Star Trek: Horizon
Chapter 1
Sins of the Past
"Perdition catch my soul. But I do love thee, and when I love thee not, Chaos is come again." Othello, 3.3.91-93
Stardate 59519.1
Talia, 12th Moon of Tenos VIII
As the round, smooth stone passed through the shields and made its first skip across the methane ocean, it could have been any rock on any planet in the galaxy, save for the liquid giving a deep blue tint rather than soft blue or clear. On the second skip ice formed at the ridges of the stone, and by the third time the tossed stone hit the water the temperature had frozen the stone so much it shattered into pieces and fell into the slowly moving ocean.
Above, the sky was blue, the weather was warm, the wind was cool. Perfect weather for a trans-terra formed moon deep in the Tenos System. High above the bright yellow sun shown over the crescent gas giant and around the rings that ended just a few clicks from the moon. Twenty yards away, behind the grand shields of the terra formed moon was a torrent of frozen oceans, wastelands, great sweeping storms and radioactive destruction. Technology truly is amazing.
The cool breeze swept along the grass, catching the trimmed hair of the man staring out to the flowing waves of the methane ocean. He tossed another flat stone into the air, caught it, then let it loose, skipping through the shield and shattering on the third skip into the Okuda Ocean.
On the ground lay the gray overshirt of his uniform with communicator still attached, and a data pad relaying information. Schematics, statistics, personnel data all filled the screen of the pad, all telling of the Nova class ship waiting back at Space Dock in Sector 001 for its Captain.
The young man's eyes glanced across the ship's complement of personnel as he reached down and picked up another smooth round rock. At the very top of the pad, in gold bold letters were his own name: Alexander S. Dorsey, Captain.
Alexander tossed another stone into the air and watched it fall back. The lighter gravity of the moon caused it to fall more slowly, somewhat like a leaf dancing on the wind back on Alexander's home. Galileo Regio, Ganymeade. When he closed his eyes, the young Captain could almost see the towering sky scrapers of the city, feel the falling snow. He could swear he felt the belt effects of Jupiter, listen to the jazz halls of Orleans Ave., hear the voice of the angel he swore he would marry. Her soft blonde hair flowing down her shoulders over her blue Starfleet uniform.
Alexander opened his eyes to the bright blue atmosphere. A flash of lightning reached from the clouds above to the waves of methane below. She was then. She was gone. This is now. He reached back and let loose the stone, breaking through the shield and shattering the rock into the ocean.
"Hey you!" a voice called from behind. "Stop that! You're not suppose to throw things onto the planet!"
Alexander turned to see a young officer rushing from the gray compound. He wore a green trim to his uniform and carried a heavy gray bag slung over one shoulder. Data pads seemed to be spilling out of the pad as the wind swept through his dark, curly hair. He had olive skin and looked to be descended from the Arab peoples of Earth.
"You know that you could destabilize that shield with that rock?" the young man called out.
"Come now, Ensign, I seriously doubt I'll destroy a shield built to take a direct phaser blast with a simple little rock," Alexander said.
The officer hurried down the hillside and came to a stop with a huff, slightly out of breath from his quick trek across the compound. His eyes widened at the sight of the four pins on Alexander's neck and he quickly straightened his posture and stared forward.
"My apologies, Captain, I didn't realize you were a…that is, I thought that…"
"--That someone was out here doing something they shouldn't be doing, Ensign?" Alexander finished for the young man. "You were quite right. Forgive a man for being alone in his thoughts and acting absentmindedly, Ensign-- Uh, Ensign--"
"Armand, Sir," he answered, letting the air from his lungs go. "Ensign Amir Armand, Captain."
"Very good, Ensign, you may at ease," Alexander answered. It still felt strange, after three years, to give the order after waiting for so long to hear it from Captains. Sometimes, Alexander forgot and stood waiting around for a second wondering 'why doesn't the Captain let them go?'
"What are you Captain of, may I ask, sir?" Amir queried as the Captain reached down and picked up his uniform and data pad. The two turned back to the compound.
Alexander's eyes moved past the square, hulking military compound to the distant mountains beyond. "You've already asked, but I'll answer. The USS Queensland."
"The Queensland?" Amir shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't heard of it."
"Just commissioned. Still in Space Dock, actually, awaiting final shakedown, as well as its Captain," Alexander replied with a hint of a smile.
"Ah," Amir answered.
"And you, Ensign?" Alexander asked.
"The Horizon, sir,' Amir answered. "Been on board a little more than year, now. Engineering, sir."
Alexander stifled a small laugh.
"Something…funny, sir?" Amir asked.
Alexander shook his head, his eyes again turning to the gas giant above in the sky. "Oh, sorry…It's just that…well, I started out in Engineering, quite a while back. Aboard the Melbourne. They quickly suggest that I might be better suited for something else."
"Command?" Amir asked slightly agog, before adding "Sir?"
"No, no," Alexander laughed. "The Marines, actually. I quite liked those white uniforms, too, but since about the only thing marines do in this age is protect outposts and work in secret holes in unknown quadrants, I decided to reapply into command."
"Ah, I see," Ensign Armand nodded.
"Did you ever wonder, Ensign, why it is that we put so much effort into making these planets, these moons…or parts of moons as the current case may be, into such delicate likenesses of Earth…or Betazed, or Qu'nos, and then build the ugliest square buildings and set them right in the middle of it all?"
"Um, no, sir," Amir asked, turning to look at the gray building. "Perhaps cost has something to do with it? Or perhaps since it is a military installation…I…I don't know, sir."
"An engineer who can admit to not knowing something?" Alexander asked. "You are a rare sight, indeed. At any rate, I thank you for being the good officer and doing your duty when others would have simply ignored a man throwing things into the planet's surface. I look forward to running into you again in the near future."
"Again, sir?" Amir asked.
"Yes," Alexander smiled. "I'm going to be hitching a ride aboard the Horizon back to Vulcan before taking a shuttle to Sector 001."
"Very good, sir," Amir smiled.
"However, next time we meet, Ensign, loosen up a little," Alexander laughed as he turned to leave. He let a little wave over his shoulder as he passed through the sliding doors of the Federation compound.
Amir watched as the wind caught the Captain's brown hair and took a deep breath. "H--hey! Wait! What's that supposed to mean?"
Alexander tried to remember a more lovely and intoxicating voice.
"Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste brought death into the world and all our woe, with loss of Eden, till one greater Man restore us, and regain the blissful seat, sing heavenly muse, that on the secret top of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire that shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed, in the beginning how the Heavens and Earth rose out of Chaos. Or…"
Her hair was brown, lightened possibly by the sun or through cosmetic means. Nonetheless, it added to the beauty of the young officer with the blue trim to her uniform as she sat in the sunlight reading her data pad aloud to the children at her feet. Her blue eyes danced back and forth along the pages of the pad, and her soft pale skin reminded Alexander of the beauty of the women he met only on Betazed.
The woman paused as she pressed the bottom button of the pad to turn the page and looked up with her adorable blue eyes. Alexander blushed and quickly looked away, not realizing he was staring at her.
"Shakespeare?" a familiar voice asked.
"Milton, Paradise Lost" Alexander answered, not even looking over his shoulder as Ensign Armand slung his backpack over the couch and sat down, taking the last bite of his sandwich. "And I doubt it has ever been read more…um…carefully."
Amir looked from Alexander's unblinking eyes to the reading group seated on the square carpeting across the beautiful marble floor from the two. Great curved windows arched from the edges of the deck high above them, bathing the group in the brilliant blue sunlight as the last remnants broke through the methane atmosphere before setting behind the crescent gas giant at the edge of the horizon. Shuttle pods and Roundabouts made their way from the landing zones and back up to Deep Space 5, high above in orbit around Tenos, just outside the gravitational forces and radioactive belts. Simple, generic Starfleet architecture, just as the Captain had said.
"You, uh, want me to introduce you or something, Captain?" Amir asked, his eyes following the Captain's stare to the young officer.
Alexander stared for a moment longer before shaking his head and returning his gaze to the data pad on his lap. "Um, no…Uh, no, that's okay, Ensign."
"She's Lt. Commander Brianna Venoi, our ship's counselor," Amir continued, ignoring the faltering Captain. "Commander Bri if you know her well."
Alexander nodded. "Very good."
"Shuttle pod 1458 destination USS Horizon now boarding" the intercom played overhead. Alexander, Amir, and Bri all grabbed their bags and stood. Alexander couldn't help but watch as Bri hugged the children and smiled at each one in turn.
The three turned and walked down the hall towards the port outside. They followed the moving circles guiding them along the walls to the first shuttle pod on the strip. It was rather small, even for a pod, with a Lieutenant already prepping it up on the inside panels. The name Tubby was stenciled on the side of the pod, making the Captain laugh as he thought of turning the pod over and making it actually look like a tub floating in the ocean.
"Lt. Casey Albrams," the pilot called, not bothering to stand or salute the three officers as they boarded and closed the hatch behind them. "Welcome to the Tubby. We are scheduled for departure to the Horizon, estimated flight time will be 10 minutes. Due to high traffic volume of staffing ships at the station, we will have to take an altered course. I took it down, sirs, and it is quite a view, however, so sit back and enjoy the ride."
Alexander set his bag on the floor and crossed his hands in front of his chin, his brown eyes falling on the young woman sitting before him.
"Lt. Commander Brianna Venoi," she introduced herself, holding her hand out. Her accent was soft, warm, but not too sweet. Alexander never could get used to the informal nature of Counselors, but he took her hand and shook it.
"Captain Alexander Dorsey," he awkwardly answered, trying not to look her in the eyes. Or would that make her even more suspicious? Maybe he should look her in the eye and try not to bluff.
The Counselor laughed and looked away to Ensign Armand. "Ensign."
"Commander Bri," Amir smiled nodding his head. "Oh, I may have forgotten to mention, Captain, our friend Commander Bri is from Betazed."
Alexander let out a deep breath and turned to he aft windows, his face flushing. "Would have loved to have known that a few moments ago."
"Everyone strap in," Lt. Albrams called back. "We will be experiencing 0.6 G for a few moments before the manual gravity kicks in. Gives a bit of a rush to the stomach, so hold on."
The pod lifted from the ground as the engines came to life. Albrams eased the pod expertly forward and into the flight plan up and away through the blue methane atmosphere and quickly through the clouds to the highest levels of the atmosphere.
Immediately upon coming out from the atmosphere and the brilliance of the yellow sun bouncing off charged electrons in the blue atmosphere, the four were blasted with an ambiance of a busy fleet of ships. Shuttle pods, Shuttles, roundabouts moved in all directions from skeleton to skeleton. From station to planet, from ship to ship as the business of the backside of this gas giant was overwhelming.
The Tubby slid along its flight plan through the moorings of a Galaxy Class starship and over its bow. The shining vividness of its gray hull blended delicately with the reds, blues, and white lights of the different power sources from the ship.
"If only Picasso could have seen the brilliance of a modern starship, just imagine the paintings we all would cherish today," Amir whispered as the three leaned over the pilot's shoulder to see the view.
The shuttle pod passed over the bow and along the Warp nacelle, a mere spec in the mass of power outside. Sparks lit the back of the blue nacelle as workers made repairs from a recent encounter. The perspective of their height to that of the ship was dizzying.
The pod swept through the mooring and passed out the back, heading in line over the front hull of a passing Akira class ship. Dark black lettering passed underneath the pod. USS Kyoto scrawled across the hull, as large as a football field.
"Here we come, now," Albrams called back to his passengers. "USS Horizon, this is shuttle pod Tubbanaca Field coming along flight path three-four-oh-oh, copy?"
Alexander turned his gaze from the rear window and the aft of the Kyoto to the fore of the shuttle pod. After his eyes lingered for a moment on the young Lt. Commander's backside they came to Sovereign Class starship.
"The USS Horizon, sir" Amir smiled. The pod descended under the hull and came up and around to aft of the enormous ship. "NCC 176-F. She was one of the originals. A Daedalus class starship, originally. Built at the founding of the Federation and served with distinction in the Romulan wars. There's always been a Horizon and its sister ship, the Zenith. Along with a Saratoga, Yorktown, and Enterprise."
"She's a beautiful ship," Alexander commented. "You should be proud."
"Oh, yes, sir, we are." Amir smiled as the pod passed through the rear shuttle hatches and into the bay.
Amir turned and picked up his bag from the floor, followed by Commander Bri. Alexander thanked the pilot and turned to pick up his bag.
"Don't worry about the comment, Captain," came a voice in his head. "I noticed you were watching me on the station, too. After a while, one gets quite used to it. Just don't look at my backside in the shuttle pod like that again, okay?"
Alexander smiled as he watched her go out the doors of the pod and out of view.
"Captain?" another Ensign asked as Alexander left the pod.
"Yes?"
"Captain Sulanic sends his apologies that he could not meet you in person, but you are invited to come straight away to his ready-room on the bridge," the Ensign answered, handing a data pad to the Captain. "Actually, Captain Sulanic said that he would very much like you to come right away, sir."
Alexander looked at the pad and took a deep breath. "Very good, thank you."
(Much more to come)
A/N Lots of action to come, I promise!