Late. 

Captain Harlow Mason wasn’t a woman who liked to be late, under any circumstances. It was an ingrained habit, like a timer in her head, counting down to her next appointment. 

“Thank you for a pleasant flight, ensign,” she said with a polite smile for the ensign who had piloted the shuttle between the transport ship and the station. 

Straightening her uniform, she disembarked, heading quickly across the shuttlebay and into the corridors. Her long strides meant she moved fast, and she’d made sure to catch a look at the decklist so she knew where she was going. The office of the TFXO, Captain Braim. 

Minutes later she arrived at the correct location, and checked the timepiece around her wrist. Two minutes to spare. Not bad for the distance she’d had to cover. She’d forgotten how big bases could be.

“I expect better from a Federation outpost such as this and I trust you will resolve this situation, Captain.” A Bolian holo-image scorned in expression looked down at Braim. 

“Of course, Ambassador. I will have our quartermaster see to it immediately. I trust there is no reason for me to forward you on to Captain Varro now?” Braim replied, his expression neutral and quite unreadable. However, he was annoyed and was rather thankful the Ambassador had decided to call instead of pay him a visit in person. 

“At this point…. No. Good day, Captain.” The Bolian’s image de-materialized and was replaced with the figure of his young Benzite yeoman, Petty Officer Kepez. 

“I’ll make sure to follow up on that for you, Captain. Here are some more requsition and transfer orders that need your immediate attention.” Kepez dropped a pile of PADDs on his desk and retrieved a pile he had worked through earlier. “He seemed rather pleasant,” she continued giving Braim a cheeky grin.

“That Ambassador has to be one of the most….” Braim let out a sharp breath but didn’t finish the sentence, knowing full well Kepez could fill in the blanks. He gave his yeoman a thankful nod and watched as she gracefully exited his office. She truly was the unsung hero in his life these days – without her, Braim was certain he would have admitted defeat weeks ago since taking on his new role as Deputy Commander of the Seventeenth Fleet. 

Harlow stood in the empty outer office, hands clasped behind her back as she waited. Voices beyond the door in front of her said that the TFXO was in his office, and she knew that, in the absence of anyone out here, the computer would have informed someone of her arrival.

Then the door swept open, and she straightened up, finding herself looking at a young yeoman.

Petty Officer Kepez looked the Captain up and down briefly, her eyes narrowing for a moment and then widening – a show that she now recognized the guest. “Captain Harlow?”

“I am,” Harlow responded with a smile. “I have an appointment with Captain Braim?”

“Yes. You are just — on time.” Kepez verified the chronometer on her desk in the small foyer outside of Braim’s office. She tapped a few commands on her console and then looked back up at Harlow. “Captain Braim will see you now.” Kepez gestured in the direction she just emerged from and then tossed the PADDs she retrieved from her boss into a receiving area on her desk.

“Thank you,” Harlow inclined her head to the yeoman as she headed that way. The door opened and she scanned the room automatically, her gaze settling on the man behind the desk. Captain Aaslin Braim, a betazed she realised.

Braim had received notification from his yeoman that Captain Harlow was about to enter. He had stood from his desk and met her halfway. His arm extended and he offered her a firm handshake. It was a bit old-fashioned but he found most people appreciated the human gesture. 

“Captain Harlow. A pleasure to meet you. Please – make yourself comfortable. Would you like a beverage?” Braim gestured towards the seat adjacent him at his desk and then slowly followed behind, waiting to see if she wanted something from the replicator. 

“Likewise, sir,” she said as she shook his hand firmly. He was tall which she appreciated. She didn’t feel like the only giraffe in the room then. “A black coffee, if that’s not too much trouble? Facilities on the transport were… less than salubrious, shall we say?” she added with a smile as she took a seat. 

“The best way to have it, Captain.” Braim grinned as he ordered two black coffees. His face quickly tinted a light blue from the hue of the replicator as it produced the beverages. He retrieved them with grace and took a seat on his chair, sliding the coffee in his right hand in the direction of Harlow. 

“I do love life on a Starbase – more than salubrious here.” He took a sip of his drink and sighed with contentment.

Murmuring her thanks, she took the mug and breathed in the steam with appreciation. It was good coffee, which was nothing more than she’d expect for a taskforce senior officer.

“Well – Captain. I am curious. What are your thoughts on taking the center seat once more?” Braim questioned her. The question itself did not attach any sense of context with it beyond the simplicity of him wanting to know if she felt ready to take another command.

“If I may be honest,” she said, balancing her mug on her knee gracefully. “It can’t come soon enough.” 

The last few months she’d been working with the relief efforts for several smaller systems hard hit by events earlier in the year. It hadn’t helped that the USS Sherwood had been all but totalled with the events of Frontier day, although a large part of that was down to her. Blowing up bits of the ship had contained the borg-infected personnel and saved a lot of lives.

“While I’m happy to go where the fleet deems necessary, the big chair is where I feel at home.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Braim offered her an empathetic look for a moment before he rummaged through some PADDs to his left. Thankfully Kepez had prepared the documents for him and set them in the spot he had gravitated towards naturally. He picked the right one up and passed it to Harlow while taking another sip of his coffee. 

“Thank you,” she murmured automatically as she accepted it. On the screen were her transfer and assignment orders, as she’d expected.

“I’m hoping you figured out that we weren’t dragging you all the way out here without something in return,” Braim smiled and clasped his hands together. “Captain Harlow Mason – We are transferring command of the USS Interceptor to you effective immediately. That’s not all though. You’ll oversee the Interceptor Exploratory Cruiser Division, which has the USS Resolute assigned to it too under the purview of Captain Brennan Zale.” Braim mocked a deep breath as if what he said took all the wind out of him.

“I was assuming that you weren’t,” she admitted with a smile. When a captain was called to a TFXO’s office, it didn’t take a genius to work out what it was for. Especially for a captain awaiting a new ship.

But she hadn’t expected a division, that was for sure. The other ship’s name she recognized instantly, and she smiled slightly. “Small universe. My brother used to command the Resolute.”

“Really?” Braim’s eyes showed a pleasant surprise in them before he nodded in his acknowledgement of the coincidence. “I am all about the signs. Hoping this is a good one for you, Captain.”

She gave him a bright, genuine smile. “I’m certainly going to take it as such.”

Braim eyed the PADDs to his left and pursed his lips slightly as he carefully selected the right one. A quick glance at the screen verified he had chosen correctly and he passed it cheerfully to the newly minted commanding officer of the Interceptor. “You will find your transfer orders and current division orders on that PADD. Any questions?” 

She scanned the information on the padd quickly, seeing the ship was still in resupply and maintenance for the next few days while crew transferred on and off. That was perfect, it meant she could get settled and familiar with the senior staff before they headed off.

“No sir, not that I can think of at the moment.” 

“Fair winds and following seas, Captain Harlow.” Braim offered her a warm smile. He enjoyed sharing the old earth saying that he had heard many years ago from a colleague who did sail recreationally – it stuck.

She inclined her head, an old world custom direct from her homeworld. 

“And I wish you luck with…” She grinned as she eyed the padds piling up on his desk. “Looks like you have quite the full day ahead of you.”