Story:Star Trek: Federalist/New Frontiers

"Imagine spending Christmas on New Talax, and being home in time for New Years." Miles O'Brien led a meeting of young engineers in a large meeting room aboard Starbase 40Eridani-A. "Christmas?" a Bolian interrupted. O'Brien smirked, "An old Earth holiday." he explained. "The graviton catapult is going to revolutionize the way we explore space; and you're all going to be a part of it. Each of you has been selected to take part in this ambitious project." The meeting room's door opened, a solitary command-red uniform waded across the sea of gold shirted engineers quietly, leaning alone against a far wall. "Captain Deet," O'Brien turned his attention to the officer, "Thank you for joining us." "My pleasure, Commandant. I just wanted to meet the team." Deet smiled. "Just call me Chief," O'Brien quipped, distancing himself from his titular position as head of the Starfleet Corp of Engineers. "Would you care to address the group?" Aznia stood up straightening her uniform quickly. "I'm sure you've all read the mission outline. Several of you were involved in the initial construction project. To summarize: Starfleet has designed and tested its first graviton catapult in the Beta Stromgren system. In only an hour, a probe was successfully sent over three light years into uncharted space. The time has now come that Starfleet is ready to send someone through. Our mission is simple: six ships travel through the catapult, prepared with the tools to build another catapult on the other side. We'll need to locate resources, find an acceptable staging area, and be prepared to encounter the unknown. If all goes well, we'll have a second catapult up and running in a few months and we'll be able to get back home. I'll be taking point of the mission in command of the Federalist. Chief O'Brien will lead Engineering operations from his ship, the DaVinci. We'll be accompanied by the Revere for additional tactical support, the Wozniak and the Shepard are being outfitted specially for fabrication and transportation duties, and the Polaris will serve in a science and medical support role. This is a bold mission, one of the most ambitious large scale projects that Starfleet has ever undergone. We're certainly not going into this without risk, because once we're out there, we're cut off- no fleet support, no stopping in at starbase for repair or reassignment; we make due with what we have until we finish the job. I don't want to order anyone to go on this mission. You've been asked to participate because you're some of the best we have. This is a unique challenge, and if you don't feel up to the assignment, I wouldn't think less of you. We can have you reassigned without reprimand or demerit. You have until 0700 tomorrow to make your decision." "Does that go for me too?" the Chief joked. The room chuckled. Aznia responded, "I know you won't pass up an opportunity to make engineering history, Chief." "At my age, I am engineering history, Captain." Smiling, Aznia addressed the room one final time, "To those of you who are willing, the Shepard will be docked at airlock 4 tomorrow. Gather your belongings, and report there at 1000 tomorrow. Thank you." She turned to O'Brien as she walked toward the door, "And thank you Chief." --- The convoy met near Beta Stromgren, the tiny supernova remnant neutron star pulsed and twisted as a far-orbiting structure remained anchored to it by a steady energy beam. Aznia stood in the Federalist's conference room, staring at the marvel of engineering from the window. "It is... innovative technology." a familiar voice snuck up on the Captain. Aznia turned around to see First of Eight, he chief Engineer standing across the room. "First, I didn't hear you come in." "I did not mean to startle you, Captain." the liberated drone apologized, "I have reviewed the data on the graviton catapult, and I believe the technology is sound." "To be honest, I wish I had the engineering expertise to understand it a little bit better myself." Aznia confessed. "The key is the neutron star." the Engineer explained, "The technology was derived from a schematic that the U.S.S. Voyager brought back from the Delta Quadrant several years ago. Until now, we've been unable to recreate a steady power source capable of generating the gravitons necessary to push a ship into subspace. Recently, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers realized that we could use a natural graviton generator to do that part of the work for us." "So our top priority upon arrival at our landing site will be to locate a neutron star." Aznia acknowledged. "That should be a relatively simple matter." The Borg confidently reported. Aznia smirked, "In a vacuum, absolutely. But we both know that space is hardly a vacuum. We never know what's waiting for us out there." The door to the conference room swooshed open again, Dr. Span and Commander Walesa walked in, taking a seat at the table. Aznia gestured for First of Eight to join them. After a moment Quallo entered the conference room, and took the last open seat on the near side of the table. Aznia sat across from her senior staff. "I asked you here to talk about some reassignments for this mission. First of Eight, I want you to be my liaison to Chief O'Brien; help to coordinate resources and determine the needs of the engineering teams. Let me know what the Federalist can do to assist their efforts." First of Eight nodded. "Commander Walesa, I'm sure you've heard that Captain Boday has been promoted to Admiral, and is stepping down from command of the Revere." "One of the finest commanding officers I've served under." Walesa acknowledged. Aznia smiled, "Since you were Boday's first officer before transferring here, I was thinking that you'd be a prime candidate to assume command of the Revere for the duration of the mission." Walesa was surprised, she straightened her posture and widened her eyes, "Yes, sir. I won't let you down." "And that brings me to the unpleasant part. I hate to split up a family, but Span, I'd like you to report to the Polaris. I want you to coordinate all medical needs for the convoy." Aznia morosely ordered. Walesa looked over to Span for a long moment. He did not immediately react. The Vulcan medical officer finally acknowledged, "That is a logical course of action." he coldly acknowledged. "We're still all in this together. I don't want you to think of this as parting ways. On the contrary, for this mission, we all need to be able to depend on each other more than ever." Aznia turned to the last officer at the table, smiling, "Quallo, old friend. I'd like you to take over as first officer aboard the Federalist. Dewoh can take over full time at Tactical." "It will be an honor, sir." the Ferengi responded. "Good. Quallo, First of Eight, you're dismissed. I'd like a status report by the end of your shift." Both officers stood up, nodding to the captain before leaving the room. As soon as the room vacated, Aznia returned attention to Walesa and Span. "I just wanted to speak to you in private about Calvin. How is he doing?" Walesa spoke first, "He is adjusting slowly. It's a shock for him to suddenly be surrounded by so many people. I was hoping he would be able to spend some time on Earth with my family during this mission, but I don't think he's ready to spend time away from us. For most of his life, we're all he's known. "I completely understand." Aznia reassured, "I want you to know that I will do whatever I can to accommodate the situation, but I am going to suggest that Calvin stay with Span aboard the Polaris." Span nodded, "I agree. As a science vessel, the Polaris will be the least likely to encounter any immediate danger." Walesa's heart was silently breaking at the prospect of being separated from her son, but she understood her duty. "I knew that when we came back aboard the Federalist with Calvin, there would be some difficulties." She grabbed Span's hand from the table, holding it tightly, "Let's all get to work." --- The personnel transfers all processed, and a final check of all necessities passed, and the convoy was ready for its flight. The Federalist, as head of the convoy, was slated to be the first ship to fly into the catapult. "Coordinates are set," Helmsman En'thaas reported, "This ought to take us about 3000 light years clear across the former Romulan Empire, to whatever lies beyond." "What intel do we have of the region?" Quallo responded, "Starfleet has collected intelligence from the Romulan Republic, the Flaxian Empire, and old El-Aurien star charts from the region. They've determined our landing area will be a relatively vacant area of the galaxy, given a wide berth between the farthest reaches of Borg controlled El-Aurien space and the beginnings Fen Domar space." "Fen Domar?" Aznia probed. "We have no first hand information on them." Science officer Atom chimed in. "All that we know is that they are technologically advanced, and are reportedly very unwelcoming to new arrivals." "Understood." Aznia shook her head quickly, "Borg on one side, Fen Domar on the other... Let's hope we've given them a wide enough berth indeed." "The catapult is ready for us, Captain." Atom reported. "Very well. Open a channel to the other ships." "Channel is now open." Dewoh notified from the tactical station. Aznia stood up to make her final address before the historic flight, she winced at the thought of being quoted enigmatically in the face of a new frontier, but she gave it her best to be inspirational. "At a moment like this, the galaxy becomes a little bit smaller; but the spirit of exploration grows a great deal larger. Like the giants whose shoulders we stand upon, we must now go boldly where none have gone before. Mr. En'thaas, take us out." The Federalist flew toward the graviton catapult, which charged to life, aglow with striating energy fields that reached out to envelop the tiny approaching ship. The energy visible built up more and more as the ship approached the device, until all at once a massive pulse of energy flashed the Federalist away into the unknown. The crew of the Revere waited nervously for word of the Federalist's successful flight. It felt like the longest ninety minutes of Walesa's life. The crew all waited in silence until finally the communications officer reported in, "We're getting a subspace communique." "On screen!" Walesa ordered. Aznia smiled on the view screen, the signal crackling from the extreme long range. "3,103 light years in a little less than 90 minutes. I think that's a record!" "Are the conditions clear on your end, Captain?" Walesa inquired. Aznia responded, "No ships on sensors, we've already got three nearby candidates for acceptable staging areas." Walesa breathed a sigh of relief, "Sounds like it couldn't be going more smoothly." "I've got a bottle of Bolian Champaign on ice, let's wait until everyone's here before we open it." Aznia challenged. "Understood. I'm going to send through the DaVinci, the Shepard and the Wozniak next. Then I'll bring the Revere through. We'll send the Polaris through last." Walesa coordinated. "No arguments from me." Aznia offered, "See you on the other side." The communication ended, returning Walesa to the task at hand. "Open a channel to the DaVinci." she ordered. O'Brien appeared on the view screen, "Have we got the green light?" The engineer anxiously inquired. "At your leisure,sir." "Don't call me sir, I work for a living." O'Brien joked. "Good luck, Captain!" One by one, the DaVinci, the Shepard and the Wozniak disappeared into the energy field generated by the catapult. Waiting ninety minutes between trips for the next go ahead. Finally, the Revere and the Polaris were the only ships remaining. "Open a channel to the Polaris." Walesa ordered. On the bridge of the Polaris, Span stood at the first officer's position beside Captain Tala, an Andorian woman who she remembered an old acquaintance of Captain Deet. "Captain Tala, I suppose we're next, eh?" "Indeed, Captain. Good luck!" the Andorian responded. "Elsie." Span interjected, "We will see you in three hours." he nodded reassuringly Commander Walesa smiled. She turned to the helmsman, "Take us in, lieutenant." The Revere approached the building energy field as the catapult spooled up power. Just as the last swirls of energy engulfed the ship, sensors detected something unusual. "Captain, I'm detecting a ship decloaking!" the Tactical officer exclaimed. "What?!" Walesa stood up, "Abort the launch!" "It's too late, we've entered subspace." The conn officer explained. "We have to go back!" Walesa ordered. "We can't reenter normal space at this speed captain, it would tear the ship apart. We have to ride this out." Aboard the Polaris, Captain Tala and Doctor Span watched as a Romulan Warbird decloaked, all weapons locked squarely on them. The lone science vessel was no match for the massive Romulan battleship. "They're hailing, Captain." The comm officer reported. Tala stepped up toward the view screen, "On screen." "I am Subcommander Eivek of Tal Shiar Warship Rakal, I hereby claim this system in the name of the Romulan Star Empire. Surrender now, and I will guarantee your crew's safety." "You have no claim on this system, the Romulan Star Empire is no more!" Tala demanded. "The New Romulan Republic has signed a peace treaty, and ceded this system to the Federation." The Romulan officer scoffed, "We do not recognize their authority. Surrender or be destroyed." Outmatched, Tala turned to Span the communication muted momentarily. "Recommendations?" "I suggest we probe for information and continue to stall. We must try to find a way to communicate this situation to Starfleet, so that reenforcement can secure the system before the Tal Shiar does." "Tala to Eivek," the screen reactivated, "We will surrender and retreat from the system. If you stand down, we will leave." "Unacceptable, Captain. We can not allow you to leave, giving you an opportunity to return with friends. You will stand down, and your crew will be beamed aboard our vessel as... esteemed guests of the Tal Shiar. After a short stay, we will arrange to have you returned home." "We're going to need time to consider our response." The Romulan smiled widely, "I will be gracious, Captain. You have one hour." The communication terminated. Tala scanned around the bridge at a dozen ponderous faces, "Options?" she requested. "We need to try to escape, Captain." The helmsman panicked. "Make a run for it!" "I would calculate our odds of escaping before being destroyed at less than 22%." Span informed. Tala shook her head, "I don't like those odds." "If we could just signal one or two ships for reenforcement, that Warbird would be no match for us!" the Tactical officer lamented. Tala turned to face the officer, "Impossible. Any transmission would be detected immediately. There's no way to bring in any support." Span's attention piqued, "If can't call our allies to us, what if we brought the fight to our allies?" "What are you talking about, Span?" Tala asked. Span turned to the tactical officer, "Is the graviton catapult ready for another launch?" "I believe so, sir." Span explained as he walked to the science station, manually adjusting the ship's tractor beam system. "With a slight modification, our tractor beam can be used to repulse the roomful ship. If we hit it with one sharp burst, timed perfectly, we can push their ship into the catapult, where they will be sent through subspace to rendezvous with our convoy." "Span, that's crazy. Even if it worked, we'd be putting the entire convoy at risk." Tala was skeptical. "A Warbird would be no match for the combined threat from the Federalist and the Revere, Captain. The Romulans will be forced to stand down." "And if they don't, we could risk stranding five ships- 3000 officers, with an aggressive enemy, over three years from home by conventional warp travel." "The alternative is to risk the catapult falling into Tal Shiar hands." Tala thought about the situation for a long moment. "Very well, Mr. Span. Make your preparations. I'm going to hail Eivek and inform him that we're ready to surrender. When I order you to drop our shields, that will be your queue to engage." "Understood." Tala turned the comm officer, "Open a channel." The Romulan appeared on the screen again. "We're prepared to surrender, Eivek." Tala lamented. "Mr. Span, lower our shields." The screen cut out abruptly as the Polaris emitted a repulsor beam shoving the Romulan ship toward the catapult. The Romulan Warbird turned sharply against the push, firing a barrage of disruptor beams and plasma torpedoes at the Polaris. The weapons fire ripped through the Polaris' shields with ease, inflicting damage on the small science vessel and terminating the repulsor beam. "Repulsor beam offline, captain!" Span informed. "I hope that's enough!" Tala shouted, struggling to direct resources to maintaining hull integrity. Aboard the Romulan ship, Eivek was irritated by the Polaris' attack. He shouted, "Open a channel" Tala appeared on the Romulan view screen. "I offered you your lives, and you spit in my face. Federation treachery." He turned to an officer on his bridge, "Come about. Destroy them." "Subcommander!" The Romulan officer cried out, "The helm is not responding!" "What!?" Eivek yelled. The officer explained, "The catapult... we're being pulled into the graviton field!" "Target all weapons on the catapult! Terminate the..." the transmission cut out abruptly as the Romulan ship disappeared. Tala breathed a long sigh of relief, quickly regaining her composure. "Inform Starfleet of the situation. Have them send reinforcements immediately, then send a high priority subspace communique to the Federalist. As soon as the transmissions have been sent, take us into the catapult." "Captain, is it wise to pursue so quickly?" Span inquired. Tala shook her head. "Probably not. But we just shipped our problem off to our friends. I'll be damned if I'm going leave them to fend for themselves." "Transmissions have been sent." The comm officer reported. "Span, are we good?" Tala asked for reassurance. Span nodded silently. "Take us in."