Official Is Official

Posted on Tue Jan 26th, 2021 @ 11:45am by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Rozia

Mission: New Beginnings
Location: Transporter Room One

Word had come at last, which let Evelyn give a sigh of relief at the news that Captain Laurens was finally coming on board reached her. Of course, that meant she needed to get to the proper transporter room. She'd been working with a recalcitrant door to a storage room near the bridge and had Transporter Room One take the transporter request. She'd been paranoid that the Captain would come on board at the worst possible moment, so she'd given herself none of the heavy duty work details, just in case.

She set herself in an at ease position in front of the transporter with a broad smile on her face and made a signal behind her back to the transporter chief who spoke a word after activating the comm, "Energizing."

As she rematerialized from the transport, Abigail glanced around the familiar transporter room, a smile playing on her lips as he gaze finally settled on the Engineering Officer in front of her.

Evelyn's smile didn't falter in the slightest, but her brain did a facepalm as she recognized the face that rematerialized. It was Captain Abigail and now she had the last name, the one she'd dismissed and now seemed to be an idiot for. "Captain Laurens, welcome aboard USS Astraea. As I'm sure you remember, I'm Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Rozia, senior officer in charge until you officially assume command at your discretion. May I show you to the bridge, ma'am?"

"Nice to see you again Commander Rozia," Abigail said with a smile. "Lead the way, thank you."

Formality. For the moment, formality was the key to this particular bit of ceremony and she led the way out of the transporter and to the turbolift, "Deck One." She ordered the computer and with a purr that lasted only a few seconds as the lift went up four decks and deposited them in a short corridor that the bridge doors, "Computer, unlock bridge doors, authorization Rozia-Six-Six-Aleph-One-One Actual." A different code from the one she'd given the day before, but this time it wasn't for show. She led the way through the doors to the rather large bridge area and to just in front of the Captain's chair, then brought herself into an at-attention stance, rigid back, "Captain Laurens, welcome to the bridge, ma'am."

Abigail nodded politely. "Thank you Commander. I trust everything is ready for launch? The crew is expected to finish onboarding within twenty four hours and we'll be looking for a swift launch after that. Is there anything I should be aware of?"

"I'll just need forty minutes warning of when you're going to want the Slipstream, ma'am." Evelyn remarked with a smile, "Aside from that, we could be underway as soon as you give the order. Every system has been checked out and certified, our live fire run at the asteroid firing range a week ago went off without a hitch and all weapons are fully functional. The only uncertainty with the systems will be under sustained use and Engineering stands ready to squash any bugs that show up."

"At this stage unfortunately we won't get to test slip stream until we reach the Delta Quadrant, so I hope your team had a good day when they were putting her together," Abigail said with a smile. "I certainly don't feel like blowing up another ship just yet and I get the feeling that Command might be a little miffed if I destroy this beauty."

"That'll happen over my dead body." Evelyn said seriously, then grimaced as she remembered the report that the senior engineer from the old ship HAD died trying to save the ship, "Sorry, ma'am. I actually knew Lieutenant Aschail when she was just an Ensign just out of the Academy on the Appalachia. She'll be missed." She shook her head slowly, "But the core of the engineering team is who I had to help get everything ready, plus most of your previous engineering crew. My aide,
Chief Terrix, is also one of my best programming people and I'm damned good on the damage control side of things, so even if we run into trouble, your ship is in great hands, ma'am."

"I plan to hold you to that Commander Rozia," Abigail said with a laugh. "Now, is there anything else that you need before we launch?"

"Oh, there are a couple of formalities that we still need to go through, ma'am." Evelyn gave a mischievous smile, "Captain Laurens, do you formally take command of the USS Astraea, NCC 80819-A?"

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Abigail smirked. "Yes, I, Captain Abigail Laurens, formally take command of the USS Astraea. You are relieved Commander Rozia."

"I stand relieved." Evelyn replied, taking a deep breath, "Very relieved. Please sit in your command chair, right hand on the console for the biometrics." She waited a few seconds for Abigail to sit, then reached out to the XO's chair and tapped a button, "Computer: Transfer all Command and Bastion Protocols to Captain Abigail Laurens, Starfleet. Authorization Rozia Six-Three-Citadel-One-One-Arcadia-Seven-Two, All For One."

"And one for all, Commander." The computer replied to Evelyn, "All command and bastion functions have been transferred. Welcome, Captain Laurens."

The interaction made Abigail laugh and she shook her head slightly. "Thank you Commander, I suggest you find your quarters and get some rest. We launch tomorrow."

"Of course, Captain." Evelyn smiled brightly, "All I ask is that you take a few minutes to set up your own command codes and a catchphrase for the bastion protocols before you retire for the night." She shrugged, "Otherwise I'll bug you tomorrow to get them done!"

"You can bug me all you like," Abigail replied with a smirk. "Doesn't mean I have to listen. The beauty of being the Captain is that I'm the boss," she finished. "Goodnight Commander," she finished with a hint of emphasis on the rank.

Evelyn laughed. She smiled as she took a couple steps back before raising a hand in farewell, "Good night, ma'am, see you bright and shiny early tomorrow."