SoftWare: I'm back!
Gakowa: Don't you mean we're back?
SoftWare: (Sighs) Never mind.
Chapter Two
Maiden Voyage
(One year after incident with Anthony Wieber)
Jack stood in the control room of Spacedock. They were announcing the unveiling of the newest class of
cruiser, the Olympus-class. The prototype vessel, Olympus, had been tested and it had the power
requirements to create a stable warp gate. It had been destroyed by the cannons of Spacedock, as it was
only a trial and error vessel. The first ship of the Olympus-class that would be commissioned for actual
missions was about to be revealed. As the blast doors opened, the ship was revealed. Jack read the
lettering on the side, the ship's name and registry: EV Poseidon, OG-03. It was a fine cruiser, and Jack
kept his eyes on it. He couldn't help but wonder who would command it. He assumed it was Nero. As he
thought this, President Obama approached him. "Hudson. Enjoying the view, are we?" Jack nodded. "Yes,
sir." Obama nodded, then said, "Where's Tano?" Jack smiled. "He got up late this morning. Nero kept him
up past midnight working on his car. He got blindsided by some semi driver, and he asked Gakowa for
help, since I was busy." As he finished saying this, Gakowa walked over. "Hey, J, it's not nice to talk about
people behind their back." The Knight faced his Padawan. "Sorry, G. Sal and Sam didn't bother you at all?"
Gakowa shook his head. "They're still asleep." That got Jack's attention. "How late were they up?!" Gakowa
shrugged. "I decided not to ask." Jack nodded. "That was probably a good idea on your part." Facing
Obama, he asked, "So, when does Nero take her out?" Obama shook his head. "He won't. You're taking her
out in five hours." That got Jack's attention. "Until Master Tano gets back, Nero's the highest ranking
member of the Jedi Knights of Earth." Obama nodded. "Yes, but he specifically requested that you get the
first Olympus-class vessel." Facing Gakowa, he said, "Tano will be your first officer, until he's knighted."
Jack nodded. "Come on, G. Let's see what it looks like on the inside." When they were aboard, Jack walked
onto the main bridge, Gakowa a few steps behind him. The bridge crew stood at attention. "Captain on
deck!" Jack nodded. "At ease." He approached the command chair. Gakowa approached the first officer's
console, which was next to the comm. He sat down, and the commsman spoke up. "I like your eye color,
sir." Gakowa grinned. "Thanks." Jack smirked at this, then faced the helmsman. "Retract all moorings, Mr.
Hawk." Hawk nodded. "Yes, sir." The moorings holding the ship steady were retracted, and Mr. Hawk
activated the stabilizers to hold the Poseidon steady. Jack settled into his chair, and said, "All bridge hands,
report in." Gakowa spoke first. "First officer, standing by." Mr. Hawk spoke up. "Second officer and
helmsman, standing by." The navigator spoke up. "Navigator, standing by." The commsman spoke up.
"Commsman, standing by." Jack nodded, then thumbed his communication button. "Hudson to
Engineering. Give me a sign of life." The chief engineer answered immediately. "All systems functioning
normally, Captain." Jack nodded. He thumbed the button again. "Hudson to Medical, come in." The chief
medical officer replied, "All of our systems are at full power, Captain." Jack nodded. Engineering came on
the comm. "Hyperdrive online, and Warp Gate device ready to activate at your command." Jack was
impressed with his crew already. "Right, then." He nodded to Gakowa. His Padawan nodded back, then hit
his own comm. "First officer to crew, we are about to test the Warp Gate device. We should have enough
power, but we advise everyone to be prepared in case something goes wrong." Gakowa nodded to Jack.
The Terran captain faced Hawk. "Half sublight." Hawk replied. "Half sublight, sir." The ship sailed forward,
into the sea of stars. Jack nodded to Hawk. "Launch a Warp Gate." Hawk nodded. "Launching, sir. Stand
by." A capsule was launched from the ship, before transforming into a blue window a short distance from
the Poseidon. Jack gave the command. "Full sublight. Take us through." Hawk nodded. "Full sublight,
Captain." The Poseidon sailed forward, into the window. They were transported to coordinates 13-75-18,
about halfway through the Milky Way Galaxy. Jack grinned. "It works." As he said this, the ship lost power,
and its auxiliary power kicked in. Jack faced the tactical officer. "What happened?" Engineering chimed in.
"Sir, we were hit by an EMP wave. We don't know its origin." Gakowa walked over to tactical. "Let me see."
The tactical officer nodded. Gakowa saw the outline of a ship coming up behind them. "Captain, we've got
company." Jack faced him. "What is it?" Gakowa faced him. "A ship. Ten minutes out." Jack faced Hawk.
"How long to get primary power back online?" Hawk faced him. "Eleven minutes, sir. By then, if they open
fire, it won't make a difference if we have shields and weapons." Jack faced Gakowa, who looked back at
the tactical viewer.
A/N
SoftWare: Uh oh.
Gakowa: Oh, yeah. I remember that.
SoftWare: No spoilers!
Computer: SoftWare, offline.
