It had been an interesting first meeting for all parties, certainly. It had felt like something out of Greek tragedy to be lifted into the scene deus ex machina with zero notice for Fleet Captain Logan, so he could imagine how his new crew felt about the situation. The senior staff filed out of the briefing room on the way to generate the reports he’d asked from them until Logan’s eyes turned to Lieutenant Commander Forrest, still at the opposite end of the table.

“Go see if we’ve received any updates from Starfleet Cartography yet, Forrest,” Logan ordered.

The blond man frowned at the captain, but stood up, nodded, and left Logan alone with his new first officer, Commander Koerner. Logan slid the second PADD he’d had under his first out from the stack and glanced through his copy of her dossier, which he had familiarized himself with since coming aboard.

“Commander Natalya Koerner. Most recently assigned to the Tiwanaku as chief engineer, after over a decade on McKinley Station building ships,” he recited before placing the tablet down on the table. “So, why are you sitting in front of me in a red uniform?”

Koerner looked out towards space for a minute. She had been through quite a bit during her tenure in Starfleet.

“While I will always love engineering, I decided after multiple injuries, including walking into an active warp core to seal a breach, which is a long story, that it was time to try something I had always promised my father I would do. I drug my feet for so long due to my love of making the ship or station tick.”

She sighed. “I have to admit sometimes I miss realigning dilithium matrices, but for the short time I have been an executive officer, I have loved the job and the work that has gone with it,” she concluded, waiting to see the response of the fleet captain, hoping the answer would be germane to his question.

“Sometimes a powerful life event like that is enough to make us want to try something new,” Logan noted, sitting back in his chair. “I would have preferred to stay a scientist, but I became first officer of the Memphis during the Dominion War when my predecessor was killed in action. Not ideal, but it turned out to be the right path for me.”

The senior officer studied the more junior one for a moment. “I’m sure you’re more than up to the task, but I’m always curious to see how much enthusiasm officers have transferred into command with. The more eager they are, the more suspect I am of their motivations. I don’t know how long I’ll be aboard this ship, but is there anything I need to know about the crew that wasn’t evident in the briefing today?”

Koerner pondered the question for a moment. He seemed to be content with her answer, which was reassuring she was reminded of the rank he held. If she was to keep her father’s wishes she needed to make sure she did everything she could to impress the higher command levels. She spoke after her small lapse.

“No, sir, not immediately. We have a pretty good crew. I know Lieutenant Beckman loves working on anything she can get her hands on though that’s not her primary job, but from the reports I was sent she knows her way around. It’s possible we could use her in an engineering role as well. Other than that, everyone else has been performing as expected. No one even complained about their duty shifts.”

She chuckled slightly as she concluded hoping to lighten the mood in the room. She wasn’t sure if the Captain got the humor, but she wasn’t going to act like someone she was not, no matter who was present. She did the same thing to her other CO’s; it was just her.

“Very well, Commander,” Logan replied, tapping the surface of the table absently as he thought. “I sense a certain bolshiness from our operations manager. Just a feeling. Let’s make sure that’s kept under control. You’re dismissed. Take the bridge, while I continue to review our sensor data,” he added.

Koerner stood and nodded to the Captain. She took note of his remark regarding the operations manager. She hadn’t spent much time with them, but she was going to from this point on. “Yes, Captain.” She said as she departed the briefing room and entered the bridge. She wasn’t sure of what impression she had made, but she hoped she hadn’t disappointed.

Captain Logan waited until the door had closed before leaning back in his chair. He was sure they would be able to accomplish the mission, but there was very little time to get the crew into a cohesive working unit, and he wasn’t ready to form an opinion on any of them yet.”

“Computer, begin log entry.”

The computer chirped in confirmation.

“Captain’s Log, Stardate 76810.9. I have just assumed command of the Europa and already we are thrust into the Badlands on an urgent rescue mission. From my initial observations, the crew is competent and the ship is sound, but even the mightiest vessels can easily be swept off course by a powerful storm. It is my fervent hope to accomplish our mission as soon as possible, so I can return the Europa to Starbase 72 and safety. End log.”