Ensign Corwin Adler sat in the central chair nestled on the bridge of the USS Pulsar, head still cradled in his hands after being told by the resident occupant, an Emergency Command Hologram, that he was the sole officer currently stationed aboard. As farfetched as that seemed, as counterintuitive as it was for that to be the case, Corwin couldn’t find a shred of evidence as he combed through his memories of the day that could refute it. All of his half-formed doubts as he had walked the corridors, his encounter with the man he now knew to be a hologram, and even the strange conversation with the Lieutenant that had handed him his orders back on the surface seemed to scream at him that something was wrong and it was only now that he could recognize it.

Adler finally removed his face from his hands, letting them drop to the armrests at his sides. He looked over to the hologram standing passively to his side, as if waiting for something. Corwin closed his eyes for a second, taking in a steadying breath before asking, “Is anyone else supposed to report aboard?”

The ECH cocked his head to the side for a moment, then turned toward the holographic console near him and made a quick inquiry. A short pause ensued before the computer seemed to provide a response, which was quickly relayed to the Ensign.

“According to the personnel records, you were the first scheduled arrival… as well as the last.”

“Can this ship even function with one crew member aboard?” Corwin asked, the doubt heavy in his voice.

“Of course,” the ECH retorted almost immediately, “You have the finest holographic crew to ever grace the hallowed corridors of a starship. I have every confidence that we can perform almost any mission we are given.”

“Almost?” Corwin couldn’t help but hone in on that particular word.

“You caught that…” the ECH muttered, “While almost every function aboard this ship has a holographic counterpart assigned to it, we are without a scientist. If we were to be tasked with a mission that calls for more than a rudimentary level of scientific expertise… we may be in a bit of trouble. I do hope you paid at least some attention during your science courses at the Academy.”

“Well… yes… at least the ones that tied into engineering principles…” Corwin remarked before catching himself being caught up in the ECH’s flow, “That’s not point! I’m trying to figure out why I was the only one sent here! I never took any advanced command courses… I never even got picked to lead any of the project groups I was in. I can’t be a Captain… I’m barely an engineer yet…”

“There are historical precedents for this,” the ECH offered, “There have often been times when Starfleet officers have been called upon to step far outside of their specialties to meet the challenges that were laid before them by either chance or tragedy. You simply find yourself at such a crossroads a bit earlier than most… congratulations, Ensign.”

“Uh… thanks…” the young man blinked a few times before shaking his head, “Hold on. Maybe if we sent a message to the starbase and asked them about this, they could clarify it.”

“And to whom do you think I made the inquiry?” the ECH countered.

“Ah…” the Ensign uttered, sagging in his chair a bit, “I guess that does make sense. If it was in the ship’s database, you wouldn’t have had to look for it, would you?”

“An astute observation, if a bit delayed,” the ECH huffed.

With his one avenue of salvation crumbling apart, Corwin couldn’t help but fall into an uneasy silence as he struggled to internalize the situation he’d found himself in. If anything, he could take comfort in the fact that the ship was extremely self-sufficient with all the redundancies he’d already seen crammed into its small frame. The inclusion of so many specialist holograms added another layer of reassurance to the mix. Sure, they weren’t organic crew, but at least he wasn’t completely alone and without any sort of support. Even if he ignored the somewhat snarky manner in which the ECH spoke, the man… hologram… was still incredibly competent and had taken the time to humor him while he was having his existential crisis. Maybe this wasn’t the disaster he had initially feared.

“You mentioned missions earlier,” the Ensign finally spoke up, “Have we already been assigned one?”

“As a matter of fact, we have,” the ECH nodded, “Though calling it a ‘mission’ is being rather generous. We have been asked to investigate a strange lack of communication with one of our communication relay stations. The station itself is fully autonomous, so there is no risk of personnel being in distress. We simply need to find the source, repair the relay if that is what it requires, then hurry back.”

“So… it’s like a training run?” Corwin perked up a bit, “Maybe they’re waiting for some other people to transit to the station and instead of making us sit around and wait, they handed this down because it’s something even I can do without being a seasoned officer.”

“It is as reasonable as any other theory we might concoct… rather than attend to the matter at hand…” the ECH grumbled offhandedly.

“Right, so when do we depart?” the Ensign looked over to the hologram expectantly.

“When you give the orders, Captain,” the ECH said, placing exaggerated emphasis on the young man’s unofficial title.

“Uh… yeah… but… who would carry out the order. It’s just you and I here,” Corwin asked in confusion.

“You give the order, Captain, and I, being the highly capable holographic officer that I am, will see to it personally,” the ECH replied smoothly.

“Oh…” Adler said, the gravity of his situation once again making itself known. As he had never actually been in a position of authority, it felt almost unnatural to suddenly start handing out directives, even to a hologram.

“Um… Mister ECH… could you set a course for the relay station, please?” Corwin asked with a great deal of trepidation.

“Of course,” the hologram replied with a wry smile, “And perhaps later we can discuss the finer points of exuding a command presence while you’re sitting in that chair.”

“Yes, I’d like that,” the Ensign nodded before a thought struck him, “Should I go down to Engineering and report in there, since I’m supposed to be an Engineering officer?”

“You’re free to visit any part of the ship,” the ECH remarked, “But reporting there is a bit of a stretch, as most of your time will be spent up here with me on the bridge until such time as a more senior officer relieves you of command.”

“So… I really do have to be the Captain?” Adler murmured.

“It is unavoidable. While I can take command of the ship when all of our organic crew have been otherwise incapacitated and unable to perform said duty, the regulations are rather clear that until that happens, the ship is yours,” the ECH quipped.

“Right…” Corwin said before finally remembering the bag he’d let fall to the floor earlier, “Maybe I should store my gear first…”

“An excellent idea. You’ll find the Captain’s quarters not far from the bridge,” the hologram offered as he moved to the forward flight control console.

“Why would I…” Adler began to ask before stopping himself, “Right… because I’m the Captain…”

“I see you got it in one,” the ECH smirked as he sat down in front of the CONN.

The Ensign scooped up his bag and rose to his feet, taking a moment to watch the ship rotate in space before he felt the faint hum of the engines spooling up before the Pulsar was catapulted into warp. It was a surreal experience to see it through such a vast window rather than a dinky porthole or from a viewscreen. When the wonder of it wore off, Corwin finally turned around and left the bridge, passing through the heavy bulkhead doors.