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[Chekov knows that he shouldn't be surprised when his failed attempts to contact Captain Kirk lead him to the Hall of the Missing and, ultimately, the realization that the majority of the remaining crew of the Enterprise is no longer in the City. Disappearances frequently happen in groups. Spock, Kirk, McCoy, Uhura... most of them had come and gone before this, too. Chekov really should know better than to be surprised. Kirk might be able to bend the rules at home, but it was foolish to hope, even for a moment, that he would be capable of doing the same in the City.

It's tempting to stay off of the network and immerse himself in a project, but his crewmates were well-liked and it's only right to keep the friends they have made informed.]

Captain Kirk, Doctor McCoy, and Lieutenant Uhura are no longer in the City.

[Brief, formal, to-the-point. Unfortunately, one other party needs to be contacted.]

[Starfleet Comm Frequency // Unhackable]

Lieutenant Sulu and I are now the only officers of the Enterprise in the City.

[In other words: your orders, Captain Janeway?]

[ooc: The great Trexodus is upon us. Open to action in any of the places Chekov might usually be found--the cottage, the laboratories, you name it.]

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But, depending on what the intentions are in bringing us here, it may be sensible to maintain a population of individuals who are familiar with the way that the City works. If it was my city, I would do that.

[They should start a club of short guys from Eastern Europe who like math and habitually analyze things to death. It'd be great.]

It would be in my best interest to be distracted in other ways. ...Do you mean to say that there is such a thing as necessary drunkenness?

Maybe that's what they're thinking. Then again, you're also assuming that there is an intention for bringing us here. Sometimes I get the distinct sense it's all unpleasantly random.

[It would be the best, smallest club ever.]

Sure, sometimes there is.

I don't want to believe that it is random. That would make existence here more pointless than it is.

[Not that pointless needs to be bad, but it's unfortunate enough that they don't get to take memories of the City with them. Surely someone's gaining something from all of this.]

May I ask when?

I don't want to believe that it is, either. I've considered the possibility, though. I can't help it.

[Perhaps he should put 'cynical' on the list of things for their club of short guys from Eastern Europe.]

When you've tried every other means of distraction, and none have provided you with any relief.

At least you will not be disappointed if we learn that we are here because the City is as random and directionless as the rest of this and every universe.

[Chekov would deny being cynical. He embraces fatalism and skepticism with an enthusiasm that takes away most of their bite (at least to him).]

Yes, okay, that is reasonable. Still, I would rather drink when I am happy.

I won't be disappointed, no. Nor surprised.

[He nods.]

As would I, but this place doesn't often offer us the opportunity to be truly happy.

I think that being immune from disappointment and surprise is advantageous. Some think that it is gloomy.

[Meyer is opening himself to a philosophical discussion, which he might come to regret. Not that Chekov would admit to being particularly philosophical, of course, since philosophy is nothing more than idle speculation.]

What does it lack that prevents true happiness?

I prefer it. Better to go through life expecting very little.

[Gloominess doesn't bother him, though. Nor does philosophy.]

It lacks certain elements of home that we might care about. Our friends. Our associates.

[Chekov appreciates Meyer's gloominess. It's homey.]

We can find new friends and associates. They cannot replace the old, obviously, but they can fill vacancies left by those who aren't here well.

Some vacancies can't be filled.

[He doesn't mean to be so brusque about it, but... there it is.]

This is true, but it is possible to be happy even when something significant is gone.

[He doesn't expect agreement, but offers what he has gathered from experience anyway.]

In a certain way, maybe. In a different way, certainly.

Does every vacancy need to be filled for you to be happy?

[It's a damn good question. It gives him pause for a moment, but only a moment.]

Not every vacancy, certainly, but one grows accustomed to having certain individuals in their life.

Ah, and if they are irreplaceable and necessary, then how can anyone be happy without them?

[He doesn't quite agree, but he thinks he at least understands.]

I feel that this life in the City and life at home have different conditions that must be met for happiness, and that it's possible to be happy here without individuals who would be necessary for happiness at home.

Precisely.

[And there are people who're necessary. He can't deny that.]

So you separate out the forms of happiness, then? There's the happiness you feel at home, and the happiness you feel in the City, and one has very little to do with the other?

I find it easiest to try to separate them as much as I can. Maybe this is a strange way of coping

I don't think it's strange. I think compartmentalization is a useful way of coping, myself.

But not helpful in every situation. If the City was not so different from home, it would be harder.

The fact that it's distinctly foreign in most ways does seem to help, yes.

And we change our expectations to suit the situation. At home, I would be far more upset if my friends disappeared. Here, it doesn't make me happy, but it is something that must be accepted as the way of things.

At the same time, the fact that our friends have the tendency to show up and vanish randomly does make for some uncertainty and unpleasantness.

[A pause.]

Although, admittedly, I'm speaking more of those bizarre weekends we have, which seem to drag in all manner of people.

With those weekends, I find it easiest to assume that everyone will leave. I have been right, so far as my own friends go, but if I was wrong, it would be a good surprise.

Of course that's the assumption, but it doesn't stop there being some... discomfort in seeing them and then having them taken away again.

It is challenging. We are often challenged in the City, however.

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