Chapter 13. Reconciliation between father and daughter
Noah walked in cautiously and looked around. When he saw her sitting on the floor in front of the bed, he immediately walked towards her. He sat next to her and hugged her silently. Slowly, he hugged her tightly and she let her tears flow freely.
It took her a long time to calm down a bit. During this time, he just hugged her silently. He was in no hurry to leave and put everything aside. Everyone else on the ship was able to handle everything without him. He is not irreplaceable after all.
Finally, she broke free from his arms. She looked at the uniform on his shoulders that was soaked with tears. "I'm sorry," she murmured, running her hand over it as if she could wipe away the tears.
"It's okay," he said tolerantly. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern, looking at her tenderly.
Tiny nodded. She was a little embarrassed because she cried so much. Now she looks a little swollen, and her eyes feel very swollen and red. But he didn't seem to mind. He was just glad that she didn't yell at him again right away.
"I talked to Aunt Nancy," she said at last. "She told me the truth. About my mother and my father." She swallowed, having to control her voice. Then she smiled a little shyly. "About my mother and you," she corrected. Then his eyes sparkled with joy. "I really misunderstood you and I'm sorry," she added.
She wanted to say more, but he put his finger to her lips. "You don't have to apologize. After all, you don't know anything. It doesn't matter now."
She nodded. "I'm sorry though," she said. Then they sat facing each other quietly, feeling happy just to see each other. But there are also some expectations. They must understand each other. And must learn how to get along.
"What should we do next?" Tini asked after a while.
"I don't know," he admitted. "This scientific research mission will last for another half a year. We will be trapped here and spend a lot of time with each other." He paused. "what's your plan?"
"I don't know either," she said helplessly. "I never thought about my future."
"Then we return to Earth first after this mission is over. I will request a transfer back to Starfleet Headquarters. The rest will follow," he said confidently.
"But your career..." she protested.
"It's not that important," he interrupted her. "I don't want to send you back to Earth and disappear immediately. I missed nineteen years of your life. And I want to make up for it in the next nineteen years." He smiled at her.
He knew he had only a small amount of time to get to know her and become her father. It's really too little time. In the near future, she will be independent and follow her own path. Perhaps she will still seek his advice and support in the years to come. But one day, that too will end.
"We still have half a year before we can return to Earth," she said, postponing her decision. It's too early to make a decision now. First, they have the next few weeks to deal with.
"I hope you will stay on this ship for a while," he expressed his wish as if she had a choice. But just the fact that he invited her was very important to her. "You can continue to live in this room. It's yours now."
Tiny looked at him. Tears welled up in my eyes again. She simply nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. For this moment, all she needed was his company. She didn't need to get to know him well yet. With Noah by her side, nothing else mattered for the time being. She believed that everything would go smoothly.
Ingemar walked leisurely through the corridors of the ship. He had returned from the planet's surface a few hours ago and now had a full day to rest. This had to be put to good use, even though he wasn't sure yet what to do. On the one hand, the entertainment area attracted him. Now is a great time to play pool. It’s just that he doesn’t have a billiards partner. And he can't play a game with everyone. You have to find an opponent of comparable level, otherwise it won't be interesting. And, it should be a challenge. After all, competition is all about comparison. The problem is simple, he is too strong. It is almost impossible to find an opponent worthy of him. The chances of finding a worthy opponent at this time are too slim.
So, he was left with the bar. But if he's not going with his buddies or has a date, going to the bar isn't really that interesting. It's not that he's not good at striking up conversations, but unfortunately, he found that there weren't that many women on the spacecraft who met his requirements. And the mission will last for several months, and he must balance his choices among these few women.
Therefore, he was a little hesitant about the evening's arrangements. While he was still wandering aimlessly in the corridor, he heard a voice behind him calling him. He didn't even need to turn around to recognize Celia's voice.
"Hi, Celia," he said, pausing to let her catch up to him.
Celia caught up with him. "You don't look busy right now," she said, hoping to go with him. "It seems you didn't find a playmate tonight either."
"That's a misunderstanding. I'm doing serious work," Ingmar replied, feigning importance.
Celia raised her eyebrows and looked him up and down. "So what are you doing now?" she wanted to know.
"Well, I'm thinking about where to go now. To the bar or to the lounge," he answered seriously, as if answering this question would win him a Nobel Prize.
She followed his line of conversation, looking at him equally seriously. "Yes, I understand," she then added. "For some people, thinking is really hard work. And for some people, it's just pure luck. When both happen at the same time, things get tricky," she says in her voice. A hint of acrimony.
"Are you speaking from personal experience?" He grabbed her line and shot the question back.
"Of course," she replied, still completely serious, "you should know that as doctors, we deal with situations like this all the time."
Ingmar opened his mouth to respond, but he was suddenly speechless. So he shut his mouth again and shrugged.
"What's wrong, you're silent?" She seemed in disbelief, with a smile on her face. She jumped. "Yes, I did it. I won. I'm going to mark this day on my calendar," she said cheerfully. "When was the last time I succeeded?"
"Never," he replied shortly. Before she could speak, he quickly continued, "What exactly do you want?"
"I just wanted to ask you if we were going to a bar together. If that question doesn't overload your hard-working brain cells," she continued to tease him happily.
He nodded slowly, as if he had to think it over carefully and weigh the pros and cons before deciding. "Well, it's your turn," he said then.
"I'd be honored," Celia responds sarcastically, but joins him anyway.
"Of course you should," he responded with a grin, somewhat rudely, "Come on."
They walked down the hallway together until they were standing in front of the bar. There, Ingmar gentlemanly let Celia enter first. As he followed her into the room, he immediately noticed the limited number of visitors today. The bar was only moderately busy. Apparently, after a few weeks on board, most of the crew are turning to the relaxation areas again. After all, there are more options for activities there. As a result, only about half of the tables here were occupied, but that also had the benefit of having a choice of seats.
The two stopped at the door first and scanned the entire room. On the one hand, I was looking for a nice seat, but on the other hand, I was also looking to see if there were any familiar faces I could spend the evening with. Of course, they knew almost everyone on the ship, but they only developed true friendships with a few of them. However, none of these people are here today. Celia spotted Tiny at a table, apparently alone as there was only one drink on the table and she was busy looking at a data pad.
"Come on, let's go and sit on her side," Celia suggested, ready to go, but Ingmar stopped her.
"No, better not," he said quickly. "Let's sit over there." He pointed to the seat farthest from Tiny's table. Although he tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible, Celia noticed that he was suddenly nervous.
"You have a problem with Tiny?" she asked. She frowned. His behavior was clearly not normal. However, he is not normal most of the time. Then a smile appeared on her face, "Have you had any bad experiences with her?" Celia's eyes twinkled with joy.
"No, no," Ingmar denied hastily, seeming nervous about thinking of her. This is definitely unusual. Normally, Ingemar never felt nervous when in the presence of beautiful women. Instead, he usually walks right up to such women and successfully charms them. And the exceptionality he shows now is very obvious. However, he tried to downplay it all. "She is the captain's daughter. I don't want to get into trouble with the captain. After all, I still have something to prove."
"Aha," Celia replied, her tone carrying all the meaning. Especially since she didn't believe him.
"And her table might get crowded soon," he said, trying to change the subject, which seemed far-fetched but interesting. She looked at Tiny. This young Indian girl is a true beauty. So, no doubt, someone will soon dare to sit next to her.
They went to the table Ingmar pointed to and sat down. After ordering drinks, they had plenty to talk about. Since they were both on that planet, they could think about the beauty there in comparison to the similarities to Earth. Of course, they also have to swap information with each other about the latest rumors on the ship. That's always the funniest thing in a mission like this. Who is with whom, who is no longer with whom, and why. They could discuss these topics for hours.
Celia noticed that Ingmar was sitting so that he could see the door. His eyes would glance there whenever someone entered the room, but he wouldn't interrupt the conversation. But suddenly he stopped and stared at the entrance.
"What's wrong?" Celia wondered, her back to the entrance, mentally vowing to sit somewhere else next time.
Ingmar closed his mouth and just swallowed.
His behavior arouses Celia's curiosity. But she had to admit that she was famously curious, that was her nature. So she turned around and saw a young blonde woman with very large breasts sitting at a table not far from them. She was here alone, but that didn't mean anything. Since all the dormitories are spread out in the lower area of the ship, most people meet directly at their destination. So it's likely that one of her friends or a male partner will show up soon.
Dre Ingmar watched her every move like a lynx. Nothing seemed to escape his eyes. It's like he's watching his prey. To some extent, this is true. Because suddenly, his eyes became a little strange, and he showed a sly smile. He picked up his drink and stood up. "I think I've found tonight's prey. If you don't mind." With that, he turned and walked towards the woman.
Celia looked at him in disbelief. She saw Ingemar talking to the woman, who clearly liked it, because after a moment she nodded and Ingemar sat down, pretending to be casual, and started chatting with her. Of course, Celia knew that Ingemar was handsome. But it was unbelievable that he succeeded so easily. And she definitely didn't want to admit that it was so quick and easy between them in the first place.
Suddenly, a voice came from the side, "Can I sit down?" Celia was startled, and she turned around in shock. She didn't expect to be accosted at all, and caught spying on Ingmar. This really made her feel a little embarrassed.
She looked up and recognized Tiny standing next to her. Apparently, Noah's daughter also noticed Ingmar sitting elsewhere. However, she would find an opportunity to talk to the doctor, which was somewhat unusual for Tiny, who had always been very closed-minded and kept to herself most of the time. Celia realized that this was a huge amount of trust placed in her.
"Of course, please take a seat," she said after she calmed down and pointed to a chair.
After the young woman sat down, she nodded slightly in Ingmar's direction with her head. "I just saw it. Is he always like this?" Her tone was dissatisfied.
"Most of the time, yes," the doctor confirmed, shrugging helplessly.
Tiny shook her head. "He also tried to tease me a few days ago. But I saw through him pretty quickly."
A sudden realization dawned on Celia. "That's why he insists on not sitting with you." She said her thoughts aloud.
But Tiny didn't seem to hear it. She continued to express her displeasure. "I wonder what kind of women would be fooled by him."
"Well, I... um... I don't know." Celia smiled slightly awkwardly, her cheeks slightly red. Is it her imagination, or is the temperature here really rising?
The captain's daughter raised her head and stared at Celia with sharp eyes. The silence between them lasted for a while, making Celia's uneasiness worse. "You fell into his trap, too," Tiny finally said. She didn't even hesitate when she spoke, so sure.
"Yes...no...that is to say..." Tiny's calmness enhanced Celia's embarrassment. Perhaps it was also because she was worried about losing respect in Tiny's eyes and losing the trust she had just gained.
"Did you sleep with him too?" Tiny asked bluntly.
Celia avoided her gaze and looked out the window. How should she answer? Should she lie to Tiny? No, young girls are too smart. She definitely didn't want to offend her with lies. But this is such a personal issue. And their relationship wasn't close enough to warrant such a question. However, she finally looked into Tiny's eyes. "Yes. But I deeply regretted it afterwards."
"He's a total bad guy." Her tone sounded like a verdict.
"He's pretty good," Celia tried to reassure. "Except for that little mistake."
"Little mistake?" Tiny repeated in surprise. "He treats women like toys, and you said it was just a small mistake. He even took advantage of you." The incomprehension was not just in her voice, but reflected in her entire face.
