Out of His Element

Posted on Mon Nov 3rd, 2025 @ 7:53pm by Chief Science Officer Mika Rai'z D.Sc., Ph.D.

Mission: What Lies In The Darkness
Location: FarVoyager Bridge
Timeline: 248001.01 14:00

(This is considered to be a back post, as so much OOC time has gone by.)


On:


Mika Rai’z was a man out of his element.

Beyond the curve of the viewport, fighters twisted through the dark, their engines flaring briefly; thin streaks of ion light marking their paths before fading into black. The faint pulse of weapons fire trembled through the deck under his boots. He sat in the command chair, the hum of the Bridge steady around him, yet inside he felt the quiet dissonance of being somewhere he didn’t belong.

Through every stage of his life, Mika had chosen paths of peace. He had left Ka’bu when its brilliance had become arrogance and its progress turned violent. He had found balance on Ba’ku, where time flowed like water and patience had meaning. He had joined Starfleet not to fight, but to heal and to learn. Every choice had been about preserving life, not commanding it in battle.

Now he led out of duty, not desire. As the FarVoyager’s Executive Officer, he gave orders meant to protect, but they still carried the weight of risk. It was one thing to oversee research that might ease suffering; it was another to send people into danger and hope that none of them were lost.

He understood the necessity; sometimes the only way to save lives was to risk them. But understanding didn’t make it easier. His chest tightened as he watched the small fighting craft weave through the dark, faint ion flares tracing their maneuvers before fading into silence. This wasn’t who he was meant to be.

Still, his crew needed steadiness, and that he could give. He drew a slow breath, grounding himself in the calm he had learned on Ba’ku; the stillness between heartbeats, the silence where thought became focus.

“Maintain defensive posture,” he said quietly. “Keep all channels open to the Captain’s team. If they call for retrieval, we move before they finish the word.”

The bridge officers answered with calm precision, trusting his lead. For their sake, Mika kept his voice steady, his gaze fixed on the lights beyond the transparent metal.

He had spent his life mastering the stillness of Ba’ku, the patience of its people, the balance of time itself. But here, in the low hum of a war he never chose, even time seemed to hold its breath.