"There she is, Captain. The U.S.S. Hannibal." Lieutenant Fretza Kol shifted in his chair, trying to get a good view of the ship as occupant's small shuttle swung around Starbase 37's central pylon. Captain Gerald Thoth leaned forward in his chair next to Kol's, trying to get a decent view. He craned his neck, but could still only make out a part of the ship's stardrive section. "Don't worry, Captain. I can barely make it out either. I'll make a few passes, get a better view." He keyed a few commands into the console, and Thoth felt the shuttle start to ascend and roll out to port. The maneuver brought them awfully close to the ships starboard warp nacelle, but Thoth chose not to mention anything. He was too excited, since it wasn't everyday a captain took his first command.
"She is beautiful, isn't she?" He hadn't meant to ask the question aloud, but Kol responded anyways.
"Oh my, yes. She's the first of her class. Twenty-five decks, three class-7 warp nacelles, advanced bio-neural circuitry, five support vessels: three shuttles, an Argo-class land vehicle, and one captain's yacht. Defense systems include mark VIII phaser arrays, three torpedo launchers, two fore one aft, and nine tri-cobalt devices. She is named for the popular Earth opera, one still performed today I might add." Thoth stared at Kol.
"Well, it's nice to see that someone memorized his briefing manual," he said sardonically. Kol smiled and said, "I believe that a Starfleet pilot should be required to know everything about their ship and its functions, just so you know exactly what the ship under your feet is capable of in a tight spot." Thoth grinned. He knew already that Starfleet had given him a fine crew, and Kol's sentiment had just proved it.
"I'm glad to hear you say that, Kol. I've looked over everyone's file, and I can honestly say that we have the best crew in the fleet, second only to the Enterprise itself. It will be good to see them all interacting with each other." Kol agreed as he initiated docking maneuvers, and Thoth allowed himself one final look at the graceful hull of the ship, his ship. The internal lighting of the starbase glinted across the hull, and the light it gave off filled him with pride.
Here it is, Dad, he thought, It's all mine. I've finally done it. My first command. The shuttle came to a sudden stop, jerking him from his thoughts. With a final sigh of pride, for himself and for Starfleet, he stood and moved to the hatch.
To Be Continued…