| �Engineering reports ready, Captain.� �Tony?� �That�s me, sir.� Mansel nodded, smiling slightly. �When can you be ready to go?� �On your go-ahead, sir.� �Warm up the sublight engines, we�ll be getting underway here soon.� �Understood, sir. Engineering out.� Mansel took a moment to look at each member of his crew. It seemed in so many ways that they�d never left the Explorer, just took some time off only to meet again like old friends. Everything still fell into place, that�s the kind of teamwork that the starship commander liked to see. �Is there a problem, sir?� asked Lieutenant Talaj. �For this to be our maiden voyage, you seem to be somewhat...on edge.� Mansel favored her with a grim smile. �You mean more serious, Lieutenant?� Without showing the slightest bit of surprise or offense, the Science officer nodded. She knew Mansel well enough to know when things were going wrong. �There will be a situation at Galatica science station,� he addressed his bridge crew. �It will be taken hostage by some sympathetic to the Imperial Armada. We�ve been tasked to regain control of the station.� He gauged the shocked expressions of all the members with the exception of Vaughn, whom Mansel had told in the lift. Mansel stood up in his chair, but not before pressing the shipwide intercom. �Ladies and gentlemen,� he started, having given similar speeches in the past, �today rides the newest and one of the most deadliest weapons that the United Nations Security Force has in its arsenal...the Sovereign-class vessel. In trying times like these, there are those out there who are sympathetic to the slowly crumbling Imperial Armada and their cause. It is our job as defenders of our land and our people to protect them from the likes of such people. Not only do they come from Imperial territory, however. They also come from within our very own defense force. �Once again, we sail out to play our dangerous game against our old adversaries, the Imperial Navy. Though at a weakened stated, they still pose more of a threat now with the revelation of their new Long Sword VI ships. They are under the belief that they should strike first, settling everything in one blow. Long Sword VI ships were built for that purpose. Sovereign-class ships were designed to defend against that very idea. We ride again, to master the frontiers and strike at the front lines of battle to make sure that this 19 year war is quickly brought to an end. Lets make the name Explorer go down in the history books.� He turned his attention to his Navigator, Lieutenant Commander Broadaway. �Broadaway, clear all moorings.� �Moorings cleared, sir.� �Lieutenant Hardy, please tell Space Command we�re waiting on the doors.� Moments later, the doors to Spacedock 01 were open. Mansel and the rest of the bridge crew could see the open space in front of them, as if inviting them off to new adventures. �Broadaway, set a course for the Galatica science station, heading five-oh-nine.� �Course laid in, sir, waiting for your mark.� Captain Mansel had dreamed of this moment ever since they decommissioned his first Explorer. �Take us out.� The ship sped off to sector five-oh-nine, only Mansel aware of the potential danger that lie ahead of him. USS Explorer's Captain's Room �In a little under three day�s time, there will be a raid on the space station Galatica. We received to reports from Intelligence communications.. The raid, however, won�t be done from outside�it will be done from within.� The crew had assembled in the Explorer�s new captain�s room, still attached to the bridge. Not much had changed the the design of ready rooms; the room was longer now, more in the shape of a rectangle than a square. At one end of the room was his desk (which was bare at the moment) and the door to the bathroom, a new addition for Mansel. The original ship to bear the same name didn�t have a bathroom in it. Mansel breathed a sigh of relief. The other end held the conference table, with the projector screen against the wall and a ceiling-mounted projector for presentations. In one corner, a series of carefully rolled up maps that depicted various parts of the universe were stacked up next to coffee maker and a miniscule refrigerator. One look in his room, and Mansel knew he was set. �Galatica?� Fleury echoed. �Glatatica is where we hold all of our�� �Exactly,� said Commander Vaughn. �Protomatter. At current, it�s the universe�s most volatile and dangerous substance.� |
| Reunion (cont'd) |
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