SanTakeshi vs Jane Sinclaus: The Great Gift Race (Part 1)

Posted on Sun Dec 24th, 2023 @ 4:27pm by Takeshi Nakazato 'Zack' & Commander Ichika Misono & Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair

1,091 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Christmas Vacation

It was Christmastime once again, and SanTakeshi was once again preparing to make his annual run delivering presents to the crew of the Myogi. He had missed last Christmas thanks to being slipped some spiked eggnog before his flight on Christmas Eve, and had awoken on Boxing Day tied to a chair in his workshop, having missed Christmas.

Having learned his lesson, SanTakeshi had purposely laid off the eggnog this year, and was doing quite well as he prepped his red R32 and his team of reindeer for their voyage.

However, as he was doing so, he noticed another Santa figure also preparing for takeoff. Now, it wasn't unusual that different starships within Starfleet had different Santa figures. In fact, the North Pole was home to many of these Santa figures, and SanTakeshi had been watching various Santas come and go as he made his final preparations, thanks in part to different starships operating on their own time. But, what caught SanTakeshi's eye about this particular one was that she bore a strong resemblance to the person who had slipped him the eggnog he drank last year. Though his memories on them were cloudy at best. Likely a lingering side effect of the drugs in the eggnog.

"Lovely weather for a sleigh ride, isn't it?" Takeshi greeted as a he approached the other Santa figure, noting the snow that had just begun to fall on the North Pole. "Which Starship will you be delivering to?"

"Why, the Myogi of course!"

Jane Sinclaus was doing her final check of her eight-reindeerpower racing shuttle. The aft compartment was full of toys and gifts and treats for the USS Myogi's crew, a troop of (mostly) well behaved girls and boys, all of whom made the Nice List, even if for some it was by the tiniest margins.

"I see the surprise I left in your eggnog didn't work this year!" she said with a grin. "You're well then, SanTakeshi?"

So, she did spike my eggnog last year... SanTakeshi thought.

"I laid off the eggnog early this year so I wouldn't miss my trip." He explained. "If you think you're going to replace me as Santa of the Myogi, you've got to do better than spike my eggnog."

“I guess I’ll just need to rely on speed then,” she said, taunting the other racer, the one who relied on, ugh, cars instead of shuttles. Powered by Christmas magic or not, he could never compete. “If you think you can beat me to delivering my presents to the Myogi crew, think again.”

"Oh, it's on." SanTakeshi said. "I hope you like the view of taillights, because that's all you'll be seeing of SanTakeshi! That piece of crap shuttle is no match for my GT-R and the best team of reindeer at the north pole!"

And without another word, SanTakeshi returned to his R32, climbing into the driver's seat and giving the reins a flick before the forces of his team accelerating to takeoff speeds forced him back into his seat as the R32 took to the skies above the north pole before ascending higher and higher, leaving Earth's atmosphere behind altogether.

Jane Sinclaus’s shuttle left the atmosphere second, but did not stay behind for long. Moments later, they were neck and neck, approaching their target: the USS Myogi.

The reindeer-powered shuttle drifted smoothly into the docking bay, ample space left for it by the Chief Flight Control Officer — a tradition to leave a landing spot for Santa was upheld by most Starfleet vessels — and Jane Sinclaus got to work. She and her team of elves had calculated the optimal route through the ship. She knew that SanTakeshi would start with the Captain. That gave her two edges. One, it was less efficient, but two, it meant she could pre-empt him with a bit of friendly sabotage.

“Go,” she whispered to her passenger. “Distract him.”

Wordlessly, Jane's passenger leapt from the shuttle, and made her way towards the Captain's quarters.

Unforuntately, SanTakeshi had also lost a bit of time due to having to make a quick diversion to the Starship Tokyo to pick up two presents from there to be delivered to someone on the Myogi. However, he hadn't stuck around very long, as that was the realm of the dreaded SanTaiga...

When SanTakeshi finally arrived at the Myogi, he saw that the landing spot cleared for Santa had already been taken. Not like it mattered, anyhow: One was never a real Santa if they didn't land Up On The Shiptop.

Landing atop the hull, SanTakeshi went right to work: He didn't want to give Jane SinClaus the satisfaction of visiting the Captain first, so it was there he went first:

A lot had changed for Captain Takahashi and her husband since SanTakeshi's last visit: With a new child in their lives, the gifts for them couldn't be as frivolous as they were in years past: The gifts SanTakeshi left for them were designed to equip them to handle this massive change in both of their lives: A high chair for Captain Takahashi and a baby walker for her husband, with a pack of diapers for each of them, as one could never have enough diapers. Of course, he couldn't forget toys for the little one, obviously safe from when they would inevitably see the inside of a young mouth.

As SanTakeshi sampled the milk and cookies, however, someone else emerged from the shadows.

"Leaving so soon?" She asked.

"I'm in a race." SanTakeshi said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I really don't have a lot of time to chat."

"It's okay." The woman responded, handing SanTakeshi a velvet pouch. "My instructions were to distract you, but I believe that sabotage can go both ways..."

"What is it?" SanTakeshi asked.

"That is Sayuki Claus' special spice:" The woman, Sayuki Claus, explained. "Jane Sinclaus has to visit all the places you do, so all you have to do is slip it into the milk left out by someone you beat her to, and let it do the rest..."

"I see..." SanTakeshi said. "Payback for making me skip last Christmas... Thank you, Sayuki Claus. This gift will certainly be put to use."

"Not a Problem." Sayuki Claus said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to return to the North Pole to get ready to visit the Townsend-Thoresen employees."

And with a poof, Sayuki Claus vanished.

To be continued...

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