It was now time for Ripley to pick a new Captain for Station 19. He had been struggling to decide between two options, Jack or Andy.
Andy's father was aware that Andy was in the running and decided to have a talk with Ripley before he made his decision and picked a captain.
When Ripley welcomed Pruitt into his office, he sat down and started. "Sir, all due respect, I don't think Andy should be Captain of 19." Ripley's eyebrows shot up, surprised.
"At least...not now." Pruitt continued. " She only has one shot at this, one shot to nail being captain, and with everything that's been going on, I don't think she should be captain right now." He further explained.
Ripley thought it over for a second. " I'll take it into consideration, thank you, Herrera." He responded, dismissing Pruitt.
Pruitt walked out of the office and released a sigh of relief, feeling proud of himself. He exited the station and walked to his car, getting ready to
drive home.
-
The next day approached rather quickly, and Ripley had finally made a decision, one not many people would like. He drove to the station and entered, greeting the person at the front desk before he belted for a line-up.
Shift hadn't started yet, and he took this as his opportunity. The whole crew hurried down from upstairs, entering the barn and forming a straight line.
Everyone including Andy was silently hoping that Andy had gotten the promotion, seeing as she had been working hard for it.
What they weren't made aware of was that Maya has also put in a request to be promoted to captain. She felt that she had all the qualities needed to be a captain.
"Nineteen, as you know, the hunt for a new captain of this station has been long, and I took every candidate into serious consideration." He began.
"Last night, after long deliberation between two candidates, I came to a decision." He added.
"That being said." He took a pause before looking over at Maya.
"Congratulations, Bishop, you're the new captain. I hope this transition is smooth." Everyone's expression was a clear sign of shock, The shock slowly subsided as their happiness for Maya took over.
No one made a move to do anything, as they were unaware of Andy's reaction. Andy had long decided that she wouldn't let this get in the way of their lifelong friendship, and broke the awkwardness by going to give her a hug.
After they broke apart, Ripley dismissed them and Maya took over telling everyone their chores and assignments for the day.
"Miller and Warren hoses, Montgomery and Gibson showers, Hughes tanks, Dixon maintenance, Herrera stock the rigs, and I'll do the incident reports." She listed off the chores with a smile.
"Now for assignments Warren and Montgomery your on Aid car, Hughes, Miller and Gibson on ladder, Dixon your on desk duty and Herrera and I will be on engine. Get started. 19!" She shouted. "19!" They all yelled in response.
Everyone went off to go do their chores which didn't last for long as the alarm went off "LADDER 19, ENGINE 19, AID 19, 233 MILITARY ROAD, CAR ACCIDENT, CIVILIANS IN DISTRESS" They all ran back to the bay and got in their turnouts before getting in their assigned vehicles and driving off.
When they arrived, they saw two cars flipped over on their backs and a school bus. "We need to evacuate everyone immediately. Hughes, Herrera handle the school bus, Dean and Jack You got to the car on the left, I'll go to the right. Anyone with serious injuries, you get out first and as quickly as possible, hand them over to Warren and Travis, they will take over."
