Tea, No Biscuits.

Posted on Sun Oct 26th, 2025 @ 11:33pm by Lieutenant Faith Hawkins

943 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: R&R
Location: Chief Engineer's Office.

To his surprise, Matthew found himself back aboard Britannic, at Faith’s request. Perhaps she wanted his insight into the now completed plasma grid modifications. After all, Matthew had played a part in the design of the Nebula and Galaxy classes. However, he considered his recent participation in the design of the Intrepid class to be his career highlight so far. As Matthew entered main engineering, he looked around for Faith. He was directed to her office by an Andorian engineer. “I hope I’m not too early.” said Matthew, after being granted access.

Faith smiled. “It’s fine, Dad. Tea?”

“Please.” replied Matthew. He briefly looked around Faith’s sparsely decorated office while his daughter stood at the replicator. It was the polar opposite to his own office back at the Corps of Engineering headquarters. “What can I help you with?” he asked. Faith’s demeanour gave him the feeling he wasn’t here to provide a second opinion. As Matthew spoke, Faith requested two identical cups of tea. Moments later, they were carried over to Matthew. He gratefully accepted his mug, took a sip. He waited patiently for his daughter to respond.

“Is your offer still on the table?” asked Faith, deciding to go straight to the point.

Given her previous response, Matthew was surprised. It hadn’t been that long a period of time since that conversation had taken place. He thought for a moment, perhaps wondering if something had changed. Was it her reunion with Genie? Or was it something else? “What’s brought this on, Faith?”

“Honestly Dad, I need a challenge. A real one. One where I can test myself to my limit, and learn from the best every day.” she replied, gesturing to Matthew.

“Well, if you’re looking for a challenge, you’ll get one.” he replied, removing an isolinear chip from his pocket. He handed it to Faith. “This is what we’ve got so far. Take a look, and I know it goes without saying, but please keep it under wraps.”

Faith accepted the offered chip, placed it in her pocket. “Does this mean I’m in?”

There was no way Matthew would turn down the opportunity to work with Faith, because it would mean he’d see a lot more of her, Meredith and Beatrice than he did now. But, if his project was given the go ahead, it would be years of long, hard work. He needed Faith, everyone else involved, to be certain it was what they wanted. They needed to be all in. “Take a look at it first, then we can talk again. If you still want to join the team, then we’ll need to go through the proper channels.”

Now came the potential banana skin. Would it be a case of his offer was only for Faith, or would her father have room for other people on his team?

“How big will the team be?” asked Faith.

Matthew had yet to assemble the final team, because he was waiting for the go-ahead to start in earnest. For now, it was himself, Genie, and two others laying the preliminary groundwork. “Reasonably large, I’d say.” a pause, a sip of tea. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, when we last talked about it, I said I’d like to bring people with me. I obviously haven't spoken to them about this project yet, but...” a nervous pause. “…I’d like to offer them the opportunity to come on board. If it’s approved.”

Matthew recalled Faith saying she wanted to bring some of her team with her, should she decide to accept his offer. He didn’t even need to ask who they were, because Matthew knew full well it was the Fab Five. While he’d be very happy for all of them to join his team, it wasn't his decision. He also didn’t want to be seen as poaching experienced staff from the active pool. Especially with the ongoing shortage of experienced personnel. “By all means. But first, take a good look through what I’ve given you. We’ll talk again once I have a definitive answer, and go from there. Realistically though, if we get the go-ahead, we’re looking at another six to nine months before we get going in earnest.”

Faith felt that was a good plan. It gave her time to have a proper look at the preliminary details of the project, but also oversee her recent fuel saving modifications. “Yeah, sure. The Captain has put a block on personnel transfers until we’ve finished this assignment, so I’m not sure when I’d be able to request one. But, yeah. We’ll see what happens.”

“Of course, that’s understandable. With the ongoing shortage of experienced people, it’s going to take a long time before the balance has been redressed.” replied Matthew, taking another sip of his refreshing beverage. “May I ask where Britannic is going?”

“Adarak Prime. Klingon Flu outbreak.”

Matthew nodded. He knew his youngest daughter’s strong feelings of animosity towards the Cardassian species. It was one they previously shared. But he understood why Faith still felt that way. Maybe in time, she’d learn to move past it like he had.

“Well, once we’ve finished these, how about we go for lunch with Genie, Meredith and BumbleBea? My treat.” suggested Matthew, keen to make the most of the time they had left. After all, it was going to be at least a couple of months before he would see them again.

Faith smiled. She liked that idea. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

 

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