Front and Center - Part 2

They found Zedd in the captain's mess, a half finished mug of raktajino on the table and something pulled up on his PADD that he set face down when they both came through the door together. He looked at them with the expression of someone who had been expecting to spend the evening alone and had just reassessed that expectation.

"This looks like a conversation," he said.

"It is," Cormus said. He did not preamble it or soften it. "I have been running helm simulations for three days. Debris fields, gravitational variance, contested approaches. I can get us through most of it but most is not good enough and we both know Lindsy is better suited for that seat than I am. Eight years of deep range navigation versus support craft experience. It is not a close call." He crossed his arms loosely. "I want to be in the shuttlebay and the runabout where I am actually exceptional. Lindsy should be at the helm."

Zedd looked at him for a long moment without saying anything and Cormus held it without filling the silence which was not always his strong suit but he managed it.

"You ran simulations for three days before you said anything," Zedd said finally.

"I wanted to be sure," Cormus said. "Didn't want to come in here with a feeling. Wanted to come in with a result."

"Two out of six on the debris field scenario," Lindsy added quietly. "He told me. He could have kept flying and hoped nobody noticed the difference."

Zedd leaned back in his chair and looked at Cormus with the expression he used when someone had confirmed something he already suspected about them. "That kind of honesty is harder than it looks," he said. "Especially when you are good at most things and not used to hitting a ceiling." He paused. "I appreciate it. The ship appreciates it even if she can't say so."

Cormus took that in without deflecting it which was also not always his strong suit. "Just doing what makes sense," he said.

"That is exactly what I need from everyone on this ship," Zedd said. "People who do what makes sense even when it costs them something." He looked at Lindsy. "You good with it?"

"Yes," she said simply.

"Then it is settled." He picked up his raktajino. "First thing tomorrow get me a full assessment of shuttlebay readiness. I want to know where we stand on the Type 11s and the runabout before we move out of orbit."

"Done," Cormus said.

"And Cormus." Zedd looked at him directly. "The shuttlebay is not a consolation prize. When things go sideways out there and they will, the person flying our people in and out of situations that have stopped being safe is the most important person on this ship. That is you. I need you sharp and focused on that and nothing else."

Cormus looked at him for a moment and something in the easy manner settled into something steadier. "Understood," he said, and meant it.

He headed for the door and Zedd looked at Lindsy. "Take the helm for a few hours tomorrow morning. Get a feel for her at full impulse in open space. I want to know how she handles before we need her to handle something."

Lindsy nodded. "I will."

She turned to follow Cormus out and Zedd watched them both go and sat in the captain's mess for a moment after the door closed with the quiet satisfaction of a captain whose crew had just made his ship better without being asked to. He picked up his raktajino and went back to his PADD and the evening settled back into its rhythm and outside the viewport New Ferenginar kept turning slowly below.