New CEO

Posted on 2025, Mon Jul 7th, @ 12:00am by Vice Admiral Jack Reacher Jr & Lieutenant Commander Marcus Varen

1,171 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 1A "Shadows of the Empire"
Location: Docking Bay Lounge - Deck 19 - Vector 3
Timeline: 4 Hours Till Halo Leaves For SB113

Townsend sat back in a comfortable chair at the Docking Bay Lounge, cradling a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. This was one of the few places he frequented when he needed a moment of tranquility away from the hustle and bustle of daily life aboard the starship. The lounge was dimly lit and filled with the gentle hum of conversation and the faint sound of starships docking outside.

Today, he welcomed the solitude as he engrossed himself in the latest report from Task Group 147. The document detailed the strategic efforts to establish communication relay boosters throughout the Zytchin system. These boosters were intended to enhance both Starfleet and civilian communications, ensuring that information could flow freely and reliably in this vast and often unpredictable region of space. As Townsend read through the meticulously outlined plans, he contemplated the impact they would have on the safety and efficiency of operations in the area.

After exiting his transport, Lt. Cmdr. Marcus Varen decided to grab a quick drink before finding his quarters. The lounge doors slid open with a soft hiss, and he stepped into the Docking Bay Lounge for the first time. He moved with the calm, composed gait of someone accustomed to the low thrum of a starship beneath his boots—but there was a subtle alertness in his eyes, the kind that came from walking into unfamiliar systems and reading them like schematics.

This was his first posting aboard a Multi-Vector Assault Mode vessel, and even after a full systems tour, the USS Halo still felt like a layered puzzle. Three vectors, one ship—each humming with complex redundancies and shared responsibilities. He didn’t mind complexity. Complexity was just another kind of language. He just liked to speak it fluently.

Cradling a fresh cup of Tarkalean tea in his hand, Varen scanned the lounge. Low lighting. Murmured conversation. A viewport alive with the silhouettes of incoming craft. He found a seat near the far wall, giving him a good view of the docking bay beyond. With a soft exhale, he sank into the chair, setting his tea and PADD down in front of him.

The report from Task Group 147 lit up the screen. Relay boosters across the Zytchin system. Varen’s brows furrowed slightly as he scrolled. Subspace attenuation in that region was notoriously unstable—local anomalies, fluctuating plasma eddies. Not exactly ideal real estate for a delicate communications web.

He sipped his tea, quietly calculating. If they wanted those boosters stable, they’d need compensator tuning down to the angstrom.

Varen tapped a few notes into the PADD, his fingers moving fast. First time on an MVA ship, first day in a new post—and already, the puzzle pieces were coming together. Just the way he liked it.

Chris quickly noticed the new commander and gathered his coffee and padd and walked over. "Commander...." Chris said as he pointed to the empty chair. "This seat taken?"

Marcus looked up at the voice above him and was surprised to see a Rear Admiral standing there. He quickly fumbled his ways to his feet to stand at attention.

"No Sir." he replied. "It's all yours if you want it, Admiral."

"No please sit, No need for the stand of attention" Chris set his padd down that he was reading and took a sip of coffee. "Just wanted to see who my new chief engineer was...So you excited for this posting?"

Lt. Commander Marcus Varen gave a nod, the corner of his mouth lifting in a measured smile.

"Excited, sir? Absolutely. An MVA-class like the Halo isn’t your average starship. Adaptive hull configurations, modular warp architecture… frankly, it’s an engineer’s dream—or nightmare, depending on the day."

He leaned forward slightly, tone steady but with a hint of enthusiasm. "I’ve reviewed the specs and past refit logs. There’s a lot of potential here—potential I intend to bring to the surface. I’m ready to get to work."

"We all think that till the first mission" Chris told the Commander with a smirk. "Have you seen the lastest reports from the Zytchin System?"

Slightly blushing and embarrassed, Marcus gave just the slightest shake of his head. "I can't say that I got the chance, Sir."

"The reports were about the efforts to establish communication relay boosters throughout the Zytchin system, So far its going well, No one is messing with them, but we're not even half way done installing them across the system" Chris told the Engineer.

Marcus shifted slightly in his seat, the flush on his cheeks fading as his professional demeanor returned. “Understood, Sir. I’ll make it a priority to review the reports this evening. If there’s any need for engineering support on the ground or system diagnostics from orbit, I can have a team prepped and ready.”

He glanced briefly at the data padd in front of him, then met Chris’s gaze again. “Do we have an updated timeline for completion, or are we still working off the original projections?”

"Not yet, but its estimated to be completed by mid 2403" Chris told Marcus.

Marcus gave a slight nod, fingers tapping once against the edge of the table. “Got it. I'll make sure any delays are documented with cause codes and if the estimate shifts, I'll send a report with the breakdown of the contributing factors. Mid-2403 is workable.”

"Understood. Say you got any questions?" Chris asked.

Marcus considered the question for a brief moment, then shook his head lightly.

"None pressing at the moment, sir. I’m still acclimating—systems, personnel, protocols—but the fundamentals are solid. I’ll need a few days to finish calibrating my department, get a sense of where the bottlenecks are and which officers I can lean on."

He paused, then added with a flicker of curiosity, “Though, if you don’t mind me asking—what’s your take on the Halo so far? From the chair you sit in.”

"The conclusion? This ship is truly impressive; it feels as if they fused the grandeur of the Odyssey with the innovative spirit of Prometheus," Chris remarked, savoring his coffee. The steam rose softly from his cup, mirroring the excitement in his eyes as he described the vessel's sleek design and advanced technology.

Marcus smiled at that, his expression thoughtful as he looked out the viewport toward the faint outline of the ship’s dorsal vector.

“Well,” he said slowly, “if the Odyssey is the cathedral and the Prometheus is the scalpel… then the Halo feels like a precision engine wrapped in a war hymn.”

He took one last sip of his Tarkalean tea, savoring the warmth.

“I’ll do everything I can to keep it singing, sir.”

With a respectful nod, he gathered his PADD. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head down to Engineering—start learning the heartbeat of this ship.”

He stood smoothly, posture composed. “Thank you for the welcome, Admiral.”

"No Problem, See you around Commander" Chris replyied.

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