Change of Command (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 20 Dec 2013 @ 9:15pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Scarlet Blake & Rear Admiral James Hurin

2,067 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Starbase 001 - Task Force 72 HQ
Timeline: MD 02 - 1425 hrs

[ON]

James Hurin was was sitting in the Main Offices of the Ninth Fleet Headquarters, affectionately known as Obsidian Fleet the rest of Starfleet. Located in the Ninth Fleet HQ, orbiting over Earth nestled within Starbase Earth was three floors dedicated to Task Force-72. James Hurin's office overlooked the northern pole of Earth through the large panoramic window. The Rear-Admiral was looking at his appointed aide, accepting the PADD that was offered to him. "Very good, Taj. Thank-you."

The Vulcan Yeoman nodded and exited through a side door. Hurin activated his console. =^=Rear Admiral Hurin to Captain Saalm, Commander Jonathan Holliday and Lieutenant Commander Scarlet Blake, report to my office immediately, please.=^=

John, as always, had remained on the Bridge of the Galileo, monitoring the transfer of materials to and from the ship as the refits and repairs continued smoothly. From the reports he had read so far from the San Francisco engineers, the Lek't had done a pretty good job of patching up the Nova class systems, and had even made some run a little better than they had been before Galileo had left spacedock.

With the call from the Admiralty, the XO leapt from his chair and moved over to the currently vacant Ops station - which like most of Galileo's systems was operating on power from the spacedock whilst the warp core was overhauled. It took him a few seconds to find the transporter controls, but with nobody else on the Bridge, it made sense to get to HQ the fast way. With a few deft taps of his index finger, the Commander smirked as he dissolved into nothingness, and the transporters swept him off the ship.

Materialising on the starbase, John was a little unfamiliar with the layout, and had to stop to examine a display panel as he stepped from the transporter room into the corridor. Luckily he had been transported only a few hundred metres from his destination, and quickly moved toward his destination.

The offices of the Task Force Admiralty were...imposing, to say the least. Something he usually avoided, not having gotten on particularly well with his superiors during his time as an Academy Instructor, but as with any direct order, he had no real way of avoiding this situation. As he stepped through the doors, he noted he was the first to arrive, and patiently waited in the lobby for his CO and 2XO to join him.

When the call came in, Lirha was in her quarters aboard Galileo packing up some of her personal belongings in preparation for shore leave. She still had several days left aboard the ship while she helped to oversee the repair and refit schedule, but she had nevertheless been excited to finally have some time off from her duties. Luckily for her, she was still dressed in her uniform, and she picked up her commbadge from her desk and pinned it to her breast. "On my way, admiral," she confirmed with a tap on her communicator, then grabbed a PADD from her couch, clipped it to her belt, and walked out of the door towards the nearby transporter room.

Less than a minute later, a beam of shimmering blue transporter lights deposited Lirha inside of the space station at her designated coordinates, and she quickly moved to a nearby LCARS wall panel to bring up a deck layout of the station and find her way to the desired room. She briefly wondered why she was being summoned, and assumed it was most likely for her ship's debriefing, especially if it included her XO and 2XO.

The doors to the task force HQ swished open and Lirha walked inside, giving John a small smile a polite nod when she saw him already standing there in the lobby. "That was fast," she mused, impressed with his ability to somehow beam up to the station and beat her to the offices in record time.

"The benefits of an empty Bridge." John replied, turning to greet the familiar voice of his captain, acknowledging her with a curt nod before continuing.

"Nobody hovering over the Ops console to prevent a site to site transport. Plus it makes me look punctual in front of all the Admirals and Captains wandering through this lobby."

"I admit, I have never felt too comfortable in these formal offices. I much prefer field work aboard a starship," she replied. There was something rather mundane and boring about sitting in an office, she felt, and though a lot of her work had been done from her office aboard Galileo, at least it was in a traveling starship. "I was posted at Starbase 137 four years ago and it was one of the more boring parts of my career," she recalled.

"Earth isn't much better - several years at the Academy surrounded by flag officers is enough to drive you insane any day of the week." John replied, nodding as he acknowledge the stuffiness of his surroundings.

"Ma'am with all respect, any idea why we've been summoned here?"

"I am not sure," Lirha replied with a light shrug, then reached up to push her hair back behind her ears. She needed a haircut as her dark locks were now well-below her shoulders and not quite Starfleet regulation anymore. "Perhaps a mission debriefing or some sort? Or maybe Starfleet has questions about the Le'kt?"

Scarlet was clearly perplexed as she moved into the room with the others. She couldn't help but wonder if she was in for a bollocking. It had taken longer to get there, having had to drop Lily in with a friend on the way. She had been spending some hard earned time with her girl afterall. Between the bridge duty and department duty, she'd been pulling a lot of hours. "Afternoon..." her voice, unusually, betrayed her uncertainty.

"Lieutenant Commander, I'm glad you could make it." John replied as he breathed a sigh of relief to see their group at it's full complement. Something had to be amiss for the Admiralty to summon the Galileo's entire Command staff, perhaps she was to be deployed faster than expected, or perhaps that shore leave was going to be reduced somehow? At this moment in time, the XO had no idea.

"It seems the Admiralty wants us...I have a bad feeling whenever the brass want me in front of their desks....."

"Hello, commander," the captain greeted the blue-collared 2XO before looking at both her and John. "I suppose we should find out why we are here." She moved with her command staff towards the Task Force Commanding Officer's office and pressed the chime, then patiently waited for a reply.

The doors to the Rear Admiral's Office swooshed opened, with a Vulcan staring at the three. He was tall and with the usual slim build known for Vulcan's. His department shirt's collar was red and his rank showed he was a Chief Petty Officer. "Greetings, sirs. I am Taj, the Admiral's Yeoman. I commend you for your timely responses and punctuality. Please, enter and sit. May I provide a beverage for anyone?" asked the yeoman as he stepped back and motioned fro them to enter.

Lirha looked at the yeoman and politely held her hand up to decline the offer. "No, thank you," she answered, then moved into the office and stood at attention with her hands clasped professionally behind her back. "Admiral Hurin, Captain Saalm reporting as ordered," she said to the flag officer sitting behind the desk. This was the first time she had met the man in person, and it was always a little nerve-wracking to meet a new boss.

"Sir, Commander Holliday. A pleasure to meet you in person." The XO pulled up alongside his Captain, bringing himself to his full height and standing at attention as any good cadet knew how to do.

"Lt. Commander Blake, Sir," Scarlet took her place next to Holliday, her posture taking on the same rigidity as when she'd been pulled up to the brass when her collar was green. She had no idea what was going on, and she hated to admit it, but it unnerved her. There had been so much going on lately, and many unorthadox decisions had been made by the command team. Who knew what might have raised question marks in the reports.

Hurin was sitting behind his desk, looking down onto a PADD he was holding. As soon as the group entered he stood up and came from behind the desk to greet each officer.

"Lieutenant Commander Scarlet Blake, very nice to meet you face to face finally. From Marine to the Second Officer on one of the most prestigious ships of the line...you have a lot to be proud of."

Scarlet relaxed at the words. Not a bollocking then. She gave a small smile, nodding. "Thank you, Sir," simple words, but they showed and meant a lot. She felt the same way. She had felt her career was all but over once she'd left the marines. She'd worked hard to try and prove that wrong.

"Commander Jonathan Holliday." said Hurin. "Your work with the Romulan civilians while on the New Orleans was well documented, Commander. You are one of the most highly sought after XO's in the Fleet. Especially now with the Galileo returning from it's year-long deployment."

"I...wasn't aware I was making headline news Admiral...I suppose I shall have to keep my eye out for any auspicious CO's trying to recruit their Command Staff." John replied with a smirk, allowing himself to drop from his previous stance at full attention for the first time since arriving. He wasn't aware that he had made any sort of waves in the Fleet since his posting on the Galaxy class New Orleans, let alone on the tiny Nova on the edge of Federation space.

Finally Hurin came to Lirha. "Captain Lirha Saalm, Commanding Officer of the USS Galileo. You have been an extremely busy officer, Captain. Your discoveries alone have been extremely interesting and useful for the Federation Scientist, from the secret drive you used, to handling of the Borg and your most recent discoveries of the Le'kt."

"Thank you, sir," she replied with a nod as she looked up at the tall brown-haired admiral. "I am grateful we could contribute something to the Planetary Sciences Division. And, I agree, the Le'kt are a most interesting species. The Borg...not so much."

Hurin moved back towards his desk. "Please, all of you sit for a moment. While all of the discoveries are astounding, I asked you all here to discuss your future in Starfleet."

Your future in Starfleet? Had Lirha heard that correctly? Her brow furrowed slightly while she moved to a nearby chair and took a seat, glancing over at Blake and Holliday with intrigue spread across her features.

John felt a lump form in his throat as references to his future in the fleet was brought into conversation. Surely they were not looking to reassign the entire command staff? The XO had just been told he was one of the most sought after officers available - all it would have taken was a word in the ear of the Admiralty from one of the more influential CO's and John could have found himself transferred - something he didn't like the idea of one bit.

"Sir - if I may? Our...future in the Fleet? Are we to be reassigned?"

James sat down and pulled close to the desk as he opened an unseen drawer. "Yes." Once settled he placed three small mahogany boxes with gold accents on top of the desk. "Captain Lirha Saalm," he slid the box with the contents within it across his desk towards Lirha. "you are being relieved of command effective immediately and stripped of your rank as Captain... "

He allowed a dramatic pause, "I am hereby promoting you to the rank of Commodore and reassigning you as Deputy Commanding Officer of Task Force Seventy-Two and my Mission Operations Adviser. Congratulations, Commodore Saalm."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

Rear Admiral James Hurin
Task Force-72 Commanding Officer
Task Force-72 Headquarters

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