Topic: If Wishes Were Horses

[Scottish Andy]

Hi all,

As an apology to you for pummelling you with yet more banal bookworm-style questions, here is the first part of my second story, whose origins spring from a Classic Star Trek novel I read more than 3 years ago. I can't remember specifically what it was, but it may have been The Better Man, possibly by Michael Jan Friedman.

Anyway, all these stories and much more is also online at my site Starbase23, so go for a look and tell me what you think of the stories and the wealth of background data I and my honoured guest authors have created and contributed. That said, on with Story 2. Let me know what you think of it.

If Wishes Were Horses

By Scottish Andy



Introduction

This is actually my second story, written as I waited for Jaeih to finish her third. It is a stand-alone, one-off piece that I had brewing for a while but the execution of which would have dramatically affected the course of the 'series' continuing from my first story.
Now, since that one is a sequel to Jaeih's 'New Worlds, New Adventures' and I'm not posting that until at least March 2004--when she has the entirety of that edited to her satisfaction--I wanted to have a story up here to launch my site with. I had actually started writing this before I put my website together, but as it was so close to completion when the site was ready, here we are.
I will likely be posting installments one per week. Read on and, hopefully, enjoy.

Prologue

"...and so it is that, with great regret, I must inform you of the failure of our scientists to find the correct equations to stabilize the power plant. It need not be said that, without a single successful simulation, an actual test run would present far too great a risk to our planet."

Senior Scientist Gentra paused there to gauge the mood of his audience before delivering his final statement. This briefing he had given to a closed session of the Council of Elders had been very distasteful for him to make, admitting that the finest scientific minds of his world could not complete the task set for them, but the project was too important to be abandoned.

Clearing his throat to still the uneasy murmurs, Gentra concluded his brief.
"Due to the importance of this project to our civilization, I must prevail upon you, Esteemed Elders, not to abandon this project but to petition the Federation for assistance."

The Council did not, as he had expected, burst into frenzied debate at that. Instead, the forty Elders present lapsed into silence, considering the implications of his words. It confirmed his suspicions that the Elders had already been considering this option. In fact, by his very suggestion of approaching the Federation, he had unwittingly given himself a large boost in personal prestige.

Finally, Elder Lantrer--councillor for the Tothanar Province where the power plant was located--spoke up.
"Senior Scientist Gentra, is there nothing more that you and your team can do? No new avenue to explore, no unlikely possibility to pursue?"

"I am sorry, Elder Lantrer, but there is not. I would not be making this request if we had any other ideas to investigate. We have to accept that we have reached the limits of our knowledge and ask for help."

"Very well. Thank you, Senior Scientist, for your brief. The Council must now ponder your words, so you may go." Elder Lantrer watched him leave, before returning his attention to his fellow Elders.
Speaking firmly, Lantrer said, "Esteemed fellow Councillors, you have heard the facts of the matter. This project is at a standstill. We can go no further on our own, but cancelling it will be tantamount to writing off billions of dinons as well as hundreds of thousands of man-hours in construction, research, and development, and the future of this planet's energy needs.

"I now call for a vote on the motion to petition the United Federation of Planets for aid..."

*****

Gentra waited outside in the hall after being dismissed. The vote would go through and his team would get Federation assistance, it was just a matter of time. There was just that damnable Catuallan pride to contend with, which would delay the inevitable unanimous vote.

As hard as it had been for him to admit that his best team had been found lacking, it would be doubly galling to the Council to actually face the UFP representatives and ask for help. The fact that the Federation would willingly and gladly give that assistance actually made it worse, as they would not understand the effort it took to make the request. Nevertheless, hopefully within a week, he would finally get the answers he sought.

The answers that had eluded him and his team for six long, frustration-filled months.

[Scottish Andy]

Chapter One

Stardate: 7498.3
Date: 28th May 2274
Time: 1145 hours
Location: Tamnar star system, Federation space

"Can ve go now?"

The tone of voice made her think of her brother's eight-year-old, but turning to face the person who had uttered the plea so forlornly almost made Katrin break out in an unaccustomed grin. Sizing up her assailant--whose expression matched their tone--she was actually surprised that the Russian wasn't pulling her sleeve as he said it. In a long-suffering tone--but with a smile in her eyes--she replied, "Yes, Mr. Tupelov, we can go now. Lay in Lieutenant Zenarra's course and engage at warp seven."

"Aye, aye, Sair!" the lanky blonde practically sang back.

Commander Katrin Schulte of the Federation science vessel Lor'tana smothered another unseemly grin and said, somewhat sternly, "Lieutenant Tupelov, I know that this mission did not offer much for a helmsman to do, but try and remember that your theatrics really should be confined to your off-duty drama classes."

The rest of the bridge crew smiled at this while poor Fyodor blushed beautifully and gave a slightly embarrassed grin, before recovering and giving her a wide-eyed 'who, me?' look. "Course laid in and ready to go on your order, Keptin," he said innocently, batting his eyelashes at his CO.

Katrin finally gave in to the impulse and smiled warmly at her chief helmsman. "Glad to hear it. Warp speed, Mr. Tupelov."

"Aye, Keptin." He pressed a final toggle on his board and they were off to another star system. "Roughly three days to Catualla at varp seven, sair."

"Okay. Any navigational hazards or points of interest along our course, Zanarra?"

Now that the ship was at warp speed and her current duties discharged, the Deltan female turned her seat to face the captain for her answer. "No sir, nothing but clear space between for light-years around. The closest Hazard to Navigation is a code B-1 free-floating asteroid field, 1.3 light-years to starboard of our projected course, current bearing--" she paused briefly to check her screen again. "Bearing 071 mark 015."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Katrin said, while she thought, Still giving out too much information. A simple 'No' would have sufficed. Although, to be fair, she knew that it was just Zenarra's way of showing her captain that she was doing her job properly.

Turning to Ensign Tharas, Schulte asked, "Ensign, any Notices to Spacefarers for this area of space?"

The Andorian communications officer swiveled his chair to face her before answering. "Yes, Captain. The civilian authorities have been been informed of the command cruiser Lexington's scheduled arrival at the aforementioned asteroid field for live-firing tests of the new Mark VI photon torpedo. Civilian shipping has been advised to avoid the area for the duration. Also, there seems to be an ion storm gathering momentum two light-years from Catualla, on the far side of the system from where we are now. It has been given a code I-2 rating already."

Katrin's face collapsed into a frown at Tharas' report on the ion storm, but she shook it off. "If it is still two light-years from our destination, then it should be nothing to worry about for the time we'll be there. Keep a weather eye out for it, though."

"Yes, Captain."

"Also, if the Lexington comes into hailing range, let me know. I'd like to talk to my uncle, if I could. He is the chief science officer."

Tharas bobbed his head in the Human fashion and made to turn back to his board, but Katrin wasn't finished with him yet. In a slightly sharper tone to remind her communications officer to wait for her leave to attend his duties, she ordered, "Ensign, post a meeting notice to all Department Heads, as well as senior Engineering and Science staff. I'm calling a briefing at 1400 hours to bring the crew up to speed on our latest mission. I'll wait until everyone is settled in again and had time for lunch."

"Aye, aye, Sir," he returned crisply with an incline of his head, indicating he'd at least taken note of her change in tone.

I'll see if his attitude improves as a result of this before coming down on him she decided, then dismissed it with a mental note. Moving on, she said, "Speaking of lunch, I'm off for an early one. Anyone who wishes to join me should get their reliefs up now."

There were several calls over the intercom after that, and within five minutes the Beta-shift officers were taking over their assigned bridge stations as the Alpha-shifters went in search of food.

[Grim Reaper]

Well I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride untill I see more. Gotta place it before I can give you proper feedback.

[Jaeih t`Radaik]

Hey Andy

I agree with Grim. Admittedly I've read this before, but the first few chapters don't give a lot to go on. :-)

[Commander La'ra]

I actually haven't read this yet.

But Jaeih and Grim are right.  Need more.

[Scottish Andy]

Okay then boys and girls, you wanted more, here's the next small chapter. They're small because they are just setup scenes, but when events of note start taking place they do get longer.
Thank you for your continued patronage. 

Chapter Two

After getting their choice of meal from the food synthesizer (no-one called it the High-Resolution Organic Fabricator/Defabricator. They didn't want to dwell on the mechanics of the system...), the captain and her chief science, helm, and navigation officers sat down to lunch. In deference to the Vulcan scientist, the others had ordered vegetarian meals. Fyodor eagerly attacked his heavily-buttered corn-on-the-cob while the women slowly made their way though their Caesar salads.

Finishing off a lettuce leaf, Katrin asked Lieutenant Commander Samok about the results of the last mission. Setting down his spoon, the Vulcan abandoned his plomeek soup to answer.

"They were most satisfactory, Captain. My apologies to Mr. Tupelov for not giving him a more challenging course to pilot, but a geostationary orbit over the target area was precisely what was required."

The Russian grinned around his cob, but wisely said nothing.

"The final calibrations by Petty Officer Grash eliminated the data acquisition errors we had been experiencing and allowed us clear, unequivocal readings of the volcano forming on the ocean floor."

Katrin sighed. "Starfleet really should have sent a specialised oceanographic research vessel with aquatic shuttles for that mission, but there were none within range. Still, it allowed most of us," she added with a smile at Fyodor, "a chance at something new and exciting to do."

"But, Sair, I am a helmsman!" Tupelov protested. "Undervater wolcanoes don't interest me. Big ones on the surface, yes. I may haf to alter orbit if they blow their top, but there is no danger to the ship from a... a planet's stomach ulcer!"

The bald Deltan woman's nose wrinkled up at the unpleasant metaphor, and she exclaimed, "Fyodor, please! We are trying to eat here."

Slightly abashed, the Russian apologised. "Ah, sorry there, Zenarra. It vas the food that gave me the idea..." He trailed off uncertainly.

Resuming their conversation as if he had not been interrupted, Samok stated, "The data we accumulated should give the Tamnar scientists a greater understanding of how volcanoes form, and they can site their new cities accordingly."

"Agreed," Katrin nodded, but distractedly as her mind was reviewing the data on the aliens they had just helped.

Although not a Federation member, the Tamnarians were another of those cultures contacted by the Federation in the pre-Prime Directive days. In 2166, the USS Essex had taken damage and encountered the aforementioned asteroid field. Seeking repairs at the nearest star system, they had come across the Tamnarians at mid-19th-century-Earth levels. Fortunately, Captain Shumar had some wits about him and the Tamnarian's culture shock was brief and not very disruptive, but the damage had been done and the government of a nation-state had been made aware of alien cultures from other worlds. Thus, later on, when that government had needed assistance, they had directed a radio signal out into the Void, where the nearest starbase had picked it up. Since it contained details of how they had helped a Federation vessel, the Federation felt obliged to respond and had done so ever since. The Federation--while never handing over any technology--had decided to allow the planet's inhabitants access to all scientific data that would prevent lives being lost through a lack of understanding of natural forces.

Hence the Lor'tana's last mission: six months ago, a volcano that had been 'growing' near an inconveniently-placed city finally erupted; the city then had to be evacuated. The Tamnarian government of that region had requested scientific data on it's formation and why it had grown there, of all places, so that future settlements would not suffer the same fate.

After two weeks in place, the Ulat regional governors, who had promised to share the data with the other nation-states of their world, had gratefully received the accumulated planet-specific data.

Munching on the last of her salad, Katrin finally said. "I couldn't believe the damage in what was left of that city. I'm glad they all made it out safely."

Checking her wrist chronometer, she switched gears. "Okay people, the briefing is in just under two hours. Make sure your departments are in good order and refresh your memories on Catualla, it's people and their customs.

"No, don't get up, finish your meals," she waved them back to the table as she got up. "A hungry crew is a distracted crew and all that. Carry on."

With that, she left them to go shower and change after the oppressive humidity of Tamnar's climate.

[kadh2000]

Too little going on to make this more than one post.  So far it really isn't even a tease.

[CaptJosh]

Some interesting background on what the ship has been doing recently though.

[Grim Reaper]

Yeah he's establishing a background. Still, Kadh is right. We need a bit more.

[Scottish Andy]

Chapter Three

Time: 1405 hours
Location: Briefing Room

"So, now that you all know where we are going, here is why we are going there. Samok?" Katrin gestured, and the Science Officer took over the briefing.

"The Catuallans have requested Federation assistance to get their first planet-bound matter/antimatter reactor operational. They have--Yes, Mr. Tupelov?" Samok broke off as the young helmsman raised his hand to ask a question.

"Sair, from the briefing I read I thought that the Catuallans already had antimatter power."

"Yes, Mr. Tupelov, they do." Seeing the lack of comprehension on Fyodor's face, Samok forestalled his next question by continuing.

"The Catuallans have several antimatter power plants in orbit, but have apparently come to the conclusion that this leaves them vulnerable to attack. Their reasoning is sound, however unlikely the possibility of attack is. If their orbital stations were destroyed, they would loose approximately 60% of their planetary power supply."

Eyebrows went up all around the conference table at that one.

"Sixty percent?" asked Lieutenant Commander Thelin in his whisper-soft voice. "Isn't that rather a high percentage for off-world power dependency?"

"It is indeed, Commander," Samok answered the Andorian first officer. "The Catuallans have just completed the process of disassembling all of their old fossil-fuel and nuclear fission power stations. The only on-planet power sources they now have are a small number of fusion reactors that have used up the last of the free space on which they could build such structures.

"When that construction was completed 70 standard years ago, they began decommissioning their fossil fuel stations and reclaiming the land. With their harnessing of antimatter, it was deemed too dangerous to both population and planet to build them on the surface. Now that the reactors have a proven record of safe operation, and the Catuallans have the planetside locations available for construction, they have built their first matter/antimatter reactor on the surface of their world. However, it seems that they are still wary and have decided not to activate this site until they can successfully simulate a controlled startup, shutdown, and maintained operation."

"Which brings us to their current problem, and our new mission," Katrin put in. Taking the hint, Samok moved on.

"The Catuallans have been unable to stabilise their planet-bound reactor core. Here is the site of the antimatter power plant, 50 km from Tothanar City. The Catuallan scientists have spent the last six months there trying to generate a solution with increasingly far-fetched theories, all to no avail." The briefing room wall screen, currently displaying an orbital map of the Tothanar Province, changed to a table of data at a touch from Samok. "This is a listing of each theory, actions taken accordingly, and expected results versus actual results for each of the approaches attempted, in chronological order. As we can see, they start off quite sensibly but by the final theory proposed we can see just how desperate they had become for any kind of explanation for their failure."

"'Minor Solar Flares Causing Power Fluctuations... through interference in the air conditioning system as caused by ionic discharges from aurora borealis effect'?" Lieutenant Ga-Nosh exclaimed in disbelief, as Chief Engineer Grunk snorted derisively. "That is desperate. Any connection at all, no matter how slight, eh?" the Saurian junior science officer asked.

"Yes, it looks that way," the captain agreed, while shooting an annoyed look at the engineer.

Samok wound up his presentation and concluded, "Based on a preliminary reading of the data sent to us, it seems that the Catuallans have exhausted all the reasonable--and many unreasonable--theories based on conventional wisdom. It is therefore my assertion that there may be some basic flaw in the Catuallan's understanding of the properties of antimatter, thus rendering all subsequent reasoning faulty. All of their experience has been in the microgee gravity field environment of geostationary orbital positions, and there they have a 100% safety record, but they cannot translate that success to planet-bound operations. This would appear to indicate a problem in the area of gravitational interactions, and this is where I believe we should focus our attentions."

The Vulcan nodded to his captain, and Katrin resumed control of the briefing. "So, based on this, our mission here is a three-pronged investigation. For two of them, Science and Engineering teams will work on parallel projects and compare notes at the end of the investigation." Katrin explained. "Lieutenant Grunk, your Engineering staff will familiarise themselves with the design, materials, and construction history of the power plant itself, paying closest attention to the reactor core. Do not neglect the other aspects, though."

"Of course not! Engineering is not just the glamour of a starship warp drive!" the Tellarite Chief Engineer growled aggressively. "My team will do as you instruct," he finished, nodding at his Second seated beside him.

"Very good, Mr. Grunk," Katrin acknowledged coldly. To the captain, it seemed that Tellarites were naturally obnoxious and they just rubbed her up the wrong way. She had never met a Tellarite she liked, but they were damn good engineers and Katrin was glad to have him.

Turning to her science officer, Schulte continued. "Commander Samok, you and your team will go over the theory, models, and equations governing their understanding of antimatter and matter/antimatter reactors, and compare it to ours. See if they missed anything."

"Acknowledged, Captain," the slender Vulcan replied.

"Lieutenant Vaidya," Katrin now addressed the handsome, dusky-skinned security chief. "The Catuallans have not said anything about this project being sabotaged, but I want you and your crew to look into that aspect. Check the physical security of the site and the integrity of the computer systems running the control software. Do not go into checking staff backgrounds until you have evidence or suspicion of foul play. Even then, I want you to clear it through me, as we don't want to ruffle any feathers."

"Yes, Captain," the Indian replied in a crisp English accent. It contrasted well with Katrin's faint German one.

"Okay everyone. We have three days until we get there. I want us ready to assist and begin investigating as soon as we arrive, so brief your own staffs and go through all the data the Catuallans have sent us. Coordinate on approaches to take, and bounce ideas off of each other.

"Now, lets get started. Dismissed."

[CaptJosh]

<Chekov> Wery interesting....

[Grim Reaper]

I'm still liking it so far. However, I've yet to connect to the characters. I'm missing the thoughts of the characters. Their  emotions, their reasoning. It feels now like my first time looking at ENT. I know i like the setting, I like the story (start) but I have no connection to the crew.

[Jaeih t`Radaik]

Andy, it does indeed seem like you are better at the 1st-person-POV storytelling than the normal style the rest of us use. And since it is the style the rest of us use, it's good that you're using a new one and are so good at it!

However, this is where the story begins to pick up (IMHO) so stay tuned, everyone.

[Governor Ronjar]

I enjoy the interaction between the crew. Nice touch that the captain doesn't really like the engineer. Too many shows and storys cop out and have the entire crew like each other. Even when they have arguements that would actually lead to deep seeded resentment and hard feelings, they're all happy-go-lucky by the next episode. It's nice to see someone just...not like someone else.

Maybe there's not enough insight into the characters' thoughts... I seem to get in tune with them nicely enough however. Too early to know much about them, but you shouldn't just dump out their entire personalities in the first three chapters. Even soap operas don't do that.

Keep it coming, I like the even flow of the writing. I get headaches galor when reading. Your story gave me no such bother. I am enjoying.

--the guv'

[CaptJosh]

Clearly the Captain is not familiar with the nuances of Tellarite "Civil Conversation". THis activity involves numerous insults that are supposed to be good natured. I post for example a quote from Prime Directive...

"I thought I smelled the foul stink of your furless human meat!" the Tellarite blared deafeningly as Sam came within range of her vision.
"It's a miracle you can smell anything through that slime-encrusted skrak pelt you call fur!" Sam shouted back.

(then a bit further down the page)

"Damn it, Sam, why the hall are they punishing me by making you work my shift?"
Glissa could tell by the quick smile that crossed Sam's face that she had gotten something wrong. Odd that Sam's face was so easy to read, though. The long, soft brown hair and thick beard he wore certainly helped, making Sam look less like a dormant tree slug than most barefaced humans did, and much more like an intelligent being. Too bad about the puny, turned-down nose, though, and those human eyes, beady little brown dots ringed by white like those of of a week-old Tellarite corpse...they could make Glissa shudder if she stared at them too long.
But Sam looked away to the iron wall beneath his feet and leaned forward, dropping his voice to a wisper low enough that only a Tellarite could hear him.
"Hell, Glissa," Sam said gently, "You meant to say 'hell,' not 'hall.'"
Glissa nodded thoughtfully, appreciative that Sam had kept this part of the conversation private. "Which one is the underworld and which one is the corridor?"
"Hell is the underworld. Humans don't get too excited about corridors. At least, not in Civil insults."
Glissa decided she would have to start making some notes if she were to keep up with Sam. "But the 'damn it'...?"
"Perfect," Sam said, still whispering. "Proper place in the sentence, good intonation, very impressive..." But then he stepped back in mid-sentence, looked up from the ground, and raised his voice again for all to hear. "For a beer-swilling, gut-bellied warthog, that is!"
Glissa's cheeks ballooned out into tiny pink spheres as she snorted her delight.

Civil Conversation is important to Tellarites. As you can see, they greatly enjoy it. Unfortunately, some humans don't understand it for what it is.

[Scottish Andy]

That's one of my favourite ST books, Josh. I do remember it and plan on using Tellarite Civil Conversation in later stories. :-)

Ron'jar, I'm glad--and truly honoured--that my story doesn't give you a headache. 
Seriously, I like that you're looking for some variation from the norm of storytelling, because as Jaeih said in her post, thats what we're aiming for.

[Scottish Andy]

Chapter Four

Stardate: 7498.6
Date: 31st May 2274
Shiptime: 0915 hours
Location: Catuallan star system

"Crossing system boundary now, Captain. Their outer system monitors have us on their sensors," Lieutenant Zenarra reported.

"Thank you, Navigator. Ensign Theras," Katrin said, turning to her communications officer, "hail local traffic control and have them give us a vector into Catualla. Tell them we are expected by the Council of Elders and request a meeting with them as soon as we attain orbit."

"Aye, Sir," came the whisper-soft reply.

A vector came in and Katrin's poor, underutilized helmsman finally got something interesting to do. The little Starfleet ship avoided interstellar passenger liners and cargo haulers heading in- and out-system, planets at various points around their orbits, interplanetary shuttle services, and Catuallan police cutters keeping an eye on it all. A second message came back from Traffic Control informing them that the Council would be ready to greet them by the time they arrived, and twenty minutes later Fyodor announced, "Standard orbit achieved, Captain."

Nodding at her helmsman, Schulte again turned to her comm. officer. "Ensign, hail the Government Headquarters building in Lienthan City and inform them that we are ready to beam down. Ask for coordinates and how many of us they want to meet."

"Yes, Captain." Theras got busy with his orders, and after several minutes, came up with the answers.

"Sir, the full Council is not in the capital, but Chairman Toldar and Elders Lantrer and Withoor will meet with you in the courtyard of the Government Headquarters building in ten minutes. They said to bring as many people as we wished."

Katrin considered this before deciding. "We'll meet them in equal numbers, as we don't want them thinking they're being invaded. I will beam down with Commander Samok and Lieutenant Grunk. Theras, tell them to meet me in Transporter Room One with standard diplomatic outfitting in eight minutes. Also, inform Commander Thelin to report to the bridge."

Theras nodded and spoke softly through the intercom. Two minutes later, the Andorian first officer stepped out of the bridge turbolift.

"Reporting as ordered, Captain," the Beta-shift CO stated.

"Ah, Commander. The science and engineering chiefs are accompanying me to the surface to meet the Council representatives. I expect no more than a brief welcome and then we can get down to business. Be prepared to receive orders to that effect," Schulte instructed.

"Aye, Sir," he acknowledged.

"You have the conn, Commander."

*****

Arriving in the transporter room, Katrin asked, "All set?" as the transporter technician handed her a diplomatic duty field kit. At a nod from each, she took her place on the pad. "Energize," she ordered.

Katrin's vision cleared and she performed a quick sweep of the area to locate the councillors. She spotted them already moving out from under the shaded awnings into the bright afternoon sun to meet her staff. Recognising their faces from the now slightly dated images on their files, she addressed all of them.

"Greetings, Esteemed Elders," she started. Displaying her palms--fingers to the ground--and inclining her head, she introduced herself. "I am Commander Katrin Schulte, Captain of the Federation science vessel Lor'tana. We are here to help you in any way we can."

She was pleased to note the surprise of all three at her use of their greeting, which all three returned.

The lead Elder, a short, well-muscled man with a bald head, spoke in a deep, modulated voice.

"Greetings, Captain Schulte. I am Toldar, Chairman of the Council of Elders." Indicating the tall, thin man with short, curly blonde hair, he said, "This is Elder Lantrer, governor of Tothanar Province, where the power plant is located."

Lantrer all but rushed forward to shake her hand, and gave an enthusiastic, "Welcome, Captain! We are most glad to have you here!"  Katrin noted his excited blue eyes and an electrified air about him, as if he was restraining a great deal of energetic movement.

Turning to the other member of his party, Toldar said, "And this is Elder Withoor, Councillor for Offworld Affairs."

This man, Katrin observed, was a study in contrasts to the ebullient Lantrer. His intense, dark-eyed gaze, straight brown hair, and reserved personality seemed to suck in as much friendliness as Lantrer put out. Withoor nodded a greeting in the Human fashion, but said nothing.

Katrin in turn introduced her own team and they all moved inside, out of the steadily climbing temperature, and into a well-appointed conference room.

After refreshments had been served, Toldar asked Schulte what her plans were. Katrin noted the unfriendly looks Toldar received from his two companions, presumably from his giving over control to the outsiders so quickly.

"Gentlemen, we reviewed all the data you sent us and have come up with--" she hesitated slightly,  "--two lines of inquiry we can follow." Best not to mention the third right now, she thought. "Only one avenue seems likely, but it would be criminally negligent of us not to do a thorough investigation. My science officer, Lieutenant Commander Samok, will brief you on the first."

Addressing the Chairman, Samok explained. "Our most productive line of inquiry has been scientific, as was expected. It is the considered opinion of the science staff and myself that there is a basic flaw in your understanding of the gravitational/antimatter relationship. We believe this is because all of your research was performed in orbital research platforms to safeguard the populace. By comparing your theoretical models with ours, we have determined a flaw but so far have been unable to locate it precisely. We will continue with that investigation here."

During the Vulcan's statement, the Elders had become slightly red-faced. Now that Samok had finished, Withoor made to speak.

Uh-oh, Schulte thought resignedly. I was afraid of this. The slightest mention of perceived inadequacy and the famed Catuallan pride jumps in, feet first. The whole planet must have an inferiority complex...

"Are you telling us that the reason we cannot control a planet-bound matter/antimatter reaction is because we are--" Withoor practically sputtered his next words, "--basically too stupid!?! That after only three days of investigation, the vastly superior minds of the Federation have solved a problem that has stymied Catualla's best scientific minds for over six months? You--!!"

"That's enough, Withoor!"

Cut off by the powerful voice of the Chairman, the intense little Elder almost rocked back in surprise.

"Forgive him, lady and gentlemen, please." Toldar's mellow baritone soothed any bad feelings, even as he shot his Offworld Affairs man a hard look. "This project is a matter of national pride--pride that has been hurt by our inability to make it work."

Sharing a glance with her officers, Schulte nodded and said, "I understand, Mr. Chairman." To all three, but especially Withoor, Katrin stated, "It was never our intent to offend. We are here to help, at your service."

"With help form your own scientists," the Vulcan added as his own belated attempt at diplomacy, "we should be able to isolate the specific equations."

Though he looked less than mollified, Withoor nevertheless grated out, "Ah, thank you for your understanding, Captain. I... apologise... for my... hasty... outburst."

Deciding to let the matter drop, Katrin was privately very glad she had opted not to bring up her third line of inquiry--that of deliberate sabotage by a staff member. I'm sure that if he'd had a phaser, Withoor would have vaporised us for even suggesting it!

Moving on, the dark-haired captain gave her engineer the floor. She had warned him to be on his best behaviour--for this face-to-face meeting at least--so as not to offend the prickly Catuallans. That having already been done, she was hoping he would still 'be good'.

"Councillors," the Tellarite growled, "the second avenue of inquiry was of construction, and the engineering of the plant. We have analyzed your construction methods, materials and practices for any indication of a flaw in the design. With the data given to us, we could find nothing wrong--except for an unusual reactor design. However, this design held up with our own equations, models and power ratios, so we do not think this is the problem.

"I would, ah, request of you that we be allowed to do scans of the plant with our more advanced equipment, looking for problems you might not be aware of that may be influencing your simulations."

Grunk knew that undetected flaws in the physical building wouldn't cause the simulations to fail, as the mathematical models used would be based on the known plans and differences and thus immune to such. However, he was planning for the future and knew that when they got this mess sorted, the mathematical models had better match the actual building, crack for crack, if the simulations were to be of any use at all for starting a real M/AM reaction within the power plant.

Again, the mere suggestion that Catuallans may be inadequate seemed to incense the Elders, but Toldar held his anger in check very well, and even Withoor refrained from comment.

The Starfleet contingent waited patiently for Catuallan blood to cool, upon which Toldar granted permission for the scans.

"Well, that seems to conclude our initial business," Schulte said. "If you have no further concerns to address, I'd like to get my crew started at the power plant."

"Gentlemen?" Toldar inquired of his companions. Withoor stayed silent, but Lantrer spoke up.

"Lady and gentlemen, would you care for a tour of the facility? I would be pleased to give you one. It would undoubtedly help you to familiarise yourselves with its layout and staff."

Katrin sighed internally. She had been planning on doing that anyway, but with the staff at the power plant. They'd be more likely to give an honest--No, that's unfair, she scolded herself. She'd be more likely to get a briefing that was less biased towards apple-polishing and face-saving without a government councillor overlooking things.

Maximise the good, minimise the bad, she mentally grumbled. She'd get the truth, regardless, it was just that it would be more time-consuming this way. Oh well. Mutter always told me I've got to know when to give in gracefully.

"That sounds like a good idea, Councillor Lantrer," she began. "Perhaps we could go there now? I am sure everyone concerned is eager to get started." Giving in gracefully was never my style, Mutter.

"A good suggestion," Toldar commented. "We have arranged a flitter to take you out to the Tothanar power plant with Elder Withoor accompanying you. Elder Lantrer will now join you, but I must remain behind in the Capital as Head of State. My compatriots will keep me informed of your progress in the normal flow of events. However, as this project is of the utmost priority to our civilization, Captain, should you need to contact me I will respond as quickly as circumstances allow."

Katrin's eyebrows raised in surprise, but she quickly brought them back under control. Did I just hear a planetary leader put himself at my disposal? she thought in amusement. Given the briefing materials on Catualla and it's peoples, Katrin had been expecting the opposite.

Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, she sincerely replied, "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, that is most gracious of you. We are honoured by your high consideration."

She did not miss, however, the look that passed between the other two Elders at their leader's words.

Nodding almost regally at Katrin, Toldar summoned an aid through a desktop intercom. "Hemma, escort the Elders and our Federation guests to the flitter in Bay Three." To the rest of the assembled people, he said, "I will bid you goodbye now. My duties require my presence elsewhere."

Inclining his head, Toldar left. Hemma led the rest of them from the room and Katrin pulled out her communicator to hail her ship.

"Schulte to Lor'tana."

"Lor'tana here, this is Commander Thelin."

"Commander, we have met with the governmental officials directly involved and we are now about to take a flitter-ride to the power plant for a tour. We will check in again when we are ready to begin our investigation."

"Very well, Captain. We shall prepare the teams and await your signal."

"Agreed. Schulte, out."

[Grim Reaper]

Well and here the real fun starts

[Jaeih t`Radaik]

Yup. It's time toget this ball rolling. Andy, I think it would have been a good idea to make the Prologue to Chapter Three all one chapter, as it would have engaged us more quickly. You know how short attention spans are these days... *grin*

[Scottish Andy]

Chapter Five

"Lieutenant, that is all we can do here until those programs finish running, but the system is otherwise intact and secure."

Rahul turned back to the science department petty officer he had 'appropriated' for his systems integrity check. The security chief had only six marines under his command and they were all Tactics and Weaponry people by necessity.

Besides, a science vessel has an abundance of computer techs, Rahul thought, and this young Caitian is the best on the Lor'tana. However, he still had to suppress a smile while even thinking her name.

"Thank you, Ms. M'Rowr. Let me go and check if these are the only areas with access to the computer system here."

"Aye, Sir."

Lieutenant Vaidya walked over to the scientist in charge of the facility--a thin, frail-looking man called Gentra--and gained his attention.

"Yes, ah, Lieutenant, what is it?" he asked, looking harried.

He must be fielding a large number of questions from virtually everyone around him, Rahul thought. I will try not to add to his burdens.

"Sir, we're pretty much done with our checks of your computer network and architecture in this facility, but to be thorough, I need to know if anyone has external access. We will need to check their data transmission lines and any off-site access terminals for integrity as well."

"Lieutenant, the only off-site control terminal is in the private offices of the Councillor for Energy. We decided that it would not be wise to have all the control and override systems on-site."

"Sounds like the smart thing to do, to me," Vaidya agreed. "I will have to get the Captain's permission to check this, so she can clear it with the Councillor or the Chairman." Just to be sure, Rahul asked again. "You are sure that there is only the one off-site terminal? It doesn't need to be a control terminal, but we still need to check it," he stressed.

"Yes, yes, Lieutenant!" the scientist snapped. "I probably know better than you about our operational security!" Calming himself somewhat, Gentra enunciated clearly, as if to a dullard, "That is the only terminal. A highly qualified and trusted scientist holds that position and has the Councillor's authority to shut down the reactor if called for in his judgment."

"Thank you, Senior Scientist. I shall clear my proposed security check through both our superiors. Good evening to you."

"Hrmph."

Rahul almost smiled at the crotchety old man's temper and lack of manners, but managed to restrain himself. He knew he wouldn't like an outsider coming in and turning his department upside-down.

Returning to his computer petty officer, he ordered, "Ms. M'Rowr, call the ship for another computer tech to relieve you, then pack up your equipment and prepare to accompany me to the capital. I have to locate the captain and clear my next move through her."

"Aye, aye, Lieutenant."

*****

One hour later.

"Who the smeg came up with this piece of kludge?"

Lieutenant JG Mohd Radi Abdullah winced as he adjusted his tricorder scan and furtively looked around for what seemed like the n-th time, as his superior all but bellowed his complaint--for, again, what seemed like the n-th time.

"Chief, someone will hear you! Please keep you voice down," he pleaded.

Actually, being in the heart of the so-far-unused M/AM reactor, it was very unlikely that they'd be overheard. It was just that Grunk's bellowing was hurting Mohd's ears in the confined space they occupied.

Mirroring Mohd's initial thought, Lieutenant Grunk snorted, "Not likely," but he subsided anyway.

Having beamed directly into this sealed-off section--which would be impossible when the reactor was in use--to get a feel for the 'flow' of the design, the Tellarite had isolated the cause of his ire.

"Look at it!" Grunk commanded. "You're telling me I'm wrong?"

Abdullah sighed. While not as voluble as his superior, he couldn't help but agree with the stubby Tellarite. It  was a kludge. Still, Mohd rallied to the Catuallans' defence.

"Sir, they don't have transporter technology or some of the more advanced polymers that it leads to. They've built this reactor core from a standpoint of brute-strength engineering. Since cast-rhodinium is the strongest metal known to their current science, that's what they've built the reactor from."

"I know that!" Grunk snapped. "I read the briefing materials too, Abdullah!"

"Sir, I--"

"Mr. Abdullah, I know that, for their level of technology, this is cutting-edge work. It's just that I also know this can be done far more elegantly. This place looks like a... a concrete factory!" Grunk exclaimed, dredging up old memories of archaic construction monstrosities. "The core unit itself must mass over 100 tons alone!"

His tricorder scans complete, Mohd Abdullah looked up at his boss. "Sir, I find absolutely no anomalous readings. No fractures in the casing, no flow-throughs out of alignment, no mass/bulk discrepancies, all data transfer and control circuits intact."

A grunt. "Just as we expected, then."

"Yes, Sir."

"We have conclusive proof that the engineering design and construction of all aspects of this facility are sound," Grunk said as if reciting something. "Our job here is done."

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his communicator. Flipping the antenna up, he barked, "Lor'tana! Two to beam up! Lock on and energize!"

*****

Two hours later.

"Based on your current level of understanding, and the foundations of the equations that govern your space-borne reactors, the extrapolations you made for the governing of planet-based reactors have tested out correctly.

"However, we have ascertained that, due to the nature of microgee antimatter research, a vital piece of basic theory was minimised. This meant that any research and extrapolations  arising from this understanding--while of sound reasoning--would also be flawed. For the equations governing the planetary reactor, research should have begun anew."

An angry bubble of noise threatened to arise from the assembled Catuallan scientists, but Samok quelled it with a frosty look directed towards them. He continued.

"As is obvious, this is not standard procedure because of the duplication of effort. Also,  the need was not apparent as the flaw was irrelevant in a microgee environment.

"While I was conducting  this research, my science staff were able to devise what used to be known in computing terminology as a 'patch'. They have adapted your existing models with our own equations and comparison with own database. We shall attempt simulations with this control software 'patch'. If the simulations succeed, it will be be safe to run the actual startup with this software, although the final decision is, of course, yours.

"I would suggest that, regardless of the outcome of the power plant situation, you should begin 'from the ground up', as the Humans say, on antimatter research."

At this, Senior Scientist Gentra rose in outrage.

"Are you telling us that we have to begin again!?!" he yelled, red-faced. "We joined the Federation 'for security and a mutual sharing of knowledge for the betterment of all'! We've passed your entrance exams, we've jumped through all your little hoops! We already have antimatter power, and we want--" he spluttered over the word, then corrected himself, "--no, we demand that you give us this so-called 'missing fundamental knowledge' so we can understand it and put it to use within our own culture!"

Commander Schulte hurriedly walked in to hear the last part of Gentra's angry outburst, and immediately set about soothing the enraged scientist.

"Mr. Gentra, I can assure you that your last statement is absolutely correct," she started, and all eyes in the room swung to her. After hearing a raised voice, she had rushed over from her final vid-conference with the Councillor for Energy, and now had to calm her breathing before going on. Giving all assembled a measured stare, she continued.

"As a UFP member you have full access to all areas of knowledge that your science and culture have already discovered. Who was it that told you differently?"

Having been immediately mollified--some might say capitulated to--by the senior Federation representative, Gentra calmed considerably.

"Captain, it was your science officer who claimed we would have to restart all our antimatter research from nothing, regardless of whether or not his staff's 'quick-fix' to our power plant control software worked or not."

Katrin began to get an inkling as to what had happened, but for the benefit of the Catuallans, she directed her question to the blank-faced Vulcan.

"Mr. Samok, is this true?"

"Yes Captain, it is. I was not, however, suggesting that the Catuallans be denied access to Federation knowledge in this area. I was merely suggesting the best method--in my experience--for the proper and logical assimilation of this new knowledge." He paused there to redirect his words to the head of the facility. "It has been my experience that trying to assimilate a new fundamental that alters the emphasis of previous knowledge leads to the danger of familiarity clouding judgment. You expect things that are not there, and such like. I was about to explain this," he added frostily to his captain, "but I was interrupted by Mr. Gentra before I could."

Gentra's ice-blue eyes narrowed at this and he looked about to continue the argument. Katrin recognised the signs and headed him off with her own words.

"Well, I'm glad we cleared up that little misunderstanding," she said to the room at large, before addressing Gentra again. "The Lor'tana's databanks stand ready to assist you, Senior Scientist, in whatever avenue of research you wish to pursue."

Katrin hoped that the old man did not realise he was being railroaded into going along with what she wanted--a speedy resolution of conflict that didn't involve the notorious Catuallan pride. The rapid subject changes and apparent capitulations would disguise that, she hoped.

"Ah, very well, Captain. I will want to go over this, ah, 'patch' of yours with my computer staff to make sure that it is sound--"

--to make sure we can understand it, was what Katrin heard--

"--while my theorists track down this so-called 'knowledge gap' and integrate any useful information into out current models. I would like to get started immediately."

Katrin nodded, pleased that her little ploy worked. Its not capitulation if it's what you're here to do anyway, she told herself as she pulled out her communicator.

"Schulte to Lor'tana."

"Lor'tana, Thelin here."

"Commander, here's what I want you to do..."

*****

Four Hours Later.

"Okay, everyone, lets hear your reports. We will start with Security," Katrin stated. "Mr. Vaidya?"

Katrin settled more comfortably into her chair at the conference table, having finally stopped coordinating her crew's investigative efforts with the Catuallan authorities directly in question. The investigation was at last completed, and this was a final briefing before moving on to the actual solution.

The Indian lieutenant didn't bother standing, but he had nothing to present anyway. Addressing the whole room, he stated, "My complete report is in the computer for anyone who wants the specifics," he nodded at the viewscreen, which was currently displaying it, "but the gist of it is that we found nothing. All the hardware itself--the terminals, computer cores, memory banks, and data transmission lines--were found to be 100% secure. Scans of the architecture showed no unauthorized or unknown hardware taps that would give an outside hacker access to the system. Detailed analysis of the computer operating system and its logs showed no tampering, disruptive programming or unauthorized access from within the system. The results of this analysis gave me no reason to check into staff backgrounds, as no evidence of sabotage or covering up was found.

"That concludes my report summary."

"Excellent. Thank you, Lieutenant," Katrin said warmly. "I would like to think that antimatter is something no-one wants to fool around with, regardless of personal feelings, so that is the best possible result I was hoping for. What now remains is merely a technical problem. So saying, what did Engineering find out, Mr. Grunk?" she asked.

The Tellarite grunted before barking, "Apart from a kludge of a reactor design, my staff and I found little more than Vaidya did." Ignoring his captain's cold look at his lack of protocol--and tact--the engineer brought up his report on the wall-mounted viewscreen. "These are composite images taken from the Catuallans' own plans and our personal scans of the installation. There are no discrepancies between them, either in design or construction. The only problem I see is one of emergency shutdown."

At worried looks from around the table, Grunk explained further.

"Due to the Catuallans not having force-fields or transporter technology--which leads to the more advanced polymers--there is no way to safeguard the site from antimatter containment failure. Antimatter is produced on-site on an as-needed basis, and if the reactor core fails in any way, the super-thick walls of cast-rhodinium act to contain and absorb the resultant detonation. Now, at up to half power, the plant absorbs the blast--which would completely destroy it in the process--but at full power, the resultant explosion would blast a 10 km-deep crater into the planet's crust and irradiate the province in a matter of days."

The shocked looks from his crewmates didn't faze the gruff Tellarite in the slightest. "It is why I keep calling it a kludge. If it works, it will do the job adequately. If not, they really are endangering their planet."

"I had no idea--"

"Are you serious? What about--"

"We shouldn't let them continue with their project. It's too--"

"Quiet!"

The room fell silent as the captain made her presence felt. Katrin glared around the table, coldly locking eyes with everyone present.

"There will be no more outbursts like that while I am in command. Is that understood?"

Chastened, the participants nodded stiffly.

"We are not here to question the Catuallan's techniques, technology levels, cultural values, ethics, or their wisdom! We are here to help them get this power plant operational, and we will comply with that request to the best of our abilities!" she stated bluntly.

"Of course, that said, I will inform Starfleet Command of this development and ask about a change in mission priorities and objectives. Until we hear differently, however, we will continue as originally planned." Schulte emphasised her final words to underscore her order.

"Now, was that all you had to say, Mr. Grunk, or was there more?"

"Apart from the Catuallans' failure to inform us of their plant's maximum power output, there is nothing else I have to report, Captain," the chief engineer stated.

"Very well. Science, what do you have for us?"

"Captain, Senior Scientist Gentra and his computer staff examined the software 'patch' and pronounced it 'sound'," the Vulcan started, with a slight emphasis on the last word to render his opinion of their efforts, "after which they immediately applied it to their systems for a simulated run. The test failed."

The faces of all present fell at that, their pride slightly dented, before Samok went on.

"The margin of failure was very slight, however, and with adjustments made by the Catuallans and our own science staff, the second simulation succeeded. Over the last three hours, several minor improvements were incorporated over hundreds of simulations and a final control software 'patch' has been written. Using this patch, we achieved a 100% success rate in over 200 scenarios ranging from a normal, incident-free startup to many full-blown emergency situations--including emergency shutdown. However, in light of Lieutenant Grunk's new information, the tests may not have been as all-inclusive as I had previously supposed.

"The Catuallan theorists are still trying to integrate our new information into their previous understanding of antimatter physics, although they have started the process. Their facility manager has planned an actual test run of the power plant startup for tomorrow morning at 0900 Local Time on-planet, which correlates to 0400 Ship Time. With this new data in mind, I would now suggest that the actual start time be delayed until we can run simulations with our patch at the increased power levels.

"This concludes my report, Captain."

Katrin sat back in her chair, face furrowed in a frown of concentration as he considered the information her staff had given.

"Okay, here is what is going to happen. All of you will retire for the night as it is already--" she checked her chronometer "--1800 hours. I want my Science and Engineering staffs well rested for this event tomorrow. I will speak with both Starfleet Command at Starbase 15 and the Catuallan Chairman. By tomorrow morning I hope to have clearer instructions and to have delayed the test run.

"That's all, people. Dismissed."

*****

"You have reviewed our reports and the recommendations of my staff, then, Commodore?"

The short, balding Australian on her wall-mounted viewscreen nodded. "Captain, I understand your position and I sympathise, I really do."

Sympathise, Katrin thought dejectedly. There is a 'but' or a 'however' coming, I can feel it.

Sure enough, Commodore MacLaughlin continued, "However, you can only advise them to postpone or cancel this test. The very fact that they kept this little detail hidden from you indicates they were expecting Federation officials to object and try to alter their stance on the matter."

"Sir, surely I can at least cite some obscure conspiracy statute--"

"Now, listen here, Commander!" Katrin noted the colder tone and the use of her rank as opposed to her title, and knew that that law would be laid down now. "The Federation and Starfleet does not bully or browbeat people into 'common sense'. It is still their planet, and as long as they know the risks and are prepared to proceed anyway, all you can do is assist and, unfortunately, try to clean up any mess that results from their, ah, determination."

Schulte noticed with surprise the base commander's softening of tone with his last words, and had the distinct impression that he almost said 'stubbornness'.

She sighed. "Understood, Commodore. With any luck, the mess we might have to clean up won't involve an irradiated province."

Craig MacLaughlin gave her a sharp look at those words, but decided to let it pass and merely nodded. "Good luck, Captain, Lets hope you don't need it. Starbase 15, out," he said, and signed off.

Katrin got up and paced to try and escape her frustration. Her warning/plea to Chairman Toldar hadn't gone any better, as he had refused to hinder the test in any way since his own people were supremely confident of the outcome.

My hands are tied. There is nothing I can do but wait--and hope, she consoled herself. I'll work out this frustration at the gym and then turn in for he night.