Two Pips, Three Pips

Posted on Tue Jun 23rd, 2015 @ 12:37am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Alex Walker

1,486 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Captains & Contraband
Location: CO's Ready room

ON:

[USS Tokyo]

It'd taken the better part of the day, but with the help of a couple ensigns from the quartermaster's office, Alex & Meru were able to get their effects, and their family into their intial quarters aboard the Tokyo. It was a bit cozy as family quarters weren't usually sized for more then 2-3 children, and Alex & Meru had four with three more on the way. He made a note to talk to Ops about either expanding or reconfiguring the quarters so they had the extra room to spread out, but for now he had one important task to complete.

Walking onto the bridge, Alex found the CO's readyroom easy enough. Keying the chime on her door, Alex waited until the door swished open before he entered.

Taiga had been staring out of the window at the Wolff which was still alongside. The ship was due to depart soon, they were still offloading supplies. She noticed how the Wolff was a beautiful ship, her sleek lines and her majestic hull configuration.

"Come in" she said softer than she usually would. She was in a strange mood today, a different side of her. She felt more calmer and relieved which was strange consider the news she had recieved recently.

Alex entered the room. He could see the Wolff alongside through the window and the diminutive Commander who commanded the Tokyo. She had a reputation as a firecracker, and he thought he could understand why. "Commander Aisaka. I was asked to report to you once I was aboard. I am Lieutenant Alex Walker, your new Chief Science Officer."

Taiga spun around on one foot a little like a ballerina and looked the man up and down. "Ah " she said on seeing him. He was a good looking man and she liked the look of him, she could see how he had managed to get himself a family. "I must say Lieutenant, I've never seen anyone need the help of four crew to move things from the transporter room down two decks" she said with a smile. "The Tokyo's quarters do come equipped with a kitchen sink you know..."

Alex was taken aback at the Commander's words. "Commander. With all due respect, it was only two crewman. And I was not aware the Tokyo had a policy that required staff transferring in to handle moving their own effects. The lady in Ops I spoke with, Lieutenant Mimi I believe her name was, said she could spare two crew to help me."

Taiga smiled at him before sliding down into her seat behind her desk. She pushed a button on her chair raising it so she could see over its surface. Her legs were dangling off the floor as it raised up slightly. "You have to work on your sense of humour" she said simply. She motioned for him to take a seat infront of the desk.

"I suppose I do Commander." Alex replied, sitting down in the chair opposite her, a smile playing across his face as he realized she'd been joking. Truth was he had a lot of stuff, but he also had a large family with more children on the way.

Tiaga looked him in the eyes as if studying his mind. "Captain Emerson informed me that you will be taking over the Science department and bringing all... ermm.. how many children do you have again?" she asked curiously.

"Four Ma'am. And four more on the way if you count both my wife's and my eldest daughter's pregnancies." Alex leaned back in his chair, word apparently had gotten around, not that it wouldn't be common knowledge soon enough. "And Yes, I was assigned to run the Science department."

"Five, six, seven, Eight" Taiga counted on her fingers. "Yes, well all Eight of your children and grandchildren are now aboard. You are aware that the Tokyo is not the best place to bring a whole family" She said. "Not that I can talk of course, but still this is an Assault Carrier. Why did you choose to come on board here and not a Galaxy Class? Especially since our science abilities are limited?"

"I am aware of that Commander. I specifically requested a smaller vessel as my last posting was on one of the newer Ascension class vessels. Our mission profile aside, I wanted a smaller vessel I could raise my growing family on. I also wanted a vessel with a smaller science team so I could work on some theoretical projects without having my work interrupted as often." He smiled. "Much of my work on my PhD can be done inside a computer core, so I don't need much more then basic computing resources."

Taiga raised an eyebrow curiously. "I see" she said. "What theoretical projects are you currently working on?" she asked in a curious manner. "I hope they don't get in the way of your normal duties, plus you also need to be there for your family. I've never heard of anyone being a grandfather in their thirties and in Starfleet at the same time. Thats a lot of responsibility."

Alex nodded. "Mainly doing some theoretical modeling of complex planetary systems. There's been some unusual planetary systems that current models can't explain and I'm working on extending the model to account for some of the complexity we're seeing."

"As for how I came to be a grandfather-to-be at 31, it's complicated but I'll try to explain. Meru and I were childhood sweethearts back in the day. I ended up getting Meru pregnant when she was 15 and I was 16. That was our twin daughters, now both 14. The expression about the apple falling close to the tree? Well, our daughter Kala, she got herself pregnant a few months back by her boyfriend. Kind of like us except the daddy dumped her when he found out."

Taiga's fist clenched and she slammed it down on her desk causing everything on it to jump up when she hit it. "The little bastard cut and run did he!" she said. "What a irresponsible little child, he obviously couldn't keep it in his pants could he! If he was aboard I'd ring his bloody neck and force him to take responsibility, and trust me. HE WOULD!" Taiga said a little more hostile, that was one thing she was against. "I mean come on! There are people in this galaxy who WANT to be fathers but are... erm... well you know" her tone changed slightly and she began to blush. "Not working..."

For the second time that day, Alex found himself being taken aback by Commander Aisaka's remarks. This time he was genuinely sure this wasn't an attempt at humor. "Trust me Commander. That was my first thought. But honestly, if he didn't want to be around, I'd rather he wasn't. My daughter doesn't need a boyfriend who's sticking around because he has to. I stuck with Meru because I wanted to, and it wasn't easy trust me, but we've been together almost 15 years now."

"I can understand that" Taiga said her voice now calming down to a lower tone. She took a deep breath. "I apologise for that bit of an outburst, but that hits close to home if you understand what I mean" she explained. "Its good to see a family that sticks close together, it makes a nice change from what you usually see". Taiga's eyes seemed to change to a form of admiration towards him.

"Well, consider yourself reported in. I'll have Commander Daxer add you into the crew rosters" Taiga explained. "You have the weekend off duty for now, get them all settled in and ensure they know where everything is and that the children know there is restrictions in certain areas of the ship unless they have permission from the superior officer on the deck" Taiga explained.

Alex nodded at Taiga. "I can guess Commander but I won't pry. I will speak with my family and let them know about the off limits areas. And I appreciate the time to get settled. I do have one quick question related to quarters, how possible is it to rearrange the rooms a little? I'm not asking for more space, I just need to optimize the layout a bit. Most family suites aren't exactly designed for a family my size."

"Do what you must" Taiga said. "I'm sure Lieutenant Mimi will have no issues with helping you out" she explained.

Alex got up to go. "I will speak with her then. Thank you again Commander."

Taiga nodded to him. Although she now had a science officer she had more children aboard, that gave her more intentions to protect her crew and keep them safe. Even if she couldn't bring her own into the galaxy she could protect those of others, for now at least.

END:

Posting by

Commander Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Alex Walker
Chief Science Officer

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