Topic: When the Going Gets Tough...

[CaptJosh]

Well, y'all asked for it, so here's my first new story attempt in years. I'm basing it roughly on the early days of the TNG era Starfleet Corps of Engineers, and I hope I can get this going right. I'm writing on the fly here.

When the Going Gets Tough...

Chapter 1

Lieutenant Commander Jack Baker walked through the corridors of the Federation Surplus Depot Z15 toward the shuttle bay, still wondering why he had been summoned here for a new assignment. However, he didn't have much time to wonder before he arrived at the shuttle bay and the transport craft he had been ordered to report to. He tapped the control to open the hatch on the antique 23rd century shuttle and climbed in only to be confronted by...
"Captain Scott?!" Jack asked startledly once he managed to pick his jaw up off the floor.

"Aye. In the flesh. Ye seem surprised, lad," the old engineer responded.

"They didn't tell me I was going to be working for you, sir," Commander Baker answered.

"Well...tis nae so much workin' for me as ah'm tae brief ye on yer new assignment, laddie," Captain Montgomery Scott replied. "Come on. Seal the hatch, lad. We've a great deal tae do and precious little time tae do ut in," Scotty finished as he turned to the console to finish his preflight checks.

"Aye, Sir," Baker acknowledged as he turned to close the hatch on a shuttle that was probably as old as her pilot.

"Before ye ask, laddie, let me explain what's going on. As ye may know, Ah'm involved in reconstitutin' the ol' Starfleet Corps of Engineers."

Jack merely nodded, not wanting to interrupt.

"Well, your name and personnel jacket were put on my desk...dinnae interrupt lad. Let me finish. Along with a note from your former commanding officer. Captain Erika Benteen has issued a formal recommendation that ye be promoted and given an independent command, Commander Baker," the old engineer finished with a grin.

"Sir?" the newly minted Commander Jack Baker asked incredulously as Scotty affixed a new pip to Jack's uniform collar.

"Call me Scotty, lad. Ye've earned it."

"Yes Sir! er, Scotty. Damn. This is going to take some getting used to..." Jack trailed off. "So what's my assignment?"

"We're comming tae that now, lad," Scotty said and pointed as he opened the panel on one of the old windows.

"A salvage operation?"

"Nae exactly..."

"Scotty..." Jack said with a warning, questioning tone.

"Aye, lad. She's all yours. The U.S.S. Howard Hughes. Miranda class."

Jack pulled up the ship's information on a console on the shuttle and his eyes widened. He turned to Captain Scott, "Ca...Scotty, I realize you're trying to get the S.C.E. out there as quickly as possible, but you're not doing us any favors like this."

"Laddie, if you cannae work with that ship, then maybe ye're nae the man ah want around here," Scotty rumbled, his brogue thickening.

"I can work with this ship, but she's a wreck!" Jack pointed to the information on the console screen, "I'll have to get her engines up just to get her to the spacedock I saw on my way in on my transport! To get this ship operational, by the book, I'll need two months just to get started! But of course we don't have two months, so I'll have to do it in two weeks."

"That's the spirit, laddie! Dinnae let this old man gie ye any guff. Ye be an engineer and she's your ship. But remember, you're her skipper noo, th' man in the center seat. Dinnae be tryin' tae do everything y'self. That's what ye'll be hae'in a crew for."

"Aye, sir..." Jack trailed off looking at his new command through the viewports on the shuttle as they moved into dock, shaking his head in disbelief. The Howard Hughes looked like she'd been through an asteroid field at medium speed with no deflectors.
'What am I supposed to do with this old hulk?' he mused to himself as Scotty docked the shuttle...

EDIT: Continuity issue fixed. Commander Baker didn't know who he was going to meet, so he should have just been heading for the shuttle bay, rather than to meet with anyone specific, which is how it now reads.

EDIT 2: Changed the language a bit at the end. Replaced "thought" with "mused" for a more polished feel.

[Jaeih t`Radaik]

A very good first shot, Josh. You even manage a more-than-decent Scottish accent. :wink:

However, just being promoted to commander--and without any other background data--isn't enough IMHO to call Captain Scott "Scotty". What exactly has he earned?

PS. Your story is fine, this is just a pet peeve of mine.

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

I like it so far... Scotty was never much for formality.

Just out of curiousity though... are you a Robotech fan there, Josh?

Jack Baker is the name of a young hotshot pilot from "Robotech: The Sentinels" also.

[CaptJosh]

Picked it almost completely at random. I once used the name for a charcter in an IRC rpg called a sim group. While I like Robotech, I've never read the Sentinels. I've never gotten farther than reading through the Second Robotech War.

As for the informality, I based that on Scotty's telling Geordi LaForge, a man he hardly even knew, to call him Scotty in the TNG episode "Relics". This, by the way, is set after "Relics". Captain Erika Benteen might be familiar to you as the Captain of the U.S.S. Lakota in the DS9 episodes "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost", where she started out as aide de camp for Admiral Leyton, who then promoted her so he'd have a loyal captain around for his scheme to get Earth under martial law and keep it that way for the duration of the Dominion War.

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

Looks good Josh keep writing!

[Grim Reaper]

 I need more to reallly crit m8

[CaptJosh]

Workin on it, sort of. I've been rather busy with the latest Dynaverse server. Attack of the Kitties II: The Wrath of Jinn.

I have part of the second chapter done already, but it's sitting in a file right now. I might get it up today, or it might be a while.

[CaptJosh]

Chapter 2

'Me and my big mouth. Two weeks instead of two months, indeed...' Jack thought to himself, 'It's been a week and we're just pulling into the repair dock now.'

"Thrusters to station keeping. Prepare for umbilical connections and power switchover," he ordered aloud.

"Aye, sir. Thrusters at station keeping, zero relative velocity...now. We are in position," the helmsman reported.

"Ready for umbilical connections," the operations officer reported immediately thereafter, "Umbilicals now moving into position, and...locked," he finished unnecessarily as the booms of the umbilical arms making contact rang through the hull of the Howard Hughes.

"Switching over to external power, Sir," the Chief Engineer reported, "Impulse engines powering down."

'A week and I still can't remember my command crew's names yet. There hasn't been time. This ship is a wreck. It looked bad in the report, but that didn't even begin to list the minor issues that had us take 5 days longer than it should have to get moving... Jack interrupted his train of thought, "Very well. Helm, power down thrusters."

"Aye aye. Thrusters to idle...and...thruster systems deactivated. We are docked," the helmsman reported.

"All systems on external power, Sir," Baker's Chief Engineer stated. "All reactors to standby mode and beginning to go to full power down," he finished, sounding relieved.

"Sounds like some of the power systems were more shaky than you'd like to deal with," Baker commented.

"Sir, I'd have preferred to be towed in with the way things are on this ship, but there aren't any tugs to spare at this place, so we had to use the ship itself. I'm perfectly happy to shut down our own power systems so as to be able to give them a complete overhaul," the engineer grumbled.

"Look...uh...what was your name again?" Jack asked, looking embarrassed.

"MacLeod, Sir. Connor MacLeod. Don't feel bad, Sir. Ah can't remember the names of my own staff, either. There's been no time."

"Connor...MacLeod...," Baker blinked hard, twice, and bit his tongue, but it didn't help, "Maybe sometime you'll show me your sword..."

"Sir?"

Jack shook his as if to clear it, "Nevermind. You can check the computer later. Fiction, motion pictures, Highlander. That should explain my reaction well enough."

"Aye, Sir," MacLeod said, outwardly looking puzzled, but inwardly grinning. He knew exactly what his new skipper was talking about, and immediately decided he'd get along just fine with a skipper that had such a sense of humor.

"Anyway, as I was about to say. The tugs here are all busy, and we couldn't get one detached from anywhere else. I don't like it, either. The way the systems are on this ship, a tow would have helped a lot. But we would have been waiting another week just to get started if we'd waited for one," Baker grumbled.

"Well, as it is, we've repaired a lot of damage just to get her mobile again. That should help some," LtCdr. MacLeod commented.

"I hope so. The Howard Hughes here is a wreck right now, except for her impulse engines. And the warp engines are so outdated that they've given us a pair of new nacelles and a brand new warp core to put in. Those are due within the hour, now," Jack shook his head, "So much to do. At least the station crew is going to help out."

"Aye. But I've given orders that when the new warp core and nacelles get here, all other work halts and everybody in my department gets that done as quickly as possible. We're going to need to test the EPS system once we've got the new core and I want it in as soon as possible so we know if we need to replace what few old power conduits hadn't been stripped out of the old girl," Connor stated definitively.

"Very good then. Carry on. I've got to got see the station manager about work schedules for his teams that will be providing assistance," Jack made a face. He'd rather be subject to a Cardassian interrogation than do these menial bureaucratic tasks.

"Aye Aye, Skipper," MacLeod acknowledged.

Jack stalked off to the shuttle bay. If he had to do this 24th century equivalent of paper shuffling, he was going to at least have one enjoyable thing involved in the process...

[Grim Reaper]

And that would be?

[CaptJosh]

Let's see. He's headed for the shuttle bay instead of the transporter room. Work it out, Grim.

[Grim Reaper]

Let's see. He's headed for the shuttle bay instead of the transporter room. Work it out, Grim.

Gotcha, he's gonna see his buckett of bolts from the outside, which is a rare occurence for ST captains. Sorry, I'm usually better at spotting little things like that. Anyways, next thing I wonder about is what the "real" mission will be.

[CaptJosh]

You're wondering, huh? That means I've managed to create an engaging character that causes you to want to know more about what happens to him. Good. I was afraid I'd lost my touch.

[CaptJosh]

Sorry to make you folks wait so long. I've gotten a bit side-tracked, but I do have a working draft of chapter 3 and should be posting it within the next few days.

[CaptJosh]

OK, I've taken long enough. A new chapter for you all. It's kinda long, though...

EDIT: I can't believe I didn't catch this sooner. I had Scotty promote Baker to Commander in the first chapter, yet Erik was calling him Lieutenant Commander. Doh! Fixed now.

Chapter 3

"Clear for departure, Captain," the Flight Control Officer reported, "Station control has approach lane 8 cleared for your use, Sir."

"Roger that. Open the shuttle bay doors. Preflight is green across the board and I'm ready to go," Baker replied, unable to conceal the pleasure in his voice.

"Opening doors. Clear ether, Sir."

"And happy landings. Spanner taking off," Jack stated, reverting to protocol from Academy Flight School and the handle his classmates hung on him, the only engineer in the class.

"Have fun, Spanner," the FCO acknowledged as Jack's shuttle fairly leapt into space, eliciting a curse from the FCO and a corresponding chuckle from Baker.

Some fifteen minutes later Jack was in the office of the station manager...

"Would you mind telling me what you think you were doing nearly giving my flight control officer a heart attack, Mr. Baker?"

"Letting off some steam, sir. If you'll note my service record, you'd see I'm trained in that type of maneuvering. I went through flight school at the Academy," Jack pointed out.

"THAT, Commander, is the only reason I haven't followed the recommendation of my FCO and brought you up on charges. I knew that at no time were you out of control of your shuttle -" the station manager paused and grinned slyly as he came round his desk "- Spanner."

Jack grinned back, "Damn it's good to see you again, Erik...Or should I call you Viking?" he asked, recalling his old friend's pilot nickname from flight school, a nickname based on the fact that Erik's classmates had colled him Erik the Red because of his hair, and because of how furiously he blushed whenever a certain female cadet had even so much as cast her eye upon him.

"I should have realized that they'd tap you for this SCE thing. I've missed you ole buddy," Erik said and the two men embraced, pounding eachother on the back.

"So, how have you been, Erik? Obviously command path has treated you well enough. A full commander yourself, and in charge of this station."

"It's ok. I'd like to get back to starship duty before too much longer. I'm envious of you. You've actually got a starship to command, Jack."

"Not until the new warp nacelles are in place and the refit is done. Until then, the Howard Hughes is still a derelict, regardless of being impulse capable. How many of your people can you spare to help me?"

"How does having the entire spacedock crew plus every engineer I can scrape up that's had recent starship experience sound?"

"Sounds great. By the way...How did things turn out between you and Sonja?"

Erik blushed furiously, causing Jack to roar with laughter.

Once Jack's laughter had quieted, though, Erik spoke, "Actually, she's here as my exec. And we're engaged."

"Congrats man. I'll come to the wedding if I can make it."

"You'd better be able to make it, Jack. It's scheduled for 5 days from now and you don't leave for another week!"

"Ok, Erik," Jack answered with a chuckle. "I'll be there."

"Jack, speaking of old flames and all, what happened with you and that hot little number, erm...Damn. Can't remember her name."

"I know who you're talking about, Erik. Just call her Miss Section 8, now."

"Went space happy?" Erik asked surprisedly.

"Went? Erik, she always was nuts. She just managed to hide it fairly well."

"I guess, seeing as she got into the Academy. Sorry to hear that, Jack."

"Don't be. I'm not. Just as long as she doesn't pull a Janice Lester on me."

Erik rolled his eyes, "Oh God! I read about that bit with Lester and Kirk on the Enterprise. Lester always thought that Kirk was the reason they kicked her out of the fleet when the real reason was insane stunts like that last one that put her in the same place where they had Garth of Izar before they finally cured him."

"I heard that in the end, Garth made it back to Starship duty. Apparently the medicine Kirk brought, along with the other therapies they used, cured him," Jack mused.

"Well, they certainly needed him by the time he got out of the booby hatch. Anyway, I'll get the teams organized. Those nacelles are almost in position. How are you going about getting the old ones off?"

Jack checked his antique digital wrist chronometer, "Actually, they're about to get rid of the old nacelles now. Why don't we just watch? You can see the spacedock from here in your office."

"Why does that make me nervous, Jack?"

"Just watch."

For about 3 minutes nothing happened, then, from each nacelle, right where it connected to the pylon, a series of small flashes followed by a brilliant actinic flash that caused the window to darken in compensation. When it cleared, the old nacelles were drifting rapidly away from the Howard Hughes Z-minus relative to the ship, and out the relative bottom of the spacedock scaffolding.

"You had your people use the explosive bolts and jettison charges?" Erik ask incredulously.

"Can you think of a faster way to get them off and out of the way?" Jack riposted. "Frankly, I'm surprised that the bolts and charges still worked, considering the condition of the ship. And given their age, per the regs, they had to be replaced anyway on a refit like this. This way, the charges and bolts are already gone. It'll save half a day, minimum."

"You always were a hell of an engineer, Jack. But why not blow the nacelles before even getting moving? You could have headed in on thrusters without that extra mass."

"Only if there was fuel for the RCS system. Blow the nacelles and I lose my bussard collectors, one of the few things on the ship that was still working. I wasn't blowing those nacelles until I knew the new ones were here to replace them."

"Fair enough," Erik paused for a bit, then continued, "Come on, Jack. Let's get these teams organized before they maneuver the new nacelles into position."

The two turned away from the observation port and got to work on assembling the work detail assignments.

[Scottish Andy]

A nice little installment. I like the little character byplay, but why was jettisoning the nacelles such a big deal? wouldn't they have done so normally ayway?

[CaptJosh]

Normally, one only jettisons nacelles in an emergency, AFAIK.

[CaptJosh]

Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the long delay. Real life rather bit me on the butt, preventing me from posting another chapter when I thought I would. I'm going to try to get one up within the next couple days.

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

No worries, I think everybody here knows the feeling.

[Commander Maxillius]

I'm really enjoying this!  The touch with blowing the nacelles off while docked was great.  I've got only one issue with that though.  The Miranda-class has the nacelles positioned a lot closer to the docking clamps than, say, a ship of the standard saucer-can type.  If I was that station commander I'd be fairly upset with the use of explosives so close to my station, even if it was my buddy's ship.

[CaptJosh]

The explosives in question are explosive bolts, which don't go anywhere, and shaped charges specifically designed to push the nacelle z-minus axis, away from the ship. Fed types really trust their tech, though my main character, as an engineer, was unsure if the bolts and charges would work at all. As for the spacedock there, it's much larger than the ones in Kirk's day, so there was a lot more room to work with.

[CaptJosh]

Ok, enough. I've debated how to do this chapter too long. Without further ado, here it is. It's a short one, though.

EDIT: Dialog edited per Scottish Andy's suggestion.
EDIT 2: I've decided to conform to every Star Trek book I can remember and make the log entries in bold face.
EDIT 3: On review, decided to change instances of EPS conduit to plasma conduit, amend the log to "secondary power" as there's no way a spacedock would be pumping plasma into a ship, and amend the rest of the text as necessary.

Chapter 4

Captain's log, stardate: 54868.6. The refit of the Howard Hughes is not proceding apace. While the new warp nacelles were installed in record time, once we installed the new warp core, we had problems. As per SOP, we ran the new core up to test it. Unfortunately, the plasma conduits, which were fine for the load from secondary power, began to overload all over the ship...

"Shut it down. SHUT IT DOWN!" Baker bellowed.

"Warp core offline now sir!" MacLeod reported. "However, we still have a few sympathetic overloads in the plasma conduits. Expect several more explo--." LtCdr. MacLeod cut off suddenly, his eyes growing wide. He threw himself away from his console with half a second to spare as the plasma conduit behind it blew out spectacularly, destroying the console and eliciting a curse from MacLeod. "I just fixed that bloody thing!" he roared.

"Settle down, Connor. We can replace the console," Jack Baker soothed.

Connor gritted his teeth, "Aye..."

"Come on, man. At least your hide's still intact. You could have gone with that console if you'd been a hair slower."

Connor MacLeod looked a bit shaken, "Aye, Ah could've at that..."

"OK, get to engineering and get me a damage report, ASAP. Obviously, though, we're going to replace every plasma conduit aboard," Baker ordered.

"First priority, aye aye," the Chief Engineer said as the turbolift doors closed behind him.

"Skipper, I think I've gotten short range communications back up," the comms officer reported, then finished after a slight pause, "Yep! And the station is hailing us."

"On screen," Jack ordered, then continued sotto voce, "Assuming the viewer still works after that fiasco."

"Jack?! What the hell just happened?!" Erik demanded.

"Plasma conduit overloads all over the ship. The grid couldn't handle the output of the new warp core during a stress test. I expected tolerance warnings as we ran it up. What I didn't expect was a fireworks show that damn near killed my Chief Engineer.

"What?!" Jack's old friend exclaimed.

"Just after we shut down the new core, we still had some sympathetic overloads. The conduit behind the environmental systems console on the bridge went. MacLeod got out of the way with about half a second to spare."

"Jesus, Jack! What now?" the Station commander asked softly.

"Well, the entire EPS grid will have to be overhauled. What didn't blow is going to have to be assumed to have been stressed beyond tolerances. I..." Jack trailed off thinking for a moment, "I was in too much of a hurry, Erik. I should have known there was no way this old power grid could take the output of a modern warpcore The only way I'll launch on schedule is to do enough to make the ship worthy of deep space, plus anything that has to be done in spacedock, and complete the rest of the refit during shakedown."

"You're not the only one who should have caught it, Jack. Any casualties?"

"Other than my pride? I think Commander MacLeod might have some rug burn due to diving away from that console before the conduit blew out. Other than that, no reports yet. Internal comms might be a little...ah...dicey right now, though. The warp core is shut down, so no more explosions after the last round, but we're gonna need some help with all the work, Erik."

"I'll send crews immediately. You're not missing your launch date, buddy. And you're damn sure not missing my wedding later this week!"

"Thanks, Erik. Baker out,"

Jack turned and surveyed his bridge and the readouts, then settled back into his chair with a heavy sigh and one thought, 'Two weeks...What was I thinking?'

[Scottish Andy]

Nice continuation, but I wasn't sure if the log entry was interrupted by the explosion or if it was just supposed to set it up. A little more standardised format would be helpful for this, such as log entries done in italics, unless a character is actually saying it in the scene. And if that is the case, a line such as, "...he abandoned his log entry as..."

Admittedly, that isn't your style as you're writing solely dialogue (in this chapter) and with very few narratives in previous chapters.

I like the rationale behind the emergency, and the way it was reacted to and handled by the characters. Good job.

Also, as the ex-resident Scot...

Connor MacLeod looked a bit shaken, "Aye, I could hae, at that..."

I personally would have said "Aye, Ah could've at that..." or possibly "Aye, Ah could'a' at that..."

"I could hae" is too hard to say, it has no real flow. Scots speech is the opposite of Suth'n US. We speak quickly, cutting out extraneous vowels and consonants to be able to say things faster.

If you want a brief look at it done properly, see Chapter One of 'First Steps' by Jaeih where Andie and Heather talk to each other.

That said, keep it coming. We need more people posting again. Its like a ghost town here recently...

[CaptJosh]

Good point on the Scots' brogue. "Could'nae" flows, "Could hae" does not. Thanks, Andy. Edited.

EDIT: And then I had to edit this post for grammar and spelling. Yeesh. Note to self, posting late at night and in the wee hours of the morning is a Bad Thing (tm).

[Jaeih t`Radaik]

Yup, glad to see you're posting again too, Josh, and a good continuation. Keep 'em coming.

Andy, thanks for the nod. *grin*

[Commander La'ra]

I'm reading this.  This is one of those that's hard to comment on, and thus I'm waiting for more material to better mold my thoughts.

Jaeih is furiously familiar with this situation.*eyeshift*

[CaptJosh]

I'll probably post some more when I get done working on a couple machines. I had a plague box that it's taken the better part of two days to disinfect from some nearly 200 instances of various trojans plus two instances of a worm(which took a couple hours) and fumigate  for spyware(which has taken the majority of the time).

[CaptJosh]

Yikes! Its been almost 2 months since I posted a new chapter. Sorry folks. I'll get one up in the next couple days.

[Jaeih t`Radaik]

Still waiiiiiiting...

[CaptJosh]

Sorry. Real life has messed with me a bit. I've had a nasty cold recently.

[CaptJosh]

Well, I'm just finishing a contract job today. If I have the energy after I'm done, I'll probably edit this into a story post. My apologies to all for the LOOOOOOONG delay.

[Commander La'ra]

Cool beans, Captain.

[CaptJosh]

Finally, the long awaited...

Chapter 5

Captain's log, Stardate 54872.4: Following the fiasco with the EPS grid, our engineering staff and that of the surplus depot have been working feverishly to completely overhaul the EPS network. Progress is phenomenal, in part due to the knack my chief engineer has for getting more out of people than they thought was their best.

The other reason is that a lot of parts of this ship had been cannibalized for repairing other ships still in service. Most of the duotronics and transtators are gone in many sections that would otherwise be considered non-critical if it had become necessary to reactivate the ship in an emergency to go fight during the war. This is playing to our advantage. In many places, old plasma conduits are simply exposed and ready to remove. This has the added advantage of letting them drop in ODN lines and isolinear chip arrays after replacing the conduits, with no lost time. Once the refit is complete, I intend to put in recommendation for commendation for my entire engineering staff, as well as those from the surplus depot who assisted. End log.


"Come on lads, hustle. Hustle! These three decks will all be finished by th' time alpha shift comes on in the mornin', or ah'll knoo th' reason why!" MacLeod bellowed, his brogue thickening with his exhaustion.

"Commander!" Baker called, "They may get these done by morning, but if you keep up like this, you'll be done by morning too. Go to your quarters, go to bed, and get some sleep."

Connor started, "Ah just need tae..."

"Get some sleep and get it now, Connor. That's what you need," Baker interrupted. "Do I have to call the doctor and have him make it a prescription?"

Commander MacLeod deflated, "Noo sir."

"Good," Baker paused and looked around the deck, then looked back at his chief engineer. "Mac?"

"Aye, Sir?" MacLeod asked.

"You're still here," Jack observed.

"Ah. Sorry sir," LtCdr MacLeod replied. However, he made no move for the lift.

"Dismissed, Commander," Baker barked out in frustration.

MacLeod started, "Oh! Aye sir!" and finally moved to the lift, his Captain looking after him with an ill-concealed grin on his face.

"Geeze, Mac," Baker muttered sotto voce as he left deck 12, and continued to himself while reminiscing, "I thought I was the only one dumb enough to try to pull a triple shift on my first chief engineer's billet."

            *      *      *

Jack walked into the rec room tiredly after finishing a personal assessment of the ship.

"Good evening, Captain," Jack's exec greeted him in a warm contralto.

"Good evening, Genvieve," Jack answered tiredly.

"Long day, Sir?" LtCdr. Lopez asked.

"Long week, Gen. Loooooong week," Jack answered. "Buuuut, I think we might end up almost on schedule anyway. Mac's good. So are his people, and Erik's crews are working very well with ours. Although I did just have to order our intrepid Commander MacCleod to go get some sleep. Regardless, we might end up only needing to do the little stuff, like laying new carpet, on our way out to our first assignment."

"Well Captain, that's good," Genvieve affirmed.

"Gen, we're off duty. Call me Jack. I'm still not used to being 'the old man' yet, anyway," Baker said good-naturedly.

"Captain...Jack, we haven't seen eachother in years," Lopez started, "I..."

"Doesn't matter. We're old academy buddies. Why do you think I requested you as my XO?" Jack interrupted.

"Requested?" Genvieve asked incredulously.

"Is that so hard to believe? When Erik said you were in this sector and hadn't gotten your exec's billet yet, I jumped at the chance. I know almost nobody on this ship, and I needed to be sure I had a first officer whose capabilities and good judgement I knew. You didn't just get shuffled here randomly. I had to call in favors from three different former COs of mine just to get you here, Commander, so don't you ever forget that you're here because you specifically were wanted and needed aboard this ship! Clear, Gen?"

"Clear, Jack," Lieutenant Commander Genvieve Lopez answered with a bemused smile. "You know, you never seemed to value my judgement so much at the Academy."

"We all make mistakes, Gen. I was in love with that nutcase. I didn't know she was a section 8 waiting to happen, and I couldn't be stuffed to listen to anyone speaking ill of her. But that's why I picked you now. Because despite my personal myopia, you were right and you had my best interests at heart. So I know that as my Number One, your sound judgement will serve you just as well now. Only I promise to listen to you this time around," Jack finished with a rather chagrinned look on his face.

"I'll hold you to that," Gen countered, "So here's my first bit of advice. You ordered the chief engineer to bed. Why don't you take a dose of your own medicine? You look like hell, Jack."

Baker answered sardonically, "Gee thanks, Gen. You really know how to cheer a guy up."

"Just go to bed already, Jack. You're dead tired."

"Alright already. I'm going, I'm going!" Jack laughingly answered as he stood up. He then turned toward the door and headed out to his quarters, not seeing the fond smile on his exec's face...

[Jaeih t`Radaik]

Nice, Josh. Good continuation. Now all we need is something like this, say, every week?

[CaptJosh]

I don't know about every week, but I intend to be much more frequent with my writing. Intentions aside, though, if the characters aren't speaking to me, I don't have anything to write. *shrug*

[Grim Reaper]

not shrug, write!

[CaptJosh]

Is that a new version of your trademarked "Gimme more!", Grim?

[Grim Reaper]

something like it yeah

[Scottish Andy]

Looking good, Josh. I see you're taking up the idea of the CO and XO having some underlying sexual/romatic theme.

Hmm.... Wonder what gave you that idea... *smiles as he twists your tail*

So, there is more of this, yes?

[CaptJosh]

Actually, I'm leaving it open-ended. They might just be good friends. I don't know. The characters haven't told me yet. And yes, there is more to come.

[CaptJosh]

Apologies for a long delay, folks. But without further ado, I present...

Chapter 6

Captain's personal log, stardate 54874.6: With all major repair work virtually complete and the relaunch of the Howard Hughes a day way, I turn to matters of a more festive nature...

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two people together in Holy Matrimony. If anyone here has any reason why these two should not be joined together in marriage, speak now, or forever hold your peace," the minister spoke, using a formula centuries old, yet somehow always new and wonderful.

Silence filled the chapel on the station.

"Do you, Erik, take Sonja to be your lawfully wedded wife? In sickness and in health? In good times and in bad? Forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Erik smiled at Sonja.

"And do you, Sonja, take Erik to be your lawfully wedded husband? In sickness and in health? In good times and in bad? Forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?"

Softly she answered, "I do," and smiled back at Erik.

"Do you have the rings?"

Erik and Sonja each pulled out the wedding bands and without prompting, Erik first took Sonja's hand and placed the ring on her finger, saying the age old words, "With this ring, I thee wed."

Sonja then took Erik's hand and placed the band on his finger, echoing Erik, "With this ring, I thee wed."

The minister spoke up, "These rings are a symbol covenant between you, sworn and attested to by you in the presence of these witnesses. As the circle has no end, so is your love and faithfulness to one another. With their exchange, you bond yourselves to eachother. So, by the power vested in me by the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you husband and wife. And what God has brought together, let none break asunder." The minister paused and turned to Erik, "You may kiss your bride."

Erik took Sonja in his arms and kissed her passionately to the cheers of all assembled, in particular, those of Jack Baker and Genvieve Lopes, though each could not conceal the wistful look their eyes.

As the newlyweds finally broke their kiss, the minister took their hands and turned them toward the assembled officers and enlisted personell. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Erik and Sonja Callahan!"

If anything the cheers were even louder than when they kissed, and the happy couple was stopped on their way down the aisle as people hugged them and offered congratulations.

While Genvieve hung back, Jack walked up to Erik and hugged him, pounding him on the back, then let go and looked at both his friends. "I envy you, Erik. You take good care of him, Sonja."

Sonja replied suggestively, "Oh I'm going to take very good care of him, Jack," which caused Erik to blush almost purple and Jack (and everyone else within earshot, for that matter) to roar with laughter at his friend's expense as they moved out of the chapel and on to the reception.

        *       *       *

"They look so perfect together...," Genvieve observed wistfully as she watched the newlyweds dance.

"That they do, Gen. Than they do," Jack answered softly, startling his exec.

"Commander! I didn't hear you walk up," Lieutenant Lopez replied.

"Come on, Gen. You've known me for years. We're off duty. Call me Jack. Or I'll start calling you 'Lieutenant Commander.'"

In mock horror she replied, "Oh no, Jack! Anything but that!" Genvieve grinned, but then frowned.

"What's wrong?" queried Jack.

"It's just...I see them together," Lopez gestured at Erik and Sonja out on the dance floor, "and I find myself feeling rather lonely. It's times like this that I wonder if I'm ever going to find someone that special, someone to come home to, to spend the rest of my life with..."

A pained look settled Jack's face. He took a shuddering breath and answered shakily, "You and me both, Gen. You and me both..."

Genvieve looked back at her CO, "Oh hell, Jack. I'm sorry. I forgot about...her."

Jack shook his head, "Don't be sorry, Jen. You've nothing to be sorry for. At least someone forgot her. Besides, you've got every right to wonder that after...whatshisname...that idiot who didn't know a good thing when it was right in front of his face. You've as much pain as I." Jack bit his lip as he closed his eyes trying once more to forget the woman who had been the best thing in his life and yet had almost destroyed him.

Lopez moved to Baker's side and put an arm around his waist, hugging him from the side. "You'll be ok, Skipper. So will I. Pain doesn't last forever...," she trailed off and paused, then finished wryly, "It only feels like it."

Jack turned his head to the side and looked at Genvieve with a wry smile of his own. He put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze too, "You said it Gen. You said it," Jack paused for a bit, regarding his XO with a steady gaze, perhaps having begun to see her in a new light.

Genvieve blushed under Baker's gaze, glanced down, then looked back up right into his eyes and smiled, still blushing.

Jack broke the not quite awkward silence as the song changed, "Miz Lopez," he started, his southern accent, normally barely detectable, having suddenly thickened,"May Ah have this dance?"

Gen blushed a touch deeper and matched his accent on purpose, something she had been able to do since their Academy days, "Why Mr. Baker, Ah'd be delighted."

The two moved out onto the dance floor and all traces of their earlier unhappiness vanished as they began to dance and simply enjoy themselves...

[Governor Ronjar]

Nice, Josh. Good continuation. Now all we need is something like this, say, every week?

A comment such as this from someone who REGULARLY disappears or simply leaves us a link to where her real work is... I seee....

Anywho, this is a good story thus far. I'd put off reading for some time, but today finally decided to sit down and put in the time. And I couldn't stop reading it till I got here...

Excellent job. Get this ship out there, Mister!

--thu guv'!

[CaptJosh]

Oh wow...I did that good? *blush*

Thanks, Guv. My english teachers always said I had talent in creative writing. I guess praise from a fellow author proves it. After all, any idiot can get acclaim from a critic.

[Scottish Andy]

Hey Josh,

This was just a bite-sized piece. I don't know if it's just because I'm re-readign this cold or not as the scene in itself was done well, but it didn't really speak to me. (Aside: This must be what Kadh felt like when he read my later Chronicles...lol.)

Anyway, you have some foreshadowing what with the CO's mysterious past, but too little is known (or maybe I just don't remember from earlier in the strory) to make it an effective hook for me.

You may want to consider extending the length of your scene... I'm not a blogger, I need some meat to my reads. *grin*

[CaptJosh]

I'm not a blogger either. Forshadowing of mysterious past? What? This was a promise of things to come, not looking back. It's just that in order to move forward, something had to be said about the crazy ex, who, by they way was also mentioned back in chapter 3 as well. Sure I'll get around to his academy days and that girl we only know as "Little Miss Section 8" eventually, but Jack's past is not the main theme here. The idea I thought I was conveying is that a man who got rather emotianally gutted in the past but managed to move on is now beginning to truly heal, even as he heals this gutted ship that is his new command. Chapter six was an interlude of sorts, but a necessary one. And as for "making it longer," the way I write, once characters are well established, at least in my mind, I only really have what they tell me. It's like La'ra's Klingons chittering away in his head, if you will.

[CaptJosh]

Ok, I'm actually working on a new chapter, folks. I'm sorry I left you hanging for so long. So far, I just got the ship out of spacedock, and headed outsystem, so I should have a post within a couple days.

[Governor Ronjar]

'Bout goran time!

--thu guv!

[Commander La'ra]

Shiny!

[CaptJosh]

Another apology. I got stuck, and now I've moved. I'm not sure when I'll have a new chapter done for you folks. Real life has me by the short hairs.

[Governor Ronjar]

 

I see Capt. Josh has posted a reply.

I click on it hoping for a LONG awaited update.

I find an apology...

BAH!!!

Anyway, hope R/L straightens out for you. Mine becomes hectic at times as well. Haven't forgotten about you. Still patiently waiting for your ship here to launch...

--thu guv!

[CaptJosh]

Ok folks, first of all, sorry to have disappeared on everyone. Work was kicking my ass for the longest time.

Second, I may have an update soon, as I think I have finally sorted out just where the hell the Qualor system is. Took some help from some friends, but it looks like it's actually the ass-end of nowhere as far as Federation space goes. It's out beyond the neutral zone, which makes sense. There wouldn't be all the sensors and crap for the smugglers to have to go around to get the stolen transports from Depot Z15 into Romulan space for the events in "Unification". In any case, it does limit where the intrepid crew of the Howard Hughes could get in a reasonable amount of time in a refitted Miranda class vessel.

Hopefully I have actual story next time I post here. I hate having to make these posts that don't give you folks what you really want.

[Czar Mohab]

And now I add my two cp...

I haven't gone "back in time" too far, so it is highly possible that this story was just passed over while I was reading others, so I am glad that you posted and bumped it.

It was a great read so far.

I don't really see any problems that stand out. Perhaps something minor that I skimmed over, but I doubt it.

There is *something* between CO and XO, but more like a past familiarity than something developing right away. I'm thinking that she had the hots for him way back when he was unavailable, but again, that could just be the state of their friendship.

The wedding scene smacks of "Whats in this CO's past?" You've explained some of the interrelationships between the toons, however, I was left wondering what had this guy done? Note, THIS IS A GOOD THING. I'm certain that when you post the next part, we'll know more.

Take your time. Real life sucks, we all know, but I think we'd rather have a long wait for a good piece than a rushed weekly installment that is sub-par.

I will be looking forward to more, whenever it shows up. I'm not picky about deadlines, either. So if you say a day and it takes a week, well maybe it's a weekday...

Czar "Now back to work!" Mohab ""

[CaptJosh]

Well, It has been a long, LONG time since I posted to this I have since acquired a copy of Star Trek Star Charts, and discovered that the Qualor system is actually near the intersection of Federation, Klingon, and Romulan borders. That makes this a bit tougher to write. Add to that a long time case of writer's block on this story and you have a years' long hiatus about which I am highly embarrassed. I think I might be able to finally give you guys chapter 7 soon though.

[LaineyBugsDaddy]

So I WAS going to post more story here, but my CaptJosh account got locked out when I changed e-mail addresses. I don't know why, but I've been waiting for about two months now for one of the admins to find the time for fixing it. Kinda put a damper on my writing bug, ya know? Anyway, if I get the urge, I'll post something even using this new account I had to create. Sorry folks.

[CaptJosh]

Ok. Finally got ahold of Frey directly and got my account unlocked. Now I could maybe write again. I do want to continue this story a lot. That said, the wife and I have a one month old baby, so progress will likely be slow. Still I hope to have a new chapter somewhere inside a month.

[CaptJosh]

OOC: Well, not that anyone is still following this thread but, I'm baaaaa-aaaaack...

Chapter 7

Captain's log, Stardate 54880.8: Despite the setbacks of extra time to get the impulse engines operational and a complete overhaul of the EPS grid, the Howard Hughes is about to pull out of spacedock on schedule. All necessary repairs and refits have been completed, leaving only tasks which do not require the ship be docked, mostly those of a cosmetic nature. I find myself anxious to get the ship under weigh and our shakedown cruise started, and the ship seems as anxious as I.

"Jack, Chief Engineer MacLeod reports that all tests on the new EPS grid are complete, and everything on the green. All other departments report ready for launch," Lopez reported.

"Thanks, Gen." Baker acknowledged, punching a button on the arm of his command chair, "Bridge to engineering."

"Engineerin'. MacLeod here," came back over the comm system.

"Good job, Mac. We stand ready to launch for shakedown cruise."

"I cannae take all th' credit, sair. For once in mah career, the yard dogs were more helpful than otherwise. Tell your friend over there at the Z15 station that he has good people, skipper," MacLeod returned.

"I'll be sure to let Erik know, Mac. Bridge out."

"Engineering out."

"Helm, bring up the running lights. All stations, secure for undocking and launch maneuvers. Comms, hail spacedock control and request permission to undock," Baker ordered, the commands coming rapidly, betraying his eagerness to get under weigh, but it was an eagerness clearly shared by all aboard. With two weeks spent frantically repairing and refitting their vessel, it was time for her to return to her home, open space between the stars.

"Captain, dock control stands ready to release umbilicals and docking clamps," the comms officer reported as Connor MacLeod exited the turbolift and stepped on to the bridge, moving quickly to the replacement for the console that had nearly exploded in his face a few days ago.

"Mac, switch over to internal power," Baker ordered, "Helm, thrusters to station keeping."

"Aye, Sair. Switching to internal power...switchover complete," MacLeod reported.

"Thrusters to station keeping, aye Sir," answered the helm officer.

"Comms, signal spacedock control, disconnect umbilicals and release docking clamps."

"Spacedock control acknowledges, Sir. Umbilicals and docking clamps releasing now," reported the communications officer.

"We are clear to leave spacedock, Skipper," the helmsman reported.

"Thrusters, ahead dead slow until we clear the dock, then go to one quarter impulse until we clear the depot," Baker commanded with a grin.

"Aye, aye, Skipper. Thrusters ahead dead slow. We will clear spacedock in 10 seconds, 9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...Clearing spacedock now, Sir. Going to one quarter impulse," the helmsman reported happily.

"Signal from the station commander's office, Captain," the comms officer interjected.

"On screen."

"If I didn't know better, Jack, I'd say you've been taking lessons from Captain Scott. By the book, this should have been a two month job and we both know it. Longer with the EPS grid disaster," Erik stated without preamble as he came up on the main viewer.

"Well, you and I both know that I did study his reports from his time on the Enterprise and Enterprise A extensively, Erik. If I didn't pick up on his time saving techniques from those, then I wouldn't deserve to be an engineer on a tramp freighter, much less refit and then command a Starfleet Corps of Engineers vessel," Jack grinned, and his old academy buddy Erik grinned right back.

"You got that right...I still envy you, Jack. You're sitting where I want to be, the center seat of a starship. She may be old, but she's all yours," Erik opined.

"You'll get your shot, Erik. They can't keep a guy like you piloting a desk forever. Clear ether, Viking."

Erik nodded, "Clear ether, Spanner, and happy landings. Depot Z15 out."

"Howard Hughes out."

"Captain, we are clear of the depot," the helmsman reported, then asked, "What course, Sir?"

"Set course for Starbase 23. Full impulse until we're 4 AU out. By then Mac here," Jack gestured toward the Chief Engineer at the Environmental/Engineering console, "should have his intermix calculations complete. At that time, I expect we'll proceed at warp 5 for our shakedown cruise."

"Aye, Aye, Skipper," the helm officer answered, "Course plotted and laid in."

"Engage," Baker ordered, and the ship began to sail out of the Qualor system at full impulse as Jack stood up and addressed his exec, "Gen, you have the bridge. I'm going to get some rack time, maybe catch up on some reports. Call me if anything interesting happens."

"Of course, Jack. I have the conn," Lopez answered warmly.

Baker stepped into the turbolift and ordered, "Deck 2," then stepped out almost immediately again as the lift reached the deck below the bridge. Making his way to his quarters, Jack went inside and flopped down on his bed with a relieved sigh. So far, so good, he thought to himself, Despite the hiccups, we're under weigh. The new carpets and other cosmetic refit issues should be done by the time we reach Starbase 23 and the minor things that don't require a spacedock should be completed a bit sooner than that. Relaxing, the engineer turned starship captain drifted off for a much needed nap. Though he had not shown it as much, he had spent almost as much extra time working on the ship as the chief engineer he had chewed out for trying to pull a triple shift.

[d4v1ks]

What's comming next?

[CaptJosh]

You'll just have to read and find out. Wish the old fanfic board regulars were here too, though. I miss them all (Czar Mohab, Grim, Scottish Andy, Commander La'ra, Jaeih t`Radaik, Governor Ronjar, etc.). Don't suppose you're familiar with them and where they might be these days? Not to say that I don't appreciate that you've taken the time to read a story took a nearly decade long hiatus; I do appreciate it very much. It just doesn't feel right without the old gang here, is all.

[Javora]

I still see Grim every once in a blue moon at Pun's place.  He usually just lurks but doesn't post.  I haven't seen the others in years.

[CaptJosh]

Well tell him that CaptJosh is actually writing again. He might remember me. He did comment on this story at one point.