The Admiral's Arrival

Posted on Thu Dec 12th, 2024 @ 10:22am by Captain Rovak & Commander Alex Flynn & Lieutenant Rune Thul & Doctor Intharia T'Zor & SubCommander Saa & Lieutenant Commander Atna & Senior Chief Petty Officer Gaz & Vice Admiral Lucas Gali & Lieutenant JG Vijay Singh & Ensign Abra Akzhouri
Edited on on Thu Dec 12th, 2024 @ 10:51am

1,435 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Masters of the Stars [2]
Location: Shuttlebay One - DS13
Timeline: 0905 - MD01

Two weeks after the Excalibur had been found beneath the twenty-fifth moon of Dreizhen V, the USS Challenger arrived at Deep Space 13 with more than a thousand new crew to man the massive, mostly-empty station. Admiral Gali of the Challenger made waves the moment he stepped aboard, he ordered all the station’s crew to shuttlebay one. His own crew and the new transfer staff joined them.

Rovak and the rest of his senior staff stood in the front row, the Admiral stood in front of assembled crowd and the forcefield that separated them all from open space. There was also a solid bulkhead door with holographic panels that gave the illusion of the outside as well, but one quickly forgot that to look at it.

Gali had been conferring with a trio of his officers in front of the assembled crew for a few minutes. Finally, he moved away from them, and tapped his combadge, tuning himself into the shuttlebay’s audio system.

“Ladies, gentlemen and miscellaneous, I am Vice Admiral Lucas Gali of the USS Challenger. Starfleet has sent me here to drop off a thousand new crew members and to appraise the mission being conducted here. Things are going to be different from now on. Commander Rovak, step forward.”

Rovak did so.

Gali approached the Vulcan, but still remained distant enough to address the entire audience. He had a voice well suited to shouting. “Starfleet is no longer comfortable with a mere Commander overseeing an anomaly as potentially dangerous as this. That’s why Commander Rovak will no longer be CO of this station.” Gali said, and one of the officers who was with him approached with a small box.

“From this moment forward, by order of the C-in-C this station will be under the command of Captain Rovak, with all the privileges and obligations thereof bestowed on him. Congratulations.” Gali said, leading a round of applause.

Rovak registered something like surprise for the briefest moment as Gali’s aide pinned another pip to his collar. The Admiral shook his hand, and he returned to the line. A curious development.

“Lieutenant Commander Alexandra Flynn, please step forward.” Gali said, his voice filling the room.

Alex stepped forward. It was weird being called Alexandra by someone she didn't know.

“Alexandra Flynn, you have served with distinction since your arrival aboard, and your leadership and tactical acumen brought down a threat that could have imperilled the entire quadrant. For this and all your other services to Starfleet, I promote you to the rank of Commander, with all the privileges and obligations thereof.” Gali said, and one of his people took the black pip from her collar and replaced it with a gold one. The Admiral offered Flynn his hand.

"Thank you, sir." Alex said simply. Commander. It was unexpected, and a lot to take in.

“Lieutenant Atna, please step forward.” Gali said once Flynn was back in her position.

Atna took three steps forward, enough she predicted to make her visible to most present, if not all.

“For your contributions to science, your work in cataloguing the Dreizhen anomaly and your successes as a leader in your assignment here, I promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, with all the privileges and obligations thereof.” Another pip was placed on her collar. Gali made a Vulcan salute.

Atna returned the Vulcan salute and said nothing, step back into line next to Intharia.

“Lieutenant Rune Thul of the Seventh House, please step forward.” Admiral Gali instructed.

Rune approached the Admiral and stood at attention.

“For your grace under fire, and injuries sustained in the line of duty, I award you the Starfleet Purple Heart. It represents sacrifice and heroism in the greatest Starfleet tradition. You do the house of courage proud.” Gali said, before leading the applause. One Gali’s officers pinned the award next to Rune’s combadge. Gali offered the security chief his hand.

"Thank you, Admiral," Rune replied and stepped back to his original position. He wondered what his parents would say about this, though he slowly turned to see Vestar giving him a glare. He knew exactly why, and the two had a massive argument about it when he had come home. Furthermore, he gave a guilty smile before turning back to watch the rest of the event.

“Doctor Intharia T’Zor, please step forward.” Gali called out, to the great surprise of all who knew the name.

Thari was taken by surprise, and looked to Atna as though for reinforcement, before realising that stepping ahead was the only correct course of action.

“You arrived on this station in most unusual circumstances. Since that time you have shown exemplary commitment to Starfleet’s mission and the crew of this station. It is my honour to award you with the Starfleet Civilian Citation of Merit. Gali once more shook her hand.

Thari stood there in slight shock as they attached the award to the chest of the blue uniform she'd worn for the last few weeks. She felt a deep sense of satisfaction she was not expecting to be acknowledged in this way.

“Now, I encourage you all to take this opportunity to get to know one another.” Gali said, tapping his badge again. "Captain, please assemble your senior staff and join me in the conference room." Gali said, pacing suddenly towards the exit.

Alex tugged at Rovak's sleeve gently. "Is that Gaz over there?" She asked him once she got a better look at the Tellarite in the crowd of crew brought from the Challenger. She knew he was assigned, but not that he'd be here so soon.

Rovak took a step closer and narrowed his gaze. "I believe it is."

Gaz felt like he could see people he knew looking at him, so he crossed the wide space to greet them. Admiral Gali had departed, obviously moving to more important business, but Gaz wasn't the kind to ignore those he knew. "Captain. Commander. Congratulations." He told Rovak and Flynn once he'd reached them.

Rune approached his command team. "Congratulations Captain, Commander." He offered his hand to both in turn.

"Cheers." Alex said to both, smiling for a moment.

"Thank you both. And congratulations on your own award, Lieutenant." Rovak said, shaking Thul's hand. "It is agreeable to see you again Chief. This is Lieutenant Thul, our security chief. Chief Gaz served with us in a number of capacities on Starbase 51 and the USS Mercury."

"Welcome aboard," Rune greeted the Chief.

"Thanks." Gaz said, looking up to the much taller man. To be fair they were all much taller than him. He didn't think there were many people in the room he was taller than, except maybe the dolphin he'd seen, if she was flat on the ground.

Atna and Intharia reached the other assembled senior staff later, having stopped for several conversations with others in the the nebulous crowd along the way.

"Hey, blue team." Alex said casually to the pair. They'd been practically inseparable over the last fortnight.

"Chief. An unexpected surprise." Atna said to Gaz. They had spent many hours together on the USS Mercury watching the sports chosen by the bartender Freddie. The Chief would explain the rules, Atna would predict the most logical path to victory, and then express surprise as they failed to follow her suggestions.

"Aren't they all. Good to see you, and well done on the promotion. Well-deserved." Gaz told Atna.

"I believe the Admiral wishes to speak with us in the conference room. Please find your fellow senior staff members and notify them." Rovak said, looking around for Ayol. "Feel free to take a moment to speak to anyone you feel you should before joining us." Rovak told them.

Atna looked around the room and moved amid the bodies until she caught sight of a pair of senior staff, who she waved over effectively.

Rovak found SubCommander Saa and Lieutenant Singh in conversation with a familiar engineer from the Challenger whose presence caught him off guard. He exchanged a polite greeting before informing his two Engineers of the development.

With Atna gathering Pfeiffer and Akhzouri, and Flynn finding the rest, almost all the senior staff were now on board with the Admiral's sudden new plan for an impromptu conference, with the exception of T'Vath who was currently commanding the CIC. They took a small while to keep up appearances with the new and old faces, before Rovak and Flynn corralled the department heads and Dr T'Zor to the meeting with the Admiral, all of whose senior staff seemed to have disappeared already.

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