A Taste of Home

Posted on 04 May 2013 @ 12:15am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Anera

2,386 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Holodeck 2
Timeline: MD 06 - 1800 hrs

[ON]

The beaches of Vajripam glistened underneath the warm evening sunlight. Lirha's green toes dug into the soft sand of the tidal basin and she let out a content sigh accompanied with a soft smile. It had been many, many years since she had returned to her place of birth, but somehow Starfleet's holodeck database had been able to recreate the environment with stunning accuracy. Perhaps it wasn't a miracle; Vajripam was the second largest Orion colony and the capitol city of Rigel VII, which meant that there was probably extensive first-hand knowledge of the world. But still, it was a welcome surprise for the captain who had never loaded the holographic scenery before in her Starfleet career.

Pulling her long green dress up to her thighs and tying it securely around her hips, she let the thin fabric cascade down the tops of her legs while still allowing it enough slack to allow her sufficient mobility. She turned from the beautiful scene in front of her and focused her attention back on the cooking grill behind her where she began to finish her meal preparations, and turned over several skewing kabobs which were on the outer edges of the hot charcoal grill. Anera was due to arrive any moment and Lirha had promised her a wonderful dinner...one of which she didn't want to disappoint.

Anera had never liked holodecks; they felt so maddeningly false to her that she couldn't concentrate in them. And it was worse still to touch and feel these generated false creations - hollow, soulless replicants of ancient seas and trees and skies. She could admit they were pretty, certainly, as in a painting. But even a painting had a depth to it, a feel of the artist's impression of his subject if nothing else. Lifeless. That was the trouble. She rubbed her hands together and did her best to avoid touching any of the false plants on her way out of the trees and towards the lying beach. "Good evening," she offered, bowing over her hands, when she reached Lirha.

The captain turned around with a smile after hearing Anera's familiar voice. Moving close to the woman, she wrapped her green arms around her in a tight hug and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Hello. I am glad you came." she replied and accompanied her words with another longer kiss on Anera's lips. "I do not get much holodeck time and I figured we could spend an hour or so here." she added, then gestured with her hand towards the highly-realistic photonic scenery which surrounded them. "This is a recreation of Vajripam, my home city and the place of my birth." she said with pride and a warm glint in her green eyes.

"A recreation. Yes." Anera smiled. Despite her discomfort, Lirha's pleasure at the place was evident; she shifted her gaze across holographic expanse. "Where's the city in relation to this location?"

Lirha motioned with her head towards the far side of the brush and over a semi-close set of mountains which were in the distance. "About a hundred kilometers west of here, over those mountains." she answered. "It is quite a large city...last time I checked the population had grown to just under eight million. Orions mostly, but there are numerous other races who reside here. Think of it as a melting pot, of sorts."

Anera nodded. "Our larger cities are much the same, but... none quite so large. Eight million people in one place?" she shuddered. "I've never understood how anyone can stand to be in such a crowd. So many feelings, all tangled up in one another..." She wiggled her toes in the false sand. There and not there; the juxtaposition was not a pleasant one. "How long since you were... here?"

"Not for a very long time." the captain sadly replied, then moved back to the grill and turned over a couple pieces of meat and vegetables. "I was born here in 2360 but as soon as I was old enough to walk, my parents moved me aboard their trade vessel where I spent the next fourteen years of my life growing up and working in the family business." she explained over her shoulder. "When the Dominion War broke out, my family permanently settled on Earth...it wasn't until my first shore leave after graduating from the Academy that I was able to return here to visit my older sister. And that was almost six years ago."

"Which feels more like home to you?" the Deltan asked. "Orion or Earth?"

Grabbing a nearby set of plates, Lirha began to take food off of the grill and piled it into the bowls and slabs. "Neither, actually." she answered. "I have spent the majority of my life traveling the stars for one various reason or another, and I have never felt completely comfortable planet-side. But...if I had to choose, I suppose it would be Orion. I love Earth, but I am not a Human and my loyalty is ultimately to my people." she elaborated, then offered Anera a plate with a generous portion of skewers, fruits and vegetables on it. Though the scenery might have been photonic, the food was certainly not. "Come." Lirha instructed, then walked towards an open spot on the sand where she had laid out a large beach towel and took a seat.

Anera joined her on the towel. "It's hard for me to imagine, feeling more loyal to a planet I've barely lived on than the one that sheltered and raised me. Was it difficult for you, not being human and living on Earth?"

"Well...Earth was more of a refuge for myself and my family. During the height of the war, our trade vessel suddenly found itself cut off from our regular supply routes, and we were unable to cross the quadrant to return back to Vajripam. Piracy was also growing rampant within the UFP because most of Starfleet's resources were tied up in the war effort." she explain to Anera, then let out a painful sigh before continuing.

"My father was...killed...by Nausicaan raiders while we tried to make it to Earth to escape the violence. When we finally arrived, there were only five of our crew left including myself, my mother, and Nesh, who was only an infant. So...I suppose under better circumstances I would be happy to call Earth my home, but there are still painful memories which I associate with it from time to time." Lirha elaborated, then took a piece of fruit from the bowl and began to nibble on it.

"To answer your question, I did find it difficult to adjust at first. There was a certain amount of culture shock which took all of us a few months to get over. But...I found Humans to be very open-minded and accepting. There were not many Orions living on the planet and most Earthlings were just as curious about me as I was about them. It was generally a pleasant experience for me, especially considering I was in high school at the time." she said, then flashed a knowing grin to the Deltan. "What about yourself? Have you ever been to Earth?"

Anera shook her head. "Not as yet, though I've met so many Terrans sometimes I feel as though I have. So many stories." She smiled slightly, her gaze steady on Lirha. "I hope the memories are not too painful for you."

"Well...that was a long time ago." Lirha said. "I will always have their memories with me, but I have put it behind me and moved on." she added, and picked up a piece of exotic fruit and held it to Anera's lips. "Q'lava fruit. My personal favorite." she said with a soft smile as she looked into her light blue eyes.

Anera accepted the fruit with a small bow of her head, but blinked when Lirha's fingers touched her lips. A hint - no. Something larger than a hint. "Something is troubling you; your heart trembles."

"I think my heart always trembles when I am around you." the captain replied with a soft smile of affection.

The Deltan tilted her head to the side, "Not the same way." She patted Lirha's cheek gently and took a bite of the vegetable skewer. "Sometimes we put things behind us too quickly. So long as we're affected by our experiences, we should keep them in our thoughts. They help to clarify our own natures and give us a better understanding of why it is we do the things we do."

"Yes, I suppose you are right. I do have a tenancy to get ahead of myself at times." the captain admitted with a sheepish grin. Taking another piece of fruit from the bowl and plopping it into her mouth, she adjusted herself on the blanket and sprawled herself out in a lazy manner. "I have had a lot on my mind recently."

Anera watched her curiously. "Anything you'd like to talk about?"

Lirha considered the offer for a few moments, unsure if she wanted to deal with issues such as her troubled relationships and PTSD while she was enjoying her holodeck time and trying to relax. Her gut instinct told her to say 'no', but she did not want to seem ungrateful to Anera for offering support. "Perhaps. But I am not good at initiating these discussions." she warned.

"It is often difficult to discern what it is that most weighs on our minds when so much is there," Anera murmured. "Perhaps, if we watch your sea, what you wish to release will come freely, without your trying to force it out." She leaned back on the towel, staring out at the expanse of sea. She could feel the wall a few meters away, and the people beyond it, but it was still pretty. She took another bite of her skewer. "When did you learn to cook?"

Grinning at Anera, the Orion captain lightly shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose it is in my nature. Orions tend to indulge themselves in the culinary arts, and I was raised to know how to cook. And when I settled on Earth, I found that many Humans shared a similar affection for food." she explained, then took a large kabob from the plate and bit off a tender piece of meat. The ocean in front of them looked clear and lovely, and the holodeck even went so far as to recreate the pleasing salt water aroma which added to the ambiance.

"Have you ever experienced troubles in your relationships with any of your lovers?" Lirha finally asked after a long moment of staring out at the rolling waves.

"Troubles?" Anera replied. "What do you mean?"

"Times when you and your partner might not have seen eye to eye about certain things." Lirha elaborated.

Anera chuckled. "How is that troubling? If I agreed with everything someone said, I think I'd find them terribly dull. Wouldn't you? It'd be like talking to myself."

"No...not in that sense." Lirha said with a shake of her head. "I mean more so the dynamic of a relationship, where one person might want a deeper involvement than the other desires."

"All relationships are - at least in my experience - a balance between the wants and needs of the individuals involved. The only 'trouble' I've endured usually arises when one believes that their needs are more important than the others'." Anera set her plate aside and rested her chin on her raised knees. "But then, I've always been told that an unwillingness to share the balance simply means the combination of elements is an ill-fated one. It's simply a matter of looking until you find the people you're meant to experience, for good or for ill."

"Yes...I like to call it 'the dance'." Lirha agreed with a smirk. She agreed in principal with a lot that the Deltan was saying, but also knew that Anera's own personal philosophies about relationships were substantially different from her own. Nevertheless, it was important to use the opportunity to learn from others and keep an open mind, not simply be set in her own ways. "I have had many partners over the years, however there has always ended up being a major disconnect somewhere down the road. It is...unfortunate."

"You can look at it that way. Or perhaps you simply haven't found the partners you're meant to have. Or you have and they weren't meant to last longer than they did." Anera tilted her head, "Finding one's match in the universe is not a simple thing; many never do. There's nothing wrong with that. But. I can try to help you see it clearly, if you wish. Do you find this 'disconnect' is similar each time, or does it arise from different causes?"

"Different causes." Lirha answered, then took another bite from her skewer and munched on new piece of seasoned meat.

Anera nibbled fruit from her plate as she waited for Lirha to elaborate.

But Lirha didn't elaborate. At least, not right away. Instead she stared out over the ocean and watched the waves lap against the beach while pondering the various partners she had been with over the years. Each of them had been different in both gender and species, and even if she wanted to try and find some similarities, it was an extremely daunting task. 'Different' was an understatement; 'world's apart' was probably a more correct description. "Yes, the universe is a big place..." she mumbled absentmindedly in between bites as she was sucked into her own thoughts.

"That's one way of putting it," Anera empathized with a quiet laugh, and settled comfortably into the following silence.

Continuing to gaze out into the sea, Lirha said nothing and simply enjoyed the skewers she had cooked, as well as Anera's company. Talking was sometimes overrated, in her opinion, and it was often the finer things in life that she enjoyed. At the current moment, this meant spending time with her friend on the holodeck and escaping the reality of her duties for a few short hours.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Anera
Teacher
USS Galileo
(pNPC Lilou Peers)

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