Fleet Captain Diego Herrera, "Making the Change" (nt)

[Diego Herrera]

((USS Vigilant-A, Deck 1: Briefing Room))

::The news of mass reassignment wasn't met with ecstatic faces, as Diego expected. The crew had bonded and become a family over the last year and a half, to the extent where new members had just been folded in without a lot of effort. Udas, Pavlova, Adair-Walker and Avery were examples of that. As people began to leave the briefing room for the last time, Diego was surprised to see that Irina was the last one remaining behind.::

Pavlova: Thank you for…

::She stalled, and it looked like she was struggling to think of a way to express herself. A single tear slid down her cheek.::

Pavlova: Just thank you. 

::She was already almost out the door as he replied. Diego hated goodbyes, and he also didn't like seeing people squirm. As for what Irina was thanking him for, well... he couldn't be completely sure, but he hoped it had something to do with the fact that he'd treated her like any other member of the crew instead of forcing her to retrain right from the beginning. In truth, the fact that she'd been so willing to contribute had really seen her meet him half way and, underneath it all, he'd just wanted to see her acclimate and do well.::

::That had always been Diego's deal. Irrespective of rank or position, he was just Diego Herrera. He'd had that conversation with Dueld taJoot a while back and he felt like it still held true that day. His reply to her wasn't captainsy or counsellory, it was genuine.::

Herrera: Sure. No big deal.

::And he hoped that she would find it easy to settle into her next posting. Maybe the day would never come when she was completely comfortable with life in the 24th Century, but the Embassy should provide her with enough of a chance to forget about technological advancements and Starfleet on the days she wanted to do that; Diego knew from having been there that it was easy to escape computers and the rigours of normal duty. He was sure that anyone who was placed there would be happy.::

::When the briefing room was empty, he collected the rosewood box to take for recycling, then headed to his ready room to start to gather his things. His quarters would be next. It wouldn't take him a long time to pack; he hoped that by the time he arrived at DS6, he'd be ready to unpack and make the change of command without too much of a song and dance.::

::It was just a few hours later that the Fleet Captain stood at the docking port on the Vigilant, ready to step out onto the station and his new home. Captain Hallam was getting one hell of a fine ship... and Diego was sure that Hallam would tell him that he was getting one hell of a fine station. This represented the latest in new starts; he'd have to think of things more on a region-wide scale now on a more permanent basis and he'd have to co-ordinate between at least two ships. He had a feeling it would mean he'd have a lot more contact with the captain of one of them...::

END

Fleet Captain Diego Herrera

Commanding Officer

USS Vigilant

NCC-75515-A

Deputy Commandant: UFOP: SB118 Academy

UFOP: Executive Council