Arrival and Acquisition Part 1 of ?

Posted on 29 Jul 2025 @ 3:02am by Vice Admiral Sidra MacLaren & Captain Sabrina Corbin

1,837 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Assignment: Arawyn
Location: Starbase 369
Timeline: 242507.28

=/\= Warp Shuttle En Route to SB369 =/\=

She tucked a soft brown lock of hair behind her ear for the hundredth time, eyes narrowed slightly at the display. Sabrina June Corbin had spent the past few hours studying her incoming crew, and although the lineup wasn't finalized, something about it made her pause. Every name so far belonged to a woman.

There seemed to be a wealth of talent among the group, and she genuinely looked forward to meeting them. Sabrina would need a strong team around her and intended to lean into each officer’s strengths to forge a cohesive senior staff. Commander Holt, her XO, had been assigned without her input, but after reading through her file, Corbin could see why she’d been chosen. Still, a small, persistent doubt tugged at her; why hadn’t Holt taken the chair herself?

A quiet reminder surfaced in her internal monologue: personnel files were not people. They weren’t concrete data sets to dissect and analyse; they were curated snapshots, often more polished than truthful.

Her own file, she imagined, read like a dry biscuit: technically sound, entirely uninspiring, and best taken with something stronger on the side.

She looked up from her reading and decided to tuck the screen away as the transport shuttle’s overhead comms system announced their impending arrival. The larger displays in the passenger compartment switched to mirror the viewscreens in the cockpit, giving passengers a view as they dropped out of warp and eased into impulse.


Rubbing the back of her sore neck, she took in the view of the spacedock. Though still under construction at the base, with exposed, shielded pillars and unfinished decks at the bottom of the spire, the completed upper portion of the spaceborne mushroom was rather impressive. The operations-minded part of her nearly salivated at the thought of the logistics required to bring something so massive online. She had read the history of Epsilon prior to Frontier Day; the previous station had been a much smaller variant of the Centauri-class, a central hub with rounded pedestals branching off it like the petals of a daisy.


They docked in a much smaller shuttlebay, well away from the berth where the gleaming new Sovereign-class Arawyn rested. There was a flicker of disappointment at not seeing her new command straight away, but Sabrina also recognised a quiet anxiety at the thought of taking the seat. She gathered her sole possession, a PADD, resisting the urge to double-check that her belongings in the cargo hold would be promptly transferred to her quarters aboard the Arawyn.

As she stepped through the shuttle hatch, her eyes took in the swift, efficient activity around her. She smiled softly, likening it to bees in a hive. Her appreciation of the order was interrupted by a sandy-blonde Bajoran ensign in a mustard-coloured uniform who looked friendly, though tinged with worry.

“Captain Corbin. I’m Yeoman Quen. Admiral MacLaren has scheduled a meeting with you that begins promptly in five minutes, and it will take us most of that time to walk briskly and ride to the command offices.”

Sabrina checked the time and, in addition to noting she was already late for afternoon tea, observed that the shuttle had arrived precisely on schedule.

“We didn’t dock later than expected,” Corbin remarked aloud, motioning for the yeoman to lead the way, though she had already committed the route to memory, anticipating a desire to get the formalities over with and reach her ship.

She let Quen lead the way, and the young woman set off at a determined pace, explaining to Sabrina with an apologetic smile, “No, Captain, but the Admiral keeps a tight schedule. I’m sorry to rush you, but I’m glad you’ve arrived. Your new ship is a gem.”

That brought the faintest smile to Sabrina’s face, her travel weariness and lack of caffeine momentarily forgotten.

“I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

The pace the Bajoran had kept throughout their swift journey to the command deck had Corbin glancing at the time on her PADD more than once. She arrived at the Admiral’s office door with just fifteen seconds to spare before the display rolled over to 1600. After a brief pause following the chime, she was beckoned to enter.


=/\= Sidra MacLaren’s Office =/\=

Sidra was standing, watching a large status display mounted on a wall next to her desk. The office was still a work in progress, and she, as much as she disliked the disorder, there were more pressing things that needed to be completed. Though she would be immensely grateful the moment her windows replaced the solid bulkhead that was currently in place.


She had her hands tucked behind her back and pivoted on her boot heel with the smoothness of a dancer as she turned to face and looked over the newly pinned Captain for the first time. Though Sidra was still able to move with grace at times, her body was feeling its age. After more than thirty years of service, hard active service as a Security officer and a hands-on command officer, and even a period of physical torture and enslavement, her joints and tendons protested the actions her mind still convinced her she could perform.


MacLaren couldn’t help but look at the time as Captain Corbin stood at attention in front of her desk. The corner of her mouth turned up in just the hint of a smirk as she considered how the timecheck could be perceived. Age, weariness, her husband, and perhaps motherhood had tempered the once fiery and over-eager temper of Sidra, but there was a reputation stuck to the name that wouldn’t be shaken easily. “Very punctual, Captain. Please sit, Corbin, make yourself at home, and don’t mind the chaos.” The taller woman moved to the one thing that seemed to work consistently in her office. “Can I get you a drink? I need some coffee myself.”


“Assam tea with a splash of milk, thank you, Admiral,” Sidra noted the British accent; it wasn’t strong, but it was there. She hadn’t read anything in her file about being from England. She guessed, based on her own experience of picking up a parent’s accent despite being surrounded by those that were more generic. She brought the tray to the desk, removed her coffee, and nudged the tea towards Corbin. “Was one of your parents British? I don’t recall reading that you have lived there.”


Sidra drank her coffee, knowing that, pending any unforeseen event, this would be her last consumption of caffeine for the day. “Ah, yes, my father is very, very British and I seem to have latched on to his sayings and terms of phrase.”


“Mm,” Sidra acknowledged and quickly pivoted to business. “I visited the Arawyn when it arrived. It’s quite a ship.” The redhead was going to let that linger and allow a response, but her eagerness to get to the meat of this meeting overtook her patience: “It's the first newly built Sovereign in many years, and I’m proud to have it in my Fleet.” Sidra was indeed starting to see Epsilon as her fleet again, though only two ranks back; her time here as a Commodore was a lifetime ago. She wanted to be a part of this rebuild, wanted to feel the circle be whole again.


Sidra was not one to dance around words and pleasantries, but her much more diplomatic husband had improved her tact. The pool of senior officers was shallow, but Sidra had picked Corbin, and why was there a nagging doubt now? Her green eyes went to the time again, knowing it wasn’t Corbin she doubted, but a reflection of her own early placement at the helm of a similar ship. She turned her intense gaze back to well-composed Corbin, “You’re quite young, Captain, for this seat to be your first command.”


Sidra watched what she perceived as a flash of surprise and maybe anger, but it was quickly washed away by a very neutral, straight-line smile. Sabrina answered, “I am young, Admiral, but who among my peers isn’t right now?” Sidra nodded, and the Captain continued, “I’m well aware of the responsibility. I have grown up in this newly imagined Starfleet, well aware of the sacrifice of those before us and the effort that has been required to bring us even to the point we are at today. Though my experiences are greatly different from yours, we have fought with few resources and personnel to get Starfleet back to where it is today. I’m proud of what we have done.” Sidra watched as Sabrina took a breath, a moment before she continued uninterrupted by the Admiral, who was pleased to see determination. “Admiral, if I recall from your own record, and I do say my memory is quite good, you were several years younger than I am now when you took the seat, were you not?”


Sidra leaned back in her chair. She cracked a smile at the gumption to bring up her own service. MacLaren said stiffly, the smile had faded, “And I wasn’t ready, Captain. Running the ship is easy. Any officer with some leadership ability can handle the day-to-day. It’s those single days, those disastrous days that nothing prepares you for. All their souls are in your hands now, Captain. There isn’t anything that makes you ready for that, for the memorial services and the letters to next of kin.”


Sidra let out a sigh that almost growled. She didn’t know how else to express her concern, so much for her diplomatic side, and it was her own deep-seated memories that had led the conversation astray. “Captain, I choose you for this. I think you’ll do a fine job, and you and Commander Holt are the future of this Fleet. This is not how I intended to introduce us.”


She saw the brow of Sabrina Corbin knot together, the Captain sat up straighter, the mug of tea placed on the tray, a flat, dry tone, she said, “I would have liked to be included in the picking of my XO Admiral.”


Sidra actually chuckled and understood the frustration. “The pool is shallow, Captain, and I have a bit more experience matching command teams that will work. You’re not doubting my pick, I hope? Her last question was challenging Corbin.


Sabrina nodded in concession, “I think Commander Holt is a great choice, Admiral.”


Sidra stood, pulling her top down, restless from so much time at her desk. “I'm glad you agree, Corbin. I wasn’t about to defend my decision.” She gestured to the door, “Captain, let’s go tour your ship.”

Captain Sabrina Corbin
Commanding Officer
USS Arawyn

Vice Admiral Sidra MacLaren
Epsilon Fleet Commander


Well... I know this is long. I wanted to get to a stopping point that made sense before I continue.

 

RSS Feed