As Nate set his plate down on the table, examining his setting to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, he asked one simple question. “So just how much has Republic slowed themselves down by?”

“With their latest update telling us they wanted to stay back at Framheim Station for another six hours to let their CMO consult with a few more passing by, they’ve just handed us the win to Leytan, even at our comparatively sedate pace.” Ra speared was busy in the process of carving up the eggs and toast on his own plate with all the precision of a back-alley butcher.

The Captain’s Mess was standing in for the officer’s conference room today, allowing a social meal between the senior staff and a chance to let everyone get up to date on particulars before diving into Starfleet’s core mission of honest to goodness exploration.

“I would not call our pace sedate,” Lieutenant T’Val said from her seat opposite Ra. While the Efrosian was busy hacking at his breakfast, she was merely sitting over her bowl of soup, late in the day for her that it was. She was, as she’d advised more than a few times, enjoying the delicate aroma between the odd spoonful of soup. Or the overly luxurious dipping of a particularly dry and flavourless bread that seemingly paired well. “We remain on course at warp nine point eight and will arrive in the Leytan system in twenty-seven hours.”

“And five minutes,” Ra added, smiling boyishly. “You might not be counting, but I am.”

“In my experience, humans don’t require-”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” Gabrielle interrupted the two of them as she sat down next to T’Val. “Besides, T’Val has it down to the second, no doubt.”

“I do,” the Vulcan supplied.

“And that is why we love you.” Ra offered a wink to T’Val and was countered with a mere raising of an eyebrow. “But yes, we’re holding fast and steady. In an hour, Republic would have to run at full steam just to arrive with us. Every second after that is just icing on the cake.”

“It’s not a race,” Rrr grumbled from the far end of the table, opposite Nate. Their specialised seat anchored that whole end of the room, if not reality itself. “That said though, if there’s any way I can help, I’m sure I can conscript more than a few hands to help your people out.”

“Wouldn’t want any hiccups costing us first place,” Ra agreed, pointing at Rrr with a knife dripping with egg yolk. “You will be my first port of call.”

“As fascinating as all of this is,” Doctor Terax said grumpily, “Republic’s current mystery is more so. And aggravating at the same time.”

“Lieutenant Beckman, yes?” Nate asked before chomping down on a spoonful of cereal. The others all had far more proper meals before them while he had settled for a bowl of cereal, heavy on the sugar, and a cup of coffee so black that space was vibrant and colourful in comparison.

“Yes, their little godling helmsman,” Terax complained. If Terax wasn’t complaining, then the universe would lose one of its constants and the end of all things would be rapidly approaching. Or one had fallen into some sort of weird, psychotically happy universe. “Migraines and nausea as soon as we entered the Shackleton Expanse that modern medical science, as far as we have out there at least, can’t explain. Even with the far more extensively equipped medical facilities of Framheim Station.”

“Read the initial reports myself,” Gabrielle said. “Migraines and nausea are a nice way of saying she was violently ill at her station and had to be medically sedated for perceived pain.”

“Pain that logically, by all manners of scans, she shouldn’t be experiencing.” Terax picked at the food in front of him absently with all three hands. “There’s another few ships scheduled to transit in a few hours that Doctor Pisani is hoping to badger their CMOs for advice. And she’s waiting for a response from Starfleet Medical on Earth, but communication delays are regrettably a thing, even with a transwarp conduit to shorten them. Medical examinations of individuals with Lieutenant Beckman’s unique background are far and few between. Officially.”

“Fingers crossed they get to the bottom of it,” Nate said. “More charming matters though, we got our first incredibly long-range scans of the Leytan system just before we sat down. So that should let you two,” he pointed at Gabrielle and Rrr with his empty spoon, “start plotting and planning probe dispersals and freeing up some deck space in the shuttlebays, hmm?”

“I’ll reach out to planetary sciences after this,” Rrr said to Gabrielle, who nodded in agreement.

“Good. Now, while we have probes to spare, keep in mind Republic is bringing her own allotment as well, so while I want the shuttlebays cleared, perhaps we can hold a few as spares for other, nearby Starfleet vessels, should they so desire?” Nate looked between the two he was still focused on and got an affirmative nod from Gabrielle, with Rrr taking a moment longer.

“I’ll keep the sacrificial probe launches to a minimum,” Rrr agreed.

“Right, enough business,” Nate proclaimed. “Doctor, what’s this I hear about you starting a poetry group?”

As the turbolift doors shut, cutting Ra and Rrr off from the rest of the ship momentarily, it took only a breath before Ra cracked out a single, loud “Ha!”

“What?” Rrr asked.

“Did you see Terax’s face when the captain asked about his poetry group? I thought he was liable to give us all a vivisection demonstration.”

“On the captain, or himself?”

Ra chuckled at the quip. “Great Bird, now there’s a point.”

Silence settled for a few decks. “His poetry group is actually pretty remarkable,” Rrr said, breaking the silence.

“Oh, tell me you’re not in it?” Ra looked at Rrr, waited for any response, then shook his head. “How long?”

“Who do you think helped him set up the messaging groups and helped arrange bookings for common spaces?”

“The man is qualified to operate on no less than eighty different species, but he’s somehow still managing to be completely inept when it comes to modern computers.”

“I wouldn’t say that. He’s just busy and asked if I could assist.”

Ra glared at Rrr for a moment, then shook his head. “Honestly, you are the biggest gossip on the ship-”

“Figuratively or literally?”

“Both! The biggest gossip and you kept this under wraps?”

“Wasn’t really gossip,” Rrr answered as the turbolift hissed to a stop, the large Gaen stepping out with a single step. “I’ll send you a few sample pieces, see if it piques your interest.”

“Doubt it,” Ra said, holding a hand to keep the door open. “Still keen on hitting that hiking trail this afternoon?”

“Holodeck Six,” Rrr answered as they turned away, walking down the hall. “Bring water. It’s going to get hot.”