Crewman Annamae Barberra - Grown Ups

[Wil Ukinix]

((Scout Yosemite, Amity Shuttlebay))

With all of the holodecks occupied and unavailable Annamae had to come up with an alternative way to keep Molly occupied.  The crewman had replicated a second wig, and now both Molly and Annamae were sitting in the Talon class scout with messy, scraggly black/grey hair.

Molly: Wouldn't the adults not let us go?

Barberra: Adults are boring.  But sometimes they do interesting things.

Molly: Ooh?

Barberra: You should enjoy being a kid.  Picking your nose, wetting your bed, getting an emergency beam out to a hospital because you broke some bones doing handstands in a large tree while singing “rock a bye baby” as a re-enactment to an audience of one dog… those were the days.

Molly: Did you do those things?

Annamae just shrugged before telling Molly what they were doing.

Barberra: We’re going to go look at the Stellae in their reserve.  They fart plasma gas.  That’s amazing.

Molly: JULIEEE!

oO Who’s Julie? Oo

Annamae deftly and easily piloted the Yosemite out of the shuttlebay into space, then set a course for the section of the solar-nebula where the Stellae were a reserve was set up for the creatures.

With her hand still on the helm’s controls, Annamae decided to talk to Molly to keep her occupied.

Barberra: What do you want to do when you grow up?

Molly: An engineer. Like mummy.

Barberra: That’s cool.  You could break stuff, and then fix it again. 

Molly: What do you want to do when you grow up?

Barberra: ::Sigh:: I am grown up.  I don’t know. Maybe a Captain one day.  Or a replicator repair technician. 

Molly: You're only a crewman, crewman.

Molly chuckled at herself.  Annamae turned to look at the little girl briefly with a slightly amused smile, before turning back to continue piloting the ship.

Barberra: I went to the Academy to try to be an Ensign.  But then they suggested I should become a crewman.  I was a bot bored, and didn’t behave myself.

Molly: You're not fully grown up yet.

Barberra: Yeah I am, I’m 21!

“You’re not fully grown up yet” coming from a seven year old cut through to Annamae.  Kids were brutally and innocently honest, and she couldn’t deny that the statement hurt.  There was a truth to what young Molly said. She also recalled back to Commander Ukinix threatening to send her back to Earth.  She had been doing a lot of pondering in her new apartment…

Molly: So, what do you want to be?

Barberra: I dunno.  Maybe I want to stay in Starfleet.  Maybe I want to be an officer.  I might have to go back to the Academy though… :sigh::… what do you think I should do?

Molly: Response.

Barberra: Maybe I could open a pizza restaurant.  Would you help me make pizzas?

Molly: Response

Barberra’s fingers danced across the helm console as the Yosemite dropped out of warp.  In the distance a large group of Stellae noticed the scout and gracefully began to move towards it.  Annamae brought the shuttle to a full stop just near the energy fields that kept the Stellae in.  The creatures playfully and harmlessly bounced off the field, making it light up when they did.

Molly: Response

Barberra: They’re pretty, huh.  I wonder if they’re stinky.

Molly: Response

Barberra: Do you think it’d be fun to live a life like theirs?

Molly: Response

Barberra: ::Pointing:: Oh, wow, look, here comes more!  I think they like you, Molly.

Molly: Response

Barberra: We better take you back to your Mom.  You can tell her all about the Stellae.  Wave “bye” to Julie!

Molly: Response

Annamae slowly turned the scout to allow Molly to get one long final view of the creatures.  As she set a course back for Amity, she realised that the Stellae had a very simple purpose in life – ingesting and excreting plasma.  It made her realise she was just floating through her own life, with no real purpose. 

Starfleet Academy had been an opportunity, one she blew and felt apathetic about.  Her position as crewman, like her acceptance into the Academy, had fallen into her lap.

oO Maybe I should do something with this Starfleet career I kinda have… Oo


Tags/End Scene!

 

 

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Crewman Second Class Annamae Barberra
Liaison Officer for the Starfleet Attaché
Amity Outpost
V239511WU0