Chapter Two

Zerk shielded his ears as the Mary Lou slid down from the sky to come to rest in the center of the landing pad so close to him. He shivered as he watched the dark shape grow in size until he could make out the civilian markings on her side. Her coloring was unusual, gloss black with a red strip running horizontally around the ship. It made for an oddly menacing look, leaving him with an uneasy feeling.

Or perhaps it was that salad the human had said was good for his metabolism. What did he know about Ferringi metabolism? Perhaps he was coming down with one of those famous stomach bugs that lays its victims low. He would have to ask his friend...

He stopped short, remembering that his friend was no more. It was still fresh, too fresh. He was glad the captain had asked him to disembark with him to locate some items of import that he'd known Zerk's skill could produce. That was why he was the Mary Lou's quartermaster. He was very good at acquiring things for the captain. And if he was also good at acquiring things that ended up putting a latinum bar or two into his pocket... who's to worry?

He ducked through the archway leading to the tarmac and headed toward the opening gangway, deftly avoiding the cabling trailing behind a couple of dock workers. They finished attaching the mass to the side of the Mary Lou, blinking blue lights settling down to a steady burn as the circuits inside meshed together, tying the ship into the local power and information 'nets. Nearing the gangplank he looked up to see Peter standing at the top of the ramp, looking out and around the docking bay.

There was a lot to see. From his vantage point, about twenty feet in the air, his view upward was blocked by the underbelly of the Mary Lou. That didn't stop him from seeing out across the tarmac. Workers scrambled over ships just touching down, or removing connections just before the ships lifted off again. Others moved crates from here to there, seemingly oblivious to all the other activity going on around them, yet able to keep from slamming together with the dexterity of a dancer.

As much as he enjoyed the show, that's not why he stuck his neck out the door.

"Hey Zerk!" he shouted as the Ferringi neared the top of the ramp. "There was a message waiting in the queue when we linked in about a shipment waiting for us? That your doing? Walters didn't know anything about it."

"Yes, yes, that's mine," Zerk answered. "Things I was asked to get, I got. Did they have a delivery time?" he asked.

"Just a comm ident," he replied, watching the Ferringi's face become more agitated. He knew it set Zerk off if things didn't go his way. It was funny to watch at times.

Zerk couldn't believe the laxness of these humans! Clearly he'd have to attend to it himself, just as he always did. "Please open up access to cargo bay two from outside," he said to Peter as he moved past him toward the comm panel set in the wall. "The items being delivered will fit nicely in there."

Peter nodded. Even though he liked to tease Zerk, he had to admit that the Ferringi was very good at his job. He'd been able to obtain everything he'd been asked to up to this point, and while some of the items had caused him to raise an eyebrow, he didn't see it as his place to say anything about how the goods were gotten. He followed Zerk inside, closing the hatch behind him.

Steam billowed from the open door to the head, the sound of a running shower combining with the steam to give off an aura of luxury not normally found on a starship. Actual showers were few and far between. Most made do with a sonic shower. Which, though it would get you clean, wasn't the most fun activity to be had.

The sounds of the shower abruptly cut off, to be followed shortly by Quade toweling himself off as he walked into his room. He'd taken a shower in the hotel the day before, but figured while they were still docked he'd go ahead and get one more in before they lifted. He rationed himself to one three minute water shower a week while in flight. So when he had the chance to take a long, hot shower, he availed himself of it.

Walking over to one of the storage compartments built into the wall he pulled out a shirt, underpants, and pants, and began to put them on. The mirror on the wall mirrored him as he dressed, showing a well built man in good physical shape. What would have caught anyone's eyes upon seeing it was the scar running from just under his left collarbone to his right hip. From the looks of it the wound was not a recent one. The scar tissue showed every indication of being well healed.

A chime rang through the air. Quade finished pulling on his shirt, then tapped a nearby comm pad. "Quade here."

"Captain, you asked to be informed when all crew were aboard and all cargo secured."

Quade nodded to himself. "Excellent, Janice. Please put us in the departure queue. I'll be on the bridge in a minute." He clicked off the comm, then grabbed his boots, sitting down on the neatly made bed to pull them on. A moment later he was out the door.

Janice flipped a switch on the console in front of her as the comm clicked off. "Norfolk Control, this is the Mary Lou, NCC-376238-cc, requesting entry into the departure queue."

"Roger that, Mary Lou." The voice of Norfolk Control came back almost immediately. "You are now seventh in the queue. Anticipated lift-off time is 1642 hours local."

Janice glanced at the time. 1630. That'd work.

"Acknowledged, Norfolk Control. Seventh in the queue. Lift-off at 1642 hours." She flipped the circuit back to standby, then punched up the command circuit.

"Alright people," she said to the waiting group. "Let's go through the list. Engineering?"

"All systems are operational," Peter replied from his station down in the engine room. "Weapons systems offline. Defensive systems on standby. Environmental systems in the green. Propulsion systems at your command. The Mary Lou's ready for space."

Janice nodded to herself. "Cargo Master?"

"Ship's stores have been replenished," Zerk replied from his small office just outside of cargo bay one. "Cargo secured in bay two. All valuables secured."

Janice grinned, then nodded to the captain as he entered the bridge and settled himself down into his chair.

"You set there, T'Kel?" she asked, turning toward the helm. T'Kel looked back at her. "Yes Ma'am," she answered. "It will take us 2.3 hours on impulse to clear Sol's gravitational influence. We will then jump to warp five on a course for Starbase 120. We should arrive at the starbase 13.7 days later."

Janice nodded to T'Kel, then turned to the captain. "Captain, the Mary Lou is ready for space."

Quade nodded to his first officer, hiding a grin. You can take the officer out of Starfleet, he mused. Taking Starfleet out of the officer, on the other hand...

"Very good, Janice. T'Kel," he said, turning his attention the the young vulcan, "take us out as scheduled."

"Aye, sir. Fourth in line now. Lift in 6.12 minutes."

Quade nodded at T'Kel's statement, then turned his attention to the displays in front of him. Everything looked good. Now all there was to do was to wait.

The wait wasn't a long one. Within moments Janice cocked her head as her earbud picked up a short transmission. "Norfolk Control says we're clear for liftoff at any time, captain."

Quade grinned. "Well, you heard the lady," he said to T'Kel, who was looking at him. With a nod she turned around, punching an activation key on her console. The sound of the engines took on a deeper note as she brought them online.

"All hands, stand by for lift," T'Kel stated as she applied vertical thrust, taking the ship's weight off the landing legs. Peter, watching the stress indicators over at the engineering station, nodded as the pressure eased. As the last of the gauges swung down to zero he punched in the retraction sequence. He was rewarded a moment later with solid thumps as the legs retracted into the underside of the ship.

T'Kel, watching the maneuver on her board, applied thrust, steering the ship on the vector that control had given her, keeping an eye on the sensors, just in case the lane wasn't as clear as control thought it was. The Mary Lou rose quickly through the darkening sky, until the stars came out in the unblinking brightness of space.

"Free of the atmosphere, captain." T'Kel stated.

"Very well. Set course for the Jupiter nexus and engage." Quade replied.

With a graceful arc the Mary Lou slid away from the planet, her nose pointed toward the outer reaches of the solar system. Accelerating, she quickly left Earth behind.

Quade watched Earth vanish in the viewscreen, then switched the view forward, watching Earth's moon sweep away starboard. In moments nothing was showing on the screen except the darkness of space. He watched the unchanging view for a moment as T'Kel settled the ship onto her course. Finally he nodded, then rose.

"I'll be in my office," he said to Janice as he strode off the bridge through the door to the captain's ready room. The familiar surroundings brought a smile to his face as he first went to the replicator to get a cup of coffee, then settled down behind his desk, bringing up the paperwork waiting for him. It seemed every time he turned around there were more documents requiring his thumb print. As he was a thorough man he took the time to read each document before he signed off on it, which usually took him a couple of hours every time he sat down to do it. It had been a few days, so there was quite a lot waiting for him. He dug in, barely registering Janice's voice letting the crew know they were underway again.

Pam unstrapped from her seat in Medical as the all-clear sounded. She'd ridden out of earth's orbit before. It was a common occurrence for students to take a field trip to the colony on the Moon, which she'd eagerly gone on. It had been amazing to travel across the Moon's surface to the Sea of Tranquility, where man had first stepped foot on another celestial body.

That trip was nothing like what she was experiencing now. Then she'd been on a transport that had sat several hundred people. Now she was on a starship, in charge of her own sickbay!

And what a sickbay it was, she thought as she continued what she'd been doing before launch, which was figuring out where everything was. She'd downloaded a copy of the inventory for the department to her padd, then began hunting for the equipment and supplies that were listed there. She was pleased to find out how modern the equipment was. There were even four stasis chambers for use in situations that required more help than she could offer. As she was familiarizing herself with the department, she couldn't help but wonder how a civilian ship came by the things she was finding. There was even one of the newest bio scanners over in one of the drawers. She'd had the luxury of using one in one of her advanced classes. That was only three months ago, and the only reason she'd been able to get her hands on it was because on of the Starfleet recruiters had shown it to her to hopefully help him convince her that Starfleet was for her, as the devices hadn't been released into the civilian population. Yet here was one, clearly in civilian hands.

She figured she shouldn't complain, though. If she was going to be the doctor on board a civilian vessel it was good to know that she would have good equipment to help her along. She'd wondered if she was going to have to buy some equipment on her own. Glancing around at the small but fully stocked sickbay and supporting office and patient areas she was relieved that she wasn't going to have to do that.

She was almost through with her checklist when the chime of an incoming call filled the air. She reached over and tapped open the channel. "Jacob-Smith here."

"Ah, Doctor. Have you gotten all settled in?" The voice of her new boss, Captain Samuels, asked.

"I have, yes," she replied. "I have also familiarized myself with your sickbay. Quite a modern facility you have here."

She heard a chuckle escape him. "No, doctor, it's your domain now, not mine. Though I still have to sign off on the expense chits, so be frugal when you can!"

Be frugal? If he called what he'd done to sickbay frugal, she'd love to see what he called extravagant! Or maybe he was telling her this is all she's going to get? She stopped worrying about it as the captain continued speaking.

"Please be at the main mess hall at 1930 hours. I've decided the best way for all of us to get to know each other is to start out with dinner together. We'll be in warp by then. It should be the perfect opportunity."

"Yes Sir," she replied. "I'll be happy to."

"See you then." The circuit clicked closed. Glancing at the time she saw that it was still a few hours off. Setting a reminder to herself for 1845 hours about the dinner, she delved back into her inventory.

This will be adequate, Sonak thought to himself as he finished unpacking his luggage, then broke the grav-sled down for storage. His new quarters were not big by any means. Right now it was configured for day occupation, so there was a desk with a computer tie-in for his padd on one end, with a comfortable chair in front of it. The other end was set up for the company of two others, where three chairs and a small table waited. The door in the back wall opened up into a small 'fresher, which he'd already broken in, taking advantage of a quick shower before reporting for duty. When he'd come aboard he had been met by the First Officer and shown his quarters. She'd told him to log into the system and check out his orders, then report for dinner at 1930 hours in the main mess hall, then left him to his own devices.

"All hands, stand by for lift." The words cut through his thoughts, sending him down to the center chair, which reconfigured itself into a launch chair. He settled in, long familiar with space flight. Once they got into orbit they'd be fine. Until then, though, in a ship this size, they'd be buffed around a bit.

Not bad, he thought as the all clear came through a few moments later. He rose from the chair and went over to his desk, setting down before it. He brought it online, then spent several minutes setting up the displays the way he liked them. He even chose Vulcan as the base language, just to keep in practice.

Finally he turned to his holding queue, which had several items in it. First was a copy of the binding contract that he'd signed yesterday in his last interview. He spent a moment reviewing it, finding it as he remembered. He filed it over in long term storage, then pulled up the next item. It was a note from the captain, giving him his clearance for the computer systems aboard the Mary Lou. He was to familiarize himself with his duties as best he could before the dinner meeting. Taking a glance at the size of the file, there was a lot to it. Best he get started.

"Jump to warp completed, captain," T'Kel stated as the Mary Lou slid gently to warp five. "All systems fully operational."

"She's running smooth as a dream, captain." Peter's voice rose from his console.

"Glad to hear it, Peter," Quade replied. "Hal, give me a full systems check."

"Working," the voice given the Mary Lou's computer was pleasant male voice. Janice shuddered at her station as she remembered the conversation she'd had with Quade about his naming the computer. When he'd loaner her the vid of an old earth 2D movie and told her to watch it, she'd been curious. But a computer that turned on the humans, killing them in the end? And that was what the humans of that time had thought first contact was going to be like?

"All systems are green," Hal finally replied.

"Excellent," Quade replied, rising from his seat. "You have the bridge, Hal. Call me if you need me." He turned and nodded to the rest of the bridge crew. "Join me for dinner, will you?" he asked, then turned and walked off the bridge.

"Acknowledged, Captain," the computer responded.

Hating to the leave bridge unoccupied Janice waited to be the last to leave. She knew that the dinner meeting wasn't going to keep her from where she wanted to be for too long, and she knew that it was something that needed them all to be there. Didn't mean she had to like it. Especially leaving the computer running things. Not that she didn't believe in what current technology could do. She'd always feel better with a human in the loop. "Keep your eyes open, Hal," she muttered as she left the bridge.

The mess hall was two decks down, and one of the few places on the ship where all the crew could easily occupy without feeling crowded. Janice entered the room, looking around at those already seated. She recognized most of them, including the new security officers. She didn't know the other human female there, so she concluded that must be the new doctor. She looked quite young for her position, though she couldn't imagine Quade screwing up with a new crew member. So far he'd been right on the money.

Seeing that everyone else had, or was in the process of, getting their dinner, she did the same, then took the seat across from the captain. To her left was Peter, who nodded at her from around a bite of the goulash being served. To his left was the doctor, then Zerk. On the other side of the captain was Sonak, Jack, and T'Kel.

She'd been surprised at the small number of people it took to man this ship. After seeing the modifications that had been done to her she had definitely thought them unorthodox, but workable.

Quade noticed the faraway look on his first officer's face as she paused in eating her dinner and grinned to himself. It was time to get the show on the road.

"If I could have a few moments of your time, please," he said. The quiet conversations going on stopped as those at the table turned to give the captain their attention.

"To those of you new to your berth, welcome aboard the Mary Lou. Dr. Jacobs-Smith," he said, nodding toward Pam, "is our new doctor, while Sonak," he motioned toward the young romulan, "is our new security chief. For those of you that don't know each other, this is Peter, our engineer, Zerk, our Quartermaster, T'Kel, our helmsman, and Jack, our Sciences specialist." Each nodded as Quade said their names. "Finally, that's First Officer Walters, across the table from me."

He sat back in his chair, taking a sip of his coffee. He then continued. "As those of you know who have shipped with me before, I like the face-to-face aspect of meetings like this. Yes, I know it isn't always possible to do this, but as often as we can we'll meet like this." he paused to take another sip of his coffee.

"As you'll find out, I'm not big on rank. I do, however, expect the chain of command to be followed. In that regard it's me, then Walters, then Jordan."

As he spoke Quade looked at each of them in turn, lingering on the two newest members of his crew the longest. "We're on our way to Starbase 120 to deliver a load of wine. From there, who knows? I want each of you to prepare a report of the overall state of your departments. Be ready to present it at tomorrow night's dinner."

Here Quade paused to finish off the last of his coffee.

"I operate on the assumption that we have no idea of what we might be flying into. For the most part that's not true," he stated, noticing the doctor's surprised look. "But there has been occasion when that line of thinking has kept us alive. I like to think out of the box, and like to have a crew that does the same thing. I like a crew that works well together." He paused to look over at the two new crew members.

"We're going to be in warp for the next few days. Learn your stations and the operations of the emergency functions in the ship. You never know when that knowledge might save your life."

"Something else to think about," he continued, "is what's out there." He pointed over to the bulkhead. "On the other side of that is the most hostile environment known to man. It has no mercy or compassion, and will kill you as soon as not. Don't ever forget that. Everything you do aboard ship affects us all."

Now that, from the looks on the newbie's faces he'd scared them, it was time to back down a bit. "Of course, it's not death at every corner. The Mary Lou is a taut ship, and Peter has done his utmost to keep her that way. Any problems with equipment let him know. Any problems with anything else, see me or Janice."

"One last thing. Even though Hal can run things just fine, I find a prefer to have a live body on the bridge whenever possible. So Janice will be giving you your schedules for bridge duty. Figure it'll be one night a week." He grinned at the startled expressions on the new crew members' faces. Oh don't worry, I'm not expecting you to handle emergency situations past you getting in touch with me or Janice immediately. In fact, you'll probably find it a good time to study or to work, as you'll be the only one awake, most times."

He stood, grabbing his tray. "Janice, if you would?" he asked, then turned, disposed of his tray, then left the mess hall.

Janice looked around at them. "Ok, I have the assignments for this week. T'Kel..."