"Captain, we have cleared the perimeter of Starbase 629 and are coming up on Repair Station 23," reported the young pilot to the shuttles only other occupant.
The officer sitting in the co-pilots seat continued reading the padd in his hands before realising that the pilot was speaking to him. Looking up, the officer nodded, "Oh of course. Carry on," he remarked before pulling down the front of his black service jacket as it had ridden up since the small craft dropped out of warp.
'Captain. It has only been two weeks. That is still going to take some getting used to.' Talloc Hagen thought as he returned the padd to its case sitting on the seat behind him. He had read 'the Not so Silent War' a dozen times, and knew the story verbatim. It was the first book his sister Iliana had published; now she was a reporter with the Federation News Service. 'She was off Betazed when it fell, she's safe.'
As he reminisced on the good fortune of his family, and the disaster that befell his native Betazed, the front viewscreen of the shuttle began to show the skeletal superstructure that was Repair Station 23. Cradled under the care of articulated repair arms and Worker Bees was the carbon-scored hull of an Akira-class starship, one of the few survivors of the Federations latest battle against the Dominion. Large sections of the ships primary hull were missing, showing the latticework of girders and compartments open to vacuum underneath as EVA suited engineers worked to repair the damage. "Shuttle Tico to Orbital Control, we are making our final approach, VIP is aboard, ETA five minutes." The pilot reported as the shuttle passed over the saucer section. Amid the battle scars an automated sprayer repainted the ships name: USS Olympia.
"Confirmed Tico, Commander Jackson is enroute and will meet Captain Hagen in the hangar. Orbital Control, out,"
"Captain, care for an inspection tour?" the pilot asked, hands dancing over the crafts control surfaces.
Talloc shook his head, "There will be plenty of time for that, and I don't want to keep the crew waiting any longer than I already have. This won't be easy for them as it is." The pilot nodded before manoeuvring the small craft between the twin booms leading out to the cruisers catamaran-style warp nacelles. Slowing, the pilot brought the shuttle onto the Olympia's central flight deck.
Talloc stood, picking up his paddcase and thanked the pilot as they shut down the shuttle's engines and lowered the rear access ramp. The Betazoid officer squeezed himself past the supply pallets that sat in stacks waiting to be unloaded, before stopping at the lip of the ramp. Taking a breath, Talloc closed his eyes and let his mind wander. He could detect an overriding sense of exhaustion and perseverance coming off the ship like a haze, with a slight undercurrent of anger he attributed to the ships current damaged status. Opening his eyes, he stepped off the ramp and onto the deck.
As Talloc stood at the foot of the ramp he took in the scene around him; a team of engineers rushed past him with anti-gravity carts to unload the shuttle while work crews overhauled two of the ships four Mustang-class Runabouts. Moving to get out of the way of the engineers, Talloc suddenly felt self-conscious, standing in a freshly replicated duty uniform, seeing the crumpled, torn and incomplete uniforms of the engineers that pieced the ship back together. Jacket sleeves where rolled to the elbow, grime and sweat was a standard skin colouring. 'I feel like such a sham,' he thought as the doors to the entrance of the expansive shuttlebay opened revealing a woman with mangled sandy-brown hair and her service tunic open, showing a bar of maroon skivvy underneath. She was leading a pair of men in mustard coloured skivvies, a Bajoran and a Vulcan, both men towered over her. Talloc noticed that most of the anger he felt coming from the crew seemed to come from this one woman.
The two groups met halfway across the deck before coming to a stop. "Captain Hagen?" the woman asked, when Talloc nodded she held out her hand towards him, "I am Commander Hope Jackson, executive officer," looking around the flight deck, she noticed the new captain's uncomfortable posture before noticing the captains attire, "You will have to excuse the mess, sir, I don't think any of the crew has slept since we've returned to port."
Talloc nodded solemnly, he could see the grime and ash that coated the commander's face, and noticed how it failed to hide the exhaustion. "I commend the crew for their duty, especially in this trying time, but we can't have the crew passing out from exhaustion, especially her executive officer."
Hope nodded slightly in acquiescence, before holding her arms out from her sides and made a half circle, "This is the Olympia, she isn't much to look at the moment, but she's gone to hell and back already."
Talloc nodded once more, "And no doubt she'll be called upon to do it again."
Commander Jackson nodded, "She'll be ready." While she was pleasant, it was obvious that she wasn't happy with the circumstances. Taking a step towards the Captain she turned to face the two senior officers, pointing to each in turn, "Lieutenant Commander Kala, Operations Chief. Lieutenant Xonak, Security Chief."
Talloc nodded in greeting to the two officers before turning to the commander, "Shall we?"
Hope sighed before gesturing towards the interior of the ship, "After you, sir, the rest of the senior staff have assembled on the bridge."
Talloc stepped out of the turbolift onto the sparsely appointed bridge. Dull gunmetal panelling covered every surface and rigid metal chairs sat at each station. The echo of his footsteps as he walked over the bare metal deckplates reminded the Captain that this ship had been built during wartime. The normal warmth that was built into ships of the fleet had been replaced by mere utility. The Olympia's senior staff moved to the front of the bridge, leaving the Betazoid captain standing in the expanse behind the wooden handrail that housed the tactical console, as it sloped down to the raised command dais in the centre.
He stood there for several minutes, taking in the sight of the command centre around him, before Hope cleared her throat, capturing his attention. Crossing the bridge, Talloc joined her at the base of the command dais. Hope signed off on a report a junior officer handed her before looking over to the officer manning the communications console, "Open the channel to the crew," she ordered while looking back at the captain.
From his position, Talloc couldn't make out the wording on the PADD, but the emotions coming from the Commander told him everything he needed to know. Hope stood at attention, the bridge crew around her did likewise.
"Attention to Orders. From Starfleet Headquarters; Office of the Admiralty, to Captain Talloc Hagen. As of this date you are requested and required to take command of USS Olympia. Signed Vice Admiral William J Ross, stardate 52861.5, authorisation given by Commander Hope C Jackson. Computer, transfer all command codes to Captain Hagen." Hope read directly from the PADD, her inflection neutral.
The female voice of the ships main computer replied instantly. "Command codes transferred."
Hope held out the PADD to the captain. Talloc noticed that the small metallic device felt heavier than the ones he had previously used. Looking back at the commander he nodded, "I relieve you, Commander."
She let out a defeated breath, before gesturing towards the command chair. "I stand relieved."
Talloc approached the raised command chair and placed a hand on it before standing straight, addressing the still open channel, "I know Captain Wallace was a good officer and I have big shoes to fill, but I will endeavour to do proper honour to his memory. Keep up the excellent work, Bridge out."
The captain stood near the command chair as the hum of shipboard activity resumed before turning to the grouped senior officers, "I would like a rundown of the ships status in the briefing room, now if possible."
The five grouped officers nodded before as a unit they moved to the rear of the bridge, Talloc lingered slightly before joining them.
The senior staff were already seated by the time Talloc entered the briefing room, pausing for a moment to compose himself, he crossed the expanse between the door and the chair at the head of the long metal briefing table and sat down. He noticed how hard and uncomfortable this chair was. Looking over the collection of officers, the three men and two women, how they all wore the same exhausted and crumpled expressions. He acknowledged them each in turn before taking a breath, "So, what is our status?"
The human officer seated next to Lieutenant Xonak, and like the Vulcan, he wore a mustard skivvy, spoke up, "Nathan DeSora, Chief Engineer. There isn't a lot to tell you, sir. Thanks to supply issues and the station's repair backlog, our own repairs are going slowly, but they are progressing. We are currently on station power as the warp core is out of calibration and required repairs. Unfortunately that also means we aren't going anywhere for at least a week until I can get on top of it."
Talloc nodded, "I noticed the Repair Yard has its hands full, but I would like you to focus on getting that warpdrive back online. We don't know when the Fleet will want us back in the fight."
Nathan nodded, "Understood, sir, I'll get on that right away."
Talloc looked over the other members of the command staff before continuing, "How has the crew been fairing since the battle?"
The woman seated next to Hope, wearing medical teal leant forward, "Doctor Sarratt, Captain," she moved her wavy copper fringe out of her eyes. "Aside from Captain Wallace, we lost eighteen other members of the crew, with another thirty injured. All of whom are recuperating in their quarters."
Lieutenant Kala looked up from the PADD in his hands, as if answering the captain's next question. "At the moment, Captain, there is no word from the Fleet Resource Centre of when we are to be assigned new officers."
The captain frowned, "They will come, but with the momentum the fleet is having I'm not sure when that will be."
Hope shook her head but said nothing, the movement caught Talloc's attention, "Problem, Commander?"
The commander sat upright, startled by the captain's comment, "Nothing, sir."
Talloc raised an eyebrow slightly before looking to the other members of the senior staff, "I know this change at the top will cause some getting used to, but I hope it can be as painless as possible." He pushed back his chair, "I'll let you get back to work, dismissed. Commander, you have the watch, I will be in my quarters if I'm needed."
"Understood, sir," Hope replied as the senior staff stepped away from the table, returning to their stations as Talloc headed away from the bridge.