Episode 1: Waking into Darkness

"So you noticed that, huh?" Forscythe said with a smile. "I'm sure you've seen the specs. She's the fastest ship of her size." Forscythe continued with pride. This was, after all, his pet project. He personally recruited the entirety of the command staff and helmed the projected himself. "She'll keep pace with a Sovereign class without flinching. Ah..." He paused for a moment making eye contact with an especially frazzled looking man with fussy hair. "There's your chief engineer."

Thomas caught Forscythe's eyes and instantly froze. Then, taking a moment quickly made his way towards Forscythe and his guest. "Ah, admiral," he laughed nervously. "How are you! We're doing great here, just getting things all buttoned up. It's not like the warp reactor is running off of peak efficiency or anything. You would think running two separate warp cores in tandem would be rocket science or something. Well....it is subspace science...I guess. It's not like we're trying to discover the Higs-Boson or anything. Actually, it kinda is." He glanced over at Barret. "Who's this? New crew mate? New engineering staff? We are kinda short handed...Could use someone that's good with a hyper-spanner." His gaze quickly went from Barret to Forscythe. "You good with a hyper-spanner?"

Forscythe grinned and took a step back deciding to let nature take its course.

Barrett was amazed. His eyes traced the warp core to the array of consoles.
He caught his mouth slightly agape, and changed it to a grin.

"I certainly would like to know. That is, a brief overview should do for now. I don't want to take too much of your time, when I can get as much detail as I need at another time. From the looks of it, this ship has one hell of a heart."

"Good place to start." Forscythe began making his way towards the airlock. "Can't have a good ship without a good heart, right?" The turbolift to the engineering bay was a quiet, awkward one. Despite Forscythe's casual seeming demeanor apparently didn't carry on to rides in enclosed spaces.

As the turbo lift doors opened to the engineering bay it became clear that space was at a premium on the Peregrene. Much of the engineering bay was engulfed by a large horizontally position dual warp core. Like the Defiant and it's descendants, the Peregrine was horribly overpowered for a ship it's size and it required a great deal of clever engineering to ensure she didn't burn herself up or rip herself to shreds because of the sheer speed she was capable of.

"Well, commander, welcome to the heart of your ship." He glanced around carefully. "I'll let your engineer explain all the nuances of the ship, if you so desire to know." His words seemed like a cleverly designed test. A test to see Barrett's interest in the world around him.

Barrett nodded. "I didn't sign on to captain a cruise ship, sir. I'm not expecting a luxurious ride, I'm just hoping for an efficient one."

He watched the crewman shuffle off with his bags, taking note of the direction.
"As for the tour, why don't we start in engineering? It's good to read about what power we have, it's better to see it first hand."

Admiral Forscythe laughed. "Sorry to have to break it to you, captain, but the Peregrine isn't exactly a Constellation class vessel. Frankly, you should count yourself lucky the engineers included hydro-sonic showers." He admiral made a oddly friendly gesture and slapped Barret's shoulder hard enough to let Barret know he was being slapped on the back; Forscythe clearly was not a weak man.

"I'll give you the quarter latinum tour." He started down the hall. "Leave your things here, we'll have an ensign take your things to your room on board." He motioned to a random passer by who nodded and ushered his bags away. "Since it's your tour, I'll let you choose what we see first?"

He set his luggage down quick.
Accepting the Admiral's hand after a crisp salute, with a firm shake, he grinned.

"Hopefully the next boat I ride on has a little more leg room, and a lot more busy. Not going to lie, sir, I can't wait to take her out for a spin and see what she can do!"

As Barret left the shuttle he was greeted by a familiar face. His 'handler', the person who recruited him, Admiral Forscythe. He was a tall man with a white head of combed back hair with a matching white beard. He stood at the end of the gangplank standing tall with his hands behind his back. Despite his age, his stature displayed a great deal of power and it was clear that this was a man that hadn't spent his life behind a desk and at any given moment was ready for a firefight.

"Well Captain, I trust your flight was uneventful? I apologize for the round about way of getting here. That's one side effect of operating in the shadows, it's incredibly hard getting a first class flight anywhere."

Forscythe stepped aside and held out his hand to Barret. "I trust you've studied the Peregrine's specs, of course, specs and capabilities are two different things. She's ready for her maiden voyage. I leave it to you to shake out all the bugs."

Barrett waited for his new charge. Captaincy of a new vessel was as exciting as it was daunting. He had read the ship specifications and manuals, and had thumbed through the crew roster.

While he was excited to meet his crew, he was most excited to begin a new voyage. He had, for a while, believed himself on the federation's no-fly list, until the call from Section 31. He had known little about them until they contacted him. He had thought little of them, really. They never crossed his mind when he had thought during his missions, "I really wish I could just..."
Now he could.

He watched patiently out the shuttle window as they made dock, and collected his effects in anticipation of boarding the dock.

"Starfleet has always needed someone to live in the shadows. To do the things that it couldn't do publicly. We've traveled under so many names; sometimes we moved among normal Starfleet personnel doing the normal mundane jobs until we were called upon. Sometimes we were on the front lines and in the open. Most of the time we lived in the shadows...we were terrorists and criminals, but we had to be. We had to do what had to be done to protect the Federation. Starfleet might call us many things and might even try to hunt us out, but the fact of the matter is they need us. Sure, our actions might be unjust and immoral, but we do what we do for the greater good and that's why we seek out individuals that think morality is...well, flexible."
***

Deep in the outskirts of Federation base was a large facility very few people in Starfleet knew about. The ones that did didn't work directly for Starfleet, their allegiances, though connected to the Federation, laid elsewhere.

Some called them Section 31. Some called them Ghosts. Some called them myths and conspiracy theories. Regardless, the intention of the group was all the same.

The USS Peregrine was cradled in it's dock. She was completed and ready to launch. All that remained was her captain to arrive.

The Peregrine was a small vessel, an escort, nothing as majestic as some of the new ships receiving their Federation designation. However, her small size belied her true abilities. Her sensors and weapon compliment made her capable of taking on vessels much larger than itself. Passive and active cloaking technologies made her hard to spot. Finally, her design was uncommon. Design features present in all Starfleet vessels were avoided making the vessel seem more alien and difficult to identify directly to Starfleet should it be discovered.

After all, ghosts were never meant to be seen.

Shuttles danced too and fro from the space dock cleverly hidden inside an asteroid. One in particular carried some of the crew of the Peregrine. One specifically, carried the captain of the vessel. From his seat he only saw a field of asteroids. Nothing to indicate the hidden space dock or the other facilities hidden in other asteroids.

It was only when the shuttle made its approach to one of the asteroids that the captain finally saw her ship.

Sleek lines.

Predatory.

The Peregrine.

So aptly named.

The words "morally flexible" echoed in his head.

A ship like this was designed for one thing and one thing alone.

Danger.

Morally flexible.

What sort of missions would he see?

To seek out new life and new civilizations...

And probably to destroy them.

The shuttle made it's approach and docked with the dry dock. The Peregrine had very limited shuttle facilities. Two large combat shuttles. That was the best she could hold.

Completed and ready to awaken.

The Peregrine and her crew were ready to wake into darkness.