They Arrive on Tuesday... - Personal Log MD01 2100

Posted on Fri Oct 9th, 2009 @ 5:37pm by Captain Benjamin Byrne

Personal Log, Stardate 62332.2. I officially took command of the USS Endeavour today, bringing my family aboard at San Francisco Fleet Yards. The ship design is an impressive one - the Sovereign class is much bigger than the little Nova the New York was, which means in turn that I'll have a lot more crew under my command. I'm not sure if that thought daunts me or excites me yet.

The ship feels very empty, though. She's staffed currently by a skeleton crew supplied by the Yards, but they'll be leaving as the first group of my own crew start arriving tomorrow morning. On the Hendrix, when she was in stardock for repairs and refits, walking through her corridors made me feel like I was in a ghost ship - so used I was to seeing it full of life, with officers going about their duties, squeezing between eachother in the small spaces the little ship provided, that is was unnatural to see her without them. It feels unnatural to see this ship empty too, but for a different reason.

The Endeavour is brand new. Everything about her is untouched, pristine. It feels as if I shouldn't touch the bulkheads, and I should be careful where I tread in case I break the perfection of a newly-built ship. All perception, I know, and a Vulcan would call it 'illogical', but I can't help but think of how it seems to me.

I think I might go and watch the first set of crew as they come aboard tomorrow. I won't be able to remember all of there names, there are simply too many, but I think it will be good if their first impression of their new CO is the man welcoming them onboard, even if I'm not actually saying 'welcome' to each and every one of them.

I've also made my selection for first officer. It was a hard choice, but the officer I went for in the end was Mark Anderson. His service record shows him as a competent officer, as do the service records of each of the other candidates, but there was something about him that caught my eye. In the Academy, when his piloting skills were first noted, he turned down an offer to undertake training to be a fighter pilot, instead going for Flight Control. The reason he gave was that he wanted to explore, not to be a combat pilot. That's the sort of man I want at my right-hand side. Someone who enjoys a good adventure, who wants to explore new things, but who also knows how to handle themselves in a fight. I'm guessing he'll be a bit disappointed that he's not been given his own command yet - I know that he was put on the first officers candidate list because he put in for a command but was turned down. Hopefully that will make him more willing to take command of the bridge more often and allow me to go on more away missions than most first officers. Still, hopefully he's the kind of man who won't be afraid to state his opinion; I don't need a Number One who just blindly follows orders.

But now, work has been put aside, and it's time for family time. End log.