Star Trek Online: Lord English- LC 1: Heritor

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• zidanetribal Member Posts: 220 Arc User

  November 2013 edited March 2016

  Literary Challenge #1: Prized Possessions
  
  LC01: Heritor
  

  Captain's Log, Stardate 85245.92. In recognition of my service to the Federation, Fleet Admiral Quinn, the Chief of Earth Spacedock, has seen fit to promote me to Vice admiral rank. More importantly, however, Admiral Quinn has seen fit to assign to me one of Starfleet's most state-of-the-art starships, the Odyssey-class starship. I have gotten dispensation to name it Lord English after the invincible time-traveling demon of the 21st-century epic Homestuck.

  
  ===
  
  Vice Admiral Remus Lee looked upon Earth Spacedock from the mess hall of his new ship, the USS Lord English. Looking upon his home state of Pennsylvania, he managed a half-smile of smug satisfaction.
  
  "Captain, I mean, Admiral, where do you want this put?"
  
  First officer Kay Taylor came up to Lee with a bat'leth attached to a giant wall hanging of the emblem of the Klingon Empire and showed it to him, disregarding the unwieldiness of the hanging.
  
  "Ah, that. Let me help you with that," Lee replied.
  
  Lee and Taylor carried the hanging over to the center of the mess hall, where other crewmembers began unpacking other wall hangings and floor sculptures to be placed. Chief Engineer T'Shaanat looked at Lee and Taylor's Klingon wall hanging.
  
  "I believe this would go well on the left, Admiral," T'Shaanat said.
  
  Taylor and Lee hung the wall hanging to the far left. Taylor stepped back and checked to see if the hanging was level.
  
  "If I recall correctly, this came from when we followed Ambassador B'vat back in time," she said.
  "That's right," Lee stated. "When we killed B'vat, I took this bat'leth off of him along with this piece of the IKS Worvig as a trophy. Man, those were good times."
  
  T'Shaanat declined to lecture Lee about the ethics of stealing from corpses, especially since she recognized the rest of the trophies from missions she was personally involved in. Among the boxes was:
  
  A Romulan Statuette from Brea III
  Gul Madred's Phaser Rifle, from Empok Nor
  The kar'takins of Lamat'Ukan and Kar'ukan
  The helmet of Thot Trel, encased in ice
  The Borg implants of the former Captain Ogen of Starbase 82
  An Undine Psi Master's arm-cannon
  
  There were other trophies too, but T'Shaanat's eye was drawn to a Mk. IV Phaser Split Beam Rifle in a box. Vulcans do not normally feel fear, and today was no exception for T'Shaanat.
  
  "Admiral, is this phaser rifle's origin similar to your other trophies?" T'Shaanat asked with some concern.
  
  Lee looked at the phaser rifle in the box and chuckled.
  
  "I did not kill a Starfleet officer, if that's what you're thinking," he replied. "This was the personal weapon of Commander Taylor's predecessor, back when I was an Ensign."
  
  Lee took the phaser rifle out of the box and ran his finger down the barrel. T'Shaanat and Taylor knew from experience that this signaled the start of a story.
  
  "It all started when the Borg attacked Vega IX..."
  
  ---
  
  "If these reports are correct, you are the highest ranking officer aboard the Heritor, sir. That makes you the acting captain."
  "Oh, TRIBBLE."
  
  Ensign Remus Lee, the night shift Security Chief of the USS Heritor, sat in the captain's chair and pounded his temples. Just this morning, he was eating cereal in nightwear when the Heritor was called to join the USS Renown in driving the Borg off of Vega IX. Now he was in command, having lost no less than four of the senior officers under which he served (not to mention countless fellow crewmembers) in a losing battle against the Borg. For someone who spent his Starfleet career reading incident reports and breaking up fights, this was a giant and shocking leap.
  
  "Oh TRIBBLE oh TRIBBLE oh TRIBBLE."
  
  Lee's reverie was cut short by a phaser rifle butt to the back of the head. As he keeled over in pain, he saw his new first officer Ensign Jhamyn Eloni standing over him, staring daggers.
  
  "That was uncalled for, Ensign Eloni!" he exclaimed. "That really hurt, you know."
  "Sir, with all due respect, you are now the role model for the survivors aboard the ship," Jhamyn said. "If you don't shape up, none of us will be getting out of this system alive, and I sure as hell don't want that to happen to me!"
  
  Lee blinked and looked around. The survivors of the ship were looking at him, waiting for his response. Privately, he pulled Jhamyn aside.
  
  "I don't want to die any more than you do, but you have to admit, anyone in my shoes would the same insecurities, wouldn't they? I mean, I always thought my Starfleet career would be cushy; scan a few anomalies, solve a few mysteries, save a few planets, arrest a few pirates at most. Heroics are for people who have their lives in order."
  
  This remark was met with another rifle butt, this time to the stomach. Jhamyn's patience was starting to wear thin.
  
  "There is a saying on Andoria: 'Let your woes become your deadliest weapons'," she stated. "If you can master your self-doubt, you can pull yourself and the rest of the ship out of this death trap, and we can return to Earth where you can find a new captain for your ship."
  
  Although Lee was still unsure of what to do, he saw the anger in Jhamyn's eyes and decided not to tempt his new Andorian first officer's temper any further. Standing up, he brushed himself off, returned to the captain's chair, and addressed the survivor bridge crew.
  
  "Ensign Eloni is right," he admitted. "Sitting here consumed by fear is only going to get us killed. However, straight up leaving the system would be frowned upon as well, so we shall honor the memory of our dead comrades and finish what they started. I may be a sniveling ball of mud, but with your support, I am sure I can become the best damn ball of mud you ever served with! Crewman! Lay a course for USS Seacole! Our Starfleet comrades need our help!"
  
  While Jhamyn worked the first officer's chair, Lee sat on the edge of the captain's chair. Of course, he was still shaking in his boots, but at the very least he could put on a show of confidence.
  
  ---
  
  Lee talked for more than half an hour about the battle for Vega IX using long words and grandiose gestures. Eventually though, T'Shaanat's Vulcan pragmatism broke the mood.
  
  "You said this rifle belonged to your Andorian first officer, but your first officer is currently Commander Taylor, who is clearly human," she noted as she took the rifle from Lee's hands. "What happened to cause this change to occur?"
  
  Lee and Taylor exchanged glances.
  
  "Well, many things happened between then and now, but suffice it to say that if things had worked out differently, Jhamyn Eloni would still be my first officer," Lee explained. "That's a story for another day, though. Let's finish setting up the decorations and get ready to set off."
  
  T'Shaanat and Taylor helped unpack some of the wall hangings as other crewmembers began the arduous task of lifting the heavier items to put on the wall. Lee stepped back and surveyed the work being done in the Lord English's mess hall. A half-smile of smug satisfaction crept onto his face again.
  
  ===
  

  Captain's log, supplemental. The Lord English is ready to set forth on its journey of exploration and defense, its crew having set their affairs in order and preparing for the final frontier. Although the life of a Starfleet officer is never certain, with the potential for death haunting every corner of space, I am confident that this crew will not die quietly or needlessly in the service of the Federation.

  
  ---
  
  The barrel of a phaser rifle tapped down on Lieutenant Lee's head as he sat in the mess hall of the Heritor. Ensign Jhamyn Eloni leaned on the table in front of him.
  
  "You've been wearing that half-smile ever since you left Admiral Quinn's office," Jhamyn noted. "For someone who was deathly afraid of command, you seem to be pleased with yourself."
  
  Lee rubbed his head softly where Jhamyn's phaser rifle impacted.
  
  "Well, I guess I was more ready to command a starship than I thought," he replied. "You were pretty handy yourself with that phaser rifle on Vega IX."
  
  Jhamyn stroked her personal weapon like an Andorian balalaika.
  
  "I never thought I'd be fighting Borg outside of holodecks," she said. "With this baby, though, I think I can take on anything the universe throws at me."
  
  Lee chuckled as Jhamyn twirled her rifle through all the acrobatic drills she learned at the academy.
  
  I bet she really can take on the universe, Lee thought to himself. She seems like the kind of person who would cheat death on a regular basis.

  Post edited by zidanetribal on March 2016

  

  
  Literary Challenges Entries- Star Trek Online: Lord English
  Dramatis Personae of Star Trek Online: Lord English

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