Star Trek: Ascendant - Shakedown Cruise IC

[HolyMan]

"Um.. you heard about that?" Benson answers a little nervously. "Truth be told I was there, and wouldn't be here had things turned out differently."

Benson starts to sweat a little and the collar around his neck feels tighter. "But I am here and will give my best to my duties Admiral, you can count on it."

 

[knightemplar]

"That is all I could ever ask for.", said the Admiral.

As they reach the end of the line, there is a few minutes of quiet conversation between the Admirals, before they leave the Shuttle Bay.

"Company, Dismissed. Remember we will be reforming in the Formal Dining Room in about 15 minutes.", came the raspy voice of Commander Cherok.


GM's Note: I am probably going to start the actual change of command ceremony tomorrow.

 

[knightemplar]

Change of Command part 1

As you enter the Formal Reception room, the first thing you notice is the huge dining room table has been removed. Now in front of the huge monitor is a podium with the Starfleet insignia inscribed on it. Coming out of that area are numerous chairs. The admirals are already sitting in the front of row with Admiral Kiel and the Commodore chatting. There are plenty of seats still left on the front row.

Sitting behind the Admirals, there are numerous people in a mixture of Dress uniforms and standard duty uniforms. At the door, there are two security guards out side of the room still in duty uniforms, while there are two security officers inside still in dress uniforms with Lt. Srosski being one of them.

People are chatting among themselves when Admiral Mackenzie and Commander Shelby get up. Commander Shelby goes up to the microphone and announces. "Admiral Mackenzie, Commander of Utopia Planitia and Commander of the USS Ascendant.". With that Elizabeth stands back from the microphone still holding the strange bag that she brought on board.

Everyone starts politely clapping for the Admiral as he takes over the podium. From a small pocket on his uniform jacket, he takes out a few small note cards. He holds them up, and says.

"Just to let you know, these only have peoples names on them. I have been asked to keep my comments short, so Admiral Kiel can make her 1000 launch time." A few chuckles are heard from the audience.

"Don't blame this on me Sean, you wanted another dock open so you could start work on the next ship!", stated Admiral Kiel in a playful tone.

"Let me first say, when I was presented with the plans of the Ascendant, I had my reservations. I was not too sure, of a ship with such interactive computer control would work. I was also hesitant to occupy a spacedock with a ship frame, in which I thought would be scrapped within the first year of construction. I want to thank a few of the special people that made the Ascendant happen."

"Commander Elizabeth Shelby, who has spent many a long day and night coordinating the construction crews and deciphering some of the schematics of the ASDB (Advanced Starship Design Bureau).", in the background a polite applause is given as she comes back up towards the podium and takes a bow.

"Lt. Steven Winters, who once the main frame was laid, directed the engineers in the construction of the engine room and other critical systems. Matter of fact, now the ship is launching, maybe Steven can get some sleep at night.", in the background a few small chuckles are heard. As people look towards Steven, it looks like his face is getting a little red.

"Dr. Sandecker, who actually has been working on the new LCARS systems for the past five years. I have had conversations with the CARSI avatar before, and it is remarkable the amount of hard work and care went into writing her program.", in the background another smattering of polite applause is heard as he stands up from his seat and takes a dramatic bow.

"I would also like to thank all of the workers who helped make this dream a reality. To all the shipworkers, engineers, and mission specialists who under the direction of these people allow us to stand upon the Ascendant.", the Admiral states as another smattering of polite applause is heard.

"Now, for my final action as Commander of the Ascendant, Lt. Winters stand before me.", he says, looking right at Steven.

"I had Commander Shelby do some research for me. In the last 100 years, there has only been one engineer that has taken three new starships out of spacedock and on there shakedown cruises and they were all named Enterprise. That person was Commander Montgomery Scott.", the admiral stated while reviewing his notes.

"Lt. Steven Winters is the only engineer to take out four seperate starships on their shakedown cruises. These starships were the Akira, Nova, Saber and now the Ascendant. For that we would like to award him the following trophy."

Commander Shelby takes the bag off of the trophy, and at the top in gold is a statue of an outraged mechanic holding up his wrench is a threating manner. The wood section has four gold plates upon the trophy, and it looks like there is room for one more plaque on the trophny. Elizabeth approaches Steven and holds it out in front of her. As she hands it to him, she leans forward and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"Congratulations, Steven", she whispers into his ear. Admiral Mackenzie moves over to stand by Steven.

"This is the most favorite duty of mine. Lt. Winters, by order of Starfleet Command, I hearby promote you to the rank of Lt. Commander. Congratulations, Lt. Commander Winters.", a hearty round of applause sounds through the small group of people. The Admiral removes Steven's Lt. pins, and replace them with the pins for Lt. Commander.

"Lt. Commander Winters, at ease.", the admiral stated, and Steven sat back down, his face firmly red.

"Computer, recognize Admiral Scott Mackenzie.", the admiral stated.

"Carsi", stated the holographic vulcan female.

"Sorry about that, habit you understand, Carsi. I hearby transfer command of the USS Ascendant to Fleet Admiral Eliza Kiel as the flagship of the 12th fleet. Please transfer all command functions to her. Mackenzie Zero Four Gamma", he says, as he walks back to his seat and sits back down. "By the way Steven, there is still room on the trophy for one more plaque if you feel the want to come back and work for me again."

 

[ethandrew]

Never had such praised been heaped upon him at once and under such surprise. If Winters had blushed at being thanked for the Ascendant, he was absolutely pink for the presentation of the trophy and promotion. He hadn't realized it had been four ships he had sent out, working on the Ascendant had consumed his thoughts and he had time for little else.

But these thoughts were fleeting as he was handed a trophy, embraced by Commander Shelby, and given new pips by Admiral Mackenzie. He was touched beyond belief, that his efforts would be singled out by someone so influential, but also in front of the entire brass of Star Fleet. After all, he had only been performing his duty.

He had tried to utter thanks, but all that managed was an incredibly touched smile, eyes a little watery, and it was apparent to all how such praise from the Admiral had touched him.

It would be foolish for the now Lieutenant Commander Winters to assume that the hard part was now over. For him the hard part might be letting go and allowing the Ascendant to swim or sink, and under the latter trusting his officers to be able to right the ship.

 

[knightemplar]

Change of Command Ceremony part 2

"Thank you, Admiral Mackenzie.", Fleet Admiral Kiel said as she went up to the podium.

"As the Admiral said, I am designating the Ascendant as my flagship. So, hopefully, I will be able to get to know the people gathered here. On a good note, I will not be on every mission, so the senior staff can now breathe easily as I will not be standing over them every second of the day.", said Elisa as chuckles are heard from the gathered crowd.

"My base of operations will still be Starbase 39-Sierra. My flagship has quite a few definitions on the term. As most of the 12th fleet spends their time patrolling the Romulan Nuetral Zone, the Ascendant will also do that.", the Admiral said while looking out among the crowd.

"If a crisis comes up, the Ascendant may be the first ship I call upon to deal with the crisis. If I need to do an inspection of another facility, then I will call upon the Ascendant for the trip, that is when the senior staff will have to worry that I am standing over them every second.", as more chuckles are heard from the crowd behind you.

"Let me introduce you to your commanding officer that I have selected for the Ascendant, Commodore Kristine Rardon.", the Admiral says as she makes a sweeping hand motion towards the Commodore.

"Not many of you will know this fact, but I was her room mate in the Academy. She is a very intelligent individual that has moments of brilliant insight. It was one of these moments that allowed her to almost beat the Kobyashi Maru scenario at the academy. Before the scenario ended with the destruction of the Frigate Larson, Commodore Rardon actually rescued the crew and destroyed three of the attacking Romulan vessels.", a round of applause is heard for the Commodore, as every one has either taken it or heard of the simulation.

"She might have won, if she still would had warp drive though.", now a few chuckles can be heard through the audience. "If you ever have time with Kris, you should ask her how she did it."

"I do want to address some rumors that you may have heard about her though. Yes, she was assigned to Starfleet Academy and it did not go well. To tell you the truth, it was not her fault, as Starfleet Command put her teaching in a tactics class after the destruction of the Roosevelt at Wolf 359. For this we apologize to you Kris, as it was not the best match to your skills.", she says after giving a look of concern towards the Commodore.

"When the subject came up in Grand Admiral Turner's office, both Superintendent Brandt and I both agreed that the Academy and her were not a correct fit. When the suggestion of a desk job came up, I knew better. I spoke before the assembled Admiral's and said, Didn't we learn this lesson with Kirk, that some officers are just better at serving in command of a starship.", another small chuckle is heard from the audience.

"With that, her Admiral's star was converted into the Commodore's star for command on the frontier. She still holds the same rank as she did at Starfleet Academy, it is just called something different on serving ships of the line."

"As for her qualifications, she has served in many skirmishes on the Cardassian border and has survived combats in what some of the tactitians have stated were impossible odds. She is currently one of the most dedicated and decorated starship commanders in all of Starfleet. I am not telling you she is perfect, but her record speaks for itself. With that, let me finish by introducing Commodore Kristine Rardon."

"Carsi, recognize Fleet Admiral Elisa Kiel.", says the admiral while directly looking at Carsi.

"Recognized.", is the only thing the vulcan hologram states back to the Admiral

"I hearby designate the Ascendant as the Flagship of the 12th Fleet, and transfer all command codes to Commodore Kristine Rardon. Kiel Alpha Two Omega.", the Admiral says, as she picks up the silver sword behind the podium.

Holding up the silver sword outstretched in her hands, the Admiral approached the Commodore. "Do you Commodore Kristine Rardon, swear to uphold the rules and regulations of Starfleet Command and the Federation of Planets?"

"I do Admiral.", the Commodore stated.

"Does you and your crew understand that you are our first, last, and best hope of defense in the times of crisis?"

"We do Admiral."

"I hereby present you with the Sword of the Ascendant. Congratulations, Commodore.", the Admiral says as she hands the Silver Sword over to the Commodore.

As the Commodore takes the sword from the Admiral, she turns towards Admiral Mackenzie, who then stands up from his seat. "I relieve you of your Command of the Ascendant, Sir."

"I stand relieved. Congratulations, Commodore.", Admiral Mackenzie says as he shakes the Commodore's hand.

"I wish to thank everyone for attending the ceremony. Carsi, Ship-wide broadcast please.", the Commodore says as she looks at Carsi.

"You are on ship-wide, Commodore.", the vulcan hologram announces.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as your new Commanding Officer, I wish to congratulate you on being assigned to the Ascendant for her shakedown cruise. We are on a time schedule so I will not make any long speeches. Alpha Shift please report to your stations for departure in twenty minutes. End ship-wide broadcast please."

As everyone begins to leave, she motions for Lt. Commander Hale to join her.

"Mr. Hale, please provide an escort for Admiral Mackenzie and I down to the shuttle bay to see him off. Have Lt. Srosski show Admiral Kiel and Admiral Sa'avik to their quarters. Also, have you ever taken a starship out of drydock?"


GM's Note: Ok, you have a few minutes to switch back to duty uniforms before reassembling on the bridge.

 

[Rhun]

Hale quickly moves to the commodore's side, nodding as she speaks. "I'll take care of it immediately, ma'am. And no, I've never taken a ship out of drydock, though I've been on the bridge during such maneuvers before."

 

[ethandrew]

A little overwhelming from the change of command ceremony, Lieutenant Commander Winters (that would take some getting used to), headed back to his quarters with his trophy in one arm, a shy, albeit proud, smile on his face. The biggest decision facing him now was whether to place the trophy in his quarters or his office. He figured quarters for now, for as much as the trophy signified a career accomplishment, it held a lot of sentimental value, as Admiral Mackenzie had always been a fatherly figure toward him and the two had grown exceedingly close. One of his few regrets upon leaving the shipyard was having to wish the elder man goodbye.

In only a few minutes, the engineer was in his duty uniform, a new gold-rimmed black pip to the right of his solid two. His head still swimming from the unexpected praise, Winters stepped onto the bridge of the Ascendant, ready to watch this ship he poured his heart and soul into leave to face the depths of space for the first time.

 

[HolyMan]

Itching to fly the Ascendant, Benson quickly changes from his formal uniform to his regular duty one. Almost running to the turbo lift he enters and says one word and brings a smile to his lips. "Bridge."

 

[Blackrat]

With nothing better to do, with no-one being sick or injured (and hoping that it'd stay like that for at least the first day), Raphael changes to the comfortable duty jacket and wanders to the bridge. Well well, ain't this thing small, he thinks as he walks in for the first time. I liked the Endeavour style better. Had seats for extra people on bridge.

Nodding at the officers already on the bridge, Raphael takes a spot at the wall to be out of the way and watches the launch.

 

[knightemplar]

Upon entering the bridge, the first thing that you notice is that the Commodore and the Admiral are standing up behind the Command Chair. To the left of the Command Chair, the hologram of Carsi is looking out the viewscreen.


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As Lt. Commander Winters logs into the engineering station. He notices a few new messages.


Chief Nakamura has finished resequencing the personnel transporters and is now working on the cargo transporters. He hopes to have it done by the end of Alpha shift, but wants to meet with you later to make sure they meet with your satisfaction.

The engineering team has finished work on the biobed in Sickbay. Dr. Corwin has noted that the workorder is finished and is running her diagnostics on it now.

Lt. Grenadine has gotten a couple of the enlisted engineers to help with the repairs in the proton torpedo launcher. She is estimating it to be down today and tomorrow, as they will have to do some rebuilding. She has logged the status of the launcher into the computer as down flagging it as not operable.

Both impulse and warp engines are online and waiting for helm input. He remembers babying the warp engines first thing this morning as he slowly warmed the warp core up. All diagnostics on the propulsions systems are reading within normal operating parameters.

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As Ensign Benson sits down to the helm, his fingers twitching in anticipation to start piloting this beauty. This is one of the fastest impulse and warp engines in a ship this size. He notices that the helm control is live, and does a quick diagnostic on it. Every thing looks normal.

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As Lt. Commander Hale logs into the tactical computer, he notices that Photon Torpedo Launcher 17.6 is locked out and is reporting down for repairs. Beyond that, all other tactical systems are responding normally.

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As Dr. Crescent arrives on the bridge, the Commodore smiles at him.

"Coming to watch, or do you know something we don't?", she says.