06-18-2026, 01:29 AM
== Mike's Quarters ==
== NPC Lt Andrea Tate ==
Andrea smiled and shook her head at Mike, "No, I don't think you look like some child's cuddly toy. I think you need to stop letting that bother you. In many ways, she still sees you through the eyes of a young and impressionable girl. The impression you made was a good one, and obviously one she needed very much in those formative years. she is now struggling to grow out of that phase of her life and move into the very adult life she is trying to lead now. There's an emotional security in those things we knew growing up. The adult world is full of uncertainty, while the world of a child seems much simpler. Good and bad felt more clear cut and decisions felt easier. The DNA thing is a bit the same. She thinks that because you must be the person she imagines you to be, that she could just use your DNA to add you to a recipe, like making a cake. We both know that is not how DNA works. Look at any two siblings and you'll note that although they started out with the same combined DNA, they can be extremely different from each other. Even identical twins can be quite different in their preferences and behavior."
Andrea shrugged and held her cup of tea in both hands, but paused before actually taking a sip, "She doesn't want to hear that right now. When someone is in that state of mind, I can't help. That's why I simply left. My leaving without saying anything was going to register in her mind later as a stronger memory than any words I might have spoken. I've done my art now. The rest is up to her."
After taking her sip of tea, she said to Mike, "You're a good man. You've done your job and told her what you needed to. You know who you are and you only let her words bother you because you care about what she thinks of you. You two will end up talking more and sorting things out, because you're family. The older you get, the less family you sometimes have, so we cling to what remains."
She stood and placed her cup in the replicator and let it vanish. "I should be going. When the Valkyrie departs in the morning, I should be on it. Thank you, Mike. You've been a good host." She stepped up to him and raising up on her toes, she managed to be tall enough to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Be well and take care of her." She stepped t the door and then turned and said to him, "I know that the one thing you're afraid of right now is the silence, but you have to face it. It is in that silence that the hardest part of the grieving process happens."
Then she was gone.
== NPC Lt Andrea Tate ==
Andrea smiled and shook her head at Mike, "No, I don't think you look like some child's cuddly toy. I think you need to stop letting that bother you. In many ways, she still sees you through the eyes of a young and impressionable girl. The impression you made was a good one, and obviously one she needed very much in those formative years. she is now struggling to grow out of that phase of her life and move into the very adult life she is trying to lead now. There's an emotional security in those things we knew growing up. The adult world is full of uncertainty, while the world of a child seems much simpler. Good and bad felt more clear cut and decisions felt easier. The DNA thing is a bit the same. She thinks that because you must be the person she imagines you to be, that she could just use your DNA to add you to a recipe, like making a cake. We both know that is not how DNA works. Look at any two siblings and you'll note that although they started out with the same combined DNA, they can be extremely different from each other. Even identical twins can be quite different in their preferences and behavior."
Andrea shrugged and held her cup of tea in both hands, but paused before actually taking a sip, "She doesn't want to hear that right now. When someone is in that state of mind, I can't help. That's why I simply left. My leaving without saying anything was going to register in her mind later as a stronger memory than any words I might have spoken. I've done my art now. The rest is up to her."
After taking her sip of tea, she said to Mike, "You're a good man. You've done your job and told her what you needed to. You know who you are and you only let her words bother you because you care about what she thinks of you. You two will end up talking more and sorting things out, because you're family. The older you get, the less family you sometimes have, so we cling to what remains."
She stood and placed her cup in the replicator and let it vanish. "I should be going. When the Valkyrie departs in the morning, I should be on it. Thank you, Mike. You've been a good host." She stepped up to him and raising up on her toes, she managed to be tall enough to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Be well and take care of her." She stepped t the door and then turned and said to him, "I know that the one thing you're afraid of right now is the silence, but you have to face it. It is in that silence that the hardest part of the grieving process happens."
Then she was gone.