ORIGINS: USS Hood Story Only Post Archives

Last Updated: 2260.175

June 2009

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: And Then It All Went To Hell

by Mansur, Brian

Scene: Planet Monil IV, Capital City.
SD 2260.102

Lieutenant Commander Sean Merrick shifted uneasily in the limousine's shotgun
seat. He tried hard to ignore the loudmouth behind him and enjoy the view of
Monil IV's captial city. He sighed and turned to watch the capital's intricate
marble edifices blur by.

Merrick, about two dozen Starfleet crew, and several planetary officials were
convoying from their hotel up to the Grand Council Hall. Their job was
straightforward: negotiate for the Federation a treaty to mine the planet's
dilithium reserves.

Simple enough, Merrick thought. He rolled his eyes and wondered when the
councilman behind him would ever shut up about it. The chunky politician had
the XO, Commander Jack Steele, well and truly trapped in the rear cabin.

"I'm telling you that the Enric provincials won't like it!" Councilman Litro
argued. "They won't stand for it! Have you ever met one of them? In their
minds, it is the Prasaans' fault that the sun rises and that the sun sets."

Merrick harumphed. Hatfields and McCoys evidently had extended family on Monil.
As the chief engineer, Merrick had briefed the planetary council on which
dilithium deposits they wanted to tap first. It had gone over like a fart in
church. The majority of the mines lay in, of all places, the Prasaan province's
western border. It was land that the not so wealthy, but very irritable Enric
had historically disputed ownership of.

Litro carried on. "The Federation contracts will give the Prasaan overwhelming
economic and political power. Protests against these treaty talks have already
begun. Why, this morning, 5 people were hopitalized after a full out riot!"

"We're not about to tell you how to run your politics, councilman," Steele
calmly countered. "But the Federation considers that dilithium to be of the
utmost strategic importance. Disruption to its production won't be accepted. 
What will your government do to mitigate relations between the Prasaan and
Enric?"

"Perhaps you haven't been listening Commander Steele!" Litro scowled. "The
Enric don't do compromise. They won't ..."

Merrick yawned. It had been like this with the honorable Litro yesterday and
the day before. He was checking his communicator's chrono again...when it
happened.

All of the sudden it seemed like there were explosions everywhere. The lead car
erupted in a mushrooming fireball. Glass snapped across Merrick's face even as
he was thrown hard against his harness. In an instant, the whole convoy
crashed to a halt.

Shaking his head, he looked up in shock. He felt as if he had ear muffs on and
his vision was blurry. He glanced around. The Captain's limo, along with half
the HOOD's senior staff, was a blazing hulk. His own car's driver had slumped,
unconscious or dead. Merrick looked forward again. There was a line of smoke
leading right up to the first limo's burning wreckage. The image stirred
something in Merrick...an urgent little voice began to rise. "OH SH...!"

"Out! Out! Get out!" he yelled. "Rockets inbound!"

Then he noticed for the first time a frightful pinging sound. Whizzing and
ricocheting bullets filled the car. Panicked now, Merrick unhitched his belt
and dove for the slightly less exposed rear cabin. Wave after wave of shots
thudded around him. He heard a short, very small cry. He peered up and beheld
with gut wrenching horror the darling little asian officer from communications. 
She had taken two rounds to the chest. Her terror stricken eyes held his for a
moment, then lost their light forever.

Coming back to himself, Merrick realized that the intensity of the shots had
lessened. He saw commander Steele next to him laying on top of the councilman
and shouting vainly into a communicator.

"Jammed!" he spat. The fire seemed to have come from their right, so Steele
gestured left.

"Go! Go! Go!" Steele shouted as Merrick kicked the door out and they crawled
into the street. But as Steele dragged out the sobbing councilman, Merrick
realized that there was no real cover nearby. Their caravan had been hit in an
open field. The only nearby structure, a tiny convenience store he guessed, had
been taken out by a rocket that must have just missed their limo.

As shots started to patter close again, Litro began crying hysterically. 
"They're going to kill us! They're going to kill us!" Steele gave the
incontinent man a swift slap to the cheek.

"Control yourself councilman!" Steele ordered, even as a bullet tore a
respectable hole inches above his own head.

Merrick took heart at this spectacle and started thinking again. A glimmer of
hope made him creep forward. Their driver had been a security guard. His
pistol might not have much range, but it was better than nothing.

With some difficulty, he got the driver-side door open and pried the gun out of
its holster. No sooner did he have it in hand than Steele thumped him on the
shoulder.

"The car behind us is still in one piece. It will have one too," the commander
said urgently. "Cover me in three ... two ..."

Merrick quickly fumbled off the safety and chambered a round. He heard Steele
count "one" and popped his head over the hood of the limo. Luck was on his
side. A band of six or seven was hoofing it across the open field towards them.
He opened fire.

The shots caught the attackers completely by surprise. He nailed one Monillian
dissident in the leg and two others hit the dirt. Immediately a volley of
projectiles whizzed centimeters from his bare skull. Ducking back, he glanced
left in time to see three figures outflanking his absurdly exposed position. He
squeezed off six rapid shots that miraculously downed two. The third braced
against a street pole, and then made the spectacularly bad mistake of trying to
look around it for a target. Merrick all but cheered as his slug splattered the
man's brains across the pavement.

He heard shouts and more fire behind him. Steele had made it to the other car's
weapon and was now pumping a danger close assailant full of bullets. Sirens in
the distance became audible. More shouts followed and a whistle call went up.

By the time Merrick had pulled another clip from his dead driver's belt, the
attackers were retreating. He watched them run full tilt towards a couple of
air vans off in the distance.

Bastards!" he screamed. "Get back here you bastards!" He let off a few more
rounds. He wanted to run after them and make them pay for this unmitigated
atrocity.

But his training overrode that instinct. Some of the attackers he and Steele
had downed might still have fight in them. Grimly, he moved toward the nearest
and kicked him in the head for good measure.

NRPG: Welcome Aboard the HOOD! This part of a prelaunch series Andy and I have
been creating to get things fired up. He'll have a few follow-ons to post
shortly after mine. Feel free to add on to them! Just reiterating what Andy's
already said in his e-mails, we want to make posting aboard the HOOD as fun as
possible. If you don't have time for a few pages, a 5-10 paragraph postlet
would be just fine. If you're looking for ideas to get the creative juices
flowing, just drop us a message. I always return e-mails within 48 hours and
usually within 24. I'm always eager to JP, edit drafts, or just talk if you
need.

Respectfully Submitted,
Brian V. Mansur
LCDR Sean Merrick
FO, USS HOOD NCC-1703

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Captain Down

by Catterick, Andy

Scene: Planet Monil IV, Capital City. 
SD 2260.102

            Damn! Damn! Damn! Steele cursed as he ran a zig zag course 
towards the relative cover of a partial wall which moments before had been 
some sort of store.  Had been until the rocket that had been meant for his 
car had missed and taken it out.  He had told the captain that, given the 
tensions and the recent skirmishes between the factions that this had been 
a BAD idea.  Captain Sinclair had known it too, but it was a calculated risk.  
The government of Montil were aware of the Federation’s technical 
superiority but wanted to be treated as equals..equals that had something 
the Federation needed.  Badly.  So the decision was made to accept their 
security assurances.  And Steele had grudgingly accepted the logic.  He 
should have pushed harder.

            He flipped open his communicator as his hand groped for the 
phaser that wasn’t there.  Another concession to Montil’s sensibilities.  
“Steele to HOOD.”

            [HOOD here.  Its good to hear you commander! Sensors are picking 
up explosions and weapons fire near your location.  We can’t raise the 
captain.]  There was mild panic in the comm officer’s voice as if he knew 
the answer to the unasked question.

            “The captain is dead along with the majority of the caravan.”  
Steele replied flatly.  “We have multiple hostilies inbound and I don’t 
think there are enough of the security forces left to hold them off.  Set 
ship’s phasers to stun and target a 2 block radius.  Fire when ready.”  

            The order given he spun around to find Merrick.  He saw by one 
of the transports frantically administering CPR to someone in a blue tunic.  
The doctor?  He couldn’t tell with all the smoke.  “Merrick!  Sean!”  The 
engineer looked up in anguish in time to see Steele point towards the 
heavens.  “Incoming!”  They both dove to the ground as the wail of the 
phasers surrounded them.

<<<NRPG>>>
As Brian said, some brief backstory that we started.  My next two posts 
will bring us to the 'present'

Respectfully,
Andy
CDR Jack Steele
Acting CO 
USS HOOD NCC 1703
ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Called on the Carpet

by Catterick, Andy

SD 2260.111

Scene: Briefing Room, Starbase 27

Commander Jack Steele stood at attention and fought the almost 
overwhelming urge to tell Admiral Palmer and her two lackeys to go 
and screw themselves.  USS HOOD had slid into orbit 8 days ago and 
Steele had found himself spending the majority of that time standing 
in front of a variety of admiralty boards and hearings answering no 
end of stupid, idiotic questions.

Breathe, he told himself.  It would all be over soon.

His captain was dead along with a number of good officers.  As one 
of the few surviving senior officers the responsibility was his and 
his alone.  He just wished they would finish nitpicking every 
unimportant detail and cashier him.  As he deserved.  He could feel 
the disgusted stares of his ancestors all about him.  

            “Stand easy commander.”  She made the rank sound like a 
curse.  Palmer frowned as she accepted a folder from Commodore 
LaPaz and scanned its contents.  She conferred with LaPaz and then 
turned her attention aback to Steele.  “So Mr. Steele let me see 
if I have everything here.  HOOD was ordered to Montil IV to secure 
dilithium mining rights and possibly extend Protectorate status to 
the Montil government.  Instead you involve yourselves in what 
could have turned into a civil war, you threw caution to the wind 
and actually sided with one of the factions and in the process not 
only killed almost two dozen of your crew but your captain.”

            Steele bit his tongue.  They hadn’t involved themselves 
they had defended themselves.  A lot of good people died. But in 
doing so they had saved hundreds of innocent bystanders.  But that 
didn’t matter.  Starfleet wasn’t interested in intentions only in 
results.  They should have found a way

“And just to make it a grand slam.”  Palmer droned on.  “I have 
received no less then four communiqués from Montil this morning.  
Three are from some minor functionaries protesting your heavy 
handedness, your brutality and complete lack of understanding of the 
political situation.  A situation in which you thrust yourself and 
by extension the Federation into.  I believe you know one of the 
gentlemen, Councilman Litro?”  She looked up until he acknowledge 
the question with a curt nod.  “Yes, well, it seems that the 
councilman formally requests your arrest and extradition to Montil 
to stand trial for assaulting him.”

Steele could feel his cheeks redden partially from embarrassment but 
mostly from anger.  He had lost control with that whimpering excuse 
for a sentient being.  But assault? It was hardly that.

“Finally, this last message is from Prime Minister Travil himself.  
Having reestablished control of the planetary government and with 
the support of his Parliament he has agreed to a long term contract 
with the Federation guaranteeing mineral rights.  Apparently he 
feels you were instrumental in swaying him towards a relationship 
with the Federation and he would like you to sign the treaty on our 
behalf.  In short,” She stared coldly, “he saved your ass.”  A long 
silent pause settled on the room as Steele tried to wrap his mind 
around the new reality. He had walked into the room knowing his 
career was over.  There had been no other possible outcome.

“Based on the findings of this board I hereby declare that all 
charges against Commander Jack Steele are dropped.  Further, he is 
to return to duty immediately.  This Board is adjourned.”  She 
picked up the small gavel and tapped the bell six times.  Silently 
Commodore LaPaz and Captain Reynolds rose and left the room.

“I know you don’t believe it Commander but you did a good job.  A 
damn good job.  But regardless of any successes there is the matter 
of Captain Sinclair.  Not to sound overly crass but a dead captain 
demands serious consequences.  Had Captain Sinclair told you  about 
DAUNTLESS?”

“DAUNTLESS?  No sir.”

“I thought not.  He wanted to save it for a surprise.  The orders 
weren’t official yet and you know the stickler he could be.  He 
wanted to be the one to tell you that you had been given command of 
her.”

*Had been*  The words rang out clearly.  As in, until you screwed 
things up and got your CO killed.

“I’m sorry to disappoint both of you. But given what I have seen in 
your record and in large part due to your action and the decisions 
you made when you found yourself in command I think I have found a 
more appropriate position for you.”

I’m going to resign Steele thought determinedly.  I failed to protect 
my captain and now they’re going to exile me to some interplanetary 
shuttle run.  

“The paperwork will probably take a day or two to take affect but 
you can begin your duties immediately on my authority.  Lord knows 
you’ll have enough to do.  Effective immediately I am promoting you 
to the rank of captain and assigning you HOOD.”  She said 
matter-of-factly.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand Admiral.”  He wasn’t sure how long he 
had stood silently before he managed to get that out.

Palmer sighed.  “The orders are pretty straight forward captain.  If 
you can’t follow simple direction perhaps I’ve made the wrong 
decision.”  And then she smiled.  Steele wouldn’t have thought it had 
been possible.  “Captain Sinclair screwed up.  Its very clear from 
the events and though you don’t come out and say it in your report you 
know it as well.  Caution is an important commodity for a good commander 
to have.  But so is the ability to take action and you clearly 
demonstrated you had that ability when you found yourself in the 
position you did.  Captain, the CONSTITUTION ships are a rare breed 
and we need commanders who are just as rare.  You will quite often 
find yourself cut off from authority and making decisions that will 
affect the quadrant.  You will be the law, the peace maker, the 
explorer and when it hits the fan the fist.  I am confident that you 
are the best person for the job.”

“Thank you admiral, I won’t let you down.”

“Don’t let yourself or your crew down and I’m sure you’ll come out on top.  
Now at the risk of ruining my reputation as cold automaton I am further 
authorizing HOOD to remain in orbit for an additional 14 days.  Use that 
time to get her supplied and make any repairs necessary.  Report back 
here at 08:00 on day 15 with your first officer and I will give you your 
orders.”

“My first officer sir?”

“You’ve got two weeks captain more then enough time to find yourself a 
good one.  Dismissed.”

Respectfully,
Andy
CDR Jack Steele
Acting CO 
USS HOOD NCC 1703
ASR ORIGINS

[ORGINS]USS HOOD: A New Job

by Catterick, Andy

SD 2260.120

Scene: E Deck, USS HOOD

            Steele walked through the corridors of HOOD with his mind 
racing.  He hadn’t really come to terms with the assignment Palmer had 
just dropped on him.  But all the things he knew he had to do were 
beginning to nag and that was helping accept the new reality.   At least 
the most pressing one was something that could be solved easily enough.  
Or at least he thought it would.

            Entering his cabin he spun the viewer around and hit the 
white com button.  [Bridge, Crewman Johnson.]  The rating covering the 
comm station answered.

            “Mr. Johnson could you page Commander Merrick and have him 
report to my quarters?”

            [Yes sir.]

            A drink.  He had better have a drink he thought as he set out 
two glasses and filled them both.  It didn’t take long for his door 
chime to announce Sean’s arrival.  Jack smiled at that.  No doubt the 
ship’s jungle drums had begun the second he had stepped aboard.  By now 
everyone would know he had returned and with him news of their collective 
fate.

            The door slid open and Sean looking more apprehensive then he 
had expected walked in.  He took a look at Jack a quick look down at the 
two glasses and looked back up to Steele.  “How’d it go?”

            “Well its over.”  Steele replied quietly.  He gestured to the 
seat.  “You’d better sit.”  He advised as he dropped into his own.  “The 
good news is that I have been acquitted.  All charges dropped."

            “That is good news.  I told you there was nothing to worry 
about.”  He raised his glass in toast.  “To the wisdom of Starfleet.”

            “And to the impeccable timing of Prime Minister Travil.”  
Steele added before downing his glass.  He refilled both and then put the 
bottle away.

            “So whats the rest of it?  Or don’t I want to know?”

            Jack grinned.  “Oh hell I was going to string you along for a 
bit but its such a relief that I’m not packing my bags its just not in me.  
The short version is that Admiral Palmer bumped me to O-6 and has given me 
HOOD.”

            “That’s outstanding!”  Sean beamed as he raised his glass 
again.  “This certainly calls for a toast.

            “Hold on.”  Jack interjected.  “You might not be so happy in a 
minute.  We’re sailing again in two weeks and this ship and crew need to be 
100%.  I don’t even know where to start but we’ve got to begin to put things 
back together.  The last mission was declared a success but you and I both 
know it doesn’t feel that way.  Not to us and not to the crew.  The loss of 
the captain and the others so soon after this ship was comissioned was a 
kick in the guts to not only morale but to our confidence.  I need to rebuild 
that and do it as a new captain and with new officers.  I can’t do it alone 
Sean I’m going to need your help.”

            “You’ve got it, you know that.”

            “I do know that.  That’s why I told Admiral Palmer you were my 
only choice for First Officer.  Will you help me?”


<<<NRPG>>>
Brian: Still time to run away screaming.

All: NRPG to follow 

Respectfully,

Andy Catterick
CAPT Jack Steele
CO, USS HOOD NCC 1703
ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Making the Pact

by Mansur, Brian

Scene: Officers' Quarters, E Deck, USS HOOD
SD 2260.120

Merrick listened carefully to Steele. Something was coming.

"The loss of the captain and the others so soon after this ship was comissioned
was a kick in the guts to not only morale but to our confidence." Steele look
grave. "I need to rebuild that and do it as a new captain and with new
officers. I can't do it alone Sean. I'm going to need your help.

"You've got it, you know that."

"I do know that. That's why I told Admiral Palmer you were my only choice
for First Officer. Will you help me?"

And there it was. Just like that.

"I've got your back Captain," Merrick earnestly nodded. "Where you want to
start?"

Steele smiled with a wink. "With this toast." They stood. "To the Mighty
HOOD! May her heroes never bleed in vain."

* * *

Later outside the Captain's quarters, Merrick wasn't sure how to feel. Their
chat had been encouraging and they had a lot of exciting work ahead of them. 
But then how many times had he busted his ass for a dream and achieved it only
to bitterly regret it later? The last time he'd let himself be euphoric about
anything was when he'd proposed to Jeri. And look where that had taken him.

Respectfully Submitted,
Brian V. Mansur
LCDR Sean Merrick
FO, USS HOOD NCC-1703

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Up the new ladder...

by Martens, David

USS HOOD: Up the new ladder...
SD2260.120

Scene: Engineering, USS HOOD

ARr'Rhiana had just been off the shuttlecraft from the hangarbay of the HOOD and
now was looking around to get to the Captains ReadyRoom. She took her time, the
ship was no way ready to leave Drydock already and, as was common in her race,
she didn't felt any urge to hurry to the Captain or anywhere else.

Engineering was the nearest to the hangarbay, so she passed by to see how it
looked. It was huge, much bigger then the WARRANT's or TRIFFID's engineering
sections. Hemux looked around and wondered if all of this Constitution Class
ship's spaces would look as magnificent as this room. She would love to spend
some time her, but time would be on her hand as spacetravel was still a long,
long journey.

She continued her way through the ship, engineers where replacing damaged
conduits, placing new consoles or working away minor damage through the whole
ship. She reached the Science Department, her new home for the next, well who
knows how many years or decades. ARr'Rhiana did not care much for time, she
would life longer then these humans aboard this ship and probably still serve on
a starship while most of the younger crew where already dead. Time was not of
importance for her.

She looked around the corner and... "...Look out, idiot,..." Yelled a human
engineer as he almost slammed a structural supportbeam in her face. ARr'Rhiana
blew up her face till two times the proportions it normally had in reaction and
from surprise which, in turn, made the engineer drop his supportbeam denting a
lab-table.

"Good heavens, don't do that ever again, lady. You can't pop up while we are
working around and for all sakes, certainly not blow up your face like that." 
The man looked angry to her and tried to pull the beam straight up again.

Hemux was slightly amused and gave him a broad smile, that the man clearly did
not found very comforting, he probably was not used to Denobulans. "I just
wanted to see my new office, mister..."

The man turned a bit pale "Oh, you're one of the officers? I... I am sorry
Ma'am, I had no idea, I hope you don't report this minor incident to the
Captain?"

ARr'Rhiana shook her head, "Offcourse not, I take it your intentions where just
for caution and not intentionally meant to insult or harm me. So, Can you show
me my office now?"

The man was pleased to help her out and gave her a short tour through the
science lab. She asked him all out and gave him some advise and suggestions for
how she liked her lab to be equipped and organized. Then, finally she went on
to the bridge.


Scene: E-Deck, Captains Readyroom, USS HOOD

ARr'Rhiana Hemux shimmed the door with her transfer orders on the PADD in her
hand and waited for the Captain to let her in...

<tag anyone>

<<<NRPG>>>

All: NRPG to follow

Respectfully,
David Martens
Lt ARr'Rhiana Hemux
CSciO , USS HOOD NCC 1703
ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Nightmares from the past, promises to the Future ...

by Martens, David

USS HOOD: Nightmares from the past, promises to the Future ...
SD2260.85

Scene: Appartment Lunar Colony

ARr'Rhiana was staring out the window , she did not noticed the crowd, she
inhaled deep and slowly the halicinations and daydreams began...

Flashback... date : 2177...

"... So tell me, ARr'Rhiana, why do you believe we should come to closer
contact with the Antarans?"

The young girl stood up next to her desk and looked to her teacher "It's just
the proper way to do, if we want to continue as member of the Star Fleet
Federation then we should be have as merifull and friendly people. It is
impoirtant not to hold any hatred. The Federation main standards are to keep
peace and freindly contacts with any reasonable race. If we show we can be
reasonable towards the Antarans, then the Federation will appreciate that and
help us."

She sat back down and looked with big innocent eyes to her teacher who clenched
her lips together in disagreement, yet also the teacher knew there was wisdom
and reason, and what was maybe more important, political correctness in the
words of the child.

"...very... interesting statement, Hemux. Indeed the Federationi does not want
another war and likes friendly co-operation between their members."

The teacher paused for a moment "... Just don't forget that we are Denobulans,
we have our own culture, our own habits, remember the Federations might have
other standards then we have. Never forget who we are! Now let again review
how the Earth race defines marriage, as a bond between two individuals. 
Jern"dagh stop laughing, I know it sounds ridiculous, but we are here to learn
about other cultures..."


... Present...

Hemux shivers and blinked her eyes, why that memory came back to her so vivid
was unclear, she did not care much and took a new deep breath...


... flashback... Date: 2190...


"... I tell you, GrRonn'darg, it really is so... Federationists will talk to us
tomorrow. I heard it from the headmaster himself."

"Hemux, stop dreaming, why would Federation wants to talk to us?"

"They are negotiating new treaties between Denobulan and the Federation, they
need people to work for them. Our Academy is the perfect place to find people."

"Hemux, your hallucinating again? You really think they would wnat you to work
for them? Get three husbands and twelve children and then we talk again."

"You're a brute, GrRon'darg , Remember Phlox? He was Medical Chief on board of
the Enterprise. He came here a year ago to talk to us. He was Ambassador for
the Federation, he says they accept females on starships."

"Oohhh and Arr'Rhiana wants to be on a starship also ? Ok, ok , we will see in
a decade or two."

... Present...

Hemux rememberer, that was the first time she really was convinced she would
enter Star Fleet one day. That day, when her students made fun out of her,
pressed her onto the position of the Denobulan Female. She knew that day she
once would be more... The dreams came on her again...


... flashback... Date : 2205...

"...And this is Arh. Arria..." The aide looked helpless to ARr'Rhiana
"Arr'Rhiana Hemux, you can call me Rhiana, or Hemux, Sir." She said in perfect
Standard Terran to the new Ambassador for Star Fleet on Denobula as she bend her
head to her superior.

"Rhiana, your Terran is flawless, my compliments." The tall sapiens looked to
her with respect.

"Thank you, Sir, I also speak Klingon, Vulcan, Romulan, Orion and Antaran. And
several other language I have basic understanding and knowledge of speech, but
not enough to uphold long, detailed conversations."

The Ambbasador nodded to his aide "Take note of that, it might comein handy if
we go to formal diners or so. With her many languages she can easy translate
conversations. Are youalso familiar with say, science and tecnical vocabulary?"

Arr'Rhiana nodded "Yes, Sir, I done basic studies in science and engineering and
I am plannig to gain a degree in one or both fields some day."

"Some day? Your file states you're... 40 standard Terran years old ?"

Hemux gave him a slight smile "In Denobulan terms I am only a teenager, Sir we
have a lifespan that is four five times longer then homo sapiens."

The Ambassador had a discomforted look on his face "We prefer the term humans,
not Homo sapiens, Hemux. And I keep forgetting you Denobulans life so long, is
it true some of your people are more then 400 years old?"

Hemux nodded" I will remember, Sir. And yes, my great grandmother was 519 years
old when she died, and my grandmother is now 407 and she is still in perfect
health. She even remembers the last Anatran war from her childhood."

... Present...

She smiled , her first job in Star Fleet at least, that was how she remembers
it, it was not really Starfleet Offcourse. ...


... flashback... Date: 2219...

"Hemux, The chief wants to see you." Markus nodded to her as he showed her to
Chief Science Officer Landons office.

Rhiana sighed "What is the problem, Sir?" She asked Landon as he had closed the
door behind them.

Landon smiled, no problem, Hemux. I just want to compliment you on your latest
report and suggestions. Your idea's for terraforming under a Class F sun showed
to be most useful. I would like to have you as our representative on the next
Exo-Biology Science week. If you agree, you will meet the finest and best
scientist in Exo-biology there are in the whole Federation.."

Rhiana was stunned and nodded "I wil do so, Sir, Thank you for the honour..."


... Present...

Rhiana nodded, that was her first trip of Denobula, her first meeting with
scientists from all over the Galaxy. That was the day she decided she wanted to
be more a scientist then an translator, more an engineer then a housewife...

... flashback... Date: 2235...


"I can't, I can't leave them. My work here is to important." Alexander
Norvosky planted is hands on his desk. "Rhiana, I heve come to respect jur
opinions, but I say fis as jur superior, ju should go to Earf and join the
Fleet.."

Rhiana was so upset that she didn't even noticed Alexander his Russian accent
became more heavy as his frustration raised also. He really was convinced of
his idea: She should join Star Fleet Academy.

Alexander sat down again and sighed "Rhiana, we can replace you here, our work
is mainly maintanance, upkeeping the ships that land here. You can do better.
Your ideas n Warp Dribve dynamics is very good, I do not understand half of what
you say, but each time you have prooven to be right in finetuning the engines,
replacing conduits or recalibrating the warp - coils. Star Fleet needs
inventive minds like yours. You should go."

She sighed "I will think about it." Was all she said.


... Present...

She still could hear Alexander singing the day she announced she was accepted
for Star Fleet academy and she would join the fleet. He became drunk on her
good-bye party. She was so pleased she had listened to him, and now... she
didn't know...


... flashback... Date: 2241...

"Ensign Hemux reporting for Duty, Sir..."

The tall human stood up from his chair and hodl out his hadn "Welcome aboard the
WARRANT, Ensign, glad to have you aboard. I have heard a lot of good from you. 
Our Chief Science Officer will be pleased to have you in his section."

ARrr'Rhiana nodded and looked around so proud, she really was on a satrship, not
for training, not a simulation, but for real. The WARRANT so big, more then 200
metres long, going warp 5 easily. She was looking forward to study the new
worlds and new races they would discover. A new life had begun...


... Present...

She never had forgotten her first steps on the WARRANT. She still had
miniatures of that ship, she still knew the names of her captain, she still
remembered the first time they made first contact.


... flashback... Date: 2259...

"... Return fire, all phasors..." "We are losing shields, captain, starboard
engines have been damaged, she can't take much more."

ARr'Rhiana coughed as smoke filled the engineering-room and sparks flew all
around. Another hit and lights went dim.

[Warning, hull breach at deck 7 and deck 3, ...Warning, intruder alert, ...
Warning hull-integrity failing on decks 8 and 11...]

Hemux grabbed a phasor as a green Orion pirate showed up in engineering and
smacked one of her engineers aside. She lifted the weapon and fired it,
blasting the Orion to the side. A second and third Orion showed up from out of
the smoke, a fist hit her, she struggled, her face blew up in defense , making
them laugh, a fist hit again, darkness..."

... Present...

Tears dripped down her cheecks as the halucinations became more vivid, more
real, closer to her present days. Hemux shivers but she endured the rage and
apin, halucinations where good, they might help...


... flashback... Date: 2259...

She hit once, twice, three times and stepped back. The ugly Alpha Centaurian in
front of her blinked his eyes, spit out some blood and sank to his knees. 
Cheers and laughs where around her as suddenly all sound dropped still. "What
is going on here?" Six Orion guards pushed themselves way through the crowd and
looked down to the fallen man and to the Denobulan female. "A troublemaker we
have here, right?" the commander said and snapped his fingers. They grabbed
hemux her arms, bended them far back as he slammed his fists in her stomach.

I don't like trouble. I don't like Denobulans, I don't like you." He said,
eavch time slamming his fist carefully in her kidneys, her liver, her sides. 
"Bring her to the questioningroom, I think she need s a lesson."

Hemux shivered "no, no please, I won't cause any trouble, he sytared it, not me,
he wnated to rapeme."

The Orion laughed "So, what's the big deal? You're a female, you are born to be
raped."

She was dragged into a dark room, she knew what was to come, first the pain, the
scars, the fists and then ...stripped nude and then...


... Present...

Hemux scramed out loud and dropped to her knees, breathing heavy, a nurse came
in kneeling besides her.

" Easy, easy, it's all over, you are safe here." ARr'Rhiana cried, deep loud
cries for help, for comfort, scratching at her scars, her head filled with pain,
remembering each scar, each blow, each time she was raped, each time she had to
fight, even kill to survive. Memories and things she had done. Things no
doctor, no counsellor knew about. Dark secrets, no Denobulan worthy, what the
Orions had done to her, to the children in the camp, to her crew, she would not,
she could not forget.

She smiled to the nurse, "It's alright, I am fine. It was just... a
hallucination..."

The nurse helped her to bed. "Tomorrow you have another session with the
counsellor, it will help, take a rest."

Hemux closed her eyes, she had cleared her mind, she had relived and survived,
from now on it would go better. Soon, very soon she would go out again, she
would be on a Starship again. One day she would be Captain of her own ship, it
did not matter how many decades it might take her, she would be Captain one day,
it was her Oath. And when that day came, a smile came on her face, Captain
Hemux, ...on that day Orion would pay...

<<<NRPG>>>

Just Adding some background to my character...

All, meet Lt ARr'Rhiana Hemux, Denobelan female, with a long lifetime already
passed, with dark secrets, dark desires and maybe even a hidden agenda for her
own...

I think it will be fun!


Respectfully,
David Martens
Lt ARr'Rhiana Hemux
CSciO , USS HOOD NCC 1703
ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS]USS HOOD: First Aboard

by Catterick, Andy

Scene: Captain's Office,  Edeck
SD: 2260.155
MD: -14.1300

                Steele looked up from the view screen as a Denobulan in a 
blue tunic entered his office.

"Lieutenant ARr'Rhiana Hemux reporting for assignment sir."  She said 
crisply.

Jack reached up and accepted the red data disc.  "Thank you lieutenant.  
PLease have a seat."  Steele inserted the disc into the slot and watched 
as Hemux's data came up on the monitor.  He gave the information a quick 
scan before looking up at the smiling science officer.  He'd met a few 
Denobulan's in his career but never actually served with one.  He smiled 
at the thought it would be interesting to get to new a representative of 
another race more closely.  It was one of the reasons he had joined 
Starfleet.

                The Federation and by extension Starfleet had been 
established as a multispecies body.  But Jack and found much to his 
disappointment that by and large the different races tended to stay with 
there own.  HOOD for example carried a large percentage of humans and he 
knew there were ships that were largely Andorian for example.  He knew 
that the trend for greater integration was continuing but sometimes it 
seemed at too slow a pace.  He gave himself a mental shake and turned his 
attention back to his new science officer.  

                "You arrive at a particularly fortuitous time lieutenant."  
Steele said as he pulled the data disc out of the slot and handed back to 
Hemux.

                "Excellent captain.  How so?"

                "HOOD  is in a transition of sorts.  I have just recently 
been given command and we'll be replacing the majority of her officers.  
Actually you are the first one aboard.  But with that change while there 
are a number of advantages but there will be a number of challenges.  I'm 
afraid we're all going to be very busy."

                "I look forward to it captain!"  The Denobulan assured.

                "Well I see from your career you will be a strong asset to 
the team.  And I imagine you're interested in getting too it.  So I won't
keep you. "  He rose and extended a hand.  "Welcome aboard."

<<<NRPG>>>

Hi Gang, just quick word about the Stardate (SD) it is created by taking 
the RP game year: 2260 and the day of the year we are in.  As June 04 is 
the 155th day of the year the SD would be 2260.155.

I've also started a Mission Date (MD) so we can keep track of where we are 
in the mission.  Since we haven't actually started a mission and it is 14 
ship board days until we do I've set the MD as -14.  

Also, I sent this post about an hour ago...or so I thought I did.  It 
seems to have disappeared from my sent folder and not arrived anywhere so 
I'm re-sending.  Apolgies if you end up seeing two posts.

Respectfully,
Andy
CAPT Jack Steele
CO, USS HOOD
NCC 1703

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Doctor Orders

by Apple, Steve

SD2260.155
Scene: Nondescript Room in Spaceport near Starbase 12


The room was dimly lit and showed itself to be utilitarian in purpose. Corbett
found himself seated at a cramped table, forced into a chair that faced the only
light source in the room, which was beating down on him. He focused first on
the Nausicaan and watched through lidded eyes as the creature's hand went to the
hilt of his knife. He was in trouble and he knew it. Slowly he crossed his legs
under the table and threw a slight smile to the Andorian who sat to his left and
was trying to look menacing, his hand inside his jacket obviously wrapped around
a weapon.

Corbett knew he had to be careful here, one wrong move and he could end up in
pieces on the floor. He looked to his right at the Tellerite, the third member
of this trio and smiling at him he slowly reached into his left boot which
rested on his knee and quietly pulled the hammer back on the old earth colt
cobra revolver that sat in its ankle holster.

"It's your move." He said to the Tellerite, his eyes glancing back to the
Nausicaan whose hand he noticed grasped his knife, tightly. He felt more
comfortable knowing he could take down the Nausicaan first, with a single shot.

The Tellerite was deep in thought, his right hand constantly stroking his chin.
"Fleeter," he said looking at Corbett, his Federation Standard heavily accented.
"I will take great pleasure in destroying you."

The Andorian remained silent, only the Nausicaan's grunt made the Tellerite
continue.

"How does it stand now?" The Tellerite asked his voice tense.

"The Andorian has folded. I raised, as did the Nausicaan. So just call already
and let's get on with the damn game." Corbett said snapping at him.

"Fine, I'll do that, I'll call." The Tellerite said throwing his chips onto the
table. A second later he laid down his cards and said "Three of a kind."

"Not good enough to beat a straight." Corbett said laying down his own cards.

The Nausicaan broke into a broad smile, which always looked like a sinister
expression on their hard features. "I believe, I have what you call, a Full
House." He said dropping his cards onto the table. Corbett saw that the
Nausicaan used both hands to pull his winnings in toward his chest.

Corbett relaxed a bit now that the Nausicaan's hand was no longer gripping the
hilt of his knife. With an exaggerated movement of his right hand he brought the
cigar to his lips and puffed appreciatively. He hoped that this would distract
them while he secretly released the hammer on his revolver with the other hand.

"That's a filthy habit," observed the Andorian, his antennae moving in opposite
directions of each other.

"This is a Cuban cigar, one of the finest smokes in the galaxy." Corbett
retorted incredulous at the statement.

"I thought doctors were supposed to know better than that." The Tellerite said
jumping into the conversation.

"As a doctor I believe you can do anything in moderation."

"Earth history has never been one of moderation." The Andorian said.

"Individuals sometimes find it easier rather than entire cultures." He said
tilting his head back and blowing a smoke ring.

"What about the weapon concealed in your boot, would you have used moderation
with that as well?" The Andorian asked.

"That depends." Corbett replied a little annoyed that he had been spied reaching
into his boot. "Let me ask the Nausicaan a similar question." He said gesturing
toward him with his cigar hand. "What were you going to do with the knife you
were gripping so tightly?"

"I swore that if I lost another hand to you I was going to cut out your heart
and eat it." He said another smile crossing his lips.

"See now, that's not moderation. I was just going to shoot you in the kneecap,
that's moderation. You'd be alive and I'd even throw in a new knee, gratis."

"Very kind of you." The Nausicaan said shuffling the chips in front of him.

"I think it time we play a real game, one from Andoria." Added their blue
companion as he picked up the cards and began to shuffle.

"Sorry, but it's time I get moving. I have a shuttle to catch early in the
morning." Corbett said pushing his chair back.

"Ah yes the Hood, your new assignment." The Tellerite said looking very smug.

Corbett stopped for a moment and turned his head so he could look the Tellerite
in the eyes. "You seem to know a lot for someone who is not fleet, my porcine
friend."

"A space port near a Starbase is a very small place and I have big ears." He
said smiling.

"What else do you're big ears hear Tellerite?" Corbett asked making sure the
Tellerite understood it really wasn't a question.

"Many things, but if you want to know something specific, you may need to help
my memory." He said his eyes darting to Corbett's pile of chips.

"Oh right," Corbett said looking up at him. "Will some metal help?" he asked
shuffling the metallic chips.

"Oh most definitely," The Tellerite said, his voice picking up in enthusiasm.
"It helps center my thoughts."

"Ok, here's my deal. You tell me what you know, or I'll take off one of your big
ears with a piece of lead."

"Only one ear?" Asked the Nausicaan trying to be helpful.

"Spirit of moderation and all." Corbett said smiling as his hand went for his
boot.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you what the word is going around about you." The
Tellerite said quickly, his voice a bit sulky.

"It seems strange to many that one only commissioned a year ago is assigned as
the Chief Medical Officer to a top fleet starship like the Hood" He said, then
added quickly "There is also the question about your past."

"What about my past." Corbett said focusing in on that little bit of station
gossip.

"They say you had some trouble with Starfleet Medical causing you to be posted
out in the middle of nowhere known as Cestus III.

"The Tellerite has a point," said the Andorian "There are rumors circulating
about you."

A large chuckle broke from Corbett at those words. As he looked over his
companions their interest seemed to be peaked.

"Let's just say there was an incident, a really big incident and I needed to go
away for a while." He said.

"You ran like a coward?" Asked the Nausicaan his face contorted in disgust.

"No, I was given a chance to go into deep space." Corbett answered. "And I took
it."

"That still doesn't explain things." The Andorian said.

"You're right it doesn't." Corbett said standing, then added "Night all."



SD2260.156
0700

Scene: Interior Cabin: USS Culver NCC-0527, Long-Range Shuttle
and Personnel Transport


"Hey Cowboy is that your over sized trunk in the cargo space." Corbett heard the
voice say.

"That's Doctor Cowboy to you." He replied.

"What's in that thing anyway?" The voice asked

Corbett was sitting very comfortably in a high backed chair in the rear of the
shuttle, his cowboy hat covering his eyes as he was trying to sleep, but somehow
that annoying voice didn't get that.
"Medical supplies and lots of them." He said pushing his hat upon his head so he
could see who he was talking with.

"Sounded like a bunch of bottles clanking, when they loaded her into the cargo
compartment." The annoying voice continued; however Corbett could now see that
the voice was attached to a pinched faced little man.

"That surprises you -why?" Corbett asked sarcastically even though he was
getting a little nervous with this line of questioning.

"I've been on lots of supply runs, some of them carrying medical supplies and
equipment, but I never heard them clank around like that before. Besides I
thought we stopped using glass for medical supplies years ago. So what's in the
trunk really?" He asked.

"Who are you again?" Corbett asked trying to deflect him.

"Lieutenant James Maxwell, I'm the shuttle pilot for this run." He said with a
little too much zeal.

"Well you seem like a curious fellow Mr. Maxwell so I'll let you decide what you
want to do. That big over sized crate you are so keenly interested in has a
numeric lock whose code is 1985. You with me so far? "he asked.

Corbett waited for him to give me a small nod then continued. "So here is your
dilemma Slick. In that crate there are either several bottles of Tequila and
maybe a bottle or five of Romulan Ale. Then again it might just contain some
very specialized medicines and live viral strains to create vaccines, which can
only be contained and transported in sterile glass containers. So it's your
choice to open it or not, but be aware if it's the latter and I'm not sayin it
is mind ya, but if it is, then there are some really nasty things in them glass
bottles.

Now like you say, if them boys loadin that crate weren't none too careful and
one of them glass bottles broke. Well let's just say I wouldn't open that trunk
without a special ventilation and biohazard unit right next to me and maybe some
Bicyclic alpha-Polytropine on hand as well."

"Why, what's the worst that could happen?" Maxwell asked his voice a little
shaky.

"Well I'd say pretty soon after opening that lid your mucous membranes would
start to itch, then real soon that itch would progress into an excruciating
burn. After that, without immediate treatment, your mucous membranes would begin
to explode in huge boils that would melt the skin."

"Where are these membranes?" He asked his eyes wide as saucers.

"Mainly your nose and mouth, well that and one other place." Corbett said
clipping off the last part of his sentence.

"What other place?" Maxwell asked his voice almost pleading.

"Um, down there." Corbett said pointing to the man's groin.

The human body is always amazing. After gulping rather hard the young Lieutenant
turned 5 shades whiter than when the conversation started.

"Again it's your choice to take the risk and have a peak inside, but I'm on the
record as stating a strong medical opinion to the contrary."

"No sir, I don't really need to look in the trunk I believe they are medical
supplies." Maxwell said moving toward the front of the compartment.

"Very good Mr. Maxwell, I'll just take a little nap until we rendezvous with the
Hood." He said dropping his hat back over his face, mostly to cover the
noticeable grin. "Wake me when we are in range." He added not bothering to lift
his hat and then promptly fell asleep.

<TBC>


<<<NRPG>>>


Just Adding some depth to my character, as I'm getting ready to join the crew...

Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Apple
Stile Corbett, MD
MED, USS Hood NCC-1703
ASR ORIGINS

[Origins] HOOD: Hell, Delivered

by Belin, Daniel

Mission Date: -One Month

[[Location: Samael IV]]

The hum of transporters rang throughout an old ruin on Samael IV. Not 
that, by any Earth standards, the ruin was old. In fact, it was no more 
than a year old. A year ago, this planet had been a thriving 
civilization, an oasis on the barren edge of the quadrant. Now, it was 
wasteland, irradiated terrain stretching miles upon miles upon miles. 
Inside one of the derelict buildings, six beings materialized, all in 
Starfleet hazard suits and carrying tricorders. A female, who 
materialized near a burnt corpse let out a scream which rang through the 
building.

"Amazing. To think this was a civilized, populated planet maybe six 
months back," said the tall, black haired man in the front. His name was 
Captain Lord, the commanding officer of the Federation starship Adams.

Then the female vomited, and sank to the ground sobbing. One of the 
security men, Richards, went over to assist her. The Vulcanian executive 
officer hailed the Adams, "Away Team to Adams, medical assistance 
required on planet. Repeat, medical assistance required on planet."

Silence emanated from the communicator.

"Adams, do you read? We require medical assistance"

Again, Silence.

"Adams, Please acknowledge."

At this point, the Vulcanian looked at Captain Lord. Captain Lord 
shrugged, muttering something about the Vulcan not checking the 
communicators before they beamed down. Then, he gave the Vulcan his 
communicator. Then the Vulcan repeated the hail, "Adams, please 
acknowledge.  We require medical assistance."

Silence, long continued silence.

"Is the channel open, Commander?" Asked Captain Lord, looking at the 
Vulcan's communicator with interest, no status or diagnostic lights 
were lit. It was a perfectly good communicator, and it seemed to be 
working fine. Captain Lord said, although it seemed a bit 
unnecessary, "Now thats damn peculiar."

Suddenly, a whining noise permeated the whole room and the woman 
asked, "Does anyone else hear that?"

No one had time to answer the question as the room had burst into 
flames around them and one of the walls had been knocked down. 
Disruptor fire hit the Captain before he even could draw his phaser,
and he was reduced to a shriveling pile of limbs and organs, 
immobilized and lying in his own blood. Two of the security officers 
and the Vulcanian were quicker on the draw, and they set their 
phasers to maximum and opened fire through the hole.

Richards took the nearest communicator and set it to all channels 
broadcast. At the same time he shot a long burst through the hole 
into what appeared to be a low-level shield, he screamed into the 
communicator, "HELP!! SOMEONE, PLEASE REGISTER THIS COMMUNICATION. 
TAKING FIRE, NEED ASSISTANCE!"

It seemed hopeless, two more of the walls fell, and the two security 
officers met a terrible fate. They had been lifted up and thrown to 
the wall by a massive disruptor blast. Only Richards and the Vulcan 
seemed unscathed, but that was apparently soon going to change. 
Richards seemed to have taken leave of his senses, and yelled out, 
"We are done for! Dammit!"

Suddenly, three black shuttle crafts flew out from behind a hill. They 
didn't look federation, so it seemed like these were the attackers, 
coming out from their hiding place. They shot their phasers, but not 
at Richards, they were shooting at where the disruptor fire came from!

They landed near Richards, and Humans in the black equivalent of 
Starfleet Hazard gear streamed out. There were at least a dozen people, 
and a whole buffet of weapons, some of which have not been seen 
outside of a museum in one hundred years. A man in Lieutenants stripes 
approached Richards and the Vulcan and said, as if from a script, "We 
are the Starfleet Special Forces and we are here to get you out!"

"It's impossible!" moaned Richards, abandoning all bravado, "They some 
shield up, it stops all our weapons flat."

"Its an EM field, great for stopping phaser blasts, but it doesn't do 
squat against projectile weapons," said the Lieutenant, who then 
identified himself as Lieutenant John De Simms, head of Team Three. He 
picked up a long cylindrical tube with a grip of sorts and a trigger 
jutting out about two thirds of the way to the back, with a laser pointer 
on the end.

"What the hell is that?" asked Richards, some of his bravado now restored.

"A laser guided rocket launcher, used back in the early 21st century, the 
rocket will go wherever you point the laser. It's a beautiful system if I 
can say so myself," said De Simms, who after this nice educational 
conversation decided to give a demo. He mounted it on his shoulder and 
pulled the trigger. Just for the fun of it he let the rocket do a few 
corkscrews before it going through the shield like it wasn't there, and 
impacting a mounted disruptor. After a large boom and copious amounts of 
smoke, there was no disruptor there, almost if some magician had made it 
vanish in some 10-cent magic act. All that was left was a tiny dent in the 
earth. De Simms yelled out, "Okay, the disruptor is down. Hit the 
Sierra-Golf with a PIP round from the Elephant Gun!"

"The Sierra Golf?" asked Richards, confused.

"The shield generator, that shield generator gets hit, the whole kit and 
caboodle will go down, in defensive terms," said the Lieutenant, as a 
Crewman behind him brought out a giant gun and bullets the size of long, 
fat cigars, "And in case you are wondering, PIP stands for Pyrotechnical 
Ignition of Plasma, it is a bullet that on contact creates Plasma, 
explosively."

Suddenly, a huge boom came from the gun, as the 'PIP' headed towards its 
intended target. However, it hit something that looked like a shield 
generator, but was actually scrap metal. It let out a huge flare of Plasma 
as well as a loud roar as the bullet impacted, leaving the scrap metal in 
shreds. The gunner yelled, "Target misidentified, miss!"

"Wow," said Richards, looking at the smoldering slag left over from the 
impact.

"You should see what happens when we actually hit a generator, it looks 
much better than that," said De Simms, firing a volley of machine-gun fire 
into the place where a volley of phaser hits had just come from. Another 
boom emanated from the elephant gun, and this time it impacted the actual 
shield generator, and De Simms was right, that last hit had nothing on this. 
The shield generator groaned and let out a flame of ignited coolant as the 
bullet tore into it. Then the plasma ignited, and took the path of least 
resistance through the control circuit connection and the actual emitter 
array. It shot through those two holes, static electricity leaping from it 
as miniature flashes of lightning, the whole front plate crumpled, and then 
the machine imploded and shot ten meters into the air as if escaping some 
invisible restraint. This time the gunner yelled, "HIT! WE GOT IT!"

Now De Simms wasted no time on Richards, and yelled to his men, "Charge! 
Lets move out," Now, no weapon was not picked up, most of the men had 
disruptor rifles or phaser rifles, one was firing a old-style M60 from the 
hip, shooting indiscriminately into the fray.

Finally, five green rusty ships lifted up and screamed away. No one could 
tell what kind of ships they were, or distinguish any logos.

Then, a Admiral Leisserson stepped off a black shuttle, and said to De Simms, 
"It's time. I have been delaying for you for two years, but it is really 
time for you retire from Special Ops. You are two years above the age limit, 
and a less amiable admiral wouldn't spend a second on you, he would just 
throw you out. However, I have found a good post for you, on board a 
Constitution-Class ship, the Hood. You will be the new security chief."

"Great, King of the Redshirts," said De Simms, grimacing already. However, 
he wouldn't give up a life on the frontier for anything, so he accepted the 
post.

"Great. So, by the power vested in me by Starfleet, I hereby reassign SFSF 
LT. John De Simms to the U.S.S hood as the Chief Security Officer on board. 
He is required to report to the before mentioned position after one month 
of R&R. Compute," The Admiral said to the tricorder, which sent the order to 
the shuttle computer, which then sent it to Starfleet CENTCOM for processing, 
"I also bestow the following acknowledgments upon the before mentioned 
Lt. De Simms. The Starfleet Medal of Honor, the Meritorious Service Award, 
the Special Operations Star Honor, and hereby recommend him for the 
Federation Gold Service Award."

"Great. Awards."

-- 
With all due respect,
Daniel F. Belin
Lt. John De Simms
U.S.S HOOD

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: "The Price of Service"

by Lusby, Scott

SD: 2260.120
Setting: Main Engineering, O-Deck, USS HOOD


**It had not been all that long ago that Commander Phillipa had been in
charge down here,** , Gar Th'elenth thought as he gazed across the expanse
of engineering.

Calling it 'an expanse' was really not doing engineering justice, for that
implied it was wide open and spacious.

Main Engineering on a CONSTITUTION-class starship was nothing of the sort.

Main Engineering was two full decks high. Overhead, a webwork of piping,
conduit and tubing- some as wide as a half a meter- wove its way from one
side to the other, sometimes dropping down into some large recepticle, some
having radioactivity warnings on them, some having bilogical warnings on
them. Cat walks seemed to fill any space not already filled by conduit.

Down on the ground floor, the cavernous bay was made up of all types of
tanks- life-sustaining water reclamation units, explosive deuterium storage,
deadly plasma and phaser coolant tanks- each of which were monitored,
tweaked and regulated by large consoles, many with holographic displays.

In the middle of all this, however, was the warp core. This core was
actually made up by several magnetic "bottles"- 8 in all- in which the
annihilation of antimatter and matter was controlled. These mag bottles
were designed to be able to be jettisoned through the ceiling of Main
Engineering should they become unstable and loose magnetic containment- a
safety feature which may well have saved HOOD.

**But not her Captain,** Gar thought again. **Or her Chief Engineer.**

The pale-blue Andorian glanced down at his red sleeve cuffs; there was now a
thin stripe above the thicker one below it. This stripe had not been there
two weeks ago...


*****

SD: 2260.102 (flashback)
Setting: Same


Klaxon alarms sounded all around him. Without thinking, Gar ran to his
station- the warp core.

When he got there, he toggled his status update to 'green,' acknowledging
that he was at his station. Then, Th'elenth pushed the button on the comm
panel next to him. "Th'elenth to Commander Phillipa- what's happening?"

He got his response immediately- in the form of ship lurching from weapons
fire. [[[I don't know, but we're under attack! Phillipa out!]]]

Gar's antennae swept back slightly as his brow furrowed. **The Enric,** he
thought as the ship lurched again- harder this time. He cheked the board in
front of him; the bottles were OK for now, but there was a little variance
in one of them that he didn't like...

Suddenly, all hell broke loose in engineering. One of the warp plasma
relays exploded above them, vaporizing several engineers instantly. Shouts
of alarm and screams filled the bay.

Th'elenth cursed; that meant the port pylon had probably sustained a direct
hit...

He glanced at the status screen in front of him, and suddenly that small
"variance" he had noted a few seconds ago had become a major problem.

Gar knew why: the warp plasma relay,when it went, probably caused some sort
of feedback against the flow of the plasma, and the core- specifically
Bottle 3- was NOT liking it.

His hands flew across his console in a blue blur. However, rerouting the
power to the electromagnetic containment matrix on Bottle 3- ECM-3 for short
down here- was not working; the exploding relay apparently took out more
than just the conduit itself...

Suddenly, the bottle's graphic began flashing red; he had only a few seconds
to ge tit under control, or else HOOD would explode like a supernova.

He grabbed his console tightly as the ship lurched again. "Th'elenth to
Phillipa- I need to eject Bottle 3; I can't get ECM-3 back on-line!"

No repsonse.

"Phillipa!" he shouted into the mic of the comm panel.

The console now started to whine.

Gar knew he was out of time. He slammed his hand down on the ejection
button; instantly, the space above them opened, and Bottle 3 was spit out
through the forcefield and into space.

As quickly as it had opened, the bulkheads closed above them again. A
millisecond latrer, bottle 3 exploded, the concussive force pushing the ship
out of its orbit around Monil IV.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. No further weapons fire,
nothing.

Gar's status board had some flashing yellow on it, but it was now mostly
green, thankfully.

He found the comm patch again,a nd thumbed the button. "Commander Phillipa-
come in," he said.

No response.

Gar's antennae wiggled slightly as he put his hands on his hips. "I want
status reports, all station, in 10 minutes," the battle-hardened Andorian
barked. "And someone find Commander Phillipa."

Then, slowly he lenaed heavily on the warp core status console in front of
him and, loudly, screamed a very old and very vulgar Andorii curse.


*****

MD: 2260.120
Setting: Main Engineering, O-Deck, USS HOOD


No one had found Commander Phillipa; she had been standing the cat walk just
under the plasma relay that exploded when the Enric ship had punched through
HOOD's unshielded hull.

The end had been quick, at least, Th'elenth thought.

Gar glanced back down at his new stripe, and then around him again: repairs
were going well across the ship, and he knew that they'd be fully
operational shortly. The major repair job was on the plasma relay; though
not an easy repair, had been fairly straight forward.

The damage caused by the explosion had been harder to track down, since
feedback lopps had been created in just about any system connected to the
relay in any way. Consoles had exploded, junctions fried- you name it, and
it had happened.

He unfolded his arms, and jotted a few more notes on the tablet with its
stylus before handing it to one of his ratings.

"See that Captain Steele gets this," The Andorian said.

**Captain Steele,** he thought. **Still has a funny ring to it. Should
still be Captain Sinclair.**

**Should still be Chief Engineer Phillipa too,** his conscience challenged.
**But we all play the cards we are dealt.**

Gar's antennae pitched slightly forard at the thought. "That's right," he
muttered, and, spinning on his heels, he walked down the length of
Engineering and out their large double doors.


<<NRPG>>

All- just getting Gar on board and adding a little bit of his backstory to
the mix. I didn't want to elaborate on the battle in space, as Gar would
not know the tactical situation, how it ended, etc.; I am assuming HOOD
eventually overwhelmed iany enric forces after the initial shock of being
hit with shields down. So fogive me if it seemd a bit vague; it would have
been to Gar as well.

Anyway, I'm on board Andy. I think that's it! :) Feel free to call Gar up
for a talk or whatever.


Respectfully Submitted,

-- Scott Lusby
/\ LCDR Gar Th'elenth
Chief Engineer
USS HOOD NCC-1703
ASR: ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD:New Beginnings and Old Baggage

by Apple, Steve

SD2260.157

Scene: Deck R: Shuttlebay, USS Hood

Corbett awoke to the jolt as the shuttle craft hit the harddeck. "Smooth landing
there Slick." He said as he lifted his cowboy hat from his face and put it back
on his head.

"Sorry Sir, I usually don't hit the hanger bay that hard, but for some reason I
seem to be just a bit anxious today." Lieutenant James Maxwell his shuttle pilot
said apologetically.

Corbett just nodded, a small smile of satisfaction playing on his lips. Turning
to the shuttle craft hatch he waited until the light on the control panel turned
green, acknowledging that the deck had repressurized. Hitting the hatch button
he waited for the hiss of equilibration and the door to smoothly glide open.

Stepping onto the deck he saw a red skirted Ensign immediately come to
attention. . Pushing his hat to the back of his head he smiled at the young
woman. "You best be careful there miss, snapping to attention like that can be
hard on the spine."

The Ensign's face was aghast with horror at Corbett's words. "Sir that is not
the proper protocol for coming aboard ship." She said in a tone that was
definitely meant as a reprimand.

He took a moment to look over the young woman. She definitely fills out her
uniform nicely; he thought and she looks damn good in those boots too. "I am
sorry, where are my manners, I'm the new ships doctor, Stile Corbett at your
service ma'am." He said taking his hat off and sweeping the floor in an
exaggerated bow.

"Sir, the proper procedure is to state your rank, name and request permission to
come aboard." She said trying not to smile at the man's eccentric behavior.

Corbett saw that slight smile and said. "Where I come from miss that is the
proper procedure a gentleman uses to introduce himself to a beautiful young
lady; however, in the interest of moving things along I'll also add the words
permission to come aboard."

"Permission granted." She said then added. "Welcome aboard Doctor, if you'd like
I'll have the cargo crew deliver your personnel effects to your cabin."

"Thank you kindly, and please tell them to be careful with the large trunk its
contents are very fragile."

"Yes doctor. Also I'm to tell you that you are scheduled to meet the Captain in
his Ready Room in one hour, but until then would you like me to show you the
ship."

"I'd like nothing better, Miss?" He asked.

"Janice Powers," she said then added "I've never had anyone give me a bow
before."

"Such the pity, a truly beautiful woman as yourself should be afforded every
courtesy." He said

"Communications to Dr. Corbett." Came a metallic voice over the hangerbay's
intercom.

Corbett looked around for a com switch.

"It's on the wall over there." She said pointing it out for him.

Corbett walked over to the wall and hit the switch. "Corbett here," he said

"Doctor there is a private transmission from Star Fleet Medical coming in for
you in twenty minutes."

"Thank you; have it directed to my quarters if you please."
"Yes sir, Communications out."

"There goes your tour," she said with a slight frown then added. "By the way
your quarters are on E deck."

"Alas duty must come first," He said then smiled and added. "But I do hope I'll
be seeing more of you in the future Miss Powers."
"It's a small ship sir." She said as she walked away.

Corbett could have sworn when she saw he was watching her that her walk got a
little bit sexier. "I think I'm gonna like this assignment." He said to himself
as he went in search of his quarters.



Scene: Deck E: Chief Medical Officers Quarters, USS Hood


The door slid open admitting Corbett to his new residence. "Nice digs," he
thought as he looked around. His quarters consisted of a large two room suite,
with separate sleeping and work areas. While spacious it was utilitarian in
nature.

The bleep from the comm. unit on his desk sounded alerting him to his call.
Corbett sat at his desk and pushed the transmit toggle. Immediately the screen
lit up with the words "Star Fleet Medical" and its accompanying caduceus logo
centered below.

The logo screen soon faded and was replaced by the face of a white and black
striped Caitian male.

"Captain Samastu Rawl," Corbett said smiling at the Caitian. "What possible
honor do I owe the pleasure of such a call from the surgeon to the Federation
elite?"

"Stile it's nice to see you," the Caitian said smiling then his voice took on a
grave tone "However, I'm afraid this is not a social call."

"Alright Sam, I'll bite. What's up?" Corbett asked sobering.

"Old enemies have resurfaced Stile and your name has not been forgotten."

Corbett could feel his stomach tighten at the Captain's words. "I had thought
with the destruction of Vulcan and my return from medical exile that the
situation must have stabilized."

"I'm afraid not, unfortunately the situation has actually worsened." The Caitian
said

"How bad is it Sam?"

"We believe that a faction within what remains of the Vulcans will be coming
after you shortly and try to kill you"

"That's absurd Vulcans don't come after people, or try to kill them." Corbett
said more for himself than the Caitian.

"Make no mistake Stile if the Vulcans feel they have a logical reason to kill
they can and will do so very efficiently. We had thought that with the
destruction of Vulcan and moving you to a remote outpost like Cestus III that in
time the matter would be forgotten. But the remaining Vulcans are beginning to
reassert themselves back into Federation politics and now more than ever they
can't afford the knowledge you harbor to become public."

"So what am I supposed to do about this Sam?"

"Stile why do you think you were assigned the position of Chief Medical Officer
aboard a top fleet star ship like the Hood?" The Caitian asked.

"I assumed that my charm and good looks had a very positive effect on that young
Lieutenant from the Bureau of Personnel." Corbett said trying to lighten the
mood although his internal anxiety was at a fevered pitch.

The Caitian laughed and shook his head. "I do like you Stile, you were always
one of my favorite students and unfortunately you were also one of my biggest
headaches. How genius and defiant stupidity reside in the same being I'll never
know. Well you got the position because I pulled a lot of strings to get you
assigned to the Hood."

"Given what you just said Sam I'm not sure that I want the job now, this is a
high profile position, one in which they can attack me at any time."

"That's exactly why you were placed there. It's that high profile position that
may save your life. How easy do think it would be assassinate a medical officer
at an outpost in the middle of nowhere."

"I see your point." Corbett said.

"The Vulcans are extremely logical and know that attacking a senior officer of a
Constitution class star ship would open a board of inquiry and that would
attract attention to them, attention they don't want."

"OK so they make it seem like an accident."

"I know you're not that ignorant Stile. Any accident that results in a death
especially on that class of ship will also cause a board of inquiry to
investigate and possibly expose them.

"So they just hire someone else to do it for them." Corbett replied.

"They won't hire someone else as this is a matter of personal honor to them."

"Damn it Sam, I can't live like this. Why don't I just go public with what I
know and be done with it. Then the only reason for the Vulcans to kill me would
be for revenge and that is an emotional motivation contrary to their
philosophy."

"Stile we've been over this, if you disclose anything, the consequences of such
would be devastating to what's left of the entire race and you know that.
Besides I don't believe your personal code of ethics would allow it, even to
save your own life."

"What about telling them that if anything happens to me, accidental or otherwise
the knowledge I have will be disclosed."

The Caitian sighed. He knew this was a lot for one person to bear. "What do you
propose Stile, putting it into a diary or on a computer diskette? If anyone
found it, the same disclosure would affect the entire race, so that won't work
either."

"Alright what about a mind meld to make me forget what I know?" Corbett asked.

"The information would still be in your head just not accessible to your
conscious mind." The Caitian said then added. "It would still be attainable by
other means."

"So I'm to just sit here and act like nothing's wrong, is that it?" He asked.

"Yes and no. For now you go about the business of being the Chief Medical
Officer it's the safest place for you at the moment, but be on your guard. In
the meantime I will work with others who think highly of you to try and see if
we can resolve this issue." The Caitian said and then added when he saw
Corbett's face. "Yes believe it or not there are others who think highly of you
despite your personality."

Corbett heard the alarm chime from the chronograph on his desk go off signaling
he had ten minutes until his appointment with Captain Steele.

"Sam I'm scheduled to meet my CO in ten minutes and I should let him know about
this."

"Jack Steele is a good man and an outstanding officer, but disclosing this
information puts him and his ship in danger. I have put myself at great risk to
get you this position and warn you of the eminent threat to your life. The
Vulcans don't know they have a leak in their security, which is being fed
directly to me. If your Captain involves himself in any way then the Vulcans
will no doubt discover this leak and many beings will be compromised. Right now
you alone are their focus and it isn't logical to kill innocents. Better you
keep this to yourself and let me try to work it out. I want your word on this
Stile."

"You have my word Sam, I'll keep it quiet, but if the Vulcans in anyway deviate
from me and threaten this ship or its crews safety I will make a full disclosure
to the Captain."

"I would expect nothing less from you. Be careful and call me immediately if
anything suspicious occurs."

"I will my friend, I will." Corbett said staring at the now blank screen.

The alarm chime of the chronograph sounded again alerting him that he now had
five minutes before his appointment with the Captain. Quickly he asked the
computer for directions and headed out the door.




Scene: E-Deck, Captains Ready Room, USS Hood

Corbett found himself in front of the door to the Captains Ready Room with a
minute to spare. Pushing the door chime he waited for the Captains to give him
permission to enter...


<Tag Captain Steele>




<<NRPG>>

All I just wanted to add a bit of fun and mystery to Corbett's backstory, not
trying to create a major plot line. Anyway I'm at your door Andy, have mercy

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve Apple
Dr. Stile Corbett, CMO, USS HOOD NCC-1703
ASR: ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Hate to Meet and Run

by Catterick, Andy

SD: 2260.159
MD: -6.1400

Scene: Captain's Office, E Deck

            Captain’s Log Stardate 2260.159.  With 6 days before launch I 
am pleased with the progress that the crew has made.  Truth be told the 
ship itself is at full readiness and what little supplies we had used have 
been replaced.  Having only been in commission for 6 months we’ve made 
little dent in our inventory or wear on the equipment.  It is in  staffing 
where the most work is needed.  Fortunately I received a communiqué from 
Starfleet this morning confirming the imminent arrival of our Chief 
Medical Officer, Chief of Security and Helmsman.  While I am greatly 
relieved to fill these core positions it still leaves some fairly big holes 
at Comm and NAV.  

            The communication department has a strong foundation of non 
comm’s and junior officers to man the station in the short term so I have 
no major concerns there.  As for NAV, again we have a good staff there but 
no one senior enough to run the department even in the short term.  
Lieutenant Commander Merrick has volunteered to take on this role in a dual 
capacity until Starfleet can shake an appropriate officer for us.  I don’t 
envy him the work load but as he clearly pointed out when he volunteered we 
don’t really have a lot of options.  As HOOD’s previous FO I can certainly 
step in and assist him where needed.  And just as importantly I have 
Lieutenant Commander Th'elenth overseeing engineering.  I think Gar needs 
some seasoning as a departmental manager more for coming to terms with how 
he found himself in the position then due to any deficincies in his skills.  
And to be fair given I am in exactly the same position he is, who am I to 
talk?  But either way I am confident that engineering and HOOD are in solid 
hands.

            Jack looked up as his door chime went.  “Computer save log.”

            [Acknowledged.] The metallice voice replied.  Steele wondered 
absently if there was some way to make the computer sound less like a computer.  

            “Come.”

            The doors slid open and Dr. Corbett has just enough time to 
enter the office before he was called to action.  

            Merrick’s booming voice suddenly flooded the ship. [Trauma team 
to main engineering. I repeat trauma team to main engineering on the double!]

            Stile has spun around and was already half way to the lift 
before he realized he didn’t know exactly how to get to main engineering.  
Luckily Steele was close behind.

<<<NRPG>>>

Steve:  I figured this was better then the standard nice to meet you meeting.

Steve/Scott: I’ll let you decide how serious the injury in engineering is.  
Thought it’d be more fun for all our characters to meet this way.  Hopefully 
we don’t have any deaths before we actually launch.

ALL: General NRPG to follow.

Respectfully,
Andy
CAPT Jack Steele
Commanding, USS HOOD NCC 1703
ASR ORIGINS 

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: decorating and what's next...

by Martens, David

SD: 2260.160
MD: -6.1400

Scene: USS HOOD, Science department


Carefull with that, that's very sensitive equipment." ARr'Rhiana was guiding
two strong Bajorans to the exact place where they needed toplace the Neutron
Spectron Microscope and let it to them to attach it to the walls saftely.

She turned to her Assistant "How are my personal requests for my office going,
Mister Martin?"

A tall human male turned and smiled "On sheduale, ma'am, we'll have the cages
and fortified terraria settled in tomorrow, day after we install the sealed
cages and then it's only a few minor things as heating or colling and so. We
have everything done in four days."

ARr'Rhiana nodded please "Very good thank you." She had asked some engineers to
install some specially cages and terraria to keep some of her favorite animals
and insects. Denobulan dragonflies, Andorian Icebeetles, Vulcan Jumping Dessert
spiders and , her favorites, Icatian fireflies. She was looking forward to gain
new species and new pets from all the places they would visit and since she
would spend a lot of time in her office, giving guidance to her team, making and
checking reports she had decided to give it a personal touch.

Suddnely there was a small tremor through the ship and ...

<Snip from Andy>

Merrick's booming voice suddenly flooded the ship. [Trauma team to main
engineering. I repeat trauma team to main engineering on the double!]

<End of Snip>


Hemux, dropped everything she had and rushed out Science towards Engineering. 
It was just a bit away from where she was and she had plenty of engineering
expertises to assist when things went bad. Besides that, she also had lot of
experiences in the medical field, so maybe she could be in assistance in any
way.

ARr'Rhiana rushed into engineering and coughed as smoke from a broken pipeline
filled the area.

<<<NRPG>>>
Just setting up ARr'Rhiana's office and seeing if Hemux can be off any help...

Respectfully,
David Martens
Lt ARr'Rhiana Hemux
CSciO , USS HOOD NCC 1703
ASR ORIGINS

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: "Dangerous Liaisons" (RESEND)

by Lusby, Scott

SD: 2260.159
MD: -6.1400
Setting: Main Engineering, O-Deck, USS HOOD

<<NOTE- this post was resent because I missed a detail in Dave's last post.
Sorry for cluttering your mailbox.>>

Lieutenant Commander Gar Th'elenth was having a hell of a day. In a good
sense.

It had taken some time for things to calm down in Engineering; three Chief
Engineers in the space of a few days, one of whom died while on duty, is
enough to rattle any department's cage. But Th'elenth was impressed by the
level of professionalism in his department. It was a little thin on
experience- as to be expected when promoting two new Chief Engineers from
within in the span of a few days- but it was long on work ethic and a desire
to "get it right." That, above all, Gar liked.

Too many engineers- in his mind, anyway- played fast and loose with repairs;
"as long as it works" was a motto he'd heard more than once in his days. And
when in the midst of battle, that attitude was certainly a necessity more
often than not...

...but battles end, and that's when the time came for more "permanent"
solutions. Like the work one of his teams was working on now.

Gar stood next to Commander Merrick, the new First Officer and Chief
Engineer before Commander Phillipa, and gazed at the main display in
Engineering, located in a central location near the warp core, and tried to
look more calm than he was as he watched the team's progress on the monitor
in front of him.

They were replacing a patched section of one of the two main EPS relays- one
of the relays that moves the electro-plasma created in the warp core by the
electromagnetically-controlled annihilation of deuterium and anti-deuterium-
out of engineering, up each of the support pylons, and over the warp coils
in the nacelles. The breached section was inside the damaged port pylon,
and now that the pylon itself was fixed and stability returned to the
nacelle, it was time to tackle the heavy conduit.

With the warp core down, the risk of being exposed to the deadly delta
radiation from warp plasma was eliminated, as was the off-chance of making
contact with the high-pressure, high-temperature plasma.

But there were ALWAYS dangers, Gar knew.

And one was about to happen.

They had just finished replacing the conduit, and the teams had made neat
work out of welds needed to connect it into place- clean beads, strong
coverage- and they were shaking hands and patting themselves on the back fro
a job well done when they came down to Gar.

"OK Chief- let's bring the core back online and see how well you did," Gar
said, glancing at Merrick as he folded his arms across his chest.

Chief Tanner nodded, "Aye, Commander," he said, taking his heavy plasma
welder unit and, tossing it over his shoulder, walked the few steps to the
core's controls.

Tanner, focused completely on the start-up process for the core, had begun
to swing the plasma welder off his shoulder again.

Tanner had not taken note of where he stood, and neither Merrick nor Gar
were quick enough to complete their simultaneous warning. "Chief, be
care--"

At that moment, his heavy welder struck the outer casing of another set of
conduits running through the warp core- the plasma coolant for the warp
core. Tanner, feeling the impact, turned around and bent down to grab and
stabilize his equipment...

The conduit didn't shatter; instead, a spider-web-like crack appeared in the
plastic. With a small hole in the middle...

Small amounts of coolant began to leak from the small hole...

Tanner screamed, trying to cover his face as the coolant ate away his hands.

Th'elenth's orders pierced the Chief's cries. "Ventilation systems on
full!" he shouted, "Reverse the flow in that conduit- clear the system now!"

At the same time, Gar shut down the core; the last thing he wanted was to
compound a bad situation by overheating the core by stopping the flow of its
coolant.

However, as he did, an adjacent console exploded, throwing shards of plastic
everywhere, and releasing an arc of electro-plasma across another engineer's
hands. The man- Pethukov- screamed, and dropped to his knees, cradling his
burned hands.

Th'elenth heard Merrick shouting orders into the nearby comm panel. "Trauma
team to main engineering. I repeat trauma team to main engineering on the
double!"

The Andorian met the First Officer's gaze; both men now wore the mask duty
on their faces, and, as Merrick moved to assist in the care of Tanner and
Pethukov as they waited for the trauma team to arrive, Gar dealt with the
smoldering engineering station, wishing the ventilation systems would work
quicker.

The damage, however, had been done.

<<tag Steve/Andy>>

<<NRPG>>

Steve/Andy- I know we said this might be a JP...but this grew long enough on
its own. Sorry, Steve...but I DID at least leave you a perfect place to
jump in and show off some doctorin' skills. ;)

I wanted this to be a freak accident. We've seen coolant conduit rupture
before, so I figured it could happen. Hope this works for you guys.

Respectfully Submitted,

-- Scott Lusby
/\ LCDR Gar Th'elenth
Chief Engineering Officer
USS HOOD NCC-1703
ASR: ORIGINS