“They really tore it to hell.” Ensign Merlin Markell observed as his eyes searched the broken and busted station. They had taken a small shuttle closer to the structure and suited up in full environmental gear. Lieutenant Grace Albright walked ahead of him, boots magnetically secured to the deck beneath. He practiced breathing as they walked, feeling far more comfortable inside the injured station than out among the stars that seemed to go on forever.

Albright chortled, “The Vaadwaur would make great partners for the Tougun Network if they’d have found a way to play well with others.” He watched her check doors, marking the ones too damaged to open, or the deck beyond them had been torn apart. They walked down another corridor and up some stairs. The XO gasped, and Merlin did the same as the bridge came into view.

Very little of the command center’s ceiling remained. It had been perforated and punched to where stars were visible above them as the two navigated the damaged corridor and onto the command deck. Two twisted bodies floated near the front of the bridge. “Holy sh…crap.” Markell felt his face grow warm. It was a horror show. Looking closer, he could see blood stains deep into the deck and chairs. The Vaadwaur hadn’t left anything to chance.

Albright seemed unaffected as she ordered, “You take communications and ops, I’ll handle science and tactical.

Merlin swallowed the growing fears that the glaringly empty and smashed bridge was growing in him. He went to work on the communications station. The portable generator kicked on, and the system took time to boot to the root console. They’d discovered the remains of the central computer when they had stepped aboard. He turned to Albright. He wasn’t sure what to make of her. The rumors on the ship had been in rare form when it came to her. He asked, “You don’t seem very fazed by any of this, Lieutenant.”

She didn’t move and focused on the station from which she was pulling data. “Was there a question in there, Ensign?”

Markell tried again, “How do you do it?” This time, she looked up and turned to stare at him from across the ruined bridge.

“Duties in diplomatic services cover a lot of ground. Sometimes that ground had blood on it. Or bodies.” She turned back to the console, finishing up the data transfer. “As for how to do it, experience is the best and worst teacher.”

Merlin’s station beeped, and he moved to the next console, starting the download process.

“That is most illogical, Lieutenant Helsing,” Vlokar said as he sat in the cockpit ops seat while Lieutenant Saffron Helsing manned the helm controls. She had just explained why she had transferred to the Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Helsing rolled her eyes dramatically at the stuffy Vulcan. “I am well aware of the disparity given what we’re doing now. You can’t blame me for trying.” She closed her eyes, groaning as he replied.

“The risks associated with a career in Starfleet exist in each position within the various organizations and operations. It is often said by humans that there is never a boring day in Starfleet.  One would be quite able to assign blame.”

Saffron adjusted their course, shifting them out of the way of several rolling asteroids. “Logic is not a strong suit of humans at the best times. The good news is I’ve been told I’m very good at my job.” The Chief Flight Control officer smiled at his blank expression. “I would call your late-to-the-game human interaction study thing illogical if we start throwing out accusations and allegations.” She felt her face blush in annoyance. Vlokar observed her in silence as she kept her eyes on the console and him.

He, at last, replied. “There was not an accusation in my observation, Lieutenant. Or an allegation. Merely an observation. A point of interest for your further investigation is the reality that there are groups of Vulcans who find the study of humans, and by extension, the close relationship with the Federation, something that should not have gone as far as it has.”

She said, “I know we’re not the center of the universe, if that’s what you’re getting at.” She admonished herself. She needed to choose her words more carefully. They had taught in the academy how Vulcans would naturally annoy humans in conversation. You had to realize they came from a place of complete emotional control, they had said. Saffron was discovering that all the learning in the world couldn’t prepare you for the real thing, especially when you had plenty of emotions on hand against someone who had none.

Vlokar keyed in another round of scans. “The center of the universe is a complex question that we neither have the time nor, as humans would say, the patience for. As for humanity’s place in it, your overall success in breaking the bonds of your planet is well documented.”

She swerved, shifting the conversation, “Sensor reports?”

One of his eyebrows went up, as if he was making note of where their conversation stopped. He scrolled through the latest readings. “There are a number of debris items, all small.” He adjusted the scans again. Thirty seconds later, he frowned. “Fascinating.” His hands worked the board further, and he sent the data to her console. “There is a faint signal consistent with an older model Federation shuttle…and it is well within our range. Power readings are fluctuating, but stable for now.”

Saffron adjusted their course. “Sounds like someone tried to run.”

The shuttle careened towards the new target.