lswritingdesk

[lswritingdesk]

Reblog the writers’ fortune cookie for luck!

[lswritingdesk]

7. The Healing Day

The title is taken from the song ‘The Healing Day’ by Bill Fay. I’m not going to make this into a songfic, but the song definitely inspired the piece.

-

The Furling colony on Earth was a lot more like a large Embassy than a colony, with most of the staff living off-site and coming in every day, but they did have several suites within it that were open for off-world Furlings to come and stay in. Calla had reserved the largest one for her little family to stay in while they came to make use of the services there, namely those of the mind healers that were on staff.

Calla was nervous. She didn’t like talking about what had transpired on Vulcan. She didn’t like bringing up N’kaia, even to her daughters. The pain was still too great. She also didn’t like the reverence that some Vulcans now held for her after she had rescued so many of her people. She just wanted to be Calla, afforded some respect for being the Furling ambassador to New Vulcan, but otherwise a normal citizen.

She had to admit that there was some comfort in being among her own people again. No one looked twice at her for wearing a veil that nearly fully obscured her features or for the way her daughters ran and bounced along the corridors of the embassy. Her daughters felt freer here, too, unbound by the laws of logic that they had yet to master. She still meditated with them each evening and read them stories from Vulcan, but there was no expectation for them to school their emotions or act like little adults here. 

She explained to them why they were here- to see mind healers. She explained what the mind healers did and how they did it. She told them about the time she saw a mind healer when she was a little older than them and had had terrible nightmares after she had gone too far into the sea and nearly drowned and needed help. They seemed to understand this. The unique abilities of the different Houses made more sense to them than the mysteries of Vulcan mind melds and katras. She wished their Vulcan heritage came to them more easily, but that was a problem for another day.

It was three days into their stay before she saw a mind healer herself. She saw to the needs of the girls first. In fact, the healer seeing to the girls gently suggested to her that it was time she saw someone herself, and she felt embarrassment first of all. She was afraid. The girls had not shown fear, and they had not complained about the sessions, so why was she so afraid to face her own emotions? Perhaps she had spent too much time on Vulcan herself, she thought wryly.

She sat down across from the mind healer. Petra was her name. She was probably 40 Cycles older than Calla herself, making her almost an elder. 

“You are uneasy,” Petra stated. “Your veil is so dark I can barely see your face. Do you often veil so that other people cannot see your emotions?”

“I-” Calla’s voice broke off. “I live on a planet where showing your emotions is considered a weakness.”

“Well it’s not a weakness here, child. Take your veil off. Show me your true self.” Calla hesitantly undid the band that held the veil over her face. She folded it carefully, staring at her lap. “You are deeply sad. I don’t need to touch you to know that. Tell me about it.”

“Can’t you just-” Calla gestured at her hands.

“I could, but it’s better if you tell me about it in your own words. It’s more cathartic that way. I’ve been doing this a long time.”

“You know who I am?”

“I know you’re an ambassador to a planet that doesn’t value emotion in the way we do, so you’ve been burying yours so deep it’s beginning to make you crack.” Calla winced. “Yes, I know who you are. You’re the ambassador to Vulcan that saved all those children. There was a Vulcan who brought flowers to the shrine of Lakme and Lakira for a week several months back. He said it was a thank you for the woman who saved the children of his people.” This piqued Calla’s interest.

“A Vulcan came to the embassy with flowers? Did he have a name?”

“We’re supposed to be talking about you, not him. If you do what you’re supposed to in this session, I’ll tell you who it was.” Calla’s mind was spinning.

“I spent most of my childhood on Vulcan. My father was the previous ambassador. After my Rite, I returned, but I went back to Illyria for College, because their Science Academy wouldn’t have me.” Calla gave a harsh laugh. “Nothing but their precious Vulcan blood could enter that school. I don’t even know if they’ll let my daughters attend the new one. Anyway, I attended College on Illyria. I stayed for another three Cycles after that, and when my father was ready to retire, I was nominated and confirmed as the next ambassador to Vulcan. My family was so proud. It was ironic, considering how much of my childhood I spent saying I hated the planet.” Calla’s face softened. “I met N’Kaia a few months after moving back to Vulcan. I wanted to learn everything I could about my new/old home. She was a linguistics instructor at the Vulcan Science Academy, and she was giving a lecture on the evolution of the Vulcan language and its divergence from Romulan. I thought it sounded interesting, so I went. Not many people outside the government thought the new ambassador from the Furlings was that interesting, but she introduced herself- in Furling. I was so impressed that I only slightly corrected her pronunciation. We fell in love. But she was engaged and due for the Pon Farr that year. She would be furious that I am telling you that- Vulcans do not speak of the Pon Farr at all. She broke the engagement and her Pon Farr by the combat option to be with me. She fought like hell for me. I did not fight hard enough for her.”

“And why do you assume that?”

“Because I did not find her before Vulcan crumbled. She was my ashayam, my beloved, and I did not bring her back to the Corinth like I promised.”

“You searched for her, did you not?”

“I did. I looked for her in her usual lecture hall, her office, at the girls’ school, at home. I went everywhere I could portal to in the fifteen odd minutes I had while the ground shook beneath my feet. To this day I still do not know why I could not locate her or where she could have gone. But I still fault myself for not finding her. I found my daughters. I found the children of Vulcan in their learning bowls and brought all that I could aboard my ship but…” Calla looked at her lap again. “Every night that I carried our daughters while pregnant, she promised to be there for me, for them. I made a vow to her when I married her to find her even when light led to darkness. I broke that vow when I did not rescue her from Vulcan that day.”

“It is true that our vows to one another are sacred and binding. The vows our Houses made to one another to end the Lab Wars are what brought us out of the darkness and into the light millennia ago, but you are incorrect when you say that you have broken your vow to N’kaia. You searched for her with every precious second you had to you. I have it on good account that you were very nearly lost, too, because you insisted on looking in one last place instead of beaming back aboard your ship when it was safer to. If you had merely looked in one place or left the search to another or not searched at all, then yes, I would charge you with a breach of your vows, but you did not.”

“It haunts me that I do not know where she was in her final moments. I have false dreams of her hands slipping from mine. I see her shrieking as the ground crumbles beneath her, her calm logic betraying her.”

“I cannot give you the peace you seek where it concerns her last location, but I can help with the false dreams. Give me your hands.” Calla dutifully held out her hands, and Petra took them. “Breath with me, and bring up the dreams.” Calla’s face contorted as the nightmares filled her head, but slowly, her face calmed as they flowed away. “You are still haunted, child.”

It was a statement, not a question.

“I ran past so many while I looked for N’kaia,” Calla confessed. “So many that I knew that I nor my ship could save.”

“You cannot blame yourself for their loss. You knew you had limited capacity aboard your ship, and you made a hard but logical, if I may borrow their term for a moment, decision to save the children in the schools. If you had to go back and do it again, would you change your decision?”

“No,” Calla admitted.

“You must let go of that guilt yourself. I cannot help you with that. It will take time, probably longer than you want to give it. But for the guilt you feel, remember every life you did save.” Petra looked Calla over. “I think we’ve done enough for today. You look exhausted. You probably constantly feel exhausted, between those dreams I took from you and those two children of yours.” She smiled. “I saw them running laps around their caretaker today.”

Calla grimaced. “I meant for Caia to be able to explore Earth while she was here, but she keeps staying with the girls.”

“Let her stay with the girls a little longer and go to the inner garden for some time alone. You need it.” Calla gathered herself and was halfway out the door before she remembered. “The Vulcan- the one who left flowers at Lakme and Lakira’s shrine- who was he?”

“A fellow named Spock. He said he knew you personally, in fact. Said you were responsible for saving his mother.” Calla blushed heavily.

“It was the Caspian who saved her, not the Corinth.”

“Minor details.”

-

Calla connected headphones to her PADD and made a call to the Enterprise. She hoped that the lateness of the Earth day would somehow correspond with the hours on the Enterprise, but one never knew with ships on artificial time. It took about 10 minutes, but then Spock appeared on her screen.

 “Hello Calla. Do you need me to talk to Lialyah again?” Calla grimaced a little.

“No, actually, my little hellion is on a path to a calmer existence, I hope.” Calla could see the slight expression of curiosity on Spock’s face. She had spent enough time with full-blooded Vulcans to detect the traces of emotion on his face, or perhaps he just felt comfortable enough with her to show her emotion.

“You are not on New Vulcan. Or at least, you are not in a location that I am familiar with, not unless your greenhouse has changed significantly since I last saw it.” The corner of Calla’s mouth quirked.

“Ever the observer, Spock. No, I am in the Furling Embassy on Earth. Caia, the girls, and I made the journey here several days ago.” Calla wasn’t sure how much information she should divulge to Spock, but he had been instrumental in calming Lialyah down several times before. “I made the decision to bring the girls and myself here to see mind healers after some consultation with my parents. We- I-” Calla trailed off. 

“It was a wise decision. You have endured much loss and change in a short period of time. I’m sure that they can be of much help to you.”

“That’s the idea. My healer, Petra, told me that a Vulcan had brought flowers to the shrine of Lakme and Lakira after the destruction of Vulcan. She said that it was you.”

“Yes, I did. I thought it would be a suitable thank you to your people for their help in rescuing people from my planet during its destruction. I researched your customs, and I learned that Lakme and Lakira were your first spacefarers and are highly regarded among your people. They are as close to gods as you come, so I honoured them with a selection of flowers native to Vulcan.”

“That was very kind of you to do.”

“It was the least I could do. The people here at the Embassy were touched.” Silence fell between the pair for a moment as they pondered the months that had passed.

“Are Lialyah and Soraya well?”

“They are. I think they are relieved to be in a place where they can express their emotions without being made fun of. They are still...very much Furling children. They have made great progress in their meditation with your father, and I think they will progress further after these sessions with the mind healers, but I think Lialyah will always present more as a Furling than a Vulcan. Soraya, on the other hand, I think will take after N’kaia. She is quieter and much more observant. She reminds me a little of you, actually.”

Spock blinked at Calla. “Of me?”

“Yes, of you,” Calla said with a small laugh. “As a child you were very pensive and quiet, at least at school. You withdrew into yourself. Soraya is a lot like that. I know that you haven’t spoken to her at length like you have to Lialyah, but I’m sure you would draw similar comparisons if you did.”

“You were not quiet in school. You were always earning punishments from the instructors for your...emotional nature.”

“I was a Furling transplant in a Vulcan school that I didn’t want to be in. I don’t know what they really expected from me.”

“Adherence to the rules?”

“I adhered to the rules.”

“Barely.”

“Are you making a joke?”

“It is possible.”

“I seem to remember several occasions where you did not adhere to the rules, either.”

“I was provoked. I wasn’t well-liked by my peers, if you will remember.”

“Well then, we were both odd ones out.”

“I would have to agree with that statement.”

“I can only hope that Lialyah and Soraya learn to fit in well enough that they have a better time in school than you and I did.”

“Yes, that would be preferable. Otherwise they will be begging you to stay on Illyria after their Rite as you once did with your own parents.”

“Spock?”

“Yes?”

“If they asked, I don’t know how I could deny them. Not after everything that has happened. I promised N’kaia that they would be raised with Vulcan values, but if they were truly unhappy on New Vulcan, I don’t know that I could keep them there.”

“You still have eight Cycles to make that decision. I think my parents would miss them, though.” Calla laughed.

“Even though Sarek would never admit it.”

“And you? Could you leave Vulcan?” Calla was silent. She was keenly aware of the fact that she did not have a veil to mask the emotions playing across her face.

“It would be easier to mask the ache I feel when I remember N’kaia, were I not surrounded by people who look and sound like her,” she admitted quietly. “Though learning to healthily process my grief is something that I am learning here. I...was confusing processing with burying these past few months. The mind healer said I was burying my emotions until I cracked. I think, perhaps, you know that feeling.” Spock said nothing, but Calla knew instinctively that he had had to learn the same lesson at some point. “Leaving New Vulcan, though, would be leaving the home I have known for most of my life. Yes, I find comfort in being among my own people, but Illyria is alien to me at this point. I have spent the majority of my life among Vulcans. They are as much my people as Furlings now. It would be hard to leave, but I would if it was the best thing to do for my daughters.”

“I had no idea that you held my people in such high regard,” Spock said.

“Consider how your father feels for Earth,” Calla replied. “And then remember that I not only came there as an adult, but was raised there as well. Our fathers were ambassadors as adults. They only experienced their planets as adults. They do not understand the deep feelings of allegiance that stem from being raised on those planets as well. Yes, I begged to stay on Illyria after my Rite, but in my heart, I knew I belonged on Vulcan. It is why I immediately accepted the nomination to ambassadorship after my father announced his retirement. I wanted to go...home.”

“You have been most vulnerable with me today, Calla.”

“Call it a weakness of my people.”

“No, it is not a weakness. It is a strength. You have consistently shown to me that you are a very strong woman. I admire you for that.”

“I- thank you.” Calla was a little taken aback at Spock’s proclamation.

“I am afraid that I must get back to the bridge. It is still considered ‘daylight’ aboard the Enterprise. However, I enjoyed speaking with you. I hope that we will do it again. Please give my regards to Lialyah. I know she will be most disappointed that she was unable to speak with me.”

“Oh, she will be furious that I did not bring the PADD in for her to say hello. Thank you for taking a moment. I appreciate it.”

“I hope the mind healing sessions continue to be fruitful for you and your daughters. Your well-being has become important to me.” Calla raised an eyebrow. “After all, you are important to my mother and father.”

“Nice save.” Calla thought she could see the faintest blush at the tip of his ears. “Take care, Spock.”

“And you as well.” The screen went dark, and Calla went inside.

[lswritingdesk]

6. Tension

I’ve always loved the line, “Have courage and be kind,” from Cinderella, so I’m using it here.

-

Calla wasn’t really sure what started the fight, but she could feel the tension brewing beneath the surface all the same. Lialyah was clenching her fork with defiance in her eyes, and Soraya was looking between her and her mama, clearly afraid of what was going to happen next. Calla cleared her throat. 

“Caia, please take Soraya out to the greenhouse. The plants need tending.” Soraya all but bolted out the door while Caia collected their plates at a more sedate pace and placed them on the counter. Calla wished she would hurry up. The door shut, and Lialyah flung her fork across the table. Calla caught it with practised ease. 

“Did you even try? Did you even try to get the mommies and daddies out?” Calla’s face remained neutral as she rearranged food on her plate. “Everyone at school blames you, you know, for losing their parents. Why didn’t you beam them out, too?” Lialyah cried. 

“Lialyah, it was an impossible task. There was no way to match up the children we beamed out with the adults we beamed out. There wasn’t time. We just took everyone we could. The captains of the other ships- the ones who took people off the streets physically- will tell you the same thing.”

“Why didn’t you get mother?” Ah, the real root of the problem. 

“I tried to, but she was not at home, and she was not at the Academy. I could not locate her.”

“You didn’t look hard enough!” Lialyah cried angrily. Secretly, Calla agreed with her, but she couldn’t tell her five year old that. “If you had looked harder, maybe we could have taken her to the Fragment! Maybe she wouldn’t have been hurt and needed the Fragment at all!” All of this had played through Calla’s mind a thousand times before. She did not know why she had failed to find her late wife, and it kept her awake most nights, digging her fingers into the damp earth around the Risa lilies. 

Lialyah’s plate went flying next, and before Calla knew it, the girl was also flying- out the door. Calla was on her feet immediately, after her. She tackled the sobbing girl about a second after she had banged on Sarek and Amanda’s side door and was in the process of dragging her back to their own dwelling when Amanda opened the door and saw Lialyah struggling in Calla’s arms. Her brow knit with concern. 

“I apologise for the intrusion,” Calla began, Lialyah wailing in her arms. “She threw a plate and was out the door before I could grab her. She’s not happy with me right now.”

Amanda merely held out her arms for the struggling girl. Calla looked at Amanda again. “Are you sure?”

“Well, she wanted one of us for a reason.” Calla released Lialyah, and she went hurtling into Amanda’s arms. Calla stood limply in the yard between the two houses. 

“I don’t know what to do with her anymore,” Calla confessed. “She blames me for N’kaia’s death.” I blame me for N’kaia’s death, too. “I will collect her in an hour.”

“How about I bring her back when she’s ready?”

“That may take more time than you have.”

“We’ll see. Go do something for yourself now.” Calla shrugged a little and let Amanda take Lialyah into her house. She herself walked back to the greenhouse to let Caia and Soraya know that it was safe to come back in. She then retreated back to her bedroom and locked the door, heeding Amanda’s words. 

-

It would be late on Illyria, but she thought perhaps her parents would still be awake, so she tried them on her PADD. They looked as if they had been preparing for bed, but they were pleased nonetheless to see her. Their pleasure turned to concern the moment they saw her face. 

“I don’t know what to do,” she confessed. “Ever since N’kaia died, I have been adrift. My own child says she hates me. I am so close to quitting the ambassadorship and bringing both of the girls back to Illyria where I can hand them off to the Schools to raise them. That’s how much I don’t believe I can raise them myself, even with Caia and Sarek and Amanda. Lialyah is with Amanda now, telling her Alchemy knows what. Soraya is terrified of our fights. She barely talks. I have one child that screams and another that won’t talk at all. And I...I am broken. I dream of N’kaia’s hand slipping out of mine on Vulcan. I dream of things that did not even happen. I dream of the destruction of the planet I held dear over and over again.” Calla went on like this, voicing her fears and her pains like she never had with her parents before until she fell silent. 

“My sweet child, you do not deserve to suffer like this,” her mother said. “You really should look into a mind healer, for all of you. You have been through so much in the past six months, more than most people experience in a lifetime. It isn’t fair to expect yourself to process it on your own. Contact House Larynth tomorrow. They will be able to help you.” Calla hung her head. “It is not a weakness to need help, my child. Many good people see mind healers.”

“I suppose you’re right. It’s just that the culture is so different here. Emotion is suppressed and hidden here and…”

“And you are not Vulcan, my dear,” her father pointed out. “No matter how long you have spent on the planet. Your children are also only half-Vulcan. Furlings are a passionate people. Your children will need a little extra help learning the balance between Vulcan and Furling handling of their emotions.”

“But I didn’t have this problem growing up!”

“You are remembering your childhood rather differently, then. You were...rather volatile. Before your Rite, you wholly embraced your emotions. You hated everything to do with Vulcan. You wouldn’t have anything to do with the way of logic if it killed you. You begged us to leave you on Illyria after your Rite. Of course, we brought you back with us. You told us you hated us then, as Lialyah tells you she hates you now. You settled down after that. Whatever you saw in your sacred geometry, you embraced Vulcan. You embraced logic, and you were no longer the passionate young woman you once were. Oh, your emotions came out here and there. You weren’t a total student of logic. What I’m getting at is that if Lialyah is anything like you, she may do a complete turnabout in the way she controls her emotions as she ages. It’s okay for her to embrace her emotions as a Furling, and it’s okay for her to embrace them as a Vulcan would. You cannot force her to go one way or another. But what it does sound like is that she is hurting very deeply and is very confused about how she feels and would benefit greatly from a mind healer. That much you can help her with.”

“A mind healer is only going to be able to do so much, though, since we’re so far from Illyria. They need direct contact to do their work, I thought.”

“They do, this is true. But there is a Furling colony on Earth. Surely they will allow you some time away from New Vulcan to take yourself and the girls there for a week or two? Earth isn’t that far from New Vulcan.”

“I can ask…”

“You must. Your wellbeing must come first. If you cannot put your own wellbeing first, you should at least put Lialyah and Soraya first.”

“Yes. The girls must come first.” Calla looked at the clock in the corner of the screen. “I must check on Amanda and Lialyah. I don’t want to impose on Amanda more than I must. And I interrupted you two getting to bed. Thank you for talking me through this.”

“We are always here for you, Calla. Any hour.”

“Thank you, mother and father.”

“Let us know how things progress. And promise us you will contact House Larynth tomorrow.”

“I promise.”

-

Sarek left Lialyah to Amanda and retired to his study. The little girl was sobbing so hard that she was almost hyperventilating. Amanda focused on trying to get the little girl to breathe. She led her to the guest room and sat her on the bed, wrapping her arms around her.

“Now what has gotten you so wound up, little one?”

In between sobs and halting breaths, Amanda got out of the little girl that, “Mama hadn’t tried hard enough to save Mother.” Amanda’s heart broke. She knew that Calla had done everything she could to find N’kaia and that she had tried repeatedly to tell her girls this, but it apparently hadn’t gotten through.

Slowly, the sobs stopped, and Amanda stroked the girl’s braids. “What can we do to make you feel better now? How about some tea?”

“I want to talk to Spock,” the girl said, her breath shaky.

“Oh honey,” Amanda began, her voice hesitant. “I’m sure he’s probably asleep by now.”

“But he makes things make sense,” the Lialyah said, a whine in her voice.

“Well, let me see. I can’t promise,” Amanda said, warning in her voice. “Go sit at the kitchen table. I’ll make tea while you wait.” She set tea to brew, then went into Sarek’s study. She returned some minutes later with a PADD and set it on a stand in front of Lialyah, then went to fetch tea.

“Lialyah,” Spock said. “You are in distress.” The little girl squirmed in her chair as Amanda set tea before her.

“I hate my mama,” she told Spock, matter of factly. Spock frowned at her.

“That is not a kind thing to say, Lialyah.”

“It’s true.”

“Why do you hate your mother?”

“She let mother die. And then she didn’t get the body. And she also let so many other mommies and daddies die. That’s what everyone at school says.”

“Lialyah, your mama saved a lot of people, including the people at your school. That is very unfair of them to say that she let those people die. Her decisions saved a great deal of people.”

“You sound like her.”

“It’s true. The ship you lived on, the Corinth, saved over 600 Vulcans that would have died otherwise. And the ship that travelled with it, the Caspian, saved even more.”

“But the mommies and daddies-”

“Lialyah, there was no way to match up who was saved.”

“That’s what she said!”

“And she was right. We only had about 15 minutes from the time we found out that Vulcan was being destroyed to the time that it was gone. We were grabbing people off of the streets as we saw them. Your mother ordered her captain to take children out of the schools and then beamed down to the planet to look for your mother as soon as she knew you and your sister were aboard. She ran and looked everywhere that was logical. She could not find N’kaia. Lialyah, they almost did not get your mother back on board the Corinth before Vulcan was swallowed by the black hole. You almost lost both of your mothers. You have to stop blaming your mama for the loss of your mother.” Lialyah was looking down into her cup of tea.

“The other children at school…”

“They are being cruel and illogical because they are in pain. They lost their parents and are jealous that you still have your sister and a parent. You must learn to ignore their insults and their jibes. Do you remember what I told you the first time we talked?”

“That I must be brave and good.”

“Yes. It still applies here. You must still be brave and good. Your mama is still very sad. You and your sister are still very sad. Your mama is doing the best she can. She brought in Caia to help. You like Caia, do you not?”

“Yes,” Lialyah said quietly. “She always takes us on walks by the shipyards and the big greenhouses. Sometimes they let us go into the greenhouses if we promise not to touch anything.”

“Things will get better if you give them time. They got better from being on the ship, did they not?”

“Yes. We have a pretty house, and the Risa lilies bloomed, and we have a telescope.”

“See? Then you know that with patience, things will get better.”

“Caia says that we must have courage and be kind.”

“She is right. Be kind to the other children. They have lost a lot. If kindness is not enough to change them, then ignore them.”

“Alright...thank you for talking to me, Spock. You always know what to say, just like mother did. You would have liked her. She was really smart, just like you. That’s why I like talking to you. It’s kind of like having mother back, only you’re a boy.” Spock couldn’t help the small smile he gave the girl. 

Calla was leaning against the doorframe, watching the latter half of the exchange. Her daughter hadn’t noticed her come in, too engrossed in her conversation with Spock. If he hadn’t been Vulcan, Calla thought that Spock would have made a half-decent mind healer. The PADD turned off, and Lialyah looked to Amanda, and then to the door behind her. She cringed.

“It’s okay, Lialyah,” Calla said softly, a note of tiredness creeping into her voice. “For now, you’re not in trouble. We’ll...discuss this later. It’s bedtime now.” Lialyah relaxed. “Thank Amanda for letting you over.” The little girl did so and hugged the older woman.

-

The next morning, Sarek and Amanda saw the Corinth quartet off in the shipyards. They were bound for Earth, to the Furling colony there.

“We’ll be gone for two weeks,” Calla said. The girls and Caia were already aboard the shuttle. “I’ll bring back the things you asked for, Amanda. This will be good for all of us. The girls and I will get the help we need, and Caia will enjoy exploring Earth.”

Amanda touched Calla’s arm. “I’m glad that you’re finally doing this,” she said softly. Calla put a hand over Amanda’s. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner, for the girls’ sake.”

“There was a lot going on. But it’s happening now, and that’s all that counts.”

Sarek held up a hand. “Live long and prosper.”

Calla held up her own hand. “Peace and long life.”

[lswritingdesk]

9. Stuck

I’ve been so terrible about updating, so I’m going to give you a couple of updates today.

-

It had been a few months, but Daniel was once again summoned to the Dreamscape. When he entered, it was to find Kyrie laying on the grass, looking up at the stars. He looked up in wonder. He had never seen the Dreamscape at night before.

“Kyrie?” She sat up and looked in his direction.

“Oh good, you’re finally here. I’ve been here for ages.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t feel the pull of the Dreamscape, otherwise I would have come sooner.”

“No, it’s fine. I didn’t summon you here for news or anything.”

“Oh? Then why am I here?”

“I’m...bored.”

“You’re bored?”

“I suppose that you could say that I am...stuck...right now. So I am in a deep state of meditation until they get me un-stuck.”

“You’re...stuck? Where?” Kyrie sighed.

“In Rata Pten, outside one of the ancient labs. I accidentally triggered a trap.”

“A trap?” Kyrie sighed again, frustration evident in her voice.

“Yes, a trap. I’m ashamed of myself. The ancient labs are a lot like puzzles, you see. In the old days, there was a lot of rivalry between them. Our society was not so peaceful as it is now. So they would put out traps and make getting into their labs sort of like a puzzle, to prevent their discoveries from falling into other hands.”

“And you triggered one.”

“Yes.”

“Dare I ask what is happening to your body right now?” Kyrie clicked her tongue against her teeth.

“I am...suspended in a viscous purple material. I cannot move or talk. I can breathe, but that’s about it. My krewe mates are trying to extract me now, but they said it might be some time before they get me out. They took samples of the material I’m suspended in to several labs.”

Daniel couldn’t help himself. He started laughing. Kyrie flopped back down in the grass.

“It’s not funny. It’s humiliating. No one has triggered a trap in several Cycles. We had a betting pool on who would trigger the next. I am unhappy to be the one, and now I owe the others quite a sum.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that...you’re always on my case about this mistake or that, and now you’ve made a royal mistake and are trapped in some sort of goo, and quite frankly, it’s hilarious.”

“I made a mistake in summoning you here.”

“No, no, I’ll keep you company. Tell me more about your work. You’ve alluded to it in the past, but you haven’t told me much about it.”

“I work on a research krewe in the ancient capital, Rata Pten. There are several krewes in Rata Pten, but ours specifically deals with the ancient labs. We’re opening them one by one.”

“And they’ve been sealed all this time?”

“Ever since the first City Cubes were built.”

“Why did they just abandon Rata Pten?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. And we’re fascinated with what we’re finding in the labs. Sometimes what we find informs us of customs we’ve had for thousands of years. Sometimes we find things that even we find alien.”

“Thousands of years? How old is this city?”

“The first City Cubes were founded by the High Houses around 10 million years ago. Our first records of Furlings going into the Fragment occur about 5 million years ago. Rata Pten is older than the City Cubes by much longer than that, probably about 20 to 25 million of your Earth years old.” Daniel’s eyebrows were almost in his hair.

“You’re that old?”

“I told you that we were old, Daniel. You know that we’re one of the four races.”

“When did you start exploring the stars?

“Lakme and Lakira were the first to chart the stars. They recorded the stars around our planet early in the history of Rata Pten. When the Ancients came, they used our star charts to create the Stargates for this galaxy and yours.”

“So you’ve been in space for millions of years…”

“Yes.”

“This is incomprehensible to me, that you’ve been out there for that long.”

“We don’t know of any other race that has been out here for longer, save for the Ancients.”

“How did you not, I don’t know, fizzle out?”

“There are several dark times in our history where we very nearly did. The time just before we created the City Cubes was one such time. The labs were at war with one another. The City Cubes- and the Houses- brought peace. They established the Rules of Order that we still live by today.”

“Every time I think I have grown accustomed to you, you set me on my head.”

“I am...sorry. I know our history can be a lot. Try being the legacy to it.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. So what happens when they get you free?”

“I will get a lecture from my Krewe leader, probably a stay in a decontamination chamber. I’ll have to withdraw some money to pay off my krewe-mates. Iris will laugh her way into the next City Cube when she finds out.”

“Is Iris part of your social unit?”

“Yes, she’s my best friend. We met in Seer school, for lack of a better term for it. She was three Cycles ahead of me.” 

Kyrie’s body jolted. Daniel jumped.

“Kyrie, are you alright?” She sucked in a long breath.

“They freed my body. I- fell. I’m afraid our time here is over for now.” She sighed. “Time to face the Alchemy.” She waved goodbye and disappeared.

--

@luckyninetales

[lswritingdesk]

8. The Many Lives and Deaths of Daniel Jackson

Daniel appeared that night in the Dreamscape. He shivered. It was better than the nightmares he had been having. He made his way out to Kyrie, who was sitting on a bench in the centre of the garden.

“I have to say, your invitation to the Dreamscape was rather welcome.”

“Has your sleep been disturbed?”

“Something like that.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm? That’s all I get? No advice?”

“I can’t fix your sleep, Daniel.”

“I know, I know. You can’t intervene.”

“No, I mean I couldn’t fix your sleep even if I tried. The realm of dreams is beyond even our control. Unfortunately you must work out for yourself what they are trying to tell you.”

“I guess it makes me feel a little bit better to know that you struggle with bad dreams, too, then.”

“Dream-telling is an integral part of Furling life. As children, we are taught to tell our dreams over our morning meal and discuss them with our parents. It helps us to process them. I once struggled with a nightmare for months as a child that I had a hard time describing, but eventually it went away once I could sufficiently describe and process it.”

“So are you telling me to find a therapist?”

“I am willing to listen to your dreams, Daniel.”

“Who listens to yours?”

“I have a social unit, Daniel. I am not a loner, just because I am a Seer.”

“I just assumed that because you had moved away from your family…”

“If you do not naturally form a social unit, you are assigned one.”

“You’re assigned friends? That’s...weird.”

“No, it is sensible. And you are Matched, so it’s not like you are assigned to strangers. They share common interests with you, or perhaps your job assignment. The system is very thorough.”

“It’s still a little weird.”

“It’s something that you will come to understand, in time, if you are to live with us.”

“I’m sorry, live with you? Did I miss something?”

Kyrie sighed, as if she were talking to an errant child. “If we had stuck to the subject as I had planned, no, you wouldn’t have. But you ask a lot of questions.”

“I’m sorry for being curious?”

“Daniel, I want to talk to you about your death.” Daniel scooted away from her almost unconsciously.

“That went from 0 to 60 very quickly,” Daniel said.

“How many times have you died now? Three times? Four times? I thought you were the clever one on your team. Why do you die so much?”

“Technically I’ve only actually died three times. The fourth time, they just thought I was dead because an alien implanted memories of my death in my team’s head.” Kyrie gave Daniel what would have been a baleful look if he could have seen it. 

“That’s three times too many for someone your age. You don’t have your affairs in order. You just...let things happen.”

“I do so have things in order. I have a will now.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about what happens after your death.”

“I don’t believe in an afterlife, so that’s a moot point.”

“There may not be an afterlife in the way you perceive one to be, but there is a next step. Daniel, the Furling Elders would like to extend the offer to you to be reborn on Illyria after your real, final death.” Daniel gave Kyrie an incredulous look.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Upon your death, your final one, not some mishap where you’ll be resurrected by a rite or a sarcophagus or your own sheer will, your body will be brought to the Fragment, as are the bodies of others who choose rebirth at the end of their Cycles. Upon the renewal of the Cycle, you will be reborn into a new body. Essentially, you will become a Furling. You will be given the chance to learn about us in a way that you never imagined, by becoming one of us.”

“And they’re just giving me this opportunity, no strings attached?”

“Oh, you’ll be bound to the world for a certain period of time, likely 13 Cycles and until you’ve experienced the Fragment for the first time. Until you’ve grown accustomed to our ways. But after that, you would be able to negotiate. They might let you off-world to study other cultures. We have off-world scholars, after all. I do not know. But I do know that you are being given a rare chance at a...call it a second chance, since you do not believe in afterlives.”

“And if I don’t take this chance?”

“Then you will return to the Eternal Alchemy, as we all do in the end. As your Earth Bible says, ‘Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.’ In the end, we’re all just stardust.”

“This is a lot to think about.”

“Understandably. I simply was to present you with the offer. After all, your death is not imminent or anything.” Kyrie uncomfortably put off the vision of Daniel Jackson lying on the medical bed wrapped in bandages.

“Well, thank you. And tell your Elders that I say thank you. It is quite an offer for a simple man like me.” Kyrie laughed.

“Daniel Jackson, you are anything but a simple man.”

--

@luckyninetales

[lswritingdesk]

3. Resistance

The final installment of the Chikkra trilogy.

-

Kirk and Spock went to Medical together, hoping to catch the good doctor on a good note, because the news they carried was certainly less than good. He was in his office catching up on patient notes, and Medbay was blessedly quiet. Spock stood back against the door as Kirk stepped forward. McCoy looked wary.

“Bones, uh, have you any contact with Aya lately?” McCoy wrinkled his brow at the question. He held up a PADD.

“We’ve been in regular contact since we visited the refugee camp six months ago. She sent a message a few weeks ago. She said the camp was running well and that she hadn’t lost anyone in a while. I took that as good news. What’s wrong?” Kirk opened and shut his mouth. Spock stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back.

“According to Starfleet, Aya resigned her commission three weeks ago, as did Kel. Neither the Federation nor Starfleet has heard from their contacts within the refugee camp in over a month. We have been ordered to investigate.”

“But I heard from Aya two weeks ago…” McCoy said, his train of thought trailing off.

“Then you are in better contact with the refugee Chikkrans than anyone else, Doctor,” Spock said. “Will you attempt to contact Aya on our behalf?”

“I- yes- but, they wouldn’t do anything. Surely you know that.”

“We, in fact, do not know that.”

“Bones, you were there when they sat us down and told us in no certain terms that the Resistance was gaining traction both in the refugee camp and on Chikkra. We fear that they may be planning something, given the abrupt resignations and lack of contact.” McCoy was already tapping the screen of his PADD. It began to dial.

The screen rang for some time, and Kirk began to believe that they were not going to get anywhere with this line. But then the screen clicked, and the call went through. McCoy directed the PADD so that only his face was visible.

“Leonard.” Aya’s voice was clipped. 

“Well hey there, darlin’,” he said, his eyes briefly flickering upward at Spock and Kirk’s expectant faces. “I just wanted to check in on my favourite green doctor.”

“Now is not really a good time,” she said, her reply terse. The PADD in his hands jerked as her face jerked on the screen, almost as if-

“Darlin’, are you...on a ship?” The screen was shaking on her end rather violently.

“Not a very well-made one,” she said, staring ahead almost blankly. “Leonard, I have to go. Be well.”

“Hey- hey! Before you go, whatever is happening...Aya!” Aya’s eyes flickered from her thousand-yard stare back to the screen. Her green eyes met his hazel ones. “Just remember- your hands were made for healing. Healing, not killing. Healing.” He repeated the word several times so that she would remember.

“Healing,” she said absently. There was a crashing sound, and the screen disconnected. McCoy’s eyes closed.

“I guess y’all were right. She was definitely on a ship, and that was a rough landing.” Kirk swore under his breath.

“Captain, we are still 12 hours out from the refugee camp, but I think it prudent to also advise you that we are 36 hours out from Chikkra. Given the events that have just transpired, I do not think we are going to find Aya, or other members of the Resistance, in the refugee camp.”

Kirk slammed his hand against the comm button on McCoy’s wall.

“Captain to bridge.”

“Bridge here, Captain.”

“Replot course for Chikkra.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

-

The Enterprise spent the next 36 hours trying to raise hails from the refugee camp and the Chikkran Central Government to no avail. A scout ship in the vicinity of the Chikkran refugee camp indicated that their scans of the camp revealed that it was nearly empty. They quit trying to hail the camp and renewed their attempts to hail anyone on Chikkra.

The USS Trident, also in the sector, was making its way towards Chikkra and would be there roughly 4 hours after the Enterprise, but Kirk was afraid that by then, it would be too late. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for whatever was happening on Chikkra. If it hadn’t been for him, would any of this be happening? If the original five Chikkrans hadn’t been taken aboard his ship 11 years ago...but no. They had been experimented on, had requested asylum. He couldn’t have returned them to their planet after what had happened to them. To do so would have been a war crime. To keep them aboard the Enterprise had been a war crime anyway, according to the Chikkrans. Civil war had been inevitable, but he still couldn’t shake his involvement.

Chikkran space was eerily quiet the moment they entered its borders. Where before there had been automated hails and orders to report the ship’s status to the Central Government, now there was silence.

Tiy is a talented engineer, Kirk thought. Was he responsible for the radio silence stretching across the entire planet? There were no other ships in orbit, but then the ship Aya had been aboard had landed. Where did they get the ships? That was a question for another day.

McCoy met him and Spock in the transporter room, but Kirk shook his head at him. “I need you to stay aboard for this one, Bones, in case someone gets hurt.” McCoy opened his mouth to argue, but Kirk shook his head again. “We’re taking down a well-armed party. We aren’t taking chances. I need you here. Please.”

“If...if you see any of them, don’t kill them,” McCoy said, almost pleading. Kirk shook his head.

“We don’t plan on killing anyone, Bones. Not unless we have to.”

-

The ship landed with a rather resounding crash, and everyone was shaken to their core. If not for the seatbelts they were all strapped in with, which Aya had at first thought were a bit overkill, they would have been thrown probably to their deaths. Aya was now thankful for the many criss-crossing straps across her aching body.

“Status check!” she yelled. She had insisted that none of them, the original five, be on the same ship in case a crash like this happened. She unstrapped herself, cutting herself free of the last restraints, which were stuck, and got up, checking on the other occupants of the small ship she was aboard. Thankfully, everyone was alive, if a bit off-kilter.

McCoy had called her, and she had picked up. Why, she didn’t know, but she had. Mica had ordered her into radio silence two weeks before after he found out about her message to him and would likely be furious if, or when, he found out about this short video call. She shook her head. Starfleet and the Federation would know about their incursion soon enough anyway. The video call wouldn’t matter in the end. 

She exited the ship, its complement following her lead, and saw the groups of people leaving other ships around her. They had landed in the desert that stretched out before the largest of the research labs. With any luck, their people on the inside would be starting the research subject riots now. By the time their small army reached the first of the labs, they would be in chaos and prime for the taking.

Tiy had knocked out the space communications two days ago when he had presented himself for “arrest” at the front door of the Chikkran Central Government. Mica signalled to her across the throng of people now marching towards the doors of the research labs. Everything was going according to plan. Aya’s foot itched.

Tonight, Tonnang Research Facility would burn.

-

Captain Kirk, Spock, and a team of 8 security members beamed down to the Chikkran planet easily, with no planetary defenses in effect to stop them. They stood before the doors of the Chikkran Central Government High Chambers, standing on high alert as they looked around them. People were walking around with their shopping and their children in tow as if nothing was wrong.

The doors to the High Chambers swung open, and Minister Zayyim stood there with Tiy at his side. Tiy looked solemn, and Zayyim was sweating.

“Captain Kirk, please, come in. I’m sure you have questions,” Minister Zayyim said. Kirk looked to Spock, who merely raised an eyebrow. Several people appeared at their elbows.

“We do not wish to disarm you, Captain, but we will if there is a problem,” Tiy said coolly. “Come in, and let us discuss things.” Kirk put his phaser back on his belt and held up his hands, walking inside. The security squad was separated from him and Spock as they were led to a side chamber.

“Sit,” Tiy instructed. Zayyim sat with them. “How did you come to be here? No one managed to get out a signal before I knocked out communications, I’m sure of it,” he said. Kirk looked at Spock.

“The refugee camp lost contact with Starfleet over a month ago. They ordered us to investigate, and when we found no one at the camp, we came as fast as we could to Chikkra.” Tiy eyed them.

“Your timing is too good. Someone had to have contacted you. How? I’ve been here for three days monitoring things, and nothing has gotten past me.”

Except your own person, thought Kirk. He wouldn’t give Aya away, though.

“I’ve developed a sixth sense for timing things over the past 15 years of being a starship captain, Tiy. Now why are you being so cool towards us? We haven’t provoked you in any way.”

“No doubt Starfleet sent you to quell any sort of activities we were involved in,” he accused. Kirk put up his hands again.

“They did no such thing. They ordered us to investigate the source of the silence. We actually did not report to them that we had gone on to Chikkra. We’re on your side here.”

“I don’t believe you. Starfleet has been trying to stop the Resistance since it was first born.”

“Now, Tiy, that’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? They were constantly trying to poke into our business at the camp. You carried out their business yourself once.”

“They were trying to prevent a civil war, Tiy.”

“Chikkra deserves a civil war to overturn the bitter wrongs it is committing.”

“So is that what your friends are doing right now? Starting a civil war?”

“They are destroying the research facilities and rescuing those who are experimented on. If it starts a civil war, that’s on the Chikkrans who allowed the atrocities to happen. Those of us who have been exploited will be long gone.”

“Let us help,” Kirk said. Spock turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. Kirk didn’t blame the half-Vulcan. “Let us help you get the innocent out. After that...do what you want with the labs.” Tiy narrowed his eyes.

“You won’t get in the way of us dealing with those who held us there?”

“I won’t lie, I think you should spare them and try them for their crimes, but...no. We will rescue only and stand aside for the others.” Kirk turned to Minister Zayyim. “Will you finally hold those who have committed these crimes accountable?” Zayyim looked from Kirk to Tiy and back again.

“We have promised the Resistance that we will do all in our power.” Tiy crossed his arms.

“We have made assurances that their promises will be met,” he said, ice in his voice. “Tell your ship to beam you back up and then beam you to the place where they picked us up eleven years ago. It will be faster than taking you there by transport. Good luck, and remember your own promises, Captain Kirk. They will be relayed to Mica and Aya and the others.”

-

Tonnang Research Facility was in full revolt by the time Aya’s team reached it. They had liberated two other facilities already, and the blood was singing in Aya’s ears. She had mostly stood back at the other facilities, pulling former research subjects out of the fray and directing them back towards the transport ships, but at Tonnang, it was personal. 

Many research personnel had tried to flee and had been captured and held. Equipment was being destroyed around her as she calmly walked the halls of her former prison. She was heading towards the Director’s office, where she had been summoned many times for various reasons. The last time, it had been so the Director could tell her she would be vivisected instead of being euthanised first. She still had nightmares of being vivisected.

Aya pushed open the door of the Director’s finely furnished office, her mind flashing back to eleven years before. She stood in a dual reality as she walked across the plush carpet, the noise of the facility’s destruction dull in her mind. It was another noise that brought her back to reality. The noise of fear. There was someone still in this office, under the desk.

She looked under the desk, expecting to find a confused former research subject, instead finding...the Director. Why hadn’t he fled? Aya’s mind went back to the past as the man began to plead for his life. She stood, ignoring him, and shook out the contents of the pouch she carried around the office. The powder, once ignited, would burn hot and fast, consuming everything around it. She had saved it just for this purpose. She set the igniter on the desk and twisted its timer, giving her enough time to walk out at a leisurely pace. The man’s cries didn’t even register on her conscience as she walked out the door of the office and wedged it shut with a chair.

Until...Leonard’s voice broke into her thoughts. Your hands were made for healing. Healing, not killing. Healing. Aya was halfway down the hall when she stopped and made a frustrated noise. 

Healing. 

She had made a vow, to heal and not to harm. So far, she hadn’t really harmed anyone, just stuff. But if she left the Director in his office when the igniter went off…

Aya’s feet carried her back to the office, and she dragged the pitiful man out from under his desk. Let him stand trial and rot in prison, if Zayyim truly kept his word and prosecuted those the Resistance spared. If he didn’t, well, then she would consider a well-timed accident. In the meantime, she shuffled him out of the building.

Aya ran into a solid body just as the building exploded behind her. She held on tight to the Director. 

“Aya?” The heat bloomed behind her. She looked up into Kirk’s blue eyes.

“We probably shouldn’t stand here,” she said. “And I need to do something with this,” she said, thrusting the Director out towards Kirk. He recognised the man from the night Aya had escaped to his ship.

“They have a pen started over by the main guardhouse,” Kirk said helpfully. “Unless he’s too big a prize for that.” Aya’s eyes flicked over the man who had once made her life a living hell.

“The pen will do. I need him out of my sight before I forget my vow to do no harm.”

Mica ran up to them, spitting at the Director’s feet before speaking to her. “Tonnang is clear. We’re ready to torch it and move on.”

-

Nineteen research facilities were liberated and destroyed that day. The remaining ones released their research subjects and vowed to turn over personnel lists for prosecution. Starfleet wasn’t exactly the happiest about the involvement of the Enterprise, and subsequently the Trident after the situation had been explained, but they didn’t really have a choice in the matter. The Trident stayed behind to monitor the peace on the planet.

True to Tiy’s word, those that had been experimented upon left Chikkra, opting for the refugee colony, which was rapidly becoming more of a permanent setup than a tent city. It was there that McCoy found Aya again, still operating out of a tent for the time being, but losing fewer patients these days.

“I heard you didn’t kill the man that ordered your death on account of me,” McCoy said, sitting beside Aya.

“Well, someone reminded me about the vow I took. Something about healing hands.” McCoy chuckled low in his throat.

“I’m proud of you, darlin’. And not just because you didn’t kill him, but because you liberated your people. You said you would, all those years ago, and I didn’t really believe a scrap of a girl would be able to, but here you are.” Aya smiled.

“Burning Tonnang to the ground felt pretty nice,” she admitted. “Hopefully Chikkra learned its lesson.”

“Oh, something tells me they did,” McCoy said.

[lswritingdesk]

4. New Beginnings

Amanda and Sarek were at the shipyard when Spock’s transport landed. Assorted Vulcans and members of other species exited the shuttle, and finally Spock himself emerged. He had made good on his promise to use his leave time to visit New Vulcan.

After his mother had hugged him half to death, he stopped to look around him. There were buildings in various phases of construction all around him, and they all looked so familiar, so like the buildings of his childhood. If he hadn’t known any better, he would have called this just another one of Vulcan’s colonies instead of New Vulcan itself.

“Several architects were rescued,” Sarek commented, noticing how his son looked around him. “Many of the faculty from the Vulcan Science Academy are among the survivors, in fact. Their knowledge has been instrumental in creating a colony that is a strong reminder of home.”

“How...fortunate. Am I correct in believing that this is because of Ambassador Calla’s other ship? She said her ship targeted schools when it beamed aboard Vulcans.”

“Yes, her ship, the Corinth, focused mainly on our younger citizens. The Caspian swept the Vulcan Science Academy, as well as the main hospital and upper learning facilities in the capital city. The Ambassador’s split-second decisions on which buildings to sweep were incredibly prescient when we finally landed planet-side and it came down to needing specific people.”

“I would like to thank her in person for what she did and for her hand in saving you, mother.” Amanda cupped Spock’s cheek. 

“She said she would be very glad to receive you, but she is not planet-side at the moment. She is on the Corinth making arrangements with her Elders for more supplies. The Furlings have been very generous throughout all of this. But her house is next to ours. After everything that happened, our own Elders invited her to build in our district.” A young woman in a veil approached the trio.

“Excuse me, I do not mean to eavesdrop, but I could not help but overhear you mentioning Ambassador Calla. Are you friends of hers? She was supposed to meet me at the shipyards, but I arrived on an earlier shuttle than I was originally supposed to. I am Caia, House Corinth. I am here to care for her daughters.”

“Oh, Caia! Calla has talked of you to us. I am Amanda Greyson, and yes, I am her friend. We would be glad to take you with us until she comes back down to the planet- she is currently on her ship. The girls are with her.”

“Your assistance would be greatly appreciated,” Caia said primly. Amanda took Spock by the arm and led the way out of the shipyards. They walked, rather than take a transport, and Amanda pointed out every new building that was in the midst of construction. She named each of the completed ones, too, including a large one that she named as a dormitory for younger Vulcans.

“Many children made it to the planet without their parents, and vice versa. The adults are stepping up and taking in the children, but it is taking time, especially as single-family houses are being constructed more slowly as people try to figure out the shapes of their new lives. Many are just staying in dormitories or on the ships for now while they determine their next steps, but the important part is that the children are being taken care of.”

-

Caia walked a few steps behind Amanda and Spock, in step with Sarek. 

“Your ambassadorship to Earth is highly regarded among my people,” she commented quietly to the older man. “It is an honour to be in your presence.” Sarek raised an eyebrow at this young Furling.

“What is your relationship to Ambassador Calla?”

“We belong to the same House. In Illyria, it is known as the House of Ambassadors. Many of our esteemed Ambassadors come from House Corinth.”

“Corinth, like the ship.”

“Yes, it is our House’s flagship and serves as the ambassadorial vessel for the Furling fleet to the Vulcans, as you are one of our most precious allies.”

“Do you hope to become an Ambassador like Calla?”

“I completed Diplomatic Studies in the College of Statics like her, but I think I would prefer to become a xenoanthropologist. When she contacted our House and asked for help with her daughters, I saw it as a chance to study a deeply unique culture that has contributed greatly to this galaxy ever since it first reached the stars.”

“Yes, I can see that you were educated as a diplomat,” Sarek said. “I feel that I must warn you- Ambassador Calla’s daughters are highly spirited. I have lived with them for several months and witnessed it firsthand. I was teaching them to meditate, and we were having some success, but they do not exhibit the same control of their emotions as Vulcan five year olds do. I suspect it will limit them in school if they do not learn control soon. I will work with you in conjunction. I have experience with half-Vulcan children.”

Caia tilted her head. “Your son, Spock,” she said, nodding at the man who was having his ear talked off by his mother.

“Indeed. Many do not know that we also raised a fully human child for a time. It taught Amanda and myself a great deal. I will be of great assistance to you with Lialyah and Soraya.” Caia’s eyes widened. It was true, she did not know of the human child.

“And this...human child,” she said, delicately broaching the subject.

“Yes, she survived the destruction of Vulcan. She is the First Officer aboard the USS Discovery now. The nature of her ship’s mission means that we do not hear from her often. She was not even aware of Vulcan’s destruction until much later. But she is a testament to the Vulcan principles, and a demonstration that even human children can be brought up in the way of logic.”

“Calla wants her children to be brought up with both Furling and Vulcan values.”

“She is doing an admirable job of instilling Furling values in them and is doing her best with the Vulcan values, but she cannot teach what she does not know. I am an Elder, and though I have duties related to that, I can help teach her daughters what her late wife would have wanted them to know.”

“I understand, Ambassador Sarek, and I thank you for your offer.”

-

The four of them shook as much dust off as they could before entering Amanda and Sarek’s home. Caia set her bag down by the door, and Amanda sat her and Spock down with tea before they knew what was happening. Caia looked at Spock, then looked at her tea.

“You are here to raise Ambassador Calla’s children?” he asked. Blunt, are we, she thought to herself. Are all Vulcans this blunt?

“I am here to help raise them, not do it myself. Calla just needed help.” Caia had lifted her veil to drink her tea.

“You are a kinswoman to her. I can see the resemblance.”

“Yes, we are of the same House.” Caia sipped from her tea, feeling a bit annoyed. Calla was not a bad mother for engaging her help. She was extremely busy and had just suffered the loss of her wife. These people were assuming she had brought Caia in to raise her children completely as Furlings, when that was the complete opposite of what she wanted. She had told Caia herself that she would have hired a Vulcan if there had been one available. “Calla wants her children to be raised with both Furling and Vulcan values. I want that known. She would have hired a Vulcan if she could have.”

“I see,” Spock said. “Lialyah is very intelligent. I have not talked to her sister, but she is likely not much different. They need emotional regulation more than anything right now, after the loss of their mother.” 

What was it with these Vulcans and emotional regulation? Clearly, Caia had a little more to learn about them, if they expected five year olds to be as emotionally regulated as adults.

“I’m sure Calla will inform me exactly what they need when we speak more in detail later,” Caia said smoothly.

“I’m sure,” Spock responded.

The two sat in silence with their tea until Amanda returned a little while later and filled the silence with her talk of New Vulcan.

-

Calla had secured a fresh shipment of supplies and considered the day a job well done when she turned off the viewscreen. She went and collected her daughters and made her way to the transporter room.

When the trio reached the planet, Calla released her daughters into her backyard, then made her way over to Amanda and Sarek’s house. They had sent her a message that Caia had arrived and was with them. She was relieved that Caia had found them in the shipyard and was not wandering around, lost.

Sarek greeted her at the door, and she let him know the news of the supplies. He thanked her and escorted her to the living space.

“Caia! I am glad to see that you made it! The girls are outside- you can make your introductions later.” she said in greeting. The younger woman touched her fingers to her forehead in respect before returning the enthusiastic greeting. Calla turned her attention to the younger man in the room, and something in her chest twisted.

“Commander Spock, it is good to see you here as well. It is rare to see an old friend these days.”

“Ambassador Calla, I would like to thank you for all that you have done for my family and my people.”

“Why don’t we dispense with formalities, Spock? There are far too few of us now for this.”

Spock inclined his head.

“I will take Caia with me now so that the three of you can have time to yourselves, but I would like to extend an invitation to all of you for the evening meal.”

“We would be glad to join you,” Amanda said.

“Wonderful,” Calla said with a smile. “Caia, come along. Let’s let them have their time.”

-

Calla had cleared the long work table inside her greenhouse and set out places for them all. Lialyah was in awe of meeting Spock in person, and for once, she was quiet. Her twin, Soraya, seemed to be naturally quieter and regarded Caia and Spock with equal suspicion. She picked at her plomeek soup until her mother chided her to eat. Calla had prepared, with Caia’s help, a selection of Furling and Vulcan foods, wanting to welcome both of the new arrivals. 

Spock looked around curiously after they were finished eating and Calla lost herself in conversation with Caia and Amanda. Sarek came up to him, a shadow at his side. Lialyah.

“Mama’s growing plants from Illyria and Vulcan and Earth and a lot of other planets in here,” the little girl piped up. She pointed at the tag stuck in the earth before them. “These are Risa lilies. They were mother’s favourite.”

“You can read that tag?” Spock inquired of the little girl. She looked back at him like he had asked her what colour the sky was.

“Of course. Mother taught us to read ages ago. Vulcan and Furling.” Soraya appeared at Lialyah’s side and murmured something to her. She rolled her eyes at her sister and replied in a low tone. “I apologise for talking out of turn, Commander Spock,” the young girl said suddenly. Spock raised an eyebrow. Lialyah looked at him expectantly. “You’re supposed to say, ‘I accept your apology, Lialyah.’” Soraya murmured to her again.

“He’s not a Furling. He doesn’t know Apologies,” Soraya said out loud. This caught her mother’s attention, and Calla stood and came over to the small group. She put a hand on each girl’s head.

“I trust they are not being too much?” she said, looking down at the two pairs of eyes that were now looking back up at her. 

“They were showing us the Risa lilies. Lialyah said she can read the tags of the plants in here.” 

“They both can. N’kaia taught them to read early. She was an instructor at the Vulcan Science Academy. She had the perfect mindset for teaching.” Calla smiled fondly at the memory of her beloved. “They can tell you everything that’s growing in here. They helped me plant it all.” Caia and Amanda came over. 

“To new beginnings, for all of us,” Calla said, pressing her fingers to the dirt in front of her. The people around her murmured various blessings and responses according to their own traditions. She smiled, a real smile for the first time in a long time, and for that moment, she felt like she had her home back.

[lswritingdesk]

7. Furling

When Kyrie fell asleep that night, she felt the familiar pull of the Dreamscape. She entered curiously. It had been a while since she had felt compelled to enter the Dreamscape the way she had felt compelled to enter the Fragment. 

When she exited the vines covering her side of the garden, she could see that Daniel was already waiting for her in the centre of it. He was smiling at her in a way that made her slightly uncomfortable. 

“This is new,” she commented, gesturing to the garden. “Summoning me here instead of to your base.”

“I went to sleep with your rock in my hand,” Daniel said with a cocky grin. “It worked.”

“I can see that,” Kyrie replied. “Why is it that you summoned me?”

“I’ve just come from an interesting place. I know what you are,” Daniel said. Kyrie tried not to freeze on his words. “We went to a planet that once was the meeting place of four great races. We recognised the writing of the Nox and the Asgard. There was a third writing, that we called the Ancients. And then there was a fourth, indecipherable except for the name of the race. The Furlings. You. You’re a Furling.”

Kyrie contemplated her response. Elder Rhea couldn’t very well blame her for revealing something Daniel Jackson had deduced on his own. “And you came to this deduction all on your own?”

“It makes sense. You said you had an alliance with the Asgard, you knew of the Nox, you withdrew from the galaxy. You. Are. A. Furling. You are a being of the fourth race.”

“I can’t very well deny it after you put it all together,” Kyrie said at last. 

“But why? Why be so secretive? Why withdraw from the universe?”

“When the Ancients left, and the Goa’uld began to crop up, and the Replicators began to threaten the Asgard...we decided that it was best to withdraw completely. We grounded all of our interstellar ships. The shipyards are rusting, before you ask. We closed off all of our colonies. We cloaked Illyria. For all intents and purposes, we disappeared. It was for our own protection.”

“But you could be helping the Asgard in their fight against the Replicators right now! You could have prevented the Goa’uld from rising to power if you had stayed.”

“I cannot and will not make excuses for my Elders or predict what we could have done. What we could be doing. It’s not my place. I am a Scholar, Daniel, not an Elder, not even an Elder to be. My sacred geometry did not predict that. I cannot simply criticise my governing body like you are asking me to do.” Kyrie’s voice sounded thick. 

“But you’re a Seer, and you said Seers had the power to guide-“

“Not that kind of power,” she responded uncomfortably. For once, Kyrie wanted to be the one with her head in her hands. “Look, I’m uncomfortable with some of the things I am directed to do, I admit. I did not want to conceal things from you. There are things I must yet conceal. I must ask you not to reveal what I am, should the occasion arise that I finally introduce myself to others of your kind. And I ask the Alchemy that you do not fall into the hands of a Goa’uld or other enemy who finds out of our existence from you…” Kyrie sighed. 

“I’m...sorry. I did not think of that. That the Goa’uld could have learned of you through me if…”

“By the Alchemy, it will never come up. But you must understand that our situation has become more complicated now. You cannot tell the Asgard of me, either, understand. It is very important...you must…the journey you are on right now is one that you must take alone with the Asgard for now. I- we- cannot help. Yet.”

“Well, that at least makes sense.”

“It does?” Kyrie asked, genuine surprise in her voice. 

“Yes. We must prove ourselves to the other races one at a time. We probably couldn’t handle two at a time. So yes, it makes sense.” 

“Oh. I will still be here, of course. I can answer questions- probably more, now that you know what I am. I just can’t offer you the aide you seek.”

“If you had just told me from the start, this would have been so much simpler.” Kyrie sighed. 

“Perhaps. Perhaps it would have been harder. It would have been nice if the Fragment had shown me this,” Kyrie said. 

“Not omnipotent, eh?” Daniel said with a smirk. 

“I never claimed to be,” Kyrie said, an edge to her voice. “Visions in the Fragment offer guidance, and then I must interpret that guidance to offer my own guidance.”

“So I’m getting secondhand guidance, is what you’re saying?”

“If you want to put it that way, yes. I would never lie to you outright.”

“But you would, as you say, conceal things from me.”

“I was ordered to. Surely there are things that you are ordered to do yourself that you do not like?”

“Yes, but-”

“Then you must respect that I have aspects of my life that are much the same. You and I are not that much different, Daniel Jackson.”

“You’re an alien with the power to see beyond and see my future, but if you want to call us ‘not that different’, sure, go ahead.”

“It is comments like that that make the Asgard and my Elders make comments of their own that allude to your race as children. You are one of the better of your kind. I expected better of you.”

“That was harsh.”

“That was the truth.”

“I’m glad I know what you are. I can learn so much from you.”

“If you could see it, you would see that I was rolling my eyes at you.”

“I still don’t fully understand the veil. Our conversations would make so much more sense if I were able to see your facial expressions. When others of your society veil, are their veils aways so opaque, or is that just a Seer thing?”

“I’m going to regret you knowing that I’m a Furling. You should just save your questions and live with us for a Cycle.”

“I’d rather know now.” Kyrie sighed.

“No, the veils are not always opaque. My mother veils because she likes it, but she wears sheer blue veils that match her outfits. And hers aren’t electronic like mine is. My eyes were damaged by the Fragment the first time I went into it. I can adjust how much light enters my field of vision with an electronic veil so that I can properly see. Seers wear opaque veils because our eyes are...unsettling to most.”

“In what way?”

“If you were a Furling child, I would demand an apology for nosiness.”

“But I’m not a Furling child.”

“No, you are a Scholar, and I am in a deep hole with you. When my eyes were damaged, they became an opaque, milky white. It is the Mark of the Seer. Most people don’t want to see that, so we veil.”

“That seems a little unfair to you.”

“It is the way we have lived for thousands of Cycles. I do not mind it. Besides, I get away with a lot of facial expressions that I would otherwise have to make apologies for were I not veiled, because I am terrible at masking my emotions. I was constantly having to apologise for them as a child.”

“I take it apologies are big in your society? You’ve mentioned having to make public ones before.”

“Ah yes, for the swimming clothes and the public rudeness. That was...not fun. My mother shrieked at me over the holoscreen for my indecency despite my explanation. Yes. We are an ultra-polite society. There are standard apologies for most everything. Your Colonel will offend a great many of us when he comes to visit. I do not need a Vision to know that.” Daniel chuckled at this.

“He offends a great many people on our world as well. It’s kind of his thing.”

“Mmm. I advise you to do the bulk of the talking on your official visit here.”

“And you won’t give me a hint of when that might be?”

“You know me better than that by now, Daniel.”

“It was worth a try.”

“If we stay here talking, will our bodies experience actual rest?”

“Not entirely, so no, I will not let you keep me here the entire time to answer your questions. Besides, time passes differently in the Dreamscape than in the real world, never mind the differences between Illyria and Earth. I do have a job and a life, as do you. They will come searching for me if I do not appear on time, and though my Krewe leader is somewhat understanding of my...situation, I do not wish to overstep my boundaries with them. I’ve already fainted once on the worksite and left early another time.”

“Your work, do you enjoy it?”

“Immensely. Our forebears are fascinating. They did not use the Fragment or Seers to guide their lives as we do now. Learning about them and adding to the body of knowledge is quite satisfying.”

“I know what you mean. I’ve been to dozens of worlds now, and we’ve learned so much about Earth cultures just from visiting other worlds- it has been amazing. Some worlds are like living museums. I wish I could spend more time studying, but unfortunately my team is assigned to do a lot more than just study.”

“You will have your fill of studying one day, Daniel.”

“Another Vision of my future?”

“No, just a hunch. Everyone retires from active roles in their own time to do research, at least on Illyria. I suspect it’s the same on Earth.”

“Why isn’t the Seer destined to bring the Tau’ri to Illyria an Earth scholar instead?”

“That would be too easy. We have Earth scholars. There are more Furlings than you think on Earth monitoring different Timelines and ensuring that events happen as planned.”

“That’s a little…interventionist.”

“We’re all over the universe. It’s what we’ve always done. As soon as Lakme and Lakira charted the stars, we were out there, in the universe, doing what we did best.”

“But I thought you said your ancestors didn’t follow the Fragment or Seers?”

“They didn’t, not at first. They didn’t understand the Fragment for a long time. But there was just this innate sense of knowing among our people of how to guide civilisations or people or places along the right path without fully getting involved.”

“For millennia, leading right up to you.”

“Leading right up to me.”

“I suppose this is where I should stop asking questions and let you go with grace.”

“Perhaps for now. I have answered many of your questions tonight without very much ducking about the subject. You should be glad.”

“I am. Thank you for not ducking my questions tonight.”

“Thank you for not dragging me into the Fragment. The Dreamscape is a far kinder place to meet. Stay well. We will meet again soon.”

“I hope so. You stay well, too.”

--

@luckyninetales

[lswritingdesk]

6. Asgard

Kyrie had recovered from the previous time she had been summoned into her Dreamscape, but her Krewe leader had not been pleased at the way she had simply collapsed at the work site. She sincerely hoped that she would have advanced warning before she was summoned again the next time and that it would not coincide with work at all. 

She was in the sea when she felt the pull this time. Kyrie had gone to the Tethyos City Cube for the weekend to see her family and visit the sea, which still held a special place in her heart. The pull of the Fragment was strong in her chest as she made for the shore, and it nearly took her breath away as she tried to get to the nearest teleporter. She made hurried apologies to everyone she ran into as she ran for the teleporter and typed a hurried message to Elder Rhea, hoping that the Elder could intervene on her behalf if she stayed in the Fragment longer than she meant to.

Soon Kyrie was stumbling out of the teleporter and towards the Fragment grove. It was far too familiar to her now, and she barely waved towards the Tender as she tried to get to the trees. Her chest was burning from exertion and some unknown pain alike. She was still dripping sea water when she burst through the trees into a utilitarian room that she had never seen before. She was not in her Dreamscape or anywhere that she recognised, and she was still wearing the jumpsuit that she had been swimming in.

“By the Alchemy, Daniel,” she said, when her eyes alighted on him. He held the stone in his hand, looking a little sheepish as he looked her over.

“Bad timing?”

“I was in the sea swimming when I first felt the summoning. It felt like my chest was on fire by the time I finally got to the grove. I’m probably going to have to make a public apology when I get back, sprinting through town to the teleporter in swimming clothes and knocking people out of the way. I contacted an Elder on the way, but…” Kyrie trailed off. She looked around her again, then asked, “Where are we now? I don’t recognise it.”

“Stargate Command, in my personal quarters. I begged off from the end of debriefing so I could summon you. I figured you wouldn’t take kindly to being summoned into a room of strangers.”

“You would be correct. Why have you summoned me, though? Is everything okay?”

“You don’t know why you’ve been called?”

“I don’t follow every detail of your life, Daniel. That would be weird. I know big events, but I generally wait for you or the Timeline to inform me of smaller things. So no, I don’t know why I’m here.”

“We made contact with the Asgard for the first time. With the real Asgard, not just their technology or their holograms.”

“And you want to know what I know about them?”

“A hint of what we are dealing with would be nice.”

“Surely your interactions with them would have given you enough of an indication already.”

“Well, not exactly…” Daniel hedged. Kyrie crossed her arms.

“What did you do?”

“It’s not what we did. It’s more what we haven’t done. They don’t think that we’re advanced enough to bother with yet.”

“Did they call you a race of children?”

“That’s...almost exactly what they called us. How did you know?”

“It’s just very on charactre for them. But at least they say what they mean outright, unlike the Nox.,” Kyrie said with a hint of a snicker in her voice. She wouldn’t tell Daniel that she somewhat agreed with the Asgard’s opinion of the Tau’ri. They were advancing quickly, yes, but they were still children in the eyes of the older races. 

“...true,” Daniel admitted. The Nox had spoken more in riddles than in straight truth when they had met the strange race. “Are the Nox on the same level as the Asgard?”

“Yes, though they did not explore the universe as the Asgard did. They stuck to their world and developed their technologies. Shared them, to an extent, but...they did not disperse for reasons.”

“So you’re familiar with the Asgard?”

“Very. My people have had an alliance with them for millennia. We haven’t been in direct contact with them for a long time, since we withdrew, but they suspect that we are still around. They have no concrete proof, of course, but they have their suspicions. They are a noble race. They will not harm you. They are monitoring you as you advance, and eventually they will reevaluate their opinion of your...status.”

“So you won’t intervene on our behalf?”

“No.”

“We need their help now, though. Just like we need your help. Neither of you are viewing us with the levity that you should be.”

“I cannot speak for the Asgard, but I am only one person. I do not make decisions for my community or governing Elders. You have only met one person from my people,” Kyrie said sharply. “When I say that you are not ready, you have to take me for my word. The decision to introduce you, and your team, to my Elders, is not one that I can make lightly. The Asgard have a difficult decision to make of their own right now, too. If you cannot recognise that, then maybe their declaration that you are still a race of children is correct.” 

Daniel winced at this. “The Goa’uld are posing a serious threat to us, Kyrie. We need help against them if we are to survive.”

“I understand that and validate your struggles. I cannot make decisions for the Asgard or for my Elders, however. I can pass along your concerns as I have been, but that is all I can do. And you should give yourself more credit than you have thus far. You have held your own against a race that once enslaved you.”

“We’re losing ground,” Daniel said quietly. 

“Not for long,” Kyrie hinted. Daniel looked up at this, his eyes quizzical. “And that is all I will say.” A knock sounded on the door, and Kyrie backed away. “I must go. Try not to be so forceful in summoning me next time. Let go of the stone.” 

Daniel did as he was commanded and set the stone on a side table. He opened the door, and Jack entered. “Talking to yourself again?” he asked.

“Something like that,” Daniel mumbled to himself.

-

Kyrie was getting better at not stumbling out of the forest. Elder Rhea met her at the fringes with a robe. 

“They’ve made contact with the Asgard. The Asgard told them that they are but a child race still. They are asking for help. I promised nothing.”

“The Asgard will come around soon,” Elder Rhea said quietly. Kyrie tilted her head towards the older woman.

“What did you See?”

“Their battle with the Replicators is not going well. They will be forced to make a decision between the humans they vowed to protect and the battle in their home galaxy. The Tau’ri will come into play.”

“What about us?”

“We will not involve ourselves in the matter. It is for the Tau’ri to prove themselves to the Asgard, not for us to intervene. We will not risk the Replicators coming to our world.”

“But if we reveal ourselves to the Tau’ri, surely we must reveal ourselves to the Asgard as well?”

“Yes, we must, but the time is not yet here for us to reveal ourselves to anyone. There may come a time when you must introduce yourself to Daniel Jackson’s team but conceal your true identity.” The thought of this made Kyrie feel uncomfortable. She thought they had an obligation to help their ally of old, and she did not wish to lie to anyone, but she could not go against the orders of an Elder.

“I...understand.”

-

Kyrie had explained as much as she could about her ‘extra duties’ as a Seer to her Krewe Leader after giving the summoning stone to Daniel, and they understood...partially. Kyrie suspected that Elder Rhea and perhaps even the Elder from her Krewe Leader’s House had intervened on her behalf so that when she felt the pull of the Fragment again while on a worksite and had to sprint off, they were surprisingly good-natured about her disappearance.

It had only been a few months, and Kyrie thought that this was a very short amount of time for the Asgard to change their minds about the Tau’ri. She would just have to wait and see. She was closer to the Fragment this time, but the journey there did not hurt as badly as it had before. Perhaps Daniel was being gentler in his summoning, or perhaps she was getting used to the sensation.

The Tender merely waved her on as she entered the trees. She came out in the same room as before. Daniel was pacing back and forth when she appeared.

“You look nervous,” Kyrie said by way of greeting.

“There are three Goa’uld System Lords sitting in a boardroom several levels above our head, so yes I am nervous.”

“That’s...a development,” Kyrie commented.

“A development,” Daniel said harshly. “They’re debating whether to attack us. Thor was trying to argue on our behalf, but Teal’c, and another one of their kind, Sokar, were found injured. They think we attacked them.”

“What do you expect me to do?”

“I don’t know, argue on our behalf, bring a ship here to defend us, tell the Asgard to step up and defend us? You said you had a treaty with them.”

“The Asgard have far bigger problems in their home galaxy than the squabble of System Lords in the Milky Way.”

“That’s what they told us before they left.”

“You have to prove to them that you were not responsible for the attack and hope that they then decide not to attack.”

“What do you think we’ve been doing?” Kyrie said nothing. “Your silence is not reassuring.”

“If the Furling were meant to interfere in this, the Elders would have shown up to the meeting between you, the Asgard, and the System Lords.” Daniel gave a long sigh.

“I was afraid you’d say that. You know, what good are you?” Kyrie closed her eyes and gave a sigh of her own.

“One day I will be able to help you in the way that you desire, but…”

“But today is not that day?”

“Correct.”

Daniel shook his head ruefully, and before Kyrie could say anything else, he released the stone, and Kyrie vanished. Kyrie exited the grove, frustration in her heart. She wished she could do more for Daniel, but there was nothing to be done. Elder Rhea had made it clear that for a while, the path was for the Asgard and the Tau’ri to tread alone. She could only bide her time until her part in the matter was made clearer to her.

--

@heathenterkin​ @luckyninetales @logicheartsoul​ @sky-of-starflowers​ @kirazalea​ @star-fish23 @lifefiction03

[lswritingdesk]

5. Help

Months passed before Kyrie saw Daniel in her Dreamscape again. She would occasionally summon it up, just to make sure everything was fine there, but she never summoned Daniel there. There was no need. She knew that when the time came, they would come back together. She was not expecting to be summoned to the Dreamscape in the middle of the day, however.

Kyrie was with her Krewe in Rata Pten, studying a newly opened part of the site. Kyrie thought maybe she had stood up too fast until an image of the Fragment grove appeared before her eyes. She didn’t have time to say anything before she hit the ground in a dead faint, her Krewe members crowding around her in concern.

Kyrie woke with a start in the Dreamscape garden, cursing. She picked herself up off the ground and brushed her white uniform off. She looked up, and Daniel was approaching her from his side of the garden at a run. She put her hands up, and a hedge grew between her and Daniel, preventing him from reaching her. Well this is new, she thought to herself.

“Kyrie!” Daniel called to her, picking helplessly at the hedge. “You have to help me!”

“How did you summon me here?” Kyrie asked, a little unnerved at just being plucked out of the world like that. 

“I’ve been in the garden for hours, and finally you appeared. Your Fragment must have finally decided to bring you here or something. Listen, something has happened. The Goa’uld came back to Abydos. They took Sha’re and Skaara. They obliterated the settlement. You have to help me get them back.”

Kyrie’s face fell. So Daniel’s peace had come to an end so soon. “Daniel, I-”

“Don’t tell me you can’t help. You have to. You said you were the Keeper of my Timeline. It’s not supposed to end this way.”

“Daniel, I’m a Keeper. I don’t intervene like...like that. I can’t just get them back for you.”

“There has to be something you can do,” he said desperately.

“Daniel, my people don’t even have access to weapons,” Kyrie said softly. “I couldn’t go after them.”

“But some of your people have special abilities. You’ve alluded to them before. You could get a team and-”

“Daniel, you know that’s not how it works.” His head dropped, and he took his glasses off. Kyrie waved a hand, and the hedge disappeared. A bench appeared in its place. “Sit.” He did, and he put his head in his hands, much like he did the first time they met. “I am so sorry for your loss, Daniel, but as I told you before, Abydos was your beginning, not your end. You are meant to be with the Tau’ri, not the Abydonians.”

“But Sha’re and Skaara-”

“Your mission to free them from the Goa’uld will have far reaching consequences. Your life on Earth was not over when you left a year ago. It was merely...dormant. You carry a great deal of sorrow with you now, but that sorrow will teach you great compassion. Do not forget your compassion as you go forth in your mission. I am sorry that I cannot do more for you now.” They sat in silence. 

Kyrie got up and began pacing back and forth. There had to be a better way for him to contact her than to just sit in the Dreamscape and will her to appear. She couldn’t just be fainting everywhere, either. This was her Dreamscape. She made the rules here. She picked up a palm-sized stone from the ground and concentrated on making it round and smooth. She then made it milky-white in colour, thinking of her eyes. He wouldn’t make the association, but she would. She approached him again.

“Open your hand,” she said. When he looked up at her, she held out the stone to him. Daniel took it from her and ran his thumb over the milky surface. “Next time you need me, take this and concentrate on me. Hopefully it will summon me to the Fragment or to the Dreamscape instead of just...taking me.”

“Taking you?” Daniel asked confusedly. 

“I was at work when I was summoned here. All I remember is hitting the ground in a dead faint and waking up here. Hopefully summoning me with the stone will be a more natural process.”

“Oh.”

“I have to go now. I don’t know what is happening with my body and need to find out. But I have faith in you, Daniel Jackson. Your path will not be smooth, but it will be true. The answers you seek will come to you in time.” In a rare gesture of affection, Kyrie laid her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it before leaving him to contemplate the stone.

--

@heathenterkin​ @luckyninetales @logicheartsoul​ @sky-of-starflowers​ @kirazalea​ @star-fish23 @lifefiction03

[lswritingdesk]

3. Close Quarters

Spock was on a call with his mother and father when a sharp wail sounded from their side of the connection. It was followed by the muffled sounds of...tearful singing? 

“What is that sound?” Spock asked. 

“Young Lialyah is protesting the terms of her confinement,” Sarek replied. 

“Lialyah? One of Ambassador Calla’s daughters?”

“Yes. She sings when she is confined,” Sarek said, closing his eyes for a moment. Amanda translated. 

“We’re still living in very close quarters, and it is quite stressful on everyone. I help Calla with the girls, but it is clear that they want their mother back. They do not understand, and Calla doesn’t know what else to do. Lialyah in particular has been breaking rules left and right for attention.”

“Perhaps Ambassador Calla should give her attention instead of punishing her, then. At the very least, it might result in more quiet.” Amanda frowned at her son. 

“Spock, it is not your place to judge how a parent does or does not discipline their child.” It was Sarek who said this. 

“She’s doing the best she can. She’s exhausted.”

“I see,” Spock said, but he still thought she should comfort the child instead of punish her. “I want to talk to the child.” Amanda looked to her husband and then back to Spock. 

“Spock, I don’t think that is the best idea right now.”

“If Ambassador Calla is in her quarters, please ask her if I might speak to the child.” Amanda frowned more deeply, but she got up and went into the living space. Calla was on the couch with her other daughter, Soraya, and looked up when Amanda emerged from her bedroom. She winced. 

“I’m sorry. I did not mean for my child to interrupt your call,” she began to apologise. 

“Spock wants to talk to her,” Amanda said flatly. 

“I’m sorry?” Calla said dumbly. 

“Spock wants to talk to Lialyah.” Calla closed her eyes. Great, another person dragged into my personal mess. She waved a hand, her other arm wrapped around Soraya. 

“Tell him I said good luck.”

Amanda entered the smaller bedroom, and the singing abruptly stopped when Lialyah saw Amanda. 

“‘Manda. Am I allowed to come out now?”

“No, sweetheart. But I have someone who wants to talk to you.” The little girl perked up, looking at the PADD in Amanda’s hand. “Is it mother?”

“No, we’ve talked about that, remember?”

“Oh.”

“This is my son, Spock,” she said, sitting on the small bed next to the girl. “Just like you are Calla’s daughter. He wants to talk to you.” A small, tear-stained face appeared on Spock’s screen. 

“You’re not on a planet, are you?” the little girl asked earnestly. “Planets are dangerous!”

“No, Lialyah, I am on a ship. Why were you crying?”

“Mama put me in my room alone. I was angry.”

“Are you angry often?” The little girl thought for a moment. 

“Yes. I want my mother, but everyone keeps saying I can’t see her. They say she is gone, but if she’s really gone, why can’t we take her to the Fragment? When my grandfather was gone, they took him to the grove, and he came back the next cycle.”

“Your mother was Vulcan, Lialyah. Vulcans do not go to the Fragment or come back after they have died.”

“But mother was mama’s partner. They let partners of Furlings go to the grove all the time.” Spock was very close to sighing. 

“You know that a body must be taken to the grove, right? And you know that your home planet was destroyed? You said that planets were dangerous.” Lialyah nodded. “Your mother was on the planet. They could not retrieve her body. There is no one to take to the grove. Your mama has explained this to you.” The little girl’s lip began to tremble. 

“But I want her.”

“I know that you want your mother, but you cannot have her. I am sorry. The...Eternal Alchemy has taken her back.” Spock fumbled with the words, wondering if he was saying the right thing. 

“I thought that my mother was gone, and I was very angry and upset, too.”

“But you are a Vulcan,” Lialyah pointed out. 

“I am half-Vulcan. I experience emotion deeply like you do, Lialyah. And your mother experiences emotion perhaps even more deeply than us. She is very upset over losing your mother, too. She needs you to be brave and good for her right now so she can help the other Vulcans start a new colony. Did you know that you are in orbit around a new planet now? Before long, it will become your new home.”

Lialyah looked panicked. “I do not want to go to the surface,” she said, her voice breathy. “What if it collapses like Vulcan did?”

“I promise that it will not collapse, Lialyah. We stopped the person who made Vulcan collapse. He will never hurt you or your family again.” The little girl did not look convinced. “You must be good and brave for your mama. And you must tell your sister to do the same. Do you understand me?”

Lialyah slowly nodded. “Yes, Spock.”

“Go to your mama and apologise, and she will let you out of your room.” The little girl practically leapt out of the bed. 

“You better hope that Calla actually lets her go, Spock, or else she’ll be very angry with you,” Amanda commented. 

“She is five. Her memory of me will be limited.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t count on that.” Calla entered the room, and Amanda offered up the PADD wordlessly. 

“Spock. I suppose I should thank you for silencing my child’s wails, but her punishment was not over, apology not withstanding.”

“I apologise, Ambassador Calla. I merely thought that if she apologised-“

“She’ll make it up another day, I have no doubt. I don’t know what you said to her, but thank you. I was not expecting much when you asked to speak with her, to be honest with you.” Spock noted how tired Calla looked and hoped the little girl would give her mother some respite. 

“I will let you get back to your parents in this rare bit of silence,” Calla said, handing the PADD back to Amanda and letting the woman exit the room. Calla herself flopped backwards on the bed and covered her face with her hands, allowing herself a moment before she went back out to her children. 

[lswritingdesk]

The Chikkran Camps

This fic is a sequel to Chlorophyll.

-

Tiy met the landing party from the Enterprise at the agreed upon beam-down point. It was far enough from the camps so as not to cause any of the people there any distress or distraction, and a decent enough walk for Tiy to give an appropriate explanation to the people from the Enterprise.

“Welcome to the Chikkran refugee camps,” he said in welcome, sweeping his hand out in a gesture towards the tent city in the distance. “We are very fortunate to have the Federation on our side in this matter. I will take you into the camps.”

“Tiy, it has been a long time,” Captain Kirk said, shaking the man’s hand. “Last I saw you, you were only 18 and scared out of your mind.” 

Tiy smiled in return. “I assure you, in the ten years that have passed, I have grown much more sure of myself.”

“I’m sure you have,” Kirk replied. “Why don’t you take us to the others? The message said that they were all here.”

“They are, indeed.” 

Ten years prior, on a visit to the planet Chikkra, Captain Kirk had unwittingly helped five Chikkrans escape from a research facility where they were being brutally experimented on. Since then, they had all campaigned furiously against their home planet and the vicious conditions under which they had lived, prompting the Federation to take up sanctions against Chikkra and even rescue more of those who had been held in the research facilities as experimental subjects. The Federation and Starfleet had created a refugee camp for those displaced Chikkrans on another planet, and it was there that the original five had come to support the effort to free their brothers and sisters from the research facilities.

“I went into engineering,” Tiy was saying. “I...was with Starfleet.”

“Was?” Kirk asked.

“Unfortunately our views on what should be done on Chikkra differed. I was an engineer on a ship that was supposed to be pursuing diplomatic talks with Chikkra to force their hand on the research facilities. When the talks fell apart, as I warned them they would, I hacked their media system and uploaded videos of my brothers and sisters telling their stories of being experimented on. They played on loop for some days before they were finally taken down. Starfleet did not approve of my methods, though they ultimately succeeded in waking some people up, and I was court-martialed for the action. I left Starfleet on a dishonourable discharge.”

McCoy snorted. “Sounds like something you’d do, Jim.” Kirk shot the doctor a look.

“You had honourable intentions, it sounds like, but Starfleet did have the right to court-martial you for defying orders,” Kirk said.

“Oh, I know they did,” Tiy said. “I don’t blame them. I’m of more use in the camps, anyway. I keep the lights on around here, and I can be of more use to the Resistance without the burden of orders hanging over me. We’ve had a lot of defectors from Chikkra come to us because of what I did. I don’t regret it.”

“So what are the others up to?” McCoy asked, changing the subject. “There have been notes from Aya throughout the years, but she’s the only one who has stayed in contact, and even then, it has been sporadic.”

“Oh, she and Kel went into medical. I’m sure you knew that about Aya. She’s a surgeon now. She oversees the camp’s medical. Kel went the nursing route, keeps Aya from self-destructing. They both went through Starfleet, too. Medical was easier and taught them more that way. They’re officially assigned here. Nix is a botanist and is trying out some interesting terraforming techniques here. Mica, well, Mica keeps us all together. He oversees everyone who comes in and out of this camp. Knows every face, every name. Between the five of us, and a few key others, we’ve got this place locked down pretty well.”

“Sounds like you have a pretty tight ship running here,” Kirk commented. “We were asked to come take a look on behalf of Starfleet, you know, general orders.” Tiy side-eyed him.

“Read: make sure we weren’t planning anything.”

“Well…”

“We are well aware that our desires and timelines do not match up with Starfleet’s. I know they still have their eyes on me, after what I did. And listen, we’re grateful for the assistance we’re receiving from them and the Federation, but the Resistance is its own entity.”

“How established is the Resistance on Chikkra?” Kirk asked. Tiy frowned.

“I don’t think I can answer that.” Kirk frowned in return. “I can’t answer that both because I must protect them and because I do not fully know. If Starfleet sent you here to sniff out the Resistance, you’re going to find a lot of tight lips.” They came up to the first line of tents. A man stepped out of one of them. “Ah, Mica. I told you that no one comes in or out of the camp without him knowing.”

“Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, it is good to see you again.” Mica said. He nodded at the others in the landing party who were unfamiliar to him, his eyes memorising each. “Tiy and I will show you around the camps, at least until something breaks and Tiy is taken away from us.” Tiy grinned at this. “Come, we will find the others.”

Nix was not in the greenhouses, but they dispatched a runner to fetch him from the fields he was apparently overseeing. “He is having very good luck getting them planted with extra crops. We need them. Every week brings more refugees from the home planet.”

“Are all of these refugees from the research facilities?” Kirk asked.

Mica shook his head. “Some, but not enough. Some are just regular citizens who have spoken out against the labs and must flee for their lives. Others are rescued from the labs, also by daring citizens, who must then flee. We’ve even had some defectors from the labs themselves- the occasional scientist or guard. They are...special cases. They are not as welcomed here, given their pasts, but we try to maintain an open mind and welcome all Chikkrans here.” 

Nix came striding up and joined their little party as they passed the camp kitchen tents. He peeked in for a report on how they were doing supply-wise before ducking back to rejoin the group.

At last they reached the centre of the mass of tents, where all was apparently not well. They could hear shouting coming from one of the centre tents. Kel was guarding the entrance to the tent and shook her head when the party came up. 

“If they hadn’t rearranged Dya’s organs in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to operate!”

“Why are you shouting at me? I didn’t do it!”

“You worked in the blasted facility! Gods curse it, get out of my tent!”

A man slunk out past Kel, and Kel glared at him. Mica sighed. 

“As I said before, the scientists who defect from the labs are special cases. Some are allowed to work in their former professions, like the doctors. We need their help, unfortunately, in the case of the doctors, but Aya detests having them around.”

“Aya was operating on a refugee new to the camps, Dya, this morning,” Kel said, still blocking the entrance to the tent. “Their organs were a mess. That doctor was attending. They knew the patient in question and thought they could help. Dya died on the table. It was honestly a hopeless case, but Aya is furious.”

Dr. McCoy stepped forward, but Kel stepped to the side. “I can’t let you in there, Dr. McCoy.”

“Kel, I know a thing or two about losing a patient. Let me talk to her.” Kel gave him a dubious look.

“Losing a patient is one thing. We’ve lost plenty of patients here. This is a bit of a different case, though. Dya died because she was experimented on, and Aya couldn’t help.”

“I still think I might have a word or two for her. Mind letting me through?” Kel crossed her arms and looked the doctor up and down. Kirk cleared his throat.

“Bones, let this one go. If Aya needs time, let her have it. Kel is right, we don’t know the situation here.” Kel’s eyes flickered to the captain.

“I’m not responsible for any physical harm that may come to you,” Kel warned, stepping out of the way. “The rest of you, go,” she said, flicking her hands at them. Mica led Kirk and the rest of the landing party away to see the rest of the camp, while McCoy took a tentative step into the medical tent. It was surprisingly well-lit inside, but then, they had just finished a surgery inside.

Aya sat on a tall stool next to an operating table looking down at the body that lay there. Someone had pulled up a sheet to partially cover the woman there, but their shoulders and head were still visible. Aya was stroking her hair. She looked up, eyes narrowed, when McCoy coughed to make his presence known.

“I expressly asked to be left alone,” she said, anger in her voice. 

“I’ve lost a patient or two before, darlin’. I think I know a little of what’s going through your mind.”

“No, I don’t think you do. Dya was dead before she got on my table. Can you honestly say you’ve had a patient come under your knife that was dead before you ever even touched them?” 

“Yes, though maybe not in the way that you’re implying. I’ve never had patients, save for you and your four friends, who were living experiments, come under my care. But I have had patients whose conditions made them ticking clocks. There was nothing I could do for them, no matter how hard I tried. I know you tried hard with Dya here.”

“Dya is my fourth death this month,” Aya said dully. “She wasn’t even the worst off. When I first examined her, I thought maybe we could reverse some of the damage. None of this will be okay until those research facilities are burned to the ground.” She looked at her hands. “I blame myself for blood on my hands when they are the ones who put it there.”

McCoy reached out and took her hands. “Listen, darlin’, you have healing hands here. You took the same oath I did, to heal and not harm. You said it yourself- they put the blood there, not you. You are doing the best you can here, and I’m sure that for every death there is, there are five more who walk away from your table. One day, those research facilities will fall, and when they do, you can celebrate, but until then, you’ve got a job to do. And from the reports coming out of here, you’re doing it very admirably.”

Aya pulled her hands out of his and slipped off the stool. Very slowly, she pulled the sheet over Dya’s face.

“I need some sun,” she said, pulling McCoy out of the tent. Her exposed skin flushed light green in the sunlight. “Let’s find your friends.”

They were out by the giant solar generators that provided power to the camp. Tiy was patting them affectionately. Kirk winced slightly when he saw McCoy and Aya, and Aya looked down to see blood on her scrubs and shoes. She shrugged at him.

“Didn’t you know it’s tradition to make your Chikkran tours at least somewhat uncomfortable?” McCoy chuckled at this. Kel raised an eyebrow.

“I’m surprised she didn’t rip you apart for disturbing her,” she commented mildly.

“Oh, you know, we doctors have a sort of rapport with one another.”

“So, Captain Kirk,” Aya said, changing the subject, “do you have a favourable report of us to give to your superiors?” 

“I admit that I have a few questions still, and some screaming to omit from the report, but overall, yes, it is favourable.”

“I’m sure we can answer at least some of your questions,” Aya responded mildly, looking at her nails. “And I’m glad we’re up to snuff. We work very hard around here to keep things running smoothly. Now let’s go treat you to some fine Chikkran hospitality and see if we can’t answer some of those lingering questions.”

[lswritingdesk]

Sick Fic Prompts (Cute and/or Sad)

Dialogue Prompts

1) “I’m fine.” “You not fine, you need to go to the hospital.” “I’m fine! Just a little dizzy. That’s all. Nothing to worry about.” 2) “It’s just a cough, I’ll be fine.” 3) “When’s the surgery?” 4) “Bust me out of here, would you? I don’t wanna spend my birthday in a hospital.” 5) “Why are you crying? I’m the one that’s dying.” “I’m sorry.” “God you’re such a crybaby. Come here, I can’t hug you if you’re all the way over there.” 6) “Give it to me straight, Doc. How long do they have to live?” “Yeah, it’s just a mild case of bronchitis…” 7) “You’re dying.” “God fucking wishes he could kill me. I’m gonna live forever.” 8) “You should go to a support group for people with-” “I’m not going to a fucking support group. Those things are depressing.” “You should make some friends.” “Make friends? This isn’t Fault in Our Stars, I’m not gonna join a support group that changes my life and Ansel Elgort is not gonna swoop in and take me to Amsterdam no matter how fuckin sick that would be.” 9) “You look kinda sexy bald.” “After I beat cancer the next thing I’ll be beating is your ass.” “Ooh, sounds kinky. You promise?” “I hate you so much.” 10) “You’ve been sitting in that wheelchair all morning staring at me. What are you doing?” “Well, now that I’m bald and walking is annoying I thought I’d try being Professor X and seeing if I can make people do whatever I want.” “Is it working?” “Well, you’re still bothering me and not making me chocolate chip cookies so I can confirm I am not a mutant.” 11) “Will you make me some soup?” “No.” “But I’m sick.” “Ugh, fine, what kind do you want?” “Can you make the one with the little stars in it?” “It’s like taking care of a toddler.” 12) “Will you kiss me better?” “I can’t kiss the influenza out of you.” “…” “Don’t give me the puppy eyes, I’ll get sick if I kiss you.” “…” “Goddamn it, you better take care of me when I get sick!” 13) “My body feels like it weighs a million pounds.” “I’m not walking all the way over there to put the remote in your hand. It’s literally an inch away from your hand, just pick it up.” 14) “My body…so cold…my mouth…so dry…my stomach…so empty…” “Blanket…right next to you…food and water…in the kitchen…Person A…so dramatic.” “My temperature…so high…my body…getting weaker…Person B…so unhelpful.” “Just get up! You can walk to the kitchen.” “Can’t…not strong enough…wont make it.” “It’s ten feet from where you’re sitting.” 15) “I’m sick and I need you to take care of me.” “You want me to take care of you? I don’t take care of anybody. I’m not even good at taking care of myself.” “Maybe you should just call Person A to come take care of me.” 16) “I’m sick. Will you make me some chicken soup?” “No. Die.” “I’m starting to think we’re not friends.” “I'vs explicitly told you many times we are not friends.” “Fine. I’ll get my own soup. I’ll make it special and only my /friends/ can have some!” 17) “Person A is sick.” “So were /not/ going to the party?” “We have to take care of them.” “…do we though?” 18) “Achoo!” “Ugh! Sneeze into your fucking elbow, you monster. Who raised you?!” 19) “Will you go pick up my medicine for me?” “Why would I do that for you?” “Because you love me?” “Yeah, but do I really love you enough to leave this bed for you?” 20) “You think I’m thinking about sex with you while you’re sick?” “Yeah.” “Okay, yeah, I was. But we can’t do that because I don’t wanna get sick!” “Be honest. For this body? You’d get a little sick.” “Yeah, I would.”

Regular Prompts

1) A gets sick and keeps coughing, insisting they’re fine. Eventually they cough so hard in front of B that blood comes up. B panics and takes A to the hospital. When they get there the doctor tells them it’s just the flu and that A just coughed too hard. B is relieved but immediately starts taking care of A. 2) A and B are roommates and when A gets sick B’s taking care of them. When A gets better they’re sad that B isn’t going to be taking care of them anymore so they decide to pretend they’re still sick to keep B’s attention. B catches them heating up their thermometer and decides to keep playing along until A can admit it. 3) A’s always complaining about how B ruins their dates with anyone and when they finally meet C and claim it’s love at first sight B ends up getting sick and asks if A can take care of them. A wears gloves, face masks, and uses disinfectant spray any time B even breathes near them. When it’s time for their date B is really sick, laying in the floor and A decides to cancel their date with C to sit with B and play with their hair while they’re getting sick. B insists that A leaves for their date telling them they don’t want to ruin it and never intended to ruin any of A’s dates. When A realizes they want to stay with B and take care of them rather than go on a date with C they remember that B never really ruined their dates. A just always decided to skip them to help/hang out with B instead. (Bonus if A ends up getting sick because they kiss B after realizing their feelings, and B ends up taking care of them when they get sick.) 4) A and B are enemies who get flu shots at the same time but instead of flu shots they end up getting infected on accident by a disease there’s no known cure for yet. They end up getting put in the same room and are the only other person the other can interact with. They bicker and fight about dumb things and their only interaction is with people head to toe in suits to prevent them from getting the disease. Everyone keeps telling them they don’t have a cure yet and things start getting bad when their symptoms get worse. They both begin to feel bad for the other and slowly realize they’re all they have right now since they’re not allowed any other human interaction. They bond and try to keep each other’s spirits up even when they come to terms that they might die together. 5) A and B are roommates who’ve never liked each other who end up catching C’s sickness and spend a week arguing over who’s going to do which chore. When being sick brings them closer and they spend time bonding over TV and movies they decide they could potentially see them as friends. 6) A and B are sick but aren’t allowed to leave so they decide to be dramatic and send long drawn out messages to one another since they live across from one another with a clothes line between them that they can run the letters back and forth on. Doing this every day makes their day and soon they find themselves falling for each other. 7) A is sick and has no one to take care of them. B is the wild neighbor who’s able to walk out their window and down the fire escape to bother them every day. When B notices A is sick they step in to take care of them which A hates but soon grows to love. (Bonus if they’ve never had someone take care of them so it’s very strange but nice.) 8) A and B are enemies who are competitive as hell and when they both catch C’s sickness they make it a competition to see who can get over it faster. 9) A is sick and they feel awful and B takes care of them. When A notices the symptoms aren’t going away and that they’re just staying the same B takes them to a doctor worried. They’re both surprised when the doctor tells them it’s just allergies. 10) A and B go to the doctor to see if A’s sick. When the doctor tells them it’s just allergies they buy medication and get on with it. When they don’t get over it and things get worse they have a nurse friend of theirs check A they inform them that they indeed have strep throat.

Last one for today and then I’m gonna go to sleep, wake up, write some more, make some palettes, and try to get the rest tomorrowish? I don’t know for sure but they’ll be coming!

[lswritingdesk]

“Hey. Do I need to carry you?”

“No, no... I’m fine.”

“I can do it. Don’t underestimate me.”

“*laughs* I know you can. I’m okay, though... I just sprained it... I think.”

[lswritingdesk]

20 MORE Tsundere/Grumpy Prompts !

part 1 is here

1. “Do I enjoy this? What a stupid question to ask...”

2. “Yeah, but... only I can be mean to you, okay?” *blushing*

3. “S-Sorry... I didn’t see you there.”

4. “Who, me? I, uh, was just passing through...”

5. “I guess you can tag along. Not like you have anything else to do.”

6. “R-Right now? Everyone is watching, you idiot!”

7. “Why can’t you just say what you mean? Now I’ll be thinking all day about what you meant!”

8. “I’m only letting you in here/do this because you’re sick and I need to make sure you don’t die.

9. “Yeah, well... I guess I don’t hate you.”

10. “Y-You heard me! Don’t make me say it again.”

11. “I’m only giving you my coat because I feel sorry for you. “

12. “You’re picking me as your partner for this? Why?”

13. “You know... you don’t always have to think about me.”

14. “I’m not important anyway. Why do you care so much?”

15. “O-Of course this isn’t a date!! What on earth gave you that idea??”

16. “I’m used to doing stuff alone, it’s fine.”

17. “H-How long have you been standing there?”

18. “I’m sick of saying your name. Give me something else to call you.”

19. “You’d better not tell anyone I said that!”

20. “I was trying to be romantic! I’m never going to try something like that again, it just goes right over your stupid head!”

[lswritingdesk]

Petty Rivalries

I was very disappointed to learn that Leonard McCoy, self-proclaimed Georgia Boy, attended OLE MISS for either undergrad or medical school, it is not specified. No self-respecting Georgia Boy would eschew a Georgia institution for Ole Miss. I guess I can at least be thankful that he didn’t attend Alabama...anyway, this is what happens when he meets a Georgia Girl who was raised right.

-

“Here,” Leonard said, tossing you a hoodie. You were shivering on his bed in his dorm room at Starfleet. You caught the hoodie and were about to put it on when you read the text across the front.

“Do you have something else?” you asked.

“What, did I accidentally throw you something dirty? I swear I just did laundry.”

“No,” you said, holding up the offending item so that the text faced him. “I can’t wear this. It’s an affront to nature.” Leonard looked at you, confused. You scoffed. “You call yourself a Georgia boy, and you went to Ole Miss?” You threw the hoodie back at him and hit him square in the chest.

“School rivalries are petty and outdated,” he retorted, throwing the hoodie back at you. “Put it on before you freeze to death.”

“Not on my honour. I’d rather turn into a popsicle. Besides, whose fault is it that it’s so cold in here? What is the thermostat set at, 60?”

“Jim likes it cold, and I just put on extra layers. It works out.”

“I still don’t know why you roomed with that troglodyte.”

“That troglodyte reads more in a month than you and I do in a year. He’s not a troglodyte.”

“He is when it comes to women! But that’s not what we were arguing about. You went to Ole Miss. Why?”

“They have a good medical school.”

“So does the University of Georgia. And Medical College of Georgia. And Emory. Why on Earth would you go to a rival SEC school?”

“Sugar, they haven’t played football in over 200 years.”

“Don’t ‘Sugar’ me. We may not have played football in over 200 years, but the SEC is still alive and well, and you know it.”

“Petty rivalries, as I said before. I wanted to get out of Georgia, okay?”

“So go to a school up north or out west, or on another planet! Not another SEC school!”

“The north was too cold. The west didn’t appeal to me.”

“So put on extra layers,” you said mockingly. “And you ended up out west for Starfleet.”

“Yeah, well, Starfleet wasn’t the original plan, okay? Just put on the damn hoodie. It won’t kill you.”

“It might,” you muttered, slipping the overlarge hoodie over your body. You had to admit, it was soft, and it smelled of him, which was nice. You sat back against his headboard and snuggled into it.

“Looks nice on you,” Leonard said with a grin, wrapping his arms around you. You grumbled. He kissed your temple and pulled the covers up over you.

-

Leonard opened his Christmas present from you while you looked on with a cheeky grin.

He held up a bright red hoodie with a large “Georgia G” on it.

“I can’t wear this,” he told you flatly. You pulled his Ole Miss hoodie tighter around you.

“‘Course you can. After all, it’s just a petty rivalry, right?” He glared at you. “Here, I’ll make you a deal. Wear it, make it smell nice and good like you, and I’ll trade you.” He pulled the hoodie over his head.

“You sure look good in red and black, babe.”

[lswritingdesk]

2. Calla’s Gift

Spock took Calla’s call in his private quarters. When the call came through Communications, she had requested to speak only to him. When the woman came up on his PADD, she looked considerably better than she had the last time she had appeared on screen to him.

“Commander Spock, it is good to see you.”

“Ambassador Calla. I must admit, it is still odd to call you Ambassador. I am still used to your father being the Ambassador.”

“Many are, though it has been three years since I replaced him.”

“I thought you hated Vulcan.”

“That was something I said often as a child, but I did not truly mean it. I did not understand the gift of being brought up on another world at the time.”

“That’s not what you said when you came back from your Rite. You said that you were of age and could make your own decisions and that you hated your parents for bringing you back.”

“Of age was a questionable term, and while I did hate them for a time for not leaving me on Illyria after my Rite, I grew to understand their reasoning. It just took time. Anyways, I will help the Vulcans as much as I can now.”

“I speak with my father regularly. He has kept me apprised of the goings on on your ship and told me as much. He tells me that your ship is a... rowdy one. I did not understand at first that many of those that you rescued were children.”

“Ah, yes. It is not that we did not wish to save adults, but...it is the Furling way. We treasure our children above all, so we targeted schools with our beams. There are many adults aboard our other ship, though.”

“Children are very valuable to the Vulcans as well. Any Vulcan life right now is precious. Am I to understand that you have found a suitable planet for a new colony?”

“Yes, we are in orbit around it now, and my Elders have sent three more ships with building materials and more to aid in construction. I must confess, I will be glad when habitations are constructed on the surface. I share my quarters with five others now. I sleep with my daughters, the First Officer takes the couch in the living space, and your father is in my bedroom.”

“You have daughters?”

“Ah, yes, you wouldn’t know of that either, would you? Twins.”

“A precious gift to you, old friend.”

“Yes, they are.” Calla looked down. “Their mother, my partner, was on Vulcan when it collapsed. N’kaia was a precious gift as well. I did not know her location, or I- I had hoped our other ship would have picked her up, but we are well into documenting everyone who is aboard our ships now, and she did not make it.”

“I am very sorry for your, and your daughters’, loss,” Spock said softly.

“Thank you. The girls are young enough that they don’t understand why she cannot return. They know the Furling ways- they don’t understand why she can’t just wait until the next Cycle and be reborn out of the grove. I tried to explain that she was Vulcan, and that we also did not have a body, but...children.” She shook her head. Almost as if on cue, young voices sounded loudly when the door behind Calla’s PADD whooshed open, but she held up a hand.

“But Spock- I must tell you something. The reason why I called. The other ship- it conducted beam sweeps of the Ark and the Council chambers after my ship did. I was not aware of this. We were only just made aware of who was on the other ship.” Spock looked at Calla, letting his brows snap together. Something akin to hope rose in him. “Spock, your mother,” Calla said gently, making a motioning gesture to someone in front of her. 

Spock could hardly breathe when Calla moved over and handed the PADD to someone else. His mother’s face came into focus, and he nearly dropped his own PADD. How could this be real? He SAW her fall, FELT her hand slip out of his as he was beamed aboard the Enterprise.

“Spock!” Amanda cried. Sarek came into focus behind her, his hand on her shoulder. 

“Mother?” he said, his voice breaking.

“Yes, Spock, it really is me,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. They simply looked at one another in silence for a while.

“I don’t understand. How could you have survived that fall?”

“The beam from the other ship caught her mid-fall. She suffered a head injury that rendered her unconscious in their med-bay for days,” Calla said from somewhere off-screen. 

“The moment I woke up, I demanded to know where I was, and they told me I was on a Furling ship. When they told me Sarek and Calla were on the other ship, I was shuttled over immediately. That was three days ago. We tried to contact the Enterprise then, but we were told that you were aboard Nero’s ship and-”

“We decided it would be better to wait until everything was over before we tried to contact you again,” Calla finished.

Spock touched his mother’s face on the screen. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He could feel his logical side breaking to pieces beneath the strain of his emotions. His mother was alive. He couldn’t imagine how his father must be feeling.

“The Enterprise will be undergoing maintenance and repairs, and I will have leave time. I- I will meet you on New Vulcan, or Ambassador Calla’s ship. I must see you,” Spock said, his voice thick. “I cannot truly believe that this is real.”

“It’s real, Spock. My cramped quarters are a testament to that,” Calla said with a laugh, still off-screen. Amanda laughed, too. A corner of Sarek’s mouth even turned up.

“We will make room for you,” Amanda said.

“Ambassador Calla,” Spock said. The screen went back to her. “I cannot thank you enough for this gift that you have given me. If there is anything-”

“You got rid of Nero,” she sighed. “That is gift enough for me. N’kaia can rest in peace now,” she said sadly. “I will leave you to your parents for a while,” she said, getting up and handing the PADD back to Amanda. “Enjoy.” And with that, she was gone, and Spock was left with his suddenly real mother.