Chapter Seven: Setting Sails Among the Stars (Part II)

 Chapter Seven: Setting Sails Among the Stars  (Part II)

The trill simply turned back to look at her station, completely avoiding eye contact with the CMO. “I’m fine….thanks.” She muttered embarrassingly. She didn’t have the confidence to explain that she wasn’t simply being a sissy…the fluctuation wasn’t normal…she had endured space flight throughout her four lifetimes and what she felt just now wasn’t the usual power transfer lag…it was somehow intensified. She blushed a little at having drawn the attention of the one person on the bridge that she didn’t really want to notice her.

Rogers heard the comment from across the few meters distance to the CSO’s station, but studied his engineering console, aft of the captain’s chair, watching his MSD display along with the myriad EPS power feeds to the RCS systems. The small discrepancy time delay between the precision tractor emitters and the stations own beams made him frown slightly and he tapped some icons to check the feeds for the system, but that ODN relay showed no discrepancy. It was likely the simultaneous start up of the RCS system coinciding exactly with all the ship’s sensor suites both being brought online. Although his station here would be able to check that relatively easily, it was best not to do so while un-docking and leaving the base. Lieutenant Andrew’s in main engineering was also monitoring the same procedures as David was now doing, thus the procedure could be studied more safely after the ship had successfully left the immediate vicinity of the base

The door to the bridge opened as Master Chief Eddington stepped on to the bridge carry a PADD.  Meeting eyes with Commander Riker he held the PADD and then gave a full thumbs up.  Riker new that was the final alpha roster and now Starfleet had official record of all the personnel getting underway today.  Knowing there was little more to do Riker walked over to the first officers chair placed his hand gently on its arm and looked to the Captain.  A slow nod from the Vulcan was all it took as Riker turned and sat down.

They could feel the intense vibrations throughout the ship as the station energy and security umbilicals were released. Then things calmed to a steady hum of the thrusters on standby as they now floated freely within the spacedock.

B'Zinga Decatur was on the bridge. She was still short of breath even though she did get here just a smidgen later than the rest. It was the anticipation of the first launch in her career. Yes, she had pulled an all-nighter to make sure she was able to get everything done, but she was wide awake now - just the adrenaline was enough to keep her awake.

She let the more experienced officers do the talking - that is, unless she was called upon to do something. All the complexity involved with launching a ship amazed her. The training movies she had seen in the Academy made it seem so simple.

From the communications station the crew was notified  "All traffic before us has been vacated. The starbase has cleared us for departure."

They are could see the rows of vertical lights blinking ahead of them as the huge metallic door panels began to separate in the middle and move away from each other as the vastness of space began to emerge.

"Starbase bay doors are now open Sir"

Stephanie Decatur turned her attention from her station to the viewscreen and focused her breathing again as she fought to calm her nerves as the ship started moving to leave space dock. She knew at this moment, that it was too late to change her mind….she was stuck on this ship…in deep space…for as long as it took. She wished she could feel the excitement others must have felt at that instant…but the truth was the thought scared the hell out of her.

Mooring tractor beam emitters let go of the star base frame and powered down as the main impulse engine’s moved the massive tonnage of the star ship toward the yawning bay doors ahead. Like the Defiant and Intrepid class ships of the previous century, the Phoenix’s center of mass was relatively straight in line with the powerful impulse drive assembly now thrusting the ship, thus yaw and pitch were easily controlled and enabled for center of mass propulsion. Chief flight control officer, Lieutenant Aulder, merely informed the Phoenix where to head and the command processor’s vectored the impulse drive exhaust, with nudges from the RCS thrusters.

Stephanie worked at her station quietly, monitoring the sensor data as it was compiled to ensure that the view screen was up to the second. She made sure the sensor feed was tied into helm so the ships computer and helm officer would know the exact relative locations of every ship and shuttle in the starbase.

She double-checked the telemetry; the last thing the young trill wanted was to be responsible for a collision in her first few hours as CSO of arguably the most scientifically advanced ship in Starfleet. 

From the security station Lieutenant Argyle spoke out.

"External security scans completed sir ship is clear of all debris and all stations report ready"

Nodding Commander Riker leaned from his chair towards the Captain

"Everything is open sir smooth sailing ahead"

"Acknowledged Number One" the captain responded stoically as if were just another day. "Take her out."

The eight hundred and fifty-six meter long starship slowly began to move with a subtle grace toward the ample opening now present within the spacedock. Those watching from the starbase just gazed in awe at the spectacular sight of this four point zero-six-eight million metric ton vessel slide effortlessly out of its unchained position and surge toward its freedom from confinement.

From the engineering station at the aft of the main bridge, Rogers studied the rising impulse power levels and the cross-tied EPS tap feeds bleeding excess energy from the impulse power system. As the Phoenix crossed the threshold from star base ten into space, the rising thrust of the impulse engine drew more and more power. This lowered the available power supply from the impulse system for all of the ship’s normal power requirements, and thus increasing demand was transferred to the Matter/Anti-matter reaction assembly.

Fourteen decks below Rogers, assistant chief engineer Andrews also kept a watchful stance over the rising power levels being demanded on the reaction assembly. Matter and anti-matter reaction injectors increased their flow to allow for the standard ten-to-one ratio of normal power generation. Under seventy-two thousand kilopascals of pressure, the matter/anti-matter reaction chamber within the main engine assembly obtained its normal operating temperature of two times ten-to-the-twelfth degrees Kelvin.

Syntron calmly sat back in the center seat and shifted his focus for a moment from the ship's movement toward the open bay doors to the concentrated activity occurring throughout the main bridge. He realized that this level of undivided engagement was transpiring throughout the ship as their vessel moved under its own immense power toward the starbase opening. This moment was anything but ordinary or routine. It took synchronized effort involving teams of crew members from various departments and ranks to coordinate numerous operations requisite for this vessel to move safely out into the vastness of space. Once there, they would then be vulnerable to the harsh conditions of extreme coldness, lethal radiation, and moving debris of all sizes in an unforgiving environment throughout the infinite expansiveness of space within their galaxy and beyond. Not to mention the threat of hostile adversaries that exist throughout this universe. Yet, there were discoveries to be made, new regions to be found and wonders to behold. This was indeed the final frontier all around them, and as they cleared the threshold of the retracted starbase doors, they were now about to embark on their next journey into the cosmos.  

Receiving the green key note from main engineering, and cross checking his own station controls with Lieutenant Andrews’ main engineering panels, David passed the green light to the flight control station. The Bolian’s warp drive systems control panel showed a pale green icon lighted in its display and Lieutenant Aulder dutifully informed Captain Syntron of the fact with the simplest and, most often used, comment.

“Warp drive available Captain.”

Captain Syntron now leaned slightly forward while still gazing at the great expanse surrounding them as he spoke.

"Ahead 47 mark 21, velocity warp 1 initially, and then increase by a factor of 1 as we cross each threshold until we reach warp 7.5."  

"Anyone needing to get to the loo, do it now..." said Elliago with a light tone and a smile.

Without changing his focus on the viewscreen, the captain responded with a bit of a subtle jibe.

"Too late Doctor. Helm...engage!" 

The view from the main viewscreen and screens throughout the ship were shifted to an aft position for a moment so that the crew could see the departing view of the saucer-like starbase during their last moments on impulse power before the warp engines were engaged. 

Seconds later, a flash of light signaled to them that they were now traveling several hundred times the speed of light. The viewscreens now all projected a forward view of the stars around them as they gracefully accelerated through space.

Transition from impulse to warp was a really beautiful thing to watch. If you could catch sight of it.

Asymmetrical peristaltic field manipulation, the usage of nesting warp fields inside one another, lay in the concept derived by Zefram Cochrane, in which each layered field exerted a controlled amount of force against its next-outermost neighbor. Firing frequencies, in the direction of fore to aft in the nacelles warp coils, determine the number of field layers. These layers then, by their frequency and interspaced time intervals, energize into subspace and enable transition to faster than light speeds. One thousand millicochranes is all that is required to reach warp one.

Predictive phase-synchronization software routines feed over a dozen redundant control input and feedback links for the warp field core injectors and these injectors may be fired in variable sequences depending on the warp flight function required. This software exists because of the distance from the main computer to the engines. As small timing discrepancies build up, the redundant lines alternate firing times and enable close to realtime operation of the engines. As flight control on the bridge activated warp one, the near instantaneous transmission of the key stroke signal reached the engines, due to the rising speed transmission obtained by the nanites within the Optical Data Network. The main engine assembly pulsed and sent the highly energized plasma through the power transfer conduits to the warp injectors at every warp coil, and the resultant fields swept out in layers to reach into subspace and apply the apparent mass reduction to the vessel. Suddenly, the Phoenix slipped through the sequencing layers of warp field energy and leapt away from starbase ten with a bright blue flash that reflected off the retina’s of anyone watching from the base.

 David monitored the ebb and flow of matter and antimatter and the Dilithium matrix chamber readings on matter stream tuning. He also watched the rising field strengths of the warp coils and was able to clench the armrests with his hands at the exact point of transition from sublight to warp one.

A subtle internal sigh emanated from the Vulcan captain as they completed this preliminary phase of testing this vessel along with its new crew. Syntron glanced over to his chief engineer.

"How are the ship functions appearing from an engineering perspective thus far Commander Rogers?"

  With a quick glance over all at his displays, David swiveled his chair around to answer the captain's inquiry.

"Smooth captain. Incredibly smooth. Warp power available through to emergency level. Deflectors are normal with reserve power available if needed. Emergency reserves are available if needed. Hull integrity is one hundred percent.."

(( please continue...))