A New Mission Begins

[John Randall 0]

    OFFICIAL LOG
    LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL
    USS CHALLENGER
                    
    (Personal Log Stardate 11712.18)

The group sitting at their table in the restaurant received a message on their PADDs that told them to board the ship for their next mission. They all said goodbye to each other, and left the restaurant. John made his way to the starbase transporter room, and was beamed to the Challenger. He descended from the dais and exited the transporter room, heading for the turbolift. "Deck 3," he said as he stepped into the car, and the lift sped off.
It arrived moments later, and he exited the car, walking briskly down the corridor to his cabin. He entered and went straight to his bedroom, where he changed into a duty uniform. He exited the bedroom and went over to the computer terminal. He powered it up and checked his mail. Seeing nothing for him, he powered down the terminal and exited his cabin. He walked down the corridor to the turbolift and stepped into the car. "Deck 12," he snapped, and the lift whisked him away.

It arrived at its destination, and John stepped out of the car. He walked the short distance to the engineering doors, which slid open at his approach. He entered the department, nodding and smiling at the crew that were already present, and went into the CE's office. He went around the desk and sat down in the chair. He powered up the computer and pulled up the mission statement. The Challenger had been assigned to make a medical run to a planet on the outer rim of the Klingon Empire. John's eyebrows rose as he read that part, then sat back in his chair.

He heard the warp engines increase in whine, and his eyes shifted back to the monitor screen. He read that the ship was to maintain warp 7 all the way to the Neutral Zone, and his eyebrows rose again. The Challenger was delivering medical supplies to the Klingon planet that was still feeling the effects of the explosion of the Praxis moon. John sat back in his chair again and a sardonic smile came over his face. 'Wonder what kind of reception the ship will get from the Klingons,' he thought to himself.

He then brought up the engineering reports and nodded in satisfaction that they all seemed to be in order. He then powered down the computer and left the office. He made his way to the warp console where he joined Lieutenant Brad Mason, who was in charge of watching the engines while the ship was at warp speed. They exchanged pleasantries, and John watched the readouts on the console with him for a while. He was pleased to note that the enhancements and modifications he had requested had been approved and installed in the engines and the console, and the engines were performing nicely at warp.

John then smiled at Mason, clapped him on the shoulder, and made his way back to the main console, nicknamed the "pool table" by the crew in engineering. A few hours passed as the Challenger sailed for the Neutral Zone. John informed his crew during that time as to the nature of the Challenger's mission, and noted with some amusement the looks of disbelief and even awe on the faces of some of the newer ensigns. The whine of the warp engines then began to decline, and the chief engineer knew the ship had arrived at the Neutral Zone. 'Well, here we go,' he thought to himself as he sat at the main console. 'It's always an....interesting.... mission when you're dealing with the Klingons,' he thought to himself, and waited to see how this one would unfold.

END  LOG