Captain Fontana walked slowly down the hallway outside Main Engineering.  His reticence had everything to do with someone else in another life.  He reflected on the lost of Ambrose Harris and his history with the captain.  Ambrose had been an engineer at heart from his past before he was placed in command.  Geronimo knew he’d have to enter those doors eventually.  He wasn’t used to feeling the resistance in his feet, but the feelings remained.  He took a deep breath and entered the room, making his way to the Chief Engineer’s office where he knocked at the side of the door.

Lieutenant Commander Lorra eased into the worn leather chair, her fingertips tracing the grooves left by years of use. The Chief Engineer’s office, now her sanctum, enveloped her in a cocoon of memories. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to be transported back a mere few months ago.

The USS Valkyrie loomed large in her mind’s eye, its sleek lines and formidable presence captivating her from the start. As the assigned lead for its refit project, she had immersed herself in every detail, her passion for the magnificent Sovereign-class vessel growing with each passing day.

Her reverie was abruptly shattered by a sharp rap on the door. Startled, her eyes snapped open to find a figure standing in the doorway. It was him – Captain Fontana. Lorra’s heart skipped a beat as she hastily rose from her seat, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Cap… Captain Fontana, sir!” Her voice betrayed her astonishment as she struggled to maintain composure. She cleared her throat before continuing, “What brings you to this corner of the ship?”

Fontana smiled, hoping it soothed some of her nerves, “You do, Commander Lorra – I’m working my way around the Valkyrie to put faces to names with the senior staff.”  He leaned into the doorway, “Wanted to make sure you had everything you need.”

“Me? Oh…” Niala replied, her voice trailing off as she tore her gaze away from the scattered pile of PADDs cluttering her desk. The dim lighting in her cramped office cast elongated shadows across the disarray, emphasizing the chaos she faced daily. Fingers drumming lightly on the edge of the desk, she hesitated, a subtle frown creasing her brow.

Her eyes flickered back to the stack, each PADD representing a task left unattended, a problem yet to be solved. With a sigh, she began to speak, her tone tinged with a hint of weariness. “Well, sir, since you’re asking… we’re severely short-staffed. Despite the ship being in peak condition, Logistics has made a mess of our spare parts inventory. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. And if we were to face a crisis now…” She paused, her gaze returning to the desk, her mind running through the potential consequences. “…it could spell disaster. We’d be scrambling to patch things up, and that’s not a position I’d like us to be in.”

Fontana pulled out his pad and took notes as she listed her issues.  It wasn’t a great picture, and he felt his righteous indignation flaring in his gut.  He asked, “Can you get me an approximate list of your deficiencies within the hour?  I’ve got some contacts from my days in Task Force command.  I’m not a fan of facing crises without our needs being met.  As for the short staff…,” he thought for a moment, “I’ll see what I can do.  Frontier Day is part of our problem.”  He made several more notes and looked around her office, “You want this office bigger?  I know a guy who can make that happen.”

Niala hesitated, her gaze drifting past the neatly arranged desks and bustling activity of the office. “Bigger? uh no, thank you,” she murmured, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of her console. “I’m still not used to being in an office anyway.” Her voice trailed off, a wistful tone creeping into her words. “I’ve always considered the Jeffries tubes more like my office.” There was a pause as she glanced up, meeting the Captain’s eyes. Gratitude flickered in her expression before she added softly, “Thank you, sir.”

Geronimo caught the flicker of feeling her in her look and smiled warmly, “I’ve known my share of engineers, Commander Lorra.  Offices are not their natural habitats.  There’s a balance to being a department head – your part administrator and manager…and your part as one of the officers charged with the responsibility of maintaining the professional level of the department.”  He stood, “I was a chief medical officer before all this…and that office can sometimes feel isolating as if you’re cut off from everything you loved before you stepped into senior staff.  Don’t be afraid to leave this office and work with your people.”  He nodded at the PADDs filled with reports, “Make time for the paperwork…but don’t let it become all of your time.”

As the Captain left the room, Niala’s gaze lingered on the doorway for a moment before she turned to the ‘paperwork’ spread out before her. With a slight furrow of her brow, she picked up a PADD, the cool metal feeling solid in her hand. Leaning in, she began to scrutinize the files, her focus absolute as she delved into the task at hand.