The incessant ringing of the phone woke Lisa up abruptly from a sweet dream. She heard Rick grumble a dismissal of the call but she picked up the receiver anyway. She heard her night officer on-duty's urgent voice and acknowledged that she would be on her way to the bridge.
"I'll be right there Justin," she acknowledged and was already half out of bed.
"What's going on?" Rick asked half-asleep.
"It might be nothing," she assured him. "But I better check to be absolutely sure."
"Do you want me to come with you?" he offered, starting to get up.
"No, go back to sleep. Besides, one of us has to be here when the kids wake up in the morning."
After hurriedly getting into uniform, Lisa headed to the bridge.

"Report Justin," Lisa asked as soon as she arrived.
"We got this SOS message from Admiral Edwards," he replied and showed her his urgent communiqué. He also drew up the star charts to show the last known location of the scout ship. "What should we do?"
"Send a squadron to assess the situation and assist as needed," she replied. She knew that Edwards wouldn't just call for help unnecessarily but also knew his temper could have sparked something that she wasn't ready to escalate further. "Send me a report as soon as you arrive."
Hours passed before the bridge heard from the squadron leader. It turned out to be a brief skirmish between the planetary residents with the scout ship over a misunderstanding. Apparently they had landed on a sacred area that offended the residents.
"What made you want to land on that planet to begin with?" Lisa asked Admiral Edwards when they re-established communication link. "You know the standard protocol; you observe and report back first."
"We were running low on supplies," Admiral Edwards defended his decision to land on the planet. "We scanned the area and saw abundant resources and didn't think they would mind."
"It's their planet; didn't you think to ask first?" Rick asked angrily. He had been briefed about the incident since he arrived on the bridge. He didn't appreciate Edwards causing such a hubbub especially when it is avoidable.
"We didn't think they would mind nor have the fire power to oppose us," Admiral Edwards responded crossly.
"You're out of line Admiral," Rick warned. "You violated protocol and need I remind you that we won't tolerate that."
Both men seethed as they stared at each other through the screen.
"We'll discuss this when you return to the main fleet," Lisa ordered before turning off the communication link.
"Do you want to relieve him of command?" Rick inquired with concern when they entered her office.
"We're shorthanded as it is so even if I want to throw him in the brig, I can't afford it," she confessed.
"We still need to set an example," he reminded her.
Lisa looked up with a smile at Rick.
"What?" he asked, noting her sweet smile.
"If I punished you for all the time you broke protocol," she reflected. "Am I turning soft, Rick?" She wondered out loud as she sat down in her seat.
"No you're not," he assured her. "But there are some rules that should never be broken. Like this one for example. Now we have to clean up his mess."
"I'll relieve him of command for a few weeks," Lisa suggested. "He can use his shore leaves to lessen the blow. We can ask Exedore to try to patch things up with the residents of that planet."

Two weeks quickly passed and Lisa couldn't wait to see Rick again. She couldn't get to the landing dock quick enough. She had talked with Rick while he was away but the atmosphere had become very disruptive to video transmission so they just stuck to audio.
"Admiral on deck," the on-duty crewman announced when she arrived. She quickly smiled an acknowledgement and headed to Rick's Veritech that just came to a full stop.
"Welcome back Admiral Hunter," she greeted him as he climbed out of his ship. He had his back to her so she hadn't noticed his changed appearance.
"Hello," he greeted as he turned and smiled when he saw her jaw drop. He expected it but still was amazed at how much she could surprise him with her reactions.
"What happened?" she asked, reaching up to touch his jaw covered by a beard before gently running her finger across his mustache.
"Apparently the elders will only talk to us if we sported facial hair," he explained and tilted his head towards Max who had grown his own mustache and beard.
"Hello Lisa," Max cheerily greeted her. "What do you think, should we keep it? It gives us a distinguished look doesn't it?"
"I don't think Miriya will let you," she warned him. And as if on cue, Miriya arrived and gave Max a quizzical look.
"Hi," Max greeted and approached her. He leaned in to kiss her but she stepped back.
"What is that on your face?" she asked with her usual calm demeanor.
"The facial hair on his upper lip is called a mustache and the rest is called a beard," Exedore explained to her. He joined the quartet with his usual clean-shaven face which made both women raise an eyebrow to indicate their unspoken question. "Apparently we Zentraedi's cannot grow facial hair."
"For what purpose?" Miriya asked, also studying her husband's facial hair as Lisa had done before. "It looks hideous."
"I guess you have your answer Max," Lisa teased Max.
"I was just getting used to it," Max replied, stroking his beard like a wise man.
"If you intend to remain my husband, I suggest you get rid of it," Miriya warned, attempting to joke but it came out wrong and prompted Max to nod and appeared ready to shave there and then.

"Admiral Hunter," Admiral Edwards called out to him as he and Lisa were about to enter the lift to take them home.
"Admiral Edwards," he greeted back.
"May I have a word in private?"
Lisa slightly nodded when Rick turned to her and walked out of earshot to give the men privacy.
"What is it?" Rick prompted him when only silence passed between them.
"I would like to thank you for stepping in to diffuse the situation," he finally said, with evident discomfort.
"Actually it's Exedore you should thank," Rick corrected him.
"Then please extend my thanks to the Zentraedi," he said with more discomfort.
"Certainly. Is that all?"
Admiral Edwards nodded and started to walk away.
"I hope you had a good vacation," Rick said.
"It was relaxing. I needed that."

"What was that all about?" Lisa asked when he rejoined her.
"I guess you're not the only one turning soft," he teased her. "I don't think I've ever heard Edwards apologize for anything."
"He did?"
"Well, he thanked me and 'the Zentraedi'," he clarified, using the same tone as Edwards did.
"Wow, that is a big step for him."
"He's probably just still bitter about the war. And working alongside the Zentraedi's can't be easy for him."
Lisa smiled and gave Rick a quick kiss on his cheek. He leaned in for a proper kiss but she drew back.
"So why did you need to grow a beard and mustache again?"
"We told you, the only way we could speak with the elders was if we had facial hair. And since Exedore couldn't, Max and I had to."
Rick watched from the corner of his eye as Lisa waited for further elaboration.
"They wouldn't allow any communication gadgets in the room so Max grew his so he can step out and consult with Exedore while I kept the elders engaged in face-to-face diplomatic dialogue. He was taking breaks so often they thought he had a phobia of enclosed rooms."
Lisa chuckled at that point. Rick couldn't help himself and chuckled with her.

"Am I in trouble?" Rick asked as they got home.
"For what?" Lisa asked, turning to look at him.
"If I keep this," he said, rubbing his beard.
"We'll see," she said coolly and entered their home.
"Daddy!" two young children greeted him and ran up to him.
Rick bent down to lift each child in each arm. Like their mother, they both were drawn to his beard. Risse ventured to touch it while Roy merely stared.
"Daddy, I don't like it," Risse said matter-of-factly. "It's very scratchy."
Lisa gave Rick a quick kiss on his cheek before he bent down to let the children go back to playing.
"I guess I'm out-voted," he said resignedly and started to head to their master bathroom.
Lisa took one quick check of her kids before following him.
Rick was looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror when he saw Lisa walk up behind him. He turned around and handed her his razor. She took it from him and gently ran it along his face covered in shaving foam. When she was done, she leaned in to kiss him on his lips.
"Welcome home."