Happened

Starbase 04
17:13 SET
2195

�So what happened?� Admiral Blackbird asked a day later. �Where have you been for the last week?�

They were currently at Starbase 4, the Explorer�s home port. The Stealthlon, the Explorer, and the survivors of the 4th Fleet, including the Foch-D, came back victorious. They didn�t come back without heavy losses, though. Currently, Mansel, Brungess, and Admiral Blackbird were in the lounge, Mansel and Brungess with Root Beers in hand. Blackbird was nursing a cup of coffee. He needed the caffeine, Brungess thought.

Mansel started off the tale. �The new superluminal engines were a failure,� he said after taking a sip of his dark brown drink. �The containment field cracked and the deutronium and the neutridium mixed.�

�The Chief Engineer vented the two particles ahead of the ship,� Brungess continued, interrupting Mansel. �The resulting mixture of the particles resulted in the instant birth and death of a star.�

�A star!� exclaimed Admiral Blackbird. It suddenly dawned on Blackbird that while searching for the Explorer, they had come across a dying star, the same one that the vented particles had created. �What next?�

�Well, the star collapsed in on itself,� Brungess continued. �Causing--�

�A wormhole.�

�Correct.�

�We entered that wormhole,� said Mansel, �and thus ended up in an alternate universe, both different and similar in comparison to our own dimension.� Both he and Brungess, constantly interrupting each other, recounted all of their events to the commander of the 4th Fleet with crystal clarity, leaving out no point.

�Well,� said Admiral Blackbird, pouring himself some more coffee, �that�s quite an adventure two and your crew were in. You said you were putting in Naval Cross recommendations for...who?�

�Lieutenant Quan�Tan and Ensign John Simpson,� Mansel responded, both grateful and yet wholly saddened by their sacrifice.

�I�ll be on the lookout for it. As for now,� he claimed before taking a sip of his coffee, �I need to look in on repairs and fleet status.� He rose and began to walk away from the table before he stopped and turned. �You two have the most adventures of anyone I know,� he said, referring both to their days at the Academy and the present. �Stay safe.�

Brungess looked at Mansel. �So it�s just us, huh?� he asked before knocking off his fourth Root Beer.

The starship Captain nodded. �It always ends this way,� he stated, glancing over the table at his best friend. �I hope the alternate Stealthlon didn�t catch too much trouble with their UNSF.�

Brungess shrugged, deciding to go for another Root Beer. �Who knows?� he said, looking around the lounge at the other officers. �I�m sure they caught something.� He peered intently at Mansel. �Do you think we�ll ever be able to get back to that universe?�

�That particular one?� Mansel asked. �No. Not with the infinite number of universes out there. The odds of us getting back to that specific one universe are almost impossible to calculate.�

General Brungess, UNSF/EDF liaison officer, shook his head. �That�s good enough for me,� he answered, raising his drink in a toast. �A toast!� he exclaimed before realizing his cup was empty. �To those who have been there and back.�

�I�ll toast to that,� Mansel said, striking his glass against Jim�s. �One thing�s for sure, though,� he said, then drained the rest of his drink.

�What�s that?�

�It was fun.�