A Father's Pride
Posted on Fri Mar 26th, 2021 @ 12:15am by Lieutenant Mila Lynn & Sublieutenant Miles Lynn & Major Ashley Rogers
3,309 words; about a 17 minute read
Mission:
Chapter IV: Unravelling the Mystery
Location: I.R.W. Ourainavassa
Timeline: 238702.13
Three days had passed since the Ourainavassa had reached Cera, and repairs were well underway. The harbourmaster, Lieutenant Colonel Rukova, had been surprisingly fast in supplying the needed parts, and it was estimated that the ship would be back in action in around a week's time. Ten days, Mila corrected herself. After all, Cera used a decimal time system. Raven was expected to be in medbay for some time yet, so Mila had taken it upon her to look after Eavy. She enjoyed spending time with the little creature, she mused, as she watched Eavy happily jump around the hydroponics bay, chasing an insect. She had been surprised to find that hydroponics was one of the very few areas of the ship that had sustained no significant damage at all. Much to everyone's annoyance, the mess hall had taken a heavy hit, with most of the kitchen having been lost to a hull breach. So, in order to keep morale up and stomachs full, the largest holodeck had been running a simulation of an old earth pub non-stop since they arrived at Cera.
Mila chuckled to herself. It was remarkable how, no matter how difficult the situation, this strange crew always found a way to adapt. Suddenly, her combadge buzzed, and Mila activated her hearing implant. "Lieutenant Lynn here, what's up?"
::It's Miles. Dad is here and wants to see us.::
Mila frowned. They had not seen their parents since they had run away from Cera, nearly three years ago. Of course, their parents coming to see them if they got word that they were in the system. Still, it would not likely be a very pleasant visit. She sighed, and tapped her badge again. "I'm in hydroponics with Eavy. Is he on board?"
::Not yet, but he has requested permission to board. Said he has an important family matter to discuss.::
"Right. Let's hear what he has to say, then. We'll meet him in our quarters."
::Right. Be there in five.::
Mila stood from where she was sat on the grass, and picked up Eavy, before once again tapping her badge. "Lieutenant Lynn to Major Rogers. Ash, Miles just told me our father wants to meet with us. We'll be seeing him in our quarters in five minutes. Could you be there as well, please?"
Harald Oskarsson Lynn was not an imposing man. Short, stocky, and balding, with only a tuft of grey hair around his temples, and thick-rimmed, black glasses, he had often been compared in appearance to the classic Earth actor Danny DeVito. He was sat in one of the armchairs in the twins' living room, wearing a worn-out grey suit and a white shirt with the top two buttons open, showing a little bit of white chest hair. He had brought an equally battered leather case with him, which was now sat on the floor next to his chair. Miles had taken a seat on the sofa, opposite him, and Mila was standing by the replicator. "Coffee, tea, anything?," she asked. She was speaking out loud as a courtesy to her father, who had never quite mastered sign language as well as his wife had.
"Coffee, cream and two sugars, please," Lynn replied, and his daughter quickly retrieved four coffees. "Four?", he asked. "Are we expecting someone?"
Miles nodded. "Yes, we've asked the acting CO of the ship to join us, Major Ash Rogers. She's the one who got us onto the crew in the first place."
Harald took the coffee, and smiled. "Ah, thank you, Mila. When Igor told me he had escorted a heavily damaged Romulan warbird, commanded by a human, with my two kids on board, in for repairs, I couldn't believe what he was saying." He looked around. "And yet, it is true. Here you are. It has been too long."
Ash rang the door chime, feeling a little uneasy meeting the father of the twins. He wanted to punch him in the face for abandoning his kids, but she was no different abandoning Renee. Yet she straightened her clothes and smoothed down her hair, wanting to make a good impression. She strolled in as she usually did and saw who must be the twins' father sitting in a chair.
She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but her near 6 foot frame loomed tall over the man. "Hello," she greeted him politely, "I'm Major Ashley Rogers, welcome on board the Ourainavassa." She looked over to Mila and Miles for support and for cues on whether they did want her to punch him.
Lynn stood, and extended his hand towards the Major. "Major Rogers, it is a pleasure. I am Professor Doctor Harald Oskarsson Lynn, head of the department of cybernetics and professor in cybernetic engineering at the Sunrider Institute. Miles said you are the acting commander of this ship?"
Mila secretly signed to Ash He's okay. Don't sign, he understands it.
Ash subtly nodded at Mila and smiled at the Doctor, "Yes, I am. We ran into some trouble protecting a convoy. You have great kids, Professor. Miles is an incredible pilot and Mila is a genius. You must be quite proud." She can't help but wonder about her own family... proud isn't exactly the word she would think her mother would use if she saw her now. Ash pushed that thought out of her head.
Lynn smiled. "Yes, I am. They are remarkable."
Mila addressed Ash. "Please, Ash, take a seat, have a coffee."
Her father, too, sat back down. "It's been nearly three years since the day we woke up to find you gone." He hung his head, with a pained expression. "Your mother, it broke her heart, and it broke mine. We went straight to the police, of course, and filed a missing persons report. It didn't take them long to come back to us. We were sitting there, in our kitchen, the birthday cake that Lilija had worked so hard on was still on the countertop. The inspector came and told us that someone had purchased two tickets on an offworld transport using her credit chip. All he could tell us that it was a vessel registered to a company on Qo'nos. We knew that our greatest fears had come true. That you had left us."
A single tear rolled down his cheek. "She couldn't take it. She became obsessed with trying to find you, to get you back. Then they found the cancer. It was too late, the doctors said. They gave her three months."
He looked up at his children in sorrow. "She had four. The day she died, one of your racing magazines was delivered to our house. We had never cancelled the subscription. The cover was talking about this young hotshot that was starting to make waves on the racing circuits of Estar III. We quickly found the article, and what did we see? A picture of the two of you, smiling and lifting a trophy." He choked. "Lilja was so happy. 'My boy has found his calling', she said. Then she had a seizure, and never woke up. The last thing she saw in her life was you two being happy."
Mila looked at her brother, who had tears running down his face.
"Mama is... gone?", he muttered.
"Yes. Six months after you left." The professor took a deep breath. "I decided then and there that enough was enough. I gave up bioengineering, switched back to cybernetics. I plunged myself into my work. Knowing that you were out there, living your lives the way you wanted them to be, that was enough for me. I thought, no, I knew that I would never see you again. And I had to accept that."
Ash paused mid-sip of her coffee... she definitely wasn't expecting that to be his story. She always thought the twins ran away from a bad situation and were abandoned by their parents... Ash looked over at the twins and her cold unfeeling heart broke a little to see their faces. "They're home now, Professor."
Harald looked at Ash, and looked around the room, seeing how the twins had begun to decorate it. There was a small shelf with Miles' racing trophies, a large collection of old-fashioned paper books that were obviously Mila's... yes, this did look like a home. He smiled. "So it would seem, Major," he finally said. "I am just so sad that Lilja never got to see it. I mean, look at you two," he continued, turning back to his children, Miles in his vintage Starfleet captain's jacket with his Sublieutenant's insignia pinned to the chest, and Mila, in a simple, white shirt dress and her usual black vest with her Lieutenant's crescents reflecting the light from the ceiling above them.
"I am so happy, and so proud, of both of you. When you disappeared, we feared what might become of you, but it is obvious that you have done so well for yourselves."
Mila suddenly got up and went over to her father, hugging him tightly. "I missed you, dad," she said into his shoulder, trying to hide the fact that she, too, was in tears. "I missed you too, my little flower."
After almost a minute, the young scientist let go of her father and turned to Ash. "You see, it was our mother who had this whole obsession with us having to be perfect." She sat on the side of the armchair, as her father continued.
"Yes," he chuckled. "Lilja was a force of nature, and a brilliant mind unlike any I've ever seen. She could read any genetic code and tell you exactly what it would produce. Her work in modified crops still forms the foundation of Cera's agricultural sector. When she said she could apply the same things to animals, even humanoids, nobody believed her. So, when she fell pregnant, she decided to prove all her doubters wrong. She went and modified the embryo's genetic code, enhancing the positive and removing the negative. And it worked! I didn't know what she was doing until our children were born, and when she told me, we had the biggest fight we'd ever had. 'These are our children,' I told her. 'They are not some lab experiment.' Of course, it had already been done, and it was irreversible."
He took a sip from his coffee. "Of course, when we realised that her meddling had led to your disabilities, she took it like a scientist. 'It is to be expected that the first prototype has flaws', she said. And she became obsessed with molding you two into her vision of perfection. She forgot to let you just be children. I told her it would drive you away, and it did."
"To be honest, I wasn't sure how I felt when Miles flew our broken ship to Cera... but I'm glad we're here now. And that you can see them again and see who they've become," Ash said. "Mila's taught me that you can't change the past, but you can control the present. Seems like we'll be here a while... and all of you have a lot to catch up on." She was starting to feel like an awkward 3rd wheel in this family reunion, but Mila invited her, and she could never disappoint the kids.
Miles, who had stayed silent the whole time, smiled and finally spoke. "I never blamed you, dad. Or Mama, for that matter. But all the pressure was breaking Mila. Mama didn't see it, I don't know if you did, but I had to get her out of there. And now, she's the Chief Science Officer on one of the most advanced ships in the quadrant. She's done wondrous things. I think Mama would be proud of her. She would see that Mila turned out the way she wanted her to. And it's thanks to Ash here."
Harald closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, she would be proud. Of both of you. You say it's thanks to the Major? How did you wind up here, if I may ask?"
Mila shrugged. "We had hit a hard patch when Miles' racing luck took a turn. I still think we were sabotaged. We ended up on this dodgy station, trying to find a way to make money, and we were struggling. Then someone tried to kidnap me right in the middle of the day. Ash stopped him. When we told her a bit of our story, she signed us up for this crew. Miles' flying has saved us several times. We wouldn't have gotten out of that mess back at the nebula if it hadn't been for him."
The professor looked at the Major. "You saved my children's lives and gave them a home? Major, I am deeply in your debt. A debt that I will never be able to repay. But I can try. The patent fees I still get from my late wife's work are immense. As long as you are here on Cera, I will pay for everything you and your crew need. It is the least I could do for what you have done for my kids."
Ash's eyes widened, "I.... I can't possibly accept. Granted our Ferengi business manager would kill me if I didn't... I was only doing what was right. The fact that they're both such amazing people has been a gift all on its own. They've helped me a lot too. We have a very large ship and a lot of damage... I don't want to take advantage of you."
The professor shook his head. "No, Major, I insist. Besides, if you paid in latinum, you would get ripped off. The only way to get a fair deal here is to pay in Ceran Union Credits, and I doubt you have a single CUCred between the entire crew. Also, I would like to offer something to your medical department. You see, I have developed a series of highly customisable prosthetics and cybernetics that are all easily assembled from replicated parts. I will send the whole set of blueprints over, free of charge, of course."
Miles shook his head. "Dad, you know you don't have to do this."
"No, Miles, I don't, you are right. But I want to." Harald shrugged. "Besides, it's not as if I need any money."
"I'm sure our medical staff would be very grateful for such a generous gift," Ash said. She could just see Nancy beating Kaol back with her bat'leth. "I have to ask again, are you sure? Having Miles and Mila on board is not something I feel like I need to be paid for..." She looked over at Mila and Miles, seeking advice on what to do.
"You have given my children a home on your ship, Major. A ship that is in dire need of repair. What kind of father would I be if I did not want those repairs done fast, to the highest quality?" The professor smiled. "I insist."
Mila laughed. "Just take it, Ash. He won't give up. Thank you so much, dad."
Ash shook her head with a smile, "I suppose you're right... thank you." She then looked the Professor in the eyes, "In full disclosure, I was ready to punch you in the face because I erroneously assumed that you willingly abandoned them.... now I feel like a complete fool and you're still extending incredible hospitality to me and this ship. You Lynns.... sure know how to put me in my place..."
Professor Lynn laughed. "I see the best traits of the family seem to have been preserved." He reached for the leather case. "I have brought something else. Mila, you are a scientist, right?" He opened the case, and pulled out a white jacket with golden shoulder boards, trimmed in blue. "This was your mother's uniform jacket when she served as a science officer in the CDF." He handed the jacket to Mila. "Coincidentally, she was a Lieutenant. Just like you are now. I know she would want you to have this. I have the matching lab coat for you, too."
Mila was stunned as she held the jacket, a simple, double-breasted blazer with two rows of golden buttons. The buttons were embossed with a stylised phoenix, the emblem of the CDF's space fleet. Carefully, she put it on - it was a perfect fit. "Thank you," she whispered, as she ran her hands over the soft fabric.
Ash smiled proudly at Mila, "Looks good on you, kiddo. The sky's the limit... for both you and your brother. I'm sure your mother would be proud of you both."
Mila beamed with happiness, as her father reached back into the case. "Don't worry, Miles, just because you are being your usual quiet self, I haven't forgotten about you." He pulled out a rather large item that was covered with a piece of cloth. "I don't know if you knew, but many generations ago, your ancestor Mika Häkkinen was a very, very successful racing driver back on earth." He pulled the cloth off the item he was holding, revealing a white helmet with a dark top, and a three horizontal stripes in increasingly darker shades of blue around it. Below the bottom stripe, the name MIKA was written out in thick, black lettering.
"This is the helmet he wore when he won the Formula One world championship in 1999. It has been in the possession of our family ever since."
Miles' eyes grew wide. He had watched so many old recordings of Formula One races, in fact they were what had fuelled his love for racing in the first place. Gingerly, he got up and took the helmet from his father. "This.. this is a priceless historic artifact. I can't keep this, dad. At least, not here. Not on a ship that is always getting into risky situations."
His father chuckled. "I knew you would say that. So, I have brought you something else, too." He got up and went over to the replicator, inserting a small datachip. A moment later, he returned, holding another helmet - a modern-day racing pilot's helmet, decorated with the same design, but with one difference - it carried the name MILES. He handed it to his son. "This is one that you will actually be able to use, I hope. And, one day, when you decide to turn your back on life on a privateer ship, the original will be waiting. I will keep it safe for you."
The former assassin is not normally affected by emotional scenes, but this was almost.... almost bringing a tear to her eye. "Professor, I bear no gifts to you but a broken ship you're paying to fix... well other than reuniting you with your children. But I want to promise you, sir, that as long as these two are under my protection, I will do everything I can to keep them safe so that they may one day come home to you. You have my word and these two can attest, I will do anything to keep them safe."
The professor nodded. "Thank you, Major. I believe you." He glanced up at the chronometer. "Unfortunately, I need to get back to the Institute. However, I would like to invite you to join me in my home for dinner tomorrow. I know, you and your crew have not been cleared to planetside, but I hold a high enough position on Cera that a personal invitation supersedes this."
"I think some of the crew might be jealous... but I accept your offer. You have been far too kind," she smiled at Miles and Mila, "I'd love to see where these two came from."
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