Njessa paced in her ready room.  It was good to be back aboard the Tanjura but the Starfleet bureaucracy was not being helpful in getting her crew to the ship.  Quite a few were in transit but only a handful had already arrived.  She was beginning to wonder if someone in Starfleet did not want this experiment to succeed.

A message chime distracted her from these dark thoughts.

Straightening his uniform for the hundredth since arriving onboard the USS Tanjura, Jason wanted the moment to go off smoothly and without incident.  He heard horror stories from the Academy about Captains giving newly graduated officers a harder time when joining the crew.  He was hoping to avoid the situation. Focusing back on the moment at hand, Jason tapped the chime to the door.

“Enter,” said Njessa, turning to the door and falling into a parade rest.

He stood straight walking through the door and looking at his Commanding Officer.

“Ensign Jason Williams, reporting for duty, sir” standing at attention.  So far so good, he thought to himself.

“Welcome aboard, ensign,” said the Andorian, looking the freshly minted ensign up and down.  Was I ever that young and eager?  It seems a lifetime ago, she thought.  “At ease.”

“I was reviewing your Academy transcripts, dual track science and security is a rarity, in fact, you are the first Cader I have known that went that route,” she says.  “So, why security?”

Jason relaxed slightly, although not sure if it was a test of his ability to follow protocol with his Commanding Officer.  On the other hand, they were starting to have a conversation that was beyond schedules and duty rosters.  Returning from his thoughts, he smiled at his Commanding Officer.

“To be honest, I think that I have a desire to truly understand how everything works together, but there is also the intense feeling of your fingers moving over the tactical console, having to not only rely on the science, but the experiences of training, real life experiences, or sometimes intuition in order to understand the situation.” Oh no did I just ramble about the mess that is running through my mind to the Captain.

Njessa listened and watched.  “I suspect you will have a chance to see how things work together sooner rather than later.  The sector of space we will be heading into has a myriad number of dangers.”

“I hope that you and the Science Officers don’t mind me spending some of my downtime in the Science Labs aboard the ship” he offered out hoping that it would be allowed since he did enjoy the complexities of science and learning.  Great now you are overselling it, “Of course it will not distract me from my duties aboard the ship sir” he quickly added to his request.  Jason was not overly nervous about the situation but simply wanted to make a good first impression aboard the ship and with his first assignment in Starfleet.  A lot of professors at the Academy recounted their first assignments and days aboard their ships, which probably was aiding in the elevation of emotion within the situation.

“That will ultimately be the decision of the Chief Science Officer, but it seems unlikely to cause a problem,” said Njessa.  “For now, get settled in, Ensign.  We will be running drills in the morning and I will want you at your best.  Unless you have any other questions, consider yourself dismissed.”

Jason stood back at attention looking at his Commanding Officer.  “I will be ready, sir” he offered, curious as to the types of drills they were going to be running.  Perhaps some additional review of procedures aboard the ship as well as ship schematics was in order tonight.  He turned walking through the doors and letting out a soft sigh of relief.  I think that went well, hopefully.  The young ensign started toward the nearest turbolift to locate his quarters and settle in his new home.

“One last thing, Ensign, I prefer ma’am or Captain, I am old fashioned that way,” the Andorian said with a slight smile.