Red Just Isn't My Color (backpost)
Posted on Fri Sep 26th, 2025 @ 8:20pm by Lieutenant Nezuko & Commander Chisato Nishikigi
2,314 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
Preserving The Past
Location: USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)- Commander Nishikigi's quarters
Timeline: January 23, 2397
She found herself wandering a large, suburban development, with a neat row of identical, yet exotic houses lining either side of her; beyond the neatly manicured yards of the houses on her left, a lush, alien forest stretched as far as the eye could see, a contrast of urbanization against a backdrop of nature.
Finding the household that she was looking for, she slowly made her way up the driveway and ascended the front steps until she found herself standing at the front door. She knew why she was here, and what she had to do, but by no means was she looking forward to doing it. But it had to be done, if just to provide some closure.
Reaching up, she proceeded to ring the doorbell and step back, dreading the news that she was going to have to break to the homeowners.
The large front door slid open, an unspoken invitation to enter, but perhaps one not recognized by the visitor. After a moment, one of the residents came to investigate. A girl, adult but young, no older than 21 or 22, with long black hair that was oxidizing red at the ends. She welcomed the visitor with a wave into the house, a gesture to follow.
One of the homeowners was in the kitchen. An older man who was chopping vegetables and putting them in a boiling pot on a gas stove. He cocked his head, confused about who this visitor was.
The girl -- his daughter? -- held her index fingers and thumbs into an approximation of a Starfleet Delta. The man nodded, signing to the visitor to come closer.
Sucking in her breath, she stepped inside the foyer, making sure to close the door behind her; if it were her, she would certainly have appreciated the privacy.
"Are Mister Hazuki and Missus Yurita home?" she began, addressing the girl in particular.
The older man stepped forward and pushed the girl a little further away. He kept in the foyer a Federation PADD (not Starfleet issue, but functional enough). Useful exactly for such moments, when visitors came from offworld. “I am Hazuki," it said for him.
She glanced at the man claiming to be Hazuki, then at the younger girl, then back at the man.
Alright; deep breaths, Chisato; you've got this.
She cleared her throat. "Mister Hazuki, my name is Commander Chisato Nishikigi, and I'm a representative for Starfleet; I'm here today because I have some bad news concerning your daughter, Nezuko."
Hazuki took a step back. He set the PADD down and signed something to the girl, who promptly ran off. He looked away, staring at nothing for just a moment until a woman came down the stairs. Older, with shorter hair with the same red tips that Nezuko had.
Hazuki signed something to his wife, who looked curiously at the visitor.
And now, the moment Chisato had been dreading:
"Mister Hazuki, I regret to inform you that your daughter was killed in action on Stardate 72545.62," Chisato began, attempting to fight back a lump that was threatening to form in the pit of her throat. "Her away team was ambushed while out on assignment, and she gave her life to facilitate their escape."
She closed her eyes and bowed her head. "You have my sincerest condolences, Mister Hazuki."
Hazuki sank to the floor. Tears streamed down his face as he processed the words he always dreaded he might hear. He refused to look at the visitor.
Yurita stood somewhat stronger, shock plain on her face, interrupted by her daughter running off. She picked up the PADD that her husband had set down and typed. It vocalized the words. “Please send details in writing. And please leave us to grieve.”
"I understand," Chisato nodded solemnly as she turned to leave. "A full report will be provided to your family in 24 hours' time."
But no one replied to her. They all just turned their backs, tears silently flowing, so they could make arrangements to put to rest their eldest daughter.
And with that, Chisato stepped outside and slowly closed the door behind her. She started the long walk down the driveway, but only got about halfway before her emotions got the better of her, and she collapsed in a sobbing heap.
**
"NO-!!!"
Chisato sat up. She was back in her quarters aboard the Tokyo; the lights were dimmed, and her bedside chronometer indicated that it was just after 0300 hours.
"Hah..." she gasped as she finally came back to her senses. "Was that all... a dream?"
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door chime going off, alerting her to a late night visitor.
Chisato crooked her head to one side. "Now, who could...?"
The door chime sounded again.
"I'm coming!" Chisato shouted as she threw off the covers. "Just give me a moment to get dressed..."
Outside the door, Nezuko waited patiently to be let inside. The hour was odd, but one of the things she wanted to see Chisato about shouldn't wait. She was in uniform despite how late it was. She clutched her PADD tight. Chisato was one of the crew that she had taught some extremely basic signs to, but she needed to communicate with nuance tonight.
The doors Chisato's quarters snapped open to reveal the officer in question, hastily buttoning up her uniform that was no doubt thrown on to be somewhat presentable to visitors at this hour.
"Right... sorry about that, Lieutenant," Chisato apologized as she finished buttoning up the uniform and quickly straightening the collar. "What can I get for you?"
Nezuko quickly typed her words onto her PADD, which voiced them aloud. “Apologies for bothering you. Two important things that could not wait. First, information about intel sensor apparatus as potential vector for Iconian computer viruses. Ran tests. Vulnerability exists. Need urgent approval to deactivate intel transceiver and apply patch.”
Chisato peeked her head out the door to just to make sure that there wasn't anyone eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Why don't you come inside and we can talk about this matter in private?" she suggested, her voice dropping down to a cautious whisper. "I don't want anything getting out that doesn't need to be shipwide knowledge."
Nezuko followed Chisato inside. She'd never been inside the Second Officer's quarters before. They looked...rather like she expected actually.
"Right, then," Chisato began once the doors had fully shut. "We were talking about the Intel transceiver?"
Her PADD spoke again. "First contact with Iconian technology in year two-three-six-five involved computer virus transmitted via probe scan. Ops in process of identifying vulnerabilities. Like tactical and science sensors, intel transceiver all work passively, to intercept transmissions at any time. Risk of receiving malignant Iconian code. Patch available, works like partitioned drive to keep virus out, but need to shut down intel transceiver to apply it."
"Approximately how long can we expect the transceiver to be down?" Chisato inquired as she moved over to the replicator. "Ideally, I'd like to have it operational by the time we reach the Amerind system."
Nezuko nodded. “Arrival in twelve hours. Operation should take three hours, longer if there are problems. Start tonight to ensure completion before Amerind.”
"Then by all means, do what you need to do," Chisato nodded. "Do you need me to sign off on anything before you can apply the patch?"
Nezuko quickly brought the service order onto her PADD, scrolled to the approval portion, and handed it to the chief of intel.
Taking the PADD, Chisato proceeded to scribble her signature on the form before handing the device back over to Nezuko.
Once she got the PADD back, she inputted another question. “One more thing. Wondering if you are okay. Past few days you seem like something is bothering you. Talking to friend can help.”
Chisato chuckled nervously. "Was I that obvious, Lieutenant?"
Nezuko nodded. “Friend Chisato can talk to me about anything.”
Chisato reached up and scratched her cheek. "Well, I suppose that it doesn't pertain to anything confidential, and seeing as you're offering up an ear, I'd probably be hard-pressed to refuse..."
Nezuko's brow furrowed in confusion. "I need both my ears. A deaf predator is prey."
"Oh, no, not like that, Lieutenant!" Chisato insisted. "Please don't give me your actual ear, that would be... very bad."
Nezuko thought about it for a moment and nodded. “Yes. Very bad. I will keep my ears, but I would like to listen. What is wrong?”
"Well, before I do that..."
Nezuko watched as Chisato reached over and input a command into the replicator. The phase transition chamber situated just beneath the main control panel shimmered momentarily before two plates of some... rather appetizing confectionery materialized on the main build plate.
"May I interest you in something to eat, Lieutenant?" Chisato offered as she picked up one of the plates and offered it to Nezuko. "Since you're offering me your time and all that, I figure it's a fair tradeoff to at least feed you while you're here."
Her guest nodded and accepted the plate. Nezuko took a sniff and examined it closely. It looked and smelled fresh and appetizing. She took a deep breath, removed her respirator, and took a bite. She closed her eyes as the most wonderful flavours tickled her palette. Her hand reached to her PADD. “Wonderful. What is?” She had enough air in her lungs for a second bite before she’d need a break. Especially since she planned to savour every morsel.
"Haliian Batoya Cake," Chisato replied as the two of them moved over to the table. "Doctor Febin- may he rest in peace- introduced it to me when I first transferred here. And it's negative calories, so there's no shame in me stress-eating it."
Nezuko nodded, feeling a flash of sadness for the late Doctor Febin. "Febin performed a ritual when he did my arrival exam. It facilitated communication at a telepathic level." She set the PADD down and decided to communicate the next part with sign, using simple gestures that she knew Chisato had previously learned, both from books and their own previous interactions. {He heard my voice. I heard my voice. First time. Special.}
She took a deep breath so she could eat more cake. While chewing she did a few more simple signs. {Best of friends take the time to learn to communicate with me. You take the time. You are here for me. I am here for you.}
"I'm flattered, Lieutenant," Chisato chuckled. "Truly, flattered."
The next few minutes were filled with an awkward silence as Chisato carefully pondered how she wanted to approach the subject.
"Lieutenant," she began once she found (what she felt to be) a somewhat decent angle to with which to lead things off, "have you ever been in a situation where you were given a responsibility that, for one reason or another, you just feel that you weren't cut out for?"
Nezuko considered the question. It wasn’t something she thought of before, but surely it had happened… Yes. She started typing. “First of all. First thing I came to tell you about was work. This is personal discussion. Nezuko, not Lieutenant.”
"Right; sorry about that, Nezuko..."
“Second, yes. Assistant chief role on last assignment. No management experience. Scared of failing. Had mentor who listened and gave advice. Taught me what I needed to learn. Minor problems at the start, but went away as I got better. Felt confident enough to take Tokyo chief assignment.”
"I see," Chisato sighed. "Well, this may not be a perfect comparison then, but I guess you could say I've going through something... kind of similar? It's kind of hard for me to explain..."
“I have time,” Nezuko replied. “Something has made you fearful of failure?”
"Yeah, I guess you could say that..." Chisato sighed. "I mean, I didn't have this issue when they made me CIO of the Lycoris, nor when I was made CIO of the Tokyo; but Command? That's an entirely different ballpark for me..."
“You are a good leader Chisato. Your instructions are well thought out. You care about your people. It may take time for you to learn but it will come.” Nezuko set her PADD down and reached her hands out to gently hold Chisato’s.
"And see, that's just the thing," Chisato replied. "I do care about my charges- each and every one of them; but at the same time, I can't help but feel that I care just a little too much..."
Nezuko let go of Chisato's hand to be able to type again. "Not possible. Caring gives you incentive to keep them alive. Would worry more if you did not care enough. Chisato, you may lose people, and it will affect you deeply, but that means you are a good person."
Chisato smiled. "I appreciate that, Nezuko."
Nezuko resorted to a couple of more basic signs she learned in the Academy.
Pointed to Chisato.
Thumbs up.
And then pointed to her plate of cake and then the replicator, unsubtly asking for more.
Chisato got the hint and grinned. "With pleasure, Nezuko."
Lieutenant Nezuko
Chief Operations Officer
Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Chief Intelligence Officer/Second Officer
Hazuki
Civilian (Mentioned in somnio)
Yurita
Civilian (Mentioned in somnio)
Kaede
Civilian (Mentioned in somnio)
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