This story is being submitted as a combined effort from:

lrdnova, Random Redshirt, Captain Crowl, Admiral Darthaniles, Admiral of Starfleet, Knightofthyrule730, Docsean, and Redding411.

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**Computer voice** the time is 0530, the time is 0530.....

"Computer disables alarm and reset. Raise illumination 5 levels." Admiral Nova mumbled barley awake. Stretching, he rose from his bed, rubbing his eyes and clearing his throat.

Walking over to the replicator, "Coffee Black" he requested. As the cup materialized on the replicators output tray the Admiral lifted it carefully so not spill a single drop. Smelling the soothing aroma that has aloud him to start every morning off on the on the right foot, he sipped from the cup. "Almost as good as the real thing" he said with satisfaction.

Looking out the port hole Admiral Nova could see Earth and most of Europe. "I never get tired of seeing that beautiful planet." Turning to his desk he sat down and began reading through personnel logs, trying to find the right crew for the right starbase was not going to be easy he thought. There where so many applicants that where trained and well qualified especially in sciences and technology that in the last 20 years had gone from theoretical to in near active use fleet wide. He wished that he could simply take them all after all he did have to fill an entire Star base.

Sitting back in his chair and rubbing his eyes the Admiral set the PADD down on the desk. "Computer Status of USS Lotus Registry Number NCC - 74910", he requested.


*USS Lotus, Docked.....*

As the computer began reporting on the status of the Lotus Admiral Nova decided that simply getting a report was not enough, he had to go and see it for his self.

Leaving his quarters he proceeded down to the nearest Turbo Lift passing several Officers on way and nodding to several as he passed. As he approached the Turbo lift several Officers exited most likely from the nightshift and where returning to their quarters.

"Deck 34" he announced to the Turbo Lift computer.

As the Turbo Lift swooshed from deck to deck he started to feel a since of excitement. Since coming aboard Star base 74 and seeing the Lotus, he had been looking forward to walking around and getting a feel for the new flagship of Lotus Fleet. The USS Lotus was an Intrepid Class ship, by name but after the return of the USS Voyager and 20 years of research and development, in comparison the Lotus was a much more advanced form of the Intrepid Class ship. All in all the superstructure of the ship had not changed however, what was on the inside was something far different then predecessors of the same class.

Suddenly the turbo lift came to a stop and the doors opened.

As he began walking towards the docking bay he could see the underside of the Intrepid Class ships saucer section. The external lights still appeared to be off however he could just barely make out the lettering on the hull due to the glow imitating off of the Star Base. As he began down the long corridor to the Lotus he found himself becoming increasingly excited. Trying to decide where to go first the Admiral decided that Engineering is the first place that he wanted to see. After coming aboard the Lotus and traveling to deck 11 he walked through the double door leading into the heart of the ship.

"Admiral on Deck", a young Ensign yelled out "Carry on!" Admiral Nova replied.
As he began walking towards the Warp Core the ships Chief Engineer approached him.
"Sir, I was not aware that you would be coming by. The ships not..." As the Engineer motioned everyone to get back to work.
“Don’t be concerned Lieutenant, I was getting a report this morning and decided that I would much rather see it in person. This was not scheduled" the Admiral assured the Chief. "Aye sir" the Chief replied. "So... How are things going have you finished the installation of all of the ships systems?" "Yes sir, we are actually preparing to bring the main computer online and most of the subsystems." ,explained the Lieutenant.  "Very good, has the ship received it complement of Quantum Torpedoes?" asked the Admiral.
"Those will be installed on Tuesday sir." “Very well, you've done a wonderful job here Lieutenant"  “Thank you sir!"
As Admiral Nova left Main Engineering he decided that the next location was to be the bridge.

As the doors to the Turbo lift swoosh open he steps out onto the Bridge of the USS Lotus. Looking around he suddenly heard an Ensign to his left yell out "ADMIRAL ON DECK!" As you where he replied, walking over to the Captains Chair he sat down and tapped the comm button.

"Admiral Nova to all Lotus Fleet Crew members please begin moving your personal affects to crew quarters, all Civilians are now authorized to begin boarding. The USS Lotus will depart for Star base 10 (Lotus Fleet HQ) within the next 72 hours."

"Bridge to all department heads please report to my ready room at 1400 hours for our mission brief, Admiral Nova out."

As the command staff began trickling in to his ready room, he walked over to the replicator "Coffee, Hot" the Admiral requested. As the cup materialized the last of the senior staff entered the room. Picking up the cup, he turned to his crew.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Unfortunately there is no other way to put this so ill get right to it. Starfleet Command has informed me that the situation between the Romulans and the Klingons is not going well and the Federation is stuck in the middle, while the Klingons have long been allies, Star Fleet Command believes that a fractured Romulan Empire is much more of a danger to the security of the Federation then an all out conflict with the Klingons. Hopefully we won’t have to find out. Captain Worf and his crew have been dispatched to the Klingon home world to try and quell some of the unrest and hopefully prevent them from further Incursion into Romulan space. I've been told that Ambassador Picard and Ambassador Spock are on Romulus however should things begin to fall apart they may need to leave in a hurry.”

As Lieutenant Niomo, the ships Chief Engineer listened to the briefing he shifted uneasily in his seat as he heard Admiral Nova talk about their first mission. He could feel his face turn red when the Admiral spoke of retrieving Picard and Spock, along with trying to escape the Romulan home world...He could only hope that his superiors would help him along the way.

“After we have safely arrived at Lotus Fleet HQ and transported the rest of Lotus Fleets Command Staff and Civilian members, The USS Lotus has been ordered to begin scout missions along the Federation, Klingon and Romulan Boarders. At this time we are not authorized to engage either side unless otherwise fired upon first. Over the next several weeks Star Fleet command will be sending 3 additional ships to Lotus Fleet HQ however 2 out of the 3 are still undergoing refits and Staffing. The 3rd is the USS Umpqua, will be arriving within the week. The Primary mission for the USS Umpqua is to act as Academy Training ship however in situations where we are in need of reinforcements this Nova Class ship can be pulled to assist as needed. Everyone I can not stress enough to each of you the sensitivity of the situation. One wrong move can send the Federation into an all out War, a war that will place Lotus Fleet right on the front lines.

Now you all have your orders. Please begin preparing each of your departments for departure.

DISMISSED."

Niomo stood picked up his PADD, walked to the Admiral and stood at attention. "Lieutenant Niomo Lire reporting, sir! All engineering sections have reported in, Warp Core running at nominal levels, power transfer grids are running at optimal efficiency. I have also created a report of engineering's readiness, should you require, Sir. Also, I would like to request that we test the geometry pylons before we make our first jump to warp. Just in case...sir."

" At ease Lieutenant. Lieutenant Niomo is it? Glad to have you aboard. The Lotus is a newly built Intrepid Class ship so I'm afraid that you'll have to keep a closer eye on some her systems then a ship that is well seasoned. As we leave space dock I’ll make sure you have the time that you need to do all of your system checks."

As the Admiral quickly glanced over the Lieutenants report he could see that in the short time he has been aboard he has managed to accomplish diagnostics on some systems that Star base Engineering said wouldn’t get done for another 3 days.

"Well, everything looks in order here, I will give this report a closer look, Please prepare the ship for departure."

As Lieutenant Niomo left the ready room Admiral Nova followed shortly after with Coffee in hand. Sitting down in the Center Chair he settled in and....

"USS Lotus to Star base Control." The Admiral announced. “Lotus this Starbase Control we are reading you." "Star base Control permission to leave Space Dock" "USS Lotus Permission Granted, you may proceed to Space Doors 3" "Thank you Starbase Control Lotus out. Mr. Garrison, Set Condition Blue” "Condition blue, aye aye, Admiral" “Ensign Hyperdrive release all Moring Cables and detach Magnetic Interlocks Proceed with Thrusters only, after we have cleared the Space doors proceed to Full Impulse. Bridge to Engineering after we have left Space Dock please conduct all necessary pre-warp tests."

"Aye Admiral" Niomo responded and called over one of the Ensigns. "Make sure the Matter & Antimatter injectors are reacting correctly... I don't want to drop out of warp mid flight because we're about to explode." Exclaimed Niomo

Pointing at another crewman he stated: "We are going to be testing both the geometry pylons and the tetra dyne output levels. Last time it was checked the Lotus was running at 3,500 td/s. I want to see how much farther we can push her. Prepare to record any stress on the bulkheads as the nacelles move."

Finally he turned back to his console and began reviewing the diagnostic reports of the EPS relays and then prepared to be alerted by the Conn that they were safely away from the station.

As the ship began to slowly move away from its docking ports a small hum from the thrusters engaging could be heard through out the ship.

"Helm, take us out" the Admiral ordered "Aye, sir approaching space doors in 30 seconds" "very good, lets go ahead and take a look at it, On Screen." As the USS Lotus came into taxing position, just ahead of the Intrepid Class ship was one of the newest of Starfleet's ship Classes. The Nehalem Class had only just come into service but was already causing a stir among ships captains, mainly because the ship serves as a modern version of the Constellation Class, and is used as a deep space exploration and border control ship. She is also been outfitted with 4 nacelles rather then the traditional two this way, if some of the nacelles are damaged, there are backups to help bring her home. She carries the weapon compliment of a Sovereign class, however with a lesser torpedo count, so she can hold her own in a fight without question. As the Lotus slowly passed through the giant Doors a sudden glistening of light passed across the hull of the brand new Intrepid Class ship. "Sir, we have cleared the space station and are now going to full impulse" Ensign Hyperdrive announced. "Very well helm, Come to course 248 mark 15" Admiral Nova replied "Aye Sir" as the ship went to full impulse Admiral Nova tapped the comm. Button  "Bridge to Engineering, we have cleared space dock"

"Initiating Pre warp test Bridge. About damn time...Ok people, look alive. We are going to first run a test on the geometry pylons to make sure all systems are green. We will then test the Core in a short 6 second burst. I want all systems to be running at optimal levels."

A few minutes later, Niomo initiated the Warp Core test procedures. As the core began to hum with the sound of matter/antimatter annihilation, his screen began to show the pylons connected to the nacelles move. "Pylons have achieved warp position, sir. No stress or anomalies detected." "Thank you, Ensign." turning to the other members, "Ok, disabling the Field Coils...Ok...test initiating." The warp core's readings came up on a console next to Niomo and and Ensign read off the td/s numbers. "Sir, the Core is running at 3,560 td/s." "Ok. Computer, reset nacelle pylons and reinitiate the warp field coils." The computer bleeped in acknowledgement. Hitting his comm badge. "Engineering to Bridge. All warp core tests complete, Sir. We are not running at optimal efficiency, but I’ll work on it. We should be running perfectly by the time we have our next mission. We are ready to engage warp drive at your command." "Very well Chief, Prepare to goto Warp" Nova replied."Helm, Set course for Star base 10 and engage"
 Niomo turned to his Engsin and said, "Come here and monitor the energy outflows from the primary EPS conduits. I am heading to the Bridge. Carry On." The ensign saluted Lieutenant Niomo and sat down at the console. Niomo turned towards the turbolift and walked to the doors. Upon entering he stated "Bridge." He leaned against the wall as the turbolift began heading up...


"Mr. Garrison, Open a Channel to Star Fleet Headquarters, once you've raised Admiral Redshirt patch it into my ready room.” As the Lotus goes to impulse, an alert sounds at the communications station. “Admiral Incoming sub-space transmission from Starfleet Headquarters." Garrison Announces "Mr. Garrison Patch into my ready room" Walking into his ready Admiral Nova approached and activated the computer terminal on the desk. "This is Admiral Nova"

"Admiral Nova, this is Admiral Redshirt. “Ah, good afternoon Admiral. As the Lotus was leaving space dock we had the opportunity to see a Nehalem Class Vessel taxing out just ahead of us. I was wondering, what’s the completion status of our own Nehalem Class ship? Nova asked. Admiral Redshirt sat back in his chair “Well, I took a transport over to Utopia Planetia to retrieve my original blueprint schematics for the ship and saw that it’s approximately 30% Complete." "hum, I had hoped that the ship had further along then this considering what we are about to get into, by the way I've been meaning to ask you how did you come up with this design in the first place?" "I began work on this design just after the end of the Dominion War when Starfleet was once again getting serious about deep space assignments, as well as having a vessel to watch the furthest boundaries of Federation space. Apparently, a prototype has been constructed, however, there are still design issues that need attention, however Utopia Planetia has  assigned a design team to it in my absence and are awaiting further design elements from me. Perhaps once the fleet has settled at SB10, I can work with the Lotus' Chief Engineer and our Professor of Engineering to finish the design and make the prototype fully operational."

"That sounds good, I have a feeling we are really going to need her fire power out here sooner then later"I have take holo-imaging scans of the original design sheets and attached them to this subscape communication. You will notice that Sheet 1 contains the technical specifications for the vessel, while Sheets 2 and 3 contain visuals and exterior dimensioning for size purposes.
 
If you have any further questions regarding the Nehalem project, I will be happy to address them. I am catching a transport back to Earth for my next briefing. “Well I wish you and the rest of the crew a safe journey out to Star base 10. How is everything running with our current staffing situation? Well, I hope." asked Redshirt. “Not to bad, I have to admit the ship Engineer seems to be really on top of things he has already managed to do miracles that Star Base Engineering said wouldn’t get done for some time. Course you those Engineers, they always give themselves more time then is needed.” Admiral Nova replied. “Sir Just to let you know I will  be attending several briefings these next few days regarding the situation on the Neutral Zone and will contact you once I have been briefed. From there I will be proceeding to the Academy to give the lectures I had scheduled when I was still the Fleet Academy CO. Once I have completed my tasks here, I'll work out a rotation skeleton crew for the Umpqua and join you out at Starbase 10." "Safe journey sir, I'll be in contact." "Admiral Redshirt out"

Standing up from his desk Admiral Nova returned to the Bridge. "Admiral, we are receiving a transmission from Star base 10 requesting our ETA.. Also Star Base 74 just sent a message informing us that Commander Little will be delayed." "Mr. Garrison Transmit the following message to Lotus Fleet Headquarters  on an Encoded subspace Frequency. Star base 10, USS Lotus will be arriving within the week to deliver personal and supplies, Lotus Out"

As Niomo waited for his turbolift to get to the bridge, his stomach reminded him that he had just gone a day without any food. "Computer, Stop. Deck 2, please.” moments later, the turbolift doors opened on deck two, a few feet away from the Mess Hall's doors. Niomo stepped out and walked into ten forward. As Niomo walked into Ten Forward, he could smell the other off duty crew member's freshly replicated food. Niomo walked over to the replicator and stood for a second to make a decision. "Hm...Blueberry Pie." The computer bleeped in acknowledgement and began replicating. What Niomo saw though, was not pie. In front of him materialized something that could only be described as disgusting. It looked like a dead burned purple slug. The size of his head. He quickly hit the dematerialize command on the replicator's console. "Blegh!" hitting his comm, "Lire to Engineering. I'm in the mess hall, and there seems to be a *small* problem with the replicators. I didn't get what I asked for...have there been any complaints." "No, sir. No complaints so far. Though weren't you going to the Bridge? I didn't know on duty officers could take breaks, heh." "Enough Ensign. Assign team 5 to run a level 1 diagnostic on the replicator systems. I think it may be a problem with the voice recognition program...but we'll see. I'm heading to the bridge; I’ll let the Admiral know." Niomo tapped his comm badge. "Let's try again. But this time on manual." Niomo examined the control panel and keyed in his selection. The replicator hummed and began to beam in an item. A type 2 phaser. "Oh, yeah, thats totally pie. dammit." computer, dematerialize the item in the replicator. Turning around, Niomo said: "Everyone, can I have your attention please. Did any of you get or see anyone order something from the replicator and get something totally different?" A few hands went up as a blue shirted ensign stood, "Yes sir. I asked for a steak and I got a potato. I asked again and I got a chicken leg. I settled with it. Tasted pretty good." A few other crewmen stated the same type of "I asked for one thing and got another, but settled for the new item." Niomo put his hand to his temples. "Ok. Next question: Why did no one report anything?" The blue shirt answered first again, "Well most of us just figured that the ship was new and needed some time to get everything working." "Ugh. Thank you all, return to your food, enjoy."

Hitting his badge, "Lire to Engineering. I've got a few reports of people not getting what they want. Assign Team 3 to analyze the power grid on deck two. Team 5 is still on the replicator systems. Also, have Team 6 run a level 4 diagnostic on the Transporters. Finally, take Team 2 with you and run some DML/DQL tests on the main computer. I'm off to the bridge." Niomo turned to the door and walked into the turbolift. "Bridge" The lift quickly rose one deck and the doors wooshed open. Niomo quickly set his eyes on the Admiral, made sure he wasn't busy and approached him. "Admiral...We may have a problem. I was just called to Ten Forward....the replicators aren't working properly. At all. I have my repair teams running diagnostics on any systems that could be causing the problems. Replicators, transporters and some of deck 2's power grids will have to be taken offline for analysis.

 I also have a few people looking into the main computer's input/output database recognition systems. Estimated diagnostic time is around 3 hours. I'm sorry, but I don't know how long the power grid will be down, or how long the I/O tests will take. I haven't worked with an Intrepid's systems before. My best guess is 4 hours for the transporters and 6 hours for the main computer. The computer will be fully functional during this time, but the other systems will have to be taken offline. The power grid on deck 2 *should* remain operational, as I can redirect power from other decks. Once we figure out what's wrong we can either try to repair it here or wait until we reach Lotus HQ."


 "Very well Lieutenant, Apparently the Lotus 1st Officer will bearriving at Starbase 74 shortly so she will taking a Runabout from there and meet us at this position. While we are waiting for the Runabout, please begin all necessary repairs, anything thats not complete by they time the Commander gets here, will have to wait until we reach Star Base 10." "Helm bring us out of warp and maintain position" "Lieutenant Niomo, I trust that I will not have any difficulty getting a cup of coffee when I need will I?" "Well. If by coffee you mean getting anything from a lugnut to a cooked animal from the Delta Quadrant, then yes, you are fine. I've got most of the engineering staff on call working on it. We'll get it fixed. In the meantime, we can dip into our rations...Insta-caf doesn't taste as good, but it’s better than getting a cooked rat. Sir. I will keep you apprised of our situation"  Once dismissed Niomo walks over to the Enginnering station and begins tracking the progress of the ongoing diagnostics. I wonder if it is affecting more than just Deck 2.... Hitting his com badge, "Lire to Sick Bay, Come in."

"Kirkpatrick here, I was just about to contact you. Our EMH seems to be on the fritz. He's been coming on and off for the past few minutes. I've checked his program and from what I can see there doesn't *seem* to be a problem there. Is there trouble with the power grids?" "Please state the nature of the... Please state the nat-..." "Ugh. Not what I want to hear doc...There seems to be some problems with a few systems. I'll add the EMH to our to-do list. Do me a favor, try to replicate something. Anything. I just need to see if our replicator problems are shipwide. Let me know once you have your results. Lire Out."

Hitting his badge again, "Bridge to Engineering. Call up all off duty Engineers. I am assigning team 1 to analyze  the power grid on Deck 5. Team 4 gets to run a level 1 diagnostic on the EMH program. All other engineers are now assigned to monitor any power fulxuations the ship has. Lire Out."

Sean walks over to a replicator, "One PADD." He taps hit combadge staring at what was materialized instead; a glass of Romulan Ale.

"Kirkpatrick to Lieutenant Lire. I did what you requested regarding the replicators.. I wasn't aware that PADDs came in a liquid form. Sorry to inform you that the replicators here also seem to be malfunctioning." Sean dematerializes the ale and returns his attention to the distraught EMH.

repsonding to the doctor, "Thanks doc...I'll come down in a bit to analyze the doctor's program...Lire out." "Lire to Ensign Biggs, Please meet me in Sickbay, I need your holoprogram specialty." "aye, sir, be there in a second." Niomo stands up, goes to the turbolift and proceeds down to deck 5...

After about two hours of scanning through lines of code, Lt. Niomo and Ensign Biggs were finally able to figure out why the EMH refused to boot. Niomo left Biggs to fix the problem while he returned to Engineering.

"Doc, we've found the problem with the EMH. apparently his program never got passed the input subroutine...Which leads me to believe that the main computer has an error in its output commands....interesting...Anyway, Biggs will work on the EMH while I head back to Engineering. He should be finished within the hour."

Niomo wanders out of Sickbay and heads to Engineering. Once he arrives, two engineers approach him to report on their diagnostics. Most of the systems seem to have the same problem the EMH had. Niomo sighed and turned on his comm.

"Engineering to Bridge. Admiral, this is Lire. It seems that theres a problem in the output commands in the main computer. I'm having my teams bypass the controls that are in error, but it's not something we'll be able to completely fix until we can get to a starbase and repair. I'll be running a diagnostic on the weapons and shield systems, just in case we need them, but it seems that only voice activated systems, like the replicators and EMH are affected...so I doubt that weapons and shields are damaged. But of course, it never hurts to make sure we wont die from over exposure to photon torpedoes..."

"Admiral Nova to Rear Admiral Crowl" "This is Rear Admiral Crowl, what can I do for you sir" "Crowl, a runabout is currently enroute to our location, once they are arrive you and Captain Impertor will be transporting over and returning to Starbase 74 to assist Admiral Redshirt with getting the Nehalem up to spec sooner." "aye sir, do we have an ETA on the runabout" "It should arrive in 8 hours, so be sure you are ready to go, the Lotus needs to continue on to Starbase 10, as soon as you transfer over." "We will be ready, Admiral Crowl out" "Bridge to Engineering, the Runabout is about 1 hour away, please be advised that we will be continuing onto Lotus Fleet HQ after the Commander has transferred aboard" The crewman at the comm station almost jumped out of his seat when the beeping began. Once calmed, he looked over the incoming comm traffic, and turned to Admiral Nova. "Admiral, message coming in from the USS Umpqua at Starbase 74. It's Admiral Redshirt calling, and it's on a secure comm channel."

"Very well, Ill take it in my ready room." "Mr. Garrison please notify me once the Runabout has arrived, I want to get underway again as soon as humanly possible." Sitting down behind my desk I tap the screen on my computer terminal. "Admiral Redshirt, what can I do for you?"

"Admiral, we have a problem."

"I just got out of a briefing on the current situation out on the Neutral Zone, and apparently things are getting worse. On top of that, Starfleet Intellegence believes that the Romulans might have snuck into Federation space.

During the Dominion War, a sensor net was built by the Dominion within the Argolis Cluster. The USS Defiant was dispatched by Admiral Ross and destroyed critical portions of the net. However, SI now believes that the Romulans are attempting to re-activate the sensor net, which would give them unprecedented sensor data on ship movements in the Klingon Empire, the Cardassian Union and Federation Space.

Here's the deal. Just about everyone who could provide us with additional info on the Argolis Cluster is dead or some deity. Admiral Ross passed a few years ago, Records show Jadzia Dax is dead and Sisko is still MIA. But there is still one more person who can help us.

Starfleet has ordered us to look into this matter further. Also, we need some delicate information on Argolis. We have been instructed to make contact with Captain Worf on Q'onos. Starfleet doesn't want to go through the channels on this because they don't want to tip off the Klingons just yet.

I am moving up my departure from Earth, and have put my Academy lectures on hold, again. Once I can round up a skeleton crew for the Umpqua, we'll begin preperations, so that we can depart as soon as Crowl and his team get here. I want to be out at SB10 as soon as possible. We have alot of work to do here. I'll see you soon Admiral."
"Admiral Redshirt out."

are we allowed to post comments and such within the thread here? If so, I just started to read and noticed that the headline font format is wrongly-set. There are just the [/size.] brackets set, not the actual [size.] ones. Just a minor thing ;).

haha, Niomo's Headache.

i feel special :)

As doors to the Turbo lift swooshed open, Rear Admiral Crowl stepped onto the bridge of the Nova Class vessel, The USS Umpqua, Noticing Captain Imperator had arrived Admiral Crowl approaches the captain. “Captain Imperator, contact Lt. Commander Butler over at Utopia Planetia and confer with him about making sure our tractor systems are up to towing the Nehalem at our maximum warp, which is warp 8.  Then coordinate with our temporary chief engineer, Lt Cmdr Tubbs, with getting those modifications on-line."

“Aye sir”, the Captain responds. Leaving the bridge Captain Imperator heads for Engineeing

Admiral Crowl then takes the captain's chair and takes note of his temporary crew.  Lt Mack is the tactical officer, Lt Tavar (a vulcan) is the science officer, and Ens Jones is at the helm.  Below deck is Lt Thompson, the CMO for the cruise, and Lt Cmdr Tubbs in engineering.

“Admiral, engineering reports that we are ready to depart”, announces Lt. Mack

Admiral Crowl looks to Lt. Mack, “Very well. Contact starbase operations and request clearance to depart.”

“Sir Operations is responding and we are cleared for launch.”

Adjusting in his seat Admiral Crowl responds, Lt. Mack, set condition Blue for docking procedures. Crowl to engineering, it's time to depart.  Bring our systems on-line."

“Aye, sir. Warp Warp and impulse engines on-line, thrusters have power available.  Switching to internal power and life support." Lt. Commander Tubbs replies.


“Ensign Jones, disengage the gangway, clear all docking clamps and moorings.” Ordered the Admiral Crowl.

Aye, sir, gangway cleared, all docking clamps and mooring detached and cleared. Bringing thrusters on-line, navigational deflector on-line; awaiting your order Admiral."

“Admiral, sensor systems are within nominal operations standards.”

“Thank you Lt. Tavar. Ensign Jones, take us out, 1/8th impulse”

“Aye aye, 1/8th impulse”

As the Nova class starship cleared the Space Dock doors and was subjected to the vastness of space the blue glow from the warp nacelles seemed to cast a shadow across the hull of the ships, highlighting all of the angular features of the Class.

Ensign Jones, looks over to Admiral Crow, “Sir we have cleared space dock.”

“Very good. Set course for Utopia Planetia, Full impulse.” " Aye, sir Course plotted, full impulse." "Engage", Crowl Ordered. "Ens Jones, what's our current ETA?" “ETA 10 minutes Admiral., Jones replied. "Imperator to Admiral Crowl."
"Crowl here, go ahead." "I've contacted Lt.Commander Butler.  Most of the modifications we need have already been completed.  The remaining modifications should only take about 15 minutes." "Excellent.  Get those modifications completed.  Our ETA is 10 minutes." "Aye, Imperator out" "Rear Admiral Crowl to Admiral Redshirt.  We have departed and will reach Utopia Planetia in 10 minutes." "Very good.  We are a few minutes ahead of schedule."


“Admiral, we have arrived at Utopia Planetia.”, Announces Ensign Jones

“sir” “Yes Lt. Tavar.” “The Nehalem has been towed out from spacedock and is being held in place by a tug.”  “On Screen.  Bridge to Admiral Redshirt, we have arrived at Utopia Planetia and are about to take the Nehalem in tow.” “Thank you Admiral Crowl, I'll be right there.” “Bridge to engineering, how long until the modifications are complete to the tractor beam?” “2 minutes Admiral” “Helm, move us to within tractor range of the Nehalem and hold us there.” Lt. Commander Tubbs, to Bridge” “Go ahead commander” tractor beam on-line.  We're ready down here Admiral. Lt Mack, attach a tractor beam.  Hail the tug and tell them to release the Nehalem.
Let’s get under way shall we?  Helm, set course for Star base 10; 1/2 impulse until we clear the system, then let’s try warp 1 to see how the modified systems work.

Admiral, we've cleared the system and we are ready for warp 1., announces the helm officer. Bridge to engineering, we'll be trying out the modified systems at warp 1 just to make sure everything works, then we'll kick it up to warp 7. Understood Admiral well be ready, Engineering out.” Helm, engage

As the USS Umpqua leaps to warp, the Admiral calls to all departments to report in.

Tractor beam is holding steady, engineering reports all systems are at nominal levels sir. Lt Mack replies.

“Excellent, Helm, increase to warp 8.” “Warp 8, aye.”

ETA for Star base 10? At our present speed, we will reach star base 10 in 7 hours. Ensign Jones replies

Looking over to Captain Imperator, who has been sitting in the first officer seat Imperator, you have the bridge.  I'm going to go grab something to eat.  Admiral Redshirt, would you like to join me? I would indeed.

As the USS Lotus Limps away from the battle Lt. Niomo begins working on away to get main power back on line. Admiral Nova looks over to the Lieutenant. Lieutenant Niomo, let me know as soon as we are ready to get underway"

"Helm scan for the nearest object that will best skew our signature I dont care if its a nebula or what, just get us out of here.

Mr. Garrison what is the status of all of the Klingon ships? also keep an eye on those sensors, let me know if any ships come into the sector.

Please send an encoded message to Captain Worf and inform him of our last known position and that we have taken serious damage." and inform him that once he arrives we will make contact. Also what is the ETA on the Piedmont?"

Niomo nodded in acknowledgement. "Aye sir. Garrison, send a security team to Deck 8. I will grant them access into the room."

Niomo took the phaser from its compartment in his station and procceded to Deck 8.

He arrived quickly and awaited the security team.

Once the team arrived Niomo tried to raise the Science Chief one last time, but when he did not get a response he took out his phaser and prepared the team to move in.

Niomo moved next to the control panel and input his command code to unlock the door. A minute later the door slowly slid open and Niomo stood dumbfounded.

Twelve bodies were scattered around the room, one of which was Niomo's friend.

"Oh God..." Tapping his badge, "Admiral...This is Lire. The computer repair team is dead...I suggest we lock down all major control panels, post security at the entrances to all major rooms and restrict all off duty crewmen to their quarters. I suggest contacting the next in line science officer...they've just been promoted i think. I'm going to stay here and see what i can do for the computer. The security team will stay in this room until the repairs are complete."


Next, he tapped his comm "Engineering, this is Lire. The computer repair team is dead. Go through the service log and see which crewman have the most experience in computer system diagnostics. Have them report to Deck 8, security will escort them to our workplace."

Niomo hits his badge again "Dr. Kirkpatrick, are you there? We have some work for you. Twelve deceased crewmembers." Niomo sighed. "Twelve, Lieutenant? What happened! [Lt. Niomo responds (I'm guessing it will take a bit to find out what happen exactly?)] I'll dispatch a medical emergency team to your location, they will be there shortly. In the mean time, please find out what's going on, I would rather have an empty sickbay if at all possible. We will try to find out what killed them."

Niomo picked up a tricorder and got to work as some engineering crewmen began to trickle in.

Dr. Kirkpatrick looks at his Nurse, Ensign Myla, through the glass wall of his office and motions her over. "Find out what deck Lt. Lire is on and get a medical emergency team assembled Ensign, we've got work to do. I'll make the necessary preparations for possible autopsies; We have to find out what killed them all."

Ensign Myla: "I'll get a team together right away, Sir. Computer, locate Lieutenant Lire."

EMH: "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Ensign Myla turns around to find that the EMH had activated thanks to the still malfunctioning computer.

Ensign Myla: "I suppose we might use your help.." "Try to locate him manually Doctor."

Dr. Kirkpatrick finds Lt. Niomo's location by way of the computer console on his desk.

"He's on Deck 8 at the Main Computer Core."

Ensign Myla: "I'll get the team there as soon as possible."

Admiral!, I don't know how, but all navigation is somehow being routed through to somewhere on deck 5! "What!, Isolate the source" "Bridge to security, Intruder alert on Deck 5!"  "Computer Reroute all command functions and controls to Deck 1 and Lock, Authorization Nova Tango Zeta Two Eight.”

 Hang in there Captain Felez and Ensign Covair! I'm rootin' for ya's!