Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last set of conversations. I appreciate it.
I'm sorry this chapter is late. My dad had a heart attack about a month and 1/2 ago. I was away taking care of him. He's doing much better now. Unfortunately, I am extremely behind in writing. I hope to catch up soon.
Day 402: Yes, I need to write more.
From: Elizabeth_Chen
To: Peter_K; kitten_loverJJMU
Time arrived: 3/25/2261 00:00:01
Subject: Apologies for this taking at least a month
Sorry again for not responding immediately when I got your letter. The arrival of your letter reminded me that I had yet to reply to Sulu. His letter made me remember to write to Jim. I need to catch up on correspondence. I'm even down to writing Kevin every other day.
Midterms are exhausting, especially when you're trying to fit them into the rest of an already busy schedule. Thankfully, it's primarily essays. I have been working on them for a while. I just hit the send button on the last one and am free at least until finals. I realize that's going to happen during the wedding. This is going to suck.
I just had one exam. I ended up having to take it at 11 PM our time yesterday. I don't know why I had to take it at the same time as everybody else when I watched lectures on my own time. Apparently, they were worried about one of my classmates sending me answers. That could have been solved by making a second test for those not taking the exam in real-time. I know I'm not the only person taking this class from a ship or Starbase. However, that would mean extra work for the professor, and you know that wasn't happening. Also, fuck Loki. Because of her, my academic integrity is still being questioned.
I'm sure you've heard from your Uncle Jim that I had to go through a second academic dishonesty trial. I couldn't talk about it, so I couldn't mention anything at Gina's wedding. Thankfully, it's been resolved in my favor again. Yet, I'm still dealing with the aftermath because a professor is making me take an exam at 11 at night with another officer in the room. An officer who could not be my sister. Thankfully, the educational program head was willing to do it.
I expect to get at least half a grade lower just because I was half asleep taking the exam. Again, I deeply regret doing a full course load. Never try to do an internship and a full course load. Bad things happen. This happens when I get mad at my academic advisor and want to prove them wrong. Mistakes were made.
I heard from Gina that the program is not ending. I've also seen all the celebration pictures from the amusement park. I'm glad it was a celebration and not a final goodbye. That being said, your real friends will stick by you. I ended up in California, and Kevin ended up in Iowa after we returned from Tarsus hell. Yet we never stop talking to each other. A few times, it was close when he started dating idiots. However, that was more us not acknowledging that the relationship had switched from platonic to romantic. We were both idiots in that regard. But we're getting better.
Kids, trauma is weird. It manifests itself in bizarre ways. There's no wrong way to deal with it. If the thought of living on a colony full-time makes you apprehensive, then that's OK. What's good, Peter, is that you realize that is something for you to work on in therapy. I wasn't always the best about that. Ask Grandma Chen about how many therapy sessions I skipped out on during the first year. I think she signed me up for Brazilian jujitsu as a way for me to work through some of the trauma that didn't involve underage drinking. Or cannabis brownies.
Kevin had other coping strategies because Winona was her own version of scared sober. Jim too. Ask Uncle Jim about the lost years. There were a lot of bar fights and arrests. Kevin had to get Jim out of jail at least once. That's another story to ask your uncle about. Sorry, this turned into my don't self-medicate PSA. A necessary PSA when you've dealt with as much trauma as we have. (And substance abuse issues run in the family.)
What projects are you working on now? Anything interesting. Did you have midterms as well? How did they go? I'm sure you all did well.
I find it amusing that one of your projects had to be classified. Yet, I'm not surprised. My second hearing for the academic dishonesty case is also classified because I accidentally let it slip that I was a Tarsus survivor. Oops.
The information regarding Tarsus survivors is classified. I think that's to make it harder for us to go on talk shows and talk about what shit really went down. I guess Mom is considering changing that. She wants Starfleet to be more transparent, and that's another way it can become so.
She has a whole list of things that she wants to accomplish before they get annoyed with her and kick her out. She thinks she has at least three more years and plans to make the most of it. The first order of business is getting the kids' program rolled out to other ships. The second is getting rapid messages reinstated as the default—or at least accessible to everybody and not just command without authorization from up the chain.
The babies are sad that they missed you guys at the surprise wedding. Unfortunately, nap time always comes first. We look forward to seeing you when you're here for the Yorktown wedding. I think I'll have at least three weeks before Kevin and I return to San Francisco with Winona and the rest of the Earth contingent. Or we're waiting until my mom returns from the Federal General Assembly.
It would make sense if we're returning to Earth with the delegation. I hope that's the case because we'll spend more time together. Even though that will cut into my summer break. I'm getting one. Kevin is taking more classes. We're trying our hardest to graduate simultaneously to make it easier for tandem assignments. This is another reason I should not have taken a full class load in addition to the internship. Oh, well, we'll figure it out eventually. I will probably pick up another elective. Or I could always double track like my brother-in-law.
Anyway, more pictures of the babies. We all miss you guys.
PS: I'm pretty sure replicator food tastes terrible on purpose. That way, you spring for the deluxe codes or the flavor additives. However, you control the taste when you replicate the ingredients and make it yourself.
Xxxxx
From: Peter_K
To: Elizabeth_Chen
Time sent: 3/25/2261 21:20:21
subject: We miss you too
I know you're busy with everything, so I understand the late response. I assume you probably got my letter when you emailed Uncle Jim or Hikaru again. Uncle Jim was worried about you, so I am glad you finally emailed him.
I'm sorry about the Loki situation. It isn't fair that she kept dragging you in front of judiciaries. And it's also not fair that your professor is making you take an exam too late in the day because of her accusations. I hope you still did well.
We just finished the midterms for the non-project classes. I got a B on my math exam, which is a miracle considering I built a Lego starship instead of studying. Uncle Spock is not amused, and I now have extra math tutoring with him twice a week. The first session was tonight. It's OK because afterward, we make cookies. Ones that we bake in the kitchen with replicated ingredients. Uncle Spock finds your theory probable.
My science project was a hit. So, that made Uncle Spock a little less upset about the math grade. Uncle Jim argued that I do better with project-based assignments versus test assessments. Uncle Spock is going to test out that theory. Help.
Our big project right now is a mock Federation General Assembly. Gina is weaving in several of our classes, even literature and language. There's a lot of writing in government. The uncles always say that, but I'm starting to believe them now that I have to write position papers. It took the uncles days to write their last mission report for what Uncle Jim calls the Planet of Song and Marriage. They had to do it twice since the Admiral did not believe the original version. [Rolling eye emoji]
Therapy has been good for me, I think. And I'm glad I have Dr. Margarita, especially after last week because I freaked out when the uncles had to do that mission together. I am better now. I understand they will try to at least stay with me, but sometimes they need to work together. I started to realize this while we were at the starbase where they did a lot of meetings together. So it's just part of their job, especially the diplomatic aspects of it. A married couple is helpful in negotiations with certain cultures, and Starfleet wants to take advantage of that. Especially a culture that ratifies agreements with a marriage contract.
Will they use you and Kevin like that eventually? It would be annoying if they did. I know that married command teams are very new. Uncle Jim had to essentially take a demotion for them to stay together. Technically, they are both captains, but Uncle Jim is functioning as a First Officer. The plan is to switch on the next assignment unless they make Spock an admiral then Uncle Jim can just serve as his captain. Note to self: ask Great Grandpa about that if he ever writes. I should write to him soon.
Presently, we're actually back to star mapping again. Everything at this stage is remote sensoring. Although they will start going down to the planet in a week or two. There's a nebula to explore, so that could take a while. I feel like Gina is going to figure out some way to incorporate this into our curriculum. She tries to make the fact we are on a starship an advantage and not a deterrent to our education. That's why she's succeeding; the program has survived another year.
Josephine and I decided to write separate responses that were not CCing each other on. I think that's because she wants to talk about the Judge situation. They are currently investigating him for murdering a lot of people, including Josephine's biological mom. It's not looking good right now. Her autodrive was tampered with.
We've been doing cheer-up activities for her, like pizza night and extra fencing tournaments. The physical activity has been good for her. It was good for me. Today team Ashley is in charge since I had math tutoring. I regret building that starship.
Anyway, here are pictures from our last pizza night. Write back when you can. I want more baby pictures.
Xxxx
From: kitten_loverJJMU
To: Elizabeth_Chen
Time sent: 3/25/2261 21:46:43
subject: Apologies are unnecessary
Peter and I decided to do separate letters this time. Partially because he has extra mandatory study time right now. Peter got a B on his math exam. Uncle Spock is not happy because he knows Peter can do better. (Uncle Spock is not like my biological mom, who pushed me as much as possible to the point where I was crying in the bathroom before exams, afraid I would do poorly.)
He knows Peter was building Legos when he should've been studying for the exam. That Vulcan knows everything. We're all sure the teenage years are going to be rough.
Although, I think we're going to be skipping the alcohol experimentation phase. As for drugs, we were asked to wait until we were 18 and have a trip sitter. Also, soft drugs only. This is probably because we all know Uncle Jim has "tea" nights. He tries his best not to be a hypocritical parental figure, which is a step up again from my biological mom.
You're so right about trauma being complex. I thought I put my mom's death behind me, but I don't think it's ever something that I am done processing. I am sure by now you know that they are investigating the Judge for the murder of several of his associates. There is a chance that mom ran into a tree not only because her blood alcohol level was ridiculously high but because the autodrive was tampered with. Evidence is pointing in that direction. Unfortunately, they cannot tie the Judge to it just yet.
We finally got a letter from the Cobb County Sheriff's office a few days ago. They want to do a deep-space interview with Dad and me about the 24 hours before Mom died. We told our lawyer, Bernard, we didn't want to do this, but they could only keep the DA office occupied for so long. We are now taking advantage of the fact that it can take forever to get a message to Earth to delay it as much as possible.
I think our lawyer purposely neglected to inform the Cobb County DA's office that you can express message starships. Law-enforcement/legal offices located in Starfleet hubs like San Francisco know you can do that, but those located in places like the Atlanta Metro, not so much. I'm grateful for the temporary reprieve. Just thinking about talking about those days to an investigator makes me nauseous.
I'm actually surprised I wasn't interviewed the first time when they wrote it off as a drunk-driving accident. In hindsight, they did that a little too quickly. If they had investigated the first time, perhaps they would've figured out the Judge was a murdering sociopath before the ex-wife aired all his dirty laundry.
Step-grandma number seven is my favorite step-grandmother. I'm pretty sure her mom was one of the previous victims and married my grandfather for revenge. She definitely got it. None of us are mad that she took the money and ran off to live her best life with her girlfriend on a planet without an extradition treaty with the Federation. It was dirty, worthless money anyway.
We survived another round of midterms. We only had exams for half the classes, everything else will be assessed via projects. We're now doing a mock Federation General Assembly. I am drafting a position paper on why Earth should transition from Universal income to a completely cashless society to come into compliance with a more significant portion of the Federation. Pre-implosion Vulcan was mostly cashless. Post implosion, it's complicated. Although tuition is still free for Vulcan citizens who managed to get into the VSA.
I'm studying that example and writing my paper on it. I think there's going to be a debate at some point. I want to go against Reyes so I can yell at her for various reasons. She's how I found out that the Judge is being investigated for murdering my biological mom. She's also been giving me updates I don't want.
I'm looking forward to visiting Yorktown this summer. It will be great to see you for a couple of weeks. I also think you're sticking around until Enterprise returns with your mom. At least, that's what I've gathered from the grownups.
Most of us don't understand why this isn't happening at Yorktown when half the side events will occur on Enterprise due to venue shortages. Only the current Federation venues are available. It's going to be very messy.
They're leaning towards the other Enterprise kids disembarking at Yorktown for the duration. Enterprise will be a high-risk target, which outweighs the educational advantages of going to the General Assembly. The adults probably won't know until a week or two before the conference. That's gonna make projects interesting.
I feel like fencing for me is what Brazilian jujitsu was for you. It's definitely my physical outlet. It really helps work out a lot of my issues. Too bad Reyes is not part of the club anymore. I would like to stab her with my little sword at least six times. Yes, I have issues. So many issues. I'm working on it.
Anyway, I miss you. Write back when you can. I know you're busy. I appreciate it when I get an email, especially because these last few weeks have been rough.
To be continued…