“Computer, transfer command of USS Dauntless to Captain Virgil Dylan
Kane, authorization Koester-Theta-Nine-Nine-Zero.”
“All command codes transferred. USS
Dauntless now under command of Captain Virgil Dylan Kane,” responded the
emotionless computer voice, prompting a round of applause from the crowd
gathered around the podium set up in the 10-Forward lounge. Peter Koester, the former commanding officer
of the Sovereign-class starship shook the hand of his successor.
“Congratulations, Virg.”
“Thank you, Admiral, and
congratulations to you too,” Kane said, nodding toward the new boxed pips on
both collars of Koester’s dress uniform.
“Good luck aboard your new flagship, the Sagan.”
The two men stepped down from the
podium to mingle with the crowd, Koester accepting a champagne glass from one
of the passing waiters, and nodding a smile to his former Ship’s Counselor,
Kethry Sutherland, as he passed her.
“Quite a ceremony, huh?” a familiar
voice said quietly into the Betazoid Counselor’s ear. She turned to see who was standing at her
shoulder, shocked when she recognized the grinning face.
“Kalin!” she almost squealed,
throwing her arms around her former commanding officer and close friend from so
many years ago. She stepped back to look
at the Alpha Centauran man, noticing for the first time the new addition to the
dress uniform he wore. “Oh! Fleet Captain Kale now, I see.”
An almost boyish grin covered Kale’s
face as he rubbed the new pips between his fingers.
“So, what brings you here?” Sutherland
asked curiously. “You didn’y come all
this way just for the change of command ceremony?”
“I suppose you wouldn’t believe I
was passing by and just wanted to say hi, would you?” Kale said
sheepishly. Sutherland glared at him
playfully. “Actually, Kethry, I came to
see you. I have an offer for you if
you’d consider a temporary assignment.”
“A temporary assignment?” Sutherland
asked, puzzled. “Where?”
Kale took Sutherland by the arm and
started escorting the Counselor out of the lounge into the corridor beyond.
“To rescue an old friend from
mothballs,” the Fleet Captain said with a grin.
Space, the Final Frontier…
Star Trek: Sarek
“Return to Duty” By PJK
Kalin Kale placed the flight controls
of the Runabout onto autopilot, then turned to his companion.
“I still don’t believe this,” Kethry
Sutherland said. “How in the galaxy did
you regain command of the USS Sarek? And why do you need me?”
“During my latest assignment at Utopia Planitia, I ran across some
records indicating the Sarek, which
had been badly damaged during the battle for Deep Space Nine, was in drydock at the Antares Ship Yards for repairs and upgrades,” Kale explained. “My research indicated the ship had been
repaired but never recommissioned before the war with the Dominion ended. I pulled a few strings at Starfleet Command
and managed to get myself assigned as the ship’s new commanding officer and
permission to assemble a skeleton crew to shake her down before she’s
recommissioned. I’ve spent the last few
weeks tracking down as many of the Sarek’s
original command crew as I could find.
As for why I need you… Well,
Kethry, I’d like you to be my First Officer, at least until the ship is
declared deep-spaceworthy again.”
A look of surprise crossed the
Counselor’s face.
“I’m honored,” she said, sounding
shocked. “Who else have you managed to
get a hold of?”
Kale quickly entered a course
correction into the Runabout’s conn, and then turned back to Sutherland.
“Not as many as I would have hoped,”
Kale said sadly. “As you know, our Chief
Engineer, T’Veer, was given command of the Sarek
when I was transferred to the Utopia
Planitia Design Bureau in 2371. She
rose to the rank of Rear Admiral before returning to Vulcan for Pon Farr. I was shocked to hear that she passed away of
a heart condition shortly after that.”
Sutherland nodded sorrowfully.
“Our Chief of Security, Penji Fil,
is now a Fleet Captain too,” Kale continued.
“He’s been assigned as a fleet liason in the Beta Quadrant and works
with the Federation Council in
Sutherland nodded and smiled as she
recalled the Sarek’s Assistant
Security Chief, a seven foot tall Capellan warrior from an entirely
non-heterosexual male tribe on Capella IV, and how at some point he had hit on
every male member of the Sarek crew,
including the Captain, in a playful sort of way.
“He’s between assignments right now,
and has agreed to sign on as Chief of Security,” Kale explained.
“And who protects the men aboard
from him?” Sutherland asked with a chuckle.
“He’s promised to behave himself,”
Kale said, rolling his eyes.
“Riiiiight,” Sutherland agreed
sarcastically, smiling. “Who else? Did you manage to track down Monster?”
Kale’s smile disappeared as he
explained, “Lt Commander Setton To’lock Arbelo was lost during the Dominion
War.” Kale’s features turned hard. “In a similar vein, we also lost contact with
our former Assistant Chief Engineer.”
Sutherland raised one eyebrow quizzically, waiting for Kale to
explain. “V’Pier N’Vorda finally showed
his true colors when the real fighting began, not long after Starfleet lost Deep Space Nine. He revealed himself as one of the Founders,
which he had always denied while under my command. In fact, he almost managed to destroy the Sarek before he disappeared, most likely
back through the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant.”
“Lt P’rn Kes, as you know, spent
much of the war assigned to Starfleet Command on Earth before transferring to
the Dauntless last year. I spoke to her shortly before I found you,
and she’s agreed to resume the
“What about a Chief Medical
Officer?” Sutherland asked, a sudden look of hope covering her features.
Kale smiled a moment, as if enjoying
a private joke, then said, “Dr Rasa Palin returned to Bajor when the Sarek was reassigned from the Gamma
Quadrant permanently. He was stationed
aboard DS9 during the
Dominion/Cardassian occupation of the station.
From what I understand he considered retiring when the war ended. From what I hear, he purchased a small farm
in the
“Well, in that case,” said
Sutherland, positively beaming, “how can I say no?”
“Welcome aboard,” Kale said,
reaching over and adding a fourth pip to Sutherland’s collar, “and
congratulations…. Captain.”
* * * *
Several hours later the Runabout had
docked at the orbital office complex of the Antares
Ship Yards and the pair of Starfleet officers had transferred to a Type-8 shuttlecraft
for their journey to the Sarek.
“Shipyard records indicate the Sarek is in Drydock 9, Section
31-Alpha,” Captain Sutherland reported as she consulted the onboard
computer. Kale entered the flight path
into the shuttlecraft’s guidance system and the thrusters hummed to life,
propelling the small vessel out into the vast complex of orbiting construction
and repair facilities. Along the way
they passed a multitude of starships in various stages of construction, most of
which would never be completed, as the end of the war against the Dominion and
their Alpha Quadrant allies negated the need for such a large number of heavily
armed and expensive vessels.
Half-finished Akira-class battlecruisers orbited alongside the
structural members of
“There it is!” Kale exclaimed,
indicating a drydock straight ahead. The
Fleet Captain slowed the shuttlecraft as he brought it around the structural
frame and into the front of the orbital dock.
Both officer’s jaws dropped at the sight that greeted them.
“What did those bastards do to my ship?!?” Kale said in shock.
Before them, nestled inside the
drydock framework, umbilical lines supplying basic power needs, floated the Galaxy-class
starship USS Sarek NCC-72075. However, she was far from the typical
Galaxy-class vessel both officers had once served aboard. Kale quickly entered commands into the
shuttlecraft’s helm which would take them on a slow flyover of the starship, then
returned his distraught gaze out through the viewport.
The Sarek could no longer be called an exploratory cruiser as she once
was. Now she quite obviously fit the
designation of a Battleship! A huge
phaser cannon now extended along the bottom of the primary hull from the dorsal
to where the captain’s yacht, Amanda,
had once nestled. Two large mega-phaser
barrels were hard-mounted atop the saucer to either side of the bridge module,
with additional mountings aft of the bridge now atop the main shuttlebay. The secondary hull seemed to have the most
extensive modifications, as there was now a third warp nacelle mounted to a
pylon atop an enlarged hull section running along the spine of the engineering
hull, at the rear of which was now located the main impulse engine, and all
three warp nacelles were larger and more powerful versions of the engines
originally installed. There were
likewise larger and more powerful phaser strips angling off the warp pylons,
and the numbers 2 and 3 shuttlebays were extended out the back of the dorsal
section looking like last-minute add-ons.
To Kale, the starship looked more like some futuristic nightmare than
his beloved first command.
“Well, you know what they say… ‘All good things…,’” Sutherland started to
comment before Kale glared at her.
As the shuttlecraft started passing
over the new upper warp nacelle, Sutherland noticed the main shuttlebay door
slowly start to open. She pointed it out
to Kale just as the communications panel bleeped.
“Sarrrrek
to shuttlecrrrraft six,” said a purring voice that the two officers recognized
as Lt P’rn Kes, a felinoid native of the planet Cait. “You arrrre clearrrred to land in shuttlebay
one.”
“NOW I remember it!” Kale
exclaimed with a groan. When Sutherland
gave him a curious look, he added in a miserable voice, “My anti-allergy
medication. Remember I’m allergic to cat
hair?”
“Oh, yeah,” Sutherland giggled, then
touched the comm panel to respond.
“Acknowledged, Sarek. This is shuttlecraft 6, on final approach.”
“Verrrry good, shuttlecrrrraft six,
welcome aboard,” Kes answered. “And
welcome home.”
Sutherland smiled at Kale as he
nodded slightly and took manual control of the shuttle and turned it toward the
now-open shuttlebay. Moments later, the
shuttle carefully set down on the deck.
As the rear door opened downward, a cat-like crew member strode toward
the two arriving officers.
“Welcome back, sirrrr,” Lt Kes said,
her voice purring softly. The felinoid looked
almost exactly as Kale had remembered, her dark grey fur covering her entire
body and face, matching well with the current black and gray Starfleet uniform,
a darker colored lion-like mane surrounding her face and highlighting her
bright yellow cat-like eyes. “You too,
Counselorrrr.”
“Thank you, Mister Kes,” Kale said,
avoiding shaking hands, which was considered an insult in the Centauri culture,
and leaning over to hug his helmsman while trying to hold back a sneeze. “Has everyone arrived?”
“We’rrrre still awaiting the
majorrrrity of the crrrrew, but the seniorrrr staff is aboarrrrd and waiting in
the obserrrrvation lounge. You arrrre
the last to arrrrive, sirrrr.”
“Very well, lead the way,
Lieutenant.”
Kes lead the two officers into the corridor
and toward the nearest turbolift. Kale
noticed there was very little of the internal arrangement of the ship that
seemed to have changed much. Only the
carpet color and some of the wall panels differed. A few of the panels still hung open awaiting
circuit cards or fasteners. Eventually
the three reached a turbolift and started toward the bridge. When the doors of the lift finally opened on
Deck 1, Kale stepped out expecting a rush of nostalgia, instead experiencing
shock.
The Sarek’s bridge had changed.
While it still followed the basic Galaxy-class design of the conn and
ops consoles forward near the huge main viewer while the rest of the consoles
lined the rear wall on the upper level with a horseshoe shaped railing
separating the two levels, the three seats of the command arena were gone. In their place, a series of steps filled the
area between the side ramps, the uppermost step of equal height with the upper
bridge, and on this top step the lone command chair. A frown covered Kale’s face as he slowly
crossed the bridge, stopping momentarily at the ship’s dedication plaque
mounted on the starboard bulkhead, the same plaque that hung there from the day
he first took command of the starship.
Well, the same but for one major exception. One name had been removed from the list of
people responsible for the design and construction of the Sarek. Kale ran his fingers
over the scorched area where the name had been, noting it looked like someone
had used a phaser on the plaque. Then he
remembered whose name had been and Kale nodded in understanding. N’Vorda, from when the Changeling had
infiltrated the Starfleet Corps of Engineers.
“It’s no wonder the Dominion knew so
much about our fleet’s weaknesses,” Kale commented to himself, then followed
Kes and Sutherland up the ramp and through the doors to the observation lounge.
As the doors in the lounge parted
and Kale and the others stepped through, the Fleet Captain’s foul mood quickly
disappeared and he could not help but smile when he saw the old friends who
greeted him.
“Kalin!” exclaimed a large man
wearing a shin-length kilt-like uniform with a sash of blue feathers as he
quickly strode over and engulfed Kale in a bear hug.
“Nice to… (oof!) ..see you again
too, A-ZuRQuIL,” Kale managed to say as he gasped for
breath. When the large Capellan finally
put him back down on the deck, the Fleet Captain took his place at the head of
the table and looked around at those seated there. He recognized some of the faces there, though
had not seen most of them in over five years.
To his immediate right sat Kale’s
new First Officer, Kethry Sutherland.
She nodded greetings to those around her as Kale looked at the
others. To Sutherland’s right sat
Lieutenant Sonia Gomez, the newly assigned Chief Engineer. Kale was familiar with her from a brief
training assignment aboard the Enterprise-D
many years earlier. Next to her was an
unfamiliar face, Lieutenant T’Reth of Andor, whom Kes introduced as the Chief
of Operations. At the other end of the
table from Kale sat Kes, and to the Cait’s right, Lt Commander A-ZuRQuIL, who
winked at the Fleet Captain as he glanced his way. To the Capellan’s right was Commander
T’Ashara of Vulcan, another of the former crew now returned as the Sarek’s new Chief Science Officer. And to Kale’s immediate left, another
familiar face, the Bajoran Dr Rasa Palin.
“I’m glad we all had a chance to get
together and both renew old acquaintances, for those of us who have served
together in the past, and make new ones here in the present,” Kale
commented. “I’d also like to outline to
you what needs to be done once the majority of the crew arrive to get the ship
underway…”
Kale’s sentence was cut off as the
lounge doors behind him swooshed open and a petite woman with short brown hair
wearing a science-blue collared uniform and carrying an armful of isolinear
chips darted into the room, her lips moving a mile a minute.
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I know I’m late
I’m really sorry sir it won’t happen again I promise…,” the dark haired woman
said as in her haste the chips slipped out of her grip and spilled all over the
table, the deck and Fleet Captain Kale.
A frightened frown covered the attractive young officer’s face and she
looked like she was about to start crying before she dropped to her knees and
started picking up the computer chips.
“Oh my God, Captain, I’m sorry,” the
young officer said looking for all the world like she wanted to just die. Kale tried without success to stifle a
chuckle as Kes moved over to help the frazzled young officer collect her
isolinear chips and introduce her to the CO and XO.
“Captain Kale, Captain
Sutherrrrland, this is ourrrr Ship’s Counselorrrr, Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
Kathleen Hawk.”
“Just call me Kitty. Everyone does,” Counselor Hawk said as she
piled the chips onto the conference table and dragged another chair over to sit
between Dr Rasa and T’Ashara.
“Just what I need,” Kale muttered to
Sutherland. “Another ‘Kitty’ on the
crew,” and he mimicked a sneeze before noticing Lt Kes’ raised brow and smiled
weakly.
“You haven’t missed anything
important,” Kale said, now turning to his new Ship’s Counselor. “We were just getting started.” He then made eye contact with everyone in the
room and said, “This is a brief overview of what we have in store. Our orders are to make the Sarek spaceworthy, then proceed on a six
week shakedown to test her new systems and determine if she can and should be
brought back into the fleet. I know I
don’t know all of you very well yet, but those of you who have served under me
before will know how much this ship means to me, and how important it is to me
that she be a part of the fleet again.
You have thirty days to get her ship-shape, including manning up the
crew we need. Sarek’s normal compliment was 1025.
We’ll need a minimum of 450 to get this ship out there where she
belongs. Are there any questions?” It seemed for a moment there would be none
until Counselor Hawk raised her hand tentatively.
“Yes, Counselor?”
“Well, um.. Uh…,” Hawk stammered,
seeming embarrassed, then she looked down at the table and said, “Maybe I can
speak to you about it later, sir?”
Kale raised an eyebrow in confusion
before saying, “Very well. Okay, if
that’s all, you’re dismissed. Kethry…”
“Yes, sir?”
“If you need me, I’ll be touring the
ship.”
* * * *
The doors to the ready room swished
apart and Kale stepped into his old inner sanctum. The room looked nothing like he remembered
it. The book case which had been located
along the wall between the captain’s private head and the room’s only viewport,
filled with books of all genre’s and description during his time in command of
the Sarek, was gone. Missing too was the stand along the inner
wall where the model of the USS Sverdlov
NCC-1238, the starship Kale’s mother had commanded and died aboard so many
decades ago, had been displayed.
Likewise gone was the couch which had been positioned near the
door. Kale knew each commanding officer had
their own personality and Captain Sehente’, the last officer to command the Sarek before she was decommissioned,
evidently preferred the uncluttered look.
Kale stepped further into the room,
his feet crunching on the paper which covered the deck, evidently to protect
the carpet during recent repainting, and stood near the cloth-covered desk,
looking around the room. His eyes
stopped on another cloth hanging on the wall above the space where the couch
had once been. He took the two steps
toward it and pulled the cloth down, revealing the painting underneath.
Ambassador Sarek looked down at Kale
impassively, his right arm forever raised in a Vulcan salute, an image of the
starship Sarek in her original
configuration superimposed over the Ambassador’s torso. Kale sighed.
“I’d hate to see what your reaction
would be to how this ship was rebuilt, Ambassador.” Slowly shaking his head, Kale sighed again
and walked out of the room.
* * * *
“Deck 10, forward section 1,” Kale
ordered the turbolift as the doors swished shut behind him and it hummed to
life. “What changes will I find here?”
he commented to himself, turning the padd he was carrying over and over in his
hands. Moments later the turbolift
opened onto deck ten and Kale made his way to the ship’s main recreation
lounge, Nine-Ten Forward. When the Sarek was assigned to be the
Federation’s first exploration vessel in the newly opened Gamma Quadrant in
2369, while still under construction, some extra crew relaxation venues were
added to the basic Galaxy-class design to make up for the loss of regular
periodic starbase R&R. One of these
additions was the expansion of the normal 10-Forward lounge into the deck
above, tripling the space available in that lounge for the crew to relax and
unwind. It was a feature that had been
most welcome by the crew while the starship was assigned so far from Federation
space.
The wooden double-door of the lounge
opened with a click upon Kale’s approach.
Kale stepped into the room, half tempted to stroll right up to the bar
and imagine he was asking the Ferengi bartender who had run the lounge under
his command for a synthale. Halfway to
the bar Kale stopped short.
The lounge had certainly changed,
and not for the better. Most of the bar
was still in place, but the majority of the lounge’s tables and chairs were
either stacked up near the large forward facing viewports, or carelessly strewn
around the room, as if a bar fight had occurred and never been cleaned up
after. But that was not the biggest
change he found…
“Um… I’m sorry, Captain, I didn’t
mean to disturb you.”
Kale’s thoughts were interrupted as
he turned and noticed Counselor Hawk standing just outside the open lounge
doors. She looked painfully shy at the
moment, as if it had taken all her will to actually open her mouth and speak to
Kale. The Fleet Captain gave her a
friendly smile.
“What can I do for you, Counselor?”
he asked as he gestured for her to come in.
Hawk’s young face blushed bright red but she stepped far enough into the
lounge for the doors to slowly slide shut.
However, she simply stood there, suddenly developing an intense interest
in a dust ball on the deck near her boot.
Kale waited a moment to see if she would initiate the conversation she
evidently came to him for, but a few more moments of uneasy silence prompted
him to take the initiative.
“What’s on your mind, Counselor?”
“Well, sir,” Hawk started to
stammer, then took a deep breath and continued, sounding only slightly
calmer. “I don’t know if you’re aware of
my record, sir.”
Kale looked puzzled for a moment
before saying, “Well, no. I haven’t had
the chance to review new service records like I normally do when new crew
members arrive. I was putting that off
until the majority of the crew actually reports. Why?
Is there something I should know?
Disciplinary problems? A propensity
to attempt mutiny?”
Hawk smiled shyly, then said, “No,
sir, nothing like that. It’s just… Well…
This is my first assignment since I graduated from Starfleet Medical
only a month ago. I’m not sure if I’m
really qualified to be your Ship’s Counselor.
I’m not familiar with this ship.
I’m not familiar with your crew.
I really don’t think I should be here.”
“Is that what this is about?” Kale
asked, warming up to the nervous young officer.
She nodded, barely looking up at him.
“Come take a look at this,” he said, showing her the padd he had been
carrying. “When I left this vessel five
years ago, she was a standard Galaxy-class exploration cruiser adapted for
unassisted service in the Gamma Quadrant.
Sure, she had heavier weapons than a normal Federation starship, a
slightly larger crew compliment, and bigger and better recreational facilities
than most, but still just your run-of-the-mill Galaxy-class vessel. Now look at her…” He gestured around the lounge. “You see that ramp at the side of the room?”
Hawk looked at the remains of a ramp
built against the port side of the room that lead up to a hastily rebuilt
ceiling overhead.
“Yes, sir. Why would they put a ramp up to the ceiling
like that in a lounge?”
“That’s my point, Counselor. When I first commanded this ship, there were
two ramps, one on each side, that lead up to the larger lounge area on the deck
nine level. According to the report I
was just reading, the upper lounge was destroyed during the battle to retake DS9.
They simply covered the openings and never rebuilt. But do you see what I’m trying to say?”
Hawk looked up at Kale for perhaps
the first time and said, “Permission to speak freely, sir?”
“Always.”
Hawk seemed to lose her courage for
a moment, then finally said, “No. I
don’t sir.”
Kale sighed in frustration, then
pulling over two seats that had been toppled over on the deck, offered one to the
Counselor. She sat down on the edge,
looking like she was ready to bolt away at the slightest provocation.
“What I’m trying to tell you, Kitty…
May I call you Kitty?” Kale asked. Hawk
nodded. “What I’m trying to tell you is
if familiarity with the ship or crew were necessary for any of our jobs, none
of us would be here.” He reached over
and patted the back of her hand which rested on her knee. She looked up at Kale and smiled
slightly. Kale smiled back. “Tell you what?” he said, getting out of his
chair and heading around behind what still remained of the bar. “Let me buy you a drink. That is, if I can get this replicator
working.” Hawk could not help but laugh
as she watched Kale bang the replicator controls with his fist.
* * *
*
Kale and Counselor Hawk strolled
down the corridor of deck eight together, Kale enthralling the young Counselor
with stories of his year and a half in command of the Sarek when she was first launched.
“…And it turned out that the whole
Borg crew on that Cube were telepathic!
They knew what we were going to do before we knew ourselves!”
“Then how did you get away?” Hawk
asked, wide eyed.
“A miracle thanks entirely to
Counselor Sutherland, currently our
First Officer. She has a lot of
knowledge, experience, and ability. And
she’s an excellent counselor. If you
ever feel like you need help with your job, go see her. Even though she’s now the Exec.”
The pair came to a stop in front of
a set of doors.
“My quarters, Captain,” Hawk said,
her cheeks flushing slightly pink once again.
“Thank you for the advice. And
your stories.”
“Anytime, Counselor. And remember, my door is always open.” He gave the young officer a wink, then
started down the corridor toward his own former quarters. Hawk watched Kale walk away for a moment,
sighing under her breath before turning in to her quarters and letting the
doors swish shut behind her.
Kale continued down the corridor a
ways further, now in a surprisingly good mood.
He hummed to himself as he reached the doors of the commanding officer’s
quarters. He glanced at the name-plate
attached to the door, which still read ‘Captain Horga’hn Sehente’, Commanding
Officer,’ before slipping through them, saying, “Note to self; Have the maintenance crew change the door
signs.”
The quarters were almost exactly as
he remembered them, though starkly empty and impersonal. The main room was furnished with a couch,
cloth-draped coffee table, other comfortable chairs and end tables, a work desk
and chair, also covered with a cloth, and bookshelves, now empty…
Kale glanced again at the
bookshelf. It was not completely empty
as he had first thought. There was, in
fact, a lone hardcopy hard covered book sitting upright at the edge of one of
the upper shelves.
“It couldn’t be, could it?” Kale
said to himself, excitement rising in him briefly. He reached up and took the book off the
shelf, gently blowing a light layer of dust off the centuries-old cover, and
smiled.
‘
Captain
Kalin Kale, Commanding Officer
USS Sarek
NCC-72075, Stardate 47013 - 8570
Captain T’Veer, Commanding Officer
USS Sarek NCC-72075,
Stardate 48811 ~ 50353
Captain V’Pier N’Vorda
USS Sarek NCC-72075, Stardate 50353 -
Captain Horga’hn Sehente’, Commanding Officer
USS Sarek NCC-72075, Stardate 51264 ~ 53478
To his amazement, the tradition he
had started upon his transfer from command of the Sarek, to pass this book on to each of the new commanding officers
by leaving it as the lone personal item remaining in the CO’s quarters
bookshelf, had survived through the Dominion War until the starship’s
decommissioning.
The only thing that upset him was
what the crossouts covered between T’Veer and Sehente’s names.
“Stardate 50353 to 51264. The period of time when T’Veer had been
promoted to Rear Admiral and turned the ship over to her First Officer to
command. N’Vorda! Damn that shapeshifter!”
Kale sighed, releasing the tension
that had built up too quickly, then stared at the last stardate written into
the book.
“Two and a half years in drydock,”
he commented to himself. “Far too long
stuck here. To not be traveling out
where you belong. But that will soon
change!”
With renewed determination, Kale
turned toward the desk, pulling the cloth cover off of it and flinging it onto
the deck while he rummaged around in the desk drawer. As he hoped, there was an old-fashioned ink
pen laying near the back. He dug the pen
out and started writing under Sehente’s name.
Fleet
Captain Kalin Kale, Commanding Officer
USS Sarek
NCC-72075, Stardate 55043.5 -
With a flourish, Kale snapped the
cover shut and placed the book back up on the shelf, then set about cleaning
and organizing the quarters before heading to bed and deep sleep.
* * * *
10 Days Later
“I wish I had the time to dig my
books and stuff out of storage on Earth,” Kale said, looking around the
unadorned ready room where he oversaw the installation of a new couch and end
tables when the ship’s intercom sounded.
“Command staff to the briefing
lounge for daily status briefing,” announced the voice of Captain Kethry
Sutherland.
“Carry on, gentlemen,” the Fleet
Captain told the three crewmen who had carried the couch into the room. Kale stepped through the ready room doors
onto the bridge, noticing with pride the many new crew members working at the
various stations, installing new equipment and software programs, running
diagnostics, repairing damage that had not been repaired after the battle to
capture Deep Space Nine, or replacing
panels and console screens.
Strolling up the ramp, he crossed the
upper level of the bridge and into the doors toward the briefing lounge, down
the short hallway, and into the room where Kes, Dr Rasa, T’Ashara, and T’Reth
were already seated around the table.
Kethry Sutherland approached Kale as he stepped in.
“I need to have a word with you in
private later, Kalin,” she commented before taking her seat at Kale’s right
side.
A moment later, A-ZuRQuIL
and Lt Gomez walked in and took their seats at the table. The group quietly chatted among themselves
waiting for the meeting to begin.
Minutes passed, and Sutherland huffed more than one sigh, glaring toward
one conference lounge door or the other.
“Perhaps we should just begin,” Kale
said, picking up a padd from the table in front of him until the port side
doors swished apart and Counselor Hawk hurried in. She was blushing a bright red as she quickly
took a chair between Dr Rasa and Commander T’Ashara and mumbled an apology.
“Shall we begin?” Sutherland said,
with a pointed glare aimed at Hawk.
Sensing a need to defuse a potential
situation, Kale cleared his throat and looked at Chief of Operations T’Reth.
“What is the current manning
condition, Lieutenant?”
The Andorian officer consulted the
padd in his hand and in the characteristically soft voice of his people,
answered, “As of stardate 55065, Operations, Engineering, and Medical divisions
are fully manned to shakedown levels.
Command & Control is expecting another fifty personnel by the end of
this week. Security Department is
expecting twenty more people on the next supply ship, whenever that will
arrive. Sciences will be supported by a
decreased staff and should be manned to altered levels tomorrow.”
“In point of fact, Captain,”
interjected Commander T’Ashara, “I can not run my department on such a
diminished staff. I need more people.”
Kale could not help but smile
slightly before saying, “I commiserate, Commander, but we’ve been limited in
crew number by Starfleet Command. We’re
not really going to be doing much of any exploring during our brief
shakedown. I’m afraid Sciences will have
to deal with being undermanned for the time being until we can get this ship
back in commission.”
“Very well,” T’Ashara said, coming
as close to a sigh as a Vulcan can. “I
will adapt.”
Kale nodded, pleased, then turned to
Gomez.
“How’s Engineering holding up,
Lieutenant?”
“Well, the warp core is still where
we left it last night,” the young Chief Engineer stated, smiling broadly. “However, until we get our deuterium and
antimatter deliveries there’s not much we can do to test either the warp or
impulse drives.”
“And you expect that delivery
when…?”
“48 to 72 hours, according to the
ship yard schedulers, depending on when they can…” Gomez’s voice changed to an annoyingly nasal-pitched
bureaucrat’s tone. “…Spare a deuterium
tanker and load antimatter pods.” A
couple of people around the table giggled at the imitation, including Kale. “I get the distinct impression they don’t
really consider us a high priority, sir,” Gomez concluded.
“I know for a fact they don’t,
Lieutenant. Most of the ship yard
administrators think our mission here is a waste of time, personnel, and
resources and we probably wouldn’t even be here now if the Federation hadn’t spent
as much trying to get this ship back in the war as it originally had.” Kale gave the Hispanic Chief Engineer a look
of understanding before he resumed the meeting.
“Medical?”
Dr Rasa looked at Kale and reported,
“Sickbay is manned and ready. We’re a
little short on medical hardware… For
example, the medical tricorders we have are the same ones this ship had when we
first entered the Gamma Quadrant, but nothing I can’t work around. Oh…!
And on a more personal note, Captain, we’re fully stocked on
anti-allergy shots.”
Kale gave the Bajoran doctor a half
grateful, half sarcastic smile and nod before adding, “Does anyone else have
anything to add?”
Counselor Hawk looked up quickly at
Kale, then glanced at Sutherland before turning her attention back to the padd
she held on the table. However, the
movement caught Kale’s attention.
“Counselor?”
“Nothing to add for the moment,
Captain,” Hawk mumbled.
Kale raised an eyebrow, not
believing the Counselor, but not willing to force the issue at present.
“Very well. Dismissed.”
The Senior Staff all gathered their
belongings and headed out the two sets of doors back to whatever jobs required
their attention. Counselor Hawk headed
toward the door to the bridge, then stopped and turned toward Kale. She opened her mouth to speak before noticing
Captain Sutherland was still with the Fleet Captain, and she instead turned and
left the room.
“What’s on your mind, Kethry?” Kale
asked when the room had otherwise emptied.
“I can’t say I’m too pleased with
the performance of our new Ship’s Counselor.”
“What are you expecting,
Kethry? She’s wet behind the ears, fresh
out of the Academy, only been on the job ten days.”
“I’m having a major problem with her
style,” Sutherland added. “Always late,
or didn’t you notice? And I really don’t
think she’s got the experience we need for a ship like this.”
Kale shook his head slowly.
“I really think you’re just not
giving her a chance. I spoke with her
the other day. She’s as nervous as
hell. Didn’t think she belongs here either. But I’m pretty sure I convinced her to give
it the old college try. Can I ask you to
give her the same chance?”
Sutherland acquired a very
inflexible look for a moment.
“Come on, Kethry? For me?”
“Oh fine,” Sutherland finally said
with a sigh. “But she better shape up,
and soon.”
Kale glanced at his First Officer
with an uncompromising look.
“And just how well did you
perform on your first assignment?”
“My first assignment was a
posting to the Federation embassy on Cygnet VI, and I performed my duties quite
well, thank you very much,” Sutherland scolded back playfully. Kale smiled as well.
“I know she’s still learning the
ropes, and her work style isn’t exactly like yours. Just give her a chance, Kethry. I know she can do well.”
Sutherland finally relented, smiling
a sweet smile as she said, “Very well.
But only to please you, Kalin.”
“That’s all I ask.”
* * * *
Later that day, Kale was standing in
his quarters, putting newly replicated uniforms and the few sets of favorite
civilian clothes he had brought along with him into the drawers in his bedroom
when the door chime sounded.
“Come,” the Fleet Captain said. He heard the doors swish open, then closed
again a moment later. He stood quietly for
a moment, puzzled when no one announced their presence.
“Hello? Is someone out there?” No answer.
Starting to get annoyed, Kale tossed
the last shirt he had been folding into the open drawer and walked out into the
main room. At first he though whoever
had rang the door chime must have realized they had the wrong quarters and
simply left, until he noticed the head of short dark hair belonging to the
person sitting in the chair facing away from him.
“Good afternoon, Counselor,” Kale
said, smiling despite his annoyance, until he walked around the chair to see
the young officer staring off into space, seemingly oblivious.
“Counselor? Counselor, are you alright?”
Kale placed his hand on Hawk’s
shoulder and jostled her slightly. She
continued to stare. He shook her harder
with still no response, finally tapping his combadge with his other hand.
“Kale to sickbay.”
“Sickbay. Dr Rasa.
What can I do for you, Captain?”
Before Kale could respond, Counselor
Hawk blinked her eyes and looked up at Kale, an expression of slight confusion
on her face.
“Captain?” she asked.
Kale hesitated a moment, finally
answering Dr Rasa, “Nevermind, Doctor.
Belay my last.” Then turning his
attention to the young counselor, asked, “Is everything alright, Kitty?”
“Yes, I’m…,” Hawk started to say,
looking around the cabin as if she was not sure how she had gotten there. “How strange.”
“What?” Kale asked.
Hawk stood up and started walking
around the quarters, looking at the furnishings with mild interest as she
explained.
“I was just thinking of coming to
talk to you, Captain. I was down in the
10-Forward lounge, cleaning it up a bit when I remembered there was something I
needed to talk to you about, and I left 10-Forward and…” Hawk’s voice trailed off for a moment as she
stopped her tour around the room and looked directly at Kale. “…And then I was here, sitting in your
quarters. How did I get here?”
“I heard the door chime ring just
before I noticed you sitting out here, so I can only assume you walked here,”
Kale said.
“How strange,” Hawk said sounding
distracted, and resumed her stroll around Kale’s quarters.
Kale watched the young counselor for
a moment before he finally asked, “What was it you needed to talk to me about?”
Hawk picked up an object from the
coffee table in the middle of the room and studied it with detached interest as
she answered, “To be quite honest, Captain, I can’t recall. Really!
All I have is a… feeling, I guess
is the best description, that it was important.”
“I see. And may I ask if there are any telepathic
species, like Vulcan or Betazoid in your ancestry?” Kale asked, having dealt
with similar incidents in the past.
“No, sir. I’m 100% human, as far as I’m aware. I just can’t think of a better word to
describe it.” Hawk sat back down in the
chair Kale had first found her in and gestured to the other chair opposite it
for Kale to sit in. “While I’m here
though, if you have the time… Maybe you
could tell me a few more of your stories?”
Kale could think of not reason not
to, but instead of immediately sitting down he moved over to the replicator and
ordered himself a hot Earl Grey tea, then offered something to the Counselor
before moving over to the couch under the tall exterior viewports and gesturing
for Hawk to join him, which she did, before he continued his enthralling tales
of the USS Sarek’s missions in the
Gamma Quadrant in the years before the Dominion War.
* * * *
Five Days Later
Fleet Captain Kale was in the middle
of making one of his daily tours around the ship, to personally apprise himself
of the progress being made on the repairs and refitting in each
department. As he exited the turbolift
on deck sixteen he turned as usually toward main engineering. He was just passing the Master Situation
Monitor, which still displayed the Sarek
in her original configuration, when Chief Engineer Gomez’s voice called out to
him.
“Captain, just the person I was
looking for!” she exclaimed, then uncharacteristically grabbed his arm and
dragged him toward the aft end of engineering near the plasma conduit and a
strange looking device mounted on the deck.
“What is THAT?”
Kale had to think about it for a
moment, but smiled slightly upon remembering.
“It’s somehow tied into the shield
generators, and as far as I can tell, those markings on it are Romulan,
Captain,” Gomez continued.
“Don’t worry about it, Lieutenant,”
Kale said calmly. “Just another of the
unorthodox pieces of equipment we had to jury-rig during our adventures all
those years ago. And besides, with
everything this ship’s been through in recent years, I sincerely doubt it still
works anyway.”
“So I have your permission to rip it
out and dispose of it?” the young Chief Engineer inquired.
“No, leave it there for now,” Kale
said, the smile returning to his lips.
“I’m just a little curious.” The Fleet
Captain gazed at the device a few moments longer, then turned on his heel and
headed out of engineering, Lt Gomez staring open-mouthed at him as he turned
the corner.
* * * *
Ten Days Later
“So what you’re telling me,” Fleet
Captain Kalin Kale said to those gathered around him at the briefing lounge
table, “is that in spite of all the quandaries against us, USS Sarek is not only ready to launch but ready to launch five days
ahead of schedule?”
“That’s right, sir,” Lieutenant
Sonia Gomez replied with a smile. “All
engineering systems, including warp and impulse drive are in working order and
presently on standby.”
Kale glanced toward where the
rear-facing observation lounge windows used to be before that section of the
saucer hull had been covered with a new weapons power generator and control
station and imagined what the huge third warp nacelle that hung majestically
above the saucer looked like with the familiar electric-blue glow emanating
from the cooling veins. With an
impressed look on his face he turned to T’Reth.
“Ship systems?”
“All systems are online and
functioning within normal parameters,” the Andorian officer replied
softly. “All expected crew have reported
aboard and been assigned quarters.”
“What about the secondary systems,
like the holodecks?” Kale asked.
T’Reth and Gomez exchanged looks,
Gomez continuing to smile, before the Andorian answered, “Lieutenant Gomez and
I tested out a number of the holodeck programs last evening. We detected no glitches in the systems or
software.”
“Very impressive. I admire your work ethic,” Kale said with a
wry smile. “Sciences?”
“Stellar cartography is at nominal
performance. Science Lab 1 is fully
staffed. I have assigned as many as I
could to other divisions as best I could with the resources I was given,”
Commander T’Ashara replied.
“I would expect nothing less,
Commander,” Kale responded. “Medical?”
“Sickbay is manned and ready,” Dr
Rasa replied. “And while we only have a
few civilians onboard, family members of some of the new crew, I have managed
to find a volunteer to run the day-care and elementary school, which is in the
old learning center on Deck 6.”
“Very good, Doctor. Anything else?”
Dr Rasa glanced briefly between Kethry
Sutherland and
Kale raised a single eyebrow and
himself looked at both Sutherland and Hawk, sensing a deep-seated tension, but
it seemed no one was going to explain what was going on, so Kale continued.
“Kes?”
“The brrrridge is rrrready. Helm simply awaits yourrrr orrrrderrrr,
sirrrr.”
“Very good. A-ZuRQuIL?”
The security officer looked at his
commanding officer and said in a firm yet playful voice, “Nothing to report,
Captain, other than the distinct impression that a few members of the crew seem
to be avoiding me when I approach.”
“And would these crew members be
male?” Kale asked. A-ZuRQuIL
nodded. “And would this be before or
after you’ve… err… introduced yourself to them?”
A-ZuRQuIL winked,
knowing the captain knew his method of introduction was to pinch the derrière
of men he found attractive.
“After, of course, sir.”
“May I suggest you keep your mind on
the mission at hand and not on your hands, Commander,” Kale said half
serious. “What is the status of your
Security Department?”
“I must admit I miss having the
extra resources of the Klingon Security Detachment we had aboard during our
original mission to the Gamma Quadrant,” A-ZuRQuIL said with a sigh. “However, Security is fully manned and ready,
though on port & starboard watches until we’re assigned a full crew.”
“Understood. Very good.
I commend you all,” Kale said with a smile. “
As everyone stood and started
heading for the two doors out of the briefing lounge, Kale motioned toward
Counselor Hawk.
“Counselor, if you don’t have any
prior plans, perhaps you’d care to join me for dinner tonight?”
Hawk beamed as she answered, “I’d
love to, Captain.”
* * * *
Kale picked up the empty plates from
the table and carried them back over to the replicator, where they
dematerialized. He then looked back over
to Hawk with an inquisitive expression as she moved over to the couch.
“Tea, please,” she said in response
to his unasked question.
A moment later he returned with a
small dessert cake and three teacups, one of which he handed to the
Counselor. She looked at the extra cup
with curiosity.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Kale
said. “I invited Captain Sutherland here
for dessert and to talk about something I’ve noticed. There seems to be an underlying tension
between the two of you, and I really need it resolved if this ship is to
function properly.”
Hawk frowned slightly but did not
have a chance to say anything before the door chime rang.
“Come,” Kale invited. The doors swished open to admit Kethry
Sutherland, who sat in one of the chairs opposite Kale and Hawk and accepted
the third cup of tea.
“Now, what’s on your mind, Kethry?”
Kale asked after the three had partaken of some of the cake.
“I don’t really mean to nitpick,
Kalin,” Sutherland started off, “especially since 90% of Counselor Hawk’s work
aboard this ship has been exemplary thus far.
However…” The First Officer let
the word hang in the air for a moment.
“…However, I have noticed a distinct tardy streak. You never seem to be anywhere you’re supposed
to be on-time, Counselor.”
“I have to admit, Counselor, I’ve
noticed it too,” Kale added.
Hawk looked on the verge of tears
for a moment until she managed to compose herself.
“I have an… Well, actually, I have
no explanation, ma’am,” she answered.
“You’re lack of punctuality has
brought you to the attention of the entire command staff,” Sutherland
explained. “I find it an extreme distraction
from my normal duties. When you know you
need to be somewhere, can’t you simply head there a few minutes early? Or set a reminder for yourself in the
computer, to signal you fifteen minutes before you need to be someplace?”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried that,
ma’am?” Hawk answered, all her pent-up frustrations emerging. There hasn’t been a single meeting,
appointment, or gathering scheduled in the last three weeks that I haven’t
headed to at least thirty minutes beforehand, and I still wind up
arriving late for most of them!”
“And why is that?” Kale asked,
concern coloring his voice. “I noticed
you arrived for dinner tonight twenty minutes before I expected you.”
“Because I… I don’t know how best to describe it,
sir. I guess you can say I lose track of
time. I head to where I’m expected, and
next thing I know I’m standing in a corridor or in some strange part of the
ship and I don’t know how I even got there and it’s five minutes past when the
meeting has started and I rush in looking like an idiot and….” Hawk’s voice trailed off into silence.
“Like that day you came in here and
sat like you were in some sort of trance a couple of weeks ago?” Kale
asked. He looked at Sutherland to see if
she could detect any deception on Hawk’s part.
Sutherland glanced back at Kale, shaking her head slightly.
“Yes. Exactly like that day.”
“Have you seen Dr Rasa about this?”
Sutherland asked, pulling out a medical tricorder she had been carrying and
standing near Hawk, scanning her as the counselor answered.
“No.
I was…. afraid to.”
“Afraid? Why?” Kale asked.
“I was afraid he would find
something medically wrong with me that would get me transferred off the ship,
and it’s recently become… important to me… that I stay.”
Sutherland nodded, understanding
what Hawk meant, then completed her scans with the tricorder.
“I can find nothing medically wrong
that would account for these so-called blackouts and sleepwalking,” she said.
“But it’s true!” Hawk protested.
“I believe it’s happening,”
Sutherland clarified. “There just
doesn’t seem to be any medical reason for it.”
“Well, I’d like to see if we can
find out the reason. After we’re
finished here, have Dr Rasa place a neurocortical monitor on the counselor and
see if we can figure out what is causing this.”
“Aye, sir,” Sutherland responded.
“Once that’s done, I want both of
you to get a good night’s sleep. We all
have a big day tomorrow.”
* * * *
“Drydock signals they arrrre rrrready
to clearrrr moorrrrings, sir,” Lt Kes reported from the helm console. From the Ops station on her left Lt T’Rath
turned to look over his shoulder.
“Umbilical disconnected. We are on internal power,” he reported.
“Very well,” Kale said, the tension
preventing him from smiling. “Number
One?”
On the upper level of the bridge, at
a station behind the horseshoe, Kethry Sutherland nodded at her commanding
officer, then ordered, “Mister Kes, thrusters at station keeping. Stand by on forward maneuvering thrusters.”
“Standing by,” the Caitian
responded.
Sutherland waited a dramatic pause
before finally ordering, “Helm, take us out.”
“Take us out, aye,” Kes replied, and
deftly maneuvered the huge starship slowly out of the framework of the orbiting
drydock. Every window and viewport on
the drydock’s habitat and office module was filled with dockyard workers as
they watched the Federation’s largest and most powerful battleship pull away
for the first time.
“We are clear of the drydock,” T’Reth
reported after a few moments.
“Very well,” said Sutherland. “Helm, ahead one-quarter impulse, establish
standard orbit.”
“Ahead one-quarterrrr impulse,
standarrrrd orrrrbit, aye,” Kes replied, pressing the control pad with her
fur-covered digits, sending the starship quickly into orbit of Antares IV.
A moment later, Sutherland leaned
toward Kale and reported, “We’re free and clear to navigate, sir. Orders?”
“What’s first on our list, Mister Gomez?”
Kale asked over his shoulder to the Chief Engineer who stood at the aft bridge
engineering station.
“We’re to test impulse drive at
various speeds until we depart the Antares system, sir. Once we’re in deep space, we are to test the
weapons systems, tractor beams, and finally the warp drive. With three nacelles, we’re going to have to
be careful with that last test, sir. We
need to balance the warp field as we go.”
“Very well. Helm, set course 235 mark 6, ahead one-half
impulse,” Kale ordered.
Kes repeated the order as she
maneuvered the starship out of orbit and on a course heading out of the
system. Kale smiled back at Sutherland,
then turned and repeated the smile to Counselor Hawk, who stood on the other
side of A-ZuRQuIL behind the horseshoe. The counselor smiled a nervous smile back.
“I hate this new command arena
design,” Kale commented to those around him.
“Kethry, remind me to have the old three-seat design reinstalled when we
get back from this shakedown.”
“Yes, sir,” Sutherland
responded. “It would be nice to have a
seat on the bridge again.”
“One-half implulse,” Kes
reported. “All systems norrrrmal.”
“Very well. Stand by for full impulse. Set course 220 mark 5,” ordered Kale.
“Standing by.”
“Engage!”
A moment later, the Sarek maneuvered onto the new course
heading and the main impulse engine located at the aft-most end of the ship
opened up to full thrust.
“I’m registering a 96% efficiency on
the impulse drive,” Gomez reported.
“Impressive,” Sutherland commented.
“Quite,” Kale agreed. “As I recall, in her original configuration,
this ship’s impulse efficiency was 92%.”
“T’Veerrrr managed to rrrraise it to
94.5% on occasion,” Kes added.
Kale nodded, then said, “Helm, come
about to…” He consulted a readout on the
handgrip of his command chair, then continued, “…185 mark 9. Slow to three-quarters impulse.”
“That will take us into this
system’s asterrrroid belt,” Kes clarified as she entered the new commands into
the conn.
“I’m aware of that,” Kale said as he
stood and walked the steps down to the main bridge deck. “Mister A-ZuRQuIL, prepare your systems for a
full weapons test. ETA to the asteroid
field?”
“One hourrrr, twenty-two minutes,
prrrresent speed,” Kes informed.
“Very well. Number One, you have the conn. I’ll be in my ready room.”
Kale walked over to the doors on the
port side of the bridge and entered the ready room. As the doors swished shut behind him, he
looked around the still seemingly bare room and sighed.
“I sure wish I had the time to get
my stuff,” he said to himself before sitting at the desk and activating the
computer monitor, calling up the specifications to this uprated Galaxy-class
vessel’s new systems.
A little more than an hour later,
the intercom interrupted Kale’s study.
“Bridge to ready room. We’re approaching the asteroid belt.”
A moment later, Kale walked out onto
the bridge. Sutherland started to get up
from the command chair up on top of the new platform until the Fleet Captain
motioned for her to stay where she was.
He then walked to a spot just behind where T’Roth sat at Ops.
“Mister A-ZuRQuIL, arm
phasers and torpedoes. Lock onto one of
the moving asteroids for a target,” he ordered.
“Aye, Captain. Targeting sensors are locked. Phasers energized. Photon and Quantum torpedoes are armed.”
“Very well. Fire phasers.”
A-ZuRQuIL pressed the
activation button on his tactical panel and the main phaser strip that circled
the top of the saucer hull glowed, emitting a beam of phased energy which
struck one of the nearby asteroids, shattering pieces off of it and sending it
spinning off in a new direction. Moments
later both a photon torpedo and a quantum torpedo were fired from the forward
torpedo tube, shattering the asteroid to dust.
“Energize the phaser cannon,” Kale
ordered, referring to the large new weapon that covered the underside of the
saucer hull. “Target the asteroid
bearing 023 mark 355.”
The Sarek turned to face toward the new target a the front barrel of the
huge phaser gun glowed a bright yellow before discharging, sending a beam of
brilliant energy into the nearby asteroid.
Like a hot knife through butter, the beam cut directly through the
nickel-iron asteroid, leaving a smooth round hole in its wake.
“I would call that a successful
weapons test,” T’Roth commented, looking over his shoulder at Kale. Kale looked down at his operation officer,
not quite a smile on his face.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” the
Fleet Captain commented cryptically. “Mister
Kes, you know what to do.”
“Aye, sirrrr,” the Caitian
replied. “Activating.”
Kes pressed a control trigger on her
helm console, and a strange hum filled the bridge.
“Engineering to Lieutenant Gomez,”
came a voice over the intercom. Gomez,
where she stood at the bridge engineering station, tapped her combadge.
“Go ahead.”
“Lieutenant,” said the nervous
sounding voice of one of Gomez’s junior engineers, “That thing… I mean, piece
of equipment you asked us to keep an eye on…?
Well, it just came to life… I
think… It’s making a weird humming
noise.”
Gomez looked over at Kale, her dark
eyes locking with those of her commanding officer, until he smiled broadly.
“It’s ok, Seidel. The captain’s testing out ship systems up
here.” She closed the comlink with
another tap of her combadge, then gave Kale a questioning look. Kale, still smiling, looked down at his
helmsman.
“We’rrrre cloaked, sirrrr,” Kes
confirmed.
“A cloaking device?” Gomez said,
sounding like an accusation. “You could
have told me! I’m your chief engineer!”
“And ruin my fun?” Kale said with a
chuckle, also shared with Sutherland and A-ZuRQuIL, all three
having served aboard the Sarek when
the ship ‘acquired’ the device in early 2371.
“One final test, Mister A-ZuRQuIL.”
“Aye, sir. Firing photon torpedo.”
A moment later the bridge crew could
hear another photorp launch from the tube and streak out into space, striking
the ‘doughnut’ asteroid near the point where the phaser cannon had cored it, splitting
it into three pieces which went flying off on different tangents, striking
other drifting debris in a domino effect.
T’Roth whistled in an appreciative, if not entirely stereotypical
action.
“I’d say she’s passing the
shakedown. Captain Sutherland,
deactivate the cloak and set course for our first port of call. I’ll be down in my quarters. You have the bridge.”
“Aye, Captain. Helm, disengage cloak and set course 270 mark
10. Ahead warp 5.”
Not Quite…The End
Return to 2377.
Return to Stories Archive.