Chapter Three - Traffic Jam

Three Weeks Later

The starship Zuikaku cruised through Federation space at the leisurely speed of Warp Three. The orders had been simple for the first time out: test ship and crew while cataloging gaseous anomalies. They'd left spacedock with much fanfare, and were now returning to Earth for debriefing and final calibration of the ship's systems.

Jett Thomas sat in his chair on the bridge, legs crossed, staring out the viewscreen, watching the stars streak by. He was roused from his thoughts by the deep voice of Lieutenant Commander Korth.

"Sir, we have received a message from Starfleet Command. They request that we approach Earth on a vector of their designation."

"What?"

Jett rose from his seat and walked over to Korth's station, followed closely by Commander Solak. Sure enough, the message listed a certain vector for the Zuikaku to slip into orbit. After reading it, he turned to Solak to get his reaction. As usual, the Vulcan maintained a stoic exterior, but his eyebrow was raised.

"Curious, Captain."

Jett nodded.

"I agree, Commander. What's happening on Earth that we don't know about?" He turned to the viewscreen once more. "Commander Price, how long until we reach Earth?"

Her voice, efficient as always, answered promptly. "Approximately forty-three minutes, Captain."

'Dammit', Jett thought. 'That voice still sends chills up my spine.'

"Would would be our ETA if we increased to Maximum Warp?"

After a brief moment, she replied,

"Eight minutes, twenty seconds, Captain."

Jett nodded. "Increase to Maximum Warp and come in on the designated trajectory...there's something going on and we need to get there as soon as possible."

Price nodded. "Aye, sir...increasing to Warp Nine-Point-Nine."

The scene that greeted Zuikaku when she came out of warp was astonishing. A long line of starships of all different types, sizes, and classes were in orbit. Jett and several other crewmembers could only gape in astonishment. Commanders Solak and Price simply raised an eyebrow, although Jett was fairly sure that if either of them were human, they'd be gaping right along with the rest of the bridge crew.

"Good Lord...what is this, rush hour?"

Commander Solak spoke up.

"Captain, my initial identification scans show the following starships in orbit: Gettysburg, Hood, Phoenix, Victory, Cumberland, Roosevelt, Leyte, Midway, Intrepid, Voyager, Repulse, Lexington, Akagi, Hornet, Sovereign, Ark Royal, Kirov, Houston, and Enterprise."

Jett whistled.

"Talk about firepower...two Excelsiors, all six Farraguts, both Intrepids, Repulse and her three sister ships, and the five other Sovereigns. This isn't exactly a welcome-home party for us."

"It is planning for war," he heard Korth mutter happily under his breath.

Jett rolled his eyes at his Security Chief's eagerness for battle. Before he could say anything to Korth, the Klingon officer spoke again.

"Captain, message from Starfleet Command."

'Already?' Jett thought. "Very well. On screen."

He regretted the words when the face of Fleet Admiral Alynna Nechayev appeared on the viewscreen. As usual, she wasted no time on pleasantries.

"Captain Thomas, you're to beam down to Starfleet Command immediately. Just you, no one else."

Before Jett could reply, the image winked out.

"Always a pleasure, Admiral. The trip home was lovely, thank you for asking." Jett muttered sarcastically, causing several crewmembers to choke back laughter. He stood up and turned to Commander Solak.

"You have the bridge, Commander."

Solak nodded as Jett headed into the turbolift. As he headed to Transporter Room 3 to beam down, Jett couldn't help but wonder as to why there were that many starships in orbit. As he stepped onto the pad and as the cool wave of the transporter enveloped him, he looked forward to receiving answers to the questions both he and his crew wanted to ask.