Another Chapter

Chapter 24

    As thirteen hundred approached, James and Racheal were on their way to see the Commodore as Racheal inquired “James you excited at what Rebecca has to say concerning the new Ship.”

    James grinned “That and I have a bunch of questions that need answering so I have all the necessary information to share with the rest of the Crew” he replied feeling the same way he did when he met with Chi for the first time a year ago.

    Walking into the Chi’s Office James walked up to the receptionist “Excuse me, Captain Lake and Commander Reese here to see Commodore Chi.”

    The Lieutenant looked up “Ah yes, the Commodore is expecting you; please right this way” as the three walked into Chi’s Office “Commodore you have visitors” he stated.

    Rebecca turned from the viewport with a smile “Thank you Lieutenant, that’ll be all and hold all my calls please” she ordered as he left the room with a smile and closed the door on his way out.

    “Please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable…..can I get you anything to drink” she inquired.

    The Commander spoke up “Yes, a water would be nice” she replied as James chimed in “Make that two” knowing this could be a lengthy meeting.

    Handing each Officer a water, and one for herself, Rebecca began explaining the new Ship “First of all I’m happy to report that the new Ship will be operational in two days time and ready for her shakedown cruise in five so we have a lot of work ahead of us beforehand” she stated then continued as she brought up  the Ship on the holo-screen “So here’s your new Ship” she stated as the holo-screen showed the object rotating in all directions “We utilized the design from the Miranda Class space frame and we  incorporated the best of both Saber and Saratoga Classes as you can see by the placement of the nacelles and the ship’s overall sleekness.”

    James sat in awe of the new design as he inquired “Ma’am is this a new build or did you use an pre-used saucer section and refit it with new tech” wanting to know for future reference.

    Rebecca grinned “Excellent question James. Even though we’re using an older design for the basis I can assure you the entire ship is a brand new modular design with the latest stable tech Section 42 has to date” she replied as she handed each Officer new padds “These are for you, and one for each member of your Crew, with all the technical readouts on the new ship…..study the information and please share what I’m telling you with your Crew as well. Any questions so far?”

    James spoke right up “Off the top of my head……first what will be the naming of this new wonder and secondly what happens to the Vigilant after all the time and money spent on her” he inquired.

    “The new ship’s name is the USS Vigilant-A, NCC-71214; same as previous. To answer your second question the MK III will be rebranded as the Shuttle Atlantis and will reside aboard the Vigilant-A” Chi explained.

    Next Racheal chimed in “Obviously this will be a larger ship and we may be hard pressed to handle her with the eight person Crew we now have; not to mention the Atlantis” she commented a little confused at the moment.

    “Please let me clarify. You’re correct Commander with your crew concerns. Therefore I will be tripling the size of your Crew; your challenge will to integrate both Crews into one cohesive unit which I’m sure you’ll both do from what I’ve witnessed since your inception” Rebecca stated with some pride in this Crew.

    “I’m still not clear on what purpose the Shuttle will be serving” James inquired with some concern in all this.

    “ There will still be occasions when a small, fast, cloak-able Shuttle will be needed same as some of your other missions. When those times arise I would recommend  Commander Reese take command of the Atlantis and use most your original Crew for that part of the mission while the remainder stay on board and see to the Vigilant-A” Rebecca explained in greater detail.

    James had a strange look on his face “If I may…..if Commander Reese is leading an Away Team then who will be the next ranking Officer after the Commander and myself” James inquired still not sure about her explanation.

    “Let me set your mind at ease James. Your new Crew consists of sixteen people who have been thoroughly trained aboard the Defiant each being quite proficient in several areas each. One exceptional man has been promoted to Lt. Commander and will serve as your Second officer. After the Crew is working as one cohesive unit then as Captain you can assign whoever you like for the Shuttle Crew” then Chi paused “If I may make a suggestion James; being Captain your place should be on the Vigilant-A most of the time so, like I mentioned moments ago, I would recommend that Commander Reese be in command of Shuttle missions….she is more than capable and is someone you obviously work very well with and you trust” Rebecca concluded.

    “I couldn’t agree with you more Rebecca and it’s certainly is something we will be discussing very soon” he replied looking over at Racheal.

    Hearing their conversation Racheal was a little skeptical about actually being in command of a Mission but decided to remain silent knowing her and James would work things out.

     The Commodore went on for the next two hours going over more information on this new venture explaining things in much greater detail. When finished she inquired “So do either of you have any more questions at this time.”

    James looked at Racheal then back to Rebecca “Not at this time and I’m sure things will become much clearer as we proceed” then he paused “We will be meeting with our current Crew first thing tomorrow morning and they will be brought up to speed” as James paused once again “If I may suggest, I would like to see a meet and greet much like you did initially when we first came together as a Crew” James suggested thinking that this would go a long way towards combining the two crews.

    Rebecca stood looking at James for a few moments then smiled “That, Captain, is an excellent idea and should help promote one unified Crew” then she paused “I’ll even foot the bill for dinner and drinks for everyone. Matter of fact let’s make it tomorrow, at say, eighteen hundred here at the Base and I’ll let the personnel on the Divergent know after we’re finished here” Chi concluded with a smile.

    “Looks like we have some work ahead of us the next few days” James commented with a grin “If we’re finished here may we be dismissed; the Commander and I have quite a bit to figure out.”

    “Yes you are dismissed and try and get some rest in between everything and we’ll see you and your present Crew tomorrow at eighteen hundred then” Rebecca commented very hopeful of what was yet to come.