Genesis p. 4
Vaughn smiled and gave a quick nod.  “That’s right, sir.”  He gestured to the doors leading out of the shuttle bay.  “I’m to escort you to the bridge.”

Mansel waved a hand.  “Lead the way, Terry.”

As the two officers led walked to the bridge, Mansel noticed people who recognized him and was greeting them as if they’d known Vaughn and Mansel for years.  The formality of it all surprised him the most, though.  He knew that starships had to carry a professional appearance, but he didn’t think they had to go as overboard as these people were doing.  He made a mental note to himself to change up the strict formality of the ship, especially among his senior staff.  They wouldn’t work well together if they were all tensed up.

In the turbolift, Mansel turned to Commander Vaughn and asked, “How long until we have to launch for the cruise?”

Vaughn checked his chrono.  “We have few minutes still, sir.”  He favored Mansel with a grin.  “We’re ahead of schedule.”

Mansel nodded.  “Good,” he said, “let’s hope it stays that way.”  He focused his attention on the doors as the turbolift came to a stop.  They opened to reveal the bridge of the Explorer.

“Captain on the bridge,” called a female from near the Science station.  All those present on the bridge came to attention and waited for their captain to address them.

Mansel wasn’t sure what to do.  Casting Vaughn a worried glance behind him, he stepped onto the bridge of the Explorer for the first time.  Still not sure what to do, he glanced out the viewport at the stars that lay ahead of them. Mansel was itching to get started, but first he had to figure out what to say next.
“At ease,” he said, hoping that it was the right command.  Apparently, it was.  Those on the bridge relaxed and went back to their work.  Some were patching up consoles, some were still examining the guts of other consoles and stations, and some were at the consoles, studying the designs on the desktops.  It was easy for Mansel to distinguish the techies from his bridge crew.

The he spotted the red chair.

It was a red chair, seated in the exact middle of the bridge.  This chair stuck out due to its location and the fact that it was a different color than all the other chairs, which were gray.  To the left of the chair was the spot reserved for any distinguished guests that might be visiting or being escorted by the Explorer.  To the right of the chair was Commander Vaughn’s chair. Taking a few more seconds to drool over it, Mansel forced himself to look away and continued to scope out the rest of the bridge.  Commander Vaughn had started a conversation with a man at the helm.  Another man, not too far from them, was busy studying the controls of his console.  The woman who had called the bridge to attention was staring intently at him.  Mansel decided that he did not like her stare, at all.

Continuing his survey of the bridge, Mansel noticed an extra door on the bridge, not a door leading to a turbolift, but to somewhere else.  He decided to see where this door took him.

As he passed through the open door, he could immediately tell that it was a study room.  One wall was covered by a bookshelf, and the bookshelf itself was full of books, most likely on technical manners and previous captain’s misadventures, he assumed.  The desk was directly in front of him.  At the moment, it was bare, devoid of paperwork and pictures.  A lamp at the corner of the desk sat in darkness.

Another long table filled the other end of the room.  Mansel counted ten chairs at the table, with two more in the corner.  A projector screen hung on the wall.  Mansel assumed this to double as both his conference room and his study room.  Whoever had designed the bridge, Mansel thought, had done a good job.  He was, however, slightly disappointed in the lack of a bathroom.

Walking back out onto the main bridge itself, Mansel noticed the techies were still hard at work on finishing up the last parts of the bridge.  The scene was quiet, but still filled with the intensity of nine hundred eighty-two young eager cadets that were ready to see what this new ship was capable of.  Mansel noticed that Vaughn was approaching him.  He turned his attention to whatever his first officer had to say.

“We’re in good shape,” said Vaughn, beaming joyfully, “one or two more things and we’ll be ready to go.”

“Good,” said Mansel.  “I’m ready to see what this thing can do.”

Vaughn nodded.  “So am I.”  He paused as he looked around at bridge.  “While they’re wrapping things up, perhaps you’d like to meet your bridge crew…”

Mansel mentally kicked himself for overlooking that.  “Good idea,” he said, embarrassed.  “I’d like the Chief Engineer to be present as well.”

“Right,” said Vaughn.  He whistled to get everyone’s attention.  “Attention, all bridge crew, please report to the conference room to meet with Captain Mansel.”  While Commander Vaughn rallied up the bridge crew and herded them into the conference room, Mansel approached his command chair.  He lifted a panel on the right armrest and pressed a button.  “Engineering,” he said.

“Fleury, here,” came a voice.  Mansel recognized the name; Lieutenant Commander Fleury, Chief Engineer.

“Fleury,” said Mansel, “this is Captain Mansel.  How are things going down there?”

“Not too shabby,” came the reply.  “I’ve pretty much got things under control down here.  How’s the bridge looking?”