Special Delivery
Posted on Sat May 23rd, 2026 @ 11:44pm by Captain Erik Norsgaard & Lieutenant JG Caitlyn MacRae
1,765 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Friends and Traitors
Location: Captain's Quarters | Deck 2 | USS Thunderbird
Timeline: MD002 - 2030
Hunger sated, curiosity temporarily satisfied, sleep had quickly beckoned. Careful not to wake the kitten, Lieutenant MacRae lifted the slumbering feline into the cage for now and ensured the lock was secure. She hated resorting to such measures but as yet her quarters were far from safe enough. She had made some basic adjustments- such as ensuring the door sensor sensitivity was adjusted and - crucially - that the door leading out of her quarters would only open with either a voice command or a touch of the keyboard. Enough - she hoped - to avoid any great escapes .
Tomorrow, according to the note, some engineers would be around to build some kind of something which would apparently keep the kitten happy. That was tomorrow. She still had a few hours left of today. And according to the computer, this was as good a time as any.
“Sweet dreams, Minx,” she offered quietly as she headed out, picking up a wrapped gift box on the way.
It didn’t take long to make it to Erik’s quarters, pressing the door chime and waiting on his response. Offering a small smile in response to a passing engineer who gave her a clearly curious look, no doubt wondering why she was visiting the CO when her attire screamed off duty.
[Meanwhile, Inside the Captain's Quarters]
Changes to the common area had been completed at last. An oversized sofa, large enough to fit even his frame sat in front of a stone fireplace. And while he couldn't build a fire in it, it did look remarkably like a fire even to the point of generating heat. A nubby cream blanket was draped over one end of the sofa with throw pillows on either end, a hand-woven rug beneath, and a large wooden coffee table in front. The sofa was flanked by a pair of end tables, with lamps (that he never lit unless he was reading); the majority of lighting came from a cluster of fat candles on the coffee table. The fireplace had a painting over it and the mantel displayed a few mementoes from his past; flanking his new pride and joy were a pair of bookcases, crammed with a number of (actual) books, and the overall effect, done in grays and blues with a touch of cream and a sorta spring green, looked cozy and inviting. Nothing like the previously sterile decor. There was also a solo chair which matched the sofa in color and was big enough to curl up in if one had the mind. All in all, he thought it suited him.
The biggest changes however, were in the shelving that now ran through his quarters starting from a traditional cat tree in one corner, the shelves moved upward, irregularly spaced, and provided a means of movement, near the top of the walls, for his new roommate, Atticus the Third, a three-month old gray Maine Coon cat who was currently sleeping on his chest while he, stretched out on the sofa, read by lamplight. Cool jazz played in the background and Erik felt comfortable for the first time since coming aboard. Atticus, wearing a silver necklace with embedded tech that provided location/tracking data as well as a transporter tag, appeared to have already taken over.
"Come in," Erik called out from his position on the sofa, as he stuck a bookmark into Plutarch's "The Makers of Rome" and put in on the coffee table next to the ever-present cup of coffee.
Entering his quarters, Caitlyn hesitated in mid stride. While he had already added a fair amount of personal touches to his quarters, this was next level. Which was nothing compared to the most unexpected new development of all. “Did you get a special discount for rehoming two cats in one day?” She teased quietly as she moved closer, keeping her voice low so as not to startle the cat’s slumber.
"Who Atticus? He was always coming," Erik said as he moved the sleeping kitten onto the blanket, and sat up. "Just a matter of syncing up schedules with a friend. The surprise was the second one sharing the carrier. Jeff said that he feared it being spaced if he didn't step in ... and I promised to find her a suitable home which I have done." He smiled cheerfully. "I have coffee if you'd like some. Just brewed."
“Sure, I could definitely use one,” she nodded, adding, “although suitable home may be an exaggeration. Starting small with keeping plants alive was the plan. But thank you. She’s adorable and actually cats have been a theme today… long story. Which can wait. I picked something up when I was on the station earlier. They even let me personalise it myself…”
She held out her hand, the gift box wrapped in layers of needless tissue paper just because she had felt like it after her encounter with the Admiral. Gift first, then coffee.
"Thank you," Erik said as he accepted the gift. He sat down on the sofa, nearest Atticus, and gestured for her to sit as well. He made a big show of unwrapping the gift which drew his roommate's attention and then, while Atticus enjoyed shredding the tissue, Erik pulled out the bracelet and held it up to the light. "That's beautiful," he said as he turned it over and caught sight of the date. His blue-gray eyes softened, lit from within, as he smiled. "I remember ..."
Caitlyn smiled warmly, inwardly relieved that not only did he like the bracelet but understood the significance of the date inscribed on the back. The date they first met, which felt such a long time ago. “Me too,” she answered as she kissed his cheek, “you really like it? It seems … a little tame in comparison to a cat.”
"I do," Erik answered as he handed her the bracelet and held out his wrist. "Mind putting it on? Then I'll go pour your coffee and find some cookies to go with it."
“Cookies,” she grinned, taking the bracelet and draping it around the wrist of his outstretched hand. Comprised of three leather strands, a solid thicker band in the middle with thinner bands on either side which were actually three slender strands of leather woven together in a rope pattern, subtle differences in in one strand catching the eye, while the centre band held metallic hand carved squares adorned with Celtic symbols.
“You can swap the stones out,” she told him, “there is a little kit in the box.”
Securing the clasp she pointed to each of the three symbols. “The shield knot, the claddagh and the trinity knot.”
"I recognize them," Erik said, "and understand their meanings. Thank you." A student of history, he knew them all. The Claddagh, representing love, loyalty, and friendship, attached on his wrist so that the heart faced inward; the Shield Knot representing protection, eternity, and strength, which was also popular among his own people way back when; and the Trinity Knot, representing the three domains of Earth or, if you were so inclined back then, the three aspects of the triple goddess but more frequently used to express love and friendship. He knew these because they'd spent a summer researching and learning how to make draw these knots his first summer at Mormor Elin's house. The promise back then had been a chance at doing something fun if they succeeded ... but what was the promise held within the depths of this bracelet. That was the question uppermost on his mind and so, he asked for her reasoning. To be sure. "What do they mean?"
Why was she surprised that he knew them?
She considered her question while tissue paper continued to be a great source of entertainment for Atticus. He knew them but asked anyway.
“Some seemed very you,” she offered by way of explanation. “Strength. Loyalty. Friendship. Your instinct to protect and your affinity for nature. All you. But also, all the things I want for you. The claddagh has three components, the heart… I’m hoping is not tempting fate since we are only at the kittens and bracelet phase.”
"Not at all," Erik answered, his voice dropping, deep and warm, as he stood patiently while she secured the bracelet to his wrist. "Fate is ... very tempting ..." He breathed in the scent of her and forced himself to slow down, to let her make the moves. "So, rescuing the kitten, giving her to you, wasn't too much?"
“It was certainly unexpected,” she admitted with a warm smile, “but I think fate had a hand there too. I don’t know if you or your friend knew this but that same kitten sneaked aboard the ship already. Just appeared out of nowhere in the gym while I was working out and then it decided to hide inside an open access panel. Took the counselor and I awhile to coax her out. And she is how I discovered Schofield has an allergy to cat fur.
I did feel bad about taking her to the station so whatever hand fate played getting her to your friend and then to you…” she shrugged, not sure she could even calculate the odds of it happening and then gave up, instead moving to softly kiss his cheek, “thank you.”
He turned his head, every so slightly as she spoke, lining up his lips with her own, a breath apart, "May I say thank you as well?"
“Of course,” she grinned.
He leaned in and kissed her properly and though it was gentle and brief, that kiss carried with it a curl of emotional promise in the way his hand curved around her back and the fire kindled within the depths of his gaze. "Thank you," he whispered.
“That was… definitely worth repeating,” she said softly, returning the kiss. She wasn’t as quick to end it - until Atticus chose that moment to lose interest in the tissue paper battle and instead jumped onto their legs. “I think Atticus the Third may not approve of kissing.”
"He's jealous," Erik said, sparing a glance down at the young kitten, "next time, we'll double date."
“Maybe,” she laughed, “but I don’t think he’s ready for Jinx. I’m not sure this ship is ready for Jinx. But it’ll work out. I’m much more interested in us and just see you.”
"Hmm," Erik said ... "us, huh?"
Captain Erik Norsgaard
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird
Lieutenant Caitlyn MacRae
Second Officer
USS Thunderbird
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