Captain's log: stardate 653347.1
After spending three months rendering aid to the surviving Romulan colonies after the Hobus supernova, the Akira has been assigned three days of shore leave at Starbase 34, before being dispatched to patrol the Romulan/Klingon border.
It has been a difficult time for the crew, and with things going the way they are, this may be the last shore leave we may have for a long time.
"So, what are your plans for shore leave commander?" Lieutenant Dennis Clarke asked his superior officer, as they grabbed a table at the Akira’s flight lounge, situated at the front of the ship.
“Well, I plan on eating at every restaurant on the station that sells fresh food, maybe get a massage or treat myself to a visit to the station’s spa. I hear its the finest in the sector,” commander Lenara Jerni replied, nursing her glass of milk as she gave the lieutenant a sly smile. “What about you, Dennis? Any plans?”
“Not much. I want to try out the shooting range when we get there, see what scenarios they have. Fighting holographic Dominion is exciting and all, but it gets kinda boring after a while.” The Trill nodded in understanding, as they both sipped their drinks.
“I see you started without me!” A voice called over the the pair from across the lounge. They turned to see the ship’s chief flight controller, lieutenant commander Matthew Cameron, walking towards them. "Apologies for being late, that maintenance diagnostic took longer than I thought." He grabbed a chair from a nearby vacant table and pulled it over to sit with his friends and crew mates.
"It's alright, we were both late anyways. The guy on next shift was late turning up to relieve me," Clarke shrugged, taking a swig of his lemonade.
"Crew reports and duty rosters, that's all I'm saying," Lenara said before retreating to her drink.
"We were just talking about what we'd like to do on our shore leave. The commander here wants to pig out non-stop for three days," Clarke said, ellipting a chuckle from Cameron.
“Careful lieutenant, or I’ll have you on plasma manifold scrubbing duty,” Lenara joked, making the other two chuckle.
“So Matt, what are you planning to do on your shore leave?” Clarke asked, once they had recovered from their laughter.
“I was hoping to take Rebecca on a romantic getaway planetside, since it may be the only time we can relax on a planet’s surface without having to help injured civilians or fend off angry Romulans,” Cameron explained.
“Woah, wait a sec. Did you say Rebecca? As in the fighter pilot lieutenant Rebecca Suarez?” Clarke asked in surprise, causing Cameron to roll his eyes.
“Yes, the one and only lieutenant Suarez, the fighter pilot,” he deadpanned, sighing as he did so. “I don’t know why everyone keeps saying that...” he muttered afterwards. Clarke was about to question the matter further, when he was interrupted by the ship’s intercom activating.
“Attention all senior staff! Emergency conference in five minutes!” The voice, belonging to the Akira’s captain, echoed throughout the entire ship, gaining the attention of the crew.
“That doesn’t sound good...” Clarke said, as himself, Lenara and Cameron rose from their seats.
“I bet you whatever it is, it has something to do with Klingons. I just know it!” Cameron saif to the others as they quickly hurried out of the flight lounge.
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The ship’s conference room, despite having all the senior staff present, was deathly silent. Each and every one of the officers holding their breath, preparing themselves for the worst news: war with the Klingons. The only vacant seats at the conference table was the head seat for the captain, and a few at the other end of the table. The rest were taken up by Clarke, Cameron and Lenara; along with chief medical officer commander Carson Mayflower, chief science officer lieutenant commander Velik, and chief tactical officer lieutenant commander Semias Hurglay. All of whom were waiting for the captain to arrive so the conference could start. After a minute of them all waiting with bated breaths, Captain Richard Barrington entered, looking stoney faced. He strode over to the display behind his seat at the end of the room, and loaded a display of a planetary system.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have some bad news. Shore leave is cancelled,” he said curtly, waiting for any of the officers to voice their objections. When none came, he was ever so slightly taken aback, but didn’t show it. “Well? Isn’t anyone going to say anything?” He asked after a minute of waiting for a response.
“Sir, what can we say? The only reason that shore leave could be cancelled is if the Federation is at war. We have no more supplies to help the Romulan colonies, and I doubt border patrol is worth cancelling shore leave over,” Lenara said, voicing her thoughts. “So give it to us straight sir. Are we at war?” She asked, everyone else looking to Barrington for the answer.
“...Not yet. But that may change, depending on how our new mission goes,” he answered, and everyone seemed to relax a little, but were still grimly tense.
“And what is our new mission, sir?” Hurglay asked, to which Barrington gave a small, fleeting smile.
I’m glad you asked, Semias. Long story short, our new mission is to head to the Equestrian star system, displayed on the screen here, to establish diplomatic ties with the local inhabitants."
"I've never heard of it before. Is it a newly discovered system?" Mayflower asked, looking around to see if anyone else knew.
"Of sorts, yes. The system was discovered several months ago by the Enterprise-E shortly after the Hobus supernova. They were on a diplomatic mission when they detected a stable wormhole just 70 light years out from Khitomer. Upon investigation, they discovered it led to an area of space where the only detectable system in 200 light years was this one," the captain explained, the officers listening intently.
"That is the only system in 200 light years?! That's impossible!" Cameron exclaimed.
"Actually, it is. The USS Voyager and the Enterprise-D have encountered several similar phenomena, where they were sent by wormhole or subspace gravity well to pockets of space on a different plane of dimension to our own," Velik interjected, drawing the attention of the room.
"Indeed, that's what the scientists at San Fransisco believe, at any rate." Everyone looked back at Barrington as he spoke again, "getting back on track, the Enterprise travelled to this star system and made first contact with the local inhabitants, despite them being a primitive civilization. However, they had three good reasons for it. The first being that the inhabitants possess extraordinary psychic abilities, such as being able to control their weather by touch, lifting heavy objects, or even teleportation."
The officers listened on with intrigue as Barrington tapped the display screen and two of the three planetary bodies of the system began to circle the third. "The second reason is that their sun orbits their planet exactly like their moon," Barrington continued, pointing at the large, outermost sphere sand the small orb whizzing around the planet in a perfect circle.
"That cannot be possible. Unless either that is not a natural star or one without sufficient mass to generate a superior gravitational field to that of the planet, the star should be anchored in place," Velik explained dubiously.
“Which leads to reason number three: the orbits of the planet’s moon and star are controlled by the two rulers of this civilization. And before you interject, Velik, these stellar bodies are very much real. And they don’t use technology either; they use their psychic abilities to control them.” The officers were stunned by the explanation, as they tried to process it.
“... That is not possible,” Velik eventually said, but did not say anymore as he was still at a loss. Barrington chuckled at their reaction.
“Yes, it does sound very farfetched. In fact, I didn’t believe it when Admiral Janeway briefed me of this mission earlier. But the data she sent is infallible: this is very much real.”
“And with the wormhole to this system being 70 light years from Khitomer, which the Klingons recently reclaimed, then they could discover this wormhole too,” Clarke comprehended, the reality of his statement dawning on the others.
“If the Klingons figure out how to control the inhabitants, especially the ones who control the system’s star, they would have the ability to destroy entire solar systems with a blink of an eye...” Lenara said grimly, as looks of horror appeared on the other officers.
“They would become the most powerful force in the galaxy. Even more so than the Borg, or even the Dominion!” Hurglay exclaimed.
“Which is why we need to get there first. Starfleet wants us to try and establish diplomatic relations. If they become allies, or even members of the Federation, it would give us a strategic edge against the other races the likes of which we have never seen. This mission is top priority. If we fail, we will end up giving the Klingons the means to dominate the galaxy.” Barrington said stonily, gazing at his senior staff. turning to Clarke, he said “Dennis, the co-ordinates for the wormhole are already at the helm. Lay in a course, maximum warp.” Clarke nodded and quickly rose from his seat and hurried out to follow the order.
“Semias, I want a check of all weapon systems. Make sure they’re ready to fire at a moments notice. In the mean time, go to yellow alert.” Hurglay nodded and followed suit. “Matt, I want all fighters ready to go and all pilots on standby. Velik, I sent all data about the system to your console. Learn as much as you can, I’ll need you for when we make contact. Doc, I also sent you data about the inhabitants’ physiology. You’ll need to familiarize yourself too, in case of an emergency.” The three officers nodded and left to perform their orders, which left Lenara and Barrington alone.
“Despite the ever looming threat of the Klingons becoming gods, it feels nice to have a diplomatic mission to a new, alien species for a change,” Lenara said, as Barrington took his seat at the head of the table.
“Indeed. The last one was before the Dominion war, I believe.” They both sat in silence, reminiscing.
“I miss the good old days, back on the New Orleans. back then, everything was simple. We only had the Klingons and Romulans as the most significant threat back then, and they didn’t bother us much, since they were always at each others throats,” Lenara said, smiling softly as she looked out of the conference room’s window, showing the Akira’s weapons rollbar at the rear of the ship, and the starry background zipping past as the ship hurtled through space at interstellar speeds.
“Which left us to deal with Nausicaan pirates and the Orion Syndicate, which caused us a lot of trouble back then. And let’s not forget about the Cardassian wars,” Barrington continued, causing them both to chuckle.
“They did rough us up quite a bit back then...” Lenara sighed, shaking her head and smiling. After a moment of dwelling on the past however, Lenara’s smile slowly faded into a grim expression. Turning, she faced her captain. “Sir, do you think that we could go to war with the Klingons?” She asked, to which Barrington sighed sadly.
“Eventually, yes. Right now, us and the Klingons are in the exact same positions as we were in the three years leading up to the Dominion war. All we can do is to follow our orders and pray.” With that, Barrington slowly rose from his seat and marched out of the room, leaving Lenara to gaze wistfully out of the room’s windows.
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Several hours later, Barrington strolled onto the bridge from his ready room, walking past Clarke at the helm and taking his seat in the captain’s chair. Lenara sat on his right, in the first officer’s chair.
“Report,” Barrington barked.
“We’re approaching the co-ordinates for the wormhole sir. Sensors show a gravitational and EM field similar to that of the Bajoran wormhole,” Lenara reported, handing a PADD over to Barrington. “We also picked up five Klingon ships about 30 light years out. So far, they don’t appear to have seen us nor have they detected the wormhole. Their last known heading was towards the Romulan colony on Celaria.”
“A raiding party?”
“It appears so, sir. The USS Archer is currently stationed in the system. Should we alert them to the Klingon attack?” Lenara asked. Barrington sighed and rubbed his forehead with his fingers.
“... No. If we try to alert the Archer, it would only make our presence, and the wormhole, known to the Klingons.” Lenara looked at him with concern, before nodding sadly, making Barrington sigh. “I’m sure the Archer will be fine. She is, after all, a Sovereign class starship,” Barrington said, reassuring both his first officer and himself.
“Captain, We’ve reached the wormhole,” Clarke reported, drawing the attention of the bridge to the view screen, which showed the inky blackness of space littered with stars.
“I don’t see a wormhole... Velik, full sensor scan. See if you can locate it.” Barrington ordered, rising from his seat, with Lenara following suit.
“I have found it, sir. It is approximately 200 kilometers straight ahead.” Velik reported.
“Ah! I almost forgot. When the Enterprise-E stabilized the wormhole, it started to open periodically every three hours. We’ll just have to wait until it opens,” Barrington explained. Soon after, everyone focused their attention on the view screen, leaning over their consoles to try to see the screen better. After several minutes of waiting, they were rewarded with the mouth of the wormhole erupting in a brilliant flash of blue and white.
“It looks just like the Bajoran wormhole...” Hurglay commented, enraptured by the spectacle, along with the rest of the bridge crew.
“Alright Dennis, take us in. Full impulse.” Barrington’s command snapped Clarke's attention from the view screen back to his console as he piloted the ship towards the gaping maw of the subspace bridge.
“Aye sir, full impulse.” The entrance to the wormhole grew bigger as the Akira sped towards it, diving through the hole straight down the middle. The transit lasted for a few seconds, to which the viewscreen showed them the interior of the wormhole: a tunnel with swirling blue and white energy dancing and waving around each other, forming a perfect cylinder. Then, the view screen showed the starry background of space once more, as the ship exited the wormhole and rocketed away from it.
“Report.” Barrington asked for the second time that day.
“We have successfully cleared the wormhole, captain. Sensors detect a planetary system with the same configurations as the Equestrian star system. No other discernable planetary bodies or systems within maximum sensor range.” Velik reported.
“No signs of any ships either. Sensors are picking up a remnant ion trail, but it appears to match the warp signature of the Enterprise-E, sir.” Hurglay added.
“Looks like the Klingons haven’t beaten us here,” Lenara said, to which Barrington nodded.
“Indeed, we’re very lucky in that aspect. Helm, set course for the planet, best speed. Velik, gather anything you need and meet me in the hangar.” Clarke nodded and started tapping his console, steering the ship towards the center of the system, whilst Velik headed to the turbolift closest to him. Barrington raised his hand and tapped his combadge on his chest. “Bridge to flight control, prep a runabout for departure as soon as possible.”
“Aye sir, we’ll have one ready within the hour,” CAmeron reported, before the line was closed.
“Runabout sir?” Lenara asked, as Barrington strode towards the turbolift at the rear of the bridge.
“There’s something about the planet that makes transporting impossible from surface to orbit, without the use of transporter pads on both ends,” Barrington answered as he stepped into the turbolift, holding his hand out to stop Lenara. “I need you on the bridge. I know you’re going to quote regulation on me, but I have to see this mission out in person, and I’d prefer it if you were in command in case of trouble.” Lenara nodded, before stepping away from the lift.
“Good luck, sir,” she said as the lift doors slid shut.
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“We ready to go?” Captain Barrington asked as he walked through the door that divided the living area from the main cockpit of the runabout.
“Yes sir, just finished plotting our trajectory,” ensign Telev reported from the helm, the young Andorian performing a check of the propulsion systems. Barrington looked around the cockpit of the runabout, before frowning.
“Ensign, where is Velik?” Barrington asked, walking up to stand by Telev at the front of the ship.
“I don’t know sir, he wasn’t here when I was prepping the ship.” Barrington’s frown turned to a scowl, as he stormed off to the living compartment. He reached his hand up and tapped his combadge.
“Barrington to Velik, respond immediately,” he said, his tone of voice serious.
“Velik here, captain. Did you require something?” Lieutenant commander Velik’s voice responded.
“Yes, where the hell are you? We’re ready to take off.”
“I am standing right behind you, sir.” Barrington whirled around and indeed saw the Vulcan standing in the doorway to the living compartment, a case in his hands.
“Right, well... nevermind.” Barrington huffed as he walked passed the Vulcan and went back into the cockpit, heading for the co-pilot’s chair at the front.
Sitting down, Barrington activated the console in front of him and proceeded to load navigational and sensor data. Pressing a button on his console, he opened a commlink to the Akira’s flight control. “USS Thames to Akira flight control, we’re ready for takeoff.”
“Roger that Thames, opening hangar one door.” Barrington looked out of the front viewport and saw the hangar door in front of them rising upwards into the ship. “USS Thames, you are cleared for takeoff. Good luck sir.”
“Acknowledged, thanks control.” Another tap of the console and the line was closed. “Take us out ensign, nice and steady.”
“Aye sir.” Telev’s hands started to dance across his console as he piloted the runabout out of the Akira’s hangar and out into space. The runabout turned after heading a little ways out to clear the ship, and Barrington was treated to an excellent view of his ship as they flew parallel to it.
The USS Akira, NCC 62497, was an Akira class cruiser designed to fight the Borg, but took part in several operations during the Dominion War. Being the prototype of her class, the ship did not feature an extended hangar as well as hangar doors on the front of the ship that the rest of the Akira class ships were known to have. Instead, the Akira has an impressive and sizeable sickbay in the middle of the hangar, providing easy access in an emergency rescue. The ship also featured two extra holodecks, reserved for fighter pilot training as well as a flight lounge which was popular amongst the crew.
The ship gleamed as the sunlight from the system’s star reflected off of its hull, making every detail about the ship’s surface visible, right down to the lines between each bulkhead. Barrington smiled as he saw his ship, having not seen a view like this since before the Dominion War.
“Now entering the upper atmosphere,” Telev reported, as the Thames started to pull away from the Akira and down towards the planet with crystal blue oceans and colourful, vibrant landmasses. The front of the runabout began to glow red as the small craft began its entry into the planet’s atmosphere.
As they passed through the atmosphere and the red glow of heat dissipated from the runabout, details of the planet’s surface became clearer. Fields and forests were spread about for miles around, with small towns and villages nestled within them. Up ahead was a tall slender mountain that could easily be seen from orbit, its snowy peak reaching up to the heavens. Clinging to one side of the mountain was a beautiful city, and in the centre was a majestic white castle with many towers, their positions allowing anyone within them to see across large portions of the land for miles around.
The runabout gracefully lowered itself to match the height of the tallest tower of the castle, as it approached the city. It flew over houses and businesses alike as it began to slow down, Telev slowly and carefully bringing the craft in for landing within the grounds of the castle, where a contingent of the palace guard were waiting expectantly. With a small thud, the Thames landed safely onto the ground.
“Perfect landing, well done ensign,” Barrington said as he gave the Andorian a pat on the shoulder, before rising out of his seat and checking his uniform. Velik entered from the living compartment, holstering a phaser onto his belt. “No need for weapons Velik. This is a diplomatic mission,” Barrington said, as he acquired a tricorder from a storage compartment and fixed it onto his belt.
“Sir, it is standard protocol for all diplomatic missions to have at minimum one member of the away team equipped with a sidearm,” Velik said, meeting the gaze the captain was now casting upon him.
“Yeah, like a phaser would be enough to stop a life form capable of moving a star,” Telev muttered as he made sure all the propulsion and landing gear systems were in working order.
“The ensign has a point Velik. Besides, we want to be friends with these folks. Lose the phaser, that’s an order.” The Vulcan raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more of the matter as he unholstered his phaser and put it inside a storage compartment, before grabbing a tricorder and handing it to Telev, who had joined the two senior officers. “Right then, let’s go meet the welcoming committee,” Barrington said as the airlock doors that led to the outside world opened, and the three humanoids stepped out of the Thames.
A line of ponies, all wearing gold armour and holding spears in their hooves, were standing to attention at the entrance to the castle. The Starfleet officers approached the line of guards.
"Greetings, we are here to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Barrington said as he gave the guards a diplomatic smile. The guards however did not react, ignoring Barrington completely.
"Not really talkative, aren't they?" Barrington commented as he turned around to face the other two officers.
"I apologise, they take their duties as guards too seriously sometimes." The three humanoids turned to see two more equines approaching from round the back of the runabout. The taller white one was smiling serenely as she approached the away team whilst the smaller, dark blue one was admiring the Thames.
"Your majesties," Barrington said in greeting, bowing deeply, followed by his officers.
"Please, there is no need for such formalities among friends. I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna." Princess Celestia lifted a wing in Princess Luna's direction, who stopped examining the runabout and joined her sister.
"I'm captain Richard Barrington of the Federation starship Akira. This is my chief science officer, lieutenant commander Velik, and shuttle pilot ensign Telev." Barrington gestured to the two Starfleet officers, who nodded in greeting to the princesses.
"Well then captain, it is an honor to welcome you to Equestria," Celestia said with a smile.
“It is an honor to be here, your highness.”
“Please, follow us. We have much to discuss.” Princess Celestia turned and started to walk towards the castle, the line of guards parting to let her through. Her sister followed, after giving the away team a curious look, with the away team following behind.
They entered through the castle doors into a corridor befitting to a royal palace, with the walls adorned with drapes and paintings of exceptional quality. Ponies wearing more gold armour were standing guard at various points down the corridor, all of whom bowed when the two princesses walked by.
The princesses led the Starfleet officers through multiple corridors like the first in silence, before arriving at a pair of oak doors, with a crest of a sun on one door, and the other had a crets of a crescent moon. They opened a door each, allowing them all to enter into a small, lightly furnished room. Inside were six comfortable looking armchairs, all surrounding a modest coffee table, which had a tray of drinks and food upon it.
“Please, take a seat,” Princess Celestia said as she gestured to one of the chairs in the room. The officers nodded and walked over to three of the chairs, with Barrington in between Telev and Velik. Celestia chose a seat opposite the Starfleet captain, whilst Luna opted to sit next to the young Andorian.
“Would you like some tea before we begin?” Celestia offered, grasping a teapot on the tray with her magic and lifting it over to her mug, pouring herself some tea.
“Please,” Barrington said in reply. Celestia moved the teapot over to another mug and poured more tea into it, before handing the cup over to Barrington, who took it from her magical clasp.
“No, thank you,” Telev said, and Celestia turned her gaze to Velik.
“That would be most acceptable,” Velik said, and in less than a minute a cup of tea was levitating its way over to him.
“So, captain Barrington, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” Celestia asked, before sipping her tea.
“Well, we’re here to hopefully establish diplomatic ties between your nation and the Federation. This would include, but not limited to, establishment of embassies on both of our homeworlds, trade deals to exchange and share our resources and information, and possibly even admittance into the Federation itself,” Barrington explained, after taking a sip of his tea.
“Really? That sounds wonderful. I’m sure we have a lot to learn from each other, and having a friend when we begin exploring the vastness of space would be most welcome also.” Celestia smiled, and Barrington returned one of his own. “But we don’t need to start today, of course. We will need to discuss any diplomatic agreements we make with the Equestrian Nobles, which we can assemble for tomorrow. In the mean time, you are welcome to stay at the palace. I shall have a guard show you to your rooms.”
“Thank you your highness, I think that would be most welcome. May we be allowed to collect some things from our ship beforehand?” Barrington asked, to which Celestia nodded in confirmation.
“If you need any help with your belongings, the royal guards will be able to assist you.” Celestia placed her cup of tea on the table and stood up from her chair. “Now, I’m sorry to depart so suddenly, but I have to attend to duties that require my attention. If you have any questions, I’m sure my sister will be able to answer them.” With a nod to the others, Celestia walked to the door and opened it, before closing it when she had left, leaving Princess Luna alone in the room with the Starfleet officers.
“Actually...” Luna began, looking slightly sheepish, “I have a few questions of my own, if you don’t mind.”
“We’ll be happy to answer any of your questions to the best of our abilities,” Barrington said as he stood up from his chair, followed by the others.