<USS Avalon> log-shoving off

Shoving Off

-ACE Thomas, Ensign Black, Ensign Criswell

A sense of purpose filled the air, cut deeply with a great feeling of 
anticipatory excitement. Dodge had emerged from his office, awaiting?the word.

?Any minute now!? Ensign Criswell wrung her wrists and swallowed hard. The 
Avalon was her first ship and she was excusably nervous. Somehow or another, 
the LCARS Database on planet Memory Alpha just didn?t match the luster of 
actual standing duty. To fly through the cosmos was every cadet?s dream?or 
almost every cadet?s dream. Her dream had been the LCARS Database, but certain 
events had convinced her that life in the fast lane was far more desirable. 
Indeed, librarian duties paled in comparison.

?Ensign Criswell, mind your relays.? Dodge called out, noticing that she had 
fallen behind on the preparations.?

?Aye sir!? The frantic response came from the body that was rapidly 
disappearing into the jefferies tube behind the warp core. ?Sorry!? The voice 
echoed from the depths of the ship.

Dodge couldn?t help but smile. He felt the same way she did. The same way they 
all did. Engineering techs were bustling about, occasionally colliding with one 
another and at least once, he had observed, with the bulkheads.

?Sir? Should we set the manifolds for sub-light speeds, cruise speeds, or 
maximum warp output?? Ensign Black held three large panels of circuitry in his 
hands, precariously balancing them, the hyperspanner and the tricorder like a 
circus performer.

The answer came almost instantly, stopping the words in Dodge?s mouth.

?Engineering, prepare for warp speeds. Let?s put Lady Avalon back into action, 
understood??

Dodge tapped his combadge. ?Engineering, aye.?


Ensign Black didn?t need to be told twice. He practically sprinted over to the 
warp plasma output manifolds and started working instantly.

Dodge spoke loudly, commanding the attention of all of the techs in 
engineering. ?All right people, you heard the man, let?s get this boat 
underway!?

People snapped to action, and for a fleeting moment, Dodge felt the cumulative 
energy of all engineers before him flowing through his mind. Images of people 
shoveling coal into furnaces, stroking the sea with lithe wooden oars, 
monitoring nuclear output, and activating the first warp drive subconsciously 
motivated him, urging him to push the ship to her limits, to break old rules 
and forge new ones in their stead, and above all treat the ship like the Lady 
she was. Guard her well and protect her, Dodge knew, for one day she may very 
well guard and protect your life and those of your comrades. 

 

 

 

We?ve brought here to serve this ship. Row well and live.

-Ben Hur, twentieth century classical film



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