1. Default Chapter

Last Flight of the Iacon.

Chapter One- The New Era.

"People of Onyxica and the Imperial Federation. Today marks a turning point in the history of our very civilisation. For eons we Onyx have looked at the stars and beyond our own system wondering if we were truly alone in the cosmos. Generations of scientists and engineers looked for ways to transport us, to seek out knowledge of the universe and an understanding of our purpose. Today citizens, the answers seem a little less hard to find. The Science and Explanation Vessel Iacon prepares for her maiden flight. Commanded by the pride of the Onyxican Imperial Fleet Captain Dal Belazar..."

Behind the speaker, sitting in a line behind him, several Onyx, high ranking and drawn from the elite paid attention. One of the burliest, a man dressed in military regalia nudged a much smaller man, dressed in the robes of high office but clearly civilian and much understated.

"You have written a true speech Alukis. One that will inspire and of course unite the population away from warfare and conquest to one of peaceful exploration." The comments were dripping with sarcasm.

"Lord Graylix far be it for me to point it out to you, but the new Emperor is a reformer and as such sees peaceful exploration of the galaxy as a priority. Added to this the resources we have squandered in the subjugation and occupation of the peoples of the Empire..."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself Alukis. The Crown Prince Regent has yet to be crowned and as long as his father, infirm though he is lives, the armed forces answer only to him!"

"Lord Graylix, need I remind you of the reforms bought in? You and your ilk are under the direct subjugation of the civil administration- in this instance the office of the Taoiseach. Vis a vis, me."

Graylix listened to this, clearly enraged but determined not to show any trace of the emotion on his face.

"Taoiseach Alukis...forgive me. The point I was trying to make is although my superiors and I are content to adhere to the new consitution, there are certain...shall we say elements?...that are not as tolerant of reforms as we are. There are limits to what they are willing to take. And need we remind you that should anything disastrous occur during this mission some may construe it as a national emergency- leading to a military solution to the problem. And all the resources placed into Mission Iacon, Mission Telsor and all the over SEV projects? Will anyone object loudly to them becoming military vessels? Oh yes, you may have the Crown Prince Regent's ear at the moment, but do you expect it to last? We are subordinate to you Alukis, but remember, the power lays with US and always will."

Alukis sat, a blank expression on his face. The military men who had arrested and beaten him countless times during his time as an advocate for democracy and reform had ceased to scare him a long time ago. Graylix, one of the most beligerrent of his kind was no exception.

"Time will tell Lord Graylix. Now, perhaps we can continue this clash of rhetoric for another time? Captain Belazar is about to speak."

A tall, dashing looking Onyx male took to the podium. The crowd stretching from the Citadel Xanderia to the streets beyond cheered wildly. Belazar's image at this moment was beamed live throughout the 12 worlds and countless moon colonies that made up the Onyx Empire. As the cheering reached fever pitch, Belazar raised his arms and motioned for silence. The crowd fell hushed, waiting for his words. Dressed in a new uniform designed for the Iacon's mission Belazar's imposing frame looked impressive. The light blue tunic he wore with the navy trousers made him seem more heroic then he actually felt.

"I have never been a man for speeches. As a man of action, I am as nervous and excited as you all are for the Iacon to launch and spread the word of peace and share our great civilisation with all the universe. My friends, I truly wish you could come with me, and share in the thrill and honour of being amongst the first Onyx to leave our system and embark on first contact with other species. Before I leave, I ask of you my friends, pray to the Benevolent Xanderia that we are blessed and return home safely. Pray for Iacon and all who sail aboard her. This truly is the start of a new era for Onyxica and the empire both domestically and extra-terrestrially!"

The crowd thundered into applause as Belazar saluted. Staying for a moment to look down at the Citadel Xanderia for a time...perhaps the last time?...he spun on his heel and turned. The elite sat behind the podium all rose to applaud and heckled to shake his hand. Graylix and Alukis approached.

"Captain, I hope you were not besmirching the military establishment you are part of in that last remark." Graylix said as he shook Belazar's hand.

"Lord Graylix, I was hoping you were going to wish me good luck, not force me to relive Ideology training lessons from the academy. Taoiseach Alukis, I trust the Empire is in safe hands under your tutelage?" Belazar replied, all smiles.

"The reforms will take time to take a true hold throughout the empire- we expect many hardships as well as benefits. But I imagine you are eager to get to the Calculux Platform for launch rather than listen to me. Xanderia bless you Belazar."

Belazar saluted.

The final checks on the Iacon were nearing completion. The Empire's resources had been poured into the Iacon and its successor projects. The military it had to be said, were not keen that their own fleet was being passed over for this. Nonetheless, the Iacon was an impressive piece of machinery. Equipped with a warp engine capable of warp 5.4, Onyxica was on the verge of being able to reach systems that had been up until now years away. Sol, Andromeda...even more. Belazar hoped that the appearence of the Iacon didn't appear too hostile. The military demanded that it was able to defend itself- taking the point a little too far for Belazar's liking. It was heavily armed with little attempt at subtlety.

Even Iacon's tactical officer Col. Draax, none to optimistic at the species they may encounter raised objections to conducting diplomacy in a war ship. The defense system comprised of heavy duty plating that could be polarised, 5 phase cannons and 3 torpedo launchers. On the plus side, the military had handed over long sensitive early warning, communication and long range sensor technology.

Belazar sat in his chair on the bridge, looking at the main screen. Onyxica's unique grey and blue oceans and terrain, mostly hidden by cloud...how long would it be until he saw them again?

"Captain, sensor evaluation is complete." The science officer, a thin male by the name of Lt. Raees said, snapping Belazar from his thoughts.

"Excellent. Excellent Mr. Raees. Communications, what is our status?"

The eager female, Ensign Yaul spun around in her chair to face him.

"All systems fully operational sir. Translation syntaxes are fully loaded. We just need someone to talk to now!"

Belazar smiled, genuinely taken aback by the lack of fear someone as young as she was...and here he was. Sure, he'd been on space missions before. He'd even played his part in the conquest of planets to his own eternal shame. But here he was now on the bridge of the Iacon, about to represent not just his Empire, but his entire civilisation!

"We'll find you some conversation shortly Ensign. Draax what about defence?"

"All systems operational, Captain Belazar."

The military man didn't even look up from his controls, adjusting readings. Deep down, Belazar felt the one job he couldn't do was Draax's. Responsible for the defence of Iacon and the 90 or so members on board- against Xanderia knows what. Belazar himself was optimistic about what he might find out there- surely any race with warp drive would be enlightened?- but at the same time, he harboured some reservations. Hopefully Draax would have nothing to do.

"Engineering. This is Captain Belazar. Status report."

"Engineering to the bridge. This is Lt. Commander Harus. All systems are prepped and ready for launch. Warp engine is active. All we need now is a place to go."

"We shall soon see how well you've prepped the engines commander. Ensign, contact Command."

"I have them now for you, Captain!" Yaul replied.

"Command, this is Belazar. Iacon is ready for launch. Wish us luck."

"Iacon, this is command. You are cleared to launch. Blessings and well wishes from us all."

Belazar stood from his chair. He could feel the clamps holding Iacon in place being released. This was it. No more tests or evaluations.

"Helmsman Valdus. Lay in a course for the Andromeda system. Warp 5. On you."

"Aye aye sir!" Valdus replied. The Iacon swerved, breaking orbit above Onyxica and then made the jump to Warp Speed. The mission had begun.

Jonathan Archer viewed the AX401 star with a combination of awe and excitement. This was the sort of thing he had signed up for when he joined Starfleet. Simple exploration. It was nice to get back to it now, after all that business with the Xindi, Augments...those cybernetic creatures. This was a mission he knew he would enjoy- not the actual task of surveying the star itself, but the simple fact he was exploring. Archer surveyed the bridge, everything was normal- a condition he was happy to live with. He was even sitting in the Captain's Chair- he was amazed at the lack of time he'd spent sitting in the chair since the mission began. All around the bridge, the crew were tending to their duties. Reed was boredly scanning the star for any dangerous radiation. Mayweather was processing the simple task of setting up a safe distance from where to observe the star. T'Pol looking through the viewing screen at the star's mass and size. Hoshi listening to the radio waves and then compressing them into a file for the Astrologists on Earth to study. All was indeed normal.

"Amazing sight isn't it?" Archer said, rising from his chair and placing his hands on his hips with a great deal of satisfaction. T'Pol looked up at Archer with a quizzcal eyebrow.

"It is a dense ball of gas. Hardly worthy of the accolade "Amazing", Captain." She said.

Archer surpressed a chuckle.

"I thought Vulcans appreciated beauty".

"Beauty yes- something common in space no."

"Well regardless we have a job to do. Malcolm what are the radiation levels?"

"Fairly basic sir" Reed replied, scarcely looking up from his controls. "Nothing that will cause us too much harm assuming we don't get too close."

"Excellent. Starfleet want us to spend five long and boring days monitoring the star- and I for one am going to enjoy every minute out here."

"After what we've been through sir, I think we all are" Reed said.

"Captain, I am picking up a radio transmission." Yaul said, snapping Belazar's distant gaze at the control monitor. For the last five days they had been travelling out of Onyxican space and into the unknown...and had seen nothing. Just space and lots of it. Hardly the glorious start he had imagined. This however seemed promising.

"Can you decipher it, Ensign?" Belazar said, making his way to the communications section of the bridge.

Yaul strained to hear.

"It's fairly faint, but we appear to be moving into range. The translator is locking onto the syntax..."

The entire bridge seemed to be holding its breath.

"I have it sir."

Belazar could sense the anticipation of the bridge.

"Then play it Ensign! Play it!"

The transmission played over the main bridge speaker.

"This is the USS Enterprise to Starfleet Control. We have reached our destination. We'll be in touch again at 0900 tomorrow with the first analysis of AX401."

Intelligent life! First contact!

Belazar turned to Valdus.

"Lay in a course to the source of that transmission. Yaul, contact Onyxica and tell them the possibility of first contact is quite high. Belazar turned to Draax.

"I want a tactical analysis completed before we reach the target point. Xanderia knows I don't want those systems used, but I'm not going to let us walk into what could possibly be a hostile situation without a back up plan."

"A wise plan Captain. All tactical systems are on-line and functioning within normal parameters. All weapons systems can be bought on line in less than a fraco-second should the need arise."

Belazar nodded.

"Col. Draax, you have the bridge. I will be in my ready room to prepare a suitable introduction."

"Aye sir." came the reply. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: 

Belazar sat in the briefing room, surrounded by his senior staff. They were less than two hours from reaching the source of the transmission. He hand't divulged this information to the rest of the crew yet- he had no idea himself of how to handle a First Contact. In previous instances of Onyx making contact with new life, it was usually followed by an all out assault and subsequent annihilation of culture- all done in the name of the Empire. As a result, there was no protocol to fall back on. It was, he thought, without a trace of irony, completely alien to him.

"What we are about to do has never been attempted by Onyx before. I would appreciate all of your input in how to approach this." When Belazar had been in the military, he had favoured the consensual approach to leadership. Now was to be no exception.

Draax was the first to speak.

"I recommend caution Captain. As much as we would like this meeting to pass off peacefully and hopefully with new friends, we know very little about the xenomorphs on board that ship. I suggest we approach with weapons charged- but our plating down. Anyone out in these reaches of space can probably see this as a sensible move and one of a purely defensive nature- not one of hostility."

"But with out weapons charged, surely this could be interpreted as a hostile gesture? As you say Colnoel we know nothing about the ship or its inhabitants- for all we know they maybe easily provoked." Raaes countered.

"Sir, I believe we observe the craft from a safe distance and monitor their transmissions. See if we can learn something from there. Maybe can even tap into their database to find out who they are, where they are from- what they look like."

"I'm not sure hacking their master computer would come across as a friendly move, Lt. Raaes" Draax said curtly.

"Why don't we just hail them? Surely a face to face meeting is the easiest option? Ensign Yaul said, a little unsure of herself. We have a translator that works...and surely a face to face meeting will allow us to convey our intentions without any misunderstandings or clandestine operations..."

Yaul trailed off as the others looked at her. The youngest member of the crew, she felt somewhat out of place, particularly in the presence of Draax, the military man. Why was he even here? she often wondered that, especially since there was to be no conquest on this mission.

Belazar sat back in his seat, his index fingers forming a rest for his chin.

"Ensign Yaul, ensure that our translation systems remain in peak condition. We are going to meet the vessel...Enterprise...and speak to them face to face. Draax, I want the weapons charged in case we need them. We'll keep the hull plating off-line as a counter. I'm fairly certain that a vessel orbiting a star is not going to want to start a skirmish. Raaes, you will have the bridge until we reach the co-ordinates. I'll finish writing the speech I'm hoping will convey us as genuinely friendly and dress in something more formal."

Belazar pressed a button on the arm rest of his chair.

"All hands, this is Captain Dal Belazar speaking. The reason we all signed up for this trip- meeting new life- is fast approaching us. In less than four fraco-hours, we will be arriving at co-ordinates where an alien vessel is currently situated. We are about to make history. Captain out."

Belazar stood on the bridge, dressed in his formal uniform- a strange hybrid of his dress uniform he'd worn in the military and an ambassadorial tunic. He'd removed his military service medals as he wasn't sure how the aliens would react to seeing a catalogue of military activity. Belazar had served in several counter-insurgency operations throughout the Empire and had been at times, forced to wipe out villages and even towns to secure victory. It was a chapter in his life he was looking to finish- the command of Iacon represented his best chance.

"How long until we reach them? he asked Valdus, the helmsman.

"Fifteen fraco-minutes, sir." Valdus replied. Belazar could feel the Helmsman's excitement.

Reed looked up suddenly. He'd been busy, if that was the word, looking at the radiation levels of AX401 when his sensors chirped into life.

"Captain Archer- a vessel is approaching. It's dropping out of warp and is heading towards us at full impulse."

Archer spun around from the science station.

"How long until it arrives?"

"At present speed, two minutes."

Archer turned to T'Pol.

"This could be interesting."

Belazar saw the ship- the NX01 Enterprise. So this was the vessel the aliens were on. It looked sophisticated- even more so than the Iacon, which had the look of a battleship as opposed to a science vessel. The Enterprise looked as though it was an exploration vessel- one he'd be more than happy to look around assuming the aliens would let him, of course.

"Draax, bring the weapons on-line. Yaul, prepare the translation system and a comm-link to them."

Reed looked up at the ship he and the others saw on the viewing screen. His initial scans caused him concern. Unlike anything he had seen before, the ship was heavily armed and had some heavy duty armoured plating on it. Then, the alarm went- it was charging weapons.

"Captain! They're charging their weapons!"

"Go to tactical alert! Polarize the hull plating."

Having been burned so many times in Enterprise's initial missions, he was not going to take any chances.

"Captain Belazar! They are arming their weapons and preparing for battle!" Draax called out. Yaul had been unable to gain contact with the vessel. At first, Belazar had put this down to nerves on the aliens part. Now, faced with the ship charging its weapons, Belazar had to act. He would prefer Yaul to reattempt communicating with the ship again, but the military instincts within him forced their way to the surface. He had a crew to protect above all else.

"Take all steps to defend us, Colnoel!"

Draax didn't wait for the words to leave Belazar's mouth. The Iacon's phaser cannons roared into life. The high plasma electrical yield roared into the saucer section of the alien vessel. Belazar stood horrified as he watched the damage unfold before his eyes. He spun around to face Draax.

"You fool! What have you done? I said defend us, not attack them!"

"You told me to take all steps to defend us. In my opinion, the hull plating would take too long to charge to offer us protection in time. Thus, I took steps to disable them."

On the bridge of the Enterprise, Archer stood, bleeding from a cut in his forehead. The attack had caused him to fly into the science station, hitting his head as he did so. There were small fires raging on the bridge and crewmen racing around to put them out.

"Malcolm, return fire!" he ordered. He was damned if these aliens thought they would kneel down before them.

Reed met the Iacon's challenge, firing a volley of torpedoes and phaser fire at the alien vessel.

"Have you any idea what you have done!" Belazar demanded of Draax, but before the Colnoel could reply, the bridge rocked. Electrical damage quickly unfolded, then fires. The technical station exploded, the young Onyx crewman attending it launched across the bridge. Raaes quickly tended to him.

"Captain, he is dead." Raaes said, the shock sinking in.

"Damage report! NOW!" Belazar demanded of Draax.

"The aliens have caused substantial damage to the Iacon. Initial reports suggest decompression of Gamma deck and 17 dead."

Belazar looked at the chaos around him, then at the vessel on the screen, turning to move away.

"Return fire."


End file.
