—- Ready Room —-

“We need to make some changes to the crew in light of this new assignment,” Captain Adriana Cruz said looking through the roster on her PADD.

“What are you looking for?” the ship’s Counselor Lieutenant Yuhiro Kolem asked.

“We’re built for science and exploring but from what I can tell we’re going to be handling border duties more now,” Cruz said, “So we’ll need more street savvy types.”

The USS Seattle’s first officer looked out at the station as it grew larger outside and the ship approached it. She had her own news that she had wanted to give the Captain in private but she supposed that this meeting of the senior three members of staff was worth giving it.

”You’ll need a new first officer too,” Commander Th’risris said.

“You’re leaving Starfleet?” Cruz said surprised.

”No, I have a chance to retake some command courses and put myself back in line for a ship,” the Andorian woman said, “I guess they’re getting desperate.”

Cruz smiled, ”You were a Captain before me, you’ll be one again. I’m happy for you.”

”As long as I don’t deck a diplomat again,” the Andorian said.

Raising her glass of water in a type of toast Kolem said, “Congratulations Commander.”

“I’ll be back soon enough, I owe you my career Cruz I’ll repay you,” she said, grateful to the younger woman who had stuck her neck out on a limb for her after Th’risris had gotten in trouble for assaulting a diplomat who had been a pain in her ass. She’d lost her command and had almost lost her career before Cruz’s intervention. In the end she’d been knocked down to Commander and exiled but she’d kept her commission.

Cruz smiled deviously at Kolem, “We’ll until I get a new one, you’re the First Officer. I trust your department can do without you for a few weeks?”

The Chief Counselor who was also the Second Officer frowned, “I would probably need to continue with appointments during most hours, but I can make it work.”

Cruz nodded, “Get yourself a red uniform then. I’ll have a new XO soon so you can go back to blue.”

Kolem nodded, nervous about being the First Officer. Second Officer was more a symbolic position than anything else, a sign that Cruz trusted her but not that she was going to leading away missions or taking over the bridge. There were more senior people on the ship, and they deserved the role more, but it made sense to elevate the Second Officer for such a brief period of time.

Captain Cruz stood as they moved closed to Starbase 415. The Narendra-class station was certainly not the largest they’d been to but after long enough on the small USS Seattle the crew wanted to stretch their legs and see something new. The Rhode Island-class ship eased along side the station as the senior staff exited the Ready Room.

”Welcome to Starbase 415 and Task Force 86,” Captain Cruz said as they docked.

—- Starbase 415, Section E, Lounge —-

Lieutenant Yuhiro Kolem saw the Captain enter the lounge which was unusual. Since her appointment as the First Officer aboard the Seattle Adriana Cruz had not ever socialized with the crew, usually just with the Captain or later when she’d become Captain her First Officer. It was almost hard to imagine the Captain existing outside of the Bridge or her Ready Room.

“Mind if I sit here?” the Captain asked and when Kolem nodded she pulled out a chair and sat at the table, a purple-blue drink in her hands. The Captain adjusted her uniform and sat back, looking beyond her new (temporary) First Officer out into space behind Kolem.

“You okay?” Kolem asked, the Captain’s face was inscrutable, but as a empath it was not hard for the half-Betazoid to tell that something was eating at the Captain. An unfamiliar uncertainty.

”I used to be in a gang you know, before I got caught and put on a path that eventually lead to Starfleet Academy,” Cruz said, “Ever since then I’ve felt like I could map out what was next. All the way to being a Captain, though it happened in a way I hadn’t anticipated.”

Kolem nodded, the male population of the USS Seattle being poisoned and unable to serve had been unexpected. While Captain Hawthorne had survived he’d never taken command of the ship back and had been transferred. 

“So I’ve never worried about what’s next. Either I didn’t care or later I had a clear path. Now I don’t know,” Cruz said with a shrug, “Th’risris and I broke up. She’s gone back to Earth for retraining, and didn’t want to be tied down. I never thought about it really but I kind of expected to be married by the time I was a Captain. Now I’m one and my love if is out the airlock.”

”Spaced basically,” joked Kolem which earned a smile from the Captain. She pressed onwards, “Dating as a senior officer is certainly fraught. On a small ship, the further down the ranks you go the more uneven it is in terms of power and rank. I’m not saying it can’t happen, or hasn’t, but it becomes hard to handle accusations of favoritism, and stuff like that.”

“Clearly Starfleet should give me a bigger ship and bigger dating pool,” Cruz joked nodding out the window where the USS Jobs was arriving to take the Seattle’s ’cargo’ back to Earth in style. The Obena-class ship dwarfed the USS Seattle. 

“Or maybe date outside of the fleet,” Kolem smiled.

Cruz nodded, “You’re one to talk, Hume, my brother, and now Dornall. You’re not going that far afield.”

“I’m not a Captain, Captain,” Kolem smiled.

”Yet,” Cruz said, “Then all this will be yours.”

”Like figuring out what to do in this new Task Force?” Kolem asked.

”Like figuring out what to do in this new Task Force,” Cruz confirmed, “We’re a ship made for science and speed, not border duties or dealing with rogue Klingon elements. The crew isn’t right, and while I trust Starfleet has a plan, it’s hard to see it when pretty much every one we meet both has more guns than us and wants to shoot us.”

Kolem nodded, “You’ll figure it out.”

”I’ll just figure it out,” Cruz nodded, not quite believing it but hoping that the bravado carried the day and convinced the one woman she could not lie to on her crew.