Stardate: 60301:0001
Title: The Horizon Line
Author: Scott Deadilus
Time: Current
Scene: Starbase 9


Sitting in one of the lounges in Starbase 9, Captain Deadilus looked over the specifications of the USS Horizon once more. Having read the padd repeatedly during the shuttle ride from his last command to here, he felt as if he knew the little ship, and all her modifications, in intricate detail.

Of course, if he had simply looked out the window he would have seen her berthed up with engineering and science crews quite literally crawling all over her! But, as the old proverb says, you cannot judge a book by its cover.

Although a few of the modifications were obvious, it was only a few that were. Her real secrets lay buried beneath the skin of the ship, coursing through her entire system - the USS Horizon was only the second Nova to have bio-neural gelpacks installed, and the first to be fitted with a warp-capable Waverider (as opposed to the older hypersonic version). Of course, her science laboratories were already state of the art, and that was what had drawn him to her. 

Like all affairs of love, whilst looks were an important part of getting your attention, it was what was inside that mattered and ensured endurance. And the insides of the USS Horizon held much promise.


=/\= USS Horizon =/\=

The final few modifications were being completed by a team combined of USS Horizon and Starbase 9 personnel when the Captain boarded. Many of them were too busy with heads in Jefferies tubes and under consoles that they didn't notice the Captain as he walked from section to section, not that he minded. He liked to see the crew working hard - it was a good sign, and he was already proud of them for the little ship would be finished well ahead of schedule.

Reading from their records, many had volunteered for the mission to explore beyond Federation boundaries, knowing the time it would require away from friends and family, not to mention the risks that it might entail. However, the Horizon was already staffed well with some of the best officers Starfleet had to offer, many transferring for the chance to truly be a part of the exploration of the unknown.

~

Starting from the lower decks and working his way up to Deck 1, he made sure to stop and briefly talk to any crew not engaged in work. As everyone was busy, the journey was made mostly in silence, on Scott's part at least.

Walking around Deck 4, which primarily housed the crew and the recreation facilities, Captain Deadilus deliberately passed by the Waverider docking station. The small ship could be seen and accessed externally through an internal bulkhead nearby once the upgrade was complete, although the more traditional vertical access tube from Deck 3 was still present and to be used in the meantime. The graceful curves of its design caught his eye, and reminded him of the softer contours on the exterior of this ship.

Spending a little longer on Deck 3 than most, he stopped by the Chief Science Officer's office, noting how much smaller, but ironically better equipped, it was than his last one. Whilst most of the scientific facilities were located on this deck, the astrophysics / stellar cartography lab, not to mention the small arboretum, lay one deck below, and he made a note to visit them properly when first he had the chance.

Further along the 'long' deck and towards the front of the Horizon he could see the Security and Special Operations crew arranging the armoury and tidying the brig. Approaching quietly, he was not surprised to see them all stand to attention as if ready for inspection. Ordering the to carry on, he enquired as to where the Chief was. Informed that he was 'on his way', the Captain departed, allowing them to carry on and make that good 'first impression' with their new Chief.

Moving up to Deck 2 and slowly from department to department, the Captain poked his head around a door to see Dr Matthews tidying up after an engineering crew that had left the place in a mess. The Cardassian/Human mumbled softly under his breath, and so the Captain left him to tidy, assisted by a young Medical Officer he recognised from the roster as Tammin Doyle. He would have plenty of time to see them both later, certain that Dr Matthews would call for all the crew to have their prerequisite medicals, even though he himself had carried out the last one on Scott on their previous command. Doctor's were, in the Scott's opinion, more of a stickler for the rules than most XO's!

~

On the smaller starships Deck 2 never held much of importance (barring sickbay!) in Scott's opinion. On the USS Horizon that was, just maybe, not true. The most important room of all was on Deck 2. Well, maybe the second most important - the Mess. Of course, with everyone busy, the Mess Hall was deserted, and so Scott stepped into the turbolift one last time to arrive on the Bridge.

As the doors opened to allow him onto the small bridge, Lieutenant Falls, newly promoted into the Chief of Operations position (originally from a Security background), stood to attention, whilst welcoming him aboard...


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Captain Scott Deadilus
Commanding Officer
USS Horizon
NCC-72400
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