Great Escape

Posted on Wed Jul 1st, 2026 @ 10:46am by Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacRae

924 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Friends and Traitors
Location: Lower Decks

Today was a new day

Examining her reflection in the bathroom mirror, Cadet Elynya Teikil repeated those five words to herself while hoping today would also be a better day than yesterday. And the day before that. And so many days before that…

Days which seemed plagued with such random bad luck which even she could not deny. Her friends joked she was somehow cursed but Elynya did not believe in such things. Of course not. She was a scientist. Indeed, she came from a long line of scientists on the Trill homeworld where such fanciful talk of a ‘curse’ would never be accepted.

And yet -

No. She would not allow herself to go contemplate the possibility of a curse. It was a ridiculous notion Iain Kyle had joked about after a party and for some reason the idea had taken root. It was said playfully at first, with lots of laughter which made it clear everyone thought it a ridiculous notion - they were cadets in Starfleet! But it stopped being so amusing and she had seen how some people now looked at her or seemed to mention ‘the curse’ in a hushed whisper.

While she didn’t believe for a moment she was cursed - and had found no scientific proof of any irregularities- she had to admit that several unfortunate incidents had happened around her in the past few months. Alone they were barely worth noting or dwelling upon but when considered together?

The malfunctions, her broken arm while skiing on the holodeck, the broken heel during her date, the coffee the waitress spilled over her lap after tripping over a toy…. She was omitting a few more minor things but those were the stand out ones.

But they were in the past. You cannot change the past but you can influence your future.

Today was her first official day as a third year cadet, assigned to the Science Department. She was excited to have the opportunity to work under Lieutenant Knight, having read all of her studies and reports.

She wondered what Lieutenant Knight thought of curses? Did she believe they held any weight or found the notion laughable- like Elynya did.

When the lieutenant returned from leave she would perhaps be able to find out.

Securing the tight braid which ensured her golden blonde hair was well within regulations, Elynya adjusted her uniform collar and took a final deep breath before heading out.

Or she would have, if the door had opened just a little quicker. Instead she smacked into them in her haste, still rubbing the bridge of her nose and wincing at the discomfort as she entered the living space she shared with a second year cadet, Celeste Hatton.

Celeste did very much believe in bad luck and curses and pretty much everything - at least as far as Elynya could figure out. Every space was filled with scented candles and crystals with supposed healing or spiritual energy, leaving little room for the few things Elynya herself had brought aboard.

That aside she was a fairly decent roommate. She was otherwise neat and tidy, and she spent a lot of time in silent meditation.

Crossing towards her bedroom, still absently rubbing her nose, she almost walked by it at first. An arrangement of crystals and floating candles in a clear box. No, not a box…

A cage.

Kneeling down her green eyes widened as she confirmed her suspicion. This was the small cage she had kept in her bedroom for Jii, her childhood pet. Of sorts. Only it had not been filled with candles or crystals, instead it had held some small sticks and fauna as well as some food. And it had most definitely been closed…

“Oh no…. No, no, no, no…..”

Heart racing she began what started - to her mind at least - as a methodical search before it became random and fuelled by a growing certainty her pet had escaped. The creature she had been told not to bring but how could she abandon Jii when she was so very pregnant?

And in her cage she was so totally harmless. And she had absolutely been in her cage yesterday afternoon when Elynya feed her…. Had she looked last night after coming back to her quarters? She couldn’t remember. But she had been exhausted from all the travelling and then the ‘mixer’ for the third year cadets aboard the ship and the station.

Even this morning she must have walked right past this and not even noticed… “why Celeste?”

But she suspected the younger cadet had seen a box full of random stuff, for if there was one thing Jii was great at - it was making herself invisible to the naked eye. Especially when afraid or in a mood. And another thing she loved was hiding. While it didn’t excuse Celeste for taking something without asking - she doubted it was to intentionally set Jii free.

It was just… bad luck.

Her gaze fell on the ventilation unit. A tiny space but definitely one Jii could squeeze into in her search for a warm space to make a nest. And in the process? Who knew what damage she would cause with those razor sharp pincers?

“I am so dead,” Elynya groaned, unable to imagine any way this could end well for her, or Jii.

Today may be a new day, but it was not going to be a good day.


OFF


Cadet Elynya Teikil
Science Department
USS Thunderbird

 

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