The Beginning Of Part One – The Sovereign

PROLOGUE

On a planet located in the neutral space between the three powers of the Federation, Romulans and Klingons; located in the corner of the large complex is one of the most busy locations. Inside the building was a massive crowd surrounding a massive square arena ring where two mechs about ten feet tall were in hand to hand combat. The crowd was roaring with life, cheering at their selected fighter and watched as the mech from the right had swung their left fist and made contact to the center of the left mech’s chest plate where the operator is located.

In the crowd were two faces, familiar to those who are their friends that happen to not be there, unfamiliar to all of those around them. Least as far as they know. The two individuals were Ruben Ortiz and Mizu, Ensigns from the starship Centaur. They have been on shore leave for the past few weeks and their shore leave was absolutely coming to an end. But Mizu wanted to watch one last round of the Mech Battle Royal that ended up being a head to head fight between the Head Smasher and the Demolisher.

“Come on Head Smasher!! Woooo–!!” Shouted Mizu as she jumped up and down, flailing her arms in the air to get some attention but the operators were too busy trying to smash each other up. Of course it was easy for the operators to ignore their fans when just about the entire crowd were flailing their arms about in cheer for the destruction and mayhem they were creating.

A sudden hard pounding punch from the Demolisher to the headpiece of the Head Smasher that the operator failed to deflect, had sent the very same headpiece right towards a group of fans. Luckily for them, aside from the ring being protected by a wall and incredibly strong clear covers, there was also a forcefield to catch the headpiece. Well actually, the headpiece shattered against the forcefield into hundreds of smaller pieces. But this only made the crowd cheer louder.

“Awww shoot! There goes his sensors and upper body control. If he has a backup somewhere, which I assume he does for the experienced mech fighter that he is, he should be able to get his arms moving again. But he needs to hurry or OOHHH!!!” Mizu was interrupted when the Demolisher went for the crotch, pieces flying out from the rear.

“The hell is he doing?” Ruby asked.

“Demolisher is trying to take out the lower body control unit. If he does, Head Smasher won’t be able to move his legs either!” Mizu explained. But then they would see the Head Smasher get his arms back in motion and deflect the second blow to his groin. Only to counter with a booster propelled punch to the chest piece. More pieces flying all over the place as the operator cabin to the Demolisher was compromised. “Oh my god yes! YES!!! Head Smasher is going for the kill!”

Ruby frowned, “Isn’t that illegal?”

Mizu laughed, “Are you kidding? Here? Nothing is illegal.”

Suddenly the Demolisher’s left hand interchanged into a claw and grabbed onto the one single joint that connects the legs to the upper body. Then a hydraulic pump extended from the elbow and began to pump in and out of the arm to increase the clamp’s crushing power. The operator of the Head Smasher tried to stop the Demolisher from severing his legs but it was too late, one last hydraulic pump and the clamp closed down all the way through. With one yank, the Demolisher was successful in paralyzing the Head Smasher from the waist down. With a quick change back to the hand from his clamp, he grabbed Head Smasher and tossed him across the ring.

“Is that it for him?” Ruby asked.

Mizu shook her head. “Oh heck no it aint! He still got some fight left in him. Look! He’s getting up! Come on Head Smasher!!! I got money on ya!”

“You know we shouldn’t be gambling.” Ruby reminded her and she slugged him in the shoulder.

“Don’t ruin my vacation, pal.” She grinned at him and then screamed in cheer with the others when Head Smasher got back up, using their hands as feet and arms as legs to move. The operator inside Head Smasher began flipping switches, those that were marked as a last resort. He activated auxiliary power and opened up his remaining fuel tanks before he made his charge at Demolisher. His instruments bleeping and blaring at him that he was redlining all systems, he propelled his unit towards Demolisher at great speed before pressing a button that activated a propulsion system that made him ‘jump’ into the air.

Then he pulled back the right arm, balled up into a fist and pressed another button to activate a second and third propulsion system that propelled him towards Demolisher, but also the same booster system in his right arm that gave his fist extra speed and power. His target was the headpiece of Demolisher but his hope is that with enough force, he can do more than take out the headpiece. Once his fist made contact with the headpiece, it smashed through the control circuits, through the armor plating and all the crowd could see was Head Smasher shoving itself away from Demolisher as it collapsed to the floor, unresponsive.

Mizu began jumping up and down cheering like crazy among the rest of the crazies here on this god awful planet. Ruby wished he had not let her talk him into coming here but it was their last stop and she assured him that it would be fun. “I don’t get it. What happened?” Ruby asked into her ear.

She looked at him with a huge smile on her face. She had won her bet. “Head Smasher went for the hail mary! Not only did he destroy the control unit to the upper body but he also made it through into the rear compartment from his point of entry and smashed the master control circuit as well as damaged the power unit. Demolisher is no more! He won!!” She turned to look back at the combatants and cheered loudly once again. And then the crowd started chanting ‘Kill! Kill! Kill!’ Mizu sighed, still a smile on her face but nonetheless, turned and grabbed Ruby’s hand. “Come on, you wouldn’t want to see this part.”

As she led the way out of the crowd while pulling him, they were finally able to talk more ‘peacefully’ without having to shout over all the noise. Ruby checked his chronometer and knew he had to remind her of the time. “Mizu, if we don’t leave right now, we’re going to end up late on reporting in.”

Mizu waved her hand at him. “Yeah yeah, I hear ya. Look, I just need to go to the counter over there and get my two hundred bars of gold pressed latinum, okay?”

Ruby’s eyes went wide, “Holy crap, Mizu! Two hundred bars?!”

Mizu shrugged her shoulders. “I wish I had bet ten bricks! But at the risk of losing, the last thing I need is to be in debt and owing the Orion Syndicate. Then Starfleet will be on my ass for sure.”

Ruby shook his head. “I’ll wait for you right here. Hurry up.”

Mizu kissed his cheek. “I’ll just be five minutes! I promise!” She then hurried off towards the booth to turn in her winnings. It took literally five minutes for her to get her bars which she had tagged and transported immediately to the runabout. Carrying around that kind of money would certainly cause too many problems than these two Ensigns really need.

But on her way back to Ruby, she was suddenly swarmed by a crowd that were also eager to turn in their winnings and this made it difficult for her to navigate. But what she did not expect was to be grabbed by two individuals and pulled away into an empty room where her back was shoved against the wall. “Hey! Who the he-” She was interrupted when one of them brought up a device that flashed a single light rapidly in a certain succession that essentially just paralyzed her completely.

“W̸̼̗͖̎͊e̶͈͂̆ ̶̨̘͕̠̃̕m̴̳͆́̈́̕u̷͖͍̍̈́̐̊ś̸̮͎̜̆t̶̰̫̎̉̂ ̶̖̖̟̲̓̓̌̚h̷̪͙̄́ų̸̼͒r̵̖͉̿̕ŗ̶̢̛̬̥͌̔̚ẙ̵̨̟̗̉.̶̣̺͙̅̊” The voice was so distorted, likely some device that was trying to make it impossible to understand, or determine who the voice belonged to. But it was the second figure who said it, where the first figure handed the second figure a case.

The second figure opened up the case and inside was a tear dropper. They pulled it out of the case and both figures had tilted her head back. Her eyes were stuck open, not blinking at all, so they had the perfect opportunity to drop not one but several drops of a clear liquid into her right eye. The second figure then quickly put the dropper back in the case, closed it and stuffed it in their jacket before the first figure handed them a device. The second figure held up the small portable device and started scanning her eye.

“Ȉ̴̢͎̙̇s̸̜̥͈̥̕͝ ̵̬̽́̈́i̶̡̾͐͝t̷͓̩̋̈ ̸̻̒͌͝w̶̧̺̽́o̶̻̻̬̒̅͆̈r̵̨̯̤̱̎ḱ̸̄̎̈͜í̴̡͚̣̏̈̔n̵̢̛̺͔͑̀̕ǵ̸̪̪̻̗́͂̓?̸̪̼́̉” Asked the first figure.

“Ỹ̸̨̭̺̬̏͠ẹ̵̘̗̤̋̿͋s̴̻̲̔.̵͎͚̗͊ ̸̛̙͈͎̖̎̇̀T̷̢̬̰̪̉h̷̡̰̤́̓ë̵̙̖̟̏ý̶̤̖͓̽ ̴͖̀̿̄͒h̶̞̹̱̋̍ä̵̛̱͚̞́͂͝v̵̖̰̬̭̄ė̴̝̩́͗ ̸̠̃̏̀b̶̰̼̽̉́̓͜e̶̢̠͊̓͌e̸̗̹̘͕͠n̸̖̫̥͛ͅ ̸̢̢̛͌ȁ̶̗͆̊͛c̶͎̍͑̇̍t̵̖̝̘̒̏̈́͐į̸͔͓͊̃̿v̵͈̯̔̔̕ą̷̞͔͖͆ţ̸͍̣̋̄̿̊ȩ̷̻͚̓̾d̵̰͗͛.̴̢̬̲̆̾̈͝” Said the second figure.

“W̵̥̪̜̃i̷̱̙̼̿͌l̶̡̟̖̼͌̌l̴̹̈́̉̂̋ ̷̛̗̜̩̼̍͌̎s̵͇͉͌̓͛ḧ̵͙̰́̈͜e̸͕͍̽͛̂̍ ̶̺̈̕r̴̘̬̞̫̄̅͛e̶̮̖͍̲͐m̷̜̆̍e̴̟͖̓̾ͅm̵̥͎̗̅̀͝b̷̡͇͓̄̌̆e̵̯̘̗̞͝r̸͉̝̦̥͛̽̈́?̴̰͎̰̞̌̔͋” Asked the first.

Second figure finished his scans and put the device away, only to pull up the device that had flashed her. “T̶̘̻̍ḧ̶̺̘̓ḯ̸͎͛ś̴̡̨̿ ̷͎̍̚w̸͈͉͛̓ĩ̵̳ḻ̶͐͊l̷̫̩̿̈́ ̶̣̃̀w̴̥͊a̵̭͝k̵̨̖̋e̷̬̍̃ ̸̲̓h̴̫̑e̸͇̖͆͛r̴̞̜̀̒ ̷̣̬̕b̷̗̲̄u̷̗̘̎t̷̡̪͗̒ ̵̺̿̕t̴̻̗̅͝h̸͍͎̿̈́e̸͎͇̿ ̵̇͘ͅĺ̷̳̚ȁ̷͇͚s̵̜̠͌ẗ̷̩̺ ̶͈̋͜ṯ̶͛̎e̷̜͂͝ͅn̷̠̔ ̶̙̱̌͝ś̶̞͙͂e̵̖̐͝c̸͈͘ơ̶̠̟n̵̡̔͝d̷̮̕s̸̲̽ ̵͔͔̒w̷̭̿̔i̸͗̚ͅļ̴̮͑l̶̳͙͋ ̸̺͕́b̴̬̙̑̂e̶̠͌̓ ̶̢̓͘ȇ̶̪͍r̴̻̬͗̆a̵̠͑s̷̞͙͊͒ě̶͈d̸̝̤̍.̷̠̈́͘ ̸͇̓́S̸̗̅̕h̷͎̥̆e̴̝͌ ̶̱̖̕w̷͙̦̆̊ḯ̴͚̞͛l̸͉̔̋l̸̳̄ ̴̧̩͝n̵̞̆o̵̠̥̚t̵͈͎̎ ̸̗̎r̴̡̖͂̄e̷̗͊͐m̵̢͕̏̒ẹ̴͌̾m̸̜̺̔b̸̬̀e̷̼̕ř̶̺ ̶͇̮͗b̸̰͌͊ẹ̵̛ì̴̖͠ṇ̴͊g̶̉ͅ ̴̬͗a̴̢͕̔̉b̵̛̞d̵̮̽u̸̟͆͑c̴͕͚̀t̷̘͍͊ḙ̷̦̋̽d̴͙̻̔.̸͇̌́” Second figure then activated the device and a new series of flashes hit her eyes.

As soon as she came to, she would find herself back in the crowd and with a sharp headache. Mizu then looked around, confused and nearly screamed in surprise when someone grabbed her arm but saw that it was Ruby. “Oh sweet cheese and crackers.”

Ruby frowned. “What?”

“You scared the crap out of me, Ruby. What the hell man?”

“You were gone for more than five minutes. I had to be sure you were okay.”

Mizu smiled at him. “That’s sweet. I’m fine.” She then winced and placed her fingers to her temple. “Except for this horrible headache. I don’t know where it came from.”

“Come on. Let’s get back to the runabout.” Ruby told her and they made their way out of the building first before Ruby tapped his badge under his civilian jacket and instructed the Runabout computer to transport them on board. Soon as they were on board, Ruby had Mizu sit down before he went to grab a medical tricorder. With a brief scan, he was not able to find anything besides the fact that she had a headache and did what the tricorder recommended to prescribe her. “There, that should help with the headache. Which is odd, you know? Headaches are very rare these days. Especially when you’re on the Starfleet Health Plan.” He joked.

Mizu smirked at him. “Funny. Just hurry up and get us underway. I am going to take a shower and get this grime off my skin. The one thing that I hate about coming here. Yuck.” She said as she disappeared into the next compartment.

“Yeah, I think I will take one right after you.” He said as he went to the pilot station and started going through the take off procedures.

-After a trip through warp…-

Ruby looked at Mizu, who sat at the co-pilot seat with her feet up and slouched comfortably in her seat…well as comfortable as you can get, as he himself sat there in the pilot seat. “I have a question for you.”

“Shoot.” She said as she twiddled her thumbs while staring up at the ceiling.

“If you made it to Captain someday, what ship would you want to command?” Ruby asked her.

Mizu smiled. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot actually. Why do you ask?”

Ruby shrugged his shoulders. “Well I know that once we do make it to that point, we’ll end up going our separate ways for sure. So I was just curious on what ship to look out for if I ever see you again.”

Mizu smiled some more. “Well what ship would you want to command?”

Ruby leaned back with a smile of his own. “The Odyssey Class.”

“Oooooo…Bold. One of the largest ships in the fleet, with the most advanced technologies on board. Of course, we probably won’t make Captain for at least ten or fifteen years. By then they could have something way better.” She told him.

Ruby shrugged his shoulders again. “Maybe. But the Odyssey makes a bold statement with her sheer size. I want to be able to go out there and be diplomatic and to show that the size of a ship is not to intimidate. It just means business. It means that we fully intend to get things done. It means that we are very serious about establishing peace and prosperity.”

Mizu laughed. “Oh boy. Starfleet Patriot to the bone.”

Ruby smirked. “What about you? What ship would you want?”

“I think the Sagan Class.” She told him.

Ruby frowned. “Isn’t that ship classified?”

Mizu laughed. “I don’t know where you get your tech books from but nah. I mean, the idea of it having some Borg integrated systems…maaaaaybe.”

Ruby sighed. “Mizu…you’re going to get into so much trouble one of these days.”

Mizu laughed again. “Relax. I didn’t do anything crazy. Besides, there was a commander on the planet we were on that was drunk and blabbing his mouth off. I actually did him a favor and deleted everything he had, after making a small copy for myself, so that he wouldn’t be an idiot and spill secrets that he shouldn’t have. But I also did inform the authorities. They should be picking him up by now. But then again, honestly. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Besides, ten…fifteen years from now…no one would care and the Sagan will be old anyways, much like the Odyssey.”

Ruby sighed again, “Yeah but that will just mean that the Constellation will likely get retired. I mean, Sagan looks like the kind of ship that would replace the Constellation.”

“Considering that one of the Sagan Class ships is going to be named the Stargazer. Yeah, probably.”

Ruby shook his head. “I thought Starfleet was going to get the idea from the Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians…you know, everyone just about, just keep retrofitting the ships rather than build whole new classes.”

Mizu shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t tell you what they are all thinking back at the design tables and what not, Ruby. Maybe the Constellation won’t be retired. I don’t know. We’re just Ensigns, not Admirals.”

Ruby sighed one last time. “Well, what is the reason that you would pick the Sagan?”

Mizu’s smile faded. “If it has integrated Borg technology, that just leaves me to believe that it will be designed to combat the Borg and defeat them once and for all. At least that’s what I hope. The Borg have been nothing but a threat for so many years. I want to be the Captain that some day…takes the Borg down by whatever means necessary.”

Ruby smirked. “Good luck with that. But you have to remember. Starfleet does not start wars. We only defend ourselves when necessary.”

Mizu shook her head. “In this particular case. We should. Just to get rid of them.”

“What about all the innocents that were assimilated against their will? The ones that we’re saving right now on that cube…the…the X-B’s?” He asked her.

“Well of course we’re still going to save them, if they can be saved. Look…it’s a hard subject, Ruby. I just would like a Sagan when I make Captain, okay?” She told him.

Ruby looked at his instruments and could see that they were about to drop out of warp. “So, Mizu. Have you checked our new assignment orders?” He asked her.

Mizu turned her head and looked at him. “No. New assignments usually come with bad news and I really had a fun time. Can we just return to the station and deal with the bad news later?”

Ruby chuckled, “Who said anything about it being bad?”

Mizu’s eyes lit up and she quickly brought her feet down and sat up straight in her seat just to turn it and stare directly at Ruby. “Spill it.”

Ruby shook his head. “Nah. Since you’ve chosen not to read your orders, like I have, then there will be no fun in spoiling the surprise!”

Mizu groaned loudly in annoyance. “Are you kidding me? Playing me at my own game. Boy you better tell me.”

Ruby laughed as the computer signaled that they were going to drop out of warp. “Nope. And don’t go looking for your orders. I deleted them.” The runabout then dropped out of warp and Ruby began navigating it towards the station.

Mizu’s eyes widened. “You? You read and deleted my orders? What happened to my Ruby and what the hell did you do to him?”

Ruby laughed some more. “What? You really think I wouldn’t pick up on some of your bad habits?”

“What if we get separated? What if we go to a different ship or station or get assigned to two completely different ice planets? And we’re like…on one side of the border and you’re on the other!” Mizu complained.

Ruby couldn’t help but laugh even more before shaking his head. “Nope. Look at me. Would I be this happy if we were going to be separated?”

“You’d be jumping for joy knowing that you finally got rid of your troublemaking buddy!”

Ruby shook his head. “And here I thought I was the troublemaker. I mean I did try to prank you back on that T’Kon space station with one of our own replicators.”

Mizu waved her hands and shook her head. “Do NOT change the subject, mister. What are our orders?!”

Ruby laughed even more as the computer informed them of an incoming transmission. Ruby pulled it up and saw that it was coming from the Ops Center at the Devron Unity Starbase. “I told you, it is a surprise and I guarantee you are going to love it.” He then accepted the transmission to keep Mizu from nagging him. “Go ahead, Devron Ops.”

“Transmit your credentials please.”

“Transmitting them to you now.” Ruby tapped a few commands and then waited patiently.

“Confirmed. A route has been generated for you. Please follow without deviation. It is a busy day for us.”

“Understood, Devron Ops. Thank you!”

“You are welcome. And Welcome back. Ops out.” The transmission was then cut and Ruby entered the path into the computer so that the auto-pilot would follow it perfectly.

“I swear, I am going to hurt you if it’s bad.” Mizu glared at him.

Ruby’s smile had never faded, in fact it just grew bigger and bigger the closer they got to the dry dock. “I don’t think you will.” He then pointed.

Mizu turned her head to look at where he pointed and saw the ship that was in the very dry dock that they were approaching. She immediately stood up, her eyes wider than ever and her mouth hanging open. “Nnnnooooooooooooo…”

Ruby laughed again and clapped his hands. Mizu turned to look at him with an evil glare. “This better not be a joke!” Ruby shook his head, pulled up both their orders and showed them to her. “You didn’t delete it?”

Ruby shook his head again. “Nope. Just archived it into my personal file so that it would look as though I did, so you wouldn’t be able to find it. But I wanted to make sure you got confirmation at least. This is our new home, Mizu.” Ruby then took control of the runabout and brought it to a complete stop just above the saucer for them both to get a good look at the registry and the name.

It read: NCC-73811, USS Sovereign

Mizu was jumping up and down with joy, repeating ‘ohmygod’ over and over again while Ruby sat there laughing at how incredibly excited and happy that she was. She then stopped and looked at him, giving him a bit of a glare for laughing at her. “You don’t understand it, do you?”

Ruby threw up his hands.

“This is one of the finest capital starships in the fleet! And it’s not just a Sovereign-Class. It is thee Sovereign. This is a ship that makes careers, Ruby! Our chances of getting promotions and achieving our goals in becoming Captains’ start today, here!” She pointed at the ship outside their forward view port. “On that ship!”

Ruby smirked. “I knew you’d love the surprise.”

She went over to him and slugged him on his upper arm. “That’s for not telling me! Now how about giving us a little fly around before we land? I want to go to the rear view port and drool in private.”

Ruby raised his brows while he rubbed the spot she hit. “Well okay then, Captain.” He teased and flinched when she went to slug him again, only to slug him twice with her saying ‘two for flinching!’ and was off towards the rear compartment.

As the runabout made its slow trek around the ship, Mizu was in the back with her hands and face pressed up against the view port. “Puuurrrrtiiii–!!” She giggled like a three year old as she stared at every bit of the ship as she could.

The area of space around the Devron Fleet Yards was buzzing with activity as small crafts darted around. Most of them were going to and from the Unity Class Starbase, their destinations or departures would be from the vessels secured in dry docks undergoing either repairs, refits, retrofits, construction or in this case, in the process of being filled up with crew so that they may depart on time.

While the Sovereign was buzzing with such activity, so was the Centaur but with work bees. The secondary deflector dish was completely removed and the torpedo pod was restored to its normal appearance. What else that could be going on with the Centaur is beyond the three gentlemen who watched both vessels from one of many view ports on the promenade on the Devron Starbase.

“So any idea when the Centaur will be back in service?” Ryker asked as he looked over to Captain John Carter.

Carter took a sip of his coffee first, then looked back to Ryker to answer. “No idea. Right now they are just working on restoring her to what she was before.”

Vakai frowned, “They are removing all the upgrades? Is that not counterproductive and a waste of resources?”

Carter chuckled. “Not all of the upgrades. Having the self diagnostic systems will surely free up more time for the crew but I think the matter is when they plan on putting her in a museum.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be retiring though?” Ryker asked.

Carter chuckled again. “I did say that a few months ago, didn’t I?” Carter sighed softly. “I have had some time to think about it and I am not so sure if I want to retire. Starfleet is my home and Summer feels the same way. We will probably still take a desk job somewhere. I could end up on a starbase, maybe this one and she’ll probably remain a Doctor wherever I end up at. You know, whatever is agreeable to Starfleet on couples these days.” He snorted.

Ryker smiled, “Speaking of which.” He looked at Vakai. “I heard you and Sivol finally made it official?”

Carter looked at Vakai as well when Ryker mentioned it and Vakai smirked. “Yes, we did. Had to spend over a week with her parents to convince them that I wasn’t some sort of spy or anything like that. After her parents accepted me and approved, we held a ceremony as per Vulcan tradition.” Vakai stared out at the Sovereign but he was not looking at it but reliving a moment. Then he came to and grinned before he looked at Ryker. “What about you and Ashley?”

Ryker turned his gaze away from Vakai and looked at the Centaur then at the Sovereign before he finally came around to answer. “Well you’re not the only one who has to get someone’s family approval. Unfortunately for me, her parents were not quite convinced. Honestly, I don’t know what the hubbub is about but we will try again the next time we get a chance to pick up some shore leave.”

Carter chuckled. “Good luck with that. With a ship like that,” Carter pointed at the Sovereign. “You two are going to be quite busy. Past crews have helped her make a name for herself and the class that she is, not only will Diplomacy become more important but so will more serious humanitarian aides that you can provide, including up to evacuations.”

Vakai nodded his head. “I am just surprised to be given command of such a vessel. I know there are plenty of Captain’s out there that would say that it is just a ship. But because of you, Captain, I understand that they are more than just a ship. But I also understand with this ship, I can be far more useful to my parents when the time comes.”

Carter and Ryker looked at each other, Ryker then smirked before he turned his gaze to Vakai. “Well, Captain. We should get to our ship and start reviewing those who we need to fill certain positions.”

Vakai looked at Ryker with a smirk. “After you, Commander.” He gestured down the corridor and they both gave Carter a nod before they left.

—

Ryker raised a brow at the manifest, staring at one of the new Ensigns after having filtered the list to rank. “Looks like we’re going to have our first Gorn Ensign. Have you ever dealt with a Gorn before?”

Vakai shook his head as he got a cup of tea from the replicator and took a sip while he headed over to his desk. “I have not. We do have Gorn officers though, you know. Our Task Force Commanding Officer is Gorn, remember?”

Ryker snorted. “Of course I remember. I just never personally dealt with one…in person…aside from our T-F-C-O.”

Vakai nodded as he sat down and brought up his holo displays. “So let’s get this list all situated. We already know where our friends are going to go, correct?”

Ryker sat down on the opposite side of the desk with a nod. “Of course. Koyda is the Security Chief, Maya is the Hazard Team leader, Gomez is the Chief of Engineering, Sivol is Chief of Medical and Gomo is our Tactical Chief.”

Vakai adjusted the roster accordingly only to notice that the ship’s Head Counselor is the one he had thought he would never have to deal with again. “Looks like our T-F-X-O has decided to take it upon himself to assign our Chief Counselor.”

Ryker sighed. “Let me guess. Lieutenant Commander Nuri Sucil? Our full blooded Betazoid?”

Vakai nodded his head. “Indeed.”

“I bet you that she is equally annoyed as you are.” Ryker chuckled before scrolling over a list of candidates that he had pre-selected. “So what about those temps we had on our last mission on board the Centaur?”

“They certainly proved their worth and they have the credentials, obviously.” Said Vakai as he was already adding Gatia and Bazial as their Chief Operations and Chief Science Officers.

Ryker chuckled when he saw that and moved on to the next before halting at two candidates he had selected for their Chief Flight Control. “Now, I am not quite sure but I wanted to run by you first.” Ryker then swiped up and sent the data of the two candidates to one of Vakai’s holo displays for him to see.

“So,” Ryker continued. “That one there is Ensign Steven Watson who is currently on Starbase Bravo as a Deck Officer. Apparently he has recently flown a Runabout during the situation at the Paulson Nebula and helped rescue over thirty Tellarites from their vessel that was disabled. But he’s a few months out of the Academy. So he’s a bit green and some footnotes from his instructors is that he’s a little cocky, maybe reckless. A bit of a class clown.” Ryker looked at Vakai and saw that he was still listening, just waiting.

Ryker resumed. “As for the other one, that is a Junior Grade Lieutenant Tagg. The thing that stood out with this Ferengi is that he has been piloting starships since he left the Academy, which I understand is the norm but he has been known to take on extra work. I don’t know whether that is because he is a workaholic or he has a reason behind why he is trying to prove his worth. But if we are to compare between the two, which to be fair is not really a fair comparison since Tagg does have more experience in the field than Watson does, but overall, I am leaning more towards Lieutenant Tagg.”

Vakai blinked before giving a head nod. “All right. Lieutenant Tagg it is.” Vakai went and updated the roster, as well as compiled a quick transfer order request to Tagg’s current assignment. “Now about our Second Officer.”

Ryker sighed. “Unfortunately I only found one candidate. At least, one who is available. Anyone else I inquired about, they’re either hunkered down on their current assignment or just not interested.”

Vakai raised his brows. “Not interested in being Second Officer on board the Sovereign?”

Ryker chuckled. “I know right?” Ryker then swiped up towards Vakai’s displays and Vakai saw the file on Lieutenant Commander Lexie Ward. “That is the only available candidate for Second Officer. My issue with her is, she is strictly by the book. She came from a vessel where both Commanding Officer and First Officer were all by the book. Basically they ran a very tight ship. I know we won’t have a choice, unless you want to make Sivol Second Officer.”

Vakai shook his head. “Normally there is no issue with that but we are recently wedded so, until Command can trust that we can work well together, her being Chief Medical is the best she is going to get without raising too many eyebrows.” Vakai then shrugged. “I don’t know, I could be wrong. But because of all we went through, the number of exams and tests and just … all that work we put up with to make it this far.” Vakai paused for a moment then leaned forward after placing his forearms on his desk. “I doubt this but I feel like we are treading on thin ice. Getting command of this ship was a sheer surprise to me.”

Ryker shrugged his shoulders. “I think you’re just overthinking it.” He smirked then looked back at the file. “So, unfortunately we don’t really have much of a choice, just that we should be prepared for complaints.”

Vakai nodded his head and adjusted the roster accordingly. “All right then. I will send these messages out and that should be it.”

—

After the runabout had landed, both Mizu and Ruby were standing on deck of the main shuttle bay. Ruby was gazing in awe at the Arrow Class Runabouts that were sitting in the other two bays, recent arrivals as he was told by one of the crewmembers, and just loved how beautiful they looked. To him, they looked like they were brand new. Even though he has not chosen to be part of the Flight Control Department, he was a pilot and he was looking forward to the chance of piloting one of those Arrows.

As for Mizu, well she found K’Roll and Elidia. Then in a split second, Mizu and Elidia were face to face, inches apart, jumping up and down and screaming with joy before they finally settled down and were jabbering away at how excited they both were to be assigned to this ship. K’Roll on the other hand, made his way over to Ruby while rubbing his ears.

Ruby chuckled at the Caitian. “Sometimes you wonder if they either forget that your ears are sensitive or if they do it on purpose.”

K’roll huffed. “I believe they do it on purpose.” He then looked around for a brief moment before he gave Ruby a smirk. “So what do you think about being assigned to this ship?”

Ruby shrugged his shoulders. “I think it is just a ship but Mizu may have a point. This is one of the prestigious ships in the fleet. First of its class, recently retrofitted…obviously.” Ruby pointed at all the holo-displays and other obvious upgrades. “This could be the ship that makes careers.”

“Or break them.” K’Roll told Ruby. “If you screw up and it is enough that gets you assigned off this ship, you might as well kiss your career goodbye.”

Ruby sighed heavily with a nod. “Yeah, no kidding.”

Elidia and Mizu came right over to them, Mizu with a big smile on her face. “I cannot wait to schedule time for one of the holodecks here. We can run our own Mech Brawl! Winner gets the least crappy chores and the losers have to do the rest!”

Ruby rolled his eyes. “Like that would ever fly. You know our department heads will see something is off and the first thing they’ll do is investigate and once they find out what we are doing to pawn our work around to the other, we’ll get pulled in for a long conversation and get a reprimand on our files and just…no. Just no.”

Mizu stuck her tongue out at him before she smacked her hands together. “Hey, do you know what quarters we are assigned? Who will we be bunked with?”

Ruby looked at them for about a minute each before everyone started to grab their padds to pull up their assignment orders that also had all their arrangements and such. Mizue and Elidia looked at theirs before they looked at each other and started jumping for joy and hugging each other. Ruby and K’Roll on the other hand.

“Who the heck is Mazak?” Ruby asked and the others came to look at his padd.

“Sounds like a Gorn name.” Said Elidia.

“Oooooo…bunked with a Gorn! Sucks to be you man!” Mizu chuckled.

Ruby rolled his eyes at her. “Whatever. I see this as an opportunity to get to learn about other cultures up front.”

Then the three of them looked at K’Roll, who didn’t understand why for a moment before finally realizing what they were waiting on. “My bunkmate is named Theo Lane. From the manifest here, he is a Nurse.”

Ruby frowned and folded his arms. “That is so odd. Me and Mizu are both in the Command Division. Elidia and this Lane person are both in Medical. Well Elidia also does some science. But the point is, they’re technically the same.”

Elidia stuck her tongue out at him. “They are not!”

“They kinda are. Medicine was made by science.” Mizu pointed out.

Ruby waved his hands to interrupt. “And K’Roll here is Security, same as Mazak. You would think that we would be bunked with those who are in the same department.”

“I think it is more to do with not wanting to bunk a male and a female together in the same room.” Said Elidia.

Ruby frowned. “Please, it’s the twenty-fourth century.”

“Correction. Twenty-fifth now.” Said K’Roll.

“Right, right. Year twenty-four hundred, the beginning of the twenty-fifth century. Doesn’t seem like a big deal. Anyway, the point is, what the heck would we have done?” Ruby asked as he looked at Mizu and then started to feel some regret in that question.

Mizu chuckled with a sadistic grin. “Oh I can think of some things that we could have done.”

Yup. Ruby regretted asking. “I’m sorry, what?”

Mizu laughed and pointed. “Got you! You’re absolutely right. We should be bunked together according to the department. So someone either messed up or has some bogitory standards.”

Ruby sighed with a shrug of his shoulders. “It’s whatever. Like I said, I get the chance to learn a culture up front. Plus, this may actually be beneficial for all of us. We get to make new friends and add two more people to the group!”

Mizu smiled and lightly slugged him this time on his shoulder. “There’s some positive thinking! Hey, today is all about settling in and getting familiarized with the ship. So let’s head for the officer’s mess! Let’s get hammered!”

As they began to walk, Ruby protested. “You know we’re still technically on duty and not allowed to drink alcohol right?”

“Ugh. Stop being Mr. Killjoy, Ruby!!” Mizu complained.

—

“Seriously?” Ashley asked.

Sivol nodded her head as she placed an item away. She was curiously exploring pretty much every compartment in her lovely and large sickbay, compared to the Centaur that she remembered. “Yup. My husband had spent a week trying to convince my parents that we were in love and that he was no spy.”

“Did you guys explain the whole…crazy thirty year adventure we had in our minds back at that nonexistent planet that we visited?” Ashley asked.

Sivol shook her head. “Oh gosh no. My parents would have denied the marriage right on the spot. They believe anything in that situation, like what we went through, what Captain Picard went through…”

“Admiral.” Ashley corrected.

Sivol smiled. “Right. Apologies. My parents do not believe any of that actually happened. They think it is impossible.”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately there is no way to prove to them that it did happen. The probe that the Enterprise encountered on that particular stardate, no longer works. I think. I got a lot of technical logs to catch up on. But as for our experience, the planet isn’t even there anymore. So we have no way of proving it.”

Sivol nodded her head. “And that is why they don’t believe it. I mean, it was hard enough for me to convince my parents that I wanted to learn to accept and use my emotions. Thankfully our trip has helped me with that.”

Ashley sighed with a shrug. “Oh well. At least Vakai was able to convince them. I’m happy for you two!”

“What about you and James?” Sivol asked.

Ashley rolled her eyes once more at that question. “Yeah, my parents are like a flipping self-replicating minefield. But James understands how important it is to me to have my parents approval and I want them to approve. It’s tradition in my family and I am not one to break tradition and James gets that.”

Sivol smiled at her. “I’m sure the time will come.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it will. Soon, I hope. So how are you liking your new sickbay?” Ashley asked.

Sivol slowly looked around in a full three-sixty degree before she looked back at Ashley with a smile. “I love it. So much bigger and filled with better equipment than the Centaur. Not that we didn’t have trouble helping the crew. Just, this will certainly make things a bit easier and quicker.”

“Well if you ever have any issues, after all the ship was just upgraded, give me a holler.” Ashley told her.

“I will make sure to do that. Are you leaving now?” Sivol asked.

“Yeah, thinking about taking another stroll in Main Engineering. I too have a big office.” Ashley winked at her as she headed for the door. “Catch you later, Sivol!”

“You too!” Sivol smiled and then resumed checking out her compartments.

“You cannot be serious.” Sucil stood there with her arms folded over her chest. She stared down at Captain Maxwell after she had requested a meeting with him a moment ago to go over her new assignment.

“I am very serious, Counselor.” Maxwell said, as he signed off on reports.

“But he is a Captain now, and in command of his very own ship. Clearly he is fine.” She told him.

Maxwell minimized his display and looked directly at her. “Is that your professional opinion, Counselor?”

Sucil stared back at him, doing her best to not pry into his mind and read his thoughts and then end up reprimanded or worse, in a court martial. “You had me observe him on his first official mission during the whole…what was it again? Century Storm? Point is, he did fine. I cleared him.”

Maxwell rolled his wrists, palms up in the air. “Then all I simply ask is for you to continue to observe him. As you said, he is a Captain now. Officially in command.”

“In command of a starship that you are personally attached to. Am I correct, sir?” Sucil asked.

Maxwell placed his palms onto his desk and pushed himself up to his feet slowly before he placed his hands behind his back, one hand clasped around the other. “I know my service record speaks for itself for that ship out there. I may be personally attached to that ship but that is not the key motivation for your assignment. It is one of the most prestigious vessels in the fleet. First of its class. Not to mention a very big leap from a Centaur Class for Vakai. Any vessel of that class makes a big statement to anyone when it arrives in their system. Maybe not as big as an Odyssey but a statement nonetheless. I want to make sure that the statement is not misplaced.”

Sucil sighed. “And I think you are overreacting. There are many on board that ship that are well trained, capable of understanding orders when they are good or bad and are capable of making the appropriate decisions if and when necessary.”

“Humor me, Lieutenant Commander. He may not have had an episode in his previous mission but what if he does have one later on? Is that the kind of trauma he went through really going to go away so easily?” Maxwell asked.

Sucil sighed heavily in thought before she shook her head. “No sir, it would not.”

“Exactly. Now, our station’s counselor worked with him. But I can’t assign her to the Sovereign. You are my only option. The doctor recommended you for the observation on the mission in the Paulson Nebula and the doctor still recommends you even now. So don’t take this as a punishment, Commander. Take this as an opportunity.” Maxwell told her before he sat back down and brought his displays back up to return to his daily work. “So are we good, Commander?”

Sucil cleared her throat and nodded her head. “Very, sir. Thank you. I apologize for taking up your time.”

“Dismissed.” Was the last thing Maxwell said to her before she left his office and headed for her quarters on the station to begin packing. He was right and now she realized that she may just have overreacted for nothing.

“I need some tea.” She groaned as she rubbed the bridge of her nose after she made it to her quarters.

—

Bazial stepped into the Astrometrics Lab and the smile on her face grew with sheer excitement. The Trill had arrived on board hours ago via transporter. She had then spent the time unpacking her bags and making her quarters more like home. Then she had taken a tour of the ship and one of the places she wanted to visit was Astrometrics. Her assignment previously before the Centaur, as temporary as it was during a crisis, did not have such luxuries as this ship did. She was going to absolutely love her new assignment.

Bazial went over to the primary station and began to input commands, queries, and observed as the screen shifted from displaying a galaxy to now displaying both Alpha and Beta Quadrants. First she pulled up major events and played them in with data accumulated. Such as the Super Nova that took out Romulus and how it had affected the area. She sped up time and watched as the great Romulan Star Empire fractured into the two empires today. The Romulan Free State and the Romulan Republic.

Then she played the recent event, the Century Storm and pulled up the fleet activity. She set the speed on the playthrough accordingly and watched as the Combadge symbol represented the Starfleet vessels entering and leaving the Paulson Nebula. As Bazial went to dial it back to play another event, one that had happened some time ago that put a lot of strain on her and her fellow shipmates when the Captain refused to tell them anything of what was going on, she was suddenly hit with the one thing she expected. A red border around the edges of her console’s screen with a notification that said ‘Access Denied’.

Bazial sighed. Was worth a shot. She discarded her attempts to look at that time frame and continued to experiment with the system, to get a better idea of how it worked and to become more familiar with it so that when the time came, she could better perform at her job.

—

The Saurian stepped into Main Engineering. The sight of the warp core was beautiful to her and while she was pleased to see it, she was focused on a task at hand.

Gatia stepped up to the main engineering station and began to perform some adjustments on various systems. Of course she would start to get some attention from the others but it did not matter to her, all that mattered was that she followed the parameters to the letter.

“Excuse me.” A voice rang in Gatia’s ear but she was too focused on her work to pay attention to it. It was when a hand was placed on her shoulder and pulled her away from the station. “I do not know who you think you are, but it is common courtesy to speak to the Chief Engineer before you go messing with the ship’s systems.”

Gatia looked at the woman and blinked, where she took in her face and the information that was just provided, she knew who she was. “I apologize, Lieutenant Gomez. I am Lieutenant Gatia, Chief Operations Officer.”

“I know who you are. But that does not change anything.” Ashley told her.

Gatia nodded her head slowly. “Again, I apologize. I was simply following instructions left behind by the former Chief Operations Officer.”

“The former?” Ashley asked.

“Yes. Before the Sovereign docked here and began her refit.” Gatia explained.

“Okay. What instructions did they leave behind?” Ashley asked.

“The instructions were precise and I quote, ‘I know the ratchet heads at the docks are going to reset everything back to standard but when they are finished and I happen to not be Chief Operations of the ol’girl again, then put everything back to where me and my friend had her. Trust me, she will purr like a kitten if ya do.’ And then there was a list of instructions for specific settings for various systems.” Gatia explained.

Ashley stared at the Saurian a little longer before she sighed and pointed to the station. “Show me the message.”

Gatia stepped back up to the station, brought up a display and then the message for Ashley to read. Gatia then stepped back and waited patiently.

Ashley read over the personal little letter to it as well as read over the list of instructions. Ashley then brought up a separate display and began to run simulations with the adjustments implemented. After several test runs, she could see why Gatia was determined on making these adjustments. “Overall average efficiency of ship’s systems is up by twelve percent. Not a lot but it is much better.”

“I had not meant to step on anyone’s toes, Lieutenant. I simply thought that, since the former crew had been on this ship for so long, they would know exactly how the ship would operate when in the field compared to blueprints and statistics.” Said Gatia.

Ashley sighed before she allowed a small smile to form on her face. She turned and looked at Gatia. “Next time just come to me with anything related to ship systems and then we can work together.”

“Noted.” Said Gatia.

“Good. Now let’s get these adjustments done, shall we?” Ashley said with a bigger smile.

—

The four ensigns sat together at a round table with their drinks either in hand or on the table top. Mizu, Elidia and Ruby were laughing over something K’Roll had said, leaving K’Roll to cock his head in confusion.

There are moments when K’Roll does not understand his friend’s sense of humor. Regardless, he enjoyed their company and the conversations that they have. It was more so at this moment as being on a new vessel meant that he heard voices of people he had not met yet and new sounds. His left ear would constantly twitch every time the door that led in and out of the officer mess kept opening and closing. Something about the hissing sound of the door was different from the Centaur.

“All right everyone. I enjoy the fact that we won’t be back on duty until tomorrow but I really need to get unpacking.” Said Ruby as he pushed out his chair and stood up. He then grabbed his glass and downed what was left of his drink.

“Awww c’mon man! Worry about that stuff later. We should be celebrating!” Mizu told him.

Ruby smiled. “Celebrate as long as you want, Mizu. But I want to be ready for the big day tomorrow. With this ship this big compared to the last assignment we had, there are bound to be more open spots on the bridge and I hope that I get bridge duty tomorrow.”

Mizu immediately stood right up, which her motion had knocked her chair back and onto the floor. “Oh damnit, Ruby! Why do you have to be so smart and yet so right?”

Ruby laughed. “You want a bridge assignment too, am I right?”

Mizu rolled her eyes and looked at Elidia. “There he goes again.”

Elidia just laughed.

K’Roll had already stood up from his seat and just placed Mizu’s chair right back on its legs. “I too shall return to quarters and unpack. I wish to claim my bunk before my new bunk mate arrives.”

Elidia was the last to stand up with a big smile on her face. “Then that settles it! We all go back to our quarters, unpack and get some shut eye so we can wake up early and get bridge assignments!”

The three of them looked at her.

“But you’re medical.” Said Ruby.

Mizu slugged Ruby in the shoulder. “So? They could use a nurse on the bridge. Anything can happen on the bridge!”

“Yeah! What she said.” Said Elidia.

Ruby shook his head with a smile. “All right, all right. Catch you tomorrow?”

“Duh.” Said Mizu before she put her arm around Elidia’s shoulder, while Elidia put her own around Mizu’s waist. “C’mon bunk mate, let’s ditch this joint!”

“Woohoo!” Shouted Elidia and they both left laughing.

Ruby and K’Roll looked at each other, Ruby then shrugged his shoulders.

—

K’Roll had chosen to take the long path back to his quarters, as he wanted to get used to his new home since he is a security officer. Though he did know that this would make it simpler for his new bunk mate to claim the drawers that K’Roll wanted, as well as claim the top bunk that K’Roll also wanted.

K’Roll reached his quarters and the second the door split apart to grant him entry, was the second he stepped in and saw his new bunk mate.

The man was neatly placing his folded clothes into an empty drawer when he heard the hiss sound of the door, which meant his bunk mate had arrived and he was very excited to meet them. So when he stood up to look, he was overwhelmed with joy. “Oh. My. Gosh. Kitty!” The man threw his arms around K’Roll and hugged him.

K’Roll stood there, paralyzed with confusion and fear. Confused as to why this man called him ‘Kitty’ and fearful, is to why he was embraced by this man. K’Roll then cleared his throat.

The man let go and backed off a couple feet with his left hand on the back of his neck, the look of embarrassment all over his face. “I am so sorry! I don’t know what came over me.”

K’Roll smoothed out any wrinkles in his uniform from the sudden embrace before he cleared his throat once more. “Ensign Theo Lane, I presume?”

A big smile formed on the man’s face. “Correct! And you must be Ensign K’Roll.” Lane then reached out and took K’Roll’s hand in both of his. Then Lane began to feel the fur on the back of K’Roll’s hand and arm. “Gosh, how do you keep your fur so soft and clean? Do you use the sonic showers or do you lick yourself?”

K’Roll blinked and then pulled his hand out of Lane’s hands. “I use the sonic shower much like everyone else. We Caitians have never needed to clean ourselves with our tongue in decades.”

Lane shrugged his shoulders. “Except some Caitians’ still do it out of practice. I mean it is something that your people used to do. Why let it go?”

“Hairballs. Some the size of your head.” K’Roll pointed out.

Lane blinked then laughed. “Oh right. Yeah I suppose that would do it. Oh um. If you don’t mind, I already made a claim on the bottom bunk. But if you want it, I can take the top.”

K’Roll shook his head. “No, that will be alright. I wanted the top bunk anyways.”

“Perfect! Oh my gosh, we are going to be such great friends, I guarantee it!” Said Lane.

Meanwhile, Ruby stood there at the doorway of his quarters, where he stared at the Gorn who also stared right back. The moment lasted longer than any of them had wanted. Ruby decided that he needed to break the ice. If there was any. Ruby had noticed that the environmental controls had been adjusted and it felt much warmer in their quarters. Ruby stepped in to allow the door to shut behind him as he began to introduce himself. “Hello. I am Ensign Ruben Ortiz. You must be Mazak.”

“That issss correct.” Said Mazak.

“Well it is nice to meet you, Mazak. It’s awfully warm in here.” Ruby pointed out.

“I like it that way.” Said Mazak.

Ruby nodded his head. “Okay.”

“I have the top bunk.” Said Mazak.

Ruby nodded his head again. “Okay. Good talk. I am just going to get ready for bed.”

—

‘Deep breath. In and out. In and out.’ The thoughts that were running through the Ferengi’s mind as he stood there before the very door to the Captain’s Ready Room. He did not understand why he was nervous but he couldn’t stop his heart from racing. This is the reason why he had pushed himself so hard since he graduated. All the extra shifts that he took over the years, putting in the extra effort at his job or any other job on the ship. He wanted to prove that he was worthy for the position that he has now. He wanted to prove that he can be counted on. Now he has the job and he is about to meet the two officers that gave it to him. No reason to be nervous, right?

The door then split open to grant him entry and the word ‘Come’ that came from the man behind the desk was clear that the time was now. He took in one more deep breath and slowly exhaled before he stepped through the doorway and headed straight up to the desk. “Junior Lieutenant Tagg reporting for duty, sir.” Said Tagg as he stood at attention.

The man looked at the other who was standing there beside them. His gaze then returned to the Ferengi and a smile formed on his face. “At ease, Lieutenant. And welcome aboard the Sovereign.”

“Thank you, sir.” Said Tagg.

“Lieutenant. Relax. You’re going to pop a blood vessel.” Said the man. Then he gestured to the chair beside Tagg. “Have a seat.” When Tagg complied, he then introduced himself. “I am Captain Vakai and this man beside me is our first officer, Commander James Ryker.”

“Commander.” Said Tagg as he looked at Ryker.

“Lieutenant.” Ryker replied.

“So tell us a bit about yourself, Tagg. What made you join Starfleet?” Vakai asked.

“I wanted to serve the best, Captain.” Said Tagg.

Ryker shook his head. “Dishonesty will not go well with us, Lieutenant.”

“I am being honest, sir.” Tagg said after he looked at Ryker.

Both Ryker and Vakai looked at each other before Vakai sighed and smiled. “All right. Thank you for your time, Lieutenant but I think we will choose someone else.”

Tagg felt his heart sink and the palms of his hands began to sweat. “But, I thought-”

“Dismissed, Lieutenant.” Said Ryker.

Tagg stood up from his chair and began to head for the door. But then he stopped and swallowed the lump in his throat before he turned around and faced both the captain and first officer. “I joined Starfleet because I didn’t want to end up like my father.”

The two gentlemen looked at each other, both smiled and then Vakai gestured at the chair.

Tagg took in another deep breath and felt his heart had pulled itself out of the pit that it fell in. He then headed back to the chair and sat back down before he resumed. “My father is all about business and profit. It’s all he cares about. Some of which has got him into trouble. When I was ready, he wanted to bring me into his business and have me help him. But I wanted no part of it. I saw what others have seen about my people, about the things we used to do before Grand Nagus Rom took over. And my father is all about the old ways, which defies everything the Grand Nagus has done. And defying the Grand Nagus is…” Tagg paused for a brief moment. “I did not want to become an accessory to my father’s crimes. So I took what latinum I had and left. I worked really hard to get here, Captain. Commander. I wanted people to see me for me…and not think that I would end up like my father.”

There was a brief moment of silence but only for a brief moment. Vakai then stood up and made his way around his desk to be there before Tagg. He leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms across his chest. “I can understand the determination to be better than your parents. I like to believe, at least from what I know from my parents, that parents out there want their children to do better than they have. To learn from them, to avoid the same mistakes they had made, to achieve goals higher than they had. I would not be here if it weren’t for my parents wanting a better life for me. But that is not always the case. Some parents are greedy and stubborn. Some only care about themselves more than they do about others, especially their own kin. This can become a strong motivation to do better than them. And you, Lieutenant Tagg, are one of the fine examples. Starfleet knows about your father’s criminal history. Your striving to not follow in his footsteps and create your own path, is the example of motivation to do better than he has.” Vakai said the last bit with a smile and extended his hand out to Tagg. “Welcome aboard the Sovereign, again.”

Tagg smiled as he stood up from his chair and took the captain’s hand in his with a firm grip and a shake. “Thank you, Captain!”

—

“We are about to land, ma’am.” Said the pilot. Who sat at the controls of a runabout, who guided the craft towards the open hangar doors to the main shuttle bay of the Sovereign.

The woman who sat off to the side in the cabin, had really paid much attention. “Good. Let me know when we have landed.” She said as her focus was on the PADD in her hand. She had read the letter over a dozen times and yet, she still had trouble with her new assignment. She was comfortable where she was, with the crew she was with and with the Command Staff that she had come to know and trust.

Then several days ago, she was requested to her captain’s ready room, well her former captain now, and was informed about her new orders. She wanted to refuse but the captain made it clear that, even though it was not much of a promotion, since her rank won’t change nor her position, she would still benefit from the experience of serving on board a Sovereign-class starship.

There was a soft shudder of the deck which left her to assume that they had landed on the hangar deck. “We have landed, ma’am.” Said the pilot, which confirmed the woman’s assumption.

She stood up from her seat and began to grab her two bags. The rest of her belongings had been sent ahead of her, so she had hoped. “Thank you, Ensign.” She said before she stepped out onto the hangar deck once the hatches and the ramp had completed their cycle. Once the bottom sole of her boots had made contact with the hangar deck, she took in a deep breath and then exhaled before she made her way to her quarters. It was time to get to work.

—

The replicator finished materializing a large glass of apple juice, to which Ryker grabbed and took a big swig of it before he returned to Vakai’s side. “Ah. Nothing like a good healthy juice after a good healthy breakfast.” Ryker chuckled. It had already been a day after their meeting with Lieutenant Tag, and they were just about done with the last new arrivals. “Anyways, back to what I was saying. She was on the desk, ready to pounce when-” The door chime’s interruption was just timed perfectly.

Vakai shrugged his shoulders with a grin at Ryker before he looked at the door. “Enter.”

The door split open and in a few graceful steps, the woman on the runabout from earlier now stood there in front of the desk, opposite from Vakai. “Lieutenant Commander Lexie Ward, Second Officer, reporting for duty.”

Vakai stood up from his seat and extended his hand out to her. “Welcome aboard, Commander. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Ward just stood there, with her hands still clasped against the small of her back. “Thank you, Captain. I am eager to get to work. From what I have read, there is much to do.”

The two men looked at each other before they looked back at her. “Don’t you wish to tell us a little bit about yourself first?” Ryker had asked.

Ward’s gaze shifted to Ryker. “Sorry, Commander. But now that I have reported in, I am on duty and there are a lot of discrepancies that I need to attend to.” Her gaze then returned to Vakai. “Am I dismissed, sir?”

Again the two men looked at each other before they looked back at her, Vakai exhaled a sigh. “You are dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir. Commander.” She said to Ryker before she did a full 180 and was gone from the ready room in seconds.

Ryker exhaled an even louder sigh, followed by a groan of regret. “I think she was the last to report to us. So if you don’t mind, my friend, I am going to go to my office and prepare for the list of complaints that is about to hit my desk.”

Vakai chuckled. “Just remember she came from a very strict ship, so go easy on her.”

“We shall see.” Ryker told him before he left.