[BACK POST]Preparation is key

Posted on 14 Oct 2025 @ 1:43pm by Sergeant Major Christopher "Chris" Kildare & Lieutenant Lamia ‘Mia’ Kildare

1,239 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: Kildare Quarters - USS Tomcat
Timeline: Prior to Briefing

[ON]

Having moved back to quarters onboard the Tomcat after being aboard Starbase 51 since the ship docked for upgrades, Lamia was busy making her home feel more homely. With only a month to go before the birth of their son, she was definitely feeling the nesting instinct, wanting everything to be just right.

The small bedside cot that would hold their son was positioned against the wall, with bagged up bedding lying inside it. Whilst alongside was a bag full of baby clothing ready for the big day. She’d already stored the rest of the clothing they’d brought away in the bottom of the internal wardrobe. There was a small handful of cuddly teddies there as well. On the floor alongside was her maternity bag, ready to grab to take to sickbay when the time came.

Chris entered the quarters "I see you are all prepped there, Mia?" Chris said, entering the quarters fully and allowing the doors to close, "We need to design a suitable nanny. I heard all officers' quarters have holoemitters, so come sit you down next to me on the sofa and let's get to designing, shall we?" Chris asked with a smile.

Lamia nodded as she walked over to the sofa, took a seat, and made herself as comfortable as she could get. “We still need to discuss what’s going to happen after our six months are up; we haven’t really properly discussed it.” She knew it could wait, but she needed the matter to be settled in her mind.

He nodded, "Computer activate holo interface", he said, and a holographic interface appeared in front of them "Okay, from what I can make out, these controls allow us to manipulate the build, height and gender of the nanny" he said and the holoemitters produced two generic no-face mannequins one male one female both standard height "okay Mia you go first" he said moving the free-floating interface over to her.

"So, have we settled on a name yet?" He asked.

Lamia was busy figuring out the controls of the holo nanny, choosing the female build to start. “Actually, I was hoping you’d help me choose something suitable. I want something different, but not silly,” she grinned before setting the height of the nanny to the same height as herself. She gave it some thought before opting for blonde hair and blue eyes, mainly to distinguish herself from the nanny. “How am I doing so far?”

Looking at what was there so far, "Excellent, how about Chris Joel Kildare, Joel after your dad?" Chris responded.

“I like that”, Lamia nodded. “But Chris as well? He’ll be known as Chris Junior, as you’re known as Chris. Is there anything else you like that would go with Joel?”

"CJ, nice ring to it, as for a double-barrelled middle name, cannot think of anything that goes with Joel", he said, then looked at the creation, "hey, he will see enough of us, no need to make his nanny look like you, but as a blonde, although a very nice looking potential hologram" He said.

“I guess you’re right, and CJ does have a nice ring to it” Lamia smiled as she took the hologram controls back to do some alterations.

oO Let’s see now… Change of height, facial features… Oo

A few moments later, she handed it back. “How’s about this one? I’ve changed her appearance.”

Taking the controls, he added a bit of height and toned muscles and put on modern civilian clothes; otherwise, the image remained the same. "She will need to have the strength to hold a little one without trouble, also search the database for information on child care and adjust it for the hologram, then we need to finalise it, also perhaps we should give the hologram a personality!" Chris said.

“She’ll be nothing less than perfect, or she won’t be looking after our son,” Lamia added. Given the loss of her daughter, she wasn’t willing to accept anything other than perfection. “The database will need at least first aid information, as well as child care.”

"Do it, Mia, then, when happy, lock the program in. I am going to get a drink. You want anything?" Chris said.

“Erm…a Risan sunset would be lovely, please Imzadi” Lamia smiled warmly as she looked up from the PaDD for a moment, before setting the parameters for the babysitter program. She needed to ensure the hologram would function as intended, and she would thoroughly test it ahead of the birth of their son.

"One Risan Sunset coming up", Chris said, and went to the replicator and replicated Mia's drink, then a cold soda for himself and brought them back, handed Mia hers as he took a sip of his and looked at the hologram. "All finalised then?" He asked.

Lamia nodded as she sipped her drink. “Yes, I think so. It just needs time to update the memory on everything a suitable nanny would need to know. I also added emergency medical care just in case of any emergencies. All this for only six months…” Her smile faded somewhat.

"It will seem longer than that, then the holo nanny can always be transferred to the Starbase to assist our kin who would likely move to the Starbase to look after the little tyke when we are on mission", Chris responded, taking another sip of his drink.

“That’s what bothers me, being away from our baby. What milestones will we miss? How long will we be away?” Lamia sighed and shook her head. “I can’t think about it right now.”

"That is the downside of being a parent, Mia, sentient beings have been doing it for centuries; it has never gotten easy, remember Lieutenant Donovan, Lilli is also pregnant and will have to do the same as us after 6 months", Chris said in response.

“I know”, Lamia nodded. “But losing a baby makes you feel differently”, she offered the best smile she could muster. “I’m sorry we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves.”

He shrugged, "We all have a history, until you, I was intent on remaining single, then you came along", he said with an affectionate smile.

“Then I’m glad I did” Lamia cuddled up to Chris, who always made everything feel better for her. “You could have had any woman, but you chose me, and I’m a fortunate woman.”

He remained diplomatically quiet in light of what she just said as they cuddled up on the sofa. When he did speak, there was no indication of his thoughts: "So baby almost due, holo nanny sorted, so what next?" Chris asked.

“Shopping”, Lamia added, trying to see the light side of things. “We need our last few supplies, then we’re ready for the big day.

"Tomorrow, we will go shopping, but to save credits, we could simply replicate the items!" Chris said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t spend us silly, we’ll see what we like and go from there.” Lamia agreed.

Chris simply shrugged and sat back, relaxing wife leaning into him.

[OFF]

 

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