He had asked Starfleet for a little more time with his family. They had granted it at a price. Luke needed to organize his transport to Starbase Bravo himself. Surely, Starfleet had offered their help and the Cadet had thankfully accepted it. A young Ensign had booked him a seat on a civilian transport. And that was why he was sitting wedged between two passengers on a cramped transport shuttle. It was not the most glamorous ship. The smell of old cushions mixed with the one of burnt coffee. He had tried to sleep for what felt like hours, but had not been successful – partially due to the snoring of the humongous Bolian next to him and partially because the old transport was not the quietest.

Just as he opened his eyes again in resignation, a Vulcan across the aisle interrupted him with a smooth voice.

“Excuse me, young Cadet.”, he said. And it was only now that Luke realized that he was the only one wearing a uniform on this ship. He looked up and blinked in confusion. The Vulcan wore a red robe with precious ornaments. It looked fancy. Nothing he would have expected from somebody who held logic in high regard.

“Yes?” Luke asked. His voice sounded like one would expect after not having talked for several hours. He cleared his throat, still unsure if he had been adressed or if this was the setup to a theatrical perfomance.

“I sense greatness within you.”, the Vulcan said. Luke raised his eyebrows and looked directly into the man’s eyes.

The Bolian next to Luke snorted. “He said that to me too, when I got on this transport. Then he tried to sell me a talisman.”

“It was a blessed talisman.”, the Vulcan snapped in a very emotional way. His expression showed anger. It was this moment that caused Luke’s first emotion since they had departed despite confusion and hate. The Vulcan turned back to Luke. “You Cadet, are different. You’re on a path of destiny.”

Luke opened his mouth and wanted to respond, but before he could say antything, the shuttle shook violently. A groaning sound filled the cabin and Luke instinctively grabbed his armrests. The “remain seated” lights above their heads turned on. And as the shuttle steadied, the Vulcan chose to ignore them and stood up. As he came closer, Luke examined his face more closely, imagining to be able to see an amateurs attempt of plastic surgery on Vulcan ears.

“Beware, Cadet,. For on Starbase Bravo, you will encounter the Great Nebulark!”

The Cadet looked around as the Bolian next to him snorted.

“Uhm…”, Luke said with a nervous voice. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as a Nebulark.”

“DO NOT MOCK THE NEBULARK!”, the man thundered, pointing his finger at Luke. “The only thing that saves you is this amulet.”, the disguised Vulcan took out a glowing charm from his robe and almost jammed it into Luke’s face. “It is only 5 stripes of Latinum. Your life should be worth this price.”

At that moment, the turbulence resumed and threw the man off balance. He fell unceremoniously into the aisle, the talisman flying through the ship onto a rather unimpressed middle-aged sleeping human man. The Vulcan burst out laughing. “The prophets strike again.”

He scrambled to his feet again looking for the talisman. “You will regret your doubts!”, he screamed before retreating towards the back of the shuttle. Luke shook his head. “First day on the job, and I’m already destined for nonsense.”

And as he glanced down at his PADD, he noticed something odd. A faint shimmer of light seemed to be dancing on the screen, forming what looked to be a bird that disappeared the moment he blinked. What the heck is a Nebulark?