Lieutenant Beryl Hammond had not expected to get a command-track assignment so quickly after putting in the request at the personnel office. In fact, Beryl hadn’t even made it back to his quarters before his communicator chirped and the yeoman he had just spoken to told him where to report tomorrow at 0800, don’t forget a red uniform. This was good but jarring news! He probably should’ve expected it – the starbase had been working overtime to provide relief to various sectors and organizations since the supernova. More work means more personnel, and if some random doctor was going to offer to train as a deck officer, that meant everyone else’s load would get just a little bit lighter.

     Beryl shrugged inside his new red tunic. It felt weird. He knew it was exactly the same as all his other replicated uniforms, just a different color, but that didn’t stop his unconscious mind from whispering “new uniform, gotta break it in before it feels right.” Beryl took a deep breath and stepped through the large, cargo bay doors. He entered a room of chaos manifest. Crewmen were running left and right, darting between rows of stacked cargo containers. Industrial replicators on the starboard side of the bay were constantly materializing equipment and supplies, pausing only long enough for a worker to pull it off the replicator pad. Beryl strained his eyes to stare at the collar pips he could see… who was in charge here? Finally, he spotted an Andorian lieutenant that he believed was his over-instruction for the shift, and made his way through the crowd. 

     “Good morning! I’m Hammond, your under-instruction for the shift.” Beryl extended his hand. The other LT glanced at Beryl’s collar, then met his eye and shook his hand. “Hey Hammond, nice to meet you. You can call me Batch, Melcoth Batch. How’d you get this gig? I usually get ensign’s to train.” There was no condescension in his voice, so Beryl assumed he was just surprised and curious. “I’m a doctor. But, I’d like to fly the captain’s chair instead of an operating table some day, so I put in a request to start command track training. That was less than 24 hours ago and now I’m here, so I guess they’re hurting for some assistance!” Beryl explained.

     “Oh, nice. Well, maybe I’ll see you out among the stars someday! For now, we get gigs like this though. Now, I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry. Command isn’t cruel, they won’t assign you to industrial replicator bays for every shift. We all rotate. It’s somewhat based on seniority, but also to help you grow your experience base and to keep you from losing your mind.” Batch explained. “As for today… Look this place basically runs itself, because the scope of the work in here is pretty tight. We step in when something breaks, and we have to reprioritize orders. Every once in a while, Engineering might call up, in need of some component larger than their replicators down there can handle. We’ll interrupt the flow of work briefly to make it, and then get everyone back on track. Or, sometimes the shuttle that’s supposed to take our completed relief packages doesn’t show up, and then we get to try to coordinate alternative storage before these piles get too high for safety’s sake. The name of the game is navigating minor inconveniences and delegating tasks. Piece of pie.”

   Beryl grinned at the slightly incorrect human colloquialism, nodded, and took the PADD that Batch had handed to him. It listed their orders to fill for the shift, personnel on duty with individual tasking, and various log entries. He read for a moment, then opened his mouth to ask a question when the cargo bay doors opened and a voice rang out.

The door panels swooshed open, revealing Lieutenant Melcoth Batch standing on the other side. Before he could react, the authoritative voice of Lieutenant Commander Nuni Irric pierced the air.

“Lieutenant Melcoth Batch, I am Lieutenant Commander Nuni from Starfleet Security. You are hereby under arrest on suspicion of soliciting contraband,” Irric declared, his tone laced with determination as he locked eyes with Batch, verifying his identity against the dossier.

With a subtle smirk playing on his lips, Irric gestured to the two yellow-clad officers flanking him, their expressions stoic yet ready for action. Without missing a beat, they stepped forward, positioning themselves on either side of Batch, their presence palpable.

“Kindly accompany these officers to our offices on the main promenade,” Nuni instructed Batch, his words carrying a weight of authority. Then, without so much as a glance back, he smoothly redirected his attention to the other lieutenant standing nearby.

“Excuse me, Lieutenant. It appears your colleague has engaged in misconduct. I trust you can manage this shift independently today?” 

Beryl just blinked at the lieutenant commander. He wasn’t quite sure what to say at first. Either this was a test – unlikely, since the days of pulling test stunts on cadets were long behind him – or this was the real deal, and LT Batch was not the person he wanted to be learning from. Regardless, he needed to respond positively. “I have things under control here sir. Do you need to conduct any interviews of my personnel, or inspect the bay? We can make arrangements to accommodate.” Beryl’s hand hovered over the PADD, ready to start reallocating resources as needed.

Irric squinted, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the Lieutenant. The man’s words felt misaligned with his stiff posture and tense expression. Irric sensed an underlying unease but decided to brush it off.

“Thank you, Lieutenant… what’s your name?” he inquired, his voice smooth yet subtly probing. He let his gaze wander around the room, noting every detail with practiced precision. 

“Ah, Lieutenant Beryl Hammond. Sir.” Beryl took a moment to make an entry into the duty log while the security officer looked about the room. He then looked back up, nervous about how this interruption would impact work flow on his very first shift.

“Very well, Lieutenant Hammond, I’ll be here for a while, following up on some matters.” Irric glanced around the room, taking in the details with a practiced eye. “If I need anything, I’ll let you know.”

As Cadet Ozzy Solari approached the door, anticipation tingled in the air. With a soft whoosh, it slid open, revealing Lieutenant Batch, his mentor for the past week, escorted into the corridor flanked by two imposing figures in golden-yellow-shouldered uniforms. Their confident strides and the Type II phasers on their belts marked them unmistakably as Security Officers.

Intrigued, Ozzy’s gaze lingered on the scene before him, his mind buzzing with questions. However, as he passed the trio and stepped into the room, his attention was quickly drawn to another tableau unfolding. A security officer engaged in conversation with a distinguished figure dressed in crimson, adorned with two pips on his collar. Instantly, Ozzy deduced that this officer was to be his replacement mentor.

Straightening his cadet uniform with a sense of purpose, Ozzy prepared to make a memorable first impression. With a confident stride, he approached the group and addressed the crimson-clad officer, “Excuse me, Lieutenant, I am Cadet Solari, your mentee.” 

Beryl silently blinked once again. What was happening here? Wasn’t he supposed to be the mentee today? First his mentor gets dragged away in handcuffs (ok, that was an exaggeration), and then some random CADET shows up in need of mentoring?!

Beryl tugged on his sleeve cuffs, squared his shoulders, and turned to the cadet. “Good morning cadet. I am Lieutenant Hammond. I’ll be straight with you – this is my first day on the job as a deck officer. So, I can mentor you in what it means to be Starfleet officer, how to accept responsibilities, do your duty, that sort of thing… But we’re going to have to figure out this aspect of the job together,” Beryl gestured around to the cargo bay. “So, take a look at this PADD here. In addition to being the deck log, it’ll tell you our personnel on shift, their general assignments, our tasks to accomplish for the shift…” Beryl gave Cadet Solari a rundown of everything on the PADD, as if it were old hat. “Now, see how our progress for relief package alpha is starting to fall behind projected progress? Let’s look into that. Tell me what you’d do, execute, and I’ll step in as needed.” Beryl handed the PADD to the cadet, pointed towards the area of the bay designated for relief package alpha, and then placed his hands behind his back, watching.

“Pa… Pardon me, sir, permission to speak freely?” Ozzy asked, his voice tinged with hesitation. The Lieutenant’s uneasy shifting and uncertain glances made Ozzy feel like the roles were reversed.

As the Lieutenant fumbled with a datapad, Ozzy’s eyes widened slightly, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach. He felt a responsibility creeping in, as if he had to guide the Lieutenant instead of the other way around, a daunting task he wasn’t prepared for. The ambient hum of the room seemed to grow louder, amplifying his anxiety as he awaited the Lieutenant’s response, hoping for some reassurance soon.

Beryl raised an eyebrow at the request, but acquiesced. “Go ahead, cadet.”

“Well… I don’t mean any offense, sir,” Ozzy began, his voice wavering slightly. He glanced around the room, noting the tension that seemed to hang in the air. “I’m sure you’re an excellent officer,” he continued, his eyes flicking back to the Lieutenant’s face. “But are you sure you got this?”

Ozzy hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “My major is in astrophysics, so I can’t really tell you what I’d do in this situation. This track is only my minor, and I just started it last week.” He let out a shaky breath, his gaze fixed on the Lieutenant, hoping to see a glimmer of confidence or reassurance in the officer’s eyes.

Beryl smiled at cadet Solari. “Ah, my apologies, I assumed you had already been working under Lieutenant Batch and had experience here already. Well, listen. I am quite sure we got this. We’re in a cargo bay, replicating supplies, and organizing them into relief packages on pallets. There won’t be any Borg attacks, or subspace anomalies, or warp core breaches. It’s true that I haven’t done this work before, and neither have you, but Starfleet wouldn’t have assigned us here if they weren’t confident we could manage. Worst case scenario is what, a replicator goes down and we have to prioritize jobs? Easy.” That gave Beryl a thought. He put down the PADD and faced the cadet directly. “Actually, that brings me to my first lesson for you. When you encounter an unfamiliar scenario, take a mental step back and evaluate the risk. If everything goes wrong, what’s the worst that could happen? Once you know the risks, it can make it easier to face down any fear about the unfamiliar.”

“That’s… That’s pretty wise, Lieutenant,” Ozzy said, feeling a rush of relief as the Lieutenant’s calm demeanor settled his nerves. The Lieutenant’s thoughtful approach seemed to light a spark in Ozzy, his initial doubts fading. “More people should think like that.”

Encouraged by the Lieutenant’s steady presence, Ozzy glanced down the corridor, where the soft glow from the Lounge spilled into the hallway. He could almost picture the serene setting, a place where they could regroup and think clearly. “Sir,” he began, his voice steadying, “I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but maybe we could head over to the Lounge,” he suggested, pointing towards the inviting space at the end of the corridor. “We could sit down there and assess the situation. It might give us a better perspective on our next steps.”

He looked back at the Lieutenant, searching for a nod or a sign of agreement. The calm assurance in the officer’s eyes gave Ozzy the confidence he needed to take that first step forward.

Beryl glanced down the corridor in the direction the cadet had indicated. He hadn’t even realized there was a lounge down there, as this was essentially his first time in this section of the starbase. Giving the PADD a quick once-over to make sure there were no pressing concerns requiring immediate attention, Beryl flagged down a passing chief. “Chief, I’m heading down the corridor for a minute. Gonna go over our shift tasking with the cadet in a less hectic environment. As of right now, we’re on track for all deliverables, so no concerns. We’ll be back shortly, but if you call, I’m under a minute away.” The senior enlisted woman nodded her understanding, and went back to supervising some petty officers.

Turning back to Solari, Beryl nodded and pointed out the door with the PADD. “Lead the way, cadet. Let’s go take stock of our orders and make a flexible game plan.” The pair of newbies sat down and mapped out the remaining 7 hours of their shift, which passed without any further arrests or incidents. When Beryl returned to his quarters that afternoon, he felt a warm sense of accomplishment. Today wasn’t exactly what he had expected… should he go check on LT Batch? Whatever. He made it. He’d taken the first step towards command. And, hopefully, Beryl had made a positive impression on an aspiring cadet. Today was a good day.