The trip into Dead Space wasn’t as pleasant as Morgan had hoped. The patch job Satullo and the Romulans had done on his ship had held her together, but only just. The hull was still shaking, ready to tear itself apart when they hit transwarp speeds making the journey quick, but terrifying. There were moments when he wasn’t sure if he’d land safely on the abandoned city de Luca had spoken about, but after a couple of hours, which felt like a lifetime, the Nosferatu zapped into orbit before finding a spot to land near the central hub of the city.

Leaving half his crew with the ship, the departure team gathered everything they could carry from their cargo hold and began the short trip to the Iconian Gateway. Morgan was impressed that de Luca got them there without delay. He could only wonder what other magical save-the-day information that was left behind in his head.

“This is it.” De Luca pointed towards an arch in the centre of what seemed to be a departure terminal, a shimmering glass structure in the central park.

The team climbed down a flight of stairs, beyond a collection of seats and waiting areas untouched by the decay of time until they’d hauled everything towards what looked like a holosuite arch with a long, slim console in front of it.

Satullo and de Luca huddled together to connect their mobile generator into the system. A quick process that brought the flickering lights of the console and it’s Gateway to life. Morgan watched in pretence awe and wonder, trying and failing to hide his boredom, as the team began to scan for Earth’s coordinates.

“This looks a lot different than I imagined.” Morgan uttered as he slipped off his tactical jacket and began to hunt through his bag for the more formal uniform worn on Earth. “It looks quite simple for something that’ll transport us half a galaxy away.”

“The Iconians were a highly developed race. They had technology that we can only dream of.” de Luca commented as he worked away to find the right destination in the computer library. “They ruled most of the galaxy before the first Human walked the Earth, shaped entire civilisations, played God in this region..”

“What do you mean, ‘played God‘?”

“In an effort to extend their race they genetically advanced half of what’s now known as the Kolar region. Turned primitive tribes into unique and powerful species, gave the Pridorn the gift of long life, developed the Voltare into cloned soldiers, gave species telepathic abilities, imprinted their civilisation onto the world they settled on…”

“What world was that?” Morgan asked as he finally found his formal gear.

Marc smiled, looking over the console towards his mission operator for the day. “Sakaria, Lieutenant. Most of the species we know and live with were experiments, varying genetic experiments, all the Iconians hopes and dreams of developing a race for themselves that could carry on their legacy. Live forever.”

“Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” Moran commented as he closed his tunic. “Are they taking over the Federation to try all that again?”

With the thought in their air, de Luca wasn’t sure how to reply. He remained silent until he could see what he was looking for appear in the Gateway. “There it is, Lieutenant.” He smiled, looking out upon the dark streets ahead. “Starfleet Command.”

As Morgan looked upon his home world, he let out a sigh. “Lets get on with it then.” Taking one last sip of gin, he began to zip up his bag and ensure he had everything he needed. Clothes, documents, phaser, equipment, the last of the alcohol. Check.

The rest of the team followed suit, pulling their bags over their shoulders as they stared at the familiar image of home.

Valaris remained silent as she and Satullo stood side by side, ready to walk through. Doctor de Luca standing front and centre ready to lead them all in. But Landis couldn’t resist passing comment. “Are you sure this damn thing will work?” He asked, not directing his question to anyone in particular.

“I think so.” Marc answered. “Starfleet teams have found such Gateways before and haven’t had a problem operating them, with what I’ve learned from those reports and what’s left of that database that was in my head, I’m pretty confident we’ll be alright.”

“No offence, doctor,” Landis sighed. “But only a few hours ago you were a rambling wreck who could only tell us the Romulan’s smelled like parsnips.”

“Quit it.” Morgan interrupted. “This will either work and we have a chance to help save the day, or it won’t and we’ll all still be screwed. So just keep quiet, walk through the magic door and if you don’t survive the trip, put your complaint in writing.”

With that said, the team grumbled to themselves before following their leader and his new mad scientist ally through the Gateway. Each one of them had the same thought. If the Iconians had this technology, why didn’t they use it? Not even de Luca knew for sure, not yet, but the question did bother him. No matter how much he tried to ignore it.

One by one they stepped into the shimmering image ahead of them. Not one of them knew what to expect, or if they’d show up on the other side. What worried them most was that if Earth truly had been infiltrated, even if they did make it, would they survive long enough to tell anyone about it?