Hic sunt Dracones

[Capt Ayers 0]

Nick stares at the recorded star-chart as it slowly revolves on the computer display. Though the language its information is contained in is not known to any Federation database, the map clearly has information on a large swath on systems that lie inside the Federation and the other known powers. In fact, it comprises nearly the entire known galaxy as well as star systems that lie well beyond currently explored space...space that the Federation wouldn't likely explore for years and centuries. If Nick was lucky he would live long enough to see some of that unexplored space. Of course, good luck was not something that had been in sufficient supply the last few weeks.

 

Nick frowns slightly as he continues to study the star-chart. A sense of awe and foreboding washes through him. Centuries ago, when his human ancestors were exploring Earth's oceans they had marked the edges of known territory with warnings such as "Hic sunt Dracones"...."Here be Dragons." And if the history of the still young Federation proved anything, it was that there were indeed "Dragons" out there beyond the edge of what was known and what was not known.

 

He taps a set of commands into the computer, instructing it to classify and encrypt the star-chart. He had already instructed the computer to do that with all other information gleaned during the Away team mission. He murmurs "Sometimes, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing," to himself as he does so.