The USS Ophiuchus traveled outward, out of the docking bay, and out of the orbit of Mellstoxx III. Once they’d cleared the star system, Dawa swiveled to face her passengers. “I’m about to go to warp. You might want to lean back for this one!”

She set the example by settling as far back into her seat as she could until she felt practically enveloped in it, then extended her arm. “Here we go!”

The stars resolved into streaks all around them as their warp factor slowly increased, but no matter how gradually Dawa accelerated, it was still noticeable as they passed warp five. An inertial dampener small enough for the runabout just couldn’t quite match the power of a full-sized starship.

Once they’d reached cruising speed at warp eight, Dawa finally relaxed and leaned forward to glance at her passengers. “So, what’s the verdict? Intolerable or exhilarating?”

As he recovered from the jump, Irric’s stoic facade cracked ever so slightly as a mischievous glint danced in his eyes. 

“You know,” he said with a hint of amusement, drawing out the words in a brief pause. The hum of the Orion class’s engines hung in the air, building anticipation before he spilled the punchline, “It kind of reminds me of a Cardassian prisoner transport.”

Arwa’s eyebrow went up hearing that reference to a prisoner ship and it made her look at  Irric “Do elaborate on how this reminds you of something so specific?” Arwa sits back in her chair, armed with her PADD and sharp focus.

“You know how the Cardassians operate,” Irric began, his voice carrying a quiet intensity. His gaze lowered, tracing the lines on the tabletop, and then he continued, “It’s not exactly a secret that they couldn’t care less about their prisoners’ well-being.”

A pause lingered, during which the atmosphere seemed to tighten. His ‘joke,’ once lighthearted, now cast a shadow over the conversation. The subtle crease in his brow conveyed the realization of a darker reality—one he had experienced in the recklessness of youth and now sought to distance himself from.

“Picture this,” he added, a somber tone threading through his words. “If a couple of dampeners happen to go haywire, they won’t lift a finger to fix them unless it directly impacts one of their precious officers. It’s the kind of negligence that becomes a chilling norm in their oppressive system.”

“Hmm,” Arwa replied to the story and wrote some text on her PADD. “So, Commander.” She turns her attention to the pilot of the craft. “How is your experience thus far flying, any difference?”

Dawa reeled a bit from the sudden shift in conversational tone. She had to shake the urge to lighten the mood long enough to give the counselor’s question some proper thought, and she struggled not to overanalyse the question. “Nope, feels all the same from my seat! Guess that means the Borg bits haven’t escaped and crawled into one of the panels yet!” she answered, inwardly cringing at her own joke.

Giving away a smile in Dawa’s direction, “Good, let’s have a comfortable flight.” Arwa noted something on her PADD and looked in the direction of Nuni “You okay?” 

“Lieutenant,” Irric’s exhale carried an audible undercurrent of frustration, “I was under the impression that you were here to observe Commander Vlček, not me.” Immediate regret swept over him like a sudden gust of wind. His eyes, refusing any direct connection, sought refuge in the cosmic tapestry beyond the viewport. 

Giving a soft smile in his direction, “Well it is called socializing Lieutenant. I am indeed here to observe the performance of the Commander, but it is no crime to talk with your fellow shipmates” Arwa looked back at the front seeing the flight going as planned. “It seems everything is going as scheduled. This flight is going quite smooth, my compliments.”

Twelve hours later and Dawa was certain she hadn’t given Arwa any reason to take back those compliments. It had been an uneventful fight full of small talk, paperwork, two shared meals, and general puttering around.

Arwa and Irric were quietly occupied when Dawa swiveled to face them, breaking the silent spell that had fallen over the cockpit. “Well, it’s time for me to get some shut-eye. My bed is right here on the flight deck, so I’m gonna shoo you both back to the rear cabin and let you decide if you want to sleep or not.”

She didn’t wait for them to leave before she dimmed the lights and stood up. With the push of a button, her bed slid down from the wall on the left side of the cockpit and she immediately hopped on, sighing as she laid back with her hands behind her head.

Standing up while reading her PADD as Arwa walked to the rear cabin. “Gonna finish reading this, then close my eyes also” Arwa didn’t pay attention to Irric as she was already occupied. Entering the cabin she lays down on the available bed still reading. 

Irric found himself drawn into the vast canvas beyond the viewport, his eyes tracing the intricate patterns of stars, each one a silent witness to the unfolding of recent events. The ambient glow of their celestial dance gradually waned, leaving behind an inky backdrop that swallowed the brilliance of the final frontier.

As weariness settled in, Irric’s eyelids became reluctant gatekeepers, struggling to hold back the encroaching darkness. The stars, once vivid storytellers in the cosmic expanse, faded away one by one. With a sigh, Irric succumbed to the weight of his thoughts, and the universe he had been contemplating slipped away, lost to the oblivion of his heavy-lidded gaze.