[Observation Lounge - Docking Pylon-C - SB 234: UNITY]
Captain Cropa Arnold Rojac pulled down on the pristine white front of
his dress coat as he paused before the doors to the
lounge. As Captain of the newly commissioned Chimera-C, many eyes were
going to be dissecting him this evening. He took in one last, deep
breath and entered the room.
The cacophany surrounded him. Clinking glasses, loud murmurings, the
rush of people wanting handshakes and
offering congratulations; it was rather nerve-racking. Rojac grit his
teeth beneath his trademark smirk and pushed himself through the
crowd, shaking hand after hand, toward the large viewport and stage.
Commanders Wellington and Trzetrzelewska had done a wonderful job
decorating the room. The stage was elegant,
with a large table in the center adorned with an ice replica of the
new battleship. A glass podium stood before that with an access to a
public address comm. Rojac glanced about the room of uniformed
personnel and then checked his chronometer. It was almost time.
Gustav and Mimi entered the lounge arm in arm, he was wearing his
white dress uniform with what ribbons he could
put on he didn't have as many as some of the officers in the room but
he hasn't been in Starfleet as long, Mimi was
wearing a beautiful purple dress that showed off her figure perfectly
and only served to enhance her beauty.
Turning to Mimi, Gustav asked nervously "do you think we will have to dance???".
Mimi worried to herself {I sure hope that Athena was right about it
being ok for me to where this dress instead of my
uniform.} She flashed a smile, "Well.... the last time I checked they
didn't force people to dance. So.... I guess
your safe..... unless I want to," she quipped quickly to soften the
blow that he might indeed have to two-step or
cha-cha.
Athena smiled when she saw Mimi and Gustav walk in. She was glad she
had given the junior counselor permission to where the dress instead
of a dress uniform. {She looks lovely in the shade of purple and
happy, too.}
When Curtis arrived, he wasn't surprised to see that there were
already a number of guests already arrived. He had
never been one for punctuality, which made it a small miracle that he
had advanced this far in rank. He strolled
through the lounge, downing a glass of champagne before anyone could
really notice. He stretched his shoulder
absentmindedly. He hated these damn uniforms. He preferred a greasy
jumpsuit any day.
Rojac caught the movement of Commodore Guzman moving toward the stage
and followed suit to stand beside him. He caught Natalia's eyes and
nodded; a subtle order for her to follow as well. Pretty soon the
Commodore, Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, and the entire
Senior Staff were on the stage with their new charge looming in the
viewport behind them.
"Sweetheart," Mimi started pulling Gustav's attention away from the
new engineer named, Horace, "See that woman on the stage with the
black hair and the sort of vacant stare?"
"Yes, I see her" Gustav said looking over some heads.
"That's Commander Wellington.... my boss," Mimi tried to figure out
what the other woman was staring at before meeting Gustav's gaze.
"What's she like?" Gustav asked.
"Ummm ... different ... but nice," Mimi responded.
Up on the stage, Curtis ran a hand through his barely regulation
length black hair, his piercing green eyes gazing
over the crowd. All he could think about was how those diagnostics
were going over on th e Chimera. He stole a glance out of the viewport
and shook his head. He hoped those greenbacks could hold down the fort
for at least a few hours.
Jade was running a little late she had to finish dealing with some
final diagnostics dealing with the EPS relays she
then beamed over to the UNITY to get changed into her dress uniformed
that she hasn't worn since she graduated from SF academy. Walking into
the observation lounge Jade took a glass of champagne off of a tray
that a waiter was carrying she then just looked around she hadn't had
a chance to meet anyone when she transferred from the Quasar.
Rangi had an uneasy feeling that she couldn't pin down. It seemed to
her that Shane was avoiding her {...though I could
be wrong} she told herself, watching him shake hands with Rojac and
begin talking to him {...after all, he can hardly talk to me here and
now.} She had caught his eye only once and that had resulted in a
small smile from him but it was different somehow. Martin though, was
delighted to see her again and bounced up and down with pent up energy
at his forthcoming moment of glory.
Athena had sensed more than noticed when the captain arrived and she
hoped he was pleased with her and Natalia's efforts. When she noticed
the others moving toward the staging area she followed suit as well.
{At least we all look like we belong together in our dress
uniforms.... even if it seems a bit predictable.}
Shane came as late as possible. He had two good reasons for that –
Rangi and little Martin. Knowing Tal'Shiar, they
would strike very soon and he had very little time to get both of them
away of the UNITY … if he was not already late. Pushing his dark
thoughts away, Shane walked a few steps forward, looked at the
gathered audience and said:
"Captain Rojac, Commander Trzetrzelewska, officers and crew,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: I extend
to each of you a very cordial welcome to the launching of the century
class USS Chimera. Today's launching comes at an appropriate time in
history. Several months ago, Romulan empire launched and unprovoked
and unannounced invasion in Federation space and it was here – at the
borders of Federation, Romulan Empire, Erassian Alliance and Klingon
Empire where the invasion was repelled. It was the bravery and
sacrifice of many thousand officers and our Erassian friends that
stopped the Romulans … as well as the superior technology and
construction quality of our ships.
Maintaining this high standards, I am proud to present you the shiny
new USS Chimera – equipped with the best and newest technology
Starfleet can offer today."
Shane paused before going on:
"There is a lot of work and sweat behind this new ship. Countless
hours of more then thousand Engineers back at
Omega shipyards. Therefore I would like to thank all those men and
women who built this ship and turned a designer's
dream into reality. My next thanks goes to Special Forces command for
all the resources assigned to this project and
flawless cooperation with the ship yard development team … naming just
a single person here, Commander Bren Ohmsford."
Shane paused for the second time and went on:
"We are also honored to have with us today one of Starfleet most
outstanding officers. The reputation and great accomplishments of
Captain Cropa Arnold Rojac are known to us all, and because of his
foresight and brilliant leadership Starfleet and all Federation is
fortunate today to have one of the best ship's crew ever in its
defense."
Shane looked at Cropa and called: "Captain Cropa Arnold Rojac!"
[To be continued...]
Commodore Shane Guzman
Commanding Officer
SSF First Taskforce/ SB 234: UNITY
Captain Cropa Rojac
Commanding Officer
Commander Athena Wellington
Chief Counsellor
First Lieutenant Jade Reese
Chief Operations Officer
LtCommander Curtis Scardona
Chief Engineer
Lieutenant JG Gustav Kroitzer
Deputy Chief Engineer
Ensign Mimi Hopeler
Junior Counsellor
Commander Rangi Summers
Chief Medical Officer / 1TF Medical Advisor
USS Chimera NCC 96899-C
