Author’s Note: This story takes place the morning following
Captain Koester’s memorial service.
The transporter
beam materialized in the lobby of Starfleet Command Headquarters. K’danz stepped over toward the nearby desk, where
two enlisted petty officers sat, and checked in while explaining she was there
for an appointment with Vice Admiral Salak.
A few minutes later she entered the outer office of the Chief of
Starfleet Operations, where the same Lt Commander who had eaten dinner with the
Dauntless senior staff two nights
earlier sat at the desk.
“Good morning,
Commander. I’m Lt Commander Monteverdi,
the Admiral’s Aide,” he said. “The
admirals are expecting you. Go right
in.”
K’danz was a
little surprised to hear there was more than one admiral waiting to see
her. She stepped through the door to the
inner office, where not only the Vulcan Vice Admiral Salak waited, but also
Rear Admiral Kathryn Janeway and Vice Admiral William Ross as well.
“Commander
K’danz, reporting as ordered, sir.”
“Sit down,
Commander,” Salak said, offering her a chair between Janeway and Ross. She had not felt the way she did at that
moment since attending the Academy, being called on the carpet for some
infraction of the rules. She nervously
sat down across the desk from Salak.
“As you know, we
must figure out what to do with the Dauntless,
now that Captain Koester has been killed.
Obviously she needs a new commanding officer.”
“And you would
like my input into possible candidates?” K’danz asked.
“In a manner of
speaking,” Ross answered. “The Dauntless is a Sovereign-class
explorer. She’s one of the most powerful
designs in Starfleet. Normally, a ship
like that would require an experienced captain at the helm.”
“Understandable. Who do you have in mind?”
Janeway turned in
her seat to face the commander as she said, “As I’m sure you’re aware, I knew
Captain Koester for many years. I
thought quite highly of him, even when some of his actions were… shall we say,
…not exactly conforming to accepted Starfleet policy.”
K’danz nodded and
she could not help but smile briefly before Janeway continued.
“I also know that
Peter thought very highly of you, and that you had his full trust and
confidence, which is why, after some debate, Admiral Salak, Admiral Ross and I
have decided to offer command of the Dauntless
to you.”
Space,
the Final Frontier…
These
are the voyages of the starship Dauntless!
Star Trek: Dauntless
“Center Seat” By PJK
K’danz was
speechless. Positive she must have heard
incorrectly, she looked at Janeway with a confused expression and asked,
“Excuse me? Did you say you’re offering me command of the Dauntless?”
“You know the
ship and crew intimately, Commander,” Ross said. “You’ve served aboard her in various
capacities for over seven years. And
while you may be considered an untried commanding officer, we feel there has
been enough evidence in your past performance to be confident in your ability
to command.
“I… I don’t know what to say,” K’danz stuttered.
“Say you accept,
Commander,” Janeway suggested with a smile.
“I accept,”
K’danz finally replied.
“Congratulations,
Commander,” Admiral Salak said as everyone stood up, K’danz feeling a little
light-headed as she did.
“We’ll schedule a
promotion and change of command ceremony for 48 hours from today,” Janeway
said, shaking the stunned officer’s hand.
“Is there anywhere in particular you would like for it to occur?”
“Yes,” K’danz
said without hesitation. “Aboard the Dauntless.”
“Of course. I’ll have my staff make the arrangements,”
Janeway said.
*
* * *
The transporter
system hummed to life and K’danz materialized on the transporter platform
aboard the Dauntless. As he placed the console back into standby,
Chief Blackman asked K’danz, “How did your meeting go, Commander?”
“A lot better
than I expected,” K’danz replied, barely able to hold back a grin. “I need all department heads to meet with me
in the briefing lounge in one hour, Chief.”
“Aye, ma’am,”
Blackman replied as K’danz headed out into the corridor. Moments later she entered main engineering,
stepping up to where her husband, Lt Commander Dar, stood with Amanda Windsor,
his assistant chief engineer.
“Make sure we
have this maintenance done before we’re ready to break orbit. I want to take advantage of this lull in our
schedule to get some necessary work done ahead of schedule, including
replacement of the dilithium crystals.”
“Yes, Commander,”
“Got a minute?”
K’danz asked her husband.
“For you, I have
two minutes,” Dar replied with a smile, which caused the subdued Klingon ridges
on his bald forehead to show more obviously than usual. They stepped to the side of engineering, away
from the thrum of the intermix chamber.
“What’s up?”
“We’re going to
have a briefing in about an hour, but I had to tell you first!” Her excitement started to build, clearly
visible on her face. Dar smiled again as
he noted his wife’s exhilaration. “They
gave her to me, Dar!”
“Gave her to
you? Gave who?” It took a moment before realization dawned on
him. “The Dauntless?!? They promoted
you to captain?!?” K’danz nodded, which
prompted Dar to envelop his wife in a huge hug, lifting her feet off the
deck. “This calls for a celebration. 10-Forward?”
“It’s only
ten-hundred hours,” K’danz said appalled.
“A little early for a drink, wouldn’t you say?”
Dar looked at
K’danz with a skeptical expression and asked, “And just how often is my wife
given command of a starship?”
“Granted,” K’danz
replied after a moment’s reflection.
“Okay, but just one synthale.”
Dar smiled again
as he looked over toward Lt Commander Windsor and Lieutenant John Smith and
yelled over, “Amanda, engineering is yours for now.”
“Aye, Commander,”
* * * *
An hour later the
briefing lounge behind the bridge was full of people. Seated around the table were Commander K’danz
in her usual seat, first closest to the windows, her husband Chief Engineer
Dar, Chief Science and Second Officer Alasdair Wallace, Chief of the Boat Pono
Kyman, Doctor Justin MacMillan, Ship’s Counselor Tanzia Gera and Chief of
Operations Phillip Winters. The seat at
the head of the briefing table, where
Around the
perimeter of the room stood the rest of the department heads, Assistant Chief
Science Officer T’Ashara, Assistant Chief of Operations Setton To’Lock Arbelo,
Chief of Security Sean McIntyre and his Assistant April Mendez, and the ship’s
Strategic Operations Officer Carter Breitling.
“Thank you for
all coming on such short notice,” K’danz said as she started the briefing. “As promised, I’m letting you know what’s
happening with the Dauntless in the
aftermath of Captain Koester’s recent death.”
K’danz looked
around the room at everyone, their eyes all looking at the first officer
intently.
“Starfleet has
seen fit to assign me as the next commander of the Dauntless…”
Before K’danz
could continue her sentence, the briefing lounge broke out in applause. She let it continue for a few seconds before
raising her hands to stop it.
“Congratulations,
Captain,” Kyman said as the applause died down.
“Not yet. Not for a few more days,” K’danz said, her
face a bright red from embarrassment.
“Captain-select,”
Kyman corrected himself. “When does it
become official?”
“Admiral Janeway
is making the arrangements, but the ceremony will be held aboard the Dauntless in two days.”
Again the crew
started applauding for ten or fifteen seconds more. As the applause subsided, K’danz continued.
“As I’m sure your
realize, we’re going to need a new first officer. Those among you with the requisite
qualifications, including bridge officer certification and command officer
certification, are welcome to submit your resumes through Yeoman Donato. Now, are there any other questions?”
Several questions
were raised, such as how the change in command might alter the starship’s
mission. K’danz answered the questions
to the best of her ability. She then
made one last announcement.
“Speaking of
ceremonies, we have another ceremony that will take place down in the Marine
Barracks in fifteen minutes.” She turned
to look at McIntyre and asked, “Is everything ready, Colonel?”
“All set,
Comman… I mean, Captain,” the Marine
Contingent Commander said with a grin.
He then tapped his combadge and said, “McIntyre to Lieutenant Drake.”
“Drake. Go ahead, Colonel,” came the reply.
“Lieutenant, meet
me in the main briefing room in twenty minutes.”
There was a brief
pause on Drake’s end of the communication before the Marine’s voice replied,
“Sir, yes, sir.”
McIntyre nodded
toward K’danz, who then told the gathering, “Thank you everyone. Dismissed.”
Then as the crew filed out through the two doors onto the bridge, she
tapped her combadge and said, “K’danz to Lt Commander Drake.”
“Drake. Go ahead, Commander,” replied the voice of
Laura Drake, Michael Drake’s wife and one of the starship’s science officers.
“Commander, I
need you to report to the Marine Barracks main briefing room in fifteen
minutes. I have a surprise for you.”
“On my way,
Commander,” replied the science officer’s surprised sounding voice.
Fifteen minutes
later, another group was gathered in the Marine’s main briefing room. This time the group included McIntyre,
Mendez, K’danz, Dar, Lt Commander Laura Drake, the Klingon Lieutenant Rinja
Ka’Dan, Marine pilots Cron and Jeong-Hwan, Gunnery Sergeant Christopher ‘Olly’
O’Laughlin and several of the other enlisted Marines. A few minutes later, 1st
Lieutenant Michael C. Drake walked into the room, stopping short when he
realized there was such a crowd in the briefing room.
“1st
Lieutenant Michael Drake, front and center!” McIntyre ordered. With a look akin to fear on his injured face,
Drake stepped to the front of the room near McIntyre and snapped to
attention. McIntyre glanced at Mendez
and nodded.
“1st
Lieutenant Michael Drake,” she said, reading off of a padd. “For service above and beyond the call of
duty while serving as part of the away team on Erma, also known as Capria IV,
including your selfless attempt to rescue
Drake’s mouth
almost dropped open in shock as McIntyre stepped forward and removed the single
silver bar from his uniform collar and replaced it with the twin silver bars of
a captain. He then shook Drake’s hand in
congratulations as the crowd in the room started to applaud. Shortly after, the room started to empty as
each person offered their own congratulations, until only Drake, his wife
Laura, McIntyre, K’danz and Dar remained.
“I’m so proud of
you!” Laura Drake told her husband as she embraced him.
“Good work,
Captain,” Dar added, likewise shaking the Marine’s hand.
Drake looked at
K’danz, his expression growing weary as he said, “I only wish I could have
saved him. Or died in his place.”
“You did your
best,” K’danz assured him.
“Has Starfleet
decided who will be taking command of the Dauntless,
now that the Captain is gone?” Drake asked.
“You’re looking
at her, Lieu… I mean, Captain,” McIntyre
announced.
“Really?” Drake
asked before offering his own handshake to K’danz. “Then I guess we can start calling each other
captain. Right, Captain?”
“Captain-select,
actually,” K’danz corrected. “It’ll be a
few more days.”
“Well,
congratulations none the less,” Laura Drake added.
*
* * *
Later that
afternoon, K’danz decided to check in on
“Come,” replied
the voice of the teenaged girl. The
doors swished aside to admit K’danz, who found not only Commander Petersen and
the young Koester inside, but Ship’s Counselor Tanzia Gera as well.
I just thought I
would stop by to see how everyone is doing,” K’danz said as she noticed Petersen
was packing stuff away in a box.
“I’m just packing
up a few sentimental items,” Petersen explained. “Things I gave to Peter when we were on shore
leave together.”
“Oh. I thought you were packing up Gem’s
belongings,” Kdanz said.
“What do you mean?” Petersen asked, pausing
her packing to look at K’danz. “Why
would I be packing Gem’s things?”
“Well, Gem has no
other immediate family left,” Counselor Gera explained, looking over toward the
teenaged girl who looked back at the joined-Trill from her bedroom door across
the stateroom. The girl had known this
discussion was coming ever since the Dauntless
set course back to Earth, and dreaded its outcome. “Her father is now dead, her mother died
years ago. Her paternal grandparents,
who cared for her during the war, have passed away. You’re all she has left.”
Petersen’s eyes widened
in shock at the realization the thought had not occurred to her before.
“I don’t want to
leave the Dauntless,” Gem started to
say, but was cut off by her step-mother.
“I can’t take her
aboard the McAuliffe with me. The McAuliffe
is too small. We’re just a science
vessel, and one that was first commissioned almost a century ago at that. She wasn’t built to carry families like the
newer starships such as the Dauntless
are. And we’re about to embark on a
special survey mission beyond System J-25 in a few weeks. I can’t ask for a transfer at this point, and
we probably won’t be back in Federation space for at least two years!”
“I really don’t want to leave the Dauntless, Carrie,” Gem pleaded.
K’danz looked at
Counselor Gera with a look of frustration.
“Then what do we
do with her?” she asked.
“Let me talk to a
few people,”
*
* * *
That evening,
K’danz sat at the desk in her quarters, four stacks of padds piled on top. Each padd contained the resume of an officer
qualified for the position of first officer.
Some of the names she recognized, either from knowing them personally,
such as Commander Alasdair Wallace, or just from the fame of the starships they
had served aboard, like Commander Geordie LaForge of the
As she continued
her research, her husband Dar entered the quarters, wiping his hands on an oily
rag that he tossed into the replicator opening.
“Rough day?”
K’danz asked, briefly looking up at her husband.
“Not too
bad. We got the dilithium matrix
replaced and realigned,” Dar replied.
“It’s nice being able to work without the pressure of keeping up with a
mission at the same time.” The
half-Klingon chief engineer walked over toward the desk as he asked, “Still
looking at potential first officers?”
“Yeah,” K’danz sighed. “I didn’t realize there would be so many
applicants.” She pointed at the four
stacks and explained, “These are the ones I know wouldn’t work out. Those are the ones I’m going to give a second
look. That small pile in the middle are
the maybes.”
“And the big pile
on your left?” Dar asked.
“…Are the ones I
still have to go through.”
Dar walked back
over to the replicator, where the rag had already dematerialized, and ordered
two drinks. He carried one over to K’danz
and placed it on the desk in front of her.
“Any candidates
stand out to you?”
“I considered
Commander LaForge of the
“You know, you
don’t have to be best friend with your XO,” Dar said as he removed his uniform
jacket and sat down on the couch across the room from the desk and started
sipping from his beer.
“I know, but I
want to at least get along with them,” she said, placing another padd on the
‘no’ stack. “I suppose if it comes right
down to it, I could always just appoint Alasdair.”
K’danz took a sip
from her own mug before she grabbed the next padd. Her eyebrows knit as she started reading it,
her expression quickly changing to intense interest.
“Now this is
someone I think I could get along with,” she remarked as she tossed the padd
across the room to her husband. He
started reading the file displayed on the screen before looking up at his wife.
“Are you kidding?”
he asked.
“Not in the
least,” K’danz replied as she touched the intercom control near her computer
monitor. “Bridge, K’danz.”
“Commander
Wallace,” came the quick reply.
“Commander, I
need to speak to Admiral Janeway as soon as possible.”
“Aye, Commander,”
Wallace replied.
*
* * *
The following
evening, the entire command staff and all department heads and as many members
of the Dauntless crew as could fit
were crammed into the 10-Forward lounge.
All wore their dress uniforms.
As the ship’s
bell rung six bells, marking 1900 hours, the doors to the lounge slid open,
admitting Commander K’danz, her husband Dar and Rear Admiral Kathryn
Janeway. All three made their way
through the crowd to the front of the room, closest to the large forward facing
windows overlooking the blue-white planet Earth and, in the distance, the
immense orbiting facility called Spacedock
One. K’danz took her place in front
of Janeway, her right side facing the crowd so that they could see her rank
pips, Dar by her left side, as the admiral started to say, “The Chief of
Starfleet Operations is pleased to authorize you to assume the title and wear
the uniform of Captain, United Federation of Planets Starfleet, effective immediately. Your appointment as Captain carries with it
the obligation that you exercise increased authority and willingly accept
greater responsibility.” Janeway reached
up and added a fourth gold pip to the white collar of K’danz’s uniform. “Now occupying a position of greater
authority, you must strive with a renewed dedication toward the valued ideal of
service with honor.” The admiral then
offered her hand to K’danz as she said, “Congratulations, Captain.”
The lounge
erupted in applause as Janeway nodded to Dar, who after hugging his wife,
handed her a padd. As K’danz turned to
directly face the crowd before her, Dar announced, “Attention to orders!” The crew all snapped immediately to
attention.
Captain K’danz
pressed the button on the padd, then started reading from it.
“To Captain
K’danz, stardate 62131.5; You are requested and required to assume command of
the Federation starship USS Dauntless,
registry number NCC-75310, as of this
date. Signed, Salak, Vice Admiral, Chief
of Starfleet Operations.”
Janeway then
looked up slightly as she addressed the starship’s computer.
“Computer,
transfer all command codes to Captain K’danz. Voice authorization: Janeway,
Kathryn, Rear Admiral, Starfleet Command.
Authorization Janeway-8-4-1-Alpha-6-5.”
The computer
bleeped its customary acknowledgement before replying, “Transfer complete. USS Dauntless now under command of
Captain K’danz.”
As the gathered
crew started applauding again, Admiral Janeway leaned close to a grinning
K’danz and said, “Are you sure you want Tom for your First Officer? He can be a little brash at times.”
“I’m sure,”
K’danz said with a nod as both she and Janeway accepted glasses of champagne
from a passing steward. “It’s precisely
that brashness that I think I’m going to need.”
“Well, the
transfer has been approved. And I know
he’s been looking for a change of scenery,” Janeway said after a sip of her
bubbly drink. “After all, he’s spent
almost fifteen years serving aboard the same starship. Of course, the first few years weren’t
entirely by his own choice. But I’ve
received word he’s already on a transport heading back toward Earth now. Should be aboard the Dauntless in five days.”
“Thank you,
Admiral,” K’danz said. “I’d hate to
delay our next mission any more than necessary just because we’re waiting for
the new XO to arrive.”
Janeway nodded,
then asked, “May I offer you a little advice, Captain?”
“Of course,”
K’danz replied.
“There are three
things to remember about being a starship captain:” Janeway said, summing up
years of experience in a single short sentence.
“Keep your shirt tucked in, go down with the ship, and never abandon a
member of your crew.”
*
* * *
Later that night,
as the festivities were starting to wind down, only a few dozen people remained
in 10-Forward, not much more than a typical night in the main lounge. K’danz and Dar were relaxing at a table close
to the forward port windows, enjoying the last of their champagne. K’danz looked across the room toward the bar,
where she noticed Counselor Gera and Chief Kyman talking with Commander Petersen
and
“With your
permission, Captain, we believe we may have come up with a workable solution to
the question of Gem’s future living arrangements,”
“May I stay
aboard the Dauntless with the
Counselor and Gunny,” Gem asked in her sweetest voice. When K’danz looked at the teen with an
expression of curiosity,
“We discussed
this with Commander Petersen, Gem and everyone involved. With your permission, Gem can stay aboard the
Dauntless under the care of myself,
Gunnery Sergeant O’Laughlin and Chief Kyman.
That way we all know she would be well cared for and Commander Petersen
could leave on her mission without worrying.”
K’danz put her
mug down on the table and leaned toward Gem.
“Cadet Koester,”
she said, using Gem’s FSC title. “If I
allow you to stay aboard, will you promise to obey the people who have
volunteered to take care of you, including Commander Dar and myself, as you
would your father? And perhaps even help
out aboard the ship from time to time?”
“I’ll do anything
you want, as long as I can stay here with you,” Gem replied.
“Then yes, I
grant you permission to remain aboard.
I’ll have the yeoman assign you new quarters.” She looked up at Counselor Gera and asked,
“Would it be alright if I move you to new quarters with two bedrooms to share
with Gem, Counselor?”
“Why not? I was looking for an upgrade in quarters,”
“It’s settled
then,” K’danz said. “Welcome to the
crew, Cadet.”
*
* * *
The morning after
the change of command ceremony, Captain K’danz entered the briefing lounge
behind the bridge early, preparing to give her first status brief as commanding
officer of the Dauntless, accompanied
into the room by the Chief of the Boat, Pono Kyman. The Chief noticed his new captain head for
her accustomed seat near the window until she passed the seat at the head of
the table and paused to look at it. She
seemed about to sit in the head chair for a second, then seemed to pause again
and leaned toward her usual chair instead.
“Go ahead,
Skipper, it’s your chair now,” Kyman prompted.
K’danz looked at the
“I know. It’s just that, even gone, I can feel his
presence here. As if he’s never really
left,” she said.
“He would be
proud of you becoming our new CO. Don’t
disappoint him,” Kyman said. “Be the best
captain you can be.”
K’danz paused
with her hand on the back of the chair for a moment before saying to Kyman,
“Thank you,
“Respectfully request
permission to transfer, Captain,” Winters said.
K’danz looked at the padd she had been handed, which displayed Winters’
written request, then back up at the ops officer with surprise.
“Why?” she simply
asked.
“As I’m sure
you’re aware, I’ve served aboard this ship as Chief of Operations for ten years
now, and with Captain Koester for three years aboard the Intrepid-class Dauntless before that. I believe the time has come for a change, and
the loss of the captain has confused me.
We weren’t supposed to lose him like this. I need some time to regain my bearing and
figure out what direction everything is going in.”
K’danz looked
back at Winters’ request on the padd for a moment before saying, “You do
realize this is a difficult transition for all of us, don’t you? I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye on
everything, but I could use a competent, experienced officer at ops. Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”
“I believe I
would be far too distracted to be an effective officer at this point,” Winters
replied before vaguely saying, “I need to figure out what is going on in the
universe, and I can’t do it from behind the ops console on the bridge. I also believe Leftenant Commander Arbelo has
grown in his position quite well. He
would be a more than adequate replacement for me as Chief of Operations.”
K’danz silently
studied Winters face for a moment, as if trying to read what was going on in
the mysterious officer’s mind. From
across the room, Kyman silently looked back and forth between the two
officers. K’danz finally released a sigh
before pressing several buttons on the padd, adding her virtual signature to
the request, and standing up as she handed it back to Winters.
“Request
granted,” K’danz said. “Good luck,
Phillip, in whatever endeavor you choose.”
“Thank you,
Captain,” Winters replied before nodding a final time toward Chief Kyman and
turning to leave. Kyman exchanged a look
with the captain before taking his own seat just as the rest of the senior
staff started entering the lounge for the morning briefing.
“Captain to Lt
Commander Arbelo,” K’danz said after returning to her seat and tapping her
combadge.
“Arbelo here,”
replied the Vulcan-Terran-Efrosian officer’s voice.
“Commander,
please report to the briefing lounge for the daily brief,” she ordered. “Commander Winters is no longer with us.”
*
* * *
Several days
later, the Dauntless was preparing to
get underway. Commander Petersen had
left the day prior, heading back to the McAuliffe,
which would soon be departing on its own new mission. The captain’s quarters had been cleared out,
everything that Petersen had left behind that Gem did not move to the new
quarters she shared with Counselor Gera packed away into storage in cargo bay
one, and both K’danz and Dar had moved into the captain’s quarters.
K’danz was
sitting in the center seat on the bridge, reviewing the latest crew manifest,
when the turbolift to her right opened and a man wearing a command red uniform
with the three pips of a commander and the same shade of reddish-brown hair as
the captain stepped out and, after a brief look around the bridge, over to the
command chair. He held out a small padd
to the captain as he said, “Commander Thomas Eugene Paris, reporting for duty,
ma’am.”
“Welcome aboard
the Dauntless, Commander,” K’danz
said as she stood up and shook her new executive officer’s hand.
“I still can’t
get used to being called commander.
Please, call me Tom,”
“Only if you call
me Carrie,” K’danz replied.
“Deal,”
“Well, she’s may
not be as nimble as Voyager, but she
can do zero to warp 9.95 in less than fifteen seconds.”
“Just as long as
you let the helmsman do their job from time to time,” K’danz admonished with a
smile. “Welcome aboard, Tom.”
The End
Return to 2385.
Return to Stories Archive.