"Captain's Log, Brandon T. Walsh Commanding Officer.
I have been assigned to command the newest Excelsior class vessel in the Federation, the USS Excelsior-A. In its namesake, it is the second starship to bear the name and like its former commanding officer, I only hope to succeed the late Admiral Sulu. The Excelsior is a fine ship. I have been aboard the past week to look over final upgrades while we are docked at Starbase 001. I have selected my First Officer, Lt. Commander Jack Burton. Captain Matthew Salinger, of the Sulu, highly recommended Mr. Burton for the position. As a Chief Engineer, Jackson Burton outsurpassed Salinger's requirements of a Chief Engineer. Mr. Burton, while only a Lieutenant Commander, has an extraordinary career behind him. His leadership techniques with his engineers and staff have been infamous on the Sulu and his prior ship. I am looking forward to meeting Mr. Burton.
On another note, all of the Senior Staff openings have been filled except for one.......Chief Counselor. During my time as First Officer on the USS Sakharov, I found that the Chief Counseling Officer was indeed an asset to the Captain and myself on diplomatic issues and keeping crew morale up. I regret that with this position not filled that it will be a detriment to the crew and myself. I have talking with Admiral Morgan and he is looking into personnel for this position. The rest of the Senior Staff is indeed the best in Starfleet. Each and everyone of them come with glowing admiration for their past Commanding Officers. I look forward in meeting with each and every one of them.
End log."
Captain Walsh had just completed his first captain's log on the USS Excelsior. Brandon looked around his ready room. It was adorned with artifacts of his career and his past. To the right of Captain Walsh's desk was a smaller model of the USS Sakharov, where he had served for over 6 years. The desk in front of Captain Walsh was adorned with a LCARS terminal and certain personal affects. On the wall to the right was a painting of the original Excelsior flying through space. It was amazing to Brandon that over seventy years ago this class of ship was creating and Starfleet was so confident in this ship that they were creating more of them with newer and more advanced technology.
Captain Walsh stood up from his chair and exited his Ready Room. Within seconds, he walked onto the bridge of the ship. The bridge was adorned with advanced stations that were ideally fit for any officer to implement their duties with ease. The Captain's chair was in the center of the bridge. Brandon's chair. He could not believe that Starfleet had enough confidence in his leadership capabilities to make him Captain after such a short time as First Officer aboard the Sakharov. The captain aboard the Sakharov had faith in Brandon. Admiral Morgan had faith in Brandon. Brandon had faith in himself. So what was he so worried about?
Starfleet technicians were still working on the bridge. They were to complete their advancements by tomorrow then the ship was set to sail. Captain Walsh was supposed to have a meeting with Admiral Morgan to discuss the Excelsior's first mission. Brandon was looking forward to that meeting. He was ready to get the Excelsior underway.
=/\= Chief Science Officer's Log: Lieutenant (jg) Alex Cahill =/\=
In the lounge of star base 001 Lcmdr Alex Cahill stood with a glass of water in his hand staring out the large picture window at the hull of the
USS Excelsior "One hell of a ship she is." he mumbled to himself hosting the glass high he announce to no one in particular "To the USS Excelsior, may she take me to all the undiscovered places of space, and may I treat her as good as she treats me." he stops for a moment thinking "Also to you Mom and Dad, for if it wasn't for you I never would have made it this far." with he downed the drink in one gulp.
Placing the empty cup on the table he lifted
the of the small duty pad to look over his new staff....he would never get use to that thought. Just 3 weeks ago he was serving on the USS Patempken as Junior Science Officer and now well now he was the new Chief of Science on a brand new ship bound for..well bound for who knew where and he loved it. He wasn't sure about the other senior staff, he had only heard the names of some of them mentioned here and there through out his career. Ah
well only time would tell, and right now he had a staff to assign duty shifts to.
=^= Chief Medical Officer's Log: Lcdr Irving Masters =^=
Log entry one, NCC-2000-A, Irv Masters ship's doctor. I am happy with the equipment assigned to sick bay. Starfleet loves to build new ships, and in this case it has outdone itself. I am worried that no assistant doctors have been assigned, but I think the emergency holo-doc and I can handle things until they arrive.
The crew seems well turned out. A bit youngish though. Even the skipper is just a toddler at 34. I thought Starfleet had stopped allowing boy wonders o command since J.T. Kirk was promoted. Still, he seems like a pretty able man, and the XO is no slouch either. I think the ship is in good hands.
Log ends
Irv looks around his sickbay thoughtfully, then thinks: "You never know until you ask".
He activates his com badge:
"Commander Burton, this is Lieutenant Commander Masters in Sick Bay. Sorry to bother you sir, but we are getting underway tomorrow. Any word on whether or not I am getting any more help in here?"
"Chief Operations Officer Personal Log: Entry 1 5600b
I have just reported to the captin that every sector is in tip top shape." Tanos looked around his private quarters almost looking for something to report in his personal log.
"Ah what a beautifull ship, and well put together too. I just hope i can keep it that way, it seems a hard task with all the adventures we are going to have, and meeting new races, but as my father use to say try try and keep on trying, and if that does not work try some more. I think i am going to have a very good time on this ship, and i hope i get the other crews respect.
End log."
Lieutenant (jg) Tanos finished recording his log. He walked out of his quarters on his way to Ten Forward Lounge. Maybe he could meet some new friends. =A= First Officer's Log: Jack Burton, Executive Officer =A=
I have just come on board the Excelsior-A, she is a fine ship complete with updated technology. She should bear well the reputation of her name sake. This is my first assignment at XO of a ship, having been recommended by my previous Captain, Matthew Salinger, I am not going to let anyone down. I look forward to meeting the Captain, once I secure my items here in my quarters I will make my way to the bridge.
Captain Walsh has made a quick rise to the top and his reputation explains why. I will not let my Captain, crew or ship down.
End log. As Jack looked around his quarters he realized they were much larger and luxurious that on the Sulu even though they were the same class ships. He thought *Another Perk of the First Officer*. Jack noticed that all of his items had been transferred onboard but there would be time to unpack later.
Just then.....the computer sounded:
Commander Burton, this is Lieutenant Commander Masters in Sick Bay. Sorry to bother you sir, but we are getting underway tomorrow. Any word on whether or not I am getting any more help in here?"
Jack wasn't sure it had been announced he was onboard yet. He taped his Comm badge =A=,
"Burton here, I just came on board and all crew will be onboard by 0600 tomorrow if not here already. As I understand it we have not signed on an asst. CMO yet but you do have 3 additional crew members reporting to your staff. I suggest you test out your EMH for now Doctor."
The doctor replied with compliance and Jack thought *Not even unpacked yet...an XO's job is going to be challenging*. But Jack was excited and looking forward to it. But now was the time to meet the captain.
Jack traveled through the corridors acknowledging the presence of all crew members he passed, wanting to make a good impression. He entered the turbo lift =A= "Computer location of Captain Walsh" =A=. [The Captain is located in the Captain's ready room] Jack gave the instruction to go to the bridge.
Jack pressed the entrance chime to the ready room door and the Captain advised him to enter. As Jack walked through the door he noticed that the Captain Walsh looked very stern with experience despite the reputation of being such a young Captain.
As the Captain stood Jack announced, "Lt. Commander Jack Burton reporting for duty as ordered Sir." "First Meeting"
by Captain Walsh & Lt. Commander Burton
Jack pressed the entrance chime to the ready room door and the Captain advised him to enter. As Jack walked through the door he noticed that Captain Walsh looked very stern with experience despite the reputation of being such a young Captain.
As the Captain stood Jack announced, "Lt. Commander Jack Burton reporting for duty as ordered Sir."
"Well, well, well. Mr. Burton, glad to finally meet you." Brandon said shaking the Commander's hand. Jackson Burton was only a few years younger than Brandon, but Brandon could see that this man in front of him had as much possibility for advancement and command as himself. "Please have a seat."
The two officers sat in their respective seats. Captain Walsh went on to say, "I've heard so many good things about you. I only hope your record remains on the Excelsior."
"I am sure it will Captain."
Brandon almost seemed to laugh, but only a smile appeared to keep the composure of a Starfleet Captain. "Well, I am sure it will also Jack. Now, I have read your Starfleet bio and everything seems to be in order. It seems we both come from the same background, engineering. I was the Chief Engineer on the USS Sakharov before being promoted to Executive Officer. You will find that being a First Officer is very different from being the Chief Engineer. Instead of worrying about the engines and warp nacelles, you have to worry about the whole ship's operations and personnel. It's a full time job Jack. I hope you are up to it."
"I am sir, I look forward to the challenge."
Brandon smiled again at his first officer's comments. "Well, then. That is all settled. I will be meeting with Admiral Morgan tomorrow morning at 800 hours to find out what Starfleet has in for us on our first mission. Would you contact the Senior Staff and let them know that I would like to have a Senior Staff Meeting in the Conference Room at 1100 hours?"
"Certainly Captain....."
"Thank you Jack. That will be all for now." As Brandon finished his sentence, Jack went to get up from the chair opposite of Brandon and started to walk to the door. "Oh, Commander. Welcome to the Excelsior."
With that Jack exited the ready room with a smile on his face. Lt. Alexander Maxwell, CEO
Lt. Maxwell walked through engineering, watching the various Starfleet engineers as they made their final checks. As he approached the core, he paused in his wandering. He stared at the core for a while, envisioning the awesome power being generating within the sphere shaped vessel. Eventually, he moved over to the primary engineering station to make his own checks.
=//\= Chief Engineer's Log =//\=
I've just completed the final checks on the ships power systems, and everything seems to be working as it should. We've generated a non-propulsive warp 9 equivalent in the core with no problems, but tomorrow when we leave, we'll really find out how she'll hold together. Personally, I have no doubts about it.
Asst. Chief Katsuragi arrived recently. After going over his
personnel record, I've come to believe he will be a great asset to our team.
On a personal note: I really don't like the idea of all these other Starfleet engineers poking around in my engine, (sorry, THE engine). I certainly will be very happy when they all leave and my staff and I can get down to business.
=//\= End of Log =//\= "The First Mission"
by Cptn Brandon Walsh
Captain Walsh had awoke in his quarters the morning he was supposed to meet with Admiral Jonathan Morgan. Walsh got out of bed and stepped into his sonic shower. Walsh soon dressed in his standard issue starfleet uniform. Brandon liked the new uniforms, the gray and black coat was much better than the former uniform that they had to wear.
Captain Walsh stepped out of his quarters on deck four and headed to the turbolift. Once he entered the turbolift he said aloud, "Bridge."
The turbolift started to move in an upwards motion and it didn't take long before the turbolift had stopped on deck one and the doors had opened to reveal the bridge. Brandon stepped off of the turbolift only to find that most of his officers had arrived and were checking out their new duty stations.
"Captain on the deck!", one crewman shouted. All of the officers and crewmen had stood to attention and tensed their bodies.
The captain almost laughed at the sight, but being a starfleet captain all he could do was smile. "At ease everyone. Thank you for the warm welcome." With that, the captain walked down the steps on the lower left side of the bridge and entered his ready room.
It was 800 hours on the dot and Brandon knew Admiral Morgan would be coming soon. Within a matter of seconds the buzzer bleeped on the ready room door. "Enter," Brandon said.
Within a second the doors had opened to reveal Admiral Jonathan Morgan. Admiral Morgan was about 50 years of age with a young looking face. His hair was dark brown with some gray peaking through. Morgan stood at about six feet and was of an average build. Captain Walsh stood immeadiately and said, "Admiral Morgan, a pleasure to see you again sir."
"Brandon," Morgan replied with a smile. "Please have a seat. I am not one for formalities."
Brandon sat back down in his chair behind the desk. Admiral Morgan took a seat in front of the desk and said, "Are you finding your ship satisfactory?"
"Yes admiral. Quite satisfactory. The ship is in excellent condition. I spoke with the shakedown commander, Jon Keyes, yesterday. His crew finished repairs and upgrades to the Excelsior this morning and I am happy to report that everything is running quite smoothly."
"Good, I am glad to here it," the Admiral exclaimed. "Now, onto business. I assume you and your crew are ready for their first mission?"
"Yes quite ready. I am looking forward to where Starfleet is sending us. I spoke with my first officer yesterday and it seems that we and our crew are ready for anything that Starfleet shows our way."
"Excellent. Starfleet has done the initial scans on the Planet Irken 9. Starbase 135 is within 2 light years from the Irken galaxy and have done the initial scans with runabouts. As you know, the planet is located in the Alpha Quadrant far away from the war with the Dominion in the Beta Quadrant. We really want to have the Excelsior stay clear away from the battle. Is that understood?"
"Yes Admiral, but what exactly are we looking for on Irken 9?"
"Well, that is the tricky part Captain. Irken 9 has shown signs of planetary life. Trees, plants, and oxygen were found on the planet. Practically similiar to life on Earth, but this planet has been known in the mythology of Betazoid heritage. According to their mythology, gods had dwelled in this planet bringing mortal beings to live there with them. Know, this is all speculation but we must persue the idea that there are ancestors of the Betazoid culture living there. Our scans deny that fact, but we need an away team to go down there and report what they find. If there is something, anything down there this could turn into a diplomatic mission for you, your crew, and Starfleet."
"I see. Well I have to say that I was looking forward to something with a little more bite in it Admiral. But it seems that this may turn into something more than it appears."
"I am glad you see it that way Brandon. I only hope you are right. Starfleet only hopes you are right. The hirarcy of Betazed only hopes you are right."
"I can see that there is a vested interest in this mission from all involved. I will make sure we cover every stone and mountain of this planet. I have some of the best on the Excelsior. If there is anything or anyone there, we will find them."
The Admiral smiled. Morgan knew he had the right mission for the captain and crew of the Excelsior. "Well then Brandon. That is all. Since the importance of this mission, I want you to send a subspace transmission to my office detailing your findings once every 24 hours. The Excelsior is cleared to leave Starbase 001 in 5 hours. Good luck on your mission Captain."
Captain Walsh stood and at the same time Admiral Morgan stood. Captain Walsh brought out his arm to shake hands with Admiral Morgan and said, "Thank you Admiral, we will not let you down."
Admiral Morgan stepped out of the Captain's ready room and left the Excelsior. Captain Walsh went back to his work. Brandon wanted to find out more on the Irken galaxy and the mythology on this planet before the Senior Staff Meeting. "No Surprises" By Lt. Commander Jack Burton Jack was very impressed with his tour of Engineering...and also with the Chief Engineer. There were several changes that were not noted in the manual.
"Well commander, what do you think?" asked Lt. Maxwell.
"Very impressive Chief, I think she will fare us well. Also glad to see that you are up to speed on the modifications to the A." replied Jack.
"Thanks you sir."
Jack was concerned about a few things though. "Chief the upgrades to the dilithium matrix were not included in initial tech report. I am a little more than concerned about that, I don't want to be in a crisis system and find something we've never seen before."
The Chief agreed, "I understand sir."
"What I would like you to do is have your team go over every system from offensive to defensive systems and everyone in between and note any new equipment of programs not noted in the tech manual. You may already have part of this but I would like to be sure of every major system ship-wide. Also contact Starfleet Corp of Engineering, maybe they can be so kind as to give us any last minute information on changes."
"I'll get right on it sir." The Chief looked in agreement.
"And Chief I would like that before we leave space dock."
"Understood sir." Today is the day of my first Starfleet assignment in 100 years. Hard to believe so much time has passed since the last time I've served on a Federation starship. But I guess time means nothing when you're a Borg. Things have changed so much since then - including me.
I boarded the Excelsior very late last night, at around 1AM Earth Standard Time (EST). It was way too late to do anything, even write a short log entry, so I went to my quarters. These quarters are magnificant - much bigger than any quarters I've been in before, even on the U.S.S. Rebellion. Maybe it's because starships have gotten bigger since then. Or maybe someone screwed up and gave me the wrong quarters. Either way, I'm very satisfied. After unpacking my bags and getting settled in, I went to sleep at approximately 2AM EST.
At 5AM sharp I awakened. It took me less than 5 minutes to get ready. Being a half Borg does have its advantages. Unfortunately, sometimes I feel the disadvantages outweigh the advantages some of the time. As soon as I left my quarters, I headed to the office of the Security Chief. We didn't talk much -
I just stopped in, said a few words, then left. I don't like authority too much. Maybe that's because I'm so used to the equilibrium of the Borg Collective. Maybe it's just my personality. Can't be too sure. Anyway, the next thing I did was meet with the Captain. He seemed a bit preoccupied with the upcoming launch in 24 hours, so I didn't stay long. I simply introduced myself and said how thrilled I am to serve on this wonderful ship. We had a short talk about various things - the launch, my past, etc. It was a pretty good talk, but noticing other officers waiting to talk to the Captain, I cut it short and went on my way.
I spent the rest of the morning touring the ship. Pretty impressive. Too bad that we only have a skeleton crew. With the exception of the Chief, I haven't met any of the security staff yet. Hopefully more will board soon.
After touring the various decks, I stopped by sickbay and introduced myself to the Chief Medical Officer. The Chief Medical Officer expressed a great interest in my Borg implants. I said that if requested, I would allow future examination of them for scientific and medical purposes.
On the way out of sickbay, an incident occured. This woman, later identified as Ensign Nicole Everhart, began screaming profanities at me. She also said Borg scum don't belong on Starfleet vessels, let alone as Assistant Security Chiefs. I said nothing at this point, for I did not want to start a big scene
on my first day. Before going on her way, she screamed that I would be dead by the end of the day. She sure must have some grudge against the Borg. Or maybe it's just me. I have this thing with people that often makes them angry with me for no apparent
reason. However, none has ever gone so far as to threaten my life. Hopefully it's just an empty threat. That is, hopefully for the ensign it is. The second she tries something I'll have her in a holding cell. It's a wonder how someone with such a violent streak ever got into Starfleet, let alone as a member of
the counselling staff. Someone like that could be a danger to the mission.
After the incident, I went to the bar. It was closed, but there was a sign hanging on the door. It seems it is closed to prepare for the big launching party tonight. Maybe I'll attend, maybe not. Depends on my mood.
I'm in my quarters now, and am preparing to take a short rest. I shall add to this log at a later time. Chief Science Officer's Personal Log
The first meeting of the senior staff will start soon and since there's not
much to do here, I will make my way up to the briefing room. Sure hope our first mission is exciting. Pushing himself back from his desk, Lt. (jg) Cahill exited his office and made his way to the briefing room. Counselor Cooper's Office just before the senior staff meeting
James sat in his office, frantically going through the crew records he had so haphazardly prepared for whom he thought was going to be the
Ship's Counselor of the Excelsior. Now that he had "inherited" the job, he had no doubt the Captain would call on him soon for an evaluation of the senior staff and other crew members who might merit special attention. He hadn't even had the chance to meet the people in his own department, but that at least could wait until they were underway. Given the fact that Starfleet had to "dig" deep into the barrel before appointing him Ship's Counselor, he wasn't overly optimistic about their competency.
Finishing with his quick study of the senior staff with about a half-hour to spare, James was about to head to his quarters, where ever the heck they were, to take a quick shower when he received a message from a Ensign Anthony Ciolli about a launching party after the senior staff meeting.
:::Hmmm, why does that name seem so familiar::: A quick command to the computer and the Counselor was looking at the Ensign's records. "Oh, it's the Borg! How the heck could I forget HIM?" Somewhat surprised that a Borg would be interested in attending a party, James sent Ciolli a quick note assuring him he would be there. He then sent a quick memo to the members of his staff asking them to attend if they had the desire to do so. Now if he could only find his quarters quickly enough, he might
make the senior staff meeting in time.
First Officer, USS Excelsior-A
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