Heading Out

Posted on Tue Jan 2nd, 2024 @ 10:19am by Captain Michael Intermeezo

Mission: The Avenger
Location: Bridge, USS Chuck Norris
Timeline: Present

:ON:

{USS Chuck Norris, Bridge}

"Ensign Lance, lay in a course away from the Spacedock and clear our departure with Spacedock control." Captain Intermeezo stood in the middle of the bridge. "Course heading following this will be towards the Bajoran star system."

The announcement took some of the bridge crew by surprise, but they weren't about to choose this moment in time to ask any questions. The man at the helm ran his fingers over her controls and replied, "Course entered, and we have a 'go' from Spacedock for departure.”

The Captain smiled, "XO, do all stations report as ready?"

Lieutenant Commander Rodale read her console quickly and nodded, "All stations ready, Captain."

"Lieutenant Lance, ready thrusters. Initiate launching sequence." the Captain spoke.

Lance answered, "Sequence underway."

Mike smiled widely, "Then take us out, Lieutenant."

The Chuck Norris moved carefully out of the spacedock using thrusters only. Once clear of the dock, speed was increased to one half impulse power. The pre-agreed route towards the Bajoran system was already inputted into the navigational systems. Once the ship was clear of Earth, the Chuck Norris jumped to warp 8.

"Estimated time to the Bajoran system?" Rodale spoke up from the XO's chair.

"At current speed, approximately seven hours and fifty-two minutes, sir.” Lance estimated by looking at his console readout.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." the Captain replied. He turned to Rodale, "I'd like to start the mission briefing now. Please assemble the senior staff in the briefing room, I'll be waiting."

Rodale nodded.


{Briefing Room - A short time later}

Mike watched as his officers filed into the room. One by one they took their seats around the large table, and silently looked towards their Captain to begin the briefing.

He got to his feet. “Unfortunately due to the time sensitive nature of our current mission, I'll need to keep this brief.” He looked towards Rodale, “Mira, would you please stand up.”

The woman looked around the table, unsure as to what the Captain had in mind. She did as she was told however, and stood up. Intermeezo approached her and smiled. “I’m sorry that this occasion doesn’t have the pomp and circumstance that it deserves.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. He opened the box and took out single gold pip. “Mira Rodale, I hereby promote you to the rank of Commander, with all the rights and privileges thereto.” He then proceeded to remove the single black pip from Rodale’s collar and replaced it with the gold pip from the box. “Congratulations Mira, it’s thoroughly deserved.”

There was a short round of applause and a flurry of genuinely happy from the rest of the senior staff as Commander Rodale returned to her seat.

“Now, I’m afraid we need to return to a more pressing situation.” The man explained. He moved over to the briefing screen on the wall, and pressed a button on the panel. The default image of Starfleet's logo disappeared, replaced with an image of a familiar nebula.

The Captain started his briefing; "This is the Rolor Nebula. It sits on the outskirts of the Bajoran system. It's a relatively unremarkable nebula consisting primarily of helium, hydrogen, and a whole lot of dust. But due to massive electromagnetic interference across a broad spectrum, it’s never really been mapped or explored properly. Not to mention the fact that this particular sector has always been crawling with Cardassian patrol ships."

He paused for a moment, and allowed the initial wave of information he had provided to his officers sink in. "Following the Dominion's defeat a decade ago, and with it the Cardassian Union's collapse and initial rebuilding, Starfleet has been able to access this area of space recently for extensive scientific study."

He pressed a button on the briefing panel once again. The image changed. "This is the USS Avenger, NX-09." Intermeezo continued to speak. "This NX-class starship disappeared without a trace in 2160. Initially it was believed to have been destroyed by a Romulan vessel in the last days of the Earth-Romulan war, but no wreckage was ever found."

He could see some confused faces around the table. "You're probably wondering what a nebula near Bajor and a 226 year old starship have in common, aren't you?" Mike pressed the briefing panel once again and an image of a charred piece of hull plating with "NX-09" inscribed came up on the screen. "This image came from the science vessel USS Faraday three days ago. During an initial sweep of the outskirts of the Rolor Nebula, they found this piece of hull plating. The Chuck Norris has been ordered to enter the Rolor Nebula to see if any more of the ship can be found. If it is found to be relatively intact, we're to tow it to Deep Space Nine where it will be studied in greater detail. If all we find is more debris, then at least we'll know the ship really was destroyed somehow."

The Captain stepped across to the other side of the room and grabbed the piece of hull plating that had been shown on the screen. He placed it down gently onto the briefing table, trying not to scratch the unblemished surface. "This thing is pretty heavy, so please don't drop it on your toes!"

"I want the science department to take the piece of hull plating and start analyzing it. Hopefully we'll have some more information before we reach the Bajoran system. K’ner, I want you to help out the science department with this one given how thin on the ground we are in that department. I'd rather be well prepared and equipped for anything than get caught out and regret it later. Given the volatility of region, I want security and tactical to make all the preparations they feel necessary to ensure the safety of the ship and crew, you have my full support."

Mike got to his feet and looked at the officers that had gathered around the table for his briefing. He felt that this crew could become something really special, given time. "Okay, let's get to work. We'll arrive at the Rolor Nebula in approximately 38 hours. You have your tasks to attend to. Dismissed.”


:OFF:

Captain Michael Intermeezo
Commanding Officer
USS Chuck Norris