Star Trek: Starbase 777 - acmo：lt-niwayiva

Star Trek: Starbase 777

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Today had been hectic. What could you expect when you were hosting a birthday party for a newly-turned-five-year-old and her hyperactive friends, though? Keazayi’s birthday had been on the 28th of October. Her party had been planned for the same day, but things had to be postponed due to the arrival of the USS Kon-Tiki and the subsequent yellow alert being called. For as long as she could talk the importance of safety on a starbase like this had been drilled into Kea’s head, and so she had somewhat understood… But from the first sound of the yellow alert over the comms, the disappointment on the young child’s face had been evident. When children got something into their heads it was difficult to get them to think about anything else. For someone who had been looking forward to this birthday party for so long, how could she not be disappointed? It had been a bit of a mad dash to rearrange things. There was securing another date with the play centre that was running the party; one of those soft-play places with slides and ball pits and miniature trampolines and tunnels to crawl through. There had been confirming cancellations with the parents of Kea’s friends, sending out new invites… And then there had been the dreaded wait in between. Waiting to begin with had been bad enough, but now Kea had to wait longer? For a while she acted as though she had been waiting forever, often pouting or stomping around their quarters while she complained about it, and all Niwa could do was offer reassurance that it wasn’t too far away. After a wait that seemingly felt like 4857393948 years to Keazayi, the day of her party finally arrived. x_divider

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20:42

You would think that the group of five-ish-year-olds had never been let out of their quarters before, the way that they went wild as they played. Everyone’s energy might have been somewhat fuelled by a birthday-cake-induced sugar rush, in hindsight. There had been running and jumping and chasing, squeals of delight a near-constant sound over the music that was now very much stuck in Niwa’s head (and would be for the next week or so). There had also been the occasional drama: a stubbed toe or someone getting too afraid to crawl through one of the plastic tunnels. At one point, Niwa had watched with trepidation as one of Kea’s classmates sat there at the top of a slide, bawling and refusing to come down. Kea had gone up behind her and for a moment, it seemed like she was going to push her friend down… But instead she sat there and talked, and eventually sat squashed up behind her friend and wrapped her arms around the other, so they could go down the slide together. x_divider

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20:42

After a good few hours of ruckus the party had ended and they had headed back home, birthday presents in tow. Niwa was sat at the coffee-table, neatly folding some clothes that had been given to Kea as a gift from her friends. The birthday girl (well not of today, but close enough) in question was slowly pushing another one of her gifts around the living room: her very first bike, red in colour with black dots strewn about like a ladybird, with glittery tassels off the handlebars and ready to ride with stabilisers at the back. She had been asking about one for months – “three people in my class can ride a bike, I want to as well!” – and so Niwa had found it fitting… Although she had no idea how she was supposed to actually teach Keazayi how to ride it. Niwa had never attempted to ride a bike in her life: she was going to have to recruit someone else to give her lessons. At least that was getting to wait for another day. Kea appeared to be too tired for anything now, partially draped over the handlebars as she walked her bike around the room. It appeared that the sugar rush had worn off. ”You’re looking tired, Kea,” she called across the room. “Are you sure that it isn’t time for a nap?” x_divider

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20:43

To begin with, the five-year-old looked over with squinted, bleary eyes. It looked like some sleep was exactly what she needed, but at the word ‘nap’ she all but jolted upright. Instantaneously there was a defiant look in her eyes and she relinquished her hold on the bike’s handlebars so she could stand up straight with her hands on her hips instead. “Naps are for nursery kids. I am in primary one.” Niwa couldn’t help but chuckle in response, giving a dual slow shake of her head at the same time. If she had left it be then Kea probably would have sat down eventually and fallen asleep herself, but now the word nap had been taken as a challenge. From what she had observed, children were determined to prove that they were 1. Better than anyone who was younger than them and 2. As cool as the people who were older than them. Nursery had included nap time, but primary school didn’t. Niwa should have known that it would be off the cards. Silly mum. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she replied with an amused smile as she regarded Kea’s defiant stance. “I forgot that as soon as you start primary school you aren’t allowed to be tired any more. You should come over here and help me fold some clothes. This cardigan is red with black spots, it matches your bike! Did you have fun today?” x_divider

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20:43

There was a face pulled at the idea of folding clothes, but Kea relinquished the act of very slowly pushing her bike around the quarters and wandered over instead, taking a seat on the floor beside Niwa. She looked at the cardigan and picked it up off of the table… But instead of folding it, subsequently put it on over her t-shirt and dungarees instead. You didn’t need to fold things if you were wearing them. “I had all the fun,” Kea stated very factually in return. There wasn’t very much enthusiasm put into the statement: it seemed despite her trying to act more awake, she couldn’t conceal being sleepy. “I jamp in the ball pit and on the trampoline and went down so many slides. And ate so much cake.” Niwa simply laughed in return and reached an arm over so she could draw Kea closer to her side. “You did have a lot of cake,” she mused and gently adjusted one of her daughter’s tendrils. They had an odd colour contrast with the bright ladybird-red of the cardigan; Kea’s tendrils were tipped with lilac, like a combination of Niwa’s blue and Aangad’s pink. Kids didn’t care about colour coordination at least. Niwa wasn’t about to enforce it. “And you did a lot of running around too, so that’s why you’re so tired now. …I want you to know that I’m proud of how you helped your friend today. Some people would have shouted at her for being scared to go down the slide, but you encouraged her and then you went down together. It was nice.” There was a pause there, wondering if she should bring it up… “If you had a little brother or sister would you be kind to them, too?” x_divider

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20:43

Kea all but sprang upright at that, forgetting about how she had been picking at the sleeve of her new cardigan. Her tiredness was all but forgotten as she grinned. It had been something that she had went on about forever, ever-jealous of her friends who had siblings. Niwa had explained to her that it wasn’t always like having a friend over at your house all the time, and that siblings often fought, but the young Vau N’Akat simply didn’t care. “I would be the nicest biggest sister ever. I would show them how to crawl and walk. Maybe even go down slides. I would learn bike riding so then I can show them. And I would teach them all the words so they could speak.” It wasn’t as if Kea knew ‘all the words’ – no one did – but she had enough enthusiasm that it sounded like she might legitimately try. “Why? Do you think I could get a sib-bing one day?” Niwa’s initial question hadn’t been brought up out of nowhere. Her daughter wasn’t the only one who had been waiting for something up until today, and Niwa completely agreed that awaiting something so nerve-wracking yet exciting was all but excruciating. First there had been the decision making and going back and forth about whether she wanted to go through with it, until her walk around the botanical gardens with Keazayi and the CMO that day had solidified the idea that she did want this. Then there were the discussions with OB and gyny, the genetic counselling to find the most appropriate donor match… All of it felt like it had taken forever, and then there was the two week wait after the procedure itself. While the day had been made all the better by the arrival of the birthday party, for Niwa it had been made extra sweet by something else: a positive test result. x_divider

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20:43

And this time? This time there was no sense of dread as there had been with Kea, driven by the passing of Roscyae before her. There was no sense of despair that she was alone, with Aangad having left. Instead there was a newfound sense of confidence, a feeling of completion: that finally the family that she had dreamt of was coming together, albeit without a partner there. And who needed a partner, anyway? Who needed a partner when you had friends and colleagues instead? Family wasn’t only made up of who you were in a relationship with. Family could be anyone else around you, too – and as she sat here with Kea, contemplating the future and how bright it felt for the first time in a long time, Niwayiva knew that family could be found here, too. Niwa’s gaze was soft as she looked down at Kea, regarding her daughter with fondness. If all went well – and things would go well – then by this time next year it wouldn’t just be the two of them sat here. She could picture it now: Kea being instructed on how to safely hold her little brother or sister in her lap, the two with their mother beside them. When tears sprung to her eyes she blinked them away hastily. It was too early to get emotional about this. Four weeks. Around thirty-six to go. “Maybe one day, Kea. Maybe one day.”

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A Secret Santa Gift arrived for Niwa: Wrapped in snowflake pattern wrapping paper were two quite heavy boxes: One big, and one small. The big box had not a tag, but an envelope affixed to it, with “Lt. Niwayiva” printed onto it. Within the envelope was not a card, but a printed letter: “Dear Lt. Niwayiva, You don’t know me and I don’t know you, which is how Secret Santa is meant to work, but that posed me the tricky question of ‘what do I get the Assistant Chief Medical Officer of Starbase 777?’. Luckily for me, I like a fun challenge. I thought about something related to your work, but I couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t feel at least a bit strange to have on a shelf, so then my direction turned to something a little more homely. Because I don’t know you as a person, and because I didn’t want to get caught snooping around asking your colleagues about your personal tastes, I wasn’t completely certain what you would appreciate, but then it hit me. Who doesn’t love beautiful yet practical home décor? I immediately went on a quest to find the perfect item, and I failed to find one... Because I found two! Both hand made by a small company based out of Bajor that employ a very diverse group of skilled craftspeople. Season's Greetings, Lieutenant!" x_divider

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09:41

Within the first, larger box was a decently sized, ornate glass mosaic flower vase, coloured in blues and greens. The mosaic pieces were quite large and none were of a uniform shape. Held at the right angle the light shining through the vase looked very nice. It was big enough to hold a large bouquet of flowers, but not too big so as to take up too much space. It was weighted at the bottom to prevent it from tipping over. Within the smaller box was a matching picture frame with a detachable stand in case of hanging, big enough for a family portrait but once again the right size to fit on a shelf. It was rectangular, so could be displayed portrait or landscape. Both came with a lifetime warranty and free repair policy.

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The ACMO’s secret santa gift had been delivered while she was out, working on a late shift. Niwa had returned to her quarters exhausted and had the intention of quickly checking up on Kea (who had been put to bed by the childminder) and then retiring for the night herself… But upon walking through the doors and into the living room, her plans had been halted by the sight of the two neatly-wrapped boxes placed just to the side of the door. During her shift she had been sent a message from the childminder which stated ‘Kea doesn’t want to go to bed before she knows what’s in the boxes!’ Niwa had answered with ‘what boxes?’ but hadn’t received an answer, so she figured that whatever had happened resolved itself and Kea had been wrangled to bed. The latter had certainly happened… But there were two newly-delivered boxes here, and neither the sender nor the contents were something that Niwa knew. While standing there in the living room she pondered exactly where this had come from. The wrapping paper was patterned with snowflakes, so something festive? She had learned from her time in the Federation so far that people from Earth exchanged gifts at Christmas, but Christmas wasn’t something that she did. Oh, wait! After handing over her own gift to be delivered, she had almost completely forgotten about the gift exchange being ongoing. Was that what this was? A moment later she noticed the letter and a quick skim over it confirmed her suspicions: this was part of the secret santa. How exciting! x_divider

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20:57

She crouched down and picked the first of the boxes up while balancing the letter on top of it so she could keep reading. It was heavier than she expected, but soon she had set both boxes down upon the sofa so she could investigate further. The letter itself was intriguing: a gift from someone who hadn’t even met her, that couldn’t have been easy to come up with… And instead of finding one thing, they had found two! It was eagerly (but still with a surgeon’s delicate care) that she unwrapped the first box and then gently hoisted out the item from within. A grin couldn’t be suppressed as she turned it over in both hands, lifting it up just a little so it glistened in the light. The vase was stunning, a mosaic of perfectly put-together pieces and made of the most lovely glass… And then the second box yielded a photo-frame made in the same style, equally as stunning as the vase. Both the items were beautiful. After gently placing both down she scoured over the letter again, looking for a name or a signature or even a hint at who this person might be… But there was nothing, other than that there was a warranty card for where they had been purchased from. Would it defeat the purpose of a secret santa if she tried to get in touch with the craftspeople to see if they had a record of who had bought it? Maybe… So simply choosing to give a mental ‘thank you’ and hope that the sender would somehow hear, she set both the vase and photo-frame aside to find a nice place for them in the morning.

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