A Message from Home and Things Once Forgotten

Posted on Thu Nov 22nd, 2018 @ 11:57pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox

Mission: Escaped Pantheons
Location: Deck 8, Crew Quarters
Timeline: 2395, en route to the Galactic Core

With only a day or so until the U.S.S. HERA arrived at it's next mission at the galactic core, Lieutenant Junior Grade Melaine Dox was beyond exhausted. For the last few days she had been working day and night on the implementation of a specialized flight control helmet that would enhance her ability to fly the massive starship inside the chaotic and unexplored regions of space that were ahead of them.

It had been in intense few days met with headaches, medical intervention and a haircut that, while needed for the mission so the aforementiomed helmet would actually fit, she was surprisingly happy with.

It was just after 19 hundred hours and Melanie had finally returned to her quarters. The headaches and nausea were now considerably more manageable thanks to Chief Medical Officer Asa Dael's ministrations that included nanobots inserted in Melanie's inner ears and a wrist band to administer pain and blood pressure control when she's wearing the flight control rig. Entering her still extremely sparcely decorated quarters, she place the band on her nightstand and began removing her uniform.

She tossed the new, red tunic top over the top of the training dummy in the corner and looked at the few personal affects that she had begun decorating her new crew quarters with. She had put in a small corner shelving unit in a corner. Small shelves designed to hold pictures and small tchotchkes that currently held three medium sized photos in simple frames.

The first was the photo that the ships First Officer, Rita Paris had taken of the senior staff at a lunchon about a week and a half ago. The crew was rapidly becoming very much like a family to the young pilot and she treasured the picture. The second was a photo of her mother, Jaeih, taken from the most recent correspondence message sent a couple of weeks ago. The third and final image was the only photo taken during Melanie's childhood, when she had grown up on a smuggling ship. In the frame was a much younger Jaeih Dox and a 9 year old Melanie.

Running her fingers through her freshly shorn hair, she couldn't help but notice that, while her intention was to just find a haircut that would be shorter and out of her way, ended up remarkably close to the classic Romulan haircut she wore until she was fifteen, clearly visible in the photo.

On the small table in the center of the room was her personal data PaDD, and a small red light was blinking. Melaine tilted her head quizically at it as she picked up the small PaDD. Touching the screen, she noticed that it was a message from her mother.

Normally, she received new messages once every month or two so she was surprised and a litle concerned that this message came only a couple of weeks since her last correspondence. She sat in the chair at the table and called up the message. She tapped on the message notification as a security screen popped up. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Melaine Dox. Play message."

After a few moments of technical procedure, the pace of which was only increasing Melanie's anxiety, the image of her mother appeared on the screen. She was smiling broadly and not looking off camera as she usually was, at the Starfleet security officer that generally stood behind her monitoring the recording of the message. As a former smuggler and defected Romulan former engineer, Jaeih Dox was still in protective custody of Starfleet and her messages were monitored for secret messages, a policy that irritated Melanie's mother to no end.

But she didn't seem annoyed at all, here. She seemed positively happy, which was a expression that Melanie found slighlty unusual on her normally stern mother. "Jolan'tru, Melanie. I know that it's not been long since our last messages, but considering the content of your last correspondence, I simply had to message you."

Relaxing slightly, Melanie sat back in the chair, relieved that nothing appeared to be wrong.

"I was tremendously happy to get you last message. To hear that you've not only achieved a post on a STARSHIP but also as it's Chief Flight Control officer is beyond gratifying. I told you that one day Starfleet would have no choice but to recognize your talents." Melaine smiled, slighlty embarrassed by the compliment even in a recorded message.

"Anyway, as you may have noticed, I do not have a chaperone watching me record these messages for you anymore. Apparently, these past few years of my... consulting... with Starfleet regarding my knowledge of Romulan cloaking technology has finally earned me some degree of trust at last." Jaeih's face twisted slightly into a smirk remarkably close to Melanie's own familiar expression.

"I had a very... productive conversation with the Admiral in charge of my... situation... and it appears that should circumstances continue to improve I may even be able to see you in person the next time you return to Earth." Jaeih's expression shifted slightly, looking a bit sad. "I miss seeing you and I'm exceedingly proud of your accomplishments. For all I know, your recent advancements may be a factor in my increased privileges."

For years, Melanie and her mother's relationship had been strained and distant, but this restored sense of what could best be descrived as
warmth felt wonderful and Melaine found herself tearing up as the message continued.

"Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon. I know that due to security you can't mention the specifics of your new ship, but I'm glad you seem to be happy there and I hope you stay safe and I look forward to hearing from you. Jolan'tru, my daughter."

As the message ended, Melanie was wiping a tear from her eye and smiling. She didn't quite know how to process the chance that things may me on the mend between her and her mother. But the idea was enough to hit her hard.

Then a know in Melanie's stomach began to tighten as she remembered the many fights the two have had over the years. And she remembered something that she had spent years trying to not think about: why Jaeih was incarcerated at all.

Leaning back in her chair, Melanie looked out the window of her crew quarters into the expance of space and her mind drifted back. It was years ago and a fourteen year old Melanie Dox was living with her mother and estranged father on the smuggling ship, the Forrager, cloaked and hiding in Federation space having just done business with a group of pirates. They were hiding from a Starfleet patrol ship investigating the pirate base they had just left when Melanie, as the very young pilot of the Forrager pulled away at full impulse.

But within moments, the Starship had turned around to pursue the Forrager. Her parents couldn't understand how, but somehow the ship had been detected while cloaked, and after a brief chase, they had been captured. What followed was days of questions and concerned Starfleet officers and Melaine being sent to Earth to live with her Father's parents and her parents being arrested.

Getting up to pace around her quarters as she found herself lost in memories, Melanie felt like she was going to cry again. But not because of happiness this time. But because no matter how hard she tried, she could forget the reality of what had happened. Of what she told her liberators in Starfleet but had never told Jaeih.

That it was her fault. That she felt so trapped in the life her mother had birthed her into that she did the only thing she could think to do to escape it and be free.

It was Melanie that had sabotaged the cloaking device.

Looking back at the PaDD on the table, Melanie openly cried. It was her fault that her mother was in protective custody. It was her fault that her father was in prison. And hearing a restored sense of love in her mother's voice opened up a floodgate of guilt in the young officer.

Maybe in the morning, she would be able to record a response. But for tonight, she just wanted to think of almost anything else in the universe, as she cried herself to sleep.