"Personal log, 23599.04.

I am en route to Starbase 34, on what will shortly be the

border with Gorn space. A month ago the Gorn sent a message to the Federation, it
was just maps of various systems with lines drawn through them. But it was clear,
they had laid claim to swaths of space along the outer edges of Federation
territory. Starfleet immediately began pulling ships out of mothballs, reactivating
them to form a fleet. We don't have a lot of time and multiple colonies need to be
evacuated. Too many even, for what some are calling the 'Junkyard Fleet,' to do. So
every freighter and merchant ship that can be mustered has been called to help.
I've been given temporary command of the USS Halcyon. I know nothing of her history
save that she's an old exploration vessel, an Einstein Class. Last in service when
I was still a child back in Ireland. Hardly what I imagined my first command would
be. But who am I to really complain? A Commander getting any command is something.

"I also know nothing of my crew to be. From what I understand, much like this
fleet, they're a collection of officers awaiting more permanent duty posts. And
this is likely to be our only mission together. I only hope their faith in me is as
strong as mine in theirs. End log."

It had been hours of traveling at warp, the pulsating blue and white light from the
warp bubble pouring through the windows in the shuttle would never allow her to
sleep. Aine set her PADD down on the console of the shuttle and leaned back in her
chair. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. For this being an emergency
situation, everything felt like it was moving slow. But that kind of wishful
thinking wouldn't last long, and she knew it.

"Commander, we're coming up on Starbase 34. Bringing us out of warp."

As Aine slowly opened her eyes, the warp bubble collapsed and the sight of the
space station rushed towards them before coming to a sudden halt. The arms of the
station reached out to multiple docking areas, arms wrapped around ships like a
claw. The first one she could see was a mighty, three nacelled, dreadnaught. She
knew that ship. Knew its Captain. It had been months since she and Mel had been
able to see each other. Their last messages to one another were about this
assignment. And though she was happy he was here too, a part of her worried for
both of them. The Gorn had proven a ruthless and brutal enemy.

The crewman piloting the shuttle had received clearance to land in one of the
shuttlebays, but first, "Would you like to do a flyby of the Halcyon, Sir?"

Aine turned her head to look at the young crewman and a smile formed, "Please, if
you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all sir."

The crewman smiled back, almost beaming. She wondered if he was assigned to the
Halcyon. She turned to look back out the forward windows as the shuttle zoomed
closer to the station, panning around it to get to the far side. As they came
around past the first three ships, it came into view. The odd single warp nacelle
hanging down with the engineering hull above. They didn't make them like this
anymore. And though she was old, she was hers, for now.

"The USS Halcyon. NCC-0597. Einstein Class. Only one of three left. Design of a
joint project between Starfleet and the Vulcan Science Academy. More maneuverable
than newer ships of similar size."

Aine looked at the crewman again, "You seem to know a lot about her."

"Yes, Sir. I studied up when I heard I'd be posted to her as a shuttle pilot."
"Well, Crewman, you'll have to give me the full rundown."

He beamed a smile at his soon to be Captain, "Yes, Sir!"

The landing and onboarding took almost two full hours. A lot of the typical "hurry
up and wait" that was indicative of life in Starfleet. Aine had received her
orders, but unlike most change of commands, there was no ceremony. Not shaking
hands. No ass kissing. They had a job to do. When everything was set and more of
the Captain's of this fleet had arrived a meeting was called between them and the
Admiral for the sector, one Admiral Jacobs. Aine was familiar with him and had met
him on a few occasions. He was old school. The kind of officer young officers liked
and looked up to, but also the kind of officer Starfleet was often frustrated by.

When she walked into the conference room she saw Mel, Captain Martinson, seated at
the table on the far side of the room. Their eyes met and they both smiled. But
before she could even begin to make her way over to him, the Admiral approached
her, hand held out. She reached out and shook his hand.

"Welcome, Captain," he said with a wink.

"Thank you, Admiral. It's a pleasure to be here. Well, not pleasurable...you know
what I mean..."

Jacobs laughed as he laid a hand on the back of her shoulder and began to walk,
guiding her to the conference table, "I know exactly what you mean. 'A pleasure to
serve.' But none of us are really happy about the situation. But I asked for those
who I felt could handle this best."

"Asked, Sir?"

"Yes."

She had thought this was all decided by Head Quarters. That they had picked
everyone, but apparently not. She wasn't sure if that made things better, or maybe
made the pressure even more.

The Admiral continued, "I'm not going to lie, this is going to be close. And I
fully expect to have direct run-ins with the Gorn. And with the regular fleet
stretched so thin, especially along the Klingon border, well, I guess it's good
they at least gave us something."

"A good ship and a few good people are all we really need, Sir."

"Ever the optimist. Your boy, I mean Captain Martinson, will be the quick reaction
force for this mission."

Aine gave Jacobs a sharp and sarcastic smile. Jacobs had almost been like a father
figure in the fleet to so many young officers, and he sure acted like a father when
it came to hers an Mel's relationship.

"I'll leave you two alone for a bit."

"Thank you, Admiral."

As Jacobs turned to greet other arriving Captains, Aine slowly approached Mel.
Everyone knew about their relationship, but something still after all these years,
made her hesitant to publicly show affection. As she walked up, she nervously and
lightly tugged at the hem of her tunic. He stood, smiled, and gave a sharp tug to
his. She stopped short of him, waiting for him to speak.
"Captain Sherlock," he said with a sly grin.

"Captain Martinson."

"Congratulations are in order."

"It's only temporary. But thank you."

He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders, giving them a light squeeze.

"It's still important."

Aine meekly smiled and nodded in agreement. But the moment was quickly broken by a
"kiss her already" from one of the other Captain's. The look on her face soured and
she started to turn her head, but one of Mel's hands went right to her chin,
turning her face back towards him. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. Just
enough to "satisfy" those watching but not enough to embarrass her.It was just
relieving enough as she was normally cautious. He always had a way of calming her
down.

--

The briefing with the other Captains and the Admiral fully appraised Aine of the
situation. A quick lunch with Mel afterwards, and then she was off to her ship.
Her...ship. Ten years. That's how long it had been since she graduated from
Starfleet Academy. There were times when it seemed like it would never happen. And
now here she was, walking to her ship. Though temporary. The station was buzzing.
Officers and crewman moving about. Anti-grav lifts of supplies. The gantry to the
Halcyon was mostly empty. Presumably because the ship was ready, she'd find out
soon enough.

Making her way through the airlock that deposited her into the engineering hull,
she found her way quickly to the bridge. She casually entered, most of the crew
seemed too busy to even notice her. Not that she expected anyone to recognize her
or know she was now the Captain. A woman in a gold tunic with two thick stripes,
just like hers, looked her way.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm Commander Sherlock."

The woman snapped to attention.

"Captain on deck!"

The sudden sound of boots stomping as the rest of the bridge came to attention made
Aine realize that everyone's attention was suddenly on her, "As you were."

"I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't recognize you."

"It's quite alright. I'm not expecting any special treatment, Commander?"

"Larel, Captain."

"Well, Commander Larel, what's the status of our ship?"

"We are fully stocked up and about eighty percent of the crew are onboard. All
systems appear fully functioning."
"Excellent," Aine looked around the bridge briefly, taking in the sight. "Can we
step into my ready room, Commander?"

Larel motioned towards the back of the bridge where there stood a doorway that
presumably led into the conference room which attached would be Aine's ready room.
Once inside, sure enough, there was a large table surrounded by chairs and off to
the side a desk with a chair behind and in front of it. Aine made her way to the
chair behind the desk, appearing to do so confidently, but inside she was unsure.
Her first officer followed her and took the seat across from her. "So, Commander,
what do you know of our mission?"

"Just that we're here to assist with evacuations, Sir."

"Behind closed doors, I'm just Aine. Later today, a fleet of merchant vessels will
be arriving. Starfleet's been gathering them left and right. They'll actually be
doing the evacuations. Our job is to stand between them and the Gorn just in case
they decide to cut our time short."

Larel looked around the room, up towards the ceiling as if she were examining it.

Aine stifled a laugh, "Yes, it's not the ideal ship. But it's what we got. On top
of that, we have the second biggest colony in the sector. Quarter million people."

"Is that a fucking joke...I mean, I'm sorry, Captain."

"It's Aine, and no, it's no fucking joke."

Aine looked at the face of her First Officer. It showed exactly what she herself
was feeling inside. There was a sense of hopelessness. Even failure before they
even set out. It was a monumental task. And given how few resources they actually
had versus the chances of a Gorn attack, they were, as the old saying went, getting
the shit end of the stick.

--

Aine had spent the next few hours alone in her ready room setting up shift
rotations, drill schedules, etc. All the things they would need for her short
command stint. Just when she was finishing up, the telltale whistle indicating
someone was calling her chimed out from the desk. She pressed the button to take
the call.

The voice of Commander Larel came through, "Captain, all crew is now onboard and
the merchant task force has arrived."

"I'll be right out."

This time when she stepped onto the bridge, her First Officer stood from the
Captain's chair. Aine held up a hand to keep her from announcing her presence, it
really wasn't needed. She just made her way to the chair while Larel moved to a
station to the port side of the bridge.

"Comm, one MC please."

The Comm officer gave her a nod and after a tap of their console the Boatswains
whistle signaled through the announcement system of the ship.

"Crew of the USS Halcyon. I'm am Commander Aine Sherlock, you Captain for this
mission. We have a long day ahead of us. When we arrive at the colony we'll have
just over thirty-six hours to evacuate the entire population. As you may know, we
have a fleet of freighters to do the heavy lifting. But even at that, by our best
calculations and if nothing goes wrong, we'll still come up short by a few hours.
The Halcyon is going to help as much as we can. But we may need to expect a fight.
I'd like...to be more cheerful, but the fact is that this is a bad situation. But I
know I've got the best crew available for the job. Stay focused. Keep it tight. And
we'll get out of this in one piece."

Aine gave the Comm officer a sharp nod and the line closed. It wasn't exactly the
most inspiring speech, but she wasn't going to lie to them. "Comms, let the fleet
know we'll be moving out and to follow our lead. Number One, let every department
chief know I want those on duty not doing critical tasks to be drilling, everyone
else rests until needed. Helm, move us out of spacedock, maximum thrusters."

The Operations officer looked over their shoulder to Aine, "All stations report
ready for departure, Captain."

Aine looked around the bridge at her crew before her eyes settled on her First
Officer. There was a moments pause as if Aine was looking for the right answer to
every problem they were about to face. And having just come from being the First
Officer on a ship, she knew that Larel was thinking the same thing. She was Captain
now, she would have to make the answers herself. "Helm, set course for Corallis IV,
warp six. Let's roll."

The helmsman input the coordinates and as they slowly rolled the throttle forward
the engines of the ship could be heard "winding up." The bright flash on screen as
the warp bubble was formed around the ship and the flow of white and blue light as
they sped off for their destination. Everyone was ready, she could feel it.

--

Time was running out. Their thirty-six hours was nearly up, and they really needed
forty. Long range scans showed the Gorn were already on their way. Scheduled to
arrive a few minutes early even. The last three freighters were transporting as
fast as they could. The Halcyon was even using its transporter to site-to-site
people onto them. She knew what Starfleet expected of them, the true numbers. But
she didn't like working the numbers. Those numbers were people. "Comm, contact
fleet control. Tell them we still have just over ten thousand colonists down there
and a Gorn attack force is on its way."

"Aye, Captain."

Aine was fully prepared to do anything and everything to get as many people out of
there. She knew what that the Gorn didn't take prisoners, at least not the way
everyone else did. "Helm, I want you to position us between that incoming fleet and
the transports."

"On it."

"Tactical, do we know how many ships there are?"

"It looks like we've got six attack ships and a command ship."

They were going to have to hold out. Aine gave the command she was hoping she
wouldn't have to, "Red alert."

The lights dimmed followed by the flashing reds. The klaxon blared throughout the
ship. "Full power to shields. Load torpedo bays and power up the phasers."
The view out the forward screen was barren except for the stars. Despite the noise
of the klaxon, Aine could hear her breathing. Slowly it was quickening. Her heart
raced. In ten years she'd been in more than a few situations, but nothing that
looked this overwhelming. An old ship, underpowered at best, facing a small fleet
of Gorn ships. This may end up being one of the shortest stints of a Captain.

Silently, seven small flashes on the screen as each of the ships dropped out of
warp in front of them. A voice from tactical station called out, "Enemy ships
powering up their weapons!"

Aine began calling out orders, "Helm, keep us moving and keep the transports
blocked. Comm, let the fleet know, we've engaged the Gorn."

Two of the small attack vessels swooped towards them as the rest made for the
transports. The two attack ships came to bear on the Halcyon, bright bursts of red
as their weapons fired. The impact of the shots rocked the ship. The tactical
officer called out a status, "Captain, shields at ninety-two percent."

"Return fire with phasers. Send a torpedo towards that command ship."

"Yes, Sir!"

The old phasers made an almost warbly sound as they beamed towards the attack ships
and the telltale sound of the torpedo flying out of the launcher as the red glowing
globe sailed across the screen. The command ship wasn't budging and neither were
the four attack ships escorting it. "Helm, get in front of that group, full
impulse!"

"Taking us in, Sir!"

The one thing the old Einstein had was maneuverability. It lurched and began to
speed towards the group. "Tactical, give'em everything you got!"

Torpedoes were launching as fast as they could be loaded. The phaser beams zipped
across the screen and the phaser turrets sent multiple bursts of fire into each of
the ships. Two of the attack ships broke off and made for the Halcyon. The shipped
rocked as Aine's First Officer called out the situation, "Taking fire from behind,
torpedoes from incoming fore, brace for impact!"

This time the ship rocked hard and began to shake. Sparks flew form the conduits
above them. Static briefly flashed on the view screen.

"Captain! Shields at thirty percent!"

"Focus all fire on the lead attacker!"

All beams, turrets, and torpedoes narrowed in on one of the attack ships in front
of them. The impacts on their shields lit up until there was a bright flash as the
shields failed only a second before the ship exploded in a ball of plasma and
flames. One down, but with the damage they were taking and the numbers they were
facing, she knew they wouldn't be able to hold out. There was another burst of fire
from the three attack ships still on them. More shaking and flashing, more sparks.
"Status!?"

"Shields failing! We have a hull breach on deck ten! Force fields are up and
containing it! The lead group is firing on the freighters!"

It was obvious that things were going downhill...fast. If they were lucky, they
might take out one more of the small ships. But at what cost? One or all of the
last of the transports? The Halcyon herself? The crew? If they had to, they would.
"Comm! Tell those freighters to get moving! They need to leave now! Helm...," this
was almost exactly the situation they'd always trained for but no one ever thought
they'd actually face. Ten years. Ten years and it was coming to this, "...set
course for the command ship and prepare to go to warp!"

"Sir!?"

"You heard the Captain!" The voice of her First Officer bellowed out, scolding the
helmsman for questioning an order. Aine looked over to Larel and Larel gave her a
nod. It let Aine know she was making the right choice, the right sacrifice.

A voice called out, "Shields down!"

She looked back to the viewscreen. Flashes of weapons fire from the attack ships
directed at them and the transports, one of which was taking heavy damage. "On my
mark! Three, two,..."

A sudden flash of a ship coming out of warp appeared in front of them. Weapons
opening up at full power, lots of them, as two of the attack ships were destroyed
almost instantly. Aine stood from her chair as she looked at the Dreadnaught. The
Comm officer spoke up, "Captain, it's the Glenn, they're hailing us!"

"On screen!" she couldn't say it fast enough.

The screen blinked and there he was, Mel. "Captain, move to follow and cover the
freighters. We'll distract your new friends."

Part of her was relieved to see him, part of her was pissed. But there was a chance
this old ship might make it out. "Will do! And it's good to see you, Captain."

They gave each other a nod before the he blinked off the screen. "Helm, put us
behind the freighters and follow them out."

As the view lurched again she could see the freighters followed by one of the
attack ships. "Fire on that bastard!"

Tactical let loose with all weapons, destroying the attack ship. As they closed in
on the freighters, Aine sat back down and tapped a command into the panel bringing
up a view of the USS Glenn behind them. She was fighting like hell, drawing all the
fire she could. Now she worried about him. The freighters went to warp with a flash
and the helmsman was ready, the engines spun up and their view was now obscured by
their warp bubble. There seemed to be a collective sigh of relief. Aine gave it a
moment to sink in before asking for reports, "Ops, I need full damage and casualty
reports. Tactical, did the Glenn make it out?"

"Yes, Sir. It looks like she was able to get out of there. The Gorn aren't
following."

"Send all reports to my ready room. Number One, you have the Conn."

"Yes, sir."

When Aine sat at her desk she took a couple deep breaths. And then it suddenly hit
her and her hand went to her chest. She'd never seen anything like it. She knew
Starfleet was unprepared for these evacuations. Not only had it escalated quickly,
the battle was faster than she imagined it would be. She felt like she couldn't
breath. Every call she made was suddenly going through her head and she was
questioning everything. The console in the desk beeped and reports were coming in.
When she opened them, she noticed her vision was blurred. She blinked hard and
shook her head. The adrenaline rush was beginning to wear off and she was feeling
it. Once she shook it off, she looked again at the first report. There were more
than a few injuries among the crew, but she hadn't lost anyone. Multiple damage
reports but the crew was already moving to isolate and repair them. The last report
was the one that really hit her. No names yet, but it was clear over ten thousand
people didn't make it off the planet.

--

On the way back to Starbase 34, Aine had toured the damaged areas of the ship and
went to Sickbay to check on the wounded. She even lent a hand in some of the
cleanup. And once back, she fully expected a reaming from Admiral Jacobs. But it
didn't happen. He had given her praise. Praise she didn't feel she deserved, even
after reminding her that Starfleet had expected less than seventy-five percent of
the colony to make it. But in her mind, it still wasn't acceptable. To someone
behind a desk, light years away, it was.

Her new orders were to take a break. Mel had gotten them a room on the station and
she went right to it. He was still out with the Glenn making sure the other ships
and transports made it back. With her hair up in a lazy mess, she laid in the tub
of hot water and bubbles. With her eyes closed her ears were ringing. The sounds of
the ship under attack kept echoing in her mind. She heard the door to their room
swish open and her eyes opened but she didn't look towards the door to the
bathroom. She could hear Mel coming close and in the periphery of her vision she
watched as he walked up to the tub and knelt down next to her. His voice didn't
feel comforting like she expected as he spoke while his hand reached out across her
face, brushing the far side of her jaw, cradling her head, "Are you okay?"

"No."

"You did good out there. Taking the chair isn't easy, and this one was worse than
most. But you did it right."

Her hand came out of the water, clutching his, pushing it firmly into the side of
her face. "So many got left behind."

"But not most. There was no winning that one. You can't blame yourself." He held
her face for a few moments in silence, "Do you want to be alone?"

"No."

His hand slid from her face and he stood up and began to strip off his uniform. She
watched and tried not to smile like a teenager doing something she wasn't supposed
to. As he stepped into the tub she pulled her knees up to make room and once he
settled in they both leaned in, scooting closer and grasping each other behind
their heads. When their lips touched she felt a sense of relief. She moved over
him, sloshing the water over the edge of the tub. But no good thing seemed to come
without consequences as her communicator chirped. They both sighed and Aine stood
up looking down at Mel, "Don't move. That's an order."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Aine raised an eyebrow at the "ma'am," she hated that term. She stepped out of the
tub, carelessly dripping water everywhere. Picking up her communicator, she flicked
it open, "Go for Sherlock."

"Commander Sherlock, Admiral Jacobs needs to see you as soon as possible."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." She flicked the communicator closed and sighed
again. Grabbing a towel, she looked at Mel sitting in the tub looking disappointed,
"To be continued."

He just nodded before slumping down in the tub.

--

Into a clean uniform, hair still somewhat a mess but at least up, she pressed the
button next to the door of the Admiral's office to signal her arrival. A second
later, the door swished open and she stepped in. Jacobs was seated at his desk, but
stood to greet her and waved her over to sit in the chair across from him. It was
likely the Admiral had reviewed what had happened Corallis, and she was in the
shit.

Jacobs gave her a curious look, "Why are you in uniform?"

"Didn't you ask to see me?"

"Yes, but I also ordered you to relax."

This time, she gave him a curious look, "Well I was about to...but then you
called."

"Well, sorry about that. But I heard from HQ and I need to inform you immediately."

"Is it that bad?"

"What? No, it's not bad at all. You're getting a permanent assignment."

"Oh, where?"

"Here. The Halcyon."

"Who's going to be her Captain?"

"Are you kidding? You. Your permanent assignment is as Captain of the Halcyon.
Congratulations."

Aine was surprised. In her mind she'd really been beating herself up over her
performance in the center chair. But this news left her speechless, "I'm
speechless."

"You earned it. Like I said before, you went well above Starfleet's expectations."

"I'm honored, Sir. What's my mission?"

"All the ships in this temporary fleet will remain here as a part of the defensive
posture against the Gorn. But we still have exploring to do out here too."

Although Aine still felt some guilt over the numbers game she couldn't fully win,
the sense of pride she felt in being rewarded for what others felt was a mission
well done brought a sense of relief.

"Look at it this way," Jacobs continued. "At least you and your little boyfriend
will be serving close to one another."

She gave him a sour look, he took every chance he could to poke fun at them, "So
the Glenn is going to be stationed here too?"
"Well yeah, didn't he tell you the news?"

"Tell me what news?"

"Mel's being made Fleet Captain of the defensive fleet out of the starbase."

"You're fucking kidding me..."

She could just hear the jokes that would be made in the near future. First saved by
her boyfriend in battle, and now "serving under him" was sure to become the next
best joke. She wasn't looking forward to that. But now, she had no end of crap to
give him for him not telling her. But it really didn't matter in the end. For now,
now she had her ship and her crew.

End