After an interesting meeting with the Captain, Abigail sat at her science station on the bridge. Her first day made it clear that there were already some serious problems with how the ship operated, and she was compiling a list of priorities for her to take care of over the next few days. The first item on her agenda was the internal sensor network, which she had a personal vendetta against for its actions earlier that day.

While running diagnostics of the ship’s systems, she found that most functions were either offline or malfunctioning. She began the recalibration process on the sensors and, instead of waiting hours for it to finish, she decided to continue her tour of the ship to check on other departments. The first person she wanted to meet was the ship’s Chief Medical Officer. The doctor was another newcomer to the ship, and her record showed that she’d never served with Commander Wilde before. She was the only person who could relieve the man from duty, and she hadn’t been corrupted by the Asger’s crew yet.

Arriving at sickbay, Abigail found a room that was as frantic as the rest of the ship. From what she could see, at least two of the biobeds were offline and equipment was scattered throughout the room instead of in their proper storage containers. Stopping one of the nurses, she asked, “Can you tell me where I can find Dr. Pisani?”

“Uh, her office Commander,” the nurse said as he tried to point in the direction of a closed door, limited by having his hands full. He and one other nurse were busy we stacking all of the storage containers while another suddenly popped up from under one of the beds rubbing his hand, a diagnostic tool between this teeth, another in hand and a tricorder in the other. Sickbay was a disaster, but one that looked like someone had properly ‘motivated’ the staff to start sorting.

In the office, behind a door but visibly through the window, sat Blake Pisani, looking to be having a rather animated conversation with someone via her computer. The conversation came to a rather abrupt end as she got to her feet and stormed out, stopping as the doors opened and she spotted Commander Williams.

“Oh, morning Commander,” Blake spoke up, trying to force down tension out of her voice. “What can I do for you?”

“Ah, Dr. Pisani!” Abby called out from across the room. “Thank you for your help,” she told the nurse before walking over to the doctor. “I’m Commander Williams, First Officer and Chief Science Officer. I just wanted to introduce myself and see how you’re settling in down here.” As she spoke, she moved to the woman’s side so they could both view the work being done in the room. “It seems like you’re inheriting quite a space. Is there anything else you’ll need to get your department operational?”

“Baryon sweep of the ship?” Blake answered before indicating back to her office, inviting the Commander into her sanctum for a seat. “They’re reasonably good people, got let down by their last boss. Going to take awhile to whip them into shape I think, but it’s not a lost cause yet.”

Blake plopped down into her seat and sighed. “Equipment issues, but I think I’ve yelled at enough people to at least get spare parts delivered. Ensign Lewis passed basic engineering so should be able to get most gear working, but we’ll need help with the EMH and some of the more complex scanners.”

Abby followed Blake into her office and took a seat in front of the woman’s desk. “I’ll have engineering add it to their work schedule,” she replied. “I wasted over an hour this morning because the ship’s internal sensors weren’t configured properly, so I’m sure there are other systems just waiting to ruin someone’s day. If you run into any problems, let me know and I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”

“Much appreciated. Don’t like the EMH, but I’ll also never say no to another pair of hands in an emergency.” Leaning back, Blake offered a wry grin to Abigail. “So, I know why I’m here, how’d you end up here?”

“Oh, really?” Abby smirked. “Because I have no idea how a prestigious doctor with years of experience in frontier medicine ends up on a ship like this.” She wondered if Admiral Baudelaire placed a second person on the Asger without telling her, but it seemed unlikely. It would explain why the Admiral wouldn’t give her the authority she needed, but then he would’ve said something. It was more likely that Starfleet actually assigned a competent officer to one of the most important positions on the ship. “I’m here to see that the Asger loses its current reputation. Starfleet shouldn’t have any ships operating under these conditions.”

“Prestigious, moi?” Blake asked, hand to her chest in mock surprise. “Pretty much the same. Old mentor trying to find a solution to admiralty politics and picks me. I’ll warn you now Commander, I work hard so I can play hard. But I’m sure we can whip this crew into shape.”

“Understood, loud and clear,” Abby responded, now also leaning back in her chair. “I assure you, I’m going to do everything in my power to fix this ship. I know it’ll be an uphill battle, but I hope I can rely on your support?” She left her question broad because she didn’t even know exactly what she was asking. She just knew Dr. Pisani could be a huge asset to her mission. The doctor was probably the only other person on the ship she could trust to fulfill her duty as a Starfleet officer.

“As it stands,” Blake said, opening a drawer on her desk and pulling out a small bowl filled with lollipops, “everyone on the ship has my support.” The bowl was then placed close enough for Abigail to reach without any real effort. “You and the Captain both specifically. Figure he’s in trouble and needs a helping hand, you’re here to watch him for his first mistake and I,” she pulled out a red lollipop herself, removing the wrapper and using the sweet to emphasize her point by point at Abigail with it, “am here to help both sides. Set him straight or back you up.” Then the lollipop was popped into her mouth with a touch of flourish.

“Of course,” Abby said as she reached over to Dr. Pisani’s desk and picked up a lollipop. She examined the lollipop, took off the wrapper, and looked back up at Blake. “We all want what’s best for the ship. I’m not here watching the Captain for his first mistake; in fact, I hope he doesn’t make any mistakes. It’d make all of our lives better and easier. I just think it’s in our best interest to be prepared for any situation we may face.”

“Any situation eh?” Blake asked. “Don’t mind if I put repelling Borg invaders at the bottom of that list, will yah? But yes, best for the ship. What are we looking at for our first big mission then? Training cruise, marauding klingons, Tholian diplomacy, representing at a Betazoid state function?”

“Well, if I’m honest with you, I’m not sure if Starfleet’s even assigned a mission to us yet,” Abby replied as she placed the lollipop in her mouth and took a second to savor the indiscernible and artificial ‘berry blast’ flavor. “I think they want to make sure we’re space worthy first, and then they’ll find something for us to do. Your typical supply mission, no doubt.”

“Sounds good. Chance to let us work up as a crew. Blow out some cobwebs.” Blake shuffled the lollipop from one side of her mouth to the otherside a few times in thought. “You had lunch yet?”

“No, but I’m starving,” Abby replied. “I haven’t eaten all day and I’m stopping off at the mess hall before I go back to the bridge. Would you care to join me?”

“Sounds like a damn good idea,” Blake was on her feet quick smart and leading the way out of her domain and the ship at large.