Earth Spacedock

Gazing past her reflection on the surface of the transparent aluminum windows of the observation deck overlooking the hangar bay, Treylana watched the workbees and other small maintenance and supply craft moving about the various ships currently berthed at Earth Spacedock. She watched as a shuttle flew over the saucer section of the nearest ship to the window past the registry number and name, NCC-87009 USS Horizon…her ship.

She’d been at the Starbase for the last couple of weeks finalizing crew transfers and readying the ship for departure, especially since she would be proceeding without her Chief of Operations for a few months. The ship was much bigger than the Atlantia, but given that there were significant repairs that needed to be done to her, it made more sense to transfer the crew to a ship that was ready to go.

After taking a few minutes to allow the euphoria to subside, she turned her gaze to the PADD in a semi-firm grip of her right hand. They contained her newest orders, sent to her by the topmost brass in the Fourth Fleet. Orders to proceed to the Yridian home world and assist in evacuating as many of the local population as possible before an ion storm, the likes of which have not been seen in a hundred years, makes its way through the system.

Tucking the PADD under her arm, she proceeded to the catwalk connecting the observation deck to the secondary hull.

USS Horizon Bridge

“Captain on the bridge!” McDougal called out as the doors to the port-side turbolift on the bridge hissed open and he’d seen his captain step out.

“At ease.” Treylana responded with a slight wave of her hand to her chief of Security, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself.

“What’s our status Commander?” She asked as she stepped down into the heart of the command area, opting not to take a seat in the big chair in favor of having a complete view of the bridge.

“Ready to depart on your order.” Nichols replied.

“Very well…let’s get this show on the road.” She started with a brief pause, then turned to look at the Ops station, remembering that her Chief wasn’t on duty “Lieutenant, inform Docking Control that we are prepared to depart and secure clearance.”

“Helm, retract moorings and umbilicals. As soon as we’ve been cleared, reverse course at one quarter impulse. Once we’ve cleared Spacedock, set course for the Yridian home world, warp nine.”

“In a hurry to get there Captain?” Nichols asked.

“Our orders require us to be there as soon as we can. I will have more information at eleven hundred hours. I want to brief the senior staff at that time. Until then, I will be in my ready room. You have the bridge Commander.”

Nichols nodded and Treylana promptly excused herself from the bridge.

She allowed the ready room doors to close behind her before requesting the computer to prepare her a hot beverage. Typically she would have ordered some form of coffee, Raktijino was her personal favorite, but this time she decided to go with something a little more mellow. A chai tea blend with a touch of honey, eighty degrees Celsius. She took the piping hot mug after it had materialized and pressed it to her lips to take a sip almost scalding herself in the process. A ritual she did nearly every time with a hot drink.

“Computer. What’s the emergency personnel capacity of the Horizon?” she queried as she set the mug down on her desk.

“The USS Horizon, a Resolute class vessel, has a standard crew complement of five hundred with an emergency capacity to hold approximately five thousand people.”

With every transporter room operating non stop, it would still be a few hours for the ship to fill to capacity, yet they would barely scratch the surface of the sheer numbers of people on the planet. Hopefully Starfleet would have several colony ships aiding in the effort. Who would they save first? Who might be left behind? She thought to herself.

“Computer, access all information on the Yridians and their home world.”

Briefing Room – 1100hrs

After having spent the better part of the last couple of hours combing over whatever files Starfleet had on the Yridians, Treylana sat there at the head of the three and a half meter trapezoidal conference table looking at each of her senior officers, in addition to Serindra Dott, a Bolian and Horizon’s new lounge manager of the Event Horizon.

“Ms. Dott.” She began addressing the room, “Your presence has been requested at this briefing for reasons that will be made clear as we progress, but let me make it clear that you will play a critical role in the events that will play out over the coming weeks.”

With her right hand, she activated the keypad on the table’s surface and a pre-recorded piece of audio began to play. Mostly indistinguishable sounds and alarm klaxons blaring in the background overshadowed by static as a result of the garbled transmission. A few faint words could be heard toward the end “[garbled audio]…storm…[garbled audio]…send help.”

When the playback ended, she continued with the briefing. “This transmission was received by Starfleet within the last forty-eight hours. It’s exact source is unknown but it seems to have originated from within the Paulson Nebula. Starfleet has confirmed that a massive ion storm, the likes of which has not been seen in roughly one hundred years, is ravaging the area. Captain Vehl has tasked us with proceeding to the Yridian home world and with the aid of several colony ships already en route, evacuate as many of the Yridians as we can before the storm hits. Any questions before we deal with the logistics?”

She looked around the room to gauge her crew’s reaction when McDougal spoke up, “Given the Yridian’s reputation, I recommend we limit access to the ship.”

“Of course. Protection of all vital areas of the ship will be one of our top priorities.” Treylana responded.

“I will reconfigure the holo-emitters in the Event Horizon for evacuation protocol. It’ll be tight, but we should be able to house a few hundred people for a while.”

“I was hoping you would pick up on that Ms. Dott. That was precisely why I asked you here. I would also like to set up a small medical station, perhaps in a corner, for treating any minor injuries.”

“I’ll coordinate with Ms. Dott as soon as possible to arrange the personnel.” Dr. Brant chimed in.

“That leaves the matter of what to do with the overflow of refugees. I would like for all officers with the exception of the senior staff, for security reasons, to double up on bunk space. This will be super inconvenient for a while, but with the extra space in crew quarters, the cargo bays and holodecks, we should be able reach our target emergency capacity. Our primary target will be the governing body of the planet. Once they’re aboard, we’ll focus on anyone else we can squeeze in.”

She knew she would be asking her crew to make some significant sacrifices, but under the circumstances, it was the core of what Starfleet truly was.

Confirming there were no further questions, she dismissed her senior staff, with a final directive to be updated once per shift until their arrival on the evacuation preparations.