Ch 5. Commander

Commander J'Tava's first day as First Officer had gone by uneventfully. Aiding a crewman with heavy lifting, reassuring a worried Ensign, adding her favorite meals to the ship's replicator logs, nothing out of the ordinary. Day two was a bit more exciting, beginning with the arrival of the ship's counselor, Barris Hana, who was J'Tava's closest friend and roommate during her Academy days, and whom she had formally requested be assigned to Voyager, and ending with the formal briefing of their mission.

The briefing was where her stress had begun, and then continued with her pre-mission physical a few moments earlier. J'Tava continued to go over her situation in her head as she made the long trek from Sickbay down to Engineering. She normally had no problem with sharing a ship with its previous tenants, but the challenge of gaining respect from legendary explorers towered over her. As their superior officer, J'Tava needed them to fully trust that she deserved her authority.

Of course it didn't help that they acted like they owned the place. Who did that snooty doctor think he was, keeping the first officer for an obnoxiously extended physical when she obviously had more important things to worry about before they left the station? And what about that other Klingon- no, half-Klingon, J'Tava was sure of it- thinking she could get away with being late to such an important briefing? Perhaps when Admiral Janeway ran this ship things were different, but then again, regulations could have been ignored a bit during the hell they went through getting home.

Whatever the reasoning, this wasn't Admiral Janeway's ship anymore; it was Captain Data's, and to some extent J'Tava's. This time around, Voyager was going to be run exactly by Starfleet specifications.

Unfortunately, Starfleet currently wished for her to teach this Torres woman about Klingon cloaking technology. As an engineer and at least half-Klingon, she should have already known how to do it herself, but J'Tava had to accept that she could not alter the circumstance. She could only suffer through them. And suffer she would, as Counselor Barris would surely be subjected to later.

Because her day hadn't been annoying enough yet, J'Tava arrived in front of engineering. She took a deep, calming breath and adjusted her uniform in a few places before being satisfied she was relaxed enough to handle what was undoubtedly waiting for her on the other side of the door. Calling up her confidence and holding her shoulders back, J'Tava forced herself through the loud "whoosh" of the door and into engineering.

Engineering was much louder than she had been expecting. When she had first arrived, J'Tava had taken herself on a tour of the ship to get her bearings, and having been practically the first one aboard, the room had been empty. Now, though, it was alive with officers and crewmen in gold preparing their ship for launch.

Her sudden arrival, however, signalled a pause in this liveliness. A nod from the Commander restored the chatter and general activity to everyone, yet there remained a slice of tension in the air. J'Tava could feel their apprehension, but whether it was because of her stern appearance, or if they could sense what was to come, she had no idea.

"All right," came a strained voice, its owner approaching from a corner of the room. "Let's get this over with." Of course, the speaker was the ever contemptuous Lieutenant Commander Torres. Here was the confrontation J'Tava had been dreading for the majority of the day. Her immediate instinct was to grab that insolent little halfling and hang her from the rafters by her toes, but of course this wasn't home. This was a "mostly" human organization-as was the woman in front of her. So at least for now, J'Tava would have to bite the bullet.

"Fine by me," retorted the Commander, placing her hands on her hips. She leaned forward slightly, utilizing her height advantage to reiterate what her body language had already proclaimed: J'Tava was in charge.

Lieutenant Commander Torres folded her arms resentfully. "This way," she said through her teeth. She led without waiting to see if J'Tava would follow. And she did, a grand smirk resonating with her small victory. A war was not won with only one-sided massacres, but with finesse as well when required.

Grumbling, the resistant duo arrived at the main engineering console. J'Tava bent to examine it, verifying all Klingon cloaking components had arrived and were assembled correctly. "Hopefully you did not have any difficulties installing the physical components," she sneered. "Klingon technology happens to be very advanced; those who aren't accustomed to it tend to have issues getting it to function."

"No problem whatsoever," Torres replied smugly, leaning against the upper part of the machine. To suggest the ease of it, she raised her hand to inspect her cuticles, a position she held as the Commander straightened up to glare at her. "It was actually pretty simple. You mighty Klingons sure make it easy for us poor Starfleet folk."

J'Tava scowled but offered only a terse, "I will show you how to activate it." Then she moved wordlessly, familiar hands working swiftly and forcing the Lieutenant Commander to keep as sharp as possible. "Now you." She stepped back to provide space. Torres went to work immediately, her fingers deft but her conviction… human.

"No!" shouted the Commander, pushing her subordinate away from the station. "Be more careful with that! You cannot harm the cloaking device." She shot a glare that struck more deeply than any bat'leth. "Maybe your engineers can replicate equipment in a snap, but Klingon technology cannot so easily be replaced."

"I'm fast, not careless," Torres shot back hotly. "That's called efficiency. Something engineers on Voyager are notorious for. You showed me how you do it, and now my job is to make it better. Now you can either drag me down, or you can get off my back." Her chest rose and fell in quick pants, and she stood not quite on her toes but in such a way that she appeared larger than she was.

"Captain Data to Commander J'Tava." The chipper voice from her commbadge pierced the tense silence, startling them both. "If the modifications are complete, please report to the bridge. We are ready to disembark."

J'Tava took a second to breathe before tapping her badge to reply. "Yes, Captain, we've just finished the additions, and everything down here is squared away and ready to go." Her newly forced calm extended to the Chief Engineer as she nodded politely, turned around on her heel and walked out of engineering and into the nearest turbo lift.

"Bridge," she commanded of the lift. J'Tava was surprised at the wavering nature of her tone; she felt as though she had been holding her breath for far too long. With Klingon warchants resonating in her head, her composure slowly returned as the ride went on, and by the time she arrived at her destination, the Klingon was the Commander.

When the doors parted, she stepped onto the Bridge and glanced around at her new domain:

each station occupied by its respective officer going over every last detail before they were finally on their way. Captain Data sat proudly in his chair, but the chair beside him, the one meant for J'Tava, was occupied by one Counselor Barris. "Ahem." Barris glanced up, and, with a smile, bounced over to the small shelf-space between the Captain and Commander's chairs. It was fortunate for her that she was tiny. J'Tava found herself grinning and shaking her head; this assignment was definitely going to be more interesting with Barris along.

The Captain offered his first officer a genuine smile, which she returned and raised a nod of the head. "Mr. Nog," he said with a tug of his uniform, "Coordinates laid in. Set warp 7." He paused, awaiting confirmation of his order. "Engage."