By Nathan Warner
Captain Picard takes the Stargazer to the known limits
"Wonder above wonders," Captain Picard gasped.
The U.S.S. Stargazer, a Constellation Class starship, had just dropped out of warp after a long journey through unknown space and was now looking over the majestic borders of the frontier that lay before it. Picard hastily set his tea down, oblivious now to the scent of Bergamot that had been sanctifying the metallic smells of the Bridge.
"Mr. Crusher, is that a black hole to the left of the screen?" he asked his friend, who had busily bent over the science station as soon as the screen showed the wonders before them.
"Indeed it is, Captain," Lt. Commander Jack Crusher replied. "And it is a massive beast!"
Picard leaned forward towards the screen, transfixed with a smile widening his lips. He supposed he looked like Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea might have felt coming up over a tall ridge to see the majestic Rocky Mountains in the distance - many weeks away, yet tempting them on to reach out and touch their majesty. What wonder! And what loneliness! They truly were "Out there!"
Picard felt a little sheepish that his ship's motto was "To bring light into the darkness," when confronted with the splendid display of energy and power before them. Just last week, however, it had never been more apt when they'd been trapped in a dense super-nebula of dark energy. They truly felt like a tiny candle in a dark and roiling hurricane!
Still, he'd always liked the Enterprise's motto: "To boldly go where no man has gone before." It suited him better, he thought. Perhaps one day he'd carry that motto on?
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he muttered to himself.
"Sir?" Crusher looked up confusedly.
"Nothing, Jack," Picard smiled, eyeing that gravitational anomaly like a reckless schoolboy about to leap into a mud hole. "Helm plot a course to the edge of that singularity - Warp 3...Engage!"
