Bridge at 0200
Posted on 16 Feb 2026 @ 1:50pm by Lieutenant JG Mira Quinn
490 words; about a 2 minute read
Mission: Silent Inheritance
=/\= Bridge =/\=
It was gamma shift, and sitting at the helm console at the front of the bridge, Vel was bored.
To be honest, it wouldn’t have helped if it were alpha shift.
As long as the ship was parked in orbit, helm had very little to do. In fact, none of the bridge officers had much to do. With the ship stationary, the computer could have handled most of the bridge functions.
She was actually looking forward to the live-fire testing they’d been promised. The Chief Helm planned to use the opportunity to run additional training drills for the department.
The wraparound viewscreen displayed Lathira IV turning slowly on its axis. Vel’s eyes followed the daylight terminator crawling across the surface until the motion itself became hypnotic.
Lt. Cole from Ops had the conn, and in Vel’s opinion, he was taking himself far too seriously.
“Ensign Zodeil,” he called from the Ops station. “Status report.”
She took a second to check her console. “Everything nominal, sir.”
Her fingers lingered on the controls as Cole moved on to the other stations. There was no reason she couldn’t run her own training drill.
As long as she kept it theoretical.
She brought up a secondary display and plotted a departure vector to break orbit and enter warp.
She wouldn’t be the one to execute it, of course. That would happen during alpha shift, with someone senior in command.
What if they were on the far side of the planet when the order came?
She adjusted the parameters and ran a quick simulation. Satisfied with the timing, she let the projection cycle once more.
She glanced toward Lt. Cole. He was absorbed at his station.
What if a hostile ship appeared?
She added a mock contact at extreme sensor range.
“Helm,” she murmured under her breath. “Evasive maneuvers, delta pattern.”
Her fingers moved quickly, repositioning the ship between the planet and the incoming threat.
“But sir, we can’t desert the planet,” she muttered, playing both sides of the exchange in her head.
“Ensign!”
She had been about to tap the final command. Instead, she forced her gaze upward.
Lt. Cole was standing beside her console.
“Sir?”
He frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing, sir.” After the lecture she’d endured about the shore leave incident, she was determined to be on her best behavior. And she doubted an Ops officer could read a helm console at a glance.
“Good. See that it stays that way. I want your focus on the here and now.”
“Yes, sir. I’m focused.”
“I asked for a status report.”
She glanced at her console, then back at him. “We’re at the same coordinates, sir. Situation nominal.”
“Carry on.”
He returned to his station.
Vel cleared the queued commands. The orbital track resumed its flawless, unmoving circle around Lathira IV.
Six more hours to go.
=/\=
Ens Vel Zodeil
Helm Officer
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