Getting Underway

Chapter 30

    Captain James Lake arrived to an empty Bridge at about zero seven hundred more than ready to get this new adventure started. Taking the command seat he grabbed his padd from his thigh pocket and made a few notes on a couple of things that he wanted checked; although nothing too important just for his own piece of mind. James hadn’t slept terribly well; some of it was excitement and also realizing he had been given command of another one of Section 42’s newest Ships.

    Hearing the doors swoosh open James turned to see who it was. Of course it was his Number One; early as usual. Racheal walked over and took her seat with a smile “Good morning Captain, sleep well” she inquired.

   “So, so and you” James replied with a grin a little more relaxed now that his First Officer was here.

    “About the same I guess” Racheal answered “So you ready for this Captain.”

    James grinned “As ever as I ever will be” as they both heard the Lift doors once again with a number of the Bridge Crew arriving early “Good morning everyone, thank you for being here early. Please feel free to get your Stations ready to go.

    Roan walked over to James “Captain where would you like me stationed” he inquired since there were only two command chairs.

    “When both the Commander and myself are on the Bridge, I would like you at Tactical unless otherwise ordered. Of course if either one of us is absent then you would be seated here at Command” James explained.

    “As you wish Sir” Roan replied then went to the Tactical Station where Lieutenant SanChez was already seated.

    “Good morning Lt. Commander and thank you for helping out at Tactical” Maria commented with a smile happy to have an extra pair of hands.

    “You are welcome Lieutenant SanChez. I will be here unless I’m needed at Command; that’s the plight of a Second Officer” he replied almost showing a grin.

    By zero seven fifteen everyone was on the Bridge and at their Stations doing final checks before getting ready for departure. James walked to the front of the Bridge to address the Crew “Good morning and thank you for your early arrival, especially on our first time out with the new Vigilant-A. We’ll be departing at zero eight hundred so hang tight; we’ll be underway soon.”

    Bending down by Helm in a low voice “Mr. T’Sol you ready for this” James inquired knowing T’Sol was certainly up to the task.

    “Yes Captain, I believe I am” T’Sol replied in his usual Vulcan manner.

    James smiled and squeezed T’Sol’s shoulder then tapped his Comm on his way back to his seat “Lieutenant Herek, how we doing down there” James asked already knowing the answer.

    “Good Captain. Everything is ready for an eight hundred departure as per your orders Sir” Daniel replied still a little in awe of Engineering.

    “Excellent Lieutenant. I’m sure you and the Commander have everything well in hand” Lake answered as Comms spoke up “Captain you have an incoming from Commodore Chi, Sir” Heidi McDoogle informed him.

    James stood and walked up behind Helm straightening his uniform “On screen Ensign.” Aye Sir.” As he saw a familiar face “Good morning Commodore.”

    “Good morning Captain and Crew. I just wanted to wish you a very successful and uneventful maiden voyage” Rebecca commented with a smile “Captain we’ll get together after your return. I’m anxious to know how the new Ship does before we make any more.”

    “As you wish Commodore and thank you for the well wishes; I’ll see you when we return. Lake out.

    By this time it was just about zero eight hundred when James ordered “Comms please open a ship wide” he ordered “Attention Crew, this is the Captain. We will be departing momentarily for what I hope to be a very good shakedown. Please keep an eye on your specific areas and report anything that isn’t as it should be. Thank you” and with that the channel was closed.

    Taking a deep breathe and turning to his Number One with a smile “Helm start the departure sequence please then thrusters until we clear the docking arm” James ordered.

    “Aye Captain. Severing umbilicals now and releasing docking clamps…..thrusters engaged” Lieutenant T’Sol called out as you could feel the Ship starting to move.

    “Once cleared…..one quarter impulse until we clear the outer markers” Lake ordered happy to finally be getting underway.

    “Aye Captain……the Ship is now clear of the docking arm….going to one quarter impulse” T’Sol informed the Captain. After several minutes “Outer markers cleared, awaiting your order Sir.”

    “Excellent Mr. T’Sol, warp four if you please” came the Captain’s order.

    “Initiating warp four Captain” was the response from Helm.

    Tapping his comm “Lieutenant Herik, we’ll be gradually increasing warp until we achieve warp nine; any concerns” James inquired.

    “No Sir, the engines are running smooth as silk Captain” Daniel replied happy as could be with the new Ship so far.

    The new Ship performed well as Captain Lake increased warp for the next couple of hours slowly reaching warp nine “Helm drop us back to warp seven” James ordered not wanting to overtax the engines.

    “Decreasing to warp seven Sir” T’Sol replied quite pleased with the way the Vigilant was responding.

    Looking at his Number One “We may as well try out the cloaking and see what happens” as James gave Racheal a nod.

    “Lieutenant SanChez please initiate cloaking” Commander Reese called out then waited to see what happened.

    “Initiating cloaking now Ma’am” Maria replied as she completed the order “We are now cloaked Commander.” 

    The Vigilant ran cloaked for the next hour before Commander Reese gave the order “Ms. SanChez, please drop us out of cloak.”

    “Dropping cloak now Commander “ Maria stated with a smile “The new cloaking system worked well.”

    But before Racheal could respond Heidi spoke up from Comms “Captain, Commander I”m picking up a distress call from a freighter” then she paused a moment checking her display then turning to face command “It appears to be about fifteen light years from our present position, Sirs.”

    “Ensign can you extrapolate the freighters current position” Captain Lake inquired knowing he was duty bound to try and lend a hand.

    After a couple of moments “Yes I have their current position…..sending the coordinates to Helm Sir” Heidi replied figuring the Captain would want to investigate.

    “Excellent Ms McDoogle. Helm plot a course as per those coordinates if you please” Lake ordered.

    “Coordinates plotted in…awaiting your order Captain” T’Sol replied.

    Tapping his chair comm “Lieutenant Herrick, we have a situation; is the slipstream available” James inquired hoping for the answer.

    “Yes Captain…..slipstream is at your disposal Sir” Daniel replied happy to be giving this new type of drive some exercise.

    “Excellent” tapping his chair comm once again “Attention Crew. We’ll be initiating Blue Alert which will enable the slipstream drive so you may want to grab on to something. For future reference if you hear blue alert….that means we’re going to slipstream. Lake out.”

    “Science, Tactical please keep a sharp eye on your consoles, I wouldn’t want to slam into something while in slipstream” James ordered as he heard “Aye Sir” from both stations. “Blue Alert” he stated as the Bridge’s lights turned to a blue color. Mr T’Sol drop us out of slipstream when we reach one light year away from the freighter then warp four. Any time you’re ready Helm.”

    T’Sol checked his readings one last time “Initiating slipstream now Captain” and with that you could almost feel the Ship becoming longer for a few moments. Looking at the view screen all one could see was a “blur” as the stars streaked by.

    After awhile T’Sol informed Command “Captain we’re approaching the one light year distance you requested…..dropping out of slipstream now” as you could feel the ship slowing down “Going to warp four Sir.”

    “Thank you Lieutenant” as James stood “Comms hail the freighter” as he walked up behind Helm straitening his uniform. Moments later an older gentleman’s face appeared on the screen.

With a smile “Greetings, I’m Captain James Lake of the USS Vigilant. We picked up your distress call….how can we be of assistance.”

    “Captain Lake thank you for answering our distress call. We were caught in a meteor shower and have sustained significant damage to our propulsion systems. Unfortunately no one on my small crew has that kind of knowledge or experience to make those kinds of repairs….then he paused “Captain apologies…where are my manners….I’m Captain Johnson” he replied as you could see the relief on his face now that help had arrived.

    “That’s very understandable given your situation. With your approval I’ll be sending a small Security Team along with three of our Engineers to take a look and hopefully effect repairs to your Ship” Lake explained.

    “Yes, please by all means send over your teams. The sooner we can get up and running the better” Johnson replied with a smile for the fist time since their conversation started.

    “Our people will be there shortly. Lake out.” Then turning “Commander Roan I want you to lead the away Team. Take two more security with you well armed. When you’re set head to Main Engineering where you’ll take three Engineers with your Team. I’m not expecting any kind of trouble but you can’t be too careful” Lake ordered.

    “Understood Captain and I will complete our mission and bring everyone back alive” Roan replied stone faced happy to be doing what he does best, then left the Bridge.

Moving Day

Chapter 29

    The following morning James woke about zero five hundred, showered and dressed in a clean uniform for the day. Walking out to the living area he grabbed a cup of hot black coffee and sat looking around for a few minutes thinking “Well I guess this will be the last time I’ll be in these quarters” then sipping his coffee “I better get a move on my stuff isn’t going to pack itself” as he got up off the couch.

    Grabbing two large duffels James started packing up his belongings. He learned a long time ago not to collect a lot of things which made packing and moving much simpler and easier. Soon he was finished and decided to go and see how Racheal was coming along with her packing.

    Walking across the corridor James palmed her door chime “Come in” came a familiar voice. James walked in with a smile “So how’s the packing coming along; need a hand” he inquired.

    Racheal looked up and smiled “Actually I’m on the last of packing but thanks for the offer” she replied then a few minutes later “There all done” as she stood and walked over to James giving him a kiss. After the kiss Racheal was a little sad “You know I’m going to miss this place” then she paused looking into James’ eyes “This is where we first kissed and realized there was an attraction between us.”

    James smiled placing his hands on her waist then pulling her closer “Yes I know what you mean but we can make new memories together on the Ship, that is if your still ok with us being together when off duty” James commented with a grin.

    “Yes I’m very much ok with that arrangement; like I’ve said our personal time is just that, personal” Racheal replied as her door chime went off. She opened the door to see a Crewman standing at her door “Can I help you.”

    Hi Commander, I’m here to move your belongings to your new Ship” he stated then seeing James “Yours as well Captain.”

    A quite surprised Racheal commented “Please come in. All my things are right there so have at it.” With a head nod the Crewman wheeled in his cart and loaded up her things. Turning to James “So where are your things” he inquired then James pointed to the room across the corridor and walked over with him opening the door. Shortly everything was loaded up “These things will be in your new quarters when you arrive” the Crewman explained then turned going to the next Crew’s quarters.

    Captain Lake took one last look around at a place her had called home for little over a year. Letting out a sigh he exited as the door slid shut then secured the quarters. Turning around James saw Racheal standing with a tear in her eye “Don’t be sad, after all we’re starting a new adventure together” he stated hoping upon hope things would turn out well.

    “I know” she replied pausing a moment then smiled “You’re right and I’m happy to enter the next chapter of our lives together” Racheal replied “Guess we better get going then.” James nodded as the two Officers left the area for the last time and made their way to their new home.

    Walking up the gangway James and Racheal entered the new USS Vigilant-A proceeding to the Lift “Deck 2” James called out as he grabbed Racheal’s hand and gave it a tender squeeze “Ready Commander” he inquired. Racheal squeezed his hand back “Absolutely Captain” then they dropped hands just before the doors opened.

    Exiting the Lift they found their rooms as James keyed in his security code. The doors swooshed open as they walked in. Looking around James commented with a grin “Well, looks like someone has things well under control” as James noticed his belongings were there waiting for him.

    “Looks to be” Racheal replied with a grin of her own “Would you like some help getting things settled, then you can return the favor.”

    “Sure…..that way we can make short work of both our quarters” he stated with a smile. They set to work and about an hour later James’ quarters was finished. “Ok, your turn” as the two left for Racheal’s quarters next door.

    Walking in Racheal turned towards James “I’ll take care of my clothes and bathroom things while you unpack those two boxes; those things can go on the bookcase” she instructed him.

    “As you wish Commander” James replied with a grin as both started getting her new home organized. Little over an hour and a half her new home was all setup.

    Both quarters were the same size and the floor plan were the same. Entering, the bathroom was on the left which was a nice size. Behind that was the bedroom with a large bed, nightstands, dresser, and a ample sized closet. The living area contained a couch, a table in front, two chairs with side tables. On the right hand side of the room was a bookcase in front of the wall along with a terminal, chair, and desk in front. Not large quarters but comfortable and nice and new.

    “That’s finished so now what” Racheal inquired “Maybe we should make ourselves available to the Crew?”

    “Yes definitely” James replied “I’m going to head to the Bridge and see whose there; also inquire how their quarters are. And you?” James commented switching into Captain mode.

    “I want to checkout my Office for a few minutes then I’ll join you on the Bridge” then she paused “Unless you need something else from me.”

    “No, that’s fine” James replied then continued “I’ll give it a couple more hours then I’ll call the Crew together for a brief meeting since we’ll be shoving off tomorrow morning for our shakedown.”

    “Sounds like a plan Captain” she commented with a grin. The two Officers left her quarters for deck 1 both very excited and a little nervous at the same time about this new chapter.

    Walking onto the Bridge James heard “Captain on the Bridge” as everyone snapped to attention. “As you were folks” as he paused a moment “For future reference you don’t have to snap to attention whenever someone from Command enters….although I do appreciate the respect” he commented with a smile. 

    Captain Lake, as was his custom, decided to talk to the Bridge Crew to see how they were doing. Going over to Operation/Communications Officer first “Ensign McDoogle how are your quarters” he inquired with a smile.

    “Good Captain, even though it’s on the small side it’s very comfortable and cozy. I’m all settled in as per your request” Heidi replied returning the smile.

    “Excellent” James commented then moved on to the next Station until he had talked to everyone concerning how they were doing and how they found their quarters. He heard the Lift then turned to see Commander Roan enter the Bridge and walking over to him “Captain greetings” Roan stated.

    “Greetings to you as well Lt. Commander Roan. So how did you find your quarters” James inquired with a smile.

    “My quarters are adequate, not that I’ll be there much more than to sleep” Roan replied “Are we starting our shakedown tomorrow, Sir.”

    “Yes we are…..matter of fact I was about ready to ask the Crew to assemble here on the Bridge for a very brief meeting” James replied then turned to the Ensign “Communications open a ship wide please.” Moments later James received a thumbs from Comms “Attention Crew, this is the Captain, please report to the Bridge for a brief meeting. Lake out.”

    Several minutes later the entire Crew assembled “Thank you all for being so prompt. Just a couple of things…..tomorrow morning Alpha Shift please be at your departments/stations by zero seven hundred for a zero eight hundred departure for our shakedown. Other than that the rest of the day is yours so get some rest; tomorrow will be a big day for us. Any questions or comments.

   Lieutenant Herrick spoke up wanting James to know they would be all set “Captain, Engineering will be ready with all Ship’s systems online for your departure” Daniel informed Command.

    “Excellent Lieutenant. If there isn’t anything else from anyone you are dismissed” James stated with a smile as the Crew departed from the Bridge.