A Ship Full of Motion

Posted on Tue May 6th, 2025 @ 8:37pm by Lieutenant Commander Ukram Gocx & Lieutenant Rowena "Rena" Campbell & Captain Lorut Vila & Lieutenant Commander Frasier Greene & Lieutenant Odren Xall & Lieutenant S'Tera & Lieutenant Aurora House of Kor & Captain Sandy "Fanthom" Risa

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Yesterday’s Enterprise
Location: Various Ship-wide
Timeline: MD-1, pre-Not Again

Vila sat, cross-legged, eyeballing the Console in front of her as data feeds streamed in. “Helm, Ops. Prep to drop out of Warp. We’ve arrived in the corridor.” She raised her head and smiled. “Good work, people,” she said. “Open a channel, please, and alert the crew of our descent.” She was happy, and proud-her first few days as full Captain went off like gangbusters. They could do this-and they would be ok. She rose. “Commander Lyo, I need to contact the other two ships in the area. You have the Bridge for a few minutes before I do that,” she said. She excused herself to the Ready Room, and let Albion know they’d arrived. She replicated herself another coffee, and headed back to the Bridge. “Ops, I need an open line to the other two ships doing patrols.” She settled back in, and waited. Around her, the din of the ship was rising as they prepared to drop warp and begin patrols.

Aurora felt the ship's shifting.

"Alright, gang, we're getting ready to come out of Warp, be ready to rock!" Aurora grinned wolfishly.

Until he was required below decks Doctor Greene was on the bridge manning secondary Ops station as he'd expressed interest in broadening his skill set. He still felt like a fish out of water but found it reassuring to have the experienced crew to guide him and Vila close by. Additionally Sickbay being located in the heart of the ship lacked windows and therefore he'd missed out on actually seeing dazzling scenes around them. The beauty and wonder of the universe was beginning to soften his concerns of space travel he'd shared with Culver when leaving Trident Station all that time ago.

Vila smiled lightly. "Dr...er, Commander Greene, please open a general channel, and send a hail to the nearby colonies," she instructed. It was WEIRD seeing him on the Bridge, but she was glad he was expanding his skill set. Besides, she knew that Gocx could handle sickbay since not much was needed yet-just routine stuff for the crew and their families.

It was hard to hide his smirk at her faux pas. "Yes ma'am," Greene replied before reporting back in a slightly delayed response as he continued to understand the station layout: "Channel open."

"Thank you," she said, offering him a smile. She'd have to tell him how good of a job he was doing, But later. Right now, business. Plus, it didn't need to be awkward. Not yet.

When the channel opened, she spoke. "Hello. This is the USS Intrepid, of the United Federation of Planets, and StarFleet. We are simply here to conduct safety patrols and scientific exploration. We ask for clear passage." She paused a moment, in case any of the colonies online wanted to ask a question or something.

"Commander, let me know if any replies or hails come in. Science, recall our probes, please. I don't want anyone thinking we're being remotely disrespectful of space that isn't ours," she said. She inhaled. Wrong thing to say. Oops. Oh, well. "Engineering, please prep shields, just in case."

At his temporary station Greene nodded and monitored the coms for any incoming messages and wondered if he needed to help with the probes but reconsidered it remember to take little steps for now.

Vila settled back, and waited for the reports to come in. As she was doing so, she set up the Command console to send everything to both her and Lyo's computers, so they could both see what was happening. She hated that whole pass-down-the-line thing, and preferred to make decisions together.

Aurora stepped onto the Bridge after making sure her people were battle ready...well, as 'battle ready' as a Cetacean Ops crew could be.

"Shields coming online now," Odren reported from the Engineering station, his voice calm but focused. "Power levels steady, and we're holding at full coverage. Ready to adjust as needed." He glanced at the tactical readouts, keeping an eye out for potential problems. If something were to come up, he wanted to be ready for it.

=/\=Thank you, Xall. =/\= Vila replied down the Comms line.

=/\=Science, send me the feed from the Probes, please. =/\= What was going on?

Aurora watched, both wishing she could help, but also knowing she was doing everything she could.

Vila looked at the data as it streamed in from the various consoles. She didn't like the look of what was ahead. "Lyo, put us in yellow alert; I'll be back, you have the Conn," she said, as she headed for her Ready Room. She quickly hit the button to summon HQ. "We are getting pushback from the locals. I was informed that we had clearance," she said.

A moment later, the Admiral appeared.

"I'll work it out. How close are you?"

"Close enough that they fired warning volleys at us," Vila replied, calmly but the annoyance crossed her face. "We just need passage, no stops are scheduled," she said. "I checked with my Engineer; we have enough fuel to operate at full capacity until March," she said. Albion reassured her that they'd have safe passage shortly.

Vila returned to the Bridge, and spoke in hushed tones to Lyo.

"Admiral says he's going to send a communique; someone wasn't alerted that we're simply seeking passage and escorting others, not looking to stop. Since it's not technically Federation territory, it's supposed to be an "ask-first" thing." She sighed deeply. She opened a line of communication to the entire ship.

=/\=Everyone, this is your Captain speaking. We've taken warning volleys, but nothing is an offensive movement at this time. Please remain in Yellow Alert, and keep abreast of any changes from myself or Commander Lyo. =/\=

Yellow Alert would simply require everyone to be more wary as they went about their regular duties.

"Commander Greene, please open a channel to...whomever is out there," she said.

Aurora rolled her eyes at the communication breakdown.

The warning shots had started Greene even though he'd seen them streak closer on his console. It was strange to see danger upon the horizon from the bridge instead of in sickbay aiding the injured caused by danger's effects. He summarised sometimes not knowing was better than having all the facts.
"Channel is open," he reported back.

"Thank you," she said. She took a deep breath to calm herself so she could think clearly. She pressed the button to speak.

This is Federation Starship Intrepid, seeking passage through this...tunnel. We simply wish to travel through. Please ensure our safe voyage.

Ugh, that sounded so dumb. Oh, well, this was her first time doing this, and she didn't want to stumble over "big words" that sounded more confident than she felt. She was the Captain of a flagship, sure, but she was also...not. Not yet. She hadn't done anything to earn it-not REALLY -she'd just happen to stay alive while everyone else hadn't. She was a survivor, so that wasn't surprising, but still.

"Greene, please alert me if we get an answer. Helm, proceed at half-speed. Our mission is simply to observe as we pass through this sector; it is as of yet unexplored by Starfleet, so we're guests here. Let's make sure we remain as such," she said to the crew. She settled back, but kept her console on. "Dr. Greene, I am also expecting a call from HQ. As soon as the Admiral contacts us, please route it through on a private channel," she instructed.

Ok. Her first official set of orders. Done. No sweat.

Aurora watched, curious to see what would happen.

"Incoming hail," Greene called out. "From the vessel to our starboard. They don't sound pleasant I'm afraid."

Vila sighed. "On the viewscreen, please," she said. She watched as the face of a man came on the screen. "Hello!" She said, warmly. Or as warmly as she could muster. The man raised an eyebrow, but replied.

"State your business."

She glanced at Lyo but returned her gaze to the man. "My name is Captain Lorut Vila," the Bajoran said. "I am the commanding officer of the USS Intrepid. We are requesting safe passage through to new El-Auria," she said. The screen went blank for a moment, and Vila raised her eyebrow. When the man reappeared, some others had joined him.

"Starfleet?" He asked. She nodded. He nodded.

Aurora's eyebrow went up at the strange behaviour.

[Ok...weirdos!] Aurora kept her thoughts to herself...but yeah, these guys were NOT being normal...or nice!

"You may pass; for twenty five hundred nautical miles, we're the only civilization. After that...be careful," the man said.

Vila nodded. "Thank you. Helm, proceed at frank speed," she said.

Greene twisted in his seat: "That sounded rather ominous."

Aurora silently agreed.

Vila simply shrugged. "Yes, but this is the only way to Kaitos. The Admiral has guaranteed our safety," she said. "If anything goes wrong, we abandon mission and get back. I believe in all of you to keep us alive, and the ship running," she said. She'd survived an entire civil war; whatever lay ahead was surely no match.

"Well, looks like we're stuck. Onward. I'll keep scanning for life forms and whatever else might be out there." S'tera said.

"Thank you," she said.

This wasn't going to be her easiest first day, was it?!

[And so it begins,] Aurora thought quietly, adrenaline starting to flow through her veins.

Greene returned his attention forward once more and hoped nothing else would go wrong - they'd all experienced enough drama over the last year to last a life time and Fraiser was keen to avoid adding to the tally.

"Science, please recall the probes, if you haven't already. Ops, how long until we've passed "twenty-five hundred nautical miles?" She asked. She understood warp speeds, but these old fashioned terms were ones she'd only heard in old Earth holo-programs in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Strange to hear it here, and the Bajoran had no frame of reference nor words to compare them to, and Standard was her third language.

'Aye captain. Recalling all probes!." s'tera couldn't help but wonder what they were heading into. All the info they had seemed to indicate something to do with the water. Perhaps an aquatic life forms? Science was full of unknowns and this was a big one! No life forms had been detected but still. It seemed there was something out there.

"I calculate at our current speed we should cover the required distance in one hour and twelve minutes," Greene replied.

Sandy had made sure that she had Ready Five on the deck along with her fighter. Ready Five is classified as having 5 fighters manned be and ready to fly at a moments notice. Smiling she hit her communicator, -/\- Sandy to Captain, we are at Ready Five. Just give the word fly and we are gone. Sandy out -/\- Looking at her people, she smiled and was very proud of them

=/\=Thank you, Lieutenant. =/\= Vila smiled lightly. The new woman was working out well; a good addition to the crew. She was pleased.

She settled back and glanced at Lyo. "What do you think, Commander? What would Culver do? He would go full speed ahead, I think..." she said, trying to reassure him. She did believe he would, but after carefully listening to everyone's input-like she'd just tried to do. Efforts to change her behaviors and how she responded to people were happening, and she was...happy but also scared. But that was ok; she didn't fear that the crew would think any less of her.

"Aliop!" Aurora grinned wolfishly as she slipped from the Bridge.

"Everyone in position?" Aurora asked as she stepped into the CetOps.

"All ready, Ma'am," Ensign Gunar quipped, hanging a harness in the equipment locker.


"Proceed at frank speed," Vila said, her voice sounding more assured than she felt.

 

RSS Feed