Number One

Posted on Wed Jun 10th, 2026 @ 12:52am by Commander Kenneth Hunt & Captain Alistar McKeon

1,091 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: New Horizons
Location: Ready Room

Stepping out of the turbolift, Kenneth looked around the bridge, which was mainly empty. Just a few personnel at work, but since the Helvetia was still docked, no major operations were taking place. He strongly considered speaking up, but recalled that he was here with one purpose in mind at the moment. Finding the ready room in the corner, he walked over the door. Giving himself a quick look over, the Commander pressed the chime and waited to be called in.

The soft chime of the ready room door cut through the quiet compartment. Alistar stood near the viewport, his hands held behind his back as he watched the view. Beyond, Utopia Planitia and Mars drifted slowly, everything moving with a careful purpose that he observed. He let the chime linger for just a moment longer, mostly because it was a habit he had developed at Starfleet Command. He finally turned towards the door and called "Enter".

Entering the room, Commander Hunt immediately found the Captain standing by the viewport. Approaching his commanding officer, he automatically went to the position of attention. Reporting to a new CO, he figured it was better to be too formal than the opposite. "Commander Kenneth Hunt reporting as ordered, Sir."

"At ease, Commander," Alistar said automatically without turning away from the viewport. He understood the need for new officers to be formal when reporting to a new captain, but for Alistar there was a time and place for it. A new first officer reporting to a new captain wasn't always the place for strict formality. "I take it you've just come aboard?"

"Yes, Sir," Kenneth answered while relaxing a bit. "Outside of dropping things off at my quarter. I haven't had the opportunity to see much of the ship or meet any of the crew yet."

"Some of the assigned crew are still being transferred, which is why our departure has been delayed a few days," Alistar said as he finally turned away from the viewport and faced Hunt directly. "As for the ship... Have you served on an Intrepid class before?"

"This would be the first time serving on one. And I imagine, getting an assignment on the Helvetia might be unexpected for most. It definitely was for me."

"That might be more true than most would realize," Alistar said as he waved for Hunt to sit. Waiting for the commander to sit down in one of the conversation area's chairs, he sat down himself and leaned back before speaking again. "Helvetia is a new generation of Intrepid class ship, and while the flight one ships were top of the line, Helvetia has even more advanced systems. She designed to match larger starships as far as exploration capabilities, which is one reason we're being assigned to the frontier."

Accepting the offer to sit, Kenneth found himself in a seat across from the Captain. Listening carefully as the Captain gave the details of the Intrepid-class ship. Starfleet had put quite a bit of work into the improvement of the ship design since Voyager returned from the Delta quadrant years ago. But the word that definitely caught his attention was frontier. "By frontier, where is Starfleet sending us?"

Alistar shrugged slightly as he shook his head. "If the rumors are correct, then we'll most likely be sent to some unknown and unnamed sector outside the Federation's borders," he said. "As to exactly where, that I'm not sure of just yet. The official orders haven't been dispatched yet."

"It's good to know that Starfleet is pushing back to more exploration," Hunt mentioned. "Feels like I spent the majority of my career assigned to postings patrolling and diffusing situations."

"I can certainly understand that feeling all too well," Alistar said, nodding his head in agreement and understanding. "And I'm sure we'll have our own fair share of boring patrols and touchy situations to deal with, but for now the Helvetia is to be one of the first starships assigned to deep space exploration since the Dominion War."

"Have you picked out your entire senior staff yet? And if not, do you plan to depart on a set schedule?"

"I'm still waiting for Starfleet to finish assigning our crew, and of course some are still on their way," Alistar said. "And I've approved the few senior officers that have been recommended, but we still have a few openings that need to be filled. Depending on how hard Starfleet Command presses on our departure will reflect on whether we depart with a full roster or not. I'd rather set out with a full crew, if I have anything to say about it but you know how admirals get when a ship sits still too long."

Kenneth nodded in agreement. It was never good to depart without your full crew. But he had served on ships before that were sent out before being fully staffed. Admiral's wanted things done ASAP and just expected CO's to get it done, once way or the other. "Guess it gives me more time to spend with wife and kids before we ship off."

Alistar nodded in understanding. He understood family, just as he understood that sometimes officers were forced to be away from their families due to the nature and the needs of their service to Starfleet. "As long as your on duty responsibilities are taken care of, I invite you to spend as much time as you can with them before we depart," he said.

"Is there anything specifically you need for me to look into?" the Commander inquired. "The plan is to meet with the department heads as they come on board."

"For right now, get familiar with the ship and the crew," Alistar said. "There isn't much else for us to do until we launch. Engineering is running final checks on our systems to ensure that everything is ready for departure, and everyone else should be checking systems and ensuring that we're ready to go. A few department heads have already reported in, so you might have to track them down. I plan to call for a senior officer briefing once we're underway."

Standing from his seat, Hunt stared back at the Captain. "I'll get to it then."

"Of course, Commander," Alistar said as he stood and offered out his hand. "I look forward to having you as my first officer, Mr. Hunt. Welcome to the Helvetia."

Accepting the hand, he shook it and smiled. "Thank you, Captain."

=================
Captain Alistar McKeon
Commanding Officer
USS Helvetia

Commander Kenneth Hunt
Executive Officer
USS Helvetia

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