Riko
Posted on Tue Aug 18th, 2026 @ 3:30pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Commander Thomas Johnson & Lieutenant Colonel Ashok 'Ash', Son of Norath & Lieutenant Commander Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant Commander Devon Hunt & Lieutenant Commander Talia Johnson & Lieutenant Commander Nyxala Valentine & Lieutenant Nezuko & Lieutenant Zachary Addams & Lieutenant Teneca Quinn & Lieutenant Takina Inoue
Edited on on Tue Aug 18th, 2026 @ 3:42pm
3,400 words; about a 17 minute read
Mission:
Flight Of The Valkyries
Location: Starbase 43
Timeline: March 25, 2397
The Tokyo sat in the drydock at Starbase 43. The ship's nacelles were grey and lifeless, the running lights dark. Bright lights from the drydock flooded the ship in bright light, illuminating the battle damage and huge section that had been sheared off. Yellow work bees and shuttles buzzed around the vessel, some working on the hull, others towing supplies. Several engineers clad in environmental suits worked on the outside of the ship, occasionally sparks from their equipment could be seen as they cut away the damaged twisted mettle.
Captain Aisaka sat up in her bed, looking out the viewport at her damaged ship. She had requested that her senior staff pay her a visit, she wanted to see them all, together, safe and at the same time.
The doors snapped open and Doctor Valentine quietly filed into the room after having put the rest of the senior staff through a quick scan with her tricorder for any potential illnesses; following directly behind her was the entirety of the Tokyo's Senior Staff- First Thomas, then Talia, then Devon, followed closely thereafter by Nezuko, Teneca, Zachary, Ash and Jasad in quick succession; taking up the rear was Lieutenant Inoue, still filling in for Commander Nishikigi in her short-term absence. Even from Taiga's vantage point, the nine of them were visibly disheveled from their latest ordeal, but nonetheless alive and present.
Thomas took a seat closest to the door, having already spoke to the Captain when they first arrived.
Talia took a seat by her husband, cradling their son as she smiled warmly at Taiga.
"Please, come in guys," Taiga said informally. She couldn't help but smile at seeing their faces. Each of them were back, and most importantly, they were all alive. She felt a warmth in her heart as she saw each and every one of them. "Ryuuji brought some extra chairs in earlier..." she said indicating to several chairs that were set against the wall.
Evidently, Thomas was way ahead of Taiga in that regard, so the others proceeded to follow his example.
Zach didn't sit so much as sink and fold into a chair. He was a bit shocked he'd had the energy to walk there. The trip to the starbase had involved long days of work, and some long nights of trying to unwind from work. Sleep was a secondary concern at that point, but they'd arrived, the ship was still mostly whole, and his team was proud of their work, as was he. And if he'd had the energy to use his vocal cords, he'd have said so. He leaned against the bulkhead and plucked his gold coin out of the air, rolling it in his fingers to keep himself focused.
Nezuko on the other hand was full of energy and excited to be there. She sat on the edge of her seat, as silent as Zach was.
Nyx leaned up against the wall over between Taiga and the rest of them, doctor's lab coat still on, arms crossed and heels giving her that extra edge in height. Her eyes kept dancing over the other senior staff. She wasn't genuinely concerned, but the immune systems of Taiga and Riko were her concern.
Devon walked in, looking at the Captain, smiling as he found a spot. This last mission really made him take a look at himself and the decision that he made. At any point over there they could have been discovered. And even after then, they had been close to getting killed before getting pulled out by the skin of their teeth. There was a moment down there, that the Commander honestly thought he would never his children again. The last couple of days, he stayed close to both his children, hugging them whenever he could. Devon continued to tell himself, that the risk he took was for them. But in a way, he was still hurt by the loss of his wife. And there was a certain amount of revenge that he wanted to inflict on Iconians.
Ashok remained silent, keeping to the back of the group, his arms crossed over his chest as he just observed the interactions. He wasn't exactly sure why he was invited to this small gathering, as his last interaction with the Captain wasn't exactly a promising start to his tour on board.
Teneca hadn't slept much on the way to the Starbase, her mind had been too busy, instead she'd filled her time making baby clothes, she figured there'd be a need for them.
"I brought you a gift, Ma'am. Its a onesy and booties, I'm made them myself, they're made from a soft, yet rugged material its tough enough to protect the wearer from plasma fire." The Science Officer said.
Taiga couldn't help but smile. "Oh they look so cute! She'll love them! Thankyou." Taiga replied giving Teneca a genuine smile. She was grateful for the gift, she hadn't been expecting anything.
Talia gave Thomas a nudge making sure he’d remembered their gift for Taiga and her little one.
"Don't worry." Thomas replied as he handed her the box.
Jasad was among the last through the door, having come directly from another review session with the drydock engineering team on the helm control systems. He'd long since changed out of his duty uniform and several days away from the helm had done something his ribs were quietly grateful for.
"Its nice to see you all," Taiga opened giving them all a smile. She shifted slightly, the mint green cotton pajamas felt smooth on her skin as she made herself more comfortable. "I wanted to see how you are all doing after the mission. From what I've heard you ran into a few problems?"
"Well we found the largest diamond this galaxy has ever seen as of yet... right after... we found out that large starships can do a 180 handbrake turn." Thomas replied a tad sheepishly.
"'Can do' and 'should do' being two very different things," Zachary said.
"And you didn't even bring me back a piece..." Taiga joked with a slight chuckle. She glanced out of the window at the drydock where the Tokyo was under repair. "Is that what caused the huge hole in the side? I mean, its impressive. Enough to make the Titanic blush."
"We had a great helmsman steering her, it wasn't the iceberg of space, one of the main reasons we got out of that place alive is the commanders skills for the most part, the other part was sheer luck." Thomas replied, "To my defense not every day you see a diamond almost as big as a Borg cube to pop out of nowhere."
The Tokyo was an Armitage-class carrier with the turning radius of a small moon and the structural grace of a cargo freighter...and he calls it a handbrake turn. . . Jasad thought to himself as he tried to hide his grimace expression.
"The diamond got us going in. The station's weapon got us coming out. Between the two of them they tried their hardest to take the ship apart." A brief pause as he looked at the brutal scars that covered the surface of the Tokyo. "Thankfully we got away before they could finish the job..."
Noticing the grimace on the helmsman, "Their main weapons are able to slice through our shields almost like a hot knife going through butter. Its something I hope is restricted to their bases and not on their ships."
"Given the power generation it must need," Zachary said, "there's some hope to that hope."
Nezuko nodded in agreement. Having seen it all up close, she knew the power demands, and what the station could bring to bear.
"So far as our collective intel has been able to gather, this is our first real encounter with a weapon of this magnitude," Lieutenant Inoue corroborated. "We suspect it to be antiproton-based, similar in nature to the other projectile weapons that we've seen them using in the past, though our hypothesis is founded squarely on a physical analysis of the damage sustained and cross-referencing that data with the known structural tolerances of the Armitage-Class spaceframe."
"Erm... Lieutenant... I..." Taiga tried interjecting weakly.
Jasad held his head in his hands and sighed for several moments before looking back up at Lieutenant Inoue.
"The recharge rate is what I can't wrap my head around," he said, directing his comment to Lieutenant Inoue. "A weapon that size— the power draw alone should have taken that station offline for several minutes between firing sequences, but we barely had enough time to rotate the ship before that damn thing was targeting us again." He shook his head slightly. "Whatever they're using to cycle that weapon, it isn't anything close to what we'd expect from known antiproton technology. Do we have any data on how they're generating that kind of power output on that timeline?"
He let that sit for a moment before continuing.
"And the hull regeneration — is that a separate system or are they drawing from the same power source as the weapon? Because if it's the same source, there should be a trade-off. Fire the weapon, slow the regeneration. That's a window." He looked at Inoue directly. "Do we have anything that suggests that's actually happening, or are we dealing with two completely independent systems that don't affect each other at all?"
Taiga cleared her throat. "As much as I appreciate your dedication to duty. This isn't a mission debriefing." She told them. "I'll admit, I was worried sick about you all. This was my plan and I had to sit it out."
Taiga reached over to the bassinet to her side. "As you all know, I consider this crew to be much more than just a Starship crew. We are a community, a family. So... before you all went away on your temporary assignments..." she paused as she lifted a bundle of blankets from the bassinet.
"I wanted you all to meet our newest member." She looked over at Ryuuji for a moment who moved closer to Taiga's side. "I want you all to meet our daughter, Riko."
Jasad sat back at Taiga's gentle redirect and let the conversation drop without any resistance. She was right, this wasn't the time.
When Taiga lifted the bundle from the bassinet he looked at the child. Small. So impossibly small and defenseless.
"Congratulations, Captain," he said, trying his best to actually mean it.
A newborn. . .on a ship that barely came back from an engagement with three hull breaches and ten percent shields. But he chose to leave that thought exactly where it was and kept his expression precisely where it needed to be...neutral.
With all this death around them, at some point life began. Hunt simply smiled as the newborn as he moved in a bit closer. "Congratulations to you and your family."
Zachary smiled. He tried not to make it public knowledge, but he loved babies. "She's beautiful," he said, grinning despite his exhaustion. "And for the record? I make a fantastic babysitter."
"Hey, you hear that Taiga, Talia? Free babysitter right there." Nyx chuckled from the wall she was helping to hold up, "I'll let Amu know as well, and I'm even willing to bet that this makes him the right person to change diapers, too!"
Taiga let out a small chuckle at that.
Talia couldn’t help but grin at that. “I’ll remember that, and Congratulations Captain! Riko is beautiful.”
"Congrats, Captain." Teneca said. "She's beautiful and Riko is a lovely and fitting name, it means 'reason' does it not?"
Taiga nodded, "We settled on her name only recently." She explained.
Nezuko came off her seat to look more closely, grinning at Riko’s tiny little self. {Could just eat you up,} she signed. She waved playfully at her and stepped away so others could see the baby too.
Even for someone as steely and reserved as Lieutenant Inoue, Taiga could just barely make out the corners of her lips curling upwards in a faint smile, before quickly returning to her usual cold and emotionless disposition.
"So, who wants to hold her?" Taiga asked as she looked around the room. "I'm sure that something you can bring up on either her eighteenth birthday, or her Academy graduation if she chooses to join Starfleet."
"May I?" Zach said, holding out his hands.
"Sure, as future babysitter, I guess you'll need some practice," Taiga said.
He carefully took the little bundle in the crook of his elbow, keeping her neck supported, and her body semi swaddled against him. He smiled down at her and let her little hand grip his index finger and moved it up and down as if shaking her hand. "Hey Riko," he said, softly. "Nice to meet you."
"You're a natural, Zack." Teneca said with a smile.
Zach smiled back, wiggling Riko's arm as she gripped his finger. "Well, someone better take her from me, or I'll just sit here and hold her for the rest of time.
“I’ll take her” Talia smiled as she handed her son over to Thomas. “You can hold Wyatt if you’d like if you can wrestle him off Tom.”
Zach stood and walked over to Talia, carefully supporting Riko's little frame as he passed her along. He sat back down in his chair and sighed, still tired but a bit more relaxed.
Talia gently cradled the tiny little one in her arms. “She’s beautiful Captain.” She enjoyed a few minutes simply gazing at Riko letting her play with her fingers before finally letting whoever wanted Riko next to have their turn.
Once Riko had 'done the rounds' so to speak, she ended her 'introductions' back in the arms of Taiga. "Teneca mentioned her name means 'Reason'. When written in Japanese, it translates to 'Child of Reason'," Taiga explained. "Because she is the very reason we push forward. Why we continue to fight the Iconians. But also, more importantly, the very reason why Ryuujj and I are the luckiest parents in the quadrant. At least, we think so."
She looked around the room. "As for now, Starfleet wants us all to standby until new orders are issued. So, take some time to relax a little and enjoy some downtime." She told them all with a smile. "Also, well done. I know it was hard, you did a good job out there."
"And speaking of relaxing and enjoying downtime, that's my cue to chivvy you all out of here." Nyx gave a side-eye to Taiga and especially Riko, "The Captain needs her rest, especially since she's still recovering from her own hard times." She put an emphasis on the word rest, "Which are her doctor's orders, with me being said doctor." The Betazoid smiled, "It really is good to see you all in one piece, makes my own job a bit easier. Now shoo!" She made a sweeping gesture with her hands to go along with her laugh.
"You heard her... I can't override Doctors orders." Taiga said with a weak smile. "I could use a nap anyways. Riko had me up every two hours last night." She added.
"Get well, Captain." Hunt then made his way to the door, as the doctor was shooed the senior staff away.
“Get some rest Captain, enjoy your family time.” Talia added as she moved to leave the room.
Nezuko waved goodbye to the Captain and followed Talia out.
As they were all leaving, Taiga spoke up. "Ash. Can, you stick around for a moment please?" She looked over at Nyx. "It'll only be a moment... I swear..."
Nyx gave Ash a quick glance, then a suspicious look to Taiga, "Not long, ma'am, then you will rest. If you don't, I'll be back and you won't enjoy it." She finally detached herself from the wall, "I'll be outside... Just in case." One more look before she followed them out the door.
Ashok glanced back to Nyx, giving her a small smile, before watching her walk out the door. His focus returned to Taiga and her newborn, Riko. She was such a small thing. When he encountered Cirilla, she was much bigger, so he never got to experience her this small.
As the Klingon approached the two, he began softly, speaking in a deep tone. "You know, Captain. I never got to experience Cirilla, my daughter, at this age." He stopped by the bed, extending his hand towards the baby, as he gave a smile. "She was small, of course, but not this small."
"You were right." Taiga stated straight away. "You were one hundred percent right."
"You know..." Ashok said as he placed his hand on Riko's fragile head. "I was once a soldier who believed in the same ideals as any other Klingon. A warrior at heart, determined to add another victory to his list in order to claim glory, to carve my path to Sto'Vo'Kor. Earn a seat at the table of Kahless." He looked briefly over to Taiga and smiled, before his eyes went back to the newborn.
Taiga nodded, understanding what he was saying.
"All that changed when I saw Cirilla and was told she was my daughter. Suddenly, victory for glory wasn't as important as ensuring I was around long enough to see her grow. Whether it be to a Half Klingon woman who goes into Starfleet or if she manages to earn her way into the Klingon Defense Force." He let out a quick scoff masked behind a smile. "Maybe even, some day, to give her away to someone who has earned her love and heart." Ashok looked back down to Taiga and continued. "I understand that this victory mattered a lot to you, Captain. I know that feeling all too well, but we don't have the luxury of thinking on risking our lives to get such a victory. Like many other parents, we need to think outside of ourselves and remember, we have a much bigger job. To lead the young who carry our bloodline to a bigger and better future. Don't misunderstand, these Iconians are a big threat and must be dealt with, which is why we need to be smart. Shelter those we love, if possible, in order to give them a chance at a future we are trying to secure for them. For their sake, we must stop this and remain alive unless the end demands out sacrifice."
"I was once very much like you. Until I realised I have more to live for, I was very much a battlefield commander. All I have ever known in my life is conflict and violence. I never realised just how much... other things in my life mattered to me." she explained. "I was blinded by wanting to strike back at the Iconians. I watched them decimate an entire world of innocent people. I couldn't see past my own emotions. I wanted to be the one who showed them that we have teeth, that we could hit them back." She paused for a brief moment as she looked down at Riko.
"I don't know what it was, but when I first held Riko in my arms. It all changed. It was like something flicked a switch in my brain. I now know, that I could never have carried Riko, into that bloodbath of a battle. Because, I would have lost her. And from what Doctor Valentine has told me, you'd have all lost me." She looked up at Ashok. "So, thank you. Thank you for being the voice of reason who brought me back to reality..."
"So. Now I have much more to fight for. Because, I have Riko."
Posting by:
Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer
USS Tokyo
Commander Thomas Johnson
Executive Officer
USS Tokyo
Lt. Commander Devon Hunt
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Takina Inoue
Acting Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Commander Nyx Valentine
Chief Medical Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Nezuko
Chief Operations Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek
Chief Helmsman
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Commander Talia Johnson
Chief Counsellor
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Teneca Quinn
Chief Science Officer
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Colonel Ashok 'Ash', Son of Norath
Marine Commander
USS Tokyo
Lieutenant Commander Jasad Yuvek
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Tokyo
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