This story takes places in my Star Trek Voyager Reboot Universe, as such the events that occur herein have no impact on the Prime Universe.
In the ten months that the Caretaker was abducting ships and experimenting on crew, he not only found potentials onboard the U.S.S. Voyager and U.S.S. Equinox, but also on one other Starfleet ship. "Homeward" is the story of how this ship—one of the first ships taken by the Caretaker—came to arrive in the Delta Quadrant then begun their journey home.
* * * * *
Captain’s Ready Room, U.S.S. Hera
Routine Patrol, Tomed Exclusion Zone, Beta Quadrant
Stardate: 47521.5 (July 10th, 2370)
Lifting the fine bone China teacup to her lips, Captain Silva La Forge blew gently on the dark liquid, causing ripples and swirling the tantalising steam. Taking a moment to appreciate the rich, earthy aroma of the Tellarite draq root tea, she smiled softly before taking her first sip. It was a strong and thick taste, which many couldn’t stomach—even some Tellarites—but she had enjoyed it ever since the first time she’d tried it. She only ever permitted herself one cup early in the day, otherwise the caffeine would keep her up all night—a mistake she’d only had to make once.
The lyrical chime of the doors sounded. Looking up at it, she set her cup down and called, “Come in, Commander.”
The double doors parted to reveal her First Officer, Commander Veron, hands clasped behind his back (from where he would produce a datapad) just as he always was at 0900. The Vulcan had a strict routine that he had always stuck to in the four years he had served under her, it was something she had come to appreciate—knowing that everything would be seen to and organised meticulously. But then again, she expected little else on a ship where eighty-two percent of the six hundred and twenty-seven crewmembers were Vulcan.
Veron stepped inside and approached her desk, his posture impeccable, dark hair—longer than most other male Vulcans—kept in a neat and functional style, uniform unruffled, boots freshly polished, and his combadge perfectly aligned. He came to a stop in front of her desk and gave her a slight nod.
“Good morning, Captain.”
“And to you, Mr Veron. Sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you, sir,” he replied politely, before unclasping his hands and producing a PADD, which he offered to her. “The beta and gamma shift reports.”
Accepting it, she glanced at the display. “Anything of interest?”
“All has been quiet. Long-range scans have shown no unusual activity from the Romulans, no other ships have been detected. All sweeps of the Tomed System have revealed little more than previously.
“All systems have been within optimum performance over the last sixteen hours,” he continued with the Hera’s status as always. “All work logs have been filed. No accidents were reported, though sickbay has logged that Lieutenant Yexil’vahr is budding.”
“Again?” she asked with genuine surprise. “His last litter was only eighteen months ago, I thought the Vraii needed longer between litters?”
“Apparently, it is not uncommon for those from the northern polar continent to undergo more frequent buddings.”
“So that’ll be what, another six or seven?”
“He may have anywhere between three and thirteen.”
“With the four he has already,” she mused to herself. “Have we got accommodation large enough to handle seventeen offspring?”
“The quarters next to the Lieutenant’s are unoccupied. Should he wish to remain onboard, there may be room if both were combined into one.”
“I’ll speak with Mr Vahr before his next shift, see what his plans are.” She smiled to herself, ever since assuming command of the Hera, La Forge had always liked hearing about engagements, marriages, pregnancies and births onboard—all the things that made a community come together. “Anything else, Commander?”
“Lieutenant Commander Shelby has asked to go over a new tactical training regiment she wishes to trial on beta shift. The details of which she has outlined on there,” he added, gesturing to the PADD.
She looked down at it and skipped ahead to the section in question. “I’ll read over it and if it’s valid I’ll discuss the matter with her when she comes of shift at sixteen hundred.”
“Bridge to Captain La Forge,” the intercom chirped.
“La Forge here, go ahead.”
“Sir, we have just lost all sensor contact with one of our surveillance probes within the Tomed System,” Science Officer T’Peren stated.
La Forge and Veron shared a look. At any given time Starfleet had a half dozen recon probes in the Tomed System, in order to cut through the sensor interference caused by subspace distortion and volatile energy waves within the system—a constant reminder of all the lives that had been lost in the system almost sixty years ago. The probes allowed them to monitor the Neutral Zone in case the Romulans attempted to use the sensor black spot for an attack. With one probe down, they could have a sizable gap within their sensor range.
“On our way,” she replied, rising from her desk—her tea and the PADD forgotten about for the time being.
Leading Veron onto the Bridge, she headed straight for the Science console along the aft bulkhead. As they approached T’Peren, the elder Vulcan looked back at them. She was by far the oldest member of the crew, but despite almost a century of service to Starfleet, her rank of full Commander, and countless commendations and awards to her name, she had never wanted to be anything more than a scientist. Though some may have questioned her choice, La Forge was just happy to have the best Science Officer in the fleet onboard.
“Report,” La Forge said as she and Veron came to a stop.
Turning back to her console, T’Peren already had a diagram of their probe arrangement displayed with the large sensor gap very obvious.
“We lost all contact with probe Epsilon three-point-six minutes ago. I have run a diagnostic on our telemetry retrieval, communications and computer systems, no errors were present. All test signals I have sent to the probe have met with no response. I have even tried using the other probes to contact Epsilon, to no avail.”
“Are the other probes still online?” Veron asked, his tone respectful of his elder.
“Yes Commander. There are no problems with the other probes.”
La Forge studied the gap for a few moments longer. “Before it went dead, was there any sign of mechanical problems, incoming debris, or hostile ships?”
“None sir.”
“We can’t launch one from here, can we?”
“Negative Captain. The position of each probe is crucial,” T’Peren confirmed.
Nodding, La Forge looked at Veron. “Commander, ready us for entry into the Tomed System.”
“Aye sir,” he replied, then turned back towards the front of the Bridge. “Lieutenant Dane, raise shields and sound yellow alert. Conn, establish navigation markers for our course to probe Epsilon.”
Both officers relied in the affirmative as La Forge looked back at the problem in the Tomed System. A cold shiver ran down the length of her spine.
* * * * *
In the ten months that the Caretaker was abducting ships and experimenting on crew, he not only found potentials onboard the U.S.S. Voyager and U.S.S. Equinox, but also on one other Starfleet ship. "Homeward" is the story of how this ship—one of the first ships taken by the Caretaker—came to arrive in the Delta Quadrant then begun their journey home.
* * * * *
Captain’s Ready Room, U.S.S. Hera
Routine Patrol, Tomed Exclusion Zone, Beta Quadrant
Stardate: 47521.5 (July 10th, 2370)
Lifting the fine bone China teacup to her lips, Captain Silva La Forge blew gently on the dark liquid, causing ripples and swirling the tantalising steam. Taking a moment to appreciate the rich, earthy aroma of the Tellarite draq root tea, she smiled softly before taking her first sip. It was a strong and thick taste, which many couldn’t stomach—even some Tellarites—but she had enjoyed it ever since the first time she’d tried it. She only ever permitted herself one cup early in the day, otherwise the caffeine would keep her up all night—a mistake she’d only had to make once.
The lyrical chime of the doors sounded. Looking up at it, she set her cup down and called, “Come in, Commander.”
The double doors parted to reveal her First Officer, Commander Veron, hands clasped behind his back (from where he would produce a datapad) just as he always was at 0900. The Vulcan had a strict routine that he had always stuck to in the four years he had served under her, it was something she had come to appreciate—knowing that everything would be seen to and organised meticulously. But then again, she expected little else on a ship where eighty-two percent of the six hundred and twenty-seven crewmembers were Vulcan.
Veron stepped inside and approached her desk, his posture impeccable, dark hair—longer than most other male Vulcans—kept in a neat and functional style, uniform unruffled, boots freshly polished, and his combadge perfectly aligned. He came to a stop in front of her desk and gave her a slight nod.
“Good morning, Captain.”
“And to you, Mr Veron. Sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you, sir,” he replied politely, before unclasping his hands and producing a PADD, which he offered to her. “The beta and gamma shift reports.”
Accepting it, she glanced at the display. “Anything of interest?”
“All has been quiet. Long-range scans have shown no unusual activity from the Romulans, no other ships have been detected. All sweeps of the Tomed System have revealed little more than previously.
“All systems have been within optimum performance over the last sixteen hours,” he continued with the Hera’s status as always. “All work logs have been filed. No accidents were reported, though sickbay has logged that Lieutenant Yexil’vahr is budding.”
“Again?” she asked with genuine surprise. “His last litter was only eighteen months ago, I thought the Vraii needed longer between litters?”
“Apparently, it is not uncommon for those from the northern polar continent to undergo more frequent buddings.”
“So that’ll be what, another six or seven?”
“He may have anywhere between three and thirteen.”
“With the four he has already,” she mused to herself. “Have we got accommodation large enough to handle seventeen offspring?”
“The quarters next to the Lieutenant’s are unoccupied. Should he wish to remain onboard, there may be room if both were combined into one.”
“I’ll speak with Mr Vahr before his next shift, see what his plans are.” She smiled to herself, ever since assuming command of the Hera, La Forge had always liked hearing about engagements, marriages, pregnancies and births onboard—all the things that made a community come together. “Anything else, Commander?”
“Lieutenant Commander Shelby has asked to go over a new tactical training regiment she wishes to trial on beta shift. The details of which she has outlined on there,” he added, gesturing to the PADD.
She looked down at it and skipped ahead to the section in question. “I’ll read over it and if it’s valid I’ll discuss the matter with her when she comes of shift at sixteen hundred.”
“Bridge to Captain La Forge,” the intercom chirped.
“La Forge here, go ahead.”
“Sir, we have just lost all sensor contact with one of our surveillance probes within the Tomed System,” Science Officer T’Peren stated.
La Forge and Veron shared a look. At any given time Starfleet had a half dozen recon probes in the Tomed System, in order to cut through the sensor interference caused by subspace distortion and volatile energy waves within the system—a constant reminder of all the lives that had been lost in the system almost sixty years ago. The probes allowed them to monitor the Neutral Zone in case the Romulans attempted to use the sensor black spot for an attack. With one probe down, they could have a sizable gap within their sensor range.
“On our way,” she replied, rising from her desk—her tea and the PADD forgotten about for the time being.
Leading Veron onto the Bridge, she headed straight for the Science console along the aft bulkhead. As they approached T’Peren, the elder Vulcan looked back at them. She was by far the oldest member of the crew, but despite almost a century of service to Starfleet, her rank of full Commander, and countless commendations and awards to her name, she had never wanted to be anything more than a scientist. Though some may have questioned her choice, La Forge was just happy to have the best Science Officer in the fleet onboard.
“Report,” La Forge said as she and Veron came to a stop.
Turning back to her console, T’Peren already had a diagram of their probe arrangement displayed with the large sensor gap very obvious.
“We lost all contact with probe Epsilon three-point-six minutes ago. I have run a diagnostic on our telemetry retrieval, communications and computer systems, no errors were present. All test signals I have sent to the probe have met with no response. I have even tried using the other probes to contact Epsilon, to no avail.”
“Are the other probes still online?” Veron asked, his tone respectful of his elder.
“Yes Commander. There are no problems with the other probes.”
La Forge studied the gap for a few moments longer. “Before it went dead, was there any sign of mechanical problems, incoming debris, or hostile ships?”
“None sir.”
“We can’t launch one from here, can we?”
“Negative Captain. The position of each probe is crucial,” T’Peren confirmed.
Nodding, La Forge looked at Veron. “Commander, ready us for entry into the Tomed System.”
“Aye sir,” he replied, then turned back towards the front of the Bridge. “Lieutenant Dane, raise shields and sound yellow alert. Conn, establish navigation markers for our course to probe Epsilon.”
Both officers relied in the affirmative as La Forge looked back at the problem in the Tomed System. A cold shiver ran down the length of her spine.
* * * * *
