AN: Star Trek is the trademarked property of CBS/Viacom. This is a work of fanfiction, not intended for profit or commercial use.
Admiral Thaddeus Grax is an original character created by Venom Geek Media 98 and played by me for the dramatic film "Battlespace: The Battle of Betazed." The use of the character is gracefully permitted by him. Please support his work on YouTube.
This novel is set in the year 2410, 10 years after the events of Federation Marine Corps: Book 4
Star Trek: Alexia
Book 1: A Brighter Future
"In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate."
Isaac Asimov
─•~:~•─
Prologue: A New Tomorrow
Starfleet HQ: CNC Office
San Francisco, California
Earth
FROM: Utopia Planetia Yards Supervisor, CMDR Jeanne Collins, SFC-TAC (JeanC-SFCTC)
TO: Commander – Tactical Fleet, VADMR Alynna Nechayev, CNC-TACSF (AlynnaN-SFCTC)
SUBJECT: re: USS Alexia NCC 87065 Deployment
Admiral,
Regarding our last discussion over QC, I am writing today to confirm that the Alexia will be ready for deployment, as you requested, on Stardate 87419.2, just in time for Federation Day 2410.
At the risk of repeating myself, I must again question the Admiralty Board's decision to utilize Alexia as a training ship for her inaugural cruise. The Alexia class is, by far, the most advanced and innovative design that my yards have come up with since the Sovereign almost fifty years ago. I truly believe that in the coming years, all future classes of starships built will be compared (and found lacking) to Alexia.
Even though Quinn and his sycophants chose Odyssey as the framework for the new Enterprise (and rightfully so, it is a very beautiful design if nothing else), even that boondoggle fails to compare with the capabilities of Alexia. She is fast, sleek, fully self-sustaining, and to borrow an idea from the battle cruisers, she can outfight anything she can't outrun, and I can count on one hand the number of ships in both of those categories!
However, I realize that the deployment of Starfleet is your concern, and mine is simply to make sure that the ships will fly, on time and intact. So, I'll hope you'll excuse the ranting. The Yard Dogs tell me that, as per the suggestion of General Marshall, we have replaced the aft torpedo bays with the MK.5 Spatial Torpedo CIWS system, and the initial firing tests have exceeded expectations. We've also finished installing the requested Mark X shield generators, which proved to be less of a power drain then we initially anticipated.
I guess the Borg really know what they're doing when it comes to redundant power systems, eh?
Finally, General Marshall called this morning to let me know that he'll be sending the new MK.2 Raptors aboard Alexia with his MCT complement, scheduled to arrive at 0800 Monday. Unfortunately, this means we'll need another day to enlarge the shuttle bay enclosures, as the new Raptors are twice as wide as the old ones! (and if I can ask, why in all the stars do the Marines need tanks?!)
Despite these setbacks, we will be ready for launch on Federation Day. We look forward to seeing you at Utopia Planetia.
Thanks,
Jeanne Collins, Commander
PS; Congrats to Rei for getting First Middy! I'll make sure we have that nice double bed for her cabin that we talked about!
─•~:~•─
Alynna closed the message and looked out the window. The sun was shining yet again past the Golden Gate Bridge.
Across the bay, she could see dozens of families and campers wading into the bay on Kirby Cove, still a popular vacation spot in the 25th century. She'd taken Rachel there several times over the years when work allowed of course. Her favourite thing to do was swim in the cold waters of the bay, for hours at a time, no matter how cold it had been.
She'd remembered those years with a smile. Cooking hotdogs, camping, looking up at the stars. One of the few moments of true happiness in her career.
I wonder if she'll ever have that kind of happiness again.
As the thoughts danced in her mind, the office door opened, and Alynna smiled as she turned to meet the CNC.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Vice Ad. Those reporters never, ever stop asking questions."
Alynna couldn't help but laugh. Scott Hathaway had built a reputation for being laid back, and even the Admiral's bars hadn't changed that fact.
"If they did, I'm pretty sure the universe would stop, Sir," Alynna replied, laughing at the thought.
Scott cringed. "I was there when the universe nearly stopped, Alynna. Please don't remind me. And Sir? Really? I studied your missions in the Academy."
"It is, technically, protocol, Scott."
"Hell with it. You want a drink?"
"Double-double, shot of Mo's private reserve," Alynna said, sitting down in a guest chair.
"I prefer bourbon myself," Scott said as he walked to the replicator, "Two coffees, one double-double with a shot of Captain Morgan's private reserve, one black with a shot of Maker's Mark."
Scott placed the coffees on his desk and traded for a PADD that Alynna slid over. He read quickly while he sipped some of the coffee.
"Well, Jeanne certainly went full tilt, didn't she?"
"She certainly did," Alynna replied with a smile, "And she seems to have made friends with the Sharkies easily enough."
"They're not all that bad when you get to know them. That said, I find they still tend to bump into walls for no real reason," Scott replied.
"Never thought I'd hear a CNC say that, Scott."
"Those days are long past us, Alynna. Half the Admiralty Board resigned with Quinn after McClair won the re-election. And maybe when she offered me the job, I played a little politics of my own and stacked the new board with people I knew had seen real action before, not just paper pushers with their heads up their own asses."
"Probably a good choice. Miss Tirpitz?"
Scott sighed deeply. "Every day. But Yue deserved the big chair. Least I could do for her after everything we went through together. I wouldn't dare get in her way."
Each Admiral took a long sip of coffee and sat in several long moments of silence.
Scott broke it again. "So, Alexia. She everything you and the yard dogs claim she'll be?"
"That, and so much more," Alynna replied with another smile, "I hate to say it, but the Lonely Queen is a dinosaur compared to Alexia. She'll run circles around Tirpitz at impulse and still have enough left to blast a hole straight through her."
"You know, I really should reprimand you for that, Alynna. But I'm inclined to agree with you, if these trial simulations are anything to judge. For such a small little thing, she's tough. And I'll never get over that you actually talked the Cooperative into installing those distribution nodes."
"Say thanks to Yue for that. She talked Rain Kaimeao into talking to the so-called Borg King for that. I seriously think that your old XO is about to propose."
Scott had to smile once more. "Well, yet another thing she deserves. Especially after her last crush didn't exactly work out."
Alynna looked out at the window again. In the daylight, to the left of the moon, Ginny's Iron Star hung over Earth like a silent guardian. Ten years after it appeared out of nowhere, the Iron Star was no longer something to be terrified of. There was now a thriving colony on the surface – New Lethbridge – along with the FMC's "Surface Warfare Training School," which the Sharkies called "SW(a)T school," given their love of cute nicknames.
"Do you ever wonder what happened to her?" Alynna asked.
"I figure Ginny's still out there, somewhere. God knows where though. Sometimes, you have stop asking questions and just accept things as they are, I suppose," Scott replied.
He finished his coffee and pressed on. "But back to our world for a moment. Two reasons I called you over this morning. First, I need a go or no-go if Alexia is ready for launch by Federation Day."
"Go," Alynna said.
"Good. Second, I'm told that Rachel will be graduating ACCP around the same time. And we haven't seen marks like hers since Zelina Bakay. I'm tempted to give her Alexia, at least as her first OTJ assignment. That said, Alexia might be heading into dangerous waters. I plan to put her on the tip of the spear for Operation Blackbeard."
Alynna paused for a long moment, looking out the window.
Scott, whether he meant to or not, broke it coldly. "That's not a problem, is it?"
Alynna turned suddenly and shot a look of anger at Scott. "Why would it be?! You just told me you intended to put my daughter in harm's way, and this is the first I'm hearing about this?!"
"You've done a good job so far, Scott, but I'm supposed to oversee tactical operations. You don't put together a mission like this without running it past me first, especially when it comes to my god damn daughter!"
Scott kept sitting and kept his calm. "Alynna, I respect that she's your daughter. But she's a Starfleet officer too, and that means I have to put her skills to the best possible use. You, better than anyone, understands that. Risk is part of the game if we want to wear these uniforms. And its not an unnecessary risk either."
He reached into his drawer and slid a new PADD across the desk. "The Marines will be joining us. In fact, this is their operation, we're just providing the ride and the support. General Marshall assures me he'll be sending his own best recruits for this."
Alynna studied the PADD closely, flipping the pages back and forth several times. It might have been hitting a decade since her nephew's work, but she never failed to be anything but impressed by the Marine's dedication to the details.
"I do feel a touch better now. But I'll warn you right now, you had better be damned sure about this, Scott. Poking the Orions could start a very nasty fight."
Scott kept up the smile.
"I can't argue about that. But I'll remind you, Vice Admiral, they're the ones that started the poking. My goal with Operation Blackbeard is to remind them that if they poke hard enough, we'll poke back, and it won't be a very nice poke."
Scott got up, went to the replicator and passed Alynna another Coffee. "I'll say this about Douglas Mitchell. For all his flaws, he was right about one thing. It's about time that the Federation stopped reacting to everything. We need to be proactive. And if that means shutting down pirate raids, I say we shut them down hard. Agreed?"
Alynna took the coffee and sipped, lost in thought. The damnable thing was, Scott Hathaway wasn't wrong.
"Agreed."