Far, Far Away (Finding the Passage, Part 3)

Posted on Sat Jul 8th, 2023 @ 8:48am by Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Knight & Lieutenant William Henderson & Lieutenant Savar

2,311 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 1S: Shore Leave
Location: Diplomatic Suites, Starbase Arcadia
Timeline: Following "Conflict at the Border"

Rhodes peaked through the window into one of the diplomatic suites as casually as a she was able, watching as the Station's catering staff brought food and drink into the chamber to serve their new guests. The 3 captains of the rescued refugee vessels sat at the long conference table, making themselves comfortable. Or at least, trying to. How comfortable could you really be when you were brought by armed escort to a station you didn't know, even if it was as luxurious as Arcadia. Captain Rhodes might know that her own intentions were altruistic, but she couldn't expect the visitors to.

As she waited outside the chamber, she heard the footsteps echoing down the connecting chamber. A gaze to the left confirmed that it was indeed her three summoned officers arriving. She cracked an amused smirk. "Ready to get to know the new neighbors?"

Ryan held a tablet as he approached Charlotte standing outside the door. He was prepared to take notes on the origins of the stations newest visitors. "Ready as I can be Captain."

"I too am ready to assist in any way possible Captain." Savar added.

Lieutenant Henderson had read over the information he had been given, though it had been very little. "Do we know what they are running from, Captain?"

"Home, by the sounds of it," the Captain replied. "Their own homeworld has developed a brutal regime. These people have fled it, looking for somewhere safer to call home."

"Federation Diplomacy, will help in any way it can from mediating any disputes as well as finding sanctuary for the refugees," Savar added.

Frowning slightly, William asked, "Do we know where this homeworld is? If it's becoming such a dangerous place to live, Starfleet will want to know if it possess any threats to the Federation."

"See, that's just the thing. We have no idea. They've said they are from a world call Akritiri. But we've never so much as heard a mention of it, let alone see it on a starchart," Rhodes said. "They're just the latest example of people showing up having exited the nebula, stating they're from worlds that there isn't even a single record about in the books. One of my goals from this conversation is figuring out just where they came from."

And there was no time like the present. The Captain led the group to the doorway, pausing for a moment to collect herself, then pressed the panel to enter. The murmur of conversation in the room came to a quick stop as the Starfleet officers entered.

The man at the center of the table stood, bowing his head. "Captain Rhodes, I wanted to thank you again for your rescue of my people. Had it not been for your timely arrival, we likely would be sitting in a holding cell and not aboard this lovely station. I am Friin Tolak, owner and operator of the Breeze."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tolak. I haven't had gotten a chance to meet your compatriots yet," Charlotte replied, offering a friendly greeting. "As Mr. Tolak might have told you, I'm Captain Charlotte Rhodes of the USS Defiant."

A younger man lean and well-built with expressive eyes and a bright smile stood up. "A pleasure to meet you, Captain Rhodes. I am Ilar Dey. Captain and owner of the Caelus. Thank you for your timely intervention."

The third man was older, with a grizzled look and eyes clearly sharp enough that very little got by him, spoke in a gruff tone. "I'm General Draylor Pentasak, former commander of the Third Legion. The shuttle I arrived in does not have a name."

"Well allow me to welcome you to Starbase Arcadia. Please, take your seats," Charlotte replied, gesturing to the table. Settling into the center chair, she looked to the officers surrounding her. "Please allow me to introduce my crew: Lt. Commander Ryan Knight, Defiant's helmsman and First Officer. Lt. William Henderson, our Chief Intelligence Officer. And Lt. Savar, our Chief Diplomatic Officer."

Ilar nodded at the officers as Charlotte made the introductions. "Gentleman it is a pleasure to meet you all. I say to you, what I said to your Captain. Thank you for your assitance. I and my companions are extremely grateful."

Ryan focused on Ilar. "It was our pleasure to assist. Starfleet's main mission is to seek out new life and new civilizations. I am most interested in hearing about where you come from."

Ilar looked at his companions before returning his attention to Ryan. "Of course, Commander, I will be glad to speak with you, all of us will. Suffice to say our world is not the world we grew up in."

"Or fought and bled to protect," General Pentasak grumbled angrily.

"A plight that is unfortunately not unique," Rhodes said, her voice flecked with sympathy. "Your people will be welcome here for as long as you need in finding a safe place to stay in the local regioin. Or, if you ultimately deem it appropriate, you'll be free to keep traveling...though I'd recommend avoiding Krozeelee space if I were you." The last part was punctuated with a smile.

"That said," the Captain continued. "I actually had a question or two regarding your homeworld which I was hoping you could clarify."

"Of course, Captain." Ilar replied. "Please ask your questions. What is it you need clarified?"

Charlotte wasn't sure she wanted to go through with her line of questioning. 'You can't put the genie back in the bottle,' she thought to herself. But she couldn't avoid the issue any longer. The topic had been circling around her since she arrived in the Carinae Traverse. It had been made far far more pressing after the events on Eta Halix. And now, having seen the refugee's travel route, her curiosity had come to a boil. It was time to stop avoiding the question.

"As part of asylum proceedings, knowing who we need to protect your people from matters. Obviously, the Akritiri government is top priority. But there are races which our own government has dealings with, who we'd definitely need to know if they were in any way involved. Are you at all familiar with the Romulan Star Empire?"

The old general spoke up first here. "No, we have not. Though, by your tone when referring to them, I take it they are your enemy?"

"I try not to make any permanent statements, but I think it'd be hard to view them as otherwise. We once fought a very brutal war with them, nearly a century ago. A rogue member of their race was also responsible for the destruction of one of our founding races' home worlds. He was acting entirely unsanctioned however," Rhodes said, deciding to avoid the mention of time travel.

William watched the conversation with an open mind and ear. He was watching the three aliens for any sign that they were any kind of threat to the ship, crew, or the Federation.

Ilar's gaze fell first on Captain Rhodes and then the rest of the assembled officers. "Captain, gentlemen. We have not heard of this Star Empire but I take from your tone, they are to be avoided or to be dealt with very carefully."

"I would agree. However, I didn't bring them up because of the threat they posed, but because of geography." Rhodes watched the faces of the three men, who seemed entirely unsure where she was going. Perhaps they truly didn't know. "I reviewed your travel route data. Upon leaving Akritiri, you traveled for several months before entering the nebula. Based upon the trajectory of your path and your own records, you skimmed the nebula, before exiting again headed toward Krozeelee space. But based on your stated path, you would have flown directly through the heart of the Romulan Star Empire."

Pentasak looked at his two countrymen, then at Captain Rhodes. "You do not know of the gateway?"

Ryan grew especially attentive when Pentasak spoke the word 'gateway'. He wondered if the man was referring to a wormhole. He had never heard about the existence of a stable wormhole anywhere. They were rare and unstable. Usually forming in the aftermath of an astronomical event and collapsing minutes or hours later.

Charlotte felt the edge of her mouth raise into a smile. "So it is real," she said, somewhat to herself. The suspicion had been growing for weeks, fueled by each new wave of vessels appearing seemingly from nowhere, out of a nebula that would take months to cross even at cruising warp speed. It had first grabbed her attention when one of the refugee ships mentioned making use of particular course. The specifics had eluded her, but this was the first chance she had to truly drill into the subject. "I'd had my suspicions that something special lurked within the nebula for weeks now. But I've never been able to substantiate it. What can you tell me about this 'gateway'?"

"We don't know who built them," the General stated evenly. "We aren't even sure how many there are. What we do know is that they are as sophisticated as they are old. And yet, still quite powerful. As we have been told, this is the Alpha Quadrant, yes?"

“Beta Quadrant, actually. But just barely. And the entire classification system is fairly arbitrary. There’s several races who have their own system, like the Breen or Tholians,” Rhodes said, trailing off. “But that’s beside the point. If I might ask, where is Akritiri then? I am going to assume it’s not the Beta Quadrant.”

Pentasak nodded again, then responded to the Captain's question. "Our homeworld is in the Delta Quadrant, roughly sixty-eight thousand light-years away. We left our home three weeks ago."

Rhodes’s eyebrows rose as she sat back in her chair. She let out an amused whistle. In a few moments, she was sure her mind would race through the unimaginable implications this kind of discovery could have on the galactic stage. For the moment though, all her mind could find was a light joke. “Well, you certainly made the journey in good time”.

The grizzled old General chuckled. He then added, "You should know, however, while the gate system is vast beyond reckoning, there is one small drawback. We don't know if it was intentional or if the system is simply so old that it is starting to malfunction...when one goes through the activated gate to another destination, and the gate shuts down, when it reactivated, you won't return to the point you came from," he warned. "We lost two scout teams before we realized that the portal had to be held open to ensure our teams came home." He reached into his left breast pocket and pulled out a small device, that looked similar to a small PADD. He slid it over. "As a gesture of good will, I present you with a copy of our research on the gates and, images of the star fields on the other side of over two hundred other locations."

William was quiet as he absorbed everything that was said. It boggled his mind, the sheer size of the gate system that the General spoke of. It could be a treasure trove of new planets and races that they could meet and possibly invite to join the Federation.

The Captain's eyes went wide as she picked up the small pad. "Thank you, General. This research, and your warning, will be enormously helpful. I'll make sure that any findings we discover are passed along as repayment." She stowed the chip safely away in her pocket, complete with an extra pat reassuring her it existed. "In the meantime, I want to make sure your people have all the accommodations they need and that we are searching for the correct parameters regarding possible destinations for your people."

----
As the door shut behind them, Captain Rhodes let out a long sigh before turning to her officers. She tilted her head a little, allowing an overwhelmed but intrigued smirk to spread on her face. "So, I imagine we are all on the same page here. We need to find that gate."

"Indeed Captain. Discovery of the gate would be a boon to the Federation from both an economic and cultural standpoint. Savar replied, "Not to mention the prospect of making new allies and learning more about their technology."

The look on William's face indicated that he did not fully share his crew mate's positive views.

Ryan had an awestruck expression. He wanted to not only find the Gateway, but explore the space beyond. "Yes, Captain. It could be one of the most important discoveries in space exploration of the century. Just imagine being able to reach the other side of the galaxy in days instead of centuries."

"Quite correct, Commander, it is a literal doorway. However, as with any new discovery, it must first be examined and then explored for using it is akin to going through the looking glass." Savar replied.

"Agreed on all points, including that apprehensive look on Mr. Henderson's face. This is the kind of discovery which could reshape the galaxy. It's also the kind of thing that could drop a threat on our doorstep we could never even imagine. Like our lovely encounter on Eta Halix," Rhodes said, looking out the window toward the stars beyond. The gateway could present any number of untold opportunities or challenges. But first, they needed to find it. "Before we can do any of that though, we need to find it and figure out if we can even operate it. I'll talk to command and get approval.”

She paused for a final moment, gazing out at the shimmering cloud that dominated the stars outside. “We’re going to take Defiant into the nebula."

 

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