Updates in Life, Pt 5
Posted on Sat Apr 6th, 2024 @ 1:32am by Commander Sarah Rodgers & Lieutenant Samuel Carrington
1,442 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Episode 119 - "Shattered Mirror"
Location: Starbase 400, Special Operations Beta CO Office
Timeline: MD02, 0830 hrs
Starbase 400, Special Operations Beta CO Office
“I hope I'm not interrupting you, Captain.” Sam said as he knew the door was wide open to her room, what she thought was a little unusual. But maybe this is what she meant when she said her door was always open.
“Come in!” Sarah called out with a smile. She put the pad down and watched as Sam came through the door. “I am so glad to see you, I needed a break and you were the right person.”
“I guess you really meant an open door policy, it's a different approach.” Sam said with a smile on his face, wondering if she was going to close the door or leave it open.
“Sometimes it’s too quiet here.” Sarah said as she closed the door. “I open it just to hear an occasional sound that there are others out there.” She smiled at him. “I know that sounds weird.”
“The perks and the curse of having a command office?” Sam half heartedly asked. He was assuming as much, but he wasn't certain.
“Yes.” Sarah said with a smile. “It has its perks and I admit that I am enjoying my new position.” Her eyes met his. “How’s your day going?”
“I hate to say it but it's probably a little more eventful than yours.” Sam said feeling a little guilty. “I spent some time in the flight simulator practicing combat scenarios with some of the new trainees.” Sam said knowing that the station just got a new shipment of incense straight out of the academy.
“And how did that go?” Sarah asked him. He was right that his day had been was more eventful; she had been doing paperwork all day. A necessary evil but she preferred to get it over with.
“Maybe I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but I don't know how they pass the academy? Their flight plans were incorrect, the flights themselves were erratic. And one of the guys was trying to show boat, but was just committing one infraction after another. It was painful to watch.” Sam suggested to Sarah, assuming that was probably not the answer she was looking for but it was the only answer he could give in all honesty to the question she asked.
“That doesn’t sound like a good day.” Sarah began. “But, remember, that is what you are there for to teach and guide them along. Once they realize how serious you are and what your expectations are, things will improve. They didn’t get this far performing this way, they are probably nervous, and some a little cocky. You will straighten them out.” She had confidence in him.
“I guess I'm becoming the old dog, the one that thinks about policy and procedures and not just about zipping across the Galaxy anymore.” Sam said in a teasing manner.
“There is nothing wrong with that.” Sarah grinned. “And it’s not an old dog but a wiser man who has seen and been through a lot. You want them trained to be able to defend others as well as keep themselves safe.”
“I'm starting to hate that idea, getting old. But if I have to get old at least I have you by myself.” Sam said to Sarah, hoping she wasn't insulted by that comment.
“We will grow old together.” Sarah agreed. “And enjoy every minute of it.” Her eyes met his and she smiled. “I tend to try and not think of the day I have to leave Starfleet. I know it will come but until then I believe we should enjoy every minute of it and at the same time, plan our future for what we want to do beyond this.”
“Whenever that day is, it'll probably be in a mountain house, overlooking a beautiful valley where the two of us can grow old together.” Sam said with a big grin on his face, talking about his dream house.
“That sounds perfect to me.” Sarah said with a smile. “As long as we are together we will be happy.” She believed that if nothing else.
“I'm glad to hear you say that, could that parent line it beloved looks pretty inviting. Earth is too colonized, I have a feeling we're going to have to live on another planet if we want our own piece of property.” Sam suggested to Sarah.
“I’m fine with that.” Sarah said with a smile. “I don’t want neighbors on top of us and I want room to plant a garden or something.” She grinned then at the thought of her planting a garden and growing things. Maybe she would want to chop firewood.
“You a gardener, this is something I have to see.” Sam said with a big loving smile on his face. He just couldn't imagine her being a gardener, but maybe she could.
Sarah laughed as he said that. “I just kind of threw that out there. I would probably kill anything I tried to grow.” She would find things that appealed to her however. “Don’t even suggest knitting. I tried that once when I was about twelve. I almost stabbed my cousin with the knitting needle.”
“How did you manage to do that, or how did you almost manage to do that?” Sam asked, thinking that was not possible. So he was curious what had happened.
“She was teasing me about my lack of learning.” Sarah explained. “She kept teasing me about holes in my work and the stitching was crooked so I chased her with a knitting needle.” Sarah paused. “I got in big trouble for that.”
“That seemed a bit drastic, but I wasn't there so who am I to say you're her right.” Sam wondered why she even brought it up, it didn't look favorable for her.
“I was a spoiled child.” Sarah explained. “Things changed after that and I learned quickly that losing my temper was not a good thing.” She smiled at him. “I don’t even get angry at anything anymore.”
“Well there's that, but now it's my job to spoil you, I can't have your parents having all the fun.” Sam said trying to be cute, charming and romantic.
“I am on board with that.” Sarah said with a grin. “And I give you my word, I won’t be throwing knitting needles at anyone. I gave those up a long time ago.” She had been tempted to try again, she wasn’t one to let something beat her but she knew it wasn’t for her.
“I'm glad to hear it, I don't want your command to be a short-lived one.” Sam said to her with the big grin on his face.
“See.” Sarah said with a grin. “You know me and know that I have wanted this command for a long time. A knitting needle is not worth it.” She loved how they could joke with each other.
“And now you have this command, good things happen to those who are truly deserving. And you are truly deserving.” Sam said with a loving smile.
“Yes I am.” Sarah murmured. “That probably sounds a little conceited but I worked hard to get here and I am not letting you or myself down.”
“You can never let me down, however if you believe you're going to fail you will find a way to fail I would suggest thinking more positively. You wouldn't be here if Starfleet didn't have faith in you.” Sam pointed out to her.
“I know I will not fail.” Sarah said with a smile. “I wanted to be sure you knew after I told you about the knitting needle episode that it was a part of my past. You looked concerned.”
“Well I'm always concerned, I just want the best for you and for us.” Sam suggested to her.
“Which is the same as me.” Sarah murmured. “You and the crew are always my highest priority. It is my job to fulfill missions and keep you safe at the same time.
“I do appreciate a Captain who cares about her crew, and I do appreciate a partner who also cares about her partner, I'm so lucky to have you in my life and I'm so lucky to have you as my Captain. And that's not just me trying to suck up, it's the truth.” Sam said as the scene started to fade.
Sarah smiled at his words. She had so much she wanted to say to him. To show him how much she cared. She planned to do that as soon as they were off duty.
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