Project Concord: Launch

Posted on Tue Oct 31st, 2023 @ 3:27am by Captain Tyler Driskill & Lieutenant Commander Joseph Sledge & Lieutenant Nixie Wilde & Lieutenant Chaika & Lieutenant Roan Gaeta & Lieutenant JG Freya Walker & Lieutenant Commander Gulati & Lieutenant JG Kahlin & Lieutenant JG Rhee Xiviu & Ensign Skye Vos

1,665 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1 - Project Concord
Location: USS Concord | Deck 1 | Bridge
Timeline: 08:00 hours

It was time, time to launch Project Concord. The Nebula-class starship had been give the latest and greatest technology available to Starfleet. Her mission to search for the missing USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant some 70,000 light years from Earth. As he approached the exit of his ready room Tyler took a deep breath, he had never had butterflies in his stomach at launch but this one was different.

Stepping onto the bridge the Captain’s destination the center chair in the middle of the bridge. “How we looking Commander” he ask as he took his seat and glanced over at his First Officer.

Joseph looked up and stood as he spoke "All systems are green sir. We are prepared to leave spacedock on your command." He smiled at the man, all hints of nervousness gone, glad to finally get underway.

“Ensign Vos” Tyler looked up at the officer wearing red at the front of the bridge. “Release docking clamps and ease us out” The systems had been checked multiple times, simulations ran and one short test flight but this would be the first time they used their adapted Borg technology.

“Well let’s see what she can do” the Captain said from is chair.

"Aye, Sir," Vos was smiling as she went through the familiar undocking procedure. Her black hair, with a tinge of blue on the tips, was tucked behind her Vulcan ears as she looked ahead rather than at her controls, moving the ship in a slow drift away from the station.

Walker entered via the turbo lift. She had her knife on outer thigh. It was a Traditional knife for Heathens. She wore the hammer on a cord on her neck. Where she normally kept her phaser, she had a tricorder in it's place. A sign she was putting in effort transitioning from the last ship and the war before that.

Lieutenant Gulati exited the lift and walked across the bridge with a PaDD in hand. "Captain. Commander," she said to the two command officers. "We will want to put a safe distance from the station before firing up the Concord's enhancements Sirs" she stated.

The Benzite took a quick breath. "If anything were to go catastrophic too close to the station, we risk increasing the number of fatalities to encompass the station's personnel. Not that I plan on going boom, but" the lieutenant gave a hesitated glancing at her PaDD. "There's still a chance of that given simulations."

“You heard the lady” Tyler spoke up “helm take us to a half million kilometers from the station.”

Walker grinned, her eyes shimmering, Irish Eyes, "If we blow up, we calling it died in battle, right?" Her mother was from a Federation Colony where they still practiced religion. She grew up on a Colony where the Norse Gods were worshipped, which is where she grew up. Dying is Battle is considered a higher class of death. "I am not telling my ancestors I died due to mathematical miscalculation." She laughed.

“Well hopefully we don’t have that problem” the Captain glanced over. As they were making their way to a safe distance the Captain started going over everything “deflector status?” He knew they would need the deflector at full power.

Joseph looked up from his small side console and spoke “Deflector status nominal. Time to kick the tires and light the fires sir.” Grinning from ear to ear.

The Betazoid Operations Officer looked at Joseph for a moment before back at the console. They were ready. And that seemed like a big thing, so she did not step in and say anything.

“Very good” Tyler smiled at his First Officer. “Bridge to Engineering bring the Borg drive online and prepare for our first jump.” They were still several minuets from the recommended safe distance from the starbase and it would take several minutes for the drive to charge.

Walker closed her eyes and did a prayer to Njord, the God of Ships and Shipbuilding, and Meili, the God of Travel, for their trip into Ginnungagap, the unknown space and void. She was Religious and it was part of her daily behavior and personality.

Chaika's voice replied over the speakers. "Drive ready."

At the helm, Skye quite literally got the green light, in the form of a blinking glow in the controls. She nodded, taking a slight breath to just steady herself in the moment. This unique moment, that would never come again. "Can confirm the drive is ready. We can jump whenever you're ready, Captain."


“Well let’s see what she will do, Ensign” the captain said from his chair. He knew what the ship was supposed to be capable of and hoped nothing went wrong.

Joseph sat up a bit more in his seat, reaching down between his legs and gripping the seat, bracing himself in case the inertial dampeners didn’t kick in right away.

"Initiating the transwarp conduit now..." Skye finished inputting the commands, then glanced up to the main view on sheer instinct. Space seemed to ripple in front of them, like the folds in draped black silk. "We can enter the conduit at your command, Captain."

“Take us in” Captain Driskill watched the transwarp conduit grow on the view screen.

"Aye, Captain," Skye didn't need to look back at her display as she moved her fingers across the controls to engage. Instead, she kept her eyes on the shimmering portal as the ship launched forward. In a mere moment, the backdrop of space as they knew it disappeared as the ship glided into the rippling void of transwarp.

Walker grinned, "I prayed to the Gods. The Gods love me. You all just got caught up in my wake. That and good Science."

“How we looking?” Captain Driskill wanted a status report from his senior staff. He knew each department watched different things like sensors, speed, shields and so on and so forth.

Once they were within the embrace of the Transwarp conduit, Joseph released his chair. Turning his screen a bit he looked over the status reports coming in and spoke "All decks report status green. No issues. Oh. Wait. One report from Ten Forward. Apparently the ship going in to the conduit caused a pretty high priced bottle of Aldebaran Whiskey crashed to the deck..." He grinned a bit and looked at the Captain.

Tyler glance over and returned the grin “not the good stuff?”

With the ship swallowed up by the transwarp conduit, the ship started to vibrate and tremble as it careened through the murky depths. The stars had disappeared, replaced by rippling dark ominous swirls on the viewscreen. It seemed impossible that the ship could push through the dense mass, and yet, they carved through, like a hot knife through butter.

Skye was trying to take it all in while still keeping an eye on the console. Another glance downwards brought a frown to the Vulcan features, her blue eyes trying to make sense of the readings. "Navigation is malfunctioning..." it was the only way she could put it. "These readings are....all over the place."

“All over the place?” Captain Driskill asked as they were well into the conduit it might be too late to abort.

"Literally," Skye assured the Captain her description had been correct, no matter how unlikely it seemed. "Our current position, last position and heading are changing in the readouts, literally....changing coordinates by the second. It's like it doesn't know where we are, where we came from or where we're going..."

Rhee looked up for her station, letting out a breath. "We're getting a power fluctuation, Captain," she said, her voice strong enough to be heard. "I'm currently able to compensate it isn't critical, but I wanted to flag." Especially since Vos' announcement. But Engineering had not yet contacted them with an issue and everything was within the safety limits that had been set.

“Keep a close eye on it, Lieutenant Xiviu” Tyler wasn’t too concerned about minor fluctuations at this point. “Miss Gulati” Tyler turned to the first officer he met on the Concord I’m hoping what the helm is experiencing is expected?”

"Always expect the unexpected" the Benzite quipped. Gulati was not the First Officer now or ever, but she did have a good bit of knowledge of the starship, the technology aboard, and had been holding the fort down previously. "Gremlins are bound to surface" she added reassuringly.

She made her way down to the flight control station. "A minor hiccup" she said glancing at the console. "Give me a moment and I'll have this sorted out Sirs."

It was the first time this technology had been used by the Federation and much of the information they had was only theory but since they were expecting some bumps along the way the Captain ordered the crew of the Concord to “continue on toward the Delta Quadrant”

Commander Sledge had been monitoring things on his small console, seeing the adjusting coordinates as well. His brow furrowed a bit as he sat there. He sighed gently and spoke "Could be some part of the Borg coding in the system? I mean I know SCE did their best to clear out all the code... But still."

“Possibly” Tyler looked over and spoke softly “I think we are safe to continue.” His left eyebrow was raised “any objections, Commander?”

Though not directed at her the Benzite chimed in. "We should be fine" added Gulati. "I manually recalculated the trajectory and adjusted to compensate. Quantum physics does come in handy on the fly."

Tyler gave a nod “good work, Gulati.” There were several hours of flight ahead of them, at speeds far higher than the Captain ever thought he would travel.

Joseph gave a shake of his head and spoke "No objections here sir. I saw we push forward. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Walker kept praying to her Gods.

 

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