Thank you to everybody who read or left kudos for the last chapter. I adore all of it.
Sorry this is late. I was so busy yesterday that I literally forgot to even turn on my computer. I'm just now returning back to work full-time, so it's an adjustment.
Day 351: How to Talk to Your Mom as an Adult
From: MomOU
To: NyotaUM
Time arrived: 2/03/2260 00:00:01
Subject: Happy New Year
I already think 2261 will be a better year for me. I'm already looking forward to not teaching classes next semester. That already makes things better. However, even last year was an improvement on 2059. That was not a good year for anyone. And let's not even talk about the year before that. Let's be honest; everything from 2258 to now has been a little blurry due to high quantities of tragedy and chaos, with the best thing being you adopting Josephine.
The wine country trip was lovely, and I feel completely relaxed for the first time in about four years. It was a good trip where I drank lots of good wine and had the best food. I love actual farm-to-table restaurants without a single replicator in sight.
Expect some very nice bottles of wine and other goodies when you receive your next care package. I plan to have something waiting for you when you arrive at your Starbase in February. Hopefully, you'll see this message before then.
It was also good to be with my friends away from work for a while. Sasha came with her new husband. I hadn't seen them since three assignments ago when they were still dancing around one another. They purposely planned their shore leave to spend time with me. They surprised me with a spa day.
It helped me decompress after Kobayashi Maru hell.
The process was messy, but the plans to sabotage the new course failed miserably. Yes, a bad teacher was chosen on purpose. Unfortunately, I'm not able to give you more details. Of course, the oversight committee is more concerned about Liz passing the Kobayashi Maru than that.
I've spent too much time in meetings talking about Liz's surprise performance. The fact that the head of Starfleet's daughter was the only one who could pass the new test has raised some concerns. Her fiancé is the brother-in-law of the guy who made the exam, and the brother of the other guy who passed it raised more questions. I am still dealing with all of it. It's probably best that Elizabeth Chen is at Yorktown this semester. Also, the big boss chose the best time to do some inspections elsewhere.
I am glad I was nowhere near San Francisco when your father's wedding went down or was supposed to go down. I'm sure by now you know that you don't have a new stepmom. That's what happens when you catch your future husband getting fellatio from your maid of honor and now former best friend an hour before the ceremony. I got all the details from your cousin, but I initially found out from the Starfleet rumor mill because the Starfleet rumor mill is undefeated. Per the video, I saw the almost-bride smack him in the head with her ring when she threw it back at him.
Is it tacky for me to send my almost replacement a "congratulations, you dodged a bullet" bottle of wine? I feel like she deserves it. She is definitely smarter than me. Although I didn't catch him sleeping around until later with the now ex-fiancé. What goes around comes around, or so the old saying goes.
You probably didn't want to hear all these details from your mother, but better me than the rumor mill. You're not a little kid anymore, and you deserve to know the truth.
I'm glad Josephine is using all the art supplies well. Thank you for more snapshots of her work. She is outstanding, and I'm happy I'm helping to foster her creativity. There are more art supplies in the care package as well. Not just paints but also some beads and other supplies to make jewelry. We ran into an art boutique in wine country, and I just had to pick up a few things. I thought Josephine might want to try a different medium.
I understand why you didn't think about planning a video call for December. You were incredibly busy, especially with the Hamilton investigation, before getting ready for the New Vulcan system expiration project. I completely forgot about even suggesting it myself because finals were so chaotic. February works better, anyway. Things don't start to get messy until midterms. I'm hoping the Kobayashi Maru meetings will be over by then. Even if things were quiet by that point, I would always make time to see you and my precious grandbaby. I adore you so much.
So, how are things on the ship going right now? How did your stint as an acting captain go? Did it make you want to consider going back and doing the command track? You know there's an accelerated program for existing officers from other tracks. What are you working on right now? How is Enterprise life? I'm sure so much better than Academy life. Part of me misses being out there, but I think it's essential to make the Academy a better place.
Have you started working with Admiral Pike on the curriculum project? I haven't heard anything about that yet. However, I'm grateful that you're willing to help with the overhaul of the communications department. We're definitely going to need it. What happened on the Hamilton was even messier than I thought it was. We have to do everything possible to keep that from happening again.
Anyway, thank you for more pictures. I love everything from New Vulcan. Several are now posted in my office. I look forward to your next letter and adding more to the collection.
Xxxxx
From: NyotaUM
To: MomOU
time sent: 2/03/2261 13:32:01
Subject: Re: Happy New Year
I'm glad you had a great vacation, and I look forward to my care package. We have about two more weeks before we make our way to a Starbase for repairs and minor renovations. I'm sure I can find some time to have a live video chat. Although the kids will be having a tour of the embassies on base, followed by a day of quality amusement park time. They deserve it, mainly because there won't be another break until summer for the wedding on Yorktown. Unfortunately, some of us might have to stay on the ship that day. It depends on if there's an assignment that sends us to Yorktown or if some of us are just taking shore leave for the wedding.
No matter what, we will make time. Josephine really wants to thank you in person (virtually) for everything. She's working on a painting just for you in addition to what she already sent you for Christmas. I hope you have received that by now. I know Adm. Chen got back to Earth about a week ago. We sent all the Christmas gifts with her. Josephine wants to send you another painting during our break. I will send you pictures of it. I will send you an email to your Starfleet account to work out the logistics of getting the physical copy.
The last few weeks on the ship have been exciting. We discovered an entirely new culture during our explorations. We're currently working on understanding their language. I have been spending quality time with the universal translator algorithm. I think I've made some progress, but we'll probably need more recordings. I'm sure I will be able to get some soon. I'm just happy to actually get my hands on the new language. This is the part of my job I love.
I enjoy discovering new languages and cultures more than actually being in charge. I have no desire to go back and take the accelerated command course. I can cover when everybody else is away, but I have no desire to do this continuously. I was very grateful when Spock arrived, and I could give him back his ship. And it wasn't just because I had to deal with a small attempted coup d'état. However, that was a contributing factor.
Besides, Leonard and I will have fewer difficulties with the two-body problem this way. It probably helps that my partner is OK with not being a chief medical officer on his next assignment. However, he would prefer to be around to keep Jim from going into anaphylaxis. He doesn't trust any other physician with his BFF, even the others on the team.
It's OK for you to tell me details about the wedding that didn't happen. Primarily because I've already heard much worse. The Enterprise rumor mill is the best of the best of Starfleet rumor mills. I even got my hands on the video footage. One of my team members had an aunt at the wedding and was kind enough to send me her videos before most of the ship found out. Although most people know that I hate my father, so they avoid mentioning it in front of me. Which I appreciate.
No, I don't think it's tacky to send her wine, especially if it's good wine. Although maybe not include a card. And definitely don't say I told you so. Mainly because she lost a friend in all of this. Losing a long-term friend can hurt a lot more than losing the guy. I know I did the right thing in cutting Christine off, but I miss her sometimes.
Anyway, I have to ask if you're planning to come to visit in the summer. We would love to see you. I think the semester is just ending when the wedding occurs, or initially when it was. That might change. It was going to be around their daughter's birthday, but our boss may have other plans. That's why I'm uncertain who's even going to be able to go to the wedding now. I'm not sure Adm. Chen will be able to interfere. People are looking at her closely because Liz beat the Kobayashi Maru.
I'm not even surprised there are meetings about Liz. I know Loki unsuccessfully tried to send Liz to judiciaries. There were a few conference calls, per Spock. Although they stopped once, we were dealing with the mini coup d'état. I'm sure you read the details on that.
Anyway, I have to cut this short. My captain's husband just ended up in sick bay because only Jim Kirk can get hurt on a moon. I need to go calm him down. I really should try not to write personal letters during working hours.
To be continued