Lt. Cmdr Alieth - This story began, as many stories do, with a dead man

[Bryce Tagren-Quinn]

Love the atmospheric vibe, the ambience (the bringing in of midnight, the nostalgia and the stories, with the descriptions and fantastic details, warm light and fireflies). Nicely done! @Alieth & @Quinn Reynolds 

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((Cyrithra Forest, Palanon))

 

Before the Gorkon's universal clock struck midnight and, with that signal, the start of the new century according to the Federation's arbitrary computation of human years, Caedan and Alieth were talking about tea and brandy and the man's visit to Vulcan some time ago.

 

To the surprise of the petite Vulcan, Nkai had not only visited her home planet, but her home city as well. So she couldn't help but ask if he had visited one of the traditional tea fields on the outskirts, where she and her father had spent countless afternoons during her childhood.

 

Alieth: It is a little hidden secret that hardly anyone who is not really interested in tea is aware of. My father used to work there when I was an infant, so I visited it often.

 

Despite all this, a tinge of nostalgia struck a chord in the Vulcan's heart. It had been a long time since she had heard from Saros. Not even when she would hear from him again, or see him in person, with her position on Vulcan still to be clarified after the disaster with S'th'gee. She hastened to suppress the emotion that never reached her face, composed and placid as it should be.

 

Nkai: That was probably it, then. ::He chuckled.:: Solan got very excited about going there. Said it was a hidden gem.

 

Curiosity led her to wonder who this Solan was, whom she had not met as part of the small cohort of Vulcans who populated the Gorkon. However, she refrained from asking about it, noting the subtle sadness at the corners of the Rodulan's mouth when he uttered the name. Instead, she focused on a more superficial, and safer, question.

 

Alieth: How long ago did you visit Chi-Ree then?

 

Nkai: It must have been... ::He trailed off, performing the peculiar mental arithmetic which came from losing so much time to a Q’s pocket universe. To him, it was a mere handful of years. To the rest of the universe...:: Thirty-five years ago, now?

 

Alieth: I see. :: It really has been a long time, so long that she had not yet celebrated her kahs-wan:: Maybe you met my father then. What a remarkable coincidence.

 

She remembered well what her sa-mekh looked like back then, the image etched in her almost perfect memory. Long hair straight and flowing, as black as that of Alieth herself, styled not like the followers of Surak, but as was traditional in the desert of Chi-ree. The serious, angular face, almost stern, were it not for the smile that always seemed to dance at the corners of his eyes.

 

She was about to describe it when she noticed that her conversation partner seemed distracted, and had turned towards the centre of the clearing, an uncertain and uncomfortable smile on his face towards someone she could not make out in the crowd. Eye contact with that person broke when CC nudged a wet nose against his hand, and he soon fulfilled his promise and unwrapped a muffin for her, which she ate in one bite with obvious delight. 

 

Alieth watched this last part of the combo with a smile dancing in her dark eyes, something she had inherited specifically from Saros.

 

Nkai: You’ll have to tell me the story of how you two found each other. ::He shot Alieth a small smile.:: I've not known any Vulcans to keep a dog before. 

 

She ran a hand over the animal's rump, which licked at her dangling lips in search of any muffin crumbs.

 

Alieth: She was not meant for me, but I made a promise to look after her for a while. :: She glanced at the mastiff who returned her regard, her eyes warm as liquid chocolate::: I think at this point we have grown too much accustomed to each other.

 

As she recounted this, inwardly hesitating to go into one of the main reasons why she had given up practising medicine, the Rodulan ran his fingers through the fur atop Cheesecake's head. The dog replied by wagging her tail cheerfully and tilted her head, her eyes narrowed, and her lips relaxed in that expression Alieth recognized as the canid's smile.

 

Cheesecake was sociable by nature, and took little time to trust on most people and, no doubt, immediately liked almost everyone. But there were few people to whom she actually “smiled”. Teller, the first, a disaster as he was. The two terrible Bajoran women, for reasons Alieth didn't quite understand. Corliss and Jo, as sociable as the canid, good people whom Alieth had learned to trust. Bear, who knew why (maybe because they both were doomed with a rotund ass?). A few more here and there. But she had never smiled so quickly at anyone before. Perhaps it was due to the muffins, but the reserved Vulcan had the feeling she could trust the sandy-haired Rodulan.

 

Nkai: You want to take a walk? ::He nodded toward the forest.:: I could use a bit of fresh air, and it’s lovely at this time of night.

 

She blinked a couple of times, caught unaware out of her musings.

 

Alieth: ::with a small nod::I would be honoured to accompany you. 

 

The first steps were in silence, as the branches and the forest closed over them and the laughter, the conversations and the warm light fell behind them.  The huge canid that had accompanied Alieth for two years let out a happy yap and leapt forward, glad to plunge into the wilderness.

 

Alieth: ::Pointing to CC with a subtle movement of her chin:: And as for your earlier query, it is a somewhat long story, but it begins, like many in my life, with a dying man, Raphael Watanabe…

 

And with these words they wandered off from the glade for a short while. Half-voiced tales were shared, lest the stillness of the woods be disturbed, while the huge mastiff chased purple fireflies. Up in the sky, stars reflected the glow of the insects, blue and pale, all the way to hide behind Palan's arch hung in the night.

 

Fin

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Lieutenant Commander Alieth
Chief Science Officer

USS Gorkon NCC-82293
E239702A10  
Image Collective Facilitator /Art Director
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Edited February 9, 2023 by Bryce Tagren-Quinn