First episode of Total Drama Enterprise! This story, will not be in crossovers mainly because it will see more action here than there. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this story, as it will be my next big story! Read my profile to get the main idea of the story. Please Review, and by all means enjoy the story!
(Edited Version Entry Comment)
Hey guys, I'm editing and fixing this story. Hopefully you'll think this is better, as I do. I've made some changes to help further the plot, but most of it is just details so not to worry. Enjoy!
I do not own Total Drama, its characters, or Star Trek.
Out in the cold, expansive, loneliness of space the NCC-1483 Lancaster held its position around Cleuerilia IV. The planet was mostly uninhabited, but the NCC-1483 Lancaster had been sent to investigate the planet because of a distress signal that came, from another Federation ship; The NCC-5353 Harmony.
Reports have stated that the Harmony had been on a scientific expedition in the area when communications between Starfleet and the Captain of the ship had been cut. As a result, Starfleet issued one of their best and brightest captains to investigate the area.
After having his science officer search for any signs of the ship for about the 10th time, Captain Donovan Holbach sighed heavily in his chair. He and his crew had only just arrived a day ago, but he was already getting restless. He ran his hand through his jet black hair and stared at the monitor facing the front of the bridge. Outside, he could see nothing but the vast red color of Cleuerilia IV and the pitch black of the space around it. Small meteors circled around their ship, occasionally bouncing off the reflector shields that protected the ship from collisions with said meteors.
Impatience began to grip his mind as he began tapping his foot on the smooth metal floor beneath his boots. He had been circling this god forsaken planet for what seemed like an eternity. He would rather have been on patrol around the federation border, like some other federation ships did. Keeping the borders safe from those of the likes of Klingons and Romulans, but he had been given command of an exploratory ship, and received special orders from Admiral Darwin himself to investigate the area.
Captain Donovan's last ship, The NCC-1738 Monolith had been severely damaged in a battle with the Klingons some time ago, along the Klingon border. After losing his ship, Admiral Donovan commended him for his bravery in battle, and had him re-assigned to the Arcadian. Much to his disappointment, however, he was not going to go back into battle, rather he was going to go on a five year mission, to explore strange new worlds, seek out new civilization, and boldly go where no man has gone before.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the scientific, adventurous type. Donovan liked to know what he was up against, and who he was fighting. Going into this situation with little to no information on what happened made him uneasy, whether there was an enemy or not. Just then, his train of thought was interrupted by his communications officer trying to get his attention,
"Captain, I've got something here…" He reported, keeping the earpiece to his ear. Cpt. Holbach stood out of his chair and walked across the bridge to where his communications officer, Dewitt Wakeman waited for his arrival. Dewitt was actually a quiet sort of man, but when it came to work, he took his job very seriously, and would not hesitate to inform the Captain of any important information that might come in handy. Right now was one of those times. Donovan placed his hands next to Dewitt's monitor and looked at the screen and back at the officer.
"What is it Dewitt?"
"A distress signal sir. It seems to be emitting from some of the wreckage. We're lucky it is still intact. It is only audio, however."
"Can you patch it through?"
"I can try sir."
"Play it." Donovan ordered.
"Yes sir." Dewitt pressed a button on his dashboard, and for a moment all anyone could hear was static. Slowly, the static began to lessen and human voices could be distinguished.
"This is an emergency broadcast to any nearby Federation Vessels! NCC-5353 Harmony has been severely- (There was some explosive noises in the background as the message broke up a little) Shields are almost offline! After sending a search party down to Cleuerilia IV, the captain and a few of our security team were attacked. I'm not sure by what, because we haven't had time to question them, but we brought *static* back aboard, and sent them to the med bay, but without his command, I'm not sure what to do! We are currently being attacked by a federation ship! We've *static* to hail them, but they give no response! *Static* the computer says that it's the NCC-13… (the static increases and the ships number code and name are lost in the static.)
"I'm losing it sir. The transmission was pretty banged up." Dewitt informed him.
"Can you get it back?" Captain Donovan wondered.
"I'm trying…hold on…" Dewitt twisted the frequency knobs on his dashboard until the transmission came back.
"The computer *static* us that there are life forms aboard! Why are they attacking us! This is a federation ship dammit! They're firing on *static* of their own! (a second explosion occurs in the background and shouting Is heard as the crew of the ship runs about) If anyone hears this, report this to *static* headquarters immediately! I'm initiating Code *static increases and the numbers the speaker pronounces are un-distinguishable* I repeat, this is a rogue federation ship! (Another explosion occurs from the background and the transmission comes to an end)
Officer Dewitt looked up at Cpt. Donavan, as if asking him what to do next.
"A rogue Federation ship? Contact Starfleet headquarters and send them the transmission. I also want it stored on the ship's logs." Donovan ordered.
"Yes sir."
"Dewitt…?" Donovan began, "Do you think that whatever attacked the Harmony's search party down on Cleuerilia IV could also have something to do with the attack on the Harmony itself?" he wondered.
"I'm not sure sir. We could beam a security team down there to investigate, the planet's surface seems to lack oxygen, however, so they will need pressure suits."
"Noted. Helmsman, get us within transporter range of Cleuerilia IV. I'm going down to the surface with a landing party; 3 security officers and Lt. Carter will assist me in searching for any information regarding the Harmony's attack." He ordered. At the mention of his name, Lt. Carter, a brown haired man with a young face and blue eyes stood up from his chair on the bridge and met Cpt. Holbach by the elevator. Dewitt nodded and resumed his actions at his station. Before Cpt. Holbach lowered the lift, he called out to Dewitt,
"Dewitt, you have the bridge." Dewitt nodded towards him and walked over to the captain's seat to resume command of the ship in Cpt. Holbach's absence.
When they were both safely in the elevator, he took hold of the lift's handle, and began his decent with Lt. Carter at his side. For most of the ride, they stood next to each other in silence as they neared the shuttle bay. Midway through, Carter turned towards him curiously,
"Why are we going down to the surface sir? We scanned the surface and saw no such life forms, leading to my question, why do we need the security officers with us?" Donovan frowned at his officer's question.
"I'm not sure Lieutenant, but I've got a bad feeling about this. Whatever had destroyed the NCC-5353 Harmony probably left the sector. As of right now, I'm not sure what we're getting into here. Sounds like something the Klingon's would do, those war thirsty bastards…I'll bet they had something to do with this."
Lt. Carter remained silent, letting the Captain rant about his hatred for the Klingons. Back in his engagement with them back on the Monolith, he had lost many crewmen in battle, and had hated the race ever since.
"But I'm most likely wrong." Captain Holbach continued. "Whoever was speaking during that transmission stated that they were attacked by a federation ship. Why? I don't know. However, this is making me feel that we're coming across something new here…" Cpt. Holbach explained his thoughts to Lt. Carter. Carter thought silently for a moment before the lift doors thrust open, leading to a large room where the hanger was. Small shuttles lined the inner hangers, ready for use. One or two were out of their hanger, getting a tune up or fixed. As the pair stepped into the room, they easily spotted a group of security officers and a space shuttle that was prepped and ready for them.
As they neared, one of the security officers stood forward,
"Sgt. Brenden Kiani reporting. I'm in charge of this security landing crew. If you need any of my men to do anything, just say the word." He informed the captain. Donovan patted the Sgt. On his shoulder and kept a serious face.
"Noted." He said before climbing aboard, with Carter behind him and the other security officers following suit. Before long, they were all suited up in their pressure suits and strapped to their seats. Captain Holbach sat in the cockpit next to Carter, and spoke into the intercom, "Do we have clearance to launch?" Donovan called up to the bridge through the coms. There was a slight rustling before he heard Dewitt's voice push through,
"Yes sir. We're opening the shuttle bay doors. Good luck sir."
"Thanks, hopefully we won't need it." Just as he had said, the shuttle bay doors began opening up for the shuttle to take off. All of the surrounding crew members who were not inside, and were working on the shuttles were saved from the dark endless space by the oxygen field that surrounded the ship. The shuttle began to hover slightly as Carter began to maneuver it out of the ship. As he cruised his way towards the opening, he leaned towards Donovan, all the while keeping his eyes on the dashboard,
Donovan stared at the window as Cleuerilia IV became closer and closer. Its desert like winds could practically be seen from orbital view. Nevertheless, Carter brought the ship down, pushing through the planet's atmosphere.
"Sir, there seems to be a human settlement nearby on the surface." Carter reported after looking at the monitor screen in front of him that displayed a local map of the area.
"Hm. Dewitt, does the computer have any Starfleet records of any human based settlements on Cleuerilia IV?" Captain Holbach asked through the intercom.
"I'll investigate it now. Give me a few minutes and I'll have the information for you." Dewitt responded. Carter piloted the small shuttle and finally landed it on a small flat piece of land outside a small human settlement. Readings confirmed that the atmosphere was not breathable, and that space suits were advised. Before opening the shuttle door, everyone put on their suit's helmets and readied up for the environment that awaited them outside the shuttle door.
"Ready?" Captain Holbach asked towards the crewmen in the shuttle. Each of them nodded, awaiting his go. Donovan turned back towards the shuttle door and pressed a button on the wall next to it. Slowly, with a slight hissing sound, the shuttle door opened, revealing the sandy, barren land before them. A small sandstorm was brewing in the area, making it hard to see. Donovan flipped on the flashlights on his helmet. The others followed suit.
"Why didn't you tell me there was going to be a sandstorm?" Cpt. Holbach said Carter.
"The planet's atmosphere was interfering with our instruments. You're lucky I got any information out of it. Most of it was from the computer and Starfleet logs." Carter replied.
"I guess we'll just have to deal with it. Alright everyone! I just want a quick sweep of this settlement. Keep your motion trackers on so you don't get lost in the storm. I don't think our suits can withstand this sort of weather for too long, so report back to me ETA 10 minutes. Report anything that you find through coms. Let's get this done and over with." With a nod of his helmet, Donovan and Carter walked towards the nearest building while the other three officers separated; Sgt. Brenden by himself and the other two together.
As Donovan and Carter entered through a small metal tunnel, Dewitt called Cpt. Holbach through the coms,
"Sir, I have that information you requested."
"Let me hear it." Donovan replied as he and Carter found themselves face to face with a giant metal door that swung open using the simple keypad in front of them. Carter easily hacked through the system and the pair watched as the door swung open.
"According to Starfleet Records, there were quite a few established settlements on Cleuerilia IV. The planet is rich with plutonium and iron within its crust, thus causing the interest of many businesses. It seems to be mostly a mining planet, but I haven't got much more information than that sir." Dewitt reported.
"Understood. Keep me updated."
"Yes sir."
Donovan and Carter stepped through the metal door and into a dusty room, which looked like it had once been inhabited. The two men began wandering about the house, searching for anything that peculiar when Donovan heard Carter call his name. Donovan rushed over to the room Carter was in to see him leaning over a small bed with a young man in it. When he got closer, he could see a strange looking mask covering the person's mouth and nostrils, and tracing down the person's neck to the back, where two tubes wrapped around and inserted themselves in the back of the neck.
"What the…? Dewitt…we've found something down here…" Donovan spoke into the coms. Carter was inspecting the patient. It was a man, around the age of 20. His hair seemed to be turning gray, oddly, and his limbs were skinny and weak looking. Before Donovan could tell him to stop, Carter gripped the mask around the man's face and injected a vial into its side, and began to withdraw a sample, presumably from its blood.
"Next time you do something, tell me first." Donovan grunted as he watched carter run the vial of blood through a small handheld computer. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to identify the species. If it's in Starfleet's logs, it'll tell me what this is. If not…well then we'll have to find out by ourselves exactly what…this is." Carter explained.
"Hm." Donovan hummed as he watched Carter process the sample.
"Interesting…this mask is obviously organic, yet its blood sample doesn't come up on the database."
"Meaning we haven't discovered it yet." Donovan finished. "Alright, let's conceal it and bring it back on board for investigation. Seal it in that metal container over there," Donovan ordered, pointing to a small metallic box in the corner of the room. "I'll go check their computer logs. Maybe they have some information on the N.C.C-5353 Harmony's disappearance. If you find anything, report to me, and I'll send the information to Starbase when we get back on the ship. Let's try not to linger here too long…this place is…unnerving." Donovan concluded before exiting the building. When he set foot outside, he instantly caught sight of the metallic satellite that was atop what he guessed was the official building around the settlement. He was walking towards it when his comms roared to life,
"Captain! Captain you better come quick! Something strange is happening to one of the citizens over here!" Donovan looked around and could see one of the security officers waving to get his attention. He sprinted over to the security officer and followed him inside the nearby building. Inside, the other security officer was watching the citizen intently. This one was a woman, around her 30's, and still had the mask around her face. Her eyes were closed as she began to wander around the room, almost aimlessly.
"What the…" Cpt. Holbach muttered as he stared at the spectacle. "Carter you there?"
"Yes Captain?"
"We've got some unusual movement by one of the citizens. Keep your distance from that one in the building alright? Not sure if they're friendly, confused, or hostile. Keep me posted on what happens."
"Yes sir." When he finished his conversation with Carter, he walked over to the security officer which had called him over.
"How long has she been like this?" He asked. The guard shrugged,
"It's been about 2 minutes. It's weird…like she's trying to sense her environment or something…"
"Sir? Should I report this to the ship?" The other guard asked. Donovan nodded while keeping his eye on the walking woman. This certainly was strange. Could this have something to do with the attack on the Harmony?
Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes and thrust herself towards the security officer that was contacting the ship. He was too occupied with calling the ship that he didn't even see her coming. Her impact sent him spiraling towards the wall, cracking his helmet. The impact immediately killed him, as the glass shards penetrated his skull through his brain. Donovan and the other security guard nearly fell back in shock as they fumbled for their phasers. The woman began to run towards them when a shot hit her from the side, sending her flying into a table. Donovan and the other security guard watched as Sgt. Brenden appeared from the side, wielding a phaser rifle. Donovan quickly remembered Carter, and called him on the comms.
"No response from Carter! I'm calling the ship; we're going to beam out of here, ASAP. I don't want to risk any more casualties!" Donovan said as the three ran out into the open street of the small settlement. The other security guard pulled the other guard's carcass along with them to beam up. After a moment, Donovan cursed. His sensors could not reach the ship because of the storm.
"I can't contact the ship! The storm seems to be thickening!" Donovan said aloud. He looked about him and spotted the building that he and Carter ventured into moments before. "I'm going to get Carter, Brenden, come with me." He ordered as he began to jog towards the building. The sand began to thicken around him and he could barely make out the silhouette of the building.
"Ensign Gavin, keep post out here." Brenden ordered as he and Cpt. Holbach entered through the metal door.
"But sir I-"
"That's an order Ensign. We'll be back momentarily." Donovan said before the other two slipped inside. The room was just as Donovan had left it before talking with Carter. The two crept through the abandoned halls of the building as they searched for their missing comrade. Just as they walked into the main living room where Donovan had left him, he was met with an unnerving sight. Carter stood, almost zombielike in the middle of the room wearing the mask around his face. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he turned towards them. The man it had previously been on had deteriorated into nothing but dust. The metal box that Donovan had ordered carter to seal the creature in was lying open on the floor.
"Carter…Is that you? Carter report!" Donovan shouted. Carter stood silently, not saying a word.
"Judging from our last encounter with one of these…things, I think we should just shoot him." Brenden said, raising his phaser rifle.
"Dammit Brenden! He is one of our crew! Put the gun down now!"
"But sir!"
"That's an order!" Brenden wasn't listening to him, as his eyes seemed focused elsewhere. Donovan followed his gaze and noticed that they were no longer alone. Donovan had been so into their argument that he did not notice the others in the room. It seemed like that a dozen more figures had appeared around them as he was arguing. The security guard from before stood along with the zombielike citizens. Just like all of the others, every one of them had that mask on their faces.
"What on Earth…"
Brenden didn't wait. He instantly pulled the trigger, firing a blast right into the face of Carter. The shot blew right through his space suit helmet, sending fragrant of glass through his skull and eyeballs, yet avoiding his mask. The rest of the shot burned a small hole through his nose, leaving a bloody hole in his face.
Cpt. Holbach didn't wait either. He pulled his pistol from his side and began firing rapidly at the oncoming horde. One by one, he shot their faces into oblivion, but they continued to advance. It seemed as if they were incapable of feeling pain.
In seconds they were only a few yards from where the two were making their final stand. As they neared, Brenden began shouting curses as they advance, spitting at them and firing round after round into their bodies, sending blood and body parts flying all over the walls, splattering blood across it like it was some sort of abstract art piece you would find from Salvador Dali.* Donovan pulled out his communicator from his pocket and flipped it open, hoping to at least get a signal from the ship. While firing his pistol, he managed to hear Dewitt's voice through the other end,
"Finally, a connection! Dewitt! Listen to me! Do NOT come down to Cleuerilia IV's surface! Something down here has turned the *he grunts pushing one of the citizens off of him* citizens hostile! Carter, Gavin, and the other security officer are dead! Can you beam us up?" he pleaded. Dewitt fumbled on the comms to get the transporter room.
"Transporter room! Beam them up! Now!" Dewitt called into the ships intercom.
"Hold on, we're having trouble differentiating between the landing party and the hostiles." He flipped open his communicator, "The transporter room is having trouble, stand by! We'll have it ready in a minute!"
Meanwhile, Brenden and Cpt. Holbach were mere feet away from the advancing hostiles.
"Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!" Donovan shouted as he began kicking away at the citizens. They were practically on top of them now. Just as they were being transported to the ship, they both felt the citizens grab at their mouths.
Dewitt ran into the teleported room where the Captain and what remained of the landing party stood with their backs turned. "Sorry about the malfunction, are you two alright? What happened down there?" He asked hastily, as he could not see their faces as they were turned around. Slowly, the two men looked straight up at the walls in front of them, and slowly turned towards Dewitt.
They were wearing masks. The masks.
Starfleet Academy: Graduation day for the latest Starfleet Graduates
Noah stood in the crowd of students, completely bored out of his mind as he listened to the old Colonel Jonas continue about their responsibilities on the ship that they would be assigned to, and how their life would take a dramatic turn when they boarded it. He kept going on about how their lives would change, whether it was for the better or the worse he didn't know. When he finally finished speaking, he called for a moment of silence for those who had died in the line of duty protecting the peace in space. Everyone stood motionless in the courtyard, listening to the cool summer breeze blow against the green leaves of the trees that outlined the courtyard.
When they finished giving a moment of silence for those who they had lost, Noah sighed heavily and sat back down. The only reason he had signed up for Starfleet academy was because his father had forced him to enlist. His father, Captain Donovan Holbach was one of Starfleet's best and brightest captains. He had fought in numerous battles, and kept most of his crew alive while in the fighting. One day, when Noah had just turned 19, his father had sat him down in his living room, and had given him a talk about how he felt it was Noah's duty to follow in his footsteps. Of course, Noah protested coming back with snarky remarks and other sly comebacks to keep from being enlisted, but his father wouldn't budge. Captain Donovan Holbach was a hard man, and was quite serious when it came to the line of duty. Eventually, he got Noah to enlist, and after 4 years of training, here he was, waiting to be assigned to a ship.
Colonel Jonas then thanked the new Starfleet members in front of him, and instructed them to get into lines that they were assigned before entering the assembly. Each new recruit was given a small card with a number on it, which would lead them to a gate in the lobby of the Starfleet Academy building. Noah received number 5, referring to gate 5. With that, Colonel Jonas congratulated them, and all of the students saluted him before cheering about their success. Noah didn't cheer.
After they all cheered their achievement, they moved over to their nearby families that were watching the assembly. They all gave hugs and kisses, and talked about what ships they hoped to be assigned to. Noah looked over the line of parents before his eyes landed on his mother, standing alone…without his father by her side. He slowly walked over to her and hugged her. When they broke their hug, she had tears running down her face.
"Noah, I'm so proud of you. I'm sorry your father couldn't come…you know he's always working." She said sadly. Noah scoffed,
"Yes. I'm sure he's working real hard as he and his crew relaxes on Cleuerilia IV's surface, enjoying the solitude without his annoying son around." Noah said flatly as he rolled his eyes.
"Noah, don't be like that. It wasn't his choice to be assigned there, he was ordered to investigate the area by Admiral Darwin himself! He didn't have a choice in the matter." His mother protested. Noah still wasn't impressed by his mother defense.
"Give me a break. He's a high ranking captain in Starfleet. I'm quite sure that if he said 'My son's graduation is tomorrow, I should attend' they would allow him." Noah's mother sighed.
"Noah, that's ridiculous. Do you know how many officers would be off duty if that was the case? Trust me when I say that he loves you with all his heart."
"Certainly doesn't feel like it."
"Noah."
"What?"
"He does love you. Now, go out there…go out there and make us proud." Noah remained where he was standing for a moment before his mother spoke up again, "Noah please…do it for me…" his mother pleaded, tears forming at the edges of her eyes again. Noah sighed and hugged her once again, fearing this might be the last time he saw her for quite a while, before walking off with the rest of the crowd to where his assigned gate was supposed to be. He kept staring back at his mother as he entered the building. As soon as he lost sight of her dark black hair with that small tinge of red in it, he kept his focus on the gate he was supposed to get to. He walked along with the crowd of excited young graduates as they all found their gates.
Noah scanned the long expansive hallway until his eyes landed on a metal gateway with the yellow letter 5 flashing on top of it. He sighed, looked at his card, and began making his way over to it, with his small pack of possessions on his back. When he finally arrived at the gate, he stood in line with his official form of acceptance that would allow him through the gate and to his future ship. As he waited on line, a rather short young man with light brown hair and light blue eyes walked up behind him with a wide grin on his face. Noah completely ignored his existence, while focusing on getting through the line and finally getting on his ship. To his great malcontent, the young man tapped on his shoulder excitedly. Noah turned around slowly with squinted eyes, obviously annoyed at the man's tapping.
"What?" he asked in a monotone voice.
"See that girl over there?" he said pointing to his left. Noah followed his finger to a girl standing on their same line, with white skin and black hair that had hints of blue dyed in it. She looked annoyed to be here, just like Noah, and was doodling in a pocket sized sketchbook. Noah looked back to the young man with an uninterested look.
"Yeah." He said. The young man elbowed him jokingly and grinned,
"Isn't she hot?" he said. Noah became even more annoyed. If there was one thing he hated, it was an idiot that thought he was a ladies man, which this boy seemed to be. He had no muscles, was quite scrawny (much like himself), and even had a gap between his two front teeth to top it off.
"I could care less about what she looks like." Noah said before turning back around, hoping that it would end the conversation there. Again, it seemed as though fate was against him today, as the young man then walked in front of Noah with a raised eyebrow.
"Seriously man? C'mon don't you think she's like a 9 or 10 on the hotness scale?" Noah looked at him with downcast eyes.
"No, I don't think she even registers on myscale." Noah said sarcastically, hoping that the man would realize that there was no scale for Noah. Instead, the man smiled and put his arm around his shoulder.
"I know right! She's way past a 10, who am I kidding! Name's Cody by the way!" He said sticking out a hand to shake with Noah. Noah stared at the hand in front of him for a minute before reluctantly shaking his hand. If this guy was going to be on the same ship as him (which he was), then Noah would need someone to talk to while he was on it.
"Noah." He said plainly. Cody grinned before staring back at the girl with the black and blue hair.
"I have to say, the uniforms that Starfleet hands out to female cadets is quite…fitting…" Cody grinned as he admired the slightly short skirt uniform that the woman was wearing. Noah rolled his eyes. Not only was he a geek, but a total pervert.
"Think I'm gonna go have a chat with her, be right back." He said before straightening his posture and strolling over to the girl. Noah watched him go and frowned. There was no way that this girl would even look at Cody. Noah had taken a good look over him, and he was not exactly one's prince charming.
Cody walked up to the side of the girl and stood there awkwardly for a moment before turning towards her,
"So, you're going to be a member of the same ship as me huh? Nice to know we'll have such a pretty woman aboard!" Cody said flirtatiously. The girl stared at him for a minute with an uninterested look before grinning.
"Yes, and it will be good to know we'll have a man candy such as yourself on board to stare at." Noah instantly knew that she was being sarcastic, but Cody however didn't seem to catch on. He grinned and he seemed to be quite proud of himself.
"Well thank you! You know, we should hang out some time! Care to give me your number?" The girl's smirk slowly returned to her uninterested look as she realized that this boy didn't get that she wasn't interested in him. She merely turned away from him and began talking to another girl that was in line with her. At first, Cody just stood there, unsure of what happened. He then turned back towards Noah, and walked over to his previous spot in the line with his eyes glued to the floor. Noah worked hard to stifle a chuckle after watching that hilarious display.
"Haha, um *Noah clears his throat* so how did it go Casanova?" Noah said letting out a small fit of laughter after he finished. Cody glared at him and crossed his arms before a frown found its way back onto his face.
"What did I do wrong? She seemed happy at first and then she seemed mad at me for no good reason! Women, I just don't understand them." Cody wondered. Noah's laughter ended and he realized how oblivious his new friend was. He didn't seem to understand sarcasm. Noah leaned to one side and crossed his arms.
"Listen, I can't believe that you're asking me for advice on this, but from what I saw she was being sarcastic when she said you were eye candy. She obviously isn't your type."
"What do you mean I'm not eye candy? I'm handsome." Cody boasted.
"I'm not even going to answer that." Noah said flatly. Cody was about to respond when he realized it was finally his turn to hand the official his form. The man looked it over and then looked back at Cody,
"First Officer Apprenticeship on the NCC-1879 Arcadian. Looks like you'll be shadowing Captain Wyatt…good luck with that. Welcome aboard." The man handed Cody a pass and Cody nodded and followed some of the other graduates to a shuttle that would eventually fly them to the shuttle bay of the Arcadian. Noah took a step forward after watching Cody walk off. Noah handed the man the form, and after looking at both it and him, the man handed Noah his pass.
"Navigation Officer Apprenticeship * on the NCC-1879 Arcadian. Nice to see that you're following in your father's footsteps Noah. Welcome aboard." He said rather routinely. Noah accepted the pass and ran after Cody. He finally caught up to him and elbowed him in the side.
"Looks like we're going to be on the same ship together. I look forward to working with you." Noah said. Putting aside Cody's annoying traits, he would need a friend on this ship, and he wasn't going to turn down a perfect opportunity to be friends with Cody. Cody smiled as the two entered into the space shuttle. They took their seats next to each other and waited for the rest of the shuttles passengers climbed aboard. When the seemed to be completely filled except for a seat besides Noah, an officer entered the cockpit and ordered them to raise the ramp. The pilot acknowledged his order and began to raise the ramp.
"Wait! Wait damn you, I'm supposed to get on!"
Noah stared through the small slit that he had left as the ramp continued to rise. A girl with mocha colored skin and dark hair ran as fast as she could to reach the shuttle. Thankfully, the pilot heard her pleas and lowered the ramp once more. The girl climbed aboard, and sat next to Noah, seeing as there were no other seats taken.
Noah stared at her as she sat down. She had dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders, and piercing brown eyes. She wore what they all currently wore, the cadet's graduation uniform, and seemed to be struggling in it. Noah looked away and tried to be concerned about something else. He had had enough social action for one day and just wanted to sleep in his quarters when they finally arrived.
The officer had returned and glared at the girl, looking rather annoyed before signaling for the pilot to take off again. This time, there were no other late passengers to interrupt, and the shuttle took off towards its destination.
Noah's stomach moved to his throat as the shuttle lifted off. He instantly felt sick to his stomach, and wished that the pilot would take a steadier approach to reaching their destination. He was instantly reminded of his times at the amusement parks with his family, and often getting sick on most of the rides. He was especially not good at going on the one ride that went up and down on a giant metal pole. Often it would send the contents of his stomach flying around until they exited his mouth. Noah shuddered at the thought of it, and clutched his stomach.
"Are you going to be ok?" he heard a voice ask. Noah looked to his right to see the girl staring at him, looking concerned.
"I don't do well with this kind of transportation." He said. At this, the girl grinned and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well you better get used to it, cause where we're going, there aren't any barf bags." She said. Noah instantly felt the need to retch when she said 'barf' and his eyes darted back and forth between the girl and Cody. Thankfully, he felt the need die back down suddenly, and he felt a little less than decent again.
"No *gulp* no need to worry…brought my own…" Noah said sarcastically. The girl suddenly looked repulsed.
"Well just make sure you don't go on me." She said, inching away from him a little. Noah rolled his eyes,
"I think you're safe." The girl returned to her normal sitting position again, and smiled, apparently satisfied that Noah would make sure not to empty his stomach on her.
"My names Courtney. Courtney Dilucca I'm a scientific officer working for Captain Wyatt on the bridge. What's your name?" She asked. For a short moment, Noah felt proud of himself. He'd only been with this group of people for around 2 hours and yet he had managed to already find two friends. This was quite unusual for him.
"Name's Noah Holbach. I'm working on becoming the new the Navigation Officer. I guess we'll be working on the bridge together."
"Holbach? As in Cpt. Donovan Holbach?" She asked. Noah sighed heavily and nodded, "Wow, you must be so proud of your father!" She said. Noah grunted,
"Not really. He probably could care less about what happens to me. I'm almost positive he wouldn't even know if I died or not." Courtney looked at him shocked,
"But aren't you a little proud? I've heard great things about him!" Noah scoffed.
"Sure you have. Can we not talk about this right now? I'm not really in the mood." Noah said plainly. Courtney looked off-putted by his sudden ending of the conversation, and sighed.
"Well, He seems like such a great guy! I would've loved him as a father."
"What's wrong with your dad?" he asked. Courtney rubbed her arm and turned away.
"Nothing! It's just…um…I…I don't want to talk about it." She said quietly. Noah felt as if he had hit something that he shouldn't have, and quickly turned his gaze away from her, towards the metal grated floor beneath his feet.
It was ironic, how both of them had pulled sensitive strings on each other's families. They had even reached a mutual feeling of not wanting to talk about it. They sat silently like that for quite a while, as the shuttle neared their destination. Noah looked over at Cody, to see him staring at the girl with black and blue hair from before. After he watched him for a minute, Cody noticed that he as staring at her, and instantly began to stare out a nearby window. Noah returned to staring back at the floor for a moment before a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Look! There it is!" He heard Cody tell him. Noah turned in his chair to stare out the window next to him. At first, the light blinded him, and he had to shield his eyes to protect them from the harmful rays of the sun. After a few seconds, his vision cleared up and a ship came into view. It was still in its holding bay, but already Noah could see how massive it was. It was gigantic compared to its surroundings, and looked shiny and new, its grey paint reflecting in the now setting sun. "Constitution Class! Just like Admiral Kirk's ship!" Cody said practically drooling as he stared in awe at the ship. Noah rolled his eyes. Whenever someone wanted to talk about someone that was famous and in Starfleet, they always mentioned Admiral James T. Kirk.
"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that name…"
"Wow! I wonder what the bridge looks like!" Noah was cut off by Courtney as she too stared out the window. The three were not the only ones to stare at their new home. Practically everyone else was staring out their windows in order to get a glimpse. They were like children staring through the window of a candy store. As they did so, the officer on board began telling them information on the ship, and what to do when they arrived in the shuttle bay. According to his instructions, you would follow a certain crew member dressed in Red, Yellow, White, or Blue uniform. Red was for Operations (engineering), Blue was for Sciences, White for medical, and Yellow for Command. The officer then pulled out a card as the shuttle mad a slight but sudden shift. As it did, Noah quickly grabbed onto a nearby railing for support as Courtney laughed.
The officer began reading out names and telling them what colored officer they were to follow. Slowly he worked down the list of names. Cody was eventually told to follow the Command officer (the yellow uniform), and Noah and Courtney were told to follow the Science officer (the blue uniform). Noah was glad that he would be at least with one of his friends on his journey around his new home. He would've preferred Cody, but he couldn't afford to be picky in these situations. Cody on the other hand looked saddened that Noah would not be accompanying him. The shuttle finally neared the rear end of the ship, where everyone could see the hanger doors begin to open. Slowly, the outside landscape was replaced by a wall of metal and other interesting gadgets as they entered the ship.
With a sudden jolt, the shuttle landed on the hanger bays floor, shaking the passengers inside. Noah lost his breath for a moment when the sudden jolt rang through his body, nearly scaring him to death. He hated it when they did that. Courtney laughed,
"Well, at least it's over right? Oh wait; we still have an entire VOYAGE ahead of us! Don't worry Noah; I'm sure you'll survive." Courtney said, unbuckling herself from her seat. She then stood up, and followed the line of cadets out the door into the shuttle bay. Noah felt Cody tap his shoulder and turned towards him.
"Who was that?" he asked. Noah began unbuckling himself as he responded,
"Her name's Courtney. She's a Scientific Officer." Noah replied; now free of the chairs buckles. He stood up, bending backwards to stretch out his back. After stretching his back, he leaned forward and touched his toes. Cody unbuckled himself and stood up.
"Ooooohhh…I see…you guys…ya know…acquainted?" Cody asked, grinning and raising his eyebrows.
"Shut up. Do you have to be so perverted?"
"What do you mean perverted? In what way am I perverted?" Cody asked, completely confused.
"Never mind. Besides, I barely know her. We literally just met."
"Whatever man." Cody shrugged and followed Noah out the door into the small crowd of cadets waiting to be placed in their groups by the officer. All around them, small crates were being loaded on for their long journey ahead of them. The officer then spoke up, and began placing them in their groups by name. Cody watched as the girl with blue and black hair was placed in the white uniformed group (the medical group). Apparently her name was Gwen. However, Cody was disappointed that she was not in his group, and slugged over to his group when his name was called. Soon after, Noah and Courtney were placed in their groups and began their tour of the ship.
Their officer, whose name was Lt. Kenneth led them around the many halls of their new home. First, he showed them to their new living quarters; a small room with a monitor, a few bits of furniture, and of course a bed. It was basically the same size of a normal dorm room in college. Nothing special, but he would have to live with it for the next five years or so.
Afterwards, he led them to the cafeteria, where they would eat their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was a giant white room with plenty of large tables spread about it. To one side, were several machines that dispensed food of almost any kind. Lt. Kenneth showed them how to use such machines, but also warned them that overuse of the machine would lead to its immediate breakdown, and also a penalty. Then, Lt. Kenneth led them to the engineering room, where the operations group already was giving the tour for their future engineers. Lt. Kenneth pointed out the major parts of the ship, and began to move on. He then led them to the med bay, where a series of beds lined the walls, ready to hold any injured personnel when needed.
Finally, Lt. Kenneth led them to the bridge, where Cpt. Wyatt was sitting in his chair, observing the view on the giant monitor that sat in front of the entire circular room. Small computers lined the outside ring of the room, while the captain's chair and one large desk for two people sat on the inner ring of the bridge. Lt. Kenneth asked Cpt. Wyatt if he could show the new recruits around, and with a quick glance towards them, he nodded.
Lt. Kenneth showed them where their new stations would be on the bridge, and told them the standard protocols in case of emergency. They all knew what to do, thanks to the Kobi Oshi Maru test. The Kobi Oshi Maru test was a test to see how people reacted in times of stress and danger. Noah, Cody, and Courtney had all taken the test, and failed. There was only one person who had ever really beaten the test, and that was Kirk.
But he cheated.
When Noah had taken the test, all of his crew members had died, and the ship was eventually destroyed, ending the simulation. In Courtney's test, half of her crew had died, and she withdrew from battle, leaving the stranded people on the ship they were supposed to rescue to die. Cody had managed to get minimal casualties, but had barely even come close to getting to the ship. He was too afraid to spare his own people in such a situation he knew he would lose.
Finally, Lt. Kenneth finished the tour, and they all returned to their newly assigned quarters. Noah entered his new room, set his bag of belongings on his bed, and sighed.
"I've only been here for 3 hours and I already miss home." He said before lying down on his bed to get some sleep. There was a big day for him tomorrow.
*Salvador Dali*
If you already don't know him, he's a famous abstract artist. If this connection doesn't correctly apply, I'm sorry, but for me it does cause his artwork mostly looks like a bunch of garbage to me. Personal opinion here.
*Apprenticeship*
I'm calling it an apprenticeship because Noah, Cody, Gwen, and Courtney are shadowing in senior officers to eventually replace them.