The Cardinal Virtue

[Julia Rellek]

**She stares almost in aw** "Ah, Will, she's beautiful. I went to the academy with a guy who had an interest in... " **She thinks for a moment** ... in primitive gasoline powered automobiles with combustable engines, I think thats what they were called. Anyway, he called ship like this a hotrod; whatever that means.

Now that i've had my daily tangent, we should take her for a spin. I'll even let you drive.

[Julia Rellek]

**She heads into the vessel** "Well thank you admiral" **She said laughing** "So anyway, i'll follow you to the cockpit. Let's see what she can do."

[Julia Rellek]

"Do you know every ship that you've ever been on this well or is the Cardinal Virtue special. Anyway, i think i've got it. But i must admit, i have never flown anything quite like this. Well, not since fighter piloting at the academy. It definately wasn't my best subject." **They laugh**

"Alright, lets see how i do. **She safely manuevers the shuttle out of the hanger and into open space. She lays her fingers onto the bars and grasp the flight stick in the other hand. As she began to accelerate her fingers moved a too fast and the shuttle quickly accelerated and she anxiously pulled her fingers back down the bar, hoping to slow the rate of acceleration, and the shuttle slammed to a hault** "Oh, my gosh Will! I definately did not mean to do that." **For a moment she forgot it was a holosuite** "Are you okay? Is the ship okay? Please forgive me." **The words were spilling from her mouth at warp speed. Then she turned her eyes to Will's hoping for reassurance that everything was fine.**

[Julia Rellek]

"I'm sorry Will, shouldn't of asked? I can see its a touchy subject."

**Julia places her hand backs onto the bar for a second try this time she moves much more slowly and the shipp accelerates at a more desireable pace. Brfore she knew it they were traveling at half impulse. She she sloowed the vessel a little and left it at that speed. Then she grabbed the left stick and rolled the ship slightly. She continued to roll she the ship until she gained the confidence to do a complete roll** "Here we go Will, lets see how this goes." **She executed the full roll effortlessly.** "You know this gets easier and easier as you go."

**She turns to Will** "Thanks Will, i can't remember the last time i acttually enjoyed something. I was getting lost in my daily routine and i think i was forgetting how to enjoy everything that life has to offer."

[Will Karelia]

"Well," he said with a sarcastic grin, "I was planning on eating my replicated dinner and curling up to a bunch of reports, but those can always wait."

Will laughed a bit at the remark. "You've got a better idea?"

[Will Karelia]

"I've gotta say, the last time I tried Klingon food, I couldn't hold anything down for the next three days."

[Will Karelia]

"I do know of a place tucked in the corner of the habitat ring, not very well known, but he's got a great establishment."

[Will Karelia]

Will smiled. "Computer, end program," he said, and the replica of the Cardinal Virtue faded away, and left only the bare hologrid in it's stead, from which they left, bound for the habitat ring.

(OFF: http://www.expansionfleet.com/cgi-bin/fleet/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=92;t=14;r=1" target="_blank">And away we go...)

[Will Karelia]

Will and Julia walked onto the holodeck, and Karelia inputted a few commands into a panel. "Computer, begin Starbase Avalon simulation. Location: hangar bay fourteen, slip thirty two."

The hologrid melds into a perfect replica of the hangar slip, with a brilliant white vessel docked in the bay. The Cardinal Virtue had the shape of a forty-six-meter-long, slightly concave arrowhead, and Will looked at it in admiration. "There she is," he said. "That's the Virtue."

[Will Karelia]

Karelia had to tilt his head back to laugh at Rellek's comment. "No no," he said, still laughing, "I insist. She's easier to fly than anything to come from a Starfleet yards in the last two hundred years."

Will stepped up behind the ship and slid open a small access panel. A small keypad resided behind the panel, and a quick key sequence prompted the access ramp to drop. "Welcome aboard, admiral," he said with a humorous tone.

[Will Karelia]

Will led Julia up the ramp, down the corridor, and into the cockpit. There were three seats in the cockpit, the first at the front, right before the helm controls. As soon as Julia was in the pilot's chair, he tapped a button on the LCARS panel and  two flight sticks extended from under the console.

"This ship used to be a smuggler," Will explained, "and one of the previous owners had the foresight to install manual helm controls. It makes maneuvering so much easier. I had an LCARS interface installed into the computer core, so the rest of the controls are basically the same as a shuttle."

He tapped a few controls to the right, and the thorium reactor could be heard engaging in the aft of the ship. "As soon as the reactor is up to speed, the throttle is right there," he said, pointing to a slider pad. "It works just like a transporter energizer. Run your fingers up the bar, and the engines push harder. Slide them down, and the engines back off."

[Will Karelia]

"Relax", he said calmly. "The ship flies smooth, so you'll want to fly it smooth."

Will reached over and placed his hands on Julia's, to show her just how to do it. "Be gentle on the throttle, the Virtue's got some real giddyup." He moved their hands in tandem slowly up the throttle, and the engines spooled to match. "Once you've got a good speed, just leave it there. Now, the sticks are simple, and the faster you go, the less you want to torque on it."

They slowly tilted the left stick, and the Virtue vectored engines pivoted very slightly, causing the ship to roll a little. "This one controls pitch and roll," he explained, moving the left stick around a little more. "And the right one controls the slide," he said, demonstrating how the right stick caused the ship to move directly to the sides or up and down, without turning at all.

Will stepped back and let Julia try it a little on her own. "As for your first question," he said, "the only ship I've known as intimately as the Virtue was my first command, the Schasta. She was destroyed at the Battle of Sector 001. Most of the crew made it off, but we lost a lot of good people that day."

[Will Karelia]

"It's not much anymore. The Borg attack was over ten years ago, I've learned to get over it. In all honesty, DS12 was the hardest to get over, because we didn't accomplish anything in that last battle. At least at Sector 001, we managed to destroy the Borg cube."

He shook off that last memory. "It's all just a matter of finding some time to get away from it like this. That's half the reason I bought this ship, so that if I need to, I can just get away. Sometimes the daily drag becomes too much, especially during wartime."

[Julia Rellek]

**Julia thought about discussing the destruction of DS12, but she didn't want to put Will through reliving those memories.**

"Finding time is the hardest part of that, i have something like 180 days of unused personal time." **She chuckles** "I could almost take the next six months off, but i wouldn't. Aren't you glad, i'm just kidding." **She takes a few moments to adjust the course of the Virtue.**

So what are your plans for dinner?

[Julia Rellek]

"Are you adventuress enough for little Klingon food or would you reather have something a little easier on you stomach?"