The names stared back at her as she examined each dossier.  Frontier Day would haunt Starfleet for years.  The reasons were legion in Park’s mind.  The loss of so many was chief among them.  The batch of cadets and ensigns she had been assigned to the Nova was a stark reminder.  She had recognized two of the names, and her doubts about Fontana’s choices being intentional were fading.  The door chime to her ready room chirped.  “Enter,” she said.  The door slid open, and Lieutenant Ada Marie Josephs stepped through.  Her smile was nervous, but her eyes were bright with joy.

“Commander Park.”

Park jumped from her chair and quickly embraced the young doctor, saying, “Ada, I’m so glad to see you.”  She pulled back, “Was that wrong to hug you? I’ve been CO for an hour.”

Doctor Josephs smiled warmly. “Old friends are exempt from the rules, I think.”  She sat in the chair offered and leaned forward while Park returned to her seat.  “Honestly, I was coming to see you at Montana Station.  I was looking to see what was out here for a new doc.  Your Fleet Captain Fontana found me when I docked.  Resourceful man.  And convincing.”

Park handed a PADD over, “He didn’t get to where he’s at by winning hearts and minds every day.  You’re the only ranked and qualified person for the gig, Ada.  It’s not the biggest sickbay in the universe, but it’s a place to start.”  With a conspiratorial smile, she added, “Plus, we finally get to work together.”

“He said as much.  He had a lot of nice things to say about you…so that’s a change.”  Ada stared at her friend curiously – the commander that stood before didn’t resemble the drinking buddy and rabble-rousing partner of old.  Ada reminded herself that she had grown in that time, too.

Park felt her face flush.  She explained her assignment to Captain Walton and the ensuing nine months of hard conversations.  “I’m not perfect,” she assured Ada, “…but for the first time in a long time, I want to do better every day.”

Josephs scanned through the PADD and signed the acceptance page. Then, she returned it, saying, “Who would have thought that Ada and Park would have eventually settled down and become functional Starfleet officers?”

The Nova CO took the compliment with a sly smirk, “Stranger things have happened.”

“My brother is very proud of me.”  Ensign Alexandre De La Fontaine sat across from his new CO, a broad smile on his face.  “He has told me he forgives me for conspiring with the enemy.”

Park chuckled.  Kondo was the chief tactical officer on the Dragonfly.  He was exceptionally good at his job.  Alexandre was 21 years old and had just graduated from Starfleet Academy.  She asked, “I noticed you’re not a boxer like him.”

He sat up a little more, his pride shining.  “I specialized in fencing.  A far more elegant instrument than the blunt force of a fist.”  His smile waned slightly, “My brother isn’t as cordial about that choice.”

“Families are rarely perfect, Mr. De La Fontaine.”  She scrolled through his limited dossier, “You started with a medical track your freshman year…what happened?”  She had learned from Walton to ask questions.

“I did not like working on people.”  His face flushed, “I nearly fainted during my first semester.  I changed my focus quickly after that.  Managing the ship and the departments is much more my style, Captain Park.”

She stood, extending her hand, “Then welcome to senior staff, Mr. De La Fontaine.”

His smile could have lit up several night skies.

“I, uh…there weren’t many of us to go around, ma’am.”  Just 20 years old, Cadet Junior Grade Catrin Williams stood awkwardly in front of Park, her eyes wide.

Park reminded herself what it felt like to be a cadet.  While not about to coddle the young woman, she didn’t need a resignation on day one of her command.  “It says here you outperformed nearly all of your classmates…and showed up some of the seniors too.”

“In the moment, it felt good to show what I could do…but…uh, it didn’t make me many friends.  If I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t have done it.”

Park observed that the young cadet wasn’t very good at hiding her nerves or feelings. She asked gently, “Cadet Williams, do you want to sit down?”  She watched as Williams eventually sat, letting out a long sigh.  Realizing how that might have looked, her posture went ramrod straight.  Park added, “If you hadn’t done what you did – you wouldn’t be sitting here, cadet, so you can cut that bullshit right now.” Catrin’s eyes widened, and the CO leaned on her desk, “I read you dossier.  You worked hard to get here and even harder to prove yourself.  They don’t pull Junior Grade Cadets to work in the rimward unless there’s a need, and that Junior Grade Cadet is really good at understanding alien languages and communication, primarily biological space phenomena, with a unique talent in Tholian.”  She watched Williams start and stop several times before she told her, “This is where you say, ‘Thank you, Captain Park,’ and we move on to the next topic.”

“Thank you, Captain Park.”

“You’re welcome.  Two other cadets came with you – both science cadets.  Lawrence Peterson, aka Larry, and George Gunderson, aka Georgie.” A quiet smile crossed the cadet’s lips at the mention of Gunderson.  The silence that held gave Park the desired result as Williams realized she’d used her outside voice on her face.  Park reminded her, “It’s a small ship, Cadet Williams. I’ll know about him and you before you do.  Better to tell me now..”

“I…we…it’s…something.”

“Have you two defined what…’it’ is?” she asked.

“Yes…well…no.  I mean…sometimes?”  Her face was entirely red now.

“I’m shifting him over to the science team with me.  Whatever you have with him, you can’t be his commanding officer, even as a cadet.  You know the regulations and processes for this kind of thing.”

She said dully, “I know.” It was Park’s turn for her eyes to widen and cast a severe look across the desk.  Park watched with satisfaction as the young woman realized what she had done.  “I’m sorry, captain.  That came out…,”

“As a tone that you will never use with me again.”  Williams nodded slowly.  Park moved on, “Lieutenant Prentice will have your duty roster and schedule within the hour.  Everything you do here matters, cadet.  It’s a small ship.” She regarded the woman for a moment longer, then stood, hand extended, “Welcome to senior staff, Cadet Williams.”  They shook hands, and Park dismissed her.  When the door to her ready room closed, she fell back into her chair.

This was going to be challenging, she realized—more than she had thought.