All I Need Is A Tall Ship, And A Star To Steer By

Posted on Mon Jun 14th, 2010 @ 5:22pm by Captain Vorn Krace & Commander Acle Walex & Commander Peter Brown & Commander Jordan Gunning & Lieutenant Commander Abigail Valera & Lieutenant Commander Sara Archer & Lieutenant JG Lucas Jameson & Lieutenant JG Jourdan Abbott & Lieutenant JG Winter Balmorra & Lieutenant JG Christopher Rogan

Mission: Shadows Fall
Location: USS Iapetus - Bridge
Timeline: MD07 1000hrs

Vorn stepped through the crimson double doors of the turbolift onto his bridge, and was pleased to find his entire senior staff standing there, waiting for him. Those who had assigned posts on the bridge - operations, engineering, tactical, science - were all dutifully at their stations, either making final checks and preparations, or simply looking busy while they waited for him to give the word. The others, who didn't necessarily have their own posts, were dotted throughout the command centre, either standing at one of the spare consoles, or simply finding a free spot to stand in while they watched the departure. Afterall, this wasn't just a departure from a simple starbase, as they had performed that task numerous times before. This was a departure from their assigned fleet as well, and the beginning of a journey to a completely new family.

"Mister Gunning, join me in my ready room," Vorn said, trying to keep his face as straight as he was able, and keep the smile from tugging at the corners of his lips. He caught a knowing look from Acle standing infront of the command chair as he said it, before continuing on with his stride and into the room where he occupied most of his on-duty time.

Jordan sighed. My shoulder's fine, it won't affect my ability to perform my duties. In all honesty it was still smarting and not even the Federation Purple Heart which was now entered in his service jacket made the deep tissue wounds worth it. He pressed the summon command which would bring Ensign Vantas running from the Security Centre. "Aye, Captain."

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Ready Room
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As Vorn stepped into his ready room, he moved to sit behind his desk, motioning for Jordan to take the seat opposite before sitting in silence to regard the Lieutenant for a few minutes. "I hear from Doctor Balmorra that your shoulder is healing up nicely," he said, pointing to the injured limb before resting his hands on his desk.

"It is, sir," Jordan said, rotating his shoulder in its socket in some pathetic attempt to call attention to the healing process, "I'm getting there. I assume the paperwork on the Bevrud incident is keeping you more than busy for the moment?"

"Actually, I'm finished with that, for the most part. Starfleet has the weight of it for the moment," Vorn responded. "In fact, it's about Starfleet that I wish to speak with you." He paused for a few moments for effect. "I'm afraid they feel that, despite your commendations and your key role in resolving the situation on Bevrud, they feel that the Iapetus requires a... more senior tactical and security chief."

Jordan sighed as he stared into the emotionless eyes of his Commanding Officer. "I can understand their reasoning, sir but I have to protest. I honestly believe that I'm the most qualified person for the job. You've seen that I'm willing to lay my life on the line for you, the crew and for the uniform." He stated, looking down at the badge which, given the circumstances, he would have been more than willing to tear it off and leave the service.

"I agree," Vorn said. "However Starfleet were quite insistent. The new security chief will be taking on their extra responsibilities immediately," he continued. The wording of his statement was specifically meant to hint at the 'new' chief being a member of the current crew.

"New chief?" The Lieutenant enquired, fighting back a wave of anger. "Of course! Commander Brown. I suppose that seems like a sensible decision, sir."

"Actually, it isn't Peter," Vorn responded, picking up the PADD on his desk as he said it. Holding the PADD up to read its contents out loud, he intoned; "As of this date, by order of Starfleet Command, it is so ordered that Lieutenant Commander Jordan Gunning is to take on the full responsibilities of his rank and the position of chief tactical and security officer of the USS Iapetus." He couldn't help but feel the tug of a smile in the corners of his lips.

Jordan gazed blankly at Krace. He tried to speak but no words were coming out. Eventually he managed to burble an incoherent "oh" before returning to something of a catatonic state. The words were doing loops and circles in his head, Lieutenant Commander Jordan Gunning. He managed to shake himself out of it enough to nod to the Captain. "Thank you, sir."

"Congratulations, Commander," Vorn said, standing and swapping his PADD for a small black box he had stowed in a space just under his desk. Stepping around the obstacle, he retrieved the hollow pip from the box and affixed it to the man's collar. "Now, what do you say to getting back out there so we can start this trip already?"

"Sounds good to me, Captain."

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Bridge
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As Vorn and the newly-promoted Lieutenant Commander stepped out of the ready room, the new pip shining nicely on the mustard yellow collar, Vorn moved straight towards his chair, as Acle vacated it and moved to his own.

"Mister Cook," Vorn said, looking at the back of the familiar head yet again. The Petty Officer had filled in so many times while they had been without a chief helmsman, and would be doing so again until they could pick up their latest pilot at Earth. "Set our course and clear our departure with station ops," he ordered, taking his seat."

"Aye Sir," Thomas (NPC) replied, tapping at a few controls. "Course set. Ops has cleared us for departure."

"Miss Abbott, release mooring clamps."

"Aye sir" she said. The ship shook slightly and a loud clunk echoed around the room. "Mooring clamps released" she reported with a smile.

"Helm, take us out." Vorn watched in smug satisfaction as the viewscreen depicted he ship gliding smoothly away from the curvature of the structure they had been docked at for the last week, before swinging around onto a heading for Earth as soon as they were clear of the superstructure.

"I trust there are no pirates on our horizon, Mister Gunning?" Vorn said, a touch of humour in his voice as he addressed the newly-promoted tactical officer.

Jordan chuckled. "Long range sensors show no Jolly Rogers, Captain."

"Very well. Helm; Warp eight. Engage."

As the stars on the viewscreen stretched into the familiar lines of warp travel, Vorn took a moment to watch it, before turning his chair slightly so that he was better able to speak to those behind him as well as those in front. "As you all have likely heard through the rumour mill by now, this ship has been reassigned to the Fourth Fleet, one of the Federation's largest and most prestigious fleets still in operation after the Dominion War. What you don't know is our assigned area of operations." He nodded at Commander Archer to take up the explanation to the bridge crew of their destination.

Sara checked her PADD briefly to make sure she was getting the details correct. "We have been assigned to the Fourth Fleet's Task Force 38. In this task force, we will be a part of of the Federation's exploration efforts in Supersector 22 Delta, codename The Round Table, located in the Delta Quadrant. We will reach The Round Table using an Iconian Gateway. The Round Table includes all areas within ten thousand light-years of the Solaria Gateway, which is the passage back to the Alpha Quadrant. The amount of space explored by the Federation so far only extends roughly 340 light-years from Gateway. This territory lies fifteen thousand light-years beyond the furthest known edges of Hirogen, Vaadwaur, and Borg expansion. We'll be going where no one has gone before."

Acle raised an eyebrow at hearing where they had been assigned, but, kept his thoughts to himself. His analytical mind began to collect all the knowledge that he did have about where they were going, or rather, the borderline of where they were going.

"Bit far out, isn't it?" Luc said "I mean, what if we need supplies for repairs and stuff like that?"

"The fourth fleet has a starbase located within the vicinity of the Solaria Gateway; Starbase 900," Vorn replied. "She's the same class of station as Deep Space 7, and will be able to provide us with any refit or resupply services we need."

"Being that far out in the Delta Quadrant should be quite a challenge. When will Starfleet be transmitting the tactical database? I imagine I have quite a lot of reading to do." Jordan mused.

"We'll be picking up a dispatch when we reach Earth," Vorn said in response to Jordan's question. You'll all receive information relevant to your own departments once we do. Currently, only the command and intelligence databases have been transmitted to us, on secure channels."

"Very well, sir." The Tactical chief responded. "I look forward to getting my hands on it."

"The Iapetus was built specifically with deep space exploration in mind," Vorn said, smiling at the sense of excitement with their new mission. "But, it is going to take us some time to get to the Union Gateway, were we will be able to reach The Round Table. Three months at maximum speed, in fact. As such, we will be stopping off at a couple of spots along the way for limited shoreleave. The first stop is Earth." He paused to allow the statement sink in, particularly with the human members of the crew."I suggest if you have any friends or family there, you get in touch with them. We won't be able to get back for a while."

His short announcement to the senior staff complete, he paused for a moment before swinging his chair back to the front, standing and heading to his ready room. "You have the bridge, Number One."

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Captain Vorn Krace
Commanding Officer

Commander Acle Walex
Executive Officer

Commander Peter Brown
Chief Strategic Operations Officer

Lieutenant Commander Jordan Gunning
Chief Tactical/Security Officer

Lieutenant Commander Abigail Valera
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Commander Sara Archer
Chief Intelligence Officer

Lieutenant JG Lucas Jameson
Chief Engineering Officer

Lieutenant JG Jourdan Abbott
Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant JG Winter Balmorra
Chief Medical Officer

Ensign Christopher Rogan
Chief Diplomatic Officer