Star Trek: Crossed Swords

[General Havoc]

The doors slid open, and a young man entered wearing the command insignia of a Starfleet Lt. Commander. In normal practice, brevet officers were entitled to wear their adopted rank insignias, but the crew of Trafalgar was a small one, and the work of getting the ship up and running lengthy. The brevet promotion had come in months ago in the middle of a very ugly shakedown cruise, and Kalpov had intended for months to get his new insignia replicated, but had never found the time to go through the proper channels to do so. Everyone aboard Trafalgar called him "Commander" anyway, and to be frank, he did not even realize at this moment that he was wearing the wrong rank markings

The room was full of other captains, mostly human, some not. The Andorian stood out, as always, bluer skinned than Aenar, but still instantly recognizable. Still, he did not approach. All of these captains had at least two ranks on him, all older, all more 'settled' starship commanders. He stood by the edge of the room and watched, wishing that he'd been able to bring a couple of his senior staff with him.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Captain Belkin noticed the younger man enter the room. He was perplexed at first, seeing the face of one Ivan Kaplov that he remembered from the files he read before getting here, but not the proper rank insignia then it dawned on him. He had been on a shakedown cruise on a new ship class, not an easy thing. He had done that before as a lieutenant in engineering when the Intrepids were being field tested in 2370. He could see the jury rigged circuitry and the countless problems in his mind and realized he probably had just not had time to get them changed.

He felt for the man, and his normally inquisitive eyes, ones that always sought understanding they could only find with the most strenuous of effort and rigor softened. He understood and felt for this poor man. Given a high profile assignment in an important battlegroup in a new ship, and not even promoted to his functional rank. In effect, given all of the responsibility with none of the recognition or respect that should come along with it. No wonder he was stand-offish. He probably didnt even know whether he should be treated as an equal or a subordinate.

Matthew Belkin was not about to let that continue. Come hell or high water, he commanded a starship and would be treated as such.

"Commander Kaplov" he said to the poor man "Come over and join us, there is no reason to isolate yourself in a corner"

[rhoenix]

"If you command a hull out there, you're a part of this," Captain Augustus said to the Lt. Commander who was currently standing off to the side. Though he was personally curious as to how a Lt. Commander was captaining a ship, his file said so - and so, he deserved to be here.

[Haizu]

Coming to the doors of the appointed meeting area, Harbek thanked his Ensign escort and went in. Sweeping the room with his piercing gaze, he took note of all of the "brass" that had been assigned to this mission. Quite the gathering.... he thought to himself.

[Dark Silver]

After Harbek, the doors parted once more, and three Captains, a Bajorian Female, a Human Male and a Bolian Male, all entered, talking with each other. The three stopped as they saw the gathered Captains, and smiled, the Bajorian woman introducing them.

"Ahem...I beleive this is the right room for our meeting...I'm Captain Verdi of the Furious. This lovely blue skinned man to my right is Captain Mol'Shat of the Saladin and Captain Monn on my left is commanding the Excalibur. So who here is ready to fry Borg butt?"

By best guest, all three looked to be in their human-equivilant 30's, and at ease in their roles and with each other. Obviously they had served together before.

They quickly separated from their group, and went out to meet with the other Captains.

Fifteen minutes later, at 1915 hours almost to the tick, the Commodore arrived.

"Sorry all. I tend to be...fashionably late, as the old Earth saying goes," he said with his gregarious voice. He motioned to the table of food set along one wall of the meeting room, a selection of delicacies from most of the Federation home planets.

"Please, grab a plate and a drink, and we'll get down to business."

[General Havoc]

Despite Kalpov's best efforts, two of the captains had noticed him. He had not even had a chance to read up on who the commanding officers of the various ships he was supposed to be escorting were before coming here, and thus he had no idea who these two men were. All he knew was that they were Captains. Probably thought he was some bridge officer from the Alexander.

Though for some reason they did know his name.

Well he could hardly refuse, so he walked over with a polite smile on his face. "Sirs," he said, moving just the slightest bit stiffly, unsure of the reception he was going to get here. He decided simply to introduce himself. "Brevet Commander Ivan Kalpov, Commanding officer, USS Trafalgar," he said. He was not precisely standing at ease, but also not precisely at attention. This was a strange nebulous situation that he was not about to presume things in, not with enough brass in this room to sink a battleship.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Matthew smiled "at ease, Commander" he said, emphasizing the man's functional rank.

"I have always found rank to be an approximation of function, a description that denotes a certain amount of experience and the command authority and respect that go with it. Your actual. and even Brevet rank does not do the job you do justice" he continued as he poured a glass of hot tea, thinking to himself that the commodore did his research well on his taste for mint green

"In other words... you dont need to call me sir, and I will not expect you to defer to my decisions. Nor will I ever interfere with the command decisions you make aboard your ship. I apologize for my being so verbose, but I can see the anxiety about that sort of thing in your eyes. And I hope" he said, looking around at every assembled captain but the Commodore, who this obviously would not apply to "that everyone here has a similar attitude, that you are equal to us in all but name, so long as you are commanding the Trafalgar. Speaking of names, how would you prefer I address you? First name, last name, rank? Call sign?"

[Agent Fisher]

Shraf had politely greeted the other captains. It seemed that with the assembled officers, he seemed to be one of the oldest, and from the files, near the top of the list in terms of time as a captain of a ship.

He noticed the newest member to enter, a young Lt Commander by his pips. He listened to the conversation and avoided rolling his eyes. The Engineer who somehow managed to land a heavy cruiser as his first ship believed that rank wasn't all that important. Shraf moved over and greeted the young human.

"Hello, Brevet Commander." He said, holding out a hand to him. "Captain Shraf, USS Monitor." He said.

As the Commodore entered and everyone began to get their food, Shraf returned to the table and picked up the case, handing it to Taylor. "A gift, sir, on celebration of your command of the Task Force. A bottle of some of the finest Andorian ale, and of course, a bottle of the once more technically illegal Romulan Ale." He said.

[Haizu]

"An arrogant SOB isn't he?" Harbek quietly said to Kaplov. Holding out his hand he said "It's a pleasure to meet you Commander Kaplov. I'm Captain Vargas of the Rheinland. Your ship is the Trafalgar right?"

[Jason_Firewalker]

Looking around the room Latier eyed the Commodore with a bit of jealousy. Latier felt a more experienced officer should be put in charge of the fleet but Command had made its decision. Clearing his mind of his emotions as his old Vulcan friend Sarjan had taught him to do in the academy Jacob walked over to the Commodore. "Commodore, I am Captain Latier of the Starship Hawaii. I am more then at your disposal. I would love to talk tactics with you about how to handle the situation. As you well know, my ship was designed to combat Dominion Battlecruisers, not Borg cubes."

[Dark Silver]

"Captain," the Commodore spoke, as he took his seat at the head of the table, "This entire Task Force is at my disposal. Including your ship. I've already read through all of your files, so I know the basics on all of you."

His words were very serious, and housed a air of authority that came with serving in Star Fleet in command level operations for decades.

"But aside from that," the words became a touch friendlier, a smile on his lips, "Why don't you tell me about yourselves? I know of you, but I don't know any of you. Captain Hunt, unfortunatly, won't be joining us. He and his ship is on long range patrol in System F-3 of the Nebula."

Taylor's eyes looked over the Captains as they sat with their plates, and settled upon the Captain of the Hawaii..."Let's start with you Captain Latier.."

[General Havoc]

The various assembled Captains here seemed to be less interested in pulling rank than some that Kalpov had met before. Then again, given what they were facing, did any of them want to risk pissing off the commanding officer of their own primary escort ship? Kalpov knew Trafalgar better than anyone, knew all her quirks and maddening eccentricities, but these Captains would only know her by reputation as a cutting-edge warship, one that would be tasked with ensuring that the larger vessels got a chance to do what they were here to do. Trafalgar herself couldn't win any wars. She could however decide who did win them.

He nodded and shook the hand of the Andorian commanding Monitor, replying with a respectful "Sir." Captain Belkin of the Thermopylae seemed particularly eager to present himself as champion of the lower ranks, with such verve that Captain Vargas, of the Rheinland whispered a comment as to the captain's incredible arrogance. Kalpov was not fool enough to walk into that trap, and simply pretended not to hear, instead returning Captain Vargas' greeting with a polite smile and nod.

"Yes sir, Trafalgar's my ship, he said pleasantly, not making it clear which Captain he was speaking to. "I was her first officer when she was launched, and I've commanded her since Captain Zhao's death. But... with all due respect, Captain Belkin, Captain Vargas... Starfleet has made it abundantly clear that as soon as they have located someone of the appropriate... experience..." he meant 'rank', but didn't say it, "... that Trafalgar's going to be expropriated out from under me, and that the only reason I'm still in command of her is that they don't have time to bring someone up to speed on a prototype ship with the Borg staring us in the face. So to be perfectly frank, sirs, it doesn't matter if you address me as Commander or by my name, or if you would prefer I call you 'sir' or not. The tactical officer of this ship outranks me. I'm to be afforded the chance to take Trafalgar into her first battle, and assuming she and I both survive, Starfleet will entrust her to more... capable... hands thereafter."

He paused for a second, wondering if he had said the wrong thing. Then again, they had asked.

"I serve at the pleasure of Starfleet, the Commodore of this task group, and my commanding officers..." he glanced briefly around the room, "... of whom I seem to have plenty. To that end, sirs, Trafalgar is at your disposal. I strongly suggest you employ her wisely, because take it from one who's known her from the beginning, she's the best chance you have of keeping the Borg at arm's length long enough for your ships to reduce them to inert wreckage."

[rhoenix]

"Now now, Commander Talpov, I doubt that's the case," Captain Augustus' voice carried over the room, speaking up as he was while seated from his chair. "The very fact that you're here now, in this room with us, tells me that it would be highly unlikely that right after the Trafalgar's first sortie against the Borg, you'd immediately have to step down and go back to a Starbase for a new Captain, leaving us without a capable escort ship in the meantime."

He got to his feet, holding his mug of red tea between both hands as he did, scanning the room but primarily speaking directly to Commander Talpov. "Though the circumstances may be somewhat unusual in how you came to be here, the fact remains that you are here. I highly doubt that this task force will be sitting idle after our first sortie, politely asking the Borg to wait until we can get another Captain for one of our ships. No, Commander - you have every right to be here among us. You have the air of a man in the middle of a wondrous dream, enjoying it because you expect to wake up at any moment. Allow me, with the Commadore's permission," he said, looking at their Task Force Captain at the end of the table, "to disabuse you of that notion. If you are here amongst us now, then you are with us all the way to oblivion - ours, or the Borgs'."

With that, he sat back down, stirring his tea to cool it somewhat.

[Jason_Firewalker]

With a slight nod to the Commodore, Jacob stood. "Well Commodore, I am a capable commander as my service in the Dominion War has shown but I have a few concerns about the Hawaii. She relies mosltly on shields to keep her safe and I am concerned that with the advent of this Borg War things will become difficult for her. Besides that I am well assured my crew will fare well. As for myself, I graduated the academy fifth from top of my class in all subjects I put myself to. I am a former tactical officer with over thirty years experience. I have served on eight starships as tacical officer and two as first officer. I am a military man myself seeing the need for violence with the need for peace as well. During the Dominion War I served as the First Officer of the USS Galaxy and as Project Head for Tactical Speculations on Project Isle. Project Isle's conclusion is the Hawaii-Class Battleship. I was passed over for promotion when the son of an Admiral, one Captain James Werther Hansen took command of the Hawaii after the project was finished."

Pausing a moment to take a sip of his Kahluha, Jacob continued. "I intend to do my best to keep this fleet going and on the right tactical track. By the by Commodore, the Hawaii is due for a refit of her torpedo launchers, and I was informed to ask my next commander when that would happen."

[Dark Silver]

"Thank you Captain Latier. I reviewed the Hawaii's service record, and your transmitted tactical readouts for the past six months. Your torpedo tubes will hold till we can next set to Starbase Raxus Prime for refit."

Taylor leaned back in his chair, glancing around the table, "Captain Belkin, would you be so kind as to introduce yourself to all of us."

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Of course sir. I graduated, along with my medical officer who seems to stalk me through space, from the academy at the top of my class, majoring in ship-systems engineering and astrophysics. From there, I did systems design and testing on the Intrepid project, and then worked out kinks in the shakedown cruise of the USS Intrepid. During the Dominion War I served on the USS Valdez, then the Akira class the USS Dresden as chief engineer, surviving that ships destruction to be appointed to be appointed as chief engineer to the USS Horus. When I heard about this project I followed its progress and helped the engineers working on it, mostly bouncing ideas off each other, and I applied to be appointed to chief engineer aboard one of the ships... I was a tad surprised when I was asked to transfer to ops. I suppose someone in command thought an engineer would be a good addition.

Other than that, I like tinkering with ships systems and am already modifying my fighters with some improvements to their shield grid, i play the violin and three dimensional chess, and have a pet Water Snake named Reginald. I look forward to serving with everyone here, and feel free to pick my brain. I have a log of every technical solution to every problem I have ever encountered, and spend most of my free time trying to make our ships better."

[Dark Silver]

Taylor nodded, taking a sip of his synthol wine. He missed the real stuff, but also paid attention to Belkin. Full of himself, would be the simple phrase.

"So a new Captain on a newly refitted ship. I served on the team which designed these new weapon systems, and oversaw their refit onto these ships. While I trust you'll want to improve things on your ship as best you can, any modifications to the weapons system will be sent to me prior to actually performing them, Captain. These are finally tuned and honed weapons, I spent the last seventeen years of my life developing them. Welcome to the Task Force.."

Witht hat, Taylor gaze roamed over the rest of the table, till he came across Brevet Commander Kalpov.

Of course the young man was just that - young. And he expected to get replaced soon. Star Fleet was even now looking for someone to replace him. But they won't be after tonight.

"Brevet Commander Kalpov. I understand you've served on the Trafalgar since her first shakedown cruise. No one else in Star Fleet knows her better than you right now, and I'm in need of people who know their ships - how to work with their crew and use their ships to the best advantage."

Taylor rose from his seat, lifting his wine glass. "It is my duty, to promote you to Full Commander status, with all rights and privileges that bestows, and place you in full command of the U.S.S. Trafalgar with all rights, duties and privleges that position entitles. I'll inform Command tonight that they no longer need to look for your replacement."

Taylor gave the young man a few minutes to gather himself, before he sat back down, "Now, if you'll please introduce yourself.."

[General Havoc]

Kalpov dropped his glass.

He had been expecting the worst when the Commodore addressed him by pointing out the 'Brevet' in his rank, expecting some kind of lecture on how he needed to be careful out there alongside his betters. A dressing down as though he were some kind of rank cadet was the precise opposite of what he wanted to go through right now. Brevet or not, he was still a senior officer with his own goddamn ship, not some second-year cadet flying a Runabout or Peregrine.

And then this happened.

It was all over before Kalpov could even say a word, and before he even realized what had just happened, he was suddenly a Commander, a full-grade Commander, the highest rank below a Captaincy, confirmed in command of his own ship, his own ship, nobody else's! And as the head-spinning realization of what that meant set in, he dropped his glass.

Thankfully it had been nearly empty, and he retrieved it, a whole jumble of words crowding to mind all at once. He steadied himself and answered the Commodore's question.

"I er... Sirs... my name is Brev... er... Commander, Ivan Kalpov." Damn that sounded good, and a smile broke over his face as he continued. "I'm a plankowner aboard my ship, the USS Trafalgar." The term was an old Earth one, that referred to someone who had been part of the ship's crew when she was first launched or comissioned. In Kalpov's case, both.

"I've served as Trafalgar's First or Commanding officer since she was under construction at Utopia Planetia. Captain Zhao was her original commander, but... he died of a burst aneurysm about eight months ago. I've commanded Trafalgar ever since. She's been my first and only assignment as a senior officer, and I was the second member of her crew assigned to her, after Captain Zhao. 90% of my crew were with us from the beginning, and they know her inside and out. Most of us literally helped build her."

His voice took on a slightly reverential quality as he briefly ran over his ship's capacities. "Trafalgar's an escort destroyer... she's designed to keep larger ships safe from interference or engage tactically at close range. 60% of her systems have been modified or re-tooled, and we're still working all the bugs out. She's a modified Defiant class, so not a whole lot of amenities aboard, no holodecks or recreation facilities. We've managed to... improvise somewhat, but most of our time's been spent trying to get her ready." He smiled. "She may not be the prettiest ship out there, or the most well-rounded, but she flies like a hummingbird and stings like a Tholian Sabrewasp. She's tough, fast, and packs a hell of a punch. Her warp core's a mess, her targeting systems are cobbled together, and we've had to rebuild her plasma manifolds three times in as many months... but if the Borg show up while she's around, I think they'll be surprised to see just whose resistance is futile..."

[Dark Silver]

Taylor was about to speak, when the chirpping beep of the comms channel interrupted him.

"Bridge to Commodore Taylor. We're receiving a signal from the Khitomer. Captain Hunt wishes to speak to you, audio only."

"On speaker."

A second passed, before Taylor spoke, "Go ahead Captain."

"Sir, we are in System F-3-4b, and have encountered a several Borg Spheres. We're currently at maximum sensor range and attempting to keep a eye on them."

"Have you been detected yet Captain?"

"Doesn't appear so Sir. Orders?"

"Wait there Captain, we'll be there as soon as possible."

Taylor closed the comms channel, and looked at the gathered Captains and Commander.

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry to cut our dinner short, but return to your ships. The Monserat, Furious, Rheinland and Saladin will accompany the Alexander as Element Alpha, Element Beta will consist of the Thermopylae, Trafalgar, Firelance, Monitor and San Juan. Captain Shraf will command Element Beta. We will rendevous with the Khitomer, obtain more information, and proceed from there."

Taylor looked at the gathered officers, and rose, "Dismissed," he spoke, as he walked to the door, to head to his own bridge.

[Jason_Firewalker]

Tapping his comm badge Jacob let out a furious burst of commands. "Latier to Hawaii. We have recon on several Borg Spheres in System F-3-4b. As soon as I am aboard we shall go to Red Alert and proceed with the battle group to combat stations. I want maximum warp available in less then the next thirty seconds. I want all Phasers armed and ready, torpedo tubes loaded to bear. We better be running smoothly when things hit."

"Aye-Aye Captain" came the response from Commander Bulr.

"Latier out."

Quickly heigtening his stride the Jacob took to the halls of the Alexander. He practically ran to the transporter room and slipped onto the pad. "I am headed to the Hawaii. Energize." Captain Latier felt his molocules rearrange and then suddenly reemerged aboard the much more spartan ship of his choice. His baby, the ship he had helped design and implement the construction of. Every square inch of the Hawaii was like home to him. He loved that ship and ran a tight crew. Lt. Commander Tydus Dark-Hammer was there to greet him. His head of security and main tactical officer. "Tydus, I want round the clock patrols on all decks, inform the crew that there will be internal checkpoints every fifth intersection. I want this ship ready to deploy some death to the Borg."

"Yes sir, Captain. The bridge awaits." The Orion man took his huge frame and began to walk to the door to the transporter room with his captain.

"Thank you Tydus."

[rhoenix]

Though his eyebrows narrowed, a smile grew on Captain Augustus' face as he stood at the news. Tapping his communicator, he quietly said "Augustus to Firelance."

"Firelance here. Is it time already?" Commander Sindous' rich voice was the one who answered.

"Yes," he said while walking calmly with the others toward the transporter room. "System F-3-4b, and we accompany the Thermopylae, the Trafalgar, Monitor, and San Juan as Element Beta," he said as he walked into the transporter room with the others. "Warm up the ship for me, Captain out," he said as stood upon the pad when it was his turn. "To the Firelance, please," he said the transporter engineer, who nodded in response. Reality suddenly became nothing but stars - and then he was aboard a more familiar transporter room again, with Commander Sindous waiting for him, an eyebrow raised. "The Firelance is ready. Is it time already, sir?" she asked.

Walking to the turbolift that led to the bridge, Captain Augustus' walk and facial expression were both intent. "Yes. We are under the command of Captain Shraf, aboard the Monitor."

The turbolift stopped, and the two walked out to their chairs in the middle of the bridge. "Captain on the bridge!" Commander Sindous called out, with Captain Augustus immediately waving his crew back down. "As you were. Our orders are to follow the command of Captain Shraf, who has more combat experience as a captain than most of us. When he gives the order, we go," he said, sitting in the command chair. "In the meantime, please send a message to the Monitor that we await orders," Captain Augustus said, as he viewed the capabilities of the ships assembled in Element Beta.

(EDIT: Yeah, it'd be a good idea to let your CO know that you're ready)

[Comrade Tortoise]

Matthew tapped his comm badge as soon as he was dismissed

"Belkin to T'Lon"

"yes captain?" said the vulcan in his flat, nearly expressionless voice

"I need to site-to-site transport directly to the bridge."

"Very good sir" the vulcan said, sending the urgency "Bridge to transporter room two, site-to-site transport Captain Belkin directly to the bridge

Captain Belkin could have sworn he felt a bit of a twinge as he was killed, de-atomized and resurrected in his bridge

"Commander T'Lon, go to red alert" The vulcan pressed a button which brought up the blaring Klaxon, and red lights "and put me on speaker

"This is the captain speaking, we are heading to the F-3-4b system attached to the Trafalgar, Firelance, Monitor and San Juan, under the command of Captain Shraf, rendezvousing with the Khitomer and proceeding to gather information on and possibly engage several borg vessels that have been spotted in the area. I expect nothing less than the best from each and every one of you... lets see what this ship can do"

the speaker cut off

"M'Rina, is the new targeting system installed?"

"Not yet, no. Didnt get a chance to start"

"is the old system operational?"

"Of course"

"Good"

"Comm..."

"yes sir?"

"inform the Commodore, and Captain Shraf that our ship is ready to leave as soon as they are"

"Done"


...

[Haizu]

With steel in his eyes, Harbek rose from his chair and made his way to the transporter bay. "Harbek to Rheinland."

"Yes sir?"

"We're headed out to system F-3-4b. Get the engines hot and I want a final system check started."

"Yes sir!"

"Harbek out."

"The Rheinland." Harbek said the to transporter tech as he stepped onto the pad. An instant later he was aboard his ship, making his way to the bridge. "Captain on the bridge!" called out his comms officer.

"At ease. Systems, where are we with that systems check?"

"Done sir."

"Status?"

"100% functional sir. We're ready to take on anything the Borg can throw at us."

"Excellent, Comms, contact the Monitor and let Captain Shraf know
that we are ready to go."

"Aye sir! Message away."

[Agent Fisher]

The Andorian captain stood and made his way to the transporter room. As he walked, he tapped his comm badge. "Shraf to Monitor. Bring the ship to battle ready. I'll be aboard shortly." He soon reached the transporter and waited his turn in line. Finally he stepped onto the pad, lost sight for a moment and was on a nearly identical room, with a different chief behind the controls, a security officer next to him and his first officer.

"James, let's do this by the numbers. The crew knows their stations, knows the drill." The Andorian said, walking down from the pad. The security officer reached out, handing a hand phaser in a holster to him, which Shraf clipped to his belt. Another of his rules. When you're going into battle, everyone should be ready to repel boarders, especially in a battle against borg. "We've got Element Beta, an Akira, Salamander, Steamrunner, and a modified Defiant." He told his first officer as they entered the hallway and headed for the bridge, passing a trio of crewmembers exitting an armory, attaching phasers to their hips. They paused and stood respectfully as the captain passed.

Finally reaching the bridge, Shraf moved to his chair as one of the officers announced his presence. This time no one stood, they were all secured in their chairs. "All right, comm, signal the Alexander and tell them we're ready. When you're done, inform the Thermopylae, Trafalgar, Firelance, and San Juan that I want a status report and to be prepared to engage borg spheres as soon as we drop out of warp. Never know what might go wrong before we get there."

[rhoenix]

Seeing the incoming message on his viewer, Captain Augustus read the quick message from Captain Shraf, and composed a reply.

Attaching the latest status report (all systems nominal), along with his acknowledgment to his reply mail, he gave it his voice authorization to send.

"Yellow alert," he said. "Bridge crew, engage seating restraints, activate sidearms."