Mountain Home, Idaho
Earth
"Come on girl, we're almost there!"
Comrose was turning thirteen this year. She couldn't move that fast anymore, bad hips and half deaf in one ear as she was, but that never stopped her one purpose in life.
Protecting her master.
Comrose barked as she tried to climb over the next rock, but it was proving difficult with her bad rear hips. She tried her best, but struggled under the powdered snow and the high rock.
"Fine, fine, I'm coming. I'll carry you the whole way if I have to, lazy."
As her master grumbled, Comrose relaxed herself as she was scooped up and secured to her master's pack with straps on her chest harness.
From above, the other master called down. "Hurry it up a bit, feannas! We're almost at the top!"
Comrose allowed herself to sniff into the morning air. This high in the air and at this time of day, there wasn't much else to smell besides the cold winter air, and her master's scent. She was working much harder than usual, breathing hard and in a profuse sweat.
Master continued to climb, shuffling to keep Comrose stable on her back while she reached for a new rock. She didn't quite understand how the Master was able to climb things with only two legs, but she did it anyway.
Comrose decided to encourage the master by licking her neck, which caused her to shudder slightly in the cold air.
"One… more… rock," Master grumbled, reaching up as high as she could.
She hesitated, just before she reached to the top, and pulled both of them up.
The second master came over and helped the first, pulling everyone up to their spot at the top of the large rock. The Masters both unhooked Comrose from her straps, and all three took a seat on the snow to admire the view.
Rela spoke first. "Wow. This is a great view, Kayla. And you never came up here before?"
"Nope," Kayla replied as she stroked Comrose's head, "I always wanted to, just to see what was on the other side. But I guess I needed more friends to help me out. Right girl?"
Comrose could only yawn in response as Kayla gently petted her head.
"Worth it," said Kayla.
─•~:~•─
After a shorter trip climbing down the mountain, Kayla, Rela and Comrose stepped inside the back door mudroom, only to be cut off by the harsh voice of Evelyn.
"Girls! Just look at your feet! Off with those boots, right now!"
Each of the three looked down at their feet. Mud and snow and dirt were tramped in from the cold mountain.
Kayla and Rela instantly reached down and unlaced their FMC issue boots, while Comrose waited patiently for someone to bring her a towel. Evelyn walked over and promptly took up each paw, gently wiping them down.
"Honestly. I swear the older you three get, the worse behaved you become," Evelyn grumbled as she continued to clean the dog.
Comrose barked, only for Evelyn to gently pop her snout. "And yes, I was talking to you as well. Always lazing about and letting the sheep go wild in the yard."
"Oh be nice to her, Evelyn, she just wanted to make sure I didn't fall down the mountain," Kayla protested, putting her boots in the appropriate cubby.
"It was all their idea, Ms. Evelyn, I got dragged into it over my own objections," Rela added as she put her boots beside Kayla's.
"Oh, as if I'll believe a Romulan has to be talked into an adventure in intrigue. Now get yourselves into the kitchen, Louis is liable to start throwing knives about!" Evelyn commanded, gently pushing the girls inside.
Kayla led the motley troupe into the kitchen, grabbing an apron and sliding beside Louis.
"Bonsoir, Chef. Comment alle?" Kayla asked.
"Tabernacle!" Louis shouted, "Don't think your charm with francophone makes up for being late for dinner, petit!"
"I still don't get why you don't use a replicator for this, Louis. It would be so much easier," Rela suggested, draping on her own apron.
"Tabernacle du replicator! How many times must I tell you Rela, the day we get a replicator in this house will be the day I jump off that mountain!" Louis shouted again.
Rela scoffed as she poured the cream in for the pudding, "You hevams make it so much harder than it has to be."
"I heard that," Kayla replied harshly.
Kayla started chopping the onions and the mushrooms, careful to pace herself with the blade in hand. Training had made her very, very efficient at handling a blade, even without her talents.
She knew, from memory, the exact consistency that onions needed to be caramelized to make an optimal flavour. She could smell the cream being mixed with the chocolate for Rela's devlan pudding, noting that Rela had misjudged the chocolate amount by about three grams.
Her eyes spotted the ever so slight imperfections in the mushrooms – which the case falsely advertised as being 100% Canadian fresh – and carefully brushed aside the ones that weren't perfect.
And as Kayla cradled the final onion with the perfect tennis ball-like grip that Louis had taught her a decade ago, she went out of her way to angle the knife so that a few slices would be slightly too big.
Finishing the mix, she handed the small ramakins to Louis, "Here we go. I'm going outside to start the barbecue for the steaks, oui?"
"Oui, petit," Louis said as threw both small bowls into the pan, "And don't forget the sauce at the end!"
Kayla smiled, "I wont. Rela, how do you want your steak done?"
"Medium, no blood. I'm not a fan," the Romulan replied, taking her bowl to the mixer.
Kayla grabbed the pack of steaks from the fridge and opened the back door. Comrose, never needing an excuse to go outside, followed closely behind, though Kayla was careful to keep her a reasonable distance from the pack in her right hand.
"These aren't for you girl; you get a taco after dinner!"
While she scolded the dog, Kayla leaned down to trip the proton igniter for the barbeque. Just as she hit the switch, two Federation transporter beams formed just to her right.
Training said she should have reacted instantly, weapon out and seeking cover. But based on the timing and the guest list, Kayla knew it was a friendly transport. She peeked up, and snapped at attention for the first guest.
"Captain Tanaka! Welcome to my home, Ma'am!" Kayla said with a sharp salute.
Yue laughed as she returned Kayla's salute. "At ease Marine, you're supposed to be off duty anyway."
"Regs, Captain. Besides, Mom would tear a strip out of me if I forgot to salute," Kayla said, lowering her arm and looking over at Mom.
"From what Evelyn tells me, you could use a good tearing every now and then, Little One," Rain Kaimeao said as she walked over and gave her adopted daughter a hug.
"Sorry we're late. The Captain here insisted on dragging me to some commencement address at the Fishie Academy, and I was bored stiff as the graduates pestered me with endless questions about transfer credits and such," Rain continued, helping Kayla open the pack of steaks.
"Oh please. Like you needed an excuse to wear that dress," Yue added, pointing at Rain's MDU-coloured grey dress.
"One of us has look presentable, Darling. Or do you prefer the leather all the time? I might have something upstairs that would work better than an SDU," Rain replied, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek.
Yue Tanaka was wearing a standard issue Starfleet Duty Uniform, consisting of a black leather jacket, offset by white shoulder panels and a streak of red running along her shoulders, signifying the Command division, with the white shoulders noting that she was a Starship Captain.
The uniform was very stylish in Kayla's mind, at least more so than a Marine Duty Uniform, still made from replicotton.
"I am a fan of leather," Yue replied as she threw a steak on to the grill.
"Gross, guys. And don't mess with my steaks!" Kayla protested.
"Where's that sister of yours?" Rain asked, "Don't tell me you stuck her on the mountain again."
"Rela's inside arguing with Louis and making pudding. Leave it to her to start arguing with a chef, right?"
Yue again laughed. "I'll take care of that. I know a thing or two about dealing with Romulans. See you inside."
As the Captain left to deal with the squabbling pair inside, Rain hopped on the brick wall beside the barbeque and looked at Kayla. "Oh, she has her ways, doesn't she? I supposed getting dragged to Academy events isn't all that bad."
"I'll take your word for it, Mom," Kayla replied as she flipped the steaks, "Are you ever gonna propose to her?"
Rain let out a mocking gasp. "I'll have you know I've a very carefully orchestrated plan for that, Young Lady. And ideally, you'll be on leave when it happens."
"You really think I can swing leave even after doing the 30 Miler?"
"I'm not above using my influence to make Jack sign off on it, Little One."
Kayla raised an eyebrow. "I thought you retired? General Marshall is pretty strict on stuff like that."
Rain winked. "He'd be nowhere without me. Never underestimate the power of a wink. Speaking of which, how come some handsome young devil from the Squirrels isn't helping you with these steaks?"
"Mom!" Kayla protested.
Rain couldn't help but laugh. "You're eighteen now, Little One! Surely there has to be one out there."
Kayla shook her head. "I told you before with Zelina. Boys are stupid, girls are dumb except for you, Yue, Evelyn, Rela and Eyos, and I don't have time to be gross because I have to run the Crucible on Monday."
Rain hopped off the wall and gently held Kayla by her shoulders. "Oh you're still so easy to tease. But I'm glad you still found some time to relax. Don't be like me and let work take over your life."
Kayla flipped the steaks again, checking the temperature on Rela's. "I was paying attention to a few of your stories, you know. Besides, everyone at Sandhurst got the weekend for Federation Day. What else was I gonna do? Any tips on the Crucible?"
"None that you probably don't already know. And I suggest you don't hold back either. I told Jack to make it extra tough for you."
"You mean hold back normally? Or hold back on me?"
Rain turned her tone serious. "Both, Little One. I've been keeping up with your med reports too, especially the ones I have to alter. Your abilities are starting to manifest quite well. It's an edge you must put to the best possible use."
"I know," Kayla sighed, "It's just tough, you know? I'm going out of my way to hide it, if only to make sure Rela keeps up, but sometimes its hard. I just wanna cut loose, really impress everyone."
"I do know, Little One. I went through much the same thing at your age, and that was without the benefit of a sister. And I still hate myself for letting you go through that."
"Hey," Kayla said, putting her hand on Rain's shoulder, "I thought we covered that ten years ago, Mom. You were in the middle of killing the Borg Queen when it all went down. And all your friends were there to help me, like Uncle Mark and Cousin Vir. So, stop blaming yourself, alright?"
Rain let out a gentle smile. "I can already see that you're going to be a far wiser Marine than I ever was, Little One. You have a deal."
Kayla heaped the steaks onto the plate and turned for the door. "By the way, I thought Uncle Mark was coming by for this?"
Rain laughed again. "Oh, his aunt dragged him into catering the graduation ceremony at the Academy. He said he might try to make your Black Beret ceremony if he got away, assuming he's not drunk of course."
Kayla shook her head. "I thought getting married meant he'd drink less?"
"Have you met his wife Ro, Little One? That woman could drink either of us under the table. Now, lets get these steaks inside, I'm absolutely starving."
─•~:~•─