Chapter Two
The center seat on the Enterprise's bridge is large and rather intimidating. I had never really looked at it before I entered the Bridge to take command of the saucer section. Commander
Riker was still there, waiting for me.
"Are you ready for this, Marrissa?" he asked.
"As ready as I can be, sir," I replied. I tried to sound confident, I really did, but my voice trembled, still, and I ended it with a nervous laugh.
"Don't worry about being nervous," Riker advised, as he lead me to the center seat "It's perfectly normal, and it's generally a good thing. Just listen to your crew, and you should do well."
"Aye, sir" I responded. This wasn't going to be easy. I'd be lucky if I got through the saucer separation without peeing my pants.
"Miss Flores, you have the saucer section, per Captain's orders," Riker said, turning toward the battle bridge turbolift. "Good Luck."
I'd need it, that's one thing I was sure of. As I looked at that center seat, I imagined it swallowing me. The aft turbolift door opened, revealing the Lieutenant who would be my First Officer. I was not going to greet him any place other than from that center seat. So I quickly sat down. My feet didn't touch the ground. I was very out of place here.
I have to admit that I was worried about how Marrissa would act on the bridge. I should have known better. After all, the shy quiet girl wasn't going to suddenly going to develop into a giggling little girl getting in everyone's way. I knew she was nervous. The slight nervous laugh that seemed to be appended to every sentence gave that away. However, I had to admire her attempt make-believe everything was perfectly normal.
"Lieutenant Markovic, is taking command of the bridge always this nerve wracking?" Marrissa asked as I took the First Officer's seat.
Okay, maybe she wasn't trying to make-believe that everything was perfectly normal. "I'm not in the center seat, Marrissa," I said. "I never have been, so I can't compare."
"Battle Bridge to Main Bridge, prepare for Saucer Separation," Captain Picard's voice said.
"Are all stations ready for Saucer Separation?" Marrissa said, picking up her cue. As commander of the saucer section, she had some checks to do.
"Engineering reports all Jefferies tubes and turbolifts have been sealed," a crewman at the aft Engineering Station reported. "Saucer power distribution systems have been rerouted to saucer power systems."
"Sickbay is ready. All tactical systems on-line," Tactical said.
"Captain Picard, this is the Main Bridge, the saucer section is ready to go," Marrissa reported. She seemed to have gained some confidence.
"Begin saucer separation on my mark," Picard's voice said. "Mark."
From the Battle Bridge, reports came in.
"Docking clamps released."
"Reducing warp power to throw saucer section clear."
"We are now clear of the saucer and free to maneuver."
"See you at DS9, Marrissa."
As the Stardrive streaked off away from us, Marrissa stood up and adjusted the solid black jumpsuit she was wearing. "CONN, set a course for Deep Space Nine," she said. "Tactical, please keep an eye on the Cardassian Border. I have reason to believe it might become active soon, and I want advanced warning. Mister Markovic, you have the Bridge. I'll be in the Ready Room."
As the Stardrive turned away, I watched the saucer disappear. When you leave even part of your ship behind, you leave part of your heart with it. Normally, I leave one of my best officers in command, and I assuage my fears with my confidence in their talents. I wish I could do the same this time.
I barely made it into the Ready Room and the Captain's Head. I'll have to make a note to myself not to drink a large glass of strawberry juice before taking command. I wanted to make a good impression by staying in the center seat for a while, and that glass made me have to retreat instead of charge.
The search for the Enterprise-C didn't take long. There are only so many routes that a starship can take from the point she left Romulus toward Cardassia and not be spotted. Most of them involve passing though the Mc Allister C-5 Nebula in order to get into Cardassian space itself. That's where we headed. Admiral McGuire's projections said we'd probably arrive there just before the Enterprise-C entered the nebula.
The Admiral was a little off. Long rang sensors barely caught sight of the Enterprise-C before she entered the nebula. The Enterprise-D had dealt with this particular nebula before. It has an intense particle flux that limits the time a ship can safely stay inside. Captain Jellico used this to his advantage at the time, planting mines up against the Cardassian ships amassed in it. It would not be an easy place to pilot though, but I trusted Commander Riker's steady hand at the helm.
The question was, where would the Enterprise-C strike? There were several Cardassian targets Celtris III was out. It was barren, though it did have a ruined outpost of the Preservers. If it weren't in Cardassian space, I'd spend my next vacation there. There were no less than five Cardassian starbases on the edge of the nebula, every one of them a choice target.
To determine that, I'd need to know what the Romulans intended to accomplish. A Romulan commander doesn't use his ship as a blunt instrument. That's more of a Klingon tactic. Subtlety is the key word behind a Romulan plan. I'm sure the Romulans could easily create a war between the Federation and Cardassia with just one Star Fleet Vessel under their control, but they've managed to get their hands on serval ships over the last dozen years and not tried this. So the question was, why the Enterprise-C? What made her so special? My crew and I have three hours to figure that out.
When I met Marrissa in the Ready Room, she seemed different from she had on the bridge. On the bridge she had been nervous and fidgety. Here, she sat comfortably behind the desk, looking over several PADDs. Some of them were the ship's schematics that I'd seen her carry before, along with some tactical studies. There were also reports on the ship's status, of course. She was taking notes. I had not expected her to take the job seriously. I know that Marrissa is a shy and serious child, but somehow I figured she'd just sit in the center seat and utter a few formulaic commands.
I deposited the shift's Bridge Log, which required her signature. She picked it up and read it all. When she was done, she spoke up for the first time since I'd entered. "Why isn't there a report on the Cardassian border status?"
It was a good question. I hadn't noticed the lack. She had ordered special attention paid toward the border. That normally would result in at least a note somewhere in tactical's portion of the log. "I don't know."
"Perhaps you could have Crewman Santos report on the observations, personally," Marrissa said. I was beginning to see how Marrissa was planning to command. He'd probably try to get out without telling Marrissa anything.
I returned to the bridge, finding that Santos hadn't departed yet, even though his relief had arrived. That wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Generally, Lieutenant Worf had his staff overlap about ten minutes or so. It allowed them to let their relief know what had been going on. "Crewman Santos," I said, approaching him. "The Captain would like to know what you observed along the Cardassian border. It seems that despite her orders to pay attention to it, your report didn't list any observations regarding it. You will stop by the Ready Room before you leave the Bridge."
I turned around and walked back to my seat, pretending not to see him look up the sensor logs of the border. As First Officer, however, you can bet that I was going to include this little incident in my evaluations. Commander Riker had told me that he expected a review from me on all the Bridge Crews by the time he got back. It was going to be lots of paper work. In any case, Santos wasn't going to get a good review from me.
On patrol of the Federation Border you see a large variety of ships. Some you expect. The Ferengi Marauders are always around, as is the constant traffic of the Federation's merchant vessels. Star Fleet keeps about five ships on this section of the border. This week they were the Arizona, the Lakota, the Malinche, the Proxima, and the Prometheus. However, every once in a while you see something unexpected.
It was too bad that we weren't at war with the Federation. The saucer section of the Enterprise-D makes a rather tempting target. Of course it would be against current Cardassian doctrine. The saucer sections, when separated, are considered civilian vessels until proven otherwise.
The Enterprise-C seems to have struck. Five minutes ago we came across a Cardassian Freighter while still on the Federation side of the border. It had been disabled and her crew left for dead with no chance of repair in time to save their lives. Its crew has been brought on board the Enterprise-D. The commander of the Freighter seems to think he saw a ghost. Apparently the Enterprise-C has a reputation among the Cardassains that I was not aware of. After a discussion with my crew I believe that the Romulans wish to incite the Cardassians into war by beginning what will appear to be a campaign of fear from the Federation.
Counselor Troi believes that this would involve attacks of increasing size, arranged so that each one would bring more fear into the Cardassians. From the nebula the Enterprise-C will likely attack target after target, retreating to the nebula after leaving its image behind for the rescuers to find.
Against orders, I have shared our mission with the Captain of the Cardassian Freighter. I hope by doing so I can stop a full scale war, even if I can't stop the Enterprise-C immediately.