The Ronin had entered the Valaria
system and had been in contact with the government of the Valarian home world.
The crew would have a two day shore leave while the mysterious device was transported
onboard the Ronin. The Valarians were an interesting people. They were one of
the few people known to the entire federation that had a monarchic government
governing their whole planet. They were ruled over by King Purol. He seemed
to be a fair and just ruler from the Starfleet reports Ryan had read. He had
kept peace among the people for many years and brought great prosperity to the
land. His people loved him dearly. The people themselves are very warm and giving
and are generally very friendly. This explains to a large extent why they are
willing to share this new technology with the Federation.
Their hospitality so far had been superb. The meal onboard the Valarian ship
was by far the best any of the crew had tasted in a long time, and there were
certainly a few hangovers. Valaran alcohol also seemed to be among the strongest
in the galaxy. The only one really affected however, was Commander Tyran, he
seems to have problems with alien foods. This isn't the first time it has happened
according to Starfleet medical records and Captain Evans had given him the morning
off to recover.
It had been agreed that the Ronins crew could beam down immediately and would be granted access to all parts of the planet except for government buildings, which was understandable. The crew would be on a twelve-hour shift rotation giving them plenty of time to enjoy the planet and not leave the Ronin undermanned.
"Standard orbit of planet established Captain, Valarians have given us the ok to start transporting our people down" announced McMillan.
"Thank you Lieutenant. All hands this is the Captain. All those of you on Alpha shift may beam down to the planet at your leisure. Beta shift, you may beam down at 0600 tomorrow morning when Alpha shift return. I expect all of you to be a shining example of what the Federation stands for. Remember, these people are applying for membership among the Federation so we don't want to portray a bad impression."
"What are your orders Captain?" asked Kira
"You and Commander Tyran will meet with the Valaran King on behalf of the Federation. I would go, but I have been ordered to treat this technology as top priority."
"Captain, with all due respect, don't you think I aught to be with you while investigating this technology?" spoke up Nige
"Commander, right now, it is more important for you to represent the Federation with Commander Kira"
Nige reluctantly accepted and sat back down. He would have to find another way to get a look at this technology.
"Any problems with that Commander?"
"Not at all Captain" replied Kira.
Ryan new that Kira was extremely nervous inside. This would be his first 'first contact' meeting, let alone one being initiated by him.
"Lieutenant McQueen, I want you and Ensign McCloud with me."
"Yes Captain."
"Ok, if that's everybody sorted out, lets get going. Fenris, you have the bridge."
"Aye Captain" he said taking the command seat.
Ryan, McQueen and McCloud beamed down in the middle of a street. The rain was
pouring and they quickly ran to a nearby building to get some cover.
"Wasn't someone meant to meet us here Captain?" asked McQueen
"That's what I was told" said Ryan rubbing his arms because of the cold.
"I thought this planet was meant to be mostly tropical?"
"It is mostly, I assume that we must be somewhere near a pole for it to be this cold" replied Ryan.
At that moment, a stocky little man ran across the street. He was different to the other Valarans they had met onboard the Valaran ship. He was far shorter, and his skin was a lot paler. His cranial ridges also weren't as prominent.
"Greetings Captain Evans" he said walking up to Elias. "I am Fotolar"
"I think you need to talk to him" said Elias smiling.
"Yes, I'm Captain Evans" said Ryan stepping in.
"Ohh of course, sorry." said the little man slightly offset. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to where the device is.
The three officers followed the short man back across the road and down the street. The rain didn't ease up at all and by the time they had reached their destination they were thoroughly drenched.
"Just in here" said the Valaran waddling up a stairway.
The Starfleet officers walked in and before them lay one of the most complex pieces of machinery any of them had ever seen. Elias walked over brimming with curiosity to have a look at it. Link managed to contain himself for a short while, but had to ask...
"Captain, may I..."
"Go ahead Ensign"
Link joined Elias in examining the device with their tricorders.
"What exactly does this device do?" asked Ryan
"I am under strict orders not to tell you. To be honest, I wouldn't have known myself if we hadn't tried it out ourselves. You see this isn't Valaran technology. We discovered it on a planet a couple of systems away. The only way we could find out what it was was by incorporating it into one of our ships and using it."
"Were the results good or bad?"
"They were catastrophic. It caused immense problems and we had to remove it. It was the only way to fix what had happened."
"So you are giving us something that could cost us lives?"
"No, no, no. You see, your Federation scientists are slightly more advanced than ours. You should hopefully be able to make better use of it. Also with your holodeck technology, you should be able to run simulations without actually loosing any lives."
"I see your point"
"If possible, we would like to get it onboard your ship as soon as possible. The research committee need my attention on something else"
"May I take a look too?" asked Ryan
"Of course Captain"
Ryan joined Elias and Link.
"Opinions gentlemen? What does it do?"
"It's not a weapon." Stated McQueen. "I can't see how it could create any kind of lethal energy."
"It doesn't seem to serve a defensive purpose either" added Link. "There are no emitters any where on it that would signify a defence shield of any kind."
"However, if you look down here" taking Ryan's attention to a small indent towards the lower front end of the device. "You can see this small indent." Elias scanned it with his tricorder. "Look at these readings that I get from it. Some high powered energy was certainly focused here at some point recently.
"So, conclusions?"
"I honestly don't know..."
"The other one couldn't make any sense of it either. Believe me he got frustrated not knowing what it was."
"Other... one...?" asked Ryan
"Ohh yes, I forgot to mention. Starfleet had already sent an engineer to look at this."
"Can me and my engineers have a word with him?"
"Certainly, but as far as I know, he was meant to be coming with you to your space station."
"He is?"
*Pike could have at least informed me* Ryan thought.
"Go up the stairs and follow the corridor. He has set up a small lab in the room at the end."
"Thank you."
"Captain, would it be ok if Ensign McCloud and myself stayed here and examined this a bit more?" asked McQueen
"Of course."
Ryan left the two engineers to play with their new toy and followed the route the Valaran had just given him. He came to the end of the corridor and knocked on the door. It was slightly ajar so Ryan proceeded to step in. He looked around and found a Starfleet officer having a nap on a bed in the corner.
"Excuse me" Ryan said.
The engineer woke with a start and sat upright.
"Captain Evans is it?"
"Yes"
"I'm Ensign Steven Gregholt, nice to meet you."
"You too Ensign. I understand you've been working on the device downstairs for some time now?"
"About a week. It's certainly a mystery. I can't make head nor tail of it."
"Nor can my engineers. Tell me, what are your orders?"
"To proceed with the Ronin to Deep Space Eleven"
"Ok, just making sure, as I haven't been officially informed that I would be taking on a new crew member. Well anyway, we will be leaving tomorrow evening, so I suggest you get everything you need onboard by then. If you speak to Commander Kira, he'll assign you quarters."
"Thank you Captain, I'll see you onboard, I just have a few loose ends to tie up here first."
"Alright then, I'll see you onboard"
Ryan left the young Ensign to his work and went back downstairs.
"Are you ready to beam this to the cargo bay?"
"I believe so Captain. Everything seems to be in order... I say it's safe for transport."
"Ok, then, lets just hope it fits in the cargo bay. Evans to Ronin."
[Fenris here, go ahead Captain]
"Lieutenant, lock on to the, what was it called?" Ryan said turning to the Valarian
"I have no idea..."
"Lieutenant, lock onto the device and beam it to the cargo bay along with the three of us."
[Co-ordinates set Captain]
"Energise"