PLOT - JL - Com Ivanova, Cmdr Dahe'el, CO & XO | "And We're Off!"

Posted on Fri Jul 28th, 2017 @ 4:57am by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander Almar Dahe'el

1,193 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Ballynamony
Location: Bridge, USS Vindicator F

Despite being in command as the time approached to launch from Earth Spacedock, Almar was sat in the executive officer's chair. He'd installed the chairs designed for comfort for their usual occupants and his was now working its magic as he thumbed through the console installed in the arm. There were still far too many things not installed but both he and Rochelle had been adamant about getting back out into space and doing what they do best. He wanted to stretch their legs and see how the ship performed.

"I'm only here to watch. This is your show." Rochelle announced, showing Almar her palms as she crossed the bridge from the lift doors. It was almost as if he'd expected her to show up, the way he was perched in his own chair and leaving hers wide open for the taking. "I've been having helm run simulations all week on how to take her out safely... Let's just hope it works."

"You might as well take your seat, its designed for you." the Cardassian replied as he regarded the helm officer before him, sitting alongside the operations officer in the standard formation that had become the norm among Starfleet vessels in the last thirty years. The look on his face turned serious as he focused his attention on the view of the dock on the viewscreen, "Inform dock command that we intend to depart. Spin up the cores and disengage umbilical connections, Helm, thrusters to station keeping as soon as we're clear." Almar commanded as he rattled through the procedures.

Doing just as he asked, the Commodore slid into the posh confines of the command chair and set back for the duration of the launch - and event she honestly wouldn't have missed for most anything. Almar was in his element, taking his gigantic love child out from a particularly interesting situation and out into the black and the mystery waiting for them. Vindicator shook gently as her the umbilicals holding her in place broke away and left her to her own power. Power that surged and whirred as it further kicked in, sending life through the waking giant in a function that could only be described as seamless. Rochelle couldn't help but smile like the Cheshire Cat.

"Helm, full thrusters ahead to the dock doors, take us down fifty meters on the Z-axis to avoid the central spire, angle up and out of the doors." Almar continued as he monitored their position on the console in the arm of his chair.

Slowly, the Vindicator's momentum began to build as she drifted towards the spacedock's doors and onward towards her freedom. She may have been sleepy, but she was elegant - streamlined. Each foot felt like it took an eternity to pass, though in reality it was relatively quick as the ship sailed past faces lining levels of windows - each eager to catch a final glimpse of the beast as it left. Rochelle knew that it would a long long time before the Vindicator approached Earth again, and though she couldn't see them, she knew they were there... Andrea likely one of them as she big them farewell. "She's feeling well." The redhead mused, following the same readouts she knew Almar would be.

"I'm not so sure," the Cardassian replied with a slight sigh as he ran his hand over the hardened surface of the arm of the chair, feeling for the minuscule vibrations coming up through the superstructure of the ship, "Something feels off with the inertial dampeners, nothing major but certainly something to mark for engineering to look into." he added as he committed the note to his report he was compiling. On the viewscreen, the dock doors had parted and the Vindicator was beginning to stalk through them and out into open space. "Once we're confirmed clear of the dock, Helm, one quarter impulse until we're clear of Earth and then full impulse towards the edge of the system, Ops and Engineering, prepare to bring all four cores up to full power and bring the Slipstream drive online."

Blinking, Rochelle looked over at her first officer with eyes full of question and perhaps even a touch of admiration, "I'd ask how you know that, but I have the feeling that you'd reply with something like 'The ship and I are one' and then I'd laugh and you'd be serious... Let's just not go down that road today." She grinned, teasing him with a shake of her head. Inertial dampeners were one thing that she'd prefer not being problematic, but in the grand scheme of things if something had to go wrong with the ship, they were a relatively easy fix for an engineering team as skilled as Vindicator's. Almar wouldn't have allowed for anyone less than the most stellar engineers Starfleet had to offer to touch so much as a bolt, let alone mess with systems integral to their survival. Rochelle may have been the great ship's Skipper, but Almar was every bit it's proud father much in the way Frankenstein was responsible for his monster.

"The vibrations, they feel different, something is misaligned." the Cardassian replied quickly as the ship moved onwards.

No sooner did they clear the gates than the Vindicator's speed pick up, her nose turning away from the planet off to her starboard side, and the trip to the unknown. The pulsing thrum of the warp core coming online slowly set in, creating the daily rhythm of the lives they'd lead from that point on. It would fade into the background, a constant comfort - like a heartbeat - that they'd seldom listen for or acknowledge... Almar would use it to discern whether or not the ship was in ship shape and Rochelle would use it as a way to assure herself all was right in their world. So long as that beat kept going, they'd be alright.

Almar stretched out slightly in his seat and adjusted his uniform jacket by pulling it down at the waist slightly, "Helm, lets get in a quick run to stretch our legs," he stated with a slight smile, "Vulcan perhaps?" a look was flashed over to the redhead sat next to him, "Yes, I think Vulcan will do, Warp One and increase up to Warp Seven."

Rochelle could see the sly smile in his eyes and wrapped around the language of his massive frame. It wasn't often that he draped himself across his seat in such a manner, relaxed and content, but when he did... It was magic. It meant that things were well in their world, that he was allowing himself a moment of pride where he didn't knit pick and tear his work apart. Something may have been slightly out of tune, but it was trivial enough that he let it set off to the side. "Alright, Almar." the tone she carried was teasingly maternal, "but after your fun... Nebula. The sooner we can check back in with Admiral Red, the better."

(To Be Continued...)

Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS Vindicator NX 78213 - F

&

Commander Almar Dahe'el
Executive Officer
USS Vindicator NX 78213 - F

 

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