Free at last...

Posted on Sat May 25, 2019 @ 6:01am by

976 words; about a 5 minute read

Xander Tokai walked into the newly renovated space that would serve as his kitchen. They had taken the empty room behind the mess hall on deck eight and converted it to a kitchen that was fully functional in every way. Out front they’d placed a serving bar, a buffet of sorts where he could plate and serve. It was perfect. Truly a dream of his come to life.

Xander hadn’t been as excited about starting up his diplomatic office as he was about his new kitchen. He was, technically, still not starting cooking for a few days but it would give him time to perfect the menu. He’d visited the small space where he had started his garden. It wasn’t much now, just planted but in a few months it would be an amazing sources of herbs and spices that he could use to flavour his cooking. For now he’d have to use replicated stuff and a few cooling units worth of fresh ingredients that was naturally preserved that he’d brought on board himself.

He had yet to meet with the captain. He had yet to complete his medicals nor had he seen the counselor. Sighing he walked around checking and double checking all this equipment finally feeling at peace with himself.

There was nothing much for him to do at this point diplomatically so he’d spend the time getting everything ready. Once this tense situation the ship was dealing with was over he would create a night that the crew would always remember. A culinary feast he was planning would have something for everyone.

Sighing and seeing that there was nothing yet to do here he headed back to his quarters. He’d avoided unpacking this long and he figured he couldn’t avoid it any more. It didn’t take long for him to get to his quarters. They were rather large, being an on call diplomat had its perks.

He started by moving the furniture to his liking and then unpacking his bathroom items, bedroom items and clothing, and finally his precious books. They were his solace, his pleasure, his pain. Through them he’d lived countless lifetimes and escaped the life he’d had. As a child he didn’t have much to complain about except for his father’s constant disapproval.

Xander pulled his thoughts from the darkness that was his memories and his childhood and focused on stacking his books on the shelf he’d had put in. He had read these books a number of times yet he never tired of reading them again and again. They always seemed to offer something new, something he’d missed the previous thousand times he’d read them.

Smiling now he finished his sorting and then stood heading for the replicator where he ordered a peppermint tea, a favourite of his. He slowly sipped the tea as he finished his unpacking and then he settled in with a book.

Suddenly a thought struck him. The need and the urge to be where he wanted to be the most. He closed his book and then headed back to his kitchen. There he began to wipe down and clean the kitchen. There was something about that act that had always made him feel calm and centered. Soon the space was shining and sparkling clean. He felt proud of himself. For the first time in his life he was about to embark on an adventure that was his own wish. He would be living the life he’d always wanted and all I took was 45 years.

Despite the chaos around him on the ship and the importance of what they were doing he felt calm and centered. Maybe, for the very first time in his life, he felt as if he was where he was meant to be. There was an odd feeling of sorts that came over him. It was as if he had truly started to live the moment he’d set foot on the ship. While he didn’t like the diplomatic part of his job this balance was what he’d needed for now.

He’d worked hard all his life to prove himself and in this moment, where he held his dreams in his hands, he felt he had. He’d finally proved himself to the only person whose opinion counted, himself.

As he walked from the kitchen to his quarters he thought a moment about what would make this the best day he’d had in a long time. Maybe a trip to the holodeck. It had been a long time since he’d run the blacksmith program.

Finding himself smiling without the ability to stop he changed course and headed to the holodeck until the enviable happened.

=/\=Communications to Ambassador Tokai. There is a message marked urgent waiting for you.=/\=

He sighed and, yet again, changed course heading into his office. He sat down and keyed in his code watching as the Starfleet logo changed into a familiar face. “Hello Xander. I have a bit of news for you. There is a new Intelligence Chief that is on the way. Her name is T’Mira. She will serve not only as Chief Intelligence but as your diplomatic bodyguard when called for. Make contact as soon as you can.”

He sighed and turned off the rest of the message. Attached to it was a file. He pulled up the document and reviewed her rather impressive history. He wondered what she would think to this addition to her duties.

Somehow he didn’t want to meet anyone just yet. He wanted to recapture the freedom he’d felt before this work related message. Deciding to forgo the meeting as long as possible he went back to his original plan. Off to the holodeck.

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