Hi Guys and welcome to something that I have spent the last twenty four hours working on! So, for a little while, I've debated doing a story like this so I just decided fuck it, and went for it. Like I said, I literally started writing this about 24 hours ago, so it's not the best thing I have ever produced, but I really enjoyed writing it and it definitely has gotten me ready to continue writing Class Vs Character, which I need to do!
Anywho, it is a one shot, but I've left it in a place so if I wanted to continue it, I can so let me know what you think and I will see you all tomorrow for chapter 4 of Love, James!
"Commanders Log Stardate 62540.8675. Huh, it's still weird to refer to myself as a Commander, especially this soon into my career, and only at the age of 28. What can I say, I guess the admiralty sees greatness in me…ugh computer delete last sentence" Kendall began, as he pulled himself out of bed, making sure to grab his tablet as he did so. The blonde moved from his bedroom over to the kitchen as he began the next part of the entry.
"Anyway, I've been looking forward to today for quite a while, so I decided to document it so in the years to come, I can remember what today was like. Today I'm being assigned my first first officer posting, and what is adding to my excitement is the fact that I know nothing about where I am going to be posted. I tried to get a hint or two off of my old captain, Captain Swanage, but she didn't seem to let up, only boasting a huge smile instead, so without sounding too big headed, I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be good." He paused again, as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He blew on the cup, hoping to cool it down in some way as he looked around his apartment for what would be one of the final times for a while.
He was unsure of how long his new posting would be, so he wanted to make the most of the little time he had left. The apartment was only small, containing one bedroom, a bathroom and a conjoined kitchen-lounge area, but the few years Kendall had lived there, it had truly become his home. Family photos were hung on the walls, showing him with his mother and sister from a young age, as they ran through the fields in his family home in Wichita, all the way up to a last week when he got his promotion at the United Earth Federation headquarters here in London, with the three of them sporting huge smiles. His father truly would be proud. Taking a sip of his coffee as he stared at one of the photos, he continued.
"Whatever the case, it's safe to say that I am super excited about his opportunity and I am definitely going to make the most of it, learning everything I can about being in command, especially since I aim to be the youngest captain in the UEF. I just hope that my Commanding Officer is nice enough to be an actual mentor to me, otherwise I'm going to have to try and do this alone." He sighed, taking another sip of his coffee, as he considered if he had anything else to say. When he realised that he was pretty much done for the moment, he added "computer, end log" causing a small beep to sound, signalling that it had done so, and that he was free to say what he really wanted. "I just hope I don't fuck this up" he breathed out, finishing the mug of coffee in his hand.
Quickly washing up the mug, the blond made his way into the bathroom, and got himself ready for the day. He showered, making sure to give himself a proper clean and then shaved, getting rid of the small bits of stubble that had gathered around his jaw. The blond really wanted to make the best first impression that he could, knowing that that could make or break his next posting. Once he was finished, he slid on the UEF's uniform, making sure to add his three gold commander pips onto his colour. The uniform wasn't really anything spectacular, but Kendall grown to love it.
The uniform consisted of a black jacket, which from the neck down to the bottom of the shoulders was a different colour depending on discipline. Kendall's was red, which signified either command or a tactical position. There was also gold, which was used for engineering or operations, and a teal for science or medical professions. The UEF used it as a quick way to identify people. On the right hand side of the jacket, just beneath the coloured area was their insignia badge which allowed them to communicate with each other. The UEF's insignia followed the design of the UN's logo, which was the UEF's predecessor. Along with the jacket were black formal trousers, and a pair of black combat-esque boot to complete the outfit. Some officers including Kendall, tended to wear a grey tank top under their jacket, but that was optional.
With the uniform on, and everything set, Kendall left him apartment, taking one final look before he closed the door. While he was excited about this opportunity, a small part of him hoped it wouldn't be too long until he saw his home again.
As Kendall made his way through the bustling streets of London, the blond felt a sense of anxiety loom over him and while he knew that was completely natural in his position, it didn't stop him from becoming subject to it. His prevailing thought was that this post could make or break his future career and the blond started to fret over the simplest of things, such what he if couldn't find his way to the bridge of the new ship, or what if he tripped as he made his way over to his new CO. Knowing the best way to try and calm his nerves, he pulled his earphones from his pocket, allowing a private communicator call. The call was picked up almost immediately, and he already relaxed at the voice he heard.
"Kendall, honey, big day today" his mum said, and Kendall knew that he had woken her up by the sound of her voice.
"I know. I'm sorry to call you so early, I'm just a little nervous" the blond replied, causing him mum to chuckle.
"Don't worry about it honey, I'd rather you ring and calm down than fret about it" she replied, and Kendall knew it was true. Despite the fact that it was only 3:00am in Wichita, Kendall knew that she was being sincere. "Just remember that whatever happens, Katie and I are super proud of you. You've worked really hard for this position, and you're prepared for whatever it throws at you. And if something does go wrong, then learn from it Kendall, use this experience to help better yourself before it's your time to take command." She continued, Kendall nodding along to everything she said. He had told himself this but listening to his mother say it seemed to make it more real. "And trust in your CO, but don't be afraid to offer suggestions if you think something else may work better. Some captains like that you challenge them. I know your father always did. He would be so proud of you Kendall, and I know that he is looking out for you" His mother finished as a small smile formed on Kendall's face.
"Thanks mum, that really helped" he replied, feeling some of the tension releasing from his shoulders.
"No problems honey and remember to give me a call once in a while. You're never too old to talk to your mum, even if it's for five minutes" she stated, causing him to chuckle.
"Of course, I will mum. I've just got to the HQ, so I'll have to go. Wish me luck"
"You don't need it Kendall, you've got your skill to help you. I'll chat to you soon, love you"
"Love you" Kendall replied, the call cancelling as soon as he finished. The blond pulled his earbuds out, as he stared up at the UEF HQ building.
The building seemed to loom over him, it's shadow casting out for miles as if to show its importance to the world. The UEF's logo stood proud on the grass in front of it, and Kendall felt some sense of relief as he looked upon it. This was what he had worked for, and that sense of pride finally dawned upon him.
With a smile on his face, the blond made his through the doors and towards his future career.
When he finally arrived at the admiralty office, Kendall was more excited than nervous at this point and he was ready for his assignment. The assistant had signed him in, telling him that he would be waiting no more than five minutes, and the blond nodded before he took his seat, looking upon some of the model star ships that sat upon the wall, many he recognised.
There was the U.S.S Aragon, famed for making first contact with the Broctor, the first civilisation Human met in space. There was the U.S.S Sentinel, which was the first colony ship to leave the solar system, settling on a planet in Alpha Centauri which was now a thriving world, providing the UEF with a numerous amount of resources. He also took notice of the linage of the U.S.S Javelin, from it's first iteration which pioneered human space travel in 2096 to it's most modern reincarnation, almost three hundred years later. A sense of wonder grew in Kendall, as he wondered if his new ship would ever grace these walls, if his new assignment would every do anything worthy enough to be taught in schools. He didn't get long to ponder the thought however, as Admiral Maddison emerged from his office with a smile on his face as he greeted the young male.
"Commander Knight, it's so nice to see you again" Maddison said, as he and Kendall locked hands in a handshake.
"Admiral Maddison, Sir" Kendall replied, nodding slightly as he did so. With niceties out of the way, the admiral was quick to lead the two of them into his office, one that overlooked the Thames as well as the old parliamentary building and of course, Big Ben. Kendall marvelled at the view as he sat down. It wasn't that he'd never seen the area before but to see if from so high up allowed him to see it in a new light.
"So, I suppose you want to find out what your new posting will be" Maddison joked as he gained Kendall attention once more.
"I am slightly curious sir" Kendall joked back, gracing the admiral with one of his charming smiles as he chuckled. In response to Kendall's reply, the admiral spun the holographic screen around on his desk, finally allowing the blond the privilege of his new assignment.
"The U.S.S Diamond." The Admiral began, as Kendall looked over the specifications of the new ship. "It's a light cruiser and the newest in our fleet of ships. 20 decks, with a crew of 500 personnel, 10 Veteron Beam Arrays and 3 torpedo banks. But probably the biggest difference between this and our other ships is the new flash drive prototype" he continued, as Kendall tapped on the panel showing him the information. "I don't know the specifics myself, but I know that it's probably the most efficient drive have in the fleet, and the ship can sustain a flash of 9.5 which is about two hundred percent faster than any other ship we have. It's cutting edge technology and we want you to help test it. I know it's quite a big responsibility Commander, but we all believe you can do it" he finished, as Kendall finally looked back up at him, completely speechless. The blond was certainly not expecting this. Testing one of the fleets newest ships? That was definitely a privilege and one he wasn't going to let go to waste.
"Of course sir" was all Kendall could think to say at that moment as he allowed the information to dawn on him. "It's…I'm grateful for the opportunity you've given me. Thank you so much" he continued, finally finding his footing when he spoke. "I won't let you down"
"That's the spirit" the admiral replied, flashing him a small as he continued to speak. "The Captain of the Diamond, George Hawk, will fill you in on the details of your current mission and you are to report to him as soon as you are on board. From what I've been told, you'll be one of the last crew members to arrive, so I'd expect a quick departure. There is a shuttle waiting for you at Waterloo Spaceport." Once finished, the admiral stood up causing Kendall to follow suit, giving him another handshake. "And now that all of the official business is done, I'd just like to say that I'm super proud of you son" he began, patting Kendall on the back as he did so. "Your father would be proud of you, Kendall. He spoke highly of you when we served together on the Poseidon together, and you were only ten at the time. 'He's gonna go far' he would always say" Maddison finished with a chuckle, despite how deep the conversation had gotten.
"Thank you, Richard" Kendall replied with a smile, showing his true appreciation to Maddison. The admiral had been a massive help to Kendall throughout his career, providing advice if Kendall needed it, but he never once interfered, letting Kendall achieve every rank he'd gotten by hard work instead of a good word. Knowing it was time to begin his new posting, Kendall made his way out of the office, Admiral Maddison alongside him and when a goodbye and good luck was exchanged between the two of them, Kendall straightened his jacket before making his way out of the UEF headquarters and towards the spaceport where his shuttle was waiting.
A whole new sense of pride filled Kendall as he walked through the streets of London, this time due to the knowledge that he had made such an impression on the admiralty that they had decided to grant him such a special position. There must have been hundreds of commanders to choose from, and Kendall knew that almost all of them would be far more experienced than he was, and yet he was picked for this assignment over them due to nothing more than his skill and commitment, and that thought truly made the blond smile. While walking, Kendall began to commit the city of London to memory. Not only did it shorten the journey for him, but it also allowed to have a sense of home when he boarded the ship. With the Diamond being a new prototype, Kendall could only assume that would mean that the ship would very rarely return to Earth as the captain as well as the admiralty would want to find the extent of the ship's limits when it came to the length of time between maintenance and resupplying at a space dock. Sure, Kendall could take his permitted shore leave, but he knew that if he took it within the first six months or so, it may reflect badly on him.
As Kendall looked around the area surrounding the spaceport, a flurry of memories surfaced, causing the blond to smile. He remembered the first time he was stood at the spaceport as a Cadet, waiting for his training cruise to begin. Him and his friends were all huddled around, taking about the positions they had been assigned, the specifications of the ship they were assigned to as well as wondering what their first mission would entail. Would they answer a distress call? Would they initiate first contact with a new species?
It turns out that they actually just took a trip around the solar system in order to test their abilities. The captain had made them fly into the asteroid belt and had them test their weapons systems out as well as the shields before turning them back towards Earth. It was nothing as spectacular as they had imagined, but it didn't stop the buzz he gained.
As he walked through the departures area within the spaceport, he could see a small group of cadets who were probably in the same position as he was then. When a few of them looked over at him, he flashed them a small smile causing them to nod back in respect, before turning back to their group and continuing their conversations. He took note of the area around him once again, remembering what he could about the area as he approached the sign in terminal. With a quick fingerprint scan, the computer told him where to head and he followed the instructions out to his awaiting shuttle.
"Commander Knight Sir" the pilot said, as Kendall boarded the shuttle, making sure to sit at one of the main consoles at the helm. Not only did it provide him with a view that would be perfect to see his new ship, but it would also allow him to take control in case anything happened. Kendall could count that as one of his small little faults. He liked to have some sort of control in every situation but serving on a starship didn't provide him with much chance to have that when he had to work under a chain of command. That what made moments like this so special.
With the airlock sealed and the engines primed, the pilot began their ascent out of the Earth's atmosphere, Kendall taking one final look at the beautiful blue sphere as he flew into the darkness of space. In some way, Kendall always found this part of his launch poet. He was leaving a place of warmth and vibrancy to a cold, colourless vacuum, which held so many opportunities as well as an endless amount of warmth and vibrancy in the shape of other planets, or even nebulas and other strange phenomena that existed. It was truly the epitome of never judging a book by it's colour.
With one final jolt, the shuttle had successfully left the atmosphere and Kendall took notice of the co-ordinates that were inputted into the computer. "We're not heading to Earth Space Dock?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at the pilot, as the shuttle began to fly in the opposite direction.
"Not today Commander. With the ship being a prototype, command decided to have it orbit Venus instead. That way, they can track what ships are approaching." The pilot replied, the shuttle jumping into flash as their brief journey began. This was a strange procedure to follow but he could only conclude that meant that this prototype was something the admiralty wanted to keep under wraps, limiting the number of people who knew about it.
As the shuttle travelled through flash, curiosity got the better of Kendall as he began to wonder what the ship would actually look like in space. Sure, he saw a small image of it when looking over the specification, but Kendall knew that never actually compared to the real thing and what it looked like as the sunlight bounced off it hull, or how the glow of the engines illuminated small parts of the hull. He wondered whether the ship would be bulky like most cruiser that currently served in the fleet, or whether it followed a new, sleeker design, one that tried to make it look more aggressive.
So when the shuttle finally left flash and the ship was finally revealed, the blond couldn't help but awe at it.
The position the shuttle left flash from was perfect, with the profile of the ship being shown in it's entirely. Kendall could tell that the ship was split into two primary sections.
At the front of the ship was a saucer, one that Kendall assumed would contain probably the first 7 decks. From the back of the saucer was what Kendall dubbed 'The neck' of the ship. It was a moderately sized, probably contained the remaining 3 decks that the saucer lacked. Kendall knew that it's main purpose however was to provide a stylish way to connect the saucer to the aft section of the ship, which was easier the largest containing the last 10 decks that the ship had to offer, completing it's 20 deck design.
The neck attached to the front of this section, which was cylindrical in shape and while it was shorter than the saucer of the ship, it seemed to perfectly balance it. Kendall also took note of how the latter third of the ship seemed to curve, with the bottom half curving upwards to meet with the top, adding yet another stylish concept to the ship. As the shuttle began its journey towards the Diamond, the pilot must have noticed Kendall's gaze, as he took a detour around the ship rather than straight to the shuttle bay.
As they approached, Kendall noticed how the Flash nacelles were positioned, with the pylons coming straight out of the latter half of the aft section, where the curve was almost completed. Once the pylons were out by about the radius of the saucer, they jutted up at a ninety degree angle until they sat level with the height of the saucer, with the nacelles positioned on top of them. The nacelles themselves were certainly of a different design to anything Kendall had ever seen before, and he put that down to the new flash drive installed.
The shuttle flew over the saucer of the ship, where Kendall was able to clearly read 'U.S.S Diamond' in a black panelling that was different from the rest of the ship's grey hull plating, allowing it to stand out. Beneath the name was written 'SX-2-J' which designated the vessel as a 'Starship Experiment' but what took Kendall's interest was the '2-J' part of the designation. That meant that this ship was following a line of 10 other experimental vessels with the designation of 'SX-2' and it made Kendall wonder how long this lineage had existed for.
As the shuttle made its way towards the back of the ship, Kendall couldn't help but stare at it's design. It was truly like nothing he had ever seen before, and this made him giddy to get aboard. He noticed how the deflector was situated at the front of the aft section of this ship, and it was considerable in size, which Kendall took as an indication as it's shield strength. Then again, a lot of the unusual design features such as the nacelle and deflector position could be due to this new flash drive so Kendall was sceptical to assume anything.
As the shuttle finally flew to the rear of the ship, the shuttle bay was revealed, positioned where the bottom of the aft section finally joined with the top, completing the curve. As the shuttle flew in and landed, a whole new sense of adventure swelled in his heart and he was suddenly ready for whatever this promotion threw at him.
"Looks like we're the last ones on board. You best head to the bridge straight away. I can imagine Captain Hawk is desperate to try his new ship out." The pilot said as he unlocked the airlock allowing Kendall to leave. With a brief nod and thank you, Kendall finally set foot onto the new ship, that excitement building even more. As the blond made his way through the corridors, he couldn't help but notice the amount of people around, with some working on some conduits in the walls, while others were just stood chatting in the corridors. His journey to the bridge took him past the engineering section of the ship, and he took this opportunity to take a quick glance in.
There must have been about 25 people in that room alone, each of them performing some sort of task. At the centre of it all stood the new flash drive, standing three floors tall and sporting a magnificent orange glow from it's core, which seemed to swim around in it's containment. Kendall put that down to the reaction between matter and anti-matter which provided the ship with it's energy. When he started to hear shouting coming from the room, the blond was quick to make haste towards a sonic lift that he could take to the bridge.
The lift ride up was a solitary one, and one that Kendall spend wondering how to introduce himself to the captain. As Kendall had thought before, this moment would make or break his time serving aboard this vessel so he knew it needed to be good. When the lift finally stopped, and the doors opened, Kendall didn't have time to put any of his plans into action however as he was enamoured by the look of the new bridge.
The blond noticed how he emerged from the back of the bridge and was instantly awestruck by the size of the room. To his left, the wall was lined with all sorts of panels, the central one being the Master Systems Display for the ship. At this far left sat the operations console, the position in which the inhabitant had control over the ships internal systems, sensor data and communications. This position was currently being manned by an Asian female, who was wearing a gold uniform, with 2 gold pips on, signalling her rank to Lieutenant.
To his right sat the tactical position, which provided control over the ships weapons, shields and security. The station also provided an array of scans that would focus on their target rather than the surrounding area that the operations console provided. Tactical was currently being manned by a Latino male, who was sporting the same pips as the female in operations.
In the middle of the two posts, positioned slightly closer to the front of the bridge was the command area, where the Captain was currently seated in the right hand seat. To his left was another seat which Kendall presumed would be for him, and in the middle of both seats seemed to be a small console, allowing the two of them a readout of any current information being collected.
In front of the command area sat the flight controller or Conn station, which was essentially the helm of the ship. That console controlled the direction in which the ship would be travelling, as well as whether the ship would be travelling at sub-light or faster than light speeds. It also provided a readout of some of the engineering information, allowing them some control over ships systems. The station was currently being manned by a brown haired female, who was only sporting one gold pip, at the rank of ensign.
To the left of that station, next to a door which led to the briefing room, was the science station, which allowed the officer seated there to collect and analyse data on the surrounding space, and this was currently being manned by a blonde haired ensign female. Directly opposite that on the right hand side of the Conn station, next to the door to the captain's ready room, sat the engineering station, which allowed the chief engineer to control engineering from the bridge, as well as showing read out for the structural integrity of the ship and the condition of the flash drive. That station was currently unmanned, showing the the chief engineer was down in main Engineering instead. The final thing Kendall notice was the large view screen that sat against the front wall of the bridge. The screen was probably the largest Kendall had even seen and was currently showing Venus as the ship sat in it's orbit.
"Commander on Bridge!" the Latino male next to him shouted, as Kendall finally stepped onto the bridge. Everyone was quick to glance his way before glancing back towards their work stations, but the signal was mainly for the Captain, who was currently staring at Kendall with a smile on his face.
"Captain Hawk" Kendall said as he made his way down to the captain, greeting him with a hand shake, thinking it was the best way to approach this.
"Commander Knight" he replied, gesturing to the seat beside him. When the two of them sat down, Hawk began issuing orders.
"Bridge to Engineering, chief is the core ready?"
"As ready as she'll ever be sir" The chief engineering replied, and Kendall could see Hawk nod.
"Helm set a course for 178-mark-381, flash 9" he said, causing the brunette to nod as she input the coordinate, and within a few second, the ship was moving out of Venus' orbit and towards the darkness of space. Kendall wished the solar system a mental goodbye before the ship jumped to flash, the view screen showing the flash debris as the ship travelled faster than light. With everyone on the bridge completing their own scans and duties, Hawk turned to Kendall as he loaded up some information on the small console.
"I guess you want to know what our mission is"
"That would be helpful sir" Kendall replied, directing his attention to the information present.
"The UEF wants us to go into Broctor space" Hawk began, causing Kendall to glance up at him with his eyebrow raised. "There was a small scout vessel that we sent out and it gained some significant information which would help us establish a non-aggression pact with them. Tensions are running high, and there has been a few border skirmishes lately, so the UEF wants to try and put that to an end" he continued causing Kendall to nod.
"So why is a prototype ship being used?" Kendall asked, as he continued to review the information in front of him.
"We are unaware of the ship's actual whereabouts in Broctor space. The flash drive in this ship doesn't leave the same trail as our other ships, so if we run into any problems, we can jump to flash and they won't be able to follow. That way, we can search the area without having to worry too much about the Broctor. Plus, she's had the mark ten veteron beams installed, so we have the most up to date technology and weaponry. But more information is available on the console there" he replied, nodding towards the console, which Kendall continued to review.
About an hour into the journey, the ship dropped out of flash causing Captain Hawk to stand up from his seat. "Ensign, why have we stopped?" he asked the brunette sat at the helm.
"I'm detecting an unknown phenomenon in front of us" she replied, causing the Asian girl from Ops to speak up.
"Confirmed. It's some sort of nebula, but the ship can't seem to identity any of the components." She replied, as the captain turned to her.
"What do you mean we can't identify them?" he asked, causing her to shrug.
"That's it, Sir. The computer was no record of the particles that are appearing" she replied, causing Hawk to rub his forehead.
"We need that information. And as much as I want to study this nebula, we really don't have the time. Do we know how large it is?"
"It extends for at least a 10 Au in each direction"
"That's 150 million kilometres so we can't go around it. That means we have to go through it" he mumbled, as he continued to rub his forehead before turning back to the girl at Conn. "Ensign, how long would it take for us to get through the nebula at flash 9?"
"About 5 minutes sir" she replied, causing him to nod. Kendall felt like this was the right time to speak up.
"Sir, might I add that we don't know what affect these unknown particles will have on our ship" Kendall added, causing Hawk to turn his attention back to him.
"I know Commander, but we don't have the time to waste going around it"
"Then may I suggest raising the shield. They may help to combat some of the effects" Kendall replied, causing Hawk to smile at him.
"Nice thinking commander" he responded, before turning his attention to the tactical officer. "Lieutenant raise shields" he commanded before turning back to the girl at Conn. "Ensign ahead flash 9" he continued, causing her to turn back to her console as she inputted the command. With the ship moving again, Hawk made his way back over to his seat, but as soon as he sat down, things started to go wrong.
It started with the lights flashing intermediately as well as a numerous amount of consoles beginning to fail on the bridge. "Captain, I've lost communications" Ops reported before tactical spoke up as well.
"Weapons control is also down" he replied, before the view screen at the front of the ship dropped out as well.
"We've lost visual, but I can confirm that the ship was dropped from flash. We're sat right in the middle of the nebula" the girl from Conn spoke, and as soon as she finished, the lighting dropped completely only to be replaced with a dark red glow, as a siren sounded.
"Red Alert. Flash Breach Imminent" the computer repeated over and over, causing Hawk to shoot up from his seat.
"Sir, I can't get any information from Engineering, and with communications being down, he can't hail them" the brunette girl spoke, causing Kendall to then shoot up from his seat.
"I'll get down to engineering and see if I can get this sorted" he said as he passed behind the command area and towards the lift. As soon as he was by the door however, the bridge witnessed the view screen spark to life, and everyone's attention was drawn to it.
What the crew didn't expect to witness was a blinding flash, one that when witness caused everyone on the bridge to pass out, the last thing Kendall remembering was the bridge tilting at a ninety degree angle as he fell.
When Kendall woke up, he was faced with a white light that was shining into his eyes and his initial thought was that this was he ascent to heaven. However, the bright light was quickly removed from his eyes, and he was instead greeted with a dimly light room with a red tint, as well as the operations officer straddling him.
"Commander" she breathed out a sigh, as she helped Kendall sit up and lean against the door to the lift. From there he witnessed the one sight he'd hoped he'd never have to deal with in his career.
The bridge was in ruin, with steel beams dangling from the ceiling, foggy gas being expelled from the walls and the flashing of a few consoles as they tried to spark back to life. The captain was currently laid out of the floor by his seat, with the Conn officer on top of him, performing chest compressions.
"What happened?" Kendall managed to mumble as the girl next to him loaded up the medical scanner and proceeded to scan around Kendall's head.
"We're unsure Sir. It seems everyone on the bridge passed out when that flash happened. All we know is that the ship didn't explode, so engineering must have found a way to stop the core overload" she replied, before looking down at her scanner. "No signs of internal injuries. I think you just got away with a bumped head" she replied, as held her arm out and helped Kendall to his feet.
"Thanks Lieutenant…" Kendall began, not sure of her name.
"Stone Sir, Lucy stone" she replied, giving him a small smile as he continued.
"Right, I need you to try and get communications back up, can you do that for me?" he asked, causing him to nod.
"I can try sir" she replied, before moving back over to her station. Much like the others, the console seemed to be flashing but there was no physical damage to the work station, so Kendall hoped she could get it to work. The blond was quick to move over to the Conn officer, in an attempt to help her with the captain.
"What happened?" he asked her as he knelt down beside her.
"What from I can tell, he must have been hit from that beam as it fell" she replied, pointing to the steel girder that was hanging between the command centre and the Conn console.
"Any luck?" he asked, causing her to shake her head.
"He's unresponsive. The scanner says that there is no brain activity" she replied, before turning to him. "He's dead sir" she concluded, a stray tear rolling down her face.
"I'm sure you did what you could Ensign, but unfortunately there is no time to mourn now" he replied, rubbing her back slightly.
"That means that command has fallen to you" she continued, as the two of them pulled themselves off of the ground and it was that sentence that made everything dawn on Kendall, like a ton of bricks falling. She was right. He was now in command of the Diamond, a ship he knew very little about with a crew he hadn't had the chance to meet. Kendall tried to fight the panic as it settled in, but he was only semi-successful as he tried to take control.
"Lieutenant Stone, any luck on contacting engineering?" he asked, turning to her only to see the puzzled look on her face.
"Um, you might want to see this sir" she responded, completely ignoring Kendall's question, but he knew that she must have found something bigger for her to ignore a direct command. As he made his way over to the operations console, he was able to take a brief glance around the bridge. The brunette who was working the Conn had moved back to her station, and with the help of the blonde from science, it seemed the two of them were working to try and fix the console. The Latino male at tactical was also wake, and Kendall could see that he was reviewing the status of the shields and the weapons but he was only having mild success.
As he reached the console, the blond glanced down at the screen, and couldn't help the gasp that left his mouth as he did so. "This can't be right" he said, tapping on the screen as he began to run his own scan of the surrounding are, something that Lucy had managed to get back up.
"Sir, I've run the scan about five times. It's true, we're…"
"120,000 light years away from home" Kendall interrupted his as he stared down at the console. "Stone, I need communications up now. I need to speak to engineering" he commanded, causing her to nod. "While you do that, I'll run a scan for the damage of the ship" he continued, as he made his way over to the tactical station first. "Any luck with our defence systems, Lieutenant…"
"Garcia, Carlos Garcia" the Latino male said, as he turned around. "And from what I can tell, our deflector was damaged so I can't get the shields up. We have weapons, but they're at two percent, so they're practically useless" he replied, causing Kendall to begin to rub his forehead in panic.
"Keep trying, we'll need at least ten percent for them to be useful" he stated, causing Carlos to nod at the command before turning back to work on the console behind him.
When Kendall finally reached the engineering station, he was quick to run a scan of the ship. Most of it he expected like communications and tactical were down, but the new information posed a great threat showing that decks 12 through 16 had been breached on the left side and from a quick scan, he knew that was where the transfer cable from the flash drive to the nacelles ran. An emergency force field was in place, and despite the significant damage caused, he knew that was better than the entire drive breaching completely.
"Yes!" Lucy shouted from the other side of the bridge and when Kendall looked over to Lucy, he saw she had a massive smile on her face. "Communications are back up sir!" she continued, causing Kendall to nod as he pressed against his badge.
"Bridge to Engineering, please respond" he said, as he awaited a reply. For a moment, he received nothing but static before a voice finally spoke up.
"Chief Engineer Diamond here sir" the voice spoke, and Kendall breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Chief, what's the status down there."
"Not good sir, the flash drive is completely offline, so the entire ship is running off of emergency power. Something in that nebula caused the core to go into overdrive"
"That would explain why we're 120,000 light years away" Kendall said, without thinking about it.
"Say again sir?" the Chief asked causing Kendall to stutter slightly.
"I'll explain later. Right now, I need you to run a full damage report of the ship. I've run a preliminary one up here, but I want everything recorded, and to me in an hour, got it?"
"On it Sir" the chief replied, before they dropped comms. As soon as that was done, another voice boomed over the bridge.
"This is Doctor Logan Mitchell, I've been trying to contact you for the last half an hour"
"Sorry Doctor, but we've only just got the comms back up"
"Whatever the case, sick bay is overflowing with people, so we've set up a temporary centre in the mess hall as well. I need you to send anyone with at least a years' worth of medical experience down here to help me"
"Acknowledge Doctor, Lieutenant Stone is sending a ship wide request now. Do what you can, and in an hour, I want you to send a full casualty list through ok?"
"I'll do my best sir" The doctor replied, causing the comms to drop again, with Kendall turning back to the remaining crew on the bridge, which was Lieutenants Stone, and Garcia as well as the two female ensigns. Taking a deep breath, Kendall spoke up again.
"Garcia, any luck with the weapons?"
"Not much sir, I've got an extra percent out of them but with main power down, it's been difficult."
"Very well, Stone I need you to scan the area around us to look for anything that will help hide our ship from sensors. Work with Garcia" he ordered, causing the two of them to nod before Kendall turned to the two girls working on the Conn console. "Ensigns…"
"Taylor and Roberts" the blonde girl said, pointing to herself and the brunette next to her respectively.
"Any luck getting Conn to work?"
"We're close sir, if we just connect these then…" and just as Roberts finished, the console lit up.
"Perfect. Roberts, what engines do we have available?"
"Only thrusters sir. Without main power, impulse won't work and we need the deflector at full to go to flash" she replied, causing him to nod.
"Ok, for the moment, I want you to work with Ensign Taylor to try and analyse some of that unknown gas we ran into. That way, he maybe able to get some idea as to what caused this. I need to you to keep an eye out for Garcia and Stone however, as if they find something to hide us, I need you to move the ship, is that understood?"
"Crystal clear sir" the brunette responded, causing Kendall to nod at the pair of them.
"I'm going to be in the captain's ready room running a few scans and scenarios myself. Stone, let Mitchell and Diamond know that instead of sending me their reports, I want to hold a senior staff briefing in an hour and I expect them to bring their information with them" he continued, causing her to nod as well.
With everyone's tasks assigned, Kendall made his way past the engineering and tactical stations, and into the captain's ready room.
Well, his ready room now.
As the automatic doors closed behind him, the blond couldn't help but slide down them, bringing his knees up to his chest as the full entirely of the situation dawned on him once again, and this time there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He was in control of a ship and crew he pretty much knew nothing about in a completely unexpected scenario that he could never have been trained for. Sure, the captain dying was always something that he had to consider, but he presumed that the circumstances would be a little different and he'd be close to friendly space. In this case, he was about 120,000 light years away from home and he had no one to help guide him through the situation. It was up to him to make the decisions that in some cases would be life threatening, and he would have to live with the consequences of such actions.
To put it simply, Kendall was not prepared for this, and in one word, fucked.
He couldn't help the flood of tears that seemed to accompany the thought but even in that situation, the blond knew it would be best to move away from the door and to the captain's, no, his desk. That way, he could at least look like he was doing something instead of having a pity party for one. When he arrived at his terminal, the first thing the blond focused on was finding a route home.
He believed that if he put a plan in place, it would help to focus his thoughts on the ship wide issues instead of his own personal ones, which did coincide, not that he wanted to think about it. The blond pulled up a star map and began to analyse their position against the galactic core as well as the coordinates for Earth, and they managed to provide a better understanding of his location within the galaxy.
He then plotted a course, one under the best circumstances, which showed that if they travelled in a straight line at a flash of 9.5, they could be home in about 75ish years. Of course, the best circumstances required them to travel constantly at flash 9.5, something that the ship wouldn't be able to sustain. Besides, even if it did, his current course also had the ship travelling through the galactic core, which he knew no ship could do, so really that plan was bust.
Instead, he began to plot a more realistic course, showing the ship travelling around the galactic core instead of through it, and he also made the plot account of supply stops, possible first contact encounters and natural barriers, such as impassable asteroid fields or black holes. He didn't have a clue if anything like this existed in this area of space, but it wouldn't hurt for him to be prepared if they did.
The calculations for this took around 5 minutes, but when they were finished, it showed a travel time of about 130 years, which even with modern medicine would be out of his life time. He'd be damned if he was going to settle for that, settle knowing that he'd never see his mother or sister again, settle knowing that the crew would also never see their families either.
With a deep breathe, and a sigh, the blond went back to the calculations, changing some of the variables slightly to see if he could shorten the time frame any more.
The hour passed relatively quickly, yet Kendall was unsuccessful in his attempt to lower his figure of 130 years. Even with the lowest amount of supply stops and a system of intense rationing aboard the ship, the journey was still going to take about 125 years which was about 100 years too long. Sighing, the blond rubbed his forehead before pushing the chair back from the desk and leaving the ready room. The bridge was filled with a couple of workman, who were currently replacing the girder in the ceiling, but apart from the portable lights they had brought with them, it was still under the red tint of the emergency lighting. With another sigh, he walked into the briefing room where everyone was sat.
"Thank you for meeting with me" he said as we talked in, and sat at the head of the table, gaining everyone's attention. Accompanying the bridge crew he met earlier were two males, one with a teal colouring on his uniform, two gold pips and a back one to signify his rank of Lieutenant Commander. 'Doctor Mitchell´ Kendall thought to himself as his eyes shifted to the other brunet male aside him. His uniform featured a gold tint, but he had the same pips as Logan, showing he was also a Lieutenant Commander. 'Chief Engineer James Diamond' he thought before turning his attention back to the entire table.
"Right, I guess we should start with Lieutenants Garcia and Stone. Is the ship safe?" he asked, causing the two of them to nod as Lucy spoke up first.
"I found an asteroid which was large enough to conceal the ship both from sensors and from sight. We've matched its speed so we'll move along as it does" she replied, causing Kendall to nod as Carlos spoke up.
"I also managed to get beam power up to seven percent and enabled manual torpedo fire. It's not a lot, but we'll at least be able to pack a small punch"
"Perfect, at least this way we should be able to avoid any more damage while we try to get back up to full status." He stated, before turning to Doctor Mitchell. "What's the casualty figures?"
"15 killed, including Captain Hawk, and another 20 are severely wounded. We've stabilised them the best we can, but it'll be the next few hours that will make or break it. I want to say that all of them will survive, but we can only wait and see. Other than that, there were some minor injuries, like 10 broken arms, a couple of fractures and a concussion or two but I was able to sort them out relatively quickly once everyone who was severely injured was dealt with" Logan replied, causing Kendall to nod.
"We'll hold a service for everyone we lost. Give them a nice send off, like they deserve." He replied, before turning to James. "And damage report?"
"A lot, if I'm being honest. I check your preliminary and it got some of the main damage. There is hull breach from deck 12 through to 16 on our left side where the plasma conduit ran, but what wasn't mentioned that the explosion also reached a part of the nacelle, so that'll need to be repaired. The deflector also has some damaged and without it, the shields are useless and scanners are fairly limited in range, and we won't be able to create a stable flash tunnel without it when we get the flash drive back online. A few smaller systems are down, like the showers and replicators but I think it's safe to say that they are the least of our concerns."
"Any good news?"
"I may be able to get us impulse power if we reroute some power conduits around the ship, but that's about it. Until we know what the stuff was in the nebula that caused this, it's too risky for us to try anything. One wrong mistake, and it could easily be the death of us all. We were lucky enough the first time, so I don't want to risk it again" James finished, and that led Kendall perfectly to his next question.
"And finally, Ensign Taylor, did you find anything out about this element?" he asked, causing her to nod.
"Roberts and I are calling it Omega" she began, turning around and using one of the screens on the wall to show their findings. "It's a highly volatile and unstable element, due to the fact that one particle can produce a significant amount of power. I would estimate one particle could probably power this whole ship for about a month. When we stalled in the nebula, it's because the particles had travelled through intake manifolds and clung to the flash drive. As Chief Diamond said, we were extremely lucky the first time" she said, causing everyone to nod.
"And have you found a way to deal with them?" Kendall asked, causing her to tilt her head from side to side.
"The particles I studied are now very low in terms of the power that they contain, so we should be able to flush them from the drive. The problem is however, that they are still extremely unstable so I would advice caution while we do so." She finished, as she took her seat once again.
"Well I thank you all for you reports, but I think there is some information that I need to share" he began, as he stood up from his seat and began to pace up and down. "There isn't any easy way to say this, so I'm going to be blunt. At the moment, we are about 120,000 light years away from earth, and my best estimate for getting us home is around 130 years, and that's including supply stops, first contact and any unexpected distractions or detours" he began, turning back to everyone to see the glum looks on their faces. "I spent the last hour in the ready room, and that's the best I can come up with if we travel via the flash drive. But I was thinking, as unstable as these Omega particles are, they were able to get us here in a matter of seconds, so maybe they could get us back. I suggest that we follow a course home, but along the way we continue to study these particles, and see if there is a way to harness their power. Hopefully, we will encounter them again, and will be able to get home sooner" he finished, as paced back over to the head of the table, the room submerged into silence.
"It's better than nothing" he heard James mutter, followed by a resounding hum of approval for the rest of them.
"We give it a shot" Lucy added, causing everyone else to nod as they looked up at him.
"There is something else however. The matter of command" he stated, causing everyone to look at him with a puzzled face.
"I assumed you'd be taking over" Logan questioned, causing everyone else to nod as Kendall let out a sigh.
"I'm not going to lie to you all, I only got promoted about a week ago and found out about this posting about 3 hours ago, so I know very little about the crew and the ship. I'm happy to take command if you all want me too, but I will rely on you to help me out once in a while" Kendall replied causing them all to nod once more.
"Why not make the Chief you're first officer then? I mean, it was him and his father who helped build both the ship and the drive" Carlos said, as Kendall glanced over at James.
"I do know the ship like the back of my hand, so I know what to do in a crisis"
"So, it's agreed then. I'll take the role as captain, and James will be my first officer?" Kendall asked again, causing everyone to nod. "Sounds like a plan " he added, before he made his way out onto the bridge, with the crew following him from the briefing room. "Stone, open a ship wide hail. I think it's time we let the rest of the crew know what is going on" he commanded, and when she nodded back, Kendall began his speech.
"This is Commander Kendall Knight giving you all an update of our current situation. Captain Hawk unfortunately passed away when the flash drive went into overdrive mode, leaving me in control of the Diamond. The bad news is that we are currently 120,000 light years away from Earth, due to the core's overdrive which occurred due to a rogue element we encounter in the nebula. At our best estimate, it will take us about 130 years to reach home" he said, taking a deep breath as he glanced around at his crew beside him. "But that's not good enough, and I won't settle for it. On our journey, we will be looking for wormholes, advanced alien technology, anything that may shortened our journey. We have also decided to look further into the particles, which he have dubbed Omega. It was able to get us here in mere seconds, and it has the ability to get us home just as fast. On our journey, we will continue to study these particles so when we find them again, we will be able to harness and use them to get us home. I know that these will be trying times for us all, but we have to remain strong if we want to succeed, and I know that as a crew we can do that. I know that as a crew, we will make it home. Now everyone back to your posts. We have a long journey ahead of us, and I want to begin it as soon as possible"
So there we go, just a little something I have written. If you can't tell, this is heavily based off of Star Trek, and I will admit that I stole a lot of the designs from it. The Uniform and the Bridge is from Star Trek Voyager, so if you want a clear picture of what they look like, give it a google, and the ship is based off of the Enterprise C, or Ambassador Class, a ship design that I absolutely love!
Anyway, let me know what you think, and I will see you all tomorrow of Love, James. But until then,
TTFN :D