"Family Affairs" (Part 1)

[Kansas 0]

Note: This is a non-Plot log set in the Mirror Universe of the ISS Agincourt.

 

04.02.10

ISS Agincourt ICC-81762

“Family Affairs” (Part 1)

 

It was a generally average and somewhat routine day shift on board the ISS Agincourt. The command staff had received new orders from Imperial Fleet Command, and preparations were currently underway in order to meet the necessary requirements for the mission readiness. The main landing bay was in a controlled jumble of chaotic activity as crewmen and mechanics zoomed this way and that way across the decking in order to prepare for a civilian ship that was on approach to the big warship.

 

Said civilian ship was to be employed for a certain mission parameter.

 

One lone observer stood unobtrusively off to one side of the expanse of the flight deck, watching the activity from a maintenance access alcove. The Human was not really seeing the controlled chaos as she waited to start her observation and report mission that Lieutenant Caine had personally tasked her with. The young officer was determined to prove herself within the security department and was confident in her abilities. Her desire to be the best was almost suicidal…which made her the perfect target.

 

The lieutenant was very capable with her current assignment, but what she failed to account for was that not all officers -- and her feline target definitely -- played by all the rules.

 

JoNs had crept up behind the would be watcher and was on her within seconds, moving in a golden blur; her paw injected the contents of a medicinal hypo into the neck of the Human, completely emptying the liquid content from the attachable medicinal module. Within seconds the female crumpled to the decking unconsciousness, and the lieutenant was out of the equation and would very much not be observing the ship’s XO as she engaged in ships business.

 

Never send a girl to do a woman’s job…although a bonus was that Kansas loved messing with Caine’s people when she had the chance to do so subtlety, and this sort of situation was perfectly tailor made.

 

The feline dragged the limp body off to a storage alcove and sealed the door. The security guard would regain her senses in about four hours or so, and it would be easy enough for the Human to get herself out of the storage room once she entered the daily code into the touchpad by the door. JoNs quietly exited the storage alcove, smoothing out her red command tunic and golden waist sash as she walked. The Cait threw one last glance about the corridor access area, her keen eyes surreptitiously checking either end of the corridor for errant personnel while also running her gaze over the nearby recorder cameras, which had been interrupted and powered down for a few moments. She noted with a slick smile that the operating lights blinked from red over to green, indicating that the cameras were back up and running. It always paid to have the coding access to the camera controls, as well as a few of the enlisted camera control systems officers on her direct payroll.

 

With that little bit of unpleasantness taken care of, Commander Kansas ‘Will” JoNs was now free to conduct the upcoming business of the day; it would be nice to do a bit of catch up with the family, although the reunion would be from a somewhat professional business perspective. The Cait briskly made her way to the main control room overlooking the shuttle bay in order to be on hand when the incoming guest docked with the Agincourt, her personal guards falling into step behind her.

 

Her family ship and the vessels crew were currently en route, and she awaited the arrival of the guests to the warship anxiously; the feline managed to keep her pacing down, though wasn’t quite successful at keeping the excited and steady twitch thump of her tail concealed. When the ship appeared on the tracking sensors, Kansas couldn’t stop her stomach from flipping with excitement at the site of the incoming vessel.

 

JoNs had received a bit of a surprise when she contacted her family clan ship a couple weeks ago to arrange for this meeting. The ship was no longer referred to as the SS Dark Fury, and it wasn’t even the same flea trap ship that she had grown up on. And…Jumper Honor-Scar was now flying with Left Ear JoNs and the rest of the JoNs family clan proper.

 

It wasn’t as if Honor-Scar wasn’t welcome to work with the JoNs clan; she was blood clan family after all. It was just that Jumper had worked on her own for so many years, and at times her methods and choice of mercenary jobs hadn’t always coincided with the honor code of the family that Kansas had been raised with. Jumper had been the black sheep of the family; according to Lefty however, Honor-Scar was ready to settle down a bit, and had approached the JoNs’s about really joining the family forces. And, joined familial forces they had, and formed a now sought after professional mercenary force with the right kind of financial backing as well.

 

Though, with Jumper and Left Ear joining forces, Kansas had still been as surprised as some of the other family members. It wasn’t as if the JoNs and Honor-Scar families hated one another -- the felines were blood clan kin after all -- but the surprise was there all the same. Honor-Scar’s quote unquote official reason was that she had seen a few things during the meth drug running business in the Larentia sector, and thought it best if she change a few things regarding her personal business practices.

 

Honestly? In the long run? Yes, Jumper and Left Ear and the JoNs family working together would equal a formidable clan mercenary force. The contacts, combined savings and revenue, and a formal joining of the two family names practically screamed bad ass professional. The security consulting contracts alone would keep the Phyrrebrrand crew in gas and food for years.

 

The clan ship had also been changed up, and the new Dragonfly KX-12 class ship upgrade was for lack of a better term, pretty. No mismatching hull panels or nacelle casings, no old paint and decal markings. No hodge podge configurations of the external and internal equipment. No crossed wires to get a little bit more juice out of this conduit or that power router. JoNs watched the docking procedure from the control room monitors, a big smile lighting her leonine features and she didn’t care if any of the junior officers picked up on her happiness.

 

Usually, a visiting representative would enter the ‘Court bay through the airlock; but then again, as always, Kansas did things differently. Once the docking procedures had been completed and the airlocks powered down and the bay had depressurized, she briskly exited the control room and made her way across the ‘Court landing bay in order to access the Phyrrebrrand directly through the connecting airlock.

 

The golden furred feline wanted some alone time with her family before she got the business end of things rolling, simple as that.

 

****

 

As soon as Kansa stepped through the airlock onto the Dragonfly class ship, it didn’t matter that it was a completely new ship -- it was still good to be home, and it felt like home. Even the old passenger shuttles had gotten dumped in favor of two newer Runabout class shuttles. Kansas was pleased to note that the name of the old family vessel was living on: One of the new Runnies had been designated as the Dark Fury. The second long range transport was called the Dark Fire. The third vehicle stored in the bay was an interplanetary short range mule transport, with a smattering of hover cycles stored alongside the far bulkhead separation.

 

Good natured cat calls – literally, you know – and shouts of joy assaulted JoNs as she visually checked out the vehicles. She turned her gaze onto the slightly older adults gathered on the upper walkway surrounding the area and spoke out loud with laughter in her purred voice. “What the heck is all this?! We’ve gone legitimate? Did I step into an alternate universe and no one told me? Okay, all the guys need to wear goatee beards now…”

 

Left Ear and Jumper were up there, waving, along with Lefty’s brothers. The family genes were strong, and the smattering of leonine and panther like fur patterns and features was really noticeable when the family clan all got together; Jumper and Kansas looked enough alike to be sisters.

 

Three smaller fuzz balls -- offspring of her cousin, Vrrowl -- tackled her from the front and sides as she spoke to the others, and their slightly older Caitian cousin rough and tumbled with the three laughing children across the lower decking. The other adults watched the scene from the upper catwalk surrounding the modest size landing bay, pointing and laughing good naturedly at the mock brawl. Left Ear and the others made their way down from the catwalk -- mostly by just leaping over the guard rail onto the lower decking -- and soon all of the Caits were clasping paws and arms warrior style and grabbing each other in rough hugs.

 

Soon, the younger kittens were shooed from the vicinity of the Phyrrebrrands landing bay, and the brothers had gone off to tend to their duties, leaving Kansas alone with Left Ear and Jumper.

 

Kansas spoke to Left Ear, her whiskers quivering. “Give me ten minutes before we head over to the Agincourt; I want to talk to the kids. I have a few gifts to give them and I want to caution them about staying on the Phyrrebrrand.”

 

Left Ear flipped a brown ear back. “I already told the kids not to leave the family ship.”

 

“And, yes. We all know that they will listen to you just like I did.” Kansas’s tone came out deadpan and with a teasing tone.

 

Lefty thought about it. “…talk to them.”

 

“Good idea.” Kansas winked at her elder guardian, pleased that she agreed. As clan ship commander, Left Ear could be a little strict when it came to discipline with the kids. “You know that kids, especially ours, are explorers. I just don’t want you to go rough on them is all.”

 

“I’ve never had to deal severely with Vrrowls kittens…unlike others.” Now it was Lefty’s turn to wink in a smug manner and smile with a lopsided grin.

 

“Oh sure, now you’re all forward thinking.” The golden furred Imperial officer winked and then turned away to walk off in search of her younger cousins.

 

****

 

The kittens were located in the family common area, where the JoNs crew members typically ate meals or held card games or watched the galactic internet on the viewer and such.

 

The twelve year old, Misha, was a technological sponge; the girl practically absorbed any mechanical or engineering technical information that she could get her paws on. Kansas smiled as she pulled a data PADD out of the well worn messenger bag as well as a tricorder that dated back to the 2330’s.

 

The leonine Cait handed the digital slate and tricorder to her younger cousin. “…the PADD is yours. It’s secondhand and slightly abused, but figured you could use a data slate with a little more memory on it. It has blueprints on it for the first generation Troop Hoppers that the Fleet drops into the planetary atmo. The tricorder is yours to keep as well.”

 

The young girl practically vibrated with happiness, and her tail started doing loops behind her. Some girls were into jewelry, talking with friends for hours on the galactic net, the latest clothes, maybe a boy or two. Not Misha; she was as happy as an Aldeberan Shell Mouth if she could bury her nose in a digital blueprint or take apart a tricorder older then her and then put it back together in working order. Her best time was ten minutes, flat.

 

Kansas gave gifts to Savirr and Vassara, and after the gift giving was completed, she spoke to the kids about what she was concerned about, gathering them all in a half circle as they all sat cross legged on the decking. “I want you all to listen to me -- I want you to stay on the Phyrrebrrand. No side trips to go sneaking onto the Agincourt to check things out.”

 

Misha spoke up then, glancing at her younger siblings and taking the lead in the conversation in an attempt to throw Kansas off, convincing their older cousin that they weren’t going to sneak onto the ‘Court…yeah, and the Imperial Cait officer totally believed that one.

 

She waggled a paw at the three youngsters. “Don’t kid a kidder. I know that you three have already plotted out a way to sneak onto the ship…”

 

“But…why Kansas? Why can’t we just sorta visit?” That was Saviirr. Good kid, he’d probably follow in his father’s footsteps as a medical technician.

 

“Because Savirr, not all beings are as nice as us. There are some – not all – officers and crew that won’t hesitate to hurt trespassers, even if they are children and especially if they are Caitians.”

 

Vassara spoke up then, her purred voice tentative. “But, you’re in charge, right Kansas? Why would anyone hurt us if you’re in charge of your ship?”

 

The leonine Cait ruffled the mane of her younger cousin, chuckling as she did so. “No Sweetie, I’m not in charge. The big clan leader on the Agincourt is Colonel Harper, and right now the crew is on a search mission and we don’t have time for tours or shenanigans. I promised the Colonel that other then refueling and re-supplying, and Left Ear and Jumper coming on board for a business meeting, the ship wouldn’t be overrun by JoNs’s. Next time, I promise, you’ll all get a tour of the ship.”

 

The three siblings exchanged a multi-directional look, and then when a silent agreement had been reached by sibling osmosis, Misha turned her attention back to her elder cousin.

 

“Okay, we’ll stay on board. We promise.”

 

“Good.” She grabbed the three of them in hugs before departing. “Okay kids, I gotta go…”

 

(To Be Continued in Part 2)