“This is a beautiful sickbay, Captain Dread.”  Jordan Reid was wearing a lab coat and had been handed a tricorder and medical kit.  She had spent the early part of the morning walking around the Olympic, exploring the ship in awe and wonder.  The Mackenzie was big, but she wasn’t specialized like this ship was.  “It’s hard to believe this ship is thirty-five years old.”

Helena walked with her through the corridors, “Well, don’t tell her that, Ms. Reid.  She’s had a few refits in her time to keep her at the forefront of her operational theatres.  She’s got another forty-five years on her clock.”  She stopped outside a room and scanned the display screen, “She’s a big ship with a big mission…we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

They walked to a nurses station where Dread glanced at proffered PADDs while Reid soaked in the world around her.  This was a genuine medical posting where scientific study was held as a sacred duty.  She’d been reading the Olympic Journal on her off time and finding the varying studies and essays profoundly fascinating.  Reid followed her as Captain Dread continued her rounds, giving the civilian doctor a tour without it being a tour.  They paused at two more nurses’ stations and stopped at one of the Deputy Chief’s offices.  Reid was confused, “This office is empty….”  Dread looked to Reid, then to the office…and then back again.  “You can’t be serious, Captain.  I’m…”

Helena raised a hand to stop her, “I’m not offering you the job today, Ms. Reid.  I’m asking you to consider joining our crew once you’ve had time to build a map for your road to grief recovery.  The Olympic is a big ship with a big mission.  She’s got lots of room for people who care.”  She saw a flash of emotion flit across the face of the young woman.  “Think about it, at least.  You’ve got friends here… it would be a fresh start.”

Reid felt like she was being sold on something and opened her mouth but was interrupted by the red alert klaxon and the voice of Captain Crawford squawking through sickbay, “Captain Dread to the bridge!”

“An earthquake?”  Dread stood behind Fowler at the science station as the various screens focused on the location outside the main city.

Fowler felt her nerves jangling as she ran her hands over the console.  It had come out of nowhere.  The trill warning beeps had startled her, and the surge of adrenaline wasn’t slowing. “Registering 6.5 on the Richter scale…it was a two-minute event.”  Sadie glanced over to her head of geology, “Samson, can you validate the fault lines involved?”

The young officer nodded and began to review the scans they had run upon arrival, “There are multiple fault lines across the planet…five majors.  Three are on the other side of the planet, one on a lower continent…and the last one is…in a deep ocean trench.”

Sadie stared at him, “There are no major fault lines near the city?”  Jeremy Samson shook his head and focused the sensors on the area around the city.  The bridge collectively held its breath as the scan was completed.

His head shook slower this time, “That…doesn’t make sense.  There should be…”

Crawford answered the question out loud, “Mr. Samson, put a team together.  We need a clear understanding of the focal point of the event.”  He spun in his chair, “Dread, I need you on the response to the city.”  He cocked his head on, seeing Jordan Reid nervously holding down the far corner of the bridge, “Ms. Reid, I’m temporarily placing you under the command of Captain Dread – we need every able body down there responding to the situation.”  He stood and moved to his operations chief to coordinate the response.

Jordan’s mouth had fallen open. Protesting as Dread walked towards her, “Captain, he can’t do that!”

Helena raised her eyebrows as she pulled Reid into the turbolift, “Well, he just did.  You’re with me.”  She gave a wry smile as the doors closed and the elevator plunged towards the transporter rooms.