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We're finishing the final touches to the Marakesh. Her launch is scheduled for a week from friday & we're expecting the crew to begin coming in the next couple of days. The final crews are almost finished putting the final touches on the ship. She's a beaut', if I do say so myself.
We had a small snafu installling the fore sensor pallette, but otherwise things have looked good. Most of the teams here have had some expirience with Intrepids, I've done three myself. They're a fine class.
After a few more tweaks & some minor systems to bring on line we should finish right on schedule. I hope to give this new vessel & her crew the most uneventful shakedown in Federation history.
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Captain Emari Katrell, CO
Emari Katrell was black to the elbows. She'd spent the whole afternoon in the garden. She felt a great sense of relief & comfort to be out in 'real' air again, fingers in the dirt, bathed in the Bajoran sun. This leave had been such a relief. Her last assignment had been very draining. The Oberon had been part of the final push to Cardassia that ended the war. The end of the War was were the real work began.
Colonies
& families & entire worlds laid in ruins. Populations & cultutres
were dessimated. Katrell paused & looked out across her garden,
into the depths of Tempassa Province & remembered. . . . She
sat in silence, under the bright Bajoran sun & asked the Prophets to
watch over those who'd gone. She prayed for all the families
& children & soldiers & poets. She asked for thier guidance
& to let her next mission be a chance to put right some of the
death & pain & blood she'd seen in her life. Her thoughts
were interrupted when she heard her sister come from the house.
"Kay! You have a messege!" Alyse ran to tell her, "it's from Starfleet
headquarters."
"Starfleet?" she put her hand up & looked up at her sister, "I wonder
wear they're sending me now". She brushed some of the dirt off as she got
up & headed to the house. Her eyes took a seceond to adjust once
she was inside again. She took her hat off & set in on the table on
her way to the desk at the back of the room. The desktop comm display
was one of the only clues in the room as to what century the house
existed in. She sat down & hit the button to read her new assignment
& was stunned...
Stardate
434360.61
To: Commander Emari Katrell
From: Fleet Admiral Shanthi,
Head of Starfleet Ops
Re: Current Assignment
Commander
Emari, you are hereby requested & required to take command of the USS
Marakesh NCC 74812. You will be expexted to meeet her & your
new crew on stardate 434370.40. The transfer ceremony will be the
following day at 0945.
Congratulation, Captain.
"Sweet Prophets...."
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Captain Emari Katrell, CO
Starfleet's newest commanding officer was quite a sight; leaned back in the pilot's seat, feet propped up on the runabout's console, PADD in one hand, Jumja stick in the other. Emrai sucked on the candy, affectionately know as 'glop on a stick' by most Bajorans & reviewed the manifest. She got to her first officer & cocked an eyebrow at his file. "Real live cowboy, huh?" she said to no one in particular, "10 Lita says he shows up wearing boots with his uniform". Kay had to laugh at the mental image. She finished her snack & inquired "computer, time to destination?" -7 hours, 34 minutes- "Increase to warp 5."
Upon reaching the edge of the Sol System, she slowed the Senegal to impulse. She decided to take the scenic route to Earth, past Jupiter Station, over Saturn's rings, a quick pass of Olympus Mons on the way past Utopia Planetia & onto Luna. Tyco City was coming up over the lunar horizon, all sparkling lights & glittery pressure dome, & on around past the Copernicus Yard toward Earth. As she neared the blue planet, Katrell could see a small grey speck in orbit to the left off Earth get bigger as she approached. This was McKinley Station, an orbital construction facility & planetary defense system. McKinley hung out in space like a giant spider & as she approached she saw the ship, her ship floating along with it. Her breath caught for a moment as she made a wide circle around the Marakesh & the station to get a view of the vessel.
An Intrepid class vessel, 15 decks, 38 torpedos, 2 standard shuttlecraft, max sustainable warp 9.975, bio-neural circuitry... All the statistics paled in comparison to the sight of her. The Marakesh was a beautiful ship. Emari tapped the comm, "McKinley Station, this is the runabout Senegal, requesting permission to dock."
"Confirmed
Senegal. Proceed to bay 3." a young man responded from the station, "Oh,
and
Captain?"
It took her a second to remember that was her now, "Yes...?"
"Congratulations
& welcome to McKinley."
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Cmdr. Dante
Graves
USS Marakesh
Bridge
Dante followed the captain from the ready room on to the bridge. He
immediately
sat in the chair to the right of the captains. A surge of
pride coursed
thru his body.
"Open a shipwide comm" Emari ordered. He nodded for her to
begin.
"All hands, this is Captain Emari. In 10 minutes, we're going to launch
this ship
& take on our first mission. I just wanted to take a moment &
tell all
of you that I believe this is the finest ship & we'll become
the finest
crew in the fleet. Now let's get to work."
Dante punched up an all hands report from the department heads. All
reported
ready, accept once again for the EMH in sickbay. It seems it
had an
"attitude".
He hit his comm badge. "Bridge to sickbay. Could you explain "attitude", please?"
=/\="Commander, Umm... Well..."=/\=
"Spit it out, son." Dante admonished, realizing he wasn't speaking with
the CMO.
=/\="Sir, the new Mark III is refusing to go offline. She say's that
it's to
dark in her holo-matrix."=/\=
Dante took a breath, not sure if he had heard the Med-tech right.
"Son, y'all
saying our EMH is neurotic?"
=/\="Well, yes, sir."=/\=
"Ah right," He drawled. "Get yerself an engineering crew up there, and
purge the
holo system. Tell your chief head saw bones to get that thing
running
lickety split." Dante was about to sign off when he decided to
add one
more bit. "Oh, and son. If that don't work get her a night
light!
you got nine minutes. Bridge out."
