Earth
Posted on Thursday 3 December 2020 @ 21:22 by Captain Hans Andersson & Captain Melody Jones & Civilian Sansa Draxx-Jones & Commander Save'ena (Sav) Tillatix & Commander Caroline Miller & Lieutenant Marbim Rejal & Lieutenant Commander Hayley Godding & Lieutenant Nir’anyar
Mission:
Homeward
Location: Main Bridge USS Merlin, USS Darwin
Timeline: MD1 0800
3552 words - 7.1 OF Standard Post Measure
ON:
Melody came onto the bridge early this morning for a special reason, they were home.
"Good Morning all" She called out cheerily as she took a quick walk around all the bridge stations. For some reason, she was full of energy this morning and was in a glorious mood. She then headed for the command area.
"Good morning Number one, and how are you this wonderful morning?"
Miles pulls a tricorder out and scans Melody, frowning he says, "Well it says it's you and not a simulacrum." Looking up and grinning, "It's good to be back in this solar system. While Cardassia is my home, Earth is where I'd want to retire, at least I think that's how the saying goes."
The turbolift door opened and Fay entered, with an escort. "Hello Melody," she said as she approached the captain's chair.
"Good morning Fay and Sansa" Melody replied with a high smile "I'm pleased you're here, you'll want to see this."
From inside, Sansa thought "Woah! She's not normally a morning person, something's up?"
Fay thought back"Like what?"
Sansa replied "Hmmmm, not sure, It's probably nothing..." Although she was not fully convinced.
Leaning around Melody Miles winks at Sansa/Fay, "Did your father slip something in your Mother's coffee, she's awfully chipper today."
Sav called out from the helm, "Captain, Helm, 3 minutes to Pluto's Orbit. If you want, I think I can get a meandering course in for seeing Neptune, Saturn, and Jupiter on the way to Earth."
Caroline shifted in her seat and recrossed her legs the other way. There was always something lovely and magnificent about coming home through their solar system and Savs idea sounded nice. She did hope Melody took up the offer.
"Excellent idea Commander." Melody replied to Sav. "When we're in range bring us out of warp, then you may... indulge yourself. Let's give our guest a nice view of the planets."
Sav responded, "Aye Aye, Captain, helm at its own discretion." She sensed out the speed of the Darwin and Merlin, then shifted course a little. From Neptune, at full impulse for the Merlin, it would take 8 hours, 10 minutes. At the speed of the Darwin it would take 11 hours and 45 minutes. Way too long for weary travellers. So, with a change coming in, she could catch Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune in 7 hours, 52 minutes Darwin travel time.
Melody turned to Hayley. "Hail the Darwin please Lieutenant."
"Aye Captain." Hayley replied and moved her fingers deftly over her console to open up a secure channel with the older vessel.
Captain Andersson's image appeared on the viewscreen.
Melody addressed him "Captain, we'll be taking the scenic route into Earth so you can go ahead and we'll see you there."
"Thanks for the escort, Captain Jones. We've been cleared straight into spacedock. We'll see in when you arrive. I believe I owe you a drink." Andersson added with a grin. "Darwin out."
The viewscreen image was replaced with the image of Pluto coming into view.
As the outer planetoid was fast approaching, Sav lowered Warp speed down to 2.1 to continue into the solar system quickly for getting to Neptune, or Uranus, quickly.
Mathias was at the science station on the bridge, had swivelled around to watch the Earth come into view. He stood up to get a better picture. Home, he'd not been here for a while. A chance to see his grandparents and other relatives, a reunion! He was feeling the thrill course through his veins, the chance to see the lochs and his old childhood haunts!
Sav called out from the helm, "Captain, Helm. With Darwin heading directly back in, travel time has been reduced. However, as it would still be 8 hours, 10 minutes on impulse to get to Earth from Neptune, I have adjusted course for a tour of Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune for a more manageable 5 hours, 19 minutes. However, sir, another suggestion to reduce time, I can do warp micro-hops to get us to each planet for a fly by. Doing this would also include Neptune and Mars for seeing the planets. What is your pleasure, Captain?"
“Let’s do some warp hopping Commander. A chance for you to show off those brilliant piloting skills of yours.” She gripped the arm of her chair as a brief wave of dizziness passed over her, but she covered it well. Almost well enough for nobody to notice. Sansa had seen it and gave Fay a gentle nudge.
Fay leaned in close. “Are you ok? Sansa seems to be a bit concerned.”
Melody turned to her and smiled. “I’m fine, thank you, Sweetie.”
Sansa thought to Fay. Keep an eye on her, ok but don't say anything, ok?
Fay nodded and turned her attention back to the viewscreen, with Sansa causing her to throw sky glances at her mother from time to time.
Sav shifted their course from Pluto and towards Neptune. She counted off five seconds, then exited warp at 1/2 impulse (1/4 Speed of light). She was 5 Light Seconds from Neptune, or 20 seconds of travel. She now called out to the Bridge, "Upcoming you will see Neptune. Due to its composition of a very dense Gas giant, also called an Ice Giant, with a primary rock and ice interior, its colour is a light blue with light banding of purple and a couple of white streaks, its 'weather'. It is seeming to come from right to left as all planets in Earth's solar system travel counterclockwise. I will be timing to go into orbit right as she passes in front of us. I will orbit for five minutes for questions and answers, if any, then head towards Uranus. And, mark, we are now in orbit."
Fay gazed at the bluish coloured planet "It sounds rather cold and barren. Is Earth the only planet in the solar system that's inhabited?"
"Earth is the only planet capable of sustaining human life but we've branched out to other planets like Earths moon and the bases on Mars." Melody explained.
Miles adds his two bits, "Many species have the same issue. Limited planets able to sustain life, with many colonies spread out to accomplish science pursuits, mining and resource gathering," blushing a skoosh , "and other perhaps nefarious tasks. I must say Fay, your world, with so much water is extremely rare compared to other solar systems we've encountered."
-Nir'anyar's Quarters-
Anya was vaguely aware that the ship would soon be arriving at Earth. Her recollection of the planet was not necessarily a bad one but she couldn't say it was remarkable... Her main impression was it felt lived in, community. Something these Humans did well actually was create communities wherever they went, even if they were considered a peculiar species by most of her own.
She regarded the blue planetoid that was coming into view and as with her impression of Earth it was unremarkable. Just a blue marble in space. She turned back to her book.
Sav now broke orbit, headed out for 20 seconds, closed her eyes, then the Merlin entered a Warp Hop of 9.991 for one second, covering 8354.72 LS distance and then into a speed of 1/2 impulse. This brought the Merlin over to Uranus exactly out at 5 LS, exactly. Opening her eyes, Sav called out to the bridge, "Upcoming you will see Uranus. It seems to be a spheroid of light blue as it is similar to Neptune, but has more variations in atmospheric gasses, actually causing a more uniform appearing colour. It is considered a dense gas Giant, and the second of two Ice Giants, the first of which was Neptune. In a little bit... and," Once more, the planet crossed right to left, and then the Merlin was following along in high orbit. "Mark, we are now in orbit."
Mathias was breathless at the sheer beauty of this, glancing over towards Sav then back to the viewscreen.
-Nir'anyar's Quarters-
The warp hop had made Anya jump, spilling her drink down herself and over the chair and book she had been comfortably sitting reading... It wasn't the motion of the jump, the inertial dampeners saw to that. It was the unexpected flash of colour as the stars warped before snapping back to another planetary body. Had they just warp hopped back into the orbital approach of the same planet? It looked strikingly similar to the last one to her admittedly untrained eye.
She started her retreat to change out of the wet clothing.
Sav broke orbit, headed out for 20 seconds, and closed her eyes again. Once more, the Merlin entered into a Warp Hop of 9.99012 for one second covering 7961.14 LS to arrive near the next planet. Once more, the ship was in 1/2 impulse. Before the crew could be seen the large Gas Giant of Saturn with its rings, at exactly 5 LS and now closing. "Upcoming you will see Saturn. It is the second largest planet, a true gas giant. It does have a core, high wind speeds, and prominent rings if ice particles, small rocky debris and dust. It is a of a uniform brown color with lighter to darker rings going from equator to each core. There are over 82 moons, one of its largest is Titan, larger than the innermost planet of Mercury. We won't visit it unless desired. Mark, we are now in orbit."
-Nir'anyar's Quarters-
Emerging from her quarters, a fresh free flowing dress having replaced the damp one from the drink she had thrown down herself, she cast a quick glance out of the window... where were they now?
'Is the pilot having trouble finding Earth?' she thought to herself wondering in something of a sarcastic manner if she needed to book him in for an eye test as she returned to the replicator to retrieve another drink.
Sav broke orbit once more. After 20 seconds, her eyes were closed and the Merlin performed a Warp Hop of 9.9451 for one second covering 3733.73 LS distance, ending exactly 5LS away. She opened her eyes as the ship headed towards Jupiter at 1/2 impulse. "Jupiter is the largest planet in the Sol System. It has a high surface rotation, and thus its atmosphere is visibly segregated into several bands and different latitudes. There is a massive turbulent spot below the equator, known as the Great Red Spot, a giant storm that has always been there. It has 79 moons, with one, Ganymede, larger than Mercury. It has a mass of 2 1/2 times greater than all of the other planets combined. Mark, we are now in orbit."
-Nir'anyar's Quarters-
Turning back from the replicator she could see another warp jump had happened without her noticing but this alarmed the Benzite women enough to have spilled her new drink over her clean dry clothing before she realized the moon that was looming closer to the Merlin was in fact still some distance away.
She looked down to the fresh stain on her clean clothing. She once again retreated to change.
Fay was listening intently to Sav's narration of each planet and watching with wonder on the view screen.
The Merlin broke orbit and headed inwards and away from Jupiter. After 20 seconds, the Merlin did a Warp Hop of 9.692 for one second, covering 2169.58 LS, arriving outside of Mars at exactly 5 LS away. "Mars is known as the red planet. It has a thin atmosphere, a cold and barren desert with very little liquid water. There are colonies on Mars, as well as resource facilities. It is half the diameter of Earth, with a gravity of less than 40% of Earths. It is similar to Earth, yet variations in tilt of orbit causes rapid changes in its seasons over time. Still, with artificial gravity, the past issues of low gravity have been overcome. As the closest planet, it has many a legend and even deities named after it, or it named after them. Mark, we are now in orbit."
As the ship orbited, the Utopia Planitia shipyards came into view with a dozen or more ships at various stages of construction.
"Unlike you, "Melody said to Fay "We have to build our ships rather than grow them. This is where the latest starships are developed and built.
Fay nodded but as it was technological, showed only a passing interest.
The Merlin left Mars for its final destination, Earth. Once more, after 20 Seconds, Sav closed her eyes and the Merlin Warp Hopped at 6.159 for one second, covering 428.25 LS, but this time at 30 LS away. "And, here we are Earth. We are 2 minutes away to arrange to do an orbit around the Earth, then rendezvous and dock at the Starbase. Earth has been described as a blue jewel in the sky, with land masses being seen among its oceans. It is home to life and the Sentient Humanoids known as Terrans. Its atmosphere is suited for Carbon/Oxygen life forms, is covered in 70% water, and has various hemispheres and Climates. I will leave you to your discussions as I have to bring the Merlin in for orbit and home. Thank you for riding The Merlin with Tour Guide Save'ena at your service."
At the sight of that blue marble in the heavens, Fay's eyes went wide. Finally, she said "It's quite beautiful. The oceans remind me of home." She moved down to the helm, next to Sav. "Thank you for the information you provided."
Sav churred as she turned lightly towards Fay/Sansa, "Yah veruh Wehlcome, Fay-Sansa."
Melody added, "And some nice flying there too Commander."
A churr sounded from Sav as her tail shook twice at Melody's recognition of her jumping about the solar system.
Eventually, Sav called out, "We are in one orbit. In 1 minute, I will bring the ship into spacedock. I... will be my pernickety self."
Suddenly a male voice came over the comm channel. "USS Merlin, the is McKinley station dock master. You're cleared for docking. We're sending precise docking procedures to your helm station. Welcome home."
Melody replied. "Merlin acknowledges, out."
The Merlin left orbit and headed towards the Starbase. The ship slowed to 1/8 impulse, then 1/16 as she entered the Starbase. With impulse cut off, and only on manoeuvring thrusters, Sav suddenly did a pirouette with the Merlin, threading the massive vessel among other craft. Next, the ship's nose faced the dock where the Merlin would be stationed, bridge level, so that those on the bridge could see those sentients in the waiting area of the first main hull docking umbilical. Now the ship rotated around on the bridge, its back end going up and over those ships and docks behind it while its nose arced down and forward, only then to level out with the back end lowering and the front saucer rising, the bridge being the fulcrum point. The massive ship settled to be even keel with the docking clamps. However, before they extended, the Merlin did a 'waggle' of a fighters signature of 'good to be home', and then it was very still as the clamps came out while nary a tremor occurred.
Sav called out, "Captain, Helm, Merlin is fully docked. Request securing of stations and commence shut down for maintenance."
-Nir'anyar's Quarters-
Anya emerged once again from her bedroom, more tentatively this time checking to see what was visible through the window. This time it was a space dock, the mooring clamps slowly swinging around into place, securing the starship to its location.
'Nice to see the pilot finally found where he was going!'
Once again she sat down, collected up her book and went back to her reading.
Back on the Bridge...
Standing and lightly clapping, Miles said, "Great job Commander, that was fun." Turning to his station and entering some commands he then turned to Melody, "Ma'am, we're at station keeping. I've ordered the computer to begin running diagnostics of all systems, and have powered down several sections for Ops and maintenance crews to gain access to for what minor repairs and replacements need to be completed."
"Very good Commander. I think it's safe to say that was a successful mission."
Noticing a signal on her console, Hayley checked and confirmed it before addressing Melody; "Captain, we're receiving a hail from Starfleet Command."
"On screen," Melody ordered and Admiral Hollins appeared on the screen. "Greetings Admiral."
"Welcome Home Commander Jones. The Darwin has arrived safely at Spacedock and I know a lot of the crew are looking forward to getting back down to Earth. The ship is in remarkably good condition to say she's over 100 years old. Captain Anderson has already put in a commendation to you and your crew for rescuing them. We'll let you get some rest now that you're home and we'd like to see you and your senior Staff here in San Francisco for full debriefing at 0900. We're also looking forward to meeting you.." She directed toward Fay.
Fay smiled. "The feeling is mutual Admiral."
Beside Fay, Sav was unconsciously making herself as 'small' and unnoticeable as possible as she reacted to the Admiral Hollins presence on the viewer.
"Very good. The USS Billington reports that everything is going well at the Megapteraian planet. You did some good work there Jones. You and your crew upheld the finest traditions of Starfleet and the Federation. A lot of people here a Starfleet command are very pleased with your work. Get some rest and I look forward to seeing you all here tomorrow. Hollins out."
Sav shook herself, then verified her console was shut down. She stood up, then turned, glancing at Miles with a 'hrmmm' on her face, before continuing on to Melody. "Captain, Helm, helm secured. Request permission to be relieved of watch. Then, I can help with finishing securing the ship if you would like."
Melody smiled. "Permission granted Commander."
"Commander Tillatix that was some brilliant dancing with the ship! I am glad to have been a witness to this. Sheer poetry!" Mathias exclaimed.
Sav blushed lightly as she churred in delight. She replied, "Why, thank you, Lt. McPhee. I.. *snort in humour* yeah, it was darn good, huh. Thanks." She had to really start just accepting praise when given and not try to downplay it like she had done in the past. She no longer needed to. She had earned where she was at now in her career. She glanced over at Caroline and did a small chuckle, her tail shaking in humor. She knew she would have to get with Caroline to let her know how she was progressing, and that Miles had asked for her hand in marriage, even though he hadn't completed the actual actions of getting engaged to her yet.
Sav walked over to be beside Melody and Fay/Sansa. "Captain, as I am going on a quick shutdown round, I was wondering if Fay-Sansa wanted to come with me to chat? If she has to immediately meet with brass, I understand, no hard feelings. Tis just an offer."
Fay nodded enthusiastically, "Of course I'd like to come If that's ok Melody?"
Melody smiled "It's fine by me. Have fun."
Glancing over at Sav, Miles smiled, "You girls stay out of trouble," looking Sav up and down and slightly blushing he adds, "Especially you Commander. Now scoot, before the mass exodus begins."
Sav churr-laughed, an exotic and erotic sound. She now added, "Why, XO, what trouble could us girls possibly get into on a Large Starship crewed with the finest male specimens from around the Federation? *Churrs*" She looked to Fay/Sansa, shaking her head lightly as she 'sadly' added, "And all of them clamouring to get off this ship. Common Fay-Sansa, let's see if any are left to ogle."
Mathias softly chuckled, he was enjoying watching the interplay of the bridge crew of the Merlin. He gazed back out towards the viewscreen, towards the station. Out there beyond the confines of the ship, something he felt was waiting. He didn't know what but he had that...Feeling. He turned to look towards Captain Jones and Commander Miles.
"Permission to leave, sirs?" Mathias asked, as a matter of protocol.
Melody nodded in confirmation.
Sav led Fay/Sansa over to the turbolift. She paused and then said aloud, "Wait, Merlin secured...." She called out, "Hey Miles..."
Miles turned, and in perfect Klingon says 'ach SaH'a'? (Yes oh beautiful one?)
Sav threw him a kiss and said, "Don't forget yah owe me a dinner, dance, and drink.. not necessarily in that order..."
Coming to attention, Miles bows, "I shall await thee at the appointed time milday, now scoot."
She turned and sashayed into the turbolift while winking to Fay/Sansa.
Smiling at the interplay between Miles and Save, Mathias called out to Sav and Sansa, "Wait for me!" heading over to catch the turbolift with Sav and Sansa.
Sav touched the panel inside and the doors opened for Mathias. After he was in, the turbolift doors closed upon the occupants.
Melody rose from the Captain's chair. "You have the bridge Number One, I'll be in my Ready room."
Nodding, Miles replies, "Yes Mam, and welcome home Captain." Transferring his station to a padd, he takes over the now empty Captain's chair and begins pouring over some notes.
OFF:
