Christmas Concert, Part 2
Posted on Thu Jan 19th, 2023 @ 9:20pm by Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair & Lieutenant Alisha Reno
1,505 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Christmas Vacation
Location: Sinclair Home, Proxima Centauri II
Timeline: The day after landing
There had been discussions of a large family gathering. Dozens of people from Jane's mother's extended family coming in for the largest dinner since cousin Lisa's send-off to the Academy.
Unfortunately, it didn't pan out. Almost half of them were off-world this week. Several more had plans basically every day through the holidays. That is the way of families sometimes though, and Starfleet often gave only short notice for such things.
So instead it was a nice intimate dinner of just three, with relatives and family friends dropping in randomly when they could for 15-30 minutes through the day.
It was all a bit overwhelming but Jane was happy. Happier still for being able to introduce the woman she loved to the people she loved.
Even though Jane herself had been exiled from the kitchen.
Unfortunately for Alisha, the same exile hadn't been enacted and she'd been interrogated ruthlessly by Jane's mother while assisting with much of the cooking. Naturally, she was pulled out (rescued) by Jane occasionally to meet the extended family.
Finally, she backed out of the kitchen, simultaneously rubbing the last of the flour from one hand while holding a pair of lemon bars in the other. She rapidly made her way back over to Jane, offering one of the treats while leaning over and giving her a quick kiss, "My blueberry crumble is in the oven, your mom sent me out with these as a peace offering for keeping me in there for so long! She was just outright full of questions for me!"
Jane took one of the lemon bars and took a big bite. The sour treat was perfect, as it always was when mum baked. “Seriously though, you’d like I was an unlucky charm in her kitchen.”
"It's sugar instead of baking soda for the cookies, love," Alisha couldn't resist teasing her about that one. She'd seen the two ingredients next to each other and Jane hadn't been paying too much attention, trying instead to keep her eye on Alisha and her own mother, "And then typically we want to grease the top of the pan instead of the bottom, fewer fires that way." She nibbled on her own lemon square, sighing in the tartness which was just... amazing.
“So,” Jane said, her final bite of lemon bar squared away, “how does mum’s questioning compare to an SI interrogation? Think she has a second career ahead of her getting confessions from captured spies?”
"I think she's already on the local team, at least she should be!" Alisha snickered, "I don't think I've been grilled that much since I went through resistance training at the Academy. Of course, she was asking all about me, my family, pets and the like and I had to be a bit evasive about a few things and she then dug into that! I eventually had to go with the excuse of Security of the Federation!"
“Which we both know is a lie,” Ellen said, coming out with a tray of spring rolls that had just come out of the oven. “Vegetable, chicken, pork,” she said, pointing to each of three sections of the plate. “Don’t eat them all, William, Vanessa, and Lucille will be here soon.”
Jane grinned and bounced excitedly. “Lucille is just precious. She’s, what, four now?”
“She’s almost seven, Xiaozhēn,” her mom corrected. “That’s what happens when you never come home.”
“Almost seven,” Jane repeated, in awe. “Time does fly. I guess I should come home more often. The Myogi is never that far, and Alisha was telling me when we arrived how much she loves it here.”
“Oh?” Ellen said, turning to her cooking and baking partner. “Well I know I’d love to see you more often too! I’ll need your help again in fifteen minutes, Jìnéngxīya, so don’t go far.”
Jane giggled and put her head on Alisha’s shoulder. “So. You’re ‘Talented Alisha’ now?”
"Yes, mom!" Alisha chuckled, "I'll unstick myself from your daughter and be there when you need me." She turned her face back to Jane, giving her a brief kiss, "So that's what that means? She's been calling me that for the last hour..." She snagged a pork egg roll and took a crunching bite of it, "But she's a good cook, way better than me!"
“She’s also been doing this for longer than we’ve been alive,” Jane said. “She’s gathered recipes from the Sinclairs, Westaways, Carringtons, and others. A collection of cuisines, expertly executed.”
"Well, yes, she has had more experience than me... She's going to be begging me for my crumble recipe though and I've got a simple recipe for buttermilk biscuits that come out perfectly flaky." Alisha thought for a moment, " I'll admit, I'm actually kindof jealous that you have such a large family. It's always been me, mom and dad before now, made certain things easier at least."
“No extended family?” Jane asked. “No aunts, uncles, cousins, or anything?” She couldn’t imagine life without them. Her cousins were almost like siblings to her.
"Only child of only children." Alisha admitted with a soft smile, "I've got some distant cousins, but very few and far between and I think I've met two of them once? Grandmother had a brother who never married but had one kid, who has a couple of her own. Otherwise, we're talking great-grandparent siblings and wow.." She rolled her eyes, "Those are a nightmare to try to figure out for me."
“Well, I’m glad you’re getting so nicely along with my family,” Jane said, giving Alisha a quick peck on the lips. “And you should know, you’re the first girl I’ve brought home that mum has nicknamed. You’re special, Jìnéngxīya, and she knows it.”
"She doesn't have any real clue, does she?" Alisha asked with a glint in her eyes, mischief obvious on her face, "You know I'm not going to keep it from her after tomorrow night, right? But If she's going to keep dragging me away from you, I'm sure not going to tell her beforehand!"
“The downside to being liked by my mother and being good in the kitchen,” Jane joked. “You’re forever in there. And no, she doesn’t know. I haven’t said anything. You can trust her but it’s not my secret to tell, so I haven’t.”
"Then it'll be all the more fun, won't it?" Reno chuckled softly.
“Hey mum,” Jane said, getting up and walking to the entrance of the kitchen. “You’re not doing anything in two nights, are you?”
“Just spending time with you,” her mother answered, sprinkling powdered spices into a mixture of meats and vegetables.
“Well, you and me are doing something nice,” Jane told her. “Alisha got us tickets to see Elena Girardi, live at the Wen Yi. Front row. She and Alisha have known each other their whole lives. You used to love listening to her while you tinkered.”
Ellen smiled. “It’s a nice thought, but why not you two go together? Seems like a good date night.”
"Actually, Ellen, there's a reason I can't go." Alisha sheepishly withdrew a small PADD from her pocket and held it up for a moment, "I have to report in at the local Fleet base tomorrow for a briefing. That's the problem with being the Chief Intelligence analyst on a starship, they like to have for in-person updates on sector problems whenever they find out I'm in a place where they can pull me in." She sighed, "I'd already gotten the tickets and it would be a shame for them to go to waste. I've already talked to Elena, well, Alexis, and she understands. Besides, the concert is for a great cause, you'd enjoy yourself."
“Yeah, it’s for the Federation-run orphanages in the system,” Jane explained. “Remember Lina, from my middle school? She grew up in the system. They do good work there, but resources are always tight.”
Ellen remembered the girl. She was always well fed and clothed, but lacked for things like contemporary technology. Secondhand PADDs and the like. Even in the days of replicators, kids without parents struggled, and it was up to the rest of society to do their part and help.
“Okay, but you’ll need to help me pick an outfit,” Ellen said to her daughter.
“I’ve learned from the best,” Jane said, winking at Alisha.
The door chimed. “Oh! That’s them!” Jane scurried away to get the front door.
Ellen, meanwhile, grabbed Alisha by the sleeve. “They’ll come to meet you here, Jìnéngxīya. The timer is about to go on your crumble.”
Posting by (in order of appearance):
Lieutenant Junior Grade Jane Sinclair
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Myogi (NCC-65918)
Lieutenant Junior Grade Alisha Reno
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Myogi (NCC-65918)
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