The Resolute was a small ship, the physicality of it much smaller than Zale had expected from the specs. But then, it was one thing to read something and another to experience it in the flesh, so to speak. 

He was a great believer in experience over book learning. That could have something to do with the fact that his species actually had no written language of their own and barely a spoken one. There was no reason to speak when you could just think. Of course, that had its downsides and had led to more than a few fights… and, ultimately, fatalities. 

The bright lights of the corridors helped them not seem so closed in, and he nodded at crew members as he headed up to the bridge. He’d recently been assigned as captain aboard. Extremely recently, such as… about two hours ago, so most of their body language expressed curiosity at a new captain in their midst after the abrupt departure of their previous one. There was gossip, there always was, but he hadn’t managed to get close enough to hear it, the crew members whispering had shut up as soon as they’d clocked he was there. 

He would let them have their secrecy for now as he made his way up to the bridge. He didn’t go right there but instead worked his way through the decks and sections, getting to know the ship. It was an old habit, older than his Starfleet service. He always mapped any environment he found himself in… just looking at a deck plan wasn’t the same. 

All the hairs on the back of his neck rose suddenly, and he stopped, looking around. He was on deck three but he was alone, so what had pinged his senses? There was no one around who could be considered a threat. The only thing here was a replicator.

He focused on it, then frowned. Okay, he was actually going insane if he thought a replicator was a threat. 

Turning his back, he walked down the corridor and headed up to the bridge. Less than a minute later, he strode out of the turbolift to find himself the center of attention for the entire bridge crew.

Seemed the Resolute’s grapevine was working excellently then. No doubt the bridge had been informed as soon as he’d stepped aboard. 

A tall human leapt up from the captain’s chair to announce, “Captain on the bridge.”

Zale waved in dismissal. “Please. As you were. Commander Reid, I presume?”

Reid nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Zale gave him a brief nod. The guy was tall and well-muscled, but more than that, he moved like he was absolutely comfortable in his own skin. There was a self-awareness and confidence there that Zale didn’t see in many officers. 

“Captain Zale, just assigned command of the Resolute,” he said, not mincing his words. “Would you join me in my ready room?”

“Of course, sir.”

He didn’t wait to see if Reid followed him, but instead simply turned and walked toward the door. There was a silence  until he’d walked through the door, then his keen hearing caught the edge of sudden conversation. He was used to it. Each crew reacted to him in a slightly different way, but there was always the initial wariness between hindbrain instincts that knew exactly what he was and the social conditioning and Starfleet training that said he was normal, and a captain, and they probably shouldn’t run screaming from the room as soon as he entered it. 

He allowed himself a rueful shake of his head before turning to his new executive officer. 

“Please, commander, take a seat,” he offered and lowered himself into the chair behind the desk carefully. He was a lot heavier than he looked, so he was always careful never to drop into anything in case he broke it. People tended to ask questions he didn’t want to answer that way. 

“Thank you, sir.” Reid gave a small, professional smile as he took the opposite chair. “And may I say, welcome aboard.”

He gave a curt nod, putting his padd down on the desk in front of him, and lining it up with the edge of the desk protector. It wasn’t leather, one brush of his fingers was enough to tell him that. He focused on Reid. 

“Thank you. I must admit I was not looking to find myself in the captain’s chair again, but orders are orders.”

Reid nodded. “Of course, sir. We go where the fleet tells us. Where we are most effective.”

“Indeed.” Pleased that Reid seemed to have such a pragmatic view on things, Zale leaned forward and activated the mission brief from his padd, turning it so that Reid could read through it. “It seems that milk runs are out for our first mission out with the Resolute. Command are throwing us in as the cat among the pigeons in a possible altercation with the Hirogen.”

Reid’s expression didn’t alter as he reached for the padd, which impressed Zale. Most people would have had a flicker of surprise, even just a tiny one, but not Reid. Instantly, Zale decided that his reading this evening would be anything he could find on his stoic XO. 

“Well, that certainly is both a disturbing read and an interesting mission profile,” Reid said after reading through. He put the padd back on the desk in front of him, his expression serious as he studied Zale. “I do have a couple of questions though.”

“Of course.” He inclined his head. He often found the questions that people asked were as informative as any answers they gave. “Go ahead.”

Reid sat back in his chair and tilted his head slightly to the side. It was more a curious gesture than a submissive one, so Zale ignored the steady flicker of his pulse under the skin of his throat. 

“The Resolute is not a warship, nor a diplomatic vessel. Which means we are not expecting a ship to ship battle nor negotiations.”

“Is that a statement or a question?” 

“Neither, sir, that was train of thought.” Reid looked him straight in the eye. “The question is… if we are going into a situation like this, with none of the cards I would expect on the table, which card am I not seeing?”

Zale’s smile was slow as it spread over his face, revealing canines that were a little too sharp for the human he appeared to be. 

“Commander, we are going to work together very well indeed.”