Wrath2

"What are we waiting for?" asked Lieutenant Commander Lamb, leaning against his console at Tactical, careful not to touch the wrong thing and accidentally fire upon the ship in front of him.

USS Stealthlon, NCC-2034
15:15 SET
2185

The 4th fleet, led by Admiral Beckerd A. Benson, better known as "Blackbird," had been assembled at Space Station 3 as soon as word got to Blackbird. The Executive Officer of the Stealthlon, Captain Matthew Cain, had expressed concern about letting the rookie starship captain "tag along" for this battle against the Imperials, citing that he was too inexperienced. Blackbird, however, was confident that Mansel would perform well; if his previous service record had any indication.

Aboard the USS Stealthlon, the flagship of the 4th fleet, Admiral Blackbird sat in his command chair quietly, waiting for the go word from Space Control. Beside him, Captain Cain had ben rattling on for some time about an amazing woman he had met and conquered a few weeks ago, though Blackbird wan't paying any attention. He was internally peparing himself for the battle ahead.

It was possible in every battle, be it with a ship twice the size or half the size that the outcome could be less than favorable. Blackbird knew that every time he went out that there was a possibility that he wasn't coming back alive. He had enough experience under his belt to be able to deal with almost any situation, but there was always the random factors; the unknowns that he had to worry about. He tried not to let it prey on his mind too much, though.

"The last of the ships are forming up, Admiral," announced Commander Lisa Hayes from her post. Blackbird grunted an acknowledgement.

Finally sensing that the Admiral didn't really want to hear his detailed story, Cain switched to other business. "You're absolutely positive that you want the Explorer going with us, Benson?" he asked, dropping his voice low, barely above a whisper.

"Admiral Story told me to assemble 4th Fleet, Cain, and that's what I did," Blackbird stated, looking Cain directly in the eye. "He didn't say form 4th Fleet with the exception of the Explorer. Therefore, I'm just following his orders." He glanced at a tactical display showing the fleet as a whole, a lot of which he knew would not be coming back. "Besides," he said, "Mansel's held his own a couple of times now. It's time to see how he handles a group scenario."

Captain Cain shook his head. "Heck of a way to test him Blackbird. Couldn't we just do that in a simulator?"

Agitated, Admiral Blackbird turned to his Executive Officer. "What do you have against Mansel?" he asked, surprising the Captain.

Flustered, Cain stumbled in his answer. "I don't have any problem with Mansel," he started, "it's just that his command abilities are so unorthodx--"

"He gets the job done, Cain," interrupted Blackbird. "And he does it within regulations. That's what counts. Sure, Mansel's command style is a little different than what you're used to, but that doesn't mean he's any better or worse than you or me."

Cain shook his head. "I don't know, Benson," he stated. "All I'm saying is watch out for him. He's a rookie still, and he'll make rookie mistakes. He's never taken on fighters before--"

"He dealt with the fighters that the planet Palla had."

"The Titan dealt with those fighters, and they weren't quite up to military standards," Cain stated. "The point is, Mansel doesn't have a point defensive screen. He'll be vulnerable to those pesky little fighters."

Blackbird held back a long sigh. "We'll see," he said.

USS Explorer
15:29 SET
2185

"Here we go, Captain," said Lieutenant Commander Casey Ames, Chief of Security aboard the Explorer. "Here's my point defense plan, as you requested."

Mansel put down the Root Beer he had been drinking and nodded. "Good," he said, briefly glancing over it on the infopad. "Put it in effect when need be. We'll need it soon enough against those fighters." Mansel and Vaughn had both learned in that incident with the fighters from Palla that some kind of plan was needed to be able to successfully ward off enemy fighter planes. Mansel had instructed his Chief of Security to develop this screen and now here it was before him.

Lieutenant Commander Ames started to go, but Mansel stopped him. Make a couple more of these, Ames," he told the Chief. "We don't want to use the same one over and over again."

"I'll get right on it sir."

"Good. Dismissed."

"Our first real group battle, Mansel," Vaughn said from his spot on the bridge. He watched as the starship commander nodded slowly. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready to get it on," was Mansel's reply, which Vaughn wasn't sure was good or bad.

The bridge doors opened and Lieutenant Commander Fleury strolled out with infopad in hand. Earlier, Vaughn had ordered Fleury to work with Lieutenant Commander Lamb on running a full diagnostic on the ship's weapons and devensive systems.