—

The screen flicks on showing a young woman with light green skin and dark green and red hair sitting on a sofa in what appears to be a standard set of quarters. She is wearing a red uniform but with the front open showing a white shirt beneath. She relaxes on the sofa with a swirling red and orange drink in her hands as she begins to speak.

—

“Personal Log – Stardate 77257.96. That would be April 4th 2400 in laymen’s terms I guess.

“So, new orders arrived a few weeks back. Ordered to Starbase 4, or Bravo as it is called, and assigned to Task Force 47.”

“Arrived here this morning and reported to the station’s XO for official orders. They are something to digest that’s for sure.”

“Though I was given a decent set of quarters which is a nice change; guess they have the space on this station. Though I better not get used to this space.” 

“I have been ordered to take command of an old Aerie class long-range explorer, the USS Daradax. And to take her and boldly go where some people have gone before. In a nutshell to follow on from the USS Centaur and survey Sector Fero Psi.”

—

She sighs and shakes her head, her long hair changing between green and red as it moves across her shoulders.

—

“BUT REALLY! ME IN COMMAND? ARE THEY NUTS? But really, I do wonder why me. Command was never my speciality, sure I wanted one eventually, but I wonder if they want me out of the way a bit now after that that last…never mind that.”

“Anyways, it will be a change that is for sure. A nice break from the intelligence work and fingers crossed nicer places, nicer people, a nice change of pace and well an all-around improvement on my circumstances.”

—

As she says this, she brings up both hands and crosses her fingers with a smile.

—

“So I need to read up Sector Fero Psi and the USS Centaur mission logs. From the glance I had on the shuttle here, they found some interesting things out there. Makes me wonder if an old Aerie class ship is right for the job. We will make it work though.”

“The Daradax though, I like the name, but it has seen better days from what I have been able to read about it. It’s been sitting in mothballs for several years after a long life of survey missions and cargo runs by the looks of it. She should be ready in a couple of weeks I was told. I swung by the drydocks and had a chat with the supervisor there. I guess it needs a proper cleanout, upgrading of several systems and an air freshener.”

“Having a couple of weeks here will be nice though, allows me to get to know this place. I have heard as far as starbases go this one has some nice restaurants and facilities. It will also give me time to make some plans after I review those logs from the Centaur. All I know is that the first operation is already outlined. Take an observation to study the Hallgaerans, the steampunkers; we are to give them a week or two in orbit to get set up then we can settle in and explore the systems while keeping in touch with the team.”

“If I didn’t know better it would sound almost relaxing.”

—

She lets out a little laugh and takes another sip. She then leans forward towards the camera and reaches for a PADD that is on the tablet picking it up and sitting back

—

“Not sure what to make of the crew, they are an odd bunch, though if I am commanding them then I guess they would have to me. What is strange is that it isn’t even a full complement only 4 other officers; you would think they would have added in some crewmen?”

“Where to start?”

“So the XO, a Lieutenant, junior grade, named Thanen Th’zalnar; Andorian, male. Seems to be very capable and will be the engineer on board. He is currently stationed here working at shipyards. I can see that he is the one actually getting Daradax out of mothballs.”

—

She turns her head, ‘Computer pause recording’. Taking another ship she stretches her arms and rolls her shoulders. ‘Computer, set a reminder for 9:00 tomorrow to contact Lieutenant Th’zalnar to set up a briefing on the Daradax, its ETA and any possible concerns he may have.’

Glancing down at the PADD she sighs ‘Oh, Thanen, you might be in for trouble on this ship, only male with these personalities….’

‘Computer resume recording.’

—

“Who’s next?”

“Ah yes. The science and medical officer, Ensign Kerry Dawson, human. Right out of the academy on Earth with a scientific specialization which will be useful. Her file seems odd; not sure what it is though, a complete lack of extracurricular activities or involvement in social activities by the read of it. Maybe she is just very shy.”

“Next is our tactical and security officer, Ensign Ril Mnass, a nice blend like me, half Klingon, half Human. She has been here on Bravo for the last year as a security/tactical officer. A good record as well though a couple of reprimands for overly aggressive behaviours, temperament and such. We should get on well.”

“Finally, our navigator/pilot, Ensign Belania, a female Ferengi. Cannot say I have ever come across one before so not sure what to expect. She is just out of the academy here but is on leave for another week. When she gets here I will need to sit with her to discuss possible flight paths and points of interest. Computer Notify me when Ensign Belania arrives on station.”

“I guess time will tell how this goes. Should be an interesting crew; hope they don’t kill each other.”

—

She leans forward her hand moves towards the computer to close it. ‘Computer save and end recording.’  before the screen goes black.

—

The screen flickers to life showing Kirin sitting at the desk in her quarter aboard Starbase Bravo. On the wall behind her, an image of Bravo revolves slowly. She is wearing a white tank top while her uniform jacket is draped over the back of the chair. Her green hair, streaked with re dis braided on the right side of her head and pulled into a ponytail.

Picking up her mug of coffee she starts.

—

“Captains Log – Stardate 77260.72; April 5th. Lieutenant Kirin Tarken”

—

She smiles as she says this and visible shudders with excitement.

— 

“That is the First time I have said that – I like the sounds of it” 

“Today was a good day, got a lot done. And I have to admit, I really like this station; pity we won’t be here much longer. Excellent resturants and that Raktajino! I need to speak to that Klingon on the promenade to get some of those beans for the ship…almost need to see about getting a copy of some of those holodeck programmes, or visit them before we depart. They are intriguing, to say the least, especially the training ones.”

“Oh, damn. Well, that should have been in my personal log. Computer save the recording as personal log and restart”

Computer beeps twice

“Captains Log – Stardate 77260.72; April 5th. Lieutenant Kirin Tarken”

“I met with Lieutenant Thanen Th’zalnar today on the promenade at the Klingon fusion restaurant during his midday meal to get a feel for him. First impressions; he will do well. He seems to be, overall, a nice man and competent from his records it seems. We discussed the mission, the crew and the Daradax and he impressed me. That doesn’t always happen. He knows the ship, and he knows his job. That confidence will be good, you do not want an XO or any officer or enlisted personal second-guessing themselves. I think he will fit in nicely, we will about the other crew but he is easy going which will be good.”

—

She pauses for a moment tilting her head and pursing her lips in thought.

— 

 “Also, Easy on the eyes as well…not that that matters; Overall a good man to have onboard”

“Spoke about his time at the academy, and his time here on Bravo. Wasn’t sure if we may have crossed paths at the academy; the timing was close but he started a couple of years after I graduated. He has been on Bravo since with the shipyards and repair teams; both excellent skills sets to have onboard the Daradax. He is clearly respected and promoted for his work in the yards leading a team there – So good with people.

“Turns out he was assigned to the Daradax before I even had my orders, over 2 months ago. He is leading the effort to get it up and running and is impressed with it – a good sign.”

“Turns out my earlier estimates of 2 weeks to get her up and running were wrong, Thanen estimates 6-7 days.” She is a newer version of the Aerie Class – A Raven refit that has been left in the yards for some reason. She is only a decade old which is a bit odd.”

“We ate and shared a few stories and generally got to know each other before he took me to the yards and I got my first view of her, my first command. The Daradax!”

“She was more impressive than I thought – maybe because I am going to command her who knows. Due to the overhaul, she was docked so we took a quick tour. Currently, there are panels missing and wires hanging everywhere but she is a solid ship and Thanen assured me that those will be sorted in the next 36 hours.”

“With only 5 of us it will be a lot of space so we will need to think about its use; possibly turning one of the empty quarters into a gym could be good. The mess alone can hold 20 people. This again makes me wonder why only 5 of us were assigned. Though that means we each get a nice set of quarters though so cannot complain about that.”

“Deck 3 is where I expect we will spend most of our time working, the labs and such are all there though either myself or one of the others will need to be on the bridge at all times I feel.”

— 

Leaning back Kirin takes a sip of her coffee and smiles

— 

“The best part, she even has a SMALL HOLODECK! Well, holosuite I guess. So that is pretty sweet it will make downtime and training easier. Starfleet realized if you want a ship out there for extended periods it helps. Even with that unexpected addition it still leaves us with a ton of empty space. We could use a few extra crew members to add some redundancy and fill up the space. I will need to check with command on this.”

“The big question though was what survey and armament systems did it have. The shuttle will be nice, save us having to land her when we need to get planetside and the transporter isn’t an option. I was very happy to see that she has been more armaments than I thought. Phasers and 10 torpedoes; I think we could go head-to-head with a B’rel if needed. Not that we would.”

“Overall it was an excellent tour and introduction to my XO. We will meet again in two days out of work to get to know him as I need to start planning our next steps as Ensign Dawson, Mnass and Belania will arrive in three days and I need to get ready for that. 

“Computer end recording.”

— 

Kirin stifles a yawn and leans forward closing her computer before getting up.

— 

—

Thanen is sitting at the engineer station in the engine room of the Daradax, wires dangling around him and the powered down warp core visible behind him. In full uniform, wearing an engineering harness. He yawns as the time stamp shows it is late in the evening.

—

“Personal Log – Stardate 77260.72. Lieutenant Thanen Th’zalnar”

“Let us keep this short and sweet.”

“I met with my soon to be new CO, a Lieutenant Kirin Tarken. She will be taking command of the Daradax in the next few days. Though I have been told to address her as Kirin.”

“First impression?”

“In short, she will be up to the task. I would be lying if I said I had not reviewed her personnel file before the meeting. She in general seems to be easy going and relaxed but I sense she has cold iron inside her. If pushed she will push back and hard. Though I would expect that from someone who has had the last few years classified by SF Intel. The risk though, if hit just right, cold iron can be brittle if not tempered. Though that is the XO’s job I guess to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“We reviewed the crew list, it will be an odd collection for sure. At first glance, we will have an overly shy science officer with some medical background… a good thing we have the EMH…though that is another story. Our security and tactical officer is a hot-headed half Klingon and of all things a Ferengi as or pilot and navigations officer. Not many of them in Starfleet, let alone a woman. That is nice to see though. Not much on her record beyond that, she looks like a very good officer. Add that to me; fairly normal I think, and our Orion/Risan CO with a rather substantial part of her record classified I am not sure what to expect. Though we will make it work.”

“Kirin briefed me on the mission; the first time I have had this information. It is straightforward enough and opened ended. Explore, cannot be unhappy with that but I will miss the yards. We are to survey Sector Fero Psi following on from the USS Centaur. The only set order so far is a collect and drop off mission. Star Fleet is sending an observation team to watch the Hallgaerans, cannot say I know anything about them yet. We are to help them set up on the planet and ensure all is well for a few days then will act as their point of contact if things turn south.”

“If it does turn south, I can guarantee that we will be as far as possible from the planet when it happens, such is the way of things. Sure it will be fine.”

“The Daradax, where to start. She is coming along”

—

Thanen gestures behind him with his left arm as if to say look at her.

—

“I am not sure why she was in mothballs considering she is only 10, years old. Though it has made out job easier, very little to do beyond an in-depth maintenance check and some hardware and software updates. With a crew of this size, we will have lots of space and will need to fill multiple roles but it will keep us busy so that is good. There are several lab spaces that we will need Ensign Dawson to confirm what she wants them for; all the equipment is on the station so will only take a day to get them set up.”

“Kirin did suggest we take one of the empty quarters on deck 3 and turn it into a multi-purpose gym so that the holosuite doesn’t have to be used for that. I can see her logic there. That reminds me….”

“Computer remind me to file a request for gym equipment to the USS Daradax tomorrow at 9:00.

Computer beeps twice to confirm the reminder is set

“If all goes well she will be ready in less than a week, a few days of shakedown to double-check and we are good to go.”

“Computer end recording.”

—

The recording starts but without any video. A message appears on-screen ‘USS Daradax; Video recording unavailable – system offline’

—

“Command Log – Stardate 77268.93; April 8th. Lieutenant Kirin Tarken; USS Daradax”

“Today was the day – The crew of the USS Daradax has met for the first time.”

“Lieutenant Th’zalnar and I have met several times over the last few days to discuss the ship, and mission and to get to know each other and I am increasingly confident that we will operate well together. The big nagging question was, how about the rest of the crew, what are they like beyond their records?”

“From their records, there were a few standout points of, not so much concern but, interest let’s say.”

“Starting with Ensign Ril Mnass. She has been based here on Starbase Bravo in security for the last year and has just returned from leave, hence the delay in meeting. She has had a couple of warnings placed in her record where she has let her temper get the better of her. This has been in dealings with individuals she was apprehending who fought back; aggressively but the reports I have found. She was a little over-eager one could say in subduing them. But beyond that, her record reads of a dedicated and skilled officer who has a lot of potential.”

—

There is an audible sigh

—

“Potential. That is how all their records read. Makes me wonder how my superiors read mine and Lieutenant Th’zalnar? Anyways…lets continue.”

“Ensign Kerry Dawson, fresh out of the academy, specializing in Astrophysics. She has glowing reviews from her instructors, if there is a question that needs investigating, she is the one you want around. That said all of her instructors commented on her complete focus on work and work alone, her interactions with others on a social level were strained. We will see how she works over the next few months; maybe a smaller setting such as the Daradax will be good for her.”

“Finally, Ensign Belania, as fresh out of the academy and by all accounts a truly amazing pilot with glowing comments and support letters. It made me wonder why she was assigned to the Daradax and not another ship. Skilled pilots like that don’t usually end up on a Raven-class.”

“As I mentioned today was the first time, we all met. As the Daradax has come along nicely with most of the internal work completed now both Thanen and I moved into our quarters here. As such we asked them to meet at the ship earlier today at 7:00. To get things started they each were shown to their assigned rooms so they could leave their belongings before we met on the observation deck at 7:20.”

“As I hoped everyone was on the observation deck early. We sat and had the standard welcome board talk followed by introductions and a brief overview of our upcoming survey mission to Sector Fero Psi.”

“I have to say I was impressed by the crew and their professionalism and openness to each other, even Ensign Dawson seem to open up, briefly, about herself. I also wanted to comment on how impressed I was by the new holographic display system built into the conference table. Being able to see the whole sector and zoom-in as needed with the visuals of the USS Centaurs logs was impressive.”

“Everyone appeared to be excited for the mission and the possibilities within it. Of particular note was Ensign Dawson, while presenting the mission brief and going over key points of interest she asked to add a few things. A few things turned out to be a rather extensive analysis of the entire sector and possible anomalies of interest that were only picked up in passing. She has forwarded the report to the crew and I will review it with her in more detail in the coming days. Likely on the shakedown cruise.”

“In addition to this, both Ensign Mnass and Ensign Belania both had a couple of questions and suggestions regarding possible areas of concern and how best we could approach the Jck 6-9748; the Black Hole within the sector.”

“All in all, I was happy with the meeting.”

“Following this Lieutenant Th’zalnar gave an overview of the Daradax and the work he and the yard crew has undertaken getting her ready for departure. This was concluded with a tour of the ship as only the final touches are being done now by the yard crew and now that the entire crew is here, we will be able to assist even further. With luck, we will have permission to start the shakedown cruise within 36 hours.”

“I have also scheduled one-on-one meetings with each of them later today once they have had a chance to settle in to get more of a personal feel for each of them.”

“Computer end recording.”

— 

‘End of recording’ appears on the screen.

—