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Cmdr Ba'alyo

Initial Conversations

The following log is set before the conclusion of the 12/05/10 sim and prior to the log "Conversations"...

 

The turbolift doors opened and Captain John C. Harriman stepped into the bright colors of the Enterprise-B bridge. Well within Federation space, their mapping and exploration mission was only a few months old, but as the flagship, it wouldn't have surprised him to have the ship suddenly diverted to some border incursion or other flashpoint. The Admiralty seemed to think having Enterprise arrive on the scene was a way of showing Federation resolve. But this particular summons to the bridge hadn't come from new orders.

 

"What've you got for me, Vasquez?" he asked his chief science officer. As usual, her wavy red hair was pulled back in a loose regulation ponytail.

 

"The system we're approaching, sir," she began, "it's one of the inhabited class-M worlds that's never been visited."

 

Harriman nodded. He knew it shouldn't have been surprising how many systems near the Federation core – while charted remotely or by visiting probe – had never been touched by manned exploration. With 400 billion stars in the galaxy, that meant there were millions of systems just a thousand light-year radius from Earth. If only a fraction could sustain life, that left thousands of candidates close to home. This sector, well below the galactic plane, had seen it's share of planned missions, but some nearby crisis – Tholian incursion, Nomad probe, interstellar amoeba – had always drawn Starfleet's attention elsewhere. Many of the worlds Enterprise had surveyed in the last few weeks bore merely an alphanumeric catalog designation. The one they approached was simply UFP-2861BZ, which they'd been calling by the unoriginal moniker 'Beta Zed' in their briefings.

 

"Go on," he prompted the lieutenant, checking the fastening of the white shoulder strap to the front flap of his burgundy uniform.

 

"Our latest scans still show a thriving civilization on the third planet," Vasquez continued, "but we detected this unexpected reading above it." She keyed a sequence and magnified it on the display above her.

 

Harriman took a moment to study the waveform. "A subspace field," he concluded. The last long-range probe, sent three years earlier, had suggested this was a tranquil, advancing race that had broken the warp barrier, but they had never left the confines of their system. "Is that surprising?"

 

"Not at first," the chief science officer admitted, "but the magnitude was greater than expected, an object at Warp 4 headed outward."

 

Harriman smiled. "Are they finally headed out to explore the galaxy?" he asked, amazed at the coincidence. Such a breakthrough could open doors for the kind of first contact mission both he and Starfleet wanted. "Where are they going?"

 

Vasquez shook her head. "That's the interesting thing, captain," she revealed. She looked toward the helm expectantly.

 

Harriman turned that way, as well, meeting the gaze of his helmsman, junior lieutenant Demora Sulu. "We projected a warp trail," she advised. "Sir, it's coming directly toward us."

 

* * * * *

 

The small warp-capable ship had approached, taking about an hour to reach their position outside the system before slowing to sublight. Sensors showed they carried tele-visual communication, capable of responding to hails.

 

"This is Captain John C. Harriman of the starship Enterprise," he greeted, standing in front of the center chair. "On behalf of the United Federation of Planets, I extend an offer of peace and friendship."

 

The image onscreen was an auburn haired, regal-looking woman who looked human from all visible evidence. The only notable difference was her unusually dark eyes, looking as if the irises themselves were black. "Thank you, captain," she smiled warmly. "I am Latani Grax, Outworld Minister and daughter of the Fourth House. I welcome you on behalf of..." she paused briefly, "...the inhabitants of Betazed."

 

The captain blinked momentarily at the use of their own designation and glanced toward Commander Tobiason, manning the communications station.

 

Tobiason showed amazement, briefly muting the conversation. "The translator didn't render that," he reported. "We're hearing her actual words, in our own language."

 

The woman spoke again, drawing Harriman's attention back to the screen. "Our people have been aware of your existence for a short time," Minister Grax explained without prompting. "Since then, we have been preparing how best to receive you."

 

Harriman smiled, wondering how this knowledge had come to them. "I must confess we're surprised to meet you out here like this," he admitted, "but it was the hope of our journey to make contact with your people."

 

Grax nodded. "Improvements in our faster-than-light capability are a recent development," she offered. "We sensed your approach at some distance. It was decided that, when the time came for us to meet, it would be safer to meet here in the depths of space."

 

"Safer?" Harriman allowed himself the one-word question, warily, while wondering what sensors had detected their approach from so far out. These people appeared peaceful, as the probes suggested, and their little warpship was unarmed. He hoped it was not the size and armament of Enterprise that concerned them.

 

The woman onscreen seemed ready for the question. "We are what your species would call 'telepaths'," she said frankly. "It seemed wisdom to warn you of this before your ship entered our system. My people recognize you as explorers who mean us no harm, but yours may be uncomfortable with our openness and what they may consider intrusion into your thoughts."

 

Harriman blinked at the admission, falling to silence. Slow realization came upon him of the implications. Of course, he realized, they must have plucked the name for their planet from his mind. And they'd done it across a comm channel? Had they detected Enterprise's arrival from its thoughts? Was this how they were able to speak the language? Was she hearing him now?

 

"You have many such questions," Latina offered, confirming his fears while trying to calm them. "We welcome the chance to meet with you here, at this safe distance, to begin this process of 'first contact' and answer your questions. We invite you to come to our ship and hope to visit yours."

 

Harriman felt a surge of excitement and trepidation. This was the kind of risk Kirk had meant, he considered, that came with sitting in the chair behind him. "We look forward to meeting you in person and learning more. I'm told your world is a garden paradise; I hope we can visit it."

 

Minister Grax nodded. "We invite you to send probes to study our world as we talk; we are an open society with no secrets to hide," she welcomed. "But we have one request: we ask that you delay any visit our world," she paused, gazing back with those dark eyes, "until you can invite those from the starship Challenger to join us."

Enterprise_B.jpg

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::sneaks into the Prime Era due to a subspace glitch:: Always nice to get a glimpse and a read focusing on TOS Movie Era CPT Harriman; nice log Commander Ba'alyo!

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