A Bright Light

Posted on 01 Dec 2015 @ 7:59am by Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D.
Edited on on 03 Dec 2015 @ 4:06am

1,284 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 7 - Observation Lounge
Timeline: MD 05 - 1230hrs

[ON]

"...so then she says 'Not in my alluvial field you won't', so that was the end of that," ORen finished with a chuckle, biting into another carrot stick. The anecdote finished, he returned his attention to the large view screen in front of them, his hand brushing Marika's above the snack bowl as he reached for more veggies. With a newly procured piece of tuber root, he pointed to an asteroid. "That one looks like a stylus. Middle Hebitian Era."

"And that one like a spear head... but that's to easy. Ooooh oooh ooh! Ornamental bust with the top of the head chopped off. Berogi style! There's even the crooked nose!" Marika pointed at her discovery in a highly excited manner, as was her habit. "And there! Ming dynasty dragon.." Tilting her head to the right to get a better look she recanted. "Perhaps more of a toad..." Turning to Oren, she smiled pure happiness. "Did I tell you about the time I woke up with a Tibetan toad in my sleeping bag? It was the strangest sensation ever. Little buddy was squirming all over the place trying to get out. It tickled! And it was slimy. And pointy too. By the time I wiggled out of there, it managed to find it's way too. And in came after my toes. Little bugger was angry as a Terrelian minxter crab. He was sooooooo cute." With little in effect for pause she hurriedly pointed at another asteroid. "Andorian war helmet! Pre-unification."

Oren looked over at where she was pointing, nodding in agreement. "How many times did you accidentally break something and then pretend you found it that way?" he suddenly asked, smiling at her, mouth closed and his cheeks puffed up with snacks. "Because I've, like...never done that." he added, eyes shining with mirth.

Marika burst out laughing and bringing her head down, she nudge Oren’s shoulder with it. “Perhaps half a dozen times. Of course me shouting ‘I didn’t do it!’ kind of made it hard to believe I think.” Giggling some more, the young Bajoran looked out, spotting a few possible interesting asteroids, but decided to let them go. “There was this magnificent Imperial vase, with a seven digit dragon, extremely well preserved, until I slipped, lost grip of my trowels, who came crashing through the ornament. Ugh! That was a bad one. Good thing we had done a preliminary holo scan. It’s not as good as if we’d had done a proper one, but it’s something I guess.” For once the young woman actually seemed a little cross with herself.

Swallowing his mouthful, Oren nudged her back. "Don't beat yourself up, Mari," He said comfortingly. "I'm sure if we ask really nicely, the Ancient, long dead people of Amarius Six can whip up another Imperial vase for us in no time." Though his voice was clearly teasing, the El Aurian's expression remained neutral. Although he'd done his fair share of damage in the field, especially in his early years at university, he really couldn't take credit for utterly destroying something that can never truly be replaced. He was impressed.

Shrugging, Marika looked back out at the asteroid field. Soon enough she was giggling. “Not in my alluvial field!” The giggle grew in intensity until she pointed out at another asteroid. “That one looks like an Ymaa ceremonial mallet. We can almost see the crescent symbol there. I think I may have broke a boy's heart once. Does that count?” She showed no particular emotion at the question, beyond her already existing excitement at the view outside, but her brow did furrow slightly for a moment, as if that was a question she had asked before.

"I thought we were talking about precious artifacts, " Oren joked but didn't push it. It felt like a joke made in bad taste considering his own experiences in heartbreak. Watching Marika, he thought it spoke well of her that she was unsure about it.

"What did you do?"

Observing the asteroids pass by, she nonchalantly pointed at two who collided. "I guess I made him believe there was more to it than there was." The silence that followed was heavy, her smile faded slightly for a moment, as she struggled to get her cheery self back out.

With a light shrug, a return of the smile and a nudge from the elbow, the young Bajoran quickly pointed at another asteroid. "Serenian peace symbol."

But Oren didn't seem all that interested in the asteroids, instead choosing to focus his attention on Marika. She seemed like a nice girl, but he wasn't naive or young enough to believe even someone so young didn't have regrets.

"That's not a good feeling," he said after a beat. "Being on the receiving end of it, I mean."

"It's not like I meant to do so." She sighed deeply, her smile struggling to stay. "I was being me. . . He did not understand what that implied." Her eyes racing across the asteroids, her face showed a few odd ticks she struggled to keep under control. "I saw where it would lead. I tried to warn him. But he refused to understand."

Her voice was low, and slow, almost as whisper, as she fought with herself. Part of her wanted to acknowledge the pain she had caused. The rest, refused any part of it. Had she not been very open about who she was? "I don't ... I ... I wish it could have turned out otherwise. For a moment, I actually wished I could have been this person he thought I was." She shook her head slowly, looking at her legs.

After a moment, she felt Oren scoot closer until his thigh was almost pressed up against hers. "Hey..." he said, voice low, creating a small circle of intimacy between them in the otherwise large, desolate lounge.

"You don't have to be someone else just because someone wants you to be," he told her, reaching over to tilt her chin up so that she could look at him. "And just because someone falls in love with you doesn't mean they love you for real. Okay? I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, but trust me."

Smiling softly at her friend, Marika nodded slightly. Looking into his eyes, she permitted herself to get lost in them for a brief moment. “I do.” Looking into his eyes a moment longer, her hand gently sneaked up between them, until her index finger could gently press his nose. “Bloop boop!” Her eyes twinkled as she attempted to contain the giggles. She knew this was one of those moments where her antics would either ruin the moment, or cement her character.

Oren blinked, moving his face away briefly before it broke into a grin. Then, he leaned over and pressed a kiss on the apple of her cheek. If it had been months earlier, he knew he would have gone for her lips but after everything that happened, it didn't feel right.

The simple gesture of affection Oren had just offered seemed to flip a switch, as Marika beamed pure happiness through every pore of her person. Had she not been sitting, she would have jumped in joy at the attention but for now, a smile as wide as it could go and an evident glow would suffice. Looking back out the window, she no longer saw asteroids or ancient artifacts, but the unknown possibilities this new friendship could offer. Despite their circumstances, it was a great time to be alive.

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Oren Idris
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

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