Awakening the Ship

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2026 @ 9:07pm by Captain Mitsu Sato & Lieutenant Vesper Wolfe & Commander Eva Grey & Lieutenant Kev Walker & Lieutenant Jaina Zalla & Lieutenant JG Alicia Santos & Ensign Eric Banner & Commander Wesley Evans & Lieutenant Commander T'Mara & Lieutenant JG Brooke Alves

1,171 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Disaster at Morska

The corridors of Starbase 24 were unusually quiet. Most of the station still slept while night shift personnel moved through the massive installation with the subdued efficiency of people accustomed to operating while the rest of the galaxy rested. The promenade was darkened, civilian traffic was minimal. Even the endless background noise that accompanied a major Federation installation seemed muted by the hour. Mitsu moved quickly through it all with Commander Grey by her side.

Neither woman had spoken a word since leaving Shaw's office. There wasn't much that needed to be said. The meeting with the admiral had lasted less than twenty minutes. Twenty minutes that had abruptly ended the Eclipse's shore leave and had transformed a period of recovery and healing into the opening moments of a new mission.

Ahead of them, through one of the massive observation windows overlooking the docking bay, the USS Eclipse sat quietly against the station. The Nova class vessel appeared almost peaceful. Mitsu stared at her ship as they walked. Less than a week earlier the Eclipse had returned from Adelphous Station carrying two fewer officers than when she had departed. The names still lingered along with the memorial service and the grief. The crew had needed time, and now that time was over.

The admiral's orders echoed through her thoughts. A distress signal from a Klingon mining colony was not the type of mission the Eclipse needed, but it was the hand they had been dealt. She sighed and nodded towards Commander Grey. "Go ahead and wake the ship," she said quietly.

Eva could already feel the shift. It seemed as if it happened every time. One moment there would be uncertainty, and the next there was purpose. It was exactly that balance which explained why Starfleet officers adapted; because they had to. The science officer in her was intrigued, however the first officer in her was already calculating personnel readiness, departmental status reports, and how many crew members she would need to drag out of shore leave before departure. She tapped her com badge, already feeling sorry for the crew.

"Grey to Eclipse."

The response came instantly. "Eclipse here."

"Wake the ship," Eva said, wishing she didn't have to give the order. There was a pause.

"Ma'am?"

"All departments are to report to action stations. Recall all personnel from shore leave immediately," Eva said.

There was another pause before the next reply. "Aye, Commander."

The response was immediate. Throughout the ship, lights brightened and systems shifted from docked standby status to active readiness.

Kev had been asleep for exactly three hours, but when the com badge chirp nearly launched him from the bunk, his eyes opened instantly. Years in Starfleet had trained him to recognize emergency recalls. Nobody called at four in the morning for routine maintenance updates in his experience.

The voice of the duty officer filled his quarters. "All hands. Action stations. Report to stations immediately."

Kev groaned. "Of course," he muttered.

Engineering never truly slept. Alicia knew that she had been under orders to not work double shifts, however sleep didn't come easily and she found that the more she dove into her work the better she dealt with the previous mission and the nightmares it had produced. Alicia had been halfway through reviewing power distribution maintenance schedules when the recall sounded. The padd in her hand slowly lowered but before the call to action stations had ended she found herself moving faster than expected. She was already at her station, so she simply turned towards her console and started keying the sequence to bring the ship up to full power.

Jaina was already awake before the announcement arrived. Sleep had become unreliable lately as memories of Adelphous Station had a habit of returning in the dark. The moment the recall sounded, she was already pulling on her uniform jacket and moving towards the door to her quarters.

Vesper was halfway through a cup of coffee in the ship's lounge when the call came. She finished the coffee anyway before she headed for the bridge.

Wesley woke to the announcement. The chief medical officer had only recently returned to the Eclipse and already his time on board had been interesting. There had been the aftermath of the ship's previous mission, then his involvement with Lieutenant Zalla. And now this, an emergency call to stations in the middle of the night. Getting dressed, he hurried to sickbay.

By the time Commander Evans entered Sickbay, T'Mara was already there. She stood calmly by the door as the new department head entered. "Sickbay is prepared, Commander," she said simply.

"Please tell me this is a drill," Wesley said as he entered sickbay.

"It is not," T'Mara replied.

Wesley sighed. "Of course it isn't," he said.

Brooke mumbled as she slowly woke to the call to stations. The counselor's quarters were still unfamiliar, just as the ship itself and even the crew was. As she awoke fully, she sighed as she realized what was going on. The crew of the Eclipse was still recovering from loss now being asked to face uncertainty once more. Her work, she suspected, was about to become significantly more important and even more difficult.

Eric's stomach tightened the moment he heard the recall and the memories of Adelphous surfaced immediately. He took a breath before he turned and headed for operations.

By the time Mitsu stepped out onto the bridge at 0430, the bridge was alive and reflecting the rest of the ship. The crew had been pulled away from rest, sleep, and the quiet everyday normal routines, but they had responded in the manner of Starfleet officers. She crossed toward the center seat and sat down.

"Report," she called quietly.

"All departments manned and ready," Kev reported. As chief of operations, he figured he was one of the best people to respond.

"Power transfer from the station has been terminated, onboard power systems are at full output, security reports that all personnel are on board. Awaiting your command to withdraw docking lines and engage," Vesper reported smoothly from the helm.

Mitsu nodded once. "Proceed," she said simply.

Vesper nodded once before her hands flew over her console. The docking arms withdrew, and the Eclipse slowly drifted away from the docking port. Once the ship was at the minimum safe distance, Vesper slowly eased the ship about and cut the thrusters, switching to the impulse drive. "We're cleared for emergency departure," Vesper reported.

"Set course for the Klingon border, maximum warp," Mitsu ordered. Around her, she could feel the shock and surprise of the crew.

Vesper nodded without hesitation as she entered the coordinates and speed. "Course and speed ready on your command," she quickly said.

Mitsu looked around the bridge, seeing the calm, surprise, and determination on the faces of her crew. She nodded before she spoke. "Engage," she said.

The Eclipse paused for just a brief moment on the edge of Starbase 24's traffic well before the ship leaped to warp, heading once more into the unknown.

 

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