kalokagathia - a Star Trek Story [on hiatus]

Chapter 11 : Not an Auspicious Start

Cass could feel the nerves bubble in her as she walked up the steps to the shuttlecraft. Cass was very rarely nervous, but this was something that she had never done before, an actual mission on Starfleet's newest flag ship: the USS Enterprise. Even the fact that she had nerves made Cass nervous, as she knew then that it was important, that people were counting on her.

 She fidgeted with her fingers as both she and Uhura sat down, buckling the harness-like safety belts around themselves. Cass took a deep breath; this is what she had dreamed of, what she had trained for, to preserve her parents' legacy: what she had enlisted in Starfleet for. The collar of her regulation cadet uniform seemed absurdly tight all of a sudden, her hands turning slightly clammy, although she couldn't tell if it was nerves or excitement.

She cast her blue eyes towards the window, and they widened at what she saw through it.

"Nyota," she said to her friend in an awed whisper, poking her in the arm. Uhura looked through the small porthole window and out into the vastness of space, scanning it for what had made the blonde girl so excited. Then she saw it, coming up in front of them. The huge starship, her curved hull so shiny and perfect and new. The flagship's maiden voyage and they were both on it.

The bustle of the people around her was all that stopped Cass from just admiring the beauty of the vessel. She really was beautiful, the most beautiful Cass had ever seen.

"Uhura, report to the communications array," said the lieutenant stood at the door of the shuttle, "Ryann, report to the bridge."

Cass raised her eyebrows in surprise walking through the door almost on instinct and muscle memory more than by her brain actively telling her legs to move. Why was she posted to the bridge? That couldn't be right.

Her yellow uniform was a snug fit, perfect in fact, and the command pin on the front of it certainly helped. She cast Uhura a professional nod as the two girls parted ways, Uhura heading into the communications array at the front of the ship, Cass heading for the nearest turbolift for her swift ride to the bridge, the helm of the vessel, its heart.

The walls of the turbolift were so different to the ones of the Academy, which seemed almost derelict in comparison to the shiny, almost polished, metallic walls of the turbolift, the control lights winking at her with an eagerness to rival the cadets manning the ship. As the door was shutting, another crewman, in a blue shirt walked in.

Cass recognised the pointy ears.

"Lieutenant Ryann," acknowledged Spock with a small nod of his head.

"Commander Spock," he too had changed. His grey uniform had been replaced with a standard Starfleet blue shirt and a science command pin. The colour suited him better; he seemed at home in it more than the standard grey uniform.

"If you don't mind me saying, sir," the turbolift door opened, and the shiny new bridge unveiled itself, "blue really does suit you."

 She left Spock with a small smile on her face, and a quizzical raise of his eyebrows. Again Cass found herself awed at the sight of the new flagship, with her shiny consols and new fittings, serving on a ship like this was the reason that she joined Starfleet. Captain Pike stood over at the corner, walking into his command chair. His eyes caught Cass, and she smiled slightly again.

"Miss Ryann, nice of you to join us," he said. The blonde girl walked and proudly stood behind the consol, checking the shields and the weapons array.

"Ready for launch, captain," she said, her tone now strictly professional. Captain Pike nodded in response to her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the maiden voyage of Starfleet's newest flagship deserves more pomp and circumstance than we can afford today. I guess a christening will have to be our reward for a safe return. Carry on." He said as he sat down in the captain's chair that sat proudly in the centre of the bridge. "All decks, this is captain Pike, prepare for immediate departure. Helm, thrusters."

"Moorings retracted captain," said the young Asian man at the helm, "docking control reports ready. Thrusters fired, separating from space dock." The floor under Cass's feet shifted slightly as the ship moved in a turn away from the space dock, and she could feel all her nerves wash away on a wave of pure excitement. This was it.

The other ships, none as magnificent as the Enterprise appeared on the viewscreen, the beautiful silver of the hull standing out against the midnight blue of the surrounding space.

"The fleet has cleared space dock, captain." Remarked the helm's man again, "all ships ready for warp." Cass saw captain Pike watching her with a small smile, and she grinned back at him.

"Set a course for Vulcan," he said, turning around and facing the screen.

"Aye aye, captain." He replied, tapping away at his consol, "coarse laid in."

"Maximum warp. Punch it."

With a very serious look on his face, the young man turned back to his station and slowly pulled down the lever to get the ship underway. The engines fired eagerly, but the ship still sat there. Cass's expression turned quizzical. Not an auspicious start.

 The helm's man seemed just as confused as everyone else whose eyes were now on him as his dark eyes flicked back and forth awkwardly as the ship's engines dropped again. The rest of the fleet had already zoomed out of there, the Enterprise the only one left.

"lieutenant, where's helm's man McKenna?" asked Captain Pike in an almost bored tone as the young man's fingers scattered over the controls, trying to work out how he's done something wrong before they even began.

"He had lungworm, sir, and he couldn't report to his post," he replied with false confidence, "I'm Hikaru Sulu." Captain Pike did not seem impressed.

"And you are a pilot, right?" he said, raising his eyebrows at Sulu.

"Eh, very much so, sir," Sulu said, in an uncertain voice, "I'm, err, not sure what's wrong here," Captain Pike looked up in exasperation as the Lieutenant looked over his controls.

"Is the parking break on?" said captain Pike. Cass chuckled slightly even though she could tell he was not amused.

"Eh, no," said Sulu, with a nervous chuckle, "I'll figure it out, I'm just, err-"

"Have you disengaged the external inertial dampener?" Spock asked in his usual tone. Sulu stopped, and his fingers scattered over the consol, which gave an appreciative blip.

"Ready for warp, sir," said Sulu. Now he was the one not impressed.

"Let's punch it." said captain Pike. This time, when Sulu pulled the lever, the ship shuddered slightly, the stars on the viewscreen streaking past as the Enterprise zipped away.