Chapter Text
She could hear the birdsong from a tree nearby, but still, she held still. She’d learned at a young age that patience was important- her parents had certainly taught her that. The sunlight shifted through the leaves, but she remained still- she knew who she was waiting for. Soon, the familiar whine reached her ears, and she jumped up, her bow and arrow squared on...a shoulder. Pouting, she frowned at the chuckle from the newest arrival to the planet, courtesy of her ship’s transporter.
“Kestra, like I taught you- aim for the heart. Shoulder wounds ARE wicked painful, but they’ll heal. Now, come here, little sister.”
Kestra stowed her armory and ran over, hugging Alissa and breathing in what she’d always thought of as the scent of space. Pulling back a bit, she frowned up at her elder sibling. “You always know more than me- no fair!”
Alissa fluffed at her hair, knowing it was a mild irritant for the young child. “I will try and teach you what I can, but you’re only seven- you’ve got lots of time to learn.”
Kestra took her hand, swinging them back and forth between them as they walked. “Yeah, but I’m gonna be eight next week!”
Alissa looked down at her little sister, managing to keep her face mostly grave, but a smile leaked out at the corners. “Yes ma’am! Eight is always a momentous age- we’ll be sure to celebrate in style, even if I can only attend by holo.”
The blonde frowned and kicked at a pebble in the path. “I don’t see why you can’t. Stupid Starfleet and their stupid orders.”
Alissa stopped and kneeled down in front of her mulish sibling. “Now, Kestra, Starfleet isn’t stupid.” *Fucking misguided often enough, though. Especially after Mars.* “But, they have the right to order me and my ship where they need her. This is something me, as well as Mom and Dad, all volunteered for, and all the while knowing what it meant.”
Kestra shuffled her foot in the dirt, not wanting to meet Alissa’s eyes. At seven, she was convinced that eye contact was how telepathy worked, no matter what her parents said.
//That’s not how it works, Little One.// she heard in her head, and looked up, wounded.
“Now, Kestra, you know I don’t invade your thoughts, but when you broadcast, I can’t help but hear. Now, I know you like it when I visit, or Jareth. But, we also have to do our jobs too. Do your see your friends every day?” she asked, and watched the mulish expression deepen on Kestra’s face.
“No, but that’s cuz they’ve got chores,” she replied, the last word spat out, and Alissa couldn’t hold in the snort, causing Kestra to look at her, betrayal clear on her face.
“Oh, come now, Kestra- you don’t have chores at home?” she asked, holding eye contact until Kestra grumbled and kicked at the ground again.
“Yeah,” she said, sounding utterly aggrieved.
“Well, just like you’ve got things you need to do, so do I,” Alissa concluded, standing up and dusting herself off. Heading back out, Kestra began swinging their relinked hands between them before stopping for a moment and looking up at her sister.
“So, why are starships hers?”
Alissa snorted again. “When I figure that out, I’ll let you know.”
****
The arrival of their eldest, blood be damned, meant a warm welcome from both Will and Deanna, and a gentle hug for Thad. Alissa’s heart ached to see him slowly lose more and more function as the neurosclerosis hardened the arteries surrounding one of the brightest minds she’d ever seen. The sheer fact of the multiple languages he’d created had her remembering the gift she’d brought him.
Oh, she’d brought gifts for everyone- that was no surprise- but this one was one of her most treasured possessions, and she felt he’d appreciate what it meant. “Allie, prettiest sister that I have, what did you get me?” he asked, all but jumping in excitement.
Alissa laughed and shook her head. “Don’t let Kestra hear that,” she muttered, watching Deanna reach out a hand to calm her son, but pull it back at the look from Thad.
“I’m sick, Mom, not an invalid- not yet anyway,” he bit out and Deanna nodded briskly, blinking rapidly to keep her tears at bay.
“Of- of course, Thad. Alissa, I’m gonna go check on dinner. Let Will know dinner’s almost ready when he gets back- I think he went over to Rochelle Allen’s- her hydroponics bay’s been on the fritz for a week.”
Thad waited until his mother left the room to lean towards his sister and whisper “You wanna tell her he’s been Dad since they got married, or should I?”
Alissa huffed out a laugh, once again surprised by his lightning-quick shift in moods. “She knows, but always forgets, because I was her sole responsibility for 13 years, and old habits die hard. I’m just happy that they’re happy, and speaking of happy- I have a replicated copy of the Tolkien books I told you about,” she said, grinning at the utter excitement on his face and enveloping his being, as she’d always viewed seeing emotions.
“Just the trilogy?” he asked and frowned when Alissa shook her head.
“Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, AND the Hobbit,” she said, setting down physical copies of all three, but held her hand on top of them when he brother went to grab them.
“What?” he asked, slightly peevish at being denied access.
Casting her eyes towards the ceiling and affecting a casual tone, Alissa said “Did I mention these are annotated copies from Tolkien himself? I was friends with him and Edith back in the day.”
“You- you knew- I swear, sister, sometimes I forget how long you’ve been around. The people you’ve known; the places you’ve seen!” he exclaimed, gently opening the first book in the stack, eyes rapturous as he saw the author’s notes in the margins.
“Thad, don’t you know speaking of a lady’s age just isn’t something you do,” came the teasing voice of Will Riker from the doorway.
Thad didn’t even look up from his books. “She told me she didn’t mind- it’s not like she remembers the exact number now anyways,” he muttered, letting out a yelp when Alissa smacked him on the shoulder.
“That’s not what I meant when I said it, dork,” she grumbled, which caused Riker to burst out laughing.
“Good to know your younger siblings don’t manage to ever reduce you to childlike behavior,” he teased, kissing them both on the cheek in greeting. “And where are the other two ladies of the house?”
“Kestra’s upstairs changing- Mom said no dusty travel clothes at the dinner table- and Mom’s finishing dinner,” Alissa explained, then tilted her head. “I take that back- dinner’s finished and ready to serve.”
Will looked down at his hands. “I’ll go wash up then. Alissa, could you pour us both some wine while I do that?”
****
The conversations over dinner never slowed, mixing in Alissa’s updates from the Miami with how life on Nepenthe was going, as well as Kestra and Thad’s studies. The elephant in the room was studiously ignored, outside of a casual thought from Deanna to Alissa, but the latter responded to it verbally.
“As Mom was asking, I came out because there were some updates I wanted to give you two in person, especially after your worries from my mission to Vera III and that ensuing chaos,” she explained, and Thad looked up from his meal, eyes bright with excitement.
“I heard that the reason that colony is off-limits now is that the colonists revolted and tried to get off-world, even though there’s a travel restriction in place since the formation on Vera III,” he said, and Alissa knew her mother picked up on her thoughts.
*He’s damn near on point on what went down once I got back. Gonna need to find the leaks when I get back to Starfleet Command.*
Out loud, she wiped her mouth and made a show of taking a slow sip of her wine before turning to her step-father. “You want to explain this to him or should I?”
Will mulled it over for a moment, then turned to Kestra, who looked upset before he even said anything. “I never get to know ANYTHING!” she shouted, shoving back from the table and storming upstairs.
Deanna went to stand, but Alissa forestalled her with a hand on her shoulder. “Mom, I started this- let me try to clean it up.”
****
Alissa knocked on her sister’s door but didn’t hear any response. “Kestra?”
*WHY did you have to ruin today? I was all excited about you coming, but it’s all about THAD again. When can you come just to see me?* she heard in her head and sighed.
Opening the door wide, she saw Kestra on the top bunk, cheeks streaked with tears and hugging the stuffed ocelot Will had gotten her when she was little. The child glanced up at her, eyes red from crying. “Why can’t I know about your mission? I know Mom and Dad were worried cuz they didn’t get any transmissions from you for a year, but they wouldn’t say why,” Kestra said, voice thick.
Leaning up against the side of the bed, Alissa gently stroked her sister’s hair. Memories of doing the same to dozens of children over hundreds of years flashed through her mind, and she mentally sighed. Each child was unique, but the ache to be included in things was universal. “Kestra, some of the missions I go on are highly classified, and so, for your safety and that of the rest of our family, I can’t always talk about them.”
“But, you’re gonna tell Thad!” she protested and Alissa shook her head.
“No, I’m not. What I was asking Dad permission on was something you’d already found out about, because of that one time you were visiting me on the Miami.”
Kestra’s eyes widened. “You mean the thing with Commander Pratt? When I went to grab his mug instead of yours?”
Alissa nodded, mind flashing back to the panic of her five-year-old sister grabbing a mug full of blood for William instead of her mug full of tea. Kestra had been naturally curious, so they’d explained that William was related to the people of Vera III, without going into more detail about the Terran vampire colony.
Kestra nodded her head in understanding in the present. “Okay, I guess I’m not as mad then. You’re just telling him what you told me.”
Alissa, mentally organizing her ‘the world’s older than you know’ speech, nodded absentmindedly and headed back downstairs.