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Enterprise Asides Part 1 – The Uncertain
Ensign Vaylin Zaand watched Admiral Kirk exit the bridge, struggling against the need to speak, to set things right. This ship, this was not the Enterprise James Kirk knew. How dare he step in and steal the command out from under the ship’s captain. The Rhandaarite blinked his reflective eyes and moved to say something, but Lieutenant Commander Sulu spoke up, the helmsman’s face bright with anticipation.
“He wanted her back. He got her.”
Zaand couldn’t bear it any longer. The eager faces of the rest of the bridge crew made him feel suddenly foolish and out of touch, a frustrating reminder of his homeworld where those that were encouraged to seek out Starfleet’s “simple” hierarchy were seen as tedious slow-learners who would never truly be able to integrate into the complex webs of Rhandaarite society.
“And Captain Decker?” Zaand said, trying his best to keep his voice level, though a judgmental bite crept into his words nonetheless. “He’s been with the ship every minute of her refitting.” It had been Decker’s commitment to not only overseeing the refit, but personally assigning each crewmember that had drawn Zaand to this assignment. Decker’s vision of a diverse crew had appealed to Zaand, who appreciated the different viewpoints that came from a career in Starfleet.
Lieutenant Commander Uhura’s reply was kind, her voice gentle and easygoing. “Ensign, the possibilities of our returning from this mission in one piece may have just doubled.”
The chaos of the bridge began to pick up again as everyone rushed to get the bridge’s systems and equipment in working order. Zaand returned to the security station, feeling suddenly like a green cadet, overwhelmed by the great vastness of the Federation’s diverse worlds, all scrambling about Starfleet Academy like Earth bees in a hive. Zaand was a part of this crew, and a proud one, but the reminder that many of the ship’s former senior officers had maintained their previous positions made it feel as though he was a new member in an exclusive club, separate from the long-term veterans.
Commanders Uhura and Sulu were brilliant officers, and fine leaders, but they were more than a little intimidating. They had seen and done things that Zaand had heard of at the Academy, massive feats of discovery and diplomacy that made Zaand all the more eager to graduate and get his first assignment. Having his captain so eagerly shot down by them, though, reminded Zaand of his newness, his inexperience. If the ship’s captain could be reduced in rank because Starfleet didn’t have enough faith in his ability to investigate a mysterious stellar object, what would stop them from removing Zaand in favour of someone more able to handle the stress of starship security. After all, he was only an ensign. Captain Decker had assured him that his work in the years since his graduation made him more than qualified to take on this position, but what if Starfleet Command didn’t agree?
Zaand shook his large head, blinking away the doubt and frustration. Now was not the time to worry. He knew what he had to do. Captain Decker could handle Admiral Kirk. What he needed now was a distraction.
The chaos of his bridge station sprawled invitingly: hardware that needed to be installed, a list of software updates that he would have to sync with the main computer, and the as-yet unlocated chair that he needed to set up. There was work to do.
“I believe this is yours, Ensign.”
Zaand turned to see Lieutenant Commander Sulu carrying a taupe chair his way.
“You didn’t have to bring this yourself, sir,” Zaand said, accepting it with a nod. “I know you’re busy. I could have gone to—”
“I don’t mind, Ensign,” Sulu chuckled. “We’re all a little crazy right now, and I know I feel better knowing I’m not facing all this alone.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Sulu smiled. “Settling in?”
“I will, once—” He gestured at the chaos of his station.
“I’ve got one of those myself,” Sulu said, cocking a thumb over at the helm, which looked more like a pile of cables and tools.
Zaand fitted the chair into place and sat down, as Sulu turned suddenly to help a beleaguered cadet wandering about with an armload of duotronic storage drives, craning her neck in search of something. Zaand took a calming breath and then began sorting the three security displays into their proper configuration before clicking them into place.
“Ensign Zaand?”
He turned toward communications where Uhura was standing, holding a length of cable.
“Yes, Commander?”
“Would you please take these to sickbay? They ended up in the wrong crate.”
He stood, grateful for the sudden distraction from the looming task of doing battle with the Enterprise’s computer. Right now, there were so many cascading updates synching secondary systems with the main computer that setting up his station would require a great deal of tedious trial and error. He stepped over and took the cable. “Right away, ma’am.”
Uhura winced. “Oh heavens, don’t ever call me ma’am, ensign.” Her expression brightened and she gave a throaty laugh. “Commander is just fine.”
“Yes, Commander.”
As the mad scrambling of the bridge gave way to the quiet of the turbolift, Zaand found himself smiling, not at the uncertainty of who was going to retain command of the ship, and not at the terror lurking in whatever it was that they were being sent to investigate, but at the sudden warm feeling that he was indeed a part of that bridge. They were all in this together, and they were all here to support each other.
And that thought made the looming arrival of whatever was out there a little less terrifying.