Home Again, Home Again

Posted on Thu Oct 30th, 2025 @ 6:22pm by Lieutenant Orin Sempton

1,253 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Day In The Life
Location: Luxor, Egypt.

Orin patted himself down, brushing off the sand kicked up by the night winds and knocked on the door of the modular shelter. The stenciled name "Sempton" was fading from a mix of sand blasting and sun. He heard a woman's voice from inside say "Come in!", and took a deep breath before opening the door. He stepped through into his parent's work house, making sure to take off his boots before stepping into the living room. The owner of the voice that called him in looked up from her book and stared at him. "Peyton?" Her eyes flashed and she broke into a smile before walking over to him.

"Hi, mom." He set his bag down and accepted the hug.

"You could have let us know you were going to be late." His father chided, calling out from the attached lab room. "Your mother made lamb stew. Cold now, but you can heat it back up if you're hungry."

"Peyton, I'm sure he had a good reason." his mother scolded his father.

"Arriana, you spoil the boy." his father said as he stepped out of the lab, wiping his hands with a rag.

"And hello to you too, dad." Orin said, holding his hand out, which the older Sempton took. "Transport got held up. Dust storm with an electrical charge played havoc with the sensor systems."

"Hmm." was the only reply that came, as his father walked back into the lab. "We have a module set up for you. Standard workers bunk. Fresh set of gear and work necessities. We start early. Gets plenty warm in the tunnels."

Orin reached into his back pocket and removed his well worn archaeologist trowel. "I know the drill dad. Have trowel, will travel."

His father grunted. "We'll see if all that luxury work at Starfleet has given you bad habits."

"Peyton!" His mother shouted. "We talked about this."

Orin put a hand on his mother's shoulder. "It's okay, mom." he said, dropping the trowel onto his bag. "I know he's trying."

Arriana Sempton looked up at her son, looked at the lab and shook her head. "It's late. Lets get you some stew and you can eat in your room."

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The next morning, a pounding came from the door. "Lets go boy, time for work."

Orin groggily slid out of bed and quickly dressed, making a point to check his boots for critters before pulling them on. He grabbed his satchel and work tools before stumbling out into the civil twilight, finding his father waiting for him with a small bundle.

"You mother knew you wouldn't have eaten." His father passed the wrapped parcel over to him. Orin opened it to find a few small, dense cubes of granola and dried fruit inside. They turned and walked toward the personnel transports with Orin chewing on the cubes, knowing he'd need the quick energy they provided with what was to come.

A short jaunt later, the workers landed within a valley, partially filled with sand and alluvium.

"Only half has been re-uncovered." Ajay, one of his father's crew chiefs told him. "Between the fighting for territory during the Eugenics War and the weather disruptions after the PAH, The Valley of the Kings ended up lost under nearly 20 feet of duneshift and flooding. Even though much of the area is now farmland and the deserts have receded, it took time to find the old site. Many of the records were lost from before the wars were lost in the bombings, and sensor data can only tell us so much."

Orin nodded along. Geologic scans could tell them the area was filled with caverns and such, but not what was in them. For that, there were the archaeologists and their tools. "So where are we going to be working?" He asked.

"When we uncovered this one, there was an old sign inside, still partially legible that read 'KV5: Son of Ramesses II'." Ajay said, staring at him, waiting.

Orin searched his memory, as the name sounded familiar. When he finally remembered, his jaw nearly hit the floor. "Wait. Sons of Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair?"

Ajay laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Your father said you were sharp." He turned and made his way down toward a series of openings in the ground. "Come, time for work."

Orin quickly followed, turning and entering a long stone passage into the ground before entering a massive antechamber, which seemed to have passages on all sides. "How big is this place?" He found himself wondering aloud, turning in a slow circle.

Ajay laughed again. "Sensors show more than 130 rooms, but we're unsure of the actual count because so many of them are close together." He waved Orin on, "But come, there is work to do. And it gets hot down here as the day gets warmer, despite the atmospheric regulators. Mind where you drip, sweat is caustic, and these carvings and paintings are ancient."

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Orin and his parents sat around the table, enjoying a wonderful dinner of goat cooked in yogurt and local spices while he filled them in on his time aboard the Majestic.

"Well it sounds like you've had a better time on this ship than your previous stations. And have you found anyone yet? Someone you enjoy spending time with?" his mother asked with all sincerity.

Orin felt the heat rise, and he flushed crimson as a specific smiling face popped into his mind. "Mom!"

"What? Peyton Oranos Sempton Jr. You're not getting any younger. And I would like to see grandchildren."

Orin buried his face in his hands and groaned. "We're not talking about this."

"Come now boy." His father said. "All those people on a ship and no one? I don't believe that at all." His mother chirped an agreement.

"Mitéra Gaía, ánoixe kai katápie me tóra." Orin said through clenched teeth.

"None of that now, boy." His father chided. "Remember. Zeus split us in twain, for he feared our power together." His father reached over and took his mother's hand. "There's another half of your soul somewhere in this universe."

"Can't exactly forget that, dad. Especially with what you read to me as bedtime stories while I was growing up." Orin countered. "But maybe..." He shook his head. "I don't know. There could be?"

His parents reached out and placed a hand on each of his. "That's a start, Peyton." His mother said.

"Great, now can we talk about ANYTHING else?" He asked, and all of them laughed.

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Orin sat, leaning against a tree, a glass of real alcoholic scotch in his hand, and the bottle at his side. His mind kept focusing on what his father had said. The line from Plato's Symposium about two souls. He thought of all the bases he'd been to, all the ships and all the different people he'd seen in his time in Starfleet. He thought of the face of a love found and lost, and of others in what might have been, and one... Best not to get ones hopes up. He swirled the drink, while staring upward into the sky. The stars he saw numbered in the millions, and he looked beyond them, to all the systems he knew had life on them.

Orin raised his glass to the sky. "Universe is a big place, dad." he said, and took a sip.



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Lieutenant Orin Sempton
Xenoarchaeologist/Xenoanthropologist
USS Orcrist

 

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