paige shot her a half-hearted angry glare.
"I happen to like the Back to the Future movies thank you very much." Then all three sisters were laughing. Leo entered the room at this point, holding something that looked like a book in his hand and looking very confused.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Piper asked. Leo sat down in a chair opposite the chouch and just looked at the book. He tossed it to Phoebe and gave her an odd look.
"Why did you throw this at me?" he said, sounding offended. Phoebe picked up the book, looking equally offended.
"Wait a minute, I didn't throw anything at you." She looked at the book. Visit To A Strange Planet Revisited. "It's a Star Trek book, but the only one I have is this, and it's a borrowed book at that." She held up New Frontier again. "Why do you think I threw this at you?"
"I was just putting the bags on the kitchen table when I felt something hit me in back of the head. Hard. I looked down and saw that book. Who's Mac?" Phobe's eyes went wide, and she opened the book. On the back of the front cover was an inscription. She read it aloud. "To Phoebe from Mac, thanks for the adventure? What the hell does this mean?"
"So, who the hell is Mac?" Piper asked. Paige leaned in, unable to hide her excitement. Phoebe sighed, still looking utterly perplexed.
"Mac, is Mackenzie Calhoun's nickname."

"Who the hell is Phoebe?" Mackenzie Calhoun said to no one in particular. The massive Brikar security chief Zak Kebron and a two man team were going over every inch of the captain's quarters with tri-corders, trying to find a trace of the intruder that Calhoun claimed was in his quarters last night. Kebron looked up, his massive rock like face showing no sign of the surprise that he felt at the statement.
"I knew a Phoebe Carswell back in the Academy. She failed First Contact Protocols class. Do you beleive she is the intruder sir?" Calhoun smiled.
"No, I just noticed an inscription in this book. It says, 'To Mac from Phoebe, thanks for the adventure.' I was just wondering aloud." Calhoun started reading the book again. He walked out of his quarters to let his security team do their jobs. On the way to the bridge, he almost literally walked into his Ops officer Robin Lefler. "Oh, sorry Lieutenant. I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Oh, no sir, I should've noticed you were, preoccupied." She looked at the book. "Wow, I haven't seen anyone read an actual physical book sicne the Academy. Most people these days just read them on PADDs, when they bother to read at all." Calhoun smiled.
"Since reading is something intelligent people usually do I wouldn't be surprised if Admiral Jellico has never read a book in his life." Lefler smiled, but supressed the urge to begin howling with laughter, as she felt it would be inappropriate. Calhoun didn't notice. He'd returned to his book, and didn't seem at all interested in doing anything else.

[SimplyAretha]

Phoebe flipped through the book with the odd inscription. Piper and Leo looked worried, while Paige was upstairs getting dressed.
"What do you think it means?" Piper asked. Leo shrugged. Phoebe merely continued reading. It was as if she was physically unable to do anything else except read. Piper moved her hand between Phoebe's line of sight and the novel. "Hel-lo! Feebs, come back to planet Earth!"
"What's wrong with her?" Paige asked as she walked back into the room. Piper looked at her and shrugged.
"Do you think Cole had anything to do with this?" Leo asked. Piper sighed.
"I wouldn't put it past him, but honestly, what possible effects could forcing Phoebe to read some geeky novel have?"

"Do you think we should have Soleta or Selar try to mind meld with him?" Commander Elizabeth Shelby asked with concern. Captain Calhoun had barely done anything since arriving on the bridge except keep his nose buried in that book. At first she didn't think too much about it. Her ex-fiance was known for being stubborn, but his behavior was odd even for him. She tried tapping the Xenexian on the shoulder but nothing happened. He didn't even blink. In a way the captain was acting not unlike navigator Mark McHenry. Except McHenry was actually focusing on one thing at the moment. He was focusing on the captain with the same amount of concern that Shelby and Lefler were showing. The only other person on the bridge didn't seem to think this
was a big deal. Thallonian Ambassador Si Cwan merely sat in a seat next to Calhoun and occasionally tried to sneak a peek at the book himself. Like Lefler he too hadn't seen an actual book in many years, and his curiosity was getting the better of him.
"I have heard of these men," he said. "I've actually met Spock, although he's an ambassador now. Do many of your Starfleet officers have novels written about them?"
"I don't know. I don't read as much as I used to," Shelby replied.

"I'm never reading again. This is creeping me out," Paige said as Piper tried to pull the book out of Phoebe's hand. Phoebe's knuckles were white as she continued to read the book with a death grip in one hand, the other only coming free to change the page.
"Well, I'm worried too Paige. But standing there making stupid proclamations isn't going to help. It's this one book that's causing trouble, now HELP ME GET IT AWAY FROM HER! Leo, go talk to the Elders or something." Leo looked confused.
"Why would they know anything?" Piper gave Leo a look that made him take several steps back. "Um, I'll check the Book of Shadows." With that he orbed out of the room while Paige and Piper tried to tug the book away.

"Go get Dr. Selar," Commander Shelby said, starting to get panicked. Calhoun's knuckles had gone stark white, one hand death gripped, the other only coming free to turn the page. Even Si Cwan was begining to look concerned. Lefler and McHenry were currently trying to pry the book out of their Captain's hands while Shelby was trying to grab his attention.
"Maybe you could talk dirty to him," McHenry suggested in all seriousness.
"In light of the situation I'm going to ignore that comment Mr. McHenry," Shelby groaned, although inwardly she'd already considered it.

Phoebe gasped. She'd reached the last page. Inscribed at the bottom of it in the same handwriting as the one at the start of the book was a phrase all too familiar to the Charmed Ones. The Power Of Three Will Set You Free. Leo came downstairs. Paige was still tugging at the book not having seen the inscription. Leo went over to help. He placed his hand on the book, and started to tell Piper that he hadn't found anything, when Phoebe stood up. Paige and Leo didn't take their hands off the book. She read aloud the inscription, and with that she, Leo, and Paige, vanished. Piper yelped in shock.

"The Power Of Three Will Set You Free," Calhoun murmured. And as he said those words, he, Lefler, and McHenry vanished. Si Cwan stood up in shock while Shelby slapped her commbadge so hard it nearly fell off.
"Kebron to the bridge immediately! Three of our crewmen just went missing!"

[SimplyAretha]

Chapter Two: Third Times The Strangest

Four humans, one angel, and a Xenexian all awoke at roughly the same time. None of them had any idea where they were. It looked like a wasteland, with skies the color of burnt sienna crayons, and bright blue flashes of lighting going from crimson cloud to crimson cloud almost continuously. Calhoun stood up and straightened his uniform. He saw Phoebe and instinctively knew who she was. "You must be Phoebe," he said. Phoebe, who was helping Paige to her feet while Leo was looking around trying to see if Piper came with them, looked at him.
"Mackeznie Calhoun," was all she could think to say. Calhoun turned around to help Lefler off the ground. She was still groggy, as was Paige. McHenry was a few feet ahead staring out at the wide, empty, dead looking plain from the top of the small hill the six of them had 'landed' on, for lack of a better word.
"I have no idea where the hell we are. Sir," he said. Calhoun nodded.
"You okay Lieutenant?" he said to Lefler. She nodded, and tried to readjust her hair to the way it had been when she still was on the bridge. So far the two Lieutenants had taken little if any notice of the two young women and their male companion. Phoebe walked up to Calhoun. "I heard that guy, I guess that's Mark McHenry?" Calhoun nodded, not at all surprised. He looked at Paige and Leo.
"The red-haried girl is your younger sister isn't she?"
"How did you know?" Phoebe asked.
"I feel like I know you. You're," he searched for his memory for a name that was on the tip of his tounge. "Phoebe Haliwell?" Phoebe nodded in turn. Leo walked up to McHenry. The red-headed navigator was alternating his glances between Calhoun & Phoebe, and Paige, who had apparently caught his interest.
"Excuse me, I'm Leo Wyatt. Do you know what's going on?"
"Search me," McHenry answered, throwing up his hands. He waved out at the nothing ness all around them. No mountians, no additonal hills, only dead land for as far as the eye could see, and McHenry could see further than anyone else in the little sextet. McHenry stuck out his hand and smiled. "Lieutenant Mark McHenry, navigator of the Federation starship Excalibur." Leo hid his obvious confusion and shook McHenry's hand.
"Leo Wyatt. I'm, um, well I'm a Whitelighter. Guardian Angel." He motioned to Phoebe and Paige. "Those are two of my charges." He nervously twisted his wedding band. McHenry noticed.
"Oh, so, um, the red head, or the one talking to the captain?"
"What? Oh, no, no, their sister Piper. She didn't come with us," he said with growing concern. "Or rather she didn't get taken with us." McHenry smiled. Paige walked up to them. Calhoun and Phoebe seemed utterly lost in their own conversation.
"Phoebe and the good Captain are discussing that book. Apparently he got one with an inscription from her. The girl who looks like Ashley Judd is Lieutenant Robin Lefler, and she's got one of those tri-corder things and she's scanning the land." She noticed that McHenry was smiling at her. She smiled back, and stuck out her hand. "Paige Matthews," she said. McHenry coughed nervously.
"Uh, McHenry. Mark McHenry. Lieutenant. I, uhm, fly the ship. Well, the ship isn't here right now but, um, hi Paige." Paige chuckled. The young red-haired man with the freckles was obviously stricken. She felt flattered. Normally she wouldn't. Normally she would avoid someone who looked like the navigator but the situation wasn't exactly bright. She had the feeling she would need all the friends she could get. And these three Star Trek people were the only viable options.
"So, we figure that the books had some kind of spell cast on them that would bring me and the Captain together when we got to the Power of Three inscription. That's about as far as we've gotten though." Phoebe had a hand on Calhoun's shoulder, and neither of them seemed to mind the intimate contact. Paige felt the urge to say something sarcastic but Calhoun spoke before she had the chance.
"Who and why we don't know, but we have an idea as to where." He held up the book. "Although the terrain doesn't match we think this is the same place where Kirk, Spock, and McCoy met their actor counterparts." Phoebe held up her copy of the book.
"This is a piece of fan fiction," she said. "In it, the actors who play Kirk, Spock, and Bones, actually meet their characters when some bizarre accident sends them to a place called Strange Planet."
"Knowing that in your world the three of us only exist as charcaters in novels is a bit unnerving I admit but we clearly are supposed to meet, and are supposed to work together." Calhoun concluded as Robin Lefler came back from where ever she'd walked off and clsoed her tri-corder.
"I picked up wierd energy readings from our guests here Captain," she said motioning to Phoebe, Paige, and Leo, and trying to keep her voice low. "Is working with them the best course of action?"
"I think it is Lieutenant. Phoebe and Ms. Matthews are good Witches, and Mr. Wyatt is a Whitelighter. They won't hurt us unless we try to hurt them. What else did you find out?" Calhoun was surprisingly calm. Lefler raised her eyebrow. He's on a first name basis with this girl already? she thought to herself.
"Well sir, unless I miss my guess, this planet is dead." Calhoun and Phoebe shot her a look. Paige groaned and muttered sarcastically, "I could've told you that."
"No, I mean it is DEAD. There isn't even any bacterium that I can detect. Just inert rock and dust." She shot a look at Paige as if to say, "Could you have told me that, smart-ass?" An outbreak of outright hostilities was avoided by a sudden noise.
"Whoa, what just happened?" Piper asked. Leo and McHenry had seen the whole thing but only Leo actually understood it.
"The baby must've orbed you here," he said. Phoebe smiled.
"Maybe my niece can make this planet look nice too." Calhoun chuckled at that.
"Only if your niece is half-Q."
"Half Whitelighter half-Witch actually. Who the hell are you?" Piper shouted. Phoebe exhaled sharply.
"It's Captain Calhoun of course. Don't you recognize the purple eyes and the scar?"
"Wait, are you saying we're in the middle of nowhere with a couple of characters from some nerdy book?!?"
"I resemble that remark," McHenry uttered in mock indignation. Paige chuckled at that. Lefler looked confused. Why the hell is everybody so cheery when we're trapped on a dead planet?, she thought. She then realized something. She was jealous. For most of her life she'd usually appointed herself the one in charge of boosting moral. She decided it was time to do her job. She smiled, and walked up to Piper who looked even more surprised to see her than she had to see Calhoun.
"Lieutenant Robin Lefler. I guess you're Piper then?" Piper smiled.
"You look just like Ashley Judd."
"That's nice. Who's Ashley Judd?" Lelfer asked. Piper and Paige looked at Phoebe. Phoebe sighed.
"I guess I have to tell you. C'mon Robin, let's go have us a girl to girl chat, shall we?" Leo and McHenry walked up to Calhoun. Paige stood close by, and eventually Piper joined the small group. She noticed Calhoun's smile. Either he's smitten with Phoebe, or he knows more than he's letting on. Safer to assume the latter, she thought.

[SimplyAretha]

Chapter Three: Back in the U.S.S. Excalibur

Shelby was seated in the Captain's chair, while Soleta, the half-Vulcan science officer, was trying to figure out how to expand the ship's long range sensors past their maximum range. So far they had had no luck in finding the Captain, Lefler, and McHenry. Kebron looked as if he was ready to start pacing, but held his ground. At his size pacing would likely wear a hole right throguh the deck in a matter of minutes. Dr. Selar was scanning the area where the three officers had disappeared.
"So far there is no indication of transporter activity, or disentegration. Wherever they've been taken they are likley still alive, but I doubt it was ship that took them."
"Could've it have been a Q? I've heard some horror stories." Chief engineer Burgoyne 172 was standing behind Soleta. Hish face was lowered in undisguised fear. S/he genuinely liked Calhoun, and considered Lefler a friend. It was also easy to tell that the dual-sexed Hermat was concerned by hish total lack of attention to the Vulcan doctor Selar. This was odd as it seemed s/he had been flirting shamelessly with the doctor almost from the moment they met. Shelby shook her head.
"I've read all of Captain Picard and Commander Riker's reports on Q. He's usually more direct, not to mention more annoying and flamboyant, than this."
"Perhaps it has something to do with the Great Bird of the Galaxy," Burgoyne chimed in. Kebron gave an almost imperceptible nod.
"It did vanish in much the same way," he pointed out. Shelby sighed.
"Soleta, scan the area where we last saw that bird. Burgy, take the helm and plot a course. We're going back to what's left of Thalon."
"No need," a voice from behind startled the bridge crew. Standing in front of McHenry's console was a human man. Or at least he looked human. He wore black robes, was dark haired, and while his face was that of a weary traveller his eyes said one thing about him. He was evil. "I can find your Captain Calhoun and Phoebe."
"Phoebe? The woman whose name was in the Captain's book," Shelby said. Kebron had his phaser pointed at the intruder. The man smiled at him and motioned for him to shoot. Kebron looked confused but before he could say or do anything his phaser sprang to life and a level 16 burst shot out. Kebron dropped the phaser in astonishment. Shelby could feel the heat of the blast and knew it should've been enough to kill the man, but he merley stood there laughing, while the phaser blast slowed, impacted, then bounced burning a massive hole in the hull.
"Sorry about that mister security guy. Zak, isn't it? Anyway I just wanted to give you a practical demonstration of why you would be wise to follow my lead." He smiled. Then he frowned, looking as though he was trying to remember something he'd forgotten. Then he smiled again. "Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners. My name's Cole. Cole Turner. You are Commander Shelby
right? Soleta! You're even hotter than that painting of you on that book cover."
"I was not aware that my body temperature was significantly higher than the other crewmembers," Soleta replied. Cole smiled.
"If I didn't know better I'd think that was sarcastic." He turned when he noticed that Doctor Selar was scanning him with her tri-corder. He waved his hand over it, and the device metled.
"I don't like beeping noises. They make me crazy. Well, more crazy anyway. The point is, I know what has happened to your beloved Captain Mackenzie Calhoun. He's on that Strange Planet. Or rather what's left of it. It is a Nexus where Real Reality converges with fictional realities such as this one, Star Trek. It was a boring planet so I had some demons overrun and ruin the place. Just so you don't have to guess I am evil, so let's consider that question answered Doctor Selar. My ex-wife Phoebe and your Captain are there as we speak and if my demonic intetrvention worked, they should be falling in love right about now. Mister Burgoyne. Or do you prefer Miss? Ah who cares. Point is, at Warp 9 you should get there in about ten days. I'll put in the coordinates for you." With another wave of his hand Shelby seemed to blink out of existance, then reappeared seated at the Ops console. Cole sat in the Captain's chair. Si Cwan watched the whole exchange with alarm. Cole waved his hand once more and Cwan was forced back into his seat. "Sit Ambassador. You and the rest of your bridge crew'll get to watch as I catch your captain and my ex-wife in the act. I'll kill him, she'll be heartbroken, thus weakening the Power of Three, so I can kill them without any trouble. Well, maybe not Piper, last time I tried to kill her it hurt. A lot. Anyway,
after that MY Earth will be all mine. I couldn't possibly care less about yours. Too damned sterile if you ask me." He waves his hand yet again, and the turbolift doors glow orange just as Kebron takes a step towards it. He claps his hands and every comm badge on the bridge falls off their respective wearers and melt into the floor. With a nod of his head Zak Kebron is pinned to a bulkhead. "There. Now we can be alone. I sure feel sorry for anyone who tries to enter the bridge folks. They'll
be fried like a pork chop." He smiled. "Now, Burgy, would you like to, engage? Make it so." He chuckled evily. "I always wanted to say that."

It only took about an hour for Calhoun and Phoebe to help Piper, Paige, and Leo to catch up on the adventures of the Excalibur so far. Phoebe then started talking to Lefler and McHenry about how she and her sisters discovered their powers, but Calhoun interupted them. "We should probably try to find food, water and shelter. Lefler, how far did you scan?"
"If there is anything edible on this planet sir, I wouldn't eat it. As I said there isn't one microbe of life, apart from us, for several thousand kilometers. Certainly farther then we could walk in a day, and too far for Piper to make it."
"I can make it just fine," Piper said indignantly. "Baby makes me invulnerable remember? If I can survive Darklighter bolts, demonic fireballs, and warlocks, a little walk can't do anything." Leo rubbed Piper's arm lovingly.
"I've watched Star Trek before hon. This is just how Starfleet is. They're concerned for all our safety."
"Exactly. Now, Leo, Paige, how far can you, what did Phoebe call it, orb?" Calhoun asked. Paige shrugged.
"I've gone from San Fransisco to Egypt once. Don't know the exact numbers on that, but that's pretty far." McHenry smiled, and he began to tell her the exact distance to almost the exact centimeter but Calhoun cut him off.
"Lieutenant, I want you to go with Mr. Wyatt and Ms. Matthews. Try heading," he searched the horizon, and thought he spotted a setting sun through the massive cloud cover. He pointed. "That way." He handed Paige his phaser. "Be careful," he said to Leo, smiling. "Bring back my pilot in one piece." As the three disappeared in a flash of white lights, he was suddenly in serious survival mode again. "Lefler, I want an analysis of those clouds. I don't want a windstorm to get the drop on us. If they're anything like the whirlwinds in The Pit we could be in serious trouble. Phoebe, Piper, it'll likely get cold tonight. We should try to find something we could start a fire with."
"Our uniform shirts could burn with the proper accelerants Captain, but I don't think we have one." Lefler said dejectedly.
"Sure we do," Piper said, smiling, holding up her hands. To demonstrate what she meant, she picked up a rock, about five or six pounds in weight and threw it up into the air high as she could. She extended her hands, and watched gleefully as the rock exploded into dust. Calhoun whistled in amazement, while Lefler just stared with her jaw hanging open. Piper looked back down and smiled, then frowned as she saw a Warlock blink in behind the Starfleet officers. Calhoun's instinct for
trouble made him duck just as the evil witch threw out his hands, and a large number of spiked balls flew out. Piper started blowing them up as fast as she could, while Phoebe levitated above them allowing them to soar past and bury themselves in large rocks and explode like fragmentation grenades. Lefler ducked and pulled out her phaser. The warlock blinked away as she fired a stun blast. Suddenly she screamed as a spiked ball cliped her shoulder and detoanted, sending dozens of heated
metal needles into her left arm, face, and torso. Calhoun ran up to her. Piper froze the last few balls before they could hit the Captain, and she jogged over to the wounded Lefler. Phoebe kicked the balls away and they explode harmlessly in the distance when they unfreeze. Calhoun checked Robin for a pulse.
"Damn! We're losing her." He looked at the pool of blood beneath Lefler. "One of those, things, must've punctured an artery."
"No we're not losing her. LEO!" Piper screamed at the air. Leo orbed in right next to her. He saw Lefler and didn't bother waiting to be asked. He ran his hands over her wounds, which began to close immediately. The blood on the ground ran back into her body, and in what felt like an hour but was only about a minute, Robin Lefler sat up coughing.
"What happened?" Leo asked. Piper looked at where the Warlock had been standing and nearly growled.
"Warlock. What the hell is a Warlock doing here?"
"I don't know, but we obviously can't stay here," Phoebe said. Calhoun stood up and looked in the direction where Paige and McHenry still were.
"I concur. Basic strategy. If you're enemy knows where you are, don't be there. Mr. Wyatt, take us to where you just were." Leo nodded, and touched Piper and Lefler's shoulders. Phoebe took Calhoun's hand while Calhoun took Piper's, and all five of them vanished in a brilliant flash of white lights.

[SimplyAretha]

Chapter Four: General Disarray

McHenry and Paige took point as the seven companions marched towards the only thing that looked like shelter in the distance haze. Lefler, still shaken after her near death experience, was just behind them. Calhoun and Phoebe walked side by side, but had stopped their little chat fest, much to Leo and Piper's relief. The two had been going at it like school girls
for hours. Inwardly though, Piper smiled. She felt she could trust Calhoun, even saying so to Leo, and maybe him and Phoebe becoming involved would be a good thing. It didn't occur to her that despite the current situation Calhoun was still technically just a fictional character. What would happen if he came back to her world? she started thinking. What would happen to the New Frontier novels? Or worse, what would happen to the Power of Three if Phoebe chose to stay here, maybe join Starfleet? Once she started thinking that, she became laconic again, and leaned on Leo, more for emotional support than anything else.
"Do you think we're still in either of our realities?" McHenry asked Paige. Paige shrugged and turned to look back at her sisters, Leo, Lefler, and Captain Calhoun.
"I'm not really the expert on these things. All I know about 'dimensional' travel is that the TV show Sliders really started to suck after they killed off the Professor." She smiled. McHenry was starting to grow on her, but not in the way McHenry himself probably would've liked. Paige never had any siblings growing up, having been adopted by a non-Witch family when she was just a baby. Fact was, she'd only been a sister to Piper and Phoebe for almost two years now. She was starting to look at McHenry as the little brother she'd never had. If she knew that McHenry had more than just the little crush she was suspecting she might not have been so friendly to him. Fact was, Mark McHenry was convinced he was in love. He smiled back at her.
"I've never seen a planet like this before in the Starfleet charts, and I practically have them memorized. If we are still in my universe, and we get off this planet, it'll take awhile for me to re-align the stars in my head so we can know which way to go for a proper escape. We just jump to warp right away we could end up target practice for the Jem'Heddar or something." He hoped that Paige would be impressed by his talent for astronavigation, a talent that many, even the rational,
logical Soleta found almost supernatural.
Calhoun had slipped back into his vulnerable mode. A mode he hadn't experienced since the last night he'd spent with Elizabeth Shelby, whom he affectionately called Eppy, before one of them (there was some argument as to whom was the major party) broke off their engagement. He moved in close to Phoebe, to whom he found himself inexplicably attracted. "Tell me
more about Prue." Phoebe almost stopped in her tracks. Phoebe had talking about the day she and Piper had found their powers, but had stopped suddenly and seemed saddened when she mentioned the name Prue. Calhoun hadn't wanted to pry, but he couldn't stop himself.
"Our sister. You see, we didn't know about Paige until about a year and a half ago. She's our half sister. We learned about her after, after Prue died. Prue was our older sister, and she was the strongest of us." Phoebe stopped at that, then moved ahead of Calhoun, making it clear she wanted to leave it at that. Calhoun nodded.
"I lost my brother, but I suppose you already knew that. Unfortuantely, he's still alive. I don't know if that makes it better than your situation but-" Phoebe cut him off.
"No, Mac. It's worse to lose a loved one, and yet have them still be there." Piper overheard this and knew that Phoebe was talking about Cole. Calhoun looked like he was about to ask what Phoebe meant but Piper and Leo stepped inbetween them.
"I hate to interupt you guys, but it's getting dark. Well, darker, and we still haven't found any shelter yet." Phoebe mouthed "Thank you" to Piper, and jogged up ahead, past Lefler to Paige and McHenry.
"Actually, I was just about to tell you Feebs. Mark here found something on his tri-corder," Paige exclaimed
delightedly. Like Piper she too was concerned about finding some place to rest. McHenry held up his tri-corder and showed his readings to Phoebe, who made it clear with a scowl that she had no idea what all the symbols meant.
"A series of artificial underground dwellings. First sign of civilization we've found. That's the good news. Bad news is, there are no lifesigns anywhere in the complex. The entrance is right over there though." He pointed towards the thing they'd been walking towards. Lefler caught up to them and squinted.
"It looks like a termite hill," she said.
"Well from here, yeah. But the point is we have a place to stay for the night. There may be some supplies in there too."
"Why didn't we pick it up before Mark?"
"It's only big enough for one person at a time Robin. Plus it has no discernible power sources in it, and it was a fair distance away. I'm not surprised." Paige stepped ahead of them, and tried to make out the shape that Lefler and McHenry had seen.
"I'm with Robin on this. That looks like an ant hill."
"Actually I said termite hill," Lefler said, chuckling. Paige turned around and smiled at her, and McHenry nearly fainted from excitement at the sight of it. Paige didn't seem to notice.
"Whatever," Paige said. The two women shared a brief aggressive look, but they suddenly burst out laughing. Piper walked up to them.
"OK, I agree that this is the best shot we have at surviving, but how do we know this isn't another trap?"
"Are you certain the hill was a trap?" Lefler asked.
"That warlock had an awfully familiar power, but he looked too young to be who I'm thinking of. Regardless, this place is clearly dangerous. I think Leo should orb me ahead to Lefler and Paige's 'termite hill' and make sure it's clear."
"I agree. I'll go with you as well. Paige, I believe you still have my phaser?" Calhoun cut in. "I heard Piper say
something about Darklighters earlier, and unless I miss my guess that would be very bad for Leo and for your baby Ms. Haliwell." Piper smiled and patted her own belly.
"Oh please, I could be hit head on by a nuclear missle and come out all right."
"That may well be, but I think Leo will agree with me when I say it would be a bad idea to test that theory." Calhoun looked to Leo, who nodded his full agreement. Lefler sighed. Everyone looked at her.
"Well," she said, trying to cover her embarrasment at being heard. "I just think we shouldn't get too comfortable with each other. I doubt it would be a good idea for any of us to leave their respective universe to stay in the other one. It could damage both our realities." She looked directly at Phoebe, then at Calhoun while she said this. "I don't like it either, but there's a fair chance that once this is over, we may never see each other again." McHenry was the only one who
showed obvious disapointment at this prospect. Phoebe and Calhoun felt the same way, but managed to keep it from their expressions. The group of seven stood there, silent, for several moments before Paige finally decided to give lightening the mood a try.

[SimplyAretha]

"Well, as this guy I occasionally talk to on the internet likes to say, let's burn that bridge when we cross it shall we?"
"What the hell is the internet?" Calhoun asked.

"What the hell is the internet?, Shelby thought to herself. Cole had just made some off color comment about something called the internet while carrying on a rather boring conversation with himself on the bridge of the hi-jacked starship Excalibur. He was talking to himself because the only other person who would talk to him, Burgoyne 172, had obviously made an error in an attempt to flirt hish way into making Cole vulnerable so the ship could be re-taken. Cole decided not to kill hir
however, instead sending the engineer back to engineering. Shelby didn't know this yet of course, and she, as well as Zak Kebron and Si Cwan thought that the Hermat was dead. Only Soleta and Dr. Selar suspected otherwise, but kept that opinion to
themselves. So far talking had done nothing but aggrevate the already dangerously unstable demon, and both Vulcans realized, at roughly the same time, that making him mad would likely do nothing but get the entire ship, and possibly any unfortunate planets nearby, destroyed or at the very least, seriously damaged. The ship was still 9 days away. Cole was anxious, but also
realistic. He knew that Calhoun and Phoebe would start resisting their attraction at some point. He'd expected that. Someone who had gone with them when the books carted them away (he didn't know exactly who'd gone with Phoebe, but he'd deduced that on this end Lefler and McHenry had most likely gone with Calhoun), if not Lefler then probably Piper, had made it abundantly
clear that fraternizing with people from alternate realities was not the smartest thing to do. But still, he knew that
Calhoun and Phoebe would be attracted to each other. That wasn't going to be a result of the books he put his spells on, although the spell would artifically enhance it somewhat. And when he caught them in the throes of passion, which he'd timed at happening roughly around day ten of her and the Starfleet captain being stranded on the dead world, he would use that anger to destroy Calhoun, and, if it became neccesary, Phoebe as well. That was when doubt began to set in. For the first
time since he had quite by accident learned that one of Phoebe's co-workers was a Peter David fan who liked loaning out his books to other people, he wondered if this plan was really what he wanted. Didn't he want Phoebe BACK in his life? Was he making yet another huge mistake? No, he told himself, my mistake was letting Phoebe destory the demon half of me, leaving me
vulnerable to being possesed by the Source. Or at least he thought he'd only thought that. The bizarre looks he was getting from Shelby, Kebron, Cwan, and the Vulcans told him he'd said that aloud. He coughed. "Eyes on your consoles ladies. Ambassador Cwan, tell me something, what did it feel like when your homeworld blew up? I mean, I know a little bit about loss myself. Maybe I can help you deal with some of the emotional issues." Cole was almost laughing as he said this. "I mean, losing a planet, that really has to suck."
Si Cwan's face, while still impassive, had lost much of it's deep red color over the past few hours. He would never admit it of course, but the simple fact was he was scared out of his gourd. Cole's powers would be frightening enough in the most emotionally stable of beings. Even someone like Selar would be hard pressed to prove herself benevolent with powers such as these. Si Cwan may not have known exactly to define the most stable person in the universe, but he knew wihtout a doubt that Cole Turner was the exact opposite. "Yes, well, it wasn't much of a home to me anymore by then anyway. I'm not happy of course, but I won't be shedding many tears," he found himself saying.
Cole was about to make an incredibly sarcastic, not to mention ironic, comment about Cwan's lack of feeling, when the comm signal went off. They were being hailed. Cole snapped his fingers (he didn't need to, but he figured, "Hey, it's good for Q."), and the viewscreen sprung to life. Looking at the bridge of the Excalibur in astonishment was Admiral Jellico. It was obvious he was expecting a lot of things, from Captain Calhoun all the way down to some smirking Ferengi, to be responsible for the ship being so far off course and headed, to casual observers, nowhere. A grinning human, an oddly
floating Brikar, and a downright terrified Commander Shelby was nowhere near this list. Cole smiled. "Ronny Cox calling my ship! I thought you were great in the Captain America movie." Jellico was startled yet again. His train of thought was now completely derailed and every practiced speech that he'd had prepared for when he finally reached the wayward ship was gone.
"Wh-who are you?" was all he could bring himself to say. He couldn't even compose himself to ask why this stranger was somehow able to abscond with an entire Ambassador-class starship.
"Cole Turner. Attorney. Amongst other things. I had to borrow your little ship for some bit of revenge against three Witches. Sisters actually. One of them is my ex-wife, and if I arranged things right she should be falling in love with Mackenzie Calhoun pretty soon. Anyway it was nice to see you and all, but if you call me again while I'm trying to carry on a discussion with this guy who looks kinda like Vin Diesel again I'll have to vanquish you. And just to answer the qustion I think is coming, no I'm not Q, but maybe if you ask nicely he'll help you stop me. Buh-bye." With that the communication ended. Cole smiled even bigger this time. "Oh I hope he sends some ships after me. I could use the exercise."

Jellico could hardly move for several minutes. Although it was quite simply ridiculous, impossible even, one human (or human looking) man had just hi-jacked an Ambassador-class starship. The image of Shelby trying valiantly to hide her fear, and the massive Brikar security chief Zak Kebron stuck to a wall with no obvious means of restraint, and the hi-jacker's sheer glee at just about everything sat uncomfortably in his mind. And what was this about Captain Calhoun falling in love with a witch? This was all too much for even an Admiral to take. He hit his comm unit. "Get me Starfleet Command. Inform them
that the U.S.S. Excalibur has been hi-jakced by an unknown enemy." He paused. He didn't want to say what he was about to say next, but if Cole Turner was as dangerous as his gut told him he was, he had no real choice in the matter. "Tell them, tell Starfleet that it may be neccesary to destroy the Excalibur." He shut off his comm and leaned back in his chair, sighing heavily. He would never admit it of course, but he, on a certain level at least, liked Calhoun. He was an arrogant jerk, and a constant rule bender who got under the skin of most of his superiors, but the fact was he had a gift for instilling true loyality in his crew, and Jellico both admired and was jealous of that. Men followed Captains like Calhoun and Jean-Luc Picard because they wanted to. Men only followed Jellico because they had to, and he didn't like that. He lowered his head and frowned. And he prayed. "Good Lord, I don't want to lose that ship or her crew. Please, I want to see that ship docked
here at Deep Space 5 in one piece."

The Defiant-class starship Wolverine was the closest ship to the course of the Excalibur, and of course was the first to get the call. Her captain, Jennie Jerome, chewed at the ends of her non-regulation length red hair. She had gone to the Academy with both Calhoun and Shelby, although she'd graduated a year before each of them. And now it was entirely possible that one, if not both of her friends were dead. "Did I read this right Lieutenant Halsey? Only ONE hi-jacker?"
"Yes sir," the young man who handed the report to Captain Churchill said. She looked at the report again.
"One guy, taking an entire starship. On a ship this small I could buy it, but isn't the maximum crew capacity for an Ambassador-class over 550? Allright, enough speculation. We've got some brothers in arms to save. Helm plot an intercept course. Maximum warp." She put her hands on her knees and leaned forward, as she always did when she was tense. "Let's roll."

[SimplyAretha]

Chapter Five: Murphy's Corollaries

The second day of their being stranded on Strange Planet was nearing it's end, and all seven companions were hungry. They had finally reached the termite hill that was actually the entrance to the underground facility, and now McHenry and Lefler were trying to figure out how to get it open. "As far as I can tell Robin, this thing was designed to lock down whenever a general alert was called. This is not Starfleet technology, I can tell you that much, but whatever it is works on similar principles," McHenry said, not taking his focus off his tri-corder. Lefler exhaled sharply.
"That's great Mark. Now tell us how to open the damned thing."
"Oh let me try already. I'm hungry and so is baby. Now watch it." Piper was getting agitated and she placed herself in front of the door. She threw out her hands, and the explosion, while impressive, didn't take down the door. Only a massively scorched dent was there. "Oh, that's not right."
"It's an alloy similar to durasteel, what they used to build starships before deuterium," McHenry said without missing a beat. "A phaser on setting ten can burn the door off easy." Leo walked up to Piper and put his hands on her sagging shoulders.
"Don't worry sweetie, you're tired and it's affecting your powers. Considering you were able to knock over Cole while he was invincible, that door wouldn't have been a problem otherwise." Piper was about to accuse her husband of blowing smoke up her ass when the sound of a phaser blast distracted her. Robin was slicing off the obstacle to their shelter. The door squeaked as she finished, and fell forward.
"@#%$!" she shouted as the massive door fell forward and almost landed on her. Piper threw her hands forward to try and freeze it, but a swishing noise stopped her. Robin flew to the side and hit the ground with a grunt. Paige finished orbing, breathing heavily and checking Lefer to see if she was all right as the ground vibrated slightly with the impact of the door on the ground. "Thanks Paige. I had no idea you could do that."
"Pretty cool huh?" Paige said with a big grin on her face. Calhoun rushed over and helped Lefler to her feet.
"Next time Lieutenant, stand further back," he mockingly admonished, unable to hide his smile. He planned to get everyone off this planet alive, even if he had to die doing it. He was glad though that with the Charmed Ones on his side, that wasn't likely to happen.
"Yes sir, I'll remember that." She brushed the front of her uniform off. Paige groaned.
"Aw man, I tore my dress. I loved this outfit."
"Can we just go inside please? It's starting to get cold," Phoebe said, rubbing her arms, her sleeveless shirt not giving her near enough warmth. Calhoun nodded agreement.
"We can discuss wardrobe later. Let's just find food and water and sleep. This planet is too damned dreary. I've had nightmares with more color."
"Why does this look vaugely familiar?" Paige muttered to herself once everyone was inside the complex. The walls were an impersonal shade of grey, with black lines running the length of each wall of the corridor they were in. Lefler and McHenry already had their tri-corders out and began scanning with obvious excitement. It was dark except for the little bit of light coming in from the outside. Leo and Calhoun began searching for some kind of light switch, while the sisters huddled together to try and plan their next move.
"OK, so, Feebs, you have any idea how to get off this planet and get home?" Piper said looking around. Paige sighed, and Phoebe made an unidentifiable noise.
"Well, um, I don't actually remember anything from Strange Planet Revisited. I'd have to re-read it to know anything."
"That's not too horrible. You read it without pausing in about an hour," Paige said hopefully. Phoebe shook her head.
"Too risky Paige. What if I read it again and whatever spell that was cast on it sends us someplace worse? Or what if reading it again sends me home but you guys aren't touching me when I get to the last page? You'd be trapped here."
"Then maybe I should try it first," Calhoun said. "If it would only take us back, I could bring the Excalibur here. I'd need McHenry to maintain physical contact with me so he could work out the exact course." McHenry nodded.
"SON OF A @#%$!" Lefler shouted. She had found a panel that she was positive would bring the lights back on, but several wires had been severed. Wether on purpose or by accident she couldn't quite tell. She managed to get several wires tied back together. But when she touched the remaining broken connection, she received a brief but painful shock that knocked her back against the wall, slided unelegantly onto her bottom. Leo went up to her and checked her hands. She pulled them
away. "No, no, I'm OK. It just burns a bit. Well, I guess that means we're not gonna have lights." Leo smiled.
"I can heal more than people you know." He walked over to the panel. He placed his hands on the broken wire, and Lefler saw the same glow she saw when he healed her earlier. Soon, the lights flickered and settled. "Let there be light!" He shouted with delight. Piper walked over and gave him a huge hug. He looked at Lefler who was dumbfounded. "If the women don't
find you handsome, they should at least find you handy," he joked.
"That's great Leo, now let's find us some food and water shall we?" Calhoun said, ruining the light hearted mood in the group. He was back in full survival mode and was in no mood for jokes and hyperbole. The seven companions were both tired and starving. It was nearly the end of the third day of their being trapped on Strange Planet, and they had gone over every inch of the first three levels (aided in no small part by the tri-corders and Paige and Leo's orbing), and had found only a small canteen full of some alcholic liquid that only Calhoun was brave enough to try. Not coincidentally he was the only one who got any sleep that night. Only Piper seemed immune to the fatigue that was gripping everyone. She continued searching for something, anything they could eat or drink to stay alive.
"I found something!" an excited Paige yelled after she orbed in behind Piper. Piper jumped and nearly threw out her hands to blow Paige up.
"Don't scare me like that! I almost turned you into a pile of dust!"
"I found what looks like a kitchen, two levels down," she said with such exictement she obviously hadn't heard what Piper said. "Leo's down there now, seeing if he can get anything to work. C'mon, I'll orb us all down." Phoebe shook Calhoun awake. He was still groggy from the after effects of the beverage from earlier. With Lefler's help he was soon on his feet, and rubbing his temples.
"Why do I feel like I took a stun blast at point blank range?" he groaned. Phoebe laughed.
"I told you it was a bad idea," she said. Piper frowned at the exchange. She recognized that form of banter all too well. She'd gone through the "Cutsie Talk" phase with Leo when their relationship first started.
"They've only known each other about three days and they're already making googly-eyes? Don't we have enough to worry about, being stuck on some alien world with a bunch of fictional characters?" Robin Lefler heard her and put down her tricorder and the small box of what seemed to be tools that she and McHenry had found.
"Well I didn't want to say anything, but the Captain has been acting a bit strangely lately. For starters, I haven't known him long, but he never struck me as the outgoing type, but he seems to be opening up like a book for your sister."
"And usually Phoebe is able to keep focused in a crisis, but so far she's spent most of the time hanging on Calhoun's arm," Piper replied. "And Mark-"
"Actually, Mark is acting quite normal beleive it or not." Lefler's eyes rolled up and to the left for a moment then she looked at Piper agian. "Well, normal by Mark McHenry's standards anyway. Do you think that whatever spell was cast on the books could be impacting on yor sister and the Captain's judgement?" Piper nodded.
"I think we should consider taking charge of this little group for the time being."
"I agree. The hard part will be convincing the- Hey where did they go?"

A few levels down, Leo's 'radar' picked up Phoebe moving away from Piper and the others. He considered orbing up there, until he saw something that made the brother-in-law in him wish he could turn off his powers. Unfortuantely, Paige with her growing Whitelighter powers could sense it too. Leo chocked off a laugh when he heard her say, "Oh get a room!"
"They have a room Paige."
"Trapped on an alien planet and Feebs and the Captain are trying to get their groove on? I have half-a-mind to orb those two into a cold shower!"

To Be Continued...