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THE FIRST time Captain Elizabeth Weir saw the starship Atlantis she was struck by the sleekness of its lines. It felt right to her that a ship of that size and power should also be beautiful as well. Why shouldn't starships be a demonstration of art as well as strength?549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10Skk1m6SQ
The third time Captain Elizabeth Weir saw the starship Atlantis, she saw it from a different angle and she realized the designer's private joke. A quiet, almost unnoticeable smile played across her otherwise stony visage. Starships were always "she"---but this one was more feminine than most. For some reason, Weir liked the thought. Maybe later she would think about it some more and wonder why. Since the death of Charlie, she hadn't let herself think too much about relationships.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YEs03MrTK
The seventh time Captain Elizabeth Weir saw the Atlantis she was on her way to take command of it.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTvc18OTyD
The tradition was that the new captain of a vessel always arrived by shuttlecraft so that she could be piped aboard. This tradition was nearly a hundred years old, and dated back to the time when the legendary Admiral Thomas T. Sawyer took command of the old Esmeralda. (Not many people remembered that he had only boarded by shuttle because of a major transporter malfunction at the time.)549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucykJg49po
Weir wasn't a superstitious woman, but, even though this was the Atlantis, it just wouldn't be appropriate to ignore a tradition started by Starfleet's greatest hero.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNXCxsX4xd
The first time that Elizabeth Weir walked the corridors of the new Atlantis she was struck by the newness of everything. It was as if this ship were somehow not yet alive, not yet real. That feeling would vanish quickly, he knew, but just the same he found it slightly unsettling.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjH9r0Va0T
She had been piped aboard by the android....549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWpCUtGDKk
"Jay One, I presume," she had said. As if there was any doubt. The android had unnaturally white skin and eyes so blue they seemed to be lit from within. Its---his---hair was slicked straight back in an efficient but somewhat unattractive style.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QPBxsVT9A
The android acknowledged its name with a nod and saluted.Weir hesitated, then returned the salute. Formal salutes were one of those traditions that Starfleet was ambiguous about. Were they appropriate for a non-military space fleet? Were they an homage to the heritage of centuries of space travel and sea exploration before that? She appreciated the formal ritual, but she despised something of what was implied by it.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9iTXJPPSL
This moment---the first moment aboard a ship---was always uncomfortable. Weir glanced around at the honor guard standing stiffly and decided deliberately to break the stiffness. She held out her hand to Jay One. "I've been looking forward to meeting you. I've been studying your record. It's extraordinary."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBb0cYmdM2
"Thank you, ma'am."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dwQRUUQHO
Weir noticed that the android's hand was oddly cool, too cool to be real. A strange sensation, Weir mussed. Later, she would have to ask Jay One about its---his---background.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vJdM8cWTX
"The bridge is this way, ma'am."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOmVvU3mwW
"Thank you. May I ask you something, Commander?"549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ374HZgAonJ
"Ma'am?"549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoa69DE3uwy
"Your name? Jay One."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2VfvqliSg
"I am a Bundian android, ma'am. All of the androids from my planet have been issued numbered sets. There are many 'Alices' and 'Oscars' but I am the only 'Jay.' I am what you would call the 'central coordinator.' I contain the sum total of all the knowledge of the Bundian androids-----and more. That is why I am 'Jay One.'" Jay One's pleasant smile was disconcerting.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1usLfMpzl
Weir nodded. It made sense.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wEdfVEpFe
The first time Captain Elizabeth Weir stepped onto the bridge of the starship Atlantis, she was struck by how bare it looked. The contrast with the old USS Javelin was startling.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHKiPGy79w
There were only three officers on the bridge. It felt undermanned. They stood up to face the captain as she entered. Weir recognized Wrrf, the Psychlo. It would have been impossible not to recognize him. The others she would meet in due time.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BmJvWJduF
She stepped down off the horseshoe at the rear of the bridge and crossed to the captain's chair. There was an air of expectancy in the room. Captain Elizabeth Weir sat down in the chair and asked herself if she was comfortable here. The answer was yes.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7rghemp3Q
"Computer?"549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdYftTbMYI
"Yes?"549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNZtTRvoMA
"Do you know who I am?"549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwKSiQjKTh
"Voiceprint analysis indicates that you are Captain Elizabeth Weir, assigned to take command of the starship Atlantis, NCC-2812, this date."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOc1uGFVPM6
"I am now assuming command."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhJwlMDm2c
"So noted," said the computer.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGYO9Wy73Y
"Activate log."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEg9m0Fww7C
"Recording."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6mdQCsJc0
Weir cleared her throat. "Stardate 41330.6. Captain's log. First entry: These are the voyages of the starship Atlantis. Her continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has ever gone before. Entry complete."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRfW1qQZaj
Weir looked around at her officers. Their faces were beaming. Abruptly, they applauded.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEz5nvf7HiX
Weir was embarrassed, and held up a hand to stop them. "Belay that nonsense until we do something worthy of applause."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRvLHC0wPr
And then she retreated to her ready room.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5qMN1tAqk
She was pleased that her aquarium had already been installed. The lionfish were her only vice. They were beautiful to watch. She sat down behind her desk and installed her personal memory cartridge in the desk's reader. The ship's computer now had Weir's personal files available to it.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwj1Lb28mD
"I have messages for you, ma'am." The computer said softly.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsclPbegoXS
Weir glanced at the desk screen. Most of the messages were congratulatory notes. Two of them were tagged with Starfleet Insignia. One was her formal orders. The other message was sealed orders and these could not be decoded until the ship was en route to Jutterdon Station. There was also a personal message from Admiral Axford.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdj6XDkoCPl
Elizabeth Weir was not a woman of self-doubt, but---the starship Atlantis was the pearl of the fleet. There was no greater responsibility that a captain could be entrusted with. To be named captain of the Atlantis was an honor, an acknowledgment and....549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvQ549AT6w
...and?549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgoXu9m1zf
There was a story, probably apocryphal, that Thomas T. Sawyer had once said that captaining a starship was like making love in a fish bowl. You couldn't make a move without someone voicing an opinion about your technique. The statement sounded like something Thomas T. Sawyer might indeed have said, but then again, there were more stories about Thomas T. Sawyer in circulation than twenty men could have lived up to---even if they had each a Vulcan to assist them.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytt0wrumas
But---there was something else that disturbed Elizabeth Weir. This was to be the pinnacle of her career; the posting he had waited nearly twenty years to achieve. She wondered if she would be able to handle this----or if she might blow it. There had been other captains who had been entrusted with great responsibilities; good, kind, compassionate men and women who should have succeeded---and had not. Weir had studied their records, looking for that one failing that might have been common to all, looking to see if that failing was present in herself.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoFnRNBxP3
The only thing she had realized was the possibility of hubris, the pride that brings its own downfall. Each of the failures had been caused by the captain's blind faith in her own rightness. As a result, they had become rigid, inflexible. 549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2Bp64pP7G
Weir shook her head. The thought had been troubling her lately. She reached over and tapped the message screen. Better see what Admiral Axford had to say.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq78dZw7Eri
"You've already had my congratulations, Liz. Now it's time for a little fatherly advice."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54oMmkxZQx
Weir smiled at that. She hadn't had any fatherly or motherly advice from anybody since her fortieth birthday.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxP2TLCU9r
Axford's message continued. "I know you, Liz. You've probably been sitting there at your desk wondering if you're big enough to handle the responsibilities of the Atlantis. Trust me. You are." Axford's broad face broke into a warm grin. Despite his age, the man was still handsome.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNZzw2Jiue
"I know you, Liz. I know that you think you worry too much. You think starship captains shouldn't worry or doubt. You think because you do that you're not a good captain. Well, now let me explain something to you, Liz. This isn't self-doubt that you're feeling. It's self-confirmation. You're going over your own decisions again to see if there's anything you've overlooked, left out, or ignored.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFbrdPLjWl
"That's why we've selected you----or maybe I should say that's how you selected yourself for the post. You always go the extra kilometer to be sure that you haven't make a mistake. That's why you've succeeded as a Fleet officer. That's why we cherish your judgment. That's why you've been entrusted with the most advanced ship in the fleet.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqlO5vkeYl
"And the best crew. We've given you people to be proud of. They all have extraordinary records. Use them. Trust them. Let them be the best they can. They won't let you down."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJV5S3FHsR2
"Oh, one more thing." He added. "You're probably wondering now how I guessed that you'd be having these thoughts."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2t2GiobDVO
Weir grinned. Maybe it was true. Maybe Admiral Axford was telepathic.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysFDHz4eCa
"It's no secret at all, Liz. Every captain goes through it whenever he or she takes command of a new vessel. I have to send this message to all my captains." He laughed. "now, let me tell you the secret of how to handle the most difficult moments of command. Always think about the very worst thing that can happen. And then don't let it happen.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcz8JzilsKg
"Our hearts are with you, Liz. We know you'll do well."549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtWbtoUxb7
Weir switched off the desk screen, leaned back in her chair and laughed heartily.549Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNVE1Pc7bU
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