Water's sweet but blood is thicker

The new ship was a sight to behold. Its lines sleek and astrodynamic, with even the massive torpedo launcher module looking elegant. In small ways, it also resembled the Polaris: not too big, with underslung nacelles. A design of a new era, refined to the core, building from all the experiences the Polaris and ships of her generation have gathered. Still, it was unfamiliar, like the new, bigger house you move to from your childhood home.
"The boys at Tranquility Base weren't whistling Dixie", Metlesits said with a small smile, looking out of a viewport, "Look at her, Vasya. Fresh out of drydock, ready to take on the Universe!"
"Imagine if we had a ship like this during the War", Nussbaum mused, "We'd won the war in a day and still had the afternoon to ourselves."
Metlesits couldn't help but chuckle. The War, that War with the Kzinti, all those years ago. They were both young men then, and the Polaris was still somewhat a new ship, good enough to take on the Kzinti, or even the Klingons.
"I'd rather stick to this old thing", Metlesits said, patting the frame of the viewport, his lips twisted into a bittersweet smile, "After all these years... somehow you become part of the ship you command. After a while, you don't feel yourself at home on any planet or ship or starbase. It's not the same recycled air, not the same quirks of the grav plating..."
Nussbaum looked at his old friend with a sad smile of his own. How many decades did they spend together, fighting the good fight? Too many to even matter. They both knew this moment will come one day. It actually came belated. After the mission to Yiere and what followed, Starfleet did anything it could to pull back the Polaris and her crew. All promotions were delayed, as nobody wanted any of this crew to go and command a ship of their own. Now, the tides have turned. David was a Line Admiral, in command of all First Fleet deep space missions. He could have chosen any ship he'd wanted, but he kept to the Polaris, of course he did. And Vasya was now standing next to him, in his brand new Captain's uniform, ready to take command of the ship of his own.

Before they realized it, they were standing in the transporter room. With its bright colors, it looked dated, but charming nonetheless, a design of a previous era of shipbuilding. Metlesits dismissed the transporter chief, so the two men were standing alone in the room.
"Who or what is a Pratchett, anyway?", Metlesits quipped
"A reminder", Nussbaum said, half-smiling, "A reminder that over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combatting the forces of evil... prayer, fasting, good works and so on. Up untill now, no one seemed to have thought about mounding eight photon torpedo launchers on a cruiser hull."
"Smart-ass", Metlesits chuckled. Nussbaum merely shook his head. Then, suddenly, the two old friends embraced eachother in a brotherly hug.
"Damn, I'll miss this place", Nussbaum whispered.
"You musn't, Vasya!", David said, "You've earned your ship ages ago. It's your turn now, to go and make a stand!"
Nussbaum nodded and stepped upon the transporter pad.
"Permission to disembark, Admiral?"
"Permission granted, Captain", David nodded, stepping behind the control console, "Hey, Vasya!"
He pulled a small cardboard box from his pants pocket and threw it so Nussbaum could catch it. Nussbaum opened it and found an old First Fleet badge inside. Made of copper and held by a magnetic clasp, it was the very thing they used to wear all those decades ago, before the Polaris was temporarily re-assigned to Starfleet.
"See you around the Galaxy, brother", Metlesits said as he activated the transporter.







(Alright guys, I'm sick as a dog with no time to spend to recuperate. Even the weather is terrible. So I had to write something bittersweet)


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