Settling into our New Home

Posted on Mon Mar 16th, 2020 @ 7:59am by Grand Admiral T'Sara McKnight & Department Master Chief Petty Officer Stephen "Orthos" McKnight & Major Daisy Rohr-McKnight

Mission: Mission 98: Building Our New Home
Location: Main Settlement - Utgarde Four
Timeline: 1800Hrs - May 30th, 2393

It was early evening and the sun was about twenty minutes from setting. The night sky was turning from a shade of reds to blues into a deep, dusky violet, lit by bright stars and the glowing orbs of Utgarde Fours two moons, one of which was rising over the western skies.

Orthos was sitting on the deck of his new home that, he had been assigned, it was close to three thousand square feet with three levels, it had four bedrooms and a fully furnished basement, with a large garage for a small family sized shuttlecraft. All in all, this was a very opulent-looking family dwelling but since Orthos had never lived on a planet surface before, he honestly had no idea what decent even looked like.

He had only known space stations and starbases in his entire life. None of which changed the effects of the conversation he had just concluded with his mother not less than a week earlier, which had her breaking the news that his father had died. The first hint that Orthos had gotten was the tears streaming down his mothers face, that alone had informed him that something disastrous had taken place.

The news had not gone down well but then T'Sara was many things, she knew her children would take all of this poorly.
Orthos would be no different but then he started getting the messages from his siblings and the small army of nephews,
nieces and his own children, all more or less saying the same running theme of shock, surprise, disbelief, and shock.

Orthos had only arrived three days earlier and he had been given a week or so to sort out his affairs as Admiral Jake Yamaguchi had heard of his fathers passing, he'd given Orthos the time off to mourn and reflect on his fathers passing. In truth, Orthos missed his wife whom he had been told was on her way, but that she did not know. T'Sara had said that she wouldn't contact Daisy with the news, citing that she did not wish to cause the young woman undue stress and worry. Orthos agreed with her choice and he had supported it.

Orthos was playing some of the classical music that his wife had found soothing and Orthos, to his credit had come to agree, his wife had a fine ear regarding music.

He had no idea that his wife had arrived and that she was just standing outside the front door but he didn't hear the doorbell beep.

Orthos sighed softly. "Did you suffer dad?" he asked the air, the silence was his only answer. "Was it quick, at least?" he added softly. "I hope so, bad enough losing you but to know you suffered, now that makes me angry," Orthos said quietly. Suddenly a loud hissing sound drew his attention as he found himself face to face with his wife. "Hey, Daisy." Orthos made no move to get up. "It's a lovely evening... Don't you think?"

"Yes, it is." Daisy was about to make a smart ass remark about the new kitten when she noticed that Orthos was rather melancholy. She went over and rubbed his back. "Is everything okay?" She asked gently.

"Oh. I see Edward has met Avalanche. Don't worry about him, I'm only looking after him for Elizabeth Yamaguchi. The other three cats are hiding. Its only for a few days.. Then they'll be gone." he sighed. "My dad was killed in action, a week ago. A training exercise gone bad, he and his unit were caught in a rockslide, they saved the cadets but he died, saving them." Orthos paused. "I hope those snot-nosed little bastards appreciate what he did for them."

"He was training cadets? What happened?" Daisy asked.

"Well my dad was on his last tour before his retirement, He was training cadets in wilderness training. He and a battalion of cadets were out on some world, I can't recall the name at present... Something triggered an avalanche and buried two dozen of them. Dad was able to save over a dozen but he was killed in the process.." he sighed. "Dying for a bunch of kids. Fucking christ.." Orthos added the last as a curse.

"This is very hard for you?" Daisy asked. "I never knew you were that close to your father?"

Orthos shifted his attention to look at his wife, it was almost a physical effort. "I was close to my dad, all his children were. I can only imagine how Daniel is processing this.. or Jen, or Heather." he let out a sigh. "or mom. I never told you what happened to her from her... family, if I can be generous in the term.." there was something in his tone. "Are the kids present?. They do not need to hear this..." he paused. "On second thought, we can discuss this later. This isn't the best time for it, we can wait until after the kids go to bed." Orthos then hauled himself to his feet. "I still have my own children to worry about."

"The kids are in their rooms," Daisy replied. "What do you need to tell me?"

Orthos regarded his wife. "Mom wants to lay dad to rest but he didn't want to be laid to rest on Earth or on Vulcan. I'm the only one on a planet based assignment at present. So she asked if she could lay him to rest here, on Utgarde Four." he explained. "I told her I'd talk to you and then get back to her later."

"Okay, but we may not be here long. Utgarde IV is out from the rest of the Federation. Would you be okay with that?" Daisy asked.

"That was my other chief concern. We may not be here long." Orthos sighed softly. "T'Sara and Edward have never met their grandfather. Which, just sucks," he added in a quiet tone.

"Yeah, that does suck." She agreed. "There is not much we can do about that now."

Orthos regarded his wife in silence a moment. "You don't do well with crowds. This gathering is sure to produce one." as he ran his fingers on his right hand across his chin, clearly in thought and then suddenly, he moved his hand across her forehead, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "I'll tell mom that this is not a good idea. Utgarde means nothing to anyone in our family."

"Just because I'm not good with crowds means we skip the service for your father. I think you need proper closure." Daisy suggested.

"Dad had no connection to this world." Orthos paused. "Fortunately. I have another idea. We can lay him to rest on Izar. He served most of his last two tours there."

"That sounds like an idea. Your father was attached to the planet and it is a place his family can visit him." Daisy replied.

Orthos nodded in silence before he spoke again. "It's better than having over a dozen adults all directly related to me showing up with over forty kids." he paused. "We got space for all those guys right?" he paused before the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "Pitch a tent in the backyard?"

"I'm sure we can find a place on Izar that can host something for your family. And knowing your family, something big." Daisy suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Orthos responded evenly.

"Okay, but before we do anything I would like to get your mother's blessing," Daisy said.

"Mom... Oh right." Orthos paused. "Mom is an abuse survivor." as he sighed softly. "I know the details as she thought it best that we all know what happened to her when she was a teenager. Her family generally treated her like crap and tried to marry her off to a Vulcan man, who in mom's words was a cardboard cutout." he raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure of what to say about that," he added. "But okay. Let's go call mom. After we check on the kids."

Orthos went into the house where he found Edward, lying on the sofa, asleep with two cats curled up next to him. "Oh, my," Orthos commented with a smile. "I didn't see that coming."

Avalanche purred softly as he lay next to Edward when he suddenly opened his eyes before he meowed softly at Orthos. "Message received little guy," Orthos said in a jovial tone. "I had no idea Edward could get on with cats," he said to Daisy. "Don't touch the cat, he's protecting Edward from an intruder."

"I see. That cat means to tear off the hand that touches Edward."

Orthos smiled, despite his black mood. "Avalanche doesn't know us." he paused. "Let's go check on T'Sara," he commented, he found T'Sara, asleep in her crib and there was a second cat curled up with her. "Meow?" Comet inquired of Orthos when she spotted him before the kitty gently rubbed her nose against T'Sara's arm.

Orthos regarded Daisy. "I guess the cats are making themselves at home with their humans." he paused. "Not what I was expecting." he sighed softly. "Let's go talk to mom."

"Alright. How do you think she is holding up?" Daisy asked.

"I honestly, have no idea." he paused. "I'm only her eldest child, dad was her soulmate." he paused. "But she has all of us." as the two of them entered the room Orthos had set up as his study. He sat down at the desk and stuck in his message request before he turned back to Daisy. "How would you be doing, if it were you, in her shoes?"

"I would be in shock. It may take a few days for it to settle in." Daisy told Orthos.

"Perhaps," Orthos said in a soft and quiet tone. "Call placed, please stand by." the computer suddenly interrupted. The face of a Vulcan female, wearing her duty uniform appeared on the display. "Mother, how are you doing?" Orthos inquired with a gentle smile.

"I am coping as well as I can expect. I honestly don't know what to feel, hello Daisy." T'Sara responded before she noticed Daisy, standing behind Orthos. "I did not see you there. I assume all is well with you?" she inquired of Daisy.

"As well as can be expected, thank you," Daisy replied. "If you need to T'Sara, you can stay with us for awhile. I know the kids would love to have you around."

The Vulcan woman smiled, it was a faint ghost of a smile but it was there. "Thank you, Daisy, I will drop by but I'll only stay for a few days. Starfleet has granted me some time off and I intend to use it." she paused a moment. "I do have over eight hundred days of leave time accumulated since I almost never take leave time." she then regarded her son. "I'll be there in four days, will that be an issue?"

"No, not at all. We'll have your accommodations ready for you in time." Orthos answered with a smile of his own. "Also. How would you feel about laying dad to rest on Izar?"

"It's not a bad idea. Will you be able to attend?"

Orthos knew he could not speak for his spouse. Nor would he do so even if he could. "We'll look into matters and get back to you once we find out exactly whats happening here."

"Don't worry about us T'Sara. We will make do with whatever you need us to do." Daisy told the older woman.

T'Sara nodded. "Very well." as she nodded to Daisy. "I'll see you guys in four days. Thank you for having me" she answered.

"It's okay mom. Hows everyone else taking things?"

"Not well. Iason is devastated and Jennifer is not much better off. Daniel is taking things in stride but, he's not taking it well either." the Vulcan female sighed softly. "Your father was someone truly special."

"Yes, he was," Orthos answered in a soft tone. "He saved you, mom. That, alone makes him something special." Orthos added a moment later.

"He gave me more than just the family were part of, he gave me hope," T'Sara answered before she let out a sigh. "I should go, I have arrangements to make and it's late." she paused. "take care, you two. McKnight out." and with that, the screen went dark.

Orthos knew why his mother had cut the conversation short. "I'm sorry, I can't help you mom."

"You're helping her out more than you think." Daisy smiled at Orthos.

Orthos regarded Daisy. "Alright. Are you hungry?" he inquired of her. "I don't think I ate since this morning. I can't recall." he paused.

"Yes, I am hungry. Food sounds like a good idea." Daisy replied.

Orthos moved past Daisy as he made his way back to the kitchen. "Let's see what we have in the pantry," he commented. "Let's see." as he went into the kitchen, he pulled open the panty to reveal several hundred pounds of food, all stored in containers. "Let's see.. bread." and with that, he selected his item before he went over to the cooler. "eggs."

"Are you making omelets?" Daisy asked.

"Eggy bread," Orthos answered with a smile. "My own version of French toast, without the excess garbage."

"You've never made that. I look forward to that." Daisy replied.

Orthos smiled as he soon had all the items he needed before he went about making it. "Let's see if this works.." he commented. "I have no idea to be honest.," he added.

"I trust your culinary skills," Daisy told Orthos.

Orthos raised an eyebrow but he said nothing as he began cooking the meal for the four of them. "Well, we'll see how this goes," he responded in a light tone of voice before he poured some of the egg into the pan then he placed one of the slices of bread that had been presoaked in egg batter into the pan.

"Don't undersell your abilities. You can make anything taste well."

Orthos smiled as he poked the food with his fork before he flipped the eggy bread in the pan as he cooked it. "Well, I have had failures."

"Not that I can remember." Daisy retorted.

Orthos raised an eyebrow as he could recall at least three failures, that he had had reactions to. "Everyone is different," he responded before he picked up a clean side plate, then he pulled off the eggy bread and placed it onto the plate, he then repeated the process in making the bread with the next two slices.

"True that," Daisy replied.

Orthos waited a moment before he flipped the two slices of bread. "Coming along... Think the smell will wake the kids?"

"I hope not. They ate before they went to bed. I would like to have time with you alone." Daisy told her husband.

Orthos smiled at his wife. "Fair enough," he answered before he took a moment to flip the bread slices again. "Elizabeth should be here in a couple of days... she will attempt to reclaim her cats... But I don't think Edward or the cats will appreciate this." he paused. "We never discussed pets.." he sighed. "I had no idea that Edward liked cats. Or T'Sara for that matter."

"We never exposed them to pets. They were too hard to keep on a starship." Daisy told Orthos.

Orthos couldn't argue about it. "That's true," he responded quietly. "We can discuss it later, these cats belong to someone else."

"We can look at getting a couple of kittens. Maybe a puppy too. Edward is still young enough he can't hurt a puppy. The puppy will grow up already knowing the kids and getting used to cats." Daisy suggested.

"Sure, I have nothing against that," he responded. "Assuming they don't get out." Orthos raised an eyebrow. "If they do, we may never get them back."

"Let's worry about that when we actually get them." Daisy smiled at Orthos. "We may change our minds."

"Perhaps." Orthos agreed as he pulled off the two pieces of bread before he replaced those with two more. "These are coming along nicely." the scent of fried egg and bread was quickly filling the house.

"Food smells good. I knew that you would make it well." Daisy told Orthos.

"I'll make a couple more, just in case the kids wake up." he smiled when he heard a soft meow. "Daisy, who's that"? he inquired as he regarded the cat that was presently brushing up against Daisy's left foot. "That's not one of Elizabeth's cats."

"Are you sure? They all look alike." Daisy asked.

Orthos regarded his wife, his astonishment plain for all to see. "Umm. Daisy. Comet, Avalanche, and Froststorm are all from the same litter, that's why they look alike, that's a Russian blue. Looks nothing like the others..." he paused. "Let me see what meat we have.." and with that, he went over to the fridge. "Ahh... I have some sliced beef from yesterday.." he then pulled out the container, the cat turned and meowed loudly before two other cats appeared, they then began the square dance of confrontation.

"Does ever Elizabeth feed her cats?" Daisy asked. "They sure seem hungry."

"Still think that he is one of Beth's?" Orthos added as the three cats glared each other down. "Elizabeth does feed them. Look after things for me while I get some food for the cats."

"Look after them? How?" Daisy asked. "I've never owned a cat."

"No. Look after the food. I got the cats.. assuming they decide to let the intruder live." Orthos went over to the large container that was sitting on the countertop. "Let's see... Daisy, the bread!" he turned his head, a wide grin on his face, despite the fact that his wife was letting the food burn.

Daisy let out a yip as she rushed to the stove. She pulled the dark brown piece of bread off. "I got it before it burned." She stated proudly.

"Nice timing. I'll make a chef of you yet." Orthos commented as he pulled a scoopful of dried food from the large container, the cats all came over to him except for the Russian Blue who followed Daisy, the cat looked up at meowed loudly at her.

"I never knew you were good with cats," Daisy said.

"Vanessa always had a cat with her, she and my children were always good with them. Jericho and I, we never got along." Orthos explained with a soft sigh. "Iason took Jericho with him when Vanessa died at the hands of the Borg. He knew that kitty and I wouldn't see eye to eye."

"I can see why you wouldn't get another cat," Daisy stated.

"Well. I'm not that good with cats, he or she." Orthos indicated the Russian blue that was still cozying up to Daisy while they spoke. "Picked you rather than me," he explained. "Someone somewhere is missing you little one," he added, speaking directly to the cat.

"I'll check the chat database to see if anyone has reported a missing cat. In the meantime, this one can enjoy our food. The little mooch." Daisy added.

"Sounds good to me," Orthos answered as he came back over to the stove. "I'll make a couple more and then we can eat," he added, with a soft chuckle.

Daisy nodded. "Sounds good."