Red Eye Flight [1/x]
Posted on Mon Apr 6th, 2026 @ 2:02am by Lieutenant Harinarayani Khatri & Captain Jaro
892 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Episode 0: 48 Hours and Counting
Location: Deck 6 / USS Amazônia
Timeline: T -42 hours (04:25)
The first hint that interesting might have been an understatement was the delay in finalising her quarters. That was okay, there had been a swift turnover of personnel and her position hadn't been hers a few days ago. Raya had accepted the delay with the resignation of someone who hadn't expected the universe to suddenly start cutting her any slack now anyway. Sure, it was inconvenient, especially when every muscle in her body was screaming for a shower, but the explanation was reasonable and it didn't seem like those responsible for fixing things were sitting around twiddling their thumbs. The onboarding area had been pretty frantic despite the hour.
The second hint had come as a series of brief interactions as she'd tried to decide what to do with herself now that she had been officially added to the crew register but didn't have any private quarters to unload herself into, and wasn't officially rostered for duty because that part of her arrival probably wouldn't be handled until Alpha shift started. Taking herself on a tour of facilities felt a little presumptuous but it was better than standing in the reception area staring at the floor until someone told her where her bed was. Changing into uniform just prior to arrival at least helped soften the discomfort but it hadn't been enough to thwart three people's attempts to ask if she was lost and, in one instance, whether she needed assistance in locating Sickbay. It had taken far longer than Raya was proud of to realise the cause for their concern lie with the burst blood vessel in her left eye, which she hadn't been aware of and which had possibly happened somewhere between the substandard breakfast of a few hours ago and several minutes prior, when she'd rounded the corner and introduced herself face-first to a dangling plasma conduit. The service team had been deeply apologetic, which had only made the situation more humiliating. Common sense suggested the impact was the cause but Raya knew from deep experience what the initial signs of mounting stress were.
The third hint was where she found the Captain.
She hadn't, and this couldn't be stressed enough, been actively looking for him. Raya had already decided that reporting for duty was a task best left for at least three more hours, possibly four or five now that she had to figure out a way to restore her eyeball to its former glory without actually asking anyone for help. If serendpity existed, it was quite by chance that her combined efforts of seeking a solution and a suitable location to enact one had left her stumbling into what Raya could only imagine was Jaro's private stress-release. It in no way improved matters to stand there, frozen mid-stare, a spectacle that only served to draw further attention to eye's bright-red splotch. There was a single, hesitant, hopeful moment where it seemed almost possible to just turn quietly and leave without having raised the alarm but she left it a bit long, the treacherous result of good manners colliding with stubborn intrigue to leave her well and truly stuck.
Jaro, currently positioned in a manner that defied several Starfleet safety protocols and possibly a few ergonomic recommendations, remained entirely motionless for a few agonizing seconds. Whatever he was deeply engaged in, it made his uniform jacket float upward toward his ears in defiance of gravity. He blinked, the optical piece over his eyes, giving him the look of a startled, multi-faceted owl. Through the distorted lens, he squinted at the figure in the doorway. "Now, don't tell me," he muttered, his voice echoing strangely in the confined space. "A stowaway? No, the boots are too polished. A hallucination? Possible, but usually they're more... purple."
He shifted, causing whatever was suspending his jacket to the gravitational pocket to snap shut with a wet pop. Peering closer, he mentally cycled through the personnel files of his crew. It was the "analytical intensity" of her stare that eventually clicked. "Ah! Lieutenant Khatri!" Jaro exclaimed, offering a wide, somewhat lopsided smile that radiated a warmth completely at odds with his current eccentric surroundings. He didn't seem at all embarrassed to be caught mid-whatever-that-was. "I certainly didn't expect to see you wandering the corridors during the witching hour. I was under the impression you’d be currently engaged in the noble art of sleep."
Jaro climbed down from his precarious perch, dusting off his hands with a cheerful disregard for whatever grime he’d just accumulated. As he approached, his eyes narrowed as they landed on her left eye. He didn't ask about the plasma conduit or the blood vessel; he simply tilted his head, his expression a whimsical mixture of sympathy and amusement.
"That is a very impressive battle scar for someone who hasn't even had her first briefing yet, Lieutenant," he whispered, leaning in with a conspiratorial air that made the vastness of the ship feel like a small, shared secret. "It gives you a certain... piratical flair. Very 'frontier.' Very 'rogue.'"
He straightened up, his tone shifting to something sharper, more focused, though s twinkle in his eye remained. "Tell me Lieutenant, are you fit to fly right now?"
[TBC]
Captain Jaro
Captain
USS Amazonia
Lieutenant Harinarayani Khatri
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Amazônia
RSS Feed