Before You Wish Upon a Star
Captain Jaaz Zenoosi stepped off the transporter pad inside Earth Spacedock. She beamed in with around a dozen other officers from who knows where, all with business on the station. Jaaz followed the main walkway down to Deck forty-seven's main concourse. Deck 47 was one of the busiest locations in the station. Officers from the station and from ships in orbit over Earth were all over the place. Even work crews were busy fixing the damage done during the attack by C'qer and the Terran Emperor.
Jaaz moved to follow the ramp toward the direction of the main view port over looking the ship's docked within ESD. Three excited junior officers ran past her to look at the Protostar class ship docked directly in front of the viewport. Jaaz followed the ramp to the main level and turned toward the pair of turbolifts at the edge of the main concourse. The turbolifts would take her to just about any location within the station. There was only one place she needed to go.
Jaaz waited by one of the turbolifts with four other officers. Like her, they were all aides to the admiralty on the station. Captains and Commanders that were trusted by their admirals, or not trusted to command ships in the fleet. Jaaz looked out the nearest viewport at the docking area. Her ship, the admiral's ship, sat docked clear across the other side of the station. USS Paradox was a Ranger-class Temporal Battlecruiser. The ship looked out of place amongst the rest of the ships docked in Earth Spacedock. Its appearance was from an older era, although the ship's guts were far more advanced than most of the ships currently docked.
Jaaz did a double take as she entered the turbolift. The Ranger-class ship was moving on maneuvering thrusters toward the massive doors which kept the station's interior safe from the vacuum of space. "Was the Paradox tasked with a mission without me?" The thought entered her mind as she moved to the back of the turbolift. She allowed one of the other officers to tell the computer where they were going. The doors shut with a low hiss and reopened moments later on the administrative level. Offices lined both sides of the passageway.
Jaaz stepped out of the turbolift with the other officers. They walked the passageway silently darting into one office or another. Jaaz followed the passageway to the last door on her right side. The door was marked as Office of Fleet Admiral Temporal Defense. Jaaz approached a panel on the side of the door. She entered a security code then pressed the button that would open the door. The computer did a quick check of her security clearance before the door unlocked and opened with a hiss.
Like many of the other offices on deck, Admiral Keller's office had a small waiting room with an ensign behind a desk monitoring appointments and communication traffic routed to the office. The young Bolian officer at the desk looked bored. He nodded to Jaaz as she entered. Jaaz moved to the desk to speak to the young Bolian man. "Is the Admiral still here?" Jaaz asked with her usual indifferent tone.
The Bolian was still new to Keller's staff. He typed something into the computer before looking at Jaaz. "Keller is currently in a meeting. You weren't due back until thirteen hundred hours," the Bolian said with a surprised look on his face. "Well, she didn't leave with the ship. Could they be getting ready for a mission?" Jaaz thought.
"The interview didn't last long," Jaaz said with a bit of irritation surfacing in her voice. Her mind had shifted back to the reason she wanted to speak to Keller so urgently. Jaaz stared at the Bolian. She was waiting for him to let her into Keller's office. An awkward silence crept into the air as the ensign stared back at her with a dumbfounded look. "I'm heading in," Jaaz said as she turned toward the door to the admiral's office.
"Wait! Don't just barge in," the ensign said in a panic. Jaaz quickly entered her security code in the doors control panel. The Bolian ensign jumped from his chair but failed to stop Jaaz from stepping through the door. In his panic, he forgot that he could have locked the door from his console.
Admiral Rebecca Marie Keller stood, hands clasped behind her back, staring out the viewport behind her desk. Her dress white uniform was clean and pressed with nothing out of place despite the hectic morning. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun that sat high on her head. Rebecca was one of the youngest admirals in Starfleet at age 46 but her use of modern medicine and make-up had her looking like she was in her late twenties. The fact she kept herself in excellent physical shape also contributed greatly to her youthful appearance. Rebecca Marie Keller would have been the ideal image of a professional admiral except for one key feature. The violet highlights in her hair. Given the current state of the galaxy, no one really bothered to enforce most of the uniform regulations.
The view from Keller's position was currently that of Earth's northern hemisphere. The European continent had spun into view over the course of her meeting. Ships and shuttles passed by occasionally. If one looked closely enough they'd see the air traffic, orbital shuttles that ferried private citizens and high profile dignitaries to the various European nations. The view was much more different then when Keller had first joined Starfleet. The view was nice while it lasted. Soon the station would spin out to change the view from the Earth to open space.
Rebecca Keller had wrapped up her meeting only a few minutes ago but her guest was a friend and old crewmate from long ago. Rebecca spun around listening to her friend's latest gossip. The information was left out of her formal reports due to their lack of relevance but Keller enjoyed her friend's stories. She looked at her old friend sitting in the chair across the desk and smiled. "Please don't tell me that Commander Azplin was responsible for that," Keller said with a bit of laughter.
"He swears he didn't…" - the door to the office slid open with a hiss as Captain Jaaz Zenoosi barged in cutting off Keller's guest mid sentence. Keller looked over at Jaaz a bit irritated. "What can I help you with Zenoosi?" Keller asked. She kept a professional tone but the smile on her face remained.
"You wanna tell me why you sent me to tear down that poor woman?" Jaaz asked in an increasingly aggressive tone. Keller didn't answer, instead she motioned with a nod of her head to the startled Tellarite captain still sitting in one of the chairs. Jaaz seem to calm herself and straighten up to the position of attention.
Keller waited a moment before speaking. "Captain Jaaz Zenoosi, I would like you to meet an old friend of mine and an old shipmate, Captain River Wesi Bradoc," Keller said as she motion toward her friend with her left hand. The other hand remained at her back. Jaaz half stumbled over to Captain Bradoc as she jumped up from her seat. The two women shook hands professionally. "Captain Bradoc is our newest formal transfer to Temporal Defense," Keller added.
River Wesi Bradoc had been a member of Keller's crew aboard USS Bonhomme Richard, a pioneer class ship, during the battle of Caleb IV. From there, they had been thrown into the future and told they had died. At least that was what history had recorded and Starfleet officially agreed. Unofficially, her entire crew and the crews of several other ships where plucked from the timeline and asked to fight for the future.
"Captain Bradoc, You're dismissed. I'll see you in a few weeks," Keller said nodding to the Tellarite woman. "Pleasure to meet you Jaaz," Bradoc said. She turned toward Keller and gave a slight bow. Keller waited for the young captain to leave and the door to shut before she spoke again. "Zen, take a seat." Keller's tone was more authoritative than before.
Jaaz took a seat in the chair that had been vacant when she first entered. "So you met with Captain Nix. Want to tell me how it went?" Keller continued to stand behind her desk as though she was ready for an argument. Not that the two had many arguments. Keller trusted Jaaz. The two had been through too much not to have developed a bond. She was also one of the few people from this modern time that Keller could call a friend.
Jaaz seem to collect her thoughts. "That woman you sent me to speak to, did you know she was from a species that requires communal sleeping arrangements to function?" Jaaz asked in a calm and level tone.
"Its some sort of social think, right?" Keller moved to the front of her desk and sat on it. She placed her hands on the desk for support.
"Yeah, she's getting help for her recorded alcohol dependency and apparently she sleeps with some of the crew." Jaaz said while lost in thought. "What I don't get is, why you felt it necessary to send me to talk to her. I was ready to strip her of her command."
"You don't want to?" Keller asked. She raised an eyebrow.
"No, she's a competent officer. Her record speaks for itself and she is getting treatment for her past issues," Jaaz said in a slightly confused tone.
"So what's the problem than captain?" Keller was smiling at her now. Jaaz was a serious and professional person. Keller appreciated the Bajoran woman's dedication to her work but sometimes she wondered if Jaaz understood what her work was.
"You send me to interview the questionable captains, the ones that should be good for the fleet but have something to hide or they are unfit. You send me to weed out the unfit personnel for your task force." Jaaz was looking at Keller directly in her eyes. "So why send me to tear someone down that doesn't deserve it?"
Keller stared at her subordinate with a stern expression. "I don't send you to knock heads or anything. I have three staff members I send to interview prospective captains for the task force. I give you the questionable ones because I trust your judgment."
Jaaz stared at her for a moment. She seem to visibly deflate in the chair. "I guess I just figured you were assigning me the captains you wanted gone. I figured Quinn or somebody was forcing them on you."
Keller laughed at the notion. "Nobody forces captains on me. I put in requests and get recommendations from admirals, nothing more." Keller suddenly remembered something. "Wait, don't tell me that you rejected Captain Brannigan because you thought I wanted him gone."
Jaaz looked stunned for a moment before speaking. "That ass hat didn't need to be here! He slapped my backside on my way out. Plus, he kept calling me honey during the whole interview," Jaaz said visibly offended.
Captain Brannigan was one of four captains Keller had sent Jaaz to interview. Rumor was the man was a narcissistic and misogynistic person. The only thing that kept him in uniform was his command experience and the need for command level staff. Keller had put his name and ship forward as possible candidates for her task force based on the circumstances surrounding his appearance on Luna two years ago. The other captains that Jaaz had rejected were only slightly better than Brannigan.
One captain, a Bolian woman, had been recommended to Keller by Admiral Yanishev. Although an effective commander, she was also known for having a short temper and was often verbally abusive to her senior officers. Another captain that Keller had initially thought a good fit had turned out to be doctoring several mission reports. Jaaz's investigation and interview had been used to bring charges against the Rigelian woman for dereliction of duty and falsifying reports.
"You know you could have filed charges on Brannigan for the slap," Keller said with a smile. "With another reprimand on his file I'm sure the admiralty would've given him the boot." Jaaz smiled in a way Keller had only seen once before when watching her XO kill a herald on the bridge of their ship. "It wasn't that serious of an issue. Besides, I got him back," Jaaz said with a bit of a chuckle.
"Better you don't tell me, I guess," Keller said while looking in the direction of the room's audio and video recording sensors. Keller exhaled and let herself relax a little.
"Thinking about it now, I can see why you thought I wanted you to get rid of them. None of them had the track record Nix has. Until you met her you simply saw one problematic captain after another." Keller sat up, moved behind her desk and sat down in her chair. "Nix has her problems but if she's good enough in your eyes than she is in mine."
"I approve of her assignment and you'll have my full report soon," Jaaz said. She shifted in her chair as though occupied by another thought. "I saw Paradox leaving Spacedock." Jaaz stared at Keller but didn't say anything further.
Keller picked up a PADD and typed something into it. "Paradox has a mission. I'll fill you in, in a second. I did want your thoughts on this though," Keller said handing the PADD to Jaaz. The PADD had the full roster of ship's and captains for her Temporal Defense Fleet. The expected strength of the fleet was supposed to be 70 ships.
Most of the fleet was in the Sol system at the time the Terran Emperor and C'qer attacked. Most participated in the battle. Almost half the ships didn't survive the battle over Earth. The roster displayed the names of 50 ships and their captains. Jaaz poured through the information on the PADD. Most of the ships listed were slated for major repairs or refits. Jaaz looked back at Keller and shrugged.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Jaaz except that most of the new ships assigned were in need of repair facilities. She had noticed something about two of the new captains on the list. Captains Drex and Bradoc both served with Keller on the USS Bonhomme Richard at Caleb IV. It was an old Pioneer class vessel with a small crew. Keller had told Jaaz about the circumstances that brought her and her crew to the present. Having old crew or old friends close at hand wasn't likely what Keller wanted her to see.
"Quinn is downsizing the Temporal Defense fleet. He is only letting me have fifty-five ships and plans to reassign more to other task forces over the next year. What he did give me was largely the fleets most problematic ships and outdated vessels that won't stand up in a fight. Over the next few weeks I want your opinion on organization of our resources." Keller grabbed the PADD from Jaaz and stacked it with several others on her desk.
"I'll get on it, ma'am," Jaaz said as she straightened up in her chair. "Where does Captain Nix fit into all of this?" Jaaz asked.
"Marin Bos Nix is a great captain, from what I've read. Problem is that she is known for a history of disciplinary issues. Her ship is also a potential asset while also being a problem. It was constructed during a desperate time and still plagued with power distribution issues." Keller sighed, lost in thought for a second. She would continue to talk out her thoughts if she didn't change the subject. Keller still had plenty of issues to iron out with her rebuilt fleet. Keller decided to change the subject as she saw Jaaz nod in acknowledgment.
"You wanted to know why Paradox is leaving Spacedock?" Keller asked. She stood up and lifted the PADDs to her chest. "Quinn has dispatched three ships to assist the Lukari with a project they've been working on." Keller handed the stack of PADDs to Jaaz and motioned with her hand for the Bajoran captain to follow her.
"I'll give you the details later but basically the Lukari want to repair the star in the Na'khul system and they want us to participate." Keller and her aide stepped through her office door. The Bolian ensign at the desk popped to attention and grabbed a PADD from his desk. He opened his mouth to talk but the two senior officers walked past him and out into the passageway. The ensign chased after them while typing something on his PADD. He only stopped briefly to lock the office with his key code.
The three officers walked toward the turbolift with Keller leading them. "You said that Quinn sent three ships, what's our role?" Jaaz asked while trying to match Keller's speed. She still had the stack of PADDs Keller gave her.
"Quinn suspected that tampering with Na'Khul's star could have temporal ramifications. I happened to agree. He wanted me to send one of my ships as a fourth vessel to observe." Keller stopped at the turbolift doors and turned toward Jaaz with a smile. "Its been far too long since I've been out there," Keller said while pointing past the bulkhead. "I figured we'd take Paradox out for a spin. Besides, it might end up just being a waste of time and I'd like to get out of the office for once."
Keller noticed her secretary standing just behind captain Jaaz. "What can I help you with ensign?" Keller asked, a bit annoyed. Ensign Char Sentar had been assigned to her office by admiral Quinn. He was a constant annoyance, reminding her of her duties. Not that it was his fault. His role in her office was to constantly remind her that she was to lead from the rear and trust her subordinates to get the job done. It wasn't lack of trust that kept her wanting to command her ship again, it was nostalgia.
"If you plan to head out, I'll need to reschedule all your remaining appointments for the next three weeks or more. What about your staff meeting with Quinn tomorrow?" Ensign Sentar reviewed a list of tasks on his PADD as he spoke.
"I haven't been in command of a starship since the end of the Iconian war, ensign." Keller spoke in a mockingly sour tone. Like a child pleading with their mother. The truth was that she had commanded USS Paradox during a portion of the temporal war. Daniels and other temporal officers had moved her and her crew through time multiple times to deal with the threat posed by Noye and his followers but Ensign Sentar wasn't a part of her office staff at the time and the decision was made to hide their roles in the conflict to preserve the timeline.
Ensign Sentar looked at her in confusion. "You were on Paradox when C'qer attacked. That was not that long ago," Sentar said. He still looked puzzled. More for Keller's tone rather than by what she said.
Keller pointed a finger at Sentar. "That don't count," Keller said shifting to a deadpan tone. "Reschedule all my meetings based on the priority list I left in my office. Captain Jensen can handle the assignment briefs and deployments while I'm gone."
"Captain Jensen, really?" Jaaz asked with a smile. "He's a moron."
"Not when it comes to administration," Keller said with a serious tone. Keller had came across Captain Jensen when she was first promoted to Rear Admiral. He was a well organized and professional administrator. The human male's last posting aboard a ship had been as a lieutenant commander. He had been moved over to various office postings since due to his lack of command presence and poor decision making in critical situations. The man was a daydreamer and very quiet. As an office jockey, he excelled at planning, scheduling and filing.
Ensign Sentar cut in before Jaaz could speak. "I'll let him know he has the office until you get back ma'am." Sentar performed an about face and began to walk back to the office.
"Be sure to let Quinn know where I am before you leave for the day ensign!" Keller shouted to the ensign to ensure he heard her. The young Bolian was already halfway to the door to her office when she shouted. Keller looked to Jaaz and lightly punched her in the shoulder. "Let's get going," she said with a bit of excitement in her voice.
The turbolift ride to deck 47 was silent and uneventful. Keller and Jaaz departed the turbolift with purpose. Deck 47 had turned into a bustling hub with hundreds of officers moving around the main floor. The two temporal officers had to squeeze through a few groups of officers. From what Keller could hear of the different groups, it sounded as though a number of ships were being deployed for a training exercise.
The two Temporal Defense Fleet officers eventually made it to the main transporter. Keller informed one of the transporter techs of their destination before stepping on the large pad for transport. Keller felt the annular confinement beam hug her body before her molecules were torn apart and reassembled in Paradox's transporter room one. Keller's eyes took a second to readjust to the light and vibrant colors on her ship. The human transporter operator onboard nodded to Keller and Jaaz. "Welcome aboard, Admiral," He said standing at attention.
The transporter room looked more fitting in a museum. The visible technologies in the room were from a different era, or rather, they appeared that way to the naked eye. The red, white, and black paint scheme helped sell the look of a starship interior from the late 23rd century. Even had someone peeled back one of the access panels in the wall, duotronic systems would be staring back at them. It was all subterfuge. The true components of the ship were hidden behind holographic barriers within the access panels.
A Ferengi male entered and stopped in front of the transporter pad. "Welcome aboard Admiral, Captain," he nodded at each of them as he spoke. "I've come to escort you two, to the bridge." He smiled bearing his sharp teeth in a devilishly handsome grin.
"Really Zonk, that's not necessary," Keller said with a smile. She hadn't seen or spoken to Zonk in quite some time. The Ferengi male was Paradox's chief engineer. A knowledgeable man in both modern Starfleet technology and Starfleet technology from Keller's original time. Disregarding rank for a moment, Keller approached the man and embraced him tightly.
"Lets get to the bridge," Jaaz said as she stepped around them. Her tone and expression were dismissive. Jaaz didn't have any problem with Keller or Zonk. Her issue was with their lack of professional bearing. She'd never hug another officer while in uniform.
The three officers walked the passageway heading to one of the turbolifts. They passed the occasional crew member along the way. Many of the crew were wearing the standard issue black uniform while a few were in the ship's disguise uniforms. The uniforms were the standard red, gold, and blue uniforms that Keller wore before her alleged death. The lack of conformity aboard ship was likely due to the ship having sat in Spacedock for too long. Uniform of the day was different depending on whether a crewman were on the station or aboard their ship.
Once the trio made it to the turbolift Keller saw two officers depart the lift wearing the ship's mission uniforms. The mission uniforms weren't a new design. Instead it was a reuse of the old uniform design worn by Starfleet in the 2250s. There were modifications to the uniform but Keller chose the form fitting uniform for its ability to allow her crew to easily wear and carry various equipment without restricting maneuverability. The uniform was also noticeably Starfleet despite being extremely out of date.
"Computer, Bridge," Jaaz said as the trio entered the turbolift. The turbolift capsule had the classic handles that officers had to use in the past to operate the turbolift but they were only present as set decoration in the event the ship was thrown into the past for another mission. Maintaining the image of a ship from the 23rd century was paramount for Paradox's missions. The ship's entire interior was designed to look like the standard for ships in the 2260s. Bright reds, greens, blues, and yellows were used on various overhead and floor spaces. Buttons, toggles, and switches were present on every console and wall terminal.
The doors to the turbolift shut and the capsule shot up toward the bridge. "Computer, open the plan of the day for tomorrow and change the uniform to mission standard," Keller said as the turbolift reached the bridge. The doors parted granting access to the bridge. Keller stepped out onto the bridge with her subordinates in tow. "Admiral on deck!" Lieutenant Commander Jone Brunswick shouted from the science console on the bridge causing all the officers present to stand at attention.
Much like the rest of the ship, the bridge was built to look like it belonged to a ship from the 2260s. The layout was very similar to the old constitution class ships. The officers on the bridge, much like the crew she saw earlier were all in different Starfleet uniforms. Keller's previous change to the plan of the day was intended to rectify the issue without making it a priority. Keller looked at each of her officers, locking eyes with all of those facing her.
"At ease officers," Keller said. All the officers on the bridge sat back down at their stations except for one. Even Zonk had moved to the damage control station near the communications station. Commander Ninajai turned toward Keller and Jaaz. Ninajai had been Paradox's chief tactical officer for about two years before Jaaz selected her as XO when Keller was promoted to admiral.
Ninajai smiled at her superiors. "Who's taking the chair?" She asked. Her dark reflective eyes and elven features made her look imposing even if she hadn't been nearly two and a half meters tall.
Keller and Jaaz looked at each other for a second. "I'll be taking lead on the mission, Captain. The ship is yours," Keller said. Without waiting for a response from Jaaz, Keller moved to the secondary science station next to Brunswick and sat down. She watched as Jaaz moved to the captains chair. Jaaz waited for Ninajai to sit at the dedicated tactical station before she sat down.
"Get us clear of the space around Spacedock then set a course for the Nakuhl system, maximum warp," Jaaz said as she typed a few commands into the console on her chair's armrest. The armrest console projected the navigational data from the helm as Jaaz double checked her calculations.
"Aye aye ma'am," the ensign at the helm said as he maneuvered the ship on thrusters. The ensign moved Paradox between two larger federation vessels. The ship passed them with only 8 meters of clearance space between each ship. As the ship passed the two larger vessels, a wider view of the surrounding space opened up. Along Paradox's starboard side, ships and docking cradles were lined up.
Captain Nix's ship, USS Flintlock, was still nestled in one of the docking cradles. Jaaz watch the ship pass before spinning around in her chair to face admiral Keller. "We'll rendezvous with Quinn's ships in 4 days as long as they don't increase speed," Jaaz said. The last thing she wanted to think about was the interview with Nix.
Keller smiled at Jaaz. "You don't need to explain yourself to me, Captain. Rendezvous with the rest of the task force before we reach Nakuhl is a fine idea." Jaaz nodded at her in acknowledgment before turning her chair back to face the main viewscreen. Keller stood as she saw the ensign clear the crowded space around Earth. She thought for a moment, something to say to mark the journey. As the ensign engaged the warp drive, Keller decided there really wasn't anything to be said.
Keller watched the officers on the bridge for a moment. They were diligent in their responsibilities. Until they got clear of the sol system and its crowded space, the crew would need to monitor traffic for course corrections."I'll be in VIP quarters on deck 4 if anyone needs me," Keller said as she headed to the turbolift. Jaaz turned back in her chair and nodded with a smile. The rest of the bridge crew focused on their stations.
Keller left the bridge feeling a bit uncomfortable. Her crew knew their jobs, they were some of the best officers in the fleet. She couldn't help but feel they really didn't need her. One day Keller would learn to let go of the captain's chair. For this mission, Keller would play captain one more time, even if it was just an observation mission.