Remarkable has her first orders. We've three days to make ready and then hell or high water, we break orbit and make best speed for the Omicron Epsilon Ceti system. Warp speed restrictions have been waived by Starfleet Command for this one; not out of any sense of urgency, but so that we're able to stretch the old girl's legs and run some system tests at maximum warp. Far better to overheat a coil linkage when we're on our way to a non-critical request for intervention than it is to be left drifting after trying to rush to a distress call, and I appreciate that HQ looks at it the same way as I do.
We'll be heading to the planet Rilia, which is a Federation-aligned world along the gap between Federation and Klingon space. They've reported a significant increase in the number of D7 cruisers making passes close to their sovereign territory, and it's not like the Klingons to rattle the saber without meaning to draw it. The Federation and Klingon Empire are still at peace, but those worlds that get swept up in the posturing, Orion raids, and trade pressures from the Empire don't much appreciate feeling like pieces in the Great Game. Remarkable is on its way to show the Rilians and the Klingons both that we take our commitments to our friends and allies seriously.
If there were a real risk of fire being exchanged over this one, I'd imagine Starfleet would send a more seasoned ship. Then again, the Klingons are still smarting over the perceived duplicity of the Miranda-class design's modular nature; they're understandably cautious about the fact that these ships can be carrying sensor suites, shuttle bays, or additional torpedo launchers up on that dorsal assembly... Remarkable has a compliment of additional shuttles and work bees as an all-purpose patrol and support vessel, but the Klingons won't know that until weapons are drawn. Starfleet Command made an interesting choice to send us.
Ostensibly, we'll be in the system at the request of the Rilian government. A few decades ago they switched their economic system to one modeled closely on that of Earth, Tellar Prime, and other Federation core worlds: no money, no currency. They're able to provide a solid standard of living for their citizens and everything seems to have worked out well for them in the interim, but in their briefing to Starfleet the Rilians mentioned a secondary global currency outside of government control which still exerts a powerful influence in some sectors - particularly technological and defense industries. The abolition of currency isn't a requirement of the Federation Charter, but since they've asked us to take a look... it's a fine enough excuse to show up and put our crew to work, and I'm certain we can find a few other, less provocative problems to lend a hand with while we're there.
We'll have more details once we reach the Omicron Epsilon Ceti system and make direct contact with Rilia. Until then, there's three days to prepare this ship for launch and I intend to be ready for it.
Computer: End log.
Personal Addendum:
Remarkable is my fourth command. Probably my last, at this rate. I haven't got any interest in being made admiral - commanding a desk on one of the core worlds sounds like one of the most painfully, dismally dull gigs imaginable after almost forty years in space. There's talk about resurrecting the rank of commodore for sector control while Starfleet's commitments are expanding so quickly, but I'm not about to hold my breath. The last time I step off the bridge of a starship is gonna be the last time I put on the uniform.
I remember when I was a little fella that we knew the names of all the Starfleet vessels in service. All of them! Most of us kids even knew their captains and a few of the more interesting mission reports. Now there's Federation worlds with shipyards in orbit that're knocking out new ships faster than they can find captains and crew to put them into service. It's orders of magnitude more busy in the stars than I remember, and while logically I understand that space is a bloody big place, the neighborhood just feels a little more crowded. I had the chance once to visit Columbia shortly after it was opened as a museum to the public, and the sensation of setting boots on that deck... man oh man. You could feel the history there; that sensation of being surrounded by great deeds and all the good graces of Starfleet at its best got into your bones real quick. It's something you only feel on ships that have been in service a while - ships that have taken their scrapes and been to the fringes of what we know. I came up through the ranks of the Command division the whole way through my career, but I know that any Starfleet engineer worth their salt would agree with me on this: every ship has its own character.
I felt Remarkable when I stepped off the shuttle, straight away. It's a mischievous soul at the heart of all this duranium. I've got a feeling that this old girl wants to shake out the cobwebs and flaunt what she's got - really prove that these time-tested spaceframes have it where it counts. I can only imagine that one day some captain's gonna be reminiscing in a similar way about their Constellation-class or some other god-awful ugly new hull, but if Remarkable really is going to be my last command, I have a feeling she'll make it count.
I'm also looking forward to getting to really meet my crew as our tour unfolds. Starfleet's keen to diversify its officer corps as the number of Federation member worlds practically quadruples; gone are the days of singularly human crews on a ship! Just as well, if you ask me - we can't very well pretend to the Vulcans that we're such enlightened, open-minded, tolerant people if we can't demonstrate we actually grasp their concept of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Most of my senior department heads on Remarkable are human - barring Dr. Solon - simply by virtue of experience and what crews were available, but their juniors are almost all member species from worlds other than Earth; I actually met my first Edosian just yesterday, how telling is that? I wanted to make sure that my executive officer wasn't human so the officers and crew of Remarkable could look up the chain of command and see themselves represented throughout the echelons of Starfleet, which is undoubtedly the crew selection process which took the longest.
Commander Dell will be serving as XO during our tour on Remarkable. She's a Bolian with a fine service record, though she'd been languishing beneath the notice of some more reputable captains due to a long streak - and I do mean long - of mentions on her file of insubordination. Interestingly, never has a superior officer actually gone so far as to officially demerit or reprimand her for it, but they feel the need to make note of it... Personally, I've had long enough in the chair to know that sometimes a right hand that'll give you a bloody good slap on occasion is worth having around. I've spoken to her personally and discussed the situation in quite frank detail - there's a bar on Earth Spacedock that serves very good Bolian cocktails, as we learned - and I've made it clear that I'm looking forward to working well together. If it doesn't work out she knows there's a shuttle back to Starfleet whenever she prefers it, but I have a pretty good eye for talent. I'd like to see her advance, maybe even command Remarkable after me.
I'm getting ahead of myself, though. There's not much left to do, just a handful of crew transfers from ESD and Earth surface... and then, yeah. At last. Remarkable feels like it'll be a good run. Just gotta avoid pissing off the Klingons on our first bloody mission and it'll be smooth as a baby's arse.
Computer: End log.
- Captain Alan P. Blake