Captain Jason St. Blair frowned as he walked through the corridors of Starfleet Command, a PADD under his arm.  The Terran husky was a newly minted captain, just recently receiving his fourth pip.  He was rather young for a captain, at twenty-five, but, several events had catapulted him to the fore, most notably the Dominion War when he went from third officer to commanding officer aboard the USS Belleraphone during the last battle.  Starfleet Command had been so impressed by his performance, he had been catapulted from a young Lieutenant Commander to a young Captain it seemed overnight.  Now, he was being given his own ship, even though he had no idea what ship it was, he had simply been told to choose a senior staff for exploration, and that was all.  Now, he was here at Admiral Nechayev’s office to find out just why he had been kept in the dark about his ship.

            The husky stood at the door of the office and hit the chime, the door slid open quickly revealing the ‘Iron Woman of Starfleet.’  The golden wolf had long platinum-blond colored hair held up in a simple, but elegant style.  She was a bit shorter than Jason, who was a bit on the short side for a Terran husky but she had a presence about her, one that seemed to radiate ‘I don’t take any crap from anyone.’

            “Ah captain, on time, very good, wait, in fact you’re three minutes early.”

            Jason nodded slowly. “Yes ma’am, I figured it would be bad if I was late reporting for my first ship command.”

            Nechayev eyed him for a few moments then nodded.  “Have you assembled a senior staff?”

            “Yes ma’am,” and with that, he handed over the PADD he had been carrying.

            Nechayev frowned for a few moments as she looked at the PADD, then after what Jason thought was too short of a time, handed it back.  “They will do.  Report to Spacedock, they are awaiting your command crew as we speak.”

            Jason blinked.  He had spent nearly two weeks pouring over who he thought would make a good team, and here Nechayev had scanned it in a few moments and pronounced ‘they will do.’

            “Ma’am, I hate to sound forward, but may I ask what ship I am to receive?”

            “No captain, you are not being forward, but, I cannot tell you the ship you are to receive, simply, you and your senior staff are to report to Spacedock in three hours.  That is all captain.”

            Jason was about ready to ask another question, however Nechayev made it clear she was not going to accept anything but his leaving his office, so, he simply nodded, spun and exited the officer, where he was promptly met by his wife, Kora Gev-St. Blair.  The small fox smiled warmly at her husband as the two took up walking towards.  “So, what ship are we getting?” the joined Trill asked gently. The lieutenant commander pips on her shoulder seemed a bit odd for her husband, after all, until the day before, she had been a lieutenant and a middle grade science officer aboard the Belleraphone.  Now she was Chief of Science Section and Operations Officer and second office aboard whatever ship Jason would receive for his first command.  Unlike most joined Trill Federation members had contact with, Kora did not have generations of experiences or memories, Kora was the Gev symbiote’s first host, so in essence, Kora was the beginning of Gev’s journey.

            “I have no idea,” Jason returned as the two walked toward the conference room his senior staff was being allowed to use.

            “You don’t know? Why not?”

            “Nechayev said she couldn’t tell me, she’s being secretive about something, and I don’t like that idea.”

            “Oh, what could be so bad about that?”

            “You know what Nechayev’s job is?”

            “She’s Starfleet Operations Chief…”

            “That’s her public role,” Jason said as he tried to still his tail.  “She’s actually Starfleet Intelligence and Covert Operations…”

            “How do you know that Jason?”

            Her husband gave her a look that made it clear that he wanted to tell her, but couldn’t, and she let it drop at that.  There had been several months before they were married when he had been a young tactical officer aboard the Agamemnon before it was blown out of space.  Kora had always wondered about the official explanation that there was a fault in a newly installed dilithium cradle that caused the warp-core breach that destroyed Agamemnon, but, she never was able to prove the official explanation wasn’t the truth, and her husband was not very forth-coming.  He never talked about it, and, Kora decided that she should never ask.  Still, she was beginning to wonder if Jason had, indirectly, had contact with Admiral Nechayev’s more secretive career…

            She put those thoughts out of that out of her mind as she and her husband walked through the conference room to see the senior staff gathered.  One thing was for sure, it was a diverse group, especially with Commander Aton Keven, the absolutely giant, at least in Kora’s mind, Brikar bear.  Brikars were a high-density species of immense strength and durability.  Their tough hides were nearly phaser-proof.  Kora had seen several times that Aton had taken a hit from a hand weapon set on ‘kill’ and only nudged a inch or so, his uniform burnt, his fur charred, but the most his skin had suffered were burns.  There was however a downside to his immense strength and near invulnerability, Aton, and all other Brikars had to wear a special gravity compensator around his waist just to move. 

            The giant bear was the officer Jason had picked out for his First Officer.  The two had been friends since the Academy when Jason had actually saved the larger beings life in a training accident after a training runabout crashed on the landing practice range where the two were serving as assistant safety officers.  Both cadets rushed in to save others, and Aton was caught in a upsurge of plasma, the only-time Kora had ever seen the Brikar seriously hurt.  Jason was able to use both his, and Aton’s combadges to boost a lock-on signal through the interference caused by the explosion, and beam them out before the training runabout vaporized in a warp-core breach.

            “What is the word?” Aton’s rumbling voice asked in an almost deadpan manner.  That was another characteristic of the Brikars, their famous stoicism. 

            Jason frowned.  “We report to Spacedock…”

            “we’re not getting a ship?”

            “We are, but Nachayev refused to tell me what ship.”

            “Sir, that cannot be accurate,” Lieutenant Commander Slonn, their Vulcan bat Chief Engineer returned as he walked forward, his eyes covered to protect their sensitivity to the brighter light, his long ears giving him a strange appearance.  “It is illogical and all too Terran to refuse us knowledge of the ship on which we will serve on.”

            Jason sighed.  “It may be Slonn, but, it is what we were told to do…”

            “And to think I gave up a teaching at the new Bajoran medical school for this…” Yars Ina sighed as her large bushy squirrel tail swished in agitation, her Bajoran earring glittered as it swayed with her head.  Always a bit sarcastic with those not under her care, Ina had almost left Starfleet to become a professor at the newly re-established Bajoran medical institute when Jason asked her to be his chief medical officer.

            “Ina, not now…”

            “Sir?” Juliana Matlingly looked up with her twin sister Laura walked forward.  The Terran cougaress twins were the chief helm and tactical/security officers.  “What’s going on?”

            “I don’t know Lieutenants, but, I suspect we will find our answers on Spacedock,” Jason returned and the entire bridge crew followed him out of the conference room.

***

            Jason and his senior staff materialized on one of the many transporter pads spread throughout the gargantuan mushroom shaped orbital facility Spacedock.  All ready Jason was on edge, and, as he stepped off the pad, he knew he was in for trouble.  “Garringer?”

            The stiff, almost ramrod Wolf looked at the shorter husky.  “Captain.”

            Jason frowned as he saw the three pips on Felippe Garringer’s collar.  He had met the Terran wolf during his shadowy stint with SI, and the meeting was not exactly amiable.  In fact, one could say Felippe Garringer nearly killed him.

            “What’s going on Garringer?”

            “Quite simple Captain St. Blair,” and the way the wolf said Jason’s rank it was clear he thought that the husky did not deserve a command.  “I am to escort you to your command.”

            Jason frowned but said nothing, staying his tail to keep from showing the arrogant wolf from Starfleet Intelligence how much he still held him responsible for what had happened with the Agamemnon.  Good beings had died because of Garringer, and Jason and the rest of the crew had almost lost their lives as well.  He simply let him lead his crew towards the docking ring of Spacedock.

            They all boarded an anti-grav tram to circle the massive structure’s cavernous docking area.  As they road, they passed the docking stations for dozens of ships.  Galaxies, Steamrunners, Excelsiors, Akira and other classes were all lined up with their docking ports, they even passed Belleraphone, an Intrepid-class vessel as she was being pieced back together after final climactic Battle of Cardassia.  Jason looked at the ship as the repair crews cut away the remaining warp-nacelle from its mangled variable geometry strut.  He closed his eyes, remembering the hit that had blown away the other nacelle, and killed Captain Intyo, Commander Kissin and Chief Dyama, leaving Jason in command of a crippled ship facing five Jem H’dar attack craft.  He had taken Belleraphone diving into the gas giant of the Cardassia system, the attack fighters straight on her tail smelling a easy kill in the wounded ship.  Jason then had the tactical officer fire a photon torpedo into a pocket of hydrogen gas as the Jem H’dar passed through it, setting off a miniature fusion detonation, destroying three of the attack craft and sending the other two careening deeper into the gas giant till they imploded.  To this day Jason did not know exactly what had happened to the last two to cause them to just barrel on to their doom, he hadn’t stuck around to scan the ships.  The Belleraphone had rocketed on its damaged impulse engines back out of the gas giant and, Jason admitted in pure luck, was in the right position to save the Flagship of the Klingon Fleet Assault Line with the Belleraphone’s last torpedoes.  As the battle was won, Jason and the remainder of the crew had kept Belleraphone together long enough to make it to Starbase 347 where the crew was evacuated and the ship towed back to Spacedock.  It was that short week that had convinced Starfleet that he was suited well for command, even at his young age, and thus, now riding past his old ship onto his mysterious new command with a officer leading him that at one time had left him and an entire ship to die in space.

            The tram traveled for three more minutes passed Belleraphone’s repair birth to a quiet corner of the docking complex.  Here, there was only one ship docked  and she was it seemed, to Jason, being kept purposefully away from the rest of her fleet sisters.  At first Jason could not understand why, she was a Nova-class vessel.  Fairly new introductions to the fleet, Nova’s were designed specifically to replace the venerable, but ancient Oberth-class science vessels.  This ship looked it seemed no different from any other of her sisters, that was, until he saw the Mink standing in front of the gangway leading to the ship.

            “Captain Os’aga?” Jason asked as he walked up to the tall Mink, the very light, almost unnoticeable blue tint to his mostly white fur signified that Os’aga was from Bolia.  He held himself proudly and eloquently in his admiral’s uniform, a new addition since the last time Jason had seen the man, just after Agamemnon was destroyed.

            “Its Admiral now son,” Os’aga said with his classic easing smile.  “And it seems you have done quite well yourself.  I have kept track of you since you left my command.”

            “Sir, what’s going on, Admiral Nechayev refused to tell me anything about my new ship, and then Gerringer appears…” Jason tried his hardest to keep from his voice the menace he felt for the wolf from his voice, and one out.  “Now you…”

            Os’aga put his hand on the smaller husky’s shoulder.  “This is your ship Jason, the USS Galatea.”  Os’aga nodded to Gerringer and the wolf nearly growled, but, he left, taking the tram back the way they had come as Os’aga led Jason onto the Galatea.  “She is the newest of her class.  In fact, she isn’t exactly what you would call a standard Nova Jason.  She has a few special features, new, advanced sensors above and beyond anything else in the fleet at the moment.  She also is the only Nova that has the proper computer software and arming equipment for quantum torpedoes.  Her phaser banks have been upgraded from Type Eight to the new Type Nines from the Sovereign-class.  Finally, she has an up-rated warp-core, producing one hundred percent more power than other Novas along with the upgraded, and redesigned nacelles and EPS relay system to handle the increase in power.

            Jason blinked as he stepped aboard his ship for the first time.  From everything Os’aga was telling him, Galatea was a captain’s dream.  The small ship was highly overpowered, with sensors and defensive capability to spare, and most likely could run rings around anything her own size or larger.  Jason had no idea why Galatea had been constructed this way, but, Jason was sure that Os’aga and Nechayev has a specific mission in mind for her.

            “Sir, this is a wonderful ship, but, why is she so powerful?”

            Os’aga nodded, knowing that Jason was a quick, questioning mind, a trait that Os’aga hoped he had help nurture when he had been under his command.  “All right Jason, come to the ready-room, we do need to talk…”