After they were dismissed from the Captain’s ready room, Xiang and Scott started to walk down to where the quartermaster was to get their items. “Well that went well,” She said as she rolled her eyes with a sigh as they walked. She wasn’t happy anymore like she was before they arrived, “I don’t know if I like him, he seems to be opposite of what the Commodore had said.” She said as they continued to walk, “I am almost scared to even meet my team,” she added.

Scott nodded in agreement, somewhat befuddled as to what had just transpired. Campbell certainly didn’t appear to be a typical captain, if one was going by first impressions alone. “The man’s probably got a lot on his plate under the circumstances, but I’m sure if we can show him we can meet his expectations of us, he’ll warm up to us in time…I hope.”

“I hope, you know me I can’t stay ‘serious’ all the time,” Xiang replied with a sigh as they continued to walk, feeling a bit unsure of everything. She only hoped things would get better and things were just because of the war.

Stopping in his tracks mid-stride, Scott reached out and took her by the shoulders, “Listen, It may not be easy, but give it some time. We’ve been through a lot worse than a hard-boiled captain. Let’s see what he’s like in a more casual setting at the reception tonight.” he said, trying to offer her some words of encouragement.

She looked at him and smiled, he always had a way of making her feel better, “You’re right as always.” Xiang said with a chuckle as they arrived and walked in, “Well here we are.” she said as they walked up to the quartermaster. “We’re here to get our patches and additional rank pips,” she said to the officer.

Looking at the two officers, was a bit taken aback. He had not been immediately aware of any new transfers, let alone promotions, but after glancing at their arm patches and confirming their names he pulled up their personnel files in his computer and verified that they indeed were transfers from the USS Poseidon and newly promoted to Lieutenant Commander. “Ah! Welcome aboard and congratulations. Give me a minute to go and grab those items.”

He went to one of the back shelves and when he returned a minute later, he placed two small clamshell cases and two Endeavour patches on the counter.

“Let me get that for you,” Scott said to Xiang, as he grabbed one of the clamshell cases, took the new pip out, and affixed it to her uniform to make sure it was aligned properly.

“Thanks,” she responded as he fixed her pip and patch on her uniform. Once he had finished she did the same thing to him, “this is definitely going to take some getting used to.” She said as she finished and smiled, She stood there for a moment looking around. “I guess we better go check in with our respective departments, the Captain wants those reports at 1800 hours sharp.” She said with a sigh, she wondered what her department would be like. Would they accept her or not?

It was nice to see Xiang coming around and looking more focused after her rough first impression of the captain. Scott returned the smile and nodded in agreement before the two headed out from the quartermaster’s office and went in their own separate directions to meet with their staff.