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[Promenade - Starbase 185]

Ian stood against a railing looking down at the sea of beings going about their business and marveled to see so many species living in a reasonable facsimile of harmony. His time on Land had reminded him that humans had once hated each other based on ridiculous differences such as skin color and religion. Once humanity found out there truly were aliens, that trivial nonsense finally ceased.

What he really wanted to do was buy a bottle of really good single malt for an exorbitant amount of latinum and get quietly, rip roaring drunk. However, as a Starfleet captain, such behavior was unbecoming of a Starfleet captain. Especially as he was currently under a microscope over the whole Land business.

He knew there was a party the crew had thrown together, a real shindig by what he'd heard, but he wouldn't go because nothing kills a party like having your boss around. Normally, he and Jess would take advantage of the distraction for some quiet time, but thanks to the unmitigated fiasco of Frontier Day, she was some 80 lightyears away on Earth.

So, he continued to lean against the railing and people watch, his mind adrift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Function Room Mayflower - Starbase 185]

The party was still just getting started, but while the idea was for this to be an event for the crew of the Challenger, it wasn't advertised as 'crew only', therefore, there were many, many unfamiliar faces in the crowd. Thus the two figures, that slipped in quietly, went unnoticed as they stayed mostly in the shadows, observing and talking in low voices.

["Well, that went about as well as it could go."]

[Conference Room | Starbase 185]

Carter glared at Gillepsie for a brief moment confused at the analogy. "Might I remind you that the first time we encountered the T'Kori was when they attacked their sister species at Beacon Point and we had already observed they were a warp capable species at that time." James replied dryly.

Then the admiral's attention quickly returned to the captain and the situation at hand. "I'll be frank captain, I remain undecided. It will take time and reflection to come to a conclusion on either side. Bluntly, it is a matter of fact that by the letter of the law you did violate the prime directive." Immediately following his last word Carter left out a frustrated sigh before continuing. "However...I'm not sure if I would have made a different call in your shoes. Hell, I don't know if that even makes it better or worse. As I said, it will take time and reflection. The only thing I can promise at this time captain is that consideration of the situation will not be taken lightly. Unless Admiral Gillespie has any further questions you are dismissed Captain." James leaned back in his seat and brought his hands clasped together in front of him.

[Conference Room - Starbase 185]

Ian nodded to Admiral Carter. He'd made his point and thought he'd done a good job at doing so, saying anything further would only make things worse. He stood, executed an about face, and exited the conference room.

"Well, that went about as well as it could go."

He muttered as he began to wander the massive starbase. Barred from the Challenger, Jess unavailable, and not having anything else to do, he simply allowed himself to be carried along by the foot traffic with no destination in mind.

["Sir, I took no decisions lightly. The Prime Directive itself says 'If said species has achieved the commensurate level of technological and/or societal development as described in Appendix 1, or has been exposed to the concepts listed in section 1, no Starfleet crew person will engage with said society or species without first gathering extensive information on the specific traditions, laws, and culture of that species civilization.' Given that the Landsers had, in fact, exceeded the technological requirements, but had not societally, I was in the process of gatherin' the information as required. Unfortunately, the away team insertion got buggered up on arrival, followed hard on it's heels by the Challenger bein' disabled. At that point, the Prime Directive had been rather buggered as well.]

[Conference Room | Starbase 185]

James leaned in, allowing a noticeable scowl to appear on his face. An audible disapproving "mmmm" rumbled from inside of him as he listened to Galloway speak. His eyes narrowed slightly as they buried into the captain across from him. "You took the decision upon yourself then?" Carter began rhetorically, thinking carefully on his words. His right hand met his forehead as his fingers grazed back and forth. "Do you know why it's called the Prime Directive captain?" He continued again, not waiting for an answer. "It's called that because it is a directive not to be violated above all others. Then you; a captain in the 25th century; feel as if you have the grounds to simply reinterpret the meaning of the directive. One so long standing it dates back to the Good Old Days of Robert April and Christopher Pike. Then at the same time - in the same mission - things go so poorly an away team is captured and your first officer ends up in a coma. I find that line of decision making somewhat troubling Captain." The admiral shook his head slightly and let out a sigh.

After letting his words linger for a moment he continued. "And yet..." Carter's eyes once again locked on to Ian's, his expression lightening some. "I now find myself questioning if I would have come to the same conclusion if I were in your situation. I don't know that I have the answer for that yet. Before we dismiss you, do you have anything else you'd like to express?"

[Conference Room - Starbase 185]

Ian bit back a hot retort as he knew he had to show restraint before this informal inquiry or there would be a court martial, something he was trying to avoid. Forcing himself to modify his tone he said.

"Sir, I took no decisions lightly. The Prime Directive itself says 'If said species has achieved the commensurate level of technological and/or societal development as described in Appendix 1, or has been exposed to the concepts listed in section 1, no Starfleet crew person will engage with said society or species without first gathering extensive information on the specific traditions, laws, and culture of that species civilization.' Given that the Landsers had, in fact, exceeded the technological requirements, but had not societally, I was in the process of gatherin' the information as required. Unfortunately, the away team insertion got buggered up on arrival, followed hard on it's heels by the Challenger bein' disabled. At that point, the Prime Directive had been rather buggered as well.

"I contend Sir that while you are standin' on the letter of the Prime Directive, I was actin' on the spirit of the Prime Directive, both in my actions before and after my ship was disabled by a technology that no one in Starfleet had encountered or has yet ta fully explain.

"Everything that happened on or near Land-Ta depends on the interpretation of star-farin'. The Landsers are star-farin' they just don't use warp ta do so. I contend that their fold space advances them ta the point that they would merit First Contact for that technological achievement alone."

Ian had made his point, all he could do now was wait to see of the admirals agreed.

["Here it is. Either I can get these two ta understand and remain in command of Challenger or I can't and I'm off ta a penal colony."]

[Conference Room - Starbase 185]

James eyed the mans posture closely and studied him up and down. Carter quietly sat, allowing his posture to relax to relieve some tension in the room as Gillespie spoke.

Carter paused. The truth was that he didn't quite know how to reply to the mention of his father in this situation. A small involuntary sigh left him as his head inclined slightly. "Ah. I see where the mix up might have been then. You must not have gotten the news. My father was lost on Frontier Day, if a report was sent to him it's likely lost on a pile somewhere. I appreciate the quick catch up, I had only read the broad strokes up to this point." Carter replied softly, trying to not let his tone waver from the authoritative tone he began the meeting with. After a brief second to refocus on the topic at hand his eyes met Ian's. "Captain, in your own words I want you communicate the thoughts and decisions that lead to not only the violation of the directive but also left your own first officer in a coma temporarily. I'm happy to hear Mr. Mackenzie has recovered." His voice had shifted tones now from warm and somewhat sentimental to now being incredibly cold and calculated.

[Conference Room - Starbase 185]

Ian took a deep breath and thought.

"Here it is. Either I can get these two ta understand and remain in command of Challenger or I can't and I'm off ta a penal colony."

Calming himself and he began the statement he'd been preparing since leaving the Land-Ta system.

"Sirs. On Stardate 79020.3, the Challenger was ordered ta investigate temporal disturbances originatin' in a system cataloged as L7-425977. The system has only been roughly charted by a probe some 86 years ago. This system lies some 50 light years from Starbase 185 and was completely unexplored..."

Ian talked for the better part of an hour of the discovery of the local sentient population; their seemingly impossible technological discovery of fold space drive; the impact of that technology on the Challenger's systems; the resulting discovery and capture of the away team as well as the ship's detection; the telepathic abilities of the Landsers; and finally the conference held with the leadership of the various nation-states of the planet.

"Yes, I understand that the Landsers are undeniably pre-warp, but they had faster than light technology superior to ours. The Prime Directive does nae cover such a situation. Given I was out of contact with Command, I had to interpret the spirit of the directive ta fit the situation.

"The Landsers were in mortal danger and were a mortal danger ta others. Given they clearly had advanced technological capabilities, I felt I was unable ta act in any other way ta save their lives and Federation citizens lives. That concludes my report. What are your questions Sir?"

[[Present | Conference Room | Starbase 185]]

[Present | Conference Room | Starbase 185]

James didn't have much time to let his thoughts dwell on the tragedy of Frontier Day before Gillespie and Galloway arrived. He stood to greet them as they entered the doorway, his mind quickly getting back on task. "Ah. It's good to see you both. Please have a seat Captain." Carter said, motioning to the seat directly across the table from him.

[Conference Room - Starbase 185]

Ian took the indicated seat and replied with a simple.

"Thank you Admiral."

The then sat exactly as he had been taught, back straight, arms running along the tops of his legs, his fingers straight, both feet flat on the floor and facing directly ahead. He then waited to be addressed, because was one did in a situation like this.

["Aye Sir."]

[{NPC} Admiral Hamish Gillespie | VIP Suite | Starbase 185]

Gillespie was about to open his mouth when he saw Galloway look at Ruzal. He had a good idea why she looked so angry; she must be resenting Galloway, resenting the fact that he was gone and miraculously spared when she saw God knows how many killed that day. It was no surprise, either; she had seen similar carnage as a girl during the Dominion War, and her previous host was a mere petty officer instantly made senior officer when most of them were slaughtered by Jem'Hadar.

"Yeh'd best keep yehrr opinions to yehrrself, lass," Gillespie said warningly, his Scottish accent more pronounced than Galloway's when he got angry. Ruzal sat back but still stared angrily at Galloway.

"Be it as it may, Galloway," Gillespie continued, "for all their being more advanced, the fact that they had a twenty-first century mannerism is certainly concerning, and it can bring a case about the fact that they would qualify as a pre-warp civilisation warranting why contact is forbidden, via the Prime Directive.

"After all, the first half of the twenty-first century was certainly when humanity was at its most savage and dangerous. The COVID Pandemic, the Bell Riots, the Third World War, these were times that brought the worst of humanity before First Contact paved the way to permanent peace and unity. I shudder to think that these Landsers would've been feeling the same way..."
Gillespie looked startled when he heard from Admiral Carter. Still, he made his reply.  "Gillespie to Carter...I'll be on my way over with my aide...and I'll be bringing Captain Galloway along. Gillespie oot."

He then looked at Galloway and said, "We'd best move this over with Admiral Carter, so as we don't take things twice. Computer, locate Admiral James Carter."

"Admiral James Carter is in the starbase conference room."

"Then we'd best get a move on," said Gillespie. "It's a debrief, in any case; and as Captain, you'd be able to provide firsthand details. Still...I can say, before we head out..." he stopped and looked at Galloway. "Given the circumstance, the unusual circumstance of the Landsers' technological prowress could work in you favor. I will see what I can do to ensure you stay in Starfleet, given how shorthanded we are, even with the accelerated year-long program at the Academy.

"However, I had warned you before, Ian Galloway," he added in a hardened way. "I warned you aroond a year ago that the worst I can do to you is change your ship on the ooter hull. So bear that in mind; even that will be a better option to consider than removal from Starfleet. Noo, shall we?" he finished, gesturing to the door.

[Admiral's Quarters - Starbase 185]

Ian knew better than reply while Gillespie was talking. Regardless of the uniqueness of the Landser situation, how things broke was very much up to interpretation and he wasn't about to give Command anything to hang him with. He was a little baffled by reference to modify the outer hull of the Challenger, but again, in this situation, the junior officer's role was to nod and say 'yes sir' which he did.

"Aye Sir."

["Aye Sir, that's the rub of it innit? How is it possible for an otherwise mid-21st Century society could develop a technology that has eluded 25th Century Federation technology for centuries. Our best boffins have nae even gotten anything off a drawin' board with fold space and the Landsers have done it. I suppose when you put the collective effort of an entire planet behind summat for 150 years, you get results."]

[Guest Starring as Admiral Gillespie]

[{NPC} Admiral Hamish Gillespie | VIP Suite | Starbase 185]

After ninety minutes of reviewing, Gillespie and Ruzal were each looking so glad, it was obvious it was in each others' faces, that Captain Galloway showed up. They both decided that it was time to hear it from Ian's own voice.

"Glad you're here, Galloway," Gillespie drawled. "This is my assistant, Commander Ruzal Mail. And, yes, she's a survivor of Frontier Day, if you were wondering about the hair."

"I was more worried about my symbiote, to be honest," Ruzal commented. "And given your record of where you were that day, all I can say is: Galloway, you lucky sonova..."

"Anyway," Gillespie cut off, hoping to keep Ruzal from ranting, as every Mail host had a habit of doing, according to the Trill authorities. "As you know, we're in the investigation stage of the trial. We currently have personnel interviewing your crew regarding the situation, but Commander Mail here and I want to hear your perspective on this situation. It's just that, frankly, we're flummoxed, gobsmacked even, by this. I mean, it's true it's a trial in regards that it was a violation-of-the-Prime-Directive situation, but what gobsmacks us is how technologically advanced these Landsers are and yet are not warp-capable."

[Admiral's Quarters - Starbase 185]

Ian remained silent as Gillespie spoke as he knew he wasn't on the best of terms with him and his aide seemed particularly hostile over something that happened to her during the Frontier Day debacle. When given leave to talk, there was little he could add to what he'd already told.

"Aye Sir, that's the rub of it innit? How is it possible for an otherwise mid-21st Century society could develop a technology that has eluded 25th Century Federation technology for centuries. Our best boffins have nae even gotten anything off a drawin' board with fold space and the Landsers have done it. I suppose when you put the collective effort of an entire planet behind summat for 150 years, you get results."

Ian then stopped and waited to see what else Gillespie would ask as he surreptitiously kept an eye on the aide, because one didn't need to be a Betazoid to feel the waves of resentment radiating off of the Commander.

["Galloway here admiral. Acknowledge 90 minutes. Galloway out."]

[{NPC} Admiral Hamish Gillespie | VIP Suite | Starbase 185]

After some time of reviewing the files, Ruzal looked up. "œAdmiral, this has to be the craziest crap I have ever seen."

"œAye, that it is," said Gillespie. "œThe Carters and I are just as gobsmacked. I am at such a loss as to how somebody can be so technologically advanced, in regards to wibbly-wobbly time-wimey gobbledegook, and yet still be in such a pre-warp stage to make this a violation of the Prime Directive."

"œNo warp capability, obviously," Ruzal said with a shrug.

"œIt's gobsmacking, I ken," he said. "œDinnae why all the muckery..." He sighed. He needed to interview the command staff again. Kyan Mackenzie was still unavailable, and in any event, he didn't want to talk to the psychotic little bugger about time together with his family and when Hamish himself was just a wee bairn. Again, better to talk with Ian Galloway. He tapped his comm badge.

"œGillespie to Galloway. I want you to meet with me in the next hour and a half. My assistant, Commander Mail, and I wish to talk more about these Landsers."

As he awaited a response, he thought solemnly to himself: Whatever the ends with, better he be punished with a change to his ship than him removed from Starfleet, what with the shortage of officers we have.

[Holodeck Twelve - Starbase 185]

The call from the Admiral came as Ian was in trouble. Having had nothing to do for the past two weeks, he'd been hitting the holodeck hard and had upped the difficulty from the base level 6 to level 8 and it showed. He was certain he could have finished off the Nate fighter he was tangling with, but he knew he couldn't keep the admiral waiting. He was in a bad position anyway against a damn good pilot, so he played to the Tomahawk's strengths, he snap rolled inverted and dove hard for the deck. He heard several metallic clangs as if someone was hitting a metal garbage bin with a hammer as the Nate got in a few hits before he could get out of range of the Japanese fighter's light machine guns. Pulling up low over the Chinese countryside at nearly 400 miles an hour, he was able to reply with his throat mic.

"Galloway here admiral. Acknowledge 90 minutes. Galloway out."

Bracing himself because it was always jarring to go from a seated flying position to the grid of the holodeck, Ian said.

"Computer. End program."

He was dropped some three meters to the golden grid of the holodeck, but landed on his feet having prepared for the transition. He exited quickly as the last thing he needed was to be late given the trouble he was already in.

Starbase 185 -official offices]

Another day, another inquisition. Like, she was aware of her role in this entire mess that happened after the Landser Disaster. But as with the previous Court Martials she had done before, they were never satisfied with just a simple one-off interview. They had to have multiple inquiries and everything. No stone was left unturned. If she wasn't convinced that the Prime Directive was so important before, she certainly was now.

She stared at the interviewer as he asked her yet another very similar question. After a long day doing this whole song and dance, she just wanted to be over and done with it all. School for Maddy wouldn't last forever and she was going to have to pick her up at some point later today if Alex was still in an interrogation of his own.  She was aware of the possibility of prison time, and the ramifications of that for both Alex and Maddison, but right now she just had to

"œYes.  I had to lift off prematurely because we were being surrounded by several hostile forces who were trying to interfere with the medical evacuation of the away team.  I did engage in a dogfight with the intent to shoot  as necessary in order to protect the passengers onboard. Fortunately, their bullet-style weapons were not able to damage the Flyer, but we were prepared to shoot to disable if the situation worsened."

She said it , her voice monotonously repeating the same details of that long day to the interviewer, who was casually taking notes.

"œI see. And you say you were not under orders?" "

"œMy orders were to evacuate the injured away team first. I had to modify that when it was evident that we were surrounded and under attack . I think I've told you everything I can. May I leave? My kid's going to be getting out of school at some point soon and I'm going to have to pick her up." She asked, clearly ready to be done with the whole thing.

"œI see.  We shall call you back should we require any further information from you." Said the interviewer who looked clearly done with her. At least it got her out of there. She'd have to find Alex somewhere.

She was more than glad to leave the office when she passed by the holodeck and saw Galloway heading over. "œGlad to see you're not in the slammer just yet, boss."

"Thank you Lieutenant. Hopefully it stays that way."

Ian rushed on to make sure he had time to shower and change back into his proper Starfleet uniform. At the appointed time, Ian signaled and entered Gillespie's quarters.

"Captain Ian Galloway reporting as ordered Sir."

Seems there is further good news, Ensign Novi is now Lieutenant jg Novi and Crewman Ch'e N'ok Savyn is now Petty Officer Third Class Ch'e N'ok Savyn! Again we say Excelsior!

Let me be the first to announce the transfer of two new crew to Challenger.  Doctor (Ensign) Novi and Crewman Ch'e N'ok Savyn, both to the medical department.  Please join me in welcoming them aboard. Excelsior!

[Guest Quarters - Starbase 185]

Ian stared out the large viewports of the quarters he'd been assigned on arrival at the Starbase. The entire crew was on the station and restricted from going aboard the Challenger. The ship was getting the latest software and a few other overdue upgrades as well as having Starfleet Engineering Corps combing through her carefully to see if there were any residual effects of the temporal pulse.

So far, questioning had been informal with an intense emphasis on the fold space technology. The clandestine scans Lahr had made had him in the hot seat as much as Ian, Jettis, Evan, and Alex. Starfleet wanted to know all they could about the Landser technology, especially the temporal pulse effect.

Ian wasn't certain what was taking so long for them to get to the court martial, but he was putting his latinum on the admirals waiting on Kyan to regain consciousness, which he did. However, that was two weeks ago. Why they were waiting now he didn't know. Until then, barred from his ship and with no official duties, Ian made the most of his leave, although having this much time off without Jess really put a damper on the possibilities. Especially given he was not free to leave the station. So, he'd been racking up a lot of stick time in his Tomahawk over China in the holodeck on the starbase. In fact, he had time booked in an hour, so he turned to don his proper Flying Tiger gear and head out for the skies above Kunming.

["Captain's Log Supplemental. We are en route ta Starbase 185, which even at warp eight is goin' ta take us a bit over 13 days ta reach. Behind us on the Land system, the locals are under goin' a massive societal upheaval that falls on me. I'm nae ta be the martyr for all that happened, we encountered a technology never seen by the Federation that forced my hand at the outset that could nae have been predicted. After the ship was disabled, events began ta occur rapidly and forced me ta interpret the Prime Directive very finely. I stand by my decisions, but I ken full well that there has ta be an inquiry at the very least regardin' the events on and near the planet Land.]

[Captain's Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Ian could tell the ship was running smoothly at warp by the feel of the vibrations through the deck plates. Although he was loath to do so, he knew it was time to do something he'd been putting off. He sat at his terminal, sighed and began to speak.

"Captain's Log Supplemental. We are en route ta Starbase 185, which even at warp eight is goin' ta take us a bit over 13 days ta reach. Behind us on the Land system, the locals are under goin' a massive societal upheaval that falls on me. I'm nae ta be the martyr for all that happened, we encountered a technology never seen by the Federation that forced my hand at the outset that could nae have been predicted. After the ship was disabled, events began ta occur rapidly and forced me ta interpret the Prime Directive very finely. I stand by my decisions, but I ken full well that there has ta be an inquiry at the very least regardin' the events on and near the planet Land.

"By and large, the Landser people were understandin' when told that their 'Great Work' of creatin' the quadrant's first operational fold space drive had ta stop because testin' showed it ta be dangerous. How long that understandin' holds up remains ta be seen and whether individual nation-states will continue with a clandestine program is unknown.

"I wish ta commend Lieutenants Wu, Booker, and Randall for their exemplary handlin' of a severely disabled ship. These three were directly responsible for figurin' out a way ta restore ship's functions as well as a rudimentary defense against the temporal pulses created by the fold space drive.

"I further commend Lieutenant Jaeger for takin' control of the Flight department when Lieutenant Espada was disabled by the pulse. She coordinated the rescue of myself and the other members of the away team along with shuttlin' the Landser dignitaries aboard the Challenger ta meet and discuss the dangers of fold space.

"As for the away team, each member performed in an exemplary fashion in impossible conditions. I recommend Lieutenant Commander Kyan Mackenzie for promotion ta full Commander and a Starfleet Commendation once he recovers from his injuries suffered durin' an away mission that was more difficult than I can put into words.

"Semantics aside, I fully believe that the situation on Land fell outside the wordin' of the Prime Directive. I further fully believe that I operated within the spirit of the Directive given the situation as it unfolded. I fully expect ta have ta justify my actions when we reach Starbase 185 and will accept whatever decision the board makes regardin' those actions. End log."

["You know lieutenant, all things considered, I think things went less than terrible. I really looked like the Landser boffins got what Jettis and Evan were tryin' ta warn them about. As for the leadership, well you ken what political wankers are like. Facts mean nothing, everything is done through the lens of what makes them look best, so they were too tight lipped for me ta say.]

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

With the major disasters averted and the delegates being delivered back to their Land Moot on the surface, life onboard Challenger was slowly returning to normal, despite evidence otherwise. Many of the bulkhead covers throughout the ship were still removed from their proper places, and boxes filled with those less desirable ration packs could be seen tucked in corners out of the way. It was also much quieter, a third of the crew having been sent off to get some well needed rest, while the remainder continued working on repairing Challenger and staying awake.

Stifling a yawn, Alex glanced at the bridge chronometer checking to see how much longer Alpha shift would still be up. It was just their luck to pull the longest overtime, but there was nothing to be done about that now. At least he'd had a moment to stop by both sickbay and the classroom on his way back to the bridge, though the doctors had outright refused letting him check on Mackenzie, being too recently out of surgery. Maddison was in bed and Ardyn would hopefully be allowed to turn in once she returned from ferrying the delegates, with pretty much all of the shuttle pilots having been on duty for far too long to still safely be flying.

When Galloway came onto the bridge, looking as though he'd aged another year over the past 24 hours, Alex couldn't help but feel some pity for the man. While not a complete wash, this mission would certainly make an impression on all of their files, and it was still too soon to know what the repercussions were. The prime directive was not something to be trifled with, regardless of how the Landsers technically filled a grey void. At best, the Captain would have a new SOP named after him. At worst... "How'd it go, sir?" Alex asked the question he knew most of them were thinking.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian was truly worn out by the time he flopped into the command chair. So much had happened in such a short period of time that he felt like he was still trying to catch up with everything. He closed his eyes for a moment to take a few deep breaths, just to unwind a bit when Wu asked his question. Forcing his eyes open, he replied.

"You know lieutenant, all things considered, I think things went less than terrible. I really looked like the Landser boffins got what Jettis and Evan were tryin' ta warn them about. As for the leadership, well you ken what political wankers are like. Facts mean nothing, everything is done through the lens of what makes them look best, so they were too tight lipped for me ta say.

"Now they will hash things how in this Land Moot thing, which is their way and whatever they decide there becomes the law of the land. Whether they do what we think is best for them or not is now fully under the Prime Directive. If they keep up with the fold space trials, we'll have ta notify Starfleet, drop marker buoys, and list the system as quarantined. Whatever happens at point is up ta the Maker of All Things.

"Lieutenant, it's been a long day and even with the miracles of 25th Century medicine, gettin' shot wears a body down a wee bit. I'll be in my quarters for bit of kip. I'd say the entire Alpha ship should do the same. I will see you in the morning."

Ian then rose wearily and headed for the turbolift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger - Three Days Later]

Ian was in the command chair as there had been a communique from the Land Moot that the Moot Master wanted to speak with him at 1000 hours. At the appointed time, Lieutenant Booker opened the channel to what appeared to be Moot Master Inti's office.

"Good morning Moot Master."

Ian said brightly. He was personally recovered from his brief foray on the planet and all systems on the Challenger were now fully operational again, there had even been time to beam up the equipment taken from the away team, thus he was in a good mood.

"Captain Ian Galloway," Inti had finally gotten the intonation of his name right. "I greet you. The Moot has come to a consensus. Although we could not reach unanimity, the preponderance of the leaders of Land have agreed to suspend the Great Work for now. Even though your Great Thinkers Jettis and Evan could not tell us how your people move faster than light without folding the space between points, the fact that you do has our Great Thinkers looking into alternatives.

"The reaction by the people of Land-Ta is more mixed. Some are grateful you warned us of the danger, while others think you are only afraid of us because we have technology that you do not have. For now, there is some unrest, but no full scale uprising. It will take many cycles before the energy that went into the Great Work can be channeled into a useful endeavor. Hopefully, we of Land will meet your Federation via a different means of travel."

"Thank you Moot Master. As our purpose here is done, warnin' you of the dangers of your technology, we must depart your world until you can join us in the stars. I personally look forward ta that day. Challenger out."

The viewscreen shifted to that of the Land system and Ian sighed.

"Time ta pay the piper."

He muttered.

"Helm plot a course for Starbase 185. We have ta answer for our actions here and my name is at the top of the list of who Command is goin' ta want ta talk ta. Warp eight. Engage when you are ready. Kya- Er...Zhuk, I will be in my ready room. You have the bridge."

["Very good Moot Master. We'll get you back home the same way we got you here. We await your decision."]

[Cargo Bay One - USS Challenger]

The debate on the Great Work was intense, which was no surprise to Ian, Fold space technology had been the work of three generations. The 150 years of labor that had gone into the project represented the life work of an entire species. In the face of that much investment, walking away now was simply unthinkable. And yet here they were, asking them to do that very unthinkable things.

Although the details of the science exceeded Ian's understanding of the physics involved, the Landser scientists understood what Jettis and Evan were saying. Especially when shown the Challenger's sensor logs of aspects of scanning frequencies beyond their own sensors. It took the better part of three hours for the Challenger scientists to prove their findings to the Landser scientists.

As the scientists spoke, Ian did the best he could to explain the science to the politicians. As their opinions were based on what was best for them and not facts, there were many, many points view among the assembled leaders and ambassadors. It was only after the scientists, backed by the two Landser astronauts spoke to the politicians did the sentiment begin to change against the use of fold space.

There was still resistance to shutting down the project, but Ian had the feeling that those still opposed were most likely the most ardent supporters of the An-Shok. Of course he couldn't say that, internal politics were one aspect of the Prime Directive that hadn't been completely shredded at this point. So, after four hours of very extended debate, Inti, of the Land Moot spoke to Ian.

"Captain Iangalloway. We of the Land leadership have come to a consensus. It is not not unanimous, but these proceeding do not require unanimity. We must now return to our people to explain what we have learned and we must Moot before a final decision is made. Thank you for showing us this threat that was unknown to us. I will personally contact you once the Land Moot has chosen."

"Very good Moot Master. We'll get you back home the same way we got you here. We await your decision."

And with that, the shuttles were pressed back into transport duty to take the Landsers back to their nation-states, even the one man held in the brig as a gesture of good faith. Ian had returned to the bridge during the transport operation and hoped the Moot wouldn't take too long.

["You have my attention Mister President."]

[ Land Moot -> Mjolnir, USS Challenger ]

Jettis couldn't express the relief when finally they set foot back on the ship. A part of him wondered if the Landsers would manage to shoot them out of the sky. Despite the primitive technology, he had to admit they were tenacious and determined. Reminded him of humans, in a way.

Thankfully, now that they weren't running for their lives, getting the bonds off was a simple enough job for a phaser. Once freed, Jettis turned to the man who appeared once the Captain left. The immediate embrace, ignoring any protocols told him all he needed, coupled with the relief he felt from him. He tipped his head when the Commander was mentioned, eyes widening when it was coupled with the fact he was in worse shape than all of them combined. The urge to ask about him nearly took hold of his tongue, but he crushed the thought with the intention to see for himself later. Instead he refocused on a different piece of information that interested him.

"Their technology wasn't effected at all?" He echoed. That was a very curious - and crucial piece of information. Something about their tech made them immune to the affects, something he'd seen in very few other ships or technology in his lifetime. The ships he had seen with such an effect, the inner workings had been so tightly classified discovering them would have gotten him executed on the spot.

Giving a tired nod, he forced a poor imitation of a smile. "I'll definitely take a look at that as soon as possible," he agreed. Yet another thing to spend hours on.

However, his first priority, followed closely by heading down to medbay so he didn't look like a punching back for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, those two tasks crossed paths when he was informed where she was. Unfortunately, her reason for being there was exactly what he'd expected.

He hardly regarded anyone in his path, pushing past any officers who tried to treat him first until he spotted her, looking mainly unharmed save for being a tad paler than usual. Two long strides immediately had him sweeping her up into his arms. "Dad! Are you okay?"
When he released her and rested his hands on her shoulders, she moved back to take in his appearance - a black eye, split lip, and many cuts and bruises both from the original crash landing on the planet, and the attack from the Landsers.

"Yes. Are you?" He demanded. She nodded sheepishly, and he tossed a look over at the nearest nurse for confirmation. "Yeah. I just passed out I guess, when the ship was hit." Jettis nodded immediately. Af-Kelt, not lethal. Nothing to worry about.

His shoulders slumped as he sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart." Pulling away to straighten up, he cracked a grin at her. "Now, stay out of trouble until I get back."
"Never."
He finally let the nurse drag him off to get looked over, not without a few words of thanks for taking care of Theresa. Unfortunately, getting (mostly) fixed up meant he was immediately back to work. He'd hardly changed into a new set of teals with his freshly recovered commbadge, than he was ordered back to the cargo bay to face a rapidly filling room full of alien faces. A brief greeting to Randell was all he got before he stepped back while the Captain took the stage, following up when beckoned.

"I sincerely commend the people of Land-Ta for their accomplishments. The idea of folding space is a concept that many have sought after. Some cultures have theorized about it for hundreds of years, others for thousands. And very few have had made so much progress in such a relatively short amount of time."

"While I regret that I cannot share everything we've discovered with you, I can share why it has taken so long to discover a workable model. Space and time are, as the Captain said, irrevocably entwined. One cannot have one without the other. And while faster than light travel is something attainable, faster than space travel poses a yet insurmountable risk. As you fold space, you are simply moving too fast for any particles in existence to acknowledge. You are stepping outside of time. This means that there is no difference between one second, and one eternity. Theoretically, you may come out at the other side unharmed. You may also come out nowhere near your intended destination. Or, you may come out a thousand years into the future. Or, you may never come out until everyone on the ship has long since died, leaving only a ghost ship to be studied by future generations."

He paused for a moment, assessing the murmurs, the dissent of the crowd before continuing. "I do not say this to dissuade you, only to explain precisely the risk you take every time it is used. It doesn't only affect the object being sent either, it leaves behind the same phenomena, scattered by the ripples caused by bending space-time. There's no way to tell where - or most importantly, when they will show up, or go away. Some will certainly appear and disappear within micro-miliseconds, too fast for any technology to ever hope to detect. However, there's no way to predict of one could appear five years into the future, large enough to swallow Light and everything else within view."

Now, with all of the surface information laid out on the table, he opened the floor. "Any further questions about the technology or it's ramifications, I will do my best to answer to satisfaction. Though we don't know everything there is to know, there have been enough unsuccessful attempts to tell us what kind of complications need to be overcome before any working prototypes are created."

[Cargo Bay One - USS Challenger]

As the Landser scientists spoke with Jettis and Evan, the discussion quickly exceeded Ian's understanding of the physics involved. Even though he was fascinated by temporal mechanics, once they got past 'time stream' and 'inherent flow of time', he was lost. The idea of 'transverse temporal paradox loops' and 'chronical mass displacement gradients' was too much for him to follow.

"Captain Galloway."

Ian turned toward the voice and found an elaborately dressed Landser man addressing him.

"I am President Gotepi of Temarco and would speak with you."

"You have my attention Mister President."

"I am not a scientist, so much of what you and your people say about the Great Work escapes me. However, I am a good judge of people and I believe you speak truth. You actually seem concerned that our fold space will cause us harm."

"Yes I am. Imagine you have a rough stone and you rub it across a rug on your floor. You do it a few times and it doesn't matter. But if you keep doin' over and over again, eventually, the stone will make a hole in the rug. That is what your fold space drive will do to the space around your world. What happens when that hole is made, I do not know, but it will nae be good for Land-Ta."

"These words I can understand." Gotepi said with much sadness. "So much work, so much money, so much effort, so much time and we will have nothing to show for it."

"I don't have the words ta make that hurt less Mister President. I cannae imagine your frustration."

"Frustration? That is a true statement, but that is not what bothers me the most. What frightens me is what will the people do when they discover the work of their lives and that of their parents will be in vain? I can't bring myself to think of the rage we will see."

Ian kept his expression neutral, but now knew just how bad things were about to get on Land and he thought.

"And it's all our bloody fault."

"Perhaps your great leaders can soften the blow Mister President?"

"Perhaps..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Cargo Bay One - USS Challenger]

Among the actual delegates, not every nation had kept their representatives limited to diplomats or scientists. A few had sent agents to gather information on the massive ship that had appeared over Land. Unfortunately, while the agent's very carefully hidden data gathering equipment didn't seem to be working, there was nothing wrong with his eyes. All he needed to do was figure out a way to slip out of the briefing and he could memorize as much of the ship as he could see. Fortunately, these Federation people had biological functions similar to those of a Landser, so using that pretense, the agent made his move to begin his data gathering...