Clouds drifted lazily accross the sky, casting their drifting shadows over a rolling landscape. Suddenly the wind began to howl and those clouds began to swell as something above them pushed their higher flying brethren downwards.
No longer light and fluffy, the sky was filled for a moment with ominous grey that churned and spread and from their midst, the hull of the U.S.S Equinox emerged coming to a graceful hover over the sedate plateau.
"Excellent job on your first planetary starship entry, Mr. Paris." Captain Ransom announced. "Stand down from blue alert."
"Are you sure sure, it does mean changing the bulb." Tom quipped at the helm. He glanced furtively out of his peripheral vision to see if anyone had noticed the sweat on his face.
"TV night. I don't catch the reference Mr. Paris, but then, I never do." Ransom replied dryly. "Max, assemble your landing party, you'll be taking the shuttle to investigate the origin of that distress signal, but stay low. The trinimbic interference will wreak havok on a shuttle. We'll begin standard flyover surveys."
"Sure you don't want to come along for the fun, Rudy?" Burke asked as he rose from his station, "Maybe we'll pick up a souvenir of our own?"
"Laforge is welcome to that scrap heap." Ransom replied, "I love a good mystery as much as anyone, but that relic was over 400 years old."
"True, but how often do you find an antique Earth automobile floating in space on the wrong side of the galaxy." Burke replied.
"I'll admit it's a first." Ransom told him, "But I'm happy just getting back to what we are out here to do, we've got a class L planet with unusual atmospheric properties. We'll hold down the fort while you investigate."
. *. *.
"You're telling me this might actually work?" Geordie was dubious.
"The theoretical principles are sound." Data replied, "Is that not why we deployed the Equinox to investigate the signal, while setting course for Talax?"
He stood in the Hera's science lab, with Data, the scientist Jetrel, Barclay and Neelix. The display before them contained recorded data from the Talaxian moon of Rinax. Barclay had added a ser s of transporter protocols designed to isolate and reconstitute biomatter.
"As a matter of fact, I was more concerned with the fact that we don't have a qualified Doctor on board, and evidently both Neelix and our guest are in need of medical attention." Geordie replied, "Reg, you are onboard to complete installation of an EMH. What happened?"
"Please forgive him Captain." Jetrell interjected, "I was making use of your facilities to study Mr. Neelix' condition and I couldn't help but ask him to tell me more of your transporter technology." Reg looked sheepish.
"Yeah. Well." Laforge replied looking at Barclay, "That's another issue. We don't generally go around sharing the principles of our technology, with the prominent military scientists of governments we haven't contacted formerly. Now when you contacted us, you said your interest was in helping Neelix. Mr. Neelix was not interested in talking to you, or recieving that help. I'm starting to sense a pattern here."
"I apologize for any seeming duplicity on my part." Jetrel replied, "But I have found that my reputation precedes me, whatever my intentions. I am a monster to the Talaxian people, and for good reason, but I cannot let myself be remembered that way." Geordie looked at him, his expression inscrutable.
"Well, with all due respect, you might want to reconsider your approach." Lafort replied.
"Mr. Barclay Mr. Data and even Mr. Neelix can see the merit of my work." Jetrel responded, "As an accomplished engineer, perhaps you could give it further consideration?"
"You want to.. reconstitute people who have been killed by this metreon Cascade." Geordie summarized, "Hundreds of thousands of people?" Jetrell nodded vigorously.
"Your mister Barclay has shared that you were recently able to perform a similar process with crewmen who were in need of replacement organs." Jetrell told him, "I have meticulously catalogued all of the biological profiles of the colonists on Rinax that were caught in the Cascade."
"The colonists that Neelix found suffering and dying." Laforge said dubiously, "You want to clone them?"
"Not clone, reconstitute." Jetrel clarified, "The individuals who were caught at the perimeter have suffered horrible injuries, largely fatal, but those caught in the actual blast experienced a nuclear fission instantaneously, however, they are still suspended in the metreon cloud."
"It is conceivable that this class of starship has both the transporter facilities needed, and the power output required to complete the procedure as Mr Barclay has proposed." Data observed.
"Captain, you could save hundreds of thousands of lives." Neelix told him. Geordie shook his head.
"Even if this works, what you are suggesting here, will take... a tremendous amount of resources." Laforge said, gesturing at the wall monitor they stood before. "I mean.. I can't say we shouldn't give it a shot, but if we actually succeed... well it's the work of a lifetime to actually see it through, and I can't ask that of this crew." He sighed. "We also don't have formal relations with either government here, and we're talking about an occupied planet. I think we better contact Captain Picard."
. *. *.
"These people are a page out of history." Ransom said, as he surveyed the tubes. "And a a schroedinger's box all over again." He mused.
"I thought Schroedinger had a cat." Torres commented. Ransom turned, she was working beside Ensign Gilmore at deciphering the controls.
"He had a cat in a box, and he posited that as long as the box remained closed, the cat was both alive and dead, until it was opened and it's state determined." Ransom explained.
"They are still alive." Torres clarified, the Captain nodded.
"But until we revive them, they are either my problem, or they aren't." He pointed out.
"We can't just leave them here." Torres pointed out.
"Can't we?" Ransom asked, "Should we even attempt to revive them without a doctor standing by? It seems to me we'd better figure out a solution to that transporter dilemma first, then we can revive them one by one, on the Equinox, if we want to find out who they are and what they know about how they got here."
"They must have doctors in those nearby cities." Gilmore said.
"We observed limited evidence of any advanced technology. They didn't even spot our ship coming in, and that antique airplane could probably have done that." Ransom pointed out.
"They did manage to jury rig that generator to the radio." Bellanna said, "But I would say that is a point in your favor Captain. Anyone linking such a low watt system to a fusion generator, likely has a limited understanding of the technology involved. That radio could keep running for the next five millennia, or any number of external factors could cause a power surge that fries the equipment, especially with this climate, I'm pretty sure that given just a few hours I could jury rig a wind powered alternative."
"Given a few hours, you could probably have gotten that plane flying again, BLT." Burke said entering the chamber. Bellanna snorted.
"I don't even believe that that wreck is over 400 years old, it shouldn't even be intact." Bellanna scoffed. Burke turned to Ransom.
"Captain, our guests have regained consciousness in Sickbay. Bellanna's right, they have a very limited technological base and the evidently fired on us because they didn't realize we were human." Max rolled his eyes while explaining.
Ransom shook his head. "They also didn't realize that a starship the next valley over could catch them in a wide area stun blast, so today is full of surprises for them."
"They are apparently the descendants of a slave colony brought here by a species unknown to us.' He nodded at the tubes. "They have a great deal of reverence for these capsules and the people in them. I took the liberty of not disclosing that we were examining what they evidently consider a holy site, but they may come to check on it."
"And that's our cue." Ransom said, "Pack it up ladies. If the stasis tubes are operational and the natives want to worship them, then it's above my pay grade."
"We're just going to leave them here?" Bellanna asked as she collected her tools and snapped shut her toolkit. Ransom for his part nodded.
"We have some potential allies here." He told her, "A fairly large human colony, a little bit out of our way home, but maybe not so far from Occampa that the Vulcans can't check in on them, right Max?"
"I hear they are building a whole fleet of runabouts " Max said waffling his eyebrows at Bellanna. Ransom nodded as they began walking. Bellanna looked at Gilmore and shook her head. "That's because I told him that." She griped to Gilmore.
"We'll take a trip up top and report in." Ransom said. "I'm sure Picard will know what to do."
. *. *.
"Well I think it's pretty obvious what we should do, Captain." Chakotay said,they sat in the Enterprise conference room, with Ro and Kes, while on the near screen, Jetrel, Neelix and Laforge attended, evidently from a science lab on Hera, and on the far screen, Ransom, and Burke stood on the bridge of the Equinox "on the one hand we've now got two colonies that are potentially friendly but not particularly capable of defending themselves, both the 37s and the Occampa. The Talaxians want us to reconstitute thousands of their people on the moon that is occupied by the Haakonian order." He looked at Picard. "We have to convince them that they are all pieces of a puzzle that fits together. "
"Our effect on the balance of power in this sector is becoming more pronounced the longer we stay." Picard expressed with dissatisfaction, "And yet I feel compelled to resolve the situations we become entangled in, to a degree that satisfies our duty as starfleet officers."
"It's certainly going to make for a roundabout way home." Chakotay observed, but Picard disagreed.
"Even with the resources we have accumulated, we must accept that there simply isn't an available way to return home directly." Picard replied, "We cannot simply pick a star and go straight on 'til morning', therefore it behooves us to remain mindful of our surroundings, and the we are a part of the events around us." He nodded to Ro.
"The Kaizon are continuing to fight each other for dominance." Ro reported, "And the Vidians have been raiding both them and the outer Haakonian colonies."
"Talaxians spread far and wide across this regions are beginning to organize and return home." Neelix commented, "Remember Rinax' is on all the message boards, there's even talk of organizing to retake the homeworld."
"Captain.. " Jetrel spoke up, "I still have some contacts in the government and I don't think they're eager for another round with the Talaxians, while the Kaizon, and these Vidians represent a threat, and meaning no disrespect to Mister Neelix, we were never interested in their planet anyway. The Talaxians had become first, rivals to interstellar trade, then an obstacle to exploration, and finally a military threat. I would argue that my people don't like what they found on the other side of Talaxian space, and the Talaxians themselves are hardly a military threat anymore. I think the issue is simply that after decades of warfare I think my people simply don't know how to proceed." He sighed, "if there were something we could give them ... some way of saving face.." Picard frowned.
"I'm certainly not comfortable trading technology to a species that has demonstrated the types of aggression that the Haakonian order has, if that is what you are suggesting. " He replied. Jetrel shook his head.
"While I certainly think they would be open to that, perhaps you could broker something of a mutually beneficial trade, and security arrangement as your Commander Chakotay has suggested." He replied, "I think that if the Talaxians could be persuaded to pay reparations we could create a path to returning their world to them," He held up a hand as Neelix became indignant, " while at the same time allowing the reconstitution project to proceed under the supervision of a team from your settlement on Occampa. Use of the Metreon Cascade was extremely unpopular among my people, we do not like being responsible for a genocide."
"The Talaxians seem to have established a robust trade network and likely have a lot to offer in terms of strategic intelligence as well. " Ro commented. Chakotay looked at Picard.
"We could pitch a trade alliance with the Occampans and the 37's as part of a package deal." He proposed, "If Neelix can get his people to expand the tentative trade agreement that he's brokered for the Occampans, to extend to the 37's.. then we bring it to the Haakonians." Picard looked at Kes, and she nodded cautiously.
"I am reluctant to admit it, " She stated, "But it seems the elders are open to my suggestions. The classes on the Array are going well, and we have begun something similar here on the Enterprise, and I think the more my people learn about the worlds beyond our own, the more they want to be part of things."
"We're on station above Rinax." Laforge announced, "And the Haakonians haven't really shown anything that is even close to a match to the Hera. We could remain here and continue the reconstitution project."
"The Enterprise shall join you." Picard said. "The Occampans have completed construction of enough runabouts, that with the resources of the array, they can deter the Kaizon." He turned to Ransom. "How do you see the 37's responding to all this?"
"Some of my crew have already shared word of our experiences." Ransom said, "The 37's are somewhat protected by the properties of their planet's atmosphere but they are very wary of the return of the aliens who enslaved them, and they have few defenses." He looked at Burke, "I think they'd be open to some new friends, but I also think that anything less sturdy than a Runabout won't be able to penetrate their atmosphere. Bellanna has already been filling their heads with dreams of space elevators and orbital stations."
"Would the prime directive really apply to a colony of humans that were taken halfway across the galaxy against their will?" Chakotay asked, Picard rubbed his forehead, and shook his head.
"It seems like we have quite a bit of work ahead of us." Picard said. "Captain Ransom, as the Enterprise and the Hera will be indisposed, I intend to dispatch the Orinoco and the Rio Grande in the company of the Val Jean to provide you some company. Would you be so good as to accommodate their crews as needed?" Ransom nodded and signed off.
"Captain, " Laforge was still on his screen with Jetrel. "There is maybe one more thing you might need to know." Picard turned back to the screen.
"I wasn't comfortable bringing this up in front of Mr. Neelix." Jetrel pointed out, "But I was asked to consult on an alien ship some weeks ago, it has been quite problematic for our outer colonies, and our military was preparing for a major engagement, as it's technology is quite formidable."
"Commander Data was able to identify it from the records he downloaded from the Array, it was pulled in about two years ago, but it doesn't look like it's headed home." Laforge nodded as he sent an image and Picard glanced at the monitor behind him which lit up with a new image. "I think the Haakonian definitely have a problem on their hands."
A Cardassian Galor class warship.