Chapter 7

The Enterprise

"I see you have Alec Wilson on your ship."

"Yes, he's one best officers." said Picard. "You've heard of him?"

"When I was choosing my crew for Voyager, I tried to have him transferred from the Zhukov, but Captain Gleason wasn't giving him up."

"He's been on board for seven months, ever since the Enterprise chief of security was killed on an away mission, so far he's been invaluable to the ship." said Picard "The first time I heard of Alec Wilson was two years ago when he was chief of security and second officer of the Lakota. She had gotten into a battle with a Dominion Battleship, it was easily twice as large as the Enterprise-D and three times as strong. The captain and first officer were unconscious. With the assistance of the Lakota helmsman, Alec destroyed the ship by targeting key areas and delivering striking blows with what was left of the weapons. When I heard about that, I wanted that man on my ship. The Lakota was taken off the front, and Captain Gleason owed me a favor so I put in a request to have him transferred aboard the Enterprise."

He could give Tuvok a run for his latinum. Janeway sipped her coffee. She was curious as to what happened to Picard's previous command. According to the dedication plaque on the bridge, she knew the ship was launched five years ago, which meant that the Enterprise-D was either destroyed or decommissioned not long after Voyager was brought to the Delta Quadrant. Janeway assumed it was the former, since Galaxy-Class starships are supposed to have a service life of about one hundred years. "If I may ask, what happened to the Enterprise-D?"

The thought of his former command always made Picard ache, and this time was no different. He missed that ship, she truly went before her time. Although he had saved the Federation several times on board the Enterprise-E, she could never quite fill the gap in his heart left by her predecessor. "The Enterprise-D was destroyed orbiting Veridian III. The Duras sisters had somehow found a way to penetrate the shields. Captain James T Kirk. and I were down on the planet trying to prevent a Dr. Soran from firing a solar probe into the Veridian star. The Enterprise destroyed their Bird-Of-Prey, but she suffered heavy damage and a warp core breach occurred. She completed an emergency saucer separation, but the shockwave from the explosion disabled the saucer and they were forced to crash land on the planet."

"Excuse me," said Janeway, not sure if she had heard correctly. "But you did say Captain Kirk."

"Yes I did. If you don't mind though I'll explain at a different time."

"Of course. Now, what about the Enterprise-E?"

"The Enterprise-E is a Sovereign-Class starship, launched on stardate 49027.5. Originally she was going to be launched as the U.S.S. Sovereign seeing as how she was the prototype. But when the Enterprise-D was destroyed Starfleet changed the name. She is the most advanced starship in the fleet. Mainly designed to fight the Dominion and the Borg."

"I guess Voyager couldn't stay state-of-the-art forever." said Janeway.

"In every aspect she is superior to the Enterprise-D. I am fortunate to be her captain."

Janeway took a sip from her coffee. "I have to say," said Janeway. "From what I've read about you, it's the other way around."

"Thank you Captain." said Picard.

"Please, call me Kathryn." replied Janeway.

La Forge yawned. He and Seven Of Nine had been working for hours on a way to reopen the wormhole and fatigue was starting to take him over. The pulsing of the warp core behind him didn't help much either. So far they had been unsuccessful in their attempts. La Forge's best shot didn't work. He tried using a modified neutrino beam, much like the one Lieutenant Dax used on Deep Space Nine. But as Seven Of Nine said so bluntly beforehand, it didn't work. "Try a high-level tachyon scan." said La Forge.

"Scan is negative, no neutrinos detected."

La Forge yawned again. "You want some coffee?" He needed caffeine. Between the hypnotic pulsing of the warp core and lack of sleep he needed all the help he could to stay awake.

"Coffee is irrelevant. We must concentrate on the task at hand. But thank you." Seven was still developing her social skills, and occasionally had to remind herself to be polite.

"Suit yourself. Raktajino." La Forge removed the Klingon coffee from the replicator. As he returned to his seat he took a sip. "Ahh. That's better." Setting the coffee down on the surface of the work station he looked back to his console. Nothing, after hours of work they'd accomplished nothing.

Seven arose from her chair and walked past the warp core to another station. She looked up at the core as she went by it. It was larger than Voyager's, and of different design. Reaching the other console she noticed several officers whispering to each other. They were nervous around her, and understandably so. They had barely survived their own clash with the Borg five years ago. She encountered the same behaviour when she became part of Voyager's crew. Seven promptly returned to her previous workplace and ignored the glances aimed her way. "Your Enterprise, it is an impressive starship. A most efficient design. I doubt the Federation fleet could have defeated the Borg without it."

"Thank you. Voyager's not bad either." said La Forge.

"Your Lieutenant Commander Wilson is also impressive."

"Alec? Yeah, he's a good officer." said La Forge as he drank his coffee.

"That is an understatement." said Seven. "If he had been captured instead of Captain Picard, the Borg would have succeeded in assimilating the Federation."

Seven's words made La Forge freeze. He was sure he looked odd just sitting there with his coffee mug held in front of his face but he didn't care. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He knew Alec was an exceptional officer, even one of the best he'd ever seen, but he never would have thought that Alec would have made that big of a difference in the fate of the Federation. If Seven is right, then they might soon find out.

Tuvok was on his way to Lieutenant Commander Wilson's quarters. He was curious about the defensive capabilities of the Enterprise and knew the best person to talk to was her chief tactical officer. He looked at the name on the doors to make sure he had the right room, when Tuvok saw that he was he pushed the door chime. "Come in." said a voice from inside. Tuvok stepped inside. When the doors closed behind him he was shrouded in darkness. The lights in the room were deactivated. On his right along the wall he saw Alec sitting at a desk, light shining on his face from the monitor mounted on the surface.

"What can I do for you?" asked Alec still looking at the monitor.

"Commander," said Tuvok. "I wish to ask you about the Enterprise defensive capabilities." Alec sighed, almost annoyed. Tuvok being an excellent judge of human behaviour recognized the reaction right away. "I could come back later if you wish."

"Oh, n-no, no." said Alec. "I was getting bored. I can use the company. Computer, lights." The lights in the room lit up to their normal level. Tuvok could now see the room in more detail. There was a potted plant on a table in the corner of the room, some of the leaves were starting to turn brown. As Alec pushed himself up his hand turned the monitor around. Tuvok could now see what was being displayed. The monitor on Alec's desk was displaying pictures of him and a human female. "Go ahead, shoot."

Tuvok held his P.A.D.D. before him ready to input information. "What is the Enterprise's shield capacity?"

"The shield grid is an automatic modulation system with a capacity of 4,563,000 TeraJoules."

"Impressive. What is the hull composition?"

"The ship's skin is a heavy Duranium tritanium double hull with a 10 centimeter thick ablative armor plate. Ablative armor is designed to vaporize under weapons fire, it dissipates energy and protects the ship's systems. Currently the only ship in the fleet to have it." Alec was posted on the Enterprise seven months ago. He was the tactical officer aboard the U.S.S. Lakota for two years. During his posting on the Lakota he had received four commendations for exceptional performance. All of which were received during the war. It was his performance on the Lakota which earned him a promotion to Lieutenant Commander. He now knew more about the Enterprise tactical systems than anybody else in the fleet. Even more than those that built her.

"Most impressive. What is the phaser and torpedo capability?"

"Prepare to say impressive again Mr. Tuvok." said Alec. "The Enterprise-E has fourteen Type XII phaser banks. Six torpedo launchers, three forward, three aft, with an arsenal consisting of quantum and photon torpedoes."

"Fascinating. What is her torpedo compliment?"

"She has a full compliment of 300 quantum torpedoes and 280 photon torpedoes." said Alec. "Another feature of the Sovereign-Class starship is her separation ability."

"Separation ability?"

"Yes. Just like the Galaxy-Class, the Sovereign-Class can separate if it has to. If it does separate the enemy will want to steer clear of the saucer section. It has the main quantum torpedo launcher and houses eleven of the phaser banks."

"Thank you Commander." said Tuvok. "This experience has been most enlightening."

Moore was relaxing in his quarters with a glass of Saurian Brandy. After a long duty shift, one which felt like it dragged on for days, he planned on doing nothing else until his next turn at the helm. In his hand was a P.A.D.D. containing files on Voyager. Like many other Starfleet officers he was fascinated with her and her crew. When normal contact was established using the data stream, countless requests for information updates were sent in, Moore was one of them.

The sounds of the door chime startled him as he was not expecting any visitors. "Yeah." Moore recognized his visitor right away, being a pilot himself Tom Paris was one of his favorite officers to read about. "Can I help you Lieutenant?"

"Pardon me sir, but Tuvok's aboard asking questions about your ship's tactical systems so I figure I might as well get some information from her chief pilot."

"Sure," said Moore. "Have a seat. Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you." said Paris as he sat down in the chair opposite his host.

Moore took a sip of his brandy before setting the glass on the table. "Okay, what would you like to know?"

"First things first." said Paris eagerly. He needed to ask the question that was on his mind ever since he first saw the Enterprise. "How fast is she?"

"Ah. Good question." said Moore. "Two years ago she was installed with a new advanced warp core, she has a maximum top speed of warp 9.996."

"9.996?!" exclaimed Paris. Voyager's top speed was only 9.9, a third the maximum of the Enterprise. "For how long?"

"Theoretically forty-eight hours. Since it was installed we haven't tested the engines at full capacity."

"If I were at the helm," said Paris. "I'd be tempted to try it out when the Captain's not there."

"Believe me, I've wanted to."

"What's her maneuverability like?"

"The Sovereign-Class starship has the maneuvering capabilities of a ship a quarter of it's size."

"So she can move better than Voyager?" asked Paris, almost unable to believe it.

"If I had to pick a starship that she could move like, it would be a Saber-Class."

"Saber-Class?"

"Oh right. Sorry about that." Moore realized what had happened. He had just named a starship class that Paris would be completely unaware of. "The Saber-Class starship was commissioned five years ago."

"I've been away too long. I can't imagine how many new classes of ships have been commissioned since we've been gone."

"There aren't as many as you'd think." said Moore. "The most well-known are the Sovereign-Class, the Akira, the Prometheus, the Saber, and the Steamrunner."

"I'll have to take a look at your database."

"My first assignment out of the academy was as a helm officer on the U.S.S. Thunderchild, an Akira-Class starship." Moore turned his computer console. He brought up some data on his former post and turned the monitor towards Paris. "She was a pretty sweet ship. I was a little upset when I was transferred. But it quickly faded, I couldn't ask for more than the Enterprise."

"I didn't think anyone else besides me knew what the word 'sweet' meant." said Paris as he looked at the stats. It was a very unique starship design. A round saucer section connected to the aft portion by a catamaran hull. Protruding downward from the aft section were two warp nacelles. He's right though, that is a sweet ship.

"You should talk to my buddy Alec, he's more interested in Earth's past than anyone I've ever seen." Moore took on more drink of his brandy before pushing the empty glass away. "It may also interest you to know that we have one of your shuttles on board."

"One of my shuttles?" asked Paris. "You have a Delta Flyer?"

"Soon, every ship in the fleet will have a Delta-Class shuttlecraft on board. When Starfleet first received the specs in the data stream they were intrigued with the design. They made some modifications though."

"What kind of modifications?" Paris was almost afraid to ask.

"Not many. They replaced the controls from that holodeck program of yours, uh, Captain Proton. Starfleet wanted to be able to control the shuttles more accurately. They also replaced the Borg weapon systems with more conventional ones."

"Well I can't say I blame them for the weapons systems, but taking out my Captain Proton controls, that's just criminal."

"Oh I completely agree." said Moore. "Impulse engines are more efficient now as well. At sub-warp speeds we can move up to 15 faster than Voyager."

"Then I guess if you're ever outgunned you could really high-tail it out of there."

"I doubt that would ever happen" said Moore smugly. "But yes we could"

Picard and Janeway talked for hours his ready room. Picard talked about his experience with the Nexus and Captain Kirk, their encounter with Zefram Cochrane, the Dominion, and the incident at the Ba'ku world. Janeway talked about her bridge officers, the Caretaker, the Kazon, the Vidiians, and many of the other species they've encountered in the Delta Quadrant. anyway envied Picard, being captain of a ship that carries such a legendary name as Enterprise. In a way Picard envied Janeway, being able to make first contact with all sorts of new species, and exploring such a vast region of uncharted space. Voyager is one ship that has truly gone where no one has gone before.

"We even came upon the U.S.S. Equinox." said Janeway.

"The Equinox? They were reported missing before Voyager."

"Apparently they were brought to the Delta Quadrant by the same life-form as us."

"What happened to her?"

"When their situation became critical, they entered orbit around a planet inhabited by a species called the Ankari. The Ankari involved the Equinox crew in one of their sacred rituals. The ritual involved 'summoning a spirit of good fortune from another realm.' But the creatures weren't spirits."

"What were they?" asked Picard.

"They were some sort of nucleogenic life-form." replied Janeway. "The tricorder scans showed that they emitted high levels of antimatter. The Equinox crew traded for one of the summoning devices and found out that they could contain the life-forms using multi-phasic forcefields."

"I assume they used the life-form for energy."

"Correct." said Janeway. "Ten isograms of the converted alien increased the Equinox's warp factor by 0.03 for one month. They managed to go 10,000 light years in two weeks."

"How did they convert the alien into energy?"

"When the Doctor beamed over to the Equinox, he discovered that they were using some sort of matter conversion technology to extract the base proteins and turn the aliens into some sort of crystalline compound."

"I find it hard to believe that Captain Ransom would authorize such a procedure." said Picard.

"Apparently their time in the Delta Quadrant was more chaotic than ours." said Janeway. "In their first week they were attacked by an aggressive species and lost thirty-nine crew members."

"Half his crew." said Picard. "A Nova-Class starship, 70,000 light years from home. It's a wonder they made it as far as they did."

"And all they did to make it work," said Janeway. "was delete their EMH's ethical subroutines."

"If it weren't for your EMH, you probably would have never known."

"We're all quite proud of the Doctor." said Janeway.

"We should introduce our EMH's to each other."

"Our doctor told us that EMH's are no longer modeled after Lewis Zimmerman."

"That's true." said Picard. "They were converted into maintenance holograms. The Mark II EMH was programmed out of thin air with no model. The Mark III was modeled after Dr. Julian Bashir on Deep Space Nine, and I'm proud to say the Mark IV EMH is modeled after Dr. Crusher. The Enterprise was the first starship to be equipped with the Mark IV."

"What does she think about that?" asked Janeway.

"Even though it's modeled after her she swore she'd never use it." said Picard. "I'm curious Captain, these Vidiians, di-"

"Riker to Captain Picard."

Picard tapped his combadge, he waited until the usual clicking sound subsided before responding. "Picard here. Go ahead Number One."

"Sir, you and Captain Janeway better come to the bridge."

Picard and Janeway got up and walked out the door to the bridge. Riker was sitting in the center chair, his face fixed on the viewscreen. Troi was on his left, everyone else was at their stations, not moving a muscle. When he saw Picard he stood out of the chair, relinquishing command of the ship to her captain.

"Report." said Picard.

"Captain," said Riker. "The Borg ship has increased its speed to warp 9. They'll reach our position in five minutes."