Sink Hole

[Bryan Moore]

"It's cozy?" Fin Malkar thought to himself, upon first view of his room, attempting to convince himself that his incredibly tight quarters were anything but cramped. "Who am I kidding," the newly promoted lieutenant thought, "I can barely find a place to put my bag down."

For James Finnerty Malkar, or "Fin" as his friends called him, the tight corridors and cramped confines of an Oberth class science vessel were a far cry from the luxury of the majestic Galaxy Class Enterprise-D on which he had spent the past two years. The difference in the size was all that much more noticeable for Fin considering the Enterprise was all he'd ever known. Since his graduation from the Alpha-Centauri branch of Starfleet Academy, Fin was lucky enough to serve as an ensign and then a junior grade lieutenant aboard the flagship of the Federation.

"The former flag ship," Fin often regretted.

His recent promotion to lieutenant had hardly been unexpected: His aptitude for warp principles and astrophysics were recognized by his classmates and instructors at the Academy, as well as by his colleagues on the Enterprise-D. What was a surprise, however, was the circumstance in which he had been promoted. The loss of the Enterprise-D on Veridian, just over six months ago was something no one would ever have predicted. Since then, Fin spent much of his time at Starbase 128, passing the hours doing routine and tedious computer work while awaiting a new assignment.

It was only three days ago that an assignment opened up. A communication from Captain John Chamberlain, an old family friend, informed Malkar of the available chief engineer position onboard Chamberlain's ship, the Oberth-class U.S.S. Fermi. It was a far cry from the Enterprise, but from a career standpoint, the position of chief engineer was something Fin had always dreamed of. Even more impressive was that he was offered this position at the young age of twenty-six. With this in mind, he accepted the assignment, but not without his reservations.

Barely onboard for ten minutes, Fin was already having doubts about his choice. He'd been instructed to drop his gear off in his quarters while Captain Chamberlain was in a meeting. His quarters, he found, consisted of a bed, chair, desk, closet, and small lavatory. Small to anyone, his large build made the quarters that much smaller.

While Fin had always appreciated his grandfather's Zaldan heritage, if for nothing more than the tremendous physique, it had its drawbacks. At just under six feet tall, his average height held a extremely muscular build. Moreover, his squared jaw, deep brown eyes, and brown hair trimmed neatly in proper military tradition, gave him an authoritative and often intimidating appearance. Unfortunately, the only thing intimidating in the room, Fin knew, however, was the task of moving around such small quarters.

The rest of the ship would hold little more comfort, Fin new. It was easy to get lost aboard the expanses of the Enterprise corridors, but on this ship, he felt like a dog that had grown too big for his cage, or rather, a big fish in far too small of a pond.

On the other hand, it was his pond. "If you want to call my engine room a pond," Fin muttered to himself.

"Oh, let's face it, I'm on a ship that's a puddle of mud compared to the expansive lake that was Enterprise," Fin lamented.

This game of back and forth regret playing in Fin's mind consumed the chief engineer as he began to unpack his belongings. He would miss the friendly yet brilliant authority of Commander LaForge and the camaraderie he felt with the rest of his coworkers and shipmates of the Enterprise, yet this opportunity was not something to pass up.

"It's a mission to the 'Sink Hole,'" Captain Chamberlain said in his conversation with Fin three days ago. "We'll be one of a small convoy of science ships from Starfleet to explore the region. It's an amazing bit of cosmic wonder for you."

"The 'Sink Hole,'" Fin thought, "incredible." It was indeed an incredible chance to explore this 25-square-light year region of space filled with micro wormholes and gravitational anomalies: A region potentially dangerous, but at the same time, likely to unlock incredible amounts of scientific information that could revolutionize astrophysics as Fin knew it.

"At least this small pond is in an awfully big yard," the young lieutenant decided, deciding his decision to join the crew of the Fermi would indeed be worthwhile.

[MetalHead]

excellent start. bring more!!

[Bryan Moore]

Thanks. I've been writing a chunk at a time while here at school, but honestly am sort of making things up as they go along. We'll see how that goes.

[MetalHead]

Thanks. I've been writing a chunk at a time while here at school, but honestly am sort of making things up as they go along. We'll see how that goes.

Thats the best way to do it. Im working on an action novel, going very slowly, but im determined to get it published

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Good start, Bryan. I'm interested in this one. Fin sounds like a neat guy.