After the photo op, the journalists wanted to have a question-and-answer session. However, Cooper begged off by saying that she needed a drink of water or a soft drink before they continued. Then, before she could go looking for a vending machine, a "helpful" reporter handed each of them a cold soft drink.
'I really wanted a bathroom break,' Cooper thought as she sipped at her soft drink. Since Ceres station was now a water refinery, the only space available was on the docs themselves. That meant that there was nowhere to sit and be comfortable while the press asked them question after question.
Suddenly the questions stopped while Cooper was woolgathering.
"Coop, that question was for you," Simmons said.
"I'm sorry. Could you please repeat the question?"
"I asked what it was like to be chosen as first officer despite being a woman," a Nipponese reporter asked in perfect English.
"First, Her Majesty's Navy of which I was originally a part, and the Greater United States Space Force practice equality of the sexes. Only the Empire of Nippon does not practice such equality, despite the regulations put forth in the Alliance Charter. The Alliance Charter declares all people, no matter their age, sex, or sexual preference, are equal. The Nipponese Empire seems to think that being born a woman is some sort of disability that needs to be overcome. According to the Charter this is not the case."
"Second, they assigned the officers of Hope their ranks based on how they scored during their time on the Lexington. The selection process made me first officer."
"So how does it feel to be the XO of Hope? It feels good. It feels fantastic."
"Simmons, how does it feel to be the captain of the ship?" Cooper asked.
"I agree. It feels amazing," Simmons responded.
"There you have it."
The docks suddenly echoed with the sound of the journalists' questions.
Finally, it calmed down enough that they could hear the individual requests for information.
Simmons pointed at one reporter, which calmed the crowd to quiet down.
"Commander Cooper, both officials from the GUSA and the Nipponese Empire have expressed concern that both the captain and the first officer of Hope come from the Britanian Empire. Could you comment on this?"
Cooper just sighed and said, "Simmons, would you please take this question? I think I just answered it."
"As Cooper just said, the selection process was based solely on the candidate's performance while on the Lexington. All three members of the Alliance agreed upon this method of officer selection, since it was based solely on the abilities of the officers in question."
"The fact that both Cooper and I are both from the Britanian Empire just means that we both scored the highest while on the Lexington. Thats it. Nothing more."
'Are these reporters just dense? Or were they asking the same questions repeatedly, hoping we will give them a different answer than before,' Cooper thought as the impromptu press conference dragged on and on. Then she whispered in Simmon's ear, "Can we please end the news conference? I really need to go to the little girl's room."
Simmons nodded in response and then announced, "This is the last question. I am afraid that nature calls."
The journalists laughed for a moment before they asked another tirade of questions.
---
Eventually, the skiff from Hope docked at Ceres Station, and the five of them finally had an excuse to leave the reporters behind.
"Please tell me that there won't be any press on Hope," Cooper asked a junior officer as she boarded Hope's skiff.
"No, ma'am, we only have the one combat correspondent aboard."
"Oh, thank God."
"Ma'am?"
"Its nothing."
Cooper went into the skiff's cabin and took one of the front seats. 'I am worn out from all of that chaos,' she thought as she closed her eyes to get a little rest. However, her peace was quickly interrupted.
"Hiya, Coop, you look tired," Simmons said as he took the seat next to hers.
"Yep. I'm all but asleep on my feet."
"Then get a little rest. We are going to go underway soon. Since the flight time will be a little over six hours, that will give you enough time to catch up on your sleep."
---
Cooper woke up four hours later feeling both refreshed and hungry. In the seat next to her own Simmons was snoring gently. 'Looks like I'm not the only one who was tired,' she thought as she quietly made her way past him on the way to the galley.
The thrust acceleration of the skiff was only one third of a gee, so it was easy for her to move about the cabin. When she made it to the small galley, she was happy to find that it was well stocked. 'Yes!' she thought. 'Twelve different low gee selections to choose from.'
After reading the list, she became even more excited. 'I haven't had bangers and mash in a long time,' she realised.
After grabbing the meal and heating it up in the microwave, she was also happy to find that there were twelve soft drinks to choose from. 'I almost feel like it's Christmas,' Cooper mused as she grabbed a hot tea and made her way back to the passenger compartment.
Not wanting to disturb Simmons, she went to the first available seat to eat her meal. It just so happened that it was beside Anderson. "Hiya Blondy," Cooper said. "Is this seat taken?"
"Cooper, yes please come and keep me company. Everyone else is in dreamland."
Cooper sat, pulled down her tray table, and then opened her meal.
"Ooh that looks tasty," Anderson said. "Is that bangers and mash?"
"It certainly is."
"Can I have a taste? The burger I had an hour ago was delicious. These are some high-quality rations."
"Sure," Cooper replied as she offered her spork to her friend.
"That's good!" Anderson said. "The next time I am on a skiff I think I'm going to have those."
As Cooper enjoyed her meal, Anderson chattered on and on. 'Anderson is either anxious or she is genuinely excited to be boarding Hope,' Cooper thought.
After Cooper put her trash into the recycler and then returned to her seat, she asked Anderson, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing great!" Anderson said. "I can't wait to get Hope underway so that I can familiarize myself with all the ship's systems."
"We will have forty-five years to get to know Hope inside and out," Cooper said. "A few minutes won't make much of a difference."
"Aren't you excited?"
"Yes, I am, but I try to take the long view," Cooper replied. "I'm more worried about meeting the crew."
"I suppose you are right. We haven't even met the crew yet and I'm worried about getting to know the ship itself. Priorities, priorities."
Cooper merely responded with a chuckle.
---
As soon as they docked with Hope, the five new officers made a line which was broken down according to their rank, with Simmons in the front.
A female lieutenant from the Britanian Empire met them just as they exited the airlock. After they saluted one another. Simmons asked the lieutenant, "Permission to come aboard?"
"Permission granted. Welcome aboard, sirs."
"Thank you. Please guide us to the main bridge."
"Yes, sir."
It only took them a few minutes to reach the bridge in Hope's rotational section. There they had a spin gravity equal to that of Mars.
The bridge took up an entire twenty one by twelve meter section of Hope. 'This bridge is huge compared to both the Lexington and the Sendai,' Cooper thought. It was filled with workstations surrounding the captain's chair, which was facing the largest high definition viewscreen Cooper had ever seen.
"Captain on deck!" a person called out and all when they saw the group of officers entered. Suddenly the workers in the command center rose to their feet at attention, turned as one, and saluted Simmons.
"At ease and return to your work," Simmons ordered after he returned everyone's salute. "We are just getting a quick look around the ship and we will go on duty at the beginning of the next shift."
"Aye, aye captain," the lieutenant sitting in the captain's chair replied. Then he turned the chair around to face the viewscreen.
As they were leaving the room, Cooper murmured to their guide, "What shift is next and how long do we have until the next shift change?"
"Ma'am it is currently Mainday and you will go on duty in roughly five hours," the lieutenant whispered back.
"Yes!" Cooper said. "Hey Simmons looks like I will beat you to the first watch. I will be sure to keep it warm for you."
"Hmm, I wonder if I can take both the Alterday and Mainday shifts. Oh wait, I can do that because I'm the captain of the ship."
"Yeah, yeah, you did get plenty of sleep on the skiff, so I have no qualms about that." Cooper replied. "It looks like I won't be the first senior officer to sit in the chair after all. Me and my big mouth."
Simmons just laughed as they continued their tour.
---
Cooper looked around her quarters. "This place is also huge," she said herself.
'This set of rooms reminds me of the luxury suites on Alpha station, not a cabin on an Alliance ship.'
She wasn't exaggerating. She had looked at Hope's plans before her voyage on the Lexington. 'It's one thing to read that the first officer's suite is ten and a half meters long and five meters wide It's another thing to see them in person. Even on Luna you can't find a room as nice as this.'
As she walked through the cabin, she saw a sitting area, a kitchenette, a small dining area, and a bathroom.
'Ooh it even has a small bathtub,' Cooper thought with excitement. 'I haven't had a proper bath since I left Earth.' While she could shower on the Sendai, taking a bath was a different story.
Then she went into the bedroom proper. After she opened the door to the room she immediately thought, 'Wow, that's a nice bunk.'
While it was only the size of a queen bed back in the GUSA, Cooper had become used to the thin narrow bunks found on most Alliance military ships.
'You could comfortably fit three people in this bed,' she thought. 'I can't wait to try it out.'
There was also a walk-in closet to store clothing, shoes, as well as all of her personal gear.
"I wonder where they put my undies, tee shirts, and pants," she said as she rummaged though the many drawers that lined the closet.
"Found them!" she murmured.
'Now to try out the tub,' Cooper thought as she exited the bedroom.