“You know them better.”  Captain Peter Crawford stood in the remains of the lounge, PADD in hand.  He spoke to Montana’s Director of Engineering Operations, Commander Miados.

“Ensign Penna is Vulcan – and older.  She came to Starfleet after the losses of Frontier Day.  She’s worked well enough, but her interactions with humans leave some room for improvement.  Only one human has managed to work with her…and be tolerated.”

Peter had read the file, “Ensign Fiona Jammer.  She seems pretty wise for a 21-year-old.  She was spared the Frontier Day experience with her assignment to Bravo Station.”

Miados cautioned him, “She may not have taken part in the insurrection, but she lost a good portion of her classmates – most of them had stayed behind at Starbase 1 on assignment.”  She glanced around the destroyed lounge, “I think her awkward friendship with Ensign Penna is her being desperate for a friend.  Most of the crew on Montana came from another cohort.  It’s been hard for her.”

The Franklin D. Roosevelt’s CO returned the PADD to her, “You suggest Penna for Ops and Jammer for Engineering…you think they’re better as coworkers and less as one above the other?”

“I think they’d kill each other if one were above the other.  Jammer’s a type A take charge – she’s a passionate engineer.  Penna’s emotions are controlled, but I’ve found that she relishes the challenge of operations – managing the web of departments was a surprise discovery.”

They both turned as the door to the lounge slid open.  Ensign Fiona Jammer was first, her eyes immediately searching the ruined lounge in rapid inspection.  Crawford could see her fingers tapping as she focused from damaged part to broken piece – mentally taking stock of the destruction and the repair work required.  She slid to a stop, focusing on the two senior officers, “Ensign Fiona Jammer, reporting as requested.”

Crawford replied, “Welcome, Ensign Jammer.”  Before he could continue, the doors opened again, and Ensign Penna entered. Her attention first focused on Jammer and then swiveled to Crawford and Miados.

“Ensign Penna, reporting as ordered.”

Peter answered, “Welcome.  Ensign Penna – Commander Miados would like to talk to you.  Ensign Jammer, come with me.”

He watched as Fiona sprang into action, her feet bringing her to his side in less than a second.  Rumors of her energy were quickly confirmed.  She followed him closely as he walked her to the far side of the wrecked lounge, “I appreciate you taking time to talk to me, Captain Crawford….but I have no idea why I’m here.”

Peter stopped, turning to face her. “The Franklin D. Roosevelt has been assigned to Montana Station Squadron—she needs a lot of work.”  He gestured to Penna across the room. “You’re here because we’re looking for senior officers for when the FDR is ready for duty.”

Her eyes widened as her body shook with nerves, “Wait…you mean, like…Chief of Engineering?!  As an ensign?!”

Peter would have laughed, but he was a professional captain.  And this was not the time to laugh.  “It’s going to be a young crew, Ensign Jammer.  We’re interviewing candidates.  You are in the pool for Chief Engineer.”  He winced at her loud squeal and caught an annoyed look from Penna across the room.  The young woman clapped her hands over her mouth, her face red with embarrassment.  She lifted her palms away, whispering, “I’m so sorry, Captain Crawford.”

He smiled, breaking some tension, “Your reaction is understandable, Ensign.  Why do you think you would make a good Chief Engineer?”

She shifted nervously.  He could tell she was forcing her hands to be at her sides.  Miados’s background on her suggested Fiona used her hands and arms to talk.  “I love engineering, sir.  Warp theory is where I got my start as a kid, and I just…kept studying.  I couldn’t stop reading about it and trying to figure out how it all worked.  The academy was like…the happiest place on earth.  I’ve been following the latest research and development on the subject – so much that we know but also – so much we don’t!”  She glanced around the room, “The Ambassador class is perfect for my placement…I’ve spent so much time studying the older classes, thinking that’s where I’d end up when my time came up on Montana.  Do you know how many pages there are in the technical manual for this ship?  So many!  I’ve been reading up on some of the test cases of modifications being tested around Starfleet – I’d be really excited to find ways to fine-tune the FDR…sir.”

Crawford listened and made notes as she spoke.  She skidded to a halt verbally, seeming unsure if she’d said too much or not enough.  The look of nervous confusion on her face was hard to miss.  He slipped a PADD from his belt and handed it over, “This is a damage report evaluation based on an Ambassador class that’s just gone up against two Klingon Birds of Prey.  They’ve managed to disable one and get a lucky hit or two on the other.  The scenario is yours to determine actions as Chief Engineer…what do you do?”

Jammer accepted the PADD, scrolling through the report details before stepping away as she read the report and examined the additional details, muttering to herself as her hands quickly made notes, hesitating once or twice before she plunged forward, ticking operational decisions and commands in the scenario.  A minute later, she returned the PADD, her eyes observing him.  She said, “This was a no-win scenario…or at least as close as possible.”

Crawford reviewed her decision matrix, a sly smile on his face, “No comment about the similarity it had to the Enterprise C event?”

She remained at attention, unwilling to take the lure of his smile, “Living in the past has never done me any favor, sir.  I’ve got my eyes on the here and now.”  She kept her eyes on his face, and his reaction, “Klingon behavior has also changed as much as it hasn’t – the events with Captain Garrett are a shared history with them and us.  The older warriors may remember, but the younger ones aren’t thinking about yesterday’s glory- they want today’s glory and future glory – whatever it takes.”

Peter assigned a grade to her work, “Well, you’re not wrong on most of it.  The Klingon Empire is as complex and simple as it always has been – shifting control and power continues to be a balancing act that has a habit of spinning out of control every so often.”  He continued, his eyes meeting hers, “You focused on keeping the shields and weapons repaired with engines as a secondary.  Why?”

Fiona replied, “Facing down one Bird of Prey is more manageable than two.  If we can bloody the nose of the other, spin them around a little – they can’t follow us.  It gives us time to repair and then go to warp.  We take off with it on our backs – things get harder to handle the more they take potshots at us at warp speed.”

Crawford studied her as he took further notes. She had presented as an energetic bundle of nerves. Given something to focus on, she understood the seriousness, shifting her mentality. He’d done some light reading on her academy file and was interested to see how it had all translated to the young officer standing before him.  “I’ll discuss your interview with Commander Miados.  For now, report to Mr. Grace in engineering for active duty on the FDR project.  Dismissed.”

Ensign Jammer gave a curt nod and departed the ruined lounge, followed by Ensign Penna.  Miados walked up beside Crawford, “She’s very orderly and devoted to ensuring departments and people are where they’re supposed to be doing what they’re supposed to be.  I think she’ll do just fine as Chief Operations.  You?”

“She’s energetic but has the presence of mind where it counts.”  He handed the PADD with her scenario, “She’s not a surface-level thinker – she took just enough time to triage the situation and come up with the best possible result she could without taking too long and losing control of the problem.  That takes self-control and self-awareness.  Some ensigns need to be taught at the first posting.”

Miados chuckled, tossed the PADD back to him, and walked out, “Then it’s a good thing it’s their second posting.”