Disclaimer: This is fanfiction. Anything you recognize is not mine. All characters and events in this story are entirely fictional.
-=oOo=-
Tom Paris was surprised to get a message from Starfleet at all, what with being dishonorably discharged and all. Nevertheless he replied that he would come at once, and after making sure he was presentable asked to be beamed to Admiral T'Lara's office. His father was there. He waited to speak. They would tell him why he was there. The Admiral began.
"Mr. Paris an opportunity has arisen that we were debating who we could send. Your father gave me your name and your story. Just to be clear, your father is not approving this. If you are sent, it will be on my authority. Do you understand?" asked Admiral T'Lara.
"I do."
"You covered up a serious pilot error which could have result in the error being repeated and many deaths resulting. As a result of which you were dishonorably discharged. What do you have to say after these three years?"
"I screwed up. I thought of saving a friend first, and not of the risks that would be taken if that same friends training and operation was not fixed. I can't fix that. It was a total screw up. I know it. Everyone knows it."
"Your friend completed the necessary training and is almost finished with the mandatory time working under senior experienced pilots. He appears to now be a credit to the force."
"I know."
"You in fact spent a large part of your last three years helping your friend get there, as well as helping any other who needed help. Why did you do this?" asked Admiral T'Lara.
"Was I hoping this might help me get a second chance? Of course I was. I'd have done it either way. It was the only way I could fly and maybe make up a little. I've done my best since then. If there is something I should have been doing, let me know and I'll do it."
Both Admiral's nodded. His father smiled. T'Lara spoke again.
"The following conversation is restricted. Disclosure of ongoing operations can be punished, I will be reactivating your commission before continuing to make it easier to do so. Do you agree to continue?"
Tom nodded.
"Computer reinstate Tom Paris to Starfleet. Rank is Ensign."
"Secondary permission already recorded. Reinstatement is complete."
"So?" asked Tom.
"Are you familiar with the Alliance?" asked his father.
"Somewhat. The details are thin. Are they recruiting?" he asked hopefully.
"They are always recruiting, but they have fairly high standards. The position they require help with is not one of those positions."
"Ah, one of those then. Details?" asked Tom. His father continued.
"An alternative Earth is willing to have some of the countries work together to practical space program. The Alliance has not quite promised, but has suggested they will help."
"I assume we are not considering warp capable craft," said Tom.
"No. Certainly not. The Abh have a very old vessel design that they are making more of. It was used for nearly a hundred years. It uses fission engines and ultra pure water. Very simple. Very reliable. Very basic. It does require competent pilots. There are no inertia dampeners."
"Just my kind of craft," said Tom.
Admiral T'Lara said, "An Abh pilot would teach you its operation over the course of a week, well you and their own pilots. They will be given detailed plans to make more. You are to help them and make sure they don't repeat your mistake."
"I can do that. How long are we thinking?"
"At least one year, if not two. You are a natural pilot. Your job is to make sure you have taught them all you can, excluding any advanced scientific knowledge. You can explain what is in the plans given, but not outside of those plans."
"I'm not exactly an engineer, so I doubt it will be an issue."
T'Lara nodded.
"When do I go?"
"Now. You may return to your home and pack a bag. You have two hours."
"I'll get it done."
-=oOo=-
Ekuryua Naurh beamed down to outside Ensign Paris's apartment and knocked.
Paris, with a rucksack over his shoulder, opened the door and said, "Hello beautiful."
Ekuryua smiled, then added, "I'm not sure you would meet with Ami and Celeste's approval."
Tom blinked, having not expected that answer. He set down his bag. "I'm Tom Paris. Can I help you?"
"I am the pilot you will be working with. Are you ready to go?"
"Really? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."
"How was that being rude?" asked Ekuryua in curiosity.
"I will not take offense at simple truth, but if you are trying to pursue an Abh woman, you shall have to do better, and as I said, I am somewhat taken."
"I really have messed this up haven't I? Shall we go?" asked Tom as he picked up his bag and closed the door.
Ekuryua nodded. She tapped her com badge and said, "Two to beam up." They vanished.
-=oOo=-
"Welcome to the bridge of Falcon. We will be at our destination shortly," said Riker.
"I had heard about how fast your ships are. Is there any chance of getting to fly one someday?" asked Tom.
"Do a good job on this task and ask again," said Riker.
"I'll do my best. The ship designs you gave them, at least the little I could find on them look very nice."
"They are quite nice. I shall treasure my time flying the one from our family," said Lafiel.
"Celeste, Ami, and Ekuryua will go with you. Part of this is a vacation for them. Ami and Celeste are going to be working on improving some basic piloting skills under a senior pilot without all the automation," said Riker.
"I understand."
Celeste looked at Tom curiously.
"Did you have a question?"
"He is better than Mamoru," noted Ami.
"That isn't saying much," noted Celeste.
"No, it is not," added Ekuryua.
"Your having a whole silent conversation about me," said Tom.
Ekuryua smiled and nodded.
Tom laughed.
"There is an additional mission," said Riker.
Tom stopped laughing and paid attention.
"The world this is on has possession of an artifact that can move people throughout their current galaxy to a receiving identical artifact."
"Iconian?" asked Paris.
"No, similar tech, but different origin. These are of Alteran origin. We have asked them not to use it till a local threat is fully dealt with, and ideally much longer. Part of this work is to encourage them not to use it."
"The theory being with a usable in system craft they won't get up to a lot of trouble?" asked Paris.
"Exactly. Celeste, Ami, Ekuryua. Do you have a preference for who is in command of the mission?" asked Riker.
"Celeste is fine. We would link and decide together when possible anyway," said Ekuryua.
"I agree. Celeste or Ekuryua is a better choice than me at this time, and I'm fine with Celeste," said Ami.
"Then Celeste is in command. Ekuryua is second. Ami third, and last of course is..."
"Me," said Tom.
"It isn't personal. We have reviewed your file. Complete this and in my opinion you will be due for promotion again."
Tom nodded.
"Ekuryua, would you like to fly Falcon one more time before taking some time off?" asked Lafiel from the pilots seat.
"I very much would. Why don't we do it together, that is, if Jinto doesn't mind?"
"I do not." Jinto got up. Lafiel took his seat and Ekuryua took hers and slipped on her interface diadem.
"All checks confirmed. Dimensional drive is checked and ready to go," said Ekuryua.
"Take us there," commanded Riker.
"Falcon is diving."
"Dang you have crossing dimensions as easy as going into warp drive," said Tom.
"Given we do dimensional travel almost more often than hyperspace travel and warp drive hasn't been used for what?"
"Two weeks," said Jinto.
"Two weeks, finished Riker."
"You still use warp drive?" asked Tom.
"Yes, it works, particularly for combat," said Jinto.
"You use warp drive in combat?" asked Tom in surprise.
"It is difficult, but manageable," said Ekuryua.
"Thirty three minutes," said Lafiel.
"If our help is needed," started Jack.
"Shouldn't be, but your next up if Celeste requests it," said RIker.
Jack nodded.
"All we know is Hammond said he would take care of it," said Celeste.
"He probably doesn't want to say much over what to him seems an insecure channel," said Sam.
"We will stay around for at least a day, unless there is an emergency. Sam and Jack can of course beam down and catch up," said Riker.
-=oOo=-
Sam, Jack, Celeste, Ami, Ekuryua, and Tom beamed down to the meeting room. General Hammond was already there.
"Walter checked this area for listening devices, but your welcome to check as well if you have a method."
Amy reached out a hand and materialized the Mercury computer. After several minutes she said, "This area appears to be secure."
"Good. We did secure the gate, but not before Maybourne and his team used it to escape. We don't know where they are. We suspect Senator Kinsey is involved, but have not proved it."
"We need to go there. The destination coordinates need read. L'Nea did it last time. Perhaps Heimdall can do so?" suggested Ami.
Hammond nodded.
Ami tapped her com badge. "Ami to Falcon."
"Falcon here," said Riker.
"General Hammond reports the gate was retaken but not before the thieves used it. Recommend the coordinates are read asap," said Ami.
"Agreed. We have established secure communications with your president. We will take it from here," said Riker.
"Understood."
"So is the new toy here yet?" asked Tom.
"Not as yet. That comes in tomorrow," said George.
"Do we have a simulator for the craft?" asked Tmon.
"We have a simulator for an F-35. It obviously isn't correct, but it is a starting point."
"We are not familiar with that designation," said Ekuryua.
"It's the more advanced regular fighter jet that is available to all five eyes nations, and as such was a logical choice for the simulator," said George.
"Can we take a look? Perhaps the other pilots can teach Ekuryua and Tom to give them a common reference?" asked Ami.
"I don't see why not, but first we probably should introduce everyone. They don't know your not from this planet."
"Um, is my hair going to be a problem?" asked Ekuryua.
"I'd prefer the world not know about all this stuff about aliens. I think it invites needless panic. The people chosen were chosen for a reason, and their commanding officers do know. How would you like to do this?" asked George.
"Let's be honest. Lives will depend on our training, particularly that of Ekuryua. I don't want them to have reason to doubt any of her decisions or recommendations," said Celeste.
"That was similar to my thoughts, mostly due to the source of the prototype, but I was open to alternatives," said George.
-=oOo=-
The next day they got a contact from their ship. Celeste responded.
"We are here."
Riker said, "The rogue team researching this have possibly found the location where one Professor Ernest Littlefield went with the Stargate almost forty years ago. It was a miracle the symbols used worked at all, considering this gate was not correctly adapted to all the galactic drift. Heimdall has several possible choices for where he could be. We also have some ideas for where Maybourne's team is and will pursue that."
"Wait, if they used the same symbols, surely they would be close, right?" asked Celeste.
"They intended to use the same symbols, but, apparently the raid of their complex caused them to fumble the next to last symbol. They are no where near each other. We want you to consider picking up Catherine Langford, who knew Ernest and going to get him, if he is alive," said Riker.
"We understand. We will begin immediately," said Celeste.
"Thanks. We will go deal with the troublemakers. Riker out."
Celeste turned to Ekuryua.
Ekuryua said, "You wish me to stay and deal with the rest?"
"Yes, if you wouldn't mind."
"That is fine. I should not be needed, and I have a great deal to do here."
Celeste nodded. She then tapped her com badge and said, "Computer, beam up myself, Tom and Ami to the runabout."
They materialized on it.
"I'll find Catherine. It may take a bit of time," said Ami as she sat down.
Celeste turned to Tom. "I believe you should know how to fly this ship?"
"It's a bit newer than the last I flew, but yes."
Celeste motioned him into the pilot seat and he wasted no time in familiarizing himself. A few minutes later he said, "I've found the coordinate list your team provided. The closest is a three hour flight at warp five."
"Warp 8. This is updated. It causes no harm," said Celeste absently.
"Twenty four minutes then."
"I have her address. I can beam down and decide whether to take her, or you can," offered Ami.
"Go for it," said Celeste
Ami nodded, then told the computer to beam her to the preset coordinates. She beamed down to the outside of a very pretty yet small house with bushes and flowers. She knocked on the door.
A few minutes later a white haired woman answered the door. "Yes?"
"Hello, I'm Ami Mizuno. I wish to talk to you about some of your past work."
"You should go. I left the government some time ago."
"Please, it is very important. I assure you I am fully authorized to be here."
"What is this concerning?" asked Catherine, still from inside her home.
"We may have found where Ernest went," said Ami softly.
"What? Earnest is alive?" exclaimed Catherine.
"Inside please," said Ami.
"Come in then," said Catherine.
Ami walked inside. "You have a very lovely home."
"Enough of that. What about Ernest?"
"I'm not sure how much your government has kept you in the loop."
"They haven't at all."
"I see. I need to ask you to keep what I'm going to say a secret. It is likely also covered under whatever agreements you have previously signed."
"Fine, now what about Ernest?"
"Ernest used the gate nearly forty years ago. There was old footage of the sequence they manually dialed and of Ernest entering. We have not surveyed the possible destinations yet, so we do not know for sure if he lived or is still alive. We are preparing to go to investigate the locations."
"With the gate?"
"No, we are with the Alliance, which is a group that is not from this dimension. We helped some others in this universe and they pointed out that you were about to get into a lot of trouble by using the Gate again. We asked them not to, at least till certain likely threats were mitigated, and preferably longer. They agreed and buried the gate. A rogue part of your government stole it, and attempted to use it, entering the wrong address. My fellow crew will deal with them, if they are still alive. The important part is is they stumbled onto the old recording, which showed Ernest. I stopped here to ask if you wished to come in our search for him."
"Do I want to go find Ernest? Are you insane? Of course I want to find Ernest," she snapped.
"Are you ready now?" asked Ami with a smile.
"Let me get my purse."
Ami's smile grew a bit wider.
Catherine picked up her purse, turning back to Ami. "Why do you want the Gate not to be used?"
"Currently, there is a species out there that uses humans as hosts. They have spread through much of this galaxy. Another species is the traditional protectors of this universe. Two others actually. We can fix this issue if necessary, but our resources ares stretched thin and we are deferring to the Asgard here. It would be ill advised to travel before at least this threat is dealt with, and after that, well, you have enough trouble on this planet, don't you?"
"My father said Ernest died in an explosion. No body was recovered. You are certain he is alive?"
"No, we are not. We are certainly only that he went through."
"Let's go," said Catherine.
Ami tapped her com badge. "Two to beam up."
They vanished in transporter light.
"Welcome to the Argus Catherine. I am Celeste. You have met Ami. This is Tom. We are twenty four minutes from the first of three possible locations. Shall we go?"
"By all means."
"Taking us into warp," said Tom.
The runabout shipped smoothly into warp speed.
"I must say, I do love the updates you have made to these," said Tom.
"Yes, the Alliance has the best technology," said Celeste with pride.
"I was hoping these would have the new neural interfaces we have heard about," said Tom.
"Sorry, these are general use, and those take a lot more infrastructure than they appear to. The amount of space would be significantly reduced if we added one," said Ami absently.
"You looked into it then?" asked Tom.
"I looked at some ideas Lafiel and Ekuryua had, but I couldn't figure out a realistic modification that didn't sacrifice a lot of space. We aren't ignoring the potential. We just haven't solved the problems yet," said Ami.
"I still want to try one of those. Maybe later, but, for now, our course is stable. Our sensors are reading far enough ahead we should be fine. Heck our main deflector is running what one hundred and eighty percent over spec for this class, if memory serves," said Tom.
"Less than that, since other improvements have been made to the baseline. I think your numbers are about right for the original version though," added Celeste.
"Do we know anything about the first world?" asked Ami.
"The Asgard report it as barely class M. We are stopping there first to search, but given the average daily temperature, we hope he is not there. The second is the most likely," said Celeste.
"Hot or cold?"
"Hot in this case. Living there is possible, but it would be hard."
"Do we have medical facilities to treat him if he needs it?" asked Catherine.
"If he is alive, both Ami and myself can help him," said Celeste.
"The gate might have been faster," said Catherine.
"Not really. Your government would have to agree to let us use it, plus we risk the other side not having a dialing device, or there being issues there. We assume, if he is alive, that he would have tried to return," said Celeste.
"I hadn't thought of that. What is this about another group taking the gate?"
"Not sure how much you need to know on that. The others are handling it," said Celeste.
"Why if the gate goes multiple places did more addresses not work?" asked Catherine.
"The gate normally has a separate controlling node that works with it. The gate can still function without it, but the automatic updates for the expansion and stellar drift are not done. They become nearly useless, save for a few of the nearer destinations. The one the others managed was an odd exception. Sometimes things can be just wrong enough that they work, somewhat," said Ami absently.
-=oOo=-
"Entering standard orbit," said Tom twenty minutes later.
"Normally we use the cloak pretty much everywhere, but as we need to do an active scan, please begin," said Celeste.
"Doing so now," said Tom.
"I'm looking at the sensor data. I believe I have identified the gate. It helps that it tends to be a unique metal on most planets," added Ami.
"Anything near the gate?" asked Celeste.
"Not so far. It looks like some large cats have decided to move in. He could be somewhere else on the planet, but it is a very big planet," said Ami.
"We have scanned the area within fifty kilometers. There are some caves I'm not confident we have fully penetrated, but I'm of the opinion we move on to the second location," said Tom.
"I agree," said Ami.
"Take us there Mr. Paris," Said Celeste.
"Tom. Feel free to call me Tom."
"Alright. Take us there Tom."
"On our way. It's another twelve minutes. I still can't believe you use warp eight as a daily driver."
"We are likely spoiled. For what it is worth. I too looked for a mind in that area, and all I sensed was animals," said Celeste.
"He could have been," started Catherine.
"Yes he could have been, but we don't know that yet," said Tom softly.
-=oOo=-
They arrived at the next location only to find the gate and apparently the island that it was located on was underwater.
"We could pick those up, maybe on the way back," suggested Ami.
"They do look useful. Proceed to the third Tom," said Celeste.
"On our way. Fourteen minutes."
-=oOo=-
"Standard orbit and we have found the gate," said Tom.
"And Ernest, or at least I believe it is Ernest," said Celeste.
"He is um," started Ami.
"Um what," demanded Catherine.
"Naked," finished Celeste before going over to the replicator and asking, "Create one Alliance uniform to match scans of human on planet. Create everything."
The replicator flashed into being creating shoes, she removed, then pants, then underclothes, then the shirt, then the zip of jacket with pockets.
"Create a bag to hold it all please. Also create a bottle of cold water and a ration bar."
The bag was created. Celeste put it all in there. Tom took it.
"Good guess," said Celeste to Tom.
"Pretty obvious really. So I assume I am to what? Get him dressed and ready to go?"
"Dressed would be a good start. If there are serious medical issues, we can ignore it, but it would be rude not to at least try. For the rest, well, we are not in any real hurry," said Celeste.
"Got it. I suppose beam me down."
Ami did so.
-=oOo=-
Ten minutes later Tom contacted them.
"Paris to Argus."
"We are online. Problems?"
"I'm a little concerned with the structure down here. I did convince Ernest to get dressed. He put on his own clothes, but took the bag too, then ran off. I'm not sure he is convinced it is all real. There is a great deal of detailed symbology on the walls. Can you do anything about the structural integrity of the place? A storm seems brewing here."
"Ami and I can likely hold it together during the storm, but we would need resources not present to fix it," said Celeste.
"Come down, take a look. We either need to make it safe, or get some scans and get out, probably," said Tom.
"I will request Falcon to come here when they can, and we will maintain the structure for a time at least. We will bring down tricorders so you can scan and record."
"Sounds like a plan."
"We will be there shortly."
-=oOo=-
Tom looked at Ami and Celeste. They were in the library room where it continued to project different pages of symbols into the air. Both were sweating and were obviously exhausted. They didn't want to give up, but they also didn't want to let this place be destroyed and the storm was growing ever more violent.
"We are going to have to abandon, if they do not come soon. The energy source here works, but this is exhausting," said Celeste.
"It's just a place. Don't kill yourself to save it. Maybe we should have landed the runabout and shielded the whole place, but we'd have risk losing our way off," said Tom
"And there is not much left of the Island to land on," added Ami.
Rowan, Deanna, Faile, and Lacus beamed down.
"Sorry we are late. Falcon finished the first mission then got involved in another mess. We came as soon as we could," said Lacus.
Rowan and Deanna sat down next to Celeste and Ami.
"We have the burden. We will hold this place together for a time. An Asgard ship was also sent. If it becomes necessary we will beam up the most important," said Rowan.
The wind continued to howl even as Rowan and Deanna took the burden of holding the place together.
"I will return to my ship and evaluate what options exist. Should either of you need it, I can relieve you later," said Faile.
"As of course can I," said Lacus.
"We felt this room at least should be preserved. It is a very important piece of history," said Celeste.
"We agree," said Rowan.
Almost an hour later Thor and the former Empress beamed down.
"I had not known this place still existed. I brought a cargo ship. Once we are through the storm, you should be able to release your efforts, and I believe I can repair enough of it mid transport to stabilize it," said Thor.
"Where will it go?" asked Ramaj.
"I do not know for sure. Likely either the Asgard or the Nox will preserve the library room, though I am not sure about all the rest of this place."
"The Abh maintain a city in space similar to Lakfakalle. It is likely the Emperor would be honored to preserve any of this. It was a recent effort I started before the end of my reign. It has considerable space remaining."
"That could work, as long as whoever wished to visit was permitted. The ship I have does not have a dimensional drive."
"We could surely lead the way," offered Lacus.
"Your offer is interesting," conceded Thor to Ramaj.
"Passing of the torch perhaps?" asked Tom.
"I do not understand," said Ramaj.
"In a relay race, or at least very old ones. Sometimes they would carry a burning torch. The next runner in the race would accept the torch from the previous. It is meant to say that that person would carry on with the race while the previous could rest for awhile, at least till the next race," said Tom.
"A curious analogy, and yet perhaps apt," said Thor.
"You honor us," said Ramaj softly.
"Without the help of the Alliance, of which you are a part, we would have likely lost against the replicator infestation. They would have taken our technology and knowledge and swarmed across this universe, eventually eradicating all life in favor of their own form. They might have taken our knowledge of dimensional travel as well. We would have no doubt tried to deny them as much as possible, but other universes could have been in danger in time. I do not say that the race is over, merely that you are beginning to carry the torch for your segment of it," said Thor before blinking.
"Thank you," said Ramaj softly.
Outside the storm grew stronger.
"Do you think we could get a song to match the storm outside possibly?" asked Celeste hopefully of Lacus.
"That depends. Do I sing alone, or will others join me?" asked Lacus.
"I'll join in," chimed in Ami.
"I will as well," said Celeste.
"I have a terrible singing voice and don't know the song," said Tom.
"We will too," said Deanna.
"I wish to as well. May I get a little help?" asked Ramaj.
"I'd be glad to do so," said Lacus before taking her hand.
Lacus began it. The rest joined in the second verse.
Beneath a veil so cold,
You deeply sleep, all alone
The melody of prayer; on the lonely fields,
A little light shined
I watched as you dreamed
You laughed like a child
So dear, and yet so far
That is the promise of our future
Lightning struck directly but the structure held. The singing continued.
That one day, on a green morning,
One day, we will make it there
Because in this wintered sky
We still believe
Fields of Hope
On the day we were born, we were embraced
And now we search for those gentle hands again
The melody of prayer; one vanishes,
And all begins again; a powerless, painful continuation
One day, to that green morning,
We'll cross through all these nights
Because that is the place each one of us searches for
Now, within my own heart,
I want to keep you warm
So dear, and yet so far -
In the name of peace
Fields of Hope
So dear, and yet so far -
The fields of promise
Fields of Hope
Fields of Hope
A few minutes after they finished Catherine said, "The storm is ending I think."
"And the sun is beginning to shine," noted Tom.
"Yes, it is," said Lacus wistfully.
"Hey Lacus, and maybe others. Think you all could help us heal Catherine and Ernest?" asked Celeste hopefully.
Thor blinked. "They are not sick are they?"
"No, but I'm inclined to try to give them a little of the time that was stolen from them," added Celeste. Ami nodded as well.
"Does everyone can think they can forget we did this, if we did this? We aren't really supposed to be advertising that skill," said Rowan.
"You brought back Ernest. I'm not about to make your life harder," said Catherine.
"You were here with me the whole time in my mind," said Ernest.
"I thought you were dead. My dad said you were dead."
"I'll not tell," said Ernest.
"I was dishonorably discharged for not reporting the truth of a pilots screw ups, thus endangering others, and only now got this chance to make something of my life. As long as no one is harmed, I will keep my mouth shut," said Tom.
"If this is abused, certain powerful people might have to act, and much harm would be done. It is very serious," said Rowan.
"I don't doubt it," said Tom.
"You don't have to do this," said Catherine.
"Whether we do it, is somewhat less relevant than everyone here keeping appropriately quiet that we could," said Deanna.
Everyone agreed.
"Here then. It seems safe enough for now, and it seems fitting that renewal begins here, where a beginning was made so long agao," said Rowan.
"Here," agreed Lacus.
"Do we have a volunteer?" asked Ami.
"Catherine can go first. Want to make sure I really recognize her after all," joked Ernest.
"Deflecting that you still put me first. That certainly hasn't changed," said Catherine fondly.
Catherine sat where Ami indicated even as she stepped back, pulled out her transformation pen and called out, "Mercury Crystal Power Make up."
Tom directed Ernest to turn around with him as Ami was briefly with fewer, but not no clothes.
"Is that really necessary?" asked Ramaj of Ami.
"Necessary? Possibly not, though I'm stronger like this and it does help."
She nodded.
"Shall we form a circle and do it together?" asked Lacus.
They nodded. The telepaths and those with power formed around Catherine.
"Everyone, not just some," corrected Lacus.
Faile beamed back down and joined in as well.
Ami and Celeste's moved to directly surround Catherine while the hands of others where holding their arms loosely. A magical circle formed, and the silver white light stream in fron the others into Ami and Celeste.
As they watched the years seemed to melt off Catherine. Less than an hour after they began they stopped.
"My god, your beautiful," said Ernest.
"You are perhaps twenty years younger. Your existing hair did not change of course, though new hair will be different," said Deanna.
"I can't believe it," said Catherine.
"You might consider moving to one of our worlds so no fuss is raised," said Deanna.
"Can you help Ernest now?"
"We can," said Lacus.
Catherine gave the now younger Ernest a chaste kiss when it was over.
"I was thinking. I spent a life studying this place. There is nothing I know more. If it is to be kept intact, I could tell people about it, and maybe Cathy and I could go there?" asked Ernest.
"We would be honored," said the former Empress.
"We will need statements from both of you to take back. We can make them look like you died," said Deanna softly.
"Then once we have that, we can return to our primary mission. We were considering picking up the Gate and dialing device that dropped in the ocean on a previous world, in case Falcon found it useful," said Celeste.
"As long as it is not given to Earth, we have no objection," said Thor.
"I wouldn't mind having one for our people to look at," said Faile.
"There was one on the previous world as well. That one is livable, but likely too hot for most," added Celeste.
"Can you haul them both?" asked Rowan.
"Unlikely. I could see putting the dialing device inside and holding a gate in a tractor beam, but one would be the limit for a runabout," said Tom.
"Any objections if we pick the pair up and let Alliance leadership figure out the details?" asked Deanna.
"None from me, nor I would assume Falcon," said Celeste.
"We are also fine with this. I can perhaps do repairs on the one in the ocean before it is handed off," offered Thor.
"Then we can literally go as soon as a couple videos are made," said Celeste.
Deanna and Rowan nodded to their daughter.
Celeste walked over and hugged them both tightly one at a time and then both together.
-=oOo=-
"Maybourne got lucky didn't he?" asked Jack as they were flying back to their Earth."
"I could have done without having to search fifteen different worlds to find them," said Riker.
"The Stargates were placed on worlds the Alterens could live, and your form is much the same. The fact that one connected to a world they could live was not entirely surprising," said Heimdall.
"It was amusing to recover their frostbitten forms. They were trained well enough they survived. I can't imagine the rest of the US government is going to find their actions amusing," said Sam.
"The problem is it is tricky to prosecute violations without exposing the Stargate. They might get off, though I'm sure they will try," said Jack.
"We are entering cloaked orbit. It looks like Argus is back, since it responded to our query signal," said Jinto.
"Incoming coms request," said Samson.
"On screen."
"It's just me up here for now. We are kind of rotating. The other mission went fairly well. This is a secure com right?" asked Tom.
"It is," said Jadzia.
"More detail then. Ekuryua stayed behind and got everything started on Earth. First world nothing but cats and a stargate. Really big cats. Second world was mostly water. The island that contained the gate was gone, though the Gate wasn't that deep. Third world, found our guy, made him clothes. He found his own tattered ones. It turns out he had found a placed called Heliopolis. It was a meeting place for all four races in the ancient Alliance. The place even contained a kind of repository of their meetings. It was an archaeologists dream."
"The problem is it was falling apart and it seemed a storm that was forming would finish it off, or might at least. Ami and Celeste held it together. Rowan, Deanna, Faile, and Lacus came with Faile's ship, and then Thor came with a cargo ship. To make a long story short, Rowan and Deanna held it together for a time, the storm ended, Catherine and Ernest were made about twenty years younger through a group effort, which was wild by the way, then everyone beamed to their ships."
"Thor beamed up the entire thing as one and kind of fixed it along the way. They planned to pick up the stargates at the first two worlds and drop them off for the Alliance to look into. Faile had an interest. They all did really. Ernest and Catherine were going to go with the less ruined ruin to an Abh space city that houses a lot of history and help out there and we came back and resumed our jobs."
"Excellent work and concise." said Jack. He gave him a thumbs up.
"The main thing is you found Ernest and he was alive. You do know not to repeat that one detail to the wrong people right?" asked RIker.
"It was made very clear," said Tom.
"Good. We will probably head to a new mission within a day or so, but you seem to have things well in hand," said RIker.
"I can see L'Nea wanting to look into Stargate technology, but then she doesn't have to go far. The Asgard certainly have it," said Jadzia.
"Indeed, we have made many advancements since the Alterans prefected that basic design," said Heimdall.
"I do have one suggestion, at least to consider passing along," said Tom.
"Go ahead," said Riker.
"Consider adding to Starfleet academy something like this Abh ship. Too many people don't really learn to fly, particularly in an atmosphere."
"We have retained the requirement to learn in atmospheric flying including with full manual controls in our studies," said Lafiel.
"You could probably just have her head to the academy and then show off. The rest is likely to take care of itself, at least if any of them are like I used to be," suggested Tom.
"An intriguing idea. We could request a few of those ships, but we don't use fission based drives anymore," said Riker.
"You have a fission based design and a whole pile of aspiring Starfleet engineering students. Nope, there is no path forward there," joked Jadzia.
"Fair point. Sobaash, can you see if we can fetch another copy of one of those from the assembly line? If by chance they decide against it we would return it," said Riker.
"Checking now."
Piper said, "I did checked with Celeste. They are currently busy teaching, and are good with us moving onto our next mission. They also like Tom's idea," said Piper.
"I got a semi automatic answer. Basically these are for Alliance use and unless the number gets quite a bit higher we don't have to worry about it," said Sobaash.
"Good to hear. Maybe see if we can get hold of Admiral DeSoto," suggested Riker.
"You could also try Admiral Paris. He and I have discussed this problem before. Of course he is my dad, but this would not be benefiting me, or him," said Tom.
"Conference them both in, if you can get them, but make sure this is noted as not an emergency, but just a request for consultation."
"I have a response from Admiral Paris. Admiral DeSoto is apparently on another Alliance ship and not easy to reach," said Samson.
"Connect us."
"Captain Riker. What can I do for you? I hope the mission with my son is going well."
"It is going fine. Tom had an idea we are debating pursuing. Others liked it, including me, so its not just Tom's," said Riker.
"Oh? What is the idea?"
"He was suggesting mainly more actual flying for Starfleet pilot training. He particularly liked the idea of the Abh ships like they have there without all the computers and automation. We were considering going to pickup one then maybe have Lafiel fly against some Starfleet candidates with suitable precautions."
"A competition huh? That could be interesting. You couldn't do it on Earth though. That fission drive, no matter how well tested isn't allowed. Mars is a possibility."
"Jadzia figured the engineering students would have a problem to solve, though we can of course move the starting point if need be," said Riker.
"Good point, and I agree. I'll work on some details here. A little friendly competition can't hurt. Are you going to go get the ship?"
"We are. We could of course be interrupted, since this isn't a priority mission."
"Understood. Still, I'll get the ball rolling and if we have to delay it we will."
"Thanks."
-=oOo=-
Cadet first class Nicholas Locarno, Cadet second class Jean Hajar, Cadet second class Sito Jaxa, and Cadet Joshua Albert walked into a room at Starfleet Academy with Jinto and Lafiel sitting in it.
Jinto took to the podium.
"Hello all I'm Jinto Linn and this is Lafiel Abriel. You have been selected to participate in a program to test your piloting skills on older simpler craft. I suppose first of all I have to ask do you really want to be here?"
"I'm Nick Locarno. What makes you think we don't want to be here?"
"Shielding thoughts is doable. Your emotions are harder to fully shield. You seem quite annoyed about something, and as this is our free time." JInto glanced at Lafiel who nodded. Another spoke.
"I'm Josh Albert. We were practicing for the commencement demonstration."
"What is the point of this demonstration?" asked Lafiel.
"I'm Sito, and It's a celebration that we graduated, and well, maybe a bit of showing off." Sito was a young Bajoran woman with brown hair.
Lafiel blinked and then looked at Jinto to see if this made any sense to him. He shook his head.
"If showing off is your goal, then please leave. We will ask for others," said Lafiel.
"Wait. Who are you to talk to us like this?" asked Nick.
"I am Lieutenant Commander Lafiel Abriel with the Alliance, and I may not look it, but I have over ten thousand flight hours. Jinto is at six thousand. We also have a very high number of them in combat compared to most. We are not here to teach showing off. Showing off gets fools killed. Risks are taken when justified or on the holodeck, not in a craft with living people in it. An Abh child knows this. How is it you do not seem to?"
"I'm Jean Hajar and Nick doesn't mean that. Our career in Starfleet is important to us." Jean was a dark brown haired beauty with gray eyes.
"Are you quite sure? If an emergency occurs we will leave and this will be paused, and we do get those requests fairly often."
"We are sure," said Nick.
"Good." She tapped her com badge. "Falcon, we are ready to beam up."
They materialized on the back of the bridge.
Lafiel and Jinto got in the pilot seats.
"Take us to Mars," said Riker.
"Tempting to use the warp engines, but we can do that later I suppose," said Jinto.
"Agreed."
"Opening a window and jumping. Eta ten seconds. Exiting."
"You did a hyperspace jump in system?" asked Nick.
"Our crew is very good. Had they not had the experience they do then yes we might not allow that, but we do take small justified risks to stay sharp, if we know we can deal with the consequences," said Riker.
Their ship moved to line up with the newly made, but old design Abh ship.
"She is beautiful," said Nick. The others agreed.
"She has no inertial dampeners. Computers are minimal. She was designed for flight, with the pilot doing all the work. Its flight controls are almost entirely what you would call direct law. We trusted computers even less back then. It is a ship designed to test true piloting skill. You will not be allowed to fly it till passing many holodeck sims to our satisfaction," said Lafiel.
"You can, however, go over with Lafiel and I as she lands it, if you want," offered Jinto.
"Why Mars?" asked Albert.
"It used a fission reactor. If this program continues Starfleet Engineering candidates will propose and create a drive system that can meet approval on Earth. It is a very good design, but nothing with a fission engine can be used on Earth," said Jadzia.
"I'm a bit confused here. What is the overall goal? Just better pilots?" asked Nick.
"It was felt that most pilots in Starfleet do not get adequate understanding of actual flight mechanics. They know the formulas, but could they fly if given this craft, or a broken craft without all the automatics?" asked Riker.
"Put another way. If you rely on automatic systems, without keeping a firm understanding of just how close you are to the edge of the envelope, well, you could suddenly find yourself or others dead, when you step over that line," said Neela.
"Indeed," added Heimdall.
"I can agree with that," said Nick.
"We won't be able to graduate if we want to be a part of this program. Well we could, but we would have to stay for graduate studies or something," said Sita.
"How exactly is that a problem?" asked Sobaash.
"It isn't. One of our complaints is they don't give us enough time to practice flying. If we miss this, we are going to be probably shuffled on a ship or base somewhere and still not be practicing flying enough," said Joshua.
"So who is coming?" asked Lafiel.
-=oOo=-
"I'll take coms and the rest," said Jinto as he strapped himself into the seat in the zero gravity environment.
"How the heck did you do that?" asked Nick.
"Well I used my own kinetic ability, but zero gee is hardly new to me, or Lafiel, though we don't practice enough in it," said Jinto.
Lafiel took her own seat. The rest strapped in slower.
"Activating logic crystal to do check of systems. This ship has several test flights on it, but they have all been in space," said Lafiel.
"I'm beginning manual checks. I do half wish they would install newer logic crystals in these," muttered Jinto.
"I like everything as it was," said Lafiel.
"Guess so. Either way, everything seems okay so far. Propellant is full. Reactor is heating. All looks good there. Primary and secondary environmental are fine. We have enough space suits if we need them. Medical is stocked. We have primary, secondary, and tertiary landing targets, plus several planned paths back into orbit if we need them. Pretty much it is all planed," said Jinto.
"Yes. Falcon also has informed us they have locks on us just in case an emergency would occur with this new craft," said Lafiel.
"Is there a focus for this trip?" asked Jean.
Lafiel turned to her and the others. "I was thinking maximum propellant saving. Let's let the planet and our skill do the work. I know in the past obtaining the refined water to replace our stores was not easy. Let's see how much we can save."
"Sounds like a plan," said Nick.
"And it also means we could probably take back off, right?" asked Sito.
"It's a new ship. They will have to check it over again for issues, just to be sure. If it had completed it's break in period we could," said Jinto.
"We will do the maintenance checks. It is good training," added Lafiel.
"Contacting Mars control," said Jinto.
"This is Mars control. Are you ready to come in Valkyrie?"
"We are indeed. All the plans are checked. The only variation is we will be doing a landing that minimizes propellant use, that is, if you approve it," said Jinto.
"As long as you agree to shift from that if we order you to."
"Of course. You are in charge of our flight in your space," said Lafiel.
"Then you are cleared to land."
"Executing minimal burn. It will take us about twenty minutes till we hit our entry point," said Lafiel.
"Your looking good from here. Is that a new craft you are building?" asked the controller.
"It is a copy of a quite old craft. This one is fission based. We plan to try to encourage the teaching of better basic piloting skills, and maybe a side project to re-engineer this design with a non fission based engine, though I do hope they keep the use of propellant. It forces pilots to focus on resource use," said Lafiel.
"Well she is beautiful. I'd love to fly it sometime," said the controller fondly.
"Your welcome to join our program. We can transfer the holodeck training programs we have developed, to start with," said Lafiel.
"I'd appreciate it."
"We could you know nudge ourselves enough kinetically to move a bit faster," said Jinto.
"True, but I'd rather save our abilities for true emergencies. If Celeste or another was here it would be different."
Lafiel lightly tapped the engines to reduce their time a little. Nick smiled.
About ten minutes later they began to glide down to the planet. Lafiel successfully managed to land on her first attempt with only control surfaces and brakes.
"I'm curious how realistic is that kind of landing. Current shuttles don't have wings and control surfaces," said Sito.
"We get why, though we kind of wish they did," said Jinto.
"I can think of a possible way around that. We will have to talk to the others on Falcon later," said Lafiel.
"What, it is not like you can fit larger shuttle bays in the same space," joked Jean.
"No, we cannot do that," agreed Jinto.
Nick looked at them curiously.
"So, who wants to load the data from this trip into a holodeck sim and see if you can duplicate Lafiel's flight? I'm not entirely sure I can, but I think I could manage something close," said Jinto.
"I'm game to try, but without practice I doubt I could do it," said Nick.
"We did not, though I have done similar flights before," said Lafiel.
"Let's to give it a try. Wait, don't we need to check out the ship first," said Sito.
"Yes, let's get the work done," said Lafiel.
They all chose to start their simulation flights just as it entered the atmosphere and got interesting. Nick managed a landing, but it was pretty bad and used most of the propellant onboard, including going into what was supposed to be a reserve that was not to be touched other than emergencies.
Jean also managed a landing, though with serious simulated damage. The other two crashed. The holodeck declared everyone dead. Jinto ended up doing a powered go around when things didn't seem right and then landed cleanly.
"I should have done that. Figured it was holographic so might as well go for broke. That was a mistake," said Nick.
They said nothing. Nothing needed to be said.
"Would you like to learn a bit what is like to pilot for real, when it really matters?" asked Lafiel softly.
"We would," said Nick. Lafiel looked at the others who nodded. She looked up at the sky and smiled. A few seconds later Piper and Pyrrha popped into their holodeck simulation.
"You called?" asked Piper in amusement.
"Feel like an unpleasant trip down memory lane?"
"We always love those," said Pyrrha.
"For a good cause I hope?" asked Piper.
"Right now these four believe they are good pilots; that they know most of what they need to know; that they are ready. Sure they may not really believe that, but some taste of what is to come, might save their lives and the lives of those that depend on them one day," said Lafiel.
"So, good reason established. Well, tonight should be fun for everyone involved. Can we change this fake environment?" asked Piper.
"Computer change simulation. Connect with Falcon's database. Authorization Jinto Alpha 872 request video of leave taking ceremony on Altair. Create new program locally as Jinto One. Recreate setting only, starting at the time the ceremony began. Run when ready."
"That was a fun night," said Lafiel, who twined her fingers with Jinto.
"Yes it was. The end of a lot of work, even if not much piloting.
"You two are going to lead all this? We are just support right?" asked Piper.
"Yes," said Lafiel.
"I"m not sure we fully understand," said Nick.
"Then exercise a little trust," said Jinto who held out his other hand to Jean, who hesitantly took Sito's who then took Pyrrha's. The rest joined hands as well.
They began with the battle with the Borg, but also covered, in detail the effort they all made in several other large battles, ending well into the night at near midnight when Doctor Bashir beamed down, shut down the holodeck and checked on them.
"Thank you doctor. We were near stopping, and we did go too long. We admit that," said Lafiel.
"It was working quite well. None of us sensed anything of concern, other than our stiff bodies," said Piper.
"I'm going to bed. Since you pushed it too far, I'm ordering you to all go have yourselves checked out down there. I've run quick checks and see nothing of concern, but a full check would not hurt," said Bashir.
"You just want us to have to be annoyed by waiting," said Jinto dryly.
"Yes. I stayed up after Piper informed me of your plans and only came after a more than reasonable time. Now you get to be slightly inconvenienced," said Bashir.
"That is fair enough doctor. We will of course obey," said Lafiel.
"Good. Make sure Falcon gets the record updates. Now I am going to bed." He tapped his com badge and requested beam out.
"Is anyone familiar with this world?" asked Jinto.
"I've been to Mars before. I can make the arrangements for the medical checks," said Jean.
"Thank you," said Lafiel.
"That was all real. Of course it was. The Alliance needs more people that can use those interface things well, don't they?" asked Nick.
"Yes, but most who try seem to eventually end up unable to be linked for long periods. That is a problem we haven't solved. The Abh usually do a bit better, due to a brain structure that is somewhat designed for it, but with our newest designs the difference is pretty thin," said Jinto.
"Most battles are usually not that long," said Nick.
"True, which is why training more is a good idea, so more switches can be done. Ekuryua, Jinto and I are pretty much unaffected by it anymore, or we would have to have more pilots. All the main bridge crew, except Heimdall I suppose keep training to take over at need, but do not have our skill," said Lafiel.
"Your in that whenever the ship is moving, right?" asked Joshua.
"We have to be. Even with our very advanced systems, we couldn't react quick enough without it," said Jinto.
"Well you could go at slower speeds," added Sito.
"True, though we generally would prefer to get where we are going. Part of the reason our flight hours aren't even higher is we tend to be going places really fast," said Lafiel.
-=oOo=-
The Mars Control operator joined them in the holodeck the next day and more than demonstrated his competence. After some intensive questioning they agreed to leave him in charge of the Valkyrie class ship and the program to train more pilots. It wasn't that he knew everything, but he knew enough to be safe and keep everyone else safe, and that was enough.
Before they left Jinto asked the operator for a moment of his time. They stayed behind in the ship to talk.
"What did you need?" asked the new head of the program.
"We are in the position of choosing which rules to obey here. Technically I'm violating one. Okay your goal is to keep everyone alive right?"
"It is."
"Then that is what we are basing this decision on. Before we met that group they were planning on trying to do a four person Kolvoord Starburst maneuver at graduation. We got that information accidentally when we were showing them other things and we are almost certain we have gotten through to them about that kind of foolishness. That is a stunt just to show off, that I can't think of any sane reason to use in an actual mission," said Jinto.
"Well they haven't performed it, at least not that anyone has seen, so haven't broken the regs, and I obviously can't report something so nebulous."
"It wasn't our goal to get them in trouble. We think they have a lot of potential, and we think again that they likely won't do anything like that now," said Jinto.
"Thanks for letting me know. I've taught long enough to have seen similar. I'll watch over them and do my best to keep them alive."
"Thanks."
"No, thank you. It is people like you that are working day after day to make sure everything remains peaceful. I just direct traffic."
"We have done some boring assignments too. Often boring is the goal. Sometimes the work just needs done," said Jinto.
"That it does."
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