At first, John didn't believe Rose. How could he? The ship was going to crash into the planet, the gravity was too strong. How could it be back?
They came to the docking area and John saw her, front and center. His crew had gathered there, as well as many others, including Starfleet officials.
He blinked for a moment, trying to find the words. "How.. how'd it get here?" He asked, turning to Rose.
"It came in like someone was piloting it.. But they already scanned for lifesigns and found nothing." She replied. "There's a crew inside that's double-checking. I knew I had to tell you."
John nodded in reply. "Thanks for coming to get us." Dirk didn't say anything and just silently watched the ship. John knew he was thinking hard. He spoke after a moment.
"John, we know that we were sucked into the orbit.. it was far too strong for our engines.. What if another force that was strong enough was able to get the ship out of the pull and sent it back here?"
John rubbed his temple. "I mean.. I didn't see it crash obviously, no one did. But it was such a small planet.. something is up with it."
Rose nodded. "So small with the largest gravitational pull ever? If another team goes out there... we can't risk it. Not yet."
"You're right, but that's up to The Council" John replied. "I doubt they'll want to send a team out there, but they also realize it's important that we find out more about the planet."
Dirk was watching John, analyzing his body language. After a moment he spoke again.
"John, as your friend and.. companion, I believe you need to rest until The Council decides what to do." He said softly. "If we are allowed to, I suggest the crew stay on the ship for temporary housing. The ship will stay docked here, so it does not matter."
John nodded a little. "Right. Rose, could you..?"
She nodded. "On it."
When she'd left, Dirk put a hand on John's arm and rubbed it awkwardly, trying to comfort him. John gave a soft smile at the gesture, then held out his hand. Dirk took it carefully, holding it as if it were about to break.
"I.. I'm afraid that The Council might send another ship out to the planet." Dirk said softly. "And if they do then-"
"Then we'll go." John said sharply. "We came across it first. We take responsibility now. I'll talk to the crew about anyone who wants to back down from it, but at the very least I am going back out there."
"You know how the crew is. I doubt anyone will not wish to join you." Dirk replied.
John adjusted his glasses and looked at the ship. "No damage at all... maybe a wormhole..?" Dirk tilted his head. "That would be extremely unlikely considering they are fairly large in size and we didn't see any near the planet."
John shook his head. "Doesn't matter now. Right now all we can do is wait." He gave Dirk a warm smile, squeezing his hand gently. "We should grab some food! I'm starving!"
Dirk raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm sure there's some sort of human food around here. I assume you'll be wanting to introduce me to some?"
John nodded. "Yeah! Let's go to this pub that's really good! It's only a couple blocks away once we exit the ship area."
Dirk smiled at John's excitement. He cautiously linked arms with him and was practically dragged to the pub.
They were quickly seated towards the back in a booth. Dirk looked over the menu slowly, analyzing each food item carefully. John looked at him over his menu. "Get anything you want."
Dirk looked back at him. "There's so many choices.. It's always like this at restaurants on Earth?"
John nodded. "Yeah, usually. Some menus have more items than others, it depends."
Dirk tilted his head, and after a few minutes he decided on what he wanted and put his menu down. John perked up and stood up. "You know what you want? I gotta order at the front for us so just tell me what you want."
Dirk told him what he wanted, ordering a simple salad, something that didn't surprise John. He went and ordered for them, coming back with a little stand with a number on it. After a couple minutes a waiter came by with a water for Dirk and a can of something for John.
"You're really worried about the planet." Dirk said suddenly as John opened the can.
"What?"
"The planet. You're really worried that something really... bad is happening there."
John sat back. "And you're not? We have to get a crew out there as soon as we can. We have to know what's happening."
"John, that's The Council's decision-"
"Earlier you said you were afraid of council sending another crew out. You've changed your mind?" John asked.
"I've been thinking, and yes. We cannot risk anyone going back out. All we can do is hope that they decide to wait." He replied. "You agree with me, right?"
"Hell no I don't agree with you!" John snapped. "Earlier I said I'd go back out there- you even said the crew would back me! If The Council says no, then too bad. I'm going anyway. If you're not with me, then fine. Stay here on your half-Vulcan ass after abandoning your ship that's going on a mission that might save countless lives!" He was almost out of his seat now, raising his voice quite a bit.
Dirk was shocked to say the least. "I... John... protocol. When The Council decides to not let any missions go to that planet and they see The Enterprise leave without clearance.. The crew, including you, will be suspended at the very least.."
"Suspended for disobeying The Council? Hell no, we'll be exiled, sent back to our home planets and cut off from The Federation." John replied. "So. You're not coming with me. Hell, I might be alone on this one. But I won't sit back and watch them do nothing when we could be discovering the truth! The Council just sits on their asses- most of them are all too old to even remember their days as captains."
Dirk raised an eyebrow, then gave him a small smile. "You're right. If we're caught we'll be exiled. And I already know that The Council will do nothing. We have to take the matter into our own hands."
John's eyes widened. "You.. agree? You're coming? But I thought.."
"I'm coming with you. What you said... it's true. Whatever happened is something that has never happened before in all of space. It's our duty to figure out what's happening, even if we have to give up our positions or our lives. I know that everyone on the bridge will follow you wherever you go. Talk to the crew and explain to them what we're going to do. Some might leave if they realize that they cannot return to their home planets or if they need to stay in Starfleet for certain reasons. I'm afraid that we won't be able to tell your father.. I'm not sure how your mother will react-"
"Mom will come with us. I know she will." John said quickly. "My dad.. No. He can't know."
Dirk nodded. "Tonight, we assemble the crew in the ship. You'll have to explain everything carefully for both sides."
"I'll explain the mission, then make it clear that no one has to come if they don't want to." John replied.
The two continued to talk about the plan in hushed voices, even once their food arrived. What turned into what John was hoping to be a romantic dinner turned into a secret meeting to disobey The Starfleet Council.
***
After dinner, Dirk summoned everyone on the crew to the ship, stating that it was an emergency all-crew meeting.
John sat in his chair, and when everyone was on board he held down the coms button that sent audio to the entirety of the ship.
"This is your captain speaking." He said softly. "Everyone.. I've gathered you all here for a very big announcement. As you all know, The Council is most likely deciding whether or not to send out another mission to discover the truth about the planet that we encountered earlier this morning. Most of you have figured out by now that, by The Council's decision-making history, no crew will be sent out in the near future. I'm here to tell you all that I plan to take this ship out there myself, along with our chief engineer, and anyone else who wishes to join us."
Out of the corner of his eye, John saw Roxy's eyes light up as she turned to whisper something to Rose.
"This, of course, will be directly disobeying The Council." John continued. "But Dirk and I have decided that we will not wait for casualties to arise because of the planet. If we get caught, we will be exiled and kicked out of Starfleet. I understand that if you wish to keep your position, you do not have to come. No one will shame you for doing so. We will leave as soon as The Council releases their decision and the ship is fully fixed, and we will essentially warp as fast as we can out of Starfleet territory. If you come with us, know that we have no idea what we're getting ourselves into. If you stay, please do not talk to anyone outside of this crew about the plan. Do not betray those who are going."
John looked over and saw Dave sitting at his post, looking intently at the brightly lit map that lay before him.
"We will most likely get caught in the planet's gravity, but this time, we will not abandon ship. We will go down to the planet and do what we signed up for when we first came to The Federation. So, are you with me?"