Was time cyclical? In the case of Ensign Kesh reporting to duty for the first time, no. No, it was not.

Though it has been 33 years since last time aboard the USS Mentha Spicata, Kesh remembered the experience in vivid detail. The carousel of emotions, the smell in the air, the shape and color of the office door.

First of all, the Mentha Spicata was an Oberth-class vessel, and the Genesis is a Manhattan. Totally different, from the far-more effective air filtration to the location and shape and color of the Chief Engineer’s door.

Secondly, she had been brimming with a mix of guarded optimism for the potential of proving herself in this new lifestyle and terror at the potential of the skeletons in her closet, and her own perceived ineptitude, spilling out and ruining everything. Now she… basically.. felt the same way.

Okay, fine, maybe some aspects of time of cyclical. But, then again, her reasons for feeling this way were dramatically different than the time before.

Still, experience meant she could fall back on handling the experience the same way she had before: with all the twitchy professional stoicness of a freshly minted Ensign. Thus, the golden spotted Caitian, with her mohawk-styled mane neatly sculpted just this morning jutting up between fuzzy golden ears, strode through the doorway to her new CO’s office doors and began this trek toward doing it all better this time.

“Loo-hee-.. Ensign Kesh reporting for duty, sir. Mmnnf.”

See? Totally different than last time. This time she immediately offered the PADD containing her personnel data (https://bit.ly/3vttydu) right after stumbling over her own tongue, rather than having to be prompted.