New Orders, New Assignment

Posted on Thu Jan 12th, 2023 @ 7:27pm by Captain Charlotte Rhodes & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Knight & Rear Admiral Sergei Denovitz
Edited on on Sat Feb 18th, 2023 @ 8:16am

1,230 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: New Sheriff in Town
Location: Arcadia Station, Base Commander's Office
Timeline: MD 1, 0800 Hours

Ryan entered the Base Commander's office to discover the man was already in a meeting with an attractive woman wearing the uniform of a starship captain. He paused just inside the door for a moment feeling he was intruding. He looked between both senior officers for a moment before settling his gaze on the Base Commander. "Sir, Yeoman Bennett said you were ready to see me, but if I am intruding...."

The man in the grey and gold starbase uniform shook his head. "Not at all, Lieutenant. The Captain and I were just reliving the good old days," the man said. His short peppered hair and beard paired with the Admiral's pips belied a storied career. "Please come in, Mr. ... Knight, was it?"

Ryan nodded as he approached the desk and popped to attention. He saluted, "Sir, Lieutenant Knight reporting as ordered." He caught a glimpse of the Captain's chevron on the woman. ''Young for a captain rank in Starfleet,' he thought to himself. He was himself trying to garner a fast track for command of his own starship, but knew it was still years away.

The admiral nodded. "A pleasure to make your acquaintence. I am Admiral Denovitz, Acting Commander of Arcadia for the time being. However, I believe you are here to see..." He trailed off gesturing toward the woman in gold.

The Captain gave a warm smile and extended her hand. "Captain Charlotte Rhodes, USS Defiant. Glad you were able to stop by. I understand you've been head of Shuttlecraft Operations here for a while now."

Ryan was slightly confused by the Admiral's shift to introduce Captain Rhodes. He had turned to Charlotte as the Admiral introduced her. He shook hands and nodded. "Yes sir. Going on six months now. I have been responsible for the operation and maintenance of eight shuttlecraft that support Base operations."

“Your record is spotless here. However, I do have a question for you,” she said, stepping slightly to side to lean against the desk. Behind her, in the distance the frame of a Constitution-class vessel was visible, docked to Arcadia’s sole completed docking pylon. “Do you have any interest in flying something a little bigger?”

The woman tilted her head in the direction of the vessel in the distance.

Ryan's looked at the majestic Constitution-class starship docked. His expression one of seeing the most beautiful woman to have graced the Heavens. He glanced at Charlotte with a grin that threatened to split his face. "I do indeed Captain."

A mischievous smile spread across Rhodes’ face. “Thought you might,” she added, turning to the Admiral. “Sir, I’d like to give the Lieutenant a tour, if you’d permit.”

Denovitz shook his head, but his face was one of amusement. “Permission granted. I get the feeling I need to start looking for a shuttle Chief.”

——Arcadia Hanger 2——
The two officers crossed the hanger bay floor, Rhodes slightly ahead. Not too far away, a Stamets-Class shuttlecraft sat waiting. NCC-1764-1, the Pythagoras.

“I know Arcadia’s got quite the shuttle fleet already, but I figured I’d let you take a swift in Defiant’s,” Charlotte said. She swiped a command on her communicator and the doors popped open. She gestured toward the door into her shuttle. “Care to take the wheel?”

Ryan took a seat in the pilot's chair and began running preflight checks. The Pythagoras was a brand new shuttle, even having that new shuttle smell. He smiled happily as he completed his checks and raised aerospace control on the communications system and requested clearance to launch. He input a flight plan that would take several passes around the dorsal and ventral structure of the Defiant. Clearance came back in a moments time. "Ready when you are, Captain."

"The scenic route. I like it," Charlotte said, noting his flight path. "The ship's all yours, Mr. Knight. Show me what you can do."

Ryan easily traversed the space between the hanger and the underside of the Defiant. She was truly a marvel of Starfleet engineering. His smile only grew as he swept up to make another pass along the dorsal side of the vessel. He turned to Charlotte. "Captain's prerogative. Should the ship tractor us in or...would you like for me to land manually?"

A sly smile spread across her face. She had a feeling she was going to get along quite well with this Helmsman. "I was a bit of a helmsman myself, back in the day. Why power up a tractor if the pilot's up to the task?"

Ryan cocked his head before allowing a grin to cross his face. He activated the communications. "USS Defiant, this is Lieutenant Knight on approach with Defiant Actual aboard. I request opening of the hanger bay doors for hands on landing. How copy?"

A moment later, the comm panel replied. "Understood, Pythagoras. Hanger bay doors are opening now. You are cleared for a powered landing. Please land in Bay 1."

Ryan brought the Pythagoras in and landed precisely on the pad ever so gently. He nodded to Charlotte as he began the power down and post flight checks. "I hope the landing meets with the Captain's approval."

"Light as a feather," she said approvingly. She swiveled her chair to face the pilot. "So, now that I've taken you on a bit of a tour, I just wanted to tell you exactly what you'd be signing up for. Obviously, you've seen Defiant. She's a slight Constitution variant, so there's a few differences from the specs you might have seen. Obviously, she has a slightly upscaled impulse deck, as you saw. But maybe more relevant is her prototype warp engine. Defiant's warp core is a bit more powerful than your standard. She can essentially choose between funneling her power into engine systems for more speed or prioritize tactical and defensive systems. The big thing you need to know is that she'll handle a bit differently depending on what she's prioritizing."

The Captain continued. "Also, just in case you were going to miss shuttle management, Defiant does have a small shuttle complement of her own. In addition to Pythagoras, we have her twin, the Hodgkin, the transport shuttle Boudica, and the warrant shuttle Jemison."

Ryan listened attentively as Charlotte described the engine modifications. This was his first posting aboard a Constitution-class vessel which had a benefit of not having to unlearn habits from original design vessels of that class. "I am confident I can quickly adapt to changing circumstances as needed. I do thank you for the heads-up on the modifications though. I will, with your permission, schedule training simulations in the auxiliary bridge for all helm qualified personnel and anyone else who wishes to become certified." Ryan stomach gave an audible grumble. "Pardon me. Sort of skipped breakfast this morning."

"No apologies needed. Seems as good a transition as anything," the Captain replied. "I've had the Quartermaster get you paired up with some lodgings. If you want to drop any of your bags in your Quarters, I'll meet you in the Mess at 0930 for some breakfast. You can get to know the Tactical Chief too, if she's available."

Ryan gave a grateful nod of his head. "Sounds good to me sir." His stomach grumbled again. He glanced down and then back to Charlotte with a light chuckle. "Sounds even better to my belly."

 

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