Captain’s Log, Stardate 240111.15

The Yamato is slowly coming together. Lt. Commander T’liss is very efficient at her job, and its beginning to resemble a proper starship.

I’m currently awaiting the arrival of my new first officer. Hopefully she’s as capable as her service record suggests. Being late however, does not bode well.

Commander Amaya Crichton was late. She was late for one of the most important interviews in her career. This was abnormal for her, but she was subject to the whims of warp travel just like everyone else.

Her transport had arrived on the station and docked and she gathered her small amount of personal belongings and hurried to where her potential posting was docked. She darted through the crowded Promenade hurrying across the station.

She pulled out her orders as she arrived at the docking port, showing them to the security officer who was waiting there. Most starships didn’t have such security keeping people from walking aboard, but her new Captain must have been overly cautious.

They quickly skimmed the orders, before handing the PADD back, gesturing for Amaya to enter the ship.

“Welcome aboard, Commander. You’re expected. I believe you’ll find Captain McLaren in her ready room.” the officer informed her, pointing down the corridor just beyond the docking port.

“Turbolift 5 is just around the corner.” they added.

Amaya nodded a quick thanks and took off at a quick jog. This was not a good first impression. The security officer had been correct, the turbolift was just around the corner. She tapped the call button impatiently, and stepped in when it arrived.

“Bridge!” she called out. She tapped her foot as the doors closed and the turbolift started up toward the bridge. It stopped several times, to admit more officers or let them off on other decks, much to her consternation.

When the turbolift arrived at the bridge, she took a moment to compose herself before stepping out. No one even looked up from their stations or from out under consoles. Life continued on as if she hadn’t even appeared. She pulled out her orders again and crossed down to the front of the bridge, stopping outside the ready room door. She tapped the buzzer and waited.

Her desk was covered in PADDs. Which was not actually an abnormal occurrence for her line of work. Except instead of intelligence and mission reports they were status reports on the state of the Yamato. Its state was good, for a ship getting ready to launch. Nowhere near ready, but well on the way. The crew was coming together. Made up of some seasoned candidates from across the fleet and newer graduates from the academy.

She drummed her fingers on the desk, reading the latest report from T’liss. Lateness was not ideal, especially from an officer who’s service record was impeccable.

Solaris glanced at the chronometer, frowning. Then her terminal beeped, with a notification from the security posted at the docking port. A hurried Commander was on her way up to the bridge. She set the PADD down, and took a sip of her tea, which was lukewarm now. Disappointing.

As she stood to refresh the pot on her desk and recycle the current tea in the cup the door chime pinged. She laughed quietly, taking her time to refresh the tea, and let the Commander sweat a little bit. Once she returned to her desk she took another moment to take a breath.

“Come!” she called.

The doors opened to reveal the seemingly well put together prospective XO who stepped in taking a few short steps to stop in front of the desk.

“Commander Amaya Crichton reporting as ordered, Captain.” the officer announced, holding out a PADD.

Sol scanned the woman’s face for a moment, her red eyes seeking out any micro-expressions to give insight on what the Commander was feeling. She gestured to one of the two chairs.

“Have a seat, Commander.” she offered, accepting the PADD. The other woman took a seat, setting her bag on the other.

“Captain… I would like to apologize for my tardiness–” she started.

“Yes…” Sol cut her off, picking up the PADD with Amaya’s service record on it. She waggled it slightly. “Quite surprising given your otherwise flawless service record.” she stated. Amaya frowned slightly. The meeting was already not off to an auspicious start.

“My transport was delayed… and I could not get another one here quicker.” Amaya explained. Sol simply nodded, keeping her face passive.

“I see…” she said, making mock notes on the PADD.

“Captain… I do not believe that should be held against me.” Amaya stated, leaning forward, placing her hands on the desk.

“No? Some might say it showed a lack of foresight on your part, Commander, not having a secondary plan.” Sol said, fixing her with a gaze from her red eyes. There were some in her past that said she looked like a demon with her red eyes and white hair, especially when under her gaze. She set the PADD down as Amaya formulated a response.

“Some things are just out of a person’s control, Captain. I did check on alternate transports. None would have arrived in time to make this meeting. Most would have actually arrived either tomorrow or the day after. Those that arrived today would have arrived several hours from now.” she stated. Sol nodded, again making a mock note on the PADD.

“Alright, Commander… Tell me a little bit about yourself.” she stated. “You seem to be a quite by the book officer.” she added. Amaya’s service record did show that she tended to be a bit straight-laced and serious when it came to her duties.

“Yes, ma’am. I take my duties very seriously.” she confirmed.

“Why would you make a good exec? It’s been my experience that a good exec is not so rigid.” Sol said. That had been how she operated. She gave a bit, and bent when needed, and her previous Captain seemed to appreciate that style, but then he had been the rigid one.

“I think that depends on your command style, Captain.” Amaya said. “I intend to make sure this ship runs efficiently and is safe. I intend to make sure you are kept safe as well.” she added. “That’s why the regulations exist… to make sure things run smoothly and no one is put in unnecessarily dangerous situations.”

“And if I wanted to… go on an away mission?” Sol asked.

“I would inform you of the pertinent regulations and allow you to make your own decisions, even if my objections were contrary to them. Once you give me an order it would be my duty to carry it out, short of those that would pose a direct danger to the ship or crew.” she answered.

Sol nodded, skimming the PADD again while it lay on the desk. She nodded, smiling.

“Good. I want someone to help me run this ship… not someone who will just tell me yes at every turn, or worse, someone who will tell me no at every turn. I can see you’re quite capable of that.”  she said. She gestured to the carafe of tea on the desk.

“Would you like some tea?” she offered, reaching to pour herself a cup. Amaya nodded, and accepted the mug from the Captain. Sol poured a second one, leaning back in her chair with it.

“This is all new to me, Commander. You aren’t going to have an easy job of it.” she explained. “I’m former intelligence, so while I can be by the book when I have to be, I tend to play things a little loose more often than not.” she added, sipping her tea. Amaya drank her tea quietly as she listened to the Captain’s explanation.

“I understand, ma’am. I will do my best to support you in whatever way I can.” she reassured.

“Once you get settled in… I want you to start coordinating with engineering to get us ready for departure. I have a few more senior staff to meet with before the week is done and we get underway.” Sol said, gesturing to the mountain of PADDs on her desk. “I’ll also start having the majority of these status reports directed to you… I’d appreciate summaries of the less important ones.” she continued, shuffling a few of the PADDs around. She found the PADD with Amaya’s orders and pressed her thumb against it, making the transfer official. She offered the PADD back to Amaya who accepted it and placed it on top of her bag. Sol grinned.

“Welcome to the crew, Commander.” she stated, setting her tea down and extending her hand across the desk. Amaya mirrored the move, shaking hands with her new Captain.

“Thank you ma’am. I wont let you down.” she said. She finished her tea and looked at Solaris, who waved her off.

“Dismissed, Commander. Take some time to get settled and report for duty in two hours. Operations should have your quarters access codes and clearance codes. Talk with Ensign Soren.” she ordered, turning to her terminal. Amaya nodded, and picked up her things as she stood.

“Aye, Captain.” Amaya replied, before turning and leaving the ready room. She pared one glanced back and the pale, snow-white haired, red-eyed woman sitting on the other side of the desk. Her new posting was going to be very interesting. The ready room doors opened as she grew close and closed behind her just as quickly, cutting off her view of the Captain. Now she just needed to find the Ensign the Captain had mentioned, and get her things transferred from the starbase to the ship. She glanced around the bridge, stopping an officer to inquire about Ensign Soren, who was quickly pointed out to her, having been sitting at the Operations station. She strolled over and had a hushed conversation with the young Bajoran, before heading for the turbolift.

Sol watched from the corner of her eye as her now new XO left the ready room, looking back at her. She grinned as the doors shut. That was another officer down. There were only a few more she needed to contact. She needed a Chief Medical Officer, and a Chief Tactical Officer at the minimum.

The crew was shaping up just as well as the ship was and that pleased her. She checked her schedule, seeing that the other candidates weren’t going to arrive until the next day anyway, which gave her more time to be buried in PADDs. Not that she wanted that, but it was currently her lot in life. She sighed, picking up another PADD beginning to read it.