Star Trek: Maverick

Chapter 1

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Enjoy if you will, tolerate if you won't.

=/\=

Terran Empire Death Row facility, Alcatraz
60 meters below sea level

As the turbolift descended towards Detention Block Omega, its two occupants looked rather contained. One, a member of the Alcatraz facility's security detachment, assigned to escort around the other occupant of the turbolift, a Caitian by the name of Juli'enne Choiseul. Standing six feet tall, with light brown fur, tufts on her ears, and a 2 foot long tail swishing back and forth gently in anticipation, and a datapad in hand, she keeps her eyes forward, pretending to not notice the hateful glances from the security crewman.

As the turbolift comes to a stop, and the doors open revealing a security checkpoint, the crewman, one Petty Officer Daniels, steps forward ready to lead the way to their destination. As they travel, Daniels gives a briefing about who they're going to meet. "I should warn you ma'am, this guy's nuts. And I mean genius nuts. When we brought him down here, he asked for chalk, for writing he said. We brought him his evening meal, and we actually found him on the ceiling, with levitation boots no less. We had to confiscate those and his timepiece. Since then he's covered all the walls with, something. Also, he can smell fear, or something. Don't let him get the drop on you..."

"Thank you petty officer. I've read the reports. And as for his genius, well that's why I'm here. If everything goes according to plan, he'll be out of your hair by afternoon." Choiseul said, cutting off Daniels.

They stop in front of a cell door, and Daniels accesses the nearby terminal, unlocking the cell. "I'll be right here, keeping an eye on you two. Remember I will stun if it's necessary."

"Hopefully it won't." Choiseul said, as the door opened, revealing an eight by ten cell. A cot sits in the corner, as well as a traditional latrine-sink used by inmates. The walls are all covered with equations, and some drawings as well. Roughly 25% of the ceiling is covered in the same equations, the break in work clearly evident. The floor is half covered as well, and where the equations stop, a person is squatting, still writing them.

Without looking up or stopping his work, the person responds, clearly having noticed the intrusion. "Morning captain. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Hm, well-mannered, and to the point. I like that about a future senior officer." Choiseul said, clearly impressed by the inmate's politeness towards her. A trait that is rare within the largely xenophobic Terran Empire.

"Sadly, if it's an assignment, it's already been declined. I'm to die at week's end for my crime." the young man, Seraph Tsukiro, said grimly.

"If you were to die, then who would build the device you're designing. Looks like a personal weapon almost. You know, a waste energy reclamation system would do wonders for the output." Choiseul replied, trying to sound cheerful.

"A 12% increase in power, with a 25% increase in weight. I think not, captain. Considered it, denied it. Too risky during a combat engagement."

"Then perhaps a stabilization module to counteract the added weight."

"On a ranged weapon, yes. Not for a bladed weapon though. The amount of bulk would go up 18%." Seraph then looks up. "All right captain, you've intrigued me. What kind of assignment are we talking about here?"

"Truth is, I need an operations officer for the Empire's newest ship, the..." Choiseul started.

"The ISS Maverick Ordin, Yamato Class Assault Dreadnought. I've read the report. Quite a capable ship. Supposed to be the new flagship, am I close?" Seraph replied, with a knowing grin on his face.

"Yes, but how do you know all of this? That information is top secret. She hasn't even been formally commissioned yet." Choiseul said, confused.

"It's easy to find anything you're looking for, when the computer system it's stored inside of is relatively unsecure. What about my sentence?"

"It will be commuted, and you would be released to my care, for me to do with as I please, but only if you accept."

Seraph takes a couple moments to analyze Choisuel, trying to decide if she's lying or not. "You know captain, I can think of 18 different ways of killing you right now, two of which involve this plastic knife here."

Choiseul holds up her left hand to stop Daniels from stepping in as she bluffs Seraph. "If you think you can kill me, then come at me with whatever you got."

Seraph analyzes the situation again. "That would be unwise. Caitians emit a very discreet pheremone when they go into battle, signals other Caitians to come to their aid, and you are clearly ready for me."

Choiseul narrows her eyes a bit. "So that report is true, you have the heightened senses of a Caitian."

"Indeed, although I'm not sure which side of the family those hail from." Seraph admits. He then does something nobody expects. In the blink of an eye, he lets loose the plastic knife, flying straight and true right past the ear of the Caitian standing in the doorway. As she turns her head, distracted by the moving object. When she turns her head back towards the inmate, remembering who she's dealing with, she barely notices him approaching, and holds up her right hand, something discreetly dropping out of her sleeve into her waiting hand. Seraph stops with his hand held with a knife-edge, just short of Choiseul's neck, the caitian captain clearly surprised by the move, but willing him to continue all the same.

"Interesting. No matter how I would kill you, your hand would have moved in such a way as to allow that phaser to discharge, killing me instantly." Seraph said, standing up as he said this.

"When did you notice the phaser exactly?"

"When you stepped into the room, your left sleeve moved freely, while the right sleeve revealed that something was concealed, thus restricting its movement. Very well captain, this should prove to be interesting. I accept your offer."

"Excellent." Choiseul turns to Daniels. "Petty Officer, you didn't see anything. Please ensure that Ensign Seraph here has his belongings returned to him, including his timepiece. Wouldn't want him late for his first shift would we? This datapad contains the details of his release." She hands the datapad to Daniels, who accepts it hesitantly. She then turns back to Seraph. "Get yourself cleaned up, and report for duty in two days, 0800 hours. Late, and I will kill you myself, understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

Choiseul then walks away, leaving Daniels to escort Seraph back to the surface, where Outprocessing is located.

=/\=

Utopia Planetia Shipyards, Mars Orbit
Drydock 88

Captain Choiseul is flying around the exterior of the Yamato-class battlecruiser that is being finalized and prepped for her builder's trials. As she guides her workbee around the hull, looking for defects, she can't help but feel a little giddy. Even if it's a temporary assignment, it was still what she wanted, a command-level position.

She decides to see how her bridge crew is coming along, so she pulls the workbee into the saucer shuttle bay, and heads for the bridge. It takes her fifteen minutes to traverse from the shuttlebay to the bridge, mainly because there's still a bustle of activity throughout the corridors.

As she steps off of the turbolift onto the bridge, a voice from the right calls out "Captain on the bridge." Everyone on the bridge snapped to attention, and Choiseul responds with a salute of her own. Everyone returns to their tasks and the captain takes her seat in the center of the bridge. "Status report commander."

The man to her right, a rather irritated-looking human by the name of Commander James Tanner, responds. "Warp cores alpha and beta are operating at 5% utilization. We're still operating off of station power for the time being. Tactical systems check out, as do navigational deflector, engines, and computer core."

"Thank you commander. Lieutenant Commander Williamson, what do you think of our setup?"

The man at the tactical station, a human/vulcan hybrid, answers. "Mark XII-B Phaser arrays, Mark III Phase Lance Cannons, Mark VIII Quantum Torpedoes, Mark X Photon Torpedoes, the list goes on captain. Quite an impressive array of weapons we have. Enough to subjugate an entire sector."

"Glad you think so Williamson. Bridge to Engineering, Mira how're we doing?"

"All systems check out." Lieutenant Mirialla replied through the comm system, her boredom evident. "Engines are standing by. Impulse drive functional, warp drive standing by, and the Translocator Matrix is offline, but checks out."

"Excellent. Thank you Lieutenant, bridge out. Iverson, what's your take on this ship?"

The helmsman, sitting dead center, turns in her seat. Lieutenant Iverson, a once-retired veteran, was called back into service to pilot the new flagship of the fleet. "I'll admit it captain, I'm a hard person to impress when it comes to flight systems, and...I'm impressed. A battlecruiser with damn near the maneuverability of the Nebula class. That takes some effort. Given enough time, I can have her out-turning Galaxy-class cruisers."

"Glad you think so." Choiseul looks around the bridge, and notices someone missing. "Would someone care to tell me where Ensign Tsukiro is?"

"At his console ma'am" replied Iverson.

"No he isn't Lieutenant."

"Did you check under the console?"

Choiseul, with an irritated look on her face, stands up, and walks to the operations console, along the port side of the bridge, and notices a pair of legs sticking out from under the console. Clearing her throat, she raises her voice a touch as she calls out "ENSIGN!"

The legs jump a bit, and a muffled cry of pain is heard. A pair of hands emerges, grabs onto the edge of the opening, and pulls the rest of Ensign Seraph out from under the console. "Sorry about that captain, I was installing some upgrades."

"Upgrades? This ship is state of the art. What kind of upgrades could possibly be needed?"

"Well I'm installing holoprojectors to enhance the amount of information that's displayed, as well as allowing for a 3D MSD. These holoprojectors are dedicated units, they don't tie into, nor do they interfere with the shipboard system."

"Care to demonstrate Ensign?"

"In a moment, I still need to initialize the system. Also, a quantum processor is being added to run the new systems, which also include an electronics warfare package. It occurred to me that nobody ever considered the subtle yet powerful art of subverting an enemy ship's systems, making them your own." Ensign Seraph finishes under his console, and reattaches the access panel to the front of his station. He then goes to sit behind the console, and taps in a few commands to bring the new upgrades online. Eighteen holographic windows open and close systematically, displaying ship status, before resolving into a 3D representation of the Maverick Ordin.

The captain lets out a low whistle, showing her approval. "And what sort of impact will this system have on the ship's main computer?"

"5% efficiency gain."

"I approve. Thank you ensign. Glad to have you aboard."

"Glad to be here. I am in your debt"

Captain Choiseul returns to the center of the ship, and keys in the shipwide comm. "Attention all hands, this is the captain..."

Down in Engineering, the crews are fervently working to make the transition from station power to running standalone as the captain's announcement comes on over the comm system. "...as you are no doubt aware, this ship, the Maverick Ordin, is the Empire's most sophisticated vessel. In a few moments, she will launch from drydock to undergo her builder's trials, where she will be..."

In the hallways, access panels are being put into place to cover up crucial ship systems, and protect them while the ship is underway, while the captain's shipwide announcement continues. "...put under the most rigorous of situations and maneuvers, and her systems are stressed to their breaking point, and even beyond. When we return to drydock..."

In Astrogation, the navigation deflector is being brought online, and the latest starcharts are downloaded to local storage from Empire Command, as the captain's shipwide announcement continues. "...she will be the most advanced ship, this side of the mirror. She is counting on every single hand, to perform as expected..."

Back on the bridge, everyone is finalizing the ship for departure. "...of the flagship. You all have been briefed by your section chiefs and departmental heads. You have your orders. Prepare for departure. All hands, blue alert."

All of the lights dim, and the bridge is bathed in a blue ethereal light as blue status alerts start flashing all over the ship. "Tactical, confirm departure clearance. Engineering, confirm switchover to shipboard power. Ops, confirm that we are free-floating. Helm, ahead one quarter."

Outside the ship, docking anchors retract from the ship, as reinforced EPS lines sever from the ship and pull back into the drydock's walls, the boarding bridges retract, and the ship begins floating under her own power. The impulse engines at the back end of the saucer, capable of pushing the ship to three quarters the speed of light at full burn, light up with an ominous red, and the nacelles of the ship start glowing with a brilliant royal blue as power flows through them. The ship then starts moving forward, under her own power for the very first time.

=/\=

Author Notes

Well that does it for the first chapter. The fanfic is set with mirrorverse characters, so before people start saying "that isn't how the Federation's supposed to act", that is because these characters, aren't Federation. All characters are original designs, based in the mirrorverse. They all complement each others strengths and weaknesses, and were tailored to fit the ship. The ship itself, can only be described as being what a Sovereign would look like, as a dreadnought. She has two engineering hulls, four warp nacelles, two phaser lance cannons, and is powered by two warp cores. When this fanfic is done though, she'll be even scarier. Rest assured, there will be surprises at every turn, humorous moments littered throughout, and hopefully each chapter will leave you wanting more.

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For the Empire!