Left Behind: The Maiden and the Minotaur

Posted on Sat Oct 12th, 2019 @ 12:20pm by Hera & Ensign Fiona O'Dell & Ensign Briaar Gavarus & Petty Officer 2nd Class 'Big Ethel' Jablonski
Edited on on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 @ 9:56am

Mission: Family Detention
Location: USS Hera, Deck 8, VIP quarters #11
Timeline: 2396 - Meanwhile... on the Hera

With Briaar Gavarus and Fiona O’Dell both on duty, neither was particularly trusting in the ships daycare facilities where their unexpected charge, little Minerva Carrott, was concerned. The minuscule Minotaur babe was more than a handful under the best of circumstances and with both of her unconventional guardians on duty, there were few places and people they felt comfortable leaving little Minnie with.

Few, but not none. After all, there was one crewmember that the pair both trusted as a friend, was more than physically capable of keeping up, AND had a direct connection with the same bizarre magics that had blessed little Minnie in the first place to have found her way to the midget Mariposian and the testy Tellarite. And that was Petty Officer “Big” Ethel Jablonski.

And “Big” didn’t quite do the over two-meter tall maid of muscle justice. Blessed and chosen as the Honor Guard and General of the Goddess Hera, Jablonski soaked up those blessings as was positively massive as a result. Which was even more interesting to see than usual, as she struggled to keep a hold of the fuzzy, giggling, tiny Minotaur wriggling like a greased worm in her oversized arms at the moment.With Briaar Gavarus and Fiona O’Dell both on duty, neither was particularly trusting in the ship’s daycare facilities where their unexpected charge, little Minerva Carrott, was concerned. The minuscule Minotaur babe was more than a handful under the best of circumstances and they had decided the facilities were insufficient for her needs. At least, after she had begun wrestling with the other toddlers, and caused an eye injury with one of her small but clearly already formidable horns. It seemed that not unlike her guardians, Minnie did not play well with others. Thus with both of her unconventional guardians on duty, there were few places and people with whom they felt comfortable leaving little Minnie.

Few, but not all. Because there was one crewmember that the pair both trusted as a friend, was more than physically capable of keeping up, AND had a direct connection with the same bizarre magicks that had blessed little Minnie in the first place to have found her way to the midget Mariposian and the testy Tellarite. And that was Petty Officer Second Class “Big” Ethel Jablonski.

“Big” didn’t quite do the over two-meter tall maid of muscle justice. Blessed and chosen as the Honor Guard and General of the Goddess Hera, Jablonski soaked up those blessings of the USS Hera’s resident goddess and namesake, and as a result her physique and physicality were positively massive. Which was even more interesting to see than usual, as she struggled to keep a hold of the fuzzy, giggling, tiny Minotaur wriggling like a greased worm in her oversized arms at the moment.

“No Minnie, come on now, I need to get this diaper on you… yes, I know it tickles, but… stop squirming, I don’t want to drop you… no, don’t put that in your mouth, no no no…!” Sighing heavily, Ethel was at a crossroads. It was abundantly clear to her that the tiny tyke, who was barely bigger than her rather massive hand, was more than a handful for her, and she wondered for not the first time in the past few hours, just how the irresponsible and seemingly perennially drunken pair of oddballs from R&D managed to do it when as a solo act she was already prepared to throw in the towel.

Which was when she got an idea… or more appropriately, a divine inspiration.

Hera.

The Goddess of motherhood and family, Hera would of course know what to do. The odd couple had been granted a boon in the form of ‘How To Raise Your Minotaur’ tome, which Hera had penned herself, so that they would be well equipped to raise the unusual child who had clearly been touched by the gods. Which Ethel had noted they had not particularly offered thanks nor praise to the Goddess, but that was between them and Hera, and none of her business. Their squealing, wriggling bundle of manure manufacture, on the other hand, seemed quite prepared for her destiny already, capable of commanding a Bracer of Hera- with only one, which was a feat no one could match. But now, trying to paint her fur in her own poop, Jablonski was at her wit’s end with the troublesome tyke.

But of course, the Goddess would know what to do.

Internally, she debated. As a rule Ethel Jablonski had never asked Hera for anything. She had offered her praise and worship, as it seemed due course. Ethel had been abundantly gifted by the Goddess, and she served her because she felt the love of the Goddess in her heart. She was benevolent, kind and maternal, and inspiring on more than one occasion. Selfless, noble, warm and caring, the love that Jablonski held for Hera was well-earned. Yet she had never asked the Goddess for anything… until now.

The squirming, now squealing and squalling infant was more than she could handle. Briefly she considered asking some of her peers from the department to help. But most of them were childless for good reason. While the Amazons of the Security team were still very feminine, most of not all were childless, and most seemed to have few maternal instincts, if any- Jablonski included. As the friendship she was developing with the R&D couple was important to her, as was stewardship of the young general who would one day take her place by Hera’s side, Ethel was determined not to let them down. But this was more than she could handle, and she knew she needed help.

Heaving a great sigh as Minnie laughed and peed, a yellow stream running down the off-duty petty officer’s arm, Jablonski admitted defeat. Rising from the disgusting table in her quarters, the mighty hulking maiden of the Hera made her way up the decks to Deck 8, and the VIP quarters of the Goddess whom she served.

Meanwhile, in Hera's VIP quarters, the matronly goddess was doing her best to prepare as well. It had been many years since she had even held a baby, let alone taken care of one for any length of time. She'd always delegated it to others since... Well... Since she herself had given birth.

And it wasn't like she could just do it like back on Mount Olympus, either. There were no ghostly servants to aid her and she wouldn't be able to use her powers. She'd have to do it all like the mortals. Mainly because she was limited very much the same way.

So when Ethel arrived, the door opening at her approach as she was clearly expected, she found Hera laying out a soft baby blanket on her dining room table, having moved everything off of it to a side table for the time being, and trying to figure out how modern diapers worked.

“Hera... help?” Jablonski asked plaintively as the manure-smeared minotaur was currently teething on Big Ether’s index finger, and when Jablonski made to set her down, the infant literally hung off her finger, like a dog with a bone. The big brown eyes of the bovine baby tracked between Hera and Jablonski as Hera burst out laughing at the sight.

"Oh my, well, let's see what we can do then," Hera replied as she gently took little Minnie with a tickle around her ribs so she'd giggle and release the mighty Ethel's finger. "Minotaurs are amazingly resistant to filth and disease... But let's not tempt the Fates and get you cleaned up, shall we?"

With seemingly practiced precision, the goddess of mothers pulled out half a dozen baby wipes out and got Minnie Moo cleaned up all without setting her down, then set her on a clean diaper that she somehow gently plopped the still giggling baby minotaur down on perfectly. Here she had a bit of trouble though, as she was still learning modern diaper technology. After a few tries with the side clasps she gave up and just used some tape, still not sure of how the sides were supposed to stay on.

"And there you are. Nice and clean." Hera leaned down and bumped her nose to little Minnie's with a smile, which caused the bouncing baby bovine to shriek with absolute glee, which settled into a loud half-squeal, half-moo. Then she reached out, three-fingered hands touching the face of her benefactor with a bit of wonder in her eyes, as babies were oftentimes not fooled by glamours. Whereas with Jablonski she had exerted herself, with Hera the tot was gentle and reserved, tracing lines on the happy face before her with delicate movements for a toddler, wide brown eyes staring into Hera’s own.

Watching the exchange, Jablonski heaved a sigh of relief with a small smile. “I’m so sorry, great Hera, it’s just… the girls asked me to babysit, and I want to help them out, and I know I have to watch over the little one, but… I don’t have any skills or instincts for this sort of thing. She wants to start pumping iron, I’m her gal. But diapers and bottles and what you should do with a baby… I, uh, don’t know any of that stuff.”

It was clear this was quite vexing to the gentle giantess who served as the captain of Hera’s Honor Guard, who knew as a matter of her faith that she would be called upon to help raise the child and teach her of her supernatural origins, and the Goddess whom had blessed her birth. But while Big Ethel shouldered the burden, this one pooped on it, and she just didn’t know how to cope with the situation.

"Don't worry about it. You know I'm here for you. If there ever comes a day when you wish to accept the blessings of motherhood and family, those too will be yours. Until that day..." Hera waggled a finger at the much larger Amazonian woman with a conspiratorial wink. "For now you're still an amazing role model for our young Minnie. So please don't fret, okay?"

“Uuuuh. I don’t think I’m cut out for motherhood,” Jablonski sighed, shaking her head. In truth, in the years to come, it was highly likely that she would either die defending the wee Minotaur from harm, sacrificing herself to insure the next generation would succeed and supplying one last heroic example for the impressionable bovine. Or she would lead a long and happy life, eventually surrounded by children and grandchildren. Either was just as likely, and given the interference in her destiny by forces acting outside of Fate, either outcome was just as likely to come to pass.

As for Hera, she would just keep mum and let things play out as they were wont to do. Telling Ethel any more would not help her, after all. In the here and now Hera needed her general, whom she suspected might just be her prophet someday. That, however, she could address.

“So I can’t help but notice you have been writing my name an awful lot, lately. Would you like to discuss that?”

At her words, the baby minotaur turned to look at Jablonski with her big brown eyes, blinking innocently.

Clearly nervous, Jablonski rubbed the back of her neck with one meaty hand. Eyes looking around the room, she sighed and settled for staring at the table. “Yeah. I’ve… I started writing a book about you. Well, about you, what you’ve said, the help you have given your miracles and stuff… yes, Goddess, I am writing a book about you. I just,” the big woman looked up, rushing to rationalize. “I want future generations to know about you, is all. Your works, your miracles, your good advice. You called Gavarus and O’Dell way before it happened, and gave me forewarning so I wouldn’t hurt their feelings. You saved that man on DS9. You protected the Commander and the Baroness and fought off Death for them. You’ve saved babies and mothers who might have been lost otherwise. You are always there for the Commander and the crew or anyone else who asks for your help. You wrote an entire tome on Minotaurs just so they could raise her right, and made sure to get it to the parents. Those are big, epic deeds, and the universe needs to know about them… with all due respect, ma’am.”

Her passion carried her that far, until Jablonski shrugged and sheepishly looked down at the table again, guiltily. “I mean, that’s my thought. But I won’t if you don’t want me to… but really, I think the universe and future generations will need to know.”

The matronly goddess couldn't help but smile brightly as she tried to pull Ethel into a hug, and ended up just moving herself into the hug instead. "My dear, I know you'll do it justice. Thank you. May the Muses inspire you and the Fates bring you closer to the truth."

“I’ll… I’ll do my best, Hera,” Jablonski admitted, wrapping the slender goddess in a gentle yet encompassing hug. The baby bovine, seeing there was loving going on, extended her three-fingered hands to make grabby motions, and Big Ethel smiled as she swept the toddler into the hug as well.

There, surrounded by a generation preceding and following, the farm girl from the high G planet considered, for the first time, that maybe she might just start a family after all. It was not the first time Minerva Carrott would inspire others to begin a family, and it would not be the last. For that too was one of her gifts- one of the many blessings bestowed upon the child, who was one of a few who would stand as evidence of the Goddess’ desire to amend her past misdeeds.

Which in part she managed by blessing the future with those heroes who had been touched by Hera- the Goddess who had been changed for the better, by her time aboard the starship that bore her name.