"First Mission"

As the brief scramble of shift change went on for a few seconds, her Vulcan Chief Flight Officer taking the place of a blonde she assumed to be the assistant, Lea was trying to put names to faces using what little she’d managed to learn of the crew so far.

Lektar at Ops. T’lol taking the conn. Nakhimova coming off duty. Achaea at the Engineering station? It would take time to know for sure.

Gently, she then cocked one eyebrow higher than the other as she observed Commander Lektar’s reaction to the crewman, who’d just committed the faux pas of getting the woman’s rank and preferred name wrong. A small curl soon appeared at the corner of her lips as she sensed the relative annoyance displayed by the Chief of Operations, a recollection of the brief perusal of her personnel file that Lea had managed to sneak in; indeed, she was living up to her reputation already. Lea knew she’d have to keep an eye on that and, if necessary, clamp down, but as it was, the firm correction was far from overboard compared with what she might have permitted.

An instant later, her focus shifted to a bearded man who stood and called the bridge to attention in recognition of a Commanding Officer’s arrival on deck. Word seemed to travel fast, Lea surmised, as she realized the proverbial cat was out of the bag.

“That’s quite all right, Commander. At ease.” She afforded him an appreciative nod.Yet as the portside-aft doors slid open once more, Lea heard sure-footed steps approaching her with a steadfastness quite heavily tinged with authority. “Commander Griffith, thank you!” She accepted the offered hand politely, and though she sensed a masculine, if also pensive, firmness to his grip, she reciprocated a bit more gently, acknowledging his strength without feeling the need to match it. “Indeed, the Admiral has informed me of our situation, and our orders. Please…” The soft lilt of her accent lingered in her voice as she released his hand and motioned for him to take his station at the XO’s position.

“Commander Lektar, if you would please open a ship-wide channel, that I might address the crew regarding Captain sh’Orthamu, and our orders.” Her eyelids narrowed ever so slightly, as though to further gauge the Chief’s reaction. - (OOC Notes: Specifically mentioned @T'lol, @Shirik Lektar, @raikon achaea @Greggory Griffith.)

Greggory shook the captain’s hand, the gentle but confident grip reassuring. At her gesture, he walked over to his chair, though he didn’t actually sit, yet. Looking around the bridge crew, he couldn’t help a small smile when he saw Iryna waiting by the turbolift, curiosity warring with her obvious fatigue.

As he listened to Captain Chevalier’s address, he nodded along at the information he already knew, meeting the captain’s eye with a firmer nod. “Orders received, Captain. I’ll see to it.” He waited until she had left the bridge, then turned to Shirik. “Commander Lektar, do one last check with the quartermaster, make sure all the supplies and personnel we’re expecting have been transported up from planetside. Once that’s complete, we’ll set out. Commander Achaea, I believe you already said Engineering is ready for whatever we ask of the engines?”

After getting helm’s report, he nodded.  “Good to hear.  Take us into a high orbit in preparation for departure until Ops gives the all-clear, then engage at Warp 7. Lieutenant Rowan, work with astrometrics to give us likely locations the Kepler may have drifted to, or any marginally hospitable planets between their last reported location and the Bandari system where they may have sought shelter. I want your report by the time we arrive," he finished, turning from the Science station to finally take his seat.

Seated comfortably at what was now her desk, Lea had already logged into the computer terminal with her credentials, and as the databases updated, she sipped at a tiny cup of espresso.

“Computer, shipboard time, please?” she inquired.

“The shipboard time is oh-eight-twenty-two,” the computer answered.

With a succinct nod, she took another sip to finish the last of her much-needed caffeine boost, and after setting the cup back onto its saucer, she snatched the accompanying bit of chocolate biscotti and popped it into her mouth to munch on as she scrolled through the list of files that had so far been transferred. She worked quickly, highlighting those the Admiralty had forwarded with regard to their mission, and began sending them out to their respective department heads as additional briefing material. Simultaneously, she began making requests for status updates from each of them, wanting to ensure their departments were ready for whatever lay ahead.

When she resumed scrolling through the other information that had been forwarded, one file in particular — marked Captain’s Eyes Only and sent by Admiral Hargrove at Starfleet Intelligence — elicited a sigh from her.

She’d read it once already, recalling the concerns voiced regarding a particular member of her new senior staff, but truth be told, Lea wasn’t sure how much stock she could put in everything it warned of. Lea had dealt with Starfleet Intelligence at times during her career, especially during the Dominion War, and knew well how oversensitive and suspicious they could sometimes prove to be. Sure, there had been times when that suspicion was warranted, but she couldn’t help but wonder if this was truly one of those times. In a way, the brief from the Admiral read as though it had been tinged with a heavy sense of xenophobia, and that troubled her immensely.

Regardless, she knew she would have to make her own assessments, and swore to herself that she would not let her sense of impartiality be tainted by what she’d read, no matter how potentially distressing some of it appeared to be.

The captain of a starship had to be fair in her judgments. - (OOC Notes: No characters specifically mentioned, though if you write a Departmental Chief, feel free to allude to the flurry of messages coming in to you from Lea if you'd like.)