A Story in Three Parts

Posted on Fri Jan 23rd, 2026 @ 3:33am by Lieutenant Commander Victoria Cross

Mission: Port of Call
Location: Pathfinder Station, various
Timeline: Mission Day 16 at 0530

It would be an hour before dawn on Earth, and Victoria pulled herself from bed in her quarters. She slept restlessly, her mind jumping between the Kodra’Lisett and the butt of a rifle against her head. Her attempt to stage a distraction, and the explosion that followed in the ship shortly after their escape. Victoria drank a cup of coffee fresh from the replicator and stepped into and out of the sonic shower before donning her uniform. Everything was prim and perfect, usually, with a freshly cleaned uniform. She leaned forward, closely checking her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She dragged her hands down her cheeks, tugging away her lower eyelids from the eyes in the process. “Look at yourself,” She muttered, “Bloody mess, right? Listen. Today will be grand. Get the letter to T’Kass, work a shift, go get pissed with the other heads." She stood. "Computer, set a reminder to call the Ship Counselor. I need to book a session."

The computer chimed. She took a deep breath, and zipped her duty jacket, and made sure her com-badge was straight and shined. She briskly left the safety of her quarters and out went Victoria Cross, burned out insomniac, and in came Lieutenant Commander Victoria Cross, picture-perfect Operations Chief of the U.S.S. Sojourner, NCC- 85748.

The Pathfinder Station’s Quantum Communications Room was a large, oval shaped room with a flat view-screen ahead of a central console. Most QEC messages from the Alpha Quadrant had to travel for so long and through such winding ways that it took anywhere from four to eight weeks, which made coordinating with home a painfully slow process. Victoria had sent regular messages, and T’Kass, all the way back in Brisbane, had sent back responses, with one hot off the press. The subject matter mostly involved life and updates of how things went - Victoria’s job and the voyages of the Sojourner, and T’Kass dealing with students. The next most common topic was the one they both shared. Loneliness. Isolation from one another. Victoria had brought up the subject first. Seeing other people for the duration of the rest of the posting, keeping in touch, and recommitting once the Sojourner returned to dock above Earth. So, that was life now.

T’Kass was dating a woman named Jane, and Victoria wasn't going to date anyone on the ship. T’Kass was doing well, Victoria had to tell her that she was kidnapped, beaten, and watched countless souls die in the void of space. The fact Victoria had to tell her created a sickness of worry in her stomach, twisting itself into knots. She took a breath and steeled herself. She had never lied to her wife, and wasn’t going to start.

A Vulcan salute. “T’Kass, It’s stardate 77057.995, and I’m .. I nearly died. A lot of us nearly died. I know that’s a terrible thing to talk about, but we were kidnapped, beaten, and made to think that the Sojourner was destroyed by a Kazon warlord named .. well, it’s not important what his name was. He died. I held a rifle to a man and threatened to kill him. I have been going to group therapy, but I haven’t been able to sleep all that well, and it’s all I can think about when things have gone quiet. There’s so much I want to say, and I thought about just going home, and I love you, but I’m going to be staying on the job. After this, though, I’m done. I’m taking a career at the Academy and I’m just done. I have other things I want to talk to you about. This delay between our messages is awful, right? It’s absolute bull-”

The rest of the message was easier. Victoria bid farewell at 17:00 minutes and left the Quantum Communication room. There were no tears. She knew that T’Kass understood. They both knew this job was dangerous, but the hard reminders were awful.

Pathfinder Station- just past the crack of dawn. Victoria paced through a warehouse, flanked by the quartermaster, the businesslike Rumat. "Okay. Mark our supplies for transport," She tapped her combadge, while looking up a massive shelf of heavy containers filled with the ship's restock, before speaking.

"Chief Russell, have Ensign T'Siv assist you today, if you're amenable to that. She's been chomping at the bit to get more hours behind the transporter console."

There was a quiet groan from Russell, who sipped his coffee at his workstation. "Fine. Better here than during some dangerous mission, ma'am."

"Thirty minutes of work and you get to help teach! Think about it. T'Siv could be the next O'Brien, and she'd thank you profusely at her retirement ceremony in a century or so." Victoria snickered, giving her PADD to Rumat. Russell only signed off with a curmudgeonly huff.

"Do you always let him behave so belligerently, Lieutenant Commander?" Rumat asked, whilst keeping his eyes focused on marking through the stockpile of goods in the warehouse. Victoria rolled her shoulders and stepped away, turning back to the Zakdorian.

"He's a lifer and usually is much more friendly after his coffee. Mr. Rumat, I want this job done quickly and efficiently. There's nobody better in Starfleet at this kind of logistics than you. I imagine it'll be done in twenty minutes, given how Russell is going to want to end his 'teaching engagement' as soon as possible. But safety and efficiency, that's the name of the game."

Rumat's face creased with a confident smirk. "Well. There's nobody better at the game than me, Lieutenant Commander." Victoria clicked her tongue and gave the Zakdorian a pat on the shoulder with a smile, before leaving the warehouse. More appointments, more duties to be done.

The day dragged on into the evening.

Victoria stepped down to the tunnels. Shift was over. The Heads wanted to meet, and Victoria was eager to sit at a real bar for the first time in months. It was going to be nice, she thought as she stopped for a moment to check her PADD with one final checklist.

A Tholian operated within a practically white-hot room on the other end of a viewscreen, operating a strange device that Victoria didn't recognize. A moment prior, it had contacted her as she passed through the halls through the viewscreen- One word. Starfleet. Victoria stopped on a heel. "I AM CAPTAIN RETHIX OF THE THOLIAN ASSEMBLY EXPLORER VESSEL DIDEMATA. YOU WILL ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION."


Victoria puffed her cheeks and shrugged. “What would you like to talk about?”

(continued in Meeting of Heads!)