At the Water's Edge

Posted on 20 Jan 2026 @ 4:41pm by Lieutenant JG Mira Quinn

502 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Lathira Shoreleave
Location: Lathira IV

=/\= Lathira IV =/\=

Mira materialized in the colony of Kestrel Reach. It was situated on bluffs overlooking the sea, and she could see snatches of blue between the buildings.

Taking stock of her surroundings, she started walking. She was dressed in civilian clothes - long trousers, airy shirt, hat against the sun. She’d taken her combadge and a tricorder, though she did not expect to need either.

Though Vel had tried to get her to party with her friends, Mira decided against it. Her roommate was too exuberant sometimes.

She did not want to wake up in the brig again. Once was enough.

And now she was a newly minted Lt Junior Grade. The last thing she needed was Sorvak seeing her name in a report from the colony authorities.

Soon, the buildings thinned out, and she found herself walking through fields and orchards, until they were gone and there was nothing but wilderness spread out in front of her.

After an hour of walking, she followed a trail leading down to the sea. The beach was almost non-existent, and the water disappeared into grottos and splashed over rocks. Mira took off her boots and folded her trouser legs before wading into the icy-cold water.

She could see fish swimming in the waters - flashes of silver and a nibble on her legs. She made a half-hearted attempt to catch them. They managed to evade her.

As she continued following the seashore, the cliffs receded from her and a sandy beach appeared.

She followed it for a while before she found a good spot to sit down. Just on the line of shadow the cliffs made in the sand.

Legs crossed, she looked out to the sea. On her homeworld, she often headed to the sea. The repeating sounds of the waves crashing, the slight salty tang in the wind, the scattering of the sun on the surface - all allowed her thoughts to wander.

What Ryan had said bothered her.

It wasn't because she really thought that he was right.

Of course, things could have turned out differently.

Encouraging Vel to go to warp had carried its own risks — from a cascade failure near other vessels to provoking an attack by the lifeform on the shuttle.

Hundreds of people could have died.
Her friend could have died.

All based on an "unproven theory".

But they had been under attack, and she had acted on the information available.

What bothered her was the fact that Ryan thought that she was the type of person who would send a hostile lifeform after a friend. Or lie and cover-up bad decisions.

She wasn't sure why it bothered her, but it did.

As darkness fell, she stirred, looking around for branches and twigs she could use as kindling. It took her some time to get the fire going. It had been ages since she'd done this.

And as the fire burned, she fell asleep on the sand.

=/\=

Lt JG Mira Quinn
Science Officer
USS Arawyn

 

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