First Contact?

Posted on 26 Jan 2026 @ 3:27pm by Lieutenant Commander Adrian Sorvak & Lieutenant JG Mira Quinn

610 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Lathira Shoreleave
Location: USS Arawyn

=/\= Science Lab =/\=

It was early morning, and once again, Mira was in the lab.

Since she was alone in the lab, she had left the lights low. The main lights came from her console.

She had the recent reports from the Eirian ship on the screen, and her eyes followed the words as she re-read them. There wasn't much in the reports about her contact with the lifeform.

The only witness was Ryan, and he had been too occupied with the lifeform's appearance to observe everything.

Serel was there too, but they didn't have his report. Once the rift had opened - all the Starfleet crew had been beamed aboard the Arawyn, but the Eirian scientist had remained aboard the Eirian ship. He and all other Eirians had gone through the rift.

Assuming that it hadn't been a hallucination - and she was almost certain that it wasn't - it had been a first contact which nobody had noticed.

Sorvak entered the Science Lab and paused when he saw it was already occupied.

"Lt Quinn," he said.

Mira got to her feet. She had the distinct impression that Sorvak always knew when someone was in the lab.

"Sir... " She wasn't sure what to say.

He considered her for a moment, then his focus moved to the screen. He took a few steps to look at it more closely.

"Why are you reading these reports? They have been archived."

Mira felt her mouth go dry. "Yes, sir."

A pause.

"I asked you a question, Lt."

Mira wasn't sure what to do with her hands. She clasped them in front of her. "I..." she tried again. "I was going over the reports of my contact with the lifeform, sir."

Sorvak looked at the screen again, then back to Mira. He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

She took a deep breath. "I was hoping it would help me remember what happened."

His face showed no response. No twitch, no smile.

"Sit down, Lt." He gestured at the seat. "Please."

Unsure, she sat down. Sorvak joined her at the next chair over.

"It is not uncommon that an incident such as this would not be retained in conscious recall. Have you brought this up with Medical?"

"Yes, sir. There's no medical reason... Dr. Emerson said it's a matter of time, that my subconscious will work itself out."

"But you are not satisfied with that answer." It was a statement, not a question.

Mira slowly nodded. As a scientist, accepting uncertainty was one thing. Leaving potential data missing was another. "There isn't a lot of data on the alien lifeform, sir. I had contact with it, I know I did. If I can just remember what happened, I'll be able to complete the report."

"That is the nature of exploration, Lt. We do not always have the ability to have all possible data."

"I realize that, sir, but this is important."

The Chief Science regarded her steadily. “You may be trying too hard,” he said. “Understanding does not always arrive through persistence.”

"Yes, sir. I realize that."

"I'm not sure you do," Sorvak said. "You experienced first contact. Many dedicate their entire careers to the possibility of such an event. But some encounters cannot be reconstructed. The absence of recall does not diminish its significance.”

Mira held his gaze for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

Sorvak rose, giving her a final, measured look before leaving the lab.

Mira waited until the doors hissed shut behind him, then turned back to the console.

She sighed. And closed the file.


=/\=

Lt Cmdr Adrian Sorvak
Chief Science Officer
USS Arawyn

&

Lt JG Mira Quinn
Science Officer
USS Arawyn

 

RSS Feed