LtCmdr Jovenan – The next generation of planetary scientists
Jovenan
((Chief Science Officer’s office, Deck 9, USS Artemis))
The space around Jovenan had ceased to exist almost entirely. She didn’t sit in her office in the Science Centre, she was in the vampires’ castle, listening the rouge vampire explain why he murdered one of their own, her friend, while tightening her grip on the wooden stake behind her back. She turned a page. It had not been the enamoured vampire lord to deliver vengeance as she had expected but one of the younger vampires. Regardless, she felt like the moment of a satisfying execution was approaching. The final instalment of the series she was reading would not let her down without one, she was sure of it.
The ring of the doorbell forced Jovenan back from the world of fiction. Startled, she quickly closed the book and lost the page. The entire point of her reading in her office instead of her quarters was so that the scientists who didn’t believe in shoreleaves could come ask her help if needed, but at that moment, she felt grumpy that someone actually did that. Disappointed that she had to stop just before the moment she had anticipated the most, she turned towards the door.
Jovenan: Come in!
The doors parted and revealed Richards and Ensign Cole. Jovenan was just about to protest that Richards shouldn’t have been working while on the maternity leave, but then she noticed what the two women were carrying. Oh my god oh my god oh my god…
Richards: I brought a couple people I wanted you to meet. ::smiling:: I also brought Nat, but you know her already.
Cole: ::lifting Leera up slightly:: Say Hi, Commander Jovenan. ::gently waving Leera’s hand::
Jovenan walked around the table to the same side as the others, never turning her head away from them. The two babies were dressed like planets – very small, very adorable planets.
Jovenan: ::the way people talk to babies:: Well hello! And who might you be?
Richards raised the baby she was holding. Both of them had cute little tufts of hair, one of theirs as red as Richards and the other’s closer to Talos’ darker colour. Jovenan leaned in closer to look. This one had the bright eyes of their mother’s, but otherwise they had so much in common with the father. Jovenan tried smiling to the baby and tilting her head.
Richards: ::To Jovenan:: Do you want to hold one of them?
Cole: They don’t bite ::beat:: though they might wiggle a little.
Jovenan raised her gaze from the baby to the two other women. She was suddenly concerned with the responsibility she was offered. What if she did something wrong? What if she accidentally broke the baby? It was not her first time holding a newborn, but she was more conscious of the personal trust such an offering carried.
Jovenan: Are you sure? I mean, of course! May I?
Richards: Response
She extended her arms to receive the baby Sam was holding. It was only fair to grant the mother a moment without having to care for the babies, although she also knew that many new parents wouldn’t want to part from them or leave them out of sight for years, maybe decades. The careful switch was slightly cumbersome, but with such a precious cargo, she took no risks. Finally, when the baby was safely lying against her left forearm and being held by her right hand, she could turn her eyes back to Richards.
Jovenan: Which one is this?
Richards/Cole: Response
Jovenan: ::looking at Aven:: Hello there, Aven. Nice to meet you. ::to Leera:: You too, Leera. What pretty babies you are. ::to Richards:: And how are you? I hope you’ve got at least a bit of sleep since their birth.
Richards/Cole: Response.
Again, Jovenan looked down to Aven. She smiled at him and wiggled her eyebrows, hoping to get his attention and maybe get a smile in return. She then turned to give a smile to Cole, holding the other baby and giving Richards the help she was sure to appreciate.
Jovenan: I have many siblings, and some of them are much younger than me. Others even had their own children back when I was a teenager. There were always babies in our community. I helped out with the toddlers, but I was still so young when I left that they didn’t leave me in charge with kids this young for long. But if there’s anything I can do to help you get a moment on your own, at any time…
Richards/Cole: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11