"Under the Sea and Above the Stars". Closed for WhisperedDesires :D

[desperado1089]

"Under the Sea and Above the Stars"

(OOC: Just to put any potential readers in the right frame of mind, this is a Star Trek-themed RP, set in the mid-25th century.)

Captain's Log, Stardate 97488. Inaugural entry, Captain Maxwell Archer reporting. Today will be my first day as the Captain of a new Enterprise, whose head designer was actually an Abyssian. I find myself eager to meet my First Officer, who I am told is the first Abyssian, half or otherwise, to join Starfleet.

Otherwise, I am told all is proceeding as planned, and we will be ready to make our maiden voyage in just over forty-eight hours, as scheduled. Updates will be added as necessary. End log entry.

As befitting a newly-minted Captain of a Federation Starship, Maxwell Archer--the several times removed great-grandson of the legendary Jonathan Archer--had exercised the right to board the ship by shuttlecraft, rather than using the transporter, so that he might look upon it in all its majesty before he took command. To say it was beautiful would be an understatement. It truly looked a work of art; the sleek, slight design made it look like it could pass through a nebula and not displace one micron of stellar matter, the whites and blues of the hull and nacelles nothing like the cold gray of previous vessels. He turned to the pilot, a young Ensign who navigated the crowded spacedock like it was his hometown, and said, "Take us into the shuttlebay." The youth worked his hands wordlessly over the controls, and the small shuttle banked smoothly and after a few more moments touched down lightly inside the cavernous bay where the Enterprise's small craft would be stored. As he descended the boarding ramp, another junior officer shouted, "Captain on deck!" The assembled crew snapped to attention as a bosun's whistle sounded. A podium was already ready for him. He stepped up to it, cleared his throat, and recited. "By order of Starfleet Command, on this day, Stardate 97488..." The speech was fairly standard, and he had memorized it before he came here. He was nervous--this was his first command, after all--and it was the Enterprise, for crying out loud. But he was also excited for what the future held.

 

[WhisperedDesires]

Vega was late.

Well... late was perhaps the wrong term to be using. Vega wasn't late to fixing a problem with the ship's shield array, something the woman very much took pride in that she was still someone others could call when just such a problem arose. Vega WAS late in the sense that she was not where she was supposed to be, when she was supposed to be there, or even in the uniform she was supposed to be in. In fact, she was likely in precisely the wrong place, in very much the wrong uniform, fiddling with things she'd been informed she'd never have to touch again after the transfer to the Command division. Hah! Proves them wrong, doesn't it? Then again, it was difficult for anyone to say they knew Abyssian modifications quite as well as she did, especially among a crew that was for the first time having to handle certain bits that were, for all intents and purposes, alien. Being half-Abyssian had perks, some of which were quite helpful in her duties. Being sent through numerous crash courses in the exact modifications that had been made to standard Starfleet ship designs had been one of those so called "gifts", a harrowing six months of having technical drawings, updated manuals and quite a few Abyssian engineers practically force feed her every scrap of data they thought she might need.

Which is why, instead of standing in full dress uniform next to a Captain she hadn't actually met yet(there had been a number of scheduled meetings, all of which had fallen through for reasons entirely out of both individual's hands), she was waist deep in a power converter, the sleeves of her standard Command Division uniform rolled up to the elbows, trying to walk through the process of rewiring the thing while wondering why someone who had no clue what they were doing had been allowed to touch it at all. Granted, it wasn't entirely the fault of the manufacturers, getting instructions on how to connect this bit to that in the form of a video log showing an Abyssian waving his hands around while making drawn out whistles and vague light shows probably hadn't helped matters, but still, couldn't they have just got someone to translate? Not that she couldn't sympathize with the few xenolinguists she'd met who'd been trying to make sense of the Abyssian language. She'd actually seen a man crying after being greeted by her mother in the standard form of a dazzling light show mimicking the rising sun at dawn, though to this day Vega couldn't tell if it had been in horror or awe.

"I swear the power exchange is happening normally on the readings, but the shields are only holding at seventy percent and I don't think the Captain will be very pleased if we tell him that."

The thin, aggravated voice of an engineer, supposedly the ship's expert on the new shield arrays, was quick to break into Vega's thoughts, drawing her out of her musings upon the fallacy of human pride and neglecting to ask for help. At least he seemed better than others in that regard, helpfully passing a report along the moment he'd found the problem and realized he couldn't fix it. Just her luck that the only one who COULD fix it in a timely manner was either at a stuffy formal event that could have been handled over a ship wide message or was supposed to be there. She also couldn't honestly say she'd rather be there, because she'd give both her legs to be free of the responsibility and doing something sensible, like double checking every power converter on the ship twice over before they got underway. Forty-eight hours before they were to cast off, and as ever the engineering section was in a mad scramble to get everything working just so before anyone higher realized something was wrong.

"Someone just wired this thing wrong. It shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just keep an eye on those readings and let me know if you see a change."

"Yes ma'am."

The blessed silence that followed allowed Vega to work in peace, hands swiftly seeing to the various connections and wires that needed to be fixed. Occasionally she'd pause to examine her work, but otherwise the motions were practically second nature. A few minutes later, and a shout from the engineer alerted her to her success. She quickly extracted herself from the converter, accepting a handheld connected to the ship's shielding readouts. The steady rising of the shield's integrity was met with a satisfied grin before Vega was up and moving, rushing through the corridors at what she hoped was a respectable pace for a Commander and First Officer to be moving at. She was met with more than a few funny looks as she ducked through the hallways, slowing only as she reached one of the access doors to the shuttle bays, pausing only long enough to pull the sleeves back down on her uniform and slip inside just as the regulation speech was drawing to a close.

 

[desperado1089]

Captain Archer eyed the new arrival and was immediately struck by her beauty, despite the obvious signs that she had just came from Engineering. This must be Vega, he thought. The star that her namesake colony orbits could only hope to burn half as bright. He walked up to her with a casual gait, none of the discipline she no doubt expected anywhere on his features. "Commander Vega? I'm Captain Archer. It's nice to meet you, but as you no doubt know, there's much work to be done and precious few skilled enough to do it. As the ship's foremost expert on its Abyssian systems--" He nodded respectfully in her direction, indicating he was referring to her, "--I hereby release you from all other responsibilities until the Enterprise is ship-shape. My ready room is open, and if not, you can always leave me a message if it isn't urgent. Welcome aboard." He walked past her with a warm smile before exiting the shuttle bay and heading to the turbolift. As he walked, he called her on her communicator: "You're not alone in Enterprise first officers missing the ceremony. Will Riker wasn't even aboard the Enterprise-D when Jean-Luc Picard took command. You'll do fine. I believe in everyone playing to their strengths first and their ranks and positions second, if they don't match. Except yours, of course. Archer out!" He closed the channel with a cheerful tone of voice.

 

[WhisperedDesires]

Vega's first encounter with her Captain was, admittedly, bizarrely short. He'd been finishing his speech as she'd entered, standing before the crowd, and that was more than enough to let her get an good view of him. It would have surprised her to see someone so young if she hadn't skimmed over his records at the first opportunity she could, in her somewhat limited experience captains tended to be older, if only so that they could have the requisite experience generally desired of their post. Pictures didn't do the man justice though, he was certainly easy on the eyes, and that was certainly an unexpected blessing.

What was less of a blessing was the casual manner the Captain strode up to her, relieved her of command responsibilities and then strode off again, leaving her with a parting message that was, frankly, a bit unexpected. Ok, a lot unexpected. She had been expecting a more formal greeting, perhaps a rundown of the ship's intended mission and functions, maybe the request for an initial report on the state of the ship's readiness. Instead she got... whatever that was. Vega stood in place for a few seconds, mind struggling to comprehend just exactly what happened. With a growl of frustration she spun on her heel and marched after the man that was supposed to be her captain, swiftly falling into step a few paces behind him.

"Sir! With all due respect-" Possibly none at all at the moment, but then Vega had been told more often than not that she had a tendency to be bullheaded when in defense of HER engineers and seeing through on all duties expected of her. "-engineering can handle themselves well enough! Lieutenant Commander Masif has things well in hand, and will continue to have things well in hand until such a time as I'm needed. You can't expect me to just ignore my primary responsibilities at the drop of a hat! We've reports to go over, last minute transfers to handle, the cargo manifest to finalize, not to mention I need you to review the shift rotations, as well as the requisition requests already coming in from the various departments."

 

[desperado1089]

He turned around and, to what was probably her astonishment, he was still smiling. "You need to relax, Commander. If all is well as you say, then by all means, let us drown ourselves in paperwork and raktajino. I confess I'm a little new to this whole thing, so perhaps using the word 'release' was a bad idea. I was just trying to make certain that, should your expertise be required once more, you know that you shouldn't hesitate in offering it, nor do you need my permission, unless we're engaged in something more important, which at the moment, isn't much." He tapped his communicator. "Computer, send all relevant shipboard readiness documents to my ready room." The soft female voice rang out, saying "Affirmative" as the turbolift doors swished open. "Ready to see the bridge? The viewscreen is online, and since we're docked we can access the visual sensors on the pylons, if you want to admire your people's work."

 

[WhisperedDesires]

Relax he said. Yes, this was clearly the time they should be taking things slowly, relaxing their way through the maiden voyage of an entirely new class of vessel that her people had helped design and build, which could very well cement their place among the Federation. Just relax, Vega, if anything goes wrong an entire half of your heritage could get blamed for countless people dying in the vacuum of space...

"As you say, Sir."

She'd be forced to admit that she was actually looking forward to seeing the bridge. Unlike some others, she'd only gotten to look at the ship from the construction yard it was currently docked in, before she was set to work dealing with this problem or that. Having the chance to take a few minutes to view the vessel in all its glory would be a welcome, if hopefully short, break from what was looking to be an increasingly hectic schedule.

 

[desperado1089]

As if her thoughts registered on her face, "Max" chuckled. "I meant to say, that stressing about things that are either out of our control, or already under control, is counter-productive and only invites other problems. You can be alert, even vigilant for things going wrong, but let it dominate your thoughts and you'll never have any peace." They stepped into the turbolift, and Max commanded, "Bridge!"

They emerged to what was actually the most finished part of the ship's critical areas, the last-minute polishes being all that needed to be done as a Lieutenant shouted, "Captain on the bridge!" Everyone snapped to attention. He smiled at everyone. "Thank you. Some of you are Spacedock workers, some will be joining us. But you are all part of something greater. The USS Enterprise has been the Federation's flagship since the days of my ancestor. I consider it to be almost poetic justice that this vessel's design was influenced by the Federation's newest member planet, Abyssia. It is truly a work of art that will soon be hurtling through space at speeds up to warp factor nineteen. Now, let us pause for a moment, and appreciate this work of art. Computer, interface with the shipyard's systems." A beep sounded, and the computer's voice said, "Interface established." "Activate visual sensors one through fourteen, and enable viewscreen. Cycle the feeds from those sensors in order, with ten-second intervals, until commanded otherwise or priority communications come through." The computer signaled its affirmation, and carried out its instructions.

 

[WhisperedDesires]

For Vega, it was both the validation of her time with Starfleet and that efforts her people had spent decades working towards.

Appearing on the view screen was a ship designed to mimic the hydrodynamic forms of aquatic lifeforms. Inspiration was drawn from both Earth and Abyssian aquatic life, from the sleek torpedo like design to the placement of the nacelles. It was smaller than most of Starfleet's more prominent designs, to facilitate the necessary descent into the ocean depths the vessel was built to travel through, not to mention even bothering to bring a capital ship intended to enter the atmosphere of a planet. But even then it was a beautiful ship, Abyssian aesthetic married to Federation utility. She'd read reports from a few that had lamented the costs of building something like the current Enterprise. They couldn't understand the Abyssian enthusiasm after they'd been told that a ship design they'd worked on would be given the Enterprise name. They couldn't see the celebrations under the waves, the whole planet rising up in joy at the knowledge.

"Beautiful."

The word slipped from Vega's lips, even as her gaze remained locked on the cycling views provided by the sensors. Something that had been built by both sides of her heritage, something that, even if only a little, she would contribute to. It was a bit overwhelming, but she'd face it all the same.

 

[desperado1089]

"It is, isn't it? And another layer of poetic justice, that you are her First Officer, yeah?" Max made sure to lower his voice, to avoid disturbing everyone else. He noticed that several Spacedock workers were in EV suits, putting final touches on various parts of the hull. He pointed at one of them when they came in view. "Would you like to see her from the ant's perspective? Helmet cams, you know?"

 

[WhisperedDesires]

Justice would not be the word for it. Her people may have been visited but all manner of misfortune in their first tentative steps into the stars, but they had not had that same misfortune from the Federation. But it was certainly fitting, her standing aboard the vessel that would be a shining example of what the Abyssians could achieve, given the chance.

At any rate, the Captain had asked a question regarding the engineer's camera feeds. Vega's answer was to shake her head slightly, eye still fixed on the cycling view afforded to her from the shipyard's sensors.

"No. This will do... but I don't think we should spend too much time here. There's much to do over the next few days, Captain, and we wouldn't want to get behind."

 

[desperado1089]

"Indeed, but perhaps when all is settled, we could see if you still remember how to conduct a spacewalk?" Max raised his voice to address the bridge. "Ladies, gentlemen, feel free to enjoy the show, but try not to stare too long. If you need us, Commander Vega and I will be in my ready room. Shall we?" He crossed in front of the viewscreen to open the door to the small room off the bridge, that had served Captains well since the NX-class vessels that his ancestor commanded the first of. When they crossed the threshold, Max picked up a wrapped box from the desk. "I wasn't really sure if you'd go in for this sort of thing, but, here. To commemorate your first tenure as First Officer of a Federation Starship." He held out the box to Vega, waiting for her to take it.

 

[WhisperedDesires]

There was the immediate surprise at being given a gift at all, not to mention the sudden guilt of not having something to give in return. While humanity was much less concerned with returning gifts, at least overall, there were plenty of species in the galaxy that abhorred a gift unreturned, the Abyssians among them. While she was by no means entirely accepting of the Abyssian customs, Vega had grown up with a mother who'd been all too happy to instill some of her culture within her daughter, and the young woman was, even as she accepted the box offered, considering what might be appropriate to give in return. Perhaps some trinket from Abyssia would suffice.

The opened box revealed its contents, drawing a pleased smile from her as she extracted the object within. It was a beautiful recreated model of the current Enterprise, the sheen of metal it was constructed from a faithful recreation of the vessel itself. Perhaps too well, if Vega's eyes weren't betraying her.

"Is this Abyssian steel?"

 

[desperado1089]

"It is," Max replied. "From a mine close to where you grew up, if your mother's memory serves. She told me how you used to play in the abandoned parts, and then one day you stumbled upon an undiscovered piece, and suddenly that part wasn't abandoned anymore. I think she told me that that sculpture was made from the exact hunk of metal you dislodged when they found you. Dunno why nobody thought to make something out of it until now, but I'm glad they put it off the way they did."

He sat down on the couch opposite the desk. "Vega, I try to run a more...I don't know, a more relaxed command style? But not one where we completely disregard the rules, I'm trying to find a good balance." Max shrugged. "I'm at a loss to explain it further." With a sigh, he grabbed a PADD and switched it on. "I hope we can become friends. Good ones. The best Captains and First Officers always were two sides of the same coin, in a way. You've read history, you know what I'm talking about." Holding out the device in his hand, he said, "Now, shall we get to work? We can find a good place for your gift later."

 

[WhisperedDesires]

A grimace of distaste. Of course her mother would tell that story. Of course her mother would be willing to speak about her to just about anyone who asked. It was a bit unexpected that she'd had something even Vega couldn't quite remember, just the vaguest memories of the events in question. But that such an old memory had, somehow, made its way back to her was admittedly... touching.

Less so was her Captain speaking to her family behind her back. He seemed to prefer a more relaxed command style, or perhaps just more familiarity with her than she'd like. She'd spent most of her career keeping her personal and work lives separate, a difficult task at the best of times with how often Starfleet officers were away from home. Still, saying as much wouldn't help matters, and he wasn't wrong. It would be better to be friends than be at each others throats. So, the model was set aside in favor of another PADD, documents already getting pulled up in preparation for the no doubt long next few days of getting things in proper order.

"I look forward to working with you Captain. Now, I think we should probably start with the requisition forms here, and-"

 

[desperado1089]

BRIDGE
TWO DAYS LATER
0800 HRS

"Bridge to Engineering, status report!", Max said. Commander Masif responded at once: "Impulse and warp engines at your command, Captain."

"Excellent." He tapped his communicator again. "All hands, this is the Captain. Final checks have been completed. We are ready to begin our journey. I feel I should say something inspiring, but I cannot think of anything other than, let's see what's out there. After all, my mother always taught me that actions speak louder than words. All stations, prepare for departure." He shut off the communicator and turned to his First Officer. "Commander Vega? Would you like the honors of being the first person to fly her?"

 

[WhisperedDesires]

Vega was standing nearby as the Enterprise prepared to get underway. It had been a hectic couple of days, the ship swarming with personnel seeing to every detail imaginable. She had been similarly busy, rushing from meetings with the Captain to helping the Engineering Division tend to various problems. All to bring the ship to full readiness, and to this, the moment it would set off into the stars.

But at the Captains question Vega shook her head. This wasn't just her honor, much as she'd like to think so. Honestly she'd have preferred a full Abyssian be present, but mobility outside of water was difficult for their people, not entirely unexpected given their ocean world origins. But failing that, she'd rather not make a mockery of the vessel with her admittedly poor flight skills. She'd learned enough to realize she was terrible at it.

"No, let's leave it to the Ensign, Captain. This is an achievement for all."

 

[desperado1089]

"As you wish, Commander. But since you said that this is an achievement for all, Lieutenant Suvak, hail the Abyssian High Council. I believe the Matriarch said that she wished to see this moment for herself?" The Vulcan chief of security nodded, and a few moments later the viewscreen's feed was divided in half between the council chamber on the hailing frequency, and the Enterprise's own standard visual navigation sensors. The council remained respectfully silent, allowing the crew to focus on their duties.

"Ensign, thrusters ahead one-half, port and starboard at station keeping." The young woman's fingers danced across the control panel, and a moment later the Enterprise-G began moving under her own power for the first time. This is when the Council began to celebrate, their unique language filling both the speakers and the screen itself with their whale-like songs and the bio-luminescence that was such an integral part of their day-to-day communications with each other. Max found it awe-inspiring. Beautiful. He couldn't help but shed a tear over the joy he felt in this moment.

When the ship cleared the spacedock, Max spoke up again. "Ensign, bring her up to full impulse until we clear the system, then set a course for Abyssia. Warp seven." "Aye, sir," she responded.

 

[WhisperedDesires]

Though Vega was rusty, and perhaps a bit handicapped, in speaking her native tongue, understanding it was generally an easy task. The same could not be said for trying to track nearly a dozen Abyssians speaking at once, but the vibrant bursts of yellows, golds and greens spoke volumes enough of their excitement and joy. Vega felt her lips tug into a smile, her eyes flicking between the Council and the console in front of her, watching the readings from across the ship. Just in case.

 

[desperado1089]

As they passed the Asteroid Belt, Max raised his hands above his head, and the Council fell silent once more. "Thank you. Your language is a wonder to behold. Ensign, slow us down a moment. One of the planets in our solar system is named for an ancient Earth sea deity named Neptune. Would you like to take a closer look?" He addressed this last question to the Council, to which they almost instantaneously agreed, the viewscreen showing "subtitles" from each Council member that all showed a single word: "Yes". "You heard the Council, Ensign, give us a few orbits of Neptune." The ship banked smoothly to starboard, and a few minutes later the screen was filled with the deep blues of the Sol System's outermost "official" planet as the Enterprise settled into a standard orbit.

After "a few orbits of Neptune", Max ordered the officer at the helm to break orbit and set a course for Abyssia. "Course plotted and laid in, Sir," she responded a moment later. Captain Maxwell Archer then gave the single most exciting order of any Starfleet Captain's career, one that promised adventure, the unknown, everything that the Federation stood for all rolled into a single word.

"Engage!"

 

[WhisperedDesires]

Vega spent the time traveling between planets, and then between solar systems, monitoring the endless streams of data coming up from Engineering. While she had full faith in the crew, her more specialized knowledge made it something of a requirement that she keep an eye on things and, should the need arise, jump to the task of getting things back in working order. For all her discipline and careful watch, there remained a single thorn in her side, one that she'd been stuck with since childhood.

Is he hot?

The message appeared at her station with a near silent beep, Vega's brow furrowing at the sight of it. She didn't need to ask, or even check, to know who it was. Chief Medical Officer Miranda Livia, an expert on xenobiology with a particular focus on aquatic life inspired by her self-reported best friend. They'd grown up together, attended the Academy together and, on more than one occasion, got into trouble together. While Vega could be described as disciplined and focused, Miranda was more often described as flippant and irreverent. The two could not be more distant, at least on duty, but still they remained close, despite Vega's half-hearted and often joking attempts to separate.

You met him yesterday at the officer's briefing, so why don't you tell me.

But I haven't seen him sitting in the captain's chair, looking dashing and in charge. Come on, it couldn't hurt to snap a picture for me, right?

Why do you care? You're not even interested in a relationship, or even casual sex for that matter.

That's not true and you know it! I just have very specific standards.

Vega closed the small message window with a tap of her fingers, managing only just to keep a look of annoyance off her face. She loved her friend, she did, but sometimes... Regardless, she found solace in her duty, which in this case was serving as a helpful reminder for the Captain.

"Sir, if I may, the transit time might be a good opportunity to brief the whole crew on the mission for our maiden voyage."

 

[desperado1089]

Max clapped his hands enthusiastically. "An excellent suggestion, Commander." He pressed a button on the armrest of the Captain's Chair, and an electronic sound resembling a bosun's whistle rang out across the ship. "All hands, this is the Captain speaking. Today is, as you all know, our maiden voyage. The Abyssian High Council is here with us, on the bridge, on a hailing channel. So let's make a good impression. Our itinerary is rather simple, but has never been done with a Federation vessel of any kind, either Starship or submersible. We will attempt to set the Federation record for the deepest ocean dive ever accomplished. Surprisingly, that record has not changed since its founding, still held to this day by the Earth submersible Trieste and its historic dive to the Marianas Trench in the twentieth century. I think that five hundred years is long enough, don't you? Our destination is a point below the ocean surface of Abyssia. They, of course, have a name for it, in their beautiful language, but they have assured me that, if we succeed today, that we all can offer suggestions for what we will call it in English. The top five will be put to a vote amongst the crew. Engineering, make certain those structural integrity enhancements work as planned. After we're done making history, we'll head back to Earth for a little party. Hopefully all will go as planned, but if it doesn't, I have every confidence that we will all rise to the occasion. Archer, out."

The helm officer spoke up just then. "Approaching the Abyssia system, sir." "Drop us out of warp," Max responded. The woman's fingers danced over the controls again and the Enterprise smoothly reentered normal space a moment later. "Okay, go time. Take us down as soon as possible, Ensign. After all, time and tide wait for no one." The crew chuckled at his use of the phrase, specifically the word "tide", and Max smiled along with them. As the ship hurtled towards Abyssia, Max turned to Vega and smiled in a different, friendlier way. "Is there anything you'd like to say before we proceed, Vega?"

 

[WhisperedDesires]

It had been many years since she'd seen the oceans of Abyssia, the blue planet a shimmering jewel within the vastness of space. Even as the Enterprise entered the system, Vega could feel the excitement building. This was a first, the breaking of what was, in all reckonings, an rather ancient record, and if all went well they'd be setting a new depth record for the Federation records. Abyssians, of course, were already exploring such depths themselves, but for humanity to be going where no human, and indeed many other Federation races, had gone before...

Well, this is what she'd signed up for, all those years ago.

To boldy go.

"Only that all crews should be ready and waiting. While the controlled tests have all returned positive results, we all should be prepared for every eventuality. In particular, our EVA teams should all be on standby, prepared to disembark for field repairs at a moments notice."

 

[desperado1089]

Max nodded at his First Officer. "A wise precaution, Commander. I have already taken those steps, but I am glad that we are of one mind on this. Just remember, even the specially designed EV suits won't withstand the pressure of our ultimate destination today. Should we get in trouble all the way down there, the Enterprise's hull is going to have to be the only thing strong enough to get us out of it." He cleared his throat, then continued. "Helm, prepare to enter the atmosphere. All hands, Condition Blue. I repeat, Condition Blue. Prepare for submersible operations." As he spoke these words, the light panels that would normally signal a Red Alert instead turned to a soft blue color, which was accompanied by a low, warbling type of alarm--more of an advisory noise than an alert, but even so. The computer automatically carried out the steps necessary: activated the ballast systems, closed the shuttlebay doors, secured all outer hatches, reinforced the forward structural integrity field for breaking the surface of the water, and others that were too numerous to list. "This is it, people. All hands, brace for oceanic entry!" A moment later the Enterprise splashed through the surface of the Abyssian oceans, on their way to making history.

 

[WhisperedDesires]

The trench they'd been pointed towards was in a region that was largely unpopulated, roughly equivalent to Earth's idea of national parks. It was a trench left to the wilds of old, where wildlife swam freely and unhindered by the constructions of the Abyssian population. As the Enterprise pushed beneath the waves the crew would be greeted with the sight of that wildlife, the distant calls of leviathans, the iridescent schools of shimmerfish, the endless expanse of the ocean itself. Many in the crew paused at their stations or other viewing ports, taking in the sight. Vega herself seemed almost to relax, some ancient part of her subconscious relaxing at being, at least in some way, submerged beneath the waves of home once more.

"We are completely submerged, Captain... no faults detected. The hull is holding." While normally manned by the the Chief Engineer, the engineering station was being handled by a junior officer at the moment, the Chief needed in areas where more hand on and direct intervention might be needed. Vega glanced at the station somewhat jealously, while she could observe the same numbers from her own place at the Captain's side, she'd have much preferred to not have the promotion, and the responsibility, that was being put on her. "Immersion Shields are ready to deploy. We are also ready to perform hard-light shield tests, Sir."

Another of the Abyssian contributions to the Federation. Hard-light wasn't exactly difficult to achieve, the Federation already used it in their holodeck technology. The Abyssians, however, had found ways to put it into practice on a macroscale, in everything from construction to weapons. While they hadn't given up all their knowledge, a way to temporarily "harden" the usual deflector shields on a starship was eagerly handed over, temporarily rendering the ship's shields entirely impervious to any possible damage. It was a massive drain on the ship's core if utilized over a prolonged period, but short bursts in reaction to an enemy attack were much more manageable. Today though, it would be more a test in a controlled environment, before they descended further into the depths.

"On your mark, Captain."

 

[desperado1089]

"As one of the previous men to occupy the Captain's Chair of the Enterprise was fond of saying, make it so." He seemed to pick up on Vega's glances towards the Engineering station, and leaned in close to speak to her softly. "I won't stop you if you want to take over for the poor kid for a while." He jerked his head slightly towards the station in question. "I did say that we should all play to our strengths, and let our ranks and positions stay on paper where they may or may not reflect those strengths. For example..." He stood up and addressed the helm officer. "Ensign, why don't you take a break? I've actually got some experience piloting submersibles, even with this sort of control panel." She nodded and rose from her station, settling in a seat to the other side of Commander Vega's seat. "Okay, standing by for hard light test maneuvers." His fingers danced over the controls, deploying the hydroplanes to supplement the ship's thrusters.