Be Careful Around Strangers Wearing Robes

Posted on Thu Mar 19th, 2026 @ 1:58pm by Lieutenant JG Mable Laurent & Commander Juliet Sierra

960 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Remaining Steadfast
Location: Forward Operating Base, Rothana
Summary:

The howl of the wind through the open door was deafening, and the chill brought a shiver to the lone occupant of the small out-building. "Ach!" she squealed. "For fuck's sake, computer, close the door!"

An error tone, followed by a grunt of annoyance. "Fine, I'll do it myself," she muttered. "Note to self, summon an engineer to fix this thing." She slowly took her hands out of the glove-boxed biosafety cabinet. She turned on her small, spinning lab stool and her eyes went wide. It hadn't been another glitch. Or a prank from some idiot who thought messing with the scientists was harmless fun.

She had a visitor. A specific one.

"I didn't think I'd see you so soon."

The visitor pulled the insulated hood from her head, revealing improbably crisp and well maintained flame-red hair, intense amber eyes, and a stony expression revealing neither whether she was warm under the coat or cold from the outside; happy to be there or angry to be bothered.

It was an expression the scientist had become familiar with over the years.

She turned back to her work. "Step inside so the door closes." She slid her hands back into the biosafety cabinet's built-in gloves and smiled to herself when she heard the door slide shut, cutting off both the howl and the freeze from outside. "So, what brings you to the ass end of the First Order, to a world where you need high clearance to even see it on a map?"

She could hear behind her the sound of a coat being unclasped and gloves being taken off. They could be heard being unceremoniously dropped to the floor.

"Ever the strong and silent type," she mused. "I have three viral strains I still need to sequence, and it's hard to do when you're--oh shit."

The transparent aluminum of a Class III Biological Safety Cabinet did not reflect much light, but it did show just enough of what was behind her to provoke a reaction. Less gently this time she pulled her arms out, got to her feet, and stood at attention.

After all, a woman in the full duty uniform of an Officer of the Terran First Order merited that much respect.

"What is regulation four-alpha of the First Order Rules of Discipline?" the visitor asked.

The scientist took in a breath. "Four-alpha obliges any junior officer, enlisted person, or trooper to stand at attention before one of their superiors, until and unless deliberately instructed to stand at ease."

"Correct," the visitor said. The right corner of her lips curled up the tiniest bit. "And what is that regulation's informal annex?"

"The informal annex is to assume a hooded figure is a superior until you know otherwise." It had been a bit of an in-joke among many in the fleet. There were just enough robed and hooded figures in senior command positions, none of whom had any compunctions about killing you for any slight, real or perceived, that it was best to defer. Almost everyone knew someone who had been killed for not giving a hooded figure the respect they thought they deserved.

"Good to know you remember the essentials." There was a tense pause before the visiting officer's slight smile grew wider. "At ease, Lieutenant. And come here, Mable." She held her arms up, and after letting out a long breath science officer Mable Laurent approached her old friend and gave her a hug.

"It's been too long, J," Mable said as she sank into the arms of her taller, more muscular friend. After pulling away, she got a closer look at her rank insignia. "You made Commander?"

Juliet Sierra released her old friend. "Just last month," she replied. "And a new assignment. First Officer of the new Steadfast."

"They're finally launching the Xyston then? About time." Mable cocked her head toward the door. "The other lab buildings you passed, quite a few of them were working on the axial superphaser. Keeping Rothana busy."

"Not you though?"

Mable shrugged. "You can deploy bio agents from any ship." She gestured to her workstation. "These strains like to eat Cardassians, but they still like humans a little too often for my superiors' liking."

"Well, a few human casualties may need to be acceptable sometimes," Juliet said. "And you can keep working on them on the move."

"What do you mean?"

Juliet grinned. "We'll soon be showing the Alliance and the restored Empire what it truly means to fight Terrans. And to do that we need the best at the tip of the spear. We need you. I've already put in the requisition. You won't be senior, but you'll have your work. And I'll have someone I can trust in the science department." She took a step back, but kept her hands on Mable's shoulders. "I have a runabout leaving for Kuat tomorrow at 0800. Pack your things and be on it. Your work, too, as long as it can be moved safely."

"I can do that in the next hour," Mable assured her.

"Good." Juliet's hands slid down Mable's arms and took her hands. "Then when you're done you can come to the visitor barracks and show me what people on Rothana do to keep warm?"

Mable swallowed hard and then nodded excitedly. "I'll be there."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "You'll be there..."

The scientist smirked and stood at attention. "I'll be there, Commander."

"That's more like it," Juliet quipped. "See you soon then. As you were." The senior officer gathered her overcoat and put it back on just as she stepped back out into the howling winds, leaving Mable Laurent to begin packing for an exciting journey, not just for herself, but for the entirety of humanity.

RSS Feed