Thank the Stars

Posted on Wed Jun 7, 2017 @ 8:28pm by Commodore Michael Aravan & Spencer Aravan

Mission: Avatar
Location: Bunker
Timeline: MD 10 || 1900 Hours

After Chief Barnes had left with Zahara and the holocube that was now her prison for the time being, Michael turned the bridge over to an officer and immediately headed for the turbolift. He hadn't been in contact with his wife in some time and had no idea if she and the kids were safe or not.

The doors open and a Lieutenant started to say something before the Captain ducked around him and into the lift. "Tell it to the conn," he said as the doors shut.

"Bunker," Michael barked, surprised to hear the hoarseness of his voice. He had been running for five shifts straight and the fatigue was starting to manifest in different ways, but he had no time for coffee or anything else. When the doors opened again, he immediately stepped out and went down the hall, parting through a sea of officers and enlisted who were still doing clean up of all the damage that had been done to the ship. To his ship.

He pushed those thoughts and the darker ones that reminded him of the two hundred and one dead personnel on the ship and forced his way through the crowd until he came to the bunker. There, he entered his code and the double thick duranium alloy doors came open.

Inside was fifteen hundred very anxious civilians who immediately swarmed the Captain clamoring for answers, making demands, and everything else.

"Quiet!" Michael bellowed at the top of his lungs and stunned everyone into momentary silence. "All your questions and concerns will be dealt with individually. We just got control of the ship back and you're free to go, but right now, please go back to your quarters!"

Spencer watched as everyone began to file out the bunker, waking patiently with her two little ones. It took a little time, but the second she was able to make it to her husband, she did. He was okay. With huge tears in her eyes, the former Commander set her son down on the ground and threw her arms around him. Their two children, however, were not about to be left out. Two different sets of little arms made their way around each of his legs.

"You're okay," she said, choking back a sob.

"Spencer!" He cried out and hugged her tight, then stepped back as he felt the little arms around his legs. He bent down and scooped them into his arms. "Thank the stars you're all safe," he said, not even trying to keep the emotion from his voice and he kissed his kids, then his wife. "I was so worried about all of you."

"There was never any doubt that the kids and I would be okay, but we were worried about you," she said, returning her husband's kiss. To see him in one piece looking nothing more than tired sent a wave of emotions surging through her. Spencer wanted to know everything that happened, but their children were obviously shaken, and needed to be in more familiar surroundings. "Let's get them home."

"We're safe now...but..." Michael looked down. "Not without casualties. Is Piper here with you?" he asked her as he looked around.

"She was. When the door opened, she was one of the first out with Liam to go find Gage. She's terrified he didn't make it," Spencer replied softly. "I told her to go find him."

"I haven't heard from him, either," Michael said as he led them out of the Bunker with the kids still in his arms. "But if I know my brother, he was at the head of the assault. We found out that it was a Thasian that was in the probe we picked up. She was angry that we destroyed her home, but Chief Barnes made contact with her and she's accepted the fact that the Federation will punish her. She's contained at the moment until we get back."

Spencer slipped her arm around his waist as they made their way down the corridor. "That's exactly what she's afraid of," she said, fighting back a frown. "Why would a Thasian go to all this trouble... kill so many people?"

"She saw it as we attacked and dismantled her home that she had made in the probe and attacked us back," Michael said, his arms full of Ava and Mikey. "She didn't understand us and took the form of Maddy. The...relationship...between Maddy and Chief Barnes sent her after him after the Thasian assumed Maddy's form and made him her chief target. It was also what saved us."

"I... I don't know what to say. That all sounds so..." Spencer paused, trying to put a word to what she'd just heard, but there was none forthcoming. "How did Maddy and Chief Barnes fare in all of this? Are they okay? I mean... it doesn't take a genius to know there's something pretty deep between the two of them. I saw that much when we were on the holodeck for the beach party. If something were to happen to the other, I imagine they'd be pretty hurt by it."

"He just took the holocube with the Thasian to Security," Michael said. "As far as I know, Maddy is still in Sickbay. It tried to freeze her solid and nearly succeeded."

Spencer frowned. "I'm going to have to pay her a visit. I'm very glad the Thasian didn't succeed. The ship wouldn't be the same without her."

Michael summoned the turbolift and looked at his wife again. "She'll probably have a lot of company," he said and tried to stifle a yawn and failed. "Sorry. I just got off of five straight shifts. I bet you and the little ones are tired, too."

"A bit, yes. You and the kids should go to sleep. I'm going to stay up for a few more hours so I don't wake up at oh-three hundred," she stated, casting a glance at Ava and Little Mikey. Both children were already beginning to doze on their father's shoulders now that they knew they were safe.

"You should get ahold of Piper and see if she found Gage," he said as he requested their deck when the turbolift arrived. "I would, but I'm lucky if I can remember my middle name right now."

"I will once I have you and the kids settled into bed," his wife said in a tone that left no room for arguments. "Your brother is okay. There's no way he would put himself in a situation where his family would be without him. I am, however, going to contact them and make sure they're all okay." She looked thoughtful. "I need to feed you three before you go to bed, though."

At that, Michael's stomach rumbled. "I think my stomach is in agreement with you," he said. "A shame that The Black Hole has been closed due to all of this, but at the moment, I'm hungry enough to eat Ferengi cuisine."

Spencer gave him a gentle squeeze. "Okay. I'll let you take a shower, and I'll get the kiddos changed into their pajamas, then replicate some dinner for us all. What do you feel like having? I can even make something, too."

"Anything that doesn't require thought," he said. "I'll be lucky if I can make it through without faceplanting in it." He shook his head and sighed. "There's so much more to do and I just can't without some sleep. I don't even have an Exec at the moment to handle things without me and we're hundreds of light years from Earth."

"After today... I should talk to the brass and return to active duty," she said as the turbolift came to a halt to deposit them on their deck.

"Spencer," Michael started and then stopped as he exited with the kids. "That would create two problems if you did that. First, it would probably get you assigned to another ship as there's an Executive Officer already here. Second, it would take you away from the kids more. I love you and want you with me."

"I wouldn't need to be your Executive Officer," she pointed out as she moved down the corridor, shaking her head. "It was a pretty stupid idea. We're almost home now. I'll get dinner on the table once I change the kids."

"We could use a new Chief of Flight," he said after a moment. "And no idea from you is stupid, but I don't want you to have to take a step down from where you were at before." Michael pointed out as he walked beside of her while carrying the kids.

"No... I'm better off being with the kids in case something happens," she said, stopping to enter the code into the panel next to their door. When it opened, she gestured for him to go in ahead of her. "They need me more than Starfleet does." She loved her kids... adored every single moment she had with them... but even she needed some mommy time once in a while. One might have argued she got that when the little ones went to bed, and maybe they'd be right... if she wasn't exhausted herself. Still, she wouldn't change anything for the world.

He went in with the kids and headed to their room. "What about Second Officer or Mission Advisor?" he asked. "That way you could come back to Command and still have enough time for the kids?"

Spencer shook her head and walked inside behind him, taking their half asleep son into her arms. "No. It's better if things stay as they are. For their sakes," she said, kissing the side Little Mikey's head when he snuggled into her. "Come in, little man. Let's go get you ready for bed." With that, she made her way into the room the two kids shared and went to grab him and his sister some pajamas.

"Are you sure?" Michael asked her before he gave the kids kisses and hugs and headed out after her. "You could contribute a lot."

Once they were changed and settled down in their beds, Spencer made her way out of the room. "I'm sure," she replied. "Go take a shower, and I'll get you something to eat so you can go to bed."

He gave her a kiss and rested his head against hers for a moment. "I love you, Spencer," he said softly.

"I love you, too, Mikey," she said after returning his kiss.

With a sigh, he headed into their room to strip out of his uniform and headed into the shower. There, he leaned against the wall for a long minute and thought about what the ship and crew had just been through. "Two hundred and one beings who were counting on you," he said as he closed his eyes shut to prevent the tears that wanted to come. "You failed them."

He reached to activate the water and let it pour over him, easing the tension out of his body and just stood there for a few minutes before he washed himself clean. A few minutes later, he left the shower and dressed in a pair of dark grey silk pajamas and came back out.

By the time he moved out of the shower, his dinner was on the table... a BLT with onion rings. Spencer was moving around their quarters cleaning up. It was all part of her nightly routine once the kids were settled down for the night. She felt a bit guilty that Ava and Mikey went to bed without dinner, but she'd make it up to them when breakfast rolled around. Mama knew better than to wake her little ones up once they'd fallen asleep.

Michael started to go to the table, then stopped and looked at her cleaning like everything was normal. He closed his eyes for another minute and sighed before he finished going to the table and sat down. Still, he made no move to eat the sandwich and just stared at his food as if he weren't really seeing it.

"It's going to be okay, Michael," she said softly.

"Two hundred and one people died under my command because a decision to bring what was supposed to be a simple probe aboard," he said as he picked at his sandwich. "I have to explain that to all their families that it was a decision which was done with peace and exploration in mind and it turned into a nightmare."

"Exactly. No one could have possibly known a Thasian was living inside of it. I imagine normal sensors wouldn't even pick up on a non-corporeal lifeforms. This is no one's fault," she said with a frown.

Michael picked a piece of bacon from the sandwich and ate it listlessly. "It's still my responsibility as the commanding officer of the ship. If it weren't for Chief Barnes, it would still be trying to kill us all."

"You don't know that for sure, Michael. You don't know what may have, or may not have, happened," Spencer pointed out as she moved over to the table to look at him. "Now is not the time to speculate about what could still be happening, or what might have happened. The important this is that it's over. Yes, two hundred and one souls lost is a tragedy, and my heart goes out to them, and their families, but that number could have been so much higher." She took a deep breath and let it slowly. "Please, don't sit here and beat yourself up over something that was beyond your control."

"It doesn't make it any easier," he said. "I handled the Delta virus better because only two of the crew got infected and they were cured. This is right on our doorstep. I was worried to death and you, the kids, my brother and Piper, but I had to stay on the bridge after Maddy nearly got flash frozen."

"And we're all okay. I talked to Piper while you were in the shower. She's with Gage now, and said that he hasn't let her or Liam out of his sight," the former Commander said. "It might not make it any easier, Michael, but we all know that life in space comes with a lot of risk. It doesn't matter if we go through the academy or enlist... the risks are a the same. That's never going to change."

"I'm glad they're okay," Michael said as he finally took a bite of his sandwich. "I know now why most Captains are single and distance themselves from the crew."

"But you're not like that. You've never been like that."

"No, I'm not, which makes it harder when something does happen," he said as he reached for an onion ring. He held it up. "A perfect circle is never perfect. It may meet itself eventually, but the journey around it has a lot of bumps."

"It's all going to be okay, honey," she said, moving to stand behind him so she could put her hands on his shoulders.

Michael sighed and leaned back into her hands and looked up at her. "I think I'd be lost without you, my love."

"I'm not going anywhere, Michael. I've got far too much to live for," Spencer stated as she leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. "Finish eating. I'm going to take a quick shower and crawl into bed with you. I don't want you to fall asleep alone."

He returned the kiss and gave her a nod. "Yes, Captain," he said with a smile before he turned his attention back to his food. "I'll join you soon."

Spencer couldn't help but laugh as she made her way to their bedroom. That was the first time she could recall him ever referring to her as such, and she found herself wondering how long it might have taken her to achieve such a rank. It didn't really matter now, though. She was doing what she wanted to.

After shedding her clothes, the former Commander made her way into the bathroom to start the shower, then stepped inside. She closed her eyes and allowed herself the chance to relax a bit. Things were really going to be okay. She knew it.

Despite his attempt at eating all of his food, Michael's appetite contradicted his body's desire for nourishment and he gave up halfway through it and took the rest to the recycler. After that, he headed back into their room and sat on the bed. A picture of him and Spencer on their wedding day rested on the bedside table and he picked it up to look at it. It had been a wonderful day with so many good memories, and there would be good memories again. For now, though, he had a lot on his mind and knew she would be there with him and for that, he thanked the stars.

It didn't take long before she was drying off and slipping her black silk robe on, then joining him in the bedroom. Spencer found herself hoping the medication that was prescribed to her husband would hold up against this major bump in the road. The last thing she wanted to see was him suffering from a migraine and trying to muddle through. "All ready for bed?"

"Just about," he said as he set the photo down and reached into the nightstand drawer to pull out a hypospray. He adjusted it to one dosage and pressed it to his neck, then replaced it in the drawer and closed it. "I am now," he said as he pulled the covers back and slid under them.

Spencer shed her robe and draped it across the foot of the bed, then slipped beneath the covers next to him. "I love you, Mikey. Remember that everything will be okay."

"I love you, too, Spencer," Michael said as he moved over to give her a kiss and wrapped his arms around her. "We just have to take it one day at a time."

After returning the kiss, she smiled. "That's a good plan to me. Goodnight, love."

"Goodnight, beautiful," he said and closed his eyes. Sleep would take a while in coming, but she was there and that gave him comfort.