Commander Mira Novak walked through the parting doors of the USS Halberd’s Ready Room, the figure of Captain Sera Markell sitting comfortably behind her desk the first thing that came into her line of sight. The years Mira had spent aboard the ship informed her without so much as a word from her Captain that the woman was in a good mood. Everything from her posture to the thin smirk she was trying so hard to smooth out told Novak that whatever she’d been called in for, Markell was taking some measure of personal joy in it.

“You wanted to see me?” Mira asked with a tight frown tugging at her lips. She’d even gone as far as folding her arms in front of her in an almost protective fashion as if to shield herself from whatever nonsense was about to come.

Sera let the smile she’d been suppressing bloom as she took in the abrasive tone of her Executive Officer, “I did. Please, have a seat.”

Mira almost let a groan slip from her as she heard the request to sit down. It took her a moment of deliberation before she finally acquiesced, though her reluctance was evident as she did. Once Novak had settled into the chair, Captain Markell began to speak.

“Remember how you and I discussed submitting your application for a command of your own after your performance evaluation last month?” Sera started off with a cryptic lilt in her voice.

“I do,” Mira nodded once at the question.

“As luck would have it, I just received a message regarding that,” Markell’s smile seemed to somehow sharpen at those words.

“I see…” Novak allowed her eyebrow to float upward just a little.

“Unfortunately, they didn’t select you for a starship assignment this time around,” Sera remarked as if such news wasn’t at all catastrophic. The two had discussed Mira’s preference to take on a shipboard command, and had tailored her request package accordingly. It was incredibly suspicious that Markell’s smile hadn’t faltered in the slightest as she delivered the news, a detail that Novak did not miss.

Mira’s eyes narrowed as she responded, “Why do you still look so happy about this?”

“Ah… you caught that…” Sera couldn’t help but chuckle, “That would be because while you’re not going to a ship, you were given a command.”

“Well if it isn’t a ship, what could it possibly…” Novak trailed off as she struck upon a likely answer, “Don’t tell me it’s some backwater relay station or something…”

“I wouldn’t be this happy for you if it was,” Markell said with a teasing tone, “It’s a proper starbase. Actually, it’s a fairly historic one at that.”

“Historic how?” Mira asked, her tone sharpening slightly.

“It’s been around since the 2250s… in one form or another,” Sera responded to the question vaguely.

Novak’s face finally collapsed into a full frown at how evasive the other woman was being, “Could you just tell me where I’m being assigned?”

Markell laughed at the shift in her XO’s attitude, “I’m sorry, Mira… This is probably the last time I’m going to get to tease you like this, I wanted to make it worthwhile.”

“I’ll never understand why you enjoy poking fun at me so much,” Mira grumbled.

“You’re just fun to needle. I guess it’d be my one character flaw… I can’t not mess with you when you get all serious like that. And considering I seem to be the only person on the ship you’re close enough with to be considered a friend…” Sera said between soft chuckles.

“Some friend…” Novak rolled her eyes in a somewhat rare expression of her inner feelings.

“At least you didn’t deny it.”

Mira let out an exaggerated sigh, “Can we get back on topic?”

“Fine…” Markell shot her XO a feigned glare before leaning back in her chair a bit, “You’re being sent to Starbase 11. According to the message I received, the last CO retired and with everything that apparently happened elsewhere in the quadrant, a relief hadn’t been designated.”

“Why wasn’t the station’s XO picked for the position?” Novak asked.

Sera shrugged, “It didn’t say. My guess would be, because their XO either turned it down or wasn’t ready to assume command on a permanent basis. But that’s just speculation, I think it’d be better for you to ask whoever that is directly.”

“I suppose that would be the better call,” Mira admitted with a nod, “Did the message have any other details besides my transfer orders?”

“Nothing beyond what I’ve already told you. You’ll need to catch a shuttle to Starbase 25, and arrange transport from there. It might even need to be civilian transport,” Markell explained.

“I’m guessing the strange anomalies being reported from elsewhere in the quadrant are to blame for that as well?” Mira asked with an annoyed frown.

“That’s likely,” Sera nodded, “While we’re still getting reports in from various parts of the Federation, there’s been a lot of details that just don’t line up from place to place so it’s impossible to actually say what’s been happening around us. I’m just glad we weren’t involved in it if even half of the reports I’ve read are to be believed at face value.”

“Has Starbase 11 encountered any of the issues being reported?” Novak asked as she unconsciously leaned forward.

“Not that I’ve seen, no,” Markell said with a brief shake of her head, “I’m surprised you’re so interested all of a sudden. I thought you weren’t happy with your new assignment.”

“Did I ever say I wasn’t happy with it?” Mira asked incredulously.

“No,” Sera said with a smirk, “I suppose you didn’t.”

The weeks that followed felt like a blur of activity to Mira as she packed up her life and made the journey from the core ward side of the Federation toward the more interior part where Starbase 11 was situated. Very much in line with her former Captain’s prediction, she’d had to secure no fewer than three civilian transports before finally making it to her new assignment. She had just stepped out the docking port corridor onto the station proper when she found herself facing a Lieutenant Commander wearing a crimson uniform and a broad smile.

“Welcome aboard, Commander,” the man said, extending his hand toward Novak.

A combination of fatigue and weariness at how overly friendly the man was being toward her caused the reciprocal handshake to lag slightly behind what would be considered socially acceptable. The man seemed to take her hesitation in stride, merely gripping her hand and giving it a few vigorous shakes before releasing her.

“I’m Lieutenant Commander Reid, Vernon Reid,” the man introduced himself, “We’re happy to have you join us here on Starbase 11.”

“Thank you, Commander Reid,” Mira said curtly before adjusting the strap of the pack she’d opted to carry off the transport with to sit a bit better on her shoulder, “I didn’t expect anyone to meet me at the docking port.”

Reid raised an eyebrow as she spoke, “I wasn’t aware Vulcans used contractions.”

“I’m half-Human,” Novak explained, “And my mother, who is Human, is the one who raised me. So, I speak just like any other child born and raised on Luna.”

“Ah,” Vernon said as his face eased back into a smile, “That explains that. I almost thought you are some rare, emotionally available Vulcan for a second. I suppose it wouldn’t be that far-fetched given some of our staff’s backgrounds…”

“How so?” Mira asked, her curiosity about his statement winning out over her reluctance to continue a conversation centered around her origins.

Reid motioned toward the interior of the station, waiting just a step before following beside his new Commander, “If I had to sum it up in a single sentence, it would be that we’re home to an Orion and a Zakdorn on the senior staff, neither of whom reside in departments you’d think such people would be suited for.”

“I take it by that statement you mean to suggest that they aren’t in Security or Strategic Operations,” Novak surmised.

“You guessed it. Lieutenant Drae, our Orion, is the resident Dockmaster… and a damn good one at that. Commander Vreen, our resident Zakdorn, is our Chief Medical Officer and my former department head before I took over as Executive Officer,” Vernon explained as the pair weaved through the throng of people coming and going around them.

“You’re a doctor?” Mira asked, looking the man over once more with a more critical eye.

“Nurse, actually,” Reid said with a chuckle, “But I sort of… burned out a few years ago. Originally transferred to our administration department, thought dealing with paperwork instead of patients for a while would be a nice change of pace. Somehow ended up getting picked up as the XO not long after that.”

“How long have you been on the station?” Novak asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Reid glanced up toward the ceiling in thought for a quick second, “About six years, all told. Not quite as long as some of our other senior staffers, but I’m hardly a fresh face either.”

“Are there any other ‘fresh faces’?” Mira asked as the two officers finally reached a cluster of turbolifts.

“We’re supposed to be getting a new Security Chief and Science Chief. They were apparently assigned to a starship together prior to being sent here. I only glanced at the transfer message before I got word you were coming. I can give you a more detailed rundown later if you’re interested,” Vernon said as he boarded the lift and ordered it to a deck that Mira didn’t quite catch.

“I can look over it myself once I get settled,” Novak remarked as she turned to face the lift doors.

The low drone of the turbolift speeding through the lift network filled the small carriage, creating a comfortable ambient noise to fill in the gaps of their conversation. It took a few moments for the lift to reach its destination, highlighting in real time just how expansive the Anchorage-class station truly was. When the doors parted, Commander Reid motioned for Novak to exit first, following her smoothly out of the turbolift with not more than a step between them. Once they’d moved through the corridor a few dozen steps, Vernon took the lead, and it wasn’t long before the pair were standing in front of the quarters designated for the Commanding Officer of the station, her name freshly emblazoned on the nameplate.

“Here we are, Commander,” Reid said with a renewed smile, “Unless you wanted to discuss anything else before you get settled in, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you, Mister Reid,” Mira said with an appreciative nod, “I believe I’ll unpack a few things and get some rest before starting the duty day tomorrow. I appreciate you guiding me to my quarters rather than to the Operations Center.”

“I had a feeling you might be exhausted from your journey. I’ll pass along word that you’ve arrived to the various divisions so they’re ready to come up to Station Ops if you want to meet them all in one place,” Vernon said as he continued to smile genially.

“Thank you again, Commander,” Novak nodded to the man as she reached to hit the entry command on the door frame.

“It’s my pleasure, ma’am,” Reid nodded and turned around to head further along the corridor they’d been walking down to reach Mira’s quarters.

Novak watched him stride off, her eyes narrowing just a little as she appraised the man a little more before finally committing to entering what would be her new home for the foreseeable future.