The Galileo has been in refit and dry dock for a few weeks, enough time that Naris was starting to chomp at the bit.  She didn’t like just sitting here, and she certainly didn’t take command just to wait.  She was reading over the latest round of new arrivals as she looked up to the door, “enter,” she sighed.  If this were another Officer needing her to press a finger to a padd and approve something, she would shove the Officer out of a torpedo tube. 

Sam had been on the Galileo long enough now to know that he needed to come with gifts when he visited the Commanding Officer.  He entered the room with a Raktajino as he shook the cup.  “I come bearing gifts,” Sam looked to the Captain, “it’s from that little place on the station you like.” 

Naris couldn’t help but smile, “am I truly that predictable,” she spoke, not refusing the offered gift.  Pressing the cup to her lips, she took a sip of the beverage.  “You really need to try this.” 

“I’ll pass,” Sam gave her an odd look, “that stuff tastes like sludge. I’ll stick with my mocha, thanks.”  Sam gestured to a chair, “ Doctor Borden reports that Medical is staffed and ready to go.  She’s still having some trouble with my mocha. 

Naris picked up the padd on the desk as she read over the report, “I swear if this briefing is the same as yesterday….” 

The Commander laughed, “so we skip the rest then? I do have one question, where did you find Rivers?”

Naris knew of the man’s reputation.  He was arrogant, cocky, and very self-absorbed. “He has a reputation, I know.  But, he was one of the best pilots …”  Their conversation was interrupted by the alert of an incoming communication.   The logo of Starfleet Command replaced the black screen, then the face of an aged Admiral appeared.  The man had a weathered look that gave Naris reason to pause. 

“Captain Naris,” the man stated, “I am sorry to be contacting you on such short notice, but I am ordering the Galileo to the Velorum Sector, specifically to the mining colony on Ketalos 3.  I wish I had more to give you, but at the moment, information is scarce.  Reports of a possible coup within the Romulan Star Empire and the Velorum Sector have requested assistance.” 

Naris looked at the man for a second, “Sir, I am sure you are aware the Galileo isn’t fully staffed, and we are still in the midst of….” 

The Admiral interrupted her, “I am sorry, Vidre,” he gave a brief smile, “but this comes from Fleet Admiral Ramar.  The entire Fourth Fleet is being mobilized, Vidre.”  He gave her a look that spoke volumes.   “Set course for Ketalos 3; more information will arrive as soon as possible.”  Then with so much as a goodbye, the man disappeared. 

Naris looked at her Executive Officer, “well, we didn’t want a typical meeting,” she shrugged, gesturing to the door.  As both Officers stood up, Naris tapped her comm badge, “Captain Bates, I’m going to need everything you got out of these engines.  We are forgoing the typical start-up.” 

Naris got a simple reply as she entered the bridge, “Helm set course for Ketalos 3 in the Velorum Sector.” 

Sage looked over his shoulder to the Captain and XO, “Ketalos 3, Ma’am?”

“You heard the order, Lieutenant,” Naris replied.

“Setting course for Romulan territory,” Sage Rivers replied from the helm terminal, “Commander Malik, recall everyone back to the ship.” 

She took a deep breath before continuing on, “Recently, Starfleet HQ received an unusual request from the Velorum Sector.  Due to this request, the entire Fourth Fleet is mobilizing.  Currently, information is scarce, so Commander Malik, I want to be ready for anything.” She didn’t need to go into long details, that could be covered later, for now, the attention needed to be on the ship and not the mission at hand. 

“Lieutenant T’lol, the area has seen an increase in pirate activity. There is an old Earth saying hope for the best and plan for the worse.  I do not want to be caught off guard.” 

The Vulcan interrupted with just a nod.  “I will ensure that we are ready, Captain.” 

“Lieutenant Rivers,” Naris looked to the Helm, “these pirates are coming from somewhere.  I want to see if you can analyze their flight plans and determine possible locations for their attacks and areas they might be hiding in.  Coordinate your findings with Security.” 

“It will be done, my liege,” Sage replied as he winked at the Operations Chief, “it shouldn’t take that long for someone like me.” The man dripped with arrogance. 

“A little less flare, Mister Rivers,” Naris sighed, “Open a channel to docking control.”

“Channel open, Captain.”

“Control, this is the Galileo requesting permission to depart,” Naris sat down in the command chair. 

“Galileo, this is control, permission to depart granted, 30 seconds from port gates.” 

“Clear all moorings,” Naris ordered, “Aft thrusters, ahead one-quarter impulse power, Mister Rivers.” 

It was always a spectacular event to watch a ship leaving dock, especially when it was yours.  Naris has a certain air of pride about her as the ship’s crew worked to launch the Galileo on her maiden voyage.  

Moments later the Galileo after the Galileo had cleared the station, “We are clear to navigate, Captain,” Rivers glanced over to his shoulder. 

“Warp 6 Helm, get us to the Velorum Sector,” the Captain added, leaning back just a little bit in the chair. 

This wasn’t what she had expected for their first mission. She would have preferred something with a bit more information.  Whatever this coup was, she made a mental note to review all available information.  Mobilizing the entire Fourth Fleet was an enormous undertaking and something that the brass wouldn’t take lightly.  Whatever happened, it was enough that they were willing to throw all their cards on the table and hope for the best. 

Naris watched the viewscreen for a bit, but the unknown kept gnawing at her.  She stood up, “Commander, you have the bridge.  I will be in my ready room attempting to see if I can dig up some answers to our questions.” 

Sam nodded as he stood up. 

“I still have some old friends in Starfleet Command,” Naris stated as she left the bridge, “time to see if any of those friendships paid off.” 

With everyone gathered in the Observation lounge, Naris hoped this would be a short briefing.  She honestly didn’t like these long-drawn-out meetings that took forever.  Her plan was simple: go in state the mission, talk about what happened, and hope no one had any questions.  However, life had taught her that plans were never quite so simple. She had ensured she would be the last one there and walked in with a padd in hand.  Standing at the head of the table, she looked around the room.  “Ok, people, let’s make this short and sweet. We all have jobs to do,” Naris added before getting to our destination.” 

She sighed, “no sense in beating around the bush; the Romulan Star Empire is collapsing.  Reports are coming in that the Star Navy has removed the Senate, and it wasn’t an amicable split.  The long and short of it, worlds are bailing, and one sector, in particular, has requested assistance from the Federation,” she reached over, tapping a button on the terminal. “Recently, a Reman named Resak took over Psi Velorum III.  He was named acting governor, and he has requested aid in establishing their freedom from whatever remains of the Empire.” 

Naris waited for the shock to end before she continued, “the Galileo isn’t ready for a fall on assault or anything close to minor assault for that fact.  We’ve been ordered to Ketalos 3.  They’ve recently seen an increase in pirate attacks due to the chaos, and we assume various factions are vying for the resources still on the planet. Ketalos is an older operation and not as advanced as some of the newer facilities. Their defenses are minimalistic at best, and they can not defend themselves properly.”

The XO looked up, “when was their last communication?”

“Ketalos has been radio silence for almost three hours,” Naris stated, “Doctor Borden, we need to be ready for anything. As we don’t know the status down there, I want sickbay to be ready for mass causality protocol or recovery protocol.” 

The Doctor ran her fingers through his hair, “I don’t have to tell you that Sickbay isn’t exactly in the greatest ship, but we can manage.” 

The Galileo’s Counselor leaned forward from the back of the room, “I can assist in basic triage and wherever needed.”

Naris nodded, “Captain Bates and Lieutenant Nalin, I want whatever you can give us to be routed to shields, weapons, and sensors. I don’t want to be caught off guard. These pirates have managed to avoid detection. We need to help find them.”

Eli rose an eyebrow, “This old ship, I will be surprised if pushing one system won’t break another. This ship, excuse my phrasing, is in piss poor condition. I have been working to get it fixed, but I am not too confident in the ship itself.” He shook his head, remembering the hours he had already spent trying to get the systems into some semblance of working order.

The Executive Officer looked over the reports, and internally he agreed with the Engineer; however, he knew that orders were orders.  “What do you need to ensure we don’t fall apart at the seams?” He wasn’t entirely sure why the Federation would be sending an older Steamrunner into a situation like this; surely, they had more capable vessels.   

“Look, this is definitely not an ideal situation, and if a quarter of what I hear is true, we are flying into a shit show,” Naris looked at Eli with a smirk, “excuse my phrasing.  Orders are orders, and one way or another, this ship will report to the Velorum; let’s just hope Mister Rivers doesn’t have to get out and push us there.” 

The Helm Officer, who up until now had been attempting to get the Science Officer’s attention, looked to the Captain, “I know I am a hell of a pilot, Captain, but….” 

Naris cut him off, “save it for the Helm console, Mister Rivers.”   She looked to Eli, “use whatever you need and whoever you need, coordinate with Commander Malik.” 

Eli sighed. “I will do my best, but I cannot promise the results will be what you want.” He shook his head and made his way to Engineering to begin trying to prepare the ship.

“Everyone knows what is at stake here, and everyone knows how dangerous the Romulan Empire is already,” Naris added as Eli left the room.  She made a mental note to talk to him once this meeting was over.  “We also know how dangerous things can be if the Romulan sector destabilizes any more than it already is.  There is a lot riding on the entire Fourth Fleet and us.”

“Counselor Evet,” the Captain turned to the Lieutenant, “feelings about the Romulan run deep, many of them for a good reason.  They’ve spent eons building a lack of trust. You might need to keep your office doors open longer than normal.” 

Massi smiled, “I am sure many will have a hard time with all of this.  I will get with my staff and ensure that we have an increased presence.”  She looked at Doctor Borden, “I will also make sure that we have a staff Counselor for sickbay, just in case.” 

“That will be wonderful, “ Naris looked around the table, “you all have your orders dismissed.”  Naris waited till everyone was out of the room as she slumped down into her chair a bit further.  Looking out the window, she peered into the void of space.  “Somewhere out there is Ketalos 3,” she told herself, “and your first assignment as Commanding Officer.” 

“Heaven help one of us,” she smirked as she reached over to pick up her coffee. For a brief second, she wondered if it was too late to turn down the assignment on the Galileo. They could find a new Commanding Officer. She pressed the coffee to her lips. 

Setting the cup down on the table, she ran her left hand over the table.  “You better hold it together, old girl,” Naris spoke, “Eli might be right, but I am confident you still have many more fights left in you.”