Hope, Compassion and Sacrifice
Posted on Tue Jun 30th, 2026 @ 1:16am by Captain Kaede Kayano & Lieutenant Miku Uesugi
2,882 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Back Into Action
Location: USS Yamato (NCC-71807-B)- Main Science Labs, Deck 5
Timeline: January (February?) 2410 (Exact date to be determined)
"What have I gotten myself into?!"
The young Lieutenant anxiously paced back-and-forth; one hand could be seen fidgeting restlessly at her hip while the other tightly clutched an empty can of Matcha BOOST, the contents of which she had both opened and consumed in the span of a half-hour. Watching her with a look of concern was a tall, slender male, of whom was leaning back against a bulkhead with his leg propped up and arms folded.
"And how exactly were you supposed to anticipate that THE Kaede Kayano was coming back, Miku?" the male stated calmly. "We already knew going into this that they were still in the process of sourcing a replacement for Captain Nor; it's not like you could've had the foresight to predict that SFC would somehow manage to coax Kayano back out of retirement to command the Yamato again."
"And a part of me wishes I had," the Lieutenant, Miku, sighed. "I'm going to look like a blithering dumbass in front of one of the most prestigious Starfleet Officers in the past 50 years-!"
"Miku!" the male butted in. "Relax! You're being way too harsh on yourself!"
Miku's cheeks puffed up. "Golly gee, can you blame me?" she retorted. "I've just barely gotten used to the idea of running my own department, and now I find out that the CO's a legend, and there's no way I'm ever going to be good enough to serve under-!"
"Miku- listen to me," the male reiterated as he got up and made his way over to Miku. "We had this exact same conversation before we transferred to the Yamato, and again when you were about to present your thesis before the heads of Starfleet Sciences, and again before we got married- you've got this. When you get into something you're really passionate about, whether its something as simple as a book or as intensive as archeology, you're a far more knowledgeable person than I think you give yourself credit for. You know full well that there's a lot to be gained from this posting- earning the recognition of someone as influential as Kayano will put you all that much closer to earning a research grant, which means better equipment, excavations you can undertake of your own volition, analytical and laboratory services, specialized researchers- all the support you could ever need to do the things you love the most."
Miku blushed and averted her gaze. "You flatter me too much, Futaro."
The male, Futaro, smiled. "And I don't mind it a bit, now do I?"
"What if I mind it?"
"Do you?"
Miku paused. "...No?"
"See, that's what I figured," Futaro chuckled as he leaned over and planted a kiss on Miku's forehead. "Think positive thoughts, Miku; you know you've got everything to gain from this."
"He's right you know." A female voice said from the side of the doorway. "You should always think positive. And as for the getting a research grant due to my infleuence... I may be a Captain now, but I don't have near as much power as I used to when I was once a commodore." The voice said. There leaning against the wall next to the door was Captain Kayano, her arms crossed and a slight amused smirk on her face.
"Com-I mean Captain Kayano, Ma'am!" Miku squawked as she and Futaro snapped rigidly to attention.
"Why does everyone do that these days?" Kaede sighed. "Seriously, relax a little." she said. She then held up a hand. "Basically, at ease. I'm only looking around the ship."
Futaro relaxed his posture, though his wife was evidently more hesitant to do so. Commodore or Captain, this was still THE Kaede Kayano, quite possibly one of the single most venerated officers of her time, whose outstanding achievements spanning the course of a short, but admirable 6-year stint in the center chair commanded far more respect than the pips she wore on her collar.
Kaede cocked her head to one side. She then looked left, then right as if looking for something. "You both look like you've seen a ghost or something..."
"Er... forgive us, Ma'am," Futaro apologized, taking the lead. "It's not every day that we get to serve under one of Starfleet's most respected Captains- we only just found out about your reinstatement earlier this morning, so it's still kind of setting in for us."
The Captain smirked. "In Starfleet, you need to always be prepared for the unexpected. Like this for example, if you'd have asked me if I'd be back in command of this ship today. I would have laughed and told you no." She paused as she slowly walked towardsn them. "Alas, I am here now. So, always be prepared."
"Yes, Ma'am," Futaro nodded. "Anyways... you said you were here for a look around?"
"Indeed I am." Kaede said with a smile. "I suspect one of you is is Lieutenant Uesugi? Its stated on the manifest that you're the Chief of Sciences here." She asked looking between them.
"Ah, well, that would be my wife, Ma'am," Futaro replied, motioning over to Miku. "Lieutenant Miku Uesugi, Chief of Sciences."
Miku perked up.
Kaede couldn't help but smirk. "You are a lucky man Lieutenant." she said as she approached Miku. "I remember being as young as you two, those were some... eventful days." she chuckled. "Well, Miku. Its nice to meet you. But why all the silence? You do know I don't bite right?"
Miku seemed to hesitate, as if carefully searching for an explanation that wouldn't send her career up in a spectacular ball of frame, Kaede's assurances notwithstanding.
"S...Sorry, Ma'am," she eventually managed to croak out. "I, uh... can't say I'm the most talkative of sorts..."
"Forgive her, Captain," Futaro sighed. "My wife is a brilliant mind where it counts, but she does struggle with self-esteem issues from time to time."
"I see." Kaede said as she moved over towards one of the stools near the workbench and sat down. "Tell me about it." She said softly to Miku. "Treat me not as your Captain for a moment. But just someone who is willing to listen. Feel free to share with me, if you want to. Lets work through it together shall we?"
Miku furrowed her brow, evidently confused at where Kaede was going with this.
"Just go along with it, Miku," Futaro whispered encouragingly. "She wants to get an idea of how you think so that she's in a better position to communicate with you."
Kaede didn't say anything, just remained quiet her gaze soft and opening. She seemed to be allowing Miku to simply 'let it all out'.
"Um... well..." Miku reached up and scratched the back of her neck. She wasn't exactly looking Kaede in the eye yet, but she did seem to relax a little, as if she was only now psyching herself up for this. "...Where do you want me to start?"
"Wherever you feel like you want to start." Kaede said softly. "If you want, I can share some of my insecurities to make you feel like we're on a level playing field?" she asked.
Miku glanced over at Futaro, then back at Kaede. "Well... I suppose if you're wanting to...?" she replied, seeing as she didn't have much of a direction with which to be taking this.
Kaede smiled. "Well, trust me. You're not the only one that struggles with their self-esteem. I've had trouble with that too." she explained. "You see, when I was pregnant with my daughter. I was struggling to do pretty much anything. Not to mention I was the size of a gas giant. I struggled some days, not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to move around or go out into public. Luckily for me, my husband Nagisa helped me a lot." She explained to Miku softly. "I wouldn't say I would never do it again, but it was rather complicated due to the fact that I'm half El-Aurian and half Human."
"Also, many years ago I was stranded on a planet along with the rest of the crew. We woke up there with nothing but the clothes on our backs. We spent a while on that planet. It was a planet from hell, everything out to kill us with no sign of rescue." Kaede explained. "Moral was low, and we were all exhausted and pretty much feeling hopeless. Yet, the crew all formed together and we pulled through. A hopeless situation was turned into hope and we survived it. Of course we lost a few people, but the majority of the crew did survive." She looked over at Miku. "I'm sorry, I might have over shared a little there..."
"Oh, no, you're fine, Captain," Futaro assured her, before turning to his wife. "Miku, how about you?"
Miku looked at him strangely. "Does it have to be traumatic?"
"Only if you want it to be, Miku; remember, the Captain's trying to gauge your character."
"Well... I haven't been pregnant- yet- nor have I been stranded alone on an alien planet..." Miku pondered. "I suppose the one event in my life I can think of that would've been comparable to any of that was when..."
She trailed off for a moment, as if hesitant to unearth a memory she'd spent the better part of 15 years trying to put behind her.
Sensing her hesitancy, Futaro moved and gently took her hand in his. "Miku, perhaps sharing the weight of your memory will help to take some of the burden off of your shoulders."
Miku nodded and took a deep breath. "...There was a time... I think it was about a decade ago, though it's probably closer to two at this point- anyways, my family was stationed on the Osaka at the time, and we had this one morning where our dad came in, woke us up, told us there was a very dangerous situation going on over Bajor, and that we were being dropped off at DS9 for our safety. Of course, as we're hurriedly getting dressed for this, there's no sign of our mother, so we start asking our Dad where she is, and he says she's staying behind to tend to the casualties that they're anticipating. We're not thinking much about it at this point, because both our parents are in Medical, and we know not to get in their way if they're expecting an influx of casualties, so we beam over to DS9, make our way up to the viewing platform, and..."
Kaede looked down at the desk. "The Osaka did you say..." she asked. "The Ambassador Class Osaka?"
Miku took a moment to shore up her emotions. "NCC-26593... that'd be the one..."
Futaro placed a hand on Miku's shoulder. "I'm sure you can guess how it went, Captain?"
Kaede let out a sigh as she covered her face with her hands, resting upon her elbows. After a few moments she looked up. "Miku. I'm sorry for what happened to the Osaka. If you weren't already aware. I was the one commanding that fleet to defend Bajor against the Dominion Fleet. The letter your family recieved about your mother... I was the one who wrote it..."
"I figured as much," Miku sighed. "One of my sisters held onto that letter for the longest of times; still is, so far as I'm aware..."
"I am truly sorry for what happened." Kaede said in a low solelm tone. "I was in over my head. I underestimated what the Dominion could do. Which by all means was a stupid thing to do. Especially since I served during the Dominion War." She explained. "I know that a simple sorry won't make that pain go away. Nor will I expect for you to forgive me for what happened... But I do have to ask... What was your mother like? Was she a good person? Did she love her family? Can you remember her voice? how she spoke to you? How she laughed? How she smiled? Can you remember her like that?"
Miku smiled, if sadly. "We try not to remember our mother as another statistic, because she wouldn't have wanted us to feel bad for her sake; instead, we agreed to live our lives as she lived hers- one of hope, compassion and sacrifice."
Kaede nodded in response. "Thats the right way to think. For a person never died as long as someone remembers them." she told her softly. "Tell me about her. Was she your inspiration to join Starfleet?"
"She was," Miku nodded. "For all of us- it was our way of honoring her legacy."
"You mentioned that she was in medical right?" Kaede asked. "It takes a strong person to work in the medical field, especially on a starship." She added. "What do you remember of her?"
Miku chuckled. "Little, stupid things, honestly- I remember how her hair smelled like Jasmine; I remember how she used to sit back at the breakfast table every morning with a cup of black coffee and a game of Sudoku; I'd remember how she'd puff up her cheeks whenever I put a book back in the wrong place; I remember how every Friday night, no matter how tired she was, she'd break from the usual replicator dinners and make us something new and unique; but above all, I remember how her greatest joy in life was just getting to spend time with her girls."
Kaede smiled. "There, you see. You remember her as a person. As someone real, not a simple statistic." she told her with a soft warm smile. "Keep hold of those memories and she will always be with you in your heart. Thats the most important thing to remember."
"See, Miku? That wasn't so hard," Futaro applauded.
Miku blushed. "Oh, that? That was nothing..."
"But it's a lot more than you were willing to say five minutes ago," Futaro pointed out.
"I don't necessarily think you have self-confidence issues Miku. Well..." she paused. "Maybe a little, but deep down you are afraid of opening up to people. You may have a little bit of anxiety thrown in there too. But nothing that can't be managed. You can turn that into a strength is you work hard, and really want to do it. What do you think?" Kaede asked.
"W-well, um-!" Miku stammered, her anxiousness manifesting itself once again. "I-I mean, I wouldn't put it that way exactly, b-but.."
"You bit the nail on the head, Captain," Futaro answered for her. "As you can probably guess, my wife's not keen on being at the center of attention, unless it pertains to a subject that interests her. That's nothing bad, necessarily, she just, uh... how should I put it? ...Needs a little bit of encouragement to set her on the right track."
"Well, I can offer plenty of encouragement if you need it." Kaede replied. "After all, we're out here to learn and discover new things right? Not just physical things, but discover ourselves as well. To better ourselves as people and explore everything this universe has to offer."
"Precisely," Futaro agreed. "Anyways... I believe you said you were wanting to have a look around?"
"Now that we're better acquainted. Yeah, what does the Yamato have for a science department these days?" Kaede asked softly a warm smile stretching across her face.
"Well... not entirely sure how it compares to how you left it, but as it stands, we have 12 labs spread out over 3 decks, with sub-departments comprising of Astrometrics, Archeology, Anthropology, Biology, Linguistics, and Stellar Cartography," Futaro reported. "Also, Miku here took the liberty of updating all our sub-systems to the latest firmware, though she did observe that the projectors in Stellar Cartography were a bit degraded, so we placed an order for a new set; shouldn't take them more than a day to get here, and at least another day to get it all rigged up, by Engineering's estimates. All-in-all, very well-kept for a fifteen-year-old Sovereign, with only minimal wear-and-tear."
Kaede nodded. "Well, our mission will require the use of this department quite a bit. So, request what you need or want. If you put it across my desk, I'll ensure that Starfleet gets it aboard for you. Now is your chance to really make this department fully equipped." Kaede told her with a smile.
"Well, um... if it's any of my business," Miku began with an air of hesitation, " do you happen to have an idea of what the assignment entails? Just so I can procure the necessary supplies, of course..."
Kaede nodded as she turned towards the door. "Have a list of what you want and need ready to give to me by tomorrow morning." She smiled. "If you will excuse me, I do have other departments I need to go and see. This ship seems much bigger than I remember. Either they made it bigger in the refit, or I'm getting older," she chuckled.
"Yes, Ma'am," Miku nodded in the affirmative.
Posting By (In Order Of Appearance):
Lieutenant Miku Uesugi
Chief Science Officer
USS Yamato (NCC-71807-B)
Lieutenant Futaro Uesugi
Science Officer
USS Yamato (NCC-71807-B)
Captain Kaede Kayano
Commanding Officer
USS Yamato (NCC-71807-B)
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