Hi Mom and Dad

Posted on Mon Sep 18th, 2023 @ 6:55am by Cadet Senior Grade Naltar Jerane
Edited on on Wed Sep 27th, 2023 @ 5:17am

1,386 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: 0 - Assignment Day
Location: Mountains, Washington State, Earth
Timeline: 10 days prior to reporting

Naltar stood outside of his parents house, a quaint cottage in the mountains of Washington state on Earth. He’d been granted a few days of leave before beginning the process of reporting for duty to the Stardancer and considering he hadn’t spoken to them in a number of months, he was already feeling apprehensive about the conversations that would follow. Not to mention they had no idea he was showing up. Wearing a black shirt and slacks, he pressed the chime button and took a step back.

Elanya stood in her living room folding laundry when she heard the sound. Looking around for Seran he was out of sight so in turn she walked to the door and opened it. A smile immediately sprang across her face. “Naltar!” She stepped forward and gave him a hug before motioning for him to come in. “It’s been quite some time.” She was wearing a simple flowing light blue dress to be comfortable around the house.

The pair entered and a moment later his father came around the corner wearing a red long sleeve shirt, blue pants a size too big for him, held up with suspenders, and stopped. “Finally decided to return home eh? Did StarFleet kick you out because of this business with our homeworld?” His parents had also unfortunately become victims of the current situation with Cardassia and while they were primarily retired, they still contributed work part time and consulted as they chose. Even within these limited interactions of their peers, they felt the tension and lack of trust directed their way.

It wasn’t quite the greeting Naltar expected from his father, they’d always been close. “No dad, I’m on leave. I actually qualified for my final exams but instead got re assigned for a special assignment to the Stardancer. For what exactly I’m not sure considering my cadet cruise was completed 6 months ago but I suppose I’ll find out when I get there. Currently my orders just state that it’s another cadet cruise.” He’d never known someone to have more than one. Maybe it was another test to check his commitment to StarFleet.

His mother was elated at the news. “Oh that’s exciting, please sit down and tell us about it.” She took the bag slung over his shoulder and set it down. His father continued in and sat in his chair, Naltar taking the same place on their couch he had his entire childhood, and his mother sitting closest to her husband.

“Well, I’ve continued to score high at the academy, you’d be proud of my marks. Quite the improvement over last year. I was expecting the typical spring break before going into final exams but as I said I’ve been assigned to a starship. I don’t recognize it much in the way of its history and operations, but it looks like it’s an all cadet crew and I’m to report as the Chief of Operations. It’ll be quite a task, but I think my time at the shipyards will help me to get my bearings once I report in. Still I’ve never had to manage an entire ship before, let alone one the size of an Excelsior class.”

His father nodded in approval “That’s quite a feather in your cap” living on Earth for as many years as they had, they picked up and assimilated a lot of the lingo and terms that still survived in conversation to this day. “I think you’ll make a fine Chief, you’re up to the task. They must’ve pulled that thing out of mothballs however, it’s certainly an older class so you’ll have your work cut out for you son. But I know you’ll succeed knowing your mother and I raised you to meet such great levels of responsibility.”

His mother on the other hand, while proud, allowed some concern to settle in “What about the tension with Cardassia going on? Are they going to send you to the front lines?” They had risked everything and been saved to get away from such a terrible situation, giving their life’s work to their liberators and doing everything they could to make a better life for their child. Now he faced seeing that enemy first hand and fighting back against that very evil. And there was always the risk he’d lose his life to them as a result.

“I don’t know mom, I would say likely not. I mean it’s just a ship run by cadets so I’d be surprised if we did much more than plot around the Sol system. We’ll be fine, a call away from immediate help. It’ll be safer than my first cadet cruise so no need to worry.” Truth be told Naltar had no clue for certain what would happen but personally found it unlikely that cadets would be entrusted at such a level. Especially with such a large ship. But with it being older, what trouble could they really get into?

His father grabbed his pipe and lit it, a few puffs of smoke blown while listening. “If they decided to put our boy on such an assignment, it must be quite important. The only Cardassian in StarFleet academy gets selected for a special assignment. The background of his parents and knowledge imparted, for all we know he could end up analyzing Cardassian systems like his parents.”

This statement didn’t sit well with mom. “The hell he will, on a ship full of cadets? I’ll place a call to the academy right now, our only son won’t be sent off on such a foolhardy mission without the protection of more experienced officers around him. He deserves that along with his commissioning at the very least before galivanting around the galaxy.” Naltar sat back and did his best to help ease the tension “Again mom, I don’t think we’ll be out doing things on our own. It’ll be okay. In a few months I’ll likely be sending an invite to you and dad to join us for my commissioning. Nothing to worry about.” While his father wasn’t quite so naive, he stopped to allow his wife to calm down. His stomach grumbled and a change of subject was likely best “say, how’s dinner coming along? It’s probably about time to eat.”

Elanya gave a nod and stood up “I actually have your favorite meal about ready Naltar, beef roast with yamok sauce that has been in the crock pot all day. It should fall right apart.” She proceeded to the kitchen to begin preparing getting things setup.

Seran looked over at his son, a sense of pride and fear of the unknown within but he didn’t allow either to show through. “Son, I’m excited for you. I know you’ve worked hard to get to where you are and with things as they are at the moment, I can’t imagine the additional scrutiny you've received at the academy. Hopefully it hasn't been too bad.”

Naltar returned a nod “It’s been okay, if anything else the social isolation has been tough but I still have a few close friends that I still spend time with. My studies also keep me busy enough so I’m not too caught up in it. I’m focused on graduating. Although I have noticed a few oddities in regard to my communications with others off Earth, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m being monitored. But I won’t let that stop me from reaching my goals.”

The perseverance his parents had taught him showed through, and for a moment his father cracked a smile before taking another puff. “Why don’t we go and see if your mother needs some help getting things together and we can talk about more over dinner.” Both men stood up and as they made their way towards the dining room, Seran placed his arm over his son’s shoulders. “Despite everything going on around us, I’m proud of you Naltar. So young and you’ve already overcome so much in your life…..”

 

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