Captain’s log, stardate 63011.0:
It feels good to be back home again!
While waiting for the Bellerophon to
complete the refit following her last mission, the Dauntless crew has used the extra time available to
conduct some much needed maintenance. We’ve
also been adjusting to the scrambling of our crew, as several senior officers
have been transferred to department head positions aboard the Bellerophon.
That means I need to find some replacements.
Koester, commanding Dauntless (again),
out.
Atop the desk sat
several piles of padds. One pile was so
tall it was in danger of falling over and toppling several padds onto the deck as
Koester put another one on top. He then
picked up the next from another pile and started reading it, his eyebrows
knitting with annoyance until the door chime rang.
“Come,” Koester
said as he looked up from the padd. The
door swished open, admitting the captain’s teenage daughter, Gem.
“Hey, Daddy. What’re you doing?” she asked, looking at the
piles of padds and catching those that suddenly fell as the breeze from the
door knocked over the unstable pile.
“I’m trying to
choose a new first officer before the ship needs to leave Spacedock,” Koester
replied. “There are so many qualified
applicants, but I can’t find any that I think I could work with as well as I
did Carrie. What about you? Still no chance I can talk you into moving
back in with me?”
Gem sighed and
rolled her eyes like she had every time her father had raised the same subject
before saying, “I told you, I like sharing a cabin with Tanzi. And I like having some degree of
independence. You know, when you were ‘dead’
I was on my own for almost a year!”
Before the
captain could respond, a familiar voice came from his combadge.
“Bridge to Cap’n
Koester.”
Koester tapped
his combadge as he glared at his daughter one last time before saying, “Go
ahead, Mister Wallace.”
“Cap’n, Admiral
Janeway has requested your presence in Observation Lounge 6 aboard Spacedock. ASAP.”
“Very well. Tell her I’m on my way.”
Koester tapped
his communicator once again and, after shooing his daughter out of the cabin
before she started snooping in his boxes again, headed to the transporter room
and beamed over to the spacedock hub. A
few minutes later he entered Observation Lounge 6.
The observation
lounge was one of many built within the tall central hub of spacedock, with
large windows looking out on the starship mooring slips. This particular lounge afforded a close-up view
of the Sovereign-class starship Dauntless
and, just beyond, the smaller Intrepid-class USS Bellerophon, the ship which Koester’s former first officer now
commanded. As the captain walked in he
saw Rear Admiral Kathryn Janeway, an old friend since their mutual service aboard
the USS Al-Batani when Koester was a
young ensign, standing at the window watching the activity outside.
“
“Hello, Peter,”
she said in her typically husky voice before gesturing toward a couple of
chairs around a small conference table near the center of the room. “We’re just waiting for Captain K’danz to
arrive, and then we can begin.”
“Begin what?”
Koester asked as he took one of the seats.
“The mission of
the Fifth Fleet,” Janeway replied.
Space,
the Final Frontier…
These
are the voyages of the crew of the Fifth Fleet!
Their
ongoing mission;
Seeking
out new life and new civilizations,
Boldly
going where none have been before!
Star Trek:
Fifth Fleet
“The Formation of the Fleet” By PJK
As Admiral
Janeway and Captain Koester enjoyed a casual conversation, the doors of the
observation lounge opened once again to admit Captain (Carrie) K’danz, newly
appointed commanding officer of the USS
Bellerophon and Koester’s former first officer.
“Now that
everyone is here we can start,” Janeway said.
“As you both already know, the Federation Fifth Fleet played an
important role in recapturing Deep Space
Nine during the war, but the fleet was disbanded once the Dominion
surrendered. Your ships are both being
assigned to the newly reformed Federation Fifth Fleet, but rather than a fleet
of war, the new Fifth Fleet will be a fleet of peace and exploration. The fleet’s main base of operation will be Starbase 719.”
“I’ve never heard
of Starbase 719,” Koester
commented. “Where is that?”
“It’s a new
station Starfleet has built just beyond the Typhon Expanse,” Janeway
replied. “It was built with the purpose
of exploration in that region of the galaxy expressly in mind. Construction is expected to be complete in
the next several weeks.”
“The base is
under the command of an old shipmate of mine from the Sarek, Val’ri Raiajh,” K’danz added. “She’s a Rear Admiral now, too.”
“Speaking of the Sarek, we’re in the process of reassigning
that starship to the Fifth Fleet as well.
“Fleet Captain
Kale’s ship? Really?” Koester remarked.
“Actually, Commodore
Kale and his wife have accepted a new assignment to Sierra Outpost II. The
Commodore has been put in charge of the Neutral Zone Outposts,” Janeway
informed. “The Sarek is now under the command of his former first officer, Captain
Kethry Sutherland.”
“Kethry is a
starship commander now?” Koester asked in amazement.
“You know her?”
the admiral asked. K’danz nodded as she
answered.
“She was our Ship’s
Counselor when I was aboard the Sarek
fifteen years ago, and aboard the Dauntless-74658.”
“And my Chief Medical
Officer for the last year I was in command of the Dauntless before I was appointed the Presidential Aide-de-Camp. Wow!
Seems like everyone is getting promoted,” Koester said.
“Speaking of
which…,” Janeway said, standing up and picking up a small box that had been
sitting on the conference table. “Stand
up, Peter.”
Koester was
confused until he suddenly realized what was about to happen.
“Hold on a
second!” he warned. “That box better not
contain what I think it does.”
Janeway flicked
open the top of the box, revealing the two gold circles inside a black box
insignia of a Starfleet rear admiral, like the ones Janeway herself wore on her
collar.
“Oh no! You’re not promoting me! Last time I accepted admiral’s bars it took
me off the bridge of my ship! I’m not making
that mistake again!”
Janeway looked
confused.
“Peter, your ship
will be the flagship of the new fleet. A
flagship requires the flag officer in charge of the fleet aboard. I can’t think of a better person to…”
“I said no,”
Koester reiterated firmly. “With all due
respect, Admiral, but I’ve had as much inside exposure to the Admiralty as I
can take. Keep me in the center seat of
my starship where I’m happy.”
“Then who are we
going to place in overall command of the fleet?” Janeway asked. “Carrie is too junior a captain to even be
considered for such a position…”
“What about
Admiral Raiajh?” Koester suggested. “You
just told me she was in command of the starbase?”
“Exactly,”
Janeway replied. “Val’ri is the starbase
and sector commander. And while she may
occasionally ride one of the ships in the fleet, she won’t be in charge of the
fleet itself. She would report to the
fleet commander.”
All three
officers sat in silent contemplation for a moment, trying to resolve the dilemma,
when suddenly a thought occurred to Captain Koester.
“What about
Admiral Fil? Starfleet has been trying
to figure out what to do with him since he was rescued from Zera IV. Aboard the Dauntless he’s been serving as a roving Federation Ambassador-at-Large. He’s already settled in aboard the Dauntless. Why not put him in charge of the fleet? That way you have your Flag officer and I
still have my center seat?
Janeway seemed to
contemplate the suggestion for a moment before saying, “I like that idea. And it’s about time Penji was given a proper
assignment instead of just sitting around aboard the Dauntless waiting. I’ll
bring it up to Owen this evening and see what he has to say about it. In the meantime we’ll table the issue and
continue with the brief.” Janeway closed
the box with the admiral’s bars in it and returned it to the table top. “Bellerophon
will finish her refit in one week. At
that time, Admiral Raiajh will be finishing her final brief here at Starfleet. Dauntless
is assigned to transport her back to Starbase
719, so at that time both of your starships will depart for the Typhon
Sector where you will rendezvous…”
* * * *
The captain
walked up the steps in Ops and pressed the door chime to the station commander’s
office. “Come,” said a female voice from
inside. A moment later the door slid
open and William McLeod stepped inside.
“Commanding
Officer, USS Besiege, reporting,”
McLeod formally announced.
Captain Kira
Nerys, the commanding officer of Starbase Deep
Space Nine, stood up behind her desk and offered the human man with long
hair pulled back in a Klingon-style her hand as she introduced herself, then
offered her guest a seat across from her.
“How was your
patrol along the Cardassian border?” she asked.
“Quiet,” McLeod replied. “Very quiet, like it has been since the end
of the war. And boring, to be frank,
Captain. With the exception of an
incident involving some smugglers in the
“Then perhaps
this is your lucky day,” Kira remarked as she slid a padd across her desk to
McLeod. The Besiege’s commander picked up the device and activated it.
“Reassignment?”
he asked after reading partway through the new orders.
“To a whole new
sector of space, from what I understand,” Kira said with a nod. “You’re being assigned exploration duty. Should be more exciting than border patrol.”
“But the Besiege is a warship…”
“Ah-ah!” Kira
interrupted, shaking her index finger. “Escort. Starfleet doesn’t have ‘warships.’“
“Yeah, right,”
McLeod replied with a smirk. “Be that as
it may, I’m in command of one of the most powerful weapons in the Federation
arsenal. We’re not equipped for
exploration!”
“Neither is the Defiant, if you recall, but that didn’t
stop my first officer from conducting a three month mission of exploration, the
first since the end of the war, in the Gamma Quadrant.”
McLeod nodded in
reluctant agreement before Kira explained his new orders further.
“Your ship is to detach
from your current mission no later than stardate 63030. At that time you will proceed to Starbase 719 in the Typhon Sector, where
you will report to Rear Admiral Val’ri Raiajh…”
“Val’ri?!?”
McLeod interrupted.
“You know the
Admiral?” Kira inquired.
“She was my
commanding officer for a time. The Besiege’s first captain. She was in command during the early months of
the Klingon conflict in 2372. I lost contact
with her after she was appointed a sector coordinator. I thought she left Starfleet when the war
ended to spend more time with her family.”
“Apparently not,”
Kira remarked. “Now she’s officer in
charge of the new starbase beyond the Typhon Expanse and commander of the
entire sector.”
“Okay. But why the change? And why does Starfleet think they need a
battleship…”
“Escort!”
“…Battleship! …to explore a new area of space?”
“Well, I’m not
privy to all the details, but your starship is just one of several that are
being assigned to a new fleet that will be exploring that newly opened region
of space. And with the new Federation
outpost being so far outside the normal space-lanes, I’m sure the Besiege will
be filling the role for 719 that the Defiant fills here at DS9.”
Well, if nothing
else it will be a change of pace,” McLeod admitted before tapping his
combadge. “McLeod to Besiege.”
“Besiege,
“We’re going to
be docked here a few days, Number One. I’m
authorizing shore leave for the next 24…”
McLeod paused when he noticed Kira shaking her head, then remembered the
length of the normal Bajoran day that DS9
followed. “…I mean, 26 hours. After that we’re off to the Typhon Sector.”
“Aye, Captain. I’ve been itching to get off this beast for
weeks. I’ll meet you in Quark’s in an
hour?”
“First round is
on you, Taras,” the captain agreed. “McLeod,
out.” He then thanked Kira for the
information and, taking the padd with his starship’s new orders on them, headed
out the office doors.
* * * *
“Attention on
deck!”
All the newly-arrived
Marines aboard the USS Bellerophon stopped
cleaning their weapons and polishing their boots and jumped to their feet as
their new commanding officer, Marine Captain Michael C. Drake, walked into the
shuttlebay with his new First Sergeant, Al Paone.
“At ease,” Drake
ordered. The Marines assumed their
parade-rest stance. Drake looked over
his men and women for a moment, walking down the line and making ‘tsk-tsk’
noises before reaching the far end and turning around. He then looked at his First Sergeant and
asked, “Have you ever seen such sorry excuses for jarheads in your life, First
Sergeant?”
“Sir, no, sir,” First
Sergeant Paone responded promptly. “I
was wondering when the Corps was going to let us in on the joke and send us
some real Marines, sir.”
“Actually, First
Sergeant, I think the joke may be on the Corps,” Drake said with a smirk. “These may be all we get. The Belle
never had a Marine contingent assigned before, so they sent us the bottom of
the barrel. The dregs. Pond scum.” Drake paused, eyeing his troops once
again. “Think you can make anything out
of them, First Sergeant?”
“I think it would
be easier to simply open the shuttlebay door and start from scratch, sir.” Drake noticed several of his Marine’s eyes
widen as they looked at the First Sergeant.
He smiled to himself. “But with the
proper time and materials, I think I could whip them into proper Marines. …Given a few years.”
“Very well. You have your work cut out for you, First
Sergeant. Carry on.”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
the First Sergeant replied before turning to face the assembled Marines. “Uniform inspection, 1600 hours! Anyone who doesn’t pass does seventy-five
laps around deck 8!”
Drake smiled to
himself again as he turned and left the shuttlebay, heading for his new office
nearby.
* * * *
Aboard the USS Sarek, Captain Kethry Sutherland sat
behind her desk in the ready room, reviewing the overhaul schedule. The Galaxy-class starship had spent the last
year in drydock at Utopia Planitia undergoing modernization and conversion,
returning the vessel back to almost its original configuration after seven
years of protest by the Vulcan government over their greatest statesman’s name
being associated with the Federation’s most powerful warship, and it had been
only a week since the new bridge module had been restored to habitability. Sutherland had missed the use of her ready
room.
The captain’s
review of her paperwork was interrupted by the door chime. “Come,” Sutherland said as she put down the
padd she was reviewing. The doors
swished open to admit Sutherland’s Chief of Security, Lt Commander A-ZuRQuIL. The tall Capellan warrior stepped over to the
captain’s desk, a padd of his own in his right hand.
“What’s up,
Quil?” the half-Betazoid captain asked.
“Is engineering still having problems rebalancing the warp core for only
two nacelles?”
“Commander Gomez
is still cursing out the shipyard rep, but has assured me the core will be
on-line on schedule. We have also
received new orders, Captain.”
“Really?” Sutherland
said in surprise. “We’re not even out of
drydock yet!”
A-ZuRQuIL
handed his padd to the captain as he said, “Not mission orders. The Sarek
is being assigned to a new fleet.”
“The Fifth
Fleet? I thought Starfleet had
deactivated the Fifth after the Dominion War ended?”
“Starfleet has
decided to reactivate the Fifth as an exploration fleet, based at a new
starbase beyond the Typhon Expanse,” A-ZuRQuIL explained.
“Starbase 719 according to these orders,”
Sutherland commented.
“Did you notice who
is in command of the starbase?” the security officer asked, grinning like he
was hiding a secret. The captain scanned
further down the document.
“Val’ri
Raiajh?!?” she exclaimed in disbelief, looking at the orders on the padd in
more detail. “Whoa! And the fleet flagship is going to be the Dauntless!”
“You served on
that starship, did you not?”
“As counselor and
chief medical officer,” Sutherland confirmed.
Her expression became further amazed as she read more. “The fleet will be under the overall command
of Penji Fil! Looks like its going to be
homecoming week at 719.”
“Oh boy! A family reunion!” A-ZuRQuIL
said with a chuckle. “Do you think Penji
will remember me?”
“You’re a hard
man to forget, Quil,” Sutherland assured her security chief as she handed the
padd back to him. “Make sure the crew is
informed of the new orders. It’s more imperative
than ever that we leave drydock on time!”
* * * *
The transporter
beam materialized on the quad of
It had been many
years since Koester had been inside Cochrane Hall, since upon graduation from
the Academy his career had been spent divided among the security, operations
and command divisions, though as a graduate of the Academy he had a more than
basic understanding of engineering concepts and warp theory. As a commanding officer, he had grown to
trust and depend on the officers in charge of his engines, and that is what had
brought him to the Academy grounds that day.
Finally arriving
at the indicated lecture hall, Koester looked in through the small window on
the door. The hall was full of academy
cadets, the majority wearing the gold-shouldered engineering specialty uniforms
with a smattering of red and blue mixed in.
At the head of the class, standing behind a podium, stood the class professor.
The professor was
a Vulcan, wearing ordinary civilian clothes.
Upon first arriving for class, most of his students believed it was
going to be boring, with a lot of statistical analysis and raw facts lectured
in an unending monotony, as was normal with most classes taught by
Vulcans. Most of the cadets were
surprised to realize that Professor Bloom was no ordinary Vulcan, a realization
they usually made when he cracked his first joke sometime during the first day
of class each semester.
Professor Jeffery
Bloom was not your typical Vulcan.
Having been born aboard a Vulcan survey vessel, he was still an infant
when the ship was nearly destroyed in an accident, leaving him as the sole
survivor of the crew. Taken to Earth
after being rescued, where the Vulcan baby was nursed back to health, he was
adopted by a human family living in Earth’s southern region of the North
American continent in a commonwealth called
Koester slipped
into the lecture hall and into one of the empty seats in the back row, where he
listened to the ongoing lecture. Bloom
activated a holographic display, which showed the inner workings of a
Galaxy-class warp drive that floated a few meters off the floor near the front
of the room, slowly revolving.
“The design
installed aboard the Nebula-class proved to be a radical improvement over the
Excelsior and Ambassador-class intermix chambers, producing well over 11.45
exawatts of power, more than 3 exawatts greater than the older designs. That figure…”
Bloom paused for a moment, staring at a group of cadets seated just to
his left. It was a moment before the
class realized the professor had stopped talking and everyone looked at him
expectantly. “Chapter 6, Cadet Nokamura.”
“Excuse me,
Professor Bloom?” a young Asian female near the middle of the room asked, her
face turning almost as bright red as the shoulders on the uniform of the cadet
sitting behind her.
“You were asking
Cadet Kooz what chapter Lieutenant Olsen has assigned as homework in your Subspace
Mechanics class. She said Chapter 6.”
“Oh. Thank you, Professor,” Nokamura replied,
blushing even more deeply.
“Shall we
continue?” Bloom asked. When no one else
spoke, Bloom resumed, “That figure was improved upon further with the
development of the Galaxy-class, which increased the power output to 12.75
exawatts and allowed a vessel weighing four and a half million metric tons to
go from slow reverse impulse to forward at warp 9 in only 0.3 milliseconds.”
Professor Bloom
was about to start highlighting several key systems in the warp drive with a
laser pointer when the bell in the hallway rang. As the cadets started gathering their
belongings and heading to their next classes or free periods, Bloom called out,
“Be sure to read the chapter on Dr. Brahms’ matter/energy conversion thesis
before next Tuesday. I’ll be holding a
pop quiz on the subject!” Quickly the
lecture hall emptied out, leaving Bloom to collect his myriad isolinear chips
from the podium. As he placed them all
into his briefcase and looked up he noticed Captain Koester sitting there for
the first time.
“Well, well,”
Bloom said, his lips breaking out into a huge grin. “If it isn’t the infamous starship captain
who returned from the dead?” The Vulcan
man started rushing up the lecture hall steps.
Koester was standing near the top step by the time Bloom reached him,
ready to accept a handshake. The captain
was surprised when Bloom unexpectedly engulfed him in a huge bear-hug.
“It’s good to see
you too, Jeff,” Koester grunted before Bloom released him.
“What brings you
to the Academy?” Bloom asked. “Starfleet
making you go through retraining?”
“I wasn’t gone
THAT long,” Koester protested before adding, “You have any plans for lunch?”
“Just to head to
the teacher’s cafeteria and grade some engineering papers,” Bloom replied.
“Tell you what?”
Koester said, leading Bloom toward the door that exited the hall. “I’ll buy lunch while you think over a
proposition I have for you?”
Several minutes
later, Professor Bloom and Captain Koester were seated in the area of the
Academy cafeteria set aside for the teachers and staff.
“I don’t know if
you heard, but Carrie’s got another ship of her own now,” Koester explained as
the two started eating their food. “Bad
enough I need a new exec, but she’s taking Dar with her too.”
“Understandable,”
Bloom replied. “I noted that Dar has
become an exceptional chief engineer when I visited your ship a few years ago.”
Koester made a
point of being obvious as he looked Bloom’s suit up and down before asking, “Have
you ever considered getting back into uniform?
I’m having a devil of a time trying to pick out a new XO. I could use someone I really trust down in
the engine room.”
Bloom realized
what it was the captain was asking him.
He started mulling over his options.
“I was engineer
aboard the 74658, remember? You made me science officer when we were
assigned to 75310.”
“I know. But you’ve seen one warp core, you’ve seen ‘em
all.”
Bloom was about
to protest when he realized the captain was making a joke.
“Seriously, I don’t
want too many changes happening aboard the Dauntless
all at once. There’s a reason crew
rotations occur in an eight-part cycle, so a starship doesn’t get too many
people unfamiliar with procedures and equipment all at once. And you know the Dauntless. It would be like
coming home for you.”
“I’ll admit, it’s
tempting, Peter,” Bloom said after finishing his plomeek soup. “I’ve missed the feel of the vibration of the
deck plates beneath my feet at high warp, the smell of the recycled air. There was a reason I was aboard the ship that
warped out to help you when the Dauntless
was having engine problems while she was the Academy training vessel, and it
wasn’t so I could see my students again.
I suppose I could get either Miles or Professor Hornslugg to fill in for
me here until the end of the semester.
But what about a commission? It
took you six months to get back your pips when you returned to Starfleet. By that time the Dauntless could be halfway across the quadrant!”
Koester pulled a
padd out from inside his uniform jacket and presented it to Bloom.
“What’s that?”
the emotional Vulcan asked.
“Were you aware
there is still a reserve activation clause on all Starfleet commissions? All it needs is an officer of O-6 rank or
above to submit a request for a specific resigned or retired officer and their
commission is reactivated.” The captain
pointed toward a signature line on the padd display. “Just enter your signature and you can
consider it done.”
Bloom stared at
the padd’s display again, his mind racing.
Had it been such a mistake to resign his commission almost a decade
before? He enjoyed his present position,
preparing the next generation of Starfleet officers for what they were to face
in the coming years. But he likewise
missed the adventure of being an explorer, out among the unknown. And to be back among friends would simply be
icing on the cake. He decided he wanted
some dessert.
“Chocolate layer
cake,” Bloom instructed the replicator at the center of the table. “Two slices.”
“Just make it
one, Jeff. I need to run along after
this,” Koester said as he finished his sandwich and wiped his lips with a
napkin.
“Computer,
correction to order. One slice.”
The replicator
hummed to life and a moment later a plate with a dark brown slice of cake with
even darker chocolate frosting appeared on the pad. Bloom grabbed the cake and moved it in front
of him, picking up Koester’s padd and looking at it once more. The captain watched him anxiously. A moment later he thumbed the device, saying,
“I’ll inform the Academy Commandant that I will need a replacement in the Basic
Warp Theory class.”
Koester’s lips
now broke out in a huge smile as he said, “Thanks, Jeff.” Then as he took back the padd and stood up
from his seat, he held out his hand to his new/old chief engineer. “Welcome back, Commander.” Bloom, also smiling, returned the handshake,
then as Koester walked away, turned his attention to the large slice of
chocolate cake.
* * * *
Commander T’Ashara
glanced one more time at the padd she was carrying as she walked toward the
science lab aboard the Dauntless one
last time, surprised in spite of herself.
The padd contained new orders transferring the Vulcan science officer
from the Dauntless to the crew of the
USS Bellerophon.
The orders had
surprised the Vulcan because, only three years having passed since reporting
aboard the Sovereign-class starship, it was much too soon to normally be
rotated to another vessel, and T’Ashara had protested the move, quite adamantly
for a Vulcan, until she had been informed that Captain K’danz had specifically
requested T’Ashara aboard her new command, as Chief Science Officer!
Turning one last
corner, T’Ashara entered the lab, quickly moving past the short, rat-like officer
standing atop a stool and working at the electron microscope, to pack up
several isolinear optical chips from a stand on her work desk. The commotion attracted Lieutenant (JG) Aroe
Euwess’ attention. The Rodian science
officer placed the small eyeglasses she used to compensate for her species weak
eyesight back on her pointed, whiskered nose and looked at T’Ashara with small,
round, black eyes.
“Is it true,
Commander?” Euwess asked. “Are you
leaving the Dauntless?”
“It is true,
Lieutenant,” T’Ashara confirmed.
“Captain K’danz has stated she requires my expertise aboard the Bellerophon. I will be the Chief Science Officer.”
“Congratulations,”
Euwess offered. “You deserve the
promotion.”
“I have performed
my duties here adequately,” T’Ashara said with a nod as she stored her
isolinear chips in a carry case. “But
truthfully, I am not looking forward to my departure from the Dauntless with much anticipation. I have grown… accustomed… to this ship and
crew.”
Euwess smiled as
well as her rat-like snout would allow and said, “I’ll miss you too,
Commander.” She then held her claw-like
hand up in a semblance of a v-shape and said, “Live long and prosper,
T’Ashara.”
“Peace and long
life, Aroe,” T’Ashara replied, returning the Vulcan salute before gathering her
belongings and departing the lab.
* * * *
The turbolift
opened on the bridge and both Captain K’danz and her husband, the half-Klingon
Chief Engineer Dar stepped out. K’danz
paused at the top of the stairs that led down to the lower bridge deck and
looked around. The memories that resurfaced
stunned her. The bridge looked almost
exactly like the bridge of the Dauntless-74658,
but it had been over a decade since that Intrepid-class starship had been
destroyed, so many of the memories had faded.
Now they came flooding back like a dam had broken. She reached over and placed her hand on the
tactical console to her right, which was currently unmanned, the position she
had filled as a security officer aboard the old Dauntless.
“You okay?” Dar
asked with concern.
“Yes,” K’danz
said. “I just wasn’t prepared for the…
the memories.”
Dar nodded
understandingly before both headed down to the lower deck, the chief engineer
heading toward the engineering console on the starboard side of the bridge, K’danz
up and towards the right of two seats positioned between the upper deck and the
helm console forward near the main viewscreen.
She looked at the brown leather seat and smiled.
Even though she
had been promoted to the command of the Sovereign-class Dauntless and had served in that position for almost a year, in the
back of her mind it was always ‘Peter’s ship.’
Even when she firmly believed her old friend was dead. But now the Bellerophon was hers, and it felt right. The Belle
was really her starship. With a feeling
of excitement growing in the pit of her stomach, she sat down in the command
chair, taking a deep breath once she had.
As she got comfortable, her arms draping the armrests of the chair, the
operations officer, Lieutenant Wheeler, spoke.
“Captain, I have
a communiqué coming in for you from the Dauntless.”
“I’ll take it in
my ready room, Lieutenant,” K’danz said as she stood back up and walked over to
the doors on the right side of the bridge.
The ready room
looked very plain as the captain walked in.
All the personal belongings of the previous commander had been removed,
so all the shelves and tabletops were bare.
All that remained was a clean desk with a green computer monitor atop
it, a small glass-topped coffee table and the couch beneath the large,
forward-facing windows that looked out into the interior of spacedock and
toward the starship from which she was receiving her communiqué.
K’danz sat down
behind her new desk and pressed the button on the base of the monitor. The black screen immediately changed to the
image of her compatriot aboard the Dauntless.
“Hi, Carrie. Settling in?” Captain Koester asked.
“Just a short
time ago I walked out onto the bridge for the first time since assuming
command. All the memories of our adventures
aboard the old Dauntless came
flooding back.”
“Well, I hope your
command of an Intrepid-class starship goes better than mine did. Less than three years. I think it was the shortest operational life
span of any Federation starship!”
“That wasn’t your
fault,” K’danz assured. “What can I do
for you, Captain?”
“There are a
couple of things. First, I found Dar’s
replacement.”
“Really? Who?” K’danz asked.
“You remember
Jeff Bloom?”
“Our Jeff
Bloom? I thought he had retired to
become a teacher at the Academy?”
“I talked him
back into uniform today.”
“Nice job. Well, now that you have a chief engineer, who
have you replaced me with?”
“Still working on
that,” Koester admitted. “However, the
second item I called you about might help me with that… Admiral Raiajh is coming aboard the Dauntless this afternoon. I’m going to host a reception for her and
Admiral Fil in celebration of their new assignments. As members of the new fleet, I would like you
and your senior staff to attend.”
“Sounds great. I’d love a chance to catch up on some old
times with Val’ri,” K’danz replied. “What
time do you want us there?”
“Dinner will be
served at 1900. Cocktails start at
1800. Everything is in 10-Forward. Think you know how to get there, or should I
send you directions?”
“I think I
remember my way,” K’danz replied with a sneer.
“But how does hosting a reception help you choose a new first officer?”
“Because while I
have you over here, I want to take you aside and talk about the research you
conducted when you had to choose an XO last year. Maybe you can give me some advice that will
help my own choice?”
“I see,” K’danz
said. “I’d be happy to help you however
I can.”
“Great! See you later. Dauntless,
out.”
* * * *
That evening, in
the 10-Forward lounge aboard the Dauntless,
the senior staffs of the Sovereign-class starship and the Intrepid-class USS Bellerophon and their families were
joined by Rear Admirals Kathryn Janeway, Penji Fil, and Val’ri Raiajh.
Captain Koester,
who had been standing to one side conversing with Janeway - his former mentor -
his daughter Gem, and the new Chief Engineer of the Bellerophon, Commander Dar, looked over when the entrance doors slid
open and a Vulcan man wearing a gold-collared uniform walked in, smiling broadly
when he noticed the captain.
“Jeff!” Koester
exclaimed before gesturing his own new Chief Engineer over to where he was
standing. “You remember Dar, don’t you?”
“Of course,”
Bloom replied, shaking his former subordinate’s hand. As Bloom then offered his greetings to the
captain’s teenage daughter, Captain K’danz moved over to stand next to her
husband Dar and greeted Bloom as well before turning to Koester.
“Still having
trouble choosing a new first officer?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Koester
replied with a nod of his head. “I’m
leaning toward Commander LaForge, but I still have some concerns about him.”
“I know. His was one of the applications I reviewed
before I brought Tom aboard,” K’danz said.
“I just felt that he plays things too safe. I needed someone willing to take risks.”
“Exactly!”
Koester agreed. “Especially with our new
mission, going places no Federation starship has ever gone, far from any
backup.”
“So what are you
going to do?”
“Well, Kate said
the ships will be at starbase for several weeks before our mission really
begins. She told me I can wait until
we’re there before I make a final decision.
I guess I’ll be reading more FITREPS between here and the Typhon
Sector.”
A moment later,
the ceremonial ship’s bell mounted on the bulkhead behind the bar struck 1900
hours. Almost everyone gathered in the
lounge started moving toward the formal dining table set up in the center of
the lounge, but as people started to take their seats, Admiral Janeway started
tapping on the rim of her champagne glass and calling out, “Attention! Can I have your attention please?” Once everyone was quiet and looking in the
admiral’s direction, she added, “Penji Fil, front and center.”
Fil exchanged a
look with Val’ri Raiajh, with whom he had been talking, then stepped to the
front of the room with Janeway.
“Crew, attention
to orders!” barked Captain Koester, causing everyone present to stand and snap
to attention.
“Penji Fil,”
Janeway said as she reached up and started removing his old two-pip admiral’s
bars. “The Commander-Starfleet takes
pride in promoting you to the rank of Vice Admiral, Starfleet, United
Federation of Planets, effective this stardate with all the responsibilities
and privileges accorded such rank.”
Janeway then placed two new three-pip bars on Fil’s collar before
offering her hand and saying, “Congratulations, Admiral.”
Fil returned the
handshake, smiling broadly, before stepping back toward the dinner table. But before anyone could start sitting down,
Janeway announced, “Peter Koester, front and center.”
Captain Koester’s
eyebrows knit in annoyance as he started to protest.
“No! I told you I didn’t want a promotion, Kate!”
“Get up here,
Peter,” Janeway insisted as both K’danz and
“Crew, attention
to orders!” K’danz announced with a grin, prompting Koester to roll his eyes.
“The Chief of
Starfleet Operations takes pride in promoting you to the rank of Fleet
Captain,” Janeway announced, reaching up and adding a fifth gold pip to Koester’s
collar. “And appoints you commanding
officer of the Federation starship USS
Dauntless NCC-75310, flagship of the Federation Fifth Fleet, with all the
responsibilities and privileges accorded such rank. Congratulations, Fleet Captain.”
“I’ll get you for
this later,” Koester said under his breath as the gathered crowd began to
applaud. Janeway smiled broadly.
“Let’s eat!” she
said as everyone took their seats and the stewards started passing out the
first course.
“Congratulations,
Commodore,” K’danz offered with a grin as she took a seat beside her former
commanding officer, using the title Koester had assumed when he had been
promoted to fleet captain during the Dominion War.
“Oh no! Just call me captain. No more flag ranks for me, thank you very much,”
Koester insisted as the steward placed a salad on the plate in front of him and
dinner commenced.
* * * *
Deep Space
500 Light Years beyond the
Typhon Expanse
“Imperial
Intelligence reportsss the Federation bassse we have been obssserving isss nearly
complete,” said the lisping voice of the being in the front of the dim briefing
room. “It isss only a matter of time
before the Federation isss sssitting on the Empire’sss doorssstep.”
“What doesss
Cssentral Command require of usss?” another asked.
“Intelligence
sssurmisesss the Federation Ssstarfleet will be assigning ssstarships to the
new bassse. We are to intercept one,
commandeer it, and blow it up inssside the new bassse, destroying both the bassse
and all the ssstarshipsss ssstationed there!”
* * * *
“Thrusters at
station keeping. Prepare to disengage
mooring lines and umbilicals,” Fleet Captain Koester ordered. Across the slip, the USS Bellerophon was accomplishing the same procedures.
“Thrusters at
station keeping,” Lieutenant (JG) Carter Breitling reported from the helm.
“Umbilicals
disconnected. Vessel on internal power. Mooring lines clear,” added Lt Commander
Setton To’Lock Arbelo from ops.
“Very well,”
responded Koester.
“Admirals on the
bridge!” announced Lt Colonel Sean McIntyre from the tactical post as both Fil
and Raiajh stepped out of the nearby turbolift and walked over toward the
command seat.
“We’ll have you
back home in about five days, Admiral,” he said.
“Thank you, Fleet
Captain,” Raiajh replied.
“Skipper,” interrupted
Arbelo. “We’re being hailed by the Bellerophon.”
“On screen,
Monster,” Koester ordered as the main viewer changed to the image of the
smaller starship’s bridge, where K’danz sat in her own command seat.
“We’re ready for
departure, Peter,” K’danz announced. “Bellerophon will follow the flagship.”
“Very well,
Carrie. Dauntless is ready for departure as well.” Koester then looked toward his helmsman and
strategic operations officer and said, “Mister Breitling, take us out.”
“Take us out,
aye, sir.”
Slowly at first,
the Dauntless backed out of its slip,
clearing the central hub before turning on its axis to face the external
spacedoors. As the Sovereign-class
starship moved forward toward the opening doors, the Bellerophon maneuvered on thrusters, lining up directly behind the
larger starship. Just over a minute
later, the Intrepid-class starship exited the spacedoors into open space with
the Dauntless.
“We are free and
clear to navigate,” K’danz’s new helmsman reported.
“Very well,
Mister Hickam. Coordinate with Dauntless’ helm. Set course for the Typhon Sector,” K’danz
ordered.
“Aye, Captain,”
the helmsman replied. Moments later, the
two starships were warping away from the Sol system and toward deep space.
* * * *
Captain’s log, stardate 63035.7:
It has been two days since the Dauntless and Bellerophon left Earth.
My helmsman estimates we will arrive at Starbase 719 in approximately sixty four more hours.
En route, I have been coordinating with Chief
Kyman, running various drills. This is
more for my own benefit than for the crew, since it has been almost a year
since I last sat in this chair.
Koester, commanding Dauntless, out.
The Dauntless crew had just completed a
battlestations drill, observed and monitored by Rear Admiral Val’ri Raiajh, who
sat in the first officer’s seat to the captain’s right.
“Do you hold
drills like this often, Fleet Captain?” Raiajh asked Koester as the bridge crew
around them resumed their normal duties.
“Just ‘Captain’,
please,” Koester requested. “Or better
still, call me Peter, Admiral.” As
Raiajh nodded, Koester continued. “And
no, we’re not normally big on drills aboard the Dauntless. But I need to get
a feel for the crew since I’ve been gone so long. And I’m sure Captain K’danz is doing the same
with her own new crew.”
Koester noticed
as he talked that Raiajh was gazing around the bridge with deep interest. When she looked back at Koester as he stopped
talking, he gave the Vulcan-Deltan woman an inquisitive look.
“Just observing
the differences, Fl… Peter,” she
remarked. “In my Starfleet career, I
have served aboard an old Tikopai-class, the first Arcturus-class, a
Galaxy-class, and even commanded a Leviathan.
But I have never before had the opportunity to be aboard a
Sovereign-class starship.”
“Have you had a
chance to tour the ship yet?” the captain asked.
“I have been
spending a majority of my time in my quarters, preparing for 719’s commissioning,” Raiajh admitted.
“That’s
unacceptable,” Koester remarked before turning toward his Chief of Operations,
Setton To’Lock Arbelo. “Monster, take
the conn. I’m going to give Admiral
Raiajh a proper tour of the ship.”
“Aye, Skipper,”
Arbelo replied.
* * * *
“Long range
sssensssorsss are detecting two Federation ssstarshipsss on courssse toward the
ssspacessstation, Commander.”
“Isssolate the
sssmaller ship,” the commander ordered.
* * * *
“Captain, we’re
receiving a distress call,” reported Starfleet Marine Captain Michael Drake,
the Bellerophon’s new Chief of
Security. “Civilian ship, reporting an
explosion in their engine room and that they are adrift.”
“Location?”
K’danz asked as she opened the monitor screen between the first officer’s seat
and her own.
“Bearing 270 mark
5. Range five light years.”
“They’re a long
way from home. Mister Hickam, alter
course, 270 mark 5. Increase speed to
warp 8,” K’danz ordered before looking over her left shoulder toward the ops
console. “Mister Wheeler, inform the
flagship that we are responding to a distress call and will catch up with them
shortly.”
“Aye, Captain,”
the operations officer replied.
* * * *
Fleet Captain
Koester had just finished showing Rear Admiral Raiajh the Marine barracks at
the rear of the Dauntless, a specific
section she had not seen aboard a starship since the original Arcturus a century earlier, and the pair
were now on their way toward main engineering.
“Your vessel is
quite impressive, Peter,” Raiajh commented as they walked down the
corridor. “I have rarely seen starships
as equally well armed for battle as they are for exploration.”
“The Dauntless was launched during the middle
of the Dominion War. A year later the
war was over and we were back to being explorers, so…”
The captain was
interrupted when the ship suddenly jerked to port, throwing both Koester and
Raiajh into the bulkhead. The air around
both officers quickly blew past them like a hurricane for almost a second
before a buzz signaled the erection of emergency forcefields.
“What the hell
was that?” Koester asked as he helped Raiajh off the deck before tapping his
combadge. “Koester to bridge. Status?”
On the bridge, Lt
Commander Setton To’Lock Arbelo was just climbing back into the command chair
as he replied, “We’ve been attacked by a scout-type vessel that just dropped
out of warp less than a kilometer off the starboard bow. They opened fire before we could even react,
but we now have full shields and deflectors raised.”
“It appears the
hull has been breeched,” Koester informed as he pushed his hand gently against
the forcefield at the corridor junction.
“Yes, sir,”
Arbelo replied. “Lieutenant Riker
reports we have three small breeches on deck 16, sections 38 and 40. Damage control crews are responding.”
“It appears we
are trapped here for the moment,” Raiajh remarked, having confirmed the
opposite end of the corridor was sealed off by an emergency forcefield as well.
“What is that
scout doing now, Monster?” Koester asked.
On the bridge, Lt
Colonel Sean McIntyre was monitoring his sensors closely.
“It appears they
are trying to maneuver toward one of the external docking ports,” the Marine
contingent commander reported. “They may
be trying to board us.”
“Repel borders!”
Arbelo ordered before asking, “Any idea who these people are?”
“Analysis o’
their weapons signature indicates Kairn weaponry,” reported Alasdair Wallace in
his thick Scottish brogue.
“The Kairn? Colonel McIntyre, arm phasers and load
torpedo tubes with trilithium torpedoes,” Arbelo ordered. “Lieutenant Breitling, maneuver us around. Keep any possible way the Kairn can board us
away from that ship. And that includes
the breeches they opened on the engineering hull!”
Breitling
acknowledged the order as he turned the ship, moving the Dauntless away from the Kairn scout as it attempted to reach the
Federation starship’s primary docking port behind and below the bridge.
“The Kairn vessel
has altered course,” McIntyre reported.
“They are now attempting to dock along the engineering hull.”
“Carter…!” Arbelo
exclaimed.
“Maneuvering,”
the helmsman and strategic operations officer confirmed. With a quick activation of the maneuvering
thrusters, the Dauntless started
rolling to port, rapidly moving the holes the Kairn had created out of reach.
“Hold on!”
Breitling warned, activating the starship’s breaking thrusters. The Kairn ship, not expecting the starship’s
sudden maneuver, continued on, eventually finding itself in front of the Dauntless.
“Colonel, fire
phasers!” Arbelo ordered. Immediately
several beams of phased energy shot out from the Dauntless, striking the small vessel’s shields.
“Direct hit No appreciable damage,” McIntyre reported.
“Helm, reverse
course. Open our range,” Arbelo
said. Breitling activated the impulse
engines in full reverse, sending the Dauntless
back along its original course.
“Kairn ship is
startin’ to come aroun’,” Wallace reported.
“Stand by
torpedoes,” Arbelo ordered.
“Range is still a
little too close, Commander,” McIntyre informed.
“It’ll have to
do, Mack,” Arbelo said as he watched the Kairn ship turn to face the Dauntless on the main viewscreen.
“We risk damaging
our own ship,” the Colonel warned.
“It’s a risk I’m
willing to take under these circumstances.
Fire!”
With a touch on
the tactical console, one specially modified torpedo launched from each of the
two tubes below the main navigational deflector, glowing bright orange. Carrying a trilithium warhead, the first
torpedo struck its target, collapsing the Kairn vessel’s shields in an
instant. A moment later, the second
torpedo struck, piercing the hull and exploding in a fireball that engulfed the
entire scout. The subspace shockwave
struck the Dauntless, almost knocking
the starship end over end.
“We got him!”
McIntyre exclaimed, raising a fist in victory.
“Bridge, this is
the captain,” came Koester’s voice from the bridge speakers. “Are you through shaking us around up
there? Status?”
“The Kairn ship
has been destroyed,” Arbelo responded.
“We’re resuming our course toward Starbase
719.”
“Good,” responded
Koester. “Now, can you get Admiral
Raiajh and I out of here?”
“ASAP, Skipper,”
Arbelo replied.
* * * *
Captain’s log, stardate 63041.2:
Shortly after our brief battle with the Kairn
scout, we rendezvoused with the USS
Bellerophon, where Carrie informed me her
crew had captured the vessel that broadcast the fake distress call they
received, the Kairn equivalent of a shuttlecraft, and its two crew
members. We are now moments away from
docking at Starbase 719, and the
anticipation is palpable aboard the Dauntless.
Koester, commanding Dauntless, out.
Both the Dauntless and Bellerophon approached the new starbase, virtually a mirror of the
spacedock they had departed almost a week earlier with the exception that,
aside from several necessary navigation lights, the station looked completely
dark. Raiajh displayed an unexpected air
of pride as the starships passed through the spacedoors and into the dock in
spite of her normally stolid demeanor.
Inside the dock, already moored in one slip, was a lone Luna-class
starship.
“That is the USS Triton, the fifth member of our
fleet,” Raiajh explained to the bridge crew.
“I expect the Sarek and Besiege will be arriving in the next several
days before the fleet commissioning ceremony.”
“I look forward
to it,” Koester remarked before giving orders to moor the Dauntless. “Admiral Fil,
Captain K’danz, Commanders Dar and Bloom are having dinner with me and Gem
aboard the starbase tonight. Would you
care to join us, Admiral?”
“I appreciate the
invitation, but I must decline,” Raiajh replied. “I always dine with my husband, Sylvan, and
our family when I return from a trip.
But we must have dinner before the fleet begins its new mission.”
“Vessel is
moored, Skipper,” Lt Commander Arbelo reported.
“The ship is on station power.”
“Very good,”
Koester said before turning to face Chief Pono Kyman at the mission ops
station. “
“Aye, sir,” Kyman
replied with a grin.
“Monster,”
Koester said as he stood up from his chair.
“Once you have your station secured, please join me in my ready room.”
As the captain
disappeared into his ready room, Arbelo exchanged a look with Lieutenant
Breitling.
Several minutes
later, the door chime rang.
“Come,” Koester
said. As the doors swished open, Setton
To’Lock Arbelo stepped in.
“You wanted to
see me, Skipper?” he asked.
“Yes,
Monster. Have a seat while I finish
filing this report.”
Koester touched a
control on his desktop monitor, placing his virtual signature on the paperwork
displayed there and transmitting it to Vice Admiral Fil, Rear Admiral Raiajh
and Starfleet Command. He then looked up
at his visitor and said, “I want to commend you on your actions during the
voyage here.”
“It was nothing
any other officer wouldn’t have done in the same circumstances,” the
Efrosian-Vulcan-Terran man replied modestly.
“On the contrary,
there are several officers whose first reaction would have been to call for
help. You acted decisively. You showed good judgment. You are and have been a real asset to this
ship and this crew. Which is why I have
decided I want you to be my new first officer.”
Arbelo’s mouth
dropped open at the unexpected endorsement in spite of himself.
“Stand up, Mister
Arbelo,” Koester said as he moved around his desk. As Arbelo stood, Koester replaced the black
half-pip on the ops officer’s collar with a third solid pip. He then shook Arbelo’s hand as he said,
“Congratulations, Commander. Now get
changed. You’re out of uniform, Mister!”
Arbelo looked
down at the gold cuffs of his sleeves as he smiled and said, “Yes, sir!” He then quickly turned and left the ready
room to share his news with his daughter, Annika. Koester laughed as he sat back down behind
his desk.
* * * *
Starbase 719 in the Typhon
Sector
Stardate 63060
A week after the Dauntless and Bellerophon had arrived at their new command base, the crews of all
five fleet starships; Sarek, Besiege, Bellerophon, Dauntless,
and Triton, and the command staff of
the new starbase were gathered in half of the station’s huge botanical section,
where plants and trees aided the base’s atmosphere reclamation equipment to keep
the air fresh and breathable. The
lighting of the large open chamber was dim, about half the normal level of
other sections of the station and a third of what the system was capable of in
the station’s park.
On the raised
platform close to the inner hub, which mainly contained crew quarters that
looked out into the botanical section, sat the respective commanders of the
units of the Fifth Fleet; Rear Admiral Val’ri Raiajh, commanding Starbase 719; Fleet
“Attention to
orders,” a voice announced over the base internal comms system. For the benefit of the large number of the
starbase crew, which numbered in the thousands, who could not be present for
the ceremony, it was being broadcast live on every viewscreen aboard the
station. In the botanical garden,
everyone snapped to attention. Admiral
Raiajh moved toward the podium, which was decorated with the emblem of the
Federation, and read from a padd.
“To: Raiajh,
Val’ri, Rear Admiral; Stardate 63060:
You are requested and required to bring into commission and assume
command of Starbase 719, located in
the Typhon Sector, on or about this stardate.
You will also assume the title of Sector Commander.”
Raiajh looked up
from the podium and looked out at the crowd, over three thousand beings of
almost every known race in the Federation, marveling at the gathering for a
moment before continuing. She looked up
slightly toward the curved ceiling of the chamber.
“Crew of Starbase 719, bring our station to
life!”
In response to
Raiajh’s order, the lighting in the chamber slowly increased. Lights in the various rooms within the hub
likewise turned on. Outside the base,
primary lighting joined the navigation beacons, bathing the entire starbase in
a deep blue glow visible for kilometers.
In just under a
minute since the order was given, the interior park was as bright as midday on
a class-M world, the curved overhead the deep blue of a simulated sky with
clouds. The gathered crews applauded,
Raiajh allowing the applause to continue for nearly a full minute before
introducing the next speaker.
“Ladies and
gentlebeings, Vice Admiral Penji Fil, Prospective Commanding Officer of the Federation Fifth Fleet.”
Raiajh turned the
podium over to the white-haired Catullan man.
Fil acknowledged the gathered crews as he placed his padd on the podium,
then began to read from it.
“To: Fil, Penji,
Vice Admiral; Stardate 63060: You are
requested and required to bring into commission and assume overall command of
the Fifth Fleet, Starfleet Division,
United Federation of Planets, to consist of the following assets; Starbase
719, Command Base – Typhon Sector.
Starship USS Dauntless NCC-75310,
Fleet Flagship. Starship USS Sarek NCC-72075. Starship USS
Besiege NCC-74326. Starship USS Bellerophon NCC-74705. Starship USS
Triton NCC-80106.”
Fil deactivated
his padd and looked at the gathered crews as they resumed their seats. He spent the next several minutes speaking,
outlining their general mission, the histories of the five ships being inducted
into the fleet, the careers of the officers that would now be serving under him
and the decorated record of the Fifth
Fleet during the Dominion War. Finally
it came time to reactivate the Fifth
Fleet
“Please rise,” he
requested. As everyone returned to their
feet or other upright appendages, Fil read from the padd again. “By the power vested in me by the Federation
Council, I here-by place the Federation
Fifth Fleet back in commission, effective immediately, and assume command
of said fleet.” Again, the gathered
crowd started applauding. Fil let the
applause continue, enjoying the accolades for a moment, until it died off on
its own. He then introduced the next
speaker, who would actually assign the fleet its new mission. “Crews of the Fifth Fleet, I present Fleet
Once more the
assembled crowd applauded as Koester stepped up to the podium, shaking Admiral
Fil’s hand before the senior officer returned to his seat next to Raiajh.
“Crew of the Federation Fifth Fleet,” Koester said,
looking out at the crowd. “You are on
the forefront of a new golden age. You
are being given the most important mission Starfleet is responsible for. For the next several years, you will seek out
new life… new civilizations. You will
advance the limits of Federation knowledge.
You will be ambassadors, representing not only the Federation as a
whole, but your individual home planets as well. You will be soldiers and scientists,
defenders and peacemakers. You are
charged with perhaps the most difficult duties a member of Starfleet can
expect. Your mission comes right out of
the Starfleet Charter, and the Federation is depending on you… Yes, you!
…to perform it well. For we are assigned
to boldly go where no one has gone before…!”
The End
Return to 2386.
Return to Stories Archive.