(Flashback) Meeting A Legend (Part 2)
Posted on Sun Feb 11th, 2024 @ 11:44pm by Commander Patricia Cooke & Lieutenant Akira Kogami
Edited on on Sun Feb 11th, 2024 @ 11:45pm
1,056 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
From the Inside
Location: Cooke Family home, Chicagoland
Timeline: Christmas Eve 2386
Previously, on Star Trek: Missouri:
"You didn't tell her you lied to the recruiter?" Francine asked. "You know, Harry's set a bad example for you..."
"Of course I'm not going to tell her I lied about my age! She might be my roommate, but I still don't know if she's going to turn me in."
Francine sighed.
"Alright, so what do you want me to do then?" She asked.
"Waiting to talk about me dropping out until she's not around would be a good start."
Right as Patty was about to respond, the doorbell sounded once more, alerting them to the arrival of yet another guest.
And now, the continuation:
"Huh. that's odd." Francine commented. "Harold said us and your friend were supposed to be the only guests."
Opening the kitchen door, Patricia and Francine witnessed a confused Harold opening the door to find a tall, surly blonde standing on the front step.
"Harryyy!!!" the blonde exclaimed as he pulled Harold into a tight bear hug. "How's my favorite Cousin?"
"Well, this is unexpected;" Harold admitted. "How are you doing, Phil?"
"Outstanding, but it'll get better," Phil chuckled as he gently set Harold down. "The staff at Algonquin let off early for the holiday season, so I figured I'd stop in and pay the family a visit this year!"
"Yard shutdown at Algonquin seems to happen earlier and earlier every year." Harold commented. "Meanwhile, Utopia Planitia always waits until December 23 to shut down. I suppose that's the price to pay for being a key Federation shipyard."
"Hey, it's not like we're some backwater shipyard, either," Phil was quick to point out. "As the largest employer in Sector 813, we're practically a lifeline for domestic infrastructure. Although, I must say, the Eifie and The Rheuysians do seem to appreciate having a full week off, even if they don't necessarily celebrate Christmas and all that..."
It was at that moment that Phil's attention was diverted to Patty, decked out in full Academy garb.
"Holy, cow, Harry, is this supposed to be Patty?!" he gawked in disbelief. "When did she get so big?"
"I do still have a couple of years left of growing, Cousin..." Patricia remarked sarcastically.
"I'm sure it's self-evident, but Pat's dropped out of high school to join Starfleet." Harold muttered. "Frankly, I don't agree with her decision; she should at least get her diploma, but as her parent, I support her decision... You can thank my mom for... Encouraging her..."
"Wait, hold on- you dropped out of high school?" Akira butted in. "Didn't you say you were 18?"
"Yeah, so I stretched the truth slightly to the recruiter." Patricia shrugged. "It's not like I'm the first in my family to bend the rules to join the military..."
"You lied about your age?!" Akira groaned. "Oh my God, Patty! I gave you a beer last month, and you didn't even say anything?!"
"I have to maintain the lie, otherwise they're going to kick me out of Starfleet." Patricia said.
"My life is over!" Akira bemoaned, looking like she was about ready to start pulling out my own hair. "I served alcohol to a minor!"
It was at this point that Francine took notice of her granddaughter's conversation.
"You're not going to get kicked out of Starfleet for being served beer at sixteen." She said. "But Pat's right; you will get kicked out of Starfleet for fraudulent enlistment. Now, if you're really friends with my granddaughter, you won't say a peep to Starfleet about this, understood?"
"You think that this is something that I'd brag about?!" Akira squawked. "They'd lock me in a rehabilitation center for six months!"
"Well, now that that's settled..." Francine said, turning to Phillip. "Hey, Phil! How's my favorite nephew?"
"Aunt Franny!" Phillip exclaimed as he ran over to hug Francine. "Good to see you, too; the boys back at the yard heard that I was planning on paying a visit to my favorite Auntie this Holiday Season, so they wanted to give you something of a present!"
"Awww... Did they bake me fruitcake again?" Francine asked. "They really shouldn't have, not with my diabetic situation..."
"They did consider it, but I advised them against it, so they made you something else..."
He paused for a second to retrieve his gift, which he then proceeded to hand off to Francine with a peck on the cheek and wishes of a Merry Christmas.
Taking the gift, Francine tore off the wrapping paper to find a scale model of her most recent assignment before she resigned her commission waiting for her protected inside a resin display case which formed the shape of the gift.
"Why, this will go perfect on my shelf with the rest of my assignments." She said. "It's even the same scale as the other models."
"Are you impressed that I remembered?" Phil grinned. "It's been a while, but I had this vague memory of you telling me that your model collection was to a certain scale. Had to rack my brain a little bit, but my recollection that the Miranda was about the length of my hand gave me a reference point with which to work with."
"You mean the Paul Hamilton?" Francine asked. "I would have thought you of all people would know my service record like the back of your hand."
"You get what I mean," Phil chuckled. "Anywho, where's Todd? I still gotta thank him for that coconut key lime pie recipe he sent us last easter; it was totally a hit with the fam, even if it was just me and Danielle that were eating it... but I mean, hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad!"
"Did someone say my name?" Todd asked as he returned from the bathroom.
"Todd!" Phillip exclaimed as he ran over to hug his uncle. "Oh, I missed you so much! Listen, I wanted to tell you that that pie recipe you sent us last Easter was a big hit with the fam..."
Posting by
Cadet Freshman Grade Patricia Cooke
Starfleet Cadet
Cadet Freshman Grade Akira Kogami
Starfleet Cadet
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