Morning News

Posted on Tue 23rd Jun, 2020 @ 10:13pm by

892 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: FNS Studio
Timeline: MD 14, 0700

"Ready to roll in 3-2-1," the studio cameraman announced, pointing to her on the number one.

"Good morning, Starbase 109!" Caroline Post's cheerful voice greeted those tuned in to the morning news edition. "Wherever you are, and whatever your plans today, I hope it's a great one."

The cameraman pressed a button and the first news photos rolled out to the base watchers and listeners, as Caroline provided the voice-over.

"In Federation news today, Admiral Johannes Ekker, commanding officer of the Fleet Training & Joint Operation Task Force, has launched a training exercise in Angelus Block, involving over fifty-five vessels and nearly nine thousand crew-members.

"Ekker declared that the major exercise, of a size not seen since the end of the Dominion War almost thirty years ago, will provide live training to officers unfamiliar with the area. 'While simulations provide informative training, nothing beats real-life experience,” Ekker commented.

"For those who aren't familiar with it, the Block, made up of a group of systems in a naturally hazardous area of space, contains nebulae, hostile planetoids and is frequently beset by severe ionic storms and solar flares. It is a recent addition to the outer frontier of Federation controlled space and represents fresh challenges for security, logistics and Fleet operations."

The cameraman hit a second button and new footage of the San Francisco Fleet Yards on Earth flowed out of the broadcast.

"Moving on to another fleet, thirty-one different starships making up the bulk of the Twelfth Fleet were recalled to the Sol sector following the discovery of contaminated vertarium cortenide.

“We’re just glad we caught it in time,” stated Starfleet spokesperson Commander A.J. Ciaravolo from fleet headquarters in San Francisco, shortly after the Starfleet Corps of Engineers issued the recall.

"The vertarium cortenide was sealed in standard Starfleet pressure housings. Though not a volatile compound, maintaining purity is paramount for it to be useful in the operation of Starfleet warp systems. Investigators quickly found that the sealant around several of the housings had degraded, allowing foreign contaminants to enter the mixture.

"All thirty-one ships have recently recently undergone routine repairs or refitting of critical engine components and had been certified space worthy by the Yardmaster General. Part of the routine maintenance procedure involved re-coating the coils in a fresh layer of vertarium cortenide. There is no word as yet regarding how the absence of the Twelfth Fleet will affect the fleets patrol efforts along the edges of the Alpha Quadrant."

The camera flashed back to Caroline herself. "For those who are keeping track of scientific endeavors, medical and scientific personnel at the Galor IV Annex of the Daystrom Institute announced today that they have begun development on the next major update for Starfleet’s Emergency Medical Holographic (EMH) Program.

The first EMH was enacted in 2371 by Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, and the most famous one accompanied Voyager on her unexpected tour of the Delta Quadrant. Several upgrades have taken place since then, but involvement of the original development team was not addressed in the press conference, yesterday. However, the Galor IV Annex will be the primary site for the development of the new EMH. The specific improvements the new version will provide will not be clear until much later in the development cycle."

"Let's look at what's happening in the arts today. This week marks the return of the Federation’s own comic book hero, Jamie Galactic and the Atom Blasters, kicking off their new adventure in style."

A holographic photo showing a young woman in yellow and green speeding blurrily across the screen popped up.

"Little is known about the new holodeck experience, but Barzess Tugol, the Trill showrunner did tell us, 'Jamie is facing some of the hardest tests of her young life in the coming series. We’re hoping that as Jamie’s fan base has grown up, they will appreciate this fresh take on the adventures and love what we’ve got in store.'

The cameraman flipped another holovid onto the system. This one showed a gratitude festival on Bajor, with people celebrating in one of the larger cities.

"If you're having troubles in your life, you might want to head down to the Bajoran Peldor Fesitval today. The name of the festival comes from the traditional greeting during the festival, 'Peldor joi'. Bateret leaves were traditionally burned, and participants wrote their problems on renewal scrolls which were then burned so that their troubles symbolically turned to ashes. Also known as the Gratitude Festival its an annual holiday of great importance to the Bajoran people and may date back as far as 17600 BCE.

"Today's festival starts at 0900 hours and will begin with a ceremony on Deck 2245. Activities will run throughout the day, and extend through the decks of the Zodiac, as well. All respectful residents are invited to attend. Expect to spend credits for traditional foods and entertainment. The festival is family oriented."

Caroline glanced at the cameraman and he nodded, so she continued. "We'll take a break now for the Lead Station announcements and then be back with our travel, music and sports features. You don't want to miss the news from the Benjamin Sisko Memorial Baseball Cup!"

The cameraman hit the switch-over and Caroline took a sip of water. "Nice job, thanks," she said.

"I ain't Handsome, but I'll do, right?" he grinned at her.

 

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