The ship was still docked at the Starbase, Lt. Cmdr Sanks had gotten settled in from his temporary quarters at the base to his new quarters on the ship. He was setting up the last of his stuff, placing his grandfather’s pips contained in a glass holder. He also had one for his father’s, even though those were replicated, as his father still had his own on his uniform. After placing them, he left his quarters and headed for the Captain’s ready room. It was time to check in before the ship departed from the Starbase. He walked through the quiet ship, reaching the ready rom, the doors beeped to the Captain that the XO was on the other side.

Captain John T Glen had just returned from visiting Commodore Stone on the Starbase, both to debrief, and to brief him on the current mission. Now that he had been given his orders, he wanted to leave for the Hromi Cluster as soon as possible, and would very soon recall the remaining crew currently on leave at the Starbase, but there were also a few new Merrimack crew yet to arrive. One of them should be his new XO. He had been without an XO for some time, so he was quite looking forward to having a right-hand man to support him again.

He was busy checking up the re-arranging the physical file shelving in the Chart Room that he’d asked his Yeoman, Faith Hopkins, to organise for him. It seemed much tidier, and the star charts were easier to access now. He was in a very happy mood because his cat, Ginger, had turned up again after being missing for days. Ginger seemed to have been fed somewhere aboard and looked quite well, but where he went was always going to remain a mystery. Ginger was lying on top of a chart table purring loudly.

On his way back to the Merri Glen had passed the DS K-5 workmen returning to the Starbase. he had seen some of the external repairs from the Starbase windows. If their repairs and upgrades to the Merri had been finished and Lt. Mullins was satisfied with the work, then he could leave almost immediately, and brief the senior officers on the way to Ardan V.

He had also told Stone that he would try to contact Romulan Commander Andone for information about why the Romulans had left, though exactly how he would that, or why he had said that, he had no idea. He was bragging, most likely. Andone and Glen had felt a sexual attraction, and she was sympathetic to the Federation. In the future, her daughter will somehow become a Starfleet Captain, who Glen had actually met at Black Rock, but at this point in time, she was now married to a very dour Romulan Diplomat, and there had been no official contact between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire for many years. Even before that, relations had been frosty. So, he really had no idea how he might contact her again without a rendezvous that would take the Merrimack well out of it’s way, or might even cause a diplomatic incident!

When he heard the door chime in the Ready Room, he was woken up from these thoughts, and he walked back through the connecting doors and called out, “Enter! Please come in!”

• Glen, CO