The turbolift doors opened to the bridge. Commander Kirk came out, holding his task list PADD. Whistling, he walked over to his seat next to the captain and sat down. He looked at Captain Velasquez and smiled.
"What a pleasant mood you're in, Commander. What's the occasion?" She asked, a genuine smile on her face.
"I'm crossing things off this to-do list left and right. Everything is finally starting to fall into place. And, I'm told our third-in-command arrives today. No more double shifts for me. I haven't been able to watch a single football game all season. I'm looking forward to watching my Broncos." Kirk's grin increased.
"They're three and five so far, Commander. I wouldn't get my hopes up for the post-season," came a reply from behind Commander Kirk. He turned to see Leiutenant Elaine Davies, smiling sympathetically.
"How do you know this?" Stephen asked.
Leiutenant Davies held up her communications earpiece. "I can only listen to crew complaints for so long. Then, I start looking for other stuff to listen to. Vega has a Terran communications relay, so I can get sports scores." She gave a knowing smirk, then turned back to her control panel.
"I knew I applied for the wrong job!" Exclaimed Kirk. There were chuckles from the bridge crew. "You know what, Leiutenant? Even the Bronco's record can't keep me down today. This is going to be a good day, I can feel it."
Lydia smiled. She had to admit...pulling double shifts for the past four months had worn out her sixty-four year old body. She couldn't remember the last time she got to do any rock climbing. Perhaps the months of double shifts were causing her headaches. "I've got to admit, Stephen...the idea of having a normal duty cycle is enticing, but we won't be able to do it right away. We're going to have to break her in slowly. Now, I'm going to be in my ready room finishing out the last of our crew. We don't even have half the crew we need yet." She stood up slowly. "Commander, you have the conn. Let me know when Tom's ready to take us out for a spin."
"Aye, aye," Kirk responded. He watched her walk to her ready room. Although he wasn't about to voice it publically, he had noticed she was slowing down. Something has been putting a strain on her these past few weeks. However, he was just starting to get to know her, so he kept his tongue in check. Privately, he set his mind to talk to her. Then, he let his mind wander to the imminently arriving crew. There were three people on this shuttle who were from his Academy graduating class. He had precious few friends from his years in the Academy, mostly because he was six years older than the average human cadet. Although he hadn't seen them in at least three years, he had kept in contact with them. When Captain Velasquez asked him for his recommendations for certain key areas, their names quickly came to mind. Granted, each one was extremely talented in their respective fields, but... he had to admit, he really missed his friends. In particular, he missed T'Nia. Because she was a Vulcan, she didn't mind the fact he was older. After all, she was in her forties. She has always been an encouragement to him, especially at times when he needed it most. Theirs was a friendship not many people have. He suspected, much to his chagrin, that his great-grandfather had a very similar relationship to another Vulcan, his 'godfather', Ambassador Spock. Ever since Spock discovered the Kirk bloodline did, indeed, continue, he took it upon himself to watch over them. Once Spock had been assigned to Romulan foreign relations, his communications with his second father had gotten more and more scarce, they never stopped. Although part of him had been grateful for Ambassador Spock's involvement, Stephen was conflicted by the notion his friendship with T'Nia was just one more comparison to the great James Kirk he'd have to get past.
The turbolift doors opened. "Who's ready to see what this little girl can do?" Leiutenant Kelly stepped out confidently and rubbed his hands together. He walked gingerly over to the command center in the middle of the bridge. This was actually his first time on the bridge, now that he thought about it. He had served aboard the original galaxy class starship, the USS Galaxy, for four years. Although the Warlord was substantially larger than the Galaxy, the bridge was notably smaller. There were also fewer stations. Yet, a quick scan of the surrounding wallspace revealed his position; the remote engineering station.
"Boy, Tom," started Stephen, "Once you got the power running, you've been moving like a wildfire. You're sure these engines will actually work?" Kirk smiled. He was definately impressed.
"Hey, I've got stuff to do back on Earth. You're darn right these engines'll work!" Leiutenant Kelly tapped the guard rail behind the command center for emphasis.
Stephen nodded. "Then, I guess I better get the captain out here."
"Then, I guess I better get to my seat." Tom replied. He headed over to the remote engineering station and pulled the seat from the wall.