Captain's Log Stardate 2305.01.10: The USS Sovereign
is in orbit about the planet Cartha VII. The Sovereign has been chosen as the
'first contact' ship for this planet. Cartha is a planet which has an extremely
advanced technology and is about to embark on manned space missions beyond their
own solar system. The planet lies on the periphery of Federation and Klingon
space. It is our mission to contact the Carthans first and establish relations
on behalf of the Federation before there is Klingon contact.
End Log
Stuart Mann stared at the blue planet on the view
screen. Cartha VII wasn't all that different from Earth he thought. Left all
alone here in the middle of nowhere (as far as space went), this tiny planet was
on the verge of discovering the warp drive. Some of the Carthan probes had been
intercepted by Federation ships, but to be safe records of these contacts had to
be erased from the probe's memory banks and the probe itself redirected to avoid
further Federation contact. It could only be assumed probes had wandered into
Klingon space as well.
There was something that troubled Mann as he sat
tensely in the center seat. There was something about being the first contact
ship. A million things could go wrong. Worst of all, the prime directive could
be violated, forever changing the natural evolution of this planet.
At 1500 hours, Captain Mann ordered all senior
officers to his ready room. Commander Aryana O'Donald had just finished briefing
the group on the technological advancement of Cartha when Mann rose to speak.
"Federation observers acting covertly on the planet
below have deemed this the appropriate time to make contact with the planetary
government. To prevent any mishaps below, only Commander O'Donald will accompany
me to the planet as science advisor. Commander Edgell is in charge; Mr. Karnes
will take the Conn. during beta shift."
"Understood, Captain." spoke up Edgell.
"Ensign Karnes, since you will be on watch for the
next eight hours, if anything goes wrong below you are to-alert Commander
Edgell. Mr. Edgell, you are to evaluate the situation and get the Sovereign away
from here if necessary. The prime directive must not be compromised for any
reason!"
Both officers nodded. Mann then dismissed the group.
At 1600 hours, Mann and O'Donald entered Transporter
Room One. Dressed in native garb, both checked their equipment one last time
then stepped onto the transporter pads. Mann signaled to LTJG Peter Taggart who
activated the transporter. Captain Mann felt the cool sensation of the
transporter beam, then nothing!
The next thing he was aware of was coming to
consciousness in sickbay with Dr Kyra standing over him. "He's coming to,
Commander," he heard her say to someone just out of his line of vision. He next
saw Commander O'Donald and Commander Edgell standing by his bed.
"What's going on?" Captain Mann started, still trying
to shake the cobwebs out of his head.
"Captain Mann, I..." Commander O'Donald began.
"What happened?" the Captain demanded. "I remember
getting ready to beam down to Cartha then I blacked out!"
The officers merely looked at each other, a sadness
showing on their faces. "You don't remember beaming down to Cartha?" Dr Kyra
questioned.
"Of course not! Wasn't I brought here to sickbay?"
Dr Kyra continued, "I told you there might be some
temporary memory loss."
"Captain," spoke up O'Donald, "You and I both beamed
down to Cartha. We were beginning negotiations with the planetary governor.
Suddenly, you drew your phaser and shot down the governor. It was an unprovoked
attack, Captain."
"What the hell are you talking about, Mister?" Mann
asked in disbelief.
"You had killed three other planetary officials before
they were able to incapacitate you." O'Donald continued, "One of the officials
knocked you out with a blunt instrument. That's why you were unconscious and
probably why you're having trouble remembering what happened." When you fell, I
called for an emergency beam up. We were able to escape before they took us into
custody," she finished.
"Carthan ships have been running intercept missions
against the Sovereign for hours now Captain," Edgell began, "We've had to
withdraw to a new position four times to avoid contact with them."
"We've been monitoring the planet, Captain. Civil war
has been declared by the various factions that were only loosely held together
by the late governor. The most powerful party is demanding all out war with the
Federation for this violation." explained the Science Officer.
Mann noticed the flashing red panels in sickbay now.
"Why are we at red alert?"
Edgell said, "Klingons have been spotted about 2
parsecs out. It's just to be safe."
Commander Edgell stepped forward and looked directly
at the Captain. "Captain Stuart Mann, by orders of Starfleet, you are hereby
placed under arrest for violation of General Order 1. You are relived of duty
and ordered confined to quarters until we reach Starbase Eleven where you will
face a general court martial."
LTJG Larry Piper entered the room. Edgell looked at
him. "You are to guard the Captain until he is able to return to his quarters."
"Aye sir," Piper replied.
The officers left the room and Piper turned away as he
couldn't look the Captain in the eye.
Mann slumped back in his bed. "What the hell is going
on?" He asked, but no one was there to hear him.
