Alora DeVeau

Because Marines can never have any fun.

Right smack dab in the middle of the princess bride comment came this from green. It was a typo, but I suspect T'Seva was also a bad influence.

I love how T'Seva slipped a Princess Bride reference in there!

Wyn Foster's "How To Get Ready To Hang Out"

You're killing me, Smalls!

((Sera's Quarters, StarBase 118)) Sherlock: Ok. ::taking a deep breath and folding her hands in her lap:: I'm ready. As Sera shifted positions towards her, Shevon sat still, only her head and eyes tracking the Vulcan. She could feel heat rising in her cheeks and her breathing became slightly hurried. She was nervous. She still didn't understand how this all worked. How suddenly, she'd just know what she needed to know. Nonetheless, she tried her best not to pull away. Sera: This will be a superficial meld. I shall reiterate that I have no intentions of accessing any of your thoughts or memories, Ms. Sherlock. Shevon did her best to try and relax. To drive out all thoughts and keep her mind blank. She didn't have many secrets really. But she drifted to them and when they appeared, she did her best to "hide them behind the curtain." Sera's hand extended towards Shevon's face and when contact was made, Shevon could feel the warmth of her fingertips. Sera: ::intoning the ritual words:: T'nash-veh kashek tor ish-veh kashek. t'nash-veh nahp tor nahp... A sudden rush. Shevon couldn't think of how to describe it. At once, it wasn't something visible, but yet she felt like she could see it happening. And as it did, it seemed the curtains weren't holding. Sera: ::in a soft, yet slightly-strained voice:: Ms. Sherlock…please control your thoughts… Sherlock: ::nervously:: I'm trying. There's so much. Too much. It seemed the more she attempted to drown out the bad memories, the more they were coming forward. She wondered what she was doing wrong. Nervousness was beginning to turn into fear. Fear of failure. A tightness came into her chest like she was holding her breath. She heard Sera's next words, but not aloud. It was as if Sera were walking around in her thoughts, speaking to her from within like one's own mind. Sera: ::emphatically:: ~Ms. Sherlock, you must desist—clear your mind~ Sherlock: I can't... It was with those words a memory suddenly burst forth. But it seemed more than a memory. It was as if she were there again. Back on the Delight. A child. Her mother had passed, unexpectedly, when she was just seven years of age. She was left to the "world of men." There was one who had taken her in, the man her mother called Captain. In time, she would too. In time, she'd even call him father. But he wasn't there. In this memory, she was on her own. She remembered how big the Delight had seemed to her as a child. It was a maze of crawl spaces, tubing, wiring...a mess of a ship. In her memory, it seemed even bigger. The man she would call father had told her to stay in his quarters, but she was afraid to be alone. She would venture out, sometimes even getting lost. And this time was no different. A man was there, but not her father to be. She'd seen him before. Her mother never trusted him. And now he was there, cornering her. His voice was deep and he spoke kindly. The things he said were nice, but Shevon, by instinct, knew not to trust him. With her back against the wall, she shook her head no again and again. She wanted to scream, but who would hear her. And it seemed just as the man was about to grab her, there appeared the Captain. He lifted the man with one arm around his midsection, slamming him into the nearest bulkhead. The Captain had always been a nice man and Shevon did not understand what she was seeing. He was suddenly scary. When they dropped to the floor he grabbed the man by his head repeatedly slammed it into the bulkhead. Shevon was frozen in fear. All in the briefest of moments she'd been subjected to the scariest things she'd ever seen. Shevon of now seemed to stand, frozen just as the child she was in the memory was, watching. She wanted to reach out, to help, but she couldn't, something was stopping her. Sera: ~STOP~ Sherlock: She needs me. Sera: ~This is a memory. The past. Yet it is…a living thing for you.~ Sera was correct. It still lived with Shevon. In her life since that moment, she'd never had to hurt someone and she hoped she never would have to. Both the idea of someone trying to hurt her and someone even hurting someone to protect her were terrifying. The violence was something she hated. Something she feared. Something she wasn't capable of. Sherlock: He was evil. But ::beat:: I don't want anyone hurt. Sera: ~I am sorry. It is a fear no child…no one should experience. ~ Sherlock: I don't want to be hurt. Sera: ~But you were protected, and yet you focus solely on the traumatic event just preceding a heralding that protection?~ Sherlock: response Sera: ~You must shift your perspective, Shevon. If you can learn that lesson, you can master anything.~ Perspective...Shevon had always looked at that moment in time from the point of view of herself that was seven. Maybe this was why she was afraid to accept help from others, like her sister. Why she didn't want to rely on anyone. Because helping her meant someone was going to be hurt. But maybe, sometimes that was just the way things had to be. Sherlock: How? How do I change the way I see things? Sera: ~?~ Shevon took in Sera's words. She went back to the memory. She walked past the point the where the memory normally ended for her. She could see the man laying on the deck of the Delight. He was dead. The Captain was on his knees next to the man and he was breathing heavily. The look on his face was anger. More fear creeped inside the child and Shevon could feel it. She could feel the child's thoughts, she was afraid he was mad at her. She watched as he stood up, towering over the child, his shoulder heaved as he breathed. He stepped towards the child slowly and reached down for her with both hands on either side of her body and under her arms, scooping her off the ground as if she were a feather. Shevon stepped closer to him and her child self. She never before remembered this part. He pulled the child in close and whispered, she could hear his words echoing in the memory. I swore I would take care of you. I swore I would protect you. This will never happen again. I promise you. I promise. The last words echoed. A sense of calm came over her. Brief flashes of future memories, times when she may have noticed nothing at the time but it was clear now he had watched over her, protected her, just as he had promised. All those moments, up until the end, he had kept his word. And with the sudden realization and calm, her mind went blank and the memories seemed to slip away in the distance and in her mind, she stood in the nothingness. Sera: ~?~ Sherlock: I can see now. She wasn't sure what she was saying. If it made sense to Sera. It just made sense to her in the moment. She could see that her mind was clear. She could see how she perceived things wrong in the past. Everything was clear now. Sera: ~?~ tag/TBC Petty Officer 3rd Class Shevon Sherlock Engineering Technician StarBase 118 R239712AS0

But...Greaves has the flamingo!

From the narration of Promontory: Understatement of the millenium.

It's all a standard, normal, ordinary day for @Wes Greaves

I found this amusing.

*whistles*

Yes, otherwise the FO will have her head! 😉

((Rakantha Province, Bajor)) Arys didn’t know if the place Sileah had selected held any religious significance, but so far she had made a conscious effort not to question it. There was much that remained unsaid between mother and daughter, many questions that still demanded answers, and details that simply did not add up, but Lukin had reminded Arys that this was neither the time, nor the place for it. Sileah: I am glad you came. Arys gave a nod, letting her gaze drift over the fields that stretched out in front of them, sprinkled with patches of yellow and red flowers. And above the seedy heads of grain, the sky had cleared up. ‌Trovek: What is this place? Why here? Her attention shifted to the older woman. The medical evaluation matched what Sileah had told her - that Aaron had taken over their sect, and that he had held her captive for months. She looked better than she had when Arys had found her, but was still only a shadow of her former self. Sileah: My family used to live here. Your grandparents. And your aunts and uncles. There was pain in the older woman’s voice, and Arys lowered her gaze. She knew that her mother’s family had been killed in the early years of the Occupation, and now she understood why Sileah had chosen this place. ‌Trovek: Then he will be with family. Sileah nodded and carefully moved closer to Arys, giving her every opportunity to draw back. Her hand touched Arys’ shoulder, and the younger woman squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let tears escape. Trovek: I just wish he would have given us a chance. But he hadn’t even been willing to allow them to live. Had Lukin, Tito and Ivin not intervened, Aaron would have disposed of Geleth. And if Sileah told the truth, he had been behind Taril Zantett’s death and behind Arys’ grandfather’s denial of it. Sileah: What I taught him didn’t help. The acknowledgment of her role in all of this surprised Arys. Sileah’s hatred towards anything Cardassian had certainly contributed to Aaron’s actions, but they had still been his actions. Trovek: It did not. She turned back to the vast stretch of fields beyond, trying to picture a house between the green and gold. If she closed her eyes, she could see fruit trees growing along one side of the house, Chickens wandering the yard and pecking at the dirt, and the sound of children playing in the distance. A very Terran fantasy, but one Arys indulged regardless. Trovek: I hated everything Bajoran. ::she admitted eventually:: Sileah: I know. You were always a rebellious child. ‌Arys nodded. Disliking everything associated with the Bajoran culture of faith had been her way of acting out, and she remembered how much she had enjoyed getting a rise out of her mother when she refused to celebrate important holidays. But she also remembered how exhausting it had been to maintain this hatred, and how it had been the reason she hadn’t been willing to visit the temple with Geleth. Trovek: Geleth is fascinated by Bajoran customs. ::she paused, then added:: She will need someone to explain them to her. Sileah’s face lit up. Arys had told her that Lukin refused to let her see Geleth, at least for now.‌ Sileah: I would… like to meet her. I always wondered about Taril. ‌Arys tilted her head and faced her mother. Trovek: The report said you left him to die of exposure. The older woman sighed and shook her head. She contemplated her answer before she spoke. ‌Sileah: I left him at the edge of a settlement. I hoped they would take him in. I was only fifteen and… ::she shook her head:: … I was only fifteen. I didn’t know what else to do. ‌ Before Arys could stop herself, she reached out and took her mothers hand. ‌ Trovek: You did the right thing. He was… incredibly loved. He grew up in a good home, survived the war, married, and spent almost six years with his beautiful daughter. Sileah nodded sadly and squeezed Arys’ hand. Sileah: I wish he would have had more time with her. ‌Trovek: Me too. We just… have to make sure she knows how loved she is. I am sure Lukin will allow you to see her. Eventually. ‌Sileah: Thank you, Arys. ::she smiled:: I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t found me. Arys nodded. She had tried not to think about that, but every now and then the thought crept up regardless. Had anyone known, or cared, that her mother was locked up in that room? Had Aaron any intention to free her? Or would they simply have left her to rot. ‌Trovek: Don’t thank me, really. I went to the temple and I just had that… thought. Of the door. That’s why I came. Sileah: The temple? You went to a temple? Arys nodded. She understood well why her mother was surprised. Trovek: Unity Temple. ::she paused, then added:: Jeni convinced me to go. The older woman blinked and tilted her head, much in the fashion Arys did when something puzzled her. Sileah: Jeni? Trovek: Yes, one of Aaron’s wives. I remembered her from when we were younger. She lived two houses down the road from us, we used to talk every now and then. Her mother still looked at her with an incredulous expression. Sileah: Arys, that can’t have been the same person. There was an explosion at a warehouse you kids liked to play at, do you remember? Jeni died. Arys did remember, and it was why she had been so surprised to see Jeni alive and well after all these years. She had been astonished at how the older Jeni looked exactly like Arys imagined her, and how she had said exactly what Arys needed to hear. For a moment, Arys said nothing. How could she put in words that nothing that had happened these past few days had made any sense, how she had intrusive thoughts she couldn’t explain, and how she had blindly trusted the guidance of someone who shouldn’t even be alive? Trovek: Oh. ::pause:: I guess it was someone else. ‌She left it at that, unwilling to delve deeper into who it was she had talked to. There was something in her mother’s eyes, a spark Arys didn’t know how to interpret, but Sileah nodded and fell silent. ‌ Sileah: I think it's time. ‌Arys nodded and knelt, picking up the wooden urn that held all that remained of Aaron. It wasn’t a traditional Bajoran funeral, and it was certainly not what the man had envisioned upon his passing. There were none of his wives and followers present, and not one worshipper had expressed desire to attend the funeral. There was no large gathering that celebrated his life, no expensive memorial people seek to visit in the future. His legacy had come to an end. ‌ Sileah took the urn and turned towards the fields, chanting a funeral prayer. The simple words were accompanied by a simple melody, repeating over and over. Her voice cracked and tears began to flow down the woman’s cheeks, and while Arys still felt strange about even this resemblance of Bajoran rites, her voice joined her mother’s eventually. The wind began to pick up, and as the urn was opened, Aaron’s ashes were carried across the fields, becoming one with the land. And despite all he had done, Arys hoped he had found peace. ***************** Lt. Trovek Arys Chief Medical Officer Starbase 118 Ops J239809TA4

This tidbit made me laugh and I can just see their faces...

OOC: The next installment in the Path of the Prophets series by Arys. ((En-route to Trovek Aaron’s Home, Bajor)) When Arys stepped outside Unity Temple, the Bajor’s sun had already almost set, and unfolding beyond its golden dome was a veritable symphony of color. Shades of scarlet and apricot warmed the sky while the gentle arpeggios of amethyst contrasted with the silvery light of the awakening stars and moons. Arys had never appreciated Bajor’s beauty before, and it came as a surprise that she developed an awareness for it at this very moment. The tears shed over Geleth and Ferri’s disappearance had dried up, and both guilt and fear had dissipated, leaving the Arys emotionally drained and her very soul contrite and broken. It was perhaps the first time in her life that she admitted that she didn’t know what to do or where to go. And yet she was moving with purpose, past the closed-down market and towards the nearest transporter pad. There was no reasonable explanation as to why Arys chose to act against Lukin’s wishes for her to stay behind and wait for his return, or why that locked door in her older brother’s house suddenly held such relevance. There was no logical reason to hope to find Geleth and Ferri there when the girl’s badge had been located somewhere else, but Arys’ thoughts returned to that door again and again, intruding on what was rational, no matter how much she tried to focus on the hundreds of questions that awaited answer. ‌It certainly wasn’t like her to surrender control to something she couldn’t see or explain. But more important than her own pride and self-sufficiency was to get her family back, and she focussed on that very thought when she materialised on the transporter pad halfway across Bajor, and belonging to the tranquil village that lay closest to Aaron’s residence. Lights within the small huts and houses shone invitingly, illuminating the gardens and paths that surrendered them. But Arys was headed in the opposite direction. It was odd how she, who after a year still regularly got lost on her way from Coranum District to sickbay, had somehow managed to memorise the path away from the charming little village, and past fields and woods towards the house Aaron had invited her into. The crisp air was filled with the song of birds Arys couldn’t name, though she was sure that she had heard them before. More than once Arys turned around, alarmed by the spongy crunch of dead foliage underfoot. Was someone following her? Or was her brain simply trying to make sense of the foreign sounds around her, imagining whispers where the wind rustled through the leaves, and footsteps where branches cracked in the distance? Despite Arys’s familiarity with the trail and her inexplicable trust to find the right way, she grew tense the longer she was walking, and the feeling didn’t settle as she found herself in front of the small farmhouse that belonged to Aaron. ‌She briefly reminisced on how she had been surprised to find Aaron leading such a humble life, and on how Hilja had greeted her upon her arrival. It was fair to say that Arys had been charmed by Aarons unconventional family, but now it seemed that its glamour had died with the last rays of sunlight. The house lay abandoned and quiet at the end of the footpath that led to it, and as Arys once more knocked at the door, she received no answer. ‌Trovek: Aaron? ::She called out, unsure if she was expecting a response:: Hilja? It’s Arys! ‌On her way here, Arys hadn’t known what she had expected, but nothing had prepared her for finding Aaron’s family home abandoned. She hammered against the door, called out again, and tried her best to ignore the panic that slowly began wrapping around her chest. ‌Around Arys, the calling of birds and the chattering within the trees had died down, the wind carried over the sound of hushed conversation, and Arys’ heart sank as she realized how precarious her situation was. She was alone, unarmed, an hour on foot away from the nearest village, and no one knew where she was. Arys had been so convinced that her mother Sileah had taken Geleth and Ferri and she had dismissed the thought that there was a chance the women had nothing to do with it, and that Lukin had only recently made a new enemy. She took a calming breath, deciding that this wasn’t the time to give into panic and forget her years of Starfleet training. First, get help. Tell people where you are. Arys tapped her badge and the short sequence of electronic tones indicated its activation. Trovek: =/\= Doctor Trovek to Narendra. =/\= Narendra: =/\= Go ahead, Doctor. =/\= Trovek: =/\= I… was looking to visit my brother, but I believe I am being followed. The next transport pad is an hour away. =/\= ‌Narendra =/\= Do you need to be beamed up? =/\= It was the intelligent thing to do, but Arys hesitated and looked back at the door, placing her hand against it, feeling the spongy moss beneath her skin. Despite the potential severity of the situation, her reason for coming here hadn’t changed. Trovek: =/\= Not yet… I… ::she sighed:: It’s probably nothing. Trovek out. =/\= Arys cast a last glance into the direction of whispers she believed to have heard, then nodded to herself, and stepped away from the door. She knew that there was a garden behind the residence, and perhaps one of the windows would allow her to look inside. ‌ She walked around the farmhouse, climbing over flower beds and dew-drenched grass and the rotting remains of moba-tree. The garden itself lay quiet and unkept before her, and she could just about make out the bench where she had first met Jeni, but if any of the children’s toys in the grass still remained, she couldn’t make them out in the darkness. Her gaze followed the gravel-path that snaked around the grass and vegetable plots and towards the house itself, once more dark and still. Arys was about to turn around as she noticed a warm flicker of light in the rooms. Was someone home after all? If so, why hadn’t they opened her? Jeni: But it’s odd that a prayer room should be locked, isn’t it? Why do you think that is? Trovek: I… suppose it’s to keep people from going inside? Jeni: That is one out of two options. Jeni. The woman who had kept putting ideas into Arys’ head, and who Arys trusted without having any reason to do so. Careful to be as quietly as possible, Arys made her way through the garden and towards the door leading to it. Now in closer proximity, she would see that the light came from a nearly burned-out candle by the window, growing weaker with each desperate flicker. There was a good chance that Aaron’s family had forgotten it when they had vacated the property, and they had likely been lucky that it hadn’t burned their house down. Arys would have called out again, but considering that she believed that she was being followed by someone, she opted to remain silent. Once she had reached the door leading from the garden to the living area, her fingers wrapped around the cold metal of the doorknob as she twisted and turned it. And just like that, the door opened with a loud creak that would certainly alarm anyone inside and outside the property. Arys bit her lip and quickly made her way into the house, closing and locking the door behind her, but if she had expected to feel safe, she was quickly disappointed. Only a few days ago the living area was bright and warm and full of life, decorated with more or less artistic pictures drawn by Aaron’s offspring. Children played on pillows and blankets in the corner, and the scent of homemade food had wafted through the rooms. Even if Aaron and his family were out for the evening it didn’t explain why the paintings and toys and decorations had all been removed. Trovek: ::whispering to herself:: No one lives here. The realisation caused Arys to stop in her tracks, and for a moment she simply stood there, unsure how to comprehend what was happening. If Aaron hadn’t been truthful about his humble lifestyle and family, what else had he lied about? ‌ Whatever mysterious assurance of her path Arys had followed, now she felt none of it. She had been fooled, led away from her family, and into the middle of nowhere. Obsessed with a door to a prayer room rather than with finding the child she had sworn to love and protect like her own. Trusting a person she hadn’t seen for decades, entrusting her with her hopes and dreams. ‌Arys hissed and did the only reasonable thing. She reached for an empty vase on the dining table and threw it against the wall, watching it shatter in hundreds of pieces. The sound was accompanied by several swear words in several different languages, all of them wishing Aaron the worst fate imaginable, screamed against the quietude of the house. It was only when she caught her breath that Arys realised she wasn’t the only one filling the silence. Arys. She blinked, taking a calming breath to ground herself. Someone had said her name, she was sure of it. Arys. ‌There it was again, a weak, hoarse voice calling her from one of the rooms upstairs. Arys moved towards the stairs, once more listening for the voice that had called her name, and then froze. This wasn’t Ferri’s voice, neither was it Geleth's. ‌ TBC…. ***************** Lt. Trovek Arys Chief Medical Officer Starbase 118 Ops J239809TA4

Can we please make this happen?

Why not all three at once?

I wonder what would happen if @Sera and @Alieth got together...

You sweet, innocent Vulcan you.

Is that what they're calling it these days?

This will be on @Wes Greaves' tombstone. "His name was Wes, and he hit things."

She shares my criteria for a dress/skirt. Gotta be able to climb a tree or kick some butt in it.

This is just open for so, so many snarky comments.

((Bajor, Raijalla Valley, Unity Temple)) Ferri and Geleth had been taken, and instead of waiting at home as Lukin had told her to, Arys had cleaned her face from tears and left the hotel they were currently staying in. Shutting the door behind her had been freeing and given her the sense of actively doing something, even if it defied Lukin’s wishes. With Jeni by her side, she had left the building and followed the same way Ferri and Geleth had taken. They had wanted to go to the temple, and Arys had the same destination. As the sun slowly began to set, the market on the plaza was in the process of being closed for the day. Wares were removed from their displays and booths were shut down, but the smell of yeasty baked bread, local spices and musty fabric lingered. Arys would have liked to visit the bazaar with Geleth, had she known that there was a market so close by. Had Arys agreed to take Geleth to the temple, even if only once, she would have seen it. Had Arys agreed to take Geleth to the temple, just today, the girls wouldn’t have disappeared. But Arys hadn’t wanted to, and when the little girl had begged, she had asked Ferri to take her there. And now they were both gone. ‌Arys blinked away a few tears as she felt Jeni’s hand on her shoulder. Jeni: Let’s keep going. ‌Trovek: Yeah... ‌Arys sighed defeatedly and followed the path leading through the centre of the market and towards the temple. Unity Temple’s central dome was distinctly Bajoran and glistened in the last rays of sunlight, but most other architectural elements belonged to other cultures. Eight spires flanked right and left, and Arys knew Lukin would appreciate the nod towards Cardassian architecture. In contrast to that, the wide, squared archways reminded of Klingon or perhaps Terran influences. Behind the dome-shaped structure was a lower building, perhaps a place for the Vedeks and other religious devotees to remain during their pilgrimage, and a squared building with large windows likely served as a visitor centre or museum. ‌Arys knew that one of the buildings held the Orb of Wisdom in a protected chamber, and while she hadn’t asked Jeni where exactly they were going, she could only assume that the artefact would hold the answers she was looking for, and once they had entered the temple she remained blind to the beauty around her. Despite the fact that the festivities had come to a close a few days ago, the temple was visited by worshippers and tourists alike. The latter kept to the main part of the temple, where paintings and sculptures and similar that had been taken and sold during the Occupation, were displayed. Arys knew that they had made their way home to Bajor over the past decade, but didn’t care much about art and architecture. She cared about very little else than Ferri and Geleth’s return. At least that’s what she liked to tell herself, but the truth was that Arys noticed her thoughts again and again returning to her mother instead. The woman Arys blamed for everything that went wrong in her life, and of whom she was convinced to have something to do with what had happened. And yet, Jeni’s words had given her pause, and now resulted in almost intrusive thoughts. ‌What if it wasn’t her? What if I got it all wrong? ‌She moved away from the tourists and followed the pilgrims towards the direction of the prayer rooms, and from there, steered into the direction of the orb. She knew that people experienced visions and guidance, and if she was looking for either, surely the orb was the right place to start. The only problem was that Arys evidently wasn’t the only one in need of an encounter with the Orb of Wisdom - people queued patiently, and the entrance was guarded by two temple workers in beige uniforms. Arys looked over her shoulder where Jeni gave her an encouraging nod, and approached the two guards. Trovek: We… would like to… ::beat:: I don’t know. ‌She only vaguely motioned into the direction of the door, which seemed to be enough. Guard#1: You and that… creature? Trovek: No, me and …. Arys looked over her shoulder again, expecting Jeni to be standing right behind her. But the woman had disappeared, and Arys turned her gaze once more to the temple worker, and then slowly looked down at Geleth’s Hornicorn. A sudden thickness in her throat signalled the onset of tears. Trovek: It’s just me. Just her. Without Lukin, without Geleth, without her mother, father, grandfather and brother.‌ Just her. Without Ferri, Foster and Tito and Aine.‌ Just her. Without uniform, pips, fancy position and office. ‌Just some half-Bajoran woman holding a children’s toy in her hands. ‌The guard sighed in annoyance - probably not at Arys in specific, but it was likely that this wasn’t the first time today that someone asked for an exception and an opportunity to skip the queue of waiting individuals. Guard#1: I understand that, and I can can only tell you the same I am telling everyone else. You will have to wait. ::pause:: Like everyone else. Trovek: Wait? But I need to-… I… ‌The other guard shook her head. Guard#2: I am sorry, but there is just no way. ‌Trovek: My daughter is missing! Her voice was shrill and her plea desperate, but neither the temple workers nor the people around her seemed impressed by it. ‌Guard#1: Quiet it down. Please. Reflecting on this encounter a few weeks later, Arys would understand that she wasn’t the only one with a tragic story and a need for guidance. But at there and then, Arys was about to simply push past the guards when of of the Vedeks approached. The elderly woman seemed to have been attracted by the noise, and her bright eyes settled on Arys. Pekrile: What is going on? ‌Finally someone willing to listen to her. Arys took a calming breath, trying desperately to regain her composure before she spoke. ‌Trovek: My child is missing, that’s what! Everyone always says the Prophets have answers, and I am here now, but those people won’t let me GO to the orb to GET the answers. Pekrile: How about… how about we go over here and just… talk. The woman motioned towards a corridor, and gently took Arys’ hand at the same time. Arys didn’t want to ‘go there’, but followed regardless. She realised that she had been making a scene - Lukin would have hated that - and people were looking at her with a mixture of pity and annoyance. Or maybe it was compassion, and Arys imagined the rest. Arys vaguely noticed that the prayer she led to was in the back of the temple, and perhaps even private to the Vedeks, Prylar and Ranjen monks who travelled here. It was quiet, comfortable, and the elderly woman lead Arys to one of the cushioned areas. Pekrile: My name is Vedek Pekrile, what’s your name, child? ‌Child… ‌Arys knew that it was the usual way for a Vedek to refer to basically anyone, but part of Arys wanted to protest at this description. Then again, she was close to tears and hugging a Hornicorn. So maybe the ‘child’ was more accurate than she cared to admit. Trovek: Arys. Pekrile: Arys. ::she smiled:: You said that your daughter is missing? ‌Trovek: Yes… she… she and a friend of mine disappeared. My partner is looking for them, and I was supposed to stay at home but… I guess I was convinced to come here. Pekrile: Convinced? ‌Trovek: A friend came by. She is more into… this… than I am. She said I would get answers here. She was… evidently she was wrong. ‌The woman remained silent, giving Arys a chance to sort through her feelings. Trovek: You must get sick and tired of people turning to the Prophets when they want something. Vedek Pekrile gave a gentle smile. Pekrile: It is something very normal, Arys. ::pause:: Children often run ahead, believing themselves all grown-up. And then they fall and return to their parents for comfort. That was true. Geleth often did the same. She was all brave and Cardassian until something spooked her and she held onto Lukin’s hand for the rest of the day. And sometimes, in the middle of the night, there was the pitter-patter of tiny feet moving into their bedroom, followed by Geleth climbing into bed with them. But Arys didn’t have any memories of her being the child and seeking comfort. Sileah had been an absent mother, and emotional warmth wasn’t something Arys was likely to get from her. ‌Trovek: I am… not good with that metaphor. My family situation was… difficult. I think my mother has something to do with my daughter.. maybe… She had been sure about this not long ago, but now? Arys wasn’t sure what she was supposed to believe any more. Pekrile: I do not know your mother, but harming ones own child or grandchild doesn’t come easily to someone. You don’t seem sure that it was her. Trovek: I was sure. Now I am not any more. I just… Pekrile: What is it? She swallowed hard, and buried her face in the soft fur of the plushy. Trovek: I want my family back… She wanted Geleth and Ferri and Lukin safe and happy at home. She wanted her grandfather to not be dead, she wanted her father to not be gone, she wanted Aaron to be a normal older brother, and she wanted her mother to help her figure out how to be a decent parent.‌ Pekrile: Sometimes all you have to do is open a door.‌ Open a door. A very common metaphor, used across countless of cultures and species. Arys usually associated the phrase with familiar hiss of the doors to her office or her quarters. But today, something else came to mind, and she remembered a conversation she had with Jeni, a few days ago, when she had visited Aaron’s home. ‌ Jeni: Sometimes answers are hidden in plain sight. ::she shrugged:: Maybe in that secret room. Trovek: The.. what? Arys asked, but she knew exactly what Jeni meant. The room with the locked door, which Hilja had called the 'prayer room'. Arys had thought about it as 'secret room', largely for her own entertainment, but she hadn't said it out loud. Jeni: The room with the locked door. Trovek: The prayer room. Jeni nodded and Arys sighed. Find answers in prayer. Really? Jeni: ::sensing Arys' apprehension:: Maybe not now. Maybe opening that door won’t make things better. ::She paused, letting the silence settle, before eventually, she added:: But it’s odd that a prayer room should be locked, isn’t it? Why do you think that is? Trovek: I… suppose it’s to keep people from going inside? Jeni: That is one out of two options. ‌ Arys was sure that Vedek Pekrile hadn’t meant a literal door. She knew perfectly well that Ferri and Geleth were somewhere else, and she was surprised as she sensed herself getting up. ‌Pekrile: What is it, Arys? Trovek: I have to open that door. She was well aware that none of this made any sense and that the rational thing was to sit down or to return home. But she also knew that she was going to do neither of these things. ‌[End Scene] ***************** Lt. Trovek Arys Chief Medical Officer Starbase 118 Ops J239809TA4