Red Eye Flight [6/6]

Posted on Mon Apr 20th, 2026 @ 5:10pm by Captain Jaro & Lieutenant Harinarayani Khatri

1,103 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: 48 Hours and Counting
Location: Cockpit / USS Muko
Timeline: T -42 hours (04:25)

Jaro nodded slowly, his expression shifting into one of contemplative honesty. "A draw-card indeed. But most people prefer a draw-card that doesn't involve the high probability of never seeing a Federation starbase again." He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest as the Muko’s engines hummed into a steady, pre-acceleration thrum. "To be perfectly frank, Lieutenant, you weren’t our original first choice. We had a Phylosian slated for the post—Rodantrus. He’s an old friend of mine, a brilliant pilot and an unbelievable movie buff. But the task force flagship had a bit of an eleventh-hour crisis; their own helmsman got cold feet at the prospect of being slingshotted across the galaxy and requested immediate shore duty. Command moved Rodantrus over to the flagship to fill the gap, and suddenly the Amazônia was a workhorse without a driver."

He gave a small, self-deprecating shrug. "When I found myself in that predicament, I started digging through the candidate lists, looking for something specific. Not just high flight-reflex scores—though you certainly have those—but for a specific type of... intellectual restlessness."

He looked at her then, his gaze piercing through the whimsy of his earlier owl-like demeanor. "I am a xeno-anthropologist by training, Lieutenant. I study not only cultures and individuals, but also how they adapt to extreme shifts in their environment. When I saw your record—the dual major in astrophysics, the persistence in including exploration preferences even when they were ignored by command—I put you towards the top of my list. In fact, I was almost convinced you wouldn’t even bother to return my message, but I had to try anyways. After all, not many would trade a secure track toward guaranteed advancement for a shot into a void filled with Borg remants and gods-know-what-else."

He let out a short, sharp laugh. "But here you are. Sleep deprived, slingshotting us through the system and already telling the Captain his flight plan is too boring. I think we’re going to get along just fine."

The silence that filled the cabin was immediately more telling that Khatri would have liked. When it came to cross-checking, she had been equally as invested in checking out what time had chosen to document about her new prospective Commanding Officer and the results had been...intriguing. Jaro might have been amused, and possibly relieved, to know that he hadn't made her father's list of top candidates to curry favour with but that was cause enough for reconsideration in Raya's book. Certainly, if raw data was anything to go by, the man lacked the single-minded ambition that drove her father's version of success but having spent the best part of a year under the yolk of one of the actual top contenders, Raya was privately and very cautiously optimistic about backing a wild-card entry. Jaro's command style promised to lack predictability in any case, which was currently a lot more appealing than others might realise.

His evaluation of her motivations was a little concerning, however; not because they were incorrect, quite the opposite. It was one thing to know her own mind and squirrel away her true motivations behind a cooperative veneer, Raya wasn't sure that serving beneath a man quite so adept at reading between the lines was exactly what she'd signed up for. Bringing the impulse engines online was a viable distraction, it at least allowed her to look occupied as she scrambled for a response that wouldn't implicate more than she cared to. Altering their heading to await the command to engage eventually left her completely out of stall-tactics.

"Rebuilding Fleet resources seems a higher priority than personal advancement." It was a response that hedged its bets; a little on the trite side, noble sentiment that wasn't entirely lacking authenticity but refused to commit to the actual passion driving her decision. A dip towards something a little riskier saw her add, "Transporting diplomats was becoming a little too comfortable."

Jaro tilted his head, a playful yet searching look in his eyes. "Is that the line you fed your former Commanding Officer when you requested a transfer?" he asked softly. He watched her hands on the console, noticing the precise maneuvers even as she deflected his questions. " 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'—it’s a cute catchphrase, isn't it? Very noble. Very inspiring for the recruitment posters. And while I know from personal experience that sacrifices are sometimes necessary, I've always found it a bit... reductive."

He leaned forward, lowering his voice as if they were discussing a secret heresy. "I would much prefer if 'the many' and 'the few' could actually come to terms on what it is they want and simply accomplish it together. You don't have to pretend your personal hunger for the unknown is a secondary byproduct of your 'duty' to the Fleet, Lieutenant. Not here. I’d rather have a pilot who is here because she needs to see what’s on the other side of that jump than one who’s just following orders to hoard resources."

He reached out and tapped the screen where the slingshot trajectory was mapped. "The resource we’re lacking most isn't ships or dilithium, Khatri. It’s people who haven’t forgotten how to be curious. So, tell me—once we’re past the cliché sentiments you’re supposed to say in these situations—what is it you’re actually looking for out there?"

Resignation settled like a mantle, heavy across the back of Raya's shoulders as a weight not easily cast aside. She probably shouldn't have been surprised, there were hints enough that Jaro was an astute judge of character peppered all through his service record, if not made abundantly clear by the tone and timbre of his recruitment communiqué. Had she not accepted the position, a treacherously smug voice inside her head pointed out, specifically because he didn't seem to be the type to push a narrative that was already tired and monotonous? Be careful what you wished for, they said.

The very faintest smile nearly won its attempt to break her concentration.

"I'll be sure to let you know when I find it, sir." A glance sideways caught a glimmer of devilment as a glint in her eye before Raya added, "You might want to find something to hold onto." The whine of engines powering finally coaxed her eyebrows upwards in muted merriment. "Things are about to get very interesting."

[END]

Captain Jaro
Captain
USS Amazonia

Lieutenant Harinarayani Khatri
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Amazônia

 

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