Stardate: 70402:2030
Title: Here and the Horizon
Author: Ensign Sparky & Ensign Cochran
Time: A Few Days Previously
Scene: USS Espire (En Route to Starbase 9) / Starbase 9 / Runabout Britain


It had been several weeks since the completion of his final stages of training and he was now en route to Starbase 9 where he would be transferred to another vessel and then proceed to the USS Horizon. He had been briefed that he would be travelling to the ship with an Ensign Cochran, although Three had not received any detailed information other than Cochran was to be a new Helm Officer for the USS Horizon.

As the USS Espire approached the station Three prepared to be beamed aboard. As per his instructions he was to have no unofficial contact until he was onboard the shuttle. With this in mind he was going to be beamed directly to the shuttle he was to travel on to the USS Horizon.

[Ensign Sparky, this is the bridge. Standby for transport to Starbase 9,] came the message from the Bridge.

Three detected a muffled laugh through his combadge, but ignored it as he ignored all such emotional outbursts. From Three's experience, emotion only served as a distraction to completing assigned taskings.

Shortly after receiving the message from the bridge, Three felt the familiar tingle of the transporter. In a fraction of a second he was inside the runabout, quickly sorting his equipment and checking on his regeneration unit to ensure it is still functional. Once he was finished he returned to the front of the runabout to await the arrival of Ensign Cochran.


=/\= Junior Officers' Mess =/\=

[Ensign Cochran,] Commander Burgle's voice shattered the rare silence in Tally's mind.

"Yes, Commander?"

[I believe you should report to Shuttlebay one, you're ready to depart.]

"Yes, Sir," Tally said as he stood up.

He had been waiting for that message for 2 days now, and the excitement of finally getting to embark on the trip to the Horizon had made his smile grow from ear to ear almost like a Denobulan.

The doors to the turbolift closed and Tally started to do a little dance of excitement, stopping quickly when the lift arrived at the appropriate deck. The doors opened and, though passers by had no clue to what he had been doing, a feeling of embarrassment washed over him, and so the rest of the trip to the shuttlebay went by quietly.

Finally arriving at the shuttlebay, Cochran found himself standing outside the Britain.


=/\= Shuttle Bay 1 =/\=

As Three was waiting for his fellow passenger he had decided to go over the shuttle's settings and ensure that everything was operating at peak efficiency. As he was finishing his checks he detected the opening of the shuttle bay doors and the footsteps approaching the shuttle.

Not wanting to scare or overly startle them, Three decided to stay seated and simply called out to them.

"Greetings Ensign, I am called Three of Thirteen...or as most of my former co-workers liked to call me, Ensign Sparky. The shuttle is ready for departure when ever you are."

Three detected a slight gasp of surprise before the new Ensign stepped into the shuttle.

~

Tally stood frozen in the doorway of the runabout; there before him sat a Borg. A thousand thoughts flooded his mind, but no action was taken.

"Ensign," Lauren Spring yelled out across the bay steeling Tally's attention, "I see you've met Sparky," she said as she ran up to him.

"Counselor... It's Borg."

"'It' is not an accurate description," responded Sparky. "I am of the male sex, and as such it would be more accurate to refer to me as 'he' and not 'it'."

Tally stood frozen in the doorway of the runabout, but instead of fearing the Borg this time he was more fascinated with how often he seemed to be frozen in a doorway.

"Are you ready?" Inquired the counselor.

"The ship's aft nacelle was showing some abnormal readings when I arrived, but I traced the problem to the reaction monitor and reconfigured it to its original calibration."

Lauren and Tally's heads slowly turned to each other and then back to Sparky, both obviously completely confused by the statement.

"So, we're ready?" said Tally.

Sparky all but glared at Tally as he nodded and then turned around to head back to the controls. After saying goodbye to Lauren, Tally soon followed and sat down in his chair.

From outside Lauren watched the ship hover into the air and then take off.


=/\= Inside the runabout Britain =/\=

As Three began to direct the shuttle out the bay doors he turned to the Ensign.

"Ensign, you are to be the new Helm Officer for the USS Horizon, correct?"

The Ensign turned sharply to Three and Three noticed a look of something close to what humans consider fear. Three then remembered that his facial expressions were sometimes taken as glaring.

"Ensign, forgive my expression, but I am not able to express emotions like you do. This is my normal expression."

As Three said this he attempted to approximate a smile of friendship, but by the change in Ensign Cochran's face Three seemed to be failing at this.

*I must find some way to improve and adapt my facial expressions so that I do not frighten other lifeforms so often.* Three thought as he watched the Ensign across from him.

After several seconds Ensign Cochran seemed to shake off his unease and responded.

"Yes, that is correct. I am to be the ship's new Helm Officer, or at least their navigator. Why do you ask?"

"With your training and your assignment, I believe you should be the individual to get us underway."

The expression on Ensign Cochran's face again changed to something that Three took for surprise.

"Well then, in the words of one great man '...let us go boldly where no man has gone before.'"

Three looked from Ensign Cochran to the viewscreen and then back to the Ensign.

"That is not a correct statement; there is an entire crew onboard the USS Horizon. That would indicate that we are going were several have gone before." Three stated with his usual lack of emotion.

"I was just trying... never mind," replied Ensign Cochran as he set course for the USS Horizon and engaged the warp engines.


==============
Ensign Sparky
(Three of Thirteen)
Tactical
USS Horizon
NCC-72400
==============

&

==========================
Ensign Benjamin "Tally" Cochran
Helm
USS Horizon
NCC-72400
==========================