Heading for the Neutral Zone

Posted on Thu Dec 29th, 2011 @ 4:06am by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant JG Paul Akron & Lieutenant Jasad Broca

Mission: Crises and Consequences
Location: Various
Timeline: Mission Start

[Ready Room, Bridge, USS Arizona]

Rear Admiral Nathan Cowell sat behind the new desk that had only recently been installed in the Ready Room that had only recently been completed. Everything about the Arizona was new, polished, and above all else alien to him. The ship, the room... everything he'd seen and touched belonged to something else, despite the vessel bearing the name of his lost command. It was still difficult to believe that nearly a month had passed since the crew had been given the newly constructed Sovereign-class vessel as a replacement for the Prometheus-class vessel that had been lost.

Nathan couldn't help but sit back and marvel at just how different everything seemed after they'd returned from a future that he was hoping would now be avoided, even if it meant changing things based on advanced knowledge of events yet to happen. It was a sobering thought that much of the world they knew would cease to be in very much the blink of an eye...

"Bridge to Admiral Cowell," a familiar voice called out over the intercom, jarring the old man from his reflective thoughts.

"What?" Nathan demanded in his usual annoyed tone.

"We're receiving a message for you from Command Headquarters, shall I patch it through to you?" the voice continued. Nathan finally pinned the name of the man behind the voice as Lieutenant Broca, his Cardassian Chief of Operations. Broca had only joined the Arizona a month or so before the incident that had brought the Arizona to the future hell they had experienced, but he'd proven himself many times over. Indeed, Nathan had developed a healthy respect for the man and had at intervals made it a point to remind others that Broca was a Starfleet Officer first, and a Cardassian by fate alone.

"Yeah, send it in here, I'm not doing anything that I can't do some other time," the Admiral replied as he straightened up in his chair.

The imbedded desk monitor slowly rose and flashed to life, proudly displaying the Great Seal of the Federation before blinking to an image Nathan was rather familiar to him. The man sitting across from him had been his Task Force commander when the previous incarnation of the USS Arizona had been stationed on the Delta Quadrant front.

"What can I do for you, youngin'?" the old man inquired in a gruff familiarity that seemed oddly appropriate despite the obvious differences between the two men. Regardless of apparent age differences, the man across the channel was a Vice Admiral, though his actual age far eclipsed his physical appearance. Nathan's comment was greeted with the slightest of smiles, a knowing gesture that took into account the fact that the half El-Aurian was addressing a full blooded member of the race, and one in excess of four hundred years his senior.

"Gramps," Vice Admiral Wegener chuckled from across the void of countless kilometers, "Good to see you back on the right side of history."

"No you're not..." Nathan remarked with a grunt, "Anyway, I got a feeling you're not just calling because you wanted to chat about old times. Got that look on your face that a man usually gets when he's about to send someone off into the shit without a rifle."

"You're not going without your guns," Ricky said in a sober tone, "You've got the Arizona, better than any rifles I've ever seen out there."

"Got a point, but that doesn't change the fact that you've got that 'assignment from hell' look on your face. So what's going on?" Doc Cowell probed for answers.

"We've gotten reports of increased activity along the Neutral Zone. The bulk of it seems to be civilian craft on trade missions and such with several of their fringe colonies, but with any increase in civilian traffic throughout the Romulan Empire, there is always the associated military presence as well. Task Force 93 has already been made aware of this and is being placed on an elevated alert, but I think it might be for the best if you head out there and be on hand for any... high level negotiations that might come up due to... territorial misunderstandings..." Adm. Wegener continued, somewhat too particular about his wording for Nathan's liking.

The old man sat back in his chair, leaning a bit farther than was normal except when he was in the midst of trying to nail down something that just didn't feel right to him, "So you want me to go out there and play the part of the Federation representative. Doesn't the Task Force commander out there have enough clout to get the job done?"

"If Admiral Riatt was in any position to drop everything and stamp out fires at the drop of the hat, then yes, we'd leave it to him. Unfortunately, like I am now, he's tied to a desk and you've been given a great deal of mobility thanks to your current assignment on the Arizona. Besides... who better to handle a border dispute than you? I'm sure you'll keep things under control... sort of," Ricky chuckled.

"Fine... I'll go along with this scheme for the time being, but don't come crying to me if a few Romulan ships go poof mysteriously when they get too close to the electric fence," Nathan said offhandedly.

"I don't think it would break my heart that badly," Adm. Wegener said with a smirk, "That's all I have for you right now, Nathan. I'll be in touch. Wegener out."

The screen blinked off and slowly retreated back into the compartment it had emerged from. Nathan drummed his fingers against the table in front of him before pushing himself away...

[Bridge, USS Arizona]

Admiral Cowell strolled onto the spacious and well-lit bridge of the Sovereign-class vessel and had to momentarily get his bearings. While the central chair and the forward most consoles matched identically to the old Arizona, every other station - to include the ones that had not been there previously - gave him a bit of a pause. People were not all where they were supposed to be, faces had changed, scenery had changed...

"Broca, what's our status?" Nathan asked after he took stock of his surroundings momentarily and settled back into a groove.

Lieutenant Jasad Broca looked over his shoulder to see Nathan walking down to the central chair on the bridge, "All hands have reported to their stations and all sections report fully mission capable, Admiral."

Adm. Cowell nodded and turned his attention to his newly minted Chief Helmsman, "Mister Akron, make your preparations to depart the shipyard."

Lieutenant Junior Grade Paul Akron had always jumped at the chance to please the Admiral. Their ordeal in the future notwithstanding, there had been very few chances for him to do so outside of his rare bridge rotations when he'd first joined the ship as an Ensign a little under a year ago. He owed his promotion - if not his continued existence - to the man now sitting in the central position on the bridge.

"I'm on it, Admiral," Paul sounded off briskly as he began the long checklist of pre-departure items that had to be taken care of before the Arizona could leave her place in the shipyard. A lull in conversation was created while all eyes drifted to the forward station as Lt. Akron did his best to complete the task quickly and correctly.

"Preparations complete, sir," Akron finally announced, breaking the silence, "Awaiting your orders to depart."

"Very good, Mister Akron, make your course the Neutral Zone, cruising Warp if you please. We're not in a hurry to get anywhere in particular. Bronco," Nathan said, diverting his attention to the Cardassian Operations Officer, "Feel free to let the Science department have the long range sensor arrays, never know... they might find another Guardian for us so we can go back to the future."

"Let's hope not..." Lt. Broca said dryly despite himself.

"That's about all you can do," the Admiral chuckled as the bridge continued to hum with activity as the Arizona itself made her way for the Neutral Zone, and all the adventures yet to come...