The first-time Captain observed his brand-new starship, the USS Virgo. He was happy to be a Captain after so many years. He sighed in contentment.
His First Officer, Commander Surok, joined him. "We're ready to leave, Captain."
"Coming, Surok." He took one last glance of his his ship's outer hull. He was only going to be seeing it from the inside for a long time.
Captain Maruu left the docking bay and entered the ship. He was to be introducing each crew member personally. Most of the crew was made of Ensigns except for about twenty-some Lieutenants. Starfleet Command wanted the entire ship to be made of such people because of the length of the journey. They had left Maruu the liberty of promoting these officers for this reason. The two officers entered the ship and waited for the crew members who were just leaving their Briefing and heading into the docking bay.
The entire crew of over 400 people began to pour into the docking bay. They walked into the ship one by one, each stating their name, rank, and serial number. The Captain and First Officer would shake each of their hands and welcome them to the newly built ship. After the entire crew had been accounted for, the two officers promply headed to the Bridge, sat down on their respective command chairs, and placed their aching hands on their chair's arm rests.
Captain used the communications system to send his message to the entire ship. He began, "The USS Virgo is a very special ship with a very special crew. First, we are all begineers at our work stations. This is my first time as a Captain and most of you on this ship are Ensigns. Second, we have an extremely important mission: to explore the Gamma Quadrant. That means Dominion. We should probably be seeing a lot of them, so you should try to find whatever you can about the Federation/Dominion War. There's a lot about it on our database. We will also be meeting new species so prepare for that. After we leave Deep Space 15, it'll take us a week to get to the Gamma Quadrant. Many of us may lose our lives or our wits during this voyage, but there will be one additional rule placed in the Prime Directive by me: 'Stay alive!' So, may the Prophets, God, Allah, and all the rest protect us because we're gonna need that protection."
He ended his speech and looked at the Helmsman, Ensign K'Lara. "Helm, take us out. Warp eight."
K'Lara nodded and began to maneuver the ship. The airlock of the immense Deep Space 15 opened, and the USS Virgo, managed by K'Lara, exited the station. It would be the last Federation station they would see in a long time. As soon as the Virgo moved three kilometers from the station, K'Lara initiated warp eight.
"A little early to begin warp, eh?" asked the Captain.
"Yes, Sir. Just anxious to start the mission," answered K'Lara.
"That's good," he smiled. "So am I." Maruu relaxed at his command post and stared through the view screen, at deep space.