Operational Minds

Posted on 16 Sep 2026 @ 5:14pm by Lieutenant JG Quinn Mackie & Lieutenant JG Aerie Mak & Lieutenant JG Tevik

3,260 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Acceleration
Location: Shuttlepod Storage
Timeline: February 8, 2391 || 1000 hours

Quinn whistled upon entering the cramped storage room. With the fighter squadron temporarily attached to another ship and mission, this room would normally house the workbees and the six Type-15 shuttlepods, all nicely organized in the bay. The extra elbow room gave the Operations team something it hadn't had time for in a long time, and that was room to perform some maintenance on the smaller craft.

Today, that maintenance involved updating the computer's operating system and firmware to the latest patches, and running diagnostics to ensure all remained in perfect working order when done.

Quinn's eyes looked around the room. The workbees had been removed, but the shuttlepods remained in place, each one still nestled in their bays waiting for service.

Tevik arrived next. As he entered the small cargo area his eyes swept the surroundings he knew the area usually housed workbees as well as the smaller Type-15 shuttlepods but now just housed the shuttlepods. he also spied Lt.Mackie who was whistling happily. "Greetings Lieutenant Mackie, are you prepared for today's duty assignment?"

“Prepared?” Quinn asked, the question more of a surprise only because he hadn’t heard the Vulcan Assistant Chief enter the room. Such was the danger of getting lost in one’s own thoughts. “Yes, Lieutenant Tevik. It’s not my first time with a shuttle interface and likely won’t be the last.”

Tevik nodded at Quinn's response. silently noting that he seemed surprised by it. "That is good to know. it is not my first time either and I expect that there will be no problems we cannot handle and overcome." He looked around the room before his gaze settled back on Quinn. "Are we ready to begin?" 

“I am ready, sir,” Quinn replied. It was a strange thing, being in a room with someone of the same rank, but higher position. At least with Vulcans, one knew that they’d have no problem with respecting the balance. For Quinn, that just meant that he’d have to always be direct and resist the urge to joke. “Where shall we start, Lieutenant?”

Tevik didn't rush an answer as his eyes swept the bay and the shuttlepods. Finally after several seconds he replied. " I think it best to start where one should always start an assignment and that is at the beginning. As the shuttlepods are in two rows, we should each take a row and perform the required maintenance on the pods unless you have another option for us."

"I have no preference," Quinn admitted. The statement was truthful indeed. He knew his way around a shuttle computer, and while he could likely perform these updates in his sleep, he was still subordinate to the Vulcan and the Bajoran Chief. "Would you like to select a row, and I'll take the other?"

Tevik didn't reply at least not instantly he thought on what Quinn had said and he knew the man was qualified to preform all the needed maintenance. After a internal deliberation he answered, "Very well, you nake the row nearest to us and I will take the other."

"Aye, aye," Quinn said. Before he moved, he opened his toolchest and withdrew an isolinear chip. "Here you go, the latest firmware."

Tevik accepted the chip. "Thank you. It should make maintenance easier to preform. Perhaps quicker as well. We will see as we the necessary upgrades.”

Quinn nodded to the Lieutenant and began to work his way over to the pod named Farnsworth. “Seems odd that all of these shuttles are named after Earth scientists, especially pre-21st Century,” Quinn remarked as he opened the pod door.

Tevik paused at Quinn's statement. He had been about to begin his upgrade on the shuttlepod Edison. "Why do you find it odd Lt. Quinn? Starfleet is merely showing respect to those individuals who even in their respective timelines showed the basic principle the Starfleet was founded on. :To seek out and find new life, to explore where no one had gone before."

"Hmm?" Quinn blinked just before he stepped inside the shuttlepod. He paused on the step and turned in Tevik's direction. "Don't get me wrong. It's nice to see my species' scientific heritage. But there's been so much in the last couple of centuries. I guess I expected... well, I guess I just didn't expect this."

Tevik didn't rush a reply he instead waited a beat perhaps two and then spoke. "To honor the future one must remember and respect the past and that is what naming these shuttlepods amounts to, remembering the past while we move forward and embrace the future." Tevik answered before entering the Edison.

Quinn wasn’t sure how to reply to that. He let the Vulcan’s observation alone as he stepped into the Farnsworth. A couple of taps on the forward console brought the sublight craft’s computer online. Several system sound flashed that they were ready to start, including life support and impulse engines. Quinn opened a nearby access hatch and inserted the isolinear chip. As his fingers began to prepare the computer to access the firmware on the chip, he called out to Tevik, “So you’re new aboard the Black Hawk?”

Tevik stopped from entering the Edison as Quinn called out to him. Tool kit in one hand he turned to the shuttle pod Quinn had entered. "Yes, I arrived just a few days ago. I am looking forward to my time here. I have heard good reports about the Black Hawk. Have you been posted here long and what is your impression of the ship and crew?"

“Good reports?” Quinn scoffed, looking up from his control pad. It was one thing to be Vulcan, but it was another entirely to not have learned of the ship’s unfortunate reputation. “I actually served my cadet cruise on this ship a couple of years ago. Got promoted, then got used as a meat puppet for a few months, and then got transferred away with Kelly. We just got transferred back a few months ago.”

Tevik looked at Quinn as he scoffed at Tevik's saying good reports. " I meant no offense or to cause you relive bad memories. Could you not refuse the transfer as you have such a less than desirable opinion of the ship through your prior service aboard it?"

Less than desirable? Quinn’s mind thought as he looked across the room to Tevik. For a moment, Quinn wondered if Vulcans were capable of distinguishing sarcasm from not. “Well,” he answered honestly. “It wasn’t all bad. Geisler’s a good Captain, cares about his crew. The ship might be a magnet for the unnatural, and you can’t say that life isn’t an adventure out here.”

Tevik stood at the entrance to the shuttlepod as Quinn spoke more of the Blackhawk and it's reputation. When he finished Tevik spoke, "I see. It is good to have a commanding officer who is concerned about his crew." He agreed "You are also correct in your statement that no one can disagree that it is not an adventure to be out among the stars. However...." He continued "Your statement about the ship being a magnet for the unnatural has no scientific merit. It is random chance nothing more.'

Quinn still wasn't sure to make of that. On reflex, the question simply popped out of his mouth before his mind could process something more formal or proper, "How would you measure something like that? I mean, to find its scientific merit?"

Tevik thought on the question Quinn posed. "I would run a comparative study of other starships, their missions, the duration of their missions, where the missions took place. Was there anything else going on that could have have had a role in encountering a unnatural situation. and compare it to a base line of ships that were just involved in routine missions."

As Tevik shared how he would undertake such a calculation, Quinn had turned back to the console and loaded the firmware. The screen now displayed a diagnostic menu that allowed the younger lieutenant to begin applying the patch. The screen went dark save for a progress bar, so he looked over in Tevik's direction. "Would you exclude ships such as the Enterprise? I would expect their mission reports to suggest they had more than their fair share of the unusual."

Tevik didn't answer right away as he was also busy loading the firmware and watching the progress bar. Once he was satisfied that everything was proceeding as it should he replied. "An interesting question. I am not sure." He admitted. "I would want the report to be accurate so, yes I believe I would include the Enterprise for there may be ships that have little to no contact with the unusual."

"What about you personally, Lieutenant?" Quinn asked, tapping the console's casing while the progress bar slowly moved. "Ever had a bout with the unusual? Or do Vulcans and humans see eye-to-eye on what is unusual?"

Tevik continued to work while conversing with Quinn. "Me? No Lieutenant Mackie, I have never had a bout with the unusual. I believe it is safe to say the Humans and Vulcans share the same views on what is considered unusual. Does that surprise you?"

Mak had been working at the background, checking the power distributions in the open compartment. The exposed wiring left off a heat residue that caused him to sweat. Wiping his brow, he pressed the hyperspanner on the wire and rerouted the system. Closing the compartment, he placed the spanner down and picked up the LCARS PADD. Humming silently, he scrolled the PADD with a finger. Picking up his brewed coffee, he turned and walked into the small Shuttlepod Storage cargo room to the two men conversing and working . Taking a gulp of the warm liquid, he placed the coffee on the nearby counter and approached them.

Wrapping his arms behind his back with his PADD behind his back, Mak straightened up and replied, "Please, don't let me interrupt."

The Bajoran ops chief offered a reassuring smile. They all had work to do.

Tevik straighten as Mak approached. He nodded to the Ops chief and replied with a dutiful "Lieutenant Mak." As he glanced at the progress bar and swa that the installation was almost complete for this shuttle.

“Lieutenant Aerie,” Quinn greeted with a nod. “Lieutenant Tevik and I were just discussing probabilities and definitions regarding the unusual. Our resident Vulcan attests that humans and Vulcans have the same definition of what makes something odd. How about you?”

Tevik turned his attention to Lieutenant Mak to his views on the topic Mackie and he had just been discussing. "Indeed, I would be most interest in your opinion Lieutenant Mak."

"Its-," Mak quietly sighed, staring at the Vulcan. He understood the confusion regarding his name and quietly dropped it at the first time around. Mak is his first name and Aerie being his last name. Although the question Mackie asked distracted him for a moment, he elected to stay on the subject without friction and nodded, "It depends on what we are talking about. Spiritually? Or grounded? I'd say we're pretty much of the same wavelength. I view the unusual with a mix of curiosity and a sense of exploration."

Realizing he'd interrupted a potentially philosophical dissuasion regarding the unusual, it piqued Mak's interest.

“I’d say so, sir,” Quinn responded with a nod. His console responded with a chirp, and he took a moment to look down and investigate. The firmware update had been accepted and applied, and now the computer would initiate a full restart. As it shut down, Quinn removed the firmware chip and placed it atop the control screen. “It’s a remarkable thing. Life developed so differently throughout the galaxy, and yet we respond to or define external stimuli in largely the same manner.”

"I believe but cannot prove and I would not call it a theory, it is just a thought. Is because all levels of life react basically the same to stimuli. Such as the fight or flight acute stress response when confronted with potential harmful event, threat or attack." Tevik added.

Quinn chuckled as the Shuttlepod came back to life. He wasn’t sure the last time he’d been in a situation where the discussion had taken interesting philosophical turns. “Well,” he said, starting a Level 3 diagnostic, “sooner or later out here, we’ll all find ourselves faced with the fight of flight response. I think that’s how we got started on this discussion.”

Tevik checked the progress of his update and found it had been completed and all systems were ready for use. Glancing at Quinn he nodded "I believe that is a logical point of view." As he looked at the two operations officers to see if they had anything else to add.

"Steering back to the original subject," Quinn said before a beep from his console caused his mind to wander off. It appeared that the diagnostic was complete, and the shuttlepod's update was complete. He powered off the spacecraft and disembarked. Once outside the shuttlepod, he asked Tevik, "How are you enjoying your time aboard so far?"

"It has been quite enjoyable. I still have much of the ship to explore. I will ask T'Mari to show me the areas I have yet to see." Tevik replied.

Mak listened to them quietly, letting them talk. Checking over their work, he nodded keeping notes. Following them out, he added curious with a hint of amusement, "The ship isn't big. What have you not explored?"

Tevik turned to face Mak. "Sir while the Blackhawk is not a Sovereign class it is still a good size ship. As to areas I have yet to explore, the ship lounge, the holodecks along with the ship's gym as well as the ship's library. To name a few areas." Tevik answered.

"Any highlights so far?" Quinn asked, stepping into the next shuttlepod to begin the updates.

Tevik stopped just short of entering the next shuttle. "The dining establishments were quite satisfactory and offered a wide and varied selection of different types of cuisine." He replied.

Quinn chuckled softly, though he doubted it couldn’t be heard by the Vulcan. “I never would have thought a Vulcan could be a foodie. Nor would I have thought that one would place starship food as a highlight.”

"I see." Tevik's voice floated back across the open space. "I shall endeavor to come up with more entertaining and or more stimulating replies in the future,"

"I mean, their Mediterranean cuisine selection is perfect and I wish the chef would make better Hasperat, but his Larish pie is to go for." Aerie replied.

Tevik arched an eyebrow at Aerie's reply. " That is worthwhile information. I shall have to try the Larish pie the next time T'Mari and I venture out to eat."

Quinn sat down inside the next shuttlepod and inserted the upgrade chip. "How about Talons? Have you checked out the nightlife in there?"

Tevik worked on upgrading the next shuttle. "Talons? I confess I have not. Do you recommend it?"

“I would actually,” Quinn replied, his hands starting to dance over the controls. “Though it’s more than just food. It’s a great social spot. Good chance to mingle with the crew. And great karaoke.”

"Interesting. I shall discuss it with T'Mari and see how she feels about visiting and meting other members of the crew." Tevik replied not mentioning the karaoke at all.

"I don't think a Counselor would decline the chance to see her patients in a natural habitat," Quinn remarked, appealing to the science of it all. After all, the only language more attractive than science to a Vulcan was logic.

"While an interesting and logical suggestion. I do not know if T' Mari would not prefer to take a break from work and just have an evening as a civilian and not a counselor."

"What about you, Tevik?" Quinn asked, tapping away at the controls. "I didn't know Vulcans took breaks."

Tevik paused his upgrade to answer the question. "As I will be accompanying T'Mari it would seem logical to presume that I can take a momentary break from my duties."

"Physically or mentally?" Quinn asked, realizing only too late that the question might not have been totally appropriate. "Well, what I mean is, do you actually enjoy breaks? There's time to let the body recuperate, sure, but do you actually turn the mind off to do something enjoyable or relax?"

Tevik didn't rush a reply he wanted to make sure his reply was clear. "Breaks are needed to ensure both a strong body and mind and as such are a needed part of anyone's health regime even a Vulcan. However in regard to your question yes, I do on occasion do something enjoyable which causes me to relax." He replied in typical Vulcan calm.

Quinn looked down to his console and tapped in a command code to initiate the firmware update. Once he saw that it had begun and had started to progress, he looked outside the shuttlepod and in Tevik's direction. "Enjoyable... what's something you do to relax? I like to play a game of poker, or take a kayak down river."

Tevik checked his progress, saw the update was finished and exited the pod. "I read, T'Mari and I play chess. I also like to rock climb."

Quinn was not yet finished with his shuttle, giving him time to ask a follow up question. "What's the biggest surface you climbed?"

"I have climbed Earth's Mount McKinley or Denali depending on which name you prefer to use. It was a most challenging and fulfilling climb." Tevik replied as he stepped out of the shuttle the update finished.

"I can't say I've tried McKinley," Quinn remarked. "Though I haven't been able to do much outside of a simulator or holodeck lately. I've found several of the Rigelian mountains to be an excellent challenge."

"I have not tried the Rigelian mountains though they sound interesting. I will have to try them in the holodeck when I get the chance. Thank you for the reference." Tevik replied as he double checked the update and saw it was complete and functioning as required.

"You're welcome," Quinn replied. "I've even a program or two I'd be happy to lend to you." He looked back down at his console to see that the firmware update was nearing its end. Just a few more seconds would be required. Looking up, he saw that the Operations Chief had taken the last shuttlepod under his wing, rendering their collective task about finished.

"Most considerate. Your gesture is appreciated." Tevik replied sincerely.

The console beeped, informing Quinn that the last firmware update was complete. A swift keystroke shut down the computer and the shuttlepod. The young lieutenant removed the chip and exited the craft. "Looks like we're all done here. Thank you, Lieutenants for the conversation. It's been... enlightening."

Tevik nodded. "Thank you, I enjoyed the conversation as well. it was stimulating."

Quinn smiled and gave the Vulcan supervising officer a nod in return. "See you around, Lieutenant." Then across the bay to Lieutenant Mak, he gave the Bajoran a nod as well before turning and leaving the bay.

Tevik nodded in return, "I look forward to our next collaboration." He gave a nod to Mak before leaving the shuttle bay himself.

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