True to all predictions, once the Randall children had seen the play area, they had immediately forgotten the existence of the adult annoyances and had taken their first steps into accepting the Fairburn as home, Jason immediately taking up with an Andorian boy of similar age and Lily belting off to lay claim to the zero gravity play area. So after leaving instructions with Peter Fischer for the children to be cared for over the next few hours whilst both parents sorted out their respective responsibilities, they left, Ian quietly regretful he wasn’t small enough to get in there with them; that maze had looked particularly appealing…
"This projection chamber of yours is going to be a challenge." Rell was saying as they rode the turbolift down to Engineering. "We’ve already been looking into the problems with it, but as you know getting the ship ready is…"
"…And the crew are settling in?" Susan asked K’Teira, concern etched upon her face. "Are there any problems so far?"
"Only the usual ones one finds with a new crew; my quarters are too small; can I change shifts; my room-mate’s feet stink…"
"…So you’ve cross connected the imaging system." Ian mused. "And it did nothing?"
"Not that you’d notice. But Sciences could tell you more. Perhaps…"
"…There are thirty-nine separate races assigned here, aren’t there?" Susan pondered. "But only thirty-seven here at the moment?"
"The others will be arriving in the next few hours, including my assistant and her family…"
The two conversations stalled when the lift slowed, halted and its doors parted, admitting a small woman from the Sciences division. This woman gaped at the auspicious company she was to be keeping as she stepped in.
"Uh…" she said meekly. "Stellarcartography."
The lift again began to move and the conversations resumed. The newcomer stood rigidly at the front of the car and tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
"Have you tried…?"
"…any problems with that?"
"They seem remarkably accepting, even the civilians…"
"…Why IS everything blue on this ship?"
"That was the designers’ suggestion - apparently it’s the most neutral colour all the races aboard would accept…"
"…they are all here to do their jobs…"
By the time the lift slowed and stopped at Stellarcartography, the young officer was so confused by the concurrent conversations going on, it was all she could do to force herself to step out into the corridor. Already feeling intimidated by the ranks of those she’d shared the ride with, the interwoven threads left her lost. She had to shake herself before she could move off.Looking out towards streaking stars, knowing that every one was bringing him that much closer to his goal, the newly promoted Commander James Grieg couldn’t help feeling a little daunted by it all. The latest Galaxy class ship, and he’d proven himself worthy of becoming its First Officer! Gods of Light, he was proud! It was such an awesome responsibility; not that he wasn’t up to it, but to be acknowledged as being this good was rather humbling.
"Yikes! To look at him, you’d think he was being sent home for court-martialing!"
As Grieg turned his somber face towards the source of the exclamation, a willowy blonde woman made her way across the observation lounge carefully carrying two very full glasses. Placing one before him as she reached the table, she continued,
"Besides, if you really want depression, we could go over my latest failed romance." Taking out a chair and straddling it, she sighed, "I really thought Samrak was the one." A shrug. "Oh, well," She raised the glass in a silent toast, then she drank deeply from it.
"Haven’t we gone over it at least seven times already?" Grieg asked her with a faint smile, sympathetic to her pain but also aware that Aslen Framkesson never lent her whole heart to any of her passing fancies, so she always bounced back after the mandatory complaints.
"True." Pale eyebrows raised in frank agreement. "So why the long face? You wanted the transfer, didn’t you?"
"Definitely!" Grieg laughed self-consciously, for a moment breaking out of his oddly thoughtful mood as he tried to analyze it enough to express it in words for his friend. "It’s just…"
"You aren’t having doubts, are you?" One pink lip curled in distaste as Grieg paused.
"Your job is safe!" he told her emphatically. "I’m just thinking about how big a step this is, and how grateful I am to Captain Randall for the opportunity." He paused again and inhaled shakily. "Words aren’t enough to tell you how pleased I am about it."
"Ja." she replied dubiously. "You really look like it too. You’re really bursting out of your skin, you know?" She tossed back the rest of her drink and regarded her darkly wondering companion. "So, tell me," she continued, empty glass being placed on the polished conference table. "What do you know about this new Captain of yours? Normally there’s a whole planet of information on the Galaxy commanders, but this Randall’s a big question mark."
"That’s because you didn’t look back far enough." he informed her pointedly. "Ever hear of Dranik IV?"
"Oh, of course!" the delicately featured woman’s face paled even further, marking how impressed she was. "Who hasn’t? That was her?"
It had become something of a legend in Starfleet that a lowly ensign, the last left alive after a snap Cardassian attack, had managed to pull out the away team on the planet and save the ship through pure deception and more than a little luck. Though the exact details and even the name of that ensign had been lost to the general bulk of cadets, the story had gone on to inspire whole legions of Academy graduates to greater glories.
"That wasn’t the greatest of what she’s done, either." Grieg said. "But I guess twelve years retirement dulls the memory."
"Well," Aslen considered, one manicured nail absently tapping on the back of the chair. "She’s been given a Galaxy class, so she’s still got to be good. And maybe she was just trying to shun the spotlight or something?"
"It seems that way."
"Maybe," she added helpfully, "she’s one of that type who liked to get the job done without the kudos."
"It’s po…" Then he blinked and said urgently, "Don’t you have to be on the bridge in five minutes?"
Aslen glared at the ebony skinned man in annoyance.
"Damn it, I do!" she exclaimed, lifting her leg back over the chair and swinging around as she spoke. "Though how you know my schedule better than I do is really aggravating!"
"It was mine for five years, remember." he reminded her gently, rising to his feet and catching her hand in his. "I’m going to miss you." he said softly, helping her up.
"Are you sure…?" she asked hopefully, then answered herself ruefully even before she finished the question, stepping beyond his reach. "No." she sniffed. "Of course you don’t. And I wouldn’t want you to join the long line of my partners, anyway."
She never suspected how guilty he felt right then. He had never felt anything other than friendship for her, but he had often considered that an affair with him might be what the flighty officer needed to settle down. Though he was probably a lot closer to her on this platonic level than he would have been if it had become romantic, it still felt like something unfinished he was leaving behind him. He felt that way about so much here on the Portsmouth, and he didn’t know how to start that process of ending; not with Aslen or anything else.
He was leaving a part of himself behind here…
"Hey!" she announced now, playfully hitting out at him, the bounce being forced back into her tone. "It’s not going to be the same around here without you to annoy!"
"Yes." He swallowed the lump of sadness that had welled up in his throat and was pleased that his voice remained firm. "As Second, they’ll be annoying you!" He cocked his head at the irony - Aslen, apart from being a good friend, was also one of his greatest sources of irritation, particularly in the early days of her assignment to the Portsmouth. "Speaking of which…"
He didn’t want the exchange to end; both knew that Aslen would still be on duty wen he transferred over to the Fairburn and this was their last chance for a personal farewell. However, both were also aware of certain penalties for tardiness Captain Stihlman invoked when he was of a mind to. To judge by circumstances and past experience he might be lenient in this case, but he could go the other way just as easily, and it was never wise to risk it.
So Grieg pointed at the door, tacitly reminding her where she should be.
"I’m going! I’m going!" she insisted, taking three long strides towards the door in emphasis. "But I’ll keep looking for those - what do you call them? ‘Televids’? - of yours, though I have no idea why you like them so much!"
"I’d appreciate that." Another minute, he thought, allowing his arm to droop a little, making a conscious decision to keep his final comments light before he actively ordered her to the bridge. "You really should try them again. I think you’d like them."
"No way! Not after the torture of 2001!" she spat, gathering herself up for another tirade; one she didn’t get to make, only managing to get out the, "I can’t …" before he raised his arm again.
"Now you go." he said sternly.
"Hmmm… I had better get to the bridge before we reach Earth." she sighed, a soft regret touching her face. "Take care of yourself, won’t you, Chocolate?"
"Of course I will, Milk. You do the same." he replied sincerely.
For a moment it looked as though she was going to embrace him, but she reconsidered about a meter from him, smiled weakly, and walked out the door...
…Only to pause in the corridor long enough to say,
"You know, I’m never going to get used to seeing you in cranberry, sir."
Then she was gone.
Sadly he picked up the drink she had left for him and held it up to the window. He didn’t drink from it; instead he watched the swirling liquid, seeing the reflection of his new Command uniform against the background of the streaking starscape beyond the glass.
How apt. he thought. Aslen, you aren’t the only one who’s never going to get used to seeing me in cranberry.
Bright his future certainly was, and though he was looking forward to it, he couldn’t help but think of the past and all he was leaving behind.
Rell had disappeared during the tour of Main Engineering; Ensign wynDavies apologetically called him away from his dissertation on the huge blue heart of the ship, the warp core, to inspect a problem they were having with one of the systems.
"It’s nothing to worry about," he’d cheerily told them as he folded himself up a Jeffries Tube behind the robust redhead. "But I’d better see about this sensor fluctuation myself. I’ll keep you posted."
K’Teira had continued the tour of Engineering after that, but although she knew as much about the ship as anyone outside of the Engineering division did, she couldn’t go into the kind of loving detail Rell had, and so it was over very quickly.
Now they were approaching what one of them, at least, considered to be the real heart of the mighty Starship; the science labs. It was in this complex that the true work of exploration was done; Captain Susan Randall and her command crew might navigate this ship into orbit around these other planets, into these uncharted areas; but it was Lieutenant Commander Ian Randall and his team of scientists who would classify the flora and fauna, who would determine whether the star was stable, if there was a subspace fracture in the area, if the ground was safe to live on, if the quantum filament was permanent.
Ian knew the true nature of exploring. What was James Cook but a simple sailor without Joseph Banks? And Matthew Flinders without George Bass? A man with a little boat and big dreams.
Here there was all of the latest equipment, some of which he’d helped design, some of which he’d never seen but had heard so much about; all of which he was soon going to be using. Here were assigned some of the best scientific minds - both civilian and Starfleet - that the Federation had to offer.
Yes, this was going to be terrific!
The two females accompanying him were standing back at a distance, according him the courtesy of allowing him to introduce himself in his own distinctive way. Yet after watching him bustle into the third set of labs - the current one being the Geology section - quickly announce his presence then launch into his "what are you doing? - oh, that’s perfect - let’s try that a different way…" speech, the amusement for them had faded, and they knew that they were in danger of seeing nothing but these few decks if they stayed with the wiry-haired Commander.
So the two conferred, and as K’Teira moved to have a quick chat with a passing scientist, Susan called out to her distracted husband.
"Ian!" He didn’t hear her - he was busily enthusing over the latest core sample analyzer.
"Commander Randall!" the Captain ordered.
"…tuned to thirty thousand kilometers…" he was saying as he turned his body, then his head, at the summons. "Yes, Captain?"
"The Counsellor and I are going to finish the tour." she explained. "So we’ll leave the restructuring of Sciences to you - I’m not interested in being overrun by the people that are about to be chopped and changed down here; just remember the reception at eighteen hundred hours, OK?" she said with a certain amused tolerance.
"Yes, Captain." Though not apparent to any who didn’t know him, the chuckle was there.
"Commander." Unnoticed the Counsellor had rejoined Susan in the doorway, and she spoke diffidently. "Lieutenant Jedera is over in Stellarcartography. You might find it helpful to speak with him and find out what has already been done."
"Thank-you, K’Teira." he said gratefully, a new train of thought being added to the already wide-ranging collection contained in his eclectic mind. "From what I’ve seen, Jedera’s been doing an excellent job down here; everything is right where I wanted it. I don’t know what Rell was on about."
"He’ll be pleased to hear that, Commander." K’Teira approved.
"We’ll see you later. have fun!" Susan received a half-wave and a wink in return as he turned back to the geologists; then the women walked away down the corridor.
"He’s going to be there for the rest of the day." Susan smiled knowingly as one woman will do to another. K’Teira was immediately aware of the barrier crossed; gender was perhaps a more important distinction than species? That would be an interesting topic to research…
"And as he’s lost amongst his new toys," Susan continued, "I think I should see mine. Let’s go to the bridge."Stellarcartography was a cluster of labs off to the side of the main science decks, four research labs gathered as though for warmth around the two storey projection chamber. The latter was a new innovation for the Galaxy class vehicles, this one being the prototype and was regarded as an unnecessary power wastage; the first task for the science department was to find a way to make it usable.
The huge room was strangely barren in its deactivated state; save for the primary access terminal on the catwalk a level above the curving floor, nothing broke the monotony of the bleak black grids that lined the walls. It was psychologically difficult to work in such a Spartan place, but the four figures had made their ways across the concave floor and peeled up some of the projection coils to peer into the circuitry beneath, trying very hard to ignore the high soulless walls brooding over them.
"Ah, that’s it." By Terran standards, the man who spoke seemed underdeveloped, though his delicate physique matched his coffee-cream complexion and soft-spoken tones. He had an obvious enthusiasm for his work, and despite his gentle voice, he was still managing to get his message across as he guided his team through their task. "Try connecting the junction to the redistribution node; hopefully that’ll give us more efficiency in the power output…"
His team began their work without fuss as he correlated the data from the computer link they had temporarily installed against readings from his tricorder; smiling as he liked what he saw, he glanced up.
"That’s really good!" he encouraged them. "We can almost get out of here for the afternoon…"
The door leading to the outer lab opened, causing the man to turn around in surprise; this increasing when he saw who was entering.
"Keep on as you are." he instructed, turning towards the new arrival, murmuring, "Try and route the surplus to the secondaries." before picking his way over to their new commander.
"Commander Randall." With a hand on his own left shoulder, he acknowledged the superior rank of the man before him in the way of his people; with a bow from the waist. "I’m Lieutenant Jedera, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there to take you through the complex myself, but as you can see," He gestured at his diligently toiling companions, "we’ve been busy getting ready to ship out."
"I have no doubt!" Randall laughed, thrusting out a hand to greet Jedera in the manner of his people. The lieutenant took the proffered hand and shook it warmly.
"I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen so far." the new Administrator continued, looking around with pleasure. "From what Rell was saying, it seemed that we had a long way to go, but you seem to have everything well on the way to operational, and that’s rare for the maiden voyage, especially considering we’re understaffed. I only hope I can continue your good work."
There was nothing about the Commander which suggested he had doubts as to whether he could or not; his voice was definitely in a joking tone, the thermal patterns of his exposed flesh didn’t seem too extreme, and his expression was a study of Terran confidence. So Jedera smiled back.
"I’ve left most of the major decisions as to personnel assignments to you, except the specialists, of course. I didn’t feel it was my place to, so I mainly concentrated on getting us ready to leave. I’ve detailed it all in my report…"
"Hmmm…" Randall didn’t seem upset, just distracted. "Most will fall into place by themselves… You’ll be my liaison to the bridge, of course?"
Surprised the younger officer inclined his indented head to hide his uncontrollable glow of pleasure.
"Yes, sir! But who will work with the science teams?"
"I will." Ian replied as though it was painfully obvious. "I’m not here as scenery! But I’m going to need you to take over for me from time to time, and I will need your help."
"I’ll do what I can, sir." the lieutenant said with a quiet determination.
"You will." Then Ian added, "So, do you think we can get this imaging chamber working without causing the engines to seize when we’re at warp?"
"Well, right now we’re trying to divert secondary power reserves into the chamber…" He indicated the trio behind him and half spun to regard them. "…and divert the primaries away so we aren’t affecting the major systems for the short term. There are also groups looking into the long term problems; Commander Rell has promised us a few technicians when we’re out of spacedock to help us et more power out of the generator, but until we’re moving, we aren’t a high priority."
Anger flashed in the Commander’s pale eyes; quite visibly, he warmed.
"We will be, Lieutenant." he asserted with a dark scowl. "That’s all that counts. Have you tried tapping off the power flux yet?" In spite of his irritation, he was still turning the problem around in his mind, looking at the angles and wondering which had been covered.
"Yes sir, but we found…"
"Lieutenant!" one of the workers cut in. "We’re finished here."
"Brilliant!" Jedera didn’t miss a beat, his soft voice eager as it carried his reply across the bowl. Privately Ian wondered at how such a subdued tone was so noticeable, for it never rose far above the whisper level. "What’s the reading, Eva?"
A woman with curling, elaborately coifed and primped red hair checked the monitor.
"We’re at fifty-seven percent now." she reported.
"Fantastic!" he exclaimed joyfully. "You can go and have some free time before the reception."
As the three scientists started to pack away their instruments, Jedera resumed his report.
"We found that placed too much strain on the projector coils - if we’d been in full operational mode, this place would have melted down. So all we can do is get the secondaries online and keep us at or below sixty percent capacity until we can get some of the holotechs back in here." He shrugged sadly.
"Too bad we can’t run it at a lower wattage." Ian’s jaw clenched in frustration. "Having to boost it with the engines is…"
"Ummm… Sirs?" The feminine voice was quiet, uncertain and respectful; both men turned to regard the small woman who’d approached and now stood off to the side. To Ian there was something naggingly familiar about this cherub-faced officer; Jedera cringed without showing it in sympathy of Joenn’s uneasiness in the presence of so much rank.
"I’m sorry for disturbing you, sirs." she said, obviously keeping her eyes towards the known officer, Jedera. "But I thought you should know that the power is being diverted as you wanted, but might cause a feedback loop if we use the higher level search program, because we couldn’t get it right unless we bypassed the modulator."
"Thanks for the warning. See to it that it gets around." Jedera said seriously, beckoning woman forward. "Commander Randall, this is Ensign Joenn, Stellarcartographer."
"Pleased to meet you." Ian took her hand and noticed it was shaking a bit, like she was trying to keep her outer composure. "But aren’t you a little young to have decided on a specialty?"
"I like Stellarcartography, sir." Strange how indignance always quashed nerves; at least temporarily. Yet this little woman seemed so familiar; it was gnawing at him, so he frowned in confusion and blurted out,
"Have we met, Ensign? I feel I’ve seen you about somewhere."
"Not officially, sir." she quickly replied. "But I got on a turbolift with you, Commander Rell, Counsellor K’Teira and the Captain."
"That’s it!" Randall clicked his fingers, happy that the mystery had been solved. "Thank-you, Joenn, and good work. Go and enjoy the respite from work for a while."
"Yes, sir."
"Joenn’s only just graduated." Jedera commented as the woman wove her way out of the chamber.
"And she’s been assigned here?" He was impressed. "She’s got to be good; not many new officers get posted to Galaxys."
"She’s one of the best here, even though she doesn’t have much experience."
"Well she seems to need a bit of confidence." Ian replied.
Jedera’s flecked amber eyes widened.
"It’s her first assignment, sir." he said, tenderness creeping into his tone. "And her work more than makes up for first-time jitters. You’ll see as you get to know her; she’s got a kind of knack for feeling her way through things - she’ll fin a way of doing things no one else would have thought of, and she makes them work. Everything’s just a bit new."
"I remember what it was like." Ian mused, hand to chin. "She’s a good worker?"
"Yes, sir."
Ian nodded thoughtfully.
All traces of the team’s passing were gone; even the coils they had been working on had been lowered back into the floor. So the lone officers now turned and headed for the exit.
"Alright." Randall said, his mind moving on to the next course of business, abruptly regaining his focus. "I know that not all the department heads are here yet, but I think my next move should be to call a meeting of those that are here to start getting to know them. I want to know what’s going on in my department, and I don’t want to miss out on the opportunities we’ve been given in coordinating Sciences.
"So with all that in mind," His smile was like that of an excited school-boy, "Which way’s my office?"
"Beyond Astrophysics, sir." As they stepped out into the Stellarcartography lab, Jedera showed the way.All was quiet on the bridge. Here in spacedock at McKinley station, a full complement was hardly required, though as the Fairburn was so close to shipping out and an earlier departure time could be ordered at any time, both the Conn. and Ops. positions were manned. Up at the Tactical station, Lieutenant Daniels was poring intently over the data scrolling over his screen as he now checked the internal sensors, amazed to see the placed the huge Chief Engineer got to! Behind and off to one side of him sat Ensign Jancris, correlating his findings at the Engineering station.
Only one person sat in the Command center, but as she saw the new arrivals she abandoned the review of the files on her monitor and stood up from the Executive’s position.
"Captain on the bridge!" Elek announced.
All activity stopped; even Daniels snapped to attention as Susan Randall took her first look at the place that was going to dictate her life, fates willing, for the next twenty or so years. As K’Teira formed a one person honour guard at one side of the turbolift doors, Susan allowed the atmosphere to wash over her.
It was somewhat cozier than other Galaxy bridges she’d seen representations of, but the roominess of the other modules had disturbed her, as she believed in every space having a reason; and in a way, this one reminded her of her old command. That was comforting in a way she only partially realised. This was a friendly bridge design; and with the blue decor - pale blue carpet and walls, powder blue wall panels and chair cushions - it was cool and inviting as well.
She especially liked the four aft stations; the two free-standing consoles of Sciences I and Engineering I before their station counterparts were a nice touch, she reckoned. From what she’d seen on those other modules, if more than one person needed to use Sciences, it was a crush, and the way they were now interlinked allowed easier access for research and file retrieval. And the Science Officer is actually facing the front! she thought, remembering Ian’s complaints after having visited the Yamato so long ago.
The silence was disconcerting, but privately heartlifting too, as she stepped down the dusky blue steps to face Elek; the one who’d originally called for this show of respect.
They were waiting for her to say something; Susan could feel it; and she owed them that. Besides, they won’t go back to work until I do! she thought.
"As you were.." she instructed. "You’ve run a tight ship. "You should all be proud."
Elek inclined her head gracefully.
"Thank-you, Captain, though admittedly there is very little that can go wrong whilst we are still in the dock. Would you care to take the bridge?" She indicated the center seat with a fluid motion, stepping back with respect.
Susan considered this with a speculative half-smile.
"Why not? she finally said, excitement leaking around her careful detachment.
The old feelings came flooding back as she took her place, looking out beyond Conn. and Ops. and into the viewscreen. Life and death decisions were going to be made here, decisions that would affect all on this ship, sometimes affecting the lives of entire worlds; and it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility for her decisions to affect the entire Federation. The responsibility fell across her shoulders like a cloak mad of tritanium, but she was ready for that.
I am a Captain. she thought determinedly. I will keep my family and shipmates alive. I have a good team to help me - I can feel it. Problems can be overcome with patience and work, can’t they? Starfleet has chosen me, so I must be able to do this.
The Fairburn is a good ship, and it has a good Captain. It has to.
"Status?" she asked, feeling her mind focus to the fine point she’d relied upon so many years ago, automatically falling into the familiar patterns as she inspected the monitor on the armrest.
"Currently in spacedock at McKinley Station after a successful trial run to Pluto and back under the command of Liutenant Commander Terigan Rell two weeks ago." the Vulcan reported, still at attention. "Engineering reports that there are a few minor problems in the outer sensor grid and in cargo bay two’s gravity coils, though Commander Rell is confident that all will be ready by our projected departure time tomorrow afternoon.
"Sickbay reports no casualties at this time and that Sickbay is ready to receive the Chief Medical Officer next week.
"Sciences reports all is going well, except for the imaging chamber; once Commander Randall has made his inspection of the facility, it will be operational.
"And the Portsmouth has signaled they will be entering orbit in two hours to deliver Commander Grieg."
"And Security?" the Captain ordered after Elek had finished.
"Security reports no breaches and systems are all online. We’re ready to get out of here!" Daniels claimed extravagantly, then shrank back from the severe glare from the Second. Susan raised her eyebrows at this, but said nothing about it.
"Very well." she got to her feet. "That was nice, Commander. However I am going to my ready room. You have the bridge, Elek."
"Aye, sir."
Stepping out across the bridge, she beckoned towards the curiously observing Klingon, still near the doorway they’d entered from.
"You’re with me, Counsellor."
"Yes, sir." K’Teira replied, and followed her off the bridge.
