Chapter Text
Kirith stirred his drink absently in the mess hall, watching the other officers come and go. A few wore dress uniforms from the meeting with the Starfleet Inspector, but most had taken those off the instant they had a moment off duty. Kirith included. He couldn’t stand how the collar of the uniform pressed against the back of his neck.
Harley was sitting across from him, rambling on about a new code he was thinking of trying out with the comm system. Kirith didn’t remember him being quite so chatty at the Academy, but then again, they hadn’t known each other too well. Harley’s words filtered through Kirith’s Universal Translator implants unevenly, leaving Kirith trying to guess at some of the more technical terms.
Harley seemed to register that Kirith wasn’t paying very much attention and trailed off. “Are you alright?”
Kirith drew his gaze away from the other officers and tried to focus back on his friend. “Yes.” His semi-robotically translated voice grated against his ears uncomfortably. Kirith tilted his antennae forward slightly, trying to show that he wasn’t upset.
Harley smiled. “What’re you thinking about?”
“The inspection.” Kirith rested his chin on his hand, fingers fidgeting with the thin wire connecting his auditory implants to his vocal ones. “If you haven’t noticed, we don’t really know what we’re doing.”
“Speak for yourself!” Harley laughed, then realized Kirith was serious, and smiled a bit more sympathetically. “This assignment should be pretty easy anyway. The planet has already been documented, we’re just checking up on it.”
“Mhm.” Kirith’s gaze drifted again, this time to the stars out the viewport, blurring together slightly. He shook his head firmly, trying to stay present. He couldn’t afford to be unfocused when the ship was under inspection. “You won’t let me get distracted on the bridge, right?”
Harley nodded. “Of course. I’ll throw stuff at you if I have to.” To demonstrate, Harley tossed a spare uniform button at Kirith lightly. “Speaking of– we should get going.” Harley snatched up the button and stood, waiting for Kirith to do the same. Kirith stood as well, a bit more carefully. He put his hand on the back of his chair for a moment until the floor stopped rocking beneath his feet, then followed Harley out of the mess hall.
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Shrith had ink stains on her fingers. Kirith wasn’t sure how she could have gotten ink aboard, or what she was using it for, but the indigo stains complimented her ice blue skin nicely. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, but a couple strands had fallen out and she kept brushing them out of her eyes as she reviewed the information about the planet Saucarro’s plant life. Kirith could tell she wasn’t finding anything new by the way her antennae twitched and turned agitatedly.
Something small hit Kirith in the arm and skidded across his control console. He picked it up carefully and turned it between his fingers, revealing it to be Harley’s button from earlier. Kirith looked over at Harley’s adjacent station, where Harley was staring at him, smiling. Harley shifted his gaze from Kirith to Shrith and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Kirith’s antennae twitched backward slightly, and he shook his head, turning his attention back to his work.
Harley had been right about one thing– this assignment was not going to be a challenge. Saucarro had already been discovered, explored, and documented by multiple higher-up science vessels before the Curiosity, and their compiled xenobiology reports seemed entirely complete. It was the ideal mission to go on while being inspected. The turbolift doors near the comm station slid open, and the inspector stepped forth as if Kirith's thoughts had summoned him. Kirith angled one antenna toward him, monitoring his movements as he began to stalk the bridge.
The captain looked up from the PADD he was reading and watched as the inspector began a discussion with Curiosity's security chief. She seemed irritated and the scales on her upper arms rippled as she spoke with the inspector in an undertone. Captain Jirillu didn’t seem pleased with this, and he cleared his throat to get the inspector’s attention.
“Inspector Mecim, is there something I can do for you?”
The inspector turned away from the security chief. “I was only asking your officer about some holes I’ve discovered in your security procedures.” He seemed hardly able to keep a sneer off his face as he spoke and Kirith half turned in his chair, glancing at Harley, who was also watching the exchange from his post.
“I appreciate that, Inspector. But surely, whatever your concern, it can wait until my officers are off duty. Distracting them from their work won’t fix any security breaches we may have.”
Mecim frowned but moved away from the security chief. He stepped down a level until he was closer to the command chair than the crew. Kirith twitched his antennae as the adrenaline in the room rose slightly.
The inspector crossed his arms. “I still can’t fathom why Starfleet Command would let someone like you captain a starship. As I recall, at the Academy you were more interested in sleeping around than passing your classes.”
There was a slight intake of air from the bridge crew, most still pointedly focused on their work. Jirillu leaned forward slightly in his chair, hooking a finger in the inspector’s collar and drawing him close until their noses brushed. “You would know, wouldn’t you? And as I recall, you didn’t seem to mind at the time.”
Mecim pulled away from the captain sharply, straightening his uniform. He seemed too flustered to respond, only marching away from Jirillu. He stopped before the turbolift and turned around. Kirith found himself surprised at how much pink skin could flush. The inspector’s face was almost red, where it had been pale before. His fists were clenched at his sides, and he spoke through his teeth, addressing the entire bridge. “Any of you with an ounce of sense would do well to transfer off this ship. I couldn’t be paid to serve under her.” With this closing statement, Mecim stormed into the turbolift, doors closing behind him.
Kirith pressed his antennae back, looking around in confusion. Apparently, the inspector and the captain had some sort of shared history. Shared with Phishi too apparently, judging by her expression. Kirith swiveled his chair back to face forward. He caught Shrith’s eye and twitched his antennae slightly. She responded by turning hers a fraction toward each other, the equivalent of a shrug. Kirith was a bit relieved that he wasn’t the only one behind on the subtext for a change.
The captain sighed from his chair. “Sorry about that everyone, he never did know how to stay out of other people’s business.”
“You don’t have to apologize for his behavior.” Phishi muttered from her helmsman position.
“Yeah, well.” Jirillu shook his head. “At least he picked the right profession. Kirith, would you join me in the ready room?”
Kirith jumped. “Aye captain.”
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“As head xenozoologist, you’ll have more authority on this mission. Shrithao will be in charge of the xenobotony, of course, but that means at any given moment you’ll be in
charge of half of the science department.” Jirillu said as he paced back and forth across the ready room.
Kirith nodded, shifting slightly on his feet. He kept one hand on the back of the chair behind him for support, but he really wasn't used to standing still this long.
“I recognize that no one here really has experience with things like this so–”
Kirith’s mind slipped away from the conversation slightly and the floor beneath his feet seemed to roll a bit like ocean waves. A ringing began quietly in his ears, then increased in volume until the sound drowned the captain's words. Kirith cut Jirillu off as the patterned carpet’s movement increased. “-- Can I sit down?”
Jirillu stopped walking and Kirith could feel the captain’s gaze land on the silver balance braces that wrapped around Kirith’s ankles just above the tops of his shoes. “Of course.” Jirillu gestured vaguely at the chair.
Kirith sat, taking a deep breath as the world steadied slowly. The ringing faded by degrees until the ambient noise of the warp engines returned. It was only once the walls stopped spinning that the adrenaline hit. Kirith tucked his hands by his sides to stop them shaking and waited for the captain to say something. Anything. That maybe he wasn’t fit to go on the mission after all, or maybe he shouldn’t even be on a starship if he couldn’t stand still for more than a minute or two. Kirith could feel his temperature rise and his antennae twitched and turned anxiously, but Jirillu didn’t say anything for a moment. Kirith almost jumped when he did speak.
“Do you mind if I stay standing?”
Kirith hesitated a moment. “No.”
“Alright. Well, as I was saying, neither you nor Shrithao has experience with command, so if you need anything, I can help. Give advice, for whatever it's worth.” There was a beat of silence. “Do you need anything?”
“No.” Kirith shook his head, then regretted it as the floor wobbled slightly. “I’m fine.”
Jirillu tilted his head to one side, the beads at the ends of his braids clicking together. “Okay. Kirith– you know I’ve read your medical file, right? I read everyone’s.”
Kirith stiffened slightly, fixing his eyes on a spot on the floor. “Yes, Captain.”
“Then you know it’s not an issue to me?”
Kirith’s antennae turned upward slightly.
“Some of my crew have disabilities, some don’t. That’s how it is in real life. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, or whatever it is the Vulcans say.”
Kirith nodded. “Yes, Captain.” He dug his fingernails into his palm to keep from flinching at that statement.
Jirillu sighed. “Alright then. If you really don’t need anything, you’re dismissed to go get ready for the landing party. That–” Jirillu stopped. “The inspector will be joining us.”