Claudia returned to her quarters after a long day. The minute she walked through the door she stripped off her crimson uniform jacket and tossed it over the seat back of the chair sitting in front of her desk. She dropped tiredly into the love seat sitting across from the desk.

It was there she finally noticed the blinking light on the computer terminal indicating a waiting message. Standing she returned to the desk and pulled out the chair. The uniform jacket fell to the deck, but she ignored it as she sat down and activated her computer to play the message.

Her husband’s face appeared on the screen. From the window behind Tony the New Mexican sun was setting on the horizon in an explosion of red, orange, and yellows. He looked tired and sweaty; most likely from a long day working his family’s hacienda.

“Mi amore,” he greeted. “I miss you more every day that you are gone. I pray that your tour of duty is short and brings you home to us soon. Michael complains about school but what child doesn’t? He is doing well enough. He must have his mother’s intelligence. Liz, is loving pre-school. Every afternoon she tells me about a new friend she has made. She asks about you all the time. They both do to be honest. I wish I could say you’d be home tonight, but I tell them mommy is at work keeping people safe.”

Tony went on for several more minutes detailing the happenings at the ranch and the latest family and town gossip. He signed off with a smile, “I love you and miss you. We look forward to your message. It’s too bad we couldn’t do this live. Curse the vastness of space. Until I see you again you are in my dreams.”

The screen went black for a minute, before being replaced by the Starfleet logo. Claudia buried her face into her arms and cried. After and cathartic cry she cleaned herself up and sent a message back detailing her own day, which she was sure Michael would find funny.

With that done she decided she was done for the day, and she had a feeling that there was a very real possibility that should would be woken from her sleep with a medical emergency.