Dinner in sickbay (part 2)

Posted on Sun Sep 6th, 2020 @ 11:24am by Lieutenant Takeshi Nakazato 'Zack' & Mako Nakazato & Sayuki Nakazato & Zack Nakazato Jr.

1,234 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Elachi Return
Location: Sick bay

Previously on Star Trek Tokyo:

"I don't doubt that." Takeshi chuckled. "But seriously, at least tell me one of those coffee cups is for me..."

"Sure is," Sayuki responded, handing him the blue cup. "It's your favorite!"

As Takeshi tilted the cup back, the sweet, sweet nectar that was Darjeeling Tea met his lips: He hadn't had it since before the briefing the previous day, and it tasted delightful to say the least.

"Delicious!" Takeshi said when he finally lowered the cup. "Thanks, dear. Now, what's in the bag?"

And now the continuation..

[A little while later]

Turned out, what Sayuki had in the bag was nothing short of a feast: Yakisoba noodles, chicken Teriyaki, steamed rice, and sauteed vegetables. Takeshi was quick to set aside the sick bay slop he had been served to endulge in some real food, even though he knew he'd catch crap from the nurses later. But, to be fair, either way, he was getting a whole lot of nutrients and some other stuff beneficial to him. He was just taking it in the form of something he actually wanted to eat.

Once all the food had been divvied up, the Nakazatos took a moment to say grace, which Sayuki led them in:

"Buddha, we thank thee for this food and for looking after Takeshi during this crisis: Amen."

"Amen." Takeshi, Mako, and Zack all said.

As the four of them began eating, Takeshi reveled in the rich taste of the food. Maybe it was because of all the slop sick bay had been feeding him, but the food tasted almost too good to have been replicated.

"So, how was your day?" Takeshi finally asked, puncturing the silence that had descended across the sick bay bed as they ate.

"Well, surprise-surprise, another crossing between Earth and Mars was stopped by a nosy Starfleet patrol." Sayuki muttered.

"Oh, great, which one was it this time?" Takeshi enquired.

"It was the Herald of Free Enterprise." Sayuki responded. "Honestly, it's like Starfleet has some sort of vendetta against Townsend Thoresen or something!"

"Now, what makes you say that?" Takeshi questioned.

"They stop almost every Townsend Thoresen ship, while they let our competitors, SpaceLink, keep going!" Sayuki explained. "Honestly, it was a one off instance where one trucker had a load of Romulan Ale, and suddenly that gives Starfleet incentive to stop every Townsend Thoresen crossing!"

"Well, like it or not, dear," Takeshi explained. "The peace that exists between the Federation and Romulan Star Empire is very uneasy. Though, no doubt, Captain Aisaka's actions today will have done some damage to that. But, while direct confrontation isn't in the Federation's best interests, we can regulate goods from other Alpha Quadrant powers that are sold in our borders."

"I've got to say, some of the folks at corporate were actually excited about having a TT rep aboard a Starfleet vessel, but so far that doesn't seem to be paying off." Sayuki said.

"Well, sadly, it may be quite some time before it finally pays off." Takeshi responded. "If Captain Aisaka doesn't get arrested for trespassing in Romulan space and this ship doesn't get impounded, I will honestly be surprised."

"You're saying the ship's going to be impounded?" Sayuki asked. "And I was just getting comfortable, too..."

"I don't know what's going to happen for sure, but I wouldn't settle any further in, because they may be sending you and the kids back to Earth." Takeshi said. "If there's one thing my studies has taught me, it's that you do not under any circumstances screw with either the Romulans or the Klingons, which is exactly what Captain Aisaka did today: I could list all the treaties trespassing in Romulan space violates."

"So, I take it your day went well." Sayuki said. "Aside from the fall, of course?"

"After the whole debacle that was yesterday, Captain Aisaka has decided she doesn't want to hear anything more that I have to say." Takeshi admitted. "If you want my honest opinion, I think it's because she doesn't like people like Admiral Miyahara."

"What does Admiral Miyahara have to do with any of this?" Sayuki questioned.

"Admiral Miyahara once said there are two kinds of Starfleet commander: The orderly and the disorganized." Takeshi explained. "Captain Aisaka has clearly demonstrated she falls in the latter camp. She's been running this anarchistic command structure for who knows how long, and then when someone knowledgeable in the field of order comes along and tries to tidy things up, she throws a temper tantrum."

Takeshi didn't care that he was speaking his mind about Captain Aisaka when passing medical staff were within earshot. They probably weren't paying attention as they went about their duties anyway, so the odds of someone sounding the alarm was fairly low.

"Admiral Miyahara also said that the orderly view the disorganized as undisciplined, and the disorganized view the orderly as tyrants." He continued. "Both Admiral Miyahara and Captain Aisaka would be horrified if they saw the other's command setup."

"Daddy?" Mako squeaked.

Takeshi turned to his daughter to see white terror in her eyes.

"Are you saying that the bad man's better than the good woman?" She asked.

Takeshi sighed.

"Look, kiddo;" He said. "I don't know what your mom's been teaching you, but good and bad isn't exactly as clear cut as it is in fairy tales. You know what I'm talking about, when I say clear cut?"

"Easy to understand." Mako responded.

"That's right." Takeshi said. "Now, from a young age, we're taught that good and evil are black and white, right? That someone is either pure good or pure evil: It's very simple for a young mind to understand. But, as we grow older, we learn the truth about good and evil: That there is no black or white; the only color that exists is grey: The color between black and white, and what makes a person good or bad is their shade of grey. Because there's more than one shade of grey, right?'

"Sure there is." Mako said. "There's light grey and there's dark grey, but what does this have to do with the bad man and the good woman?"

"Well, Mako, daddy was trained on the principles of Admiral Miyahara, the bad man." Takeshi explained. "And yes, there were some things he did that I didn't agree with, like not allowing civilians aboard his vessel, but I saw him as a good overall commander, and I still do. Now, going back to the grey spectrum, I'd put him at a fairly light shade of grey. In fact, the only reason I'd even call him the bad man at all is because of his policy on civilians."

"Okay," Mako replied uneasily. "But, if the bad man's supposed to be good, then what about the good woman?"

"Well, you see, Mako; daddy only very recently came under the good woman's command." Takeshi explained. "And almost the whole entire time, she's been nothing but suspicious and distrustful of me. In fact, the only reason I'd call her the good woman at all is because of her civilian policy. In terms of grey, I'd put her at a very dark shade."

"So, you think the good woman is... evil?" Mako quivered.

"Yes, Mako: That's exactly what daddy's getting at." Takeshi responded.

To be continued

RSS Feed