Mission

The door slid to admit a medium-sized, middle-aged Bajoran woman with greying chestnut hair, hazel eyes and fair complexion dressed in a very formal business suit of burnt orange color. The only adornment she wore was hanging under her stern, unsmiling face; a golden pendant in the shape of a flaming star. She walked up to them, nodded to each and went to stand between Samji and Schmidt . Hers was a deliberate stance of authority and assurance that left no doubt about who she thought was in charge.

Samji waved a hand between them as he made the formal presentations.

"Gentlemen, may I present Governor Sufra Anseh, Federation representative elected to establish and lead the first Federation colony in what will now be designated as Horizon Space. Governor, these are the people who will be responsible for ensuring the safety and success of your endeavor; Captain Syntron and Commander Joshua Riker of the Phoenix which will chart your entire sector; Captain Kheren and Commander Redding of the Horizon which will ferry you and your people to your new home and assist you in building it."

"I know of you, gentlemen," the woman said acknowledging their own polite nods as they all sat back down; "at least some of you, if only by reputation. To you, Captain Kheren, we owe the discovery of this new paradise and of the doorway to it; and to you, Captain Syntron, we owe the chance to use that doorway to get to that paradise."

Her words brought the Andorian's antennae so rigid in the air that, when they lowered like a pair of phaser cannons towards her, it looked as if they were about to break. His low tone of voice became even lower, and the usual softness was perceptibly disappearing to imply a contained but growing anger.

"Excuse me for saying so and in so blunt a manner, Governor Sufra but you sound like the Horizon Children used to."

His four eyes were staring at the symbol on her breast.

"That is because I am of that faith, Captain; like each and everyone of the two thousand, eight hundred and nine pioneers that will accompany me to build a new world, a new life and a new way of life out there."

Kheren rose slowly from his seat. 

"Are you telling me that you intend to to bring almost three thousand religious fanatics on board my ship?"

"We are not religious fanatics, Captain," retorted the Bajoran woman, her own voice becoming as defiant as his; "we are beleivers."

"There is a difference?"

"Sit down, Captain," ordered Samji.

His voice was stern but deliberately soft,calm and slow; the last thing he wanted was to have a flared up Andorian among them; especially one who's mental state, while certified stable and sound, may not be as it used to be... and who was strong enough to throw even his Vulcan colleague through the wall of his office.

And he new quite well what was behind his friend's anger.

Governor Sufra herself must have been aware of the threat an emotional Andorian could become, because her voice too became suddenly soothing; although the condescending tone of it defused most of the calming effect it tried to achieve.

"Come now, Captain Kheren; I understand your... unease..."

"Do you, Governor Sufra Anseh?" Kheren interrupted, still standing. His formal use of the woman's full name was typical of his kind when issuing a challenge. "Your... beleivers, once boarded my ship, corrupted some of my crew, sabotaged her and tried to take her over and seize a lost warship; then, they sent a fleet to prevent us from stopping a cosmic catastrophy that would have reduced the entire universe to cinders, all for the glory of your... faith. The result was forty-two dead on my ship, the creation of a deadly mad artificial intelligence, hundreds of wounded on board half a dozen crippled starships, the loss of my ship... and even abducted and brainwashed several of our best officers, used one as a figurehead hostage and forced yet another one to betray everything he stood for and suffer detention and disgrace... Do you really think you understand how I feel about this... Governor?"

"How you feel is irrelevant, Captain Kheren," answered Sufra with all pretended softness gone from her voice. "I am an official Federation representative, elected governor of this planned colony and with the mandate of establishing and leading that colony. You, as a Starfleet officer, are under an oath and orders to help and support our efforts to the best of your abilities and to obey the orders of all mandated Federation representatives...  my orders, Captain."

Behind the fuming Andorian, Yeoman Blackbird rose and came up right behind his left side. She was convinced at that very moment that her commanding officer was about to throw his combadge on the Fleet Captain's desk and resign his commission then and there. His hard, callused right hand was already to his left breast.

Redding had served in the diplomatic core for over a decade and was used to such dramatics. Inside he was nearly as upset with these orders as Kheren, but you wouldn't have known it.

"Governor, NO ONE in this room understands obligation and duty better than Captain Kheren, myself included. But you are mistaken in that we are beholden to your orders. You get the final say on the mission project, but the Captain has final authority over the ship and its crew."

His tone was such a blank, he might as well have been a Vulcan at that moment

"If, for example, if you gave an order that would endanger the Horizon, Captain Kheren could cancel the mission. Not that that is likely of course, but it is in his domain."

The passive look on his face practically drained the emotion out of the room. With any luck, the momentary respite would calm down his captain and remind Sufra that she had limits to her authority.

Kheren's hand was still on his combadge as he too listened to his first officer. Then,  instead of  throwing it down, he tapped on it.

"Kheren to Horizon."

"Horizon; Lieutenant Tyvya here, Sir."

Kheren looked straight at the Bajoran woman's eyes as he spoke.

"Lieutenant; implement ship's full security protocol, including the neurogenic grid with Lieutenant Lyrya. Prepare the civilian decks to receive two thousand eight hundred and nine colonists. They and all their belongings will submit to the full barrage of security measures from this moment on and for the full duration of the upcoming mission, including barred access to all areas of the ship outside the habitable decks and close-circuit computer and replicator availability. Inform Doctor Nasaro-Myth that full medical protocol is in effect. If any one, including starbase personnel or crewmembers, up to and includingmyself and the command staff object to those measures, they will be expelled immediately."

As the governor reddened with obvious outrage, he closed the channel still looking her in the eye.

"Those are my orders, Lieutenant. Kheren out."

"Captain Kheren, this is an outrage! We will not be treated like criminals or lepers! We have rights..."

"Governor, I am a Starfleet officer. My ship, my crew and I are sworn to protect democracy... not to apply it."

Then, his tone became hard as duranium and his silvery eyes like phaser beams.

"I will make myself crystal clear; I will trust in the Federation Council's judgment, even if it's againt my best judgment, and see as best as can be to the success of this misson of yours. But rest assured; if anyone, now or later, makes but one step on the wrong foot, I will personally see that this person is sedated, put into a Class X probe and shot back to Starfleet Security for detention on charges of mutiny. This time, no one will threaten my ship or my crew."

Sufra turned an indignant stare at Fleet captain Samji.

"Fleet captain, I demand that this... officer be releived of this mission and a new officer and ship be assigned to us! I will not tolerate..."

"That is not possible, Governor," quickly cut in Samji. "The Horizon is the only vessel capable of providing all the ressources and capabilities for your project. Without the Horizon, it would take a year to send supply ships in order to build the barest basic facility just to safely enable you to set foot out there; and we don't have enough available ships to do this and provide enough security for your people in case you encounter problems."

Then I demand the removal of this officer and a new ship commander appointed to the Horizon!" almost shouted the exasperated woman.

"Captain Kheren is the appointed commander of the Horizon. He has been certified fit for duty and has broken no order, rule or regulation that would justify his removal from his command," flatly stated the starbase commander. "Moreover, he complied dilligently with your... orders and already is preparing his ship to receive with upmost concern for their health and safety your people and cargo, as you just witnessed, Governor."

For long seconds, Governor Sufra fumed at Samji in cold silence. Then she turned again to the Andorian and shook a trembling finger at him.

"Your name will figure prominently on my next report to the Federation Council, Captain Kheren!"

The long silence that followed was as heavy as the gravitational field of a neutron star.

During the transient stalemate lingering in the room, the captain of the USS Phoenix stood up and spoke without a trace of emotion in his voice.

"Governor Sufra Anseh,  am I to understand that you intend to bring two thousand, eight hundred and nine pioneers along with you on the onset of this mission, before any base has even been established? If this is the intention, then I must note that this is a rather illogical course of action, at best." 

Barely calmed down by the tone and words of Redding, the Federation representative scowled at the Vulcan. But her voice had recovered it's calm, condescending tone.

"Captain Syntron, this is exactly why we are... forced... to use this... one officer's starship," she retorted, thumbing towards the now calm Andorian. "The Horizon will act as our base while we map out and settle down on the colony site. Else, as the Fleet captain explained, it would be years before we could proceed."

Slowly, her gaze went from Syntron's eyes to the stars flickering beyond the large transparency of the office as she went on.

"You as a Vulcan would probably estimate that this waiting would be safer... more... logical... But we see no reason to delay when we have such an asset, dreary as it is, to go immediately and build ourselves a new life on a new world... in a new universe. You saw how your... colleague reacted to us who have the True Faith. because of a few impatient, misguided souls, this is how we are perceived everywhere we go; at best, as deluded crackpots.... at worst as potential criminals. Now is our chance to escape all that and start a life of faith and hapiness in our promised paradise. And the federation Council accepted our petition. Our ordeal is at an end; our time has come. our time is now."

Her attention suddenly came back to the captain of the Phoenix.

"And you, Captain Syntron, will explore this paradise for us and report to us what fruit bears our new Eden."

As Syntron didn't add anything, Fleet Captain Samji spoke.

"Gentlemen, you mission will be to explore the sector nearest to the Azimuth Horizon on the other side and establish a first permanent colony on it's doorstep. Commander Schmidt?"

The tall woman activated a holographic projector that showed them an external representation of the sector where was tamed and caged the fiery anomaly they had dealt with barely months ago. The computer simulated a plunging movement within it and, after a brief blazing light, the computer model of a solar system. As the virtual camera went through it, karen Schmidt spoke with her throaty voice.

"This is the data gathered by the USS Artemis, the only starship we know that ever got through the AH... and came back to tell of it."

Kheren understood what she meant; at the time, there had also been a Klingon Negh'Var warship that had been caught with them in the then unpredictable eddies of the anomaly, along with the derelict USS Jeanne Mance Kheren and his crew of the late Ambassador class vessel had been sent to rescue. The rescue had been successful, although the hospital ship was lost... and the Klingon cruiser had been sent back in time where it belonged. And there had also been a third vessel which had entered the anomaly, albiet not of it's own volition.

"No news about the USS Nuntio, Sir?"

Samji shook his head with a sour expression on his golden-hued features.

"None since their last transmission over a year ago. They have been declared lost with all hands by Starfleet Command."

"I never met Captain Rousseau," the Andorian said after a short moment of silence insitinctively shared by all in the room. "But I knew of Shaell, her first officer; he had been my senior mentor in survival training at Starfleet Academy... and the captain of my wrestling team. We lost too many good people to this wretched anomaly."

He looked pointedly at Sufra as he spoke, noting with satisfaction how she reddened at the way he openly despized the very core of her belief by iinsisting on the very naturalistic view of it as a huge, terrible yet mere natural phenomenon.

Schmidt noticed it too, because she quickly went on with her presentation as the virtual view showed between them went beyond the first solar system displayed.

"As the Azimuth Horizon expanded on our side, so have we determined that it did as well on the other side. The closest solar system charted there by the Artemis was assuredly destroyed, just like, in our universe, the solar system nearest to it, the one that had included the planet Neural, was utterly destroyed."

"Captain Gould and the Lotus did save the people there, right?"

"Yes, Captain Kheren," Samji answered quickly before the Andorian could again ram a hot nail in the governor's beliefs. "Our former flagship managed to successfully lead the evacuation of the few thousands of natives and without compromising the Prime Directive any further than Captain Kirk had done a century and half ago. Your own Commander Oseno had been quite instrumental in this effort."

"There was no danger of violating the Prime Directive then," Kheren stated. " On the contrary; the Hill people and the Villagers were aware of both the Federation and the Klingon Empire since both clashed in an arms race on that planet in those days; and the Azimtuh Horizon threatened them because of our own tearing of subspace through warp travel in the region. We were the cause of the threat to their world; we were bound to correct our own interference with the natural evolution of their world. Captain Gould and Commander Oseno did the right thing the right way."

The way he spoke, there was no doubt that this would be the example he himself would follow; the philosophy in which he believed in. And he wanted it spelled out clearly and plainly to them all... but especially to the haughty woman who would be giving him orders.

Again, the astute Exec of the starbase commander quickly brought everyone's mind away from the potential renewal of conflict to the matter at hand.

"Long range sensors of the Artemis made a quick but thorough survey of the immediate surroundings and charted several other nearby star systems that in all probability escaped the devastation of the anomaly."

The holographic view centered on one with twelve planets around a yellow-white star. There were six gaseous giants from the outer edge inward and six much smaller rocky ones closer to the stellar body. The scrolling astometric data appearing in the display stated the second and third one as being in the popularily called 'goldylock' zone were carbon-based life was deemed possible.

"On recommendation of Governor Sufra, this system has been christened Eden. Eden II and III are class M, while Eden I and  IV are class D, rich in all kinds of minerals including rare ones like dilithium and topaline. The gas giants are also rich sources of all useful gases like helium and a good abundance of comets further enrich the system with a surplus of iced water and organic compounds."

"This is your objective, Captain Kheren," now ordered Allen Samji, taking over the presentation. "You will bring Governor Sufra and her colonists to both worlds with all their belongings and starting material and position yourself as their supplying starbase, providing them with early manufacturing, communication and protection until they can be fully autonomous. The Polaris, your integrated escort, will provide system patrol and your flotilla of shuttlecrafts further means of transport between those worlds. Using your saucer primary hull as a separate base while your engineering section works independently as an industrial facility, or landing your bridge module as a planetside central base, is at your discretion."

"Aye, Sir."

The Fleet Captain then turned towards the Vulcan commanding officer.

"Captain Syntron, you will be tasked to chart thoroughly this first sector of our new colonial territory. Twenty light years on a side is quite an area to cover, but the Quantum Slipstream Drive of the Phoenix will easily jump to each stellar formation within it that your advanced sensors will record. Your own Space Sonar that you invented will undoubtebly allow you to do your job even if unsuspected cosmic anomalies would hamper another starship... and I'm sending you a new Chief Science Officer from our exchange program that is despite his... greeness, the best cosmologist you could ever hope to find. The Horizon will act as your port of call just as you will act as her emissary in case other sentient life forms are discovered in this area nearest to the portal."

"Acknowledged Sir. We will be ready." Syntron responded to the Fleet Captain and then turned his attention to his first officer. He spoke softly so that only his exec could hear.

"Ensure that we will be ready for departure Commander, and see what you can ascertain about this new CSO they are sending us."

Syntron thought the naming of this system after the biblical "garden of God" had not faired too well for previous federation and expeditions

In 2269 when a group of renegades who rejected modern technological life and formed the rag-tag crew of the Aurora, a stolen space cruiser which escaped were also on a search for Eden. Temporarily hijacking the Enterprise of Captain Kirk, the beauty on what they eventually found on their Eden concealed deadly secrets of its foliage on the arriving rebels.

Eighteen years later in 2287, the crew of the Enterprise faced a similar fate when their ship was commandeered by Spock's half-brother and his small collection of faithful followers. The ship proceeded under Sybok's direction across the great barrier and encountered not only a planet, but a mystical being who introduces himself as God. This too did not turn out as intended.

These thoughts were then interrupted by the Fleet Captain himself. 

Samji looked at everyone in turn before speaking again.

"Any questions?"

"Just one, Sir," the Andorian captain said after a moment of silence between them all. "Are we sent out there to... promote the ideals of the United Federation of Planets, as defined by the Articles of the Federation?"

He addressed his question at the starbase commander, but his four eyes were on the governor.

"It goes without saying, Captain," answered Samji.

"With all due respect, Sir... I think it has to be said."

He was still looking at governor Sufra.

For a moment, she seemed to be about to retort something. But then, her mouth took a sour twist as her eyes closed with a look of dismissal before she spoke in a very cold tone of voice to Samji.

"We will board the ship momentarily, Fleet Captain."

But it's Kheren who answered.

"You and your people will board my ship after you and your people and mine with everything they bring aboard will have been fully cleared through the full security protocol aboard my ship... which I will point out include empathic and telepathic scanning. You and your people, just like mine, will acknowledge full knowledge and acceptance of them and any and all responsibilities and consequences delineated by them and Starfleet regulations. And no loitering around the Phoenix either."

Sufra again redened and bit her lip not to lash back at the Andorian. She pointedly continued to ignore him to address the Fleet Captain.

"Fleet Captain Samji; I officially protest this irrespectful treatment and will report this directly to the Federation Council. I urge you to make this... officer of yours to be... reasonable... or else, your name will have to figure on my report as well."

Samji sighed. But both his stare and voice were firm.

"Governor Sufra; the Federation Council approves all Starfleet rules... rules that in some cases date back even thousands of years... like this one; aboard his ship, a Captain is Lord after God. "

"Come on now; you don't beleive..."

Samji cut her off.

"What I beleive, or what you beleive for that matter, Governor, is irrelevant. I'm sorry but, with the Horizon being the one and only ship capable of meeting your needs and your objectives, if this is the way Captain Kheren wants to conduct business on his ship, there is nothing no one can do about it, as long as his orders do not violate Starfleet rules and regulations."

"We will see about that."

This time, as she spoke, she fixed her angry stare at the Andorian who looked back at her with a definitely defiant expression in his otherwise frozen face. Then she stormed out of the office with so much as a nod to the others.

"Charming woman," whispered Yeoman Blackbird.

Although she was more or less behind the Andorian, he still caught her words.

"Isn't she," commented Kheren. "She must have an Andorian somewhere in her ancestry..."

There was no way to tell if he was joking or not. Probably was, since hybridation with Andorians was next to impossible. Samji, for his part, was in no mood to laugh or to joke.

"Alright gentlemen; you have your orders."

"Aye, Sir," nodded Kheren. "Captain Syntron, Commander Riker... good tides and fair winds to you. We will inform you when we are ready to depart with our... guests."

And with that, he lead the way out to his Exec and his Yeoman.