Lessons & Dragons: Part 1/2

Posted on Wed Jun 10th, 2026 @ 9:27pm by Civilian Lily Blake & Commander Cornelius 'Kit' Hanlon

1,778 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Behind the Curtain
Location: Turbolift
Timeline: En Route

ON:

"Take me to the bridge please, Lady in the Ship..." the young girl was stood in the middle of the turbolift with the confidence of an Admiral. The bridge was where her Mummy worked, after all. Why shouldn't Lily see what all the fuss was about?

"Unable to comply," the ship's computer said, having read exactly who it was. "The bridge is not a suitable place."

Lily's mouth dropped open in a 'that's not fair' kind of a way. She pursed her lips, looking around for inspiration. "But...Please?"

"You okay?" Kit Hanlon smiled as he looked into the turbolift, seeing Lily there. He tilted his head, watching her with friendly look. "Turbolift not playing?"

"No! She won't take me to the Bridge!" Lily lifted her hands in the air like it was a complete mystery. "Traitor lift..."

"Ah...it's because the Captain's working," he said before he crouched down. "And it's important that only people who need to be there are up there." He watched her, with a small smile. Lily Blake looked a lot like her mother. And Kit hadn't met her before. "I'm Kit Hanlon...I work with your Mum. I'm her First Officer."

"Oooooh...." she pressed a finger to her lips, looking to him with wide eyes. "Mummy used to be one of those. Second boss."

"And now she is first boss," Kit said with a soft chuckle, raising an eyebrow. "So...she's my boss. And she's working...and I know she'd want to make sure you are okay."

"Oh, I'm okay," Lily declared, but gave up on the lift, finally moving out of it towards him. "But it was stinky maths at school. I hate maths."

"Ah..." Kit nodded and took a deeper breath at that. "Well...I know that it can be....not for everyone. But it's...important to learn, right? Even the stinky things..." he chuckled and tilted his head. "But...how about I just let your teacher know you are okay, and...well, we can look at exactly what you thought was stinky about it?"

"The numbers bit, that's what's stinky..." Lily replied stubbornly, but walked trustingly at his side all the same, her long dark ponytail swinging from side to side.

"Ah," he chuckled at that and gave a small nod. He could see that. "Well...that won't do. Why don't you come to my office. We can look at the numbers and...maybe I can make them smell a little bit better?" he purposefully used that phrase to try and make her smile.

"Hm...like candyfloss?" Lily asked, looking up to him with a wide smile and sparkling blue eyes.

"Well! That is a tall order...how about...like..." he made a show of thinking, before he grinned. "Candied apples!"

"Oh..." she looked to him with large, curious eyes, clasping her hands behind her back as they walked. "Never had 'em. They sound yummy! "

"Between us...they tend to look and smell nicer than they taste," Kit said and led her to his office. He smiled as he went to a PADD, sending a message to the teachers to let them know where Lily was. He then looked at the girl. "So. Stinky numbers, huh? What were you doing with them?"

"The multiple tables...I think..." she pursed her lips with a half shrug...because honestly, she'd stopped listening somewhere half way through. "It's silly...if I need a sum I can just ask the Lady in the Ship..."

Kit nodded moved to the replicator, getting her something to drink. And for himself as well, even if it was water. "Of course...there's some good things from the multiple tables..." he said lightly. "You won't always be on a ship. What if we're at a new planet and you need to know how many apples to buy if you're sharing it with your class, and everyone eats two..." he winked and put the drink down.

Lily folded her arms, just watching him with a scowl that said 'et tu, Brute?'

He watched her before he chuckled, eyes shining with it. "Okay, okay...I'll lay off..." he said, with warmth. "But you still have other lessons today, right?"

"Hm...." the frown disappeared from the young girl's brow as she looked around his office with curiosity. "S'pose so...you have no plushies..."

"Ah...no..." he looked around for a moment. His office was...well, an Engineer who happened to be a First Officer. The model of a warp core and all that. "But..." he smiled as he reached into the drawer, pulling out a colouring book and pencils. Unopened. "My niece got me this...and I think it's more suited for you than me."

"You don't like colouring?" she almost gasped, watching him with wide eyes as if she couldn't think of anything sadder...other than a room with no plushies in it.

He smiled as he watched her before he shook his head. "I never liked it. I liked drawing. And I still do even now...just never been very good at staying within the lines."

Lily shook her head as she opened the pack, taking out the crayons with a grin. "I'll help you...you can show her...she'll be proud..."

"You think?" he asked with a smile, nodding as he looked at her. "Okay, Lily...you might have to help. And also with picking what colours goes where. I was never got at that."

Lily watched him with wide eyes, shaking her head slowly with a sigh. "Can't be a Number One if you don't know the best colours."

"Ah...well, maybe...that is something you can help me with?" he asked, with a small smile as he watched her. "Only if you got time of course."

"Sure," she smiled warmly to him, picking out a red to start on the shuttle. "You think Mummy would let us paint the ship red? Or purple? Would be awesome..."

He laughed at that, with awe at how she spoke. "I think it would be," he finally said, before he nodded. "Did you know that in ancient times on Earth, they painted their planes with...a portrait of someone? Usually a woman, because back then for some weird reason mostly men were pilots...so I don't think Starfleet would let us paint the ship a different colour...but part of me wonder if they'd notice if we painted a tiny bit of it."

Lily gasped, watching him with a grin, as if he was a wonderful wizard who had conjured fireworks from his hand. "It could be the Lady in the Ship!"

"The Lady in the Ship?" he asked, curious as he picked up a colour, holding it up for her to see, to check if he was picking the right one.

"Yeah...you know, the Lady in the Ship that does everything...like...the 'puter...and the lights...and the answers...and the lift..." her lips pressed together and eyes narrowed at remembering how the lift had refused to take her to the bridge. "...sometimes."

He smiled gently at that, nodding. "She has to have some rules, I guess...not everyone's allowed on the bridge," he said softly. "That applies to Captain's daughters too..."

"What do you think the Lady in the Ship looks like?" Lily asked curiously, taking a yellow to start colouring the sun, taking the edges first to keep it neat.

"I don't know...I always imagined a brunette for some reason," he admitted as he shook his head. "Or maybe a redhead. But with authority. And a little bit of...you know, attitude."

"Hm..." Lily stopped and closed her eyes, so she could properly imagine what she looked like. "She's...got long black hair, with shiny silver streaks...and blue eyes that are so bright they almost glow...almost...she wears a floaty, lilac dress, like a ballerina, but has a...a...what's it called....metal vest, like a Val-ky-ree..."

He looked at Lily, taking the PADD to write it down, with a small smile. "Maybe...I'll talk to the Captain, see if she thinks you're right..."

Lily giggled, shaking her head at him calling her that. It was still new to her. "Captain Mummy..." she tried it out, in a sing song voice.

He laughed softly, nodding at that. "Well...I'll call her Captain Blake, if that's okay," he said playfully. "I am still recovering from once calling a teacher 'Mummy'..."

Lily gasped softly, covering her mouth as she shook her head slowly from side to side. "That's the worst..."

"I know! Every time I go back to my parents, they make fun out of that..." he said with a dramatic shake of his head. "It's worse when I see the teacher there. They're friends."

"Oh no..." Lily looked at him through her fingers, biting her lip. "We should make you a mask..."

"We should," he said with a severe nod before he smiled, eyes shining with it. "But hopefully I won't make that mistake here, right?"

"Well...my teacher's a man, so...he'd be a Daddy, but...I don't have one of those," Lily shrugged, going back to her colouring with a shade more serious frown.

Kit looked at her with a small smile, nodding. "Well, it would make calling your teacher Mummy even more mortifying..." he said playfully, to try and cheer her up.

She giggled softly at that, biting her lip as she coloured carefully around the sky. "He's nice...and clever. He knows so much. But...school is new."

"Is it?" he asked with a small smile, looking at her with warmth as he started to colour as well. "Do you like it? Or...does it still feel strange?"

"Strange," she shook her head with a slight frown, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. "It's so....strict...like being tied tight in a dressing gown."

"Ah...sitting still and listening?" he asked, putting the colouring down to reach for his drink taking a sip. "And the rules?"

"It's so much to remember...and do...and all the learning..." she rubbed her eyes for a moment, as if tired just thinking about it. "Not like Lady in the Ship lessons."

"So it's...different," Kit said and rubbed his chin for a moment, clearly thinking. "Wonder if it is because the teaching style is different...or because you've gotten older and you're now in a class suited for your skill?"

Lily pulled a face at that, shaking her head emphatically from side to side. "Older lessons are boring..."


To Be Continued...


Commander Kit Hanlon
First Officer
USS Fenrir

Lily Blake
Civilian Child
USS Fenrir
(PNPC Blake)

 

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