Disclaimer: Paramount Studios and the estate of Gene Roddenberry own copyright of all things Star Trek. The original plot is my own as are any characters created specifically for this story.
The Sovereign class Federation starship, USS Enterprise, registry NCC-1701-E, the sixth ship to bear the name, sliced through warp space as if the huge distances it travelled barely existed. The convex elongated oval of the saucer section seeming to cut through warp space like a hot knife through butter. No less sleek was the main Engineering hull, attached to the saucer by a slim neck. Completing the profile of the Federation's flagship were the twin sponsons curving out from the midsection, carrying atop them the long cylindrical warp drives which gave the Enterprise, and indeed all her fellow vessels, their distinctive silhouette. The overall impression was of sleek powerful efficiency.
Aboard the flagship the impression was retained; even now in deep space - where Earth time had less relevance except to communications - the current relative period was referred to as the graveyard shift. Atop the saucer section was Deck 1, housing the Main Bridge, Captain's Ready Room and the Observation Lounge - more often than not the latter being used as a conference room for senior staff than to gaze at the stars, as the name might suggest. The bridge was accessed by a turbo lift at the right rear onto a raised platform stretching the width of the oval. Ramps curved down either side, to the left where a door led to the Captain's Ready Room, while on the right was the entrance to the Observation Lounge. On the main deck of the bridge three seats backed onto the centre of the raised platform, in front of them two further seats shared a sweeping console most of the width of the bridge, facing the huge multi-purpose viewscreen, the left seat for the Operations Officer or deputy whilst the right seat was the position of the Helm Officer. Behind the three main seats a large console commanded centre stage of the raised platform itself. This was the Tactical station. The three seats themselves had specific purposes too, the left hand chair being to a degree multi-purpose although more often than not occupied by the Ships's Counsellor, the Betazoid Deanna Troi. The right hand seat exclusively for the use of the ship's First Officer, the current incumbent of that post being Commander William T. Riker. The centre seat, the command chair. Its' usual occupant being the august personage of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, commanding officer of the starship. Now however it held an entirely different occupant due to the late hour of normal duty, the gold skinned android, Lieutenant Commander Data.
It had been a quiet shift. Even Data was bored. Or to put it another way he had been able to allocate no less than 98% of his positronic net to matters other than the running of a Sovereign class starship. Nutritional supplement 278 for Spot, for instance. Memories of Tasha Yar, which he found in a subroutine he'd long since intentionally left unaccessed. In fact...
'Sir!' Ensign Tess Allenby's voice cut across his thoughts.
'Yes, Ensign?' Data lacked the capacity for excitement, but knew dimly that it was a good thing that he had a new task. His net had been in danger of entering a feedback loop from which only Geordie on a good day could have retrieved him. And Geordie lately had been having very few of those, he reflected.
'Sir, I'm reading a Federation starship at high warp crossing into Federation space.' Data stepped forward to her console to view for himself, her readouts. 'High warp Mr. Allenby? Please specify. And what type of starship?' She tapped the controls and responded, 'Warp 7.9 Sir. Sir, it's Daedalus Class, the U.S.S. Archon.' Data tried not to show the momentary confusion this information produced. The Archon was believed destroyed in 2167 at Planet Beta III by the computer Landru.
He straightened up and paced back to the command chair. 'Heading?' Awaiting her reply, '223 Mark 6. That's a direct heading for..' The android held up his hand; 'Qualor II. I know.. Data to Captain Picard.. Please meet me in the Observation Lounge as soon as possible. Mr. Allenby lay in a course to pursue. Ensign Rega, open a communication channel. Repeat hail until answered. Then relay to the Observation Lounge. Lieutenant Samuels, you have the bridge.'
Data stood and strode swiftly to the Observation Lounge. Within five minutes Captain Picard had joined him. Having heard Data's report Picard tapped his communicator briskly; 'All senior staff to the Observation Lounge. Immediately.' Will Riker; blinking sleep from his eyes was the first to arrive, accompanied by the Enterprise' Chief of Security, and the Federation's first - currently only - Klingon officer, Lieutenant Worf. Last to join were Chief Medical Officer, Beverly Crusher, Deanna Troi and Chief Engineer Geordie LaForge.
'Mr. Data', began Picard, 'as this is your discovery. Please proceed.' Data nodded in acceptance, 'Thank you sir', he then recounted the events of his final five minutes on the bridge and was just completing his brief, '.. at which point I summo..'
'Ensign Rega to Commander Data.' Data tapped his comm. badge, 'Data here.' The disembodied voice spoke clearly; 'Sir, I've been repeating hails on all Federation and Cardassian frequencies with no reply. The ship has increased speed to Warp 9.2, old scale that is, sir. At present it is pulling away from us.'
Data glanced at Picard, 'Inc..' Picard shook his head, no. 'Let him,' he cut in, 'Sometimes Data it is better to let the quarry think it has succeeded in its goal. Besides before we do anything I want to know what he thinks he is doing, and why?'
'A rendezvous with the Duras family?' rumbled Worf, 'they were sighted at DS9 last year and may still be in the area. They may be planning an alliance.' Worf always suspected the Duras family. When he wasn't suspecting the Romulans that is.
'Possible, but unlikely.' There was a silence. 'Or', continued Picard, 'am I the only one who thinks so? Number One?'
'Sir the Cardassians have never been the Federation's friends, nor too the Duras'. Especially since the last incident. But the present uneasy peace has lasted so long I am inclined to agree with you. I would suggest we continue on our original heading to Deep Space Nine. Maybe Kira Nerys will have some ideas for us. Besides we can't leave Geordie short staffed much longer. He's tearing his hair out. We need Ensign Gomez back.' He glanced over at Geordie and grinned cheerfully.
'Thanks Commander', replied LaForge, 'Sonya Gomez is all I need at the moment to make my days truly complete.' The Captain eyed his engineer; 'Problems Mr. LaForge?' Picard too remembered Ensign Sonya Gomez. At their first meeting of Stardate 42523.7, following her transfer from Starbase 173, she had distinguished, he thought wryly, herself by spilling coffee down the front of his uniform tunic. He regarded his Chief Engineer, not without some sympathy.
'Not really sir. A slight glitch with the antimatter flow regulators. It's being a little elusive, that's all.' He scowled. 'Perhaps I could help.' LaForge brightened. 'Thanks Data, I'd appreciate it.'
Picard coughed meaningfully. Everyone looked at him. 'If you don't mind, perhaps we could return to the matter at hand? Number One, I concur. Make it so. Thank you everyone. Dismissed.'
'Colonel Kira, good to see you again.' Picard was in a careful mood. After their last meeting he wasn't too sure of the reaction he could expect from Kira.
'I agree. It's been too long since the Enterprise paid this little backwater a visit. Our Operations Chief was beginning to think you may never return.' A small chuckle.
'How is Chief O'Brien? And Keiko?'
'Both fine. Little Molly is starting to become a bit of a handful I believe. The Chief looks a little worn some mornings. The joys of fatherhood.'
'I wouldn't know.' Picard returned, somewhat ruefully.
Kira coughed, changing tack. 'When may we expect your arrival?'
'Approximately six hours at 0500. And we need your help. But I won't discuss it over sub-space. Picard out.'
He sat back; his fingers steeped resting against his lips as he thought of the possibilities of what lay ahead. Qualor II. Qualor II. What could possibly interest the Cardassians there? There was absolutely no.. He gave up. But there was something gnawing away at the back of his head. Something to do with security and Bajor.
'Computer, Security clearance Alpha One. Code Picard, Gamma, Kappa, Two, Four, Six, Beta.' A bleep confirmed access. 'Verified.' He considered his inquiry and spoke, clearly and precisely, 'Analysis of connections between Bajor, Qualor II and the Cardassian Union. Confine search to security parameters.' There was a pause. 'Analysis complete. No connections within specified parameters.' Picard was at a loss. In desperation, he reached forward and tapped his padd. 'Computer. Open a secure subspace channel. Priority One, Admiral Thomas Henry, Starfleet Security. Direct routing to my ready room. Immediately.'
Admiral Henry was a big bluff man, usually quite genial. Now, however, he looked concerned. 'Yes, Jean-Luc. What is it? I have the Bajoran delegation due here in two weeks for finalizing the peace agreements between their peoples and the Cardassians. I don't need to tell you what kind of headaches that is creating!' Picard grew more solemn at this information, 'Agreed Admiral. However, in light of what you have just said, my information may be of vital importance.' Henry glowered. 'Hmm. Continue then.'
Picard related the data uncovered thus far, up to the computer's inability to impart any further data to him. Henry was not pleased. Henry was cross. He immediately accessed the computer records himself, to Picard's surprise, the Galaxy Class Project records. Then he was alarmed. 'Jean-Luc, you were right. There is a connection. Now this is Classified. Need to know basis only.
When the Galaxy Class project was complete, as you know there were six fully operational Galaxy Class Starships in service. NCC-70637 - Galaxy; NCC-71099 - Challenger; NCC-71807 - Yamato; NCC-71832 - Odyssey; NCC-71854 - Venture; and last but not least, the NCC-1701-D your last command the Enterprise-D. Of those six, the Yamato and Enterprise-D we know to have been destroyed. But what is not generally known is that at the same time, components had been constructed, sufficient to construct a further six operational vessels. These components were, for security, distributed throughout Federation space.
One of the sites was Surplus Depot Zed 15. Orbiting Qualor II. Of course, this could all be a huge coincidence. However, I do concur, it is worrying. For now continue with your original plan. See Kira Nerys. Ask her opinion. Watch out for her though. One whiff of this and she'll be after Gul Macet with a carving knife. Henry out.'
Ensign Rega at the Helm stood and walked over to the accompanying station manned by the Enterprise' Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Data. Data looked back at him, 'Yes Ensign?' Rega reached over him and tapped a few keys on the console. 'Sir I've been looking more at the trajectory the Archon was on at the time. Initially we were concentrating on where it was going. However I decided to see where it had come from.' He paused and looked at Data, knowing the import of what he was about to say. 'Sir it originated in the Veridian system.' Data looked up sharply, thought briefly and made his decision. He swivelled round in his chair to face the command chairs. Picard and Riker both looked up from their tasks, knowing that Data never deviated from one course of action without very good cause. Upon hearing the new data Picard's response was swift. He tapped his communicator and spoke swiftly. 'All senior staff to the Observation Lounge, immediately.' He stood without waiting for a response and strode around the curved ramp to the right of the bridge, Riker and Troi in tow, exiting through the sliding doors toward the Observation Lounge to await the arrival of the others.
He did not have to wait long. First Geordie, Crusher and finally Worf who had been in a training session in Holodeck 6. They sat patiently as he delivered the latest instalment in what was becoming a lengthy saga. Again Worf was the first to comment, with a grimace. 'The Enterprise D.' He looked over at Geordie. 'Could it have survived?' Geordie raised an eyebrow and considered his answer carefully. 'Well, the saucer section as we know landed on Veridian III and was salvaged by the Federation. The Engineering Hull however, well that's what gave the saucer the kick into the planetary atmosphere, when the warp core breached before we were far enough away to escape the concussion. Question is, was it the warp core? When I left Engineering for the last time it was looking critical. Temperatures, stress, containment, all of them were off the scale. If there were any chance of the core not breaching then I would have said so at the time. However no engineer likes to give a definite prediction, as there are just too many variables to consider. In my opinion, and certainly at the time there was more chance of it blowing than not, much more, and that was my advice and I stand by it.'
Picard held up a hand. 'Mr LaForge, nobody is attempting to lay blame here. However if there is a possibility that the Enterprise-D survived the explosion we witnessed, I feel we have a duty to investigate if this is the case.' He tapped his badge and ordered 'Helm, set course for the Veridian system, Warp 6. Engage!'
Deep Space Nine. Cardassian mining station, abandoned after the end of the occupation of Bajor. Barely serviceable when the Federation took over control of its administration. Not too important. Then the Wormhole was discovered. And events really began to happen quickly. The Cardassians were barely halted from claiming the Wormhole for themselves. Bajor entered a new era of commerce.
Even Quark's Bar on the station saw a massive increase in business, greatly to the delight of its patron, Quark the Ferengi owner. He could even now afford to lease new space for his holosuites, famed for their relaxing atmosphere. Which was where he was now. And very cross at being disturbed.
'What is it now Rom? Can't you see I'm busy? Deal with it yourself!' He tried to pull the door shut. A shadow fell over it. Quark looked up. A runty weasel like creature looked down on him. 'Oh, it's you Shrek. Well, what is it? You can see I'm a very busy man!'
Jaglom Shrek. An Yriddian. Dealer in information. Also an unpleasant individual. 'Oh, very busy', echoed Shrek, eyeing Quark's companion, an Orion Slave Girl. Green skinned, full-bodied, voluptuous to a fault. And, at this precise instant, totally naked. With Quark's head nestling in her lap as she caressed his lobes. Quark sat up, and she fell back as his ears caught her under the breasts. She landed hard, out cold.
'Now see what you've done. What do you want? For the last time!' Quark was annoyed. 'Evek.' Quark was puzzled. The Cardassian military were certainly not Shrek's usual clientele. 'What about him? The Gul is probably a very busy man.' He grinned. 'He'll see me.' Quark scowled and shook his head. 'I don't deal with Cardassians. Find another fool to do your dirty work. Better still, do it yourself! Goodbye!' Quark shut the door of the chamber, and returned to his companion, to concentrate first on getting her conscious. And then.. He grinned in anticipation.
Dr. Julian Bashir was never very good with women. Unlucky. Inexperienced. Totally useless. 'Delete as applicable', he thought ruefully, the sting of the slap still smarting. His face brightened, 'Ah, Ezri, sit down, join me, please.' It was the 'Please' that caught her attention, or rather the tone of it. She looked at him more intently, and noted the fading pink mark on his left cheek. 'Oh Julian. The eternal optimist. What have you done now?'
He related the events of the past few disastrous minutes, culminating in the abortive attempt to kiss Lieutenant Jennifer Dixon. Dax' mouth twitched at the corners. 'What am I going to do with you Julian?' His face brightened again, and then divining her meaning, he slumped over the table groaning.
'I give up! Tell me, what do women want from me? What do I do?' Dax smiled sympathetically, 'I can't help you I'm afraid. I've had male hosts more often than female. In short, I haven't been one long enough to be too sure. Just be yourself, I think that generally works for most people.' He slumped, 'when they aren't me!' She ignored this attempt at self-pity and continued with her original mission. Gossip. 'The Enterprise is on its way here. No-one seems to know why.'
'Hmmm. A Sovereign Class starship. 1014 crew, approximately half female. That's now let me see... half fourteen is seven...' Dax sighed. 'Five hundred and seven', she cut in, 'Five hundred and seven new women to fall swooning at your feet.' He ignored the sarcasm. 'That's right, five hundred and seven. How long until they arrive?'
'About half an hour. But Julian, don't forget most of those will be involved with some of the five hundred and.. seven.. men.. Oh I give up.' She snorted in exasperation, realizing that by now she was talking to thin air. Bashir was gone; his head by now filled with a Sovereign class starship half full of women all calling his name. And he couldn't disappoint them, now could he? Definitely not!
Optimist is not the word.
The Enterprise streaked through warp space toward her goal. Picard in his Ready Room sat regarding the stars passing by outside and reflected on how his forefathers on Earth had looked up into the heavens from their ships and wondered at what they held. The door enunciator chimed for attention; 'Enter!' Will Riker looking thoughtful entered and regarded him quizzically. 'Something on your mind, Number One?' Riker inclined his head toward Picard. 'Yes sir, it's just that we never did decide why the Cardassians wanted Qualor II anyway. You told us the why, why but not the why now. I mean, the Cardassians are at peace. They withdrew from Bajor over a year ago ', seeing Picard shift uneasily, 'that's it, isn't it?'
'Sit down Commander. Will, I sometimes wish you were not quite so intelligent. But, on this occasion, you've forced my hand. What I am about to tell you is Classified. Admiral Henry would only tell me after reminding me of the need to know ruling, which in this case definitely applies.
To begin with you guessed right. The Bajoran connection is the key. Also much more...'
When he had finished speaking he sat back observing Riker's reaction. He gave a low whistle. 'So that's what it's all about! If the Cardassians could get their hands on even one Galaxy Class it could change the balance of power in this entire sector. And with, as you mentioned, the peace talks due to conclude in a fortnight. The timing does not look good.'
'Agreed. We don't even know how far down the road the Cardassians have gone. This could merely be the first component to be retrieved, or..' Riker scowled; 'It could be the last', Will finished the unspoken part of the sentence, 'in which case the talks would be meaningless. In less than five to ten years the Cardassians could be back. Stronger than ever. Able to take Bajor and keep it this time.'
'There's worse Will. You are forgetting the wormhole. Just because we haven't sent a ship of this size through yet, doesn't rule out the possibility entirely. No the fate of the Gamma quadrant too could rest on the success of our investigations.'
'You're forgetting the Odyssey! They got through all right. I seem to recall the Jem Hadar made short work of them. But they got through.' They sat, pondering the enormity of Picard's words. And of Will Riker's observations. The spectre of the Jem Hadar rejoining the Cardassians with the probability of a new alliance of the two made their blood run cold.
Thoughts ran through both minds, jumbled up. But with the common thread of fear. Fear of what the Cardassians could achieve with a Galaxy Class starship. Fear for the safety of the Federation, should they not succeed in preventing the acquisition.
'Kira to all senior officers. We will greet the Enterprise crew at the Promenade. They will be docked at Upper Pylon Three.' Bashir grinned in anticipation as he changed into a fresh uniform. But Kira wasn't finished.
'Full Dress Uniform will be worn by all Starfleet Personnel. That is all.'
'Aaaarghh.' Julian hated his dress uniform. It was his opinion that you couldn't look dashing in a skirt. Or at least that was his opinion of the dress uniform. He tore off his uniform and reached glumly for his closet.
The Enterprise approached the Veridian system at sub light speed. Picard sat in the command chair, elbows on the arms, fingers steeped toward his chin. Slowly he stared at the viewscreen in front of them as the ship slowed from warp re-entering normal space on his command and dropped to Impulse speed. Forefingers tapping his lower lips he glanced to his left to his first officer tapping at his console, fingers playing over the displays like a concert pianist over the keys of a grand piano. He broke the silence. 'Thought Number One?' Will looked over and sniffed. 'Hmmm.. Well first of all a complete baryon sweep of the area where we know the Enterprise to have gone down. Correction. Where we believe the Enterprise-D to have been lost. Actually no scratch that. I was thinking the Enterprise had been due for a sweep, and that the decay rate of baryon particles isn't that high, so a heightened concentration may point us to the location, or recent location, of our missing ship.'
Picard paused before replying choosing his words carefully. 'Good plan. However I was considering not so much looking for the Enterprise-D, but rather for indications of the presence of those who we suspect of having obtained her hull. Warp signatures of Cardassian, Ferengi, Yriddian nature, for example.' Riker thought for a moment, and never a man to fail to acknowledge error nodded. 'Yes sir that would make more sense.' Picard tapped his communicator. 'Mr LaForge. Join us on the bridge please. We have work to do.'
As they awaited the Enterprise' Chief Engineer's arrival the Enterprise slid into orbit around the third planet of the Veridian system, each of those present regarding it with a mixture of emotions; sadness; anger; Picard for his part recalled the struggle between himself and Doctor Zoran, their foe the previous year; Riker a mixture of shame at losing the prior ship whilst in command, anger at the manner of her loss; Troi, anguish at the loss of life incurred during that fateful mission; Worf, pure anger directed solely at what he perceived as the sole cause of the incident, his personal nemeses, the Duras sisters. Picard stood and strode toward his Ready Room, noting as he stood; 'Time to report to the Admiral. Will, you have the bridge.'
As he sat he recalled his conversation with Kira Nerys when he had placed the secure subspace message to DS9. A smile drifted over his lips at the memory;
'Oh good. Doctor Bashir will be most relieved. He hates Starfleet's dress uniform!' She laughed. Picard gathered she drew some amusement from the discomfort of the young doctor, especially as he had not specified dress uniform, and after all protocol only demanded it on official visits to a Starfleet installation or from dignitaries. He had joined in her laughter, commenting that his security officer held similar opinions. 'How is Worf? We do miss him here since you poached him off us after that business with the Borg!' The reproach in her tone was unmistakable, yet Picard knew, only half serious.
He chuckled to himself as he tapped in his security code and awaited the open Flag Officer's channel to Admiral Henry. The screen cleared and Henry turned toward his screen. 'Jean-Luc. You're at DS9 already?' His eyebrow arched in surprise. Picard grimaced knowing his superior was not going to like this one little bit. He recounted recent events, and was not disappointed. Finally sated Henry sat back in his chair. 'So, what are your plans now?' Picard outlined the strategy they had formulated. Henry nodded approval. 'Sounds good Jean-Luc. Make it so. I have work to do here. Henry out!' The screen darkened. He stood and returned to his place.
It was with a sense of déjà vu that they materialised on the surface of Veridian III and spread out. Each party equipped with a full set of diagnostic tools and high-powered tricorders for scanning the area, searching for signs of disturbance. Riker in command of the Away team leaving Picard onboard the flagship of Starfleet to oversee the search and the compilation of results garnered from his own efforts on the surface.
Riker stepped forward tricorder held out and examined the readout. To either side of him other teams spread out over the designated start point to begin sweeping for signs that their quarry had been in recent occupation. His eye took in the rough wide gouge scored through the planet's surface by the Secondary Hull of a Galaxy class starship in its' final death throes sliding across the landscape in a desperate effort to save the lives of those aboard, rescued from certain death only by the quick actions of the crew that had acted superbly at his every command to ensure their survival.
He was shaken from his reverie by a shout. 'Commander! Sir I've got something you need to see here!' He looked up and ran over to the Lieutenant waving to attract his attention. As he approached he looked in the direction the officer was pointing. 'OK, what am I looking at here?' The young lieutenant passed him his tricorder. 'See for yourself sir!' He glanced at the readout and screwed his face up in puzzlement. 'What the hell?' 'Cardassian phaser fire sir. They must have been using the place as a base for their operations and combat training. Sloppy, uncharacteristic for them really, I guess they were overconfident sir.' Riker nodded and stepped away, tapping his communicator badge. 'Away Team to Enterprise. Captain we have definite signs here of Cardassian occupation. I don't believe any more time should be spent investigating further.' The snap decision was made. 'Agreed.' 'Away Team to Enterprise, fifteen to beam up.' Confinement beams resembling columns of blue light enveloped all present and disassembled them down beyond their component atoms to pure energy before transporting them the 500 miles to the Enterprise above in high orbit.
