What we're getting ourselves into

Captain Kheren allowed some time for everyone to greet one another or even to reaquaint with each other; not only Captain Syntron and himself who had served together on the Artemis, but also notably Lieutenants Leone and Cheonghi who had both worked here on the flagship as well as Doctors Gray and Nasaro-Myth who had both served together on the Phoenix. looking at them all, the Andorian unknowingly came to the same realization as chief engineer Rogers had minutes before; here were six Humans, three of them hybrids, two full-blooded Bajorans and Andorians, a Vulcan, Caitian, an Edoan and a Deltan, not to mention an Orion, an Illythirii, even a Romulan, a Jem'Hadar and a X'Ell, all coming together, not to compete or conquer, but to work together and, if not share the same dreams, at least allow and even help each and everyone to achieve theirs.

Here was the very embodiement of the Vulcan-born IDIC philosophy at the heart of the Federation: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations... the essence of Starfleet, of the Federation... of the universe.

If there was any reason to be here and to go where they were intending to, this was it.

As he moved to take his seat next to the governor, everyone did the same and became quiet and attentive, knowing without being told that now was the time to get to what they had all come together for.

Without wasting any time, Kheren proceeded with the characteristic pragmatism of his kind.

"Gentlebeings, we will review the mission. All the details are in the PADDS before you, including the specifis for each of you. But we have to be on the same wavelength as for the overall parameters of the task laid before us... and if needed, discuss any relevant issue before proceeding further. Lieutenant Cheonghi..."

Upon hearing his name, the six limbed Edoan stood up, all three hands activating and controlling the triangular table's holographic center display. Before everyone's eyes appeared a visual representation of the known universe, zooming at a dizzying speed into a spiral galaxy they all recognized as their own, from which one arm was isolated until in a second one area delineated as Federation Space appeared. A twenty cubic light years of space was zoomed in with the name Hromi Sector appearing with it, and the virtual point of view closed in even further, quickly passing by a familiar starbase and the representation of two recognizable starships until it slowed almost to a stop before some gold and orange ball of diffuse fire encircled by small monitoring stations within a large zone of space, empty but for some disperse asteroid fields.

Then, the image went right into and through the fiery glow, almost blinding them before is settled back to another zone of nearly empty space... and beyond, a sea of stars; but those stars, almost none among them had ever seen before.

All the while, the shrill voice of Ops Lieutenant Cheonghi detailed everything.

"The Azimuth Horizon anomaly of the Hromi sector of Federation Space is the gateway to pocket universe. The federation Council has tasked Starfleet to open new avenues of exploration and colonization beyond that... horizon; spcifically, on the star system nearest to the access point, designated as AHU1S001S0001... or more quolloquially, the Eden star system."

One of those unfamiliar stars, the nearest, was singled out and the view zoomed into it's orbiting system of twelve planetary bodies, six outer gas giants and six rocky ones with molten cores, until it settled between the orbits of the second and third one.

"This star system has a main sequence G-type star much similar but slightly larger than Sol, six gas giants of various types also similar to those found in sector 001, four class D planets and two class M ones, Eden II and Eden III both at each edge of the inhabitable zone for standard carbon-based lifeforms. These are our main targets for the colonization project."

The display now showed three starships entering the system each from a different angle, three ships they all recognized; the Horizon, the Phoenix and the Polaris.

"We will enter from three optimized angle of approach to start a complete preliminary charting of this system. Once rejoined at an equidistant position between the orbits of both class M worlds, all ships will proceed with their specific task for this operation."

They saw then the computer-generated presentation show the Phoenix warping out of the system and the Polaris resuming a standard search pattern within the system as the Horizon came to a stop and implementing full separation mode.

"The Polaris, under the command of Commander Oseno with Commander K'Leysha as his Exec, will be tasked to thoroughly patrol, chart and survey the system, providing security, data and support to all within the system. The Polaris will also maintain constant contact with the Phoenix and the Horizon as a second line of communication to back up the main one between the flagship and the explorer. It will aslo provide short range support for the Phoenix if need be."

Nodding politely to both officers he had just named, the Edoan then looked at Captain Syntron.

"The Phoenix of Captain Syntron will be responsible for deploying subspace relays while charting the entire twenty cubic light years of the sector 001 of that universe around the Eden system. This also include be on the lookout for indigeneous lifeforms, up to and including possible discovery of sentient species and the eventuality of first contact within the dictates of the Prime Directive."

"Make no mistake here," Kheren then chimed in. "This may be a new frontier and the dawn of a new world, but even on the frontier, even on new worlds, we are here to act and live by the values of the Federation. All Starfleet General Orders as well as the charter of the United Federation of Planets are and will be in effect."

There were a good number of nods around the table before Cheonghi resumed his summary.

"As the tactically superior vessel of our task group, the Horizon will be the command center of the entire operation. The bridge module, under the command of Commander Sisko with Lieutenant Lyrya as his Exec, will act as the planetbound command center on Eden III and II alternatively to directly help the colonists establish temselves. The saucer section, under the command of Captain Kheren with Lieutenant Aron'Son as his Exec, will play the role of starbase facility and Starfleet headquarters in a solar orbit between Eden II and III. from there will be reported and coordinated all communications and activities of all planetside teams and all ships in operation, including shuttlecraft and transporter operations. Finally, the stardrive section, under the command of Commander Redding with Lieutenant Solius as his Exec, will follow a similar but separate orbit to act as secondary study and surveillance post but especially as the major industrial replicator facility to supply both colonies. It will also be ready to provide short term support to the Polaris and long range support to the Phoenix."

"All department chiefs of the Horizon will appoint adequate key personel for all sections of the ship once separation is in effect," finished the Andorian captain, nodding in thanks to his Ops officer as he sat back in his chair.

Then his silvery gaze fixated itself on his chief helmsman.

"Mister Snow..."

As the copper-skinned man stood, the holographic image reverted swiftly back to the extarnal representation of the Azimuth Horizon anomaly. Then as he spoke, the point of view slowly entered within the golden and orange inferno, this time slowly enough to detail visually what he started to explain.

"Our first difficulty will be to negociate the potal itself. As of now, only two pilots ever flew through the anomaly; Lieutenant Moore and myself, both of us currenlty serving on the Horizon. With your permission, captain Syntron, Mister moore will be temporarily transfered for a short time to your ship so as to ensure both safe passage of the Phoenix and help your own piloting staff get fast training with the particularities of travelling... beyond the horizon as we quolloquially call it."

The Vulcan captain gave a slight nod in response.

"That would seem like a... logical precaution.  If Lieutenant Moore is prepared, he may accompany us back to the Phoenix after this meeting concludes."

He waited for the Vulcan commanding officer to give his approval before resuming.

"The Azimuth Horizon anomaly plays havoc with our understanding of physics; it has been speculated that it recreates, at least partially, the conditions of the universe prior to it's very existence. There is no gravitic and barely any nuclear forces in there; mostly electromagnetic energies violently reacting to direct exposure to ever changing subspace fractures crisscrossing the entire region from the central nexus composed of a stable wormhole. I will not go beyond my field of expertise and try to explain how or why this is so; suffice to say that, because of those conditions, forming any kind of warp field only throws the vessel powerless  with the crew disabled right into the inferno itself. Calculations show transwarp would provoke even worse consequences because of the exponentially higher level of power. All sources of power directly exposed to the anomaly, say for example from an active propulsion system, are rapidly drained; the higher the power output, the faster the drain. Also, using any gravimetric energy like what is associated with a microsingularity, shields or antigrav will result in a violent reaction from the surrounding area, bringing right on the source all surrounding stellar mass and planetary body remnants. As a simplified example, a Romulan D'Deridex entering the area would be left instantly powerless, systems and crew disabled while asteroids and micrometeorites would crush and pierce it's unshielded hull within the next seconds."

Again, he turned his slanted obsidian eyes towards the bearde Vulcan captain.

"Studies involving the Quantum Slipstream Drive are definitive; opening a quantum tunnel in there would resonate with the entire fluctuating quantum signature of the anomaly. The randomness of those fluctuations would result, at best, in throwing the entire ship in another quantum state, possibly even another quantum reality where it might or might not be able to even exist... or, at worst, tear it apart at the subatomic level as different parts of the vessel are randomly shifted into different quantum frequencies."

He made a pause to let everyone understand the difficulties before resuming again his summary.

"The only way to safely navigate the anomaly, especially if it is to reach the rift within and access the other universe, is to follow subspace fractures, much like someone in a hand-propelled boat would navigate a torrent. Even then, the difficulty is both to maneuver deftly with an effective mode of propulsion and to predict the opening and direction of a subspace fracture towards the desired goal. Thrusters are still effective because they work by loosing their power source anyway as a reaction-thrusting effect; blasting torpedoes in succession behind and riding the impact wave as well... but the first is definitely time consuming and the other rather onerous and risky. Moreover, a shuttlecraft up to a kilometer in front of the main ship can quickly predict fracture openings and guide a starship through the ever changing maze... but the risk for the shuttle crew is quite evident. Needless to say we will not use those crude options for our upcoming travel."

"Amen to that," grumbled Elliago Nasaro-Myth, using an old Earth term he knew most would understand.

The doctor had been himself aboard such a guiding shuttle when the Artemis found her way out of the anomaly when it was first discovered. They had succeeded in coming through, obviously... but it had taken a month of drifting before he was rescued from his confinement in there with only a grumpy, untalkative Tellarite as sole companion. To a Deltan, a creature of sensuality and congeniality that could not bear being cut off from it's own kind more than a mere day, the ordeal had almost driven him insane. It had taken months of rest and therapy back on Delta IV to just regain his mind, let alone not resign from Starfleet; he, the Starfleet brat born and raised on a Galaxy class starship...

The nasal voice of the flagship's helmsman chased away the dark memories.

"From a prototype crafted by the extremists of the Horizon Children Cult that were attempting to take the anomaly for themselves, the chief engineer of Starbase Lotus perfected a special impulse system capable of efficiently and safely navigate the anomaly. As for navigating the subspace labyrinth with certainty and precision, a special sensor dubbed the space sonar was devized by Captain Syntron himself a while back. Both systems are currently installed and tested on the Phoenix and the Horizon, as well as the Polaris, our integrated escort vessel, and our shuttlecrafts. With these and the expertise and experience of both Mister Moore and I, the ride should go smoothly enough to ensure that we do get on the other side... and back."

With a nod to his captain, the Iniut hlemsman sat back. Yeoman Blacbied shut off the display and the Andorian looked at each person in turn before he spoke.

"All of us are now aware of what we are getting ourselves into. All details are now in your hands. Any immediate questions?"

Aron'Son, the Horizon's Jem'Hadar security chief spoke up from his standing position.

"Are there any known hostile forces in the area, or beyond the breach?" 

Listening to the question Riker glanced down at the notes on his PADD, a force assessment was his first concern as well.  As the Jem'Hadar spoke Riker nodded and followed up with a side question.

Are we expecting any special kind of resistance?  Now would be the time to bring any special equipment or begin modifications on our gear for whatever we might face.

The Romulan engineer shook his head, "Is there any way to even tell? From what I've read, the only people whom have ever been on the 'other side' are sitting in this room."

"Those that ever came back." 

Kheren did not have to explain further. the loss of the USS Nuntio, the Lotus Fleet Federation news starship, presumably inside the anomaly before it's destructive expansion had been stopped, was known to all.

"We should beware of... spirits."

Now everyone was looking at Joey Sisko; most especially Governor Sufra.

 As he spoke, the silence in the room was almost reverent.

"I don't know what else to call them... But when I was chief engineer of the USS Spectre, we answered the distress call of the particle fountain station that had been towed near the Azimuth Horizon from Starbase 24. The idea was to try to study and possibly harness the energies of the phenomenon. Instead what they extracted had proven to be... alive... of sorts; some sentient energy form which was diametrally divided into... for lack of better terms... Good and Evil. Whatever they were, these incorporeal entities were at war with each other. But they could not war on one another directly, as any direct physical contact would anihilate both energy beings if they came too near one another... except... in corporeal bodies."

As he spoke, Yeoman Blackbird downloaded the logs of Captain Daniel Summers' Akira class vessel into their PADDS.

"And you beleive these... spirits to come from the pocket universe of the anomaly?" wondered the Andorian captain.

"Or the anomaly itself... or from somewhere else accessible through it, I can't be sure. The only thing I know is that I was possessed once by them... and when I came back, free of them, I was floating in space right next to it."

"It was the Blessed Sign of the Horizon."

It was of course Sufra who had spoken. As she went on, the light in her eyes was almost as fiery as the Azimuth Horizon itself.

"Taken as a mere mortal of flesh and blood by the forces of Evil of all universes, He was purged by the Fire of Creation... and sent back to us, inviolate even by the cold vacuum of space; the Prophet, the One who would show us the Light and guide us through the True Path of Savation and Happiness... through the Horizon... and to Paradise."

She spoke as if she was reciting something she had read, with a tone and fervor that left no doubt about her state of mind.

Captain Syntron could almost feel his eyes roll as he listened to the supposititious theological ramblings emanating from the Governor. Was this sincere religious fervor, or merely the rhetoric of someone using these words and beliefs once again as a tool for power and control of followers? History throughout multiple civilizations and worlds unfortunately presented an array of examples of the latter.  

As usual however, Kheren was typically Andorian; just utterly pragmatic as he was oblivious to religious thinking.

"What are our options if we do encounter such lifeforms?"

It was the X'Ell science officer who responded, having already integrated the PADDS content into his mind through his headset brainlink.

"According to current data, Sir, any standard protection against electromagnetic energy would work. Having no corporeal nature, these lifeforms ignore gravitic and both atomic energies, the last three forms of energy in  this universe."

"Meaning shields arre useless, being grravimetrric, but forrcefields worrk, being electrromagnetic," interpreted Lieutenant M'ata in her typical Caitian purring voice. "Phaserrs would disrrupt theirr composition depending of the level of setting in rrelation to theirr own level of powerr."

"Which is considerable even on an individual basis," the X'ell aded in suite. "Data records that it is high enough that only a level 10 forcefield and a phaser at maximum setting would affect them in their natural state; and they in turn can affect a corporeal being with ease  even at a distance once they get their own frequency in synch... Telepaths would be exceedingly suceptible in direct proportion of their own level of power and with no capabilities at all in their vicinity."

"Psionic static," Counselor Lyrya interjected. "Their very nature completely disrupts de psychometric field. That means Commander K'Leysha's Aegis defense is utterly powerless against them... and it's members most vulnerable."

"Detection would requires sensors or tricorders specifically calibrated to small, intense and cohesive electromagnetic fields in movement," finished Lieutenant Livingstone. "Bio readings giving out abnormally high or atypical brain patterns would also pinpoint one... within a corporeal host."

"Or look at their eyes... and beware the bright redness in them," then said Sisko.

Kheren looked at Oseno, M'ata and Aron'son in turn as they were the security chiefs in the room. But his question was addressed to all.

"Recommendations?"

The Romulan raised his hand slightly before responding, "When I was a Subcommander on the Hawk, we came across Devidians...could these creatures be some sort of mutated version? They sound very similar. A highly concentrated burst of protons usually sent them back to whence they came. I have not heard of them taking...hosts, however. That is....troubling."

Redding turned to look at him "It doesn't really match their know abilities or motivations Solius, but they sound like an exact match for the Ux-Mal 'entities' they discovered on Mab-Bu Vi.. can't think of the star date.. but I suggest we check that possibility as well.

This was a bit new for Redding, body possessing energy aliens had never once happened to him in the last 160 years of active duty, and that was a true rarity.

David had, after entering the briefing room with the Phoenix crew, taken an available seat next to the large window and facing the command side of the table whereat sat Captain’s Kheren and Syntron; Along with their exec’s. It gave him a good line of sight to the viewer on the wall behind the ship captains. Having listened attentively to the briefing by the Horizon’s chief operations officer and chief flight officer, he settled back with his PADD and updated his notes while further following the discussion.

 When the holographic representation of Sisko brought forth the unsettling news of incorporeal beings able to occupy corporeal organisms, David recalled a briefing he had attended at the academy. These ‘Spirits’, as Commander Sisko had termed them, sounded like they could interdict the humanoid physical body much the same as what he had learned in that briefing.

 Then, the Romulan next to him, chief engineer of the Horizon, brought forth the Devidian phenomena of which Rogers had certainly heard of. But Devidian’s operated out of phase with the normal universe, at a variance of point zero zero four, if David recalled correctly. This new horizon anomaly threat sounded much different, but again, similar to the remembered academy class brief. Rogers sat forward and brought forth his remembered information.

“Captains, I recall a situation from some time about forty years back. The race was dying, but one member had been able to transfer his consciousness into a Doctor Bashir. I believe they transferred the infected brain cells into a containment field by modifying a transporter to beam out the infected brain cells.”

 David knew that sounded like a lobotomy, but he continued.

“Should these ‘spirits’ infect someone, I think we could use that as a last ditch effort should electro-magnetic shock not force the infection to leave the host.”

 Looking to Commander Redding, David injected a exemplary comment.

“That is, Commander, of course, should other methods not expel the entity.” 

"So, we only have to invite one of those infected on a transporter pad and show it the way out," smirked Elliago with a wink towards Rogers. "Easy as pie you would say..."

"Finding them would not be easier," added Lyrya more seriously.

"Circoids."

Everyone turned their stare toward Captain Kheren.

"On my first tour of duty aboard the USS Lotus, our original flagship, we encountered an unknown species at the far edge of this sector. They claimed that they were threatened by another species... one made of pure energy that could possess a physical one."

"I have access to the logs of the Lotus, Sir," then stated Jonathan Livingstone, the small lights in his head feathers blinking "There is a section here about those Circoids and their technology and method used in detecting, containing and expelling these entities. Their technology was rather crude and time consuming but some Starfleet researchers have already started to work on adapting their method to our current state of technology. And it does rely on transporter technology," the X'Ell said, looking at the chief engineer of the Phoenix.

"Well done, Lieutenant. You science people will look into this and, if needed, finish the job so that we may be ready... if and when we encounter such adversity. You have less than three days before we go... beyond the horizon."

The four oculars of the Andorian captain went around the table.

"Anything else?"

The Horizon's engineer nodded after a moment.

"Sir, is there any intelligence about other factions attempting to interfere with the colonization? Very few ships can cross the anomaly, but I'd hate to run into a Warbird or Raptor."

"Within our own Quadrant borders, the only group currently stirring trouble, the Orion Syndicate, has no interest whatsoever in our colonization endeavors unless it would encroach on their slave hunting and selling grounds. The Kzinti border incidents are being resolved by the USS Pittsburgh of Captain Speaker-of-Names and too far away to be of any immediate concern for us. The Tholians are back to their typical silent, isolationist policy within their own area of space. In the beta Quadrant, Klingons and Romulans are still licking their wounds after their attempt to respectively take possession and destroy the anomaly... especially the wound to their pride as they have realized by now that we actually saved them by our actions; something their pride will take a long time to recover from. The Undines have entered a major change in their lives and will be much occupied with themselves within their own universe for some time. The Dominion too is quiet since their reddition almost half a century ago, also back to their own lives in the Gamma Quadrant. As for the Delta Quadrant species, only the Hirogens are close enough because of their alliance with self-appointed Empress Sela of the shattered Romulan Star Empire; but their sole interest is in hunting prey which abounds aplenty since the starship Voyager shared holographic technology with them. Furthernore, with the end of the Borg Collective, they have also come to realize that the Federation is not prey and, even worse, could turn them into one if they would dare harass us too much."

"There are people within our own society that do not approve of our project," then interjected Governor Sufra with a tone as cold as the stare shen sent  Kheren's way when he finished talking.

"That may very well be, Governor Sufra; but even those are bound by both Federation spirit and policy to allow you all to live your own lives in peace with yourselves... and everyone else. And Srafleet is there to ensure all that."

"There are people who do sometimes break their oaths and promises or betray their own, Captain."

"That, is another reason why Starfleet is there, Governor Sufra."

"And what about Starfleet itself? There has been a few Captain Tracy and Maxwell, Commander Eddington and Chekotay around..."

Captain Tracy of the USS Exeter, violating the Prime Directive in search of a fountain of youth... Captain Maxwell of the former USS Phoenix, violating a peace treaty on suspicions of covert military action... Commander Eddington and Chekotay joining the Maquis against the same treaty... The stare the Andorian shot her back was even colder then hers.

"That is why Starfleet created Lotus Fleet, Governor Sufra."

" Of Rethian Commander N'Elighan Etarudbo... and Cardassian Lieutenant Commander Sorripto..."

A sudden heavy silence swept the room behind her last words. All around this table knew those names. Many knew the faces, some even more than most like Commander Sisko, his friendship with Sorripto strong since they both had been assigned to Lotus Fleet during the Borg War. Etarudbo had even served as chief engineer on the USS Artemis of Captain Kheren, before resigning his commission to join his mate, former SCE Commander Ty'Rennick... fanatic priestess of the Horizon Children Cult.

As for Sorripto, many among them, most notably Kheren himself as an expert witness about Starfleet regulations and values, had been present during the court martial that had condemned the former chief engineer of the USS McKenzie to a penal colony. Everyone in the Federation knew why; his reckless solo actions had endangered Operation Horizon, thus not only his crewmates and fellow Starfleet officers but the whole universe... and directly caused the death of hundreds of people; people that had all been Horizon Children extremists. 

No wonder Sufra knew their names.

Her tone had instantly inflamed Joey Sisko. He would not deny what his friend had done; but he would not stand by and let his name be so casually associated with people deemed willing traitors of Federation ideals and Starfleet Honor. But then, Captain Kheren spoke.

"Mister Etarudbo had been more or less brainwashed by his own mate into forgetting what he had always beleived in; love does not excuse all but it certainly does explain much... because it is among the strongest values of all the species and cultures that make this United Federation of Planets of ours. He did not betray Starfleet or what Starfleet stands for; he renounced it, plainly and openly, resigning his commission before freely committing himself, the wrong way unfortunately, to another way of life; yours, Governor Sufra. And we do beleive in freedom of choice, even the freedom to choose wrong and and assume the responsibility of it... like Etarudbo did... don't we, Governor Sufra?"

As the Bajoran woman's eyes blinked and her cheek reddened, Sisko calmed down. If the captain could come to terms with what a former officer of his, one that had openly despised him, had done, the engineer knew before hearing it what he would say afterwards.

"As for Mister Sorripto, he acted wrongly under deceit and coercion by the now disbanded Section 31, said disband these same actions had helped achieve. This fact explained his rogue actions, not excuse them. That is why he also is serving time as established under our society's justice system... a justice which firmly beleives in penance and rehabilitation; and that the crimes of one or a few does not condemn all. The belief in second chances and the opportunity to prove oneself, Governor Sufra."

Clearing his throat Commander Riker interjected himself into the awkward silence.

"I will be the first to argue that the rules of Starfleet are at their core the most important thing we stand for.  There are times however when the larger picture must come to light."

A few glances came his way as Riker had a reputation as a stern officer. For him to sound like he was defending Sorripto seemed out of character.

"I was raised on a converted Maquis colony.  Remember the Maquis governor?  They have since been vindicated by history, but my father was a traitor in the eyes of many until the day he died. When the war ended many Maquis prison camps were turned into very stable and thriving colonies because the prisoners knew how to survive.  I even worked as a Maquis steward when I was a child.  Would you tell me my father was a traitor?  How many Maquis integrated back into Starfleet and became productive members?

Moving on past the personal point Riker continued.

"During his time on Mars Sorripto has continued his work as one of the foremost minds on nanotechnology.  System upgrades he has developed, many of which started on the McKenzie, have been applied across the fleets.  Hell, he is only in prison on paper and doing better work than most honest Federation scientists.  To just dismiss him because he acted outside the rules after the murder of his family to destroy a fundamentalist regime and take down section 31 seems very short sighted."

Glancing around the table Riker looked at the surviving McKenzie crewmembers and then to Sisko himself.

"You want solid reasons just look around this room and ask yourself how many people are here today because of what Sorripto did?"

She stared at him for a moment, then lowered her eyes and nodded.

"Of course, Captain Kheren... Commander Riker... I... I'm... I'm glad that we... share that."

The Andorian did not press the issue. His metallic eyes and supple antennae swept the room, nodding in passing to his own science officer and looking for anyone else who might want to contribute further to preparing these shared goals.

 David had lost track of the conversation. Something the Romulan engineer had caught his attention and he mulled it over in his mind. What was so important about other factions? Unable to rectify it in his mind, Rogers interjected his concern into the meeting.

“Excuse me sirs.”

 He meant his captain, the logical Vulcan who would give a logical answer as he was used to, but, being on the Horizon, David neglected to remember where he was; To his detriment.

“How is it that we have to worry about the Alpha or Beta quadrant factions? Or even Delta? Are we not the only one’s is even able to gain access to the Azimuth? I mean, no one within this galaxy can get into there without Federation permission. Why are we worrying over them? “

 Then, suddenly, David realized his protest was out of context. His rank did not allow him knowledge of captain rank protocols pertaining to the Azimuth Horizon entry seals. He only knew of them because of his clandestine abduction of the Diamond Star and subsequent tapping of the command algorithms within her main computer. Without even thinking, David had opened a trace of inquiry toward the still missing twin ship of the Horizon, although not yet known to anyone at this table. Backtracking quickly, David endeavored to cover his non-thinking mistake.

“What I mean is”, David continued, looking toward the stoic countenance of the Andorian host, “ do we even have to worry about Klingon or Romulan interference anymore? Or even from the Orion syndicate? No one will challenge us here anymore … correct?”

He finished with a question, hoping his faux pas would go unnoticed in relation to the seals on the gateway. David had no regret in stealing the Diamond Star in order to retrieve his sister, but until the ship returned from his self-instructed diversionary flight, he preferred not to be distracted from this current mission.

For a moment, the silvery stare of the Andorian Captain bore into him. His deep, soft voice betrayed nothing; yet his gaze was unflinching toward the chief engineer of the Phoenix.

"You are very cognizant about the Azimuth Horizon situation, Commander; I see that you did serious research prior to this meeting. That is certainly commendable."

The pause was short before he spoke again; yet it was quite perceptible; as if Kheren was pondering something and then changed his mind.

"Starfleet has indeed transmitted quarantine orders of  the immediate vicinity of the anomaly. Those orders are enforced by monitoring stations and patrolling ships under the responsibility of Lotus Fleet. But many of those factions we are familiar with are well versed in covert activity and technologies, with no restraint as to their use for their own ends. Reduced possibility of interference is no excuse to be complacent. They all have proven quite resourceful in the past."

Pausing again, his silver eyes glazed for a second in remembrance. then, looking at Lyrya and Nasaro-Myth, he adressed everyone around the room.

"When the Artemis was pulled inside the anomaly upon discovering it, we ended up on the other side of it, within the pocket universe that is now our target zone. But we had not been pulled in there alone; there had been a Neg'Varh warship there as well... and it had come through the terminal distortion of a subspace fracture... from almost half a century in the past."

He allowed everyone to grasp the implications of this before making them clear.

"History records that this had been the lone Klingon warship that had emerged from the Bajoran wormhole during the Dominion War and from which space station DS9 had managed to save one sole survivor... one that had said "evil spirits" had claimed his crew..."

Everyone now started to make connections between this event and those of the USS Spectre and Joey Sisko's encounter with the alien possession of Doctor Julian Bashir reported by Rogers earlier. If the anomaly could also cause temporal effects, indeed there was no telling who or what they might encounter along with these mysterious energy beings they had been discussing.

The room now was silent as Kheren waited for anyone else to speak up.

 Rogers was slightly taken aback at the suggestion of the Klingon time ship, as well as the temporal effects that suggested. The trepidation was natural enough for him, having had certain, unpleasant, dealings with the department of temporal investigations before.

His science colleague from the Phoenix however was elated. There were so many things going on with that anomaly... and they were not even on the other side yet! When Jonathan had moved from his people's secured world, the first and only one so far, it has been to see and experience the rest of the universe; he was still but a light year away from home and already so much was happening and expected, it was boggling his mind... and filling his heart with excitement. His feathered head was bobbing so often and huge golden eyes blinking so fast that his feelings were obvious to everyone in the room.

"Mister Rogers, I hope I didn't make you nervous." S'Tan said softly. "Although the Romulans were defeated the last time Lotus Fleet was involved with the anomaly, I have enough military experience to know that they would not commit more than 2 percent of their military might to an operation of that magnitude. They could easily interfere again....*if* they could pass through the threshold without imploding."

He paused for a moment. He debated revealing the fact that his family was actively hunting for him and any vessel he had served on. He decided against bringing this tidbit with the Governor present, for now.

"It's best to be fully prepared for any situation, I think we can all agree to that. If we felt that there was absolutely no chance for any problems, there would be no hightened security, nor would we be having this meeting. We would simply cross the threshold, release the colonists, build them a colony and go on our merry way."

Jureth nodded speaking for the first time "Indeed, and Strategic Operations is considering various scenarios including the Romulans even if it is unlikely they will interfere. Serving with Lotus Fleet has taught me to expect the unexpected."

"So noted," simply purred Mrriin M'ata, her large slitted eyes sending a predatory message of readiness.

Analyzing the relevant information shared among the somewhat meandering discussion as it unfolded, Syntron turned to his Andorian counterpart and stated in a stoic tone.

"The Phoenix is prepared to chart the entire twenty cubic light-year region of sector 001 around the Eden system and will deploy subspace relays at designated intervals along the way. Lieutenant Livingstone and his science team will be implementing all available steps and protocols regarding the possibility of first-contact with any indigenous life-forms where sentience is determined."

Then without fanfare, the Vulcan captain added "If there are no further requirements of my crew, we are prepared to commence with our mission."

Syntron's gaze was fixed on that of the Andorian captain for a response.

"The Horizon will proceed as detailed to establish the colony and maintain contact with you while you perform your mission," confirmed Kheren. "Has all relevant data regarding what was brought up to this meeting been added to everyone's PADD, Ensign?"

"Aye, Captain," Yeoman Blackbird instantly answered. 

He nodded aprreciatively to her but before he could voice it, he was interrupted by the ship's internal comm system.

"Bridge to Captain Kheren."

"Go ahead, Lieutenant Sirris."

"Sir, we have received a general call from Starfleet Command, relayed by Starbase Lotus. The USS Diamond Star is reported missing."

The antennae of the Andorian commanding officer jerked upward in surprise.

"The Horizon's sister ship? Isn't she used as the Lotus class tesbed platform at Utopia Plenitia?"

"She was apparently stolen, Sir... by someone under a holographic disguise using a full set of electronically copied ID data to access her control systems and disengage them from the orbiting shipyard. She transwarped out of sector 001 before any interception could be attempted."

The news imposed silence for a good moment before Kheren spoke again.

"Who's ID data?"

"David Rogers, rank Commander, Starfleet; assignment, USS Phoenix. Position, chief engineer."

Everyone's gaze went to the half-Human, half-Romulan sitting amonf them. but before anyone could voice another question, the voice of the assistant counselor manning the Medical Command Chair was heard again.

"Report of the ID subterfuge has been confirmed by analysis of the security record of Sol IV and corrhoborated by Commander Rogers' stranded status aboard the Sagan in the Hormi sector, a hundred light years away. No positive indication of who the real suspect is at this time. There is also no confirmed sighting of the vessel since her disappearance. Starfleet orders a general look out for any sign of her."

This was not surprising to anyone. The Lotus class was not only the largest but the most advanced Starfleet design currently deployed. Would it fall into hands hostile to the Federation, it could prove a most detrimental asset aginst it... or anyone else.

And it did not escape anyone either that, if there was another ship that could attempt to cross the Azimuth Horizon safely, it was the Diamond Star.

"Captain... how could one single individual take control of a starship that huge and that complex?" asked Aguk Snow, eyes wide. "Even a skeleton crew would have to number at least two hundred people."

"As an engineering testbed, the Diamond Star was heavily automated so that a small team of engineers could work with her," answered Sisko for his commanding officer. "Someone with the right level of expertise could possibly have automated her fully for simple operations... like flying her away."

"Someone able to fool Starrfleet securrity systems at the hearrt of Sectorr 001 cerrtainly is that competent," agreed Mrriin M'ata.

"Confirm Starfleet Command that we will be on the look out, Lieutenant."

"Aye, Captain."

There was a gain a moment of silence before the Andorian finally stood up.

"In the meantime, gentlebeings, we have less than three days before we cross the boundary and start our work. Everyone has his assigned duties. Unless there is anything else to add, this meeting is ajourned... and may the winds be at our backs."

"The Fire of Creation will light the Doorway to Paradise," then droned the voice of Governor Sufra as she rose stately from her seat. "We shall live and prosper in bliss as  we walk with the Prophet on the Path of our new life."

But when she turned her smile to her left, she met only silence and emptiness. The holographic image of Joey Sisko was gone.