Ensign Corwin Adler stood before Captain Ivar Dasrek, his spine ramrod straight as his eyes stared straight ahead of him and his eyeline just clipping the top of the seated Zakdorn’s head. He’d been called up to the command section of the station not long after his brief but memorable conversation with Captain Gar’rath had reached a comfortable lull. Corwin was both disappointed by and appreciative of the sudden interruption, saving him the awkwardness of having to find a way to excuse himself but also cutting short a talk that he had walked away from feeling a lot better about his circumstances.

The Zakdorn Captain stared a hole in the young Ensign for a while, his silent and judgmental glare making it no secret just how little he enjoyed the presence of the young Human standing in his office.

“Sit down, Ensign,” Ivar said finally after reaching whatever conclusion his scrutiny had led him to.

Adler hurried to sink down into the chair just a step behind him, his posture still rigid as he waited patiently for the Captain before him to begin the meeting he’d been called to. Another brief silence ensued before Dasrek moved a PaDD from a stack to his left immediately in front of him, sliding it toward the Ensign with an exaggerated motion as if the entire ordeal was taxing on his patience.

Corwin took the hint and gingerly retrieved the device, noticing that it was displaying something that looked like deployment instructions, though he didn’t allow his attention to linger on the device long enough to actually read any details.

“With Admiral T’Reln now busy with the recovery efforts, I’ve been asked to handle the more mundane duties of station administration,” the Zakdorn explained with detached disinterest, “And one of those tasks is the distribution of assignments. I have provided you with the details on the PaDD you now hold.”

“Yes sir,” Adler nodded firmly.

“Despite my objections…” Dasrek said with narrowed eyes, “You have been given command of the Pulsar in a more permanent capacity. I will not pretend that I am pleased by this or that I consider it a worthy appointment for you.”

Corwin nodded again, but rather than shrink in on himself, he just let the man’s words settle in his ears and waited for him to finish. His behavior came as a shock not just to himself, but the Zakdorn who’d been fishing for a reaction other than the one he’d received.

“You’re oddly composed…” Ivar noted aloud.

“Yes sir,” Adler responded with an awkward little smirk, “Captain Gar’rath was nice enough to share some advice with me… I think maybe… it’s probably why I feel a bit better about things… sir.”

“Ah… the Gorn…” Dasrek sneered, “So be it. Composure is preferable to you cowering in your chair, I suppose. To get back to the point, Ensign, you are being sent to Starbase 11, along with the Cadets you took on during the Vaadwaur incident. They will be your crew for the time being, though I doubt that will remain the case in perpetuity. Please gather your personnel and depart as quickly as you are able.”

“Understood, Captain,” Adler said, rising to his feet in anticipation of the dismissal that followed almost immediately afterward. With a respectful nod, Corwin hurried out of the Zakdorn’s office and made his way to his ship.

When Ensign Adler finally made it back to the Pulsar, he was greeted by the form of Executive Officer, the vessel’s Emergency Command Hologram. His terse expression and almost bored posture felt comforting to Corwin, something that he didn’t even realize as he stepped off the transporter platform.

“I didn’t expect you to be waiting here for me,” Adler said as he approached the slightly taller hologram.

“I do have other duties, true. But I also suspect that your return might accompany important news about our departure, which if I were to be honest, is much more important right now than reviewing reports from our Cadets,” the ECH said with his usual undertone of sarcasm.

“You have them doing… paperwork?” Corwin asked as the two walked out of the transporter room into the corridor beyond.

“Bureaucracy is the cornerstone of Starfleet,” the hologram stated flatly, “They may as well get used to it now, while their errors can be laughed off and sent back for a tenth revision without incident.”

“Tell me you haven’t sent something back ten times…” Adler asked, looking over at the ECH incredulously.

“Very well…” the hologram sighed in an exaggerated manner, “The current record is six, held by our young pilot trainee.”

Corwin couldn’t help but smile wryly at that, “That… that actually makes sense…”

“It does, doesn’t it…” the hologram grumbled through gritted teeth.

“Speaking of our crew,” Adler said as if to both change the subject and return to the reason he’d returned at all, “Is everyone back on the ship already aside from… well… me?”

“With your return, we are only missing Cadet T’Ven, who returned to Vulcan to assist her family in their recovery efforts after the planetary bombardment. From what I was able to gather, her family was on the outskirts of one of the cities hit, and most of the damage was superficial. They were not harmed physically by the attack,” the ECH relayed.

“That’s good,” Adler said before quickly clarifying, “That they weren’t hurt… not that their city was hit.”

“Yes, Captain, I am aware of what you found to be good about the situation,” the hologram said with a wry smile of his own.

“Oh good…” the Ensign sighed before following up with, “We’re going to need to recall her to the ship. Captain Dasrek handed me our orders and asked that we depart as quickly as possible.”

“Eager to be rid of us,” the ECH snorted with a roll of his eyes.

Adler shrugged, “Probably. But I’m just as eager to leave, so I guess that works for both of us.”

The hologram slowly turned his head toward the young Ensign, “That was uncharacteristically dismissive. Where did all of that sudden confidence come from?”

“Captain Gar’rath and I had a pretty long talk before I got back,” Corwin explained, “He shared with me some things that kind of… I don’t know… put things into a different perspective, I guess? I’m going to try some of the things he suggested… make them my own…”

“I see,” the ECH murmured, his tone reflecting how impressed he was with the Ensign’s noticeable spurt of growth following a mentorship session with someone that could be classified as his peer, at least in terms of position if nothing else.

“What is our upcoming mission looking to be?” the hologram shifted the conversation back toward its primary focus.

Adler lifted the PaDD that had been sitting in his left hand during their walk and scrolled through it for a few moments as the pair finally came to a stop in front of the small room that served a similar purpose to observation lounges on other ships. The ECH opened the door to the small conference room, half-herding the Ensign inside as he poured over the information while ignoring the world around him. Corwin didn’t resist the hologram’s efforts to shepherd him into the space and subsequently into a chair, his focus devoted singularly to his reading.

A few minutes after the two had been seated in the small room, Adler looked back up from the PaDD and frowned at the unfamiliar scenery before answering the question he’d been asked, “According to our orders, we’ve been attached to Starbase 11, and we’ll be assigned missions from the station’s command staff.”

“So then our current orders are simply to report,” the holograms stated more than asked.

Adler nodded in the affirmative, prompting the ECH to sink into thought for a moment before asking, “Was any mention made as to the types of missions we would be expected to undertake?”

“All I saw was ‘routine’,” Corwin admitted.

“Routine can mean just about anything,” the hologram grumbled, “I suppose our curiosity on the subject will simply have to remain unsated until we get there. The more pressing concern now becomes, as you suggested earlier, recalling Cadet T’Ven and making a hasty departure to Starbase 11. How soon would you like us to be ready to leave?”

Adler thought about the question for a few minutes before looking over at the hologram, “No later than tomorrow. I don’t think anyone would be too upset if we spent the rest of today getting ourselves ready… probably…”

“I concur,” the ECH nodded, “I will contact our Cadet on the surface and relay your instructions.”

“Thank you,” Corwin smiled.

The hologram stood, “Do you want to inform the rest of the crew of our standing orders formally, or would you like to hold off on a mission brief until we actually have a mission to brief beyond a simple change of scenery?”

“Right now we’re just changing locations… I don’t think that really needs a meeting, do you?” Adler asked.

“No, I suppose not. Very well, Captain, I will see to it we are ready to depart by the beginning of the duty day tomorrow,” the ECH said, walking out of the conference room like a man on an urgent mission.