This story should be the first of at least six or seven stories in its series, I hope, readers.

And I hope that you really enjoy it quite a lot, in fact. All the major events of this story's series

have yet to be written up for it. But I expect that there will be at least a few of them in each story

that is actually part of this story series, just the same. I have no idea, actually, just how far I can

take this series here, for I'm just starting to write it up, of course.

I really hope that you all enjoy it enough to at least read it, if not also review it. The

romantic pairings that will be present in this series are not yet decided, if there will actually be any

at all in it. But I welcome your input about such things, just so long as you people don't suggest

that I put in male-male, female-female, or hermaphroditic, relationships of that nature for this

story and its related story series. If you're looking for such potential relationships of that nature in

this story and its related series, you will be quite disappointed. For I don't believe in them

personally and morally, in fact. So you might want to look elsewhere, if you're looking for them

in the stories that you read here on fictionpress.com, readers.

Now, without any further ado, if I may, let's get to the story here, just as quickly as we can

here. The main positive characters have been listed in the previous posting for this story. If

anything sufficiently major changes for any or all of them, then future updates of their character

profiles will eventually be posted, for the obvious reasons, of course. If you like this story enough,

or wish to do so, then you all know what to do here, readers. Now on to this story's real first

chapter, in fact, without any further ado!

 The Prophecy's Adventures

A New Era's First Light

Chapter One: The Crew Starts To Assemble

Above an Earth-like world that was in a star system about 2,000 or so light years from the

Milky Way Galaxy's Sol System, there was a new starship that presently orbited at an average

distance of roughly 200,000 Terran statute miles. This starship was currently docked inside an orbital

dock above the world of Waussiv, a world that was also quite often called Eguisur II. This starship

was about 1,960 feet long, about 840 feet wide, and about 640 feet high, at its greatest sizes for all

three dimensions now mentioned here

The starship's name was the U.S.S. Prophecy. And there was a saucer-shaped forward

section positioned at an angle of about forty degrees from perpendicular in relation to the majority of

the rest of the ship's hull. On the top of the ship's saucer section, which was about 550 feet in

average diameter, there was a hyperwarp/slipstream mostly rectangular nacelle similar to the two that

were positioned on the ship's main engineering hull. Between the ship's main engineering and saucer

sections, there was another section that connected the two sections together. And this third section

could also function somewhat independently of the other two sections of the ship, if they were close

enough to either or both of the others, in fact. They weren't totally independent, however, at the

current time, if they'd ever be.

Now positioned on two normally-diagonalized struts that could change position on the

starship's mostly cylindrical main engineering hull as needed, whenever possible, were two main

hyperwarp/intergalactic nacelles in almost-rectangular shapes. They each weren't in perfect

rectangular shapes, though, because their four corners were somewhat rounded and streamlined,

whenever possible, by their original designers and constructors. The ship to which those nacelles

were now attached was now about three or four Terran Standard years from it first being conceived

and about two years from the start of its construction. It was one of the newest ships, if not the newest

ship, to be constructed for primary use by the semi-military arm of the Sol-Mepothene Alliance, the

Solmep Space Force.

The Sol-Mepothene Alliance had come about roughly 170 Terran Standard years before, after

numerous starships of mostly Terran and Lunar design had unexpectedly found themselves elsewhere

in the Milky Way Galaxy. They all had found themselves in a middle of a war, while trying to get

back somehow to more familiar surroundings for themselves. Eventually, the Sol System-built ships

did make it back to more familiar surroundings, after the end of the aforementioned war between the

society now known as the Mepothene Stellar Republic and their enemies from the Gurathian Empire.

The Gurathian Empire's forces weren't totally destroyed or incapacitated by the end of the war,

however. So at least some of them had survived the war, in fact.

And now, on one or more of the worlds that was part of the Mepothene Stellar Republic,

descendants of the actual Gurathian survivors of that war, if not the actual survivors of it, were

causing trouble of at least some major importance. Such as trying to exterminate one or more groups

of people on it.

From one of these worlds came the Prophecy's Stellar Cartographer, or from one of them

would come that person, if they weren't yet aboard their ship here. However, that wouldn't be the first

destination of the Prophecy's crew, when they left Waussiv behind for the first time. Other members

of the crew would have to be picked up periodically, until the ship's complement was completely

staffed.

Several members of the ship's crew were of Terran origin, birth, and at least partial ancestry,

if not total. Among them were the ship's future first officer, at least one computer technician, at least

twenty engineers, and at least one or two shuttlecraft pilots, if not more. The ship's shuttles, though,

would often be called "Dropships," whenever possible and desired by the members of the ship's crew.

The ship's main computer technician was now in the process of awakening the ship's new chief

communications officer from a considerably long period of suspended animation of some sort.

The Prophecy's new chief communications officer had been placed in suspended animation

of some sort many long years ago during a planetary war on a planet about forty or so light years away

from Waussiv. After she had, friends of hers had eventually brought her to Waussiv, and placed her

in a cave deep under the surface of Waussiv, somewhere. The ship's main computer technician had

eventually found her a few years before, at most, during the eventual process of gathering people for

the Prophecy's new crew together. And now she was about to fully awaken the aforementioned

communications officer from her period of suspended animation of some sort.

The U.S.S. Prophecy had been commissioned only about three or four days before the present

date. But Lieutenant Gwendolyn Primrose had still not yet been able to fully awaken the

aforementioned communications officer. Lt. Primrose, though, knew that she was almost about to do

so, in fact. It was now 0750 hours, ship's time, on the date that many Terrans might conceivably

reckon as May 19, AD 2256. And it would be necessary for the communications officer to be awake

before the ship would be able to leave the spacedock that it was now inside, as well. For she alone

had the necessary authorization codes to allow it to do so, at the current time.

Lt. Gwendolyn Primrose, who was often called "Winnie" by people close enough to her,

worked rather quietly on awakening Aleina Onasul from her period of suspended animation of some

sort, as other people present on the ship's bridge were busy with other pre-departure matters that

required their attention anywhere at all on the bridge at that time. Aleina Onasul was the name of the

ship's new chief communications officer. And she was now resting in some sort of crystalline

container, as Winnie still currently sought to bring her out of her long sleeping period, in fact.

"Come on, Aleina, I know you're in there somewhere. Time to wake up, and get this show

on the road. We have many things to do, and many places to go, here. And we need you awake as

soon as possible."

Monitors placed all around Onasul's container of sorts were monitoring the situation here

quite closely. Even as Winnie worked on the process of awakening Onasul here, in fact.

Eventually, at about 0756 hours, ship's time, Winnie found several keys of a sort that would

help her soon awaken Aleina from her long period of dormancy. And she said, "Good. Just a little

bit more, and we should have you awake here well enough." As she said that, the ship's alien captain

entered the bridge from the forward port-side elevator shaft.

The alien captain asked, "Lieutenant Primrose, what is the status of your task relating to the

new chief communications officer?"

"I hope to have her sufficiently awake and functional by 0820 hours, ship's time, at the very

latest, if all goes sufficiently according to plan for me here, Captain Usktas." She reported this while

still not taking her eyes off her current task here, for the obvious reasons, of course.

"I see," said the mostly dark blue-haired alien captain Tierehl Usktas, who was actually a

native of Waussiv. He was from a moderately-sized town on Waussiv's continental landmass of

Espadius, and his hometown's name was "Saronas Bay" there. He appeared to be, and actually was,

about 45-50 Terran Standard years of age, as of the current time.

"Would you like me to let you know when she's sufficiently awake and functional, Captain?"

"Please do so, if you can, Lieutenant. I shall be in the observation lounge, if you need me at

any time. Page me through the intercom, if you need me, in the meantime, before you're able to fully

awaken her and get her functioning well enough."

"Aye, sir. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment." He then left the bridge again, for it was quite evident that the Prophecy

wouldn't be going anywhere for at least a little while longer to him, in fact. And she still continued

to work on getting Aleina out of her current period of dormancy.

As time went on, Aleina began to awaken fully from that period of dormancy here. She was

just about to become fully conscious at 0820 hours. But it still would take a few more moments, at

least, for her to do that, just the same, here. It was now 0808 hours, ship's time, as Winnie began

inputting all the remaining final activation codes that'd fully awaken Onasul from her long period of

dormancy in her crystalline container of some sort.

As she did so, a holographic version of Onasul soon began to appear near Winnie here. But

this form was not Onasul's natural form, in fact. Her natural biological form was still encased in the

crystalline container of some sort. Onasul also would have at least one cyberbotical/android form that

might often be available to her in her life, if not more than one, as well. But such a form wasn't yet

available to her here. For all the necessary present activation codes hadn't yet been inputted into the

Prophecy's main computer system, as of the current time.

After Winnie finished inputting all the necessary activation codes to allow Onasul's

holographic form to appear completely, the aforementioned form did so here quite well, in fact. When

it did so, she then appeared to be a young humanoid woman of about 15 to 20 Terran years of age,

at the very least, if not older. This version of her as a holographic humanoid girl or woman had her

with multi-colored hair in many different shades, hues, and tints. And she appeared to be in three or

more dimensions of being, as of the current time. She appeared when she was projected on the main

forward viewscreen elsewhere on the ship's bridge. She then walked over to where Winnie was still

working to wake her up fully here.

When she was within two or so feet of Winnie here, she then said, "Lieutenant Primrose, I see

you are working to awaken me fully here."

"Yes. You must be one of Aleina Onasul's forms of existence, I take it."

"Yes, I am. Mind if I try to help you out here at least a little bit, so that we might awaken my

other forms of being?"

"You're not solid enough, are you?"

"I believe that I am. First, though, we will need to awaken my cyberbotical/android form here,

Lieutenant. For we will need their assistance here in order to wake up my biological form all the way,

in fact. When she is up sufficiently well, then we should be able to set off for the Motkuzen star

system to pick up our new first officer and various other people for our crew."

"I see. Well, then, let's just see if we can awaken up both of your other forms here, Aleina."

"Call me Alley Cat, whenever I appear to you here like this, okay?"

"Fine. But I may not be able to do it on duty, just the same."

"Noted. Now let's get it on here, if we may, then."

"Fine." Then Alley Cat and Winnie eventually woke up a cyberbotical/android form of Aleina

Onasul who had also been contained within the crystalline container that held their model's natural

form, in reasonably short order.

Then the three of them eventually did the same with their model's natural biological form, of

course. And this model's natural biological form was that of a humanoid woman who was apparently

about 25-30 Terran Standard years of age, in fact. This moderately-sized woman had cream-colored

skin, roughly shoulder-length wavy black hair with golden streaks in it, and she was wearing the

usual Engineering Division uniform for the Solmep Space Force.

There were several branches of the Solmep Space Force, in fact. And the three main ones that

would have personnel from them posted aboard this ship, at least, were the Command, Sciences, and

Engineering Divisions of that semi-military force. Other personnel from other divisions of the SSF

would also be posted aboard the Prophecy, in actual reality. But those three divisions of the SSF

would be the main ones from which the ship's crewmembers would come from, in fact. Or at least

that'd be the case for a while, if not forever, here.

Winnie Primrose was from the Engineering Division, as was Aleina Onasul. So the main

colors of their duty uniforms would be black and dark green. Their uniform tunics would primarily

be dark green, while their uniform trousers would primarily be black, in color. Some white piping

was also present near the edges of their uniform, whenever possible. And whenever they wore their

assigned jackets as members of the crew, their jacket's main color was black, with the ship's coat of

arms on their backs, in fact.

When Winnie and two of Aleina's forms were finally able to sufficiently wake up her

biological form here, it was only a few seconds before 0820 hours, ship's time. But it still took a few

more seconds, at least, for Aleina's natural biological form to open their eyes and sit up in her

container of sorts. She did so almost immediately thereafter here. And then she turned off the

forcefields between her, her other forms, and Lieutenant Primrose, so that she could exit the container

that she'd spent her long period of dormancy in, by the way.

After she exited it, she then pressed a few panels on a nearby computer console. After doing

that here, a sphere of some sort then appeared around her container. A few presses of certain panels

later, then, that sphere then disappeared, with her container inside it. Lieutenant Primrose then asked

Aleina's natural biological form, "Aleina, now that you're awake fully here, what do you think that

your other forms should do?"

"Alley Cat should go to work on verifying the presences of all people currently aboard this

ship of ours. Leenona should go to the main dropship bay to see to the uploading of all the necessary

dropships that are due to arrive here shortly, after we get out of Spacedock. I, however, will go find

the Captain, and let him know that we can leave at any such time as he might see fit."

Winnie thought about that for a moment, and then nodded at Aleina's three present forms.

Then she said, "Captain Usktas is now in the observation lounge, waiting for confirmation that we

can get on our way here, Lieutenant Onasul. I think he'll be quite glad to know that you're

sufficiently awake and functional now, Lieutenant."

"I hope so, Lieutenant. I really hope so, in fact. Tell him to expect me there shortly, please."

"Will do."

"Alley Cat, go do as I want you to do now, please, as needed. Leenona, go to the main

dropship bay, and prepare for uploading of several dropships, once we're sufficiently clear of

Spacedock. After I meet with Captain Usktas as necessary in the observation lounge, we'll return

here as soon as possible afterward."

"All right, Aleina Prime," said both of Lieutenant Onasul's two other present forms, when the

need arose for them to then do so here. And then Alley Cat was the first of those two forms to leave

the ship's bridge for elsewhere on the ship. Alley Cat, in fact, went to main engineering, where the

necessary sensors for her next task were normally operated from. Leenona, the primary, if not lone,

cyberbotical form for Aleina Onasul, as of the current time, then went to the main dropship bay, as

just directed of her by her model's biological form.

Just before Lieutenant Onasul then left the bridge behind to find Captain Usktas, Winnie

asked, "Just how soon do you think you'll be back here so that we can leave Spacedock, then?"

"I think we should be able to leave Spacedock by 0900 hours, ship's time, Lieutenant

Primrose. After we leave Spacedock, we'll be uploading several dropships into our dropship bays,

including the main one, of course. And then, once all of the necessary dropships have come here from

anywhere at all on Waussiv's surface or the surfaces of its five moons, we should be able to get on

our way to Motkuzen VII, I think. That is where we're going, isn't it, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is, once we hyperwarp out of this star system."

"Is our chief navigator on board yet?"

"I haven't seen her on board yet. That's not to say that she's not up here yet, of course. It just

means that I've not seen her yet on board, Lieutenant Onasul."

"If she isn't in this star system, should we meet her at Sychervan in a few days, hopefully?"

"I think so. SSF Command sent her there, I think, to make sure that all our people there are

taken care of as needed, if she's not in this particular star system, Lieutenant Onasul."

"I see. Well, I'd better find Captain Usktas, so that we can eventually get out of Spacedock,

and pick up the rest of our crew, wherever they may currently be, then. See you in a bit, then."

"Noted, Lieutenant Onasul. See you soon, then." Then Lieutenant Onasul left the bridge to

find Captain Usktas, just as planned here, in fact. Winnie watched her go, and continued to take care

of whatever other business she then had to do on the ship's bridge, prior to its eventual departure from

Spacedock. Whenever necessary, she also periodically conversed with any number of the other people

who were currently on it with her here.

The ship's chief weapons/security officer was one of those people, in fact. Her name was

Deldra Ehona, and she always kept at least one weapon of any then-known kind on her person, if not

more than one. She was a mostly light blue-skinned alien who also wore three earrings in each ear.

She was also humanoid. She was from a planet elsewhere in the MSR, a planet informally called

"Erivene" and formally "Mytorcis II," in fact. Her home planet was a world in a solar system about

480 or so light years away from the Eguisur star system, as well. And that world's star system was

also about 2,440 light years away from the Milky Way Galaxy's Sol System, by the way. Her current

rank in the SSF was Lieutenant Commander, after a recent promotion to that rank due to vacancy on

her last ship. Her last assignment before her current had been a Frigate by the name of the U.S.S.

Defender Of Justice. And she'd been promoted to her current rank about six months before, just

before eventually being transferred to the crew of the U.S.S. Prophecy no more than a month or two

after that.

Captain Usktas had heard of her service aboard her three former ships after her early

graduation from the SSF's Academy. And when he was choosing as much of his crew as he then

could choose for the Prophecy, he eventually came upon her name and service record. Her Captain

aboard the DOJ had owed him a few favors, at the very least, if not a lot of favors. So he was

eventually able to convince that Captain to transfer her to the Prophecy, the first chance that he got

to do so, in fact. And that was why she was now aboard the Prophecy here, by the way.

Several other members of the crew, whether they were on board yet or not, were gained in like

manner, whenever possible. Many others were assigned to the crew as the SSF saw fit, and still

others chose to pick their next shipboard assignment for their careers, in fact.

People like the Prophecy's Captain, for instance. He had been a Commander on his last ship,

in fact. But when the Prophecy had first been designed and started, he was assigned to it, in very

short order, by the SSF. And hopefully, he'd be Captain of this ship for many long years, for all the

obvious reasons, of course.

Eventually, Deldra saw Captain Usktas return to the bridge, as planned, while Winnie was

facing away from the same elevator shaft that he'd used to leave it earlier. When Captain Usktas

returned to the bridge with several crewmembers trailing him, she said, "Captain on the bridge."

Winnie turned away to face Captain Usktas. Then she waited for his next orders for her here.

She didn't have long to wait, before he said, "Lieutenant, take the Navigation station, and prepare to

take us out of here."

"Aye, sir." She then moved to the appropriate station to the bridge, which was to the front

starboard area of the bridge, in front of the main forward viewscreen. She did this here, either as other

people on the bridge took places elsewhere on the bridge, or as they left it, in fact. Such as Lieutenant

Onasul, for instance, who took up a station behind and to Deldra's primary station elsewhere on the

ship's main bridge.

"Lieutenant Onasul, prepare to give the necessary codes to Spacedock here."

"Aye, sir."

Ten minutes, at most, later, at about 0909 hours, ship's time, the codes were given as

necessary here. And the ship began leaving Spacedock behind, in fact. By the time that 0918 hours

arrived, then, the Prophecy had sufficiently left Spacedock behind. And she took up a higher orbit

around Waussiv, so that she'd be able to upload their available dropships much easier than if she'd

stayed in an orbit about as far away from Waussiv as Spacedock now was, by the way.

It took a few hours, then, for all the available dropships to be uploaded to the ship here, in fact.

But eventually, all of them were uploaded to the ship's five dropship bays. Which then made it quite

possible for the Prophecy to leave the star system behind, in very short order, after that happened here

sufficiently well. When that became possible, Captain Usktas then said, "Lieutenant, set course for

the Motkuzen star system, and engage the hyperwarp engines, Hyperwarp Factor Four."

"Motkuzen star system, HF 4. Aye, sir."

A few brief moments later, then, the Prophecy engaged her hyperwarp engines on a course

for the Motkuzen star system at the specified Hyperwarp Factor. And after she had, everyone then

soon relaxed here, once Usktas let them do so a little bit. When their current bridge shifts were over,

they then eventually went to each of their respective quarters elsewhere on the ship, for all the obvious

reasons, of course.

It still would take at least a few days, though, for the ship to arrive in orbit around Sychervan.

During which time, the already-present crewmembers would hopefully begin to get to know each

other at least a little bit, in fact. This, of course, was for all the obvious reasons here, no doubt. No

matter what their ranks on the ship actually were, they'd all still hopefully be able to begin doing that

here. Or at least to some degree, if not entirely, by the way.

**********************************************************************************

How do you like this story so far, readers? If you feel the need or desire for you to do so here,

then, please don't be afraid to review and enjoy this story as much as possible, of course. The first

officer and others will come aboard in the next chapter, I think. Or by the end of the third real chapter,

at the very latest, in any case at all, for sure. But for now, at least, I suppose I'd best let you all go

here again. More chapters will be up later, just as soon as possible. The faster you all might read,

review, and enjoy this story, the faster I might be able to add more to it, though. I'll add more to it

just as soon as I can, however. This is "The Universal Storyteller" signing off now with his usual

parting, by the way. Over and out!