A New Chapter

Posted on Mon Oct 13th, 2025 @ 8:18am by Lieutenant Amarok tr'Ragnar

Mission: Port of Call
Location: Pathfinder Station, Guest quarters
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 0300

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Amarok tr’Ragnar sat at his desk in the guest quarters of Pathfinder Station—Outpost D-888 for the technically inclined. He had arrived earlier than ordered, the adrenaline and excitement of the Multi-Sector Reclamation Initiative slowly draining away as he waited for his new starship to return from deep space.

The message from Starfleet Command glowed on his terminal, its clearance ribbon pulsing faintly: Assignment – Chief Science Officer, Deep Space Explorer USS Sojourner, Rhode Island-class.
A new thrill rose in him as he read about the Sojourner and her crew. Quite the collection of officers, he thought; perhaps he would find friendship among them, though he knew solitude would always be his refuge once conversation grew too crowded. Still, maybe connection would come more easily here than it had aboard the Olympia.

He smiled at the similarities of the situation—Nova-class—and at the small irony of leading scientists on a ship descended from one that had once carried him as a junior officer. Leadership, he knew, he could handle; the Initiative had tempered both his confidence and his command of others.

He had smirked when the notice first arrived—half disbelief, half pride—reading how his ecological analyses had placed him at the top of the selection list. After years rebuilding broken worlds, he was being asked to help discover untouched ones, perhaps even new life and civilizations. Voyager had already blazed that trail, of course. He’d never met any of her legendary crew, though he had once wanted to. Reports captured data, not wonder. Hearing their stories firsthand would have been another kind of science. He’d even considered contacting one or two by subspace—until self-consciousness, and duty, interfered.

From his desk, Amarok could see into the adjoining room. On the bed, Rafe Jaesan stirred. The once-fallen, now-restored Starfleet Intelligence officer had saved his life more than once on Nimbus III. When Amarok was captured by the Orion Syndicate during their escape, Rafe had been forced to leave him behind; that wound had healed, if imperfectly. Amarok blamed no one. Their time together on that failed world had been light in darkness, and life there never encouraged plans beyond the next sunrise.

He smiled watching Rafe sleep—the older man still strong, still graceful. Amarok had worn him out, apparently. He looked back at the orders, still amused that the Unstable Unicorn—the freighter that once carried him from captivity to freedom—had again ferried him, new officers, equipment and supplies to Pathfinder Station. Coincidence or conspiracy? He suspected Captain Hannok Solomon’s quiet mischief but could never prove it. Fate, it seemed, had a sly sense of humour.

Arms slid around his shoulders; warm breath brushed his ear.
“Come back to bed, Mar,” Rafe murmured in that low, dangerous tone that always dissolved Amarok’s composure.

“Ready for another round?” Amarok asked, squeezing the man’s forearms.

Rafe chuckled. “It’s the middle of the night. What are you doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep. Too excited, I guess.” Amarok rose, stepped around the chair, and embraced him.

“A new chapter in the Delta Quadrant,” Rafe said, pulling him close. “I’ll be working out there too. Maybe what I do will help you and your crew.”

“I hope so. Will you come aboard with me to meet my captain? He should know Intelligence has assets in the region—and he has clearance.” They bumped into the bed, laughing as they fell.

“I’ll have to check with my handler,” Rafe said, grimacing at the familiar restraint.

“I understand,” Amarok whispered, kissing him softly. “Tal Shiar parents—remember?”

“I remember. I only wish I could have met them,” Rafe said, then added with a grin, “Maybe in an alternate universe.” It was an old joke, born on Nimbus III, yet the idea still made Amarok smile. In some parallel reality, perhaps his parents lived, perhaps the Tal Shiar never came.

Rafe’s kisses pulled him back to the present. After a few more, he drew away. “Sleep, Mar. I know you’ve got a date with Hannok in 2 days, and I want you rested for tomorrow.”

Amarok laughed quietly. Loving both men had never been simple, yet neither seemed to mind. They had turned it into a contest of charm long ago, and he had long since learned to enjoy the game. He smirked at the thought as they drifted into sleep, the hum of the station a steady lullaby.

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