Captain's Log, Stardate 10303.17

[Cptn Moose 0]

Captain's Log, Stardate 10303.17

 

We have returned to Federation space after meeting the Vogarts for the second time.  In many ways, our meeting was stranger than the first.

 

The hyper-tachyon experiment carried us to a timeless dimension.  We were trapped.  Our dilithium had shattered to dust.

 

It's difficult to tell just how long we were there.  According to the Federation time beacons, mere hours had passed.  But we experienced days, weeks even, trapped in the void.  Depending on who you ask, however, the answer changes.

 

I remember many things from our time there.  I remember the moment that time stood still, when I thought I had been visited by the Bajoran prophets.  I remember an all too real hallucination of Dr. Virax, and her Cassandra like prophesy of death.  I remember how Lo'Ami and Stardust braved unknown space to determine our position, and the terror at finding the remains of the Chocolate Moose and Crewman Kawalas.

 

Zel gave up her piece of the Bajoran orb to us.  I remember standing in awe as its energy opened up portals in time and space.  Those portals enabled us to rejoin Lo'Ami and Stardust, and I remember that our reunion was mixed with joy and sadness as those same portals took Zel to her destiny as a Vedek on Bajor.  I thought they would send us home, as they did her, and I remember our surprise at landing on a Vogart ship.

 

But I can't remember a darn thing about the Vogarts.  I am the only person I know in the entire Federation who's met them face to face twice and lived to tell of it.  I just have no memory of it.  There's a hole in my mind that gets fuzzier the closer I get to them.  I remember thinking that they were trapped like we were.  I know they credit us with sending them home, and have given us a perfectly formed dilithium crystal in thanks.  I fear that how we got to that point will forever remain a mystery.

 

The Arcadia came out of limbo and we found ourselves in the Miren system.  Miren VI is a non-Federation world that has spent the last twenty years building a resort economy to rival that of Risa.  They have been trying to draw Federation traffic for years.  The Mirens are thrilled to have a Starship within visiting distance, and have extended all the hospitalities at their disposal to us.

 

Prime Directive issues would normally preclude a shore leave such as this.  But the Vogart's dilithium crystal is so pure that our warp engines need extensive re-callibration.  In order to focus energy through it properly, we need to eliminate the error correction routines that compensate for the impurities found in Federation refined crystals.  We can't make it to an approved dry dock, and I'm not going to test the engines with a full crew on board.

 

So, as unorthodox as it is, shore leave is our only option.  And if I'm forced to spend a few extra days sipping drinks in my Hawaiian shirt, while the engineers make sure that the scientific method is followed to the letter, then it will be an ironic ending to the experiment which brought us here.

 

For once, it seems that we've caught a break in our favor.  I wonder how long it will last?

 

Cptn Moose

USS Arcadia, NCC-1742-E