Legacy: A Star Trek RP

LuckyVic

Literotica Guru
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Aug 26, 2002
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Space...

The Final Frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship... Chimera.

Her continuing mission to explore strange new worlds,
to seek out new life and new civilizations,
to boldly go where no one has gone before.
 
A Moment of Truth

Location: Near Delta Vega
Timeline: July 31, 2263 (13 months ago)

The small ship was speeding through space, dodging and weaving through the asteroid belt at far above the recommend safety limites of its engines. The pilot was obviously not to worried about his own safety since going any slower would have resulted in his death. Especially since the frieghters behind him weren't interested in talking. Jimmy Livingston, the pilot of the fleeing frighter opened his hailing frequencies. "Jannie they're firing at me, jannie answer me."

Over the com he heard one of the frieghter captains telling him to say his prayers. Jimmy was scared and continued to hail his older sister hoping she'd hurry and pick up. "My god Jimmy where the hell have you been?!" she finally asked as her image popped up on the small viewer in front of Jimmy.

"Never mind that, just be ready to open the shield I'm coming in and i have two boggies on my tail."

The other two frighters had stopped firing out of fear of hitting the refinery they were now very close to, after all they wanted him dead not get themselves killed in the process. So instead they did their best to force Jimmy to crash land on one of the larger asteroids, but Jimmy was far to good a pilot for that. He could now see the dock just ahead of him and the bay doors were open and waiting for him. "Jannie start closing the doors now!" he told her.

"You're not in yet, the doors will crush you."

"Just do it jannie, I'll make it and get that shield up once the doors are closed." he told her as his eyes widened as he saw the doors begin to close like he had told her. He took his eyes off them once, as he thought maybe he had misjudged how much room he had and was sure he was a gonner. But luck was on his side yet again and he made it with centimeters to spare. The two frieghters that were giving chase pulled back.

A few minutes later Jimmy was walking into the control tower of the mining colony were his sister was stationed. "Woohoo jannie I thought those bastards had me for sure. Your timing was per...."

But Jimmy didn't get a chance to finish since Jannie had cut him off. "You were prospecting over the territorial lines weren't you."

"No... well maybe a little, but everyone does it. You should see the haul i got. There's enough dilithium in the hold to make us rich." he told her. He looked around. "Where is everyone?"

"With everyone else battening down the hatches. There was a skirmish at the outer marker this morning." she told him.

Jimmy was shocked. "What happened?"

"You know better than to jack rabbit another colony's territory. Those bastards are just waiting for an excuse to fire on this facility. what were you thinking?" he asked him. the fear on her face was evident in her tone as well.

"I don't know." was all he could say.

"Wait wait" she said as she heard something on her headset. "That's those frieghters that just chased you. They're on the horn with their governement. They're requesting military assistance. Damn it Jimmy we're way out in the middle of nowhere in unclaimed space. There are warships for at least a dozen races out there."


A few days later the colony had been surround now for days, the colonists couldn't get any calls for help out and but they were able to just barely intercept the communications of the attack ships that had them bottled in and every one of them was asking for permission to fire. Jimmy felt so bad about what he had done that he had been taking extra shifts in the tower. But he knew that they were on the brink of death and possibly war because of what he had done. "Jannie what's this? Is that a ship?" he asked as he saw a blimp that appeared seemingly out of nowhere on his scanners.

"I don't know I've never seen or heard of anything that big out here." she told him.

[Chimera's Bridge ]

"They know we're here now Captain." the science officer reported after turning off the ship's ECm unit.

"Captain I'm getting a signal from Starfleet, it's still a mess. Heavy static caused by all the jaming." the communications officer reported.

"Keep trying Lieutenant." Captain Garth ordered as he looked out the large transparent aluminum window and took in the sites of the ships altering their positions to take on the Starfleet ship.

"Four photon torpedoes locked and loaded." called out the tactical officer.

"Thank you Mr. Phillips." Garth replied.

"Captain Garth there's still no response from Starfleet." someone called out. He was sure it was the young Lieutenant Commander that was serving as his XO for this mission.

"How many more of these standoffs are we going to have before someone makes a decision?" he asked as he stood up and walked towards the window that also served as their main viewer. He didn't need to be this close to see the tactical displays but he liked doing so for some reason. "Don't they understand that the only way to secure peace is with strength?" he asked, but the question was more directed towards himself than anyone else. "This cat and mouse game is going to go on forever." He sighed as he came to a decision. "Come around to bearing 209 and hold her steady."

The tactical officer called out some more data. "What's the target's status?" Garth asked.

"All targets, 89% vulnerablity." the tactical officer called out.

The XO tried to talk to the Captain but Garth wouldn't hear him instead continued to give out orders. The young Lieutenant Commander couldn't believe this was going on. The Captain was deliberatly ignoring the directive to wait for clear orders. "Captain I strongly recommend that we wait for clear orders from Starfleet." he told him a bit more loudly than before.

Garth not being one that liked being questioned especially on his bridge turned to look at the young officer. "Clear orders?! Aren't you tired of this game? We've been trying to establish peace for the last 3 years through peaceful means. And it always comes down to the same thing. We aim at them, they aim at us, and the whole quadrant holds its breath. Look at this ship. We have the power and the advantage. We can end this madness once and for all."

As Garth was speaking his voice was carrying so that everyone on the bridge was able to hear what he was saying. Many of the bridge crew were still very young, and very green officers. Some fresh out of the academy. As such there were things that were still with them and they knew that what was happening now wasn't good.

"We can do what we were trained to do." Garth added.

"Captain." the communications officer interjected. "confirmed orders are coming in from Starfleet Command. Do not fire. Repeat Do not fire negoitations have succeeded. The other ships are receiving similar orders."

Garth looked at his XO, his lip curled in anger. He then walked over to the tactical station and looked at the display from there. "Mr. Philips fire torpedoes."

Philips was in shock and didn't know what to do. He had just heard the communications officer say that starfleet had ordered them not to fire and here was the captain ordering him to fire. He wasn't sure which order to obey and which one not to.

"Mr. Philips." Garth ordered as he stood behind the young man.

Philips took a deep breath and shook his head as he couldn't believe he was going to do this. And prepared to fire.

"Belay that order!" the XO called out as he took up position next to Captain Garth. Garth reached out in order to do it himself but only felt his XOs hand restraining him. And then there was a quick punch to Garth's face which caused him to stagger back and away from the console.

"Mr. Kirk your career is over for that." garth told him.

"Captain Garth under Article 20, section 8 of Starfleet regulations I'm relieving you of command for disobeying the orders of a superior officer." Kirk motioned for security. "Escort the Captain to his quarters and hold him there." Kirk said confidently, although the knot in his stomach told him he was anything but. He watched as the Captain was taken off the bridge. He didn't move until the doors had closed.

Lt. Commander James Kirk moved over to the command chair. "As per regulations I've assumed command of this vessel. take us to yellow alert, Mr. Phillips deactivate the weapons systems." he then turned to the communications officer. "Inform Starfleet command of our status and that we are standing down and awaiting further orders."
 
Quick Inspection

Location: Drydock, Earth Orbit
Timeline: August 6, 2264

Commodore Christopher Pike watched as the travel pod approached the docking port He had just been taken on a tour around the vessel that had for the last 13 months had been undergoing upgrades and modifications. Normally not an unusual thing, but when the ship was less than a year old it was rather unusual. But during it's intital shakedown cruise there were many systems that needed to be reworked. It was something that he was told to expect when trying to recreate the advanced technology the ship employed.

Once the pod docked he exited the pod and was met by a young Ensign. Who informed him where the Dockmaster was, which didn't surprise Chris when he was told it was in engineering. Which is were he went. Once he found Parker he went up to him "So is she going to be ready for her official launch next week?" he asked the engineers present.

As if the question were a cue, a small shower of sparks rained down on an unsuspecting crewman in the back of the room. Nothing lethal, but truly annoying. Without giving a reply to the Commodore, one of the engineers instantly left the center pool table to go check it out.

Tim pointed the Commodore to the master schematic currently displayed on the pool table. Engineering took up the most of several decks, and unlike the vessels of the 25th century, this room was massive. The warp core was prominently featured throughout the room and had catwalks to just about everywhere. The designer had insisted on a main operational level that was even with the power transfer conduit that ran down the room to to the bottom of the nacelles. In front of the warp core itself was the central hub where all could be observed through consoles and displays. Engineers filled the vast room, operating both consoles and machinery, attempting to finish the refit of the heart of the ship's systems.

"Overall, we're getting closer. Weapons and shields are functioning at 100 percent, as are all of the secondary systems." Tim tapped a few buttons to show the exterior of the ship.

"We've been having problems with structural integrity," Tim informed the Commodore. "While Chimera is powerful, and despite our attempts to replicate the ablative armor, there just have been too many anomalies to keep the ship from running perfectly. We've isolated the last of the issues to power distribution from the warp core. Simply, we're generating too much power and we don't have too many places for it to go. It's not integrating well with the armor, which is what caused the microfractures we experienced during shakedown."

"What about shunting all that extra power into the Structual integrity field?" Pike asked as he looked at the awesome warp core and then down to the image on the screen. He was still in awe over the size and complexity of this new ship. The Enterprise and two other Constitution class ships had just finished some multi-year refits but even they didn't have all these new advancements.

"That's just it," Tim replied "There's too much power being sent to the SIF." He tapped a couple buttons on the pool table and the schematic gave place to a diagram of a piece of ablative armor. "The extra power is literally baking the armor, causing it to become brittle. It's not brittle enough yet to warrant a complete replacement of the hull, and we think we've come up with a solution. We're going to replace the power conduits with a new version that will utilize the extra power to cool the grid, keeping the armor at a proper temperature. Hopefully, as the years go by, we'll be able to make up some of the advancements this ship is missing so we can divert that extra power elsewhere, and the problem will be forever solved."

"We'll need to replace the entire power relay grid under the armor. If I put all of the shipyard crew on it, we'll be done in three days. However, it'll take about eight to nine days to manufacture the relays."

"Gentlemen this ship is supposed to launch in a week. You know that big party that they're going to have for it will be just like the one we're having for the Enterprise tonight. Then we're supposed to go out on a two week trip. You can't do that if the ship can't fly out of drydock." he told them.

"We might not have to do the full install to launch," Zach suggested. "We can do 80 percent or so of the entire ship before launch and work in the rest afterwards." He paused before speaking again "Or get the Tellerites involved," Though the Tellerites were very well versed with equipment, they still weren't exactly open to the idea of "opening their doors" so to speak. "If Starfleet can get the Tellerites to take 30 percent of the load, we can launch fully completed."

"I'll see what I can set up. That's supposed to be the last planet we visit before we return to Earth since they were the third planet that signed up for the Federation." Pike told them. Of course they already knew this, since they were part of that delegation. "But either way this ship launches in a week." he told them. "So any other little snaffos I need to know about?" he asked.

A faint pop was heard near the warp core, followed by the pool table going dark, and the surrounding consoles. The overhead lights stayed active, as did the ventilation system. "Nothing serious," the dockmaster replied. "You take care of the Tellerites, and we'll be ready."

"Dealing with the Tellerites will be easy compared to where I'm headed now." Pike said as he began to walk out of engineering. "I have to figure out away to get you a new CO." he told them as he left and made his way back to his shuttle pod.
 
Let the Negotiations Begin

Location: Starfleet Academy
Timeline: August 6, 2264


"So as you can see Captain Archer although meaning well, and was morally right at that point in time, he was also wrong when he ordered his Chief Medical Officer to help the dying Valakian race. That offer of assistance then led the Valakians to request aid in the form of technology they weren't ready to have yet on the same grounds that Archer had already agreed upon giving them the medical assistance. So if the Prime Directive was already in place Archer would have saved himself a lot of worry by simply ignoring the pre-warp vessel." Mack told the students he had been instructing in ethics.

He had been guest lecturing at the academy for nearly 2 years now and found it quite rewarding. "Now here's a question for you future Captains out there. What's your first duty?" he asked them.

He waited for a few moments and then watched as several students raised their hands. Mack pointed to one of them.

"A Captain's first duty must be to his crew. Since he's responsible for their safety and conduct." the Cadet said.

Mack motioned to another student, without saying if the first was correct or not.

"A Captain's first duty has to be to the citizens of the Federation who he has taken an oath to serve and protect."

"All good answers." Mack told them. "But all wrong. A Starfleet officer's first duty no matter what his rank or position will always be the truth. It is the very foundation for everything else."

At that moment the chime indicating the end of the class sounded “Saved by the bell. Alight as you know I won’t be here tomorrow since I’m going to the launching ceremony. However that doesn’t mean you are relieved of your duty. I still fully expect to see your assignments in my inbox. Also those of you that have me as your advisor, if you haven’t gotten me your thesis you only have until Friday. Get it done people, dismissed.” He told them and then watched as the cadets began to depart in an orderly fashion.
He started to grab some of the pads he had pulled out during the three hour class and began to place them neatly in his case. He was partly looking forward tonight, but then again he wasn’t since he’d have to wear that blasted dress uniform. Granted it was far better than some of the ones he’s worn in the past, but they were still a bit restraining.

“First duty is to the truth huh?” came a familiar voice.

Mack looked up and saw Commodore Christopher Pike and smiled. “Hi Chris, how are things going in Starfleet Operations?” he asked the man that he had become good friends in the last few years.

“They’re going. I now see why you passed on the job and the promotion.” Chris told him.

Mack chuckled “So what can I do for you Commodore?” he asked getting to the point as he closed his briefcase.

“You can assume command of the Chimera.” Chris told him.

“Oh don’t start with me on that again.” Mack told him as he started to make his way to the door.

“Oh come on Mack. She's almost ready. She’s going to be officially commissioned next week.” Chris said as he caught up to him and followed him out.

“I know I saw the memo about that ceremony as well.” Mack told him as the two kept talking on their way out of the building.

“Mack you don’t belong here you belong out there.” Chris told him.

“Chris we’ve been over this time and time again. I’m done. I don’t know why I’d be doing it anyway since I’ve already been to all these places your now about to go to.” Mack told him.

“Alright then, how about you at least let me show you the ship that you and your people inspired. That your people have poured their heart and soul into over these last few years.”

Mack stopped walking and looked at Chris.

“I’m taking the ship out after she’s officially commissioned. It’s just a quick tour, we’re going to have some of the press and dignitaries on board to celebrate the completion of the Federation’s greatest endeavor yet. It’s just a quick trip to Vulcan, Andor, Telar, and then back to Earth.”

“Wait a minute that’s no quick trip even with the Chimera’s speed. Your talking two weeks, I can’t leave these kids for that long.” Mack protested.

“You know you’re not the only teacher around here. Look think about it tonight during and after the launch of the Enterprise and then get back to me. We still have a week before the Chimera’s launch.” Chris negotiated.

“Alright I’ll think about it.” Mack told him.
 
I Hate Receptions

Location: Drydock 7, Reception Area
Timeline: August 6, 2264


Mack looked out the large window and all he could see was the docking arms of the drydock facility orbiting the planet. Just a few minutes ago the starship Enterprise had been docked there and had completed a refit that would make it one of the most advanced vessels out there. Mack almost wished he could be on that ship over the next five years so that he could witness first hand the incedible adventures that they were about to undertake. Adventures that would make the crew and that ship legendary.

"Not having second thoughts about Kirk being in command of the Enterprise are you Mack?"

Mack turned around to see Rear Admiral Heihachiro Nogura standing there with a glass of champagne in his hand. Mack could see that the Admiral had barely even touched the drink. "No sir, I think you made a fine choice. His actions in the Delta Vega Incident show that he has what it takes to make the tough call when he needs to."

"Are you sure that's it. Or do you know something you're not telling me?" Nogura asked.

"I heard that the Klingons have been getting a bit full of themselves lately." Mack said changing the subject. He had learned a long time ago the art of deflection.

"Nothing we can't handle, especially now that the Enterprise has finished her refit. After this shakedown and exploration misison I'm going to send her to do a few months of a patrol near the boarder. That ship can take on at least 5 of the biggest things the Klingons can throw at them."

"Don't get cockey Admiral the Enterprise is advanced, but our enemies have spies just as we do. Plus the Klingons would love to take her on just because of that challenge." Mack warned.

"The Klingons would take on a garbage scow if they thought it would stir up the people in the Federation.." The Admiral replied.

"Captain," Lt. Commander Parker said as he came up to the Admiral and the Captain."Admiral, it's good to see you both. Captain while you're here, you should come take a look at Chimera." From his understanding, the last time Captain Hunter had seen the ship, it was just a computer-simulated design.

Mack shook his head. "Have you been talking to Commodore Pike?" he asked the officer in charge of putting the ship together. He wasn't sure if he should be flattered or annoyed.

Truthfully, yes, but Tim would never say that. "Or a friend could just want to show off what he's been up to," he replied.

"Well the Commodore came to see me after my lecture today and he already invited me to not just see the ship next week, but to also go out on that little cruise of the founding worlds." Mack told him.

"Is that what they're doing?" Tim asked, trying to play uninformed. "It seems like a small feat for the Federation's first Warp 9 starship."

"Stick to the truth Tim it's what your best at." Mack said with a smile. "I'm happy being here on Earth. I've forgotten more things then most of these kids have even dreamed of. I'm happy, and being Earth bound does have certain advantages." Mack said.

"Fair enough," Tim replied. "But it just doesn't seem right. You need to be out there."

Mack didn't say antyhing. He just looked out the window. The Commander and the Admiral could tell that they had done their job he was at least thinking about it now.
 
Dale Steward

He did like the reaches of space, surely there was nothing that beat the feel of a spaceship moving through the vacuum of space, stars seeming to flow by and having all that time.

But the one thing that did not beat the feeling of being out in space was the feeling of breathing fresh air, filling your lungs to their capacity as your body burned the oxygen in your blood and demanded more. The pounding of blood in your ears, the slap of your feet on the asphalt, the deep breathing you struggle to maintain as you push yourself to the limits and aim for even more.

Dale was busy keeping himself in shape. Something he liked to do as it helped his martial art abilities and kept his mind open and fresh as the exercise burned away his troubles and cares and gave him a fresh perspective. He came to a halt when the buzzer on his arm sounded. Time to hit the showers and get ready, it was his birthday and his closest friends have organized a party for him. It was at the local bar, but it was better than having to study and it was not a bad way to check out the talent in the area now that he had completed his tour on the USS Republic.
 
The Chimera flies....

Location: USS Chimera
Timeline: August 15, 2264


[Shuttlecraft]

Slowly the shuttle approached the much larger vessel. Up front Commodore Christopher Pike was sitting next to the pilot. Mack and several other officers were in the passnger compartment of the shuttle. Mack was looking out of the shuttle as they entered final approach towards the hanger deck of the new starship Chimera. A lot of the heavy equipment had been removed and now all that remained were the morings and other imbilicals. This was the first time that Mack had physically seen the new ship. He had seen artist renderings, he had seen the schematics. But even those didn't do justice to the ship he now saw before them. For the most part the ship looked a lot like a Constitution class ship, similar saucer module, still had two nacelles, and of course the engineering section. "I have to admit she's a good looking ship." he said quietly to himself. In his mind though he was talking to Kris. He could almost hear her replying "It has it's merits.."

Mack smiled as he continued looking at the ship. The pilot was requesting permission to approach and judging from Chris' reaction there had to have been some sort of snaffu because Chris had to get on comms and inform them that they weren't in a pod they were in an actual shuttle and they damn well better give him clearance to land in the hanger bay.

[Chimera - Bridge]

"Yes sir clearance to land in the hanger bay granted. Sorry about the confusion." the communications officer said and then saw the officer in charge "Lieutenant we have a problem. The Commodore and his party aren't coming in a shuttle pod like we were told, they're in a shuttle and are on final approach now. But the color guard are all at the docking port."

"Damn," she muttered, having literally just exited the turbolift. "Open the comm to the color guard."

:Two and a half minutes later::

No sooner did the color guard finish did they first see the shuttle make her approach.

As was Navel tradition the higest ranking officer was the first to exit, which in this case it was Commodore Pike. Mack followed closely behind. Mack looked around the huge deck and saw the Chimera's shuttles in their berths. He then looked at the color guard and noticed that they were breathing a bit hard. That told him that something hadn't gone according to plan, he was sure he'd hear about it later after all two weeks was a long time.

"Commander is she ready to go?" Pike asked getting right to the point.

"Just about, sir." the dock master replied. "The last of the refit crews are finishing and packing up." The engineer hadn't yet let down the name Chimera and wasn't about to start either. He gave Mack a quick nod, but his job at the moment was to focus on the Commodore.

"Alright Commander, inform the bridge I want to launch in two hours. I'll be heading to my quarters and get out of this monkey suit and then will go up there to over see the rest of launch prep." Chris ordered. He then looked around. "Honor guard dismissed!" he added in a loud voice.

Pike then turned to Mack. "Why don't you have the Lieutenant take you to your quarters and then on a tour of the ship. I'll meet you on the bridge about t-minus 10 minutes before launch." he said and then started to walk away. But then he stopped and turned back to look at them. "You know seeing you on the ship just some how makes it feel complete." he said and then turned back and left the hanger.

Mack shook his head as he was now able to forget abit about protocol and was able to give the engineer in charge of putting the ship together a good slap on on the back. "You've done good here."

"13 months after shakedown, and there were still hundreds of issues to work out," the engineer confessed. "Nevertheless, she's ready. At least, she will be in about 45 minutes. Mack, it's good to see you. I've got to go make sure these teams are indeed finishing. The Lieutenant can show you to quarters." the man said to his former CO and made his way for the exit.


"Well Tim, let's get a move on." Mack said as he kept looking around and seeing the shuttles. From what he could see there were about twice the number of shuttles here then what was normally carried on a Constitution class ship. The Chimera class was designed to be a deep strike vessel in times of combat. She could go deep behind enemy lines and act as a one ship fleet conducting operations for prolonged periods of time. That's why the ship had such huge power requirements.

"This way," The security guard gestured towards the exit. Just a minute later, they were arriving at the VIP quarters issued to the Captain on Deck 3. "Here you go. Everything you need should be inside. If you need anything, you can call for Yeoman Johnson."

After the officer left Mack entered the room and looked around as he unfastend the dress uniform jacket. The room wasn't as big as the guest quarters on his old ship, then again his old ship had been considered a flying starbase by some, but these vip quarters were at least a decent size. He was glad that the engineers decided to build larger quarters on this ship. The ones originally on a ship of this era were so small you could barely stretch.


Bridge: 2 hours later


Standing in the turbolift with Mack could hear the voice of the love his life asking him if he was ready for this. He knew that the question was brought about because of his awareness that there would be select members of the press corps on the Bridge to be present and record the launch of the ship for the civilian news agencies.

Mack cracked his neck. He thought about what his response to her would have been. and there only was one possible reponse. "You know that line in Shakespere about killing all the lawyers, he was wrong. It should have been kill all the reporters."

"Deep breath.." she told him then turned as the 'lift doors opened.

Stepping out, the Captain had exactly 2.4 seconds before what felt like a swarm of reporters had swiveled in their direction, recording units and bright lights directed towards them while all 6 reporters began to shout at once, "Captain Hunter! Captain Hunter! How does it feel to be back aboard the Chimera? How does this ship compare to your former vessel?" and a dozen othe questions, so many questions fired at him it was impossible to even try and answer even one.

Mack had no idea where he was supposed to go from there. He looked around when all of a sudden he saw Chris stand up from the command chair. This quickly turned all attention to the Commodore. Chris welcomed his guest on board and then motioned for them to take a seat that had been set up for him. Mack could see the look on Chris' face the poor man hated all this pomp and circumstance just like he did.

"Thank you sir." Mack said softly as he made his way over to where Chris had motioned to and watched as the civilians on the bridge did the same.

Meanwhile Pike retook his seat and pressed a control on the panel. "All hands this is Commodore Pike, prepare for departure." he said and the closed the open channel and quickly opened another.

"Warp core is online and fully functioning. All systems are go."

"Very good engineer. Communications?"

The Communications officer adjusted the earpiece "Yes, sir?"

"Contact the tower and let them know that the Chimera is ready to depart."

"Aye," the officer replied. It only took a few moments to get the response they desired. "We're cleared for launch on cruising lane three."

"Helm thrusters... take us out." Chris ordered.

As all this was going on Mack was paying attention to everything that was going on around him intently. It had been Five years since he had been in command of a ship. He had been on several ships over that time, but this was the first time he had been on the bridge of one and honestly he felt antsy.

Mack didn't say anything, he just sat back in his chair and smiled as he watched the ongoings again. The look on his face more than showed that he was at that point in time insufferably pleased with himself.

At one point Chris ordered that a reverse angle on the viewer be given and image of open space had been super imposed by the floating dock they had just left, the Earth that it ws orbiting and now getting smaller the further they got away.

"Engineer give us full impulse power." Pike ordered over the channel he still had opened to Engineering. "Helm set a course for Telar, and take us to warp upon leaving the solar system."

Mack knew that the ship's max speed they could make it to Telar in a couple of days, however being a new ship and still a relatively new engine Chris wasn't going to tax the engine unless he had to.

"Alright everyone that's it for today. So unless you want to spend the next two hours watching us go about our routine I suggest you go check out the rest of the ship." Chris said. Of course he was talking directly to the press core. They slowly and some of them rather hesitantly left the bridge to do whatever. It wasn't until the last of them had left that Mack finally got up and walked over to Chris. "Thanks for the chance at being here."

"No urge to jump into the chair?" Chris asked him.

"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't." he told the man that had become a good friend these last couple of years. He then looked at his wife and smiled. "But I have other better things to look forward to now." he said with a smile. "Permission to leave the bridge sir?" Mack asked.

"Permission granted Captain." Chris said ratherdisappointed. But he wasn't going to push things anymore.
 
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Intense blue orbs glared down at the small screen, reading over the ship’s manifest of crew and their positions. This was the first time she had the list available to her since she was ordered to transfer to the USS Chimera two days ago. It seemed that, for reasons of his own, the commanding commodore of the project was keeping things tightly sealed, however, that seemed to break early this morning when she was issued the Crew manifest. This was a rare occurrence, nearly unimaginable, but it wasn’t her place to judge the circumstance regardless if she even knew what that would have been, it was done and over with and she had the list now.

She mostly scanned over the crew that she would most likely run into her first day on this assignment. She wanted to know their names the moment she addressed them. The rest of the crew she would study their names and positions over the course of the coming night. The first name and face she was required to assimilate was the commanding officer, which to her surprise wasn’t a Captain, the name that was listed was Commodore Christopher Pike. A brow arched over her blue orb for that was not protocol for a commodore to be assigned command of a starship on a five year mission.

She wiggled her nose and shifted her jaw for the curiosity got the best of her, even though her Vulcan discipline tried to intervene, but was unsuccessful in squelching the feeling. Her eyes scanned over the occupants of the compartment and quickly managed to get all of their names and positions they were assigned too. Her brow arched up again when the man staring out the side bay window wasn’t listed. Her eyes narrowed at him for a moment, but then the tablet beeped and gave her the identity of him from the inputted picture she took. Her eyes shifted from the tablet’s screen to the man known as Captain Mick Hunter, while her mind wondered why would a Starfleet instructor be here heading for the Chimera when it would be departing once the Commodore was aboard.

Once again her nose twitched and jaw shifted a few times, the state of curiosity was doubled than what it was just moments ago. Her deep blue orbs shifted from the Captain to the front of the shuttle, her eyes narrowed once more as she studied the Commodore then moved back to the Captain. Was it possible that the Commodore wanted to show the Captain the ship and offer the command to him? That would be illogical to place an instructor in command of a Starship T’Nara informed herself.

The shuttle came to a soft landing inside the bay of the Chimera, She put her Tablet under her arm and straightened out her uniform. Her blue orbs focusing upon the Commodore as he disembarked the shuttle followed by the Captain then T’Nara was the next to step off the shuttle. Her gaze swept down the ranks of the color guard before moving back to the Commodore and his invited guest. Her gaze continued to sweep over the rugged Captain several times due to her increasing curiosity to why he was here.

Twitching, once again, T’Nara’s eyes narrowed as she listened to the Commodore addressing the Captain and that the Lt in charge would give him a tour of the ship. Maybe since the Captain was part of the development of the ship, they was allowing him to see his creation at work, however that has never occurred in the history of Starfleet but times are changing she amused herself with an answer, the only answer she would have till the Commodore decided to tell or show his hand. Her gaze followed the Captain as he walked off patting the commanding engineer on the back.

T’Nara was designated to be on the bridge, an event she could have lived without, however, it was Starfleet trying to boost support of the five year mission with the people of earth. It was an accustom to show off the newly designed ships that the R&D teams create and managed to get working. An event that also brings eyes of the enemy for wanting to know it’s power and purpose. The twitch of T’Nara comes once more when the Commodore offered the command chair to the Captain a negative response wasn’t something that T’Nara even considered. Her brow arched in thought.

“Commodore!” T’Nara now making her self noticed to the Commodore. “Commander, T’Nara Winters reporting sir.” She stepped forward toward the Commodore. She knew she should have reported to him at the Command Center, but when the Commodore didn’t want to be found, it was just that way, so now she took the opportunity to catch him while she could. Her intense blue orbs focused upon his, her facial expression was blank, all the curiosity was now buried under her discipline.
 
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tags Winters

“Commodore!” T’Nara now making her self noticed to the Commodore. “Commander, T’Nara Winters reporting sir.” She stepped forward toward the Commodore. She knew she should have reported to him at the Command Center, but when the Commodore didn’t want to be found, it was just that way, so now she took the opportunity to catch him while she could. Her intense blue orbs focused upon his, her facial expression was blank, all the curiosity was now buried under her discipline.

"Commander it's good to see that you were able to make it." Chris said as he looked at the surprisingly tall woman. He had read her starfleet record of course but it was still a sight to see. He had served with a Vulcan before, in fact that Vulcan was now the first officer of his old ship. "I hope you had a pleasent trip." he added as he took a PADD from a yoeman and began to look it over.
 
T’Nara nodded her agreement even thou she wish she didn’t. Something about being under the scurrility of the press just didn’t appeal to her, like almost all the upper echelon of Starfleet, it’s just wasn’t about one person, it was about a crew that makes the starship that makes the headlines and understanding that fact just seems to fly over the presses heads. She was scheduled to have a press meeting with them about her being the first officer of the newly developed ship, but she plans on working on the Commodore’s skill of disappearing or ensuring that the Commodore give her orders to do something else and forgets about her scheduled meeting.

Her nose twitched and jaw shifted when the Commodore didn’t continue speaking to her after he offered her the Starfleet hospitality. “My trip was adequate Commodore.” T’Nara responded to his pleasantry. She was still curious about the order to speak with him on her arrival to the ship. “Sir, I believe there was something you wanted to talk to me about. On your orders you sent, there was an attached order to see you privately. Would this be the appropriate time for this?” Her mind was working overtime in trying to figure out why a Commodore would want to see the first officer privately, and then there was the fact that there was no assigned Captain to the ship but a Captain of experience on board that wasn’t listed to be on board. She had a bad feeling about this, but kept her composure while she waited for him to finish with the PADD.

Her gaze shifted over the crew that was humming around like bee’s in a honey comb. She worked on putting names with their faces and some of the highlights of their record with them. She was almost at an antsy to speak with the Captain for his was the most impressive record of anyone aboard this ship with the exception of Commodore Pike. Thinking about the Commodore’s accommodations got her thinking about her mother and father whom she has failed in letting them know that she was reassigned to the first warp nine capable starship, it was certainly a feather in her cap if she was fully human and felt those sort of things. This wobbly line of logic brought a smile to her face.
 
Her gaze shifted over the crew that was humming around like bee’s in a honey comb. She worked on putting names with their faces and some of the highlights of their record with them. She was almost at an antsy to speak with the Captain for his was the most impressive record of anyone aboard this ship with the exception of Commodore Pike. Thinking about the Commodore’s accommodations got her thinking about her mother and father whom she has failed in letting them know that she was reassigned to the first warp nine capable starship, it was certainly a feather in her cap if she was fully human and felt those sort of things. This wobbly line of logic brought a smile to her face.

"As you can see Commander things... are a bit busy right now. However after we've launched and gotten all the preliminaries out of the way we'll be able to discuss further orders in the ready room." he told her.

He paused for a moment, taking her measure trying to ascertain what she was thinking at that moment. "Would you like to take your post or would like to go to your quarters first?" he asked her.
 
T’Nara stiffened up a little upon the Commodore’s response of her inquiry, obviously it was something that he didn’t think the crew of the bridge was in the need to know. This fact once again pointed to the Captain, things were starting to make sense now. In a round about way the Commodore has kidnapped one of the highest accommodated Captains in Starfleet, plucked him from the academy in hopes that a ride in one of the most advanced starships would jog his memory or relight the desire to explore the galaxy back into him. A very devious ploy, if she should say so herself.

She took in a deep breath, kept her rigid form for a few moments studying the Commodore closely. Again her nose twitched and her jaw shifted. She weighted her options closely. If she remain her on the bridge, things would be all normal operations till they at least got out of the solar system. If she left the bridge and went to her quarters she could avoid the press and maybe just maybe run into Captain Hunter, which she was still antsy about doing, it wasn’t everyday that you had a few moments to speak with a hero.

She cringed slightly for letting the human emotion room to effect her body appearance to the Commodore. She quickly took in another breath and regained that Vulcan control. Her eyes narrowed while she allowed her eyes to drift from the Commodore to the Crew whom all seemed to still be doing their jobs, not paying attention to the conversation that was occurring among them, that was an excellent mark on their behalf.

“I shall find my quarters and get settled in with your permission, Commodore.” T’Nara responded professionally.
 
T’Nara stiffened up a little upon the Commodore’s response of her inquiry, obviously it was something that he didn’t think the crew of the bridge was in the need to know. This fact once again pointed to the Captain, things were starting to make sense now. In a round about way the Commodore has kidnapped one of the highest accommodated Captains in Starfleet, plucked him from the academy in hopes that a ride in one of the most advanced starships would jog his memory or relight the desire to explore the galaxy back into him. A very devious ploy, if she should say so herself.

She took in a deep breath, kept her rigid form for a few moments studying the Commodore closely. Again her nose twitched and her jaw shifted. She weighted her options closely. If she remain her on the bridge, things would be all normal operations till they at least got out of the solar system. If she left the bridge and went to her quarters she could avoid the press and maybe just maybe run into Captain Hunter, which she was still antsy about doing, it wasn’t everyday that you had a few moments to speak with a hero.

She cringed slightly for letting the human emotion room to effect her body appearance to the Commodore. She quickly took in another breath and regained that Vulcan control. Her eyes narrowed while she allowed her eyes to drift from the Commodore to the Crew whom all seemed to still be doing their jobs, not paying attention to the conversation that was occurring among them, that was an excellent mark on their behalf.

“I shall find my quarters and get settled in with your permission, Commodore.” T’Nara responded professionally.

"By All means Commander. There will be a meal in the officer's mess at 1930 hours all senior staff. A sort of get to know each other affair, as well as one to honor guest Captain Hunter" He told her. "Oh and Commander... welcome aboard." he told her.
 
T’Nara’s intense blue orbs fastened a lock upon the Commodore’s orbs while he was issuing his permission for her to be dismissed off of the bridge and relieved her from her duties till 1930 hours. The offer to join him and the other senior officers over dinner was an appealing offer to her, once again that would clear her away from the press. She didn’t know if the pleasing that she was feeling was from the chance to meet all the senior officers or getting away from the press, maybe in time she would figure it out but for now she had the chance to get settle in and maybe just maybe run into the Captain.

She nodded her head in respect to him. “I am honored to serve, sir.” She responded to his welcoming. She quickly turned to her left and proceeded to head to the turbolift. She felt strange about the Commodore, he seemed … To lose, to relaxed as if he was waiting for a moment to have something happen, maybe he just felt that the little tour that the Captain was taking would be enough to spring that wanting to come back to the command chair effect upon him, and the Commodore was feeling confident that it would. She wasn’t so so sure, it could have the opposite effect upon him, for there had to be a reason why a decorated Captain would step away from the chair in the first place.

She shrugged her shoulders at her own speculation for in time all will come to light, well at least she believes that if the Commodore continues to push things along like he was. Her nose twitched again, along with the shifting of her jaw bone. She began to wonder a little deeper in the subject of that private talk. “Damn!” she hissed as once again she let that human side of her get to her.

She stepped off on the third level and headed to her assigned quarters. Her orbs scanning over the hallway as if she was doing an inspection. She always enjoyed the craftsmanship of the Starfleet engineers. She nodded to the several crew members that nodded their respect to her rank as she passed them. She was slightly annoyed with herself for walking so fast for now she stood in front of her quarters and didn’t manage to cross paths with the Captain.

However! It wouldn’t take her long to get settle in and she knew the last location where the Captain took off too. He, more than likely feeling at home in the engineering section of the ship could still be done there. Her brow arched in an amusing manner. “Damn!” once again cursing for allowing the human side of her to show through the discipline.

It wasn’t long before she was walking down the corridor toward the engineering section of the ship. Her hopes was to run into the Captain, and with her being the First officer there wasn’t a sole here that could tell her she wasn’t authorized to be in that section. She smiled amusing once again and once again cursed herself as she entered the command area of the Engineering section.
 
Chris watched as the ship's new XO left the bridge. He wondered if she would be able to do what he needed her to do. In theory she should since she was a Starfleet officer. However she was a Vulcan, and they often had issues when it came to bending the truth. Though some could do it if they deemed the reason to do so logical.

He found himself looking for Mack, only to realize that he must have used the distraction of what was going on to have gotten away. Lucky him he thought to himself.
 
Looking Around

Location: USS Chimera; Main Engineering
Timeline: August 15, 2264


Mack stood near the railing looking at the warp core, it was one of the largest and most powerful he had ever seen before. Instead of using matter and anti-matter, it used protons and anti-protons to create the anhilation effect along with the dilithium crystal to give the ship the necessary power to enable the ship to travel through warp. The theta-matrix would allow the cyrstal to be recrystalized if it need be. Though it was something that was familiar to him, to these people it was all new and highly experimental. Even the Bussard collectors were new, which is why they seemed to glow blue when active as opposed to the red most had been used to. But one thing that didn't change was that familiar hum that he had spent a lifetime around.

(tags Winters)
 
Commander T'Nara Winters
Engineering, Warp Core balcony level one
Tagging Captain Mack Hunter

T’Nara’s tall, slender frame stepped through the opening doors as they hissed back into alcove allowing her access to the main Engineering Command area. Her eyes gazed over the several large computer screens that were located up and down both sides of the wall. Several engineers were monitoring these screens. Typing information into their PADD’s and moving along like ants building a nest. Each one doing what they have been trained and assigned to do. Her gaze shot over the shoulders of a few of them to gander out the big bay window that was an warp core observing window, it was very impressive to her, the colors seem to brighten the moods of the engineers, which was always a good thing. The sheer size and power was beyond the word impressive.

Her gaze shifted to the side doors that were accesses to the warp core direct control systems area which gave direct access to the warp core itself. There was were most of the engineers and security personnel would be at during this little expedition. She really didn’t have time to look at the security details for when the ship was on her actual mission, that would be up to the Captain and his Security chief, but to her logic keeping the security details where they are now would be the best all around choice.

She moved forward and placed her hand on the scanner, the doors slid open giving her access to the warp core room. She stepped in and greeted the security officer that was standing at his post with a nod of her head as she moved on past him. Her eyes scanned over the fashionable arrays of display panels, it was all smoothing to the optical nerve, bringing a smoothing mood to the ones whom stood and watched. A great deal of consideration was taking into this account and was very successful implemented.

Upon her gaze of the display her eyes fell upon the man she was hoping to run into. He was on the upper level, toward the right side back of the core. Staring down into the blueish shine that was radiating from the core. It too was smoothing to the orbs to look at. She assumed this was why he was staring so hard into it. She pulled her gaze to the lift then over to the ladder, deciding that she needed a little exercise she moved to the ladder and climbed upwards to the next level.

She adjusted her uniform before moving over to the man. “Greetings Captain Hunter.” She spoke when she was withing conversation range with him. “I’m Commander T’Nara Winters and I wish to welcome you to your crews creation.” She slightly turned toward the core and stared into as he was. “It’s a magnificent piece of work. I have to admit.” She adds slowly breaking the ice between them. She wanted to work on a common level before inquiring why he was here. That damn human curiosity was working on her…
 
Location: USS Chimera; Main Engineering
Timeline: August 15, 2264


She adjusted her uniform before moving over to the man. “Greetings Captain Hunter.” She spoke when she was withing conversation range with him. “I’m Commander T’Nara Winters and I wish to welcome you to your crews creation.” She slightly turned toward the core and stared into as he was. “It’s a magnificent piece of work. I have to admit.” She adds slowly breaking the ice between them. She wanted to work on a common level before inquiring why he was here. That damn human curiosity was working on her…

It was as if Mack had been snapped back into reality after being in a trance. "Good afternoon Commander. And I thank you though jus for the record I really didn't have much to do with it. I was just the man in charge of the project at the time."
 
Commander T'Nara Winters
Engineering, Warp Core balcony level one
Tagging Captain Mack Hunter

T’Nara slightly turned her head toward Captain Hunter when he spoke to her. Her eyes shifted back and forth slowly as she studied his face, trying to get a feel of his emotional for he seemed to be in a deep moment of thought. She wondered if it was over this situation that he found himself in, or something more deep, more personal. She now felt a heaviness in her chest as if she was trespassing upon a moment he was having.

She now was busy thinking of a way to cut this meeting short, give him an excuse why she had to go so soon after addressing him. Her mind went to the Commodore and realized now why he was using a soft topic with the Captain, there was something more going on here than she could see from her view point. She swallowed hard as the unease penetrated her Vulcan wall of discipline.

This trespassing thorn she was feeling subsided slightly when the Captain spoke to her, his modesty show as he didn’t take much of the credit for the development of this starship. T’Nara nodded her understanding and didn’t push the topic at all. “I understand.” T’Nara fought the urge to ask the questions that were rattling around her head. “I was wondering if you were informed about the 1930 dinner in the officer’s mess this evening?” She distorted the truth slightly for that was one of the questions she was going to ask, at the very end of their conversation of course.

She turned back toward the Core, her body language was speaking volumes for anyone whom looked up her knew there were more questions that loomed in her mind.
 
Location: USS Chimera; Main Engineering
Timeline: August 15, 2264


This trespassing thorn she was feeling subsided slightly when the Captain spoke to her, his modesty show as he didn’t take much of the credit for the development of this starship. T’Nara nodded her understanding and didn’t push the topic at all. “I understand.” T’Nara fought the urge to ask the questions that were rattling around her head. “I was wondering if you were informed about the 1930 hours dinner in the officer’s mess this evening?” She distorted the truth slightly for that was one of the questions she was going to ask, at the very end of their conversation of course.

She turned back toward the Core, her body language was speaking volumes for anyone whom looked up her knew there were more questions that loomed in her mind.

"Yes I did." he replied simply as he observed her. She appeared to be... if she weren't a Vulcan he'd say fidgeting. "You look like someone that has a ton of questions on their mind Commander. As they say on Earth, spit it out." he said not seeming bothered by answering any questions that anyone had for him. At least those he could answer.
 
T’Nara shifted her gaze from the core to the Captain upon hearing his response to her question. She could feel his observational gaze upon her as he continued speaking to her. She twitched her nose and shifted her jaw at his statement, impressed with his observational skills for she did have many questions, ones that she wasn’t sure was her place to ask, however she was the first officer of this ship and the safety and the going on’s that effected this ship was her business, and having an unregistered member on this ship was a concern regardless if it is a renown Captain. Her gaze studied him for a few moments still debating the logical sense of questioning him.

“As you wish.” She replied as if putting the blame on him for these questions at this time, which was by the way. “You are unregistered to be on this ship during this mission. Care to explain?” Her eyes darting over to the security sentry. “Did the Commodore give you unregistered cut orders and if so can you produce them?” her eyes narrowed, her tone that of a first officer ensuring the safety of her ship.

“My other questions will come once my first two have been resolved to my satisfaction. Do you understand Captain?” She stood firm and eyed him closely.
 
Location: Starfleet HQ

Timeline: August 1, 2264

“Wait? What? Chimera?” Eric Rhinquist wasn’t sure he heard his sister correctly. He grabbed her wrist and in one swift movement twisted it behind her, holding her in place and giving him significant control over her movement. They had been sparring and discussing his next assignment when she had casually mentioned that she was leaving the planet on the U.S.S. Chimera in a couple of weeks.

“Yes. Chimera.” Cavera “Cavy” Rhinquist responded quite simply, not elaborating any further. She leaned back against her brother, using him for support as she reached behind with her free arm grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him forward, over her body and on to the ground.

Eric smiled. Cavy was holding her own, even with someone who had 8 inches, 90 pounds and 10 years of experience on her. It made him feel a little bit better given what he had just learned. He pulled himself off the ground and gave her a look.

“Cavy.” The tone of his voice bordered on lecturing. He closed the space between them quickly, his fist heading to make contact with her jaw.

She turned in his direction, blocking his advance. Her eyes were focused on him, but she was thinking about something else. She always was. At the moment, she was working on a viral vector delivery system. One that could be ingested but still target a particular part of her organ of choice. She wanted it to be specific, specialized. She had managed to isolate the delivery to just lungs and lung tissue, but she wanted a way to reach tissues only in the dead space.

“No. I haven’t told him.” She responded, reading his mind.

Eric sighed. Of course she hadn’t. He stepped back and charged at her, knocking her off balance. He brought her to her knees and secured her into a chokehold.

“Cavy.” There was the tone again. He felt her struggle in his arms and applied a slight bit of pressure. “Stop it. You’re wasting energy. Break the hold.” He applied more pressure.

He had her at a disadvantage. She had use of her arms but not her legs. She could throw her body weight forward, but she was putting her neck at risk. As he applied more pressure, she felt her airways restricted. Cavy turned her head, protecting her airway, tucked her chin and dug her nails into her brother’s flesh, inside the crook of his elbow. With her other hand she grabbed his palm and bent it back, forcing him to release her.

“Good, but you need to be faster. You took too long to act.”

She nodded, understanding.

“It’s strategic. I’m waiting until the Chimera leaves dry dock. If it was up to the Commander, I’d be safe on the Earth for the rest of my life.”

“He worries about you. We all do.”
“I’m not an idiot.”

Eric laughed.

“Trust me Cavy, no one thinks you’re an idiot, but . . . ”

“Don’t.” She tried to cut him off, knowing exactly what he was about to say.

“. . . you caused an explosion and burned down a lab.” He finished with a satisfied smile. He knew it was a sore spot with her. His sister was brilliant, but she had a way of getting herself into trouble. Fortunately, she always had a way of getting out of trouble as well.

“That was two years ago, and I didn’t burn down a lab. I burned down part of a lab.” Cavy felt the distinction was important. Being accurate was important. In her world, details made a difference.

“They thought HQ was being attacked. And, they found you unconscious.”

“I discovered a new element.” She replied as if that settled the matter.

“I know. I know. And, you got a commendation instead of a suspension. But, you do realize that’s not the norm. Rules and regulations are there for reason, and most people are subject to them. You’re an exception, but that may not always be . . .”

He rubbed his forehead as he saw the expression on his sister’s face. Her mind had just figured something out. What it was, he couldn’t say, but he knew he had lost her for now. He watched as she froze for a second, then left. No explanation. No farewell. He would catch up with her later before she left. The Chimera was definitely lucky to have his sister. She would be a tremendous asset, but he had no idea if the crew would know how to handle her.
 
Two days prior

The local talent left much to be desired, so that left Dale to spend the evening with his friends. Chris, Barbara, Dennis and John, they sat in a corner booth, drinking slowly and talking about Starfleet and the new ship, the Chimera. Dale was the only one who applied to go since he had no real ties to hold him. His four comrades still felt the need to study further while Dale wanted experience. A few of the cadets were rowdy and clearly far passed their alcohol tolerance level.

"You see, the whole idea with the crystals are..."

John didn't get any further as a burly cadet, crashed into their table. He looked around like a dazed lizard, blinking like a blinded owl.

"You know what I think? Aaaaaiiii think that, that fucking Hunter thinks he is so all-knowing, he is a stupid, simpering cunt. Leaving active duty to bother people like us."

Dale remembered Captain Hunter quite fondly and he knew that Captain Hunter was a great man, not one to be bad-mouthed in public by a drunk lout.

"Could you please lower your voice? It is a superior officer you are talking about."

Those rheumy eyes focused on Dale, "Fuck you. You probably lick his arse and let him do you in the back."

Words were emphasized with hip jerks slamming his hips against the table, "You prolly bend over for your whole family after Walker you pathetic ass kissing..."

He didn't get any further, Dale could take the insults, but he knew the cadet meant to go on and demeaning the memory of his dead parents would not sit with him. The straight right brought blood, Dale followed the staggering cadet out of the booth. He heard Chris' "Aw shit." behind him and then ducked underneath a punch and rose with an uppercut which knocked the cadet cold, but also crashed him on to the table of his friends.

There was a moment of silence where everybody paused to look at Dale and his handiwork. Then all hell broke loose. As the cadets came at him, Dale knew he couldn't use excessive force, he used focused strikes to nerve endings to put them down, but then the crowd increased. A solid blow to his eye, another to his ribs, made his decision for him and he went in without holding back at all.

He knew that his friends would stay, the three guys protecting Barbara as the brawl grew more intense, the alcohol providing courage as more patrons got sucked into the fray. There were no time for strategy, only thing to do was to avoid or blocking hits and taking down your attacker.

A heavy hand on his arm received a chop to the inside of the elbow a bck fist to the jaw and a side thrust kick. Only then did Dale see the uniform. His shock allowed the next officer's tonfa to strike him on the jaw and knock him to the ground. He knew that he could get up and fight back, but he stayed down as the officer secured his wrists. He looked over at the booth and gave his friends a ruefull grin.

Seven hours later

Dale stood at attention in the waiting room to Commodore Pike's office. It was the Commodore who had pulled him out of the formal hearing and his aide had explained to Dale that the Commodore wanted to see him and was far from being a happy man.

In fact, with the multitude of bruises under his uniform, the swollen eye and bruised jaw, Dale felt far from happy himself.
 
One day prior. The office of Commodore Pike

Dale had been left standing in the reception room for almost an hour, before he was directed into the Commodore's office. Commodore Pike were busy slowly pacing the large window, his gaze focused on the outside. Dale came to a halt in front of the desk.

"You came quite highly recommended Mr Steward. In fact so highly recommended that I wanted to make you the Security Officer. But look at you. I had to pull you out of a disciplinary hearing for initiating a bar fight. An officer in a bar fight. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Dale was standing at rigid attention, staring out in front of him.

"Sir, I only wished to defend the name of Captain Mack Hunter, sir."

Commadore Pike paused his pacing of the window and looked at Dale.

"What do you mean?"

"Sir, my friends and me were minding our own business, having a drink and talking, when Mr Michaels interrupted us and exclaimed that Captain Hunter is... I beg the Comadore's pardon, a female reproductive organ. Since I had the privelage to attend classes given by Captain Hunter and have the utmost respect for him, I demanded that Mr Michaels withdraw the comment. He proceeded to call me a scuzz sucking donkey and told me that I probably consorted with Captain Hunter."

Dale cleared his throat, "And that is when I executed the first punch, sir."

Commodore Pike stepped up to him, "Are you censoring right now Mr Steward?"

Dale nodded, "Yes sir."

Commodore Pike stared at Dale for a long time, then abruptly turned away and walked over to the window.

"You threw the first punch. Placed nine men in the infirmary, caused thousands in damage and had to be restrained forcefully."

Dale cleared his already clear throat, "Begging the Commodore's pardon, the officers did not identify themselves."

Commodore Pike went on as if Dale had not said anything, "You are already assigned to the Chimera. But we will have to punish you. I will assign the most boring task to you. You will start with brig duty and rotate out to Enginering. You are dismissed."

Dale snapped a salute, made an about-face and marched out of the office.

The here and now

Dale sighed as he stood at his post, thinking about the bad decisions that actually landed him standing guard at the really boring Enginering section. In fact the only excitement was when Captain Hunter came into Enginering and right now he seemed to have been cornered by Commander Winters.
 
T’Nara shifted her gaze from the core to the Captain upon hearing his response to her question. She could feel his observational gaze upon her as he continued speaking to her. She twitched her nose and shifted her jaw at his statement, impressed with his observational skills for she did have many questions, ones that she wasn’t sure was her place to ask, however she was the first officer of this ship and the safety and the going on’s that effected this ship was her business, and having an unregistered member on this ship was a concern regardless if it is a renown Captain. Her gaze studied him for a few moments still debating the logical sense of questioning him.

“As you wish.” She replied as if putting the blame on him for these questions at this time, which was by the way. “You are unregistered to be on this ship during this mission. Care to explain?” Her eyes darting over to the security sentry. “Did the Commodore give you unregistered cut orders and if so can you produce them?” her eyes narrowed, her tone that of a first officer ensuring the safety of her ship.

“My other questions will come once my first two have been resolved to my satisfaction. Do you understand Captain?” She stood firm and eyed him closely.

That was not what he was expecting. "Commander there is no conspiracy here. I'm just a guest of the Commodore's. For me it's just a two week vacation as we go on this little flag waving tour. " he told her. "And just for the sake of argument... even if the Commodore had given me secret orders, you know I wouldn't be able to tell you." his tone was that of a totally open man. He hid nothing and just waited to see what else he had for him.
 
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