Unexpected

Posted on Sun Aug 16th, 2026 @ 2:01pm by Lieutenant JG Luke Beaumont & Leia Beaumont

2,065 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Season 1 Episode 2: The Garden at the Edge of Night
Location: Ten Forward

ON

Luke left the gym feeling unexpectedly buoyant. He hadn't anticipated finding common ground with the ship's first officer, yet the workout had done exactly that. There was something reassuring about discovering that the executive officer was as approachable as he was formidable.

His commanding officer, however, was an entirely different story.

Talking to women had never come naturally to him, and there was something about the security chiefs quiet confidence that tied his tongue in knots. She hadn't done anything to warrant his apprehension—in fact, she had been perfectly professional—but her presence alone was enough to make him second-guess every word that came out of his mouth.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Luke made his way into Ten Forward. The lounge was beginning to come alive as more of the crew settled aboard, conversations mingling with the gentle hum of the ship and the soft clink of glasses. It was a welcome contrast to the intensity of the gym.

Still wearing the fitted white training vest from his workout, Luke hadn't bothered changing back into uniform. The fabric clung to his broad frame, leaving his well-defined arms and much of his chest exposed. Fresh from the session, the lingering muscle pump had done wonders for his confidence, and—for once—he didn't mind showing off the results of the hours he spent training.

He caught the attention of a passing waiter and offered an easy smile.

"Could I get a glass of red wine, please?"

Gesturing towards an unoccupied table by the window, he added, "I'll be sitting over there."

With that, he made his way across the lounge, looking forward to a quiet moment before duty inevitably caught up with him once again.

"Oh my god," a flash of blond seemed to squeak. "Luke ...."

There was a further blur and someone was suddenly hugging him. A familiar hug. She pulled back and grinned. "Luke your here."

"Sis?" he exclaimed, surprise ringing through every syllable as disbelief gave way to a broad smile. "What are you doing here?"

Without hesitation, he wrapped her in a warm embrace, holding on for a moment longer than he normally would. It had been far too long since they'd seen each other face to face—their last meeting had been during his previous shore leave, and life had pulled them in different directions ever since.

Finally easing back just enough to look at her properly, he shook his head with an incredulous laugh.

"I thought you were taking that teaching job in Geneva?"

Leia smiled adoringly. “Oh my sweet sweet brother, I said Genesis not Geneva. Close though,” she reached over and mushed his hair affectionately. “I have missed you so much.”

The waiter brought a glass of wine and popped it in front of him. Sir,” he said, “Enjoy. Anything for you miss?”

‘Vodka, lime and soda. Plenty of ice please,” she told him. He nodded and disappeared.

“So what decks are your quarters on?” She asked. “I bet there a lot bigger than mine especially now your an enlisted officer.”

"I'm still in the junior officers' quarters," Luke explained, his words coming faster now that he'd started talking. "I have to share with three others, but it's great. Really, it is—once you get past Vrinks' eating habits, anyway. He's Caitian, so apparently the concept of eating quietly is completely foreign to him."

He laughed, shaking his head before continuing.

"And then there's Nuxx. He's always talking like Bolians do. You know, constantly jumping from one subject to another before you've even had a chance to answer the first." His grin widened. "Dana seems nice, though. We haven't really had much chance to talk yet, but she seems like the sensible one."

Luke paused, suddenly remembering something.

"Actually, what deck are your quarters on?" he asked, looking at his sister with renewed interest. "Are you in the officers' quarters too, or have they given you somewhere else?"

He was practically bubbling with excitement. Luke was accustomed to being assigned to planetary installations and had spent far more time planetside than aboard starships. Being assigned to the Genesis was a first for him, and everything about it still carried a sense of novelty. The ship, the crew, even the prospect of having his sister aboard—all of it made the posting feel considerably more real.

"Oooo you will have to show me your quarters," she said excitably. "And to meet your room mates. I've never met a bolian. I’m in civilian quarters. Deck 23. I’m glad you have a sensible one.”

Luke already knew his sister was going to be unimpressed by his quarters. The last time she'd visited him at the Academy, she'd taken one look around his room and declared that it looked less like a cadet's accommodation and more like a fraternity house. His quarters aboard the Genesis weren't exactly an improvement.

If anything, the lack of supervision had made things worse.

He could already imagine the look she'd give him when she saw the collection of gym gear, clothes and personal effects that he'd somehow managed to make look perfectly organised—at least by his standards.

A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he looked back at her with genuine curiosity.

"So, are you really going to be teaching on Genesis?" he asked. "I thought you hated space travel."

There was a teasing edge to his voice, but the question was genuine. His sister had never been particularly fond of being aboard starships, and Luke couldn't quite reconcile that with the idea of her willingly taking up a teaching position aboard one.

“Yes it’s a conundrum I know but I just got this feeling that this job … it was something that I needed to do. That it will lead me to something really fulfilling and big. Life changing. And Luke I decided to trust it. And look so far it’s brought you back closer into my life. I still feel it now, good things are happening,” she told him her eyes wide and sparkling.

"You've met someone, haven't you?" His sister's voice carried that knowing edge. "I recognize the signs. Who is it?"

The bond they shared as twins allowed for easy communication between them—most of it unspoken. Luke knew in his bones that she was holding something back, and the sparkle in her eyes was the tell.

The waiter popped Leia's drink in front of her, "Thanks," she said taking a big gulp to buy time. Luke wasn't usually this perceptive and she wasn't even sure she wanted to say the words out loud yet or even to him. It was his commanding officer. What if he was not happy about that.

"Its complicated," she said simply to side step the question. "And what about you? Any nice girls yet?"

Hopefully he would move on and forget, not pushing further.

"We're not finished talking about you," he deflected, knowing that any answer he gave about himself would only invite further questions—questions he had neither the inclination nor the desire to answer just yet.

Leia looked at him. Not the first time she had considered this but she wondered if he brother liked men. Not that that was an issue in any way but he had deflected numerous time when she had asked if there was any ladies he was interested in. She would have to wait him out. Let him figure things out.

"You won't approve Luke and its just a bit of a crush starting. I really don't think it can go anywhere. Hes far to busy for a start," she told him.

Luke set down his glass and leaned back in his chair, his expression softening into something more reassuring. "What do you mean I won't approve?" he said, his tone deliberately light. "If you're happy, then I'm happy. That's all that matters to me." He paused, a teasing smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Besides, it's not going to be an Admiral or the Captain, is it?"

The words came out as a joke, meant to ease the tension between them. But the moment they left his lips, he caught the shift in her expression—the way her eyes widened just slightly, the faint flush that crept up her neck. It was subtle, the kind of tell that only someone who'd spent a lifetime reading her would notice.

Luke's smile faltered. His sister's reaction had said far more than any words could have.

He straightened in his seat, his earlier levity evaporating as the pieces began to click into place. His gaze sharpened, becoming more direct, more searching. The teasing edge in his voice gave way to something more pointed, more certain.

"Is it?" he asked quietly, the question hanging between them like a challenge.

Leia gulped some more of her drink. Damn the twin psychic connection. She nodded not willing to say it out loud. “Regardless to say, I doubt he even knows I exist.”

"Oh Leia... What are you thinking. He's my bosses boss." Luke ran a hand through his hair, his expression caught somewhere between exasperation and genuine concern. He wasn't angry—he could never be angry with her—but the protectiveness that came with being her twin surged to the forefront anyway.

"Look, I'm not going to tell you that you can't feel what you feel. You're allowed to have feelings, and you haven't done anything wrong. But Leia, please, please think about this for a second. He's not just some senior officer—he's my commanding officer's superior. Do you understand what that means? That's like... that's like two entire rungs above me on the ladder. Two! More maybe... nine rungs perhaps... NINE! If this somehow went sideways, if he decided he wasn't interested or if things got awkward, I can't exactly march into his office and have a chat about it. I'd have to just... live with it. Aboard this ship. Where he is. Constantly. Making decisions about my career."

He leaned forward, his voice taking on a slightly desperate edge. "And Leia, the man barely has time to breathe and he's always looking like he hasn't slept in a week. What if you actually caught his attention? What if something happened? I'd be stuck in the middle of a situation I can't control, can't fix, and can't even complain about without potentially tanking my entire posting. My career would be in the hands of a man who's already running on fumes, and if things went south between you two, I'd be the awkward buffer zone for the rest of my natural life. I'm genuinely begging you here—on my knees, metaphorically speaking—please, please consider literally anyone else? The waiter? That Bolian ensign from engineering? A hologram? I'm not picky. I will personally set you up with literally anyone who isn't two rungs above my commanding officer on the chain of command, nine rungs even. Anyone. I'm serious. This is me being serious." he said with a playful smile.

Leia didn’t take it playfully though. “It’s not your situation to manage, you big muscle head. You’re not my defender so you won’t be marching anywhere to talk to anyone. And if anything ever happened, which we have established is very unlikely, it should not reflect on you in any way. Your starfleet has professionalism and codes of conduct that has to be followed. A Bolian engineering ensign or a hologram. Seriously, I should whack you over the head with one of those ladder rungs.”

The deflection had worked. Her focus shifted from his non-existent romantic life to his clumsy brotherly concern—exactly where he needed it. There was nothing to discuss anyway, nothing worth examining or explaining. Luke took a measured sip of his wine, letting the moment settle between them.

"I'm glad you're here," he said, his voice carrying the weight of genuine affection. "I've really missed you."

Leia narrowed her eyes at her brother suddenly understanding. "You did that on purpose to stop me asking about your love life." He had got smarter it seemed.

"Well I'm going to make it my mission to find you a nice person," she deliberately said person.

Then she changed the subject quickly enough to let that freak him out. "So when did you last hear from dad?"

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