Here Comes The Cavalry (Part I)

Who: Chris Harris
When: Now
Where: JMC White Dwarf
Chris Harris sat at the first officer's desk in the Drive Room of the
JMC White Dwarf. Following the loss of the Blue Dwarf, against his
wishes, the space corps had reassigned him, ironically to the ship
that he was originally murdered on, before being resurrected. He
wasn't complaining however, as he'd been given the role of acting
first officer, and thus, a promotion.
The ship was en route to New New New Zealand (They were bored with
the first one), protecting a convoy that was bringing urgently needed
medical supplies to the victims of a natural disaster. The ship was
the head of a task force, comprised of at least a dozen war ships,
along with the convoy of non-combatant ships carrying food, supplies
and medical teams.
Chris wished immensely that this was not the case. He wished that he
was with the remainder of the crew that ended up on the Mollopod
planet, in the middle of a war. He wished there were something that
he could do.
"I miss confrontation. I miss beer. I miss being able to get away
with having a shot of tequila with breakfast" he thought, as he sat
there, typing up a report he had made on the general status of the
ship, the final sentence of this being 'SUMMARY - SHIP NOT BATTLE
WORTHY. REPAIRS MUST BE MADE'.
"Jesus Christ" he muttered to himself as he twiddled a pen between
his fingers. "On the Blue Dwarf, sure I wasn't first officer but I
never had to do my JOB!".
The lift door of the drive room opened, and the captain, Captain
Welbeck entered.
Chris signed, and reluctantly stood up, saluting lazily.
"Captain on the bridge!" he shouted, his voice echoing around the
room. Everyone on the bridge leapt to attention, saluting the
captain, who seemed to delight in the loyalty of his crew.
"Commander Harris. I just thought I'd check in and make sure
everything is in good stead for the overnight shift before I turn in"
said the Captain
"Everything's under control, sir" replied Chris.
"Ok. Good night then. I'll see you in my office in the morning to
discuss the repairs that need to be made. You're in command until I
return, the chair's yours".
"Yes, sir".
The captain walked back into the lift. The doors closed, and Chris
stood up, walked over to the captains chair, sat down, and begin to
doze. Then it came to him. He left it five minutes, so the captain
was far enough away so that he could do relatively little, with
regards to what he was about to do.
"Ensign Saunders. Open a channel to the fleet" said Chris.
"Sir?" the ensign asked, looking at his commander questioningly.
"Everybody. I'm about to commit a direct violation of our orders.
Anybody who objects to this, speak up now, and I will note it in the
permanent log" stated Chris.
Several of the crew in the Drive Room raised their hands. Chris noted
their named in the log before proceeding to his next statement.
"Saunders, you have your orders"
The young officer pressed a few buttons, and there was a loud beep,
eminating from the control panel, indicating the channel was open.
"This is Commander Harris of the JMC White Dwarf. I'm taking command
of the task force. We are no longer taking medical supplies to New
New New Zealand. Follow the co-ordinates that have been transferred
to you, medical ships included. They will take the task force to the
Mollopod planet"
"But sir.." protested a younger officer in command of another ship
before he was interrupted.
"After this transmission, I will notify the Space Corps of our
situation and request that they send another fleet to New New New
Zealand. Understood? My motives for doing this shall remain concealed
for the time being. I outrank you. This is an order"
"Understood, sir" replied the officer, closing the channel.
"Enginnering, I need full power to the engines until we complete our
journey. After this I need to divert most of the energy to the on
board stasis field" he said as he flipped a switch giving him
communications with the Chief Engineer.
"Lets go then" said Chris, indicating to the Navigation Officer.
"I hope that they're grateful for this" he thought, shaking his
head. "I'll swing from the tallest yard arm in titan docking port for
this...."
TBC
OOC: Guys. I realise I've not been around for a while, so I apologise
if I've got place names wrong or stepped on anyones toes. I've talked
to onion about this, part two will follow tomorrow. Hope my comeback
was worth the anticipation!