The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 126
Aboard Deep Space 2 Operations, Droid 1 turned around. As the officers watched him go out, Droid 1 stepped into the corridor. He had to make haste. Down on DSA-2 the ring had been found. Droid 1 knew what this ring was about. But he had to travel to the surface to help out with the initialisation of the device. He transported himself into the control room where ensign Thomas was again looking at the next attempt of Droid 401 to let the ring turn and do something else then turn. As Droid 1 materialized Droid 401 stopped his attempts and turned to Droid 1, waiting for the droid leader to speak.
"Is this the seventh attempt 401?"
Droid 1's question seemed already include the answer. Droid 401 nodded. Ensign Thomas had not counted the attempts, but he was sure that the next attempt would change something. He could only watch when three droids came in and placed a device in front of the ring. Thomas recognised the device as being some kind of probe the droids used on earlier occasions. Droid 1 waved his hand. The three droids went out of the room and stayed behind the blast doors, closing them manually. From behind the window Ensign Thomas had a great view on what was going to happen. But he wasn't sure what to expect.
"Do not be afraid Ensign Thomas. There is no danger."
In Deep Space 2 Operations the officers could follow what happened in the control room. Then they heard the voice of droid 401, just as Admiral Arthur walked in to check on the progress.
"Clear the gate room. This is gate command. Clear the gate room. This is a positive first test."
What was meant was not very clear, but as Droid 401 hit the symbols on the panel before him, the ring in what was called the gate room started spinning, locking that particular symbol. The second symbol followed and the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth. There was a short vibration in the entire complex, then it seemed like a large mass of water was coming out of the ring, but just before it dropped down, it seemed to be pulled back into the ring. The wave was gone, but in the center of the ring there seemed to be some kind of puddle of water. But the water did not fall out of the ring. Ensign Thomas had only questions. Droid 1, personally gave an explanation.
"Deep Space 2. This is DSA-2 Gate Command. What you see here is an artificial wormhole. A way of traveling created by an ancient species so they could travel from one planet to another and from one galaxy to another. Traveling to other galaxies requires 8 symbols, traveling to other planets requires 7 symbols. There are no other gates in this galaxy. But we opened a gateway to the Orion galaxy. The Orion galaxy is known for its peaceful inhabitants and many worlds are connected through a huge network of gates. We will now send a probe through the gate to see what is on the other side. Data from the probe will be relayed by DS2-A Gate Command to Deep Space 2. You can later decide whether you want to travel through the gate and visit the Orion Galaxy. Please have a little patience, before the data comes in."
Droid 1 gave the signal. The probe was launched ad started his way through the gate. Droid 1 explained to Ensign Thomas the principle of the gate was a lot like the transporters in use by the Federation. It was a way of traveling which was completely safe. The first data from the probe came in, showing a M-class planet. Flying at higher altitude the probe showed clear structures of towns and civilization. Then the probe landed on a mountain top giving a clear view of one of the larger cities in great detail. In Deep Space 2 operations Admiral Arthur watched the images as they came in.
"Droid 1, this is Admiral Arthur on Deep Space 2. I think we have found a way of traveling through space a lot faster and without any ships. I have the impression you know more about this way of travel."
"Yes Admiral. The symbols on the stargate..."
"What did you say Droid 1? Stargate?"
"Yes Admiral. The popular name for this kind of ring device is stargate. These stargates can be controled by a remote control panel. The symbols on the stargate and the pannel are coordinates. Every group of 7 coordinates leads to another planet, if it has a stargate. Every group of 8 symbols leads to another galaxy if, of course, the planet you address in that galaxy has a stargate. You have to understand that there are almost an infinite number of combinations with these symbols, so a lot of combinations do not lead to another stargate. The coordinates we used just now are known to us. We have several other addresses in the Orion Galaxy, even of uninhabited planets which you can colonize. I will explain to Ensign Thomas how to operate the stargate and how to make precautions not to get lost in the large network. If you plan to send an away team through the gate I suggest you always take a gate droid with you. The gate droids are numbered starting with the number 4. The stargate only works in one direction for objects. Radio communications can go two ways. We have installed a safety shield to stop unwanted visitors. You cannot be to careful. We are waiting for your orders now."