Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 15:34:28 -0800 In: alt.startrek.creative From: "Jay P Hailey" JayPHailey@TIC1.NET REP Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile 1/335 [PG] TNG-OC (Misc, OCs) Title: Star Trek: Outwardly Mobile Author: Jay P Hailey (JayPHailey@yahoo.com) Series: MISC - TNG OCs COdes: None Part:001/335(?) Rating:[PG] Archive: Fine with me, just tell me where. Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Star Trek. I claim Original Characters and Situations for me. The Holly Hop Incident (Stardate 44603) By Jay P. Hailey And Dennnis Washburn It was just another day in San Francisco, as far as I could see. I was wrong. I woke up at the usual time, ate my usual breakfast, and had my usual morning jog. I only jogged and took my time at the firing range as matter of habit. I had long since resigned myself to being a desk jockey at Starfleet Command. I was nearly fifty years old and hadn't had a promotion in five years. Still, commander was a pretty good rank and working in San Francisco had its advantages. There was the night life. That and the distance from front line duty meant that it wasn't an adventure, it was just a job, one that I could leave at the office. As I got back to my apartment near Golden Gate Park, the message light was blinking on my terminal. It was Admiral Quinn, my boss. Quinn was an odd duck. It had been twenty years or more since he had held a field command, but he still wandered around as though he had that kind of discretion. His official title was "Chief of Operations" but I happened to know that 95% of that work was handled by a staff of people like me, who put in their eight hour shift and then went home. Admiral Quinn kept running around and poking his nose into odd places. He always had one or two special projects cooking. The Klingons would have called him a "Thought Admiral" at one time, and viewed him with a mixture of respect and uncertainty. Generally, he was regarded around Starfleet Command as "eccentric" and "independent minded." He had the ear of all the top brass. The Federation President and the C-in-C both met with Admiral Quinn regularly. He had rescued me from re-classifying old mission logs and had used me as his "George" for some time. "George" is old service slang. It's the pick up officer. If you don't know whose department it was in, or if no other department wanted it, then you assigned it to "George." The recording on my terminal was Admiral Quinn. On my terminal Quinn looked as though he was already a couple of hours into his day. Perhaps he was. "Commander Hailey, please come to my office first thing. Your other tasks have been reassigned. You'll be picking up new orders from me." I sent a routine acknowledgment and got dressed. I went to the headquarters of Starfleet Command. The security scans held me up for a while. Security (A.K.A. "Redshirts," a name they particularly hated) was still doing overtime at Starfleet Command. It had been six months since the Borg had come to Earth, and the body armored goons with their phaser rifles wouldn't have done any good anyway, but we were still too gun shy to let them go just then. Hell, I had even taken to carrying a phaser after that. I'm told that the Counselor's department had a high turn over rate that year. I felt late as I approached Admiral Quinn's office. I checked my watch. I was just on time, but when the Admiral cancels all your routine tasks and asks to see you first thing, you feel tardy no matter what. "Jay, good morning." The Admiral greeted me as I walked through his door. His office was typically large and well equipped. There were hints of personality here and there, too. The office overlooked the Pacific, as well as showing all the contextual junk, that no doubt had personal significance to Admiral Quinn. "Good morning, Sir." I answered. Usually I meant it. Not today. Today I wanted to swallow the lump in my throat and say "What do you want, really?" Quinn didn't disappoint me. He almost never does. "Here are your orders." Quinn Handed me a PADD. I read - "You are promoted, as of stardate 44603.0 to the rank of Captain with all the privileges and responsibilities pertaining thereto." You are further ordered to report to, and take command of the starship USS Harrier NCC 45657. You will then undertake the mission to be outlined later." I looked carefully at the PADD. There were some other phrases, in the overblown, pretentious and acronym laden lingo that Starfleet so adores. The orders looked authentic. Admiral Quinn grinned merrily " I always enjoy that. It's one of the few real pleasures that come with this job. The look on a new captain's face when he gets the news. I must say, Captain, that skeptical disbelief is a new reaction to me." I simply couldn't believe it. "There must be some mistake, Admiral. I'm not on the captains list." "Don't sell yourself short, Jay. You always were on the list, albeit somewhere near the bottom." His face darkened. "The `Borg Incident' advanced that list quite a great deal." That I understood. Quinn continued. "The Harrier is a test bed, not a front line command. It is, however a step up, for you." That I understood, too. "What is the Harrier going to test, sir?" I had butterflies in my stomach. The USS Harrier. My ship! "It's going to test a new concept in faster-than-light drives." Admiral Quinn sounded enthusiastic and impressed. As well he might be. A significant improvement in starship speeds was something of a holy grail among engineers. It would be an unparalleled strategic advantage. "You'll find out more, when you receive your orders. This mission has a level 9 classification." The Admiral finished. I was shocked. I had a conditional level nine due to my records work, but I didn't know it counted for modern projects. The rest of the day was a blur. I cleaned out my desk, and called up the records. The Harrier (My ship!) was currently completing a refit in Spacedock. Some of my co-workers came by to wish me luck. I briefed the new man, Sisko, on the details of the job. I left the Admiral's office early. I wasn't needed there. My new job was going to take some time to study up on. It was time I just didn't have. -*- A few days later I was in a travel pod while my new Security chief, Lt. Commander Flagg briefed me on the details of my new ship. (My ship!) It was love at first sight when I saw her for the first time. But, honestly, she was an ugly duckling. I suppose the design must have seemed really nice 90 years ago, when the Constellation class ships first flew. But now, it was small and old. The records on the hull went back sixty-seven years. I read about her last tour of duty, fifteen years ago. Starfleet had spent a lot of effort to bring her up to spec. I was especially worried about her new warp core. It was a modern device in an old fashioned ship. It developed more power than her systems were designed to handle. We could program it with a limiter to avoid that problem, but it made me unhappy. It was a kludge and it offended my engineer's sensibilities. I had asked about it. As it turned out, the warp core had been intended for the USS Melbourne, which had been lost at Wolf 359. I didn't ask anymore. Many us were dealing with hand-me-downs after that. -*- "... A number of position have yet to be filled, Flagg was saying. He was a short, wiry man with black hair in a fuzzy, bushy, cut. He seemed intense. He moved like an oiled spring. I didn't really like him, but beggars can't be choosers. I was already trying to be the Captain when I put a grin on my face and tried to mean it, when I said "Glad to have you aboard, Commander." I don't think he was fooled. "I couldn't help but notice that we have no Chief Engineer assigned, yet. " I said. There was a whole shopping list of items. This was a big one for me. I had been a Chief Engineer, years before. I knew first hand how badly a ship depends on her Chief Engineer. We were only a few days shy of launch and still no Chief Engineer. On an experimental ship? It didn't make sense. "Starfleet has been having a problem finding someone with the proper clearances and ... other attributes." I was confused a little. What attributes? An engineer with that high a clearance usually had better things to do than push an old ship around, but I thought this was important. I figured I would learn more in a little bit of I just waited. "Is there a First Officer assigned, yet?" I asked, dreading the answer. Flagg grinned faintly. I almost missed it. "Yes sir. Commander Li'ira. She's a little green." I thought that this was pushing it for the Chief of Security. "Ahem... Li'ira. Is that her first name, or last?" "It's the only name she uses, Captain. She's an Orion." This was also a surprise. An Orion in Starfleet? In a command position? On an experimental ship? "Ah... Hmmmm." I said. Too much simply did not make sense here. My discomfort couldn't last. We were about to dock. Flagg performed the usual fly by, checking out the exterior of the ship. It would be one of the few times I ever saw the USS Harrier from the outside. There was no hint on the surface of what made this ship an experimental model. All the bumps and protuberances were normal and functional for this ship. There were the sensor housings. Over there were the primary deflector emitters, with their complicated cooling manifolds. I had spent as much time as possible learning the layout and systems of the USS Harrier. Fortunately there wasn't that much that was different from the stock model. One difference was the navigational deflector system. It was overpowered for that kind of starship by a huge margin. There was no one to ask about that. The whole thing was so classified, that I couldn't even speak to the Project Manager. I was just there to push the ship. As we approached the docking port, I saw a scramble inside. The crew, (What there was of it) was rushing to receive the new Captain. We received clearance to dock and the pod was made fast. My palms were sweaty. I didn't even realize that I was nervous until my hands reminded me. Flagg went over to the hatch and said "Whenever you're ready, Captain." My chest felt tight. My voice broke as I said "Go ahead." Flagg cycled the lock and the doors opened on the USS Harrier (My ship!). I stepped out of the pod and came to attention as I looked around. The first thing that caught my eye was the Orion, Li'ira. I was struck as I saw her by the Orion pheromones. I knew it, and knew what they were, and still I felt my cheeks flush as a rush of lust came over me. I took two deep breaths and looked again. She was tight. She was at attention, and you could have measured perfect angles between her and the deck. Every hair and every muscle was perfectly in place. Her face was very earnest and very young. She had the same intensity as Flagg. I put her at lieutenant, maybe even full grade. But there were three solid gold pips on her collar. "Ten-HUT!!" She barked. And the rest of the crew came to attention. Most of them were young officers and ratings. It was a fairly fresh crew and probably inexperienced. Lovely. I said "Permission to come aboard?" "Permission granted, sir!" Li'ira barked. I saluted the keel and came aboard. I inspected the fresh, young faces in my crew. Then I took a position roughly in front of them. I held up the PADD, and read the orders off it. " ... As of this stardate, I hereby take command of this vessel." I finished. "Computer, transfer command to Captain Jay P. Hailey, authorization, Li'ira - code delta gamma 1449." Li'ira barked, again. Had she rehearsed this? I almost hesitated. I could feel the entire weight of the ship, the crew, and their weird mission settling on my shoulders. But I was committed. "Computer, identify Jay P. Hailey, Captain. " The computer beeped, and I entered my code. I was officially tied to the USS Harrier. There was no turning back. Almost as soon as the change of command was complete, Lt. Commander Flagg insisted that I needed a security briefing. I resisted at first. I wanted to tour the ship and get to know her. I hadn't even seen the Engine Room, yet. Flagg was stubborn and I reluctantly agreed. We retired to the captain's office. It was a generic little cubby hole with a wooden executive's desk overfilling it. "Allow me to present my authentic credentials." Flagg said and handed me a strange PADD. It was a design favored by Starfleet Intelligence. I had to keep my thumb on a certain spot for the screen to stay on. If someone with different thumb print grabbed the PADD before the program was finished running, it would self destruct and call an alert. It was an identification of Colonel John Flagg. It looked authentic. There wasn't much back ground, but I wouldn't have expected there to be. I looked up and said something brilliant. Possibly "Oh." He said "I wanted to brief you, Captain, on the nature of your mission. This is all highly classified, and not to leave this room." He continued, " The `Holly Hop' drive may be the best strategic advance the UFP has ever seen. It is a device that transfers a ship between point A and point B with no time delay, and no passing through the intervening space. An `instant elsewhere' drive. "I am project security on this. I report to people higher up, but you don't need to know who. I'm in charge of seeing that this mission goes through." I said "So you're in command, here?" Flagg responded too quickly. " No, of course not! You're the Starship Captain here. I am just here to make sure that the Federations' enemies don't get their hands on it, and that all goes smoothly." I said "Okay, fine. When do I get the technical stats on this device? I'll need to know all the pertinent details." Flagg grinned a toothy grin " I'll see that all you need to know is available on your terminal." "Are there any other ringers in the crew?" I asked "Li'ira. She's my second. Her actual rank is major." "How well qualified is she to be a starship's First Officer?" "Very well. We have briefed her extensively and she has just passed all of her technical exams." I just looked at him for a moment. A little green? You bet. My head started to throb. Just then I started really thinking of backing out. Obviously, this was some idiot's pet project. It would doom my career. To get cold feet after I had already taken command would put me back behind that desk, until I retired. But was career advancement worth my life? I said "Okay, do I have discretion on choosing the rest of the crew?" Flagg replied " Of course. You're the Captain." --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.556 / Virus Database: 348 - Release Date: 12/26/2003 -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. From ???@??? Thu Jan 15 00:41:42 2004 Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n30.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.87]) by swallow (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1aH0iG4MF3NZFkN0 for ; Wed, 14 Jan 2004 21:44:11 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-12886-1074145421-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.