“Long-range sensors showing no Sphere.”  Thasaz sat on the edge of her seat at the science station, her mind focused.  A cup of coffee balanced on the console.  It had been a long night.

Captain Wren Walton sat in the center chair, coffee in her hand.  “Some good news, at least.”  She tapped the arm of the chair, “Charlie, your team ready down there?”

In transporter room one, Chief Diplomatic Officer Charlie Hargraves clenched and unclenched his hands, “We’re ready enough, Captain.  If this doesn’t work, be ready to yank us out.”

To his left, Doctor Henry Longfellow was dour, “And if yanking doesn’t work, feel free to fly down and rescue us.”  He wasn’t happy about being on the away team. During the period, men wore suits and hats while women wore dresses.  He smiled at the annoyed look the Assistant Chief Engineer had on her face.  Carolyn Crawford hated dresses.  She had eschewed them as a child, teen, and young adult.  She had away team experience from her time on the USS Mercy, so she’d been moved to the front of the line.

“This reminds me of a past life,” the quartermaster, Henry Wyatt, mused.

Crawford groused, “Me too.  One I didn’t plan on reliving.”

Juliet Woodward expressed mock shock at her side and leaned into her accent, “You do look ever so pretty, Ms. Crawford.”

Carolyn stared at Commander Park, who was amused, “I’m going to kill her, Commander Park.  One more crack about the color of the dress and my eyes…”

Park put her hands up in surrender, “Right, let’s stow it until you’re back. Then Kondo can put you into a ring to deal with your feelings.”

Woodward cracked, “Only if she wears the dress!”

Crawford turned to her, annoyed, “Look, Juliet, I’m gonna…”

Park ordered the control officer, “Energize for the love of all that is holy.”  The argument continued as the transporter beam flashed into existence and then was gone.  The XO sighed, “They’re getting along so well.  Keep a lock on them.” She headed for the bridge.

Crawford walked behind Woodward and Hargraves with Wyatt at her side.  “…and that’s why I hate dresses.”

Wyatt chuckled, “That is certainly a childhood trauma, Ms. Crawford.  I’d have a hard time showing my face back at the school the next day.”  

His sly smile gave her cause to roll her eyes, “I was in third grade!  That shit followed me to high school!”  As they walked into the city, she kicked at the ground, “I hate dresses.”  They continued into the massive city, taking in the tall skyscrapers.  All around them was the smell and sound of industry.  Cars and trucks of various sizes drove all around them.

After thirty minutes of walking, they reached the town center and mounted the steps to the city hall.  They entered and found their way to the front desk.  Hargreaves asked if it was possible to meet someone in the government. With some questioning to clarify what they needed, they soon sat in a large room filled with books and furniture suited for a mansion on Old Earth.  Hargreaves walked along one of the many bookcases, reading the titles, “There’s a lot of science books here.  Haven’t seen a lot of literature or philosophy.”  He wondered what that meant for the people they were about to meet.

The doors flew open as if in answer, and a tall bearded man strode in wearing a well-coifed suit and glasses.  His eyes searched the group, “I am the Secretary of the State.  My name is Harrison Nola.  You are a mystery to us.”  He pulled out a notebook, “We examined you as you walked through our city and into our hall. You do not fit any of our known people groups.  So, I must ask you – who are you…what, why are you here?”  There was a hint of malice in his words.

Charlie picked his jaw up off the floor.  “You’re a people of science…it would make sense you’d have ways to observe us.”  He cleared his throat, “We’re from a world outside your own…our ship is a peaceful ship that seeks to explore and understand the universe.”

Nola squinted at them, “And we are next on this…’list’ of exploration?”

Hargreaves waited for the universal translator to catch up before he put his hands up in surrender, “No. no…we’re…there’s another group of beings out there who are not peaceful…and they seek to subjugate and attack others to…mechanically add them to their numbers.  We think you are next on their ‘list’…and we wanted to find a way to protect you and keep you hidden.”

Another long stare from the Secretary of the State.  “You will need to put all your cards on the table.”  He gestured to a long table on the other side of the room.  They all sat, and Hargraves began explaining who he was and the ship outside the orbit.  That begat another round of questions, and he patiently explained the Federation and its members.  This required an explanation of the Delta and the Alpha quadrants and the wormhole that had got them here in the first place.

“So you are trapped here until the end of the month?”  Nola sat back, a confused look on his face, “That seems ever so unwise given what you’ve explained about this…quadrant that exists around us.”

Hargreaves allowed a smile, “Part of what we do, Mr. Secretary, is the choosing the unwise to save someone or someones in need…even if they don’t know it yet.”

“Still..an incredible risk.  It is hard to believe there are no conditions for your assistance.”  Nola sat forward, “For us…your ways do not make sense within the scope of our ways.  We are a dedicated science community – we’ve spent our lifetimes understanding this planet and ourselves.  We used to be given to risks…but with the deaths of our explorers and the inability for us to make our ships work…we gave up on searching beyond the sky.  We do not care about what lies beyond the clouds.  We care about what we stand foot on and live on.  The skies have remained silent…why would that change?”

Charlie pursed his lips.  How much to share?  He explained the unique properties of their world and the small system they called home.  Their creator had made it this way, and his dying words had led the Mackenzie to them.

“We long ago spurned the stories of our creator, Commander Hargraves.  It was deemed unscientific. His name has not been spoken in 1,000 years.  You’re suggesting the science we’ve studied and created is wrong.”  The malice was back in his voice.

Henry Wyatt stood, “Mr. Secretary…we’re not suggesting anything of the sort.”  He motioned to a blackboard on the wall behind them, and the man gave a curious nod.  “Your science has determined certain things.”  He went to work drawing the world and the understanding they had developed.  “That science, and the study of all of this…is still sound and true.”  He drew an additional piece – that of the creator, “He put this all together for you to discover, examine, and understand.  Your studies do not invalidate his existence. The two are not mutually exclusive.”

Nola eyed them all after examining the drawings on the board, “You…make a compelling case.”  He pointed upwards, “Your ship…is up there?”  Wyatt nodded.  “You must reveal it to us.  You came from nowhere and have said many things.  We must see it.”

It was Hargreaves’s time to return to the conversation, “We can show you. I can have a shuttle land outside the city in ten minutes.”

Nola assented, “I will get the president and one other.  He will need to see this.”

“It is…I do not have the words.”  President Mason Garrey stood in the shuttle’s forward compartment, staring at the cockpit window, showing the planet on one side and the USS Mackenzie on the other.  “It is…expansive.  Like nothing we’d ever imagined…and we’ve imagined plenty.”  He turned to Nola, “We must believe them.”

His Secretary of State sighed a long sigh of surrender, “How will we explain this to our people?”

Hargreaves had an idea, “You don’t have to acknowledge that this exists yet.  The plan requires some destruction…but you said you’re due for an emergency exercise.  You could sell the slight destruction elements to make the exercise more real.”

Garrey considered the suggestion, “It is not impossible…Nola?”

“If we are to avoid this…Borg…I must accept their suggestions.  We watched the same videos about them… they would consume us with no chance of survival.” He gestured to the space outside the window, “We cannot ignore the sky any longer.”

The President turned to the Starfleet crew, “Let us save our people…together.”