The End
Posted on Tue Aug 2nd, 2022 @ 1:03am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Remal Kajun
Mission:
*CD*
Location: DS9
Timeline: BACKPOST
The next morning the smell of coffee and something cooking enticed her mind to retreat from the thick and inviting veil of slumber. She rolled over and was somewhat surprised to see Remal still asleep. It took a moment for her mind to register that Patin was also staying with them and had crashed out on the couch the evening before. Always the early riser it appeared she was attempting to make breakfast.
Patin looked up from what she was working on, which appeared to be butter on toast if the charred thing in her hand could qualify as toast. "Morning sunshine. Coffee is hot. I, uh, tried to get the repli-box thingy to make some decent eggs but nothing tasted right so I figured I'd do it myself. Hope you don't mind the mess. Couldn't figure out how to get it to take back what it dished out " she gave a sideways glance at the replicator, shoved full of dishes with the food still on them, piled high. A spot of brown sludge slipped off a plate and onto the floor.
“ Oh good lord” Rhenora took in the scene before her and laughed. She stepped over to the replicator and ordered the system to recycle, the plates and food vanishing from the tray in a shimmer of blue sparkles. Sadly the brown slop on the floor remained.
True to her word though the coffee was strong and hot, significantly less refined in the palette than Remal’s usual offerings, but still, it was again served with a healthy dose of love and humour.
“ It’s… um great” Rhenora got out after the first mouthful of what she would later refer to as ‘rocket fuel’.
Patin sipped her coffee, then poured a shot of something into it and sniffed again with a rather pleased look upon her face. She took a drink and grinned satisfactorily, “So, what’s on the agenda today? I assume a tour of your boat is in order, I mean, eventually anyway?”
The sleek lines of the Sunfire hung from the pylon of DS9 just outside the window, drawing the attention of those within by the sheer magnificence of its presence.
“ That boat, is that starship just over there. Not bad for an ole girl” Rhenora nodded towards the ship out the window as she sipped the rocket fuel AKA coffee. What the heck was in it?
Patin took down another gulp, “Neat. Bit bigger than I expected. When you talked about her before I always imagined something small, feisty, much like yourself.” She grinned as she allowed her left hand to play with the rock that once called itself bread.
“ The previous Sunfire was small, well there’s been a few of them - we may have crashed once or twice” The colour blossomed in the Captain’s cheeks for a moment as she recalled just how many times ship’s bearing the name Sunfire - with her in the CO’s chair…had hit the dirt.
"See, that's why we never let you drive." Patin snorted over the edge of her cup. "Must have been difficult convincing the brass to let you sit in the big chair after crashing more than once. Either that or you've got some right brainless twits in charge." She teased.
“ I wasn’t even driving!” Rhenora retorted before taking a swipe at Patin’s shoulder. “ They weren’t impressed, but in both instances there was little that could have been done to prevent it. We were shot out of the sky, not something I would care to repeat mind you”
Appearing in the doorway with a mighty verbal yawn, Remal scratched his chest, "what are you ladies on about this morning?" Then he spotted the breakfast options and his heart sank. "You… you made breakfast? I mean you shouldn't have, really. Early day and all." He shifted. "Was that a waffle?" He asked himself rhetorically.
“Was… is no more, or more precisely I don’t think it actually made ‘waffle’ status” Rhenora headed over to the kitchen where Patin had managed to not kill toast. “ At least we have a galley on the ship…and I’ll teach you how to use the replicators for food” She was careful with her words, having an inkling Patin would use said replicators for anything BUT food.
Darting her eyes back and forth from Nozzie to Remal, she questioned, "So, is this married life? You sit around each morning discussing mundane things over excellent coffee, eating whatever you want without worry about rationing for survival if a storm or avalanche should bury you alive?" Her eyes had gone dark as if her mind had carried her back to a dark place, but then snapped back as she finished speaking.
"It has its moments, but if we can start the day with routine conversation and good coffee it's a good day. A bad day is no sleep, someone shooting us out of the sky and no coffee" Rhenora laughed as she sipped her coffee, taking in the conflicted emotions flickering across Patin's face.
Remal bit into a piece of waffle and then quickly let it crumble back out of his mouth into a napkin before coughing and then commenting, "Married life is the challenge. The idea of building some together to benefit each other and eventually grow as one. Routine is more of a comfortable piece of a larger patchwork. Without it, chaos fills the void."
"Now see, that's what I like. A huge helping of chaos to start my morning. It keeps my mind fresh and my wits on alert. There is nothing like a fresh kick of adrenaline in the morning, I mean other than this coffee I guess." Patins words betray her slightly as it was evident she was curious about what life was like on the other side of her chaos fence.
"Try the mundane every once and a while, you might like it" Rhenora snorted as she headed to the replicator and ordered up a platter of fruit.
"Mundane huh? Sounds boring." She swigged down the last bit of what was in her cup. "So, where do we begin?" She questioned as she stood up and dropped the robe she had been wearing, revealing that she had nothing on underneath save a pair of panties which had seen better days.
Remal turned his head low and closed his eyes. "Might I suggest a shower, a shave and some new clothes?" He jested with a smile. It was his morning routine after all.
"Shower, clothes and then I can show you this 'tub' as you call it. I believe we have clearance to depart within 6 hours." Rhenora commented as she sampled the fruit on the platter. It was sweet, vibrant and refreshing, unlike Patin's attempt at waffles.
As Patin showered properly for the first time in what could have easily been years, then took the opportunity to replicate a new outfit and boots, complete to her 'current' proportions, Rhenora reflected on the week gone by and what lay ahead.
"Feels a bit weird to be honest, heading back to the ship and our old, new lives I guess you could call it" she admitted as she schooled the shock of grey/blonde hair into something that resembled regulation.
He straightened his tunic in the mirror. “Feels more like returning home after an exhausting trip. You know, the kind where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. And, oh yeah, everyone wants you dead for reasons beyond your immediate control.” He rested his hands upon her shoulders and gave a small squeeze. “Come on, let’s not keep them waiting too long.”
At that, Patin stepped into the doorway looking incredibly uncomfortable in a dark uniform with white accents. She had pulled her hair into something that would barely pass regulations, otherwise she looked like she was ready for Starfleet itself. There was an obvious flask shaped thing in her right pocket. “Well, bit itchy, but how do I look?” She asked honestly.
The Captain did a double take, remembering to stop and pick her jaw up from the carpet. She had never seen Patin in anything other than whatever the Resistance could scrounge up. Browns, greens and golds could be used as camouflage and had become the staple colors of Bajor. Natural fibers were warm when wet, not overly heavy and cool in the heat, giving the population a rustic look. To see Patin in something akin to a uniform was most remarkable.
"I'm speechless" she admitted as Patin did a self satisfied twirl.
“You ready? It’s a new dawn.” Patin offered.
“A new day.” Remal added.
“For all of us.” Rhenora continued. “And I’m feeling… good.” She finished as they headed out.
A short time later the trio left the guest quarters, stopping by to chat with Zio and her family who had decided to remain on Bajor despite the risks. Patin had offered her cabin in the south, Zio said she would consider it. There were hugs, tears and promises to make sure everyone watched their collective asses.
The airlock of the Sunfire loomed up ahead, obscured by the cog shaped Cardassians style airlock. The crewman on duty nodded at Rhenora's approach, pressing the appropriate code in to open the airlock and let the trio board. As she stepped through the airlock there was a subtle change, a lift of the sternum, and slight rise of the chin and a settling of the shoulders. She was no longer just Rhenora, here she was the Captain.
