End of Shift

Posted on Mon Oct 13th, 2025 @ 3:14pm by Ensign Veqthar & Lieutenant JG T'lenn

1,516 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Menagerie II
Location: Science Lab 3, Deck 5
Timeline: Prior to Arrival on Barisa Prime

T'lenn had been ordered to assist with certain assistant chief duties while they waited for the position to be filled full time. One of these responsibilities included ensuring that there was a proper transition between Gamma and Alpha shifts as well as Alpha and Beta shifts. It was nearing the end of Alpha shift, and T'lenn had timed her work so that she would reach a stopping point before the Alpha shift crew had left for the day so that she would be able to properly check in with everyone before they either closed out their experiments or transferred their work to their relief from the next shift.

T'lenn made her rounds meticulously. She had an attention to detail that was to be expected from a Vulcan science officer, and she expected the same from her colleagues as she reviewed the protocol and signed off on logs and work transfers. Thankfully, Starfleet officers were the best of the best and she had rarely encountered any issues since agreeing to assist with this responsibility.

The last station on T'lenn's list was occupied by the Benzite officer, Ensign Veqthar. Although he had not been Starfleet for long, she was aware from his record that he had obtained multiple degrees from the Planetary Science Institute for Higher Learning on Benzar before attending Starfleet Academy making him one of the most educated science officers on Astrea other than herself.

"Ensign Veqthar," T'lenn stated sharply announcing her presence. It was never her intention to come across as cold or indifferent, but her voice naturally had an edge to it, and when combined with her natural Vulcan inflection she could have way of putting people off.

"Are you prepared to conclude your work for today's shift?" She asked.

Veqthar lifted his head at the sound of her voice, teal eyes blinking once behind a wisp of mist from his breathing apparatus. He straightened in his chair as though caught in a moment of untidiness, even if the console and station before him was spotless. Even the data windows were stacked with what might be perceived as obsessive care.

"Yes, Lieutenant," he said, his voice carrying that soft, gentle cadence of Benzites. He tapped a final command into the terminal, fingers moving with precision. "Spectrographic readings from the asteroid fragment are logged and backed up. The comparative mineral analyses are--" he paused, head tilting birdlike, "--well, conclusive enough for review tomorrow."

He hesitated then, as if hampered by something else. "Though, if I may... there is a curious variance in the isotopic ratios. Very minuscule. Possibly just instrumentation. But it might suggest a capture origin more than local formation."

His teal eyes jumped back to her, searching for response. "I will refrain from pursuing it further tonight, as per protocol. But it seemed worthy of note."

"Do you have enough information to formulate a hypothesis, Ensign?"

T'lenn never assumed anything. While she had observed a tendency in over eager Humans to sometimes volunteer too much information, it was always possible for someone to leave out a most pertinent piece without realizing it. And many personalities and cultures provided only the bare minimum assessment with the expectation that those in charge would inquire if further information was needed.

The Benzite science officer drew a small breath from his apparatus, sounding like a faint sigh. His fingers hovered just above the console, not currently typing, but sketching shapes in the air as if he were visualizing the data.

"Yes, Lieutenant. Tentative. The ratios resemble those found in bodies displaced from outer system belts--icy remnants nudged inward by gravimetric disturbances. However, it is a wandering origin and not a native one."

"More debris from Romulan space?" T'lenn inquired.

Veqthar's head tipped sharply to one side, the mist from his breather swirling around him like warm breath breathed on a winter's morning. He considered T'lenn's words for several moments longer than comfort might permit, his eyes narrowing in thought.

"Unlikely," he said at last. "The isotopic ratios do not match the debris clouds we catalogued previously. Those fragments carry heavier trace signatures--thorium, osmium, the scars of industrial refinement. This one is much cleaner. More ancient."

He lifted a hand, as if drawing a slow arc in the air before him. "If I were to venture a probability, I would say this fragment wandered inward from a distance periphery--carried across light-years by the gravity of larger bodies."

"is there anything about the mining pattern or indications of from scans as to what sort of technology was used in the process that would offer any insight as to whether any known races have also been in contact with this fragment?" T'lenn asked.

The Benzite's teal eyes widened at the Vulcan's question. He leaned closer to the display, mist blooming faintly from his breather as his fingers brought forth the scans he'd been performing. The data jumped across the screen in neat layers like sediment in stone.

"The cut patterns are... primitive," he said, as though admiring the work of an artist. "Not crude, but lacking the efficiency of Federation or Romulan extractors. The incisions show irregular depth, as though the tools were mechanical rather than modern-day gravimetric. Worn edges. Heat scoring is inconsistent."

He tilted his head again, his exuberance now plain. Veqthar was absolutely tickled that the Vulcan science officer was showing in interest in his work.

"Perhaps Lieutenant Capulet and Captain Johansen would be interested in my report?"

"Perhaps," T'lenn replied tentatively. "You stated that you had more information to review tomorrow?" She asked.

Veqthar gave a quick nod, another plume of mist fogging the edges of his mouth. "Yes, if permitted, I would like to continue the analysis at the start of my next shift."

He rose, moving to the exit. Then, halfway to the door, he paused and tilted his head sharply, almost a familiar birdlike gesture as though considering something unseen. Slowly, deliberately, he turned back to T'lenn.

"Lieutenant," he inquired, carrying the same careful cadence he always spoke with. "Do you... enjoy games?"

T'lenn had already began to disregard the conversation with the Ensign when he spoke again, catching her attention. "That is a rather ambiguous question, Ensign," she replied. "Are you speaking in terms of play or competition? I do find strategy games to be mentally stimulating. Why do you ask?

Veqthar's fingers flexed briefly at his sides. "I have been... experimenting," he said carefully, "with a variant of an ancient Earth game called Go. I've adjusted the board, altered the rules to account for three-dimensional strategy rather than the traditional flat plane. It is... challenging, even to myself."

He tilted his head, teal eyes bright beneath the apparatus. "I thought perhaps you might find it interesting. Would you care to join me, Lieutenant?"

"I am unfamiliar with this Earth game," T'lenn admitted. "I accept your invitation to a game, though I may find myself at a disadvantage."

Veqthar let out a soft exhale that misted the air around him. It looked as though it may have been amusement.

"Disadvantage," he repeated. "I suspect not, Lieutenant."

"You see, the game is deceptively simple," he began, his voice warming with tempered enthusiasm. "Two players take turns placing stones--black and white--upon the intersections of a grid. The goal is not destruction, but control. Territory. Influence."

He lifted a fat, bluish hand with two opposable thumbs, drawing invisible lines through the air on an equally invisible board. "One wins not by overwhelming the opponent, but by out-thinking them--by knowing when to yield a corner to secure the whole. Every move can shift the weight of the entire match."

"Similar to strategema?" T'lenn asked, her interest piqued.

Veqthar's eyes flickered with sudden light as her question. "In a sense," he said, "though strategama rewards aggression. Go rewards patience. The board begins as emptiness, and one must decide where to build, when to fight, when to retreat." He made a small gesture with a hand.

"A Vulcan's game," T'lenn surmised. "When would you like to play?" She asked.

The Benzite science officer formed an awkward smile at the question. "I am honoured that you would consider this," he said, a puff of misty air exhaled through his nostrils. "Perhaps, tomorrow evening. After shift?--I would offer this evening but I'm afraid my crystalline micro-garden requires me to change the nutrient bath."

"Perhaps you could forward me a copy of the rules so that I may study them between now and then," T'lenn suggested, an ever subtle shift in her speech, she now considered it a challenge - to out-strategize the Benzite at his own game.

"Absolutely, Lieutenant. Absolutely."

Veqthar made an awkward bow to the Vulcan science officer and sauntered out of the science lab, leaving her to consider what she had just agreed to.

---

Ensign Veqthar
Science Officer
USS Astrea


Lieutenant JG T'lenn
Science Officer
USS Astrea

 

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