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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?589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5Ch1k0o2w
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprSVIELyXL
The seventh time Captain Elizabeth Weir saw the Atlantis she was on her way to take command of it.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVzbUqusyR
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.)589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xbThQlGbw
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RAfk30O5y
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2ujZJhq1V
She had been piped aboard by the android....589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt69r8wIKfH
"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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQnblcYLtd
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQvPeXfy5d
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."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQIwWuTP44
"Thank you, ma'am."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmNwqWP9JP
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvS4JMk8QSf
"The bridge is this way, ma'am."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7X7ksMVoH
"Thank you. May I ask you something, Commander?"589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwt4HRzY7xi
"Ma'am?"589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtGDcu9O0a
"Your name? Jay One."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3Xq70woE8
"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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MExIxAzSz
Weir nodded. It made sense.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJPCVWxhV3
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsgI0JibAr
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0iOIw5H70c
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaYDNfmlf4
"Computer?"589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NQhdpTn8h
"Yes?"589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGs3crSrix8
"Do you know who I am?"589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZW7QpUsBcV
"Voiceprint analysis indicates that you are Captain Elizabeth Weir, assigned to take command of the starship Atlantis, NCC-2812, this date."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtT7U9pzsH
"I am now assuming command."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnPCMOpp63
"So noted," said the computer.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYRAsalt4C
"Activate log."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJEcpzEHzJ
"Recording."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkDClIaG8K
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."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZmHLnISup
Weir looked around at her officers. Their faces were beaming. Abruptly, they applauded.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUg3SYztSwY
Weir was embarrassed, and held up a hand to stop them. "Belay that nonsense until we do something worthy of applause."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26em0rD8JP
And then she retreated to her ready room.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gfpyG6YZx
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ21nl1fzdU
"I have messages for you, ma'am." The computer said softly.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsS94vgosxR
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9H2T45eQk
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....589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uPC5i3Xm5
...and?589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPZ1hjavIW
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKqdxZZnFe
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwU3XRyMqM
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. 589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxHPDDY89q
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGBacaG40G
"You've already had my congratulations, Liz. Now it's time for a little fatherly advice."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwhrf65kWI
Weir smiled at that. She hadn't had any fatherly or motherly advice from anybody since her fortieth birthday.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18DxCj0GBx
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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSZ1KBrYcQ
"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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICLEK1pZVI
"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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PlsJd9ClC
"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."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaYUnNDhQk
"Oh, one more thing." He added. "You're probably wondering now how I guessed that you'd be having these thoughts."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfUWfYDosW
Weir grinned. Maybe it was true. Maybe Admiral Axford was telepathic.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrczFUdKuU
"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.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsQKFt1G5D
"Our hearts are with you, Liz. We know you'll do well."589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ntCvVJzaP
Weir switched off the desk screen, leaned back in her chair and laughed heartily.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaU4mg7qpn
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