Old Habits, New Weapons

Posted on Fri Sep 4th, 2026 @ 12:25pm by Lieutenant Vireya Talvaren & Lieutenant Commander Maximo (Max) Vero

3,265 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Season 1 Episode 2: The Garden at the Edge of Night
Location: Security Training Room, USS Genesis

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Vireya had deliberately booked one of the smaller training rooms rather than the phaser range.

There would be plenty of time for targets later.

Two weapons rested on the table in front of her, both secured and powered down. The first was the current Starfleet sidearm Max would be expected to carry as First Officer. Beside it lay a phaser rifle, considerably larger and carrying rather more capability than anything he had handled in his own time.

Vireya stood beside them with a PADD in hand, looking up with a smile when the doors opened.

“Morning.”

She gestured towards the empty chair opposite her.

“I promised we’d start gently, so nobody’s firing anything today.”

Her attention shifted to the weapons.

“You already know how to use a phaser. I’m not interested in making you prove that all over again.” She set the PADD down. “What I need to teach you is what nearly a century has changed.”

Vireya indicated the sidearm first, then the rifle.

“These are the two you’re most likely to encounter in your duties. We’ll go through the controls, power settings, safeties, maintenance and what each of them can actually do before we ever step onto the range.”

She settled into the chair opposite him.

“So before I start throwing ninety-seven years of weapons development at you…”

A small smile touched her mouth.

“How much have you already managed to read?”

Max shrugged. "I read it. It all start to blur together with everything else. All I do is read about this century. I need to start living it. Not keep having more and more homework thrown at me.

I don't need 97 years of development. They are just more efficient, do better damage and are more ergo... ergo nom... easier on the body.... All I need to do is know how to use the weapons. And I'm not a Borg spy. I safe to handle these," he said simply.

Vi’s expression softened as she listened.

“I can understand that,” she said. “You’ve had half of Starfleet handing you reading lists since you arrived. I’d be sick of hearing about the last ninety-seven years too.”

She glanced down at the weapons between them, then back to him.

“And you’re right about one thing. You don’t need ninety-seven years of weapons history. I’m not going to make you learn every phaser Starfleet put into service between yours and these.”

A small smile touched her mouth.

“But they haven’t just made them more efficient and easier to hold, Max. The principle is familiar. What’s happening between your hand and the beam has changed quite a lot.”

She rested her fingertips beside the sidearm without picking it up.

“The controls are different. So are the power systems, the safeties, the range of settings and how the weapon manages them. Some things it will prevent you from doing automatically that yours wouldn’t. Other things it can do that your old phaser simply couldn’t.”

There was no challenge in her voice. If anything, she sounded sympathetic to the fact that this was yet another part of his life Starfleet had decided required updating.

“And firing it is still the easy part. I need you to recognise when something isn’t behaving properly, know when it’s safe to keep using and when it needs to come out of your hand. You’ll need to know how to check the power cell, remove it safely and replace it when it’s exhausted. Preferably before you discover an empty one in the middle of an away mission.”

Her smile warmed.

“I know you’re safe to handle a weapon. I’m not questioning that, and I’m certainly not testing whether you’re secretly a Borg.”

Vireya looked between the two weapons.

“So how about I give you a quick rundown of each? The controls, settings, power cells, safeties and anything that’s likely to catch you out. No century-long lecture.”

Her eyes returned to his.

“If you’re happy with that, we keep it practical and go from there.”

Max didn’t know if she had any idea how she came across talking about these phasers. It was almost lovingly, she had respect for them for sure, her world wouldn’t be the same without them. Her face lit up in the way he loved to see a women’s face light up, talking about them.

It was probably how he came across reminiscing about his Italy. Except his Italy didn’t have the ability to annihilate something or someone.

There was no getting away from having to carry and potentially use these for defence but he didn’t have to like them. Just control them. Think of them as just another tool Max. He had done that back in his time, he would do that with the upgraded fancier versions. And he was sure he would see even newer ones replace them. He figured he’d enjoy the taking them apart part at least.

“Si, lay it on me Vi. Lay everything on me,” he said.

Vireya smiled at his choice of words and reached for the hand phaser first, lifting it from the table and turning it so Max could see the controls rather than presenting it to him like something precious.

“Then we’ll start with the easy one.”

She held it comfortably in one hand. “The good news is that the basic idea hasn’t changed. Point it at what you intend to hit, select the effect you actually want, fire. So think of this as the same language you already speak, just with rather different grammar.”

Her thumb indicated the controls along the upper surface. “What you don’t have anymore is simply stun or kill. The output is graduated. At the lower end you’re dealing with incapacitation, then progressively heavier effects as you increase the setting. Go high enough and you’re no longer carrying something intended to stop a person. You’re carrying something capable of cutting through material, heating it, breaking it apart or doing considerably worse to whoever happens to be standing in front of it.”

She gave him a knowing look. “Which is why I’m rather keen on you knowing what setting you’ve selected before you squeeze anything.”

There was humour in it, not a warning.

Vireya turned the phaser slightly so he could see the indicators. “This gives you your selected output and the condition of the weapon. Check both when you pick one up. Every time. The power cell has a very good capacity, but Starfleet has yet to invent one powered by optimism, so eventually it empties.” She shifted her grip and showed him where the cell seated into the weapon. “You’ll learn how to remove and replace that yourself. It’s simple when you’ve done it a few times, and considerably less entertaining when somebody is firing back.”

She set the phaser down between them rather than keeping hold of it.

“You can also alter the beam for what you’re trying to accomplish. Narrow if you need precision, broader if the situation calls for coverage. Again, none of that should feel completely alien to you. There’s simply more control available now, and therefore a few more opportunities to select entirely the wrong thing if you rush.”

Her smile softened as she nudged the phaser a little closer to him.

“That’s really all I want you comfortable with before we move on. Where everything is, what the weapon is telling you, and what your choices actually mean.”

She nodded towards it.

“Pick it up. Have a look around it and tell me what makes sense without me explaining anything else. We’ll start with what you already recognise.”

Max picked up the weapon as instructed and looked it over. “It all makes sense. It has a little more girth to what I’m used too. Feels smoother if you can imagine that. Materials are different. Slider, buttons all in the same vicinity. Core different placing and smaller. Smells different,” he said seriously. “A lot of smells are different in this century,” he shrugged. Not all of them was he used to yet.

Vireya watched the way the phaser settled into his hand rather than the weapon itself. He wasn’t fumbling for controls or treating it like something unfamiliar and dangerous. He was feeling out the differences, letting almost a century of changed materials and design speak through its weight and balance instead of specifications.

The comment about smell brought a warmer smile to her face. “I suppose that’s one of the things the manuals don’t warn you about. New century, new century smell.” There were probably dozens of differences like that which nobody thought to explain because nobody else aboard had crossed ninety-seven years to get here.

Her attention returned to his grip. “You look comfortable with the weight, and you’ve found everything I’d want you to find without me pointing at it, so I think we can save ourselves some classroom time.”

Vi reached across to the training controls and entered a short sequence. Several metres away, the empty section of room shimmered before resolving into the holographic figure of a humanoid standing within the marked firing area. A soft tone confirmed the training safeties were active.

“I know I said nobody was firing today,” she admitted, looking back at Max with a small smile. “I’ve changed my mind.”

She nodded towards the phaser in his hand. “Standard stun. Check the setting first, then one clean shot centre mass. Don’t worry about speed. I want you to feel what the weapon does when it fires and whether anything about the balance surprises you.”

Vi stepped clear of the firing line, giving him space rather than hovering over his shoulder. “If you’re comfortable with that, I’ll give you something a little different afterwards. These can widen the beam enough to catch several people at once, but you’re spreading the available energy across a much larger area. You don’t get the same concentrated stun effect.”

Her fingers tapped another command into the waiting console, though she left the next scenario inactive for now.

“Think of it as buying yourself a few seconds. Disorient them, break their momentum, give yourself room to move or follow with proper aimed stuns. Useful in the right situation, but not a substitute for putting one good beam where you actually need it.”

Her eyes returned to Max, relaxed and encouraging.

“Let’s see how the simple one feels first.”

Max nodded and stood up. He set the weapon to standard stun. Double checked it and raised his arm. Pressing the fire button he shot the beam clearly in the middle of the targets chest. "Its lighter. Feels more like an extension of your hand," he stated.

Vi gave an approving nod, watching the way he recovered from the shot and settled the phaser back into his grip. “Exactly. You’re not fighting the weapon anymore, and that was a clean hit.” There was genuine pleasure in her voice as she reached for the training controls again. “Let’s make it earn its keep.”

The first holographic target dissolved and three figures shimmered into place several metres apart across the firing area. Vi adjusted the programme until the display confirmed the wider coverage arc, then looked back to Max. “Same stun setting, but open the beam. Remember, you’re spreading that energy across all three, so don’t expect them to drop as neatly as the first one. You’re looking to disorient them long enough to take control of the situation.” A small smile returned as she nodded towards the targets. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Max nodded and did as instructed. The beam clearly wider worked a little slower as he cut through all three targets. Just for kicks he aimed at the knee caps area of each one.

"I may be a pacifist but equally it can be somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps," Max joked. "I like to think a hit to either knee would bring them down or certainly disorientate."

Vi laughed, unable to help herself. “Knees I’ll allow. Anything higher and I start questioning what sort of pacifism you practised in the twenty-third century.”

She glanced towards the three targets, amusement still lingering. “Although if you genuinely want someone’s kneecap, go back to a narrow beam. Wide dispersal is for catching the group, not choosing which joint they regret bringing with them.”

The holograms faded as she stepped back towards the table. He had adapted to the phaser quickly enough that there was little point inventing exercises simply to fill time.

“That’s most of what I wanted from the sidearm. You know the controls, you’ve handled both beam profiles, and you’re not fighting the balance.” Vi nodded towards the phaser in his hand. “One last thing. Drop the power cell, check it and reseat it for me. Then I’ll stop bothering you with this one and we can move on to the rifle.”

Max had to laugh at her mention of any higher. "Certo che sì, but of course. Its not the cricket to shoot a man in the plums Vi. Even in this century - that I know," he said as he pressed to release the power cell. It was a phrase he had picked up somewhere. He suddenly realised he couldn't remember where though or from who.

Giving up on delving further trying to remember, he mentally filed the information if he was going for knee caps to used the narrow beam though.

Then he placed the phaser back down on the table and pulled up the cell in front of him to check things. It looked fine. There was still power available. He carefully placed it back in the phaser then handed it to her.

Vi accepted the phaser from him and gave the cell a quick check of her own before powering the weapon down. “Good. Then as far as I’m concerned, you’re signed off on the sidearm.” She set it aside and reached for the rifle, bringing it across the table without making a ceremony of it. There was little point repeating everything they had just covered when the underlying technology was familiar. “This is the same family of weapon, just built for situations where you need more range, stability and sustained output. The controls and settings will feel familiar, but you’ve got a larger power supply, a heavier emitter assembly and a weapon that wants both hands rather than one.” She shifted it slightly so he could see how it sat through the shoulder and where the main controls fell beneath the supporting hand. “It’ll carry more power comfortably than the sidearm and hold a beam more steadily over distance, but otherwise I’m not going to insult either of us by giving you the same lesson twice.”

Her smile returned as she offered it across to him. “You’re unlikely to carry one very often as First Officer, so I only want you familiar enough that it doesn’t feel strange if someone puts one in your hands during an away mission.” She glanced towards the training area. “You can take a shot with it if you’d like, get a feel for the balance and recoil compensation. If not, I’m happy enough with what I’ve seen today.”

"Might as well take the shot," Max said. He took the rifle off her and held it the same as she had. Looking at the controls it was pretty much rinse repeat. He waited for her to pull up a target slightly further away. Max raised the rifle and shot. He had no issues with precision. It was ironic that naturally he seemed to be pretty good at aiming weapons, just he would rather not have to use them. The recoil was what he expected. Slightly higher than the recoil on a century old rifle he had used before.

He pulled his arm back and checked the power cell. Then handed it back to her. "I don't believe I will have any issues."

Vi took the rifle back from him, checked the cell almost without thinking and powered it down before laying it beside the phaser. “No, I don’t think you will,” she said, smiling as she picked up the PADD and finished the last of the certification. “You’re fine, Max. Better than fine, actually. I was expecting at least one argument with the rifle after all that complaining about homework.”

She closed the record and set the PADD down, visibly relaxing now that there was nothing left to assess. “That’s you signed off. Done.” Her smile lingered as she leaned against the table. “And next time we spend an hour together, can we do something that doesn’t involve Starfleet testing you on this century? Come have a drink with me in Ten Forward sometime. No PADDs, no recertifications, no telling me how everything smells different.” The last earned a little more amusement. “Just a drink. I’d quite like to get to know you when nobody’s handing you something else to learn.”

“I look forward to that. I have a couple of things scheduled in the next few days. Perhaps Friday after shift? I’ll pop down there and if you’re about we have that drink. If not I eat a big pasta dinner and tempt the disapproval of the docs,” he said humorously.

He started towards the door, she didn’t want he was sure or need to hear about an external counsellor check in to help with his acclimation to this century and the fact his apparent great great nephew wanted to schedule a subspace conversation. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that one himself to be honest.

“I cannot do the promise on the smells though. Everything is different. It’s a minefield. But not everything is bad. You’re shampoo for instance, no idea what’s in it. But not unlikeable. Not at all.

Thank you for taking the time to go through all this and certify me. I appreciate it.” He smiled at her. “Ciao Vi.”

Vi’s eyebrows lifted at the shampoo comment, and for a second she just looked at him before a laugh slipped out. “That might be the strangest compliment I’ve had in a while,” she said, still smiling. “I’ll take it.” She pushed herself away from the table and gathered the PADD, the last of the session already feeling less like a recertification and more like something that had simply run its course. “Friday sounds good. If I’m free, I’ll meet you there. And if I’m not, enjoy the pasta and scandalise Medical properly.”

She watched him head for the door, warmth lingering in her expression. “You’re welcome, Max. Really. And for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing better with all this than you give yourself credit for.” Her smile softened. “Ciao.”

Once the doors closed behind him, Vi looked back at the two weapons on the table, then at the completed certification on her PADD. One less thing for him to have hanging over his head.

That, she decided, was enough for today.

 

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