Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile

Episode 17: The End

(Stardate 47645)

By

Jay P. Hailey

And

Dennnis Washburn

 

A Klingon K'Vort class battle cruiser had braced the USS Harrier several weeks before we thought we would reach the Klingon frontier. It seems that the Klingons had been expanding along that front quite a bit.

We heard no reaction or comment from the Klingons, other than strict ship handling instructions. A communiqué relayed to us by the Klingons had Starfleet Command placing us on diplomatic assignment to the fleet of the high councilor, Gowron. This was a surprise to me. K'empec was the High councilor when the Harrier had been lost. I didn't even really know Gowron's reputation. Our out dated records had Gowron being a well regarded fleet commander and part time Sector Commander General.

The Harrier was put into a Klingon Starbase some thirty light years outside of what we thought was Klingon territory. The Admiral of the Starbase briefed me.

"We have heard of your adventures, Captain Hailey." Admiral Zlee sneered. He didn't seem too impressed. He looked too big in the small conference room aboard the USS Harrier. His armor was all ship shape, tight, and looked comfortable. I had seen and examined Klingon armor at one time. It doesn't get that comfortable unless you wear it a lot. He also had a disruptor pistol and the small semi-Bat'leth dagger. He probably had several other things, too.

Stephanie Anderson, My chief of Security didn't want to let him wander the Harrier armed, but what were you going to do with an Admiral of an allied fleet? A search was out of the question. I noticed that Stephanie had scheduled security drills, that day.

"I have strict orders to you from Gowron. You do know how to follow strict orders, don't you?" He challenged.

This was a sore spot between Klingons and Humans. Klingons claimed that Humans had no honor. They would violate rules and orders as suited them. At command school it was called "Command Initiative". Usually it was called "Nothing Sells Like Success". Captain Kirk was our patron saint in this issue. The Klingons had their own version of this, something along the lines of "The winner writes the history". It is not healthy to bring this up to armed Klingon officers.

"I have been assigned to diplomatic duty with the Fleet of Gowron. Please relay your orders." I said as mildly as I could manage. Despite the Admiral's sneer, I knew I had done the right thing. Klingons respected you better if you kept your cool.

"Hmph. You will be repaired at this base. Your own crew will do the work. When you are finished you will form up with our cruiser group. You will run under communications silence. You will follow the orders of the Fleet Commander, explicitly. Speak to no one who is not on Gowron's personal staff. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Admiral." I said. We were now under thick, paranoid Klingon cover.

-*-

After we had refit the Harrier, we set out across the Klingon Empire. Three of the big Bird of Prey cruisers and one of the huge new Vor'Cha class cruisers surrounded us and escorted us through. The Klingon Empire is a lively place with its own set of history and worlds, each of which adds its own flavor to the Empire. We didn't see any of it. We never stopped.

Occasionally we were told to go to red alert and stand by. We would go to battle stations and arm weapons, while two or three of the escort squadron would cloak and move off. Three times we saw weapons fire at long range and once we saw a ship explode. However, we were never told anything of these encounters. Our escorts would return to formation and the flagship would order us to resume cruise mode.

For six months we traveled across the Klingon Empire in this fashion.

-*-

In the main council chambers on Qo'noS I stood and waited. I was in my dress uniform, full decorations on my chest. At the Klingon attache's suggestion I also wore a phaser on my hip. The wearing of weapons was a sign of adulthood to Klingons. One was a warrior and a full participant in society if armed. If a man was unarmed, then he was dependent on the power and reputation of his clan to protect him. He was a child. So Li'ira, Varupuchu and I were all armed.

We had been on Qo'noS for two weeks and the three of us were all that had been let off the Harrier. The crew becoming tense and a little stir crazy. I asked them to hold on. From Qo'noS it was only a few weeks to the Klingon-Federation Border. We were almost home.

I had spent the previous two weeks briefing Gowron and his high councilors on the voyage of the Harrier, and what we had encountered.

Fortunately, the Klingons never tried to board the Harrier. We had the delegates from the Zantree Alliance and several samples of things from our trip, including some Borg technology. I trusted Klingon honor and courage under fire as much as I trusted anything in the universe, but with temptations like that; well the Earth phrase applies in spirit if not in actuality. The Klingons were only human.

I guess that Gowron feared the result if he caused an entire Federation starship to disappear. Especially since we were technically under his command. His honor was now at stake to get us home safe and unmolested. I can only imagine what Starfleet Command might have promised him to get him to follow this course. I suppose it was all for the good. The Klingons were, after all our allies.

Gowron and his staff were particularly interested in the Kliges'chee. I was limited in the specifics of what I could tell them. After all I had promised the Zantree Alliance not to tell the Klingons of them. Much of the information about the Kliges'chee had come from the Zantree. To tell the Klingons too much of that would imply the existence of the Zantree strongly enough to violate the spirit of my promise. So I waffled and talked around things and blamed much of my knowledge on the Romulan starship Et-Tu and the Murachi.

The Klingons knew that I wasn't telling them everything and it annoyed them. However, they took what they could get and that was a lot. Gowron insisted that I download logs and reports of what we had seen. Mostly I obliged. Gowron made ugly noises about "Partial allies" and "fair weather friends" I reminded him of several incidents in Klingon history where the closest of allies had not been totally forthcoming with each other. He was irked, but saw my point.

At the end of these two weeks I thought that we would be told to form up with our escort and sent home. At the last minute, I was told to present myself and my two most senior officers for a formal reception on Qo'noS, at the main council chamber.

So there we were, standing in the center of the chamber, at full attention, with dress uniforms chafing our necks and incongruous phasers slung from our hips when in walks Kahless the Unforgettable.

I stood there stunned. If Abraham Lincoln had come out from behind the curtain I could hardly have been more surprised.

Let me explain. Kahless the Unforgettable was the father of Klingon culture. His writings and his battles had formed the pattern for their behavior for nearly fifteen hundred years. As a student of Klingon history I had read the works of Kahless first, and used them as a filter to try to understand the rest. That is the Klingon way.

The Klingon High Council followed him in, but I had no eyes for them. I was standing in the presence of living history. How had he gotten there? I recognized him clearly. There were still recordings of him from the ancient days.

I noticed right away that Kahless was short, and that his eyes had a merry twinkle. He was enjoying the whole pomp and circumstance thing.

He turned around and ascended to the Bloody Throne. It was placed up on a dais and commanded a view of the whole council chambers. Last I had heard was that no one had sat one the Bloody Throne for nearly three hundred years. It was said that the Spirit of Kahless sat in that throne to remind any conqueror or power broker that there was one Klingon that no one would measure up to again.

He moved with a bouncy kind of infectious energy. He was a dynamo. He was the kind of man who did seventeen things before breakfast, and that was taking it slow. "Who comes before me?" He said. It was a ritualized question.

"A Federation starship captain, My Lord. His name is Jay P. Hailey." Gowron answered. I got a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. A Warrior presented to the Emperor was supposed to list his battles. It was his resume. That was how he was known. Gowron hadn't bothered to have me prepare for this, because, in the traditional form it would take hours for some experienced Klingon commanders to list their battles.

"I have not heard of him." Kahless said. This was the signal to begin with the recitation.

Gowron turned to gaze at me. At that moment I jumped in.

"My Lord, I represent the United Federation of Planets and the crew of the starship Harrier. We have taken our starship across a thousand light years of unknown space. The unknown is our enemy, and these are the battles we have fought." I saw Gowron scowl, but it was too late. I was committed. I told Kahless a stripped down version of our voyage. I went from the most recent incidents back wards. I gave a thumbnail sketch of my service history, too.

At the end of it, Kahless looked at me. He had a poker face on, but I could still see the twinkle in his eyes. Then he laughed. He got up and bounced down the steps of the dais to me, laughing.

"You know our ways, Captain! Heh, heh, heh!" He ran over to me and grabbed me, roughly and swung me around to his council. "See? The people of the Federation fight their battles well!" He chuckled "The unknown is our enemy, indeed!" He dropped me and I almost fell down. He was about five feet six inches tall, but he would probably weigh two hundred and twenty pounds at one g. He easily overwhelmed me with charisma, energy and brute strength.

He stretched his arms out to his council, who were looking at him dubiously, and a little sourly. "An enemy doesn't have to be a man with a knife, or a disruptor! These Federation people confront their enemy with sensors and computers and their minds! Science is their sharp blade! Together, Klingon Strength and Federation Science can accomplish great things!" He was half shouting, half laughing. He obviously thought the whole thing was going to be a lot of fun.

I noticed that there was a recorder pick-up aimed at him from the shadows. The whole thing was being taped, and maybe broadcast. I had ad-libbed my speech in front of the Klingon Emperor, and there might have been thousands or millions of Klingons watching.

Now I felt really queasy.

In the end it turned out okay. I was hustled back aboard the Harrier without a further word from Gowron or the Emperor. I never found out who, if anyone saw the tape.

-*-

"This is the starship Harrier to Starbase Twenty-Four, come in, Starbase Twenty-Four." Stephanie said. She sounded nervous. I understood how she felt. We had been working towards this moment for years.

The screen came to life and I saw a familiar face. He was a thin, bald man with a patrician profile. I recognized him immediately.

"This is Admiral Picard at Starbase Twenty-Four. Welcome home, Harrier."

I tried to say thank you, but the cheers drowned me out. The crew of the USS Harrier had begun to celebrate on the spot. Eventually I had to key the panel on my chair and type the message. "THANK YOU, ADMIRAL. USS HARRIER REPORTS ALL SECURE, HEADING FOR STARBASE TWENTY-FOUR, NOW."

He typed back "ACKNOWLEDGED. WE WILL SEE YOU HERE." I could see him grinning merrily on the screen.

We managed to get the Harrier moving towards the starbase. The crew was not very focused or disciplined. Everyone who had a stash of alcohol or recreational substances left broke them out. Starbase Twenty Four was two light years away, and the first day there was simply a mass party on the Harrier. The second day, we managed to recover somewhat, and the Harrier was policed and made ready for an inspection.

When we got close enough, The Starbase took control of the Harrier and piloted us in to a dock. A message told us to expect Admiral Picard's party on board when we docked, and so we spent a frantic twenty minutes arranging an honor guard and getting ourselves into dress uniform for it.

We greeted Admiral Picard and his party at the main docking port of the USS Harrier. They were wearing the new Starfleet uniforms. Admiral Picard's was a long maroon jacket with a black trim and gold bands around the sleeves. His attache' Commander Data wore a mostly black jump suit with maroon shoulders. It looked more comfortable than the two piece uniforms that we wore. The lavender turtleneck confused me. Okay, it did go with the uniform, and looked okay on nearly everyone, but why lavender?

Li'ira called the honor guard to attention. Admiral Picard came into the airlock and said "Permission to come aboard?"

"Granted, Sir." I said

He approached me and extended his hand. I took it. I was very flattered. Jean Luc Picard was the pinnacle of Starfleet. A noted diplomat, scholar and explorer, he embodied the "Scientist, statesman, soldier" concept of Starfleet for everyone of our generation. That was why he had been picked to be the Captain of the Enterprise-D.

"I have been following your reports, Captain. It is good to have you and your crew back."

I grinned like an idiot. "Thank you, Sir."

"I have your orders here. I will be in charge of the debriefing of your crew, and collecting your samples and data." He handed me a PADD with the orders on it. I slipped it to Ensign Bruce, who took it and returned to attention. After I was done conducting Admiral Picard on his inspection tour, I would find them on my desk in office.

"Yes, sir. It will be a pleasure working with you."

"But first, I believe that an inspection is in order."

"Yes, sir. We have the Harrier ship shape and ready for your inspection."

"Very good. You know now I used to command the Harrier's sister ship, the Stargazer."

"Really, Sir? They're good old ships." I said. When I had first been assigned to Starfleet Command, I had visited the USS Stargazer at the Starflight Museum.

We toured the Harrier while Admiral Picard, the hero of the Federation chatted amiably with me about the quirks of the Constellation class starships. The were areas of the Harrier that did not meet specifications, but we had done the best we could with insufficient materials. Admiral Picard didn't seem to mind at all.

-*-

Still later I got to meet Captain Riker and the crew of the Enterprise-E. I was surprised. The Enterprise-D had gone down over Veridian III about a year before we came home. A new Enterprise was christened quickly after that. She was a sister ship to the Enterprise-D, except that her design had been refined based on new technology and experience with the design.

The Enterprise-E put in at Starbase Twenty-Four about a week after our arrival. Her job was to ferry the Murachi and Zantree Alliance delegates to Earth to meet with the Federation Council. It was going to be a short trip. The Enterprise-E could make three light years a day. She was just a touch more than three times as fast as the Harrier.

They held a diplomatic reception aboard the new ship. I went because that was the closest that I was liable to get to a Galaxy class starship for a while. There were many different types of starships in service with Starfleet at that time. Each of them had its good points and bad points. The Galaxy class were the flag ships. If an officer was assigned to a Galaxy class starship, they could really say that they had made it to the big leagues.

The Enterprise-E was a sweet ship, but, being only a few months old, you could almost smell a "new starship" smell aboard her. There was nothing makeshift or improvised about her at all.

I felt kind of insecure inside the new pride of the fleet. Next to her, the USS Harrier looked small, haphazard and rude.

The delegates gushed about the size and opulence of the Enterprise-E. The Executive Officer took it in her stride. She was a Betazoid woman with dark hair and the usual deep, black sensitive eyes of the Betazoids.

"So, Captain Hailey, what do you think of the Enterprise?" She asked me, during the reception.

I nodded at the delegates "Better you than me, Commander Troi."

She grinned "They'll be okay. They won't be on the Enterprise for a whole year, either."

The delegate from Youn approached us. "Captain Hailey," He began. He spoke right past Commander Troi. I thought that it was rude, myself, but the delegate no doubt thought that Commander Troi was too low in social status to speak to. "I see that your government does, after all, know how to treat diplomats properly. I must say thank you for your hospitality during the arduous trip from the Zantree Alliance."

I failed to take his comment in the spirit in which it was meant. "You're welcome, Delegate. I hope that you find your assignment productive and enjoyable."

"Certainly, certainly, Captain. Thank you." He turned again towards the buffet. I doubted that it would survive another pass from the delegate.

Captain Riker approached us. "Deanna, have you met Delegate Crelose, yet?" He gestured towards the table where the Delegate from Murachi was holding forth. "He tells an entertaining story."

Captain Riker and Commander Troi had a certain chemistry about them. It was as if they had been working together for years. They felt as comfortable near each other as an old pair of shoes. I wondered idly if they were married or something. It certainly wasn't my business to ask.

"Delegate Crelose was a sociologist on his home world." I told them. "He thinks that the Federation is a huge anthropology experiment that we put together for him to play with." I grinned at the memory of the swath that Crelose had cut through the gossip on the Harrier.

Captain Riker excused himself and his First Officer as they ambled off to hear Crelose. It made me a little nervous. Technically I was senior to Riker, having been promoted to Captain before him. While we were on his ship, I was just a passenger and slightly less useful than any of the delegates. The truth of the matter was that Riker's reputation and connections gave him a much better political stand than I had. The rulebook earnestly states that the size and class of starship under a Captain's command does not add to his rank or seniority. This was a lie. Riker was another hero of the Federation, and the Commander of the Enterprise, the flagship of the fleet. He pulled more G's than I did by a large factor. His politeness was earnest though.

Tillean caught up to me. She was leaving with the Enterprise-E.

"I guess this is good bye, Captain."

"Good-bye Tillean. I'll miss you." It was not a lie. Tillean was the kind of science officer that made a Captain look good. Without her, our next assignment was not going to be nearly as interesting or fun.

"You'll have to come and visit me on Beauville, sometime."

"Maybe I will. It sounds interesting, as long as William and Adam aren't on the loose."

She looked into my eyes "I'm serious Captain. I hope to see you there some day."

I grew flustered. I wasn't used to such a direct approach. "Maybe I will at that," I said, meaning it this time.

"I'll see you there." She said. She turned and walked away. She turned "It was fun!" She said and then she disappeared into the crowd. Like any Vicharrian she was not looking backwards.

Then I had the pleasure of meeting the Chief Engineer of the Enterprise-E, Geordi LaForge. We happily talked shop, and I got a clinic on the advancements in the field of starship engineering since I had been gone.

-*-

After the reception, the Enterprise-E left Starbase Twenty-Four and made her speedy way directly to Earth. Aboard her she carried all the samples that we had recovered from our voyage, including the chunk of Borg Cube-Ship that we had gathered. She also carried all the diplomatic delegates, and a sizable chunk of my crew. They were heading back to Earth to be debriefed by Starfleet Command, and to take their accumulated leaves. They also took Lt. Colonel Flagg back to Earth in his cold-sleep tube. "Bill-the-Probe" went with them. I never found out where he went after that. All of my requests for information were denied. "Bill-The-Probe" was classified, and I didn't need to know. The senior officers of the Harrier and a few critical crewmen were left to support the investigation.

The investigation was a mandatory event in any case. Starships don't just leap a thousand light years. Our adventures were clearly the result of extreme circumstances. Admiral Picard, Admiral Grayson, the Commander of Starbase Twenty-Four and another officer of flag rank would form a Board of Inquiry. They would decide among themselves if there was any evidence of wrongdoing, and forward to Starfleet Command a review of my decisions during the voyage of the Harrier.

There were several days worth of work examining the Harrier in minute detail. Each change to the ship was logged and explained by myself or Ruezre Vengla. The Harrier had run for long stretches of time without proper maintenance or replacement parts, and so the wear and tear on her made her an experiment on the durability of starships. The Harrier herself represented scientific data, and told her own version of our story.

-*-

They found the third Flag Officer for the review board. Her name was Dayna Dawson. She was a tall chestnut haired woman with a precise look about her. She was the Captain of the starship USS London.

I read that Captain Dawson had made a name for herself as a young officer during the Cardassian war. She quickly rose to the rank of Captain, were she had a reputation as a fierce tactician. Following the Cardassian War, Dawson had transferred to the command of a Starship. I bet that caused some head scratching back at Starfleet Command. With her war record a cushy staff position would have been an easy thing, but she moved to a risky and untried area, field command.

Since then, Dawson had been a well regarded starship Captain, conducting patrols and exploration missions with equal aplomb. She had turned down offers of promotion and assignment to Starfleet Command.

There were mixed feeling about this in San Francisco. Some people talked of such captains and officers as "burn outs" or "space cases". Others envied their ability to sacrifice career for freedom. On the down side out on the frontier, they were always the last to know of the newest political winds. They were always the most helpless in the face capricious decisions or changes of policy. By the time they heard of it, it was a done deal.

The London slid into Starbase Twenty-Four and the questions began.

-*-

"Please explain the factors leading to your decision to contact Romulan High Command." Admiral Green said. Tiredly, I re-explained my reasoning. I knew that it was an overly sentimental decision, but we had gone over it several times. We had been talking and explaining and discussing for days. I was to the point where if I never saw another conference room again in my whole life it would have been just fine.

The Review Board asked me about many of the decisions that I had made during the Harrier's voyage. Some of the ones that I had thought were questionable they left alone. Some of the ones that I had thought were self-evident had been questioned thoroughly. There were few surprises.

The Questions were repeated endlessly. "When you realized that Bandersnatch Six was inhabited by a primitive race, why did you continue with your plans to land there?"

"My crew had been without leave for weeks. I wanted to be especially careful of their emotional states. I wasn't going to be able to get any replacement crew for quite a while."

"Does your contract with the Gallowayans refer to yourself specifically or to the Federation as a whole? Did you feel that you were empowered to make this contract on behalf of the Federation?"

"No, the contract refers to me, specifically. I believe that the precedent for Command Initiative in distant areas has been well established."

"Why did you induct Harvey Del Rio into Starfleet? Do you feel that he is entitled to back pay and benefits?"

"It was just a manner of making the paperwork fit the facts. Harvey was utterly at my mercy and under my control when the Harrier left the Federation. Inducting him into Starfleet simply regularized the relationship that already existed. Harvey did the job I assigned to him well. Certainly he was a stowaway but it was my fault that he wasn't caught in a reasonable amount of time. I think a certain amount of compensation is in order."

"Did you feel that laughing at the Sixian Starbase commander was useful tactic? Do you feel that the Dorian civilization would be able to survive?"

"No, it was an accident and I regret it. It made a peaceful resolution of the situation even more unlikely. I don't know how the Dorian civilization will fare, but I honestly hope that it will change to a more humane state, soon."

On and on and on the questions went. On and on I explained myself. Eventually after several long days, I was told that the Board was retiring to consider the evidence. I had some time to kick around.

-*-

I was staring out of one of the huge view ports into the docking area of Starbase Twenty-Four. I was looking at the USS London. She was a beauty. Her primary hull was a long, sleek ellipsoid, her engineering hull reminded me of the body of a shark. She was the latest thing out of Spacedock, an Intrepid class starship.

The basic layout had been in use for one hundred and thirty years, the Moscow class, the Constitution class, the Excelsior class, etc., but everything about the USS London was new. As a trained engineer, my eyes scanned her hull and her systems and I lusted after her. I wanted to know everything about her. I suppose I was being unrealistic. She belonged to another.

But maybe, if everything went well...

The London and her sisters would be opening new territory up at a frantic rate. At three times the speed of starships for the past one hundred years, she made the Federation suddenly seem three times as small.

It was appropriate that her layout was so similar in many ways to the Constitution class starships. We were at the beginning of an age of exploration, expansion and adventure the likes of which had not been seen since the days of Captain Kirk and the original Enterprise.

I was dreaming. The success of the Harrier was really a fluke. If not for the crew, the Harrier would have been lost. I was better suited as the captain of an older ship. If not the Harrier, then one the Excelsiors. They were too old to be refitted with the newer engines. They were condemned to be hand maidens to the success of the Intrepid class. That would probably be where I wound up, If not behind another desk at Starfleet Command. I realized with a certain amount of surprise that the idea of a desk in San Francisco sounded more boring than I could tolerate. I knew then that I was spoiled as a staff officer. Either they put me in the captain's chair of the Harrier or another ship or I would retire.

I realized that I was not alone. Li'ira had come into the lounge where I was oogling the London. I turned an oogled Li'ira for a moment. It was not a luxury that I had allowed myself on the Harrier, and it was long overdue. She was really pretty, a fact I might have missed if not acclimated to her pheromones.

How long had she been watching me?

"I came to tell you," She said "I have been given my new assignment." This was Li'ira's method. She waited for the right time, and then jumped in with both feet. Her tone let me know that she was moving on. Our partnership was dissolved.

"They offered me a command." She said. I was stunned. A command? They could not have thought that much of our performance.

"Really? Which one?" I tried to make my grin sincere.

"It's a new one, Deep Space Ten." She sounded happy. It was technically cause for celebration. Even command of a space station was a compliment from Starfleet Command. It meant that they trusted her with a whole station and probably the better part of a sector. However, I knew the other side of that coin. Station commands were dead ends. They were little cul-de-sacs where officers with talent, but no pull, or officers with pull but no talent were stationed. It was devilishly difficult to jump start your career after it had been stalled in that way. Li'ira plainly had the ability. She was also an Orion with no family name behind her. I wanted to tell her to quickly run out and marry someone named Armstrong. The saddest part was that this tactic might have actually worked. That was not Li'ira's style.

"Uh, good luck." I said.

"You don't sound as happy as I would have thought." She said. I could see suspicion grow behind her eyes.

"Have I ever told you about my first command?"

"No."

"It was the Starfleet Reserve Center on Benson. They warehoused me there, after I left my safe, dutiful role as Chief Engineer of the Akagi."

"That's an interesting way of putting it."

"It's the truth. I had been slanted towards the engineering track ever since my days at the academy. I made chief engineer, but I reached a plateau there. I knew I was never going to make line officer like that and so I took the tests and made my command rating. They had to promote me. Then they offered me a staff posting on a starbase. I said no. I wanted a command position and I let them know it. They offered me Benson and I took it. It was a backwater. Nothing ever happened there. My career also never happened there. After four years I realized that I was never going to go anywhere else. I was never going to be promoted or make another mark on my record except for maybe good attendance. I think that I just didn't have the right political connections. Some admiral's son or some politician's nephew had the first call on the position that I worked for."

Li'ira listened intently and then said quietly "Deep Space Ten isn't like that. It's a new station out on the frontier."

"I hope so. Starfleet Command is a political place. Back on Earth it's not so much what you know, but who you know."

"Playing the game with them isn't the way to change it, is it?"

I shrugged my shoulders at her. "It's the only game in town."

She turned away and said quietly, "I hope that you're wrong."

"I know what you can do, and any one who has seen you work knows what you're worth. In the offices of the Admirals, they don't see that, they see tally marks on the records. I don't want to see you take a dead end job. You're worth more than that."

She turned back to face me and the faint ghost of a smile played on her dark green lips. "Thank you. I hope that you will trust me to have done my homework on this assignment. I don't think its as much of a dead end as you fear."

She caught me. I realized that the assignment to Benson wouldn't have come as such a surprise if I had done my homework too. "All right," I grumped "I'll trust you." I waved my finger at her. "This time!" I grinned. I had been trusting Li'ira completely for the last six years.

Her smile was bright. "Good! Now let's go have some lunch before I have to leave."

It didn't hit me that she was really gone until a couple of days later.

-*-

I had orders for Harksain Varupuchu. He was on the Harrier, overseeing an overhaul of the life support system. It was scattered all over the deck. It looked like a mess, but I knew Varupuchu better than that.

"Lt. Commander, may I have a word with you?" I beckoned the Andorian to me.

He looked vaguely irritated as he came over to me. His attitude seemed to say "This had better be worth interrupting my important work." I knew better than to take it personally.

I held up the PADD with the orders and read them aloud, so that his work crew could hear it.

"As of Stardate 48155.5, you are promoted to the Rank of Commander, with all due privileges and responsibilities. Furthermore your services have been requested on the Starship Hibol, expected to arrive at Andor on or about stardate 50788.1."

I looked gravely at Harksain. He was grinning like a madman. He was going to be the second in command of an Andorian patrol vessel.

Humans think that the most glamorous part of Starfleet is the space exploration. Frequently on Earth you will hear the hoary old phrase "To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before..." From the original Starfleet charter. This excites Humans because our race is curious and expansionistic.

The Andorians have a different perspective. They view the patrol of Federation Territory and the defense of our social orders as the most happy and glamorous assignments. Its wonderful example of how the two races have different instinctual drives. On Andor you will hear them say, "To Protect, Enforce and Rescue..." with the same tones of voice.

The starship Hibol had been built mostly by Andorians and she was designed to patrol the Federation, conduct search and rescue operations, and support police activities. This was the highest calling for the Andorians. For Harksain Varupuchu to be called to serve on that ship was a great compliment.

"Do you accept?" I asked.

In answer Harksain Varupuchu, the dour and disapproving Chief of Operations for the USS Harrier whooped at the top of his lungs. Taking this for a "Yes." I entered the data and made it official. Harksain Varupuchu was now Commander Varupuchu of the Hibol, an Andorian on his way up.

-*-

"Captain Hailey, may I have a word with you?" It was Admiral Picard. I jumped a little and then got flustered. My quarters on the Harrier were not ready for an inspection. How do you politely put an Admiral off? I didn't know.

"Ah, yes, Sir. Please," I jumped back from the door. "Come in."

He entered my Quarters and stood there for a moment. I suddenly got it. "Oh! Please, sit down. May I get you something to drink?"

The Admiral sat gingerly on my couch and gestured me to sit down. As I sat he said "I spoke with Admiral Quinn of you, when it was learned that you would be returning from deep space."

"Oh? And how is Admiral Quinn?" I was genuinely curious. I hadn't heard of the Admiral in far too long.

He retired a year and a half ago. That's part of the reason that I agreed to be promoted to Admiral and turn over the Enterprise-E to Captain Riker."

"Really?"

"Yes. Let me ask you," He steepled his hands with a distinctly Vulcan gesture. I had seen Mr. Spaat do it a number of times. "How would you describe Starfleet Command to an outside party?"

"Um, I suppose I would say that it is the body that devises our procedures, collects our data, and assigns starships to tasks, you know, our central command structure."

"Yes, yes, well. Would it also be fair to say that it is true that some times the people at Starfleet Command can become somewhat political?"

I thought of Ambassador Spock. He had parlayed a career in Starfleet into an acclaimed diplomatic career. He was not the first, he was just the most obvious example. "I suppose that a career in Starfleet can lead to a role in public life."

"No, what I mean is that some times Starfleet Command can become rather, er, full of itself. A place where one's career becomes more important than the goals it serves."

This was getting dangerous. What the Admiral was saying to me was very close indeed to insubordination. "Ah, I suppose it might..."

"My point Captain Hailey is just this. What you and the crew of the Harrier have accomplished is more important than just bringing home more knowledge."

"What?"

"What you have done is to bring information home that shakes the comfortable prejudices of Starfleet Command. The Kliges'chee, the Harmon are a reminder that an Admirals office in San Francisco is not the most important place in the Galaxy. This is lesson that many Starfleet Officers all too soon forget."

"Well, that's interesting Admiral but I don't see what it has to do with me."

"Well I wanted to sound you out about this subject first. Admiral Quinn seemed to think that you had the right attitude, and your treatment of Commander Li'ira, sticking to your guns and forcing them to accept her as your second in command bears that out."

"She's a good officer. She really believes in the Federation."

"Yes, and for most Starfleet career minded officers, what would the response to her have been?"

I thought it through. Without the right connections or family background, no Starfleet officer made it very far unless he was very lucky indeed. Sure there were a few, just enough to make it believable that Starfleet was a meritocracy, but often these other factors played a role. Li'ira's race also played a factor. Despite five centuries of battle, the ugly stereotype was an easy tool used by all too many people. Li'ira would be considered a "Green Animal Woman" first and by knee jerk reaction. Worse, even for the few who bothered to think it through, gambling your career on a point of ethics would be considered a little naive. I was flushed with my first success as Captain of the Harrier following the "Holly Hop Incident". I pushed Li'ira through as my real First Officer based on impulse and a certain amount of ego. If I had stopped to think about it, would I have risked my Captaincy for her? I didn't like the answer I got when I asked myself that question.

"Let's cut to the chase here, Admiral. What do you want from me?"

"Admiral Quinn and a few others, have had a long standing cabal inside Starfleet Command. It's not really a conspiracy or anything sinister. Its just a group of people who see that Starfleet Command needs its pomposity punctured from time to time. I am part of this group. It is why I pushed Li'ira for command of Deep Space Ten."

"Aren't base commands usually dead ends?"

"Yes, unless they are in the right place at the right time. With the current political situation in the sector, and the new starship speeds bringing us into more firm contact out on the frontier, things will start happening in that area soon. And Li'ira is just exactly the officer we need out there to stay on top of it."

"Ah hah. Okay. Now, what about me?"

"Well, we have an assignment for you that will be somewhat more difficult. I can't say too much more about it, except that it entails the command of another starship and that it will begin soon. There will be little time for you to recover from this voyage before you are immersed in the preparations for the next one."

"And you can fix the board of Inquiry?" I asked. I really didn't know what I was going to do if he said yes. On the one hand this "non-conspiracy" sounded dangerous. On the other hand, it was an almost sure thing to get me back in the Captain's seat.

"Certainly not! I believe that you have misunderstood me." With that he got up. He was angry. Did I insult him with the implication?

"Wait! Maybe I did misunderstand you. What you described to me sounded like another variation on the old boys network. What did I miss?"

"Just one thing, Captain Hailey. We are 'good old boys' who are dedicated to seeing that the right thing gets done. We do not 'fix' results or use our influence to promote ourselves over our purpose. That is not what Starfleet is for! I waited to make my advance to you until after I knew what the result of the review board was going to be."

I felt something stir inside me. Maybe I was naive, but I believed him. I had wanted to believe in doing the right thing for as long as I could remember.

"Okay, Admiral, I'm in, if you'll have me."

"All I want is know that you'll continue to follow your conscience and not the dictates of expediency or your career."

So I was going to be Sir Lancelot at the round table? All I had to do was surrender any hope of ever making Admiral or becoming the darling of Starfleet Command. All I had to do was surrender all forward progress of my career, a grail I had followed since I realized that this was the true name of the game in Starfleet?

"Sure." I said "You have my word, Admiral Picard."

The next day the review board forwarded a recommendation to Starfleet Command. They recommended that court martial procedures not be started. "We find no fault with the actions or decisions of the Officer in question. We find that he acted adequately within the rules, regulations, and spirit of Starfleet."

-*-

"Captain's Log: Stardate 48165.1

"This is my final entry in this log. As of today the Harrier is under the command of Admiral Green as a part of Starbase Twenty-Four. The Harrier herself has been powered down and dependent on the Starbase for life support and operating power for some weeks, so this just makes it official.

"The Crew of the Harrier has been dispersed to other tasks and other assignments, and soon I will board a ship to Earth to take up my next assignment.

"This little ship has a lot of heart. Maybe she isn't a jewel in Starfleet's crown anymore, but when we needed her, she came though like a champ.

"I would like to conclude this section of the Harrier's log with blanket commendations for the crew. Their accomplishment in getting the Harrier home should not be under rated."

I closed the log. I was alone on the Bridge of the Harrier. Work was going on in other places in the ship, but the Bridge was not relevant while docked to the Starbase.

The panels were dark, and the lights were low. It seemed quiet and a little melancholy. Who knew how long it would be before she was sent out again?

I logged myself off of the Bridge and out of command of the starship Harrier. It seemed as though a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Command immediately transferred to the Starbase. I was now just another officer working for the Starbase Commander, Admiral Grayson. The Harrier was now just another module attached to it.

Then I finally had to get around to cleaning out my office.

-*-

I beamed aboard the Starship USS London. Captain Dawson and Commander Hanson were there to greet me. That was nice, Captain Dawson was senior to me, and I was just dead heading back to Earth.

Dawson was surprised and a little disapproving of my mode of dress. She was tall, and precise, with her chestnut hair in perfect coif, and her makeup expertly applied. Her uniform was trim and professional, and somehow seemed to hang a little better on her than it should have. It was as if she took extra pains to make her appearance perfect.

Commander Hanson was tall, broad shouldered and handsome. My first impression of him when we met was to wonder why he wasn't making recruiting ads for Starfleet. He simply hesitated a beat and then grinned.

I was wearing shorts and a loud Hawaiian pattern shirt. I had light sandals on. My new uniform, one of the mostly black one piece jobs with four pips on the lavender collar and maroon shoulders was neatly folded in my duffel.

"Permission to come aboard?" I asked, as per custom.

Dawson looked at my loud shirt and seemed to be considering it. "Granted." She said after a bit.

I stepped down off the transporter pad and then saluted the keel of the London.

"Sir, would you care to join us on the Bridge for the departure?" Dawson grated. I got the impression that she was expecting me to be more professional or captainly or something. She would address me properly as "Sir," or informally by my first name. A ship under way has only one Captain. I had been generically promoted to VIP for the duration of the trip. There was no specific title or mode of address, except that custom had extreme politeness as the default. My captain's rank was an inconvenient bother that simply wouldn't be mentioned.

"No, Thank you Captain." I grinned. "I wouldn't want to bother you."

"Oh," She said with a perfectly grim deadpan "It would be no bother at all." I thought that Commander Hanson would hurt something in a minute.

"If I can be shown to my quarters, then I'll enjoy the trip as a proper passenger, if that's okay, Captain." I said.

This seemed to cheer Dawson up somewhat. "If you insist," She gestured me towards the door, "Then I'll have Commander Hanson get you settled."

"Why, Thank you."

"You're quite welcome." She said ironically. She was regaining her sense of humor, at least.

I followed Commander Hanson out into the corridor. The corridors on the USS London were more square than those on the Harrier, giving the ship less of a structural air about her.

"I think the Captain expected you to be more formal, Sir." Hanson grinned.

"Are you kidding? This is the first chance that I've to be off duty in years. I am going to put my feet up and let you drive."

"Well, the London isn't a cruise ship, but I think you'll be able to enjoy yourself, Sir."

"Thanks, Commander."

I didn't bother the Command crew for the rest of the trip. I didn't visit the bridge and I didn't read any briefing memos. I did bother the Chief Engineer, a tall boyishly handsome man named Tom Lentz. He had freckles and a very dry sense of humor. He knew all the ins and outs of the Intrepid class starships and was excellent engineer. We had long technical discussions when his duty schedule allowed.

As the USS London left Starbase Twenty-Four, I watched from the lounge through the big windows in the front of the ship. We swung past the Harrier and I said good-bye. The Harrier was going to be scrapped. She was too old to be refitted to the new technology. There was little chance that she would ever be used again, and so the decision was made to send her to the wrecking yards. I saw through her opened hull into the main engineering section. They were taking her warp core out. After refitting, it would go to another ship. It was a sad sight to see, but I tried not to be sentimental about it.

Then the doors of the dock opened and the London lifted her skirts and ran for Earth.

I requested all of the crew from the USS Harrier to join me on my next assignment. This was a Captain's prerogative, when it was known that he would move to a new command assignment.

Li'ira was moving to command Deep Space Ten

Harksain Varupuchu was going to be the First Officer of the Hibol.

Nobody would say what had happened to Lt. Colonel Flagg. I didn't want him on the crew for my next assignment, but I kind of felt responsible for his being in the cold sleep tube to begin with. My inquiries were politely spurned.

Ruezre Vengla was declared unqualified for the next posting. That must have meant that it was going to be a newer ship, since there was nothing over five years old that Ruezre couldn't baby along.

Seamus McTague failed the height/weight requirements. He had grown too round. He refused to do the work necessary to restore himself to the requirements. He resigned from Starfleet and was assigned by the Catholic Church to a Parish in his home country of Ireland. As far as I know he is happily ministering to his flock there to this day.

Patricia Flynn was made a science officer on an ocean going vessel of the United States Coast Guard. The incident with the Borg had driven a wedge between us that never really went away. We were back to being polite to each other by the time she left the Harrier, but not friends.

Harvey Del Rio left the Harrier and his impromptu service in Starfleet. He eventually became a Starship Engineer, but he worked at a space dock for a civilian contractor. He never again took a deep space trip.

Stephanie Anderson was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, but she agreed to accompany me.

Ensigns Spaat and Bruce were both promoted to Lieutenants J.G., and both decided to go on to my next assignment.

Lieutenant Hendrickson, "Snoopy", was promoted to full lieutenant and became Stephanie's second in command.

Although most of the Marines had completed their term of enlistment, Sgt. Major Kendricks requested to follow me to my next assignment. Starfleet Command assigned him to me.

I didn't know what the ship would be, but there would be plenty of time for that, when we got to Earth.

-end-

Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile, an introduction:

By Jay P. Hailey

This is a short description of the new series I am writing. It is called "Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile." It's actually more of the "Star Trek: The Voyage of the Harrier" only without the Harrier.

Let me explain. In an earlier letter I described how the "Star Trek: Voyage of the Harrier" actually started out as a role playing game that Dennnis Washburn was GMing. Imagine my surprise when Dennnis said "Okay, now the Harrier has returned to the Federation." The game seemed to center around the Harrier being lost in space and being on a quest for home. When Dennnis said that the Harrier was home, I wondered what the heck was happening. Was Dennnis abandoning the game?

Dennnis did not end the game there. Captain Hailey continued his adventures. At the same time my own efforts to GM a Star Trek role playing game were beginning to pay off. The Starship USS Endeavor had taken off.

Then Kitty Howard appeared at a game and added Deep Space Ten to the line up.

Originally I had intended to rename "Star Trek: The Voyage of the Harrier" to "Star Trek: The Voyage of the Discovery" and follow Captain Hailey's trip exclusively.

But there were interesting stories happening in the other games, too. As I was trying to tell the end of the Harrier's story and switch to the beginning of the Discovery's, I had to take a detour and tell you what Li'ira found when she arrived at Deep Space Ten.

It felt good. It felt right. So I decided to keep on doing it. "Star Trek: The Voyage of the Discovery" had become something a little more than what I had planned.

Now I needed a new name.

The name I invented reflects a certain amount of the philosophy that I hope to portray. There was a poem once that read, as far as I can recall, that after all our travels and all our wanderings, the effect will be that we arrive home and truly see it for the first time.

Instead of being upwardly mobile in pursuit of career, status and accomplishment in the narrowest sense, the characters in these stories realize that there is something more than resume building. They are the ones that bring new eyes to Starfleet Command and make the Earth look outside of itself. These are the stories of the people who are outwardly mobile.

The Star Trek Players are:

Jay P. Hailey

Dennnis Washburn (Harrier/Discovery Only)

Sandra J. Hedlund

Gene Ambacher

Kitty Howard

Jeramie Postelwaite

Broc Olsen

Joshua Donovan

E. Carol Daugherty

Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this story for me.