A Turning Point

Posted on 10 Jun 2014 @ 9:22am by Commander C. Kos
Edited on on 10 Jun 2014 @ 9:23am

899 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: History
Location: Kos Apartment, Residential Level, Federation Embassy, Grazer
Timeline: 2367

"It is not fair!" a red-haired girl protested.

"Christina..."

"Don't call me that! My name is Mac!"

"I named you myself. Your name is Christina."

"You know I don't like it Dad."

"I know," her father sighed. Ambassador C. William Kos was a capable negotiator. He had helped broker peace accords several times. Working for the Federation Diplomatic Corps for over a decade, Ambassador Kos had many diplomatic successes to his name. But all of his skill proved useless when dealing with his 13 year old daughter.

"Chri..., uh, Mac," the Ambassador started. "I'm sorry. I really am. But with your mother leaving tomorrow for a 6 week field study, and me being busy with a new trade deal, there is no way we can go on the tour of the Enterprise when its here."

Christina Mackenzie 'Mac' Kos' eyes grew wide. "You said we could go. I want to see the engine room. I've never been on a Galaxy-class before!"

"I know dear. But neither your mother nor I will be able to escort you."

"I do not need an escort," Mac countered.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree. But you're not just any kid. It's true that you are one of the smartest, maturest twelve year olds around, you are also the daughter of a Federation Ambassador. That brings with it some added complexities."

Mac sighed. "I know. I remember when Stacy Robbins was taken by those Orions."

"That's right," Ambassador Kos said, glad that his only living child was coming around.

After a moment of silence, Mac asked quietly, "Is this because of Chris?"

The Ambassador paused. They didn't talk much about the missing fourth member of the family. Mackenzie's older brother, Christopher, had died in a skimmer accident only a year previously. His death had taken a toll on the family. William had thrown himself more into his work, as had his wife. Dr. Abigail Fairfield-Kos was an astrophysicist and. since her son's death, had been finding various survey missions away from the family as much as possible. This essentially left William as a single parent. He knew that Mac worried about her mother's frequent absences, as any child would. William knew Abigail well enough to know that she just needed time to process everything, and that once she had, the family would begin to stabilize again.

"That has something to do with it, yes," he answered honestly. He was grateful that he had been assigned to Grazer on a three year assignment. After years as a diplomatic hotspotter, he was glad to be settled in one place. And he liked working with the planetary leadership. He had developed a good working relationship with Federation Councillor Jaresh-Inyo, who was quickly becoming popular within the Federation Council.

"I do worry about you. Even more so since Chris died."

Mac crossed the room and wrapped her arms around her father. "I miss him too. I think about him a lot."

William hugged his daughter back and kissed the top of her head. He was reminded how much Mackenzie looked like her mother, right down to the identical shade of red hair.

Mac released her father and activated the viewer. It was time to watch the afternoon news feed from Earth. It was a ritual Mac shared with her dad, since he was usually working from home in the afternoons and could take a little time out to catch up on happens back home.

"Uh...dad..."

William, after seeing Mackenzie pointing at the screen, looked at the image. There was a giant cube shaped ship on the news. He told the computer to increase volume.

"These images are from sensors records from the USS Enterprise. This ship, belonging to a species called the Borg, managed to severely damage the Enterprise and is on its way towards Earth at high warp."

Mac, eyes wide, looked from the screen to her father. "Dad..."

"I have to contact Earth!" William said as he moved for his secured diplomatic comm panel. The Ambassador was unable to connect with a person on at Federation Diplomatic Corps headquarters, but he did get an automatic message response to remain ready for emergency orders.

Mackenzie and her father spent the next several days watching news coverage of what was being called the Battle of Wolf 359. 39 Federation destroyed. Thousands of lives lost. The Enterprise was severely damaged, its Captain, the famous Jean-Luc Picard, recovering from being assimilated by the Borg. William was tasked with working with the Grazerite government to assemble patrols of local space since the loss of 39 ships was causing Starfleet to spread its forces a little thin.

While William was busy coordinating with the local government, Mac was glad to have her mother around. Dr. Kos' survey mission had been cancelled, so she was stuck on planet. Fortunately, she was able to pick up another class at the local university. Mackenzie, meanwhile, was deeply affected by what had happened. She was reminded that life is fragile, something still close to the surface because of Christopher's death the previous year. She also saw the dedication of the Starfleet officer, both those stationed on Grazer and those in the media reports, who worked so hard to not only safeguard the Federation from enemies, but also to expand the borders of science and known space.

It was then that she decided to join Starfleet.

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