Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last section. You are great, and I adore every kudos or favorite request.
Day 341: Every End is a New Beginning
From: KirkWX
To: Peter_K
Time arrived: 01/24/2261 00:00:01
Subject: Greetings from Good Nana Kirk
Hey sweetie. I thought I would write you now that I'm getting ready to drop your Aunt Liz and the Babies off at Yorktown. I depart with the admiral in the morning. I am sad for this visit to be over, but I'm already looking forward to the next one. All good things must end eventually, but every end is a new beginning.
In the meantime, I will enjoy every single one of these letters I get from you and your uncle. I also adore all the pictures, but please tell Jim to send more videos. Liz has several. I know he takes them. It's been a quiet trip back so far, although I have at least another week with Adm. Chen and one more surprise inspection. Though I will say, Enterprise is my favorite ship so far. That's because all my favorite people are on that ship. Obviously, I'm biased.
Have you gotten used to being back in classes yet? How did your project go? Will I actually get to read the report? I thought you chose a fascinating subject. The official version of a significant incident is rarely what really happened. The universe knows that the actual version of what happened on Tarsus IV was very different than what the public knows about. Someday I'll write it all down but not today.
Anyway, I'll keep this short because I need to write Kevin too. Liz hasn't got a letter from my son yet, and she's a little annoyed. I just sat back and laughed when the admiral called him after we got here. He really should've just messaged Liz. Oh well, he'll learn.
Xxxx
From: Elizabeth_Chen
To: SuluHG2260
Time arrived: 01/24/2261 00:00:01
Subject: We are adjusting, but the babies miss you
Hey, I know Ben wrote you a rapid message when we first arrived, but I wanted to follow up the old-fashioned way. Besides, I have yet to hear from my boyfriend, so I'm bored. My mom even yelled at him for me for being an idiot and not using rapid messaging privileges when he should have. He's trying to avoid all accusations of nepotism from what I've gathered from my mom. My boyfriend should just get over it.
Don't worry, I told him that in my letter multiple times. I feel like I'm dating an idiot. I love the guy, but he can be frustrating sometimes. I've been told it's a Kirk trait and apparently one that even adoptive Kirks pick up. So we're all in trouble.
The babies are adjusting well to being with mommy and daddy. Although they miss you a lot. There was a lot of crying the first day, but it got better on the ride here. Now they're having loads of fun exploring the space station.
Thankfully there are a few children their age year already, so they have playmates for the playground. A few embassies are already populated, along with most commercial properties. Some of those were filled this past summer. There are so many more people here now. That means the base is officially open for business.
All the construction is done, which is good with the kids wanting to touch everything. They absolutely would dive headfirst into a construction site. The buildings were still works in progress when we were here. The Starfleet shipyard will also be operational soon. I'm grateful my internship is not there. Although it is in the office of Commodore Paris so that could be bad. I may be dealing with my own nepotism accusations, but I can deal with that tomorrow. Sue is starting tomorrow too. I think we're in different offices. I hope so.
I have way too much free time on my hands right now. It feels weird not raising a toddler and going to classes full-time simultaneously. All of a sudden, I actually have time to do things and don't have anybody to do them with. Maybe I'll make some friends on the starbase.
Of course, I'll be watching the girls sometimes. At least once a week so their grandma can have a break, but it's different than being responsible for everything. And I'm trying very hard to let Ben and Sue take the lead with D. I don't want her to think she can come to me when they say no because they are her parents. It's an adjustment.
Anyway, what's happening on Enterprise? Did you find any cool plants?
Xxxxx
From: SuluHG2260
To: Elizabeth_Chen
Time sent: 01/24/2261 06:23:01
Subject: Re: We are adjusting, but the babies miss you
I miss them too. Thank you for writing. I look forward to your letters as always. Especially because you sent a bunch of baby pictures. They're all adorable.
I understand that this is a significant change for you. You went from being a full-time parent with your partner to being by yourself with the occasional babysitting on what should be considered a different planet. You're now several light-years away from your non-Ben friends and your boyfriend. It's a lot to adjust to, and it may be challenging. But you can talk to me about that. Also, talk to your sister. I don't want you completely out of the girls' lives because you are a crucial part of that.
I know you're sad. Being away from your fiancé sucks. It's the number one reason I'm hoping family assignments will become a thing again. It didn't hurt as much with Sue here, but now that she's gone, it's been lonely.
Most of my friends have their significant other with them on ship. Actually, they even have their kids here. There are some advantages to starting with preteens and teenagers. Even Rebecca is gone. I miss my sparring partner though Reyes came with skills. See, making new friends is possible.
At least I have interesting work to keep me occupied. I'm very grateful I double-tracked. The botany background has been more useful recently. We did find a lot of cool plants. We found some cool other stuff that I'm not at liberty to discuss. But the Vulcan botanical gardens will be very happy with what the VSA team brings back.
We are now on to the next planet. We're doing a couple of extra days of remote censoring before I lead the team down to collect samples. We're trying to avoid a repeat of the Fraggles incident. Don't ask. Just know that the prime directive wasn't broken, we think.
I want to hear all about your new job. Are you just working, or are you taking classes part-time? Of course, I want to hear more stories about how everybody is adjusting to Yorktown. Although I feel like you're all still unpacking at this point.
Also, I have pictures of Peter and Josephine from fencing practice. They would be furious if I didn't send you pictures. Also, I expect them to write to you. Actually, you might get a letter or two from Spock's sister. She has the writing people for her class assignment. I got my first letter today. She sent it to my work account, but it's okay. I answered all her questions about plants. I will make a botanist out of her yet. Spock is sad she wrote to me before him. But I think she just wanted more baby videos and needed actual help with a specific homework project.
Xxx
From: Peter_K
To: KirkWX
Time sent: 01/24/2261 20:23:01
Subject: Re: Greetings from Good Nana Kirk
I'm glad you wrote. I miss you too. It's good to have not evil family. I was initially afraid to have a grandmother again after what happened last time. But you are so much better than her. You actually care, which makes a big difference.
I hope Uncle Kevin has emailed Aunt Liz by this point. Although Uncle Jim said he was worried about the other interns making fun of him because of his family, which is kind of stupid. Josephine said that happened to her early on with the other Enterprise kids. Ashley 1 apologized again for being a bitch early on. So I can understand why Kevin is worried, but that should not keep him from rapid messaging.
I hope we start getting regular letters from him soon. I don't know how far away their ship is. I was told that before the Vengeance incident, most email messages were rapid by default, at least among the upper levels. That stopped after because all the personal messages were being screened.
Maybe Kevin is just super busy. Per Ashley three's new girlfriend, Jacqueline Ortega, being an intern is exhausting. The first week is the worst because you learn everything you don't know. Don't worry, Jacqueline is only 17. She is just another super genius and super cool.
I've adapted back to being in class all the time. I miss the more hands-on stuff we were doing in New Vulcan. Although Gina and Spock are talking. They're going to try to come up with more practical lessons on the ship. We already have our own science lab, which is nice. Also, there are plans to make us a fun space. That would be good, especially if we get more kids on the ship.
Yes, you can read a copy of our report, but Uncle Jim or Spock needs to send it to you. It may be classified. There is a lot in there. Although I kept some things out, like what happened when Uncle Spock's mom died. That felt too personal. It was hard for him to talk about that. But then he told me fun stories about her. I'm sad I didn't get to have her as a grandmother. She would've been fantastic.
It's okay that you're not ready to talk to me about Tarsus yet. I don't know if I'm prepared for that conversation about Sam yet. I've gotten enough from bits and pieces from Liz and Kevin to know it's going to be a tough conversation. Someday we will be ready, but not now.
Anyway, here are more pictures, mainly from the fencing club. I'm doing pretty good, although Josephine is so much better. She did start before me. I'm working on it.
To be continued.