Naruto: Infinity Divide
First Contact
Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Trek
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This chapter we start the second Tkon arc. Enjoy!
Port = Left
Starboard = Right
[ ] Signifies a foreign language
~ ~ Signifies singing
This is a short extract of some of the crewmembers of the U.S.S. Gettysburg for those keeping track:
Crew of the U.S.S. Gettysburg
Captain Asuma Sarutobi: Male Human /Age: 30's
First Officer Commander Mabui Kumo: Female Human /Age: 29
Chief Engineering Officer Lt Commander Sassaav: Male Andorian /Age: 40's
Chief Medical Officer Doctor Shizune Kato: Female Human /Age: 30's
Chief Sciences Officer Lt Commander Lyakat: Male Saurian /Age: 40's
Chief of Security Lt Shizuka Nadeshiko: Female Vulcan /Age: 26/ Birth name: S'Loren Tolaris
Chief Communications Officer Ensign M'rella: Female Caitian /Age: 20
Ship's Navigator Lt (JG) Samui Schrodinger: Female Augment Human /Age: 20
Ship's Helmsman Ensign Rafi: Female Trill /Age: 20
Last time:
London, Section 31 Headquarters
Three days after the attempted abduction of Lieutenants Naruto M'Fau and Samui Schrodinger utterly failed; Section 31 operative Spencer and his two cohorts were sitting together with their heads hung down in front of Commander Tower. "You three do realize that Lieutenants M'Fau and Schrodinger are far too valuable to be mishandled this way, don't you? Just as badly the professionals you hired completely bungled the operation like rank amateurs even though they are top tier. If I didn't know better I'd say Shrodinger and M'Fau were toying with them! …You three will await here for your sentences to be passed." said Tower passively.
The three Section 31 operatives were severely punished by losing both their rank and two pay grades. Furthermore, they were dismissed from section 31 and drummed back out into the fleet knowing that if they even thought about Section 31 their lives would be forfeit…Considering the alternative was execution they were considered to have received given light sentences…
…
Chapter 43
Stardate 2274.252, Sol III Orbit, Starbase 1, Spacedock, U.S.S. Gettysburg
It had been a week since the crew of the Gettysburg was granted shore leave and Captain Asuma Sarutobi was still aboard observing the carefully orchestrated chaos of the expanded science team that was being brought aboard for the Second Tkon Expedition as it was nicknamed by Admiral Danzo Shimura.
Asuma really felt that a Galactic Survey Cruiser like his former ship the U.S.S. Darwin was much more suited to the job being equipped with special sensor systems but since the crew of the U.S.S. Gettysburg was already "in the know" about the mission it was decided that for security reasons they would carry out the task of locating the Tkon colonies Wsor and Rzom among other places. That wasn't to say the Gettysburg couldn't do the job –far from it. Heavy cruisers like the Gettysburg had been the backbone of Starfleet's exploration missions for decades.
Commander Lyakat got back from negotiations on Vulcan three days ago and was up to his yellow eyeballs in equipment and various Tkon artifacts that might be of use on the mission…primarily data memory crystals that had been in storage on Earth at various facilities. There was much more to gather up on Vulcan that was being organized by Doctor Allison Fairbanks in the meantime.
A lot of shore leave had been cancelled a week early much to the dismay of the crew. All officers had been recalled a week early and the enlisted were being called back in as needed. Given the amount of material being brought aboard the vast majority of the Gettysburg's crew was back on the ship already.
T'Lyra and Naruto were a bit disappointed that they were not able to spend a week touring Europe on speeders in a typical Vulcan manner. They saw the logic in being recalled to duty and got to work hoping another opportunity would arise later. Shizuka on the other hand was angry enough to spit fire. If it wasn't for her strong sense of dedication to duty, she would have had a fit. At any rate the raven-haired Vulcan beauty was making sure security was tight around the Tkon artifacts…
…
The U.S.S. Gettysburg departed Spacedock four days later at Stardate 2274.256 with a much larger scientific staff than she previously had assigned to the ship's compliment. Destination: Vulcan.
…
Stardate 2274.260, 40 Eridani A System, U.S.S. Gettysburg
"Ship's Log, Stardate 2274.260: Commander Mabui Kumo reporting. NCC-1728 U.S.S. Gettysburg has just entered the 40 Eridani A System and we are en route to Planet Vulcan orbit. Our Chief Science Officer Lieutenant Commander Lyakat is coordinating between the ship and the Vulcan Science Academy to pick up a number of Tkon artifacts directly related to our mission as well as the VSA Liaison Doctor Allison Fairbanks. Captain Sarutobi is familiar with Doctor Fairbanks and as the ship's First Officer I hope she is able to integrate well on this long-term assignment…"
"Commander Kumo; we are now entering geosynchronous orbit of Planet Vulcan." reported Rafi crisply from the helm position. "We're directly above ShiKahr City."
Mabui nodded. "Excellent Ensign Rafi." The Commander rotated the Captain's chair and said to M'rella, "Communications, open a channel to the Vulcan Science Academy; we have a lot of business to discuss."
M'rella smiled and the Caitian beauty said, "I have Academy Director Sekla on standby Commander Kumo."
…
Planet Vulcan, ShiKahr City, Vulcan Science Academy
Doctor Allison Fairbanks was very excited. 'Not only am I getting to travel to do my work; I'm travelling with Naruto.' The redhead wanted to giggle but caught herself. Despite the fact it wasn't planned, Allison had adopted Vulcan customs in both clothing and mannerisms. It was obvious she wasn't a Vulcan but she was fluent in Golic Vulcan and generally used the customary Vulcan salute and greetings these days. She was also close to Naruto's family and lived in the house across the street from T'Ara and Sovar's. The petite woman also watched Naruto's little son Siegfried from time to time and thought he was adorable…
The green-eyed redhead had spent the last week carefully packing the Tkon memory data crystals and a lot of other Tkon artifacts for transport. Most of the collection was staying at the Vulcan Science Academy but as they required other material Allison would bring back materials in exchange for more. Both she and Director Sekla agreed that the greater part of the collected Tkon materials should stay on Vulcan and be loaned out as needed. Lyakat had requested that everything should be on loan, but Director Sekla politely denied that request.
…
Lieutenant Commander Lyakat arrived with a small number of staff to transport the Tkon artifacts via shuttlecraft as they did not wish to risk the delicate materials in a transporter. Naruto was also there making sure no one got lost because as a VSA graduate he knew the Academy like the back of his hand…
Naruto briefly spoke with his Mother T'Ara who was lecturing that day at the Vulcan Science Academy. He had hoped to be able to visit his family at home but the U.S.S. Gettysburg was on a schedule, so the blonde wasn't granted the time. After several carefully packed shuttle flights the Tkon artifacts from the VSA were all accounted for aboard the heavy cruiser and Doctor Fairbanks was assigned her own quarters for the duration of the expedition. It took three days to get everything in place and the Gettysburg was soon off on its next mission…
….
Stardate 2274.263, 40 Eridani A System, Planet Vulcan Orbit, U.S.S. Gettysburg
Captain Sarutobi commanded, "Set course for the Epimetheus Star Cluster Lieutenant Schrodinger. Give me an ETA at warp factor 4."
"Course laid in sir." replied Samui. "Our estimated time of arrival at warp 4 is sixteen-point five days sir."
"That will do nicely." said the goateed Captain. "Ahead warp 4 Ensign Rafi. Execute!"
The young trill woman complied and the U.S.S Gettysburg accelerated away in a burst of light…
An hour later Lieutenant Naruto came onto the bridge along with Lieutenant Wanda Hardy and exchanged a minimal smile with both Samui and Shizuka. He turned to their Chief Science Officer and said, "Commander Lyakat, we have the Astronomy staff assembled per your orders."
The Saurian scientist smiled and said, "Excellent. Lieutenant Hardy, I need you to take over on the bridge here while I review with the astronomy team. Naruto, I need you to continue your work identifying the Tkon memory data crystals that pertain the Rzom. We have a lot of work to do and a finite time to do it in."
…
Alison grinned as Naruto returned to the Tkon artifact lab room and set down the data crystal she was working on. She turned to Maya Ayasugi and said, "Looks like our memory crystal projector has returned."
Ensign Ayasugi chuckled and said, "We have three promising ones Naruto. Can you activate them for us?"
The blonde Vulcan nodded and picked up the first crystal, "Map of Rzom System. This shows potential." He channeled chakra through it and it lit up the room with a stellar map of the yellow star Rzom itself as well as the five planets that orbited it. "Very promising indeed."
"Let's start copying and translating that projection then." said the redheaded scientist. "Lyakat is going to be thrilled."
…
Stardate 2274.279, Epimetheus Star Cluster border, U.S.S. Gettysburg
Sixteen days later the staff was gathered to discuss their next objective…
"The Epimetheus Star Cluster is made up of seventy-nine stars but the one we are looking for is a single yellow dwarf star much like the one in the Sol System*① with five planets." said Commander Lyakat. "The three planets closest to the star are terrestrial and the two outer are gas giants. The second planet in the system was known to the Tkon as Rzom."
"All in all it sounds like a very normal, unremarkable system to look for." replied Commander Kumo in a flat tone. "How many yellow dwarfs are there in the cluster?"
The Saurian scientist explained, "There are twenty-six yellow dwarfs spread throughout the cluster and seventeen of them are individual star systems. The other nine can be eliminated because they are in binary or trinary star systems. Doctor Fairbanks and I have narrowed the possibilities down further to fourteen rather densely packed stars whose locations correspond to the Rzom System vicinity on the Tkon Map from 600,000 years ago. We need to use the process of elimination to rule out the stars whose orbital paths and speeds don't match up with the Rzom System and then narrow things further by taking the number of planets into account."
Captain Sarutobi nodded and said, "It sounds simple enough. How much of this Star Cluster was mapped previously and when?"
Alison Fairbanks smiled mirthfully and said, "The Epimetheus Star Cluster was never fully mapped by the Federation. Apparently, the ship U.S.S. Bach*② was recalled from its mission over a hundred years ago and there was never a follow up mission." Then the redhead added, "We're basically going from the ground up."
Asuma sighed and rubbed his chin. "Well, I guess there's no time like the present. Let's start mapping these systems and see what we can find out. With the extra science staff aboard there's no doubt a few astronomers eager to get started…"
….
Stardate 2274.292, Epimetheus Star Cluster, U.S.S. Gettysburg
"…Well; it's official Captain Sarutobi, we've lost a Star System." said Alison Fairbanks irritably. The science staff had spent nearly two weeks searching as the Gettysburg hopped from system to system in the Epimetheus Star Cluster and found nothing even close to what they were looking for… "I suggest we start looking into the theoretical instead of the evidential. We have a Doctor of Cosmology aboard that we have yet to consult with, Lieutenant Samui Schrodinger." There was a small groan among the science staff although a few seemed receptive to the idea. The redheaded VSA liaison frowned and she growled, "You astronomers have found nothing! It's not going to hurt you or anybody to let her look at the data and theorize. She may have insights that we don't. Besides, she's an astronomer herself."
Asuma looked at his science staff and saw they looked nonplussed at the idea. "Are there any objections to bringing Lieutenant Schrodinger into the study? I realize there is a bit of pride on the line but there is nothing to lose by getting some additional input." 'Besides, my experience with Doctor Fairbanks and Doctor Naruto is they've never been wrong. Naruto suggested we bring Samui in a week ago.'
Chief Science Officer Lyakat smiled in compliance and said to his staff, "The Captain is absolutely right. Letting Doctor Schrodinger look things over will not hurt in any way any could possibly help."
There was a murmur of agreement and Commander Lyakat quickly got his people back to work. After that the Saurian shook his head and turned to Asuma. "I have to apologize to you Captain. Our newly assigned staff doesn't really trust Doctor Fairbanks in spite of the fact she's proven again and again to have excellent instincts on these matters…They needed a little push from above it seems."
Asuma scratched his goatee and asked, "Are there any other reasons Commander Lyakat? Lieutenant Naruto suggested we bring Samui in a week ago after talking to you and Alison Fairbanks first."
Lyakat sighed. "In spite of the fact I've tried to stomp it out there are rumors among the new staff that Doctor Naruto and Doctor Fairbanks are involved somehow and are trying to usurp things. I feel like I've been assigned a class of gossiping schoolchildren. It's disconcerting but my staff size has nearly doubled and the new members don't mesh as well. The regular staff has no problems with either party."
Sarutobi frowned. "Get that straightened out yesterday Lyakat. This is a military starship, not a playground. If you can't stomp out the rumors in your own department, I'll have Shizuka do it. Am I understood Commander?"
The Saurian gulped. "Loud and clear sir."
Asuma smiled the way his former commander Terumi Mei did. "Then I suggest you get to work Lyakat."
The Chief Science Officer hustled out in a hurry…
…
Stardate 2274.301, Epimetheus III System, U.S.S. Gettysburg
"Ship's Log, Stardate 2274.301: Captain Asuma Sarutobi reporting. After tracing several possibilities NCC-1728 U.S.S. Gettysburg is orbiting the edge of Epimetheus III System which we believe may be where the ancient Tkon Colony Rzom is. Unfortunately, this system is closed off by a Federation mandate because of a violation of the Prime Directive one hundred ten years ago on Stardate 2164.018 by the Daedalus class starship NCC-174 U.S.S. Bach under the command of Captain Andrea Alexis."
"Further still, the exact nature of the violation is unknown to us and is considered classified to this day other than it took place on the inhabited planet Epimetheus IIIa which we believe could be in fact, the Tkon colony Rzom. We are currently awaiting further instructions from Starfleet Command as contact with the inhabitants of Epithemus IIIa may prove to be harmful or even disastrous to the civilization of that world which is something we want to prevent at all costs…"
Asuma sat in his command chair drumming his fingers after putting in the ship's log entry. The entire crew was on pins and needles as they slowly orbited just outside the Oort cloud*③ that surrounded the system. They had come a long way to hit a roadblock they could not pass legally. Chief Science Officer Lyakat was scanning the Epimetheus III system in as much detail as they could at long range and was informing the crew on what he'd found. Soon the Lieutenant Commander was in the briefing room with a holographic projection of the system in the center of the table.
The Saurian scientist explained, "Epimetheus III is part of an extremely large trinary star system that is made up of a pair of blue (Epimetheus I) and red (Epimetheus II) giant stars in close orbit of one another in a Trojan orbit*④ and a yellow dwarf star (Epimetheus III) in such a distant orbit around them that we theorize it was captured rather than formed in the system. Were it not for Lieutenant Schrodinger's expertise in cosmology I doubt we would have unraveled this mystery so quickly."
"Epimetheus III currently has four planets orbiting it." said Lyakat. "They are Epimetheus IIIa and IIIb which are terrestrial worlds and IIIc and IIId which are gas giants. We believe that the asteroid belt orbiting close to the star could have been a fifth planet as well during the time of the Tkon Empire. IIIa is a Class M world and is inhabited. From our long range scans, they are in the space age but are not warp capable. There is a strong possibility that this is Rzom. IIIb is Class M as well but there is no evidence that intelligent life exists upon it from our long-range scans. It also could be a candidate for being Rzom as the Tkon records show Rzom was the second planet in the system. Until we get closer there is no way to be certain."
Shizuka asked, "So you are saying back when the Tkon Empire existed that the asteroid belt close to the star could have been the first world and Epimetheus IIIa could have been the second world which would make it Rzom in theory?"
"That's correct." said Lyakat with a nod. "600,000 years ago, in Tkon Imperial times Epimetheus III was an individual star system and it being 'captured' by the two gas giants roughly 100,000 years ago would have caused intense gravimetric upheavals that could have resulted in the destruction of an innermost planet. In spite of the fact it seems farfetched at a casual glance Doctor Schrodinger's mathematics on the matter are impeccable. If we didn't have such precise maps from Tkon times combined with her expertise, then the odds of us figuring this out in such short order are practically zero."
Samui brought up the Tkon map and overlaid it with the current star map showing the Rzom System being pulled into the orbit of the two Epimetheus gas giants and the first planet breaking up. After it replayed a few times the blonde bombshell explained, "What we are seeing here is a 100,000-year timeframe in which the five planet Rzom Star System became the four-planet system we now know as Epimetheus III. The four planets remaining in the Epimetheus III System all match the orbital properties, mass, revolution, and rotational periods of the five outer planets of the Rzom System. The asteroid belt's mass and orbital distance is distributed in a manner that it would also match the former first planet's position and mass."
"It sounds like we've got a good match then." said Alison Fairbanks clapping her hands once. "Since we can't enter the system, we should our focus to other known similarities between the Rzom and Epimetheus III Systems. 600,000 years is a blink of an eye in the lifetime of a star."
The science staff all nodded in agreement and Lieutenant Commander Lyakat smiled. "I think that would be the best course of action as well Doctor Fairbanks. We can still narrow things down even at a distance."
Captain Sarutobi grinned and said, "To have figured out this jigsaw puzzle so far and come away with nothing would be a shame. "Commander Lyakat, come up with a list of things that the Tkon Empire had in the Rzom System we may be able to identify after 600,000 years. Mining sites, space stations, anything that would obviously not be native to this system. Good work everyone. If there are no further points to be discussed, you are dismissed."
….
Stardate 2274.303, Sol System, Planet Earth, Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco
Rear Admiral Danzo Shimura was pushing to have the ban on the Epimetheus III system lifted but the Admiralty Staff didn't want to budge. Admiral Heihachiro Nogura said to Danzo, "Everyone here is aware that this archeological dig you've proposed is a quest for power. You want this ban on the Epimetheus III system lifted for your pet project regardless of the Prime Directive. Did the disaster with the U.S.S. Bach teach you nothing? We still don't know what happened! You are treading in dangerous territory Shimura. As your direct superior I'm telling you to back down."
"But the Tkon Empire's technology could put us years ahead of the rest of the galaxy and help us defend against the Klingons, Romulans or the Kzintis!" declared Danzo. "The U.S.S Gettysburg is already there at the edge of the system! We just have to reach out and take it."
Vice Admiral Fitzpatrick declared, "The Diplomatic Corps is making tremendous strides with our Kzinti neighbors! Why would you consider them a threat?!"
"You're an idealist to believe the Kzinti Hegemony will ever be trustworthy, Fitzpatrick." growled Danzo. "That bunch of uncivilized savages eats their captives, or have you forgotten? They'll never be reliable allies."
"Shimura, you always were a warhawk." said Rear Admiral Harrison Morrow. "We have enough enemies without picking fights with people we can resolve things with peacefully."
"Exploring Epimetheus III is a necessity to the United Federation of Planets!" said Shimura. "The ban is over a century old and needs to be lifted!"
Nogura said, "Rear Admiral Danzo Shimura; your request to lift the ban on the Epimetheus III Star System is formally denied. The cruiser U.S.S. Gettysburg is staying right where she is."
…
Stardate 2274.304, Epimetheus III System, U.S.S. Gettysburg
Captain Sarutobi was in his ready room looking at the masses of data his science staff was cranking out on the Epimetheus III system. He wasn't a science major himself but had a well-rounded education regarding things and was astounded at how much they were able to decipher at such a long distance. 'Lieutenant Samui Schrodinger has really done an outstanding job. The whole science staff has actually. Every one of them has really put in a team effort…once a few rumors were stomped out anyway.' Asuma was pleased seeing how well his crew was working together now. 'The Gettysburg is running like a well-oiled machine.' He thought proudly. 'This is what Dad meant when he talked about running a tight ship.' he thought remembering his Father Hiruzen's stories.
"Yellow alert! Captain to the bridge." came Mabui's voice on the overhead.
Asuma raced onto the bridge as Mabui vacated the Captain's chair. "What's our situation Commander Kumo?" he asked.
Mabui motioned to the viewscreen at a long, twin hulled ship with massive fusion engines and a tower superstructure and said, "We're receiving a distress call from a ship within the Epimetheus III system Captain Sarutobi. Ensign M'rella, do you have a visual on the SOS yet?"
M'rella's Amber eyes turned briefly to Mabui and she said, "Negative Commander; I have a clear audio now. I'm working on the visual."
"Pipe it through and keep working on the visual M'rella." commanded Captain Sarutobi.
"Aye sir." replied the Caitian beauty as her ears twitched at the incoming noise. "Coming through now."
The crew listened as a melodic female voice came through. It seemed to be singing… "~This is the cruise ship Imperial Princess, and we are in need of immediate assistance due to asteroid collision. Our main reactors have shut down and we only have twenty-one hours before our life support fails…There have been many injuries. We are in desperate need of assistance. Any vessels in the area please respond…~"
"She's been repeating the same message for several minutes Captain." said M'rella anxiously. "Should we respond?"
"Under any other circumstances we would respond immediately but we are forbidden from entering the system by Starfleet Command Captain." said Mabui.
Asuma asked, "Sciences; are there any other ships in the area that can render them assistance?"
Wanda Hardy looked up from the science station and said, "At sublight speed the closest ship in the system is four days away sir. They appear to be dead in the water."
"How many people are aboard?" asked Captain Sarutobi.
"There is a lot of radiation interference, but I estimate three hundred sir." replied Wanda.
Shizuka looked up from her security station and said, "They are a spacefaring race in need of our assistance. It is our sworn duty to help them!"
Mabui looked at Shizuka sternly and said, "That's enough. The Captain is well aware of our duty Lieutenant Nadeshiko."
Rafi said from the helm, "What were they doing drifting into the Oort cloud in a sublight passenger ship to begin with? It is a disaster waiting to happen!"
Naruto was at the navigation station carefully looking at the scanners. "They have completely drifted into the Oort cloud. The Prime Directive does not apply. Logically we should render assistance immediately."
Both Mabui and Asuma looked at Naruto like he'd grown a second head. Commander Kumo was about to say something, but Asuma held his hand up to cut her off. Captain Sarutobi said, "Explain the reasoning that the Prime Directive no longer applies Lieutenant Naruto."
"Article XVII of the Prime Directive as written in 2161 clearly states that we are forbidden from entering the edge of the system's Oort cloud." explained Naruto. "It has since been revised but not in this case."
Everyone sweat dropped and goateed Captain asked, "And how does this help us…?"
Naruto raised his eyebrow in the perplexed/irritated manner as he always did and replied, "The law as stated in 2161 did not specify whether it was the inner or the outer edge of the Oort cloud which we could not cross. Therefore, it is perfectly legal to interpret the law as the inner edge of the Oort cloud that we cannot traverse. The cruise liner Imperial Princess is outside of the inner edge. The law was revised to the outer edge in 2175 and was not retroactively applied in the case of Epimetheus III. Therefore, it is logical to render them assistance as quickly as possible."
Mabui shot over to Naruto's station and said, "I studied Starfleet Law while on staff duties. Show me." Naruto quickly highlighted the passages that applied as Commander Kumo scanned them over rapidly. After five minutes of silence that seemed to last forever to the crew, Mabui said, "Lieutenant Naruto is absolutely correct. This Law was never updated in the case of Epimetheus III and is therefore open to interpretation."
The Captain pondered, 'Leave it to a Vulcan to legally subvert Federation Law.' Asuma smiled and said, "Very nicely done Mister Naruto. M'rella, open hailing frequencies to the Imperial Princess."
Shizuka wanted to cheer and M'rella smiled in relief. "I have a visual sir; hailing frequencies are open."
"On screen." said Asuma. An image of an ethereal woman with long white hair and pupil-less blue eyes appeared on screen. Her most noticeable feature was her pointed ears. They didn't look Vulcan but rather elvish to Asuma. He raised his eyebrows. 'She looks like a princess from a fairytale.' "This is Captain Asuma Sarutobi of the United Federation Starship U.S.S. Gettysburg. We are here to render assistance to the cruise liner Imperial Princess. Please respond."
The woman looked a bit shocked at first and then she sang, "~I am Captain Shanis*⑤ of the Imperial Princess. I….do not know who you are but can you help us? There are no others in the area.~"
"We are en route to your location now and are approaching from your port side." said Sarutobi. "Please tell us how we can assist you."
…
"Personal Log of Captain Asuma Sarutobi, Stardate 2274.306: After establishing initial contact our medical staff has been taking care of the passengers and crew of the Imperial Princess for the last two days. Due to the radiation on board the Imperial Princess the cruise liner had to be temporarily abandoned. As a result, we have three hundred twelve people from the liner of all ages aboard the Gettysburg. Doctor Shizune Kato has once again proven that she can handle formidable emergencies and has drafted almost every crewmember with medical training to help with the cause."
"The natives of Epimetheus IIIa call their homeworld Atra and several Atraen Navy ships are headed our way to render further assistance. We are still waiting for permission to enter the system by Starfleet Command. I am in contact with an Atraen Admiral Muiruan who was rather suspicious of us until he spoke with Captain Shanis of the Imperial Princess. Interestingly, the Atraen language is sung rather than spoken. Apparently certain songs belong to different clans in some complex manner. Much to my amusement the Atraens have started referring to us as the 'tuneless ones' and feel sorry for us that we don't sing our language like they do. The crew of the Gettysburg has taken this in good humor although several have found multiple voices singing different songs all at the same time can be grating on one's nerves…"
...
Doctor Shelly Wilson was taking care of a leg fracture with a bone healing laser much to the amazement of the Atraens aboard. The small Atraen medical staff from the Imperial Princess was dazzled by the medical technology aboard the Gettysburg. "There we are." said Shelly. "Now that the bone is healed, we can fix up that muscle."
Her patient sang, "~Surely your people were sent from Rzom to have helped us. We cannot thank you enough.~"
Shelly's eyes widened slightly. "Rzom?" she asked.
"~It is the place where good souls travel in the afterlife.~" explained the Atraen gratefully…
…
"It's no small coincidence the Rzom is the name of their heaven." said Commander Lyakat. "I spoke to Captain Shanis, and she said the name has been passed down through their people since time immemorial."
"Then it appears that our assumption that Epimetheus IIIa, or rather Atra, could indeed be Rzom." replied Captain Sarutobi.
…
Stardate 2274.307, Epimetheus III System Oort cloud, U.S.S. Gettysburg
Captain Asuma Sarutobi was in his ready room on a closed channel with Starfleet Command, specifically Admiral Heihachiro Nogura. 'Of all the Admirals in the Fleet I had to get judged by a staunch, hard assed conservative.' thought Asuma sweating.
Admiral Nogura frowned at Captain Sarutobi and his eyes seemed to burn holes in the young Captain who was perspiring heavily. After what seemed like an eternity to Asuma; Nogura said, "I see you are like your Father Hiruzen Sarutobi in personality as well as appearance." Then Admiral Nogura seemed to relax a bit. "By orders of the Federation Admiralty the ban on the Epimetheus III Star System has been revoked where the U.S.S. Gettysburg is concerned. For the time being other Federation starships are not allowed."
The Admiral continued. "You did follow the letter of the law where the Prime Directive was concerned even if you interpreted it rather liberally for my tastes." Nogura's expression looked like the word liberal left a bad taste in his mouth. "Your decision of rescuing a crippled alien starship's crew from death is something the general staff and I all agree with. You upheld the finest traditions in Starfleet in doing so and established friendly diplomatic contact with the natives of the Planet Atra. Well done."
Asuma let out a small breath he didn't realized he'd been holding and said, "You don't know how much it pleases me to hear that sir." 'I figured I'd be sailing home in the ship's brig.' he thought with a mental shudder.
The Admiral Nogura nodded and said, "Admiral Shimura was pushing hard to let you enter the system for his own reasons, but I was personally against it because of the disaster involving the U.S.S. Bach over a century ago." Then Nogura held up his hand to stave off any questions before Asuma could ask them. "As you have made contact with the Atraen people I want you to discreetly find out what happened on the U.S.S. Bach when they inadvertently made contact with something on Planet Atra while in orbit between Stardates 2164.018 to 2164.021. It is a mystery that has never been solved and Captain Andrea Alexis of the U.S.S. Bach was the only one who knew. Twenty-seven of her crew vanished and she erased all the ship's logs regarding what happened. Captain Alexis took the secret of what happened to her grave."
"Then no one who survived on the U.S.S. Bach knew what happened to those people?" asked Asuma in shock.
"One of the enlisted crewmembers later attested that he overheard Captain Alexis cry out in her sleep that they angered a God on the voyage back to Federation Space." replied Nogura. "Captain Alexis would neither confirm nor deny anything regarding that. All we knew was twenty-seven people disappeared without a trace while under her watch and their bodies were never recovered. They could have been on the ship, on the planet or ejected into space. The three days of logs during that time frame were destroyed so there is no way to tell. The ship was thoroughly searched for remains or foul play and there was nothing…Now you understand why it was classified."
"Is there a possibility those crewmembers were simply left behind on Atra?" asked Asuma.
"That's for you and your crew to find out Captain Sarutobi." said Admiral Nogura.
Asuma saluted. "Understood Sir. My crew and I will do our best."
…
POSTSCRIPT:
*① Sol System: Earth's System.
*② U.S.S. Bach: NCC-174 U.S.S. Bach was a United Earth Daedalus class scout starship in Earth Starfleet service in the 22nd century. It later served in the United Federation of Planet's Starfleet. (See Memory Beta)
*③ Oort cloud: The Oort cloud, named after the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, is a hypothetical cloud of predominantly icy planetesimals proposed to surround the Sun at distances ranging from 2,000 to 200,000 AU. In this story, most if not all stars have their own Oort cloud surrounding them.
*④ Trojan orbit: Trojan bodies share a common orbit around one another. Trojans are a type of co-orbital objects.
*⑤ Shanis: I chose the names of the Atraens from a High Elf name generator on the web. The general appearance of the Atraen people is based on Tolkien's Light Elves.
The footnotes return with a vengeance! This chapter is primarily set up for the Rzom Arc which is the second part of the Tkon Arc. I originally intended to do the full shore leave on Earth as well as some downtime on Vulcan, but I decided against it in the end as it got a bit too long and boring. There will be more personal interactions and character development in the coming chapters on Rzom. This one ended up being more plot driven and technical than anything else. See you next time. Blue out. 10/1/23