Tales From The Captain's Table
BF_MJ
Member
Welcome to The Captain's Table! Pull up a chair and share your story with us! This is a unique area for everyone in Bravo Fleet to develop their background for their characters.
What is the 'Tales From The Captain's Table'?
It is an interactive fiction that is opened to all of members to be a part of. The idea is based on the Star Trek novel series from the late 1990s (Star Trek: The Captain’s Table and Tales from the Captain’s Table anthology).
Using similar themes and concepts developed in the series, we have a ‘tavern’ which has stood the test of times and it becomes almost a unofficial ritual that most officers, especially captains, from Starfleet would visit it.
The Background Story
Set in Bozeman, Montana, the tavern that is used is the one we originally see Doctor Zefram Cochrane enjoy attending in Star Trek: First Contact. Due to its close proximity to the site where Cochrane’s launched the Phoenix, the bar has remained a steadfast establishment and has remained in business due to local tourists regularly visiting the site. What people do not know though is who runs it…
The Tavern’s barkeeper is a character only known as the ‘Cap’ – an enigmatic figure who does not reveal too much to their patrons about themselves but is a good listener and enjoys welcoming travellers, especially Starfleet officers. ‘Cap’ is in fact an El-Alurian who has lived on Earth since the early 21st century and who survived the Eugenics War, World War Three, the unification of Earth’s government, the birth of the Federation and its numerous conflicts and achievements.
‘Cap’ has an exclusive offer to any Starfleet captain, in return for a free drink they provide a story from their past that can be shared. Along with that around on walls of the tavern are pictures of those captains who have visited. Many people are astonished at how many captains have visited and all of them are led to believe that the Tavern has been managed by all of the men in 'Cap’s' family.
“The family resemblance,” some say, “is uncanny!”
Jonathan Archer was the first Starfleet captain to experience ‘Cap’s hospitality prior to the start of the Romulan War in 2155. Witnesses state that their opening remarks with one another were friendly, but when Archer appeared distant and concerned it is rumoured that ‘Cap’ just poured a drink and pushed it towards the Enterprise’s commanding officer and uttered two words that opened a dialogue that many would follow...
“Talk son…”
How it works (out of character)
Players would write their journey to the tavern via this discussion/thread here on Relay Station Bravo. When writing their stories, they will need to be aware that if they are writing in an early era (e.g.: 22nd century) then they would not know what others have written in later eras (e.g.: 24th century). However those writing in more modern Trek eras would be able to comment/reflect on stories shared by those characters in earlier eras.
The main purpose of what ‘Cap’ will listen to is something from the character’s background/past. The writers would need to write a recount of the event and then share the story in a narrative style.
They could write in the character of ‘Cap’ at the end of the story, where he may reflect on what they’ve shared and provide guidance, even referring to earlier stories he has heard.
Where possible, certain eras (e.g.: older characters from the ENT era and younger DISC era characters) could interact at the bar.
The Tavern itself is a civilised place, with no drunken bar fights or brawls. It’s a family place and what players write would need to remain PG-13.
If this becomes popular, we may develop certain regular bar patriots that could interact with visitors (e.g.: their own Morn, just like on DS9). By the 24th century most of the waiters are holograms, but in the 22nd century they are all real people who know ‘Cap’ but don’t know his not human.
The character of ‘Cap’ is very similar to Guinan. He is wise and well experienced. He has seen worlds rise and fall. He enjoys the simple life, another reason why he chose the Bozeman area as he owns a cabin in the woods near to the Tavern. He refers to his family, but no-one exactly knows how many times he has been married and how many children he has (if he has any).
The possibilities of this fiction allows for multiple writers without having to overshadow one another on what topics/themes they wish to explore with their character background. It will also become a platform for BF competitions too, with players being invited to compete in writing pieces based around certain themes (e.g.: their first commands, time at Starfleet Academy, parts of their personal lives that affected their careers, etc.).
If you have any further questions please ask MJ on the Discord channel.
Comments
Thursday, March 6th, 2155
Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
From the outside it looked rustic, humble and delightful. Bricks and marble details made up most of the building's outer structure. It was almost easy to see through the large bay glass windows, the energy and excitement from within could be felt outside. On one side there was a large decking area, that seemed to be looking out at a particular site. No surprise which site it was peering down onto. The outdoor area was filled with busy with people either stood around or sat at tables. All of them had a drink in their hands and were all engaged with one another in something.
Lloyd Burton looked back towards the main entrance and decided to step forward. Entering the tavern through the huge, hard, wooden door, Burton was welcomed by excitement and the smell of alcohol. The late evening was being enjoyed by many. The bartender was busy, cleaning a glass with a white tea-towel, but he still managed to greet the Starfleet captain with a simple nod.
It's as alluring inside as it is on the outside. Several walls supported the upper floor, which could be seen through the missing middle, and rows of small lights were attached to each wall. Although the colour scheme was dark (mostly different shades of black, gold and red) the main room was well lit. Hanging from the upper floor from a number of wooden and metal beams was a sort of dark-gothic looking chandelier that was obviously the centre piece of the tavern. Christmas-like lights were attached to each beam headed from the walls and pillars towards the chandelier. The entire establishment had an air of sophistication without being too stuffy. It was welcoming but classy at the same time. The atmosphere appeared to be friendly and family orientated. Along with that the aromas of food being cooked from the kitchen in the rear only added to the ambiance. The place had character, that was a given.
Taking in his surroundings further as he approached the bar, Burton saw that the walls were littered with all sorts of memorabilia, though whether they're collected or donated was uncertain. Most of it were pictures from one the most famous days in the human calendar. First Contact Day. Photos of Zefram Cochrane, Lily Sloane and many others from Cochrane’s team greeting their Vulcan guests were all on one wall. The famous handshake that took place between Cochrane and Captain Solkar, after the latter had left his ship, was adorned in the centre of the wall. Elsewhere were pictures of others from the UESPA and Starfleet.
Instantly, Burton recognised Fleet Admiral Moira Hathaway, the current Starfleet Commander-in-Chief, in her captain’s uniform. She appeared a lot younger and he inferred that from the look it the picture must have been taken when she commanded the Emmette. Surrounding it were other pictures of captains that Burton recognised, including a joint one of Jonathan Archer and Erika Hernandez. All of them were showed each officer standing by the bar. Then in each frame, were the mission patches from each captain.
Smirking to himself, when he was told by his sister (whose photograph he just saw) to go to this tavern, he wasn’t expecting what he encountered.
The tavern itself was packed. Travelers seemed to be the primary clientele, which often led to exciting evenings. Several long tables were occupied by, what seemed to be entire groups of friends, all enjoying the food, drinks and company of each other. The other, smaller tables were also occupied by people who were either on intimate dates or playing games and, judging by their laughter, were either telling jokes or great, perhaps embarrassing, tales. Even some of the stools at the bar were occupied, though nobody appeared to mind more company.
“What’ll will it be son?” spoke a friendly voice from the other side of the bar.
“A small malt whiskey,” Burton replied looking at the bartender that had acknowledged his presence earlier. “Whatever brand you have.” He took a seat.
Turning around to collect the drink, the bartender, who appeared to be a man in his late fifties with an impressive dark beard passed the glass to Burton. “As my father would say, this is the nectar of the gods.”
Smiling at the sentiment, Burton picked up the glass and took a sip. “Cheers.” He said beforehand.
“What’s your name son?” The bartender asked, he squinted his eyes. “I recognise you.”
Tidied of having people recognise him, he gave in as it didn’t help, he had his Starfleet bomber jacket on. “Lloyd Burton.”
“Burton?” The man repeated as he processed the name. “Captain of the Challenger NX-03? Younger brother to Madison Burton?”
Nodding to confirm, “The one and only.” Burton said with a sense of pride.
“Well welcome,” The bartender stated as he placed the tea-towel over his left shoulder. “I take it your sister got you to do the unofficial Starfleet captain rite of passage visit to Bozeman?”
“Yeah?” Burton agreed. “She told me it’s some tradition that all Starfleet captains do. That they visit the site of Cochrane’s launch and get a drink here in this tavern. What’s with that?”
Shrugging his shoulders, “I don’t know, it’s just become something that regularly happens here.” Extending his hand, the bartender introduced himself. “People around here call me ‘Cap’.”
Shaking his hand back, Burton took another sip from his drink afterwards. “How long have you worked here?”
Chuckling slightly, Cap answered with another smirk. “Too long to count now. This tavern as you’ve noticed used to be Zefram Cochrane’s watering hole. It was taken over shortly after First Contact and become quite a tourist hotspot. People came far and wide to see the missile silo that housed the Phoenix. So the tavern grew from there. We still have those wanting to see this place, but it is also a place where the local community come together.”
“Seems like a friendly place.” Burton observed further, looking out at the crowd.
“It is.” Cap stated. “People come here to share their stories, especially on how they learnt about what Cochrane got up to. There’s always some connection here for most people and if it’s not that they’re sharing then they enjoy hearing the stories from those who have succeeded Cochrane in exploring space.”
“I saw the pictures of the other Starfleet captains up there,” Burton said pointing to the framed photographs. “That’s how you know my sister.”
“Indeed, an incredible woman and a great storyteller.” Cap stated. “Does it run in the family?”
Taking a sip and crossing his eyebrows, Burton didn’t know what to say. “What do you mean?”
“Those captains that have come here before you have always shared a tale or two from their past, we either hear how they got into Starfleet or how they become a captain.” Cap clarified. “There’s no pressure though to do it. We won’t pester you.”
In the background, Burton noticed a piano being played quietly. “Maybe a few more of these and I’ll share something.” He said shaking his now empty tumbler.
Cap nodded once and made his way over to grab the bottle of whiskey for the young captain. Refilling the captain’s glass beaker, Cap gave him a bit more than he did before. “So any ideas son on what you want to share?”
Burton pondered for a moment at the question. Glaring at the glass and drink, Burton knew at once what to share. “I think so.”
Burton sat up and began talking to Cap as if he was an old friend and shared his tale…
Thursday, March 6th, 2155
Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
“So son, your sister shared some great stories from when you and she were growing up.” Cap remarked as he pour Burton another whiskey. “I believe she was particularly fond of time when you two interrupted your father on an important experiment he was conducting with Cochrane.”
Burton chuckled at that, quickly recalling that moment. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the face my father pulled when that happened, but that’s probably the only thing I can recall from that moment.”
Cap smirked, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, childhood is like being drunk. Everyone remembers what you did, except you.”
Laughing further at Cap’s statement, especially said in such a serious and dead-panned tone, Burton took a sip from his drink. “If I’m going to share a memory, it needs to be a good one. One that outshines my sister.”
“Do tell then,” Cap says as he tops up Burton’s drink.
“Hmm,” Burton sat back on his bar chair with elbow propped up on the bar itself and his glass raised. “I suppose one of the most vivid memories I have since joining Starfleet was the avalanche incident on board the Charlton. It was my first posting as a member of a ship’s senior staff, I was its chief armoury officer. I led a landing party to rescue a crashed civilian freighter that was filled with supplies for the Beta Virginis colony.”
“How did they end up crashing?” Cap enquired.
“If I remember rightly, they had problems with a plasma injector and when they came out of warp in the Beta Virginis they were pulled down on to an icy moon of one of the gas giants.” Burton answered. “Oh I still can remember the butterflies flipping over in my stomach when we arrived on the scene.”
Saturday, May 17th, 2149
Shuttlepod One, Charlton NCC-134
Beta Virginis System
Looking out of the small view port of the shuttlepod’s hatch, Lieutenant Lloyd Burton sighed slightly as he saw the Daedalus-class explorer Charlton moving away from them so quickly. Looking back to the cockpit, he wondered just what type of mess they would find this crashed freighter. His commanding officer, Captain Pavel Rednic, wanted him to lead a landing party that would assess the damage sustained to the freighter so they could work out how they would begin rescue operations.
Sat at the controls of the shuttlepod was Ensign Kinsley Bradford, the Chartlon’s talented pilot, who had recently joined them straight from Starfleet Training Command. The Australian man appeared to be in his early twenties and had a very fresh young look about him. Lloyd was certain that he had heard the captain mumble under his breath about Bradford looking like he was twelve years old. That said, Bradford had proven himself quite quickly with his impressive piloting skills when the ship had entered an asteroid field that almost tore it apart.
Opposite to where Lloyd sat was Charlton’s chief medical officer, Lieutenant junior grade Farah Kouri. The Arabic woman had been born and raised from the Luna colonies. She was only a year younger than him. She was a quiet woman, rarely spoke in senior staff meetings but she was a talented healer. Lloyd started to understand why Captain Rednic had wanted Kouri on his crew. Before Starfleet she had served in the emergency rooms in one of the larger hospital complex on Luna, where she had dealt with a range of traumas under some quite difficult circumstances. She was quite resourceful when it came to working out alternative paths to treatment.
Finally, sat just behind Bradford’s chair was their chief engineer, another lieutenant junior grade. Scott Winters had become the life and soul of the ship, ever since he joined a few months after Lloyd. On occasions his Californian enthusiasm could be overbearing, but his intentions were never malicious.
All four of them were wrapped in artic gear, ready for the freezing conditions that awaited them as they approached the broken-down freighter they were rescuing. The moment the shuttlepod had passed through the atmosphere and was now pass the thick grey and black clouds, they were ambushed by heavy snowfall and tough winds. Their vehicle started to shake from the pressure being placed on it from the outside.
Trying to correct it and keep them together, Ensign Bradford spoke up. “Sorry about that. This weather is resisting us from getting through it.”
“Continue to take it nice and easy Kinsley.” Lloyd said.
Turning to look at the armoury officer, Doctor Kouri spoke up. “What was the name of this freighter again?”
“The E.C.S. Melody.” Lloyd answered. “She’s one of the new Y-class ship. Only has a crew of twenty-four people on board.”
Clearing his throat, Winters spoke up. “That doesn’t include all of the babies sir.” He said.
Looking to the engineer inquisitively, Burton asked for clarity. “What do you mean babies?”
Smirking at his superior, the engineer explained himself. “It’s a known thing with most boomers sir that they start to use the time between trading ports to expand their…well how should I put it…legacy?”
“That’s a charming way to talk about sex.” Bradford added.
The four of them all burst out laughing.
“Well let’s hope when we arrive we won’t be babysitting as well as rescuing.” Burton remarked.
The shuttlepod approached the crashed remains of the Melody. The long Y-class freighter had smashed into the side of a large rocky mountain that was covered in snow and ice.
Lloyd and Farrah peered out of the forward window to take in the view. The entire ship was draped over the various rocks, hills and cliffs. It appeared as if someone had taken it and just dropped it from high, smashing into pieces like a china plate against a hard floor.
“Damn, that ship won’t be flying anytime soon.” Winters remarked as he took in the sensor readings. “They’re barely holding the power on over there.”
“Then rescuing them won’t be an easy objective to achieve either.” Bradford added.
“Never fear gentlemen, we do like a good challenge.” Burton remarked as he tapped the communication channel to open up between them and the Charlton. “Burton to Charlton.”
“Go ahead lieutenant.” _Spoke Captain Rednic. “Have you arrived at the scene yet?”_
“Yes sir, we have but the Melody won’t be leaving anytime soon. She has crash landed on the side of a mountain and is smattered into pieces across a large vicinity. Without further details sir, my current thinking is we will only be able to rescue the crew.” Burton summarised.
Over the channel they could hear Rednic conferring with others. He then cleared his throat and in his deep Russian accent spoke. “Go ahead vith search and rescue only. We vill prepare the other shuttlepods to come down and assist you. _Charlton out.” _
Thursday, March 6th, 2155
Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
“Sounds like a standard rescue mission there.” Cap said as he topped up Burton’s drink again. “What more could you add to that?”
“How about an avalanche and a struggle to survive on the edge of an icy cliff?” Burton countered back with as he took another sip.
Nodding in approval, Cap allowed the man to continue his story. “Carry on then son.”
“So there we were, we had landed next to main cockpit area of the freighter, while the rest of their cargo holds were sprawled across this huge frozen land. I thought zero-degree training in Alaska was cold, this was something completely new. My team had got into the freighter and found its remaining crew all huddle together trying to keep warm.”
**Saturday, May 17th, 2149
E.C.S. Melody
Zavijava XI, Beta Virginis system
**
This was a first for Lloyd, he had never set foot on a freighter and he had never worn so many layers before since joining Starfleet. After meeting with Captain Lin, the skipper of the Melody, his team were working with Lin’s people to work out the best way to get them all off the planet safely.
The plan so far was to have them all moved off from the planet via shuttlepod. It wasn’t meant to be that hard, that was until some of Lin’s people refused to go and leave their ship smashed against the rocks.
“Look, I understand that this ship must mean a lot to you all but it will no longer be able to protect you the longer you remain on this planet.” Burton said to the disgruntled crowd in front of him.
One of Lin’s people shouted out that they didn’t need Starfleet’s help while another told him to leave. They were all starting to become restless. Burton turned to Lin at this point.
“Captain, this is ridiculous. We are only here responding to your distress call and we want to help you.” He said, trying to plead to the older woman, hoping she could convince her people otherwise.
Agreeing to Burton’s words, the much older Chinese woman took Burton by his left arm and gentle moved him away from the crowd while the rest of his landing party remained as a barrier between them.
“You need to understand lieutenant that my people and I aren’t keen on leaving the Melody completely behind. We want to recover what we have lost.” Lin said in a much calmer tone.
“I get that, I do, but right now there is no way we can risk anymore lives by attempting something that could be quite dangerous in this storm. I will talk to my captain about how we can undertake a recovery operation at a later stage but right now we must leave.” Burton remained firm in his convictions. He had heard rumours at how the Boomer culture had developed a sense of identity separate from the rest of the Earth Commonwealth. In some ways they were their own people compared to other humans, yet they held similarities with those who lived on Alpha Centauri who wanted complete independence from the UEC.
Lin appeared deflated and turned back to her people and spoke to them. “Listen, we will do what we can to recover the Melody later but right now I do think we follow Lieutenant Burton’s plan and begin evacuating.”
There was more uproar and shouting as it appeared that Lin was close to having a mutiny on her hands. Enough of their cries, Burton took out his EM-pistol and fired three rounds in the air. His fire hit the ceiling bulkhead and everyone went silent. “ENOUGH!” He shouted. “We have heard your views and no-one is denying you from your freedoms to want to rescue what is rightly yours. However your ship crashed on this planet and you sent out a distress call. You won’t survive here under these conditions. We are here to help and save you from your certain deaths. You have children with you. Are you going to stand by and let them freeze to death? So you either come with us or wait for another ship to come along and rescue you. But I am telling you now, it won’t be another Earth ship and they may not have the equipment to help you all. The Charlton does and as your captain has just said, we will explore what we can do to recover the Melody when it is safe. It is as simple as that.”
All that could be heard was people breath and panting as they calmed down and took in Burton’s words. The armoury officer lowered his pistol to his side. “I would like to add that in my time as an officer, I have never had to take out my pistol and fire it into a crowd of humans. I hope that’s the last time today.”
No-one said anything.
Then the ground started to move, slight tremors could be felt.
Burton’s communicator bleeped at him so he took it out of his coat pocket and flipped it open. “Burton here.”
“Lieutenant we are registering seismic activity near to you. You may start to experience avalanches. We need to get you out of there sooner rather than later. I am launching our shuttlepods now. Are the Melody’s _crew ready to depart? _Asked Captain Rednic.
Burton looked around at everyone, no-one disagreed with him. Keeping his communicator close to his mouth he told his captain a firm yes and that he would be sending the first group up in the shuttlepod he had come down with. After closing the channel, he instructed Doctor Kouri to have the most critical patients board their shuttlepod with Ensign Bradford.
Moving at almost light-speed, Kouri moved those that were injured and who she had treated with the pilot.
“Captain Lin, while we wait for the other shuttlepods to arrive perhaps there’s someone or a group that with Lieutenant Winters could survey the ship in the safest way to determine what would be salvageable?” Burton suggested.
“THE WHOLE DAMN THING!” shouted someone from the crowd. The man who said it pushed his way through the group and got up close to Burton. He was mere millimetres from Burton’s face. He had a thick accent that Burton recognised as someone who was from Birmingham, England. “STARFLEET HAS NO RIGHT HERE!”
Remaining steadfast against the tall and bulky man, Lloyd stared back into the man’s pale blue eyes. “Without a proper survey our ship won’t be able to determine the best route to recover the Melody. Your ship is modular which means it may be safer and easier for us to salvage parts of it at a time.” Burton stated back. “My captain won’t agree to any operation without knowing all of the facts first. Is that clear Mister…?”
The belligerent man didn’t say anything, instead he just stared at Burton further. Lin stepped in between them and placed her hands on the man’s shoulders.
“Enough Warren, you are not helping the situation, you’re not helping any one by behaving like a child!” She shouted at him. “Get back there and help get the children ready to move on, including your daughter.”
Warren relented and walked away as per his orders from Lin and returned within the crowd.
Lin turned around to look at Burton. “My apologies Lieutenant Burton, Mister Looms is one of my engineers. He lost his wife during the crash.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Burton said looking down at her. “I can see why he wants to save the ship.”
“I promise you, his wife, who was my first officer as well as doctor and cook would not put up his loudmouthed strop. She would have chastised him so much he wouldn’t see it coming.” Lin remarked in a lower tone. She gestured for someone else from her crew to come over. A much younger man than Looms. “Imran, will you go with Lieutenant Winters and undertake the survey?”
“Yes ma’am.” Was his quick answer.
Scott looked to Lloyd, “Are you sure you want me to leave right now lieutenant?” He asked.
“Yeah, get on with the survey as safely as you can.” Burton ordered his engineer.
Following Imran, the chief engineer took out his scanner and went further into the ship.
A few moments later and Burton was aiding with the evacuation of the next two shuttlepods taking the children and final members of the crew that were injured. Just as they started to lift off, his shuttlepod from earlier came through the sky and landed with a soft thud on its original landing mark. Coming out of the shuttle, still wrapped up in his artic gear, was Ensign Bradford.
“Sir, a message from the captain. He wants us to speed up the evacuation.” Bradford told his superior.
“I couldn’t agree with him anymore.” Burton said and as he spoke his words he felt the ground beneath them shake further. “I don’t want us to be on the cliff edge any much longer. Take the next group up next.”
“If people are happy to stand I could take more. It’d be a tight squeeze.” Bradford offered.
Burton looked at Lin who nodded in agreement. “It would only leave a dozen of us behind for the next shuttlepods.”
“Make it so.” Burton ordered and Bradford went straight to work.
Returning back inside the freighter remains, Burton was approached by Winters returning from his scout mission. “Lloyd, I’ve had a look at what Imran has shown me. I think with some carefully considerations we could raise some of the Melody and get her back out into space.”
“Some?” Lin asked for clarification.
Imran answered for the engineer. “Captain, three of the aft modules are completely destroyed and we only have one nacelle left intact. That said we don’t even have a warp core that is operational. We would have to be towed back to the docks.”
Appearing deflated at the news, Lin nodded in appreciation. “I suppose it could be completely worse.”
“I’ll ask Captain Rednic to speak on your behalf to Starfleet. With some help from another ship, maybe one from Zavijava Five, we may be able to bring the whole ship up in one go.” Winters said. “If not then we would have to use the Charlton and her shuttlepods. This would be a longer procedure and we would have to cut her open into her modules first and then reassemble them in space.”
“Great further butchering.” Lin remarked.
As they heard Bradford shuttlepod take off, the ground trembled quite fiercely. This was followed by the shouting of Mister Loomes who was screaming out the word avalanche.
Thursday, March 6th, 2155
Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
“How intense.” Cap remarked. “I have to admit I have met some freighter captains in my time and they do give off a different attitude compared to the rest of humanity.”
Getting comfortable in his bar stool, Captain Burton chuckled slightly. “And I thought dealing with diplomatic overtures with the Denobulans was difficult.” He stated in between sips of his drinks. “I don’t think I have ever met such a group of people who were just so frustrating to help and to keep calm with.”
“So what happened after the avalanche?” Cap asked. “I assume you used the ship as shelter?”
Shaking his head, Burton told Cap otherwise. “Actually no. During the avalanche the snow and ice was so heavy that it damaged the last remaining warp nacelle. We had to evacuate.”
“Where too?” Cap said as he topped up Burton’s drink.
Smirking in response, Burton shared the next part. “Thankfully on our way down I noticed a set of caves nearby. It was a bit of a trek but we made it in time and went quite deep into setup camp.”
“Surely that’s the last place to go to when there’s so much seismic activity?” Cap questioned.
“It was, but from what I scans told us they caves were not affected and the shuttles were finding it difficult to land as the blizzard outside got worse.” Burton said before explaining more.
Saturday, May 17th, 2149
Zavijava XI, Beta Virginis system
Once his scanner had indicated that it was not as cold as it was outside, Lloyd pulled his snood scarf down. “I think this is safe here.” He said as he lit up a number of UV glowsticks. Around them the cave became light and then his scanner picked up something else. “Geothermal pockets.”
“What does that mean?” Lin asked as she took her hood down and her breath went to mist as she spoke.
Winters asked that for her. “A source of heat.” He took had his scanner out. “We should follow these further into the cave so we could warm up.”
“Agreed, but let’s set up our homing beacons here so we’ve laid breadcrumbs for the Charlton to find us.” Burton said.
“Is it safe to go in further?” Lin inquired.
Nodding to confirm, “It’s better then staying here.” Winters answered.
“Captain Lin we’d prefer to remain here.” Spoke Looms from behind them.
Sighing at those words and turning around to face the bulky engineer. Burton spoke up before Lin. “Are you kidding me Mister Looms? While there’s an artic level blizzard out there along with more avalanches that could enter the cave you want to remain here? You do realise you will end up being buried here just like your ship.”
“Better than being trapped in some godforsaken cave.” Looms snapped back. “Your captain will give up on us and will leave us behind.”
“What?!” Burton screamed back at the man as he marched across the distance that was between them. “Do you actually here what is coming out of your mouth? The absolute rubbish you are talking is not helping anyone!”
Looms anger began to rise and before he could smash his fist into Burton’s face, the armoury officer already dodged it and swung a punch back placing the man in surprise at the quick retaliation. Burton followed it with a knee to the ribs and another punch. Looms was able to throw another punch hitting Burton in the jaw before he fell to the ground.
Falling backwards and being caught by Winters’ hands, Burton pushed the blood that appeared from his mouth with the back of his hand and spat it out on the ground. “I have had enough of your tiresome grunts, groans and ridiculous statements today Looms. You want to stay here, then you’ll end up signing your death warrant now. I am trying to save you. Would you please get your head out of your but and see what is happening around you?”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Lin remarked. “Warren, you are a father and there’s no way Darcy would put up with your crap. Now do as the lieutenant says and listen!”
Slowly getting up from the ground, Warren, who had no-one else helping him, stared at Burton intensely. Where he had been hit a nice mark could be seen.
“Fine.” He said with a heavy sigh.
Lin looked at Burton, “Are we done here lieutenant? Can we move on?”
Still glaring back at the large man, Burton nodded. “Of course Captain Lin.” He spat out more blood one more time and turned to head into the cave further.
Thursday, March 6th, 2155
Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
“So how long were you down there?” Cap asked as he leant against the edge of the bar.
Adjusting himself in his stool, Burton attempted to recall to give the answer. “It was just over a day and a half once the Charlton was able to get to us.” He took a sip of his drink. “I found out a few years ago that I made a long-lasting impression on that Warren fella.”
“How comes?” Cap asked.
“He enlisted into Starfleet and now serves on Columbia.” He remarked as he finished his drink.
Laughing at that, Cap nodded to show his approved of the story. “Another drink then captain?”
“Please and thank you.” Burton said, as he started to feel the effects of the alcohol begin to hit him. “Do I need to share another story?”
“If you want? How about you explain to me by what you meant about Denobulan diplomatic overtures?” Cap asked as he poured Burton another drink.
Laughing further, Burton went on to share how his first mission commanding Challenger ended with him gaining some sort of celebrity status on the Denobulan homeworld.
Tales From The Captain’s Table – Part I
[‘The Tavern’, Bozeman, Montana]
[Sometime in 2399]
Captain Nathan Cowell stepped into the bar known as ‘The Tavern’ with a mixture of nostalgia and apprehension. He’d come to the place before, many years ago, though at the time he was out of Starfleet in the short time he’d spent ‘retired’ prior to the Dominion War. At the time, he’d simply been traveling around the North American continent to enjoy a trip down memory lane, and ‘The Tavern’ had only crossed his radar because it was sat on a ‘historic’ site, though Nathan hadn’t been on Earth when the event it memorialized had taken place. He had also gone there alone, which was not the case for this visit.
“This is a quaint little place,” the voice of his wife, Elizabeth, interrupted his internal musings.
Nathan couldn’t help but chuckle at the comment. It wasn’t overtly critical, but the tone of her voice told him she wasn’t the least bit impressed with the place. It only stood to reason that she’d had some unreasonable expectation for it given her experiences outside of Earth, and it had fallen well short of meeting them. Of the two of them, she was the more demanding of people and places.
“They’ve fixed it up a bit since the last time I was here. Even managed to put actual windows in. Last trip out here, they still had screens for windows,” the old man chortled.
“How… 19th century of them…” Elizabeth said without even trying to hide her disdain for the design aesthetic he’d just mentioned.
“I hear when it first went up, it was nothing but a tent with a bar underneath. They’ve come a long way,” Nathan continued to explain as they settled down at the bar.
“That we have,” the voice of the owner called out, drawing the couple’s focus to him. ‘Cap’, as he was called by the locals, walked over to them and leaned against the counter in true barkeep fashion. His expression gave away the fact that he knew the man sitting in front of him rather well, a gesture that was returned by the old man who’d just arrived.
“You’re looking good, ‘Cap’… you’re still going by that right?” Nathan said, pausing to make sure he’d used the right ‘name’.
“Yep,” the man nodded with a smirk, “You still a Cowell? Or did you change it again?”
“Nah, I’ve settled on Cowell. No point in changing it now, since the wife finally showed back up,” the old man jerked his chin in the direction of the person he’d just mentioned.
“I thought you said…” ‘Cap’ started to say before thinking better of it in case she wasn’t aware of what Nathan had said about her status.
“That I was dead? Well, I’ll admit that I did give the impression that I would have been long dead by now. But as you can see, rumors to that effect were sorely exaggerated,” Elizabeth said with a smile, finishing the thought that ‘Cap’ had declined to.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cowell,” ‘Cap’ said, reaching to shake her hand.
“And you as well,” Elizabeth took his hand and gave it a cursory shake. ‘Cap’ frowned deeply the moment their hands touched, but he didn’t comment on it. He let her hand go after giving it just enough of a shake to call it polite before turning back to Nathan with a bit of a confused look on his face.
“It’s a long story…” Nathan chuckled dismissively, “But that’s not why we’re here. I actually came by on my way up to Alaska to grab some things before we head out to the Delta Quadrant.”
‘Cap’ raised an eyebrow at that, “Oh really? I never would have pegged you for one to head back that way after all these years.”
“And maybe five or ten years ago, you’d have been right. But times change… you know that just as well as I do. And change has come around knocking again. Figured maybe now that Starfleet is committed to actually having a real foothold out there… maybe it would be worth trying, you know?” Cowell shrugged.
“Can’t say I blame you, but what could have changed so much that you’d want to go back?” the barkeep asked, hunkering down on one elbow.
“Can’t say for sure, just a gut feeling I have. Not really sure how else to put it,” the old man couldn’t help but shrug again, a little more dramatically than before.
“Yeah, but you haven’t been on that side since… what? At least since you joined Starfleet, right?” ‘Cap’ asked.
“Actually, it was not even fifteen years ago, but it was a half-assed attempt by Starfleet and it ended… badly…” Nathan remarked vaguely.
“Do you even remember what it was like before…” ‘Cap’ said somewhat wistfully.
“Yes, actually… I do…” Nathan nodded.
“Care to share? For old time’s sake?” ‘Cap’ prodded.
Nathan let out a sigh, “What the hell… I guess we can talk about it a little bit. I’ll tell you about what led to me coming to Earth in the first place…”
[El-Aur]
[Sometime in 1856, Earth Calendar]
“I’m sick of this!” a young El-Aurian who would one day be known as Nathan Cowell stormed through the home that he’d grown up in, obvious in a foul mood.
“Son, you need to calm down. You’ve only been apprenticing for 50 years; you can’t expect people to simply listen to your advice when they’ve had hundreds of years of experience doing the same job. You’re still learning, there’s still plenty of things you don’t know yet that would have changed how you could have handled the diagnosis,” the boy’s father said from his place at their dining table.
“That’s easy for you to say, Father! You’ve been a doctor for a thousand years! Of course, people are going to listen to you! When I say something, they just snort and laugh and say I don’t know what I’m talking about… but you and I both know I was right!” the younger man fumed.
The boy’s father let out a sigh, “Just because you were right in that one instance doesn’t mean you’ll always be right, son. You need to learn some of your brother’s patience…”
“Oh, here we go…” the young man threw his hands in the air, “Zevan this and Zevan that… every time I turn around, you’re comparing me to him. I’m not Zevan! I’ll never be Zevan! I’m my own person, and you refuse to even recognize it!”
The boy’s mother rose from her chair and pulled him into her arms, “Nekam, no one is comparing you to your brother. We’re just saying that you should learn a little more patience… and your brother is a very patient man. He’s an example, not the standard.”
Nekam’s shoulders slackened just slightly, but his anger didn’t subside, “Why can’t I do this my own way? Why do I have to live up to anyone’s standards? I already had to be a doctor because of tradition… can’t I at least choose how I do it?”
The boy’s Father let out a long sigh. This wasn’t the first time he’d asked that question, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. El-Aurian tradition demanded that families carry on their parent’s profession, lest they lose their own traditions entirely after venturing out into the stars to live among other civilizations. The very question the boy was asking was one that he’d asked himself many times before, even after he’d practically forgotten all about El-Aur while living among a less advanced species just before Nekam was born.
“Do you really hate it here so much?” the boy’s Father asked suddenly.
“Yes!” Nekam screamed in response.
Rather than getting angry at the outburst, the man only sighed again, “Then I’ll pull some strings and get you on the first exploration vessel out of here.”
The boy’s face went slack with shock, and his Mother turned to her husband with a sharp glare, “Why? He’s not ready to leave yet!”
“He’s already 66 years old, and more to the point he wants to leave. It’ll be a good chance for him to grow up. I’m getting tired of him carrying on like a spoiled adolescent as it is. Maybe he’ll come back in fifty years and realize he was fighting the wrong battles…” the man pointed out angrily.
“And what if he doesn’t come back at all?!” the boy’s Mother squeezed him as she fired back her retort.
“Then it won’t be any different than your brother,” the boy’s Father said callously, “We’ll mourn and we’ll move on. Same as we always have since we first set out into the stars.”
“I knew you didn’t care about me,” Nekam pushed away from his Mother and stormed out of his house.
“Temlin!” the woman shouted, “Go after him!”
“Why, Celia, he’s getting what he wants. He wants to be away from here, and I want him to learn that he isn’t nearly as great as he thinks he is. And anyway… that boy’s a lot tougher than he looks… he may never come back here, but at least we’ll never have to hold a funeral for him…”
[‘The Tavern’, Bozeman, Montana]
“You were a pretty selfish young man,” Elizabeth smirked, “Though I can empathize with your not wanting to be compared with your siblings.”
“Back then, I hated my brother so deeply that I couldn’t see my nose in front of my face, that’s how narrow my vision was whenever he was brought up. And to be honest, looking back, he was a rather good role model. He had the patience most people expected a doctor to have, he could sit and listen to someone for hours, and still managed to do what was right for them. Me, I still can’t be bothered to listen to someone prattle on about what they think is wrong when I can see it plain as day on my tricorder…” Cowell remarked.
“You didn’t have that back then, though,” Elizabeth smirked.
“No, not anything like they are now, but what we did have worked well enough. Just because it wasn’t smart enough to give you a diagnosis on its own didn’t mean it wasn’t handy. You just had to actually know what it all meant. These days even a moron can read a tricorder and do basic stuff,” the old man snorted.
“But that doesn’t explain how you got here,” ‘Cap’ said, pulling the conversation back to the story Nathan had stopped telling abruptly.
“Oh right, so like I was saying…”
[El-Aur]
[Sometime later in 1856, Earth Calendar]
“Are you really sure you want to do this?” Celia asked her son as they walked into the massive dome structure that served as one of many star ports for the planet.
“Yes, Mother, I’m positive,” Nekam nodded resolutely.
On the day he was meant to leave, both his Father and Brother had conveniently had business to attend to, leaving his Mother as the only one to see him off. This suited the boy just fine, as he didn’t want to see them anyway. His Mother, on the other hand, hated the fact that the two of them had made every excuse imaginable not to be there. In her heart, she knew their distant attitudes toward him had been the driving point for Nekam’s decision to leave El-Aur in the first place.
“But why the other side of the galaxy?” Celia asked.
“Because it’s somewhere new, somewhere far away from here… and somewhere I can do things my way and not have to listen to Father complain about it,” the boy answered with more venom in his voice than Celia preferred.
“Listen, Nekam… you don’t have to do this. You can stay here on El-Aur and find another place to apprentice until you’ve come of age officially. It’s less than a decade away and then you can join an expedition properly, instead of going to a protected world on the far side of the galaxy,” Celia pleaded.
“Yes, Mother… I do have to do this… I need to get out of here, I need to find my own way and living here in the shadow of those two won’t help me do it. Better to head to a protected world for a few decades than have to listen to either of them preach about how horrible I am even a day longer,” Nekam said without any hesitation.
“All passengers bound for Planet P-68901, please report to launch pad six. Departure will be in twenty minutes,” an announcement echoed through the building.
“Time to go,” Nekam said, giving his Mother a hug, “Thanks for seeing me off.”
Celia continued to hold her son for a long moment before finally relinquishing her grip, “Be careful out there, Nekam… send us a message at least once a year if you can.”
“I’ll try,” the boy gave a weak smile, before waving farewell and turning to head to his appointed departure point.
[‘The Tavern’, Bozeman, Montana]
“… From there, it was about a year’s travel to make it to Earth. While I was on the ship, I found out that the expedition’s primary doctor had missed the launch, so I ended up being the only one aboard who could practice medicine. I had a pretty big head about it at the time, but looking back, I was grateful nothing horrible happened, since we would have all probably died if I’d had to do anything fancy out in the middle of nowhere,” Nathan chuckled.
“I remember that port,” ‘Cap’ said with a grin, “I left El-Aur from that very terminal myself.”
“Small universe, eh?” Cowell smiled at that.
“So how do you think you’ve changed since then, Nekam?” ‘Cap’ asked, momentarily forgetting himself.
“I suppose the biggest change has been my level of awareness. Back then, I’d only ever seen El-Aur. Circumnavigated the place twice by the time I was 60 and didn’t really appreciate or know half as much as I could have had I just paid more attention. As of today, I’ve been to every quadrant of this galaxy at least once, seen more planets than I can count, and I can honestly say that if I could see my folks again after all this time, I’d probably make them proud for once… at least my old man. My Mother was always proud of me, she never once forgot to tell me that. But that wasn’t who I thought I wanted to hear it from back then,” Nathan replied.
“Did your Father ever say it to you?” ‘Cap’ inquired.
“Can’t say as he ever did. But then again, I never gave him the chance. I think I wrote home twice before I left Earth, and by the time I made it back to El-Aur, my parents had taken an expedition to a planet between the Gamma and Delta Quadrant, so they weren’t even there. But I’ve come to terms with it. And I’ve grown enough since I left home that I don’t really need the approval now. That’s the biggest change, I think. I left home seeking approval from a Father who didn’t have time for me, and experienced things that taught me I didn’t need it in the first place. All I really needed was some life experiences to help me grow into my own person… even if most people don’t care for me,” Nathan laughed at himself.
“Plenty of people like you, old man. I’ve had several people come in here over the years speaking your praises. Less people curse your name than you think,” ‘Cap’ smirked.
“But people still curse it,” Cowell retorted.
“Can’t argue that, but even as they’re cursing your name, they still raise a glass to the fact that they’re still around to have a drink thanks to your aggravating self,” the barkeep couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’ll drink to that… if someone would ever bother to get me one,” the old man frowned at the empty bar in front of him.
“Sure thing,” ‘Cap’ nodded, “I think I’ve got just the thing…”
Tales from the Captain's Table - Part 1
Bozeman, Montana – Earth
Stardate 7698.2 (May 19, 2277)
Commander Jack Conrad paused at the entrance to the Zefram Cochrane First Contact Memorial Complex, and took in the sight. He’d been here twice before – once as a wide-eyed 12-year-old and again as a newly commissioned ensign right out of Starfleet Academy. Both times he was filled with awe at the monument to humanities induction into the community of starfaring civilizations. And both times his younger selves imagined traversing the cosmos and the adventures yet to come.
He stood here today, though, a different man. At age 38, he had been exploring space for a decade now. He had risen to the rank of commander in Starfleet. Before, when he’d visited this place, he looked at the gigantic statue of Earth’s pioneering warp propulsion engineer Zefram Cochrane, which he was now ambling toward, and imagined the wonders Cochrane had seen in his own travels. Today, Jack Conrad knew. Though space was big and largely unexplored, the intrigue this place once held for him had been lifted.
Mostly.
There was still one discovery about this historic landmark to be made.
Jack felt a tap on the shoulder. His expedition would have to wait for a moment.
“Excuse me, Captain.” It was a human woman, standing with her husband and a little girl who must have been her daughter.
Before Jack could correct the woman, the daughter spoke up. “Mommy, he’s not a captain. He’s a commander.” She was pointing at the silver pin on Jack’s uniform jacket. “Don’t you know anything?”
The woman and her husband chuckled, a little embarrassed at their daughter’s outburst.
“We’re sorry,” said the husband. “She’s obsessed with Starfleet. Wants to command a ship one day.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Jack looked down at the little girl and gave her a warm smile.
“I know the names of all the original thirteen Constitution-class starships!” the girl proclaimed proudly.
“I’ll bet you do!” He crouched down to look her in the eyes. “You know, I served on one of them.”
Her eyes went wide. “Which one?”
“The U.S.S. Lexington. That was under Commodore Wesley.”
Once again, the girl gasped, excitedly. “That means you were on board when the Enterprise computer went crazy and started attacking the other starships.”
The words came out of the girl’s mouth and nearly knocked Jack on his behind. He collected himself and stood upright again.
“Yes,” he said softly. “I was.”
The parents, seeing Jack’s discomfort, very quickly changed the subject, asking him to take their photo in front of the Zefram Cochrane statue. He did so, snapping a few photos of the family, returned the camera to the wife and they were soon on their way.
Are they really teaching that in schools? He watched the trio move toward a replica of Cochrane’s warp ship, the Phoenix. The so-called M-5 Incident hadn’t stayed classified for long. How could it? The Enterprise, under the control of Richard Daystrom’s next generation of supercomputer, attacked the starships Lexington, Excalibur, Potemkin, and Hood. The onslaught significantly damaged the Lexington and crippled the Excalibur. Neither Starfleet nor the Federation Council could sweep that one under the rug.
Jack certainly hadn’t, much as he would have liked to. He paused a few moments more before continuing on is way. It wasn’t much longer before Jack arrived at his destination – The Tavern.
In his two previous visits, Jack had never visited The Tavern. At 12, he was just too young. At 21, it just wasn’t the kind of place a brand new, by-the-book ensign gravitated toward. But it was said that officers in the Sol Sector who were taking over their first command stopped into this watering hole as a rite of passage. It was the bar frequented by Doctor Cochrane as he worked on the Phoenix, and it was rumored that he bent his elbow quite a bit the day the ship launched. Rocket fuel, allegedly, wasn’t the only thing propelling Cochrane out of Earth’s atmosphere.
Upon entering The Tavern, Jack noticed it was not crowded. He figured that was to be expected, as it was not even fifteen-hundred yet. The throng, Jack figured, would be gathering in an hour or so.
The walls were decorated with photos of Starfleet captains, as well as a few from the expeditionary fleets of Federation allied worlds. There was even a photo of Haroun al Rashid, a venerated early president of the nascent United Federation of Planets, hanging on a wall above the still-functional 21st century vintage jukebox.
“Wow. There’s got to be a story behind that,” Jack muttered to himself as he leaned against the bar.
“There is,” a deep voice said from close by.
Jack nearly jumped back. Standing behind the bar was a bearded man with piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a flannel shirt, brown trousers and a white apron, and was pushing a broom across the floor.
“Sorry,” Jack said. “I didn’t see you there.”
“I’m sneaky,” the man simply said. He extended his hand to Jack. “Name’s Cap. And judging by the shine on those commander’s pins, you have the aura of newly promoted officer on you.”
Jack looked down at the floor, chuckling. “Yeah. Haven’t even had these a week.” He shook Cap’s hand. “Commander John C. Conrad. You can call me Jack though.”
“Shipping out with your first command, right?” Cap asked.
“Tomorrow. U.S.S. Darwin.”
Cap put the broom aside, washed his hands in a small sink. “What’s your pleasure, Jack?”
The commander looked at the bottles of liquor stacked on a shelf behind the bar. “Aldebaran whiskey on the rocks.”
Ice cubes clinked in a glass, followed by light green liquid. Cap put the glass on top of a small napkin and pushed it toward Jack.
“Darwin,” Cap said, thoughtfully. “Haven’t heard of her.”
“She’s brand new. Just off the line. Oberth-class,” Jack said proudly. “And between you, me, and the lamp post, she’s damn fun to fly.”
To be sure, Jack was proud. Sure, it was a small ship, a scout and science vessel, but he and his crew would still be doing important work, blazing the trail for the larger exploratory starships. And it would be a stepping stone on the way to a bigger ship, longer range missions, first contacts, and all the trappings of galactic exploration. Admiral Wesley (he had since been promoted) even hinted that Jack might be in a position to take command of the refitted U.S.S. Lexington.
The idea thrilled and scared him. Or was it the more immediate future – the ship he was taking command of tomorrow – that was causing Jack such anxiety?
Cap had poured himself a glass of the green whiskey as well and raised it in salute.
“To the Darwin,” he offered.
Jack raised his own glass. “The Darwin,” he said quietly.
From the other side of the bar, Cap regarded Jack for a moment, narrowing those blue eyes, his face expressionless.
“You seem reserved for a guy who just got handed the keys to dad’s brand new Corvette.”
Jack chuckled at Cap’s perceptiveness and the reference to the automobile. His father did, indeed, have a Corvette he kept in mint condition in a barn on Benecia Colony where the family had a wheat farm and grain mill. The coincidence was funny, but, Jack decided, still just a coincidence.
“You have good taste in cars,” he answered. He took a drink of the green liquid. “I’m excited, don’t get me wrong. There are just…questions I wish I knew the answers to.”
Cap’s expression didn’t change. “Like what?”
“In the absolute worst case scenario…” Jack’s voice trailed off a moment. His brown eyes stared into the middle distance.
“There are five people in that compartment and easily eighty in this entire section!” The klaxons blared in the background, punctuating the imperativeness of the moment. “It’s your call, Lieutenant.”
He refocused his gaze on Cap. “Who lives and who dies?” Jack’s voice was quiet, his manner solemn.
The bartender uncapped the Aldebaran whiskey and poured another glass for each of them. He carefully replaced it on the shelf behind him and returned his attention to Jack.
“Wanna tell me a little more about that, Jack?”
The Starfleet officer let out a sigh. He took another gulp of the whiskey, rested both elbows on the bar and sighed.
“Nine years ago, I was on the U.S.S. Lexington…”
Personal log, stardate 4730.1, Lieutenant John C. Conrad recording. Although the Lexington is set to participate in a fleet action of war games against Enterprise and the M-5 computer, Commodore Wesley has ordered the astrocartography division to continue the mapping project of Sector 473, which the ship visited prior to being reassigned for the war games. I’m in my second week leading the mapping project, an insistence of the commodore that his bridge officers get actual command experience. I look forward to returning to the helm, but these past two weeks have given me a thirst for command.
“Officer on deck!”
Ensign Pete McDougal shouted the announcement as Jack entered the astrocartography lab. McDougal was fresh out of Starfleet Academy, instilled with the strict protocols hammered into him by his Academy drill instructors.
Of course, no one snapped to attention. The rest of the team had been serving in space together for at least two years. No one was going to stop in the middle of a mathematical computation or scientific discovery to acknowledge anyone under the rank of captain.
Nonetheless, Pete’s enthusiasm spilled over into more practical areas of the project. He knew the latest research practices and it had helped cut some time off a few of the more onerous tasks. He was also ambitious, confessing to Jack that he aspired to be a bridge officer within a year and command a major scientific mission within the next five. His enthusiasm was refreshing. Sitting on the bridge for eight hours a day, Jack often wondered at what point exploring the cosmos lost its charm and became just another job.
“How we doin', Pete?”
“We’ve started mapping System K-519, the binary system we surveyed on stardate 4002.3, sir.” McDougal gestured to a large display built into the bulkhead showing the system with two stars and five planets – two terrestrial and two gas giants. “Ensign Hajan is having trouble compensating for the gravimetric fluctuation created by the proximity of the stars.”
“Yeah, so did I,” Jack replied. He remembered that survey. Wesley had given Jack a letter of commendation for his piloting around the gravimetric distortions while staying close enough for astrophysics to take scans of the fluctuation.
Not close enough, as it turned out, since his team was unable to replicate it in the mapping.
“All righty,” Jack said, joining Hajan at a console. He looked at the skinny Bolian and clapped him on the back. “Let’s put our heads together. Bring up the sensor logs from that mission and let’s see what we can do.”
After about an hour of back-and-forth and creating computer models of the phenomenon, Jack and Hajan were nowhere close to a solution.
“We should have launched a probe,” Hajan said with a resigned sigh.
“That’s partly my fault. I was trying to beat the clock,” Jack admitted. He was starting to wonder if he deserved Wesley’s commendation. He rubbed his eyes. Looking at numbers and waves for sixty minutes had made him drowsy. “I need some coffee. Anyone want anything from the galley?”
There were several muted replies of “no thanks,” and one boisterous request for doughnuts.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Jack said as he disappeared through the open door into the Lexington corridors.
A few moments later, Jack was in the galley, brewing a fresh pot of coffee. He preferred it to the instant stuff from the food slot. As he opened a pantry in search of doughnuts, he heard the voice of Tom Wilson, the bridge communications officer, over the public address.
“Now hear this. War games have commenced. All divisions not engaged in priority activities are on red alert and ordered to man battle stations. Report readiness to the bridge immediately. This is an exercise.”
Unable to find any doughnuts, Jack gave up and slid the pantry shut. He poured himself a mug of coffee and headed back out into the corridor.
In contrast to his trip from the lab to the galley, the corridors were much more active now as personnel scrambled to battle stations. He wondered what would come out of this exercise. He personally didn’t like the idea of turning over control of a starship, one that required the resourcefulness of more than 400 people, to a computer. He didn’t know what Daystrom was trying to prove.
Jack darted among the scurrying crew members, trying not to spill his coffee. When he saw a bespectacled junior grade lieutenant in science blue, he shouted out.
“Ned the Head! How did you get an invitation to the party?”
Ned Hennessy stopped in the middle of the corridor, nearly causing a pileup of personnel. “Commodore Wesley wants an analysis of our computational power versus the M-5.”
Jack hadn’t known Ned long, but the two had bonded over their shared experience of growing up in agricultural communities on colony worlds. Ned was brilliant. He had been a double major in computer science and starship engineering at the academy. Jack knew when he got his first starship command, he’d be poaching Ned from another captain.
“Of course, if Daystrom has his way, I’m out of a job,” Ned added. “I guess I could learn to fly like you. Do they still give licenses via correspondence course?”
Jack chuckled. “You can kiss my—”
The ship bucked and Jack fell forward. He dropped his coffee mug, watching it shatter on the deck. Before he could say anything, the ship rocked abruptly once more. This time he lost his footing, tumbling past Ned into the bulkhead.
“What the hell?” Ned exclaimed. Alert klaxons rang through the corridor and the red alert lights flashed in the bulkheads.
Jack righted himself and helped a few other crewmen who had landed on the deck during the ruckus. He scrambled toward a communications panel and activated it.
“Conrad to bridge. What’s going on?”
“Enterprise is firing on us. No time to talk, Jack. Stand by for—“
The ship pitched again, more violently. This time, he could not avoid landing on Ned. He got to his feet and pounded the communications panel again. “Conrad to bridge.”
There was no response.
“Conrad to bridge!” he repeated. Silence.
He motioned for Ned to follow him and the two officers made their way to the astrocartography lab. The drowsiness he felt earlier was gone. When they arrived, Jack ran toward the door, and when it didn’t open his head smacked right into it, causing him to fall backward to the deck.
“Damn!” he said, sitting up and rubbing his forehead where it had hit the door.
Ned frowned and began tapping the override controls on the bulkhead next to the door. It still would not open.
“This isn’t good,” Ned said.
Jack climbed to his feet. “I’ve got to make sure my team is OK.” He gestured for Ned to follow him. “Come on.”
Ned nodded and the two men backtracked a short distance, stepping into an empty lab. Jack rushed toward one of the desk monitors.
“Can you route this terminal to astrocartography?”
“I can try,” the computer analyst said.
“Hurry!”
Ned activated the unit. His hands moved frantically, bypassing the main internal communications network.
“Link established.” Ned stepped over to another monitor. “I’m going to try to get in touch with the bridge.”
“Good. Find out what in blazes is going on out there!” Jack tabbed a button on the monitor. “Astrocartography, this is Conrad.”
The screen came to life with a sight that was both a relief and a terror. Pete McDougal’s was alive but his normally fresh face was filled with dread, and with good reason. Behind him, Jack saw the blackness of space where the bulkhead used to be. Occasionally he could see a flicker of the emergency forcefield, the only thing holding out the vacuum of space beyond.
“We lost Hajan and Quincy, sir,” McDougal said. “Right before the forcefield activated. We almost lost Niigon too, but I was able to catch her. I couldn’t…” McDougal was overcome. Jack thought the younger man was on the verge of breaking down. “I couldn’t get to the others in time, sir. There are five of us left. We can’t escape into the corridor. The doors won’t open.”
Jack took a deep breath. Those losses stung. He wished he’d been there. Maybe he could have saved one or both of their fallen crewmates. He quickly composed himself.
“They were good men, but we’ll mourn them later. I know about the door. Mister Hennessy and I tried to get in from the corridor. How’s life support?”
“Emergency life support engaged as soon as the forcefield came up. The instrumentation is damaged so I couldn’t tell how the atmosphere in here is. I had Niigon take a tricorder reading. By the book, you know, sir.”
Jack allowed himself to smile. On the other end of the conversation, the grim expression on McDougal’s face gave way to an uneasy grin.
“That book will save your life, Ensign. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” he said. “Hang tight. Hennessy and I are here monitoring and we’re going to get you out of this. Keep this channel open.”
“Aye, sir.”
Next to Jack, Hennessy cleared his throat.
“You may want to put it on mute for a bit, Jack,” he said quietly.
Jack looked confused, but did as Hennessy asked.
“Ok. What is it?”
“I can’t raise the bridge, but I’ve found out the M-5 has activated the Enterprise phasers. The real deal. Full strength. Not the simulation hardware.”
Jack muttered a swear word he’d often heard his grandfather use.
“There’s something else, Jack.” Hennessy’s face was ashen. He pointed to a schematic on the other computer monitor. “We have to reroute power on deck six to structural integrity in ASAP, or this section is going to shear right off the spaceframe.”
"How long?"
"Two minutes, Jack." Ned's face was grim.
“So, let’s do it!” Jack said.
Hennessy looked Jack square in the eyes. Behind his round eyeglass frames his buggy blue eyes were deadly serious. “We can, but I can’t tell if rerouting the power is going to deactivate the emergency forcefield in there.”
“We have failsafes to avoid that!” Jack protested.
“Failsafes that are controlled by the computer, which has taken significant damage. There's a seventy-five percent chance those failsafes are compromised.” He jabbed a finger at the monitor, where glowing red blips flashed on the computer core. “We’ve got no contact with the bridge! Enterprise is firing on us at full strength with our shields down. There are five people in that compartment and easily eighty in this entire section!” The klaxons blared in the background, punctuating the severity of the moment. “It’s your call, Lieutenant.”
“We can cut our way into astrocartography with phasers,” Jack said with hope.
“Not in—” Ned looked at his monitor. “—a minute-and-a-half, Jack!”
“Ok,” Jack said after a few long seconds of silence. “OK, I’m gonna talk to McDougal now.”
Hennessy nodded and returned to his other monitor, beginning the process of the power transfer.
“McDougal, it’s me again.” He put on a stone face. “We’re going to have to reroute power on this deck to structural integrity. There's a possibility doing that is going to deactivate the emergency forcefields.” He paused a second. “Do you understand, Ensign?”
On the screen, McDougal nodded grimly. “Aye, sir.”
Another blast caused the ship to shudder. Jack and Ned steadied themselves.
Next to Jack, Ned stood at a console. He looked over at Conrad. “It’s now or never, Jack.”
Jack’s eyes locked on McDougal’s. The ensign deserved to see him like this, deserved to hear the next order. If McDougal was afraid, he wasn’t showing it. Jack would remember to note that in his eulogy.
“Do it, Ned.”
“They died?” Cap asked. Those ageless eyes seemed to probe Jack’s demeanor.
Conrad gulped down the Aldebaran whiskey and motioned to Cap for a refill.
“No. The failsafes held, thank God.” As soon as Cap finished pouring, Jack lifted the glass. His hands were trembling ever so slightly. “I can’t tell you how many times I lived and died from the time I gave the order to the time I heard McDougal’s boyish ‘yahoo’ from the other end.”
“What happened after that?”
“We powered away from the engagement zone under thrusters. We’d lost impulse, lost warp drive. When we were finally able to get to astrocartography, I was the first one through the door. McDougal thanked me.” Jack shook his head. “I almost killed the guy and he thanked me.”
Cap stood in silence for a moment. He looked as though he was considering his next words. Finally he spoke.
“Funny, it’s never the unknown out there that scares you explorers. It’s mortality. The one thing that’s certain for all of us,” Cap said. “But there’s one thing that the best understand, and I suspect you already know this, Jack — risk is your business.”
Jack stared down at the bartop and into his glass. The ice was melting in the green liquid. He moved it around with the stirring stick a bit.
“It certainly is,” Jack said. “They hammer that into you in command training. Still, I always thought my first time cheating death would involve my own carcass, not someone else’s.”
“You think the grim reaper keeps score?”
Jack chuckled. “I think he’s a monster in the next room, and he’s doing pushups.”
It was Cap’s turn to laugh. “That’s a good one. You mind if I steal that bit of wisdom for the next guy who sits in that stool?”
Jack waved a hand lazily, assenting.
“And that’s why you’re nervous about this command. The grim reaper in the next room.” Cap said it as a statement and not a question.
“I think I owe him one from that day nine years ago, yeah.” Jack gulped down the whiskey once more.
“I’m going to give you some good news that should take considerable weight off your shoulders, Jack. You have no control over that. The best captains seem to learn that one quick. The ones who’ve sat on that stool anyway. Once they realize they’re powerless over the grim reaper, they do the thing they’re really good at — they go boldly.”
“Where no man has gone before.” Jack said quietly.
“Yep.”
Jack pulled out a wad of Starfleet scrip, but Cap refused.
“Your money’s no good here. The story was enough.”
Nodding and smiling, Jack thanked Cap and hopped off the stool. Before he left, he looked above the door and saw two words, roughly carved into weathered wood:
Go Boldly
He smiled as he headed out into the warmth of the Montana afternoon.
Tales from the Captain’s Table
Part 1
Date: August 15, 2297
Location: Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
The bar that Jennifer was told about was an older-looking building, sitting not far from the statue of Dr. Zefram Cochrane. At the ceremony at Earth Spacedock for her promotion to lieutenant commander, a crewman and former classmate told her to go check it out and have a chat with the bartender. Since the USS Maverick was going to be in drydock for at least a couple weeks, Jennifer decided to finally take a trip to where it all began for Humanity.
Jennifer pulled the door open and walked in. It was a cute little restaurant with the bar to the side not far from the entrance. Since it was mid-afternoon, there was a break between the lunch and dinner crowds, so there were only a few people in the whole establishment.
“Can’t say I’ve seen you around here before.”
The voice from the bar drew Jennifer’s attention. She walked over and saw a man wiping down the bar with a towel. “This is my first time here, Mister…?”
The man smiled. “You can just call me ‘Cap’. And you are?”
Jennifer smiled back. “Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Porter of the USS Maverick. So you’re the Cap my friend mentioned. Pleasure to meet you.”
The two exchanged a handshake and Cap gestured for her to take a seat. “What can I get you?”
“Hmm…” Jennifer’s eyes glanced over the numerous bottles adorning the back wall. “Got any good white wines?”
Cap nodded. “Several brands of each kind. What will it be? Chardonnay, pinot, Riesling?”
“A Riesling sounds good.”
“What brand?”
Jennifer shrugged. “I’ll happily drink whatever kind you happen to pick.”
Cap picked a random bottle, pulled out a glass, and poured a good amount in. He then pulled out a small square glass and poured a brown liquid into it. “How about a toast?”
Jennifer thought for a few seconds. “To…to lost friends…”
Both raised their glasses and quietly sipped their respective drinks. Cap put his down to the side and looked back up at Jennifer. “Not to pry, but I’m assuming there’s a story behind that toast.”
“I figured that question was next,” Jennifer replied. “You know, my friend told me to come visit here because the food was great, the bar was extensive, and the owner was a…unique individual who loved to converse.”
Cap smiled. “Your friend wasn’t wrong about any of that. Many a Starfleet officer has come and sat at this bar. I don’t charge for the drinks since you all put your lives on the line to keep us safe, but all I ask is to hear a good story or two.”
“A good story, eh?” Jennifer took another drink of wine. “How’s this for a story? Not long into my first posting out of the Academy, I make friends with an engineering officer named Amy. After hanging out with her a few times, I decided to ask her out on a date. She said yes, and when we pulled into starbase, we had a great evening.” Another drink of wine, this time killing the glass. Without thinking, Cap filled her glass back up. “A few years later, I was piloting our XO and a couple others down to a first contact with a new species…hell, I don’t even remember the name of the species, since I’ve tried to forget the whole thing…well, while we were away, the species sent up fighters to attack the Maverick. We lost a dozen people, and I nearly lost Amy.”
Cap leaned in closer. “They attacked out of nowhere?”
Jennifer nodded. “After she recovered from her injuries, Amy decided to resign from Starfleet and come back to Earth. She got a job working as an engineering consultant for a firm that built orbital habitats.”
“Well,” Cap started as he went over to grab himself another drink, “I’m sorry. I bet she was a wonderful woman.”
“Oh, she IS.” Jennifer held out her left hand. “And as of last week, she’s my wife!”
Cap chuckled and leaned in to look at the shiny ring. “Well, damn, I was totally not expecting that! Congratulations!”
“Thank you. We’ve also been approved to adopt a child. We meet him and pick him up to take home on Friday. His name is Jacob.”
“I take it that he’ll be staying with Amy when your ship is ready to go?”
“Yes.” Jennifer nodded and sighed. “And I already know how much I’m going to miss them both.”
“I bet.” There was a pause while both thought about what to talk about next. “So…this species…what happened during that attack? I hear a lot of scuttlebutt from all the Starfleet personnel that come through here, but I don’t recall hearing about a recent “first contact gone wrong” situation.”
Jennifer cleared her throat. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Starfleet doesn’t want to talk about it…but if you keep pouring the wine, I’ll keep the stories coming.”
Cap laughed, picked up the bottle, topped off the glass, and placed it on the bar right in front of Jennifer.
“Alright then, so here’s what happened…”
==========
Date: April 14, 2289
Location: Promar Sector
After the XO and two science officers took their seats, Jennifer powered up the shuttle’s engines.
=/\= “Shuttlecraft _Titan _to Bridge, we’re ready to head out.” =/\=
=/\= “Titan, you’re cleared to departure. Safe journeys.” =/\=
Receiving clearance for takeoff, Jennifer brought the shuttle out of the bay and turned for a trip down to the rocky planet below. The ride was a quiet one as the XO was reading up as much possible about them, and the science officers were getting their equipment ready for…scans, environmental assistance, or whatever.
“You look nervous, lieutenant,” the XO finally said.
“I, uh…I’m sorry, sir, I just didn’t want to disrupt you while you’re studying,” Jennifer replied.
The XO chuckled. “Don’t worry, there’s not a whole lot of information to know. This kind of concerns me a bit, us making first contact with a species that we know so little about.”
One of the scientists shut the container they were looking in and returned to their seat. “But one thing we DO know is that their planet somehow is losing it’s ability to rain, and we’re going to start taking a look at what we can do to help.”
“Losing the ability to rain?” Jennifer replied, glancing back. “That’s weird, but hopefully you guys can find out what’s up.” As she turned back to bring the shuttle into the planet’s atmosphere, the sensors showed several small craft coming up from the surface.
“What’s up, lieutenant?” the XO asked.
Jennifer ran a quick scan of them. “Based on their IFF’s, looks like a shuttlecraft with fighter support.”
“Ah, makes sense,” the XO replied. “The captain said that they would be sending up some small craft as security for their diplomat.”
“Roger that.” Jennifer continued to pilot the shuttle down towards the landing coordinates. When they arrived, she parked the shuttle and powered it down. The group walked out of the shuttle and looked around for a delegation, but none was to be found.
They waited for about ten minutes before the XO’s communicator beeped. He opened it and responded. “Go ahead,”
=/\= “Sir, the ship is under attack!” =/\= the second officer’s voice exclaimed.
=/\= “What? What’s going on? Respond!” =/\= No response came. The XO closed his communicator and stowed it in his pocket. “Let’s get back up there!”
“Sir,” Jennifer started, “if the Maverick is under attack, maybe we should wait. Our shuttle would be an easy target for the fighters we scanned, and who knows if they brought anything else for the attack.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to evade their fighters, lieutenant, now get us up there!”
Jennifer went through a quick power-up procedure and powered up the engines. The shuttle lifted and rose steeply through the atmosphere towards their home ship. After breathing through the clouds, the crew could see the Maverick drifting in space with debris floating around it. There were a few decompression spots along the whole hull. Her thoughts immediately went to Amy.
“I’m not seeing any fighters,” Jennifer said.
The XO opened the comm. =/\= “Shuttlecraft Titan _to _Maverick, may we come aboard?” =/\=
=/\= “Permission granted, Titan.” =/\= Jennifer brought the shuttle aboard. The XO and science officers ran out of the back as Jennifer shut the systems down. As soon as things were set in the shuttle, she also ran out the back and past the XO, who was debriefing with a security officer. She got to a turbolift and waited for a lift to arrive. When it did, she jumped in and went straight to Main Engineering.
When the lift doors opened to Main Engineering, Jennifer walked out and into a smokey room with bodies moving all around. She looked to see if Amy was any of them. A couple medics kneeling next to a body drew her attention. Walking up to them, she saw Amy on the ground in a blood-covered engineering suit. Loser inspection showed a piece of metal sticking out of her lower leg.
“Amy!”
Jennifer kneeled next to Amy’s head to not interrupt the medics.
“H-hey…glad you made it back ok,” Amy quietly replied.
“What…what happened?”
Amy coughed. “I don’t know. One moment, I’m helping with a power fluctuation, and the next, the ship is shaking and the panel we had just closed exploded and went through my leg.” Amy winced in pain a bit.
“We’ve got to get her to Sickbay,” one of the medics said. “Lieutenant, can you help us get her on the stretcher?”
Jennifer got behind one of the medics and picked up the stretcher to place it alongside Amy. The medics carefully lifted her onto it and carried her away. Jennifer went along with them. When they got to Sickbay, it was a busy scene with several other injured crewmembers taking up all the biobeds and some even on the floor.
As she went to stand by Amy on the emergency bed, one of the medics took her arm. “I’m sorry, lieutenant, but it’s too busy for us to have visitors at this time.”
“But, but I-”
“Please leave!” The chief medical officer’s voice came from behind Jennifer. She turned to see him pointing towards the door.
“I’ll be back later,” Jennifer said to Amy just as the nurse put her out for surgery.
==========
Date: August 15, 2297
Location: Bozeman, Montana, United States of America
“…so obviously Amy survived,” Cap said.
Jennifer didn’t realize that she had stopped talking to think about Amy until she heard Cap’s voice. “What? Oh, yeah…obviously. Her recovery went as well as one could hope for without losing a leg.”
“That’s for sure.” Cap picked up the wine bottle and poured the little bit that was left into Jennifer’s glass. “I’d say you found a bottle you like.”
“She’s yet to find a white wine she DOESN’T like.”
A new voice from the entrance made Cap and Jennifer look up. Jennifer smiled and turned in the chair to face Amy, who came over and gave Jennifer a kiss on the lips. “Hey you,” Jennifer said. “Cap, let me introduce you to my fiancé, Amy Masterson.”
Cap smiled and held out a hand to shake. “Pleasure to meet you. So, you’re the famous Amy I’ve been hearing about.”
“Uh oh, she’s been talking about me?” Amy stated.
“Only good things,” Cap replied. “Congratulations on your engagement. Can I get you a drink?”
Jennifer tipped the glass up and finished the wine. “We actually have to get going. We need to start getting some baby stuff for the house.”
“Ah yes, good point.” Cap took the glass and placed it next to the sink.
“How much do I owe you?” Jennifer asked, pulling out her personal PADD to transfer some credits.
Cap waived her off. “I told you, drinks for stories, and a story about true love is definitely worth a bottle of wine.”
Jennifer smiled. “Thank you, Cap. Next time we come back to Earth, I’ll be back with some more good stories.”
“I’ll hold you to that. Until then, both of you stay safe.”
Jennifer took Amy’s hand and the two walked out of the bar. When they got outside, Amy looked back over her shoulder. “Charming place,” she said.
“I think I found my new favorite bar,” Jennifer said. “Do me a favor. If I die somewhere out in space, tell Cap to name a seat after me.”
NOTE - NOT FOR COMPETITION - JUST A FICTION ENTRY
Tales from the Captain’s Table – How Jack Met Michele – Part 1
Bozeman, Montana – Earth
Stardate 9467.9 (July 2, 2292)
“When the shore patrol caught up with us, we had stripped down to our skivvies.”
“Yeah, because it was Jack’s bright idea to be inconspicuous. Can’t believe we didn’t just blend in. That was an awkward night in the brig.”
Captain Jack Conrad finished off his drink and motioned for a server. “Another round for the table.” He jabbed a finger at Commodore Chima Sotonwa. “Except that guy. He’s telling lies about me.”
Chima’s bellowing laugh seemed to fill the space. Next to Jack, Captain Michele Morales spoke up. “No, as the only one at this table who has to see this one,” she jerked her thumb toward Jack, “in his skivvies anymore, get that guy his drink.”
The server nodded and smiled, and was soon off to fill the drink orders.
“This is Chima’s night anyway, Jack.” Commander Ned Hennessy, Jack’s chief engineer on the U.S.S. Lexington lifted his glass in salute. “It’s not every day someone from our crowd makes flag officer.”
Chima smiled and picked up a napkin, making a show of polishing the new commodore pin on his white shoulder strap.
“To Chima!” Jack raised his empty glass, making perhaps the 12th toast of the night to his newly promoted friend. “May he never forget where he came from!”
“Or his friends who know all the stories!” offered Michele.
Out the corner of his eye, Jack saw a form approaching the table. “Drinks are here.” He looked up in surprise. “Cap!”
The proprietor of The Tavern, Cap, stood at the table, a tray of drinks in his hands. “I heard laughter and the word ‘stories.’”
Chima spoke up. “Cap’s here! Now it’s a party!”
Cap nodded and smiled at the commodore. “What’s the occasion?”
“We’re celebrating Chima’s promotion,” Hennessy said as Cap passed him his full glass.
Cap, peered at Chima’s uniform. “Commodore? Well, congratulations, Chima. Guess I’ll be seeing more of you around here then.”
“Regrettably, no,” Chima replied. “Unless you plan on opening a location on Starbase 34.”
“I won’t rule it out,” Cap said. “But I think I’ve got a pretty good thing going right here on Mother Earth.”
Michele leaned toward Jack and motioned at Cap. “Is that the guy?”
Jack took his own drink from Cap’s tray. “Where are my manners? Cap, this is Captain Michele Morales, my wife you’ve heard so many charming stories about. Michele, this is Cap. He owns this watering hole.”
“A pleasure, ma’am,” he said, handing her a drink. “You’re much more attractive than the usual women he brings in here.”
Chima and Ned nearly spit up their drinks and pounded the table, laughing heartily. Michele gave Jack a quick peck on the cheek and poke in the ribs. Jack smiled and shook his head. “You wound me, sir.”
“He’s a perfect gentleman, Captain,” Cap said to Michele reassuringly. “But I have to ask: how did such a rough character woo such a lovely jewel of the cosmos?”
“She bribed me with fudge brownies,” Jack said, chuckling at himself.
“He was very charming,” she said, playfully punching Jack in the arm.
“Well, how did you two meet?” Cap asked, pulling up an empty chair from a nearby table.
The four Starfleet officers erupted in laughter at the question. Chima was near tears.
“That story is supposedly part of Starfleet Academy orientation for new cadets,” Ned said. He gulped down his drink.
“Goes back that far, huh?” Cap said.
“Oh, yes,” Jack said, laughing. “But tonight is about Chima.”
“No,” Ned interjected. “I think Cap wants to hear the story.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Michele said.
“Yeah, I really do.”
Jack shook his head. “Now let’s just-”
The sound of a utensil clinking against a glass rose over the chatter.
“Now hear this!” Chima declared. The three other officers quieted down. “It occurs to me that I outrank you now, Jack.” He lowered his gaze toward the new rank insignia, giving it another polish with a discarded napkin. “So I order you to regale our friend, Cap, with the tale of how you met and wooed our classmate and compatriot Michele Morales.”
“That makes it official, Jack,” Ned added, nodding toward Chima and tossing him a clumsy, drunk salute.
Jack tossed up his hands in surrender.
“All righty.” He picked up the glass with the fresh drink Cap had just brought him and gulped it down. He smiled at his wife.
“You’re so cute when you don’t get your way, honey,” Michele said, winking at him.
“Yes, I am. She didn’t always feel that way though, Cap,” Jack said. “In fact, our first meeting, I was fairly certain she was going to shove me out an airlock…”
Tales from the Captain's Table, Part 3
Date: 2398
Location: Deep Space Nine, Bajor System
Jackson watched as the doors to the shuttlebay of the Nebula-class ship he was in opened. He gained clearance from Ops to disembark and brought the prototype shuttle out of the large hangar. As he exited, he pulled the shuttle to starboard and got a good view of the ship as it was docked at Deep Space Nine.
=/\= “Deep Space Nine to Nautilus, you’re clear for your test run.” =/\=
=/\= “Roger, starting up warp systems. See you soon.” =/\= Jackson closed the comm line and brought up the new warp systems. The shuttle shook a little bit, making Jackson look around the cockpit slightly nervously. “Barb, I hope you got all the bugs out of this engine,” he said out loud, referring to the engineer in charge of this program.
Entering the final warp coordinates and triple-checking the shuttle’s systems, Jackson took a quick look back at DS9. “Ok, here we go.” He took a deep breath. =/\= “Computer, engage the enhanced warp system and set a course for the target coordinates. =/\= The computer beeped in compliance. Immediately, the cabin lights dimmed and the hum of the engines changed. Out the cabin window, the stars stretched like they usually do before going to warp, but just before the shuttle got into its warp bubble, the ship lurched forward.
The red alert lights started flashing and alarms went off. =/\= “Warning, warp field is unstable. Hull stress reaching critical.” =/\= The computer’s warnings made Jackson immediately tried to cut the engines and revert back to impulse, but the systems were locked. His sensors also showed that there was a gravitational anomaly pulling on the shuttle.
=/\= “Computer, cut engines! Computer, respond!” =/\= No response. Looking up from the console, Jackson saw a bright red vortex in front of the shuttle that wasn’t previously there. Before he could try to figure a way out of this whole situation, the shuttle entered the vortex. It was violently rocked, sending Jackson out of his chair, and bouncing off of the copilot’s chair, knocking him unconscious.
==========
**Date: 2161
Location: Sol System
**
As soon as the shuttle exited the vortex, the red swirls disappeared. Jackson slowly regained consciousness and pulled himself up into the pilot’s seat. He quickly ran scans to see what the status of the shuttle was. Scans showed that all systems were operating within normal parameters. He then turned his sensors on the space around him to see where the vortex had dumped him. “Computer, run a scan of…wherever I am right now.”
A few seconds later the computer beeped. =/\= “Scan running.” =/\=
Jackson rubbed his forehead and noticed he was bleeding. He got up and walked to the back of the shuttle to grab a medkit. “Show me the results on my main panel when the scans are done.” The computer did as he said and moments later, showed the data it had compiled.
After fixing the hole in his head and wiping off the blood, Jackson returned to the pilot’s seat an reviewed the data. Most of the initial data looked normal, but the numbers started looking weird, particularly the stars. “What the…computer, analyze the data about the stars.”
=/\= “Clarify.” =/\=
Jackson sighed. “These stars don’t look right. Are the sensors working properly?”
=/\= “All external sensors are working within normal parameters.” =/\=
“The constellations are off. How can these numbers be right for the stars?”
=/\= “All stellar bodies are where they are supposed to be for the current date.” =/\=
Jackson paused, then his eyes got big. “Computer, what is today’s date?”
=/\= “August 12, 2161.” =/\=
The date hit Jackson like a sack of gold-pressed latinum. In the time his shuttle had moved through the vortex, he had traveled 237 years into the past. More specifically, he was on the exact date that the original Federation charter was signed. Jackson scanned the area again, this time looking for any ships. He knew that DS9 wouldn’t be built for a long time, but there were still species traveling throughout the galaxy this far back.
As the sensors were scanning, he glanced out the front of the cockpit. He did a double-take to look over at a small blue dot shining not far from a bright yellow star. Before the sensors could finish their scans, he knew where he was: The Sol System. Thoughts of Jonathan Archer’s speech and the founding of the Federation raced through his head, along with the Temporal Prime Directive. Deciding that he could keep hidden from everyone in this time frame, Jackson headed for the Sun and parked above it. Along with the solar radiation, an adjustment of the deflector and shields would completely mask him from any of the primitive scanning technology of the time.
Jackson looked at the chrono and realized that Captain Archer’s speech would be starting any minute now. He remembered from the Starfleet History classes at the Academy that everything from the conference that day was transmitted into space in every direction. Jackson opened his comm. to all frequencies and waited for the speech to begin.
Jackson stood up and walked to the back to get a mug of coffee. Moments after he returned to his seat, he got a first-hand experience to the birth of the Federation.
“Welcome, one and all: friends, guests, fellow delegates…and everyone looking to the future.” Archer’s strong voice was even more impressive than the recordings in the Federation Archives. Jackson leaned back in the seat and kicked his feet up onto the main console.
When the speeches all ended, Jackson wiped a tear from his eye. The magnitude of the conference had hit him harder than he expected. As he went to bring his feet off the console, he accidentally kicked over his mug which still had some coffee in it. The dark liquid caused a short in the tactical console, disabling the shield modifications.
“Dammit!” Jackson exclaimed. As he got up to grab a towel from the back compartment, the computer’s sensors sounded.
=/\= “Warning. Unidentified ship scanning this area.” =/\=
“What kind of ship?” Jackson yelled to the computer as he wiped up the spilled coffee.
=/\= “Sensors indicate it is an NX-class starship, registry NX-02.” =/\=
“Columbia…” Jackson sat back down and attempted to bring his sensors back up. “Computer, does this shuttle have the power to recreate the vortex that brought us here?”
=/\= “Affirmative. However, the necessary tactical systems are currently offline.” =/\=
“Bypass them and reroute tactical controls to my port console.” The computer beeped an acknowledgement and the panel to Jackson’s left activated with the tactical display. “How long with it take to make the necessary adjustments to the shields and deflector?”
=/\= “Ten minutes.” =/\=
“Do it.” As the computer began adjusting the deflector and shields to make the trip back to his own time, the computer sounded an alarm again.
=/\= “Waring. The Federation ship will be in visual range in thirty seconds.” =/\=
“Guess we’ll have to do this on the fly,” Jackson said out loud. He activated the impulse engines and took the shuttle on a trajectory that kept the Sun directly between him and the Columbia. When he was sure that the primitive sensors couldn’t scan him, Jackson jumped to high warp. Once the computer was done making the adjustments, he dropped out of warp and prepared to create a new vortex. “Computer, raise shields and activate the deflector.”
The computer beeped in compliance and did as he said. Shortly after, the same red vortex that he saw earlier formed, and Jackson brought his shuttle into it for the trip back home.
==========
Date: 2398
Location: Deep Space Nine, Bajor System
As soon as the shuttle left the event horizon of the vortex, Jackson powered down the deflector and the vortex disappeared. Checking to make sure the shuttle was still functioning normally, he was pleased to see that everything was working well enough. He also scanned and made sure the stars were where they were supposed to be, which they were.
=/\= “DS9 _to _Nautilus.” =/\=
Jackson answered the hail. “_Nautilus _here.”
=/\= “Are you ok, lieutenant?” =/\=
“I’m in one piece. I’ll have a report when I come aboard.”
=/\= “Roger, Nautilus. You’re clear for landing pad C. When you get aboard, report to the main conference room.” =/\=
“Roger, _Nautilus _out.” Jackson closed the line and brought the shuttle down to a rest in the appropriate landing pad. Once the shuttle was shut down and he told Lieutenant JG Barbara McCoy about the problems he had, Jackson headed up to the conference room. When he got there, he saw Commander LaRose standing with two men in black clothing.
“Ah, there you are, lieutenant,” LaRose said. “I’m glad you made it back in one piece. These two gentlemen are Agents Lucsly and Dulmur from the Department of Temporal Investigations. They have some question for you, and once they’re done, I’d like to speak with you as well.”
“Y-yes, ma’am,” Jackson nervously replied. He sat down at the table and the two black-clad men sat across from him as Commander LaRose left. “So…I take it you’re here because of my accidental trip back to Earth,” Jackson said.
“Obviously,” Lucsly replied. “Tell us, lieutenant, what was your reason for visiting 22nd century Earth, particularly that date?”
“It wasn’t my intention,” Jackson replied. “I was testing out a new warp system when a vortex sucked me back to 2161.”
“And you just decided to stay and hang out above the Sun?” Dulmur added.
“I mean, it’s not every day you get a chance to hear Archer’s original speech in person,” Jackson replied. “I took every precaution to make sure I didn’t mess with the timeline. Besides, I figured that I had plenty of…time, to get back home.”
The two DTI men looked up at Jackson, deadpan and without even a hint of a humorous reaction. “Cut the jokes, lieutenant, we’ve heard them all.” Lucsly entered some information into the PADD he was holding. “How can you be so certain that you didn’t screw up the proper timeline?”
Jackson thought. “Well, I guess I truly don’t know for sure.”
Dulmur nodded. “And that’s why we’re here, so why don’t you tell us everything about your little venture into the past.”
Jackson did as they requested. He told them every little thing he could think of regarding what happened, down to the coffee spilling on the console and nearly blowing his cover. Jackson even promised to have all the scans rom the shuttle available to DTI.
After some extensive questioning, Lucsly looked at Dulmur and nodded. “Well,” Dulmur started, “I think that’s all we need. Our investigation will take a few weeks to complete, but I don’t think you have much to worry about based on everything you’ve told us.”
Jackson smiled. “That’s a relief.” He stood up when the other two did. “If there’s anything else you need from me, don’t hesitate to let me know.
“We’ll do that.” As the two men left, Dulmur turned back to Jackson. “So was the speech as moving back then as it is today?”
“More than you can imagine,” Jackson replied.
Dulmur and Lucsly looked at each other and nodded. “Lucky you.”
Tales from the Captain’s Table – How Jack Met Michele – Part 2
Starfleet Academy Flight Range Station - Saturn
Stardate 1003.9 February 2, 2259)
Two figures stood at attention in Commander Janice Redfern's office. They were dressed in the Starfleet environmental suits, blue and red hoses hanging from the silvery suits. Each figure held the bucketlike helmet in their right hands.
"Idiot."
"Reckless."
"Amateur."
"You son of a-"
The doors behind them swished open and Redfern strode, breezing right past the two spacesuited figures, turning to face them.
"Yeagher and Zarkon squadrons not working and playing well together," Redfern said sternly, her face almost as red as her uniform tunic. "Why am I not surprised?"
Cadet Michele Morales was the first to speak up.
"I was going for a speed record on the flight course and this-
Cadet Jack Conrad did not let her finish.
"We were practicing squad formations and she-"
"-ignoramus brings in his goon squad-"
"-jinks her trainer right into my pattern-"
"-right into my flight path-"
"-and I nearly-"
"Shut the hell up, both of you!"
Redfern's declaration stopped both cadets cold. The stood at rigid attention, both stonefaced, looking straight ahead.
"Yes, ma'am," they both muttered quietly.
The commander stood for a few moments regarding Jack and Michele with tightly pursed lips and narrowed eyes.
"You are both suspended from the flight range a period of four weeks."
"Commander!" Jack protested.
"Stow it, Conrad!" Redfern got right in Jack's face, nose to nose as she spit the words out. She looked toward Michele with a jerk. "You want to add anything, Morales?"
"No, ma'am." Michele said, casting an icy sideways glance at Jack.
Redfern rounded her desk and dropped into the chair.
"Your squadrons will continue to have access to the range, but if either of you so much as boards a shuttle for Saturn, so help me God, I will have your asses. I kid you not. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," each replied softly.
"Can't hear you! Is that clear, cadets?"
"Yes, ma'am!" they answered again like a pair of fearful plebes on their first day.
"Dismissed."
Once they were out of office and outside the earshot of Redfern’s yeoman, Michele turned on Jack.
“You’re a dangerous flyer, Conrad.” She looked like she wanted to throw her helmet at him, but what little shred of good judgment she still had was prevailing. “I’m gonna break your record, and I’m not afraid of you. You’ll kill yourself before you get to take another shot at it.”
Jack scoffed. “Four weeks off the range. You’ll get rusty, sister. My record’s not going anywhere.” He turned and walked away from her. “See you in a month, Morales.”
Michele fumed, staring daggers at Jack’s form retreating down the corridor.
“Julie Benson says you’re lousy in the sack!”
Bozeman, Montana – Earth
Stardate 9467.9 (July 2, 2292)
“That is not what you said, honey.”
Michele smiled and batted her eyes. “I was cleaning it up for Cap.”
“My innocent flower.” Jack rolled his eyes as he sipped from his drink.
“Actually,” Cap said as he stroked his chin, “I’m trying to figure out what caused you to get together before you both graduated.”
Ned Hennessy and Chima Sotonwa burst out laughing, the libations clearly having done their work.
“God, no, man!” Chima bellowed as the laughs gradually subsided. He wiped tears from his eyes. “Those shenanigans went on until graduation. There were rumors that the superintendent approved their commissions just to get the two of them off campus and out of her hair.”
“It sure wasn’t because we were the best and the brightest,” Jack offered.
“Speak for yourself, Conrad,” Michele said, jabbing him playfully.
Ned raised an index finger. “Speaking as the actual best and brightest of the table, I resent that.”
Jack tossed a pleading look to Cap. “See what I put up with?”
Cap, chuckled and shook his head. “The perils of greatness, I’m sure. So if you didn’t get together at the Academy, what happened?”
“Take it away, my love,” Jack said, rising from his seat. “Mister Conrad needs to go to the little captain’s room.”
As Jack departed, Michele offered his vacant seat to Cap.
“We weren’t quite the bitter enemies that we made ourselves out to be,” she told him, grimacing as she made the admission. “If I’m being honest, he’s unimaginably sexy when he gets haughty. Having said that, no one – not even me – would have predicted what happened the night before graduation…”