Chisato's Return

Posted on Tue Aug 25th, 2026 @ 9:33pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Commander Ryuuji Takasu & Lieutenant JG Mikko Ishigami & Commander Chisato Nishikigi

2,350 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Kintsugi
Location: Shuttlecraft Minato
Timeline: March 30, 2397

"Gosh, I didn't think it'd be this bad..."

Commander Chisato Nishikigi gazed in wide-eyed disbelief as the shuttlecraft Minato slowly banked around the Drydock in which the Tokyo was presently being housed. Granted, she had already been debriefed on the fact that the Tokyo had taken some damage in her latest assignment, but the reports had done little to prepare her for the gaping hole in the Tokyo's port side that greeted her upon her arrival at Starbase 43.Without exaggeration (okay, maybe a little), it was quite possibly the most extensive damage she had ever seen dealt to a Federation starship that hadn't been rendered completely inert, if not outright destroyed.

She glanced over at Lieutenant Ishigami, who had been courteous enough to furnish her with a ride back to SB43 from the Algonquin Fleet Yards from which she had been dropped off. "And you said the Heralds did this?"

"Yep. Oh and a massive chunk of diamond." Miko replied.

"A diamond did that?!" Chisato gawked in disbelief. "Were you guys drinking or something?"

"I wish we were. But no. The diamonbd had already weakened the ships defenses, an Iconian energy beam was what actually carved us up like a prize Christmas chicken," Miko explained as she brought the shuttle around towards one of the many docking bays for the starbase. "Shuttlecraft Minato to docking control requesting permission to land.". Miko called out, as she opened a channel. Almost instantly she got a clear signal.

A few moments later the engines were powering down as the rear hatch slowly opened to reveal one of the gigantic shuttlebays of Starbase 43.

"Whoopee, looks like I've got something to look into," Chisato sighed as she stood up and gathered up her belongings. "And where was it you said I could find Captain Aisaka again?"

"She's in her temporary office on the starbase," Mikko explained.

"Right, and where would I find that...?" Chisato asked.

"I'm not sure. But the computer will know." Mikko replied as she secured the shuttles systems and made her way towards the rear hatch. "Good luck, I've got other duties to attend to." She gave Chisato a small finger wave before trotting off out of the shuttle.

"Well, I guess if I'm going to be posted here for a while, might as well give myself a tour..." Chisato shrugged before adjusting the straps on her tote bag and following Miko out the hatch.

---

[Captain Aisaka's Temporary Office]

Taiga was snoozing peacefully on the couch. Her head rested on one of her arms whilst the other was draped across her stomach. A sliver of drool escaped her mouth as she slept soundly, the only sound in the room was the low hum of the artificial lighting and gravity playing, although only ones with superior sharp hearing could pick them up. Otherwise it was as silent as a graveyard on a warm summers evening. No engine sounds, no alarms, no klaxons and now, no crying Riko. For Taiga, even though she was meant to be 'working' a nap here and there was becoming essential to her everyday routine.

And it would seem as if she needed the rest more than she realized, for when the door chime sounded, she was none the wiser. Yet the door itself showed that it was unlocked, granting access to the office.

The doors slid open and Chisato was just about to step inside when she spotted her captain fast asleep on the couch.

"Oh; um..."

She almost considered coming back at a later time, but seeing as no one had indicated that her captain needed "quiet time" at certain hours of the day, she reckoned this was an unplanned siesta and she was probably supposed to be working anyways; after making sure that no one was in the immediate vicinity in the unlikelihood that she startled Taiga awake, she proceeded to close the door behind her, tiptoed over to the couch, and gently poked the Captain's shoulder.

Taiga groaned and shuffled slightly. "Five more... minutes..."

Chisato obliged, sat down in a chair, and after exactly five minutes of staring awkwardly at the Captain as she slept, got up and went back to poking.

Instead of groaning or complaining, Taiga's eyes shot open. She sat bolt upright like a jolt of lightning had zapped through her. She looked directly forward for a few seconds. "I'm awake! Not sleeping!" She called out, only to be greeted by a rather silent potted plant. If the plant was sentient it wpuld be rather confused by now. Slowly she looked to her side and her eyes rested on Chisato.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"...Five minutes, like you requested?" Chisato replied.

Taiga cocked her head to one side, as if confused. "And what are you doing here? Aren't you on the Myogi?" The last few weeks had gone by so fast, that Taiga had completely lost track of time and the days that had followed. Most of the days had mixed into a blur, her concept of time had been thrown off and with Riko being up most nights, it hadn't helped.

Chisato blinked in surprise. "Um... how did you know I was on the-?"

It was at that moment that the glass shattered, breaking Taiga's daze. "Oh crap... Hi Chisato. How was your mission? Good I presume?" She asked totally avoiding the question.

Mercifully, her 2XO elected to play along and drop the subject entirely.

"Well, without going into detail, I am pleased to report that the mission was an unprecedented success," she explained. "We successfully achieved our mission parameters, and even got the Breen on negotiating terms; so provided the talks go off without a hitch, we might net ourselves a potential ally as early as mid-April."

Throwing her arms into the air, Taiga stretched. She swung her legs off the couch, planting her feet to the floor. Her boots were sitting by the side of the couch. Yet she transformed into a sitting pose. "Thats good. We could use all the allies we can get. The Iconians are attacking everyone. Its actually impressive that they can wage a war on so many fronts, especially across the entire galaxy."

"Indeed," Chisato sighed. "And I'm not usually a Debbie Downer, but it seems like every time we manage to get a leg up on them, they bust out some new super-weapon and get the drop on us."

"Well, thats to be expected." Taiga said. She rose to her feet and crossed over towards the replicator that was built into the wall. "Afterall, they are far more advanced than we are. When you think of it, they have surpassed us in pretty much every way possible. Apart from one thing."

Chisato raised an eyebrow. "And that would be...?"

"They don't seem to have any humility. If anything, they don't seem to value life at all." She pulled two mugs out of the replicator and passed one to Chisato. She knew her coffee order, so didn't bother to ask. "Thats one thing that everyone in this galaxy can agree is their worst trait."

"But surely, there has to be a reason for their lack of humility," Chisato speculated as she took a sip of her coffee. "I mean, I can't imagine they're just born looking down on everyone and everything in the known universe; even the Changelings had reasons for thinking the way that they did. So, what was it specifically that set the Iconians on this path in the first place? What led them to the inevitable conclusion that violence is the only solution?"

"Honestly. I don't know." Taiga sighed. It was at that moment that the office doors swished open. In walked Ryuuji, with a anti-gravity pram in front of him. Tucked under his arm was a basket.

"Taiga. We've brought you lunch I thought... Oh..." Ryuuji stopped at the sight of Chisato.

Chisato's gaze wandered over to the pram, and then back over to Taiga. "Oh! That reminds me!" she said as she pulled out her tote bag and began rummaging through it. "I was told that your baby while I was away, so I figured to commemorate the occasion!"

She then proceeded to furnish a small, pink baby blanket and pressed it into Taiga's hands. "Ta-Da!"

Taiga blinked a few times in surprise. "Thanks Chisato. I'm sure that she'll love it." She made her way over to the pram. "Hows she been?"

"The usual. She has your temper thats for sure. I've changed her, fed her... read war and peace to her..." Ryuuji joked. Taiga let out a small laugh as she reached down and pulled out a tiny bundle of blankets. Nestling it protectively in her arms, she turned to Chisato.

"Want to meet her?"

Chisato's face lit up with excitement. "Can I?!"

Taiga nodded. "Remember to support her head." She held the bundle of blankets out towards Chisato. "You're the only one of her new family whom she hasn't met yet."

"Family?" Chisato chuckled as she took the bundle in her arms, making sure to carefully support the head-shaped lump in her hand, as per Taiga's instructions. "I'm flattered; I can't say I've had a starship family since I left the Lycoris last year."

"Recently I've started to see the Tokyo crew as much more than a crew." Taiga explained, a smile slowly making its way across her face. "We've all been through far too much together to just be a Starship crew. We're closer than that." she then cut herself off. "Chisato, I want you to meet Riko."

Chisato lightly peeled the blankets back to reveal a little baby girl looking right back at her. Her bright brown eyes sparkled in the light, she had obviously inherited them from Taiga along with the tiny swirls of light brown hair. She seemed curious at the sudden appearance of the blobde haired woman. She let out a tiny coo sound, in what could be interpreted as approval.

"Here, take her. She hasn't cried yet, so she seens like she approves," Taiga said.

"Well, hello there, Precious," Chisato whispered, lightly dusting Riko's forehead with the side of her thumb. "Aren't you just the sweetest little thing..."

Riko made a small cooing noise as she took in Chisato's face. Slowly she closed her eyes and was soon happily snoozing. "Well, I best eat that lunch Ryuuji brought." Taiga said as she gently retrieved Riko from Chisato and placed her back into the pram taking care not to wale her. "She'll sleep for a while now, then probably be up every couple of hours during the night."

"I mean, hey, not like that's something babies figure out right off the bat, amiright?" Chisato sighed as she sat back down. "So, I take it if we're something along the lines of a family now..."

She smirked as a mischievous thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Would you say this makes Takina-Chan and I cousins?"

Raising a rather confused eyebrow, "Yeah... sure..." Taiga replied. "Anyways. The Tokyo is looking at eight to ten weeks of repair and refit time; in the meanwhile..."

She paused and looked over at Ryuuji. He gave an understanding nod and after placing the food down on the desk, took his leave with baby Riko in tow. The doors behind him closed with a gentle hiss and now they were alone.

"So," she continued. "I have your next set of orders right here, though I wasn't going to give them to you for a few days. After all, you also deserve some down time..." she walked over to her desk and tapped in a code on its control panel. A drawer popped open and she retrieved a single PADD.

She held it out to Chisato. "I've been delaying passing you these. To be fair... the orders did start 'When Commander Nishikiji is available..."

Chisato nodded and took the PADD.

"Please provide biometric data to continue," the PADD stated.

Chisato took her thumb and pressed it up against the screen.

The PADD beeped a few times before pulling up the orders.

'Commander Chisato Nishikiji. By order of Starfleet Command and Starfleet Intelligence, you are to report to the Daystrom Institute located in Okinawa, Japan, Earth.

You are to provide the 'Herald Spear Weapon' within your custody aboard the United Star-Ship Tokyo. You are hereby ordered to provide technical and research assistance in the development of defence and offensive technologies that may be used against the Iconian threat.

These orders extend to Lieutenant Takina Inoue, Lieutenant Mizuki Nakahara and Lieutenant Junior Grade Kurumi Hatanaka. These order are categorised as classified by both Starfleet Command and Starfleet Intelligence. All other duties and priorities are hereby rescinded.'

"Seems like a Spy's job is never done," Chisato sighed as she handed the PADD to Taiga. "Welp, looks as if I’m gonna need to head down to intel and check in with the girls; wouldn't happen to know if they've already received their orders, would you?"

Taiga just pointed to the PADD. "You have them in your hand..." she stated simply giving her a smirk.

"...Oop, wait; you wanted me to keep the PADD?"

"Those are your orders, so no duh..." Taiga said sarcastically. "Now go, say hello to the other Intel officers. You'll find them in the base's intelligence center on deck three hundred and sixty four."

"Right, then," Chisato nodded as she stood up and took the PADD. "Guess I'd better get going, then; see you around, Captain."

Taiga shook her head as she watched her scuttle out of the room. She looked over at the food that Ryuuji had brought her. Then at the couch where she had been sleeping earlier. "Food or nap? Food or nap? Damn it, which one do I pick?!"

Posting by:

Captain Taiga Aisaka]
Commanding Officer
USS Tokyo

Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant Commander Ryuuji Takasu
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant JG Mikko Ishigami
Flight Control Officer
USS Tokyo

 

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