The ship was always quieter on the third shift, as if the Mente was a sperate ship in the more unsociable hours. The corridors were dimmed, footsteps a little softer and people spoke in whispers. In the observation lounge the starfield wrapped itself around two of the walls. Ensign Drevan Zoral sat alone, watching the starfield move by the window. In his hands he held a green wrapper from a lozenge he’d gotten from sickbay.

He’d told Petty Officer Thorne that he’s stop apologising to the air for existing. It was mostly true. Tonight though, the apology really wanted out.

As he watched the stars he tried to make something of them, something useful. Routes, bearings, proof that he hadn’t been a fool to leave the safety of his homeworld for a dream. The wrapper rustled him his hands. He rolled it into a ball, flattened it back out and then rolled it again.

The doors opened and Lt Sora Venn walked in, her shoes in hand while she walked barefoot as usual. Her traditional Betezoid black eyes reflecting the stars out the windows.

“You’re very loud this evening,” she said as she took a seat opposite the young Bolian.

Zoral gave her a look of confusion as she continued, “not with your mouth, at this time of night thoughts have their own… volume.”

Zoral shifted in his chair, Sora didn’t need to read his thoughts to realise he was uncomfortable. “I’m not… I mean, I’m ok.” He said,

“Good, I’ll believe that because I’m kind,” she replied with a smile.

They both sat for a moment in silence, watching the starts through the windows.

“You’re thinking about the relay?” Sora said, not a question as such

“I never thought I’d react like that in 0G,” he swallowed.

He smoothed out the wrapper again, “I went to the holodeck…. Twice…. I froze twice.”

“good data,” she said

He stared at her, the look of confusion returning. “That wasn’t the response I was expecting.”

“You learned that you freeze when in 0 G,” she said “that means we don’t need to treat it like a one off.”

“We?” he replied cautiously.

She gave him a warm smile, “yes Drevan… We. Also please stop torturing the wrapper, it’s suffered enough.”

He stuffed the wrapper into his pocket. “what should ‘We’ do?”

“We go again,” she replied, “Together this time.”

Holodeck two accepted their program, the grid blurring for a moment before changing to show the stars. The relay beneath their feet, not quite how Zoral remembered but it was enough to make his stomach tighten. The USS San Clemente hung in the darkness, watching over them.

Sora looked toward Zoral, “ok, we don’t punish you if you freeze, we notice it but ask in to wait while we work.”

He smiled at that, “It doesn’t listen though.”

Sora put a hand on his shoulder, “It listens as well as pilots do, which is…. Sometimes.”

Zoral’s HUD lit on the inside of his helmet as they engaged their suits. “I’ll be right here,” Sora said as the simulation engaged.

Zoral instantly remembered the panic, the feeling of helplessness. He could hear Dr Paldor’s voice telling him that he steadied himself out there, Cdr Korren’s voice as she pulled him in.

They stepped forwards, the relay’s hull stretching out in front of them. Zoral’s boots clunking along as the magnets held him on the outer hull. He could feel each clunk through his body as he stepped. He looked back at Sora and saw her smile toward him.

“Talk to me,” she said quietly

“Boots engaged, suit is working within parameters, I can see workbee one.” He swallowed, “okay.”

“Breath,” she said to him, “count in and out.”

He did so, surprisingly working.

“A freeze will often try to take over, don’t block it, just let it come along for the ride.”

“I’m not sure how to let it come with me,” he replied, not quite understanding how to interpret the metaphor.

“trust me, concentrate on the task and you have a friend at your side” her voice shifted slightly, “focus.”

He looked around, the stars blinking in the distance, each with its only colour, he hadn’t noticed that before now. “Okay,” he said

Sora walked beside him, “now, I’m going to as you to do something you won’t like.”

“What’s that?” he said, turning toward her.

“I’m going to ask you to fail on purpose. Take one of your boots off the hull and keep it there.”

Zoral didn’t reply, he focused, nerves washed over him. He glanced at Sora again, she nodded toward him.

He lifted his left boot, nothing horrid happened, his world didn’t implode.

“again,” Sora said, “but the other side.”

He did, again nothing happened. They did this a number of times, swapping boots each time. His body started to feel the rhythm rather than the fear. His chest loosened.

“stop” Sora said, putting a hand on his arm.

He froze instantly, “what?”

“You’re doing well,” she said, “just breath and notice that.”

He did so, noticing his bodies ‘normal’ actions feeling a little ridiculous but it worked. “why did that work?” He said, looking toward her.”

“Our brains notice threats like they’re the news,” Sora answered.

He didn’t quite understand, but she was much more qualified to understand how the minds works than he was. “okay, I’m going to step things up a little, add a little noise”

Zoral flet his shoulders tense, that knot in his stomach threatening to return. “Is that necessary?”

“Pilots need to get bored sometimes, engineers need to insult the machines, and counsellors…. We need noise.” She said, “remember, when things start to go wrong, two boots on the hull”

“right, two boots” he replied with a growing feeling of dread.

“ok, head to the marker” Sora said as a small red dot started blinking on Zoral’s HUD.

Both started moving forwards, boots clunking against the hull again as the magnets engaged and disengaged.

“now is the part where I say something to you that I definitely shouldn’t” Sora said, moving forward steadily next to him.

Zoral didn’t reply, unsure of what to expect.

“For three days after the incident on the relay and our visitor, I felt it, in my dreams…. Not thoughts,” she said “a presence, like a pressure on me. I don’t like telling people that, they look at me like a weather report with a face.”

“I’m not…” he began. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she said, “I decided I was bored of being a barometer. It didn’t leave because it grew kind.”

He slowed a little and looked across at her, “you make it sound simpler that I thought.”

“It isn’t,” she replied, “it’s work.”

Zoral looked around, the damaged relay becoming what it is, metal twisted ribs and pylons surrounding them. Zoral weaving in and out of them with ease now.

They reached the little red dot on the HUD, it was only when he got there that he realised where they were. It was simulated of course, but this was the point he froze, where he lost his nerve. It didn’t feel the same this time, he was almost comfortable…. Almost.

They ended the program, Zoral breathed out so strong the room probably heard. He removed his helmet and grinned toward Sora.

“what to try it again tomorrow?” she asked.

“Is that ok?” he said, “I don’t want to….”

“Don’t worry” Sora interrupted, “we’ll trick your freezing into staying a passenger while you work.”

They both stepped through the doors and into the corridor. Sora slipped her shoes on and wrinkled her nose. “I hate shoes.”

They walked side by side past the dimmed panels and shut doors, it was still late, or now maybe it was early, Zoral thought.

“Thank you” Zoral said toward Sora, finally finding the words.

She stopped and turned to him. “You know, you’ll do it without me,” she said.

“yes…. maybe.” He gestured toward the holodeck doors behind them, “this though, definitely made me think that it’s possible.”

Sora tilted her head. “Drevan, sometimes the hardest part of any job is understanding you don’t have to go it alone. Remember, Starfleet is a team”

He nodded as she spoke, “do you feel people all the time, everyone?”

“not thoughts…. really” she said, “well sometimes, it’s mostly noise, like weather in the distance and sometimes you’re in a storm. Today yours was loud, so I brought you an umbrella.”

He laughed, “you and Rebecca should for a club.”

“How do you know we haven’t already?” Sora said. “the membership is anyone who needs to sit and the cost, honesty.”

He glanced toward sickbay and thought about the hand written notes next to a tin of lozengers that sometimes appeared on the table near the doorway. “I think I can afford that.”

“Good,” she looked toward him for another moment. “Sleep now, real sleep. Goodnight Ensign.”

He took three steps and turned back, “Sora, if those echoes of the object get loud again… you don’t have to be the only one in the room with them.”

“Thank you,” she said, “I’ll remember.”

He turned and carried on walking, he felt lighter than at the start of the night.

Sora leaned against the wall and listed to the Hum of the ship. She took off her shoes again and headed toward her office, grabbing a mint green wrapper as she passed the main door to sickbay.

She took a seat at her desk, tucking her legs beneath her and picking up her PADD. She began to write.

Counsellors Log

Ensign Zoral carries fear like a careful person carries a full cup. With both hands and not taking their eyes off it. Tonight, he managed to put the cup down long enough to look around. Holodeck simulations allowed him to reduce his freezing and replace it with observable repetition. He marked his successes out loud.

After the incident at Relay Charlie I dreamt of a pressure on me. The probes left something behind, it was a presence, no words. The crews feelings sometimes fold around me a night, tonight I walked into the noise and pulled someone out. A utility ship fixes things, sometimes we fix the Human parts too.

She closed the log.

On the Bridge, the leather of the captains chair creaked as Captain Traven leaned back ready for a day he hadn’t met yet. In Engineering, Brunak was pretending he didn’t hear the warp core behaving itself. On Deck Five Cdr Rynka Korren cursed the paperwork she was filling out for their next mission, why did outposts need so much maintenance! In the crew quarters, Kree dreamed of faster times in smaller ships, Sh’rol of threats and defensive tactics, Saell of signals never heard, Paldor of orderly lines making sense of the chaos, Rebecca in lozenges that saves people.

And Ens. Drevan Zoral, for the first time since the incident on the relay slept deeply.

The USS San Clemente carrying all of them forward, through the stars.