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.