Family Matters

Posted on 04/12/2020 @ 4:05pm by Ensign Romal Seshel
Edited on on 05/28/2020 @ 5:06pm

Mission: S1E2: The Plomeek Soup Conundrum
Location: Deck 3, Family Care Facilities
Timeline: Day 6 at 1150

Counselor Toran Ilos examined the newly-completed family facility on the USS Crazy Horse. It wasn't much, but it was the first time he'd been aboard a ship that had any kind of support structure for families.

Commander Ysayne, before she left, had given the Counseling Department the responsibility for making arrangements to make the ship kid- and family-friendly. Ilos didn't have much experience with children, but he had been given the task early enough that he could bring in outside help. A highly qualified civilian teacher, a civilian teaching support worker, and a junior enlisted person with child care experience, were all brought on board. They worked together to prepare this space: a common area with play structures and educational activities and art, and a few smaller rooms off of it for specific activities.

Now, Ilos and the staff began working with the first few kids. He stood with the teacher, a pleasant human woman in her mid-thirties named Emmanuelle Larkin, or "Miss Emma”, making sure she and her team had everything they needed. Satisfied, he headed down the corridor to the mess hall for lunch.

Meanwhile, in a workshop Ensign Romal Seshal had set up in an empty storage bay on deck 11, he had just finished a project that he had been working on for a long time. The project was started months ago, during his year long leave of absence, before he had returned to Star Fleet. Now that he had the proper tools, parts, as well as his own free time, he had completed it. Stored in a custom made metal box, weighing 50.45 pounds, he placed an anti-grav clamp on it and took it to the turbo-lift, to deck 2.

As the pneumatic doors to his quarters whooshed opened, a very board Mizi looked up from her bed to see her dad walk in carrying something. "What's that, daddy?" was the first thing she asked, as her sharp eyes spotted the square metal box.

"This is something for you, Mizi!" Romal said with a smile.

"For me, but its not my birthday and I know its not Christmas." Mizi replied, jumping off her bed.

Romal smiled again, "I know, its because you're my little girl."

"Daddy, what are you up to?" Mizi asked, now more curious than ever.

"Well, its like this, Mizi. I know you've been tired and board lately, with little to do and no children to play with. Well, this might might help a little - at least I hope it will." Romal said, as he waved a special magnetic key over the box and it begin to open up.

"Wow, what is it?" she asked in wonder.

Finally, the box completely opened and the shape of the item was obvious. It was a robotic dog, covered in fur, complete with four legs, floppy ears and a tail. Romal then activated a special remote and the fur covered metallic creature came alive, complete with waging tail and a cute little bark. =/\= Woof! Woof! Woof! =/\= "Do you like it, Mizi?"

Mizi reached out and hugged it. "I-I-I love it, daddy!"

"This is no ordinary robot, either. Its programed to only obey you and me, but mostly you, I programed it to love you. It has a hard drive so advanced that it can actually learn any tricks a normal dog can. In a way, you will be its teacher, Mizi." Romal explained.

"What's its name, daddy?" Mizi asked, still hugging it.

"I left that alone, so you can name it." Romal replied

"Can I call him, Muffy?" Mizi asked, looking up from her dog.

"You sure can, Mizi." Romal replied, then explained, "Just keep calling him that and the name will imprint on his hard drive."

"I love Muffy, daddy!" Mizi said, then gave her father a strong hug that seemed to go on forever.

"How about, we go to the main mess hall for some lunch? . . .and bring Muffy along, too." Romal suggested, knowing Mizi would like to show off her new companion.

Mizi got up from the floor. "Come on, Muffy! You can come with us, too! Come on, boy!" and the robotic dog gave a friendly bark =/\= Woof! Woof! Woof! =/\= and begin to follow the girl.

Taking the nearest turbo-lift to deck 3, they arrived at the main mess hall and crew members all around begin to look up from their meals and had trouble taking their eyes off Mizi's robotic dog, its servo motors making a slight sound as it trotted behind the girl. After ordering their food and drink from a replicator, they found an open table and sat down.

A moment later, Ilos entered the mess hall. He replicated a sandwich with fried potatoes and a glass of water and looked around for a seat. He grinned as he saw the man he recognized as the Assistant Chief Engineer and his young daughter. “Good day, Mr. Seshel. And young Miss Seshel. May I join you?”

"Of course, Sir." Romal politely answered, then took out his PADD and quickly looked up the name of the officer. "I'm sorry, Counselor Toran Ilos. Lately, I've had to look up so many names, you see this crew is still new to me. If you like, you may call this little girl Mizi and that's her dog, Muffy. I'm Romal, by the way."

The robotic dog's head turned towards the Counselor and its tail wagged. =/\= Woof! Woof! Woof! =/\=

Mizi then giggled, "Hehehehahahaha! I think Muffy likes you, Mister Ilos."

Ilos took his seat next to Romal. "Nice to meet you both. And you, too, Muffy." He smiled at the dog and winked at the little girl. "I'm actually glad I ran into you both. It saves me the trouble of scheduling something later."

"Do you want to schedule us in for a session, Counselor?" Romal inquired, as he handed Mizi a chicken sandwich from their shared tray.

“No, nothing quite like that,” Ilos assured him. “We actually just opened a delightful school aboard.” He smiled at Mizi. “Have you been to a school aboard a starship before?” he asked her.

Mizi was about to take a bite of her sandwich when the Counselor spoke to her, "I've never been to one, but daddy says he's making a holo school for me, with holo kids."

"Well, we've seen no other children on the Crazy Horse, so I assumed I'd need to create a holographic school for Mizi." Romal explained, as he bit into his sandwich and drank a little citric juice. "Unfortunately, I've been too busy to work on it, but what you propose sounds interesting. Will there be other children in this school?"

Ilos nodded. “There are nine total, ranging in age from ten to three, but the median age is seven. Their parents were in a similar situation as you. They weren’t sure there would be other families aboard, so they kept to themselves and looked into homeschooling or similar. But before we left Base, Commander Ysayne had me set up a school. Dedicated personnel, activities that are educational AND fun. Miss Emma comes highly recommended and is a delight.”

Romal smiled and put his sandwich down, "There's other children aboard?"

"Are there girls too, Mister Illos?" Mizi asked, as Muffy turned as well to face the Counselor.

"There are indeed," Ilos answered. "Five girls, including yourself, three boys, and one nonbinary Deltan. Of the girls, there's a ten-year-old, two seven-year-olds, including your Mizi, a six-year-old, and a three-year-old. The boys are nine, seven, and four, and the nonbinary is six."

"You know, I can't understand after all this time, how I missed seeing a single other child aboard this ship." Romal asked, seeming puzzled at first, "Well irregardless, I'm glad Mizi's has other children to play with. Now, where am I going to find another engineer to help me with repair work?"

"Hehehehahahehehe! Oh, daddy! I'll always be your bestest helper!" Mizi giggled, then turned to her robotic dog. "Right Muffy!"

=/\= Woof! Woof! Woof! =/\= Muffy replied, seeming to understand exactly what Mizi had just asked him.

Taking another bite of his sandwich, Romal continued the discussion. "I like the idea of Mizi going to school, but I would like to be there on Mizi's first day and meet Miss Emma. Has the school already started and where is it?"

Ilos nodded. “All parents are welcome. We started introducing kids slowly, so about half are register. Tell you want. Come on by at 1400 hours today. The facility is on this deck, Section four. I’ll make sure Mizi is properly registered. Miss Emma and the two support staff will be waiting for you. I’ll be there too.”

"Well Counselor, I think Mizi and I can give this school a try. It's better than hologram schools and I like the idea of Mizi interacting with children her own age. What do you think, Mizi?" Romal finally asked, as he finished the last bite of his sandwich.

"You'll come with me, daddy?" Mizi asked, feeling a little anxious and excited at the same time.

"Count on it, Mizi!" Romal promised his little girl.

"Can Muffy come, too?" Mizi asked, giving her robotic dog a hug.

"Hmmm. . .well I don't know-" Romal teased then smiled, "Sure, Muffy can come, too!"

"Hehehehahahahe" Mizi giggled, then gave a wide grin. "This is fun!"

Turning to Ilos, Romal made up his mind, "All right, Counselor. We'll be there! That's only a couple hours away, isn't it?"

"That's right," said Ilos.

"Should be enough time to finish our lunch. Mizi, finish your sandwich, then we'll leave." Romal said, noticing she still had most of her chicken sandwich left to eat.

The Counselor smiled as he finished his own sandwich and fries. Once his meal was completed, he excused himself to make ready for the introduction.

---

By the time the clock hit 1400 hours, Toran Ilos and Miss Emma were discussing procuring a few more goods for the classroom. Ilos made a list, trusting the young woman's judgment on these matters. Once Mr. and young Miss Seshel were situated, he would report to Ops and see about replicating what the school needed.

At exactly two in the afternoon, the pneumatic door to Section four whooshed open and in walked Romal and Mizi, along with her dog, Muffy. At the end of a hallway in a brightly lit room, they noticed several children seated in a circle with a young teacher at the center. At least Romal assumed it was the teacher, before interrupting her chat with some of the children. The Counselor was also there, seated in one of the chairs.

"Hello, Miss Emma - Hi Counselor. We're here to register Mizi Seshel for school. I'm Romal Seshel, her father. This is Mizi's first time at a real school, so I'd like to find out more about this, myself."

=/\= Woof! Woof! Woof! =/\= Muffy barked and children begin turning their heads to watch the furry little robotic dog, especially when it approached a few of them. Soon, Muffy was the center of attention.

Mizi quickly went after her dog. "No Muffy! Come back boy, come back to me!"

=/\= Woof! Woof! Woof! =/\= and the robotic dog walked back to Mizi.

"Now you be quiet - the grownups are talking." Mizi scolded the dog and it went silent, except for the slight humming of its servo motors when it turned its head or moved its paws.

"I'm very sorry for the disruption, Miss Emma." Romal sincerely apologized, then noticed Mizi's worried face. "I hope you don't mind its presence, the dog is very obedient, at least to Mizi. I'm sure she could teach Muffy to be non-disruptive during class."

"No worries at all," Emma said warmly. Pale skin, red hair, a warm smile, and an accent that placed her as being from the Earth continent of Australia, Emma Larkin was the picture of friendliness and politeness. She stood from the circle and the civilian assistant took over with the kids. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Seshel." She crouched down to be at eye-level with the young Miss Seshel. "Hi, Mizi! My name is Emma, and I'm going to be your teacher. It's so nice to meet you."

Mizi felt a little nervous when Emma crouched down close to her at eye-level, "Nice to meet you, a a ah a. . .Emma. My daddy always programed holo teachers in a holo classroom for me and I. . .I never met a real teacher, before."

Emma grinned. “Well this is what we look like. Some of us. Others look different!”

"Can Muffy come to school, too? My daddy made him and he's real smart for a dog and he can protect us, too." Mizi was trying very hard to keep her robotic dog at school.

The teacher looked at the dog, and heard the mechanical whirring as it moved. "Muffy is a lovely dog, Mizi, and it's so nice of you to bring him here today. Most days he'll need to stay home, but together we'll find some time to bring him in to play with you and your friends. Does that sound fair?"

Romal crouched down with Mizi and Miss Emma, "Sounds fair to me, Mizi. What do you think?"

"Daaaddy, I can teach Muffy to be real quiet and he can sit in a corner. The other kids won't even know he's there." Mizi pleaded, seeming desperate to change his mind.

"Well, it's still up to Miss Emma and her word is final. Actually, there is one ability Muffy has that could prove useful some day. If ever there was a real threat to either you or the children, Muffy is programmed to send an automatic signal to ship security and sickbay, complete with audio and visual."

“Well, we actually have security monitors in here,” Ilos answered. “If there’s one thing we take extremely seriously, it’s kids’ safety. Monitors pick up vital signs and scan for things like transporter signals and report to sickbay and security, in addition to listening for audio cues.”

“But!” Emma interjected, “it doesn’t hurt to have a guard dog.” She smiled at Ilos and Romal, before turning back to the girl. “Mizi, we’ll do what we call a trial run. He can stay this week, if during most of the day he’s quiet and in the corner. If he stays quiet, and if he doesn’t bother any other kids, then he can stay. If it doesn’t work, then we’ll need to leave him home, okay? We’ll give him a chance.”

Mizi knelt down and gave Muffy an affectionate hug, causing its eyes to light up. She then looked up at her teacher, "Thank you, Miss Emma. Muffy's going to be a real good dog, cause my daddy made him."

"I doubt if Muffy will cause much attention once the children get used to seeing him." Romal remarked, then gave a warm smile to the teacher, "Maybe at first, they might line up to touch and pet her little robot, but its programed to love everyone, most especially children."

“You’re probably right,” Emma said, nodding. “But we just don’t know for sure. If one has a crippling fear of dogs, for example, or gets fixated on it to distraction, then I can’t allow it here. But assuming everything goes well, then he’ll be welcome.”

Romal thought for a moment, "So, when can Mizi start school?"

“Today, if you like,” Emma answered.

“Mr. Seshel, why don’t you and I get her registered, while Mizi joins Miss Emma and the group?” the Counselor suggested.

"Just a moment, please. We'll be right back." Romal then led Mizi to where it was quieter.

Romal knelt down, so that only the two could hear, "Mizi, what do you think? Do you like Miss Emma?"

"I'm not sure she likes Muffy." Mizi confessed, then added; "Miss Emma seems nice, though."

Giving his daughter a hug, Romal smiled, "Just think, children your own age to play with. Why not give her a try?"

Mizi smiled back and gave her father a kiss, "Okay, daddy, I just hope she's nice to Muffy."

"I can't picture her being mean to Muffy. Let's give Miss Emma a chance." Romal then gave her another hug, "If there should be a problem, we'll figure this out together."

"Thanks, daddy." Mizi replied, all smiles as she looked back to her teacher.

Walking back, Romal turned to Miss Emma first, "Mizi would love to join your group today. I'll be stopping by a little later."

Romal then turned to Ilos, "Lead the way, Counselor. I believe we have a little girl that needs registering."

Leaving, they headed for the Counselor's office to prepare Mizi's registration for school.


Lieutenant JG Toran Ilos
Chief Counselor
USS Crazy Horse

Ensign Romal Seshel
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Crazy Horse