Stardate 47071.4
Utopia Planitia Shipyard

One last piece of luggage made it to the captain's quarters, the small case containing eight sealed capsules having made a detour through the botany lab. As Captain Anwal's fingers worked the latches, she wondered how many of the cuttings had passed the botanist's inspection - and when she opened the lid and found all eight cuttings inside, presumably free of any disease or parasite, her lips parted in a wide smile. She lifted one of the transparent capsules to ponder the specimen within. It remained to be seen how well they would tolerate Sojourn's environmental settings, but she was hopeful.

They weren't much to look at, compared to the more exotic flora she'd seen in her travels. Anwal was no botanist herself, only someone who preferred to be surrounded by growing things, and these eight spider plant cuttings would transform her quarters in a matter of weeks with fairly little effort on her part. Sojourn was a smaller ship, its quarters spartan compared to something much larger like the Galaxy-class. It would take some effort to bring some color and life to the room, but she'd never been one to back down from a challenge. These plants would be a good start.

Her comm badge gave a soft chirp, and she set the capsule back with a twinge of regret. It might be days before she found time to plant them properly. Fortunately, there were enough nutrients within the capsules to sustain them that long at least. She tapped the badge. "Anwal," she said, briskly.

"Captain." It was Commander Vinak's voice; for the time being, they were working alternating shifts on the bridge as the bulk of the crew settled in and readied their various departments for departure. "Incoming message from Admiral Jacobs."

"I'll take it in my ready room," Anwal replied, after the briefest pause. She could have had the transmission routed to her quarters, but she wanted Vinak there as well - it was unlikely the admiral was calling just to chat, only three days out from their departure. She set the plants aside and left her quarters, turning sharply toward the bridge. She did not slow her pace as the doors parted to admit her, instead seeking her first officer with her gaze - and as they locked eyes, briefly, she gestured that he should follow. He was a tall and looming shadow at her back as she exited the other side of the bridge and entered the ready room.

"Any idea what this is about?" the captain asked, seating herself and turning the small monitor on her desk toward her.

"None, captain." Vinak folded his lanky form into a chair on the opposite side of the desk.

Anwal leaned forward, and pressed a finger to the control which accepted the incoming transmission. Jacobs was a familiar face on the screen, an older woman with hair gone completely grey and sharp features which looked intimidating only until she smiled. "Admiral Jacobs. I've got Commander Vinak with me...I hadn't thought we'd be hearing from you so soon. How can we help you?"

The admiral smiled wryly, and she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I doubt any of us join Starfleet for a predictable existence," she replied in dry tones, her gaze drifting toward the side of the screen as if to include Vinak in that statement, even though he was off-screen. "But I've received a request from the Vulcans which shouldn't inconvenience you too much."

Vinak arched a brow, even as the captain leaned forward. "Nothing too serious, I hope," Anwal said.

Jacobs shook her head. "No, nothing like that," she said. "But the Vulcan science vessel which was scheduled to ferry six civilians from the conference in San Francisco back to Vulcan was unable to avoid an ion storm on the way to Earth, and is undergoing maintenance which will delay them for several days. They've asked if Starfleet could spare a vessel to take them instead, and since Sojourn is headed that way…"

Anwal smiled. "I see. Of course we'd be happy to take them. Though...I do hope they know the accommodations might not be what they were expecting."

"I doubt that the Vulcans will mind," Jacobs replied. "And the Tellarite travelling with them would have complained anyway, I'm sure." That last bit was spoken in tones heavily laced with humor, before the admiral's expression sobered. "I know you were originally scheduled to depart in three days. We'd like you to depart tomorrow, if your ship and crew are ready. I understand the bulk of the crew are already aboard?"

For a moment, Vinak's other eyebrow joined the first in its climb toward his hairline, his expression of curiosity transforming into one of surprise. He recovered quickly, lacing his fingers together and frowning thoughtfully - no doubt already considering the changes which would need to be made to meet the new schedule.

"The ship will be ready," Anwal assured her, trusting that Vinak would have a schedule in mind before long. "And the only member of the crew we're waiting on from Earth is Lieutenant Lhir. The last few personnel will be picked up on Vulcan."

Jacobs nodded. "The lieutenant will arrive with your passengers. You can expect them early tomorrow." At Anwal's nod of acknowledgment, the admiral continued. "I'm sorry for the last minute change to your schedule, Captain. I'll send full details within the hour - keep me apprised of any adjustments on your end."

"Yes, Admiral." The screen darkened, and Captain Anwal cast a glance at Vinak. "Tomorrow. I suppose it could be worse."

The Vulcan nodded. "Indeed. I will have to rework the duty schedule, once the admiral's orders arrive and we have a firm departure time. I will also need to inform those members of the crew awaiting our arrival on Vulcan that we will be earlier than anticipated…" He pressed his lips together, lapsing into a brief silence. "And instruct Lieutenant Lhir to arrive rested - there will be insufficient time between her arrival and our departure for rest, by the sound of it," he finished.

Anwal regarded her first officer with barely concealed curiosity. She was pleased that he'd set aside whatever objection he'd had to the elari officer, though she still didn't know the why which lay behind it. It was a mystery that made the Vulcan far more interesting than she'd originally thought. "Notify all departments, except for engineering. I'm going to go speak to Lieutenant Wei myself."

"Captain?"

"Two birds with one stone, Commander," Anwal replied cryptically, with a smile. "You have your orders."

Engineering was organized chaos. The engineering department had been among the first to come aboard, as the burden of the successful launch of the ship rode on their shoulders more than it did those of the science division, despite the nature of their vessel and its mission. There were always last minute details to see to, and diagnostics to run - though the chief engineer had a great respect for those who worked at the Utopia Planitia Shipyard, any shortcomings or systems failures aboard Sojourn would reflect poorly on him, and those under his command. Despite the bustle of activity, however, the crew's movements were efficient and purposeful...which made it all the more apparent when an anomalous presence in command red rather than operations gold cut a path through the commotion on a beeline for his position.

"Lieutenant Wei," Captain Anwal greeted him, with a short nod.

The chief engineer straightened, instinctively reacting to the sense of urgency which surrounded his commanding officer. Wei Jin was no green cadet; he knew her presence here meant something had come up. "Captain." He cast a glance about engineering, before shifting his attention back to her. "I was going to write up a progress report at the end of shift-"

Anwal held up her hand, offering him a fleeting smile. "I know this is unexpected," she assured him. "I'll want that progress report, although...there's been a development. Starfleet wants us to depart tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" Wei exclaimed. At the nearest console, Lieutenant T'Saren cocked her head. He cleared his throat, cheeks flushing faintly red as he realized that his surprise could be interpreted as not being ready, and that the captain was waiting on his answer as well. He measured the tasks that remained against the new timeline the captain had proposed, and finally gave a single cautious nod. "We still have some diagnostics to run, but I can shorten the time considerably by running level two or three diagnostics on the remaining systems instead of level one. The difference should be negligible in terms of safety."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see T'Saren's head turn a little farther in his direction; in another moment the engineer swung herself around to face them both. "Respectfully, sir, I disagree."

Wei regarded the Vulcan in silence. The woman had decades on him, and though he'd served as an engineer in Starfleet almost fifteen years, he was painfully aware that this was his first posting as chief engineer. Would the captain think he was taking shortcuts, or would she think he was being efficient? He considered asking T'Saren to clarify her stance, before reminding himself that Vulcans were, by nature, overly cautious. Before he could open his mouth to reply, the captain herself spoke.

"How so, Lieutenant?" Anwal asked. Though the question was aimed at T'Saren, the captain's gaze slid sideways toward Wei.

T'Saren straightened, emboldened by the acknowledgement. "The systems remaining to be tested are some of our most critical - including sections of the EPS power grid, and the transporters. A problem with either of those systems would have more than a 'negligible' impact on crew safety."

For a moment, Wei's heart sank as he realized the other engineer could be right. But… "Captain," Wei interjected, before the captain could formulate a reply. "I understand what the lieutenant is saying, but…this is a brand new ship, with brand new components, and nothing in Utopia Planitia's records indicates anything which could have adversely affected the ship's systems after their own diagnostics were run. While I acknowledge that these are some of our more critical systems, the chance of there being any sort of issue a type two or three diagnostic would miss is negligible, in my opinion." He cast a glance at T'Saren, who simply tightened her lips disapprovingly and made no reply.

Captain Anwal seemed to mull over both of their answers, before nodding in Wei's direction. "I'm inclined to agree with our chief engineer," she said, before focusing her attention fully on Wei. "I'll be looking for that status report, Lieutenant."

Wei nodded, managing a smile for the captain even as he swallowed his irritation with T'Saren's objection. "You'll have it, Captain."

Anwal was pleased on more than one count as she headed back toward the bridge. Her confidence in their readiness to depart was renewed, as was her confidence in the chief engineer. She hadn't been sure he'd be able to stand up to the more forceful personalities he'd be working with. His previous commanding officer had described him as brilliant but easy-going, which was not necessarily a negative on its own - but it could be when placed in a position where he would be making decisions which would need to stand up to challenge. For a brief moment, she'd wondered if he would back down when T'Saren had disagreed with his assessment, but when Anwal had given T'Saren her ear, it had inspired Wei to push back instead.

She did not expect perfection of her crew. They were - at least some of them - only human, with all that that entailed. She did, however, need to know that she could count on them to perform their duties under pressure despite all that. Thus far, what she had seen of her crew was encouraging.

As Anwal stepped onto the bridge, Vinak moved to intercept her, PADD in hand. She shifted course to meet him at the edge of the sunken area at the center of the bridge. "Captain," the Vulcan said, handing her the PADD. "We have received our final departure time, and I've adjusted the shifts accordingly."

She glanced it over, scrolling through both the orders and his schedule adjustments, nodding in approval. Their departure time was about three hours later than she'd guessed, which should give engineering a little more time to finish their work. "Good," Anwal replied. "I hope you made sure to allow yourself some rest time, Commander. I want everyone at their best."

Vinak arched a brow. "I might remind you, Captain...Vulcans do not require as much rest as a human would."

"Humor me, Commander," Anwal said, turning to address Sovinn before Vinak could object. "We don't have much in the way of guest quarters, but I'd like to keep our passengers in the same section of the ship if at all possible. It may mean temporarily moving some of the crew. I'll leave that in your hands, Lieutenant Commander - you've a better idea as to where we've got the room, I suspect." Security had been heavily involved in receiving the other members of the crew and getting them situated, both because they had the most time for it (with the exception of Sovinn himself, who'd also been busy inspecting the tactical systems and the armory) but also because the sheer number of people and packages coming aboard presented a security risk, an increased opportunity for unwanted persons or technology to enter the ship.

Sovinn nodded. "Those were my thoughts as well, Captain. I'll see to it immediately."

Anwal smiled, and gave a satisfied nod. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen…" She side-stepped around Sovinn to head for her ready room. Reports would begin to come in any time now, from various departments - all of which would need to be looked over. Status reports, requisition reports...she made a mental note to ensure any critical supplies were not going to miss their revised departure date. It wasn't just crew they'd have to scramble to get situated.

She might have been annoyed with the sudden change; anyone might be, after being informed that they'd have to fit three days of work into one. But Admiral Jacobs had been right - Anwal hadn't joined Starfleet for a predictable existence. It was not irritation, but rather elation which coursed through her as she toggled on her monitor. Each report which would trickle in over the next day - no matter how routine - would bring the ship one step closer to getting underway. Though this was not her first command, it was the start of a new adventure for her...a new ship, a new crew, a new purpose.

Her lips twitched into a rueful smile as the first of the reports hit her inbox. It was going to be exceedingly hard to take her own advice, and get some sleep.