Inside the Mind

Rocky

First Officer Gerhard, an up and coming human Lt Commander, had the command watch, when something happened that should not have. The point defense system fired at an incoming piece of debris, traveling at near light speeds. "Tactical, what did we just shoot and wear did it come from?"

"Sir, it was a piece of manufactured nickel iron alloy, mass about 50 Kg. It approached from our vector 256.32 mk 038.21 at 0.8c."

"Navigation, what is in that direction?"

"Sir, I have a distress call from Amistad colony broadcast from a deep space civil defense buoy sir." Ensign Ah-Din, a jet-black cat at comms watch, announced into the momentary silence. She knew protocol required that distress calls be reported immediately, but still felt like she had spoken out of turn.

No one on the bridge needed to hear the message, those buoys had only one function. In case of an antimatter annihilation reaction in near proximity to a planet all radio and subspace communication would be disrupted to an extent that made long-range communication all but imposable. Amistad had been attacked.

"Sir, Amistad colony is the nearest thing in that direction beyond that is frontier and poorly explored space. There are no reports of hostilities in the area. There is some H1 activity, mostly political initiatives. Are we at war, Sir?" That last question from Ensign Gutierrez a young vulpine quartermaster was the first break in protocol of the watch. It carried the faint hope of everyone on the bridge, that this was a drill.

"Thank you, Mr. Gutierrez" then to an unsure looking young Yeoman 3rd class, "Go wake the captain, she hates unwelcome news over the comms."

"Aye sir," and the yeoman, certain the captain would know what to do, hurried on her errand.

"Mr. Gutierrez lay in a course for Amistad at high warp. What will travel time be?"

"Forty-one hours and 25 minutes to stationary orbit insertion, sir"

"It will take five hours for the distress signal to reach Starbase 16, five more hours for their response to reach us if we stay here. If we go to their aid, the signal will be chasing us and will not reach us for an additional 8 to 10 hours. We will just have to wait for your answer Mr. Gutierrez."

"Captain on the bridge!" barked Senior Chief King, a permanently upset looking collie who possessed the rare ability to look immaculate and disheveled at the same time, somehow even on the few occasions he wore a dress uniform.

Henrietta Hardhoof Captain of the light attack cruiser Kohl was an unusual commodity, sought out by the fleet. Equids, as a rule, are not interested in commanding ships of the line. They dominate Logistics and make very good fighter pilots where their preference for speed, aggressiveness, and innate sense of teamwork makes them excellent first strike pilots. Those precious few who can find the inner calm to suppress the flight response that comes from the horse part of their soul do go on to command larger vessels. Where they tend to find solutions that require the least amount of force. They tend to work well in squadron-sized groups, but can work independently. However, they are most valued for their ability to pull a group of individuals into a cohesive, and fiercely loyal crew. Captain Hardhoof was one of these rear equids capable of large command. At 6'3" she was a bit small for her species, but she carried a presence about her that more than made up for her lack of size.

Commander Gerhard wasted no time waiting for the captain to ask for a report. "Point defense fired on a piece of manufactured metal debris that approached from the direction of Amistad colony. That was followed immediately by a distress call from a civil defense buoy. We have a course plotted and laid in, transit time 41 hours 25 min." Then with a quick glance to Ensign Ah-Din who nodded just enough, "A report and transcript are ready for Starfleet pending your approval sir."