Captain Hughes' ready room was smaller than Gul Narat's on the Gavran.It was cold, bright, done up in a pale salmon colour. Aside from a desk, a chair and assorted small sculptures on the ledge ringing the wall, it had little decoration. A potted plant stood to the right of the door as Vekal entered and a portrait in a wooden frame hung on the left wall. The portrait captured her attention immediately, triggering something from her memories of her recent study of Starfleet. It showed a male human of some fifty or sixty years of age, bald, not quite smiling at the camera. He wore a red uniform with a captain's rank markings, the design of which placed him in the early 24th century. Something in Vekal's mind seized that detail and latched onto it.
Captain Hughes walked around the desk and sat in the chair, folding his hands on the desk. Vekal remained where she was, in the centre of the room, regarding the framed image. Captain Hughes noticed her attention. "A great man," he said of the portrait. "One of the greatest in Starfleet history."
Vekal remembered the face from an ancient transcript. A strong man, certainly. Respected, knowledgeable. Clever for a human of those days, but that meant little. And he had been an enemy. Something like anger flashed in her mind at the exact recollection of the transcript, but she controlled herself. "He helped shape the history of this quadrant," she replied diplomatically.
"Indeed," Captain Hughes agreed. Pause. "When I was assigned to this post," he began, "I was very nervous. I'd never commanded a ship before, not for any length of time. I'd been told what to expect, and I thought I was ready. But suddenly I was surrounded by people I'd never met, captain of a ship I'd never been on in my life, and everyone expected me to lead them."
His voice had taken on a more commanding tone, expectant, but though Vekal's mind was racing to formulate a response, she couldn't seem to grasp what was wanted of her.
Captain Hughes watched her discomfort with some of his own apparent. Nevertheless he ploughed on. "So," he said as if coming to a point, "I can understand that all this might be somewhat… overwhelming for you."
She remembered his rather cold smile aboard the bridge and said nothing. It was fairly obvious that he wanted her to feel at ease, and that alone was enough to make her muscles tense. Aside from which, he had fought -and killed- dozens of Cardassians. The disputes during the first half of the eighty years' Apartheid had been before her time, but she knew that this Captain had participated in several of them in his youth, and had been noted as a dangerous foe with instincts for battle. How easily could those memories be pushed aside?
"I don't want you to be afraid to speak your mind," Capain Hughes continued. "As First Officer, it's your duty to point out anything you feel I might have missed, and I'm going to be relying on you to do that."
How could one command a ship effectively while having to debate one's decisions, especially in the heat of battle? Vekal tried to imagine it, failed. Nonetheless it was a direct order, and as such would be carried out. She dipped her head. "I obey, Captain."
The statement was acknowledged with a nod. "This," he said, again brandishing the PADD he'd offered earlier, "lists the crew and their departments."
Vekal knew that. "I remember, Captain." She was vaguely insulted by the implication that she needed to be reminded, but remembered that this human outranked her and made no comment.
"Lieutenant Chell will show you your quarters. The rest of the morning is yours. You should take the opportunity to read up on the ship." There was a pause, during which Vekal idly recalled that the PADD the Captain held had a maximum capacity of some six moderately-sized files. She estimated it would take her no more than two hours to commit the contents to memory, probably far less. The Captain continued: "Afterwards, I'd hoped you'd join me and the staff in the Officer's Mess for lunch. Once that's done, the senior staff will show you their departments." Another, longer silence. "On a more personal note," said Captain Hughes, and several warning bells went off inexplicably in Vekal's mind, "welcome to the Orion. I'm glad to have you."
Relieved, though she wasn't sure why, Vekal nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Captain."
He held out the PADD again and she stepped forward and took it before he could change his mind again. Deciding that thanking him a second time would be excessive, Vekal simply dipped her head to Captain Hughes. As soon as she had the PADD, she stepped back two paced, reestablishing the space between them. "Dismissed," he said, not unkindly.
Starfleet doesn't exactly deal in subtleties, Vekal thought dryly as she turned to leave. The door slid aside as she approached, revealing Lieutenant Chell waiting for her just outside.