Nursing a drink at one of the more discreet tables in the ship’s messhall, Valkyrie’s Romulan tactical officer swilled the beverage in a circular motion, creating a whirlpool-like hole in the middle of her cup. She’d been in the lounge for close to an hour, mulling over the contents of the data PADD she’d been given by the Captain when he informed her of her latest duty. Being asked to create a Starfleet hazard team from scratch was not on her 2401 bucket list or bingo card. She was, of course, familiar with the concept of a hazard team; a type of military unit utilised to take control of extreme situations and high-risk away team missions, and one that would be formed of an elite force of officers from across the different branches of Starfleet. Sure, she could see the advantage of such a team, and it was, after all, a directive from her commanding officer, but she couldn’t help but think that it was a slight on her, and her security teams. Did Starfleet (or worse, the Captain) think her team was incompetent? Unable to deal with the stress of difficult missions?

To be fair, if that was the case, she was pretty confident she could fight her corner and defend her team. Rigorously. Valkyrie had been in spacedock for almost a year undergoing refits, missing the entire Dominion debacle in the Deneb sector, and the Frontier Day disaster. It was hard for any of the teams aboard the ship to shine in those circumstances, so if they thought her team wasn’t doing something that it should, she’d be having words for sure.

She’d been tasked with putting together a list of names for the team to present them to the Captain, but she needed another set of eyes. There was only one logical person she could go to for advice at this point. Placing her beverage on the table, she slapped her commbadge.

“Nisea to Flores,” she called into the ether.

”Flores here, what may I do for you, commander?” Sitting at his desk, Flores suddenly received a message from Nisea. He was wondering what the commander needed from him.

“I’d appreciate another set of eyes on my hazard team assignment if you would be willing, sir?” the Romulan commander asked, hopeful of a positive response.

“Come to my suite, commander. We will discuss it here; hazard team assignments are not to be taken lightly,” said Flores.

“Affirmative, Commander,” Nisea accepted his request and rose to her feet, grabbing her work items and making for the nearest exit. When she arrived at the XO’s quarters a short while later, looking a little less pristine than usual, she used her elbow to press the door chime since she had almost a dozen data PADDs in her hands.

“Come in,” called out Flores, as he was expecting Commander Nisea to come here and talk to him about the hazard team formation. Hazard teams, from Flores’s experience, were one of the more prestigious positions aboard a starship, but with a cause. This team would usually deal with some of the more dangerous missions and away missions, which required specialists in the field to examine or investigate. It was understandable that the commander needed to consult with him. “Take a seat, Nisea, and please do put down those PADDs you’re holding. Those are quite heavy,” said Flores with a shocked voice.

Never one to like the insinuation that she was weak, like her Vulcan brethren, the Romulan did her utmost to maintain a modicum of composure as she dro…placed the PADDs on the coffee table between them. “I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to meet with me Commander, but I’ve been wracking my brains on this for hours,” she confessed, taking one of the offered seats and getting comfortable.

”What exactly do you need my help with, Commander? All I know about is that you need another pair of eyes to look at the hazard team operations to which you are apparently heading. So I must ask first: how are you taking liking to your new position and post? Have you dealt with this type of situation before? Finally, who have you considered already for a hazard team? I’ll tell you this one bit. Hazard teams are composed of specialists. They do not necessarily require a senior office rank of lieutenant commander and above. They only require expertise in the field. You may or may not choose to lead one of these teams,” said Flores in an impressive one breath. Flores then gasped a huge breath.

Listening to what was tantamount to a word salad given her confused state, the Romulan just about managed to make sense of the Commander’s many questions and statements. “Hazard teams are new to me,” she confessed, “I’ve only ever been in charge of my security teams, so being responsible for a team of people from different disciplines is not something I am used to.” She then drew his attention to one specific data PADD, the one at the bottom of her pile. “This is the list of all uniquely qualified people. I need to narrow it down. Significantly.”

“Impressive. You managed to understand a significant part of what I said. You could distinguish the most important parts. I apologise if I gave a short exam. It is not to judge your abilities but to train you for future operations that will require you to distinguish the most important facts that are being said. This is an essential skill every member and head needs in the field and in training,” said Flores, feeling a little bit bad for the commander. “Anyways, let’s continue the task at hand, shall we? Who do we have first?“ Asked Flores.

“I think it would be best if we started with the best candidates,” Nisea suggested, reaching down to the coffee table between them and picking up the first data PADD. She presented it to the Commander and slumped back in her seat.

For the next hour, the two officers chatted through the candidates, successfully whittling them down to a team of ten, with an additional team of reservists. A second set of eyes had helped her to narrow down the field just as she wanted and meant that she had a team to propose to the Captain.

”Done and done. We have reviewed all the possible candidates. Now it is up to you to present your ideas to the captain and get his approval but I am confident that this would be the best set of officers and specialists for the hazard team.“ said Flores, after reviewing the PADDs for several hours. 

Rising from the sofa, Nisea collected all of the data storage devices. “I appreciate your assistance, Commander. You helped me navigate a minefield.”

”It’s nothing commander. Godspeed.“ standing up to greet Nisea from his deck. “I still have a lot of work to finish so if you don’t mind commander.“ 

Nodding respectfully, the Commander dutifully retired and left the XO to his duties, content that together they had navigated a potential hazard. Now all she had to do was present their final recommendations to the Captain.