New Beginnings
Chapter 1: Adventure waits.
The Denab system looked ahead on the viewscreen; a previously unknown area of space. A strong gravitational pull plus a large field of asteroids made travel difficult in the system, but the ship that stopped kilometers away was ready. The stars were different here, strange and wondrous at the same time. It was a place for adventure, for new beginnings.
Captain Jean-luc Picard stared out the newly built viewscreen of the Enterprise-E, curiosity in his dark brown eyes. He glanced over to his right, where Commander Madden sat, looking positively anxious to get started. Picard couldn't blame him, this was a once in a lifetime chance, to explore the unknown, not knowing what they would face.
"Well Commander, what do you think?" He asked, not looking at the man, too engrossed in the wonders of the asteroid field.
Commander Madden frowned, his hazel eyes not leaving the viewscreen. "I believe this will be an excellent chance to test our new Impulse Drive Sir." He replied, a slight hesitation in his voice.
The latest technological advances were all over the Enterprise, it' main focus on tactical and propulsion. The Impulse drive was capable of jettisons itself in case of emergency, and had thrusters capable of keeping it within distance of the ship. Among others things, the Impulse drives were now situated on the art and rear compartments, capable of allowing the Helmsman to fully control the ship in situations such as the one they now faced.
"Commander, are there any signs of life out there?" Picard asked turning to tactical, where Commander Worf stood, poised for action, his eyes set with determination.
"Negative Captain. However, I am detecting medial radiation levels." Worf replied, a hint of unease in his voice.
Picard frowned and stood, tugging on his tunic as he moved towards the aft stations where tactical stood. He stopped beside Worf and gazed at the readings. Sure enough, where normally there were no readings the console light up with medial levels. He frowned slightly, covering it up quickly as he asked,
"Are the levels dangerous to our crew?"
Worf shook his head. "Negative Sir. Our new shields will protect us from any kind of radiation, except… thalaron." He answered a hint of anger in his voice.
Picard nodded, not showing any emotions, even though that event was still fresh in his mind even after several months and replied,
"Very good, Dr. Selan will be pleased to know there's no immediate threat."
Walking back to his seat, Picard couldn't help but feel a small pang of sadness. After the battle with Shinzon, half his Commanding Officers left to do other things; Doctor Crusher, his long time friend was at Starfleet Medical, now the Head of Medicine. He missed her greatly, but understood her need to start her life anew, and to pursue her dreams. Commander Riker and Deanna Troi were on Riker's new ship the Titan, exploring the possibility for renewed peace among the Romulans. And Data. Oh, how he missed him the most; it was still a shock not to see him sitting at the Opts console, working away.
He realized he was drifting away from the situation at hand and sat down at his Command Chair, feeling the strange fabric mould to his body. Placing his Captains mask on, he turned to Commander Madden and looked him over. The young Commander looked poised and nervous, which was to be expected since it was his first assignment on the Legendary Enterprise. Picard didn't know much about the Commander, except that he transferred from the USS Talos, and was a brilliant officer. He only hoped that being on the Enterprise would slow him down and help show him that there's more to being overly critical and demanding.
Getting back to the business at hand, Picard looked up at the Helms station, not surprised to find a young Ensign at the Helm. He didn't recognize her but knew from her record that she was a feisty Half-Klingon who listened to orders without much fuss. He could tell from her tense shoulders that she was excited for the adventure, and Picard couldn't blame her.
Picard was about to order the Helm to go into the asteroid field when he heard the unmistakable sound of the Turbo-lift doors whooshing open. He turned and watched Commander Geordi La Forge enter, turning to the Captain.
"Sorry I'm late Sir, we had a small problem in Engineering." Geordi stated, his ocular eyes glinting in the light.
Geordi looked like a man who had run the triathlon and lost his chance for glory. His eyes had circles under them yet not as dark as they were right after the last mission. He had been feeling the pain more than anyone; Commander Data had been his best friend, and Geordi thought he was invincible. He learned the hard way, as did everyone who knew Data well, and out of all of them he missed him the most. He put up a good fight though, and looked much better than he did earlier, when the Enterprise was in space dock getting fixed. Yet Geordi understood why Data did what he did, to save the Captain from his demise. And although Geordi missed him the most, he also was the most calm about it.
"No worries Commander, you're just in time." Picard said, and then stopped, the hairs on the back of his head starting to stick up. "Is the problem fixed now?" He asked his Engineer.
"Yes Sir, we had a slight misalignment with the Dilithium, but luckily Lieutenant Vorik found it and fixed it in a second. However, I would like to run a few diagnostics to make sure it's in working order." Geordi replied, going up to his aft Engineering console and turning it on.
"Very well Commander. Make sure to check the Warp Core as well, I would hate to see it start to malfunction when we go into warp." Picard said, trying to be thorough.
"Yes Sir." Geordi replied and started setting up a level 1 Diagnostic on the Engines. After a few seconds he announced, "We'll have Warp up again in half an hour." He informed the Captain, who needed satisfied.
"Good job Commander." Picard replied, turning back to the viewscreen.
Picard sat for a moment, his eyes unblinking as he gazed at the unknown constellations, the asteroid field looming before them. He could almost feel the gravitational pull dragging him into the field, but knew it was his imagination; the inertial dampeners stopped the effect. His heart beat quickened slightly as hi sense for adventure grew, and he felt a hint of excitement grow in his stomach. Finally he sat back in his chair and nodded towards the Helmsman,
"Helm set course for the asteroid belt, medium thrusters." He said his voice full of authority.
The Helmsman didn't look back, but stayed focused on her task, tapping commands and marking the quickest and safest route to the outer edges of the field and said,
"Course laid in Sir." She quickly checked her readouts and announced with a slight Canadian accent "It will take approximately 5.6 hours to cross the field Sir."
Picard felt a pang in his chest as she announce the travel time, thinking of Data. Getting himself under control he raised his hand to bring it down in his normal fashion for starting a mission, he began to wonder, will this be a safe mission, and if not what kind of race will they encounter? Clearing the unnerving thought from his mind, he dropped his hand and said in his most authoritative voice,
"Engage. Let's see what's out there."
The asteroid belt loomed ahead, slowly dissolving into the ship, or so it looked to Picard as the ship entered the belt. The ship slowly began its journey, weaving a course that stretched far into the unseeing. Picard was amazed as he sat there watching the progress; the asteroids seemed to melt away from the hull before making contact, making it easier for the Helmsman to steer the ship. She seemed to know what she was doing, it was almost second nature to her it appeared. She seemed poised and in control, yet mindful of her mission at the same time.
For over an hour nothing exciting happened, the ship moving gracefully, not being bothered by the gravitational pull or the enormous asteroids which they were encountering. Suddenly without warning the ship lurched to port, causing several crew to hang on to their consoles.
"Sorry Sir, the gravitational pull is stronger in this region. Compensating." She stated without emotion, pressing a few buttons on her consol and watching as the ship leveled out, continuing on its journey.
"That's alright Ensign. Good job." Picard announced glad for his command chair, which had seatbelts hidden inside for just an occurrence. Luckily the jarring from the disturbance hadn't switched them on.
"Thank you Sir." She replied, before focusing her attention to the screen and her task.
"Captain, the radiation levels are increasing, within normal tolerances." Worf announced at tactical. Picard nodded, replying,
"How are our shields doing?"
"They are holding steady Sir." Worf replied, tapping a few commands into his console.
Picard nodded, satisfied everything was in working order, and a little relieved nothing more serious had happened. He was still breaking in this new vessel and wanted to enjoy it for all it was worth. He gave a contented sigh of relief and continued watching the viewscreen. Commander Madden turned to look at him and asked,
"Are all missions this dull?" His voice had a teasing tone to it. Picard groaned inside.
"No Commander, they are not. Most of the time we find ourselves too busy to think, and sometimes, like now we have a chance to relax for a few moments to reflect." Picard replied, a touch of unease in his voice which startled him.
Madden must have sensed this because he nodded and sat more comfortable in his chair and looked at the screen. "Good, I don't feel like moving right now." He said with a slight grin.
"I wouldn't get too comfortable Commander; you never know when the action might start." Geordi said from the aft section.
"Geordi is correct Sir. It would be unwise to sleep before the battle." Worf added from tactical. Geordi sniggered slightly and shook his head.
Commander Madden chuckled and shrugged, "Don't worry Commander, I'll be ready." He said, looking over his shoulder. The ship shook slightly again and he hung on to his chair, even though the force was barely noticeable. "On second thought I think I will pay attention." He added straightening up as the ship entered the middle of the field.
The chatter died down and the crew watched as the ship swerved around an asteroid the size of a shuttle. They could now begin to see the outer edge of the field, the unknown planets ahead beckoning them forward like a maiden beckons a sailor. They could just make out a nebula off to the right of their screen, their long range sensors not quite able to pick it up. It swirled around mysteriously, just waiting to be explored. A console started beeping rhythmically, causing Picard to snap out of his daydream.
"Report." He snapped, giving his crew his attention.
Worf shook his head, his eyes squinting slightly as he looked up." The aft reflector seems to be malfunctioning. I am attempting to locate its source." He worked his console for a few seconds, his eyes blazing with a fire from within.
Geordi turned on the aft Opts panel and looked at the readings. He began to frown when he looked at Picard and shrugged, "Sensors show nothing out there but asteroids and the radiation Sir."
"Could it be the radiation that is causing the computers malfunction?" Picard asked, standing up from his chair and turning to look at the tactical stations.
Geordi shook his head, his brow creasing as he answered, "Negative Captain, the radiation is still within tolerable limits. It could be the reflector itself." He turned to his panel again and pressed a few more controls, "I'll have someone run a diagnostic on it; it should only take a few seconds."
"Proceed at your own digression Commander." Picard replied, turning back to the Helm. "Resume course."
Madden shook his head and turned to Picard, saying quietly, "Guess I should keep my mouth closed about action eh?"
Picard allowed himself a small smile as he looked into Madden hazel eyes, "Yes, you should." He said with resolve, not quite sure how he felt about his Commanding officer yet.
There was still much to learn from him, his records didn't indicate a lot, but enough for Picard to get a sense of the man. He seemed to be a joker when times were tough, that was all well and good, but Picard was still undecided on how he was during battle situations. Picard knew he'd find out soon, but how long that would be as unknown, as unknown as their new surroundings.
A few hours later the Enterprise slowed to half thrusters and hovered over the great beyond. To their left a nebula was waiting to be unraveled and to their right, empty space. The crew sat with quiet anticipation as Picard stood, tugging on his tunic and walked slowly towards the front, where the large viewscreen sat. He paused at the Helm and smiled down at the young Ensign, showing him in his own way how proud he was of her speediness. It had been a rather bumpy ride, but nothing the great ship couldn't handle. The Ensign looked up and smiled back, though it was rather forced, and Picard found himself saying,
"Good job Ensign."
The Ensign looked up at him with light blue eyes, startled for a moment before finding her resolve and replying,
"Thank you Sir."
Picard nodded and turned towards the viewscreen once more, mystery in his eyes. He knew this would probably be a boring mission for the Ensign, but there was nothing he could do but keep his crew safe and out of danger, which is what he was determined to do. Stepping back to his command chair he stopped and looked around his Bridge. Geordi was standing at the aft station. Worf at the tactical station. He expected to find Counselor Troi sitting beside his empty chair, a warm smile on her face, encouraging him on.
He opened his mouth to give his normal speech about the mysteriousness of space, but stopped, knowing they had already heard it plenty of times, and were probably sick of it. He knew he was. Thinking he should say something instead of standing there he quickly thought of something and began to speak,
"We all know why we're here; to charter an unknown area of space no one has explored before. We know the dangers we may, and may not face, but let's us not forget we are Starfleet officers first and foremost." He stopped gazing into the new faces around him, proud of his crew. He smiled as he finished, "Let us begin our journey…together."
Walking back to his command chair he nodded to Commander Madden, who nodded back and turned to look at the Helm, his eyes roaming over the area before hesitating a little bit. He wasn't used to giving out orders when the mission first starts, and was a little worried he would mess up his first real post. He had heard all about the missions and adventures the Enterprise had been through, knew how close the officers were, but now that most of them were off on their own or dead, it was up to him and the new crew to prove to Picard they could do it.
"Helm set a course towards the nebula, three quarter impulse." He declared in a strong voice, and quickly looked at Picard, who had a knowing look in his eye. His first command had been the right decision and Madden finally began to relax.
As the helmsman acknowledged and the ship began to move, Madden looked at the viewscreen, not really seeing what was outside, but saw his future, and it looked bright.