Lost in the Familiar

[Guest Cdr Dacotah]

"Systems are down.  We're out of warp.  We're being taken like amateurs."  Moose said, irritation in his voice.  The ring of alarms and flashing lights filled the bridge and Hayden felt suddenly, lost.  She didn't even need to think about what to for the Medical Emergency.  Her life as a doctor, her years as the ship's Chief Medical Officer, allowed her to function without concious thought.  But this ... this was entirely different animal, even with all the training simluations.  

 

"You're the best person for the job, and I wouldn't offer you the position if I didn't think you had what it took."  She had been caught off guard when Moose approached her for the First Officer position, and for the first time in many months felt a renewed heartache at the loss of Sidney.  He was her sounding board, her devils' advocate, and her strongest supporter.  More than once she wished that she could tell him about Moose's offer, ask him what he thought.  In the end, she had done just that.  Late at night, in the quiet dark of her room, she would tell him.  Her excitiment, her fears, her hesitations, her worries.  She could almost see the tilt of his head, or the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth, and in the end all the worries and fears had been exorcised.

 

"I've given your offer considerable thought," she said formally to Moose in his Ready Room, "and I would be honored to become the next First Officer of the USS Arcadia."  

 

Moose stood and came around the desk.  "Then," he said, as he reached up and removed the black pip from her collar, replacing  it with a gold one, "it is my priviledge to promote you to the rank of Commander."  He smiled and took a step back.  "Congratulations, Number One."

 

"Number One.  See to it that the crew is armed, quickly.  If these people are any good, we'll be boarded any moment."  Hayden snapped out of her reprieve and hurried over toward the open OPS console.

 

"Order issued, Sir."  Quickly she scanned the ships' schematics, seeing what systems were functioning, those that were not, and began making the necessary changes in the ships' resources in order to keep the ship in the best defensible position possible.  As her fingers moved arcoss the console, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and as soft as a feather she heard Sidney's voice, "You made the right choice."