First Days - Part 1
The bridge of the U.S.S. Yukon was quiet. The soft noise of the life support systems only slightly overcome by the low murmur of electronic noise from various ship consoles was the only sound as the bridge crew continued their work. Sanek glanced about the bridge noting the efficiency with which the crew performed, despite the small bridge area and cramped workspace available. The Aurora Science vessels were smaller even than his first cadet command - the U.S.S. Nautilus, an older Miranda class refit light cruiser - and as such required some getting used to for officers and crew used to larger ships.
The turolift behind him opened with a hiss, and yeoman stepped through the doors, met with the brief glances of some of the bridge crew. Stepping forward a few steps he stopped alongside the captain's chair and held out a datapad to Sanek.
"Sir, the latest report on the anomalous artifact we found in the Honad system." Sanek took the datapad and glanced briefly at the information displayed. Their last mission assignment had been to assist a Starfleet cargo ship assigned to evacuate civilian personnel and scientists from the Honad system's research stations. During the mission they had encountered an odd rock formation that, when scanned, contained some strange markings. The rock had been brought aboard and the science team had been examining it since. The latest details were still vague, but some progress had been made. Sanek electronically signed the report and handed the datapad back to the yeoman, who nodded and left the bridge via the turoshaft.
A low buzz broke the quiet then. Lieutenant Thryiss, the ship's Andorian Helmsman, turned her head to note the status update on her helm console, then turned in her chair to face Sanek. "Sir, one minute until we reach the Sol system."
Sanek noted the information with a nod, and Thryiss turned back to her station and began the sequence of system commands that would bring the Yukon out of warp at the edge of the Kuiper Belt. A few moments later she looked up at the viewscreen, tapped a command, and the screen changed from a local sector tactical map to an exterior view that showed the surreal smear of warp space.
"Sir, we are coming out of warp... now." A subtle change in the feel of the ship, and the viewscreen changed from the warp field to a view of space in moments, the distant star of the Sol system shining brightly.
Sanek stood. "Standard system entry procedures, Mr. Thryiss," he ordered crisply, "one half impulse power." This would bring the Yukon to Terra Spacedock and Sol Station within approximately three hours. He turned to Vaareler, his Executive Officer. "Mr Vaareler, you have the conn. If needed I will be in my quarters. Inform me when in preparation to dock at Sol Station."
His XO, standing at her console rather than sitting which was typical for her, turned. "Understood, sir," she said, and moved to take Sanek's place in the captain's chair. As she sat, she turned to Ensign Celeel, the ship's communications officer. "Note in the ship's log Lieutenant Vaareler assuming the conn at sixteen thirty-two hours per Captain's orders." She then immediately began scanning the datapad built into the arm of the chair, familiarizing herself with the latest status reports.
Sanek watched her move into position for a moment. His XO, Vaareler, a Vulcan, had been with him since his original Cadet command on the Nautilus. She was crisp and professional - an excellent officer - and Sanek would someday soon be recommending her for her own command. Turning, Sanek stepped into the turbolift, and as the doors hissed closed behind him he turned to the comm panel. "Deck two, officer's quarters."
The next two and a half hours passed fairly uneventfully. After spending roughly an hour in retrospective meditation on his bunk, Sanek selected various items to pack in his duffle bag for his extended stay on Sol Station, briefly gazing through the large viewport as they passed Jupiter within approximately .5 AU distance. Even at that distance the planet was huge. He was in the middle of packing his uniforms when his communicator beeped. "Sir, we have a Starfleet communication query... captain's eyes only." The communication officer's voice sounded slightly hesitant.
Sanek straightend, his left eyebrow raised. He had never received an eyes only communication before. He tapped his communicator. "Thank you, Mr. Celeel. Have it directed to my quaters."
"Understood. Communication transfered... now," Celeel finished. The indication notice began flashing on Sanek's personal system console. He quickly stepped to it, sat down, and punched up the necessary commands. The screen immediately changed to show a Starfleet admiral Sanek was unfamiliar with.
"Lieutenant Commander Sanek?" he queried in a resonant voice. He was an older human, with a graying, short trimmed beard. The indication tag on the lower side of the screen stated the officer was Rear Admiral Timothy Grantz, of the Starfleet Sciences Division.
"Yes, Admiral Grantz."
"Greetings. I'm contacting you to inform you that your status and assignment have been changed. You have requested assignment to an open billet with one of our Science Research sections, and up until now there had not been an opening available. However, I am happy to inform you that has changed - effective today you and your ship and crew have been re-assigned to the Alpha Centauri Institute Division, a deep space science research group." He paused for a moment.
"Thank you sir," Sanek replied.
"No thanks is necessary, Mr. Sanek. Your past achievements and excellent Starfleet record prove you are a gifted scientist and a very capable ship captain. We need you in that position, and I hope that it meets with your requests and desire for assignment of choice." Admiral Grants smiled as he finished.
"I will inform my crew immediately, Admiral."
"Good... good. When you dock, there will be a shuttle waiting for you... it will take you to Starfleet Headquarters where you will head to the Alpha Centauri Institute Division for an interview and welcome by Rear Admiral Lenara Jern. She will make sure you have everything you need. They are currently beginning a transfer to a new headquarters, which will be located on Starbase 39. You will no doubt be directed to transition to that location once your meeting with Rear Admiral Jern is concluded." Admiral Grantz paused for a moment before continuing. "You will want to take note that the structure - specifically with regards to rank is concerned - is different within the Alpha Centauri Institute," he continued cautiously. "It's likely that your Institute rank will be lower than your current Starfleet rank... I hope this doesn't give you pause or cause any issues with your transfer."
Sanek lifted his left eyebrow quizzically. "Sir. I am a Vulcan, and have no ego to bruise. I serve where required as directed by Starfleet's need for the greater good."
Admiral Gantz looked for a moment at Sanek and chuckled with a knowing smirk. "Understood, Mr. Sanek. Very well then... with that, congratulations Lieutenant Commander." He smiled broadly as he finished.
Sanek nodded at the viewscreen. "My thanks again, Admiral." The viewscreen went blank. Sanek looked at the screen for a moment. "Intriguing," he said to himself.
He turned back to his duffle bag, and began to unpack the things he had been packing before. While doing so he tapped his communicator. "Lieutenant Vaareler, please report to my quarters immediately." There was a brief pause before she confirmed his order. He was largely completed with his unpacking by the time the two toned alert informed him that Vaareler was awaiting admittance. "Enter," he called. The door to his quarters opened with their familiar hiss, and Lieutenant Vaareler stepped into the room. "Reporting as ordered sir," she stated.
Sanek continued to unpack as he began. "We have received new orders, Lieutenant. Effective today we have been re-assigned to the Alpha Centauri Institute Division. As you are no doubt aware they are a deep space science division. It is possible we will be returning to space enroute to Starbase 39 within the next twenty-four hours; please ensure all sections are aware of the change and inform them all leaves are cancelled. Schedule a section meeting immediately after we dock."
Vaareler nodded once. "I understand sir. I'll brief the section heads myself and instruct them to inform their departments. I may further inform you that repairs have been completed on decks five and six, and our energy efficiency levels are back to one hundred percent operating power." She briefly checked her chronometer before continuing. "We are currently scheduled to rendevous with Sol Station in twenty-two minutes."
Sanek completed his unpacking while she spoke. When she finished he turned from placing the last of his personal effects back into their respective compartments. "We have been away for some time; instruct the requisition officer to ensure the ship is fully supplied and all expenditures replaced."
"I have already taken the liberty of that action, sir," she replied quickly.
"Then if you have nothing further, I will see you in twenty minutes on the bridge." Vaareler nodded with a quick "... sir," and moved to the door... but then hesitated.
Sanek noted her hesitance. "You have a query."
Vaareler turned and looked at Sanek. "Sir," she began, "is this assignment logical? We are a science crew, but the Yukon is not a deep space vessel. Further, many of the crew are still either cadets or in their first year assignments."
Sanek reflected briefly on his first year as a Cadet captain of the Nautilus before he answered. "Logic dictates Starfleet place the most experienced or intelligent minds where they best serve the needs of the whole. For us, this assignment meets that need. As for the rest, danger has, and always shall, remain an element of any Starfleet assignment - especially during a time of war."
Vaareler looked at Sanek for a moment. "I understand sir. I'll be on the bridge." She turned to leave the room.
"A moment, Vaareler," Sanek said. He finished with cleaning up his personal effects, and grabbing his datapad, placed it on his belt. "I shall accompany you." Leaving his room together, they both walked down the hall towards the turbolift.
A few moments later they both stepped out of the turbolift onto the bridge. Lieutenant Thryiss turned, and seeing Sanek stood up quickly. "Captain on deck," she called, and moved to her seat at the helm. Vaareler moved to her station while Sanek sat in the captain's chair.
"As you were," he said. He looked at the viewscreen, noting the blue pearl of Terra in the distance as they closed on Sol Station. "Status?" he asked the helm.
"Docking with Sol 1 in approximately five minutes sir," she replied.
"Very well."
Fifteen minutes later, Lieutenant Commander Sanek was enroute to Starfleet Headquarters in a shuttlecraft. He watched the station recede in the distance as he prepared himself mentally for his meeting with the Admiral.
As Sanek walked down the ramp at the Starfleet arrival shuttle pad, he brought up his datapad and consulted the Starfleet registry to determine the location of the Alpha Centauri Institute headquarters offices. He was directed to a section of the campus typically reserved for smaller department sections within Starfleet Divisions. Putting his datapad back on his belt he continued down the ramp and proceeded to walk to the distant ground shuttle depot. After acknowledging the cadet behind the counter, he requested transportation.
"I am in need of transportation to section twelve A dash two, specifically the Alpha Centauri Institute offices," he stated.
"Certainly sir," the cadet required smartly. He directed Sanek to an aircar a few paces to the left. Sanek thanked the cadet, returned his salute, and walked over to the aircar, where he informed the driver his location. A moment later the aircar sped off.
As he was taken through the Starfleet grounds, Sanek found himself reflecting on his own years on this very campus as a cadet. Little had changed, save some advancements in technology and a fixed up sign or gate here and there. The late afternoon sun was brilliant, setting the scene in the orange tint of the setting sun... brightly illuminating the trees and shubs decoratively positioned across the grounds. Even after all the years spent here on Terra and occasionally on other planets, it was always intriguing to see trees in abundance. Vulcan was such a barren planet by contrast.
A few minutes later, the aircar came to a stop in front of a courtyard area within section twelve A dash two. As he got out of the aircar, the drivers asked politely if he should remain... Sanek, not certain how long the briefing and interview would take, suggested he return to assist others in need and that if he needed another ride he'd contact the ground shuttle office. With that, the aircar accelerated away, leaving Sanek alone.
Turning, he made his way across the small front grounds on the walkway into courtyard. There, he noticed a group of special operations division personnel moving furniture and boxes out of the open doors of the building, two of them at that moment removing the Alpha Centauri Institute sign from the upper facade. As he passed several of them on his way into the building, he stopped and got the attention of an Ensign.
"Excuse me, but perhaps you can direct me to the office of Rear Admiral Lenara Jern, of the Alpha Centauri Institute," he asked quickly.
The Ensign saluted smartly. "Sir," he said, "Rear Admiral Jern and the rest of the division shipped out about an hour ago. You just missed her."
"Indeed." Sanek mused on that for a moment. "Very well, carry on Ensign."
"Thank you sir," the Ensign replied, and turned back into the doorway.
Sanek turned and began walking back out of the courtyard. When he reached the street he stopped, and after a moment pulled his datapad from his belt and checked to see if he could find Rear Admiral Jern's itinerary. He was doubtful of the outcome, as such information was usually classified from open data connection, but had decided to attempt the search anyway. As he suspected, the query came back with no information. He placed his datapad back on his belt and tapped his communicator.
"Yukon, this is the captain," he stated.
Lieutenant Vaareler's voice came back almost immediately. "Captain, we read you."
"Lieutenant, I need you to query the Starfleet itinerary records from the science console to determine either the whereabouts or destination of a Rear Admiral Lenara Jern."
"Yes, sir, I'll have the data in a moment," Vaareler replied.
A few moments went by before Sanek's communicator beeped. He tapped it again. "Lieutenant Commander Sanek."
"Sir," Vaareler said, "a Rear Admiral Lenara Jern departed from Sol Station approximately fifty-six minutes ago, enroute to Starbase 39. She was aboard her ship, the U.S.S. Fortuna."
"Very well," Sanek intoned. "Inform the crew we will be leaving enroute to Starbase 39 within the hour."
"Yes sir," Vaareler answered.
"Sanek out."
Sanek again pulled his datapad and made a request for pickup by aircar. Once he received the acknowledgement, he began to put the datapad back on his belt when a thought occurred to him. He tapped a few more keys and did some searching, and soon found what he was looking for. He looked out over the San Francisco Bay at the setting sun, and tapped his communicator again.
"Yukon, this is the captain."
Almost immediately Lieutentant Vaareler's voice again came through the tiny speaker. "Yes Captain, we read you."
"Lieutenant, have we found a replacement for the ship's doctor as of yet?" Sanek queried.
"No sir, we haven't," Vaareler replied.
"Acknowledged. Thank you, Sanek out."
A few moments later an aircar flew up and settled down in front of him. He gave the driver directions to the Officer's Barracks, and during the next several minutes made several queries and requests through Starfleet Command Requisitions and Personnel. By the time the aircar set down approximately five minutes later, everything was all set. Sanek stepped out of the aircar and dismissed the driver. Turning, he walked through the twilight down the long walkway between palm trees to the entrance of the Starfleet Officers Barracks, Housing C. As he entered the building he turned to the left and got into the lift, selecting the third floor. A few moments later he was standing in front of apartment 3H. As he buzzed the door, it suddenly occurred to him there was the possibility that she wasn't home.
That thought was laid to rest a moment later when the door opened to reveal Lieutenant Solida - Sciences Division, Medical Doctor. Obviously Betazoid, she wore a simple outfit as she was no longer on duty that flowed as she moved.
"Sanek!" she exclaimed when she saw him, and smiling broadly she started forward to embrace him... then stopped herself and started laughing. "What are you doing here? Are you here long?" she said.
"Unfortunately no, I will not be here long. I have, in fact, come to..." Sanek began.
Solida cut him off. "Oh but wait, come in... come in! How thoughtless of me," she said, and laughed again, holding the door open for Sanek, who walked through the door into her apartment. Closing the door behind him, she walked past and before Sanek could begin explaining, again, why he'd come, she asked him if he'd like a drink.
"No, thank you," he replied. "Solida, I have come to request your assignment to my ship, the U.S.S. Yukon, as the ship's doctor." He said it quickly, ensuring he would get his point across before she could begin speaking again.
She looked at him quickly, stopping as she was about to pour herself a glass of, what appeared to be, wine. "Really?" she asked surprised. "But I was scheduled for reassignment to the Taffenburg in a month!"
"Yes," Sanek replied, "you were... and in fact still are. I have, however, made the appropriate personnel requests and, should you desire the open position aboard my ship, it is available to you. All you need do is sign the relevent documents at Personnel - waiting for you now, should you accept."
She set the glass down, looking at Sanek.
He was unprepared for her response. She laughed out loud, moved quickly forward, and before Sanek could stop or object, hugged him. Still laughing, she said "Of course I accept! Would you have doubted it? When do we leave..." she paused for a moment. "I have to pack!"
Somewhat flustered, Sanek composed himself before he replied. "We leave in," he checked his chronometer, "fourty-three minutes."
"Truly?" she said. "Well I guess I'm glad I just returned from a tour of the Excalibur class ships then... most of my clothes and effects are still packed." She turned, then snapped her fingers. "I can't forget to bring my beleklavion this time either." She suddenly stopped, and turned back to Sanek. "How long is the assignment? And where?"
"We have just been reassigned to the Alpha Centauri Institute, a deep space science division," Sanek said.
Her happy expression suddenly changed to one of concern. "But I heard just today that they've been assigned to Starbase 39..." she said slowly.
"Yes."
She nodded carefully. "Ok, I'll get my things. I understand now why you wanted a replacement so quickly," she said. "Can you wait here for me to finish?"
"Negative," Sanek replied. "I have a few more things I need to attend to. Once you have signed the assignment papers at Personnel, head to the transporter building and contact me from there."
"Yes, I'll do that." She smiled suddenly at him again. "I guess I should get used to having to call you 'sir' again now, right?"
Sanek paused for a moment before replying. "Yes, that would be appropriate under protocol."
Solida laughed as she turned to begin packing.
Thirty-five minutes later, Sanek was standing on the bridge of the U.S.S. Yukon, looking at the viewscreen which showed the interior of the Sol Station dock. All stations had reported ready, and the ship was fully repaired and replinished... ready for travel.
Ensign Celeel turned to Sanek. "Sir, I have Starfleet online - they request permission to beam up one Lieutenant Solida T'yra."
Sanek turned to Celeel, noting as he did so that Thryiss and Vaareler both turned to look at Celeel and then himself, and answered "Reply affirmative, permission granted." He turned to his chair and tapped the comms button, Engineering. "Lieutenant Gryphis?"
"Engineering reports - Lieutenant Gryphis," came the Andorian's gruff voice.
"Prepare to receive a beam up from Starfleet, one Lieutenant Solida T'yra."
As Sanek looked back around the bridge and sat in the captain's chair, Thryiss was visibly smiling as she turned to her helm console. Vaareler, on the other hand, merely looked at Sanek for a brief moment, her eyebrow raised. In any other circumstances, Sanek would have considered such a display of emotion vulgar... but in this case he understood completely. A moment later, Gryphis came back through the speaker.
"Conn, Engineering - one Lieutenant Solida T'yra received."
"Very well," answered Sanek. He turned to Thryiss. "Detach all moorings and power couplings."
"Aye sir," she answered. There came a series of barely audible thumps and other machinery noises through the hull, then silence. "Maintenance reports all couplings and moorings detached. We are free of dock."
"Thrusters ahead one third," Sanek replied.
"Thrusters ahead one third, aye," Thryiss repeated. There was a barely perceptible change in g-forces as the ship began to move forward slowly, passing other ships moored inside the massive spacedock. Thryiss smoothly aligned the ship between the guide lights as the space door opened, and moments later the ship passed through the doors and out into space.
"Helm, set course for Starbase 39, warp seven." Sanek said.
"Setting course for Starbase 39, warp seven," Thryiss replied.
Outside, the Aurora class science vessel gracefully tilted and slowly aligned with it's distant destination. Then, with a sudden surge of light from the warp nacelles, the ship was gone... leaving only empty space in it's wake.