New endeavours
Part 1
“Amelia,” Sam smiled, standing from a table. “It’s good to see you,”
Amy approached the table, weaving in and out of the other patrons of the restaurant. She was wearing a smart blouse and dress. Sam, on the other hand, was wearing a suit, minus a tie and the collar undone. “Hello, Captain,”
Sam shook his head. “Come now, Amelia. This is not a dinner between two officers, it’s a dinner between friends. You don’t need to be formal,”
Amy gave a half-smile. “Sorry, Sam… matter of habit, I guess,”
“You’re looking well,” Sam said, taking a seat after Amy had taken hers. “And you’re the one who asked for this dinner, which is good. I thought I would be the one having to drag you from the ship,”
Amy shuffled slightly uncomfortably. “Thank you. You’re looking well. Settling into the job well?”
Sam glanced at her for a moment before he looked down at his menu and tapped his order. “It seems so, you’ve probably seen the squadron changes,”
Amy nodded whilst she tapped her order. “I did. You work fast,”
Sam waved the praise away, as the service bot whizzed over and poured the two their ordered drinks. “These were plans that I had formulated a while ago. It wasn’t difficult to implement,”
“But still,” she said, thanking the service bot and sipping her drink. “A huge change in the operating structure of the fleet. That must have been a logistical nightmare,”
“The command office is very good and very organised. The ones you need to be thanking are the officers who worked to get it all done,”
Amy nodded slightly. “Yeah, I suppose,”
“How is the ship?” he asked.
Amy moved around in her seat and was given a brief respite as the service bots returned to deliver them their food. The two began eating and it was only when Sam gave Amy a look, did she reply. “It’s good…”
“That’s excellent,” Sam smiled. “See, I told you, you’d do an excellent job,”
“I…” Amy put her cutlery on the plate. “No…” she shook her head. “No, it’s not good… that’s… why I wanted to speak to you. I need help,”
Sam looked at Amy, placing his own cutlery on the plate and leaning back on his chair. “I see,”
“The ship is falling apart. Morale is rock bottom. I’ve had resignations from all over the ship. I am… way out of my element,”
Sam leaned forward. “There has yet to be a challenge I have seen you not overcome,” he says. “I’m glad you came to me. Nobody just becomes a good captain overnight. And like the fleet command office, you don’t work in isolation,” he said, picking up his cutlery again. “Everything you’ve said so far were things that I had you handle when you were my First Officer…”
“I know. That’s what makes it so frustrating. I thought I could do it,”
“No, Amelia. You are not understanding. When you were a First Officer, you did those jobs,”
“What are you saying?”
“You are no longer the First Officer. You are the Commanding Officer. None of the failings here are from your role as a Captain,” he says. “You just make the mistake that all new COs make. You try to do everything yourself,”
“I…”
“You need to delegate. Tasha is a fine officer with years of command experience. She’s even been the CO of the ship for a time. She knows what to do. Delegate to her. You have an excellent senior officer cohort. Use them,”
“I’ve had resignations from the senior command,” Amy frowned, looking at her food.
“Who?”
“I… don’t think I’m allowed to say,”
Sam said nothing. “Well, that is not ideal. But you can work around that. There are officers who are now looking at those positions and wanting to take a crack at the job. They are going to break their backs trying to prove to you that they are the right candidate to take the top spot. Let them,”
“I… look,” she sighed. “I want to make everyone proud. I want to make you proud. I want to do a good job. People don’t have confidence in my leadership,”
“It’s because you don’t have confidence in your leadership, Amelia. Out of all the senior staff, do you know who had the highest rating? You. By a lot. The crew want you. They like you. But when you get worked up and stressed, you become difficult. You become overly perfectionist and have a meltdown at any slight mistake. Am I correct?”
“Yes…”
“I know I am. I saw it when you first started. As you began to acclimatise, you became better. A better officer. A better First Officer. Remember, we’ve had this conversation before,”
“We have?” Amy frowned, looking up at Sam.
“You said the exact same thing when you became the XO. You thought you couldn’t do it. And now look. You want to go back to your job as XO. After you’ve settled in, you won’t want to go back to XO,”
“Do you want to go back to ship command?”
Sam smirked and took a bite of his food, chewing slowly. “The fact of the matter is, Amelia. If you are so tightly wound up, you become draconian. You need to decide if that’s the type of Commanding Officer you want to be. If not… you need to relax,”
The two continued to eat in silence, reflecting on the words that were said.
“Briella has been really good, recently, you know,”
“Has she? I thought she would be the one giving you the most trouble,”
Amy shook her head. “No. She’s been… probably the most level headed out of everyone,”
Sam raised his eyebrows. “Gabriella is a good officer, you know. She seems crass and unpolished, but… at the end of the day, she’s a true professional. I think she’s stepping up and trying to support you, as an XO should do,”
“You’re not sugg…”
“Oh God no,” Sam said quickly. “No, no, no. Do not let Gabriella anywhere near the command chairs,”
Amy chuckled. “I think that’s a good idea,”
“But… what I am saying is that she’s stepping up to the role that you need to get Tasha to fill,”
There was more silence. Amy exhaled. “Is it true?”
“What?”
“You’re considering making me permanent Captain?”
Sam looked at Amy. “You want to stay on?”
“No… I’m not ready for it,”
“I know,”
“So?”
Sam said nothing, eating his food. “I am not. I have identified a replacement,”
“Who?”
Sam shook his head. “I can’t tell you. Not until it’s been confirmed by Starfleet Command,”
Amy opened her mouth to speak but paused. “Are they good?” she said, finally, her voice quiet.
“Remember what your job is. Remember where your loyalties lie. Have faith in your abilities and always remember… I chose you for this job. Never forget that,”
Amy sighed. “You’re right. You were always right…”