Lindsy had woken-up before the ship’s morning cycle began. She lay in the dark of Zedd’s quarters for a couple of minutes and listened to the ship breathing and thought of nothing in particular; an oddity for Lindsy. In general, Lindsy would wake up thinking about something. That morning she just lay there in the warmth of the room surrounded by un-viewable star charts and the viewport displaying the first shift in New Ferenginar’s orbital light. For a little bit longer than usual she simply allowed herself to be there before getting up.

After finding her clothes and bare feet, she headed back to her own quarters on Deck 3 during a time when the ship was still quiet. It wasn’t because she was uncomfortable with where she had slept but because she had things she needed to take care of and because she was a type of person who shows up to work in her own clothes and has all her preparations completed and she was not going to become that less of a person because of what the previous evening had been.

At 0730, she was at the helm running the ship’s morning diagnostic routine and the ship was beginning to come alive. She had begun entering a preliminary set of route calculations for the Gatrao transit so that they would be available prior to moving out of orbit. At 0755 she received a message on her PADD from Zedd that stated simply *Ready room. 0800.* She transferred control of the helm to the secondary station monitor and left.

The Ready Room was located near the Bridge. It was small and efficient (like all rooms designed for working, not impressing). When she entered, Zedd was seated behind his desk sipping raktajino and had a certain focus in his eyes. The easy version of his face he had displayed earlier that evening returned, then quickly shifted to its standard, professional version.

Lindsy sat down opposite Zedd and placed her PADD on the desk. She waited.

“I’d like to discuss your position on this vessel,” he said.

This was not exactly what she had anticipated. “Okay.”

“You’re my helmsman/astrometry officer. Both of these roles are legitimate and none of them are changing.” He rotated his mug in his hand. “Additionally, I’d like you to assume another role…Command Liaison.” He slid a PADD across the table toward her.

She picked it up and read over the description for the new role. A junior command function. Support CO/XO in matters relating to commanding. Follow-up communication with client aides, brokers, technicians, etc. Technical clarification regarding routes, cargo, tokens and proposed terms. Recording questions asked prior to committing to anything. She reviewed it once again before placing it back onto the desk.

“Your intention is to have someone between you and the initial meeting with a broker's aide who understands technical aspects of the offer and can verify if it is credible prior to agreeing to anything,” she said.

“Yes,” he replied. “Someone who can speak with a broker's representative and discern the difference between what they say they're offering and what they actually mean. Someone who can determine if a route exists or appears to exist.” He looked at her. “You interpret navigational information much as others interpret plain language. Additionally, you're extremely good at reading people as quickly as possible, as well as identifying when numbers are presented in order to convey a specific story. These skills combined are what I require for this role.”

She pondered for a short period of time. Which was approximately how long it really took her to ponder. “I can do that. I just want to be clear about what is expected of me within this role.” “You'll be responsible for clarifying information, recording information, providing answers and providing documentation. However, you will NOT negotiate final terms nor commit the vessel to any agreement.”

“That is the scope of the role,” he agreed. “Precisely.”

“Then yes,” she replied.

He nodded. “One additional item.” He retrieved something on his console and positioned it toward her. “The quarters adjacent to Tiraa's on Deck 2. Those are your quarters if you desire them.”

She examined the display depicting the layout of Deck 2 quarters. Command adjacent quarters, significantly more private than her current quarters on Deck 3 with a roommate-to-be arriving sometime. She considered Deck 3 and her portion of the shared quarters and her soon-to-arrive roommate and how Deck 2 felt different from the remainder of the vessel in the small ways that closeness to the bridge, ready room, and Captain's Quarters created differences.

“This is a considerable improvement,” she noted.

“The role warrants it,” he said. “In addition to that, logically-speaking, I need my Command Liaison closer to the bridge than two levels below.”

They looked at one another and neither mentioned the other logical reason both understood existed but were unwilling to mention at 8 AM on a Tuesday in a ready room.

“I will transfer my belongings today,” she stated.

“Excellent.” He lifted his raktajino cup. “Gatrao Transit...where are we?”

She opened her PADD containing her Gatrao Transit Route Calculations and turned it toward him. The two spent the next twenty minutes in a clean, professional environment of two professionals doing their job well together. As she exited the ready room she realized this was yet another confirmation of what last night had shown – that the Professional Version of them was intact after being exposed to the Personal Version and that they would be able to coexist without either version impeding upon the other.

This had not been guaranteed going into this situation.

Now it was.

As she departed back for the Helm, Zedd followed her outside the ready room door as he sometimes did when conversations were finished at the desk but were not intended to finish at the desk. Stopping at the door with his arms crossed he looked at her in the corridor with an ease in his expression that existed beneath his Captain's expression.

“Lindsy,” he said.

She looked at him.

“Good morning,” he said, which covered far more territory than the usual two words did and both understood that fact.

“Good Morning” she replied; and went back to the Helm, brought up her Gatrao route calculations and started working. Thinking she had successfully navigated a great deal in her career thus far; however, very few of those had been initiated better than this one.