Space, the Final Frontier...
Star Trek: Personal Logs
“A Letter from Mom” By PJK
Commander Caithlyn Kale sat in the command seat, dictating into the
chair’s arm recorder.
“Captain’s
log, stardate 4015.5,” she started. “Engineering crews report that the new
anti-matter bottles are installed and the warp drive should be on-line within a
matter of hours. Lieutenant Commander
Brim tells me he’ll have the new experimental nacelles ready and, as he puts
it, purring long before our scheduled departure time. Starbase 12 dock
control says Sverdlov
will be the first event out of port when the time comes. Kale, out.”
The Sverdlov’s Chief
Engineer, Lt Commander Brim, a gruff-looking Tellerite,
approached the Commanding Officer, a progress report in his porcine hand. His red-sleeved arm passed the report to
Kale.
“Thank you,
Mister Brim. I certainly can’t argue
with these reports,” she joked to the pig-like engineer.
“You
Centauri can’t argue, period,” grunted the Tellerite
as he walked away.
“Too
serious,” commented Commander Trish Campbell, an attractive blonde-haired woman
wearing the same gold uniform as her CO.
“The only
fun Brim has is being grim,” Kale replied.
“Grim
Brim... Catchy, Cap,” mocked
“Well, Jusif is transferring to
“Impressive,”
remarked
Kale
chucked a little at the thought of her young son wearing the uniform boots she
wore, then responded, “Actually, from what I see, I think he’s going to follow Jusif. He tends to
be a little more planet-bound, if you know what I mean.”
As the two
officers talked, the turbolift doors swooshed open
behind them. Lt Commander James Querd, the ship’s Second Officer and Chief Navigator,
stepped onto the command deck and took the center seat as Commander Kale stood
up and walked with
A short
time later, Kale entered her quarters and sat down at the desk.
“Computer,”
she ordered.
“Working...,”
replied its female voice amid chatter of the circuits.
“Open
file, ‘Letter to Kalin’,” she ordered.
“Working...
ready,” the computer replied.
“Section
Ten - My dearest Kalin,” she stared, recalling what
she wanted to say from memory.
…When you
receive this, you will have just turned eighteen. Eleven years is a long time. You’re getting to the point in your life when
you must decide what it is you want to do with it. Maybe you will be thinking of becoming a
biologist like your father; Maybe you will follow in my footsteps and continue
a family tradition in Starfleet, like your grandfather and I. Or maybe you will choose your own completely
new path. This letter, unlike the others
I’ve recorded for you, will concentrate on what my life is like in Starfleet.
The most
important thing to me is that my career keeps me away from you and your father
too often. Maybe someday, Starfleet will
permit families to be onboard starships.
Probably not in our lifetimes, though.
However,
my life is fulfilling. Exploration. First contact. New knowledge. The wonders of the galaxy are amazing. But the very best part of my career, so far,
was when I received my own command.
The Sverdlov is a
beautiful ship, similar in lines to the Constitution-class starships. The Coventry-class frigates are very
versatile. Maybe when I’m in your sector
you and your father can come aboard for a visit? Our new mission starts next month. Our new PB-51 warp nacelles are almost
completed and installed, and my Chief Engineer has grunted his approval with
the design. As soon as our anti-matter
pods are replenished, the test runs will begin.
But I’m
forgetting. This will be old news to you
by the time you actually hear this. Let
me get back onto the topic I wanted to tell you about.
I have
served aboard five ships in my career with Starfleet, from transports to
starships. My first assignment as a
wet-behind-the-ears ensign was aboard the tug USS Brand. At the time, I
thought she was the most beautiful ship in the whole galaxy. Can you believe that? A tug-ship!
Later, as I was reassigned to other vessels, I found things to love and
hate about each.
But the Sverdlov, she’s
different. According to Starfleet’s
official record, I am the fourth person to command this vessel. But now she’s mine. And for at least the next five years, she’ll
stay mine. And I just want you to know,
my dear little Kalin, that if you do choose to go
through the Academy, and stay in Starfleet, no matter how many or few ships you
serve aboard; There is nothing like when
she is yours.
Deepest Love,
Mom
* * * *
“All
systems normal,” reported the science officer from his bridge station.
“Starbase 12 Control reports we are clear to
maneuver,” reported the communications officer from directly behind Kale.
“Mister Quel, thrusters ahead,” ordered Kale to her helmsman.
“Aye,
Captain.”
The Sverdlov slowly
moved away from its parking orbit to a position five thousand meters away from
the station.
“Starbase Control, this is Sverdlov,” said Kale into the
communications pick-up. “We will proceed
on impulse power to the outer perimeter of the solar system, and then activate
the PB-51’s. Once we’ve reached
twenty-five light years distance at warp factor five, we’ll reverse course and
return to Starbase 12 for the evaluation review.”
“That is
correct, Sverdlov,”
replied the starbase commander’s voice. “We’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
At the
captain’s order, the communications officer closed the frequency.
“Helm, all
ahead, full impulse,” Kale ordered.
“Aye,
Captain,” he replied.
Soon, the
ship reached the outer limits of Starbase 12’s
solar system. Kale turned to Brim, who
was sitting at the bridge engineering console.
She looked at the Tellerite expectantly.
“I’m still
getting that glitch from the containment sensors,” reported Brim with a
grunt. “But it shouldn’t effect our
tests.”
“All right,”
said Kale as she pressed the intercom button by her right elbow. “Captain to crew. We are about to engage the new experimental
warp drive. Please prepare and
stand-by. Bridge, out.”
Kale
turned to her helmsman and ordered, “Engage warp engines.” She then turned to Querd
and Campbell, who was standing near the navigator, and gave them a wink.
“Captain!”
grunted Brim. “I’m getting another
glitch on the sensor!”
Kale stood
up and walked over to the engineer. She
looked at his console just as a warning signal lit.
“Oh,
God! They’re red-lining!” someone
screamed.
* * * *
“The
Starfleet Board of Inquiry is hereby convened this stardate
4050.5, to announce the findings of the investigation into the loss of the Coventry-class
frigate USS Sverdlov,
Starfleet registry number NCC-1238,”
the leading admiral announced to the gathered audience, made up of Starfleet
members, civilians, and members of every press agency in the Federation and its
allies. A still-teary-eyed Jusif Kale was among those seated near the back of the
room.
“On stardate 4022, Sverdlov was assigned to Starbase 12 to test the capabilities of the new PB-51 series warp nacelle
units. The ship entered warp speed at
1524 hours that stardate. Approximately thirty seconds later, the ship
exploded in a massive uncontrolled antimatter reaction.”
“The
finding of this Board, using telemetry transmitted from the Sverdlov until her destruction,
is that the seals on several of the newly designed antimatter containment
bottles were faulty. The flaw was not
discovered until the reaction was irreversible, and before the crew could react
in any matter. This fault has been found
to be inherent in the new nacelle design.”
“The loss
of the Sverdlov
and her crew of one-hundred and fifty fine people is a grave loss to us
all. The names of each one will be
entered in the records as Starfleet heroes.
Commander Caithlyn Kale’s record will be
amended to indicate she was not at fault in the loss of her starship.”
“The PB-51
series units are being withdrawn from all planned service, with PB-47 series
nacelles replacing those being withdrawn.
This board is closed.”
The End
Return to 2267.
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