A new set of footfalls interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see a young female crew member approaching. Her long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Rusty noticed immediately her smooth complexion and wondered just how young they were letting them in these. It was then that he caught sight of her rank insignia.
A Lieutenant? Are they taking them outta high school now?
For a moment, the young female officer’s face was overlaid by a different one, the hair changed to dusty blonde. Rusty felt a stab of emotion and the image faded.
“And who might you be?” Rusty asked her brusquely, deciding that a good defense was a quick offense. She was late getting there, after all.
“Lieutenant Elizabeth Banks, sir,” she replied.
She seems almost . . . cheerful, Rusty thought. He resisted the urge to shake his head in disdain.
Before he could rebuke her for her tardiness, however, she continued.
“The Captain sent me down here to work with you.”
Rusty studied Elizabeth. She seemed sincere—and just a little too enthusiastic for his taste.
“Decided that she needed someone to keep an eye on me, eh?”
Elizabeth looked puzzled and even a little hurt.
“No, sir.” She was almost meek in her response.
If it’s all an act, it’s a damned good one.
He glanced around at the others gathered there. If the Captain wanted reports on his behavior or activities, there was certainly no dearth of individuals that she could choose from. This Lieutenant was an obvious choice.
Maybe the Captain wants me to know that I’m being watched.
It seemed an odd tactic for her. With everyone else around him, and the ship-wide security systems, it seemed unnecessary. Maybe this Elizabeth is just what she seems, he considered, a bright-eyed young officer fresh from the Academy.
Just what I need . . .
Rusty did not bother to completely suppress his sigh.
“Did she tell you what you were supposed to do down here?” he asked Elizabeth.
Again, she looked confused. “No, sir.”
Damn, he thought. I was hoping that one of us did. He looked back at the expectant faces lined up before him. Okay, time to bite the bullet, I guess . . .
“Did anyone see where I put the duty roster?”
That seemed a good ploy. The first set of crew members looked around the area. A few of them even stepped out of line to search a little further away.
“Right here, sir,” Elizabeth said, handing him a pad.
Rusty met her eyes, certain that he saw amusement there. He took the tablet from her gingerly.
“Thank you,” he said. “Lieutenant.”
Bet she thinks she can run the place too.
Looking down at the tablet’s display, Rusty saw that it did, in fact, list the current shift’s duty roster. He scanned it quickly, understanding only about half of what the assignments meant.
That’s why they give you a staff, he told himself. To have someone to make it look like you know what you’re doing.
“Aruna,” he called out.
“Yes, sir,” the dark-skinned Ensign spoke up.
Rusty stared down at the tablet. “You and Chiang recalibrate the starboard power flow regulators,” he said. “According to this, the last shift replaced them.”
“Yes, sir,” the two technicians responded; almost in unison.
“Tsu-tao,” Rusty said, reading the next name from the list, and continued handing out assignments, while trying to ignore the watchful eyes of the new Lieutenant.
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