Captain Oteng leaned back in his chair as he read the latest report filed by his First Officer. In it, she had detailed that the crew had started settling into the starship and that ship systems seemed to be working.

The Melbourne had spent the better part of a year in dry dock, being stripped to her deck plates, and essentially being rebuilt from the deck up. Her isolinear chips had been replaced with more modern bio-neural circuit gel packs, improving her overall computation power and systems performance. The bridge module had been replaced with a brand new layout, one more reminiscent of the Galaxy-class bridge. Her phasers had been replaced with more powerful ones, and new phaser arrays had been added to provide more complete coverage. All in all, the starship was, in Siobhan’s words, “leaner, meaner, and ready to fly the flag.”

As Fabien read, he began to think about his new command. The Melbourne was an untested ship, brand new in all but name. He thought about it for a moment, then turned to his console. He tapped a few commands, then nodded to himself. After a few minutes, a Commander in yellow ops division colors answer the hail.
“Good morning, Melbourne…I mean…Captain…what can I do for you?”
“Good morning Commander. I was wondering if Starbase Operations would terribly mind if I do a shakedown cruise with the Melbourne this morning. She’s a new ship with a new crew…I think it would be beneficial.”
“Ummm…yes. Yes, I believe that can be arranged…let me check something real quick….yep! We can do that. I’ll send someone over to make sure you can take command, and you can have a quick shakedown cruise before the official transfer of command in a few days.”
“Excellent. Melbourne out.” The screen goes back to the Federation seal.

Fabien taps his combadge. “Commander Pearse, report to my ready room.”
“Acknowledged, sir. On my way.”

After a few moments, a chime rings out.
“Come in.”
The doors open and Siobhan enters the ready room, standing at attention.
“Reporting as ordered, Captain.”
“At ease, Ms. Pearse. Come, have a seat.” He gestures to one of the seats in front of his desk.
She relaxes, then sits, crossing one leg over the other.
“What’s up, Captain?”
“How are the preparations coming along?”
“They’re proceeding on schedule. We should be operational in another 48 hours.”
“Alright. What would you think of a short shakedown cruise before we deploy? A short departure, testing systems, and then returning to Starbase?”
Siobhan’s eyebrow arches slightly. “You think we need to test the Melbourne’s systems?”
“Yes, I do. I’d rather know what she can do before we deploy and we find out the hard way that a system or two are failing.”
Siobhan nods. “Okay, let’s do it. I will alert the crew; did you alert Ops?”
“Yes. Commander Forzach gave me the go-ahead.”
“Alright then. Let me get the crew ready.”
“Thanks, Ms. Pearse. Let’s be ready to leave at 1030 hours. We should be back at Starbase 86 by 1800 Zulu.”
“Aye sir.”
Siobhan stands up and stand at attention.
“Dismissed.”
She nods and exits. Captain Oteng again taps on his console and again gets Commander Forzach.
“Starbase 86 Operations.”
“Commander, this is Captain Oteng. We would like permission to depart on a short cruise this morning at 1030 Zulu; returning today at 1800 Zulu.”
“Excellent; we can absolutely do that.”
“Melbourne out.” The screen again fades to the Federation seal.
Fabien taps on his combadge. “Captain to Pearse.”
“Go ahead, sir.”
“We’re a go for the shakedown cruise. Prep the ship.”
“Aye, sir.”

Within a few minutes, Fabien hears the bosun’s whistle.
“Now hear this: all personnel, prepare for Starbase departure. Shakedown cruise departure at 1030. All senior staff, meet in the observation lounge for initial briefing at 1000 hours. That is all.”

As the announcement plays, Fabien leaves his ready room and steps onto the bridge. An ensign, looking over the console settings, notices first.
“Captain on the bridge.”
The personnel on the bridge stop and come to full attention. Fabien smiles, then looks around. “As you were.” Activity resumes, and conversations continue. Siobhan stands up, walking up to Fabien.
“We’re going to be ready. Only the essential personnel are going to be onboard today for the shakedown cruise. I’m granting the rest shore leave.”
“That’s fine. Our meeting is in, what, a half-hour?”
Siobhan looks down at her watch. “Just about, sir.”
“Excellent. Continue the preparations. That being said, I’m going to wait for Starbase Operations to issue my command codes. Let me know when they’re here for that.”
“Aye, sir.” She gives him a short nod and smile.

Bridge – 0950 hours Zulu

Fabien comes back onto the Bridge, having gone for a short walk around the ship.  On the bridge are most of the senior officers:
– Lt. Belle Larkins, Tactical Officer
– Lt. Commander Lyman Vaughn, Chief Engineer
– Lt. Commander Genny Thibodeau, Chief of Operations
– Lt. Breanna Sprenger, Helm Officer
– Commander Siobhan Pearse, First Officer.

As he steps onto the bridge, Commander Forzach turns to see him. “Captain on the Bridge!” he calls out. Everyone stands at attention, except Lt. Sprenger, who can’t stand.
“At ease, ladies and gentlemen.” Fabien walks straight to Commander Forzach and shakes his hand.
“Commander, good to meet you in person.” Fabien smiles warmly.
“Likewise Captain. Welcome to your new command. I’ll have Lieutenant Commander Thibodeau do the formal transfer of command, and then you are free to depart at your discretion. After the shakedown cruise, I’ll be back to take your report and see if there is any further work to do.”
“Thank you Commander. Miss Thibodeau, I believe that’s your cue.”
Genny steps forward with the PAAD and looks at Fabien.
“By order of Starfleet Command, I hereby take command of this vessel. Please note the time and date in the ship’s log.”
“So noted, Captain.”
“Computer, transfer command to Captain Fabien Oteng, authorization Forzach-Gamma-7.”
“Command transfer accepted. USS Melbourne now under the command of Captain Fabien Oteng.”
“Captain, the Melbourne is all yours.”
“Thank you Commander. See you in a few hours.”
With that, Commander Forzach leaves the bridge. Captain Oteng taps on the tactical console, activating the ship’s intercom. The bosun’s whistle sounds.
“All hands, this is the Captain. Prepare for starbase departure in half-hour. That is all.” He closes the intercom, then gestures for the staff to head to the Observation Lounge.

As they all enter from the bridge, Captain Oteng notices that Doctor al-Salman is sitting there, reading a PAAD. As soon as he notices the Captain enter, he stands.
“Captain, I am…”
Fabien cuts him off. “It’s fine, Doctor. No worries at all. Please, everyone, have a seat.”
His staff all find seats, except for Lt. Sprenger, who just sits in her wheelchair and maneuvers to the empty space that has no chair (designed especially for her).
“Alright, everyone; thank you for coming. I’m Captain Fabien Oteng, former commanding officer of the  Los Angeles, now in command of the Melbourne. Some of you know me, others of you do not. I just wanted to introduce myself and brief you all on what we’re going to be doing.”
Everyone nods in understanding. Fabien continues.
“Before I explain the mission today, I would like everyone to introduce themselves. We’re going to be working very closely together and I think it would be important for all of us to get to know each other.”
Everyone nods in agreement and most smile as the look around the table. As the senior-most officer, Siobhan stood up first.
“I’m CMDR Siobhan Pearse, First Officer.”
One by one, the senior staff introduces themselves. After, Fabien stands.
“Today, we’re going to do a shakedown cruise, just test weapons and other ship systems. We should be gone no more than a few hours from Starbase. Does that make sense to everyone?”
A chorus of yeses emanates from the gathered group. Fabien nods, then looks at LTCMDR Vaughn.
“Mr. Vaughn, I’d like you to supervise the tests and monitor everything from Engineering. Any problems, just let me know.”
“Aye, Captain. My team and I will be ready for sure.”
“Excellent. Any questions?”
Everyone shakes their heads.
“Good. Let’s be ready to go in about an hour. Dismissed.”

Everyone gets up and files out of the conference room, though Siobhan stays seated at the conference table.
“What’s up, Siobhan?” Fabien asks, waiting for the last officer to leave before sitting on the table beside her.
“Just pensive, Captain…er…I mean Fabien.”
“Pensive about what, Siobhan?”
She takes a moment before responding.
“I think just reflecting on our journey to this point. I’ve served under you for years now, I never thought you’d call me to replace Brooke when she got promoted to the chair. Or that you’d ask me to select the crew and get us all ready to patrol.”
Fabien nods with a wise smile. “You’re a solid officer, Siobhan. You’ve served with distinction and honor and you’ve gotten us out of some sticky situations. If there’s anyone here that I trust to serve as my ‘Number One,’ it’s you.”
Siobhan blushes at the compliment. It’s high praise, coming from the Captain.
“Now, Number One, let’s ‘kick this pig’ and get ourselves underway.”
“Aye, sir.” She smiles, then stands at attention, turns on her heel, and departs the conference room.

Fabien takes a moment to look around his conference room, then leaves for the bridge.