CHAPTER 62

Chapter 62

"Wait a minute, when did you say we are leaving for this journey?" asks Barry. "ASAP hopefully before the 25th." replies Jack. "Not happening. I am not missing my kids Christmas, we'll leave on Boxing day." sternly replies Barry. Jack shakes his head in disagreement. "Look we have to stick to the flight plan." argues Jack. Barry pulls out the flight plan and looks it over, before editing it. "There look I can take 4 days off the trip here and another 2 here. We have time to stay for Christmas." says Barry as he shows Jack the new flight plan. Frankie reviews the plans and makes a few adjustments of her own. "You can take that short cut, but not this one. This is Reaper territory. They control several planets in these 4 sectors. No one goes in there and comes out." states Frankie referring to the short cut that takes 4 days off their trip. Jack takes a deep breath before speaking up. "Fine On December 26 You depart, and you do your damnest to stay on fucking schedule. Or I'm docking all your guys pay." says Jack Sternly as he waves his index finger point at each one of them. "Where do we stay in the meantime?" asks Frankie. "You can stay at my work shop we have quarters there, most of the people have gone home for the holidays it's just a on call crew that live on Mars that will be coming and going" replies Barry as grabs a beer and looks for a place to sit.

Damion stands up grabs a beer from a Ice box filled with beer. "Where's the crazy Eskimo?" he asks referring to Andrea. "She's on the bridge and you can't go up there, and trust me you don't want to go up there." says Jack as he stops Damion from heading out of the lounge. "Come on man she still can't hate me, can she?" "Are you kidding? Yea she still hates you. But don't worry, she'll still be upset if you die." Jack sarcastically comments as he pats Damion's back. Damion looks shocked and fearful for a moment, he's not sure Jack is joking.

Sol 148 00h 30m

Thursday December 24 2179 6:30pm Space X facility. Jack, Baylana, Hoshi and Ben are alone with the Security staff at the facility as everyone else has gone on Christmas holidays. Jack's parents are brought to the station with Brittany and Shaun by a special security force. There they spend Christmas eve, Christmas day and boxing day aboard The Road Runner II. It is a rather quiet and peaceful visit, and sadly it is the last visit for them before the race as they will not be travelling to the newly placed space station The Roddenberry Just beyond Prysmos. Jack's parents are surprised at the how comfortable and nice the ship is commenting that the ship is larger than the family home and Williams Lake's Mall.

Brittany has a long discussion with Jack regarding spending such as paying Barry 50,000 along with other strange payments and unaccounted for funds that have been anonymously donated. Jack tells her she is going beyond her capacity as his agent, and that his financials are personal and some are unrelated to the race and she needs to stop, he then turns the subject to the blog. Shirley spends a great deal of time alone with Baylana talking about life and many things. She just before she leaves gives Baylana a gift, it is Jack's baby clothes, and she winks as they prepare for departure. No words are spoken regarding Baylana's pregnancy however it is obvious that Shirley is concerned and informs Baylana that no matter what happens in the future between her and Jack that Baylana is now part of the family and will always be welcome in their home.

The Roddenberry space station is series of decommissioned research stations used to study other galaxies, at the edge of the galaxy it was later used as student housing and as a training facility for Prysmos Wolowitz Paris School of Engineering, as well as the flight school for the UIA.  The facility is currently undergoing major renovations and overhaul in order to be prepared as the launching point for the race, and the finish line.

Sol 151 06h 30m

Monday, December 28 2179 6:30pm Space X facility. The Christmas holiday zips past faster than anyone is ready for and once again the Space X facility is bustling with activity as now it is a race to ensure they are ready for the race.

"I fixed it" states Colleen as she walks up to the lunch table in the cafeteria. "Fixed what?" asks Jack as he enjoys one last dinner on the station. "The cloaking problem! I realized the cloaking device on the rescue pod will fail before the mission is complete it won't be able to run the entire race. So I modified a cloaking cloak and now it's ready." gleefully states Colleen. "You did what now?" asks Jack as he turns to face Colleen. "It's used to hide small ground bases from spy drone, satellites and what not. You see the cloaking device will burn out if its left running for weeks on end and we can't have that, so now once the pod is in place we will strap this around covering the pod, and it will remain active for months at a time. It's perfect." Smiles Colleen. "I didn’t know it was a problem but ok." Jack shrugs and returns to his food.

Annie approaches the group, she taps Jack on the shoulder. "Jack I need to speak to you… Alone please." "Sure, no problem." replies Jack as he gets up and follows her into the hallway. "Look, there's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to say it." says Annie with a cold expression. Jack waits as she pauses. "Earth Command will be contact during the race, although we will still be in contact you will be working with them. Mr. Musk doesn't want there to be favoritism as you're supposed to be independent." Jack's jaw drops, he is not happy. "Seriously!" groans Jack. "I'm sorry, Mr. Musk arranged it personally." replies Annie. "What about the mission?" asks Jack. "Well Colleen and I have been talking, when it comes time to disembark with the shuttle she will simulate and malfunction which will take just long enough for you to get back aboard The Road Runner. She is going to install the monitoring device which has the program to send false information to Earth Command when the time comes." states Annie. And so Colleen comes out and gives a detailed explanation of the plan and how they plan on keeping everyone in the dark including other satellites and monitoring stations. Annie also explains how she and Mr. Musk's team will be working behind the scenes to make sure no one notices anything suspicious in the event things go wrong. She also informs Jack that The Green Meanie (Barry's ship) has reached its first checkpoint. Jack nods. "Oh yea Earth Command's Teddy Daniels will meet you at The Roddenberry Space Station in 30hrs." states Annie as she walks away.

Sol 151 09h 12m

Jack waits till everyone is back aboard the Road Runner to inform them that they are departing in 18 hours so they can reach The Roddenberry early. He also informs them about the space command situation. "All day tomorrow will be prep, we will then depart, we will travel slowly, we don't want anyone seeing what this baby can do before the race. I want everyone in bed early it will be a long day." says Jack as he stands in front of them all in the lounge. "Josh, Mark, Walker, Harp, I need you to make sure all the supplies are on board and stowed away if there is anything missing we need to know first thing so we have time to get it before we depart. Is everyone excited?" asks Jack. Iliza yawns, which speaks for everyone. Jack looks around and waits for a response no one seems to care. "Alrighty then." says Jack as he turns and walks over to the bar.

Jack looks to Baylana, she is giving him sad eyes, then Jack realizes this is the last night they will be together for some time as there really isn't a direct plan for The Wasi and The Road Runner to meet together. Jack slams a shot back leans in and says "Hey look our ships go the same speed, we will be stopping together and both ships have transporters so no one on your ship even needs to know you're on my ship. It's cool it will be fine." Jack says as he tries to smile. "Still, it sucks, but whatever I guess we don't have a choice." groans Baylana as she slumps her chin down into the palm of her hand.

Sol 151 21h 45m

Tuesday December 29 2179  9:45am Space X facility Adam, Jonathan and Baylana board the Road Runner with Dr. Nafostowicz they come to discuss a rest spot connection. They agree to connect during each of their breaks so that both crews can work together to ensure both ships are running smoothly. To Jack that meant, they wanted to make sure they have access to Colleen whenever necessary. But Jack doesn't argue because that means time with Baylana.  The Wasi was not departing for The Roddenberry for an addition 12hours as they will be showing up just hours before the race.  They are surprised by Mal and Hoshi who are loading casket sized containers into the cargo bay. Jack goes down to meet them.

"Captain. This is for you, it's a gift." Mal hands Jack a cherry wood hand crafted box, Jack opens it and discovers a crystal orb inside safely nestled in a red velvet fitted interior, Jack pulls out the ball and inspects. "Nice thank you." Jack places it back in the box. "Captain I want you to make sure Dr. Kenwick gets that right away." says Mal. "What it's not for me?" asks Jack. "Yes, but… Oh… You don't know what that is… That's me… Well more accurately that’s a copy of my matrix. So I can join you, when the race is over it will be downloaded into my own matrix so I'll get to experience the trip and I can help if needed aboard the Road Runner… That is if it's ok with you?" asks Mal excitedly. "Sure, Ya why not. So what's that?" asks Jack pointing to the caskets. "Bodies for Hoshi and I. See If something happens to the hologrid or if I need to get off the ship I can be downloaded into the robot and work. And since Hoshi's physically limited this will help her somewhat some of the time." smiles Mal. "A gift from Dr. Nelson as he wants to use this opportunity to field test the new machines that Hoshi helped develop." add Mal.

Sol 151 27h 20m

"All Hands this is the Captain, to your stations, prepare for departure." States the Captain. The main hanger door open as the ship comes to life and lifts off the surface of the Space X floor. Mal appears next to Ben as the ship travels through the hanger force field. "Welcome aboard." cheerfully says Ben to Mal. "It's Good to be aboard. This is soooo Exciting." squeals Mal. Jack turns back to the display screen. "Lay in a course for The Roddenberry space station and engage" Commands the Captain. And with that Iliza takes the ship out of orbit and into FTL.

Jack maintains his cool on the outside as he takes a deep breath, but on the inside he is nervous as shit. Jack turns around and smiles at the floating camera in his face before pushing it aside. "Sorry Captain, I just wanted to get the shot this is the Road Runner's inaugural trip." says Harp. "It's fine, that's what you're here for after all. You're not live though right?" asks Jack. "No sir, I am just getting footage." replies Harp. "Good I'd rather not let anyone know we're floating around right now. Post the video once we dock at The Roddenberry." replies Jack. "Ok, I was thinking of getting a brief testimonial from everyone before the race begins if that's ok?" asks Harp. "Feel free to bug anyone who isn't busy. The rest can be done once we are in dock." replies Jack. Harp nods happily as he turns off the camera and it drops into his hand.

Jack takes a deep breath, he then claps. "Congrats everyone we are on our maiden voyage, I want everyone to make sure everything is locked down once we have reached space dock security wise, also we all can't be on base at the same time the ship needs a constant companion so you all will have to work out some kind of schedule, I will most likely be off the ship most of the time we are on base so yea. Good work. WOOO!" smiles Jack as he looks around the bridge. "Actually captain you can all disembark once we arrive, I can remain on guard of the ship, I can use the robots if necessary to protect the ship if it comes to that." smiles Mal. "Very good then." replies the Captain as he pats Mal on the shoulder. This is the Captain's first true command with a crew, he is very nervous but he keeps his cool on the outside. "Number 1 you have the bridge." states the Captain as he looks at Ben. "Aye SIR!" bellows Ben proudly. Andrea crosses her arms and rolls her eyes in the background as Jack exits the bridge. 

Jack makes his way down the hall, he wonders slowly through the ship corridors and then stops.  there carved into the floor is a small detailed cross with the words 'R.I.P. Bonzo' Echoes of the past can be heard as Jack stares on as a vision of Bonzo laying on top of the cross lifeless, Hoshi calls out to him "Are you ok?" Jack envisions it all again, the sirens buzzing, the blood pumping. "Are you ok?" asks Colleen from in front of him, Jack doesn't seem to hear her, she approaches and walks through Jack's vision, he looks up stunned pale sweating. "Jack, what is it?" Jack shakes his head and lies. "Nothing, just… nothing." Colleen looks down, she kneels to get a closer look at the cross, she touches it for a moment. She glances back up at Jack. "I haven't been down this hallway since it happened." replies Jack calmly his eyes still fixed on the cross, Colleen stands, she takes Jack's arm and leads him away from the spot.

Jack and Colleen enter the lounge, Jack immediately goes behind the bar and grabs a bottle of Crystal Skull vodka while Colleen stands at the bar. "Are you sure about that?" asks Colleen as Jack pulls out a glass checks to see if it is clean and sets it down next to the bottle. "I'm not sure about any of this, so I don’t think it matters if I have a drink or two." replies Jack in a gloomy tone. Colleen just stares at Jack with judging eyes. Jack continuously glasses from the bottle to Colleen and back as he removes the lid and lifts the bottle up and slowly pours a shot into the glass. He sets the bottle down and picks up the glass, he pauses as he gets it to his lips, his eyes focus on Colleen's disapproving eyes. Jack disappointingly lowers the cup, rolls his eyes and sets it down beside the bottle. "Fine, I'm going to my room." he groans and makes his way out from behind the bar.

Sol 151 29h 00m

Somewhere on the edge of the Alpha and Gamma quadrant. December 29 2179 5:00pm, aboard the Green Meanie. Damion knocks on the Captain's door which is open. "Captain." says Damion. Barry replies from behind the desk in his small quarters. "Yes?" "I don't mean to alarm you but The Green Meanie has just passed through a sensor net, we are not only being tracked but sensors indicate we are being followed." Barry gets up and walks to the door, he presses a intercom button as he opens the door. "All hands to your stations. "Damion, you go with Hayley to engineering, Amy and Sameen you two to the rear combat stations. Frankie, Root and Samera with me on the bridge." commands Barry.

The Bridge door opens, Barry enters and takes his seat in the Captain's chair, Root takes command of the communications and sensors, while Samera takes the tactical station and Frankie takes control over the helm. "Report" states the Captain. "There are two unknown ships pursuing us, but they are keeping their distance, we are scanning ahead and have reported back to Space X command they are monitoring the situation." informs Root. "Where are we? I thought most of this trip through the alpha quadrant was to be through un controlled territory?" asks Barry. "Well I altered our course, this is supposed to be a non civilized sector of space." replies Frankie. "Ok so where the hell are we?" demands Barry. "This is Groening territory they Xenophobes, they're a curious race but they avoid actual contact." adds Frankie "Alright so Yellow alert, shields up." states the captain, he flips the communication button on a arm rest panel. "Sameen, Amy, go to defensive mode, don't fire unless fired upon, also keep a eye contact lock don't lock targets on them, we don't want to present ourselves as aggressive." "Aye sir" they both state together.

"Captain!" Root calls out loudly, everyone turns to look at Root "Detecting a small fleet 9 ships about 1.4 light years ahead. They are the same make and model as the pursuing ships." Frankie turns and looks at Barry. "Alright Once we reach the fleet drop out of warp, I want weapons hot but. BUT I don’t… Hold on." says Barry. "Captain, we should alter course and avoid this fleet." replies Frankie. "We have invaded their space, if we do that they might deem us a threat and engage us. And we don't need an international incident." sternly replies Barry,  he goes to his chair and turns on the intercom. "All hands this is the Captain. There is a small but formidable fleet ahead. Once we reach this fleet we will drop out of warp. I want everyone to remain calm. I want weapons hot, I want everyone armed and ready in the event things go sideways, but under no circumstances are we to fire or act aggressively unless they present themselves as a threat. I want you all to follow my lead, I expect this is just all some kind of misunderstanding. All comlinks are now open so keep the chatter to a minimum. Hayley If we do come under fire we will need to launch some blinding flares so that we can cover our escape and cloak without them noticing, or if need be fight our way out." states Barry. "Frankie be ready and take us out of Warp." states Barry. "Aye sir" groans Frankie as she complies.

Sol 151 30h 01m

The Green Meanie reaches the small fleet and comes to a stop. "Captain incoming transmission from the lead ship, audio only." states Samera. "Put it through." replies the captain. "You are trespassing in Groening space, Please identify yourself and prepare to be boarded" states a demanding male voice over the Comlink. "This is Captain Barry Allen of the Green Meanie we are on our way to Brady space Station, we are part of the pit crew for the Road Runner during this upcoming race. If we have violated your space we apologize. And I must also state that we will not be willing to allow you to board our vessel." replies the Captain boldly over the Comlink between the Road Runner and one of the fleet ships. "You mean THE Barry  Allen from the show Phuqued Customs?" asks the voice is a excited cheerful tone. Jack looks to Ben, Ben shrugs and smiles. "Yes the very same." replies Jack.

"Video transmission requested captain" states Samera. "Put them through." nods the captain. Two yellow humanoids appear on screen. The Shorter fat one has a thin beard while the taller slim one is clean shaven with glasses. The fat one speaks. "Welcome Captain Barry Allen, My name is Fleet Admiral DiMaggio and this is my vice admiral West. It is a pleasure to meet you. Our people are very big fans. Do you think you could take some time to shake some hands sign some autographs?" smiles the short chubby yellow fellow. "Well that’s very nice to know we have fans, but I am afraid we are in bit of a rush to get to Brady station, maybe once we have docked and resupplied sure." replies Barry. "Well I am sorry to hear that, and I would also like to state that we cannot allow you to freely fly through our space,  we would like to escort you through our space and to the station?" asks DiMaggio. Barry turns to Samera and Frankie they both shake their heads, Frankie mouths no, while Samera says yes. Barry shrugs. "Umm… Sure why not." "Very good follow us." smiles Admiral DiMaggio. The captain turns to Samera and motions for her to mute the audio so the Groening cannot hear them.  

"Captain are you sure this is a good idea?" asks Frankie. "No, but it's better than allowing them to board our ship. I want shields to remain up, I want to you scatter any scans they may attempt to make and I want everyone to be ready in case something does happen, otherwise we'll just avoid conflict and follow them." replies Barry as he nods to Frankie to follow the Admiral's ship. "Captain Permission to come aboard." asks The Admiral. "Sir?" replies Barry unsure what to make of his request. "Sir I cannot allow a boarding party aboard the vessel." replies Barry sternly. "I understand, but we are not requesting a full boarding party, just myself, my vice admiral and two of our personal security officers, it would be a gentle request under the circumstances of violating our space without permission." replies the Admiral. "Umm, alright." replies the captain. "Very well." replies the Admiral, the view screen turns off. "I know it's a bit unorthodox but I want everyone wearing a side arm. Frankie I want you to go get Damion from Engineering, you two will be the Admiral's security detail. Samera you take the helm. I'll stay on the bridge with you." says Barry. "Captain, I think I recognize the fat one." says Frankie as she thinks hard trying to place the face. "Is it in a good way or a bad way?" asks Barry. "I don't know yet." replies Frankie.

"All Hands this is the captain, we will be escorted out of Groening space and will be hosting The Admiral and his vice admiral and two security officers. I would like everyone to be on their best behavior and I want everyone to keep their eyes on these guys. Amy, Sameen I want you two remain on weapons, Hayley lock down engineering." states Barry over the intercom. "Aye sir" replies the crew one by one over the intercom. The Admiral's shuttle docks to the lower docking zone under the ship. Frankie and Damion stand above the hatch waiting for the knock. Damion is busy casually munching away on a bag of chips. There is a knock on the hatch, Damion kneels down, he turns the wheel lock and opens the hatch, first comes the Vice admiral, Frankie reaches out and helps him up, then comes the Admiral.

Frankie helps the Admiral up, their eyes lock and in that second Frankie immediately recognizes the man and the man recognizes her, in a flash like a wild west gun slinger, Frankie pulls her gun from her holster and shoots the Admiral and the Vice Admiral each in the head blowing their heads up like watermelons, splattering blood all over Damion's face and bag of chips. Damion is stunned and in shock with a chip in hand just inches from his mouth. "Hey what's going on up there?" asks a voice from within the hatch, as the body of the Admiral collapses onto the hatch knocking a guard down the hatch. "Help me with this!" demands Frankie as she kicks the Admirals headless body down the hatch. Damion stares for a moment. "WAKE UP!" yells Frankie, Damion drops his bag of chips and fumbles with the vice admiral's headless corpse dragging him over the open hatch, he then uses his foot to stuff the corpse down the hatch. Frankie pulls a pulse grenade from her belt, sets it for 2 minutes and drops it in the hole, Damion quickly locks the hatch. Frankie points to the emergency docking release button, Damion quickly slaps it, activating the docking clamps releasing the ship.

"Captain we have a problem get us out of here NOW! We are about to be attacked!" yells Frankie over the comlink. "What hell is going on down there did I hear gun fire?" asks Barry excitedly. "YES NOW GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" screams Frankie. Damion still stunned wipes the brains from his face and asks. "What the fuck was that?" "They're pirates! They kidnap people for ransom. I recognize the admiral, I've had dealings with him in the past. He killed several of my old crew and cost me my favorite ship back during the colony wars." says Frankie as she looks around and grabs a work rag and tosses it at Damion. "Clean yourself up and get to get back to engineering, tell Hayley we're going to have to fight our way out of here." states Frankie as he heads back to the bridge. 'BOOM' there is a explosion that rocks the ship, it was the shuttle exploding just below them.  

Frankie and Damion brace themselves, meanwhile on the bridge Barry stands behinds Samera "SHIELDS UP, ALL HANDS TO COMBAT POSITIONS. Activate the flares and fire one missile at each of the ships, now I want you to raise up the ship while activating the cloaking device, once cloaked I want you to back us up and turn us around, we'll loop around that star over there." says Barry as he points to a nearby star. Samera complies with Barry, each missile strikes their targets and the flares light up around the ship creating a bright light just enough for the ships to lose visual contact with the Green Meanie long enough for them to enact their maneuver.

Frankie enters the bridge, Barry turns around and immediately confronts her. "What the fuck do you think you are doing? We are suppose to be keeping a low profile, not going around murdering Admirals from foreign nations!" "Look he isn't a real admiral, he's a pirate that kidnaps high value targets. I've dealt with them before, and next time we avoid allowing anyone on board maybe this wouldn't happen." replies Frankie nonchalantly. Barry shakes his head.

They watch out the view screen at the crippled fleet as they back away and turn around. "We should report back to Ms. Wong just in case." says Barry as he gets up from the tactical station. "And report what? we took out a pirate fleet and killed their leader while in international space?" retorts Frankie rudely. "At the fact we engaged a unknown fleet in a foreign territory. You don’t want to be considered war criminals or anything now do you? I'd rather we cover our asses in the event they make a claim against us." replies Barry, "… And I'm not asking that's an order." "pfft" replies Frankie as he exits the bridge, Barry follows. "Look I get you're used to doing things your way, but this is my ship and they have identified me as the captain of this ship, I don’t want this biting me in the ass down the road. And for fuck sakes this could jeopardize everything. This is on you." snaps Barry. "Now Samera put us back on course." snarls Barry.

Sol 152 05h 53m

Jack sits on his bed sipping on a king can while smoking a joint. The doorbell signals. "I'm Batin!" yells Jack trying to scare off whomever it is. The door opens it is Colleen. "Captain." calmly states Colleen as she enters and sits on the edge of the bed. "We'll be arriving soon, you should sober up." Says Colleen as she takes Jack's beer away. Jack burps openly and loudly as he stands in nothing but his black men's underwear. He takes a long hoot of his joint and puts it out. "Fine, whatever fuck!" Jack groans as he walks to the bathroom. Jack removes his underwear as he enters the bathroom, Colleen just watches, she shakes her head. "Your enthusiasm is reassuring Jack, are you sure you're up for this?" asks Colleen as Jack turns on the shower. "That depends, do we have enough weed and beer for the trip?" replies Jack. Colleen takes a deep breath, she leans back on the bed and waits.

Jack exits the shower and dries off, he reenters the bedroom area where Colleen is waiting on the bed. "Jack look if you're not able to handle command now would be the time to say something." says Colleen as Jack drops the towel and presses a wall button which opens a closet. "I can handle it, I'm fine." replies Jack as he proceeds to dress. "Well I don't think you are." replies Colleen. Jack stops turns and looks at her. "So what are you saying? Are you going to try to remove me as captain? You know that's mutiny." says Jack. He finishes dressing. "No, I don’t want to do anything, but I will have my eye on you and if I think you're putting us at risk  I'll remove you from command… I will." replies Colleen. Jack smiles and looks at her, "Well you better be sure if you try." replies Jack.

Sol 152 06h 10m

Jack enters the bridge."Captain on the bridge!" holler Hoshi, Jack smiles. "Alright guys status update." states the Captain as he claps his hands together and looks around. There is a short pause. "We are 5 minutes out Captain, we've reported in and awaiting confirmation from The Roddenberry, sir." states Hoshi. "Good, Every good." smiles the captain as he claims his Captain's chair from Ben.  Andrea walks over to Jack, she smells his breath, she pauses, she goes into her pocket and reveals a packet of bublicious Bubble gum strawberry flavor. "Here." says Andrea as she passes Jack a pink square. "What's this?" asks Jack. "It's so you don't embarrass yourself now chew." replies Andrea, Jack raises his hand in front of his mouth and breathes into it, he cringes in disgust. Jack gives her a dirty look and takes the gum while Andrea rolls her eyes as he shoves it in his mouth.

"All hands this is the Captain, lock everything down and prepare for docking procedures, we are less than 5 minutes out." states the Captain over the intercom. Harp, Mark, Walker and Josh enter the bridge Andrea turns around to take notice before returning to her station. A few moments Later Kim and Kristen also enter the bridge. "Captain we are now within 1/2 million Kilometers from the station and are exiting FTL." states Iliza. "Very good." replies Jack. Andrea receives a txt message from Colleen. "Can you excuse me for a few minutes?" asks Andrea to Jack, he nods and allows her to exit the bridge.

Andrea enters engineering and comes face to face with Colleen. "Hey, so what's up?" smiles Andrea as Colleen finishes working at a control panel and waves Andrea to follow her into a office area. Colleen motions for Andrea to sit. "I'm sorry that we have to start out our voyage with this talk, but I think It needs to be discussed. You may need to take command of the Road Runner at some point. I am not convinced he is fit for duty." says Colleen solemnly."What do you mean?" asks Andrea. Colleen explains Jack's situation and his drinking habit that seems to still be an issue. "Why me? Why not Ben?" asks Andrea. Colleen rolls her eyes, "I don't think Ben has it in him to command and I don't think he is experienced enough, you on the other hand are so I ask if the time comes you please step up. I will back you if need be." states Colleen. "You know this can be construed as mutiny." replies Andrea. "That's exactly what Jack said, but I don't care the crew this mission is too important and I don't want to die because the captain freezes up or something." replies Colleen. "I hope you're wrong." frowns Andrea. "Me too… Me too…" replies Colleen.

As the Roddenberry appears on screen everyone stands and moves toward the screen. The Roddenberry space station was just as big as the moon, and was surrounded by thousands of ships from all across the quadrant.

The Roddenberry was a giant Orb with a larger rotating hollow Disc spinning around the center of it. The Disc has 6 long wide pillars evenly spaced jutting outward from the disc with a large wide discs attached to the ends. The long pillars are docks where the shuttles dock, the long wide discs at the end of the pillar are large city like bases, with the main command core in the center of the orb. This base was twice the size of the Disney base. Everyone on the bridge stares in awe. "Captain we are receiving a transmission from the base." states Hoshi breaking the silence.

"Patch them through." "WELCOME ALL TO THE RODDENBERRY SPACE STATION. AND TO THE FIRST ANNUAL RACE AROUND THE GALAXY. PLEASE STATE YOUR IDENTITY."  declares a deep male voice. "Hello, I am Captain Jack Duckman of the Road Runner, we are here o participate in the race." replies Jack confidently. "Good Day Captain Duckman and the Crew of the Road Runner. Welcome to the Roddenberry Space Station, we hope you enjoy your stay. We request that you allow for a data link so that we guide you to your docking station." states a male voice over the comlink. Jack nods at Hoshi who accepts the link. "Thank you for your hospitality and we are accepting the link now. I am to have a meeting with a Mr. Daniels of Earth Command can you inform him we are docking?" asks the Captain. "Of course Captain Duckman Mr. Daniels is already aboard as in waiting for you I will send the appropriate coordinates, is there anything else?" asks the voice. "No that is everything for now thank you." replies Jack. 'Very good if there is anything you need help with The Station's customer service channel is 7, have a nice stay." replies the voice.

Sol 152 06h 34m

Jack along with the crew arrives in the meeting room there he finds Mr. Daniels waiting for him. "It's good to see you again Jack. And hello to the rest of you… Nice uniforms" smiles the CEO of Earth Command. Mr. Daniels is wearing a nice new black suit with a yellow tie, while Jack is wearing his new Command uniform, the two men shake hands. "It's good to see you too." says Jack cheerfully. "I am so glad to see that things with Mr. Musk worked out for you." says Mr. Daniels. Jack pauses, "it is isn't it." replies Jack. "I knew that he would be more than interested in helping you. So, Jack this time lets not crash into any asteroids and win this race." smiles Mr. Daniels.  "So wait a minute… You got Mr. Musk to help me?" asks A shocked Jack. "Well… It was more like I told him about you and said that it would be a good marketing gimmick for his new project... He agreed." "Wow I surprised, thank you so much that's awesome." says Jack ecstatically. "Oh don't thank me it's no big deal, I believe In you man, back when I was full of piss and vinegar I had dreams, but they weren't as big as yours so I mean Cool right. I'm just glad I get to be there with you at the end." smiles Mr. Daniels as he pats Jack on the shoulder. 

"Thank you for being our monitors for the race I appreciate it." says Jack. "No problem, I must tell you, you aren't my only clients on this race though… We are also monitoring the Weston Group team, and the overall race as well. The UIA and Space X satelite networks will also be utilized for the race to track all racers which brings me to this." says Mr. Daniels as he leads the team over to 3 large black containers. "These are new improved tracking devices that can track and identify your locations no matter where you are including when you are in FTL. Now, these will be installed by race officials prior to the start of the race. I am obligated to inform you that you are not to tamper with these devices in anyway. If you do they will report back and you will be disqualified from the race as they have been designed to be tamper proof. They will also be inspected at each of the 12 mandatory stops during the race to ensure they are working properly and haven't been tampered with. Is that clear?" asks Mr. Daniels as he opens the boxes. The team nods yes.

"Now one of these connects to your communications array, one connects to the navigational array and one connects to the main computer core. This will allow us at Earth Command to monitor all your systems and your location, these devices all communicate with one another and are being placed and set up in spots that will allow you to do maintenance without having to touch them. I am to ensure that you all understand that under no circumstances are you to even touch these devices as they are sensitive and have sensors and will report it immediately." states Mr. Daniels. "Very good, now I have Assigned Dr. Barclay to be your observer." adds Mr. Daniels. Jack's eyes widen, he immediately protests aggressively. "HELL NAH! Nope, no fuckin way. I will not even deal with that little prick. Look he tried to steal my discovery and he's a fuckin little mouth piece I will not deal with him. Find me someone else." Mr. Daniels is stunned. "Well… that's all in the past, and…" starts Mr. Daniels. "NO! fuck that man! It aint happening. There is no way." interrupts Jack. "Ok I'll… I'll get someone else." replies Mr. Daniels. "Why not you?" asks Ben. "YA!" positively replies Jack. "Well, I don't .. umm… I mean.. I guess, but We'll see I have a lot of things to do but I will promise to check in from time to time with you guys." replies Mr. Daniels.

"So are you guys ready? Just through that door the media is waiting, for the Great Captain Jack Duckman and his noble crew of The Road Runner?" asks Mr. Daniels. They all look around at one another and shrug. "OK, just wait here one second and let me introduce you." says Mr. Daniels he heads across the room and exits through a different door, a moment later he returns. "HOLY SHIT! Looks like everyone from the station is out there waiting for you. K everyone be ready." He exits but leaves the door open. From the room the crew can hear the cheers and roar of the crowd as Mr. Daniels steps onto the stage.  

Mr. Daniels Steps out onto the Black stage and walks up to the microphone, there is cheers from the crowd, he waits a moment and motions for everyone to calm down. "GOOD EVENING LADIES, GENTLEMAN, BOYS AND GIRLS, AND SPECIES FROM ALL ACROSS THE GALAXY. THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO CAPTAIN JACK DUCKMAN AND THE CREW OF THE ROAD RUNNER." the crowd errupts as Mr. Daniels claps along with them and turns to the door, and one by one Jack and his crew come out smiling and waving, they see a long table with chairs and takes a seat behind the table.

Sol 152 10hrs 24m

Barry enters the bridge of the Green Meanie, there is no one in there, he walks over to the helm and checks the coordinates, the ship is once again off course heading towards the core of the Galaxy along the edge of Groening space. Barry then sends texts to Hayley and Damion for them to come to the bridge, he doesn't change course though as it would alert Frankie and her crew he wants to wait until he speaks with Damion and Hayley.

A few moments later both Damion and Hayley enter the bridge. "Good you're both here, look I don't know how you two feel about our other guests but I think we have a problem. We are once again off course." states Barry bluntly. "So what do you want us to do?" asks Damion as he places his hand over the butt of his gun in his waist holster. "No, hopefully not that. But I want you guys to be ready for anything I don't trust them." replies Barry. "where are we headed right now?" asks Hayley. "I'm not certain we are about 34 light years off course, we are headed in the general direction of our mission but I'm not sure how this course change will affect the timing of the mission." states Barry.

"IT won't!"states Frankie as she and her team enter the bridge. "Don't change course." she firmly commands. Hayley, Damion and Barry face off with Frankie all three have their hands on their firearms. Frankie takes notice and smiles. "Do we have a problem?" she asks with a smile as she looks around at her team then back to Barry. "I want to know why you keep changing course. This is not your ship, we have a mission a mission that you agreed to." states Barry "Calm your tits, we are going to complete our mission we just have to make a pit stop for some unfinished business that’s all you need to know and we'll be back on course in no time and on schedule.." replies Frankie. "Not good enough." replies Barry. "I want answers. And no bullshit!" demands Barry.

"Alright, about a year ago three of our crew left the ship on their own, everything seemed fine, but then one of our old enemies reemerged, destroyed my ship and killed most of my crew everyone but these girls and those three. For the last few months we have been looking for them, we just got word that our old enemy put a bounty on all our heads. The three have been captured by a low life bounty hunter conglomerate and is waiting to deliver them to our enemy. We plan on rescue the trio before our enemy catches them." explains Frankie. "And you don’t think you need to explain this to us? Was this your plan the whole time?" asks Barry. "We just received a message this morning that they had been captured. And We didn't tell you because its not your problem." replies Frankie. "But it is our problem." replies Barry. "Look we're doing this, you can get out of our way or we can keep you out of the way." says Frankie as she and her team all place their hands on their weapons.

"You know we're all on the same side, honesty and openness go along way. Now before Any of us agree to help you we need know everything about this group, this location their weapons everything." states Barry. "Deal."