A Nice Calm, Early Lunch

Posted on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 @ 6:18pm by Lieutenant JG FalenvralLi Zh’kyhrihr

Mission: With Gleaming Eyes
Location: Li's quarters, Ithica II near the shuttlepad
Timeline: MD-03 AM
1880 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Before the start of her shift, Li sipped at a mug of katheka and picked up a PADD. She swept her official message queue aside to scroll through her personal messages. It looked like the Throbbing Pinnace team was still tearing up the racing league she'd left to join Starfleet. None of the articles mentioned Hoola, the incredibly arrogant - but very nearly competent and sexy enough to get away with it - Antaran engineer who'd been with them last she'd known. He'd seemed like the lynchpin of the whole team though so, if they were still winning, he was probably still out there flying.

She scanned past a few other news reports her monitoring algorithm had flagged, some messages from her old mates at SB 621, then she saw the name KasnEthas Th’kyhrihr routed from Andoria. Her youngest brother; namesake of her Thaven, Ethas. Her finger hovered over his name for a long moment before pressing it.

"Hi, Li!" The boy's excitement was clear enough from his voice, but he seemed to bounce on his heels as he stood in the family room she'd grown up in, waving both hands at the viewscreen. He was getting so big. He was practically a baby when she'd last seen him in person 12 years ago and these secret messages they exchanged didn't make his age stick in the mind like watching someone grow up next to you did. She closed her eyes and listened to the melodic lilt of her clan's dialect as he spoke it - barely tainted by contact with other clans, let alone regularly speaking and hearing Standard - it was shocking to imagine that she must have spoken like that as a child.

"I got your message about transferring to a big starship. I guess that doesn't mean you got into trouble like last time when they made you move to a base instead of the test pilot place? You sounded happy. I'm glad."

"Sooo, Tohr says hi too." The middle child. Ethas' older brother and her younger. "I guess he's known about these messages for a while. He said he's not going to tell our parents, but he showed me how to change the message logs so they can't see them as easily. He also said I shouldn't tell you. . . but I mean. . . I saw Tami again. She asked about you but zhavey just looked upset and pretended she didn't hear, changed the subject to Tami's newest baby. I mean, it's cute, but. . . I went back and told her you were good. She seemed surprised to hear you were in Starfleet but said that sounded good for you. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have told you, or told her that, I just. . . she was asking."

"Um, Oh! Charan said since I got a perfect score on my Maths final he'd take me to see the skidder races last month. It was so exciting. And loud! He stayed right next to me most of the time but once when he got up to go do something one of the older racers came over and asked me if I was going to race like my big zhi. I know there's no way our parents would let me though. He even made me leave when the races were over because he said the sort of partying they do there," he cleared his throat and tried to deepen his voice but just succeeded in making it crack as he said, "does nothing to enrich the whole."

The message went on. So much happened in a child's life. So many little moments she wasn't there for. Moments like Tami was experiencing now with her family.

A message from the XO popped up just as her brother was rambling to a close. She was now scheduled for a flight over to the orbital relay station later. That still left her with the morning's duties though. Rotating the shuttle standing by on the planet and standing by herself. Hopefully, someone would need a ride somewhere so she wouldn't be stuck loitering around the landing pad all morning.



Li brought her shuttle down just a couple of minutes after the one that had been on site overnight took off and she helped several groups of crewmen unload the supplies in the back. Some moved off toward the medical quarantine area, some toward the mine site while she secured the shuttle and stood to the side, looking around. It was disconcerting to see some of her shipmates wearing bio-suits, particularly when her orders had made no suggestions of one for herself. She wasn't alone in a standard uniform though so these must just be the folks working closely with the infected or those more susceptible to infection themselves. Whatever the case, she trusted Athena's medical staff and their recommendations.

As the morning wore on, she didn't see many other shipmates. Looking toward the town, one Cardassian security official walked by several times, apparently on patrol and pointedly not looking in her direction even when she waved. A few Cardassian civilians went about their business, skirting the town and moving back in. More Metis on this side of town it seemed, including a sparse but noticeable stream coming in from the cultivated lands beyond the shuttlepad. Bored and curious, she moved closer, smelling something pungent in the air and hearing some sort of stringed instrument being tuned. The shuttle wasn't going anywhere and she was just a short jog away if someone needed it.

The Metis - and she saw now just a few Metis-Cardassian hybrids - weren't in uniform but they wore such uniformly basic, utilitarian clothes it almost seemed like it. Worn and oft-repaired, a few were actually dirty but most just looked dressed as one would when expecting to get dirty. Her own appearance, not only in a crisp, clean Starfleet uniform but with distinct, blue skin and antennae, drew attention. Security reports on the city center had mentioned other races, but here she was alone.

Most just looked surprised to see her then went about their business, getting food from a vendor who had a portable grill set up under a small, tattered tent and gathering in small groups on mostly improvised seating - stumps, rocks, crates. There was no sign this was an actual restaurant, but business looked good and entertainment began as a Metis woman sat off to the side and began to play on a small, deep-bodied 5-stringed instrument. The harmony sounded odd to her ear, not using any sort of scale she was used to, but the melody spoke to hear clearly of hard times and perseverance. She knew the blues when she heard it. Andorian, Human, Bajoran, most people had some version of it. It was reductive to suggest that music was universal considering the variety of sensory apparatus some peoples had, but common threads popped up often.

"Ever tried authentic Dores fowl?" The gruff voice interrupted her gawking and Li turned to see the man behind the grill looking her way and holding up a hunk of grilled meat, dripping some sort of sauce, skewered on a charred, rough stick.

"I haven't had the pleasure," she said, moving in closer. "Would you be offended if I asked what a Dores is?"

The man chuckled ruefully. "Y'ain't likely the only one here doesn't know. Dores was a city along the western coast. Me granda grew up there. Before the Occupation. Cardies didn't have much use fer it - no mining to be had out that way - so it ain't a city no more. None what lived there still around to talk about it. A few reminders though, like this." He held the skewer up for her to take, so she did.

The meat tasted more like a gamey Earth chicken than anything from Andoria, but the sauce had a smokey heat any pitmaster from either world would be proud of. "Wow," she said between bites. "At least you have something delicious to remember his home by."

He smiled at the compliment, but it wasn't an untroubled smile as he studied her uniform. "He used to say that recipe would still be around after the Cardies were long gone. Not so sure of that anymore myself." He glanced over at a group of Metis who were not being very subtle about watching their conversation and switched topics. "I heard you got some of the sick miners up. Was tending to them?"

Li nodded. "Well, I'm just ferrying supplies mostly. Our medical people are doing their best though. Trying to figure out what's making people sick. Trying to help get them better. Our engineering folks are looking into making the mines safer."

"Good thing you're here then," he said loudly enough for anyone else around to hear. "Sure weren't getting any help from anyone else. 'Till a few of the 'Children of the Occupation' got sick I'm not sure anyone in power believed it was anything more than miners goldbricking." Gesturing to the assembled diners, he went on, "Me wife and I have a place farther in. Sort of halfway between the mines and the fields. But too many of the farmers were afraid of getting sick, so I set this up here fer when they come in after morning chores fer first lunch."

An older man who was part of the group that had been watching them piped up, "Maybe if we just let this thing run its course, enough of the Cardie's kids will get sick to make your Granda's dream come true."

One of the few hybrids cleared his throat. His companion put a hand over his to forestall him but, without turning to face the first man, he said, "And just how many of us die in the process?"

"Us? What us?" The old man scowled at the back of his head.

The hybrid turned to face him. "I'm as much a farmer of this land as you are. My mother's family fed this town before his," he pointed to the cook,"
came in from the coast."

"And your father?"

Li had every intention of staying out of this and was already starting to back away from the crowd when her commbadge chirped and the assembly's eyes all turned toward her. The voice of the security officer monitoring Athena's staff on the ground asked from orbit, =^= Leuitenant Li, what's your status? =^=

"Um," she said, turning toward the cook. "This was really fantastic. Thank you." Luckily, the man nodded and no one else seemed determined to engage her further as she started back toward the shuttle. Nothing looked unusual there as she approached, tapping her badge to reply, =^= Standing by near the shuttle. Hasn't been anything to report. Does someone need a ride? =^=

=^= Not at the moment. It looks like there's a potential situation brewing near the entrance to the Cardassian Administration center. We have a few people on site already, including the Captain, XO, and some security, but if you could make your way in that direction just in case, It would be nice to have an extra pair of boots there just in case.=^=

=^=Understood. On my way.=^= She stopped at the shuttle to double-check that it was properly secured then headed into town.