The Family Woman Pilot

Posted on Sat Mar 18th, 2023 @ 6:46am by Commander Patricia Cooke & Lieutenant Charlotte E. "Charlie" Yeager

1,519 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Auld Lang Syne
Location: Camp Khitomer

From the Commanders' lounge, Patricia made her way back into the main event space. While she wanted to enjoy the quiet that the Commanders' lounge afforded her, Patricia felt it was best to periodically pop out into the main event space in case there were more Missouri crewmembers present. Considering Akira was already there, no doubt there were more among the partygoers.

Patricia had been hanging around the bar, which just so happened at that particular moment to also be the hangout spot for a group of security officers from the USS Johnstown, all of whom were sporting cybernetic implants. With nothing better to do as the 24th century ticked away, Patricia had opted to engage the group and was deep in a conversation with them.

"So, you all have these implants?" Patricia asked.

"Pretty sweet, aren't they?" The Lieutenant with blue hair covering her remaining natural eye responded. "We got them together as a group to show solidarity for Ensign Kidd when he needed to get one, and I've got to say, since getting them, we've gotten I'd say 10-20% more efficient as a group?"

"Sounds about right;" a dark skinned junior Lieutenant agreed with her. "Namely because if we come up with ideas and want to share them with the rest of the group, we just wirelessly transmit the idea to the implants of whoever we want to let in on the idea. Though, admittedly, this has freaked the other squads in our department out. You should have seen how badly the chief flipped out once, and get this, he ordered us to be less productive!"

The group and Patricia all shared a laugh.

"Well, I can't say I blame him, though;" Patricia rebuked. "I mean, the potential of these kinds of implants is still largely untapped; so you guys are certainly breaking new ground here."

"I know, right?" The blue haired Lieutenant agreed. "Seriously, you should try getting one."

"Oh, no thanks." Patricia declined. "I'd only ever want one if I was in the position of that Ensign Kidd guy you were talking about; like if it was absolutely paramount to my survival."

"Well, your loss, Commander." The blue haired Lieutenant said.

A ginger lieutenant wearing the colors of the flight control division had begun to listen in to the group's conversation. Lt. Charlie Yeager had just finished a conversation with a greying Klingon scribe. While the conversation had been intriguing, it had evidently freaked out the youngest of the three kids, and she had told them to go find some friends while she chatted, and now that the Klingon scribe had moved on, Charlie was observing this new conversation happening at the bar.

It wasn't until she heard the term 'Commander' that she recognized her new commanding officer. Charlie adjusted her uniform and approached the group. The ginger woman's presence seemed to lead to an opening in the conversation. "Pardon me", she said formally. "I don't mean to interrupt. I find talk of increased effectiveness absolutely fascinating. My name is Lieutenant Charlie Yeager. Pleasure to meet everybody." She nodded to Patricia. "Commander."

Charlie turned back to the group, excitement written across her face.

"As you were, Lieutenant." Patricia responded, blushing slightly. "Anyhow, I was just speaking with Lieutenant Rem here and her Beta Shift team aboard the USS Johnstown about their implants." Patricia indicated the blue-haired Lieutenant. "Fascinating stuff, I must say. These guys are truly pioneering what's possible."

"Well, like I was telling Commander Cooke here;" Rem said, aiding in the effort to bring the newcomer up to speed. "It all started when an Ensign on our team was tortured with a brain-eating parasite after getting captured on an away mission. The doctors said the only way to repair the damage was to give him a cybernetic implant. But Ensign Kidd, the stubborn sonofabitch, didn't want to go through with the procedure because of how it would change his appearance. So, we all decided to get implants ourselves to show solidarity. Took a while to convince some of the people standing around here to do it, but I think they've warmed up to the idea with how efficient we've become as a unit."

"How unfortunate for that ensign", said Lt. Yeager. "Yet very intriguing results."

There seemed to be a moment of awkward silence, as none of the parties present knew how to proceed before Patricia finally spoke up.

"So, Lieutenant; what ship are you from?" Patricia asked. "Lots of folks here from all over the fleet, it seems like."

"Well ma'am the Merrimac brought me to Khitomer", Charlie said through fast speech. "Fine vessel. Galaxy class. A real classic." Her volume rose excitedly as she continued, "but I am really excited about my next assignment. The Missouri. A Bellerophon class.. And you?"

Patricia chuckled.

"Well, I suppose you could say I'm between assignments myself." She said. "It's kind of a big deal for me, since I've been promoted to the big chair, and my first command bears the name of the ship my grandmother served on, and my ancestor many centuries beforehand; the USS Missouri!"

Patricia put a finger to her chin.

"Though, I suppose if you put it like that, it sounds like you and I will be working together, Lieutenant." She realized.

"Excellent. Kudos to the family legacy", Charlie said happily. "I look forward to exploring space with you. Many mysteries and puzzles lie in wait of our travels. You can count on my team and I to get us wherever we're going in one piece."

"The feeling of excitement in regards to working together is mutual, Lieutenant." Patricia said before turning to the group of officers. "Well, this conversation has been entertaining, but seeing as I am now in the company of one of my senior officers, I'd like to borrow Lieutenant Yeager here for a little one-on-one chat."

"Of course." Rem nodded.

Patricia then turned back to Ikov.

"Care to take a walk with me, Lieutenant?" She asked.

"Of course." Charlie responded with a smile. "I need to go find my kids anyhow. Little rascals couldn't have gone far."

As Patricia and Charlie walked, Patricia struck up a conversation with the other woman.

"So, Lieutenant, what's your station on the MO?" She asked.

"Flight Control." Charlie responded. "Technically assistant chief, but I suppose pending application of a more suitable candidate, I guess that makes me acting Chief?"

"I see." Patricia nodded. "And you mentioned you had kids earlier?"

"Yes, ma'am. Four of them." Charlie said. "And don't worry, they're all from the same father. Though only three of them are here tonight. The youngest is just a pinch too young to be staying up till midnight yet."

"No kidding, four?" Patricia gasped. "And how old are you now?"

"36, though I'll be 37 this upcoming February." Charlie responded. "Oldest is 12, youngest is 2. I believe I was... 24 when I had the oldest? That was a couple years after I tied the knot with my husband."

"And your husband, he's here too?" Patricia asked.

"Sadly, no." Charlie sighed. "In the 15 years we've been married, we've never been on an assignment together. The few times our family has been all together has been through the occasional shore leave or stupid luck that our two assignments are working the same job. Yeah, he's probably celebrating the new year with his shipmates on the The Sullivans during their winter layup."

"No kidding." Patricia gawked. "Well, Lieutenant, let me see what kind of strings I can pull to see if I can get your husband transferred to the MO."

"Really? You mean it??" Charlie gasped excitedly. Though it was entirely possible that she would be getting her hopes up for nothing, as she had heard this line many times before.

"Of course," Patricia said. "I'm a woman of my word. If it's not possible, I'll be demanding a full explanation from Starfleet as to why so that you can know. That look in your eye tells me you've heard one of these lines before, and I want you to know that I won't stand around bureaucratically offering up some bullshit excuses as to why your husband can't join us."

Charlie grabbed Patricia's hand.

"Thank you, Commander." She said, tears brimming in her eyes. "Thank you very much. If you can get Glenn onto the Missouri, you'll have two pilots forever in your debt."

"The pleasure is mine, Lieutenant." Patricia replied. "It'll be good to know that the Missouri will have pilots it can count on."

Charlie looked up and saw her three kids.

"Excuse me, I think I see my kids." Charlie said before walking off. "Susie, Dusty, Mickey, wait up!" She called after the young ones.

Patricia smiled as she watched Charlie chase after her kids. Between them and Shouta, Patricia was happy to know that the corridors of the Missouri would be filled with the laughter of children running up and down them.

Posting by

Commander Patricia Cooke
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Charlotte E. Yeager
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer

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