The Hecate - Part IV

Posted on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 2:47am by Captain Robert Burke

1,043 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: Mars - Utopia Planitia One
Timeline: Five days prior to launch

::ON::

‘… from here we can operate the entirety of Engineering if needed. Say, in the event of catastrophic failures, caustic atmospherics and such in Main Engineering. Bulkhead doors will seal themselves and protect the rest of the ship. Even at the expense of the warp core,’ Gosevv shot Burke a look, ‘please don’t lose it carelessly, though, Captain. In deep space there won’t be much opportunity to manufacture spare parts.’

He smirked in response, ‘that’s not even close to the list of things I want to achieve with this ship. You can rest assured of that.’
Gosevv huffed and rolled her eyes in response as she beckoned them forward to the edge of the support area, ‘just keep my ship in one piece.’

The Upper Support Bay opened up vertically, the deck fanning out in a hexagonal walkway that edged the shaft around the warp core. Spaced at intervals were small maintenance consoles allowing monitoring of the ship’s power source. Burke leaned over the railing and glanced down at the M/ARA Reaction Assembly.

‘What’s her power output?’ he asked, glancing up at the engineers while Kovacs also leaned over the railing.

‘Substantial,’ Desen noted with pride. ‘Gosevv and her team have used the latest technology and techniques to eke out the most from the core. We estimate that the Hecate has an overall strength index of four-one-four, much like the other Excelsiors coming online.’

‘She can maintain warp eight-point-six as a cruising speed, and the shields sustain a million-and-a-quarter terrajoules,’ Gosevv said as she looked to the warp core. ‘It’s taken every ounce of the Corps’ knowhow to get the core to the standard necessary.’ She huffed a laugh, ‘can’t have another transwarp debacle.’

The Tellarite waved them over to the lift, ‘for easy access between the Support Bay and Main Engineering. A bit cramped though.’
‘You don’t say,’ Burke remarked drily as they shuffled up together. They were all slightly closer than necessary, Burke noticing that Desen had used a shampoo with a sharp citrus smell that morning. Mercifully, the ride was short.

Burke admired the acres of open space, particularly when comparing it to the Engineering bay of his last command, the Miranda-class Templeton. A tough little ship, but everyone was on top one another when at duty stations. As they passed the main console, he ran a finger across its surface. The cool green-and-blue interface sparkled under the lights.

He marvelled at how new the ship seemed.

‘If I may, Captain, we may want to head to the Bridge now,’ Desen said pleasantly, tucking a chrono away in her uniform. ‘Time is unfortunately pressing, and I’ll be needed elsewhere shortly – we have another three ships being handed over today.’
The new captain looked up from the console to where the other three were clustered, the two Starfleet officers sharing a knowing glance.

He grinned, ‘of course, Commodore. Don’t allow me to detain you.’

Gosevv led the group out of Engineering and back towards the turbolift. ‘It’s a shame to cut the tour short,’ she huffed, looking up at the taller human. ‘The shuttlebay is quite something. And we’ve packed it full of Type Fours for you – no point having the old Class-F out on the frontier. No weapons.’

Burke nodded appreciatively as they were ushered into the lift by Gosevv. ‘If you’ll excuse me Captain, Commodore. I have some work to do before we do our final handover.’ She pointed a finger at Burke. ‘Look after my ship, or I’ll have you answer for it.’
‘You have my word on that,’ Burke replied as the turbolift doors closed.

‘Bridge,’ Desen intoned, her Denobulan eyes sparkling as she caught Burke’s glance. Evidently she’s having fun too, Burke noted. The lift deposited them on the Bridge, the group approaching the center chair from the right, relative to the main viewer.
It wasn’t as chunky as that first center chair he’d seen a lifetime agon on Titan. It was smaller, sleeker. But it still emanated authority, a sense of command for the one who occupied the chair. Burke glanced about the Bridge, noting the Master System Display, the comms console, helm and tactical.

He was still waiting for something, some sign or frisson that told him Hecate was his.

She was a beautiful ship, sleek and elegant, but those were the extent of his feelings. As he made his way around the centre railing, running his hand along it, he was vaguely aware of Desen asking Kovacs to step outside, leaving the two officers alone.
Burke turned to her as she cleared her throat. ‘Just one more duty for me, now,’ she smiled. ‘Computer,’ she continued, her voice projecting, becoming more commanding, ‘transfer command authority to Captain Robert Burke, authorisation Desen-Five-Nine-One-Tango-One-Three.’

The Main Computer was silent for a moment. ‘Command authority transferred on this date. Captain Robert Burke now recognised. Confirm?’

‘Captain Robert Burke, Burke-Eight-Eight-Five-Sierra-Seven-One.’

‘Confirmed,’ the Main Computer concluded blandly.

The Commodore nodded to the Captain at the rail. ‘I’ll take my leave of you, Burke. Godspeed as you humans like to say.’

The turbolift doors closed behind her. Burke turned, and regarded the center chair once more. Slowly making his way around the railing, then down into the central well, he approached it carefully. A knot formed in his chest as he stepped towards it. He put his hand on the headrest, lightly, barely touching it.

He felt, or imagined he did, heat slowly building at his fingertips, a tingling sensation running up his spine.

Hecate was his.

Burke spun the chair around and sat in it, rotating to face the viewer and lazily crossing one leg over the other as he rested his arms. It felt comfortable. It felt right.

‘Computer,’ he called out in his first act as Captain, ‘play … Quiet Joys of Brotherhood, the Sandy Denny version.'

::OFF::

Captain Robert Burke
Commanding Officer
USS Hecate

Commodore Desen [NPC]
Hecate Project Supervisor
Utopia Planitia

Lieutenant-Commander Zuhavn-bin-Gosevv
Hecate Project Chief Engineer
Utopia Planitia

Petty Officer 'Ian' [NPC]
Shuttlecraft Pilot
Utopia Planitia

Takeshi Kovacs
Civilian Liaision
Confederated Martian Colonies Government

 

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