The ship's atmosphere has been tense since the recent changes that had hit the crew. A few people in the senior staff were acting in a form of protest against the assignment of Ko to the command seat. The Task Force Commanding Officer had already declined the protest with good and solid reasoning. So, the next part would be up to Ko to deal with it. The main fire starter was her first officer, someone she needed to trust and have her back in difficult moments. She tapped her desk a few times on the desk as her eyes redirected at the time and narrowed it. “Freaking 40 minutes late and ignoring my hails” Leaning back in her chair and taking a deep breath. 

Then a few seconds later, the chime went, “Come in” An immediate reply came from Ko while sitting back up and looking at the door seeing her first officer enter the office. “Ahh, Commander…” 

He raised his hands and showed a pity face. “I do tend to apologize, Commander Yon. I was occupied with ship duties and getting the Tokyo ready for launch” He stopped at the desk and gave her an uncomfortable smile intended to give assurance. 

‘Right, Captain Takato did warn about his behavior. This guy is going to be hands full for me’ Ko thought and blinked a bit and took a deep breath placing her hands over each other on the desk. “Commander Towalr, we have not had the chance to meet each other. I would have appreciated your greeting me upon my arrival in Tokyo. I also heard you have extreme difficulty remembering my name correctly, so I only say it once for the record. It is Yoon-Jung, and you address me as Captain, as I am the Commanding Officer of this vessel” 

Before Towalr could respond, Ko had already raised her hand. “I am not done, Commander. I believe we had an appointment 40 minutes ago. I let it slide this time, but I would appreciate it if you were here when I call for you. And please do not shove forward an excuse that you were required with duties on the ship. We got senior staff to prepare the ship. Your first officer duties do not require you to micromanage every senior officer on this ship” Ko had already read into his file and was, like Captain Takato, not impressed.  

His facial expression had difficulty upholding that awkward smile. Frustration was breaking through his fake smile. “Comm…Captain I apologize for not welcoming you to the Tokyo. But at that moment my duties were required elsewhere. I did send some senior staff to welcome you to Tokyo, and I am certainly not micromanaging anyone on this ship” He recovered his standing. “I am simply following orders by the Senior Staff's keen advice to improve my chances in my career” 

For a moment she blinked at him in surprise at what he just said. “Right, but I already receive reports from crew members and even…” Ko slides to the right on her computer. “From dry-dock personnel of your interference in their duties.” She looked back at him from the console. “And what advice was given to you to do such a thing?” 

Towalr shrugged for a moment. “I only gave helpful advice on how to be more efficient in their operations. They seem to be slacking, and I wanted to get our ship faster and ready for take-off” He defended his point. “Plus Captain Takato stated that I have to be more involved with the crew's daily operations” He nodded to himself as if he agreed with his judgement. 

‘Is this guy for real….’ Ko thought while giving a shrug and leaning back in her chair “Look, we are responsible for the daily operations on our ship. Operations of Starbase 86 are responsible for the duties at dry-dock. We do not interfere with their job.” She shook her head a bit. “Alright, what is the ship's status?” 

Nodding to her “I totally with keep that in mind, Captain” Towalr bowed his head to her. “The Tokyo is ready for launch. We have gathered all the required information for our mission” He stopped and looked at Ko with a soft smile.

Ko narrowed her eyes and waved her finger around. “What else?” 

Looking confused at her “What do you mean Captain? The ship is ready. What more do you wish to know?” Towalr stated. 

“What….” She couldn't believe what she heard, and Ko took a deep breath. “Are all personnel counted for? Any problems with the duty schedule? Or any on leave? Are there any transfers that I should know of? What about supplies, are they in? Is there any damage to the Tokyo and if so are they repaired?" What was she dealing with, an incompetent first officer or someone who refused to do his duty? 

Thinking for a second “I have delegated those duties to other senior officers on the ship. They have reported to me that the ship is ready” Towalr replied pleased with his answer.

Looking sharply at him “Are you joking right now? Like really….because this is by far funny. These are the basic answers a First Officer must give to his/her Captain. You are responsible for personnel, and you are responsible for getting the resources checked and confirmed. You need to know if the Senior Staff have turned in their report” She was feeling her blood boil.

“I believe I am not responsible for that Captain. I coordinate the crew in their daily duties and guide them where required" Towalr smiled again. 

“That is one of your duties, now I friendly request this once….get out and do not return to me until you get those reports. If you cannot do this within 1 hour, I will put you on non-active, and you can be the first officer of your quarters for all I care.  Now get moving” Ko was not amused with his lacking attitude in sense of duty. 

Towalr took an offended stand “You are required to treat me with respect, I do not tolerate such behavior and I can make a formal complaint to Starfleet about it”

Getting off her seat and leaning on her desk looking sternly at him “Respect is earned Commander. Get out of my office and do your job. Or start applying for a new one” Ko was not joking as he was triggering her to overload in fury. 

The Commander saw he was pushing his luck and gave a slight nod getting out of the office of the Captain. 

Sitting down on her chair she breathes a few times in and out letting her anger shimmer down. She looked at her computer and started to type a message. “Can I potentially request a new First Officer?” and pressed send. It only took a few seconds as a message reply came back.

“Ah, you have met my migraine, sadly but no. With the current condition of Starfleet, personnel is problematic. So my tip, hold dearly onto the code of conduct, and you might have a new First Officer sooner than you expect. Good luck. Sincerely Captain Takato”

“Ahh F*ck…”  She placed her head on the desk.