STAR TREK: SOUTHERN CROSS.
A/N This an idea for a Star trek Universe story that's been noodling round in my head for years, even before I'd heard of fan fiction. I've always fancied writing it, and now I've finally got a forum to develop it. YIPPEE!
A/N I do not own the Star Trek Universe, only the original characters and ships in this story.
The Carrier "Ranger " appears in this story thanks to kind permission from FrozenTech. Check out his excellent story "Where neither Lark nor Eagle Flew."
CHAPTER 1
The perimeter sensor buoy floated in it's designated area of space, on a designated plane above the elliptic and at a designated distance from the sun. It was one of a sphere of similar buoys that enclosed Sector 001. It's job, to record traffic in and out of this most important sector.
The sector which contained the planet Earth.
The diplomatic core of the United Federation of Planets.
The probe's sensors were calibrated to detect displacements of light, magnetic fields, radiation fluxes, warp signatures. Anything that would signal the passing of some kind of ship.
It had not been programmed to pick up sound waves. Sound waves of course don't travel through a vacuum. If it could, it would most likely be picking up a deep, growling, ground shaking rumble. Because that surely would be the kind of sound that the two gigantic objects it had just registered would make.
The closest resolved itself into a United Federation of Planets starship. A transponder signal was exchanged and a message was beamed back to Earth that the "UFP Starship Antares", commanded by Captain William Danvers, was passing through it's area of surveillance.
A similar message was sent regarding the other object off the Antares port bow and slightly ahead on a parallel course. A newly commissioned ship, the "UFP Starship Southern Cross", commanded by Captain Lhaan.
Captain Danvers on the "Antares" smiled ruefully as he studied the image of their huge companion ship on the large forward view screen.
Danvers was a tall, vigorous, middle aged man, who carried the mantle of command with practiced ease. His deep piercing hazel eyes were surrounded by laughter lines which showed that he had a keen sense of humor.
He loved his ship passionately. It was a variant on the old Excelsior class design. That enduring class of ship that had proved to be such a reliable and adaptable hull design. The designers just kept churning out new variants. It was now the most numerous class of ship in the fleet.
Danvers and his crew believed that "Antares" represented the pinnacle of the Excelsior designs. Especially as he and his crews had, through several refits and the wisdom of their experience, made it so. They had the finest tuned engines in their class, the best tuned sensors and computers, and the best defense and combat systems.
Fleet command had been actively headhunting his first officer and chief engineer amongst others for some time now. Danvers felt extremely lucky to have been able to keep a fairly stable, core command crew. He knew very well that they all felt the same love for the ship as he did, so had so far refused to move.
The only one aboard he felt at all unsure about was his son Brett. Danver's face broke into a rueful smile at the thought of what the boy might be up to at that time. No doubt about to be pulled from a Jeffreys tube somewhere.
Starfleet had only recently started allowing family groups on star ships again since the Dominion War had made star travel dangerous for families. Ironically it was the Dominion War which had made it necessary for Brett to be aboard. Brett was his only surviving relative. Danvers had lost his wife and all his other relatives in the War. So Danvers did the only thing possible. He brought the boy aboard.
Since he came aboard, Brett had become a source of annoyance, and amusement, to the whole crew. He was into everything, as any energetic and curious eleven year old would be, who didn't have much in the way of family to keep him in check. If only there were more kids his age on board to keep him company.
"All departments report ready for the next round of tests with "Southern Cross" Captain."
The sound of his first officer's voice brought Danvers out of his revery. He gave her a sideways glance, noticing she was smiling warmly at him. There was a hint of amusement in her dark Bajoran eyes.
Commander Mentha had been with Danvers now for seven years, and he couldn't imagine not having her there with him on the bridge. He was pretty sure she could pretty accurately guess where his mind had been. Her next words confirmed that thought.
"Wondering what Brett might be up to this time?"
Danvers chuckled quietly.
"Yes. And that's probably not where my mind should be in the middle of trialling the Fleet's newest toy. Let's call up Lhaan and let him know we're all ready to go ahead."
"Aye Captain."
Mentha strode across the bridge to communications as Danvers returned his gaze to the forward view screen.
He had to admit that the ship they were now traveling in company with would have to rate at least a close second to his beloved "Antares". She sure was a thing of beauty.
The "Southern Cross", like the "Antares" was the pinnacle of all of Starfleet's knowledge and experience up to that time. But in a purpose built hull.
She was essentially a rethink of the magnificent but ill fated Galaxy class vessels. The longest lived of that class was the famous "Enterprise D", commanded by the equally famous Captain Jean Luc Picard.
Even that great ship had, in the end, been brought down by a decrepit, outdated old Klingon Bird of Prey in the Veridian system.
The big ships were made vulnerable by their sheer size. Their defensive systems unable to compensate for lack of maneuverability when fighting against smaller ships. Oh they were awesomely powerful ships alright. But what good was that when your weapons can't be aimed in enough different directions. A hard lesson that had been learned by battleships in the 20th century when they came up against carrier based aircraft.
It was obvious to everybody after Veridian, but not before, that tuning your shields to a single frequency was not a good idea. Especially when defending against energy charged weapons such as disruptors. In their arrogance, the designers couldn't conceive of a situation where an adversary would be able to find that single frequency.
Soran and the Duras sisters sure proved them wrong. They found that frequency and brought down the mighty "Enterprise D". Fortunately for that crew, the only Klingon Tactical Officer in the fleet, Commander Worf, was able to provide them with a way to defeat a cloaked Bird of Prey.
The Borg had also given them a rude awakening with shielding. Their ability to adapt to shielding frequencies making the shields almost redundant. The result was new shielding which was able to sense the frequency of incoming weapons, and shift to a new frequency. They were also trialling a type of shielding which would effectively cancel out the amplitude of incoming energy weapons. Effectively causing the weapon to simply cease to exist.
Yet another major change came out of the destruction of the "Enterprise D" at Veridian. Virtually the whole crew survived the resulting warp core breach on the "Enterprise D" by escaping in the detachable saucer section. Unfortunately, only able to move under Impulse power, they were unable to escape the shock wave caused by the warp core exploding. They were knocked into the planet's gravity well. With the helm controls off line , the crew had no choice but to ride out a crash landing on the planet surface.
That single incident caused a major rethink of starship design. Especially on ships which would be carrying civilian populations. It was all very well having a detachable saucer section to take your civilian crew out of danger or to give you tactical flexibility. But to then have it only equipped with Impulse engines?
Therefore the most visible and dramatic change was that while the "Southern Cross" was again made up of two detachable hulls, Upper and Lower, this time both hulls were now warp powered. The concept had been successfully pioneered with the "Prometheus" class of ships.
The ship looked similar in concept to the Sovereign class ships, with a spear head shaped forward section. However, instead of two warp nacelles, there were four. Two on down swept pylons slightly below the level of the forward section. The other two nacelles were on up swept pylons and placed slightly aft of the lower nacelles.
The ship separated through a roughly horizontal axis. The upper hull, named "North Star" when the ship separated, "draped" over the lower. One cynic had described the ship as looking like a couple of geese mating while in flight. While it was a fairly accurate description, it was a certainty he wasn't invited to the launch party.
The other lesson the designers took from the 20th Century, was the flexibility and "air superiority" provided by squadrons of small but highly powered fighter/reconnaissance craft. Hence the "Southern Cross" was also designed as a carrier. She was equipped with six squadrons of military aircraft. Four squadrons along with various other support or exploratory craft, housed in "saddle bag" hangers on either side of the lower or primary hull. The "North Star"/Upper Hull operated two squadrons of craft from it's shuttle bays.
The concept was pioneered in star ships with the "Ranger". A purpose built carrier which was proving extremely successful.
The result of all the designs was a beautifully flexible vessel. It could handle deep space exploration, policing/combat actions, disaster relief, diplomacy. The list seemed endless.
Even better. She could be in two places at once with the two warp capable hulls. Along with her compliment of exploration and combat aircraft, her sphere of operation was truly enormous.
Danvers didn't envy the commander of the big new ship. It was a standing joke in the fleet that only major surgery would successfully remove him from the "Antares". He couldn't think of a better person for the job of commanding the "Southern Cross", than his good friend and protege, Captain Lhaan.
XXX
Several decks below and aft of the bridge, a slight, fair headed figure slipped past the crew in the main shuttle bay unobserved. Or at least Brett thought so. He didn't see two of the crew glance at each other and roll their eyes. They silently communicated to each other to keep a quiet eye on the boy and make sure not too much damage was done, this time.
Meanwhile, Brett slipped quietly aboard a transport shuttle and glanced excitedly around. He had been bored out of his eleven year old mind as usual, so had decided to sneak aboard a shuttle and see what fun could be found. His bright blue eyes scanned the helm and computer access panels trying to decide which would provide the best entertainment for his young mind.
He had just settled on helm control as fertile ground for fun, when he heard a short muffled conversation outside the shuttle. Next he heard footsteps coming purposefully in his direction. Someone with immensely bad timing had decided to invade Brett's play ground. He needed a hiding place.
Fast!
As he heard the first footfall on the shuttle access, Brett slipped quietly into a storage locker and held his breath as someone entered the shuttle.
XXX
Captain Lhaan stood in the center of the bridge of his new command. He was gazing at the large forward view screen which at that time was showing a tactical overlay of the Solar System. He was following their progress across Sector 001, along with the "Antares".
Lhaan was a very human-looking non-human. He stood a little over 2 meters tall and looked to be in his early thirties, although that could be misleading with his alien physiology. His features were decidedly elven in appearance. Fine features, almond eyes and pointed ears. The ears were the only similarity to the Vulcan's or even the Romulans. He displayed neither the calculating emotional aesthetic of the Romulans or the severe unemotional aesthetic of the Vulcan's.Instead his face was completely animated. His skin was much lighter then those races. His physique showed a larger mass than earth human, perhaps hinting at a higher gravity home world. His hair swept back from his forehead and down to his shoulders. Some swore that it crackled when Lhaan became agitated about anything.
Lhaan did not know his home world. He had been found as a small child. The only survivor of an outpost in an area of space being newly explored by the Federation. There was nothing left of the outpost except some scattered debris and several craters. A sight that was alien to the Federation then, but would become all to familiar in later years as the work of the Borg.
Lhaan had been found, a week after the attack by a Federation survey party, hiding in a cave some distance from the remains of the settlement. He was completely hysterical having watched the assimilation of the outpost and it's technology from a nearby hill.
There had been no clue at all as to his origins. No trace left of his people and there had been no contact since.
One of the survey party had taken the young alien under his wing. A very young ensign called William Danvers. It had been decided to send Lhaan to Earth to be cared for and educated and the Danvers family had happily taken him in. This had been the start of a long friendship that was almost as close as father to son. Danvers had his own son now, Brett, who was traveling with him on Antares, but he still carried on the paternal role to Lhaan.
Lhaan studied the display on the screen while he absorbed the activity around him and all the information that was being channeled to him by his bridge crew. He had high empathic abilities, with telepathic senses with people he was particularly emotionally close to. So he was able to sense in a very real way the undercurrent of excitement running through the bridge. They were about to undertake some last minute hull separation drills and warp tests with "Antares" along to observe and provide sensor and technical backup where needed.
"Sir, "Antares" reports ready to proceed with testing." the lilting Welsh accent of the young communications officer came from his station on the port side of the bridge. Ensign Wynn Davis was a very young and fresh faced Welshman, brand new out of the Academy. He was so new he always looked freshly scrubbed with his youthful complexion, glossy black hair and bright green eyes. His uniform still looked fresh out of the wrappers, much to Davis's annoyance, being very sensitive about his comparative inexperience. He had been stationed on the bridge at the extremely young age of eighteen as he had grown up on his parents star freighter, so had arrived at Academy knowing nearly as much about sub space communications as the instructors.
"Thank you Ensign." Lhaan gave the youth a smile of acknowledgment. It amused Lhaan how the young Welshman still flushed when noticed by senior staff. Still, he was settling in superbly and would soon get over his youthful self consciousness.
Sitting just behind Lhaan and to his right, in the first officers chair next to his own command seat, was his 1st Officer, Commander Luke Tanner. A muscular and youthful looking man in his early thirties, with dark hair on top of an open and friendly face. He had sparkling green eyes and an expressive mouth which broke easily into a wide grin. His accent had a twang to it which placed him in the green paradise of New Zealand. One of the few places on earth which had survived the upheavals of the 21st century relatively unscathed.
When the "Southern Cross" separated, he took command of the "North Star".
Through a long friendship, he and Lhaan had developed a very strong bond. He had a keen and incisive mind and Lhaan highly valued his input when making command decisions. The two of them had developed a kind of sixth sense, aided by Lhaan's empathic/telepathic abilities, they always knew what the other was thinking. On top of that they had developed a sign language which they used to great effect in combat situations. A combination which had made them a most formidable team.
Tanner was busy completing a department check ready for the next test.
Behind Lhaan and to his left sat Commander Brynanth, the Crew Councilor. A tall, motherly, blond, El Orian woman, who appeared to be in her late forties. But being of the same race as Guinan and Soran, rumor had it that she was at least two hundred years old. Her warm, gray eyes observed everything around her. Watching how the crew were handling themselves and the big new ship.
Brynanth regarded Lhaan fondly. Lhaan's progress through Starfleet Academy and his development as a commander had interested her greatly because of his unique heritage. She had persuaded him to let her do a thesis on him. In the process they had earned a great respect for each other in their respective fields. When Lhaan requested her for Councilor, she accepted without hesitation.
Sitting above and behind her was another reason she found serving on this ship so stimulating.
As with most Starfleet ships, behind and above the "center seats" was a tactical station. On "Southern Cross" the station was manned by two officers as the station also included Flight Ops. These two stations were manned by a pair of officers often referred to by Commander Tanner as the "Twins of the Apocalypse" A title which the two officers took with amazing humor, considering one was Vulcan and the other Romulan.
The Vulcan's name was Commander Storn and was the "Southern Cross's" primary tactical officer. The Romulan's name was Commander Shasda and he was the ships tactical flight ops officer. This pairing, which would seem at first totally unlikely, was the product of Ambassador Spock's unification efforts and helped along by the goodwill earned after the efforts of Enterprise E in the "Shinzon incident".
The two were paired up as cadets at Starfleet Academy. The Academy Command were extremely nervous of the pairing at first, but watched with astonishment as the two forged an extremely close bond. It seemed that each found their compliment in the other, the dispassionate logic in one and the very passionate volatility in the other. Their co-ordinated team work on tactical and flight ops promised to make "Southern Cross" extremely effective in her various roles.
Forward of the center seats were the navigation and helm stations. Seated at the helm station was one of other humans on the bridge crew, Commander Rhona Campbell, her Scottish brogue showing her origins in the purple glens of Scotland. Like many of her people she was petite but with a fiery personality. A trait which often showed in her helming, particularly when at the controls of one of "Southern Cross's" fighter craft. She had also made many, including "Sentinel's" designers sit up and take notice when she put the big ship through it's paces. Lhaan was sure he heard one exclaim that he didn't think that his "Big Lady would ever handle like a bloody stunt jet".
Seated next to her was Trog. A very garrulous young Ferengi. He was disowned by his family at a young age for being only interesting in star exploration and not profit. A horrifying concept to that highly "entrepreneurial" race. Having heard about Nog serving under the command of Jake Sisco at Deep Space Nine, Trog had joined Starfleet to follow his dream. He found great amusement in winding up Rhona by stating it was crime she wasn't kept naked like a good Ferengi female. Rhona always replied by tugging on Trog's very large and sensitive ears to "see if they were for real", which would of course set the young navigator off into shrieks and yells.
Despite their seeming animosity to each other, their team work at the forward consoles was first class.
At the science station was someone who was both another pet project of Brynanth's but also an object of conflicting emotions for her and many others in the crew. He was a Borg drone named 2nd of 5.
As the Federation's contacts with the Borg became more and more frequent, more drones were becoming separated from their hive ships. Of the drones who survived the separation, many found their way back into their home cultures. However a great many entered Starfleet as they found the ship board environments closer to that which they were accustomed. After his separation, 2nd of 5 managed to retain his encyclopedic knowledge of the galaxy, gleaned from the Borg collective mind. This knowledge had greatly helped his rise to command, despite peoples prejudices.
Brynanth had been deeply concerned about the appointment of the former drone to the crew of "Southern Cross", both because of her own peoples' history with the Borg and also Lhaan's. She had been impressed however with the way that Lhaan had been able to see beyond the drone, and see the talented individual that 2nd was becoming once again.
Some had tried to give him a name, but he stayed resolutely with his Borg designation. Only Luke Tanner had been able get through this particular barrier when he started calling the drone Deuce. The former Borg had regarded the wide smile on Tanner's face for a moment with his very brown eyes before raising his eyebrows towards the Borg implants still showing under his sandy blond hair.
"That designation is.......acceptable" he had finally stated. But only, it seemed. when used by Tanner.
Lhaan became aware of Tanner standing at his elbow.
"All departments report ready to start testing. "Antares" also reports ready to proceed."
"Computer systems?"
"Deuce?" Tanner called out turning to face the former drone.
"Both main frames show correct function and connectivity."
The "Southern Cross" carried two quite distinctive computer identities. One for each hull as each needed to be able to operate as separate ships. However when the ship was joined the computers combined to become one super computer to ensure correct synchronizing of the warp drives and other ships systems.
"Sensors also linked and synchronized with "Antares."
"Thank you 2nd" Lhaan acknowledged the information.
As part of the test "Antares" would be providing back up sensors and recording of test data so a real time data link had been set up between the two ships. This would ensure a maximum analysis and recording of data.
"Engineering?"
"Aye Captain."
The deep voice of Chief Engineer Mbotu seemed to come from just behind Lhaan. However the large African man was in fact standing in the huge engineering section many decks below and aft. The bridge's comm system, through it's sophisticated speakers, always placed the responders voice so as to appear to come from next to the person placing the call.
"Both warp engines and warp cores show ready and are synchronized and tuned to optimum."
"Thank you Chief. Let's see if we can't get another 10 percent."
A rumbling chuckle came over the comm.
"Aye sir. We'll match "Antares" acceleration rates yet. Engineering out."
Lhaan heard turbo lift doors whoosh open behind him. The fact that all the female command crew, and one or two of the males, noticeably preened told him that the ships chief medical officer Daanthal had just arrived on the bridge. Sure enough the tall, handsome and very sensual Deltan man appeared at Lhaan's left elbow.
"Medical stands ready Captain."
Lhaan noted with satisfaction that the crew seemed to be able keep their focus and concentration at the sound of the Deltan's slightly alien but musical baritone voice. Lhaan was very aware of the fact that the Deltans, a very "sexually advanced" race, secreted sexual pheromones which while having the effect of a pleasant perfume on other Deltans, tended to have a much more dramatic effect on other races. All the crew had been thoroughly briefed on these effects. However the reality when actually faced with a real live Deltan proved far more demanding than most expected.
The man's appearance was enough to stop most in their tracks. The fact that he was totally hairless seemed to just intensify his sexual appeal. And when those pheromones started having their effect, people of both sexes would be left blushing furiously and unable to form sentences. Lhaan even found himself wanting to hug the man fiercely at times. However both the crew and the doctor were now thoroughly used to each other.
"Thank you. Your bridge crew Luke?"
'Ready and waiting." he replied stepping up to Lhaan's right side.
The secondary bridge was atop the "North Star" hull, aft of the main bridge and was reached by a dedicated turbo lift.
"Alright then. Contact "Antares" and let them know we are ready to proceed".
XxXXxX
In his hiding place on the "Antares" shuttle, Brett Danvers was becoming mystified by the actions of the crew member who was sitting at the helm. He knew control functions and the sounds they made when activated well and there seemed to be no reason for some of the activations he heard. Why would she need to bring shields, weapons and engines to stand by in the hanger when the "Antares" was about to go to warp.
XxXXxX
On the bridge of the "Southern Cross" the tactical view of the Sector 001 had been replaced by the smiling face of Captain Danvers with his busy bridge in view behind him.
"So Lhaan, are you ready for another good look at the stern of the "Antares" as you try and catch up again?"
Lhaan raised one eye brow as he chuckled before replying.
"Mbotu has some new theories about intermix formulas as well as warp field configurations we are about to trial. It could be that we will be meeting you on the way back!"
Danvers harrumphed quietly as he observed his protege affectionately. His smile broadened as Tanner stepped into view. He had to admit he felt extremely paternal towards all of Lhaan's new bridge crew.
"Luke my boy! Keeping yourself one step ahead of the review board?"
"Oh I think they gave up on me long ago! Remind Brett that he owes me a rematch at zero g racket ball."
"I sure will. The more I can find for that boy to do to keep him out of trouble, the better."
Danver's was more than pleased that Brett and Tanner had formed a sort of big brother, little brother friendship. Lord knows the boy needed someone like that. It was just a shame Tanner was now posted to "Southern Cross". Funny that despite his father's close bond with Lhaan, Brett never seemed to be comfortable around the alien captain. Maybe they could all spend some time together after this round of tests with "Southern Cross". He really would like to see his real son and "adopted" son become friends.
"Well boys, as everything seems set shall we get this underway? We accelerate first to Warp 5 to check "Southern Cross's" warp field geometry. Correct?"
"Correct" replied Lhaan. "We then go to Warp 9 before going to flank speed for a one hour sustained high warp speed check, after which we will carry out the ship separation at warp tests."
"Maybe we'll see if "Southern Cross" will get as close to Warp 10 as they claim. I mean they can't be serious about Warp 9.995 can they?"
Lhaan gave him a wry smile. Danver's skepticism was understandable. The Warp Factor scale was exponential. So an increase from Starfleet's current best of Warp 9.975 to Warp 9.995 was actually a vast increase in speed.
"When we manage to nail these warp field geometries and intermix formulas it's theoretically possible. Apparently it's something to do with the double hulled warp configuration which makes it work. Theoretically!"
"Ok, let's see then. Warp 5 on my mark?"
Lhaan nodded to Rhona Campbell.
"Warp 5 ready to engage Captain. Engage command synchronized with "Antares""
"On your mark then William." Lhaan said as he and Tanner took their command seats.
"Very well. Engage."
The massive wrap around view screen on "Sentinel's" bridge split with Danver's smiling face moving to one corner. The rest of the viewer showed the star field ahead. Read outs flashed and pulsed with data scrolling down many screens and graphs and schematics moving on others as the big ship went to warp speed.
The stars on the viewer seemed to stretch and distort as the ship surged forwards towards it's warp threshold. From the starboard side a much elongated image of "Antares" appeared as it streaked away, overtaking her larger companion.
"Crap! That ship really is fast!" exclaimed Luke Tanner.
The smile on Danver's face on the corner of the view screen became even wider if that was possible.
"You didn't really think........."
Danver's voice was cut off by the shrill tones of a red alert klaxon going off on his bridge, then his image on the screen disappeared to be replaced by hissing static.
XxXXxX
Brett Danvers was really starting to wonder what was going on when the woman at the shuttles controls put all the systems that had been on stand by on line. Surely she wouldn't be launching now. Hadn't "Antares" just gone to warp.
Sure enough he felt the shuttle craft lift off. He knew it was theoretically possible for a shuttle to leave the bay, so long as it stayed within "Antares" warp bubble. But the risks!
He heard a very audible whine as power was being rerouted.
"Shields at 140 percent. Structural integrity systems at 110 percent." the shuttles computer voice intoned.
Well now Brett knew where the extra power had gone to. But why?
Suddenly Brett was cannoned against the rear of the locker. It felt as though the shuttle had been slammed by a sledge hammer. Then everything went black.
XxXXxX
At the same second that all hell seemed to break loose on "Antares" bridge, the same happened on "Southern Cross." Alarms shrieked through the ship snapping everybody to their consoles and screens. The ship gave a violent lurch as it was slammed away from it's warp entry.
Lhaan and Tanner both leaped from their seats.
On the viewer, instead of seeing the bright flash of "Antares" crossing it's warp threshold, there was an even brighter flash, causing the screen to darken down to compensate.
The screen cleared and zoomed in to reveal not the "Antares" but a spreading tumbling mass of debris.
