Smoke bellowed from the ceiling, air ventilation was not working so most of the Bridge was filled with it, making visibility difficult. Several consoles were dead, some have their panel covers splayed outward from an overload and others were either functioning or barely functioning, blinking away as if trying to keep a light on. On the view screen, a Klingon K’t’inga could be seen growing closer, closer to the ship that appeared to be crippled and unable to prevent the inevitable. But there was one officer who finally made his way to the Bridge, forcing the two halves apart of a door that had led to the Captain’s Ready Room. Zane had climbed through the jeffery tubes and made it out of the one that led to that very room, where now he was finally on the Bridge and able to do what needs to be done.

First he yanked a medkit out from under one of the consoles and went around checking on some of the officers, using what little medical training he had. He found that most of them were unconscious, a couple were dead and there was nothing he could do, but there were a few that he needed to apply a hypo spray of what he had in the medkit to stabilize them, and one of them was his friend, Lieutenant Byron. He was on the deck just behind the tactical station. “Don’t worry Chief, I got you.” Zane told him as he applied the hypo to his neck and gave him the last dose he had left. With the bridge crew check complete, he went over to the tactical station to find it not lighting up, so he knelt down and pulled the panel off to use that basic engineering training he got from the Academy to see what he can do to restore power to the station.

Suddenly he heard some beeping noise, notifications, warnings, coming from the console and figured he must of done something right, which was quite relieving. Because as he stood up to review the status of the weapons, he saw that the phasers were offline and the torpedo reload system was offline but there was still a single torpedo left in the launcher. He ran a quick diagnostic to verify what was wrong with the phasers and it was just a matter of not enough power. So he quickly rerouted what power he could obtain to one phaser array and then ran a quick passive scan on the Klingon vessel to find that their shields were down. They were going to board the Ajax, so he must do something and fast. He took a deep breath and then located where the Klingon’s main power grid was located, he wanted to disable it, not destroy it, as he has no idea how well the structural integrity field will hold from a ship exploding directly in front of them. He locked onto the location with the power for one single phaser shot and a single photon torpedo and fired.

Zane watched as the beam struck the under belly of the Cruiser, and then watched the torpedo make contact with the exact same location, from where he could see lights flickering throughout the entire ship. He silently cheered with a fist pump but his celebration was cut short when five red energy beams appeared on the Bridge. ‘Shit. Klingons.’ He thought. He quickly reached down under the console for the phaser but they had already finished materializing and the Klingon a few feet to the left of him cut the distance in a instant and back handed Zane away from the console.

Zane landed on one of the rear wall stations on his back but pushed himself off and used his momentum to drive his fist into the First Klingon’s stomach, before launching a series of short rapid punches into the First Klingon’s chest by also applying more of his strength into his punches due to the heavier built figure. It was effective enough to make the First Klingon stumble back and grasping his chest, but then Zane noticed two more Klingons approaching him so he had to not think but act fast. With one look to the right, he saw a big, long shard of the console glass laying on top of the console beside the rupture. He quickly reached for it and with one turn at his waist towards one of the approaching Klingons, he shoved the shard about four inches right into the neck of the Second Klingon. He then grabbed hold of the Second Klingon and used his weight to slam both of his heels into the chest of the Third Klingon, sending him crashing onto his back on the deck.

Panting, Zane stood there, changing his stance to prepare himself for a up close combat with the rest of the Klingons when suddenly a bright light filled the Bridge along with the sound of two halves of a heavy door sliding open. Zane, and the Klingons, minus the Second one that fell to the deck from bleeding out, all had covered their eyes to see who was appearing through such witch craft.

“Figured I would find you here.” A feminine voice came from the figure at the doorway.

Zane sighed, “Computer, adjust for the extra light please.” He requested and the Bridge was illuminated some more to compensate. Once his eyes finally were able to adjust comfortably, he smiled. “Sarah! Good to see you.”

She gave a small smile while grasping the padd in her hands more tightly, as she held it right in front of her chest. “I see that you’ve recreated the scene of our last battle with the, what were they called again…Hunters of D’Ghor? Or just D’Ghor?”

Zane shrugged his shoulders, “They’re nothing but raiders in my opinion, so why not leave it at that?”

She smiled, “Right, of course. Though I don’t remember them boarding the ship.”

Zane grinned, “Nor were there any dead Bridge Officers either. Nah, I asked the computer to make it more difficult, and change some of the outcomes. So a few of our friends are laying there, dead, and the Klingon’s reaction time was increased as well. So I still deployed the same strategy that we used to fend off that Klingon ship that kept them from boarding us, but this time I wasn’t quick enough.”

Sarah nodded her head, “I can see that. Though one piece of advice.”

“What’s that?” Zane asked before he just got slugged by the First Klingon.

“Never take your eyes off a Klingon, especially simulated ones.” Sarah chuckled lightly.

Zane rubbed his cheek before looking up at the ceiling. “Computer, save and terminate program.” And the simulation halted just in time too, as the Fifth and last Klingon had pulled out a disruptor and was about to fire it before they all vanished, whereas the scenery was replaced by the standard black squares with yellow-orange-ish grid lines. Zane then walked over to Sarah, rubbing his cheek some more before stopping just in front of her. “I assume that there is for me?” He asked, pointing at the padd she was holding.

“Oh, yes! Of course.” She smiled and quickly held out the padd to him. “Remember that position you always wanted? To be Chief of Security and Tactical? To be the head of the department you’re in right now?”

Zane frowned a little at her questions as he took the padd. “Yeah?” He began to read it and couldn’t believe his eyes.

Her smile grew even more when she saw the look on his face. “I went ahead and applied you for that job, since you’ve been telling me how much you’ve always wanted it, and because you keep telling me to do so if one were to appear…in case you forgot…well this one here…it has been accepted.”

Zane leaped up with joy as he cheered happily before grabbing Sarah’s arms and pressed his lips against hers for a short, quick kiss before pulling away. “Thank you, thank you! You are the best, have I ever told you that?”

A little stunned by the surprise kiss but not at all against it before she regained her composure and smiled at him. “You have, on a few occasions, believe the last time you said that was on the trip to Risa when I gave you a ho-”

Zane held up a finger. “Hey now. What happens on Risa, stays on Risa.” He then smirked at her with a chuckle. “Besides, I told you I didn’t need that, all I needed was you and that was it.”

Sarah cleared her throat, “Yeah well, unfortunately you know you couldn’t stay on board forever.”

Zane raised a brow. “Oh?”

Sarah sighed, “Captain found out about us, and since I became the new First Officer…”

Zane let out a heavy sigh, “So being accepted on this assignment here, is more than just because you applied for me?”

Sarah shook her head, “No it’s not that. Your application for the position was accepted on its own, there were no strings attached. As I said, you couldn’t stay on board forever, so if you had not been accepted, you’d still be serving on the Ajax, least until you were accepted elsewhere.”

“But if it were to take too long, the Captain could easily transfer me right off the ship.” He told her.

Sarah shook her head, “I don’t think he’s the kind of man who would do that. Besides, you and I both served on board the Ajax for over ten years, we both know he wouldn’t kick you off if he didn’t have to.”

“But regulations and Starfleet policies would make him, you know that.”

Sarah sighed, “We both know that it was going to turn out this way, remember? I told you right on our very first date, that I had plans on becoming Captain some day, and if we continued this relationship and some day I made First Officer, it was going to come down to keeping you here or keeping our relationship and sending you away.”

Zane shook his head, “Let me rephrase that for you. It was really down to, keeping your job as First Officer on the Ajax and sending me away, or losing your job and keeping me here.”

“I would of been reassigned to be First Officer else where, so what difference does it make?” She asked.

“The difference is, we both know long distance relationships don’t work and you chose your job over me.” Zane explained to her.

“But this is what you have always been wanting, to be head of this department.”

Zane sighed and raised his hand. “Just forget it. I’m being dumb.”

“Zane.”

Zane shook his head, applying further that he didn’t want to continue the conversation. “I have to get packing, it looks like Starfleet already sent my replacement via shuttle, so I’ll be taking one of the Ajax’s shuttles to Devron Fleet Yards. It was a pleasure serving with you, Commander.” Zane then walked on out of the holodeck and headed straight for his quarters, leaving Sarah to her thoughts. In the end, she was right, it was what he wanted but he still felt like she chose the job over him, and that was all he could think about, especially during the long four day trip from Ajax’s location while it was on a survey mission, all the way to the Devron Fleet Yards where his new assignment was currently at.

Zane walked around the promenade of the large station, having checked all the wonderful amenities that it had, even got himself a drink at one of the shops, a rather spicy tea where every sip set his mouth on fire, but it was also quite tangy too, which what made it enjoyable. As he sipped on his tea and waited for the departure time to arrive, where he would hop on a shuttle and be ferried over to the Aquarius, he went to one of the nearby view ports and was able to see all the dry docks that floated in space, holding various ships that were either undergoing repairs, being refitted with more upgraded technology, or just getting resupplied and a new crew.

“So what’s your ship?” A woman had came up beside him, looking out the same view port.

Zane blinked, as he had not expected to be suddenly approached by anyone but…this is the Federation, we’re all family, right? “I believe it is that one over there.” He pointed to the Resolute Class vessel.

“I’m impressed. That is a beautiful ship. I’m that one over there.” She pointed to the Centaur Class vessel.

Zane chuckled, “I’m equally impressed. Anyone who can keep them old birds flying, deserves a lot of respect.”

She laughed before shaking her head. “Well, we came pretty close to losing her to be honest.”

Zane frowned, “How so?”

She shook her head again. “We were on a rescue mission and then while we were fleeing back to Federation space, we were being chased by the enemy, being fired upon, we were already pretty banged up before hand and then we snagged ourselves on just the tip of a quantum filament. Blew out almost the entire power grid. Me and my friend had to go hop in a shuttle craft, blow a hole in the shuttle bay door and overload the transporter in transporting the warp core out of the ship and as far away as we could push the transporters to, and then we had to board the enemy ship who got the blunt end of the quantum filament and prevent their core from overloading or both our ships would have been goners.” She said before taking a sip of her iced mocha.

Zane blinked a few times, processing all that before shaking his head. “The hell.”

She giggled softly, “Like I said, we were already in pretty bad shape when we went on the rescue mission and the ship that was attacking us while we fled, we couldn’t fire back and so…”

“So even when you took only just the tip while they got the blunt end, you both ended up a very bad shape.” Zane finished for her.

She nodded her head, smacking her lips. “Exactly. It totally sucked. But we’re here! And we’re on vacation for a several weeks, then we’re going to be doing some work around the station, give the station crew a hand here and there because I have no idea how long the Centaur going to be dry docked for repairs.”

Zane shook his head, “Lieutenant Zane Bates.” He placed his drink into his left hand and held out his right.

She smiled and did the same before shaking his hand. “Ensign Mizu.” Then it clicked and she gasped, “Did you say Bates? As in, Captain Bates of the-”

Zane nodded his head with a sigh, “Yes, yes, I am her son.”

“Holy shit!” She nearly shouted, and got some eyes on them. She covered her mouth and mouthed ‘sorry’ at them before looking back at him. “She was the First Officer of the USS Okinawa during insane long war with the Cardassians! And commanded one of the Galaxy Class starships in the war with the Dominion! And I am shaking her son’s hand!” She started to shake it harder until he yanked his arm away.

“Easy there, Ensign!” He frowned at her before looking at his hand. It wasn’t about how fast or hard she was shaking his hand, it was the fact that her grip got stupid tight. “Look, I know what my mother has done for Starfleet, and I don’t need to hear more about it, all right? I’m just Zane, making my own history.”

“Right, right, of course! I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to get carried away it’s just-”

“Just nothing, Ensign.” Zane snapped and then took a moment to calm himself. He didn’t mean to snap really. “Olivia Bates is just another Starfleet Officer. She did her duty that she was asked to, like everyone else was during those times, and she would gladly do it again. But right now, she is happy where she is, exploring the galaxy. Or at least exploring our side of the galaxy. Some day you’ll do great things too, and believe me, you won’t feel much like a hero. Just an ordinary Starfleet Officer carrying out their duty. That’s it.”

She blinked at him and then cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I get carried away a lot.”

“You’re young, and still learning. It happens.” Zane eased off with his own apology before checking the time. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mizu but I must get going.”

She then smiled, “Was a pleasure meeting you too, sir!” And with that, Zane was off, hurrying to his guest quarters to grab his things and then heading straight for the hangar to board his shuttle.

Zane had arrived on board the Aquarius an hour ago, having already unpacked and set his quarters straight before taking his own personal tour around the ship. He studied the schematics and the details about the Resolute Class, but he felt that a personal tour around the ship was far better than just images on a screen. Plus he was enjoying the peace and quiet that he had, since no one on board knew who he was, so he had to start over from scratch, make new friends, and get used to his new family. But he also hoped that he wouldn’t find another hyped up Ensign who happens to know who he is or who his mother is and get all cheery and excited like it was a big deal, because to him it wasn’t. He accepted that he was just another officer like everyone else, that he’s nothing special and never will be. He will simply carry out his duty as he is expected and that is that.

“Lieutenant!” Came a feminine, yet commanding voice.

Zane sighed heavily, what he had hoped for was just too soon. He looked around to see if he was near any empty rooms that he could just jump into and hide but it was too late, the one who called out to him had been moving very quick and was already walking around to be right up in his face, literally, forcing him to take a couple steps back. “Can I help you?” She was a Klingon woman, an Ensign too…which led him to thinking, ‘Oh great, another hyped up Ensign.’

“Ensign Utsall, I am in your Department and I noticed that the Assistant Chief position is vacant.”

Zane raised his brows, ‘Really? Odd’ he thought to himself. “I must of missed something in my reading on the Aquarius. Why? What’s it to you, Ensign?”

“I just wanted to let you know, that before the whole command change on board the Aquarius, I have been working very hard to prove that I can be a valuable asset and that I can be trusted with such position.” She explained, and before Zane could say anything, she held out a padd to him. “I’ve already taken care of everything.”

Zane blinked before shaking his head with a sigh, taking the padd from her and going over what was written on it. “You’ve already authenticated and allocated all security codes of all personnel and security accesses throughout the ship?” He asked her.

“Yes, sir.” She answered proudly.

Zane squinted at her before looking back at the padd. “All offensive and defensive systems have been diagnosed and cleared of any anomalies? Nothing to report to Engineering?”

“None.”

Zane raised his brows, “Interesting.” He resumed his reading before putting the padd away. “You’ve even calibrated all hand weapons and rifles.”

“I did, sir.”

“I appreciate the enthusiasm, Ensign. But you were not given instructions to do any of these things.” Zane told her.

“But-”

He held up his head, “With no Head or Assistant Head of the Security and Tactical Department, you had no one to order you to do any of these inspections, nor ordered you to allocate and authenticate all security clearances and access. Was there even anyone Acting as Head?”

She swallowed, “No, sir.”

Zane nodded his head. “I will just make this very clear. You are not being punished for your enthusiasm, Ensign. You’re being punished for acting out without orders. There is a structure for a reason and when you do things on your own, you weaken that structure and when you weaken that structure, it collapses. Is that what you want?”

She shifted to attention, “No, sir!”

Zane sighed before rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I do appreciate all of this, Ensign. But next time, wait until I am on board where you can ask me for permission to do these things.”

“But you might of-”

Zane lowered his hand and looked hard into her eyes. “What?” His voice sharpened, “I might have said no? That it? I could have said ‘Yes’, Ensign. But you never gave me that chance to do so. I’m not new to this job, but this is the first time that I am Chief of this Department, and I would have liked to be able to give a command decision about my department without you making it for me. Is that clear?”

“Perfectly, sir.”

Zane thought of something to give her work, “If you really want to prove yourself to me, Ensign Utsall. I want you to manually inspect every single torpedo on board this ship and make sure their targeting systems are operating at peak efficiency. If either of them are off by just one percent, you are to manually calibrate them until you get that one percent back. Sound good to you, Ensign?”

She swallowed as she knew how many torpedoes that the ship had exactly. “Yes, sir!”

“Good. I expect results within four hours.”

Her eyes grew wide but she pursed her lips to keep herself from going off. “Understood, sir.”

Zane smiled, “Good. Dismissed, Ensign.” And she was off, in quite a hurry too, much faster than before when she caught up to him. He chuckled softly to himself, knowing she won’t get it done within four hours but he figured that she would love a challenge, so he gave her one. Zane sighed one final time with a groan, he had sickbay to go to, to get his check up of course…and then he needed to go report in to the Captain to let him know that his Chief of Security and Tactical is on board and the Department is good to go, thanks to an Ensign of course.

Zane resumed his personal tour as he began to think, ‘New Ship, New Family. Both things will take a while to get used to.’