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Chapter 1: Embarking on the mayden voyavge.



It had to happen one time ofcourse but of all the time the universe had and would exist this was the absolute worst time for it to happen. Keash was late. On the day of the Uss Eagle’s launch and departure on her maiden voyage, it’s Captain was running towards the turbolift on Deck 3 where his quarters were, to take him to the bridge. The bridge filled with camera’s, journalists and oh yeah, half the Admirals in Starfleet, where Keash should have arrived almost 20 minutes ago. While he ran he was doing his best to get his dress uniform to look anything approaching acceptable and, in his opinion, failing miserably.



Missing the turbo-lift’s opening doors by microns he ploughed into the cart yelling “Bridge, emergency override, maximum speed.” and bouncing off the far wall when, obedient as ever, the cart took off at a speed that the inertial dampening systems were not calibrated to compensate.



The result was, unfortunate more than it could have been because of the many automated imagers that had been programmed to target the Captain at the very second they detected him, that the entire population of the United Federation of Planet’s first image of it’s new hero; Captain Keash Faultish of the USS Eagle, NCC 100001, was of a man tumbling out of the turbolift onto the bridge to land flat on his ass.



Every single attendee’s gaze locked on him right there and then, and there was nothing he could do about it. He slowly got up, brushed non-existant dirt off his uniform and determinately strolled over to the center seat and sat down in it. As if that way of entering the bridge was no more than protocoll he pretended it never happened and dryly turned to face his 1st officer and asked “Status mr. Nessnaj”



Not missing a beat the commander replied even faced “All systems at maximum efficienty. We’re ready for departure. Starfleet control has authorised our flight plan and wish us good fortune in our endevours.”



Keash then turned to face the nav. console and ordered. “Set a course out of the solar system ms. Snetto. Mr. Croc, please open a shipwide channel.” The dark skinned small human, wearing a retro-look headphone covering his ears completely pushed a button and then announced “Channel open Captain.”



“Good morning everyone, this is your Captain speaking. We are mere moments away from embarking on our epic journey into the unknown, and by doing so we are writing our chapter in the annals of the history books of civilized life in the United Federation of Planets and of Starfleet. We are taking Starfleet back to where it began, where it has made its greates archievements and where it belongs. We’re taking it back from being the Military might defending us in war, from being the emergency relief organisation saving lives after the war and back into being the organization which purpose is to explore strange new worlds and to seek out new life and new civilizations…. Today we will be going where no one has gone before.” Keash said, leaving a silence to let the meaning of those words sink in somewhat. Then “It was in the late 2380’s that the Dominion war ended Starfleet’s abillity and responsabillity for exploration and replaced it with the need to fight and to survive for the Federation and its allies. After that war the aftermath and events at the time left to little time for the Fleet to fix the problems and spiralled down into another war that has lasted for decades until the last cessation of hostillities in 2414. After that war every space worthy ship was needed in the effort to rebuild what had been lost during that war and save the lives of people who’d lost everything in it. One year ago the Federation council approved and commissioned the construction of a explorer class starship which began it’s trial runs two months ago. Today, July 24th 2419, the first of that class of starships, the USS Eagle…. our ship…. will embark on her maiden voyage turning the last page of the chapter in history titled “Galaxy War 2” reveiling for us a bright, clean and most importantly empty, page on which a new story, our story, can be written by the things we will do from this day forth. What that chapter will hold when its finished no-one can know but i am confident that we, that you, who together form the undoubtedly best assembly of Starfleet officers ever brought together, will make it a chapter which will fill our decendants with pride and make them feel proud to call us their ancestors. Never doubt this: You are the best and finest person in Starfleet for the duties you’re asked to perform. So as long as you do your duty, you’re doing exactly what i expect from you and you’re doing better than anyone else could do it. I am proud and humbled to be asked to lead this crew and i vouw to you that i shall no less than i expect, perform my duties to the best of my abilities and bring everyone back home after successfully completing our mission. Thank you.”



The silence that followed Keash’s speech was like the gap bitween the visible distruction that one saw of a distant detonation of a thermonuclear device and the sound that it produced which followed several moments after the image did. Then one, two, four, six officers began singing “Starfleet, beacon and defender of the Federation’s contience” creating a tsunami of singing to wave from the Eagle’s stem to stern and ending with every single member of the crew singing out with heads held high, chest out and pride in their stance and voice.

The song was an inspirational one in melody and lyrics in the early days of G.W.II when thing looked back that was sung by the crew of a Starfleet ship couragiously standing their ground opposing an overwhelming force of enemies to give 201 Federation starships carrying civilians time to get away and into warp while condemning themselves to certain death. It became the song that defined what it meant to wear the uniform and be the best, the most just, the most richious and the most honorable.

Shouting to be heard over the loudness of the singing voices Keash told the visitors it was time to leave the Eagle and, after they’d all beamed off the bridge or wherever they had been at that time, he nodded towards the Chief conn officer to his left and front mouthing the words “Lt. Faultish, take us out.”



The massive but sleak shape of the Uss Eagle slowly moved forward, disconnecting the umbilicals with small puffs of freezing atmosphere, and freed itsself from the grasp of the clawlike shape that formed the dock at the Shipyards it had been born in. Clear of the structure the impulse engines tucked under the armpits against it’s secundary, engineering, hull flared brightly starfleet blue and propelled the USS Eagle to nearly the speed of light while it leasurely and smoothly turned in an arc until it’s stem pointed directly towards “where no one had gone before” and then straightened its heading.

Clear moments later of the Sol System’s Oort cloud the moment that Keash felt was his to saviour for the rest of his life had arrived. He stood and walked 2 paces to stand between the navigation/operations console and the Conn. The viewscreen showed the view that a fly on the tip of the ships stem would have and after a deep breath Keash held out his arm, pointed at the center of the screen and said “Helm, take us into the unknown, warp 8….. Hit it!”

The viewscreen showed the stars turning into streaks and the view that characterized the incredible speeds that warp drive propelled them in while the Lieutenant at the conn answered “Heading 180 by 0 mark 1, warp 8, sir” with a smile that seemed to split his head into halves.

At that Keash turned and found the eyes of the bridge crew inexplicably glued to his location. A confused expression on his face he looked around, then asked “What?” in the direction of the beautifull Ms. Snetto, the Ensign and Chief of Navigation and operations. She seemed to have difficulting controlling a laugh that seemed to be threatening to break out from under the poker face with which she tried to contain it but managed to point at her Captain’s groin. “erm… you have a wardrobe malfunctioin sir” she managed to tell him before turning away from him, intent on the contens of her console’s screens all of a sudden. Looking down at the place where the uniform had the same vertical cut in the fabrik that as most other pants had throughout most of recorded history providing the quickest and most efficient manner of releiving themselves for most species of men Keash saw that, indeed, the velcrolike strip that was supposed to keep it closed when not in use had failed to adhere to the opposite strip and reveiled a 5cm. high and 3 cm. wide opening in his pants through which the bright green underpants could be seen to contrast with the Bloodred of the Uniform pants as if the color had been created for thát purpose only.

“great!” he muttered as he closed it, very aware of the eyes that were observing him closely. “I hope i haven’t scared any beautifull young single women at the sight of the Bulge they named battles after inside my pants” he tried to joke his way out of the ackward situation. Aneleh wasn’t going to let him off that easy though, unfortunately, asking with innocent eyes “Are you referring to the battle of the Little Big Horn sir? The one famous for Custers last stand?”



It wasn’t the way he’d had liked to end the situation but the end result, belly loughs all around, did come from it. Soon the bridge settled into the hive of activity that went with embarking on a mayden voyage of a starship. Diagnostics, checks, tests and tweaks were buzzing the place and the number of people coming in and going out of the areas where the science and engineering sections were located tripple that one would expect on a bridge of a well running and coördinated ship and crew. “I’ve just received updates from all deparement heads sir” the voice of the gruff looking xo, and friend, cmdr. Namreh Snetto, informed Keash from behind and, seemingly the last to do so, force thought of embarresment from his mind and back to the moment in which they lived. “Good news i trust?” Keash asked, turning his chair and facing his friend. “Aye sir. Apart from some minor tweaking the Eagle is performing at or above the high end of their expected maximum across the board. If there were a color greener than the one we use for perfectly allright than it would lit up at the status indicators for all systems on the ship”



A split second, no more, the mind of the Captain began to try and imagine the color described before Keash cought himself and smiled. “Everything is fine” was simply to basic for Namreh to speak wasn’t it?” Keash asked mockingly and rethorically before Keash took the PADD that the XO held out for him. Keash stood with it, without taking a glance, and then turned to face the crew behind the center seat and 2 forward statons. “Thank you everyone. You have probably made this the most efficient and uneventfull embarkation on a maiden voyage in the history of ship’s doing so.” Keash told his crew, looking each of them in the eye for a split second before resting his gaze on AneleH. “Number 1, please join me. Lt. Snetto, you have the brigge.” he told the woman and then headed to the turbolift. When he entered he had to wait a moment for Namreh to catch up with him which he used to wink at the woman with a confused stare locked on his departure. When the doors closed, breaking the lock, he ordered “Deck 20, section 1” and looked up at his friend standing next to him. “I think this occasion deserves to be toasted to, and what better place than the “let go bar” as the ships officers mess was aptly named.



Besides the large doors that seemed to be slower than others on the ship in opening and closing a plaque informed every one that entered into the place “Ship’s duty, life’s triles and tribbelations and everything else one carries troughout our daily lives are to be Left outside the door. Let Go!” it said emphasizing the purpose of the establishment’s existance. To the right of the entrance the bar, 7 meters in length and about chest high lined with barstools offered the classic Bar experience including the barkeep dilligently wiping glasses and setting them back onto the planks that stuck out from the back wall. Those planks not holding stacks of glassware gave a home to bottles of liquor of al kinds of shapes and colors or holo-images showing people happily “letting go” mostly of their sobriety.

To the left the room expanded into a wide open area filled with tables and chairs or couches until the transparent outer hull cut in abrubtly with the illusion of not existing between the room’s occupants and the cold dark depths of outer space. In the back a dabo wheel drew some luckseekers with the lure of gold plated latinum, or more likely the lithe and wel curved body of the skintight leather top and skirt wearing dabo girl S’Kadje, a pleasingly green skinned Orian woman that had come on board with the bar’s barkeep Dutch Hollander, a true and through Ferengi despite the very Human name he swore his mother had given him at birth.



The round eared barkeep instantly noticed the entry of the Captain and his 1st officer and started to fill two distintly diffent glasses with equally different bevereges and had them ready on the bartop when the behinds of the two men touched down on the surfaces of their barstools. A large glass of 21 year old Glennfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky for the Captain and a pint of d00mShine pilsener lager beer with a collar of two fingers high bright white foam.



The two friends exchanged surprised and slightly confused looks before shrugging in synch, lifting their respective glasses and toasting with a resounding DIINNGG!!! “To all that goes well, then now and in the future” they said in chorus, before downing the liquids in their glasses in one swig and slamming the glasses back onto the bar with a bang. Keash wiped his lips with the end of his uniform’s sleeve and let out a deep breath, betraying a slight tightening of his troat muscles due to the passing of a large gulp of Whisky and more specifically the 40% Alcohol in it.



“Keash, i don’t think i’ve ever felt this content just to be alive as i am now” The older, shorter and long bearded Commander with a “Outlaw biker meets santa claus” look about him said to the larger, younger heavyer and less haired Captain with a “I just woke up and i can’t remember what i did last night meets Regulation is holy cause i’m a Starfleet Command Officer if you don’t look to close” look about him.



Smiling he considered his feelings for a moment and then, looking at his friend, said “You know, i am loathed to admit it, but i think i completely agree with you my friend!” and truely felt content and beyond satisfied, maybe even happy, at that moment. He had every reason to. The ship had made it out of spacedock, on time, under budget and without major surprise systemfailures at their optimal cruise speed heading for the Alpha and Beta Quadrant border’s “south” as it was represented on most maps of the milky-way galaxy. In 8 days they’d cross that line on the map that represented explored space and the real beginning of their mission of exploration, barring unforseen delays. It was a stunningly uneventfull and according to expectations unfolding mayden voyage they had embarked on and it illicited a sense of pride in Keash’s mind, overwhelmingly hiding the nagging awareness that such good fortune was always acompanied by an exponenially oppositely large and growing bill sooner or later payable with no other currency than pain, sorrow, misery or misfortune. And usually the exchange rates were not in the favour of the one stuck with the bill. That thought was so overwhelmingly oppressed by the contentness that consciousness never even became aware of its existence let alone head its wisdom.



Another round of drinks appeared before the two men and the barstool next to Namreh’s was impacted with the meteor posing as butt on the extremely muscular and athletic features, at least in his own mind, belonging to Nereeh Seim, the ship’s chief Engineer and closest friend of both the Captain and Commander, the closeness of the friendship equally devided among his mind and reality as his muscular and athletic physique. “Nam, Shake, a pleasure to find you here at this time! I guess having the best engineer in Starfleet overseeing the engines and power systems during our mayden voyage frees a lot of time not chasing mechanical glitches and hickups. I’m surprised, but no less pleased, to give you both the opertunity to buy me a drink in expression of appreciation.” the man said, with not a shred of sarcasm or cynisism and meaning every word he said and thought. Exchanging glances with a barely covered smile Keash turned to look at the Engineer. He then, not offering a drink to the engineer, raised his glass, toasted the cmdr’s glass with a clang saying “To our engineering departement, and it’s skilled engineers who are so good at their job that at the end of his 5 hour shift the Chief engineer’s uniform is cleaner and more spotless than the Chief Medical officer’s hands during major surgary!” and downing his drink while the commander echoed his words and mimiced his motions drinking up his pint of beer.



The sarcasm passing by the Chief engineer without his notice nodded as if in thanks and proceeded to order something from the bartender and, drinking up his mug off Completa coffee as quickly as the liquid’s heat allowed him to. The ever present as a tool for, but bever succeeding in, looking genuine smile shone it’s brightest at the two frieds beside him at the bar and said “That content feeling you’re having right now? That’s the feeling i have almost all the time guys. I tell you, even though it’s mostly through manual backbreaking labour  i’d recommend my lifestyle to anyone. It’s the best way to live, really. Ofcourse no one can do it with the swag and laydback attitude i do but that’s not the most important part of it isn’t it.” Seim told the man before leaving with a shrug and a muttered “gotta go, the little lady of the house has my favorite dinner ready!”



When the engineer had left the bar Keash did his best impression of the man and said

“It’s being content and satisfied with the life you have, regardless of the three children, and  my wife (who’s so eager to be the perfect family i sometimes don’t even realize i’m not a young single stud anymore). I mean, my life’s perfect! I have a job with status that’s important to everyone, i have three perfect children that never act up or out, when i’m around, i have a wife with a compulsive cleanliness bordering hosophobia that is so intent on projecting the perfect family image to the world that only the smallest and incidental woes and tribbleations a family of 5 face in life get to me. I can spend my time at my work as long as i want, where i have my good friend and loyal fan to keep my ego polished and shiny and my collegues to which i can dish out my disaproval of how they did the work maybe i could’ve, should’ve would’ve but didn’t do and act like the time i spent at work is nowhere near metaphircal if not symptomical of the wall around me, there to keep the stress of most family fathers and hosbands from reaching me.

Ignorance, in that role as a father/husband is after all, bliss.