The Apple Strudel Protocol

Posted on Tue Dec 3rd, 2024 @ 8:37pm by Emilie Temple

Mission: The Only Thing Left Was Hope
Location: Earth - Paris
Timeline: After “Those Left Behind”

ON:
[Earth - Paris, France - mid afternoon]

A weary Magnus Temple heaved the shoulder bag away from his aching neck and slumped it onto the floor as he walked into his office. The orange sunlight beamed in through his wide bay-view windows, showing an expansive vista of the Parisian afternoon outside. Magnus was pleased to see his view from the Palais de la Concorde; the Foreign Ministry office being located on the northwest corner of the building, giving him the Eiffel Tower on one side and the Palais mall on the other. It was a sight for sore eyes after an extensive assignment to the Gamma Quadrant.

Magnus had just returned from a successful diplomatic mission to gain cooperation for dilithium mining on Nybor XI but the trip was decidedly uncomfortable. The Nybors had many customs relating to diplomatic relations, mostly requiring a personal, close friendship built on understanding the Nybor's point of view. The Nybors were all somewhere around 3 feet in height and did not alter any of their buildings, hotels, or transports to accommodate others. Instead, visitors were expected to acclimate themselves and, as suggested, actually see things from the Nybor's point of view. For the six-foot-tall Magnus, this meant there had been a lot of crouching and bending. Something the Nybors likely intended. Once the deal was done, Magnus was very glad to have gotten back on a Federation transport so that he could exist fully upright again - while also knowing he would have a week of lower back and neck pain to overcome. At least they had the mining contract to show for it.

He was very much looking forward to taking an afternoon nap.

Magnus lurched over to his desk and saw an unexpected vase had been placed on top of it that had apparently once housed a bouquet of flowers. But those flowers had long dried up, dropped their petals, and died out. The deceased browned remains - likely wilted by the very beaming sunlight through the glass windows that Magnus was only just admiring - were a neglected reminder of his constant long travel and busy schedule. Feeling guilt over their demise, Magnus tried to remember if he had seen the vase before he left, but he knew that he hadn't.

“Pia?” Magnus called out to his secretary. “What are these flowers?”

From the reception desk where she had been unpacking her own travel bag, Pia paused, and she frowned for a moment. Finally, she remembered and yelled back, “Ah, they were from the ambassador from Nybor.”

“Nybor! You mean, the ambassador from Nybor we just travelled to and spent all that time with?” Magnus raised an eyebrow. He gently touched a remaining flower petal, only for it to crumble in his fingertips. “Why couldn’t he have given the flowers to us then, when we were with him?”

“They must have done some research on humans and thought it was a gesture of good will to send before we left. Their attempt at human customs.” Pia explained as she entered the room. As she approached, she was completely prepared to launch a defense for the sending of flowers, believing Magnus was just being picky as usual. “Don't you like the col..." Then Pia saw the decayed mess on the desk, the forlorn remains of a gesture that had been left to rot and die in their absence. "Oh... I see. I guess, no one was here to keep it watered."

Magnus lifted the vase and handed it to Pia. His tone was playfully testy, “That's because I don't have a flower watering person. Because I’m not really a flower getting guy.”

“Noted.” Pia replied as she took hold of the vase, "What should I tell the ambassador?"

Magnus grimaced, "Our cordial thanks for the thoughtful gift, which we receive with humble appreciation of their wonderful gesture."

"They won't understand the sarcasm." Pia frowned.

"I know." Magnus replied with a smile. Pia sighed as she took the vase back out to reception to be recycled.

As Magnus was sweeping the remains of the petals from his desk, he received a communication on his desktop console. Moving around to sit in his chair, Magnus accepted the call.

His sister-in-law Emilie appeared on screen, looking a little frazzled with a forced smile on her face, "Greetings Magnus, how are you?"

"Ah Emilie, so good to see you. I'm a little sore after a long trip but otherwise good." Magnus replied, "How's my brother doing?"

There was a flicker in Emilie's smile for a moment, "Oh busy as usual, you know him. Actually, I was thinking of making him his favorite dessert from when you guys were kids. It was a strudel, right? Apple?"

Magnus breathed in a little before he forced on a smile too. He began to silently tap away at his console. "Yes, yes. We loved it as kids. I think I have the recipe back at my apartment. Would you be able to come to Paris at all?"

Emilie shook her head, "No, the kids have activities today. Would you be able to come for dinner tonight instead?"

"Of course." Magnus nodded, "After the trip I've had, I would love a home cooked meal."

After a few more pleasantries, Magnus said goodbye to Emilie, and he stood from his desk. "Pia!" He called out urgently. She appeared inside the office once more, perhaps expecting more discussions on floral arrangements, but instead Magnus' face was more clearly serious now. "I have been called to an urgent matter. It's classified. Please tell the Minister I will be contactable for emergencies only."

Pia's face didn't hide the confusion, "Okay, but you have a conference call with the Department of Trade at six, and you gave a tentative yes to the Galactic Alliance's cocktail party tonight at eight."

Magnus frowned, "See if we can't get the Minister early and tell the Galactic Alliance we tentatively won't make it. Blame the trip if you must."

Pia gave a solemn nod and left to make the calls. With a strain, Magnus picked up his satchel bag again. Rest time will have to wait.

[Evening - Copenhagen, Earth]

Later that day, Magnus materialised in the living room of Emilie and Nyx's townhouse. He could hear a playful roar from William upstairs while Katrine was yelling at her younger brother to be quiet. Emilie crossed into the room from the kitchen, as she was drying her wet hands on a towel.

"Kids, please! It's bedtime!" She was yelling, just as she caught sight of Magnus standing awkwardly in her living room. "OH!" She called out in surprise.

"You enacted the apple strudel protocol." Magnus smiled as he opened his arms to hug Emilie, "I came as quick as I could."

Emilie hugged her brother-in-law with a warm grin, "I thank you, Magnus. I hope I didn't pull you away from anything too important."

"Not at all." Magnus replied, "I would have been here earlier, but the Trade Department were extra chatty."

"UNCLE MAG-US!" William cried out from the top of the staircase. The almost-four-year-old waddled down the stairs with nervous excitement before launching himself into Magnus' arms. Magnus lifted him up into the air, eliciting a playful giggle.

Suddenly Katrine was by his side too, grabbing hold of his waist and wrapping her arms around him. Emilie stood back and smiled, knowing that bedtime had been decidedly delayed now.

"My favorite niece and nephew." Magnus laughed as he returned the embrace, "How are you?"

"We had fun day." William declared.

"Yes, mummy took us to the marketplace to go shopping and we got lots of arts and crafts." Kat nodded firmly, "Then we saw some of daddy's friends come by and then we made pizzas and watched all my shows."

At the mention of 'Daddy's friends', Magnus shot Emilie a look. Emilie had kept the smile on her face, but her eyes conveyed a look of concern. Magnus frowned a little before he looked back down to the kids. "How about I read you both a bedtime story, huh?"

"I don wanna go to bed now!" William complained with a threatening pout. "I wanna stay up with Uncle Mag-us."

Magnus lifted William over his shoulder, sending the boy into a fit of giggles. "Oh yeah?! Well, I'm not Uncle Magus today. I'm the big scary monster!" Magnus roared as he took hold of Katrine in his other arm and carried both of the Temple kids upstairs.

[Later]

Magnus returned to the living room from his adventure playing monsters with William and Katrine, before reading them each a bedtime story, and waiting for them to fall asleep. Slowly he crept back downstairs, trying not to make a sound as he did. Emilie had lit the fireplace and was waiting with the aforementioned apple strudel and a cup of tea for her brother, as she sat and watched the flames dance in front of her.

"I hope they didn't wear you out," Emilie said with a thankful smile as Magnus lowered himself down into an adjacent armchair.

"Trust me, from where I've just come from, this was a piece of - oh, strudel!" He beamed as he saw the dessert plated for him on the table, which he immediately took and started eating. "You actually made it."

"I had to keep my mind busy." Emilie admitted, nervously, the context hanging precariously in the air. "And the kids."

"Ah," Magnus said through mouthfuls, "The protocol. So, I take it my brother has done something... Nyx-ish again?"

"He's missing." Emilie nodded, keeping her tone hushed and quiet, "At least that's what Starfleet thinks. Two of his crewmates visited me today to tell me as such. Taken, actually, was the word they used."

"What?" Magnus stopped chewing and his mouth was full, so he spat a little as he reacted. "By who?"

Emilie shrugged, "I'm not sure."

"Surely Starfleet would be on high alert. We should have heard something?" Magnus said, questioning how a Starfleet captain can go missing and not a single alert was raised. "How is this not bigger news?"

"Because I got a letter." Emilie replied. She reached underneath a book she had kept by her chair to retrieve the letter and handed it over to Magnus. He put the plate back down and started to read. "From Nyx. I know it is. He's telling me that he's safe and appears to be working with whomever has taken him."

"Burn the stars?" Magnus looked up incredulously to Emilie as he repeated a line that Nyx had written.

She shrugged again, "Nyx is surprisingly a passionate man. If you ever managed to settle down and find yourself a partner, you'd know what it's like." She quipped, playfully lecturing her perpetually single brother in law.

"No thank you." Magnus quickly replied, waving away that thought. “I don’t have the time for that.” He was happy to move on from that point of conversation. "Okay, so because of this letter, Starfleet are just happy to let Nyx be taken? They're not going to look for him?"

“They are. The officers I spoke to today seemed very determined to find him.” Emilie replied. “One of them was a Changeling, actually. They weren’t on the Pandora originally but now seem to be working with the crew, to help find Nyx.”

Magnus raised his eyebrows for a moment, “Oh. That’s interesting.”

“Apparently, it's all to do with that visitor he had. The man in the shadows." Emilie answered, "And somehow all of that is connected to finding the Pandora."

"Ah, of course. It's always the Pandora." Magnus nodded ruefully, "So now what?"

"The letter seems to have given them some clue, and Commander Mindo spent time looking at our security logs. They seemed happy with that.” She gave a shrug but then sighed, “But, I don't know what Starfleet Command are doing about this." Emilie admitted softly. As a civilian, even as the partner of the officer taken, she was powerless to find out anything by herself. The cold doors of Starfleet protocols were shut to her. But she had her own protocols to rely on. "But you could, right? I know Nyx is close to Admiral Milne..." She trailed off, letting the suggestion speak for itself.

"I will make enquiries." Magnus said firmly. He wanted to reassure his sister in law that they would do whatever they could to bring Nyx home. He didn't have much contact with Admiral Milne, but he was about to become acquainted. "And I'm sure his Pandora crew are doing what they can, too. It's just that finding out anything could take time. Everything involving the Pandora has been kept very quiet."

"Yes," Emilie agreed, "I know Commander Mindo will not stop until he's back. But you're right, Starfleet aren't saying much. I even tried Captain Nash, but he doesn't know or maybe can't tell me. I don't know."

"Remember, Nyx says that he's safe." Magnus handed the letter back to Emilie. She folded it up neatly again but instead of placing it back within its hiding place, she held the letter to her chest for a moment. "Wherever he is."

Emilie smiled a little, giving a nod, "Agreed."

"I have some time-off owing." Magnus began to suggest, thinking of his own mission for a moment. A 'little' time off was an understatement. Magnus had barely taken a sick day since being in the Office of the Exterior and had been warned by his boss, the Minister, countless times for his excessive leave building up. "I could spend a few days helping out here, if you like?"

"No, I'll manage." Emilie replied, "But thank you for the offer. I guess... ah, never mind."

"What?" Magnus pressed.

"Well, it's just for these past few years while Nyx was at home, I had the chance to work on my own career. I had the time to do what I wanted." Emilie shrugged as she spoke, "But as soon as the ship needs him, he's off again. Just like that. Meanwhile, I'm suddenly back to being mum and dad by myself. I've got to organize my work around the kids' schedule. He just disappears and I've got to pick everything up and keep going."

"That's Starfleet for you, bound by duty," Magnus nodded, "Hence why no relationship I've ever had with an officer has ever worked out. The mission comes first. Always."

"I guess." Emilie frowned, "I gave him three years for his command in the Expanse, and he gave me three for my career on Earth. It's my turn to sacrifice again, is that it?"

"Maybe. But I think if you're looking for relationship advice, you're asking the wrong brother." Magnus remarked, giving a small wry laugh at his own single status. "He might be back sooner than you think and you can work that out together."

Emilie nodded a little, before reaching over and taking a sip from her tea. "I will do that. We need to get him back home first, safe and sound."

"We will." Magnus replied firmly. “I’ll talk to Admiral Milne when I get a chance, and I can look into getting you some help here as well. Being a Starfleet spouse should get you some benefits, right? I’m sure they can muster up someone to help you while Nyx is away.”

“Thank you, Magnus.” Emilie smiled, feeling a sense of relief come over her. “I appreciate it.”

It wasn't long before the tired and weary Magnus was fast asleep in his armchair, the rigors of his travel and recent events catching up with him. He needed a good sleep. The fire had dissipated, now just a small remnant of smoldering ashes. Still awake, Emilie quietly moved their empty dishes out to the kitchen recycler before she returned to the living room to close the curtains.

Emilie paused as she stared out into the Copenhagen evening from the cottage window of the townhouse. The moon beamed brightly down onto the canal outside, bathing the gentle waters in a calm blue tone. There were a few lights still on in neighboring houses, but the street was mostly quiet now. She looked up to the night sky, a sea of stars twinkling above her and she sighed.

"Nyx, wherever you are." She whispered, "Come back to us soon."

Emilie drew the curtain closed and turned down the lights, heading upstairs to hopefully sleep.

OFF