Lt. Alieth - No place like home

[Alleran Tan]

A lovely and interesting sim from Alieth!

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((Alieth’s Quarters, room 03-0602, deck 3, USS Gorkon))

Alieth had perched on the windowsill of her room, a pile of PADDs at her side and a hot cup of zhar-kur tei warming her hands. On the other side of the window, the star-strewn blackness of the Sol system seemed somehow less black and less hostile than when the vessel cruised in more distant regions of space. Maybe it was the familiar stars from the years she had spent in the Academy, maybe it was the constant traffic of large and small starships here and there, wisps of light on the black tapestry of space, but there was a familiar sensation in that corner of the universe. Like being at home.

Although, on reflection, it was not.

Home, now, was that starship, and the people who populated it. And a place, not so far away, bathed in the red light of Nevasa. A place from which the news on her PADD came.

The petite Vulcan averted her gaze from the window and sipped at her cup, then, cradling it in her hands for a moment until the warmth and the stimulating alkaloids started to kick in. Only then did she picked up the PADD from the top of the stack and replayed its message.

Her father's face took up most of the screen, his voice warm despite the detached quality of his words.  There were fresh grey hairs on his temples and chin and, somehow, a more tired expression. As he droned on about the whereabouts of the family (Selar, her younger brother progressing satisfactorily in the learning centre as Metana was... well, being Metana, perfect in everything she endeavours, as usual...) Alieth's gaze wandered across the screen, searching for those glimpses of the life she had left behind: Selar running behind her father, laden with homework, while Mu-kur, she, too, with more white fur on her coat than Alieth remembered, nudged him with her muzzle. A little later, N'Keth crossed in the opposite direction, glanced at her husband and at the screen, somehow meeting Alieth's eyes for a second, before she walked away, shaking her head. The gesture made the tiny scientist's lips tighten, more hurt than she would ever admit, even to herself.

Her father's speech changed a little later, as he elaborated on the latest tea blends he had been working on. As he did so, Alieth leaned back against the sill and set herself to enjoy listening him discuss the details and characteristics of each of the herbs he has been using, the curing times and temperatures of the water for longer than he had spoken of their family. That fact brought a small smile to the Vulcan's mouth. Some things never changed, and that was just perfect as it was. She took another sip of tea in honour of the Tea Master of Chi-ree as she watched the grizzled Vulcan inform her that he had attached the replicator patterns of the new blend to the message.

Finally, Saros fell silent for a moment, tilted his head in much the same way that her daughter tended to do, and folded his hand on the table in front of him. Alieth's slanter brows furrowed, as they had done the first time she had heard the message. After eighty-six seconds of silence, his father informed her that the Pid-kom, T'Mihn of S'th'gee Clan, was still very much missing. The old woman's actions against Alieth had been amended, her decision to expel her from Chi-ree on pain of justice rescinded, but, even so, no one had yet taken the head of the clan and, as such, Alieth's situation remained as that of a Vulcan without a clan. The Matriarch's disappearance only complicated the situation and rendered it unwise for her to return to Vulcan for the time being.

Her father assured her that Vulcan administration of law was still conducting an investigation into how the old woman had disappeared from the temple from which she had retired, and that clues seemed to indicate that someone had abducted her, the motives for doing so as yet unknown. Saros reminded her of the virtues of patience and the need to refrain from doing anything unreasonable while the whole process unravelled.

As he discussed the details of the investigation, the light in the room shifted to an orange hue, signalling the sunset. The first song of a night bird chirped, and the desert wind stirred the sands of the dunes beyond sight. Alieth's heart shrank for a second, longing for a land she would not see for a while curling like a viper around her core. A heartache she did not need.

Finally, her mother re-entered the scene, a silent shadow against the door frame. Saros just stared silently at the screen for a minute, before he cut off the recording. No farewell, no word of when he would message her again, or when it would be proper for her to message back. As usual.

Soon, Alieth thought. Soon.

When the time was right.

With that thought in mind, Alieth took a last sip from her cup and let her eyes wander to the familiar stars of space, as if she could cross the distance that separated her from her homeworld.

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Lt. Alieth
Chief Science Officer

randgridhaleth@gmail.com

USS Gorkon NCC-82293
E239702A10  
Image Collective Facilitator /Art Director
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[Jacin Ayemet]

Beautiful writing. A genuinely great character moment.