Reporting In

Posted on Mon Sep 21st, 2026 @ 8:51pm by Commander Kevin Lance & Lieutenant JG Edvin Nyquist
Edited on on Mon Sep 21st, 2026 @ 8:53pm

1,178 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Starbase 364
Location: Starbase 364
Timeline: One Week After Into the Mirror

on:
{USS Chuck Norris}

The door chime to the Captain’s Ready Room rang out and Kevin called out, “Enter,” without looking up from the maintenance report that he was reading on his PADD. The paperwork had piled up in the time that he and Mira had been in the mirror universe and after a week, he was starting to make headway against the bureaucratic machine.

The doors whooshed open and in stepped a young boy not even a decade old in a full Star Fleet uniform.

Edvin was extremely nervous. Although the trek to Starbase 364 had been taxing and frankly boring, this would be the first time he would assume a department chief role. With a quick check of his hair and lunch crumbs on his uniform, he entered the Captain's Ready Room after he was permitted to enter. "Junior Lieutenant Nyquist, Edvin, reporting for duty." He called out, standing to attention.

Kevin stared at the child incredulously. He was only a little more than twice the age of his son. Someone was pranking him and he wasn’t in the mood for it. "Is this a joke?" he said after a brief pause, "Who put you up to this?"

Just like that, Edvin's nerves had relaxed. This was something he'd accstomed to, working with grumps in Starfleet. But he was pretty sure Mira was a woman's name and presumed this was the First Officer, first husband, Cmdr Lance. Edvin pulled out a PADD with his transfer orders that he'd hidden behind his back. He passed it to the First Officer and replied with a smirk. "Human Resources." He quipped. "No transport accident... Nothing freaky. I'm just a human."

Kevin took the PADD reflexively and scanned the child's service record. Everything appeared to be in order. Certifications on the assignment orders were authentic. Four years of Star Fleet academics specializing in the Command division. Graduation in the top quarter of his class, much better than Kevin had done. An impressive amount of small craft experience. If this was a prank someone had gone to great effort to make it look real.

But neither the orders nor the service record gave any context as to why Star Fleet would break it's long standing policy of not employing children in its ranks. He decided to play along to gather more information. He transferred the orders and service record to his own device before handing the PADD back to Edvin.

"Tell me about yourself, Mister," Kevin asked, "What doesn't your service record say?

Edvin took the chance and stood at ease. "Nearly 100 years of piloting in the Intergalactic Starship Racing Cup, Beta Quadrant Championship, just to name the top two." He said, counting those racing series on his fingers. But what he wanted to know was how long until the Commander asked the question. What was a child doing in Starfleet?

One hundred years? Has to be an exaggeration, Kevin thought but he put emotion aside and let his investigators mind take the lead. "Tell me more about that. Why invest so much time only to quit to join Star Fleet?"

"Same reason why I stopped being the lord of Svalbard in the wilderness." The wilderness being the Onlie word for decades in a state of play before the Federation uplifted their society. "I got bored with ruling for 300 years..." Edvin noticed he'd gotten sidetracked and brought himself back onto the racetrack. "My government is extremely isolationist. We have little use for strangers who do not understand our way of life. They started withdrawing from the intergalactic stage... Flying is my passion. Plus, I wanted to meet more super cool aliens!"

Kevin took the stylus from his PADD and began writing notes. 300 years, Lord of S, Isolation. As he wrote, he said, "So you are telling me we have several decades before you get bored and leave Star Fleet."

When it was worded that way, it sounded just about right. "Yep," Edvin quipped. "But I'm still Human. We don't have long memories, so I don't remember anything from the wilderness. My first time racing? It's foggy on the best days. But I'm still super good at flying, Mister Sir."

Kevin raised a eyebrow at the application of the junior officer honorific to him but otherwise let it pass. "Your service record confirmed that," he acknowledged, "but a starship isn't a shuttle, a racing ship or even a fighter craft. It is an interconnect system of competing priorities of which Flight Control is only one element."

He leaned forward over the desk and locked eyes with the impossibly young officer. "When every instinct tells you to evade you will need to maintain course. When you want more power to the engines, it might go to shields or weapons. What seems to be the most logical course of action for you to take may conflict with the Captain's desires. As a small craft pilot, you are trained to take charge. As a starship pilot, you are merely an extension of the Captain's will."

Edvin didn't like that he was dressed down like a civilian who was made Acting Ensign and given an extremely important job; Starfleet had trained him to fulfil the 'Catapin's will'. "I understand," he replied, biting his tongue.

"I hope you do," Kevin replied as he settled back, "because a semester of helm operations isn't likely to overcome a century of training and instinct."

He continued not permitting Edvin to respond. "Moving on, the crew complement of the Norris is smaller than most ships. Your division consists of yourself, a Flight Control ensign and a non-comm that does double duty with engineering. Oh, and you might want to familiarize yourself with Klingon helm operations."

The small team of Flight Control people was okay. But it was Klingon helm ops that baffled him. "Klingon helm operations?" He asked. "Are we partaking in a joint operation with the KDF, Mister Sir?"

"No, but the Captain is also the leader of a Klingon Great House and has many Klingon vessels at her disposal," Kevin's expression was rather like he had tasted something bitter, "Being able to pilot one will increase you utility to the Captain."

"I will start learning," Edvin replied, though he was pretty sure there was a Starfleet regulation about Officers in other military factions, maybe it was the Prime Directive.

"Outside of official duties, whom you socialize with is entirely up to your discretion," Kevin continued, "but I would suggest that you steer clear of Ensign Rodriguez." He left a pause to gauge the youthful looking officer's reaction, then said, "Unless you have any other question, you may return to your duties."

Kevin did not hear a response from the junior officer and looked up to see him about to exit the cabin. "One last thing," Kevin added, "Continue to call me 'Mister' or ever address the Captain that way and you and I will have a problem."

:off

Commander Kevin Lance
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

and

Lieutenant JG Edvin Nyquist
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris

 

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