On return to his quarters, Jova saw a subspace message waiting for him, it was from his youngest brother, Finn.

[O]Hi Jov!
You on the Sentinel yet? Dad reckons you should be! The other kids at school want to know, so do I. I miss not seeing you when you had breaks at the Academy.
Kael came home during a break from the Academy, he’s liking the phasers and the martial arts. I asked him if he’s faced off against any Gorn yet. He said he hasn’t.
School is school. Liking the robotics, not liking the maths as much. Do I need to know maths for Starfleet Academy in Engineering? I mean, can’t I just ask a Vulcan Scientist to do the maths for me, while I do the engineering? Timoy at school is so much better at Maths than I am. Timoy is a Vulcan who’s father is now working with mum. So he’s come to my school. He’s so smart, especially in Maths. He calls me an illogical human and I call him a smartie Vulcan, which I don’t think he likes, but it describes him, don’t you think? I’ve attached a picture of us together showing our robotic pet, Roden, I wanted to make it a dog, but Timoy said that didn’t make sense, particularly if we gave it the name Roden. I shrugged and went with what he said, It is pretty cool, anyway.
I want to know, are there any cute officers on the Sentinel? Can you introduce them to me when you come back home?
My birthday’s coming up soon, you haven’t forgotten, have you? Will you be here for it? Mum and Dad and Kael will be there, oh and Timoy and the others in my year at school, but Lira said she doesn’t know if the Mandala will be here in time. What about the Sentinel? Will it be near Earth for my party? If so, it would be really cool if we could come on board and see the ship and what you do. Let me know if that’s possible. Dad’s promised that he’ll do a kup murri for the fish and pork belly for my party, so I guess if we can come on board the Sentinel that he’d have to cook it on board as well.
Mum’s telling me I have to do my homework, especially my Maths. I tried telling her that Timoy is so much better at Maths than I am, and if I just get him to do it for me, the homework will get done quicker and I can spend more time doing my robotics. Mum did not like that suggestions. My ears are still ringing. I think the windows on the next door house shattered and are still being repaired. So, don’t tell mum you’ll get a Vulcan to do your maths for you, I don’t think she likes vulcans. Maybe I should have befriended an Andorian, what do you think?
Miss you heaps,
Finn Kiwa[C]

Jova listened to the message, grinning as it went on … cute officers … Finn’s birthday … him and his classmates on the Sentinel … Kael facing Gorn … smartie Vulcans … their mum’s voice.

Jova recorded a message back to Finn.
[O]Hi Finn,
Yes, I’m on the Sentinel now … had my medical, spoke with the captain, done a couple of shifts in Engineering. Right now, I’m in my quarters, relaxing before I head out to the mess hall for my evening meal. There are cooks on board, not up to dad’s standard (of course), but healthy (and tasty) enough. No one’s had to endure my cooking, so that’s a good thing. Burning water though, that takes real talent.
Sad to say, little brother, if you want to go into Engineering, you’ll need to know to do Maths, and no, you won’t always have Timoy or another smartie Vulcan next to you to do the Maths for you. There are computers on board to do the large calculations, but if you don’t know the Maths yourself, you won’t be able to confirm its doing the Maths in the right way and so it might make a mistake. And your Captain, XO or Chief Engineer will get upset with you, not the computer, if it makes the mistake. They will say why didn’t you tell it to fix the mistake, and won’t be impressed if you blame it on Timoy not being beside you. I think if the Captain or XO got upset with you on the Sentinel, your eardrums would burst and the entire sector would hear the dressing down. And no, it wouldn’t make a difference if you befriended an andorian or any other species to do your maths.
How could I forget your birthday, Finn? You remind me each time we see each other, and now you’ve done it via subspace. I will try to be there, but it depends on where the Sentinel is at that time and whether or not I have shore leave available to me. I will definitely contact you and leave you birthday greetings though. And I don’t think the captain would permit you, your classmates and dad on board the ship.
Please give mum and dad a hug and kiss for me, and tell them I miss them.
Love, Jova Kiwa[C]

Jova sent the message, left his quarters and headed towards the crew lounge on Deck 9.

Ensign Jova Kiwa, Engineering, USS Sentinel
“Mount up and Make it Sing”

NB Kup Murri - traditional Aboriginal Australian method of cooking, similar to Hāngī (Māori), Umu (Polynesian/Māori), and Kālua (Native Hawaiian). While I worked at Jinndi Mibunn, some of the men cooked fish and pork belly in that method … it was so tender, so delicious.