Editing Christopher Adams Interlude

== Mission: Interlude ==

=== Day: 1 - Stardate: 2407.01.20 ===

==== (USS Paladin - Primary Shuttlebay - Ensign JG Christopher Adams - 1400) ====

Newly appointed Ensign Christopher Adams stepped off the runabout which had just landed aboard the USS Paladin. The high-warp runabout, commanded by a crew loyal to LoDona, was able to sneak away from Starfleet's defenses around Earth and reinforce the crew of the flagship of the 1st Battle Group of the 52nd Fleet. Ever since the civil war started while he was at the Academy, you never knew who you could trust. He felt like a pawn in a giant chess game. He was very happy to have landed on the side of Admiral LoDona. From the reports he had read, it sounded like he was fighting to keep the original traditions of Starfleet intact, and that's where he wanted to be.

The shuttlebay was a bustle of activity. Adams had never been on a Meredith class starship before. The immense size was astounding. ~I should get to the bridge and report to the captain,~ Chris thought to himself. Hiking his duffel back on his shoulder, he started to make his way through the sea of people off loading from the runabout and general crew on the shuttlebay deck. He approached the shuttlebay exit and headed into the hallway.

Touching one of the hallway panels, Adams questioned the computer, "Computer. Locate Captain Straton."

[Captain Straton is currently located in the Captain's Ready Room,] replied the computer.

With a nod, Adams entered the nearest turbolift. "Bridge," Adams commanded.

==== (USS Paladin - Bridge - Ensign JG Christopher Adams - 1410) ====

The turbolift doors opened up on the bridge of the USS Paladin and Ensign Adams stepped out jaw open. The bridge was huge. ~Big ship. Big bridge, I suppose,~ thought Adams. He looked around and saw the door which lead to the Captain's Ready Room.

He approached the door and touched the door chime.

The doors opened and Adams entered the room. Seated behind a desk was a fairly attractive woman with long red hair in a Starfleet uniform. Walking towards the desk, Adams set down his duffel back and stood at attention.

"Ensign Adams reporting for duty."

"Orders," She said smartly, holding out her hand with a snap of her fingers.  She took the PADD the Ensign handed her and pressed her thumb against it's scanner, unlocking the encrypted orders contained thereon. She read the orders over quickly, taking time to verify the command codes to ensure the orders were not forged.

"Ensign Adams," She said, not looking up from the PADD.  "So, your to be the new Assistant Chief Engineer.  I'm sure Lt. Matrix will be glad to have the extra help."

Ensign Christopher Adams looked straight ahead at attention while Captain Eva Straton looked up, her face a stony mask. "So Ensign tell me, you going to have a problem fighting and killing our own, other Starfleet personnel?"

Adam's eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed, "No, sir. We are defending the very principles that Starfleet was founded on. We cannot just roll over while one man seizes control and bends the rules and regulations just to meet his whim. It has been very difficult being in the Academy during such dark times. You don't know who to trust. When Admiral LoDona broke away, I felt it was the right course of action, even if I did have to express that behind closed doors. We have no choice." Adams glanced down into the Captain's eyes. "We must defend our way of life and because of that I will defend my ship to the very end, sir."

Eva listened to the Ensign with an impassive face, her empathic senses clearly detecting the emotions behind the Ensign's words noticing that he looked her square in the eyes as he spoke.  His eyes went back to the wall behind her as he finished speaking.  Eva leaned back in her chair nodding slightly.

"Good," She said, tossing the PADD with his orders onto her desk in front of him.  "Because in the middle of a battle you won't have time to hesitate.  You won't have time to debate the issues.  You will have to act, and I will not have an officer serving on board my ship who is uncertain of their choice.”

Ensign Christopher Adams continued to stand at attention while Captain Eva Straton explained his next duties now that he was aboard the ship, "See the Quartermaster about quarters and get your gear stowed, then report to Lieutenant Matrix, Chief Engineer, for duty assignment. Welcome aboard Ensign. Your dismissed."

"Yes, sir," Adams responded. "Thank you, sir."

He did an about face, picked up his duffel bag and exited the Captain's Ready Room.

==== (USS Paladin - Deck 51, Main Engineering - Ensign JG Christopher Adams - 1530) ====

Ensign Christopher Adams walked into Main Engineering. He was amazed at the size: nine decks, three warp cores. It would take forever just to walk around and explore this area. ~I bet you could fit some of the smaller Starfleet vessels inside the engineering section,~ Chris pondered. Chris had met with the Quartermaster and was assigned quarters on Deck 55. He didn't spend much time unpacking, just threw his duffel bag on his desk chair and headed straight away to Engineering.

Adams wandered around Engineering for a few minutes before discovering the Chief Engineer's office. He reached down to his sizeable belly and smoothed out his uniform before pressing the door chime.

Matrix was day dreaming when his office door chimed. Matrix sat up in his chair. "Enter." 

~This must be the young ensign.~ "Ah, you must be Ensign Adams?" said Matrix. He watched the young ensign, stiff as a board, stand at attention at the other side of his desk.

"Ensign Adams reporting for duty, sir."

Ensign Christopher Adams stood at attention in front of the desk of his new commanding officer, Lieutenant Steven Matrix.

"At ease Ensign, have a seat if it suits you," said Matrix standing up and walking around to the other side of his desk. Adams exhaled and felt a little more at ease, though still nervous about being aboard his first starship after graduating the Academy. Adams pulled up a seat while Matrix sat on the edge of his desk. Seeing the Ensign was still nervous, Matrix continued, "Really Ensign, relax. Glad to have you aboard. We are short handed here and glad to have the help."

Matrix smiled and returned to his chair while Adams responded, "Thank you, sir. I'm really glad to be here. I'm really excited to get started."

"Tell me a little about yourself, Ensign," Matrix questioned. "What are your specialties, what do you expect to do here?"

"Wow. Where to begin..." Adams said. "Well, I come from a long line of Starfleet. My great grandfather even served. I followed my father’s footsteps and became an engineer. While on Earth, I worked in the City of Houston Transporter Facility where I was one of the best and youngest techs on duty. That's where I discovered my talents for debugging power systems. Once in school, I explored different aspects of engineering: warp theory…transporter technology, but plasma power systems turned out to be my specialty. I'm really good at general starship maintenance because of my talent at figuring out why something isn't working and fixing it. Since this is my first post, the most I expect to do is learn. I had many team projects, but it's going to be nothing compared to working as a part of a starship crew. Especially an engineering crew the size needed to run a Meredith class starship."

"According to your file you're an Academy graduate," Matrix responded. "Excellent, but don't think that will get you extra points out here in the fleet. Many of the people you'll work with know more than those Academy instructors. This staff is the best engineering team in Starfleet. They all pull their weight and then some."

"Well, I have plenty of weight to pull," Adams responded with a smile referring to his oversized frame.

Matrix chuckled slightly, "Have you met any of the other engineering team yet or seen any of the ship?"

"No, sir."

"Well since this is your first day, I'd suggest you get acquainted with your quarters, take the day to see the ship, tour some of the departments. I would be happy to show you around a bit too…if you'd like," said Matrix.

"I would like that a lot, sir," Adams responded with a grin. "This place is huge. I'm constantly amazed at the size of this starship. Lead the way and I shall follow."

The ensign's enthusiasm was contagious and Matrix hoped it would rub off on the rest of the engineering crew. One thing they all needed was new energy aboard ship. 

"Well Mr. Adams I'll give you a brief tour of engineering." said Matrix as he and the young ensign left his office.

Ensign Christopher Adams followed closely behind his commanding officer, Lieutenant Steven Matrix, while he gave the new ensign a tour of the USS Paladin's engineering section. They boarded one of the open lifts on the far side of engineering and it rose up to one of the upper catwalks. Several engineering techs walked by nodding at the chief engineer as they passed.

"Main engineering spans nine decks, forty-three through fifty-one. We have three warp cores, the primary computer core, most of the weapon power generators, matter/antimatter storage, deflector generation, the works," Matrix explained as they passed by several transparent windows showing different areas of engineering. He turned back to the open area with the three pulsing warp cores. "It all starts and usually ends right here."

"Wow. Impressive," Adams gawked at the immenseness of it all. "Earlier I was thinking you could fit a small starship in here. Big ship. Big crew, I assume?"

"The Paladin has seventy decks, about 8600 crew, but we can accommodate over 15,000 personnel." Matrix continued as Adams gave a whistle and the amount of people that could fit on this starship. "We have fifteen standard transporters, seven combat, two medical and about forty-five cargo transporters. We can move people and equipment in a hurry. Our replication capacity is staggering too. Just about anything we need we can replicate, food, equipment, you name it."

Matrix and Adams continued their walk on the upper catwalk and boarded another open lift on the opposite side of the open area. "I heard that the Meredith class starship had the latest in regenerative shield technology, but what about the weapon systems? With a ship this large is it hard to get attacking ships targeted?" asked Adams glancing in the chief engineers direction as the lift started to descend.

"We have the firepower too," the chief engineer confirmed. "Around 200 photon torpedoes, around 400 quantum MkII's, and an array of phaser strips with rotating turrets in many locations. We can fire in any direction. The Paladin is fast for its size too. We can do warp eight for about thirty hours and warp nine in short durations." Matrix then leaned closer to Ensign Adams as they reach deck 51 once again and exited the lift, "…and we're working on improving that as well. Something I'll share with you in due time."

"All very impressive," Adams replied. "It sounds like a big job, but she's looks like a fine ship."

"Yes, it's a fine ship," Matrix confirmed. "You drew the best one in the fleet dare I say."

"It appears so," said Adams with a smile and looked up at the center warp core pulsing along.

The lieutenant followed Adams's gaze. "It all revolves around engineering Ensign. If we don't get it running and keep it running we're all in trouble…and the Captain demands perfection. So do I. Anything less could get people killed."

"Agreed, sir" confirmed Adams looking back in his CO's direction.

"Any questions so far ensign?" asked Matrix.

"Yes, but so many I don't know where to begin," Adams replied. "I always thought the best way to answer engineering questions is with actual work. After all how are you going to get experience without first breaking a few things?"

"Ah, that's what the holodeck is for." said Matrix.

Ensign Christopher Adams and Chief Engineer Lieutenant Steven Matrix walked along the base of engineering talking about the USS Paladin. The three warp cores pulsed in the background of the cavernous engineering deck of the Meredith class starship. Several engineering techs going about their regular duties, passed by the two officers.

"Listen to your fellow crew members," cautioned Matrix. "Work in teams when ever possible and follow the safety protocols. I'd also take note of what ever your enlisted crew tells you. These folks know their craft better than most, especially the master chief and petty officers."

"Understood, sir," agreed Adams. "Sometimes it's hard to remember the enlisted crew when I've just spent four years in school among my fellow officers. The best question I can think of right now is: when do I start?" A smile appeared on Adams's face.

Matrix stopped and then faced the ensign, "I think you've got the job, ensign. For now, take the rest of the day to get acquainted with the ship and your quarters. Call me if you get lost or have any questions. I'll be your guide until you get familiar with everything."

"Thank you, sir," Adams acknowledged.

"Oh, Ensign. One more thing," Matrix warned. "Stay off the bridge unless you're invited. The captain doesn't like the extra traffic up there…something no one told me when I came aboard for the first time. It's a good way to get noticed, but you might get volunteered for something you didn't bargain for. Like cleaning the windows from the outside." Adams noticed a smile creep up on his commanding officer's face.

Adams gave a nervous chuckle. From what he had read about Captain Straton, she seemed a bit of a hard ass. When the captain had confronted him about killing his fellow Starfleet officer, it had scared him to death. However, he had learned in the Academy that you should stand your ground when in those types of situations. He had every intention to heed the chief engineer's warning.

"Don't worry," Adams confirmed. "I'm planning on staying clear of the bridge."

"I need to get some work done before the shift change," Matrix continued. "If you'd like to join me for dinner, I'll be in Ten-Forward around 1900. If I see you great, if not report to engineering tomorrow at 0900. Dismissed."

"Thank you for the tour of engineering, sir," said Adams. "I'd love to meet you in Ten-Forward. Besides the Klingon Ensign I met on the runabout on the way here, I don't know a single person on board. I'll see you around 1900."

With that Adams left the chief engineer to his work and headed down the hall to the turbolift.

==== (USS Paladin - Deck 55, Personal Quarters Ensign JG Adams - Ensign JG Christopher Adams - 1543) ====

Ensign Christopher Adams entered his quarters and looked around. The duffel bag he threw down in his chair still sat there. He picked it up and started to unpack his personal items. First, he retrieved a few picture frames which contained pictures of his parents. He smiled down at the pictures as he placed them on his desk. Next he retrieved a football from the bag. He gripped the laces, faked a throw down the length of his quarters, and then just tossed the ball on the bed. He placed his hand in the bag again and pulled out a few books: Technical Guide to Ships of the Fleet, 2403 Edition; Power System Theory of the Modern Starfleet Vessel; and a novel called Anslem, and placed them on a nearby shelf near his desk. Finally, he retrieved an isolinear chip from his bag. He insert the chip into the replicator and created extra uniforms and other miscellaneous articles clothing, which he stored in a couple of the drawers in his quarters.

"Computer," stated Adams to the empty room. "Plot a tour of the ship which will take me to as many places as possible that an ordinary engineering officer might want to see. Exclude Main Engineering…and…the bridge." Adams decided to heed the chief engineer's warning. "Also, end the tour at Ten Forward at 1900 hours."

The computer terminal sitting on his desk came to life showing a map of the ship and a line running through several areas ending at the bow of the ship. "Computer. Transfer this tour to the PADD sitting on my desk."

Ensign Adams picked up the PADD and headed out on his tour of this ship.

==== (USS Paladin - Deck 10, Ten-Forward - Ensign JG Christopher Adams - 1904) ====

The large double doors parted as Ensign Christopher Adams entered Ten-Forward. Several officers, crew, and civilians milled about, a few seated at the bar enjoying various kinds of synthehol. Glancing around he spotted Lieutenant Matrix seated near a window, the familiar streaked warp star pattern flying by outside. 

"Good to see you ensign, please have a seat." said Matrix as he sat down too.

"Thank you, sir," replied Adams, throwing the PADD he was carrying on the table and pulling out a seat.

Seeing that the chief engineer's guest had arrived, the waitress in their section approached the table. "Would you gentlemen like a drink? Will you be eating tonight?" questioned the waitress.

"Yes, I'll have another drink please and my usual for dinner." replied Matrix 

"I'll have a steak with a baked potato and green beans," stated Adams. "To drink, I'll have a root beer."

The waitress tapped the two officers' orders into the PADD she was carrying and then walked off towards the bar.

Matrix put down his PADD, "So how did the tour of the ship go this afternoon?" 

"It went well," responding Adams. "I settled into my quarters. I only took a few of my personal items with me. With the replicators, it's almost not necessary to carry much around anymore.

"I then had the computer map me a tour route," continued Adams showing his PADD to Lieutenant Matrix. "My tour started with the Botanical Gardens on the deck below my quarters, which was really nice. It's amazing that we produce so much of our fresh fruit and vegetables on board instead of replicating it. After that, I saw some of the Repair and Rebuild Facility on deck 59. I took a tour of Sick Bay and, finally, I saw the transporters and offices up here in the Bridge Module. I'm sure I only scratched the surface.
It was after all only a three hour tour."

Ensign Christopher Adams sat at a table with his commanding officer, Lieutenant Steven Matrix. Reflections of the stars streaking by as the Paladin headed as fast as it could to the Romulan Neutral Zone.

"Excellent idea to get the computer to map out a tour for you," complimented Matrix. "I'd never thought of that when I got aboard."

"Thanks," responded the ensign. "The Paladin is like a floating city. I knew if I didn't have help finding my way around I was going to get hopelessly lost."

As the young ensign relived his tour of the ship Matrix noted the waitress returning to their table with their food. Matrix wasn't all that hungry, but he thought he'd better eat anyway. He didn't want to appear rude.

The ensign took a bite and started again...

"So, tell me more about the crew. You warned me about the Captain, which is the only other senior officer I've met, present company excluded. What about the others?" Adams asked as he placed a piece of the steak into his mouth and started crewing.

Ensign Christopher Adams ate his dinner in Ten Forward while his commanding officer Lieutenant Steven Matrix talked about the other senior officers on the Paladin. "Don't take my advise as a warning, Ensign. The captain is one of the finest officers in the fleet. The advise was just to keep out of the way, especially on the bridge. If you've not been on a starship before the bridge is probably the most stressful place one could be. Extra people about won't help things when the plasma hits the launchers."

Adams chuckled at the chief engineer's last sentence, "Understood, sir. My first impression of the captain, wasn't the best. Right off the bat she asks me if I'm ready to kill fellow Starfleet officers. I understand it's a civil war, it wasn't easy getting here from the Academy, but come on. The first thing she says to me? Anyway, she seems very intense."

"The senior officers are the finest I've worked with also," Matrix continued. "The first officer is a driven, precise officer who expects the best from his subordinates. Just like the Captain does with her senior teams and the entire crew. My best advise is to always do your best, ask questions when you're unsure."

Sudden a voice came over the lieutenant's comm badge, =^=Ensign Cohen to Lieutenant Matrix.=^=

"Excuse me for a second, Mr. Adams. Go ahead Pete."

Ensign Adams continued eating his dinner and drinking his root beer while the chief engineer talked to one of the other officers. The steak wasn't too bad for replicated, but he was definitely going to have to get used to it. It's not like he's back on Earth anymore. A couple of weekends a month he used to use his transporter credits to beam from the Academy back to Houston and eat at his grandmother's house. Real steak beats this replicated stuff hands down anytime.

"Matrix out," said the chief engineer sitting back in his chair. "Sorry, Ensign. Pete Cohen is someone you should meet soon, he's the best programmer in the fleet and you'd do well to listen to any advise he has."

"Sounds good. I can't wait to meet him," replied Adams.

"The senior officers, oh yes," Matrix continued remembering where he was. "As I was saying, Captain Straton is simply one of the finest officers in the fleet. She's fair, but demanding of her crew. Our FO Lieutenant Commander Capps is equally respected, talented, never shies away from a fight and expects excellence from the crew. Our second officer Lt. Brownlee, is coming up through the ranks. His experience is growing, but the FO is keeping an eye on him. He's a good man, too."

"Nice," said Adams. "I can't wait to meet them all. What are my regular duties going to be as Assistant Chief Engineer? When do the duty shifts start? You mentioned 0900 this afternoon. Will we be assigned to the same shift?"

(reply Matrix, any)

=== Day: 2 - Stardate: 2407.01.21 ===

==== (USS Paladin - Deck 55, Personal Quarters Ensign JG Adams - Ensign JG Christopher Adams - 1821) ====

Ensign Christopher Adams entered his quarters and collapsed into the seat at his desk. He was just coming off his first shift in engineering on his new ship, the USS Paladin. With a sigh, Adams addressed the computer, "Computer. Carbonated soft drink with ice."

[There are one hundred twenty seven varieties of carbonated soft drink,] responding the computer.

Sighing once again, Adams responded, "Earth Root Beer." A glow from the replicator appeared and was replaced with a glass of fizzing root beer. Adams got out of his seat with a grunt and lumbered over to retrieve his beverage.

"Computer. Create a section in my person computer memory storage for personal logs and begin recording my first entry.

"Personal Log, Ensign JG Christopher Adams. Stardate 2407.01.21. It's been a rough day. I just arrived on the USS Paladin yesterday and it's been a long hard struggle to come up to date on the complexity of this Meredith class starship. We learned about them in the Academy, but I didn't think my first assignment was going to be on one.

"The trip from Earth was pretty taxing. I met the transport as the commander who snuck into my quarters instructed me to, the whole time thinking this might be a test of my loyalty to Starfleet. There were extra precautions on confirming my identity, and then we had to sneak past the Starfleet Earth defenses by faking our flight plan. I'm still trying to figure out how Admiral Green could post me to a ship loyal to LoDona without revealing himself on our side of the civil war. The commander spoke of an intricate underground in order to sneak cadets out. It must been considering Admiral Green must be somehow involved. We spent a week heading to Starbase Geneva and then switched to another runabout which was heading to the Paladin. I had a couple of conversations with a Klingon security officer who was also being transferred, but she pretty much kept to herself during the trip. Another week and we finally arrived at the Paladin.

"Once on board, I met with the captain and my commanding officer, Lieutenant Steven Matrix. He gave me a tour of engineering and then I took my own tour of the ship, ending with Ten Forward where I met Lieutenant Matrix for dinner. We talked and ate our dinner. Lieutenant Matrix sounds like a great engineer and I'm looking forward to working with him.

"The next morning, my duties started. I worked with several of the engineering techs going over the routine maintenance that has to take place on a normal duty shift. Today was mainly just a day to start familiarizing myself with the ship."

The computer chimed in, [In coming message from Ensign O'Connor.]

"Computer," Adams responded. 'Halt recording of personal log and display in coming message." Adams glanced down at his computer terminal.

<nowiki>===</nowiki>
To Friends and Comrades,

It has come to my attention that we have worked very hard in the last few days and deserve a time to rest and truly get to know the newer additions to the crew, of which I am one.  To that end, dinner will be served on holodeck 4 at 1930 hours tonight courses to be determined by whim of the attendees, come as early and stay as late as you wish, bring a friend and have some fun.  Take this time to relax and unwind, if you can not attend this gathering of friends, you will be sorely missed, although I promise more will be planned in the future.  We shall have as much fun as our imaginations (and Starfleet rules and
regulations) permit us to.

I hope to see you all soon.

Signed,
You Friendly neighborhood Irishman, Michael O'Connor <nowiki>===</nowiki>

"Computer. What's the time?" asked Adams.

[The current time is eighteen thirty hours,] replied the computer.

"Wow. That's short notice." Suddenly Adams's stomach rumbled. ~Perhaps I shouldn't have skipped lunch.~ thought the ensign.

"Computer. Resume personal log. I just got an invitation to a party on the holodeck. I should go and get more familiar with my new crewmates."

"Computer. End personal log and save."

Ensign Adams started removing his uniform and walked towards the head for a sonic shower.

==== (USS Paladin - Holodeck 4 - Ensign JG Christopher Adams - 1915)====

Dressed now in civilian clothing, Ensign Christopher Adams entered Holodeck 4. The doors opened up on a wooded area with a large cottage tucked away among the trees. A large table was out front of the cottage and crew members milled about. A cool breeze blew through the area. Adams took a deep breath and headed towards the party.

==== (USS Paladin - Holodeck 4 - Ensign JG Christopher Adams - 1943)====

Dinner had been placed along the large table in front of the cabin. Ensign Adams loaded up a plate and moved over to one of the tables where some of the engineering techs he had met earlier in the day were starting to gather. They talked about technical details of the ship while enjoying the food.

After about fifteen minutes, a young man went to the porch and addressed the crowd, "If anyone is interested, Rana and I would like to perform for you, and we have an announcement to make."

There was cheering from the crowd as the young man picked up a Vulcan lyre and began to play a song and the woman he referred to as Rana began to sing. As they finished the duet together, the crowd began to clap. Standing up he addressed the crowd again. "That was 'Soon It's Gonna Rain' from the Fantasticks, for which I will be holding auditions for tomorrow for whoever is interested."

One of the engineering techs poked Ensign Adams in the side trying to egg him into joining the musical. "No way, Williams. There's no way I'm signing up for that." From over nearby they overheard Matrix, "I couldn't carry a tune if it had handles."

Adams and the engineering techs starting laughing at their commanding officer.

(reply Matrix, any)

=== Credits ===

*(posted by [[user:jfrench|Jason]])
*(posted by Wes)
*(posted by Steve)


[[Category:Character Notes]]