Byron sat in his ready room at the end of the day. He had dimmed the lights and only a small table lamp turned on, enjoying the atmosphere as he reflected on the days events.

It had been a day full of crew interviews. He smiled when he thought of the ships counselor, Lieutenant Junior Grade Sh’Thanlink. Most counselors he met tended to be peacemaker types, soft spoke and empathetic. Byron assumed she could be all of those things when she was with a patient. She had come highly recommended but in his office she had been outspoken and stated her opinions. He found he liked that about her and looked forward to having her on board.

Then there was the quite interesting meeting with the Chief Engineer. Ensign Davies was exactly what he expected her to be. She had a sense of humor and had an uncanny connection to the engines, as if they were a living breathing entity. He smiled as he remembered the look on her face when she realized he was the captain. Though she apologized profusely, Byron had a feeling she saw the humor in the situation. He thought that made for a good engineer.

Byron’s stomach rumbled, which reminded him it had been a long day and he had not eaten dinner, having wanted to be done with crew interviews. He smiled when he thought of Chef Eggerton. He was pretty certain she had found a way to meet with his wife and get that recipe for Chicken Alfredo. Byron smiled at the thought, it was just like his wife to want to make certain he had some of the comforts of life. He really gave Andrea credit as well. It showed she took her position seriously and she was quite good at it. Just the thought of the sample he had given her had told him how skilled a chef she was. The crew was going to be quite satisfied.

Ensign Jones, the science chief was plain spoken. She made it clear that she was giving a hundred percent to the ship while there and yet let him know in her own subtle way that she wouldn’t be staying there. Byron knew she had the drive to be noticed and to move up the ladder. She was going places and wouldn’t let anyone stand in her way.

Byron took a drink from his glass, he thought about a few others who he had met and then the security Chief came to mind. Lieutenant Junior Grade Elwell. Stella had strength, she had to have it to be the security chief. She had informed her of the issues with the corp of engineers but didn’t expect him to handle it she just stated what she was dealing with. Byron knew if they gave her too much trouble she would deal with it.

Stella had also reminded him that he hadn’t connected with Commodore Flynn for a longer time than ever before. He reminded himself to send a message to him, checking up on his old friend. He was grateful for that he did not want to lose touch with him.

Tolis seemed to expect the simple things in life. He had no complaints, asked for nothing and offered to help out wherever he was needed to get the ship repaired. He didn’t have any requests or demands. Byron thought he might be waiting until he had been there long enough to decide what he wanted. Some were more cautious than others.

Byron smiled when he thought of Ensign Blackwell, the operations chief. He had come into his office with a lot of energy and drive to get the Oakland at one hundred percent. He smiled when he remembered Draven telling him he couldn’t wait to start helping out. He had dismissed him so that he could go to work and help the others. Byron had a feeling that Blackwell and Davies would end up good friends. He really hoped so because their departments worked well together so it was important that they had a good relationship. There was nothing worse than those two department heads disagreeing.

Lieutenant Swanson, the ships second officer was that one officer that every ship had. He was really by the book and Byron had a feeling that they would clash from time to time or at the very least have a serious conversation. Byron believed in rules but there were times you had to operate outside the box, so to speak and Andrew was going to have to learn to bend a bit. Byron had learned over the years that sometimes you had to improvise. He had a feeling it could take a bit but the second officer would learn this lesson.

His Chief of the Boat, Chief Petty Officer Riata was going to be another one to keep an eye on. His second officer had warned him that the Ferengi female had spent her trip there trying to make latinum or credits off the passengers. He didn’t care what she did outside of the ship, as long as it was legal but she wasn’t going to gamble with his crew or find ways to get rich quick here. It could cause some dissension on board. He made a mental note to talk to Isabel so she would have a heads up.

Byron was also very pleased with his first officer. Lieutenant Commander Isabel Robinson was ver strong and she had opinions and was not in the least afraid to share her thoughts and concerns. She also had a really good sense of humor. He smiled as she remembered how she had joked with him at their first meeting. Byron had been concerned as the relationship between a captain and his number one was very important. If you did not have a good relationship if could bleed over onto the crew and affect the rapport on the ship as well as how missions were handled. He could tell right away that they were going to get along just fine.

Byron smiled to himself as he stood up. He needed to go find something in the mess hall to eat and head to his quarters. He would sleep well, knowing that all in all he had a good crew. Before they knew it they would be off on a mission.