As One Chapter Ends, Another One Begins
Posted on Mon Nov 9, 2020 @ 6:11pm by Lieutenant Martha Cusack & Lieutenant JG Lucia Cusack & Elsie Cusack
Mission:
The Nanjing
Location: USS Triumphant
The decision had been made. After giving it some consideration in the aftermath of the Triumphant's last assignment, Martha had decided to accept Captain Kaufmann’s earlier offer to transfer back to the Endurance, and the necessary paperwork had been completed. Lucia had resigned her commission so she could care for Tabitha and the twins, while Martha would be the Endurance’s tactical officer and chief of security. Elsie would continue her studies towards sitting the Starfleet entrance exam when the time came. All of the Cusacks’ belongings had been packed ahead of their departure tomorrow, and Martha and Lucia sat on the sofa in their family quarters with some chocolate cake and a bottle of wine.
“I’m going to miss it here” Martha said, looking down at the contents of her glass.
Lucia smiled. “It’s been a hell of a ride”
“It sure has. There was never a dull moment, and I don’t think I’ll be forgetting our time here any time soon, that’s for sure. It’s just a shame Gaalen didn’t make it out to the other side of the last assignment. He was a good man and a good friend, and if I'm honest, I'm really going to miss him” Martha said.
Lucia nodded. She knew what Gaalen meant to her wife, he was the first person that Martha had ever felt able to call a friend. Making friends had never really been easy for Martha, and his death had hit her hard. In his will, the Andorian had left all of his belongings to Martha. Lucia had packed all of Gaalen’s personal belongings on Martha’s behalf, as she felt unable to herself. It was way too soon for her.
“Yeah, Gaalen was a great guy. However, you should be proud of yourself for arranging the send-off that he deserved. He’ll be back home with his family again” Lucia offered.
After arranging a memorial for her friend, Martha had arranged for Gaalen’s body to be returned to his home world, where he would be interred with the rest of his family. Martha felt that it was the least she could do for her departed Andorian friend.
“Yeah. To Gaalen” Martha said, raising her glass.
Lucia raised hers too. “To Gaalen”
After a few moments of contemplation, talk turned to their family. It had taken a long time, but they had now settled on names for their twin daughters. Betsy had been named after Lucia’s paternal grandmother, and Florence after Martha’s maternal grandmother. Having a family wasn’t something that Martha had initially planned, but now she had one, she couldn’t imagine her life without them. They gave her a reason to get up every morning, and to conquer the mental health issues which she had been struggling with in recent months.
“What time did you say the transport was arriving tomorrow?” Lucia asked.
Martha replied. “10:30, all going to plan. A few others are joining us too”
“Anyone I know?” Lucia responded, curiously.
Martha nodded. “Well, Rob Hughes is going to be my deputy, you obviously know who he is because he’s been over for dinner a couple of times. Ensigns Basso and Haworth haven’t been here for all that long, so I don’t expect you’ll know who they are”
“Nope, I don’t know Basso or Haworth” Lucia confirmed.
Martha finished her glass and placed it down on the table, reaching for their bottle of pinot noir to fill up her glass. She then turned to see if Lucia’s glass needed filling, and as it was nearly empty, Martha refilled her glass too. There was about enough left in the bottle for one more glass each, which suited Martha fine. She was beginning to feel tired and wanted to make sure she was sufficiently rested for tomorrow as it was going to be a long day for all six of them. She was also anxious about her pet canaries, although Lucia had reassured Martha that they would be fine. On the upside, Martha had plenty of time to get to know everyone on her team, as well as her other colleagues, before the Endurance departed from spacedock. The refit wasn’t scheduled for completion for another few weeks, and in a way, Martha was glad.
“Why don’t you tell me about the people you’ll be working with, Martha?” Lucia suggested as a way of breaking the silence which had descended on the room.
Martha nodded. “Well, I’ve already told you about Captain Kaufmann. The only others I know of at the moment are Commander Meredith Eldridge, who is the first officer and taught me everything I know, and Commander Richard Lee, who is the chief engineer. I’ve asked Captain Kaufmann to send me an up to date personnel list so I can familiarise myself with everyone’s name and face before we arrive, so hopefully that arrives before we leave in the morning”
“It already did, sorry, I meant to tell you earlier but it completely slipped my mind. I’ve downloaded it onto a PADD for you and put it over there with our stuff” Lucia said, apologetically.
Martha replied. “Oh, it’s fine Lucy. At least it’s here. I still don’t know why you resigned your commission though, because we could have worked something out”
“To be honest Martha, I could do with a break anyway. I can always have my commission reinstated in a few years or so if start missing it too much. Starfleet has plenty of security officers, but they don’t have a plethora of experienced chief tactical officers or security chiefs” Lucia confirmed.
Martha nodded. “Yeah, I understand Lucy. If that's what you want, then I completely support your decision”
Lucia smiled, and placed her right hand on top of Martha’s left. It was rare for Martha to use her name, or anyone’s for that matter, when speaking to them, especially so frequently. Although Lucy wasn’t her preferred nickname, Lucia was happy for Martha to use it.
“Are we going to eat this cake or what?” Lucia asked, pointing to the two bowls of chocolate cake with ice cream on the table.
Martha nodded. “Yeah, I think that's probably a good idea otherwise Elsie will eat it when she gets back from her leaving party with her friends”
It was the next morning, and the Cusacks were ready to go. They’d said their final goodbyes to their friends and were now about to make their way down to the nearest transporter room, where their belongings were waiting for them. After taking one last look around their empty quarters, Martha walked out of the door for what would be the final time.
“Ready?” Lucia asked.
Elsie nodded, and then turned to Martha.
“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go” Martha confirmed, clutching the handle of her canaries’ carry cage.
She would have preferred to let them stay in their normal cage, but it would be too awkward to carry it around with them still inside. Martha led the way down the corridor, with Lucia pushing the twins’ pram and Elsie carrying Tabitha. Elsie had found it hard to say goodbye to her friends, but she was looking forward to the new start, and continuing with her studies. As well as staying in touch with her friends on the Triumphant, Elsie was sure that she would make some new friends on the Endurance too.
Several minutes later, the Cusacks arrived in the transporter room. Their belongings had just finished being loaded onto the transporter, which indicated the transport ship had arrived on time and was waiting to receive its passengers and their belongings.
“Have Lieutenant Hughes and Ensigns Basso and Haworth transported over yet chief?” Martha asked the transporter chief.
The Bajoran shook his head. “Not yet Lieutenant, but I’ve sent them all a message saying the transport ship has arrived, so they should be here soon”
Sure enough, Robert arrived several seconds after the Bajoran finished speaking. Basso and Haworth arrived just as the Cusacks’ belongings, and the twins’ pram, had been beamed over to the transport ship awaiting them.
“Right, they’re ready whenever you are, Lieutenants and Ensigns” the chief said.
Martha stepped up onto the transporter pad, quickly followed by everyone else. A few moments later, the Cusacks, Robert, Basso and Haworth all dematerialised, leaving the Triumphant for what would be the last time, looking forward to what new adventures lay ahead of them on the Endurance. For Martha, it felt like she was going back home again, but this time she would have her family there too. Her one regret was not being able to save her friend Gaalen from his untimely death, but this new chapter in her life was a chance to start again and look forward to the future. She knew that Gaalen would want Martha to look forward, and not spend the rest of her life grieving for him.
Martha would remember her time on the Triumphant fondly.
