Episode Number: 4×02
Written by: ELH
Directed by: Jon Crew
Transmission: 23rd February 2025
Guest Stars:
- Captain Aukai: Aurelian commanding officer of the U.S.S. Majestic NCC-90102.
Our arrival into the BC-12 system was a little dramatic. The entire system is divided into zones apparently residing in different time periods, and transiting from one to another without care can result in serious damage. Valik’s team are working on the warp core breach, and now we’re taking a more cautious approach to investigating the mysterious Starfleet distress signal originating on the system’s 2nd planet.
Captain’s Log: Stardate, 9977.3
Plot: The crew of the Lyonesse battles its way towards the source of the distress call and finds refugees from the future.
The ‘A’ Plot: While Valik’s team works on repairing the warp core, the captain holds a meeting on how they should approach the planet, given the risks posed by the temporal boundaries. The core breach has demonstrated just how dangerous this could be. Given that there are Starfleet personnel in trouble, it is clear they must continue to attempt a rescue, but they will have to be more cautious.
Jin proposes launching probes equipped with precise timing beacons into each zone. This will allow him to map the boundaries of the zones, and their temporal parameters, producing a precise plan of the safest route through. The captain approves this operation and they proceed.
Despite James’s best efforts, the edge of the saucer does briefly poke through one of the boundary planes, placing significant stress on the ship’s hull. Jin has preemptively reinforced the structural integrity field, and the ship scrapes through with minimal damage.
After several hours of difficult manoeuvres Lyonesse arrives in orbit around BC-12b, and Astan reports that the long range sensors are picking up two K’si host carriers approaching the system. At warp 4, they will arrive in about four hours, but presumably they will run into the same issues as Lyonesse did, so they should have about half a standard day to effect a rescue before they pose a threat.
Jin, meanwhile, is scanning the surface. He reports two major time zones on the planet, with the distress call originating in the nearer, which appears to be in the future relative to Lyonesse, and contains several dozen life signs, mostly Human. The K’si facility, holding thousands of K’si, lies on the other side of the planet, in the other time zone, which appears to be in the relative past. The source of the temporal anomaly creating the various zones lies very close to the location of the distress call.
Valik notes that getting to the source of the distress signal will be a little difficult, as neither transporters nor tractor beams will work across the temporal boundaries. Masuda orders Hopera to put together a landing party, and take a shuttle to the surface. Astan, Jin, Vale and Valik all board the Morgana, with James piloting.
Leaving the ship, James successfully navigates across the boundary, whereupon the chronometers immediately start updating, based on pulsars and the like. It appears that the “current” year is 2402, a century on from their own time. On the ground ahead of them is a large vessel, which appears to have made a controlled-landing despite its size. While the design is unfamiliar, it is definitely Starfleet, and resembles a modern Miranda-class. The markings on the hull read “NCC-90102” and “U.S.S. Majestic”.
Hopera hails the Majestic, and gets an immediate reply from Captain Aukai. He indicates that he is aware of the temporal anomalies, and admits that the problems are being caused by his ship, but that a lack of power is preventing them from fixing the problem. Hopera tells him that there are hostile K’si coming, which means they need to leave the area quickly, and Aukai agrees that they should meet in person.
James lands the Morgana in the Majestic’s shuttlebay, commenting on the force field keeping the demon planet’s atmosphere out while allowing the shuttle in, a technology that Starfleet has yet to develop. Hopera sharply reminds him of the dangers of temporal contamination and he shuts up. Six officers in black jumpsuits are waiting for them, including what appears to be a Romulan and another unknown humanoid. Captain Aukai himself turns out to be a winged Aurelian. The two groups introduce themselves, then Aukai leads them directly to a holographic simulation of a 23rd century briefing room, explaining that this will help minimise any temporal damage.
Hopera describes Lyonesse’s 18 month (to date) mission and experiences, and Aukai gives a general account of the Majestic’s presence: a joint mission with the K’si to investigate subspace anomalies on the planet. Unfortunately, as soon as the ship landed, its warp core interacted with solanogen crystals in the planet’s crust, preventing the formation of a stable subspace field and trapping the Majestic on the surface. Aukai also explains that he is aware that the contemporary K’si are hostile to outsiders, so he cannot expect any help from them.
Hopera comments that solanogen crystals are normally found close to subspace anomalies and are believed to be a byproduct of such events. It is virtually unheard of to find them on a planet’s surface. However, the crystals do inhibit artificial subspace fields, which would prevent both impulse and warp drives from functioning.
The two groups discuss possible solutions:
- Jin calculates that Lyonesse could tractor the Majestic off the surface, which would break the link between the crystals and the warp drive. The downside is that this would result in the ship and crew being pulled fully into the 23rd century.
- Alternatively, the Majestic could simply eject its warp core, which would also dissolve the bubble, leaving the ship and crew in their own time. In this case, however, the ship’s reserve power would only last another 72 hours before the conditions on BC-12b destroyed it.
- Astan suggests that they could simply destroy the Majestic, after evacuating the crew. This does mean they would be stranded in the 23rd century, with all the attendant temporal contamination risks.
- Dr Vale, who has been quiet for most of the conversation, leans forward and points out that bladder stones can be dissolved with sound waves, thus avoiding the need for surgery. Would it be possible to do something similar with the solanogen crystals? Jin replies that chroniton waves could destabilize the crystals, which would then disrupt the link with the warp core. Lyonesse could achieve this without being physically linked to the Majestic, thus avoiding either ship being pulled into the wrong time. The Majestic would then be free to fly off under its own power.
It is agreed that this might be the best approach to take.
The Arc: Apparently the differences between the K’si and Starfleet will be resolved at some point within the next century.
Observations: The Majestic’s holodeck, like the rest of the ship, is much more advanced than the Lyonesse crew is used to. While 23rd century ships have holodecks, they simply project images, not the full-contact simulations seen in the late 24th century. Other examples of advanced technology include the shuttlebay force-field and the control panels: while Lyonesse makes heavy use of touch-sensitive controls, they are not easily reconfigurable like the later LCARS system.
Solanogen is a substance that can normally only exist within the structure of subspace itself, but it can form more resilient crystals when exposed to certain radiation, such as that found within anomalies like wormholes. Solanogen crystals have a strong dampening effect on artificial subspace fields, such as those produced by warp and impulse drive systems.
References: The Majestic is a Reliant-class cruiser, the first example of which will be launched in 2397. These ships are highly-automated and, despite their size, have a standard crew complement of under a hundred.
One of the Majestic’s security officers is a Ferengi. As of the end of 23rd century, Starfleet has yet to encounter the Ferengi, despite their homeworld’s proximity to Earth.