Snippet #2580278

Captain Zekr was glad an old friend was joining him on this historic venture. With a new crew, all the files in the world were no substitute for people he could actually count on.

"Let's do this, then." His earring swayed as he turned his head, one of the obvious markers of his Bajoran heritage. Clearing his throat and standing tall in front of his chair, he tried to think of the right words to say. This was a very important day for all of Starfleet and even the Federation itself, along with her allies, so he wanted to get it right. He'd been a captain for many years, but had never been on a mission so important, and thus with such rapt attention paid to it. Impressive speeches weren't really his forte, but he would have to give it a shot.

Turning on the ship-wide comm, he spoke, his tenor true and unwavering. "Crew of the U.S.S. Nobunaga, we are about to embark on a journey together that will utterly change Starfleet and space travel as a whole if we are successful. I know you have all done your best to prepare for this, and I trust that we will weather this new test together. And if something goes wrong," he added with a chuckle, unable to resist, "hold on to something, because this might become a bumpy ride."

"Patch me through to the Surak, please, voice only" he asked the crew member at the comm, whose name had unfortunately fallen through the cracks of his memory. Ah, yes. "Thank you, Lieutenant MacIntyre."

"Captain? We're ready to launch."

"We're ready when you are," came the reply, warped slightly by the mechanics. "Good luck."

"Luck received and returned," Captain Zerk joked, and motioned to cut the feed.

Looking around at his crew, proud and scared and excited all at the same time, he looked to the field of stars ahead of them and spoke. "Engage the slip-stream drive."