Star Trek: The Great Unknown

[tenmei]

Disclaimer: I made several fundamental mistakes with my last attempt at writing fanfiction and lost my confidence with regards to my writing ability so Tales of the Annapurna has been temporarily shelved. I took a few steps back and regarded my approach to writing - before deciding that now was the time to try and resurrect my confidence. I have to give great thanks to both Kes7 and CaptainSarine who have been invaluable as sounding boards for this story - and give special thanks to Kes7 for giving me permission to play in her sandpit.

I now humbly present to you the opening of Star Trek: The Great Unknown.


Star Trek: The Great Unknown
Book 1


Starbase Forester, Dock One, Observation Lounge


"I met Picard once, you know," Adese Huronia commented, her eyes following the lines of the Enterprise. "Not when he was Captain of the Enterprise, of course ..."

Admiral Icheb nodded.

"When he was Vice President. He gave a speech at my school on Hestia," she explained. "He was a very inspirational man, made me want to join Starfleet."

Icheb had met him too - he'd made a speech at Starfleet Academy back when he had still been Captain of the Enterprise E, before his resignation and appointment as Federation Ambassador to Vulcan. And then, again, much later, when Icheb had been given command of the freshly minted Enterprise F - but that was shortly before Picard, a respected diplomat and tactician, had suffered from the sudden onset of Irumodic Syndrome which had taken his life mere years later.

It was therefore deemed prudent to name a class of ship after him - and it had just so happened that one of the vessels of the new Picard Class starship would be the next Enterprise.

USS Enterprise NCC 1701 G. Picard Class. Her sleek secondary hull sweeping up to her primary hull, the ship presenting the streamlined yet menacing appearance of a shark.

Icheb reminded himself that this was not his Enterprise anymore, the Enterprise F had come and gone, but the latest vessel to bear the name would journey on under the command of Captain Adese Huronia.

Huronia, in turn, let her mind wander to her absent daughter - a scientist with the Vulcan Science Academy currently on detachment to study flora on worlds that had previously been neglected by academia - and wished she could have been here. The Enterprise wasn't Huronia's first command, she'd tackled that particular hurdle two decades earlier with her appointment as Captain of the USS Atropos, but getting command of the Enterprise was a different hurdle altogether.

That being said, she knew that the detachment to study flora would, no doubt, be extremely advantageous to her daughters career and, though she wouldn't have the pleasure of her daughters presence at the launch of the Enterprise, she would, at least, have the presence of her soon-to-be son-in-law.

Thinking of her soon-to-be son-in-law, she realised that he should have arrived on Starbase Forester by now. Her hand moved towards her comm-badge to investigate his whereabouts.

 

[kes7]

The Irumodic Syndrome gets me. Whatever one's feelings about Picard, the idea that such a well-traveled, intellectually gifted, galaxy-renowned starship captain would go out that way was the most heartbreaking part of All Good Things. It's only fitting that he would have had a ship class named after him.

Of course, Admiral Icheb brings a smile to my face, writing the story I'm writing. Nice to think of him ending up that way given all the crap he's going through on the Tesseract right now. Not to mention the idea that he would be given the Enterprise-F! (For anyone looking for clarity, I told tenmei he could use my story as canon for his story and reference my original characters if he wanted. Should be interesting seeing as how my story isn't finished yet and people could still, you know, die .... or make questionable decisions ... but we'll see how this goes! )

And then we have Huronia. We don't learn much about her yet, other than that she's a veteran starship captain and her soon-to-be son-in-law will be under her command. Honest to God, I love my mother-in-law, but the only thing I can imagine worse than having one's mother-in-law as one's captain is having one's FUTURE mother-in-law as one's captain. Talk about establishing a dangerous precedent.

Looking forward to seeing more!

 

[tenmei]

The Irumodic Syndrome gets me. Whatever one's feelings about Picard, the idea that such a well-traveled, intellectually gifted, galaxy-renowned starship captain would go out that way was the most heartbreaking part of All Good Things. It's only fitting that he would have had a ship class named after him.

Exactly - it always struck me as odd that there were never any references to a Kirk Class vessel (or even a USS James T. Kirk) or other vessels named after other great starship commanders.

Of course, we've had the USS Surak in the extended universe and the USS Gorkon as seen in TNG, so this was also an attempt to rectify that.

Of course, Admiral Icheb brings a smile to my face, writing the story I'm writing. Nice to think of him ending up that way given all the crap he's going through on the Tesseract right now. Not to mention the idea that he would be given the Enterprise-F! (For anyone looking for clarity, I told tenmei he could use my story as canon for his story and reference my original characters if he wanted. Should be interesting seeing as how my story isn't finished yet and people could still, you know, die .... or make questionable decisions ... but we'll see how this goes! )

And I'm very grateful to you for allowing me to play in your sandpit. It's certainly been a very exciting experiment.

And then we have Huronia. We don't learn much about her yet, other than that she's a veteran starship captain and her soon-to-be son-in-law will be under her command. Honest to God, I love my mother-in-law, but the only thing I can imagine worse than having one's mother-in-law as one's captain is having one's FUTURE mother-in-law as one's captain. Talk about establishing a dangerous precedent.

Huronia will be an interesting character - also, this won't be made clear in the story, but she's supposed to be same race as Lieutenant Nara from The Next Generation's 'Eye of the Beholder' - a race which I've christened the Hestians.

We'll be meeting the son-in-law in a couple of installments. Their relationship will proove to be - how shall we say this - rather interesting.

Looking forward to seeing more!

Ask and you shall recieve!


Part 2


Starfleet Passenger Shuttle, Enroute to Starbase Forester


Tyran felt uncomfortable in his uniform, freshly replicated that morning. He was still adjusting to the fact that he had now graduated and was en-route to his first assignment - the mustard shoulders of his uniform, the single hollow black bar on his chest and the orders on the PADD he held in his hand testament to that.

That morning he had woken in the room at the Oyugo Halls of Residence that he had shared, until the week before, with his friend, had a conversation with his mother using the vid-link, then showered and dressed in his uniform. He wasn't Cadet Tyran anymore - he was Ensign Tyran, Flight Control Officer of the USS Enterprise.

A prestigious position and one his mother was more than proud for him to have earned. Unfortunately, his mother had been delayed in her return from Betazed and would be unable to attend the comissioning ceremony of the Enterprise as she'd planned but she wished him well.

The Enterprise came into view through the windows of the passenger shuttle, a sleek vessel held in the warm embrace of the skeletal spacedock structure from which it would soon escape.

He knew the shuttle carrying the champagne would be undergoing final checks, nobody wanting anything to go off with even a slightest hitch in front of the press that had gathered from across the Federation and beyond.

"She's beautiful," whispered Tyran, more to himself than any of the other crew that sat nearby. But one of those passengers had heard him, a Human with a broad grin and tousled brown hair. The man shifted from his own seat into the empty one next to Tyran.

"Enterprise is your first, huh?" The man said, more a statement than a question, his speach brushed with an accent. "I remember my first - the USS Wyoming. A clunker of a ship she was, Oberth Class - probably ought to have been retired decades ago ..."

Tyran felt himself begin to relax in the company of his new friend - a crimson shouldered Lieutenant Jg he noted.

"Lieutenant Matthew Dalton," his friend said, by way of introduction. "We'll be crewmates, Ensign ..."

Tyran recognised the name, his mind circled through all of the information that he'd been forced to digest over the past few weeks about the Picard Class ships and the crew of the new Enterprise. It eventually clocked - his new friend was going to be the ships Ops Manager.

"Tyran," he offered. "We'll be seeing a lot of each other, I expect. I'm the ships Flight Control Officer ..."

Dalton nodded.

"I thought I recognised you, but couldn't put the finger on where," he explained, turning his gaze back to the window where the shuttle was on final approach to Starbase Forester from where the passengers would transfer to the Enterprise. "Follow me, Tyran, you won't go wrong ..."

Tyran was glad that Dalton had taken him under his wing. It felt nice to have a friend already.

 

[Gibraltar]

An excellent start! Barely a chapter in and already I’ve met two very likeable characters. Looking forward to more.

 

[tenmei]

An excellent start! Barely a chapter in and already I’ve met two very likeable characters. Looking forward to more.

Thankyou! I hope you enjoy the other characters when they put in an appearance in the next few installments.

 

[mirandafave]

An intriguing start and it seems our boy Icheb done good. Aw for poor Picard.

 

[tenmei]

Yep. Icheb has done very good - gaining command of the Enterprise and then finding himself Chief of Starfleet Ops too. Here's the next installment, in which we meet another member of our crew -



Part 3


Starbase Forester, Hangar Deck Alpha


The shuttle came to a gentle rest in the cavernous hangar of Starbase Forester, the hatch sliding open a moment later allowing at least two dozen crew in their multi-hued uniforms burst forth. Some carrying personal items in duffel bags, others having already arranged for transport of their belongings to the ship were unfettered by baggage.

Commander Abraham Islington scanned the crowd - eventually settled on the two young men he was looking for. From the dialogue being conducted between them, he was pleased to see that they'd already crossed paths. He easily identified the mustard shouldered Romulan as Ensign Tyran and the crimson shouldered Human as Lieutenant Matthew Dalton -

"Tyran! Dalton!" Islington waved the pair over. Tyran hurried over like an eager puppy whilst Dalton followed, a certain swagger coming through in his walk. "I've been instructed to come and meet you, get you checked in and acclimatized to the ship ..."

He offered his hand. Both men shook it.

"I'm Commander Abraham Islington," he said. "But my friends call me 'Angel'. I have the honor of being this fine vessels Chief Engineer - and of being one of her designers ..."

Though he remained silent on the issue, Islington couldn't get over how young Tyran was. The Romulan was babyfaced, borderline cherubic and far too eager.

"Follow me."

He could feel the eyes of the young Romulan fixating onto his back as he led the two new arrivals down the corridor to the nearby transporter room. He knew that the cybernetic implant on his back was shocking when you first saw it, he'd had much worse reactions from much more worldly people so the inquisitive Romulan being unable to tear his eyes away didn't bother him much.

A crimson shouldered technician stood at the transporter console.

"Three to beam over to the Enterprise," Islington ordered as he and his two wards stepped onto the gleaming platform. The three-armed Triexian technician nodded, slid his hands over the console -


USS Enterprise, Docked at Starbase Forester


The three Enterprise crewmembers dematerialised, reappeared on a near identical transporter platform on the Enterprise itself. A portly female Ferengi technician stood at the console -

"Welcome back, Sir!"

"Chief," Islington acknowledged the Ferengi woman with a nod of his head as he led his two charges out of the room and into the corridors which were a gleaming white, equipment lockers recessed into them under removable panels, and the floor a shining obsidian.

Turning to face his charges and walking backwards for a moment, Islington waved at the corridor. Tyran was fascinated, his eyes drinking in every single detail and contour whilst Dalton had the air of someone who had seen it all before, or at least thought they had.

Islington considered the latter was more likely.

"Welcome to the Enterprise, gentlemen ..."

 

[CaptainSarine]

Wow, what a cool beginning. I'm really enjoying this so far, I like the characters you've created and the little glimpses into history (aw, poor Picard!)

Look forward to learning what mission this new Enterprise is going to be sent on!

 

[Gibraltar]

Another interesting character with some mystery to him... what's the cybernetic device on the gregarious engineer's back? Looking forward to more!

 

[tenmei]

Wow, what a cool beginning. I'm really enjoying this so far, I like the characters you've created and the little glimpses into history (aw, poor Picard!)

Look forward to learning what mission this new Enterprise is going to be sent on!

You'll find out the mission the new Enterprise is going to be sent on soon enough - but we've got a shakedown mission to deal with first. And, as we know, Enterprise shakedowns never go exactly as planned.

Another interesting character with some mystery to him... what's the cybernetic device on the gregarious engineer's back? Looking forward to more!

The exact nature of the cybernetic device on Angel's back may be revealed at some point in the immediate future, it may not be and cryptic hints as to what caused it to be there might be dropped.

The following part will be the last for a few days - as visits from family will undoubtedly take me away from the board. Hope everyone has a very good Xmas!


Part 4


Starbase Forester, Dock One


Commander Jasim Hajjar hurried down the corridor - he was late, the shuttle carrying the bottle of champagne that would be fired at the Enterprise had already departed the shuttlebay and would soon reach its destination. He couldn't commit such a faux pas as being late to the comissioning ceremony - especially with Adese Huronia looking over his shoulder.

Hajjar considered whether it had been a mistake to pursue the position when Huronia had been announced as Captain, then wondered whether he had gained the position purely because she had been appointed Captain.

His mind buzzing with excitement and apprehension, he slipped through the door into the observation lounge alongside a Saurian reporter and a blue shouldered Zaranite Lieutenant whose name he couldn't recall. The lounge was almost now, meaning he had to push his way through the crowd to reach the platform where Captain Huronia and the famed Admiral Icheb, who had commanded the previous ship to hold the name Enterprise, were standing alongside a handful of others -

Out of breath, he whispered his apologies to Huronia.

"Don't let it happen again," she whispered back. "The shuttle is in position, ready to fire the champagne bottle - you almost missed it!"

Suitably castigated, he adjusted his uniform and took his position amongst the crew line-up. Stood next to a tall, crimson shouldered, brunette woman - one of the designers of the Picard Class - he noted the attendance of Lieutenant Dalton, Ensign Tyran, Commander Islington and the ships diminutive Diplomatic Officer, Lieutenant Jg Song Tae Hwa.

The ships Tactical Officer was absent. She'd pulled the short straw, meaning she had to stay on the Enterprise for the duration of the comissioning ceremony - it was a precaution, but one that was adhered to with the Federations press looking over their shoulders.

Blinking in the light from a dozen remote controlled floating holo-cameras, he also noted the absence of both the ships Chief Medical Officer and Security Chief but that was expected. Both women were still en-route to Earth and would join the Enterprise after the short shakedown cruise had taken place.

He knew both the Admiral and Captain Huronia were old friends with the vessels Chief Medical Officer and he was sure that Huronia would enjoy having a close friend and confidante amongst the command crew.

"There ..." whispered one of the reporters. Holo-camera's swung to point out of the window as the bottle of champagne came into view, closing upon the shining hull of the Enterprise.

It collided, the bottle appearing to smash with the positioning of micro-explosives, the liquid spraying out into space and freezing in the vacuum sending sparkling crystals exploding outwards.

A raptorous applause erupted from everyone gathered and Hajjar couldn't help but smile - his pearl white teeth obvious. Two hours later, in the midst of a question and answer session that followed the brief opening ceremony, the holo-camera turned back on Hajjar when the question of his relationship to Captain Huronia inevitably came up.

Hajjar licked his lips, about to reply - but Huronia leaned forward, the press turning their attention towards her.

"Commander Hajjar was given his position because of the skills he brings to the table, not because he is engaged to my daughter," she said in a tone clearly intended to put across the fact that her comment should not be questioned. "His service record is exceptional, he has extensive exerience serving on explorers and his former commanders, including Admiral Icheb, have nothing but praise for him ..."

The reporters went quiet for the moment.

"Are there any other questions?"

Admiral Icheb called the question and answer session to a close an hour later, explaining that the Enterprise was due to depart within the hour on a shakedown cruise of the solar system and that those members of the press with passes that allowed them to join the Enterprise on her shakedown cruise should report to his adjutant, Lieutenant Ward.

Huronia glanced at the four members of her command crew on the platform with her, let a smile cross her lips as she took the sight of them in - a handsome Arabic man, her youthful brown-haired Operations Manager, a baby-faced Romulan, a diminutive Korean woman and her grizzled white haired Chief Engineer.

"This is it gentlemen."

 

[tenmei]

And now for the next installment -


Part 5

Private Slipstream-Yacht, Location Unknown


The olive skinned Starfleet Officer at the controls of the slipstream-yacht brought up the diagnostic report that he had ordered to be conducted, it showed what he had feared. His quantum slipstream drive had a finite period of operation left - and, when he ran the numbers, it was obvious that we wasn't going to reach Earth and contact his former mentor, Admiral Icheb, in time to fetch help.

He couldn't use subspace communications to send a message to Earth, as 'they' would be listening for him and ondoubtedly intercept him and eliminate him before he reached the Admiral.

He plumbed the depths of his skills to try and rectify the problem, pulling energy from other systems - cutting life support so that it operated at the bare minimum, the temperature in the main cabin of the yacht beginning to plunge almost straight away.

With luck, with the power diverted, he might make it. He certainly hoped so.


Bridge, USS Enterprise, Docked at Starbase Forester


The doors of the turbolift opened, revealing the Bridge before him. It was the first time he'd been on the Bridge, in person, though he'd visited a holodeck simulation of it since he'd first recieved orders, two weeks earlier, to report to the Enterprise. It had the same reassuring uniformity as the other bridges he had visited, both as holodeck simulations and in person, with a slight adjustment of station positions and colour palette as was dictated by the vessels commander - in this case, it was clear that Captain Huronia favoured green, with the carpet, seats and occasional wall highlights various shades of olive, tea-green and moss-green.

Tyran had to admit that the overall effect was soothing, calm and cooling.

"Captain on the Bridge!"

Captain Huronia approached her centralised chair but did not sit, she laid a hand on the headrest and looked around - the smile on her lips telegraphing her pride in her vessel and its crew.

"At ease, Lieutenant," she acknowledged the crimson-shouldered woman who had been standing in front of the captains chair. The woman exchanged a smile with Lieutenant Dalton as she circled the railing - approaching the tactical station.

At once Tyran realised who the woman was - it was Lieutenant Rebecca Dalton, young sister of his new friend Matthew and the ships Principle Weaponry Officer.

Matthew was already running his hands over the OPS panel - bringing up those displays he would need for the launch and its immediate aftermath. Admiral Icheb and Captain Huronia were standing near the captains chair and the ships Chief Engineer, Commander Islington, had left the group and headed down to Main Engineering as soon as they had boarded the Enterprise whilst Lieutenant Song and Icheb's aide, Lieutenant Ward, were dealing with the members of the press.

"It's quite overwhelming isn't it," a softly accented voice said. Tyran realised that he was still standing near the turbolift, turned to find the olive-skin and dark hair of Commander Hajjar standing to his left. "Don't worry, Ensign, you'll do fine."

Hajjar put his arm round Tyran's shoulders, guided him towards the obsidian CONN station - presently occupied by a Yridian petty officer who moved away at the instruction of the ships First Officer.

"Take your seat, Ensign. There you go, not as bad as you thought it would be, is it?" said Hajjar. Tyran noticed that Matthew was looking over at him, his friend giving him a discrete thumbs up and mouthing 'You'll be fine' as he took his seat.

"No, no it's not," admitted Tyran, bringing up the flight control settings that he'd been practicing using on the simulations on the holodeck. Interactive headsets were often used during missions to enhance the abilities of the crew - but, for now, they were deemed unneccessary for everyone except the helmsman.

Hajjar returned to stand with Captain Huronia and Admiral Icheb.

Huronia looked round, gauged the readiness of the crew at their various positions and took a short step forward -

"Commander Hajjar, ready the ship for departure."

Hajjar conducted his duties with businesslike efficency, contacting each of the departments in turn to confirm their readiness including confirming with each of the bridge officers that they were ready to proceed. He reached Tyran.

"CONN, ready?"

Tyran took a deep breath, closed his eyes, nodded.

"CONN ready, aye, sir ..." he announced, perhaps a bit too loudly which elicited a slight smile from the Captain, First Officer and Matthew. He felt himself blush a little.

Soon the ship was ready to leave the protective embrace of the spacedock and Captain Huronia, Admiral Icheb and Commander Hajjar took their seats in the centre of the bridge. The tension was thick - it could have been cut with a knife.

Huronia broke the tension.

"Take her out, Mister Tyran," and, borrowing the words of another former Captain of the Enterprise, "Straight and steady."

Tyran nodded, laid his hands on his console, ignited the ships impulse engines to only one quarter strength and moved the ship forwards - slipping out of spacedock into the infinite void beyond.

The voyages of the latest starship to bear the name Enterprise had begun.

 

[kes7]

Uh oh. They're flying around without their CMO and Security officer? Why does that strike me as a potentially Very Bad Move? Hope they've got a hologram on board at the very least ...

Still loving all these characters you're introducing us to. Hajjar seems like a nice guy. I'm wondering who Icheb's old friend on the slipstream ship is, what he wants to say, and why anyone would want to eliminate him! Very mysterious. (And I have to say it still throws me every time I see reference made to "Admiral" Icheb. I'm still so stuck inside my own Icheb story it breaks my brain a little! Not to mention this "old friend" is undoubtedly someone he met well after 2385 ...)

On a purely shallow note, I don't think I could deal with a green ship interior for years on end. Give me Voyager grey any day of the week! And I now have to ask the question -- did Picard choose the pink-accented interior on the E-D, then?

 

[tenmei]

I always thought that the E-D was more of a peachy colour. I think the green colour palette of the Enterprise could be pretty cool - but some of the corridors, at least, are still bearing the colour palette (a gleaming white) from the construction yard and haven't been repainted.

 

[kes7]

The carpet of the E-D was most definitely pink. Well, mauve. It was the 80s, after all. Everything else, I guess, was kind of peachy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trekkie_stud/52510611/

I'll guess I'll take green over that!

 

[tenmei]

Wow. I didn't realise that the carpet was that colour - guess I never really noticed the carpet that much! I'd probably say that if we're talking colour scheme comparisons that the carpet of the E-G would be more of a forest or olive green with the consoles being more of a mint or moss green.

 

[tenmei]

Part 6


Main Engineering, USS Enterprise


Lieutenant Song Tae Hwa checked the PADD in her hand as she led a small group of reporters into the engine room of the Enterprise. The reporters had already visited sickbay and several of the science labs after watching the launch of the ship from one of the forward observation lounges, along with dozens of off-duty members of the ship's crew.

Song still couldn't believe she had gained the assignment on the Enterprise. The position really should have gone to someone with much more experience in diplomatic matters, she thought. With the possible exception of the ship's helm officer, fresh from Starfleet Academy, Song postulated that she might be the most nervous person aboard the ship.

At least leading the tour of the ship wasn't too demanding. She had even found the time to flirt with one of the reporters, a handsome Risan male, whom she had planned to meet up with again once she was off duty and the ship was back in dock after the shakedown cruise.

She had called ahead to Commander Islington, the white-haired chief engineer, to let them know they were about to arrive, and as she ushered the group into main engineering, he stepped out of his office to greet them.

"Welcome to Main Engineering," he said, gesturing around the room. "What do you think of it? Beautiful, eh?!"

A ripple of polite laughter went through the group. Song had met Islington twice before, once at the question-and-answer session, and once previously, when she was arranging the itinerary of the press corps during the shakedown. He always seemed to be quite cheerful, boisterous and gregarious -- never had a bad word to say about anyone.

"Commander, what do you say to those who believe it was a mistake for Starfleet to give you a Chief Engineer's berth after the Ariannus Incident?" one of the reporters called out to him. Song turned around and saw the questioner was her Risan friend -- well, maybe friend was too strong a word after that question. She'd certainly be cancelling their date.

"As you have been informed, the Commander is happy to answer all questions about the Enterprise and her systems. Your question falls outside that area, Joval," Song interjected.

Joval met her gaze. "I'd argue that the Ariannus Incident is such a significant part of the Commander's past that it actually does have direct impact on the Enterprise and her mission," the Risan replied.

While she was trying to ascertain which news agency considered bringing up a seventeen-year-old incident newsworthy, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and turned to see it belonged to Islington.

"I'll answer the question, Song," said Islington. The other reporters had spread out a bit so that Joval, who had been hovering in the back of the crowd as one of the tallest, now had a direct path to the front of the group. "I'm guessing that you've all read the reports about the incident itself?"

Joval nodded.

"Then you'll be aware that I was exonerated by both Starfleet and the Federation High Court," explained Islington. Song remained at his side, ready to step in if she believed things were getting out of hand. "I carry a reminder of what happened with me wherever I go and I deeply regret not being able to do more ... to save more ..."

The reporters were silent.

"To put it more concisely: Starfleet has full confidence in my abilities and I have full confidence in the decision makers at Starfleet Command. Does that answer your question?" Islington asked.

Joval opened his mouth to speak then seemed to think better of it and remained silent. Song could tell that he knew he'd stepped out of line and, she hoped, he knew he could expect to be reprimanded - or, at least, find his name, and that of his network, dropped from the invitation list to any future comissioning ceremonies.

"Good. Are there any more questions? No. Now that," said Islington, turning to gesture toward the throbbing core that stood at the center of main engineering, casting emerald light across the room and illuminating the faces of the engineers in hues of green, "that is the integrated slipstream core ..."

Song tuned him out as she checked her chronometer and then the itinerary, noticing that the group of reporters had to be in Shuttlebay One in fifteen minutes. There they would be shown several of the vessel's dedicated shuttlecraft, shuttlepods, runabouts and repairsleds.

As Song and the press corps followd Islington around the engine room, Song idly wondered what she was going to do with herself that evening, now that her date with the Risan reporter was definitely off.

 

[admiralelm11]

I'm guessing that this may be a little late to ask. They're leaving spacedock without their Chief Medical Officer? Do they have their tractor beam installed? Did they launch on a Tuesday? These are all important questions that I believe must be answered for when you launch a Federation starship with the name Enterprise, no matter which letter of the alphabet she may be at.

But other than that, good work. Sensational. I can't wait to read more.

 

[Timewalker]

The carpet of the E-D was most definitely pink. Well, mauve. It was the 80s, after all. Everything else, I guess, was kind of peachy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trekkie_stud/52510611/

I'll guess I'll take green over that!

I hope the Romulan officer doesn't feel queasy, seeing as how green is the color of blood. I doubt I'd be comfortable on a starship with a red color scheme.

Now hurry up and post more. What are you waiting for, New Year's? (seriously, I'm hooked!)

 

[tenmei]

I'm guessing that this may be a little late to ask. They're leaving spacedock without their Chief Medical Officer? Do they have their tractor beam installed? Did they launch on a Tuesday? These are all important questions that I believe must be answered for when you launch a Federation starship with the name Enterprise, no matter which letter of the alphabet she may be at.

But other than that, good work. Sensational. I can't wait to read more.

They just don't have the medical officer - they have a tractor beam (which will come into play in the next few installments) and they didn't launch on a Tuesday

Glad you're enjoying it.

I hope the Romulan officer doesn't feel queasy, seeing as how green is the color of blood. I doubt I'd be comfortable on a starship with a red color scheme.

Now hurry up and post more. What are you waiting for, New Year's? (seriously, I'm hooked!)

Glad you're enjoying it - am hoping to put up the next part tonight or tommorow (there's a bit in it I'm not quite happy with) before taking another pause for New Years and then resume with regular postings.

 

[tenmei]

And now for the promised next installment -


Part 7


Bridge, USS Enterprise


Tyran felt the Picard Class vessel respond to his instructions, the headset that he wore giving him an almost palpable connection to the ship as if the mighty vessel wasn't just the ship he served onboard, but an extension of his own body. At the moment, the ship had just passed back into Earth's solar system and was cruising at half impulse past Pluto and Eris. He'd once visited the Plutonian and Eridian colonies on a school trip and had marvelled at how rustic they had seemed when compared to the more advanced, recent, colonies and stations.

"Commander, you need to see this ..."

Hajjar had taken command when Captain Huronia and Admiral Icheb had taken the opportunity to tour the ship and check in on the various departments, giving them the opportunity to deliver a status report in person in addition to submitting it in writing when the vessel returned to Earth. Huronia had already spoken with her most-senior officers, but some of them had only spoken to her over a comm channel - so this was also the first opportunity some of her crew would have to encounter the ships commander in the flesh.

The Arabian First Officer leaned forward in his chair.

"What is it, Mr Dalton?"

Matthew brought information up on the main viewscreen that had, until then, just been showing the starscape speed past as the ship had travelled at warp speed and then at impulse. The video that played showed what appeared to be a slipstream yacht approaching Saturn and then - and more shockingly - plunging into its atmosphere.

As the video played, Matthew explained.

"Renown Station forwarded us the video. It got picked up by one of their sensor drones. They thought we were the best placed and equipped to respond," said Matthew. Renown Station was one of the research stations that Starfleet ran on the moons of Saturn. Unlike its more massive cousin, Jupiter Station, the smaller research station had only a medium sized shuttlecraft that would be hopelessly underequipped to perform a rescue operation in the gas giants atmosphere.

"They were right," stated Hajjar. "Tyran, lay in a course for the yacht's point of entry into the atmosphere. Lieutenant, inform Renown Station that we're responding and will someone call the Captain to the Bridge?"

Hajjar was impressed by the speed at which the crew went about their jobs - the Enterprise would reach the entry point within five minutes as they could warp hop to close proximity to the planet, but would need to cruise into orbit on merely high impulse. This left plenty of time for the Captain and the Admiral to be alerted to the situation and make their way to the Bridge.

Which they did, just as Enterprise entered orbit above Saturn.

"What can you tell me about the yacht, Mister Dalton," questioned Huronia, on the proverbial ball straight off the bat.

Matthew had the information already at his disposal, pulled up the file to check his facts before he regurgitated them to his superior.

"As far as I can tell from the footage Renown sent us, it's a widely used civilian model of slipstream yacht. Capable of transwarp and slipstream but with minimal armament ..." he explained. "It appears to be heavily damaged."

"Any idea how long it could survive in the atmosphere?"

Matthew shrugged.

"It would depend on how well the pilot could control their rate of descent, Captain," he replied. "But, even with a slow rate of descent ..."

Tyran felt the silence smother him, this was one way to bring him back to reality and show him the danger that existed for him in his chosen life in Starfleet. He'd not really thought about the fact that people could die - that HE could die - until this point.

"Yes?" prompted Huronia.

"Not very long at all, Sir," Matthew finished.

"Are we in a position to beam them up?"

Hajjar shook his head.

"Too much interference from the atmosphere," Hajjar supplied.

Huronia evaluated her course of action, then moved into action - firing off orders as if this was something that had been rehersed. One by one, each member of the crew that she fired an order at responded -

"Number One, you're in charge. Take two shuttles into the atmosphere, get close enough to beam the yacht's inhabitants off and tow the yacht out of the atmosphere. Tyran, keep us in position directly over the slipstream yachts position. Dalton, I want to know every single status change of the yacht the moment it happens - is that understood?"

A chorus of 'Aye, Sir's' went up around the Bridge.

Hajjar turned to the ships CO.

"Ma'am, permission to have Ensign Tyran pilot one of the shuttles? He's one of the best pilots we've got ..." he requsted.

Huronia considered the request.

"Go ahead. Ensign Tyran, you're with the XO."

Icheb straightened his back as Hajjar and Tyran headed towards the turbolift, he held up his hand as the door began to slide closed behind the two mustard shouldered crewmen.

"I'm coming with you."

Icheb stepped into the turbolift.

"Sir?" questioned Huronia.

"You heard me, Captain."

The turbolift doors slid closed behind Admiral Icheb and descended to the vessels shuttlebay where two of the ship's shuttles were being prepared for atmospheric maneuveres. Huronia turned back towards the main screen where the image of Saturn loomed large.

She sat back in her chair. She knew this shakedown had been going too well for a vessel named Enterprise. At least they had tractor beams, though a fat lot of good those were to them at the moment.