It was that time of the year again, or rather, years as I remember it. Shore leave is a time to relax and enjoy your short vacation. “I thank the heavens that shore leave has arrived. I have been meaning to get to visit my family on Earth for quite a time now,” muttered Sophia to herself. 

“I’ve been stuck on a bloody ship for god knows how long. This will be beneficial to me, and I could get reunited with my family after all these years!” exclaimed Sophia, cheerful about the shore leave. 

The Athena was at dock for a short while, so the officers had time for a short while, which was approximately 1 month. Which was long considered being stuck on a ship for 5 years at a time. 

Walking through the corridors of the Athena, Sophia was walking towards the transporter room to be beamed off to the starbase below to be transported to Earth to see her family once more. 

Entering the transporter room, she saw the transporter chief and exclaimed, “Hey chief! Aren’t you interested in shore leave?” 

“I still have to wait for all the officers who want to be beamed down to step off duty,” said the transporter chief sadly. 

“Well, that’s too bad, but I thank you for your dedication to the ship and its crew.” feeling slightly bad for the transporter chief.  

“Thank you, Commander. I assume a beam down to the Starbase is in order?” asked the chief.

“Yeah. One to Starbase Chief.” 

“Got that, Commander. Enjoy your shore leave!” exclaimed the transporter chief.

Reaching Starbase, Sophia started walking quickly towards the shuttle bays. This was her way of transportation to Earth at the moment, and she would probably be in a shuttle for a few days until she reached Terra Sol. “This is going to be a long journey… but anything for family, am I right?” muttered Sophia to herself.

After the journey to Earth for the past few days, Sophia was actually stating to think that she hates personal shuttles. “Bloody shuttles. Anyway, I am home already, aren’t I?”  

Walking through the neighborhood where her parents now reside. Well, let’s say she got a bit lost on the way. “It has really been a few years since I’ve been here. I miss home.” 

“Ah ha! I got it. I’m pretty confident that this is the place.” The neighborhood was actually pretty big considering her parents lived near where trees grow. Closer to nature, they might say.

Standing in front of the door to the house her parents lived in, Sophia was starting to get overwhelmed with emotions, as the last time she saw her parents was like several years ago—3 to 5 years ago! Memories were rushing back to her like a truck on steroids. No pun intended!  

A certain memory came rushing back to her in the present day. It was the memory of the first time she got accepted to the academy. Sophia and her parents were overwhelmed with joy as she got accepted to Starfleet Academy. With both of her parents being officers in the fleet, this was great news that their daughter was accepted. 

She shed a tiny tear of happiness at the memory. Sophia finally had the courage to knock on the door.

“Sophia! An unexpected surprise! What are you doing here? Come in, dear!” said Sophia’s mother, who was named Daphne. 

“Well, shore leave is here, so I thought, why not visit the both of you? Where’s dad?” asked Sophia, finding her father Timothy. 

“Oh, your father went out to fix something with the academy. Since he retired from active duty as a captain, he has decided to teach at the academy, which is actually going well for him!” exclaimed Daphne. 

“Enough about me, mother, how has the family been? How are you and your father doing? I’m sure after both of your retirements from Starfleet Command, life has been well… boring, I might say,” said Sophia laughingly. 

“Though I never wish to be stuck on a bloody shuttle for that long, but that’s beside the point.” 

“Well, life has been good for me and your father, dear. I took up a posting at Daystroms Institute, and then your father, of course, took up a teaching position at the academy,” said Daphne. 

“How’s life at the Athena? I heard you’ve been assigned to a Prometheus-class starship! You’ve also managed to get the position of Chief of Operations!” asked Daphne, curious about her daughter’s placement in one of the most formidable ships in service at Starfleet. 

“I mean, the Athena is great, while the captain is a bit strict on things. He’s actually a pretty chill person, not going to lie. I like my position, though the headache that comes with it is not favorable. Imagine conducting operations on a ship that can split into three?!” exclaimed Sophia, a bit haggard from all the work over the years. 

“Why don’t you stay for dinner, and we’ll discuss all your adventures on the Athena? Your father should be here in about an hour. I’ll start cooking dinner!” 

“Thanks mom! I do miss your home-made meals! Replicator food is well… I can’t complain about it,” Sophia jokingly said.

“Honey, I’m home!” called out Timothy, Sophia’s father, having just arrived at their home from the academy.

 “I’m in the kitchen! Making dinner!” called out Daphne. 

Walking through the hall of their house, Timothy suddenly saw a figure sleeping on their couch in the living room. “Sophia?! Is that you?” 

Waking up from her short nap, Sophia heard someone calling out her name and was awoken by it. The voice sounded familiar: “Dad, is that you?” 

“Sophia!! Come here and give your father a good old hug!” exclaimed her father. 

“Dad! You’re back! I’ve missed both you and mom so much over the years!” with small tears starting to form on her eyelids. 

“Well, we’ve also missed you, sweetheart. How’s the Athena?” asked Timothy, curious about her daughters posts on the so-called “war ship”. 

“Dinners are ready!!” exclaimed Daphne. “You two can continue chatting during dinner. Let’s come eat!”

The father-daughter duo went to the dining hall with Daphne already there and chatted away through the night with delicious food specially made by Sophia’s mother, Daphne. The happy family was once again reunited after years of being separated from each other. One being in a starship, a professor in the academy, and a researcher at an institute.