The corridor outside the counselor’s office was quiet—no hum of engineers debating conduit stress, no chatter of junior officers filing reports. Just the steady pulse of the ship, low and constant beneath his boots.

Vektul paused at the door, hands clasped behind his back, gaze set straight ahead. He had entered this space before—mandatory evaluations, perfunctory inquiries, the formalities of Starfleet procedure. This was not that.

This was a first.

He drew a slow breath and pressed the chime.

¥Major Vektul¥
Chief Engineer
U.S.S. Memorial