Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Stardate 1/9407. The Federation has enjoyed a century of relative peace within its borders. The long and devastating war against the Romulan Star Empire is all but forgotten and the Federation’s border with them remains tense, but stable. The Klingons remain silent as well, perhaps still engrossed in a conflict with the unknown enemy on the far side of their empire. The Federation’s peace-time focus is now on research and exploration, although Tellarites and Andorians argue for a stronger navy of gunships and frigates. The compromise is the new Constitution Class Cruiser. Equipped with the most advanced weaponry and home to state-of-the-art scientific research and medical facilities, these debutants of the fleet can operate for years beyond the logistical support of star bases. It is the dream of every starry-eyed Star Fleet recruit to serve on these ships.
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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by ManWithDoor » Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:08 pm

The rookie listens intently to the long explanation, practically recording it in his mind with how much he is concentrating on it. It all made logical sense, and he can use that same language to explain it again to someone else in the future when he's the expert and another person is the noobie. "Agreed. As soon as we make the install according to the manufacturers' guidelines, I'll go check out a spacesuit in my size. I'll be ready for the space walk as soon as you are."
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by Shurijo » Mon Jan 25, 2021 10:59 pm

When Cadet Campeador calls Shur and requests he scan the ship, the cadet isn't so sure. "Today's not a good day. I'm already in trouble with Lieutenant Murray, and he's watching everything I do right now."

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by Orvost » Tue Feb 02, 2021 8:36 am

Shur:
Cadet Compeador hides his disappointment well, but he cuts the remainder of the call short.

"Sure. Sure. I understand. I get it. The boss is looking for an excuse to lay into you, and you don't want to give him that reason. I'll just put in a formal request with Station Operations Command."

A few minutes pass before Cadet Serao speaks up again:

"The Endeavour just warped into the system and Commodore Jeffries is asking to immediately dock. Do you wish to take the call, or shall I route it to Lieutenant Murray?"

Alik
It doesn't take long for Alik's extensive knowledge of ship systems and his formidable intellect to make an impression on the rest of the work crew and affect its overall performance. At the end of the 18-hour shift, the project is a few hours ahead of schedule. Poljos suggests that everyone stay working a couple hours overtime to see the job done, then take some of the saved time as extra down time before the next job. The crew is eager to take his offer, but Alik would have to agree to it. Of course, there will be no down time for Alik and Poljos, who still have to do the hard calibrations on the dish.

Jacob
One of the lieutenants agrees to drive Jacob back to the Starbase habitat center. During the hour-long drive, the lieutenant awkwardly asks if and when Jacob's friends will make another visit. Back at the Starbase, Jacob has a choice to take a shuttle to the orbital station or use the transporter. Then he has to find Cadet Ijocado.
I'll Let you describe your trip to the orbital station and how you find Cadet Shur. You can start talking to him as well.

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by Shurijo » Tue Feb 02, 2021 3:13 pm

Shur turns to Cadet Serao and responds, "Please route to Lieutenant Murray. They can pass it up to Lieutenant Commander Shasss'thik if needed." The cadet smiles at Serao and then contemplates to himself about his situation and asks himself if every ship captain believes they are more important than the others or if this is just one of those days when everything seems more dramatic than than normal.

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by ManWithDoor » Mon Feb 08, 2021 5:26 am

While Alik isn't trying to win any popularity contests, that being a shitty reason to become an officer in the first place, but being rewarded for a job well done is just plain smart. He immediately approves the Plan, very much liking Poljos' idea. They got ahead on one of their jobs, so why not get some time off for it? Starfleet doesn't run without its technicians, and a happy and rested technician is a good technician.

Once the men finish out the shift and clock out, the Cadet goes to inventory to check out a space suit. Time to do a space walk, and do those calibrations.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by Orvost » Wed Feb 17, 2021 7:05 pm

Alik
True to his word, Lieutenant Orom sends an extensive list of all the system settings he expects the tech crew to maintain. His instructions also include a "preferred range" for the hardware calibrations Alik agreed to perform on the deflector dish.

The other technicians on Alik's team are exhausted after another long day of work, nevertheless the promise of extended leave is enough to keep them motivated at their work stations for a few extra hours. Of all the leasure distractions the Starbase has to offer, nothing interests them more than a few extra hours of uninterrupted sleep.

When the project is finally finished, the technicians file past Alik and Poljos as they disembark. Each nods, smiles, and/or verbally expresses gratitude. When they are gone, Alik goes to the decompression locker and checks out an enviro-suit. He's relieved to find the locker is stalked with the new EV-3 suit, set to replace the old EV-2 suit. Many long-serving Starfleet personnel balk at the idea of having to relearn enviro-suit use after the extensive service record of the EV-2 suit, but all recent Academy graduates, including Alik, are trained exclusivity with the EV-3 and Starfleet seems determined to phase out the EV-2 as soon as possible regardless of any comfort or nostalgia the old guard may feel for the older model.

Once suited up, Alik makes sure his communication system is linked with Poljos on the bridge, then he leaves the hangar airlock. Instead of taking the long walk around the ship, Alik makes the zero-G jump and free floats to the deflector dish. He activates his mag-boots and gets to work.

Shur
Cadet Serao returns Shur's smile, her gaze lingering on him for a few moments before she turns back to her instruments. A few minutes later Shur gets instructions on what to do with the Endeavor. Commodore Jeffries' request to dock is denied, but he is given priority placement and bypasses more than half the ship queue. After a few hours, Shur finds that about 30% of ship captains make a formal request to immediately dock, but very few of them make a show of being surprised or outraged when their request is denied.

Shur's mind is sharp and, after a few hours on the job, he is able to mentally maintain the orbital grid around the planet as well as the docking schedule. Shur feels that he is always messing up and losing efficiency, but while captains constantly voice their complaints about waiting times, they rairly criticize Shur's performance. More importantly, Lieutenant Murray doesn't make any more surprise visits.

About the time Shur starts to feel he's got the hang of the job, his control panel lights up like an Orion gaming machine. Cadet Serao's panel lights up as well. She starts speaking in short, efficient sentences, pausing between them as she processes information coming in from several people speaking at once.

"Multiple reports. Explosion. In orbit. Debris damaging nearby ships."

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by Shurijo » Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:13 pm

Cadet Shur immediately sends an alert to all of the docked ships and ones awaiting docking orders. He glances at the screen to see if there's any spot that could lead to further destruction, so he can begin to move any nearby ships to another orbit.

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by ManWithDoor » Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:07 pm

Not yet aware of any issues regarding multiple explosions in orbit as Cadet Shur is, any debris shooting through nearby ships is not a concern that Alik is grappling with. Instead he comfortably maneuvers around the docked ship in the EV-3 suit, ready to make the deflector dish modifications. Once he is in place he signals Poljos. "Alik here, in place to make the modifications. Ready to receive instructions."
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by Bohemond » Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:33 pm

Jacob takes the transporter to the space station floating above the terrestrial portion of the starbase. As he makes his way towards the control deck, he tries think of how to breach the subject of his visit with the new arrival. This is the second favor in less than 24 hours he's going to be asking Alik's friends. Before the week's out I may be asking Serao to help me build a birdhouse, the science officer muses. As he makes his way towards the the control deck he start to notice that some of the station crew is picking up their pace, with more than a few running. The science officer starts to hustle towards his destination, trying to hear any stray chatter that might tell him what's going on.

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Re: Prologue: Inauspicious Beginning to a Starfleet Career

Post by Orvost » Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:28 am

Shur
In a sudden emergency like this, there are dozens of things that need doing. Shur wastes no time choosing his priorities. First, he wants to send word to every ship near the starbase. Second, he wants to clear everyone out of the danger zone.

Cadet Serao is able to report which ships witnessed the explosion and which ones reported damage. With that information, Shur is able to reference those ships' position on the orbital grid in his mind and approximate the location of the explosion. Every ship in the affected region is quickly accounted for except one: the ECS Kingfisher, a private, Earth-based cargo vessel and the probable source of the explosion.

With this knowledge, Shur is able to fulfill his second priority. He sends a course correction to every ship in the orbital path of the debris field. To meet his first priority, he will need authorization from main OPS and Lieutenant Murray for a base-wide emergency announcement.

When Shur puts a call to Murray, it becomes apparent that OPS was still working to find out what was going on. In their windowless office, Cadets Shur and Serao were able to ascertain the nature and cause of the emergency and immediately mitigate further harm, while the Starbase's main operations control center was still scrambling in the dark. Lieutenant Murray plays it off as if keeping his cards close to his chest and treating the details of the incident on a need-to-know basis. He authorizes Shur to make an announcement and orders Shur to keep him posted on any new developments.

Shur must now decide whether he or Cadet Serao should voice the announcement, and what should be said, though his thoughts are interrupted by a sudden, unexpected guest.

Jacob
Jacob notices a sudden speed and urgency in the foot traffic around the orbital station. He hears frantic voices ahead as he makes his way through a corridor leading to main OPS, but he turns to a side door. The door has neither lock nor intercom, so he simply walks through, hoping he followed the directions correctly. Inside he sees Cadet Ijocado (or Shur), and Cadet Serao. Both seem to be anxiously engaged in something important, but they stop and look up as Jacob enters. He suddenly feels self conscious as an intruder. The door swushes shut behind him as the three of them share a moment of awkward silence.

Alik
Alik is currently about 7 hours ahead of everyone else.
Poljos feeds Alik a steady stream of work instructions and idle conversation. One topic of conversation that comes up is the base-wide emergency call that went out several hours ago. At the time, Poljos had muted the audio feed aboard the Maraxle and told everyone to keep working, assuring the work crew that he would relay to them any message if it was important. He hadn't relayed anything and, out of curiosity, Alik asks about it.

The initial announcement was followed up with subsequent reports. It turns out some clan of private traders (you know, spacers) managed to get themselves and their rickety, antiquated cargo scow blown up and sent their remains as shrapnel through other nearby ships in orbit. Luckily, most of the debris ended up burning through the atmosphere and falling over an uninhibited area of planet M-11, but two work crew were taken off system repair and installation duty and sent to clean up the mess that still posed a danger in orbit. There was no trace of weapons fire, so the explosion was probably a catastrophic system failure aboard ship. No surprise there, since most of those museum pieces are held together with bailing twine and high hopes. Anyway, the captains of the damaged ships are demanding new regulations be imposed on such vessels to ensure events like this never happen again.

Whatever Alik may think about Poljos' feelings toward spacers, Alik's greatest concern is that Poljos doesn't know, and any reports he can find don't provide, the name of the lost ship or the names of the lost crewmen. Alik could have just lost his family or someone else important to him for all he knows!

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