The translucent holographic LCARS display had a number of different windows, each one displaying a different data set from a simulation that had been running overnight. As had become her routine, Gabrielle arrived on campus at 0630, replicated herself a large mug of raktajino – extra strong and extra sweet – reviewed any reports received from starships that had arrived during the night for anything of interest before settling down and reviewing the data from the overnight sims.

If she heard the soft hiss of the doors as they opened and closed shortly before 1000, it didn’t register with her. It was only when the new arrival cleared their throat that her attention was drawn away from her display. “Captain Forrester.” She dismissed the display with a swipe of her hand. “I’ve been expecting you.” A warm smile crossed her lips.

“I’ve been saving the best for last.” Forrester told her with a smile.  “So, was it Calloway or Miller?” He asked, his eyes narrowing.

Gabrielle suspected he already knew the answer. “Calloway.” The look on the Captain’s face confirmed her suspicions. “He contacted me last night. Told me that you’d asked him to be your chief engineer and when he found out you’d made Miller your CMO, he thought I’d be your next call and wanted to give me a heads up.” Standing, Gabrielle took a few moments to stretch. “Shall we take a walk? I’ve been sitting at that console for too long.”

“Lead the way.” Gabrielle led the Captain out of her lab and down the corridor towards the nearest exit. As they walked, the Captain asked, “Since you’ve already had a chance to consider my offer we can skip-”

Gabrielle quickly cut in. “Not so fast, Captain. I don’t know what it is you’re offering.” She told him. “From what I understand, Calloway was offered the chance to choose his assistant chief and division heads while Miller wasn’t given that chance.”

“That’s true, at least it was.” Forrester replied. “I caught Doctor Miller,” he paused for a moment as though struggling for the right words, “at a bad time yesterday. Offering him the chance to pick his staff kinda slipped my mind. When he reported for duty this morning, I informed him that he could also select his own assistant chief and division heads.”

The pair passed through a door and stepped out into the cloudless fall morning. “I want you to be my chief science officer.” Forrester continued. “You’ll be able to select your own assistant chief and all but one of your division heads.”

“All but one.” Gabrielle repeated.

Before she had a chance to question further, Forrester provided her with the answers she was seeking. “My XO has requested her husband be assigned to your department. He’s returning from a career break where he’s been raising their son and lecturing part time at the University of Bajor. Lieutenant Kailir Hejol will be your Head of Stellar Sciences.”

“Is he bringing their son with him?” Gabrielle asked. Allowing children to live on starships had always struck her as odd, but she was certain that opinion would change when she had children of her own.

Captain Forrester nodded. “Since the Challenger can accommodate families, they want their family to be together.” He paused for a moment before asking, “Will your husband be joining you on the Challenger?”

“I haven’t said I’ll be joining the Challenger yet.” Gabreielle said, a smile playing on her lips and a playful twinkle in her eyes.. “But if I do, he won’t be. We talked about it last night but he told me that if he wanted to live on a starship, he would’ve joined Starfleet. So he’ll be staying on Earth.”

The pair walked in silence for a few seconds before Gabrielle made an observation. “It seems your offer falls slightly short of what you offered to Calloway and Miller.”

“I think I can make it up to you.” Forrester stopped walking.

Gabrielle stopped seconds later and turned back to face the Captain. “Oh? I’m all ears.” She folded her arms and waited for the Captain to make his additional offer.

“In addition to being the Challenger’s chief science officer, I want you to be her second officer.” The Captain’s offer stunned Gabrielle and her folded arms quickly fell to her side. “Obviously you’ll have to take the bridge officer’s exam but I don’t think you’ll have much trouble passing that.”

Gabrielle was stunned. She opened her mouth to ask a question but she couldn’t decide where to start. “I think we all entertained the idea of commanding our own ships when we were young, eager cadets but I’ve never seriously aspired to command.”

“Who was it who said that ‘people don’t seek power but have power thrust upon them’?” Forrester asked.

A smile crossed Gabrielle’s lips. “Depending on who you ask it was either Shakespeare or Kahless.”

“Commander,” Forrester began, “you are an incredible scientific mind. But your service record also indicates that you’re an excellent leader. Some of the greatest Captains in Starfleet history have a background in the sciences and I think you could be one of them.” He could clearly sense her hesitancy because he added, “The CSO post is yours whether you accept my offer to be Challenger’s second officer or not.”

Gabrielle bit her lower lip. “Can I have some time to think about this?”

“Sure.” Forrester replied with a smile. “I’ll need an answer by the start of next week.”

The Captain had given her a lot to think about and discuss with her husband. “Thank you, sir.”

“Oh, before I go. The senior officers I’ve gathered so far and I are having a little team building excursion tomorrow night. Dinner and bowling at that entertainment complex downtown. We’re meeting for dinner at nineteen hundred and the holosuite is booked for twenty-one hundred. I’d love it if you and your husband would join us. It’d be a good way to get to know everyone and maybe help inform your decision.”

His invitation was surprising but welcome and she would welcome a chance to meet some of the Challenger’s other senior officers and get to know the Captain in a more social setting. “We’d be delighted to join you. Thank you.”

“Well then I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Forrester smiled warmly. “Have a good day, Commander.”

Gabreille watched the Captain walk off for a few seconds before turning and starting back towards the Starfleet Science building. She’d been leaning towards accepting the Captain’s offer before he’d even made it but the addition of the second officer role made the decision more complex. It would have been a lie to say that she wasn’t intrigued by the possibility of an eventual shift to the command track.

The Captain had definitely given her a lot to think about.