Posted Dec. 27, 2020, 2:39 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander Thomas McGregor (COS) (Brandon Irvine)
Slipping back into his quarters after the holiday get together on the Holodeck (he hesitated to call it a party, because he certainly hadn’t done any partying himself), he shed the anachronistic clothing he’d chosen and instead changed into a simple T-shirt and jogging pants.
Grabbing a tall glass of water from the replicator, along with a selection of crudites and hummus, he returned to his desk, intent on browsing the ship’s library for something to pass the next few hours before he retired for the night.
What he wasn’t expecting was a notice of a new personal communication. The message header said it had come from Earth, and in fact from the last person he’d expect to receive a message from: his Father.
Opening it with a grimace, the first thing that appeared was a hologram of Conor, along with all three of Thomas’ younger siblings and a couple of people he didn’t recognize (one woman next to Anthony, one young man [boy, really] between Josephina and Garrett), in front of their family home’s fireplace (with what appeared to be a roaring fire inside), with a fully-decorated Christmas tree off to one side.
Underneath it was a short note:
Thomas, it began, We all hope you’re doing well this holiday season, and that you’ll be able to return home for the next one. Anthony is engaged to be married to a delightful young architect named Felicity, and Garrett brought home a boyfriend named Chris to meet the family. All expressed disappointment not to be able to see you.
There was pause, as if the note-writer intended to put something else, but couldn’t bring himself to.
Don’t shut us all out for what you think happened between me and your mother. Love, Father
Thomas grimaced. The worst part was, it was entirely true. He’d more or less shut his entire family out after Mom’s funeral, and truth be told had jumped at the chance to go into space for the convenient excuse it gave him to not be around for any family celebrations. ‘Sorry I couldn’t make it, I was in the Beta Quadrant.’
Sighing, he got up from his desk, went back to the replicator and created some decorations that he hastily, yet tastefully, applied around his bedroom window, then created a holiday sweater that he pulled on over his T-shirt, and an empty Christmas mug. Having the computer take a holo of him smiling next to the decorated window, and holding up the mug as if it had something in it, he began composing a reply.
Dear Dad, Tony, Josie and Garrett, he began Happy Holidays from the Beta Quadrant! Life on the Genesis is certainly not boring, as we chase down some sort of creature that hatched from a pulsar. Seeking out new life, and all that jazz, right? Sorry I couldn’t be there, but send me a date for the wedding, Tony, cuz I’ve got almost six months of leave time saved up and I’ll be damned if I miss my baby brother’s wedding. Either of you, really, assuming Garrett and Chris are serious enough to meet the family. Just don’t expect me to turn up with an Orion on my arm, all of you should know better! Love, Thomas.
There, just cheerful enough to reassure his siblings, while slighting Father by not giving him a personal message. Well, he hadn’t given one to Josie either, but unless his sister had changed completely in the three years it’d been since he’d seen her last, she wouldn’t feel slighted. Besides, Father’s message hadn’t given any indication on what was going on in her life, so aside from the fact that she looked happy and healthy in the holo, he had nothing to base a message on.
He hit send, then began the process of stripping his quarters of any decoration and placing it all back in the replicator to become somebody else’s Christmas dinner. He, for his part, was going to bed. Pretending to be a normal, well-adjusted person was exhausting.
COS
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