Read Star Trek: Secrets – Page 7

The bridge was simple, and reminded him of the Defiant class of ships. The command chair was in the center, with spots for others in a semicircle in front of him. The biggest difference, and one that would only matter to someone in his profession, was that the command chair was attached to the back wall. Everyone entered the bridge in his sight line, and sat in front of him. Leon grinned, as he thought about how his less savvy senior staff had been in accidents causing him to be promoted years before he would have been otherwise.

Engineering staff were collecting up their tools as Leon took his chair. None of them paid him any heed or attention as they rapidly cleaned up before exiting. Sitting on the bridge alone, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound of his new ship.

“Well, it looks like you and I are going to be working together. If you make me look good, I will be sure to continue to acquire the best new toys for you.” Leon spoke to the Raven, as he did with all of the vessels under his command. He knew it was silly, but he found more comfort in technology than in people.

A loud chirp echoed through the near empty bridge. Leon opened his eyes, and touched a button on his command console attached to the chair. “Gabriel here.”

“This is Commander Thompson. I’ve just gone to my quarters, and they are not satisfactory.”

Commander Richard Thompson, the Raven’s Chief Medical Officer, had a brash voice. In his mind, Leon reviewed his personnel file. He knew that the one area where no Section 31 operative would be happy was in the how the quarters were set-up. With just two decks, all of the crew had their own sleeping areas, but shared a reasonable size common area. This allowed for little privacy, something that agents were used to having. 

“I’m sorry Commander, but it is a little late to be requesting redesigns of the ship. You’ll have to make due.” It was easy for Leon to tell Richard to deal with it, as the Captain was the only one with private quarters. He wondered if he should extend meaningless platitudes to Richard, but realized that any agent would likely be offended by such an action.

“I am sure you understand how unbearable this is, but I’ll find a solution on my own.” Richard said. There was a grit to his voice, as though he had spat out the words in frustration. 

The comm channel closed, and Leon stood up from his chair. It felt strange sitting in the center seat. There were times in his career where he had served on starships, but command was not something he saw as a potential direction his life would take.