Chapter 55:

[Mission planning meeting]

Khan started, "The Expanse and Xindi mission will proceed when we have 8 starships, other missions will be launched afterwards. Canon does not require Picard be in charge, but her expertise in flying through the Expanse will be helpful, and putting her in charge will make sure that her decisions will be followed. If successful in reaching Xindus, It will be a diplomatic mission, and preferably not a combat mission. We need that Picard diplomatic ability we have seen with Jean-Luc in Canon."

Tracey asked, "So, make her acting Admiral?"

Khan replied, "No, she'll be Captain but in command of the fleet. There is a limit to what rank would be assumed to be legitimately acquired."

T'Vol asked, "I have an inquiry. My understanding is that Renée Picard needs to have a descendant, Jean-Luc Picard due to Canon. Furthermore, her culture's rules have children's family names being that of their father. Further inquiry is addressed to Daphne, is my discovery of two trains of logic resulting in a contradiction supposed to result in a humor reaction?"

Daphne answered, "The question to me is funny, but not the original contradiction you discovered. You are correct that the future naming would not be common among non-magicals with cultural connections to France, England, and the US, such as her. For magicals of Europe, an heir or heiress of a house would sometimes continue that name overriding other naming rules."

The Ions asked, "Inquiry. Are you sending her on this mission, knowing that the timeline requires her to have a descendant, to improve the mission's chance of success, using a concept called plot armor?"

Khan smiled and said, "Absolutely brilliant. Since the timeline needs her to survive, then the chance of a survivable, if not a successful mission increases. I hadn't thought of that. I am not even sure that the timeline actually works that way."

Pike said, "Captain Mathew Pike will command a ship for contact missions to recruit for the Alliance.

He understands that he resembles the Captain Pike in the Original Series pilot episode, the Cage. He knows his fate and said he will take it upon himself, instead of his 2 year old son, or later descendants."

Khan said, "Brave man. I considered him in Canon to be worthy of my descendant reporting to."

Tracey said, "He learned Morse Code. Said that instead of only being able to say yes and no with one and two beeps, he'll be able to use Morse Code when the time comes to be within that suit. My grandson should then be clear of that Canon point."

I said, "Perhaps Canon would allow us to use magic to let him recover. While the Talosians might have provided a solution of sorts in Canon, their mind magic does not seem to be the only answer. Keep in mind that there will be no crashed ship on Talos 4."

Tellarite leader Zhullus asked, "Why five Earth year missions? Just due to canon?"

Hermione answered, "We analyzed technology improvement paces, and construction schedules. During their five year mission they can be upgraded with essential technologies. After five years, the ships will be rebuilt with the latest advances. We expect this platform to be used for many five year cycles, just as in Canon."

Daphne said, "There will be many individual starships going on recruiting missions. We have analyzed that each recruiting party should include Humans and Denobulans. We think that Tellarites, Andorians, and Vulcans do not present the Alliance well enough."

A Vulcan answered, "I fail to find the logic in needing to relate in emotional terms to other species."

A Kaferia, a humanoid insectoid species said, "They are mostly humanoid mammals in the stars around us. Emotions are how they decide who is friend, who is foe, and much more."

A Denobulan said, "We are offering them to join a fellowship of like-minded species. The key is like."

A Tellarite answered, "Everyone likes to argue."

The same Vulcan added, "And everyone likes logic."

The Tellarite laughed. "I knew Vulcans had humor."

A Lorillian added, "A group of different species visiting prospective planets would drive home the point that the Alliance is multi-species and that they might have a place in it."

Khan said, "Getting back to missions, except for the fleet going to the Expanse, each starship will go on contact missions, avoiding Klingon areas for now. If there is any actual threat, all ships will converge, except for ones designated for defense."

An Andorian said, "We have two small fighting ships being built for each starship. They will defend the Alliance while the starships go on missions elsewhere."

A Vulcan added, "For efficiency, certain shipyards are specializing in small ships, and some in starships. Another advantage is that planets with less resources can build small ships or even just ship components."

Khan continued, "The small fighting ships, we are calling destroyers, will be only for defense of the Alliance and its protectorates. We will avoid the impulse to move all ships to face a threat, and fall unwittingly to a feint. Further, even if not a feint, the Canon defense against the Borg of sending every available ship to face a much higher technology attack, was perhaps not the ideal strategy."

[Magic education status]

T'Vol, leader of Vulcan reported, "Adult Vulcans have been rapidly learning useful magic. Focus items have worked well in helping Vulcans to be capable of magic, as was shown in Canon in the Next Generation episode, Gambit, Part II. With that device a Vulcan could perform one spell, focused, but not powered by it.

We now have groups of nine Vulcan magic weilders including one who is trained as a magical educator, available for each starship in the Alliance. With magical education being part of childhood education, we expect much larger numbers of Vulcans capable of magic in later years.

Just as an aside, we do not use the term spell caster. Magic wielder might be a more accurate description. Incantations useful among beginning Earth magic wielders have not been an efficient way for Vulcans to learn magic. In typical Earth magical education, verbal incantations are phased out starting in their sixth educational year."

Khan answered, "On Earth there are multiple methods of teaching magic. We are reviewing results for an expected significant increase in magical students in several years. There will likely be a determination of abilities and inclinations which will determine which methods of learning magic will be made available."

[Mission to the Expanse 2030]

The new starships, resembling those of the Original Series, traveled at warp 7.22, just over a light-year per Earth day. As they approached the thermobaric barrier to the Delphic Expanse, Captain Renée Picard addressed the fleet of eight starships, "We are now approaching the Expanse and are going to resolve Season 3 of Enterprise. Our situation is different. We are not starting in response to an attack by the Xindi and we know quite a bit about the Delphic Expanse from Canon. Our main objectives are to destroy the spheres if possible, and to establish peaceful relations with the Xindi, again if possible. If our forces are not adequate we can retreat and return at a later time with more resources.

Secondary mission objectives include recruiting any suitable worlds to the Alliance and rescuing a lost group of Humans brought to the Expanse about 150 years ago.

Our mission has a bit of time urgency due to in Canon, the Xindi, would be currently in a civil war, blowing up their own planet in approximately 2033, then dispersing in the region, then being contacted by the sphere-builders, helped by them, and then worshiping them. We know approximately where Xindus is, and know the approximate color of its yellow-orange star and that it has exactly one planet.

You have all seen the entire series of Enterprise, and have been briefed as to which elements are not expected in our timeline due to our timeline not having time travel. As you can see, several episodes of season 3 are not relevant to our mission, since they mostly involved trying to find the post 2030's new Xindi homeworld and also in trying to eliminate a planet destroying weapon planned to be used against Earth. In our timeline we do not think they have the ability yet to create such a weapon, but in that season they expressed a backup plan to create a biological weapon. While Starfleet has defenses for that, we should prevent that from being deployed as well. Note that our mission is not a preventative attack on the Xindi, but an attempt to establish peaceful contact with a planet in civil war."

The fleet got through to the Expanse using the method tried before. They headed towards the area expected to have the star Xindus. While finding a Trelium-D mining colony to buy from might be helpful, it was not part of the mission. Three stars met the search criteria. The third had a technological civilization and was therefore Xindus.

Visiting a planet in the middle of civil war seemed hazardous, so the fleet stayed a distance away from the planet and sent a subspace message. The automatic translators available to us only worked on languages already programmed. They could add new languages with some hours of help from a native speaker. The Orion databank had a language that they said the Xindi could understand, which the message was broadcast in, "Greetings from the Alliance of Civilizations. We have important information for all Xindi and would like to have discussions. Please agree to a temporary cease fire and for each Xindi sentient species to send a representative to the location in our fleet indicated by its light signals. Any who cannot speak in this language please also send a translator. Please send a small craft each. All other objects should keep a distance from our fleet at least equal to a quarter of the distance between your planet and its star or it may be regarded as an attack on our fleet."

While earlier in our fleet design we were dismissive of having calibrated weapons that would disable without destroying, we did add them, and were ready to use them to try to prevent any attacks on the fleet without destroying Xindi ships. This wasn't a war mission, unless it was determined to be necessary.

Replies started arriving, all saying the same thing. Each will send the representative requested, a cease fire will only exist in the specified radius around the Alliance fleet.

Precautions were taken that the Xindi visiting would not unleash a bioweapon or large explosive. A starship detached a conference center space station it was carrying and placed a distance away from the fleet. There were separate docking areas for each shuttle, and a separate area of a large conference room. Each had its own atmosphere, or in the case of the Aquatic Xindi, water. There was magical and technological shielding between each section. Each could see and hear everyone else clearly.

Most of the Xindi appeared a little bit impressed at the conference room. The Alliance contingent included Renée Picard, a Tellarite, A Kaferia, a small group of Ions with an audio language interface, a Vulcan, and an Andorian.

Renée Picard started, "Before we begin, I am announcing that we are transmitting this meeting as it occurs. Matters important to your people will not be limited to being heard by representatives."

The Avian representative said, "This is all highly irregular. You invitation was intriguing enough to get all of us here to listen to you. We are now listening."