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The dim lights above his head faded and blurred like looking through a wet camera lens. Sa'Rahn was finding it difficult to keep himself awake. His breathing slowed and his neck gradually loosen as the white noise of the ship hummed him into a drowsy trance. He sat slumped in his desk chair to the point he was almost lying down, laying his hands clasped atop his middle and his head leaning against the seat. His belt laid sprawled on the floor. He had found the need to remove it to make the much needed room for his fourth helping at lunch not long ago.

It had been a long two weeks. The Alpha-Caitian IV wasn't scheduled to meet up with the Zane DeTigre for another few hours. Upon returning from the mess hall, he had informed his bridge crew he would be in his ready room if anyone needed him, though asked not to be disturbed. Sa'Rahn had planned to take the time remaining to rest up, and digest before he would have to act more professionally in front of others.

Finally giving in and closing his eyes, his thoughts quickly drifted. Maybe it was just the encroaching food-coma talking, but Sa'Rahn couldn't help but feel guilty for how he acted while commanding his ship. He wanted to portray a good role model for his crew, someone that they could respect and look up to. He wanted the cadets to look at him and say, "I want to be him someday.". The position of Captain and Admiral, he felt, should have that effect. But, he was taking advantage of technicalities that accompanied his titles. He knew that. Not just things like abusing replicators to appease his appetite and fill his belly, but other areas as well. He forced himself to be first and cut off others when new openings in fleet provision requests came along, so that he alone would earn credit with Starfleet, of which he could use to help the fleet later. So he told himself. He had used his weight as an Admiral to satisfy his own personal agenda more than a few times. Cath, he was doing that right now with this check-in voyage!

But he wanted this station badly. He wanted to park his fat hide down in one spot and breathe. Breathe and know his crew was fine, and his responsibilities were stowed. A station meant he could delegate work off to others more qualified, he could hand over command of his ship to his first officer more often. He could have a place more permanent and in one spot to call his own, a place he and Iris could finally be together. Besides, as his friend Jagara had teased, an office with a planet-side view would be a nice bonus after all.

His brows scrunched, annoyed when he heard the shrill beep of someone outside his ready room's door. He begrudgingly lumbered back up into his seat, it creaking under his weight, calling out to the computer, "Enter."

In stepped his first officer, a tall and mildly weighty cream-colored Caitian, Morley. "Sorry to disturb you Captain, but I thought you might wish to know that Professor Skuch is aboard and is waiting for you in the briefing room."

His eyes still a bit groggy, Sa'Rahn blinked trying to focus on him. "What!? I thought we were still a few hours out!"

Morley shifted in place, his words awkwardly fumbling out of his mouth. "Um, Sir, you came up from the mess hall and entered your office over three hours ago."

The realization made Sa'Rahn visibly pause. Had it really been that long? He rubbed the bridge of his snout, still trying to wake up. He must have fallen asleep more than he realized. His voice still dry, he muttered, "I wasn't aware."

"I would have alerted you sooner, but when I tried last, you were napping in your chair, so..."

"I wasn't napping. I was just... resting my eyes."

"Sir, you were snoring."

"And... breathing heavy. Resting my eyes and breathing heavy." Sa'Rahn grunted, knowing he wasn't convincing his first officer. He tugged on his uniform, presenting himself better. He gulped silently when he realized his belt was still strewn on the floor. "How long has Skuch been waiting for me?" He asked, worried now.

"About an hour, Sir. If you'd like to continue... uh, 'resting your eyes' for the time being, I can ask Skuch to wait some more?"

"No! No, I'll be on my way down to see her now. Thank you Commander."

Morley nodded once and turned to exit, his long tail following behind. As soon as his ready room's door slid shut, Sa'Rahn released an exaggeratedly long sigh of relief, as if he had been holding his breath for minutes! Which, technically, he had been, for fear his uniform's top would come undone without his belt. Embarrassed of himself, he quickly grabbed the belt and hurried out to meet the Professor. He had kept her waiting far longer than he should have.

After a quick ride in the turbolift and a short but tiring jog through a few corridors, he stepped up to the briefing room. He took a minute to regain his breath, and straighten the fur on his head, combing it back with his claws. Figuring he was as presentable as he could be given the circumstances, he proceeded. "Professor Skuch!" He exclaimed upon entering the room.

Looking out the reinforced window from across the briefing room table, the stout, aged Tellarite woman dressed in a Starfleet research uniform, gradually turned at the sound of her title. Brushing her rough curly hair out of the way, she paced over and reached for Sa'Rahn's hand to shake before she greeted him. "Admiral Noa'tek, a pleasure to see your face once more." She began. "I was beginning to wonder if you had decided to cancel our meeting and have me stay in this decrepit room as your prisoner."

Sa'Rahn's ears flattened some, reminded of just how long he had kept her waiting. "My apologies Professor, it was not my intention."

"I gathered as much." She promptly released his hand. Her lips pursed and her expression tightened. "During my time alone, I deduced you were most likely indulging yourself rather than being a host to your 'supposed' guest." The Tellarite had a smug hint of a smile upon her wrinkled face as she paused before speaking once more, with one final insult. "I can also see my memories underestimated your current weight. You've gotten much fatter since our last meeting."

Sa'Rahn felt himself blush, severely embarrassed, but only for a moment. He quickly remembered Tellarite customs. Their species reveled to argue and badger at any complaint or inconvenience they experienced; and if they had nothing to complain about, they would simply resort to insults. It was all backwards in his mind, but he felt it was only right to return such excessive flattery. "Oh, I've put on a few kilos I'm sure. Though you really should be thankful I did eat not long ago. You already look like a plump Terran hog ready to be carved up for a feast." He stifled his laughs as best he could, though he knew his convulsing chest and jiggling belly probably gave it away. He knew he shouldn't be enjoying it, but did anyway. "And, if I may say, your hair is looking especially ratty today." He added, just for good measure.

Professor Skuch remained silent a moment, regarding him, before grunting approvingly. "I reluctantly admit it is pleasing to exchange such pleasantries, Admiral. But I am a busy woman, as I'm sure you are likewise. Shall we proceed to the business at hand?"

"Of course! Have a seat." He motioned to the table in front of them. As the two of them sat, across from each other, Sa'Rahn cleared his muggy throat and awkwardly chose to take the lead in the conversation. "So, Professor, you have some sort of legal business or documents you want me to sign regarding this station or...?"

"Pace yourself, Admiral." Skuch insisted sternly. "This station was discovered by my research team, and we've already filed with Starfleet to proceed with our restorative operations to bring the station back into working order for the Caitian Star Pride fleet." She shifted in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "I would like to remind you, you were invited to this meeting as a favor from my Captain, not to seize control of my operation."

Hesitating to say anything now, Sa'Rahn rested his hands on his belly and nodded respectfully. "Right. I didn't mean to imply anything."

"The Captain speaks highly of you, Admiral." Skuch began to explain. "I'm well aware of your laziness and careless characteristics. They are quite apparent in how you run this ship, for example." Sa'Rahn squinted slightly, unable to determine if that was a Tellarite compliment, or if that was an actual insult. "As such I won't bore you with what documentation and legalities are required of you at this time. Feel free to assign those lesser details to your officers."

Sa'Rahn shrugged slightly in acknowledgement. He was thankful fortune didn't find him buried in legal paperwork but he'd be even more surprised if that lasted for very long. Opening his hands in gesture, he asked, "So... why did you want to have us meet in person, then?"

"Admiral S'Roan personally requested to my Captain that you receive a one-on-one tour of the station for your approval and legal knowledge of it. This meeting now was just a formality. I've set aside time in my schedule for an EVA onto the station. I suggest you coordinate with your officers to arrange the same."

Sa'Rahn's stomach sank when he heard her words. It had been the better part of a year or more since his last EV on a mission. He wasn't sure his qualifications were still valid, he did nearly nothing to maintain it. The only reason he ever had qualifications to begin with was because of the mandatory training back at the academy so long ago. Sa'Rahn nervously laughed a little in response, revealing his state unintentionally, saying, "Is an EVA really necessary? I'm uh, not sure I can fit that into my schedule. Heh."

"You seemed more than capable of fitting a period for respite during when this meeting now was scheduled not long ago." She responded in all seriousness.

Dangit Morely! He should have expected as much. Sa'Rahn cursed him in his mind, he must have told the Professor about why he was running late. He groaned quietly, knowing his defeat, and asked, "When have you scheduled the EVA?"

"I will be expecting you aboard my ship for transport to the station at 16:00 hours."

That was less than an hour away. "I... alright. We'll meet up again then, I suppose." As the Tellarite nodded and stood from her seat, ready to be escorted back to the transporter room, Sa'Rahn couldn't help but worry what was about to come upon him. He also couldn't help but wonder if he had outgrown his only EV suit.

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Sa'Rahn was continually shifting in his seat trying to find some sort of relief from the uncomfortable feeling of his tail being squished beneath his rump. Doing so proved to be of little use however, and if anything it was only making things worse. He could barely move much as it was. The safety constraints of the landing shuttle's airlock seats weren't exactly made for wiggle room. And even if they were, it wouldn't have mattered much. His movement was already severely limited by his EV suit alone.

"Son of a-..!" He winced at a sharp pinching pain from somewhere along the middle of his tail. Enough was enough. Finally giving up, he let out a disgruntled guff of defeat, steaming up the inside of his already sweaty helmet. He groaned quietly at the inconvenience of the whole situation; Sa'Rahn absolutely hated suiting up for anything EV related.

"Is there a problem, Admiral?" Professor Skuch's subtle voice vibrated through his skull like standing next to a ringing church bell.

As a Caitian, Sa'Rahn's hearing was already heightened beyond most species. He could hear every movement of his fur, every shift of his body, every scuff of fabric in loud echoing quality while within the wretched suit. The earbuds he wore to communicate felt like having his head taped to a loud-speaker. His head pounded at the sound of her voice. He took a moment to regain himself before responding, making sure not to remain silent too long, lest she speak again. "I'm-... no, no problem." He grunted. "Would you turn down your comm, please?"

The Professor was sitting strapped in a seat, like himself, across from him in the airlock. She slowly adjusted in a few settings on her wrist apparatus and spoke once more, "My apologies. Is that better?"

It wasn't. Her dry voice was still painfully loud. "Some, yes." He consented.

"I'm curious , Admiral. That environmental suit you're wearing. It seems quite unique. I don't recognize it as Starfleet issued?" The professor inquired, seemingly trying to fill the silence while on their way to the boarding port of the station.

For the sake of the headache he was brewing, Sa'Rahn wished she would have remained silent and allowed them passage to the station without having to converse. But, he reluctantly played along. "It's not Starfleet. This is a Caitian Militia suit. Standard suits don't exactly work for my species."

"Ah yes your Militia. I've heard of them. That suit must have some sentimental value then, I'm sure."

"Uh... yeah, you could say that." The truth was, Sa'Rahn had grown far too fat for his original militia suit to ever fit again, well over a decade ago. The suit he currently wore he had ordered secretly through a contact he knew on Bajor. Standard-Issue Militia suits didn't exactly come in 'plus' sizes, after-all. It fit him like a glove when he first obtained it, but then again, that was probably ten or twenty kilos ago. To make matters worse, the housing for his tail sprung a leak a couple years back during an EVA at the fleet's dilithium mine, forcing him to detach it and seal the hole later. He never could remember to get it repaired. As a result, like now, he had to cram his tail down one of the suit's leggings, which was unbearably painful. Except for the taller-than-usual helmet that made room for his ears, it was more like a standard EV suit than anything now.

Much to his surprise while suiting up earlier, the stretchy under-armor still fit, even after all these years! Granted, it was growing snug around his middle, but he had expected as much. The main problem stemmed from the chest-plate attachments, which were a fixed size. They barely clasped anymore, and dug into his belly whenever he moved. He embarrassingly had to request the assistance of two crewmen earlier to help him into the housing. The thought reminded him he needed to apologize to them both later. No one should have to stuff their captain into an EV suit.

His thoughts, and thankfully the conversation also, were interrupted with a rumbling bang that jolted the shuttle momentarily. A loud buzzer rang, and the lights of the airlock turned red. "That's our cue." The professor stated, releasing the constraints of her seat. Sa'Rahn eagerly followed and undid his own safety constraints, expecting the freedom to move about, only to be reminded he was still trapped in his EV suit like an overstuffed pillow.

He stumbled as he rose, unbalanced as the professor opened the airlock door. Despite the depressurization process that had transpired earlier on the way over, what was left inside the cabin equalized quickly with the dead space outside. It was already hard enough to move as it was. Combined with the lack of his tail providing a small amount of balance that grounded him, the feeling of weightlessness made his stomach uneasy. He clung to the airlock chair whilst stabilizing himself, gulping down something in his throat. Mother's Cubs, he prayed he wouldn't vomit inside his helmet like last time. He regretted having eaten again before suiting up. Sa'Rahn only cursed to himself more of how much he despised EV suits.

"Come along, Admiral. I've only scheduled an hour for this excursion, we don't have time to dawdle." Skuch stated, completely unphased by everything, proceeding on to the darkened station that lied ahead beyond the airlock. A part of him resented her oblivious attitude.

He started to question if this whole endeavor was indeed worth the hassle. "I'm coming."

The "tour" of the station really amounted to not much more than a simple show-and-tell of the different areas that were currently accessible from where they docked. Much of the station was either blocked off by debris, sealed shut from ancient emergency bulkheads, or just opened out into space itself. Girders, EPS conduit and electrical components, and numerous other pieces of the station he couldn't identify littered the ground and air. Dust from the rings of the planet the station orbited laced almost everything with a thin layer of grime. It was almost magical to see mammoth hunks of hull and torn inner workings of the station floating in the hallways. Sa'Rahn found it amusing he could push them with his finger as he passed them by with ease. It made him feel like a strongman, forgetting how out of shape he was!

She showed him the remains of the biology lab, the nearly obliterated xeno-technology and research center, what was left of engineering that had been ripped through by thousands of micro-asteroids decades ago. The professor and her team had a lot of work ahead of them to bring the station back online. It almost seemed like a pointless endeavor to even start. If it had been in his own hands, he would have just thrown in the towel and scrapped the remains for currency on the exchange. He was reminded of a short Ferengi with a potbelly he met quite some time ago that would have gladly bought it from him, for the right deal, of course. Sa'Rahn wasn't a visionary himself, it was hard to see the possibility of a rejuvenated K-Class station being worth much of anything! Everything he knew prior to this had been through documents and communications.

As they entered, exited, and passed sections of the station, Professor Skuch would explain in unnecessary detail what each area was designated for, and how they soon planned to reconstruct the station's architecture back into working order. Sa'Rahn paid little attention however, often offering a less than convincing "Mhmm" or "I see." in reply. The details of their planned renovating proved to invoke apathetically low interest. His thoughts were too preoccupied with the notion of if it was still worth running this station as he had originally planned. He knew the it all would look vastly different by the time he assumed command, but still, its current state didn't inspire much confidence.

The week long trip to reach this section of the Alpha Quadrant was less than enjoyable anyway. And after seeing what the Professor called a "station", it was getting harder to see himself in the pristine mental image he had constructed during the voyage.

As he glanced to his side, Sa'Rahn slowed down and ceased following the professor when they came across a completely torn out section of hallway that opened up into the vacuum of space. He felt a chill quiver down his spine and the fur on his neck try to stand on end. The view before him felt like a artist's rendition in a holodeck simulation; he could see the entire planet of the 20 Draconis system, and the sun far beyond it, spilling over the round horizon with a brilliant warm glow that scattered in the purple atmosphere. Standing in the light, he started to sweat, feeling the warmth heating up the inside of his suit. It reminded him of the sun on Cait. The millions of rocks and small asteroids that comprised of the planet's rings glistened in the illumination like diamonds against the magenta and violet nebula that spanned as far as the eye could see. His breathing softened and relaxed. He had never seen a system in all his years in Starfleet that boasted with such color. It was a mesmerizing sight.

"We're running short on time, so this will be our final stop before we-... Admiral?" Skuch cut herself short upon noticing Sa'Rahn was no longer following her to the next portion of the station she wished to introduce him to. Seeing the Caitian stand there, almost as if in a trance, confused her. She snorted, a tad aggravated by the hold up, and made her way over to him. "Admiral." She called to him again.

Sa'Rahn blinked, finally, and woke himself from the state of awe that had come over him. "Oh, Professor, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you."

She glanced out the hole in the hallway, then back at him. "Is everything quiet alright, Admiral?"

"Yes. Yes, I was just... I've never seen a system this... beautiful, before." He explained, turning his attention once more to the scenic view in front of him. "I've been to a lot of planets, most of which I visited while under my late Captain. Now that I'm an Admiral, I don't travel around as much." He paused. "On Cait, our sun... its rays can refract after dark in the extreme hemisphere regions. It causes the night sky to brighten up with these, brilliant colors from the gasses in the atmosphere sometimes. I only got to see them once when I was a cub... but this. I've never seen anything like this."

The professor casually sidestepped and joined him in the view momentarily, nodding a bit in acknowledgement. "The Draconis system is indeed a sight to behold. The argonite gasses, along with the trace amounts of unrefined dilithium deposits in the planet's rings are what give the nebula its hue." She turned her attention back to Sa'Rahn once more. "I was under the impression you had already seen the system prior to this meeting?"

"I hadn't." He responded simply.

"A pity." The Professor held onto a broken pipe that was jutting from the wall adjacent to her as she leaned forward and peered up, out of the hole in the corridor. "We assume the argonite, among other particulates, are what have prompted a smack of Cnidarian entities to migrate to this system over the past month. You can see some of their young from here."

Sa'Rahn promptly copied the professor and stuck his head out the hole. He lost his breath momentarily at the shock of finally witnessing the sight of the Cnidarians floating high above the station. They were massive! The young ones were almost bigger than the station itself even! Their glowing translucent tentacles swayed peacefully in the solar wind, propelling them as they drifted farther along the planet's rings. Their glow continually shifted to different hues of pink and fuchsia and green, talking amongst themselves he assumed. For as large as Sa'Rahn knew he was, he felt small, insignificant in the presence of such beasts. And yet, for some reason, he felt as if they were in turn looking down upon him, as if they knew he and the professor were there, looking at them. "They're magnificent..."

"Admiral, I hate to cut your sightseeing short, but we should be getting back to our respective ships now. I do need to return to my station soon, and I'm sure the captain will wish to speak with you concerning your position of oversight on the renovation over the next three years." The Professor urged.

Even through the astonishment that still struck him, the comment stumbled Sa'Rahn's train of thought. He hesitated to respond, confused. "Three years?" He turned to ask.

"Give or take, yes. The reconstruction of the station is projected to take approximately 34 months to complete."

"Wait, I thought I was taking command of the station?"

"Look around you, Admiral. There's not much to command yet, is there." Professor Skuch explained. "Your position as chief of the station will be set in place once the renovation process has been completed to Starfleet standards. In the meantime, it's required you remain to oversee the process."

"I... wasn't made aware of that."

"I suggest you return to the fleet's starbase to retrieve any personal belongings for both yourself and your crew. We have quite a lot of work ahead of us." The Professor recommended, motioning him to continue following her back to the landing shuttle. "I'm sure you'll still have plenty of time to enjoy the view of this system during your stationing."

Three years in the Alpha Quadrant? This was the first he had been told of such intentions. Sa'Rahn had merely assumed that the Professor's team and the Zane DeTigre would be preforming the repairs until an undetermined date, after which point he could assume leadership. That's what the captain of the Zane DeTigre had implied, more or less. Or rather, that's how Sa'Rahn had understood it...

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-To Be Continued