A Parting Gift

Posted on Tue Jun 1st, 2021 @ 10:34am by Lieutenant JG Nozomi Kusuda 'Gemini' & Captain Taiga Aisaka
Edited on on Tue Sep 13th, 2022 @ 1:55pm

1,310 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Allegations
Location: USS Tokyo (NCC-91101), Deck 6
Timeline: 15 minutes after "Settling In For A Whole Lotta Nothing (Part 3)"

After getting Silica and her drinking buddy settled in and bidding farewell to the kind, big-chinned Lieutenant for lending his assistance, Nozomi hurried back to back to retrieve her belongings (Which, to her relief, were exactly where she had left them) and get settled into her quarters before she was expected back at Starfleet HQ. Sure, she could have requested the Lieutenant help her with her bags before they parted ways, but she'd already asked enough of him at this point; after all, it wasn't like this was a five-star hotel.

Setting her suitcase down on the desk, she wasted no time in unpacking her belongings; a few extra changes of uniform, some technical manuals on the Valkyrie-Class and its most recent firmware updates, a copy of "Starfleet Ghost Stories" that she'd gotten autographed by the Jake Sisko during her first year at the Academy, a replicated Crosley turntable that she'd received as a birthday gift a few years ago, her crate of 12" records...

She had to hand it to herself; she had no idea how she managed to cram all this stuff into one suitcase, but somehow she'd pulled it off.

Nodding contentedly at this arrangement, she turned her attention to the manila envelope that Commander Romanov had given her earlier. Though it wasn't all that hard to guess that Elichi had gotten her another record (the rough dimensions of the package kind of gave that away), it was still anyone's guess what kind of album it was. She had some guesses, of course, but she wouldn't put it past Elichi to pull something completely out of left-field.

Stealing a quick glance at her PaDD and deciding that she had just enough time for a peek, she gently peeled back the seal and turned the mouth of the envelope over, allowing gravity to take over and bring Elichi's gift into her outstretched hand.

"No way," she gasped as a mint copy of "Astral: The Sessions," still perfectly preserved in its plastic wrapping, shook itself free of its manila cocoon. Anyone who'd followed Astral long enough knew that was one of- if not the- holy grail of their entire discography. Nozomi and the girls had recorded the EP over the Summer of 2381, a few months before the hotly-anticipated release of their fifth (and, at least in Nozomi's opinion, best) album, "Transmissions From The Old World." To help bolster sales, management had hosted an ambitious Holonet giveaway, in which no more than 30 copies of "The Sessions" were estimated to have been raffled off to fans. Nozomi fondly recalled having entered into the raffle herself, as she was in the midst of a phase when she had to have everything Astral (even those stupid Gashapon figurines; she had to have the whole set, even if it cost her an arm and a leg). Sadly, she wasn't one of the names drawn, and she'd long since accepted that "The Sessions" was going to be the one that got away...

That was, of course, until she found a mint copy in her own two hands.

As she pondered where Elichi could've gotten the money to afford something like this, Her gaze slowly trailed down to a letter that was sitting at her feet; she must've missed it when she pulled the record out of the package. Gently bending over to pick it up, she carefully undid the wax seal and read over the signatures contained within:

Hi! I heard from Eli that you got back into space. I'm also now back out too, I recently made Chief Engineer of the Hyperion. I can't say much else as its mission is all hush hush. But you're on a bigger ship than me. Have fun out there! - Honoka

-

Don't go doing something stupid out there. Remember you have friends back home. But congratulations on your new assignment. Nico nico nii!

-

So excited to hear that you're being deployed, Nozomi! I know you've worked hard for this!

-Kotori Matsubira

-

Nozomi,

In this era of new beginnings, it is important that we look back and honor this journey we have undertaken to get here. There have been many highs and many lows on this road we call life; times when we have been on top of the world, and times where we have felt powerless to do anything.

Let it not be understated that you have been through a lot these past six years, holding your chin high and yearning for the day that you would fly amongst the stars once again. A dream, for what it is worth, is a powerful thing; even against insurmountable odds, it stands as a guiding light in the thickest fogs of despair.

May your deployment bring you long life and prosperity,

-Umi Yamada

P.S., sorry if this isn't my best work; I had about ten minutes to write this up on the spot, so it's a little sloppy compared to what I usually write. I hope you like it!

-

Rin-Rin-Ring-A-Bell!

Good luck with your deployment, Non-Tan- we're all counting on'ya!

-Your favorite Nekomi :3

-

Rin and I wish you the best of luck with your deployment, Nozomi! Perhaps someday, we'll finally quit our jobs at the record store and join you guys over in Starfleet, like we should've done all those years ago.

-Hanayo

-

Apologies if Nico and I haven't been keeping in touch, Nozomi; things have been pretty busy aboard the Nautilus as of late. That being said, We're happy to hear that you're finally being deployed, and the two of us would like to wish you the best of luck; we all know what a struggle it's been for you to get here.

And no, I'm not doing the stupid catchphrase; Nico can't make me.

-Lieutenant Maki Kawashima, M.D.

-

Nozomi- I'm so sorry that I couldn't be there to see you off; There's been trouble brewing in the Beta Quadrant as of late, and I've been preoccupied with scrambling a crew to respond to the issue. But setting aside my excuses, I hope you appreciate my little "going away" present that I got you; you wouldn't believe the trouble I had to go to to get my hands on one of these. It was no easy feat tracking down all the girls to get their signatures, either!

Удачи в развертывании [Good luck with your deployment],

-Elichi"

-

Nozomi's hand instinctively went for her chest. She was so touched by the lengths Elichi had gone to to get her a nice going-away present, even going so far as tracking down the other girls just to get their signature. It was at times like these that she couldn't have wished for better friends.

She looked at the time again and found that the hour was growing short; With a smile, she gently set the letter down on the desk and tucked the EP away with the rest of her collection.

The next time she saw Elichi, she was going to owe her a few words of gratitude- presuming a few words was enough to do her feelings justice.

____________________________________________________________

Posting by (in order of appearance):

Ensign Nozomi Kusuda
Fighter Pilot, USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)

Lieutenant Honoka Kousaka
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Hyperion (NCC-80120-A) (Mentioned in writing)

Ensign Nico Yazawa
Engineering Officer, USS Nautilus (NCC-74115) (Mentioned in writing)

Kotori Matsubira
Civilian (Mentioned in writing)

Umi Yamada
Civilian (Mentioned in writing)

Rin Hoshizora
Civilian (Mentioned in writing)

Hanayo Koizumi
Civilian (Mentioned in writing)

Lieutenant Maki Kawashima, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer, USS Nautilus (NCC-74115) (Mentioned in writing)

Captain Eliza Nanjō
Commanding Officer, USS Moscow (NCC-61025) (Mentioned in writing)

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