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USS Feynman SEP 1997: Difference between revisions
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<h3 style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','Arial'; color: royalblue; font-weight: bold;">USS FEYNMAN: Preparations and Goodbyes</h3> | |||
<h4 style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','Arial'; color: royalblue; font-weight: bold;">by | |||
Andrew Catterick 9-10-1997</h4> | |||
SD:90910.1300<br> | |||
<I> | |||
>Zane continued, moving back over to his viewport, with his back to Loren.<br> | |||
>"Temptation could be one of our greatest challenges during this mission.<br> | |||
>We have to overcome that obstacle and many more, remembering that there's<br> | |||
>more than our own existences at stake here. Now, Mr. Landers. Should I<br> | |||
>place you on a shuttle back to Zinderneuf, or are you capable of handling<br> | |||
>this mission?"<br> | |||
><br> | |||
>"I am, sir," stated Loren with the clarity that comes about maybe twice in<br> | |||
>a lifetime. "The rest of the crew are as well, even though many still are<br> | |||
>unaware of the mission specifics."<br> | |||
><br> | |||
>"Good, dismissed counselor," softly stated Zane, still staring into the<br> | |||
>streaking stars.<br> | |||
><br> | |||
>Ever the counselor, Loren could feel the mental tremble come from Zane<br> | |||
>during the discussion of parentage. "Sir," said Loren, getting Zane to<br> | |||
>turn around. "Are you?"</I><br> | |||
Zane turned to look at Loren and raised an eyebrow while he considered | |||
how to answer. "Even I succumb now and then counselor but I am aware of | |||
the stakes involved and can avoid temptation." | |||
"There is temptation and then there is temptation." | |||
"If you are alluding to the fact that my surrogate father will be in his | |||
third year of the Academy while we are there…yes it has crossed my | |||
mind. I don’t think it would be possible for it not to have done so. | |||
But if your worried that I’m going to tell him that in twenty years | |||
he’ll take command of the REPULSE and twenty years after that it will be | |||
destroyed with all hands." He paused. "Rest assured, while I would like | |||
nothing more than to do so I have no desire to change the lives of | |||
billions to save the lives of a few hundred. No matter how important | |||
they are. And on a more practical level. Warning him may have | |||
ramifications on the REPULSE finding me. If they do not then we have | |||
paradox and that cannot happen either." He turned back to the stars. | |||
Forty years in the past. His ship would just be entering the | |||
Sagittarius arm of the galaxy after its long dark journey through the | |||
Great Rift that separated this arm of the galaxy to the next. "That | |||
will be all counselor." | |||
"Yes sir." Loren replied before the sounds of the doors marked his | |||
departure. | |||
For a few more moments Zane stared out at the retreating stars before | |||
pulling himself away from the descending mood of melancholy. It was | |||
time to get to work. "Coffee, black, hot." He ordered from the | |||
replicator before sitting at his desk and turning on his terminal. He | |||
glanced over his logs and notes that he had made after the briefing. | |||
The mission objective was clear enough but the ‘how to’ was still fairly | |||
vague. They would need a definite mission plan as well as a back up | |||
before they stepped foot through the Guardian or they were doomed to | |||
failure. He opened up his email. | |||
<nowiki>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Intraship Communiqué<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<</nowiki><br> | |||
TO: CDR Maril, LCDR Jenn, LT Cardiff<br> | |||
FROM: CAPT ZANE<br> | |||
RE: Mission Planning<br> | |||
PRIORITY: High<br> | |||
There will be a mission planning meeting in the Observation | |||
Lounge on MD 3:1200. I would like to begin mapping out | |||
options and strategies for the protection of LT. Nicholas as | |||
well as put into place any safeguards and failsafes as needed. | |||
Come as you are.<br> | |||
Zane<br> | |||
<END><br> | |||
<nowiki>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<</nowiki><br> | |||
Hitting the send button he leaned back in his chair and began to | |||
consider the problem at hand. Who were they protecting Nicholas | |||
from? Obviously the attackers from the Sack but surely some of the | |||
admiral’s own staff would want Nicholas silenced. How where they to | |||
know who that might be? Cardiff might be able to name some, but all? | |||
And how did a group of sight-seeing ‘civilians’ block Starfleet | |||
personnel without drawing attention to themselves? Surely they couldn’t | |||
just wander around in the woods picking people off. | |||
His thoughts were interrupted by a call from the bridge. "Captain a | |||
priority call coming in from OZ." It was inevitable that the new base | |||
would be given the nickname of OZ but from what little he had seen of | |||
Commodore Steele he could guess that he would not be to pleased with it. | |||
"Put it through ensign." Encrypted? "Begin communication authorization | |||
Zane theta-omega-one-seven-five." Instantly the jumble of characters on | |||
the screen swirled to form the familiar United Federation of Planets | |||
logo before dissolving into the face of Robert Steele. Zane listened in | |||
shocked silence as the news was delivered bluntly in a terse tone. When | |||
it was over Zane had it run again and this time he examined the | |||
technical information that had been attached. He paused for a moment to | |||
collect his thoughts and send a silent prayer of condolence to all | |||
involved. He then reached out and hit his comm-panel. The bosun’s | |||
whistle rang out through every terminal on the ship. "Attention all | |||
hands this is the Captain. I regret to inform you that on Stardate | |||
90831 USS HAWKING was attacked and disabled by a Xanthandi mutagenic | |||
weapon. To prevent capture the HAWKING was scuttled after the crew | |||
escaped to a nearby planet. Following a brief skirmish with Xanthandi | |||
ground forces survivors were rescued by USS MANTA RAY, ZINDERNEUF’s | |||
special operations scout. Please join me in a minute of silence to | |||
honour our fallen comrades." Zane rose from his seat and closed his | |||
eyes. He wondered who had made it. He had friends on the HAWKING, | |||
friends he’d known since the Academy. This was the fourth ship in | |||
SILVER and was the third of the four FEYNMAN class destroyers to have | |||
fallen. Only the namesake survived and once again he wished Fleet would | |||
authorize an upgrade to a larger class vessel. Surely with the | |||
technology at hand they could design a cruiser that could withstand the | |||
turmoil of the Sack. If they didn’t then the Xanthandi would never be | |||
stopped. "Thank-you Zane out." | |||
Sitting back down he made the decision of not to dwell on what had | |||
happened. FEYNMAN had enough of her own problems to face. Instead he | |||
forwarded the commodore’s message to all the senior staff and flagged | |||
the technical information describing the mutagenic weapon for Koreth and | |||
Meleah. He wanted to make sure that when they met with the Xanthandi | |||
they would not be an easy target. | |||
Respectfully,<br> | |||
Andy<br> | |||
<nowiki>__________________________________________________</nowiki><br> | |||
-Captain Zane, Commanding, USS FEYNMAN<br> | |||
-Commodore Robert Steele, Commanding TF ZINDERNEUF<br> | |||
-Commander Horatio Sinclair, Currently Unassigned<br> | |||