08-23-2026, 09:24 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-23-2026, 09:26 PM by Ethan Diaz.)
<<< Wardroom 3, Officers' Quarters <<<
Luckily for Ethan, the passageways of the upper decks were still mostly empty; much of the crew was disembarked and would now be rushing to get back. The only ones still aboard were those assigned to Port Watch Duty and anyone that didn't feel like spending their off hours on the station. It took Ethan less than five minutes to make it back to his quarters. While he raced to change into his uniform, his comm badge pinged with another all-hands call, but this time, it went out over the ship's PA system.
[Crew this is your Captain, we have been requested at urgency to go and assist the USS Lowry and USS Yeager on the Cardassian border. Information at this time is Starbase 214 is being blockaded by Cardassian escort squadron. Cardassian invasion fleet crossing border. Fleet comprises three escorts, three battle cruisers, one dreadnought. Lowry withdrawing. USS Yeager remains on-station. Current status, unknown and need immediate assistance. We being fairly close and able have accepted this task, I'm sure I can trust each one of you to perform to your best abilities under this high pressure. Captain Brooks out.]
There were many kinds of 1MC calls that could make your blood run cold. This was definitely one of them. Ethan swore profusely under his breath as he pulled on his Class B jacket, and felt an ominous chill crawl up his spine. This was no emergency. An incursion like this represented something else entirely--billions upon billions upon billions of lives, balanced on the edge of a knife. As Ethan had been taught time and again at the academy, the number of those bold enough and brutal enough to challenge the might of the Federation was low, but never zero. The Cardassians were among those few. All at once, memories of his uncle Jason came rushing back. Hospital visits, quiet evenings on the back porch, shaking hands at the Veterans' Center.
Ethan had just turned 12 when his uncle told him about the accident. Decades ago, he'd found himself in precisely the same position: Cardassian ships crossing the border, nothing but a small Starfleet flotilla standing between them and the target-rich environments beyond, with fear and panic threatening to take hold. Uncle Jason's ship took some bad hits--hull breaches, fires, the works. Unable to reach his station, he helped to rescue the wounded, and an exploding bulkhead nearly destroyed him.
Apparently the aftermath of the surgeries had been quite painful. According to Ethan's mother, the doctors said that Jason Doheny never should have survived past the battle. Third-degree burns, bones shattered into dust. Near-total facial reconstruction. The Federation had ultimately won that day, but not without price. Uncle Jason was just one of 18 Purple Heart recipients aboard his ship, with dozens more issued to other crews in the following days, not to mention a handful of posthumous Medals of Honor. Such things had happened before, Ethan's professors had warned, and they would happen again. He'd been too young to hate the Cardassians then. He wasn't even certain he hated them now. What Ethan Diaz did know for certain is this: if it came to war, the taking of Cardassian lives would not affect him. Invasion invites retaliation. When dealing with Cardassians, the more quickly you retaliated, the better.
Ethan ran as hard as he could for the bridge. Every second counted. Lives were now officially on the line, and adrenaline was the only thing keeping him from freezing up.
His thoughts were interrupted by the computer's Automated Warning Cycle kicking in. It's calm, emotionless delivery, usually calming, now somehow came across as eerie.
[Attention. . . attention. . . attention. This is not a drill. All civilian and non-essential personnel are to evacuate immediately. If you are not an active-duty member of the crew, you are to report to an evacuation point immediately. Please follow the flashing arrows and proceed in an orderly manner. If you require assistance, simply say in a clear voice that assistance is required and the computer will direct crew to assist you in evacuating. This is not a drill.]
[Attention. . . attention. . . attention. . .]
Ethan kept running. The message would probably continue broadcasting right up until cast-off. The wall panels on either side of the passageway lit up with emergency routing lights. More crew members were beginning to arrive. He dodged a pair of security guards rushing by and finally reached the turbolift.
"Bridge," he gasped. "Crew Clearance: Diaz, Ethan K., Tactical Two, confirm voiceprint."
"Voiceprint confirmed," the computer answered, and the turbolift instantly shot upward.
The ride up to Deck 1 seemed to take far longer than it should, but at least it gave him time to catch his breath. When the doors opened again, Ethan was met with a scene of controlled chaos. Right away, he saw that Lieutenant Coppola had taken the helmsman's chair. It made sense in this scenario. Ethan had barely any flight experience compared to him, let alone combat experience. He would be much more useful as navigator. He rushed down past Captain Brooks and Commander Velaul, flung himself down into his seat started bringing the navigational systems online.
"Mr. Coppola, as soon as all departments report in, I want us to be moving off, no delay," he heard Captain Brooks say. "This is an urgent request of assistance and we can't afford to be slow. I am sending you the coordinates now. Comms, tell space dock we want to leave."
"Aye sir. We have a green light sir."
"Comms, confirm STC emergency cast-off clearance," Ethan called over his shoulder.
"Confirmed. STC reports the lane is clear."
Captain Brooks spoke up again. "Mr. Coppola, bring us back on aft thrusters and then bank us out to starboard. We're going to see what our ship can do."
Ethan heard a creaking throughout the superstructure as the docking clamps released and felt the familiar faint vibrations beneath his feet as the ship's engines came to life. When he finished activating his panel, he turned to address the skipper.
"Captain, Tac 2 is Green. Navigational mainframe is good to go. Standing by for coordinates, sir."
== Tag Captain Brooks ==
Luckily for Ethan, the passageways of the upper decks were still mostly empty; much of the crew was disembarked and would now be rushing to get back. The only ones still aboard were those assigned to Port Watch Duty and anyone that didn't feel like spending their off hours on the station. It took Ethan less than five minutes to make it back to his quarters. While he raced to change into his uniform, his comm badge pinged with another all-hands call, but this time, it went out over the ship's PA system.
[Crew this is your Captain, we have been requested at urgency to go and assist the USS Lowry and USS Yeager on the Cardassian border. Information at this time is Starbase 214 is being blockaded by Cardassian escort squadron. Cardassian invasion fleet crossing border. Fleet comprises three escorts, three battle cruisers, one dreadnought. Lowry withdrawing. USS Yeager remains on-station. Current status, unknown and need immediate assistance. We being fairly close and able have accepted this task, I'm sure I can trust each one of you to perform to your best abilities under this high pressure. Captain Brooks out.]
There were many kinds of 1MC calls that could make your blood run cold. This was definitely one of them. Ethan swore profusely under his breath as he pulled on his Class B jacket, and felt an ominous chill crawl up his spine. This was no emergency. An incursion like this represented something else entirely--billions upon billions upon billions of lives, balanced on the edge of a knife. As Ethan had been taught time and again at the academy, the number of those bold enough and brutal enough to challenge the might of the Federation was low, but never zero. The Cardassians were among those few. All at once, memories of his uncle Jason came rushing back. Hospital visits, quiet evenings on the back porch, shaking hands at the Veterans' Center.
Ethan had just turned 12 when his uncle told him about the accident. Decades ago, he'd found himself in precisely the same position: Cardassian ships crossing the border, nothing but a small Starfleet flotilla standing between them and the target-rich environments beyond, with fear and panic threatening to take hold. Uncle Jason's ship took some bad hits--hull breaches, fires, the works. Unable to reach his station, he helped to rescue the wounded, and an exploding bulkhead nearly destroyed him.
Apparently the aftermath of the surgeries had been quite painful. According to Ethan's mother, the doctors said that Jason Doheny never should have survived past the battle. Third-degree burns, bones shattered into dust. Near-total facial reconstruction. The Federation had ultimately won that day, but not without price. Uncle Jason was just one of 18 Purple Heart recipients aboard his ship, with dozens more issued to other crews in the following days, not to mention a handful of posthumous Medals of Honor. Such things had happened before, Ethan's professors had warned, and they would happen again. He'd been too young to hate the Cardassians then. He wasn't even certain he hated them now. What Ethan Diaz did know for certain is this: if it came to war, the taking of Cardassian lives would not affect him. Invasion invites retaliation. When dealing with Cardassians, the more quickly you retaliated, the better.
Ethan ran as hard as he could for the bridge. Every second counted. Lives were now officially on the line, and adrenaline was the only thing keeping him from freezing up.
His thoughts were interrupted by the computer's Automated Warning Cycle kicking in. It's calm, emotionless delivery, usually calming, now somehow came across as eerie.
[Attention. . . attention. . . attention. This is not a drill. All civilian and non-essential personnel are to evacuate immediately. If you are not an active-duty member of the crew, you are to report to an evacuation point immediately. Please follow the flashing arrows and proceed in an orderly manner. If you require assistance, simply say in a clear voice that assistance is required and the computer will direct crew to assist you in evacuating. This is not a drill.]
[Attention. . . attention. . . attention. . .]
Ethan kept running. The message would probably continue broadcasting right up until cast-off. The wall panels on either side of the passageway lit up with emergency routing lights. More crew members were beginning to arrive. He dodged a pair of security guards rushing by and finally reached the turbolift.
"Bridge," he gasped. "Crew Clearance: Diaz, Ethan K., Tactical Two, confirm voiceprint."
"Voiceprint confirmed," the computer answered, and the turbolift instantly shot upward.
The ride up to Deck 1 seemed to take far longer than it should, but at least it gave him time to catch his breath. When the doors opened again, Ethan was met with a scene of controlled chaos. Right away, he saw that Lieutenant Coppola had taken the helmsman's chair. It made sense in this scenario. Ethan had barely any flight experience compared to him, let alone combat experience. He would be much more useful as navigator. He rushed down past Captain Brooks and Commander Velaul, flung himself down into his seat started bringing the navigational systems online.
"Mr. Coppola, as soon as all departments report in, I want us to be moving off, no delay," he heard Captain Brooks say. "This is an urgent request of assistance and we can't afford to be slow. I am sending you the coordinates now. Comms, tell space dock we want to leave."
"Aye sir. We have a green light sir."
"Comms, confirm STC emergency cast-off clearance," Ethan called over his shoulder.
"Confirmed. STC reports the lane is clear."
Captain Brooks spoke up again. "Mr. Coppola, bring us back on aft thrusters and then bank us out to starboard. We're going to see what our ship can do."
Ethan heard a creaking throughout the superstructure as the docking clamps released and felt the familiar faint vibrations beneath his feet as the ship's engines came to life. When he finished activating his panel, he turned to address the skipper.
"Captain, Tac 2 is Green. Navigational mainframe is good to go. Standing by for coordinates, sir."
== Tag Captain Brooks ==