“Captain, tomorrow you will get your ship. She is the best in the fleet. Cruising at Warp 7, you will have the best of the best that we have.” Admiral Archer told Smith.
“Sir, thank you for the confidence. I will try to make us proud.”
“Don’t be late for the ceremony. Have you chosen your crew yet?”
“Well, a couple of them. Since we do not push off for another month, I wanted to take time to choose the best ones. The ones that I have selected are B’lieze for Communications Officer and Naral for Weapons.”
“B’lieze has an excellent reputation, and he has a good innate skill. Using the Sato Universal Translator, he will be an asset. But Naral? She is a hothead and has two permanent letters of reprimand in her file. Why her?”
“Sir, because she is the best person for the job. I see a whole lot of me in her, and, if I speak frankly, a whole lot of you in her as well.”
Archer lent back in his chair and his beagle, Rita, jumped up on him. “Lovely Rita, how much I love you! You are a very nice dog. OK, Smith, try Naral out, but if you get burnt, it is not my fault.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Any ideas for other key staff?”
“Yes, sir, I have, but a couple of positions are just blank. I do not know a good enough medical officer, nor do I have any idea who the best Chief Engineer should be. I do have ideas about a First Officer and a Yeoman.”
“YEOMAN?!! You have more important positions to fill.”
“Respectully, Sir, a Yeoman is a very important position. This person must have my trust at all times, and also take care of my physical needs. You know as well as anyone that a Captain often will let his own well-being deteriorate when things get intense. I have read all of your official logs, and if T’Pol and Trip had not looked out for you, I respectfully maintain that you would have worked yourself to death. Am I incorrect?”
Archer stroked Rita’s ears, which she loves, and thought. “Smith, I am 86 years old, and still breathing. But you make a couple of good points. I will authorize a yeoman for you, hopefully not one like Daniels. Who do you have in mind?”
“There is a young man in the Academy by the name of Sulu. He pays a lot of attention to detail, and I think that I can have him trained for other positions as a fill in. Thank you for the support here.”
“Of course. Now, what about that First Officer?”
“I asked Admiral T’Pol to take the position on a provisionary basis. She declined because of her responsibilities at the High Council. She recommended to me two people, and I would like your council to decide. One is Sarak, the Vulcan representative to Earth, who is wise in negotiations, but not quick to decide. The other is a Midshipman named Christopher Pike. He has quick wits, but is not as logical as Sarak. What do you think?”
“Yeah, Rita, you are a pretty girl! I’ll violate the rules and get you some Cheddar in a minute! Smith, take Pike. You need a Number One who is fast thinking and decisive. Besides, Ambassador Sarak has a wife and a young son, the first of his kind, here and on Vulcan. If Spock, the son, were older I would recommend him, but he is only 47 years old. Young for a Vulcan. Take Pike. He will not do poorly.”
“Sir, do you have any suggestion for a Ship’s Surgeon or a Chief Engineer? I have many candidates, but no good fits. You wisdom would be much appreciated.”
Well, Phlox is not available, since he is directing Cold Station 12 now. He would have been my first choice. There is one guy that I think might be a good fit. He is young, but has excellent credentials, and I have talked with him a couple of times. His name is
Dr. Foster, and I think that he might be a good fit. He is also a very good surgeon. Now for Chief Engineer, boy, that is hard. You want the best available, but not the eggheads who designed the engines. Nothing against them, but they do not do well in crises, like Trip did. You need someone who understands everything, but won’t take hours to figure out what to do. I wish you that could have Trip, but he is retired in his parents’ house in Mississippi. There is this one fellow that I have sort of watched at the Academy, and you should talk with him. His name is Lt. Soong, and he is a very good engineer. Please do not let the crimes of his father put you off of him. He is good.”
“Thank you, Sir. I hope that I have not come off as unprepared, but staffing the flagship is sort of, well, gut wrenching. I appreciate your suggestions. May I ask you if there is anything else that you find important for me to know in this respect?”
“Yes, there is. Once you choose folks, NEVER doubt them. YOU chose them, so, unless they have an epic fail, trust them. They are the representation of you, so you better be right. Sometimes you will fail, like Trip did with the hands in the sand, but if you choose them right, they will be there for you. I have gone through hundreds of thousands of light years, and still breathe because of my crew. I hope that you choose yours as well as I did, and with as much of luck that I had. Archer out.”
Late in the evening, Smith contacted key personnel. In 200 plus languages, B’lieze offered his passion for supporting the mission in any way that he could assist.
Naral was not so thankful. She went into a tirade about why she should be chosen to serve. Over the viewscreen, Captain Smith was very clear. “You are the best person for the job. Stop whining. Otherwise, you will get bounced to enlisted. I need you. Can you do the job? If you do not want to serve, just say so.”
“Oh, Shit, Captain, I had no idea. Do you really want me? If you do, I will do my best to protect this vessel from harm. Why do you want me?”
“Let us use more nice words. I want you because you are the best at what you do. I want all 288 people on this ship to be protected, and that will be your job. Do we understand each other?”
“Sir, I now report to you in the service
Another installment tomorrow?
Warmest regards,
Doc
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I think that this is the volume to bridge the gap between Archer and Pike.
Warmest regards,
Doc