As the group left the transporter room, Kazlaf walked behind them, lost in thought. She made her way to the weapons locker and returned her rifle; the sound of the lock clicking echoed in the room. As she closed the locker, she couldn’t help but think about the unusual interaction between the captain and Magistrate Mala that had just taken place. The weight of the situation hung heavy on her mind.

“You okay there, commander?” Lonar asked as she unzipped her jacket.

Interrupted by her thoughts, Kazlaf looked over. “Yes, thank you, lieutenant, I was just reflecting on how-” She paused as she couldn’t think of the words to describe what she was considering. With Lonar being the only one else on the senior staff on that away mission, Kazlaf realised that she was the only one she could bounce her concern with for now. “Was it me, or was Magistrate Mala too open and whatever she said just didn’t sound-”

“Legit?” Lonar finished. She nodded as she pulled her uniform jacket on. “That went through my mind as well.”

Relieved that she wasn’t becoming too suspicious, Kazlaf gave out a sigh of relief. “In part, I want to believe what she shared, but her intentions are just so-”

“Cringy?” Lonar finished again with a smirk.

“Yes!” Kazlaf felt a sense of relief as Lonar seemed to grasp her perspective and complete her sentences. Pausing momentarily, Kazlaf noticed that there was no lingering animosity from Lonar towards her despite the presence of some hostility between them. Kazlaf was aware that the hostility was coming more from her end than Lonar’s. Ever since they joined the Constitution, Kazlaf had made her feelings known to Lonar and the other younger members of the crew. She couldn’t shake off the thought, similar to how she felt about Jarata, that the younger officers responsible for almost killing everyone in Starfleet a few weeks ago were rewarded with senior positions on one of Starfleet’s premier explorers. Though why she felt annoyed towards Jarata was different compared to those who were made Borg drones (thankfully, he wasn’t one of them), she felt on edge around any of them—had all of the changes Starfleet Medical had done with their ‘cure’ via the transporter worked? She wasn’t confident with it, but she didn’t know what else to trust or think about it all.

Frontier Day certainly made things more complicated.

The Lost Fleet certainly made things more complex when they took Captain Canção.

“That said, I trust Captain McCallister to do the right thing here,” Lonar added as she closed the weapons locker. 

Lonar’s remark pulled Kazlaf out of her trance with her thoughts as she reacted to her statement. “Really?” Kazlaf questioned. “He seemed to find her entire approach uncomfortable and even appeared to be falling for her so-called generosity.”

Nodding, Lonar confirmed her point of view. “T’Penni shared a fascinating story with me about how he successfully negotiated with multiple alien races – including the Antarians, Aksani, Chessu, Imhotep, and Terrellians – to help the Bellerophon resolve a shared issue related to the impact of Blood Dilithium. He skillfully prevented conflicts or wars among the different races and maintained their twenty-five-year peace treaty. Later, he even won their annual shuttle race with Commander Jarata, cementing his reputation as a skilled negotiator and pilot.”

Impressed that Lonar knew so much about McCallister’s past, Kazlaf wondered if her faith in their new commanding officer was rightly put. “Maybe, but he’s no Rio Canção.”

Lonar agreed with a simple nod and smiled at the mention of their former captain. “No, he isn’t, but I don’t think it’s fair to compare them. She had decades, probably centuries, on him with experience, but we owe him the chance to prove himself. Starfleet wouldn’t have given him the Constitution if they didn’t trust him to make the big choices.”

“Perhaps,” Kazlaf said, realising she didn’t want to appear to be verbally bashing the captain behind his back with a more junior officer. “Back to Mala, though; I feel like she’s holding something back.”

“You want me to ask T’Penni to mind-meld with her to get her honesty?” Lonar asked, trying to sound funny as they exited the weapons locker room.

Kazlaf smirked. “Maybe later, but for now, we should keep an eye on her and why we were brought here.”

“You don’t believe what she said?” Lonar checked.

Shrugging, Kazlaf had learnt over the years not to believe anything until she saw the evidence before her. It was the scientist in her. Facts meant facts. Numbers didn’t lie. “I want her to show us how we were pulled here, and then I’ll make my own decision.”

“Okay, well, if that’s the case, let me help,” Lonar offered.

As they walked further down the corridor, Kazlaf was intrigued by Lonar’s proposal. “How?”

“If she’s hiding something, we need to know, right? And if what we know about these people based on Voyager’s encounter, they have a strong sense of values,” Lonar said.

“Their Laws of Canon, if I remember rightly?” Kazlaf stated.

“Yeah, so if everything they’re saying and sharing is legit, they must follow them. If not, then let’s be good detectives here and keep an eye out for any clues. I can do everything that isn’t science-based, while you-”

Kazlaf liked where Lonar was going with this and, this time, finished her sentence for her.“Do the science-based clues?” 

“Exactly, we may see the bigger picture between us,” Lonar suggested.

“It sounds like a plan, but for now, let’s keep it between us as I don’t want the captain’s intentions to find a way for us out of here to be hampered by us putting ideas in his head that are not real.” 

“Agreed,” Lonar said.

Turning to look at Lonar, Kazlaf wondered if perhaps her entire approach was wrong. Maybe she could start to trust the likes of Lonar again. 

Only time would tell, she thought and hoped as they made their way into the nearest turbolift and returned to the bridge.