One Final Goodbye

Posted on Thu Jul 30th, 2026 @ 4:58pm by Lieutenant Alisha Reno "Jem" & Lieutenant JG Mia ‘Banshee’ Amaro & Captain Maho Takahashi & Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair

2,417 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: The Breen
Location: Fighter Launch Bay

Alisha exhaled as she watched Mia egging on the flight deck crew, "See if you can get some additional launch tubes strapped on to the wings, top and bottom here and here, each side." The fiery Hispanic gestured to her crew chief, beckoning him over, "Bolt them on with explosive bolts and I can jettison them, I'll use them first."

"Aye, aye, Lieutenant." The crew chief agreed and Alisha waved at him.

"Mind putting some on mi-" Alisha started to request, but got cut off.

"No, Jem, not your bird. You just getting used to the thing itself, I can keep up with you while toting those things along." Mia stalked up to her and put her forehead to Alisha's after dragging her down to her height, "'Lisha, we're gonna make it out of this, 'member that. We're pilots, we got egos and nobody gonna tell us it's hopeless, got it?"

"I got it." Alisha nodded, focusing on the other woman.

"Good." Mia's eyes glanced over at the doors that led further into the ship and gave a tooth-baring grin, "Now, look alive, Jem, looks like you got a visitor. I'll preflight your bird while they're still working on mine." She released Alisha and gave her a shove away and towards the door, "Give 'er a kiss for me."

Alisha turned around and saw Jane standing just inside the door, then glanced back to Mia, but the other pilot was was already busy going over her fighter with a sharp eye, giving her some measure of privacy with Jane. "Be cocky." She whispered to herself, putting on the biggest smile that she could as she moved towards her fiancée, "Jane!" She waved, hoping that she wouldn't see her shaking legs, "What brings you down here?"

Jane didn’t answer with words. She took Alisha’s cheeks in her hands and pressed her lips to hers. She poured everything she had into the kiss—all her love, her fear, her hope; every ounce of it. When the kiss finally broke, she was left breathless. She smiled awkwardly. “Hi.”

Alisha blinked, the words she was going to say, supposed to say, gone from her lips. "Hi." She said dumbly, "And what did I do to deserve that?" She spoke without thinking, but then everything hit once more, "Look, Jane, we only have a few minutes, then we've gotta launch again." She put on a fake smile, "But we're going to have to decide how we'll celebrate later on."

“Alisha, I don’t know that there’s going to be a celebration later on,” she said bluntly. “We’re a broken ship, with one warp nacelle and half its weapons gone. I might be one of the best helmsmen in the fleet but there’s only so many miracles I can conjure.”

She held Alisha’s hands tightly in hers. “Whatever happens, I want you to promise me that you’ll get out. If we go down, don’t stay and go down with us. You have a warp engine that works. You, Mia, the rest of you.”

The words finally broke Alisha's spirit, that and the look on Jane's face, her smile broke, "I'm not going anywhere without you, love." She stated simply, "I don't want to live without you, don't make me make that promise, please, I beg you."

Tears streamed down Jane’s cheeks. “Our wedding would’ve been so beautiful.”

Seeing the tears on Jane's face caused the waterworks to start for Alisha as well and she wrapped Jane in her arms, squeezing the helmswoman tightly, "It would have been... It would have been one to remember, one for eternity to remember." She finally released her, "You don't think Maho would...?"

Jane's eyes widened and she pulled back. How did I not...?

She tapped her commbadge. "Sinclair to Captain Takahashi."

"Takahashi here:" Came Maho's response. "Go ahead, Sinclair."

"Apologies for interrupting you, Captain," Jane said, her eyes not leaving Alisha's, "but you're needed urgently in the launch bay."

"I'm on my way." Maho replied, terminating the channel on her end. Her tone prior to severing the connection held dissatisfaction, as the wording had been indicative that their had been a problem.

The comm channel closed and Jane smiled. "Rings. We need rings."

"I think I can find something in my fighter, lots of gimbals and gadgets that have circular items. Or I could run back to my quarters?"

“From here,” Jane asserted, wiping her cheek. “Gotta be fast.”

"Right, when she gets here, we have no more time." Alisha kissed Jane on the cheek, then dashed off to her fighter, jumping up the ladder to where Mia was sitting in it, checking everything out, "Mia, I need something that can work as a ring."

"Don' look at me, girl, but what you doin'?" Mia glanced over at Jane, who had run off and vanished into a shuttle, "What did you do?"

"What am I going to do, you mean?" Alisha fiddled with one retaining ring, but got her hand slapped away.

"You're gonna need that there, Chica, unless you don't wanna have torpedo control. Hold on." Mia thought for a moment, then reached under the console and after several seconds came out with what looked like it could be a washer or connector of some sort, "You may not be able to eject, but this'll do."

Alisha reached out and ruffled the Hispanic pilots hair, "Come on, Mia, we need a witness. You're the best!" And the actress slid down the ladder to the ground, dashing back to where she'd left Jane while Mia grumbled and extricated herself from the Valkyrie.

Jane meanwhile had gotten into an open shuttle. Ankō. Always had been her favourite. She’d have something to offer.

Ah, here we go. Jane found what she needed from the spare parts locker. A small EPS coil just a little bigger that a finger. Almost exactly the right size.

And like all such pieces, it had a few numbers etched to the inside, including the year of manufacture. This year.

She put it in her pocket and came out onto the flight deck in time to see Alisha come their way from her Valkyrie with Mia.

At this point, Maho finally arrived, having left Commanders Johnson and Misono in charge of the bridge.

"What is the meaning of this?" Maho asked. "Is there a problem, Lieutenants?"

“Captain!” Jane said, standing up straight but holding Alisha’s hand. “Thank you for coming down. We’d like to ask you something.”

Alisha squeezed Jane's hand and gave a smile to Maho, "I know we don't have a lot of time, but we need you to marry us. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but if..." She inhaled, not wanting to say the words, "Before we go into this fight."

"Oh..." The wind seemed to be taken out of Maho's sails. She had come down to the launch bay expecting for there to be a problem, but instead she was being asked to do something she hadn't before. "Okay, I can do that: Do you two have rings on hand? And have you written your own vows?"

"We've got rings, somewhat," Alisha smiled, holding up the ejection seat activator she'd scavenged from her fighter, while Jane held up her coil, "And we'll come up with something to say."

Jane nodded in agreement, as she pocketed the ‘ring’.

"Then I think we have all that we need." Maho declared, clearing her throat loudly. "Since the days of Earth's early wooden sailing ships, every Captain has enjoyed the privilege and honor of joining two souls together in holy matrimony. It is a privilege that extends to all captains to this day. Therefore, we are all gathered here to be witness to the joining of Miss Jane Sinclair and Miss Alisha Reno in marriage."

Maho indicated for the two brides to face each other. "Jane, I believe you have prepared your own vows?"

“Yes, ma’am,” Jane said, as she faced Alisha and held both her hands. Her eyes were saturated as she let her heart talk for her. “Alisha. The night of our first date, you asked me if I believed in love at first sight. My answer was yes. I knew I loved you, but I could never have guessed I’d love you this much. You’re my universe, Alisha, and I vow you’ll be my universe forevermore.”

Maho allowed a moment for Jane's words to sink in before turning to Alisha. "Alisha?" She asked, her indication for Alisha to respond.

Alisha's eyes were watering from Jane's words and hadn't fully thought her own through, but years and years of acting brought words nonetheless, "We haven't known each other for years, but in my heart, we were meant for each other from time immemorial. You are where I want to be now, in the future and forever more. I am incomplete without you and will never be apart ever again, my soul to yours."

When the vow readings had concluded, Maho indicated for the rings to be retrieved.

Alisha reached into the chest pocket where she'd tucked her ring, hands shaking as she squeezed it in the palm of her right hand.

Jane pulled out the ring from her back pocket and held it between two fingers; her palms were so sweaty she was scared she’d lose it.

"Jane Elisabeth Sinclair, do you take Alisha Starr Reno to be your beloved wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" Maho asked.

“I do,” Jane said, her voice cracking. She giggled, enough to break the tension, cleared her throat, and repeated herself. “Absolutely I do.”

Maho turned towards Alisha. "And in response, Alisha Starr Reno; do you take Jane Elisabeth Sinclair to be your beloved wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do." Sometimes simple was better, Alisha felt.

"Jane, place the ring onto Alisha's finger and repeat after me:" Maho instructed. "I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will be as your wife. With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to yours."

Jane took a deep breath, looked down at Alisha’s hand to delicately place the small EPS coil on the right finger, and looked back up into Alisha’s eyes. "I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will be as your wife. With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to yours." She

"Now, your turn, Alisha: Just like Jane, take the ring and repeat after me:" Maho instructed. "I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will be as your wife. With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to yours."

Alisha stared into Jane's eyes and smiled, "I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will be as your wife. With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to yours." She slid the retaining ring onto Jane's left ring finger, giggling at how silly it looked there.

There was a moment of silence before Maho spoke again:

"By the power vested in me by Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, it is my honor to officially pronounce you woman and wife." She declared, looking between the brides. "Go on: You know what to do..."

Alisha leaned in without hesitation, wrapping her arms around Jane and giving her a kiss to knock her socks off, if they hadn't been firmly attached to her feet by her boots.

Jane’s eyes went wide as she was taken aback by how fast Alisha had been to sweep her off her feet, but she closed them and melted into this gesture of love.

She regained her footing when she pulled back, giggling with joy at their little moment. But she turned to face the Captain. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” She felt her eyes welling up again.

"Douitashimashite. (My pleasure)" Maho nodded. "Someone once told me that what happens off the Myogi can't be controlled, but what happens aboard these eighteen decks can..."

She trailed off, not wanting to admit to paraphrasing Miyahara. So, instead of completing his quote, she decided to add something new to it: "And I want to make both of you a promise: That I will do everything in my power to make sure that everyone on this ship makes it home. It's what the person who said that would have done..."

"And we're going to do our part to make sure that we all get out of this in one piece." Alisha nodded, "Mia and I will keep them off of you all as much as we can." Her eyes pleaded with Maho to keep Jane safe, to get her out of this situation.

“We’ll get out of this,” Jane agreed, suddenly flush with…optimism? Maybe what I have to live for has changed.

She smiled and bowed her head to Maho. “I’ll be back on the bridge shortly, ma’am.”

"The sooner, the better, Lieutenant." Maho said. 'Alita says we'll be reaching the drop point within the hour."

"I'll have her up there in plenty of time, Captain." Alisha grabbed Jane's hand and squeezed, "I'm just going to borrow her for about ten minutes, first."

Jane grinned cheekily. “Maybe twenty, Captain?” she asked, squeezing Alisha’s hand back.

"I see..." Maho said, a mischievous grin spreading on her face. "Long as it’s within the hour, we should be okay."

And with those final words, Maho pivoted on her heels and began to head back towards the bridge, leaving the newlyweds to whatever it was they wanted to do.

Dismissal given, Jane Sinclair whisked her wife away to find a moment of privacy in this final hour of calm before the inevitable storm.

END

Captain Maho Takahashi
Commanding Officer
Officiant
USS Myogi


Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair
Chief Flight Control Officer
Bride (1 of 2)

Lieutenant Alisha Reno
Deputy Flight Boss
Bride (2 of 2)

Lieutenant JG Mia Amaro
Fighter Pilot
Reluctant Witness

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