Joshua walked down the corridor, having had a long day. He had finished off the ships physicals and in between had taken care of some minor injuries. It wasn’t all that surprising considering the crew had been helping where ever they could.

The last physical of the day had been Captain Coleman. He had passed but Joshua had sensed something off about him. It hadn’t hit him at first but then he had discovered what he thought might be bothering him. He sent a message asking Lieutenant Swenson to meet him on the lounge. Joshua was on his way there when he ran into Lila Davies and Thracia Thanlink.

“No need to avoid me now.” Joshua said with a grin. “You both have your physicals behind you now.” He looked from one to the other. “I’m going to meet with Lieutenant Swenson.” He informed them. “Come with me, we could use your help.”

Lila frowned for a moment. “As long as it doesn’t involve the Lieutenant and Engineering.”

“You two need to learn to play nice together.”

Joshua declared. “Your disagreement is old news.”

“Doctor Martin is correct.” Thracia agreed. “It isn’t a battle or war after all.” Her people would never forget a grievance firing war but this was a silly grudge to hold on to.

“Okay okay.” Lila nodded. “It’s a clean slate.” As they walked down the hallway, Lila spoke. “So what is this about?” She asked, curious.

“You will find out soon enough.” They continued on until they came to the lounge and entered. Lieutenant Swenson was waiting for their arrival.

“I brought some friends.” Joshua said. “I hope you don’t mind. They passed me in the hall and so figured the more of us the merrier.”

“Is someone going to fill us in?” Lila said impatiently. She hated secrets and made no bones about it.

“When you stopped for your physical earlier.” Joshua said. “You mentioned that we were officially done with all the repairs. That you would be sharing the good news with the captain in the morning.”

“Yes.” Lila nodded. “He has been anxious for the news. We don’t want the Paso Robles to arrive and have to wait.”

“What does that have to do with this mysterious thing you want to tell us.” Thracia spoke up. She really got annoyed at how long it took for a human to tell a simple story.

“Having the ship repaired and updated is a big deal.” Andrew spoke up. “Lila and I came up with the idea of letting the captain know in a celebratory manner.”

“I’m listening.” Andrew said quietly. He wouldn’t make a decision until he had all the facts. He wasn’t even certain how Captain Coleman felt about surprises. Some people liked them and some did not.

“Nothing elaborate that would get us in trouble.” Joshua assured him. “I talked to Chef and she is going to put together some cupcakes. We’re going to decorate the bridge so that when he comes on in the morning, it will be a small celebration.

“How are we going to get the captain to show up without him becoming suspicious?” Lila asked. “He isn’t going to fall for any tricks.”

“We will tell him at shift change.” Joshua explained. “That is where you come in. Fill in all the department heads and have them on the bridge at six hundred tomorrow morning. Make certain they know it is a surprise. The captain isn’t expecting to have the ship cleared for another three days at least.”

Lila smiled. “He is going to be really happy at the news.” She couldn’t wait for them to trek him.

“Okay.” Andrew said. “Everyone head off and spread the word. It is my job to keep him busy and not let him suspect a thing.”

“Good luck with that.” Thracia said with a grin. “He is a sly one our captain is.”

They all headed off in their separate ways, looking for the others so they could spread the word about their surprise.

Andrew headed to the bridge and to the captains ready room. He needed to keep the captain busy, away from the bridge so the crew could do their thing.

“Captain.” Andrew said as he entered Byron’s ready room. “Are you terribly busy?”

Byron looked up from his paperwork and shook his head. “I could use a break.” He admitted. What’s up?”

“Chef has prepared dinner and she is having it delivered to your private dining room.” Andrew explained. “I am here to escort you there to have dinner.”

“I had better not argue with the Chef.” Byron said with a grin. “The crew wouldn’t be happy if she went on strike.” The truth was he could use the break for a while. He stood up. “I trust you will be having dinner with me.”

“Yes Captain.” Andrew grinned. “This is becoming quite the habit for us, sir.” At least this time it wasn’t because of an issue.

Andrew walked beside the captain as they left the bridge and headed to dinner. He planned to keep him quite busy and then inform him that he had doctors orders for Captain Coleman to go to his quarters for a goodnights sleep. Joshua was standing by to back that up should it be necessary.

The evening went smoothly. The Captain and Byron got to know one another over dinner and then a few drinks. When Byron attempted to go to the bridge, Andrew stepped in and informed him that Doctor Martin had left strict orders that he was to go to his quarters for the night. Joshua had stated he was overtired and needed some rest.

Once it was established that the captain had gone to bed for the night, two security officers were assigned to keep an eye out in case Byron got up and attempted a surprise of his own.

The crew went to work, decorating to find the bridge festively for the captain. The captain had been tired and anxious to have things done and they wanted to give him the best of news. As soon as the USS Paso Robles arrived they would be ready to head to their new home.

It was five hundred in the morning and the crew crept through the ship, being careful in case they saw the captain. So far so good. Everyone headed to the bridge, with Lila coming with a bottle in her hand of some kind of bubbly that everyone swore by.  Soon the bridge was full of crew all excitedly waiting for six o’clock, when the captain would come to the bridge.

“He is on his way!” Andrew said with a smile. Lieutenant Commander Robinson, Stella, Tolis, Riata, Thracia, Draven, Chef Andrea, Erica, Lila, Joshua and their new counselor were all there, along with a lot of the crew.

Everyone became silent and they waited. When Captain Coleman walked onto the bridge they called out. “Surprise!”

“What is this!” Byron said with a half grin, looking around in surprise at all the officers and in the center was his chief engineer, Lila.

“Captain.” Lila said with a smile on her face. “We have good news for you and we wanted to share it with you as a crew.” She walked over and handed him a bottle. “I don’t know if it’s etiquette to christen the bow but as of this morning, Captain,” her eyes sparkled. “The ship is one hundred percent up to date and ready for service within the fleet.”

Byron smiled and the crew could see a heavy weight lift off of him. “I can’t say enough to each and every one of you how proud and honored I am to serve with you. All of you came together and made this happen. Thank you!” He held up the bottle. “I think we should drink this instead of breaking it.” The crew murmured in agreement.

“Chef Andrea also made cupcakes.” Andrew spoke up. “Let the celebration begin. “ At his words the crew started laughing and talking amongst themselves as the scene fades.