And Her Crew

"Captain on Deck!" a deckhand shouted out in the massive 10-story shuttle bay. Anzyl disembarked from the rear of the runabout, awestruck by the sheer size of the vessel. The USS Alliant hovered about 10 meters above him.

Regaining his senses and acknowledging his responsibility, Anzyl nodded to the deckhands. "At ease," he said, addressing the row of officers standing at attention. "I'm off duty, everyone. You can calm down. This place looks like it's still being built, so we all have lots of work to do. Let's get to it!" Carrying his luggage bags and personal belongings, he moved forward.

Lusaalli ran up next to him. "Here, sir, let me," she said, taking his bags. "The Tzenkethi Coalition installed their Site-to-Site transporter all over the ship. We really don't need to carry anything here. I'll have these beamed to your quarters right away."

"Oh, okay…" Anzyl replied, still taking in everything.

Lusaalli set his bags on a small, round, white-lit pad and stated, "Captain's Quarters." His bags flashed white and were gone. Turning to the captain, she said, "Well, sir, it was nice to meet you and have some one-on-one time with you. I have to report to my CO, so I'll see you around!" The young woman cheerfully nodded her head.

"Nice to meet you too, Ensign," Anzyl nodded. "I need to make the rounds and meet all of the Commanding Officers in person."

She nodded, then stood on the pad. "Operations," and in a flash of white, she was gone.

Anzyl took a moment to look at the crew busy at work in the shuttle bay. Humans, Romulans, Klingons, Andorians, Tzenkethi, Breen, Vulcans, Orion, Gorn, Tellarite—the list of races on his ship almost seemed endless. The Federation was known for its wide racial diversity, but this was on a whole new level. Races and factions from all over the galaxy were here on this vessel, and the majority of this crew was not Federation, and most were not in any uniform.

Anzyl stood on the pad and said, "Bridge."

---

A blink and a flash of white later, Anzyl stepped off the pad, and the door opened. The call cried out, "Captain on the bridge!" from a young Klingon woman. Anzyl stepped out onto the bridge of the Nexus.

It was a sprawling, wide room with consoles, computer screens beeping and displaying all manner of information about the ship and its statuses. Seats faced forward with computer consoles strategically spaced apart, and in the center were three seats. The very center was the captain's chair, to his right, the first officer's, and to the left, well, Anzyl wasn't sure yet. All seats faced a massive three-meter by five-meter display screen, showing the outside space dock.

Rising from the first officer's chair, a burly Human stood up tall and adjusted his uniform. He was about 2 meters (6'5") tall, with broad shoulders, bald with a dark goatee. His black and red Starfleet uniform was accented with the three gold pips on his collar, indicating he was a Commander, the first officer and second in command on the ship.

"Neil!" Anzyl spoke in surprise. "You finished your week on the Cerritos already? I hope Commander Ransom showed you a thing or two on being a First officer." He walked over to shake his hand, but Neil's face was blank and emotionless. "Oh come on, he's not THAT bad!"

"Captain, can we talk," he sternly spoke. "In private?"

"Fine, in my ready room." Anzyl motioned to the left, and they both left the bridge into Anzyl's private office.

---

They entered a newly furnished but undecorated office. A sleek glass desk with only two chairs in the room. "Okay, Mr. O'Reilly, what's on your mind?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" He said in a flat, emotionless face once the door closed.

"You're my first officer now, Neil. Without the crew around, you always have permission to speak freely to me."

"Why me, sir?!" Neil burst out in angry confusion.

"Why me for your first officer?" He blurted out, pacing the room. "On the Hemmer, you and Commander Alia were in total sync! But you and I, sir?!" He shook his head and blustered, "We butt heads more times than Klingon targs! Why promote me to Commander, make me your first officer, and then send me off to the Cerritos for First Officer training. Why not keep Alia?!"

"I can understand your concern and the very sudden change of pace and life. You were a very fine Chief Tactical Officer, and the promotion from Lt. to Commander was heading your way already."

"But why YOUR first officer?"

"Because I need YOU, Neil," Anzyl shouted back, "Not just another first officer. I need someone who will stand up to me and butt heads with me!" Anzyl sat in his desk "True, Alia and I were in sync, but because she was freaking Telepathic! She knew what I wanted before I had to say anything." He continued, "And the Hemmer was a Starfleet ship! With Starfleet-trained personnel with Starfleet guidelines. Here?" He tapped the desk surface. "I counted maybe 4 Starfleet uniforms so far. This ship is a melting pot of cultures, ideas, and how to do things. I need someone..." He rattled on, "Opposite of me. Frankly." He shrugged, "I need someone I know I can trust, I know will get the job done, will not be afraid to let me know if I am being dumb and not afraid to voice his concerns. In short, I need YOU, Neil." Anzyl calmed down. "To be Yin to my Yang, the black to my white, and winter to my summer. If that makes sense." He smirked slightly.

Neil sat down in the chair opposite of his captain and let out a hefty sigh. "Yeah... it does, sir." Then smiled and looked at him. "Thanks for the opportunity."

Anzyl nodded in approval, then remembering something perked back up, "Oh, Mr. O'Reilly, what do you want me to call you? I'll leave the decision up to you." Anzyl smiled at the massive man.

"What?" He replied, confused. 

Anzyl continued, "Well, the captain and first officer have an interesting relationship. You want me to call you 'Number 1,' First officer, F.O., Neill, Mr. O'Reilly, Mr. Zazzle-Squishypants? What?"

Neil looked down, shaking his head. He forgot about Anzyl's sense of humor that irked him so. "Number 1 is fine. I don't think we will have the same formalities as before. This ship, and … this crew is... something else. You get a chance to meet everyone?"

Anzyl laughed. "With a crew of 5000, are you kidding me?" He got up from his chair. "I've been on board for not even 10 minutes."

Neil smiled and motioned towards the door. "Well, sir, how about a tour?"