Captain Jonas yawned as the alarm chimes in his quarters went off. He had slept for three hours and was quite refreshed. The lights were gradually illuminating to awaken him gently. He sat up and stretched as he looked at the chronograph knowing that in one hour he would go to the bridge and assume command of the ship… even though it was still deep within an underground bunker.
He swung his feet over the side of his bed and reached down slipping on one boot and then the other. He walked over to the mirror and picked up his shaver, waiving it over his face his beard hairs vaporized leaving baby bottom smooth skin behind. He felt Tikka rubbing against his leg and looked down at the calico kitty who only offered a squeak in protest of the empty food bowl. He picked it up and placed it in the replicator and pushed the recycle button… it vanished into thin air. He then ordered, "feline dinner mackerel please," and another bowl materialized with a strong fish smell of food arranged neatly in the center of it. The kitty seemed to go crazy meowing playfully as he sat the bowl back down on the floor. He stroked her back and she purred as she gulped down a bite of her dinner.
With that he straightened his uniform and made his way into the corridor where he tapped the panel on the wall, "Iris can you please give me directions to the bridge."
There was the familiar beep of acknowledgment that any Federation computer would give and Iris materialized beside him, this time wearing her hair up in a severe regulation bun, "Sir, it would be my honor to accompany you to the bridge."
"I would have been just as happy to receive directions like any normal computer would give," Jonas protested.
"Oh my dear Captain," she said in a very condescendingly voiced British accent, "in case you haven't figured it out there's nothing normal about the Dauntless…" she paused for a moment as if she was deep in thought about something, "although I protest at the thought that it makes me abnormal… I don't even thing I like the word unusual… maybe peculiar, perhaps?"
"I see I have offended the great computer again," Captain Alexander mused as they got to what appeared to be a turbo lift. It opened to a mini-transporter room.
"I much rather prefer to be called Iris," she said as she motioned for him to step in. "The Dauntless works more efficiently with site-to-site transporters, we found that slipstream flight could distort the turbo lift shafts causing horrific accidents to happen… and we don't want accidents do we." They both stepped in and her eyes seemed to light up as the transporter engaged and Jonas found himself in a room that was labeled as the bridge on the transporter station. This time Iris appeared in the same silver jumpsuit she wore when he came aboard with her hair down loose along her shoulders, "since I don't have matter and am technically everywhere at any given time my avatars may appear different based on the areas you encounter me… for instance in engineering I wear an engineering uniform to match the crew… if I am assisting in medical I wear scrubs."
"And you manage to accessorize as well as my ex-wife," the Captain fired back.
Iris frowned, "when I look good the crew is more comfortable with me."
Jonas looked around the bridge and noticed it had no skylight windows above in the ceiling… it was elegant, the room was covered in exotic woods, the floor was gleaming granite and marble. Instead of a Captain's chair flanked by senior staff, as most every bridge in Starfleet was configured, he was shocked to find five chairs arranged in a circle facing the center of the room. He looked at Iris, "Tell me where the view screen is and which chair is mine?"
Iris chuckled, "there is no view screen" she stepped down and touched one of the chairs activating the holographic image projector in the center of the room. "The projector works on a point of view matrix… no matter which chair you choose the image will align to your point of view as if you were looking straight on to the view screen. Your senior staff occupy the other chairs and they will have the same perspective as you do. Actually anyone on the bridge who looks to the center will see everything head on in perspective… it's amazing technology isn't it?"
"Where is the bridge on the ship, most have portholes," Jonas mused.
Iris made an image of all the decks appear in the center of the room on the holo-matrix, "the bridge is in the center of the ship in the second most armored area."
"Second most armored… what is the first?" Jonas mused for a moment and before he could speak, "let me guess the computer core."
"Correct," She said brightly and without apology, "without me this ship could not navigate. I am the most powerful computer ever designed by the federation… I must be capable of navigating the quantum slipstream drive… I would think you would want me to be well protected while in flight."
"Wow… you don't have to be so defensive," Captain Alexander chuckled.
With a pout she said, "I don't think you like me."
"I have a feeling you'll grow on me in time," He said as one of his first command staff members materialized onto the bridge.
"Lt. Commander Harth reporting for duty," the Catian said as she sniffed, "you didn't have to bring dinner." As she smelled traces of the mackerel on the captain?
"Dinner," he said as he turned to see the Catian standing behind him, "oh… I fed my…" he froze a the awkwardness of saying pet to her.
"It's ok," she said, "we keep domestic earth felines as pets… to us they are like living dolls."
He noticed her markings were much like a Siamese cat, she had the most intense ice blue eyes, "I've never served with a Catian before," he said sheepishly, "forgive me for staring."
"It's quite alright," Harth said as she walked over to him, "Let me fit you with your I.C.A.R.U.S. it will take a bit getting used to, but it will become as a second skin. I will schedule you some time on the training range to teach you all that it can do." She walked over to him and slipped the loose fingerless glove on his right hand. "Iris if you will do the honors and pair it to the Captain?"
"Pair it," Jonas asked as he read very little about the device that will work as a weapon, tricorder, communications device, and transporter enhancer. "I'm sorry, but I did not receive a lot of information on the ships systems or devices before I transported."
Harth smiled, "Iris is the Dauntless… and she's not like anything that can be explained in a mere manual. The I.C.A.R.U.S. is a unique piece of technology, it can be removed only with great difficulty as it forms a second skin and maps to your DNA. This is why each crew member is paired to their ICARUS, you can shower with it, swim with it and do anything you normally would do through life's activities. After wearing it for a day, it's almost like it becomes a part of you and you will pay it no more mind."
"So I've been told," the Captain said with a sly smile at the Iris hologram who only smiled back defiantly as she activated the I.C.A.R.U.S. causing it to shrink to the exact fit of the captain's hand.
Harth nodded, "it has phaser capabilities as well as micro-tractor beams… it can read your mind," she said as she stretched her arm out towards a pad that sat on a counter ten feet away. "For instance you can use the micro-tractor beams to pick something up…" the pad floated gracefully through the air and landed softly in her hand. She passed it to the Captain, "everything you need to know is in here."
Harth then opened her hand up palm facing upwards as the hologram of the recently promoted Chief Jason Waters appeared as a hologram, "Chief, please schedule some range time with Captain Alexander… I.C.A.R.U.S. training."
The image of Waters nodded as he touched the computer panel at his station, "Would tomorrow at 13:00 hours work fine."
"I'll be there," Jonas mused as he walked around the circular bridge… "This reminds me of the round table." He watched the hologram of Chief Waters nod in acknowledgment and disappear as she closed her palm.
"Round table," both Harth and Iris asked.
"An old Earth legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table… all sat down at a great table that was round making them all equal in the eyes of each other."
"We have a story about a mythic leader named Freya who had a similar table," Harth added, "amazing each culture has such stories."
Iris paused as she accessed the entire writings of the King Arthur legends… "Oh, what a delightful book of stories."
Jonas chuckled, "yes… but here it seems like there's some truth to that design in this bridge." He looked at Harth, "who is my first officer?"
"You haven't picked one yet?" she asked almost in surprise.
He smiled brightly, "I just did… Iris… contact Admiral Janeway and let her know that Lt. Commander Harth is now the first officer of the Dauntless... for me to feel comfortable in this command I need someone who is familiar with all of her technology… and I need someone I know is going to watch my back."
Harth blinked in surprise… "Are you certain?"
"Call it intuition… yes, I am certain," Jonas said. "We have three weeks to get this crate ready for its shakedown flight."
"Crate," Iris said defensively.
"No offense intended," Jonas said as he looked at Harth, "is she always this sensitive."
Harth chuckled with a hint of purr and said, "always… but at least you called Iris a 'she' and not an 'it' so you are making progress."
