Comfort among friends

Posted on 15 Jul 2010 @ 3:31am by

1,499 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: M6: Blood of the Innocent
Location: Ten Forward of the Achilles
Timeline: Late evening

ON:

Caecus knew he had missed the social function, but he had hoped to at least catch the tail end of it in Ten Forward. As he entered he saw a few of his fellow crew mate still milling about in couple and small groups, but for the most part the festivities seemed to be over, so he walked up to the bar and ordered an Andorian ale and contented himself with watching the stars when he noticed someone else sitting at the bar by themselves "Slow night in the Science labs Lieutenant?"

Anara looked up from her PADD. She looked around to see that the party was starting to thin out. Then she turned toward Caecus, "Oh..hello, Doctor. I didn't notice you come in. You missed quite an interesting event."

"I'm quite stealthy Lieutenant..." The El-Aurian said looking around before taking a short drink from his ale "By the way how is your son doing? better I hope."

Anara gave a soft chuckle and she nodded, "Obviously." The bartender gave her a questioning glance and she shook her head. She wasn't much of a drinker- she was quite the light weight. She knew the consequences of too much drinking- Jessica had definitely shown her that.

"Edom is doing a lot better. I checked up on him after he went to bed. He wasn't coughing at all. He took his medication before going to sleep. The nanny is watching him, but I'll probably relieve her in 20 minutes or so," she responded.

"That is good to hear, I remember when my own children would get sick..." He nodded a little sadly as he trailed off and tried to think of something else to talk about aside from his past "You know one would figure with having lived over four-hundred years, there would be something I could think of to engage you in conversation with aside from my own history."

Anara laughed again, "Wow...over four hundred years? That must be remarkable. Where are your children now?"

Nervously, Caecus played with his bottle of ale and stared at the counter top before looking up at Anara "They...are...they're dead...along with my wife...casualties to the Borg." he spat the word Borg out as if it was the blackest of curses and the most bitter of substances as he turned his attention to the starship outside the ship.

Anara blinked, "Oh...I'm sorry. Soft subject... I don't suppose there is anything I could do to comfort you. I could mention that although the surgery necessary to change your family into borg- although extremely painful also connects them to a system of other individuals that some scientists believe allow victims to feel a sense of acceptance and comfort. Which means that it's likely that they have no conscious memory of you and therefore are in a somewhat better emotional state."

She opened her mouth to say more and then stopped, "I'm sorry- I'm rambling..and probably not making you feel better."

Caecus slowly turned his gaze away from the view port to look at the Bajoran, there was a sad look in his eyes despite the stoic expression "I...know the scientific and medical evidence Meru, most of the medical procedures to restore a Borg to it's former state as an individual instead of a disposable cog, I helped pioneer..." he snapped before trailing off as he voice became hard an brittle with emotion, he swallowed with difficulty past a lump that was trying to form in his throat before he spoke against, much softer this time "My apologies Meru, I didn't mean to snap...you took an interest and only tried to help me...thank you, but I have seen wonders of the galaxy that I am sure I would not have otherwise if they were still with me, I am thankful for that time I had with them though."

Though his words sounded sincere where he was apologizing, Caecus's words when he spoke of the wonders and his thankfulness for time, his words took on a hollow quality.

Anara's mouth turned into a frown. She took the Doctor's hand and gave it a squeeze, "It must be...very hard for you. I admit that I don't quite understand your pain... My parents past away before I turned 9... I have some memories of my mother, very few of my father... If I have any other family besides Edom, I may never know. It's hard...loosing family." She moved closer to him, so that their shoulders were touching.

The El-Aurian worked the muscles of his jaw as he thought; feeling the woman’s shoulder touch his and her hand squeezing his “It is hard…reason I rarely sleep, though I do ask if it would be better if I could forget them…not know the pain maybe...†he trailed off again before he looked at the Bajoran but didn’t say anything as he took another drink of his ale “I thought the old folk were supposed to listen to the young folk worry about their problems?â€

Anara nodded sadly as he spoke of a lack of sleep, "That's not healthy. You should give yourself something that will help you sleep. It will make you a better doctor."

She grinned when he mentioned her worrying over his problems. She shrugged her shoulders, "Not necessarily...sometimes old folks have problems too. We all have problems.."

The woman's grin was infectious Caecus found as he felt a grin forming on his face, then started to chuckle "Thank you Lieutenant...I guess I just needed some perspective...I have to be reminded that I'm human."

"You are of the humanoid species, yes, but one that has lived over 400 years...I'm not sure I know of your race," she responded.

"I'm an El-Aurian...my people are famous as being a race of listeners, we have memories that can remember things with great detail, be it the telling of a story or the smell of a summers breeze carrying the scent of a meadows flowers...I believe the universe intended the El-Aurian people to be the caretakers of history, a job that we are more than adequately suited for...just as I feel with my interaction with the Bajorans that your people where intended to be it's spirit...passionate and devout are two words I will always attribute to Bajorans..is there anything you would like to specifically know about El-Aurians?"

Her eyes widened, "Really? I was unaware of that... I'm hardly as spiritual as most Bajorans. I don't really cater to their beliefs... I don't really believe in anything actually."

"El- Aurian...I believe I have heard that somewhere. You don't seem to have any distinguishing marks....compared to other humanoid species," she responded. It wasn't exactly a question, but the statement was posed almost as if it was a question.

"No...we look very similar to humans...something that has allowed us to go unnoticed in their society for a great deal of time...where we mainly differ is in the way an El-Aurian ages, as a species we extremely long-lived, our lifespan can cover many centuries...if that clears up anything." Caecus said setting down his empty bottle of ale before returning his attention to his company "I wouldn't say that you don't believe in anything Lieutenant, otherwise you wouldn't be a scientist or a parent...those are two things that take great devotion."

Anara nodded as he confirmed what she knew. A small smile came to her face, "That's true, I suppose. I do believe in a set method of discipline, and parenting. I have a great deal of faith in the scientific method and theories that exist through substantial evidence. However, I understand that most Bajorans are a great deal more religious than I am. I have some faint memories of the family I lived with on the farm when I was about 8 and 9. Everyone seemed to go through religious rituals, while I took a magnifying glass out to explore rocks and insect creatures..."

He began nodding before replying "I suppose we all find our own religion, sometime that differs from what most would consider to be a religion."

Anara nodded, "That is true." She let out a soft yawn. "I'm sorry, but I'm rather tired. Perhaps we can chat again another time?"

"Aye, that we can, I don't want to keep you from your son." Caecus said standing up to give a good stretch, though he waited on Meru to leave first as sign of respect "I need to get some sleep so I can get my house in order, good night Lieutenant."

"Good night, Admiral," she said and then made her way out of the room.

The El-Aurian doctor waited for the Bajoran woman to walk by before he followed her out and made his way back to his quarters.

OFF:

Lt. Meru Anara
Chief Science Officer
USS Achilles

&

Retired Admiral Caecus Romehl
Chief Medical Officer
USS Achilles

 

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