Friday, March 1, 2024

The Adventure Begins

Chapter 6


    The next morning James woke at zero six hundred, got out of bed and proceeded to get dressed before hitting the bathroom. Racheal woke as well “Good Morning, I guess I’d better get a move on” as she got out of bed. “Good morning to you too; I won’t be long in the bathroom” James replied as he left the room giving her some privacy for dressing. When he returned she was dressed and had her long brown hair in a pony. “I’m going downstairs for some badly needed caffeine” James commented with a grin. “I’ll be along shortly” Racheal replied with a smile as James left the room. When she was finished she sat on the bed for a moment thinking “This is definitely going to be a good assignment; especially with such a great Captain” then made her way downstairs.


     By the time the Commander arrived everyone else was already there with their morning beverage in hand and some were eating breakfast. Racheal walked over to the Replicator “One mug of black coffee, strong and one ripe banana” as her order was quickly filled. Turning she swigged her coffee then saying her ‘good mornings’ she sat to eat her breakfast. James walked over “That’s a light breakfast” he commented with a smile. “Ya I’m not very hungry; I think it’s nerves” Racheal replied with a grin. “Yes I know exactly what you mean, hence only coffee this morning” James replied.


    A little while later Daniel walked over to James “Captain it’s zero seven hundred, I’m going to go fire up the Warp Core to allow ample warmup time” Lieutenant Herek stated. “Absolutely, have at it” the Captain replied glad to see his Chief was on top of things. Katlyn saw Daniel heading for Engineering “Hold up Lieutenant, I’ll come with you” she commented then followed him into Engineering. “Lieutenant how can I be of assistance” Katlyn inquired. “Get the Computers online while I check the valves on the Plasma Conduits, then I’ll innate a cold start” he instructed as Katlyn did as asked. Daniel walked over to the Station with his fingers flying over the Console; after a few moments he looked at Katlyn “Here goes nothing” as he initiated the cold start. Suddenly the Core came to life as the warmup process began. The Captain heard the Core start which put a smile on his face.


    Zero seven thirty rolled around quickly when the Captain gave the order “Everyone lets get to our Stations and get ready for departure” now things were about to get real. James looked up seeing the Intelligence people filing into Engineering to lend a hand as promised. The Bridge Crew made their way to Deck 1.


   T’Sol looked at James “Captain would you care to assist me with the preflight checklist” “Yes Lieutenant, lets do it” James replied as the two went through the list, which lasted about ten minutes. Looking over at Tactical/Comms “Lieutenant SanChez please open a channel to the   Dock Master” “Aye Captain” then she gave him a thumbs when it was done “Dock Master this is Captain Lake ready to start the departure sequence anytime you’re ready.” “Good morning Captain and Crew we’ll begin momentarily; Helm I’ll walk you though the process” came the reply. “That would seem logical” T’Sol replied in his Vulcan fashion. Commodore Chi chimed in “God’s speed Captain and have a safe journey; I’ll see you when you return.” “Thank you Commodore” James replied. The Dock Master started the sequence “Opening Space Doors now and retracting the deck; this will take a few minutes to complete” a few minutes later “Doors and Deck completed; Helm you may now power up the Ship, lift and turn to head out of the Station.” “Understood” T’Sol replied as he did as instructed and soon the USS Vigilant was away from the Station. “One quarter impulse Lieutenant until we clear traffic, plot in the heading for Taranko in the Terran Sector” “As you wish Captain” came the reply. “Tactical keep an eye on your Screens I don’t want any surprises” James ordered. “Aye captain” Maria replied. “Commander make sure we steer clear of any problem areas” “Aye Captain” Rachael replied.  Moments later “We are clear of traffic and course laid in Captain” T’Sol stated. “Let’s start out easy at first Lieutenant, warp six.” “Going to warp six Sir” as the Ship smoothly made the transition. Tapping his Comm “Engineering keep an eye on things, we’ll be increasing warp gradually so let me know if anything comes up I should be concerned about” James ordered. “As you wish Captan” Daniel replied not expecting any problems.


    About two hours went by when the Captain tapped his Comm “Lieutenant Herek how we looking down there” James inquired. “Excellent Sir, the Core hasn’t shown any signs of stress at our current speed” he replied then offered “You can increase the speed to warp eight anytime  you wish.” “ That’s good to hear, I’ll increase the speed right away” James replied “Lieutenant T’Sol if you would please take us to warp eight.” “Aye Captain” he replied as he increased the speed which was hardly noticeable. After another two hours rolled on by “Engineering any problems with going to warp nine” James queried. “None what so ever Captain, feel free” Daniel answered. Looking toward Helm “I am on it Captain” T’Sol commented overhearing the conversation. “Excellent Lieutenant” James replied with a grin. He was liking Helm’s initiative. Then Science called out “Captain I’ve picked up an astroid field on the sensors directly in our path; might I suggest a course change of one-seven-point-five, this will keep us well away from the field” the Commander suggested. “Mr. T’Sol make it so” James ordered. “Course change initiated Sir” he responded. Another hour went by when the Commander informed the Captain “Sir we’re well past the asteroid field if you want to readjust course.” “Thank you Number One”James replied “Helm?” “Adjusting course now Sir” T’Sol replied.


    Since it was getting towards late afternoon “Commander a word please” as James stood and they both left the Bridge “Commander normally I would turn the Bridge over to the Computer, which I will do in the future unsupervised, but because this is our first time out I would like you to take the Gamma shift and just supervise the Computer; it’ll run everything on the Bridge” James ordered with a smile. “As you wish Sir” Rachael replied “But whose going to take the Beta Shift then.” “I am. I don’t mind pulling a double this one time. Why don’t you grab a meal then get some sleep and I’ll see you at zero hundred” James suggested ‘“ Sure Captain” then she paused “I guess I’ll be sleeping alone then” she whispered teasingly with a grin. “Don’t get used to it” James replied with a chuckle as Racheal turned to go downstairs. James returned to the Bridge “Computer this is Captain Lake please assume control of all Bridge functions until zero eight hundred tomorrow” came the order “As you wish Captain Lake, taking control now” came the reply. Then looking at his two Officers “You two have finished your shifts so you are relieved.” Lieutenants T’Sol and SanChez left their Stations as Maria commented “Have a good night Sir’ and they exited the Bridge to go grab a meal and relax.


    Now James would supervise, sit back and relax until his relief came at zero hundred. Tapping his Comm “Lieutenant Herek how’s the Engines doing”. “Great Sir, she’s running well” Daniel replied. “Good” James replied then continued “This one time I would like you to pull a double shift and have Lieutenant Zebot grab a meal and some sleep. Have her relieve you at the start of the Gamma shift, then you can get some sleep” James ordered. “No problem Captain, I’m not sure I could sleep now anyways” Daniel replied with a light chuckle. “Computer drop our speed to warp eight until further notice” he ordered not wanting to overtax the Warp Core. “Dropping to Warp 8 Captain Lake” the Computer replied. “The Computer responses seems more like a person than a Computer” he thought to himself.


    Commander Reese was sitting at the table eating her meal when Katlyn walked over with her meal “Hi Rachael how are you” she asked with a smile. “Good Katlyn, how was your day in Engineering.” “Really good, the warp core runs like a dream and the Computer runs just as good” Katlyn replied with a smile “And how was your day on the Bridge.” “My day was very good; although we did have to make a slight course change so we wouldn’t slam into the middle of an asteroid field” Racheal replied with a grin. “And we thank you for that; I would hate to think what that would do to this Ship” Katlyn commented while eating her dinner. A few minutes later T’Sol and SanChez walked over with their meal “Mind if we join you” Maria asked. “No not at all; the more the merrier” Katlyn commented as the two Officers joined them. “We were just discussing our day, so how was yours” Racheal inquired with a smile. Maria chimed in “Pretty much the norm just keeping track of things so we didn’t get any unwelcome surprises.” T’Sol even chimed in which was unusual for a Vulcan “Helm went well and the Ship is very responsive” he stated matter of factly as the others held back a chuckle or two at his response. The Commander finished her meal and saw to her dishes “If you’ll excuse me I have to hit the bed for some sleep; I’m going to relieve the Captain for Gamma shift” Racheal explained. Katlyn spoke up “That makes two of us; I have to relieve Daniel at the same time in Engineering” she stated “I can’t believe he and the Captain are pulling a double.” “The Captain is just being cautious being our first time out with a new Ship” Rachel explained. “Make sense” Katlyn replied, then the two Officers retired to their quarters as T’Sol and Maria finished their meals and spent time relaxing.


    Before James knew it, it was twenty hundred and things were going very smoothly. He could feel the day starting to take its toll on him when he had a thought “Computer please send the EMH to the Bridge” he requested. Moments later a women materialized on the Bridge “Please state the medical emergency.” “ There is no emergency, I was curious if you’d actually appear here” James replied. “I can go anywhere on the Ship thanks to the newer Computer Operating System” the EMH replied matter of factly. “Yes I can see that” he replied. “If I may Captain Lake, last night at twenty two hundred I notice the Commander’s, as well as your heart rate increase significantly about the same time. Was everything alright” the EMH queried. James grinned “Yes everything was fine and please keep this conversation between you and I” James replied still grinning. “As you wish Captain. Will that be all?” “Yes you may go” he replied as the EMH disappeared. “Well it’s nice to know Racheal’s heart rate increased as well” he thought to himself with a smile. 


    At exactly zero hundred the Commander walked onto the Bridge “Captain I’m here to relieve you; anything to report?” “No Racheal everything is going smoothly and we should be at Teranko at zero eight hundred” James explained with a smile. “Good now you need to eat something and get some sleep” Racheal stated with some concern in her voice. James relinquished the Command chair “Yes I think the double shift kicked my butt but I’ll be back at zero eight hundred; but right now I’ll leave you to it so I can get some sleep” James commented. “Have a good rest and I’ll see you in the morning” she replied as she sat in the Command chair. “Thank you” and with that James left the Bridge for some much needed rest.


    The next morning James woke at zero six hundred, gabbed a shower, and dressed in a clean uniform; now that his belongings had arrived at the Station. Walking to Deck 2, James popped his head into Engineering “Good Morning Lieutenant, anything to report.” Katlyn smiled “The Warp Core is working like a dream with little changes between warp six and warp eight” she stated with certainty. “Excellent” James replied “So when is the Lieutenant due to relieve you.”

“He’ll be here at zero eight hundred then a I can get something to eat” she replied with a smile. “Good if you need me I’ll be on the Bridge” James informed her. After leaving Engineering James took the liberty of grabbing a black coffee for Rachael as well as for himself to take to the Bridge.


Walking onto the Bridge “Good Morning Commander” James commented “Here I brought you a hot coffee.” “Thank you Captain I can really use that” Rachael replied with a grin. “So how were things on Gamma Shift” he asked then sipping his coffee. “Good, I checked the Stations throughout the night and the Computer was on top of everything; which is the way it should be” she replied. “Good, starting tonight we’ll let the Computer control the Ship while we all get some sleep. It’ll wake me if there’s a problem anyway” he started. Just then Lieutenants T’Sol and SanChez reported to the Bridge “Good Morning Lieutenants” the Captain said as they returned the gesture “Computer this is Captain Lake, return all Ship’s functions back to the Crew except Science” he ordered “All functions returned except for Science” came the reply. Minutes later Helm informed the Captain “Sir we’ll be approaching Teranko soon” T’sol said. “Drop us out of warp; full impulse around the planet then plot-in our return home.” “Aye Captain, dropping out of warp…..return coarse plotted in” T’Sol replied. “Let’s go home then, warp seven to start then increase to warp eight” came the order. “Aye Sir.”


    The rest of the day went as expected and without a hitch; everyone were executing their duties like a well oiled machine. As the Alpha shift was about to end “Computer this is Captain Lake, please take control of the Ship until zero seven hundred tomorrow; wake me if there’s a problem” came the request. Taking control of the Ship until zero seven hundred tomorrow; will wake you if there is a problem” came the reply.


     Everyone assembled in the Mess Hall and grabbed their meal from the replicators. Soon everyone was seated enjoying their meal while chatting, swapping more stories, and having a good time. When Rachael finished her meal she disposed of her dishes and walked over by James, bent down and whispered “I’m going to our quarters and relax” she commented. “Ok I’ll see you later” he replied. Racheal bid everyone a good evening and left. James stayed for awhile enjoying the company while noticing how well everyone were getting along. Shortly James started to yawn figuring his day was done; standing “I’m going to retire also. I would like the Bridge Crew at their Stations at zero seven hundred since we’ll be back at the Station about zero nine hundred” he ordered then wished all a good night.


    Walking into their quarters he noticed Rachael ready for bed reading on her Computer Screen. Closing the door “Racheal you ok, you left rather abruptly after dinner” he asked with some concern. She looked over at him with a smile “I’m fine. I wanted some quiet time; as much as I like this Crew they tend to get quite noisy at dinner” she explained. James thought for a moment “Would you like me to leave so you can be alone” James inquired a little confused. Racheal sat up on the side of her bed “No please; I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that, I just needed to get away from the noise’ she explained then went on “And for the record I enjoy our time together talking.” “Oh good, you had me going there for a minute” he replied with a grin “I’m going to shower” as he grabbed his towel and shorts for sleeping. Shortly James returned “Did I miss anything” he asked with a grin. “Not really” she replied with a smile. “Just so you know Racheal, I asked the Crew to be on the Bridge at zero seven hundred since we should arrive back at the Station at zero nine hundred or there about” he explained. “Sounds reasonable given our timeframe tomorrow” she commented “Besides I usually wake up when you get up anyway.” “I noticed that; no matter how quiet I am you still wake up” he replied with a chuckle. “I guess I’m a light sleeper” Racheal replied with a grin. James climbed into bed “I’ll see you in the morning Commander.” “Yes you will Captain” she replied as they both drifted off to sleep.


    By zero seven hundred the Bridge Crew were at their Stations and Captain Lake transferred the controls back to their respective Stations. A few moments later “Captain we have a Romulan Warbird following us and their gaining” Maria stated with some concern.


“What? What’s a Romulan Warbird doing out this far” James stated matter of factly “Helm increase to Warp 9.5; let’s see how close they want to get to DS9” came the order. “Aye Sir going to Warp 9.5 now” Helm replied. Tapping his Comm “Engineering I increased to Warp 9.5…we have a Romulan Warbird following us; how we doing down there” James inquired. “Good Captain the Warp Engines are purring like a kitten” Daniel replied. “Good let me know if anything changes” James ordered. “Tactical where’s that Ship now” James queried. “It appears they have peeled off and are returning the same way they came” Maria replied with a sense of relief.


Several minutes later T’Sol informed James “Captain we will be approaching DS9 in a few minutes” “Drop out of warp, half impulse if you would please” James ordered. “Aye Captain dropping out of warp now; half impulse Sir. “Comms open a channel to DS9 and put on speaker.” “All set Captain” Maria replied. “DS 9 this is the Vigilant returning; how should we proceed” James asked. “Opening the space doors and opening the deck now; cut engines to one quarter impulse and adjust heading zero point one, *one” “Aye Sir” T’Sol replied then after a couple of minutes “Helm throttle back to zero; we’ll grab you with a tractor beam and guide you in; lower you landing struts” the Dock Master instructed. “Aye Sir starting sequence now” T’Sol replied. Moments later the tractor beam grabbed the Vigilant which slightly jarred the Ship. James tapped his Comm. “Engineering power down the warp core” he ordered. “As you wish Captain” as Daniel made the necessary adjustments to power down the core. The Ship settled into its berth then the deck closed back up to cradle the Ship. “Captain purging the Bay now, give it five minutes then you’re free to depart the Ship” the Dock Master instructed. “Understood, Lake out” then tapping his Comm to ship wide “All Crew please meet in the Mess Hall for a moment Captain out” Looking at the Bridge Crew “Great job everyone” James stated with pride in his new Crew.” “Computer power down the Bridge”; the Computer did as requested.


    After everyone assembled together James had few things to go over “A couple of quick items then you’re free to leave. First you all did a fabulous job on our first time out, thank you. Secondly the Commodore informed me a few days ago we will have a minimum of twenty four hours between missions; I would strongly suggest you all get caught up on your sleep before doing anything else. That’s all I have unless there are any questions” James commented as no one said a word. “Ok secure the Ship then we can exit on the port side” he instructed. Everyone grabbed their duffels and made their way to Deck One’s exit; meanwhile Daniel reengaged the wall from out of the ceiling thereby securing Deck 2 then joined his Crew Mates.


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