On a chair at the side of the walking lane, ships passed Deep Space 17. Engineers were checking the base’s hull regularly, and transporter bees were relocating cargo from one spot to another. She closed her eyes and leaned backward in her chair, trying to get some quiet time. The last adventure was a lot for her. Being a captive, getting the premium treatment of the IRF, and being eventually saved by her crew and the RFS was quite a lot. 

“Captain”

She opened her eyes as her left eye pupil adjusted to the lights. Her eye still hurt after all that treatments and the operation itself. Her brain was trying to get adjusted to the device, after all. Looking at her side, she saw an familiar face. The Chief of Operations that had granted her adventure with Jaxartes “Commander…” She mutters

“It’s Fleet Captain now, but yes, it has been a while, Captain” The man gave a soft smile to her. He started to walk. “Come”

Standing up and smiling back at him, “It has been, indeed, seven years, to be exact, since I left your office to begin my adventure into the Typhon Frontier” Turning to him to follow him. 

“Ah yea, that shy Ensign that traveled from Starfleet Academy to get her Raven-class,” The man laughed a bit, “Only to find a very much used one” He continued to walk on in the direction of the dry docks. “Yet you managed to get a hold of yourself and made us proud to get her flying again”

“Not an easy task, but it was different than I had imagined back then,” Sazra admits, placing her hands behind her back. “The Jaxartes became more than just a Raven-class, she became our home for many years, and we are proud of her for what she has done” 

The man nodded to her. “That is the lesson that was learned. Captains in rank have a sea of experience. They know what it means to start from the lower steps and make their way up there” A Sovereign-Class passed by the station as he pointed briefly at it. “So Starfleet Command agreed to the raven program to teach the value of being in command and what it means. An Ensign being in command of a large Galaxy-Class ship would be ridiculous and pretty much unheard of”

Sazra looked at the passing ship and knew what he meant. At first, she thought she would get a giant ship to conclude her science mission. But that was not the case. She gained something more valuable that meant everything to her. A ship that created a family, her crew. “So what can I do for you, sir”

Not giving her a look and walking on, “You have outgrown your ship, Captain. You declined the offer of a different ship a few times. I understand, but with your rank and status in what you have done for us out there. We are on the threshold that we can’t let this slide anymore” He stops at the dry docks and points forward. “So you are given a new command”

It was true. She had often declined the offer for different ships because Jaxartes was her home, and she didn’t want to leave her behind. But she also knew it was time until Starfleet Command would no longer ignore her selfless acts. Sazra let a sigh go and looked in the direction of where he was pointing. She could see a big Typhon-class ship, “That is too big?! I can never command something like that, sir!”

The man looked at the ship and lowered his hand while shaking his head. “Are you that blind….that is the USS Prophyrion for resupplying. No, not that” He shrugs. “The USS Damascus, right at dry dock 14 getting resupplied as we speak”

Looking in the direction of the said number, her eyes meet up with the Grissom-class ship, “An Oberth-class ship?” She looked confused at him.

He narrowed his eyes. “That is not an Oberth-class. That is a Grissom-class ship, Captain” Looking back at it, “It is the most advanced deep space mapping surveyor in service of Starfleet. Though it is the successor of the Oberth-class. But this ship carries highly sensitive long-range sensors, engines designed for low impacts of localized interference, two fully equipped astrometric labs, and stellar cartography viewing chamber. It can do more than one scientific mission at once and a full complement of survey probes of all kinds to observation drones”

Looking at the ship again, it did look different but still had the same structure, “Why give me this ship?” 

“Is that not obvious?” The man smiled again, “You have done Starfleet quite a service, and we hate to lose you. So they decided to give you something so you could be at your best. This ship might look small, but it holds 80 crew members. But more than what you had previously” He took a deep breath. “Look, Captain, I know it is difficult to say goodbye to your old ship, but think of it this way. She will roll back into the raven program and be given another Ensign, a shot to experience what you have”

She crossed her arms as Sazra took a deep breath and slowly nodded “I still have the right to choose my crew right?”

“Of course, but a new mission will lurk around, so I don’t know how much time you have. You better get started. Good luck Captain” The man patched her on the shoulder and walked away, leaving Sazra behind to look at the ship.

“A new adventure, heh? More work for me, you mean” Sazra shrugged but smiled at the end. “Better get to work then”  And with that, she made her way to check the ship out.

Walking into the conference room, she slowed down a bit as Sazra saw her crew sitting there with enjoyment and having fun. She looked a bit around, realizing that this might be the last time she would be in this room, and that her next meeting would be in Damascus. She shrugged a bit and walked to the chair, and sat down. “Alright, alright shimmer down”

“What you got today for us, longer staying in the dry-docks? New mission? Or is cranky Silina finally getting a transfer” Adrián laughs a bit, looking at Silina.

“Oh shut it you” Silina snaps back “The only one that is going to get a transfer is you, and trust me I have that power” 

Adrián shook his head. “Try it. You can’t do without me. I was the star of the last mission” He winks at her with a cocky smile on his face.

“Are you two done?” Sazra looking not so impressed by their interaction as they both snapped into attention seeing how serious the look was on Sazra’s face “Good, yes it is one of the things that you mentioned Adrián” Sazra looked at him and then back at rest. “Starfleet Command is impressed by the work that this ship has done, and to quote their words; we have outgrown this ship” 

“Wait what? What is that supposed to mean?” Rami leans forward, looking at his Captain.

“It means that they find it not fitting that a Captain is still in command of the Raven-class and I will be transferring to a new command” Sazra shrugs a bit again. “This is the last time there will be a meeting on this ship by me. I will be transferring to the USS Damascus that is nearby, actually” 

Silina narrowed her eyes a bit, “Congratulations, Captain. I am proud of you for stepping up the game or that they allowed you to do so even after you refused other offers” 

“Wait, wait, you refused other commands?” Adrián laughs a bit awkwardly.

“Yes, USS Tribulation, USS Fairhair, and USS Osiris” Sazra confirmed “The reason for that is that Jaxartes was always my home and you….my family” She had to pause for a second seeing that she had problems with this whole announcement.

The room went quiet for a moment as everyone realized that this was the end of their adventure together. “So, where will we go, Captain” T’Path broke the silence. 

Taking a deep breath as Sazra saw the worried faces of her crew, she let off a small smile and looked at Silina. “Commander Ruslanovna you are hereby to report to the USS Damascus as its new Executive Officer” Her eyes looked to T’Path “Lieutenant T’path, you are to report to the USS Damascus as its new Chief Science Officer” Sazra continued without giving them a chance to respond. Looking at Rami “Lieutenant Shew, you are to report to the USS Damascus as its new Chief Security Officer” Finally her eyes fell upon Adrián “As for you, Lieutenant…”

“Oh, you got to be joking. You’re going to send your best engineer to a different ship?” Adrián said, annoyed and disappointed.

Sazra smiled. “No, but I just realized I said the wrong rank. Lieutenant Commander Valerio, you must report to the USS Damascus as its new Chief Engineering Officer. Plus,” Sazra raised her hand, “You are to work more closely with both Command Ruslanovna and me as you get the job of Second Officer as well” 

“I must protest, Captain, him?! As a Second Officer?!” Silina said, confused about what just happened. “He can’t even take care of himself, let alone of a ship’s crew” 

Adrián placed his hand on his heart, “That hurts, Commander. I mean so well for you all and cared every day for you and this ship” He blinks and looks at the Captain “Wait what will happen to the USS Jaxartes?”

Looking around for a second as she took a deep breath, “She has done us great service over the years that we have been here. But she will be given back to the raven program so that the next generation of potential commanding officers can use her. Deep Space 17 will take hold of her, and we will be transferred to Damascus as soon as possible. So grab you gear and report to your new assignment. Dismissed” 

The crew nodded and stood up to prepare for their new voyage. Sazra sat there alone when everyone left as she finally stood up and walked to the exit and looked one more time back. “Thank you girl, for everything as without you I wouldn’t be here” She smiled softly and left the room. 

The ship felt fresh. It felt new and different from what she was used to at Jaxartes. Placing her hand on the cold glass as Sazra looked outside to the busy dry docks. She let it sink in that it was a step forward, but back in her head was that old small Raven-class that had brought so many memories. She heard the door slide open. Furthermore, she knew who dared to do something like that. “Sil, use the chime” Sazra looked over her shoulder, seeing Silina stop close to her. 

Standing in her new red uniform, she looked a tad uncomfortable with the new uniform. “Could I not keep my old one? I mean, red is not my color, you know” Silina shrugs, looking at her uniform.

Turning around as she crossed her arms, Sazra smiled softly at her, “You don’t want to be my First Officer then? Sadly, the Chief Medical Officer position has been filled already, so you might have to seek another spot somewhere else if you want that uniform back, Commander” 

Silina shrugged again, looking at Sazra with slightly narrowed eyes. “You can’t run this without me. You know that very well, Captain” It went quiet for a moment as they looked at each other and started to laugh simultaneously, “I am good where I am. I love to annoy Adrián even more” Silina sat down on one of the chairs and looked at Sazra. “How is the eye” 

Ah, yes, her eye. Sazra blinked her left eye as it refocused on her surrounding by mechanical means. “It is different, but your finest work for sure” Sazra walked to her desk and sat down. “Thought I still have waves of headaches that pierce into my head when I try to focus on something for too long. Eventually, my brain will get used to it, and painkillers will help” Leaning back in her chair as her eye looked at pictures of the first picture made on the Jaxartes when they had just finished repairing it themselves. 

“You should alert me when you have those piercing headaches. You know,” Silina points out, looking a bit concerned about it, “Your body needs time to adjust, as you said. So listen to it and let it get used. We got the preparation in hand for the Damascus”

“Well, you are not my doctor anymore. We have one already” Sazra gave a sassy response with a grin.

Rolling her eyes at that, “That might be so, but I was the one that did the operation and fixed that” Silina pointed at Sazra’s eye. “Speaking of which, Doctor Th’shrithel has reported in and checked out the sickbay. He wants to talk with you. Eventually, you know, the formal greeting and such” 

Nodding to that, “Lieutenant Th’shrithel, an Andorian that loves to talk with everyone and has a good record on medical services. USS Hunter Captain speaks highly of him” Sazra looked at Silina. “What is your opinion? You met the man”

“He is…hmm very present, and he loves to talk and tries his best to get to know you. I had to cut down on our conversation, seeing I had more things to do. From what I heard, he knew his medical stuff and was interested in how I operated over the years. The whole raven program was, in his opinion, a very interesting approach, and he was disappointed that he didn’t take that chance”

The raven program was a unique approach that got her where she is today. Sazra nodded, “Well, what about our new pilot?”

“Ensign K’Nala, a person that is always in for an energetic conversation. She was almost jumping around when arriving at the docks to see what kind of ship she would fly” Silina smiled a bit. “It was quite motivating to see Starfleet personnel like herself be on our ship. I look forward to her development for sure” 

“We need that energy. Starfleet has not given me any word about our next mission. But the possibility that we are going to return to Typhon Frontier is highly present. Our experience speaks chapters by itself for Starfleet Science and Command. So it is best to get the crew ready as to what is expected in the Typhon Frontier out of our experience, Commander” Sazra tapped her finger on the lap for a second.

Silina stood up and nodded to her. “I will get them ready. I mean, a large group of eighty is not that daunting, right” Silina shrugs for a moment and walks to the door. She stops and does not turn around, “Sazra, about what happened in the facility when we saved you. Do you remember anything?”

Looking outside, she felt her cheeks going warm as Sazra shrugged a bit. “It is still vague for me. It took a lot of energy out of me for sure” Sazra shook her head. Why did she say that she knew what Silina was referring to. 

No sound came from Silina, and she slowly nodded. “Yea, nothing important. We got you out, so that is the best. Get some rest, Captain” With that said, she quickly left the room.

Seeing her leave made Sazra uncomfortable as she leaned back in her chair, “I do remember, I remember your lips, Silina. Why did I have to confess at that time” She pressed her hand to her template “I have to deal with this sometime as this can go south quickly”

The office was getting slowly shaped into Sazra’s new place. People who would have seen her office at her previous command would see the resemblance in this office. Sazra placed another book in the cabin. She had found a passion in reading books as it brought her calmness, and something about turning a page was great. The chime went off as Sazra looked at her side to the door, “Come in,” looking back into the cabin at the number of books.

A Caitian walked into the office and snapped into attention, “Ensign K’Nala reporrrting for duty ma’am, sirrr…Captain” She was nervous about meeting her new Captain. How was she? How would she react? What would she think of her?

Blinking a few times, hearing to say that, she looked at the ensign. “Captain is enough. At ease. You don’t have to be so uptight with me, Ensign” Sazra walked back to her desk and sat down. “Welcome on board the USS Damascus, Ensign K’Nala. I am your Commanding Officer, Sazra Praugol” She gave her a friendly smile.

Relaxing a bit, she nodded to Sazra. “Thank you si….I mean Captain. I will be yourrr new pilot forrr the Damascus. I look forwarrrd to flying herrr. She looks amazing, and I bet she has quite some juice in herrr” K’Nala spoke fondly of the ship as if she was her best friend already “I have checked her systems, and she is ready to take us anywherrre you wish us to go”

Giving the nod, “Well, that is good to know, Ensign. We have not given any mission description yet from Starfleet Command. But I presume they will start soon and give us some time to settle in this new command. The ship has been in service before, but the previous crew got reassigned with their Captain to their new command. It is pretty common for some Captains to do that, of course. Are you brief on what to expect in the Typhon Frontier?”

K’Nala nodded, “The Commanderrr has briefed us on what to expect therrre. The spacial anomalies are the verrry thing I requirrre to pay attention to while flying thrrrough these sectorrrs. I don’t expect any resistance from the navigational systems.”

Sazra leans a bit back in her chair, “The Typhon Frontier is vast. It still surprises us with what it has to offer. At the same time, it terrifies us what lurks in the darkness. Many Starfleet vessels come in trouble when entering those areas because they get ahead of themselves, getting trapped in situations they didn’t predict. So what I am trying to say is stay alert of your surroundings and alert us if you think something is off. The senior staff has experience with this, and we know by now what to look out for”

“I shall stay alerrrted by my surrroundings Captain” K’nala gave a firm nod as she bald her hands “I look forwarrrd to explorrre the unknown with such experrrienced crrrew” 

It was kinda cute to see such a young person being so motivated to explore the unknown, being inspired by the explorers of old. Sazra wonders what it feels like to be inspired by another role model she might look up to. There were enough people out there that would be classified as great explorers and Captains. 

“Captain?” K’Nala looked at Sazra. A bit surprised that the Captain had dozed off.

“Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts,” Sazra smiled at K’Nala “Do you have any other questions for me? If not, I look forward to working with you, Ensign” 

“Not really Captain…” K’Nala spoke and now showing a bit troubled as if she wanted to talk about something.

“Something wrong, Ensign?” Sazra narrowed her eyes looking at her.

“Well…I gave the reason to join the USS Damascus as I wanted to explorrre the Typhon Frontierrr, but I didn’t want to begin on a big ship as the chance for a frrresh Ensign to be at the helm was not as big as a smallerrr ship. But that was not the whole reason why I wanted to join this ship,” K’Nala spoke, looking now at her Captain, who was looking a bit puzzled. 

“Oh” Sazra was indeed curious, she had read most of the applications and transfers to her ship, but a change of reasoning was not something she was expecting. 

“Yes, my main reason to join this ship, was because of you Captain” K’Nala spoke scratching behind her head a bit “My aunt was on the USS Liberty when they met you. What you did made herrr realize that what she was doing wrrrong all a long and sacrrrifice herrrself to give you time to escape” K’Nala shrugs a bit.

Looking a bit surprised at that confession, Sazra slowly nods trying to think back “Commander Mrorri, she upheld a mutiny on that ship to give us time” Seeing K’Nala nodding to that name “Well, I am sorry for your loss even if it was quite some time. It is not something anyone should witness. Your aunt was noble and honorable woman”

“Thank you Captain. Because of that event, I chose in the academy to join yourrr ship whateverrr ship that would be” K’Nala smiled proudly “ I wanted to repay the debt of what my aunt had to endurrre in herrr time of deception by Captain Vance and serrrve the person that made herrr realize what it means to be a Starrrfleet officerrr” 

Nodding to K’Nala “Thank you Ensign I appreciate your dedication in this and your loyalty” Sazra smiled at her “Well that being said, I do have to continue to get the ship ready” She winks at her.

“Oh yes, sorrry Captain” K’Nala snaps to attention once more and walks off out of the office.

Seeing the Ensign leave, Sazra looked outside “Commander Mrorri….almost forgot her sacrifice in this whole journey of my career” Sazra shrugs “I better remember her now that I got her niece here”

The new crew was settling in on the Damascus, and everyone was getting ready to do their jobs and the ship ready for launch when Starfleet Command had their orders ready on the go. Sazra gave some nods to people in the hallway and gave a soft smile as she did her best to give that calming vibe. Entering the sickbay, she looked around, seeing the nurses busy with some equipment, supplies, and personnel administration checks. “I am looking for…”

“Ah! Captain,” An Andorian man walked from the side to Sazra “Doctor Kossaal Th’shrithel, oh yea I am also a Lieutenant if you are more of the ranks. Are you a type for the rank type, Captain?” Kossaal thinks for a second “Nevermind, whatever works for you, Captain, I have read your medical files, and I do say you are quite a fascinating person from a medical perspective, of course.” 

Looking at the doctor that overwhelmed her, Sazra now understood what Silina meant by being a talkative person, “Pleasure to meet you, doctor. I tend to keep myself out of the spotlight if that is possible. How are you settling in”

“Of course, of course, Captain” He leans a bit forward, “But it is quite interesting that eye of yours, and I love to have a peek at it to see the fine work the Commander has put you through” Kossaal nods then again as he backs off “Ah yes the Damascus” He waved his hand around “A fine upgrade for my hands to work in, I look forward to providing the medical assistance on either the crew or our adventures out there dear Captain.” 

“Good to know that” Looking a bit confused at the doctor, “So you do not require anything at this given time?” Sazra asked, trying to see if she understood him clearly. 

Kossaal clapped his hands “Nurse the PADD please” A nurse gave him the PADD as he looked at it “These are the medical supplies and tools that are still required for further operations at a 120% for this department to be fully operational” He reached out to give Sazra the PADD as she took it from him “As you can see, the registration of the required tools are updated in sections and bullets. Please get that sorted out as soon as possible for us, Captain” 

Looked at the list and saw the number of pages, “Doctor it states that this is about 30 pages long?” Sazra narrowed her eyes and reached the PADD back at him, “Get it down to 1 page, and I’ll see what I can do for you. I don’t have the time to get all these supplies, and frankly, most are not required for where we are going” 

“But Captain, the care, and health of our crew are of the utmost importance, and these supplies are required to do just that” Kossaal nodded, pushing gently the PADD back.

Sazra saw that this man needed to be put under direct control, and if he thought that he could control her, then that was his first mistake “Nurse” The nurse looked at Sazra and walked to her as she handed the PADD to her “Look doctor, I have been on that frontier for 7 years already, and I know that one thing is a fact. You are never prepared for what might happen there. So you get your standard supplies as everyone else does. You get that list to 1 page and deliver it to my first officer, and if you don’t want to do that and keep insisting on this absurd list then you won’t get anything” Sazra shrugs. “So when you are in the field at the frontier, get creative Doctor” 

The doctor shrugged a bit, not pleased by this direct command, but he calmed himself down and nodded, “As you wish Captain, I will look at the list and see what is required. I might be able to get it down to two pages….”

Pointing a finger up “One” Sazra was not going to lose this battle “One or nothing, and don’t try to outsmart me on this” She knew most of the tricks out there and was not going to accept anything. She knew that if a list was made, there would be at least 10 items.

“Alright Captain I yield, I shall provide a list of one page for the Commander” Kossaal didn’t like it at all but he had no idea how to object against this woman. 

Giving a firm nod and lowering her hand, “Good, I have to continue my round. I will be back later for ….my medical check on my eye” Sazra turned around “Good day doctor” With that, she left the room and didn’t wait for his reply. He was a man to be watched as his talking was in his court of advantage and could easily overwhelm a person. 

“Doctor?” The nurse looked at Kossaal.

“It is okay Nurse, today she won, but I love a challenge. Now let’s get that list ready for the Commander” Kossaal walked to his office.