Picnic in the Park

Posted on 30 Mar 2023 @ 2:42pm by Lieutenant JG Christina Hartley & Lieutenant JG Lisald Vaat

3,341 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Outbreak

Christina giggled as she watched K'tress chasing the holographic butterflies she had set up, and took a sip of her orange juice. Kin was, sadly, on duty, but she had some time to spare, so she wanted to spend time with their daughter, having a little picnic. After all, that was what K'tress had wanted to do.

K'tress was running and laughing as she gently swatted at the holo images of the butterflies. She loved them, and wanted to fly like them. She couldn't fly, but she did love running with them.

She was singing softly as she ran, jumping and tapping the butterflies. Every time she hit one, it disappeared, and reappeared elsewhere, which was what made her laugh more and more.

Although Lisald could hear the laughter and giggling, he didn't know exactly where it came from, thanks to the acoustics of the Arboretum. That said, when he rounded the bend in the path, he was nearly bowled over by a little girl running by. He quickly realized it was the same little girl he had met at the party last week at the Chief Engineer's gathering. Sure enough, as he jumped out of the way, he caught sight of the Chief Engineer. He smiled and waved.

K'tress's eyes widened and grinned as she ran over to him. "Hi!" K'tress said. "Are you coming to our picnic?" she asked, reaching for his hand as her tail swished.

"Uh," Lisald began, stumbling in his words. He was not expecting to run into children, and certainly not be invited to a picnic. "I don't know, sweetie. I think maybe that is something your mother and you are doing, not for a stranger to come into," he said, smiling to her.

"But you're on this ship, you're not a stranger," K'tress said, still smiling.

"Who are you talking to, sweetie?" Christina called out, frowning as she stood up. She smiled as she saw K'tress with one of the officers, Lt. Vaat. She remembered the man from the party.

"Lieutenant Vaat," Christina greeted. "I hope K'tress isn't bothering you?"

"Not at all," he said, smiling at the Chief Engineer. "And it's Lieutenant Lisald. I'm Bajoran," he said in a friendly tone, pointing to the ridges on his nose. It was an innocent mistake, and a common one, so he didn't think anything about it. "How have you been, Lieutenant Hartley?"

"Sorry, Lieutenant Lisald," Christina was mentally kicking herself, why had she forgotten that. How had she forgotten it? Her uncle was a Bajoran, for gods sake.

"Not too bad, thank you, other than stressing a lot, about the usual stuff in engineering," Christina said.

"Momma, is he joining our picnic?" K'tress asked, smiling as her tail kept swishing happily.

Vaat smiled again at the little girls insistence that he join them. The innocence of a child was always endearing and always sweet. However, he would not impose himself on their day out. He knew the Chief Engineer was perpetually busy and rarely had time off.

"You're more than welcome to," Christina said. "We're just enjoying time with the holo butterflies, and having lunch," Christina told him. "But we always have plenty, and we've even got some hasparat. Not too spicy, I'm not a big fan of spicy food."

Despite himself, his mouth began to water at the sound of Hasperat. His stomach turned traitor to him and growled loudly. "Oh, sorry," he said and laughed, holding his stomach. "You know, I think I would like that very much, if it isn't too much an imposition."

"When my daughter says something, she's stubborn enough to make sure it happens," Christina chuckled. "And it sounds like you need food anyway. Come on over," she added, leading the way to the picnic area.

Again, Vaats body defied him. He found his feet carrying him over to the very picturesque scene. A white and red checkered blanket on the green grass, a brown wicker basket with large handle on top, two plates and a decanter with some sort of orange drink. He felt like he was intruding so much, but suppressed that feeling. "This all looks so lovely," he exclaimed.

"K'tress loves picnics. Before she and I came here, we'd go three times a week to a park for a picnic, since it helped me to keep distracted. Being away from my wife for so long almost destroyed us both," Christina explained, sitting down and taking out a new plate from the basket. "I hope you don't mind home made Hasparat. It's not as good as Uncle Plase's, but I do the best I can," Christina said, serving some of it to the man. "Drink? I've got Orange and Mango juice, I hope that's okay?" she asked, as K'tress sat next to her.

He had been smiling and nodding along until "Uncle Plase" escaped her lips. The smile instantly vanished. "Uncle Plase? Isn't Plase Captain Bane's given name?"

Christina smiled and nodded, taking a sip of her drink. "It is," Christina confirmed. "He and father go way back, and he's the reason I joined Starfleet," Christina explained. "He's K'tress's godfather, and he taught me a lot."

Lisald blinked a few times, struggling to make the math work in his head. Lisald was petrified of Captain Bane, and had very few good interactions with the man. "I, uh, I had no idea."

"It's not a secret," Christina replied, as she gave K'tress her drink. "Plenty of juice, sweety, just like Mommy said," Christina added. "My wife works in Medical," she added, as she got some of the Hasparat for herself. "Uncle Plase is a big softy, when you get to know him."

Lisald guffawed, unbelieving. "He is a Starfleet Captain. And he is, or was, a Resistance Fighter. There is nothing 'soft' about that man," Lisald retorted.

Christina laughed softly. "You've never seen him playing games with K'tress, or the practical jokes he can pull. When he got me assigned here, he didn't tell me I was going to be the Chief Engineer until the XO told me, leaving me speechless. I swear he did it just to see the look on my face," Christina said. "He can be tough as nails as well, but he has a sweet side. Almost everyone does, but I have met a few who don't," Christina said, having more of her drink.

"Is Uncle Plase coming here?" K'tress asked.

"Not today sweetie, he's on duty right now. You know what that means, right?" Christina asked.

K'tress looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yep, he runs this big ship!" K'tress replied. Christina smiled, kissing her daughter's forehead.

"That's right, he does. And Lieutenant Lisald here does the same job as Grandma Amanda," Christina told her. K'tress thought again.

"He studies... peeple... and history?" K'tress asked, looking eagerly at Christina. Christina nodded proudly.

"That's right," Christina complimented. "She's an amazing kid," she said to Lisald. "Just like her Mommy Kin'Fuji."

"I know your mommy," Lisald said. "They are very lucky to have you as their daughter," he said with a smile, winking playfully at Christina.

Christina smiled as K'tress giggled. "I'm lucky to have Momma and Mommy," K'tress said.

"I always count my blessings to have both, to have Kin as a wife, and K'tress as my daughter. When I was younger, I never expected to have a family, and now here I am, married, with a child," Christina said. "Best thing I ever made was K'tress, and of course the ring that Kin wears making her my wife."

The Bajoran smiled again, and thought briefly of Ravi. He would have to bring her here. It really was idyllic. "So, tell me more about this kinder, gentler Captain Bane you speak of. Myths, I do declare!"

Christina laughed at that. "Oh, I have the proof," Christina said, as K'tress ran off to play with the butterflies. She pulled out her holo camera and storage PaDD, and started showing a few pictures, including Bane Plase swimming with K'tress, and also dressed as a clown, playing games with K'tress. "He's an amazing Godfather to K'tress," Christina said.

Lisald drank in the images with his eyes, willing the images to be burned into his memory forever more. "This...this is awesome," Lisald said, eyes wide and unblinking. "I so wish I could get copies of these," he said and laughed. "Imagine how much deck credit I could get showing these off. You are sitting on a venerable latinum mine there!"

Christina laughed. "It's tempting, after what he pulled on me. He had me assigned here, and until I arrived, I had been at Utopia Planetia. Granted, I helped design the latest generation of Impulse Engines, alongside my dad, but I had no clue he wanted me as his chief engineer. I swear, the look on my face..." she tried to recreate the stunned look she had on her face when she was given the extra rank pip by the XO.

Vaat laughed at the funny face Christina made, then attempted to imagine the Captain pulling a prank. Or going swimming. Or doing anything other than Captaining. He found it was an impossible task, even though he saw holoimages of some of those very things.

Christina smiled at Vaat. "The fact is, he knows he needs to be in command at all times. He's been a CO for years, and it's been a damned difficult journey for him. Not because of being in the resistance, but because of what he's gone through as a CO. He met me when I was a kid, before I began my transition from male to female, and I was an engineer then," Christina explained. "I went to Bajor with my mum and my sister to see Dad. Still, the first time I really took notice of him was when I was ten."

"My dad was one of the chief designers on the Sentinel Class Starship, and Uncle Plase got to command the first one. When my dad was going to give him a tour, I was in engineering, and I noticed a problem with the intermix flow rates, so I corrected it. Uncle Plase was impressed, and that convinced me to study properly for Starfleet," Christina explained.

"After I met Kin, and began to transition, I put everything into being an engineer and girlfriend, and I found the right balance. Kin keeps me going, K'tress completed us, and Uncle Plase is the heart. Without him, I don't know where I'd be," Christina admitted.

The young Bajoran scientist was learning so much about Christina and Captain Bane, it almost made his mind spin out. "That is incredible. Thank goodness there are so many programs and assistance helping people transition. Could you imagine a time where that wasn't a thing," he asked rhetorically, thinking of Klingon and Cardassian society. "So arcane and backwards." He shifted gears. "What sort of things about the Captain are you referring to that he had to go through?"

Christina sighed. "His first command, the Pegasus D, was destroyed by Orion Pirates, and that hit him hard. He lost a lot of good people, and it almost destroyed him. Took the brass the best part of a damned year to clear him," she said, after making sure K'tress wasn't listening to the words, as she didn't want her daughter using the word 'damned' anytime soon.

"On the Sentinel he went through his share of battles, and watched too many people die. There was this one world which was in danger of an asteroid destroying them, and Uncle Plase begged and pleaded with them to let him protect them, but they refused. He was about to destroy the asteroid, but the people were... fanatics. They saw it as their second coming, and sent ships to delay him long enough. He had to watch as the asteroid hit the planet," she continued.

"The zealots had evacuated people they felt deserved to survive to underground bunkers, but... the asteroid didn't decimate the planet. It was a lot more powerful... and it literally blew the planet into pieces. The attacking ships destroyed themselves when they saw what had happened... and I've never seen Uncle Plase more distraught. The Sentinel... they were given leave, and Uncle Plase stayed with us, but he spent a lot of time in tears," Christina admitted, tears in her own eyes. "It's all on record, but... no one ever tells you how to deal with that kind of grief."

Lisald listened with rapt attention. He had no idea how much Captain Bane had been through. He had no idea he had lost a ship out from under him and survived to tell about it. He had no idea about Bane being in so many battles. He wondered if he had felt foreboding loss for Lisald when he was hurt. If Christina was to be believed, Lisald was forced to answer that he had. Maybe, just maybe, Captain Bane wasn't as intimidating as Lisald had made him out to be. "What do you mean by it took the brass the better part of a year to clear his name? Did he do something to cause the destruction of that ship?"

"Nope. He did everything right. He fought for his ship and his people, but the brass, being assholes, kept delaying it, putting him through a court martial, until they had no choice but to agree he did everything right. It felt like a witch hunt. He had to stay on Earth, near Starfleet Headquarters, so he spent a lot of time with my dad. We still don't know why they took so long," Christina said bitterly. "It was almost enough to make him, and my dad, resign. Trust me, if Uncle Plase is... well, rough at times, there's a good reason. He's learnt the hard way about Starfleet. Starfleet is a force for good, but the brass can be useless sometimes. It's why my dad is still only a Captain of engineering. He's been offered promotion time and time again, but he's always refused it," Christina said, wiping her eyes.

Lisald shook his head as he listened to Christina, taking a bit of his Hasperat that had been offered. It was quite yummy. "So you come from a large family of high-ranking officers, then. Your dad, Captain Bane. Anyone else? This is quite delicious," he said, indicating to his impromptu meal.

"Thank you," Christina said, smiling. "I come from a long line of Starfleet officers and Engineer. My great grandfather served on Kirk's Enterprise, for a short time. Worked with Captain Scott in Engineering, learnt a lot from him. Did you know that a lot of people now don't believe much of what happened? I mean, my Grandfather, before he died, told me the stories. He was there when the ship dealt with Apollo, the so called Greek god. They got away, but as a kid, I heard all the stories, and yet... it wasn't until I met Uncle Plase that I decided I wanted to be in Starfleet," Christina said, enjoying her own meal.

Vaat didn't know who Apollo was, nor did he know much about the Enterprise. He had heard of it, and had heard of Captain Kirk, of course, but didn't know the rest of her crew, nor of her missions, beyond the fact that the Enterprise was singled out for some reason as the premier exploration ship of the 22nd century, despite literally a dozen more ships of the exact same class and equally outstanding exploits being accomplished. "Interesting. So our Captain had a major influence on you and your life, even though your father and great grandfather did and experienced amazing things in Starfleet in their own right?"

Christina chuckled softly. "Sounds insane, right?" Christina asked. "But yeah. I mean, in my family, it was expected that either I'd follow my father's footsteps as an engineer, or my mother's in medicine. My family was always about Starfleet, so I wanted to choose my own path. When I met Uncle Plase, however, he was so... different from everyone. As I said, I met him on Bajor, but when I went to the Sentinel for the tour before she launched, he saw my natural love for engineering," Christina explained.

"I wasn't always sure of Starfleet, but ships... I've always loved starships, building and repairing them. I spent a long time on the Enterprise A at the Fleet Museum, she was so beautiful. Her nacelles, her lines... any engineer worth a damn falls in love with a ship. For me, the Enterprise was my first love. But at the same time, I was scared of being in Starfleet because it was expected. But that day on the Sentinel... that was the day I chose to be in Starfleet."

"And now here you are a Chief Engineer of your own Starship. I've heard people say that the two most important people on a ship is the Captain and the Chief Engineer. Everyone else is there to serve them," he said, and chuckled before downing the last of his Hasperat.

Christina chuckled. "Well, I do what I can to help people. I even helped upgrade this ship when she was in Space dock," Christina said. "Uncle Plase... he got me here because Admiral Jameson wanted me to stay at Utopia Planetia, but with my wife here, me and our daughter were struggling with it."

Vaat nodded. "It is good to have people in high places," he said, smiling, jabbing her with playful wordsmithing. "What happened with the Sentinel?

"Decommissioned. Uncle Plase was her only commander, and commanded her for Thirteen years. I don't understand why they mothballed her; she was a beautiful ship and could easily have kept going, but they decided to mothball the whole class for whatever reason. I tried to find out why, but I suspect we're not being told something," Christina replied, taking a sip of her drink, smiling at Vaat. She was enjoying his company, and K'tress was loving the butterflies.

It was unusual that the Sentinel-class be decommissioned after such a short run. Most ships, Lisald remembered from his extension courses in Engineering and Operations, had life cycles of more than a hundred years now, some stretching much further. The Nebula-class, for example, equally had a long lifespan; The Cygnus was older than Vaat, but would be in service long after he was dead, so long as the ship did not meet a catastrophic end. "Have you thought to ask Uncle Plase.....er," he said, and immediately flushed. He would have to be careful about that. "I mean to say, have you thought to ask Captain Bane about why the ship and the class was decommissioned? Since he was the First Captain of the Class, surely he would know?"

"He wasn't told either," Christina said. "He was then assigned to this ship. There's a mystery, and I haven't told him, but I'm investigating it, and so's my dad," she admitted. "I usually don't tell anyone, but... I feel like I can trust you."

"My lips are sealed," Lisald responded, miming that he was locking his lips with an ancient key. "Well, I better be on my way, and let you and K'tress enjoy the rest of your holiday. Thank you for the Hasperat, and especially thank you for the conversation. It has been incredibly....illuminating!"

"You're welcome to join us again sometime, next time Kin might even be here," Christina said, as K'tress came bouncing over, giggling. Christina pulled K'tress into a hug, kissing her forehead. "It's been nice talking to you, and I'm glad you enjoyed the Hasperat."

Standing, Lisald said, "I sure will! K'tress, be sure to keep your Momma out of trouble, ok? See you two later!"


A JP by

Lisald Vaat
Alien Archaeologist
USS Cygnus

and

Christina Hartley
Chief Engineer
USS Cygnus

and

K'tress Hartley
Civilian
USS Cygnus

 

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