Back to the Land of the Rising Sun

Posted on Mon Sep 28th, 2026 @ 3:14am by Captain Maho Takahashi & Commander Ryosuke Takahashi 'Ry' & Keisuke Takahashi 'K.T.' & Kyoko Takahashi

1,452 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Futou Fukutsu
Location: Japan, Earth
Timeline: April 2, 2397

Captains log,

With the Myogi suffering a huge amount of damage following our actions at Khourani, Starfleet Command has made the decision to fully refit the Myogi. Until then, the crew have packed their belongings for temporary reassignments or shore leave. I have personally decided to return to Earth with Keisuke and Kyoko to visit with family. Keisuke's folks haven't had the opportunity to meet their granddaughter yet.

End of log.

The transport had made it back to Earth as scheduled, arriving at Spacedock just before noon, Japan time. Thus, Maho and Keisuke had deboarded with Kyoko, and had beamed down to Tokyo in time for lunch. While it was possible for them to be beamed directly to Keisuke's hometown of Takasaki, they had found that every time they tried, the transporter operator had no idea where Takasaki was, but Tokyo was a common location, so it was worth the added shinkansen (bullet train) trip to get down to the surface faster.

Of course, arriving in Japan by lunchtime meant that both of them were hungry, and before they could think of being on a train for almost another hour, food came first. While in days of old, they would have swung by their favorite ramen cafe in Tokyo, the establishment's limited seating was impractical with an infant, so they had instead visited a place where they could have Kyoko's car seat at their table.

"So, once we get to Takasaki, are we planning on hailing a cab? Or...?" Maho asked as they neared finishing their meal.

"I sent a message to my mom while we were still at Spacedock." Keisuke explained. "She says she'll meet us at Takasaki station. That van me and my bro fixed up for her is going to come in real handy with Kyoko's car seat."

"No doubt." Maho sighed. "You know the FD isn't going to be as practical for getting all of us around anymore, right?"

"Bite your tongue, babe." Keisuke snapped. "As much time as I've invested in that car, I have no plans for it to leave my possession anytime soon. Maybe I'll tap my bro and see if we held onto any of the old Project D vans. One of those would be ideal."

"You think the smell of grease and rubber would ever come out?" Maho asked.

"Really?" Keisuke asked. "We'll need a family car to get around, and that's what you're concerned about?"

"All I'm saying is do you really want the first family car our daughter remembers to always smell like a rolling mechanic shop?" Maho pointed out.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Keisuke sighed.

"I'm not saying it is." Maho said. "I'm just figuring on what one of those things- if they're still around- would smell like after what you've told me about your time in Project D."

"Well, it would be better than having her in a hovercar." Keisuke said. "I think that's something we can both agree on."

"Definitely." Maho nodded, turning towards Kyoko. "She needs to appreciate the analogue things as much as the modern conveniences."

Following the conclusion of their meal, it was almost time for the next train on the Jouetsu Shinkansen to depart, so the Takahashis had hailed a cab to get to Tokyo station faster. Soon, the three of them were on board the train, heading westbound towards Takasaki. While they were on the train, Keisuke received a message that someone else would be waiting for them at Takasaki station, but Keisuke's mother told them that the person wanted it to be a surprise.

Within the hour, Keisuke and Maho were back in their little slice of Japan: Takasaki, Gunma. Even though Maho had been born elsewhere in the islands, she considered Gunma home more than Kumamoto. Nobuhiro and Toshimi were the parents that Maho wished she had, and she was proud to have taken on the name inscribed at the Takahashi residence. Keisuke meanwhile had never felt the need to get a place of his own- even as he got serious with Maho- because his folks had made it clear that the Takahashi Manor was as much his and Ryosuke's as it was theirs.

As Maho and Keisuke exited Takasaki station, they found the old brown Toyota HiAce van that Keisuke and Ryosuke had surprised their mother with as an anniversary present parked at the curb, and behind it a familiar white Mazda RX-7 that Keisuke recognized instantly before its driver had even stepped out:

"Keisuke!" Ryosuke greeted as he rose from the car. "It's been a while."

"It sure has!" Keisuke replied, moving around the car to embrace his brother. "How'd you even find the time to take leave."

"Believe me, it took quite some convincing for Tedeza to let me go." Ryosuke explained. "Somehow, I think my new rank played a part in her decision."

"You got promoted? Congratulations!" Keisuke said.

"If anything, I should be congratulating you." Ryosuke replied, looking towards Maho holding the car seat. "Promotions are great, but not nearly as impressive as my new niece that I haven't met yet."

"We can catch up back at the house." Keisuke remarked. "We should probably make ourselves scarce and free up curb space."

"Then, by all means." Ryosuke motioned towards the van where Toshimi was now helping Maho get Kyoko's car seat secured inside.

As Ryosuke got back in, Keisuke was torn: He hadn't seen his brother in years, but the same was also true of his mother. In a moment, he made a snap decision and walked up to Maho:

"Babe, you go on ahead with mom." Keisuke instructed. "I think I'm gonna ride with my bro back to the house."

"See you back home, then." Maho nodded.

With no objection from his wife, Keisuke climbed into the FC's passenger seat and buckled into the harness.

"You're not going with them?" Ryosuke asked.

"They'll be fine without us for a few minutes, right?" Keisuke replied. "I haven't seen you in years, bro, and it's about damn near past time we catch up."

"Very well." Ryosuke nodded.

Naturally, the FC was the first to set off from the station. Ryosuke had told his mother when they went that bringing the FC would be more impactful for Keisuke, and they understood that they'd likely be separated in traffic.

"So, what did you do to earn yourself a promotion?" Keisuke asked on the ride home.

"Honestly, your guess is as good as mine." Ryosuke replied. "Apparently, my promotion was for something I did in that alternate timeline you visited. I still haven't fully gotten my head around it, even all these months later."

"Temporal mechanics can really be something, huh?" Keisuke remarked. "Well, if it helps you make any more sense of it, what you did may have had an impact in securing an alliance with the Breen."

"Is that so?" Ryosuke asked. "We can definitely use all the allies we can these days, with the Iconians being able to sustain this war on so many different fronts."

It wasn't long before they were back at the Takahashi manor. Ryosuke carefully parked the FC next to another ground vehicle under a cover. The dust settled on the cover was indicative that the car hadn't moved in a while, a notion that wasn't lost on Keisuke: Once the FC had been parked, Keisuke climbed out and his first instinct after shutting the door was to go for the cover.

Starting from the corner, he pulled the cover off to reveal his pride and joy: His yellow Mazda RX-7 FD that had served him well through Project D. Of course, since he had joined Starfleet, the car had fallen into a state of neglect. The tires had long gone flat, and there wasn't a doubt that the battery was dead.

"Ergh!" He groaned. "You could have at least put air in the tires, bro!"

"I could have," Ryosuke admitted. "But didn't you say the challenge was doing these things yourself?"

Keisuke couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's remark.

"Same old Ryosuke..." Keisuke muttered, popping open the driver's door and releasing the hood latch. "How about you tell that to my wife when I'm late for dinner, Ry?"

With only a faint chuckle from his brother before Ryosuke disappeared inside the house, Keisuke moved to open up the FD's hood properly. He might be late for dinner, but damnit, he was going to make sure that FD was in running order by day's end...

A Mission Post by

Captain Maho Takahashi
Commanding Officer
USS Myogi

Commander Ryosuke Takahashi
Chief Medical Officer
USS Europa

Keisuke Takahashi
Starfleet Reservist

Kyoko Takahashi
Civilian Child

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