A Typical Christmas with the Family Rao...

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 8:44am by Captain Tobias Rao
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 1:51pm

Mission: Into the Wild
Location: The Rao Family Quarters, USS Palatine
Timeline: Current

A Mission Post by Captain Tobias Rao
Mission: Into The Wild
Location: The Rao Family Quarters, USS Palatine
Timeline: Current
Tue Dec 26th, 2017 @ 4:39pm


Whilst the USS Palatine sped its way towards the rendezvous with the USS Pandora, Tobias was keeping in mind that it had reached that particular time of year once again: Christmas.

Something that he had become accustomed to was spending the festive season with family as best he could, despite the fact that his family was spread throughout the fleet. Not an easy task to perform but one that the Rao family managed to pull off every year.

Whilst his wife Talia stayed on board the Palatine with him, their son Patrick was away serving on Starbase 375 as the outpost's Chief Operations Officer whilst their daughter Isabelle was serving on board the USS Monroe as the ships Assistant Chief Tactical Officer. Something that Tobias was proud of was the knowledge that both of his children were grown up and knew their way in the Universe as they both served on Starfleet vessels exploring new territories.

On the bridge, Tobias nodded to Lieutenant Commander Taloris, the Palatine's Chief Security/Tactical Officer as she walked over and took command of the ship. Whilst a lot of the crew celebrated the Christmas period, however far away from Earth they were, Tobias liked to make sure that everyone who wished to celebrate the holiday period had the chance to. Tolaris often elected to take Bridge duty during this time and she stood up to the task well.

Tobias made his way down to his quarters, where once he arrived, he was greeted with the smell of a freshly completed roast dinner with all the trimmings and drinks. Talia stood by the table as she finished preparing the placings for them both as well as making sure there was always a place for both Patrick and Isabelle. It was her way of making things a little more homely for them both with both of their children serving at other posts.

Once he arrived, Tobias kissed her gently on the cheek and smiled as he saw the spread before them. "Another fine effort my beloved, you have outdone yourself yet again," he praised as he took in the table set before them.

"Thank you husband, I do like to put on a show for this time of year," she chuckled as she passed him a glass of white wine. Tobias took the glass and smiled as he heard the chronometer chime for attention. he walked over to the holo-projector setup in the corner of their quarters. It was something that he'd asked for specifically from Starfleet Operations when taking command of the Vesta Class vessel and something that Commander Morgan had enjoyed installing.

"Its time," Talia pointed out as she grabbed her glass, watching as Tobias activated the projector. Before them stood Patrick and Isabelle in full glorious view, both with their own glasses in hand. It was something of a tradition for the family to celebrate this time of year.

"Hey Mom, Dad, its good to see you," Patrick started before raising his glass slightly. "Happy Christmas from the darling outpost of Starbase 375 where its a balmy twenty-three degrees."

"Happy Christmas oldies!" declared Isabelle in jest, noticing her mothers smile. Isabelle was the joker of the family and loved making her parents smile whilst being so far away. "I hope your both doing well during this period?" she offered.

"Happy Christmas kids, its great to see you both," Tobias replied. "Despite the fact that we're all in three different locations for this time, its good to see you both looking so well. I can already feel your mother welling up," he explained as Talia wiped a tear away on cue.

"Families eh? even the Universe can't keep us apart!" Isabelle declared, putting a smile on Talia's face.

Tobias noticed Patrick look across at something in his hologram and knew that he probably didn't have a lot of time. "Everything ok son? I take it your being kept busy as always?" he asked.

"Sorry dad, its been a rough few weeks, what with Starships coming in and out by the dozen on either new assignments or in need of repairs...the fun never stops on 375," he explained back.

"Its alright for some!" Isabelle chimed in. "We're patrolling the Romulan border and its been bloody quiet of late...however that does make a nice change I'll be honest."

Tobias looked at Talia as she nodded to him. It was time. Tobias and Talia raised their glasses and at the same time both Patrick and Isabelle did as well.

"A toast," Tobias started. "Here's to family, however far apart...here's to good health and love, of which we all have plenty of... and here's to looking forward to the day when we can all be together in the same place again to enjoy the love and company of each other," he said proudly.

Patrick and Isabelle raised their glasses in salute and said "Here Here" as they all took a drink together. The family Rao stood silent for a moment before standing firm again. "Right, we'd better let you two get back to work," Tobias explained as he saw Patrick glance away again. It was obvious his son was working hard as always and he realised that he couldn't monopolise his time.

"Love to you both Mom and Dad, I'll send a comm soon when its a little quieter," Patrick explained. Talia nodded as his hologram closed down. She looked across as Isabelle who stood to a mock attention stance.

"Well, you take care oldies! I'm not far away if you want to send me a message. Happy Christmas and love to you both and don't stay up past eight!" she declared happily. Tobias laughed as he bid her farewell.

With things now settled, Mr and Mrs Rao headed towards the table and sat down to eat their Christmas meal together. "I love you husband, we are so lucky to have such beautiful and gifted children out there in the cosmos," Talia explained.

"We are indeed my love, I couldn't be happier at this time of tear," Tobias explained, kissing her gently before tucking into another Christmas dinner that saw the both of them together but alone without the children with them. Tobias quietly made his usual promise to make sure that there was some way to spend some actual face to face time together once they had reached a quieter time or even to arrange some shore leave together.

Despite the space between them, he was happy that their Christmas tradition was completed and that his children were safe.

A Merry Christmas to one and all and if you can be with loved ones at this time of year, cherish and enjoy the time you spend with them.