Author's Notes: To any Star Wars fans unfamiliar with some of the characters, a simple google search will bring you up to speed. I promise these are all established characters. Thank you all so much for reading.
Chapter Two: The Briefing
Star Trek Universe: Federation Space, Beta Quadrant, Above Space Station Depp Space 9, Inside USS Enterprise.
The interior of the USS Enterprise E was buzzing with activity as usual. The crew was hard at working prepping for last minute inspections, surveying equipment and running countless diagnostics on the warp core configuration, the phase bank relays, and everything else in between. In the medical bay Bashir, the Enterprise's newly appointed physician was hard at work assessing the health of most of the crew. At engineering Barkley studied schematics of the newly upgraded warp core capable of reaching Warps factor 12 as engine crews repaired and reworked every hatch in every Jefferies tube. Elsewhere, tactical teams cleaned phasor rifles and inventoried the armory; still others in stellar cartography studied every map of the Beta Quadrant and updated all of their findings. Yet despite all the hard working occurring no place on the ship was perhaps as prestigious as those who were upgrading the bridge.
The Bridge Officers of the Enterprise E, were some of Starfleet's finest. Being allocated to this ship and to this Bridge was more than just an honor, but a privilege itself. Although most in Starfleet would recognize them by name, many would not in comparison to the bridge crew of Enterprise D. At the forward position and main ship's pilot was a young Ferengi and first of his species to become a Starfleet officer, Ensign Nog, his ears roughly 10 times the size of a human, but who's height was lacking compared to his many bipedal species. At tactical was Lt. Hawk from Earth, a man who had served with Captain Picard during the second Borg encounter. Like Picard, he too had been assimilated into the Borg Collective during the second encounter in which the Borg traveled back in time and attempted to stop Humanity's First Contact with the Vulcans. Though Hawk had been assimilated into the Collective, he also found himself freed from Borg control after the events. Head of Operations was Jedzia Dax, and Third Officer. Like many Trill, Jedzia had many life times through her symbiotic relationship with her Trill symbiot. Then there was Lieutenant Alexander Rozhenko, Son of Worf; a Klingon with a human name and head ridges to match. Like his father, Alexander too was now Chief of Security for the Enterprise E; though unlike his father, he was far more human in his behavior. And at the Helm sitting in for his Captain, was Commander West Lee J. Crusher or "Westley" as many of his friends called him. Westley was relatively young, and like his new Captain, he too had served on the Enterprise D, the predecessor of his current vessel. Westley was smart, ambitious and a little impulsive, but he had the makings of a great officer, serving with the likes of Picard, Riker, Laforge all great captains, Westley came to understand the essence of command.
"Commander, we are approaching Deep Space 9," Ensign Nog gestured slightly at the view screen as he informed his commander.
"On screen," Westley replied.
Instantly the view screen of the ship changed for Astrometrics to a simple window-like view of the Station. Deep Space 9, was a massive star base capable of housing dozens of capital ships, and hundreds of smaller vessels, its three massive pillars curved perfectly together allowing many ships to fly near it or under its super structure. Nog's eyes began to light up the moment he saw it, it had been at least two years since he had seen the station, but it still made him light up with joy every time he did gaze at it. "Deep Space 9!"
"First time seeing the station," LT. Hawk asked?
"Are you kidding me," Nog sarcastically spoke. "I grew up here! My Uncle Quark owns the bar there. It's my home away from home!"
"It is nice to see it again," Jedzia smiled.
"Take us in Mr. Nog, thrusters only," Westley nodded.
"Aye sir, thrusters only," Replied Nog.
The Enterprise E maneuvered slowly, its massive super structure being much larger than most Starfleet ships, even twice the size of many capital vessels of Starfleet. It hovered closer to the edge of the station, being led first by its oval shaped saucer section, and guided by its rear dual pylons glowing red and blue. The ship floated in space like a massive sea whale, as if it were about to sing, but of course the only sounds it made were from the ambient of its engine.
"Commander Crusher we are being hailed by the Station's Commander," Informed LT. Commander Dax.
"On screen," Replied Westley
Again the depiction of open space was replaced by a tall slender Bajourian woman, her hair cut short and read, nose ridges on her face and a dangling earring hanging off her right ear. "Commander Crusher I presume," asked the Bajourian woman.
"Yes ma'am," Westley greeted standing from his chair and adjusting his uniform. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain?"
"I'm Captain Kira, Commander of this station and formally Colonel Kira of the Bajourian Militia. Welcome to Deep Space 9, the Federation's premiere station to both the Beta, and Gamma sectors of the galaxy. Your Captain is waiting for you here. He's being briefed by a few Admirals before his promotion ceremony. You may dock your vessel at port 7 at your leisure Commander. Oh, and if you're heading to Quark's bar while you wait, stay away from the Tongo tables."
Nog chuckled slightly. "Heh, heh, my good ole' Uncle Quark, he never misses the chance to make a profit. It's good to see you again Captain Kira!"
Kira shot Nog a look of surprise. "Nog is that you? And Dax?"
"Hello Nerys!" Dax smiled as Nog shot out an over emphasized wave.
"Well this ceremony is going to have all sorts of familiar faces isn't it," Kira smiled.
"You can say that again! Drinks on me," Nog excitedly stated.
"Be careful Nog, we just might hold you to that," Lt. Alexander laughed. "Klingon Blood Wine can be expensive!"
"Since when do you drink," Nog chuckled at the much tamed Klingon officer.
"I will drink you under five times over," bragged Alexander.
"I've seen tribbles more fierce than you," Nog laughed.
"In Qo'nos you'd be dead Ferengi," Alexander smirked.
"Thank the Blessed Exchequer for that," Nog baited
"Alright you two, let's keep it civil," Westley interjected; "Mr. Nog, docking bay 7 if you'd please."
"Aye sir, docking bay 7," Nodded the Ferengi ensign returning to his duties.
"So what do you know about our new Captain," Dax asked Westley turning to him.
"Well," Westley was hesitant to speak about Captain Data, as for many of the crew, this would be the first time they served with an android, or even an android captain, but here they were. "I can say this, out of all the officers I have served with, he may be the most human."
"What was his name again? Commander Data," Nog asked?
"Actually it's pronounced Data, not data. The A in his name makes an A sound. Da-A-ta," Westley corrected.
Nog shrugged with a puzzled look. "Data, not data… I don't get human names. What's the difference?"
Westley smiled. "One is his name, the other is not. And he's not human."
Inside Deep Space 9: Commanders briefing room.
The dark and dim atmosphere of the DS9 Command room was well tucked and hidden away, a stark contrast from the well light operations deck. Inside there was a simple holographic table, several seats for high ranking officers surrounding the table, finally there was a large view screen in which everything the commanders needed to display could be shown to those watching. Around the table sat some of the most powerful, memorable and high ranking officers the Federation had to offer: Admiral Sisko, former commander of DS9, and head of Starfleet's Five Beta Sector Fleets. Admiral Picard, former Captain of Enterprise E, and hero of both Borg encounters, now the official head of Starfleet. Admiral Janeway, former Commander of Voyager, Captains Riker, Worf and Laforge, the best Captains Starfleet had to offer, and finally Commander Data, the Android and former second in Command to Captain Picard of Enterprise E.
Admiral Picard leaned back on his chair, his uniform black and red with golden trim, his newly grown beard white and distinct, and what little hair he did have on his head was cut short and mainly grew on the sides. Though he was the eldest of the officers in the room, Picard was nothing short of a legend, rivaling the likes like Admiral Bones, Scottie, and James T. Kirk alike. He was a philosophical man, a man driven not by emotions but by reason, yet was a warrior all the same and commanded the respect of many if not all of Starfleet. "So what can you tell us Captain Laforge?"
Captain Laforge stood in his black and white Sierra Uniform (Star Trek Online Uniform) with red trim, gesturing to the view screen of the briefing room. He had dark skin, short black hair, but his eyes were his most promenade feature as they were both bionic in nature. Ironically, this man, born blind was once the pilot of the Enterprise D, and its former Chief Engineer. "Our first attempts at sending a probe through the wormhole didn't come back at all. It was as if they wormhole disappeared from the other side."
"Has the wormhole become unstable?" Captain Riker asked. If there was a younger scruffier version of Picard, Captain Riker was it. Having served as the First Officer of the Enterprise D, now Captain of the Titan, the sister ship to Enterprise E, there were hardly any who could match Riker's exemplary record.
"Initially that is what we believed, until our second round of probes all began to return. Each recording virtually the same data, until the last two were lost yet again." Laforge answered.
"So what does that tell us," Riker asked?
"Nothing initially, our third round of probes all returned, and all came back with the same readings and data, all identical to each other, however the data was different from the second wave of probes we sent. Different stars, different systems."
"And the fourth wave," Picard inquired.
Laforge continued, "The same as the second and third waves; all identical to each other, but different data from the other waves."
"What exactly does this denote," asked Admiral Sisko, who like Picard had a similarly bald head. Sisko was perhaps the toughest of the men in the room, his tactics and no-nonsense form of Command left very little room for banter, but he was one of the best commanders Starfleet had, winning countless skirmishes and battles in the Dominion wars. Unlike the other officers in the room, Sisko had a unique relationship to the Bajourian people as he was seen as the Emissary of the Prophets, a spiritual leader of sorts.
"We believed it was enough evidence to assume the wormhole was officially unstable, but… then we sent the seventh wave of probes and they came back identical to the second…" Laforge raised his eyebrows indicating what he was saying was significant.
The other officers adjusted themselves expressing renewed interest in what Laforge was saying. "Did you say identical?" Picard spoke with his voice slightly expressing excitement.
"Yes sir I did," Laforge reassured him. "That's when things looked even more interesting, because the eighth wave of probes came back with the same information as the third, and the ninth came back identical to the fourth."
"You are saying this could denote some form of pattern?" It was then that all eyes focused back on the golden figure in the room, Commander Data. Data was an android, a being not born, but built by someone else's flesh and bone. Though many in the galaxy saw Data as nothing more than a machine, those that knew him personally saw Data not as just an android, but a man; a being just as sentient as the next self-conscious species. Data was tall, slender, never aged, golden skinned, and often twitched when he spoke. Ho wever, despite all his outward robotic appearance, Data did all he could to emulate that of a human being, even to the point of equipping himself with an emotion chip, allowing him to feel what everyone else took for granted.
"Yes," replied Laforge. "That's exactly what I'm saying. We have sent probes over and over again through the wormhole, and nothing seems to match our star charts, but it does seem to indicate some sort of pattern. We believe that though the wormhole is stable on our side, on the other side it exits from five unique locations."
"Five different locations," Riker questioned. "Sounds to me like that doesn't seem very stable at all."
"At first that's what we thought as well, but the pattern keeps repeating. We've sent 15 waves of probes apart from the first, and each time we can predict the data perfectly. It is stable in some aspects, given a day or two. Every 36 hours, the exit changes. Here look," Laforge gestured again the view screen as it began to picture the ice world known as Hoth. "This exit here we call exist Alpha, it's near a glacier planet, completely made of ice and snow, though we have detected some forms of primitive life." Again the picture changed, and now there was a view of Tatoonie. "This world is near exist Beta, a desert planet, but we have captured pictures of alien lifeforms and signs of colonies. This one here," Laforge addressed again, "a gas world, with one exception, a single floating city."
"A floating city on a gas world," Riker questioned with skepticism?
"Apparently," Laforge nodded.
"And that world," asked Sisko
"That world is near exit Gama, seems to be a world filled with lots of oceans and a culture we believe to be more advanced. Although there seems to be a sub-sea dwelling race more primitive."
"Mr. Laforge, Geordie, is there any evidence that these worlds or people may have any space travel capabilities," Data inquired?
"I'm glad you asked. This gentlemen, is exit Delta…" The picture changed again to a view of Scarif, surrounded by its massive energy shield, and a faint depiction of an Imperial Star Destroyer in the foreground. "It's a planet completely encompassed in an energy field…"
"My God," Picard reacted nearly rising from his seat!
"Sir, we don't even detect warp signatures from their vessels. Whatever they're using to travel, it's safe to say is NOT warp technology…" Laforge addressed.
"Space travel without warp, that's almost impossible…" Riker noted in disbelief.
"What's our next course of action?" Sisko asked Picard looking on at his only superior in the room.
"Well," Picard shrugged, standing from his seat and walking about the briefing table. "Usually at this point I'd say Star Fleet would like to investigate, but as it turns out gentlemen, and lady," Picard gestured to Janeway who had yet to speak. "We ARE Star Fleet. I am the highest ranking member of Star Fleet Command, you are her best Captains, and soon to be Captain," again Picard nodded to Data, "The major decisions now are left to us to decide. And as the head of Star Fleet, I am making that executive decision."
"Which is," asked Janeway?
"To boldly go where no man has gone before," Picard smiled. "It is time to visit this potential new space, and uncover the mysteries it holds. We will send a single ship to explore it, and seek out these new life and new civilizations."
"Who will you send?" Data asked.
Picard smiled and placed his hand on Data's shoulder. "Well, I believe this would be a great opportunity for Star Fleet's first Android Captain. Mr. Data, the Enterprise will go!"
Sisko raised his eyebrows in skepticism. "One ship? I don't believe that is wise Admiral. I'd send the Challenger under Laforge, and the Titan under Riker with the Enterprise; safety in numbers after all."
Picard nodded. "I understand your concern Mr. Sisko. But this is a new galaxy we are talking about here. Sending three ships may be considered too aggressive. We want to show a display of peace, not a war party. Besides, the Federation is in peace time, the last thing we want is to scare these new alien species. One ship, our best ship, most advanced, and prepared to defend itself if need be, but one ship all the same. So… what say you CAPTAIN Data, do you accept this new mission?"
Data nodded in turn to Picard. "Yes sir… I do!"
Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of action in this one, but the next chapter will tell the Federation's side of the Battle of Scarif! :)
