Voyagers: SS Pegasus

by Zarek Dragon

Assisted by Douglas DD

Wednesday, 2 April 2127

Jace and Jordan's Quarters ~ 1720

The chime to their quarters went off and Jordan answered. Rick Campbell was there with his two brothers. "I hope we're not too early, but I like being early by five or ten minutes."

Jordan laughed, "When we were on the Sooloo, we had a saying. Nine minutes early is one minute late."

"I like that saying," Rick commented. "Will we be adapting that on the Pegasus?"

"Of course, we will. Don't get me wrong," Jordan replied, "I don't plan to penalize anyone who isn't actually late, but I would like to instill the sense of being early to everyone."

"Like I said," Rick declared, "I like being five to ten minutes early, so I can easily adapt to being ten consistently."

"Well, enough of the chattering at the door. Come inside and meet the family."

Ian and Liam were the first ones in. They looked around and spotted Austin and Dallas, then went over to them. "It looks like my brothers like your sons," Rick announced.

Jace added, "And vice versa."

It wasn't long after, and the door chimed opened. Jordan was caught by surprise, not expecting anyone, and who would just enter… When Jonas and Jason stepped through the door, Jordan relaxed. "What brings you here? Not that I mind. And you ARE staying for supper."

"We wanted to meet our new brothers," Jonas answered.

Jason giggled, "And if that's an order, I guess we have to stay."

"Rick, these are our two oldest boys, Jonas and Jason, also known as the twins," Jace introduced them. "Jonas, Jason, this is a crew member from our new ship. He brought his brothers to meet your brothers. They're over there."

Jace and Rick chatted while Jordan finished making their meal.

Thursday, 3 April 2127

Shuttle Bay ~ 0850

Jordan was meeting with the pilots and Shuttle Bay crew. There were eight fighter pilots, three shuttle pilots and three crewmen. "Crewmen James, Crewman Yates and Crewman Logan, your main duties will be to perform maintenance on the shuttles and fighters. Once you've been trained to fly a shuttle, you may move it around the Shuttle Bay as necessary, but only with proper guidance from the Shuttle Bay Officer.

"Space Fleet Regulations state that under no other situation shall ANY non-officer fly a Shuttle. And only those trained to be a fighter pilot may fly the fighters." Crewmen James, Logan and Yates nodded their heads, acknowledging they understood.

"Commander Spahn and Commander Harper." Jordan found it interesting that his last name was Harper. "Are you any relation to Danny Robinson, formerly Danny Harper?"

"I won't say I'm not, but not that I am aware of," Lt Commander Ian Harper stated. "The Harper family is rather large, so it is a possibility, however, I have never heard the name until now."

"Seriously?!" Jordan exclaimed. "It's his curriculum that they are using to train the fighter pilots, and you've never heard of him?"

"Is that who DR is?" Ian looked surprised. "They only told us his initials because they didn't want us feeling intimidated if we knew him."

"And that would explain it," Jordan chuckled. "How old are you? You look a bit young to be in the regular fleet. You look like you still belong in the Explorer program."

"As you know, we can transfer to the 'transition' fleet between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one. I opted to do so at seventeen. I turned eighteen on the twenty-third of this month."

"So, have you completed your year in the transition fleet?"

Ian smiled, "On my birthday, Sir."

"How did you do in your training?" Jordan inquired.

Ian laughed, "You have my records, so you probably already know. I was second in my class."

Jordan nodded his head, "Yeah, I knew, I just wanted to see what you would say. According to your file, Captain Jones had nothing but good things to say about you on the Hudson. You followed orders exactly. Didn't you question any of your orders?"

"Every order I received was within my job description, and none were illegal. Captain Jones never gave me a reason to question them. Don't think I just followed his orders blindly. I didn't. He was simply a by-the-book Captain. He wanted us to be in the top five best ships in the Explorer Program, and we obtained that. The Sooloo was always  number one until you transitioned, and then many of her Senior Officers,  but the Hudson never slacked at trying to be a great ship."

"And who holds the number one place, now?" Jordan was curious.

"According to my friend still on the Hudson, that would be the Heinlein, but I heard her Captain will be eighteen in August, so he may transition any time or wait until he has no choice at twenty-one. As for the Sooloo, she's currently in second place, now that Juro and Tomo Kohl are the Captain and First Officer."

Jordan spoke with Commander Xavier Spahn next. "Your last name is Spahn," he stated. "Are you any relation to the baseball legend Warren Spahn?"

"Not directly, but I have family ties. Jake kinda worships him."

"Understandable, he was a great southpaw pitcher, and a war hero during the second world war."

Jordan and Xavier shook hands. "I like you, Xavier, and I would like for you to be my Squadron Leader. We have eight fighters."

"If it's alright with you, Jordan, I would like to break them into two squadrons of four with Ian as my assistant leading the second squad."

"That sounds logical. It's your call."

Jordan spoke with Lieutenant JG Blake Spencer and Lt Commander Iago Garcia. "We have a Security Officer by the last name Garcia. Any relation?"

"Diego is my younger brother. He was born a year and two months after me."

Jordan laughed, "We do seem to like to keep families together. We have a husband and wife in the Science Department."

Jordan spoke with Lt Commander Jordan Clarke, Lieutenant Ryder Colt, Lieutenant George Lincoln and Ensign Thomas Lincoln next. "Ryder, are you any relation to Sam Colt in Engineering?"

"Not even remotely, to my knowledge."

"Interesting," Jordan commented. "George and Thomas, you have the same last name and look like brothers, so I'm guessing…"

"You guessed right," George replied. "We were born nine months apart, but Thomas had to come a month early."

"Thomas, you are an ensign," Jordan stated. "Do you have any ambition to be a fighter pilot like your brother?"

"Eventually, but I just graduated from the Academy, and this will be my first trip to space, so…"

Jordan smiled, "I like the way you think." Turning to Ensign Ondres Derth, he commented, "You have an interesting name. Is it French?"

"Although, I agree it does sound French, it is not," Derth replied. "My parents wanted an unusual name to go with our last name, Derth. They used a random name generator and found a dragon name, Ondresderth, which means the warrior."

"My husband Jace would love that. So, will you be training to be a fighter pilot eventually?"

"I hope so," Derth smiled.

Finally, Jordan spoke with Lieutenant JG Darrell Wayne and Ensign Kaspar Reinhardt. When he was done, he turned the meeting over to Xavier and left.

Mess Conference Room ~ 0900

The Conference Room attached to the Officers' Mess is mainly used when the Captain wants to have a meeting while eating, or entertain guests. It is also used by the kitchen staff for meetings. This was one of those times.

Commander Kevin Itaba called the meeting to order. "My name is Kevin Itaba, I am a commander, but prefer to go by Chef or Kevin. Please do NOT call me commander or sir. I know I am not much older than many of you and younger than some, but I rose up in ranks serving as an Operations Officer in the Explorer Program. I liked it enough, but my passion has always been in cooking. Unfortunately, the Explorer Program uses civilian chefs and cooks, so I went with Operations. When I transferred to the transitional Fleet, I asked if Cooking were civilians or Space Fleet personnel."

Kevin looked at Lieutenant Gianin Sallenbach. "Gianin, will be my sous chef in charge of the Officers' Mess and this conference room."

"Like Kevin, and he, Ken and I discussed this earlier," Gianin started, "we agree that formality has its place, but usually not in the kitchen. I prefer you call me Gian or Gianin."

"As Gian stated my name is Ken," Ken took over. "I will be the sous chef over General Mess. The rest of you will rotate until we figure out where you work best."

"Daksh and Veneet, brothers?" Kevin asked.

"Twins," Daksh replied, "but I am two minutes older."

Kevin inquired, "Do you two prefer working together?"

"Do we like to? Yes," Veneet stated. "But we are also good when we work separately."

"Good to know, but today, both of you will be working with Gian. Rodney and Kinjo, you will also be working Officers' Mess with Gian."

"Does that mean we will be working with Ken?" Ensign Kaea Milan asked.

"Yes, you, Leiko, Hayden and Eric will be working with me," Ken answered. "Tomorrow, we will switch."

General Mess ~ 1000

Ken was teaching Crewman Eric Leonard how to make a perfect lasagna when Eric asked, "If you don't mind my asking, did your parents hate you when they named you?"

"No, my parents thought my name would be cute, especially if I only used my middle initial."

Eric looked puzzled, "What is your middle name, Ken?"

"Nathaniel, but my parents encouraged me to go by Ken N Barbee."

Eric wasn’t sure how to react. He unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh, "I thought Ken Barbee was bad, but Ken N Barbee? I'm sorry for laughing."

"No apology necessary," Ken assured. "It is kind of funny."

Astrogation Office ~ 1020

"I'm glad to see everyone is here on time," John Luke began.

Ensign Henadij Kozak commented, "But, aren't we ten minutes early?"

John shook his head, "When we were on the Sooloo, we had a saying, nine minutes early is one minute late. I know Captain Rivers wants the same thing here."

"We had a similar saying on the SS Wyvern," Lieutenant Scott Wynter stated. "Ours was on time is ten minutes late."

"Which means the same thing," Will pointed out. "Either saying will work for us."

"All of you have probably heard of Kyle Robinson," John continued.

"Yeah, he was my role model," Ensign Léoninas Beauséjour stated. "He was the best Astrogator, but then he disappointed me by becoming a starship captain."

John smiled, "That was always his goal, though he did love being an Astrogator. When I first boarded the Sooloo, he was the Chief of Astrogation. I was his assistant. I learned a lot from the Academy, but even more from him. We will do things the way he taught me, and that includes a pad and pen writing down everything you input into the computer. Along that wall, I have twenty cases with twenty-four pads each. There are five different colors, so you may choose your favorite color. If Will or I ask to see your pad, we expect it to be up to date. Any questions?"

Ensign Kozak raised his hand, "Does that include when we are just training?"

Will replied, "Writing down your input SHOULD be a part of your training. If you want, grab two pads and use one for when on watch on the Bridge and one for when training in here."

"In fact," John added, "the Astrogation Table on the Bridge and this one are identical, and both have enough shelves where you may store your pads. Grab your pads, and then you are dismissed."

Information Systems (IS) Office ~ 1050

Jordan had set up the department meetings, having each start half an hour after another one, with exception of the very first. This would give him time stop at each department, although briefly. The IS meeting was scheduled to start at 1100, but since everyone was there, the meeting started.

Commander Ryan introduced himself, "I am Commander Xander Ryan, but I don't like being called 'Sir' unless formality is necessary. You may call me Xander or Commander Ryan. I am the Chief of Information Systems, and my Ass't Chief is Lt. Commander Blake Hudson."

Blake stood up, "I'm not much older than any of you, so please, call me Blake."

Xander looked at Jordan, "Captain, would you like to say anything?"

"First off, formality has its place, mainly on the Bridge," Jordan stated. "When it is just you and me, any of you may call me Jordan. Second, I hope to get to know each of you, and how I might be able to assist you in succeeding."

Rick Zimmerman stood up, "I am Rick Zimmerman, a lieuy JG. I prefer to be called Rick, or Z."

"We already have a Rick in Engineering," Jordan declared, "so we'll call you Z."

A girl beside Z stood up, "I'm Ensign Kanwal Davis. Kanwal in English is Lily."

"I'm Ensign Teddy Holmes, but my friends call me Teddy Bear." Everyone chuckled, including Teddy.

"Ensign Rebecca Poole," the last person stated.

"Thank you all for stating your names, I have other departments to visit, but I hope to have a chance to chat with each of you individually at some point. A ship's crew is like family, and I aim for all of us to be happy."

"Yes, Dad," Teddy blurted out causing everyone to laugh again.

Jordan just grinned, turned the meeting back over to Xander, and left.

Shuttle Bay ~ 1400

Jason was greeting some of the arrivals while Jordan made his rounds to the various departments. The Zhang Guolao had just landed, and a man not in uniform disembarked. The man walked up to Jace. "May I help you?" Jace offered.

"I'm looking for…" the man began but stopped. "Never mind, there he is." He then walked up to Dr. Landon Carey, hugged him and kissed him.

Landon turned to Jace, "Commander, this is my husband, Marshall."

"Will you be staying on board?" Jace queried.

The man looked confused. He looked at Landon, "Am I allowed? Is that why you asked me to come to the ship?"

"Yes, and yes," Landon chuckled. "Your sister is going to stay at our house, and you will be on the ship with me. Captain Rivers informed me that this ship was designed to allow families, all thanks to the Explorer Program, especially the Sooloo, proving that it can be done."

Marshall turned to Jace and responded, "Then yes, I will be staying on board."

"Welcome aboard," Jace smiled. "I would offer to have someone show you to your quarters, but I think Landon wants to do that."

Another young man and a boy had gotten off the shuttle behind Marshall. They were waiting for Jace to finish with Marshall before approaching him. "I'm Clayton and this is my son Travis Ryan."

"Are you related to Xander?" Jace inquired.

"He's my daddy," Travis replied, "well, him and Dad."

Jace grinned, "I see. Xander is probably in the Information Systems room. Would you like someone to show you the way?"

"Can you do it, Captain?" Travis asked. "I like you."

"Was anyone else on board besides the pilot?"

"Just that man you were speaking to."

"Then I can show you the way." Travis grabbed Jace's hand. "How old are you, Travis?"

"I'm six, but I'll be seven in November."

Jace let Travis set the pace so that the boy didn't feel rushed. Clayton followed behind, fascinated that the boy took to Jace so fast. Jace informed Travis, "I like you, too, but to set the record straight, I'm not the captain. My husband is, and I am his First Officer. You can call me Jace, though."

"I like that name," Travis grinned. "Do you have any kids? You seem like you would be as a daddy as my dad and daddy."

"I have four, actually, but two are in the Academy, and two are on the ship."

Travis talked with Jace the whole way to the IS Department. When Jace opened the door, Travis ran to Xander. "Daddy, Jace brought me and Dad to you. I like him, and he's the Fist Officer, not the captain."

"I think you mean First officer," Xander chuckled, "and Daddy already knew that. Are you ready to go to space?"

"So, it's true? Dad and I get to join you?"

"Yes, you and Dad get to join me on the ship. Is that cool or what?"

"Way cool," Travis laughed. "Can we go to our room, soon? I getting sleepy."

"I can take you there, now, if you would like," Jace offered.

Xander suggested, "I can take them, Sir. I was about to head to the Officers' Mess, but we can go to our quarters."

Travis looked puzzled, "Officers made a mess? Did you make them clean it up?"

Laughing, Xander explained, "The name of where the officers and their families eat is called the Officers' Mess. It's not a mess like we make you clean up."

"Oh," Travis responded. "Why do they call it a mess if it's not a mess?"

"Many, many years ago, the definition for 'mess' was 'food for one meal,'" Clayton explained.

Engineering ~ 1550

Since they were not in space yet, this was nearing the end of the day for many of the official Pegasus crew. And Connor scheduled the last of the meetings for today.

Jordan was sitting quietly in a corner, watching the officers in Engineering pile in. As Rick Campbell came in, he gave Jordan a quick nod and a smile. Jordan returned the smile. Lieutenant Tom Miles walked up to Jordan. "Sir, my son is on board. According to Lieutenant Campbell, you said that was acceptable."

"It is, but please dispense with the 'Sirs' unless formality is necessary," Jordan replied. "What's your son's name?"

"Matthew, but I call him Mattie," Tom answered.

"Is he in school?" Jordan asked. "Will he be at the school kids' meeting tomorrow?"

"He'll be there," Tom assured.

"Good, I hope to meet all the children tomorrow."

Tom took his seat and Connor began the meeting. Connor commented on the great work everyone had been doing. Then he turned the meeting over to Jordan. "Hi, everyone, I am Jordan Rivers, the Captain of the SS Pegasus. Many of you are already aware, but for those who aren't, formality has a time and place. When you are on duty on the Bridge, I expect some formality. Other than that, unless we have guests, I am Jordan. I hope to meet each of you one-on-one eventually, but right now, are there any questions?"

"I am Ensign Collin McLeod," a young man wearing a single gold bar stated. "I'm just curious, I've noticed that most of the personnel on board are officers. Why so many officers and so few crewmen?"

"Well, Collin, in the days of old, when the space program first started, only officers could become astronauts. Space Fleet has relaxed that a bit and we do have crewmen working in the Galley and the Shuttle Bay, but most of the crew will be officers, and then our two barbers on board, Andrew and Salene, are civilians. Heck, in the Explorer Program, they have civilians in the galley."

"That makes sense," Ensign McLeod stated.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Jack Reid," Jack said as he spoke up. "Why are there more crewmen on the Explorer Ships? Shouldn't they be mainly officers, too?"

"You have a point, Jack," Jordan began. "When the Explorer Program started, they wanted to give those boys that didn't become officers a chance to still go into space. About five years ago, when they introduced the Earhart Class, they slowed way down on allowing Crewmen to go into space. Shortly after Captain Robinson took command of the Heinlein, I received word on the Sooloo to start downsizing my crewmen and either get them to take the Ensigns Exam or replace them with officers. They did allow for a few Crewmen in the Shuttle Bay and Medical Bay."

"So did you have to replace any?"

"Fortunately, the only people I had to replace were the officers I allowed Captain Robinson to have. The Crewmen were happy to take the Exams and they all passed."

Thursday, 3 April 2127

Classroom ~ 0800

Jordan, Lieutenant Neil Bradshaw and Lieutenant JG Anya Epistime had been waiting in the classroom for the children to enter. Anya's own son, Julian, waited outside with his dad, Vince. Jace, Dallas and Austin waited with them. Once the other children started showing up, they entered.

"Everyone, please have a seat and we'll get started," Jordan suggested. He did a head count of the children and counted sixteen, which was the number he was expecting. "I want to thank all of you, parents or guardians as the case is for some, for having your children here on time. The Sooloo proved that families on board can work, but the Fantasy Class was the first class of ships designed to have families aboard. Despite losing the Pegasus with all hands, the program proved a success. This class was named for that ship, and I am honored to be the Captain of the SS Pegasus."

"Thank you, Captain Jordan," Lieutenant Bradshaw stated. "I am Lieutenant Neil Bradshaw, and I was asked to head up the school for the Pegasus. I found out that Lieutenant Epistime would be on board and asked her to assist me. Before she joined Space Fleet with her husband, she was a schoolteacher."

"Actually, I was a substitute teacher, and I taught children who were anywhere from kindergarten to fifth grade," Anya clarified.

 Bradshaw continued, "We have sixteen students. The youngest is Arytiss Marlin-Douglass at five years old. He, Travis Ryan, Tyler Rolen, Mattie Miles, Jimmy Garcia, Kevin Roberts, Marasu Luke-Crusoe, Dallas Rivers and Liam Campbell will be taught in this classroom with Lieutenant Epistime as their teacher."

Sandra Garcia stood up, "I know that I am a civilian, but before I had Jimmy, I was a schoolteacher. And we were homeschooling Jimmy while awaiting a permanent position. If I can be of assistance to Lieutenant Epistime…"

"Please, call me Anya," Anya interrupted, "and your assistance will be most appreciated."

Neil smiled and thanked Sandra for offering. Then he continued with his role, " Julian Epistime, Cameron Colt, Ian Campbell, Jake Spahn, Austin Rivers, Josh Wynter and Ethan Rivers-Brooks, you will be in class across the hall with me."

Liam asked, "Why am I in the younger children's section and Ethan gets to go to the older group? We're both ten years old."

"Ethan will be eleven before the next school year starts," Jordan explained, not telling him that Ethan is really only seven, but thanks to his mom's alien DNA… he appears and acts ten. The records were altered, and a new birth certificate was created to reflect this.

Neil continued with the meeting, and then showed the older boys their classroom.

Next Chapter

Chapter Three: All Coming Together

End Notes:

This is currently incomplete and as the remaining Bios are written, they will be added.

This work is a collaboration of 2 authors. We will be posting chapters of this story as we are able. When commenting, please send to both authors or click here... Authors of Voyagers.

If you are reading from a different site than The Story Lover, please change the "TSL" in the email subject to the site you are reading on.

Interested in getting Space Fleet or Sooloo gear? Visit Darastix, the Official Store for Voyagers Gear.

And if there is something you are interested in, but do not see, request it. If it is possible, we will add it.