Stardate: 64983.1

Posted on Wed May 18th, 2011 @ 8:01pm by Provisional Lieutenant Commander Narayn Ballard

[Recording Active]
[Log Begins]

Since becoming First Officer aboard the Endeavour things have turned thoroughly strange, if truth be told. I hold a rank that most of the commissioned officers on the ship dream of, even if it is only provisional, despite having been calling them "Sir" or "Ma'am" only a few weeks ago. I'm taking to the role well enough, I suppose; as well as could be expected anyway but I still don't feel like I've really hit the ground running yet. Will I? Is this feeling of detachment just a momentary blip before I suddenly emerge from my Executive cocoon as a fully-fledged, red-collared butterfly? I don't know...

I'm on my way to the Captain's quarters for dinner with the Captain, his family and the two Federation negotiators currently travelling with us to Nevarra. Benjamin's family have been very good to me recently. His wife, Sarah, is a kind, compassionate woman who- for whatever reason- seems to understand what I'm going through. It's difficult to spend time with the Enlisted crew as much as I used to so it's good to have a friendly ear. And Jacob. Oh, ho, ho. That kid has better command of formal protocol than I do. I can see him in my mind's eye. All grown up with a strip of Flag stars on his collar and his proud, geriatric dad sitting in a chair, draped in medals behind him.

It's nice to see that kind of dynamic. It's not something I've ever really been party to or have really understood so it's nice to be able to observe. Especially their warmth. Shame that's not echoed all over the ship. Especially not on the bridge.

I had a small altercation with Lieutenant Junior Grade Stott before I managed to get off the bridge. I decided I would leave the young Lieutenant Jenarian in charge of things while I'm away shmoozing with the big-wigs. It doesn't really surprise me that Stott wasn't impressed by the decision. He's older than her by a fair margin and probably feels like he's being frozen out of his chance to take the centre chair. However, there's definitely a reason he's never made the step up to full Chief of Ops despite his experience in the role.

It's just a matter of finding out what it is.

[Log Ends]
[Recording Terminated]