Klingon Parenting 101 (Part 2)

Posted on Sat Apr 4th, 2026 @ 9:18am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Colonel Ashok 'Ash', Son of Norath

2,061 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Flight Of The Valkyries
Location: USS Tokyo Transporter Room
Timeline: March 15th, 2397 - 09:00

"Before you make that call..." Taiga said as she moved over towards the transporter pad. Slowly she lowered herself down and sat on its edge taking the weight off of her feet. "If you have engaged the Heralds before. You'll know they are ruthless. They are not here for peace, they are not here to conquer. They are here for one thing and one thing only. Extermination." Taiga told him. "We've lost millions in only a couple of weeks. Whole colonies have been destroyed, whole cultures wiped out with no remorse, no guilt, no sign of them stopping."

Taiga paused. "I understand your concerns. Truly I do." she placed a hand on her rounded out belly, her eyes drifting down to look at it. She could see small movements from inside, a clear sign that her baby was hearing everything they were saying and reacting to it. "I would prefer to be far away from here. Delivering this little one in a few weeks and spend some time being the mother I want to be. However, if I am being truthful. There isn't a single place in the entire galaxy which can be considered safe at this moment." she looked back up at him. "You may not understand them as well as I do. But what I can say is this. No matter where I am, whether or not I am pregnant. There is no safe harbour, there is no where that this baby will be in danger. Yes, I understand that being on a starship isn't ideal and puts the baby at high risk. You may think I'm a fool for doing this, and you're right. I probably am. No... I most definitly am. But in the long run, I have seen the Heralds murder innocents and civilians in nothing but cold blood. I can't stand by and simply watch that happen from the sidelines. I want to make a difference, I want to show them that we can stand up to them no matter the cost." she lowered her gaze again.

A few tears leaked from her eyes. "After this mission is over. I will ask for maternity leave." She looked back up at him, her hazel eyes glistening with her silent tears. "But right now. The Tokyo and her crew need my leadership, otherwise we'll all end up in Sto-Vo-Kor."

Ashok stopped in his place, allowing the transporter room doors to open briefly, before turning away to look at Taiga. He looked back to the open door, pondering his next move carefully, before stepping back inside and allowing the doors to close again.

"You think I haven't see what they can do?" Ash said softly as he slowly approached Taiga. I've been on the front lines, Captain. Boots on the ground with my brothers and sisters around me, prepared to fight, only to have some of them get wiped out before even getting a chance to raise their weapons. Good men. Strong women. Turned to memories in an instant." He stopped in front of her and crouched down, continuing on. "I've fought countless of enemies and have never been shaken before. My Klingon body and ferocity always pushing me through. My first battle... the very first one... I became genuinely afraid. Terrified, Captain. A Klingon isn't supposed to be afraid of their enemy, but these Herolds... shake me to my core. So, yes, I have seen what they can do and it scares me. As it should you."

The Klingon let out a deep sigh as he stood up and soon sat down, taking a seat by her, gripping onto the sides of the transporter pad. "But it doesn't stop me from fighting, Captain. It makes me want to fight even more, because these monsters need to be stopped. You said so yourself, they are murdering innocents. So, don't hand them one more." He pointed to her stomach. "I promise you, Captain... if you tell us all you know, we will use it to fight for our lives and protect the many more innocents still out there. I give you my word, as a Starfleet Marine and Klingon, that I will fight till my last breath for you and your child. I will not stop until death itself is dragging my body of the battlefield itself. As will every other officer under your command. All we ask of you, all we beg of you, is to step away from the fight and let us handle it. You are not a coward for walking away from this. It won't make you any less of a Captain. A true Captain knows when to fight and when not to fight. Starfleet, this crew, will not think any less of you for leaving to keep your child safe. I promise you, they will fight even harder, because that baby is a symbol of why we must fight so hard. Why we have to win."

Ash took a moment to think, looking away from her and straight at the wall, knowing what a lose here would cost. He's seen many fall to these Herolds, many Marines he fought alongside with for years, so stopping them meant everything. Especially for his own daughter. She fueled his every waking moment and action. Every time he picked up a weapon and stepped into battle it was for her. This fight was no different.

As he turned his head to look at her again, he placed his hand on her shoulder, whispering softly. "I don't know why I survived all of my times fighting with the Herolds. There have certainly been times where I found myself preparing for death, only for him to not visit me on that day. To walk passed me on the battle field, as if to say, 'It's not your time.' Perhaps this is my time or... perhaps I was spared for this moment. To keep you from taking this innocent soul from this world. To remind you, this is not just your fight, but everyone's fight. To ease the weight you have been carrying since this all began and to free you from that heavy burden." He paused for a moment, before adding. "Or perhaps it was luck. Just simple and dumb luck." Ash looked back over to her and whispered. "You plan will work, Captain. I was told what it was on my way here. It will work, with or without you. Let us take on the fight so you can protect a piece of the future we are fight for from harm. I implore you, Captain. They have taken enough from us. Don't let them take this one too. They can't have this one."

Taiga took a few moments to reform her thoughts. "I'll see what I can do." She said simply as she wiped the tears away with her sleeve. "I'm sorry. Hormones... and all that jazz..." She told him giving him a brief smile. "I can't guarantee that they'll transfer me off this late in the game. But your point does make sense. I just think I needed someone as..." she paused as she looked up at him again. "Stubborn and hard headed as myself to make me realise that."

"Well... I am a Klingon. We are known for being hard headed and stubborn." Ashok replied with a quick laugh before adding. "It's built into our DNA. Right next to the ridges and third lung." As he placed his hand on her shoulder, he let out a sigh. "You will have the full support of my Marines and your crew to make sure you find a way off this ship and somewhere safe. Even if I have to call in a few Klingon favors. Being the grandson of an Admiral and the son of an honored General does have it's advantages, you know."

Taiga looked back down at her belly. She didn't look back up at the Klingon. "Can you find your way to the Marine area... or do you need me to show you?" she asked. "If you need me... I might need a few minutes..."

"No need." Ash said as he stood up from the transport pad. He stretched for a moment before adding. "I've learned this ships schematics when I was on my way here. Besides, if that doesn't work, I'll follow my daughters scent." He smile a bit as he pointed to his nose. "Klingons have an acute sense of smell and there is no mistaking her scent. My mother introduced Cirilla to Zilm'kach fruit and she can't get enough of it. She loved it so much, my mother bought her this lotion to put on that smells like it." He let out a little chuckle as he said. "It's come in handy on those days she thinks she can hide from me instead of taking a bath. Of course, when we play hide and seek, I pretend like I can't find her. I don't have the heart to tell her I find her within the first 10 seconds. Maybe when she's older I'll tell her. Like... on her wedding day. That seems fair."

That made Taiga smile a little. "Very well..." she said softly still keeping her gaze low. "Make sure to check in by sickbay... You should know the drill by now... I guess this is dismissed...?"

The Klingon stood there for a moment, his eyes watching her curiously, before letting out a smirk. He cleared his throat as the smirk disappeared from his face. "You want me to help you up?"

Taiga looked up at him again. Then she held both arms out. "Uh huh...."

Ash smiled again before holding out his arms. He gripped onto her forearms and then prepared himself and her. "Alright... One. Two. Up we go." He said as he slowly eased her up from her seated position to a standing one. He took a moment to help her straighten her uniform and softly said. "Don't worry, Captain. We'll keep this part between us."

A sigh escaped Taiga's mouth. "We'll keep perhaps... everything in here between us. How does that sound?" she asked. "I think now that we've cleared the air, we're good here?"

"If that's what you decide." Ashok said softly as he placed his hand behind his back and continued. "I'm not ashamed of what I said or did, because it came from someone who knowns what its like to want to protect such a small thing from all the evils and dangers of this world. It's hard to know whether or not the decision you're making is going to do good or make things worse. Something I have learned is... no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. What matters is whether you learn from them or keep on repeating them. This discussion could have very well been a large mistake on one or both of our parts, but we learned something. Specifically, about each other. If anything, we should know more about the type of people we are and what we stand for. Whether that makes us closer or turns us against each other is hard to say, but at least we know more now than we did when I first arrived."

Taiga nodded simply in response. She began to make her way towards the doors of the transporter room. "Agreed Lieutenant Colonel." she said. She then turned to face him. "Welcome to the Tokyo. If our conversation is anything to go off, you'll fit right in here."

"Thank you for such a... warm welcome." Ashok replied with a smile as he made his way to the doors. "I'll make the same promise to you that I make to all my CO's. I'll do my best to not kill anyone. If I do, I am sure they deserved it and you can mainly blame it on my being Klingon. That usually works." As he walked out the doors, going the opposite way of the Captain, he shouted. "I'm kidding, by the way."

"A hot headed, yet comedic Klingon..." Taiga muttered to herself as she made her way down the corridor. "You don't see that everyday. Especially around here..."

Posting by:

Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer
USS Tokyo

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

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