Somewhere in time, fifteen light-years from the Amargosa star system . . .
"WHAT IN LYNA'S NAME HAPPENED?"
"Not really sure, Naoko!" a coughing Yamanoue Yuri said as smoke billowed from several stations and broken conduits in the operations room of H.M.C.S. Haida. "Aoi, did you get a scan of whatever that was?" she called out to one of her sister naval combat information operators, who was now busy at a still-working station.
"Negative!" Hatano Aoi, a raven-haired tomboy with dark grey eyes, called back. "It just came out of nowhere and overloaded every system I can access!"
At the operations officer's master station, Yoshino Tomomi tapped a control. "Ops to Damage Control! Is anyone down there right now?"
"Damage Control, Saeki!" a voice called back.
"Kozue, what's the ship's status right now?" Takanashi Naoko demanded from her place close to the central plotting table.
"Trying to activate auto-repair circuits, Elder Mother!" Saeki Kozue, one of the two Terran-form Avalonians – Kozue herself was a hull technician – presently assigned to the damage control monitoring room in the central part of the main hull, called back. "Systems all over the ship aren't responding! What in Lyna's name happened?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out!" Naoko called back. "Step on it!"
"Aye-aye!"
"Senior Officer's Pantry to Ops!"
"Go, Seina!" Tomomi called out.
"Lieutenant Anderson's down! She was nearly electrocuted to death when a wall panel exploded!" Yamaguchi Seina, one of the ten of the Canadian starship's original compliment of Avalonians who became stewards, called up. "Her life-link's steady but she's got considerable internal wounds! I need her evacuated to Sick Bay!"
"Seina, this is Miyuki!" one of the ship's prospective military policewomen, Oda Miyuki, called up. "I overheard that! A team's on their way to you now!"
"Thank Lyna! Hurry!"
Naoko gritted her teeth as she tapped a control. "Ops to Director!"
No response, which made all the Avalonians in the room pale. "Onē-sama, this is Naoko! Can you hear me?" Naoko pleaded.
"Naoko, we're closest to Onē-sama's quarters! We'll check it out!"
A sigh of relief. "Report when you're there, Marino!"
"Roger that, Elder Mother!" Iketani Marino, one of a dozen Avalonian plank-owners who elected to become infantry soldiers in the 1st Battalion of the Canadian Guards, called back.
Silence fell over the scene before the back door opened, revealing a woman in navy black overalls, a bag full of tools slung over her shoulder. "What in Lyna's name just happened to us?" Honda Tomoko, one of two naval electronics technicians (radar) currently aboard Haida – like almost all of the ship's company, she came back to her home ship for Christmas break to celebrate it with her sisters; she wasn't scheduled to commence Level 3 trades training until after the New Year – demanded.
"If you knew the answer to that, Tomoko, we'd be really appreciative!" Tomomi said, a wry grin crossing her face. "Are Tsukihana-oniisama and Ayami-onēsama still aboard?"
"They should be. Ryōko-onēsama and her friends came over from Seito with Christmas gifts for them," Tomoko replied as she walked over to the starboard bulkhead, opening a panel there to reveal a sea of shorted circuits and small clouds of smoke. "Oh, Lyna . . .!"
"Bad?" Naoko asked.
The raven-haired, grey-eyed and bespectacled technician turned back, nodding. "Give me about thirty minutes?" she asked.
"Step on it!" Tomomi called out.
A groan. "Aye-aye!" Tomoko said as she moved to lay her tools out. "Recommend you switch to Auxiliary Operations. Remote systems scan shows it's intact!"
"Aoi, take everyone down there now!" Tomomi ordered.
"Aye-aye!"
Nearby . . .
"What is it?"
"Vessel type unknown, sir. However, it is approximately the same length and mass as a Romulan D'deridex-class battlecruiser, though the design is clearly not Romulan. To say anything of any other known space faring race. Commencing detail scans now . . . "
"It clearly must be Terran in origin."
Hearing that, William Riker looked aft. "How'd you come up with that, Worf?"
"The number on the hull under the main bridge, Commander," the just-promoted lieutenant-commander stated as he tapped a control on his security console.
The image of the drifting cigar-shaped warship – which clearly was a warship of some type given the considerable number of ball turrets mounted all over the hull, each with what appeared to be a triple-barrel rifled cannon system – was magnified. Sure enough, a black number 215, standing out clearly against the surrounding soft light blue hull around it, was painted under what appeared to be the main bridge. "That is damned strange . . . " Riker stated. "Back off to main view."
Worf keyed a control to bring the whole shop back to view. By then, the shadows that had darkened most of the hull aft of amidships had started to fade as the ship slowly rolled to show her flanks to the Enterprise. As the bridge crew all watched, a large flag on the other ship's main hull rolled into view, such stretching from midships to nearly parallel to the aft end of the large block superstructure on what appeared to be the upper part of hull; the starship's bridge crew were assuming this thanks to the orientation of the hull number forward. On seeing that, Data blinked. "That is the flag of the Dominion of Canada, Commander. Yet clearly, I do not recall the Canadian military ever possessing a space vessel at all, especially one of this size."
"Neither do I, Data." Riker then tensed. "Wait! What's that aft?"
The android looked, and then he blinked. "It appears to be an external landing deck; the aft upper superstructure terminates in a rather large hangar structure." He took a moment to scan the interior of that particular part of the ship. "Internal scans indicate at least four auxiliary craft, each about the same size and mass as a Danube-class runabout. I would assume – as this vessel appears to be modelled after a surface warship of the latter decades of the Twentieth Century – such craft are meant as executive transports, short-range attack craft or cargo shuttlecraft."
"Wait! Data, look at the very aft end of the main hull! There's a name there!"
Hearing Worf's words, Data tapped controls to magnify what the tactical and security officer had just indicated. Soon enough, a close up of that second appeared on the main view screen, revealing a rectangular block of dark blue against the light grey of the surrounding hull, that punctuated by five Roman letters in dark gold. "Haida?" Riker read. "That's the name of an aboriginal tribe that lives on the Queen Charlotte Islands off the coast of British Columbia south of the Panhandle, not to mention some of the southern islands of the Panhandle. Data, do we have any record of any Canadian military ship with that name?" he asked the android beside him.
Data's fingers flew over the operations console, and then he quickly scanned the information there. "There was one such vessel. H.M.C.S. Haida, commissioning pendant number G-63, later given the hull classification number DDE-215 after the Second World War. A Tribal-class destroyer that served quite honourably in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1943 to 1962, when she was decommissioned and made a memorial. She still exists to this day, preserved in dry dock in Hamilton in Ontario. Yet . . . " He paused as he considered what he had just learned. "I would believe this Haida . . . "
"Was constructed as a salute to the original ship," Riker finished.
"Speculation?"
People turned as a familiar bald-headed figure came up to stand beside his first and second officers, having just walked out of his ready room. Like many of the senior staff – they had just come up from the holodeck when the officer of the watch had reported the strange vessel's sudden appearance not so far off Enterprise's current flight path – he was still dressed in the authentic uniform of a nineteenth-century sailing warship commander minus the dark blue tunic and the peaked cap. "Given the evidence of what we have seen so far, Captain, it appears this vessel may have come from another reality, one in which Canada – and other nations – fielded a space fleet before political unification of Earth occurred, as happened in our reality in 2150," Data said. "As to what time period Haida hails from . . . "
"Hard to say," Riker finished.
"Captain!"
Jean-Luc Picard perked. "Yes?"
"It appears Haida is attempting to communicate with us," Worf reported.
"Audio? Visual?"
"Negative, sir. By flashing lamp."
Eyes then locked on the image of Haida. The people on Enterprise's bridge were quick to see a flashing white light blinking from somewhere close to the upper forward bridge of the strange ship. "Morse Code," Picard instantly stated as his mind picked up on the short- and long-timed flashes. "Data, can you read that?"
"Yes, I can," Data stated. "'AAA. AAA. AAA. Unknown vessel, this is Canadian warship Haida of the United Nations Earth Defence Force. Please maintain your current distance from us at this time. We have suffered an unknown accident and do not wish to place your vessel at risk until we are confident that our ship's power systems are fully secure. If you can interpret this message, please signal back by Morse lamp . . . '" He blinked. "'Or if you do not possess signal lamps, please acknowledge using your main hull running lights.'" He paused, and then turned back to Picard. "The message is repeating, sir."
"Signal them back to acknowledge we received their message. If you can, ask them if they have any audio communication capability so we can contact them directly."
"Aye, sir!"
Five kilometres ahead of Enterprise's bow . . .
"Running lights, Hitomi!"
"Translate," Koizumi Hitomi ordered.
Fujiki Sayuri, who had been working the main signal lamp on Haida's starboard side, gazed through the light-enhancement scope on the "big eyes" binoculars located beside the visual signal station. "'Canadian warship Haida, this is the United Federation starship . . . '" Her voice then trailed off as her jaw dropped. "Impossible . . . "
"What?" Hitomi demanded.
The raven-haired, grey-eyed naval communicator (and prospective intelligence operator) blinked again before she stared at the maritime surface and sub-surface officer candidate; Hitomi – along with the nine other just-commissioned officers – had graduated from the Basic Military Officer's Course in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu six weeks ago; she herself would commence MARS training at Venture in Esquimalt after the turn of the year. Noting the stunned shock on the other woman's face, Hitomi prodded, "What? What is it?"
"Enterprise!"
Silence fell over the scene . . .
Avalonians and Questors
by Fred Herriot
Klingon translations provided by loghaD and ter'eS. Latin translations provided by DAVID.
Arrival (1976), written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson, first released in instrumental format on the ABBA album of the same name, produced by Polar Music; the lyrical format used in this story is from the album A Winter Symphony (2008), performed by Sarah Brightman and produced by Manhattan Records.
In A Class of Her Own (production date unknown), written and produced for a video by Parks Canada for the H.M.C.S. Haida National Historic Site of Canada, copyright by Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada; the lyrics used here under the applicable non-commercial reproduction provisions of the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada.
The quote Nakagawa Noriko makes in Part 25 comes from a speech entitled In Our Youths, Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr (1841-1935) on Memorial Day (30 May 1884).
Based on Ikkitōsen, created by Shiozaki Yūji; Urusei Yatsura, created by Takahashi Rumiko; Battle Royale, created by Takami Kōshun; and Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry.
Including characters and references from Zenkoku Seifuku Bishōjo Grand Prix, created by Lyceen; the True Love Story series, created by ASCII and Enterbrain; the Final Romance series, created by Video System; Ojōsama Express, created by Mediaworks; Doki Doki Pretty League, created by Xing; Gunslinger Girl, created by Aida Yū; the Harry Potter series, created by Joanne K. Rowling; Top Gun, created by Ehud Yonay, Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr; Under Siege, created by J.F. Lawton and Andrew Davis; Zipang, created by Kawaguchi Kaiji; Koihime Musō, created by BaseSon; and Ranma 1/2, created by Takahashi Rumiko.
This is a sequel to Phoenix From the Ashes. This story also contains characters and situations from the fanfic series Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year, created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot; and the movie Star Trek - Generations, produced by Rick Berman, based on a story written by Rick Berman, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga.
WRITER'S INTRODUCTION: This story is a direct sequel to Phoenix From The Ashes, coming from a plot bunny that's been munching in my mind for some time. Since I based a lot of my writing on the philosophies espoused in the Great Bird of the Galaxy's most famous work, I always wanted to try a crossover between the universes I created and the Star Trek universe. This is set (in the timeline of PFTA) six months after the events in the main story, near the turn of the year to 2011. In the Star Trek timeline, it is set at the time of the movie Generations (the year 2371 according to the Memory Alpha website). The Battle Royale elements of this story are based on the manga created by Takami Kōshun and Taguchi Masayuki, as adopted by Keith Giffen and released by TokyoPop in 2003-6, deviating from midway through Chapter 117 (in Volume 15), though there are some influences from the original novel as well as the film series.
The updated version of this story published in February 2012 will have writers' notes will come at the end of each chaper. Enjoy!
Captain's Log, Stardate 48627.6,
While on post-refit shakedown from Starbase 105, the Enterprise has encountered an unknown starship bearing the markings of a warship of the armed forces of an old Terran nation, the Dominion of Canada. However, as history records, the Canadian military ceased to exist as a separate entity when it was amalgamated into the United Earth Forces in 2113, though many of her infantry and armoured units were perpetuated into the U.E.F. and remain active today as part of the Starfleet Marine Corps.
Said vessel, identifying itself as the Haida and obviously named in tribute to the most successful surface warship of the old Royal Canadian Navy, appeared out of nowhere, though Commander Data believes this ship phased into our universe from an alternate reality. Before an away team could be dispatched to ascertain more about her, the crew of Haida signalled via old Morse lamp to Enterprise, warning us to remain clear of her until they believed it is safe for us to approach. Though we are quite surprised by this show of concern for our safety, Counsellor Troi believes the crew of Haida mean no harm.
Ship's Operational Log, Friday 24 December 2010, ship's time 2120 hours EST;
Acting Sub-Lieutenant Takanashi Naoko reporting in the absence of the Commanding Officer,
Through means totally unknown at this time, Haida was phased out of our home dimension and parking orbit over Earth into an alternate universe. No fatalities resulted in this transition, though Navigation Officer/Officer of the Watch Lieutenant (Navy) Michelle Anderson is currently in Sick Bay due to heavy trauma wounds suffered in the transition between dimensions. Furthermore, U.N.E.D.F. Director Moroboshi Hiromi, who was attending a Christmas celebration with the ship's company accompanied by friends from Japan, is also in Sick Bay, having sustained minor head trauma. Due to the absence of any other trained MARS officers at this time because of the Christmas holidays – and with the agreement of Chief Medical Officer Lieutenant Commander Elaine Cooper, Chief Security Officer Captain Douglas Tremblay, Ship's Chaplain Major (Padre) Vincent Klein, 21 Wing Duty Officer Captain Jessica Miller and 1 CG Duty Officer Captain Kevin Leclerc – this reporting officer has been forced to assume operational command of Haida. A full muster of all sentients aboard reveals that at this time, Haida currently has 524 personnel (including guests as well as detached personnel from 21 Space Wing and the 1st Battalion Canadian Guards battle group) aboard at this time.
Repairs to ship's systems are underway at the time of this report.
Acting Sub-Lieutenant Koizumi Hitomi and Ordinary Seaman Fujiki Sayuri were quick to notice an unknown vessel off Haida's starboard beam within minutes of our phasing into this reality. Much to this reporting officer's surprise and shock, said vessel is none other than the United Federation of Planets starship Enterprise, pendant number NCC-1701-D. In our home reality, this vessel is a purely fictional craft, having appeared in the 1987-94 speculative fiction television series Star Trek - The Next Generation, produced by Paramount Pictures in California. While the full-Terran members of the ship's company are quite sceptical of the fact that we have phased into the reality as depicted in the aforementioned series, the empirical physical evidence of Enterprise now waiting five kilometres off Haida's beam cannot be denied.
While none of the ships of the Earth Defence Force in our reality operate under what the Federation addresses as the "Prime Directive" (Starfleet General Order Number One, a regulation forbidding Starfleet personnel from intruding upon or influencing the natural development of less-advanced societies), this reporting officer has taken the necessary precautions to ensure that Enterprise remains clear of Haida until such time as our vessel is secure and open contact via audio-visual communications can be attempted. In the reality depicted in episodes of The Next Generation, Enterprise (atop her standing crew) also carries civilian dependants (including minors), thus this reporting officer feels it unwise to place defenceless civilians in potential danger. While Haida has not suffered a serious breach of any of her power systems, the shorting out of primary and secondary controls has forced the ship's marine engineering staff under Acting Sub-Lieutenants Ishida Nagisa and Honjō Arisa and CERA Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Mark Dillard to declare full safety protocols.
With agreement from the ship's non-MARS officers, plus the duty officers of 21 Wing and 1 CG Battle Group detachments aboard at this time, this reporting officer will turn command of Haida over to the Officer of the Watch on her full recovery.
Enterprise, Ten Forward . . .
"So if that's a Canadian ship, Captain Picard, how can it be here?"
Jean-Luc Picard could only sigh as he gazed out the windows of the lounge located at the forward end of the starship's primary hull at the distant shape of the Haida looming far ahead of Enterprise; the captain had come down to Ten Forward to consult with Guinan about the unknown vessel. "I honestly can't say, Marissa," he stated as he looked down on Marissa Flores, the twelve year-old student who had been one of three dependent children who had been invited on a tour of the ship during the fifth year of the Enterprise's current deep space mission by the captain . . . and wound up becoming an acting "first officer" when a quantum filament disabled the great ship, leaving it drifting in space for hours before Data had used his own positronic brain to effect the necessary repairs. "We know it's from another dimension, but as to which time period this vessel actually hails from, we have yet to learn that."
"It sure is big," Marissa's best friend – and another "officer" from that particular incident – Jay Gordon Graas noted. "And look at all the guns on it."
"Let me see," Marissa bade.
Jay handed the macro-binoculars – they were Starfleet surplus; his father Linus Graas was a security junior grade lieutenant under Worf – to his friend. Marissa took them and lifted them to her eyes to take a close look at the distant starship from another world. "Wow!" she breathed out. "You're right, Jay. There are a lot of guns on that ship! Why would the Canadians have such a ship anyway? In old Earth history classes, I learned that Canada was more of a middle power before Earth united."
"I'm a little concerned about that myself," Picard noted.
"Will the Prime Directive apply, Captain?" Jay asked.
A sigh. "I can't say, Jay. We believe the Haida is warp-capable; there is some form of anti-matter on that ship. But as to what she can do, we don't . . . "
An intercom whistle went off. "Bridge to Picard."
Picard tapped his communications badge. "Picard here. Go ahead, Number One."
"Sir, Haida just signalled us," William Riker reported. "Voice communication on a 2100 megahertz frequency; Data confirms it's an old-style cellular phone making the signal. Her Chief Engine Room Artificer just told us that primary systems control over her main engines and power dynamos have been restored. The officer of the watch, an Acting Sub-Lieutenant Takanashi, is comfortable with us approaching close to her."
The veteran explorer blinked. "'Acting Sub-Lieutenant?'" he asked.
"Yes, Captain," Data spoke up. "The Royal Canadian Navy after 2011 and before 1968 – when the Canadian Forces were unified into one single armed service – and the Canadian Forces Maritime Command in the period between 1968 and 2011 made use of the ranking system of the old Royal Navy of Great Britain when it came to officers and non-commissioned members. A Navy acting sub-lieutenant would be the equivalent of an ensign in Starfleet. Furthermore, Lieutenant Takanashi reports that Haida was in docked orbit over her Earth at the time of the accident that brought her into our dimension and time period. Unfortunately, the highest ranking operations officer aboard, a Lieutenant Anderson, is currently incapacitated in their Sick Bay." A pause, and then he added, "In their dimension, it is Christmas Eve in the year 2010."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then . . .
"How did her universe develop such high technology so early?" Picard asked.
"Lieutenant Takanashi stated she suspected you would ask that question. It appears they have begun to deduce that we are from a future time period; her systems include a very sensitive communications detection suite which will allow her to pick up subspace messages from Starbase 105 and elsewhere," the android operations officer answered. "She needs to consult with the director of the United Nations Earth Defence Force, a Miss Moroboshi – who was visiting Haida for the Christmas holidays as she views that ship as her flagship – before proceeding. I suspect that while the Earth Defence Force does not possess a Prime Directive as Starfleet does, they believe is similar ideals and wish to avoid causing us harm."
Surprise crossed the captain's face as he considered Data's words. "Well, that's rather considerate of her," Picard noted. "Number One?"
"Sir?"
"Signal the Haida. Inform them we'll pull close alongside her. She appears capable of receiving shuttlecraft; I noticed the landing bays on her sides as well as that large landing deck on the aft upper superstructure. If the lieutenant is quite willing, we'll be more than happy to send an away team over."
"Aye, sir!"
With that, he turned to head out of the lounge. "Jean-Luc?" a voice called out.
He turned to smile at the El-Aurian observer/bartender who was one of his oldest and closest friends. "What is it, Guinan?" Noting where she was glancing towards, he turned back to gaze towards Haida. "Do you suspect there is a danger?"
The dusky-skinned multi-centenarian shook her head. "Not really a danger, Jean-Luc. More of a concern. There are great powers on that ship. Each almost as great as Q in a way." She then glanced around, almost expecting the omnipotent entity she had clashed with several times in the past to appear on the mention of his name.
"Q?" Picard said with a scowl; someone like him was something the captain did not want to deal with. "Do you think he's responsible for bringing Haida here?"
A shake of the head. "No. Whatever power did that is a power even greater than any of the Q. Incredible as it is for me to say something like that," Guinan stated with a fleck of amusement in her voice. "And whatever it was . . . " A shake of the head. "It initially felt like thousands of young women crying out in anger. A rage that would even scare a Klingon with the level of its fury. Haida was forced here by accident; I didn't feel any sort of malevolence in her being brought here. But they will have to face whatever it was that forced them here when they go home." She smiled at him. "You can trust them, Jean-Luc. They're newcomers to the ways of deep space, but they're eager to hold out their hands in friendship. Here, the Prime Directive . . . " Another shake of the head. "I don't think it will really apply in this case."
He nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
She gave him a knowing look. "How are you doing?"
Picard blinked, and then he bowed his head. "How am I supposed to feel?" he whispered.
"Well, when this is over with, come see me," Guinan advised.
A nod and pained smile. "I will . . . "
Haida, the wardroom . . .
"So we're absolutely convinced this is the Enterprise from Next Generation?"
"The evidence our sensors are picking up from her can't be denied, Captain," Takanashi Naoko stated as she and the other senior officers sat around the main dining table to discuss what is happening. "The ship itself is of the same dimensions, mass and current number of personnel aboard as stated in various websites that we were able to access before we came here. Internal scans report alien species on that ship that we're totally not familiar with, yet may correspond with the species that were depicted in that show. Atop that, a quick examination of the surrounding stellar field by both Privates Ishihara and Shibata demonstrate a significantly different star dispersal pattern. Furthermore, the electronic warfare personnel are picking up quite different communications patterns from nearby systems than what we're familiar with."
"Where exactly are we?" Major (Reverend) Vincent Klein – who had elected to remain aboard Haida for the holidays, accompanied by his wife, who had come aboard from the Canadian Forces Chaplain School and Centre at Borden to be with her husband – then asked.
"Were this back in our universe, Padre Vincent, we would be somewhere close to Tōkonokōen," Naoko reported. "But we're picking up clear traffic in English and the transmitting units do confirm they're either starships of Starfleet or starbases; we believe we're not too far away from Starbase 105. We've also picked up other traffic of a totally alien nature that we think might be from the Klingon Empire. The language used does sound similar to the fragments of tlhIngan Hol spoken in the television series."
The others at the table slowly nodded, though some of them were grinning at Naoko's addressing of the native language of the Klingon race by the accepted local pronunciation. "So how the hell did we get here in the first place?" the ship's chief security officer, Captain Douglas Tremblay, then asked, crossing his arms.
A shake of the head. "I can't even begin to start speculating on that, Captain. From what the hull technicians and naval electronic sensor operators could report, the ship was hit from the general direction of the bioroid factory." Here, the acting sub-lieutenant tapped controls to bring up a holographic chart on the table. "As you'll know, one of the few ex-Niphentaxian Naval vessels that were captured by us when our people escaped the Phentax system in February was docked alongside the factory, no doubt awaiting demolition or further space trials to better ascertain potential enemy capabilities," she explained as she pointed out the vessel in question on the hologram. "Whatever hit us came from the exact location of that ship vis-à-vis the bioroid factory."
"And us," Captain Jessica Miller, a pilot from 434 Space Tactical Fighter Squadron and the duty officer for 21 Wing aboard Haida at this time, then stated.
"Exactly."
"So what do we do?" Lieutenant-Commander (Doctor) Elaine Cooper, the ship's chief medical officer, then asked. "Wait for rescue?"
"At this time, both Tsukihana-oniisama and Ayami-onēsama are analysing the sensor data," Naoko stated. "From that, they can try to replicate the exact energy pattern that struck us through the main engines in a controlled warp back into our dimension. Or so their current theory goes. But as to when they can do it . . . "
"We have to wait, in other words," Reverend Vincent stated.
"Yes, sir."
Sighs around the table. "Well, I don't know about you people, but I'm rather quite uncomfortable interacting with people who – in our reality – are characters from a television show of all things," Captain Kevin Leclerc stated. He was a former platoon commander from le Royal 22e Régiment that currently served as operations officer for Number 3 Company in the 1st Battalion of the Canadian Guards; he was the 1 CG Battle Group duty officer at this time. "The unreality of the whole situation is really unnerving me. How can we NOT believe this is something someone's trying to pull on us? The Ipraedies or the Urusians for that matter? Maybe even the Niphentaxians, too! How . . .?"
"The most direct route to prove where we are, Captain, would be a mind-meld with a member of Enterprise's ship's company," Naoko stated. "While I don't have proof positive of this, I don't believe the psionic species of the Federation such as the Vulcans or the Betazoids would be able to resist something like that. I should also add that – if this is the actual reality of the universe of the United Federation of Planets in the twenty-fourth century of Earth's Common Era – they would find us as hard to understand as we find them. Even if Enterprise is technically an exploration vessel, she is also a warship with considerable firepower at her beck and call."
"And we're far too undermanned to put up a good fight," Tremblay stated. "Unless we trust everything to the automated systems."
A nod. "Yes, sir."
The others all sighed; as military officers, they were trained to NOT trust automated systems unless it was absolutely necessary. "How soon can Michelle be back on her feet, Doctor?" Lieutenant (Navy) Sally Carpenter, the naval combat systems engineering officer in charge of maintenance for Haida's main battery of anti-ship guns, then asked. "Outside her, we have no trained MARS officers to serve as bridge watchkeepers. Even if Naoko and her sisters can handle the situation pretty much on their own, I'd be far more comfortable with Michelle back on her feet and in the operations room keeping an eye on things."
The chief medical officer sighed. "According to Narumi and Ayu, she's hovering on the point where tre'cha may be required, Sally. Fortunately, we have spare bodies if we need them. But I don't like the idea of forcing that choice on her if I can avoid it." Elaine Cooper herself had become an Avalonian a month ago; doing that had opened up all sorts of non-traditional healing paths she would never have been able to make use of had she remained a normal Terran. "She's still quite out of it and I won't force it unless her life-link becomes so fragile that there's no choice in the matter."
"What about the Director?" Leclerc asked.
"She's in a healing trance right now; she should be back on her feet in a day at the very least. Haneko, Sonami and Ryōko are watching over her at this time."
The others nodded, and then the ship's intercom chimed off. "Ops to Wardroom."
Naoko tapped a control. "Go ahead, Tomomi."
"Enterprise has now positioned herself off our starboard beam at 500 metres distance between ourselves and her secondary hull. Captain Picard wishes to know if we would allow a shuttlecraft with an away team to come aboard at this time."
"Is the ship safe enough for use of materialisers?" Naoko asked.
"Yes. Arisa would be comfortable allowing them to enter through Room Nine."
"Have a side party muster, Tomomi, including honour guard. Signal Enterprise and give her personnel coordinates for that location. We'll receive them there."
"Aye-aye."
Materialiser Room Nine, fifteen minutes later . . .
"They were shocked?"
"By the sounds of it," Naoko stated as she, Reverend Vincent Klein, his wife Major (Reverend) Alice Klein, and Captain Kevin Leclerc stood in a row before the materialiser control station. Also present were a section of infantry soldiers from the 1st Battalion, all with white dress belts around their waists, bayonets affixed to their C7A2s even if they were in naval combat dress; they would be under the command of the ship's coxswain when the visitors arrived. Manning the station right now was one of the ship's electrical technicians specifically trained on the maintenance of the system, Chitose Satomi. "Are we clear now to bring them aboard, Satomi?" she asked.
"Yes, Elder Mother, the defensive buffer is down," Satomi stated before tapping a control to open up a communications link between the two starships. "Haida Materialiser Room Nine to Enterprise Transporter Room Three. Do you have a clear beaming signal, Lieutenant?"
"Affirmative, Seaman Chitose," Brenda Robinson, senior transporter officer on Enterprise in the wake of Miles O'Brien's posting to Deep Space Nine, called back. "Captain Picard and party of five being transported now. Energizing."
"Pipe the side!" Naoko called out.
As six columns of transporter energy appeared in the chamber, boatswain Fujikawa Satsumi piped the side as the ship's coxswain, Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Jacques Beaulieu, then barked out, "Captain's salute . . . PRESENT ARMS!"
The other officers saluted as the guardsmen slapped up their C7A2 rifles to the present. By then, the transporter effect faded, revealing Jean-Luc Picard, accompanied by William Riker (whom Naoko quickly sensed wasn't happy at the idea of his commanding officer leading the away team), Commander (Doctor) Beverly Crusher (with tricorder and medical gear), Lieutenant-Commanders Geordi la Forge (with engineer equipment in a shoulder bag and tricorder in hand) and Worf (also with tricorder as well as bearing a phaser pistol slung in a holster fitted into his pants) and Commander (Counsellor) Deanna Troi (who had a tricorder with her and was focusing her own empathic senses on everyone in the room, no doubt immediately sensing all the Avalonians present).
Noting the considerable number of people awaiting them, Picard relaxed himself before calling out, "Permission to come aboard?"
"Permission granted, Captain Picard," Naoko said as she lowered her arm.
"Guard detail, SHOULDER . . . ARMS!" the coxswain barked out.
As the guardsmen relaxed themselves, Picard stepped off the transporter pad to accept Naoko's offered hand. "Acting Sub-Lieutenant Takanashi, I presume?"
"You presume correctly, Captain Picard. And on behalf of the crew of Her Majesty's Canadian Starship Haida, 21 Space Wing and the 1st Battalion of the Regiment of Canadian Guards now aboard, I must apologise for forcing ourselves on you by being forced into your reality like this." Naoko withdrew her hand. "I hope you're not on some sort of mission at this time."
"Actually, we just departed from a local starbase several days ago after some refitting of equipment," Picard stated before he moved to introduce his companions.
Naoko herself then handled the introductions for the officers accompanying her, and then introduced her to CPO1 Beaulieu; the staff of the Canadian starship had – out of respect to the Prime Directive and the Temporal Prime Directive – elected to keep their knowledge of their visitors' identities secret for the time being (even though, since she was an empath, Deanna Troi would most likely sense their discomfort at keeping such a thing secret from them). "Enterprise to Haida. We're ready to send the next group over," Lieutenant Robinson then called over from the Federation ship.
"Ladies and gentlemen, will you please clear the pad?" Satomi called out.
The other personnel moved off the pad, and then three more columns of light appeared. Naoko was quick to recognise two of them: Lieutenant (Doctor) Selar, one of Enterprise's medical officers; and Lieutenant Reginald Endicott Barclay III, one of her systems diagnostic engineers and a former holodeck addict. Both of them had shoulder bags with equipment and tricorders in hand. The third officer, a woman showing mixed Terran-Vulcan parentage, was dressed in the same model of jumpsuit her shipmates were wearing, but the service colour was a dark forest green similar to what was worn by Canadian Forces land personnel on their dress uniforms, which Naoko didn't recognise from what she herself had seen on the series. She had lieutenant's pips on her right collar. She also had a phaser pistol holstered into her pants and a field bag slung over her shoulders. After the other arrivals fully came into view, Picard smiled as he moved to introduce them. On reaching the unknown, he said, "May I present Marine Corps Captain T'Thelaih Mason. She's temporarily assigned to us from Starbase 105 to test tactical systems."
Naoko nodded. "Welcome aboard, ladies and gentlemen."
"Does your ship normally carry ground troops, Captain?" Captain Leclerc asked.
"Oh, Fates . . .!"
That was Mason, a quite muscular and solid woman with sun-streaked dark brown hair in a bun at the back of her head and grey eyes. To the surprise of all of the Canadians from Haida, she was demonstrating a great level of personal emotion in comparison to Vulcan norm – watching her, Naoko was quick reminded of Spock's half-brother Sybok, who appeared in the movie Star Trek V - The Final Frontier – as she gazed on Kevin Leclerc. "Is there something the matter, Captain Mason?" he asked.
"You're from the 52nd Battalion!" Mason stated.
The infantry officer blinked. "Actually, no. My regiment is called . . . "
She blinked before realisation dawned, and then she shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir! But the Canadian Guards these days exists as the 52nd Infantry Battalion of the Marine Corps; the regiment was reformed as part of the Canadian Army after the Eugenics Wars in the 1990s and eventually became part of United Earth's Military Assault Command Operations Forces in 2113 when the nations of Earth formed a single government. When the Marine Corps were founded as part of Starfleet, they shifted over and are seen as descent from the original Guards." A smile then crossed her face. "I recognise the hat badge; we wear the old regimental badges on our communicators when we're assigned to a line unit. I served as a line officer in the 22nd Infantry Battalion. They're descent from . . . "
He smirked. "Les hosties de queues plates?"
Mason gaped, and then she grinned. "Mais oui!" she answered in French.
Before anyone else could say anything, the two ground fighters began chatting away in quite eloquent Français Québécois, which made Picard grin in delight. Reverend Alice Klein then shifted over to stand beside Enterprise's commanding officer. "«I take it hearing Québec French in your reality is something of a unique experience these days, Captain?»" she asked in accented French, which she had learned at the Canadian Forces Language School detachment in Borden after she undertook her basic chaplain officer's training course.
He perked on hearing her speak his native tongue, and then nodded. "«With the greater unity of the human race, hearing such a classical dialect of French as what is spoken in Québec is quite rare,»" he answered in kind. "«But what exactly did Captain Leclerc mean when he called his old regiment 'the communion wafer flat-tails?'»"
Laughter escaped both T'Thelaih Mason and Kevin Leclerc. "Well, I'm not sure how the language in France makes use of such profanities in your universe, Captain, but in Québec in my universe, it's quite common to make use of sacres based on religious terms," the latter then stated in English; the translation field in the materialiser room had been shut down so that Haida's systems wouldn't interfere with what systems (if any!) were brought from Enterprise. "And that term is a local nickname for my old regiment: le Royal 22e Régiment, one of the four regular force infantry regiments in Canada today. Which, I'm happy to hear, is serving humanity in your universe."
"As well as your current regiment," the former added. "Not to mention all the other former Canadian Army full-time infantry and armoured regiments as well. Even the ones that were disestablished when a remarkable madness called 'Unification' struck in 1968; they got reformed in the first part of the 21st Century and serve to this day."
"Oh, my Heavens! You must tell me more!"
He offered his arm to her, which she took as they stepped out of the room. More laughter from the others as they went . . . save from Worf, who remained quite stoic and calm, though there was a flash of approval and amusement in his dark brown eyes on noting that Mason – whom he had come to respect as a sister warrior during their brief time working together on Enterprise's last refit; unlike other Vulcan-descent officers in Starfleet, T'Thelaih Mason didn't really care to fully submit herself to the rigid practices of c'thia – had found a spiritual brother warrior in the red-haired, brown-eyed Canadian infantry officer. "Well, if I may propose something, why don't we shift this to the wardroom so everyone can relax, the stewards can give us drinks and snacks, then we can discuss the present situation?" Reverend Vincent Klein proposed.
"That sounds like an excellent idea," Troi agreed.
With that, Chief Beaulieu had the honour guard order arms, then dismissed them before he lead the guests from Enterprise out of the room. Watching them go, Alice Klein was quick to notice that Deanna Troi was moving to fall back at the end of the group. Realising the Federation starship's counsellor was no doubt either under direct orders from Jean-Luc Picard to hang back and empathically observe their hosts – or was possibly acting on her own initiative concerning this situation – the Army chaplain instructor smiled as she moved over to stand beside her. "There's a reason we're doing it this way, Commander," she said in a quiet voice, which made Troi stare at her.
"I don't understand."
A sigh. "Well, let me put it to you this way: We know a lot about your people even though this is actually the first time we've directly encountered each other. At least to MY knowledge!" As Troi's almost black eyes went very wide on hearing that, Reverend Alice added, "Now, as far as we know, there's no hostile or subversive reason for this to happen. But the way we know of you . . . " A shrug. "Well, put frankly, it's so weird . . . "
"That we would almost find it impossible to believe."
"Right. And there is both the Prime Directive and the Temporal Prime Directive to be concerned with as well," the Canadian army chaplain stated.
The half-Betazoid counsellor blinked, and then she shook her head. "I can't seem to conceive of any possible means of that happening that wouldn't violate one or both of those directives," she then said as they moved down the hallway.
"My point . . . "
To be continued . . .
WRITER'S NOTES:
1) The Avalonian "plank-owners" who manned Haida prior to her official commissioning into the Canadian Navy (as depicted in Part 32 of Phoenix From the Ashes) are based on various dating simulation video game characters; the series they hail from were some of those I took close interest in while I was teaching English as a foreign language in Korea between 1996-2005. Takanashi Naoko, Yoshino Tomomi, Yamanoue Yuri, Oda Miyuki, Koizumi Hitomi, Fujiki Sayuri, Ishida Nagisa, Honjō Arisa, Sasamoto Narumi (who was mentioned by Elaine Cooper in the wardroom meeting) and Ishihara Tomomi (mentioned by Naoko in the meeting; she is a prospective meteorological technician) hail from the series Zenkoku Seifuku Bishōjo Grand Prix (literally "National Sailor Suit Beautiful Lady Grand Prix"), an adult visual novel series that came out in 1996 and 1997 by the now-defunct Lyceen company; it was later followed by Find Love, which recycled some of the Grand Prix girls in a dating simulation made for the SegaSaturn in 1997. Hatano Aoi, Saeki Kozue and Honda Tomoko all are from the True Love Story series of games, released by ASCII for the PlayStation gaming consoles between 1996 and 2003 (one version of the series came out as a three-part OVA series in 2003). Yamaguchi Seina and Chitose Satomi come from Ojōsama Express (translated sometimes as "Princess Express"), a dating simulation game for the SegaSaturn system which was released by MediaWorks in 1999. Iketani Marino comes from the Final Romance series of mahjong video parlour games released by VideoSystem in 1995 and 1996. Wakabayashi Ayu (who was also mentioned by Elaine Cooper in the wardroom meeting; she is also a prospective medical technician) comes from Dōsōkai (known more popularly as "Class Reunion"), an adult dating simulation game released by F&C Company for the SegaSaturn and later the Sega DreamCast that would also transmit over to a pair of OVA series released in the late 1990s. And Shibata Kanae (mentioned by Naoko in the wardroom meeting; she is also a prospective meteorological technician) comes from Dōkoku Soshite, a SegaSaturn game released in 1998 by DataEast.
2) In the Canadian Forces, Regular Force basic trades training is ranked as Level 3 (sometimes called Trade Qualification Level 3 or TQ3); the Level 1 and Level 2 training once referred to Reserve Force basic trades training (I am unsure is such is still taught to part-time service personnel). One engages in Level 3 training straight out of basic training at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School (CFLRS) at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu unless environmental (Navy, Army or Air Force) training is demanded first. By the time people advance to the rank of corporal/leading seaman, they would have completed an on-the-job Level 4 (TQ4) training syllabus, then return to their particular trade schools for Level 5 (TQ5) classroom training; this was once called "TQ5A" as the equivalent of TQ5B was the junior leadership training course run for people awaiting appointment to master corporal/master seaman. Level 6 classroom training happens when the serviceman is about to advance to sergeant/petty officer 2nd class.
3) The teaser scene on the Enterprise happens right after the holodeck scene in Star Trek - Generations where Worf was promoted to lieutenant commander (and accidentally went for a swim, as did Beverly Crusher). This was the time Jean-Luc Picard learned of the fate of his brother Robert and his nephew René (who both appeared in the TNG fourth-season episode "Family").
4) The designation of the Romulan Warbird class which Data mentions, D'deridex, was first mentioned in the TNG third-season episode "Tin Man." The class itself made its first appearance in the first-season finale "The Neutral Zone."
5) The "Big Eyes" ship-mounted naval binocular system are a rather large set of visual magnification devices that, on surface warships, are normally bolted to the deck on the open pilotage platform above the enclosed bridge. The lenses mounted in them have a magnification capability of twenty-power. While such devices seem redundant these days with all sorts of electronic scanning equipment available, personnel in various naval services have long lived to the idea that it is better to be safe than sorry. On Haida, such devices are located in special glass-lined lookout stations to either side of the main bridge, where the ship's Morse lamps for visual signalling are also located.
6) Translations: MARS – Maritime Surface and Sub-Surface, the official occupational name for Canadian Forces naval operations officers; 1 CG – Military shorthand code for "First Battalion, the Canadian Guards;" CERA – Chief Engine Room Artificer, the senior non-commissioned engineer aboard a Canadian warship (a ship's CERA is normally either a chief petty officer 2nd class or chief petty officer 1st class in rank); Tre'cha – Literally "the passing on," the act by which a dying Sagussan/Avalonian shifts her soul into a receptacle soul for either posterity or full-body regeneration/replacement (similar to the Vulcan concept of shifting one's katra when one is about to die, as Spock demonstrated in Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan); Mais oui! – But of course!; C'thia – Literally "reality-truth," the word that is often improperly translated as "logic" from Vulcan (as noted in the novel Spock's World [ISBN 0-6716-6851-X, released in 1988], written by Diane Duane).
7) The locations of certain planets and starbases mentioned in this story are based on what was depicted in the publication Star Trek Star Charts (ISBN 0-7424-3-7705, published in 2002) by Geoffrey Mandel.
8) Marissa Flores (played by Erika Flores), Jay Gordon Graas (played by John Christian Graas) and their friend Patterson Supra (played by Max Supra) were the three children who, after winning the Enterprise's on-board school science fair in 2368, would have been given the chance to tour the ship as guided by Captain Picard. As shown in the TNG fifth-season episode "Disaster," said tour became a lot rougher than what people planned on. Their family names were not mentioned in the episode, but did appear on the commemorative plaque they gave Captain Picard after the Enterprise's ship's systems were fully restored and before they began the REAL tour of the ship . . . starting at the battle bridge, of course!
9) The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) officially reverted back to its pre-Unification name on 16 August 2011. At the time of this story, the service was still properly addressed as Maritime Command (MARCOM).
10) The planet Tōkonokōen was first mentioned in The Senior Year; it was to this world that the hunter Junba moved to after she was restored to life in the story "Great Father Ataru Stage Nine - Redemption."
11) The Colt Canada (formerly Diemaco) C7A2 rifle is the current service rifle of the Canadian Armed Forces. It is a license-built version of the Cold M16A2 rifle that had the iron sight/carrying handle mounted atop the ejection port eliminated and replaced by a Weaver rail mounting system for the ELCAN C79A2 optical sighting system.
12) Lieutenant Brenda Robinson (played by Teri Hatcher, who played Lois Lane in Lois and Clark - The New Adventures of Superman, in a non-credited role) first appeared in the TNG second-season episode "The Outrageous Okona." Her given names were not printed in the script for the episode; she was only addressed as "B.G. Robinson." I gave her the given names "Brenda Gina."
13) For this story, certain elements of Star Trek lore beyond what was mentioned in the various television series were also brought in. One element is the Starfleet Marine Corps (SFMC), which was introduced in the FASA role-playing game series that was produced in the 1980s. In following what was introduced in the game as well throughout the various television shows and movies, the combined rank structure of Starfleet (based on the American Navy and Marine models) used here is described below (with the equivalent NATO codes). Please read as follows: Starfleet Fleet Rank/Starfleet Marine Rank – NATO rank code – Canadian Forces rank (Army/Air Force)/Canadian Forces rank (Navy)
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS
Fleet Admiral/General of the Corps – OF10 – no Canadian Forces equivalent *
Admiral/General – OF9 – General/Admiral
Vice Admiral/Lieutenant General – OF8 – Lieutenant-General/Vice-Admiral
Rear Admiral (Upper Half)/Major General – OF7 – Major General/Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral (Lower Half)/Brigadier General – OF6 – Brigadier General/Commodore
Captain/Colonel – OF5 – Colonel/Captain (Navy) **
Commander/Lieutenant Colonel – OF4 – Lieutenant Colonel/Commander
Lieutenant Commander/Major – OF3 – Major/Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant/Marine Captain – OF2 – Captain/Lieutenant (Navy)
Lieutenant Junior Grade/First Lieutenant – OF1 – Lieutenant/Sub-Lieutenant ***
Ensign/Second Lieutenant – OF1 – Second Lieutenant/Acting Sub-Lieutenant ***
ACADEMY/STUDENT OFFICERS ****
Cadet/Midshipman 1st Class – SO (Senior Year) – Officer Cadet/Naval Cadet (4th year)
Cadet/Midshipman 2nd Class – SO (Junior Year) – Officer Cadet/Naval Cadet (3rd year)
Cadet/Midshipman 3rd Class – SO (Sophomore Year) – Officer Cadet/Naval Cadet (2nd year)
Cadet/Midshipman 4th Class – SO (Freshman Year) – Officer Cadet/Naval Cadet (1st year)
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS/MEMBERS *****
Master Chief Petty Officer/Sergeant Major – OR9 – Chief Warrant Officer/Chief Petty Officer 1st Class
Senior Chief Petty Officer/First Sergeant – OR8 – Master Warrant Officer/Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class
Chief Petty Officer/Gunnery Sergeant – OR7 – Warrant Officer/Petty Officer 1st Class
Petty Officer 1st Class/Staff Sergeant – OR6 – Sergeant/Petty Officer 2nd Class
Petty Officer 2nd Class/Sergeant – OR5 – Master Corporal/Master Seaman
Petty Officer 3rd Class/Corporal – OR4 – Corporal/Leading Seaman
Crewman 1st Class/Lance Corporal – OR3 – Private (Trained)/Able Seaman
Crewman 2nd Class/Private 1st Class – OR2 – Private (Basic)/Ordinary Seaman
Crewman 3rd Class/Private – OR1 – Private (Recruit)/Ordinary Seaman (Recruit)
* - One person in Starfleet (regardless if said person is a fleet officer or Marine officer) will be appointed by the Federation Council to serve as Commander-in-Chief (CINC) Starfleet, thus effectively become a "six-star admiral/general" (i.e. like the American special appointment ranks General of the Armies or Admiral of the Navy or the old German Reichsmarschall). Such a person would then be designated as a Grand Admiral (if originally a fleet officer) or Marshal of Starfleet (if originally a Marine officer).
** - The position of Fleet Captain (as held by Christopher Pike when he was relieved of command of U.S.S. Enterprise) is an appointment (like the Canadian "rank" of Master Corporal/Master Seaman is legally a special appointment from the rank of corporal) from the rank of captain in Starfleet to indicate a senior member of the rank who has yet to be granted flag rank. The equivalent appointment in the Marine Corps is Senior Colonel.
*** - In the NATO ranking system, the code OF1 covers what the armed forces of the United States would designate as officers serving in pay codes O-1 (for Ensigns and Second Lieutenants) and O-2 (Lieutenants Junior Grade and First Lieutenants). In the NATO system, there is a separate officer code of OF(D) below OF-1, which is set aside for those officer candidates who are training to gain their commissions. When Wesley Crusher served on the Enterprise as an "acting ensign" before he went to Starfleet Academy, he could be seen in the category of OF(D) in the NATO format.
**** - In the NATO ranking system, the concept of a "Student Officer" is set aside for those undergoing official officer training at a school like Starfleet Academy or the Royal Military College of Canada. In the member armed forces of NATO (like Canada), it is usually just one rank level, i.e. Officer Cadet or Naval Cadet. For the sake of this ranking list I made for Starfleet in this story, I broke down the cadet ranks to identify their actual year of study. When cadets are performing operational manoeuvres with the fleet, they are then traditionally addressed as Midshipmen, but are not appointed to a higher grade.
***** - In following United States Navy non-commissioned officer rate and rating tradition, the non-commissioned members of Starfleet aboard ship are titled using a combination of their rank as listed above and their specific trade.
14) The word sacre (taken from the French verb sacrer, meaning "to consecrate") is used to describe the various forms of profanity used in Français Québécois. Les Hosties de Queues Plates is one of the nicknames given to le Royal 22e Régiment.