Travels

Posted on Sat Sep 26th, 2026 @ 6:12am by Chief Petty Officer Leslie Calhoun & Lieutenant Junior Grade Jennifer Masters - Calhoun & Dana Calhoun
Edited on on Sat Sep 26th, 2026 @ 7:42am

923 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - The Edge of Darkness
Location: Empok Nor
Timeline: MD002 1130 hrs

Jenn was standing at the docking of Empok Nor. Waiting to enter. Dana was hopping around. She turned to her daughter. "Stay close by, Dana, I don't want you wonder off again." She said. She loved her daughter very much, but she was still finding her way with this little menace.

She looked sighing to Billy. He was the dad, he had done this before. And she hoped he got the hint and reigned his daughter in.

Billy always had a hard time with children. The El Aurian in him wanted to allow the child to learn on their own. However, he knew that other cultures, in particular the cultures he mated with had other thoughts. He turned to the child. "Dana, listen your mum. There are more dangerous things in the galaxy than you can fathom."

Jenn looked a little shocked as their daughter fluttered with her wings towards her father. "Really? That's how you tell that to your daughter. I think the only thing she understood was the word dangerous." Jennifer sighed. "I should instinctively know how this works, but apparently it's easier to get pierced in the side by a bull or be blind." She then leaned over and grabbed Dana's hand. "And I don't know who she takes after, apparently I didn't became a troublemaker until I joined the academy."

Billy winced as Jenn scolded him in her own way. "We don't know what she understood. Remember El Aurians are listeners, we begin to understand at a very young age. But, you are right..." When he apologized his features softened. "...This is a learning process for all of us. Fact is we as parents will teach her so much, but she in turn will teach us more than we will ever know." He embraced his family for a moment, and in that moment he realized how truly happy he was. Perhaps for the first time in centuries.

Jenn hugged her husband and child too. Dana on the other hand tilted her head a bit as she smiled. "I love huggies just as much as snackies."

Jenn laughed. "They have snackies on the Pioneer too. You will love it." She said and sighed. She had almost forgotten her daughter was also half El Aurian. That kid was going to pick up more than she could ever imagine.

"Speaking of, we need to get moving. The ship is waiting and word just came through that the Pioneer has been assigned to escort General O'Rourke to his new command. We are going to have to catch up. The Honshu is leaving within the hour and is going to take to the Pioneer." Billy grabbed his satchel and slung it onto his shoulder.

Jenn picked up her daughter. Dana wasn't really happy about it, but she didn't fight it either. Jenn just nodded to Billy. "Let's go then." She said as she grabbed her own bag. Which was larger as she was carrying things for Dana as well.

Billy moved through the station with ease and made his way to upper pylon six. Once there a Petty Officer in Security gold watched the airlock. "Chief?" The Petty Officer said as both an acknowledgement and challenge. "Chief Petty Officer Calhoun and Lieutenant Calhoun." Billy said as he indicated his wife. "We have orders to board the Honshu for transport to the Pioneer." In a quick moment the Petty Officer had checked the PADD and confirmed. "Yes. I have the Calhoun family in quarters on deck seven, welcome aboard the Honshu." Through the window the Nebula Class USS Honshu could be seen.

Jenn looked through the window, her two year old daughter on her hip. The little girl looked through the window. "Ooooh..." The girl squealed. "Is that the pioneer?"

Jenn laughed. "No, Sweety, that's the Honshu. It will bring us to the Pioneer." The girl clapped in her hands. "Can we have slacks?" The toddler asked.

Billy smiled as he walked through the airlock tunnel. He picked up his daughter and spun her around. "Yes, I think slacks are just what we would need. Would hate to be caught with our pants down." He made a silly face at the young girl and she giggled. "No, slacks you eat dem." The little girl said with a tone of finality. "Yes of course little one. I can use some slacks as well." Billy bounced her up and down on his shoulder as they continued to the Honshu.

Jenn just looked at her husband and daughter smiling as they walked to the Honshu. And for a moment she wondered what else was different. They walked onto the Honshu to their next adventure. She was ready.

As the Calhoun family boarded the Honshu Billy thought of what was to come. He had kept up on the Pioneer's logs over the past years, but, he knew better than most that space had a habit of changing people. Changes that the logs did not record. He was happy to be returning to their first home, the place where he and Jen met and fell in love. However, there was some trepidation as to what awaited them when they got there.

A Joint Post By

Lieutenant Junior Grade Jennifer Masters-Calhoun
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer

Chief Petty Officer Leslie Calhoun
Data Systems Analyst, USS Pioneer

Eliza Calhoun
Child, USS Pioneer

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