USS ALSEA: Manning the Ship

The transporter beam released Jureth and he recognized the transporter room of the USS Alsea. He also immediately recognized the face of the security officer in front of him if not the two standing very conspicuously near the door hands on their holstered phasers.

"Ensign Allen! Good to see you again!" 

"Welcome back, Sir," Allen replied. "One moment please."

Allen dutifully scanned Oseno with a tricorder confirming his identity at a cellular level as well as his orders, rank, and authority to take command of the Alsea. 

"You can step down, Captain," Allen said as the tricorder told him all was well.

"Thank you Mister Allen, good work. Our XO should be aboard shortly and I understand that our security chief has already reported?"

"Yes Sir, she's on the bridge." 

"She?" Oseno had been so preoccupied with their upcoming mission he hadn't looked closely at the orders when they came across.

"Yes, Sir. You mean, you don't know?," Allen replied, a smile coming across his face.

"Don't know what, Ensign?"

"I think you should see for yourself, Sir." 

Oseno sighed.

"Very well, Ensign, as you were."

"Aye, Sir."

Jureth walked to the turbolift and, as it began to travel toward the bridge, he contemplated who the security officer could possibly be. T'lana was still aboard the Horizon, though Oseno had requested that she and Shawn Hunter be permitted to report to the Alsea, a request he hoped Captain Kheren would grant out of courtesy. He was trying to come up with other possibilities as the turbolift doors opened and he stepped onto the familiar circular bridge of the Alsea. A brown haired human woman was in the command chair and, as she turned around, Jureth saw why Allen had wanted him to "see for himself."

"Captain on the bridge," Catherine Steele said as she sighted her long time friend, and more recently lover.

"Cat!" Jureth exclaimed; "how are you here? I just took command a couple of days ago!"

"Word travels," Steele said with a smile Jureth had come to love. "As soon as I found out, I put in a transfer request. I honestly didn't think it would get approved but, apparently, when someone you used to be with Lotus Fleet wants to come back, they fast track some of the paperwork." 

Oseno wanted to leap down and take Cat in his arms, but he knew it wouldn't be appropriate on the bridge. There would be time for that later he knew, especially if they had to take the long way to the Romulan Colony. Instead, he returned her smile.

"As you were, Lieutenant. Computer, recognize Oseno Jureth, Captain. Voice authorization  Oseno Two Four Delta Juliet."

"Voice authorization recognized." replied the pleasant female voice.

"Computer, as of Stardate 88664.1 transfer command of USS Alsea from Fleet Command to Captain Oseno Jureth."

"Please verify biometric data." 

Oseno stepped to the tactical console, entered his authorization again and waited for the ship's internal sensors to scan him.

"Biometric data confirmed. Transfer of command complete. New commanding officer of USS Alsea is Captain Oseno Jureth." 

"Lieutenant Steele, you have the bridge. I will be in my ready room. Any arriving senior staff should report to me immediately."

"Aye, Captain."

With that, Oseno retired to his ready room, and took a seat behind the desk before opening the console and beginning to go through the paperwork already waiting for him.

He had barely time to shuffle a couple of pages on the first PADD he was holding when the chime of his door called for his attention. He didn't had time to even acknowledge and authorize entry that the door slid open and a stout, dark, hairy silhouette almost rolled in.

"What do you mean, I'll be here shortly? the gruff, gravelous voice of Marksus Sangliar growled as the beady eyes squinted above the raised, flaring snout.

Oseno looked up from the PADD, and stopped himself from sighing aloud, dealing with the Tellarite was going to be a challenge but he would have to adapt. He had no worries about Sangliar as an officer or an engineer. Captain Kheren's reviews of the man were nothing if not exemplary, it was the personality he wasn't used to. Captains, and security officers of which Jureth could now say he was both were not used to having their orders questioned every time they gave them. He made a mental note to study the Tellarite species further before replying

"I only meant that you would be close behind me, and of course that you probably wouldn't smack your head on any over head supports in doing so. Welcome aboard XO." 

"Your sollicitude for this lowly menial is touching, Captain Sir," the stout dark alien' s rough voice replied. "But someone has to do some real work around here so... reporting for duty as required. I can tell you right now that the Alsea is technically fit and ready for departure. I've been working personnally on her repairs and refit since the day you dragged her pieces back here, so I can show you myself where all the stitches are. I've refited all the impulse engines with my retroengineered design for effective flight in particle and radiation-heavy environements. The weaponry has been enhanced with pulse phaser cannons and transphasic torpedoes. Seper systems of all three hulls has been rebuilt along the lines of the Lotus class design for better reliability, including magnetic grapplers for EVA operations to reinstall them if autocoupling fails. The Syntron sonar, the Pel autowarning sensor-helm program and the Decatur nanite system enhancement are installed and ongoing final level 2 diagnostics. Every crewmember' uniform belt buckle is now a Personal Inertial Dampener activating manually or at the first major jolt or deactivation of either gravity or life support."

After a short pause, he made a smile that suddenly lighted his whole face with the pure white flash of his protruding teeth.

"Oh, and your throne will not list to starboard anymore, Captain Sir."

"Why thank you, Commander," Oseno replied with a smile "and here I thought you engineers were all warp drives and replicators, but if you want to blame someone for the ship coming back in the condition she did, I'd look no further than the two species we're about to tangle with. That said if you have any thoughts on how best to achieve our mission, I'd like to hear them. I'm still not ruling out attempting to pass through fluidic space, but as the Fleet Captain said we have no idea what condition Undine society is in. The long way around through Klingon space isn't ideal either."

The Tellarite's eyes glazed for a moment as he thought about the problem.

"Well, I have no experience with Fluidic Space, so I can only speak about it in theory. As for moving through Klingon territory, and then Romulan space, there might be a way to avoid most chances of detection and possibly escape any pursuit; star-hopping."

He saw immediately that his fanciful term confused his commanding officer. he could not help but grin slightly at the reaction but his voice remained professional.

"A trick Tellarite smugglers used in the old days, but enhanced with the capabilities of this state of the art modern warship. We could follow a flight path as close as possible to every star on our travel path, using their radiation, electromagnetic and gravimetric output to shield us from long range scans; and if we are found anyway, the Laforge 1 program of metaphasic shielding would allow us to hide inside the nearest star's corona, where no Klingon ship would be crasy enough to follow us and hope to survive. And while they would probably sit out waiting for us to emerge, and thanks to my improvement on impulse engines for safe propulsion within high radiation conditions, we would use the Syntron sonar and the Pel autowarning system to effectively navigate around the corona, even avoid any solar flare, and emerge unseen on the other side of the star to then continue on our merry way."

He then shrugged his broad shoulders, making a short snort through his big flat nostrils.

"Not a fullproof plan, mind you, and it requires top notch flight skill... but it just might help us avoid most unpleasant encounters in Klingon space and in Romulan space as well; if we take that route, mind you, Captain Sir."

Oseno nodded, "It's no secret that I was a security officer, Lieutenant Commander, and so engineering and navigation are not my strong suits, thank you for the explanation. I happen to have a pilot in mind, assuming my request got through to Captain Kheren." 

Oseno's door chime rang, and as if he had heard them talking Shawn Hunter, the crack pilot who always seemed to have a mischievous gleam in his eye, made his entrance. Hunter had been a staple of Oseno's first tenure aboard the Alsea as well as helped the Polaris outmaneuver the Draxx during their first mission aboard the Horizon. Jureth could think of no one else he would rather have at the Alsea's helm than Kalten Siduri's old academy friend.

"Lieutenant Hunter reporting as ordered, Captain." Hunter said after he was inside the ready room.

"Mister Hunter, welcome back to the Alsea. May I introduce our XO, Lieutenant Commander Sangliar. Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant Hunter here is just the man to implement your navigational plan. He was brought to the Alsea originally by Captain Siduri, and I've managed to keep him around."

The Tellarite went to stand in front of the taller Human to look him over from head to toe.

"So, this is the pilot that will navigate another universe or evade the entire Klingon Defense Force hoping stars blinfolded? Looks to me like you have a hard time walking and chewing at the same time, boy."

"No problem, Sir; I can fly by the skin of my teeth... that is, if this ship's engine won't fail on me because of Tellarite second hand parts glued to it by some lazy model builder."

For a second, it looked as if Sangliar would jump right at Hunter's throat. The next second later, he exploded into raucous laughter and patted him on the soulder with a vigourous thick-fingered hand as he turned halfway towards Oseno.

"I like this guy. He's got stomach too."

When he turned his eyes back up the pilot, is face and voice were sterner.

"And we're going to need much of it, wherever we go through Fluidic Space or Klingon territory."

"Fluidic space," Hunter said suprised "Captain surely we're not going back there again..."

"I had contemplated it Mister Hunter, it would get us to the Romulan colony we're headed for much faster."

"Romulans," Hunter replied "We just can't stay away from them can we?"

"It seems our lot in life Lieutenant. Hopefully this time it won't be an entire fleet, I'll have more for you at the official mission briefing after we get underway. XO, why don't you go over the details of your star hopping plan with Mister Hunter, unless you need anything else from me."

"A raktajino would be nice... later maybe, captain Sir. Someone,s got to work around here."

He turned and went for the door as he waved to Hunter.

"Come on, jockey; let's go to the holodeck and see how many times you are going to crash and burn all of us on this trip."

"A good burning would help remove the stench in engineering," commented Hunter falling in step behind him with a casual air.

"Oh, so it's you who soiled my engine room?" Sangliar replied just as matter of factly.

The rest of the banter was muffled by the door sliding shut behind them.

No sooner had the pilot and the XO left than Oseno's door chime rang again.

"Come," the Bajoran replied reminding himself that he had told Cat to have all reporting senior staff see him.

When the door opened a woman jet black hair, and green hued skin stepped into the room. An Orion, Oseno realized, she was young, and wore the uniform of the Starfleet science division with lieutenant junior grade pips attached to the collar. 

"Can I help you Lieutenant?" Jureth asked

"Lieutenant Mikaela Sirus reporting as Chief Science Officer Sir." the woman replied softly

"Welcome aboard the Alsea Lieutenant, please have a seat." 

Sirus did as Jureth bade her sitting across from him at the desk. Even as she did so Jureth got the feeling this young science officer wasn't all that happy about being aboard his ship. He could see it in her body language, and the subdued tone to her voice. 

"Lieutenant Sirus, you don't seem all that happy to be here." 

Sirus fidgeted in her seat at Jureth's statement and he could tell she was clearly embarrassed  that he had read her so clearly.

"Lieutenant," Jureth said gently "if there is something wrong..."

"No Sir," she replied quickly "I just wasn't expecting to be reassigned so quickly after coming back."

"Coming back?" Jureth asked genuinely confused, then a light bulb went on in his brain and he realized that he had heard the Orion woman's name before. She was one of the survivors of the USS Nuntio that the Phoenix had returned from the Azimuth Horizon universe. 

"You're from the Nuntio aren't you?"

"Yes Sir, and I had hoped I would get some time before Starfleet sent me back to another ship." 

"I understand," Jureth replied and he actually did understand. It seemed like he had gone from one crisis to another ever since he first stepped aboard the USS Lotus under Captain Gould. Lotus Fleet was definitely a high tempo division and Stafleet itself was short on manpower and ships. "Let me guess, needs of the Fleet?"

"Yes Sir," Mikaela replied "it seems you needed a science officer." 

"Indeed we do. We won't be charting any star systems, but we will need to ferret out possible cloaked enemies before they can ambush us. If you can get us through this mission Lieutenant I will see to it personally that you get some leave as soon as we return."

"I can do it Sir," she replied not wanting to sound insubordinate in front of her new captain "cloak detection is a basic course at the academy now. I'm very familiar with the sensor signatures of all the major species which use cloaking technology. "

"Very good then Lieutenant, get yourself settled, and if you need anything at all come see me." 

"Yes Sir," Sirus replied standing "thank you Sir." 

The Orion came to attention and then did a near perfect about face before exiting the office. Jureth sat back in his chair and contemplated the conversation. What was Starfleet thinking? he wondered, surely Lieutenant Sirus wasn't the only available science officer. She an all the other Nuntio survivors deserved some time to recuperate. They'd lost friends, lost their ship...but then, so had Captain Kheren and the only time off they had given the Andorian was to put him through a board of inquiry over the loss of the Artemis. Jureth supposed that Mikaela Sirus would have to adapt as Kheren had done. They were all Starfleet officers and sometimes that meant pushing on even when every part of you wants nothing more than to give up. With that thought aside Jureth turned back to the pre-launch paperwork knowing that most of it needed to be approved before they could get underway.