Star Trek: Absolution

Chapter II: Catalyst

Captain's Log, Stardate 55412.7. The Enterprise is on course to Deep Space Station Nine for a critical meeting with the Bajoran government. Since the collapse of the Dominion threat against the Alpha quadrant, Bajor's people have worked steadily to improve the adverse environmental conditions on their planet, most of which are still present from the original occupation of their world by the Cardassian military. During the Dominion war, Bajor's initial petition for Federation membership was voted down by their leaders at the recommendation of Benjamin Sisko. At the time, Captain Sisko was deeply committed to keeping Bajor neutral and out of the conflict. Having always held great respect for the Bajoran people, I am therefore quite pleased to hear that they are ready to resubmit their application.

While aboard DS9, we also hope to address several other concerns. Of primary importance is the continued presence of the Breen in several of Cardassia's richest planetary systems. Although the Dominion has complied with all terms of the cease-fire agreement that was negotiated with Admiral Ross and Chancellor Martok, the Breen have taken advantage of their brief alliance with the Cardassian Empire and used it as a foothold to conquer and annex part of their territory. Rumor has it that the Cardassians are not at all pleased, and a growing insurgency within their population has threatened to plunge the region back into war. A major part of our mission will be to prevent this from happening, since Cardassia Prime and its member planets have a difficult enough job ahead of them simply rebuilding their society.

Upon completing the log entry, Jean Luc Picard settled back comfortably in his ready room seat and continued reading Starfleet updates on the Bajoran situation. He shook his head as he read them, remembering back to a time shortly after the Cardassians had first vacated Bajor and officially ended their long-term occupation of the planet. Although tempers were still volatile on both sides, the two governments had moved ahead and eventually signed a peace treaty. The region had actually begun to stabilize for the first time in years, right before the powerful Dominion had reared its ugly head and moved in.

Now a majority of the Dominion presence had returned to the Gamma quadrant, leaving behind only a few representatives to maintain diplomatic relations. The shape shifter Odo had seen to that… ordered it in fact. Apparently the agreement he had reached with the female changeling who led the attack against the Federation had included passing along to him a good deal – if not all – of her authority.

He was still reading the reports carefully, thoughtfully reviewing the data, when the communications link on his desk sounded.

"Captain, I'm sorry to disturb you but we just received an urgent communication from Starfleet Command."

"It's okay, Wil," he said gratefully to his first officer, shoving the paperwork aside with more than a certain amount of pleasure. "I'm simply catching up on the latest status reports from back home. What can I do for you Commander?"

"The starship Rhode Island is planning to rendezvous with us in one hour," Riker informed him. "Admiral Janeway plans to join us for the remainder of our trip to DS9."

Kathryn Janeway.

Smiling, Picard remembered the first time he had met the woman. She was a powerful, commanding presence to say the least, and people were still talking about the impressive achievements in Starfleet exploration that she and her crew had accomplished during their long journey home from the Delta quadrant. He had spoken with her several times while accepting various assignments for ship and crew, but he didn't really know the newly-commissioned Admiral personally. He was looking optimistically toward the Bajor mission as a unique opportunity to change all that. Even though many former Starfleet Captains historically had difficulty adjusting to an assignment in the Admiralty, he had sensed no such conflict from Janeway. She seemed comfortable and in control no matter what role she played, as long as it was assisting Starfleet in its mission of peaceful exploration.

"It was my understanding that the Admiral wasn't planning to meet with our Enterprise delegation until after we reached the space station."

"Well she's early," replied Riker. "And she has urgently requested to speak with both of us as soon as she arrives."

"I'll meet you in transporter room three in one hour then," Picard decided. He shut down the link and glanced back toward the stack of reports. "If I have an hour left for reading then there's definitely time for a cup of Earl Grey," he decided firmly.

Sixty minutes later, two people materialized on the Enterprise transporter platform. Grinning with anticipation, Captain Picard stepped forward and shook the Admiral's hand.

"Welcome aboard, Admiral," he said warmly, then stepped to one side and allowed Comander Riker to greet her also.

Janeway smiled in return at both men and then gestured toward the Earth Asian standing next to her. He was a handsome looking man with dark black hair. "May I present Captain Harry Kim of the starship Rhode Island," she said briskly. "I leaned on him pretty heavily during our time in the Delta quadrant – he's a good man to have around in a crunch." Captain Kim chuckled at her praise and also shook hands with Picard and Riker.

They left the transporter room and entered the outside corridor. There was a conference room located on the same deck and Picard graciously ushered everyone inside, unable to contain his curiosity. "We weren't expecting to see you until we reached Bajor," he commented.

"This is hardly a social call, if that's what you were expecting," Janeway commented.

"It never is," Riker said with a chuckle. "If you're in Starfleet for any length of time, you get used to making schedule changes."

"First let me emphasize that nothing must interfere with our mission to aid Bajor and the Cardassian Empire," she said firmly. "Returning stability to the region is of utmost priority to the Federation Council and undeniably in the best interests of everyone in this quadrant." The Admiral sat down across from Picard at the conference room's table and met his gaze. "That said, we have another situation on our hands which requires immediate attention."

"May I use your computer?" Captain Kim asked.

Riker nodded at him and keyed in his command code, releasing controlled access of the table's workstation. Kim contacted the Rhode Island using his Comm-badge and quickly requested that his first officer upload several computer files into the Enterprise computer. He monitored the data transfer and then displayed a short video clip of what was obviously a Romulan scout vessel of some kind.

The video clip lasted only a few seconds, but clearly showed the Romulan ship firing its disruptors at an unseen target. The ship veered aggressively away from its attack run and was in turn hit by return fire before it disappeared behind the familiar shimmering haze of a cloaking shield. Captain Kim quickly replayed the video again, this time pausing the image of the enemy ship just prior to its evasive turn.

"That sensor record was taken by the Klingon vessel Kj'Niikuh on their side of the border," Janeway began carefully. "The ship trespassed without advance notification and used the Klingon response as a distraction to allow its pilot to evade its Romulan pursuers and cross into Federation space. We have no idea who was aboard or why they would want to come here." She paused, reviewing the situation in her mind once again before continuing. "But the ship achieved its goal… one of our outposts along the border confirmed that it did eventually reach Federation space and crash landed on one of our planets."

Kim used the workstation's screen to display the image of an M-Class planet. It looked very much like Earth, aside from the usual continent and water to land ratio differences.

"This is Stadia, quite possibly the worst planet the pilot could have chosen to crash land on," Captain Kim stated grimly. "Its location historically placed it in disputed territory between the Federation and Klingon Empire. Back in the days when the Organians were still around, the Klingons used the planet as part of a covert effort to slip one segment of its population upgraded weapons and advances in scientific technology. They were going to help the people in one of its villages wage an unbalanced war against the rest of the population. Once their allies took over, they planned to use the victors' loyalty to their Klingon benefactors as an excuse to annex the planet and all of its resources."

"I've heard of this planet," Captain Picard commented dryly. "It's still referenced at the Academy as a clear example of just how difficult it can be to enforce our Prime Directive."

"Exactly," Janeway agreed. "Starfleet can set up all the rules and regulations it wants to in order to protect vulnerable pre-industrial societies, but unfortunately we can't mandate that other advanced societies follow those same rules."

"The planet used to be a society of simple villagers and hill people," continued Kim. "Upon discovering that the Klingons were arming one side with flintlocks, the Federation had no choice but to offer the same advances in firepower to the other half of the planet's population in order to give them a chance to defend themselves and maintain a balance of power."

"Why did they use flintlocks?" asked Riker. "That's a very primitive, unreliable firearm."

"The Klingons were still afraid of Organian interference at the time," Janeway pointed out. "Gunpowder and the flintlock are normally the first advances discovered by a society that is progressing towards industrialization and major advancements in firepower. The Klingon goal was to rapidly advance the people sympathetic to their cause through an accelerated stage of technological development. If the Federation had not intervened, they would have been in a position to bypass the normal evolutionary process that generally takes centuries to complete. Within a few decades, Stadia would have been part of the Klingon Empire."

"With most of its population wiped out by war or corrupted by the outside Klingon influence," Riker said bitterly.

"That's correct," Janeway agreed. "Eventually the Klingons gave up and… after both sides signed the Khitomer Accords they officially ceded the planet to the Federation."

Picard had been listening very closely to the information presented. "So this planet's people, at a crucial point in their history, have had an extra-terrestrial interference in their natural development. Do the planet's current occupants still have knowledge about civilizations from other planets?"

"The actual contact occurred well over a generation ago, but the rumors of visitors from space are still recognizable throughout their entire culture," said Captain Kim. "My predecessor on the Rhode Island spent a lot of time patrolling that area and observing the planet and its people. As is usually the case, two major powers eventually formed. The main continent's northern-most province has a huge, walled capital city called Vandahar. All of the land surrounding it is owned by wealthy upper-class gentlemen who are appointed by and loyal to its King. Almost all of this territory in the north considers itself to be a part of the city and is also popularly referred to by the residents as Vandahar. The Southern province is called Alucarn, and its people have historically had extremely shaky relations with their neighbors to the north."

"The Federation has exercised great patience over the years in an attempt to let the old stories about visitors from the stars gradually turn into legends," continued Janeway. "We figured that was our best chance to minimize the impact of the original, undesired first contact with the planet's population."

"…And suddenly a Romulan shuttle drops out of the sky and confirms everything they've been slowly learning to disregard over the years as simple folklore and tall tales from long ago."

"Exactly, Jean Luc." Janeway stood up and took a moment to glance out one of the conference room's windows at Harry Kim's Nova-Class Rhode Island. The smaller starship was flanking the Enterprise to starboard while its crew waited patiently for the return of their Captain. "It is of utmost importance to Starfleet Command that we locate that ship and its crew as soon as possible and get them off of Stadia."

"What is the planet's society like today?" wondered Riker. "If they had flintlocks 100 years ago then I'm rather curious as to how far they've advanced since then on their own."

"The planet's people are living in a typical feudal society. Both provinces are ruled by a King who appoints "vassal" lords to govern the territories surrounding each capital. It is textbook Earth history with one notable exception," Janeway declared, turning back to the table. She sat back down in her chair and carefully placed both hands on the table top in front of her. "Instead of swords and bows, Stadia's people are armed with rifles, handguns and artillery equivalent to the late 19th century on Earth. As things stand now, the only thing preventing Vandahar and Alucarn from an all-out World War is a suitable catalyst to get their conflict started." She paused, noting the deep look of concern on Riker's face.

"And an advanced source of new technology has dropped out of the sky directly into Vandahar's lap," Captain Kim said. "If that isn't a prize worth fighting over, then what is?"

"What a sad development this is," Picard said softly, shaking his head. "To think that this unlikely incident could trigger more useless deaths on that world." He sighed as he took a moment to review their discussion. "And you're right, Admiral. We've got to get the Romulans and their ship off of that planet as soon as possible. But if we send an away team they'll have to identify, locate and capture all Romulans on that planet, along with their ship. The more people we send, the more likely the chance that our presence there will be discovered and the situation will escalate further."

"It would have to be a small, unarmed strike team dressed to resemble the planet's residents," Captain Kim agreed. "That's why we're looking to you and the crew of the Enterprise, Captain Picard. My people are primarily cadets… I've only been Captain of the Rhode Island for six months and I don't think that I have the qualified personnel available with the necessary field experience to handle this type of a crisis."

"Harry's ship isn't designed to exceed warp nine for any length of time," Janeway pointed out. "And he's got a cargo hold loaded with supplies that are badly needed on Drakus III – so I'm limiting his involvement in this to support status." She checked the time on the work station closely. "The Romulans have been on Stadia now for almost six hours. I want our response team to be in orbit and on the job within six more."

"An unarmed strike team?" Riker said, sounding a bit concerned.

Janeway nodded at the Commander. "No technology of any kind must leave orbit, which brings me to the other problem we must address. Many of the forest regions on Stadia have dangerous, roaming predators called Mugato. The creatures look very much like the apes on Earth except for their distinct white fur." She displayed a picture of one of the animals on the work station's monitor. "These creatures have enormous strength and sharp fangs that contain a very lethal poison. That's why I chose the Enterprise, Jean Luc… because you have a resource at your disposal that most starships do not."

"Mr. Data?" Picard guessed.

"Precisely," the Admiral said with a smile. "I can't think of anyone better suited for this task… provided Harry's Doctor can change his skin and eye color to look human, that is."

"I've already made the preparations," declared Kim. "We can have him altered and dressed in native clothing within thirty minutes."

Picard touched the Comm-badge on his uniform. "Commander Data, please report to shuttle bay two," he said, then cautiously glanced at the Admiral. "I don't like the idea of sending him alone. Data is a valued member of my command crew and we have no idea how many Romulans were on that ship or what its mission is."

"We'll be back from delivering our supplies to Drakus III in less than forty-eight hours," Captain Kim promised. "At that time the Rhode Island will arrive at Stadia and I will provide additional support should Commander Data require it."

"Agreed," Picard said, standing up and shaking the young Captain's hand. He turned to face his first officer. "Commander Riker, please go to the shuttle bay and assign Mr. Data to the Yellowjacket. Have him fly it over to the Rhode Island, where Captain Kim will brief him further on the details of his assignment."

"No technology of any kind must leave orbit indeed," Riker grinned, thinking about the very complex positronic creature that he knew as Data. Nodding to Picard , he quickly left the conference room to carry out the Captain's orders.

"We'll get him as close as we can in my ship while our Doctor makes the necessary cosmetic changes to his skin and eye color," Kim promised. "From there he can take your shuttle the rest of the way. I hope this Yellowjacket is fast."

"It is a state-of-the-art Knighthawk-Class runabout," Picard grinned. "If they had been available back when Voyager first put to space I believe you'd have requested one or two."

"It's fast!" Kim and Janeway said at the same time, causing both to chuckle.

Twenty minutes later found Captain Picard walking slowly down an Enterprise corridor away from the guest quarters he had personally assigned to Admiral Janeway. Together they had watched the Rhode Island warp away on its dual mission, satisfied that the best decision possible had been made quickly enough to minimize the political damage to Stadia's vulnerable political structure.

Picard still found himself trying to determine just what possible interest the Romulans could have with Stadia. He had been involved in quite a few encounters with the mysterious Vulcanoid race over the years, each time with unpredictable results. One defector he had met had been a disillusioned Admiral confused by faulty intelligence. On another occasion Ambassador Spock had arranged for the legitimate defection of a Romulan Senator and his support staff. He had commented once that it was always a game of chess with them, and this time was certainly no different.

Even though his mind was very actively reviewing this new situation and all of its possibilities, he did remember to take a few minutes out of his schedule to stop by and check in on their other guest. Pausing at a door in the visitor's section, he pressed the entry chime.

"Come in," said a slightly distracted voice from inside. The Captain promptly opened the door and went in, taking a humorous look at the slight disarray of the room.

"Hello Jake," he said to Captain Sisko's son. Jake was seated at the room's desk busily typing away at a work station. Next to him lay half a dozen electronic data pads, each with different ideas displayed on them. He glanced up as the Captain entered and smiled.

"Hi Captain Picard," grinned Jake, shrugging his shoulders. "I hope you'll excuse the mess in here, but I got some ideas for a new book I'm writing and wanted to get them into the computer before I forgot any of the details."

"That's perfectly fine, Mr. Sisko," said the Captain. "You've been working pretty hard on this project of yours, I hear."

"Absolutely," confirmed Jake. "I had the opportunity to get a lot of experience writing first hand news stories during the Federation/Dominion war, so I decided to make my next story longer. I've finally settled on creating a detailed biography of my Dad's life." He shook his head in amazement. "He had quite a storied history, you know."

"I'm very familiar with your father's career," Picard said, sitting down next to Jake. "Have you thought of a title for this story?"

"Of course," Jake said, smiling. "I'm going to call it Anslem." He handed the Captain one of his data pads. "Everything my Dad did in life was aimed at helping other people, expanding the peaceful boundaries of the Federation, and obeying his oath to Starfleet."

"He also made a very big difference in the lives of many people on Bajor," pointed out Picard. "I don't think they're ever going to be able to repay their Emissary for his contributions to the betterment of their world."

Jake's face clouded over a little bit. "I wish he didn't have to stay with the prophets. When I was younger I don't think I could have gotten along without him after…"

"…After your Mother died at Wolf 359."

"Yeah," Jake said. "But as I got older I started to feel a lot more independent, and so far I've done pretty well while he's been gone." He paused. "But most nights I really miss him."

"I don't think you should give up on your Father just yet," decided Picard. "After your step-Mother Kasidy told Starfleet that his message to her included a promise to return. I doubt even wormhole aliens will be able to keep him from fulfilling that vow."

"That's one of the reasons I wanted to go back now," Jake said. "I've been staying at Grandpa Joseph's restaurant long enough. I'm right in the middle of writing my new book at a time when a lot of really good things may happen for Bajor. Being back there, with Kasidy and the others… it'll bring back a lot of really great memories. I also haven't seen my little sister Laura in quite a while, so thanks again for letting me hop on board for the trip back."

"Captain Sisko wasn't all that pleased to see me the first time I met him," Picard pointed out, his thoughts drifting back in time. "He blamed me for your Mother's death."

"I know, I remember him saying something about that," Jake said calmly. "But you're talking to a civilian who was in a war zone, Captain. I saw first hand the responsibility that you and your crew bear on your shoulders each and every day. DS9's doctor had no choice but to take me into a battle zone during the Dominion war and I came face to face with my own courage… and cowardice. To face down an enemy like the Jem'Hadar or the Borg… I don't know how you folks in Starfleet manage. I really don't."

Picard reached out and touched the young man reassuringly on his shoulder. Jake started to say something, but the raw emotion that he was feeling got the better of him and he stood up and hugged the Captain tightly. He choked back tears before sitting back down.

"You know, I've never had a son of my own and that's something I shall always regret," the Enterprise Captain said meaningfully. "So until your Father does return you may contact me at any time if you should ever need anything." He smiled as Jake nodded. "After all, I may not run the Federation but I do have a little pull with the people upstairs." Jake chuckled at the bluster in Picard's tone of voice and suddenly they were both laughing.

"Thank you Captain," he said sincerely.

"Tomorrow I'm going to introduce you to our other guest," decided Picard. "We have the famous Admiral Janeway on board, and I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you a story or two about how she and the courageous crew of the Voyager kicked the Borg harder than any other enemy they've faced."

"Yeah, I heard all about that on the local news services back on Earth," Jake said. "Since your crew established in the initial attack on the Federation that the Borg activate an automatic self-destruct sequence upon losing control of their vessel, she decided to take the fight directly to the center of their hive mind while in the Delta quadrant."

"That's right," said Picard confidently. "They roam the galaxy assimilating all kinds of technology from other races, but they're so scared of their enemies taking it from them that they're willing to destroy any or all of their military assets when control of them is compromised. Janeway and her crew got a deadly computer virus and biological neurotoxin into their central hive mind with very catastrophic results. We've been monitoring the Delta quadrant using the same subspace wormhole technology that Voyager's crew field tested during their long-range communications with Starfleet. So far there has been absolutely no sign of any Borg activity."

"I hope they're gone for good," Jake said. "Dad would love to hear that."

"If he's with the Prophets in the wormhole then I'm certain that he already knows," Picard decided with certainty. "I've read the reports on his contacts with them and they usually have a pretty good idea of what goes on around them."

"How long until we reach DS9?" Jake asked curiously.

"Oh… another four days at least," the Captain said, standing up and straightening his uniform. "They don't call it Deep Space Nine for nothing, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Jake said pleasantly. "It'll give me some time to really get this story line on my Dad's life all planned out. Then it's just a matter of filling in all of the details."

"Just remember," Picard cautioned him as he opened the door to Jake's quarters. "You were right there during most of those times, so write the truth… but write from your heart. Create a story that helps the reader really feel what it was like to be there, standing beside such a commanding leader and compassionate man."

"I will," Jake promised. He watched the door slide shut behind the Captain and sat there for a few minutes, deep in thought. A couple of changes in his story outline occurred to him and he quickly picked up one of the data pads and began inputting the changes.

End Chapter II