Ensign Trovek & LtCmdr T'Lea - Shield-maidens, part 2

[Sival]

This was a creative way for @Arys and @TLea to push and pull on a character in order to explore an inner conflict. Nicely done! 

 

((Holodeck 1, Deck 4))

The year was 900 AD, Earth, Northern Europe. 

The wind was cold and harsh. It cut through the tall pine trees that surrounded their small settlement, and its howls mixed with those of the wolves in the forest. 

The night sky was fascinating. The stars visible from Earth were not impressive, but the blue, green, and purple ripples that illuminated it right now surely were. Aurora Borealis, it was called. Their followers, Viking warriors, were sure this was a sign that the gods favored them. 

Two women stood by a large fireplace, dressed in period-appropriate clothing, and armed. They were at war for months, or in their case for an hour or two. No one would have thought to find Arys and T’Lea in something like this. 

A tall, handsome, bearded man made his way to T’Lea, kneeling once he had approached. 

Viking “Björn”: My queen!  We have found the traitor! He confessed to having betrayed you.  What is your verdict? 

The traitor had given their position away to the ‘enemy’. The traitor however was also T’Lea’s lover. 

Trovek: I say we execute him. Even if he was your lover. His love seemed insufficient. 

Arys.. enjoyed this far too much. She had convinced T’Lea to a battle scenario, where the two of them were the shield-maidens Freydis and Lagertha respectively. It wasn’t that terribly historically accurate, but the Nordic clothing and housing created a believable atmosphere. 

The cold was brutal, almost as gruesome as the battle they’d fought.  The Romu-vulc had been more than a little surprised to find out that the seemingly mild-mannered Counselor had a fiery warrior’s spirit within her.  But then she was half Bajoran and half Human.  Both species were emotional, passionate and well-rounded fighters.  

Still, to hear the Counselor recommend death for anyone was… well, again T’Lea was surprised.

Stood by the fire, T’Lea opened the sides of her cloak to allow the heat to circulate inside the long woolen garment for a moment before wrapping it back up.  She glanced at Arys dressed beautifully in the colors and style of the period.  There was a fur border around T’Lea’s hooded cloak that obscured her peripheral vision, but the extra warmth was needed to ward off the cold.  It was a bone-chilling cold that no Vulcan could tolerate for long.  Two hours were long. 

T’Lea:  You speak of his death with great ease.  Is there nothing of his life to consider?

Betrayal was no stranger to T’Lea.  She’d been both the betrayer and the betrayed.  She’d done some horrible things to people in her past.  Her first bondmate for example, Dragus, was something she regretted now.  She secretly carried a great shame for his demise.  No, it was not a ‘demise’ that was too soft of a word.  It was murder.  She had set it up his murder to seize his power. 

But the betrayal on her mind right now was her mother’s.  It hurt.  More than she cared to scrutinize.   

This whole scenario was starting to feel a little too familiar.

Trovek: Well of course there is. And I have made those considerations before I made the recommendation. 

Arys didn’t seem to mind the cold at all, or at least not as much as T’Lea did. She kept her hood off, and let the wind play with her hair. She almost looked like she had always been part of this holosuite. 

T’Lea:  Don’t you believe in redemption?  That a person can change for the better?

Now maybe she was talking about herself.  She wasn’t the power hungry, blood thirsty villain that she used to be, but to this day she still fought those cravings.

Trovek: I …. learned that a lot of times that is wishful thinking. I mean people definitely can, but the benefit of the doubt can only go that far. How likely is it that he will change? That suddenly his loyalties will truly shift towards you? 

Short answer. None. The hologram was programmed to be a traitor, nothing more nothing less.  But like Arys said real people were different.  Could Dal Selta be redeemed like T’Lea, (even though she considered herself to be a work in-progress)?  Hadn’t her mother at one point redeemed herself through her work with SFI?  It certainly seemed that way, until the Dal corrupted her again.

Then came an even scarier thought.

Was T’Lea corruptible?  Was the Dal corrupting T’Lea’s thoughts with revenge and murder?

That was a minefield of questions that she was carefully tiptoeing around.   

T’Lea: He is a traitor no doubt, and he has occasioned the deaths of our people.  There should be a heavy price to pay.  Is it death?

Her very words to Oddas after returning from shore leave had been, “I’ve been there.  I’ve done evil things and I wish someone had put me down back then.”  But if someone had killed her, then she never would have had the chance to change, to have a family, to do good.  Nor would she have the chance to possibly kill again – and she did want Dal Selta dead.

Arys had made this mistake so often, and one of her biggest fears was that she would make it again and again. That she never really learned. Her mother had a way of making her doubt her doubts and knew how to make use of her daughter’s subconscious desire for motherly love and affection. 

Trovek: The way I see it is that if we remove him, despite his ability to change, we lost one good man. If we let him betray us again we could lose ten. So that is prevention. But what about punishment? There was betrayal, people died because of him. Do we go home to their families and tell them we decided to forgive the man who caused their death because he said he is sorry? It wasn’t a mistake he made, it was a choice. I can forgive mistakes. I can’t forgive... - … he seduced Lagertha in order to betray her. You. You don’t get to plan something for weeks or months and then be sorry.

Arys looked up at the night sky. She usually loved this holosuite, she usually visited this one or a variation of it. It was a little different to bring someone else into her personal space like this - it felt strange and uncomfortable, it made her feel vulnerable. She was stuck between enjoying the company and wanting to be alone. 

T’Lea:  I have a feeling that he is very much not sorry.  Save for the fact that he was unsuccessful in deposing me.  

It was kind of how she felt about her little shore leave escapade.  However, she did have conflicting thoughts about not involving Oddas, because it certainly could have been the key to ending the threat completely.  Lesson learned.

She pushed the hood off her head and glanced from Arys to Björn.  Her bright blue eyes had a way of turning dark along with her thoughts.  She had a roll to play in this program and unfortunately, it was easy to portray.

T’Lea: Bind him and bring him before those he has betrayed this night.  The families of the fallen should not have to suffer him any longer.  Let the people wield their justice upon him, and let the gods judge him thereafter.

Words that at one time may have been said to her.  A troubling afterthought.

Björn: At once my Queen.

He bowed and turned for the huge wooden and bronze door -- the weight of which was evident in the sluggish way it moved as it closed.

T’Lea glanced at Arys and lifted an eyebrow.  By the woman’s informed answers to her inquiries, there was a possibility that the Bajoran had some personal experiences of her own to draw her conclusions.  Which made her all the more interesting to T’Lea, and perhaps slightly more trustworthy.

T’Lea: Let’s not keep the people waiting.

She started for the door and glanced at her side as Arys joined her.  She was hoping that the conversation may put her mind at ease and her thoughts on the right path, but it really only made her question her intentions toward Dal Selta more.  Perhaps that was a good thing.  Only time would tell.

Reaching the door she pulled the large bronze ring and the hinges squeaked open.  T’Lea gave Arys a sideways look.

T’Lea:  This time period is strangely appealing. I suppose I’m a sucker for men with scruffy facial hair.

Arys smirked as she glanced at T’Lea. 

Trovek: Well, I knew you were a little strange. 

 

END

 

Ensign Trovek Arys 

Counselor 

USS Juneau 

J239809TA4

 

&

Lieutenant Commander T’Lea 
First Officer 
USS Juneau
Author ID I238301T10

[Nestira Aristren]

Co-writing this was an absolute pleasure ❤️