I am not exactly certain what made me book passage on the SS Chateau, a small commercial freighter whose cabins were not much larger than my OSB quarters' bathroom, but here I am on my way to what spacefarers have called for decades, "the place Federation officers go to die"; that place is the Delvos system. Ever since I was a young Ensign I had heard of this system, just far enough from Earth to keep many folks from taking a quick jaunt but close enough for determined families to visit those who paved the way for the peace the Federation currently enjoys. The planet nearest the Delvos Star is Delvos Prime, location of the Federation's Long-Term Care Center, and the place where this particular trek will begin.
     The Chateau arrived in orbit around Delvos Prime and offloaded a variety of medical supplies, as well as one very curious Starfleet officer, and it was I who volunteered to oversee the shipment to the Center's infirmary. As I arrived, Doctor Ezra Black, a man, who by first impression could not have been more than 60 Earth years old, greeted me. Imagine my surprise when I learned that he had just celebrated his 94th birthday. "To what do you attribute your excellent health and obvious rejuvenation?" I asked him. "Ahh..," he answered. "Delvos II."
     I did a great deal of research prior to this journey and had learned that Delvos Prime was the only Class M planet in the system, thereby being the sole candidate for the Care Center. But, according to Dr. Black, a second planet in the system held a very alluring secret; a secret I absolutely had to explore. With Dr. Black's assistance, I booked passage on an intra-stellar patrol craft headed for Outpost Omega on Delvos II. It was a two-hour trip at impulse power in the tiny shuttle, but the ache in my back was rewarded with the breathtaking vistas of the northern continent as we descended toward the outpost. Much like a national park back on Earth, tall trees and gorgeous mountainous terrain surrounded the outpost. Once out of the shuttle, in the distance, I could hear the rumble of a waterfall as powerful cascades punched into the riverbed below. As the shuttle departed, I slung my pack over one shoulder and was instantly met by the outpost proprietor.
     "And just who are you?" he asked. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Marshall Crockett," I replied. "So what," he retorted. Hmmmm...tough crowd!
     It took a little while to explain what I was doing on Delvos II, but once I won over his confidence, he took me to the East Rim of the Great Divide. It was absolutely magnificent. The canyon extended over 2,500 feet to a 40-foot wide river that, from this elevation, looked like a string of yarn in the abyss. The giant trees in the distance were so thick on the hills to the north that they seemed to be one large canopy over the edge of the Great Divide. To the West, a smaller outcropping of trees and a more arid plain spread as far as the eye could see; while, to the south, grasslands reigned supreme. Behind me, to the east, the mountains extended to the sky in such grandeur that the snow-capped peaks maintained their luster year round. While the scenery was, indeed, magnificent, it was only part of why I made this journey. As I later found out from the proprietor, it was the waterfall that I was looking for.
     Some years ago, he told me, an octogenarian geologist with a terminal disease found that the silicates in the rocks above the waterfall had exceptional healing qualities. And, by simply exposing yourself to the water...particularly, drinking it...one would reap the benefits of a disease-free existence. He camped for over two weeks at the base of the falls, cooking, drinking and bathing with the water. He felt so rejuvenated after a fortnight that he returned to the Care Center on Delvos Prime to be seen by his physician. All signs of the disease were gone and his tests showed him to be in perfect health. Since that time, continual studies have been performed on the water, and the vitamins it carries from the rocks at its apex, with amazing results. The man died at 138 years of age of natural causes, like nearly every other resident of the Delvos system has...or will.
     I stared in awe at the falls and marveled at the power it possessed: the power to destroy the calm water in the pool at its base in conjunction with the power to heal all who drank its mystical nectar. This was one occasion where I emptied my jug and filled it with water from the falls. Who knows, maybe I'd need it some day.
     As I boarded the shuttle the following day back to Delvos Prime the proprietor grabbed me by the arm and stared deep into my eyes. He reached into my backpack and removed my jug. Before I could even question what he was doing, he emptied the contents onto the ground at my feet. "What you have learned here was free; what you took...was not. No one removes water from the falls, not even the doctors. All come here instead. Diseases vanish, ailments heal, and symptoms cease...all by the falls. What happens on Delvos II, stays on Delvos II," he said, then handed me back my empty container. While not ecstatic about the decision, I could respect the proprietor's demands. It was certainly a paradise and one that you must actually experience first-hand to gain its full significance.

Until next time ~mtc