Tales of Starfleet
Aurora
Part 2
by Phillip Barlow
(p.barlow@ic.ac.uk)

Aurora Part 2

Sinclair watched with satisfaction as the finishing touch was added to the last shuttlepod. It had been three days since the Aurora had set off, and the crew was now settling in to a routine. One of the tasks that Sinclair had set was applying names to each of the ship's four shuttlepods - now, instead of Shuttlepods 1, 2, 3 and 4, they were Regulus, Polaris, Poseidon and Trident.

"Good job," he said to the crewman with the paintbrush and stencil, before turning and descending the ladder to the ventral launch bay. Thanks to the increase in internal volume, the Aurora had space for four shuttlepods and two inspection pods, unlike her predecessors, which only carried a pair each of shuttles and inspection pods. These were stored in a dedicated hanger, consisting of four storage/maintenance bays, one on each deck, that was located in between two launch bays, one at the top of the ship and one at the bottom, connected by a wide elevator shaft running through the centre of the ship.

"Captain," said Lt Commander Tanner, the Chief Engineer, as Sinclair stepped off the ladder.

"How does it look?"

"I don't know what those dumb asses at Jupiter Station were doing when they fitted this thing," replied Tanner. "They must've been using monkeys." Tanner was stood over an open power relay, which connected one of the ventral launch doors to the ship's main power supply. Although the ship had gone through rigorous testing before entering service, somehow the fact that this particular launch door wasn't getting enough power to open properly seemed to have escaped everyone.

"Can you get it working Chief?"

"Yes sir, but it won't be pretty. The problem is the relay is an old model that can't take the power output running through it. I'm gonna have to put in a new one, which means I'll have to build it. That is one of the few things that we don't have any spares of." This caused Sinclair to shake his head and give a wry smile.

"Tell me this isn't a government operation," he said. "As long as it works. Get to it." Sinclair turned to see Lieutenant Lyman, his tactical officer, approaching. "Mr Lyman, how are you? Is everything to your satisfaction?"

"Yes sir," replied Lyman. "It's just..."

"Well?"

"I would have preferred we put the ship through a more thorough tactical workup. We have a lot of new systems, and I'd feel more comfortable knowing we'd ironed out as many of the problems as we can find."

"What do you suggest?"

"We find a quiet spot, calibrate the new targeting scanners thoroughly, test the new torpedoes, practice fire both the phase cannons and the new pulse cannons at full power, and test the new forcefield system."

"You seem to have thought this through."

"I've had some time sir."

"Alright Mr Lyman, you've sold me. Go to the bridge and ask Sub-Commander T'Var and Mr Travis to look for a shady spot."

"Aye Captain."

* * *

T'Var rose from the captain's chair as Sinclair walked on to the bridge.

"We may have found a 'shady spot' for Mr Lyman," she said, going to her station. She peered for a second into the personal viewer, before transferring the image to the viewscreen. In the distance was a swirling mass of orange.

"Is that a nebula?" asked Sinclair.

"Unlikely," replied T'Var. "Although I cannot be certain at this range, it appears to be a plasma phenomenon."

"Nicely done Sub Commander. That definitely appears to be worth investigating." He turned as he heard the lift doors open and saw Lyman emerge. "Ah, Mr Lyman. I think Sub Commander T'Var has found you somewhere quiet." He pointed at the screen.

"Yes sir," replied Lyman. "If up close it looks anything like it does from this distance, I'm sure it'll be very humdrum." This caused Sinclair to smile.

"All ahead full Mr Travis."

Captain's Star Log:
June 29th 2154:
Let the record show that Mr Lyman should be commended for his ingenuity, if not his subtlety. While ensuring all of our weapons were fully functional was a relatively simple task, testing our new forcefield system required some more thought. Mr Lyman decided the best way was to launch our shuttlepods, simultaneously testing Mr Tanner's jerry-rigged power relay (which does work), and attack the ship with them. The forcefields held up well. I just hope we never need them, although that may be wishful thinking.

"Polaris and Poseidon have been secured in the hanger sir. Regulus has been brought in and Trident is docking now."

"Thank you," said Sinclair. He turned to T'Var. "Well?"

"Initial sensor readings are inconclusive. I can say definitely that it is a plasma phenomenon; beyond that it is unclear. It does not help that our sensors cannot penetrate particularly far past the boundary layer."

"What if we took the ship inside?"

"There is a significant amount of plasma wave activity. That much can be determined from our readings of the exterior. It would not stretch credibility to assume that there is at least equivalent activity within the phenomenon, which I could not guarantee the ship would be able to survive." Sinclair considered for a moment.

"Continue your analysis using the new sensors in the science labs. Liase with Dr Liebermann while you're at it."

"Aye sir," said T'Var, who rose from her seat and headed for the lift.

"Mr Travis, take us as close to the boundary as you feel comfortable with."

"Aye sir," said Travis, who nudged the thrusters control forward slightly.

"Mr Lyman," said Sinclair, turning to the tactical station. "Raise shields."

* * *

Because of its mission profile, the Aurora was unique within Starfleet. In order to better analyse the data collected during its explorations, whether physical or electronic, the ship had been built with a comprehensive suite of science labs designed for almost every conceivable scientific discipline, from astronomy to xenobiology. To aid this, the ship was also fitted with two separate sets of sensors. One was the standard sensor palette that had, with upgrades, been fitted to every Starfleet vessel for 15 years. The other was a collection of brand new sensors that had been designed in conjunction with the experimental monotronic processing computers installed in the labs. These sensors collected such vast quantities of information so quickly that the ship's main computer would quickly have been overwhelmed. So, the sensors were only accessible from the lab complex on C Deck.

"Have you found anything?" asked Dr Liebermann as he came over to where T'Var stood.

"Not as yet," replied T'Var. "There appears to be substantial interference from the phenomenon that is affecting even these sensors."

"Have the Vulcans or anyone else encountered something like this before?"

"Not to my knowledge. It may be useful to consult the Vulcan database and ascertain that for certain." Liebermann nodded and moved to an adjacent station. T'Var meanwhile transferred the data from her viewer to the main screen. She then looked at the image carefully. Though it was dominated by the orange of the plasma field, a small patch of black was visable on the right hand side of the screen. It was at this that her attention was focused. Turning to her console, she magnified that part of the image. This caught Liebermann's attention; he left the station he was using and stood by the free standing console in the centre of the room.

"What are they?" he asked, staring intently at the objects now dominating the centre of the screen.

"If they are what I believe they are, then perhaps this mission will prove successful after all." She touched the communicator control. "T'Var to Captain Sinclair."

"Go ahead."

"I believe you should come down to the science lab."

"Why, what's going on?"

* * *

"Ships?" said Sinclair, as he looked closer at the image.

"Apparently. They appear to be adrift," replied T'Var. She zoomed in on one of the vessels. "There is no visible propulsion machinery. However, the available surface area of what I believe are sails should be sufficient to allow solar pressure to propel them."

* * *

"Solar sailing ships? All very well Sub Commander, but how did they get all the way out here?"

"As yet, I have not been able to..." She paused as the console started beeping.

"What is it?"

"The sensors are detecting biosigns. Species unknown, but there are clear lifeform readings." She looked at Sinclair. "There appear to be people alive on those vessels." Sinclair turned to the communicator.

"Sinclair to bridge."

"Aye sir," said Lyman.

"Set a course for the location of the alien vessels, maximum warp."

* * *

Con looked at the timepiece he had built before they left, and which he planned to put on the mantelpiece over the fireplace, once he had finished the house he was going to build. More than four days had passed on Bajor since the storm had hit the little fleet. Although structurally the ship still appeared to be in good shape, the storm had caused enough of the sails to be torn and masts to break away that there was no longer sufficient surface area to move. As far as he could see, that was the case with most of the other ships. Con had tried to remain optimistic, for the sake of Lara and their son, but he could see little hope himself. The rigging was too twisted to repair from inside, and obviously it could not be done from outside.

"Con?" said Lara. "Tell me the truth. We're not going to make it are we?" He looked at her, and reflected that if it hadn't been for his stubborn pride in not accepting help when it was offered, they would never have had to risk everything on a voyage to another world, and they would not be in this situation.

"While we're still alive," he said, "there's always hope." Lara looked unconvinced, but said nothing further, instead turning to tend to Tyla. 'Although,' Con thought to himself, 'if the Prophets do have a plan for us to survive this, I wish they'd give us a sign.' Then, he saw out of the window what had just appeared. 'Now that's a sign!'

* * *

"Communications?" said Sinclair as the Aurora approached the little fleet.

"I'm not detecting any kind of communications equipment," replied Tyler.

"Sensor analysis indicates no electronic equipment of any kind," said T'Var. "All of the vessels appear to have at least one strong humanoid life sign. Several also appear to contain lower order life forms."

"Lower order?"

"Animals. Some seem to be quite large."

"Alright," said Sinclair. "Some suggestions would be appreciated."

"Could we tow them into the launch bays?" asked Travis.

"Four of the vessels appear to be small enough to be brought aboard, if we were to remove the rigging. However, I would suggest against that," said T'Var. "We cannot be sure what effect that would have."

"Could a shuttlepod dock with one of those things?"

"It is more than likely. Each vessel appears to have a primitive docking collar that the top hatch of a shuttlepod could adapt to."

"Well, that sounds like a plan," said Sinclair. "Sub Commander, you'll coordinate. I want one human and one Vulcan on each shuttle. Hopefully, seeing two separate species together will make things easier."

"Aye captain."

"Mr Travis, you're the senior pilot. I want you in one of the inspection pods overseeing this thing from outside. Liase with Sub Commander T'Var."

"Aye captain," said Travis, heading for the lift. Sinclair then tapped the communicator on his chair.

"Sinclair to sickbay."

"Storis here."

"Doc, we're bringing the people from the derelicts aboard. You'll probably need to set up somewhere."

"Very well captain. If possible, I'd like one of the hanger bays as a medical centre. Presumably their vessels are beyond repair?"

"It looks that way."

"Then with your permission, I would also like to utilise one of the cargo bays to accommodate them."

"By all means. Take as many hands as you need."

"Thank you captain."

* * *

Con watched as the great silver thing hung in space. He had been surprised when it appeared out of the great flash of light, but he made no sound, unlike Lara, who screamed her head off when she saw it. She was convinced it was some beast sent by Pah-Wraiths to devour them all. Con was not so sure. Although he had been taught to believe in the Prophets, he had never been an especially spiritual person, especially when considering them as physical beings. He preferred to think of them as abstracts, watching over the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, he believed that this, whatever it was (some kind of ship?) had been sent by the Prophets to help them.

"Con look," said Lara pointing. From the top and bottom of the thing, other smaller objects were emerging.

"They have wings," he said as he watched them spread out and head towards the fleet. In fact, one of them was heading straight for their vessel.

"What're we going to do?" said Lara, beginning to panic again. Before Con could answer, the 'flying machine' was on top of them, its top parallel with the hatch of the sailing ship. Con listened as, with a thud, the two connected together.

"Don't panic," said Con. Then he heard something bang on the hatch. Curiosity won out over any hesitation he may have felt so, in spite of Lara's increasing agitation, he opened the hatch.

* * *

Sytek watched as the hatch opened to reveal a humanoid male. In fact, he could have passed for a human were it not for the ridges on his nose. The two stared at each other for a full minute - the alien did not appear anxious, which was always a good sign. Finally, he began to beckon Sytek in. The Vulcan climbed the ladder up out of the shuttlepod, and into the zero-g environment of the alien spacecraft.

"Greetings," he said. "I am Lieutenant Sytek from the starship Aurora." The alien male, together with the female Sytek assumed was his consort, simply stared back. "In order for us to be able to communicate, I require you to speak." Still they remained silent, although now they were looking quizzically at each other.

"What's going on?" said Ensign Kenda as she stuck her head through the open hatch. The female alien screamed, which caused Kenda to throw her head back in alarm, cracking it on the side of the hatch, which was just within the shuttlepod's artificial gravity field. The male began speaking to the female, trying to calm her down. Taking his opportunity, Sytek pulled out his universal translator, aiming it at the aliens. Initially not noticing, the male then turned to Sytek and tailed off.

"What is that?" he said.

"A communications device," replied Sytek. The male stared again.

"You're speaking Bajoran."

"No. This device analyses speech patterns, enabling it to translate any language it is exposed to."

"What are you?"

"I am Lieutenant Sytek, of the starship Aurora. I am a Vulcan. My somewhat stunned associate is Ensign Kenda, a human. We are here to assist you." Sytek held out his hand.

"Rebas Con, of Dahkur Province on the planet Bajor." He grasped Sytek's hand and shook it warmly. "A pleasure."

* * *

Sinclair looked at the PADD T'Var had presented him with.

"Sixty-four?"

"Yes captain, including 14 minors. In addition, three of the females appear to be in advanced stages of pregnancy. They are currently in sickbay."

"Any fatalities?" "None reported by the shuttle crews." Sinclair nodded absently, placing the PADD on the desk.

"Have you been able to find out what they were doing out here?"

"It seems they are a group of peasant farmers, tied to a landowner on a world called Bajor, not far from here. From what I gather, they have bought themselves out of their servitude and used the sailing vessels to transport themselves to another world to begin a new settlement."

"Trying to find the promised land eh?" said Sinclair. "I presume they had a planet in mind."

"A world approximately 2/3 of a parsec from our present location. T'Var activated the monitor to display the specified planet.

"So, Sub Commander. Do you feel up to turning Starfleet's newest and most advanced ship of exploration into a colony transport?"

"It seems logical to do so sir. It would take longer for us to return them to Bajor, and it would defeat their purpose and ours. Our mission is to head out into unexplored space after all."

"Fine. You go and get Travis to lay in a course. We'll set out in six hours. I just want to make sure we haven't missed anything. I'll go tell our guests." The two of them walked out onto the bridge, T'Var going over to the helm to consult with Travis while Sinclair headed to the lift.

"Captain," said Tyler before he had a chance to enter.

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"I think you should see this right away." He walked over to the communications station. As he approached, Tyler lowered her voice. "We've received a priority fleet-wide message from Starfleet Command. All vessels are ordered to return to allied space."

"They're kidding!" said Sinclair.

"No sir. We've been ordered back with immediate effect."

"Did they give a reason?"

"Not directly. But there is an attachment listed as 'Captain's Eyes Only'."

"Fine," said Sinclair. "Patch it through to my ready room." With a sour look on his face, he stalked across to the other side of the bridge and went into his ready room, where the monitor was flashing. "Computer, access secure file. Authorisation Alpha One Alpha Three Seven."