Joint Duty Log - Capt Ivanova, LtCmdr Waterhouse, Com Levine, Lt Atarah - "Here Comes The Sun"

Posted on Tue Oct 21st, 2014 @ 9:42am by Commander Amelia Waterhouse & Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Danielle Atarah & Commodore Andrea Levine PhD

2,396 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Are You Touched?

"We're here, Captain."

Zett turned in her seat and nodded to her helmsman, then looked at the Andorian at the security post that doubled as the tactical control. Regular supply ships in general usually only needed limited security measures, but the Bristol was nothing regular.

"Thraz?"

The Andorian tapped buttons on her console. "One starfleet ship," the tapping continued, "there's a wreck site on the planet, but no immediate signs of other ships."

Zett nodded again. "Is it the Vindicator?"

The Andorian checked, then nodded.

"Good. Call Dani, tell her to get our guests ready for departure. Cloak down, shields up," she turned to look at the screen and smiled at the helmsman. "Guowei, get us closer and open a comm channel."

The young man smiled and tapped a button, gesturing at the viewscreen as if to say it is ready.

"USS Vindicator, this is the supply ship Bristol on a peaceful delivery mission. Anyone awake over there?"

She straightened her leather jacket and leaned back in her chair, waiting to see which color pajamas will answer the call.

This was the call that Rochelle had been waiting for, the one she'd known was coming and hours had stretched by feeling like days as she'd waited. She'd snapped her fingers and gestured to the screen the moment its existence had been announced, the young ensign sitting at OPs had been startled by her eagerness to receive word from a simple cargo ship.

"Bristol this is Captain Rochelle Ivanova of the USS Vindicator. We're just enjoying the first raktajino of the day." She replied with a smirk, holding up her mug for good measure.

Zett smiled at the screen, examining the woman on the other end. She's heard countless stories about Rochelle Ivanova, the fiery Captain of the Vindicator, but this was the first time she had the chance to interact with her directly. She folded her legs and shook her head, her smile growing.

"Is that what Starfleet feeds you? Second-rate replicated crap in a cup?" She glanced at the Andorian with a wink. "You know, we do have a container of Darjeeling here in our hold, direct from the fields in West Bengal. Wouldn't have any interested in getting some of that supply, would you? We are a supply ship, after all." She smirked, knowing the answer in advance.

"It's an acquired taste." Rochelle shot back, tapping the blue mug with a slender finger. The Trill was a new face to Rochelle, one she knew Dani had history with and one that had become a guardian of a cargo more precious than any stone, mineral, weapon, or medicine could ever have been. Zett held in her hands the keys to happiness, to relief. She held the rest of her family.

And tea.

The little Captain's own legs re-crossed and she settled deeper into her seat. "It would be quite the imposition, but I'm sure Commander Waterhouse and I can find room for it somewhere." It was her turn to grin, the once caustic little smirk lighting up with warmth and welcoming. "I'll see to it that you don't run into any issues bringing it aboard."

"Yes, you don't want all those raktajino-lovers to revolt," Zett snorted and looked to Thraz. The Andorian glanced at her screen and nodded expressionlessly. Zett returned her eyes to the screen.

"We have a shuttle ready to bring you supplies and transfer our VIP guests. Do we have your permission to send it over, Captain, or does the fleet require paperwork?" She smirked. Her aversion to Starfleet was no secret among her crew, and the three occupants on the bridge shared her amusement with smirks of their own.

"They revolt every time this command team busts out a tea pot, but they know better than to question our love for tea." Rochelle replied indignantly, setting her mug down for good measure. "Proceed with the transfer, Commander Waterhouse and I will meet the shuttle in Bay 2." Ignoring the ribbing was the easy part, she let Zett's humor roll off of her like water down a duck's back. In a weird way, the little Trill woman was extended family and saviors. One didn't slap at them.

Zett nodded. "Give us a minute to settle the passengers and make last preparations, and they'll meet you there. It was good putting a face to the famous name, Captain. Contact me if you need anything else. Or if you need more tea," she smiled.

"Likewise. If the Vindicator can be of any service to you, Zett, just ask." The redhead nodded her genuine thanks and cut the channel between them.

=/\= Shuttle Bay 2 =/\=

The shuttle moved fluidly through the space between the two ships, out of the smaller and into the bigger, landing flawlessly on metal floors. The engines quieted, and the door creaked, finally, opening up to let its occupant out and into the shuttle bay.

"Looking good, Waterbucket," Dani smirked and hopped off the ledge, looking for her friend. "Did you miss me?"

"You were gone?" Amelia returned, smirking back at her friend. She glanced at the two security officers at her four and eight, and almost decided against collecting Dani for a hug, only to change her mind at the last moment. She closed the space between them, scooped her up in a hug and spun her around.

Dani grinned and laughed, hugging back. "I brought you presents," she winked, and looked at the shuttle. Anne climbed out, half dragging half carrying a big black duffel bag out of the hatch. Cooper followed, sitting down on the ledge and pushing himself off carefully, and Anne turned to help the toddler out.

"Well, them too," Dani joked, and walked back towards the hatch to help as Andrea walked out, quietly, carrying Madison in her arms. The older woman looked around, and then, spotting Amelia, smiled warmly.

"Amelia!" she walked a step but paused, taking Cooper's small hand in hers, "I can't begin to express how good it is to see you."

"I can imagine," she returned with a smile. "It is such a relief to see that you — all of you — are okay. The twins are getting so big! I think the last picture I saw was a year ago? Soon they'll be as tall as their father," she teased. She held back from moving forward too quickly, not wanting to overwhelm.

"Oh, that will happen." Andrea smiled, "and I'll get neck cramps," she chuckled, leading Cooper forward. The little boy looked around in complete fascination, soaking in the scenery of the large shuttle bay with wide eyes. Madison was similarly awed, looking at the security officers with great interest.

"Hi Pond!" Anne grinned, pulling the duffel bag through the door. Schlompi poked his head from behind her golden locks, sniffing the air and looking around cautiously. She giggled and patted his head, then returned to pull on the bag.

"Here, let me get that," Amelia insisted, moving forward to scoop up the duffel bag. She grabbed the strap with both hands, and though it wasn't too heavy for her, it was clearly not a light bag. She ducked her head and one arm through the strap to hang behind her back and distribute the weight. "This is the family fortune of Gold Pressed Latinum, isn't it?" she teased with a wink at the girl.

Anne giggled, clearly excited. "Don't tell anyone, Pond!" she scolded humorously. "We have two more inside. But they're heavier."

Cooper tripped and fell on his cushioned butt, looking around with a stunned expression. Andrea snorted and turned to crouch near him. "That's what happens when you look backwards when you go forward, little man," she smiled and helped the boy back up. He didn't seem to notice his fall much, or learn from it any; the moment he put his hand into his mothers and resumed walking, his head was turning again, breathing in the size of the cargo bay. Andrea chuckled. In her arms, Madison stirred, and Andrea, somewhat surprised — and pleased that the girl showed any sign of agreeing to detach from her mother's lap — bent to put her down on the floor. They walked slowly with one small hand in each of one of Andrea's hands.

"Congratulations, by the way," she glanced at Amelia as she walked, slowly, matching her steps to her toddlers' waddling ones. "For both the promotion and the position," she smiled, her eyes shining with some fair bit of pride. She remembered the woman when they've first met, when Amelia was still somewhat fresh-nosed and young and extremely eager. Quite a lot of time passed since then, but Andrea still considered herself fortunate to have had her as her officer. As a sort of savior, once, even.

"Thank you," Amelia returned softly. She'd hero worshiped Andrea Levine before she'd even met her, and she still had the replicated copies of her books among her personal library. If you'd asked the young cadet years ago, she'd never dream of being on even professionally friendly terms with her hero... now here the willowy woman was exchanging teasing jabs with her hero's pre-teen daughter, and commenting on how quickly her youngest children grew. It was the sort of though one could easily get caught in thought over, so Amelia distracted herself by directing her attention to her security shadows. "You heard Anne, there's two more bags in there," she observed making eye contact with the man and the woman in gold uniforms.

The woman moved quickly, and she was into the shuttle almost before Amelia finished speaking. The man moved slowly, carefully, looking over the twins with a soft smile as he jutted out his lower lip and blew upwards softly, tossing his red hair off his ruddy forehead. He plodded into the shuttle as the woman emerged with a bag across her back matching the one Amelia had taken from Anne.

Anne looked at the security officers, making sure the bags were properly handled, and then turned to walk near Amelia again, petting Schlompi absently. "Pond, is it true we have a really big quarters? Like," the girl tried to be diplomatic, "with more rooms?"

Andrea snorted a chuckle and gave Amelia a commiserating look. "Anne — oh, I'm sorry, Schlompi wants his own room." The girl blushed, and shrugged at Amelia.

"Well, I had to put in a good word to the Captain on your behalf," Amelia returned with a smirk, "But since there are six of you, Schlompi included, we did make an effort to find something big enough to accommodate all of you."

"She'd made her position known well in advance." Rochelle's voice broke through the relative silence of the shuttle bay as she arrived. It had taken a little longer than she'd approved of, but she'd made it none the less and approached the taller blonde with open arms and a generous smile that spread from ear to ear and found residence in her eyes.

"Rochelle!" Andrea grinned and let her children's hands go for a moment to give her friend a warm, tight hug. "It's so good to see you."

"Ochelle!" It was Madison this time who picked the chant first, pointing and toddling the two steps to grab on the young Captain's pant leg. Cooper shouted agreement and stomped a foot on the floor, excited.

Rochelle wrapped her arms around the Commodore, holding her tight and patting her back. She could literally feel the stress of the unknown melting away from her body, dissipating into the ether and darkness where it belonged. With the arrival of those key three individuals, Rochelle's family was complete. They were all safe, sound and accounted for where she could protect and guard them. "I've been dreaming of this day since the war started!" She gushed, releasing Andrea and dropping to her knees to tug the little girl and her brother into a hug, dropping a kiss atop each of their heads. "And you!" She grinned, looking up at Anne, "You've gotten taller! You'll be looking down at me by Christmas!"

Andrea smiled in the embrace, her relief so tangible, she could feel her eyes misting. "I am so happy you're okay," she leaned back as the fierce Captain bent to greet the children and sighed with a smile. "Look at you with those Captain pips. I'm so proud of you."

The two toddlers giggled loudly, playing a quick ping-pong game of smacking their lips at Rochelle with baby kisses and giggles.

Anne grinned, blushing. "Just a little," she walked over with an embarrassed smile, though her eyes showed her contentment at the comment. She was a big girl. "I'm already in 8th grade!"

"Seems we're all growing up." Rochelle smiled up between Anne and Andrea, buzzing, beaming and glowing. She was brilliantly happy, content not even coming close to defining the elation she felt. It was the first time in nearly five months that she'd felt this close to being complete - a feeling more precious than anything else in the universe. "Our Chief Counselor has a son a couple years younger than you, Anne. Sharp as a tack." The Captain grinned, stroking the cheeks of the twins cuddled to her sides. Ruffling their hair, she straightened up again.

Dani, taking a step back to allow the family to reunite, walked over to Amelia, smirking at the scene. "Don't you just love reunions? C'mon, let's let them settle in and get all homey," she smiled and looked up at the taller woman. "Let's get a drink. Now that I'm a civilian, I think I can afford to buy your round," she grinned, and walked on to the exit, letting the rescuees and Rochelle find their quarters.

"Raincheck, my quarters tonight at 1900. I'm still on duty for a while yet," Amelia insisted, staying on the heels of the Levine-Grant pack. The two security officers fell in behind her as the group moved out of the shuttlebay. "Feel free to bring a guest."

=/\= End Log =/\=

Captain Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Lt Commander Amelia Waterhouse
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Commodore Andrea Levine
Professor, Starfleet Academy
Ex-Dean of Astrophysics
Tenured Researcher, R&D, Starfleet Command
Finally home

Danielle Atarah
Grifter / Thief
Earth

Madison and Cooper Levine-Grant,
Anne Levine-Planck
Schlompi

 

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