Departure Stations

Posted on Saturday 1 August 2026 @ 15:13 by Captain Melody Jones & Civilian Sansa Draxx-Jones & Commander Caroline Miller & Lieutenant Commander Seklar & Lieutenant John Mitchum & Lieutenant Deon Nyx & Ensign Tridi & Civilian Kalin Dar

Mission: The Seal of approval
Location: Main Bridge
Timeline: MD 1 1400
1755 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Having finished reviewing the material from Starfleet, Melody rose from her chair in her ready room and headed out onto the bridge. She pasued for a moment to take in the hustle and bustle of the crew preparing the ship for departure. It was not a scene of frenzy but of highly trained professionals doing their jobs quickly and efficiently.

She headed over to the command area. "Is everything ready Number One?" She asked Ras as she settled into the Captain's chair.

"The last of the crew have just got back on board. All crew accounted for and everyone is at their stations. I believe we are ready as we can be, Captain." Ras replied, who stood in front of his own chair with his hand behind his back.

"Thank you Commander." Melody replied. "All hands, prepare for departure."

Deon had snuck onto the bridge much earlier on in the day and had found himself a station at the back of the bridge he could use without getting in the way, one of the back up Science stations. He had been ploughing through the ever growing pile of medical reports and crew evaluations that he should have been reviewing, or at least delegating to one of his more trusted medical officers but this gave him the chance to really see what was going on with the crew.
At the Captain's order to prepare, he stopped what he was doing and spun his chair around so he could see the rest of the bridge.

Mitchum, upon exiting the staff meeting, took his station at the Tactical station. He ran a full diagnostics on the weapons and the shields. Seconds later, the panel responded that all diagnostics came back negative.

Ensign Tridi settled his pot-bellied frame into the Merlin’s helm seat, his green fur brushing against the uniform's fabric as he adjusted for the most efficient reach. To most, the Bridge was a hum of pre-flight energy, but to Tridi, it was a series of chaotic variables that required his specific brand of Jyracan order to neutralize. His snub nose twitched as he began his ritual: a triple-redundant check of the navigational thrusters and the warp field alignment. Every movement was practiced and neat, a process he had perfected during his long years at the Luna Annex. He didn't care for "frenzy," even the professional kind; he preferred the silence of a perfectly synchronized console.

Seklar chose to return to engineering rather than man the bridge engineering station. He felt more at ease surrounded by engineers and the hum of the warpcore than the cacophony of sounds on the bridge. "Engineering reports ready for departure," he announced as he tapped his comm badge.

"Very good, Commander. Please bring all engines online, we'll be going to warp speed as soon as we are clear of Starbase traffic pattern."

"Tactical ready, captain. Phasers charged and torpedoes on standby." Mitchum reported.

"Hail Starbase operations."

"Channel open, captain." Mitchum reported.

"Operations, This is the Merlin. Requesting permission to depart."

"Merlin, permission to depart granted. The traffic pattern is clear. Safe journeys. Operations out."

"Merlin acknowledges. Helm, thrusters only. Take us out. Slow and steady."

Amb Kalin Dar entered the bridge. "Permission to come aboard the bridge, captain." She said to Jones. She gazed around the bridge and locked eyes with Mitchum for a moment.

As soon as he heard her voice, Mitchum knew who it was. He looked at Dar, and muttered to himself, 'still as gorgeous'.

Melody acknowledged her arrival. "Welcome to the bridge ambassador. Please take a seat." She looked at Mitchum, "Will you provide a security escort for the ambassador?"

Mitchum looked up from his console. "Yes captain. I will personally take care of it."

"Thrusters at station-keeping, Captain," Tridi reported, his voice a flat, orderly hum that cut through the bridge's low chatter. "Disengaging primary docking clamps. Pitching three degrees to port to compensate for the starbase’s gravitational wake." His small, capable hands moved with practised efficiency, nudging the massive starship with the same care he once used on his mother's experimental flyer back on Jyrac. He watched the telemetry on his screen with obsessive focus, ensuring the Merlin stayed perfectly centred in the designated traffic lane.

"Clearing the outer marker now," he added, his green eyes reflecting the scrolling navigational data. "All flight parameters remain within optimal specifications."

Still listening in, Seklar made a few adjustments to the warpcore's intermix ratio. He looked at the swirling colours as he listened to the steady hum coming from the core. "Ready for warp on command," he announced, "all systems stable."

Melody stood and came to stand beside Tridi at the helm. "Lay in a course for the rendezvous co-ordinates, warp 5."

Tridi’s whiskers twitched as he processed the command. Warp 5 was a clean, efficient integer with no messy decimal fractions to balance and he liked the symmetry of it. His fingers, covered in fine green fur, moved across the helm console with a repetitive, rhythmic grace, locking in the coordinates for the Ravenscar rendezvous.

"Course is laid in and cross-checked against the primary navigational array, Captain," Tridi reported, his voice a flat, orderly hum. He didn't look up from the display; the physical presence of the Captain beside him was just another variable in his workspace that he accounted for with a slight adjustment of his posture. "Warp field stabilisers are synchronised to a 0.01% tolerance. All inertial dampeners are at peak efficiency. We are ready to transition... exactly on schedule." He gripped the controls, his cat-like face fixed on the shifting starfield ahead. "Engaging on your mark, Ma'am."

Melody smiled and raised her hand. "Engage."

She braced her feet on the deck as the stars on the viewscreen erupted into spectacular streaks of light. She always imagined she could feel the ship accelerate; every Captain did as did every pilot. She knew, of course, that this was impossible. If the inertial dampers had not been in synch with the warp drive, she would have been thrown against the aft bulkhead with enough force to shatter every bone in her body. Still, she imagined she could feel the great ship accelerating.

"Warp five achieved and holding steady," Tridi reported, his voice devoid of sentiment. He adjusted a slide-rule control by a fraction of a millimetre, his whiskers brushing against the console as he leaned in to ensure the flow remained centred. "The Merlin's fuel consumption is at optimal efficiency, and the hull stress markers are well within the green."

He settled back into his seat, his pot-bellied frame finally relaxing as the chaotic variables of the starbase were replaced by the predictable, mathematical hum of warp travel. The Ambassador’s presence and Mitchum’s personal detours were irrelevant now; all that mattered was the flight path he had mapped to the rendezvous point. "ETA is exactly 0642 hours, ship’s time," he added, a final twitch of his nose marking the conclusion of the manoeuvre. "No deviations detected."

Melody allowed herself to smile. "Very good helm. Steady on that." She turned and headed back, settling into the Captain's Chair. She turned slightly to tactical "Lieutenant, would you send Captain Olivers on Ravenscar my compliments and inform him of our ETA at the rendezvous point."

"Aye captain." Mitchum made contact with the Ravenscar and relied to the comm officer and passed along the message from Captain Jones. "Message sent and acknowledged, captain."

Tridi’s snub nose twitched in a rhythmic, satisfied pulse as the Merlin settled into the predictable, mathematical embrace of warp travel. To him, the captain’s smile was a subjective variable, but the ETA was an objective truth. He adjusted his pot-bellied frame, his green fur rustling against the helm seat as he performed a redundant scan of the subspace manifold. While the Bridge crew engaged in the social exchanges, Tridi remained a silent island of Jyracan order. He monitored the fuel consumption with obsessive focus, ensuring the flow remained perfectly centered. The ambassador’s arrival and Mitchum’s muttered observations were merely background noise, irrelevant compared to the glorious symmetry of a stable warp field. His whiskers brushed the console as he leaned in, his flat, orderly hum confirming, "Hull stress markers remain optimal. Maintaining course without deviation."

Caroline walked in determined to be part of the launch. A nice quirk being chief counselor. She took a seat near Melody and smiled. "Captain," she greeted her.

Tridi’s green ears twitched as the Counselor entered the Bridge. To him, the addition of another crew member was merely a minor recalculation of the cabin’s life-support distribution variables. He maintained his focus on the Helm, his fingers resting lightly against the console as the predictable hum of warp travel vibrated through his seat.

He glanced briefly at his terminal, ensuring the Merlin stayed perfectly centred on its trajectory. "Internal telemetry remains balanced," Tridi reported, his voice a flat, orderly hum that cut through the low chatter. "Maintaining speed with no deviation."

Dar sat down next to the captain. "This is a splendid ship captain. You should be proud of her and her crew." She took a quick glance at John, then turned away.

Caroline caught the glance between the new ambassador and the security officer. They really do need to talk, she thought to herself.

"Phaser banks and torpedo bays are manned and ready, captain. All stations report all green." Mitchum reported.

Tridi settled back into his chair, his cat-like features fixed on the steady, beautiful streaks of light on the viewscreen. They were exactly on time, and as long as he commanded the console, the ship would remain an oasis of absolute Jyracan order.

Melody acknowledged Dar's compliment. "Yes, we're very proud of her; she always kept us safe." Before she acknowledged Mitchum's status report, "Thank you lieutenant, let's hope they won't be needed, but you can never be careful."



OFF:

●●●● Captain Melody Jones
Commanding Officer
USS Merlin


●●● Commander Seklar
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Merlin

● Ensign Tridi
Flight Control Officer
USS Merlin


●● Lieutenant Deon Nyx
Chief Medical Officer
USS Merlin


●●● Commander Caroline Miller
Chief Counselor
USS Merlin


●● Lieutenant John Mitchum
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Merlin