Savel: A Bridge Between Galaxies

[Savel]

Captain’s Log, Stardate 340506.19

“To boldly go where no one has gone before.” It’s always been Starfleet’s motto; our mission even. Today is no different. In fact, it may just be the best example of that motto ever since the first Starfleet vessels were christened and sent out on their missions.

Starfleet has set their sights beyond the Milky Way galaxy. Other ships have had the pleasure of adventuring beyond the boundaries of this galaxy, but we’ll be the first assigned to a mission where that’s our sole purpose. Our destination is Andromeda.

I guess there’s no point in making history wait for us any longer. Time to “boldly go”.

Computer, End Log.

Captain Ilara Ahn swiveled her chair away from the console mounted to her desk, staring at the doors to her ready room. Whenever she walked through them, it would forever change the lives of her and her crew. That thought alone was nerve-racking, but even more so as her mind focused on the dangers of what they were about to do. Daunting was a fitting description, but it wasn’t enough to discourage her. With a deep breath, she stood up from her chair and exited her ready room.

The doors swished open, and the moment she passed through the threshold she began to carry herself with the confidence that solidified her being chosen to lead this mission. Her stride quickly took her to the captain’s chair, slightly elevated above the rest of the stations that were each staffed by officers carefully chosen for their positions.

The Bajoran captain took a seat in the chair, facing the viewscreen and stations positioned in front of her. Outside she could see dozens of ships in the immediate area, all posted around in strategic positions. Some of them were other Starfleet vessels, others were civilian ships there to document the history that was about to take place.

The bridge was overall quiet, other than the necessary chimes and beeps from the consoles alongside the hushed communications between the officers standing around. Obviously, everyone was waiting for the captain to say something. After all, this was the big day. After a few moments sitting in her chair silently, Captain Ahn turned to face the comms officer. “Ensign, ship-wide broadcast.” 

A silent nod acknowledged the order before the broadcast channel was opened. It was signaled by the boatswain whistle sounding throughout the ship. That was no longer standard issue on Starfleet vessels anymore, but Ilara personally asked for it to be installed prior to launching.

“All hands, this is Captain Ahn. The Pathfinder will soon be embarking on our mission. As all of you know, this will be a one-way trip. Once we travel through the wormhole and reach Andromeda, it’ll take some time for our sister ship to reach us. We’ll be the only representatives of the Federation– of the Milky Way, until they do. Each and every one of you were chosen because you are the best that the Federation and Starfleet have to offer. Let’s go prove them right. Captain Ahn out.”

After her brief address to the crew at large, it was time to make the final preparations before their flight. Again, she turned to the comms officer to her right. “Let’s check in with Commander Marill.” Another silent nod given as the only response before the captain faced the viewscreen just in time for her Chief Engineer to pop up. The captain smiled, even if the Bolian on the screen didn’t offer a greeting that was quite as friendly. “Chief, tell me the good news. Everything’s in the green and you don’t anticipate any problems.”

The Engineer couldn’t help but smirk, even after all this time Starfleet still couldn’t launch a new class of starship without some kinks. They had to be doing it on purpose. “Captain I’d rather not start this journey off with what we’d both know is a bold-faced lie. All I can say is I think the Pathfinder will get us there in one piece. What I do know is the surprises she’ll throw at us along the way. My people are ready for them though, don’t you worry.”

Every Captain was worried about their ship and their crew. If they weren’t that was an issue. Still, Ilara had full confidence that the Bolian engineer wasn’t going to let her down. “Thanks Chief, I’ll give you a heads up before we head underway.” The feed to Main Engineering was cut and Ilara swiveled her chair once more to face another station on the bridge. This time it was where her Chief Science Officer sat. A Vulcan, of course, had been the one chosen for this mission. “Mr. Telor, what do you have for me? Nothing but good vibes, I’m sure.”

There went the eyebrow, right on queue. Ilara loved messing with Vulcans, in good taste of course. “Captain, I don’t believe there is a sensor aboard this vessel calibrated to measure vibes. I am also unaware of how I would be able to procure and subsequently provide vibes, if such a thing were possible.”

Ilara couldn’t stifle the laugh that came to the surface, a few of the other officers on the bridge joined in. At least the mood was light. “Lieutenant, the simple fact that that was your answer tells me I have nothing to worry about.” Of course, the pointy-eared scientist didn’t quite catch on even now, as was evident by the small tilt of his head to one side. “I was messing with you, Mr. Telor. A little fun before we head out. I imagine you’d have already told me if there was something wrong, but I’d like to hear an ‘all good’ from you regardless.”

Telor dipped his head, to acknowledge he finally understood and validated what the captain said. “Correct, Captain. All reports from both our own sensors and the rest of Starfleet present show favorable conditions for the wormhole. As soon as you give the order, we will be ready. Things are, in fact, all good.”

It was always comforting when a Vulcan didn’t feel the need to point out what the odds are of things going wrong. That usually meant they were small enough to not even bother mentioning. “Thank you, Mr. Telor. Glad to have you with us.” One last swivel of the chair brought Ilara facing the viewscreen once more, but her focus was on their helmsman sitting at the controls. A Klingon female, one of the less-seasoned members of the crew that had been chosen but she had more than proven herself as a fine pilot in her Starfleet career. “Ensign K’Mira, let’s hear it. Is today a good day to fly?” Ilara barely suppressed the smirk following her little play on words with the once-popular phrase used by Klingons.

“Every day is a good day to fly, Captain. We took the Pathfinder out on a final shakedown run this morning and everything was inside nominal levels.” Wasn’t exactly a trip through a wormhole, but they pulled some maneuvers that really tested what this ship could do. All that was left was to try it for real.

There was one last person to check in with, her first officer. Vorim Kirrux was a Trill that had been with Ilara during her last command. Both of them were chosen to command the Pathfinder after proving they were effective when they worked together. Starfleet felt a Captain and First Officer that already had a proven track record were the best choice for such a mission. “What about you Kirrux? Anything to report?”

Kirrux sat at their station to the right of the captain, looking up from their screen whenever Ilara spoke. “Everything looks good to go, Captain. You know what that means though, it’s time for your speech.” They flashed a knowing grin at the captain, fully aware that Ilara was not looking forward to this part of the mission.

Ilara nodded and stood from her chair. She walked closer to the viewscreen, where the image was locked into where the wormhole would appear as soon as she gave the go ahead. There was one last thing to take care of before leaving— she was expected to give a live address to the Federation that was watching from around the galaxy. In truth, she was more nervous about that than taking an experimental vessel through a wormhole into another galaxy. When she was on her mark, standing tall before the viewscreen, she gave her uniform a tug to smooth it out and nodded to the comms officer that she was ready.

With the press of a button, she was suddenly on every screen inside of the Federation. “Hello. As many of you know I’m Ilara Ahn— Captain of the USS Pathfinder. I tried to come up with the right words to describe today, to encapsulate the feelings that all of us, including myself, are experiencing right now. I’ll be honest, those words never came to me, and to be frank I’m glad they didn’t. The gravity of what we’re doing today shouldn’t be summed up into a few words that’ll be written down and recorded once we go through that wormhole. It should be felt for centuries to come. We are expanding our horizons far beyond what any of us could imagine, and no matter what happens we aren’t turning back. I know that many of you watching have entrusted your loved ones to my command, my care. I take that responsibility seriously, just as they take theirs. I don’t know all of the challenges we’ll face on our mission, but I have full confidence that we have the ability to rise to all of them. Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you watching now. Without the support from everyone in the Federation and Starfleet, our mission wouldn’t be possible. Even though you may not be coming with us, you are all a part of the crew of the Pathfinder. Remember that the next time you’re staring out your window looking our way. Captain Ahn, signing off. See you all from the other side.”

That was one of the most nerve-wracking things that she’d ever done. She didn’t even want to think about how many people just watched that live. And especially not all of the people that were going to watch that over and over again afterwards. The good news is, she’ll be in another galaxy by the time people start sharing their reactions to it. On the bridge, her brief address was met with a short round of applause, only adding to the small sense of embarrassment the captain felt as she returned to her chair. “Send a signal to all departments, let them know we’ll be departing shortly. And send the signal to Starfleet, advise them that we’re ready.”

As she took her seat, the work began. Every department rushed to make their final adjustments to their preparations. Ilara was far from a wormhole expert herself, so she didn’t fully understand exactly how Starfleet was pulling it off, but two ships were going to be responsible for sending out the right bombardment of particles to force the wormhole to open. It was only possible for a short window, a window that wasn’t going to reappear for some time after today. And as soon as the Pathfinder was through to the other side, the wormhole would collapse so they couldn’t get anyone else through with them. Still, the possibilities that awaited on the other side were too plentiful to pass up. Plus, as soon as their sister ship came through in a few years there was a chance they could use the same process to open the wormhole to travel back. That was the gamble Starfleet, and her crew, were taking.

The comms officer spoke up for the first time, “Admiral Erikson for you sir, putting them on screen.” The Admiral was immediately on the viewscreen, sitting behind their desk, leaned forward in anticipation for what was about to happen.

“Captain, good to see you’re ready to go. I’ll send the word to the Zephyr and Beholder to open the door for you. Do us all proud— and Ilara, may the Prophets guide you.”

Ilara flashed a smile as she nodded. “Thank you, Admiral, I have no doubt they will.” The viewscreen then changed back to the point in space that the wormhole would open, flanked on either side by the two ships getting ready to ‘open the door’ as the Admiral had put it. It felt like time was standing still as Ilara watched that spot, waiting for the wormhole to appear. She sat back in her chair, bouncing one leg ever so slightly as her fingers drummed the armrests. She wasn’t the only officer on the bridge that looked antsy either. Everyone was looking at least a little bit nervous. Everyone except Telor, he was as stoic as always.

Finally, the wormhole opened in front of them, bathing the inside of the bridge in a blue-ish light as it swirled about. As intimidating as the prospect of their mission was, the sight was oddly inviting. Like they were being beckoned through. Ilara just sat there and watched it for a few moments in silence before her first officer brought her back to the moment.

“Whole galaxy is watching, Captain.” In other words, ‘we should do something’.

Ilara gave a brief glance to Kirrux as she nodded, then her attention settled in on her helmsman. “Ensign K’Mira, let’s hit it.” A small wave of the hand forward accompanied the command as she settled into her seat and the Pathfinder started to move forward. This particular part had been practiced again and again in simulations while the Pathfinder was being constructed, so everyone had their duties and tasks nailed down.

In a flash they’d passed through the event horizon of the wormhole and were barreling through towards Andromeda. As if that wasn’t enough drama for the ship, suddenly the entire thing rattled, and alarms started to sound from the engineering console on the bridge. Ilara tapped the button on her armrest to open a channel to engineering. “Mr. Marill, talk to me.”

A few alarm noises accompanied the Bolian’s voice on his response to the captain. “Looks like our negative field generator, it’s out of sync which means the Pathfinder can’t settle into a groove. Gimme a sec.” A few more bouts of turbulence later, Marill came back over the speaker. “Okay, we should be good now. Let me know if we don’t even out.” As soon as he said it, the flight got a lot smoother and a few seconds later they emerged from the other side of the wormhole.

They knew almost nothing about where they were going to end up, the small bits of data Starfleet had gotten back from probes basically said that the ship shouldn’t blow up as soon as it got on the other side. So far, that bit was true. 

As soon as they were out, Ilara had another round of orders to send out. “Ensign K’Mira, full stop. Lieutenant Telor, get me a scan of the system. I wanna know what’s out there. Make sure that message gets sent back through before the wormhole closes. Let everyone back home know we made it.”

While those orders were being carried out, Ilara watched the wormhole start to falter on the screen. Whatever was keeping it open back on the Milky Way was fading out and soon, it collapsed. Everyone’s eyes were on the screen as it happened. That wormhole going away only meant one thing for them. There was no going back home now, not for a long time.

Ilara stood from the captain’s chair and looked at every officer in the room.

“So, who wants to pick our first course in a new galaxy?”