Carthage Away
Posted on Sun May 10th, 2015 @ 9:06am by Commander Titus Livius Drusus PhD & Ensign Corrine Steiner & Lieutenant Commander Kaya Innis & Lieutenant Alana Tovan
Mission:
Pandemic [Incomplete]
Location: Main Bridge, USS Carthage
The doors hushed open to reveal Commander Titus Livius Drusus standing dead centre in the turbolift car with a severe look on his face and his hands clasped tight behind his back. He mustered all the aloof dignity he could as he strode out onto the bridge of the USS Carthage and scanned the control centre of the ship with piercing eyes, making sure everybody was at their station. They were and Drusus was pleased.
He rounded the railing and stood in front of the command chair, preferring to stand at a moment like this. Back straight as a spear he breathed in, nostrils flaring subtly as he savoured the moment. This was Drusus's first real mission to command, the first time he would order a starship out of a starbase as anything other than an officer of the watch and it was most certainly going to his head. Generations of proud Magna Roman blood coursed through his veins and every drop screamed that this was where he belonged.
A smiled tugged at the corner of his lips and he stifled it quickly by looking down at Operations. "Ensign Steiner," he snapped. "Do we have clearance to depart?"
"Board is green, all moorings retracted."
Over her earpiece, she heard, This is Harbor Control. USS BoB is cleared for departure.
Corrie squinted her eyes, making a self-promise to track down the clown. 'BoB' was the prestigious descriptor reserved for Excelsiors, meaning 'Bucket of Bolts'. Now wasn't the time to start any fires. "We are cleared for departure, Commander."
The commander nodded in response, but didn't say anything to acknowledge the report. Instead, he tapped his commbadge and said, "Drusus to Engineering. Lieutenant Tovan, are you ready to get those engines running?"
Alana Tovan stood at her station in main engineering, the warp core humming across from her. She tapped her commbadge in response to the hail. Engines are standing by, sir, as promised. We have warp power at your command.
"Good work, Lieutenant," Drusus replied, then cut the connection. He turned to face the doctor, who was seated at the third chair in the centre of the bridge. "Doctor, is medical all set?"
"As ready as can be," Dr. Innis answered, her hands folded in her lap. Not only had the Carthage's sickbays been prepped as best as they could with multiple levels of decontamination and stage treatment areas, but the worst had been accounted for, too, and morgue had a section set aside for contagious fallen. In a perfect test, there could be no spread of the disease, but the moment you added variables like people, any set up had a margin of error.
Drusus nodded and turned to the front of the bridge. "Helm, engage thrusters," he said, pausing for half a heartbeat. "Take us out."
The Carthage moved under the own power, slipping out of her docking bay and gliding through the cavernous open inside of the Starbase toward the giant outer doors. A couple of shuttles fired thrusters to get out of the way of the ship, moving gracefully through the vacuum. In a few moments, she slipped through the outer doors and was free of the embrace of Starbase 332.
On the bridge, it suddenly felt more real for Drusus; he was really the man in charge of this ship. The lives of everybody aboard were his responsibility. The success of the mission was his responsibility. It weighed heavily on his shoulders, but like a great coat on a freezing day in Caledonia, it felt good.
Kaya hadn't expected to be back on a ship again shortly after stepping foot on the station. At least on board the Carthage- which was a lovely ship if she'd ever seen one- she wasn't sitting in the back row of a cramped little searing area between a cranky bolian mother and a heavy snorer for several hours. Heading into a plague zone wasn't exactly ideal, no, but she honestly preferred it over trying to figure out how to slowly transition back into the role. At least jumping straight in, you had the stress and pressure helping push you back into the old rotes.
Now that the ship was free of the Starbase, Drusus took his seat in the centre chair and thumbed the control to activate the ship-wide address. "All hands, this is Commander Drusus," he said, stopping short of giving himself the honorific title of captain for reasons he didn't fully understand. "We are about to go to warp. Our destination is Monon Three. There, a Starfleet science team has been studying a pre-warp civilisation from behind a duck blind. During their studies, they have detected an unusual virus among the native population that may not have originated on that planet. Our mission is to assist the researchers and undertake field studies of this virus to try and determine its origin.
"This is a scientific mission, but as always we must be prepared for any eventuality. I will want all departments to maintain high readiness and stand by to assist where needed. Drusus out."
Corrie stared at mainscreen. "Xenophage..." she whispered to herself. If this were an intentional infection, then she couldn't help but assume that the virus couldn't be the only surprise waiting for Carthage's arrival.
Sitting back in the captain's chair with his hands holding the end of the armrests, Drusus glanced over to the flight control officer. "Helm, lay in a course for Monon Three. Warp seven." He paused, giving the helmsman time to complete the input before following up with the classic order that every person who dreamed of being a starship captain practiced in the mirror. "Engage."
Commander Titus Livius Drusus
Acting Commanding Officer
Ensign Corrie Steiner
Chief Operations Officer
Lieutenant Alana Tovan
Chief Engineer
Lt. Commander Kaya Innis
Chief Medical Officer (SB 332)
