One word... Explosions? (Backpost)

Posted on Sat Jul 12th, 2025 @ 4:59pm by Commander Jennifer Daxer

1,556 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Preserving The Past
Location: Shimada Family Quarters
Timeline: Right after "An unexpected guest"

Having served on the Tokyo more than once, including as the XO, Jen knew her way around. Taiga had tasked her with meeting the Intel Chief, and the Marine Commanding Officer.

"Computer, locate Major Shimada."

"Major Shimada is in her quarters" Came the computer's monotonous reply.

"Deck 4." She ordered, and the turbolift quickly moved in that direction. As got off on deck 4, she approached Chiyo's quarters, rang the chime and waited.

The door was answered by a blonde man wearing a gold uniform and a freshly-trimmed goatee. Though two pips gleamed on his uniform, there was something about him that seemed... Off. Almost as if his face had been put on a memorial.

"Can I help you?" The man asked.

Unlike the last time she'd been on the Tokyo, Jen stood wearing a civilian outfit consisting of black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a back leather jacket. Though her ears said she was obviously Vulcan, her long black hair sat about her shoulders, with a lock of it only partially obscuring her Borg ocular implant. She stood casually at-ease, studying him for a short moment, before speaking.

"Sorry to disturb you, but the computer says that Major Shimada is located here." The Vulcan woman finally said. "Is she available by chance?"

"She is, one second:" The man responded before turning away from the door. "Chiyo-kichi, there's someone here to see you."

"Let them in, Tatsuo." Came Chiyo's voice from within.

Nodding, the man, Tatsuo, stood aside, gesturing for Daxer to enter.

"Thank you." She said, nodding lightly as she stepped into the main room, almost instantly taking a mental inventory of everything that was visible from where she stood.

The main living area of the Shimada family quarters had a rather homely atmosphere. The smell of cooking Asian cuisine filled the air. A school bag was hastily tossed aside onto one of the couches in the main sitting area.

In the kitchen area, where most of the quarters' residents were gathered, a teenage girl sat at the table with a schoolbook open in front of her- no doubt doing schoolwork while waiting for her lunch to be ready.

Beyond the table, Chiyo stood over the cooktop. If it weren't for her green uniform, Chiyo would be forgiven for being mistaken for a regular housewife. Chiyo looked up from her cooking to get a better view of her visitor. The Vulcan woman had an air of familiarity about her, but for whatever reason, Chiyo just couldn't place it...

"Hello," She greeted with a warm smile. "I wasn't aware we'd be having extra guests for lunch."

"My apologies, Major." Jen said simply as she took in the scene. "I'm tagging along for the mission. We leave in a few hours, and I came to talk shop. If I'm intruding, I can come back."

"You're only intruding if you're not going to eat with us." Chiyo responded with a smile. "We're having Tatsuo's teriyaki: Been ages since I had this stuff..."

Chiyo had been introducing her daughter to all of her husband's best recipes. She'd always kept them, but until recently, it had been far too painful to even consider making them. Plus, even if she followed the recipe to a T, Chiyo could have never hoped to make it taste the same as when Tatsuo made it.

"The topic of interest is high yield weapons." Jen said, glancing at Chiyo's daughter, and ligtly tapping her holstered firearm to emphasize her meaning. "If you're comfortable discussing such a topic in front of your daughter, then... Can you make mine vegetarian?"

"Sure, we can do that, right babe?" Chiyo asked, turning to Tatsuo.

"Of course.' Tatsuo responded. "That's why I always make the noodles and meat separately..."

Chiyo turned back to Jen.

"She's well used to hearing me talk shop." Chiyo assured the Vulcan. "She's even used some marine strategies for her RPG campaign."

Jen took a few more steps, seemingly studying the young girl for a moment. She absently brushed a lock of hair aside, allowing her ocular implant to become more visible as she took a seat across from her.

"Do you have an interest in unique weapons, young lady?" Jen asked her, giving her a light smile. "If so, you might find interest in what I came to talk about."

Alice looked up at the Vulcan lady.

"Well, shoot; if it gives me inspiration for another challenging combat section, I'm all ears." She said with a smile.

"And... do you know anything about 21st century firearms?" As she asked this, she looked over at Chiyo as if to get her attention. "I taught your mom a thing or two about them a while back."

"Only that it's been in the news that some in the crowd that attacked Starfleet Headquarters might have been carrying them." Alice sighed.

"Like any weapon, these are simply tools. It's the intentions of the user that makes them good or bad." She said as she unholstered her handgun. She removed the clip, and emptied the chamber before setting only the gun on the table within arms reach of Alice. She held up the bullet that she'd ejected from the chamber as she spoke again. "A simple explanation is to say that it uses a bit of explosive powder to shoot a small projectile at a very high velocity."

"Even modern phasers today still use the same basic principle." Chiyo added. "Only instead of explosive powder, it uses electricity to produce a highly concentrated burst of energy."

Alice nodded and set the bullet down.

"So, how does this relate to rioters calling for someone to be hanged?" Alice asked.

It was this question from Alice that caused Chiyo to finally make the connection:

"Son of a bitch;" She realized. "We really have worked together in the past! Sorry for not recognizing you sooner, Daxer." Chiyo made an apologetic bow.

"You're good, Major. Guess I'm just not as memorable as I thought." Jen gave Chiyo a light smirk, before turning back to Alice. "As you stated, projectile weapons were rumored to have been used in that riot. This is just one example of a weapon they might've used."

"I hate to be the big, bumbling man that butts in on this, but what's all this digging up the past have to do with what we're facing in the present?" Tatsuo asked as he finished preparing the food into servings.

"These particular projectile rounds have explosive tips." Daxer said, looking over at him. She gave him a raised eyebrow as she continued. "To put it bluntly, each one contains enough explosive material to blow a hole in a bulkhead the size of your head. It is my hope that these will prove more useful than traditional energy weapons have been against the Elachi."

Tatsuo perked a curious brow.

"So, let me get this straight:" He said. "You want to use the same weapons that a mob of traitors used to storm Starfleet Headquarters against these... Elachi? Because phasers don't... Work on them?"

It was evident by Tatsuo tripping over things like the knowledge of the Elachi and the effectiveness of phasers against them that indicated he had been out of the loop for a very long time.

"Something like that." Jen replied with a light shrug. "Modern energy weapons do work, but their effectiveness is greatly reduced by some sort of personal shielding the Elachi are using. My hope is that explosive damage will prove more effective in neutralizing them, if they continue to show hostility."

"Well, let's hope you're right." Tatsuo responded. "Never even heard of these Elachi until Chiyo-kichi told me about them. I suppose I'm getting thrown back into the pool at the deep end, huh?"

"Make no mistake about it... The Elachi are the deep end." Jen said matter of factly. Part of the reason she had even been sent was her previous, if short lived, experience with the Elachi. "Their technology is leaps and bounds beyond our own, and Starfleet has deemed them an extreme threat."

"Yeesh, this is what happens when you spend the last fourteen years surviving." Tatsuo muttered. "You tend to miss these extreme threats popping up."

"Surviving shouldn't be what you settle for. Maybe you should live a little." Jen replied with a raised eyebrow. "Having knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you have to work with."

"Yeah, yeah, I've been learning whenever I can." Tatsuo muttered. Though he'd personally love to suggest that someone 'live a little' after watching a psychopath bash in the heads of two of their closest friends and see how well that works out, Tatsuo decided to keep his response on the subject of knowledge is power: "Unfortunately, until someone adds more hours to the day, there's only so much I can do."

The conversation continued as food was prepared, and served. During the meal, a rudimentary plan had been put in place to help train the Starfleet crew in the use of the weapons that Daxer had brought. With the plan in place, now they just had to implement it, and hope it would be successful.

Major
Chiyo Shimada
Executive Officer (At the time in post)
Marine Comanding Officer (At the time in post)

Commander
Jennfer Daxer
Chief Security/Tactical

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