Stranded in a Little Boat
Posted on Wed Feb 14th, 2024 @ 7:41am by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Petty Officer 1st Class Kipp Lak
562 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
Mission 1: A Long Hard Road Ahead
Location: Gamma Quadrant, USS Firebird
Timeline: 23 August 2396, 1750 Hours
[ON]
Malcom sat in his command chair, taking in the damage reports as they came in and giving orders as needed. One of his best command abilities was to be able to remain composed, assess situations, and give concise orders. Back in the academy when he'd taken the Kobayashi Maru test, he'd been commended by the training cadre for being the reason his group of cadets had made it so far. Nowhere near as far as Kirk but farther than anyone had made it in twelve years.
So as Malcom sat, bringing calm to a crew that was anxious and scared and still running on the adrenaline of the combat, he knew that they were at the beginning of something, not the end.
"Sir," Kipp said. "Commander Leed has departed via shuttlecraft for the disabled Bajoran ship. He's taken Nurse Beddite, Ensign Mox and Petty Officer Fhiri."
"Thank you Kipp," Malcom said. "What about the rest of our preparations?"
Kipp picked up a PADD from his console and stepped over to the captain. "Sir, the EMH says that the EVA team is recovering well. I think his exact words were 'Petty Officer Lak, if they weren't recovering well, I'd have asked for this meeting. Now please get out of the way so I can do my job.'"
Malcom smiled. He had to admit that the EMH was good at his job and not shy about letting everyone know. "What about DS18?"
Kipp shook his head. "They have secondary power to the first and third pylons but the main power is completely out. Our scans indicate multiple life forms, including some that we have never seen before. Commander Rees is putting together the breaching team as per your instructions. There were a lot of volunteers, sir."
"I would expect nothing less," Malcom said. Looking around the bridge he realized how many of the lower-ranked personnel were taking the places of those heading for the station. It made him feel old for a moment. He sighed.
"I want the science team prepped and ready to go when the shuttlecraft gets back from Commander Leed's outing. They will use the Runabout as their base and try to figure out what exactly closed the wormhole and whether it can be reversed."
"Aye, sir," Kipp said.
Malcom touched his command console, opening a channel to the entire ship and the Runabout.
"All hands this is the Captain. I want to congratulate you all on your performance during the skirmish. I know each of you contributed to our success and survival. As of now, the wormhole appears to be closed. We don't know for how long. We do know we have a damaged space station and unknown enemies in force who could still be waiting nearby," Malcom said and then paused, letting the silence draw out a moment. "But we've been here before, haven't we? We've faced traitors, changelings, and rebel Cardassians. We've crashed this ship more than once. We've disobeyed orders and saved our crew. We've always been able to overcome anything because we work together. This will be no different. I expect your best every day until this is over. You've had six months of rest. Let's get back to work. Llwyedd out."
[OFF]
Captain Malcom Llwyedd
Commanding Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298
By Lieutenant Owen Woodhouse on Mon May 27th, 2024 @ 1:57pm
Though not a pivotal plot moment, this scene is just the kind of interaction that makes the story and the characters so very rich and fun to read. Enjoyed it.