Wishes Come True

Posted on Sat Dec 27th, 2025 @ 3:35pm by Captain Nycolas Temple & Petty Officer 2nd Class Raven Mattel & Emilie Temple

Mission: A Dawn on Drax
Location: Sensor Pod - Deck 1

ON:

Nyx was stood in the top deck of the sensor pod - the USS Pandora's Luna-class attachment that provides additional support to the vessel. Perched above the main hull, the Sensor Pod is mostly used to enhance the ships's scanning and detection abilities, with some extra space for life support and research. While the Pandora was in dry dock, the Pod itself was empty. It had undergone a range of refurbishments along with the rest of the ship, with added equipment for the new Rapid Response unit. But it was currently not in use.

The Captain was busy finalising preparations for a special surprise. Having decided to take advantage of the empty space, he and Raven had created a cozy indoor camping set-up. The Operator Centre perimeter, usually reserved for tactical readouts, was now lined with a series of three beds: two twin mattresses for the children and a sprawling double for the parents. Each bed was a fortress of plush duvets and pillows, with a styled canvas covered for each family member, illuminated by the amber glow of string lights draped across the instrument panels like bioluminescent vines. At the foot of each bed lay a neatly folded set of matching pyjamas, waiting to be claimed.

Standing back to survey the set up, Nyx smiled. Raven wiped her brow, having put the final touches on hanging the lights.

"This looks amazing, sir." She smiled, "The kids are gonna love it."

"I hope so." Nyx smiled in return, "I'm still trying to sell them on coming back to the Pandora full time. This oughta help seal the deal."

Raven opened her mouth to speak then thought better of it. Strangely, she was more outspoken and forthcoming with her opinion when she was a civilian; not so much now that she was an officer. However, Nyx had noticed her momentary reluctance and he frowned.

"You don't think it'll work?" He asked worriedly, assuming that's what Raven was thinking. He looked around the room, wondering what else he could add to make it better.

"Oh it will!" Raven insisted immediately, "Of course it will. What kid wouldn't want this?"

"Ah. Good." Nyx was relieved, his moment of doubt passing. "Then what is it? You can speak freely, Raven." He said.

"I don't think you need to seal any deal, Captain," Raven replied, "Your family loves it here. I know, I have babysat for them enough times to know this already."

Nyx leaned against a console, nodding, as he stared across the room, "That's true. I just worry because last time, we had so many close calls and dangerous situations. I worry about them associating the ship with that kind of stress and fear."

Raven looked at him, not seeing the Captain of the starship anymore - but instead, he was a father. She turned up her mouth warmly, "They associate it with you... sir. So, they do want to be here."

Nyx turned to her, with an earnest gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, Raven. That's nice to hear."

"Hey, I can be very insightful." Raven shrugged, "I'm not just a pretty face, fabulous dresser, and amazing singer."

Nyx chuckled at her hubris, "Indeed."

"I would've been thrilled to have something like this as a kid," Raven said, "When I was little, my parents never did anything quite so fun. I wish they had."

"If wishes were horses then beggars would ride." Nyx immediately replied, an impulsive thought that had popped into his mind. He immediately regretted saying it, knowing where it came from.

"Huh?" Raven raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ugh. It was just a saying my father would use." Nyx sighed, "It was his way of letting us know that there wasn't any point in wishing for things. If we needed something, we had to go get it ourselves. If it was too grand of a wish, it would never come true. It's hard to be disappointed in your father when he deliberately set our expectations of him to be, well, nothing."

"Oh so bleak." Raven frowned, "Your father sounds..." She wondered if it would push her 'speak freely' allowance by giving her true opinion. She paused, "Challenging?"

Nyx laughed a little, "You don't know the half of it. When he wasn't incoherently drunk, he was often spouting off such classic sayings like that." Nyx shrugged a little, "I think sometimes I'm overcompensating for the childhood I didn't have by indulging the children."

"Well, out of all the possible outcomes from a crappy childhood, that isn't such a bad outcome." Raven suggested.

"There's that insightfulness again." Nyx tapped his nose. "I thank you for your assistance in getting this ready. As promised, you may end your duty shift early."

"Yes!" Raven cried, "I have a video call with Ignatius, he's going to show me his new designs."

"Say hi from me," Nyx replied with a smile, "And thank you again."

=====

Later that evening, Nyx stood in his pyjamas at the transporter pad, holding a flashlight. The lights around the sensor pod had been dimmed so just a pathway of small fake torches were leading around the room. Soon, Emilie, Kat, and William appeared on the Transporter pad.

"Daddy!" The kids cried out as they ran to their father, giving him a hug.

Emilie stood back, a bemused expression on her face, "And what are you wearing?"

"Don't laugh, you've got a set too." Nyx raised an eyebrow. He turned to the kids, "Are you guys ready for a surprise?"

"YES!" They shouted.

Nyx turned on the flashlight and pointed it at the ground. "Alright Temple troop, follow me!"

Nyx played the role of wilderness guide, leading them on a winding expedition around the Sensor Pod. The space had been transformed; synthetic ferns and trees lined the walls, creating a magical forest trail. It wasn’t just a walk, but a treasure hunt. Hidden within the artificial foliage were small bounties: a cache of foil-wrapped sweets, a small toy creature, and finally, a rugged explorer’s torch for each of them. The children’s laughter echoed off the bulkheads as they delighted in Nyx’s dramatic storytelling, his voice dropping to a whisper to sell the "dangers" of their nighttime trek. Eventually, the trail ended at the doors of the Operations Centre. They pushed inside, leaving the forest behind for total darkness of their cavernous campsite.

"Alright kids, I need your help." Nyx declared as they stood at the doorway. "I need you to say, 'Abracadabra' to turn the lights on! Can you do that?"

William and Kat nodded solemnly. Emilie was stood behind them smiling, loving the effort Nyx had put into this evening.

"Okay then everyone - " He looked purposefully to Emilie. She nodded, agreeing to participate. "Three, two, one - "

"ABRACADABRA!" They all shouted together.

At this command, the lights in the room slowly came to life - first the string lights around the beds, then the fake campfire in the centre of the room, and then a gathering of smaller electric tea-lights and candles that gave the room a glowing, homey warmth. The kids 'oohed' in response. As they looked around, Kat and William spied their bed set-ups. Kat's bed was covered in different colour splotches like a painter's palette, while William's bed had boats and sea life. They each ran down to their respective spaces and jumped into them.

"Are we staying here now?" William asked through excited giggles.

"Just for tonight." Nyx answered with a smile.

"I love it." Kat beamed. She held up her matching PJs - thankfully not old enough yet to find this kind of familial bonding 'embarrassing' or 'lame'.

"This is fabulous, Nyx," Emilie put her arm around him, "How did you manage all of this?"

"I had help," Nyx shrugged. He clapped his hands together, "Alright guys, we're going to have a little dinner and then.... Movies!"

"Movies?!" William cried, looking around "Where?"

"Right here." Nyx indicated to the Pod's main viewscreen. "We'll show the movies on there. You get to choose one film each, okay?"

The kids agreed immediately.

=====

As the second movie of the evening was playing, Emilie snuggled into Nyx. They were wearing the matching pyjamas together, Emilie picked at the last of the popcorn.

"You went to so much effort, Nyx." She whispered to him.

"It was worth it, look at them." Nyx replied in an equally hushed voice, nodding to the kids. They were sitting together on one cushion, sharing some snacks and laughing at the same time. They hadn't gotten along this well together for this long for several months. First it was Katrine showing William the Play Centre, and now this joyful evening of adventure and shared movies. The indoor camping experience had brought some semblance of peace into the Temple household.

"Agreed." Emilie said, leaning into him. "You know you didn't need to do all of this."

"I know," Nyx admitted, "But I wanted to. I don't want them to ever be disappointed in me." There was a slight tear in his eye. "As much as I can."

Emilie stirred and looked at her husband. In the dancing light of the candles, she caught sight of his tearful eye. She pulled herself up and cupped his cheek in her hand, wiping the tear away, "You can never disappoint them."

Nyx looked down at her and they embraced.

When the movie finished, the kids clapped together. As much as they were trying to hide it, they were both reluctantly falling asleep.

"Come on then, it's time for teeth brushing then into bed." Nyx called out.

"Do I have to?" Kat sighed as she stood and yawned.

"You can read for a while," Nyx smiled at her.

The two kids bounded off to the nearby bathroom to get ready. Emilie started cleaning up the mess they had made, sending the dirty dishes and left-over food into the recycler. Nyx tapped at the PADD and some of the lights turned off, giving a nighttime atmosphere for their camp site. The faux fire dissipated slowly. Eventually the kids came back and immediately jumped into their respective beds. Emilie tucked William in, reading him a bedtime story. Nyx and Kat discussed her most recent literary indulgence, classic horror stories. Finally, they were both fast asleep. William was cuddling a toy octopus, while Kat had dozed off with her nose literally in her book.

Emilie and Nyx were snuggled into each other, still awake. "Thank you for tonight." Emilie whispered, "Maybe sometime we can come back here - just the two of us?"

Nyx smirked in the dark, "I'd like that." He looked up to the ceiling, remembering something, "Oh. I have one more surprise, just for us."

"Oh?" Emilie raised an eyebrow. "More surprises?"

Nyx reached for a PADD, his fingers dancing across the interface quickly. On the main viewscreen in front of them, an image of the space outside flickered on, displaying the silent stars that watched over the Pandora. With a final, decisive tap, he unlocked the full canopy roof display. Slowly, the image surged upward, across the ceiling until the metal bulkheads vanished entirely. Suddenly, it was as if they weren’t in a room at all; now they were suspended in the heart of the cosmos. The Milky Way arched overhead in a brilliant dazzling show of the galaxy outside; the stars pulsing with a rhythmic light so magical that it felt as if the universe was performing for them alone.

"Oh Nyx!" Emilie gasped, clinging onto him as she took in the sight. "It's beautiful."

Nyx smiled, "Wishes really are horses tonight." He said as he leaned in closer to Emilie, and they laid back and watched the stars together.

OFF