As always, thank you for all your support. Captain Gavin Mitchel sat in Excalibur's command chair, His exec, Ami Wu, standing at his side. Joshua Kirk stood before the viewport as Excalibur prepared to make it's first hyperspace jump. Gavin watched Ami's cousin as he surveyed the activity on the bridge. All the tell tale signs were there. "You miss being in command of a ship, don't you Mister Ambassador?" The diplomat turned to him and nodded. "Yes!" Kirk said as he stepped to the center of the bridge. "Once you sit in that chair, your life is different. You should know, this is your third command." "True. But I hate those life and death decisions. Did you ever make one while you commanded Ericsen?" Mitchel asked. "Didn't you ever see the movie Battle At Azeen?" The ambassador asked with a grin. "Are you kidding me?" Ami laughed at the mention of that battle. "Those ships were very primitive. They had nothing that could penetrate your shields. Come on! Lasers and chemical explosive war heads?" "Hey, don't rain on my parade!" Kirk said with feigned indignation. "How many movies have they made about you? I have eighteen under my belt." "Yeah?" Excalibur's captain said smirking. "And how many of them are truthful?" "One," Joshua replied as he grinned at the others. "The Pirate Raid. I mean, Battle At Azeen had me commanding a damned Miranda class ship. That weapons pod over the primary hull was about the size of Ericsen!" "Hey," Melee called over her shoulder from where she sat at the navigational control. "Anowalla and Baby say the hyperdive is good to go. Any time you're ready, Captain Mitchel." "You have navigational control. The ship is in your hands," Mitchell nodded to his communications officer. "You are patched into the ship wide intercom." "Attention!" Melee's voice rang out over the ship's intercom. "This will be a very short trip. We'll be dropping out of hyperspace fifteen minutes after we enter it," She then tapped a few buttons. "Raising shields. And we make the jump in three, two, one." The stars flickered, then elongated, before turning to the haze of hyperspace. But not long after they'd entered it, they were dropping out again. Before them was the swirling maelstrom of a blackhole. The sound of the bridges turbolift doors opened, and the voice of the ships new security officer rang out. "Weapons on the bridge!" Joshua immediately stepped forward to greet the newcomers. "Stand down Lt Daultry!" Joshua cut in as he stared in awe at the mini arsenal that the beautiful Chiss was wearing. "You can't go getting worked up everytime you see someone armed. Everybody goes armed here. Though usually not as heavily armed as Dr Pok's friend." "Dr Pok, I presume?" Gavin Mitchel asked as he stood. "I can't believe you said that, sir," Ami muttered with a grimace. "Neither can I," Pok said as he stepped up and shook the captain's hand. "It is an honor to meet you. You have a wonderful crew. Though, personally, I wish they would stop this hero worship thing they have going on over me." "Same here," Joshua grumbled. "And let me be the first to congratulate you on your fashion sense." "Yeah, well I saw you wearing it when you took down that gorilla on Coruscant. And I thought I would look good in it." "And you do look good in it," Laro said as she grabbed his ass. Her friend Kar-Alyn shook her head and grinned. "I have unleashed a monster," The Twi'lek said. "She used to be so reserved and uptight." "Captain?" The science officer cut in, interrupting them. "We've found Moscow. She's 1.1 billion kilometers away." "Mister Rivers, take the helm again." Mitchel waved the junior officer back to his post. "And thank you, Melee." "Any time. I've never flown anything this big before," Melee then put her arm around Joshua's shoulder. "Now tell us about this battle at Azeen. Your record makes a brief mention of it, but no details." "The battle of Azeen is where I led USS Leif Ericsen, and my crew of fifty eight to defeat the entire Azeen war fleet," Ami rolled her eyes. Kirk grinned and thrust a finger in his cousin's direction "And nothing from you, Little Girl!" Lt Commander Joshua Kirk entered USS Leif Ericsen's only transporter room. His chief engineer, Lt Mark Berring, snapped to attention. His science officer, Lt Sandra Keller stood on the transporter platform, a concerned look on her face. "What happened planetside?" Kirk asked hurriedly. "Why did you call for an emergency beam out? Was there an attack?" "No sir!" Keller shook her head vigorously. "The Azeen were very hospitable. It was us!" "What did we do?" Kirk asked, slowly shaking his head. "Did someone pull a Wesley Crusher and do something accidentally that upset the Azeen?" "It was us!" She said, looking at the other two. "The Family members of the team!" "They're sensitive to our pheromones, aren't they?" "No sir!" Again, she vigorously shook her head. "They are hyper sensitive to it! It was chaos down there. When we left, people were ripping their clothes off. And all Family members that beamed down were wearing protective suits, Sir. I checked myself." "Captain?" Drash, Joshua's executive officer called from the bridge. "We have an incoming call from the Azeen Prime Minister. He wishes to talk to you." "I'm sure he does," Kirk said with dread. "Patch him through." "Yes sir!" After a moment, a man's voice came over the intercom. "Captain Kirk!" A angry baritone blasted from the rooms speakers. "What did your people do? Did you use some kind of chemical weapon against us?" "No, Mr Prime Minister," Kirk grimaced at the man's tone. "What you experienced are the pheromones some of us give off." Joshua then briefly explained his people's origins. "Does that mean we will not be able to join your Federation?" The disapointment in the Azeen leader's voice was clear. "We were looking forward to applying for membership alongside the Drell." "Of course you can apply, sir. It's just your peoples interactions with mine will be extremely limited," Joshua's face brightened. "If you wish sir, I could send down a team of Norms and non-Humans." "Norms?" "That's a term my people have for normal Humans. It's not a derrogatory word," Kirk stood on the platform and waited for a reply. "Very well. But just in case, we'll hold this meeting outdoors. Just as a precation!" They could hear the laughter in the man's voice. "That would be advisable. I'll have my science officer pick a team to meet you." "Thank you Captain Kirk," The Prime Minster paused a second. "Captain? Has anyone ever told you that you sound like a teenager?" "I do hear that a lot, sir," Kirk said with a smile. "Then I look forward to meeting your representatives. And I'm sorry for not using visual communications. My people only use that with those we trust. And I hope we can soon trust each other enough to speak visually." "I look forward to it, Mister Prime Minister." "Then I shall leave you to your duty, and shall await the arrival of a new team. Good day, and may the gods smile upon you." "And you as well," Joshua quickly turned back to Sandra Keller. "Assemble a new team. Norms and Nons only." "Yes, sir!" The woman said, before quickly leaving. "Mark," Joshua then turned to Berring. "What are you doing in here?" "We've been having trouble with one of the transporter pads. But we don't have a spare for it, so we'll have to wait on it until we get to a Star Base. That's the one thing I hate about this ship, sir. No replicators." "It does make things more difficult. But we don't have a large enough power source for them. We'll just have to make do. I'll see you on the bridge." Joshua then turned and left. "So what do you think of our young captain, sir?" The transporter chief asked. "He might work out, Micah," Berring said in a thoughtful tone. "He is a Kirk after all. And don't forget," The man grinned. "He was part of the only team to beat Kobiyashi Maru without cheating." Joshua decellerated when he entered Ericsen's bridge, the siren blaring out it's red alert. None of the bridge crew said anything about him being in his shorts. "What's happening, Lt Drash?" He asked, signalling his weapons control officer to silence the alarm. "An Azeen ship has us in a tractor beam, sir," Kirk's Vulcan exec told him. "There was no warning." "Com? Have you tried hailing that ship?" "All hails are being ignored sir." "Then put a call through to the Prime Minister's office!" Kirk ordered. "I've tried, Sir," The communications officer said as he shook his head. "All channels are being jammed." "Tactical! What do scans of that ship show?" "The ship is no threat sir," The Andorian said after several seconds. "Lasers and missiles with chemical explosive warheads." "What about that tractor beam?" "Very weak sir. We should have no trouble breaking away." "Do so, helm. Then raise shields and get us out of here." "How far, sir?" Ericsen's helmsman asked. "Until we are clear of the jamming." "Sir?" The tactical officer cut in, excitedly. "We have twenty seven ships approaching at high sublight speeds." "Helm, break us free of the ship's grip and get us out of here. Half a million kilometers!" The fast scout Leif Ericsen jerked as it broke free of the larger ships hold. "We are free, and shields are up, sir," The ship began to vibrate slightly. "And they are attacking. No damage to shields." "Helm, take us to warp two and get us away from here," Kirk said with a sigh. "We can't go to warp, sir!" The helmsman said in an agitated tone. "Their drives are creating a gravometric field that is dampening this area. " "Any luck on hailing that ship, comm?" "Yes!" The ensign nodded. "They are now responding to our hails, sir. Audio only." "Invading craft!" A man's voice rumbled over the bridges speakers. "This is Admiral Doul Arbass, commander of the Azeen Royal Navy. You have shamed our people, and so I will destroy you." "Well, this is Lt Commander Joshua Kirk, Captain of the Federation fast scout ship Leif Ericsen. If you have any sensor equipment, you will know that your ships fire is having no effect on our shields. Break off this pointless attack." "Sorry sir," The comm officer replied after a couple of seconds. "He's cut communications." "What's jamming us, Tactical?" Joshua asked as he crossed his arms. "A large pod on the ventral surface of the largest ship, sir." "Is there anyone in it?" "No sir. Only electronics." "Using as low a power setting as possible, destroy it!" A single phaser beam shot from the scout ship and melted the offending equipment pod. "Captain?" Drash said from where he now stood with the communications officer. "The jamming is now down. And it appears that the Prime Minister is trying to contact the Admiral. He is ignoring him as well." "Sir!" The com officer, Enda Woolsy smiled. "I can open a channel to the Azeen command ship. Audio and visual." "Do so," Kirk said with a smile. "Let's meet our angry Admiral." The image of a tall non-Human, in a blue and white uniform, appeared on the screen. The man appeared to be deep in conversation with someone. But all the crew on the bridge lay about the deck. It was uncertain if they were alive or dead. Kirk and his exec glanced at each other and shook their heads. Off to the side, a light flared brightly as someone began cutting their way through the doors of the bridge hatchway. "Communications?" Joshua turned his head slightly. "Can you broadcast this to the other ships?" "Very easily, sir." "Then do so!" Several seconds after the broadcast, all ships had ceased fire except the flagship.