ST: Battlefront "The Ship of Misfit Soldiers"

[[Episode 1.3]

Captain's Log, Stardate 87728.9: Repairs to the New Orleans have been completed...again. Chief Engineer Ishii has shown his value many times while getting the repair teams and engineering staff working at full capacity. A side note, the emergency return to Earth has allowed us the opportunity to finally obtain a full crew compliment. It feels strange to be a mere Lieutenant and already in command of such a vessel and crew.

"Computer, end log. What's the status of Crewman Guyton and Troi's Bridge Officer training?"

"Crewman Guyton and Crewman Troi are performing the practical test."

"Inform me when they've completed."

"Acknowledged." The computer beeped the command confirmation and proceeded to go silent. The door chimed shortly after.

"Enter." Edgar said, allowing the doors to open and reveal Ambassador Sokketh standing there. "Ambassador...to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"There is no pleasure in my presence, Lieutenant. I came to inquire to the nature of this voyage. Will I actually get to P'Jem this time, or are you planning to confine me to quarters and go play hero again?"

Edgar's eyes narrowed. "Ambassador, my orders are strictly to ensure your safety while taking you to the monastery on P'Jem. It did not say anything about your comfort level or making sure you were pampered. If you wanted a better ship or a different captain, you should make the request to Admiral Quinn."

Sokketh stomped towards the door shouting, "I made such a request and he denied me."

Edgar let the ambassador leave the ready room, where Chief Engineer Ishii stood waiting to enter. "Come in Ensign, sit down."

"Thank you Sir." Aron-Mu said as he sat on the couch. "I wanted to inform you all engineer teams are now operating at acceptable standards. We're ready to launch on your order."

"Excellent news. I'll have Mr. Troi send a request to traffic control once he returns from the Bridge Officer certification." Edgar said, moving to the replicator. "Sweet Tea, iced."

"Sir, permission to speak candidly?" Edgar nodded at the request. "Is there a reason you've yet to stop by engineering to give a visual approval?"

Edgar looked up from his glass and tried to read Aron's body language. "Is there something you haven't written in your reports?"

"No sir, I just thought you would want to see if I was running things efficiently." Aron stated, sounding a slight embarrassed about the comment now. Edgar picked up a PADD and examined the report it read.

"You've got crew productivity up 300%?"

"Most of that increase is from the labor influx, sir." Aron-Mu dismissed.

"And would you not be counted as part of that labor influx?"

"No, sir, I would..."

"Then the arrival of the labor influx is a moot point. I see no need to micromanage such efficiency. Do you need the visual approval?" Edgar asked, taking a sip.

"No sir...I guess not." Aron-Mu responded, now feeling completely embarrassed. "I should get back to engineering."

"Understood; dismissed." Edgar replied watching Aron-Mu stand and leave the ready room. "Ensign Ishii..."

The ensign turned, concern wore his face at what the captain would say next. Edgar simply smiled, "It's good to have you on board, Ensign. Keep up the good work."

Aron-Mu smiled in relief, "Thank you, sir."

With a moment alone, Edgar finished his tea and went back to the bridge. "Mr. Solek, what's the status of our crewmen?"

"Captain I'm pleased to announce that Mr. Troi has passed the test and Admiral Quinn has now formally approved the promotion to ensign that was pending the outcome."

"Oh that's great! How's Crewman Guyton faring?" Solek frowned at his captain's inquiry.

"Her behavior and written test results imply that she will not pass." Solek explained.

"Understood. Has Starfleet Medical gotten back to us regarding our request for a new medical officer?"

Solek frowned. "Yes, captain. All they can spare is a young Cardassian."

Some of the present crewmen on the bridge turned in shock at Solek's remark. Edgar opened his mouth to speak, paused, then spoke. "Bring him aboard." More crewmen stared at the captain and first officer. "If the crew have a problem, they can note it in their log. As far as I'm concerned, this ship is being structured to be a bunch of misfits, so why not embrace our diversity?"

Solek wanted to smile at the captain's remark, but he merely nodded. "Aye, sir. I'll notify his commanding officer of the request."

---

On the surface of the planet in Starfleet Medical, Turek's commander approached him near his station. "Ensign I'd like a word with you."

The CO began walking to his office expecting Turek to follow quickly, which the young Cardassian did so at a quickened jog to catch up. "Sir, if this is about the gene therapy treatment I used on nurse Kelly to resolve her astigmatism I can assure you I know what I was doing."

The two individuals entered the office and shut the door. "Turek...we have been in this office discussing your actions far too often over the past three months. I think it would be best if you were away from Starfleet Medical for a while."

"Sir, I don't fare well on space ships..."

"Well, then maybe you can whip up some gene therapy to get over that issue. My hands are tied on this, the New Orleans has requested you in her sick bay. She is scheduled to leave orbit in ten minutes, but they're waiting on you. Dismissed."

Turek left the office feeling rejected and passed off. No one spoke to him as he traversed the corridors of Starfleet medical, finally arriving at the transport bay to take him to his apartment building. Inside, he noted how fond he was of the place, in spite of it's rather Spartan accommodations. He threw as much into a single duffle bag as he could manage. Before he left, he glanced over his home and shut off the lights.

---

It was a short walk from the transporter room on the spacedock to the New Orleans. Upon arrival, he saw Edgar and Solek waiting for him at the entrance. "Dr. Turek, I presume?"

"Yes. Is the captain available I would like to speak with him soon." Turek stated, looking very preoccupied.

"Doctor, I am the captain." Edgar stated. "Edgar Calvin, nice to meet you."

Turek stared at Edgar with disdain, "So you're the reason I've been pulled off solid ground?"

Edgar's eyes narrowed. "Doctor, welcome aboard the New Orleans. When you're done settling in, report to the bridge. We'll discuss this matter then. Solek, do you mind showing the doctor where his quarters are?" Solek nodded, and Edgar spun on his heels to walk briskly back to the bridge.

"This way, doctor." Solek indicated the opposite direction. Turek felt like he was eating foot.

"I wish to retract my earlier comment. It was unnecessary."

Solek turned to see what Turek was saying, "Please remember in future conversations that the captain was far less opposed to bringing you aboard as chief medical officer than I was. As it stands, consider it retracted. These are your quarters."

Turek looked inside the room he was assigned, glazed at the fact he was appointed chief medical. "Understood...sir."

“Captain, Starfleet Medical has informed us they have our Borg drone in custody, all crew is accounted for and Traffic Control has given us the Go to launch; we’re just waiting on your word, sir.” Desmond said proudly sporting his official fleet uniform with the singular ensign pip. Summer stood at the tactical station not very happy with her failure.

“Ensign, the word is given.” Edgar said, taking a seat in the captains chair. Desmond returned to the console and the New Orleans undocked from the station. Once the ship had cleared the walls of the spacedock, the ship came to rest in the main traffic line.

“Sir the ship is officially out of spacedock and awaiting a heading.”

“Set a course for P’Jem, warp 9...engage.” Edgar sat back into his chair and began to relax as the New Orleans left the Sol system. Dr. Turek made his appearance on the bridge about that time and stood at a science station. Dr. Turek, please see me in my ready room. Solek you have the bridge.”

The two officers entered the bridge, leaving Desmond and Summer to look at each other confused about what was happening and who this new officer was. Solek noted the visual exchange and decided to enlighten the two, “He’s our new Chief Medical Officer.” The comment raised more questions than it answered.

Inside the ready room, Edgar felt agitated. This was the first time he had to assert any level of disciplinary action to a subordinate. He hated the entirety of it. “Sit down, Doctor.”

Turek was trying to minimize his own anxiety, but it was fairly clear he was equally agitated. “Sir if I may please request...”

“No, you need to explain why you felt the need to make that comment earlier.” Edgar ordered sitting back in his own chair, staring down his new medical officer. He had clearly put Turek on the defensive.

“Captain, I have a phobia of being in space.” Edgar pulled up Turek’s file and glazed down to the performance record. “I’m a research physician, not a triage nurse.”

“Triage nurse? What exactly do you think ship physicians do?” Edgar looked fairly irritated.

“They handle triage. Ships get attacked; the captain can take some random artifact and expose the entire crew to an unknown pathogen; people come to you about every twitch and twang in their bodies expecting some miracle cure or a painkiller to make it go away...it’s draining and distracting.” Turek argued. Edgar was close to livid. "I'd much rather deal with a research facility on a planet for long term cures instead of quick fixes."

“Doctor, let me explain some things to you, and maybe that will enlighten your opinion to what we’re dealing with here. This ship survived a Borg attack, but all senior officers were assimilated or killed...except me. Starfleet has retained my command, though I’m a mere lieutenant. As you can imagine, this ship has a lot of green officers - most are inexperienced at best - and so far the entire senior staff is comprised of ensigns and chief petty officers.” Edgar leaned forward, imposing his authority while still trying to put Turek on the level he expected. “Now if you want to wallow in pity over being stuck on this ship then I can confine you to quarters and utilize the EMH medical team for the duration of this mission. Or, you can rise to the occasion and prove your worth as a medical officer to me and Starfleet. You were the only physician Starfleet Medical could or was willing spare, and I took a chance. Now which will it be, ensign, sick bay or confined to quarters?”

“Bridge to Captain Calvin.” Edgar sighed and leaned back at Solek’s interruption.

“Go ahead Mr. Solek.” The irritation seeped from his tone.

“Sir, long range sensors are detecting a Klingon bird-of-prey in orbit around P’Jem.” Solek’s statement brought a look of surprise to both officers in the ready room.

“Understood. Go to Yellow Alert and notify Starfleet of the situation.” Edgar turned back to Turek. “Do you have an answer for me, ensign?”

Turek nodded an understanding. “I will report to sick bay, sir.”

“You’re dismissed.” Edgar said, shutting down his terminal. “Dr. Turek, understand that I need my team to cooperate and obey my orders. Can I trust that this will be the last time you’ll be in my office for acting out of line?”

“I will try to not make a habit of it...Off the record, sir, I honestly can’t say.” Turek stated. Edgar pointed his chin agressively to the door brushing Turek out of the room.

“Sir, we’re reading multiple groups of Klingon lifesigns in the area around the monastery...the Klingon ship is hailing us.” Solek reported.

“Put it onscreen...This is Captain Calvin of the starship New Orleans. Explain your purpose orbiting this planet.”

“We are here to take the ‘Vulcan’ imposter you have onboard your ship on the grounds of warcrimes against the Klingon Empire.” The captain accused. Edgar shot a look to Solek.

“And what crimes is he accused of?” Edgar asked, trying to determine if the Klingon was serious or just reaching for an excuse to interfere.

“IT is a shapeshifter! Those Undine have committed unthinkable acts against the Empire! We know the ambassador is one of them. Turn it over to us!”

“Captain, to put things lightly, our peoples are at war. On what grounds should I trust your Klingon Empire over my Federation?” Edgar vollied. “What proof do you have?”

“We do not need to justify our reasons to Starfleet pu’ta! Allow us to take the ambassador and we will spare your shuttlecraft.” The Klingon captain was shouting.

“Not without proper cause!” Edgar’s response was met with the transmission terminating promptly.

“Captain, I don’t think they liked that response...” Desmond commented from the helm. It brought Edgar to turn sharp on his heels to look at the Betazoid, moderately annoyed and surprised he had the audacity to make the comment.

“No shit, Ensign. Raise shields!”

“Too late!” Crewman Guyton screamed just before a torpedo impacted on the hull. Nearly all of the bridge crew was rocked and all but Crewman Guyton were knocked over.

“Get our shields up, Summer!”

“Working on it sir, that blast hit the main EPS conduits. We’ve lost Auxiliary power and shields.”

“Return fire; blast them out of orbit!” Edgar howled. The Red Alert Klaxon was deafening on the damaged bridge.

The New Orleans took evasive maneuvers avoiding the bird-of-prey’s photon spread. From the deflector beam, a tachyon array flew across and took down the Klingon ship's shields. Right behind it, two photon torpedoes chased the bird-of-prey until they both impacted. The Klingons were severely crippled, but continued to fire upon the New Orleans. As the ships faced each other once again, both ships fired off one more photon which hit the hull of the Klingon ship causing complete destruction. Desmond struggled to maneuver the ship, but the Klingons’ photon torpedo impacted the deflector array directly.

“Sir, the Klingon ship is destroyed. Multiple sections are reporting casualties...” Summer stated from the tactical station. Edgar grimaced a nod and looked back over the reports on his console.

“Get a tactical analysis of the surface. Calvin to Engineering...Aron, how bad is the damage down there?”

“Captain, we’ve lost deflector control, inertial dampers and structural integrity fields are on backup and emergency power. Shields are offline; we need to take weapons and main power offline to perform repairs to most of the ship.”

“Understood, Ensign...How long do you think it will take to get to a functional status?”

“At soonest, sir, four hours.” Aron-Mu stated over the comm..

“Get your repair teams moving, Shields are your first priority. Desmond, Summer: I want you and a security team to beam down to the surface and secure the abbey. Shoot to kill.” Edgar said, moving a bit of debris away from his chair.

“Aye Captain.” The two responded moving to the turbolift. Moments later they had arrived on the planet.

“Sir, I’m tracking the away team’s movement now. They’re approaching the first group of hostiles.” Solek announced as the tension on the bridge escalated.

“Can we track them onscreen?”

“No sir, satellite imaging is not functional right now. All we can do is monitor their lifesigns.”

It had been an hour of pacing and waiting on the bridge. Aron had kept the captain updated on the repair schedule, though Edgar was more preoccupied with the status of the away team. “Where are they now?”

“They’re still moving up the pathway to the abbey, like they were two minutes ago, sir.” Solek mulled. Edgar frowned. “Sir, they understand your orders. There is no indication they’re incapacitated. They will contact you the moment the area is secure.”

“Ishii to the Bridge...Captain, we can bring the shields back up with main or auxiliary power. There are still partial repairs and patches to the integrity fields that we need to complete.”

“Thank you, Ensign. Inform me when we can restore main power.” Edgar said, turning to Solek. “At least something is progressing.”

Another fifteen minutes passed in silence on the bridge before the long awaited communication from the surface finally arrived. “Ensign Troi to New Orleans. Captain, respond.”

“Calvin here – go ahead.” The tension on the bridge spiked a moment waiting for the report.

“We’ve reached the abbey and secured a perimeter. We’re ready for the ambassador.” Edgar sighed in relief at the report.

“Understood, Ensign; good work. New Orleans out.” Edgar stood, looking around the bridge. “Now that the combat situation has ended, I think it best if I escort our guest to the temple myself. Keep Starfleet updated on our progress.”

“Understood, sir.” Solek acknowledged as Edgar moved to the turbolift. Edgar soon arrived at the ambassador’s quarters, and the two moved quickly to the transporter room. During the walk, Edgar tried his best to explain the situation to the ambassador to diffuse the Vulcan’s disapproval.

“It seems to me, Romulan, that you enjoy putting yourself and your ship in danger.” The Vulcan dismissed.

“I assure you, Ambassador that is certainly not the case. Also as I’ve reminded you this is not only my first command but my first mission as captain. It is unfortunate you refuse to be more forgiving on the matter.” Edgar jabbed back, using what logic he thought would be most effective.

“Coddling the weak is never effective, Lieutenant.” The ambassador vollied back. Edgar refused to stoop any lower and let the ambassador have the last word. After a moment travelling through the transporter system, Edgar and the Ambassador arrived on the planet.

“Calvin to New Orleans...Solek, we’ve arrived at the Abbey and the ambassador is entering now.”

“Captain, I need to speak to you on a private channel, are you alone?” Solek asked. Edgar moved away from the abbey and his security team and gave Solek the go to continue. “Captain, I’ve just got word from Starfleet...they found the remains of ambassador Sokketh in his quarters. He’s been dead for at least a week.”

Edgar peeked around the corner of the abbey and watched the ambassador interact with his security team. “Solek, verify last statement. Did you say they found his body?”

“Yes sir. It appears the Klingons were correct...Sir? Eddie...What should we do?” Solek pressed the question while Edgar just stared at the ambassador.

“I don’t know anything about the Undine...Notify Starfleet. We’ll attempt to detain the creature down here.”

“Sir...Be careful.”

Edgar returned to the group clearly pissed off. He grabbed the nearest security officer’s rifle and pointed the charging weapon at the ambassador, “What the hell are you?”

“Captain!” the entire security team, including Desmond and Summer, shouted in horror and fear.

“Lower your weapon, Lieutenant.” The ambassador ordered. Edgar responded by training the weapon closer to the Vulcan’s eyes.

“What are you doing? This is a Vulcan ambassador!” A monk protested. Edgar flinched for a moment and looked at the monk. “Do what he says and lower your weapon.”

Edgar lowered the weapon from the ambassador’s face, but kept it trained on his chest with his hand on the trigger. “I just got a message from Starfleet. There was a body found in the quarters where the ambassador stayed on the planet. The individual was ambassador Sokketh. I trust Starfleet’s message, and the Klingons’ claims are now supported by that statement. Even a Vulcan must comply with that logic. Now answer my question. Who are you?”

Everyone was frozen in fear as Edgar’s words settled in their ears. Even the monks were visibly agitated. The delay in response brought the phaser rifle back to the ambassador’s face. Edgar was practically shouting the order. “Answer the question!”

“Why should I? It’s clear you’ve already decided your answer. You have no interest in what I have to say or what I do. It is understandable; your lack of discipline to control your emotions has driven you to rage and violent behaviors. Your might have overcome this if it was simply your human heritage, but look at what a half-breed like yourself has done with the wreckage of the grand failed attempt of holding onto emotions that was the Romulan Emp—”

Edgar had pulled the trigger. The phaser pulse had little time to clear the discharge crystal before the pulse impacted on the ambassador’s face, devastating the Vulcan’s face and knocking him down on the ground. The phaser was still set on kill, and the burns on his face made Sokketh’s face unrecognizable. Summer and Desmond gasped in shock at the blast. Edgar looked around at the security team. “He was monologing.”

“But...captain, the ambassador hadn’t answered your question.” Summer protested.

“Oh he did. His refusal to answer the question and the emotion in his eyes told me all I needed to know. He was an imposter.”

“Is sir...look.” Desmond said, raising his phaser rifle. The shape of an inhuman creature rose from the body of the ambassador and stood on its legs at a stance three meters high.

“Fire everything, take it down!” Edgar screamed raising the rifle once again. The Undine creature threw two of the security officers a few meters and they tumbled down the steep mountain. It did nothing but enrage Edgar. His response was nothing short of an overloaded phaser blast. Finally after killing one more red-shirted security officer, the creature scampered away down a mountainside path. “Get after it!”

The two tactical officers followed their captain down the path chasing after the Undine. The brush cover got dense enough to slow down the group, increasing the gap between the monstrous creature. “Sir, over here.”

Edgar looked where Desmond’s weapon was trained and saw the Undine rustling through a wooded area moving towards the clearing below. Edgar looked at the two and motioned to flank using hand signals. Desmond and Summer moved around as Eddie sneaked closer. The Undine creature was silent for a moment sensing the movement of the Starfleet officers. “Dez...flush it into the clearing.”

Desmond looked to where his captain stood through the coverings and nodded to him. The sudden volley of phaser blasts hitting the creature were enough to startle it where they wanted it to go, but none of them expected it to beam out once it reached the clearing.

“Where’d it go?” Edgar shouted looking at the spot that the transporter beam had taken the creature. Desmond and Summer began scanning the area.

“Sir, I’m picking up some unusual transporter readings, I need a moment to analyze the data to determine the signature. Captain...I’m picking up another reading on here...Klingon lifesigns.”

“Klingons? I thought you said you secured the area.” Eddie yelled. Desmond shook his head.

“These were secured. They must have handled a triage to get back in the battle.”

“Fine, fine...where are they?” Edgar said, holding his rifle to fire at a moment’s notice.

“Surrounding us, sir.” Desmond said, fumbling to put away his tricorder. Edgar spun around looking for a cover area. “Sir, over there.”

The trio moved quickly to a nearby building just in time to see four Klingons appear from the woods surrounding the clearing. “Let’s see if we can’t even the score a bit...”

Edgar knelt down and tapped a few buttons on his control gauntlet, bringing up a small holographic control menu. A few more motion sweeps and a phaser turret and shield generator appeared out of a transporter glow. The sudden appearance captivated the Klingons’ attention and they began firing at the shield. Summer returned fire first and began funneling the attackers towards the steps and into the turret’s line of sight. Desmond took advantage of the grouping and threw a photon grenade. The resulting explosion knocked the Klingons back a few feet and onto their backs. None of them stood.

“Calvin to New Orleans Solek, get us back onboard.” Edgar said, moving to the middle of the clearing. Desmond’s tricorder chirped a warning. As he opened the device to examine the new data his face went pale.

Onboard the New Orleans Desmond turned to speak to his captain. “Sir, I’ve got a reading on the ship that transported the Undine...it was an Undine ship.”

Edgar grimaced at the slightly obviousness in the statement but had a bigger problem at hand. “Calvin to Bridge: Raise shields! Troi, Guyton: to the bridge with me.”

The trio hadn’t moved very far when a devastating impact rocked the ship and knocked main power offline. The red alert klaxon blared as bulkheads blocked the way back to the transporter room. As they stumbled through the corridor to the turbolift, another heavy explosion impacted, causing the ship to lose attitude control.

Edgar finally reached the turbolift and stepped in with Desmond and Summer. “Bridge!”

As the turbolift doors opened, another impact threw the ship forward causing everyone to fall. “Report!”

“Main power’s offline, we’ve lost shields and our weapons are gone.” Solek shouted standing up.

“Engineering: get shields back online now! Troi, take the helm and use whatever trick you have up your sleeve to dodge those torpedoes. Guyton, tell me what you can about that ship.”

“Sir it’s a Tethys Dreadnaught. Primary weapons are plasma based including the ability to fire heavy plasma torpedoes with a high yield.” Summer stated in a growing concern. “One more hit from a one such torpedo will destroy us, sir.”

“Send a high emergency distress signal in all directions. Tell them what we’re fighting.”

“Message sent, sir, and the dreadnaught is firing another heavy plasma torpedo.” She informed.

Edgar stepped over a bulkhead towards the captain’s chair. “Do we have anything we can put between us and the torpedo?”

“Sir, we could use the shuttle. It may buy us enough time.” She suggested.

“No, we’re gonna need that if we have to abandon ship...Mr. Troi, turn the ship away from the torpedo and try to extend the gap. Solek, open cargo bay one and let it decompress the contents into open space.” Desmond barely pulled the ship around in time for the contents to explode against the plasma torpedo. “Bridge to engineering, respond!”

“Ishii here...make it quick captain.”

“Where are my shields ensign?”

“Captain, the weapons and shield systems are fried and the consoles are fused. I can get you torpedo launch systems in five minutes but there’s no targeting control possible.”

“Fine then. Get it working, Mr. Ishii.”

“Captain, the dreadnaught’s firing another heavy plasma torpedo...two this time!” Edgar’s face went pale and his heart sank.

“Time to impact?” Edgar croaked.

“Just under a minute; not enough time to launch a torpedo.” Summer said, knowing the statement could seal the ship’s fate.

“Engineering, eject the core.” Edgar said through his breaking voice.

“Sir, if we eject the core, we will lose auxiliary power and the ability to set the autodestruct sequence.” Solek reminded.

“Mr. Solek, if either of those torpedoes hits us, we won’t be setting our own autodestruct. Our best option is to hope the core takes them both out.” Edgar sighed. He was clearly running out of options. The crew waited nervously to hear the results.

“Sir, the warp core has detonated against one of the plasma torpedoes, but the other is still locked and closing.” Summer said as her heart sank with her words. Everyone knew that there was nothing to be done. “...time to impact is 30 seconds.”

“Options?” Edgar nearly cried. His bridge crew was dishearteningly silent. Solek shook his head.

“Activate escape pods; all hands...abandon ship. Repeat; abandon ship. Detonation expected to occur in less than thirty seconds. Drop what you’re doing now.” Edgar glanced around the bridge as he hopped the obstacle course to the turbolift. “That goes for the senior staff too now get going!”

The senior staff ran down the corridor, all scrambling to get to the shuttle bay among the other crew. “Sir before we left I set the ship to maneuver away from the planet’s orbit. Hopefully it’ll buy the escape pods some time to get inside the protection of the atmosphere.”

“Good work, ensign. In here.” Edgar motioned to a the shuttle bay doors. “Everyone inside the shuttlecraft.”

The group had moved through the shuttle bay to the only docked shuttlecraft, a type VIII. Desmond and Summer entered without hesitation, but Solek paused before entering the shuttle. “Sir, in the event the crew is captured or the shuttle destroyed, you should be on a separate pod.”

“Sol, the only reason I was captain was because there wasn’t anyone else to take charge and Quinn had a spare ship. Now that the New Orleans is about to be destroyed, I doubt that’ll be the case. Now get in!” Edgar said, putting his boot to Solek’s back and kicking him into the shuttle. He followed closely behind and Desmond soon piloted the ship out from the shuttle bay.

Edgar stared out the side window and watched the plasma torpedo impact the center of the hull, causing a chain explosion that consumed the entirety of the ship. Edgar looked down and took a moment to reflect on how he handled the situation. “So long, old friend; you fought bravely and died unfairly.”

“Sir, did someone not make it off the ship?” Summer asked, on the verge of breaking down.

“No, I was talking of the ship itself. I can only hope all surviving crew were as lucky as us.” Edgar sat down on a seat in the back.

“Eddie, the last known alive crew compliment was one hundred and seventeen. Once a rescue team gathers up the crew we can compare the number of present officers to that and verify they did. There’s no sense in worrying about it now.” Solek reassured from the co-pilot's seat. Edgar moved to relieve Desmond and fly the shuttle to the surface himself.

“I know, Sol...” Edgar sighed and gazed calmly into Solek’s eyes. “Thanks for being my sanity.”

“Ok, so how long...?” Summer said, leaning over to Desmond who had joined her in the back bunker. He turned and looked surprised at her.

“I think before they took command...can’t be sure though. And I could argue that it’s purely platonic.” Desmond whispered.

“Ensign I believe that a type VIII shuttlecraft is far too small for whispers to be lost between two conversations, especially to a Vulcan's or Romulan's superior hearing over humans. I can assure you both the captain and I are fully capable of keeping our friendship and professional relationship separate. Now if we can find move to another topic, we're entering the upper atmosphere. Please prepare for landing procedures and buckle up.”

“Yes sir, understood!” The two stuttered out as they strapped into their seats. Solek and Edgar began mashing every button possible to coordinate a landing procedure over a crash.

“Captain I’m picking up federation warp signatures entering the system.” Solek reported as he tapped the comm. and activated the first phase of the landing system.

“How many, Mr. Solek?”

“I’m unable to determine at this level of descent. I can confirm multiple ships however.”

“Good. Hopefully they can defeat that damn thing.” Edgar said, activating the final landing procedure. The shuttlecraft let out a number of flaps that allowed the vessel to slow in descent until it came to rest finally in a small meadow. “Ok, that was a bit rougher than I was hoping, but I think we’re ok. Let’s activate the distress beacon and wait to see what happens.”

Edgar, Solek, Summer and Desmond inside the shuttlecraft waiting for any signal response from one of the Federation ships. “We aren’t missing a band range or anything, are we?”

“No, communication system is undamaged and working normally. They’ll contact us when they’re ready.” Solek replied, a hint of annoyance could be heard in his voice. Edgar frowned and slunk back on the patch of ground he had made into a seat.

“Captain, I’m sure that they’ll retrieve us soon.” Desmond reassured.

“It’s Lieutenant, Ensign,” Edgar stated, almost jabbing at himself.

“Sir?”

“My rank...is lieutenant.” He could tell Desmond wasn’t wrapping his head around it. “I was only captain because I had a ship. Now that I don’t have a ship, my official rank is my designation. Besides, after this nightmare I doubt I’ll get put back in command of anything until I have twice the standard commander’s experience.”

“Sir, either way, you did everything you could against an unbeatable adversary.” Summer complimented.

“Regardless in a single month that ship has seen more loss than any ship or captain should ever experience even with the worst luck in the quadrant. There is nothing that should downplay this massacre.” Edgar said, including the Borg encounter that ultimately put him in command.

“U.S.S. Pandora to shuttlecraft Pontchartrain, is anyone conscious down there?” A voice echoed over the communication audio.

“About time...This is Lieutenant Calvin, commanding officer of the late New Orleans. I’ve got three other officers down here, all conscious and well.” Edgar stood as he listened for the response.

“Thanks, Lieutenant. We’re transporting you now...” the voice said as the four reappeared in the Pandora. Edgar looked around and saw a transporter operator and a blue-toned Enhasan waiting there. “Welcome aboard the Pandora.”

“Thank you, sir. Do you have a count of the crewmen recovered from the escape pods?”

“The Kirk reports seventy five crewmen have been recovered, and we have recovered forty two.” Edgar and Solek looked visibly relieved that the count added up to the total surviving they hoped. It also meant all senior bridge crew were alive.

“Is anyone in critical condition?”

“I’ll be sure to have my chief of medical inform you if there are.” The blue Enhasan dismissed, wanting to move towards other matters.

“Sir, Lieutenant Edgar Calvin, commanding officer of the New Orleans.” Edgar stepped down from the transporter pad and extended a hand to the aloof captain. The captain accepted and the two shook hands.

“Captain Oren-De. Lieutenant, what happened to the captain and first officer onboard your ship?”

“I am the captain, sir. Admiral Quinn’s assignment. ” Edgar asserted, feeling the need to establish his former rank.

“Well, now that your ship is destroyed, you are just a lieutenant, correct? I’m sure you’d like to get to your quarters shortly, but I would like to discuss the last moments of the New Orleans for my report.” Edgar and Solek exchanged a glance of confusion.

“No, Captain, I will be making my report to Admiral Quinn and him only. If you wish to read the report, you can review it after such time. Excuse me, I need to see how my crew is coping with their losses.” Edgar said, asserting his status as a commanding officer to another commanding officer and leaving the transporter room.

Oren-De blinked in surprise at the assertion, only viewing him as a lieutenant and not as an equal. Solek and the remaining New Orleans bridge crew exited as well, leaving Captain Oren-De standing alone and deeply concerned with what just happened.

((That's it for this episode; Stay tuned for a crossover event that will impact the crews of both ships! Feel free to leave feedback below ooc. Thanks for reading!))