A New Command
Posted on 09/10/2022 @ 4:19pm by Rear Admiral Thomas Rice
Edited on on 09/10/2022 @ 5:13pm
942 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Mini Mission: When The Cat's Away
Location: Various
Timeline: MD 5 0845
It was only a few hours till the Breen would be in the sector and knocking on Poseidon’s door. Tom leaned against the lift's wall. He didn’t like this and wasn’t a fan of sitting at the station waiting for the Breen. Star Fleet had been briefed, the orders had been handed out, and now he was supposed to remain here and monitor.
Stepping into Ops, Tom walked over to a nearby terminal, pulling up a list of all ships currently docked at the station. He might have been violating orders, but every fiber in his body told him that his place wasn’t on the station, especially when he could do some actual work. “This one,” he tapped the screen as USS Paramount displayed on the screen. The Paramount was an Inquiry class starship; she had the guts to oversee this assignment.
Tapping his comm badge, “Cara,” he spoke, “I’m taking the Paramount and moving the fleet into an intercept position. We’re taking the fight to Breen. Please inform Lieutenant Ral to have Strategic Operations moved to the Paramount. She can monitor fleet movements.
Tom stood up a bit straighter as he looked out over Operations, “Listen up,” he noticed Cara stepping out of the command office. “As I am sure many of you have heard, we have a fleet of Breen vessels on their way here. They want something, and we don’t have enough time to answer that and defend ourselves.”
“We’ve all been trained for situations like this, and we will pull out of this stronger. I will be taking a fleet of ships to the far side of the sector to intercept the Breen. The rest of you here will work on defending this station and ensuring that whatever makes it past our line of defense doesn’t set foot on this station by whatever means necessary.”
“I know everyone is scared, and emotions are high,” Tom looked at Cara, “tuck those feelings away and trust those around you. We make it through this as a team, and everyone goes home tonight.” He nodded to the crowd as he walked over to Cara, “let’s hope they believe that,” he whispered. “I can’t just sit here and send others to a battle and watch. We take this to the Breen and stop them before they get here. You know what you need to do here; contact me if you need help.” He turned and started to leave but stopped.
“Stay safe,” he smiled as he headed off to the nearest lift. “Docking Port 5,” he ordered as the lift took off.
Several minutes later, Tom stepped into the bridge of the Paramount. Looking around, he took notice of the ship’s newly appointed Commanding Officer. Captain Alein was a good man, but he didn’t have the needed experience for something like this. Still, Tom hated what was about to happen.
“Admiral on the bridge”
Tom was caught off guard. He’d been standing there a few moments and had hoped no one had noticed him. “Captain Alein, we need to talk.”
“I’m sorry, Commodore, but we are heading out here soon; orders from the station,” Greg wasn’t about to let someone in Brass mess this up. “Whatever you have to say can be said in front of my crew.” Greg took a padd from the nearby Yeoman as he started to read over the latest reports.
“There is no easy way to do this,” Tom looked directly at the Captain. He’d heard the man had a problem with authority, but this was a bit odd given the setting. “By order of Starfleet Command, I hereby assume operational command of the Paramount.” He turned to the Security Officer, “please note the date and time in the computer.”
“Are you out of your damn,” Greg started to speak but was interrupted by the Commodore.
“I would think very long and hard before you finish that sentence, Captain,” Tom pointed to the First Officer’s chair, “Lieutenant Ral from the station will be coming aboard soon to monitor Strategic Operations for the fleet. Please ensure that she gets set up.”
“As to the rest of you, once the Lieutenant and her team are on board, we will depart from the station with the fleet and set course to rendezvous with the Breen. Let’s give them a proper welcome to the Aquil sector,” Tom smiled, “I want every department prepped and ready to leave within the hour. You all have your orders dismissed.”
He looked at the Captain’s chair. The last time he’d sat in one of these, he was on the bridge of the Nogura. That mission was a complete failure and led to his demotion. He was determined not to let that happen this time. “Captain Alein, you will remain aboard as my First Officer. Once this meet and greet is over, I will return the Paramount to your command.”
Greg knew that his first chance at a command rested on making sure Rice didn’t screw this up, “Yes, Sir,” he snipped. He was noticeably upset but couldn’t argue with the man either.
Tom looked to the HELM Officer, “open a channel to the fleet. With a nod from the man, Tom started to speak, “this is Commodore Thomas Rice, in command of the USS Paramount. I am assuming command of the fleet; we depart the station in one hour. I want every ship prepped and ready for departure. Lieutenant Ral will coordinate the fleet from the Paramount.”
Commodore Thomas Rice
Sector Commander
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