What Do You Mean By "Kids?"

Posted on Fri Jun 18th, 2021 @ 11:38pm by Cailus Griffin & Commander Mindo & Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD

Mission: The Gauntlet
Location: The Brennan-Griffin's

ON

Mindo dodged the stares he received in the corridors as he hovered forward carrying a container of some kind and a bouquet of flowers he'd picked from the arboretum. There was no doubt in the various crew's minds what was going through Mindo's, and they couldn't have been more wrong. Mindo was, for once, not heading for drinks and some hanky-panky. Instead, he was going to visit Cailus and Shae and welcome them back.

He'd heard they'd been through quite an ordeal, but had no details. He knew some of it regarded their dearly departed Aoife. Mindo would tread lightly there. But being incarcerated and court martialed? There was more to this story. But he wouldn't push it. He was just glad they were safe and sound. He didn't have any idea what lay ahead of him as he rang the chime.

The door swished open and there was Shae, full of smiles. "Mindo, it's so good to see you again!" she said, stepping forward to give him a hug, giving him a little extra squeeze before breaking away and stepping back. "Please, come on in,' she welcomed him, just as they heard a squeal from the bathroom. "Sorry, Cailus volunteered to give the kids a bath so I could have a break, he'll be with us shortly."

"I understand." Mindo smiled and handed Shae the flowers, a very colorful assortment from various planets. "These are for you, Shae. I hope they're to your liking. And I brought a bottle of the fresh-squeezed orange juice that Cailus... wait, what do you mean by 'kids?'"

"Oh, you haven't hear the gossip by now?" Shae said as she took the flowers and replicated a vase to put them in, setting them on the table. "Here, I'll be right back!" Shae said with a hint of excitement, then ducked into the bathroom to get Eoin. The boy was freshly cleaned and swaddled only in a towel. His piercing grey blue eyes were alert, and his downy fine hair was so pale it almost looked like he was still bald. "Mindo, meet Eoin," Shae said when she came back out holding her son. "He surprised us after we rescued Eva."

"Hi Eoin!" Mindo said, somewhat hitting himself that he was talking to a baby. "He's adorable!" He looked back at Shae. "Who is Eva? Why did she need rescuing?"

"Aoife was a clone of Eva, who is in turn a clone of me," Shae said, placing the baby in Mindo's arms so he could hold Eoin for a bit. "During the autopsy, we learned that Aoife wasn't the right kind of clone, so we knew she had to be out there somewhere, so we went and found her. When we did find her, we realized that she knew us, she knew her name, but we needed to separate them in our minds to help us grieve the girl in the morgue, we wanted to see them as individuals, so we renamed something that sounded similar and she became Eva."

Having been listening from the bathroom, Cailus took that opportunity to emerge with Eva on his hip, dressed in a gown, her curly hair thoroughly tousled from her bath. "And here she is," he said, moving to Mindo and Shae. "Our family has gone through a few changes since we left. It's good to see you, Mindo, and I think this little one wants to say hello too."

"Mindo, hi!" Eva said as she waved to him.

Mindo wasn't expecting any of this, and that, Mindo thought, was an understatement. Two new children? An exact replica of Aoife? Cailus actually saying it was good to see him?

"This," Mindo said, "is by far the weirdest moment in my life." After a brief pause, he added, "In a way, though, it's beginning to make some kind of sense."

Mindo now looked at Eva, seeing the same child he'd last seen being autopsied just weeks prior. "Eva," he said with a genuine smile. "I'm so glad to meet you! Do you know who I am? Where I work on the ship?"

Eva made a sound that imitated the sound of the pulse of the warp core. "And then we go up!" Eva said brightly, so clearly she remembered Aoife being carried by Mindo to see the warp core!

"Up?" Cailus said suspiciously, looking at Mindo with narrowed eyes. "Up in the air? Flying up with your legs? You never told us about that."

Mindo smiled even wider. "She's talking about the day Mrs. Temple brought Aoife and Katrine to see Engineering. I flew them up and let them touch the core." Mindo shook his head. "Amazing... the device worked!"

"What device?" Shae asked, then it dawned on her. "Oh, the device that was found during Aoife's autopsy?"

Mindo nodded. "I believe it was a transmitter of some sort. Recording Aoife's brainwaves, or something like that. I'm not a brain expert, so I don't understand the physiology, but I know it was transmitting something. It must have been Aoife's memories."

Cailus nodded, smiling as he looked down at Eva, still perched on his hip. "I couldn't believe it when Eva called me papa. Thought I had to be hallucinating or something. Came as almost as big a surprise as Eoin being born on the shuttle two days later." He sighed, proceeding to place Eva on the couch before returning to Shae and Mindo. "Have you learned anything else about this device? Where the technology came from? Who could have been collecting the data? Unless that implant had a subspace transmitter, there had to be someone onboard who was sending Aoife's memories on to S31."

"It's Federation technology," Mindo said, hovering to the nearest chair. "No doubt it was inspired by Borg implants. To be honest, it gives me jitters. This is the kind of tech that rapes innovation. It's next of kin to absolute mind control. But the truth is, I really don't know enough about it. It's barely the size of a grain of sand and was definitely made in a lab with far more sophisticated equipment than is at my disposal in Engineering."

Mindo sighed. "As for the transmission itself, I've found it uses the same tech that is currently broadcasting 'Stop the Pandora.' You wouldn't actually have to be on the ship to send the data. But at some point, someone had to physically put the device inside Aoife through injection or hypospray. That would not be an easy feat to achieve."

"So we thought that the Pandora would be safe for us, but it's been no safer than Carnwennan all along..." Shae remarked with a sigh.

Cailus shook his head. "No. We have options here. We know there's a threat this time, so we can protect the kids accordingly. Now that I've been discharged, I have all the spare time I need to find this person and bring them to justice. They won't be able to hide for long."

"I just wonder what S31 would be doing with Aoife's memories," said Mindo. "I mean... wait, what do you mean by 'discharged?'"

"Cailus was discharged, he's not Starfleet anymore," Shae said, finally taking Eoin from Mindo so that they could get him ready for bed; the little tyke was already half asleep in Mindo's arms. "As for the memories, they're in Eva now, so that's pretty telling."

"I guess..." Mindo was incredibly puzzled now, but decided all his questions could be answered later. Right now he was just happy to see his friends again. "I'm really glad you're back," Mindo said. "And I'm glad for Eoin and Eva too."

"We're glad to be back too," Shae said with a smile. "Now give us a moment to get these kids to bed, then we can have dinner, alright?"

Cailus went to the couch, picking up Eva. "Nine days in that shuttle," he explained as he went to the bedroom to get Eva ready for bed. "It's a decent little ship, but we're all glad to be back in our own beds. The bunks on the Ariadne aren't that comfortable, although Eoin slept sound in his nursery even when we were dodging fire from the Breen."

Together they went back to the bedroom to get the kids settled, and a short while later they were back and ready to sit down to have dinner. "So Mindo, tell us a little bit about what happened on the Pandora after we left," Shae said as they tucked in at the table.

"We had a nasty encounter with the Talarians a few weeks back," Mindo said. "There was considerable damage and it delayed our arrival at Paradise Station for a few days. Thanks to help and resources from Paradise, we're able to finish repairs within the next few hours. I've also managed to find the place from where 'Stop the Pandora' was first broadcast."

"The news programs back home are going berserk about that," Cailus commented. "Regular slots on the FNN, and even more coverage on the local news in the sectors near here. Starfleet Command haven't said a damned thing, though, just the usual nothing answers about the Pandora whenever anyone asks. Feels like they're trying very hard to forget about us, or hope Captain Temple can pull a rabbit out of his hat without Starfleet needing to lift a finger."

"It's worse than that," Mindo said, gravely. "But seeing as you're a civilian now, I can't tell you anything further."

"Oh, don't be like that, Mindo," Shae said. "Surely you can talk more freely than that, this is Cailus, you know he's trustworthy."

Cailus looked rather bemused and, strangely, even a little impressed as he looked at Mindo, smiling ever so slightly. "No, it's alright. If it's classified, then so be it. I'll file an official clearance request tomorrow with Lieutenant Smith, just so neither of you have to hold yourselves back when talking to me." He frowned, considering Mindo carefully. "How are you, Mindo? Really?"

There was a pause, for a moment, as Mindo collected his thoughts. His eyes betrayed him as he constructed his reply.

"To be honest," Mindo said, "I've been stretched very thin lately. And not just with work. I've had a lot on my mind. And my guard is up... constantly." His voice had wavered just a little in those words. But his composure lifted a bit. "Maybe it's this signal business, with everyone and everything out to get us. Or the pressure of maintaining a starship and a business..." He paused again, but for a moment. "Commander Nash saw my fatigue yesterday. Told me to take some time off. My full intention was to grab something to eat and drink and then sleep for twelve hours, but... have you guys met the new diplomatic attache yet? She's Risan. Her name is Briya. I still felt worn out waking up in her quarters this morning. I go on duty in an hour and I don't feel any more rested than I did twelve hours ago."

"Lesson learned, when your superiors give you time off to rest, then you take that time to rest," Shae said with a knowing nod. "Perhaps you should get some help for your business, take some of the responsibility off your shoulders for a little while," she suggested.

"And you're always welcome to come by and spend time with your friends," Cailus followed on, nodding. "You don't need to keep your guard up with us, either of us. You aren't alone, Mindo."

An idea hit Mindo when Shae had suggested getting help for the barcade. "Cailus, is there any chance that, as a civilian, you'd be looking for a job?" A small smile had formed on Mindo's face.

Cailus looked distinctly wary. "Yes, I suppose I am," he said cautiously, not liking Mindo's smile one bit.

"How would you like a job at Little Caesar's?" Mindo enquired. "With only two other employees, I'm rather understaffed. You're already well-liked among the crew. I'll even let you choose your own hours. I'm sure Raven and Terrekal's schedules would be flexible enough. What do you say?" Mindo glanced at Shae for a second, hoping she might chime in on the idea as well.

"Me, a bartender," Cailus said, looking at Mindo as if he'd grown a second head. "That's crazy. That's crazy, right?" He glanced at Shae for confirmation. "Come on, that's completely nuts."

Shae grinned. "I don't know, Cailus, he may be on to something there," she said playfully.

"Thank you for your loving support," Cailus said with fond exasperation. He sighed, giving in. "I suppose that I am unemployed right now, so temporarily...on a trial basis..."

"Then it's settled!" Mindo interjected. "Don't worry Cailus. You won't regret this!"

Cailus plainly already did regret it, but he smiled ruefully all the same. "This isn't exactly how I pictured it, but damn, it's good to be home."

"What would the Pandora be without the three... er, five of us?" Mindo said with a grin.

Cailus snorted, shaking his head as he drank some wine. "Hell if I know. There'd be much less drama, that's for sure."

END