Posted by Captain Johann Dvorak (CO) in Bridge - The Second Day (tag Dvorak)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Stephen Stous (XO) in Bridge - The Second Day (tag Dvorak)

Posted by Captain Johann Dvorak (CO) in Bridge - The Second Day (tag Dvorak)
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Stephen arrived on the Bridge promptly 5 minutes before the start of the first shift, looking around in wonderment. The lack of noticeable alerts was promising, but otherwise he wasn’t too sure what to do, other than wait for the Captain to arrive. As a senior officer, he had of course been trained on Bridge duties, but actually being on one, with command responsibilities, on a real Federation vessel, was remarkably different from any of the simulations or exercises.

He shuffled over to a space near the center chair, trying to be inconspicuous.

~ Stephen Stous - XO

“Oh, sir, I didn’t see you there.”

It was the nameless ensign at conn. She had been engrossed in whatever was happening on her control panel as Stous had walked in, but that didn’t otherwise seem to capture her attention now.

“Are you taking over the watch? I thought it was going to be the Captain.”

– NE

Now unable to avoid his duty, Stephen walked slowly over to the NE. “He is, I just wanted to be a bit early, get a feel for the place.” He paused, trying to think of something else to say. “Anything interesting happening?”

~ Stephen Stous - XO

“Not really sir,” she said as she pushed a few buttons on the console. The stars streaking past on the viewscreen disappeared completely, replaced by a map of this particular sector of the galaxy and Europa’s travel through it. “Same course, back to Black Rock, Warp Factor Five. Nothing along this path that we didn’t already see on our trip out.”

Europa was actually pretty close to the base. These stars probably seemed familiar to some of the crew who had been around for a while.

“I’m just glad we didn’t run into anything this cruise,” she mumbled cryptically.

– NE

Stephen frowned. In general “running into something” was exactly what a research vessel was supposed to do. Of course, the NE probably meant “run into anything hostile,” but the comment still struck him as odd. He chose to dismiss it as something to do with the Europa’s exploits prior to his arrival.

“Nothing yet, anyway.” He smiled, attempting to alleviate any stress caused by his presence - a tactic he’d picked up years ago on the Callisto, back when he’d received his first promotion. Glancing over to the primary science station, Stous noted the NLt. J.G. there much more engrossed in his console than would be expected while at warp in familiar territory. “Science, anything to report?” he queried.

~ Stephen Stous - XO

The NE at the helm gave a smile back, but it was obviously painted on, with an awkward sound that was a mix between a sigh and a laugh. There wasn’t anything wrong with what Stephen said, but maybe it didn’t quite go over the way he intended it to. Whatever happened with Europa’s exploits prior to his arrival was probably not that reassuring.

The officer at the science station looked up at Steven and was a lot more positive. “We’re getting pretty good readings on a class-2 comet, sir. If we maintain our current course and speed, we should be able to-“

The turbolift doors parted, and the Captain walked onto the Bridge, and walked straight to the conn station.

“Captain on the Bridge,” the Science officer said first.

Johann took a moment to look at the viewscreen, somewhat pleasantly surprised that the ship’s course was already up to review. He usually did that subtly at the command chair or before actually walking in here. Regardless, there were no surprises except the one he was bringing.

“Helm, new course. One five zero mark three four five. Increase speed to Warp factor six.”
“One five zero mark three four five, Warp six, aye.”

The science officer gave a slight frown. There went his comet pictures. Meanwhile, on the viewscreen, the projected path of the Europa changed, bending away from Black Rock and toward the far edges of Federation space.

Johann walked over to the science station, mainly to talk to Stephen.

“New orders,” he explained. “We’re going to the Beta Zorcal star system. The Federation has a diplomatic agreement with the non-member inhabitants of the fourth planet there to keep a science ship in orbit, in order to engage in scientific collaboration. Galileo has to leave before Cassini’s is scheduled to take over, so we’re filling in until they relieve us. It’s expected to be a month.”

He did not explicitly state that “Beta Zorcal IV” was better known by its common name of “Tenra.” Nor did he call attention to why that would be a significant detail.

– Johann Dvorak, CO

Stephen turned to face Johann, bringing himself to partial attention, his back fully straightening until the man spoke. It was odd to feel - and be - so utterly close to the man in charge. It was certainly a dynamic that would take some time to get used to, but for the moment he just did his best to think through the Captain’s orders.

“I imagine the crew won’t be happy with that. Why’d Galileo have to leave early?” He made a mental note to personally research Beta Zorcal IV, as he’d never heard of such an agreement with a non-member planet. Species, not planet, he reminded himself, thinking back to his studies of the struggle on Kaminar.

~ Stephen Stous - XO