“Captain’s personal log, stardate 79758.78

After five weeks as a ‘guest’, and I use that term loosely, of the counselling department, and one extremely frustrating week dealing with the various forms and interviews required to retake command, I am finally back aboard the Canterbury.”

Zach leaned back in the comfortable chair in the office section of his quarters and ran a hand through his hair.

“I have been assigned a new XO… guy called Raaze. He’s older than I expected and at first, I must admit, I found the choice a little odd. Not his age, a lot of command level officers came out of retirement after Frontier day… but the guy is as sharp as a tack. We chatted on the way back over to the ship, so I could bring him up to speed with everything that’s been going on with the ship recently. Well, up to six weeks ago, anyway. But, seriously—“

He shook his head, turning it to look out of the window. His view was the side of Starbase 86 rather than the stars.

“Why is this guy not in command of his own ship? I mean, having an experienced executive is definitely a gift horse, but… yeah, I don’t get what’s in it for him. And he wasn’t going to tell me, that was for sure. I thought I was good at charming information out of people, but… yeah, I suspect this one will be a tough nut to crack. Which is why I’ve invited him for a drink tonight. Speaking of which, I need to get ready. Computer, end recording.”

Pushing himself up from the chair, Zach paused for a second to check his reflection in the mirror on the wall, smoothing his hair back. He wasn’t bothered about his hair, it always fell perfectly, his gaze seeking out the area around his eye… checking for where he knew the scars were. He closed his eye and checked again.

Still there.

Still small.

Good.

Satisfied, he headed for the door. The fewer visible signs of… what had happened, the better. The quicker, hopefully, the crew would forget that he’d gone off at the deep end and—

He cut the thought off as he swept out of the door and headed down the corridor toward the lounge. Crew passed by him, nodding and he nodded back, greeting a few by name. There seemed to have been a few crew transfers because there were faces he didn’t recognise.

“Computer, have I received a reply from Lieutenant Mason yet?” He asked, standing aside as a gaggle of ensigns rushed past. He had no idea why they always seemed to run in groups like that. He couldn’t remember doing that when he was an ensign.

“Negative, Captain. No message received from Lieutenant Mason.”

Disappointment filled him. He had sent his sickbay room partner a message as soon as he knew he was coming back to the ship. Well, after he’d checked she was actually still on the crew. After the way he’d behaved, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d applied for a transfer.

So he’d apologised. Profusely. And she’d left him on read.

The doors to the turbolift swept open in front of him and he stepped in. “Lounge, upper level,” he ordered, smiling and standing aside as a lieutenant in teal hurried in after him, offering a polite nod as he made his request to the lift.

Zach stood at the back of the lift, looking blankly at the door as they headed down a few levels. Well, he didn’t know she’d left him on read. He could probably find out through the system if she’d opened the message, but… did he really want to know that?

“Your stop, captain?”

“What?” Zach blinked and realised the lieutenant had spoken to him. And the lift door was open, revealing the upper level of the lounge. “Oh, sorry, my bad. I was miles away.”

“No problem, sir. Enjoy your evening.”

“Thank you.”

Zach stepped out of the lift, looking around for the distinctive tall figure of Raaze. As expected at this time of day, the lounge was packed with off duty crew, eating and socialising. He stepped back, chuckling, as two kids ran by him. The Canterbury ran with families onboard, something he liked about being on a larger vessel. People didn’t have to be split up from their loved ones.

He didn’t have to look far… or rather, he heard the XO before he saw him. Loud laughter from the corner of the lounge caught his attention and he turned to see the tall XO sat at a table like he was holding court, with not only the ship’s chief engineering officer, but also Lieutenant Mason, in the seats around him. Both women were grinning broadly and it looked like they’d already made inroads on the bar’s supply with the amount of glasses on the table.

“Shit, I didn’t know Bennett could actually smile.” A deep voice drawled next to him. “What sourcery is this?”

Zach grinned and turned. “Hey flyboy, glad to see you didn’t crash my ship while I was gone.”

Darion Thayer, the Canterbury’s chief helm officer, grinned, his lips quirked at the corners like normal. “Yeah, yeah… heard you didn’t do too badly at that yourself, cyclops.”

Zach raised an eyebrow.

Darion’s grin got broader as he looped an arm over Zach’s shoulders. “Too soon?”

“Yeah. Too soon.”

“Good. Thought it was.” Darion looked across the room. “Now, let’s talk about something far more important than your ocular impediments. Namely, how we are going to get me into that group and big me up so Bennett will smile at me. I’ve never seen her smile, she normally looks like she wants to murder someone.”

Zach mock-punched him in the ribs. “No, she just looks at you like that. She’s actually really nice when you get to know her.”

Scary, but nice.

Darion slid a quizzical look at him. “How do you know that? Did you— Bloody hell, man! You knew I was interested!”

“Yeah, that’s not exactly helpful now, is it?” Zach threw back. “If it’s female and has a pulse, you’re interested. But no, I haven’t. Purely professional, I promise.”

Darion nodded, still with narrowed eyes, but Zach knew he wasn’t seriously bothered. They went back a long way. “Okay, ready to make me look good?”

Zach shook his head. “Dude, you are seriously suicidal. But com’on then, it’s your funeral.”