Hard Habit to Break
Posted on 30 Jul 2026 @ 2:34pm by Captain Sabrina Corbin & Commander Suzanna Batenburg
1,443 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Time After Time
Location: Ready Room
Suzanna stood outside the ready room and pressed the chime. After a full night’s sleep and a productive meditation session, she had completed most of her report. It still required some refinement, along with the attachment of the away team’s tricorder logs, but those details could wait. There were matters she preferred to discuss directly with the Captain.
“Come in.”
The doors parted, and Suzanna stepped inside. She inclined her head in greeting as she approached Corbin. “Captain.” She held the PADD containing her preliminary report at her side. “I believe we have sufficient information now to begin drawing some conclusions regarding what occurred.”
Corbin looked up from behind her desk, where a small stack of PADDS cluttered the usually clean surface. One of them contained the bridge summary. Another held Sickbay’s preliminary findings. A third was open to her own notes, though the phrasing had not improved with repeated attempts.
She regarded Suzanna for a moment, taking in the PADD at her side and the measured composure that suggested rest had been productive, if not entirely restorative.
“An ambitious claim,” Corbin said. “Please tell me one of those conclusions is not that we should avoid uninhabited planets. I believe Starfleet would consider that inconvenient.”
A faint dryness touched her expression, then softened into something more serious.
“Sit down, Commander.”
She gestured to the chair opposite her desk, then set her stylus aside.
“I have Sickbay’s preliminary assessment, the bridge log, and enough sensor data to make several departments deeply unpopular with Temporal Investigations, should they ever be invited to review it.” Corbin glanced briefly at the PADD Suzanna carried. “What I do not yet have is your interpretation of what happened on the surface, and that is the piece I am most interested in.”
She leaned back slightly, hands folding together on the desk.
An eyebrow rose sharply at the Captain’s remark about avoiding uninhabited planets. “It is not, Captain.” The faintest suggestion of amusement reached Suzanna’s eyes as she sat down in the chair opposite Corbin. “Have you ever encountered a species called the Meridian? The boy identified himself as ‘Juvenile Stage Four of the Meridian.’”
She paused, considering how much of what they had witnessed remained conjecture. “I am particularly interested in the science tricorder readings. I have not yet had sufficient time to analyse them in detail, and I am reluctant to draw conclusions before doing so.” She leaned back slightly. “I cannot say with certainty what the Meridian are, or even where they exist. They appeared to us through what I can only describe as an opening of light. The boy had assumed the appearance of a Human child, but there is no evidence that represented his natural form.”
Her eyebrow lifted again. “They may exist within subspace, on another plane of existence, or somewhere our current understanding of dimensional physics does not adequately describe.” She paused before adding, with clear scientific interest in her voice, “What we do know is considerably more intriguing. The boy demonstrated the ability to manipulate different regions of space across multiple temporal periods and, potentially, separate timelines.”
A slight hesitation. “Admittedly, he did so with considerably less precision than one might hope from a species possessing such capabilities.”
Corbin’s eyes sharpened slightly at the phrase separate timelines.
“That is very nearly the most diplomatic way anyone could describe tearing holes through several inconvenient pieces of reality,” she said. “Though I agree, precision did not appear to be Aster’s strongest quality.”
She glanced down at the PADD nearest her, then set it aside.
“No, I have not encountered the Meridian before. Not in any report I have read, at least. For now, I would be cautious with classification. Self-identified is useful. Understood is another matter entirely.”
Corbin leaned back slightly.
“I do not want him described as hostile. I also do not want the report softened because he appeared frightened and wore the face of a child. Intent matters, certainly, but consequence matters more.”
Her gaze returned fully to Suzanna.
“What I need from you is your judgement on that distinction. By the end, do you believe he understood what he had done?”
Suzanna inclined her head in agreement. Even with her background in xeno-anthropology, there was a clear distinction between what she had observed and what she could legitimately conclude from those observations. "Yes, Captain," she replied. "I believe so."
She folded her hands in her lap before continuing. "My assessment is based solely on observation. Nevertheless, the interaction was remarkably consistent with what Humans would interpret as a reprimand. The elder Meridian directed their attention towards Astor, while he displayed behaviour that suggested acknowledgement of responsibility and remorse."
She paused briefly. "He also appeared apologetic towards us. Combined with the intervention of the elder Meridian, I believe it is reasonable to conclude that the creation of the fragment and the resulting temporal disruptions were not considered acceptable behaviour by his own species."
Her expression remained thoughtful. "Of course, that remains a hypothesis until we have additional evidence. We were interpreting the behaviour of an alien species whose social structures, communication methods and cultural norms remain entirely unknown."
Corbin nodded slowly, weighing that. “Then we can frame him as uncontrolled rather than malicious,” she said. “Not harmless. Not absolved. But not hostile.”
She reached for her PADD and made a brief note. “I want that distinction very clear in the report. A frightened juvenile with extraordinary capability is still an extraordinary danger. Starfleet has a habit of becoming sentimental when something looks young and academic when something looks powerful. In this case, both instincts would be unhelpful.”
Corbin looked back to Suzanna. “We will state what we observed, label what we infer, and avoid pretending we understand Meridian culture after one deeply alarming introduction.”
She paused, stylus resting lightly against the PADD. “Though I do find myself wondering whether we are truly fortunate enough to have encountered two previously unknown species in the span of a year.”
Her expression shifted, the dry edge remaining, but softened by something quieter beneath it. “The Eirians gave us very little we could neatly explain. The Meridian have given us even less, and managed to be considerably more disruptive about it.”
Corbin glanced toward the viewport, though there was nothing unusual beyond it now. Only stars, distant and steady. “And yet, despite the danger, despite the reports, despite the certainty that Temporal Investigations will make some poor analyst deeply unhappy, we may be among the luckiest people in the galaxy to be out here at all.”
She looked back to Suzanna. “That, too, should probably stay out of the official summary. But I would not mind if the spirit of it survived somewhere between the lines.”
"I will endeavour to do so, Captain." She allowed herself a brief glance towards the stars beyond the viewport.
"From a scientific perspective, I would have preferred to obtain more comprehensive data on both the Meridian and the Eirians. Opportunities to study phenomena such as these are... exceptionally rare."
The faintest hint of amusement reached her eyes. "However, I suspect that a more complete dataset would also have resulted in a considerably more thorough inquiry by Temporal Investigations."
She returned her attention to Corbin. "On balance, I believe our current level of knowledge is an acceptable compromise."
Corbin allowed a small, knowing smile.
“An acceptable compromise,” she repeated. “That may be the most charitable possible summary of this mission.”
She glanced down at the PADD again, then gave a slight nod.
“Very well. Frame the report accordingly. Cautious classification, clear distinction between observation and inference, and no attempt to make the Meridian more comprehensible than they have earned.”
Her gaze lifted back to Suzanna.
“And for the record, Commander, I agree with your assessment. We learned very little with certainty, but perhaps enough to avoid making the next encounter worse. On balance, I will take that as a success.”
From there, the conversation moved into more practical matters. Corbin and Batenburg discussed the current status of the senior officers and other personnel matters they needed to catch up on together. They reviewed pending departmental reports, clarified what still needed to be attached to the official mission record, and cleared a considerable amount of ship’s business before the meeting finally came to an end.
By the time Suzanna left the ready room, the PADDs on Corbin’s desk had been rearranged into something closer to order, though the report itself remained every bit as improbable as when they had begun.
Commander Suzanna Batenburg
Executive Officer
Captain Sabrina Corbin
Commanding Officer
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