Sparrow

Planet Hiroshima – A Star Trek Story

First Officer's personal log, Stardate 52073.4. We couldn't finish surveying the pulsar because in the afternoon we received a new order from Starfleet: they sent us over to the Beta Quadrant to observe a supernova event. Apparently some Andorian cruisers had detected a significant shift in the star's spectrum, but they were on a mission themselves, so they didn't have time to investigate – instead they reported their finding to Starfleet. Starfleet scientists have analyzed the data, and they think the star will explode in a matter of days! This is indeed a golden opportunity, and we can't miss it: Starfleet in all its long history has only been able to observe two supernova events directly. So I'm absolutely excited to go. This pulsar will be spinning here forever – we will get back to it as soon as we're finished with this new mission.

Even at warp seven the journey took thirteen hours. I was sitting in my chair on the bridge, and I could barely contain my excitement and impatience. Of course when your captain is a Vulcan, you do learn to control your emotions. Captain Sorok sat next to me, and his face was motionless like that of a statue, as always. I wondered if he felt any excitement behind this mask, or if it all was just carrying out orders for him. I turned my attention to the main view screen, and stared at the smeared lines of subspace for a while. The bottom of the screen was obstructed by the helmsman Lieutenant Shroh's blue antennae. I smiled.

"So, what do we know about this star?" I turned to one of the science stations behind our chairs. "Is it even in the registry?"

"It is indeed, sir" answered Lieutenant Lavik, another Vulcan, whilst pressing buttons on his console. Both science stations were manned by Vulcans – they famously excelled at scientific roles. No wonder we had three of them on the bridge alone – after all, this was a science vessel. "Its entry was brought over from the old Vulcan star charts two hundred and twelve years ago, but since then no Starfleet ship has visited it."

"Which means we will be the first. I like it. Any other data?"

"Not much, sir. The file only mentions the star's mass – it is twenty-two percent above the Chandrasekhar limit –, and that it has seven planets, all uninhabited and lifeless."

"Alright. Now we will find out more about it. Current ETA?"

"Nine hours and forty-two minutes, sir."

"Alright."

Captain Sorok stood up and straightened his uniform. "I will retire, Commander," he said. "You have the bridge."

"Aye sir," I said. "Good night."

He just nodded, and left through the turbolift behind us. My shift too was going to end soon, but for now I turned back to the view screen and let the blurry star-streaks hypnotize me. The star's mass is above the Chandrasekhar limit, which means it won't become a pulsar like the one we'd just surveyed – it will become a black hole. I wondered how many of its planets will be destroyed by the explosion, how many will be blown out into interstellar space to wander forever as rogue planets, and how many will remain for the new-born black hole to fall into.

***

After a good night's sleep I managed to kill the last two hours going through the duty rosters for all seventy-eight crew members. I was downing the last sips of my coffee when I felt that little familiar trembling when a ship drops out of warp. Through the window the star-streaks shortened and become white dots. I put my empty mug back into the replicator and hurried to the bridge.

A big bright spot occupied the center of the view screen, and rapidly grew as we approached it.

"Good morning, everyone," I said as I sat next to Captain Sorok. He looked at me.

"Good morning, Commander. We have just entered the star system in question."

"Great." I turned to the science station. "Mr. Lavik, can you give us an estimation for the time of the explosion?"

"The Astrometrics Lab is analyzing the sensor data, sir", answered the Vulcan. "They need a few more minutes."

"Right."

Captain Sorok was still looking at me, his dark eyes darted into mine.

"Do I sense excitement in your voice, Commander?"

"Yes Captain," I answered without hesitation. I had decided long ago that I wouldn't let him intimidate me at any time. "I am excited for this opportunity to witness a supernova event. I am happy that we are here."

"In this case, I am happy too," said the captain. He sat back in his chair. "I hope I didn't offend you with my observation."

"Not at all, sir," I answered. "Observation is what we do at Starfleet."

I glanced over at him, but I couldn't tell if he was smiling or not. His lips were like Mona Lisa's. I had learned to work together with Vulcans long ago, back in my cadet years: you keep your distance, that's the secret. You accept them for what they are. If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone, too. And don't take it personal if they seem cold or even harsh to you: it's simply their nature. They don't realize when they are rude. They don't do emotions. They will never laugh at your jokes, and will never consider you a friend. And you can't expect them to change; not even a bit. And as soon as you realize that they are always right, you start respecting them for their intelligence and clear logic. And one day you will find yourself trying to learn from them.

"We are approaching the star, Captain," said the other science officer, Ensign T'Naak. "Distance: one hundred million kilometers"

"All stop," ordered the captain. "Sensors at maximum efficiency."

"Captain, I am detecting spacecrafts around the star," reported Lavik with raised eyebrows. "They completely surround the star in a perfect grid formation, exactly thirty-eight million kilometers from it."

"What?" I couldn't restrain my puzzlement. "So close? What are they doing there?"

"They are waiting for the star to explode?" voiced his astonishment Shroh the helmsman too. His blue face was all disbelief. "They must have some impressive shield systems!"

"There are four hundred and thirty-two of them, all identical," continued Lavik. "But I am also picking up bigger ships that are not part of the formation. They are orbiting the star at a greater distance. One of them is coming directly towards us."

"Hail them."

"No need, Captain: they are hailing us."

"On screen."

A black face filled the screen. He looked like a bald Afro-American man, only he had three eyes. And all his three eyes were narrow with anger.

"We are detecting weapons on your ship. Don't come any closer, or we will destroy you. Who are you people, and what do you want?"

The captain's voice was calm as always.

"This is the Ferderation science vessel Lovelace; my name is Captain Sorok. We are on a science mission: we wish to observe the upcoming supernova event. We mean no harm–"

"The Federation has no jurisdiction here!" barked the alien. "This star is ours! Don't come any closer or you will all die. I suggest you to get out of here while you still can."

The captain raised his eyebrows – and did he just roll his eyes?

"Helm, will you please put some distance between us and this gentleman," called the captain.

"Aye sir," said Shroh, and pressed some buttons on his console. The giant black head nodded in approval, and disappeared.

I was smiling. So elegant, so subtle. The captain didn't say "put some distance between us and the star" – he said "between us and this gentleman". The guy didn't even notice that he had been insulted. So elegant, so intelligent. So Vulcan.

"Mr. Shroh, put us into orbit around the third planet, that should be far enough," I said, still smiling.

"Aye sir."

The white dot was shrinking as we went farther from it.

"What a nice guy," I rolled my eyes too. "The question is, what do they want from the star?"

"They completely surround the star, almost like a Dyson sphere," said T'Naak from science station two. "They obviously want to collect something from the explosion."

"Well, what gets created during a supernova explosion?" I asked the crew.

"Heavy elements like lead and gold," answered T'Naak.

"Freshgold!" exclaimed Shroh, suddenly turning towards us in his chair.

"Lieutenant?" said the captain.

"Sorry Captain, I've just remembered what happened to me at Starbase 505 where we stopped for dilithium. I went to a Fleet White for a tea and saw a group of Ferengi there. They were showing off their latest acquisition, a container of freshgold. They called it that. It is gold, extracted from a supernova explosion, kept in a stasis container like antimatter, but it had clear walls, so you could see the still gaseous gold, swirling around in there. Actually I couldn't tell if it was gas or liquid, but it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. A piece of a star. It's worth much more than regular gold or even latinum. Maybe that's what they want," he finished, pointing at the view screen with his thumb.

"Maybe," said the captain. "But people, this is just useless speculation. What they want is irrelevant to us: the only thing that matters is that they don't want us here. So we will observe the event from a distance."

"Aye Captain," I said with a sadness that he had cut our train of thought short. Speculation or not, it would have been interesting to find out what they wanted from the supernova. "We could launch a probe..."

"We could launch many probes," agreed the captain. "For redundancy." He turned to Lavik. "Mr. Lavik, prepare five class-one probes. Program them to orbit the star at different distances. Launch them when ready."

"Aye Captain."

The intercom beeped, and a woman's voice filled the bridge.

"Astrometrics Lab to the bridge."

"Go ahead," said the captain.

"Captain, the computer has finished analyzing the sensor data. With ninety percent accuracy we predict that the supernova event will occur in fifteen hours."

***

"We're in standard orbit around the third planet, Captain," reported Shroh.

"Acknowledged."

"Captain, I am detecting signs of technology on the fourth planet," said Lavik. "We might want to orbit that one instead."

"What do you see?"

(I motioned to Shroh to do it, let's move on to the fourth planet. He understood, and turned back to his instruments.)

"I see cities, but they are empty, abandoned long ago, possibly centuries ago, judging by the amount of vegetation that covers the ruins. Everything is overgrown by plants. I am also detecting animal lifesigns, but there is no intelligent life on the planet."

"They must have known that their sun would explode," I said. "We also know that our Sun will become a red giant in five billion years. I'm sure my people will also abandon Earth before it happens."

"Scan for lifesigns in the entire system," ordered the Captain. "I want to know if there is anyone we need to rescue."

"No lifesigns, Captain," reported Lavik. "Apart from those in the battle ships. I cannot tell whether the collector ships are manned due to the strong interference from the star."

"That is alright. We will wait for the explosion. Monitor the probes."

"Aye Captain."

***

We waited. The view screen still showed the planet's surface below us. Patches of green, massive cities connected by roads, rivers, lakes. An advanced civilization used to live here. They must have explored their star system like we did with ours. If we'd looked, we would surely have found wreckages of ancient robot probes on every planet. They must have had proper names for every planet too, only we call them "the first planet" and "the second planet". If only we could find out more about them before their home world gets destroyed... I turned to Sorok.

"Captain, we have fifteen hours. Let me go down there to collect information on this civilization before it all turns to dust. I would take two people with me."

The captain raised his eyebrows. "I have no objection, Commander. Go and have fun."

"Thank you, Captain." I stood up. "T'Naak, you're with me. We'll take Lieutenant Tavia from the Astrometrics Lab too." I walked to the turbolift, but then I heard Lavik's voice behind me.

"I am detecting weapons fire around the star! Five alien ships entered the system, and they engaged the ships surrounding the star."

"On screen!" ordered the Captain. He looked at me. "Stay, Commander."

"Aye sir." I walked back to my chair, hoping that I would still be able to go down to the planet later.

The screen showed the star with tiny explosions around it. A space battle was unfolding in front of our eyes.

"Red alert, shields up," ordered the captain. "We are not going to interfere unless we have to."

"Sir, one of the alien ships is heading towards us. It's badly damaged."

"Have phasers ready."

"They are hailing us!"

"On screen."

An alien appeared on the screen that looked completely different from the three-eyed black man we saw before. This creature was covered in white fur like a polar bear; it was hard to even make out his eyes in the fur.

"My name is Captain Norrgondug of the Buryyani Defence Forces. Can you help us please? Do you have any more ships in the system?"

Sorok put up his hands.

"Wait Captain, this is a science vessel, not a battle ship. Can you tell us what is going on here?"

"No time, the Rashi are going to destroy our planet! We have fifteen hours until the explosion! You have to help us! I see you have weapons on your ship!"

"Wait Captain," said Sorok again. "We need more information on the matter. Like you said, we have fifteen hours. Your ship took heavy damage. We will beam you over so you can explain the situation to us, and in the meantime an engineering team will have a look at your ship. Is that acceptable?"

The furry alien panted, his eyes moved to left and right, he was obviously very anxious and impatient. "Alright," he said eventually, "but I won't stay long."

"We will not keep you long," promised the Captain. "Prepare for transport. Lovelace out." He activated the intercom. "Bridge to transporter room two."

"Lieutenant Boskowich here!"

"Lieutenant, lock on to our guest, and stand by to beam him aboard. Wait for my command. We are on our way"

"Aye Captain."

***

The captain and I went to the transporter room. Boskowich – a fellow Earth man of mine – looked excited standing behind his console.

"Captain, I'm detecting a very low temperature on the alien ship. It's minus forty degrees Celsius. If we beam him aboard, he might even die!"

"No problem, Lieutenant. Then we will be talking with him in here. Erect a force field around the transporter pad and set the environmental controls to produce minus forty degrees in there. But first, we will need a chair for him."

"I'll get one," I offered, and left the room. I brought three chairs over from the mess hall with the help of a crewman. I placed one of them onto the transporter pad, and two on the floor in front of it for the captain and myself.

"Computer, put a level five force field around the transporter pad, and set the temperature inside it to minus forty degrees Celsius," said Boskowich.

We heard a short buzzing sound, and the black chair on the pad turned white with frost.

" Energize when ready," nodded the captain to Boskowich.

" Energizing... "

A sparkling light column appeared on the pad, and when it dissipated, a tall white yeti stood in its place. He wasn't wearing clothes, he didn't need any: his entire body was covered by that thick white fur. He looked like a polar bear man. They probably never even invented clothing. He was only wearing a utility belt with a handgun and small containers attached to it.

"Welcome aboard the Federation science vessel Lovelace. My name is Captain Sorok, this is my first officer Commander Brady. We apologize for the circumstances, but the temperature on our ship would not be suitable for you."

"You're two different species, aren't you?" the yeti pointed at us. "How do you manage to live and work together in peace?"

Captain Sorok looked at me and then back to the yeti. "This is a long story for another time. Right now we would like to hear yours. Please have a seat."

***

First Officer's personal log, supplemental. The yeti (his species was actually called Buryyani) told us a fascinating story. They shared a star system with the Rashi about forty light years from our position. Their respective planets orbited their sun at either edge of its habitable zone creating two vastly different worlds. The inner planet was a hot desert world with a jungle belt about its equator, this is where the Rashi lived (as we learned from the Buryyani, the Rashi's middle eye could see in infrared which was useful when you hunted at night). The outer planet was a frozen, snowy world with cities built from ice. Their buildings looked like the Eskimo iglus on Earth, only much bigger and more advanced. Both planets had billions of inhabitants, and they had been fighting for the dominance of their solar system ever since they'd discovered each other. As I was listening to our guest, I couldn't help but wonder: if Mars was a living planet with an advanced civilization on it, would we have been fighting with them too? For the right to build a space station around Jupiter, and to send robots to all the other planets? Not to mention the asteroid mining rights? I was sad to realize that yes, we probably would. We most likely would be at constant war with them too. That's just how things work.

After the alien left the ship, we gathered round the long table in the boardroom. There was the captain, me, Shroh, Lavik, Tavia the Vulcan woman from the Astrometrics lab, and the Medical Hologram was also watching us from one of the computer screens. Lavik was standing beside another screen that displayed the aliens' star system with a wide green band indicating the habitable zone and the two planets at either edge of it.

"The Rashi and the Buryyani have been at constant war for over two hundred years now," he explained. "The war has consumed nearly all of their resources. Both planets are ruined. Their inhabitants are starving and are mostly without shelter and medical assistance. As a last, desperate effort, the Rashi have built a fleet of small ships to collect the energy of the supernova." He pressed a few buttons on the screen, and a small ship with a cone attached to its nose appeared. "This is it. They collect the supernova's energy with these cones, they store it, and they will carry it back to the Buryyani home world. They will surround the planet just like the star, and release the supernova's plasma flares onto the planet."

"Can you give us a prediction on the effect of this attack?" asked the Captain.

"Yes Captain, we have done the calculations. Provided the collector ships survive the supernova blast and work as intended, they will collect approximately six percent of the supernova's energy; but even this amount will have a devastating effect on the Buryyani planet. The entire surface will melt. Their cities are made from ice, and they will all melt along with the ground beneath them. The planet will be covered in water approximately eighteen kilometers deep. Most of the population will either burn in the attack or drown in the ocean afterwards. Only about three percent of the population will survive. That is approximately seven and a half billion casualties."

"Oh my God," I gasped.

"It is not all, Commander," said Lavik. "Due to the planet's distance from its sun, within a few days after the attack the water will refreeze."

"Oh no..."

"Even if some of the population survives, all their objects that they have ever created, technology, tools, vehicles will be under twenty-five kilometers of solid ice. Ice obviously expands as it freezes, which will also result in planet-wide quakes until the refreezing process finishes. The resulting surface will be barren, like when the planet was first created, with ice mountains and canyons."

"We can't let that happen," I looked at the captain.

"Agreed," answered Sorok. "But we also cannot interfere with other species' internal affairs."

"I know Captain, but still, we have to do something."

"We cannot contact Starfleet," said Lavik. "Even a subspace message would take thirty-nine hours to get to Earth."

"It all will be over by then." I buried my face in my hands. My thoughts were chasing one another, I was trying to find a way out of this mess. I heard the Doctor's voice from the other screen.

"Well, even if we can't open fire, we can still try to rescue some of the Buryyani, can't we? We could find a suitable icy planet for them and transport as many of them as we– "

"We don't have time for that," I lifted my head. "Only thirteen hours left. Besides, I'm sure they would have moved already by themselves if there was a similar icy planet in their vicinity."

"You're right, Commander," answered the hologram, "I hadn't considered that. But still, we have to do something! I'm not going to just stand here and watch seven and a half billion people die!"

"Thank you Doctor, you are dismissed," said the captain, and the Doctor's screen went blank.

Silence fell on to the room. Lavik sat down to the end of the table, next to Shroh. Vulcans and Andorians were once enemies too, but they made peace and then both became founding members of the Federation. Different species can make peace if they just sit down and talk it through, discuss their differences and agree on their respective terms. But I know it's not always possible. Especially if the two species can't even be in the same room due to their different temperature requirements. Could this one ridiculous reason prevent a peacemaking? Could this one reason lead to genocide?

"We should bring them together," I said. "Their leaders. In the same room. Separated by a force field. To talk."

Sorok thought about it for a moment.

"They had two hundred years to talk," he answered. "And maybe they did. Many times, for all we know. With no success. But enough of this." He stood up. "People, there is no point in sitting here feeling sad. Our hands are tied by the Prime Directive, and that is enough for us to know. But even if we wanted to interfere, we could not do anything. This is a small ship with limited combat capabilities. We need to concentrate on our own mission which is observing the supernova event. Get back to your stations."

"If only we had a Galaxy-class warship..." sighed Shroh, standing up.

"But we do not," answered Sorok.

"Captain!" I said. "Just one more thing." Everybody stopped in their movements. Sorok looked at me.

"Make it brief, Commander."

"Yes sir. How much do you know about Earth's history? The twentieth century?"

"To the point, Commander."

"Yes sir. In our Second World War two countries, America and Japan fought each other. Japan had already lost, it was ready to surrender, and America could have won the war with conventional weapons, but they wanted to show Japan and the rest of the world how superior they were, so they dropped a nuclear bomb on a Japanese town called Hiroshima. It was a new weapon, no one had ever seen such a thing before. That one bomb levelled the entire town and filled the country with radiation that caused cancer, stillbirths and genetic mutations for decades afterwards."

"Wow," said Shroh.

"And, as if it hadn't been enough, three days later they dropped another one of these bombs on another town. That's when Japan finally surrendered."

"Wow Commander," said Shroh. "I promise I will respect humans more from now on."

"Come on Shroh, we were pre-warp then," I retaliated. "And I'm sure you also have a piece of history on your planet that you're not so proud of."

He scratched his white-haired head. "Actually Commander, I can't think of anything of that magnitude."

"Well, good for you." I turned back to Sorok. "The point is, Captain, I have personal reasons not to let this happen again. The Rashi don't need to do this. The Buryyani have surrendered! They surrendered as soon as they found out about the Rashi's plan. The Rashi have won the war! And they are still going through with their plan!"

"Noted, Commander," nodded Sorok. "If you can find a way around the Prime Directive and overcome our tactical insufficiency within the next twelve hours, then we will do something. Until then, dismissed!"

***

I rushed to my quarters and asked the computer for a raktajino. As soon as the mug of steaming hot coffee materialized in the replicator, I grabbed it and started pacing up and down in the room. I spilled some coffee onto the floor. I put the mug on my desk and continued pacing licking my fingers. I had to find a solution. And I had to convince the captain to act.

What we should have done was attack the collector ships and their guard ships. But this was a small Nova-class science vessel with only twenty-five photon torpedoes and eleven phaser arrays that were only good for warning shots at best. In our three years of service we never used them. We never needed to. Shroh was right, a Galaxy-class warship would have been more suitable for this task. We needed help, but from whom? The Buryyani fleet was destroyed, and there was no one else in the vicinity.

But our weakness was only one of our problems. The biggest problem was the Prime Directive that forbade us to interfere with other worlds' internal affairs. By Starfleet's law, we were required to just sit back and watch the destruction of the Buryyani home world. The only thing that we were allowed to do was take sensor readings of it. God damn it! I hit the air with my fist, and almost cried of frustration. I would have to convince the captain that it wasn't just an internal affair. After all, what guaranteed that the Rashi would use up all four hundred and whatever collector ships in the attack?

My eyes widened. That's it. Of course. They don't need all of the ships. They’ve already won the war. They just need a few to demonstrate their military supremacy. The rest can be used elsewhere or even sold to the highest bidder! I touched my com-badge.

"Brady to Sorok."

"Go ahead, Commander."

"Can I talk to you, Captain? I think I've found a solution."

"Meet me in my ready room. Sorok out."

***

The captain was sitting behind his desk. He looked up from his computer screen when I entered.

"Yes Commander, I am listening."

"Sir, this is not just an internal affair. The Rashi are not stupid, they will not use up all four hundred and whatever–"

"Thirty-two."

"Four hundred and thirty-two ships. They've already won this war. And supernova events are extremely rare. It would be a huge waste to use up all that supernova plasma on one planet that doesn't even pose a threat anymore. I think... no, I'm sure, I would bet anything that they will only use up a fraction of their firepower, maybe just a hundred ships, just to show off what they have. To advertise their new weapon to the entire sector. That one hundred ships would be enough to destroy one hundred cities on the surface of Buryyan, and then they could sell the remaining three hundred and thirty-two to anyone who offers the most money for them. Their planet is also ruined, they need money to rebuild it and to strengthen their economy. I'm sure that a shipful of supernova plasma is even more valuable than freshgold. What if the Romulans buy a hundred of them? And the Cardassians another hundred? That would topple the balance of power in the Alpha Quadrant!"

The captain nodded.

"Agreed. I do find logic in your thinking, Commander. Looks like this is a business venture after all."

"War and business often go hand in hand, sir."

"Indeed. However, this is all still just speculation. You cannot know for sure that they will not use up all the plasma in the attack. They could be driven by emotions to destroy their enemy for once and for all after two centuries of war. They might not be thinking as logically as you assume."

"True, Captain. But we also can't know the opposite for sure. And if there is any chance that I am right, then we must act."

"But if we go into battle with them, we might be destroyed. We are alone against many. Are you willing to risk your life and that of the crew for this mission?"

"Yes Captain. The Alpha Quadrant must be protected at all costs. As a famous Vulcan once said: the need of the many outweighs the need of the few."

He looked at me, and I saw appreciation in his eyes. He nodded. "See you on the bridge, Commander. I will record our decision in the ship's log, and then I will join you there."

"Yes Captain." I turned around and left the room. I went to the center of the bridge with shaking legs and fell into my chair. A minute later the captain also emerged from the room, and came to his chair next to mine. He sat down.

"Helm, break orbit and set a course back to the star. Quarter impulse."

"Aye Captain," said Shroh with a surprised face, and turned to his instruments. The abandoned landscape of the fourth planet swam off the view screen, and the star took its place at the center. From this distance it looked only as big as the full moon viewed from Earth, but it gradually grew as we went closer to it.

"Lovelace crew, this is the captain," said Sorok into the intercom. "We are going to engage the Rashi ships in battle, because they pose a threat to the entire Quadrant. They need to be stopped before the star explodes. You are all scientists, not soldiers. So anyone who does not want to risk their life, find an escape pod and leave the ship now. Go as far from the star as you can, and a Federation ship will pick you up in a few days. You have five minutes after which we will accelerate to full impulse. Sorok out."

The air froze on the bridge. The officers looked at one another. Shroh glanced at me, and then the two Vulcans behind us. They also looked at each other.

"This includes you all as well," said the Captain. "We might die in this battle. You can go if you value your lives more than that of those strangers on that faraway planet."

"There are only seventy-eight of us aboard this ship," said Lavik quietly. "But we can save seven and a half billion people. It is only logical that we try it."

"Agreed," said T'Naak.

"Of course, Captain," shrugged his shoulder Shroh as well. "I've been waiting for a good little fight for three years."

"Acknowledged," nodded the captain.

"Q'apla!" I quoted the Klingon battle phrase with my fist in the air. "This is a good day to die."

Shroh laughed, but his blue face straightened when he saw my serious expression. He nodded. "Q'apla."

"Q'apla," repeated the captain as well. "This is indeed a good day to die."

After the captain has joined in, the two other Vulcans had no choice but to repeat the phrase as well.

"Is the Buryyani ship still nearby?" asked Sorok.

"Yes, Captain," answered Lavik.

"Open a channel to him."

"Channel open, sir."

The white furry head appeared on the screen again.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Captain, we have decided to attack the Rashi fleet. We could use your help."

The alien's eyes widened in the fur. "Absolutely! I can't thank you enough, Captain!"

"We will engage the guard ships and keep them occupied so you can destroy the collector ships one by one. Is that acceptable for you?"

"Absolutely! That's what I was trying to do, I just couldn't get close enough to them because of those damn guard ships! But if you keep them busy long enough– "

"So we agree. Good luck to you. Lovelace out."

The face disappeared.

"On my mark, accelerate to full impulse, and target the closest guard ship," ordered the captain.

"Aye Captain."

"Captain, three escape pods have been ejected," reported Lavik.

"Any of them from the Engineering or the weapons bay?"

"None, Captain."

"Good. We do not need anyone else. Helm, go to full impulse. Mr. Lavik, transmit the ship's log and all personal logs to Starfleet. Go to red alert, battle stations!"

I gasped. "Captain, request permission to finish my log. It will only take a minute, and then I will send it to Starfleet myself."

Sorok shook his head. "I need you on the bridge, Commander."

"I can access my log from your ready room. Please Captain. I don't like an unfinished business."

"Alright, but make it quick."

"Yes sir."

I jumped up and ran into the ready room. In there I asked the computer to access my log file, and quickly recorded these last events. If we survive this battle then I will continue; if not, then Starfleet will know how we died. Commander Charles Brady, first officer of the USS Lovelace, signing off.

***

Brady hurried back to the bridge, and sat back into his chair. Red lights were flashing all around.

"Shields to maximum!" Sorok ordered. "And stand by auxiliary power to direct to the shields when necessary."

"Aye sir," answered T'Naak, who had assumed the tactical station.

"Tactical report on the guard ships?" asked Brady.

"They are equipped with phasers and photon torpedoes, and a powerful shield array," answered T'Naak. "They have superior fire power, but we are smaller than them, which gives us better maneuverability."

"Then we will outrun them," said Brady. "Shroh, never stop for a second, zig-zag constantly, don't let them lock onto us."

"Aye sir! You can count on me."

"Captain, the lead ship is hailing us," reported Lavik.

"On screen."

The angry black face once again filled the screen. "I've told you to get out of here. You want to die?"

"In the name of the United Federation of Planets I am ordering you to stand down and move all your ships back to your own star system. You have one minute to comply, then we will open fire."

The three-eyed man laughed. "You have one ship! We have a fleet! Kill them," he yelled to his own crew, and disappeared from the screen.

"They are firing phasers!" yelled T'Naak, and the ship shook. "Direct hit! Shields down to eighty percent."

"Evasive maneuvers!" Brady yelled back. "Fire phasers only! Save the torpedoes for later. We only have twenty-five of them."

"Aye sir."

The Lovelace quickly jumped aside before another phaser beam could have hit it, and went around the much bigger guard ship hitting it in five different places with her phasers.

"Enemy ship's shields are down to fifty-two percent!"

"Keep firing! Continue same maneuver!"

The bridge shook again, and sparkles showered from the ceiling.

"Direct hit! It's another guard ship! Shields are down to sixty percent."

"Stay close to the first ship!" ordered Brady. "The second ship might hit them by mistake!"

The Lovelace was zig-zagging between the two ships avoiding many phaser beams like a dancer. But she couldn't avoid all of them.

"Direct hit to our starboard nacelle! Shields down to thirty percent!"

Blinding light filled the screen, and the bridge was shaking like a boat in a sea storm.

"Report!" yelled the Captain.

"It's a third ship! They accidentally hit the lead ship. It exploded."

"Good. One down. Keep firing!"

Another explosion shook the bridge. It was the second guard ship. And then the third one exploded as well, right in front of their eyes.

"What happened?" asked Brady. "Did we do it?"

"No, sir" answered T'Naak with raised eyebrows. "I was not firing at them."

"Then who did it?"

"Unknown."

"I am detecting a massive gravimetric distortion directly behind us," reported Lavik.

"Could it be a cloaked ship?" asked Brady.

"Unknown."

A loud voice filled the bridge. It wasn't coming from the com system, it felt more like to be in their heads.

"AND YOU? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS WITH OUR SUN?"

The captain raised his head to the ceiling.

"This is the Federation science vessel Lovelace. We are on a peaceful science mission to observe the upcoming supernova event. We only attacked these ships because they intended to collect the explosion's energy and destroy other planets with it."

"SO YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THEM. THEN WE GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW."

The captain looked at Shroh. "Helm, warp five, any direction, now."

Shroh quickly pressed the necessary buttons, and the star disappeared from the screen.

"Tell me when we have left the star system."

"Aye Captain. Er, now."

"All stop. Put the star back on the screen."

From this distance the star was just one of the countless stars in the blackness. It was hard to tell it apart from the other white dots.

"I am picking up explosions around the star," reported Lavik. "It's the collector ships. They are getting destroyed one after another."

"It's the alien ship. But who are they?"

The crew was watching the explosions in silence. When they stopped, the alien voice returned into their heads.

"YOU ARE ONLY PEACEFUL EXPLORERS, SO WE WILL SPARE YOUR LIVES. WE WERE PEACEFUL EXPLORERS ONCE TOO."

"Who are you, if we may ask?" asked Brady.

"WE CALL OURSELVES MARUDIANS. WE USED TO LIVE ON THE FOURTH PLANET OF THIS SYSTEM. OUR ANCESTORS LEFT THE PLANET CENTURIES AGO, BUT WE HAVE RETURNED TO WITNESS THE DEATH OF OUR BELOVED SUN AND OUR HOME WORLD. WE WON'T LET ANYONE HARNESS OUR SUN'S ENERGY OR INTERFERE WITH ITS DEATH IN ANY WAY. BUT YOU CAN STAY AND WATCH IT WITH US IF YOU WISH."

"We appreciate the opportunity," said the captain.

"Have the sensors ready," ordered Brady. "Time?"

"Two hours left, sir."

"Good, we can use this time to make repairs. Send engineer teams to the damaged areas. Any casualties?"

"Only a few bruises and minor injuries, according to the Doctor."

"Good."

The captain stood up, and straightened his uniform.

"I will be in my ready room, Commander. Don't forget to bring back our missing crew members." He left.

"Yes Captain. Mr. Lavik, locate those three escape pods, and beam them back aboard."

"Aye sir."

"Stand down red alert, but keep the shields up just in case. Now, it's time for a coffee. Shroh, you have the bridge. I'll be back in five minutes."

"Yes sir," nodded Shroh. Brady left through the turbolift.

Shroh turned to the two Vulcan science officers with a big smile on his face.

"Replicators are down," he giggled. "I didn't have a heart to tell him. He will be mad when he gets back... Heh, I'm laughing alone. No worries, guys."

***

First Officer's personal log, supplemental. The Buryyani captain was left alive as well, he watched the explosion with us before he headed back to his own star system. The supernova was as majestic as I'd imagined it would be.The star opened up like a blooming flower, and its light spread across the view screen. The four inner planets were vaporized one after another, and the three outer planets were pushed away by the shockwaves. That was some sight as well. We watched the whole event from a safe distance with the shields up. The shockwaves were shaking the ship for over an hour before we decided to leave. We set a course back to the pulsar to finish the survey.

I was sitting next to the captain with a mug of hot raktajino in my hand, watching the smeared star-streaks of subspace on the view screen. Another mission completed. Starfleet will be happy. Not only did we observe a supernova event, but also came in contact with three new alien species. The Rashi and the Buryyani would be visited by other Starfleet ships, I was sure of it. Maybe even we ourselves will return to them in a few years to learn more about them and to check on their peacemaking process. Will they ever find peace at all? Will they ever just sit down and talk to each other? There was certainly hope for them. Earth's various nations have come together under one flag. The Vulcans and Andorians have made peace. Humans and Klingons have made peace. Nothing is impossible.

"Astrometrics Lab to the bridge," echoed a female voice on the bridge.

"Sorok here," answered the captain.

"Captain, the five probes and the ship's sensors together have recorded over twenty-nine teraquads of data on the supernova."

"Good work, Lieutenant. Organize it into a data stream, and send it to Starfleet."

"Yes sir. Astrometrics Lab out."

Sorok looked at Lavik. "ETA to the pulsar?"

"Six hours and forty minutes, sir."

I looked at him.

"Captain, do I sense excitement in your voice?"

Sorok looked in my face.

"Of course not, Commander. I am a Vulcan."

And at that moment I realized that that funny little line under his nose was indeed a smile.

THE END