Rose shifted on the bed as her internal clock switched her out of sleep mode. Her mind quickly booted to full as she recalled her task list for the day. Sliding out of her bed, she stood up and started remaking the bed. It only took a moment to straighten the sheets up and make the bed presentable. She also turned off the charging pad, even with her no longer drawing energy from it, the pad still used energy in idle mode. Not a lot of it mind you, but enough that she made a point to turn it off every morning. Finally she pressed a hidden switch and watched the bed vanish into the floor, leaving no sign that her bed was here. There was only so much space, and while her Father had decently sized quarters, they were not huge. That was why her bed was in his home office, there weren’t a great many options for it.
Like many upper officers quarters, there was more than one room, there was the foyer, the office, the main room, a bedroom and a single bathroom. On Earth it would have made a decent apartment, here on the Enterprise a space like this was a luxury that only a few could have. The foyer was set up to receive guests, there was a nice seating area for people to sit down and have a conversation. Her father had a number of shelves filled with aging electronics on display, iconic consoles from a bygone age, ancient laptops and old computers tastefully placed, arranged and sealed behind glass. It was almost like being in an electronics museum, and those old pieces were certainly something to talk about.
Stepping out of the office and into the short hall that connected the bedroom and the bathroom, she turned towards the main room. Being multipurpose in nature, Countryman had set it up with a nice kitchen and dining area. There was also a big sofa facing a large monitor. It’s where she’d spent most of her time watching little Rika.
Given the hour, she wasn’t going to see Rika in the room little Rika usually slept in for the next hour or so, but she might encounter Countryman. Sometimes he woke up before she did. It turned out this was one of the days that he was up a little earlier, as she found him sipping some juice while cooking breakfast. “Morning,” he greeted her.
“Morning,” she replied as she took in today’s night clothing. Countryman never wore much to bed, just a shirt and some underwear and since her programming originated from his, her own habits mirrored his in many respects, including night clothing. Today he was wearing a light green shirt and grey boxers. As for herself, she currently wore a plain light blue chemise and some white panties. “I see you are early today.”
“Just a bit, I have to prepare for a diplomatic meeting today,” he said while flipping a tortilla into a warmer on the counter. The lid closed quietly while he added a second to the hot iron pan before paying attention to his ‘scrambled eggs’ which in reality were an artificial egg replacement. She’d heard they were no substitute for the real thing, but they didn’t have any egg laying birds to harvest eggs from. They had the option to clone them, they did have the required genetic information in their library but Countryman didn’t bother requesting specially cloned tissues for his kitchen.
“Noted, anything I’ll need to know about your schedule, or will you be home at the usual time?”
Countryman gestured at a pad sitting on the counter, “I’ll be home around the usual time, unless the meeting runs long. In any case I have some special plans for dinner tonight, I detailed them out for you. I’ll just need you to do some of the cooking for me.”
She walked over to the pad and turned it on. Where she found a recipe detailed out, “I see, this one is going to take all day.”
“Sorry about that, but some of the best meals take time to prepare. This one is one of my favorite recipes with a little twist to make it feel a bit more fancy.”
The dish in question was a pasta dish, spaghetti and meatballs, and she recalled the recipe in her memory. She’d learned it from him before. The twist was that he was doing something a little special with the meatballs, namely two additions to the mix: cayenne pepper for a spicy bite and oregano for extra flavor. The original recipe had called for a mix of dried Parmesan, breadcrumbs and Italian seasoning mixed in with an egg and some ground meat. He typically used ground beef and pork for meat, but since they had no animals to provide milk for cheese, eggs, or even meat, they’d had to make more than a few substitutions.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s what I am here for.”
He chuckled, “Right, well, I am about done making breakfast. Could you wake Ruri and Rika for me?”
“On it,” she replied and hurried back down the hall. Taking the door opposite to the office door, she came into the bedroom. The main light was off, with only some dim light strips across the ceiling and floor to provide illumination but it was only barely enough to see by.
Ruri was settled in the large bed on the left, still curled under the comforter. She’d become a regular to their lives and basically moved out of her own quarters. Set at the foot of the main bed was a child-sized toddler bed, where four-year-old Rika was sleeping while hugging her favorite stuffed Dragon. It was a rather peaceful scene. Rose walked past the bed to the nightstand and flicked on the lamp. Bringing the room to its usual level of illumination and revealing the artwork on the walls. Highly detailed paintings of various starships, some fairly new in design like an image of the Enterprise. But there were also ships that dated back as much as a hundred and fifty years. Each painting was tastefully displayed and artfully arranged. Part of her had expected Ruri to add something, but she never did. Not a single decoration in any room. Although she’d added some clothing, and a few personal items to the list of things in the room.
Rose opened a drawer in the dresser, which was on the right side of the room. Bolted onto the top of the dresser was a large monitor and a terminal access port, along with an antique console system. There was a shelf on the wall with a selection of game disks for the machine. The captain didn’t mess with it that much though, she’d only seen him play with it twice in the years she was caring for Rika, but he was a busy man with little time for leisure. Much of which he either spent with Ruri, or Rika and when he was alone he often spent his time reading. Rose had, however, found the monitor itself useful, she’d occasionally put something on it for Rika to watch. Usually right before her nap as that would help settle her down.
Pulling a shirt out of the drawer, she moved to wake Ruri. Shaking the sleeping woman a couple of times. Ruri shifted, blinked a couple of times, then groggily sat up, the sheets falling from her frame and revealing her naked body. “Morning, Father made breakfast,” said Rose, as she held out the shirt, “Maybe you should put something on?”
Ruri took the shirt and slipped it on. Rose smiled and moved to wake Rika, glad that the older ‘child’ had obeyed this time. Ruri may be her mother, but she was glad the woman hadn’t programmed her. A genius she might be, but her social graces were often lacking. Still she didn’t bother trying to offer her underwear, she’d learned a while ago that Ruri wouldn’t wear any until after her morning bath. So the shirt would have to do.
Crouching by Rika, she leaned over the little one and poked her cheek a couple of times. Almost immediately, the little one started giggling, “Morning, sweetie. How long have you been playing?”
Rika just giggled a bit more and cutely lisped out, “Since you came in.”
Rose grinned, “Well, playtime is over, Daddy made breakfast.”
Rika jumped out of the bed, tossing her blanket aside. Rose caught it reflexively and quickly made the bed, while Rika ran out of the room as fast as her little legs could carry her. Few things motivated a toddler more than a free meal, and little Rika loved every chance she got to spend time with Daddy. Rose chuckled to herself and then followed her out of the bedroom and back to the main room.
Countryman was already serving Rika a plate when Rose came in. There was a tortilla on it with a helping of scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, crumbled bacon and a mild salsa. Rika grabbed the tortilla, rolled it and began to stuff her cheeks with a happy grin. Rose settled beside her and watched her eat.
Ruri entered the room a moment later and took another seat. Countryman placed a plate in front of her along with a drink. Moving on he gave Rose a glass of water. “Thanks,” she told him while he sat down with his own plate of food.
Countryman spoke first, “I’m going to be busy with diplomatic meetings for most of the day, but I should be back by evening around the usual time.”
Ruri yawned, “Glad I don’t deal with that stuff.”
“It’s a pain, I’ll give you that. Anyway I presume you will be in the lab working on your projects today?”
“Actually, I’ll be helping Smith today. We are getting ready to start a new production test. We’ve refined the algorithms and adjusted the microgravity environment.”
“Huh, interesting, how long will this run take?”
“About a week, which is perfect since my latest prototype will be finished around the same time. So I can move on to testing the new configuration.”
While the two of them talked. Rose watched little Rika eat. The young girl didn’t say anything but she was listening, her face raptly watching her parents chat on subjects so advanced she likely wouldn’t understand them for years to come.
The two had already shifted into full science chat as they discussed the specifics of the latest rounds of prototype testing and the numbers they had been getting from tests. Along with what tests they were planning. It was all very high level stuff that Rose didn’t much care to focus on, it wasn’t really her speciality. She’d much rather stick with what she was built for; caring for kids.
Before long breakfast was over, and Rose set about cleaning up the kitchen while Countryman took a quick shower. To distract Rika she put an anime on the main monitor and the little girl was quickly engrossed. Not surprising, the series was over two hundred years old with countless iterations and for good reason. Kids loved cute critters and Pokémon certainly delivered a lot of them. This particular series was one that had begun production on the ship and Rose thought they had done a good job.
More importantly, Rika seemed to love it, well that and dragons. Rose picked up a pan turning her mind to the cleaning. She inspected the pans and set about rinsing each item off before setting it into the dishwasher. Modern dishwashers were fantastic devices. Two hundred years ago they used hot water and soap but more recently, these devices started using nanites to break down food particles, remove grime and grease and kill germs while leaving the dishes themselves in pristine condition. Given how different they were from the ancient models there wasn’t a need to worry about being dishwasher safe, so she could ignore certain labels on Countryman’s dishware. Like the one on his tortilla warmer. It was labeled as not dishwasher safe, but she knew the label was really referring to the ancient ones that used soap and water.
While she was working on the dishes she also put the leftover food away, then wiped down the counters. By the time she was done, Countryman had finished his shower and was fully dressed in his full dress uniform. It was based on the standard duty uniform with a few modifications, and while the U.E.F fleet was no more. They had kept the uniforms, merely changing a few emblems.
It was a layered uniform, starting with a full body skinsuit that provided some protection from hazards. Over the skin suit was the main uniform which consisted of a polished set of black duty boots, solid black trousers paired with a white shirt. Over which one wore a navy blue jacket, which is where the main difference between the duty uniform and the dress uniform lay. The duty uniform used a plain navy blue jacket with silver trim, while the dress uniform featured a padded jacket with a gold trim and an embellished collar. On his shoulders were a pair of patches. One that represented the Enterprise and even included the ship’s name. While the other was the emblem of the Refuge Fleet, and included the motto they’d chosen for themselves in the last nine years. Per ardua ad astra which is Latin for "through adversity to the stars." They weren’t the first force to use this motto, and they likely wouldn’t be the last. Given what they had been through, the motto certainly fit them. Which played into why it had been chosen. It was simple, strong and it conveyed a sense that they would reach beyond, despite the adversities they have and shall face.
A rank insignia was placed on his shoulder, a gold and silver emblem featuring a delta with five thick bars on either side. The delta was done in gold and featured a stylized depiction of the Enterprise behind it. While each of the bars was done in silver and the entire emblem was done against a black background.
She’d heard the Enterprise had been an update to the emblem made after they’d left Earth behind but that was before her time. A reminder that she wasn’t much older than the young lady she was babysitting. The original had apparently depicted Earth. Little things like that had been done to symbolize their separation from their mother world and the U.E.F. Upon his chest were a number of decorative medals, some of them centuries old, a reminder of how long Countryman had been around. He even had medals that predated the U.E.F. space force, which were only allowed due to certain grandfather rules.
Rose looked him over and walked over to adjust a couple of little things. Then she smiled, “Looking good for the day. Good luck with the diplomatic meetings.”
“Thanks,” he glanced at Ruri who was still at the table and dressed in only a shirt, while she read something, “and make sure she gets properly...”
“Don’t worry, I know. I’ll make sure Mother is properly sorted and out the door on time. Get going, you don’t want to be late.”
He chuckled in response and hurried out the door, leaving her with two kids to watch. She let out a breath, not that she actually needed to breathe, then went to draw a bath. The first order of the day was to get these two clean.
Five minutes later she herded Ruri and Rika into the bathroom. She had three prepared outfits laid out. Ruri was pretty easy, she picked a plain green shirt, grey pants and a pair of panties, along with her customary labcoat. While Rika, being a little girl, liked cartoon characters and the like, which is why she’d picked a purple shirt with silver dragon on the front and a silver skirt with little purple dragons on it.
For herself, she picked a plain blue chemise and grey skirt. Nothing too fancy. None of that mattered right away. Instead she stripped out of her nightclothes, and stripped Rika down while Ruri shrugged off her shirt. Then she pulled Rika into the tub and was joined a second later by Ruri.
While Ruri went about scrubbing herself, Rose lathered Rika up with some soap and then gently cleaned her delicate skin. Careful not to hurt Rika, who was more interested in her little toys than being cleaned, so she had struggled with her a little, but before long she had the little one cleaned off. So she let Rika play with the pool toys and wiped herself down.
While Rika was playing, Ruri suddenly spoke up. “So Jac’s planning something special for dinner?”
Rose blinked, “Hmm? When did you...”
“I may have seen the little planner on the counter.”
“Oh, I see, what about it?”
“Could you make sure there is enough for Vera. I’d like to invite her over for tonight.”
Rose nodded, “No problem I can do that, but do you mind me asking why you want Vera over?”
Rose was kinda curious because she knew her father, a special meal? That meant he was likely planning to entertain Ruri’s desires. It was about the right timing for it, they’d have a high chance of another kid if they mated at this time. So bringing Vera into the ritual was a bit left of field for her.
Ruri blushed a little, “Well...” she leaned forward and whispered a few things into Rose’s ear.
Rose gave her a look, “You sure about that?”
Ruri just nodded.
The rest of the bath went much as normal and an hour after Countryman left, she was ushering Ruri out the door. Now alone with Rika, she turned to the little one, “Alright looks like we have the place to ourselves for a few hours, what do you want to do?”
Rika ran to her toy chest and pulled out her blocks, “Castle!”
Rose giggled, “Sounds fun!” Knowing she had some time before she needed to start the sauce she joined Rika on the floor and began playing with the blocks with her.