A Wrinkle in Time

[Chirakis 1]

A Wrinkle in Time*
Cpt Chirakis Kirel
Lt Jeremy Garand

Her left boot pushed the chair precisely one meter from the desk as Kirel began to flip her stylus from one hand to the other at least six times a minute—not that she ever kept count.  The movement was spontaneous, as spontaneous as it would be if she grabbed her knife and flicked it into the opposite wall, something she would rather do than mindlessly flip the stylus.  However, attempting such a maneuver was close to impossible—not for her to achieve, but for a few other reasons.  The station was fairly new, the damage would have to have an explanation, and the wall was made of the titanium alloy that Security demanded.

The door chime distracted her for a fraction of a second, though it did not disrupt her cadence.  Given the circumstances and Commander Coleridge’s pending debrief, she wondered if she should ignore it… except that it was Lt Garand, her primary source of station information and rumor.  If she ignored him without cause he could engage the emergency release, and if he did not engage the emergency release she would miss all the rumors.

“Come,” she sighed, pressing the release as she stood to wander toward her private bar. “Ale, or something stronger, Lieutenant?”

“And a good evening to you, Captain,” he greeted as he stepped in and allowed the door to close behind him.  “That sounded like more than a suggestion, eh Cap’n?”

“You are correct.”

“I’m game.” He shrugged. “Do I have a choice?”

“No.”  She poured, then handed him a glass and replied to his expression, “Enl’licdh’a. Not negotiable.  Sit.”

It wasn’t often that Garand relaxed in the office.  He usually came for business, and Kirel was determined that this evening they would discuss nothing of consequence. She’d had enough of that lately.  

Sindarin brandy gave her office an almost decadent aroma: like the atmosphere of Drankum’s after midnight, but a little more cultured, a little more more sophisticated.  The brandy danced on the palate, slipped down smoothly, and crept stealthily into the brain’s frontal lobe to stimulate focus and intelligence.  The station’s rumor mill was always grinding, especially when it came to command, and even moreso when it came to Captain Chirakis’ stash.  Kirel was sure he had heard the rumors and wondered if he knew the difference between Enl’licdh and Enl’licdh’a.  

Apparently he did.

“Very good, Captain,” said Garand, smiling.  “Excellent. Enl’licdh’a. Amazing stuff.”  The brandy sloshed easily around the glass before he enjoyed another sip, allowing it to sit on his palate for a second or two.  “I’m going to guess that you’re either on the way to a meeting, are about to write a report, or…”

“...have a debrief,” she finished for him.

Not having seen the latest episode of As Aegis Turns, he was somewhat startled.

“What time is it, Lieutenant?” she asked, casually swishing her brandy.

“The time?”  He seemed surprised at the sudden change in discussion.

“The time.”  She pointed her goblet toward the chronograph on the wall.

“It’s… seventeen hundred hours, Captain.”

“Is it?  Are you sure?”

After checking it several times against his wrist chrono, his confusion melted into a grin.  “As sure as I can be, Captain.”

Pulling up her left sleeve to reveal her personal chrono, she asked, “What time did you say it is?”

“It’s….  No,” he scoffed, now pointing with his glass.  “You changed the time on your chrono, Captain.  Why?”  His grin broadened into a chuckle.

“I did not change it, Lieutenant.  Which means that you will have to excuse me. I have a debriefing to attend to in approximately… four hours ago.”
_________________

*With apologies to Madeleine L'Engle