[Begin Part II]
[Observation Lounge - Docking Pylon-C - SB 234: UNITY]
After the introduction, Rojac nodded to the Commodore and shook his
hand before he stepped to the podium to address the crowd. "To be
honest, I'm surprised I'm getting another ship." He said, with a smirk
beneath his beard. There was a low rumble of chuckles that
reverberated through the crowd. "But never-the-less, I'm glad command
still sees me as fit for duty." He turned and made a sweeping gesture
toward the line of dress uniformed individuals behind him. "And I will
be taking these talented, professional, loyal, and brave individuals
down with me. Allow me to make introductions..."
"Executive Officer, Commander Natalia Trzetrzelewska; Chief Operations
Officer, First Lieutenant Jade Reese; Chief of Security, Lieutenant
Junior Grade Tom Jardan; Chief Medical Officer, Commander Rangi
Summers; Chief Counselor, Commander Athena Wellington; Chief Science
Officer, Lieutenant Xindi Ra'Zerphimi; Chief Engineering Officer,
Lieutenant Commander Curtis Scardona; and Squadron Commander Marine
Captain Anya Xerxes."
"These officers have been selected to serve as leaders of their
departments on the flagship of Starfleet Special Forces. They embody
professionalism, skill, and devotion. As members of the Chimera, they
have quite a reputation to uphold, and I will hold them to it."
"Though three ships bearing the name Chimera have fallen before; like
a phoenix, the Chimera always rises again. The Chimera symbolizes
indomitable spirit, integrity and perseverance; we never give up the
fight for our Federation, her allies or ideals."
"Today, we are gathered to bear witness to the fourth USS Chimera as
she sets of to defend the Federation from one of her oldest foes. May
the Chimera fight and defend valiantly until the day she is no longer
needed." And the Captain added comically, "And this time, let it be a
decommission and not a destruction."
"Now without further adieu, Martin Guzman will do the honors of
piloting the remote control work bee for the ceremonial champagne
breaking. Mr. Guzman, please step forward!" Rojac grinned,and looked
over toward Rangi and the Commodore, who were to aide young Martin in
his endeavor.
Martin looked at his parents, unable to hide his pride and stepped
forward smartly, eager to take the controls. Rangi, aware of the
responsibility stood with bated breath but Martin had confidence and
pushed away Shane's guiding hand.
Shane smiled at his son who was now the center of everyone's
attention. The little boy was hardly a bit
nervous as the work bee was maneuvering directly at the shiny new
ship. Countless hours spend with playing action and strategic games
were now paying off as the little boy pushed the "release" button at
the right moment and the champagne flask hit Chimera's hull and
shattered in pieces. A loud cheer sounded through the whole deck.
Anya watched impassively from her position at the launch ceremony.
Despite having lived with humans all her life she never really got the
symbolism behind a lot of their ceremonies. What possible use could
breaking a bottle of fizzy wine over the hull possibly do? Probably
the closest thing in Trill culture was the ancient tradition of
'blooding' a ship. Back in those days seaborne ships of war had some
of the enemies blood poured on the hull in order for the ship's
spirits to gain a taste for it...if this was similar then the
Chimera's sp irits would turn into alcoholics. Perhaps so as not to
prey on the crew? Even so she doubted it would be too long before
Chimera-C spilt some Romulan blood thereby 'blooding' herself the same
went for
her own AX-02 Lancers.
"Crew!" Rojac stepped forward to the podium once more. "You have one
hour of revelry to enjoy. We depart at 1330."
The celebrations began and Rangi bent down to kiss her son. "It was
good wasn't it?" he asked, beaming with delight and Rangi agreed but
looked at Shane as she stood up. "Can we talk?" she asked quietly.
Shane shook his head: "I am sorry Rangi, Admiral Janeway called a
meeting in 15 minutes, so I need to go now".
"Already?" she asked, unable to hide the dismay in her tone or
expression. She had hoped for time with both of them..much more time
than this.
"I am sorry Rangi" Shane replied, following his decision not to share
his tears and fears with his beloved. "My job is mainly occupying the
desk and that's what I have to do now. I cant let the Admiral wait"
"Of course. " Rangi replied and careful not to upset Martin, knelt
down and said, "Do as Daddy says then..have a good time..and I'll talk
to you later ok?"
The little boy looked crestfallen at the thought of saying goodbye
again but brightened when Rangi touched his cheek. "I'm so proud of
you." she said and tears filled her eyes when they hugged each other a
moment later.
She forced herself to smile at him once the hug ended and looked at
Shane when she stood up. "Take care of him." she said softly, so
softly that he might not have heard. "Call me soon?" she added.
Nodding, Shane said: "Of course I will, please don't worry". He
kissed Rangi on her cheek and turning around to leave the room. His
heart was torn and his soul was crying, but having the dangers of
Tal'shiar in mind, he said nothing more and left.
Anya wasn't particularly interested in the immediate prospect of
socializing with the other crew members and so she walked over to
where her pilots had congregated in a cluster and motioned to them.
"Okay guys you've been introduced visually to the Captain and the new
ship. I think perhaps it's time to introduce you to your new craft,
follow me and I'll introduce you to the newest love in your lives."
With that Anya led them out of the Observation Lounge.
Rangi watched Shane and Martin weave their way through the crowd,
moving so that she could keep track of them. At the door, Martin,
still holding Shane's hand, turned back to look in her direction but
though she raised her hand and waved to him, she knew he hadn't seen
her. Shane said something to him and next moment had picked the child
up in his arms and Martin laughed. Shane grinned back and as he walked
away, she saw him kiss the top of his sons head. Her hand fell to her
lie against her throat and she stood
gazing at the doorway for some time.
Athena kept snatching champagne flutes off the waiter's treys as she
made her way through the crowd. Grabbing a bottle from the ones that
had been reserved for the launching, she left thinking {I wonder where
Vik is...}
Vlimar came in a little later than the rest of the crew. For the last
hour or so, he was receiving reports from different departments,
relating to his Engineering duties. For him, it was all jibberish.
There was no way that Vlimar was efficient in this duty, thinking it
would be better to get some Ensign to fill in the role. Vlimar was
reviewing the data, referring to some LtJg who was the highest in the
ranks after him. There was also a lot of annual crew review to do,
but, it could wait.
Vlimar walked in and headed at the back of everyone else, trying not
to create a stir. He was wearing his full white SSS uniform, which
looks alike the standard SSF dress uniform, with a hint of intrigue...
{SSS once, always SSS}, he thought.
Cropa stood next to the ice sculptor of his vessel, and admired the
pretigious view of his new vessel from the viewport. She was sleek,
athletic, and deadly. It made his heart swell with pride. This new
Chimera was no where near as large as her predecessor, but her
firepower more than made up for it. But that wasn't her strongest
attribute, the crew that waould serve aboard her would be her true
strength.
Rojac stole a quick glance at his chronometer. The would be deaprting
soon enough. The ceremony was over, and he had work to do. He quietly
made his way out of the observation lounge to begin preparations for
departure.
[End Log]
Captain Cropa Rojac
Commanding Officer
Commander Rangi Summers
Chief Medical Officer / 1TF Medical Advisor
Marine Captain Anya Xerxes
Squadron Commander
Commander Athena Wellington
Chief Counsellor
USS Chimera NCC 96899-C
&
Commodore Shane Guzman
Commanding Officer
Lieutenant Colonel Vlimar PontBrillant
Deputy Commander / Strategic Operations Advisor / Acting Chief Engineer
SSF First Taskforce / SB 234: UNITY
