Space, the Final Frontier…

These are the voyages of the starship Dauntless!

Star Trek: Dauntless

“Shipyard – Part 1” By PJK

January 2383

Stardate 60016.4

“Approaching drydock.”

Captain Peter Koester sat in the center seat of the auxiliary bridge aboard the badly damaged Sovereign-class starship USS Dauntless. On the viewscreen, the orbital drydock where his ship would spend the next six months floated serenely over the blue-green planet of Antares III.

“Slow to maneuvering thrusters,” the captain ordered.

“Maneuvering thrusters, aye,” Commander Kevin Fry, the vessel’s Chief Helmsman and Second Officer responded from the helm.

Slowly, the Dauntless, severely damaged from its recent encounter with the terrorist species called the Zaqri, moved through the threshold of the drydock. Moments later, the thrusters fired once more, stopping the starship dead-center in the middle of the dock.

“Zero forward momentum,” Fry reported.

“Thank you, Mister Fry. Phillip, signal the shipyard that we are ready to take on external facilities and umbilicals.”

“Shipyard signals they are standing by,” Lt Commander Phillip Winters, the Chief Operations Officer reported. Moments later, a workbee from the drydock pulled a large power and facilities connection over to the engineering hull of the starship. Eventually a large airlock from the drydock control and office complex on the topmost level of the framework would be lowered down to mate with the starship’s main shuttlebay, but that procedure would have to wait until after the shuttlebay was repaired, the majority of that section of the hull still open to the vacuum of space from the recent terrorist attacks.

* * * *

For the next several days, Captain Koester and his command staff met with the shipyard supervisor, arranging for the work that would be performed on the Dauntless. The first priority was the removal of the two Zaqri vessels embedded within the Dauntless’ primary saucer hull, the first stuck in deck two just below what was left of the main bridge. The second was rammed up through the lower decks, having destroyed the Captain’s Yacht, torpedo launcher one, part of the ODN core and several of the cargo bays and crew’s quarters.

* * * *

“Sickbay to Captain Koester,” said the voice of Chief Medical Officer Dr Rasa Palin. Koester put down the personal items from his cabin that he had been packing away before tapping his combadge.

“Go ahead, Doctor.”

“We’re ready to transport the casualties,” the Bajoran doctor informed the captain. “You wanted me to let you know before we started.”

“Thank you, Doctor. I’ll be right there.”

Koester closed his suitcase, then quickly walked out of the CO’s stateroom. Moments later he stepped into sickbay, where a number of the more seriously injured members of the crew were being placed on gurneys and wheel chairs to be moved to the transporter room, where they would be beamed to one of the leading hospitals on the surface of Antares III.

As he walked in, the captain watched two orderlies push the gurney carrying Chief Piotr Zubatka, the Dauntless’ ‘Chief of the Boat.’ The Chief was in a medically-induced coma to help him cope with his severe injuries, including the loss of his right leg below the knee and right arm just below the shoulder. Dr Rasa had assured the captain that Zubatka would eventually recover, his extremities replaced with cybernetic implants, but it would take time both physically and psychologically, and it was doubtful Zubatka would ever return to duty aboard the Dauntless. The captain made a mental note that he would have to put in a request for a new Command Master Chief, wondering if he would ever find one that could measure up with either of the CMC’s he had worked with in the past.

Finally, as he moved further into the sickbay, Koester noticed the person he had mainly come to see. Commander (Carrie) K’danz was seated in a wheelchair currently being pushed by her husband, the half-Klingon Chief Engineer Dar. In her lap she was carrying a small device about fifteen centimeters square.

“How are you feeling, Exec?” Koester asked.

“A lot better than I did a few days ago,” K’danz replied. “Dr Rasa just wants me checked out in a full medical facility planetside.”

The captain looked up at his Chief Engineer and said, “Take good care of your wife, Dar. I’ve put both of you on leave for the next fourteen days. And if you need more time, just let me know.”

“But, sir, what about the overhaul?” protested Dar. “I need to be here for that.”

“Lieutenant Commander Windsor can cover for you until you get back. Relax, and take care of your wife!”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Dar finally agreed.

The captain took one more look around sickbay, a frown forming on his face.

“By the way, any idea why the EMH hasn’t been activated to help prep these patients for their move?”

Dar and K’danz exchanged a glance before the First Officer held up the device that had been in her lap toward Koester.

“What’s that?” the captain asked.

“The Emergency Medical Holographic program,” K’danz replied. “Dr Rasa asked me to transport the program planetside for safekeeping until we reactivate sickbay in a few months.”

“I see,” Koester said before taking one last look around the now-nearly empty room. “Well, enjoy your leave. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

Koester leaned down to give his First Officer a hug before shaking Dar’s hand. Then, as the two wheeled out into the corridor, the captain tapped his combadge.

“Captain Koester to Cadet Koester.”

A few seconds later, the voice of the captain’s teenage daughter replied, “Go ahead, Daddy.”

“You all packed, Gem?”

“Just downloading the last few files I want to take with me.”

“Very well. I’ll meet you in our quarters. We can beam over to the office complex together.”

Koester could hear his daughter sigh over the comm circuit before she asked, “Can’t we live on the planet like Emma and Elizabeth?”

“You know I need to stay close to the ship during the overhaul. We’ll be living in the office complex.”

“There’s nothing to do there!” Gem whined. The captain made a sigh of his own.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” Koester finally said as the last patient was moved out of sickbay and Dr Rasa nodded that he was ready to shut the medical facility down. The captain nodded his ascent, then started walking back toward his quarters on deck ten as he said, “Keep your room in the new quarters clean and your school grades high and you can have unlimited holosuite use on the office complex.”

There was a pause for a moment before Gem replied, “Okay. Deal.”

“Great. Captain, out.”

Koester paused at the doors of the turbolift, then turned around to look down the corridor as the lighting dimmed to minimal levels. The captain smiled slightly to himself, gently stroked the corridor bulkhead, then stepped into the turbolift before the doors swished shut behind him.

To Be Continued…

Continue on to “Shipyard – Part 2.”

Return to 2383.

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