Lieutenant Commander Erin Hayden was not prepared to command a starship, and she certainly wasn’t prepared to command said starship during an emergency and humanitarian crisis.  Yet, here she was on deck eight leading the evacuation effort of an entire planet. 

“Young lady I demand to see your Captain. These accommodations are unacceptable for a man of my stature,” Prime Minister Lou Gerakis complained.”

Erin took a deep breath fighting the urge to roll her eyes or disintegrate him with her phaser. “”Prime Minister we are at our evacuation limit as it is. No body gets an executive suite.  This isn’t a pleasure cruise and neither is this a diplomatic mission.   If you are too stupid to know that then I don’t know what to tell you. You aren’t getting special treatment.”

The Prime Minister stared down at her in disbelief anger filling his eyes, “When I speak with your Captain I’ll have you court-martialed for that!”

“Again your stupidity or lack of listening ability knows no bounds.  I AM the acting Captain of this ship.  Caption Mckenzie and Commander Halstead are missing in action.  In fact I am here rescuing you instead of finding them. Now go back to the cargo bay or I’ll beam you back to the planet and leave you there.”

“You wouldn’t. That’s murder.”

Erin leveled her gaze on him, “I’m thinking I’d be doing your people a favor, but you’re right I won’t kill you, but you aren’t getting your own quarters. Replicators will remain off-line until further notice.  We cannot know what 10,000 people using replicators would do to our aging power grid. You’re just going to have to rough it for a few days until we can reach safe harbor. Is that clear?” She saw him about to protest and cut him off, “Uh! Not another word unless it relates to something along the lines of, ‘I understand and I’m sorry’.”

The Prime Minister stopped mouth open in preparation to speak. He apparently thought better of it and instead shut his mouth and turned disappearing into the crowd. Loud and incoherent mutters could be heard from him coupled with several shouts of indignation directed at his own people.

“A most irrational man,” Dr. T’lar said approaching her.  

The CMO was also acting as her XO, and Erin was relived to see her. “Privilege does that to people sometimes.   Give them power and they think they can bully their way through any situation and get what they want.”

“For all of your advances,  humans still give into their base traits of greed,” T’lar observed. 

“We are emotional creatures,” Erin replied.   “I just wish it was the Captain and not me on the receiving end of it.”

“Indeed, but you are conducting yourself adequately. I have completed my scans of the colonists.   Twenty-two have Altria flu.  I have quarantined the sick and isolated those they came in contact with from the general population, and we are a capacity.  Any more we risk lifesupport failure.”

“Thanks T’lar.” 

The ship’s chief of security pushed his way through the crowd. “Everyone is situated.   I evan have families set up in the brig.  We’re packed to the gills here,” Diego Garza said looking more stressed out than she felt.  “There’s still another five-thousand on the planet.”

“Then we’ll have to hurry then, ” She tapped her combadge,  “Hayden to bridge.  Set course for Rigel, warp seven.”