A Challenge

Posted on Fri Jan 6th, 2012 @ 10:50pm by Captain James Conway & Commander Zackary Johnson Jr

Mission: A Ship Reborn
Location: Bridge, USS Relentless
Timeline: M0, D0, 1100

Conway was sitting in his chair... He thought for a moment. The phrase felt good crossing his mind: 'his chair'. It had been so long since he commanded a star ship.

Now this was his chair. Jim was busy reading through her mission logs over the past couple of years while he was away. The ambiance on the bridge was soothing not to mention the relative silence over the gravity plate repair outside his quarters...

As Conway read on, he heard footfalls in the hall leading to the empty bridge...

--Docking Ring--

Johnson made it to the docking port with relative ease, despite the multi-species crowds going to and from.

He checked in with security and walked aboard the Relentless. The Commander was a little taken back by the quietness of the corridor. He'd at least expected to see a maintenance engineer or two.

Johnson didn't immediately head to his quarters, he'd developed something of a habit his last few assignments, and liked one of the first places he saw of the ship to be her bridge.

He made his way to the bridge only stopping a couple times when something caught his attention. It wasn't a long walk before he was standing before the bridge doors.

They slid open with a hiss and he walked out onto the quiet bridge...

Conway didn't even move from his chair. Without even looking at who entered, "Can I help you?" he asked gruffly.

All Johnson could see was the back of the middle aged man's head, but he knew it was the Captain.

He dropped his bag and snapped to attention.

"Commander Zack Johnson reporting for duty! Was just coming up to check out the bridge, wasn't expecting anyone up here. Sorry to disturb you sir."

Conway stood, put the report aside, and let his appearance soften. "Ah, Commander. I was wondering when you would ride into town. Please, stand at ease..." He noticed the bag that lay on the floor next to his new first officer. "Trouble finding your quarters?"

Johnson stood at ease, then bent and picked up his bag once more. He didn't want to be the cause of some one walking through the doors and eating the deck, though the chances were slim.

"Ah, no sir, no troubles." He smiled. "It's just something I tend to do, visit the bridge before I see any other part of the ship. Guess you could call it a habit, maybe even superstition, but I seem to have a better experience if I see the bridge first on a new assignment."

"A habit? Just how many new assignments have you been on?" Conway knew full well the Commander's file. The Captain knew his tendency to bounce around, and he had a plan to fix that.

"In the last three years, this will be my sixth new assignment sir. My last commanding officer liked to refer to me as something of a space nomad." Johnson wasn't embarrassed by this, after all he was the one that kept requesting the transfers, but he had high hopes that this new assignment would be what he was looking for.

It was tiring getting associated with a new ship and crew every half a year or so, sometimes less.

"I hope you understand, Commander, I do not work well with rouges. I expect nothing but utter dedication from my crew." Conway had spoken to several of the commanders and knew his history. It had really hampered the Commander's progress despite his role as an executive officer. "Can I expect your all? After all, the Relentless was not built as an explorer. We deal with the really dirty stuff that Star Fleet has to deal with."

"Not to worry Captain, I always take my job seriously and have never once slacked because it wasn't what I was looking for. I have the utmost respect for every Captain I've ever served under, including you sir, and dedication to starfleet and the ship on which I serve. As for the missions we'll inevitably be undertaking I'm completely prepared for them and what ever is asked of us. I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be, no other assignment has caught my eye quite like this one. I believe my other assignments were preparing me for what lies ahead with this one sir." Johnson said with conviction.

He wasn't trying to be boastful, he wanted Conway to form his own opinions, but Johnson did want to make sure he was being taken seriously in what he said. It was understandable that some would be skeptical of him, and he was just fine with proving his worth.

"Commander, let's take a walk." Conway picked up the PADD off the Captain's Chair and started walking down the corridor. He didn't wait for Johnson to catch up.

Conway was thoughtful for a few moments as they walked. He looked at a hole in the ceiling where data connections where being run and not yet completed. Jim noticed a door half open that had yet to be repaired. He couldn't shake the feeling of home despite the shabbing condition of parts of his ship.

After walking almost half the length of the small Defiant class in silence, he took a deep breath. "Commander, no bull. What caught your eye about this ship?"

The question was barely out of Conway's mouth before Johnson answered, because it was a question he had been thinking about himself for sometime now. Especially since he had felt content aboard the last starship he was on until he discovered that the Relentless was being brought back into active service.

"I've read this ship's mission reports sir, and in every one of them the Relentless and her crew have played a pivotal role in some large plot or another. Every mission she's sent out on is huge in the spectrum of failure is not an option, and she's come home successful every time. There's something about the Relentless that attracts the best people for the job even if they don't know it yet. I would like to be the best sir, and I feel that this is the only ship that can pull the best possible officer I can be out."

Johnson spoke his answer with a truthfulness that he had only begun to understand. Those many assignments before he believed himself to be an honest person but he had been lying to himself the entire time and through that everyone around him. In understanding what brought him to the Relentless he was, in a sense, discovering himself.

Both the officers walked on in silence, each pondering the answer in there own way. Conway thought long about Johnson's response. "Commander... Welcome aboard..."