02-07-2026, 08:35 PM
The Yeager’s Science Lab was impressive, but it wasn’t home yet. Qi had been spending too much time on the Bridge to properly leave his mark. On the Geronimo, the pile of PADDs on his desk had been infamous. He knew that some of the ensigns took bets about how many there would be at the start of each shift.
The mountain, as they’d come to call it, contained a variety of distinct biomes, which changed with each passing day. A novice hiker could get lost for days in post-war Gamma Quadrant poetry, never realizing that they’d made a wrong turn at sensor diagnostics. As chaotic as it had seemed, it wasn’t clutter. A clean desk was like a sheer cliff face looming stoically above his head — the scattered thoughts around his workspace gave him a trail of landmarks to follow.
Qi’s gaze swept over a report of spatial anomalies in the Wairara system. He nodded, planting a flag in that thought before returning to the task at hand. His workstation aboard the Yeager was more of a bluff than a mountain, though it still would have earned him a stern warning on most ships. Thankfully, he had some leeway in his own lab.
“Lieutenant Commander Qi, Ensign T’Varen reporting as ordered.”
An unfamiliar voice pulled his focus. He turned in his chair to greet it. She was Vulcan, somewhat severe. There was a certain elegance in her rigid posture. Qi didn’t detect any nerves at all. He rested his elbows on his desk, smiling warmly as she handed him a PADD.
Interesting background. More varied than most, he thought, skimming the document. His lips pressed together thoughtfully as he passed the security qualifications.
“Welcome aboard. Happy to have you.” Qi said, his voice soft and confident. He was in his element here. He placed the PADD between them gently, focusing on the person in front of him rather than the words on the screen.
“I am prepared to receive department orientation and begin any assigned priority,” she added. “If calibration work is pending, backlog triage is required, or there are irregularities needing initial review, I can start immediately at your direction.”
Qi smiled, his dark eyes glittering. He was glad to hear that his new assignee didn’t mind routine work — those tasks made their research possible — but he wouldn’t learn much about her based on how she formatted a data chip.
“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of that,” he replied, “but let’s start with something a little more exciting. We just collected a ton of data from the Wairara system: astrometric, biological, linguistic — take your pick. What field draws your interest?”
He shifted comfortably in his chair, studying her.
== Tag T’Varen ==
The mountain, as they’d come to call it, contained a variety of distinct biomes, which changed with each passing day. A novice hiker could get lost for days in post-war Gamma Quadrant poetry, never realizing that they’d made a wrong turn at sensor diagnostics. As chaotic as it had seemed, it wasn’t clutter. A clean desk was like a sheer cliff face looming stoically above his head — the scattered thoughts around his workspace gave him a trail of landmarks to follow.
Qi’s gaze swept over a report of spatial anomalies in the Wairara system. He nodded, planting a flag in that thought before returning to the task at hand. His workstation aboard the Yeager was more of a bluff than a mountain, though it still would have earned him a stern warning on most ships. Thankfully, he had some leeway in his own lab.
“Lieutenant Commander Qi, Ensign T’Varen reporting as ordered.”
An unfamiliar voice pulled his focus. He turned in his chair to greet it. She was Vulcan, somewhat severe. There was a certain elegance in her rigid posture. Qi didn’t detect any nerves at all. He rested his elbows on his desk, smiling warmly as she handed him a PADD.
Interesting background. More varied than most, he thought, skimming the document. His lips pressed together thoughtfully as he passed the security qualifications.
“Welcome aboard. Happy to have you.” Qi said, his voice soft and confident. He was in his element here. He placed the PADD between them gently, focusing on the person in front of him rather than the words on the screen.
“I am prepared to receive department orientation and begin any assigned priority,” she added. “If calibration work is pending, backlog triage is required, or there are irregularities needing initial review, I can start immediately at your direction.”
Qi smiled, his dark eyes glittering. He was glad to hear that his new assignee didn’t mind routine work — those tasks made their research possible — but he wouldn’t learn much about her based on how she formatted a data chip.
“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of that,” he replied, “but let’s start with something a little more exciting. We just collected a ton of data from the Wairara system: astrometric, biological, linguistic — take your pick. What field draws your interest?”
He shifted comfortably in his chair, studying her.
== Tag T’Varen ==