Captain on the Bridge

Posted on 20 Dec 2013 @ 2:54pm by Commodore Harvey Geisler
Edited on on 01 Jan 2014 @ 1:37am

893 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: New Voyages
Location: USS Black Hawk, Bridge
Timeline: December 26, 2387 || 1330 hours

The Black Hawk had been available to Harvey for nearly six hours now, Of that six hours, he had been unable to make it to the bridge. He had spent several days aboard the Spiner reading all he could about the Akira-class and its ability, prompting him to make an impromptu inspection of the Black Hawk, though no senior officers were yet aboard. The acting Chiefs were quick to show Harvey around, as well as point out some of the supply issues they'd been having. Harvey anticipated they'd be at Deep Space Nine for a few more days before embarking on his first voyage, but he didn't want the station personnel to shortchange the Black Hawk.

Now, after sorting the issues with station operations and a chance encounter with the first member of the senior staff to arrive, Harvey was finally making his way to the bridge.

The turbolift came to a stop and the dark gray doors parted. Seven people, five officers and two enlisted, were hard at work at their stations. The enlisted person manning the operations console on the other side of the bridge looked up to see Harvey step out of the turbolift. "Captain on the bridge!" he called out.

Everyone, regardless of station, immediately rose to their feet and stood at attention. Harvey, a loner by nature, immediately felt uncomfortable. His instincts cried out inside to order everyone to return to work, only to be overridden by realizing this was the perfect opportunity to inspect the bridge. He stepped forward and placed his hands behind his back as he looked at the Tactical station and its Andorian operator. A glance to his right informed him that the back wall featured two turbolifts that bookended the Master Display Console. Opposite the bridge's tactical station was the Operations station, much like an Intrepid-class.

He navigated the steps to the lower level of the bridge. On the tactical side were two stations labelled Engineering I and II. The opposite side of the bridge featured Science I & II. The center of the bridge featured a rather large helm console.

Harvey stepped behind the helm and faced his back to it. In front of him now was a center platform with three chairs. Flanked by the Executive Officer chair and possibly the Counselor or a Mission Specialist, was his own chair. He had sat in the center chair on many other vessels, but this was the first time he could call it his. Harvey stepped up to it, but chose not to sit. There was nothing hypnotic about it, yet he could almost hear the chair asking Harvey to sit down for the first time.

For now, he would ignore the call. There was much to do. He slowly turned around and inspected his crew before finally issuing the order they'd been waiting for, "As you were."

If that were some magical cue, the door to his ready room (left of the viewscreen) opened and a young enlisted woman walked out, PADD in hand. Harvey recognized her from the Command Ceremony on the Flight Deck as his yeoman. Harvey stepped down from the center platform and followed her into the Ready Room. Harvey saw his small duffle bag that contained his meager amount of personal belongings was sitting in his chair. The bag had already been opened and all of the items arranged on his desk and throughout the room. "Thank you," he commented, moving around to stand behind his desk. "Have the two forward stations on the tactical side reconfigured for Flight Operations and Mission Operations. Also have Science II changed to simply Science. Science I can be the Engineering station."

"Aye, sir," replied the Petty Officer.

Harvey looked down to see a nicely stacked pile of PADDs.

Before he could ask, Petty Officer Carter chimed in with her British accent, "Departmental Reports, sir, as you requested. She then handed over the PADD she was holding. "Senior Officer Manifest."

Harvey nodded as he accepted the PADD. His eyes went first to the Chief Medical Officer spot to confirm Doctor Milo's assignment. "I had lunch with Doctor Milo on board Deep Space Nine. He should be arriving shortly. Please make sure I'm notified when he does."

"Of course."

Harvey studied the list a little more, noting that each one of the names had arrival times attached. The Chief Engineer was due to arrive soon, and it looked like it'd be a day or two for the rest.

"Chief Sikes wanted to confirm his meeting with you at 1400 to review the enlisted personnel," prompted the yeoman, returning the captain to her attention.

Harvey nodded. He had the time to spare, and with a mission pending he wanted to be prepared to the utmost. "That'll be all for now." He watched the yeoman nod and leave.

Only then did he look down to see a photo of Alison on his desk. Through all of his travels, he'd never been able to let her go until just a few days ago. He still missed her, but seeing her face every day was a bit of a good luck charm. He wasn't superstitious, yet her cheerful smile still kept his spirits high. Today marked a new chapter in his life. He was going to be sure, for once, that it would be a good one.

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