STC: Have Starship, Will Travel: Chapter 1

1

Uncharted Trinary System
February 22, 2270

The rim of the galaxy is a sparse and lonely place to be, and Calypso and her crew had been travelling through it for almost seven weeks. When someone mentions the rim of the galaxy, the image that comes to mind is a very slim region. But galactic real estate is big; very big indeed. On average, the width of each spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy is something like ten thousand light-years across. At the edges and trailing end of each arm the stars are far fewer in number when compared to the much denser interior of the galaxy. It’s literally darker and colder. On the other hand, being out on the very edge of the galaxy offers one hell of a view.
    After leaving their Cêtarii hosts, Calypso’s crew set course for the distant Federation. For the first five days Cera had them cruising along at warp nine to break in the ship’s brand-new, hyper-advanced warp drive. But once she felt it’d been properly broken in, she increased speed to the ship’s maximum of warp thirteen. Since beginning its journey towards home, Calypso had put a staggering 270 light-years behind it. The old Calypso would have needed roughly seven months to cross the same distance.
    Yet it was still only just a drop in the galactic bucket.
    Cera Rigel was, at heart, an explorer. Barring any serious incidents or delays, it was going to take her and her crew roughly twenty years to get home; assuming they stayed at maximum warp for all that time. Given that they were going to be crossing pretty much most of the Alpha Quadrant to complete their journey, she figured it couldn’t hurt to take a closer look at bits of it along the way.
    The turbolift door opened and Garadun, Sajeen and Magik stepped onto the circular bridge, the small black cat in the lead. She mewed cheerfully in greeting and then trotted across the floor to hop first onto the chair and then the top of the helm station. Cera, sitting in the command chair, chuckled at her antics. In the foremost position on the port side was the communications station; T’Prin was already present. Next in line was navigation; David Kalakona, simply known as Kona to his friends, was there in one of his brightly coloured Hawaiian shirts. Sajeen sat beside him at environmental. In front of Cera, in the slightly sunken command deck, was the helm. Garadun joined Magik, sitting down and scratching her on the back. In the foremost position on the starboard side was the engineering station, currently unoccupied. Beside it was tactical; and next to that was the multipurpose station that could be reconfigured to serve as any duty station.
    Nessa entered from the access corridor on the opposite side of the bridge from the turbolift, followed by Jan Koor. Nessa took her place at tactical and Jan dropped into his high-backed chair at the engineering station. He had a mug of some steaming liquid in his hand; he took a long pull and then set the mug atop his control board.
    “So what’ve we got, Captain?” the big Orion asked.
    “Trinary system,” Cera replied, then swivelled in her chair. “Kona?”
    “An interesting mix of stars, Cera,” Kona supplied as he checked his sensor readouts. “We have a close binary pair orbited by a distant companion. The binary consists of a blue-white star and a yellow-white star, both main sequence. The companion is another main sequence star, a red one. It’s the only star with a system of planets.”
    Cera leaned forward in interest. “Gar: take us in, please.”
    “Done and done,” he said and went to work.
    Calypso was currently less than a light-year away from the trinary system; yet even at warp thirteen it would take a couple of hours to arrive. As they closed the distance, they used the vessel’s advanced sensors to scan their destination. It was a bright red main sequence star, classified M0 V. In orbit around it was a small collection of planets. At 0.1 AU was the star’s only terrestrial world and their intended goal. Much further out at a distance of 0.8 AU was a gas giant roughly the size of Saturn. After that came three more smaller gas giants, each about the size of Neptune. Between the largest gas giant and the terrestrial world was an unremarkable asteroid belt.
    When they reached their objective, Garadun raced Calypso through the star system, only dropping out of warp when they were about half a million kilometres from the H-Class planet. Standard procedure for most starships was to drop out of warp at a much safer distance and cruise in at impulse. He considered that to be a colossal waste of time. He took the ship out of warp and down to one-half sublight with a thrust of the main control bar and the flick of a switch. A few seconds later they were in orbit.
    “Aaand here we are,” he announced with a cheesy grin.
    “Thank you, Gar,” said Cera, smiling in amusement. Her first mate had always been a skilled and daring pilot, but the new Calypso’s manoeuvrability allowed him to do things that would make Starfleet helmsmen wet their pants.
    Cera glanced at her cousin. “On screen please, T’Prin.”
    T’Prin nodded in acknowledgement and brought up a view of the planet as it slowly rotated beneath them. The surface had plenty of reddish tan, but very little blue.
    “It appears much like Vulcan,” she observed.
    Kona shook his head. “So much for any surfing, then.”
    “Sajeen: can you give me a rundown on the planet?” Cera requested.
    “Of course, Captain.” Sajeen put her attention on her readouts. “H-Class, as our long-range sensors indicated. Diameter is twelve thousand, six hundred kilometres. Density is four-point-one, with a surface gravity of point-seven-four gee. Axial tilt is five degrees, and thirty-two percent of its surface is covered with water. The atmosphere is an oxygen-nitrogen mix; with traces of argon, carbon dioxide and helium. But atmospheric pressure is only point-four that of Earth sea level.”
    “Typical H-Class,” Kona remarked.
    “The planet has no polar ice caps and an average temperature of sixty degrees at the equator during the day,” Sajeen continued. “Each day is twenty standard hours long, and there’s one medium-sized and two small moons in orbit.”
    “Any indigenous life?” Garadun asked.
    Sajeen studied her readouts again. “I am picking up life signs, both plant and animal. Mostly in and around the shallow seas.”
    “That would seem logical,” said T’Prin.
    “It’s pretty much one big, giant desert, Captain,” Sajeen concluded.
    “Captain, I’m picking up a large, metallic object on the surface,” Jan Koor announced. He checked one of his screens. “Appears to be a spacecraft.”
    Cera looked at him in excitement. “This world’s inhabited?”
    “No, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that,” he said, shaking his head. “Sensors indicate that it’s a derelict. A spacewreck. Been there a very long time, I’d say.”
    “Still, I think it’s worth a look,” she said, her sense of excitement increasing.
    “So do I,” Sajeen agreed eagerly. “Let’s go.”
    “All right, Gar, let’s see how this new ship of ours handles an atmosphere, even a thin one,” Cera told him. “Take us down to that wreck, please.”
    Garadun smiled. “No problemo.”

                                                                          *****

Calypso was a sphere sixty meters across, so cruising through a planet’s atmosphere, whether that of a gas giant or a terrestrial world, was something its hull was designed to do. It dropped towards the lonely desert planet’s sandy surface without a problem, its inertial dampening system eliminating any sense of turbulence.
    As was most often the case, Garadun flew in on full manual, swinging down and then sweeping low over the surface as he made for the spacewreck. The derelict craft was located on the edge of a vast basin several thousand square kilometres in size; filled with endless sand dunes and small outcroppings of rock poking out here and there like tiny islands. Bordering the edge of this ocean of sand, which was in the planet’s northern hemisphere, was a long chain of low, rocky hills. A few hundred kilometres east of the hills was one of the world’s small, shallow seas. Between the hills and the sea, the terrain was predominantly hard-packed soil and dusty scrubland.
    When Calypso reached the crash site, Garadun slowed to a crawling speed of 80 kph and circled the spacewreck to give everyone a good look at it. The alien vessel was far bigger than Calypso: more than three hundred meters long. Its configuration was unlike anything anyone had seen before. The hull was cracked in several places and centuries of blowing sand had scoured it clean of paint, leaving only bare metal. Given the planet’s extremely arid climate, there wasn’t much rust. He brought Calypso around a final time and then landed about a hundred meters away from the alien vessel’s port side. The scout ship hovered only a few meters above the ground, and then slowly settled into the sand, its own mass helping to steady its position, along with gravitic stabilisers. It was another first for Garadun: he’d never landed a starship on a planet before. But he found Calypso no more difficult to handle than a shuttlecraft.
    “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we do that,” he quipped.
    “Nice job, sweetheart,” Sajeen told him with a proud smile.
    “Thanks.”
    Cera almost sprang out of her chair in anticipation. “All right, everyone: the landing party. Who’s coming with me?”
    Nessa stood up. “I’m your bodyguard. Of course I’m coming with you.”
    “I’d like to go as well, please,” said Sajeen, putting up her hand.
    “Good. Time you finally got to do some exploring,” Cera told her supportively.
    “I’ll stay here in case you need to be beamed back in a hurry,” said Jan, leaning back in his chair. “No telling what’s out there, or inside that old wreck.”
    “That’s a good point,” Cera conceded. “Thank you.”
    “I will remain here as well,” T’Prin added, “to maintain communications.”
    “Deserts aren’t exactly my thing, Cera,” said Kona, smirking. “I’ll pass.”
    Cera nodded and looked at Garadun. But before he could say anything, Magik, who was sitting on the chair beside Nessa’s tactical station, sat up on her haunches and started miaowing loudly and waving her forepaw. The crew stared at her in amazement, but she simply jumped down and hurried over to Garadun. She hopped into his lap, mewing at him repeatedly. He chuckled and gave her a hug and a kiss.
    “Okay, you can come, too,” he said, scooping her up in his arms. “I was planning on going with you anyways,” he told Cera. “This only confirms it.”
    Jan cocked an eyebrow. “Brother, you do realise your cat needs an EV suit out there too, just like the rest of you, right?”
    Garadun grinned. “Yeah, of course. Cera and I made one for her weeks ago.”
    “You did?” said Kona in complete surprise.
    “It’s true, we did,” Cera confirmed.
    “I have a special cat carrier in case of emergencies,” Garadun explained. “Sort of like a tiny escape pod, full life support and everything. But now that we have these industrial replicators, I sat down with Cera and designed a little custom spacesuit for Magik. Works perfectly, and she has no problems wearing it. Right, sweetie?”
    Magik gave an enthusiastic miaow in reply.
    Cera laughed. “Well, I guess here’s another first: a landing party with a cat. All right, then. Let’s head down to the EVA room and get suited up.”

                                                                          *****

Getting kitted out in an EV suit is, for most people, a very tedious and annoying task, and they don’t enjoy wearing them. This includes the majority of Starfleet personnel who are instructed in their use. Cera had no problem with them, though, having used EV suits for deep ocean diving as well as hostile atmospheres and open space. Nessa was well-trained in their use and never looked forward to putting one on. But it came with the job so she saw no point in grumbling about it.
    Sajeen, during her time as a crewman with Starfleet, had received the standard basic instruction course on how to put on and use an EV suit, and was taught the basics in moving around in a zero-g environment. But apart from decompression drills aboard the Cassini, she’d never had to use one for real. When she first joined Calypso’s crew, Garadun bought her an EV suit because everyone on the ship had to have one. Apart from the first time she’d put it on (so Cera could make sure everything worked properly) she hadn’t used it until now. Cera helped her with it again. Garadun was the only one of Calypso’s crew who thought that donning an EV suit and tromping around in outer space was fun. He liked it. Nessa thought he was mental.
    Everyone’s EV suit was different. Cera’s was an almost exact duplicate of those worn by Starfleet crewmen during the twenty-second century, when Starfleet was still part of United Earth and the United Federation of Planets had yet to be formed. The only major difference in design was that her suit lacked external air hoses. In the original design, a pair of hoses connected the oxygen tank on the back to the helmet. It was epic stupidity at its finest because the hoses were notorious for becoming detached at the slightest bump. To make matters even stupider, the valves where the hoses connected to either the tank or helmet weren’t self-sealing. If a hose disconnected (which happened all the time) then the air simply pissed away into space and the user suffocated if they weren‘t quick to get the damned hose plugged back in. The tank lacked efficient air scrubbers, so the amount of breathable air was limited. Cera’s suit didn’t have these ridiculous flaws.
    Nessa’s EV suit was a much more modern design of Orion manufacture. Where Cera’s copper-coloured suit was a bit bulky, hers was close-fitting and predominantly black. It had a built-in pistol holster on each hip, and a rifle sling on either side of the back’s air reprocessing tank. Each boot had a knife sheath. The helmet offered a much wider field of vision, and the suit itself would dissipate a stun hit from a phaser or disruptor. In the right holster was her Orion disruptor. In the left holster was a new Cêtarii antiproton pistol. Attached to her back was a replica Remington pistol grip shotgun, and there was a combat knife in each boot sheath. Nessa liked to be prepared.
    Sajeen’s suit had been bought on Andoria, and like Nessa’s it was modern and well-made. It was a mix of black and grey, the lights of the electronics in violet, and it clung to her shapely body like a tight glove. The suit was actually stylish, with high-heeled boots and a sleek, domed helmet that was mostly filtered transparent aluminium. However, it lacked any sort of practical pockets or tool clips like other suits; although the belt could be fitted with a holster, if desired. Sajeen carried a Type-2 phaser. It was the kind of thing a wealthy dilettante might wear: looks fantastic, but not very practical for actual work. As could be imagined, she looked quite sexy while wearing it. Which, to be perfectly honest, was the reason Garadun had bought it for her. Sajeen didn’t mind. Her husband rarely bought her anything in the way of attire, sexy or otherwise, because he thought what she wore was up to her. Besides, while it might not be very practical, one advantage it did have was that it was extremely comfortable to wear, something she appreciated.
    Garadun’s spacesuit was well-made, durable, and had seen a lot of use. It was mainly white in colour, with bands and patches of grey. It was fitted fairly close to the body, and featured pockets on the upper arms, much larger pockets on the upper and lower legs, a built-in holster on the right leg (which held his custom phaser pistol), rugged thick-soled boots, and a compact oxygen rebreather on the back. Scanning and communication equipment, along with data slates, were built into the suit’s forearms, and the gloves were designed for fine manipulation. The helmet was a large, old-fashioned bubble that offered total visibility. It was made from a tinted, composite transparent carbon-polymer material. It filtered out ultraviolet, infrared and other harmful non-visible wavelengths of radiation, as well as excessively bright visible light. Because of its retro styling, he always called it a spacesuit and not an EV suit.
    Magik’s spacesuit was the housecat equivalent of Garadun’s suit. It was also white with grey, made from the same materials, tinted bubble helmet included; and featured a rear sleeve for her tail. While it lacked scanners and data slates, the comm unit built into the helmet was easily activated by pressing a button with her chin, so people could hear her. On her chest, just below her helmet’s collar, was the suit’s main safety feature: a big red button. If she got into trouble, all she had to do was press the button and a recall signal would be sent to Calypso – which would then automatically beam her back aboard the ship.
    Cera, Nessa and Sajeen watched in open wonder as Garadun helped his cat into her spacesuit. She stepped into it as instructed and he sealed it up around her. Last to go on was her bubble helmet. A normal cat would have fussed and fought, been upset and probably frightened. Magik was excited and cooperative. When the helmet was snapped on and sealed, she turned and looked up at the three women, mewing at them happily. She was well and truly a genuine space kitty.
    “Ready when you are,” Garadun declared, grinning.
    Nessa stared. “That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”
    “Awww, I think she looks really cute,” Sajeen remarked adoringly.
    “Definitely where no kitty has gone before,” Cera added with a smirk, then leaned over and tapped the cat’s helmet. “You be careful, okay? Stay with Garadun.”
    Magik trilled and nodded her head.
    “That’s a good girl,” Garadun told her. “Right: let’s get this show on the road.”