Star Trek: Starjumper Episode 01

The next time she awoke, there was the same female Dr at the foot of her bed.

"Ensign West... Can you hear me?" She asked calmly, stroking her hair backwards past her ears.

"... Ah..." Jennifer tried to speak but very few words came out. Struggling to speak, she got visibly frustrated.

"That's all right. If you can hear me that's fine, you'll just have to be filled in on what's been going on."

With that, the Dr now identified as Miranda Taylor explained that she had been hit with a new type of Borg weapon that was supposed to cut down the time it took to assimilate people, or so Starfleet intelligence theorized. Jennifer had been tagged with this weapon and was luck to be alive.

"And with that, we managed to use the Borg technology to implant all of the Starfleet database inside it. You've now got a computer inside your body Jennifer." Taylor said with a warm smile, there was no doubt about it she had a good bed side manner.

Jennifer shook her head, not keen on something.

"Jennifer, what's wrong?" The Doctor asked as she shook her head again at being called Jennifer.

"...Ion." She said softly, finding a voice.

"Jen?" Miranda asked, trying to help her speak.

Shaking her head, Jennifer tried again.

"Le.Ion."

"Legend?"

Shaking her head again, Jennifer summoned all of her strength and spoke once more.

"Legion."

With that, she collapsed into agony and fell asleep once more.

Colour flashed to her eyes and West felt herself waking up.

"'I am Legion for I am many.' You have a sense of humour then?" Miranda asked, standing at the foot of her bed.

A smile crept onto West's face as she nodded.

"I always liked that book... I can speak?"

"Yes, it looks like the procedure took it out of you. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes... Do I look OK?" She asked, swinging her legs to the side of the bed, as if ready to stand.

"There was some cosmetic damage but yes, we've repaired everything for you."

Thinking back, Jennifer tugged at the under shirt and scrambled to look at her wound. There was nothing there but a new mole.

"That's new."

"Yes, it's for updating the computer system. You can peel it off and connect yourself to any Starfleet computer. Now Jennifer..."

"No. Jennifer West's dead. I'm called Legion now. The way this computer has been set up it sounds like I should be with the Science Academy. Jennifer West was a grunt through and through. If it's all the same Doctor, could you call me Legion from now on?"

Miranda was going to say something but thought better of it. She nodded and agreed.

"All right then Legion. Looking through the active duty roster there's a ship heading off on its maiden voyage next week. The U.S.S. Starjumper. Would you like to be assigned there? They're heading off to the Gamma Quadrant to help set up colonies and explore the new worlds."

Thinking about it, Legion nodded her head. "Yes, that sounds good."

Stepping into the Starjumper's turbo lift, she requested to head to the bridge and awaited the usual split second trip to the Captain's office. Stepping out onto the bridge, she passed the ship's Dr, Dijj Eetal Cam'Ra, a Betazoid with empathic abilities.

Curtly nodding, she walked past the bridge and stepped outside Captain Thatcher's office. Pressing the button on the outside, she waited for the Captain to let her in.

"Come in. Ah, Legion. Please have a seat!" Thatcher said with a warm smile, indicating the empty seat in front of her desk. Politely shaking her hand, Legion nodded and sat down.

"Well, welcome aboard the Starjumper. As Chief Science officer, it will be your job to observe and if necessary, theorize explanations for strange unexplainable circumstances. We do have one of your ensigns on the bridge, responsible for sensor readings. Also, general survey parties require the direction of the science officer. I want you working with Doctor Cam'Ra too, in case of any medical emergency your findings would be invaluable. Also, I'm sure this isn't common practice but I'd like you to serve as a temporary councillor for our maiden voyage. Again, work with the Doctor to see if anything unusual happens with the crew. Some of them are a little green and haven't quite made it out of the academy. Ultimately, I'll be wanting you to always have a better idea. Are we understood?"

"Yes Captain." Legion said, smiling warmly. She had anticipated all of this and was ready for it. "Is there anything else you require?"

"Well, what do you make of Tristram? The Science ensign on the bridge. Is he suitable or should we swap him over?"

Unsure of who the Captain was talking about, Legion let her right eyebrow crook upwards. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. I was under the impression that Ensign Perry was at the console?"

Smiling, Thatcher nodded her head. "Very good. You've read the roster then. That was a trick an old Captain of mine used to do. Ask everyone's opinion on a Cadet or Ensign in a different position to see who picked up on it. It's a dirty trick but it works."

Nodding her head, Legion smiled. "Very good Sir. I require no more of your time if you don't need me?"

"That's fine thank you. I'll call for you if you're needed again. You may return to the science lab."

Nodding her head, she stood up and left the room.

Thatcher smiled as the android... Was that the right term? She pondered for a brief moment before shaking her head, smiling. Her team mate, left the room, she was ready to summon the human tactical officer when her combage whirred to life.

"Buckcherry to Thatcher, apologies for the interruption but we're being hailed by the U.S.S. Vanguard. Admiral Stewart is on board and would like to talk to you."

"Very well, Zorah patch him through to my ready room." Thatcher said, making sure she looked prim and proper for the Admiral. She stood up and walked over to the large monitor, to the side of the ready room near her personal food replicator.

"Greetings Captain Thatcher." Admiral Stewart's big bald head almost filled the screen as he reclined in a large chair.

"Well met Sir." She said with a smile. They had been friends for a while and enjoyed lax communications. While rank existed between the two, it was somewhat blurred.

"I have new orders for you. You're to assist a Starfleet science vessel escorting a high ranking Doctor to one of the new colonies in the Gamma Quadrant. It's going to be a slog, but it will be safe. You're required to meet the ship just by the Beta Ursae sector. It's the U.S.S. Olympus. This all should let you test the Starjumper too. How is it?" He asked, the Dakota class had been 'moth-balled' for a while during the Dominion Wars, when its sister ships, the Stargazer and the Cheyenne were used and upgraded as they were more versatile.

Smiling and nodding her head, Thatcher was confident that they had made a mistake retiring her. "She handles very well for travel. No idea about combat yet, but the ship's ready for it if necessary."

"Confident words Captain." Admiral Stewart said with a grin.

"I'm a confident Captain Admiral." She replied, matching his grin.

"Very well, the Vanguard will be meeting you at the transwarp tunnel. We have all of the other vehicles to transport over too. We're just waiting on the flagship. If there's nothing else Captain? I'd like to go back into hiding. Moore's been hounding me for a commendation!" He said with a hearty laugh. Thatcher joined in, smiling at Captain Ronald Moore, Captain of the Vanguard's misfortune.

"That's fine Sir, we'll see you soon."

"Very well Captain, Vanguard out."

The screen went dead as they terminated the connection.

Staff reviews are going to have to wait. She thought to herself as she made her way out back onto the bridge.

"Helm, set course to the Beta Ursae block. We're going on an escort mission."

"Sir?" Zorah voiced a concern, standing up from the Captain's chair letting her take her seat.

"Not much to say Zorah. We're to escort a science vessel to the transwarp tunnel. Then, we're making the jump with the Vanguard to see us off. Should be exciting." She said with a smile, fiddling with the keypad to her side.

"Very good. May I remind you that Beta Watch swaps over in ten minutes. The two remaining high ranking members of staff are coming on then. Would you like me to take command so you can finish off the assessments?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea. Once we find the Olympus we can do the swap over. Helm, how long will it take us to get there?"

Turock had finished the calculations before Thatcher had finished the sentence. "It will take us approximately twenty hours to get there. With a total of forty hours to get back to the transwarp tunnel, Sir."

"Very good. Let's get to it then." Thatcher said with a smile as the cruiser banked to starboard and they changed course towards their new destination.

Zorah was in the middle of a story when the turbo lift doors shot open and the new set of ensigns and officers walked out onto the bridge. Mid-sentence, Zorah stood up and announced clearly.

"Twenty hundred hours. Beta watch finishes, Charlie watch begins. The next relief will be at zero hundred hours, the star of the next day... As you were."

"Very good. You have the bridge Commander."

"Thank you Sir." He said with a curt smile, sitting down in the big chair, watching the stars zip by them onscreen.

"I'll be in my ready room if necessary."

"Understood Sir."

She slapped her combadge and sat at her desk. Summoning the chief engineer, a Bolian named Fancis Dack. It's pronunciation wasn't lost on her. She had worked with a cadet in Starfleet Academy in San Francisco and learned all about speaking Bolian in the correct way.

It wasn't said as it sounded, Dack, it was Day-Kuh. And she was sure to announce it that way, the last thing she needed was to have that on her head.

"Thatcher to Lieutenant Dack could you come to my ready room please?"

"On my way Sir, Dack out." Then silence filled the room. Dack had a reputation as being the equivalent of the ship's councillor. He had been born near a warp core drive and in Bolian lore, this indicated that the child would be a happy, jolly individual.

Dack was this, he enjoyed his off time like any officer but would work hard too. He was also quite the pilot, or so the legend goes. The Starjumper was equipped with a very small shuttle craft unique for getting into small places the Starjumper couldn't get to.

There was a beep at the door to indicate that there was someone there.

"Come in."

The doors whooshed open and in walked Dack.

"Mister Dack, welcome. Please have a seat!"

Dack was wearing a trademark grin, but he was also clad in an engineer's uniform. Starfleet had passed regulations involving uniforms and meant that most people could choose to wear different ones if they felt it was needed. But, most went with whatever the Captain wore. The overalls covered his entire body and was a mustard yellow with black shoulder pads indicating his rank.

"Thank you sir. You'll have to excuse the mess. I've been holed up on an Saber escort for my past two missions. This is the first time I've had chance to see a warp core on a cruiser!"

"And?"

"Well, it's very... Big!" Dack said with a large grin on his face. Bolian's were hairless creatures with a smooth stripe running down the middle of their forehead. It would differ from Bolian to Bolian and with Dack, it ran down the middle but separated at the top of his head so it almost looked like he had a star on his head. The colouring of the lines would usually differ as well, and with Dack it was a dark green colour. His face also had a few white splotches on his cheeks and near his neck. As far as Amanda could recall, this was like a human having freckles, a beauty spot or a birth mark.

"Indeed. I trust you'll be getting well acquainted with it?"

"That's the plan Sir!"

"So, going by your service record you served on the Zephyr, the Summers, the Yokohama and lastly the Sabertooth. You started off as an ensign and was promoted to lieutenant on the Sabertooth. Why were you transferred over here?"

"Well, Captain Freeman felt I was wasted servicing such a tiny ship. So, when we docked at Deep Space Nine for repairs he suggested I look for another ship. He promoted an ensign to cover me as soon as I found the Starjumper was lacking in engineers. So, here I am!" He said with a grin, it turned out that Dack had fantastic teeth and was more than happy to show them off.

"Very good, well I'm sure you'll fit in fine! Is there anything you need?"

Dack looked uneasy for the first time, shuffling in his seat like he didn't want to speak.

"Mister Dack, please. I'm a busy woman, what is it?"

"Well... I could really do with some FBA-6c power couplings. The systems seem fine enough but if I had them then it would really ease up the work load."

"Why don't you have them?" Amanda asked, leaning forward resting her elbows on the desk and making a steeple of her fingers.

"Well, it's probably just a technical oversight, I won't bore you with the details but when you load the emergency power through one of those couplings then it separates the power stream so it takes longer for it to over heat and short out a console."

"Right, so where would we get them?"

"That's the tricky part I'm afraid Sir. Do you know any Ferengi personally?" Amanda shook her head with a smile. "All right then, forget I said I'll try next time we're at a Starbase. I think that's it for me then Sir!"

"Very good Mister Dack. I'll let you get back to work."

"Sir." With that, Dack was gone. He was quite the character and she looked forward to serving with him. She reviewed the personnel file of the next candidate. He was a human male, 34 who had served in the Dominion Wars. He was the tactical officer and chief of security on board the Starjumper.

"Noah Locke Reynolds." Amanda read the name out loud as she looked over the file. He was a battle-hardened veteran that's for sure. He was the second in command of DS9, filling in for Major Kira's role on the station. He held the role of Lieutenant Commander and was the fourth in command of the ship, beneath herself, Zorah and the good Doctor.

"Lieutenant Commander Reynolds to report to my ready room please." She said again, hitting the combage to signal the Lt Commander.

"Yes sir, be there in a few moments." Dack had barely left the room when there was a beeping sound.

"Come in." Amanda said aloud, the doors whooshed open and Noah walked in. He was a hulking figure of a man, standing at about six foot five and was spread out appropriately. He had a military crew cut and a scar running along the bottom of his square jaw all the way up to his repeatedly broken nose. 'We're in good hands.' Amanda thought to herself as he saluted her.

"Reporting as ordered Sir." He said in a militaristic bark.

"Very good. Please, take a seat."

"Thank you Sir." He managed to squeeze into the tiny chair and held off how uncomfortable he was.

"Well, it looks like we're two peas in a pod. Fought in the Dominion Wars, a seasoned veteran as well... How're you finding things aboard the Starjumper Reynolds?"

"Very well Sir. If I may speak frankly?" Amanda gave a 'go-ahead' reference with her hands and he continued. "It's very different from an escort. You seem to more much slower..."

"But, we pack more punch!" She said with a smile.

He nodded politely.

"Indeed. The tactical stations are suitable enough. I'm going to speak with Lt Dack about upgrading the weapon systems as soon as we can."

"Are they not good enough?" Amanda asked, reclining in her chair.

"Oh Sir, they're good enough. They can just be better. I think the forward phaser banks could be upgraded so they can be fired by the computer while tactical keeps an eye on the torpedoes. I also recommend that we swap over the reverse torpedo launcher to be a mine launcher. We can knock back any pursuers then if needed, giving us room to escape."

"Lt Commander, you're aware that we're on a mission of peace aren't you?"

"Very much so Sir. But with Cardassia back with strength in numbers, the Klingons aren't our friends any more and the Romulan's we haven't heard from since the incident with the Enterprise-E. I don't see why we shouldn't be prepared."

"Well fought Mister Reynolds. I see that you're a keen tactician as well. How do the ground supplies look?"

"Very good Sir. I think we'll be ready to fight off anything that tries to board the ship."

"Excellent, and you say that the tactical stations are good?"

"Indeed sir. I oversaw the installation myself. We have one ready for the torpedoes, fore and aft, and we have one for all of the phasers. I have two highly skilled ensigns on them for the current shift. I'll cover them in Alpha and Charlie watch with two rotating ensigns."

"Very good... So, you aren't on shift now?"

"No Sir, I was going to head into engineering to talk about the upgrades."

"Not necessary Lt." Amanda for the first time referred to the rank at the actual letters L and T. This was something she had picked up on the Hastings, her Captain would call people by their rank as a matter of affection. Well, as much as a Captain could show affection.

"You're already working a double shift. Go and get some rest. I'm in charge of Beta and Charlie so I'll see you in eight hours. Dismissed."

Noah looked unsure for a moment, but nodded his head. Standing up, he saluted and made his way out of the room. Smiling, she thought to herself 'It was like looking in a big, burly man mirror.' Chuckling to herself she was about to make herself a drink when her combadge came to life.

"Buckcherry to Thatcher." It was Zorah, looking at her computer a lot of time had passed since she first entered the room.

"Sorry to interrupt Sir but I saw Lieutenant Commander Reynolds leave. We're approaching the co-ordinates."

"Very good Zorah, I'll be out shortly."

"Very good Sir. Buckcherry out."

'Here we go Amanda.' She said to herself with a grin. Pushing herself up from her seat with the aid of the desk, Amanda walked out to the bridge.

Upon arrival, she saw the faces of a horrified team. Jogging over to her seat, she turned on her heel and was equally shocked. A ship had jumped to warp leaving the Federation science vessel in tatters. There were phaser burns all over the ship's hull and both nacelles had been cut in two. There was a large torpedo shaped hole near the bridge and the ship was rotating in a forward manner.

"Scan for survivo..." She spoke before the ship exploded leaving little debris.

"Oh by the spirits..." Zorah said sullenly, stroking his white beard.

"Did we get a trace on the ship?" Amanda asked, pacing down to the helm console which also doubled as a science station.

"No Sir. It had jumped to warp before we got here and the warp particles are too broken up to analyse."

"So, what do we do now Captain?" Legion, the science officer on this shift spoke from the other science console.

"I file a report and we head to the nearest Starbase. Their must be some way of finding out who did this. Zorah, you have the bridge. I'll be in my ready room, I don't want any interruption. Are we clear?"

"Crystal Sir."

"Good. Now, helm set course to Starbase 375, it's a science station manned by Admiral Ross. We should be able to get an idea as to what's happened."

With that, Captain Thatcher spun on her heel and made her way out to the ready room. Not exactly sure what she was going to say to Starfleet, but she needed an answer and with a dash of luck, they could give her one.