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Hikaru Sulu straightened the tunic of his uniform and picked a few stray threads from his sleeve. Then using the back of his hand he brushed away some lint from his new gold braid.
Scotty's transporter chief had put Sulu right in front of his parent's home. He smiled at the sight of the old Victorian house, still the same. As usual, the garden and the yard were meticulous, a direct result of his father's work. He always had been an excellent gardener.
His father had been the director of accounting at a large corporation and the gardening had been a hobby and a means of getting away from office work completely. It was a credit to his father, Shigeru, that work was never brought home. There was always time for his family. Now, after retiring, the yard work had become a full time occupation. Hikaru knew that the traditional bonsai garden, complete with a number of multi-generation trees, represented many hours of work and a corresponding amount of pride.
Walking up the brightly colored wooden stairway, he noted that the house still had a crisp, clean look. The old Victorian actually never looked better. With a quick flick of his wrist, he turned the authentic nineteenth century door bell. When the door opened, he was surprised to find a small banner hanging from the upper stairway. In bright red letters were the words, 'Welcome Home, Admiral Sulu;' so much for the big surprise.
Standing before him was his father, grinning broadly. But a sudden "Surprise!" came from many voices. Peering cautiously into the parlor he found his mother, sister, brothers, spouses, their children plus cousins and relatives from all the family branches. Also present were a good number of neighbors and friends. He returned all of the smiles greeting him with one of his own. "I've been had; who let the cat out of the bag?"
His father put an arm around the new admiral and with the other hand put his finger over his lips. "It's a top secret matter, son. I'm afraid I can't say." Then he burst into a very contagious laugh.
The lunch that Sulu had been looking forward to turned out to be a neighborhood block party. There was a wide variety of food stuffs, including Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Italian and even Cajun.
During the evening, Hikaru ran into many people he hadn't seen in a long time. It was wonderful to see so many old friends and relatives in one place. It would certainly cut down on the travel time necessary to see them all. Doing just a little math, he figured there were three new additions to the extended family.
Somehow, it wasn't exactly what Sulu wanted. His idea for the evening called for a quiet time with his parents, followed by a bit of conversation to determine how they were doing. After all, both of his parents were in their 80's and although longevity ran in the family... He left the thought unfinished, for obvious reasons.
As the night wore on, Hikaru began to seek out his parents. His father was sitting on the front porch enjoying his many grandchildren and a few great grandchildren as well. The friendly grand-patriarch had all of the younger children enthralled in some elaborate fairy tale. Stopping just long enough to acknowledge Hikaru, the story telling continued, much to the delight of the audience.
Admiral Sulu entered the house and wandered about until he found his mother in the kitchen. As usual, she was working hard and enjoying it. He had always suspected that she was most happy when entertaining and cooking for her family and friends.
He tried to sneak up on her, but a big squeak in the floor gave him away. She turned and smiled kindly at her 'little' boy. "Still up to your old tricks? When will you ever learn? I had that squeak put in just so you kids couldn't frighten the wits out of me!"
Sulu laughed out loud and took three quick steps to his mother, giving her a big hug.
She returned the gesture and then studied his face with a knowing look. "Had enough party for one day?"
Hikaru leaned back on the kitchen's largest counter and sighed, "Well. It was a great surprise, but I was really expecting something a bit more..." he searched for an appropriate word, "... personal." He studied her with tired eyes. Between Scotty's party and his parent's effort, he was beat. "I don't suppose you have a spare bedroom in this museum?"
She put down her work and faced her firstborn. She then crossed her arms across her chest with the 'Mother knows all' look set on her face. "You mean you're not going back to your own home tonight?"
"It's empty now. Demora's got another assignment. My ship is going to be refitted then reassigned in a few months. Since I've been promoted, I have a choice in my next assignment. There are a number of possibilities, but I haven't made up my mind yet."
She retained her pose but her voice softened to a near whisper. "You mean no more deep space exploration or starship commands?"
He gave a small shrug and found himself staring at the ancient wooden flooring. Looking for the right way to say what he was feeling, he stumbled on his own words. "I'm sort of waiting to see, um, what develops and what, uh looks most promising..."
She reached out and touched his shoulder gently. "Hikaru, you never could lie to me or your father. What is troubling you so?"
Turning to face her, he found the all-knowing look had been replaced by one of genuine concern. He changed his approach and tried again. "Are you and father doing well these days?"
Her smile softened. "Of course, my son. We are in good health and very happy. Your father has his gardening, I have this house and we both have the grandchildren to fill our days."
"Are you sure having me close wouldn't be better? I could get a posting at Starfleet Headquarters or maybe at the Academy. That way if you needed me for some reason --"
Cutting her son off, she reprimanded him gently. "Son, we have a crowded house as it is. With your brothers and sister, the grandchildren, great grandchildren, relatives and neighbors, we have all the help we can use. Now, if you want to stay here, we'd be more than happy to have you. But as far as staying here to watch over us... well, it's not necessary."
Neither mother nor son had noticed the third person who had entered the room, but he now spoke. "Besides, my son, you would not be happy as a commander of a desk." His father was standing in the kitchen doorway shaking his head in moderate disapproval. "You trouble yourself unnecessarily, my son. Your mother and I are doing well. We have no need of a caretaker, not yet anyway."
Before Hikaru could speak, his father continued. "We are both pleased and honored that you concern yourself with traditional family values. It seems that the whole family is concerned with our welfare. We look forward to your visits and those of your sister and brothers as well. But we also understand your lifestyle and career. You have chosen to explore and lead. It fits you well, son; to do less would be a waste.
"If you take a position in San Francisco, I would hope, I would expect that it was your choice. A good career move or whatever, but it should be what you want to do. We will be most happy if you are doing the type of work that makes you happy."
Looking back to his mother for confirmation, Hikaru noticed she was smiling and nodding in agreement. Then he said what was on his mind. "If you're really quite sure, there is a new ship which should be in service soon. I would like to have it for my own."
"That wouldn't be the Enterprise B, would it?" His father was smiling like the proverbial Cheshire cat.
"How did you know?" Sulu asked, surprised.
"Son we have been keeping up on the news of its construction all along. Besides, our top secret informant, Admiral Scott, gave us some wonderful reports on the ship as well. We were only wondering why it was taking Starfleet so long to realize that the only officer good enough to be its captain was our son!"
Shigeru Sulu gave a big belly laugh that started all three of them laughing. And that's the way the evening ended; all of the family and friends smiling and enjoying each other's company.
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© 2024 Brad McDonald / U.S.S. Kitty Hawk
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