—- Starbase 86, Conference Room 4 —-

Captain Carrillo entered the room to find a slender man, about her age, in captain’s pips already there. A younger woman was also in command red but this one a lieutenant commander smiled. 

“You must be Captain Carrillo, I’ve heard a lot about you from my brother. I’m Victoria Hume,” the young woman said, offering her hand to shake Carrillo’s. 

She took it, shaking it she glanced at the other captain, and said, “So you’re the new captain of the Selene?”

The man shook his head, “Nobody told me that, my crew will be disappointed.”

Commodore Tharc and a third captain entered.

Tharc nodded at them, “Okay this is Captain Radak. He’s in charge, this is his XO Lieutenant Commander Hume. I’ve got a meeting with a Klingon envoy, so Radak will sort this out.”

The Commodore exited as swiftly as she’d entered. Carrillo did not know Tharc well but had observed that she was not a woman to waste words, and preferred her role bridging the gap between Romulans and Klingons to dealing with commanding officers. Expectantly both her and the other captain’s eyes travelled to Radak. The older Vulcan sat down at the head to the table, and Hume sat to his right. Exchanging a look that indicated that neither of them knew where this was going, the other two captains also sat down.

“I will be candid,” the Vulcan began, “I attempted to quit Starfleet last week. I am dying from Tuvan Syndrome. Are you aware of what that is?”

Carrillo shook her head, as did the other captain who spoke up. 

He said, “Look I’m sorry to hear that, but what’s this got to do with us.”

Captain Radak looked at Lieutenant Commander Hume who stood, “For the past few months Radak has been running both of your ships on missions. Carrillo, it was his analysis that lead you to the Klingons cloaked. Captain Aike, that thing with the Cardassians was on his recommendation.”

The lieutenant commander activated one of the wall screens, “Since the Borg attack he’s been here on the station, looking at intelligence and reports to ensure that we’re not caught with our proverbial pants down again.”

“Again, how do we fit in,” the captain, Captain Aike asked.

Radak answered, “Given my diagnosis, I can not command a starship. However, in a twist of what you humans would refer to as fate I can command two. Welcome to Selene Explorer Division.”

“We will work on the name,” Hume said as a star chart appeared on the screen she’d activated.

“Captain Carrillo you will continue to captain the Selene,” Radak said, “I assume you have a First Officer in mind. If you do not have one amongst your current crew please put in a request during this resupply. Captain Aike, nothing changes regarding your command, you are the captain of your ship.”

Aike nodded, “Okay, so what are you for?”

Radak nodded, “I command the Division. Just as Tharc did, I assign your ships to missions. The Selene is fast and has some of the best sensors in the fleet. It is my eyes and ears.”

“And I’m the fists,” Aike said.

The Vulcan ponded this, “Yes, perhaps an inelegant way of phrasing it, but you will be the strength. As the Selene discovered, just having a torpedo canon does not solve every encounter. Your ship is tough and well-armed.”

“But you’re sick,” Carrillo pointed out.

“I have at least a decade before I begin to experience symptoms, and Hume will have complete authority to act in my stead. She has my full support, and my full authority,” Radak explained, “We will have another meeting in a few days, both ships are being resupplied, and prepared for our first mission. I will answer questions at that time, after you’ve had a chance to adjust to this news. Thank you.”

Captain Radak rose and exited the room. Hume stood, “Well that chart I pulled up was not needed. Look, you’ll see he’s clever and this is a good thing. I’ll see you both in a few days. Congratulations Captain Carrillo.”

Just as she too was about to leave the room Hume paused, “Oh yeah, you should review your crew rosters. We’ll be consolidating some of them and bringing in some new people. Try to agree on staffing, I wouldn’t want to have Radak start doing it. Also our offices will be on the USS Falcon, on the Flag Bridge.”

With that, she too was gone.

“Fantastic,” muttered Captain Aike, no doubt not pleased to have a level of additional command on his ship.

“I never got your first name,” Olivia Carrillo said.

“Let’s go get a drink and go over these files,” Aike said, “And it’s Paul.”

—- Captain’s Lounge, Starbase 86 —-

Being solely for the commanding officers of Starfleet ships the lounge was small, not much more than a few viewing ports, a couple of tables, and the bar. Many of the crew of the USS Falcon had departed with the former first officer for his own command, leaving the ship needing an influx of crew. To a lesser extent, Carrillo looked at his roster and saw where to fill in her ranks especially as he picked through the Selene’s Departmental Assistants to elevate to Leads on the Falcon.

“I’d like Lieutenant Lambert,” Aike said, taking a swig of his beer.

“That’s a no-go. He’s my husband,” Carrillo said, “He’d quit Starfleet first.”

“Well, then I’ll take your Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer Lieutenant Winfield, and your Assistant Chief Engineer Murf. Does she have more of a name?”

“No,” Carrillo shrugged, “she’s just Murf.”

“Obviously I don’t want the Academy Staff, or the cadets. I’ll take a counselor and someone in security,” he said.

“Okay, Lieutenant Junior Grade Torma is our Assistant Chief Counsellor, I suppose you can have her. Security is tricky, because our Assistant Chief is a Hume,” Carrillo said, “younger brother of our new Division woman.”

“I’ll take him, we’ll figure it out,” Aike said, “and if it makes the twins uncomfortable, then that’s an added bonus.”

“I don’t think they’re twins,” Carrillo pointed out, not thinking he cared too much. She put in the transfer on her PADD.

Aike asked, “Do you have anyone who’d make a good XO?”

Carrillo shook her head, “I had most of my crew turn down the post on my ship. I found someone, my former Assistant Chief Science Officer. The only one who’s ready is my Chief Engineer but he won’t leave Engineering.”

Captain Aike sighed, “I’ll have to see who Starfleet has in their pool. I wanted someone who’ll stick around awhile, these days XOs seem to get ships after a week.”

Carrillo laughed, “Sounds familiar, both myself and my former captain were XOs who got bumped up.”

Aike was likely at least twenty years her senior, and he shook his head, “I was captain on the Falcon since it was an old Excelsior. Now it’s a new shiny Excelsior II, and only the old guy in the centre seat is from the old ship.” 

Carrillo shrugged. She’d heard a lot of captains had retired after Frontier Day, that losing control of their ships and being taken over by the Borg had been a sign that a lot of people who were taking up chairs should step down. That Aike had stuck around, well it was notable. He was either stubborn or noble. 

So far it seemed like he was a bit of both.

He raised his mostly empty beer stein, “To our new adventure that we’re being forced into.”

“We always get given orders, now they’re just coming from a bit closer to home,” Carrillo said, raising her glass and clinking it with Aike’s.

“Closer to my home at least. You’ll get to go off, without a Vulcan looking over your shoulder telling you how to run your ship,” Aike said. 

Carrillo did not argue. He might be right, he might not be. She felt it was too soon to worry, but he had more experience in this than she did. 

— Flag Bridge, USS Falcon —

Captain Radak looked dispassionately at the screens that surrounded the Flag Bridge. Originally meant for Admirals and other senior officers to lead Task Forces or missions it was soon to become the hub of Selene Division as the two Strategic Operations Officers poured through the incoming data they received not only from the Selene and the Falcon but from the entire fleet. All reports classified up to a certain level would pass through there, and they would consider them, and make their next moves based on them. The assignment of Lieutenant Commander Hume had been pivotal, he’d been ready to retire to Vulcan and live out the remainder of his life in solitude. She had forced him to see that there was still something he could contribute and had been the driving force behind his being assigned two ships and given this much latitude. While he knew that there was nothing left for him in this life, at least he could do his part in ensuring that the Federation prevailed and continued after he was gone.

Hume entered carrying a PADD, “Have you seen this from Commodore Tharc? Debelius IV just had a major quake, hit the major settlement centres. She’s asking us to go.”

Taking the PADD Radak was silent, not wanting to commit to a mission he had not prepared for. Still it would be a good taste of this, and pressing under staffed ships to perform in a crisis would help decide a few things. He handed the PADD back, “We’ll leave in six hours. See what resources you can get, the USS West Covina should be available as well.”

The California-class ship would help fill out for the fact that the USS Falcon did not yet have a medical staff. The rest would have to come from the USS Selene. 

“I will inform Captains Carrillo and Aike,” he said.