The lieutenant junior grade droned on for another six minutes about deck assignments, restricted access routes, tribunal overflow procedures, and updated security rotations while most of the room slowly died inside.
Mercer tried to pay attention.
Really.
But half the room clearly treated morning briefings like a hostage situation.
“Cargo Bay Two remains restricted until command review is complete—”
Somewhere behind Mercer somebody made a quiet jerking-off motion with their hand.
Small laughter rolled through the room.
The lieutenant ignored it with the exhausted dignity of a man who’d lost this battle years ago.
“Additional personnel will be assigned to upper deck corridor checkpoints—”
One of the older sergeants muttered:
“Kill me.”
Another voice:
“Trade ya.”
More scattered laughter.
Mercer kept his eyes forward, trying not to smile.
Beside him, Hale sat perfectly still, arms folded behind his back like the regulations themselves had personally built him in a laboratory somewhere.
Rainer leaned slightly toward Mercer without taking her eyes off the briefing.
“You see Hale volunteer for extra duty one more time, shoot him before he reproduces.”
Mercer choked slightly trying not to laugh.
Without even glancing at her Hale said:
“Shut the fuck up, Rainer.”
She immediately gave him the finger.
The lieutenant continued pretending none of this existed.
Mercer noticed something else too.
Nobody seemed particularly nervous about the tribunal itself.
Annoyed?
Absolutely.
Curious?
Definitely.
But mostly it felt like the ship had simply developed a massive bureaucratic headache overnight.
The briefing dragged on.
Deck assignments.
Watch rotations.
Restricted corridors.
Visitor movement restrictions.
Mercer silently prayed he wouldn’t get assigned to cargo inspection.
Again.
The lieutenant checked his padd.
“And finally—”
The room subtly shifted.
Not dramatically.
Just enough that Mercer noticed it.
People straightened slightly.
Conversations stopped.
Attention sharpened.
The lieutenant stepped aside.
“Sergeant Major.”
Kane walked forward carrying a metal cup of coffee that smelled strong enough to strip hull plating.
Older than most of the room.
Calmer than all of it.
He set the cup down beside the podium and slowly looked over the assembled security personnel.
Mercer suddenly understood why everyone reacted when Kane entered.
It wasn’t fear.
It was gravity.
Kane’s eyes stopped on Mercer almost immediately.
Mercer unconsciously straightened his posture.
Big mistake.
Kane stared at him for one long second.
Then:
“Does your mama know you’re playing soldier?”
The room detonated.
Laughter bounced off the bulkheads instantly.
Mercer felt his entire face catch fire.
Even Hale looked down for a second trying unsuccessfully to hide a grin.
Rainer outright slapped the table once.
Kane never smiled.
Didn’t even blink.
He simply picked up the padd.
“I got a very special mission for you, kid.”
More laughter.
Mercer wished the deck would open and swallow him whole.
Kane glanced down at the assignment list.
“Mercer. Tribunal detail.”
“Upper corridor containment.”
“You’ll be with the nerd squad.”
A loud voice somewhere in the back:
“Poor bastard.”
Another:
“Try not to get killed by paperwork, Moe.”
More laughter.
Mercer sat there trying to recover while Kane continued like none of it had happened.
“Baxter, Coleman, Mercer, Wilkes.”
A huge blond security crewman near the rear of the room raised one hand vaguely without looking up from his coffee.
The man looked less like Starfleet Security and more like somebody who wrestled livestock recreationally.
Mercer immediately felt slightly safer.
And somehow more concerned.
Kane continued.
“The rest of you poor unfortunate bastards are with me.”
Now the room got quieter.
Not nervous.
Interested.
Kane finally looked directly toward Hale and Rainer.
“We got intermittent transmissions bouncing around restricted relay channels.”
“Somebody’s either confused, stupid, or hiding something.”
Rainer:
“Could be all three.”
Tiny scattered laughter.
Kane took a drink of coffee.
“That’s why God invented security personnel, Curley.”
Rainer leaned back smugly.
Hale already had his padd out taking notes.
Of course he did.
Kane scanned the room one last time.
“Alright.”
“Go do somethin’ useful.”
Chairs immediately scraped backward as the room exploded into motion again.