The Long-Lost Connection
Posted on Sat Oct 30th, 2021 @ 5:32pm by Seshi Macae
1,550 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
What Lies Ahead, Between, and Behind
Location: Macae Residence
Timeline: Before Frizzle
When she took on the position of council member for this colony, Seshi could not recall if she had been a tad inebriated or not. She did refuse to take professional calls while she was under any influence, but if they happened to have stopped by her father's old establishment on one of those wayward starbases, her sobriety in the moment was in question.
She should have asked when she took the job, sober or not, how much paperwork would have come with it. If this were another time, she would have seen cartoonish piles of paperwork towering over her desk, the threat of a mere breeze of the wind looming around any corner. But she counted her graces that she lived in this era, as that nightmare ended up contained within a series of PaDDs, which sat in a messy pile upon her desk demanding to be done. She could not wait till they found themselves a new director so that she could go back to doing whatever it was she did prior.
Picking up one of the offending devices, Seshi flipped through the document involving taming Daucin and selling them as pets. "What an adorable nightmare," she mused, before deciding against the chaos that a younger her would have checked off on. They were not pressed for 'funding' on the colony. Not pressed enough to send their most adorable - to date - and disarming discovery into the reaches of space, full of minerals and resources.
The thought of a Daucin-Tribble hybrid had Seshi shudder, setting the PaDD down. Tribbles. That reminded her, she had not heard from her son in the past few months. That was typical of him, especially now when he insisted he had little to talk to her about. Was he dodging her? Avoiding the colony as a whole? She could not tell, and asking the Captain, who had known her son this whole time, seemed to result in a similar shrug and shake of the head.
Well, she would just have to do it herself then.
She tapped at the console screen in front of her, set upright and exactly how she wanted it as per her request during Asahi's last visit. Most of the technology had been set up by the former engineer, which she opted above the engineers who were more experienced with the colony's technology. Which meant he customized it to her liking, despite any complaints he gave.
This did include the small calling animation that popped up as she waited, which featured a cartoonish elephant that rolled a multi-colored ball to the middle of the screen. The ball rolled in place a for a few minutes, and Seshi could imagine the toiling her son was doing as he stared at his console in his quarters upon the Vesta.
Soon enough, the ball gave a small pop!, opening up to the full-sized view of her dusty-haired son seated at his desk. "Ma, I'm... I'm in the middle of some stuff. We're researching-"
"Yes yes, I'm sure whatever you're about to undertake is important to Starfleet and your job." Seshi cut in, shooting down any sort of excuse he was about to give her. If it was that important, he wouldn't have answered her in the first place. "But certainly you have five whole minutes to talk to your mother, yes?"
She could hear the sigh on the other end. That exhausted sigh of his, the one that told Seshi more than whatever he'd have to say would.
Whatever he was fiddling with was set down, and Asahi gave his mother a weary smile. "Yes, Ma. Of course I've got time for you."
Seshi clapped her hands together, the smile on her lips warming. "Excellent. I never hear from you. I only want to catch up."
"If I could tell you half of it, I'd have probably called earlier." The response from her son was dry, and the expression unreadable.
She frowned. "Asahi, are you attempting to practice some of those Intelligence techniques on your own mother?"
His expression changed, shock written all over his face. And she could see his body language, how his shoulders rose with tension. "No!" he let the protest out quickly, and his brow furrowed. "I mean it! There isn't... a whole lot to tell you."
"Oh I doubt that." Seshi leaned forward at her desk, giving her son an expectant look. "I'm sure you're at least making friends you can tell me about."
"Mom, I'm too old to be having conversations like I'm at boarding school or sleepaway camp. Please tell me you're making friends."
"Of course I am. There are few other mothers of Starfleet officers who have decided to settle down on Haumea and we discuss how little our children decide to speak with us." This was all a cute banter back and forth for Seshi, and her son knew that. That was evident enough by the look on his face. She wanted to catch up, but if he wasn't going to give her anything to go on, she could at least give him a hard time. "Why not give me something to brag to the other mothers about?"
Her son rolled his eyes. "I have ... work friends. I don't really intend to be close to any of them."
Seshi's brow rose. "Oh, you still think that assignment is temporary?"
"Every assignment is temporary. You think that way, then it won't be a disappointment when you're torn from it." Asahi spoke absently, and it was hard for Seshi to make out whether he was just stating facts or it truly impacted his decisions on how he went about his day to day.
But, far be it from her to truly tell him how to live his life. "Not even that Bajoran counselor? Wasn't she from one of your last assignments?"
"Tarel? Yeah." Asahi fell silent for a moment, as he busied himself with whatever work he said he was about. "But she's busy. She's got her own circle, and it's always weird befriending someone who knows your mental health that well."
"Does that mean you're talking to her during counseling hours?"
Asahi glossed over the question, frowning at something behind the woman. "... Ma, is that one of them metal-crunching things?"
"Hm?" Seshi looked behind her. Sure enough, one of the doe-eyed, multi-color furred creatures was staring right back at her, nibbling on whatever metal had yet to be coated with the preventative spray. "I suppose it is. Look at you, little one." She held out a hand, offering for the creature to sniff it, which it did warily. "Did you get yourself lost in my home?"
"Ma, don't befriend it. You have no way of feeding something like that."
"Don't be silly. I can feed it scraps that no one's using." Seshi chuckled, as she gingerly scooped the small creature up. "I'll just set it outside and see what I can do about getting someone to check my home." She stood up from her seat, giving her now-alarmed son a sideways glance. "It looks like this little one saved you from the rest of this conversation."
"Oh I'm so glad that the metal-crunchy monster that could bite your hand off is what's preventing me from conversing with you," Asahi deadpanned. "Please just be careful. Don't make me call Luka pre-emptively."
She was sure her son had not contacted his long-time friend in quite some time, but was equally as positive he would play it off if she asked. Calling out the fact that she could, at any point, give the Captain a ring and he'd answer within a few hours would have been more antagonistic than she meant to be. But she did worry for him; if he was only speaking to the therapist and professional acquaintances, he was doing exactly what she feared most. But, now was not the time to press the point, not with such a wiggly creature in her arms. "I'll be careful. If something happens, I'll call one of the doctors myself."
Asahi's eyes narrowed. "... Alright," he spoke slowly, leaning forward in his seat. "I don't want a call from anyone telling me you've come down with like... tree-poisoning or something. Though, if you guys start de-aging, let me know. I'll make some calls on my end and make sure you guys ... don't do that anymore. I'm sure Doc Sorenson would love to have a return visit."
"Oh, that would be just the thing this colony needs. A bunch of actual children." Seshi shook her head. "You don't need to worry about whatever invented illness you've got in your head. And I'm sure you don't actually need an excuse to come back and visit us. At least, not for you Asahi."
The small daucin in Seshi's arms chirruped grumpily. "Ah, I think that's my cue. I can't imagine this little one wants to stay where there isn't something for him to eat for very long."
"Ma, I don't think-"
She did not let her son finish, as she reached over to end the call. Smiling down at the small creature, she made her way toward the door. "Don't worry little one, I won't keep you long."
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