USS HORIZON: using the Guardian gateway

The Coyote flew down through the atmosphere of the impossible planet in a long, curved trajectory, not only to account for reentry friction as was usual but also to ride the intermittent time ripples that were playing havoc with space itself, twisting the gravity and electromagnetic fields in unpredicatble ways that could at any moment hurl the small ship out into space or crashing onto the surface. But Sheeneea was among the top pilots in Starfleet; despite the chaotic conditions, she kept the Bird of Prey in one piece with the help of Irksos clever sensor forewarnings, S'tron's deft power management and Jheonghun's expert shifting of impulse output, integrity field configuration and shield distribution.

"I wonder how the Klingons managed that bucket of bolts here," Doctor Osaro-Lyth grumbled as she gripped a pylon when another time ripple struck them.

"Badly," Nathaniel Gray answered from the opposite pylon on the other side of the command chair. "Jheonghun's report tells of damaged armor plating and hull microfractures everywhere. I doubt they could have flown that ship more than once or twice here before turning it into twelve million bolts flying in loose formation."

"Guardian of Forever dead ahead, Sir," Irksos then said to Redding. "Distance ten kilometers. We are in synch with the targeted timestream data."

"Steady on full thrusters at five hundred kph," added the Andorian woman at the helm. "Crossing the treshold in one point two minute... mark."

A light then flashed on Carmillia Julian's tactical board.

"Sir... we're being fired upon."

"I didn't feel a thing," the Deltan doctor stated.

"Disruptor pistols and rifles, Sir," the security chief added. "Shields holding."

"The remaining Klingons down there certainly do not appreciate us borrowing their ride," Gray commented with a grin. Then he suddenly turned serious. "Sir, leaving them near the Guardian might be a problem! If they managed to bypass our boobytraps... or even if just one of them survives and use the gateway..."

"One minute to treshold," Sheeneea reminded them all.

A cold thought suddenly struck Redding as he realized he had doomed the Klingons left on the planet, and his stomach felt queasy.

"Target the area, widest possible angle, fire all weapons as available." His voice was strained and without it's normal mirth.

"But, Commander! " Gray started to protest.

"The orders been given, execute them." He had meant his orders, but it applied to the Klingons as well.

As they targeted the men standing up to them with courage and defiance Redding explained.

"We left them the means to stop us, there's nothing stopping them from setting off the torpedoes on our approach." He didn't feel like explaining any more, there just wasn't time.

"Target locked, weapons armed," Julian responded with as cold voice. "They will thank you for it in Sto-Vo-Kor, Commander."

This last comment she addressed to Redding but it was for Gray's benefit. The man finally nodded in understanding. To a Klingon, dying in battle, especially standing up without fear to a superior force, was the best he could hope for in life... and afterwards.  Short of dying in bed of old age, to be abandonned on a lost planet to die of thirst and starvation was the most ignominous, dishonorable fate he could dread. Of course, Starfleet officers were not bound by this view, especially considering that it went against almost all that they stood for; almost, because respecting members of another culture's right of self-determination, of choosing their fate as they saw fit, was among the values they had all sworn to uphold. But there was more to it in the present case; Redding had outlined how their own lives were in jeopardy if the Klingons were left there... and there was no telling what these altered, devious Klingons could do if they managed to use the time portal again. Redding's duty as commanding officer was first and foremost to ensure the safety of his crew and that of the Federation. And, unfortunately, Klingon disruptors had no stun settings.

"Firing all batteries," Julian said as her finger touched the console before her.

On the screen, the triangular grid of the tactical display showed a dozen red dots dispersed accross schematically delineated rough terrain. They all heard the disruptor cannons' discharge. The red dots blinked, then were gone.

"Candles in the wind," whispered Sheelya Osaro-Lyth.

"Reaching treshold in twenty seconds," Sheeneea announced.

In silence, they looked at the Klingon chronometer near her. Although very few of them could read it, they could all guess the countdown displayed.

"crossing treshold in five... four... three... two... one..."

And then, nothing happened.

"Are we through?" Osaro-Lyth asked a few moments later.

"If I read this correctly," Irksos said from her monitoring instruments, "we are one light year rimward of the Azimuth Horizon anomaly... on a direct heading toward the Eden Star system."

"Sir, I have a vessel on sensors," Julian reported.

*     *     *

"Klingon Bird of Prey, Sir. It didn't decloak, captain; it just popped out of nowhere!"

Kheren sat forward on his chair, elbows on his knees, antennae pointing forward over those of  Tyvya, just as surprised as she was at the sudden apparition of a small winged craft bristling with disruptors and a huge torpedo port in front of the bulbous prow at the end of a short thick neck.

"Yellow alert!" Joey Sisko ordered from the Exec chair at the right of his commanding officer. "Baoule; tachyon scans. search for others cloaked nearby. This one might be a lure... possibly a holographic projection."

"Open hailing frequencies," the Andorian captain then said over the alert klaxon.

"Channel open, Sir," Lyrya confirmed immediately at his left side.

"This is Captain Kheren of the Federation starship Horizon. You are approaching a Federation colony under our protection. Identify yourself and state your intentions."

The image of Redding seated in the command chair came on the main viewscreen.

"This is Commander Redding and the crew of the USS Polaris aboard the commandeered Vessel Coyote, requesting permission to come aboard, Sir, where I 'intend' to take a shower at first opportunity, Sir." It was a weary smile, but a smile none the less.

There was a moment of silence before the Andorian, Antennae straight up in surprise, curved them in a smile.

"Permission granted, Number One. You and your crew may even use real water if you wish. I am eager to have your report. There  is assuredly a tall tale to be heard. I'll be waiting for you on the poopdeck."

"Err... Coyote, you are directed to use shuttlebay 2," announced Cheonghi with a shrill, hesitant voice, even for an Edoan. "Please standby for the shuttlebay to be cleared before proceeding with docking maneuvers.

The Horizon was so huge it's secondary shuttlebay was large enough to accomodate a scoutclass-sized starship like the Bird of Prey who could fold it's wings to fit properly inside. Still, all the shuttles normally docked in there would have to be temporarily moved to the other shuttlebays to accomodate it.

"All stop. "

"Answering all stop," chief helmsman Snow responded. "Confirming station keeping outside the Oort cloud of the Eden star system."

"Prepare shuttlebay 2 for docking," Sisko said, taking over the proceedings as was currently his responsibility as acting XO.

You have the conn, Commander," Kheren said to him as he rose his tall, muscular frame from the center seat to go to his ready room and await his first officer. Ensign Blackbird, get me the report of every crewmember of the Polaris and process the data for me to be ready for study by twenty hundred hours.

"Aye, Captain," the Amerind yeoman acknowledged before heading herself for the nearest turbolift.

There was indeed quite a tale to be told.