Mission

"Wake up, sleepyheads!" Acelynn's cheery voice called from across the room. Leila poked her head out from under her pillow.

"What time is it?" she groaned, without opening her eyes.

"It's…" Acelynn consulted the clock on the wall, "almost noon." Leila stuffed her head back under her pillow.

"Noon?" came her muffled reply. "Well that means we still have…" Suddenly she bolted upright in the bed, eyes wide. "Noon? You said noon?" Acelynn nodded, obviously confused. "Oh, no! I was supposed to meet the Admiral for lunch at noon! Elvira!" She exclaimed, throwing her pillow and the lump beneath the covers on the bed beside her.

"What?" a disgruntled Elvira mumbled.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Leila accused.

"Leila. I'm a doctor, not a walking wake-up call," Elvira retorted. "Now it will do no good for you to just sit there worrying about if you missed you lunch date. Get up and get dressed," she ordered. Leila complied, throwing off her own covers and hurrying into her uniform. Elvira chuckled at the sight of her friend frantically tearing the room apart.

"What are you laughing at? You two are coming with me," Leila reminded the girls, pinning a few curls back at one side of her head with an ornate jade clip.

Ten minutes later the threesome arrived at the Admiral's quarters. The huge stone building was located next to Starfleet Academy, allowing the Admiral easy access to the school. Leila pressed the button for the intercom beside the giant gates.

"This is Captain Leila, Dr. Elvira, and First Officer Acelynn requesting permission to enter. We were invited to dine with Admiral Pike," she announced formally.

"Yes, very well. You may enter," a tinny voice replied. The elaborate bronze gates swung forward to allow the ambassadors in. A young cadet hurried forward.

"Ladies," he greeted, inclining his head," I am to lead you to the Admiral. Follow me, please."

The cadet led them through a vast pavilion. Leila gazed in awe at a giant stone water fountain in the likeness of one of Starfleet's ships. The name of the ship was engraved at the base of the fountain. As they walked on, more water fountains like that one came into view. Leila realized that each fountain represented one of the ships. She gasped in wonder; there must be hundreds of them. Leila turned her attention back to the cadet, about to ask how many fountains there really were. She swallowed her question after noticing that said cadet was appreciatively peeking out of the corner of his eye at the ladies. 'Really,' Leila thought to herself, 'were all men the same?' After a few more minutes of walking, the cadet stopped at an elaborate entryway to what looked like an exquisite garden. The smell of roses and lilies wafted across the entry's threshold.

"The Admiral is waiting in the gazebo," the cadet informed, pointing toward the center of the garden, where a white structure could be seen. The girls thanked him – Leila maybe a little colder than usual – and they started over to the gazebo. When they were a few yards away, the Admiral spotted them.

"Ah, there you are! Welcome!" he called cordially, rising from his seat in the gazebo. He gave each woman a kiss on both cheeks, in the classic Alliance greeting. "Come, sit," he invited, gesturing to a small table, already waiting with cups of steaming tea. "There are some people I would like you to meet and topics we need to discuss."

As Leila rounded the corner of the gazebo, she realized that the Admiral was not alone. Two other figured sat comfortably in wicker chairs, waiting for the ambassadors to sit in their own chairs. Leila, Elvira, and Acelynn sat, thanking the Admiral for his hospitality.
"I would like you to meet two invaluable members of Starfleet," Admiral Pike announced. He gestured to the tall, dark-haired man. "This is Dr. McCoy, one of the head doctors in the agency."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Elvira smiled, inconspicuously running her eyes over the other doctor's body.

"The pleasure is mine," the doctor replied, his smile growing wider.

"And this," The Admiral continued, walking behind the other man's chair to put his hands on the young man's shoulders, "is Captain James T. Kirk, captain of our newest ship, the USS Enterprise." Leila turned to give the man her full attention. She had heard much about the ship and was very curious about the new vessel. For some reason, however, this man seemed familiar. In a split second she realized why. This Kirk was the same man that had whispered the loud comment during her speech; he was the same man that began the whistling fiasco as she left. He eyes narrowed.

"How do you do?" she greeted with an attempt at being polite, but unable to keep all the venom out of her voice. She sensed Elvira and Acelynn turn to her slightly, wondering what was wrong, and she remembered that they had not heard stories about or come into contact with Kirk yet. 'Lucky them,' Leila thought.

"How do you do?" Kirk responded, raising one eyebrow suggestively. He flashed a set of pearly white teeth and winked. The Admiral, still behind Kirk, did not seem to notice the exchange. Leila resisted the urge to throw up.

Having introduced his two companions, Admiral Pike walked toward the entrance of the gazebo, turned, and gazed at the garden.

"Do you know why you are here?" he questioned the members of the Alliance, his back still turned toward them.

"Yes, of course," answered a slightly confused Leila. "We are here to establish diplomatic relations between Starfleet and the Ivy Alliance. Neither agency has done so in the past, and we felt that it was time to become steadfast allies. We are not looking to combine the agencies, but to organize and maintain functional and operational relations," she summarized. "Were you not at my speech last night, Sir?" She had explained everything in as much detail as she had been allowed in the speech. She had not wanted to bother with questions like these.
"Yes, I was," the Admiral sighed. Then he muttered, "Well, the Alliance told them exactly what they said they would."

"Excuse me, Sir?" Elvira asked, not understanding. Admiral Pike sighed once more and then turned to look at the ambassadors.

"The Alliance lied to you," he clearly stated.

"Sir, I must object," Acelynn debated. "We were sent here to…"

"Yes, I know why you believe you were sent here," the Admiral interrupted. "I had many discussions with the Alliance's commanders on this topic. I told them why I wanted one of their ships, and they agreed. They refused to relay the reason to the crew, however, instead allowing them to believe that they were sent here to establish diplomatic relations. Your commanders wanted to leave the explanation to me. I told them that it would be easier the other way, but no…," he trailed off. "Anyway, you're here now, and I will now disclose your reason for being here." Leila's eyes burned with curiosity. She stole a look at Kirk and saw that he was also listening intently, all traces of mocking humor gone.

"Are we the only ones who have not been told of this?" Elvira asked accusingly, looking hard at the Admiral.

"No," he replied. "As a matter of fact, it is the other way around. You will be the first ones besides the Alliance and Starfleet commanders to know about this."

"Go on," Leila prodded. The Admiral nodded and began to speak.

"Have any of you heard of the planet Tremonillian?" he questioned the men and women before him.

"Tremonillian?" Kirk repeated. "The uninhabited planet we discovered some years ago?" Admiral Pike nodded again.

"Yes, that would be it. Tremonillian was discovered nearly twenty-five years back. As usual, when a new planet is discovered, Starfleet set a ship to document everything about it: its life forms, climate, atmosphere, and, most importantly, its civilizations. The ship returned with a very unusual report. Although the atmospheric and planetary conditions were perfect for life, there was no sign of any civilization. Further reports stated that the planet was a giant forest. Tremonillian's climate resembles that of Earth more closely than any other known planet." The Admiral paused, took a sip of his tea, and resumed. "Tremonillian had always been a benign planet. They only reports we ever received about the planet were those of natural occurrences, like a minor earthquake or tsunami. Eventually our officers deemed the planet unimportant, and we began to pay less and less attention to it. Soon we only received reports about it once every few months. We like to report on planets at least once a week, and sometimes more depending on the planet." The Admiral stopped once more, making eye contact with every member of his audience before resuming. "Two weeks ago, a cadet brought me a report of Tremonillian. I suspected that another forest fire had broken out or something of the like, but I read it anyway. I was shocked at the contents of the report.

Since the last report of Tremonillian, a huge crater had appeared in the planet's never-ending forest, surrounded by a faint nebula of blue-green light. This would not have been so surprising if not for the second half of the report. No meteor showers or any other space occurrences had been reported anywhere near the planet for the past year and a half. There would have been a report if a meteor shower was about to come into contact with the planet. This led to only one possible conclusion: the crater and nebula did not appear on the planet naturally." The Admiral stopped for a third time.

"But didn't you say that no civilizations existed on the planet? So nothing unnatural could have caused the crater, either," Acelynn concluded.

"That would be correct, if we were right," the Admiral countered. "The only possible theory is that we were wrong, that Tremonillian actually does have some sort of a civilization. This brings me to the reason I invited all of you to tea this afternoon. Although Tremonillian is very much like Earth, Starfleet simply does not have the technology to penetrate the planet's atmosphere."

"But didn't you say that that ship…" began Elvira.

"No," answered the Admiral, before she could finish. "The ship that made the original documentation of the planet never actually landed on it. Starfleet never allows a ship to land on a newly discovered planet. Not at first. That ship made those observations from above. You would be surprised to see what you can find with this type of a recon mission. The crew found that, despite its climate being much like Earth's, Tremonillian's outer atmosphere could not be more different. Once a ship got past the outer atmosphere, however, the immediate atmosphere conditions seemed to mimic Earth's. We at Starfleet had always figured that the inability to penetrate the outer atmosphere was the reason for the lack of civilization. If Starfleet possessed the most advanced technology and we were not able to bypass it, then it would be impossible for anyone else." The Admiral leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees. "Two weeks ago, when I received the report of Tremonillian's crater, I realized that there must be some kind of civilization. How else would a crater that size appear in the planet, with no reports of space activity? I knew that somehow we needed to get in there, to make sure the civilization was not malicious and to offer them a spot in the Federation. We could not rightly fly right through, considering our technology is not fit to do so. I made a decision, without asking the commanders' approval. I contacted the Ivy Alliance.

I knew that the Alliance did not exactly follow the Federation's orders, although it was still a part of the Federation. This led me to believe that it might have some other technology that hadn't been seen before. I contacted the commanders of the Alliance, and, after relaying our situation, they confirmed my theory. They probably wouldn't have given me the time of day if not for their concerns on the matter at hand. If Tremonillian's inhabitants – if there really were any - proved to be malicious, it could pose a serious problem for all of us. Nobody knows what type of technology, weaponry, and information they might have. I needed an Alliance ship. I asked the Alliance to lend me one for the exploration of Tremonillian. They refused, wanted to lead the exploration themselves. After many negotiations with Commander Nazuri, the head diplomatic commander, as you well know, we came to an agreement. The Alliance would lend me a ship, and I would allow some of the Alliance crew to collaborate with some of my crew. Depending on how it works out, the new crew will be comprised of half Alliance and half Starfleet crew members." The Admiral looked very seriously at those before him. "Should you accept, you will all take part in the exploration. It will be dangerous, and some of your crew members, if not you, yourselves, will die. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to explore the planet Tremonillian and find and meet its inhabitants. You will offer them a place in the Federation, which will provide protection from enemies. If the inhabitants prove to be hostile and malicious, you will contact me, as I will be here, and await my instruction. During this time, you will eliminate only those you must to ensure your protection." The Admiral paused once more, hesitating before the inevitable question. "Do you accept upon these terms?"

Leila glanced at Elvira and Acelynn, who each nodded once without any hesitation, a grim but excited look in their eyes.

"We do," Leila announced firmly. Admiral Pike then turned to Kirk and the doctor.

"And you?" he asked, seeming to know the answer already.

"Do you even need to ask?" Kirk replied. A slow smile started, resembling a sort of a snarl, and Leila knew that he was hoping the inhabitants would be malicious, after all. "Of course we're in. Right, Bones?" He gave the doctor a nudge.

"Well, I couldn't exactly leave you to fend for yourself out there. You tend to get your impulsive self into an unimaginable amount of impossible situations," Bones replied, rolling his eyes. Kirk grinned.

Admiral Pike stood, stretching his legs.

"Well, I guess that will be enough for today. Get your crews together," he ordered, addressing the captains. "Both crews must be condensed into one by tomorrow at 0800. The ship will depart at 1100, and you had better be ready by then," he warned. He gave the sun a quick glance. It was still high in the sky. "It's still early. You had better get moving. There's a lot to do."