CHAPTER 4: Beyond Antares

   CHAPTER 4 : BEYOND ANTARES

Captain's Log

Stardate: 87638.3

Initial testing of the low tresholds of our new transwarp drive has gone as smoothly and efficiently as hoped for. Commendation to be given to all the crew, especially to Lieutenant Commander Sisko and his engineering department, for working out any and all kinks in the systems. Commander Redding is proving himself to be a masterful orchestrator of ship departments, especially considering the size of this one, while Commander Oseno is already demonstrating his own excellent proficiency as a Strategic Officer with devizing in record time an effective transwarp launch protocol for our auxilliary escort vessel. Our science chief, Lieutenant Commander K'Leysha, has already sent this crew into seeking out new life and new civilizations with her fascinating lectures on her own mysterious Illythirii people, demonstrating how this ship can truly act as a mobile starbase as much as our operations chief, Lieutenant Leône, has ensured this ship and crew to be on parr with any capital vessel. As for our security chief, Lieutenant Corcoran, her quiet, effective handling of security on board during this crucial period is as completely flawless as our chief medical officers, Lieutenants 011 and 110, as well as chief counselor Lyrya, in taking care of our dedicated crew.

We have completed all preliminary studies of our first shakedown of the ship. Today we will really start testing this ship's capabilities by going for the first time truly beyond the warp treshold. Our transwarp 3 flight should take us all the way from Space Station Echo 3 to Space Sation Deep Space 9 in merely twenty-one hours; almost twenty times faster than the fastest starship out there. With this successful part of our flight alone,  a brand new era of exploration and discovery will be opened for the United Federation of Planets... And everyone here aboard the Horizon is understandably at least as excited as I am.

Kheren closed his computer terminal and tapped his combadge.

" Bridge, Kheren here. "

" Bridge here, " answered the familiar soft, cristalline voice of chief counselor Lyrya. 

" Patch me through shipwide and station comm systems, Lieutenant, " the captain ordered simply.

The Aenar counselor might have been his wife, but like all Andorians, both were effortlessly and thoroughly professional in their speech and demeanor while on duty. Because of their matrimonial bond, they could always feel deeply what they felt for one another without having to make any outward show of it; and just as well knew that both of them could instantly sacrifice the other for the sake of ship and crew if need be, knowing full well that sending one to his or her death would mean the same thing to the other... and to the other mate bonded to them. This cold, pragmatic attitude would be appalling to other emotional species like Humans... but to Andorians, just as for seemingly emotionless beings like Vulcans, it was as accepted and inbred a fact as breathing. For Andorians, grief and pain would come afterwards... if there was even time left to feel them. While wearing their uniforms, duty was where their famous fiery passions all went.

And thus, his voice, as he addressed the thousands aboard the flagship of Lotus Fleet, had that  intensity in it that showed his own excitement about what he was saying with otherwise seemingly complete professional control.

" Now hear this; now hear this; this is the captain. It is 2344 hours, ship time. All personnel, report to your stations for launch as scheduled by 2400 hours. All personnel to confirm readiness for departure by this time to your department chief. All department chiefs to confirm all stations ready for launch at scheduled time to First Officer. All senior officers, report immediately to the bridge. All, prepare to fly into the next page of the History books. Captain out. "

He knew full well that most if not all of his people would already be at their posts, at least as ready as he was to be underway; but he wanted things done by the book. That is why he could go beyond it's last page when a situation would not find it's answer within it's covers and never being found at fault for doing so. And that was the attitude he wanted to drill into his officers and crew. Don't just do the right thing; do the right thing the right way.

Closing communications, the Andorian commanding officer of the starship Horizon stood from behind his transluscent desk, adjusted his grey and black uniform over his tall, athletic frame and strode purposefully towards the door of his office. His destination, the bridge... and a rendez-vous with History.

Redding stood up and gave a loud clap with his hands. "This is it people! Last chance to dot your 'I's and cross those 'T''s! Get your last round of checks out of the way because in 15 minuets we break another record for doing what no man has done before." Then quickly added. "I mean no one has done before."

"Redding to Sisko, Tell us you've finished your 6th check and every things green Commander. The soups starting to boil."

Upon hearing Captain Kheren's announcement, Main Engineering was abuzz with activity as the officers and crewmen hurriedly prepared for their upcoming test flight.

"Give me a status on the tachyon matrix, Ensigns," said Lieutenant Commander SIsko to Kilani Cooper and Patricia Blakely who were intently focused on monitoring the status as the matrix was fine-tuned to emit a resonance frequency that was a cubic proportion higher than the previous one they were at.

"We're good here, Commander," Blakely said, as she noted the point-zero-zero-one-percent variance between the actual readings and those of the successful simulations they had run earlier.

"Structural, how are we looking?" Sisko then called out.

The fellow Bajoran structural integrity specialist, Ensign Celes Arlana responded. "The temporal stresses introduced in our transwarp 3 test flight have caused microfractures in the hull, but nothing beyond normal operating parameters. We should see if the Captain will allow the introduction of a chroniton barrier into the shields using our secondary deflector."

"How risky is that?" asked Sisko, as he walked over to her station to review the readings.

"Not at all," she replied. "They have been experimenting with the procedure at Utopia Plenitia, and it's a very simple and straightforward procedure. However, I believe we will be alright without it if we feel it is too big of a risk to combine it with transwarp travel beyond transwarp 3, something never attempted before, save this ship when it went to help in the Azimuth Horizon operation."

She then added, "However, it was also something that was done routinely by the Borg when traveling through their transwarp conduits, and our study of their technology since the return of the USS Voyager has helped us to study the procedure and be fully confident in its use at transwarp."

"If it's a straightforward procedure, I think we should try it to avoid unnecessary stresses to the hull," Sisko said.

"Aye, Sir," Celes agreed, and also added, "If we can get extra power to the structural integrity field too, that will be an additional benefit."

Sisko nodded his agreement and turned to a nearby monitor where he tapped the icon to open the comm to the bridge.

"We're ready in Engineering, Commander Redding. We would like to try using our secondary deflector to emit a chroniton barrier into the shields. This will help to prevent undue temporal stress fractures. Also, we would like to request half auxiliary power to the structural integrity field, and half to the shields for the entirety of the transwarp four test."

Elisha Leône then chimed in from her Ops post.

"All areas of communication, sensors and their related systems, ship-wide diagnostics, personnel, and resource allocation throughout departments all appear to be functioning at this point with high levels of efficiency captain" the olive-skinned Orion COO reported.

"I am sending a current synopsis of this information along with complete data analysis of each report to your PADD, Sir."  Elisha Leône noted as she engaged the files and sent them to the ship's first officer and the commanding officer.

Redding looked over his PADD "Understood, I'll pass this along with my recommendation, bridge out." And looked up as Captain Kheren came out of his ready room.

"Sir, all stations are at the ready but engineering would like to add a few more precautions to the list.. as is their way."  And handed him the PADD. "Nothing on there I see a problem with Captain."

Kheren took the PADD and scanned it quickly, nodding his white-haired head. 

"Very good, Number One. Confirm to engineering that they can proceed and that, this time, we will  wait for their signal before engaging transwarp. At the speed we will be going, we certainly can afford some extra time to err on the side of caution. And for once, there is no emergency forcing us to rush out. Anything else to point out, Commander?"

Redding gave a slight shrug "Not at this time sir, but the day is young after all." and called engineering to give the go ahead.

Jureth returned to the bridge having heard the captain's order for senior officers to report. Trailing behind him was Variel Palos, and Jureth was still unsure how to handle the information the intelligence specialist had provided him. It wasn't that he was intimidated by Palos or by Starfleet Intelligence, the Horizon's Andorian captain on the other hand was another matter. Despite Oseno's senior rank the captain held a certain air about him that unnerved the Bajoran slightly though he tried not to show it. As calmly as he could he approached the command area of the bridge and spoke to Kheren.

"Captain, I was wondering if I might have a word Sir."

An eyebrow followed by an antenna rose toward Oseno.

" In my office then, Commander. "

Once back in his ready room, Kheren tried to be professionnally friendly and open as much as he could... but as always failed miserably. He had a genuine respect for Oseno Jureth, even a good measure of admiration. The way he had handled the Undine interference during the last major fleet engagement, even seeding the new and historical lasting peace between the extradimensional aliens and the Federation was no small feat, if only to name one on the Bajoran's impressive Starfleet record. Yet, the Andorian's typical lack of facial muscles and social graces were a severe hindrance to his efforts at congeniality and worse, he was barely aware of it. It was thus with a deceptively severe demeanor that he faced his strategic officer and the junior officer that was accompanying him; Variel Palos if he recalled the name properly

" What is on your mind, Commander? "

In the small room with the Horizon's captain Oseno's own heart began to beat slightly faster and he was positive that Andorians could sense such things, whether they actually could or not.

The fact was, Kheren's antennae could clearly hear his heartbeat at this distance. But his own being naturally faster than most humanoids due to the higher metabolism of Andorians, he did not realize that, for the Bajoran, this was indicative of stress. Thus he made no effort to alleviate this unperceived tension for his officer as Oseno swallowed once and turned to the intelligence officer.

"Lieutenant please relate to the captain what you told me."

Palos nodded, but if the intelligence operative was uncomfortable he didn't show it. In fact, he showed hardly any emotion at all as he began to speak.

"Captain, I should preface this by telling you that, prior to my assignment here, I was a field operative for Starfleet Intelligence. I was rotated back to the Fleet to remove my face from certain circles in which I've operated. That said, Sir, a short time ago, I received an encrypted transmission from Starfleet Intelligence. It contained a briefing on one Commander Neil Redding. Both Temporal Investigations and Intelligence are...concerned regarding the commander's well being, Sir. My orders were to observe him, and report back. I brought this to Commander Oseno's attention, knowing full well he would likely bring it to you. I did so because I believed it necessary, though I suppose what you choose to do with this information is up to you... Sir."

As Palos finished speaking, Jureth picked up the conversation.

"Sir, given everything that happened aboard the McKenzie...I wasn't about to keep this from you."

The Andorian recalled vividly the Mc Kenzie incident. During Operation Horizon, the chief engineer, a Cardassian Lieutenant Commander by the name of Sorripto, up until then an outstanding Starfleet officer, had been blackmailed by Section 31, the former occult agency deluding itself into believing immorality was the salvation of the Federation. The Cardassian was thus constrained to perform a sabotage and assassination mission against a group of dangerous religious fanatics bent on foiling the operation to stop the anomaly from destroying the universe. As reprehensible as such a mission in itself was, the worst had not been the action itself, but the fact that this Sorripto had decided to keep it all to himself and act on his own, rejecting any help or rules outright to go against his own crew and endangering his ship and shipmates, even the entire operation, simply because, in the end, he had no trust in Starfleet and his fellow officers.

The former chief engineer of the starship McKenzie was now serving time in a penal colony for numerous violations of Starfleet rules and Federation laws. If he had learned anything from the whole incident remained to be seen. But through his own testimony during the trial and during his own board of inquiry following the destruction of his own ship, the Artemis, Captain Kheren had made it abundantly clear an unequivoquial for his part that he deeply despised such gung-ho officers and deluded self-serving heroics... and would never tolerate this lack of trust between people serving with him. It was now clear that at least the two officers before him had heard both messages well and that truly put his mind at ease and warmed his heart.

" Thank you, Commander; this is most appreciated, " Kheren then said after a moment of silence.  "And you too, Lieutenant. Antimatter is what supposedly makes a ship go, but in truth it is her crew; and the single most important fuel of that crew is trust. In the unforgiving vastness of space, for the kind of endeavor we dedicate ourselves to, we must have complete and infallible trust into one another... or else, we are all dead... and all that we do or try to do means nothing. "

After another pause, Kheren looked straight at Palos.

" Lieutenant, you will proceed as per your orders. But you will send your reports to me. I will be the one to deliver it all to Starfleet Intelligence... and Temporal Investigations. If they contact you directly about it, refer them to me... and you are free to tell them that you are doing so under my orders. And I will inform Commander Redding presently. After all, if  there are people truly... concerned... about his... well being, he should be made aware of it and be understandably thankful about it, no? "

For once, he conveyed clearly the irony of his words.

" If there is nothing else, gentlemen, you may return to your assigned duties. And please send Commander Redding in here on your way out. "

"Aye Sir," Jureth replied clearly answering for both of them before turning and motioning to Variel to proceed him out of the ready room. As the door closed behind him Jureth released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His fellow Bajoran, Variel, only smirked

"Well, that went...well."

"Truthfully, better than I expected after the issues aboard the McKenzie..."

Palos held up a hand "I'm well aware of that incident Sir."

"You are planning on following his orders aren't you?" Oseno asked suddenly concerned

"Of course, he is the captain after all."

Somehow Variel's words did not comfort Oseno, the security officer in him told him that he should keep a close eye on his assigned intelligence specialist. Still, he said nothing more to Variel and proceed down to the command area of the bridge stopping next to Commander Redding.

"Commander, Captain would like to see you in his office Sir."

Redding looked up from the PADD he was reading over.

"Thank you Oseno.." then looked up at him with a concerned expression "It's not about the transwarp test is it? I swear if another test get's held back.."

But he didn't finish the thought.  With a nod he got up and headed into the Captains ready room.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

The Andorian showed a seat to the large man.

" Please sit down, Commander. "

He waited a moment after his first officer had complied to speak again.

" I have been informed that Starfleet Intelligence and the Temporal Investigations Office both have an eye on you, Number One. I want you to be aware of that fact, if you are not already, but also that I am aware of it... and that I  will have my  eyes, not on you but on them from now on... all four of mine. "

With a mildly surprised look Redding thought it over " Makes sense I guess, I suspected they'd keep tabs on me of course but.. overtly like this? " He brought his hand up to his chin. " In any case Captain I'll try and not let this be a distraction for the crew, we have to much to focus on as it is and I'm certainly not looking for any kind of celebrity status. If you think this could become a problem that might disrupt the crew I'm willing, if not anxious, to get off at Deep Space 9 sir. "  

Kheren's gaze became harder. And so did his voice.

" You can be assured, Number One, that, if anything like this ever disrupts my ship,  I will drop off anyone involved near and far with it well before I let go of my first officer... and in their case, I might not wait to get to DS9. "

Calming himself down before his anger could really flare up, the Andorian went back to his usual soft, low tone again. But the silvery eyes in his rigid face did not soften as much.

" Do not worry about your status aboard the Horizon. As far as I know, the crew is unaware of this, apart from a handful of officers; and even if they do eventually learn about it, most have served under me before and are used to far more... disruptive situations than this. But most of all, they are Starfleet officers; they know and believe that it is complete thrust between us that is the key of our success... if not our very survival. "

The Andorian looked straight into Redding's eyes.

"I for one deeply despise this kind of shadowplay. Spying on enemies I can understand; after all, we Andorians have done it most expertedly. But doing it between Starfleet officers... This is exactly the kind of dishonesty, hypocrisy and backstabbing mentality that made it possible for vermin like Section 31 to exist in the first place. And I will have none of this cloak and dagger on my ship.  "

Kheren straightened his uniform.

" I took over the responsibility of this... monitoring. I will deal with both Starfleet Intelligence and Temporal Investigations when the time comes. And rest assured that having implemented it behind my back will not make for a friendly chat. In the meantime, I would like you to make sure that any and all transmissions coming in or out of this ship will be detected, recorded, decrypted, even if it's done by candlelight  through the windows... and speak with Lieutenant Lyrya about implementing the telepathic grid protocol in that regard. "

At the word 'telepathic' Redding looked slightly uneasy.

" Are you recommending the Lieutenant monitor me for mental activity Captain? While I share your concern for security and will of course do my up most to insure against any such breaches I'm not sure I would be comfortable with the idea of someone randomly checking my thoughts. "

In truth working with telepathic personal was something Neil never seemed to get used to. One annalist suggested that it was a latent phobia brought about by the some what 'sudden' intrusion of a more psionically friendly culture than he was used to, This was not an uncommon reaction in the late 23rd and into the 24th century of the Federation.

But the captain shook his head and lifted a hand.

" Certainly not, Number One. "

Kheren pushed a few buttons then turned his desk PADD to face his first officer. A Security protocol entitled Telepathic Grid was displayed and the captain summarized it's content outloud.

" This is part of an extensive security procedure I devized a while back, following the attempted takeover of the USS Artemis by the Horizon Children. Simply put, it is a passive network involving all telepathic endowed personnel aboard. As far as I myself understand it, it is akin to having your "mental ears" open for any noise; in this case, any  thought that could be sent from or to the ship through the neurogenic field, the source of any and all psionic activity. Any such telepathic transmission would be caught by one of the numerous minds sensitive to such form of communication and relayed to a central nexus; in our case, Counselor Lyrya. Being Aenar, her telepathic prowess is unequalled, even by our formidable Illythirii chief of science; once alerted to a telepathic transmission, she would be able to trace it back to it's source... even if that source is sectors away.  You are certainly quite aware that such interstellar capability of her species has been documented since the twenty second century. So, the bottom line is: if anyone tries to use that form of communication... we will know just as we would know if someone used more conventional means. "

Kheren looked straight at Redding.

" If anyone has anything to say about you or any person under my command, he will have to say it to me. "

Thinking it over quickly first Redding nodded his head. " Id be less than honest if I said I understood how all that is possible without 'ease dropping' being prevalent, but I trust your judgment Captain. "  Then Grinned looking at him " You know sir? I've been trying to figure out what it must have been about you I didn't like when I was 'older' but so far? I haven't a clue. "

Then Redding straightened up "If that will be all sir?"