Tamlin had reached out to DeMont almost as soon as he’d gotten on board and offered to take him through the Lafayette’s many systems. He’d served on a Sovereign once before, but Tamlin and DeMont knew that just because both ships had a primary targeting system, it didn’t mean that both primary targeting systems were the same. In fact, they very usually weren’t. Each ship left the drydock the spitting imagine of each other, but after that it was anyone’s guess. Each different Engineering and Operations Chief left their finger prints on it, different calibrations, different methods of repair, different experiences, and that meant no two ships were exactly the same if they’d seen any amount of service at all. It was one of the things that Tamlin loved the most about working in Engineering. Each ship was basically another member of the crew to get to know. 

“Oh,” DeMont was studying a read out on one of the tertiary displays in Engineering, “So that’s way off standard.” 

“Yeah,” Tamlin chuckled, “You can blame me for that. The secondary power systems on Deck 19 were having an issue with frequency conversion, so I had to reroute through a neighboring system to get it to stabilize.”

“Targeting control?” DeMont offered, nodding. 

“Targeting control,” Tamlin gave a nod of confirmation, “But I compensated for that by polarizing the coupler, and that seems to have everything ticking along. Novak swears its more responsive now, actually.” 

“That would make sense. Even with the polarization to compensate, there’s still more power routed through the system,” He said, taking a closer look at the readouts. 

Tamlin smiled, happy to see him grasp all of the fine details so quickly. She could tell he was still very unsure of himself, but it wasn’t based in any actual lack of competency, “You got it. I think you’re going to do just fine here, Mister DeMont,” She gave him a bright smile and patted him on the shoulder. 

DeMont smiled back, “I’m going to try, that’s for sure.” 

“You’re already succeeding,” Tamlin said, warmly. “Have you met the CO yet?”

“Briefly, yesterday, when we arrived. He didn’t have much time to say anything other than hello, though,” DeMont explained, already moving on to the next set of systems in line. “What do you think of him?” 

Tamlin smiled, “He’s a good man. I watched him during the Lost Fleet incident and then Frontier Day. He kept us going, he kept the hope alive, he kept us all believing.”

“Yeah, Frontier Day was rough,” His eyes flashed a shadow as he thought about that dreadful day, but Tamlin missed it. 

“Frontier Day was the day I think I earned the most respect for Cromwell,” She admitted. “Well, the aftermath, really. Commodore Cromwell and Commander Wyatt did a good job getting everyone together and keeping us safe. We were able to contain most of the drones with out killing them, but… not all. Cromwell carried them all to sick bay by hand.”

“Where the transporters not working?” DeMont asked. 

“They were working fine. The Doc even asked why he was doing it, and Commodore Cromwell told him it was because he’d promised to protect them and keep them alive, and he hadn’t been able to. So the least he could do is to make sure they were carried gentle to sickbay. And he did. Four bodies, he walked them all the way, by hand, in his arms, to sickbay,” She noticed Nick was intently watching her, listening to the story. She smiled at him, “He’s a good man.” 

As if on cue, the doors to main engineering opened an in walked Cromwell, already looking around for his chief Engineer. 

“Speak of the devil,” She said quietly to DeMont, standing up and walking over toward the entrance, “Making the rounds early, Commodore?” 

“Could say the same for you,” Cromwell replied with a smile. 

Tamlin returned the smile, “Lieutenant DeMont and I were just going through the key systems so he can get used to this lovely lady’s quirks.” 

“Ah, Lieutenant,” Cromwell offered the young man a hand to shake as he came around and stood next to Tamlin, “Pleasure to see you again. I’m sorry I didn’t have much time to talk when you arrived yesterday. It was a bit of a time crunch.” 

DeMont shook his hand and smiled at the older man, “No apologies needed, sir. I completely understand.” 

“Thank you for your patience,” Cromwell gave the young man a nod. “I’ll set aside time for us to talk properly soon, either today or tomorrow. In the meantime, Lieutenant Commander,” He turned his attention back to the Chief Engineer with a tired smile, “I need to put my hands to something. Put me to work for the next couple hours, would you?” He asked. 

Tamlin was a little shocked by the request and started trying to think of things Cromwell could do. Most Starfleet COs were well versed enough to manage a ships systems in an emergency, but Tamlin had the advantage of having a CO who’d made it up through the ranks from the Engineering track and kept his training and qualifications up for fun, “We need to recalibrate the EPS manifolds,” She offered. 

Cromwell shook his head, “No, I need to get my hands dirty.” 

“Ah,” Tamlin looked around, trying to think of what was needed, then she snapped her fingers, “We’re due to replace the power relays on Deck’s 9 and 14 next week, but there’s no reason we couldn’t do it now.” 

Cromwell snapped his fingers and smiled, “That’s it. Relays already replicated?” 

“Yessir, they’re in the tool alcove.”

“Perfect. Thank you!” 

Tamlin watched for a moment as the Commodore made his way to the tool alcove and started gathering what he’d need to replace the relays. She turned to DeMont and put a hand on his shoulder, “Do you think you can take it from here?” 

DeMont took half a second to process what she was saying and then nodded, “Oh yeah, I’ve got it. For sure.” 

“Great. We’ll find some time to meet up later and go over the last of it, yeah?” 

“Yup! Sounds good.”

“Thanks.” 

Tamlin walked over to where the Commodore had already packed up most of the gear he’d need, “Commodore? DeMont pretty well has it from here, and those relay replacements are a lot easier as a two-man job. You want some company?” 

Cromwell considered it for a moment, then nodded, “Sounds good to me.”

“Good,” Tamlin beamed brightly and grabbed the tool kit. 

The repair work went on without much more than idle chatter. Tamlin was glad to have the Commodore’s help on the relays. She had to admit, she’d never had the privilege of working on a ship with her commanding officer before. It was a new experience, and a surprising one. Cromwell was good. He was rusty, she could tell that, but he knew his stuff. She wasn’t having to train him, just remind him. 

“Polarity is off on the secondary coupler,” He said. 

“By how much?”

“Uhm… mark-oh-two?” 

“Try using the polarity modulator on the power conduit. Sometimes they’ll–”

“Surge when you remove the old power relay. Right. Forgot, sorry,” Cromwell chuckled as he set about his work. 

“You know, on my old ship we used to joke around about how the command crew wouldn’t know the difference between a polarity modulator and a hyper spanner,” Tamlin grinned. “They’d never believe I’m elbow deep in a power relay with my CO, much less a Commodore.” 

Cromwell laughed, “For what it’s worth, back when I was an Engineer, we used to make the same jokes.”

“Some things never change, eh, sir?” She asked. 

“They never do,” He replied. 

“Hand me that isometric interface, please?” 

She took the tool and made a few adjustments. There was only a brief handful of minutes before the relay whirred to life and Tamlin was able to verify that all of the readings were looking like they should, “Hey, looks like this one is good. Not bad work,” She said, then looked at Cromwell out of the corner of her eyes. “For a Commodore,” she teased. 

“Yeah, yeah. You be careful, I’ll put you on the bridge and take over as Chief,” Cromwell teased, crawling out of the access hatch with her and packing their tools. 

“You’ll have to pry that warp core out of my cold dead hands, sir.” Tamlin replied. The two of them returned to silence as they packed up and made their way to the turbolift. 

“Deck fourteen,” Tamlin ordered. 

There was a moment of silence as they rode down, but Tamlin broke it, “What made you want to get your hands dirty this morning, sir?” 

“No particular reason,” Cromwell replied. 

Tamlin regarded her CO for a moment before she spoke again, “Computer, halt turbolift.” She crossed her arms and looked up at her CO, turning to face him more directly. “Permission to speak freely, Commodore?” 

Cromwell looked around the suddenly halted turbolift awkwardly, then back to his Chief Engineer, “Granted.” 

“All due respect, sir, cut the crap,” She said, flatly. “People don’t wake up two hours early and ask for grunt work from Engineering for ‘no particular reason’. It’s usually for a very good reason and it’s usually because you don’t want to deal with something,” She said, then added gently, “Ask me how I know.” 

Cromwell chuckled and leaned back against the wall of the turbolift, “Are you my Chief Engineer or the ship’s counselor?” 

Tamlin laughed, “I’m better than the counselor, because you’ll actually talk to me.” She considered the man before her carefully for a moment before continuing, “I know Frontier Day was hard on you, sir. Going out on a Borg related mission so soon can’t be easy.” 

Cromwell smiled down at the young woman in front of him and nodded. She was just barely over half his age, but here she was with the wisdom of the ages. “Do you know my full dossier, Chief?” He asked. 

Tamlin shook her head, “Not all of it, just the command history.” 

“Frontier Day was not my first run-in with the Borg. I was on the USS Maelstrom during Wolf 359,” He explained. 

Tamlin dug deep in her memory for that one, “I thought the Maelstrom was destroyed at Wolf 359.” 

“It was,” He nodded slowly, trying to keep the memories from coming fully flooding back. “I was one of only a handful of survivors. I know what those brutes are capable of. I’ve watched them assimilate friends. I’ve seen the brutal power of those damn cubes,” He said. “Frontier Day was a terrible massacre, but it was weak compared to the unbridled power of the Borg. And now… In their current state, they’re unpredictable on top of everything else.” 

The Commodore sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger for a moment, then continued, “It took me a long time to get over Wolf, Chief. I had nightmares every night for six years, and I thought I’d done away with them, but then after Frontier Day… and now this,” He gestured broadly. “The nightmares are back and… I just want to be done with this and get back to normal work and away from this Borg business altogether,” He explained. 

Tamlin gave him another long look before giving a single short nod, “Then let’s go replace another power relay. Computer, resume turbolift.” 

Cromwell smiled, “So, can I ask you a question? Off the record?” 

Tamlin chuckled, “That sounds loaded, but yeah, go ahead.” 

“Crews tend to not talk as freely when their Commanding Officer is around, and even less so when their commanding officer happens to be a flag officer,” He said with a chuckle. “How is the crew? Between the Lost Fleet and Frontier Day… everyone is doing their jobs and getting things done, but… how are they?” 

Tamlin weighed her response for a moment, “I won’t tell you details, sir. Anything that anyone told me was in confidence as far as I’m concerned,” She wasn’t going to betray the confidence of her friends and crew mates. That just wasn’t a part of who she was. 

Cromwell, raised his hands, “I’m not asking for any details. Just a general assessment in your opinion,” He explained. 

Tamlin nodded, and took a deep breath, “They’re struggling, sir. Same as you are. Frontier Day and the Dominion returning were some old ghosts that no one was ready to see again. And this mission is a whole new barrel of laughs,” She said, but then rested a hand on Cromwell’s shoulder. “But the important thing – the most important thing – you have to remember is that we trust you,” She explained. 

She laughed a little as the turbolift deposited them on deck fourteen, “I’ll admit, there was a point where we all were a little concerned that you were some crazy old man that was going to get us all killed trying to have your last hurrah,” She admitted. “But now we’re all confident in you. We believe in you. We’ll follow you anywhere, because we know you’ll be watching every step of the way to keep us safe.” 

Cromwell smiled at that, an odd sense of relief coming over him, “Well… I’m glad to hear that. I think a lot of folks in command still think it’s the first option,” He said with a wry grin, “But as long as you all know that I’m not out here like some damn fool on a crusade, that’s all that matters,” He admitted. 

“We know, boss,” Tamlin said with a smile. “Now,” She pointed her arm authoritatively into the power relay junction room, “Get to work, Engineer. These relays aren’t going to replace themselves!” She barked. 

Cromwell chuckled, but saluted and nodded, “Yes, Chief!”