“Not today, satan”, I heard the young lieutenant say after she stepped back from the console and put down her sonic screwdriver with a huff and a smirk on her smudged face. That console had been causing problems for days, and the station captain was not at all pleased about it. The lieutenant had a reputation as a young but skilled engineer and the difficulty with the console under the captain’s watchful glare had clearly put the lieutenant on her best behavior. So, I was taken by surprise when the lieutenant let out that non sequitur barely soto voce. Allowing curiosity to get the better of me in the moment, I tried to nonchalantly query the comment on my padd (Reason + Science, Difficulty 1), only to learn that it was some obscure reference to an ancient Earth religion. Whatever. I redirected my attention to my own console and got back to work; the young lieutenant was packing up her toolkit as she wiped her brow with the back of her sleeve. I gave her a nod and what I hoped would be a supportive smile. She smiled back, her shoulders noticeably relaxing as she picked up her toolkit and left the station bridge.

The rest of the day was uneventful and I couldn’t stop thinking about the use of an old religious quip in this day and age. Many neighboring societies in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants maintained common religious beliefs, but it tended to be very much a thing of the past here in the Federation. As I prepared for bed in my quarters that evening, I found myself wondering if the lieutenant maintained a sense of religious belief, or if her use of that ancient aphorism was the result of a habit passed down from generation to generation in her family. I wasn’t sure what I thought about it all (Insight + Medicine, Difficulty 3) or how to approach the young lieutenant to inquire about her own history (Presence + Command, Difficulty 2). Okay, time for bed.