Reflections in a Diamond Eye - Part Two

Posted on Sat Mar 21st, 2020 @ 8:47am by Lieutenant Commander Monique Deepshadow & Lieutenant Samantha "Sammy" Yeager

Mission: Mission 98: Building Our New Home
Location: Various Locations - Starbase Vanguard
Timeline: 1045Hrs - September 22nd, 2393

Yeager paused, she looked confused for a moment. "Is Sammy someone's advisor or something?"

"She is Division Admiral Yeager's chief of Staff. She and my step-mother, to be more specific. Talon does not live up to the typical stereotype of the average step-mother. Which is a great change of pace at times." Deepshadow explained. "Dad introduced me to Talon that evening, not twenty minutes after I met him. Meeting her was even more mind-breaking then meeting Dad. He introduces me to Talon as his long-lost daughter and my whole thought process is like "Whaaatt." she commented. "Talon simply comes over and gives me a hug, like it was something she does all of the time to random strangers... then she said I was always welcome in her home and at her dinner table." Deepshadow shook her head. "This was about a year ago, by the way, and I'm still processing it all... I've not gone to many events that Talon has hosted for dad and the other members of our family, simply because I'm always busy..."

Deepshadow paused, as her inner voice taunted her over her failings and her always making excuses for work that she could easily pass off to her underlings. "Being Chief Engineer of Dreamcrusher is a challenge at times... But thanks to some.... forced upgrades done to me, almost against my will... It's not as bad as it could be..."

"Forced upgrades?" Yeager asked softly. "What do you mean?" he sounded unsure. "Are we talking biological or cybernetic?"

"Both but more cybernetic then anything else." Deepshadow paused. "This is why I am unsure of how to get along with my father... Because on a mission, several years ago, I had an alien artificial intelligence force itself into my mind, it did so in order to save itself from entropic-decay." the tall female paused. "It was... I don't know how to word what he did to me... He changed me, and that's the best words I can use... It was also a violation of my person, my mind and of who and what I was..."

"I'm sorry sweetie." Yeager paused as he regarded her. "I truly am."

"I appreciate your kind words but I am who and what I am now. That AI very nearly destroyed my mind in saving itself, then it saw what I could be and it uplifted me to another plane... It remade my mind and it also did some improvements to my various internal organs and bones, many of these changes are ongoing and will continue... Suffice to say, I will pass along the changes to my children... What's worse is they will receive the full upgrades as I did, except while mine is ongoing, theirs will be complete."

"What kind of upgrades?" Yeager asked as she regarded the younger woman before her.

"I am able to see in more than just visible light. I can breathe in various atmospheres like methane and I can handle unusually hot or unusually cold temperatures. My tolerance for all of the above is growing... and that's not all." she explained as she regarded her half-sister as Samantha sat back down. "You want the PADD?" Samantha asked Deepshadow. "Yes please." she then smiled at the half Klingon woman before her.

Samantha handed the PADD over, Deepshadow accepted it as she gently pressed her left hand against it while she held it in her right hand. Deepshadow's eyes flared in brightness as the color shifted from blue to a bright orange.

Both Yeagers both moved backward as Deepshadow finished what it was she was doing. "A twenty thousand word essay on the history of our family." as she handed the PADD over to Edward Yeager. "Told from my point of view."

Yeager regarded the PADD. "So you still have echos of that AI inside of you... He merged with you then?" he asked gently, knowing rather well that this was a delicate topic for her, as they were only just meeting but she was marking the line in the sand with this demonstration.

"Yes, he did," Deepshadow answered in a soft tone. "Do I meet your expectations?" she inquired.

"Monique." Yeager paused, he had not expected the question and it showed. "You owe me nothing, I am a version of your father who is stranded in this reality. At best, I'm your uncle and frankly, I like it here... and while My Monique and I did not get along... Leah informed her of who I was and that I was just a random guy... I tried explaining it..." he paused. "But Leah didn't tell you about your dad..." it wasn't a question and was deliberately not phrased as such.

"She wouldn't listen," Deepshadow answered softly. "I'd like to get to know you."

"We'd like that too. You should also meet our children as well, I think they'd love to know they have an extended family here." Yeager smiled, as she brushed her blonde locks out of her eyes.

Deepshadow smiled. "Sounds good to me... Sammy?"

"Yeah. That sounds great to me too." the half-Klingon woman answered with a gentle smile.