Who We Are and Why We're Here
Posted on May 26, 2014 @ 7:01pm by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Edited on on Jun 05, 2014 @ 8:39am
Mission:
All Our Yesterdays
Location: McKinley Station
Tags: Kane, USS DISCOVERY
"WHO WE ARE AND WHY WE'RE HERE"
(Continued from "The Chaotic Good, Part One")
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"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."
- Neitzsche
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Location: McKinley Station, Earth orbit
Stardate: [2.140413.2140]
Scene: Office, adjacent to Yard #4
Michael Turlogh Kane looked up from the paperwork for the third time in a minute, scarcely able to believe that she was out there. Just beyond the heavy glass window and the outer bulkhead, the USS DISCOVERY lay in all her glory. For the third time in a minute, he expected to wake up from his dream.
He wasn't getting much work done. There were a mountain of PADDs that needed attention - crew manifests, shipboard requisitions, work orders - all needing signed by the ship's captain. He was ploughing through it as best he was able, but the lure of the starship outside kept dragging his gaze away from what lay before him.
She was back. Having languished in a holding yard for five years on Mars, having been inert, deactivated, dead to the universe, she was back. Engineering craft buzzed around her like a cloud of flies. Technicians in environment suits space-walked from point to point to complete their assignments, whether it be completing the ablative armour refit or simply battening down the hatches. Thousands of people were working to bring her back to life.
The door chime brought him back to the here and now. Kane looked up. "Come."
The dull grey door hissed open and Commander Stonn entered. The Vulcan was holding a PADD in each hand. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the mess on Kane's desk. "Where shall I put these progress reports?"
"Anywhere. I'll sort them out later." Kane was looking out the viewport again. "She's a beauty, isn't she?"
Stonn looked impassively at the four nacelles framing the neck and saucer sections. "She is functionally impressive."
"Functionally?" Kane stood up and walked to the viewport. Several tugs were maneuvering into position around her. "When we took her into the Beta Quadrant twelve years ago she was one of the most advanced starships in the fleet. Second starship of the new Investigator-class. Outfitted to be Starfleet's first deep-space explorator in half a century." He turned around with a wry smile. "And what a beautiful name."
Stonn raised a laconic eyebrow. "She is aesthetically pleasing, Captain."
Kane returned to his seat, motioning for Stonn to sit. "Report, Commander."
"The activation of the main computer this morning was a complete success. The warp field is stable and has been signed off by the yard master. Ramjet testing is almost complete but is already being declared successful by the assigned engineering team." Stonn looked at him. "The DISCOVERY is ready, Captain."
Kane smiled to hear it. "Launch schedule?"
"The DISCOVERY is to be towed to Spacedock tonight. Final shipboard systems tests will take four days. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we will launch one week from today."
"That's good news." Kane leaned back in his seat. "Congratulations on your appointment as ExO. I admit that I was surprised, but your record is impeccable. Your service honours us."
"Thank you, Captain. Have you inspected the crew manifest?"
"Not had time."
"The chief engineer is one Jacob Crichton," Stonn said, activating his own PADD. His features looked demonic in the light from its viewscreen. "You commanded him for a brief period aboard the Gateway."
"Did I? Well, he's obviously come a long way since then. Anyone else?"
"Isador, the Preserver you encountered, has agreed to rejoin your crew. She has been living alone in the Russian tundra, studying the histories of the galaxy. She is something of a recluse."
"Not any more. She'll be most welcome."
Stonn went on. "Some of original crew are returning to their old positions. There is a new pilot and a new transporter chief, amongst others. And your new Operations officer is the android."
Kane leaned forward. "Ah, I remember that one. Lieutenant Byte. One of the three Maddox-type positronic androids that were activated last year, right?"
"Indeed, Captain. We are most fortunate to have been assigned it. Him."
"We've been very fortunate, haven't we Stonn?"
"Captain?"
Kane held up his hands like he was trying to seize empty air. "In general, I mean. This has all gone so smoothly it's been incredible. Every ship launch I've ever heard of has been plagued by delays and last-minute rushes. Not so here. It's like there's an invisible hand guiding our every move."
"As I said, Captain, we have been most fortunate."
"You didn't mention that you were the ExO when you came to me on Vulcan, Stonn. You must have known you were. Why not tell me?"
"It did not seem logical to. You might have refused Starfleet's invitation."
"Always give me all of the pertinent information, Commander. We'll get along much better that way."
"Understood, Captain." Stonn stood up. "I remind you that there is less than an hour before your mission briefing with Admirals Edgerton and Halle. Will you contact me afterward?"
"Yes, Commander. Dismissed." Kane watched the Vulcan turn on his heel and leave the room. Then, just as they had, his eyes drifted out the viewport.
She really was back.
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Scene: Boardroom, upper deck
The table was shaped like a triangle, and some considerate soul had put glasses of water in the centre of it. There were no windows in the room, so he couldn't see the DISCOVERY any more, but Kane didn't mind. This meeting with two of Starfleet's most senior admirals was all about focus.
The door opened and the both came in. Kane stood up and shook their hands.
Arto Halle looked old. All his hair was greying and he was much thinner than he had been when last the met. His voice seemed a little weaker, a little reedier. "Captain Kane!" he exclaimed. "Welcome back to the fleet. How long has it been?"
"Nearly ten years, sir."
"You don't look it!" Halle smiled. "You know Admiral Edgerton?"
"We met last week. Admiral Edgerton represented Starfleet's offer of reinstatement."
Edgerton towered over them both. There was a strange smell hanging off him today. Kane looked at him and saw his hair was oiled down, swept away from his face. It must be that, he decided.
"Shall we begin?" said Edgerton, motioning to the table.
They sat down and took out their PADDs. Arto Halle spoke first. "Your operating authority remains Starfleet Operations," he said to Kane, nodding over towards Edgerton. "But your first mission will be on behalf of Starfleet Intelligence."
Kane kept his face as neutral as he could, but a pit of worry had opened in his stomach. Intelligence. He set his jaw hard. Those greasy bastards were sticking their noses in again. If ever there were two branches of Starfleet that needed to be swept away, it was the Marine Corps and Intelligence. One a gang of brainless halfwits with guns, the other a band of sneaky, conniving, lying, two-faced swine who never told you the full story, never told you what you needed to know, never told you why you were doing what you were doing, and never gave one measly shite about the people who died doing it.
"I see," he said.
Edgerton's spindly fingers held the PADD like a spider wrapping themselves around a horribly doomed fly. His smile was pleasant, though. "Captain, one of our coreward listening posts has detected a Federation subspace signal emanating from system K-60, inside the Beta Quadrant. Your orders are, once underway, to proceed there at best speed and determine the source of the subspace signal."
"What can you tell me about this signal?" Kane asked.
"It was first detected five weeks ago on a narrow subspace band normally reserved for coded Starfleet transmissions. The signal itself contains no message. The listening post that detected it reports that it is self-repeating, but intermittent, and growing fainter. We think it is the reboot frequency for a Federation starship's main computer."
Kane frowned. "Are there any missing starships in the Beta Quadrant?"
Admiral Halle interjected. "Ten years is a long time in politics," he said. "In the decade since your voyage there, we have made full diplomatic contact with the A'aramath, the Basilkans, the Garidians, the Realtans, the Telniekans and the Maldrans. Our peace treaty and non-aggression pact with the Calnarians is holding. New Earth has been admitted as an associate member of the Federation. The only power we don't know about are the Gothach, but from what our diplomats are telling us, they've reclaimed much of their old empire and are spending time consolidating their power. Despite all that, we have only sent a handful of starships into the Beta Quadrant in the past decade, mainly on diplomatic missions. All are accounted for. We have no idea who could be transmitting this signal."
"You said something about it being coded?" Kane asked Edgerton.
"All our computer activation frequencies are naturally encoded with a prefix and an algorithm," nodded Edgerton. "Both the prefix and algorithm that we detected are around twenty years old. Our working theory is that it is either a missing starship's computer attempting to reboot itself, or someone has possession of a missing starship and is trying to restore power to its main computer in order to activate it. If someone does have our possession of Federation technology, Intelligence needs to know about it."
"If you're correct that all starships that ventured into the Beta Quadrant are accounted for, is it possible that this mystery ship has been brought there by an unknown party?"
"We know nothing more than that, Captain," said Edgerton. "All things are possible beyond what we have told you."
"Could it be a civilian ship using a Starfleet code?"
"That's what you're going to find out," said Halle. "If it is a Federation starship, then your orders are to find out what happened to her while protecting our technology. If a third party is using one of our computer codes, find out who, why, and how they got a hold of it. Once the situation is resolved, contact Starfleet for further orders."
"How are your launch preparations proceeding?" asked Edgerton.
"Smoothly," said Kane. "My crew manifest is being finalised and there are some minor shipboard tests to run. We'll be ready in a week."
"Good," nodded Halle. "All other intelligence is on your PADD. This is why Admiral Edgerton sought you out, Captain Kane. Your experience of the Beta Quadrant makes you the perfect officer to lead this mission. Are you clear on the situation and your orders?"
"Starfleet subspace signal detected in distant system. Find out what's happening." Kane turned off his PADD. "I'm clear."
"Then you're dismissed," said Edgerton. "Admiral Halle and I have much to discuss."
Surprised at the sudden termination of the conversation, Kane stood up. "Of course, Admiral." He inclined his head at both men politely, turned on his heel, and went out.
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Scene: Outside Hallway
Kane marched away from the boardroom, tapping his communicator. "Kane to Stonn."
[[Stonn here.]]
"Commander, meet me at my office. We have our mission. And I want you to tell me everything you know about Admiral Richard Edgerton."
[[Understood, Captain.]]
Kane entered the turbolift. When the doors closed, the silence surged softly backward like he was never there.
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NRPG: More groundwork. Very dialogue heavy, but had to be done. Nothing about the crew manifest is set in stone yet.
SHAWN / CHRIS: You can write your characters arriving in Spacedock for their new assignment whenever you like now.
Jerome McKee
The Soul of Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Commanding Officer
USS DISCOVERY
"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1, Scene 1.113
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