Mother/Daughter time

Posted on Tue Oct 26th, 2021 @ 1:49am by Major Chiyo Shimada & Alice Shimada

1,249 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Operation Romulus Return
Location: Shimada Family Quarters

Chiyo returned to her quarters exhausted after a long day's work. She was fully expecting to have to order Alice's dinner alongside her own from the replicator. So, then she was quite surprised when the scent of a replicated omelet met her nostrils when she entered. She turned in the direction of the smell to find Alice chowing down on the food item in question, having set her homework aside for the time being.

"Hi, mom:" She greeted warmly. "Long day at work?"

"Very..." Chiyo responded. "Let mommy get changed first, and then we can talk about it."

When Chiyo disappeared into the master bedroom, Alice returned her attention to her omelet. A classmate had put the idea in her head earlier that day, saying that omelets were delicious with peppers in them, and after her stomach rumbled while doing homework with no sign of her mother being home anytime soon, Alice had taken the initiative to order an omelet from the replicator, exactly how the classmate had described it. Safe to say, she hadn't been disappointed so far:

Chiyo emerged from the master bedroom about a minute or so later, wearing some loose-fitting civilian clothing from the small wardrobe of such she kept on her. Because not everyone could be expected to wear their uniform unless they were sleeping or undertaking hygienic activities.

"So, anything new or exciting you learned in school today, sweetie?" Chiyo asked.

"Not much;" Alice responded. "Just more mathematical formulas: They seem to be getting harder and harder as I get older."

Chiyo chuckled.

"Honey, if you think pre-Algebra is tough, wait until you're studying Calculus." she joked.

"It's not like it's hard;" Alice responded. "In fact; I've had to show my classmates how to do several of these problems."

"Sounds about right to me:" Chiyo said, striding over to the replicator. "Maple waffles; blueberry syrup."

When Chiyo removed her breakfast dinner from the replicator, Alice did remember something interesting she had learned today.

"Come to think of it; there was something of note:" Alice said. "We started learning about Jonathan Archer in our history class."

"Ah, that's nice..." Chiyo said, joining Alice at the table.

"Isn't he the namesake for that 'Archer Project' group you keep talking about?" Alice asked.

"Yes, yes he is." Chiyo admitted.

"What is the Archer Project?" Alice asked.

Silence fell for a moment as Chiyo pondered how best to respond to Alice's question.

"Many years ago, when mommy was slightly older than you are now, there was a war:" She began. "It was a very destructive interstellar war, and lots of people were lost, and it changed those who survived. Some for the better, some for the worse: The Archer Project is a coalition of folks from that era who were changed for the better; who believe in fighting the good fight; even if it's against folks from the era who were changed for the worse."

"For the worse like Miyahara?" Alice asked.

"Yes, for the worse like Miyahara." Chiyo said.

"So they're a very low threat level to the Federation?" Alice asked in regards to The Archer Project.

"More like nonexistent." Chiyo commented in regards to The Archer Project. "If anything, they'll likely be valuable allies if my model of future events is accurate. But, I'm a marine, not a fortune teller, so something could happen that I'm not accounting for."

"So you believe there's still a possibility of an attack?" Alice asked.

"Too much is at stake, sweetie." Chiyo said. "There's been an underlying hatred festering for 20 years, and if there's one thing rabble rousers like Miyahara are good at, it's playing off negative emotions."

"But, hold on;" Alice remarked. "The Federation's had many presidents over the centuries, so why pick Jonathan Archer specifically to name your activist group over?"

"Well, sweetie; Archer accomplished the monumental task of uniting the Federation's founding races; Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites, in the face of a common enemy: The Romulans." Chiyo explained. "And these days, closing the ever-widening generational gap between the Dominion War era and today's young minds who were only children when the war was going on is turning out to be a task akin to what Archer had to do."

Chiyo took a bite of her waffles.

"Frankly, I think naming the group after someone who worked to unite and found the Federation is admirable." She commented. "Especially when there are people out there like Miyahara who would love nothing more than to trample on our freedoms in the name of security."

Silence fell as the two ate another two bites of their food.

"So, anything else interesting at school?" Chiyo asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.

"Well, homeroom wants everyone to create family portraits." Alice said. "Kinda like the BS you do in elementary school. They want everyone to lay their family dynamic bare in front of everyone, even though you'd think in middle school we'd be past that stuff."

"Well, just be frank, and say that your mom's a badass marine on a Starfleet ship." Chiyo suggested. "And if they want to know what your father's like..." She trailed off.

"What was dad like, mom?" Alice asked.

"You ask all the hard questions today, don't you sweetie?" Chiyo sighed. "Well, the best way I can describe your father is... You know those late 20th century police procedurals?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, your father was like something straight out of one of those shows:" Chiyo explained. "He was an ultra macho officer of the law, bit of a rebellious streak, but he also had a softer side to him. He always wanted to settle down and start a family... Man, I really wish you could have gotten to known him, but then again, fate has cruel plans, doesn't it?"

Alice could see the pain and grief in her mother's eyes.

"Mom, I can tell dad meant a lot to you;" She said. "Heck, I can see you tearing up right now... Maybe we can reserve this discussion for a different day? They're giving us a whole month to construct those family portraits. Tell you what? How about after we're done eating, we sit down and watch some Paper Fantasies?"

Chiyo smiled.

"Don't you still have homework to do, my love?" She asked.

"Everything that is due in tomorrow is already done." Alice explained. "All that's left are things that are due later this week. You don't need to be alone, mom: Remember what you told me when I was younger? 'We're here for each other.' And that's really all that matters: Now, what kind of daughter would I be if I let my mom cry herself to sleep when she wouldn't do the same for me?"

"You sound more and more like your father every day, Alice." Chiyo smiled. "Alright; I'll accept your offer, and we can watch Paper Fantasies until it's time for you to go to bed."

"Did you ever see the Astral episode in its entirety?" Alice asked.

"No Alice, I don't believe I have." Chiyo responded.

Chiyo was more than grateful to let Alice plan out the entertainment schedule for the evening; because she needed some light hearted fluff to take her mind off the many heavy things weighing on her mind, and more importantly, Chiyo was in need of some connectivity with the one thing that she felt was worth fighting for after Tatsuo's death.

Posting by

Captain Chiyo Shimada
Marine Commander

Alice Shimada
Civilian child

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