<<OOC … I am sorry for the dealy of this JL … I've
been to busy. If I missed to sign someone, please forgive
me. Thank you all for such a nice and massive JL … ;-)) >>
== Starbase 234 "UNITY" Operations Deck ==
Vlimar was sitting at his new office, reorganising the desk
as he preferred. It was the first time since he "officially"
rejoined that he had time for himself, and that time was
used to set up his new Operations Advisor's Office. The room
was large, and a tremendous viewport in it. Vlimar put two
couches looking at each other with a fireplace in the
middle. Vlimar put some objects reminding him of his past,
as well as his present.
Suddenly, Vlimar's monitor beeped. He walked towards it, at
the corner of his desk, as read the message. Commodore
Guzman was calling in for a Parade, in Formal Dress.
Probably for the "official" opening of the Starbase under
SSF rule, Vlimar though. It was schedule for three hours
from that time. Vlimar was surprised of such a short delay.
He looked through the archives and found 2 other messages,
sent 5 days earlier and 2 days earlier, respectively. Vlimar
just forgot to read them...
Vlimar grinned as he liked Parades. He did not know why, but
it was appealing to him.
== PontBrillant's quarters =
Vlimar came in, throwing his PADD on the couch. He Headed
directly to his wardrobe. Looking through his uniform,
Vlimar eventually put his hands on his SSF Uniform. He
slowly dressed and shined his Lieutenant-Colonel leaf and
adjusted in on the colour. Vlimar carefully removed his
medals from his gold-plated box, offered years ago by Fleet
Admiral Peter Adams. He slowly adjusted them on his left
breast and smiled. He was ready.
Vlimar headed out of his quarters and headed to Shuttle Bay
3, the Parade Square. He entered the Bay and looked around.
Anya stood in the Shuttle Bay scowling at the surroundings.
To be assigned to a Starbase of all things was just an
embarrassment. A pilot of her calibre should be out there on
the front lines not stuck in the back guarding the
commanders tent still Starfleet needed their new fighter
built somewhere secure. She turned around and saw a Lt.
Colonel standing there. "Let me guess someone asked you to
drag me to this reception thing as I can't disobey a
superior."
===== Shuttle bay one =
The largest single room on all SB 234 was shuttle bay one.
Housing some 50 shuttles of various sizes and class, it was
quite a huge room … just suitable for special events like
this one. All the shuttles have been removed and the room
was filled with thousands of Starfleet NCOs and officers …
along with several dozens of civilians. All were waiting for
the arrival on the new Commanding officer.
Most of them knew that Starfleet Command transferred SB 234
under Special Forces jurisdiction and made the station to HQ
of SSF 1st Task Force. Star base 234: Unity became central
point of operations in the area of Federation/Erassian
Alliance/Klingon Empire/Romulan Empire border. It was both
an vulnerable and important point, so Starfleet Command
decided to trust it in the hands of Starfleet elite forces
… SSF.
Mnemosyme sat in amongst the crowd. Normally she wouldn't
have come to such a thing except for an order and a
curiosity to observe those who she would be evaluating.
Unfortunately both seemed to apply in this case.
The station still suffered from the recent battle with
Romulan forces, but as the war went on, Starfleet was under
immense time pressure to set up central points of operations
along Romulan borders, so they decided that the finishing of
all repairs and upgrades will be worries of the station's
Commanding officer.
As a loud whiz from an old fashioned navy pipe echoed in the
spacious room, the crowd went quiet and watched a single
officer to enter the room. It was none else then Commodore
Shane Guzman, who walked straight in the middle of the room
(what was some 500 meters).
Clad in shining white duty uniform with golden edges, there
was a file of ribbons and medals on the Commodore's breast.
Aside from academy ones there were surprisingly few. Several
low level ribbons including golden shield revealed Guzman's
tactical background, Citation for gallantry and Bronze medal
for Valor some personal sacrifices for the good of the
Federation, several commendation ribbons the fact that
Guzman was a workaholic. Special Forces cross indicated
Guzman's current branch of service. There was just a single
high level award … Galaxy cluster … which was more a
recognition for years of loyalty and dedication for
Starfleet then a medal dedicated to a special action or
event.
Vlimar saw his Commanding Officer and felt overwhelmed
pride. Shane was, after all, one of the most important man
in SSF and Starfleet. Most of the present NCO's & Officers
were looking forward to service aboard the same Starbase.
But Vlimar knew what Shane was capable, he knew that this
will mean stability for the region. That was why Vlimar was
so proud to be Shane's OPS Advisor. The Gunnery Petty
Officer, some sort of a Corps' Sergeant Major, screamed
"ATTENTION ON DECK!", so everyone went to attention, upon
Shane's entrance. Vlimar stood at his sharpest, looking
towards Shane.
Lernen sighed he wasn't overly fond of these types of
occasions to be bluntly honest. The speeches tended to be
overly long, the chatter bland and never yielding anything
useful and the formal dress uniform made him feel like a
bellhop in a cheap hotel. He had no doubt that there were
more than several dozen things that his time could be more
productively spent on.
Rangi broke off her conversation as the hush fell across the
room. Her eyes followed Shane as he strode purposefully
across the room, his footsteps audible at a steady pace. He
made a striking figure and she felt very proud of him but
pressed her lips together momentarily as she subdued a
smile.
She was thinking back an hour to the time in their quarters
when they had prepared for this gathering. She had flicked
an imaginary speck from his shoulder, straightened a medal
that didn't need adjusting and had looked up into his face
then reaching up to touch his hair had peered closer and
said :
"Oh!..is that a grey hair?....oh no, my mistake." His split
second of concern had dissolved into a grin as she raised
her hands in surrender and said " Teasing" with a
grin of her own.
It had only been a couple of days since Gustav had left the
planet Aeran III and is some ways he missed it, it was
beautiful planet and he was able to spend a lot of time with
one Ensign Hopeler, but now he was back on a starbase
awaiting reassignment. He was currently standing in quite a
huge room that is shuttle bay one with a few thousands
others feeling awkward as he hadn't been to a ceremony as
large as this before.
As soon as he heard the command attention on deck Gustav
immediately snapped to attention and looked strait at the
officer in the middle of the room, he didn't know who it was
but he could tell by the insignia on his dress uniform he
was a Commodore.
Commander Cropa Rojac stood toward the back of the ranks.
The weight of his satchel pulled down on his shoulder as he
stood at parade attention during the Commodore's entrance.
He had rushed here upon hearing the news that the ceremony
was to be held. The Commander had been busy revising
strategies for Captain Chisulo's excursion into the Khasazi
Pass and had lost track of time. He satchel was filled with
padd after padd on romulan weapon statistics, recent
intelligence findings and battle simulations.
Several of the officers and NCOs around him cast questioning
glances in his direction, as if to say "Why is a Commander
so far back in the ranks?" But Rojac shrugged them off, and
watched as the ceremony progressed.
Jade was in her temporary quarters looking over the new
specs for the Chimera C when she remembered she was invited
to a ceremony for the 1TF that serves along side with the
Chimera's crew. Walking into the shuttle bay just as the
first awarded was being given, so she stayed in the back of
the room and watched.
It was of course not the first time that there were many
eyes fixed on Shane … but there were never so many. No
single Starfleet ship could even near the crew compliment of
a Star base and even decimated by the recent battle, there
were at least 5 times more folks present then Shane ever saw
in a single room.
As the crowd went quiet, he took deep breath, put his hands
behind his back and said in a loud voice: "As of several
days ago the Federation was dragged into yet another war.
The treacherous Romulan Star Empire attacked both the
Erassian Alliance and the Federation. There are few who
enjoy time of war and I am not one of them … despite my
rank …"Shane grinned slightly, "but we cannot and will not
tolerate such ruthless violence on our friends or even
Federation citizens."
"There were many that already paid the biggest price for the
freedom of us others. Let's remember those who gave their
lives to save ours … as well as of all the innocent
civilians in all Federation"
Rangi, along with almost everyone else, bowed her head,
thinking of the missing crew. Some would never be found and
for some survivors, life would never be the same. She looked
up when Shane's voice broke the silence.
He paused and went on: "This system has been the first
battle place of this war and it is exactly here, were
Starfleet Command will focus most resources to end this war.
As some of you might know, Starfleet Command transferred
this Stab Base under Special Forces jurisdiction, made it to
HQ of this sector and put me in Command. On behalf of
Starfleet Special Forces Command I now promise you that my
staff and myself do everything possible to make this base
one of the best in all Federation. We have been promised
resources to do all necessary repairs and even upgrades and
we've got some advanced weapons and devices to strengthen
both defensive and offensive abilities of this station."
Shane looked around at the gathered man and woman (inclusive
some exotic beings like Joeleco …) and said: "There is no
safe place during a war, but we shall make this station to a
place safe to work and live. Now I turn to our civilian
population … with SSF jurisdiction on SB 234, there will
be changes in what decks will be open to public and what
decks won't. But I would like to kindly ask you to remain on
SB 234 and continue to live, enjoy and do business here. If
you will have any problems we can help you with, my door is
always open."
Anya rolled her eyes she could but only hope that the deck
her fighter development was supposed to be on was going to
be one of those 'off limits' decks or at least sections that
would allow her to develop her AX-02 in peace and security.
The fact that she had been assigned Shuttlebay 3 where the
drill square was located didn't fill her with confidence.
Mnemosyme stood attention while the commodore at the front
spoke. She resisted the urge to yawn and remained vigil in
her stance.
Shane paused again, then smiled a bit and said: "Computer, I
am assuming command, authorization Guzman – Omega –
Unity – zero – six"
[Star base 234 is of Stardate 240811.16 under the command of
Commodore Shane Guzman] replied the soft computer's voice.
"Commander Rojac, Lieutenant Colonel PontBrilliant, Ensign
Jardan, Second Lieutenant Nyx … front and center!" Shane
called.
Tommy had entered the room earlier with some uncomfort. He
had been uncomfortable about going to the ceremony only
because large crowds made him uneasy. He was also concerned
about the Erassian contigent and had been scrambling to get
enough personnel to maintain security. Now, as he heard his
name being called, he came to attention and moved forward.
{OH, now what? He hasn't had command long enough to
know...} Mnemosyme let her thoughts fall silent as she
moved to the front where she had been called.
Rojac sighed, and dropped his gaze to the floor. If it
wasn't for his beard, one might have seen his cheeks blush
red. He handed his satchel to a yeoman of the Tactical
Department he recognized, and asked the young man to keep it
safe for him. Then he tried his best to straighten his white
dress uniform and made his way to the front.
Shane looked at the little file of officers that now stood
in front of him … and @ attention. To his left, Lieutenant
Pakosii appeared, holding a little tray with several blue
and red velvet boxes. A single mushroom green pie was ready
(to use) on the tray as well.
"Ensign Jardan" Shane said at last, "Your action
during the recent battle did not passed without notification
and it is an honor to present you with the Citation for
gallantry. Putting your ship and fellow crewmember in front
of one's own safety is a sign of dedication and loyality
… and it's the image of a true Starfleet officer. I
congratulate you Ensign" Shane ended and received a red
velvet box from his aide. Piping the award on Jardan's
chest, Shane offer his hand for a hand shake.
"2LT Nyx!" Shane called. "You have been recommended to
me for your exemplatory service and I am proud again to
present you with the Solace ribbon. May your work be always
excelt." Pining the award, Shane offered his hand for a
shake as well: "Congratulations Lieutenant!"
On behalf of all those who perished in the recent battle:
"I'd like to commendate Commander Harker, Task Force
Science advisor. Commander Harker was a science officer but
did not hesitate to give his life in exchange of the lives
of his fellow comrades … and I present him hereby with the
fleet commendation ribbon (post-humously)
"Lieutenant Colonel Pont Brilliant" Shane said, walking
over to his Strat ops advisor. You have spend just a short
time under my command, but you have proven yourself of best
qualities and vast experience. I hereby award you with the
fleet commendation ribbon and assign you as the SSF 1st Task
Force Deputy Commander. Captain Chisulo will become out
tactical advisor and I cant imagine a better candidate to
fill that position!" He pinned the award again and offered
his hand for a shake.
"Last but not least" Shane turned to Cropa Rojac. "I
am not very pleased that yet an another ship called USS
Chimera has been destroyed and have to admit that you have
choosen the follow the bad example set by General Bretam and
myself … loosing the Chimera. Unfortunately, Starfleet
Command took notice of Chimera's destruction as well …
and feel that this issue needs to be addressed. With sadness
I have to say that your current rank does NOT correspond
with your actions Commander Rojac."
Shane paused before going on …
"ON behalf of Starfleet Command, I am hereby PROMOTING you
to the rank of Captain with all the rights and privileges
that comes with this rank and present you with the bronze
star of Valor!"
Shane received two velvet boxes from his aide and he pinned
the 4th golden pip on Cropa's collar and added the broze
star shaped award on Rojac's chest.
"Congratulations Captain … may your service for
Starfleet be long and successful. I've got word from SSF
Command, that your new ship – Chimera – C will be made
ready for you and your crew in a very short time"
After a hand shake, he said: "Now Captain, step please
aside". With some perplexion, Cropa did as requested and
stepped aside. In that instand … the mushroom green pie
hit his face … coring it with a thick layer of cream.
"Congratulations to everyone!" Shane called.
====== End of log ======
Marine Captain Anya Xerxes
Fighter OPS
USS Chimera – C (soon to be)
&
2nd Lieutenant Mnemosyme Nyx
AMO
SB 234 – UNITY
&
Act. Lieutenant JG Gustav Kroitzer
DCEO
USS Chimera – C (soon to be)
&
1st Lieutenant Jade Reese
COPS
USS Chimera – C (soon to be)
&
Lieutenant JG Tom Jardan
CSEC
USS Chimera – C (soon to be)
&
Lieutenant Colonel Vlimar PontBrilliant
1st TF DCO
SSF Command
&
Commander Lernen Harbright
1st TF Intel Advisor
SSF Command
&
Commander Rangi Summers
1st TF medical advisor
SSF Command
&
Captain Cropa Rojac
CO
USS Chimera – C (soon to be)
&
Commodore Shane Guzman
1st TF CO
SSF Command
