The party was over. The ship was quiet, unnaturally so. No crew in the halls. A single security guard at the gangway. A ship between and betwix. Not part of the fleet anyone, but still a working ship, She has not been moved to the ADF docks for the work that would make a museum of her. At 0800 the ADF would take possession.
Admiral Hailey chased ghosts around the ship. A memory here, a realization there. Eventually his wandering reached the bridge. The something wrong was the lack of the commissioning plaque. It was in his office, awaiting shipment to the Academy on Oz. San Francisco would get a duplicate.
The center seat beckoned him. He sat. The last time he conned a ship it was from this seat. Only the second ship he ever commanded, and like the first chasing forever from crisis to crisis...too many dead. The tears were unbidden, but too many years in coming. The moment passed, he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. The dead were mourned. Mourned along with the Discovery herself. She was 40 years old. Way too young for this. "Before her time" Captain Sulu had said. The man had a voice that could move a stone. It moved him as well.
It was. But Discovery never got the easy way. Three Boniventure cruises, the Zhodani war, hard used. And she survived it all. She brought her people home...every time. The new Amani had some big nacelles to fill. He had looked her over. Shiny, new ship smell. The smell he first smelled on the Discovery. It had not changed. He hit a familiar button, it beeped a familiar beep.
"Captian's log, well former Captain. I made the first log entry on this vessel, I suppose I shall make the last. The Discovery was a good ship, she never let us down. She brought every crew safely home, no matter how stacked the odds were against us. Many times I questioned how we were getting out of the current crisis. And Discovery made the way evident. She was a lucky ship. Yes the skeptics can claim that is all superstition, but those that have been in space do not. These things are real. I'm glad she is being preserved. Her name will never be counted next to the Enterprise, and I think it should, all prejudice I might have aside. I'll avoid any hackneyed over used quotes. She was a good ship, I'm glad she was mine. Enjoy retirement old girl. End log. Computer."
[Working]
"Seal log against further entries, Admiral Jay Patrick Hailey, code Alpha, Bird Alpha"
[Code accepted, Alpha Bird Alpha, Discovery log sealed against further entry.]
Hailey stood up. He ran a hand over the armrest,and left the bridge.
Last Entry -- Garry Stahl, October 11, 2019
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