Stardate 59821.82 - Personal Log - Rear Admiral Rahlin

Rear Admiral Rahlin, Personal Log. Stardate 59821.82.
- Audio Transcript -

I've barely been able to keep up. I can feel the wheels of bureaucracy turning against me on the Pride project. It's kind of what I'm calling it now. What was meant to be a test platform for a new design of rescue shuttle has evolved into taking what I can get and running with it. There's a sizeable number of my fellow admirals who are trying to make the case that in this time of resource scarcity, my project is still wasteful. If it wasn't for Jean-Luc giving this a chance…

But from here on out, it's all me. Well… me and the crew of the Pride. Getting the Pride worthy for her final tour was a task onto itself. Getting her staffed turned out to be easier than expected. So there's that at least. Most of the crew that had served on her during what they thought was her final voyage, all volunteered to return. So right out of the gate, I had her staffed up to 45%.

You know… there's been a few moments during this whole process where I was certain I was going to lose the project. I can feel the wolves looking over my shoulder, waiting for me to make a mistake so that they can swoop in and use any misstep, as a reason to shut it all down. But each time it felt like this could fall apart, some how it fell into place.

I did have to get… creative, however, with her Command staff. I got push back on offering Jeran the center chair. I knew I would. He's been passed over for Command and there's a few in Starfleet that opposed my choice. I took hits on this one. Pushed my luck. But in the end, it was my call. Offering Jeran Idryl this chance felt right.

Truth is, Starfleet isn't always right in its assessments of who is and isn't ready. With Jeran… well… alright… admittedly… after reading his personnel files, the Captains he served under made some observations and expressed their reasoning as to why he wasn't fit for the job. And they were reasonable. But I don't know. I could feel those wolves over my shoulder when I submitted his name for my commission request to the CNC.

That was a fun call to get. And I knew what was waiting for me. I knew what he was going to ask. I knew what he was going to point out. That I was desperate, that I was looking for fast solutions so I didn't lose my initiative. That I was trying too hard to get the Pride out of space dock before anyone could stop me.

And I had to be honest with him. That was all true. And it's true that I was trying to convince myself that taking on an Officer who was passed over for Command was just a little healthy risk taking and showing faith in someone's potential. But what I also know to be true, is that Jeran has all the traits of someone who rises to the occasion when there's a crisis. And right now, the entire alpha and beta quadrant is in crisis. Everyone's holding their breath for this impending supernova that's already begun to reshape the galactic landscape as we know it. We need people like Jeran.

I was given the okay, on the condition that I select the rest of the senior staff and that the selection be void of any further controversy. I gotta hand it to Idryl, he took the indignity of these conditions with a proper stiff upper lip, as they say on Earth. He knows there are people who don't think he can do this. I let him know I'm not one of them.

Choosing his first officer was going to be the critical first step. Commander Hata Ben. It may have been too obvious of a choice really. Starfleet has had her on their sensors for awhile now. She's going to make a prime candidate for the Captain's chair. Which is why I got blow back. Again. Assigning her to Reserve Fleet felt like a waste of her talents. I would have lost her to the USS Europa… but for the fact that when she was offered the commission, she accepted.

With that out of the way, I had to focus on who was going to fly my shuttles. And that's where things got… tricky. So the shuttles aren't really shuttles. Well… not yet. Right now, the one's I have operating are Peregrine Class Fighters that have been refit. Right now, it's looking more and more like I'm not developing a new shuttle class, but a whole new modular wing that can be used to support their starship. This one is called Griffon Wing.

So now I needed someone to lead this wing. And it couldn't be your standard shuttle pilot. I couldn't have kids fresh out of the Academy testing out the new birds. Peregrine fighter is a different beast than a shuttlecraft. I knew who to get. I had them in mind since the beginning, but I gave my time to think it over and realized it was the right choice from the start. Cadence. I flew with them in the Dominion War. They've been keeping busy with test flights since, but the Fighter pilot is once again a dying breed in Starfleet. I'm going to change that. We don't have to train for war, but the skills some of my fellow Squadron mates had, they all went to waste after the Dominion War ended.

Cadence accepted. I've officially honored them by giving them the title of CAG as a bit of a tribute and to make sure those serving under them during these test runs understand their bond, their mission and who is in charge of the wing. It got some grumbles from Starfleet, as everything I do seems to piss them off. But I get it. It's an outdated title and one that carries a history of being used in war time. Well we're going to change that too. Cadence is the Pride's CAG and that's all there is to it.

Now I just have to wait until they wake me up in the middle of the night with a priority one message after they find out I've assigned their Vulcan sister to be Pride's senior Helm officer. Glad I'm not serving on this ship (* sound of laughter *) You take what you can get. If nothing else, Commander T'aviin will keep her sibling in check. And vice versa perhaps.

There's more work to do. The Pride launches in… 21 hours. She won't even be fully crewed and there isn't any fanfare. Not the ideal start… but the wheels are turning fast. The Pride is ready. And the longer she sits in dock, the more opportunities other's are going to have to get in the way.

No. We're at the finish line now. Her last voyage is here. No matter where we are, she launches in 21 hours.

END LOG