Skyward, Starward

Posted on Wed Feb 26th, 2014 @ 4:52pm by Captain Tim Williams & Commander Gaius Ra-Xialii & Lieutenant Commander Horatio Hawke & Lieutenant Commander Ciaran McIntyre & Lieutenant Ethan Kessel & Counselor Melony Taylor & Doctor Devoni Jala & Ensign Leon Kingson
Edited on on Thu Feb 27th, 2014 @ 11:44pm

Episode: Orphans
Location: USS Highlander - Bridge
Timeline: MD08 0910hrs

As Tim materialised on the pad in transporter room one, he couldn't help but grin to himself as he made his way briskly, PADD in hand, towards the turbolift and the bridge. After what must have been the quickest staffing of a starship in recent history - the crew had all reported aboard just over one week after the ship was declared fit to receive a crew - Tim had just returned from the Starfleet Command complex in Pike City, with his new orders. As he walked the corridors, he slapped the combadge on his chest. "Williams to Ra-Xialii. Get everyone to their duty posts. We're finally getting out of here."

"Aye," Gaius replied, seated on the bridge, "Attention all hands, make ready to put out to sea, report to designated duty shift positions. Push off in 5 minutes. XO out."

Gaius had never experienced a starship taking off from a planet before, it would be an exciting first for him. He took a sip from his steaming cup of Vulcan brew coffee. Turning his attention to the Tactical station, upon hearing a slight argument emerging.

"Yeah, and I'm telling you that if it comes to it, we'll both be stuck in this wee gap trying to get to the turbolift." Mac seemed to be berating the junior officer who was crushed into the small tactical station. "It's not your fault, kid. Starfleet regulations do state that we're supposed to have two tactical officers on watch at any one time but I tell you what- I'll handle it for now and I'll take it up with the President of the Federation if we get into trouble." He winked at the young Crewman and sent him on his way.

Tim's transit through the turbolift was quiet by comparison to the journeys the rest of the crew would likely be taking. Most crew wouldn't be at their usual duty stations whilst the ship was on the surface, so as soon as Gaius had given the order, crew would be moving around the ship to get to their posts. As such, the bridge wasn't fully staffed by the time Tim got there, though the senior staff arrived soon enough.

The turbolift doors had barely parted when Hawke squeezed through them and jogged eagerly down to the helm, rubbing his hands together and smiling like a kid at Christmas. His time on Cestus III had been a tumultuous series of highs and terrible lows and the prospect of him putting the place physically behind him left him with a feeling of elated relief. He smiled at the captain as he took his seat, "About time we got off this rock, isn't it, Captain?"

"I hear that," Mac butted in, mainly to irritate Hawke's sense of protocol, "I still owe that bookie five strips of Latinum. 'Bet on Lakeside City,' you said, 'they're much better away from home,' you said."

Hawke rolled his eyes and shook his head at Mac's exaggerated complaining. He decided not to engage in round seven over that ill-fated bet here on the bridge as they were about to slip the surly bonds of Cestus III. But Lakeside City were much better away from home. Instead, he spun in his chair, logged into the console and reported, "Helm standing by."

"You should know better, Mac," Tim said, referring to the security chief by his nickname rather than by rank. "The Pike City Pioneers almost never lose when they're playing at home." The captain made his way around the railing to reach his command chair, though he simply stood in front of it, too eager to leave to sit down. "Are we all equally ready to go?" he said, after tapping a control on the raised console between his chair and Gaius' to ensure his voice carried to the other members of the senior staff either not or not yet on the bridge.

"Aye, it always ends up being my fault Skipper." Mac replied, trying out the nickname and quickly deciding he hated it. "All tactical systems are green. Captain."

Ethan Kessel's voice burst over the com-systems. "Engineering to all Stations. All systems are Green. We are ready to depart. Standing by."

"Sickbay reporting. All Medical Personnel are aboard and awaiting orders." came the voice of the Chief Medical Officer Doctor Devoni Jala.

The turbolift doors opened again and a young officer stepped out. It was Ensign Leon. He calmly waked over to his position, where the operation monitors displayed numerous statistics and data. Shield status, hull pressures, and other essential information. He did a brief scan of the displays, checking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Sir, all systems look good. This bird is ready to fly!" Leon's voice drifted from the console to the left of the captain where he stood grinning. He was clearly enjoying this. And why wouldn't he? This would be his first official mission for his star-fleet career. With him on the bridge as well.

Melony found herself unable to stop smiling, getting caught up in the overall good mood eagerness from some of of the crew to leave. Watching those on bridge working together, everyone clearly within their element, She found herself looking at the captain convinced that he was having an almost contagious effect on everyone on the bridge, although she appeared calm she was just as thrilled to be leaving staying still to long had never suited her.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Tim said, turning towards Horatio, and finally dropping himself into his chair. "Hawke; take us up."

Hawke grinned as he tapped away at his console and said, “Aye aye, sir!” He activated the address system and announced to the ship, “All hands, prepare for lift off.”

Gaius chimed in, "Set condition blue, secure all exterior hatches and make ready to retract the landing gear."

Hawke called up the lift off control sequence and fired the ventral thrusters, kicking up a minor sand storm in the area around the ship. Slowly at first, the Highlander lifted herself up off the ground and climbed higher and faster.

When he was satisfied that they weren't going to drop back down to the ground, Hawke announced, “We have lift off,” then increased the vertical thrust, taking them through one hundred and fifty metres and tapping the control that retracted the landing gear.

“Gear up,” he reported. “Bringing her onto escape course.” He manoeuvred the ship forty degrees to starboard and lifted the nose near to vertical. “Firing thrusters,” he said, not using the impulse engines to avoid carving a ghastly hole in the surface of the planet.

The thrusters propelled the ship faster and higher through the atmosphere, attaining escape velocity in about five seconds and continuing to accelerate. “Clearing atmo in five … four … three … two … one …”

On the viewscreen, the blue haze of the Cestus sky gradually dissipated and gave way to the bejewelled blackness of space. Hawke let out a faint sigh of relief; it felt good to be in space again.

He fired the impulse engines and settled the ship into a low orbit before confirming what everybody by now would have known. He spun his chair to look back at the captain and the rest of the bridge crew, “We've reached low orbit, Captain. Maintaining altitude at four hundred kilometres.”

Gaius half expected himself to be weightless, now not having any gravity holding him except that of the ships internals. He shook away the thought, and requested a report on all systems from the take off.

"Bit of a let down," Gaius muttered to himself, thinking there would be more turbulence.

"Atmospheric shielding deactivated." McIntyre reported, referencing the light tactical shielding used for take offs. "Standing down Condition Blue."

"Powering down. All systems normal." Leon confirmed the shield had deactivated. "Life support isfunctioning. If you still can't breath it's your own problem." The displays showing the shields at 0%, and a green dot on the ships schematics showed this to be true.

"Set a course for the Cygnet system, and engage at warp eight," Tim said, silently overjoyed at being back in space again. He always enjoyed watching the rise through the atmosphere on the viewscreen, but nothing quite stood up to the view of the stars, or the view of a planet from orbit.

"Aye aye, sir!" Hawke said. "Setting course for the Cygnet System; warp eight." He brought up the Nav Computer Access and entered the coordinates for Cygnet. This part was easy, from a pilot's point of view, but it was also the part when so much could go wrong.

Most of the process was automated, but even so Hawke quickly checked that all warp systems were operating, that there were no potentially deadly lumps of rock floating across their course and, importantly, that the main deflector was at a hundred percent. When he was satisfied, he tapped the flashing red ENGAGE button, and sent them hurtling through space at over a thousand times the speed of light.

Turning to Gaius in the seat next to him, Tim said, "Once we're there, take us into orbit of Cygnet Fourteen. In the mean time, arrange a staff briefing for... eleven hundred hours"

"Very good sir, I'll get it done," Gaius said, already putting the call out to the senior staff's PADDs, as well as bringing up everything about the Cygnet system.

"If anyone needs me," Tim said, raising his voice to talk to the entire bridge staff again. "I'll be in stellar cartography."


_____

Captain Tim Williams
Commanding Officer

Commander Gaius Ra-Xialli
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Horatio Hawke
2O and Chief Helmsman

Lieutenant Ciaran McIntyre
Chief of Security

Lieutenant Ethan Kessel
Chief Engineer

Counselor Melony Taylor
Chief Counselor

Doctor Devoni Jala
Chief Medical Officer

Ensign Leon Kingson
Chief Operations Officer