Throw the Schedule Out of the Window

Posted on Fri Aug 8th, 2014 @ 1:41pm by Captain Christina Curtis

Mission: Begin with a Bang
Location: Rear Admiral Gardner's Office, Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, North America, Earth
Timeline: May 12th, 2155 - 0620 hours

Rear Admiral Samuel Gardner was usually quite relaxed in his office at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco. Though the room once belonged to a close friend of his who had tragically lost his life in the bombing of the Earth Embassy on Vulcan the previous year, he had never felt as if his ghost had haunted the building. Admiral Forrest, Gardner reasoned, was always a man whose spirit was destined to join the very ships he commanded in flying through the cosmos, and such an image always brought him comfort in times of stress.

Today wasn't likely to be one of the days where such mental tricks would work on his tired mind. The office of the head of Starfleet was dimly lit; kept so as to not strain the eyes of the occupiers who had all been roused from their sleep in the early hours of the chillier-than-usual May morning. Present with the admiral were Commander Williams - the former personal adjutant of Admiral Forrest, whom Gardner inherited along with the office; Ambassador Soval, the man who had once stood so staunchly against Humanity's warp program, but was now one of its strongest supporters, and Ambassador Gora bim Gral, of Tellar.

"Tell me again," Gardner said, as he reached up to rub his eyes and try to rid himself of the last vestiges of sleep. "Who have they found?"

"Not exactly found, Sir," Williams answered. He was reporting on behalf of Starfleet's intelligence division - a small yet growing group established by United Earth's government to proactively gather information to aid in the defence of Earth and her colonies - and now her allies. "Their exact words were that they 'have strong evidence as to his intended location and actions.' Luke Mosstaff - he was one of the lower-rating members of Terra Prime. Nowhere near Paxman's inner circle, but apparently with enough ambition to try to seize the limelight in the name of his mission of Human supremacy."

"What exactly are his intended actions?" Soval asked, his voice as calm as though he had spent a peaceful day on the sunlounger at a beach before coming to the meeting. Somehow that disgruntled Gardner right at this moment more than any conversation with the argumentative Gral ever had. "And where is he to be heading."

"We believe he is heading to Deneva," the commander answered, looking towards the Vulcan ambassador. Deneva was a colony barely a decade old, specifically settled in order to serve as a hub for freight-liners in the area, and its population of Earth-born boomers had since been supplemented by numerous other species as Earth's diplomatic interactions increased. "To set a bomb near the Tellarite Trader's Compound there."

That sparked an immediate reaction from Gral. "I knew that the mess created by your Mars Rebels wasn't over!" he exclaimed, flying easily into a rage typical of most Tellarites Gardner had met so far. "I can't believe that you-"

"Ambassador!" Gardner cut the man off before he could start a tirade of insults at everyone present. "First of all, the Mars Colonies did not rebel. Paxman took control of the Verteron Array located there for his own ends." He turned towards Williams. "Who's the nearest ship? Can Archer get there before Mosstaff sets his device?"

Williams shook his head. "Enterprise and Columbia are too far away to get there in time. Challenger is still on diplomatic duties, and none of our Intrepid or Neptune classes have the speed to make it there by the time we believe he will put his plan in motion."

"I could ask Administrator T'Pau if she could send a Vulcan vessel?" Soval suggested, stepping forward as he did so. As much a supporter of Starfleet that he was now, he still clung to old habits in thinking that Vulcans had the responsibility to step in for their "younger partners" in their alliance.

"Thank you for the offer, but I believe that this is something that Earth should handle, Ambassador," Gardner responded, having already raked his brain for the only other ship that could possibly get from Earth to Deneva in time. He turned back to Williams, his face set. "Get me Captain Curtis."


| May 12th, 2155
| Christina Curtis' Apartment, Los Angeles, North America, Earth
| 0649 hours

Christina shook to wake herself as she sat up on the edge of her bed, the sun already starting to stream through her windows as the Starfleet-issue terminal installed at the other end of the room chirped relentlessly for her attention. Curling her toes into the plush carpet under her feet, she pushed herself off the bed, checked to make sure she was presentable enough for anyone with the audacity to wake her this early on her one day this week she was due a lie-in, and stumbled over towards the terminal, pulling herself into her seat as she hit the control that would accept and activate the incoming communication.

She instantly snapped awake at the face that greeted her.

"Admiral Gardner," she said, still somewhat in shock. It wasn't the first time that she had spoken to him since being slated for command of Earth's latest NX-class starship, but he hadn't called her this early in the morning before. She could see he was still in his office in San Francisco, so they were in the same time zone, meaning that he must have been roused from his sleep too. "What can I do for you?"

"How soon can you get Discovery's crew together, Curtis?" was the abrupt response, the Admiral clearly sitting on an urgent issue.

"We're due to launch in two weeks, Admiral," she responded, cursing herself in knowing that he must have already memorised Discovery's launch date well before she even became aware of it. "I have most of the crew assignments in place, and the major systems are installed. We're just working on a few more minor finishing touches."

"We can't wait that long," Gardner said. "I want you and your crew ready to launch in two days. I'll brief you on the mission aboard Discovery later today. I'm sorry we have to skip the bells and whistles, but this is your time, Captain. Gardner out."

Christina slumped back in her chair as she mulled the brief conversation over in her mind. The last word before the Admiral signed off were what stuck in her mind. Captain. Until now, he had simply called her "Curtis" - "Captain" was solely reserved for those in command of an active starship, as far as the Admiral was concerned. So that was it then. It was official. No ceremony, no official function; just one word from her superior officer and she was officially in command of an active starship. And one that had to launch far earlier than any of her schedules had made allowances for.

Sleep was no longer on her mind as she stood to get dressed for her shuttle trip into orbit on the first flight she could order to pick her up.