Stardate: 49007
Captain Joshua Travis glanced about the bridge of his new ship, the U.S.S. Constitution, with undisguised satisfaction. A twenty-two year Starfleet veteran, Travis was an experienced captain and the man who had been chosen to command the Constitution now that it was a ship of the line, and not an experimental test bed.
A lanky man of medium height, with dark salt-and-pepper hair (lately, there seemed to be a lot more salt than pepper), Travis was the kind of man Starfleet officers sought out to serve under. Intelligent, bold, and with a near-perfect service record, he had acquired an excellent reputation in Starfleet. A planetary geologist by training, he was one of a rare breed of officers from Starfleet's sciences branch who went on to serve as a commanding officer on a large starship. He had also served in the Cardassian war some years earlier, and the combination of solider and scientist made him the perfect choice to command a controversial ship like Constitution. Starfleet's search for a commanding officer, in fact, had been extensive. Many within the Federation Council had insisted that whoever was selected as her captain could not be a "cowboy". Travis fit the bill perfectly.
For the last week he had spent his time getting settled in and familiar with the ship. His crew had slowly arrived, coming as they were from different parts of the Federation. He had chosen them all very carefully, and while he had not got his first choice in a couple of instances, he was more than happy with the crew he had ended up with. They were a good mix of skills, experiences and temperaments. Or so Travis hoped. He had not served with any of them before, which was a bit unusual but becoming more common in the Starfleet of today. With the fleet being greatly expanded, more officers were required, and experienced officers were in great demand. The only solution for Starfleet was to spread out its experienced officer core on to as many ships as possible. This meant that a lot of crews these days were meeting each other for the first time.
The voice of his new Operations officer, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Navat snapped Josh into the here and now. "Captain, we're being hailed by Admiral Quinn."
Josh nodded. Quinn was the resident admiral of Starbase 313, which Constitution was currently in orbit around. 313 was a massive facility, meant both as a linchpin of Starfleet's defenses in this sector, and also as a major starship construction facility for Project Resurrection. Constitution had been based here during her shakedown cruise.
"On screen," he ordered.
Navat, a J'Naii, nodded and taped his console. The image of Admiral Sarah Quinn appeared on the screen. Though well into middle age, she gave the appearance of youthful vigor. "Good afternoon, Captain Travis. How are things going? Has your crew made it aboard yet?"
Josh knew that this was just small talk, that the Admiral likely knew very well where his crew as. "Yes, Admiral. Everybody's on board. In fact, all the checks have been done. We're ready to go any time you give the order."
Quinn nodded. "Good. You're going to be departing right away. We've had a situation come up that is of the utmost urgency. Have your ship ready to leave in 4 hours."
Josh raised an eyebrow. The pace of work for the past week had not been rushed, one might have even called it relaxed. Now, suddenly, Starfleet was in a big hurry. What was going on?
There was only one way to find out. "Can I ask what's happened, Admiral?"
The Admiral sucked in her breath, thinking over Josh's request for a brief instant. Finally, exhaling, she said, "Yes. The Klingons have invaded Cardassia."