[Writer’s note: The idea for this story began LONG before ST:Enterprise was even thought of. Its origins began EVEN before ST:DS9 when, inspired by the ‘NEW’ Star Trek series called the Next Generation, I began thinking outside the Star Trek Universe ‘box’. After watching the first few episodes of ST:Enterprise, I decided to incorporate a few of its ideas into the story. I think stories like this, show what the concept of ST:Enterprise promised. Before being ruined by the ‘Berman Gang’ and other no talent hacks at Paramount that think, “If the ratings are down, don’t write better stories, start a war!” I find it interesting such ‘Hollywood’ types protest the USA going to war to defend itself against the like of Sadem, Osama, or even Weird Haircut Kim but to get ‘easy’ ratings will resort to on screen death and destruction! I wonder if they have ever heard, “LIFE IMITATES ART”? Well, off the soap box, that’s for another BLOG! Enjoy the story!]
Swapping ‘stories’ in space port hangouts is not an exclusively human ship captains and crew activity. Some of the most interesting come from nonhumans. I heard this one from a Starfleet officer a while back.
After the successful first voyage of the Enterprise, NX-01 and inspired by the logs of Captain Archer and crew, Earth embarked on an accelerated campaign of ship building that the Vulcans could NOT stop. Soon a ‘fleet’ of Earth vessels were Boldly Going Everywhere! An expanding fleet needed resources, one of the main priorities of these voyages was to explore for items like Dilithium Crystals. Sadly many of these vessels were never heard from again but, many came home. Naturally a number of these voyages resulted in contact with new races, many of which, would eventually join with their visitors to form the United Federation of Planets. While these beings were VERY alien, some were, at the same time VERY familiar.
It had been a LONG voyage for the Earth Crew and after almost five solar years they were on their way home! Their computer banks filled with information that would keep Earth Analytical Experts busy for years.
Just off their course to the Galactic Center, lay a unremarkable, moderately sized yellow star named on the Vulcan Star Charts 15 Lyncis. As the ship drew near, the scanners churned out data. A Sol like sun, orbited by twelve planets and an asteroid belt. As the scans continued, the readout reported the second planet was the only Class M world in the group.
Tuning into the frequency emissions coming from the system, the ship’s Communication’s Officer reports there appear to be signals coming from the direction of the Class M planet. “Intelligent”, the Captain asks. Using all the ship’s equipment and all her skills the Communication’s Officer attempts to find an answer. Filtering out the back ground noise, signal harmonics, reflections and echos she finally arrives at a audible signal. As she listens, a puzzled look crosses her face. Seeing her change in expression the Captain ordered, “Let’s hear it!” The Communication’s Officer punches a button and the sound, a vaguely familiar collection of growls and hisses are heard by all. The ‘ALL’ include Morganna, who has been sleeping soundly in her favorite spot on top of the consoled that holds the usually unmanned Bridge Engineering Station’s Control Panel. Suddenly awake, alert and ,hearing the sound crackling from the speaker, she arches her back, hisses and runs from the room, apparently frightened.
Seeing her reaction to the sound and hearing little that would encourage him to contact this new race, the Captain is about to order his vessel to continue on with her journey home when the Science Officer reports, “The asteroid belt contains Dilithium!” Dilithium, that wondrous crystal that makes faster than light travel possible! Someone would have to try and contact this race! However the Captain isn’t sure it should be him.
It has not only been a long voyage, it has been a dangerous one. On more than one occasion contact with an alien race has ended badly. The Captain’s mind thinks back to one race, one planet where he lost a crewman, a longtime friend.
Now if you haven’t already figured it out, Morganna is a cat. More specifically, the pet of the Captain. Like Archer’s dog Porthos, she has come along with her ‘human’ to ‘explore’ the universe. Unlike Porthos who apparently urinated his way across the Alpha Quadrant, giving new meaning to ‘Boldly Going’, Morganna has always been more like crew than a pet. In fact some of the alien dignitaries the vessel had hosted had inquired as to what post Morganna was assigned. Sometimes the Captain would reply, half jokingly, “Councilor.”
One of the ‘duties’ she was involved in was helping to decide on a non-urgent plan of action. The Captain only half believed she was really deciding anything but, it beat flipping a coin and its illogic bugged the hell out of the Vulcan ‘handler’ that had been originally assigned to the ship. So the captain orders the ‘equipment’ to be readied. Basically just two cards, one with the word ‘YES’ and one with the word ‘NO’ printed on them. As they are placed on the deck in random spots, the Captain retrieves Morganna from where she is hiding and asking the question, “Should we contact the new race or continue on home”, puts her on the deck. Later in the logs, all present would swear Morganna stood for an unusually long time, looked each one of the crew in the eyes and, then as if she had been pushed went strait to the ‘YES’ card and sat on it. The captain, a bit surprised at his cat’s certainty, said, “It’s decided then! Helm, plot a course for the system!”
Cautiously approaching the planet, looking for any sign that the natives knew of and/or objected to his approach, the Captain ponders the best way for first contact. Unless his Communication’s Officer can crack the language, he might have to bypass this system and it’s wonders. Even though instigation of the Prime Directive was years away, humans had progressed far enough to have out grown the “I need it, I take it” mind set. So far there was no evidence that these creatures had ventured into space. Do the inhabitants of this world know of other races on other worlds? How best to announce to this race that they are NOT alone in the universe. The Captain thinks of the turmoil the knowledge that “We Were Not Alone” caused on Earth not that long ago.
Nearing the planet, he is relieved and concerned to see that this race was NOT a stranger to space. Orbiting the planet are numerous satellites and even a small space station. Various suborbital craft shuttle between the surface and the station. In addition, three tiny, interplanetary, non-warp ships orbit the planet not far from the station. Now the Captain has a new problem, if these creatures are as sophisticated as this, they probably have the technology to detect his ship’s approach from some distance. He order, “All engines stop”, hoping to give his Communications’s Officer time to get a handle on the language and him time to find a nonthreatening way of saying hello.
The Captain doesn’t have long to ponder his situation. “We are being hailed!”, a startled Communication’s Officer reports. “On screen”, the Captain orders. None of the Bridge Crew is prepared for what they see. The Captain would later record in his log, “The image of a black fur covered, triangular faced cat, complete with long whiskers and oval pupiled eyes appeared and began to speak. The image was so catlike, I actually thought, for a second, that somehow Morganna had accessed a Com Unit and was what we were looking at.”
For a moment neither the Captain nor his Communication Officer does anything, obviously stunned. The alien speaks again, with more urgency. Jarring both out of their stunned silence.
Fortunately, the Communication’s Officer is almost as talented as the one on the Enterprise, actually one of her students and when the Captain asks, “Can you translate that.” She is able to answer, “I . . . I think so.” (Note: when speaking feline languages, a human is ahead of the game if their “Mother Tongue” is one of the Romance Languages because, many “cat” words begin or end with what can only be described as a growl and, the closest a human can come to the sound is rolling the r’s like what is required on many words in French, Italian and especially Spanish.)
It turns out the aliens are friendly and want contact as much as does the ship’s crew. Arraignments, of sorts, are made and the Captain picks the members of the Landing Party.
The vessel had left Earth before the transporter had been perfected and while the vessel is equipped with one, as of the last routine transmission from Earth Fleet Command, it is NOT recommenced for the transport of ‘living tissue’ or personnel. To get to a planet’s surface, the Landing Party, forerunner of today’s Away Teams will use a Shuttle Craft. Unknown to the Captain or any of the members of the Landing Party, on this occasion, the Shuttle has one extra, unauthorized passenger, Ship’s Councilor . . . Morganna!
It is unknown why she decided to go on this mission, the Captain thought she, like most of her kind, really wasn’t very happy confined in a small moving vehicle. A perception enforced by her reaction to the few rides she had been given. It is also unknown how she managed to avoid discovery on the trip to the planet’s surface inside the cramped confines of those old shuttle craft but, she did.
As the vessel lands, a crowd gathers and, what are assumed to be Elders come to greet the visitors. The shuttle craft’s door opens and, before the Captain knew or could stop her, Morganna, strolls out! She is apparently not alarmed as she comes nose to nose with creatures many times her size yet with strangely familiar faces. (A statue of this diminutive, midnight black, long furred, fearless, explorer, not the Captain now marks the spot of first contact) Taken by surprise and horrified his cat might be injured or even eaten, the Captain yells her name, sprints to where she stands and, roughly takes her up in his arms. As he scolds her, the crowd begin to react . . . badly. Mothers, seeing this flat faced, round eared, almost hairless alien grab a creature that is the size of and looking something like their child or kit as they are called there, hiss, bare their fangs and, grab for their kits. Their mates bare their fangs and, although unarmed, begin advancing on the armed group of humanoids that have emerged from the vessel.
This glorious day might have ended in a massacre for one side or the other except for one thing, something that at the time the humans were just beginning to acknowledge, E.S.P. Not their meager (at best) gift, but their cat’s. As the first Elder nears the Captain and Morganna, in his mind he hears her say “STOP! I am safe!” Through her eyes, the human’s actions are somewhat explained although she admits the humans do many things she does not understand. With her insight on human behavior, much more detailed than humans suspect, even today and guidance, the initial and following meetings go well. It is she that insists that all human ambassadors to 15 Lyncis II called Cait by the Federation and Ferasa by the natives be accompanied by a ‘Councilor’ Cat.
When asked why she would do things she knew would make the human angry she answered, “I like to see the human change color!”. She went on to say how there were even contests to see which pet could make its human change the most colors.
The Starfleet Officer, who was a Caitian went on to say, “I have to admit, to see the furless skin of a human change from white/pink to blood red and finally purple is fascinating, even after all the years I have been working with them! I never made the connection with that and the story of first contact, until the day I made a “well known” Starfleet Admiral change color.” Concerning the contests, considering the Admiral’s colors, I probably would have won!
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