Eghimea walked into the 10-Forward with her normal emotionless face. She took a few steps into the spacious lounge and paused to take it in. The place was vast compared to the ship she had previously served upon. As her eyes danced from empty table to empty table, she was grateful for the graveyard shift she had been assigned. She didn’t mind serving among so many aliens, but at the same time she always seemed to feel their eyes upon her. Working alone allowed her time to continue her studies of Federation Law, Star Fleet Operations, and ship policies while at the same time serving her ship and crew.

With a rigid posture, she turned and walked over to a nearby replicator. “Hasperat, with Vihas Souse, warm please,” she said trying to conceal the tiredness from her voice. She took her dish from the unit as she ordered up a glass of water. Then taking both, she headed to a table on the far side of the lounge.

Hidden under layers of masks, was a woman exhausted. Still, she walked with her back straight and her head held high. Her eyes fixed on the table she always took at this very hour and minute. She didn’t need to keep searching the faces of those in the lounge. Of the Seracen’s six hundred crew, only a small percentage of them worked the graveyard shift with her. She knew all of them, well, knew of them.

As she slowly took her seat, she could feel their eyes on her. She knew if she turned to look, she wouldn’t catch them looking at her. Though she knew that they were watching her. Taking her seat, she slowly set her tray down perfectly centered on her seat and body. She didn’t mind that they kept their distance from her. Eghimea had found that speaking to most of these aliens was hard. She didn’t understand most if not all their customs. From the corner of her eye, she caught an ensign looking at his chrono just as she was about to take her first bite. There was laughter at his table as credits were exchanged.

She enjoyed the time alone. There were times where during her entire shift, she wouldn’t have to speak more than a dozen words. The rest of the time, she was able to become lost in her own mind. Many considered the graveyard a shift where careers go to die. On her own ship, it was a shift meant as honor. Who else but the most trusted could stand watch while everyone else slept in their beds. Despite the grumblings of others on the shift, Eghimea enjoyed the graveyard. After all, sleep was still a luxury that was often driven away by the dreams.

Eghimea didn’t allow herself to become distracted on the lack of sleep or the hours alone. The graveyard allowed her to focus completely on her duty and the alien woman she served. Lieutenant Commander Atoded was a task master with an eye on perfection. She wondered if the Commander knew how much she was like Eghimea’s own father in that regard. It was a pleasant surprise that Eghimea thanked the prophets for. Having to work for someone so close to what she was used to was refreshing.

Her wrist-mounted computer chimed, and she glanced down at it. It was a change in the duty assignments for the second half of her shift. She had been reassigned to Cargo Inspection. Her fellow Security Officers had often complained about Cargo Inspection. They had said how they hated the time-consuming and boring task. Among those on the graveyard, it was, according to them, the worst of the worst.

She concealed a smile at the edges of her lips. Cargo Inspection had become one of her most enjoyable tasks. One that she had turned in to a bit of a game. The rules were simple, if it wasn’t on the manifest or if there was a mistake in the manifest, it didn’t come on board. She often would suspect that the pilots of the visiting resupply shuttles were in on the game as well.

‘Probably not,’ she thought taking another bite. Though she did take a twisted bit of joy at their disappointed or outright angered looks when she would approach for their inspections. Sure, the transfer of cargo took longer, but nothing was missed or added. Each documentation that went past her eyes would be completed correctly by those pilots who would curse her name under their breaths. Not once had Starfleet’s rules or regulations been bent or violated. Eghimea felt a sense of pride that she would be entrusted with such an important duty.

2nd Lieutenant Laju Eghimea