The Piggyback Lieutenant

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 3:21am by Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Cailus Griffin & Eva Griffin
Edited on on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 5:45am

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Wicklow, Ireland, Earth
Timeline: After 'Closure' (Cailus and Shae shoreleave backpost)

Shae and Cailus' shoreleave was originally scheduled for about a week in the Sol system, but after their request for a ship transfer, Sophia suggested that they make the most of their time now, as there could be no telling when the transfer orders would come in and they would have to leave. So instead of spending another day on Mars, they met up with Shae's brother Dylan at Utopia Planitia where they caught a transport to Earth to ensure Shae got in some much needed quality time with her family as well. Coming home was bittersweet for Shae; she hadn't returned to Ireland since after the Dominion War when out of the blue she simply appeared in the family home where her mother found her sitting at the kitchen table with no explanation for where she had been the past 4 years. Shae refused to answer any of their questions, and shortly after that Starfleet arrived to take her into custody and launch an investigation that yielded no answers that could be shared with her questioning family. A short while later, Shae was returned to duty and pretty much stopped talking to her family, unwilling to get them tangled up with the forces lurking behind the scenes manipulating her. That had been 12 years ago, Shae told Cailus, and her family still had more questions than answers, but by this point they were simply grateful to have their Shae back rather than the empty shell she had been in her human guise. And wonder of wonders, Shae's mother got a new grandbaby to dote upon; no one asked where Aoife had come from, when Shae had even been pregnant or who the father was, they all knew by now she would not answer, but it wasn't like any of those questions really mattered, Aoife was here now and there was nothing to stop them from spoiling the child rotten!

"Oh Shae, she looks just like you," Anna Brennan said with awe as she fed Aoife cookies topped with homemade jam, Aoife's new favorite thing. "Goodness, you're going to have to fight me off with a stick to to get her back when you're ready to leave!" she insisted, giving Aoife's jammy cheeks a flurry of kisses. Shae simply giggled at the wide-eyed surprised expression on Aoife's face in response to the kisses.

"I know, and Caden's already called dibs on her if I can't take her with me wherever I'm assigned," Shae said with a smile, sipping at her tea. They were currently taking tea in the sun room to chat and catch up, and enjoy the breathtaking view of the property, endless green as far as the eye could see. So far, Cailus had only met Shae's mother and one brother, but her father was expected to be back in the morning, and another brother any time now... Then Shae nearly dropped her teacup when she saw someone walking up the long drive leading up to the old manor house. She squealed with excitement and bolted out the door, pouncing from a full run on her brother Sean, knocking them both to the ground.

"That's Sean, they were together in age growing up, so they've always been close," Dylan explained to Cailus with a chuckle, happy to see his sister so lively once again. In fact, Shae was like an entirely different person now, here in her childhood home surrounded by her family, there was no hint of her nervous timidity; she was still the same gentle Shae, but she was so vibrant and confident, outgoing even, and the family photos of her scattered around the house reflected this bold person and not the scared, broken woman Cailus had met on the Tornado.

"Piggyback ride!" they heard from the yard, and then they could see Sean, a fully grown man, a Starfleet Lieutenant in full uniform no less, hop on Shae's back like they were kids again; and then there was tiny Shae trying to carry him to the house.

"No no no, I'm gonna drop you! EEEE!" she replied just before they toppled over into a fit of laughter onto the grass.

Dylan and Anna chuckled at the sight, but then Dylan grew pensive and almost sad as he looked over to Cailus. "You wouldn't happen to be able to tell us anything, would you?" he asked, taking advantage of Shae's absence to try to get some information.

"Dylan, no," Anna scolded. "They didn't come here to get questioned, so leave them be and enjoy this time with your sister."

"I know, but we deserve to know what's going on with her," Dylan insisted, sighing pensively and then getting up to watch from the window as Sean and Shae goofed around in the yard. Anna reached over the table to give Cailus a comforting pat on the hand.

"Don't mind him, dear, the boys have always been so protective of their sister," Anna said, trying to smooth things over. Aoife, oblivious to the conversation, was quite happily indulging in more jam cookies from Anna's lap.

"Understandably," Cailus acknowledged with amusement. He hadn't stopped smiling at various degrees since they'd arrived; something about the Brennan household made it mandatory. "What was she like as a child?"

"When my husband Liam first brought her home, she was so shy but she had this boundless curiosity, insatiable really," Anna said, helping Aoife to take a sip of tea to sate the child's curiosity in the pretty floral teacup; Aoife made a puckered face, clearly not liking the taste of tea yet, and Anna laughed. "Once she figured out that this was her new home, she really opened up to us and then she was trouble on two legs; no concept of personal space, she had to be in the middle of everything we did," she continued as she got up to get a tumbler of juice for Aoife. "And growing up, she was always so outgoing and playful, with such a gentle heart, she loved making people smile; it breaks my heart to see how much of that passion has dimmed, but we're just glad to have her back now."

"She's getting better," Cailus reassured her quietly, standing up as well. "Bit by bit. Have faith."

With that, he moved to Dylan. "Come on kid, let's go meet your brother."

"Kid?" Dylan replied with a raise of his brow. "You do realize I'm older than Shae, right?" Then again, she did look to be in her twenties, so that wasn't saying much... Regardless, he went outside with Cailus to greet Sean, who was laying on the grass with Shae giving her a good ear rub, really digging in behind her ears where he knew she liked to be scratched; Shae was trying to resist, but it felt soooooo good, and she finally flopped her head on his chest and started to relax.

"Staaaaaaahp..." she whined feebly, accompanied by a very canine sounding whine.

"Oh, this is gold, I have got to get some of this right here," Dylan said with a chuckle, pulling a small camera out of his pocket and started to capture this adorable scene.

"Nooooooooo," Shae said when she realized she was being filmed, but her little plea trailed off into a sigh of deep contentment and then she started purring quite loudly, relaxing to the point that she was practically boneless; she was like clay in Sean's hands.

"Oi there, who's this cutie?" Sean said when he saw Cailus. "Are you the one Shae's told us about? Mmmm, if she doesn't scoop you up, I just might," he said, not even trying to hide the fact that he was checking out Cailus' physique as he continued to rub at Shae's ears.

"Ignore him, he's just saying that to mess with you, he's got someone back on DS10," Dylan said. Shae tried to say something but she was so relaxed her words only came out as an incoherent grumble.

"I'll bet," Cailus replied with bemusement. Glancing at Sean, he waved his right hand. "If Shae told you about a cyborg security officer, that's me." Looking down at Shae with an uncharacteristic look of mischief, he asked "Need a rescue?"

Shae was only able to reply with a happy sounding cooing chirp, her eyes blissfully closed; it had been ages since she had a good ear rub and she was loving every second of it!

"She probably does need a rescue, I think I've almost got her asleep," Sean said with a snicker. "Or I could show you how she likes to be rubbed; or not, that sounded dangerously suggestive and I'd rather not see her head explode from embarrassment."

"If you show her mercy," Cailus said, bending down and meeting Sean's eyes, his mischief still alight but his voice utterly deadpan, "I'll tell you guys about some gossip back on the Tornado. Involving Shae. And our Orion security chief. On a beach. In bikinis. Half the crew was talking about nothing else for a week..."

"The camera's rollin' so start talkin'!" Sean said, letting go of Shae's ears.

"You guys are mean!" Shae whined feebly, causing her brothers to laugh. Her body still felt like jelly, she didn't want to move! "But for the record, there was no bikini! At least not in that incident... I was forced to swim in my hiking clothes when the Counselor and I accidentally walked in on Meera's holodeck time, Geni pulled me into the water before I could change..." she begrudgingly admitted. Though Meera was smokin' hot in her swimsuit, but Shae wasn't about to say that out loud.

"So there was another incident with a bikini onboard?" Cailus said blandly with a raised eyebrow. Glancing back up at Sean and Dylan, he shook his head with mock sincerity. "Sorry lads. I'm really falling down on the job to be missing such vital incidents. Joking aside, if the torture is finished, there's someone inside who'll probably love to meet you, Sean. Call me Cailus, by the way." He held out his right hand, still utterly deadpan, not caring a whit that Shae was half-comatose between them.

"Shite..." Shae grumbled for having inadvertently admitted to a second bikini incident. Dylan laughed again and finally put the camera away.

Sean gave Cailus' hand a shake, then pulled the hand closer to get a better look at it when he felt that this was the cybernetic hand. "Oooh, retro tech!" he said, giving the hand a good once over. "Don't see much of this around anymore, what with the advancements in biomechanics and all. But this is very nice for its time," Sean said approvingly. "If you ever consider getting an upgrade, give me a call; I know a guy who can hook you up with good stuff."

"He's a technophile," Shae said in a faux whisper. "Take your hand back before he does something to make you not want it anymore..."

"Warning noted." Cailus pulled back his hand, twisting it with a thoughtful expression. "You're an astrometrics geek, both of you are engineers...are you Brennans all technophiles?"

Dylan laughed while Sean snickered at Shae's embarrassed blush. "No no, nothing like that. Shae is just enthusiastic about stellar science, while I'm helping to innovate starship designs, and I love my job, but it's just that, a job. Caden was no slouch when it came to learning basic Engineering at the Academy, but he ended up on the Command track after starting out in Tactical. Sean is the only weird one," he explained.

"I prefer the terms 'eccentric' and 'unique'," Sean corrected with a grin, and in one smooth movement, rose to his feet while draping Shae over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Dylan stooped to pick up Sean's duffel since he was carrying Shae "Now as I hear it, I have a mini-Shae to meet, so let's get inside!"

"Do you have to carry me like this? it's so undignified..." Shae grumbled.

"I could drop you if it would make you feel any better," Sean suggested, petting Shae's bushy tail for an extra layer embarrassment.

"No, that's alright, I'm fine," Shae replied quickly, flicking her tail into Sean's face, prompting another snicker from the ginger Engineer.

As the group returned to the house, Anna was by the window watching them, and she lifted Aoife's hand to make her wave at the group as they filed back in. Shae was unceremoniously deposited into a random chair and while Dylan took Sean's duffel up to one of the bedrooms. "Holy shite, she really is a mini-you!" Sean said to Shae when he saw Aoife. Then he erupted into incoherent baby babble as he took her from Anna. "Now let's see if I can make her purr like her mama," he said, giving Aoife a good scratch behind her little ears with one hand. Aoife responded with a similar chirping sound that Shae had made earlier, then nuzzled against his chest as she started purring. "So cute!" Sean said excitedly.

"That's what everybody on the ship says," Cailus commented with amusement, leaning on the doorframe with crossed arms. "Something about that little girl just melts everybody who meets her."

"Shae was exactly the same way," Anna said as she sat down at the table and refreshed everyone's tea. "There's a story about how Liam met Shae-"

"Oh no, not this story," Shae sputtered on her tea.

"Oh yes, this story!" Anna replied with a conniving grin, a clear indicator as to where Sean got his mischievous personality. "Liam used to pilot a freight hauler and they came across a distress signal. Being the good Samaritans they were, they stopped and checked things out, sent a team down, found Shae and brought her back. Troublesome little thing she was, I think I have a picture of her somewhere..." Anna trailed off as she picked up a mini-PaDD and started leafing through to find the image she was looking for. Shae just started giggling uncontrollably, covering her face with a hand to hide her intense blush; clearly she knew where this story was going. "Ah! Here we go," Anna said, then handed the mini-PaDD to Cailus to see a picture of a small dirty Shae, truly not much bigger than Aoife was now, dressed in an over-sized dress fashioned out of a medical smock, sitting on young Liam Brennan's lap and playing with the helm controls. "There she was, dirty scrawny little thing, walked right onto the bridge and crawled into Liam's lap like she had every right to be there, and then proceeded to tell him how wrong his controls were," Anna regaled, then began imitating the young Shae, "'No, this is where the attitude controls are, and thrusters, and this is how you set your bearings,' and then she tried to set a new course! He was a goner, love at first sight, and he knew he had to bring her home to us."

"Already commanding spaceships practically out of the crib," Cailus said with an amazed shake of his head. His smile widened at the sight of the young Shae and the clearly shellshocked Liam. Then, as he studied the photo more closely, the smile faded.

Shae didn't just look similar to Aoife. They were identical. Absolutely, perfectly identical. In the flash of a moment, Cailus identified certain aspects of Shae's face-cheekbones, mouth, eye height-and compared them to Aoife, who was blissfully unaware of the surreptitious examination. There were any number of possible answers, any number of functional theories, but Cailus forced his mind to focus. Now was not the time.

Giving Anna back the PaDD, he frowned. "Did you ever find out more about that planet? From Starfleet, maybe?"

"Well, they were in Klingon space and the freight hauler was a civilian ship, so at the time Starfleet didn't have any authority to go investigate," Anna replied. "Liam's captain reported the incident to the Klingons and got permission to take Shae so she wouldn't starve to death on that world, which as far as they could tell was otherwise uninhabited. What Liam's crew knew was that a ship had crash landed there, but there was a fire so it was unsafe for them to investigate. When we decided to adopt her, we had a Starfleet liaison helping us look into what came from the Klingon's investigation into the crashed ship. They found two bodies, but there wasn't much left after the fire. Thinking they might be Shae's parents, we requested the remains to they could be buried nearby to help Shae grieve, but they declined. They also got some information from the ship's computer, but it wasn't much considering all the damage; all that we were able to learn from the Starfleet liaison was that the ship was smuggling something sensitive enough that the Klingons didn't want to disclose what little information they were able to retrieve."

"Those were my parents, and that ship was my home. I remember just enough of that day to know they survived that crash, told me to run like my life depended on it because it did; I don't know what killed them, but I knew something was after us, so I ran and hid in a cave. The freighter crew was only able to find me because I went out to forage and I got caught in one of my own snares trying to catch something to eat," Shae said to fill in a few gaps. It hadn't escaped Shae's noticed that Cailus started looking at Aoife's face a lot while he was looking at the picture of herself when she was younger; he was more observant than most, so she accepted that she may have to tell him why she and Aoife look so similar.

At Shae's explanation, Cailus bowed his head slightly in apology. "I'm sorry. Once a detective, always a detective. It's an extraordinary story." Pausing, he raised an eyebrow, his brow furrowed. "Do any of you ever wonder what would've happened if Shae was rescued by a Klingon crew?" Considering her, he pondered "A general in the Klingon Empire, conqueror of all she beholds?"

"I've made peace with what happened," Shae said in reply to his condolences. "I barely remember them anymore, but sometimes I still miss them... But by chance I found another family, a wonderful loving family in return, I couldn't have asked for more," she added with a warm smile, then she laughed softly. "And me, a general? Not likely! I would never be happy with that kind of life, my heart is in the stars; I think it has something to do with the El Aurian wanderlust, the idea of being a conquering general absolutely bores me!"

"Shae doesn't believe in fate, but we do, and we believe she was meant to be here," Sean affirmed with a grin.