The Launch
Posted on Sat Aug 8th, 2020 @ 12:30pm by Captain Michael Meezo & Commander Brig Sito & Lieutenant Commander Jason Maddox & Lieutenant Commander Whistela Au’rel & Lieutenant Nyysa Maldonado & Lieutenant Scott Hayes
Mission:
The Avenger
Location: USS Wayfarer
Timeline: Present
:OFF:
And here we go! The Wayfarer’s first ever mission! Hopefully the first of many that I’ll have the pleasure of taking part in with all of you amazingly talented writers! Have some fun with it, that’s an order!
:ON:
{USS Wayfarer Bridge - The Next Morning...}
“Ensign Reynolds, lay in a course away from the shipyards and clear our departure with Utopia Planitia.” Captain Meezo stood in the middle of the bridge. “Course heading following this will be towards the Bajoran star system.”
The announcement took some of the bridge crew by surprise, but they weren’t about to choose this moment in time to ask any questions. The young woman at the helm ran her fingers over her controls and replied, “Course entered, and we have a ‘go’ from Utopia Planitia for departure.”
Mike smiled, “XO, do all stations report as ready?”
Commander Sito read his console quickly and nodded, “All stations ready, Captain.” his lip was still swollen following yesterday’s antics with the Klingons. Something the Captain would not forget in a hurry.
“Ensign Reynolds, ready thrusters. Initiate launching sequence.” Captain Meezo spoke.
Reynolds answered, “Sequence underway.”
Mike smiled widely, “Then take us out, Ensign.”
The Wayfarer moved carefully out of the shipyard dock using thrusters only. Once clear of the dock, speed was increased to one-half impulse power. The pre-agreed route towards the Bajoran system was already inputted into the navigational systems. Once the ship was clear of Mars, the Wayfarer jumped to warp 8.
“Estimated time to the Bajoran system?” Commander Sito spoke up from the XO’s chair.
“At current speed, approximately seven hours and fifty-two minutes, sir.” Reynolds estimated by looking at her console readout.
“Thank you, Ensign.” the Captain replied. He turned to Commander Sito, “XO, I’d like to start the mission briefing now. Please assemble the senior staff in the briefing room, I’ll be waiting.” Sito nodded.
{Briefing Room - A short time later}
Mike watched as his officers filed into the room. One by one they took their seats around the large table, and silently looked towards their Captain to begin the briefing. He got to his feet and crossed over to the briefing screen on the wall. “As I had the pleasure of meeting most of you yesterday, I’ll keep this brief.”
Mike pressed a button on the panel, and the default image of Starfleet’s logo disappeared, replaced with an image of a familiar nebula.
The Captain started his briefing; “This is the Rolor Nebula. It sits on the outskirts of the Bajoran system. It’s a relatively unremarkable nebula consisting primarily of helium, hydrogen, and a whole lot of dust. But due to massive electromagnetic interference across a broad spectrum, its never really been mapped or explored properly. Not to mention the fact that this particular sector has always been crawling with Cardassian patrol ships.”
He paused for a moment, and allowed the initial wave of information he had provided to his officers sink in.
“Following the Dominion’s defeat last year, and with it the Cardassian Union’s collapse, Starfleet has been able to access this area of space recently for extensive scientific study.”
He pressed a button on the briefing panel once again. The image changed. “This is the USS Avenger, NX-09.” Meezo continued to speak. “This NX-class starship disappeared without a trace in 2160. Initially it was believed to have been destroyed by a Romulan vessel in the last days of the Earth-Romulan war, but no wreckage was ever found.”
He could see some confused faces around the table. “You’re probably wondering what a nebula near Bajor and a 216 year old starship have in common, aren’t you?” Mike pressed the briefing panel once again and an image of a charred piece of hull plating with “NX-09” inscribed came up on the screen.
“This image came from the science vessel USS Faraday three days ago. During an initial sweep of the outskirts of the Rolor Nebula, they found this piece of hull plating. The Wayfarer has been ordered to enter the Rolor Nebula to see if anymore of the ship can be found. If it is found to be relatively intact, we’re to tow it to Deep Space Nine where it will be studied in greater detail. If all we find is more debris, then at least we’ll know the ship really was destroyed somehow.” Mike stepped across to the other side of the room and grabbed the piece of hull plating that had been shown on the screen. He placed it down gently onto the briefing table, trying not to scratch the unblemished surface. “This thing is pretty heavy, so please don’t drop it on your toes!”
“You say this ship was involved in the Earth-Romulan War?” Commander Sito spoke up, rubbing his greying beard. “Romulan space is on the other side of the Federation. If it really is the Avenger, how on Earth did it end up in the Rolor Nebula near Bajor? and why was it here in the first place? If memory serves, the NX Series could do what, a maximum speed of warp 5? It would of taken planning to come out that far unassisted” Sito made a mental note to look into the background of the USS Avenger in his off duty time.
Mike nodded in agreement, “Valid point XO; that is another piece of the puzzle we must solve.” the man turned the briefing screen off and returned to his seat at the head of the table. He addressed his officers, “I’m open to any questions or discussions you may want to have on the matter.”
Scott sat back in his chair, sipping his mug of tea he brought with him. This type of mission is the type he would assume Medical would be seeing very little to do but was mentally preparing a list of things that could go wrong and ways to prepare for it. After a moment he spoke up, "I'll take a look at the composition of the nebula and see if it will kick up any problems or ways to improve filtration should anyone be needing to take a walk."
"We'd have to get there first, Doctor," Nyysa pointed out, her coffee forgotten on the table in front of her. She used her PADD to access the information that the captain gave them. "'Massive electromagnetic interference across a broad spectrum' and brand new starship fresh out the box are not two things that go together. I'd need to run extensive analysis before we could get close enough to do anything."
Talla leaned back in her chair and examined the artifact as it was passed around the room. "Temporal or Stolen at some point perhaps?" The piece of wreckage was small yet still held some weight to it. Nothing felt unusual about the piece and surly got nothing emotional from it. She then offered it to the next officer in line.
DCSO Lt. JG, UJohane Isidlakela (after leaving Ensign Squeazal, [Who is Smarter than he "sounds"] to field questions down in the Ship's Science Section) joined the CSO at the briefing.
Upon being passed the piece of hull plating he asked "Captain, did anyone on the Faraday check it for tachyon particles, to see if in some way it was time or space displaced?"
Some how it just felt wrong to the Lt. JG, like it didn't belong. He kept this feeling quiet and passed "the Artifact" on, while waiting for answer to the posed question.
Mike leaned forward in his chair, “That’s a good question Lieutenant. The honest answer to that is I don’t know. Due to the nature of finding this piece of hull plating so near to the Bajoran system, Starfleet want this mission kept under wraps for as long as possible until we know more answers than questions.” He turned his head towards Nyysa, “I want the science department to take the piece of hull plating and start analyzing it. Hopefully we’ll have some more information before we reach the Bajoran system.”
"Understood, sir," the Chief Science Officer said, sitting a little straighter in her chair. "We'll start with a spectral analysis and see where that takes us."
"I can prioritize the remote sensor system as far as power distribution is concerned, but only to an extent." Rosaleen interjected. "Given the volatility of the region, tactical will still have top priority. Also, I would like to keep an extra damage control party on duty once we reach the region, if that is alright Captain."
Mike agreed with a sharp nod, “Of course Lieutenant. I’d rather be well prepared and equipped for anything than get caught out and regret it later. Make all the preparations as you feel necessary, you have my full support.” Mike’s gaze switched to his Chief Security Officer; “And that goes for your department too, Lieutenant Commander Maddox. Are security prepared for any potential scenarios we may encounter?”
"Aye sir, security are ready for what ever comes our way." Maddox spoke in a mild and soft tone. He was already under scrutiny from the Captain so needed to be on the ball at times he had a lot hanging over his head.
Mike got to his feet and looked at the officers that had gathered around the table for his briefing. He felt that this crew could become something really special, given time. “Okay, let’s get to work. We’ll arrive at the Rolor Nebula in approximately seven hours. You’ve got your tasks to attend to. Dismissed.”
:OFF:
Excellent writing everyone! Take this mission in any direction you like!
Captain Michael Meezo
Commanding Officer
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113
&
Commander Brig Sato
Executive Officer
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113
&
Lieutenant Commander Whistela Au’rel
Chief Counselling Officer
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113
&
Lieutenant Commander Jason Maddox
Chief Of Security
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113
&
Lieutenant Scott Hayes
Chief Medical Officer
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113
&
Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell
Chief of Operations and Logistics
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113
&
Lieutenant Nyysa Moldonado
Chief Science Officer
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113
&
Lieutenant (JG) UJohane Isidlakela
Asst. Chief Science Officer
USS Wayfarer, NCC-72113
