The water closed over her head, ice cold and dark, pressing the air out of her lungs as another wave crashed over her. She tried to remain calm, to think logically, to regain focus, but bit by bit, every ounce of control melted away, leaving nothing but the raw instinct to survive.

She could still see the surface, a faint source of light and hope that grew smaller and farther away with each breath she couldn’t take, and each futile movement as she clawed toward it. The invisible ladder grew taller with every second, and the salvation of the world above remained an unkept promise. 

I need to breathe, she thought, but resisted the urge, even as the burning in her chest deepened, searing through her lungs. She clamped her mouth shut, knowing it was only a matter of time before her body betrayed her. 

No, she screamed at herself as she closed her eyes. Focus. You can do this. Stop struggling, and concentrate on the water. This is your storm to calm. You are in control.

But when she opened her mouth, it wasn’t a choice. It was the primal urge to breathe, even if she sucked in water instead of air. The coughing came next, sharp and violent but futile, water replaced by water, and her mind began to cloud, replacing panic with a strange, hollow calm.

For an instant, just before everything faded, there was peace. A memory surfaced – something small, warm, and unimportant. And then even that was gone. 

Una’s eyes snapped open. She gasped, drawing in the cool, crisp air that filled her lungs and banished the lingering taste of a phantom sea.

Slowly, the room around her filled with disembodied voices, far away and muffled at first, but quickly sharpening into merry conversations and heated discussions. Una blinked, dazed still, the bright light an uncomfortable contrast to the darkness that had swallowed her before. She stood, desperate to feel solid ground underneath her feet.

No one, not even the other officers she sat with, noticed. The mediation had been supposed to calm her, give her clarity, but had done nothing of the sort. Instead, she had failed abysmally. 

“I know.”, said the Caitan woman next to her, addressing Jonathan Keller, who sat to Una’s other side. “I’m just glad I asked him about it first. Can you believe what would have happened if I had just gone ahead and done it?”

“After Ricarda passed away, I wasn’t myself. I’m still finding out who I am without her, but it helps,” Keller admitted.

“He’s good to talk to,” another officer agreed, glancing toward Keller.

Una sighed, though only internally. He. Naeric. They had been talking about him for what seemed like hours now, a conversation she simply did not have anything to add to. She didn’t like feeling left out, and she particularly didn’t like feeling like there should be nothing to be left out of – because as far as she was concerned, Naeric didn’t exist. At least the computer hadn’t recognized the name, and it had never come up before. 

Overwhelmed by the ceaseless chatter – and the feeling of utter invisibility  – Una murmured, “I’ll be heading to my quarters,” even as her colleagues continued their discussion. 

When she made her way through the ship, she was still arguing with herself as to what to do, and if there was truly something that needed to be addressed with a senior officer. Was she being difficult about something, and was she simply afraid of being excluded, or was there something else that unsettled her about the situation?
She wasn’t entirely sure, but she knew someone who would help her find out.

“I wanted to speak to you about something. It’s important.”

Alcyone Brennan hadn’t expected Lieutenant Una to request a meeting with her – even though Keller had expressed his wishes to retire from Starfleet, he was still her superior officer – but she welcomed the distraction.

“What is it?”, she asked curiously. She paused, then gestured for Una to sit.

“It might sound strange.”, the Lieutenant started, her tone an odd mix of vulnerability and professionalism Brennan had only ever noticed from half-Vulcans such as Una. “I have… I am unsure to say this. Over the past two days,  I have noticed that several individuals of the crew have changed their behaviour. I find that… worrisome.”

“Changed their behaviour?” Brennan echoed.

“Yes,” Una continued. “They seem subjectively happier, yet less focused and more secretive. Sometimes, when I join a group, the conversation abruptly halts. And if it continues, it is on a topics I know nothing about.”

Brennan frowned. “Did anything happen that would make them react that way?”

“Nothing at all.” Una shook her head, a distinctly human gesture. “After we returned from the away mission – uneventful as it was – everything felt normal. Then these changes began.”

“That is odd.”, Brennan agreed, finding that the account Una was giving matched her own observations.

“There is something else. The same individuals have been talking about someone. Someone who I have never met and whose name the computer doesn’t recognise.”

The Callisto’s First Officer had tried to remain neutral, but at this latest revelation, she found herself staring at Una. “Naeric.”, she said eventually.

Una tilted her head, expressing surprise at Brennan’s statement. “You know him?”

She shook her head. “No. But I have noticed the same as you have. I have spent the night trying to figure out who they mean, but came up with nothing.”

“I believe this to be something we need to address, perhaps with the Captain.”, Una suggested, and Brennan nodded slowly, allowing the idea to linger. Ceix was occupied with figuring out how to retrieve the crew of the Givens, and battling his own personal feelings towards Commander Shivni. 

“I agree. Though, before we do, I think we need to figure out who else noticed. We can’t have been the only two.”, she said eventually.

“I believe Ensign Ho’va and Lieutenant Kafina are experiencing the same.”, Una mused. “I have observed them – they seemed put off by the others’ conversations, and did not include themselves.”

Brennan considered this for a good few seconds. “Then…  I suggest we team up and seek them out. Find out what they know, or what they don’t know. And then we bring this to the Captain. ”

“Agreed.”, Una said, rising from her chair. “And… Thank you for listening. In the past two days, no one has.”

Brennan gave a slow nod. She understood – she had tried to speak to Eshrevi after their failed date night, but the conversation had led nowhere. “I know what that feels like. We will figure out what’s going on. I will seek out Lieutenant Kafina, I suggest you speak with Ho’va. And.. perhaps there are others.”

“Agreed” Una said once again, gave a nod, and left.