A gathering had been called of all the department heads aboard the USS Century, with the notable exception of the vessel’s commanding officer. Sitting where the Captain normally would was Commander Peters, and most of the senior staff had elected to retain their normal seating arrangement despite the change in who was leading the meeting.

“I wanted to put this out to you as quickly as I could, that’s why I called you all here,” Abigail explained as she looked around the room, “The Captain received orders from on high outlining our dispatch to the Thomar Expanse to begin deep space exploration missions in that region of space. We’ve been given a week to bring aboard supplies and perform any crew rotation activities that we can during that time. I believe there are three departments that have potential transfers…” Peters picked up the PaDD sitting in front of her.

“I’ve got four in my department looking to move up in the world,” Lieutenant Commander Brak said from his seat in his usual brusque tone.

Lieutenant Khar grunted at the Tellarite’s statement before adding, “I have two who are due a transfer.”

“Our department is due to rotate one physician and two of our nurses,” Lieutenant Commander Odaim spoke up, “However I’ve already received word from the personnel who were looking to replace them that they are in the area of Starbase 23 and could be in the area as soon as tomorrow.”

“That’s good news at least,” Abby said, making a note of it on her PaDD before turning to Lieutenant Commander Sorreth, “How quickly could we stock provisions and equipment to be ready for at least a year’s worth of deep space exploration… maybe two at the most?”

The Vulcan lifted his head up slightly as he ran the numbers in his head, “I believe with the station’s support, it could be accomplished in five days, six if there are any delays in shipments of materials that cannot be sent via transporters.”

“If we shoot for a seven day departure window, that should give us more than enough time, even with any snags along the way. Also, because we will be in transit continuously until we reach at least Deep Space 47, it might be a good idea to authorize some liberty for your departments so that those aboard the ship who might have families in the nearby area can spend a bit of time with them before we begin this potentially long duration absence from Federation space,” Cmdr. Peters said.

“It certainly would boost morale to get even a day to see loved ones if they can swing it,” Dr. Odaim said with a smile and a nod.

“Will we be able to make any special requisitions for equipment we haven’t brought aboard yet in the science labs?” Lieutenant James asked from the far end of the table.

“Absolutely,” Abby nodded, “Since we’re going to be leaning fairly heavily on your department during our expedition, you’ll need to ensure that anything you anticipate might make our mission successful is something worth asking for. Be mindful that our departure isn’t all that flexible given how far we have to travel. If there is something you can’t get here, it might be wise to send a message ahead of us to Deep Space 47 and see if they can’t have it waiting for us when we make it through the Badlands.”

“I’ll start getting requests together from my team and have them up to Commander Sorreth by tomorrow morning,” Brian responded.

“I’ll gather together a list of parts we can’t replicate on our own, would like to have at least one or two spares going into uncharted territory. Never know when something might jump out at us,” Brak commented.

“A logical, if pessimistic motivation,” Sorreth remarked dryly.

The Tellarite grunted, “Only pessimistic if you’ve never been out in deep space and had strange things jump out at you and forces you to limp back home because you forgot to bring aboard one of the finicky parts of your nacelles or some such.”

Lt. Khar nodded at the comment, “He is right. It is better to assume that we will be entering potentially hostile territory at any given moment rather than assume that we will be as safe as we are inside Federation territory.”

“With that in mind,” Cmdr. Peters cut in before the argument could balloon any further, “I need each of your departments to make the preparations they need to in order to ensure that our mission is successful across the board. I would rather have things we don’t need than to need things we don’t have once we’re out beyond the reaches of explored space. Pessimism is preferred over complacency.” After saying that, Abby gave each member of the senior staff a measured look to ensure they each understood what she was trying to get across. Once she was satisfied that everyone had gotten the gist, she carried on with her brief.

“While we are on the subject of not getting complacent, we’re rapidly approaching the third quarter evaluations cycle. That means your assistants and section chiefs are due their appraisals. Make sure that while we’re in transit, these get accomplished. We’ll also hold at least one round of promotion boards during the trip, since we’ll have ample time to conduct them without interruptions. Be thinking about who you have that might be eligible you want to put forward. I’d ideally like to have packages for the Captain to review by the halfway point of our journey. Anyone have any objections to that?” Peters again swept her eyes around the gathered faces. Again, no one seemed to take issue with her plans.

“Alright, thank you everyone,” Peters said, prompting the gathered officers to start heading toward the door leading back to the bridge. “Oh, and Mister Sorreth, I’d like to see a requisition draft from you by eleven hundred tomorrow morning,” Peters said as a parting shot to the Operations officer, who nodded before disappearing out of the Observation Lounge.