2.

Talloc stood in front of the closed doors of the space allocated as the Captain's Quarters. Taking a breath, Talloc activated the door controls and stepped inside. The expansive space was quiet and empty. Work lights from the repair cradle outside the large window panels illuminated the room, casting harsh shadows on the furniture, giving the room a foreboding appearance. The Betazoid swallowed hard as he looked around the main living area, noticing his standard issue footlocker sitting on the desk.
"Computer lights full, decrease external illumination by 80%," he commanded before unclasping the front of his service jacket. As the windows polarised, and the light returned to a more comfortable level, the captain approached his footlocker and opened it.

As he sifted through the meagre trappings of a career Starfleet officer, and decided what went were, the door-chime sounded. Placing a case containing isolinear data-chips next to the footlocker before turning towards the door, the mental exhaustion he felt on the opposite side was almost draining, "Enter," he stated before turning back to the footlocker, removing other trinkets.

A tall statuesque woman with long black hair entered the captain's quarters. Like the rest of the crew, her uniform was grime encrusted, but Talloc could easily see the teal skivvy peeking over the top of her dishevelled jumpsuit.
"Captain, I'm Doctor Cassidy Taylor, ships counsellor. I was in the neighbourhood and I wanted to introduce myself," she remarked, extending her hand to him. While she smiled pleasantly, it was clear by the sunken state her eyes appeared that sleep was not a recent occurrence.

Talloc nodded before crossing his quarters to shake her hand, "Counsellor, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. No doubt you are doing an excellent job here," he remarked before turning towards the seating area sitting under the large windows. "Please take a seat, can I get you anything?"
Cassidy nodded before crossing the living area and taking a seat, "Takarian tea, please."

Approaching the wall mounted replicator Talloc repeated the counsellor's beverage request before requesting a cup of coffee for himself. As the two beverages materialised on the platform, he looked back at the woman who appeared barely able to stay awake, noticing the three gold pips on her skivvy, "I have not encountered a lot of counsellors in the fleet holding a Commanders billet," he remarked before handing her, her beverage.

Cassidy held the glass container in both hands, staring intently at its contents. It took her a moment to register the question. "That is because not many members of the Counselling Corps are tenured psychiatry professors at the Takeris Institute."

Talloc raised an eyebrow as Cassidy took a long sip of her tea before sitting next to her, "How did Starfleet draw you away from that position?"
The counsellor smiled weakly, as the tea started to take effect. "I answered the call. When Starfleet came to the institute inquiring about utilising our students in managing the psychological crisis, I realised that I would serve a greater role if I was at the front of the issue, not at the back."

Nodding, Talloc took a sip of his own beverage, "That is a noble sentiment, Commander, you honour us by being here," he replied as Cassidy waved off his compliment with her glass. The two sat in silence for a moment before he asked. "How is the crew?"
"Tired," she laughed hollowly, before taking another sip. "But then, who isn't these days," she looked over to Talloc, "The crew will be ready when the ship is called up, but at the moment the death of Captain Wallace has taken the wind out of the crew's sails."
Nodding, Talloc took a sip of coffee before looking out of the window behind him as a Worker Bee moved passed carrying a piece of hull plating, "I can understand that, for what I've read, he was quite popular." He took another sip, "Counsellor, what can you tell me about the executive officer."

Sitting back on the sofa, Cassidy enjoyed the aroma of the beverage, "Speaking frankly, Captain. Commander Jackson is a good officer, she comes well recommended. She can be a little cold, but when it comes to the pinch, she knows what to do to get the job done."
Talloc smiled, "That is the impression I got from her, she also doesn't seem to like sitting around," he remarked before downing the remains of his drink. Cassidy laughed in agreement.

"Commander Taylor, please report to sickbay," emanated from Cassidy's combadge.

Rolling her eyes, Cassidy stood before tapping the silver delta on her jumpsuit, "I'm on my way, Taylor out." She turned back to Talloc, "Thank you for the tea, Captain, but duty calls," she remarked before turning to leave. Talloc stood, and collected the counsellor's glass and returned it to the replicator, "Keep up the good work Counsellor, this crew needs you more than it needs me right now."
Cassidy shook her head as she crossed the living area to the door, "The crew will warm to you, captain; just give them time." Standing in the corridor she turned back to look at Talloc, "If you need to, I keep regular hours in my office, but I should be able to squeeze you in."
"I will keep that in mind, Counsellor, and thank you," Talloc remarked.
"I wouldn't thank me yet, you haven't seen my bill," she replied while laughing as the doors closed.

Hope sat apathetically in the command chair as technicians from the nearby Starbase 629 continued their repairs on the ship, inwardly she was fuming. While technically the ship did not need to have a watch while undergoing repairs, the appointment of a new commanding officer left her rattled, and of late the only place she could centre herself was on the bridge.

"A new captain, can you believe it," she muttered under her breath. Around her engineers kept out of her way, repairing components and damage from the ships last encounter with the Dominion.

One of the few Olympia officers on the bridge was Xonak at tactical. The tall, tanned Vulcan was reviewing tactical scenarios from the Tethys System raid, formulating new strategies the Akira-Class cruiser could implement against the Dominion.
Hope looked behind her at the rail comprising of the tactical consoles, "Xonak. What do you know of our new captain?"

The Vulcan looked up from his console, his normal stoicism appearing unaffected by the ships current state. "Captain Hagen's service record is a matter of public record, Commander. Prior to his appointment to Starfleet Tactical Operations he served as the Chief of Security aboard the USS Charleston under Captain Norfolk where he was noted to have an 'exceptional tactical mind'. He was assigned to Tactical Operations at the beginning of the war, where he worked to formulate strategy and fleet movements. He joined Admiral Ross' staff prior to the recapture of Deep Space Nine and was part of the team that planned that operation and the attack on Chin'Toka. He was promoted to captain two weeks ago on Stardate 52832.1."

Hope laughed hollowly, "He was promoted on Halloween, this is going to end well," she remarked sarcastically.
Xonak raised an eyebrow, an expression Hope had long realised was the equivalent of a confused look. "Commander, I do not see the connection between a Betazoid officer receiving a commission and an archaic Earth pseudo-holiday." He asked while waiting for the results of his scenarios.
Holly laughed again before dismissing the comment, "Never mind, Xonak. Now how are those scenarios going?"

The Vulcan nodded, "They are progressing as expected, Commander, but it will be two days until I will have something presentable to report on."
A faint beeping from the communications console brought the two officers attention to the far, right hand side of the bridge and the tall Efrosian manning it. He turned towards the centre of the bridge, while removing the communication earpiece.

"Commander, there is a transmission from the 17th Fleet Flagship for the Captain," Lieutenant Fel Ra-haresilo, reported, "Shall I patch it through to the Captain?"
Hope raised a hand slightly to pause the communications officer, before tapping the intercom panel in the command chair, "Bridge to Captain Hagen, you have the 17th Fleet Flagship on comms, shall we patch it down to you?"
There was a brief pause before Talloc answered, "Yes, Commander, I'll take it down here." Hope nodded towards Fel Ra-haresilo.
"Connecting you now, Captain," Fel Ra-haresilo reported before Talloc closed the channel.

Talloc activated the desktop monitor as he sat at the bare metal desk. Unlike the built-in terminals he used at Tactical Operations, this was an older desktop model. The display screen showed the Federation seal before changing to show an older officer wearing the two pip and bar insignia of a Starfleet Rear Admiral.
"Admiral Mayhew, this is a surprise, what can I do for you?" Talloc asked noticing the timestamp on the Admiral's end, and noticed that it was in the middle of the night.

Rear Admiral Chester Mayhew nodded curtly, "Captain Hagen, firstly, congratulations on the promotion, but more importantly, now that you have assumed command it is time you were brought up to speed. The Olympia participated in the Tethys raid under the banner of the 194th Combat Group. As of this morning, the remains of the 194th have been absorbed into the 17th Fleet." Admiral Mayhew folded his hands on the desk in front of him, Talloc sat upright in the stiff metal chair. "Understood sir."

Admiral Mayhew reclined his chair before reaching for a long glass cylinder of tea and poured some of its contents into a ceramic cup bearing the signage of the USS Lockhart. "Because of this, the Olympia is to make ready to depart Starbase 629 to rendezvous with the 17th Fleet at Deep Space Nine in four days."

Talloc didn't need to make use of his telepathic abilities, the Admiral's expression told him all he needed to know, noticing the unsecured status of the transmission; Talloc raised his chin slightly. "So, its happening isn't it." Mayhew nodded, "Understood Admiral, the Olympia will be ready."
The admiral took a sip, "Make sure it is, Mayhew out."

Only as the screen returned to the seal of the Federation, did Talloc finally relax. He pressed his combadge, "Hagen to the Senior Staff, there will be a briefing at 0830, out." Leaning forward, he rested his head in his hands, taking a deep breath. 'They're going after Cardassia.'