Meeting Mrs. McEntyre

Posted on Mon Mar 17th, 2025 @ 2:46am by Commander Izzy Schröder & Jo McEntyre

2,164 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: A Choir by the Bay
Location: Earth | Dallas, Texas

Dallas Texas thought Commander Isabella Schröder as she brought the starship Warbler down gently, landing struts deployed, clearance granted the Metropolitan hub for shuttle traffic. Quite a bit larger than a runabout or shuttlecraft, it was suitable for planetary landings. She was not about to leave it in orbit of Earth or parking it at Utopia Planitia because the Professor was traveling solo for the time being. What a charming city though her facial expressions would give away the sarcasm. Just shy of an eye roll, she sat the Warbler down. She was glad that from time to time that as Director of the program, Starfleet Academy permitted her the opportunity to meet with the family of the candidates for the program, and to give them the news of their child’s acceptance and admittance into the program. Sometimes, it would mean going to deserts of Vulcan, the Rakonian swamps, or apparently Dallas, Texas. She had been to far worse places. There was nothing outright wrong with Dallas, but it was just not her sort of place. It did has a splendid Arboretum and botanical garden.

A few hours later, Commander Isabella Schröder had found her way to a somewhat rural area outside of the city. She smiled at the sounds of birds chirping in the cedar elms. Izzy stopped to listen for a moment, her ornithology professor would be proud of her. She reflected about her time as a cadet, it seemed more than a lifetime ago. Gold and black birds scattered from the treetops, emerging from foliage when the calming winds gusted a bit. She knew by their song that they were not finches despite the yellow and black coloring. The pattern on them made them recognizable during flight. “Hooded warblers” she said to herself noticing the dark gray tops of their small heads.

She made her way down what constituted as a road or perhaps a trail. There was a lot of land and a lot of cattle. She queued up the information on her PaDD, checking the address of the home she was searching for. It was not exactly a door to door neighborhood. This was far land. It did not doll itself up to be anything that it wasn't. She compared the coordinates she had been provided with what the PaDD said. This did confirm that she was heading in the correct direction. There, ahead back well off the main trail sat a house in the direction that she was heading for. Scrolling through the file on her PaDD, she confirmed. She would be meeting with the parents or guardians of Josiah McEntyre, a fifteen year old Caitian male. McEntyre was not a traditionally Caitian clan name, surname, or anything remotely from Cait nor was Josiah for that fact; however, families in the Federation came in many shapes and forms.

Walking up a small pathway leading up towards the front door of the charming dwelling on the sprawling estate, Izzy pressed the chime and waited to see if anyone was home. If not, she would simply contact them by more conventional means, but that lacked the face-to-face interaction and what she felt was the soul of the program. Afterall, for a handful of months, if they accepted, Josiah would be under her supervision and care. She would oversee his schooling and he would be traveling with her far from Dallas, far from Earth.

A sender Caitian woman came to the door. Opening it gently, a neutral stance, tail swishing behind her.

“You must be Dr. Schröder, please come in. I’m Annalise McEntyre, a pleasure to welcome you to the McEntyre Ranch.”

She greeted warmly, projecting motherly energy as she gestured for Izzy to come in.

It was a stunning estate house. Accented in woods and antique furniture, leather and cowprint, a very Texan home in the western style. As they walked towards the great room, Izzy would see numerous holographic photos and still prints of various Humans and Caitians. Most were in Starfleet Uniforms of various eras, a history of those McEntyres that came before.

It's like a museum thought Izzy. "A long line of service in the family, I see?" That was how she decided to phrase it at least.

"Since before the Federation was founded. The McEntyre's are one of the oldest families in Starfleet, much like the Kirks, Archers, Magnussons and the Reeds. There has always been a McEntyre in the service of the Federation. Ours is one of service and duty and we uphold the legacy of the first McEntyres to serve, that of Josiah, John and Eli. The Colonel, Josiah, help to lead the MACOs to win the Earth-Romulan War, doing his part to pave the way for the Federation to be formed. His brother, John, was Commander of Coalition Starbase One on Berengeria and was one of the first to give his life in that war."

Entering the great room, a stunning grand room with floor to ceiling windows, a grand fireplace in the middle of the wall, and above, a large picture of a human in a United Earth MACO uniform against a background of a old style Yorktown Class Starship, with the plaque underneath reading “Colonel Josiah “Josh” McEntyre - Unicorn NX-151”.

“Can I offer you a drink or refreshment?” Ms. McEntyre asked Izzy as she sat on one of the leather couches that framed an oak coffee table, hand made too, like the rest of the furniture in the room.

Izzy smiled. It was a polite offer, and one that she would accept in kind. "That's very kind of you, Mrs..." She remembered the woman had provided her name. "Annalise. Thank you, I would take something cold. I'm not used to the Dallas heat" Izzy said with a small chuckle. "I hope you don't mind me showing up at your doorstep."

"Of Course not, We're always happy to receive guests. I can assume you're here for my Josiah, or to at least speak about him and not hear me wax poetic about the family history"

She smiled a sort of wicked smile as she ordered two drinks from the replicator embedded into the side table, handing one to Izzy.

"Thank you," she replied. "Well, yes. I am here because of your son, Josiah. We received an abundance of applicants for the program. You can imagine the amount of work sorting through those can be. Ultimately, we feel like Josiah would be a great addition to the program. I was hoping to get some insight as to why you chose to apply for the program?"

"The simple answer is that I want the best education for my son. Starfleet Academy and by extension the West Point Academy for Security Personnel, are the best quality education. Josiah has shown quite a bit of interest in Starfleet Security. Both of my Brothers are currently Starfleet Security Officers and Josiah has more than once, express that where he might want to end up one day. That is of course if he will overcome some of his...weaknesses"

Anneliese elaborated before taking a sip of her drink.

Has he shown interest or is she pushing him towards those interests thought Izzy. Truthfully, it was not her place to challenge that, and she wouldn't. She could and would take Josiah onto the Warbler and let him study various subjects, and let the cards fall wherever they fell. "I see. Following in the family footsteps" noted Izzy.

Izzy smiled. "Weaknesses are something we can work on with him. What would you say are some of those?"

The Caitian pauses for a moment, parsing her lips before she spoke.

"I have tried to raise Josiah with a moral and righteous upbringing, yet he continues to engage in..deviant and unnatural behavior for a young man his age."

She took a sip before continuing.

"Last week, I caught him and the neighbor boy engaged in what I can describe as a very deep kiss. I did not raise my son to engage in these abhorrent and deviant behaviors."

It was clear what she meant in not so many words.

Izzy held her tongue. There was a whole heck of a lot that she could say in response to that information, and with the emotions she was sensing from Mrs. McEntyre. It was not Izzy's place to really say anything, but she was an educator first and foremost. "I understand," was her immediate response which she did. She understood Josiah McEntyre was not going to flourish under this roof.

"I am hoping that Starfleet instills the discipline and good morals that I have obvious have failed to instill in him. For someone of our lineage and pedigree, he should be conducting himself as an upstanding and righteous citizen of society."

I need to get out of here soon thought Izzy. "You clearly care about his upbringing. I don't think that makes you a failure" stated Izzy. "Starfleet serves the United Federation of Planets. Your son will learn discipline and good morals the way the Federation intends" added Izzy.

She could barely hold back the smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations the Vulcan philosophy was a cornerstone of the Federation and of Starfleet. Izzy felt disappointed that this woman clearly had a warped sense of what that meant. "Ad Astra Per Aspera" commented Izzy, a Starfleet motto.

"I'm ready to take him off your hands if he's ready."

"He's in his room, I'll have his PADD pinged so he knows you're coming. It's the door at the end of the hall on the third floor."

Josiah could hear the hush tones, the muffled sounds of people talking. Their mother was obviously going on about their...quirks. She never understood it even when her own brother, their uncle was just like them, gay. Hell, even the lauded Colonel McEntyre was gay himself, so why did it terrify their mother so much for them being who they were.

Arriving at the door at the end of the hall, Izzy paused for a moment before giving it a firm knock. It seemed old fashioned, but some places still had a rustic charm to them. "Josiah," she called out. "I'm Professor Schröder. I'm here to..." she wanted to say liberate him, but chose her words carefully. "Take you on an adventure away from here where you can learn."

Izzy would hear muffled voices from a video program as the door pushed open, not locked and loosely closed. She could tell this was a very curated space, old furniture and decorations. On the wall, a mounted vid screen that was playing a documentary, old ships and scenes of reenactments of battles. Josiah looked up from their bed where they’d been laying.

“He..hello” They says shyly.

Ensuring the door was closed behind her, Izzy kept some distance from the boy. New faces weren't always the easiest to trust. "Your application to Starfleet's preparatory program was received, reviewed, and approved. You were selected. I'm just here to give you that news and if you are still interested...take you away from here?"

Josiah looked at the woman. Starfleet, proper, but gave them an aura of kindness, maybe even acceptance. "I...I don't know. She was the one who sent it in. Said it would "make me a real man"." They spoke softly, getting up to stand. They was short, about 5'4" with a graceful figure to them.

"I can't make you something you already are, Josiah," Izzy said gently. "You're already on your way to becoming that. What I am offering you is an opportunity to do that away from here and learn more about the galaxy and yourself."

“I…” Josiah started, not sure of the words. “I want to go.” They stated with a burst of confidence. They walked up to her. “And if it’s discovering myself that’s you’re offering, I want that more than anything. I…” they paused, turning their head shyly.

Izzy extended a hand to Josiah. "Come with me then. We'll board my ship and we will set off to the stars."

“I…I’d like that.” They took her hand in their paw softly. “And…” they started again. “I..I don’t want to come back, I know that you said months but I don’t want to come back here. Not to this, not to…not to her forced life for me.”

Her heart ached for him. She couldn't make promises, but she would try to put him at ease. "Your fifteen, Josiah. Soon you'll be sixteen. There's a lot of opportunities out there. You may not have to return here ever if you don't want to, but for now, we'll take you away from here."

“I want that very much.” They said. “I’m ready to go now."

 

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