Heads won't melt

Posted on 07 Dec 2025 @ 12:59am by Ensign Ryan Collingway

316 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: The Displaced
Location: Engineering

//Eirian vessel-engineering//

Ryan continued to work on engineering, studying the various systems. "How does the interface work?"

"We can...interface directly with the ship...." Kaet said. He gestured at the holographic display. "We listen to it. Like...Suzanna did."

"The Comander?" Ryan didn't understand for a moment. Then he got it. "Oh, you mean the mind meld? It's a telepathic interface?"

"Tele...pathic?" Kaet echoed, not understanding the word. "We listen. You listen."

"Is it safe?" Ryan asked.

"Safe?" Kaet asked, cocking his head.

"My head isn't going to melt or anything, is it?" Ryan clarified.

"No. Heads...won't melt," Kaet said.

Ryan wasn't too reassured, but touched the interface anyway.

Instantly he was flooded with a sense of peace, a peace so serene that he never experienced it before. The only memory that even came remotely close was the day he defied his parents and joined Starfleet. At the time, he had taken a trip to the beach during a cold autumn day. He had spent an hour looking at the waves. It was a good memory.
Suddenly he was pushed away. Not ungently. It was like a parent shushing a child. He snapped open his eyes. "What happened?"

Kaet touched the interface. "Not...compatible. Your head is too chaotic. Too busy. To proceed further would be 'not safe'. You must use...manual control."

"Fair enough," Ryan looked at the controls again, trying to identify each one. "Propulsion. Communications. Internal scanners." He pushed a few buttons, and looked up. He could see a blip on the readings. "There's another life form," he realized. It was close enough to the displacement that the Arawyn's systems hadn't detected it. "Do you know who that is?"

Kaet shook his head. Ryan took out his communicator. "Ensign Collingway to Commander Batenburg. Unidentified life detected, very close to the source of the displacement."


Ensign Ryan Collingway
Engineering Officer
USS Arawyn

 

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