Life In Space

Posted on 21 Feb 2020 @ 5:21pm by Cadet Freshman Grade Eden Corwin & Commodore Harvey Geisler

2,712 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Sentience
Location: Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 2 || 1300 hours

"Where is it?"

Harvey honestly didn't know how Mila put up with him. For years, Harvey had been a king at working through organized chaos. His desktop terminal was always at the center of his tasking, with padds to the left and right. He utilized several piles, ranging from Haven't read to Save for later to Read, and action needed to finally Completed and ready to be filed. Each pile had an order of importance. The closer to the top a padd was, the higher the priority.

The system annoyed Mila to the extreme, and it worked quite successfully for the Captain.

That was, until today. He knew there was a padd that contained both list of requisitions and a systems status report from Lieutenant Sorensen. Harvey had searched for that padd for fifteen minutes to no avail. He couldn't call Mila, not on this one. She'd let him have it, and he couldn't afford to lose that face. Harvey stood over his desk, one hand squeezing the bridge of his nose, wondering where he could have left it. He'd visited several members of the senior staff today, but he only carried one padd, which he left with Doctor Kij. Mila couldn't have taken it, especially since it wasn't in the file pile. It had to be...

It had to be...

Harvey opened his eyes. It had to be in his quarters. Glancing at the chronometer, he decided he had time for a little trek. Rather than leave through the bridge, he used the secret corridor to head for Deck Three. It wasn't long, just a few minutes, before he walked into his quarters and headed for the desk.

When he walked into his quarters, the sound of a baby's laughter filled the air. The reason for it was a black blur that was racing back and forth around the main living area. Alison sat on a blanket not too far away with various toys around her, her little face bright red from her laughter. She stopped momentarily when Pequeno came to a skidding halt in front of her, gave a bark, then started with his zoomies all over again. The little girl started laughing all over again, only this time, it was so hard, she actually fell over.

Eden, who wasn't sitting too far away with Jameson on her lap, couldn't help but laugh as she reached out to help the baby girl sit up again. Rico was right next to them, keeping watch. Wherever the little boy was, he was never far away. She spotted Harvey come in and reached for Pequeno's collar when he was ready to zoom by once again, stopping him before he could barrel into the Captain's legs.

The young woman opened her mouth to say something, but an exuberant 'dada' beat her to the punch. Alison was already on her hands and knees crawling toward her father as fast as her little limbs could get her there. Her brother, on the other hand, who was as mobile as he could be, flailed his little arms in an effort to get the elder male Geisler's attention with a 'dada' chant of his own.

For over twenty years, Harvey had been an officer dedicated to either his career or a task at hand. Being a husband and a father on top of it all, well, he was still getting used to that. For that reason, two joyous cries for their father startled him more than he could have anticipated. He looked down in time to see Alison reach him and grab onto Harvey's pant leg with all her might. He could feel her tug at it as she lifted her other arm to latch on completely. "Hey there," he said with a smile, reaching down to pick up the nine-month old. "You having fun with your auntie?" Technically, Eden was a cousin once removed, but there was no way the mind of a baby was going to understand that.

"I'd like to think they are," Eden spoke as she got to her feet and settled Jameson on her hip. She tried not to feel too intimidated by his presence. It wasn't that she didn't like Harvey. The opposite in fact. He was a great husband to her cousin, and an even better father to the twins. No, the intimidation came from the uniform he wore, and that he was a Starfleet Captain. It wasn't very often that she'd interacted with Starfleet personnel, especially someone that was in charge of an entire starship.

Alison hooted and jabbed a pointed finger in Pequeno's direction as if she was trying to tell her father something. She hooted twice more, slapping her dad's chest in between them. "I know, Pequeno's a funny puppy, isn't he?" Alison then balled up her fists and squealed, confirming Harvey's question. Harvey couldn't help but chuckle. "I can't believe you four are always this lively."

"You have two pretty amazing children, but I'm sure you already know that," the young woman told him as she tried to tickle Jameson under his chin. The little boy wanted nothing to do with that, though, and captured one of her fingers in his hand, bringing it straight to his mouth. Eden winced when he caught the pad of her finger between a tooth and his gums. "Are you home for the day, or do you need to get back? I can stay as long as you need me to."

"Actually," Harvey said, smiling at little Jameson who buried his face in Eden's hair and shoulder just after giving his dad a large smile. "I think I left a padd here this morniing. Right over..." he turned in his desk's direction, only for his voice to trail off when he noticed several items had fallen to the floor around it, including several padds. "Over there."

Eden looked toward the items that were on the floor and tried to remember if the babies had made their way over there at all throughout the day. She didn't think so as she did her very best to keep them away from the desk, but when there were two little ones involved, anything was possible. And, Alison and Jameson were at the age where almost everything went into their mouths, the young woman was sure there would be a fair amount of dried slobber on anything they might have gotten hold of. "I hope it's there. I can't really remember if one of them made their over there today," she said as she made her way over to begin picking the fallen items up to return them to the desk. "I do try to keep them away from anything that might be important, though. Usually a distraction with toys or something else they might find fascinating."

Harvey walked over to the desk with Alison still in his arms. He knelt down behind the desk, saying, "It's all right. I think at this age they just get their hands on whatever they can find. Everything's a challenge and they're just looking to find their limits." Harvey started looking at each padd, clicking them on long enough to see what files they held. "At least, that's what all of the parenting books say."

"Can I tell you something without you being offended, Captain?" She asked, putting the last of the non-PADD related items back onto the desk. Instead of waiting an answer to that question, Eden decided to jump right into it. "When I first met you, and up until about three minutes ago, I thought you were extremely intimidating."

"Oh?" he asked, sorting the padds one by one, so far unable to locate his report. Her statement was certainly curious, especially since she'd been aboard for months now. "What is it about me that makes you so intimidated?" Prior to her asking, he was about to ask if she was enjoying space travel, despite the fact they'd been docked for several months, and had only just gotten underway.

Eden shifted little Jameson to her other hip. "Maybe it's the uniform or your rank," the young woman replied as she contemplated a more detailed answer. "You're the commanding officer of a starship... overseeing hundreds of people and dealing with who knows what on a daily basis. Your word is law, and I'm afraid what might happen to me if I screw up. Not just because you're these two little sweethearts father, but as a Captain." She took a deep breath. "I mistakenly ended up in Sensor Control and landed in the brig before I even had the chance to right that wrong. Honesty is the best policy and all. You haven't heard about that because I begged your Security Chief not to say anything. I was afraid. Still am, actually."

He turned over a padd, tapped the button, and saw that it contained the report he was looking for. Harvey set that aside as Eden continued to talk, and then collected the other padds into a single stack in order to return them to the desk. "Afraid of her?" Harvey asked, looking up at Eden. "Or afraid of what I would do once I found out?"

"I was afraid of what you might do if you found out," the young woman answered honestly. Eden was terrified he'd want to toss her back into the brig for her mistake, but finally realized how truly ridiculous that was. However, if Harvey felt the need to punish her for it, she'd deal with it the best way she could. "I completely freaked out when I realized I was somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, and even tried to run out, but this... thing came out of nowhere and asked me questions I couldn't answer, then I ended up in the brig. I'm really sorry I asked her not to tell you, and I'm more sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner." She took a breath and continued. "Now I know what areas are completely off limits, and you have my word you'll never hear about me being in areas I shouldn't be."

Harvey stood up as Alison clung to Harvey tightly. She knew her father was preparing to leave and she didn't just yet want him to go. "Eden, if it was an issue, trust me, it would have been dealt with already. I'm sorry you've carried this burden and this guilt with you for a while, but accidents happen. If it's a one-time thing, there's nothing to worry about. It's only if you make a habit out of breaking into places you shouldn't be that I become concerned."

"Hey," the young woman began as she passes Jameson over to his father to get in on a brief moment of cuddle time before he had to leave. "I haven't broken into places I shouldn't be yet, and I don't plan to start. You've got my word that I'll never be caught somewhere I'm not supposed to be again." She held out her free hand to offer to take the PADD from him. "Just so you can hold your son for a minute."

Harvey gladly traded Jameson for the padd. He, like his sister, buried his face in his father's maroon shoulders, smiling as he did. He looked over to his partner in crime and said, "Da!"

Alison, in turn, shouted at the top of her lungs, "DA!" Both babies then laughed and smiled. To them, there was nothing more precious than a few minutes with their father.

"You may have been afraid of me," Harvey pointed out, "but I've been jealous of you. Staying at home all day with these two bundles of joy. It's a miracle you get anything done around here."

Eden couldn't help but feel bad about that. "You shouldn't be. Those two adore you," she told him, gesturing to the two babies who were snuggling their father with the brightest little smile on their faces. "Where they're concerned, the sun rises and sets with you and Joey. The two of you are their world. Just as they're your world. Those are two incredibly lucky little angels, and they appreciate these little moments with you. As for me getting things done, I make sure I use their nap time wisely. It's been working out in my favor so far."

"That's good to hear," he acknowledged, bouncing both kids in his arms just to hear them laugh. "We certainly can't thank you enough for the help you've provided." This certainly wouldn't be a full time career for her. If there ever were enough children on board, it wouldn't take much to organize a daycare or a schoolroom. "Have you given any thought to how long you are up for doing this? I know the Gamma Quadrant is a long way from Earth."

"I love keeping an eye on these two. There's never a dull moment, so it's me who should be thanking you for giving me the chance," she countered. "As for how long, I suppose the answer to that would be however long you guys need me to. If there ever is a chance more children come aboard, I suppose I could put my degree in early childhood education to use. If not, then these two will have me all to themselves." Eden looked thoughtful for a moment. "I've already gotten homesick once, and I'm sure it will happen again, but I've always wanted to see space. You and Joey have provided me with an opportunity to live a dream, and I can't thank you enough for it."

"If there's one thing I've learned is that home is where you make it." Harvey was as sentimental as they could come, but he had learned long ago the value of not getting too attached to where you slept at night. "The Black Hawk, and the Gamma Quadrant, have a lot to offer, that's for sure. Just don't think you always have to stay on the ship when we're in orbit of a world or station. Joey will be your best source for where to go. Or not go."

"I'm still working on getting my quarters to feel more homey, but there's not much left to do to accomplish that," she said. Eden heard stories about some of the things the Black Hawk and her crew had endured over time, but a lot of the details were left out. She'd definitely be lying if that didn't concern her going into the future, but life didn't come without some kind of risk. "I'll keep that in mind, but I might stay on board. This is going to sound stupid, I guess, but I've got a horrible fear of being left behind in an unfamiliar place."

"We don't leave people behind," Harvey declared. As the words left his mouth, his mind through of others who had disappeared in the Convergence Zone, never to be seen again, including two of his Chief Engineers. "Regardless of rank or station." He simply smiled at her, hoping that would be enough to assuage her fear.

Eden returned the smile. Hearing that did made her feel a bit better. Harvey definitely wasn't a bad guy, and she found herself wondering why she felt intimidated by him in the first place. Perhaps, a lot of it had to do with the fact they'd never spoken to each other one on one like this, and now, the young woman was glad they'd gotten the chance to. It shed a different light on the Captain. "Why don't I go tidy up their room real quick to give you a few minutes alone with these two before you have to head out?"

Harvey nodded his approval. He turned his back to Eden and took the children over to their playmat. The ever growing Pequeno was there waiting for them, leaping as high as he could as if he expected to leap into Harvey's arms to join the cuddle.

The young woman looked toward the father and his children for a moment and smiled before she turned to make her way toward the nursery. Life in space didn't seem like it was going to be so bad.

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