Ripping open the front of his uniform jacket, Giarvar marched straight up to the doors of his new quarters at such a pace that if he had been so much as a nanosecond earlier, he would have face-planted the doors and required a trip to sickbay. As luck would have it, his movements were timed to perfection and he crossed into his private abode with all the grace of a bounding gazelle. The early hours of a new command were often spent trawling through paperwork, meeting new crewmates and getting to grips with things a bit closer to home; sending intergalactic communications was pretty low down the traditional list of tasks for a new commanding officer. Not today, however. Giarvar was a firm believer in the phrase ‘knowledge is power’, and if he was going to get knowledge about the task he had just accepted, it was widely known there was only one reliable source of information in the entire fleet. She just happened to be thousands of lightyears away in a different quadrant.

Slinging his jacket over the back of his sofa, he grabbed the vest variant he felt far more comfortable in and pulled it over his shoulders as he took his seat at his workstation. “Computer,” he commanded whilst zipping up his vest. “Link with science station bravo and commence communications link up”

“Working…”

Watching the screen as the computer did its thing, he couldn’t help but question something for a moment. Did Hypatia sound… sexier… than usual? The voice was more sultry, less nasal, and far more pleasing on the ear.

“Link established. Activating communications channel.”

Shaking off his distraction, he sat on the edge of his seat, tugged at his collar, and waited for the face of his contact to appear.

It was the face of a Deltan who appeared on the desktop display screen.  Judging by her collar, she was also a four-pipped captain in command crimson. The sound of her first words decayed into garbled noise while her image was distorted by interference.  By the time the subspace video link stabilized, her words became clearer too.

“–invigorating to meet you, Captain Kauhn, even if only via a MIDAS array,” Taes said, with a warmth to her smile.  “I believe I read a paper you wrote about mapping stellar surfaces.  Otherwise, it came as a surprise that you wished to speak with me all the way in the Delta Quadrant.”

“You read my paper?” Giarvar grinned. Knowing that a scientist as distinguished as Taes had read his paper made him feel incredible, but also validated. He’d not received a lot of feedback, but the feedback he had received was generally positive, and knowing a distinguished officer such as her had read his work was the greatest feedback; it meant his work was spreading to wider circles.

“Constellation is equipped with the newest generation of metaphasic shields,” Taes replied, nodding as she spoke, “and my next assignment is to study a rare Wolf-Rayet star in the Gradin Belt.  Your theories are well-researched and conceptually sound.  I even challenged my engineers to make one of them a practicality in our work to come.  You’ll be the first one in the alpha quadrant I’ll send our sensor logs to.”

Giarvar hung on the Deltan’s every word, eyes tracing her lips as she spoke in her beautiful dialect. “I look forward to reading your findings,” he grinned, nodding in all the right places. “I had help from some talented individuals, but I’m glad the theories are proving accurate.” He was so thrilled by her revelation that he almost forgot the reason for his communication in the first place. When he did remember, his face changed a little.

“I hope you don’t mind the call, but I was reaching out in hopes of receiving some words of wisdom from you about something,” he smiled sheepishly, hoping his request was not an imposition on the woman and her ship’s important mission.

Taes inclined her chin at him.  “We starship captains are all alone on each of our ships.  We can only survive if we seek community in one another.  It would be my privilege to impart whatever wisdom you might find in my words.”

“Thank you,” he smiled in appreciation, “I came to you, especially, because I’ve recently assumed command of the Hypatia, my biggest and best challenge to date.” He finally seemed to relax, resting against the backrest of his chair. “Going from a Rhode Island to a Sutherland is a massive change.”

Nodding effusively, Taes said, “I remember that feeling well.  When I first captained the USS Sarek, I had been in command of a Springfield-class starship.  With that one, each time we dropped out of warp, I sincerely feared it would be our last.  The EPS grid of that ship was a tangled hyurin-warren behind the bulkheads.”

“Hypatia is my first science ship,” the man told her, “I’d love any advice you might have? Sutherland-class or science ship-wise.”

Taes steepled her fingers and she narrowed her eyes.  She breathed in deeply through her nose and then let out a slow breath.  And then she smiled.

“Allow me to ask you a question first,” Taes said.  “What is your level of comfort with asking for help?  Be supremely honest with yourself, even if not with me, a stranger.  In how much trouble do you need to be before you’ll admit defeat and release a distress call?”

That was… not what he expected to be asked. He’d never been one to shy away from seeking the help of his colleagues when he’d been a department head, or even when he was an executive officer, but he was a commanding officer now – it was expected that, for the most part, he would have the answers to any situation. But, he knew the key tenant of being entrusted with a ship and crew was to do what was in their best interests. “When the time comes, whatever that time or situation might be, where I cannot protect my people, or do what is right, then I will have no problem with seeking help. But, I would exhaust all of my options first,” he confessed.

“Coming from a Rhode Island, you will exhaust all options much more quickly now you’re in command of a science ship,” Taes told him.  “Although the Sarek was deployed to the Delta Quadrant for the blood dilithium debacle, we spent much of our time hiding from the Devore.  You may need to reflect on how deep a well of humility you hold within you.”

“I think you are quite right,” the Trill smiled, nodding respectfully. “Starfleet has offered to assign us an escort for missions where we might need them. I will be sure to avail myself of such support wherever and whenever we may need it,” he added confidently, perhaps the first sign of his willingness to seek the support of others.

Nodding gently, Taes said, “And what of your truth you already contain?  Where does a city-sized laboratory on nacelles fit within the formation of your own ambition?”

Well, that was a loaded question if ever he heard one, but he owed it to himself, as well as his learned colleague, to tell the truth. “It probably sounds ridiculous in the current age of space exploration, but I just want to visit new places, meet new people. I want to find things that challenge our understanding of the cosmos,” he gave a child-like grin, hoping he didn’t sound too crazy.

Squinting at Giarvar, Taes asked, “Why would that sound ridiculous?  That is the mission.”

“I feel like too many in Starfleet have forgotten our mandate in recent years,” the Trill sighed, his demeanour changing as his annoyance showed through for the time being. “All I hear from younger ones these days is the stuff they learnt in the war with the Dominion, how they felt fighting for the Federation against the Borg, or how they wish to protect us during tensions with the Romulans, the Klingons, even the Cardassians. I don’t hear about them wanting to find the next wonderful civilisation, or visiting the newest star. Why be the next Spock when you can be the next Kirk?” he scoffed in frustration.

Taes smirked.

She said, “It sounds, to me, like it’s time for you to make some new friends.  It can be meaningful to make friends with the youths among your crew, but it isn’t always going to be possible.”

“I’d very much like to count you among one of those new friends Captain,” the Trill nodded in agreement, “if that would be acceptable to you?”

“Yes,” Taes said with a slow nod, “You can count me among your friends.”

“Then I hope to avail myself of your wisdom again soon, my friend. I’ll let you return to your exploration of the Delta Quadrant,” the Trill smiled. A short while later, beyond the pleasantries and well wishes, Giarvar couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm he had not felt for an age.

A calm that would soon be shattered.