“Drop out of Warp” Dante said, sitting back in his chair with his fingers steeped in a pyramid and his ankle resting on his opposite knee. “Bring us to Quarter Impulse and request docking clearance with the Starbase, it’s time for some downtime” he smiled, looking at his acting XO, Commander Aullar in the chair next to him. “I bet your glad to see that?” he asked her. Aullar had been trapped in 2025, previously having been a dedicated, if fiery, Executive Officer and Lt Governer on OEDV with a promising career ahead of her. She still did of course, if she chose to keep the shirt.

Now that their mission was over and the Saracen had been ‘retrieved’ it was time to dock, replace the engines which had run non-stop for far too much time, repair the hole in the ship properly and have the Star Bases personnel do what they did best and put the Saracen back together and send her out for more. In the mean time, he had crew evaluations to complete, crew rotation to authorize, repairs to haggle about for priority, and a new XO to formally assign to the ship. While he intended on his crew taking some much needed rest, he doubted he would have much himself for the weeks it took to replace most of the engine components. They were, however, close enough to several holiday options for him and Natasha to take some much needed vacation together, however short, after the shock of learning of her miscarriage and the joy of their re-engagement.

“Starbase 257 confirms docking clearance Captain” their Helm officer stated and Dante simply nodded at the man to proceed. “Shore Leave is granted to all crew” he said to those on the Bridge, “Aside from skeleton crew assigned to essential duties until the Starbase can assign cover. Enjoy your down time people.”

Captain Knight, CO