[Caymen Greener]

Part 1: Enter Stage Aft

“Release me.” The call came from within one of the modified Delta flyers. Its pilot, Doren Morris, was a keen Starfleet pilot, with years of enlisted experience and recent officer training leading to more experience. The USS Judica Akira-class ship was a fine home for the junior lieutenant. But where he really excelled was in control of a ship.

The Delta flyer had some minor customizations done by Doren himself and he was taking her for a test run. A couple large chunky snaps could be heard as the clamps left the small craft unfettered in the Judica’s shuttlebay. Doren gently managed the controls to move the ship off the ground and hover away from the control room.

“Be careful out there,” said the female voice.

“Always am, ensign,” he said to Gia, who seemed to have a crush on Doren. But he didn’t much care – his love was flying. He grinned as he took the ship out of the Akira’s protective barrier.

Out here he was free. Not just from the safety of the starship. And certainly not just from gravity. But from everything. He typically flew by himself and had the solitude he so often craved. He enjoyed the company of others and was no recluse. But the excitement and control he gained behind the helm of a small craft was unbeatable.

Doren suddenly zipped the Delta flyer into a vertical slope through the Judica’s nacelles and outside what would be the ship’s shield edge. He snapped it up and around the deflector array and underbelly of the main saucer area. And after that, the pilot took the Delta up and over the saucer, doing a barrel-roll fly-by of the bridge, and back over the port edge again.

“Stabalizers and maneuver thrusters are working fine, Gia,” he said into the comm. “Systems nominal.”

There was no response, as she was probably pre-occupied with calls from the bridge about his tricks. The station at which they were docked for some brief shoreleave undoubtedly wanted to know as well. Sure enough his comm chimed with a signal from both the ship and Deep Space 9. He pushed a button to ignore them.

Doren almost forgot they were docked and could have slammed right into the docking tunnel, but he caught it just in time and shimmied his way through the small slit in between the ship and station. It was a close one. Too close. A single alarm went off on the console to his left. “Hmm,” he said simply. The inertial dampers were hitting some stress limits, probably from his last maneuver. He thought he had accounted for that.

But that was just the beginning, as a few other bells went off as the Delta flyer began to shut down. First main power and thrusters, then the main drive, and the auxiliary power began to flicker. It was not good – all he had left was emergency power for sensors, life support, and short-range communications.

“Crap,” he said with disappointment. He relaxed his muscles and exhaled as he looked back up at the Judica. He shrugged as he hit the comms button to connect back to Gia. “Gia, Doren here. I need a favor.”

There was a short pause and several voices in the background. “You’re going to have to call in a bunch, Doren. Get in here!”

Her voice was flushed with anxiety, that much he could tell. “Uhh, power’s down – I need a lift.”

Gia sighed audibly. “Worst timing ever, Doren.” She pumped up the on-screen visual channel and looked at him with worried eyes. “The call’s come in, Doren – the Judica’s been called to war!”

[Caymen Greener]

Part 2: Take the Helm

Doren had barely brought the runabout into the docking bay. He had begun to dub him “Big Daddy” due to some of the rather large additions he was making on it. Gia was not there and was instead in main engineering. He wanted to contact her and thank her for her help in getting Big Daddy tugged in just in time. But there was no time – immediate orders came from the bridge. The Judica was about to jump out of warp right into the battle field and he was to take the helm.

On his way up it was obvious the Judica had dropped out of warp ahead of his arrival. The turbolift shook violently twice on the way. “Computer, status,” he commanded in a concerned voice.

There was a chirp. ~”The ship is currently at red alert, shields are holding at 70%, hull strength at 90%. Minor interior damage on decks one, seven, and eight. Warp drive and other systems at full.”~ The computer chirped at the end.

“Good lord,” he whispered to himself.

Eventually the bridge doors hissed open and Doren sprang out with gusto. His steps were cut short as he halted to a gaping hole in the bulkhead directly to his left. Sparks were flitting about and a couple bodies were laying on the deck. “Did you miss the all-hands, Mr. Morris?” asked Captain Rivera.

Doren breathed in deeply and sighed. “I missed something, alright.”

The female captain shook her head, returning her focus to the console on her chair. She was a stern captain – one of the finest under whom he had served. But she was not a fan of his… less-than-structured practices. “Take the helm, lieutenant. We got ambushed when we entered the battle, but we’re plotting a counter attack until re-enforcements arrive.”

The young man simply nodded and took his position in front of her. Everything seemed in order, other than the missing helmsman who had been carried away by a medic. He quickly shifted his custom panel in and got to work. “Impulse engines are at full still, one of the aft thrusters is out, but that’s minimal. I’m good to go, captain.”

Doren steadied the ship behind an asteroid in the system. The USS Judica had gone into battle with fierce intensity, but the small Akira vessel was no match for the Klingon battle cruisers. They quickly destroyed two Federation scout escorts in addition to the Judica’s surprise pelting. Fortunately, the Starfleet officers from the other ships had been beamed over to the Judica just in time.

“Captain, the two Klingons cruisers are coming our way, weapons at full.” The chief of tactical was badly scarred and bleeding, but he continued his job unwittingly.

The captain’s composure did not change. “Mr. Morris, can you navigate us in and out of this patch of asteroids?”

Doren knew he could, but he ran a quick scan of the immediate area. “That’s a lotta rocks, but… yes.” He double-checked himself without her noticing.

“Good, Mr. Croo,” the captain said to tactical, “prepare a series of high-yield torpedoes, and launch them when –”

“Got it,” the tactician interrupted. Doren heard that Croo tended to do that, and yet the captain didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Helm, take us out and let’s fire the first volley. Attack pattern Rivera-7, target their engine systems every time. We’ll try to disable them until help arrives.”

Doren grinned, knowing that maneuver, as he entered the right commands and pushed the Judica to full impulse, jumping out from behind the large asteroid. Croo immediately fired the first torpedoes right at the Klingons, slamming into both on target. Doren felt the ship rumble as a couple disrupter beams blasted the Judica, but he quickly zipped the ship down and starboard, behind another collection of asteroids.

“Shields at 35% captain,” said Croo. “But direct hit on the Klingons. Their shields might be weakened enough in time.”

The captain simply nodded, and Doren kept up his work, quickly and agilely taking the ship in and out of the asteroid field. He and Croo seemed to immediately gel and their timing was almost perfect each time. They managed a few more volleys before they were running out of their own shield power. One of the Klingon ships was veering away before the final blast came in from its partner, slamming into the Judica, disabling her shields, and tearing a hole into part of her saucer. The entire ship shook and began to lilt to one side, showing signs of complete loss.

“Status report!” shouted the captain, climbing back into her seat.

Doren was still in his chair, and unfortunately, it seemed like he and the captain were the only two conscious. The ship had rattled enough to throw almost the entire crew complement around like ionized particles. “Uh,” he said at first, looking at the console, unaware of the cuts and blood on himself. “Shields down, main power down, warp core offline with safety protocols in place, auxiliary power online. Life support and communications are about all we’ve got, captain.”

The captain paused as the ship seemed to be gliding behind another asteroid thanks to Doren. “Did Croo get a torpedo loaded before that last blast?”

Doren tapped on his console and then turned to her with a grin. “Locked and loaded, ma’am!”

[Caymen Greener]

Part 3: The Nimble Akira

Sparks were flying, bulkheads were in pieces, and bodies lay about. The Akira-class vessel was in bad shape. A medic finally arrived and the captain ordered him to work – there was much to do. Doren double-checked the settings on the torpedo the chief tactical officer Croo had set in place before the Judica was hit by the Klingons.

“Locked and loaded, ma’am,” he stated with vigor. Now normally all power would be diverted to life support, communications, and possibly to regain some shielding. But Doren knew the captain well and by her asking for the status of that torpedo he knew his orders. Doren worked some magic and by the time she replied, he was ready.

“Can we turn the ship around?” she asked.

Doren grinned devilishly and proudly. “Maneuvering thrusters online.” At what cost he wouldn’t mention. “We’re coming about!”

The Judica turned ever so slightly. The one Klingon cruiser that had faced them was cloaking and running, as it was badly damaged by the Judica and would not survive. But it was too late for the Federation vessel and the second Klingon battle cruiser did not expect such a bold move.

“Fire!” shouted the captain.

Doren pushed a button with emphasis and the torpedo launched from the ship and collided flat into the Klingon vessel’s hull. It was likely the enemy felt the same thing the Judica did moments ago. “Direct hit!” he shouted excitedly.

“Ok, divert to emergency shields if possible,” the captain commanded. She hit a few buttons on her console. “This is the USS Judica NCC-94988, sending out an immediate distress signal.” She continued on with the standard distress call.

Doren rushed about to ensure the signal could be send as long and wide as possible on all Federation encrypted channels. He cut the maneuvering thrusters and tried to bolster shields but that was not going well. “We need to get power back soon.”

“Bridge to engineering,” cried the captain.

There was no answer.

“It gets worse,” said Doren, noticing the blinking red beacon on his screen. He stood up and moved up to the tactical console briefly – at this state it was quicker to check Croo’s screen physically. “That last torpedo did its job. Klingon core breach in… 37 seconds at best!”

The captain shook her head. “Turn us back about!”

Doren leaped back to the helm console and shook his head in return. “Negative, captain. Thrusters and shields offline.”

“Escape pods and shuttles, then,” she said, on her feet. “Injured first, any civilians and children next.”

The couple medics on the bridge carted the few remaining bodies off the bridge and into the nearest pods. Doren sat right where he was and looked at the captain as she stopped and looked back. She did not beckon he come with, looking him in the eyes. She half smiled, as they both knew it was all futile. The ship, the shuttles, the escape pods – they would all be obliterated in seconds now. There was no avoiding it.

Doren stood, and saluted. “It’s been an honor, captain.” But before she could answer, a fading blue swathed over him – the familiar Federation transporter beam consumed him and the others he could see. Second later, the Judica and everything near it was torn to pieces as the Klingon cruiser exploded.

………….

Days later the crew began to slowly wake. Doren had been kept in the medical ward back at spacedock, along with his injured crew. He hated every second of it, but was glad to be with his companions. And frankly, just glad to be alive.

The captain thanked him, and assured him he would be rewarded generously for his deeds. Croo and the other bridge officers would all be fine in time. Gia was a bit more in critical condition and might not be back to duty for some time. This was one of the many things that saddened Doren, causing him to be thankful for the little good that came out of this.

A crewman approached him in the medical ward as he looked out at the hustle and bustle of spacedock exterior. “Sir,” the man said handing a datapad to Doren.

“Thanks,” he said plainly. He glanced down at the pad – new orders that read:

*** Priority One Orders, Lieutenant Doren Morris ***

You are hereby ordered to the USS Judica, NCC-94988-A, as chief of helm, under the command of Captain Melissa Rivera, on this day of the 25th of June, 2409.

*** End Communication ***

Doren grinned broadly with the long-awaited good news. Same captain, same ship name, an apparent promotion he had not heard about yet. The adventure would continue!