In Command

Chapter 4 : Conveyance

December 2280

One of the functions of the Enterprise that occurred more frequently than most of the crew would wish was the conveying of delegates across the galaxy to one Federation event or another. There were always problems when this occurred. Always accommodations which must be made, customs to be sure were not violated, tempers to be appeased. It was always a time of tension. This time was no different. It was, however, the first time that it had been his responsibility to ensure that everything went smoothly, with no one above him to take the blame if it did not.

He had studied everything available about this particular race, with Nyota's assistance. He felt sure that they had done everything possible to prepare for them. He was not so sure that things would run smoothly. It was his experience that these delegates were prickly, and looked for anything possible to complain about. And he was not wrong, in this instance, for they complained about everything from the colors of the walls to the scent of the air coming from the vents. It taxed his patience greatly.

They held a small reception the first night, with all the senior officers there in full dress uniform. The food had been carefully selected, not to violate any taboos that these people had. The music playing in the background had been researched, so that it conveyed a sense of peacefulness, and should remind them of their own music. But it did not go well, and several of his officers had difficulty in suppressing their feeling of being insulted. He did his best to smooth things over, and Nyota was beside him, carefully assisting him in choosing calming words. He did not, however, feel that he had been very successful. These beings were prickly.

He found himself called upon more and more frequently as the days passed with the delegation on board. If it was not complaints about the food, it was a demand for fresher air, or firmer beds, and more opportunities for exercise. He did the best he could, and meditated each evening to restore his equilibrium, after reigning himself in all day, as the interruptions to his schedule increased. But it was the demands that were made while they were trying to negotiate and strange anomaly in space that bothered him the most. He needed his mind clear and his concentration undisturbed, and finally had to order Nyota not to put through the latest demands from the delegation until they were clear and proceeding on their way again. The delegates were not pleased at all. He found that he did not care in the least.

When they complained, later, he very gently informed them that his first duty was to the ship, and the crew, to see that they were safe. His responsibilities to passengers came after that, no matter how important those passengers might be. They were not mollified in the least and threatened to report him. He nodded and agreed with them. That was their own decision, and he would not attempt to coerce them in regards to it. They seemed stunned by his seeming disregard for what they might do. He took his leave as soon as possible and headed straight for Nyota's quarters, when she sat him down at the table and made tea for him, standing behind him and rubbing the tense muscles in the back of his neck and shoulders until he sighed with relief. And then she sat across from him, and sympathized with him, having had much more contact with this party of delegates than she had any wish to.

It was with a feeling of intense relief that he said goodbye to them and watched them disappear into the transporter swirls. They were now someone's headache, and no longer his. He could not disapprove of Scotty's relieved grin in any way.