Selara set down the PADD in her hand and stood. Through her office window, she observed Sickbay. It quickly became a hive of activity, with both engineering and medical officers going about their duties. Had she been working that long? She rubbed her eyes as a notification on her desk console alerted. “Oh,” Selara said, giving it a quick read. “It appears I never announced myself.” She took off her medical coat and hung it on a hook by the door. “Computer, locate Captain…” What was his name again? “Locate the captain of this vessel.” She playfully huffed, proud of herself.

Captain Romaes is located in the Observation Lounge.

Leaving Sickbay, she entered a turbolift, “Bridge.” A quick hum and the doors opened to the Bridge. Selara stood a moment, watching the officers move about their duties.

“Can I help you find something, ma’am?”

Selara was shaken from her thoughts, “I don’t think so,” she said with a smile. “It’s a lot bigger than I imagined it’d be.”

The officer nodded, “It gets smaller the longer you spend on it.” He turned and returned to his station.

“That’s enough standing around slack-jawed,” Selara chuckled to herself. She entered into the observation lounge and took note of the captain. “Captain Romaes, Dr. Selara reporting for duty, sir.”

“Come in, come in,” Romaes smiled as he rose to his feet and offered out a hand to the newcomer. “Welcome to the Hathaway.” He offered the doctor the seat to his right and then returned to his chair.

Selara shook the proffered hand, “I must say Captain, your warmth belies your reputation.” The rumors she’d heard of the man was he could be distant and ruthless. He certainly wasn’t a man you’d cross. But hyperbole was rampant amongst junior officers, so it was difficult to know what to believe. Selara took the seat to his right. “Or perhaps I haven’t gotten on your bad side,” she chuckled. “I hope I never do.”

Most of the time my bark is worse than my bite,” the Bajoran smirked as she shuffled in his seat and got comfortable. “So, how are you finding the ship so far, Doctor?” he asked, keen to get a handle on his latest arrival as quickly as possible.

“That’s good to hear.” She looked around the room, taking in its space. “This is quite an upgrade from my previous assignment. I am proud to say I only got lost twice,” she smiled.

“Well that’s a positive at least,” Romaes responded with a genuine smile. Sitting forwards, the Captain changed the topic of conversation. “Okay Doctor. Tell me what brings you here.”

“I wasn’t sure what a stickler you were for protocol. I wanted to officially report for duty, despite having been here for an hour.” She chuckled, “I do have a good reason for that. I wanted to get things prepared and sometimes my enthusiasm gets the better of me.” Selara thought a moment. “And also to see if you had any orders for me.”

Romaes shook his head slowly and chuckled. “No no,” he smiled, “I meant what brings you to the Hathaway.”

Selara laughed along at the misunderstanding, “Ah yes, that. The Asteria was a fine ship to serve. I probably could have retired on it, honestly.” She considered the idea, “I’m sure my spouses would have preferred that more. But I want to see the stars.” Selara gestured with her hand. “Scientific study is good and all, and serves a vital function to the Federation, but I want to explore. And what better way to do it than on a top-of-the-line ship? What about you, Captain? With your record you could be running an entire fleet.”

Romaes let out a ‘hmph’ and collapsed back into his chair. “That’s a long story,” the Bajoran rubbed his brow briefly. “I did run a task force in the fourth for a while, but too much time behind a desk. A bit like you, I wanted to be exploring again. By chance, Hathaway was available for command and I was lucky enough to be granted the responsibility. She’s a fine ship, and we’ve got a fine crew. Time to go and write a fine story.” His words were sincere, nostalgic even.

Selara chuckled, “That, my dear Captain, is something I can get behind.”