Never play chess with a Vulcan monk

Posted on Fri Mar 6th, 2026 @ 10:26am by Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacRae & Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox

2,186 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Wolf in the Fold: Hide and Seek
Location: Sickbay

A quiet calm had settled over the course of the last hour or so. A silence broken only by hushed voices, the sound of the monitors tracking vital signs over the few remaining occupied biobeds and someone who was snoring so loudly, it could probably be heard on Romulus.

Seated on the edge of her biobed, leaning forward as Nurse Akii made passes along her back with the dermal regenerator, Lieutenant MacRae could only listen to all the sounds and regret her promise. Confinement never sat well with her, injuries or not. She would sooner crawl out of here than stay - yet she had given her word. So instead she did as she was told, making small talk as the young nurse worked in near silence, too busy concentrating on the task at hand.

Caitlyn instead held the gown against her chest, staring at the carpet and wondering what the nurse was making of those old scars. Akii had clearly seen them, for she had freezing cold hands and Caitlyn had shivered as the nurse had touched the angry looking scar. "I'm sorry," the nurse apologised. "I... I'm almost done... the scar looks painful. How did you come to get it, if you don't mind me asking?"

MacRae smiled ruefully, which of course the nurse could not see. Immediately reminded of how on her first night on this ship, she had crossed paths with Commander Knox...



<< Holodeck 1, three days prior >>


Distance, like time, was relative.

There were moments when a single millimetre was completely insignificant. And there were others times, like now, when it was enough. Almost at the summit of the climbing wall, pain shot through her shoulder as she reached for the final handhold. It was enough, in that fraction of a second, for her to miss the bright orange grip she was aiming for by a hairs breadth- instead finding nothing but thin air.

Already committed, her balance was off - not by much but enough to realise she was not going to recover. With no small amount of frustration she kicked herself back and away from the climbing wall, using the ropes to ensure she could at least make a smooth and somewhat dignified descent.

Angry at herself she began unhooking the safety line as soon as her feet touched solid ground, shaking her head. She was too out of practice.


Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox had noticed the holo-program's status by pure accident. He had been on his way through the corridor, just passing by the LCARS panel when it caught his attention. There was a program running, an intriguing title run by an unfamiliar name. Getting to know the crew was important to Knox.

The program that was running had safety protocols engaged as was standard. The physical exertion parameters, however, were elevated. This either meant someone was really trying to challenge themselves, or they were an expert in what they were doing. What made him slow, then stop though was the user tag. It had been running for an An officer’s name that he didn’t recognize. That was unusual enough aboard a starship where rosters became familiar quickly, especially to someone who had to pay attention to them as First Officer.

Though he couldn't know everyone, he did his best to keep atop of new personnel or unfamiliar names due to shift changes. After a moment’s hesitation, Knox queued the archway controls and opted to step inside.

The hum of the ship vanished, replaced by the hollow acoustics of stone and open air. A sheer climbing wall rose before him, textured rock catching simulated light, punctuated by bright, color coded handholds. He didn’t announce himself right away. Instead, he had observed her.

The woman, presumably MacRae was near the top when it happened. Knox saw the miss before it fully registered. The subtle hitch in her shoulder, the fraction of a second where confidence was superseded by pain receptors. Her fingers brushed past the bright orange grip by breath, and had closed in on nothing, but air. Already committed, her center of gravity tipped just enough to render a recovery impossible.


Knox watched as MacRae kicked off cleanly, using the rope to swing herself away from the wall and controlled her descent down. He did not want to startle the woman, but when her boots touched the deck and the line went slack, Knox felt it was a safe enough time to speak up.

“Computer, freeze program" he instructed. Knox folded his arms, studying her with the practiced eye of someone who’d seen failure in a dozen forms and survived most of them. "Damn well nearly had it. Not that it helps, but you didn't lose that for lack of strength. Your timing was accurate right up until you tried to muscle through the last reach.” A faint, smile tugged at his mouth. “Wasn't a reach a problem either.”

"It’s a hip rotation issue. You shift your center half a centimeter too soon. I'd say you missed that grip by inches at worst."

MacRae glanced over her shoulder at the unfamiliar voice, recognising the new arrival instantly. “Yeah, I messed that up,” she admitted, glancing back up at the summit with a rueful smile. Her shoulder was making it clear a second attempt was off the cards. “Next time though.”

Stepping away from the climbing wall she turned to face the commander. “I’m Lieutenant MacRae. Ops,” she offered by way of introduction as she peeled off the gloves she had worn to aid her grip. “Apologies if I was eating into your holodeck time, sir. I use the programme for workouts and have been known to lose track of time.”

"Knox, Lieutenant Commander... uh command," he replied with a boyish smile. "First Officer for now at least, and no, you are fine. You may eat into as much of my holodeck time as you'd like. I barely use the thing. I used to use it more often when the previous Captain was in command, but just do not find much enjoyment in the programs I like to run, not solo at least."

"Lieutenant, I am sure operations has acquired an exceptional talent, rock climbing blunders aside" he teased.

“Old injury… hazards of playing chess with a Vulcan monk,” MacRae explained in her defence. “And appreciate the vote of confidence. Still finding my feet, getting used to the place. So - what kind of programs do you like to run? If you don’t mind me asking. I usually use it for training, nicer than a gym but a friend of mine was obsessed with those Dixon Hill - I think that was the name - detective mysteries.”

"A Vulcan monk..." Knox would have raised a brow if he could, but he was not that talented with his facial expressions. "Remind me not to play chess with Vulcan monks. Though, chess has never been much of my game. I used to play, got beat nearly every time" he admitted. "Cowboy westerns, shootouts and whatnot. I'm a little more action inclined, but not that gifted when it comes to scaling up mountainsides."

“Action is good,” Caitlyn conceded. “Sounds like a good change of pace after a shift. Could be fun. Shootouts … security background? Tactical?”

As she spoke she walked to her kit bag, retrieving her bottle of water and taking a long drink. Of course she knew the answer and a small part of her hated pretending otherwise - a part silenced by the years of intel training and undercover work quashed like a tiny bug. Even though the man standing nearby was far too obvious to be the traitor she was searching for.

In all likelihood, the moment Knox was demoted from the XO position by Gray, he probably became a less promising recruit. Too many eyes. too much attention.

"Counselling," he replied. "I listen to the villain's monologue, then I shoot them with a phaser and subdue them" he added in a cheeky response. "That obvious? Yes, career security. Started as Enlisted and made the climb up and did the whole change to the officer world. First Officer.... command.... that was never where I saw myself ending up."

“Enlisted to command? The big question is … which one do you prefer?” She asked with a teasing grin. For the most part the divide between enlisted and officers was a friendly rivalry but not many made that switch - at least out of people she had met.

"Enlisted," he replied quickly. "Do you know how much paperwork comes with officer pips? I mean yes, you do, but being the First Officer is a nightmare. It never ends. There's paperwork for receiving paperwork to prepare you that there will be even more paperwork."

Caitlyn couldn’t help but laugh at the honest truth. “It is the true evil in this universe,” she agreed. “It is why I avoid said paperwork like the pla - sorry, poor choice of words, given what you all went through. The lower deckers talk. And sounded like the last mission was a nightmare.”

"I missed a good chunk of it," he stated. "The plague. Its okay. You can't speak it into existence, and it was crippling. You train for so much. You prepare yourself for battling Klingons if need be, the political landscape that is ever changing, knowing the dangers one can face out here but it’s the illnesses that far more deceptive."

“Harder to fight something you can’t see without a microscope,” Caitlyn lamented, taking another drink.

"Even harder when your Chief Medical Officer is sidelined from it, and your best fr- Captain is withering away, clinging to life. If that plague had an ass, I would have kicked it. Instead, we had to depend heavily on science to defeat it."

There was an undeniable honesty in his words. His frustration, his concern… all clear in every word and his body language. “Are you off duty?” She asked,

"I am," replied Knox. "At least for now, until something comes up to rip me away from the freedom."

“It just seems like you maybe could use some distraction, so if you want to switch the program, I’d be happy to keep you company,” she offered. “Or at least until that freedom gets ripped away?”

Knox shook his head "Thank you, but my holodeck adventures are behind me. Now, general socialization and grabbing some chow are not. If you want to escort me to the nearest watering hole, that would be agreeable."

“I imagine you’d be better escorting me,” Caitlyn pointed out as she packed up her kit bag, zipped it up and slung it over her shoulder, “and now that you mention it, I am hungry. Computer, end programme.”

At her command the response was instant, the world around them disappearing and replaced by the familiar grid pattern and the exit. “Always a positive when that happens,” she mused as she led the way out. “Did you ever meet Commander D’Kei, one of the instructors at the Academy? He was always full of horror stories about malfunctioning holodecks. And transporters.”

"D'Kei, no, but his stories were infamous. They spread through the cadets like a wildfire" replied Knox. He chuckled a bit as he remembered one of them in particular. "I heard one time that D'Kei talked about a time he was running a holodeck program about the Titanic and the safety protocols disengaged and locked him into the program until his shipmates could manually take down the holodeck power supply. D'Kei had to literally be rescued clinging to life on the frozen waters."

“He has terrible luck… first time I met him he had just recovered from some sort of accident while learning how to cliff dive,” Caitlyn confided as they walked. “No idea why but he swears the protocols were engaged when he went in. Maybe he just really doesn’t know how to work a holodeck?”


<< Sickbay, current >>

"... if you'd like?" Akii was saying, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I was just saying that I am sure Dr Ryan could work some magic, get rid of them?" Akii explained as she packed away her equipment and took another scan. "I'd be happy to speak to him, if you'd like?"

"That's alright," Caitlyn assured her, redressing. "Unless you'd also be asking him to let me out of here?"

Akii offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sure it will be soon. I promise to tell Dr Ryan you are still very much wanting to go back to your quarters. And I'll stop by the science department on my break, see if they can give me back your clothes. The top was a little torn, but I can totally work wonders with a sewing kit. Now, sit back, relax, and I will also see about finding you some food."

And with that, she offered a wave and hurried off, leaving Caitlyn to once again stare at the walls.

---

Lieutenant Commander Harrison Knox
Executive Officer
USS Thunderbird

Lieutenant Caitlyn MacRae
Operations Officer
USS Thunderbird

 

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