Chapter 2 Communications Breakdown
Three hours later
The Renown and Ranger dropped out of warp near the Khitomer's last known location. Both ship's scanned the area and found the Khitomer dead in space. The Ranger got close and hailed the Khitomer again. Only static remained on the screen.
On the bridge of the Ranger, Maxwell stood and went to T'Vrell's station. "T'Vrell can you clear up the signal?" he asked
"Yes sir. One moment." She replied
On the screen Captain Jay Yim finally appeared though the visual was still poor. "Ah, Captain Vo'Lok…Captain Taggart? What are you both doing here?"
"This is Captain Maxwell of the Ranger; Captain Taggart was killed by Klingon raiders. We were ordered to accompany the Renown to your location. We were unable to contact you earlier. Captain Vo'Lok felt it necessary to investigate." Said Maxwell.
"Captain Yim, what is your status?" asked Vo'Lok
"I am troubled by the anomalies in this system and if they are interfering with long-rang communications then they are doubly a cause for concern. I suggest we do this by the numbers. We've already launched nine probes. Now that they're active, we can do an in-depth scan of the anomalies. With all three ships collecting data, we should be able to complete this quickly and decide our next course of action. The Renown has the largest science team, so I recommend we send our data there for analysis. Any questions?" Yim said looking at Maxwell.
"No sir." Maxwell replied
"Then let's go." Yim replied
With that the channel closed and Maxwell sat in his chair. "Helm, take us to the first anomaly. Full impulse. When we're close enough start scanning." He ordered.
"Aye sir. Course set."
"Reports indicate traces of gamma radiation. But there's something…off in the readings." Reported Flores.
"Very well, set course for point bravo." Ordered Maxwell.
The ship changed course to the second anomaly. Once they arrived they scanned it and the Khitomer hailed them.
"Khitomer here, are you seeing the same gamma radiation levels we are? I'm not sure that a normal scan will be enough. We might need to do a full multiphasic reading." He said
"How can we improve our sensor results?" asked Maxwell.
"My chief science officer, Commander Davis, suggests that performing a reverse tachyon pulsewave scan will solve our sensor issues. Perform your final scans, then report back." Yim said
"Understood. T'Vrell?" Maxwell asked
"Scanning…" she replied
"I'm getting a reading…it's a Borg transwarp signature!" reported Flores.
On the view screen a single Borg probe dropped out of transwarp and began firing on the Ranger.
"Red alert! Shields up! Ready Phasers, load torpedo bays. Flores fire when ready." Maxwell ordered.
Phasers and torpedoes flashed out and quickly destroyed the Probe but the fight wasn't over, the Khitomer was also under attack. The Ranger went to full impulse for the Khitomer's position and found the Renown fighting a pair of probes. The Ranger targeted the probe farthest from both vessels and opened fire. A few phaser shots brought down the port shields.
"Flores, High yield torpedoes, level one salvo. Fire." Maxwell ordered.
A pair of torpedoes flashed out and impacted the probe causing it to explode. The Renown destroyed it's probe a second later.
"T'Vrell, hail the Khitomer."
"This is the Emergency Medical Hologram aboard the U.S.S. Khitomer. I am requesting assistance from any Federation vessel in range. I've lost contact with the bridge. I am unable to contact Commander Davis for new instructions."
"EMH? Give me a situation report." Replied Maxwell.
"The Khitomer is being overwhelmed by Borg boarding parties. These Borg are different than the ones in my history records. They seem…disconnected somehow. They're strange but still quite dangerous."
"Can you hold out on your own? We have problems of our own to deal with." Maxwell asked
"I'm an Emergency Medical Hologram, not a miracle worker!" it replied
"Captain Vo'Lok? What should we do?" asked Maxwell.
"The Borg were brutally efficient on the Khitomer. The Emergency Medical Hologram may be in command simply because no one else is fit to do so. The Borg have not been seen in the Alpha Quadrant in decades. They're arrival cannot simply be a coincidence. However, I hesitate to speculate without the full data from all of the probes. I will send teams to aid the Khitomer. You will have to finish the scans. We need to know the extent of the Borg presence here. You must also inform me if you or your crew are unable to continue. The Borg evoke a strong emotional response that can rattle even trained Starfleet officers. A crew of cadets that have already survived a Klingon attack may be unable to cope." Said Vo'Lok
"I trust my crew sir. We'll get the job done. Helm, set course for the last anomaly." Maxwell replied
A few minutes and the Ranger reached the last anomaly. A quick scan and transmission to the Renown was all that was required of the crew.
"We have your data, but it will take some time for even the Renown's computer to analyze all of this." Vo'Lok said
"What is the status of the Khitomer?" asked Maxwell
"Our tactical teams have eliminated the Borg boarding parties on the Khitomer. Why do you ask?"
"Would it be possible to use the Khitomer and the Ranger to speed up analysis time?" Maxwell asked.
"That is an interesting idea cadet. We will link our three computers and see what we come up- Transwarp signatures incoming!" Vo'Lok alerted.
Three more probes emerged from transwarp and fired on the Khitomer again. The shields barely held. The Renown and Ranger engaged again and quickly defeated the small ships. Then three more probes appeared. The Ranger maneuvered to fire with fore and aft phasers on one probe, a tactic called 'broadsiding', while firing torpedoes at another. The Renown targeted a third probe with a quantum torpedo salvo which destroyed the ship. The other two probes lasted not much longer after that.
Not much longer after that attack dozens of Borg ships began appearing in the system, including Spheres and cubes.
"It's an invasion force. I don't think we should-" Flores was cut off as surprisingly all but one sphere jumped out of the system.
"Where did they go?" asked Maxwell
The helmsmen, Ann Porter turned around "It looks like they're on course for the Vega system sir."
"There's a colony in that system isn't there?" asked Maxwell
Flores nodded. "Open a channel to the Renown."
"That was quite unexpected. Concentrate your fire on the remaining Sphere." Ordered Vo'Lok.
Together the Renown and Ranger took down the sphere with a few volleys of fire.
"Captain Vo'Lok my helmsman tells me the Borg went to Vega system. There is a civilian colony there we must evacuate them before the Borg can assimilate them." Said Maxwell
"Very observant Lieutenant. Very well. Proceed to the Vega system and assess the situation and evacuate survivors if possible. The Renown will remain here to intercept any more Borg and repair the Khitomer. Good luck Lieutenant." Said Vo'Lok
Maxwell sat in the Captain's chair. "Helm, set course for the Vega System maximum warp."
"Course set sir." She replied
"Engage." Maxwell ordered.
As the Ranger warped out of the system another dozen Borg vessels appeared and the Renown moved to engage them despite being heavily outnumbered…
The Vega system was only two lightyears away from the Ranger's position. A hop, skip and a jump even in a Miranda-class ship. In the few minutes it took the Ranger to arrive, Maxwell had completed all necessary paperwork and filed a report with Starfleet Command. Just before they arrived in the Vega system Maxwell received a message from Admiral Quinn.
"I'm sorry to hear about Captain Taggart. He was a fine officer and a good man. The actions of you and your crew are very impressive and by the authority vested in me I am making your field commission of Lieutenant official. Congratulations. I wish it were under better circumstances."
The Ranger dropped out of warp near the planet Vega and immediately began scanning the system. Oddly, they found no evidence of Borg.
"We arrived before the Borg. Now my heart can start beating again. What are your orders, Captain?" Elisa asked
Maxwell flinched at the title again. He was still getting used to being called 'Captain'.
"Hail the colonies, we have to warn them." He ordered.
T'Vrell turned from her station. "I have a comm. link with Willa Post, the colony administrator. The signal is poor but it is the best we are capable of at the moment."
"I'll take it. On screen."
"Greetings, Captain. Is there something I can do for you today?" she asked
"I'm Captain Maxwell of the starship Ranger. I must inform you of a Borg fleet heading for this system. You must begin evacuations immediately."
"Repeat please? Your signal is breaking up. Did you say the Borg? What about them?" Post asked again.
"The Borg are coming! you must evacuate." Maxwell repeated forcefully.
The visual signal, which was poor to begin with, dissolved into static. "T'Vrell, what happened?" asked Maxwell.
"I have lost contact with Vega colony sir. Something is blocking all subspace signals in this area. Even our hails to the civilian ships are not getting through. There is a communications satellite nearby. It should boost our signal sufficiently to inform the freighters of the danger and warm the colony." She replied
"Good, helm, get us there, full impulse." Ordered Maxwell.
The satellite was only twenty kilometers away, a few seconds of full impulse got the Ranger in range.
"Boosting signal…Our hails are still being blocked sir. The Borg may be attempting to isolate the planet before they land. Your orders, sir?" Reported T'Vrell.
"Engineering, can we get a transporter lock on the colonists?" asked Maxwell.
"The Borg are jamming up any remote signals. It's not safe to beam through that. I think I can boost the gain though."
"Hurry, the Borg will be-" Maxwell was interrupted by Flores as she reported "Transwarp conduits opening all over the system sir. The Borg are here. Civilian ships are right in their path sir; we have to help them."
"Agreed, helm plot an intercept course for the closest Borg vessel and engage full impulse." Tapping a button on his chair. "This is the Captain, all hands to battlestations." He ordered.
The enemy force consisted of escort probes and planetary assimilation probes, small rectangles and spheres. The Ranger rescued one civilian ship from a pair of ships then moved on to a larger group. Since the Borg only had small scout ships in the system the Ranger had a relatively easy time with them even though the Miranda was a design from the 23rd century and a contemporary of the famed Constitution-class ship.
The Ranger cleared a section of space and allowed half-a-dozen freighters to jump to warp. Then T'Vrell who had been working on communications spoke up. "I have short-range communications. Long-range signals are still blocked. I can contact the planet and inform Administrator Post of the situation. However, the Borg have already landed and are moving towards the colony. It may be prudent to retreat back to the Renown sir." She said
"Good work T'Vrell. But we're the only Starfleet vessel in the system. We have to rescue as many people as we can." Maxwell said
In the distance a group of freighters engaged five Borg ships. The Ranger immediately moved to assist. "Flores, tell those freighters to jump to warp. We'll cover them." Maxwell ordered.
"Aye sir. Message sent."
"Roger that Starfleet. All ships engage warp engines." Ordered the lead freighter.
The Ranger started taking fire from all five ships. "Flores, fire phasers at will and give me a level one torpedo spread."
"Ready sir."
"Fire."
Multiple phasers flashed out to hit all five ships. A spread of torpedoes was launched, two for each enemy ship. Phasers drained the shields while torpedoes delivered the punch. In moments three Borg ships were destroyed. A minute later the other two followed suit.
"Secure from battlestations. Flores, T'Vrell, Zarva met me in transporter room one. We're going down to the surface. Ms. Porter, you have the bridge. If you are engaged by anything bigger than a scout you are to go to warp. Rendezvous with the fleet and bring back reinforcements." Said Maxwell.
"Sir-" Porter began to object but Maxwell cut her off. "That's an order Ensign."
Flores, T'Vrell and Zarva along with another security officer met Maxwell in the transporter room. They were all equipped with phaser rifles both full auto and split beam type. "Set phasers for rotating frequency…energize." Ordered Maxwell.
The away team was showered in blue sparkles then disappeared.
Maxwell, Flores, T'Vrell, Zarva and a security officer appeared on the planet. Flores swung about to secure the immediate area then pulled out her tricorder. A moment of scanning and she had a report. "Sir, according to my readings almost half the planet has already been assimilated. At the rate the Borg are progressing this particular area will be overrun in about an hour. If that wasn't bad enough the interference is affecting the transporters."
"Understood. We'll have to manually tag any survivors. Move out. Ensign, take the point." Ordered Maxwell, nodding to the security officer.
The team moved up a path near a cliff. A break in the mountains allowed them to spot a Borg ship that had landed. "That must be one of the ships from orbit. Are we too late?" asked Flores. "The ship is pumping nanoprobes directly into the ground and atmosphere." Reported T'Vrell.
"Is there anything we can do to slow them down?" asked Maxwell.
T'Vrell simply shook her head. "There is nothing we can do except evacuate the colonists' sir."
Suddenly a trio of civilians came around the corner. "Starfleet! Thank goodness!" one of them said.
"I'm Captain Maxwell. Are there any others in your group?" he asked
The civilians shook their heads.
"Maxwell to Ranger, I've found three civilians, sending coordinates."
"Acknowledged."
The three civilians were beamed up and the team moved up the path. They came to the entrance to the colony where another group of civilians were arguing over the gate. One of the colonists approached, surprisingly she was Cardassian.
"Thank you for coming. We didn't know if anyone got our distress signal. We have no weapons but there are spare armor suits for your officers in the crates." She offered him a PADD. "This code will open the gate, there are still many others inside along with Administrator Post. Please help them."
"We'll do our best." Maxwell said then tapping his combadge "Ranger, I've found another group. Sending transport coordinates."
"Energizing." Replied the ship
The security officer opened the crate containing the armor and passed them out. The away team put on the armor and Maxwell used the code to open the door. Immediately they saw a civilian getting assimilated. "Oh no! We're too late!" lamented Flores
"Take'em down!" yelled Maxwell.
All four officers aimed and fired at the two drones which went down quickly but the civilian was already assimilated. There was nothing they could do for her. Maxwell put a phaser bolt into her.
Another group of Borg had a trio of civilians surrounded. The Starfleet rescuers quickly opened fire and took them down. Maxwell tagged the civilians and they were beamed out. Turing a corner revealed larger groups of Borg and civilians. Maxwell and his team quickly moved up and opened fire. A few minutes later the courtyard was clear and the civilians were transported to the Ranger.
"Anyone else think this was too easy?" asked Flores
"The Borg failed to adapt to our rifles." Remarked T'Vrell.
"Don't jinx it." Replied Maxwell.
With all the civilians evacuated the team moved down a small street to see a half-dozen Borg trying to enter a large building. Standing in front of the door was a single Starfleet officer with a rifle. Together they were able to put the Borg down. The officer standing in front of the door pressed a button, unlocking the door. "Ms. Post, the area is clear now." He said
Administrator Post came out the door and nodded in thanks to the away team.
"Ms. Post, I am Captain Maxwell of the Federation Starship Ranger."
"Thank you for coming to the rescue Captain. What's the situation? Are there any more reinforcements?" she asked
"At present, the Ranger is the only ship in orbit."
"I see…then it's true. Vega is doomed. A single starship cannot hope to stop this. Still…there is more to do. Many civilians are hiding in their homes. We cannot abandon them to the Borg."
"We can rescue them. But the Borg appear to be blocking our transporters."
"I know. Kolez and I have been trying to get around the interference field. Thank you for tagging the people you found and getting them safely transported to your ship."
"That can't be everyone."
"No, there are dozens more hiding in the buildings. But Kolez and I have a plan. We think a pattern enhancer will do the trick. With that, we can transport the remaining citizens to your ship. But first I'd like to offer you some equipment. Vega is…was a trade colony, and this gear was intended to go to Starbase 85. I think you need it more." Replied Post
"Thank you. Ensign?"
The security officer pulled out a photon grenade kit and handed it to Maxwell. T'Vrell began setting up the pattern enhancers in front of a nearby building. Maxwell calibrated the enhancers before returning to Administrator Post.
"Ma'am, the pattern enhancers are up and running I need you to signal any citizens left to come here."
"I will. How long do you think you can hold off the Borg?" she asked
"As long as we have to."
"Here comes the first group sir." Said Flores
"Borg coming around the corner!" yelled Kolez
"Form up. Let's give the civvies some cover fire. Ensign direct the civilians to the pattern enhancers." Ordered Maxwell
"Aye sir. Come on let's go, the pattern enhancer over there go! go! go!" he yelled.
A dozen Borg came around a corner and Maxwell tossed a photon grenade and opened fire with his rifle. "Remember when we though fighting a crazed Klingon was the worst thing that could happen today?" asked Flores as she continued to fire.
More civilians came running from the Borg. The ensign security officer ran along with them while the rest of the away team tossed grenades and kept the rest of the Borg at bay.
Eventually all the civilians were transported to the ship. The away team along with Kolez and Administrator Post stood in the center of the pattern enhancers. "Away team to Ranger, seven to beam up." Said Maxwell
"Acknowledged."
Seven columns of light appeared on the surface of Vega. But only five appeared on the transporter pad. Maxwell, Flores and Kolez remained on the surface. "Ranger, I said seven to beam up." Said Maxwell.
"Sorry sir, there's some kind of interference, it began as we were transporting, I had to send your patterns back to the surface. Our scans indicate some kind of device not far from your position. If you destroy it the interference should clear. Are there any civilians left?" Replied Zarva
"Understood. No, looks like we got everyone we could. Flores open that gate." Replied Maxwell.
"Aye sir." She replied.
Although the gate controls were starting to turn into a Borg interface she was still able to open the gate. Five newly assimilated Borg stood outside the gate. "Open fire." Said Maxwell, punctuating his order by shooting the closest drone. Flores and Kolez downed two and the trio concentrated on a tactical drone bringing down it's shields and putting it down for good. Enough of the drones faces had remained for Kolez to recognize one. "I know her…we played poker last week…" he said, shocked.
"You're going to see friends assimilated. The only thing we can do for them now is to take them down with the rest of the Borg. Don't hesitate to fire." Said Flores.
The trio of officers moved down a path and found another smaller group of Borg ahead. Kolez, heartened by Flores' comments immediately put a phaser bolt into a newer-looking drone, while Maxwell and Flores put down similar drones. The saw the device in a narrow canyon and took the shortest path. They took down two drones before Maxwell deactivated a shield covering an elite tactical drone. This drone was armed with a plasma weapon and heavy shields. It took everything the three tactical officers had to take it down. Once the drone went down, Maxwell was able to deactivate the transport inhibiter and the Ranger quickly beamed them up.
Zarva was in command on the bridge. She immediately relinquished the chair to Maxwell and reported the ship's condition. "Sir, we're packed to the brim with civilians. I don't think we could fit one more soul onboard. Communications are still jammed so we can't reach the Renown or Khitomer. But I had an idea. There are three communications satellites in orbit, we could reconfigure the beacons to warn ships to stay away from Vega."
"Very well. Helm, take us to the first satellite."
The ship reached the satellite, about fourteen kilometers away without incident. They quickly reconfigured the beacon but as soon as they did three Borg probes appeared. "I don't think the Borg like us hanging around. Multiple probes incoming!" reported Flores
Maxwell remained calm. "Continuous fire all weapons."
"Aye sir." Replied Flores
Phaser and torpedoes flashed out, quickly destroying two probes and lowering the shields of the last one. A pair of high yield torpedoes finished it off. The Ranger didn't get off easy though, losing forward shields and some damage to the hull. While power was rerouted to shields and the crew patched what they could the ship headed for the second beacon about 20 km away. "Never thought I'd wish I was back at the academy studying for the astrometrics final." Remarked Flores.
They reached the second beacon and reconfigured it but a sphere appeared just as they finished. Multiple phaser shots brought shields on one side of the sphere down. The sphere began to rotate to bring fresh shields to bare but before they could a pair of high yield torpedoes buried themselves in the sphere causing severe damage.
Suddenly on the Borg sphere an alarm sounded. Alert, Federation Photon Torpedo, disarm weapon. A drone turned to inject it with nanoprobes but before it got far the torpedo exploded. Internal explosions tore the sphere apart.
"Scan the area for any more Borg. Prepare to take us out of the system." Ordered Maxwell.
"Sir, I have several fast-moving ships on sensors. I can't contact them or tell if their friend or foe."
"Shields to maximum, standby all weapons. Take us to the last beacon." Ordered Maxwell.
"Aye sir."
The Ranger moved at full impulse but just as they reached the satellite a cube dropped out of transwarp and caught the ship in a tractor beam. "A cube?! Guess it's time to go out in a blaze of glory." Said Flores.
As the Ranger began firing every weapon it had four more Federation ships appeared. The Khitomer, Renown, Defiant and Armitage began firing on the cube. Captain Vo'Lok contacted Maxwell. "Exceptional effort Lieutenant. Concentrate your fire on a single point."
"Yes sir."
The Ranger maneuvered to fire all weapons at the cube. With the combined fire of four other ships the Cube was destroyed. Vo'Lok contacted Maxwell once again. "We held off what we could in Pollux and sent a signal to Starfleet. These were the closest ships. Others will be arriving as soon as they can."
"Glad to see you. There's no way we could have taken on a Cube." Replied Maxwell
"You have handled things well thus far. Excellent thinking on reconfiguring the satellites to send out a warning. We received the signal as soon as we arrived in system." Vo'Lok continued.
"Are we going to try to retake Vega?" asked Maxwell.
"I will be discussing that option with the other Captain here. Your priority should be the civilians you have on board. As well as they safety of your crew. The Khitomer will return to Earth Spacedock with you. Once there, report to Admiral Quinn. He will have more information for you."
"Yes sir."
"Good luck Lieutenant. Renown out."
"Alright Potter take us back to Earth Spacedock…Maximum warp if you please."
"Yes sir." She replied.
The Ranger and Khitomer formed up and jumped to warp. Since the Ranger's maximum warp speed was factor five the Khitomer had to slow down in order to stay with the Ranger. A few hours later they arrived. Maxwell let his crew handle docking procedures while he beamed aboard to talk to Admiral Quinn. He appeared on the transporter pad and got a look at the recent remodeling. He asked the transporter operator where Quinn's office was and the ensign pointed him to the left. He saw two Starfleet security officers and guessed Quinn's office was behind the waterfall. He went around the corner and indeed found the Admiral's office. He approached Quinn's desk and stood ramrod straight. Then Quinn said "We have a lot to discuss Cadet Maxwell."
"It's Lieutenant sir."
"Yes I see that in the report Captain Vo'Lok sent me. He granted you a field promotion to give you proper authority over your crew. As a Cadet you were assigned an Academy training cruise under Captain Taggart. Acting First Officer?"
"That's correct sir."
"I've read the reports. Facing off against Klingon raiders and a Borg invasion force within hours of graduating Starfleet Academy…is very unusual. In your own words describe what happened out there."
"We sir, the cruise began without incident. Captain Taggart had us on course for Vulcan. But we detected a distress call from an S.S. Break Even. They claimed warp engine malfunction but communications were spotty at best. I recommended to Taggart that we go to yellow alert. As it turns out it was a trap. When we closed on the Break Even to beam survivors aboard, Klingons appeared. I was on my way to the transporter room and had to open a nearby armory to get weapons. Some of the crew and I were able to clear the transporter room and armory. I used my academy training to increase phaser and torpedo yields then returned to the bridge. I saw Taggart taken by the Klingons just as I exited the turbolift. After I cleared the bridge, the Klingon Captain contacted us and demanded our surrender. I refused, then Kadek threated Taggart. Captain Taggart's last orders were to lock onto his combadge and fire. Kadek killed Taggart and I opened fire with everything we had. We were able to completely disable the ship but I knew we couldn't take prisoners and since the Break Even had left the area I sent out a distress signal. Captain Vo'Lok arrived as the Klingon ship self-destructed. Vo'Lok offered to escort us back to Spacedock but they couldn't contact the Khitomer who they were scheduled to rendezvous with. We both went to investigate and found the Khitomer investigating some anomalies in the Pollux system. We determined that the Borg were using it as a staging ground when a fleet of Borg ships appeared. Then all but one of them jumped to warp headed for Vega. The Ranger and Renown defeated the sphere left behind and the Ranger went to Vega. After clearing an area of space I beamed down with an away team to try and evacuate civilians. I got to Administrator Post and was able to rescue a number of civilians. When my team tried to beam back the Borg began blocking transporters and Elisa, Kolez and myself were sent back to the planet. We found a Borg transport inhibitor and deactivated it allowing us to return to the ship. We were packed to the brim with civilians but my chief engineer came up with the idea of using the satellites as warning beacons. After destroying three probes and a sphere, a cube showed up. But at the same time Captain Vo'Lok, the Khitomer and two other Federation ships arrived and helped us destroy the Cube. Then we returned here.
"That's…quite a story."
"Yes sir. It's all true."
"Don't worry I have statement from Captains Vo'Lok and Yim as well as Administrator Post collaborating your statement. All three of them cite your bravery and command skills as well as you and your crew's willingness to put themselves in harm's way to protect others."
"I am a Starfleet officer sir. It's in the job description."
"And you're exactly the kind of officer Starfleet needs right now. I know your ship might not be the Enterprise but you've proven yourself capable of sitting in the Captain's chair."
"Sir?"
"Under normal circumstances it would take you years of work to get your own command. But these are not normal circumstances. We are at war with the Klingons, the Borg have returned and I'm losing more trained officers and ships than I can spare. Ships we can build. But leaders with honor and courage…these are harder to find. It's time to try something different. I need someone who can handle themselves in a crisis and get the best from their crew. Even though you're young, I think you're the best person for the job. I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant and offer you command of the Ranger. However, in recognition of your exemplary conduct I'm also prepared to offer you command of an NX-class light escort, the Essex. She's yours if you want her." Said Quinn.
Maxwell was shocked, to be offered command at the rank of Lieutenant was one thing, to be offered two commands was extraordinary. "Sir, aren't all the NX ships in museums? They would hardly stand up to any modern-day ship."
"As originally built you're correct. But the Essex is a replica, a 22nd century design with 25th century technology and firepower. As an escort she's a better fit for tactical officers than the generic Miranda-class. If you were a science or engineering officer I'd be offering an Oberth-class or original Constitution-class. Both of which are also replicas, original looks but modern-day tech underneath. With our advanced shipbuilding technology, we can fill the fleet with these lesser ships much faster while giving our more advanced ships to the appropriate ranks." Quinn explained
"I see sir." Maxwell thought a moment. Commanding the Ranger would be an honor but it would also be a constant reminder of his first mission. "I'll take the Essex sir." He said
"Very well. The crew compliment is only eighty-five so you can pick the best from the crew of the Ranger. I'll re-crew the ship with more graduating cadets and promote the next senior officer after your picks."
"Aye sir and thank you."
Maxwell executed a perfect about face and walked out of the Admiral's office.