Star Trek: The voyages of the USS Apollo

Chapter Thirty: The Relic from the War

September 19th 2412

"Rear Admiral's Log: Star Date 389282.668. With the Apollo being duplicated twice and two Acadian ships recruited into Starfleet via field commission, the Gamma Quadrant Exploratory Fleet has become a vast and strong fleet of ships. All five ships with the crews consisting of more than one thousand and two hundred people, are now continuing the long journey to the Alpha Quadrant, where the Acadians will find a nice habitable planet to live on and the rest of us will be able to return to our families. Too bad the journey is still estimated to take eighteen years. By the time of which my son Lucas will be an adult."

The past week had been an exciting one for the Crew of the Apollo. The Apollo had been duplicated twice after going through the Georgiou Wormhole and two Acadian ships, the Sanctuary and the Exodus respectively, had joined with them to form a fleet that was under Ethan's command. But the most exciting part of them all was that Ethan and T'Vrell had become the proud parents of their son Lucas. Being a Human-Vulcan hybrid Lucas inherited his father's East Asian ethnicity and his mother's Vulcan ears. Yet his parents still loved him unconditionally and vowed to give him the best possible life once they returned to the Alpha Quadrant. After Lucas fell asleep in his mother's arms after being fed, T'Vrell lowered him into his crib while cuddling his teddy bear. As Lucas slept blissfully in the crib, Ethan said "I think that my mother will immediately love him upon seeing him. How do you think your parents will react when they see him in person for the first time?" T'Vrell thought for a moment and said "Knowing my father, he will likely express interest in enrolling him in the Vulcan Science Academy when he comes of age." Ethan chuckled and said "First let's get him through nursey, primary school and secondary school. Then we can talk about higher education." That was when Ethan's com badge flared alive as a channel was opened and a male Acadian voice said "Rear Admiral Rivers. This is Ensign Dalaro Khan, pilot of the U.S.S Diamond. Our scanners have detected an M-Class planet ahead with an island that has about fifty million inhabitants. Now I know that sounds like a usual pre-Warp society, but here is the strange detail. They're Humans." Ethan had a surprised look on his face as he saw T'Vrell have a look of equal shock and astonishment. The Gamma Quadrant Exploratory Fleet had just discovered a colony made up entirely of fifty million Humans.

"Captain's Log: Star Date 389282.668. It has been four days since the Exodus and the ship I commanded, the Sanctuary, joined with the Apollo, Georgiou and Diamond to form the Gamma Quadrant Exploratory Fleet. I am now in command of the Diamond and have done my best to lead it despite my limited experience as Captain. We have integrated well with the Alpha and Beta Quadrant natives on board and I have been learning much about the Federation's history. In the meantime we have discovered the most peculiar of all discoveries in the Gamma Quadrant: An M-Class planet with a population of fifty million Humans! Rear Admiral Rivers' species by the way. Ensign Khan has informed Rear Admiral Rivers of this and we are going to have a meeting on the matter."

In the Apollo's Conference Room were many of the senior officers all five ships, numbering twenty eight out of the thirty five senior officers in total and ready for the important meeting ahead of them. Being husband and wife, T'Vrell and Ethan sat next to each other and had left Lucas in the care of a babysitter hologram equipped with a mobile emitter until the meeting was over. As everyone sat down at the Conference Table, Captain Anaya of the U.S.S Georgiou asked "How could there be a colony of Humans tens of thousands of lightyears away from Earth?" This was the question on everyone's minds. No one was sure for as to how this had happened. As Ethan contemplated the possibilities, Jakoro got up and said "Perhaps they were brought here by something that could get us to the Alpha Quadrant much faster?" Everyone liked the idea and showed it with looks of agreement on their faces. Ethan of course was just as interested in the idea and said "Well we should divert course to head there and find out what brought them here. But the question is, how did they get here anyway?" No one was sure. There had to be an explanation to this mystery. T'Vrell then stood up and said "It is logical to approach this as Starfleet would with a pre-Warp society. We should arrive at a distance from which they cannot detect us and enact a scan of the planet." Ethan agreed and said "Alright then. Hopefully they're advanced enough to not constitute as pre-Warp." Ethan then stood up and said "Everyone head back to your ships. We will divert course there and hopefully find an answer for as to how they got here." Just as everyone was about to leave, a channel was opened and William's voice said "Uh Rear Admiral. You might want to see this." Ethan then stood up and walked out of the Conference Room with T'Vrell, Alisha and the rest of the senior officers to the Bridge. As they arrived they saw a shocking sight on the viewscreen, something that made Ethan nearly gasp in shock. As they gazed at this strange object, Laren asked "What is that?" Ethan then answered with a shocked voice "A tank from the twenty thirties."

"Rear Admiral's Log: Supplemental. We have discovered what appears to be a tank from twenty first century Earth, floating in space tens of thousands of lightyears from Earth. How this tank got here however is yet to be confirmed. It has been pulled into the hanger and we are now going to analyse it to determine how it got here."

In the hanger bay was Rear Admiral Rivers, Lieutenant T'Vrell, Commander Alisha Flores, Ensign William Jackson and Ensign Jodem Tal, scanning and investigating the ancient Earth relic that had somehow been brought more than fifty thousand lightyears from Earth. As Lieutenant T'Vrell scanned the tanks tires and read the results she said "The tank appears to be in relatively good condition. Likely thanks to the vacuum of space." Ensign Tal stood below the tank's turret and lifted up his scanner to analyse it. When the scan results came through, Ensign Tal said "I'm detecting traces of a compound I've never seen before." Alisha looked over as she finished scanning the armour and asked "What is it made from?" Jodem checked the results and said "Seventy five percent nitrate, fifteen percent charcoal and ten percent sulphur." Recognising the mixture, Voq walked over and said "I believe you will find that to be gunpowder. A black powder that was used for explosives between the ninth century and the twenty first century before the phaser was invented." Impressed at Voq's knowledge of Earth history, Ethan said "Yes that's right. You know your history Lieutenant Commander. Very good."

Alisha then checked the scans of the armour and said upon seeing the results "The armour is strong. But a phaser at even low setting could easily penetrate it. A phaser at medium could blast an armour plating right off and a phaser at maximum setting could destroy the entire tank." T'Vrell looked at the scan results on Alisha's Padd and said "That is understandable. No shield technology was developed at the time. So it is not designed nor prepared to handle a phaser." T'Vrell then noticed William looking the tank up and down and asked "Ensign Jackson, why are you looking at the tank that way?" William looked over at T'Vrell and answered "I'm trying to figure out how you enter this old rust bucket." Voq then climbed to the top of the tank and saw the circular hatch on top. Knowing it was likely the entrance, Voq ripped the hatch off and saw two seats inside and rows of tank shells behind the two seats. As the rest of the Bridge Crew climbed on top to see the inside of the tank, Toral Laren said "I don't see anyone inside." It was then that Ethan saw something that caught his eye. A radio from twenty first century Earth and said "That's an old radio if I'm not mistaken." Ethan then climbed down into the tank and sat in the driver's chair as William asked "You sure it's safe?" Ethan responded "Certainly. Now there should be a key around here." Ethan then found the key and turned it a few times before the engine activated and a slight rumbling happened on the tank before white smoke came out of the two exhaust pipes at the back. As it came out T'Vrell said "I recommend we deactivate the engine before we begin to asphyxiate." Ethan then checked the fuel calculator and said "I don't think that will be necessary, that was the last of the fuel."

The white smoke then stopped coming out of the exhaust pipes as Voq snarled and said "That is a most disgusting stench." William agreed and said "You can say that again Voq. Think I prefer hover cars." Jodem then entered the tank as well, sitting in the seat next to Ethan and noticed the strange device with a dial on it and asked "What's this?" To which Ethan answered "Am radio. These were used to receive radio transmissions during the twentieth and twenty first centuries. I highly doubt we'll pick up anything out here though." Ethan then playfully turned the am radio, expecting to hear nothing at all. Only to then hear some radio beeps. The Bridge Crew gazed in shock and awe as they heard beeping sounds coming out. Ethan listened closely and noticed that the exact pattern was three quick beeps, three long beeps and a final three quick beeps. Upon realising what it was he said "This sounds like an S.O.S. An ancient Earth distress signal that hasn't been used in years." Jodem then scanned the am radio and said "Scans show that the signal is coming from the planet we've detected with Human life. I think they've intended it for Earth." It was then that Ethan saw a flag painted above the radio that he recognised all too well. It was the Japanese flag, but it was different than the one of his mother's homeland. It was completely red and had a gear with wheat going through it. Ethan then said in a shocked voice "This tank was used by the Eastern Coalition during the Third World War." Ethan, Jodem, Alisha, T'Vrell, Voq, William and Laren all gazed at the am radio in shock as they realised that the people on that planet had been stranded there ever since the most brutal and gruesome conflict to ever plague the Earth before First Contact with the Vulcans in 2063: The Third World War.