Horizon
How come the three Federation ships could ignore the magnetic barrier? (Or did the 'nothing else in contact range' mean that there was no other ship which had been demagnetised/had crew with the authority to know about the mineral being mined?)
Can one presume that Horizon was discovered (usual proviso - the inhabitants already knew it was there) by the Federation when the extragalactic barrier reached to that point on the 'galactic skyline' - the mine-layers would loop out from the centre and back. I presume this happened 5-10 years ago - Ro is relatively young, and if he had been ruler long he would have been married. It would have to be a relatively recent contact - even if the dress were purely ceremonial, Ro knew how to use the dart blower with ease.
For those with an hour change tonight - the mnemonic is 'spring forward, fall backwards.'
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