Lieutenant Etan Iljor - Saudade

[+ Vitor S. Silveira]

I am sorry for being totally partial here, but I couldn't let this one go without a deserved appreciation. There isn't a proper translation for the word Saudade in English, but @Etan Iljor did a great job at expressing what it means. Thank you.

 

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(( 15 Jupe Road, The Village of Jupe, Northern Peninsula, Demes II ))

(( Time Index: About 10 Days Later ))

As he had every morning since waking on the second day of their assignment, Iljor trudged down to the living area from his bedchamber and stood at the hexagonal window watching the strange nocturnal fog clearing as dawn broke across the North Peninsula. On Demes II, dawn consisted of a strange and unpalatable greyish-orange hue that coloured the thick and seemingly permanent clouds that covered the sky completely. And just like he had every morning since they had beamed down to Demes II, he wondered how his friends in the other away teams were doing. He thought of Aine, of Meidra, of Talos, of Hallia of the Commodore… and he wished them all well and good health. Every morning he wondered whether Commander MacKenzie had bailed Meidra out of a provincial gaol (a thought that brought a rare smile to his mouth).

For much of the preceding week and a half, Iljor had spent time in The Dark Sky Inn listening to the conversations around him for any concrete news from Yanthi or Lakonna. He knew it to be foolish, but he hoped to hear how his friends and comrades were doing. The yearning for them tugged at his heartstrings and filled him a deep and seemingly unassuageable sorrow. For the first time since his freshman year at the Academy, Etan Iljor was homesick.

Further complicating matters was his inability to make any kind of headway with his investigation into the cause of the fog. He had thought to ask Kard for access to the tricorder he had smuggled onto Demes II, but had decided against it when he had realised that any kind of intensive scan might be detected by any third parties with an interest in the Northern Peninsula. So for the past week and a half he had been making visual observations and notes in a notebook that he had purchased in the village square. But not being a meteorologist, he had not been able to make much headway. 

Interestingly, however, he had deduced from snippets of conversations in The Dark Sky that it was a relatively new phenomenon and had intensified without warning approximately five Demesian years earlier. That lined with the explosion in technological progress that spread across the Northern Peninsula. Even without evidence, Iljor was now sure that the two were in some way connected.

His sombre reverie was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and he turned to see Teeny entering the living room. He was about to bid her a good morning when he stopped himself, surprised that he had identified her as Tenny- and not Tina Kuppasoop.

Etan: oO That’s new… Oo ::he mused to himself in astonishment.::

Although he had called the other members of the team by their cover names, he had been determined to call them by their real names when they were alone. In his mind, it was a link to the Excalibur, to Genkos and to Yogan. But now Tina had apparently become Tenny.

Etan: oO What does that mean? Oo

Realising that he was inadvertently staring at Tenny, he blinked quickly and stammered out a greeting.

Etan: M-Moring. S-sorry, I was miles away.

Kuppasoop: Response.

Etan: Hm? ::lost in this surprised thoughts, it took him a moment to realise what Teeny-:: oO No, TINA. Oo ::-had said.:: Oh, yes. I suppose. Thank you.

The foot tea was still foul and almost unpalatable, but over the last ten days he had resigned himself to the fact that it was the only thing they had to drink in the house that probably wouldn’t cause serious illness. And so he did his best to stomach the concoction- that truly did taste like a sweaty foot.

Kuppasoop: Response.

Etan: I was thinking of visiting the port. I can’t simply sit at the bar all day, although I’m sure Fingus would glad of the company.

To his surprise, Iljor had found himself getting on with Fingus Lakar in the week and a half since their arrival. He was still somewhat closed with the rotund tavernkeeper but he enjoyed the man’s outlook on life and he served as a welcome distraction from his longing for the comfort and warmth of the Excalibur.

Kuppasoop: Response.

Niac / Silveira: Response.

--

Lieutenant Etan Iljor

Chief Science Officer

U.S.S. Excalibur
NCC - 41903 - A

C239203TW0