By Nathan Warner
The U.S.S. Outreach finds itself cast adrift in the Delta Quadrant, and Starfleet Command wants them to stay!
Captain Andre Carpille stood stoutly up against his Viewscreen, riding the bridge of the U.S.S. Outreach down through the atmosphere of the uninhabited M-class planet below. The refitted Galaxy class saucer was exercising its newly integrated landing capability to visit the surface of the mist enwrapped “Port Orford,” as Commander McNeil had dubbed the new world, reminding him of his hometown on the Pacific Northwest – rich with conifers and rugged coastlines.
The week before, the U.S.S. Outreach had splashed down in the closer reaches of the Delta Quadrant, just beyond Romulan boundaries in the Alpha Quadrant. It had not been by intention. While on their exploratory mission to the inner limb of the Alpha Quadrant’s Galactic core, they’d been caught in a naturally occurring subspace eddy that had entrained them in a "rip-tide” of sorts which had appeared spontaneously to port, carrying the U.S.S. Outreach adrift, several years from their intended mission field.
“Sacre Bleu!” Andre muttered when he was sufficiently recovered to pick himself up from the floor of the Bridge. His native French tongue always got the better of him in emotional states. He wasn’t the first to regain his seat as Lt. Mas’Kel’s Vulcan training kept her from ever losing consciousness. She was already scanning the phenomenon’s manifestation on the Delta Quadrant side. From this end of the geyser, they were able to determine that what was propelling objects into the Delta Quadrant at slipstream velocities was a Quantum “geyser.” It appeared to have a stable resonance, meaning that it would surely rebound at recurring intervals.
“Meaning?” Captain Carpille asked.
“Meaning Starfleet should be able to use this geyser to send one-way exploration vessels or supplies to within a 5 light year radius of our current position.”
“Quel soulagement!” Andre replied, “What a relief! And here I thought you were saying we were stranded…oh, wait, you still are!” The sarcasm evaded Mas’Kel like that clown on the crew holodeck party last year.
“Why the variability?” Commander McNeil asked distractedly, running his thin white fingers through his curly red hair.
“It is analogous to terrestrial sand or water geysers,” Lt. Mas’Kel nodded her Vulcan ears to the diagram on her screen. “Just like those counterparts, this Quantum Geyser also varies slightly in magnitude and direction with each ‘release,’ due to the slight instability in the subspace geometry, resulting in ‘faster’ or 'slower' flows with slight deviations in directional vectors.”
“So, you’d never know where you’d end up?” McNeil asked. Mas’Kel tilted her head in disapproval of such a cursory summary of the findings.
“It may be possible to scan the subspace geometry as the geyser is forming to determine the approximate splash point in the Delta Quadrant and then entrain the ship,” she answered.
Captain Capille had heard enough. Starfleet would now decide their fate. Thanks to the MIDAS Array perfected by Reginald Barclay, the Outreach was able to raise HQ and make them aware of the situation, as well as relay the information they had acquired on the Quantum Geyser.
“This could be an invaluable opportunity,” Admiral Chaney mused, examining the report before setting the PADD down. She looked through the screen to Captain Carpille’s eyes. He was in his Ready Room, drinking a cup of chamomile tea, perhaps trying to take the edge off the situation. “Given the turn of events, Andre, I think the Outreach was just reassigned,” Chaney smiled. “We want you to lay the foundation for a colony on the first suitable M-class planet in your vicinity. Once that is accomplished, we should be in a position to start sending shipments of supplies and colonists who will take over and establish a Federation Starbase in the Delta Quadrant.”
“Comme c’est gentil!” Andre grumbled, rolling his eyes. “How kind of you! I sense no earnest desire to rescue us or see us safely home! I’m truly touched!” He sat up closer to the screen. “And after we build a new Starbase for you, Admiral, what then?” Chaney smiled. Andre had a reputation as one of the more “expressive” of the Captains flying around the Alpha Quadrant. She knew what he was after.
“After that, Captain, you can decide if you want to take the 2-year trip back to the vicinity of your intended research, or if you want to stay and explore the vast unknown left behind by the U.S.S. Voyager.” She said this with clear preference for the latter. A ship in the Delta Quadrant was tactically of better value to Starfleet than a science mission to a Galactic limb.
“Quel soulagement! What a relief!” Andre smiled with a shake of his head at the two options. “Naturally, I will need to confer with my crew.” Admiral Cheney nodded with understanding.
“Talk to you soon,” she said and signed out.
Andre immediately set the orders in motion, and the Outreach began its hunt through the nearby stars for the perfect place to build a proper nest. After a week of searching though promising star-systems, they found an isolated system that hadn’t registered on their first few sweeps. Upon closer inspection, it had a healthy-looking M-class planet in the sweet spot of the star’s habitable zone. Better yet, its “insignificant” sensor returns would aid its survivability from any long-range Romulan exploratory vessels that might arrive in the next couple years.
After the initial away teams reported only good things about the surface of the planet, Commander McNeil ordered the transport of the first replicated habitat construction materials.
“Belay that,” Andre interrupted, breaking out from his musings in front of the Ops station, looking down on the planet below. “It will take too much time, Number One.”
“Well, yes it will probably take a month or so, but what other options do we have?” McNeil asked, and then he saw it in his Captain’s eyes. “You want to land the Outreach?” he asked breathlessly. He’d always wanted to try the ship’s refitted landing ability, but they’d had so little prospects on their inter-galactic study that he’d almost forgotten the vessel had the capability.
“Of course not!” Andre smiled, “Landing the Outreach would be suicide. We would become one big ball of fire spreading out across the planet like a poorly timed firework. No, we’ll simply land the Outreach’s better half – the Saucer.” McNeil had only recently come to grips with his French Captain’s sense of humor, so he could laugh at the misunderstanding and take it in stride.
“Brilliant, Sir!” he replied. As Andre clapped his Commander exuberantly on the back, Lt. Mas’Kel frowned at the illogical exchange and sighed most loudly to underscore it. Neither McNeil or Andre took notice of the lieutenant’s “feelings.”
“Yes,” Andre continued excitedly, “We’ll retrofit the Main Shuttle Bay as a fabrication center and use its powerful tractor arrays to assemble and place the habitat modules once we are on the surface.” McNeil repeated his exuberant affirmation of the plan’s elegance, much to Mas'Kel's irritation, and within the hour, the Commander had assembled his crew, relocating to the Battle Bridge of the Galaxy class vessel.
Standing before he Viewscreen dramatically, Captain Carpille motioned towards “Port Orford.” “Separate the ship!” he ordered. Lt. Mas’Kel tapped her console with logical precision and almost before the words were out of the Captain's mouth, the Outreach responded with a subtle jolt.
“Separation in progress, Sir,” she reported. Andre could hardly tell at first, but then when the impulse engines kicked in, the planet quickly filled the dimensions of the Viewscreen. “Transferring to thrusters for atmospheric entry,” Mas’Kel commented. For a moment, Andre hesitated. Perhaps it would be better to be seated for this part of the operation – he’d heard reports from other captains that the avionic suite still had some bugs, which made for a bumpy ride. But before he could change his mind, Mas’Kel reported emotionlessly, “We have entered the atmosphere.” That cold, logical voice seemed so out of place in the excitement of the moment that Andre almost ordered the unevenly tempered Ensign Amberly to take the Vulcan’s place and stop spoiling his exuberant enjoyment of the proceedings. He’d even gladly take crewman Dykson’s hysterics last week upon learning they were flung into the Delta Quadrant over Mas’Kel’s dispassionate intonation. He wisely bit his tongue.
In seconds, the Outreach thundered into the Stratosphere, shedding vapor pockets and contrails as the deflector arrays adjusted to the increased atmosphere density. On the bridge, Andre half expected the inertial dampers to fail and fling him across the deck, but they held strong. The abstract tapestry of greens below grew more distinct in resolution as the Saucer approached, obscured in many places by a vast cloud cover.
“Bring us to canopy level - 100 km from the landing zone,” Andre ordered. Mas’Kel shook her head subtly, unable to understand the “wasteful” and unnecessary maneuver. But under her adept handling, the mighty saucer dipped below the cloud cover, leveling out less than 50 meters over the expansive forest. The ship was cruising around 900 km/hr without a shudder or groan. Andre marveled, standing up to the screen, in the grip of full, unbridled awe at the scene as the forest blurred past beneath him. He had to fight back the sensation he was falling. "Flying, not falling; flying, not falling," he repeated to himself in a muted tones. Irrespective of his feelings, the Outreach serenely coasted over the woods, pulsing through the gentle rain, bathing the wide valley around them. The experience didn’t last long enough.
“Approaching the landing zone,” Mas’Kel announced, firing up the RCA thrusters to slow the ship and maneuver it into position. “Activating the antigravity thrusters,” she added, turning on the ship’s new capability to bear up the substantial weight of the Saucer. The Outreach pivoted to Starboard and circled a wide circumference around the untouched forest below where a natural clearing welcomed them. It was a little smaller in diameter than the Galaxy class saucer, so the fit was going to be snug. The ship righted and slowed to a stop, beginning its final descent vertically to the earth.
“Landing gear deployed,” Mas’Kel announced. Andre felt a slight shudder as the six landing pads, positioned around the ventral mound, extended in anticipation of impact with the organic soil below. The Saucer connected gracefully with hardly a jolt. Andre couldn't have been more impressed with the ship’s performance.
“Superb!” he exclaimed. “Yes, superb! I want to do it again! Are there any other nearby M-class planets?” He cast a humorous glance at Mas’Kel who had looked up sharply with genuine concern in her face, perhaps secretly worried her Captain had finally lost his mind and a medical emergency was in order. “Relax Lieutenant,” he smiled, “I’m in a good humor.”
“There is nothing good about humor,” Mas’Kel grumbled. Andre took no notice and nodded to Ensign Amberly.
“Signal the Star Drive and let them know we have successfully landed,” he ordered, “and tell Commander McNeil to enjoy his week!” This was referring to the mission he’d given the young Commander to explore the surrounding environment more thoroughly and catalogue the solar-system’s unique properties in detail – particularly a deep study of the central star’s behavior and the “Oort” cloud – the last thing they needed was for the system’s heart to go out or a perennial comet cloud to sweep through the system. All possibilities that needed to be analyzed so potential fail-safes could be implemented.
“Commander McNeil has received, Sir,” Amberly replied, “And he expresses the best of luck to us.”
“Good man,” Andre smiled. “Now, let’s all get to work, shall we?” He vacated the Bridge with Lt. Mas’Kel and took the Turbolift down a few decks to the Main Shuttle Bay. Here, prep work had already begun on re-configuring the massive space into a fabrication and assembly center. Transporter and replicator beams were constantly whining on and off as shimmering wall panels materialized into existence to be picked up and moved into place by tractor beams. Habitat levels were already coming into shape. Andre nodded at the work, but continued undeterred for the main door. Only at the last minute did Mas'Kel realize she was about to witness another human folly in inefficient and illogical conduct.
“Open sesame!” Andre said, standing in front of the massive gate and snapping his fingers. Nothing happened, so he snapped his fingers at the crewman manning the nearby console. “That means open the door, you fils de taupe!” he cried, “You son of a mole!” Properly translated, the massive door shuddered for a moment and then opened smoothly, letting in the light of the wet world outside. Immediately, the damp cool air flowed over them with the scents of the fragrant forests below, and it brought little gusts of mist and rain, splashing across Andre’s face.
“Que c’est beau!” he exclaimed, “how beautiful!” It felt invigorating. He strolled out from under the lip of the Shuttle Bay’s ceiling until he was completely under the clouds. For a moment some faint sunlight broke through the cloud cover above to cast a glance over the gleaming ship. The tall woods beyond boasted taller trees than on Earth as they gently swayed in the breeze – lulling and relaxing the viewers with their hypnotic dance. Mas’Kel nodded in approval at the scene – as close as she would come to an emotional response to the lovely world. Andre knelt down and patted the wet hull of the Outreach.
“Fille intelligente!” he smiled fondly, “Clever girl!” The ship had surprised him with its superb handling of the situation. He had never been prouder to be in command of a Galaxy class starship. He looked back out across the miles of trees, feeling the irrevocable call of the wild beckoning him with the promise of new discoveries and unseen wonders. Pursing his lips in a moment of decision, he straightened up. He’d made up his mind. He would accept fate’s reassignment of his mission and take to the Delta Quadrant as his new field.
“On n’est pas sorti de l’auberge!” he whispered with an excited smile. Mas’Kel heard him and knit her Vulcan brow. She’d been studying French in her free time to better understand her Captain’s spontaneous and illogical outbursts, but this phrase puzzled her. It translated roughly to something like, “We aren’t out of the woods yet!”
What did that mean? She wondered, Is that good, or bad? She was sure it was normally used as a negative expression, but she didn't get that sense from the Captain. After all, what if the woods were a pleasant place to be? She suspected this was what Andre meant and it seemed confirmed by his demeanor. A sudden gust gently caressed her skin with soft rain. It was not an unpleasant experience. Well, she thought, if the Delta Quadrant could be judged by the forest below, then the woods the Captain was referring to couldn’t be all that bad.
“On n’est pas sorti de l’auberge!” she whispered to herself.
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