Out of Storage

Posted on Thu Dec 11th, 2025 @ 6:51pm by Captain Cassandra Hawk
Edited on on Fri Dec 12th, 2025 @ 8:41am

877 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: Starfleet Shipyards, Orbit over Andoria

"Incredible."

A series of sparks flew from a wall panel as a Starfleet Engineer's torch activated, beginning the process of connecting the newest section of wall to the unfinished hall.

Captain Cassandra Hawk looked around the mezzanine, taking in the way the light streamed down from the bridge deck, the way the panel lights reflected off the floor, the way the sound of her footstep echoed through the room as she moved.

To say the USS Achilles was unfinished would be an understatement. The vessel didn't just lack the polish of a new Starfleet vessel. It quite literally had entire systems lying in a pile of parts on the cargo bay floor.

The Protostar-class ship, unnamed at the time, had been ordered nearly 20 years ago, before a string of tragedies had set back Starfleet's exploratory missions over and over again. She'd been a ship meant to reach the farthest corners of the galaxy. But the attack on Utopia Planetia had dashed those hopes, and the ship's largely empty frame had sat in mothball ever since.

At least, that was until the dossier had come across Cassandra's desk as she was reviewing resources available for her new assignment, Starbase Mojave.

The new station, situated about as far from home as possible toward the galactic core, was going to be the Federation's newest foray into that region of the galaxy. But it was also going to be exposed and easily isolated. A support ship would be a near necessity. Cassandra's request for a ship under her command hadn't been entirely selfless, of course. She'd only just recently gotten a taste of commanding a vessel and she didn't want to be entirely sidelined from such duty by taking a station posting. She did still want to explore the stars after all.
But that didn't change the fact that Mojave desperately needed a vessel permanently assigned to it to help support and defend its operations.

She'd reviewed a dozen possible assignments before a contact within R&D had suggested she look into unfinished projects as well. There'd been about a dozen and a half of those, before this one.

A ship with speed, maneuverability, range like no other, and one that could be modified to pack one hell of a punch. And a vessel which itself would really benefit from a base of operations it could fall back to. Cassandra's request had been submitted mere minutes after she'd reviewed the file.

It'd be a project, for sure. The Protowarp drive, left in standby for so long, would need to be brought back up to performance standards. The tactical systems would need a full overhaul, especially with the modifications she had in mind, and she'd need a new impulse deck installed along her pylons to better accomadate the maneuverability she'd be looking for. But once finished, she'd be a powerful combatant and her Protowarp drive would give Mojave reach into all 4 quadrants of the galaxy. She could assist the station and serve as a rapid response vessel for crises near and far.

The idea for a name had come to her pretty easily. Swift-footed Achilles.

So, despite her current incomplete state, Cassandra truly did find the vessel... "Incredible," she repeated, spinning around to admire the rest of the chamber.

"She will be when she's done," the lead Engineer said. "Of course, there's a lot of work to be done there. But we've made good progress. The impulse deck is fully online and the Protowarp Drive is in operational standards again, so she'll get you home to Mojave with no issue. Her tactical systems are fully different story since we've needed a full overhaul to modernize those. But the major components are in the cargo bay, and her phaser strips are good to go. Her shields are...there. They'll need further work to bring them up to their true power, and the Pulse Phasers and Torpedoes will need to be handled once you've got her back at your station."

The Captain made a mental note to adequately assign engineering resources to that upon her return. They'd be stretched a bit thin, finishing Mojave's own start up and then taking on Achilles' tasks as well. But she couldn't realistically delay her return much longer. It'd taken a lengthy journey at warp to get her from Mojave back to core Federation space so that she could acquire the vessel. She'd delayed to make sure all the propulsion systems were finished and parts were delivered. All together, she'd already been gone for the better part of a month. It was time to get home. Thankfully, the return journey would be a fraction of that time.

"Don't worry, Commander. I'll take good care of her," Cassandra finally replied.

"And she'll take care of you too in return," the man replied with a smile. "I know she's in good hands. It's nice to see one of these ships coming out of the hanger honestly. Too many just lie forgotten. So I'm more than happy to be handing her over to you." He punctuated the sentence by handing a pad. "Official orders from Starfleet Command, transferring command of the USS Achilles to Captain Cassandra Hawk."

"Orders received," Cass said with a smirk. "Now, how about that tour?"

 

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