The Importance of Family

Posted on Wed Jan 14th, 2026 @ 1:13pm by Lieutenant Commander Sora Bernadotte & Ensign Sayori Nakai

1,087 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Short Treks
Location: Officers' Mess, Deck 02
Timeline: 2439-08-11, 1900 hrs

The mood on Enterprise was still tense, even hours after the ship had been freed from the "virus" that had taken over the ship and forced it to steer directly into a star. Even though the Commodore had ordered her to take the rest of the day off, after their conversation in her quarters and a quick catch-up with her sister, Sora had decided to get back to work and help make sure the computer was now free from any corrupting influence. With that work finally complete, and the ship on its way back to the Alpha Quadrant, she had made her way to the mess hall for a bite to eat.

As she entered the Officers' Mess on Deck Two, the Lieutenant Commander found, to her surprise, that not many people were there. With a shrug, she went to the nearest replicator and ordered her dinner - a Vindaloo curry with basmati rice and a garlic naan - and a large glass of iced tea, before looking for a place to sit.

In the corner of the room, she spotted a familiar face that she had not had time to properly chat to yet, and so she made her way over to join Sayori. "Evening, Nakai," she greeted her. "Mind if I sit?"

Sayori looked up from the PADD she had been engrossed in, only occasionally taking a bite from her cheeseburger, when she noticed the Lieutenant Commander. "Oh, Commander Bernadotte, of course, sir. Please. Don't mind me, just doing some reading."

Sora chuckled as she pulled out a chair and sat. "Anything interesting?"

The Ensign shrugged and turned her PADD, revealing what appeared to be a magazine article about some Japanese pop singer. "If you're interested in celebrity gossip, sure. Provided you can read Japanese." She chuckled. "Just trying to unwind, sir. It's been quite a day."

"You can say that again," Sora replied with a sigh, tearing a piece of her naan and dipping it into the curry. "Spoke to your mother earlier. She asked me to tell you that she and Perez are very proud of you, to make sure you're eating right, yada yada. You know how she gets."

"Wait, what?" Sayori nearly choked on her lemonade and had a coughing fit. "You spoke to my mother?"

"Of course I did, had to tell her what happened with the capture chip she made." The Terran laughed. "They never told you, did they? Shizune and Perez were the first two friends I made when I arrived in this universe. I'm Freya's sister. Her actual sister, not the counterpart."

The Ensign's eyes grew wide. "Wait, so you're the Sora? The XO of the Asha that went down in the Badlands in the other universe?" She shook her head. "How the hell did I not figure it out earlier, I mean, I can see the family resemblance of course, and Freya talked about you a lot, of course, and even mentioned that you'd crossed over and timeslipped, and-"

"Easy there, kiddo," Sora held up a hand. "First of all, while we're not on duty, let's dispense with the formalities. I am, after all, a family friend. Secondly, yes. That's me. Sorry I haven't told you before, haven't had the opportunity for a chat. Now, from the reports I've read, and from what Shi tells me, you'd be great at my job, actually. So, why are you in Sci, rather than Ops?"

"Well. I mean, sure, mum taught me a lot about computers and stuff, but then I was never all that into it, you know? Much more interested in sciences. So, she called her old friend Mila, and she gave me a crash course in physics and chemistry. Realised I was good at that stuff, so I went down the sciences route at the academy. I mean, I knew I wanted to go into Starfleet from the start, they all talked so much about being in space, travelling, all the stuff they did to help with the evacuation, I'm sorry, am I rambling?" Sayori suddenly stopped, her face turning bright red.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, I've also been told you have a tendency to do that. But it's fine. I asked, didn't I? Not surprised you ended up where you are now, if I'm honest. I think you have the potential to go far. Definitely got the skills for it."

Even though it might have seemed impossible, Sayori somehow went even redder. "You don't mean that, surely? I mean, me? I'm a ditzy girl who just starts ranting and babbling about anything and everything, I would be no good in any kind of senior position, surely?"

"Don't underestimate yourself, kiddo," Sora replied.

"Okay, can you please stop calling me that? You're not even that much older than I am!"

The Terran laughed. "I'm old enough to be your grandmother, but okay."

Sora shook her head. "By date of birth, yes. By actual age, no. You skipped 30 years, after all! That's longer than you've actually been alive!"

Another laugh. "Yeah, yeah, fine. You got me there. I should know better than to try and trick a scientist like you, I mean, you have this whole logic thing thought through."

The Ensign held up her hand. "Whoa there. Are you calling me some sort of Vulcan? I'm half-Trill, sure, but there's not a drop of green blood in my veins, thank you very much. Or my arteries, for that matter."

"Trill?" Sora cocked her head. "I don't see any spots. Or are those hiding under that uniform," she added with a sly grin.

Sayori's face barely had the chance to return to its normal colour before she started glowing red again. "Ahm, I mean, yes, but," she stammered, as Sora broke out into laughter.

"Just messing with you. You make it far too easy." She finished off the last of her curry, and leaned back in her chair. "Shouldn't be long now until we get to DS9," she remarked. "Been a surprisingly short stint in the Gamma Quadrant."

"Yeah, but with whatever it is that we ran into at 47, we better be prepared," Sayori replied as she pocketed her PADD and moved to get up. "Anyway, I better get back to my quarters before Lucy gets there and hogs the shower for an hour. Again."

"Sure thing," Sora responded with a nod, standing and picking up her tray. "I have some reading I want to get through, anyway. Been nice to finally have a proper chat."

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