Ship's Log: Stardate 4385.4. Captain Kirk , Mr Spock, Dr McCoy, engineer Scott, and Ensign Chekov beamed down to the surface of Melkot two hours ago. They did not check in and we were unable to contact them on their communicators. I ordered them beamed back up, but they vanished just before we could get them. The ship is at Yellow Alert status.
Uhura didn't like the big chair. This was the first time captain Kirk had left her in command. Sulu was on leave and he needed Scotty on the planet, which left her as the senior officer on deck. It was exciting...until the landing party disappeared. Suddenly she felt the weight of this reponsibility and found she didn't have the taste for it. Nevertheless, the job was hers and she would have to muddle through.
Her options were somewhat limited at present. She had the Enterprise conducting a search pattern that would cover the entire planet within the next few hours. She had the communication lines open in case the landing party was able to get a message through or the Melkotians wanted to talk, and Lt Palmer was hailing the planet every 15 minutes. She considered sending down a search and rescue team, but after the warning buoy and quick disappearance of the captain's party she didn't want to risk more personnel.
She sat in the captain's chair and tried to project an air of confidence she didn't really have. She thought about what captain Kirk would do in this situation. He would let the crew do their jobs, she decided. He always treated her like a professional, which is all she wanted or expected from a commanding officer. She occasionally asked for updates from the helm or the science station that was reviewing the sensor readings.
Uhura was amazed at the number of junior officers constantly bringing her reports on mundane ship business during this crisis. Some of it was so far outside her area of expertise she wondered if it was even appropriate for her to sign off. They were all in trouble if the number of photon torpedoes available became an issue while she was in command. The structure of Starfleet reports made it easier. She could easily see status changes from previous reports, which made it easy to ask the right questions if the difference wasn't explained in the report.
She was thinking about what to do if the search of the planet didn't locate the landing party when a yeoman offered her coffee. Uhura had never cared much for coffee, so she instructed the young woman to bring her some tamarind juice instead. Not a typical commander's drink, she supposed, but it's what she liked. If she was going to be in this stressful position, might as well be as comfortable as possible.
Her thoughts returned to "what would Kirk do" when she considered the next step. If the search turned up empty, he would...he would...he would...she didn't know what he would do. If it got to that point, everyone would see what a fraud she was as a commander. Maybe they already did.
All this sitting and waiting was getting to be too much. She needed to move. She decided to take a bridge stroll, just a quick look at what everyone was doing. She had seen the captain do it from time to time and now she understood why. She had barely begun, just reaching the communication station, when the landing party suddenly appeared on the bridge. The crisis was over.
...
The next day, with the Enterprise en route to the Tellun system, Kirk came over to the communications station. "Lieutenant, I understand yesterday was the first time you commanded the ship."
"Yes, sir"
"Good job. You did just what I would have done."
"Thank you, sir." He started to move away but turned back when she continued; "Captain, I'm curious. If the planetary search had not located the landing party, what would you have done next? I couldn't see the next step."
"I would have gotten the department heads together and asked for opinions. It's arrogant to assume you're always going to know the right thing to do just because you're in command. I've got a ship full of professionals, experts in their field, most of whom are smarter than I am. I wouldn't be much of a commanding officer if I didn't listen to them."
"Thank you, sir. That makes me feel better."
"Have confidence in your crew, lieutenant, and they'll have confidence in you."