August 17th 2410
"Captains Log: Star Date 387373.019. It has been two days since we got stranded in the Gamma Quadrant by the wormhole created by the Iconian Sphere and repairs are just a few hours away from being complete. All crew are accounted for and those injured are being healed by the medical team led by Doctor Crawford Bernard. Due to the extensive number of injured that amounts to at least a third of the Crew, the EMH has been running continuously and has been passionately referred to as "Doc" by the Crew. Lieutenant Commander Voq continues to prepare everyone for a potential encounter with the True Way, or some other dangerous alien race that has not been discovered here in the Gamma Quadrant. Speaking of the Gamma Quadrant, the Crew has taken the news that we are stranded here with shock and denial. Some in the Science Division believe that it might be possible for us to recreate the Wormhole and return home. But T'Vrell has confirmed that it won't be possible without an Iconian Sphere. So unfortunately we have to face the facts and begin a long journey home. The question is, what direction do we go to get home?"
Ethan pressed the button on his personal computer and the Log stopped. Ethan then spun around on his chair to face out the window of his ready room and saw the countless stars stretching into an endless abyss. Ethan knew that any one of those stars could host a civilisation and that he had to get the Apollo home somehow. No crewmember on the ship wanted to spend forty years travelling back home to their families if it was going to be that long before they saw them again. So Ethan had to think of a way to get the Crew back to their families in a shorter time. Then, in the distance Ethan saw an ion storm and said "Such a beautiful sight. Reminds me of the Bajoran Wormhole." In that moment Ethan realised that there was a potentially quicker way of returning to the Alpha Quadrant and said "Computer. How far from our coordinates is the Gamma Quadrant end of the Bajoran Wormhole?" The Computer immediately answered "Thirty thousand lightyears." Ethan knew exactly what to do as he pressed his Com Badge and said "Captain Rivers to the Bridge Crew. I think I know how to get us all home. Meet me at the Conference Room at 1400 hours."
Half an hour later, the entire Bridge Crew was assembled in the Conference Room, ready to hear what Captain Rivers had to say. There was Lieutenant Commander Voq, the Apollo's Chief Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Toral Laren, the Chief Engineer, Ensign William Jackson, the pilot, Lieutenant T'Vrell, Chief Science Officer and Commander Alisha Flores, First Officer of the Apollo. As they all sat down on their chairs, Captain Rivers said "Thank you all for coming. Now I have called us here to discuss how we can get home. Since we made the announcement that we were trapped here in the Gamma Quadrant, the Crew has been thinking up ways for us to return home as fast as possible. For example, some in the Science Division believe that we should try and create a new wormhole that will get us home immediately. Isn't that right T'Vrell?" T'Vrell answered "Yes. However it is impossible without an Iconian Sphere. So wormholes is out of the question." Ethan then corrected T'Vrell saying "Not entirely old friend. I was looking at the ion storm nearby and couldn't help but see it as familiar to the Bajoran Wormhole and that gave me a realisation." The Bridge Officers were intrigued and filled with hope as Ethan explained "While headed straight back to the Alpha Quadrant would take about forty years, headed to the Bajoran Wormhole would take only thirty. That's ten years less and when we arrive at the Wormhole, we will instantly get sent back to the Alpha Quadrant."
Looks of hope filled the Bridge Officers as they heard Ethan's proposal. Hopeful to see his family again, Voq said "Now that is an idea Captain." T'Vrell had been guided by logic all her life and logic told her to take the fastest route home possible. The Bajoran Wormhole was further away from the Alpha Quadrant yes and it was on the other side of the Galaxy. But it lead straight to the Alpha Quadrant and was confirmed stable by Starfleet Science. So T'Vrell said "It is a quicker route back to the Alpha Quadrant and therefor the more logical one to take." William agreed and said "Yes. It may take us thirty years, but at least it's shorter than taking the long way home." Laren, being a devout believer in the Prophets, said with a tone of hope in her voice "I've always wanted to go through the Bajoran Wormhole. It's said that the Prophets live there." Caring more about getting home than the story of the Prophets, William said "I think I'd prefer getting home than meeting a God. No offense Laren." Commander Flores found both options undesirable. She didn't want to spend so much as another day away from her family back home. So she said "Maybe we should try and get home as fast as possible? We should try and search for potentially more powerful Warp engines that can accelerate our journey."
All eyes were on Alisha when she made her suggestion. True, a more powerful Warp core could accelerate their journey, allowing them to get home much faster. But how would they get it? Deciding to answer that question, Ethan said "While a more powerful Warp core would allow us to return home faster, we must be careful for as to how we achieve it. Purchasing a Warp core using dilithium or whatever it is the people around here use as a currency would make sense. But we certainly can't just steal a Warp core from another alien race. Even if they were hostile. Which is why I want you to all understand that as long as we are here in the Gamma Quadrant, we are representatives of the United Federation of Planets and will continue to uphold and abide by the principles of Starfleet. For now though, let's focus on getting home."
The atmosphere across the Apollo was one of worry and hope. There was worry that they wouldn't make it home and potentially never see their families again. There was hope that they would and would be able to see their families again after a long time. But there was another matter to attend to, which came up as Voq said "However, we must address that the Apollo is not built for battle. It is built primarily for planetary survey missions. What if we encounter a hostile alien race like the barbaric Kazon of the Delta Quadrant? Or the organ stealing Viidians? Or perhaps even the Dominion?"
Mention of the Dominion sent shivers down the spines of everyone in the room. The Dominion controlled much of the space around the Wormhole in the Gamma Quadrant and were known for imposing their will of 'order' throughout the Galaxy prior to the Dominion War. But when Odo, the famous Changeling who served as head of security on Deep Space Nine for many years, chose to re-join the Great Link that the rest of his species were a part of, he brought with him ideas of freedom, peace and mutual respect for other alien races' ways of life. Thanks to his influence, the Dominion expanded peacefully and had adopted a policy of only going to war if a direct threat was present, or if they were attacked first. A relative peace had been established between the powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and the Dominion. But who is to say that peace would still exist by the time the U.S.S Apollo reached Dominion space? Could the Dominion have perhaps started forcefully imposing their will on weaker alien races yet again? Could they once again be an imperialist power? Could they even once again be at war with the powers of the Alpha Quadrant? In truth there was no telling which possibility was the case. Especially since the Apollo was far outside of communications range with Starfleet and it would be years until they were again. So all the crew could do was ponder.
Aware of the potential threat travelling into Dominion space represented, Ethan said "I do not know what we shall encounter when we arrive in Dominion space. But what I do know is that we will cross that bridge when we come to it. As for the ship not being equipped for battle, we will simply have to make modifications so that the ship IS equipped for battle. Hopefully we won't have to endure any battles here in the Gamma Quadrant. For now though, lets get started on this long journey." That was when Alisha said "I hope it's not too long. My sister's birthday is in a few weeks and she would be devastated if I were to miss it." It was then that the Bridge Officers realised something terrible and William made it clear as he said "Hey wait a minute. Did that message reach Starfleet T'Vrell?" T'Vrell answered "No. It did not reach Starfleet Command in time. Because of this, Starfleet will know nothing of our predicament and will likely begin searching for us, only to not find us. It would be logical for them to declare us lost with all hands and our families would believe us dead." The Bridge Crew were horrified at the realisation that their families would suspect them dead if Starfleet declared Apollo lost with all hands. They were devastated yes, but they were also determined to return home to the Alpha Quadrant, so Ethan then turned to look at Laren and asked "Lieutenant Toral, when will the Warp core be ready?" Laren was quick to answer "About one hour sir." Ethan then stood up and said "Tell your staff to get ready for a long journey. We leave for the Bajoran Wormhole as soon as the Warp core is fixed." The Bridge Crew then all got up and left to get their staff ready for the long and difficult journey ahead of them where they would encounter all kinds of dangers in their journey back to the Federation and the Alpha Quadrant, their home.
Assembled at the Bridge was the Bridge Crew and Captain Rivers. All of them had gotten their staff ready for the long and difficult journey ahead of them and everyone had come to terms with the fact that it would be a long time before they would get back to the Alpha Quadrant. Standing at the front of the Bridge with a ship wide channel open, Ethan said "We're completely alone, in an entirely uncharted part of the Galaxy. Brought here by technology developed by a long extinct alien empire. We have no idea where the True Way are, but we also have no idea of the potential dangers ahead of us as we traverse across the Gamma Quadrant. But there is one thing that is clear to us and it is that this is a Starfleet ship. Even though we are tens of thousands of lightyears away from the Federation, we will continue to uphold and adhere to the principles of Starfleet and as the only Starfleet vessel in these unexplored parts of the Galaxy, we will continue to follow our directive, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations. To boldly go where no one has gone before. But our primary objective is clear. To get ourselves home as soon and as fast as possible. Thirty thousand lightyears from us is the Bajoran Wormhole, a quick and immediate way back to the Alpha Quadrant. But even at maximum speeds, it would take thirty years to reach the Wormhole and then the Federation. But I and most of the Crew are not willing to settle for that. Under my command, we will use whatever means we can to shorten our journey, while of course obliging to the laws and regulations of the Federation, the Prime Directive most important of course. We will be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts and new technologies that will help us get home a lot faster. Somewhere, along this lengthy and challenging journey, we'll find a way home."
Ethan then walked forward and sat down in his chair next to Commander Flores and said "Mister Jackson, set a course...for home." William said "Aye aye Captain" and began pressing buttons to head home at Warp 7. The U.S.S Apollo, facing the direction that the Bajoran Wormhole was in, began to power up and the Warp nacelles also powered up. Then, in an instant, the Apollo flashed forward at a speed that would be considered a miracle beyond imagination by a pre Warp society and disappeared in a flash of light. Beginning the Crew's long journey to their destination...home. And also beginning an adventure that would go down in Federation history.