| Author | Message | ||
     Captain Daren |
"Space Race" ((an alternate teaser for Monday's Sim)) ---- “Captain Daren!” Miranda Forester jogged a bit down the corridor to catch up to him. It was rather late in the ships evening and he was headed to his quarters to retire. Daren heard his name and paused in the hall momentarily to turn to face her. “Yes?” He smiled. “Fresh message in from the Admiral, sir.” Miranda handed him a PADD. Daren accepted. It was not unusual at this time to be getting stray reports at all hours. Only two days earlier, he had made a successful first contact with the Ryla and now this had opened the door for more formal talks to begin. The Admiral and his staff had been making several trips to visit Annas and her fellow Followers of the Faith. “I’ll have a look at it in the morning…” Miranda grinned. “You might want to look over it now, sir. It almost sounds,” she paused a moment, “…fun.” Daren raised an eyebrow. “It does, does it?” He scanned the PADD and had a slight chuckle. “Oh, Marvelous.” The PADD contained information regarding a ceremonial race that was going to be held in honor of the peaceful contact between the Ryla and the people of the Federation. He continued to read on, deeper into the specifics, and Miranda turned to begin to leave. “Yeoman. When was the last time you saw Commander Tal?” “Last I heard she was still on the bridge, Captain. Had some emergency scenarios she wanted to cover with Gamma shift in case you and she both get swept away again.” She had stopped and gave him a moment to think. “Was that all sir?” “Yes, thank you.” He nodded to her. “You may turn in for the night.” She grinned and began walking to the nearest turbolift. Daren tapped his chest. “Commander Tal, this is Captain Daren…” On the bridge, Tal acknowledged his signal. “Tal here, sir.” “Commander, assemble the Senior Staff in the Ward Room. I’d like to have a little informal meeting there. Let’s say, 15 minutes.” Daren was still reading over the PADD. “Of course, Captain.” There was a slight pause, and the com channel almost automatically clicked off before Tal continued. “What’s this about, sir?” “See you in 15 minutes, Commander.” Daren tucked the PADD under his arm and began walking down the corridor. * * * * * Slowly but surely Coronado’s Senior Staff assembled in the Ward Room on Deck 1. It was rarely a place they held meetings, and holding them so late in the shift was even more unusual. The entire senior staff had assembled, that is, save one. “You said the Captain called this meeting?” Commander Oswald the Chief Engineer crossed her arms. Commander Tal simply nodded. “Then where the hell is he?” Oswald’s face seemed to wrinkle up; she never was one to hide her emotions. “I’m sure there is a perfectly reas--…” Tal was interrupted by Captain Daren’s explosive entrance into the room. He spoke up, “Quite sorry everyone!” and walked to one end of the roomed and turned to face the group. Most had been just on their way to sleep as he had, or engaging in one of their personal recreational activities while off duty. If stares could kill, Daren would have been killed 7 times over. “Captain, I don’t mean to interrupt, but…” Doctor Reed, the Chief Medical Officer spoke out. Daren grinned and cut him off, “Oh of course you do, Doctor. Just let me begin if you don’t mind. You see I’ve just been informed of an event that is to take place in the coming days and I wanted you all to be properly informed.” He paused to see what kind of reaction that announcement, if any, would garner from the group. The stares continued, and so did Daren. “This event is a race.” He pressed a control on the nearby wall and a nearby display clicked on, showing most of the information he had received from the Admiral. The group remained quiet for the most part, but many of those who had been mildly annoyed by the evening meeting, now seemed a bit more intrigued. “It just so happens that our new friends, the Ryla, love a good race. Where human cultures throw a party, the Ryla host a race.” Chief of Flight Operations, Maiko D’rall seemed to smile from ear to ear at the thought. “The race is somewhat ceremonial in nature, and we have been invited to become participants in this event.” Daren paused momentarily. “It is of course Starfleet’s founding mandate to seek out new life and new civilizations, and we’re not going to disappoint here. I would like to see a good number of you, my senior staff, join in the race.” He held up his hand. “This is of course a request, not an order, any of you who wish to not participate are welcome to bow out. The Ryla have been very generous and have offered those who do not wish to race, but wish to observe, a prime observing location on their planet. Think, Inter-planetary Sports Bar.” He smiled. “Anyway, moving on. The reason I was a little late was because I just came directly from the Main Shuttle bay where I spoke with the Dock Master and got a specific listing of the small craft Coronado will be able to part with for the next few days. Only small craft are allowed to participate in this race. Spectres, Runabouts, Shuttles, that sort of thing. About the largest vessel that I understand has been cleared for the race is a Wraith.” The screen cycled through the various vehicle selections. “Here is the number of ships we have available for the race. I’m telling you this now because I want to give you every opportunity to find yourself a team and get to work. You will be allowed to use your particular skills in any way you see fit to increase the various abilities of the vessel you choose.” The groups seemed to turn to each other and begin whispering and hatching ideas. Daren smiled, glad that some were getting as enthusiastic as he had been. There were some who still seemed less than amused; Doctor Reed for example continued to have a bit of a negative sneer across his face. It seemed if Reed were going to participate, it would take some coaxing. “Ah yes, please do inform the top people in your departments. We’d like to make this something of a memorable event in the Rylan history.” Maiko raised her hand a bit, “Sir?” “Yes Lieutenant?” “Are you sure we’re not supposed to just let them win, in the interests of Diplomacy?” Daren smiled. “I had the exact same assumption, but it expressly says in the Admiral’s notes that we are to race to the best of our abilities. And I expend and demand nothing less from you all. Each vessel, Rylan or Federation, will be independent of each other. Points will be awarded for first, second and third place, as well as the possibility for special mission points along the way, if I understand the rules correctly. Simply the team with the most points at the end of the race is the winner.” The new Andorian Chief Tactical Officer, Thirishar ch’Thane, was next to have a question. “Is this to be a combat competition, Sir?” Daren nodded. “In a way.” He paused to bring up more specific information on the race and it’s various legs. “As you can see, the race consists of a number of legs. Each leg has requirements for success. Speed appears to not be the only factor in this race. I am sure we can assume there will be several surprises along the way.” Shar seemed uneasy, “Captain, I don’t underst-…” “Simulated weaponry, Shar.” Daren grinned. “We just made peaceful contact with these people, we’re not going to start shooting them out of the sky. If Commander Marcy were here, I’m sure he’d have problems with this.” There was a slight chuckle around the room that lasted only briefly. “Speaking of Mr. Marcy, remind me to speak with you sometime before the race Lieutenant.” Shar nodded. The Andorian had been appointed acting Chief Tactical Officer in Marcy’s absence. The Commander had been called away to Reor’sa to assist in a Security matter. Oswald made it clear she wished to speak next. Her arms were no longer crossed in front of her. “Captain, you said we can use our skills in any way to work on our ships before the race?” Daren nodded. “That’s right, before the race, during the race, modifications are allowed. There are however a list of rules to abide by. The race is only to take place at impulse speeds; no warp drive jumps at all. However, if you feel so inclined to increase the impulse capacity of the vessel you choose, by all means do so. The same goes for weapons, defenses, everything. We all have our unique talents, and the whole point is to pick a partner or partners that you feel compliment your abilities.” He looked around the room, “Were there any other questions?” A brief silence. “Alright then. Crew dismissed.” Daren shut off the screen on the wall as they began to slowly file out. When a good number of them were out the door, Daren spoke up again: “Oh, Commander Oswald, would you mind staying behind a moment?” Captain William Daren Commanding Officer (IC) USS Coronado NCC-97901 Sim Executive Officer http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/bodies/depts/command.html#co ******************* As portrayed by: Chris Catterson Long Island, NY ccatt@optonline.net |