Beautiful Friendships
"Walk with me for a minute, Mr. Spock?" Kirk said after they left the room.
"Certainly, Captain."
"Mr. Spock," Kirk began, "I am aware how you were close to Captain Pike. I know him, although not as well as I would like. I want you to know that nobody blames anyone on the Enterprise for what happened to him."
"Thank you, sir."
"And I know that it must be very difficult for the crew to accept a new Captain from the outside, instead of allowing you to continue with command. It's obvious to me that the crew looks up to you. And they don't know much about me.
"I intend to rely on you to be an active First Officer, one who will not just go by the book but who will question me, and challenge me when you believe a situation warrants it. I've seen and heard enough about captains who became isolated from their senior officers, or whose officers couldn't or wouldn't perform their roles. You are experienced with command, with department direction, and have highly valuable technical and scientific skills."
He stopped walking. Spock stopped as well and turned to face him. "Mr. Spock, I am the Captain and I will have the final command say on this ship but I don't want to do this in a void. Pike and his officers created a solid association here. I like it. It works. I want to preserve it."
Spock nodded. "I understand what you are saying, Captain, and I thank you for your kind words. Be assured, I did not desire to give up my science duties for the ship's command but I was and remain prepared to assume command if and when this is needed.
"And it is true, Captain Pike and Number One were exceptional to serve under. The crew embraced teamwork to a degree I've only experienced in one other place."
"And where was that?"
"On the Academy hockey team. When we practiced, we did it as a team. We weren't equals on the ice—as you know, I was merely a second-string player—but everything we did was as a team. It feels much the same on the Enterprise."
They began to walk again. "Of course, here there are two factors that strongly favor me."
"And they are?"
"One, a number of junior officers here were students of mine at the Academy. I personally sought out several for assignment on the Enterprise."
"You taught language classes?"
"I only taught the Vulkansu class for one year to fill an unexpected vacancy. My usual classes were astrophysics, biology, and third-and-fourth year computer science."
"All right, and what's that second factor?"
Two, I am the first First Officer with full Executive Officer duties, and the Science Officer. As my mother says, no one screws with that combination."
"Mr. Spock, I have the feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Four days later, Spock, Chief Petty Officer O'Brien, and Senior Petty Officer Tamura stood waiting outside Shuttle Bay 2 to greet the Enterprise's new crewmembers.
It was much more relaxed than the last time a new crewmember came—their new Captain—came aboard. Captain Pike's accident and Number One's hasty departure soon after had drained the staff, particularly senior officers and NCOs.
During that time, Spock assumed command of the ship and turned over his duties as Science Officer to Lt. Rosen, the senior science officer after him. Rosen had not enjoyed the additional duties of a department head; he soon learned that he had little patience for the paperwork and missed the camaraderie of being part of the Science staff, rather than the chief. He felt intimidated by the Enterprise's senior staff, who worked like the proverbial well-oiled machine, unlike the nerdy, self-absorbed colleagues he had grown used to.
Spock turned to Tamura, who had recently been promoted on his recommendation, for help with Executive functions and placed her temporarily in charge of all ship purchasing. She took on the additional functions and shone in the role, quickly learning how to expedite certain low-cost orders, prioritize items that needed a senior staff signature, even how to cut through red tape and unnecessary paperwork.
"I trust the new logistics and purchasing ensigns will lighten your load, Officer Tamura," he remarked as they waited for the shuttle to land in Bay 3.
"I'm sure it will, sir," Tamura answered. "But truthfully sir, I will miss some of the purchasing duties. It gives one a kind of…respect that I hadn't expected." She grinned up at the First Officer, who raised an eyebrow. "Indeed," he said. This was useful information for him; it also explained why his requisitions had been fulfilled much more quickly than in the past.
"I trust the recent efficiencies will remain in place, Tamura."
"I will see to it that they do, sir." She was still grinning. Working for the First Officer had certainly brought her more than a few assignment perks.
A light above the shuttle bay flashed and they could hear the outer bay doors swoop open. "They are here," Spock said. He turned and pressed a comm button. "Spock to Captain," he said.
"Kirk here."
"The shuttle has landed, Captain."
"Thank you, Mr. Spock, I'm on my way."
Like Captain Pike, Kirk liked to be on hand to greet onboarding crew whenever possible. Spock had initially thought it an illogical waste of a Captain's time, but soon came to recognize that for many crew, it would be one of the few times they'd actually see the Captain. It was good for humans' morale to meet him, however briefly, and exchange salutes as they boarded the ship.
A few minutes later, the door light stopped flashing and turned a solid green. Spock pressed a panel to open the door and walked into a small entryway, O'Brien and Tamura behind him.
They watched as the shuttle's door opened and a yeoman jumped out to pull over a small set of stairs. He moved aside and saluted the first officer to emerge from the shuttle. A tall blonde woman with Lieutenant stripes on her uniform sleeves stepped out, returned the yeoman's salute, and walked over to Spock and the petty officers. A couple of bags were slung over her shoulders.
She stopped in front of Spock and saluted. "Lt. Christine Chapel reporting for duty, sir."
Spock returned her salute. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant." He gazed into a pair of blue eyes, bluer than even McCoy's, and felt a momentary shock. What was that? He could feel his blood flow increase, almost as if his instincts were warning him of something. But the woman in front of him seemed pleasant enough. He'd have to meditate on it later.
O'Brien and Tamura saluted Chapel. "Greetings, Lieutenant, please follow me and let me take those bags for you," Tamura said, and Chapel followed her out of the dock where Captain Kirk and his yeoman, Janice Rand, had just arrived, panting slightly from running.
Chapel saluted Kirk. "Permission to come aboard, sir?"
"Granted, Lieutenant, and welcome to the Enterprise."
It took only a few minutes for the shuttle passengers to disembark and salute the Captain and First Officer.
Spock stood in front of the new crewmembers lined up along the corridor that led from the shuttle bays to the deck. His hands were clasped behind his back. "I trust you had an uneventful journey," he began, nodding to Lt. Rivera, who piloted the shuttle. "We will move to a conference room for a short briefing and your bunk or quarter assignments. Your personal effects will be delivered there. Please follow me."
He led the group to a small conference room where he had arranged for a catered midday meal. The crew moved to the table and stood, waiting until he and Kirk were seated before they sat down. Kirk sat at the head of the table, with Spock on his left and Lt. Chapel, as the senior officer in the room, sat to his right. Rand and Tamura stood behind the Captain and First Officer.
"I only have a few comments for you at this time. First, I want to welcome all of you again to the Enterprise. I am Commander Spock, First Officer. I also serve as the ship's Executive Officer and Science Officer. You have met Captain Kirk."
He then introduced the three NCOs.
"As you may have surmised, I am from Vulcan. I have served on the Enterprise since she first launched 11 years ago. This is my third tour of duty with her.
"I have arranged an orientation and dinner for you at 1900 hours in the NCO lounge. There you will hear more about the Enterprise and her crew, and I can answer questions you have. The only other thing I wish to add is to advise you that you do not need to salute senior officers when you encounter them in the corridors. On a spaceship, you will stand at attention when the Captain or First Officer pass. Saluting is only necessary when greeting crew and dignitaries about to board the ship or one of our shuttles taking them here.
"Please help yourself to these refreshments. I have included vegetarian options as well. Sir?" he looked at Kirk.
Kirk tilted his head, acknowledging Spock's deference to command. "Dismissed."
The crewmembers rose after Kirk and Spock, who nodded at Lt. Chapel and motioned her to the buffet. "Please, Lieutenant, after you."
"Thank you, sir." She smiled at him and he felt that little shock and blood rush again. He noted that she was nearly as tall as he. She followed Kirk, who was inspecting the vegetarian dishes, Spock behind her. Kirk frowned. "I don't recognize this," he said, stirring the contents of a tureen.
"Plomeek soup, a Vulcan specialty," Spock explaied. Chapel turned to look at him. "Right, now I remember, most Vulcans are vegan. A wise choice."
"Pretty much everyone on Vulcan is vegan, Lieutenant. Do you also adhere to this?" He hoped she did. It would serve McCoy right to have a head nurse who wouldn't join him for steak nights.
"Vegetarian, actually, but I'm vegan-friendly." She smiled at him again. He returned her smile with the tiniest upward motion of his lips, but he knew his eyes were smiling. He wondered if she noticed.
"I think I'll try the meat-eaters table," Kirk smiled at them.
"I'll try the plomeek," Chapel declared. "It smells delicious." She ladled a bowl and moved to look over the other vegan options. Spock described the other Vulcan dishes. "That is pok tar, a kind of noodle stuffed with soy cheese and mild spice, here is gespar, which tastes similar to pineapple—Vulcans often eat it for breakfast but I consume it all the time-and some native berries. And over there, Terran vegetarian dishes."
Chapel nodded. Mr. Spock was far more, well, personable than she'd ever expect from a Vulcan. It was also more than a little unnerving that the ship's First Officer would pay her this much attention. She'd expected a perfunctory welcome from a senior staff person, but here new crew were personally welcomed by the Captain and fêted by the First Officer. The Enterprise certainly was different than what she'd expected.
At the other end of the room, Rand and Tamura watched their First Officer practically fall all over the new nurse, at least by Vulcan standards. "I've never seen him like this," Tamura murmured. "This could be good for him." She elbowed Rand, whose mouth was slightly ajar. "Stop staring!"
Spock watched Lt. Chapel return to the dining table. She sat down and turned to the Ensign sitting next to her, and soon the two were chatting and comparing notes. He turned away and fixed his attention on two Ensigns opposite him who were looking warily at the pok tar. "That is a Vulcan specialty," he started to explain.