Post #18 - Pre -Mission: New Orders

Posted on Sun May 10th, 2020 @ 2:03pm by Captain Jackson Porter
Edited on on Sun May 10th, 2020 @ 2:04pm

Mission: Shake Down Cruise
Location: Starbase 33
Timeline: One month prior to arriving at the Amandora

ON:


=/\= "T'Kar to Captain Porter." =/\=

Jackson was lying on his couch reading a book when the voice came over the comm. "Go ahead, sir," he replied.

=/\= "Please report to my Ready Room." =/\=

"On my way." Glancing at the chrono and seeing that it was 1645 hours, he put down the PADD, put on a uniform, and headed up to the Bridge. When he got there, he headed right over to the Ready Room and keyed the chime.

"Enter."

Porter walked in to see Captain T'Kar, the carrier ship's Vulcan commanding officer, sitting at his desk. "You wanted to see me Captain?"

"Yes. Have a seat."

Jackson sat down. There was a brief pause while T'Kar finished what he was working on.

"My apologies, Captain. We received an upload from Starfleet Command and I wanted to see if there was anything substantial regarding our ship in it."

Jackson shook his head. "Not a problem, Captain. I can only imagine how busy it must get for you on some of these days."

T'Kar nodded. "To say that it is a busy job would be an understatement, but a worthwhile and fulfilling one. In fact, a job is exactly why I called you here."

Confused, Jackson's eyes narrowed. "Sir?"

T'Kar stood up and walked around the desk to hand Jackson a PADD. "Let me be the first to congratulate you on being selected as the new Starfighter Group Commander of the starship Amandora."

Jackson stood up and read through the orders. "Wow. Thank you, sir! I didn't even know I was up for the job."

"Your record contains many impressive feats, and your recent acts against the Orion fleet seemd to have put you above all of the other candidates." T'Kar held out his hand. "Congratulations, Captain."

"Thank you, sir." Jackson shook the Captain's hand. "When do I report to the, uh..." He glanced down at the PADD. "...the Amandora."

"Your time with us ends at 1100 hours tomorrow. Per my orders, you have the rest of the day and tomorrow at your leisure. At 1100 tomorrow, a runabout will take you to Starbase 41 for debriefing with General Horn and some downtime before your next assignment."

Jackson nodded. "Thank you, sir. It has been an honor serving with you."

"The honor has been mine, Captain." T'Kar raised his hand and made the traditional Vulcan hand gesture. "Peace and long life to you, Captain. I wish you success in your future endeavors."

Jackson held up his hand with a similar hand gesture. "And to you, sir." With a gentle nod, Jackson turned around and left the Ready Room.


=====
Later that day, Jackson's quarters, 1925 hours
=====

It had been a while since Jackson had to pack all his personal belongings. It was also a good thing that he had the rest of the night and the next morning to pack since he had apparently picked up many more things to pack in his time aboard the Hornet. As he was packing things away, his doorbell chimed.

"Enter," he answered.

The door slid open and in walked Lieutenant Alyssa Thompson, the Assistant Chief Engineer. "So the rumors are true, you've been transferred," she said, walking in and standing next to a couple of personal containers.

"I prefer the term 'job promotion'," Jackson replied. "I mean, I'm not actually getting promoted yet...still a Captain, but going from Squadron Leader to Fighter Group Commander."

Alyssa smiled and hugged Jackson. "Well, congratulations! You've definitely earned it!" She sat down on the bed next to a pile of clothes. "So when do you leave?"

Jackson walked over to the bed and sat next to Alyssa. "The runabout Nile leaves for Starbase 41 at 1100 tomorrow." He put his arm around Alyssa and took her hand with his free hand. "In the meantime, Captain T'Kar has given me the rest of my time off."

A smile crept across both of their faces. The two kissed for a moment. "Well, sounds like we have plenty of time for one last night together."


=====
The next day, 1125
=====

The door to the turbolift opened. Alyssa and Jackson walked out and down the hall and into the shuttlebay where a security officer was waiting for him outside a runabout. When they got to the entry to the runabout, the two turned to each other.

"So this is it," Alyssa quietly said.

"Yeah..." Jackson didn't really know what to say, but his eyes said everything Alyssa needed to know. "I, uh...I'm really going to miss you."

A tear ran down Alyssa's face. "Not as much as I'm going to miss you," she replied.

Jackson wiped the tear from he cheek and leaned in to kiss her. He pulled her close and held her as tenderly as he could. "I love you, ma'am."

Alyssa chuckled. "I love you, too, JP."

"Um...excuse me, sir, but we have to leave momentarily."

"Be right there," Jackson replied without looking at the security officer. "Well, I guess I have to go now." He picked up the bag he was carrying and took one last look into Alyssa's eyes. "Promise you'll write?"

"You bet." Alyssa smiled and stepped back to let Jackson go into the runabout.

As he stepped into the runabout, Jackson looked back at Alyssa with a smile and a wave. The last thing he saw was her blowing him a kiss as the doors slid shut.


OFF