Song had rushed to get her ship ready in record time. She had debriefed her crew about the new situation and have said farewell to those who forcibly would stay behind. She disliked parting without them, but she did not have a choice. Still, the Numancia was a sturdy ship whose design did not leave much room for non-essential personnel; everyone was needed for a good performance. Every time she had taken a name off her list, she knew she was taking a risk; some people could not seem strictly necessary for a flight, but would be seriously missed if an emergency arose. That, however, was something that Admiral Saavik also knew very well, and she had given her the order. Saavik was known for her privacy, but not her secrecy, and Song wondered what kind of mission was really in front of them.
She waited along with all her command staff for the admiral to come aboard. Now looking as sharp as ever, she could not deny she was excited. Whatever the mission was, it was welcome. More over, she felt very proud that the admiral had chosen her and her ship to carry out a task that obviously was not routine. It means that she values my work, doesn't it?
"Now, it's going to be hard to leave that command seat of yours, isn't it, Lifang?" The one poking fun at her was Lieutenant Mahmoud Mustafa Houity, her chief engineer, a towering man who grinned at her with his usual charm. They have served together since the Dominion war started and they were good friends.
Yes, even if she had to relinquish her captaincy to her, she was still very proud. It would be a high honor to take orders directly from her; one she cherished the most for the unexpected of it. Anyway, it was true that since she had unexpectedly been given command two years ago, probably due to their shorting numbers, she had soon gotten used to be the one running her ship, and not having any other higher ranking officer always over her. And much less such a higher ranking officer.
Her first officer, a Tellarite with a taciturn demeanor, could not help but giggle at the comment. She inwardly smiled too. Even in the worse of times, when her driven nature made her stress herself too much, Mahmoud had always had a good joke to share and make her relax. A bit. He had the same effect in the otherwise somber Lieutenant Commander Gaallash, who joined the jest by saying, "Yes, captain, manning the helm isn't the same as having the conn, I'm sure you know that."
"Would you prefer if I take over Tactical One?" Song replied as she hardly curled up her lips in a feigned threat. "I'm respecting your post, but I'd gladly take your place. I miss my old station sometimes."
"Ha! No, you don't!" That was the engineer again, of course.
As the other officers quietly laughed, Song started to reply, but the signal of the admiral entering halted her. Instead, all of them stiffed their laughter and snapped at attention.
Admiral Saavik went in a moment later, and immediately her magnetic presence commanded the room.
"Welcome aboard the Numancia, Admiral," Song greeted as she tried to control her nerves.
Saavik swept her cool gaze over all the assembled crew, and so did the vivid eyes of her aide, who remained almost unnoticed by her side.
"Thank you, Commander Song," came her calm reassured response. "Now take this ship off the dock; we have a mission to accomplish."
"Yes, ma'am."
Saavik was already purposely walking forward, leaving them behind. The Numancia's officers broke the formation to quickly follow her. Saavik and Ba'el took with them only a small suitcase each, which was less than what Song had carried with her for her short visit to the starbase, she thought in chagrin. The admiral led the way and took them directly to the bridge, dismissing the suggestion of visiting their arranged quarters first. All business, she and her aide just left aside their luggage to take their posts. So Song found herself in front of the almost alien helm console, navigating the ship towards the Romulan fleet and their flag ship, the Rhian'Unnr. And even if she had expected to feel somewhat uncomfortable at having the admiral on her command chair, she found that actually, her presence only calmed, reassured her.