Future Imperfect, Part 1

Posted on Tue Feb 10, 2015 @ 4:21pm by Civilian Aleczandra Naqiis-Ryan & Lieutenant Saria Rex

1,833 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Beholder
Location: Senior Officers Quarters/Science Deck
Timeline: MD 1/Morning

"...Vaadwaur subspace corridors? Here, near the Typhon Expanse?" Saria said to the view screen on her desk. "I thought they only appeared just near the border of the Delta and Beta quadrants..."

"We thought so, too. But we scanned the area only a week ago and discovered concentrated sources of verteron particles. We thought of wormholes initially, but the wave pattern of these sources so far almost match with the wave pattern of verteron particles found in the Vaadwaur subspace corridors when Voyager was in the Delta quadrant," the Denobulan science officer on screen replied.

"Would you care to scan the area again and evaluate the results, Lieutenant? Deep Space Five is much closer to the Typhon Expanse than we are, and Starbase 185 is currently working on the MIDAS array. We'll send you the results right away."

"That would be mighty fine, Dr. Phang. I'll send our results back when we completed the scans." Saria smiled.

The Denobulan nodden slightly. "Thank you, Lieutenant. We appreciate it. Starbase 718 out." The view screen returned to the LCARS menu.

"Oh, great. Just after the Borg, we might have the Vaadwaur breathing down our necks soon too." Saria sighed, but it couldn't be helped. "Time to get to the lab..."

She stood up from her chair, and put on the upper coat of her duty uniform. She then hooked a science tricorder to her belt and opened the door of her room, entering the corridors of the senior staff's quarters.

Turning around a few corners, she walked casually toward the turbolifts, greeting some fellow duty officers on the way. Betazoid, Vulcans, Bajorans, Caitians... they were all there.

♫...Oh, now the Borg have gone away, the Vaadwaur are here to stay...♫ Saria sung in a bitter manner. She didn't actually want anyone to hear her, though. Just to make sure, she turned her head slightly back, peeking if someone was behind her. Much to her surprise, someone actually was. She caught a glimpse of all kinds of colors. She turned her head a little further back. She could now see the rainbow-colored hair and the intense blue eyes of a teenage girl walking a few meters behind her, but she didn't seem to follow Saria per sé. She also noticed that the girl had Trill spots on her forehead and neck, but much more crudely than usual Trills.

She stopped at the turbolift not long after, but so did the girl. They were both waiting for the turbolift, it seemed, but Saria actually became interested in the Trill teenager she hadn't seen before on the station. She leaned with her left shoulder on the wall and turned to the Trill.

"My bad if I'm mistaken, but are you new on the station? I haven't seen you before on the senior officer's deck, actually." Saria smilingly asked the girl in front of her.

Ever so slowly, as if it took great effort to acknowledge Saria’s presence, the teen reached up and pushed back her rainbow hair, pulled out a pair of wireless ear buds, and tapped a device clipped to her waist. Saria might recognize it as a Social, the civilian equivalent of a communicator and PADD rolled into one, giving access to civilian computer networks and social interaction sites. She heard something hard and heavy blasting from the ear buds before the music cut out.

“I’m sorry. You said something?” the girl asked, arching a blonde eyebrow.

Saria smiled and repeated her words. "Are you new here, by any chance? I've not seen you on the Senior Officer's deck yet."

“Are you gonna call Security?” the girl asked. She smirked. “”Yes, I’m new,” she said. “Just moved in last night.” She eyed the woman warily, tense. “You need ID or something?” The Trill woman was wearing blue, Sciences, but didn’t mean she wouldn’t call Security.

Saria chuckled. "Not at all. Just happy to see a new Trill around, especially with such...colorful hair." The turbolift just arrived and opened in front of the two. Saria gestured the girl to enter first. "While there are remarkably a lot of Trills around on the station, they're mostly just... old faces. I remember them quite well."

“Oh. Lots of Trill?” The girl seemed a bit nervous as she stepped into the turbolift. “I’m Aleczandra,” she introduced herself. “Just Zandra, usually. “My dad is the new Sec/Tac chief,” she said. She fell easily into the Starfleet lingo. “Where are you headed? I’m just off to explore,” she admitted, leaning against the wall of the lift.

"Well, I was about to go down to the Science labs to receive and examine some data we just got in from another starbase. You can come along, if you'd wish. I have nothing to hide."

Aleczandra shifted a bit, and it seemed her interest was piqued. But then she slipped back into that teenage apathy. “Sounds boring,” she commented dryly.

Saria pressed the buttons of the deck they were heading off to, and turned around. "I'm Lieutenant Saria Rex, Chief of Science, and thirty-second host of the Rex symbiont. Nice to meet you, Zandra," she said, smilingly. "So Lieutenant Ryan is your father, huh? Now, that explains why your spots are more crudely than other Trills."

Zandra stiffened a bit in offense. “My spots are just fine,” she said defensively. She’d met this kind of reaction from other pure-bred Trills before. “Thirty-two hosts? Wow, you’re old,” she shot back. She instinctively placed her hand on her stomach.

"Oh, forgive my bluntness!" Saria held her hand with the implants in front of her mouth. "I didn't mean to offend you in any way! It's just that Trill hybrid people have more crude spots than Trills. It is completely fine with me, I don't care what you'd be or look like." She smirked.

"And I'm quite the old man indeed," she chuckled. "But I don't expect Rex to fit anymore within a few decades. They'll grow larger and are returned to the pools of Mak'ala, where they will tend to the Annuated, and become the Annuated as well after somewhat 20,000 years." Saria looked at Zandra, but saw her placing her hands on her stomach. "Is something wrong? Do you get motion sickness from these turbolifts?" she asked.

“Well, I’ll have you know boys seem to like my spots,” Aleczandra sniffed indignantly. She glanced down and quickly moved her hand from her stomach. “No, I’m fine, just…habit,” she said evasively. “I grew up on starships, so they don’t bother me.” She shifted her gaze to Saria’s flat stomach. “So it’s a big one, huh? What’s it…what’s it like? Not that I’ll ever be a host,” she said quickly. “I mean, no one would give a valuable symbiont to a half-breed,” she said with the same contemptuous sneer she often got from other Trill.

"Oh, I'd imagine they do," Saria teased. "Having a symbiont? Well, it's hard to explain..." She stopped, thinking about how to formulate her words. "It's as if you have a second mind. I don't really think it's understandable for non-joined, I'm afraid, but it's the closest I can get to explaining it."

The turbolift stopped as it reached its destination. "Care to join?" Saria asked.

Aleczandra shrugged. “Sure, why not,” she said.

"And I don't think it's impossible to obtain a symbiont as a hybrid. Of course, the Symbiosis Commission will look very carefully at your traits, but you'd just be like any regular applicant," Saria told Zandra.

“Yeah? You don’t think the pure-bloods would have a problem with that?” the teenager asked. “With so few to go around?” She followed the Science officer off the lift. “What makes you think I would want one anyway?” she asked. “I mean, that’s gotta mess with your head…” She closed her eyes a moment, sorting through her own jumbled lifetimes of memories.

"There are just as few compatible people for Trills." Saria smirked as she led Aleczandra around the corridors. "I'm of course not talking you into having a symbiont. It surely has it's... downsides, I have noticed."

“No shit,” Aleczandra muttered, pushing back a lock of rainbow hair.

Saria led her around a few more corners before they reached a door at the end of the hallway. She stopped in front of it and gestured Aleczandra to stop as well. An emitter above the door flicked on and the computer spoke, "Lieutenant Saria Rex, Chief of Science. Access granted."
The doors of her office whizzed open, and she stepped inside. "Come on in, I'll get a chair for you."

Zandra followed the Trill inside and looked around at the morning bustle of the department. She indicated another set of doors. “Research labs?” she guessed, interest piqued.

“Good morning, sir,” a handsome young Bajoran ensign said as he bustled up. “Here’s your itinerary for today.” He handed Saria a pad. “Dr. Jeannotte insisted on a meeting and you had an opening this afternoon, so I tentatively scheduled it.”

Zandra grinned. “How cute. You have a lackey.”

The young officer blinked and looked at the teen. “Excuse me?” he asked, affronted. “And you are?”

"Ensign," Saria interrupted they young Bajoran, "she is our guest." She gestured humbly toward Aleczandra, standing on the other side of her desk. "She is here to discuss some things between Trills."

The Bajoran was silent immediately and awaited any further orders from his superior officer. "Yes, sir. It won't happen again!"

Saria turned toward Aleczandra. "Please, do not call my subordinate officers ‘lackeys’. It's not very nice." She smirked with one side of her mouth. "Say, why don't you introduce yourself to Ensign Temah? He's new here, too."

Aleczandra looked the Bajoran over. Okay, he was kind of cute in that straight-laced Starfleet way she grew up around. “Aleczandra…Naqiis,” she introduced herself, offering her hand, deciding on using her Trill name rather than her Human name. She didn’t need special treatment once people recognized her as the Chief of Security’s daughter. “But everyone calls me Zandra. Nice to meet you. I’m sure you’re a very good la--minion.” She smirked teasingly at the flustered Bajoran.

"Ehm... hello... Zandra," Temah said cautiously. "I'm... Ensign Temah Eusal. I assist the Chief with her duties at the Science department." He became more confident as he shook her hand. "I-I really wish I could stay any longer, but I got some reports to hand out... so..." Temah smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I’d better get going then."

"Ensign," Saria said before the Bajoran could leave, "confirm the meeting with Dr. Jeannotte for this afternoon. Good work."

“Yes, sir,” Temah nodded. He cast a glance at the strange, rainbow-haired Trill for a moment before he turned and left the office.

-To be continued-

OFF:

Lieutenant Saria Rex
Chief Science Officer

Aleczandra Naqiis Ryan
Civilian
NPC Caleb Ryan

 

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