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JP: Lt. Garcia, Lt. Cmdr. Teller & Flt. Capt. Kells: Rainbow Chariot


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I really loved the JP below.  The three of them really did a stand-up job of setting the scene for the Embassy's transition to the Thor's first mission.  Really well executed writing which gave a great "cinematic" set piece to the send off.  I kept seeing slow sweeping shots of this great starship sliding through space in my mind's eye.

 

Well done gents!

 

 

Quote

 

(( Transporter Room 1, Deck 1, USS Thor ))

With no fuss at all, the transporters delivered Thor’s new command team to its primary transporter room. Aron stepped off the pad first. The room was empty, as was most of the rest of the ship. At this point in the transition, the higher decks of the Thor were deserted, with barely a skeleton crew aboard. That would change soon enough, and their mission would officially begin at 1300, after everyone had beamed aboard. But for now, the ship was theirs, and theirs (almost) alone. Aron turned to the other two with a grin.

 

Kells: Shall we?

 

Teller: With pleasure, sir.  

 

Kells’ grin was infectious and inviting; a smile pinched at Ben’s cheeks as he looked from Kells to Teller, ready to take his first step on the Thor with his new First Officer and Captain. Ben gave a half nod to Teller and then looked at Kells.

 

Garcia: Let’s take it in our stride, sir.

 

The pinch moved from Ben’s smile to his stomach; sure, it was the same Thor, but it was offset and set slightly askance by the unknown of their reassignment. Ben took a breath and steeled himself. Ben’s back straightened with pride as he stepped off the transporter pad following Kells and Teller towards the door. Smoothing down his top with a quick tug of the waist band, Ben gave a nod of thanks to the transporter chief. With the briefest of pauses, Ben strode into the corridor behind the First Officer.

 

(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Thor ))

 

For Lt. Cmdr. Geoffrey Teller, and for many others in his line of work, the bridge of a starship was as close to holy ground as anything came.  Stepping onto this new bridge for the first time, he once again felt a sense of awe washing over him as he tried, and failed, to walk to his station without gawking openly.  He hadn’t realized till just that moment how much he’d missed it.    

 

The clean, modern lines of the bridge were very much different from some of the more spartan ships in the fleet, and the layout of the compartment itself was surprisingly open and spacious.  The enormous viewscreen complimented the effect quite brilliantly, and while Teller knew he was looking at an incredibly detailed holographic projection, his eyes told him he was looking out an open window and into the void itself.  It was immediately intoxicating and, by the time he stood on the small plinth next to the Captain's chair, at the dedicated First Officers station, Geoff was wearing an entirely inappropriate but completely genuine grin.  

 

A few taps on the console gave him an instant and stunningly comprehensive overview of the ship.  The final cargo loading teams were finished and their equipment was in the final stages of being transported.  Within minutes, the ship would be ready to depart.  

 

Teller:  Sir, final boarding operations are in progress.  We should be prepared to cast off on schedule. Mr. Garcia, can you give us a complete engine status please?

 

Geoff could just as easily look up the information on the display in front of him, but this bit of verbal confirmation was a small formality that seemed befitting the situation.  The ship's Second Officer recognized the gravity of the moment and nodded.  

 

Ben nodded. His shoulders straightened at the procedural privilege Commander Teller had offered him. These were the moments that inscribed themselves on a helmsman and his memories. That, and surviving near misses. In three quick, clean swipes, Ben put the helm into split screen mode and scanned the propulsion status feed for any irregularities or inefficiencies. Satisfied, Ben skimmed back through the headline data. Fully apprised, Ben summarised the situation.

 

Garcia: Engine status is go across the board. Thrusters and impulse are online and operational. Warp is calibrated and ready. Looking textbook so far, sir.

 

Geoff smiled as their helmsman snapped off the report.  Around him, the ship felt like a coiled spring, suffused with barely restrained energy.  

 

Teller:  Very well, Mr. Garcia.  Captain, all conventional engine systems are prepared for transit. 

 

Kells: Including the slipstream drive?

 

Garcia: QSD is working through the last leg of warm up. She’ll be ready just before we exit the sandbar - no problems there.

 

Kells: Excellent.

 

The Quantum Slipstream drive was still something of a minor miracle to Teller.  Capable of astonishing speeds for relatively short periods of time, they would make the nearly eight thousand lightyear journey across the Federation, a journey of several weeks at high warp, within days. 

 

Teller:  Slipstream plot is on the board. Once we’re in clear space, we’ll only need two full hops to make it within warp distance of the nebula.  Total journey time should be just over sixty five hours, shipboard.  

 

Aron gave a disbelieving little snort. Not that he didn’t believe it, really. It just seemed so -- unlikely. And yet he was sure that Teller was right, and that they’d be there in less than three days.

 

Across most of Federation space! Aron’s mind boggled.

 

Kells: Flight plan, Lieutenant?

 

Garcia: Full impulse to the sandbar and warp 2 at a push through the spatial corridor itself. Once we’re clear, we can engage QSD and pick up the pace unabated.

 

With a subtle chime, Teller’s console sought his attention.  His eyes skimmed the condensed update from the transporter room. 

 

Teller:  Last transports are occurring now, sir.  Department heads are checking in across the ship and the crew has been fully accounted for. 

 

Kells: Let all department heads know that we’ll set out shortly -- and remind the alpha shift bridge crew that we’ll expect them on the bridge before we do.

 

Meanwhile, Aron had taken a seat in the captain’s chair -- trying it on, so to speak -- but he stood up after a few moments. He wanted to get at the holotable that was one of the bridge’s key features. Even the Invicta hadn’t had something like that.

 

Kells: What can I call up on this display?

 

Ben continued helm preparations, refreshing the sync with stellar cartography to update the intergalactic weather feed as Commander Teller enumerated the system access capacity of the Thor’s Captain’s chair.

 

Teller had studied the specifications of the ship for weeks on his original journey to Duronis II and even though this was his first time aboard, he was already becoming acclimated.  The bridge felt...organic...in a way the more traditional layouts in the fleet simply couldn’t match.  It made for a surprisingly accessible workspace.  He walked across the bridge and tapped a few controls on the holotable, standing to one side so the Captain could clearly observe the results. 

 

Teller: In short, nearly everything sir.  You can summon a display of any of the ship's sensors, internal or external, and have the image rendered in three dimensions.  :: Teller cycled through images - first of the planet below, rendered in exquisite detail, then a synthetic projection of the ships course out of the system::  You can also tap into the ships systems themselves.  :: Teller rotated the display and the image was replaced with a miniature of the Thor herself.  With a few taps on the hologram, he had zoomed in on their starboard impulse manifold, then swept inward, tracing the conduits of the EPS system all the way back to their massive warp core.  

 

Kells: And all of that can be controlled from here.

 

Garcia: Yes Captain. Each accessible system has a pared-down input mode as well.

 

Geoff smiled at the Captain’s veiled enthusiasm.  He was covering it well, but Teller suspected that inside, the man felt like the proverbial kid in the candy shop.  The Thor was incredibly impressive up close in a way a padd full of schematics could never express. 

 

Teller:  It’s all accessible from the controls on your right hand console.  :: He couldn’t resist a smirk:: I don’t think mine does that. 

 

Kells: :: With a happy sigh. :: The benefits of rank, Commander.

 

Garcia: :: Playfully. :: It’s the fleet’s most sophisticated arm rest, sir.

 

Teller: Unfortunately, still no cup holder.  The Starfleet Corp of Engineers must not be getting my letters.

 

Aron nodded slowly. Every bridge he’d been on, whether he was a CO or not, was its respective ship’s brain, but that felt especially true for the Thor. The bridge was a thing of beauty.

 

Kells: There’s nearly everything we need in this room -- and it seems like whatever isn’t here, we can find on this deck.

 

Geoff nodded in agreement.  The modern design of the Vesta class meant that Deck One, traditionally only the bridge and perhaps a few offices and a conference room, now ran nearly half the length of the ship.  Five separate turbolift access points could deposit you anywhere from the front of the Bridge to the very rear of the Strategic Operations sections, or you could beam directly to Transporter Room One, barely 10 meters behind them.  

 

Teller: It’s certainly different from what I’m used to. 

 

Garcia: It’s a large deck, sir. There’s the briefing rooms, command offices and then the bulk of the Strategic Ops Dept.

 

Teller:  I believe there’s also a fairly significant armoury along with the transporter room.  Guess someone felt taking the turbolift down a few decks was wasted time? 

 

Aron shrugged. It was unlike any other ship he’d served on, but he couldn’t argue with expediency.

 

Kells: I’m not going to complain in a crisis. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.

 

Unfortunately, if his years of service had taught him anything, it was that there would always be a crisis. The key was simply to mitigate its severity.

 

Kells: Have both of you shipped out on Thor already?

 

Teller: No sir, I didn’t have the privilege.  I’ve come aboard in the course of my duties a few times over the last week, but that’s been mostly spent in the cargo bays.  This’ll be my first spaceborne journey since I joined this command.  

 

Geoff couldn’t keep a hint of anticipation from creeping into his voice.  It was an effort to keep from rocking on his heels.  

Ben nodded with a tilt of his head.

On the first day of his posting at the Embassy, Ben had reported straight to Admiral Turner on the bridge and jumped into helm while his access codes were still hot. No time for quarters, Ben had squashed and pressed his holdall into the crevice under the helm chair with the heel of his boot. That holdall. The charcoal fabric strap. The struggle to pull it out from under the chair, so that the Yeoman could stow it away – correctly. Commander Allison had organised the tidy up in between finishing off the mission tactical plans. Even now, Ben’s cheeks [...]led with the naivety of his first day aboard the Thor.

Garcia: Out and back with her, sir. :: Ben took a breath. :: Thor was my first voyage out of the Academy.

Ben shifted his weight against the backrest. With helm set forward and cut a step below the viewscreen, Ben lifted his eyes to the standard planetary orbit that had seen him shipped in as a rookie Ensign and now shipped him out as Second Officer. Emotions stirring, Ben braced himself from drifting into the vivid hues of Til’ahn’s atmosphere with his palms at either edge of the helm console. Ben let the moment last a beat longer: he wanted to remember this. 

Once again, Geoff’s console chimed and he skimmed the report.  All stations had checked in and all cargo had been brought aboard and accounted for.  It was time.  

Teller: Sir, all departments have signaled that they are prepared to get under way.  ::A new prompt drew his attention. They were being signaled by the Lokesh City Tower.  As the message read out, Geoff’s grin broadened considerably.:: Sir, The Laudean Defense Force wishes the Thor and her crew gentle tides on our journey.  The Pride of Bondi and several other LDF ships are waiting to take formation with us as an honor guard. They intend to conduct us to the sandbar with the thanks of a grateful world.  

Kells: Let them know we’ll happily accept their escort, and that the best wishes of ship and crew stay with them.

Teller: Aye Sir. ::With a few taps, Teller acknowledged the message and received an almost immediate confirmation.::  Traffic Control reports we are clear to depart at our convenience, sir.  

Kells: Feeling ready, Commander -- Lieutenant?

It was either a small question or an enormous one, depending on your perspective.  For Teller, his answer was the same either way.  

Teller: Yes, sir.  Let’s go see what’s out there.  

Ben cleared his throat and hit the chair’s side latch with his right palm; it depressed and Ben swivelled a quarter turn to face Captain Kells and Commander Teller.  

Garcia: Course set and ready to cast off on your order, Captain.

Aron glanced first at one and then the other. They certainly seemed ready -- as did he, with his wide grin. Maybe it was true that captains weren’t supposed to show the vulnerability of enthusiasm -- but to hell with that, he was excited.

Geoff returned to his station but remained standing at attention.  

Kells: Then let’s do it.

On the captain’s command, the engines engaged and the Thor broke orbit. Under the gentle purr of impulse power, theThor cruised towards her guard of honour as she set out for space beyond the Duronis system, and the new challenges that awaited her there.  As the Pride of Bondi and a squadron of LDF ships glided smoothly into formation around the massive Starfleet craft, each began jettisoning streamers of iridescent gas, which quickly began to swirl around them all, creating a vivid rainbow in their wake.  It seemed that someone within the LDF had been reading up on Norse history.  

When the great Thor left Midgard, it was said he traveled along the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge to Asgard, dazzling in its magnificence.  Now, thousands of years after those words had been written, and thousands of lightyears from the old homes of the Norsemen, Thor was once again traveling the Bifrost in triumph and glory.  

 

[End]

 

==========================================

Lieutenant Ben Garcia

Second Officer/HCO

USS Thor NCC-82607

Author ID number: G239102MR0

 

&

 

Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Teller

Executive Officer

USS Thor

Fleet Captain A. Kells, Commanding

V239509GT0

 

&

 

Fleet Captain Aron Kells

Commanding Officer

USS Thor

V238208LV0

 

 

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