Fire and Flashbacks

[Brian Graham 0]

Assistant Security Officer's Duty Log

Lieutenant Brian Graham

USS Excalibur

Stardate 200408.01

 

The test had proceeded nicely. None of the shuttles had been destroyed by accident thank goodness and the data collected during the simulation would prove invaluable to the engineers that wanted to make sure the station's weapons systems could do their job when needed. It would be a nightmare if the renegades attacked and someone pressed the "Fire" button and a phaser array on the other side of the station went off instead or even worse the weapons not working at all. But the test proved otherwise.

 

Brian Graham didn't realize that there was more than one test that was going to happen that day. The Captain had some ideas of his own and wanted to test Excalibur herself. Brian returned the torpedoes to their normal setting and had prepared one, getting a green light on his console showing the torpedo had been loaded with the antimatter charge and was ready for action. The order came to fire and Brian followed it, letting the torpedo launch, streaking toward the Excalibur with the common fury that a torpedo in flight had. Brian turned his attention to the viewscreen, seeing the Excalibur sitting in space, and a small orb of red streaking toward it.

 

"And here is the footage captured by the Enterprise during the incident."

 

Brian looked up from his reading toward the screen at the front of the classroom. It was just another day in Commander Sorar's class, "History of the Federation II" to be exact, one of Brian's favorite classes that he had taken at the Academy. "History of the Federation II -- Post Founding of the United Federation of Planets through Peace with the Klingon Empire". It was about three quarters through the semester and the class was at the chapter involving the peace negotiations between the UFP and the Klingons, and today going over the actions of the Enterprise-A and her crew.

 

The film was taken from the Enterprise's viewscreen, a lone photon torpedo streaking toward a K'Tinga-class's aft section, erupting in flame and sending the cruiser in a slow spiral as it tried to compensate.

 

Brian shook off the thought and looked back at his console relieved that the Excalibur had fared better and began looking over the data the tactical sensors were displaying.

 

"Direct hit Captain, no damage."

 

He was fortunate. He knew what was happening and why. Everyone else on the Excalibur probably had a million questions as to what the heck was going on.