Anticipation

Posted on Fri Mar 13th, 2026 @ 4:07am by Lieutenant JG T'Vei

348 words; about a 2 minute read

Shuttlecraft Velor – En Route to Starbase Sentinel

Begin security officer’s personal log.

Anticipation is a peculiar sensation. Akin to anxiety, it bears similar symptoms: restlessness, accelerated and disordered thought patterns, and increased heart rate and respiration. And yet there is a positive association, a missing element that I find perplexing.

I have served on the Sh’Raal for eight years, nine months, and sixteen days. The ship is familiar and that familiarity improves my efficiency, and yet I have grown distracted. I know that the starboard torpedo launcher responds 1.2 seconds slower than the port tube due to the electromagnetic accelerator. I know that Fer’at will voice unnecessary criticism over T’Hen’s reports. And I know what the next year of missions and duties would bring aboard the Sh’Raal.

I require something new.

I have heard many stories of the emotional expressiveness of humans; Captain Saya once described them as “emotionally volatile.” I cannot imagine any species so guided by emotion achieving comparable technological advancement. Yet the Andorians and Tellarites are reported to be much the same. The principal difference being the emotions that guide them: the Andorians’ anger, the Tellarites’ pride, and the Humans’ mercurial nature that makes them the metaphorical adhesive of our alliance and the most perplexing of all.

Rik’koshvar has been reviewing cultural databases on each in preparation. One of the guides spoke of the use of humor to create favorable introductions with Humans and so he has been sampling jokes to try.

I believe them to be uninspired, but the database also says that Humans are easily entertained. We will once again discover whose approach is most effective. I am grateful that we will have the opportunity to continue to work together.

I have never served aboard a starbase before, nor with other species. It is these opportunities that create this anticipation. I am uncertain what this new assignment will bring and I find the unknown satisfying. For many reasons, that is why I am here, among the stars, to explore.

I anticipate that the experience will be educational.

 

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