A Long-Sought Checkin

Posted on Wed Aug 19th, 2026 @ 4:43am by Lieutenant Colonel Ashok 'Ash', Son of Norath & Lieutenant Commander Nyxala Valentine

2,211 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Kintsugi
Location: Starbase 43 Medical Wing
Timeline: Immediately after 'Riko'

Nyx caught up to Ashok as he was making his way down the hallway, having to trot several steps to make it to his side. She was in her full-time doctor's uniform, not the one she wore on the ship, but the 'standard issue' medical uniform that the station's personnel were issued. While Tokyo had been away, she'd volunteered to assist on the base and the white lab coat she wore was actively bothering her. The only aberrations she'd allowed herself while here were the heels she wore and the makeup she'd adorned herself with, "Hey there." She said with a smile up at him, "Glad to see you made it out in one piece, I heard it was bad."

"It was as expected." Ashok replied softly, stopping for a moment in the corridor. He leaned back against the wall and looked to Nyx, offering her a bit of a smile. "My team and I kept each other alive, despite what they kept throwing at us. The mission was clear. Get the away team and bring them back. Body count wasn't important. Not for me, at least." He added softly. "We didn't need a Doctor, but I wish you were there. How did it go here? Any trouble?"

Nyx exhaled deeply as she remembered the trip to get here, “Once we got here, actually, a couple hours after we got here everything was fine.” She gave a half smile, “I actually lost her twice on the trip to get here, though. The Captain, that is, got her back, but… Too close for my druthers. I wanted to be back with Tokyo, or on that team you were on, but if I’d sent someone else with her? I don’t know.”

"Don't beat yourself up for that. You made the right decision. You're an amazing Doctor, but more importantly, you have the fight of a Marine. No matter what happened, you would have never stopped fighting for her and her baby." Ash countered, placing his hands behind his back slightly, adjusting himself so he could put them there before leaning back against them again. "As much as I would liked to of had you fighting with me, you were better off here. Without you, there is no telling how it would have ended. You could have been the deciding factor of what brought the Captain and her child through all this. There will be many more fights ahead for you to join. Your fight to keep them alive was far more important."

It was hard for her to do, but Nyx grudgingly nodded at his point. “I just think I may have had more of an effect in sickbay. I heard about Doctor Montembeault’s meltdown, then Amy’s decision to seal sickbay doors. How many more lives could I have saved?” She gave him an apologetic smile, “Sorry, I’m always going to question it, but I won’t dwell on things too much longer. What’s in the past is in the past, I can’t change it no matter how much I’d like to. On another front, how is Cirilla doing?”

"I get it. Believe me." Ash replied with a quick laugh. "I question my decisions nearly all the time. Should I have done this and not that? What if I gone through a different door and not the other? It's all... What if's, Nyx. You can't keep worrying about every decision after its passed. Sometimes, that hardest part about making a decision, is sticking to it whether you know the consequences or not. As a Marine CO, I can't help but go there, but I also make sure not to stay there. Staying there will often led you to make worse decision or even hesitate, which will cost you more in the end. It's a dark place and I wouldn't want you to end up there."

He reached his hand out, as if to take hers, but pulled back a bit as he cleared his throat. "Cirilla is well. I struggled with a difficult decision too. Either send her to you, off the ship, or keep her on with the other families. In the end, I decided, to keep her close and onboard. Even though, my brain was telling me it was a bigger risk, I needed to trust the ones I left her with would keep her safe while I did what I had to do to save the away team. It was a difficult decision, but one I stuck to and it worked out in the end. Thankfully."

"I can't envy you having to make that decision." Nyx nodded as she saw the twitch of his hand. It would have been reassuring, certainly, but since Ciri had met Gigi, duty had kept them busy so they couldn't make the time for that dinner he'd suggested, or the other time to see each other. "With Tokyo undergoing a refit, I'm going to submit a recommendation to the engineers to build an armored redoubt for non-combatants to go to for combat situations, especially given all the children aboard and my own upcoming. I think if the situation comes up, just like you, I wouldn't want to be far away from own."

"Sounds like a great idea." Ash replied, smiling back at her, as he crossed his arms over his chest again. "I hope it gets approved. It could save a lot of lives."

"I've got no doubt it will be, it's just a matter of determining where to put it. Don't want to too close to the outer hull for obvious reasons, don't want it too far from it in case of evacuations." Nyx shrugged with a wry smile of her own, "Of course, while you guys were off playing 'Lets not get blown up', I also found out something else: I'm actually carrying twins, not just a singleton. You can imagine my reaction to that one."

"Twins?! Really?" Ashok replied, shocked at the news. as he stepped forward. He wasn't sure how to actually react. A part of him wanted to hug her, but her wry smile seemed to make him feel like it probably wasn't the news she was looking for. When they first met, he caught the scent that she was with child, but it's not like he knew it was more than one. Despite that, he opened his arms slightly, raising a brow. "Is this a good news for you or bad news?"

Whether he was certain of his thought process, she wasn't one to make a decision and not follow through with it. She took advantage of his slightly opened arms and stepped into them, wrapping her own around him in a hug that she really actually needed from someone. The fact that it was him only helped, "I really don't know. I suppose that it's about the same either way, just double the trouble?"

Ashok smiled, wrapping his arms around her, as he placed his head on hers. He pulled back a bit, still holding onto her, as he looked into her eyes. "You'll be a great mother, Nyx. Don't worry about it. You have a great heart and the instincts of a mother bear. You'll do right by both of your children. If you ever need help, you know I won't be far away."

"And I appreciate it." Nyx stated, then took the plunge, "Of course, if you were serious back when we talked, we could see where spending that additional time together leads us. I've no doubt that no matter what, we'd remain friends and comrades. Besides, seeing Gigi and Ciri sleeping together? That was just adorable."

"When was I ever not serious?" Ashok questioned, raising a brow. "You came off as such a strong person and independent person that I didn't think you wanted to get involved with someone like me. I'm hot headed. I'm eager to run into combat. As a father I'm over protective, which I thought you hated." He pulled away slightly, holding onto her hands by his fingertips. "When we first met we held weapons to each other. A normal Klingon would find that arousing and consider that a successful courtship, but you gave off the vibe you didn't want someone to overcomplicate things for you. And, believe me, I am very complicating." He added with a laugh.

"You know, a lot has changed between then and now." Nyx said.

"Then and now?!" He raised a brow. "It hasn't even been a month."

"Yeah, exactly!" She laughed along with him, "Back then, I wasn't sure I was keeping it, now I've found out that I'm having twins and suddenly they're some of the most precious things to me. There are far worse things than someone who's overprotective when it comes to handling kids, besides..." She smiled coyly up at him, "I'm not one to just hang back where it's safe either. If I can accept that about you, you can accept the same about me. And, if you hadn't noticed, I'm not Klingon. It means that I'm a bit more complicated than one of those females. Can you handle that?"

Ash smiled down at her, placing his hands down to her hips, as he stepped closer. His smile shifted to a smirk, as he replied softly in his deep voice. "I can't promise you that I won't be protective, even though I know you are a woman who can handle herself and make her own choices. It's my nature to watch out for others and, children or not, a large part of me wants to protect you. I know you're not Klingon, but you are every bit as tough and strong than any Klingon I have ever met. And, if given the choice, I'd take you over them any day of the week."

"Then we'll just have to see if we can make it work, don't you think?" Nyx asked him, placing her own on his chest, right above where his heart lay, "If it doesn't, then I may have to revisit putting those bullets here again, won't I?"

Ash let out a soft chuckle, smiling at the end, as he looked down at her. "Depending on how far we get... those bullets to my heart won't be necessary, because you would have already damaged it enough." He took a deep breath and whispered. "I like you Nyx. I really do. I hope to God, or Kahless, that I don't do anything to break your heart first."

"Then don't do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed." Nyx patted his chest, "And let's skip some of the Klingon traditions? Because I swear, if you bite my face, we're going to find out how you like being without testicles." She smiled sweetly at him.

"So... let me get this straight?" He said, smiling still, as he leaned his head back. "You can threaten to shoot me in the chest and boast about healing me up afterwards so you won't feel bad about it, but my biting you is too far?" Ashok offered her a chuckle and nod, adding softly. "I make no promises if it's done in the heat of passion. I'm still a Klingon and some instincts are hard to break."

"I like to stay pretty, if you haven't happened to notice." Nyx batted her eyelashes at him with another laugh of her own, "Just... Try to do your best to remember. Besides, there are other places that can be bitten, so long as you don't hit anything vital. At least, not until I give you a crash course in patching me up."

"That, Doctor, sounds like a fair compromise." Ash said, narrowing his eyes slightly, as he looked down at her, before letting out a quick laugh that ended with a pleased smile. "Somewhere it can be easily hidden and not strong enough to pierce your skin."

"An old Betazoid proverb: 'Don't get involved with a Klingon if you can't handle a fair amount of blood.' Just don't ask me how old it is." Nyx smiled, "I guarantee, I've had worse injuries. Besides, we'll figure it out as we go in the best of traditions."

"That we will." Ash said softly before stepping back. His hands moved from her sides, to her arms, and slowly pulling back before stopping at her fingertips. He looked at her and smiled.

She smiled back at him from five inches below him. This meant she could always wear her heels. She grasped one hand in one of her own, "So, let's find you some quarters on the station and you can tell me all about what happened while I was gone."

He took her hand in his and began to walk slowly with her. Ashok smiled as he began, before turning to look at her. "Alright, but I can't promise you it will be exciting and it won't be boring."

"I think I'll survive." Nyx squeezed his hand, "Besides, I like your voice."

END

Mission Post By

Lieutenant Colonel Ashok, Son of Norath
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Tokyo

and

Lieutenant Commander Nyx Valentine
Chief Medical Officer
USS Tokyo

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