The shuttle docking bay door opened to admit Dr. Andrew Davies to Jarvik Station. He was not expecting anyone to meet him, much less call him by name.
"Dr. Davies?" the attractive young ensign asked.
"That's me." Drew replied in his pleasant British lilt.
"The Captain has asked me to escort you to your guest quarters. There was other urgent business that required attention. The Captain has also asked that you be in the Ready Room at fourteen hundred."
"Thank you, Ensign. Lead the way." Drew picked up his bags and followed the ensign to the nearest turbo lift to be whisked to his temporary room.
On the other side of the station, Andy was meeting the other candidate, Dr. Princeton Handraddy. His name, Andy knew, was as pompous as the individual himself. However, there were none more highly recommended for sheer medical knowledge than the Prince. She waited patiently for the bay doors to open.
"Dr. Handraddy? Captain Andrea Thoreau. Welcome to Jarvik Station."
The doctor stepped out, ignoring Andy's proffered handshake. He looked around noting the general disarray of the station. "I'm sorry, Captain, this is most unimpressive."
Andy stifled her smile, "Yes, Doctor, it is. But it's still under construction. When it's complete, Jarvik should be quite awe inspiring."
He again looked down his nose at the surroundings, "I'll take your word for it, Captain."
Andy motioned to the yeoman standing nearby, "Doctor, Yeoman Capri will take your bags to your guest quarters. If you'll follow me?"
The young gentleman in question stepped forward quickly and took the proffered bags from the prickly doctor. With a quick nod, he disappeared down the hall, glad to let his new captain deal with the pompous man.
Dr. Handraddy followed Andy down the opposite way to another waiting turbo lift. Within a few moments, they were on the inner observation ring. The same place she had stood, less than 24 hours earlier, with Will. Again, the doctor looked over the surroundings, giving an overall appearance of a man who has just gotten a whiff of ripe garbage. She waited for him to respond.
"So, Captain, I understand I'm being asked to act as Chief of Staff for this installation, correct?"
"Yes, Doctor, that's correct."
"All three of the proposed medical divisions of this place report directly to me."
"Yes, sir. That's how it's envisioned."
"I don't quite understand, then, why you were here before me. I should think I would be selecting your position as well."
Andy looked a bit unsure, "How do you figure, doctor?"
"Well, as the Chief of Staff, I would also expect to be the command leader of this place, too."
This was what Andy was hoping for. She had taken a risk asking two doctors to come but she had counted on Handraddy's expectation to be the commander in chief. She was also counting on being able to use the fact that she had considered Handraddy when she had her confrontation with Andrew, later.
"I can understand how you might think that, Doctor, but the Federation was adamant this be a Starfleet operation with a Starfleet officer in command. Therefore, they selected me to be the commander."
"So you expect me to answer to," Prince paused for effect, "you?"
Again, Andy stifled her smile and answered very simply, "That's correct, Doctor. You answer to me."
Handraddy's laugh echoed in the mostly empty area. Again, Andy refused to take offense, knowing that she wouldn't have really selected the doctor anyway. Her problem would have been if the Prince had decided he wanted the job. His credentials far outweighed Andrew's and it would have been next to impossible to explain why she wouldn't choose him.
After he got himself under control, the Prince responded, "I'm sorry, Captain Thoreau. I'm not going to be able to accept your offer. I can't really see someone like me kowtowing to someone like you. No offense, Captain."
Knowing full well he did mean it offensively, Andrea replied "None taken, Doctor." She turned quickly to see Yeoman Capri had followed her prior instructions and was waiting in the area. She waived the Yeoman to her side and turned back to the doctor. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience of having you travel all this way for nothing, Doctor, but I hope you'll enjoy Jarvik's hospitality. Yeoman Capri will escort you to your quarters. He'll also be outside your room at 7:30 in the morning to collect you and your things. The return transport departs at 8:00 am."
"Thank you, Captain." And he turned and followed the Yeoman back to the closest turbo lift and to his quarters.
Andy smiled. That had gone according to plan. Let's see if the next phase went as easy.
