Enlightenment I

Posted on 30 Apr 2013 @ 5:11pm by Crewman Neo & Naskisem

1,711 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: CIV Naskisem's Quarters
Timeline: MD7 1000 Hours

ON:

Neo dumped his tray into the reclamator and headed out of the mess hall. It had been serendipity, that he had stumbled onto this Maenad Panne. Chief science officer, academic hotshot aside, she was Liyar's friend. Liyar's friend that he talked with. That he cared about. That he trusted. They were all ridiculous sentiments, but the fact that she revealed that she did know more than was proper, proved that she might not have been lying. Neo had his head in his PADD as he walked the length of the hallways to the VIP quarters on Deck 2.

Neo was suspicious. Highly suspicious. He had a suspicious nature. Growing up with the family he had, it helped him survive, keep his head down and get out of the crazy. Now he was back in it. And Liyar was fixated on this Terran, in only the way a Vulcan could be. Enough that she knew to be afraid, but not why, he doubted it was conscious. Very rarely did Neo feel concerned about anything that didn't relate to him, but it hit him where he lived. Another crazy person in his family was going to get someone hurt. That was as good of motivation as any.

He strolled into Naskisem's quarters once he hit the pad and they parted for him. "We've got a problem," he stated unceremoniously.

Naskisem was in the middle of practicing a Terran ballet she'd found in the database. Liyar had told her not to bother him anymore, so she remained in her quarters ever since. She still had yet to meet anyone on the ship; she had especially wanted to meet the engineer called Lilou Peers, but Liyar obviously did not care. He only cared about himself, it seemed. And his friends. The thought made her anxious. The chime sounded as she finished a type of human pirouette to music choreographed by a human female called Twyla Tharp. She found the music more interesting than most human noise she had found; a male called Philip Glass who made his electronic music with evolving repetitive arpeggios. She thought it would make an excellent addition to her meditation regimens.

As she let the doors open she paused the music and came out of her dance. Her hair was dishevelled at the side of her head, and along her cheeks it had come to frays rather than its usual collected point. Naskisem was wearing form-fitting, fully-covering, athletic wear. She blinked as she relaxed her muscles and breathed a little easier. Her hands clasped on her lap and her eyes glinted in her Vulcan way of smiling. It was Neo, she both saw and heard. "Perhaps you have," she said. "I, however, do not," was her response.

"That girl you're here to see. Maenad Panne." Neo didn't cut many corners in his speech, but to Naskisem he likely was far less rude than Liyar had been. "Liyar is focused on her. You didn't get through to him because he's not interested in you. He's interested in her." Neo's eyebrow arched very slightly. "The Terran."

Naskisem remained silent for a moment. "Are you certain?"

"They care about one another. She knows details of his private life. She knows about me. She knows enough to understand his temperament, at least unconsciously," Neo said, sitting down on Naskisem's couch. "She displayed signs of affection when she spoke of him. To have that kind of knowledge about a Vulcan, they are spending time together." He had initially doubted her reports, but her later revelations were fairly conclusive. "She thinks she knows him."

Naskisem held her ground as he made his way past her to the couch. She turned as he spoke, absorbing all that she heard. Weighing what he said against her own, albeit brief, introduction to Maenad Panne. Liyar offered little about her when they had spoken, although she had noticed that he became particularly emotional after she had said that she was here to help him. In Liyar's mind, he was made to seem weak in front of Maenad Panne, and he scolded her for it. The delusion was entirely his; Naskisem had had no such intentions. It could have been a sign that Neo was right.

She walked to the couch and sat down beside him, perhaps closer than she should have. She fixed the hair on her face so that it looked closer to what it was supposed to. "She is a human," Naskisem reminded. "She is an emotional and illogical being. It is not surprising that a human female would be attracted to a Vulcan male - especially one of Liyar's physical characteristics," she explained easily. "They think themselves the best in the universe; that they can attain whatever they wish. She would not be the only human on board with such lascivious desire. Liyar, despite his emotionality, is still bound by logic. Even if he were not, he would not choose to bond with a q'omi such as her." He could do much better than that, she thought.

"You are convinced he's still operating by the parameters of logic?" Neo asked. "He's delusional, Naskisem. He knows what that kind of time means, that kind of investment."

She looked away from him, at the table, at the floor, back at the table. She felt something stir inside her. Envy. Jealousy. Denial. She looked at her hands in her lap, then at her legs. "You believe that he finds me an unsuitable mate," she stated. In addition to her intelligence, Naskisem had always thought that she was an attractive woman. "You believe this?" she looked at him.

"You have never been bonded, have you?" Neo asked thoughtfully. "The motivation, the drive." He looked down at his hands, and then back up. "If he is fixated on Maenad Panne, it's unlikely he even registered your existence."

Not registered my existence? Naskisem darted her eyes away from him. She lowered her head. Her cheekbone protruded as she clenched her jaw. When she looked up again, she found Neo's eyes. She was an ideal mate. "That is impossible."

Neo almost sighed. That had come out wrong. Not wrong, he'd said what he meant. He had focused on the wrong thing. "You are a suitable mate. It isn't your problem. His mind is a mess. This Maenad Panne was probably pleasant. Affectionate. He has latched onto her. He isn't thinking ahead. He needs to be reminded of reality. Get his head out of the mazhiv." Neo met her eyes, his expression calm and open. He didn't exactly understand why Naskisem had agreed to this, but he wasn't going to crush the ta'an-jarel. If this girl was willing to put up with Liyar, power to her. She was a saint. "It's not too late."

Her eyes hadn't left his. She had come a long way to be here, and it was entirely at the behest of her parents and their communication with Neo's. They said that she would be able to assist him by bonding with him, as T'Yron had, but now there was a chance that he might not have considered her at all? The thought was insulting. If Liyar really did attach himself to Maenad Panne, she must have known it. Vulcan males were not subtle about their attractions. She knew that the human had spent a year on the homeworld, too; she was not ignorant of Vulcan culture. Why did she not turn him away, for both of their sakes? A million questions began to swim through Naskisem's mind. Finally, she asked "What can be done?" Something had to be done, or there would be an even messier situation than there was now, and she would be in the thick of it too.

What did any person do to win a mate? Neo thought, but didn't say. "Get to know him. Talk about things he finds interesting. Stroke his ego, whatever." Neo didn't roll his eyes, but you could practically see the air-quotes. "Don't talk ill of Panne or tell him he shouldn't be with her. He will only lash out. Just guide him away. When he focuses on you, he'll stop focusing on her."

Memories of the day before started to surface. Neo was right. He had no interest in her. He hated her, in fact. "It is too late," she said, her back almost coming to an arch. "He told me yesterday that he did not like me. He said that he would prefer not to speak to me." Her eyes moved between his. "He aggressively scolded me for telling the female that I have come to assist him. He wishes to impress her. I do not exist." She could not hide the concern in her voice no matter how hard she tried. "I have failed."

"He lashed out at you because you dropped the teslau-thorshkaya on him, Naskisem," Neo said almost fondly. "Storm in and tell him he's broken, and he's going to feel attacked. It's the same principle. You dropped it on him in private and then again in front of the girl. Show him that you understand, and he'll back off. Let it come naturally. He's shei-reshansu. Wants to feel in control." He could tell Naskisem really hadn't ever been bonded if she couldn't recognize it. "Dom, show him he can trust you, and he'll talk to you. Logical people see a problem and they fix it. Liyar sees a problem and ignores it, then finds a solution that is going to get someone killed. He is off the kurtra yeht-kash'es, that is what emotions do. If you really want to try this," he said heavily, once again suggesting that he had no idea how she could possibly be considering it, "then you need to be patient."

OFF:

Crewman Neo
Support Craft Pilot, FCON
USS Galileo

Naskisem
Alien Archaeologist/Anthropologist, CIV
USS Galileo

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