Prodigy Love - Chapter 28

Not long after her father had made the announcement that both crews would be celebrating on the starbase, Anya decided to go to a cafe for some time alone. She bought a cup of vanilla latte and a small old-fashioned doughnut before sitting down at a corner table and taking out her journal and pen.

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Stardate 2258.332
Starbase 1

My father, mother and brothers have met me in my state as an officer!

Papa, ever-supporting as always, gave me a hug and congratulated me. When he contacted the Kepler, he told his first officer about my being an officer--but couldn't answer the question of what crew I was in! (Typical of Papa at times, to forget to ask certain questions in his times of pride...) The second I told Papa I was on the Enterprise, he gave me another hug and made an exclamation of how incredible it was that I was on that ship (while forgetting that he removed his hand from the speaker of his communicator). His first officer and the senior officers on the Kepler were in complete surprise over my being on the Enterprise. After telling First Officer Fontana that the Kepler crew and the Enterprise crew would be beamed down into the starbase to celebrate the beginning of my career, we spoke of my time on the ship (minus my time with Pavel; I have NO idea how Papa will react to me dating so soon into my career, not to mention dating at all).

But first, he said, my mother and little brothers would be sent up here via shuttle.

When Mama saw me, she reacted in a way that I'd never seen her react around me. She tightly hugged me and told me that I looked pretty. Well THAT's been a change for Mama. For as long as I can remember, Mama constantly fretted over how I looked. She'd try everything, from having me pull my bangs away with headbands and bobby pins to having me wear clothing that was uncomfortable--all in failed attempts to get me to be recognized for something more than just an off-the-chart IQ level. Now, however, she doesn't have anything to fret about in that department (and soon, she'll be giving me even more attention when she hears about what else has happened to me...).

Mikhail and Kirill, being the seven-year-olds that they are, tackled me to the ground and asked me several questions, including the usual one of "Did you discover anything infinitely gross?" How typical. Besides computers, starships and playing pranks on everyone whenever and wherever possible, Mikhail and Kirill have an affinity for anything disgusting. When they found out I was on the Enterprise, they too went crazy. (Though I think they're not as crazy about me being on the ship as they are about meeting Kirk.)

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Anya was about to write more when she heard the sounds of snickering nearby. Anya closed her journal and found Mikhail and Kirill looking at her with smirks on their faces.

"Vhat do jou two vant?" Anya muttered.

"Nozzing; ve just vanted to bug jou," the twins said in unison before snickering again.

Anya rolled her eyes before asking, "All right, vhat did jou two hack eento zhis time?" From the time Mikhail and Kirill were five years old, they had become proficient hackers. Hacking allowed the twins not just to access data on computers, but to fiddle around with the data to the point where a prank or two was the end result.

"Nooozzzzzinggggg..." Mikhail and Kirill chanted.

Anya narrowed her eyes, and said firmly, "I know jou hacked eento somezhing. Out vith eet. NOW."

"Vell, ve hacked eento Keptin Kirk's personal logs..."

"...Spock's obserwations..."

"...Doctor McCoy's medical reports..."

"...oh, and maybe zhe logs of..."

Then, together, the twins said in a teasing, sing-song voice, "...Pavel Chekovvvvvv..."

At the mention of her boyfriend, Anya's face turned red and her eyes became icy.

"Jou...little...HELLRAISERS!!!!" Anya shouted through clenched teeth. "I'm varning jou: one vord about zhis to Papa and Mama and I--"

But before she could finish her threat, Mikhail and Kirill quickly ran off, smirking all the way.

Anya rolled her eyes.

'Brozzers...' she thought.

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While Nikolay was busy making the preparations for the Kepler crew and the Enterprise crew to arrive on Starbase 1, Ekaterina and the children sat at a table in a nearby buffet restaurant. While Mikhail and Kirill chowed down on their food like there was no tomorrow, Anya took her time eating. Ekaterina noticed this as she told her sons (for what she considered to be the thousandth time) to stop chewing with their mouths open. Anya only took a slower amount of time to eat if she hated the food placed in front of her or if there was something on her mind.

Knowing that it was most likely the second reason, Ekaterina asked, "So, Anya, how vere zhings on zhe Enterprise?"

Anya shrugged. "Not much to say, Mama," she said, looking down at her plate.

"Jou'we hawen't really touched jour food, sveetie," Ekaterina said gently.

"I'm just not all zhat hungry right now, Mama."

"Vell, ve are een a buffet, jou know. Zhere's plenty of ozzer zhings to get," Ekaterina said. "Vhat do jou vant?"

"Pavel Chekovvvv..." Kirill teased in a sing-song voice.

"Vatch eet, Kirill..." Anya muttered.

"Vhat? Eet's true..." Mikhail piped up.

"Mikhail, I'm varning jou..."

"But jou're CRAZY about him!" the twins shouted.

"SHUT UP!" Anya shouted back.

"Enough, all zhree of jou!" Ekaterina said firmly.

Immediately, Anya and her brothers returned to more relaxed sitting postures.

Not long after she had given the order for her children to settle down, Ekaterina remembered the twins saying "him" to Anya.

'Could eet be?' Ekaterina thought to herself. 'Nyet, eet ken't be. Zhen again...'

"Anya?" Ekaterina ventured to ask. "Ees zhere somezhing jou vant to tell me?"

Hearing her mother ask this question (and knowing what caused her to ask it in the first place), Anya blushed.

"Vell, I...Mama...I...um...I...I..." Anya stuttered as she tried to find a way to word it, blushing all the while.

"Jou..." Ekaterina said, persuading her daughter to say what she wanted to say.

"ANYA'S GOT A BOYFRIEND!!!!" Mikhail and Kirill shouted.

Ekaterina looked at her sons before turning to Anya again.

"Anya, ees zhis true?"

Blushing even more, Anya hesitated for a second before nodding and saying "...da."

Hearing that the answer was in the affirmative, Ekaterina's smile widened into a grin. Without warning, Ekaterina wrapped her daughter in another crushing hug.

"EMERGENCY, Mama!" Anya said, trying to get out of her mother's tight squeeze, "Ken't...breazhe..."

"Anya, zhat's VONDERFUL!!!!" Ekaterina exclaimed before letting go of Anya. As she did so, Ekaterina remembered that it was her sons who had said this. How they found out was what she wanted to know.

Ekaterina turned towards Mikhail and Kirill.

"How did jou--"

The second after their mother began her sentence, the twins dashed back over to the buffet tables to collect more food, smirking all the way.

"Mikhail and Kirill Nikolayvich Turetsky," Ekaterina said in a stoic tone. "Vhat did I say earlier about hacking eento people's PADDs?"

The boys looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to loading up their plates with food.

Ekaterina sighed (she would punish her sons later) before turning back to her daughter.

"Anya, zhis ees vonderful news!" Ekaterina said enthusiastically.

Anya blushed deeper as she smiled and nodded.

"Vell, tell me about him," Ekaterina said, looking at Anya with a way that said she was listening.

"Tell me about vho?" a voice said.

Mother and daughter turned to see Nikolay approaching with his own tray of food.

"Vhat's all zhe commotion about?"

"ANYA'S GOT A BOYFRIEND, PAPA!!!!" Mikhail and Kirill shouted from a nearby soda dispenser.

At those words, Nikolay almost dropped his tray.

'VHAT?!?!' Nikolay thought to himself. 'She's only sewenteen!'

"Zhat's...zhat's..." Nikolay struggled with something else to come up with besides the line of 'Jou're not going out on a date until jou're a commander, joung lady,' to Anya.

"Vhat jour papa's trying to say ees zhat he's happy for jou, Anya," Ekaterina intervened.

'No I'm not,' Nikolay thought. He wanted to say those exact words, but when he caught the warning glance on Ekaterina's eyes, he settled for saying "Ehhh...right. Vhat jour mama said."

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Later on, while Anya was taking her brothers around the small shops on the starbase, Nikolay and Ekaterina sat on a bench that was near a window of the starbase. Nikolay was absorbed in his PADD, checking (for what appeared to be the hundredth time) the reports of the Kepler's condition.

Noticing this, Ekaterina asked, "Niki, ees somezhing bozzering jou?"

Nikolay didn't look up from his work, but a lot of thoughts were already on his mind. His daughter, his ONLY daughter, was DATING. Questions had been forming around that very concept. Who was she dating? What was he like? What was his rank and what were his duties? How far into the relationship was he with Anya? Why did he love Anya in the first place? Did he see Anya as only a mere trophy that men sought to claim? Or did he see Anya as a person who deserved to be treated kindly regardless of her family lineage?

Again, Ekaterina asked, "Niki, ees somezhing bozzering jou?"

Nikolay slowly turned towards his wife, unsure of what to say. After a brief pause, Nikolay took a deep breath, then asked, "Ekaterina, how do jou feel about...about..."

Knowing full well what her husband was going to say, Ekaterina said, "...about Anya dating?"

Nikolay nodded.

Ekaterina smiled and placed her hands on Nikolay's shoulders.

"Niki, Anya's growving up. She's sewenteen and she's an officer. She's handled Klingons and ozzer enemies, so I'm sure she ken handle a male officer."

"But...but..."

"But," Ekaterina continued. "Jou're afraid zhat she's growving up too quvickly to zhe point vhere she may not need jou anymore, vhen all jou ken zhink about ees vhen she vas little and she vould come to jou een tears zhe second jou arriwed home for shore leawe, and jou vere zhe main man she could trust and look to vhen she had problems."

Nikolay's eyes widened as he nodded at Ekaterina.

"How did jou know, Ekaterina?"

"Niki, how do jou zhink MY papa felt vhen I met jou?" Ekaterina said, smiling as she stroked Nikolay's left cheek. "Eet's natural to hawe zhese feelings. But no matter how old she gets, she'll alvays look to jou, Niki. Not just on Starfleet matters, but on ozzer zhings too. Jou are her papa, after all."

Feeling somewhat reassured, Nikolay nodded to Ekaterina before kissing her fondly on the lips.

"And besides," Ekaterina said, once they separated. "Jou still hawe zhe right to set up an eenquviry eef he does anyzhing to make Anya cry. But until zhat happens, please try not to be so harsh on zhe boy. Giwe him a chance. Anya's told me about him, and from vhat she's told me he ees far from zhe type zhat vould hurt her een any vay."

'Great,' Nikolay thought to himself.