Changing of the Guard - Part Five

Posted on Fri Sep 30th, 2022 @ 5:06am by Grand Admiral April Yamaguchi

Mission: Mission 108: Grains of Sand
Location: Various Locations - Starfleet Command
Timeline: 0800Hrs - December 2nd, 2393

Grand Admiral April Yamaguchi entered her new office ten minutes before the crack of dawn in San Fransisco. She had not worked on any planet surface for quite some time and she was sure she would have issues with her recent deployment on the matter. Yamaguchi's skin tone was almost a milky white and she was sure that she was going to cook when she felt the full force of the sunlight strike her.

Yamaguchi slipped her bag off of her shoulder before she placed it onto her desk. Yamaguchi sighed as she looked out over the eastern skies that were steadily getting brighter with the approach of the morning's dawn. The skies were cloudless and clear which was a very strange occurrence for Starfleet Command and the West Coast of the United States, as a whole. Nevertheless, Yamaguchi wanted to witness this moment and keep it all to herself in silence. She had already been awake for almost two hours already. Thanks to the new location where she and her family had taken up residence.

The children were settling in as Raymond was unsure of what to make of the space or the sunlight. Torilla and Kimora were both a little better and Daniel was still coming to terms with his new reality of living on a planet rather than in space. Franklin was settling into life as a stay-at-home-dad. At least until the children were settled and in school full time. What was worse was that Franklin was still unhappy with his spouse and Yamaguchi suspected that he would remain annoyed with her for quite some time yet.

It was time as the light from the sun suddenly flared into life as the first edges of it rose above the eastern horizon. Within seconds the day started as the night finaly came to a close once and for all. Yamaguchi stood in silence as she felt the light wash over her. Yamaguchi winced as she turned away as she recalled that applying some sunscreen to her face might be a good thing for her to consider using so early in the morning.

Yamaguchi smiled as she recalled the dwelling that she and her family were presently settling into. With Franklin and the kids all unpacking all of their stuff. Raymond had been up early as he had been unable to sleep so he was helping unpack all of his stuff first. But for him, it had been the novelty of being outside and looking up as far as the eye could see and feeling real dirt under his feet. For Torilla, it had been the ability to go outside at all and feel the real wind from real environments. For Kimora, it had been the sights of the nearby mountains and knowing that they were real. Not illusions that had been created by a Starbase computer. The fakery was good but it only carried so far. For Daniel, it had been the skies above as they were real and not a computer-generated fake.

Yamaguchi was standing as she watched the sunrise that she didn't hear the knock at her door until the com system beeped at her. "Admiral. Are you alright in there?" came the concerned voice of her yeoman. A female voice she didn't recognize.

Yamaguchi blinked as she snapped out of the daze that she presently found herself in. "Uhh. What. Yes. Yes... I'm fine." she paused a moment. "Come in then," she added.

The door opened and in walked a trim-looking young woman she didn't recognize. "Ma'am... You didn't answer me the three times I called you... I was concerned."

Yamaguchi stood in silence for a moment. "Makes sense... Tell me something Chief... When was the last time you were able to appreciate the sunrise?" she inquired. "Or any sunrise or that matter?"

The Chief paused. Clearly, she had not considered the topic in question. "Umm... I haven't because your predecessor did not care for them," she answered. "We were here to work, not to enjoy the sunrises."

"Sad," Yamaguchi answered in a flat tone of voice. "How predictably sad. My predecessor must have lived such a boring existence while in this office." as the taller-the-average female shook her head. "You can be assured that I will enjoy the sunrise when I am around to enjoy it," she commented. "It's why I settled in a different time zone and about twelve-hundred kilometres from here." Yamaguchi smiled.

"Oh..." the Chief answered quietly. "I didn't know that," she added.

"There is no reason you should Chief," Yamaguchi answered. "How many yeomen will I have?"

"Three ma'am. In addition to myself. I will be serving as a yeoman as well." The young-looking woman presented a PADD to Yamaguchi with the files and details of her new stuff on it. "Alright. I will appoint you as of first among equals in regards to my merry band of brothers and sisters," she commented. "You will be setting up my meetings and the like. Please keep me informed of where and, when they are. Preferably with as much notice as you can give me so I have time to prepare." Yamaguchi explained. "There is nothing worse when I'm getting dragged from my bed and my husband's arms when I don't know what's going on. I have young children which do require my attention. That's the other reason I settled into a different time zone than here."

"Makes sense." The Chief answered with a nod. "So. Do you have any questions for me before I give you the first days plans?"

Yamaguchi smiled. "Nope. What's my plan for today Chief?" she asked.