For Tonight
Posted on Fri May 30th, 2025 @ 4:01pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Commander Jörgen Leed
1,276 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Shore Leave 1
Location: Aarhus, Denmark
[ON]
The view from the dome was spectacular. A soft wash of water across the beach beneath a dark, diamond sky. Around Jörgen and Anna spread the rugged waves of the Djursland peninsula. Their old stomping grounds. They sat at a modest table deep in crispy pork, potatoes covered in parsley sauce, and aebleskiver with jam. Linen napkins folded like white, silk swans. A small vase held three deep-red flowers that Anna claimed were similar to tulips, even if they technically came from a Cardassian hydroponics lab.
“I still say you overdid it,” Anna said, watching Jörgen straighten one of the napkins.
“It will not kill anyone to eat a civilized meal, on a civilized beach, after uncivilized events,” Jörgen replied, straightening his sleeves. “I know that look. You can never have too many aebleskiver.”
Anna raised an eyebrow. “So Birte was able to get away from her classes.”
“I assured the Academy she would finish her projects.”
She smirked. “As if they would turn down the Coalitions best friend in Starfleet.”
They paused together for a beat, the silence slipping across their skin like a cool breeze. They family had survived too much in too short a time. Too much distance. Too many unknowns. And now, against the odds, they would have their whole family back together.
For now.
Birte entered the dome like a whirlwind in cadet red, her bag slung over one shoulder, a stylus tucked behind her ear, and a grin wide enough to challenge local gravity.
“I smell pork,” she declared, dropping the bag by the door and kissing Anna’s cheek. “You two haven’t gone all fancy and ruined it, have you?”
“Your father’s always been fancy,” said Anna.
“We saved you a seat,” Jörgen said warmly, already moving to help with her bag.
“I can sit myself, thank you, Ambassador Napkin-Folder,” Birte teased, falling into the chair with a flop. “Wow, look at that. Cloth napkins. Linen? What is this, a peace treaty?”
Anna laughed. “We were aiming for dignified reunion.”
“Well, I’m here so that ship has sailed,” Birte replied cheerfully. She reached for the nearest aebleskiver and stuffed two in her mouth. “Where’s the spacetime traveler?”
As if summoned, the door hissed and Helle stepped inside slowly, her uniform slightly wrinkled, her eyes alert but tired. She held herself carefully, like a person not entirely convinced she belonged in the same room she had left—was it days ago? Weeks? Lifetimes?
Birte didn’t hesitate. She sprang up and crossed the room in three long strides, arms thrown wide.
“You couldn’t just take boring measurements of background radiation, huh? You had to go dimension hopping?” Birte said as she pulled Helle into a tight, rib-cracking hug.
“You know me. I like the scenic route,” Helle gasped into her sister’s shoulder.
Anna stepped forward, her smile small but steady. “We missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Helle said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I could see you all in my head every time I wanted to give up. We failed so many times to get back to the right spacetime. In so many ways.”
“You showed so much courage on your first big mission. More time passed for you than us, and it was hard on me,” said Anna. “I hope you kept detailed mission records of what you learned.”
“I kept a log,” Jörgen said softly. “Of the science team on the station. In case you needed to know what you missed.”
“Bet it’s organized by star date, wine pairings, and emotional intensity,” said Birte.
He smiled. “Naturally. Now, we should be eating.”
The air inside the dome echoed with laughter and light chatter. Birte devoured two servings as she regaled them with her observations on the Academy. Helle nibbled, talked more as the meal went on, but kept glancing toward the window.
Jörgen noticed. So did Anna. But no one said anything.
“I got yelled at last week,” Birte said mid-bite. “By a Vulcan. That’s a bucket list item, right?”
“Depends,” Anna said. “Did he raise an eyebrow?”
“He raised two.”
“High praise,” said Helle, feeling her chest loosen slowly along with the rising moon.
“Apparently I was being, quote, ‘emotionally irrational and statistically overconfident,’” Birte said.
Anna snorted into her glass.
“No,” said both parents at once.
Helle gave a quiet laugh. “I missed this.”
“We missed you,” Birte said seriously. “It’s weird. I still feel like you should be gone, and then I blink and you’re back. Like a glitch in the timeline.”
“Maybe I’m the glitch,” Helle offered, half-joking.
Anna peered at her over a forkful of trifle. “You’re not.”
There was a moment of quiet, heavier than before.
“I don’t know if I’m the same,” Helle admitted. “Things still feel distant. I’m here, but part of me is waits for the floor to drop out again. Everything is deeper, too, like I can see more dimensions in everything around me.” Birte snorted and Helle rolled her eyes.
“You know what I mean,” said Helle.
Jörgen, uncharacteristically silent, finally spoke. “You were alone where no one should have to be. But you came back. That part of the story matters too.”
“And I’m really excited to keep exploring. Don’t think I’m going to shrivel up in a corner. I just need some more time to understand what happened to me out there, you know?”
They did know. Anna and Jörgen, at least. After dinner, they left the table for a stroll along the beach. Holding hands, they sang softly as they walked. Songs that had seeped into the fabric of their family. Lyrics of shared lives. Helle and then Jörgen lapsed into silence while Anna and Birte hummed their way back to the dome. Anna poured mulled wine and sat back on the couch, pulling her legs up under her. Birte sat cross-legged on the floor with another dessert. Helle stayed near the window, watching the stars. Jörgen stood, hands behind his back, a familiar posture for anyone who knew he was thinking hard.
“I may not be going to the Gamma Quadrant,” he said finally.
Birte blinked. “Wait, what?”
“I thought you were a shoo-in,” Helle said, turning to face him.
“So did I. But the orders changed. They want me to stay on the Firebird. At least for now.”
“Do you know who they’re sending instead?” said Helle.
“No one. Not yet.”
“They’re going to regret not sending you,” Birte said, angrily chewing on a mouthful of jam-packed aebleskiver. She wiped a blob of it from the corner of her mouth. “If they don’t already.”
Anna gave a small, approving hum. “You’re too good at what you do, Jörgen.”
“That is the political reality,” he replied. “That is precisely why they keep me here.”
Later, when the lights dimmed to evening mode and the stars grew brighter in the windows, the Leed family simply sat together. No debates. No decisions. No missions. Just four people who didn’t need to talk to share a lot of thoughts and emotions.
“Well,” Birte said eventually, stretching, “I vote next reunion has fewer wormholes and more strawberry cake.”
“Seconded,” said Helle, a little more herself now.
Anna raised her glass. “Motion carried.”
Jörgen smiled, content for now to let the stars drift by and hold his family close.
[OFF]
Commander Joergen Leed
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298
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