Star Trek: The voyages of the USS Apollo

Chapter Forty Five: The Return Home

October 17th 2415

"Rear Admiral's Log: Star Date 392206.007. Five years ago a two week long survey mission in the Badlands undertaken by the U.S.S Apollo turned into a five year long journey home through the Gamma Quadrant. For five years we have struggled to return home to the Alpha Quadrant. We built a fleet after the ship was duplicated and merged with the fleet sent to find us to stop the Cardassian Empire from unleashing the C.I.S.S Supernova upon the Alpha Quadrant. That was two thousand lightyears from the Bajoran Wormhole and two years ago. We crossed the Bajoran Wormhole just a one week ago and now, after five painstakingly long years in the Gamma Quadrant, we have returned to the Alpha Quadrant. We're home."

All across San Francisco fireworks were being shot up into the night sky to celebrate what everyone had been waiting to happen for so long. For four years it had been the talk of both the Quadrants. It was all anyone spoke about. Apollo this. Apollo that. It was something that they had all been very excited for. Gathered in the streets and on the Golden Gate Bridge were crowds of thousands of people, waiting to see the five ships they had heard so much about. Then finally, they saw them. Flying above the city were the five ships of the Gamma Quadrant Exploration Fleet: the U.S.S Sanctuary; the U.S.S Exodus; the U.S.S Georgiou; the U.S.S Diamond; and most famous of them all, the U.S.S Apollo. As the crowds finally saw the five famous ships fly just above the Golden Gate Bridge, they immediately started cheering that the latest ships to go down in history had arrived in their beloved city. After five years of being missing in the Gamma Quadrant, they had returned home.

Docked in Star Base One, just above the planet, were all five ships of the Gamma Quadrant Exploratory Fleet. After flying over San Francisco as part of their return tour, all five ships had been docked to Star Base One. Assembled in the main hanger bay were hundreds of civilians who were friends and relatives of the first one hundred crewmembers of the U.S.S Apollo. All of them waiting for the shuttles containing their beloved ones to land. Then finally, ten shuttles entered the hanger bay from outside. All of them deactivating their thrusters as they landed. When the shuttles finally landed, the civilians already knew exactly who this would be. As the doors to the shuttles opened up, Starfleet officers of various races, species and cultures walked out and many of the families assembled in the hanger bay immediately recognised some of them as relatives or friends who had been missing for five long years on the Apollo. They started running forward right away into each others' arms, overjoyed and relived to see each other again. Within a few minutes, officers were at long last reuniting with the families they had been waiting to see for so long and now their wait was finally over. William was the first of the senior officers to be reunited with his family. He looked all around him and finally saw a Starfleet Captain with a balding head. It was his father. The two of them immedietly ran into each others' arms as William's father started saying with tears in his eyes "My son. My son, my son, my son. I missed you so much!"

Voq was the next one to find his family. As Voq passed a Bajoran officer tightly hugging his ten year old daughter as she cried in his arms, Voq saw a familiar face. It was Rejac. His brother who had been the first to voice support when he chose to join Starfleet. Rejac walked forward and said the famous Klingon words "Qapla'." Voq repeated them and the two shook hands with one another. Glad to be reunited after five years. Laren was looking all around for her family. Her brother Antos had written to her that he would be there with his wife and three children, but she was starting to think that they weren't there. Then suddenly, she heard a voice call out "Laren!" Laren looked to her left and saw them. Antos was with his wife, his two sons and his daughter and they were all running straight towards her. Laren ran towards them as well and tightly hugged her brother upon seeing him at long last. Then Laren saw her six year old niece, who was but an infant the last time she saw her. Payoto did not recognise her aunt because she was only a year old the last time they met. So she pointed at Laren and asked "Whose that Daddy?" Antos motioned his hand at Laren and said "This my dear is your Auntie Laren." Laren immediately picked up Payoto in her arms and said "Oh I missed you my little mechanic."