"Captain I think me may have a problem." Lieutenant Commander Chu Barker announced from the console he was sat in front of.

"What kind of problem ?" Captain Taybar enquired, turning to look at her Chief Science Officer who was not sat in his normal position at the primary science console, but at the slipstream engineering console.

"The bad kind." Chu replied. "If we don't exit the slipstream soon, then we will collide with the Romulans."

"How long ?" Aki asked.

"Hard to say." Chu commented. "An hour at the most, but even if we do leave the slipstream, we still have a problem."

"Explain ?" Captain Taybar asked.

"To maintain a stable quantum slipstream to carry both vessels, the drive is operating at one hundred and five percent." Chu started to explain. "Now that's within the design specifications, we can maintain the slipstream for maybe six or seven hours at that level. However the slipstream is having some effects on the Romulan vessel, it's slowly gaining on us."

"What do you mean it's gaining on us." Aki asked.

"The velocity of the Warbird' is slightly greater than our own." Chu stated. "I don't understand all the maths, but it appears to have something to do with the mass and density of the Romulan vessel."

"The singularity." Brayden announced from the helm.

"Exactly." Chu replied. "Somehow the Romulan power core is having an adverse effect on the quantum slipstream, which has caused its speed to be slightly higher than our own."

"So we just drop out of the slipstream and continue using warp." Aki stated.

"That's the other problem Captain." Chu remarked. "I don't know if the Romulan vessel will survive the transfer back into normal space. And even if it did, the inertia would 'shoot' them straight into the back of us. There wouldn't be enough time for us to manoeuvre out of the way in time."

"So we have an hour to solve this." Aki announced.

"There is only one option." Chu replied. "We need to break away."

"Break away ?" Aki enquired.

"If we can alter our own course and move into a second slipstream, then the 'Warbird' could continue on our original course and eventually drop out of the slipstream."

"Can it b done ?" Aki asked. "Could the required modifications be made to the 'Warbird' within an hour ?"

"It's possible." Chu replied. "At least in theory. We can create a second slipstream but we could need to overload the drive. The only modifications that we would need to make to the 'Warbird' would be to its deflector array. All the modifications need to do is hold the original quantum slipstream until it diminishes naturally. So long as the 'Warbird' holds together when they exit the slipstream, this should work."

"Dukal, hail the Romulans." Aki ordered.

The viewscreen changed to from the quantum slipstream to an image of the Romulan Bridge.

[Captain Taybar, what have you got us into ?] The Romulan Captain enquired. [Our systems are overloading and from our readouts we're accelerating towards you. Our pilot estimates that within an hour we will collide.]

"We are aware of the situation and are working on a solution." Aki replied. "Our science officer is sending across a set of modifications that you will need to make to your main deflector. The modifications will allow you to return to normal space, whilst we make an adjustment to our own course. I'm handing you across to Commander Barker now, he'll explain in more detail what will happen."

"Commander, the modifications I am transmitting shouldn't be too difficult for your engineers to make and I'm also sending you some further modifications which you should apply to your integrity field generators. I will not lie to you, there are risks to this plan and your vessel has only a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the exit to normal space."

[Exactly what is all this ?] The Romulan enquired.

"In short, it's a highly focused warp field that is manipulating the fabric of space-time." Chu explained. "Creating a stable slipstream is highly complex but possible, the real problem is maintaining the slipstream. The modifications that I have provided will allow your vessel to remain in the slipstream until it collapses naturally. However, the forces that the slipstream exerts are massive, which is why I have also provided the modifications to your SIF systems."

[Exactly how fast can such a slipstream propel a vessel ?] The Romulan asked.

"To be honest we don't know ourselves." Chu explained. "In theory a slipstream could transport a vessel across the galaxy in a day, but we have never reached that kind of speed. Make the modifications and contact us again when you are ready."

[Understood.] The Romulan confirmed, closing the link.

The next hour passed by very slowly and Chu worked hard to refine the plan so that the odds of success moved more in their favour. Eventually the call from the Romulans came and Chu spent five minutes explaining what he had come up with to increase the chances of both vessels surviving.

"Everything set." Aki enquired.

"All set." Chu replied. "The Romulans are waiting for our signal."

"Brayden, are you ready to make the course adjustment." Aki asked.

"Helm is ready." Brayden replied. "Course is laid in and set. If this works we should emerge from the new slipstream about a light year from where the Romulans will emerge."

"Bridge to Engineering." Aki stated.

[Taline here. The slipstream drive is ready Captain.] Taline announced, [Control has been transferred to the slipstream station on the Bridge.]

"Then we are all set." Aki said. "Helm, change course. Mister Barker signal the Romulans."

The Leviathan began to shake violently as the slipstream drive's power was increased.

"Preparing to make the course correction." Brayden announced.

"Slipstream drive is at one hundred and twenty percent." Chu reported. "Structural integrity at ninety percent and holding."

On the viewscreen the threshold of the quantum slipstream began to 'fork' and the image changed to the right hand fork. As the vessel progressed down the right hand, the image changed to concentrate on the Romulan vessel, which appeared to have taken the left-hand fork.

*Good luck* Aki thought to herself.

"Looks like the plan is working." Dukal announced.

"Splitting the slipstream was the easy part." Chu replied. "The hard part will be to keep the 'Warbird' intact when it exits the vortex."

[Engineering to Bridge.] Taline reported. [The slipstream drive is overloading, we need to shut it down now. If we don't then we're going to destroy the main deflector.]

"We need to keep it operational for another minute or so." Chu said. "Shutting down the drive now and the two slipstream will converge once more."

"Mister Taline. Do what you can to keep the slipstream drive operational for another minute." Aki ordered. "Bridge out."

A minutes passed and then everything when black for a moment.

"Captain, the slipstream drive has shutdown." Chu reported. "At least we managed to maintain it long enough to put some distance between us and the Romulan slipstream."

"Captain, the slipstream is beginning to destabilise." Brayden announced. "I'm losing deflector control, it's going to be a rough exit."

"Bridge to all hands." Aki announced. "Prepare for a rough ride. Divert all power to the structural integrity field."

The ship shook violently as it made the transition to normal space, it sped out of the vortex like a bullet out of a gun.

"All stations report." Aki announced as the ship came to a halt once more.

"Damage reports coming in." Dukal announced. "Several minor injuries reported, a couple of buckled hull plates, the main problems are the deflector and the QSD. Engineering reports that the slipstream drive will need a major overhaul, they estimate three days to make the necessary repairs. The main deflector is damaged too, but they say that they can have it operation within an hour. Taline reports that he is bringing the auxiliary warp core online now and we should be able to jump to warp as soon as the deflector is repaired."

"The Romulans." Aki enquired.

"We have them on long-range sensors." Chu reported. "They appear to be adrift, but intact. They're about two and a half light years from our current position, it looks like our calculations were a little off. We're about a day and a half away at maximum warp from DS9."

"Hail them." Aki ordered.

"No response." Dukal replied. "I'm not getting a return carrier, it's possible that they didn't survive the re-entry to normal space."

"Or they just suffered damage to their transceiver array." Chu suggested.

"Well there's only one way to find out. Helm, set a course for the 'Warbird' maximum impulse." Aki ordered. "As soon as the warp drive's online, I want to jump to warp."