The Happy Times

Posted on Thu Jun 17th, 2021 @ 7:26am by Lieutenant Commander Kara Starr {Kelea-Salik} & Captain Mattias Richardson [Reece]

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Silver Linings
Timeline: Many years ago
1481 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

The sound of happy laughter filled the corridor of the Silver Linings, two young siblings playing childhood games. “Found you!!” Kara grinned as she peeed over the storage crates.

"Oh no!" Mattias giggled, as he scurried away, though not too quickly, as his baby sister chased after him.

“Hey! It’s your turn to find me now!” Kara stood hands on hips looking at Mattias.

Laughing, Mattias stopped and turned to face Kara. "Okay, okay." He raised his left arm and covered his eyes with the inside of his elbow. "One....two....three...."

Kara quickly turned and made her way to a nearby storeroom, there were plenty of them to hide in aboard the ship. Though they were also risky places to be with all the cargo.

"Ready or not!" He called out. "Here I come!" He giggled aloud as he scurried around a few of the crew that were mpving through the corridor. "Ooooh Karaaa? Where are you?"

“I’m not telling you!” Came a silly sounding voice from somewhere amongst the neighbouring rooms.

Hearing her voice, Matty giggled again. "I'm gonna fiiiind you!" He called out as he tried to sneak quietly, straining his ears to hear for her. She always giggled when he was getting close. Though, as the good big brother that he was, he never let on this fact.

“Ohh nooo you won’t!” Kara giggled as she backed up against some crates. Her giggle turned to more of a scared squeal as the crates started rocking, there was a loud rumble and a bang as crates next to it started toppling as well leaving Kara buried inside a crate tomb.

"Kara!" Mattias bolted straight to where the crash came from. He saw the pile of crates and he could hear Kara crying underneath. "It's okay, Kara, I'm here, I'll save you!" Looking over the pile, Mattias quickly started to figure out how best to start pulling apart the pile. He didn't want to call out to the adults, they always told them to be careful in the cargo hold. He knew they would get in trouble if Mom and Dad found out.

Finally seeing what needed to be done, Mattias called out again. "Okay, Kara, I'm gonna start getting these crates off of you!" Reaching down, he grabbed a medium-sudes crate and lifted it. Thankfully, all of the crates in this compartment were empty. Normally, each one would be filled with about fifty kilos of food product. Had they been full, Kara would have been...

He didn't want to think about it. Instead, he kept moving empty crates, talking to his baby sister every step of the way. "It's okay, Kara, I'm getting close, you don't need to be scared, I'm right here, Little Girl!" More crates were moved.

Kara could hear her big brother, and the movement of the crates. She stayed rolled up in a small ball on the floor, something he had taught her to do to stop herself from being hurt, or at least to minimise any injuries. She stopped crying as she listened to what Mattias was saying to her.

Mattias kept working quickly, but smartly. The last tning he wated was to cause any pain to Kara. Finally, he cleared the last crate away, seeing Kara. "Hey you!" He said to her in a soft tone. "See, told ya I'd get you outta there!" He reached down and gently took hold of her, picking her up in his arms. "I've got you. Little Girl. " he said soothingly. "I will always protect you."

Kara hung onto Mattias for dear life, the crashing down crates had more or less scared the life out of her. He’d always made her feel safe and now was no different.

Holding her securely to his left side, Mattias carried Kara out of the empty cargo hold and back the the cabin that had been built for them. There wasn't much space, really only enough for their bunk beds, and two small dressers. They also had a small head, with a toilet, small sink and shower stall big enough for one adult. It had been modified so they could sit in about a foot of water, if rhey wanted to take a bath instead.

"It's okay now, Kay." Mattias laid her down on his bottum bunk. While her bunk could hold her in from falling out, she would usually end up in Mattias's bed, his arm over her, keeping her safe.

“I’m sorry!” Kara looked at her big brother with an apologetic glance. “I made that mess! Mum and dad are gonna-be so angry!”

Matty reached over and tried to console his baby sister. "It's gonna be okay. We'll tell em that we were just playing around and I bumped into them."

Kara shook her head. “No, it was my fault!” She gave her big brother a concerned look.

Shaking his head slowly as he gave Kara a soft smile, Mattias replied. "No, honey. It's my fault. I'm the one who started the game." He reached out and fently cupoed her right cheek, the deep love a big brother had for his baby sister filling his eyes. "I will always be your champion, Kay."

Kara smiled as she looked into her big brother’s eyes. “Thank you!” She wiped away a few tears and gave him a hug.

Mattias accepted the hug with one of his own. "Ow!" He joked. "Are you getting stronger? I don't know if I can squeeze that tight. Let me try." He then playfully grunted and squeezed, acting like he was weaker that in reality, hoping it would make Kara giggle and smile.

Kara giggled as Mattias pretended to be weaker than her. He always made her laugh.

***Flash Forward***

Mattias was seventeen years old now, he was looking more like a young man and less like the little boy that he once was. He was shaving now, for one. He didn't like the way a mustache looked on him, so he would shave, everyday, to ensure it stayed away. He was growing stronger too. He would spend more and more time, working the muscles on his body, trying to get them to the best condition that could.

Right now, he was shirtless, doing wide arm pullups, bringing his bare, young-muscled chest, to the bar eith each rep. Sweat was pouring from every pore in his body as his young muscles rippled and flexed as he continued his assualt on them.

Kara had noticed how much her brother had changed, she too was growing up, becoming a young woman, and right now she had an embarrassing crush on her brother. She found herself simply wanting to sit and watch him work, watching his muscles as they flexed.

As Mattias grunted out the last rep, he left go of the bar, and dropped to the deck. Once back on his feet, his back still to Kara, he flexed and rotated his joints, ensuring that they wouldn't start to tighten up on him. Moving over to the heavy bag, he started to throw punch after punch into its well worn surface.

Kara stood leaning against the bulkhead watching his every move, until she finally snapped herself out of it. She cleared her throat and offered a smile. “Hey, busy working out again I see.”

Hearing the noise behind him, Mattias paused in his punishment of the heavy bag and turned, swear dripping off of his body and his slightly shaggy hair. "Hey! How long you been standing there?" He had no idea that his baby sister had a crush on him.

“Oh... not long” Kara smiled trying to hide her flushed complexion at the sight of him. “You spend a lot of time in here working out, are you aiming on being a body builder or something?” She grinned knowing full well he was beefing up to be in the marines.

His chest still heaving slightly as he slowly calmed his breathing, he gave Kara his usual, big brother, lop-sided grin, complete with his dimples. "Heh, I'm just trying yo get as ready as I can. The recruitment site listed the basic physical requirements for entry into even being considered acceptance into the Academy. Then, once I'm in, they're gonna break my body down again and then slowly rebuild us into proper Marines." He suddenly detected a soft aroma, something like honeysuckle or roses.

Looking back at Kara, a toothy grin on his face as he moved to within a few inches, and sniffed around her. Then, looking down into her wide eyes, he asked, "Are you wearing perfume?"

“Ohh err... yes.” Kara blushed. “Do you like it?”

Nodding slowly, Mattias replied softly. "I do. It suits you." His eyes never left hers as he spoke. There was a brief flash of recognition that she was becoming a young woman.

{OFF}