A Quiet Place? (Part 3)
Posted on Sun Feb 15th, 2026 @ 6:13am by Lieutenant Commander Chrirhc Chihc & Captain Taiga Aisaka & Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Edited on on Sun Feb 15th, 2026 @ 6:14am
1,692 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
The Breen
Location: Five Forward
Timeline: After 'A Quiet Place? (Part 2)'
Previously, on Star Trek: Myogi:
Once again the ship was engulfed in a huge explosion, followed by the bathing of white light. "Simulation failed. Resetting to last point..." The computer said once again.
And now, the continuation:
The lieutenant nodded. "Yes..." he said. "I'm the most qualified to go in there. However..."
Another engineer approached. "However, the radiation in the conduit will kill him."
The Chief nodded.
"Warning. Antimatter Containment Fields critical. Total collapse in two minutes" The computer warned.
Out of the corner of her eye, Chisato spotted a fuse box that was very clearly labeled "Emergency Forcefields"; before the engineers could stop her, she darted over the fuse box, yanked open the door, and began frantically pulling out fuses.
"Captain No!" The chief shouted. Without warning the ship was engulfed in a huge explosion once again as the emergency containment fields around the antimatter pods collapsed causing the Tokyo to explode.
"Simulation failed, resetting to last point..." The computer once again repeated.
"Computer, pause program." Taiga said. She stepped forward towards Chisato. "Commander, technically I'm not supposed to offer advice on these tests. However..." she paused for a moment. "As Captain of a Starship, your primary duty is to the ship. You need to be able to make hard decisions. Bear that in mind." She said. "Start again, once you're ready."
"But don't you think I'm trying?!" Chisato insisted, clearly not getting the point. "Don't you think I'm trying every conceivable option in an effort to save this ship and everyone on board?!"
"There is one option you haven't tried." Taiga said simply. She looked over at the frozen hologram of the chief engineer. "Remember the risks everyone understood when they put on the uniform."
"Computer, resume."
The lieutenant nodded. "Yes..." he said. "I'm the most qualified to go in there. However..."
Another engineer approached. "However, the radiation in the conduit will kill him."
The Chief nodded.
"Warning. Antimatter Containment Fields critical. Total collapse in two minutes" The computer warned.
Chisato glanced over at Taiga, her eyes narrowing in horror as she finally realized what she had to do.
"No..." she objected, evidently in denial with herself that this was the way things had to end. "No, I couldn't!"
Taiga didn't respond, she just looked blankly at Chisato.
"Damnit..." scowled as she began to pace back and forth while the two engineers looked on with evident confusion. "Damnit, damnit, damnit..."
She threw her head back. "WHY ME?!" She shouted at no one in particular. "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO FALL ON ME?!"
She looked over at the Chief Engineer, her face contorted with anguish.
"Grab a toolkit, get in there, fix the conduit," she issued coldly. "That's an order."
The Chief Engineer nodded grimly. "Yes Captain." He said as he picked up his tool kit and headed into the conduit.
A few moments later, the other engineer turned from a nearby console. "Antimatter Containment fields are starting to stabilise. The Chief Did it... However..." he paused for a moment. "I'm not reading any lifesigns in the conduit anymore."
"Simulation Complete" The computer said. The room disappeared leaving Chisato and Taiga now stood on the empty holographic grid. Taiga stepped forward, her PADD still in her hand as she approached Chisato.
"Care to hear your results?" Taiga asked.
Results however, seemed to be the furthest thing from Chisato's mind.
"Are you happy?" she sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "Do you take joy in the fact that you forced me to send an innocent man to his death, when I tried to do everything in my power to prevent it?"
"He was a hologram," Taiga said simply as she lowered her PADD. "But you're missing the point Chisato." she said. "As the Commander of a Starship, you may need to make difficult decisions. Thats why we're at the top of the command chain."
Taiga paused for a brief moment. "Its not easy, but you need to remember that you are responsible for every life on the ship." Once again Taiga took a pause. "The Vulcans have a phrase... The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few..."
The Captain approached Chisato slowly. "By ordering the CHief Engineer to fix the conduit, you ordered him to die. But in doing so, you saved the ship and the rest of the crew. The Chief Engineer knew that. He also knew that if he didn't follow that order you gave, everyone would be dead."
"But why me?!" Chisato demanded, fists clenched and tears streaming down her face. "Why am I one who has to make these decisions all of a sudden?! Why couldn't you have put someone like Moklor or Adams through this test?!"
"Because, I believe you have the potential to become a damn good bridge officer." Taiga said. "Commander Moklor is a fighter pilot, he's better suited out in space than on the bridge of this ship." She took a brief pause as she looked down at her PADD. "Plus, with my current condition. Its not going to be long until we're going to need someone else in the command tract. In the later months, Commander Johnson will be required to run this ship for a few weeks. That means that Major Shimada will become the ships Executive Officer, and this ship is going to need someone to take on the role of Secondary Officer."
Taiga lowered the PADD again. "I must say, your diplomatic skills need some refining. But thats something we can train you on. Your tactical abilities are also a little rusty, but you showed some great initiative and potential there. Your use of the Picard Maneuver was imaginative and not expected." Taiga told her. "And the last test, even though it took you a few times. You realised it was your only way to save the ship. But its not every day you have to make those sort of decisions."
"Therefore, you pass." Taiga said simply. She reached down into one of the pockets in her trousers and pulled out a small box similar to a ring box. She held it out to Chisato. "You have the right to this if you want it." she said. "If you want to step up and become something bigger, if you want to help contribute to the running of this ship and therefore helping me in the process."
Chisato placed her hand out to stop her. "I don't think I could accept that, Captain; I..." she sucked in her breath. "I care too much about this crew to ever sacrifice them like that; I don't meet your expectations of a bridge officer-!"
"Catch" Taiga said as she threw the box over to Chisato.
Instinctively, Chisato reached out and caught the box in her hands.
"Don't worry Commander... Full; Commander. You'll get there. Just; believe in yourself." She said simply. She turned on a heel quickly and with a swift walk headed out of the holodeck leaving Chisato alone.
Chisato simply stood there, staring at the box in disbelief. With strained breath, she peeled the lid back to reveal the contents that lay within; a singular, golden pip, resting comfortably atop a blue cushion.
"I hate to state the obvious, Miss Nishikigi;" Chrirhc surmised. "But, if I had gone through that test, I would have channeled Foreman Chihc and sent that engineer to his death without hesitation. On Hebitia, we have a saying: A life taken is worth 100 lives saved. Granted, this phrase has often been applied to justify assassinations, but it was coined with good intentions: You might compare it to the Vulcan saying; the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
Chisato's lips curled in a pout. "Gee, some consolation you are..."
"It's not just me." Chrirhc said. "You can go ask Captain Takahashi what she'd do in that situation, and her answer will be quite similar to mine: Any means necessary to save the ship. She might even question your performance on a Kobayashi Maru exam, given how poorly you handled ordering someone to their death."
"Not like I'd have volunteered for it in the first place!"
"Regardless, I suspect this somehow has to do with Colonel Shimada?" Chrirhc asked. "I mean, Captain Beurling being here on the Myogi indicates that something must have given over on the ol' Tokyo. From what I observed with the two of them, it was going to take an act of Starfleet to break them up. Captain Beurling doesn't really like to talk about what exactly happened, because she still feels responsible for breaking her sister in arms' trust."
"Well, with everything that's going on, can you necessarily blame them?" Chisato sighed, indicating towards the large black curtain and what it represented. "These are different times then they were a year ago, Commander; we are now in the single-deadliest conflict in our history, so manpower's kind of at a premium- any prior commitments to being assigned together kind of fall to the wayside when our very survival takes top priority."
"Even still, my previous query still stands." Chrirhc persisted with a rather smug grin. "What happened to Colonel Shimada? Is she dead? Did she leave? I do suspect your troubles have their roots intertwined with the fate of Colonel Shimada."
"No, no, she's not dead," Chisato assured him. "The fact of the matter is that she's got a 14-year-old daughter and a husband who's 14 years behind on the times, so that's at least two dependents she's now gotta juggle in addition to her preexisting duties. I mean, she could have opted to stay on the Tokyo, yes, but you saw just how unstable she was back in the Karlax Nebula? She's a strong woman, I'll give her that, but to lose her family now of all times would send her right off the edge, and I think even she acknowledged that."
To be continued...
Posting by
Lieutenant Commander Chrirhc Chihc
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Myogi
Guest Starring:
Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Mission Advisor
Guest Star
USS Myogi
Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer
USS Tokyo
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