A week ago. Starbase Bravo Hangar 2

“Hey Lt. Sky! A message just came in for you from Starfleet Command” Ensign Ricky appeared to be thriving after transferring to the communications department.  He really wasn't suited to the more mundane work of piloting. 

“Sorry, a communication for me?” Sky wasn't expecting this, he hadn't messed up badly enough to be reprimanded by command had he?  After the incident with the Klingon, he'd hoped to live quietly for the next while.

“Might as well get it over with,” he resigned himself for a lecture, then activated the padd's message.

“Lieutenant Junior Grade Sky Athenos, you are hereby transferred to the USS Marduk.  Your position will be the Captain of the vessel.  We've heard good things about you from your superiors.  Do us proud.”

Short, sweet, and to the point.  Most of all, this message was completely unexpected.  Who ever heard of a Junior Grade Lieutenant being given a command?

“Congratulations Captain” Ensign Ricky seemed relieved.  Truthfully, everyone expected a reprimand so they were quite happy to see Sky getting recognized for his efforts.

“Guess I have to go pack.  The supplementary information says my transport should arrive tomorrow.” Now he had to think, what was he going to do with a full starship under his command rather than just a shuttle or a runabout?

Today, Earth Space Dock - External Facility 13-A

The Shuttlepod flew gracefully away from Spacedock proper, and slowly reached the external fleetyards.

“There she is, the USS Marduk.  NCC 76202.  Average Crew: 6, Single Phaser Array, Phoemix Class.  They've been around a while, but the Marduk is brand new. ”  

The Ensign piloting the shuttlepod was quite excitable.  It's not like she was the Enterprise, but there is something special about a ship thats yours, not someone else's legacy that gets you excited.

Today, USS Marduk: Bridge

Desiree Rios had a lot to think about.  Fresh out of the academy, no prior assignments to her name, and she's already the XO of a ship?  Talk about pressure.

The Crew compliment wasn't helping her either, as it consisted of fellow classmate Antylion Cruger, and the security officer, whose name she can't remember at the moment.  Everyone else aboard would be above her in rank. In fact, according to the manifest, neither the Captain nor the Doctor are aboard yet.

Sitting on the bridge, figuring out her station, she was surprised to receive a communication.

"USS Marduk, this is shuttlepod 1693 requesting permission to dock."

“Shuttlepod 1693. Permission granted.  Welcome aboard the Marduk.”

Time to see this captain of hers.

Cruger was in the engineering bay of the ship, getting familiar with her engines, as he felt personally responsible for how she'll handle in the upcoming missions.  He was surprised to be assigned as chief engineer of a ship when he graduated from the academy, but he also realized quite quickly that he's the engineer because he got the recommendation of his professor, and because Phoenix class ships were considered easy to maintain, relatively speaking.

He was even more surprised when the class valedictorian, Desiree Rios ended up on the same ship as him, and already in the command track to boot.  Looks like this assignment might be even more interesting than it was already shaping up to be.

Cooper was in his bunk, stashing away his things.  He was actually quite happy with this assignment.  Not everyday a Midshipman gets the crew quarters on par with the XO.  Though that's partially forced in this situation, where all the quarters are the same with the only exception being the captain's room including a small ready room.

Unlike the two Ensigns, Cooper had been in Starfleet for a while.  Long enough to serve aboard the now-defunct Miranda Class of starships during their prime.  Though back then he was just Crewman Cooper.  He considered it quite the honor to see a class of ship finally reach the end of her career.

He checked the time, the Captain wasn't due till the afternoon, so he was going to take a quick nap until just before the Captain's arrival time.

Doctor Harper was glad to rid of her old assignment.  Why the USS Tripoli had two doctors for the crew of less than 50, she didn't know.  However, she was glad that the USS Marduk, her new assignment, wouldn't possibly have that problem.  Sure requesting a transfer away from the Tripoli had probably hurt her chances at a larger ship like the Sovreign Class, but the situation had become quite untenable.

The Tripoli was to drop her off at Deep Space 9, where she would await the arrival of the Marduk for their first mission into the badlands.