Let's Do This

Posted on Sat Aug 10th, 2019 @ 10:20pm by Admiral Paka Larem
Edited on on Thu Nov 14th, 2019 @ 11:41pm

1,185 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: [A] A Breath of Fresh Air
Location: USS Martinsson; Raeya Sector
Timeline: 1430, 09-01-2389

1430, Monday 9 January, 2389
0 Days to Departure

There were perks to his rank. One perk was his generously sized apartment, in San Francisco. He had seen some blueprints of his new living area on Starbase 38, and while comfortable, it wasn't as large as his current residence. Another perk was that he got to keep the apartment, even after he had moved to the Delta Quadrant.

He has spent the last few days packing. He had recycled all the food in the apartment through the replicator, and gone through everything and given it a good clean. He had packed some stuff, pictures and memories he wanted to take with him to his new residence. But everything else would remain as it was.

He checked the time. It was 1410 hours.

The comm sounded. "Bridge to Admiral Paka." The call he had been waiting for from Captain Kidex. "We're just about ready up here if you would like to be on the bridge."

"I most certainly would Captain, I'll be there in a few moments Paka out." He left his quarters and began the short journey to the bridge.

He walked onto the bridge, the Betazoid Captain, standing up to give the Admiral command of the ship, and by extension, the fleet. He sat in the center seat, with the Captain taking the sit at the console to his right, with the XO taking over the left side station. "Thank you Captain. Command Tarak, open a channel to Starfleet Command, Admiral Anderson's office."

The Trill officer tapped a few controls on his console. "Channel open." He replied as Admiral Anderson's face appeared on the viewscreen. "Admiral, the fleet is ready. Permission to depart?"

"Very well Admiral. Permission is granted. If all goes according to plan, after today our next contact will be in 45 days. So plenty of time to fill in your reports." A smile flashed over his face. "Godspeed Larem. Try and enjoy it."

"Thank you, Stephen. I'll try." He returned the smile. "Martinsson out." The Starfleet Command logo replacing the Admiral's face on the screen. Commander, open a channel to the fleet please, audio only."

"Channel open." He again replied.

"This is Admiral Paka Larem to the Epatha Task Group." The Epatha group was the name given to the Task Group of 14 ships heading to the Delta Quadrant. "You have all spent the last few weeks preparing for this mission. I know it hasn't been easy, saying your goodbyes to your friends and families. For those lucky enough to have their friends and families coming with us, cherish the moments. You are going to be the first, of what will hopefully be many, new colonists to the Ourea system. With the wormhole estimated to only open every 45 days, that means just over a month and a half before we have any more contact with Starfleet. If it doesn't open every 45 days, then we will continue our mission until it does. That is our job and our duty. So let's do this. It's time to pack and go on our own voyage. Good luck everyone. Captains, please signal your acknowledgment. Paka out." The channel closed.

Captain Kidex spoke next. "You heard the man. Let's do this. Commander Malik, report."

The Martinssons XO spoke next. "Rabin, Jubei, Tomaselli, Ming Chuen, Hephaestus, Ogun, and Circassia all confirm ready. Pequod is having a minor issue with their starboard nacelle, nothing severe, just a minor variance that won't affect warp travel. Chang Teh has just beamed aboard the final colonists from Starbase and is moving to position now. The Circassia, Franconia, Kodiak, and Kyushu are also now confirmed as ready.

"Now's as good a time as any. Martinsson to the fleet, yellow alert. Move towards the departure point. Galaxy's forum up behind the Martinsson, Nebula's and Insignia's behind those. Steamrunner, form up in front of the Rabin and prepare for departure." The fleet moved into position, and from outside, it was a sight to behold. Some, if not most of the commanding officers of these ships, were present during the Dominion War when the site of a fleet such as this meant preparing for the upcoming battle. "Captain Kidex, countdown please."

"Gateway expected to open in 2 minutes." The Betazoid replied.

"1 minute 30 seconds."

"1 minute."

"30 Seconds."

An alarm sounded on Op's console. Lieutenant Command Sophie O'Connor spoke up. "Subspace radiation levels are increasing. Gravimetric pressures are increasing in the surrounding space. Aperture is forming. Size is approximately 600 meters, no, 900, no apologies Sir, is still increasing." She waited for a moment. "It appears to have stablised at 1600 meters. Launching probe." This had been rehearsed for a few weeks now. " Gravimetric pressures are 87% of tolerances. Tetryon flix of 0.0006. The readings are within the margins brought back by the Khepri. Receiving in 3, 2, 1. The probe has exited the wormhole. Its sensors are picking up a signal from Starbase 38. It's in Epatha, Admiral." She finished, as a quiet cheer passed through the bridge.

"Open a channel, fleet-wide." The Security chief nodded confirmation. "This is Admiral Paka to the fleet. The wormhole is confirmed as stable. Let's go. We don't have a great amount of time. Move out. See you all on the other side. Paka out." He looked to the Conn officer. "Lieutenant Barker, take us in, full impulse."

Using sensor readings brought through by the Khepri, they had modified the shields to filter out a lot of the subspace eddies that the ships would be hit by. It would still be bumpy, but not as bumpy as the first trip through. 39 seconds had passed when they emerged from the wormhole.

"Report Commander." The Captain asked his XO.

"The Rabin has come through, all ships present and accounted for. The Pequod reports that an eddy hit the starboard nacelle. She still capable of warp, but it's reduced to warp eight. Other than that, the fleet is all in one piece."

The Admiral stood up. "Have the Rabin, Circassia and Franconia escort the Pequod to Starbase 38. Should take them just under 26 hours to get there at warp eight. Have the rest of the group warp to the starbase, on our mark. Captain Kidex, you have the bridge. On your orders please. I'll be in my quarters." He walked toward the turbolift as the Captain took command.

"Helm, lay in a course to the Kartelan sector, relay coordinates to the group and engage when acknowledged." The turbolift door closed, and he didn't hear anything after that. He went to his quarters. They would be arriving at the Starbase in about ten and a half hours, which would be around zero one thirty hours. So he would likely spend the night on Martinsson, and begin moving his stuff down to the starbase. For now he could relax a little. Catch up on some reading he had been doing. He moved to the chair under the window with his PADD. He had felt tired the last few days, but had spent most of it in meetings with various people regarding the new colony establishment. He closed his eyes for a few moments.

 

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