24150218 CO Duty Log

Posted on Wed Feb 18th, 2015 @ 7:27pm by Captain Alistar McKeon

736 words; about a 4 minute read

The low happy hum of a starship at full power and flying along at warp speed was music to Alistar's ears as he walked along the corridors of the Endeavour. Although most people would call it a nonexistent background noise, most old hand officers and crew had learned that you could 'hear' the ambient background noise if tuned your ears for it. After a decade in Starfleet Alistar could easily detect the low hum of a starship under power. Every ship class, every ship, was different, and Endeavour was no exception. Alistar had been on an Intrepid class ship before, but the Endeavour and her sister ship the Nightingale had received the first mark 2 power cores designed, built and installed aboard Intrepid class ships. The hum was different, if anything it was more noticeable.

It was still pleasant enough, and for Alistar it meant that the Endeavour was doing what she was supposed to do: fly through space on towards her next adventure. Even if that adventure was a boring two week long shakedown cruise. Engineering had already run just about every test that could be run ship wide, and Alistar had accused Starfleet of using the Endeavour's shakedown as an excuse to hold the ship on a short leash. The political tensions between the provisional Romulan and Klingon governments didn't help, since Starfleet had been requested to keep the peace between the two empires. The internal situation in the Klingon Empire was technically best described as a powder keg in a bonfire. With the high chancellor in declining health there were several members of the high council who wanted to a grab for power, even if it meant splitting the Klingon Empire into splinter factions. The Romulan Empire was already in a weakened state, having suffered a near defeat by the Remans less than a year prior. The Romulans were still trying to rebuild their government and hold the wolves at bay with a tiny fraction of what was left of their military forces. To support Romulan interests, Starfleet had been requested to support and uphold the peace.

Alistar sincerely hoped that the Klingons wouldn't beat the drums of war, or at least not aim their rebuilt fleet towards the Federation or the Romulans. The majority of the Klingon High Council wanted to avoid war, but there were one or two who had openly admitted that they would do anything to see the days of glory restored. It was that threat alone that had prompted Starfleet to dispatch ships to be in positions near the Romulan Empire, just in case things did escalate. The Endeavour's shakedown cruise made a good cover for her positioning, another reason why her launch had been delayed. Already a small flotilla had been assembled and was ready to warp into Romulan space within hours of receiving orders to do so. It was the seriousness that Starfleet was acting with that surprised Alistar. The new president of the Federation had won the last election by swearing to demilitarize the majority of Starfleet and return the fleet to a defensive and exploration arm, and to that end a lot of Starfleet admirals had been put on half pay extended leave or given early retirement. Alistar had been surprised to get command himself, he was one of the military minded officers who had openly stated that Starfleet was the Federations military branch and should be treated as such. It was definitely the reason why his promotion had been held back before. But this admiral Greer who was in command of the Romulan situation was also clearly a military minded officer. In the few times Alistar had spoken to the admiral that had been very clear.

"Bridge to McKeon," a voice Interrupted Alistar's thoughts. He tapped his commbadge. "McKeon here, go ahead."

"Sir, you have a personal call from Earth."

"Ah," Alistar said. He knew it would be his cousin with a report of the family business, of which Alistar owned a majority share of. "Put it through to my quarters."

"Aye sir."

Alistar thought for a moment on where he was before he started off towards the closest turbo lift. At least the call would get his mind off of the growing political problem his ship would have to deal with. In fact, he was hoping that the impending conversation would put him in a better mood.

Cmdr Alistar McKeon
CO, USS Endeavour

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