Posted by Lieutenant M’Mera (Chief Engineer) in Dinner in the mess hall

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade John Reeves (Senior Security Officer) in Dinner in the mess hall
Lieutenant j.g. John Reeves sat alone at a corner table in the crew lounge of the USS Merrimack. The evening meal period had thinned out, leaving only a scattering of off-duty personnel enjoying quiet conversations beneath the warm lighting and polished bulkheads of the Mariner-class vessel.

A plate rested in front of him containing a perfectly cooked ribeye steak, roasted potatoes, and a side of vegetables replicated to his usual specifications. Reeves preferred simple meals. Years aboard starships and starbases had taught him that consistency was often underrated.

The security officer cut a piece of steak and took a bite while reading a padd held in his left hand.

The report scrolling across the screen detailed a cargo inventory discrepancy discovered during a routine audit. Three containers scheduled for transfer at the ship’s last port of call had been logged twice by separate departments. Nothing alarming, but enough to warrant Security’s attention until the matter was resolved.

Reeves calmly worked his way through the report.

No rush.

No assumptions.

Just facts.

His eyes moved line by line through the documentation, comparing timestamps and authorization codes. Every so often he paused to take a sip of coffee before returning to the data.

A pair of junior crewmembers walked past his table.

“Evening, Lieutenant.”

Reeves glanced up and nodded politely.

“Evening.”

The two continued on their way.

He returned to the report.

The discrepancy wasn’t theft.

Wasn’t sabotage.

Wasn’t even negligence.

After several minutes he identified the issue: two cargo specialists had entered the transfer from different terminals during a communications outage. The system had failed to reconcile the duplicate entries before transmission to Operations.

Reeves allowed himself a faint smile.

Problem solved.

He tapped a few commands into the padd.

Findings: Administrative duplication caused by simultaneous cargo processing entries during a communications interruption.

Security Threat Assessment: None.

Recommended Action: Correct inventory records and notify the Operations Department.

He transmitted the report to the Security Office and set the padd down beside his plate.

One less problem for the ship.

Reeves finished the last of his potatoes and leaned back slightly in his chair. Around him, the lounge carried on with the familiar rhythm of starship life—officers discussing duty assignments, enlisted crew sharing stories from their shifts, and the low hum of conversations blending with the distant vibration of the Merrimack’s warp engines.

For a few minutes, Lieutenant j.g. John Reeves enjoyed his meal and the rare quiet that existed between security incidents.

Experience had taught him those moments never lasted forever. On a starship, there was always another report waiting.

Lieutenant Junior Grade John Reeves
Security USS Merrimack NCC-2346

Lieutenant M’Mera had padded into the Galley with the easy grace common to her species, her tail held high behind her as she navigated through the lunchtime crowd. One ear had flicked toward a burst of laughter from a nearby table while the other tracked the sounds of the kitchen. Even off duty, a Caitian’s senses rarely stopped working.

The warm smells of fresh food had immediately caught her attention. Her whiskers had twitched forward in anticipation. Much better than the smell of plasma conduits.

After spending most of the morning buried in Engineering, she had been more than ready for lunch.

Making her way to the serving counter, she had greeted the chef with a friendly nod.

“Lieutenant. The usual?” he had asked.

M’Mera’s tail had given an approving swish.

“Yesss, pleassse. A nice raw steak, well-cooked vegetables, and milk.”

The chef had smiled and gotten to work.

A few moments later she had been carrying a tray bearing a thick raw steak, a generous helping of vegetables cooked to her liking, and a tall glass of milk. She had paused briefly before taking a seat, her keen eyes scanning the room for a suitable spot.

Across the galley, she had noticed Lieutenant John Reeves sitting alone at a corner table. The security officer had appeared to have finished his meal and whatever report had occupied his attention.

M’Mera’s ears had perked forward. A familiar face.

Adjusting her tray, she had made her way over.

“Lieutenant Reevesss,” she had said warmly. “Mind if I join you?”

Her tail had curled slightly behind her as she waited for his response.

“I finally escaped Engineering for lunch. The warrp corresss have been behaving today, which makesss me deeply ssuspiciouss.”

A faint grin had spread across her feline features as her whiskers twitched with amusement and her pointed teeth glinted.

“Whenever everything seems to be working properly, it usually means something exciting is about to happen.”

Lieutenant M’Mera
Chief Engineer
USS Merrimack

John Reeves looked up from his now-empty coffee mug as Lieutenant M’Mera approached his table. The security officer’s expression softened slightly at the sight of the Caitian engineer.
He gestured toward the empty chair across from him.
“Not at all, Lieutenant. Please.”
Reeves leaned back in his seat as she settled in, his eyes briefly falling to the raw steak on her tray before returning to her face. Years in Starfleet had exposed him to enough species-specific diets that he no longer found it unusual, though it still wasn’t something he’d ever developed an appetite for himself.
A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth at her comment about Engineering.
“That’s usually how it works.”
He folded the PADD closed and set it aside.
“When Security has a quiet day, I start wondering what I missed. If nobody’s violating regulations, starting fights, or trying to smuggle something they shouldn’t have aboard ship, it usually means they’re getting creative.”
His tone carried a dry humor that suggested he had dealt with more than a few such situations before.
Reeves glanced toward the nearest viewport for a moment before looking back at her.
“Of course, from my experience, when engineers get nervous because everything is working properly, the rest of us should probably get nervous too.”
The faint smile broadened slightly.
“What’s Engineering’s latest crisis? Or are you actually getting the rare luxury of a day where the warp core isn’t threatening to become the center of everyone’s attention?”
He settled comfortably in his chair, clearly in no rush to leave just yet.
“Besides, lunch conversations are usually more interesting than incident reports.”

Lieutenant Junior Grade John Reeves
Security USS Merrimack NCC-2346