The Journey

Posted on Tue Aug 4th, 2020 @ 12:21am by Captain Michael Meezo

Mission: In The Beginning...
Location: Various
Timeline: Various

:OFF:

I know I said I wanted to launch on Wednesday, but I just couldn’t contain my excitement anymore! So here it is; the first post for the USS Wayfarer!


:ON:

{{USS Lexington - Three Years Ago}}

“Shields have failed!” came the shout from the tactical console. The announcement was almost drowned out by the sound of another impact explosion on the ship’s hull.

The red alert klaxons continued to sound, debris was strewn across the bridge, and main power had gone offline minutes earlier. Commander Michael ‘Mike’ Meezo had taken a seat in the Command chair after Captain Alyssa Fletcher had been knocked out by a piece of exploding conduit. The Captain was badly hurt, but so was over half the crew by this point. The Borg were swatting starships away like flies.

“Focus phaser fire on the most damaged area of the cube’s hull!” Mike barked, gripping the command chair arms tightly. “If the fleet fail and the Borg make it to Earth, we’re finished!”

Another massive explosion rocked the USS Lexington, knocking some of the crew off their feet violently in a hail of sparks and shrapnel. “Emergency forcefields failing on decks 3 through 11! Structural integrity down to 23%!” an Ensign shouted from the operations station.

“Reroute power to those forcefields!” Mike ordered, turning towards the operations officer, “Take it from life support if you have to!” Perhaps this was the end of the road, Mike wondered to himself. Maybe this was how he had been destined to die; defending his home world against an aggressive alien species.

“Commander!” the woman at tactical spoke up again, grabbing Mike’s attention, “The Enterprise just arrived out of warp; they’re heading towards us at high impulse!”

Mike felt a huge surge of adrenaline rush through his body, and some relief to go with it. The Federation flagship was now here. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention. The Lexington was a nebula-class starship and had a modest armament, but the Enterprise was a sovereign-class equipped with quantum torpedos; surely a Borg cube was no match in comparison?

=/\= This is Captain Picard of the Enterprise, I’m taking command of the fleet =/\= Picard’s voice cascaded over the comm-system.

=/\= Target all of your weapons onto the following coordinates. Fire on my command =/\=

Mike stood up and rushed over to the tactical console and stood next to the Lieutenant. Picard was so respected in Starfleet, that the thought of even questioning his orders didn’t enter Mike’s mind. “Have you received the coordinates?”

“I have, sir!” The woman confirmed excitedly, “I’ve sent a response back to the Enterprise. Targeting all weapons on that specific area now.”

The Lexington was rocked by another explosion just as Picard’s voice gave the order to fire. The tactical officer managed to fire phasers and every torpedo remaining on the ship. Within moments of the fleet firing, the Borg cube erupted in an impressive burst of green hued flames, completely obliterated.

{{Utopia Planitia Shipyards- Present Day}}

The newly commissioned USS Wayfarer was currently docked at Utopia Planitia. Or to be more specific, in a holding dock just off Utopia Planitia. Construction of the ship had only finished 13 days ago, and the Intrepid-class starship was preparing for its maiden voyage.

Captain Michael Meezo had arrived at the shipyards approximately three hours ago. Following a quick meal in one of the food outlets, he had met with Rear-Admiral Bernadette Savage, the shipyard CO.

She had provided him with his long-term orders for the Wayfarer, and also some short term tasks he would need to address in the near future. Nothing in his orders particularly surprised Mike, especially the part about “exploring new worlds, and engaging in peaceful contact with alien species.” But he felt nervous none-the-less. He’d been promoted to Captain less than a week ago, and had already received a command. At 42 years old he was one of the youngest Captains in Starfleet, but no-less experienced.

“I just don’t feel completely ready,” Mike admitted, touching the four pips on his collar, “I know I can do it, but... the responsibility is enormous.”

Savage leaned back in her office chair and smiled, “You’re ready, Captain. Everyone at Starfleet Command has known that you’ve been ready since the Battle of Sector 001 three years ago. On that day you stepped up and became a Captain.” she smiled broadly, “It just took us another three damn years to convince you to accept a promotion!”

Following a further conversation that acted as a confidence boost for Mike, the meeting came to an end. The Rear-Admiral wished the man all the best, shook his hand, and that was it. He was on his own.

Mike made his way to one of the docking platforms to board the shuttle that would take him over to his ship. He addressed the Ensign that stood by the airlock entrance, “Good morning,” he smiled, “Captain Michael Meezo, Commanding Officer. I believe you’ll be taking me over to the Wayfarer?”

The Vulcan Ensign picked up a PADD from the small table beside him. He started to read through the crew manifest, which was arranged in alphabetical order. When he finally reached ‘M’ he found the Captain’s name. “If you could press the PADD for me, sir. Hand-print verification.”

Mike agreed politely, pressing his hand on the PADD. The scan took less than a second, and a happy chime from the PADD indicated that a positive identification had been achieved.

“Thank you, Captain.” The Ensign moved towards the airlock, “Please follow me onto the shuttle, where I will escort you over to the ship.”

The shuttle took less than ten minutes to cross over from the shipyard to the Wayfarer. It would have been easier to beam over, but tradition dictated that new commanding officers needed to arrive via shuttle. It was a tradition Mike was happy to uphold.

All necessary preparations had been made for the imminent launch of the Wayfarer, so most of the crew were enjoying some last minute R and R, and others were still travelling towards Utopia Planitia. There was only a couple of dozen engineers and crewmen onboard to ensure that every last circuit was where it should be. In a matter of hours, there would be 142 officers and crew on the ship.

The shuttle entered the main shuttle-bay and came to a gentle touchdown. A handful of crew had gathered in the bay to welcome their Captain onboard. They quickly stood to attention in rows of six or seven crewmen as their commanding officer and the accompanying Vulcan Ensign stepped off the shuttle.

The Ensign announced loudly to the gathering; “Commanding Officer, Wayfarer, arriving.” A bosun whistle echoed around the shuttle-bay, reinforcing the arrival announcement.

The Captain stepped forward and onto the small podium that was waiting for him. There was a PADD on the podium that he accessed via a finger print sensor. Once the PADD was activated, he started to read; “To Captain Michael Meezo, stardate 53590.72, you are hereby requested and required to take command of the USS Wayfarer as of this date. Signed, Vice-Admiral Volek T’Sunik, Starfleet Command.” he pressed the PADD once again to shut it down, before continuing to speak. “Computer, make a note in the ship’s log to reflect that Captain Michael Meezo has accepted command of this vessel, the USS Wayfarer, as per Starfleet order number one-one-zero-four-alpha.”

The chimes and tones of the computer bleeped positively before it replied, “Acknowledged.”

Mike walked off the podium and towards the gathered crew to meet some of them.


:OFF:

Let’s start meeting your amazing characters! Are they already onboard the Wayfarer? Will they meet the Captain in the shuttle-bay? Are they on Utopia Planitia enjoying some last minute R&R? Are they heading towards the Wayfarer from somewhere completely different? Let’s see those imaginations flowing!

Captain Michael Meezo
Commanding Officer
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113