by Talon Lardner & The Doctor
January 2376 - Shuttlecraft Icarus
Lieutenant Joseph Tyler checked all the systems of the large Type-11 shuttlecraft as it departed from the shuttlebay of the huge Earth Spacedock,, and set course to Earth Station McKinley's dry dock where the USS Daedalus was parked, awaiting to begin its voyages.
In the cabin of the Icarus were a group of three young junior officers and a cadet on her senior year internship, fresh out of the Academy and eager for a life of adventure in space. As Tyler glanced back he couldn't help but remember that it wasn't so long ago that he was that young and green. The Dominion War had definitely knocked that out of him, he thought, when you see friends and colleagues killed in front of you by the ungodly Jem'Hadar and the turncoat Cardassians.
Tyler tried to force the images of his deceased friends from his mind and tried to drag his mind into the present. The war was over, the Alpha Quadrant was at peace once again, and the rebuilding had begun. Just then, Tyler was startled out of his train of thought by laughter from the cabin.
"C'mon you can't be serious!" Ensign Steven Rose shouted as he tried to control his laughter.
"I'm serious. My father was on the bridge of the Potemkin during the incident and saw everything happen." Said Ensign Karen Copeland.
"What so you're telling me that Captain Mackenzie came onto the bridge of the Potemkin during a Jem'Hadar attack, called Captain Mendez a blithering idiot, and forcibly removed him from command by punching him to the ground."
"Absolutely. Mendez had jeopardized an intelligence gathering mission by acting rashly and bringing five attack ships down on top of the Potemkin." Karen defended, though the smile on her face betrayed her feelings that the act may have been a little over the top.
"Perhaps so, but any Starfleet officer who would remove an officer in command by punching them out would definitely receive a nice court-martial. Even so, why wouldn't the captain go by the rules and have Mendez removed that way?" Ensign Jikra spoke up.
"Ah well you see, Mackenzie wasn't a Starfleet officer at that time. He had retired from the service following the USS Madrid disaster of '69. He was only aboard the Potemkin as a civilian tactical advisor, which is why he couldn't go the by-the-book way to remove Mendez from command." Karen explained.
"Well that certainly fits with the eccentric and, some say, schizophrenic nature of the captain's personality." Jikra
Rose, Copeland, and H'Lanna turned and stare at Jikra questioningly. "What d'you mean?" they both asked.
"If you two had spent less time getting 'intimate', and you less time on the sports field, and spent more time studying at the Academy, you would note that the captain has made quite a name for himself in the history books. For the right and wrong reasons."
"Such as?" H'Lanna asked, still a bit skeptical.
"He's received numerous commendations and awards for conspicuous bravery during his many assignments, including the rescue of 3,000 colonists on Julinor IV from Breen noted coolly. privateers and apprehension of "Black Jack" O'Connor the famed smuggler on Klaus VII. Of course on the flip-side of that is his many reprimands dating back to his Academy days. Amongst the reprimands listed are disobeying direct orders because he thought the admiral giving them was, and I quote, 'a moron', and various reports of fighting with fellow officers."
"Yes but that was all in his youth. He's in his forties now and commands a Federation starship, surely he's mellowed and became a top-flight commanding officer." Copeland shouted to Tyler, "Right, Lieutenant Tyler?"
Tyler glanced around and pasted on his widest smile.
"Of course, Ensign". Tyler gulped, as he steered the Icarus towards the huge shuttlebay of the USS Daedalus. “Now settle down, kids, we're home.” They were kids; none younger than 22, Tyler thought to himself as he eased the shuttle through the large bay doors. A crew of greenhorns under one of Starfleet's most controversial Captains
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Coming soon: Episodes 1x01 - New Frontiers...
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