Redshirt,
kes7, thanks for your sympathies. This has been hard on both of us but we are moving forward. We're talking about the loss, crying, and not blaming each other.
And so, because I needed something to do, here is the prologue to
Aurora...
* * *
STAR TREK:
AURORA
The Search for Life
Prologue
USS Aurora
Syracuse IX
Stardate 58621.6 (August 15, 2381)
Captain Yosa Denisar silently cursed the ancient deities of his homeworld as he moved from the bridge to his ready room. Syracuse IX was supposed to be an easy assignment for his crew on their first outing as a group since the Borg invasion six months earlier, but the colony site was bare bones and they had used up the majority of their supplies just to bring it up to Federation specifications. He had fired off a very angry log entry to the Starfleet Command, marked urgent, hoping it would be passed through the chain of command to the Federation Relocation Bureau. His anger had partially subsided until his own urgent summons by the very young and harried Bureau liaison to Starfleet.
The Governor had signalled the ship a few hours ago from the surface to let them know that the colony was up and running, the communications net in place and the shelters completed. All Denisar now had left to do was make his final report to the Federation Relocation Bureau and move on to the next assignment. As soon as his executive officer returned from the surface, he would make that report. Until then, he planned to give the liaison a long hard talk. He sat down in his ready room and entered his authorization code for the real-time message from Earth.
'
Captain Denisar, I do not appreciate being woken in the middle of the night to get harangued by my superiors on both sides of the table.'
'Good day to you, Miss DeMarco. I do not appreciate using up almost off my ship's supplies because the surveying vessel did not do a proper job in making sure that this planet was suitable. Thankfully, my engineers were able to avert disaster and get the colony up and running.'
'
I read your report, Captain, and you'll be glad to know that the survey vessel has been reassigned to an assignment more suited to its crew.'
Denisar sighed and made a mental note to apologise to the ship's commanding officer. 'Are we still on schedule for our mission to Polizera III?'
DeMarco shook her head, her long curls flailing wildly. '
No, I was actually contacting you to give you a new assignment. The Yosemite
will be continuing your current assignment.'
Denisar didn't feel so sorry for the captain of the former survey ship any longer. He envied him since he knew that this new mission was going to be far harder on his crew.
'Where are we going?'
'
I'm sending the information in an encrypted data packet, Captain. Considering the nature of this assignment, discretion is strongly advised. Set course for your destination immediately and maintain radio silence until you have completed the mission unless of extreme urgency forces your hand, DeMarco out.'
Denisar accessed the data packet and decrypted it, scanning its contents. He tapped his combadge. 'Denisar to helm, set course for the Fellebia system, maximum warp.'
'
Acknowledged,' the helm officer replied.
He activated the screen on his desk. 'Captain Denisar to Syracuse Control.'
'
This is Syracuse Control, what can I do for you, Captain?' a pleasant young human woman asked as the screen spluttered to life.
'Is my exec ready to beam up yet?'
'
Yes sir, he entered the control room a few moments ago.'
'Could you let me speak to him please.'
'
Of course, please hold one moment.'
The screen provided him with white noise for a few seconds before his exec appeared. '
Is there a problem, Captain?' Commander Sovar asked.
'I need you back up here, we've been reassigned. I want all our personnel on board in five minutes, and inform Control that their comm system needs fine tuning.'
'
Aye sir, I'll see to it, Sovar out.'
Denisar tapped his combadge as the screen faded. 'All senior officers report to the briefing room in five minutes.'
Denisar exited his ready room and moved aft toward the briefing room at the rear of the bridge. He transferred the information in the data packet from his padd to the main computer and then noted the arrival of the others. He took his customary seat at the head of the table, closest to the windows, and looked at the tired faces around him. Before he began the briefing he looked at the star charts to see if there was a starbase between the two locations which they could briefly stop at for resupply and tapped his combadge.
'Helm, adjust course to
Xendi Starbase Nine and inform them of our arrival.'
'
Aye sir, adjusting course. Estimated time of arrival is four days.'
'Excellent, Denisar out.' He looked around the able again. 'We've received new orders. The
Yosemite will continue our current assignment. The Federation Relocation Bureau recently received a report from Kamiyah VI noting that 600 Risian refugees had died in a viral outbreak because there was not enough medicine to go around. 243 survived. The surviving Risian leaders have asked for immediate intervention, citing the incidents on Pacifica and Kamiyah VI among others. The Bureau has finally elected to do something and our job is to survey the Fellebian system.'
He activated a holographic image on the table, and continued his briefing. 'The Fellebian system, formerly identified as 94 Aquarii, is located on the border of Federation space close to the Ferengi Alliance but this is not seen as a cause for concern considering the current political climate. It lies approximately one hundred light years from Earth, just about within the acceptable boundaries of the new patrol routes.'
'Our assignment is to survey the Fellebian system as fully as possible, determine its suitability for a new Risian homeworld and them pass the information to the Bureau for them to do with as they please. Hopefully we'll find it suitable and we can help the Risian Hedony rebuild their culture.'
'Captain, why are we only looking at suitable planets within a hundred light years of Earth for relocations?' Commander Sovar, the Vulcan first officer asked. 'There are plenty of known habitable worlds further away from the core worlds.'
'The Federation Council and Starfleet Command have determined that with forty percent of our fleet destroyed, a one hundred light year radius is the most acceptable patrol radius.'
'What about all our surviving colonies and member worlds outside that boundary?' Lieutenant Commander Zandra Taitt, the Aurora's chief science officer, asked.
'Minimal patrols will serve the remainder of Federation space and our allies have agreed to assist to protecting the Federation border, just as we have agreed to help protect theirs until Starfleet is back at full strength,' Denisar replied. 'Federation space has been reduced by approximately eleven percent since the Borg invasion and although we are continuing to explore, the Federation Council have decided that we should rebuild and fortify the home systems before we try to add more members or reclaim our former territories, if at all. It is still likely that some will secede and we have diplomats working on that.'
'We are in a very sorry state,' Lieutenant Commander Aquiel Uhnari, the chief engineer, stated. 'We've never had it so bad. Why are we stopping at
Xendi Starbase Nine?'
'We need to resupply after the nonsense at Syracuse. I'll handle the fallout from Command and the Bureau, but a day or two of rest and relocation won't delay things too much.'
Sovar raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.
'Director Tomanien won't like that,' Uhnari said. 'I'm sure you'll be getting a nice conversation with him in the very near future.'
Denisar nodded sourly. 'I'm well aware of that, Aquiel. Please make sure we're not running the engines too hot. Once we get to Fellebia, I want to land the ship so we don't run the shuttles ragged.'
'Aye sir.'
'Commander Sovar, I would like the life sciences teams divided into three shifts and the geological team split between them. Lieutenant Mossa, I want three security personnel with each group of scientists and I want them rotated continually so no one spends two consecutive shifts with the same team.'
Sovar nodded. 'I will endeavour to have the roster on your desk by the end of shift today.'
'Aye sir,' Mossa replied. 'You are aware that this will leave only a skeleton crew patrolling the ship?'
'The Fellebian system is uninhabited as far as we know, and the astrometrics laboratory will be manned around the clock to inform us of any potential hazard entering the system.'
'Aye sir, that is satisfactory.'
'Good, is there anything else?'
'Captain, I'd like to talk about that rearrangement of the consoles,' operations officer Lieutenant Horiss said.
'Lieutenant, where exactly would you sit if your console was reconfigured for tactical?'
'At the current tactical console,' Horiss replied.
'It's not suitable,' Lieutenant Mossa countered. 'It would be easier to create to a new console for me to sit at.'
'I'll look at it,' Uhnari replied with a smile.
'If that's all, you have your assignments. Unless something urgent comes up, we'll reconvene before we leave
Xendi Starbase Nine, dismissed.'
