expression. She wore her uniform as if it were a weapon with which to beat her foes to death whenever her captain might command. As the XO of the Enterprise , she was God, as far as her subordinates were concerned.
“Lieutenant Garibaldi reporting for duty, commander,” Roman said. Sultana echoed him a moment later. “Permission to come aboard?”
“Permission granted,” Commander Duggan said. She had a sharp voice, biting off her words as if each cost her a credit. “Welcome aboard.”
Roman saluted the flag, then the starship’s crest of arms and finally the commander herself. Commander Duggan returned the salute slowly—he just knew that her eyes were crawling over them, looking for some flaw in their bearing—before nodding. He had the impression that they’d just passed a test of some kind.
“You both earned Firsts at the Academy, so I assume that you have the ability to follow orders,” she said. “I want you to understand something. You do not have the experience that comes with your ranks, not yet. We will be working on giving you that experience as rapidly as possible, both in manning your stations and in working with the enlisted crew. You will be at the bottom of the totem pole until you convince me that you can handle the responsibility. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, commander,” they said together.
“Good,” Commander Duggan said. “ Enterprise is the finest ship in Home Fleet, but we’re being detached for the Retribution Force. That means I am going to work you to death over the next few weeks. We’ve had to assign half our enlisted men to other ships to make up for shortfalls in personnel, so we’re drawing on newcomers from the Naval Reserve. The captain”—her tone sharpened—”understands that mistakes will happen in such an environment. But our tolerance of mistakes will fall sharply as we shake down and prepare for operations. By the time we depart the Solar System, we will have a working ship. And I will not hesitate to put you off the ship if you fail to measure up.”
She smiled, a most unpleasant expression. “Do either of you want to leave the ship now and save me the trouble of filling out the paperwork to have you reassigned?”
“No, commander,” Roman said.
“Oh, what a pity,” Duggan said as soon as Sultana had echoed him. Her voice hardened. “Put your holdalls in your cabin, then report to me in Compartment 667-565 in ten minutes. Consider finding it your first test. Try not to be late.” She turned and marched down the corridor, leaving them alone again.
Roman and Sultana exchanged a glance, and then both of them started trying to find Officer Country. It would have taken hours if he’d had to search, but a simple query from his implant to the ship’s computer provided helpful directions.
Once they got there, Roman found out that despite the starship’s colossal size, the cabin was small, barely large enough for both of them. It contained a small fresher and an even smaller food processor. He’d expected as much, though. Junior officers weren’t given large cabins until they were promoted several grades...he shook his head. This wasn’t how he’d expected to spend his first day on the Enterprise .
“So,” he said, once he had carefully stowed his holdall under the bunk, “where should we find her?”
A quick check revealed that the compartment number Commander Duggan had given them was useless. It didn’t match any real compartment number in the entire ship. Roman stared at it, feeling panic start to bubble up within his mind. How could he hope to rise to high rank if he couldn’t solve a simple puzzle? It seemed impossible to link the number she’d given them to anywhere on the ship...
It was Sultana who figured out the answer. “Computer,” she ordered, “locate Commander Duggan.”
Roman had to laugh as the ship’s computers helpfully provided the answer. Commander Duggan was waiting for them somewhere within the ship’s
“Lieutenant Garibaldi reporting for duty, commander,” Roman said. Sultana echoed him a moment later. “Permission to come aboard?”
“Permission granted,” Commander Duggan said. She had a sharp voice, biting off her words as if each cost her a credit. “Welcome aboard.”
Roman saluted the flag, then the starship’s crest of arms and finally the commander herself. Commander Duggan returned the salute slowly—he just knew that her eyes were crawling over them, looking for some flaw in their bearing—before nodding. He had the impression that they’d just passed a test of some kind.
“You both earned Firsts at the Academy, so I assume that you have the ability to follow orders,” she said. “I want you to understand something. You do not have the experience that comes with your ranks, not yet. We will be working on giving you that experience as rapidly as possible, both in manning your stations and in working with the enlisted crew. You will be at the bottom of the totem pole until you convince me that you can handle the responsibility. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, commander,” they said together.
“Good,” Commander Duggan said. “ Enterprise is the finest ship in Home Fleet, but we’re being detached for the Retribution Force. That means I am going to work you to death over the next few weeks. We’ve had to assign half our enlisted men to other ships to make up for shortfalls in personnel, so we’re drawing on newcomers from the Naval Reserve. The captain”—her tone sharpened—”understands that mistakes will happen in such an environment. But our tolerance of mistakes will fall sharply as we shake down and prepare for operations. By the time we depart the Solar System, we will have a working ship. And I will not hesitate to put you off the ship if you fail to measure up.”
She smiled, a most unpleasant expression. “Do either of you want to leave the ship now and save me the trouble of filling out the paperwork to have you reassigned?”
“No, commander,” Roman said.
“Oh, what a pity,” Duggan said as soon as Sultana had echoed him. Her voice hardened. “Put your holdalls in your cabin, then report to me in Compartment 667-565 in ten minutes. Consider finding it your first test. Try not to be late.” She turned and marched down the corridor, leaving them alone again.
Roman and Sultana exchanged a glance, and then both of them started trying to find Officer Country. It would have taken hours if he’d had to search, but a simple query from his implant to the ship’s computer provided helpful directions.
Once they got there, Roman found out that despite the starship’s colossal size, the cabin was small, barely large enough for both of them. It contained a small fresher and an even smaller food processor. He’d expected as much, though. Junior officers weren’t given large cabins until they were promoted several grades...he shook his head. This wasn’t how he’d expected to spend his first day on the Enterprise .
“So,” he said, once he had carefully stowed his holdall under the bunk, “where should we find her?”
A quick check revealed that the compartment number Commander Duggan had given them was useless. It didn’t match any real compartment number in the entire ship. Roman stared at it, feeling panic start to bubble up within his mind. How could he hope to rise to high rank if he couldn’t solve a simple puzzle? It seemed impossible to link the number she’d given them to anywhere on the ship...
It was Sultana who figured out the answer. “Computer,” she ordered, “locate Commander Duggan.”
Roman had to laugh as the ship’s computers helpfully provided the answer. Commander Duggan was waiting for them somewhere within the ship’s
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