The crew of the Knight, reduced to a skeleton staff after its most recent mission, stood assembled at their various work posts eagerly awaiting the address of their new captain. While Captain Osagawa's credentials were said to be impeccable, some had had some misgivings about his not actually having held a starship posting in nearly ten years. Others, still nursing grudges from the Cardassian War, had heard about his sympathies toward the Maqui and the investigation (which turned up nothing) Starfleet Intelligence had initiated against him.
But, they were proper officers all, and were willing to give their new captain the benefit of the doubt. Not everyone could be a living legend like Commodore Pike, but Captain Osagawa wasn't far from it.
He had come aboard an hour earlier, taking a shuttlecraft (or, in this case, the runabout Mackenzie) from Upper Pylon 2 to the Knight as was the tradition among Starfleet captains. Tradition claimed the practice had been initiated by none other than James T. Kirk, but the fact that Kirk had done so because a horrific transporter malfunction prevented him from beaming aboard the Enterprise was usually neglected in the retelling of the story.
Now, having stowed his few personal belongings, Captain Kenji Osagawa addressed his new crew for the first time.
"My crew, it is good to be here after so long. You are truly Starfleet's finest and a captain could not ask for a better crew. Unfortunately, circumstances prevent us from disembarking with a full complement. Our replacement officers will have to catch up with us later.
"We have received a distress call from the USS Howard Carter, a research vessel exploring the ruins of a previously unknown civilization in a globular cluster just outside the galactic plane. It is unknown at this time what has happened to the Carter, but what we do know is that either a subspace anomaly or a hostile force may be involved. The Knight is the only vessel not already committed to other tasks with the range and characteristics needed to reach the area.
"Our current complement is more than enough to ensure that the Knight cancomplete its mission and return safely; however, personnel shortages are never easy. Many of you may be assigned to multiple tasks for the next few days or weeks. For that reason, and in recognition of your previous service to Commodore Pike, my first official action as captain of this vessel is to grant a one-grade-level promotion to all personnel. I also hereby assign Lieutenant Commander Tumock to the post of Chief Tactical Officer. Tumock will also be Acting First Officer until such time as that post is filled.
"Your mission briefing is at your respective work stations. A file marked "Zinak Cluster Mission" will contain all information pertinent to your post. I would like a staff meeting with all senior fficers at 1600 hours to ddress the mission and requirements for your respective teams. I wish my omments could be more elaborate to commemorate this occasion, but lives are t stake. Dismissed."
With that, and feeling uneasy after his first public speaking outing with his new crew, Kenji left the bridge for the sanctity of his ready room. hile some captains were known to adorn this area to their personal tastes, Kenji had deliberately left it Spartan in appearance-it was the Captain's Office, a place of business. His quarters were for relaxation, and he doubted he would see any of that soon.
Kenji reviewed his own mission briefing, including the transmitted logs of the Carter up to the time of the ship's disappearance. They'd reported seeing a huge octagonal pyramid on the surface of a Class M planet; the pictures accompanying the report evoked images of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican architecture. This surprised Kenji-constructing an octagon would not be beyond the capabilities of Neolithic and Bronze Age peoples, but dressing the stones to form such a perfect octagon would have stretched the abilities of even a society with 20th-century manufacturing technologies. Beyond that, the pyramid proved to be hollow, no more than thirty centimeters thick at any point! More disturbing was what the archaeological survey team found inside that octagon.
A large, stone torus with shimmering images inside. An exact copy of the Guardian of Forever!